The 200 day transformation...

[PhiRR9]

I also found it hard to motivate myself to do cardio. Have you checked out peloton cycle? I wasn't a fan of cycling, but the instructors are great at motivating people. Different music and workouts, plus you can do live or on demand classes. It is a bit expensive, but it's the only cardio I can push myself to do. They have an app so you can do it on any bike, but it's not the same.

Thanks for the idea. Looks like a really cool way to motivate, but unfortunately with a wedding expense coming up it's just way too far out of my budget.

I am considering getting a trainer to load my bike on for some indoor cardio. Maybe try some youtube videos to create a poor mans version of the same idea hahaha. Figuring I'll try to pickup something online during black friday sales.

[PhiRR9]

I should also note that our anniversary was this past weekend and we did a mini vacation out to Sanibel island. Had a great time, but pretty confident I completely blew my deficit with too much food and fruity cocktails for two days straight.

Back above 200 lbs this morning which is a huge slap in the face after being so delighted to get under it last week.

I'm on a mission this week to keep under my deficit and also hit all of my training hard. I know it doesnt work that way to make up for it, but at least it will make me 'feel' better about myself...

Thanksgiving will be tough, but I intend to focus on just turkey and sweet potatoes. That'll keep me somewhat in line that day.

[PhiRR9]

200.4 lbs this morning... almost back on track

[PhiRR9]

199.6 lbs and 20.9% BF this morning! Back under 200 and right after a big Thanksgiving meal too... def proud of my choices/restraint at the table.

[PhiRR9]

Almost a week later and I seem to have hit a wall. 199.8 lbs this morning. Not sure if I should be restricting my calories more or what.

I admit my workouts have been few over the last week and there was a day or two of surplus, but I shouldve still been trending consistently...

Thinking I need to really tighten the belt and be extra strict on cal counting and making sure Im getting at least 5 days a week workouts going forward.

[AlexSays]

Hi, Have enjoyed your log so far, keep it up! you're doing great and well done for making smart choices at thanksgiving (majorly dangerous situation diet wise).

I would recommend you do not restrict your calories any more. An adult male of any normal build shouldn't really be eating that low to begin with but if it is working for you and is not affecting your performance then more power to you. One thing I will say with confidence is that your daily energy expenditure has NOT dropped to 1500 calories (causing weight loss stall). you just sitting watching TV all day will burn more calories than that purely through metabolic processes. This is probably water retention, you potentially might experience a ''whoosh'' in weight soon where suddenly you lose 1-4lb overnight. The only other real explanation is that you have not been eating 1500 calories, do you weigh your food? do you include literally everything that goes into your mouth and are you 10000% honest about your portions when you log it? small slips and 'estimations' like this can add up to hundreds of calories a day.

In short: if you truly are eating 1500 calories a day, do not drop them further. weight loss is not linear, just be consistent and you will continue to lose. If you suspect you aren't because you aren't tracking carefully or you're having 'slip up' days where you are dramatically underestimating how far over target your 'slip ups' have put you then you need to reign it in, get back to basics, track carefully and reassert your discipline.

Personally I would up your calories, maybe try 1800 at least. this will make you far far far less likely to binge or get out of control when you allow yourself a treat, it is more sustainable long term and will make success much more likely in the long run. in the end it really doesn't matter how fast you've lost all your fat if in the end you either don't reach your goal or it keeps piling back on when you snap and eat like crazy again.

Stay strong, being steady and creating something sustainable is 1000x more important than numbers week by week. its one of those things that you can't stress enough and people often ignore it.

Good luck dude

[PhiRR9]

198.0 lbs and 20.5% BF this morning. Progress has been significantly slower the last week, but between the TG holiday, birthdays and now a concert this Saturday(booked it back in Aug!), I'm glad to have at least maintained some, if any progress.

It was great to come back to this thread and be reminded of what I'm trying to accomplish.

Excited to get back into a good momentum this week and finally get under 20% BF. Gotta get back on track!!

[brooks1865]

I know it is easier for the readers of your log to see it than you because we aren't having the same struggles as you, but slow progress is a thousand times better than no progress. Keep working hard brother you've got this! I keep my goals written on a white board next to my closet so I see them every morning getting dressed for work and it helps keep me on track. I believe in you!

[PhiRR9]

Hi, Have enjoyed your log so far, keep it up! you're doing great and well done for making smart choices at thanksgiving (majorly dangerous situation diet wise).

I would recommend you do not restrict your calories any more. An adult male of any normal build shouldn't really be eating that low to begin with but if it is working for you and is not affecting your performance then more power to you. One thing I will say with confidence is that your daily energy expenditure has NOT dropped to 1500 calories (causing weight loss stall). you just sitting watching TV all day will burn more calories than that purely through metabolic processes. This is probably water retention, you potentially might experience a ''whoosh'' in weight soon where suddenly you lose 1-4lb overnight. The only other real explanation is that you have not been eating 1500 calories, do you weigh your food? do you include literally everything that goes into your mouth and are you 10000% honest about your portions when you log it? small slips and 'estimations' like this can add up to hundreds of calories a day.

In short: if you truly are eating 1500 calories a day, do not drop them further. weight loss is not linear, just be consistent and you will continue to lose. If you suspect you aren't because you aren't tracking carefully or you're having 'slip up' days where you are dramatically underestimating how far over target your 'slip ups' have put you then you need to reign it in, get back to basics, track carefully and reassert your discipline.

Personally I would up your calories, maybe try 1800 at least. this will make you far far far less likely to binge or get out of control when you allow yourself a treat, it is more sustainable long term and will make success much more likely in the long run. in the end it really doesn't matter how fast you've lost all your fat if in the end you either don't reach your goal or it keeps piling back on when you snap and eat like crazy again.

Stay strong, being steady and creating something sustainable is 1000x more important than numbers week by week. its one of those things that you can't stress enough and people often ignore it.

Good luck dude

You bring up some really good points here, so thank a bunch for your input. I'm sure that between the holiday meals and extra cocktail here and there it was almost impossible to be 100% accurate with my counts. That also ties into why I've kept to my 1500 cal restriction. I know that as a total noob I'm likely to miss some real values here and there (like not factoring in that tea spoon of oil from cooking chicken, or the extra spices, salt, dressing, etc).

With that in mind, I think aiming for 1500 and potentially landing at an 1600-1800 actual serves the best purpose of my goals. If I'm dead accurate at 1500 cals on some days, that shouldn't hurt either as long as my performance isn't taking a big dive. My cheat days aren't that bad. Even if I'm underestimating, I'm making a conscious effort to keep my intake down. Foods might be bad carbs/fatty, but my portion control has stayed pretty good. That's a lifestyle change I'm doing my best to keep to 100% of the time, even if I feel like the food I'm eating is cheating.

Also, I do think that my lack of workouts the past week has added to my stalled progress. Those weeks I trained more consistently, my progress 100% reflected it. I slept better, and feel like that might have made a bigger difference than I realized.

[PhiRR9]

This week is about getting back on track. Stick to shorter training time with a focus on strength building. Ideally some compound exercises, but I need to look into which ones to avoid due to my shoulder.

Aside from typical chest/back, shoulders/arms, & legs routines; I've also incorporated strength training type exercises every day.

- Dead-lifts on chest/back day
- Shrugs & Upright Rows on shoulders/arms day
I heard upright rows are bad for shoulders due to impingement, and clean/press isn't really an option for me.
Could "Arnold Presses" or shoulder lifts which focus on keeping the weight in front be a better option? I'm hesitant to push on shoulders bc of the potential of re-injury.
- Straight Leg Dead-lifts & Good Mornings on legs day (I tend to go a little easier on the Good Mornings since good form is a must)

Doing these for shorter reps and as much weight as I can while keeping good form.

[PhiRR9]

I know it is easier for the readers of your log to see it than you because we aren't having the same struggles as you, but slow progress is a thousand times better than no progress. Keep working hard brother you've got this! I keep my goals written on a white board next to my closet so I see them every morning getting dressed for work and it helps keep me on track. I believe in you!

Thanks man!! Appreciate the words of encouragement.

[PhiRR9]

Followed plan last night. Shorter workout, heavier weight. Chest, Back, Abs.

Extra strict with meals all day and night. Actually under the 1500 cals by about 100 cals, but I was over 131g protein and felt fine. Also had higher water intake, over 1500ml.

Weighing in this morning - 196.4 lbs & 20.4% BF

[PhiRR9]

195.6 lbs. & 20.3% this morning...

[lukepeter]

You are doing very well thus far.

That being said - I second what alex says about increasing your intake... You have lost 1.9kg in the last week, that is far more aggressive than is usually stipulated as a maximum (around 1kg a week) and I can guarantee that it will be unsustainable in the long term, as well as result in disordered eating behavior after a while. It took you 6 years to damage your physique, rushing the repair is not going to be ultimately successful. at a week on week weight loss of 1.9kg your weekly deficit is around 13000kcal, almost twice what it should be... With the frequency of your training and I assume the intensity of your workouts taken into consideration I think aiming for 2000kcal a day would be more sensible.

A cautionary word on cardio - Unless you plan to be biking/hiking your way around a country during your honeymoon, it has no business being in your program, especially considering your excessive deficit. You are costing yourself your lean mass going at it the way you are, and that will ultimately result in you decreasing your bodyweight fantastically fast, but being unhappy with your composition when you reach your goal weight as your bodyfat percentage has not decreased sufficiently.

Lifting>Cardio for fat loss, and for mental health (in my experience) when in a chronic calorie deficit.

Just my .02 - I have been on this hellish path for a year and a half...

Discipline for the journey moving forward.

[PhiRR9]

You are doing very well thus far.

That being said - I second what alex says about increasing your intake... You have lost 1.9kg in the last week, that is far more aggressive than is usually stipulated as a maximum (around 1kg a week) and I can guarantee that it will be unsustainable in the long term, as well as result in disordered eating behavior after a while. It took you 6 years to damage your physique, rushing the repair is not going to be ultimately successful. at a week on week weight loss of 1.9kg your weekly deficit is around 13000kcal, almost twice what it should be... With the frequency of your training and I assume the intensity of your workouts taken into consideration I think aiming for 2000kcal a day would be more sensible.

A cautionary word on cardio - Unless you plan to be biking/hiking your way around a country during your honeymoon, it has no business being in your program, especially considering your excessive deficit. You are costing yourself your lean mass going at it the way you are, and that will ultimately result in you decreasing your bodyweight fantastically fast, but being unhappy with your composition when you reach your goal weight as your bodyfat percentage has not decreased sufficiently.

Lifting>Cardio for fat loss, and for mental health (in my experience) when in a chronic calorie deficit.

Just my .02 - I have been on this hellish path for a year and a half...

Discipline for the journey moving forward.

Many thanks for contributing. I would definitely agree that raising my Cal intake would be okay, but what I believe (and I'm no expert here) is that despite what appears to be an extreme deficit, I'm actually averaging closer to your suggested intake amount. While I aim for 1500, I do believe there are days that because of difficulties in counting, I'm potentially off by a few 100 cals and at a higher intake. Also, there have been several days throughout this process that I've blown the deficit all together.

By aiming for 1500, considering counting errors and occasional surplus, I think this approach helps me to 'hedge my bets' in the long term average. (long term being this 200 day experiment).

I should also note that I'm up a couple lbs from the previous post, so it definitely fluctuates in terms of rate of weight loss.

Trying to listen to my body as much as possible(except hungry lol). As long as my composition is heading in the right direction and I am not feeling tired for training, I'll continue this approach.

Also, 100% agree on weight training over cardio. My cardio has been almost non-existent so far, but I've mostly kept to my weight training program. My big shift has been from trying to do an aerobic weight lifting routine of higher reps and constant effort (keeping heart rate up) to a focus on strength building. Heavier weight with more rest between sets and shorter overall workouts. I feel like the weight loss has been slower since this shift, but do think there has been some minor muscle gain too.

[PhiRR9]

196.8 lbs & 20.4% BF

Side note: I was down to 195.2 lbs & 20.0% BF(!!!) on Sat morning after my Legs routine. Just goes to show how things fluctuate and also water weight loss post workout. Sooo close to under that sub-20% mark though!! That put a smile on my face for sure...

[PhiRR9]

Thought today would be a good day to sum up progress so far too.

10/23 - 208.4 lbs > 12/11 - 196.8 lbs = 11.6 lbs total loss (avg of 1.65 lbs lost per week over 7 weeks exactly)

Overall I think that's within a good rate for losing fat and not lean muscle mass, right?

[PhiRR9]

195.2 lbs & 20.2% BF this morning.

[Sutherster]

Great stuff, I am just about to embark on a similar journey myself (albeit not for a wedding, more of a "man my fat ass gut is poking out of my t-shirts" inspiration).

Good luck, will keep checking in over the next few weeks.

[PhiRR9]

Oh mann, very sad to say I did a bit of back-tracking this weekend... ate some junk and then also didnt track my cals well all weekend. Back up to 197 lbs this morning.

Def need to get my act together here. I feel like I just can't get past that 20% BF line. Really disheartening but I intend to get back on track all this week.

[PhiRR9]

Back on track so far this week. Extra strict and weighing everything/anything I eat. Def a pain, but it's really the only way to know for sure.

193.6 lbs and 19.9% BF(!!!) this morning. I know it's only 0.1% under 20%, but I'll take it! lol Def happy to finally see that milestone passed.

[PhiRR9]

Lots of family time and traveling out of state over the last two weeks. Back-tracked quite a bit. Up to 196lbs this morning. First time weighing in since the 23rd, yikes!

Getting into the grind again this week. Gotta course-correct this trajectory asap...

[PhiRR9]

192.6 lbs and 19.7% BF this morning.

Back into a good rhythm, just need to not botch it up this weekend.

Also now realizing things are going to get much harder from here to get under 15% BF.... ugh

[PhiRR9]

Slacking again on workouts, but at least have not been too bad on diet. Just hard to gauge if Im at maintenance or +/-.

Weight has been fluctuating like crazy. Was down to 191, then up to 194, now 193.2 lbs this morning.

Plan to head home early and put in a solid workout today. Need to get back on track here...

[PhiRR9]

Solid workout last night(chest, back, abs). I ate my protein and then went to bed!! Can't eat if I'm sleeping...hahaha

191.2 lbs & 19.4% BF this morning. I need to take some update shots, but was trying to get down to 188 (20lbs loss) before taking update pics. If it doesn't happen by day 100, I'll take pics either way.

[PhiRR9]

Another great workout last night. Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps, Abs.

Also threw in a funky compound exercises that I've been playing with. A combo of squat + curl + arnold shoulder press(low lift height on the press due to injury), focusing on one move at a time in sequence with good form. My heartrate was def way up on those, which is great. I got a Samsung Fit2 Pro tracker for xmas which has a much more accurate HR tracking than my previous cheapo one. It was great for me to use the interval and HR tracker on it to keep my workout focused and intense for the full hour.

Weighed in this morning at 190.0 lbs & 19.3% BF crazy drop this week, but I think a lot of it was extra holiday weight coming back off.

I think if I could drop close to 0.5% BF per week down to 15%, that would be amazing. Not sure if it's too unrealistic tho. Either way, fighting for that progress!

[PhiRR9]

Another big drop....

189.2 LBS & 19.1% BF this morning

...but let's see if it maintains after the weekend!

[PhiRR9]

Bounced up and down a bit again, mainly due to poor diet choices this weekend (nothing too excessive though). Also no workouts Fri & Sat, but back in the game hard Sun & Monday(today).

190.2 lbs & 19.0% BF today.

Interesting to see the BF drop without the weight. I imagine this will need to continue, but I sometimes question the accuracy of the scale BF% measurements too.

[PhiRR9]

189.2 lbs & 19.0% BF this morning

[michaelbrianinc]

Bounced up and down a bit again, mainly due to poor diet choices this weekend (nothing too excessive though). Also no workouts Fri & Sat, but back in the game hard Sun & Monday(today).

190.2 lbs & 19.0% BF today.

Interesting to see the BF drop without the weight. I imagine this will need to continue, but I sometimes question the accuracy of the scale BF% measurements too.

Not to sound discouraging about BF, but I have a scale that does the same.. It is not correct. Majority of the time it clocks me between 16-17% BF... Far from the truth. Taking my measurements with a flexible tape measure, my BF% is 23 this morning after waking and using the bathroom. Although any tool can have a level of inaccuracy, I trust the flexible tape measure and plugging my stats in versus a digital scale. I look the part... My body looks like it holds at least 23 % BF, definitely not 17...

Regardless, you sound like you're making awesome progress. I am from FL too. Your wedding date is actually my father's Bday. Congrats!