MeadHole's Cutting Log - (Trying IF

Hi Everybody,

I think my post is too long so I will post a reply for the 2nd half of this.

Had this typed out about 2 weeks ago, but couldn't post for some reason. Current weight is just under 200, will post more accurate readings in the posts.

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Time for a cut! 22 years old, about 205-210 right now. Former wrestler turned into a heavy lifter, but pretty lazy lately (about a year of inconsistent lifting). Still somewhat active, skiing every weekend/every other weekend. Currently behind a desk for 8 hours a day (spend at least half the day standing though, thankful for my standing desk!) Jumped on a treadmill for an 8:50 mile the other day, decided it's time to get motivated and moving! I need to put that wrestling discipline back to use. Used to run a <18min 3 mile when I wrestled. I'd be lucky to run a 30min 3 mile now haha

I'm planning on mostly lifting, but I will incorporate some cardio/vigorous calisthenics to improve upon the fat-loss.

I'm going to try out intermittent fasting because of the convenience, and I end up following it most of the time anyways. I love working out during my lunch and luckily have access to a sizable collegiate gym/weight-room during lunch. And skipping breakfast is pretty easy considering all I would normally have is a protein shake. Makes intermittent fasting the easiest way to limit my calories!

Diet/workout will be as follows:

First meal (1-1.15pm): 1 Scoop (myProtein) Protein Shake post-workout

Second meal (4:30-5pm) Half a Chiavettas-marinated(super vinegar-y marinade)grilled chicken breast. (6oz roughly? Will try to determine more accurately soon)
- Might include veggies here? Raw carrots, broccoli, celery, cauliflower
- Maybe a chobani yogurt if calories allow for it?

Snack (not every day): lightly salted peanuts, portioned moderately.

Dinner: Varies, but portioning appropriately. We cycle inconsistently between marinated chicken + veggies, steak + veggies, hamburgers (willing to cut out, always open to suggestions), shake&bake pork chops (might grill instead, obviously less carbs), tacos (looking for advice on these, typically soft tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomatos), homemade pizza (local pizzeria dough, generic glass jar sauce, mozzerella cheese), salmon fillets and veggies, bacon and eggs (potentially add a bagel, depends on the day?)

Note - this isn't purposefully keto, mostly because I don't quite trust it, but low carbs + mostly protein seems straight forward to retaining muscle + burning fat cells vs carbs. Yes I will/do feel pretty drained without many carbs. Discipline!

Supplements:
- Protein, already recorded above.
- Creatine 5g daily
- 200mg Caffeine Pill for pre-workout (may up to 400 (200 twice a day?) in a month or so depending on tolerance)

...continued...

...continued from above...

Very open to constructive advice/thoughts! If anything, I think my problem will be undereating after portioning. I also just don't feel like buying a food scale, but I might end up doing that to avoid my gross approximations.

I workout very intensely (try to avoid puking but it happens), but my weakness/inexperience is primarily in diet (the most important part, of course). Please give me your thoughts!

Starting today! Looking forward to the journey! I will upload pictures/measurements later today/tomorrow morning.

Also - I am much not as concerned with overall weight as I am with BF% and overall composition. But - it has always been a bad habit to lose that weight extremely quickly because the numbers sound nice, and of course I lose a ton of muscle along with it.

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Update: Almost through my 2nd week into it, and had a not-so-good weekend last weekend - but not the worst.
But I'm just under 200, I will weigh myself later. Lots of lost* water weight, I'm sure. Been drinking tons of water, especially with the caffeine/creatine.
Workouts this week: Chest + tris monday, Legs Tuesday, cardio wednesday, back and bi's today(thursday), and shoulders/traps friday(tomorrow).

Suggestions for the weekend? Run a mile, walk a mile + calisthenics on Saturday? Sunday off?

Making this log to keep me accountable - help me out! Thanks Everybody!

Just finished back and bis for today

WOW I hate losing strength but the pounds are coming off.

Odd Scenario - I was doing leg-raised pull-ups, then when I couldn't finish the set I would finish with regular pull ups. This guy stops his workout to come and do 10-15 of the leg-raised pull-ups and then continues his original workout - which has nothing to do with core/back/lats whatever. Is he being a douche to show me how many he can do, or nah? Haha I'm not too bother by it, he was about 130lbs max. Just thought it was odd

Update: Going strong!

Weight: under ~197 (sorry for vagueness, lazy with tracking + fluctuating water weight)

Lifting still going strong, every weekday, skipped the weekend. Going to try and fit in some cardio/calisthenics this weekend though. Pretty happy with strength-management so far, definitely drained during my workouts though.

IF has been great, makes staying under calories super easy. Been trying to stay under 1500-1600 which may be a bit low, but I am impatient :P If strength starts to tank then I will up my protein/calories to counter it.

Another bad (Saturday night anyways) weekend this last weekend, can't let it happen again. Need to keep disciplined for that maintained progress!

[QUOTE=MeadxHole;1576229111]Update: Going strong!

Weight: under ~197 (sorry for vagueness, lazy with tracking + fluctuating water weight)

Lifting still going strong, every weekday, skipped the weekend. Going to try and fit in some cardio/calisthenics this weekend though. Pretty happy with strength-management so far, definitely drained during my workouts though.

IF has been great, makes staying under calories super easy. Been trying to stay under 1500-1600 which may be a bit low, but I am impatient :P If strength starts to tank then I will up my protein/calories to counter it.

Another bad (Saturday night anyways) weekend this last weekend, can't let it happen again. Need to keep disciplined for that maintained progress![/QUOTE]

Good job on picking yourself back up. I read through your first post and would like to offer a bit of constructive criticism. "Note - this isn't purposefully keto, mostly because I don't quite trust it, but low carbs + mostly protein seems straight forward to retaining muscle + burning fat cells vs carbs."

The only thing that burns fat cells is being in a caloric deficit over time. Carbs are simply energy and many of us need them to function well, however, everyone is different. Protein is what helps us retain our muscles combined with lifting. Maybe your messing up on the weekends isn't just a lack of discipline but may also be lower carbs than your body is used too? If I was lower than 160-170g Carbs, I'd probably end up messing up. These are my thoughts and just do trial and error to find out what works for you.

[QUOTE=PuppyLife;1576249251]Good job on picking yourself back up. I read through your first post and would like to offer a bit of constructive criticism. "Note - this isn't purposefully keto, mostly because I don't quite trust it, but low carbs + mostly protein seems straight forward to retaining muscle + burning fat cells vs carbs."

The only thing that burns fat cells is being in a caloric deficit over time. Carbs are simply energy and many of us need them to function well, however, everyone is different. Protein is what helps us retain our muscles combined with lifting. Maybe your messing up on the weekends isn't just a lack of discipline but may also be lower carbs than your body is used too? If I was lower than 160-170g Carbs, I'd probably end up messing up. These are my thoughts and just do trial and error to find out what works for you.[/QUOTE]

That makes sense. That has been in the back of my mind but I need to break my fake-science-mentality that carbs=bad. I have probably been pretty low on carbs the past couple weeks, so you're probably right about being more prone to breaking down on the weekends. I will try and incorporate more carbs appropriately. (It will likely help big time during my workouts as well)

Thanks for the comment! I am always open to the constructive criticism!

Update: ~ 195 this morning, slightly dehydrated so probably between 196-197

Time for some cardio today!

Got a nice chest pump after a heavy lift/deep push-up burnout then finished with a quick mile run.

I need to start upping my cardio! Excited for warm weather to get a morning run in occasionally but we're of course getting an end-of-march snowstorm tonight/tomorrow.

Update:

~195 still, missed workouts Friday-Sunday. Got a new puppy on Friday so that has been a very big change!

Ate decent, not a great weekend but didn't over-eat which is great!

Back to it today! Love feeling excited to workout each day, I'm enjoying getting back into it a lot! Even with weight coming off, my strength is still improving with each lift. (Took way too much time off the past year)

Steak tonight!

[QUOTE=MeadxHole;1576586271]Update:

~195 still, missed workouts Friday-Sunday. Got a new puppy on Friday so that has been a very big change!

Ate decent, not a great weekend but didn't over-eat which is great!

Back to it today! Love feeling excited to workout each day, I'm enjoying getting back into it a lot! Even with weight coming off, my strength is still improving with each lift. (Took way too much time off the past year)

Steak tonight![/QUOTE]

Congrats on the new puppy! They are super amazing hence my name haha. What kind did you get? They can definately distract you a bit from fitness with stress or just huge changes. So be aware of that haha. I want to see you keep on going at it! Did you try the recommendations about the carbs? We all have some sort of fake "science" mentality and its taken me a long time to break mine. Carbs/fat/protein are a macronutrient which composes up a calorie as a majority and a calorie is a unit of energy. So cut calories, you cut the stored energy over time (fat). I personally need 160g carbs/day and feel weak if I don't and over several days I probably will eat way over maintenance. I try to get atleast 200. Good luck on the pup! I made a log myself and took pics today after about 10 days in and can see slight changes already!! I found pics from when I was at my best a few years ago and its so sad how I let myself go but thats some extra motivation/

[QUOTE=PuppyLife;1576603791]Congrats on the new puppy! They are super amazing hence my name haha. What kind did you get? They can definately distract you a bit from fitness with stress or just huge changes. So be aware of that haha. I want to see you keep on going at it! Did you try the recommendations about the carbs? We all have some sort of fake "science" mentality and its taken me a long time to break mine. Carbs/fat/protein are a macronutrient which composes up a calorie as a majority and a calorie is a unit of energy. So cut calories, you cut the stored energy over time (fat). I personally need 160g carbs/day and feel weak if I don't and over several days I probably will eat way over maintenance. I try to get atleast 200. Good luck on the pup! I made a log myself and took pics today after about 10 days in and can see slight changes already!! I found pics from when I was at my best a few years ago and its so sad how I let myself go but thats some extra motivation/[/QUOTE]

She is quite the handful but definitely worth it! 9 week old Golden Retriever.

I haven't been mindful about carbs yet. I need to try and be smarter about that this week, but it has been hectic with the pup. I also enjoy feeling 'full' after eating a good portion of meat vs rice, pasta, whole grains, etc. I will cook up some rice to go along with a few meals this week and see how that effects my workout.

My cardio has been pretty horrendous lately. My BPM was almost 190 after running a half mile in 4 minutes - finished up with 8% incline walking at a fast pace (kinda preparing for some big hikes, just getting in overall better shape). I think carbs has a good amount to do with it, but I have been having a very hard time finding my "runner's high" that I can normally find pretty consistently.

Been lifting very intensely for about 30 minutes, shortening my rest times between, then hopping on the treadmill for a quick mile but that mile has been really bad yesterday and today.

Advice for cardio is most welcome! Is this normal? (keep in mind I'm on kind of a time-crunch with my lunch workouts)

[QUOTE=MeadxHole;1576679351]She is quite the handful but definitely worth it! 9 week old Golden Retriever.

I haven't been mindful about carbs yet. I need to try and be smarter about that this week, but it has been hectic with the pup. I also enjoy feeling 'full' after eating a good portion of meat vs rice, pasta, whole grains, etc. I will cook up some rice to go along with a few meals this week and see how that effects my workout.

My cardio has been pretty horrendous lately. My BPM was almost 190 after running a half mile in 4 minutes - finished up with 8% incline walking at a fast pace (kinda preparing for some big hikes, just getting in overall better shape). I think carbs has a good amount to do with it, but I have been having a very hard time finding my "runner's high" that I can normally find pretty consistently.

Been lifting very intensely for about 30 minutes, shortening my rest times between, then hopping on the treadmill for a quick mile but that mile has been really bad yesterday and today.

Advice for cardio is most welcome! Is this normal? (keep in mind I'm on kind of a time-crunch with my lunch workouts)[/QUOTE]

Cute! My last pup was a golden retriever. They are the best dogs. I did lot of dog training so if you need any help let me know. Look up clicker training by Karen Pryors. I would highly suggest crate training asap. A week or two lack of sleep but worth it. I miss having a puppy/dog currently but lifestyle won't allow it currently. I eat quite a bit of rice, however, I found that I can eat so much more pasta in a single serving than I can rice. My meals I made for my weekend to work was 1 serving of spaghetti noodles with 6 oz of ground turkey/spaghetti sauce with two pieces of 45 kcal bread with I cant believe its butter. That fills me up so much more than rice. One of my favorite carbs to eat is hashbrowns cooked with minimal oil. They have more volume than rice as well. Cardio is super important but I HATE running. I was in wrestling in highschool and did so much of that and I won't do it till I am in much better shape. I enjoy a nice 20-30 minute elliptical session. I also recently signed up for lap swimming lessons and so I will be switching to that since I love being in the water.

When it comes to cardio your body adapts so in time you have to run further to get that BPM up and thats perfectly normal. Getting your heart rate up is good for cardiovascular health, but I don't believe it has any magic effect on burning fat. Thats what a caloric deficit is for. I think of cardio as extra movement and that increases the caloric deficit. Switch up the cardio a bit. Do HIIT cardio as well as some moderate intensity like elliptical etc. You probably won't see me run on a treadmill till 2021.

[QUOTE=PuppyLife;1576680691]Cute! My last pup was a golden retriever. They are the best dogs. I did lot of dog training so if you need any help let me know. Look up clicker training by Karen Pryors. I would highly suggest crate training asap. A week or two lack of sleep but worth it. I miss having a puppy/dog currently but lifestyle won't allow it currently. I eat quite a bit of rice, however, I found that I can eat so much more pasta in a single serving than I can rice. My meals I made for my weekend to work was 1 serving of spaghetti noodles with 6 oz of ground turkey/spaghetti sauce with two pieces of 45 kcal bread with I cant believe its butter. That fills me up so much more than rice. One of my favorite carbs to eat is hashbrowns cooked with minimal oil. They have more volume than rice as well. Cardio is super important but I HATE running. I was in wrestling in highschool and did so much of that and I won't do it till I am in much better shape. I enjoy a nice 20-30 minute elliptical session. I also recently signed up for lap swimming lessons and so I will be switching to that since I love being in the water.

When it comes to cardio your body adapts so in time you have to run further to get that BPM up and thats perfectly normal. Getting your heart rate up is good for cardiovascular health, but I don't believe it has any magic effect on burning fat. Thats what a caloric deficit is for. I think of cardio as extra movement and that increases the caloric deficit. Switch up the cardio a bit. Do HIIT cardio as well as some moderate intensity like elliptical etc. You probably won't see me run on a treadmill till 2021.[/QUOTE]

We started crate training our first day! (Friday) it has been tricky but last night she only needed to be let out one time! I will definitely take a look at the Karen Pryors training. I am having the most trouble with leash training, she is either way ahead (which I prefer) or lagging behind because she's tired. There's almost never an in between!

I will definitely work on incorporating more carbs.

I agree for the most part on BPM not heavily effecting overall calories burned, but I suppose I should specify that I'd like to get back into decent cardio shape on top of shedding fat. I have to assume that with time that will occur naturally if I continue with cardio, but I definitely need to do more HIIT in the meantime too.

Just under 195 this morning, was was under calories yesterday by at least 200-300, but i'll survive.

Had a nice tri's pump today + some great cardio on the treadmill. 1.3 miles, 8:30 pace for .9mile then .4mile at 12% incline hiking-style.

Having fun! Diet going strong, let's keep this up!

Wow! 192.2 this morning, I hate fluctuations. Haha under-hydrated for sure + last 2 days have been below 1400 calories (not purposeful).

Feeling good though! Chest + some rowing cardio today!

Broke my intermittent fasting with a Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon & Egg White Breakfast Sandwich from Starbucks because I felt like it! 210 cal, 5g fat, 18g protein, 26g carb. Seems pretty clean!

[QUOTE=MeadxHole;1576683581]We started crate training our first day! (Friday) it has been tricky but last night she only needed to be let out one time! I will definitely take a look at the Karen Pryors training. I am having the most trouble with leash training, she is either way ahead (which I prefer) or lagging behind because she's tired. There's almost never an in between!

I will definitely work on incorporating more carbs.

I agree for the most part on BPM not heavily effecting overall calories burned, but I suppose I should specify that I'd like to get back into decent cardio shape on top of shedding fat. I have to assume that with time that will occur naturally if I continue with cardio, but I definitely need to do more HIIT in the meantime too.[/QUOTE]
For the pupper, the leash pulling is perfectly NORMAL. It is one of the hardest things for dogs is the leash. They won't be fully trained on leash till atleast year to year and half. That means no pulling during all different types of distractions. This also depends on the dogs reinforcement history of pulling. I would say the fundamental most important thing to teach your pup is clicker training. Basically the clicker becomes a marker that allows you and your dog to communicate. So a click means that the dog did something right within that moment. The way to do this is have a very highly desireable food like tiny piece of cheese (smaller than pinkie sized nail) or lunch meat, and you click and immedeately give the pup one piece. Do this 10 times each day (2-3 sessions a day not even 30 secs) and by the second day the dog understands. Start leash training in the house as well without a leash. So once the dog associates the clicker with yummy treats, now you can really train your dog much easier. If you click accidently feed your pup the treat. EVERY click means a treat EVERY time. So for leash training, have your pup near you in heel position and just click+treat, click+treat, click+treat for being in the position and just do this for 20-30 secs depending on the pups attention span. this is very VITAL. You are basically creating a hotspot right near your side in a heel position (can also do this for the crate or mat). After a few sessions, Take one step and the moment the dog steps WITH you, click then treat in heel position incrementally increase this distance one step at a time turning etc as well. Do this in different environments as well. Dogs don't generalize well. I always tell my client that on leash is 100% training time even in public. If I bring a puppy out/dog I've got some treats till they are atleast year and half old.

Crate training: Just make it a super happy place by letting the dog sniff and check it out. Hide treats in there. Feed the dog's food in there with door open till the pup is comfortable. I'd even recommend feeding one piece at a time in the crate. Science shows food one at a time increases reinforcement rather than multiple pieces at once. Do it in small steps, touch the door- feed, close the door- feed, allow pup to be in it for 1 second feed, 2 second feed, working your way up during the day time. Unfortunately the pup will have to whine it out at night. After a week of not giving in (doing any negative attention actually reinforces the pup to do the unwanted behavior) so basically if you yell then you just reinforced it. Definately check out Karen Pryors articles and do some research. Message me if you need any advice. I LOVE dog training.

Thanks for the info! I will definitely need to get an actual clicker sooner rather than later.

She is already amazing in the crate now actually! Rarely any whining, she has slept through the entire night the past 3 nights! We have been really wearing her out with walks/playing so that's a big factor but it's working! She has 'sit' down really well, and is slowly learning stay/come. It has definitely been a challenge - I just need to continually remind myself of the patience required!

Cutting update: 191.0 this morning - slightly under hydrated again but not as much as yesterday. Really happy seeing the number drop like this but I know it could just as easily pop up to 194 quickly!

Had an incredible rowing machine session yesterday, followed by a quick half mile burnout on the treadmill. Veryyyyy slight shin splints, but I think I know my limits well enough to avoid them getting worse. My back is hurting in all the right places after rowing yesterday! Also included a nice heavy chest workout before rowing.

I would like to PR my lifts sometime but I know my deadlift will be pretty disappointing. I am pretty sure I'm about 260/270 bench, probably just under 400 DL, and no idea on squats. Haven't squatted heavy in a long time, I have big legs so I was trying to lose some mass there purposefully. I still squat about 225-245 for 4x8 casually.

Body fat slowly coming off! I'd like to see close to 170 sometime in the future.

Also - I have not been taking my creatine like initially stated. No specific reason besides forgetfulness. I've been pretty content with my lifting + it takes my body a while to get used to creatine every time I cycle back on. My stomach goes crazy + bloated when I cycle back on it. Still taking 200mg caffeine 45 minutes before workouts on weekdays. No caffeine pills on weekend days yet.

~192.5 this morning

Missed my workout on Friday, haven't done **** over the weekend. Dieted pretty well though! Friday night I had a couple beers but nothing over the top.

Back to it today! Happy with my progress so far, now I need to keep it going! I can definitely notice a difference in my face/belly fat. I normally first notice it in my legs.

Not sure if I want chest/tris or back/bis today. Probably chest + high volume burnout followed with a quick mile on the treadmill. Get that heart rate up!

quick edit* Very comfortable 8:30 mile on the treadmill, I should have upped the pace a bit! Would like to get a mile under 8 minutes sometime soon. Will try for it on Thursday! (Heading to New Orleans for work conference Friday through Monday, will workout at hotel.)

Crazy fluctuations as usual. 188.8 this morning, definitely under-hydrated.

Back + bis today, maybe another mile on the treadmill.

[QUOTE=MeadxHole;1577163181]Crazy fluctuations as usual. 188.8 this morning, definitely under-hydrated.

Back + bis today, maybe another mile on the treadmill.[/QUOTE]

I don't think its being under-hydrated unless your urine is dark. I usually refer to this as whooshes. I actually don't think theres science out there regarding it but the creater of IF made some sort of article on how your body is holding onto the fat cells as much as possible and then it ends up giving up which brings about the whoosh or significant drop in weight. Good job man! Keep it up. Off to the first day of nursing class this quarter. RIP me.

[QUOTE=PuppyLife;1577165441]I don't think its being under-hydrated unless your urine is dark. I usually refer to this as whooshes. I actually don't think theres science out there regarding it but the creater of IF made some sort of article on how your body is holding onto the fat cells as much as possible and then it ends up giving up which brings about the whoosh or significant drop in weight. Good job man! Keep it up. Off to the first day of nursing class this quarter. RIP me.[/QUOTE]

Good luck with classes, I have a ton of friends who have done various programs and are nurses now, great money, stressful jobs, but purposeful for sure.

Update this morning: 189.8, no cardio yesterday (shorter rest time between sets). I was pulling 315 DL surprisingly easy actually, got significantly more reps than expected, and it was at the END of the higher volume sets. Huge confidence builder. Sore in all the right places so that's good!

Shoulders today, and I should run 1-1.5 miles today as well but my glutes/hamstrings are definitely feeling it from DL yesterday haha We'll see how it goes! Having fun!

Additional note - I am really loving IF so far. So easy. I rarely feel hungry throughout the day (sometimes my caffeine pill on an empty stomach makes me a little uneasy, but goes away quickly)

Been very consistent with my first "meal" being one scoop of protein powder + water around 1:15pm post workout. Then nothing until 4:30/5pm at the earliest, and 7-830pm on Tuesdays.

Mini vacation for a work conference this weekend, my hotel has a nice little gym so I will be able to get a few workouts in there. (Open bar Saturday night could be disastrous, true test of discipline)

Update: Workout today was great. Lots of abs, heavy military press, then finished with interval running on the treadmill for about 13 minutes

Wow - super sore today! Abs are sore, which is great. Entire back is sore from two days ago. Slight shin splints from running but nothing excessive. Will probably hit chest for volume today, it's the only thing that isn't sore at the moment.

Sore in all the right places, anyways.

Update: 191-190 this morning, honestly can't remember what I weighed at. It was either 190.0 or 191.0 haha

Happy with my results so far though! These next 4 weeks I think will really start to visually see more of a difference. I was way under for calories yesterday, ate maybe 1000 calories total (just forgot to eat last night lmfao). I will be sure to stay on top of that moving forward.

[QUOTE=MeadxHole;1577321101]Wow - super sore today! Abs are sore, which is great. Entire back is sore from two days ago. Slight shin splints from running but nothing excessive. Will probably hit chest for volume today, it's the only thing that isn't sore at the moment.

Sore in all the right places, anyways.

Update: 191-190 this morning, honestly can't remember what I weighed at. It was either 190.0 or 191.0 haha

Happy with my results so far though! These next 4 weeks I think will really start to visually see more of a difference. I was way under for calories yesterday, ate maybe 1000 calories total (just forgot to eat last night lmfao). I will be sure to stay on top of that moving forward.[/QUOTE]

Keep it up man! Yeah once you get down in that weight, you start seeing more change quicker. I really like how dieting down is much faster in terms of seeing results then lean bulking is haha. I've actually never did an actual/intentional "bulk" believe it or not. All my muscle has been from wrestling for 4-6 years and of course weightlifting. Enjoy that extra calorie deficit! A couple days here and there are good to speed things up a bit faster.

[QUOTE=PuppyLife;1577339251]Keep it up man! Yeah once you get down in that weight, you start seeing more change quicker. I really like how dieting down is much faster in terms of seeing results then lean bulking is haha. I've actually never did an actual/intentional "bulk" believe it or not. All my muscle has been from wrestling for 4-6 years and of course weightlifting. Enjoy that extra calorie deficit! A couple days here and there are good to speed things up a bit faster.[/QUOTE]

I worry when I am under my deficit by that much, strictly because I obviously don't want to lose muscle mass because of it. I think it hinders recovery too which may be a part of why I'm more sore than expected. But I also like to occasionally look at total calories by week, and this weekend I'm going to purposefully try some great new foods + drink a bit while I'm in New Orleans - so I think it's good that I have been under a couple of days (everything in moderation). + I put up 90lb DBs for DB press today so I'm feeling great. I got an insane pump after today's workout (no cardio but shorter rests between sets)

Update: Weighed in at 192.0 last night, 191.0 this morning.

Horrible weekend, kinda. It was an amazing weekend in NOLA and I had a great time but I didn't workout once (got plenty of steps in, though) and I drank copious amounts of beer 3/4 nights. But I didn't overdo it on the food, so that was good.

Beer probably put me over on calories but I wasn't disciplined all weekend. Back to reality now!

Skipping my lift today as well, flew in super early this morning and currently at work so I might go for a run later if I am feeling it, but I've got a pretty good headache/upset stomach at the moment.

Haven't eaten today, decent dinner later + eggs should be good after a run/calisthenic workout.

Back to the grind! Still motivated! Just a small bump in the road. (semi-expected bump, first time in NOLA haha)

188.8 this morning, a little dehydrated according to the urine darkness.

Chest + maybe some interval running today! Thinking about switching to higher volume lifts instead of heavy, but I love putting up big weight at the gym so maybe a combination would be good.

Got some decent sleep last night, not quite enough but caught up on a bit lost from my travels.

[QUOTE=MeadxHole;1577751931]188.8 this morning, a little dehydrated according to the urine darkness.

Chest + maybe some interval running today! Thinking about switching to higher volume lifts instead of heavy, but I love putting up big weight at the gym so maybe a combination would be good.

Got some decent sleep last night, not quite enough but caught up on a bit lost from my travels.[/QUOTE]

Good job on getting back on track. Its never lost time when you do that, its a learning experience!! We are so different with weights haha. I am not a huge fan of lifting heavy and love my accessory workouts. It's probably cause my bench press is my absolute weakest yet my chest muscles are really good. Dem genetics

[QUOTE=PuppyLife;1577770841]Good job on getting back on track. Its never lost time when you do that, its a learning experience!! We are so different with weights haha. I am not a huge fan of lifting heavy and love my accessory workouts. It's probably cause my bench press is my absolute weakest yet my chest muscles are really good. Dem genetics[/QUOTE]

Thanks man. And that's interesting about your chest/bench! Definitely an important compound exercise, I generally substitute BB bench for DB bench. I did regular deadlift for 315 for a good amount of reps last week pretty comfortably but I have been substituting with trap bar DL because it's just better for overall athleticism (less room for error/back issues too).

I am really enjoying lifting heavy again but my cardio was **** today. It was like I could physically feel all the drinking and not working out coursing garbage through my veins. It really makes me appreciate clean eating!

Update: 188.2 this morning

Felt horribly tired this morning, got about 7 hours of decent sleep but just felt drained. I think I was a bit under on calories yesterday, but nothing excessive. Grabbed a reduced fat turkey bacon egg white and cheddar sandwich from starbucks this morning to start my day off with something. Tasted amazing + relatively healthy. I am purposefully breaking my "IF" dieting, but only occasionally. I only use IF to curb my hunger + limit calories anyways.

Chest is sore today, I love it. Back+bis today!