john meadows aka mountiandog

[sityslicker1]

Here is my blog where I have my exact diet

http://mountaindogdiet.com/media/joh...-use-and-more/

On occasion I like to have flavored vodka with 7up or Sprite...

Originally Posted by kscowboy View Post
John-I have worked with you in the past when i was trying to get big and had amazing results. My life and focus have changed since then and i no longer get to workout like i once did. Now I'm just trying to be as lean as possible and as healthy as possible. In the past, i was able to keep my BF around 12-15% and had plenty of carbs in my diet. Now a days, i feel like my body needs very minimal carbs and i actually enjoy eating more and more fats.

Do you feel like its possible to get below 10% bf by eating a higher fat diet (vs a high or moderate carb diet) and keeping the carbs to an extreme minimum? Basically what are your thoughts on higher fat diets?
Absolutely!

I think it mostly comes down to net energy balance over a 24 hour period, meaning the calories you consume, not the macros, are the most important thing. I do think macros matter, but not nearly as much as overall calories (assuming you aren't eating trash)...

JM

 

[sityslicker1]

Originally Posted by snowpatrol View Post
John, during the offseason / bulking - I was wondering what you'd use to gauge when it's time to shut things down, cruise/maintain for a bit or start prepping? I know you aren't trying to grow much since you're pursuing the 212 division, but as a 6ft competitor I don't have that option unfortunately.

My thoughts would be when fat accumulation starts to eclipse muscle growth, but while it'd be great to see a graph of "skeletal muscle vs adipose" it's obviously much harder in practice to get an accurate measure of how much muscle you're actually adding, vs fat, vs water retention with more carbs, supplements etc in the equation.

You could monitor other things like resting blood glucose, perhaps, to determine insulin sensitivity...and if it's dropped too low, maybe that would indicate fat storage is going to become problematic?

Anyways I'm sure there are some good / better methods than what I can come up with so I was hoping to hear your input
I don't think going over 12% bodyfat does any good at all...to grow the fastest, you need good insulin sensitivity for the most part. If you start to gain too much fat..eat too many carbs etc...you will notice your tough area starts to accumulate fat faster and your pumps will start going downhill due to poorer insulin sensitivity. At that time do a 4 week mini diet with much lower carbs

jm

 

[sityslicker1]

Quote:
Originally Posted by MR. BMJ View Post
John, hopefully you can answer this....I've been watching your current diet plan on your blog, and from what I can tell, your protein has stayed constant while you have adjusted other macros (mainly carbs)...as the diet progresses, do you continue to keep protein where it is at, or do you increase it as other macros drop?

I hadn't paid attention to your plans in a few years, as the last time I seen a sample plan, you were almost all protein, veges, fats and only pre/intra carbs. I have to imagine that coming in leaner to a show allows you to not have to drop the carbs as much?
that is true - and in next week's update you will see a slight bump in protein and more of a reduction in carbs..I wouldn't drop them anymore then where they are now but I have to to make 212.

 

[sityslicker1]

I love this reply and I believe it to be very true via my own experiences.

Originally Posted by RamboStallone View Post
JM, I'm working around a knee injury. I just gained enough confidence to start squatting again but I am using the assisted (smith machine) barbell. In your opinion are these as effective as free barbell squats if I hit them hard, ass-to-grass, full range of motion? Or do I need to get back into free barbell squats?

Thanks for your help big bro!!

There is NO exercise that is so important that you have to do it. I have barely squatted in 2 years myself due to lower back being fragile, but you just find ways to achieve progress via other exercises....stay in one piece..if something does not feel right..get away from it no matter what exercise it is!!

 

[sityslicker1]

Originally Posted by natrol View Post
Hi John, I've been following your blog and I noticed your macro breakdown seems to favor carbohydrate intake mostly. There's a popular and seemingly prevailing school of thought that protein must be 1.5-2 grams per pound of bodyweight, and I know a lot of guys seem to follow this.

I was wondering if you could explain how come your diet seems to be predominantly carbohydrates instead of protein in a caloric deficit? Do you find that regardless if you're in offseason or in prep your body doesn't need much more than 1 gram per pound bodyweight to progress? If you could weigh in on this topic I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!
I arrived at this plan based on my experience....I would like to say this is only reflective of me though....this isn't what I blanketly do with everyone. Extra protein just does me no good. Bloats my stomach, and I recover awesome and feel great with more carbs...I cut down the carbs and performance suffers big time. I think one of the reasons why bodybuilders have so many digestive issues is from pounding too much protein...

 

[sityslicker1]

Originally Posted by SL1CED View Post
I've tried high carb, high protein, low fat while bulking. I've tried high protein, mod carb, mod fat while bulking. I've tried high fat, high protein, low carb while bulking.

The winner for me when bulking was high protein, moderate carb, moderate fat while on gear. When natural, it was definitely high fat, high protein, low carb.

For dieting, I've never tried too high of carbs. I've always done a great job dieting by going high protein, moderate to low carbs, and low to no fat and slowly removing carbs and substituting for bcaas. Introducing carbs gets the love handles going first, then the lower belly fat.

I think it just depends on how hard you want to push and what you are willing to give up. I refuse to give up muscle and energy while I train for example, so I will train fasted or low carbed...do what you need to train your balls off, then pull back on carbs and I think you'll be fine..

 

[sityslicker1]

Quote:
Originally Posted by kscowboy View Post
John,

What are your thoughts on needing food to keep your metabolism up? For years some people say you need to eat or your body won't burn fat. On the other side of the coin, there are people that say its just cal in vs cal out and not eating, doesn't effect the bodies ability to release or burn fat.

your metabolism will slow down as a means to survival when being starved, only way to delay it is with refeeds of some sort..

 

[sityslicker1]

Quote:
Originally Posted by bmm5530 View Post
Hey John,

Do you feel that carbs and fats should be kept separate in meals or do you feel that they can be combined in meals with no real issues? This would be speaking more in terms of an offseason than a contest prep.

Personally I think net energy balance (total calories for the day are most important) but you can fine tune body comp a little better by placing a higher % of carbs around training...

 

[sityslicker1]

John's exact diet for prepping for arnold.


http://www.mountaindogdiet.com/team/john-blog/johns-blog-arnold-diet-update-calling-911-fouad-the-master-poser-diet-sodas-i-use-and-more/

John’s Blog – Arnold Diet update, Calling 911, Fouad the Master Poser, Diet Sodas I use, and more

by John Meadows

JB-2016-01-22-1

Now that the show is becoming very real. It is only 6 weeks out. I like the role of being the underdog here, I have nothing to lose and am going all out. I am posing every night now. Right now I do 4 rounds of quarter turns and mandatories. This will increase. In 2 weeks I have Fouad Abiad coming to build my night show routine for me as well. He is an unbelievable poser, and I have no problems asking for help.

I do have one problem. I just got Netflix and man that Daredevil series is addictive. I have been watching an episode every night to wind down. It drives me nuts that he won’t actually kill any of the bad guys though.

My weight is now about 221 in the morning. I have to get it down more so I am cutting carbs a little more, and continuing to increase cardio. Fat is melting off of me, but the reality is, I may have to lose a little muscle. We’ll see as we go.

I don’t really get hungry much, but if I do and I need to hold off appetite I use one of the diet sodas below. I actually like the carbonation, it makes me feel full. I also use the zero calorie coffee syrup pictured for flavoring with some of my foods on occasion. I don’t like loading up on artificial sweeteners obviously, but if I only do them for a few months out of the year, I don’t see the harm for me personally.

JB-2016-01-22-3

Notice the sugar free caramel syrup (1 calorie) and the sugar free chocolate syrup. These will go on my oats and cream of rice, not both, just one or the other!

Also see the condiments below. Generally, I add the buffalo wing sauce on fish. I add either the soy sauce or Szechuan to my chicken and rice. If I want tuna instead of cod, I will use the Grey Poupon.

JB-2016-01-22-4

Current diet at 6 weeks out

Diet

Meal 1 – 1 cup of whites, 148 grams of red potato, 2 tbs ketchup, 1 tsp of coconut oil

Meal 2 – Peanut Butter chocolate food bar (Best Bar Ever) and a coffee

Intra – 3 scoops of Intra MD

Meal 3 – 12 egg whites with red peppers and spinach, ½ cup of cream of rice (dry), 1 tbsp of nut butter, 0 calorie choc syrup

Meal 4 – 8 oz od cod, ½ cup of oats, 1 cup of green veggies

Meal 5 – 6 oz of cooked chicken, 1 cup of white rice

Meal 6 – 8 oz of cod, 1 cup of cauliflower (see pic)

I made 2 changes this week.

I turned the whey shake after training into egg whites. The gym makes these for me and they add in red peppers and spinach.
Ok I freaking hate cauliflower, BUT check this out. It actually tastes really good too, and is a very healthy food. I started eating this with fish as last meal, and dropped my rice.
I usually keep carbs in my last meal, but I am going to pull them for now. If I have trouble sleeping, I will put them back in and take carbs from another meal.

JB-2016-01-22-2x



Breakdown – 249 grams of protein (38%), 318 of carbs (48%), 44 of fat (14%) = 2654 calories

Cardio continues on a 3% incline and walking is now at 2.8 – 2.9 on the treadmill. I am now at 45 minutes in the am.

Scary flu

So we have been passing the flu around the house for 3 weeks now. I had a scare midweek. One of boys woke up coughing so hard he could barely breathe. He was starting to get really scared as was I so I called the medics via 911. Once they got there he calmed down and was breathing better, and is now doing ok, but man is it scary to see your child in this kind of state. I was absolutely terrified to be 100% honest.

Business

On the business front, things are going well. The Food bars are now being stocked in a few pilot locations we selected. They sell out as fast as we can get them there. I am working with Mike (Best Bar Owner) on a plan to select more retailers who would like to carry them.

The training app is also close to getting an upgrade with a nutrition component. I am reviewing this next week to see how it is looking.

Also, some new designs are being released by Iron Rebel at the Fit Expo that you will love!!!



Until next time,

John Meadows

 

[krustus]

very good info.... i agree with him calories are actually more important than macros imho

 

[sityslicker1]

very good info.... i agree with him calories are actually more important than macros imho

krustus
when it comes to pure weight loss, I agree too. But I'm also sure that there would be some significant impact on body fat and lean mass composition.

 

[krustus]

Personally I think net energy balance (total calories for the day are most important) but you can fine tune body comp a little better by placing a higher % of carbs around training...

i assume that was meadows saying that?... i tend to agree

I was wondering if you could explain how come your diet seems to be predominantly carbohydrates instead of protein in a caloric deficit? Do you find that regardless if you're in offseason or in prep your body doesn't need much more than 1 gram per pound bodyweight to progress? If you could weigh in on this topic I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!
I arrived at this plan based on my experience....I would like to say this is only reflective of me though....this isn't what I blanketly do with everyone. Extra protein just does me no good. Bloats my stomach, and I recover awesome and feel great with more carbs...I cut down the carbs and performance suffers big time. I think one of the reasons why bodybuilders have so many digestive issues is from pounding too much protein...

i think this is right also....imho

thanks you for sharing !!