Progress (lower Cals or Maintain)

tempest501

For Ref I am 5ft 8in and currently 170 Pounds (a bit heavier right now as been on vacation for a week)

Hi Guys,

I am now officially on my next 6 week program and I am doing the Full body workout as you guys advised from this post

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/945075-some-advice-am-i-going-about-this-the-right-way

Just did my first session and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Love how your all over the gym doing stuff.

I wondered If I could ask for some more advice though (sorry). Do you think I should go back to the 1640 diet cals + excercise now I have had a few weeks off (Currently at 1800 + Excercise). I am still at diet cals i guess but not what MFP recommends. I am going on Holiday in Jul and I am wondering if I should be trying to cut down or try stay at 1800 and hopefully build a bit of muscle and lose some fat with the Intermittent fasting.

Thank you in advance for your advice. Wish I joined this group this time last year as you guys give sound advice.

Moderator note: edited to fix link.

The other moderator note: edited to actually fix link ;-P

SideSteel

Tagging.

Sarauk2sf

What has you weight been doing since you started? If you could give it in weekly increments should you have it, that would be useful. Also, could you open your diary.

It looks from your ticker that you are just looking to lose a few pounds. If that correct?

tempest501

I was dieting for about 8 months at 1640 cals but it was starting to wear me down a little so decided to start working toward maint cals. I was increasing at roughly 50 cals a week sometimes i would wait 2 week to increase. I am now eating at 1800 cals so I am still in a deficit but is driving me less crazy. My weight more or less stayed the same maybe added 2 pounds but measurements and caliper readings stayed the same. I think my weight is stablish I think but I worry that my metabolism maybe be a bit messed up since I stopped losing and am maintaining even though in a deficit.

To be honest I am not that worried about losing to much more weight I just want to build myself up and reduce bodyfat. Before I started all this (about this time last year) my goal was to start looking good and buff up a bit rather than just look slim so I guess with being a year in getting a little frustrated.

Not sure if i should dump my cals down to 1640 till July or trying stick at 1800 or even up again and try build some muscle and try make the most of the full body program people suggested.

Going to try figure out how to open diary now. (it is a bit sparse last month or so as been on holds and away which is why put on a lil weight I think)

SideSteel

I think you should keep your intake exactly as you have it for two more weeks and make an effort to log and track accurately. Weigh and measure everything and make sure it's accurate.

We would like to get an accurate set of information first. (We can't conclude much based on the past couple of weeks since you've got several unlogged days).

Feel free to bump this thread at the two week mark with an update.

tempest501

I think you should keep your intake exactly as you have it for two more weeks and make an effort to log and track accurately. Weigh and measure everything and make sure it's accurate.

We would like to get an accurate set of information first. (We can't conclude much based on the past couple of weeks since you've got several unlogged days).

Feel free to bump this thread at the two week mark with an update.

Ok will do, I am normally really good but as we were on away alot was really hard to track things. I will be eating more or less same as I was before the gaps appear in my diary but I will bump the thread in two weeks like you say.

Sarauk2sf

Locking to try to help track open threads. Please PM either myself or SideSteel to unlock when you are ready to give us an update or earlier if want to add anything or have questions. Please link this thread in the PM.

Sarauk2sf

Unlocked at OPs request.

tempest501

Hi guys,

So bumping the thread as the two weeks solid logging is done as requested, for a bit of info my weight has gone back down to 170 pounds as well.

Sarauk2sf

Hi! Has your weight remained static (ignoring daily fluctuations) over the 2 week period?

tempest501

Hi! Has your weight remained static (ignoring daily fluctuations) over the 2 week period?

I have lost 4 pounds which was the weight i put on from the holiday i came back from 2 weeks ago. But i guess its normal to lose the any weight you gain sporatically?

tempest501

Sorry i meant to add that i am at 170 pounds again now.

Sarauk2sf

Hi! Couple of questions

You note in the prior post (linked) that you were taking creatine. Have you cycled on/off it at any stage in the last 4 weeks?

Also, did you do any lifting while on vacation?

tempest501

Hi! Couple of questions

You note in the prior post (linked) that you were taking creatine. Have you cycled on/off it at any stage in the last 4 weeks?

Also, did you do any lifting while on vacation?

While I was off I was not lifting ( I try to take a week off from weight every 6-8 weeks as someone at my gym advised me to do this although i do question it sometimes as I hate that week, I am thinking of ignoring it now tbh). I was taking creatine before my holiday and was going to start it again when i started the new program you guys suggested but it did not come through in time. I noticed that I didnt lose any reps or strength and in fact I have been increasing over this two weeks so I am unsure whether I need to start using creatine again. What do you think? This monday will be 3 weeks since i stopped taking the creatine I believe .

SideSteel

Hey!

Sorry for the delay.

There's a few confounding factors going on right now that we'd like to get a better clue on. First of all, you had a stretch of time where you were not tracking, followed by a vacation and you also stopped creatine which can cause changes in water weight.

So while it would appear that you are stuck at 170, we'd like you to keep tracking intake accurately, do not go back on creatine (unless you want a juicy phat *kitten* like Sara*), and leave your calorie intake the same.

Please follow up with us on 5/19 and 5/26 so we can watch this for two more weeks and see what happens. At that point, if you're still stuck we will look into an intake or activity change to attempt to drive more progress.









* When Sara walks into a room, 90's rap music starts playing.

tempest501

Will do, appreciate the help. I will keep tracking proberly.

Sarauk2sf

Locking so we can keep track of active threads. If you wish for the thread to be unlocked so you can give is an update in a couple of weeks so we can advise accordingly, please feel free to PM either myself or SideSteel, including a link to this thread and we will unlock it so you can. Also, feel free to ask to unlock for any other reason also.

tempest501

Hi Guys reporting in =D

So it seems that I have lost 1 pound this week although it seem to come back on today but that maybe because of falling of the wagon with a Dominos Pizza yesterday (my wife turned up with it and I could not resist lol). I weigh myself on Friday since doing this with you guys and on Fri I was 169 Pounds.

Strength at the gym still seems to be improving which is nice, hope I can start to see some growth at some point lol.

I will log religously again and report in next week like you said.

P.S I filled in todays diary without what I have planned for food.

tempest501

Hi guys,

So i filled my diary in for today with what I am planning to eat. I have am doing a 19 hour fast so might not get all that in but I make sure i will make sure i get the protein in if nothing else.

I lost 1 pound this week so I i am sitting at 168 pounds now. Thought I would add a few more things as I have reached the end of my first full body work routine so I am taking a week of the weight next week and then starting again and upping the weight as suggest in a post from bodybuilding.com from the program you guys suggested. I will prob still go to the gym or do some insanity workouts at home for cardio still.

As far as progress over this period I seemed to have lost all the weight I gained from my time away. My strength has def increased with the increasing the rep once a week (started at 8 reps and ended at 12 apart from on legs as per the program). The one thing I will say though is I was a bit disapointed with my pictures when I compared to when I start this 5 week program because I think I look the same but the my measurements have changed a little. My chest has gained 2 inches arms and forearms 0.5 inchs but the most worrying thing is gained an inch on my waist allthough you would not notice to look at me (could this be because i have been working abs every session?). I will say though allthough the pictures did not say much I feel as though I can see a difference when just looking in the mirror etc

Sorry for babbling on.

Sarauk2sf

Could I ask why you are doing a fast? I have no issues with IF btw, just wondering what protocol you are following.

tempest501

HI,

I have been following Leangains style fasting for about 8 Months. It has really helped me lose weight and I like the other health benefits too.My normal routine is 16 hours but on weekends i sometimes push it a little further in the hope to burn more fat.

I was also hoping by doing this will help me get bulk without getting fatter. The other reason was when i was on a really lower cal intake i just found the small meals throughout the day made me miserable as i never felt full but with the fasting i could have two largish meals.