"At All Costs": 190 - 176 by July 24 log, 6 week cut

[flipkev]

Yeah I've made other logs before, but lost motivation, mainly because this area is where I spend most of my time.

Why do I need to get to 176 by July 24th? NPC Middleweight is 155 - 176.25lbs, I'm not competing in light heavyweight, I'd get destroyed and embarassed.

So why make this log? I've seen COUNTLESS threads of people trying to lose weight fast or how to do it in general, so instead of just explaining theories or rehashing other people's advice, why not make this as a guide for them to follow or get ideas from?

As of this morning, June 10, I'm 6'0, 190 lbs, around roughly 8% bodyfat according to a 3 point caliper pinch test (how accurate are those things anyway?). So 15 lbs. in 6 weeks, possible? Of course. Fun? NO!

Everyday I'll make a new post of my exercises and what I ate for the day, editing throughout. There will be some late updates as I may be going out with friends and won't have access to a computer for a while (such as when I see DC United play).

So let's get started, I'm hyped, mainly cause I ate carbs yesterday and this morning, hope I still feel this way 5 weeks from now "/

Not really counting calories, why? Cause from what I'm currently eating at the most I'm getting 2500 calories, and through various BMR calculations from different sources, I'm at around 3200-3500 per day. So I'm not gonna stress right now, I will when it comes close to showtime and I'm still overweight.

Currently dieting for my blood type and my routine consists of a 2 day split for the major muscle groups with 10-12 reps per set (attempted).

Learned so far:
-My body hates liver, clogs me up big time (TMI!!!)

[flipkev]

Worked out legs today, wasn't a good workout, but not in a bad way. Front quads were still extremely sore from Monday's workout, to where it hurt when I pressed down on them. Felt like acid through my veins when I was doing leg extensions and front squats, but still made gains in my hamstrings.

2:15am
12 egg whites, one egg yolk.
1/2 cup of baked sweet potato

4:00am
Protein shake - 3 scoops with one serving of Almond Milk

7:40am
3-4 ounces of beef roast

11:00am
6 ounces of ground turkey mixed with cup of broccoli soup

Noon
6 ounces of ground turkey mixed with cup of broccoli soup

4:30pm
8 ounces chicken breast
Cup of sweet potato

[iliketojuggle]

Nice I've gone from 157 to 148 so far in just under 3 weeks.. 14 pounds in 6 weeks is easily doable. Have you ever cut before?

[coals]

It's definitely possible, but at you're already 8%, it's going to be difficult.

[IIcovski]

thats going to be difficult, calories are going to need to be way down

[flipkev]

I've cut before, but never to this extreme. I'll have to start doing cardio in the afternoon before posing practice to help with my deficit. I have nutritional advice from my psuedo-trainer (trainer of a gymmate) and she answers any questions I have. Again it's gonna suck bad, but I want to show it can be done correctly and not just by theories. I'll be sure to take progress shots starting tonight.

[polar775]

Nice I've gone from 157 to 148 so far in just under 3 weeks.. 14 pounds in 6 weeks is easily doable. Have you ever cut before?

wtf..how

[flipkev]

Took some pictures, but the lighting made me glowing orange, so I'll try for some better ones tonight. Also learned my body hates liver, tried it out cause apparently it's good for my blood type, but not for my insides :/ Bleh.

Also tried to do cardio and posing last night, but just passed out. Was too tired, I'll try again for tonight.

Today was arms, chest and shoulder day. Made some gains overall and trying a new bicep exercise. Did 20 minutes of HIIT jumproping. Skip relaxed 200 skips then do 25 double unders, repeat 5 times and don't take breaks. Good sweat, had to cool off walking on the treadmill afterwards.

Feeling good after eating a cup of sweet potato this morning, I'm worried about how much sugar is in the cup (13 grams), but it should be ok. I'm thinking of cutting out the almond milk in my shakes (which is 5 grams of sugar), but then it'll taste like dirty water, oh well.

2:30am
8 ounces chicken breast
1 cup of sweet potato

5:30am
1/2 protein shake - 3 scoops with one serving of almond milk

8:00am
8 ounces chicken breast

[flipkev]

Dammit, skipped out on posing practice and cardio AGAIN. I'm gonna hit the gym later in the afternoon, have to get my car dynoed at 11 and my gym only opens at 8 today. I was talking to my friend last night about whey protein and it hit me. Whey is the leftover from the cheese curdling process, so it's a dairy byproduct. I'm a type O and shouldn't have any dairy and when I do I hold massive amounts of water. Maybe this is why I'm hitting a semi-wall here, so I've decided to cut out all Whey. If this works then I'm stuck with 5 five pound tubs of the stuff I'll have to get rid of somehow.

So this means I'll have to replace my shakes with either chicken or beef, 6-8 ounces of each. Time to go to Sam's Club :/

8:00am

6 ounces of beef steak
2 cups of broccoli soup

11:00am

6 ounces of chicken

2:00pm

6 ounces of beef steak

[Gusthebus]

u can do it bro goodluck i have a similar goal i started at 195 pounds now im 184 in 2 weeks i can be done cardio and lift like crazy my goal is 170 by july

[flipkev]

Pictures taken yesterday, still wondering why the lighting is outta wack :/

Relaxed:







Flexed:







Also no, the colors aren't wrong, my bathroom is pink for whatever reason and the shower really needs to be cleaned.

[flipkev]

This weekend was busy for me, still was able to hit the gym and do weight training, but again no cardio or posing practice, which is starting to piss me off. I'll do something about that tonight, no matter what.

Off the whey protein stuff, haven't noticed a difference yet in appearance and haven't weighed myself, too soon. Did drop about $150 on chicken and 20 lbs. of beef to make up for the lost protein from me dropping the shakes. I figured I'll have to eat 24 egg whites and 1 lb. of lean meat, either chicken or beef, just to hit my protein macros. It won't be anymore expensive than the protein powder, just a hassle having to cook and store everything.

Today is my low carb day and I'm dying here at work, thought I could make it through but I'm struggling.

2:00am
12 egg whites
2 cups broccoli soup

4:30am
2 ounces of ground turkey

8:00am
6 egg whites
6 ounces of chicken breast

Noon
6 egg whites
6 ounces of chicken breast

2:30pm
3 cups of broccoli soup

Got some quinoa from a gym mate and I'll try some tonight. I don't know, maybe I'm not noticing any physical changes, but it seems other people are. Last Sunday some random guy in the gym said he noticed I was leaner and I don't ever remember seeing the guy. Went to a BBQ in a tank top last Saturday and everyone kept giving me compliments saying I was bigger and looked great. So I don't know, don't really care as long as I'm in top form come July. 40 more days, god dammit, I need some carbs :/

[flipkev]

Today is moderate carb day so I'm feeling great. Worked back today in a different order, pullovers, then pullups then rows and switched doing traps for biceps. So now I do traps on my chest, delt, tricep days and bicep on my back and core days. Also used cable exercises with m ab routine, which I haven't done in a long time. Feels great, blasted my mid-section.

Still seeing gains so can't complain, weighed myself at work (security guy has an old school step on scale, where you have to adjust the slider, like at a doctor's office) and was 196, fully clothed, but before eating breakfast. So I'm guessing still 190, maybe a little lighter right now? Again not stressing, as long as I don't tip over 200 I'm fine.

2:30am
12 egg whites
2 cups of sweet potatoes

4:00am-6:00am
6 ounces of chicken breast

8:00am
6 egg whites
6 ounces of chicken

8:00am-11:00am
2 servings of almonds

Noon
6 egg whites
6 ounces of chicken

1:30pm
3 cups of broccoli soup

[sname]

Damn your diet is impressive. Wish I had that much dedication. GL on your extreme cut and gj so far!

[jackets0986]

Good luck with this bro! Looks great I'll be following this

[flipkev]

Was able to do some poses yesterday, wanted to do cardio but knew it would kill me, so I practiced front lat spread. Getting better with the V taper, but still have a ways to go. My suit is on the way, so now I just have to choose a song and develop a routine over the weekend. Oh and I gotta order some pro tan, keep forgetting, will do tomorrow.

Legs today, switched some exercises on my pyramids but kept to the same ones none the less. I guess I'm getting stronger in my legs, since for my squat sets I did 255 6x, worst than before, but ended off at 280 2x, which was better than before. Keep in mind I'm going below parellel here, I miss the 1/4 ROM days when it was easier :/

At the quinoa crap yesterday which tastes horrible IMO, I don't know how I'm gonna eat or prepare it to make it edible. I bought a lot of sweet potatoes today, which will be my last until after the show. Starting next Monday only one serving of quinoa after a workout, time to get shredded, which means I'm gonna be a grouchy mofo.

Anyway here's what I've currently eaten:

2:30am
12 egg whites
1/2 cup of quinoa

4:00am-6:00am
6 ounces of chicken breast

8:00am
6 egg whites
6 ounces of chicken

9:00am-10:00am
2 servings of baby carrots
1/2 serving of raw broccoli
(snacks at work)

10:30am
6 egg whites
6 ounces of chicken

Noon
12 egg whites
2 cups of broccoli soup

When I get home probably more egg whites, chicken and broccoli soup. Must resist eating sweet potatoes, they're cooking right now in the oven waiting for me to get back to mash them up and put them in containers. Will do mandatory posing again, try to do 2 minute hold per pose this time.

[flipkev]

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it really did slip my mind, but it was the same as almost most my days, worked chest, tri's and traps and stuck to my diet, had about 1 1/2 cups of sweet potatoes.

Today is a big day, last day I get to have sweet potatoes, for the next 30 or so days it'll be only one serving of quinoa, which I hate, after a workout. Total carb depletion starting, so I'm having 3 servings of sweet potato today, well already did. It's said for a body my size, I'll hold 200-300 grams of carbs/glycogen in my liver and muscles.

I'll assume I'm already full of the stuff, so on my current diet (without carbs), which is about 36-48 egg whites, 12-18 ounces of chicken, 2-3 cups of broccoli soup, that comes to 1276-1768 calories a day (Jesus is it really that low?). With a cup of cooked quinoa, addes 222 to the total. I'm still hitting my 200 protein macro, thank god 15 dozen eggs are only 15 bucks at Sam's Club since I'm off the powder. I've been advised to switch the chicken with flounder or tilapia, where 12 servings is $10.88 at Sam's Club. I'll probably buy 5 bags and try it out, be spending some money but whatever.

I'll post some progress pics this weekend, also got to finalize my song and routine.

What I've eaten so far:

2:30am
12 egg whites
1 cup sweet potatoes

4:00am-5:00am
6 ounces of chicken

8:00am
12 egg whites
6 ounces of chicken
2 cups sweet potatoes

[flipkev]

Hadn't updated in a while, my fault mainly, but finally the scale is starting to go left. 188 this morning, which is fantasic. Made changes to diet and when I do my cardio, so now I do 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill, using forearm grippers when I feel like it, then doing my exercises Dorian Yates style, which is lower the weight much more slowly than when you lift. I tell you it's been kicking my ass, I can't tell if I'm stronger or weaker from this cause I'm using different form, but man I can feel it which is what matters.

For the afternoon cardio I've been walking around my backyard (literally just in circles) for an hour, but I've been told to switch it to HIIT (****), with sprints as a suggestion. God dammit, I'm usually drained by the time I get home, so I have to suck it up, do about 20 minutes of sprints and then practice my poses.

As for diet, I'm following a strict plan now and prepare all my meals in the week in advance.

Basically it's this:

1st meal/Pre-work out:

12 egg white omelet (2 egg yolks)
2-3 servings of broccoli
1-2 servings of either quinoa or brown rice (depending on low/high carb day I'll either have none or 2 servings)

During workout:

6 egg whites

2nd meal/Post-work out:

12 egg whites
2 servings of flounder/tilapia (whatever is on sale at Sam's Club that week)
3-4 servings of broccoli
2 servings of either quinoa or brown rice (No matter what day, 2 servings always)

3rd meal:

12 egg whites
2 servings of flounder/tilapia (whatever is on sale at Sam's Club that week)

4th meal:

3-4 servings of broccoli

5th meal:

12 egg whites
2 servings of flounder/tilapia (whatever is on sale at Sam's Club that week)
3-4 servings of broccoli (optional)

Snacks:

Walnuts
Almonds
Pecans

Supps:

Centrium Vitamins
Calcium
Fish Oil

Water:

At least 4-6 liters a day


I may eat a 6th meal if I feel like it or need it, if so it follows the same outline as the other meals, but without carbs. Still carb cycling, kinda, I just eat 2 more serving than usual on my leg days (which is twice a week). If I just feel drained or tired when I wake up, then I'll have a bit of carbs, but I always eat 2 serving post workout when my body needs it.

I've been told I'm looking better, no more killing myself on a 1,300, no carb diet. What was I thinking, no wonder I felt and looked horrible. Now my calories are in the 2,000 - 2,500 range depending on how much broccoli I eat and I feel much better now (in theory, body is still sore). Now have to reserve a room, order some pro-tan and finalize my posing routine.

Also will try to get progress shots this weekend, main camera is being borrowed and my cell phone camera is crap (1.3 megapixels, stupid ironman phone).