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Fattonz wrote: »

May 2015 208lbs - Feb 2016 152lbs, 41 years old:

Fattonz wrote: »

May 2015 208lbs - Feb 2016 152lbs, 41 years old:

Fattonz wrote: »

Hi, and thanks for the comments. For breakfast I normally eat 1 cup of egg whites, 1/2 or even 1 cup of oats, and one cup of frozen fruit mixed into the oats and sweetened with stevia. Sometimes I top the oats with a tablespoon of peanut butter. I currently eat around 3000 calories a day, but stuck to 2000-2400 through most of my weight loss. I eat five meals a day and those meals that I have prepared in the pictures can be breakfast, lunch, snack, or supper....whatever is convenient. I eat pretty clean now, but during the first six months of my journey I indulged in moderation as I desired.

I am going to be lazy and copy and paste this advice that I recently wrote to someone in a PM when they asked about my nutrition and exercise routines:




"I don't really follow any particular meal plan, but I count calories and macro nutrients. I eat five meals per day. I eat in around 3000 calories a day at the moment, and target a 45/35/20 macro ratio (45% of daily calories from Carb/35% from protein/20% from fat). I eat very clean 95% of the time. Protein choices are egg, egg whites, chicken, lean pork, lean beef, fish, canned tuna or salmon, vegetarian protein sources and whey isolate. Complex carb choices are usually oats, sweet potato, potato, rice, quinoa, pasta and 100% whole wheat bread. Simple carbs....fruit or veg.

To track progress I take measurements and use the scale. Once a week I weigh in, as well as measure circumference of chest, waist, bicep, and thigh. I also measure body fat % once a week using skin fold caliper and a three site measuring method (pec, ab, thigh). In my opinion this is the only reliable means of gauging progress as far as fat loss and lean muscle gains. I can then adjust my calorie intake accordingly.

For exercise I use the following five day split:

- day 1. Legs/abs

- day 2. Chest

- day 3. Back/abs

- day 4. Rest

- day 5. Shoulders/abs

- day 6. Arms

- day 7. Rest



I don't care what day of the week any particular muscle group falls on or when the cycle starts. I have certain rules like not working out on a first day shift, although if I feel like it I will. So in other words I just loosely follow the 5 day split in and around my working days/ days off. Sometimes it may take me 9 days instead of 7 to complete the 5 day split but I just keep cycling through it, week after week, and that way, over time I hit the entire body evenly. Sometimes your work might keep you out of the gym a few days, but no big deal, just pick back up where you left off whenever life allows. I like the five day split because yes it does mean more trips to the gym during the week vs a three or four day split, but it results in less volume per day. So that means if I'm not doing cardio, most days I can be in and out of the gym in under 40 minutes.

I have a huge list of exercises that I like for each muscle. On any given day I will usually select 4 exercises for the muscle. Then I'll do four sets of each exercise for a total of 16 sets. Always tons of intensity, and always train to or past failure. I keep all my sets in the 8-12 rep range for upper body and 16-20 rep range for legs. The last rep should feel like you're trying to lift a truck. If I can do 14 reps I'll select a heavier weight and conversely, if I can only do say 5 reps, I pick a lighter weight to get me back into that failure within 8-12 reps range. Sometimes at the end of the last set I'll immediately drop the weight and pump out those last few reps until the muscle is so utterly shocked I can literally lift no more. For example on dumbbell biceps curls I will sometimes keep dropping the weight, no rest in between, just keep grabbing smaller weights all the way down until I can't even complete one rep with a 10lb dumbell....lol. I like supersetting, say biceps with triceps, or calves with quads, etc.... Oh, and I am big on proper form, slow and controlled, full extension, full hard contraction, always slow so you get the negative part of the movement with max time under tension... Also, change up your exercises from week to week to keep your muscles guessing and to help keep things interesting and not grow stagnant and boring.

There are two guys I really like on Youtube who seem to cut through all the fitness myths and misconceptions. They are both natural, no roids....and old school. One guy is Jeff Cavaliere with Athlean-X and the other guy is named simply Scooby. Check them out, they advocate good stuff IMHO.

Don't feel like you need to be tied down to a precise schedule. Stay flexible and keep an open mind and you should be able to find something that works for you."