Alright, well I started around 3/28 or so, and counted my starting weight on 4/1 at 186lb (it was actualy a pound lower the day before).
now after a month here I am. 179lb, 17%bf according to HealthCentral.
I've been eating clean foods - no junk, mostly raw fruit and veggies. I've also had a bowl or two of Kashi every day.

I am PRETTY sure I've had slower results then I can due to UNDER eating. On the days that I do measure my cals - I'm around 1300 or so, I find it VERY hard to eat more. I've been forcing myself to the past few days and it looks like I'm losing fat faster. I'm not sure why this might be, I should be losing fat and muscle, but am not.

in any event, I'm going to try posting to this thread once a day for the next month and see if I can't show some more results.
here are my pics, left is from 4/3, right is 5/1. I know they're really really bad pics, I only have a camera phone.

I'm off to go do my friday routine (HST), I missed it yesterday b/c I had to move a bed!

Food:
10 am: 2 cups of Kashi GoLean Crunch
10 am: 1 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk
2:20pm: 1 cump cubed canteloupe
2:20pm: 1 cup Pineapple juice
4:00pm: 2 pieces whole wheat toast with soy garden spread.
8:00pm: 1 family order of Pizza Hut Bread Sticks.

Exercise:
(last day of 10 rep HST)
1pm-2pm:
Squats 1x10 @ 85lbs
Good Mornings 1x10 @ 60lbs
Incline Bench 1x10/1x9 @ 25lbs
Asst. Dips 1x10 @ -90
Asst. Pull ups 2x10 @ -100
Rows 1x10 @ 6 (not sure what that is in lbs)
Shrugs 1x10 @ 50lbs
Behind neck press 1x10 @ 20lbs
Lateral Raise 1x10 @ 10lbs
Elbow out row 1x10 @ 10lbs
Db Curl 2x10 @ 10lbs
Tri Pulldown 2x10 @ 5
Calf Raises 2x10 @ 125lbs
Incline Situps 2x10

Elipitical - one minute intervals: 5,7,9,6,9,6,10,7,10,1,1

I talked to the first person ever at the gym (its only been a month -HA), he was doing pushups on medicine balls, nuts.

Your diet needs A LOT of work!!! :D

:eat: EAT!!!

1300 cals is not nearly enough for someone at 179lbs. What are your macronutrients like?

Your diet needs A LOT of work!!! :D

I know... thats one of the reasons I'm posting it here.
;)

now, last night I had my first cheat meal in over a month - bread sticks...
they weren't very good, made me feel like hot garbage, and brought my weight up (sodium I'm sure).
bah, screw that!

Weight: 180.5

Food:
10:00am 1/4 cup almonds
12:00pm 4oz Carrot/Celery mix
1:00pm 53g Kashi GoLean Crunch
1:00pm 1/2 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk
1:30pm 8oz Mixed fruit
3:30pm 8oz almond milk
3:30pm 2/3rd cups of mixed veggie protein powder
3:30pm 4oz pineapple juice
4:30pm 1/2 red bell pepper
5:00pm 100g Kashi GoLean Crunch
5:00pm 1 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk
6:00pm 4oz Mixed Fruit
8:00pm 1 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk
8:00pm 1 banana
8:00pm 1/4cup soy protein powder (all three mixed together)

I'll plug all this into fitday tomorrow if I have time at work (doubt it), but I'm estimating what? 1850 or so?

Weight: 179.5

Food:
8:00am 53g Kashi GoLean Crunch
8:00am 3/4cup Silk Very Vanilla
10:30am 1/4 cup pistachios
11:00am 1/4 cup pistachios
12:30pm 1 Pint Plain Lo Mein
12:30pm 1/2 packet of soy sauce
7:00pm 2 Tbls Natty PB (190 cals)
7:00pm 2 slices Oatmeal bread (180 cals)
7:00pm 1 Tbls Rasberry Jam (30 cals)
8:00pm 1oz Granola (110 cals)

Exercise:
First day of 5 rep HST
Squats 1x5 @ 75lbs
Good Mornings 1x5 @ 65lbs
Incline Bench 2x5 @ 22.5lbs
Asst. Dips 1x5 @ -80
Asst. Pull ups 1x5 @ -80 / 1x5 @ -100
Rows 1x5 @ 6
Shrugs 1x5 @ 45lbs
Behind neck press 1x5 @ 30lbs
Lateral Raise 1x5 @ 10lbs
Elbow out row 1x5 @ 10lbs
Db Curl 2x5 @ 10lbs
Tri Pulldown 2x5 @ 5
Calf Raises 2x5 @ 100lbs
Incline Situps 2x5

Ok, just got time now to enter it into fitday...
I had to make some adjustments b/c things like almond milk aren't on FitDay... but lo and behold, its only around 1200 cals...
I really need to overhaul my diet, I'm thinking I'll add 2 Tbls of flax seed oil to my day, and I'm *thinking* about trying whey, but I really really don't want to if I can avoid it :/...


I'll plug all this into fitday tomorrow if I have time at work (doubt it), but I'm estimating what? 1850 or so?

Edit: KT pointied out that I missed some things, its now about 1600 cals.
I'm still not sure WHY I was the same weight today as friday, but I'm going to eat some more calorie dense stuff to see if I can't get 1800-1900 a day.

Weight: 180.5
I'm *really* discouraged today.
I know I had a fair bit more sodium yesterday then normal, but I'm really sick of my weight.
i'm going to us the calipers on saturday and make another mybodycomp profile. I *really* hope the fat is going down.
with the amount of cals I'm eating and the amount I'm working out, I don't understand why I'm not losing fat :(

Food:
8:00am 106g Kashi GoLean Crunch (380 cals)
8:00am 1/2cup Silk Very Vanilla (70 cals)
9:00am-7:00pm
.....Almonds (200 cals)
.....Macadima Nuts (200 cals)
.....Filburt nuts (150 cals)
.....2x Fuji Apples (200 cals)
.....Banana Chips (200 cals)
8:00pm Wow its not meat Textured Soy Protein on tortillas (180 cals)
8:30pm 1/2 cup yellow rice (150 cals)

Exercise:
I just completed my toughest HIIT workout. I just berated myself under my breath the entire time ... (i.e. Weak People quit, strong people keep going, are you weak or strong?) here is the breakdown
1 minute each:
Res. level----
5,7,9,6,9,7,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,11, 1,1

the weird thing is my heart rate was lower then thursday, but I was a LOT more spent afterwards.

Thoughts:
8:00am:
I woke up to find I was 178.5, my lowest weight ever. I think the 1800+ cals yesterday might have helped. I'm gonna do it today - extra almonds, no hazelnuts!
My workout was AWESOME. I feel great, I bettered every exercise but one (HST, you're supposed to go higher each time - but until now I haven't always been able to).
I'm in a great mood!
12:30pm:
Really hungry, I think 18-2000 won't be a problem today :)
They're eating burgers and fries in the (very small) office... I miss fries... probably the only thing I'd ever miss... fries are the greatest thing ever.
7:45pm:
Going to have pasta...

Weight: 178.5 (wooo HooO!)

Food:
8:00am 90g kashi Go LeanCrunch (305 cals)
8:00am 1/2 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk (65 cals)
10:20am Almonds (200 cals)
11:00am Almonds (200 cals)
12:00pm 1 Medium Banana (100 cals)
12:30pm Banana Chips (200 cals)
1:30pm Macidamia nuts (200 cals)
2:30pm 1 Cut Pickle (7 cals I think - but a lot of sodium)
6:00pm 1 fuji apple (100 cals)
8:30pm ~4oz pasta w/sauce and bread (~600 cals)

Exercise:
Second day of 5 rep HST
Squats 1x5 @ 95lbs
Good Mornings 1x5 @ 75lbs
Incline Bench 2x5 @ 25lbs
Asst. Dips 1x5 @ -70
Asst. Pull ups 2x5 @ -90
Rows 1x5 @ 7
Shrugs 1x5 @ 50lbs
Behind neck press 1x5 @ 40lbs
Lateral Raise 1x5 @ 10lbs
Elbow out row 1x5 @ 15lbs
Db Curl 2x5 @ 12.5lbs
Tri Pulldown 2x5 @ 6
Calf Raises 2x5 @ 120lbs
Incline Situps 2x5 @ 5lbs

Hey,

Well first off congrats on deciding to make the change in your life. Thats the part most people dont do. :)

Now, i dont want u to take this the wrong way, but i feel that with just a bit more thought and care in your diet, your results would be not just significantly better, but massively better.

Because you are so committed, you clearly have a high drive to achieve what you want, you may as well go that extra mile and really think about what ur eating. To me, as you are doing intense full body weight sessions, CV, HIIT etc bearing in mind your size, i would think you need to eat more. And if your doing all these weights, i think you should (maybe not need to, but should) up your protien. At these low levels of calories, id say your heading for catabolic city. And you dont wanna go there. ;)

Are you actually a vegan? Or is this just a way of cutting you want to try? If yoru a vegan then thats fair enough, however, if its just something you want to try, i personally wouldnt make things any harder then they need to be.

Sit down and do some sums, really look at what you need and what your getting and where your getting it from. I can see how committed you are, why not optimise that commitment and get the most from all the hard work your so clearly putting in. IMO your diet doesnt do your dedication justice. Just my tuppence (Americans read 2 cents...) worth.

Have really enjoyed your posts on this site, and will be following your progress closley. :nod: :)

No offense taken, and thanks for the awesome reply, I'll reply below.

Well first off congrats on deciding to make the change in your life. Thats the part most people dont do. :)

Thanks. I'm pretty stoked about my descision, and I'm about 5 weeks into it, I've heard it takes 6 to make a habit ;)



Now, i dont want u to take this the wrong way, but i feel that with just a bit more thought and care in your diet, your results would be not just significantly better, but massively better.

Not taking it the wrong way at all. I was just going about my day eating what I thought was good, tracking it in fitday some times, etc.
After my first month (5/1), I decided to get as serious about my diet as I am about the gym, thats why I started this thread. So I can have some accountablity to my eating. I seem to have a problem in that when I try to be "good" and just "eyeball it", I eat WAY less then I need. for me 1200 cals leaves me feeling fine



To me, as you are doing intense full body weight sessions, CV, HIIT etc bearing in mind your size, i would think you need to eat more. And if your doing all these weights, i think you should (maybe not need to, but should) up your protien. At these low levels of calories, id say your heading for catabolic city. And you dont wanna go there. ;)
are you speaking of 1300 or 1800? I *think* my bmr is right around 1900 or so, so 1800 + exercise should leave me with a good sized deficit. Or do you think I should be over 1800? like 2000+?



Are you actually a vegan? Or is this just a way of cutting you want to try? If yoru a vegan then thats fair enough, however, if its just something you want to try, i personally wouldnt make things any harder then they need to be.
*sigh*... I don't know *WHAT* I am.... I'm not anything :)
After reading some books (Fast Food Nation, Mad Cowboy), I decided I really hate the way the meat/dairy industry is run in this country... I also have seen some research (same books - but I am planing on buying a nutritional textbook and auditing a nutrition class) on how or bodies are not made for the amount of meat we put in it (research: relative intestinal length across species, etc). I will NEVER be 100% vegan, I like thanksgiving too much, but I think less/almost no meat is a life change. Plus I'm latose intollerant, so Milk based products are really tough for me - I have pills, but why take them I if I don't have to?



Sit down and do some sums, really look at what you need and what your getting and where your getting it from. I can see how committed you are, why not optimise that commitment and get the most from all the hard work your so clearly putting in. IMO your diet doesnt do your dedication justice.
My biggest problem with the WHOLE diet is knowing what I need.
for example, John Stone went up to only 2700 while bulking, but the guy on the 30 day mcd diet eats at around 6000 cals a day - TO MAINTAIN!. Fitday tells me 1900 is my BMR. My activity is around 6 days a week.


Have really enjoyed your posts on this site, and will be following your progress closley. :nod: :)
Thank you very much, this is one of the best posts I've ever recieved on any message board. Your input is really appreciated!!! Please feel free to give any advice at any time!

Well, im no expert. Most of what i know diet wise i have learned through this site, and i still dont know as much as most on this site. (Weights is more my thing really.)

That being said...

are you speaking of 1300 or 1800? I *think* my bmr is right around 1900 or so, so 1800 + exercise should leave me with a good sized deficit. Or do you think I should be over 1800? like 2000+?

I was really refering to 1300. I think 1800 is at the bottom end of what you should be aiming for, but not too far off.

My biggest problem with the WHOLE diet is knowing what I need.

I have (had?) the exact same problem. The thing about it all is, that only YOUR body knows what it needs. No website or equation will be able to tell you what you need to maintain, what your deficit will be etc. Even people on this site, while being able to give great advice, cant tell you what you need. Including me. Its all based on weight, activity, how much you push yourself during activity, how your metabolism is, when you eat, what you eat... and so on. One big confusing mess. So what do you do? Youve asked the websites, the experts, books and friends, people here and elsewhere and still you dont know. Well, now you ask your body. Only your body knows.

My first bit of advice is dont worry too much about the scales, at least not weight alone. Get some BF calipers and compare with the two.

Most of what i see on this site averages out to be about 2000 cals for cutting, maybe slightly less. So take that as a rough simple guide. Most people opt for a 40:40:20 split. Take that as a rough guide. Try them both. This is your starting point. The avergage guy.

Whats the results? Dropping weight, but BF is stable? Your loosing mass. So up your cals a bit with extra protien. Gaining weight, BF is stable? Your putting on lean mass? Muscle, water? Maybe too much salt / not enough water. BF rising? Increase deficit by cutting fats and some carbs. When your BF is dropping, THATS THE INDICATOR. Your weight will go up or remain the same if your lifting weights, you WANT TO LOOSE FAT, NOT WEIGHT !

Thats where this site is useful / invaluable ! You cant ask "What do i need", only your body knows what YOU need. But you can ask "Im loosing weight but BF is stable, what can i do?" Are you with me?

Your gonna have to try some trail and error. Youve proved that already. 1300, slight weightloss, not too much BF loss. Loosing muscle. So youve amended that and now your loosing fat more. what youve started soing is spot on. Assessing and ajusting. Eventually you will get to where your eating is spot on. And your body will let you know by producing great results.

Keep on assessing where your at, what your noticing. Let your body do the talking. Worry about fat, not weight.

And if you wanna be a veggie, thats cool. My girlfriend is a veggie. Just remember that u need to get some protien elsewhere.

Once again well done and god luck. :tu:

I know what you mean about listenening to my body

the problem is, when I listen to my body - I eat like 1200 cals.

after a week of 1800+ I'm sure I'll be used to it and it will feel "normal"

thanks again for the great reply, I gotta update my food log, then work :)


I have (had?) the exact same problem. The thing about it all is, that only YOUR body knows what it needs. No website or equation will be able to tell you what you need to maintain, what your deficit will be etc. Even people on this site, while being able to give great advice, cant tell you what you need. Including me. Its all based on weight, activity, how much you push yourself during activity, how your metabolism is, when you eat, what you eat... and so on. One big confusing mess. So what do you do? Youve asked the websites, the experts, books and friends, people here and elsewhere and still you dont know. Well, now you ask your body. Only your body knows.

My first bit of advice is dont worry too much about the scales, at least not weight alone. Get some BF calipers and compare with the two.

Most of what i see on this site averages out to be about 2000 cals for cutting, maybe slightly less. So take that as a rough simple guide. Most people opt for a 40:40:20 split. Take that as a rough guide. Try them both. This is your starting point. The avergage guy.

Thats where this site is useful / invaluable ! You cant ask "What do i need", only your body knows what YOU need. But you can ask "Im loosing weight but BF is stable, what can i do?" Are you with me?

Your gonna have to try some trail and error. Youve proved that already. 1300, slight weightloss, not too much BF loss. Loosing muscle. So youve amended that and now your loosing fat more. what youve started soing is spot on. Assessing and ajusting. Eventually you will get to where your eating is spot on. And your body will let you know by producing great results.

Keep on assessing where your at, what your noticing. Let your body do the talking. Worry about fat, not weight.

Thoughts:
10:00am: My workout wasn't good this morning, I hit my lactic threshold VERY early (like first 9 or 10 level). it was VERY hard to get through the rest of it - I'm going to post a thread asking why in a bit.
10:00pm: My girlfriend and I are fighting really really badly. I haven't been feeling good and am thinking about quiting :(

Weight: 179.5 (Hummm....)

Food:
8:00am 55g kashi Go LeanCrunch (190 cals)
8:00am 1/4 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk (33 cals)
10:00am Bananas (100 cals)
--------- These were *started* at these times -------
10:00am Almonds (400 cals)
11:00am Broccoli (100 cals)
12:00pm Granola (200 cals)
2:00pm Yeves Fake Peoporini (70 cals)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Bag of chips... Bad bad bad I know, I'm really upset and I'm enjoying them. Cal: 280, Fat: 14g (3sat), Sodium: 440mg, Carb: 32g, Pro: 4g
9:00pm 1 apple with Natty PB on it
10:00pm 1 ear of corn plain boiled
12:00am 53g Kashi Go Lean Crunch (190 cals)
12:00am 1/4 cup Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk (33 cals)

Exercise:
HIIT - 5,7,9,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10 ,6,11

Thoughts:
8:00am I wanted to give up last night, and I have a feeling that if the scale was still 179.5 or 180, I would have. It was 178 / 177.5 so I'm pretty stoked about that. Thats one thing to be happy about I guess.
I was begining to think that 1800 cals was maitenance for me, but I guess not. We'll see how it goes - I'm down 1lb since the 1st. I don't see how upping my cals has helped at all - this is the rate I was losing at before I upped them - and now I'm hugrier :(
I *really* need some motivation, I'm not seeing much in the way of change.
7:00pm it was a really productive day at work, and with how everything else is going, thats a good thing. made me feel a bit better about myself.
I gotta feed the pets, then pickup my girlfriend from work, I really need some sleep - and I'm really hungry!!!

Weight: 178.0lbs (finally)

Food:
9:00am 53g Kashi Go Lean (190 cals)
9:00am Silk Very vanilla (33 cals)
9:00am banana (100 cals)
10:am - 6pm:
Almonds (35g)
Pistachios (1/4 cup or so)
Apple (100 cals)
Pineapple juice (small - 80 cals)
Banana Chips (200 cals)
7:00pm 2 slices Potato bread (200 cals)
7:30pm Veggie Baked Beans (300 cals)
7:30pm 1 slice potato bread (100 cals)

Exercise:
None today. I'm still fighting with my gf, and its her car. (Yes I know its an excuse - it was also raining too much to run to the gym and I got almost no sleep last night)

Get BF Calipers (Or get your gym to do a reading) and start using that to measure your loss.

Stick with 1800 for a bit, give it a chance.

Stay with this pal, focus focus focus !!! Start thinking positive, enjoy your workouts and let the weight worry about itself !!!!!!!!!! You should be training because u enjoy it. Fat loss is just a handy by product.

:nod:

I have some calipers, I try to only use them once a week or so - I had too much fat in my stomach before to get good readings, but I think thats changing

I'm really discouraged b/c of external forces - my gf and I might be breaking up after a year...

Thank you VERY much for the encouragement!

Thoughts:
Woke up this morning, I weighed less, I'm happy
had a great (late) breakfast of Cereal, watermelon and cherries... YUMMM
6:30pm Wow, I'm NEVER doubting myself again. I didn't feel like going to the gym, and maybe I jynxed myself, but it was the WORST workout I've ever had. I got there at 5:45, didn't know it closed at 6, did some jumping jacks, a LITTLE stretching, a warmup set of squats with just the bar. Then I loaded it up with a 25lb and a 5lb on each side (for a total of 105 if the bar is 45). Went down, Up - fine, went down, went up and my knee started to hurt a tiny bit. By the 5th rep I knew my knee was hurtin. I stretched it afterwards, and while I've hurt my knee worse before, this doesn't feel great.
I don't think I did any real damage, but I clearly could have. I'm not sure if I was lifting too heavy, too cold or too sloppy, but in any event, I have to be careful. Then I couldn't even get 30's up for my incline bench (I also picked the wrong bench - one with a FLAT butt plate, while the back was angled, that makes NO sense - it made me slide.)
*sigh* the pen didn't work - CRAPTACULAR.
AND all I want to eat is Kashi Cereal - I'm not doubting it, I'm having another bowl!

Weight: 177.5 (!!!)

Food:
10:00am 55g Kashi Go Lean Crunch (....below....)
10:00am 1/4 cup Silk Very Vanilla (210 cals)
9-10am 20 cherries (big) (100 cals ??)
10:00am 1/4 watermellon (300 cals)
1:30pm 35g Almonds (200 cals)
1:30pm 3 whole grahm crackers (200 cals)
2:00pm 15g Almonds (90 cals)
2:30pm 53g Kashi Go Lean Crunch / Soy Milk (210 cals)
7:30pm 130g Kashi Go Lean Crunch / Soy Milk (420 cals)
10:55pm 3 grham crackers (200 cals)

Exercise:
Wow... Craptacular!
Squat 1x5 @ 105lbs
Good Mornings 1x5 @85lbs

sorry to hear about girlfriend troubles...glad to hear weight lose...

Stick with it man, it all takes time and experimentation

THanks for the encouragment, she's feeling a bit better, but that could be temporary. She just quit smoking, and started fighting ;)

Thoughts:
11:30: I'm in good spirits, my gf is calming down and things seem better!

I hereby formally apoligize to anyone I questioned (even mentally) that I should be eating MORE to lose MORE... I've been eating 1700-1900 cals for just over a week and over the past few days, I'm dropping like enron's bottom line. Today I'm 176.5, and if I had... umm... well lets just say I'm probably 176 even ;).
My only question is as to why I'm not losing inches on my waist... its a little discouraging, but I'm not even going to sweat it for at least another week of eating like this - I'm hoping I'm not losing muscle, but I'll readdress this probably next saturday. Thanks to everyone who's helped me (basically everyone on this board!)

Weight: 176.5!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Food:
9:30am 53g Kashi + 1/4cup Soy Milk - 210 cals
12:45pm (PWO) 1 Big Slice of Watermelon
12:45pm (PWO) 1.5 cups pineapple juice (just a guess)
---Today is mother's day and I'm going down to Howell to make her dinner with my sister. I'm not sure WHAT I'm going to eat, but since they are both on Body For Life, I'm sure we can all find something tasty and healthy!
Almonds, Potatos, Cucumbers (pom-poms), Peach Pie, Corn...

Exercise:
Goind to the gym now to do some HIIT, UNLIKE yesterday - I'm looking forward to this, and I WILL stretch well!
----
HIIT one minute each (unless stated):
5,7,9,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,10,6,13 (:30)

then I tried to run a mile (after wating 10 minutes) HAHAHA not even close!

Thoughts: Didn't go to the gym this morning - I haven't lifted since wed of last week :( - I am going to go tonight and get my work out in, even tho last time I went monday night it was *bad* (see "Weak People Suck").

Weight: 177.5lbs - after all the food I had last night :)

Food:
8:45am 106g Kashi / Soy Milk (400 cals)
70g Almonds (400 cals)
Granola (400 Cals)
LARGE Apple (120 cals?)
Pineapple juice (80 cals)
8:30pm Baked Beans
8:30pm Fake Mashed potatos.

Exercise:
Good workout (in the pm!!)
Squats: 1x5 @65 (hurt my knee a little)
Good Mornings: 1x5 @65
Incline Bench: 2x5 @27.5
Dips: 1x5 @ -60
Pull Ups: 2x5 @ -80 (felt good!!)
Rows: 2x5 @8
Shrugs 2x5 @50
Behind Neck Press: 1x5 @40
Lateral Raise: 1x5 @10
Elbow Out Row: 1x5 @17.5
Db Curls: 2x5 @15 (Felt awesome!!)
Tricep Pulldown: 2x5 @7
Calf Raises: 2x5 @150 (Still not really straining)
Squat machine (just to play): 1x5 @70, 1x5 @120, 1x5 @160 (hurt my knee)
Cable Crunches: 2x5 @7 (not sure if I did them right)

Thoughts:
well... I'm fat again... 178.5, not sure why its going back up, but if I'm not back around 176 by friday I'm gonna be pretty upset.

Weight: 178.5

Food:
8:30am 53g Kashi / Soy Milk (210 cals)
8:30am Banana (100 cals)
----------------day-----------------
400 cals Almonds
200 cals Macademia Nuts
100 cals Apple
200 cals Banana chips
---------------/day-----------------
9:30pm 53g Kashi / Soy Milk (210 cals)
9:30pm Canteloupe - 100 cals???
10:00pm 2 slices potato bread with soy spread (300 cals)

Exercise:
None. Our (my job) website is down, so I'm not getting out of the house for a while. This sucks.
----
7:30pm HIIT (Elipticial) one minute each (unless otherwise noted):
5,7,10,6,11,6,11,6,11,6,11,6,11,6,11,6,11,6,11,6,1 1,6,15(:30),1(:30),1

Hey efk... where are the vegetables? Have you been constipated for weeks? :lol:

You really need to work on your intake of vegetables, especially nutrient dence leafy greens. Your body will thank you!

Good point... I used to eat a LOT more, but now that I'm measuring everything, I find it harder to included them - BUT I also do eat some (broccolli mostly) and just don't include it since it has so little cals.

Thoughts: I'm starting to get concerned about my waist... its not going down very quickly. I started at around 40 or 41" and I"m at 38 now (in the morning, didn't know that made a difference till today).
I've lost a decent amount of weight for how long I've been doing this - 4-1 till 5-12 thats what? about 6 weeks? I'm down just under 10lbs... so just over a pound a week. Not great, but I'm happy (yea right). But why have I only lost 2-3 inches?

Weight: 176.5lbs

Food:
8:50am 53g Kashi / Soy Milk (210 cals)
70g Almonds (400 cals)
Macadamia (200 cals)
Banana (100 cals)
Canteloupe (200 cals?)
Cucumber (10?)
7:30pm 2 slices potato bread w/ soy spread (300 cals)
8:00pm 1 tofuti cuttie (gotta check it)

Exercise:
from memory
Squats: 1x5 @55 (felt ok - but I'm gonna not do it friday)
Good Mornings: 1x5 @65
Incline Bench: 2x5 @27.5
Dips: 1x5 @ -50
Pull Ups: 2x5 @ -70 (not sure)
Rows: 2x5 @8
Shrugs 2x5 @50
Behind Neck Press: 1x5 @50
Lateral Raise: 1x5 @10
Elbow Out Row: 1x5 @17.5
Db Curls: 2x5 @15
Tricep Pulldown: 2x5 @8
Calf Raises: 2x5 @170
Cable Crunches: 2x5 @15

1lb a week is good. Be positive.

Your waist isnt going down because the fat is dropping of other areas. Ive lost 4lbs in 2 1/2 weeks, and my waist hasnt dropped all that much, but my upper body is getting cut up real nice !

Have you got those BF calipers yet ?????????????????????????????????

Yup. But I'm not getting consistant results from them b/c my abdominal pinch is really tough to get right. But I'm doing the healthcentral online one and it has me at 17.5 right now.

Thoughts: Couldn't get out of the house this morning (the works are backed up), so I ended up going to the gym at 9pm. The workout started bad - a HIIT day - but afterwards I streteched and talked to the trainer - ended up being great!

Weight: 176.5 - but like I said, things are backed up

Food:

Food Name Servings Serving Size Cals Fat Carb Prot
Almonds, unroasted 208 18 7 8
Banana, raw.... 109 1 28 1
Apple, raw..... 125 1 32 0
Green Pepper.... 32 0 8 1
Cucumber....... 29 0 6 2
Sugar Snap Peas 120 0 21 6
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 33 1 5 2
baked potato with salt 220 0 51 5
Pineapple juice.. 79 0 20 0
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 33 1 5 2
Peanut butter... 285 24 9 12
Bread, potato, toasted 141 2 26 4
Totals.................................. 1793 49 289 60
(from fitday - I wanted to check my fiber - 44g, if that doesn't get things moving, I'm going to have to use some milk!)
5/14 update - things are moving a little, but not great
I forgot some almonds on this day - the totals were actually higher, see my next post below.

Exercise:
not-so-great HIIT
5,7,11,6,11,6,11,7,11,6,11,7,11,7,11,7,11,6,11,6,1 1(:30),2(:30),2
one interval shorter then normal, my avg. heart rate was 165, max was 185.
afterwards, I stretched, and it felt AWESOME. Then on the way out the trainer said "See ya saturday - get a lot of rest"... I can't wait! I hope he kicks my ass

Mate,

U need to sort your macros out.

Either u need to ditch the vegitarian thing and start eating meat and fish, or u need to seriously start supplimenting with protien shakes, because 60g of protien isnt nearly enough for someone lifting weights and doign HIIT.

Your ratio (of Protien:Carbs:Fat) for yesterday was 15:72:12. U need to replace those carbs with protien if u wanna make progress. I know people hark on about 40:40:20, but theres a reason for that. Personally i prefer 45:40:15 or so, i find that extra protien stops loss of muscle mass, and the less that 20% fat keeps me cutting. But thats just me, and everyone is different. However, getting 72% of your calories from carbs is too much. And only 15% protien???

Get this sorted now, else u WILL start loosing mass and probably, with the high carbs, gain some fat as well.

:nod:

A couple of things.
1) how much water does this ratio stuff hold? I haven't read anything that really has convinced me that I need 150 grams of protein a day, its too much I think.
2) I screwed up yesterday - I for got 200 cals of almonds - put me at
1994 66 296 68 - 15% 53% 32%
Thanks for watching this thread and giving me feedback!

Thougts: Things still aren't Moving
I need to get more protein I think, not sure tho - and my belly seems smaller today, but if it is - its only .1 inches or so.

Weight: 176.... I think this is a little higher due to my... issue

Food:

Food Name Servings Serving Size Cals Fat Carb Prot
Almonds, unroasted 610 53 21 22
Macadamia nuts, 204 21 4 2
Apple, raw ..... 250 2 65 1
Banana, raw ..... 109 1 28 1
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 33 1 5 2
Potatoe wiith salt 220 0 51 5
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 33 1 5 2
Totals ..................................... 1838 79 250 52
Exercise:
I did VERY light lifting, I didn't want to be sore at all for my session tomorrow!!!

Thoughts:
Ok, well it was a very big day all around. A lot happened and I'll write as much as I can :)
Ok, got up to take my gf to work, weighed myself - 176 even. I went to the gym after that and had my personal training session - it was a TOUGH workout (see below) - my heart rate was around 185 almost the whole time - I usually don't get there until my 3rd to last interval with HIIT. I am plenty sore today.
Then I got home, took a nap.
Woke up to pickup my gf from work (her car) and put on my fav. jeans. They're 36" waist. They were falling off of me.
So after I got her, I was going to go to the mall and try on some 34"s to see if they'd fit yet. But I realized that I had a pair in my closet from Xmas. I tried them on... THEY"RE LOOSE. So I was thrilled.
I went over my bosses house to watch the fight, and had pizza... BIG day :)

Weight: 176

Food:
I guess it was a cheat day - I was so happy about my pants, I decided to have some pizza!
here is what I ate, but not in order, or with proper amounts
Watermelon
Banana / Go Lean Crunch / Soy Milk
Cherries (100g)
Potato hot dog bug w/ soy spread
Gardenburger Herb Crusted patty (on potato hot dog bun)
and the biggie - 5 slices of dominos!

Exercise:
Phew, a HUGE workout under the trainer.
Versa-Climber followed by
Cross Trainer followed by
Arm only ergometer.
.... I'm HURT today! it was great

Thoughts: I felt crappy about my weight and didn't work out - but lots of people said how much weight I lost...

weight: 177lbs

exercise: none :(

Food:

Food Name Servings Serving Size Cals Fat Carb Prot
Almonds, NFS ... 410 36 14 15
Cashew nuts, NFS 204 17 10 6
Brazil nuts .... 202 20 4 4
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 33 1 5 2
Apple, raw ..... 163 1 42 1
Cucumber, with peel, raw 39 0 8 2
Banana, raw ........ 109 1 28 1
Gardenburger - herb cutlet........ 170 9 12 10
Bread, potato .. 174 2 32 5
Cherries, sour, red, raw 33 0 8 1
Cucumber pickles, dill 34 0 8 1
Totals................................. 1759 88 207 57

Thoughts: I felt crappy about my weight and didn't work out - but lots of people said how much weight I lost...

weight: 177lbs

exercise: none :(

Food:

Food Name Servings Serving Size Cals Fat Carb Prot
Almonds, NFS ... 410 36 14 15
Cashew nuts, NFS 204 17 10 6
Brazil nuts .... 202 20 4 4
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 33 1 5 2
Apple, raw ..... 163 1 42 1
Cucumber, with peel, raw 39 0 8 2
Banana, raw ........ 109 1 28 1
Gardenburger - herb cutlet........ 170 9 12 10
Bread, potato .. 174 2 32 5
Cherries, sour, red, raw 33 0 8 1
Cucumber pickles, dill 34 0 8 1
Totals................................. 1759 88 207 57


I just caught this thread and decided to chime in. You're not taking in enough protein. For a Male aged 26 taking part in HIIT style cardio, and weight lifting, you need to be getting at least 1 gram per pound.

I would change your macros to 40/40/20 split at the very least.

Also, I don't really see any solid meal structure to your diet. Chicken and veggies. Fish and salad.??? All great ideas. I know in previous posts you mentioned your distaste of meat processing, but there are many options available to you.

Check out your local butchers shop, many have grass fed beef, and free range chicken.

Fish - tuna, cod, haddock, swordfish, orange roughy, shrimp, SALMON!!!
Eggs - egg whites, whole eggs, egg beaters
Foul - chicken, turkey, feasant
Wild Game - Buffalo, Moose, Elk, Deer
(im getting hungry ;)


Lactose intollerance can be due to food combinations rather than lactose. There are lactose free protein mixes out there, just look around. Egg protein is one that may benifit you.

Finally if all else fails, you can try food combinations to up the protein in your diet. Rice + Beans is a favorite combo for vegitarians. Lentils also high in protein. Protein enriched foods such as Pasta...good choices.

Once you have the protein consumption in hand, then take a look at the types and timing of your carbohydrates. Best times to take in carbs is first think in the morning for your first meal, and post-workout. Another runner up is pre/during your workout.

I hope this helps.....your doing great by the way. Minor adjustments as you progress is how you learn the way your body works with certain foods and the amounts. Every BODY is different.

1) how much water does this ratio stuff hold? I haven't read anything that really has convinced me that I need 150 grams of protein a day, its too much I think.


Im not sure i can believe that u havent read anything that has convinced u to up your protien levels. These forums are full of information as to the importance of protien in the diet. Ok, so ive read that 40% protien i excessive (Jeremy Likness for example, believes too much emphisis is placed on protien). I dont believe this.

U need protien for


Muscle building - Not huge amount of ur daily protien is used for this. However, u need to take in enough so that once all the other functions that protien provides for have been carried out, theres some left to build NEW muscle tissue.

Muscle Repair - Put simply, as im sure you know this, In lifting weights, u rip up the muscle fibres. The body uses protien to repair these fibres. U need to ensure u have enough for these repairs to take place.

Energy - Self explanatory. When ur resticting calories and fat, ur body turns to stored fat and breaks down carbs for energy. It also uses protien cals as well.

When ur body doesnt have enough protien taken in through food etc to carry out repairs, supply energy etc, it will take protien from elsewhere, namely breaking down existing muscle. This defeats the purpose of lifting in the first place !!!

This exact ratio of 40:40:20 is open to discussion. As i say, i prefer less fat when cutting and more protien to protect the muscle mass from the destruction i mentioned above. But i still believe 40:40:20 is a great starting place, before personaling it to ur own body. I find the lower fat easy to cope with, as i dont like nuts, so any fat i do get comes from oils etc, which dont fill u up. Other may not, but still get good results. That being said, ur protien is WAY off the mark. U havent read anything that suggests higher protien? Look at every sucess story on this site, every sucessful journal, every before and after progress pics that show sucess, and 9.999 / 10 you'll find they have a higher protien ratio then you. I havent seen a sucess story where the person has had sub 25% / 30% protien and kept muscle mass. There may be 1 or 2, but theres about 10000000000 that can counter that argument.

Get the protien sorted now !!!

Also, with the "problem" ur having. Short term, get some epsom salts (Magnesium), or if u dont wanna go to the chemist, then get 3 packets of sugar free mints and eat them all in one go !!! Trust me, u'll be ****ing through the eye of a needle in no time !!! ;)

thanks for the great reply, very informative.

I was totally avoiding animal products, but I'm 90% sure I'm going to try All the Whey for some extra protein.

The lactose intollerance is totally just lactose - I've experimented a great deal - and pills totally alieviate it...
however, ATW's spokesman says that no one has ever had a reaction to theirs - so I'll give it a wirl.

I'm not recording in fitday what times I'm eating (its one of the features missing IMHO), but during the day at work, I don't have time for a "meal" so I eat my nuts non-stop and just eat the fruit and veggies every few hours.

Thanks for the encouragment, I feel like I'm progressing, just not quickly in anyway :)

I just caught this thread and decided to chime in. You're not taking in enough protein. For a Male aged 26 taking part in HIIT style cardio, and weight lifting, you need to be getting at least 1 gram per pound.

I would change your macros to 40/40/20 split at the very least.

Also, I don't really see any solid meal structure to your diet. Chicken and veggies. Fish and salad.??? All great ideas. I know in previous posts you mentioned your distaste of meat processing, but there are many options available to you.

Lactose intollerance can be due to food combinations rather than lactose.

Finally if all else fails, you can try food combinations to up the protein in your diet. Rice + Beans is a favorite combo for vegitarians. Lentils also high in protein. Protein enriched foods such as Pasta...good choices.

Once you have the protein consumption in hand, then take a look at the types and timing of your carbohydrates. Best times to take in carbs is first think in the morning for your first meal, and post-workout. Another runner up is pre/during your workout.

I hope this helps.....your doing great by the way. Minor adjustments as you progress is how you learn the way your body works with certain foods and the amounts. Every BODY is different.

Sorry, I was a bit unclear. I know that *I'm* not getting enough protein. However, from what I've read - 180g a day would be a bit much for me (40/40/20 is 180/180/40 @ 1800)

I think the "problem" worked itself out, but I'm not 100% sure, I don't really feel.... empty. But I think its cool :)

Im not sure i can believe that u havent read anything that has convinced u to up your protien levels. These forums are full of information as to the importance of protien in the diet. Ok, so ive read that 40% protien i excessive (Jeremy Likness for example, believes too much emphisis is placed on protien). I dont believe this.

U need protien for


Muscle building - Not huge amount of ur daily protien is used for this. However, u need to take in enough so that once all the other functions that protien provides for have been carried out, theres some left to build NEW muscle tissue.

Muscle Repair - Put simply, as im sure you know this, In lifting weights, u rip up the muscle fibres. The body uses protien to repair these fibres. U need to ensure u have enough for these repairs to take place.

Energy - Self explanatory. When ur resticting calories and fat, ur body turns to stored fat and breaks down carbs for energy. It also uses protien cals as well.

When ur body doesnt have enough protien taken in through food etc to carry out repairs, supply energy etc, it will take protien from elsewhere, namely breaking down existing muscle. This defeats the purpose of lifting in the first place !!!

This exact ratio of 40:40:20 is open to discussion. As i say, i prefer less fat when cutting and more protien to protect the muscle mass from the destruction i mentioned above. But i still believe 40:40:20 is a great starting place, before personaling it to ur own body. I find the lower fat easy to cope with, as i dont like nuts, so any fat i do get comes from oils etc, which dont fill u up. Other may not, but still get good results. That being said, ur protien is WAY off the mark. U havent read anything that suggests higher protien? Look at every sucess story on this site, every sucessful journal, every before and after progress pics that show sucess, and 9.999 / 10 you'll find they have a higher protien ratio then you. I havent seen a sucess story where the person has had sub 25% / 30% protien and kept muscle mass. There may be 1 or 2, but theres about 10000000000 that can counter that argument.

Get the protien sorted now !!!

Also, with the "problem" ur having. Short term, get some epsom salts (Magnesium), or if u dont wanna go to the chemist, then get 3 packets of sugar free mints and eat them all in one go !!! Trust me, u'll be ****ing through the eye of a needle in no time !!! ;)

Thoughts
First off - I'd like to REALLY thank everyone who's posting in this thread to try to help me, it really means a lot to me.
First - Weight still isn't going down, so I think I'm going to start tracking bf% on here. I'm going to just use healthcentral at first, then I'll start putting in others.
The Second thing I wanted to address is protein. I'd like JL to take a look at my diet and tell me what he thinks - but I do think I'm not getting quite enough protein. So I think I will start suplementing with All The Whey. They claim that its very mild for LI and everyone seems to like the taste. We'll see :)
The last thing I wanted to say was - I bought 33" pants - and they fit!!!!

Weight 176

Food

Food Name Servings Serving Size Cals Fat Carb Prot
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 380 0 72 18
Silk Very Vanilla 65 2 10 3
Almonds, NFS... 410 36 14 15
Cashew nuts, NFS 245 21 12 7
Cucumber, with peel 39 0 8 2
Nectarine, raw...... 67 1 16 1
Baked Potatoes.. 440 0 102 9
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 380 0 72 18
Silk Very Vanilla 65 2 10 3
Lo mein, meatless 136 1 27 7
Totals................................... 2226 62 342 83


Exercise
I tried to do some distance instead of HIIT today... didn't work out well. I did .5 miles on the treadmill (@ 4.6mph), and then 2 miles on the eliptical - total time - 30 mins.

thoughts Need more protein.. gotta find some!

weight 176 - STILL

BF% 15.2% (27/149) (just a note, I don't believe this - and my calipers, which I'm not great at, say 20% range - but I'm going to use this to get a trend)

food

exercise
I'm changing up my routine - I think I'm gonna go push/pull split (no idea what I'm talking about)
today I did chest/shoulders/tris - here it is
DB incline press 10@25# 5@25#
Dips (1) 5@-60 5@-60
Shoulder Press (cable machine) 5@40 5@30
Tri pull downs (rope) 10@4 10@3
Tri pull downs (bar) 15@3 15@4
Dips (2) 15 @ -110

Light stretching (hard stretching yesterday)

any questions? :)

----------------
didn't feel good at all (stomach), so I played around, I may come back and update this later
----------------

----------------
didn't feel good at all (stomach), so I played around, I may come back and update this later
----------------

thoughts
well, after taking something last night, and "feeling" it this mrorning - I'm feeling MUCH better... But I missed my workout again b/c of it!! ( I didn't write it down yet, but I did work out shoulders chest and tris on wed)

weight/bf%
as of right now (I'm not sure if its all "done" yet), I'm:
173.5lbs (wow... so I guess I was just "stuck") and
16.3% bf (health central and calipers averaged out - I think I have the hang of the calipers now!!)

food
exercise
See above :(

Thoughts:
Well, things are good... I'm a little ... I don't know..

Weight / BF%
174.5 or so
16.5% (16.1 healthcentral and 16.9 I think from my calipers)

Food:

Food Name Servings Serving Size Cals Fat Carb Prot
All The Whey 110 0 1 25
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 130 4 19 6
Cucumber, with peel, raw 39 0 8 2
All The Whey 110 0 1 25
Silk Very Vanilla 130 4 19 6
Plum, raw 109 1 26 2
Watermelon, raw 49 1 11 1
Cherries, sour, red, raw 33 0 8 1
MF. Nuggets 48 2 5 3
KC bbq 30 0 8 1
Celery, raw 10 0 2 0
Almonds, NFS 229 20 8 8
Banana, raw 109 1 28 1
Dole pineapple juice 80 0 22 1
Crackers, graham 118 3 22 2
All The Whey 110 0 1 25
Silk Very Vanilla 130 4 19 6
Totals............................. 1763 38 242 124
20% 50% 30%

Exercise
1 hour on two bikes - ave. heart rate was 150 (78%)
I'm going to do some long sessions of cardio. I'm not sure If I will do HIIT 3x or 1x a week, but I'm going to focus on long cardio for a little while. I hated doing it in the past due to the time, but I have an audio book. Good times.
I'm also not thriled with my results with HIIT, but the slowish results could be from lots of things - not enough protein, not enough intensity while lifting. Who knows. But its always fun to change stuff up, so thats what I'm doing.

Thoughts
My waist was 37" even this morning.
I also got my hair cut today. I haven't had a real hair cut in almost 2 years. It was past my shoulders and now its pretty short. I didn't do what I did last time I had long hair (shave it bald). I think I'm getting old :)
JohnK - if you read this before monday, you won't be suprised ;)

Weight / BF%
Weight was 174. Its a pound heaver then my lightest, but I think thats just solid matter building up again. But I added Celery to my diet...
bf is 15.1% according to health central.
I'm not sure when to trust that, but when it says my lean is 148, I tend to believe it.

Food:
[later]
.........
BADNESS - Lo Mein and Fried rice, and a vanilla coke.
Felt like crap

Exercise:
45 mins cardio @ 168bpm average (87.5%)
I might post about this later.

Thoughts
Not really sure I want to update this log anymore. I'm just not ... I don't know. Its not fun.

Weight
176.5 - lots of sodium last night :( bad me.

Food

Food Name Cals Fat Carb Prot
All The Whey 110 0 1 25
Silk Very Vanilla 130 4 19 6
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Silk Very Vanilla 26 1 4 1
Celery, raw 20 0 5 1
Nectarine, raw 67 1 16 1
Cucumber, peel, raw 39 0 8 2
Apple, raw 63 0 16 0
Banana, raw 109 1 28 1
Almonds, NFS 205 18 7 8
Cashew nuts, NFS 204 17 10 6
Gardenburger - herb cutlet 170 9 12 10
MF. Nuggets 190 7 18 12
KC bbq 60 0 15 1
Silk Very Vanilla 26 1 4 1
Kashi GoLean Crunch! 190 0 36 9
Totals................................. 1798 58 235 93
31% 47% 22%


Exercise
Worked Back and Bis. I'm "between" splits right now, and am trying to find my intensity in the gym. I did the same on saturday after cardio and it felt great. I'm still sore from my chest work out that day (chest and tris. Didn't feel it in my tris).
I really feel like I'm not working my lats properly. I gotta build up those big muscles to help me burn fat :/.

Hey,

Glad to see the fresh veggies and fruit !!! :tu: :tu: :tu:

However, i still have a suggestion for improvement. :nod:

My girlfriend is a vegitarian, which means that a lot of the time im eating veggie meals.

Have you considered Quorn ? Personally, the sausages taste like s**t, but the mince (Ground Quorn) is superb and the chunks are ok to. The protien level is very hi and the taste is great. You can make lots of nice meals with it, without the high saturated fat content that real mince (Ground) beef has (Bolognase etc). Plus, the chunks make a great substitute for chicken in stirfrys etc, if you dont eat meat.

I just feel that your fat level is a bit high at 30% and if you could reduce this to 20% max, and with calories you have spare, add to protien by making proper meals with a meat substitute, and rice, pasta or noodles, you would

a) Enjoy your diet more
b) Get better results.

You seem so negative, but if i had your diet, i would be pissed off to. Theres nothing that looks "nice" or "appitising" in your plan, its a plan thats purely based on loosing fat. Make some proper home cooked healthy balanced meals, use meat substitutes, and start to enjoy what you do. Stop worrying all the time and look forward to your workouts and the new body it will bring you.

Success is based on enjoying what you do. Someone once said that if u enjoy what u do, you'll never work another day in your life. Try to learn to love your plan, and then it wont feel like something you HAVE to do, but rather something you WANT to do. :)