Forever Cutting (My Road to 10%)

[TheNormalMan]

Well if you're still planning to eat the same thing every day, then there really is far less need to meticulously count everything.

I wish I knew what to tell you man. You're like the most hardcore dood I've seen in dis here LF logz. I'd tend to agree with kureransu tho, does it have to be RFL? Just eat 1800-2000 like I do! That's easysauce compared to what you're used to lol.
Anyway, if you've made up your mind ain't nobody going to convince you of anything.

I'm done counting but yeah, it's gonna be RFL for the time being.

It works, I can stick with it, and the results are addicting after a time.

Really in the nose to the grindstone mode right now, so gotta be strict for the time being.

I'll worry about balance truly once I get a hell of a lot closer to where I need to be.

Thanks for the input man. Always glad to have you around.

[TheNormalMan]

September 15, 2014

Thoughts

Started my second round of RFL again today. Will be running the next six weeks as a cat. 2 dieter and following all of Lyle's instructions in the book to the letter again.

The only real difference between how I'm doing it now and what I was doing before is that my protein requirements have gone up about 25% or so over what I was doing before.

I will be eating around 200 grams of protein again per day again while minimizing carbs and fats and taking EFAs and additional fiber supplementation as possible.

I'm on the fence about whether or not I'm going to include free meals since cat. 2 dieters get 1 per week but I will be sticking with the 5 hour refeed he commends once per week.

For convenience, I think I will be doing my refeed on either Friday or Saturday so when I update measurements on Monday, water weight should mostly be gone.

The most important thing of course will be consistency and timing with said measurements.

I'm pretty stoked to be back on RFL again and the thought of only running it six weeks this time is a lot more promising than the 12 week goal I set for myself back in June.

Not really sure what I'm expecting for results at this point, but I'm going to just keep going no matter how long it takes and we'll see where I'm at in six weeks.

Hopefully I can make some pretty good progress during this cut.

At least I'm at the point now where losing 20 pounds is going to look a whole lot better on my physique now than it did when I was at 250+ pounds like before.

Day 1 successfully in the books.

Here's my starting measurements, just to keep track of myself again like I've done for the last few months. I like having it in visual form.





Workout

45 Minute Full Body at Gym



Nutrition

195 protein
5 Fish Oil
No extra fiber

[TheNormalMan]

September 16, 2014

Thoughts

Felt really tired and lethargic throughout the day today. Didn't expect to feel this drained by only the second day back on RFL.

Body is already feeling tighter and leaner again after only two days. It's mostly in my head probably but it feels good to be back in control like this again on my diet.

Not sure if I will be lifting again tomorrow. Will be dependent on how I'm feeling in the morning.

Might end up waiting until Thursday and having a small amount of carbs before I lift to give my body some energy.

Going to rock this entire six weeks of RFL.



Workout

Rest Day



Nutrition

180 protein

[Compy386]

Awesome man. Something was wrong with the universe in the short time NormalMan wasn't doing RFL.

Your body is already responding because you're an addict

6 weeks is going to be great. And you're right - every pound you drop this go-round is going to be even more noticeable.

As for me - I can't wait to get to where you started your last one. 250 is like an ethereal dream where I am Khal and Danerys is my Khaleesi and we raise our baby dragons and ride them around the world.

All about perspective.

[Gen1GT]

Jason, I know you said you wanted to get into writing. I highly recommend "ctrl + L" instead of "ctrl + E."

:P

[TheNormalMan]

Awesome man. Something was wrong with the universe in the short time NormalMan wasn't doing RFL.

Your body is already responding because you're an addict

6 weeks is going to be great. And you're right - every pound you drop this go-round is going to be even more noticeable.

As for me - I can't wait to get to where you started your last one. 250 is like an ethereal dream where I am Khal and Danerys is my Khaleesi and we raise our baby dragons and ride them around the world.

All about perspective.

Hehe. I know what you're talking about all too well.

It's not so much that I'm addicted to RFL, but the results it generates when followed faithfully make it worth it.

I'm so sick of cutting, I'm in the mindset now to just get it over with and do something else with my life.

You're doing awesome too man. You'll be down to 250 before you know it and the entire time it seems, while may seem like forever now, will be a drop in the bucket when you get there.

Jason, I know you said you wanted to get into writing. I highly recommend "ctrl + L" instead of "ctrl + E."

:P

Not entirely sure I understand, but I will work on that, lol.

[TheNormalMan]

September 17, 2014

Thoughts

Didn't have much energy again today either but felt a little better overall than I did yesterday.

I didn't end up going to the gym today. Just didn't have the drive or want to go lift but I am going tomorrow morning definitely.

Will be continuing full body for at least another week or so. I can't just decide which of the introductory 5x5 programs is best for me to do or start now.

My biggest problem with most of those programs is the lack of volume or non-inclusion of some exercises that I enjoy to perform.

But at the same time, I don't like modifying preset programs and will follow whatever I end up selecting.

Diet was on point again. Will update with my weight tomorrow. Curious to see where I'm at since most water weight is probably gone by now.



Workout

Rest Day



Nutrition

185 grams protein

[Gen1GT]

Control L switches to left margin in Microsoft Word. :P

[TheNormalMan]

Weight: 209.6

Already back to my pre-RFL weight.

Most water weight probably gone by now again. Should be fat loss again from here on out mostly.

[Compy386]

Awwwwww yeah.

[TheNormalMan]

September 18, 2014

Thoughts

Felt alright today. Not as bad as yesterday, but far from feeling great in any way, shape, or form.

Feels good to be back down to my old RFL weight again. Just got to keep it going and stay to my path.



Workout

60 Minutes Full Body at Gym



Nutrition

180 Grams Protein

[Gen1GT]

Weight: 209.6

Already back to my pre-RFL weight.

Most water weight probably gone by now again. Should be fat loss again from here on out mostly.

Frikkin awesome. I can't fathom weighting 209 lbs, keep it up dude! You're two weeks away from the 100's.

[kawan333]

Go for it, man!

My ultimate tip 4 you would be to train everyday even when you don't feel for it. (Don't if you're sick or something)


Best wishes and regards

[TheNormalMan]

Awwwwww yeah.

Getting there man. Bit by bit.

Frikkin awesome. I can't fathom weighting 209 lbs, keep it up dude! You're two weeks away from the 100's.

You'll be there soon enough my man. Just keep going with it. Looks like you're doing quite well yourself.

Go for it, man!

My ultimate tip 4 you would be to train everyday even when you don't feel for it. (Don't if you're sick or something)


Best wishes and regards

Thanks man.

I only train 2 or 3 times a week on RFL. It's really physically not possible to train more than this while in such a massive calorie deficit.

I've tried doing that before and it ended badly last time I tried to workout 5-6x a week on this type of diet.

We'll just see how it goes. Maybe I'll go walk on those days.

[Prestonion]

Same weight as me now dude. 209.6 "bs is where its at. Good to see the dedications still there

Would you redommend to do a 2 week maintenance break after your experience? Or stick to one week?!?

[Gen1GT]

Same weight as me now dude. 209.6 "bs is where its at. Good to see the dedications still there

Would you redommend to do a 2 week maintenance break after your experience? Or stick to one week?!?

I've been eating 3500-3700 cal/day this past week, and I gained a bit of water weight around Monday, but I've lost more actual weight. I'm still at 365, but once I drop calories down to 2300 again, I'll probably drop 5 pounds of water weight next week.

I think everyone should throw in some maintenance breaks. It can help preserve normal hormone levels, and it's important psychologically to be able to do maintenance properly. It's like practicing to live once you hit your goals.

Speaking of which; 208 lbs at 6'5"? You must be pretty cut already.

[Prestonion]

I wish i was, not much mass on me to be honest. Just shredding as much fat as possible then ill have a clean slate to work with.

Will aim to do a slow bulk for a 9-12 months once fat vanished. Ill post before and after on my log next sat... And get opinions

[TheNormalMan]

Same weight as me now dude. 209.6 "bs is where its at. Good to see the dedications still there

Would you redommend to do a 2 week maintenance break after your experience? Or stick to one week?!?

Hey man. Definitely follow what Lyle says and 2 weeks of maintenance if you intend to diet for longer after this six week period.

Just try to do a better job of controlling yourself with food and intake than I did. I didn't binge nearly as hard as I have in the past but did a poor job of fully controlling myself as well.

[TheNormalMan]

Weight: 208.4#

Didn't have a chance to update last night. Ended up being too tired and went to bed early.

Will be having my refeed tonight and going to keep carbs around 350 grams for the five hour period. Going to be eating simply starchy carbs only for this.

Surprised I've already cut 7 pounds this week, especially after two weeks of maintenance and cutting my workout volume down to only twice this week so far.

Guess the diet does work really well when followed the way it needs to be.

Will update again tonight.

[TheNormalMan]

September 20, 2014

Thoughts

Weight: 208.4#

Just been feeling pretty bleh last couple days and haven't really had much energy to do much of anything really other than just sit around.

It does feel nice being under my pre-maintenance weight again already. I was expecting it to take over a week before I would get back down there again, but it looks I'll be able to make some progress this month into new weight loss territory this time around.

Just got to stay focused and keep going day after day.

I need to start walking again more. Haven't done that much in the last few weeks and I think it helped me a lot before.



Workout

Rest Day



Nutrition

175 Grams Protein

[Gen1GT]

Weight: 208.4#

Didn't have a chance to update last night. Ended up being too tired and went to bed early.

Will be having my refeed tonight and going to keep carbs around 350 grams for the five hour period. Going to be eating simply starchy carbs only for this.

Surprised I've already cut 7 pounds this week, especially after two weeks of maintenance and cutting my workout volume down to only twice this week so far.

Guess the diet does work really well when followed the way it needs to be.

Will update again tonight.

I feel like there really is something behind the maintenance/refeed concept. I wish there were published studies on the it, because it seems to give the body permission to keep losing weight rapidly.

[TheNormalMan]

Week 1: 214.8
Week 2: 207.6

First week was good again. Felt pretty lethargic and drained of energy most of the week, but wasn't so bad after a moderate carb refeed of 300 grams on Saturday night.

Going to try 350 grams next week and see if that gives me a little more energy.

Here's my updated measurement chart for the week.

Sciatica still bothering me a bit so taking a couple more days off from the gym. Hopefully will feel better later this week.

[Compy386]

Damn dude. You done this before?

Awesome progress! At this rate you'll disappear in 30'weeks!

[TheNormalMan]

I feel like there really is something behind the maintenance/refeed concept. I wish there were published studies on the it, because it seems to give the body permission to keep losing weight rapidly.

I would have to go dig up some information about it. I think Lyle has some stuff on his site about it.

Basically the longer in a deficit you are, the more fat burning hormones your body activates it seems and these hormones still act strongly even for a good while after calories are increased.

So you can diet for a couple months, eat at maintenance for a week and still continue to lose fat/weight despite eating at maintenance level calories.

Hardest part is controlling the calories at maintenance so they don't completely destroy your progress or set you back.

Damn dude. You done this before?

Awesome progress! At this rate you'll disappear in 30'weeks!

Haha, thanks man. And nope, never done this before. It's all new to me.

Hopefully will be officially lean in 30 weeks. That would be the key there. Not just losing lots of weight.

[TheNormalMan]

September 22, 2014

Thoughts

Sciatica still bothering me quite a bit. Been pretty painful since Friday.

Going to workout tomorrow and keep things light. Hopefully won't bother me with what I end up doing. Most important thing will be to listen to my body.

Overall, I must say I'm pretty happy with my first initial loss on this second round of RFL again.

Wasn't sure what I was expecting to drop the second time around again, but 7 pounds in the first week, even if mostly water weight is pretty damn good given with how far I've come already.

Haven't even had much of an appetite last few days and had to force myself to eat a couple meals.

Going to be skipping free meals depending on situation and sticking strictly to just the weekly refeed and nothing else extra during the week.

Already over a week done. Amazing how the time flies.



Workout

Rest Day



Nutrition

150 Grams Protein

[Luclin999]

September 22, 2014

Thoughts

Sciatica still bothering me quite a bit. Been pretty painful since Friday.

One thing to try for sciatica.

Lie down on the edge of a raised surface (couch, bed, etc.) on the side opposite the hip/leg which is bothering you. (bad left leg, lie on right hand side) Then bend the afflicted leg and extend it over the edge of the bed/couch/etc. and attempt to "push" the knee of the bent leg downward to the level of the surface that you are lying on or below. Depending upon the severity of the muscle pressure causing the nerve to be pinched, there is a good chance that this will either:

1. Relieve some of the pressure on the sciatic nerve and allow temporary relief for so long as you maintain this position..

or

2. Allow you to "pop" the hip on the afflicted side which can release the nerve completely (although depending upon just how long the nerve has been pinched it may take hours or even days for the nerve to heal and recover enough for the pain to completely subside).

You may also want to consider sleeping on the side opposite of the afflicted leg/hip and propping your leg up about 8"-12" with one or more pillows under the thigh/knee.

[TheNormalMan]

One thing to try for sciatica.

Lie down on the edge of a raised surface (couch, bed, etc.) on the side opposite the hip/leg which is bothering you. (bad left leg, lie on right hand side) Then bend the afflicted leg and extend it over the edge of the bed/couch/etc. and attempt to "push" the knee of the bent leg downward to the level of the surface that you are lying on or below. Depending upon the severity of the muscle pressure causing the nerve to be pinched, there is a good chance that this will either:

1. Relieve some of the pressure on the sciatic nerve and allow temporary relief for so long as you maintain this position..

or

2. Allow you to "pop" the hip on the afflicted side which can release the nerve completely (although depending upon just how long the nerve has been pinched it may take hours or even days for the nerve to heal and recover enough for the pain to completely subside).

You may also want to consider sleeping on the side opposite of the afflicted leg/hip and propping your leg up about 8"-12" with one or more pillows under the thigh/knee.

Thanks for the advice.

After taking it easy for the last week, it's feeling a lot better now. Still not 100%, but definitely feels like I can push myself more at the gym.

Most important thing is just listening to my body at this point. Can't be too cautious or won't make progress, but some discretion is needed.

[TheNormalMan]

September 26, 2014

Thoughts

Weight: 205.4

Still sticking strictly to RFL protocol. Just haven't been in the mood to update last few days.

I am going to try to get back into a habit of doing that more often since I think it helps hold me accountable if I am staying on progress as I need to be.

That said, I'm pretty happy with my progress again back on this diet and hope to continue to see the same results in the next four weeks.

Just day by day at this point. Not much else to do.



Workout

60 Minutes Full Body at Gym



Nutrition

175 Grams Protein

[GravyVeins]

Is your diet pretty similar to your last RFL round? Salads with grilled chicken?

[TheNormalMan]

Is your diet pretty similar to your last RFL round? Salads with grilled chicken?

Yup. 10-12 ounces of chicken + lettuce and ff cheese + no calorie dressing or vinegar.

Sometimes, I'll eat a pound of fat free cottage cheese instead for a meal when I'm feeling lazy and don't want to cook.

I know the cottage cheese has a few too many carbs in it, but it doesn't bother me at all.