A Fat-Loss Journal

[Dilettante]

Heya!

So, straight to it then.

Current Stats: (as on 29/05/10)

Age: 25

Max Heart Rate (MHR): ~195bpm

Height: 181cm (5ft 11in)

Current Body Weight: 113.5kgs (250lbs)

Body Fat %: 37.5% (approximate reading on a Tanita Weighing Scale)

Body Fat Mass: ~ 42.5kgs

Lean Body Mass: ~ 70kgs

Medium Body Frame

Chest: 106cm

Arms: 35.5cm

Waist: 118cm

Hip: 115cm

Thigh: 66cm

Calves: 42cm

Target Stats: (by 30/09/10)

Target Body Weight: ~84kgs (185lbs)

Target Body Fat %: ~20%

Target Body Fat Mass: ~17kg

Target Lean Body Mass: ~65kg (I think some lean body mass loss is inevitable. I hope I can keep it to within 5kg.)

Target Waist: < 100cm

Target Hip: < 100cm

Daily Nutrition/Exercise:

5.30 A.M. - Fasted Cardio

750 mg Micronized Glutamine

I do LISS cardio for 45mins progressing from 75% to 85% MHR (146 to 166bpm). I hope to continue for two more weeks and hit 166bpm for the entire 45 minute duration, at which point I'll switch to 30 minutes of HIIT. I use an elliptical machine and burn around 500 calories if the machine is to be trusted.

7.00 A.M. - Meal 1

750 mg Micronized Glutamine

40g Oats + 1/2 cup lite Milk

30g Whey Protein Shake with Water

1 cup of Green Tea

Banana

~ 370cals: 35g Protein 74g Carb 6g Fat

11.30 A.M. - Meal 2 (Pre-Workout)

750 mg Micronized Glutamine

185g Tuna in Olive Oil and Garlic

6 Multigrain Crackers

Green Apple

~ 500cals: 40g Protein 60g Carb 11g Fat

1.00 P.M. - Resistance Training

I'm using a 4-day a week schedule with consecutive upper and lower body workouts followed by a day's rest.

Day 1: low-rep upper body

Day 2: high-rep lower body

Day 3: rest

Day 4: high-rep upper body

Day 5: low-rep lower body

Weekends off

I use body weight exercises and free-weights wherever possible as I exercise from home where I have bench and a 100kg weight stack.

2.30 P.M. - Meal 3 (Post-Workout)

750 mg Micronized Glutamine

62.5g Wholegrain Brown Rice

150g Boiled Broccoli, Beans and Carrots

180g Steamed Fish Fillet

125g Cottage Cheese

1 cup of Green Tea

~ 450cals: 44g Protein 40g Carb 12g Fat

5.30 P.M. - Meal 4

100g Shredded Chicken Breast

150g Broccoli, Beans and Carrots

10g Almonds

~ 270cals: 32g Protein 15g Carb 8g Fat

8.30 P.M. - Meal 5

750 mg Micronized Glutamine

10g Walnuts

30g Whey Protein Shake with Water

1 cup of Green Tea

~ 185cals: 26g Protein 4g Carb 8g Fat

Daily Intake:

~ 180g Protein (around 1g per pound of Target Body Weight)

~ 180g Carb (Wholegrains where possible and fruits for simple carb around the workout)

~ 45g Fat (Foods with MCTs and EFAs where possible)

~ 1850 calories in total at a 40:40:20 calorie ratio.

My apologies for the wall of text and my thanks if you made it this far. Please feel free to criticize, comment, offer advice etc.

[teamfatboy]

Solid looking programme, looks like the author does know what they're doing, which is not all that common.

As for trusting the cals output on cardio equipment - is that in a gym, or at home. If it's in a gym, there can be significant variations between examples of exactly the same make and model of equipment (which wouldn't be a problem if it's at home). The way most cardio equipment works is calculating calories as a function of time/energy - so, if you move the pedals X distance in Y time at Z resistance, it calculates calories burned. Vagaries in calibration can affect that a lot.

HR Monitors, on the other hand, use different techniques based on your stats (age/weight/efficiency - VO2 max). If you're at a gym, or if you look at other cardio, a HR monitor can give you accuracy and consistency of your calorie burn.

It's good that you're switching to HIIT once you feel up to it - LISS is fine, but not as effective for establishing post-WO raise in metabolic rate.

For your intensity, have you considered using 'Rate of Perceived Exertion' as a second gauge of progress. You will likely make substantial gains in CV fitness, and so RPE can be a useful tool - google BORG or RPE and you'll get an idea.

Finally, hope you're keeping your own journal, even if you don't post on here. Maintaining an idea of how your strength is going is also important - and a journal can help by allowing you to say "OK, I've done eg bench press at 3 sets of 12 reps at N kilos, lets add 2.5 to the last set"... that's how programmes like 5x5 get results.

Good luck

[Dilettante]

Heya!

Solid looking programme, looks like the author does know what they're doing, which is not all that common.

Thanks for the compliment .

As for trusting the cals output on cardio equipment - .....

I exercise on an elliptical at home that was meant for home use. I have noticed that the formula you put forth seems to apply as far as calorie calculation goes, as increasing the resistance automatically increases the calories burnt by the appropriate factor regardless of the heart rate maintained throughout the workout. I will take your advice on purchasing a HRM, but perhaps after a few weeks, as I'm currently skint after spending the better part of my savings on said elliptical and other equipment.

For your intensity, have you considered using 'Rate of Perceived Exertion'.....

I had read about the BORG scale as a means of judging intensity during HIIT. I felt that I needed to go by heart rate for at least a short while in the beginning as I'm completely new to any form of intense cardio workout. Thus, I felt any exertion over my regular level of exercise would result in me overestimating the factor on a 'perceived' scale. I figured I would start off with target heart rate zones and when I have enough of a feel for a range of degrees of exertion, I would defer to a scale of perception. I think the scale becomes rather important in later stages (at higher intensities with smaller rest intervals) when I think there will be a lag between the change in actual heart rate and the monitor picking up on it. Have you noticed this in your experience with HIIT?

Finally, hope you're keeping your own journal, even if you don't post on here.....

I read your journal and am inspired to post as often as I can. I do keep excel spreadsheets for nutritional intake and body measurements, and I will take up your suggestion and start one for specific exercises and the sets/reps/weights involved. Thanks again for your advice and I hope your journey of over two years is still paying ample dividends.

[ParnellPanther]

This is one journal i will be very keen on keeping up to date with, should be able to learn abit from reading this.

great!

[Dilettante]

Heya!

Thanks for your interest. I hope it benefits you at least as much as it does me.

[Dilettante]

Heya,

I've decided to post a before picture taken a week ago to document this experiment graphically as well. Please be warned that the image will be graphic in its portrayal of my fat mass and those with an aversion to such are better off not looking at it. I'll try and post a new image every week.

Thanks.

[monsoonn]

wowowow....... getting up at 530 for a run>?? thats dedication.... what time you sleep??

[Dilettante]

Heya!

I go to bed around 10 to 10.30 on weekdays.

[Dilettante]

Week 1:

Measurements Today:

Weight: 110.6Kg (-2.9Kg)

Body Fat%: 36.5%

Fat Mass: 40.4Kg (-2.1Kg)

LBM: 70.2Kg (+0.2Kg)

Hmm. The numbers don't add up, but that's probably because the BF% reading from my scale is inaccurate.

The Work:

Daily Cardio: 60 mins (Avg HR was at around 158bpm ~ 80% Max HR)

(Weights quoted are per Dumbbell where applicable)

Monday

Dumbbell Hammer Curls

8 x 10Kg, 12.5Kg, 15Kg

Dumbbell Kickbacks

8 x 7.5Kg, 10Kg, 12.5Kg

Lateral Raises

8 x 7.5Kg, 10Kg, 10Kg

Dumbbell Bench Press

8 x 10Kg, 12.5Kg, 15Kg

Lying Row

8 x 7.5Kg, 12.5Kg, 12.5Kg

Shoulder Press

8 x 5Kg, 7.5Kg, 10Kg

My arm was shaking like a leaf through the last sets of most exercises. I tried to keep my form and control my motion for as long as I could.

Tuesday

Barbell Front Squat

15, 12, 10 x 25Kg

Barbell Romanian Lift

15 , 12, 10 x 25Kg

Rear Lunges (ouch )

15, 12, 10 x (Just the bar)

Lying Leg Curls

15, 12, 10 x 25Kg

Burpees

10, 8, 6 ... at this point I just lay on the floor for a long while.

Wednesday

Everything hurt...

Thursday

Dumbbell Hammer Curls

15, 12, 10 x 10Kg

Dumbbell Kickbacks

15, 12, 10 x 7.5Kg

Lateral Raises

15, 12, 10 x 10Kg

Dumbbell Bench Press

15, 12, 10 x 10Kg

Lying Row

15, 12, 10 x 10Kg

Shoulder Press

15, 12, 10 x 5Kg

Today

Caught a cold. Did moderate cardio in the morning, but was exhausted after about 30 minutes. Taking the day off. Will do low-rep Lower Body tomorrow or sunday if I can get rid of the bug.

Is it better to focus on all three sets of a particular exercise before moving on to the next or to do three circuits?

[Dilettante]

Monthly Update

Weight: 105.7 (-7.8 Kg for the first month)

Body Fat%: 34.1%

Fat Mass: 36.04 Kg (~ -6.46 Kg)

LBM: ~ 69.66 Kg

The Work:

Daily Cardio: I'm finally able to do around 60 minutes every morning, 50 minutes of which are at around 85% MHR. I'm starting HIIT tomorrow. 15 intervals with a 30s/60s split and a 5 minute warm-up and cooldown.

Weights:

Changed to a milder workout as I couldn't keep up 4 days a week with the routine I had at the beginning. I now do 4 sets of the following exercises, 3 days a week (2 warm up sets and 2 work sets, with 30 sec break between sets and a minute between exercises).

Calf Raises

Assisted Pull-Ups

Sumo Squats

Bench Presses

Bent-Over Rows

Overhead Barbell Presses

Deadlifts

Barbell Curls

I lost a week and a half of training in June due to work commitments. I hope the weight loss doesn't plateau too abruptly. Till the end of July then.

[rimma]

Good fat loss so far dude. Seeing any visible difference? Keep it up, not too fast, slow and steady wins the race