Some Kinda Weight

So, in the past 6 months or so, I’ve managed to gain about 10 pounds and get my weight up to 190. Along with the muscle I’ve gained, I have also added a little bit of fat as well. This, combined with the fat I already had, has left me chubbier than I want to be. I would estimate that I am around 20% bodyfat at the moment. The time has therefore come for me to get a little bit leaner. My goal is 12 pounds in 6 weeks. I started working towards this on 5/10/10, so I just want to summarize what my plan is to accomplish my goal, and what I have done so far:

THE DIET

I have cut my calories by 20% from an approximately 3000 calories a day to a strict 2400 a day. I’m limiting carbs to 80-100 g, exclusively from vegetables and dairy. Protein has stayed pretty consistently around 300 g a day, which is probably a lot, but it’s the easiest way for me to get quality calories and stay full. Fat makes up whatever is left over.

Thus far, I have done fine in sticking to this. I have just tried to be consistent in planning ahead for the next day or two and making sure I always know what I’m eating and when. As expected, the low carb thing has left me a little more tired and flat than I normally am, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.

CARDIO

My plan is 6 days of cardio, up from about 0 previously. I want to keep it short and intense. Additionally, on days when I also lift, I have been trying to keep the two sessions separate so that I am able to give my best effort to both. This week, I have done:

Monday AM: 10 min jump rope, burpee tabata, 2 min rest, bw squat tabata

Tuesday PM: kettlebell complex

Wednesday PM: (after bench day) dumbbell complex

Thursday AM: 15 min steady state jump rope (felt exhausted, and decided to take it relatively easy and save myself for squats that night)

Friday PM: Ran hills - ~40 yd hill, 20 trips up, 9 minutes

WEIGHTS

Sean and I started 5/3/1 on Sunday. I thought that us doing so would make the blog even more boring, since us and Drew are now doing the same program. Luckily, Drew no longer lifts weights, so this won’t be an issue. I am so far loving 5/3/1. The last “go for broke” set is fun, and I enjoy keeping the assistance work simple and straightforward. I’ll summarize my final sets for the week:

Sunday: MP 125x10

Monday: DL 265x13

Wednesday: BP 155x11

Thursday: Squats 245x10 - a note on this workout - I felt absolutely beat, the weights felt heavy the whole day, but I knew I could get 10, and it was just a matter of mental toughness

REST

Saturday is my day off, where I plan on sitting on my ass all day. Also, I have made a commitment to getting 7.5 - 8.5 hours of sleep a night, which I have never really done in the past. Hopefully this will help me recover better, especially since I am operating in a caloric deficit

PROGRESS

I have chosen 12 pounds as a goal since it is an easy thing to track. However, I am also going to be using several other methods as well to make sure that I am losing primarily fat. Every Sunday night, I will be making Teresa take pictures of me, so I can visually track my fat loss. I am also making her take skinfold measurements in a few places, and measure my stomach. Here are my starting stats:

Weight (monday AM): 191.0

Scale bf%: 22.0% (a note about this number - I think it is a bit too high, because I am dehydrated in the morning, but I will still be tracking it, because if I am doing things right, it should still trend down)

Skinfold:

Chest 14 mm

Abs 24 mm

Quads 22 mm

Stomach (measured at navel) 35”

Neck 15.6”

Biceps 15.6” <-- if you go to this site, you can plug the above numbers in and get some bodyfat estimates...except for the biceps, that’s just cause I wanna know how gunny I am

Instead of posting my starting pics today, I will wait until Monday night, so I can include a week of progress as well.

Also, I have made this 5/3/1 spreadsheet that I like much better than the other ones I have seen. If you want to, you can download it here. Input values are in blue.