First attempt at a PSMF...182lbs -> 165lbs...Here I go!

[lattlay]

Starting this log to keep myself accountable and sticking with a PSMF. Going to be following Lyle McDonald's PSMF method, except with my old workout regime.

A bit of background:

Went through a bulk from last August to December and totally ballooned from 175lbs to 205lbs, this was at 2800calories a day working out 5 days a week. Crappy metabolism but gained a ton of strength in all lifts. Started cutting in January and got down to 181lbs as of this morning with one meal a day IF style at 2000calories a day and 190g protein. But my weight loss has stalled these past few weeks, so instead of upping the cardio (already do 6+ hours a week cardio on top of 5 days a week lifting) or lowering the calories by a bit I thought I'd give PSMF a try. Attached a December (fat) pic, and a pic from this morning (not as fat). Pics are at different angles and different light, crappy I know, but you'll get the gist.

So today was the first day and I feel fantastic to be honest.

Workout schedule:

Monday - Arms, core
Wednesday - Chest, triceps, core
Thursday - Cardio
Friday - Back, core
Saturday - Shoulders, Delts, Traps
Sunday - Legs, core
With a 20 minute heavy leg stretch every day (gave myself an arbitrary goal of doing the front splits)

Daily nutrition:
2 x tablespoon Cod liver oil, morning and night
1 x tablespoon Glucosamine
2 x 100mg caffeine + 8mg ephedrine, morning and afternoon
1 x scoop BCAA, 5 days a week on lifting days during workout
5 x tablets metamusil, gonna need all the fibre I can get...
2 x tablet hydroxycut elite, before meal
1 x tablet potassium
2 x gummies calcium
3 x tablets orange triad multivitamin
1 x tablet vitamin E
3 x tablet vitamin C

Going to aim to consume around 800 calories a day +/-150 or so, with at least 180g protein all in 1 meal; I'm so used to 1 meal a day I couldn't even imagine going back to multiple meals at this point. As per Lyle's method, I won't be tracking vegetables, but only low calorie low carb vegetables for me anyways. Apart from that, I will track everything to the gram with a food scale. I will weigh myself every morning as soon as I wake up and piss.

So, without further ado, here was my day:

Day 1 - 182.1lbs

Calories / Protein / Carbs

2 cans tuna - 240 / 60g / 0g
125g cottage cheese - 110 / 15g / 6g
528g skinless chicken breast - 585 / 121.4g / 0g
300g Shirataki Noodles - 0 / 0g / 0g (these things will save your life)
1 red bell pepper
1 chopped green onion
A dollop of salsa
1 large bowl of spinach and balsamic vinegar

Total (excluding vegetables): 878 calories, 196g protein, 6g carbs

Gym:
Hammer curls
Wide grip barbel curls
Preacher bench curls
Tricep Rope pulldown
Straight bar tricep pushdown
Single arm tricep pushdown
Weighted twist machine (obliques)
Weighted crunch machine

So far so good, if it's like this every day then this will be a breeze. Tips and suggestions welcome!

[tombaron]

Good luck on the psmf dude how long are you running it for?

... oh wait... shirataki noodles.... give me these noodles and I demand you take all my money!!

[lattlay]

Good luck on the psmf dude how long are you running it for?

... oh wait... shirataki noodles.... give me these noodles and I demand you take all my money!!

Thanks man, hoping to do minimum 2 weeks, longer if I can handle it.

Yeah, found shirataki noodles at the supermarket and stocked up, they help a ton in but a little expensive like $2.50 a package.

[tombaron]

Thanks man, hoping to do minimum 2 weeks, longer if I can handle it.

Yeah, found shirataki noodles at the supermarket and stocked up, they help a ton in but a little expensive like $2.50 a package.

Nice man, 2 weeks is a good time to get a feel for psmf. I got loads of Asian stores around my home. I'll be able to find these noodles lol

[lattlay]

Day 2 - 179.5 lbs (-2.6 lbs)

Woke up with no energy, but that was soon remedied by a dose of caffeine + ephedrine. A few hours later, I noticed a distinct metallic taste in my mouth that stayed with me all day, which I'm assuming is a symptom of Ketosis. Got super groggy in the early afternoon, and zoned out a lot. Hunger wasn't really an issue, but the groggyness sucked.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

2 cans tuna - 240 / 60g / 0g
1 packet chicken gravy - 80 / 4g / 16g
343g skinless chicken breast - 343 / 78.9g / 0g
200ml Egg whites - 101 / 23.7g / 0g
425g Shirataki Noodles - 25 / 0g / 10g (turns out these do have carbs/calories)
1 scoop protein - 140 / 26g / 2g
1 cup almond milk - 30 / 1g 1g
1 broccoli crown
1 chopped green onion
1 long eggplant

Total (excluding vegetables): 959 calories, 194g protein, 29g carbs

In retrospect I shouldn't have had the gravy...Adds calories and carbs for no reason, and it mixed with the residual water of the noodles and turned my meal really soupy and gross. Lesson learned.

[tara19]

Hey, just checking logs.
I would be weary of 2xtins of tuna daily.
Mercury and all that

[lattlay]

Hey, just checking logs.
I would be weary of 2xtins of tuna daily.
Mercury and all that

Yeah, I've heard about that. Tuna does have amazing calorie to protein ratio, sucks about the mercury but I read somewhere that 2 cans a day shouldn't have adverse effects. I hope...

[tara19]

Yeah, I've heard about that. Tuna does have amazing calorie to protein ratio, sucks about the mercury but I read somewhere that 2 cans a day shouldn't have adverse effects. I hope...

I think it's 3x tins a week depending on which specific brand/fish.

[lattlay]

Day 3 - 177.8 lbs (-4.3 lbs)

Today felt totally normal. No hunger pangs, no groggyness. Just another day really. No metallic taste in my mouth either, maybe it was because of the fact that I had more carbs yesterday than Monday.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

2 cans tuna - 240 / 60g / 0g
380g skinless chicken breast - 380 / 87.4g / 0g
171ml egg whites - 87 / 20.2g / 0g
425g shirataki Noodles - 25 / 0g / 10g (turns out these do have carbs/calories)
85g cooked mussels - 146 / 20g / 6g
1 broccoli crown
1 chopped green onion
1 red bell pepper

Total (excluding vegetables): 878 calories, 188g protein, 16g carbs

Cooked the chicken, mussels, noodles, and vegetables into a soup. Super full now...

Gym:
Incline bench
Decline bench
Pectoral Flys
Weighted twist machine (obliques)
Weighted crunch machine
5k walk

[lattlay]

I think it's 3x tins a week depending on which specific brand/fish.

Any suggestions for what to replace the tuna with, with the same high protein low calorie macros?

[tara19]

Any suggestions for what to replace the tuna with, with the same high protein low calorie macros?

Any lean meat will do.
Chicken breast, pork, ham, turkey, seafood (white fish)

[lattlay]

Day 4 - 178.9 lbs (-3.2 lbs)

Calories / Protein / Carbs

1 can tuna - 120 / 30g / 0g
421g skinless chicken breast - 421 / 96.8g / 0g
168g cottage cheese - 148 / 20.2g / 8.1g
2 scoops protein - 280 / 52g / 4g
1 cup almond milk - 30 / 1g 1g
1 red bell pepper
1 long eggplant
1/2 bag spinach

Total (excluding vegetables): 999 calories, 198g protein, 13g carbs

Woke up full of energy so skipped my first dose of caffeine and just had my 8mg pill of epidrine. Got a bit tired towards the afternoon, so took my second EC dose which woke me right up just in time for my Thursday 2 hour cardio session. I was actually a little worried that my energy would be too low for it but after the EC dose I felt 100% fine.

[lattlay]

Day 5 - 180.1lbs (-2lbs)

A little discouraging that my weight has gone up the last 2 days, I'm chalking it up to water fluctuations and will just have to trust the diet. Hope I get a whoosh soon...

Felt really tired at the gym today, but I honestly think that it was because I had a crappy sleep last night more than the low calories. My strength hasn't gone down, and today tends to be my heaviest day so that's a good sign!

Calories / Protein / Carbs

669g skinless chicken breast - 669 / 153.9g / 0g
170g tofu - 140 / 16g / 0g
171ml egg whites - 87 / 20.2g / 0g
1 broccoli head
3 stalks celery
Cabbage (~200g)
1 chopped green onion

Total (excluding vegetables): 896 calories, 190g protein, 0g carbs

Gym:
Deadlifts
Incline row
Seated row
wide grip lat pulldown
core

[lattlay]

Day 6 - 177.1lbs (-5lbs)

Weight dropped today, which is nice after 2 days of going up. Today was my "free meal" day, so didn't really count. Went to a friends house for a BBQ, but I think I was pretty restrained with my meal considering the amount of food there. Certainly could've been worse.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

1 x Cheesburger
4 x Jalapeño poppers
4 x spicy chicken wings
1 x corn on the cob
1 x small sized ice cream
1 x regular sized bubble tea

Total (excluding vegetables): ? / ? / ?

Gym:
No gym today. Instead I tagged along with one of my friends who is practicing for some sort of Scotish highland games event, which consisted of throwing heavy stuff as far as you can in a bunch of different ways.

[lattlay]

Day 7 - 175.3lbs (-6.8lbs)

Felt groggy all day, getting worse as the day went on. I think that it's because my last meal was yesterday lunch, and wasn't going to eat until dinnertime today so fasted for about 30 hours. Just ate and feel great again!

Calories / Protein / Carbs

524g skinless chicken breast - 524 / 120.5g / 0g
250g tofu - 2066 / 23.5g / 0g
176ml egg whites - 89 / 20.8g / 0g
1 x can tuna - 120 / 28g / 0g
1 eggplant
3 stalks celery
1 chopped green onion

Total (excluding vegetables): 939 calories, 193g protein, 0g carbs

Gym:
Leg press
Quad extension
Hamstring curl
Realllyyyy wasn't feeling it today at the gym, ended up leaving early because I twisted my knee yesterday and it started hurting like mad towards the end so just left rather than make it worse.

[lattlay]

Day 8 - 174.8lbs (-7.3lbs)

Week 1 done! Took a picture this morning, I don't think there is that much improvement visually, but it's only been a week.

Felt fine today, but the gym kicked my ass! I wasn't tired, but just felt so so drained after a little bit, like I just couldn't muster any more energy. Strength stayed more or less the same though, so at least there's that.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

513g skinless chicken breast - 513 / 118.0g / 0g
176ml egg whites - 89 / 20.8g / 0g
168g cottage cheese - 143 / 20.2g / 8.1g
1 x can tuna - 120 / 28g / 0g
1 zucchini
half a head of cauliflower
1 chopped green onion

Total (excluding vegetables): 870 calories, 187g protein, 8.1g carbs

Note: Had quite a bit of cauliflower today (about 450g), which equals a little over 20g carbs for the cauliflower. Not sure if this was overdoing it, or if this is within Lyle's definition of "unlimited vegetables" or not.

Gym:
Seated Military Press
Dumbbell raises (side and forward)
Trap barbell pulls
Reverse flys
Tricep rope pulldown
Single arm tricep pushdown

Wanted to do shrugs but had literally nothing left by the time I was done. A miracle I made it out really... was that bad! I think starting from now I will take Lyle's advice and cut the volume in half, never felt so drained at the gym before in my life.

[tombaron]

Good job so far. You look about 13-16% in your photo. Lyle's unlimited veg statement is fair as the vegetables on the psmf diet require the body to work hard to obtain the carbohydrates within them, therefore the amount of energy you can get from them is limited. Whereas 1g of carbs from a tomato will be about 4kcal, 1g from cauliflower may only provide you 1.5-2kcal.

The diet is also brutal on your digestive system, with even less fibre it would be hell (note my thread title lol)

[lattlay]

Good job so far. You look about 13-16% in your photo. Lyle's unlimited veg statement is fair as the vegetables on the psmf diet require the body to work hard to obtain the carbohydrates within them, therefore the amount of energy you can get from them is limited. Whereas 1g of carbs from a tomato will be about 4kcal, 1g from cauliflower may only provide you 1.5-2kcal.

The diet is also brutal on your digestive system, with even less fibre it would be hell (note my thread title lol)

Thanks man! Totally hear you on the fibre, almost forgot what it's like to poo =(

I'm probably overthinking the carbs, just want to get this right the first time. Going to do a refeed on Wednesday, and it will be carbageddon!

[lattlay]

Day 9 - 174.8lbs (-7.3lbs)

Exactly the same weight as yesterday. Felt fine today; no hunger pangs or groggyness to report, but can't wait for my refeed tomorrow...I'm hallucinating about bread at this point!

Calories / Protein / Carbs

503g skinless chicken breast - 503 / 115.7g / 0g
125g cottage cheese - 110 / 15g / 6g
2 x can tuna - 240 / 56g / 0g
1 eggplant
~200g cabbage
handful of spinach

Total (excluding vegetables): 853 calories, 187g protein, 6g carbs

[lattlay]

Day 10 - 175.2lbs (-6.9lbs)

I felt like ass all day, foggy mind and really hard to concentrate. I haven't had hunger pangs or anything like that, just really difficult to think clearly. Planned to have my refeed today, and I couldn't think about anything else all day but bread haha.

So, I calculated that I needed at least 450g of carbs + my regular 188g of protein, and less than 50g of fat based on Lyle's RFL book.

Calories / Protein / Carbs / Fat

298g skinless chicken breast - 298 / 68.5g / 0g / 3g
1 container Honey Greek Yogurt - 412 / 35.3g / 70.6g / 0.9g
2 x can tuna - 240 / 56g / 0g / 1.6g
650g x sourdough round - 1755 / 67.5g / 364.5g / 6.8g
54g x light mayonnaise - 154 / 0.4g / 3.9g / 13.5g
1 x honey timbit - 45 / 1g / 8g / 1g
handful of spinach

Total (excluding vegetables): 2904 calories, 229g protein, 447g carbs, 27g fat

Bread has never tasted so good in my life...

Gym:
Bench press
Incline bench press
Decline bench press
Seated chest flys
Single arm tricep pushdown
Core

Not gonna lie, felt weak as hell today. Had to go down 25lbs less on my bench, which sucked. Not sure if it was actual strength loss OR if it was just because I was so damn drained from the lack of carbs and calories. I cut the volume too, doing 4 sets each instead of 5 that I usually do. I'm not too worried though, this diet is only a short term one so if a slight drop in energy and lifts at the gym is the price I pay for rapid fat loss then so be it.

[lattlay]

Day 11 - 176.5lbs (-5.6lbs)

Only gained like a little over a pound since yesterday morning, which is good. I imagine that I will drop suddenly in the coming days once the water flushes out. Felt 100% normal today, as if I wasn't even dieting. No groggyness. no hunger, plenty of energy. The refeed definitely did it's job I think.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

624g skinless chicken breast - 624 / 143.5g / 0g
200ml egg whites - 101 / 23.7g / 0g
1 scoop protein - 140 / 26g / 2g
1 cup almond milk - 30 / 1g / 1g
~200g cabbage
1/4 head of cauliflower
3 celery sticks
Green onions

Total (excluding vegetables): 895 calories, 194g protein, 3g carbs

[lattlay]

Day 12 - 176.3lbs (-5.8lbs)

Nothing much to report, felt fine all day. Still a little bloated from Wednesday's refeed, but not worried about it.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

430g skinless chicken breast - 430 / 98.9g / 0g
1 x can tuna - 120 / 30g / 0g
200ml egg whites - 101 / 23.7g / 0g
220g frozen seafood - 120 / 28g / 2g
125g cottage cheese - 110 / 15g/ 6g
sugar free jello - 40 / 4g / 0g
1/2 head of broccoli
handful of spinach
Green onions

Total (excluding vegetables): 921 calories, 200g protein, 8g carbs

Gym:
Deadlifts
Pull ups
Wide grip lat pulldowns
v grip lat pulldowns
seated rows
core

Felt fine at the gym going at full volume. Happy to say that there was no loss in strength today.

[lattlay]

Day 13 - 176lbs (-6.1lbs)

Nothing much to report. Had my "free meal" today, only counted in my head and was still waaayyy under maintenance. Ran out of hydroxycut, but my ergocut came in the mail the other day so replacing my caffeine tablets with a dose of that instead.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

1 x tray supermarket sushi ? / ? / ?
1 x container honey greek yogurt with dry cottage cheese 467 / 47.4g / 71.7g
1 x cucumber

Total (excluding vegetables): ?

Gym:
Military press
Front dumbbell raises
Side dumbbell raises
Trap pulls
Rear delt machine
Barbell shoulder shrugs
core

Same as yesterday: Felt fine at the gym going at full volume. Happy to say that there was no loss in strength today.

[lattlay]

Day 14 - 173lbs (-9.1lbs)

Nothing to report, just another day really. Lost a bunch of weight overnight, which is nice!

Calories / Protein / Carbs

635g skinless chicken breast - 635 / 146.1g / 0g
1 x package shirataki noodles - 30 / 2g / 6g
125g x cottage cheese - 110 / 15g / 6g
1 x can tuna - 120 / 30g / 0g
~200g cabbage
1/2 head of broccoli
Green onions

Total (excluding vegetables): 895 calories, 193g protein, 12g carbs

[lattlay]

Day 15 - 172.9lbs (-9.2lbs)

Generally speaking, didn't have crazy amounts of groggyness like I did in the first week of this. I am starting to feel the lack of energy though, and my body isn't recovering as fast after workouts (feel way more sore for way longer than usual). Apart from that, it's not so bad.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

644g skinless chicken breast - 644 / 148.1g / 0g
200g tofu - 320 / 36g / 4g
1 x package shirataki noodles - 30 / 2g / 6g
1/4 head cauliflower
4 stalks celery
1 chopped green onion

Total (excluding vegetables): 994 calories, 186g protein, 10g carbs

Gym:
Leg press
Quad extension
Hamstring curl

Knee still hurt from last week, so just did a short workout today.

[lattlay]

Day 16 - 172.1lbs (-10lbs)

Lack of sleep + low carbs = mentally challenging day.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

530g skinless chicken breast - 530 / 121.9g / 0g
1 x package shirataki noodles - 30 / 2g / 6g
125g x dry cottage cheese - 100 / 22g / 2g
200g tofu - 320 / 36g / 4g
~200g cabbage
1/2 head of broccoli
Green onions

Total (excluding vegetables): 980 calories, 182g protein, 12g carbs

[lattlay]

Day 17 - 172.3lbs (-9.8lbs)

Refeed day! Last week I ate all my calories/carbs/protein all in one meal as I usually do. Today I decided to do it a little differently and spaced out my eating throughout the whole day. In Lyle's RFL handbook he says that a category 2 should have a 5 hour window in which to eat. BUT he also says in his forum that 5 hours isn't long enough to have much of a physiological impact, and that the 5 hour window is really to just stop people from over eating. Seeing as I am pretty meticulous about counting my calories I ignored the 5 hour window.

In retrospect, I really regret doing it this way. I hate eating more than once a day when cutting weight, it just makes me hungry. So even though I was eating way more, I was significantly hungrier than I've ever been on this PSMF so far.

Here's more or less what I did:

7:30am - 1 Bagel
8am - 1/2 bagel
9am - 1/2 bagel
10am - 1/2 bagel
11am - 1/2 bagel
12pm - 1/2 bagel
1pm - 1/2 bagel
2pm - 1/2 bagel
3pm - 1/2 bagel
4pm - 1 bagel
4:40pm - 5:40pm - gym
6:30pm - dinner

Calories / Protein / Carbs / Fat

6 x bagels - 1260 / 42g / 252g / 5.1g
510g x skinless chicken breast - 510 / 117.3g / 0g
280g x basmati rice - 320 / 8g / 68g / 4g
1 x can refried beans - 375 / 21g / 64.5g / 3g
1 x coconut chocolate chip cliff bar - 250 / 10g / 43g / 6g
1 x vanilla almond cliff bar - 270 / 20g / 30g / 9g
Handful of spinach
~200g cabbage
1/2 head of broccoli
Green onions

Total (excluding vegetables): 2985calories, 218g protein, 458g carbs, 39g fat

Gym
Flat bench press
Incline bench press
Decline bench press
Seated flys
Single arm tricep pushdown

[lattlay]

Day 18 - 175.2lbs (-6.9lbs)

Feel great, full of energy. Expected after a refeed day.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

370g skinless chicken breast - 370 / 85.1g / 0g
2 x cans tuna - 240 / 60g / 0g
125g x cottage cheese - 110 / 15g / 6g
250g x egg whites - 127 / 29.6g / 0g
45g x light mayo 129 / 0.3g / 3.2g
~200g cabbage
1/2 head of broccoli

Total (excluding vegetables): 976 calories, 190g protein, 9g carbs

[lattlay]

Day 19 - 174.1lbs (-8lbs)

Calories / Protein / Carbs

660g skinless chicken breast - 660 / 151.8g / 0g
1 x package shirataki noodles - 30 / 2g / 6g
36g x cottage cheese - 32 / 4.3g / 1.7g
150g x dry cottage cheese - 120 / 26.4g / 2.4g
1/2 head broccoli
~300g x cabbage
2 stalks celery
1 chopped green onion

Total (excluding vegetables): 842 calories, 185g protein, 10g carbs

Gym:
Deadlifts
Incline row
Seated row
wide grip lat pulldown
core

Lost 1 rep on my last set of deadlifts (405lbs). Not bad I think since I lost almost 30lbs since I started cutting.

[lattlay]

Day 20 - 172.9lbs (-9.2lbs)

Just another day. Back to the same weight I was at the beginning of this week.

Calories / Protein / Carbs

522g skinless chicken breast - 522 / 120.1g / 0g
1 x package shirataki noodles - 30 / 2g / 6g
100g x dry cottage cheese - 80 / 17.6g / 1.6g
200g tofu - 320 / 36g / 4g
150g x egg whites - 76 / 17.8g / 0g
1 small head broccoli
~200g x cabbage
1 chopped green onion

Total (excluding vegetables): 1028 calories, 193g protein, 12g carbs

Probably ate too much today, that tofu is kind of high in calories. Only 200g left though, so I'll just eat the rest tomorrow and not get it again.

Gym:
Military press
Front dumbbell raises
Side dumbbell raises
Trap pulls
Rear delt machine

No strength loss, went full volume.