Journey, Not A Destination

[Steve]

Wow man, I can't believe the progress you're making. That's fucking impressive!

The issue with too few calories is the potential for metabolic slowdown and/or muscle loss.

If you're still losing weight at that rate, your metabolism is still rip-roaring along, which is awesome.

If your performance in the gym is consistent, meaning you're able to maintain the amount of weight on the bar, if not more, you probably aren't loosing any appreciable amount of muscle.

With all that in mind, I'd say you're in good shape, really.

How are you feeling?

That hand held body fat monitor isn't the most accurate of devices. Things like hydration can really throw it off. How's your body looking?

Your caloric intake seems real good, to be honest.... you're up over 12 calories per pound and losing a good bit of weight weekly. That's maintenance intake for a lot of other people who have lost a lot of weight.... so you're fortunate. Are you doing a ton of cardio? What's your exercise split look like?

 

[RJAZ520]

Wow man, I can't believe the progress you're making. That's fucking impressive!

Thanks a lot man... i really been on my grind precise about everything that i possibly can.

The issue with too few calories is the potential for metabolic slowdown and/or muscle loss.


If you're still losing weight at that rate, your metabolism is still rip-roaring along, which is awesome.

If your performance in the gym is consistent, meaning you're able to maintain the amount of weight on the bar, if not more, you probably aren't loosing any appreciable amount of muscle.

Yeah.. there's some times where it might be a little harder... but all in all im still actually progressing albeit only minor now.

With all that in mind, I'd say you're in good shape, really.

How are you feeling?

I feel like a beast dude! I went to a rock show last week and i was in the pit (like always ) but man i didnt get winded one bit. I did fly around a bit more than im used to because of the lower body mass, but it was awesome.

[/QUOTE]

That hand held body fat monitor isn't the most accurate of devices. Things like hydration can really throw it off. How's your body looking?

Heh kinda trippy looking. Its annoying... but i know its a work in progress. My upper back, neck, tracks, upper chest, arms, forearms, calves are looking at near cut levels, I even got a big vein poppin out my bi's during curls and my traps are looking dope!

But I can literally hold my last 20 pounds or so on my lower abdomen, a little left on the inner thighs, and of course the man boobs, which are finally showing signs of decreasing


[/QUOTE]

Your caloric intake seems real good, to be honest.... you're up over 12 calories per pound and losing a good bit of weight weekly. That's maintenance intake for a lot of other people who have lost a lot of weight.... so you're fortunate. Are you doing a ton of cardio? What's your exercise split look like?

yeah i do a ton a cardio...

I'm on a 3 on one off plan I only work 6 hours a day starting at 12 so i have split sessions.

In the morning I'll do some misc cardio activites and plyos, bodyweight squats, push ups, thrusters with 10 lb dumb bells, knee raises, and the gazelle, its basically like a circuit i'll do for like 30 mins. then eat. maybe do it again

At night I go to the gym, light warm up for 15 mins then strength training.

Day 1 - Bench, Pull ups, Rows, Military presses
finish up with about 20 mins cardio

Day 2 - Cardio - 20 mins elliptical, 20 min stairs, 20 mins cross walk 10 mins rowing

Day 3 - Squats, Deads, leg curls, calve raises, ab rotations, crunches finish up with 20 mins cardio

Cardio intensity i constantly keep random... im rarely at one level unless im warming up or cooling down


Its just my hobby... everything else seems like a waste of time. my morning workouts are the only way i can justify watching tv because i watch tv while i do it.

I listen to my body... if i feel tired, i'll take it easy. maybe even take the day off.

Thanks a lot for your help man. This forum is one of the main reasons why ive been able to do this.

 

[Steve]

Honestly sounds like everything is on point, through and through. You've got some stubborn fat areas, but anyone who has made the progress you have is going to have them. Remain consistent, which I have no doubt you will, and things will happen. You're definitely a true success story.... very fun to hear about.

If things plateau and/or you want to change things up.... always feel free to hit me up!

 

[RJAZ520]

thanks Steve take care!

 

[bethann1156]

Kettle bells are fun.

Glad to hear you're back at it!

Thanks, Steve. Yeah, I'm hooked. It is good to be making progress again.

 

[Steve]

Beth, do you own your own kettlebells or do you belong to a gym that has them?

 

[Steve]

Quotes of the day

'It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or when the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.'


"I would agree with you but then we'd both be wrong."


Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools who don't have brains enough to be honest.

***************************

So the results of my current diet have not been what I had expected. It's just hard to give an accurate assessment since I didn't adhere over the weekend, which matters much. I'll probably retry the diet at another, less hectic time. I'm still on it until Friday night. Then I'll start my refeed which will last the entire weekend... or at least until Sunday night.

Starting Monday, I'm really leaning towards something like Lyle's Ultimate Diet 2.0 plan. It's actually not far from the PSMF I've been on for the first 4 days of the week.

Monday through Wednesday will be the tough days. Actually the entire diet is tough, but for different reasons along the way. Monday through Wednesday I'll be eating something like 50% of my maintenance caloric intake. I'll be eating 70 grams or so of carbs each of these days, which is nothing compared to what I'm used to. Protein will be at 1-1.5 grams per pound of lean body mass which is what I'm used to. The rest will primarily come from fat.

Just for my own sake, to put this on paper:

Maintenance = 3000 calories

Protein: 170 grams * 4 cal = 680 calories

Carbs: 70 grams * 4 cal = 280 calories

Fats: X * 9 = 540 = 60 grams (I might toy with this a bit but we'll see)

On Monday and Tuesday, the diet is coupled with a killer high rep, high volume workout. Both sessions will probably be full body in nature and consist of 3 sets of 15 or so reps with very little rest.... almost circuit-esque. These are what are known as depletion workouts, as they'll be depleting the stored carbs I have in my liver and muscles (glycogen).

Wednesday, nutrition stays the same but it's an off day. Possibly some cardio if I'm up for it.

Thursday is a funny day. The morning will probably start with the light cardio. Nutrition will be the same, low calorie, very low carbs. This stays intact up until the evening before I go to weight train. I'll consume about 3/4 of the calories I was consuming on Monday - Wednesday during the day. Then, about an hour before my evening workout, I'll consume a shake containing 2 parts carb, 1 part protein. Something like 30/15 grams respectively most likely.

The workout on this day is pretty intense considering the depleted nature I'll be in. It will be another full body session but with heavier weights and not as circuit-esque.

After that, the fun begins. It's time to carb load!

The suggestions are pretty crazy, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get them in or not. But the carb load lasts from Thursday after my workout until Friday's bedtime. I'm supposed to get the same amount of protein in as normal, as well as fats. But the carb intake is nuts... something like 7-8 grams of carbs per pound of LBM.

That's approximately 1200-1300 grams of carbs. That's 5000+ calories!

Friday is an off training day, possibly some cardio.

Than the weekend in terms of nutrition goes from still pretty high carbs down to low carb again by Sunday night.

Saturday is very important training session, which will be full body again, but the heaviest day... I'll probably be training using 3-6 reps per set this day and taking very long rest periods.

There's a rhyme and a reason to all this that I'm not going to get into but much of it has to do with partitioning. By that, I mean, persuading where your body pulls energy from (fat) and stores energy (muscle). The whole point of the UD2 is to lose a very fair amount of fat while maintaining, possibly gaining some muscle.

Sounds tricky, I'm sure, but I've got a good handle on my nutrition and should be able to handle it.

I'm not even 100% decided yet if this is the route I'll take... but the plan looks good on paper so far.

 

[maleficent]

I like that first quote - and very appropriate for your next adventure in dieting

 

[MsGhettoBooty]

Friendly competition is a great thing!

I have used it in quite a few cases, weight loss and athletics.

I hear you there... that's why I'm back, because I've noticed you've stolen all of my women. I'm here to compete for my bitches, damnitt!

Btw... I missed you and couldn't spend a single day without you.



HA! I'm so full of shit. Hope everything is going well for you, doll.

Lurve,

-me

 

[Trevor10]

that diet doesnt sound too fun!!! But i know you can do it man!

 

[Steve]

I hear you there... that's why I'm back, because I've noticed you've stolen all of my women. I'm here to compete for my bitches, damnitt!

Btw... I missed you and couldn't spend a single day without you.



HA! I'm so full of shit. Hope everything is going well for you, doll.

Lurve,

-me

Well well well.... look what the cat drug in.

Paging Janitor Bob: Clean up in aisle 5!

 

[Steve]

that diet doesnt sound too fun!!! But i know you can do it man!

I actually think it will be easier, psychologically, than the one I'm currently on.... simply due to the fact that I can eat a shit ton of carbs each week. The time when the tough diet is most difficult is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.... and this sort of eliminates that.

I'm not 100% certain I'm doing it yet.... but as of now, it's something I'd like to try.

 

[Darth Pooh]

I actually think it will be easier, psychologically, than the one I'm currently on.... simply due to the fact that I can eat a shit ton of carbs each week. The time when the tough diet is most difficult is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.... and this sort of eliminates that.

I'm not 100% certain I'm doing it yet.... but as of now, it's something I'd like to try.

How would you get in close to 5000 calories of carbs?!?

 

[Steve]

Eating a shit ton of them every 2 hours or so, haha. It won't be easy. And remember, that's including an extra evening. I'll try and squeeze in 2-3 meals containing lots of carbs Thursday after training in the late afternoon. Then I have all day Friday to cram them down.

 

[bethann1156]

Beth, do you own your own kettlebells or do you belong to a gym that has them?

I do have an 18 lb kettlebell of my own...but I take a twice-weekly beach bootcamp class that provides them for us.

Not sure if you read my diary, but I pulled a chest muscle three weeks ago (I was in ER the following night thinking I was having a heart attack and spent the entire night there making sure my ticker was sound....it was) When I followed up with my dr. (a sports med dr.) she determined it was a badly pulled chest muscle and I had to lay off chest exercises for a week (put on Naprosyn) and now gradually I am making my way back up to the bell I have been using. I used the "baby-bells" (9lb) the first week back and this week I am using 15 lb kettlebells.

[BTW, the pulled muscle was due to poor form (we were doing crunches holding the bells to our chest) and when we finished the set, I made the mistake of lifting the 18lb bell with only my left arm across my body to set it down on the sand on the right side of my body. Ugh...lesson learned. ]

When we move to TN, there is a guy in Nashville who teaches an outdoor kettlebell class in Centennial Park, that I want to join.

 

[Darth Pooh]

Eating a shit ton of them every 2 hours or so, haha. It won't be easy. And remember, that's including an extra evening. I'll try and squeeze in 2-3 meals containing lots of carbs Thursday after training in the late afternoon. Then I have all day Friday to cram them down.

I guess what I meant was... WHAT kind of foods?! Like what is worth 5000 calories?! Even if I ate 10 servings of whole wheat pasta... that is a SHIT LOAD of pasta and only worth 1800 calories!

 

[Steve]

I do have an 18 lb kettlebell of my own...but I take a twice-weekly beach bootcamp class that provides them for us.

Not sure if you read my diary, but I pulled a chest muscle three weeks ago (I was in ER the following night thinking I was having a heart attack and spent the entire night there making sure my ticker was sound....it was) When I followed up with my dr. (a sports med dr.) she determined it was a badly pulled chest muscle and I had to lay off chest exercises for a week (put on Naprosyn) and now gradually I am making my way back up to the bell I have been using. I used the "baby-bells" (9lb) the first week back and this week I am using 15 lb kettlebells.

[BTW, the pulled muscle was due to poor form (we were doing crunches holding the bells to our chest) and when we finished the set, I made the mistake of lifting the 18lb bell with only my left arm across my body to set it down on the sand on the right side of my body. Ugh...lesson learned. ]

When we move to TN, there is a guy in Nashville who teaches an outdoor kettlebell class in Centennial Park, that I want to join.

Ouch, at least it was only a strain! I've seen torn pec muscles where the pec just sags. Really gross! Good luck with your recovery.

 

[Steve]

I guess what I meant was... WHAT kind of foods?! Like what is worth 5000 calories?! Even if I ate 10 servings of whole wheat pasta... that is a SHIT LOAD of pasta and only worth 1800 calories!

Hahaha, yea, it's a lot. I haven't planned it out exactly, but there will certainly be some junk food in there, lol.

 

[Darth Pooh]

Hahaha, yea, it's a lot. I haven't planned it out exactly, but there will certainly be some junk food in there, lol.

I think that is what I was getting at... might be a need for some pizza in there. Lucky fuck.

 

[Steve]

Hahahaha, the hard part though, is you want to minimize fat intake. Not to nothing, but I couldn't go whoofing down pizzas.