Ray's fat banishment

Rayman79

OK, so I seem to have been in a deficit for most of the last 18 months so this whole cutting thing isn't exactly something different for me, but I'm going to have a bit of a push over the next 8-12 weeks after a couple of weeks of holiday... umm... maintenance .

My food goal will be to hover around 1700 net cals per day, keeping protein at 2 x body weight (in kgs), and low/moderate carbs (100-150/day)

Exercise will be 3 x Full body workouts per week, 2-3 HIIT sessions and a couple of sessions really easy on the exercise bike in front of the TV just for the calorie buffer .

I don't have my pics handy to put up yet, but here are my starting measurements.

Starting weight: 82.9kgs (no doubt that includes some post-holiday bloat)
Height: 182cm (6')
BF: I'm gonna estimate around 20% edit. USMC calculator puts it at 19% - lets go with that as a baseline.
Waist @ navel: 87cm
Thigh: 57cm
Chest: 97cm
Bicep: 31cm (37 flexed)

I was a little late putting this up so I'll have my one week update verrry soon.

Crankstr

WOOT!

Rayman79

ok so a little over a week into this now, and noticed an immediate drop in weight (as I expected coming of my extended holiday refeed :laugh: .

So I dropped from 82.9 down to 80.2 in the first couple of days, and dipped to 79.9 as of this morning. I have been a bit lower in the past but I'm also taking creatine at the moment so not sure how much extra that may be adding on the scale.

As for my measurements, ot looks like I've lost about a centimeter on my stomach and thigh from initial measurements but as theres an element of error with measuring I'm not getting at all excited about that.

I'll keep at the 1700 cals for aonther couple of weeks and see what progress happens, its easily managable for me - no real hunger most of the time. Need to up the cardio a bit too as I've been really slack with my HIIT sessions.

chrisdavey

subbing

FoxyMcDeadlift

In.

chrisdavey

Updates? :-)

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Hope your doing well--I'd imagine that on 1700 caloroes you're losing 2+ pounds per week!

Rayman79

Ok so here's the update almost a month in. I've gone a little over 1700 cals on average, but not by much. I am starting to see a little progress after my measurements this morning,

Weight as of this morning was 78.3. A loss of 1.5kgs is not brilliant, but its progress nonetheless. That's about a pound a week over the last three weeks so I reckon I'm right on track.

Most of my measurements are the same (just as a suspected I have not grown any taller and my neck has not shrunk . I have lost about 3cm around my stomach though - that's the best bit by far! 1 cm off my chest too.

So I'll keep going at this pace for a few weeks and hope I still keep up similar progress.

chrisdavey

Good stuff Ray.

Are you IFing these days?

Rayman79

Another incremental update:

Down to 77kg even on the scale this morning, and have hovered around this +/- .5kg for the last few days now.

Most of my other measurements are about the same, except the stomach which has shrunk by another couple of centimetres (now down by 5cm in circumference in the last 2 months). This confirms my suspicion that I have lost most of the body fat from everywhere else, and eventually I'd have to start losing some from the life preserver that seems permanently attached to my mid section. Also dropped about a centimeter off my chest.

Given the unfortunate work situation I'm in at the moment (forced cutback to two days a week for a while) I'll have no more excuses for skipping cardio sessions... hopefully being at home a little more I can tighten up my diet just a little more and push down to that 12-15% bf range soon.

Chris, not IF'ing at the moment. I'll have days when I'll fast til the afternoon, but just to make sure I stick overall caloric intake. Just following a basic IIFYM approach, nothing too stressful

chrisdavey

sounds like you are progressing well. Hope it's all good with the job mate.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

what's your goal weight/bf%?

Rayman79

Job situation sucks. Just signed the contract to build a new house on the Friday, and was given the news the following Tuesday. Looks I'm back on the job market, I can't live on 2 days income per week. I'm sure it'll work out, these things have a habit of opening up new opportunities

Love, not sure about either number to be honest. As I've lost all this weight I have sadly realised I'm just another skinny f[url]uck under all that blubber!:laugh: . I've tried to recomp for a while, alternating between slight deficit and surplus' for a few months, but had no progress. I've come to the conclusion that I should accept my skinnyarsedness, and get down to a reasonable level of bf before I embark on a long slow bulk.... ahh how I long for the day!

I'll judge more by the image in the mirror than anything else, I need to get rid of the (majority of the) fat around my midsection, which I think should be somewhere about 12%, I'd say I'm somewhere in the ballpark of 17-18% now... might have to post some pics for an objective assessment though.[/url]

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

pics are a great way to get an objective assessment if you can't do a dexa, body pod, or hydrostatic weighing! Depending on your height though, I'm not sure that cutting too much would be in your best interest. You're already pretty light as it is. Maybe maintenance eating, heavy lifting and patience would work wonders for you!

chrisdavey

That's pretty much what he's been doing before Love.

I think a slow cut is the best way forward. Once you are lean, it's more likely to have a better partitioning of cals to LBM compared to fat when you do want to gain. If you are still relatively high BF then that is a lot less likely.

Oh I know you are in IIFYM guy Ray, but I think a possible option would be to get a fasting blood glucose test (it's free and may as well get the whole lot done at the same time). This way you could be more specific with the macros you choose ie. insulin resistant = lower carb, insulin sensitive = higher carb.

Rayman79

Thanks guys, I have been thinking about getting a dexa done, but they're not cheap here and that is suddenly a real concern for me :grumble: .

I am planning to book into see my GP for a routing checkup though, just to get my bloodwork done, blood pressure etc. I'll ask for a glucose test as a part of that.

I'll take some updated pics and post them - as much as I still really don't want them in public...

chrisdavey

I don't think anyone is judgemental on this site Ray Well not in this group anyway.

No need for dexa. Tape measure and mirror will do the job.

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

That's pretty much what he's been doing before Love.

I think a slow cut is the best way forward. Once you are lean, it's more likely to have a better partitioning of cals to LBM compared to fat when you do want to gain. If you are still relatively high BF then that is a lot less likely.

Oh I know you are in IIFYM guy Ray, but I think a possible option would be to get a fasting blood glucose test (it's free and may as well get the whole lot done at the same time). This way you could be more specific with the macros you choose ie. insulin resistant = lower carb, insulin sensitive = higher carb.

Well, there you have it! listen to Chris..he's awesome!

chrisdavey

Well, there you have it! listen to Chris..he's awesome!

:blushing:

I just realised my head looks just as red in my profile pic as that smilie haha

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

Well, there you have it! listen to Chris..he's awesome!

:blushing:

I just realised my head looks just as red in my profile pic as that smilie haha

lol.

Rayman79

OK I'm checking back in here.

Not technically part of a cutting 'challenge' but I've re-jigged my eating and training a little and want to track my progress here unless anyone has any objections.

I want to be a little more strict with myself on tracking my intake so I'm hoping keeping regular logs here will help. I record everything but what I haven't been great at is analysing my progress against my actions (and making the appropriate corrections).

Major changes:

Training - switched to 5/3/1 (4 days per week) training at midday on most days (fasted).

Cal intake - sitting at a 700-800 cal deficit each day, with 1-2 re-feed days per week. This allows me to lower my intake on weekdays when my day is more structured, and refeed on the weekends (or other social occasions etc). I know it's not optimal to have refeeds on non-training days, but this is assisting with adherence and so far I'm still coming out with around 1900 net cals per day on average which seems about right.

I'm also back on IF which is helping me manage my intake on lower cal days and also helps with keeping a better split of macros.

Cardio - bugger all. I'm making an effort to increase my NEAT activity, and I'll chuck in a tabata workout or something quick when I have time, but life is stupid crazy busy right now so I'll focus on time efficient activities for now.

So...

Week of 29/4/13
Starting weight: 77.5kg
End weight: 77.1kg
Cal intake: 13,278 (ave 1896 per day)
Macro split (%): 37C: 30P: 33F

chrisdavey

Sounds like a good plan Ray

I always keep a log of some sort. It's great to go back and check old stuff.

Rayman79

Time for the weekly update:

Week of 6/5/13
Starting weight: 77.1kg
End weight: 75.9kg
Cal intake: 11,800 (ave 1685 per day net)
Macro split (%): 42C: 31P: 27F

Had a more sedentary week than I would hae liked. Work has been crazy busy, as has life in general - and the workouts have suffered. I know that's not the right answer, and I hate that I've skipped a few days this week, but that's the reality.

Decent loss on the scale this week (1.2kgs), but some of that will be the water loss after a couple of days off of lifting. Still pleased with the net result - and enjoyed my mothers day refeed .

I'll post up some pics soon. I was given a talking to because apparently I'm getting to skinny (go figure when I still have a spare tyre...) but I'm not a great fan of the pigeon chested skinny *kitten* with a gut I am in my current state.

I am hoping that as I cut down a little more some small amount of definition will start to poke through and she will understand the process. At this point I am REALLLLY keen to finally shift the last of this fat and start the work to look like a real man :laugh:

Rayman79

Week of 13/5/13
Starting weight: 75.9kg
End weight: 76.2kg
Cal intake: 13,000 (ave 1857 per day net)
Macro split (%): 42C: 28P: 30F

Not feeling on point this week. Macros have slipped a little so I'll need to work on pulling them back in line. Need to focus on making time to fit in more exercise. A couple of long walks and plenty of time packing up the house etc has helped boost my NEAT a little this week though.

Was not expecting a loss this week, typically it'll be another week or two before I see another significant movement after a big loss last week. Goal for the week: 4 Weight sessions, one HIIT session, and 2 hrs of walking (plus moving house on the weekend).

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

You are doing a great job. How long are your weight sessions? What do you do for HIIT?

chrisdavey

how are the measurements going Ray?

I'd still think you'd be in a deficit at those cals.

Rayman79

Definitely still in a deficit Chris. I've never been at this weight as an adult, and I'm staring to get the idea that my body is resisting losing that last ~5kgs of fat so I'm hoping that regular re-feeds will help with that.

I'll get the measuring tape and camera out again soon for an update on those.

Love, my sessions are usually pretty quick, one main lift and 2-3 accessory lifts per session (pretty similar layout to Wendler's Triumvirate template). I play indoor soccer once a week and I consider that my HIIT workout at the moment. I'm trying to throw in a couple of tabata sessions if I have the time too - I did one with alternating burpees and mountain climbers yesterday - I'm not as fit as I was when I was a cardio bunny! :laugh: