THREE month cut: Sept 1st - Dec 1st! Who's with me?

[CincoSeisDos]

Feeling pretty good that I've lost 23lbs but really want to loose this gut! Is it really the last to go?

I'm learning this as well as I go brother, it sucks, but it seems this way. I don't expect it to go away within my first year of working of ridding myself from it after 24+ years of being a lardo, I think losing the lower belly will not be achieved until about a year or so later. It will be done, oh yes, it will be done.

How much fiber are you getting daily? Getting enough water? Are you eating enough solid foods or more like oatmeal, yogurt, egg whites, etc?
Possible chance of a blockage? "Regular" can be between once every few hours clear up to once every 3-4 days depending on type of food eaten and what not.
If it's been more than 4 days, you could be constipated. If it's been over a week, you should go see a doctor about it.

On Thursday I went twice, decent stools, but usually it's about three days between visits =\

I don't have my phone at hand to check my myfitnesspal for fiber counts, but aside from my fruits which is usually varied from about 2-5 pieces a day, I also take 2 servings of psyllium and this week I introduced senna tea after seeing it being mentioned by numerous folks in threads regarding bathroom issues here on BB

Maybe i'm just overreacting though, I never was a once a day person even when I ate whatever the hell I wanted. I just for some reason thought it'd be more regular as I came to eat healthier.

[Etharian]

I'd been hanging onto to my weight this week and wondering if I was going to need to switch from "eating less" to accurately counting my calories. However, at the end of this week I got a big woosh and down around 9 pounds from Friday. I stepped on the scale today and it was 153.5 lbs. Very excited. I am on track to finish my cut by thanksgiving and then its bulk bulk bulk. I'm going to post some pics later today to see where I am at BF% wise.

[plshrk]

Alright here is my monthly progress photos. Not the drastic changes like last month but I am still down 7lbs from my weigh in on September 30. I can really feel it in my jeans and also see my love handles disappearing. This may sound silly but I feel like I am putting on some serious muscle.. I also included a silly leg photo (first one ever taken) but I do not neglect my legs, I am training them hard!

First photo August 30th 2012 - 189lbs, Second Photo September 30th 2012 178lbs, Third photo October 29th 2012 171lbs

[redcaesar]

I'm actually lifting how I always have in college - and I'm actually considering revamping it.
4-5 sets each with increasing weight: 15,12,10,8
Mon, Thurs - chest, biceps, abs
Wed, Sat - back, triceps, shoulders
I've never trained legs after I injured my back with a heavy squat...and my legs are still ENORMOUS. I think all my noob gains went there when I started lifting, no joke, they look like I train them everyday.
Sorry, but I'm not familiar with the IF style training or All-pro, what do they consist of?

Steve the All-Pro Simple Beginner's Routine is designed from a member of the forum. Consists of 7 basic moves 3 days a week heavy, medium, and light days. Increasing reps in 5 week cycle from 8-12. If you pass 5th week heavy day you increase weight by 10%. Really liking it cause it's simple and quick. 45 mins in and out...

The IF Lean gains Reverse Pyramid style Basically after warm up you lift your heaviest weight then increase reps as you decrease weights through sets... Not fully laid out or put into specific program that I could find so that's why I ended up using the all-pro.

I had been using the same workout I found in Mens Health Hard Body plan book since university but really long(usually taking 1:20mins) and was suppose to be done 4 days a week. I copied the workouts and printed them on cards here that I could take with me and pretty straight forward but wanted to change it up. Being so long maybe why I never keep at it for very long...

I think you said you do a lot of cycling? Maybe that's whey your legs have maintained their muscle. I've always found my legs were pretty good and I cycle/run but I still train them as I read or heard (maybe another myth) that since they are your biggest muscle they should be trained as it they will stimulate a greater amount of hormones for muscle growth in the blood stream that will be used by all muscles... So train your legs helps increase muscle in your chest, arms etc...

[Grelko]

Oct 22nd, I was at 205 and 16.3%

Oct 29th I am at 201.2 and 16.4% "handheld meter"


I think I caught Bronchitis or the flu or something, coughing alot, low fever, haven't been able to eat too good this week. Ended up losing 3.8 pounds.....

Lost 1/2 inch around my chest... This is BS, I'm starting to feel damn small since I started with a 48 chest and now its at a 42 "exhaled". Wtf man I work chest just as hard as everything else. I must hold alot of fat right there and my lower stomach.

Next weigh in and a picture update on the 5th

[BIGBUiLDERS]

15-18%

im down this sucks im trying alot of new stuff this time around my weights down my but body fat is still high i dont undersand ... now I got to relly 2 get weight down...

[01lowbird]

gotta weigh in on the 1st, everybody go kill it at the gym

[Paneetius]

may post pics soon, anyways, I have been losing a consistent 2lb a week since october 1st. No strength loss, Strength went up a little like major lifts like deadlift, benchpress, rows, etc.

Anyways, I am now 153-154lb at 18% body fat (as planned) and 5'4" so my 18% makes me look fat as fuark. I still need to lose a lot. I am not the biggest guy, but I have significant size. I am scared of losing mass on my cut.
here's my question: How do you know if you're losing muscle mass or not? I lift heavy for 6-8 reps (except shoulders, I do high reps for shoulders).

P.S. Even though I've went from like 23% to 18%, I feel as though there was no improvements, even though I see a little more definition when I do a lat spread (can see separation of traps and lats and I can even see the deltoid indentation where the 3 heads meet). lost some inches in the waist 38inches to 33-34inches.

Well, like a lot of people I've read about, I underestimated how much fat I needed to lose, but it's okay, as my goal was 140lb to be nice and lean and if I have to go to 130lb, I will gain 10lb of waterweight after a day or two of switching diets.

Good luck guys. Will probably cut on through to summer since Winter's gonna be over or nearly over when I'm about done.

[pedalift]

I know it's late to join this, but I've been lurking here for a while, and cutting since October.

A measly three pounds down so far.

Good luck, guys!

[alkemyst]

not quite done with week 12 of my cut. Down 28lbs. lost another pound this week. I was cutting 2lbs every 3 to 4 days but I can't keep up with it and I know it's costing be some muscle gains as least if not losing some of what I already have. I feel better on my workout days now with a little more calories coming in and keeping it to 1 pound each week (although I'd like to see 2 lbs each week).

I'd be doing better if I cut out the drinking on the weekends That's easily 3600 calories/a pound of body weight. Fortunately I stick to Mich. Ultras or Bud Light if that is not available. I have been going out during the week sometimes as well like Wednesday to the Hard Rock until 2am and then some hole in the wall until 5am. Getting a lot of attention now and it's fun being the older guy hit on. Had to show a chick my ID Wednesday because she thought I was lying I was 41. Told me I was just some 20-30 something trying to get into a cougar's pants (it was her 40th birthday that night and yeah I was sort of trying her )

I was honest about my relationship status and she told me to call her when I got a divorce finally

[redcaesar]

Ok Here is my weigh-in and pics. As well actually went for a Dexa(DXA) scan today. Found one 10 mins from my place. Turns out as suspected I hold a lot of fat in my mid-section. Gave me 18.3% BF ( scale said 16.4% this morning). But interesting was that my Android area (where men hold fat, the section around waist/abdomen) was 28%BF. That's not good as this is really bad for health and what I'm really trying to loss. It was good to see scale was only off by 2%

Dexa scan gives you 7 page report but I grabbed all the useful info in a single summary image here



Weighed in today at 159.2 down about 7 pounds since started cutting Oct 2. I think I need to kick up calorie deficit. I'm doing resistance training so hard to tell if I've lost more fat and gained some lean mass over the month.


And some shots
Progress Shots

Image of start of cut at 166
Starting from Oct2nd Shot

[jeffaz]

checking in at 13.5% bf. gone from 113kg at start to 102 kg now. feeling pretty gewdd

[GC13]

8 week progress pics....September 2nd 197.31lbs to November 3rd 181.88lbs.....no idea on my body fat as I havent had it checked yet.

[Winfamy]

So, two months ago I was at 149lbs and cutting. Got to 146lbs around early October and I've been reverse dieting from there, this is my first week at an actual surplus. Back at 149lbs atm, pretty much water weight from the increased carbs.

Haven't made much progress for two months, but I guess that's to be expected when half of the time has been reverse dieting. Still have some loose skin from the time when I was up to 250lbs (how the hell did I even let myself get there? *shivers*) and a little gyno, though the gyno will definitely fade as I develop my chest, and skin has tightened significantly from when I first lost the weight so it's just a matter of waiting

(shades are cool and I have no idea why I didn't use them first :P)

Front relaxed:


Back relaxed:


Back Flexed:


Side Flexed:


Front flexed: (no before pic for that :/)


After cutting for so long I'm PUMPED to start my bulk learned from my past mistakes and will hopefuly cruise through this bulk!

Also massively excited for today, will be running my first marathon! Running a marathon has always been one of my long term goals when I decided to start a healthy life. The memory of not being able to run more than 5 minutes without coughing a lung during PE in highschool is still fresh in my mind, so achieving this would definitely be one of the greatest personal victories in my life. Can't waitttt

[LoadedLux]

good work

[Grelko]

Oct 29th I was 201.2 and 16.4%

Nov 6th I am 200.6 and 15.9% "handheld meter"

I look a bit bloated in the newest pic, but my stomach is still slowly going down

August 18th
October 1st
November 6th

[CincoSeisDos]

Bump

[Grelko]

Bump

I'm here till Dec 1st, but I think most of the others have moved on to one of these

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=149189393
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=149158513
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=148413903


been very busy lately, haven't had much time for the gym but have been eating near maintenance, might drop calories 100-200 more since my weight loss slowed a bit.
Update should be around the 19th

[redcaesar]

I'm still here. Progressing slowly. Happy with overall progress seem to be gaining some muscle and still loosing weight although slowly. Was at 155.8 yesterday morning when I weighed in. Still doing IF and Fasted training sessions/cardio and just finishing up 1st cycle of all pro and passed 4 out of 7 on Test day. I feel like I'm gaining muscle and strength.


My weights are as follows:
squat: 130lbsx2x12 pass
bench: 110lbsx2x12 fail (2nd set only 11)
row: 100lbsx2x12 fail (2nd set only 10)
press: 70lbsx2x12 pass
dead lift: 130lbsx2x12 pass
curl: 70lbsx2x12 fail (2nd set only 11)
calf press: 285x2x19 lbs pass

Still disappointed and discouraged that I'm not seeing any change in probably over a month for abs/love handle area.


Couple updated pics from this week..
Full Body
Leg Press

Want to continue past Dec 1st so will check out the other threads started, although I notice some have deadlines that have already passed...

[CincoSeisDos]

I'm glad to see i'm not the only one still sticking to the plan, although by the same token, I am "sticking to the plan" by going off of my cut this upcoming week.

I am hitting my one year mark of weight loss this coming Sunday, I began at 288 and as of today's weigh-in i'm at 172. I still have this lower belly that's frustrating as all hell, but I am hoping eating at maintenance (without eating calories burned) through the end of the year will help me minimize this belly.

To those still following through with their plan, reps for you folks. Kick some ass !

[redcaesar]

I am hitting my one year mark of weight loss this coming Sunday, I began at 288 and as of today's weigh-in i'm at 172. I still have this lower belly that's frustrating as all hell, but I am hoping eating at maintenance (without eating calories burned) through the end of the year will help me minimize this belly.

Wow that's amazing! 116 lbs in 1 year! Good job!

[alkemyst]

I'm glad to see i'm not the only one still sticking to the plan, although by the same token, I am "sticking to the plan" by going off of my cut this upcoming week.

I am hitting my one year mark of weight loss this coming Sunday, I began at 288 and as of today's weigh-in i'm at 172. I still have this lower belly that's frustrating as all hell, but I am hoping eating at maintenance (without eating calories burned) through the end of the year will help me minimize this belly.

To those still following through with their plan, reps for you folks. Kick some ass !

Damn bro, you kicked that fat's ass.

[Vancefish]

Hiya all!

So, here is a before and after up to this point. I've actually gained about 4lbs. However I knew that would start happening due to not really having a lot of fat in the first place (or muscle either). So, as I've been working out the fat is being replaced with the heavier muscle. If I were to lower my caloric intake any further I'd start loosing muscle.

What I do notice is that my arms, chest, upper abs and "love handle" regions are much more defined. So, I'm pretty sure I'm loosing fat fairly evenly over my entire body.

Although I work my abs to death, That fat is leaving there the slowest. It is going away, it's just taking the longest to fade out (and it feels odd jiggling on the muscle underneath when I run! LOL). I feel like my pecks are actually getting smaller, but they used to me spongy, now they are rocks. Plus when I tense them,.. They ripple up! YAY! lol I work my stomach and pecks hardest. I'm really hoping I can see muscle around the waist before new years. I can feel it plain as day. I just don't feel like it's happening fast enough. My peck muscles are growing, but it took a while to find a good workout to really get them burning. I basically work the front torso to death, then fill in with a few others to wear out whats left.

Glad to hear others are still around. I plan to continue this into next year. Simply grabbed onto this thread for some unknown reason. My actual goal is to be the most buff 42 year old guy hiking the Colorado back country next spring. Hence the reason I'm trying to pack on as much as possible while loosing the "layer". Once the spare tire fades off, I'll be packing in a lot more. I'm still trying to pack on more muscle, but can't do the mass protein and carbs right now, while I'm still trying to loose the gut.

Anyway. I'll do another update closer to the end. Maybe a week after the official end. (Because I started a week late.) Once my waist line comes back, I'm going out to eat the most gluttonous meal! LOL

[redcaesar]

Nice work Vancefish, just keep at it ... It's a slow and long road!
Check out LG IF Post on Stubborn Fat Loss
http://www.leangains.com/2010/06/int...born-body.html

Hiya all!

So, here is a before and after up to this point. I've actually gained about 4lbs. However I knew that would start happening due to not really having a lot of fat in the first place (or muscle either). So, as I've been working out the fat is being replaced with the heavier muscle. If I were to lower my caloric intake any further I'd start loosing muscle.

What I do notice is that my arms, chest, upper abs and "love handle" regions are much more defined. So, I'm pretty sure I'm loosing fat fairly evenly over my entire body.

Although I work my abs to death, That fat is leaving there the slowest. It is going away, it's just taking the longest to fade out (and it feels odd jiggling on the muscle underneath when I run! LOL). I feel like my pecks are actually getting smaller, but they used to me spongy, now they are rocks. Plus when I tense them,.. They ripple up! YAY! lol I work my stomach and pecks hardest. I'm really hoping I can see muscle around the waist before new years. I can feel it plain as day. I just don't feel like it's happening fast enough. My peck muscles are growing, but it took a while to find a good workout to really get them burning. I basically work the front torso to death, then fill in with a few others to wear out whats left.

[DRtrainer]

feelsbadman, Dec is on the doors and i only went from 20% to 16%...looks like i will go for another 3 months

[DatLurker]

I dun goofed, lost 6 pounds and gained 6 pounds.

Coming @ this again tomorrow.

I fuked up bad

[Grelko]

[QUOTE=DatLurker;984042663]I dun goofed, lost 6 pounds and gained 6 pounds.QUOTE]

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving "if you celebrate it"

I know how you feel, I've been with the family all week and was too busy to go to the gym this week again, plus with all the food around.

I gotta get to the gym on monday and see what the damage was from this week lol, I'd say atleast 5 pounds

I was feeling sick this week, damn migraines... most likely from going from low salt to a sh!t ton forthe last couple days.
Atleast I made sure and got my protein each day from all the deviled eggs, turkey, etc. that I was eating.

Updating weight on monday then getting back on track.

[alkemyst]

I was worried. Had to skip two workouts this week. Had turkey bloat until today. I somehow lost a inch of my naval and waist measurements from prior to it and now. Focusing on total calories a day. I get sloppy sometimes like last night where I ate a 1900 calorie pizza. Hadn't had pizza in so long burned the "F" out of my upper palate. Tummy flat and measurements down today made it OK

[redcaesar]

The end is tomorrow! Been floating around same weight past weeks and a half. We'll see how weigh in tomorrow goes. Will take some updated pics as well.


Where too after this?
Any one continuing?
Any one know of other threads staring Dec 1st?
Should we start one?

[01lowbird]

Welp last night at the gym before the 1st. Lets see how many people stayed "in"