Not stopping for anything but Lean - Progress Tracking & Accountability

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joshuak30
joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey everybody, I'm starting this thread to track my progress on my journey to Lean. Feel free to jump in and follow along, comments, suggestions, critiques welcome.

My stats on February 18, 2017:

5'10", 172 pounds.

Bodyfat percentage in the neighborhood of 20%, though that's pretty much a guess based on the visual guides, like BuiltLean.

Short term goal:

160 pounds by June 1st. Along with that, significantly improve cycling performance by training for my first organized ride, a Century! I am a month into cutting on the 16/8 IF protocol, and enjoying it immensly. The sense of control I get from denying hunger pangs is oddly intoxicating. Plus I love eating big meals.

Once I reach 160, I will maintain for a short time, maybe a month, just to learn how to not cut again. It's always been hard for me to transition without just going back to overeating. That will be early in Colorado's cycling season, so lots of potential for huge calorie burns.

Mid term goal:

Recomp or very slow bulk through the summer, hopefully not gaining more than 5 pounds or so through October. Mainly focusing on improving cycling performance and lifting heavy a few days a week to maintain upper body muscle.

After that, slow bulk up to 175, taking advantage of changing seasons and the Holiday foods to lift super heavy! Hopefully finish with the bulk by the end of February.

Long term goal:

165 pounds by June 2018, and 10% bodyfat. This is what I've really been dreaming about!

Yes, I expect it to take a year, and yes, I expect to have my plans rearranged more than once or twice against my will. But that's why I'm starting this thread; I know with some accountability and the motivation of knowing others are watching, I expect to reach my goals.

I plan to update at least once a week with progress, and comment more frequently if I have something fun to say. Feel free to join in and tell me about your goals!

Replies

  • AverageJoeFit
    AverageJoeFit Posts: 251 Member
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    It is a pretty solid plan. I also see that you will have to adapt your plan if necessary. Just FYI Recomp is a super slow process and 10% by June next year might not happen.

    Don't get discouraged though and be steadfast. You can do it :smiley:
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
    edited February 2017
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    Thanks, I see I actually didn't explain that I was going to cut again in Spring 2018. Not going to attempt a recomp all the way to 10%, I'm not sure I could stick to anything that long without seeing noticeable progress! The recomp/slow bulk will be just during the cycling season.
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
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    80lvw7nxsf38.jpg
    2rrrahzny6k3.jpg

    First progress pictures! I'll have my wife take better ones as I go, but I felt like I needed to just get these up.
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
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    Friday Feb 24 update!

    It's been a mostly good week. Monday I rode 33 miles because I had Presidents Day off work, and that felt fantastic. Could have easily done 50+. Tuesday I biked to work, so got another 20 miles in. The morning commute was really tough, both because I was a bit tired from Monday, and because of a stupid headwind...the evening commute was fast and easy.

    Somehow I hurt my foot on Monday or Tuesday, and it got pretty bad by Wednesday. It's improving now, though, so I have no concerns.

    Weighed in at 170.8 this morning. Definitely feeling thinner, my pants are more comfortable and I feel a bit less "bloated" when I look at myself in the mirror.

    Next thing I need to do is cancel my existing gym membership and start up at the new one that jut opened up by my house...with two infants in the house, I don't have much time to lift. Gotta make the most of it!
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
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    March 6th update. Weighed in at 169 to end last week.

    Getting back into weights last week was great. The new gym is super nice, and big, so I don't have to waste time waiting on he equipment anymore. That's a big bonus for me now.

    Logged a 53-mile bike ride on Saturday, and it felt pretty good. I'm not as strong as I was last Fall, but my conditioning might be a bit better. Oh well, the strength will return.

    With a big ride on Saturday I ate whatever I wanted for dinner that day. It's likely I ate close to maintenance level, but I doubt I went over. It's hard to eat more than 2500 calories in one hour. Sunday was okay, I may have eaten close to maintenance again. Not over, though.

    On to another week of leaning out!
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Looks like you're making progress, great work and awesome job sticking with it!
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
    edited March 2017
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    Thanks!

    I'm having a hard time making myself actually take progress pictures. I feel like I'm not noticeably different than 2-3 weeks ago, so I feel like a picture isn't worth it...but I've often heard the mirror isn't where you notice fat loss in the short term anyway. Anyone else have that experience? Am I going to kick myself later on for not having pictures of the "during"?
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
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    167.2 on Saturday, March 18! I've been increasing my activity levels over the past 2-3 weeks, so the weight hasn't dropped consistently at all. But, I know what I'm doing works, and the scale will reflect progress eventually.
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
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    Today I reached a huge milestone!!

    Weighed in at 164.8 lbs. Waist (at navel) 34".

    This is the lightest I've been since high school, and very likely the leanest of my whole life! I was getting a bit discouraged due to my weight not dropping as fast as expected over the past 3 weeks or so, and then seeing a big change this morning, literally a pound overnight, was just what I needed.

    The final push to 160 is on!
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
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    Looks like I haven't checked in for over a month. Woops!

    I've made great progress in the past 6 weeks. Very near my goal of 160 lbs, as well as reaching new fitness milestones almost weekly. Latest weigh-in has me at 160.5 lbs, and I've been "reverse dieting" up for about two weeks now. I should reach my goal in a week or so.

    What's been really exciting is realizing I actually look and feel much leaner. Today I tightened a belt I've had since grade school down to the last notch, something I haven't been able to do in literally 10 years. Such a great feeling!!

    Last Saturday I completed an 80-mile ride, and at a good pace. It felt incredible to be able to do that, and I'm confident my performance will only continue to improve as I increase my calories and can train at maintenance or even a slight surplus.

    This summer should be great. Lots of cycling, lots of fresh air, lots of calories from all that cardio. My plan is to maintain or gain a little over the summer, ideally nothing more than a few pounds of lean mass. We'll see how I'm feeling come Fall, but I'd like to start a slow bulk in September or October, up my strength training a lot as my cycling decreases, and continue that until January.
  • digger95
    digger95 Posts: 1 Member
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    Good log/story Joshua. Next update please. Also how are you tracking the calories burned from each ride? Is it accurate?
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
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    Yikes it has been too long since I checked back in.

    Very short version of the summer: I nailed my goal of 160 right around the first weekend of June, did the 100-mile bike ride I was hoping to do (twice, actually) and then spent the next three months more loosely logging calories. As of last week I was at 163, so gained back a little.

    The unfortunate thing is I stopped weightlifting, primarily due to the time requirements of taking care of my now 7 month old twins. I was able to keep cycling a lot, mostly biking to work daily. Added about 1200 miles since the end of May. But the lack of weights means I didn't gain lean mass, and may have lost some on my upper body. Oh well! Once I have time to work out again it will come back.

    As far as calorie tracking, I have found the calorie burns from my cycling app (I use Strava to track all rides) to be fairly accurate. It's lower than the MFP numbers, which have always been on the high side for me, especially for the higher intensity exercises. What I do is have Strava connect to MFP, so those numbers are the ones I see in MFP. It works out well.

    My short term goals are to reduce cycling enough to lift weights 2-3 times a week, go back to cutting slightly to get back to the bodyfat level I had in June, then transition to a bulk during the winter months when I can lift weights a lot more and cycling is harder to do.

    This is the best shape I've been in, and for longer, than any time in my life previously. Progress!

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