While closing in on my sub-10 bf% goals, I've noticed over the past week that my motivation and concentration levels have started to taper off. Since I'm less than three weeks away from concluding my original four-month plan, I decided to start a journal to stop the days and weeks from blending into one another. Hopefully, by taking it one day at a time, I'll end up seeing the results I want to see.

Goals:

1. Reach bf% 9.x = lose ~3.5 lbs of fat
2. Do ALL workouts with 100% concentration.
3. Push myself hard to see what I can handle.
4. Keep myself accountable by updating this journal.

My bodyfat as of today, according to mybodycomp.com, is 11.91%. Judging by my mirror, I'd say it's about right - perhaps a tad high.

Today has been spent on R&R, both mental and physical, but tomorrow morning it's a 'go!'. And I can't wait!

Slept for five hours, dreamt of future glory.
My sleep rhythm has been a little off lately, but hopefully I can snap it back on track. Seeing as how yesterday wasn't physically very demanding, I think five hours will do for today.

First day is starting, gotta get to it.

Everything went as planned. I'm pretty happy with my new (and improved) meal plan. Upping the calories by 200 and eating much cleaner foods seems to agree with me.

I did 45 minutes of AM cardio with a steady pace on an empty stomach. My legs felt a bit wooden so I didn't have hold myself back so as not to go too fast as I sometimes do.

The leg workout in the evening was as good as it can get with a pair of dumbells. Listened to Iron Maiden's 'Live After Death', and I'm sure my neighbours appreciated it, too. I think they know the lyrics to 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' by heart now... Oh, a good thing: my knee problems didn't show their ugly face, so I managed to do everything with 100% intensity.

Well, today's my first 'killer' day and I'm curious to see how it goes. Thankfully the sun seems to be shining, which makes it so much easier.

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Note to self: defrost the refrigerator more often. There isn't that much ice in the North Pole.

It sounds like you're back on track. I'd hate to see you give up when you're so close to your goal....keep up the good work and you'll be there very soon! :tucool:

It sounds like you're back on track. I'd hate to see you give up when you're so close to your goal....keep up the good work and you'll be there very soon! :tucool:

Thanks! Although it's only been a couple of days, getting a good routine going is really helping me a lot. Here's hoping it'll last!

I'm tired, but in a good way. Yesterday was just as demanding as I thought (and hoped) it would be. I did my bis, tris and abs in the morning. If lifting weights in general is my weak spot, then my arms are the weak spot on my weak spot. Still, it was a good solid, intense workout, as it was supposed to be. I had Anthrax's 'Attack of the Killer B's' booming in the background, and even though I've listened to it about a thousand times, it still gets me going.

In the evening was my first big blast of a workout: 45 minutes of cycling followed by 90 minutes of soccer practice followed by 45 minutes of cycling. Naturally, idiot that I am, I left a little late so I wasn't able to take it easy on my way to the practice, which affected the quality of my performance. Don't get me wrong, physically it was 100% (which I take as an indicator of how much my cardiovascular abilities have improved over the past three-and-a-half months, but mentally I was a bit off. In other words, I sucked.

Happy about my meal plan still, even though the day was long and hard, I felt energetic all the way through.

Today's going to be a much easier day, so I can actually do some resting and recuperating. There's more cycling+soccer ahead!

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Note to self: Next time leave earlier so you don't have to do the whole 'Lance Armstrong' thing just to be on time for a 90-minute work-out.

Things are looking pretty good. My sleeping rhythm is back on track, it seems, and I'm feeling quite rested. Yesterday I went on my morning cardio as usual, but after the previous day's 45+90+45 mins my legs were anything but fresh (it was like running on stilts), so I decided to cut it short and only run for 30 mins instead of the usual 45 mins.

It turned out to be an even better decision than I thought, since I got a surprising little job for the evening (when I was supposed to rest): some garden work. That meant 40 mins of cycling followed by 2½ hours of shoveling and whatnot followed by another 40 mins of cycling. Nothing too heavy, really, more like a good relaxing workout.

Today's another 'killer' day with weights, cycling and soccer, and I'm ready for it. I just have to make sure to leave earlier this time.

Exactly two weeks from now I should be writing the final journal entry. So far things have been progressing as planned, so hopefully the last entry will be a positive one.

It seems I may have been more tired than I realised: just woke up from a nice 11-hour sleep. If nothing else, at least I feel refreshed!

Yesterday was another 'killer' day, weights (back & chest) in the morning, cycling + soccer + cycling in the evening. All went well. Actually everything went much better than the last time. I wasn't half as beat up as I was on Tuesday. It'll be interesting to see how I feel after the next time.

Today's no cardio, only weights in the evening, so things should go rather smoothly. Oh, and tomorrow morning I'll be doing my weekly stepping-on-the-scale thing. I'm curious to see what it tells me.

What a weird day yesterday was. I woke up refreshed, everything seemed fine. Then I went out to the Uni to do an exam (my last one, if I pass, yea!) and I completely underestimated the time it would take me to finish it, and I ended up not eating for five hours.

As soon as I got home, I ate a good clean meal, but I was still tired, irritable, ready to quit the whole bloody cutting thing etc. Two hours later, I had a second meal (cold-smoked salmon and almonds :drool: ) and I was feeling a little better, an hour after that I was back to my usual self, bursting with energy. So I did my scheduled workout (shoulders + abs) and it turned out to be a great piece of training. Especially my abs took a real beating.

Measured my weight this morning, weight is up by 0.4 lbs. :D I'm not too worried, since there could be a million reasons why the scale says what it says. Besides, the last time I wasn't losing any weight (lasted about a month), I was losing lots and lots of inches all over my body, so perhaps that kind of a scale reading is the best there is. I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing, and two weeks from now we'll see what the end result is.

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Note to self: When you hear hunger talking, do NOT listen!

Nothing weird or funky going on yesterday. I did my 45 mins of morning cardio, it went well. In the evening I lifted weights as planned (did arms), it went well. I ate clean and as planned all through the day.

Boring!

Ahhh! I feel relaxed. Yesterday was my weekly resting day, so I did nothing but took a long walk along a scenic route and got some much needed R&R. Some might have called the weather cold and rainy, to me it was brisk and pleasantly moist. :D

Watched a couple of DVDs, ate well (and clean) and took it easy. Now I'm ready to go again!

Finally some weird stuff going on again! I went on my morning cardio yesterday, as always, and as usual my legs felt a bit weird at first what with getting dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn and everything. That's normal, happens everytime, so I didn't pay any attention to it.

But usually the weird numbness goes away after the first 10 minutes or so and the legs start pumping with power again - this time that wouldn't happen even after 30 mins. Then I realised what was going on: I wasn't working my legs hard enough. My speed was too slow and my bastard legs were protesting about it! I upped the tempo significantly for the next half-a-mile (I was going uphill) and, lo-and-behold, things went back to normal. Of course my heart rate went out of the fat-burning zone for a while there, but I'd say it was worth it. It was the damndest thing.

BTW, my legs were right, too. It turned out I ran approx. two-three minutes slower than usual.

The leg workout in the evening was very good. Even though I'm only working with dumbells, I also did a bunch of squats (3x15) and the best part was that I had no trouble with my little knee problem. Yea!

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Note to self: If any part of your body starts messin' with you, show 'em who's the boss!

Half-way there! Yesterday was another one of my 'killer days' with weights in the morning, cycling+soccer+cycling in the evening. Everything went well. The soccer practice wasn't quite as intense as they were last week, so I wasn't that tired afterwards.

I've still maintained a very good and clean diet, so I'm anxious to see what the results will be after the 18 days are through. I might be just imagining things (although I'm usually more of a 'glass-is-half-empty' kind of a guy), but I think my mirror is telling me that I've gained a little more definition especially in my abdominal muscles and that I've become more veiny (is that a word?).

I sure hope it's not just my imagination.

Ah, went for my usual cardio yesterday morning, and it went just fine (kept my tempo up, so my legs had something to do - other than protest). After I got back home and stretched, sweaty as a hog, I remembered that heat was going to be out for the day, so there would be no hot water. Nice.

The old me would've been mighty miffed, but the new positive me took it as an opportunity to get rid of the shackles of the cliche-ridden 'bathing-with-heated-water' thingy. Showering with ice-cold water was actually quite fun, although I couldn't find my royal subjects for the next three hours.

Otherwise things went swell.

Exactly one week from now I'll be writing the last update to this journal. I've been doing great so far, so nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is going to stop me anymore.

Yesterday was another 'killer' day with weights in the morning (back+chest) and 45+90+45 in the evening. All went well.

I think I'm in the groove!

Great posts... I can't wait to see the results... Keep up the great work!

Great posts... I can't wait to see the results... Keep up the great work!

Thanks! You know, I thought writing this journal would be helpful, but I had no idea it would be this helpful. It's been keeping me really focused on my goals. And it's a handy way to do some mental unburdening, too.

Now I just need to get me some new goals and start up a new journal after this one's finished. :D

Ok, it's official: I'm not going crazy (albeit that's a relative term). I'm definitively losing fat and gaining definition all over my body. Veins are popping out left and right. Even my bloody thighs are starting to get veiny. Now, this raises an interesting question. If I'm going along at such a good pace, why stop? Perhaps I should extend my program until the end of June and REALLY get some definition going. I'm guessing I'll be pretty close to the 9% boundary after these 18 days are through (or at least something between 9-10%), and I've got a hankering to get to the magical 8% landmark. Hmm....

Yesterday was again a good day. I didn't do any cardio, but since I've been doing it pretty intensely for the past four days, I could use the rest. I did weights, though, in the evening - it was time for my shoulder & abs workout. No complaints about that.

I also weighed myself this morning: this time the scale says I've lost exactly 2 lbs over the past week. Since I'm not exactly trusting my scale, I'll just take that as a sign that I've lost some weight - hopefully fat - and that I'm on the right track.

Oh, I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I really like my new meal plan, it's keeping me full of energy all day long, and it's been quite a while since I last felt any hunger pangs. Go me!

Nothing weird to report from yesterday. Did my AM cardio, did my weights in the evening (arms), ate clean all day long.

All in a day's work...

Yesterday wasn't supposed to be a day of complete rest, although my Sunday's usually are. I was swamped with work, however, so I wasn't able to leave for my soccer practice as I was planning to. I ate clean and as scheduled, though, so no real damage was done. And I suppose a little rest didn't do me any harm, at least now I'm charged up to work my ass off for the last four days!

Aahh, back in business! I did my 45 mins of AM cardio and weight workout (legs) in the evening. They felt great! I don't know what it was, perhaps the day of rest, but I just felt really pumped doing the workouts, and I'm really happy with their intensity.

Also, I did once again some dumbell squats (3x15) and didn't feel a thing in my bad knee. Yay! I'll probably be adding the squats into my regular weights workout and stop 'just testing' them.

Oh, and a piece of good news. I've been having a little trouble as of late, an annoyance really, whereas... um... well, the brown knight has refused to leave the castle grounds. You know, I've been making deposits but haven't been able to make a withdrawal.

It wasn't anything serious (yet), but since I'm used to such regularity, it was getting a bit frustrating. And the swollen feeling didn't help either. After browsing through these forums, I realised what was going on: I've added my fiber intake AND my exercise a lot, but my water intake has stayed pretty much the same. D'oh! After two days of drinking lots more water, I'm happy to report a return to the way things ought to be. Yes, the knight is out!

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Note to self: Water is your colon's best friend.

Things are looking pretty good. Two days to go and everything's going just fine. Yesterday was my penultimate 'killer day' with weights in the morning (arms+abs) and 45+30+90+45 in the evening. Although it was match day, I felt pretty good all the way through. Now that's encouraging considering how hard I've trained as of late and how little I've rested.

It's still going good. Yesterday saw me going at my usual 45 mins of AM cardio on an empty stomach and lifting in the evening (back+chest).

I don't want to sound overly positive, but I think I might just be able to pull through this 18-day thingy. :D

Well, son of a b....! It's over! :claphigh:

The final day was also the last of my 'killer' days, although I must admit that the soccer practice was no good. The weather was unbelievably bad, I was feeling tired and, since I have a really busy day ahead of me today, I was already preoccupied with today's events. Oh well, at least the weights workout in the morning (shoulders+abs) was just as tough as usual, so not all was lost.

I'll go take my final measurements now, and I'll then post them along with some thoughts I have on the past four months of my cutting phase.

Some statistics from the past 18 days.

Workout sessions

AM: 45 mins of cardio on empty stomach x 8, weights x 6
PM: cardio (45 mins of cycling + 90 mins of soccer + 45 mins of cycling) x 7, weights x 7

Days of full rest: 2

Totals: cardio x 15, weights x 13; average 1.56 workouts per day

Current Measurements (change over the past 18 days in parentheses)

Height: 5'11" (didn't measure, just assumed it has stayed the same :D )
Weight: 155.2 lbs (-2.4 lbs)
Bodyfat (from mybodycomp.com): 10.41% (-1.5%)

I'll take these with a grain of salt, since the scale told me once again I've gained weight over the past week, and I'm in a bit of hurry, so my measurements might not be 100% accurate (I'll be taking them again a couple of days from now when I have the time). Nevertheless, I take the results to mean "I've lost some", which was kind of the whole point anyway. :D

Various pieces of information from my whole four-month cutting phase

Cheat meals:
4 shots of whiskey
2 glasses of white wine
1 (small) slice of cheese cake

Number of times listened to Iron Maiden's 'Live After Death' during a weight workout: figure off-scale

Random musings

A little over five months ago when I decided to start losing weight, I was motivated by a knee injury that seemed like it could prevent me from playing soccer this summer. Soon enough I realised that starving myself was a method that wouldn't bringing lasting results (I did lose approx. 10 lbs, though, in about five weeks, which was a great source of motivation), so I started looking for a better way. Long story short: I came across JSF and it changed my life.

Exactly four months ago I decided to embark upon a 16-week cutting phase aimed at maximising fat loss and minimising muscle loss. I'd like to think I've fared pretty well at it. My weight was about 179 lbs back then and my bodyfat was 20+%. Now that the 16 weeks are over, I've lost about 25 lbs and my bodyfat has come down to just a little below 10%. I'm very happy about that.

My cutting phase was based on two notions.

1) I won't eat anything I don't like.
2) I won't do any exercises I don't like.

The idea was that this way it would be relatively easy to keep my motivation levels high as I'm not forcing myself to do anything that I find unpleasant. And right I was, up until about three weeks ago when I was starting to become weary with the whole cutting thing. I've been very strict with my diet and exercise routines, which has meant virtually no cheating (see above) at all for four months and extremely regular workouts, and I believe it was starting to get to me.

Fortunately I realised I had a bit of a problem before things got out of hand. Then and there I decided to start up this journal and set myself very specific goals for the remainder of the four-month period. I'm glad to say it worked like a charm. I've been able to take it one day at a time which has been of enormous help, and despite the fact that I've been working out pretty hard, I've never felt too tired or too exhausted - neither physically nor mentally.

The question that now remains is 'what next'? I've still got a hankering to get a full six-pack showing before starting to put on some muscle (which I sure can use). The thing is, I think I need to cut myself some slack for a while. I've been such a good boy for four months that a little relaxation is in order. (For me, that probably means I get to eat raisins with my otherwise usual (and delicious!) healthy&clean oatmeal breakfast. :D )

Most likely, though, I'll be switching to a slow-cut/maintenance/slow-bulk phase, and see how that works out. But first, I'll be taking a week off, get some rest and also think things over. The past four months have been hard, but they've also been probably the most fulfilling and educational four months of my life.

I feel like a new man.

Wow, congrats!!!
I've followed this thread the entire time, and I have to say - great job!

You've inspired me to do something similar. I have been having a tough time waiting 2 or more weeks after a dietary change to see if it works or not (most often - doesn't)
so I think I'll make a plan of attack and stick with it for a set amount of time

How did you like the 18 days? thats not very long - but yet it worked out great for you.

Wow, congrats!!!
I've followed this thread the entire time, and I have to say - great job!
Thanks a lot!

How did you like the 18 days? thats not very long - but yet it worked out great for you.
Yes, it did work out, but I didn't change all that much from my usual exercise and meal plan (I simply worked out more and ate more - and ate more veggies etc.). My main problem was in the motivational department since I was getting tired with the whole cutting thing. For that problem, I think this was a very good cure. Oh, and also, these were the last 18 days of my program which kind of gave me an extra incentive... ;)

Anyway, whatever you decide to do, best of luck! :gl: