New to the Journey

[Musicas]

Hi all, I'm John, nice to meet you gymnation!

A litte background info:

I'm currently on a big fat loss journey and I'll be using these forums as a form of accountability for myself and maybe motivate others as well. I'm not new to weight loss, and have fluctuated several times +-10kg but because of the way I went about with the diet (just eat nothing, and do some cardio) I pretty much always gained the weight back shortly after due to my gluttonous love of food.

This time, I decided to cut the bullsh*t and do it properly with regular exercise and good nutrition. I'll use these forums to pretty much keep my entire journey transparent and maybe get some tips/opinions along the way!

Current Stats as of 30/07/2014:

Age: 22 (M)

Height: 170cm

Weight: 89kg

BF%: Maybe around 28-30?

Current Diet:

Total Consumed – 1900~ calories per day

Macros

·         Protein – 130 grams (520 calories)

·         Carbs – 215 grams (860 calories)

·         Fats – 60 grams (540 calories)

I'm kind of doing a IIFYM where I'm just aiming to hit around 130g protein and 60g fats, then whatever's left into carbs. I'm not so great at sticking completely to a pre-set meal course so I kind of make it up and caluclate everything as I go. I'll be attaching a word document for my current food log which has about a week or so of progress so far.

Diet Goal: I'd like to aim for about 1kg - 1.5kg loss per week to begin with since I have a lot of bodyfat to lose. On my current diet of 1900~ kcal I managed to lose about 0.5kg in a week. I did the math and my first week was around 18840 kcal consumed (and since I lost 0.5kg I think I used about 22340 kcal last week). I figure in order to get 1kg a week, I'll try to progressively cut more kcal daily and do more cardio and measure every week and adjust as neccessary.

Current Workout

Right now I'm on Stronglift's 5x5 and plan to stick to it for the next 12 weeks at least. I don't use excel or word for this since I have the app on my phone. Right now I'm really struggling with hip flexor mobility on the squat and shoulder mobility for OHP (consequences of the years of sitting on my ass). To address this I am following Omarisuf, Elliot Hulse and Candito's videos. I'll also link my "Workout Forms" document which has all the stretches I am doing daily (sometimes more) and notes on form etc. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ou2tI4bUOaYa3aMMtSaWDGIOdYGLt6alLYHlRUw5m_4/edit?usp=sharing)

I'm also doing some light cardio work on my off days, 3 times a week and resting completely on Saturday.

Workout Goal: I don't really have a specific goal in mind in terms of weights since I'll be cutting for quite some time and I don't know how that will affect my linear progression. Right now I just want to be able to comfortably squat parallel in 4 weeks and make sure I eat well and do my workouts every week consistently with good form.

Final Thoughts

Right now I'm really loving weights (feels so good), and I just wish I could lift everyday at 100% effort 7 days a week! Dieting feels the best it's ever been, and I'm rarely ever hungry. Hopefully I can get my BF% down to sub 15% so I can go on a lean bulk and start putting on some muscle.

Fatty pic down below :3

Food Log_0.docx

[Rebel101]

This is a great start, excellent plan. Will watch with interest.

[Spacebound]

Would properly up the protein a bit as 130g is pretty poverty especially in a kcal deficit

[Musicas]

Would properly up the protein a bit as 130g is pretty poverty especially in a kcal deficit

Hm, why is that? I got 130g off 2.2g per kg of lean mass which for me I estimated it to be around 60kg * 2.2 = 132g. I've read that eating more protein isn't detrimental but protein is more expensive than carbs

[Spacebound]

 

Would properly up the protein a bit as 130g is pretty poverty especially in a kcal deficit

Hm, why is that? I got 130g off 2.2g per kg of lean mass which for me I estimated it to be around 60kg * 2.2 = 132g. I've read that eating more protein isn't detrimental but protein is more expensive than carbs

 

 

2.2 per kg isnt hard science, but having said that there is nothing entirely conclusive relating to the exact amount of protein required. 130g just seems low and cant see another 20g or so hurting but as you said 130g is probably enough.

[Cameron_R]

Great plan and best of luck!

Will watch with interest!

[fng]

the most common recomendation for protien intake is 2g per pound of body weight for a bodybuilding/gym/weight training situation. 

which would put you at recomended dose of 260g per day.

most of the lesser recomendations are only daily maintenace levels ( 1 -1.5g per pound )

If you intend to follow a stronglift type of program you will be pushing your body well above a daily maintence level. Perhaps you should consider starting at 1.5g per pound - 195g of protien and see how you go with your lean mass. 

[Pseudonym]

I'm liking all this detail you're recording. That's a sure sign you intend to follow through. Good one!

[Musicas]

Just a quick little update.

 

4 Weeks in:

-Weight = 86kg (3kg loss)

 

Nutrition:

Still going good, I've cut down to about 1600~ kcal a day with a moderate cheat meal once a week/two weeks or so. 

Workout:

Going 4 times a week instead of 3, and I'm not feeling extra fatigued so will keep this up until I need longer recovery times. Also changed to Starting Strength over Stronglifts since I like the frequency of deadlifts on SS.

3x5 Squat - 70kg (will be increasing this 5kg per workout until 90kg~)

3x5 Bench - 60kg (+2.5kg per successful workout)

1x5 Deadlift - 110kg (+5-10~ per successful workout)

I realise my ratios are a bit off but I'm still progressing very fast so when I start stalling the ratios should look a bit more normal.

Goal Weights in the next 4-5 weeks:

3x5 Squat - 100kg

3x5 Bench - 70kg

1x5 Deadlift - 140kg

Final thoughts:

Still having fun lifting and still going strong on linear progression despite the big caloric deficit I'm on. Right now 1600 seems just right (tried 1500, too hungry). Once I reach some real stalls on my lifts, I'm thinking of taking up Lyle Macdonald's RFL program for around 8 weeks. Still logging down my macros religiously - for anyone who cares I will upload the updated log with this post.

[Pseudonym]

Still having fun lifting and still going strong on linear progression despite the big caloric deficit I'm on. Right now 1600 seems just right (tried 1500, too hungry).

Man, 1600 cals is not a lot. Where did you get that number from? That doesn't sound like you're eating enough to me.

[Musicas]

Still having fun lifting and still going strong on linear progression despite the big caloric deficit I'm on. Right now 1600 seems just right (tried 1500, too hungry).

Man, 1600 cals is not a lot. Where did you get that number from? That doesn't sound like you're eating enough to me.

I started with 1900, and was losing 0.5kg a week (did this for about 3 weeks). My goal is to lose 1kg a week and so I figured with 1900 I was burning about an excess of 500 kcal a day (to hit around 3500 a week). So to lose 1 kg a week it would have to be at 1400, which I really don't think I can do so I'm shamefully doing 1600 and hoping to hit something close to 1kg a week. I didn't drop it down right away, I went from 1900 -> 1750-1800 -> 1600-1700 -> 1500-1600~ ish. I'm not experiencing much hunger or feeling weak during workouts so I'm okay I think.

 

I also don't think I'm miscaluclating either since I measure everything with a digital kitchen scale before cooking or adding anything into my food. I've got a slow metabolism and pretty bad genetics (based off my parents and relatives), and despite not actually eating that much I've been over 90+kg for several years now (metabolic slowdown?), so to me it makes sense that I have to cut this much to lose even a little bit of fat.