Jumper's Logbook

[BaseJumper]

Day 1

As usual, after getting fat for the thousandth time, I'm starting a new blog. This time I'll try to keep it short.
My weight ballooned up to 119.1 kg (262 lbs), mainly because I was studying for the board exam. At least it was worth it: 3rd ****ing place. I must admit, I was expecting getting the first place, but, as Sir Alliser Thorn said: "I fought, I lost, now I rest".

Well, my rest will be go back to the gym. Personal life is kinda exciting: I got engaged, wedding expected to be around October 2019. I decided, as I did multiple times when important days were coming, to be in the best shape of my life in this date. To make it happen, I need a hard cutting, starting today, a clean bulk, and another slow cut.

Let's do the math! After a gym physical evaluation, I found I'm at 32% bodyfat. Well, not great, but it's a start. So:

32% at 119.1 kg, means 38,1 kg of pure fat, and, of course, 81 kg of lean mass. Losing 1 kg a week, with a 80% fat to lean mass ratio, I expect to get a six pack by December.

Let's wait. For now, just my starting pics:




Although I've gained a huge beer belly, what's bothering me the most is the unfitting clothes and my armpits / mantits.
It should get better by the middle of April (at least I hope so).

See ya

[BaseJumper]

Day 3

Quick mobile post. 18 hour shift, trying to stay under the deficit.
Rock on.

Note to self: in the future, remember how you hate night shifts.

[BaseJumper]

Day 7

It was a good week, fitness wise. I stayed under the deficit for the most of the time (well, since Monday, to be honest), worked out 4 times, and only had a cheat meal yesterday (some delicious curry coconut shrimp, at PF Chang's).
I had some major mental changes this week. The biggest, in my opinion, is the fact that my fiancée is aware that I'm weighting my food and tracking my calories now. Since a long time (9 years to be correct) I'm ashamed of what others could think about counting calories or weighting food.
But now, my thought was: screw this!
Since everyone openly criticizes me for gaining weight, I feel free to do whatever I think is needed to lose it. They have created a monster (/iamverybadass).
Now this beast here must go for the first weight-in. I am expecting a little more than 1kg (2.2lbs) loss, since water weight goes away fast in the first week.
Stay tuned.

[BaseJumper]

Day 7 (2)

117.2 kg (258lbs)

Well, I call this first week a success. But, if I want to get out of the man-boobs town anywhere soon, I must keep the pace. Last time I was under 117kg was in April 25th 2017. And I don't know if it was one after-bathroom-before-eating weigh-in. Furthermore, I means nothing, since I have to continue losing.
Must keep focused this week that's coming. Hard week at work.

See ya

[BaseJumper]

Day 9

Quick update from the office:

My diet has been great, since my loss.
It has been a rough week (so far) at my job, so diet is what's keeping me focused.
This and the feeling that I can predict and control my future weight.
Tonight will be a great rest of my will power:
After a 1 hour commute, 12 hour shift and another hour to get back home, it will be time to train my legs.
And tomorrow, another 12 hour shift.

Gotta lose some fat. So, no rest for the wicked.

[BaseJumper]

Day 11

I ****ing made it!
Got through my hell week at working maintaining my calorie deficit. The secret is prepare my meals previously.

See ya

[BaseJumper]

Day 14

Well, weigh-in has not go as planned.
When I first stepped on scale, it showed 115.8 kg, which was great. Then, as usual, I stepped 2 more times, and it showed 117.0 kg, and 116.3kg, all in a 10 seconds period. It means one of two things: either I am gaining weight exponentially and am about to blow up, or my scale is broken.
I'll take the second option, and already bought another scale.

But, as a non-scale victory, some of my clothes are fitting better. Which is great. It's kinda weird, because I'm not very much into fashion. But the anxiety of not knowing if a pant will fit sucks. Also, I always thought that my body shouldn't be a concern, which means that it's not supposed to create more problems in my life. Working out solves this problem and allows me to enjoy my life somewhat freely.

Another accomplishment is the fact that, last time I was lighter than 117 kg (which I suppose I am), was around April 2017. Small victory, but gotta keep moving. My first great goal is to get under 110kg (just because of the number) and after that get under 105kg (out of the obesity category, by BMI).

[BaseJumper]

Day 24

Well, it's been a while, but everything is on track. I honestly forgot about this journal, but I find it good for future motivation. So, I will try to update it at least 3 times a week.

Progress is fine, last weigh-in, and I'm probably around 115 kg today. My plan is to be around 114 kg by Saturday.
I'm keeping my daily calories at 2200, which is my BMR minus 1000 kcal. For now, I'll not include my exercise calories, because I'm doing a different kind of training than I'm used to.

I started training as suggested by All Pro (Full body, 3 times a week). In the days between, I'm doing cardio and working abs, 3 times a week, so these bad boys will pop when the BF goes down. Since this routine is based on 5 week cycles, I decided to give it a try until the scale shows 100 kg. When (and if) it happens, it will be a time for a self-evaluation. At first I'll keep this routine during all my cut. But, I'm open for a change after I get under 97 kg (magic number when I met my girl).

For supplements, I started using fish oil. For a 30 year old guy, it's probably necessary. One thing I've been noticing is how my general wellness is improving. My fat guys clothes now fits, which is the minimum I can expect, I'm not getting winded when I walk upstairs and I'm finally comfortable getting shirtless around my fiancée (the very fact that I was embarrassed about getting my shirt off just sucks).

Since nobody is reading this journal, I'll write me a reminder: Don't you ever go over 105 kg ever again. You miss most of your life just worrying about how you look, if clothes will fit and simply not living easy.

Ah, one last thing. I've been listening to Connor Murphy's podcast. Silly one, but entertaining while lifting weights.

See ya

[BaseJumper]

Day 31

Quick update.
Lasted weight: 114.9 kg
Started in my new job today, everything is cool.
Training as scheduled, but this weekend I have another wedding. First time dressing my suit since the start of the cut.
Hoping for, at least, 113.9 kg by Friday.

See ya

[BaseJumper]

Day 42

Weight: 113.1 kg (249 lbs)

Today's weigh-in was not under the ideal conditions: last night I drank some wine, ate some shrimps and ended up skipping my cardio session (job, again). But even with these troubles, I lost some weight. Not the amount I planned (1 kg), but, on the average, I'm losing 1kg/week, which is a safe rate regarding the inevitable muscle loss.

Going to the 4th week on All pro's routine, and I'm expecting pass on all lifts next week, which would make me rise the weights in 10%.

Diet is pretty good, as well. I learned a few recipes, all low-calorie, and am starting to like cutting foods. There's lot of desserts possible, when you mix diet gelatin, whey protein and greek yogurt.
This weekend will be my little brother wedding. I'll try to make my diet as low calories as possible, making some kind of "calorie bank" for Saturday. But I know that my weight on Sunday will not represent the actual loss, since there will be some water retention.Gotta keep that in mind, in case I don't see any change on scale. The problem is, in 2 weeks, there's another wedding party, so I'll have some water retention in the other weigh-in too.

I'll keep repeating the mantra: "It's just a number, it's just a number".

See ya!

[BaseJumper]

Day 49

Weight: 111.7 kg

Quick update: weight loss at a steady pace. If everything goes well, next week I'll get to my first goal, 110kg. Gotta keep working!

See ya.

[BaseJumper]

Day 62

Weight: 111.1kg

I'm stuck in this 111kg range for 2 weeks. I know that, on average, it was lost 0.88 kg per week. But the mental game is hard.
There's nothing else to do, but keep on dieting and working out.
Really hoping to see 110 next week.

[BaseJumper]

Day 63

Found my old fitness journals on John Stone's forum.
****, I was a whiny bitch! Always commissioning of how hard cutting was. And I had some bad grammar too.
At least I can say I've made some grammar gains.

Note to self: if reading this journal again in the future, you better be ripped!

[BaseJumper]

Day 70

Weight: 109.2kg

Brazilian truck drivers are on a lock out. It means that we can't fuel our cars. It also means that I'm walking to and from my fiance's house (8km total).
Yesterday my weight was 110.6kg, a 0.5kg loss. I was kinda bummed about it, being stuck around 111kg for so long (as always happens when I'm cutting and the other stuck point is 95kg).

So, today, after walking 4 km, fasted, I decided to weight myself. 109.2kg! Boom!
This puts me back on a 1kg/week loss.

The most important is to believe in cico and that the weight will go away. I'm into intermittent fasting as well, on a 16/8, and I can say it makes dieting so much easier. It feels like your stomach shrinks, and you feel satisfied with less food.

Note to future self: next week your weight may stall, since today it was after walking. Just keep on going.

Next relevant weight: 107kg. 2 weeks (minimum) to get there.

[BaseJumper]

Day 77

Weight: 107.6 kg

This was a peculiar week. Because of the truckers strike, I worked only on Monday. After that, my whole time was dedicated to lifting, intermittent fasting and reading about fitness. I found Mind Pump, a podcast I've been listening for a while, has a YouTube channel. There's lot of useful information there, and I realized some of my exercises have been executed in the wrong form, mainly abs.

I weighted myself today in a fasted state, after an 1-hour walk. And my weight loss rate have been steady (average: 1 kg/week).

107 kg has a special meaning for me. When I first went to my mother-in-law's house, it was my weight. I clearly remember myself saying that I had put 10 kg since I started dating my fiancee. I will travel to her house again in 2 weeks, and I expect being around 105 kg when get there.

IF have been a great appetite control technique. The last 2 hours of my fast are somewhat hard, but the other time I have no trouble.

Gotta keep on going.

[BaseJumper]

Day 81

So, I've been thinking about a few treats for myself, when getting to certain weights. Since this is about losing fat, there won't be food involved.

105 kg: This marks the lighter I've been since April 2016. This is when I'm officially out of the obese BMI. My reward will be start a creatine supplementation (already bought the pills). It sounds stupid, but I won't start it before the 105kg mark, because I want to see the number, and I know the creatine will reatin some water.

102 kg: This marks one congress I attended in 2005, when I was feeling fat already. But a buddy said it was not obviously that I was fat. So, I will consider this fit in clothes mark.

101 kg: When I started dating my now fiancée, I gained 10kg, going from 97kg to 107kg. Then, I started working out again but never went below 101.1 kg. So, when getting to 101 kg, I will be the lightest since I started dating.

99 kg: The magic 2 digits number. Nothing special other than this.

97 kg: My starting weight. That's when the ballooning up started. When I get to this number I will get a DEXA scan, to evaluate my body composition and plan my cut based on this.

That's all for today.

[BaseJumper]

Day 84

Weight: 106.8 kg

Last night I went clubbing. Since I started this cut, it was my first time drinking. I had some tequila, some beers and vodka. Had some pizza, as well. The result: 108 kg this morning. Then, I went for a walk. After I returned home, my weight went down to 106.8 kg. So, after all, it was some water retention, and I lost 0.8 kg in this week.

I won't call it a bad result, because my progress has been somewhat regular. Now it's time to focus in this week because my longtime goal, 105 kg, can be reached my the end of this week. But I have the brazilian valentine's day celebration this Tuesday (and there will be some fondue), and the world cup starts this weekend. And I will be traveling to my mother-in-law's house, so I must weight myself on Friday morning.

Anyhow, even with all theses problems ahead, I may be out of the obese class by the end of this week. And this is huge for me.

[BaseJumper]

Day 89

Weight: 105.3 kg - Phase 1 completed!

First phase of my weight loss is over! I'm officially out of the obese category. As my reward, Monday I start creatine supplementation.
Tonight I'm going to my MIL's house. Last time she saw me, I was 10 kg heavier. Let's see if people will notice. It's kinda cold here, so I'll be wearing a hood, and maybe the change will not be so visible.

Phase 2 goes until 95 kg. That's when I go from fit with clothes to fit without a shirt on. There won't be lots of improvements when I'm dressed, but, when going under 95 kg, my long-waited 6 pack starts to show off, a little blurry, though.

Let's do this!

[TheMrPickle]

Keep up the good work! I've been reading and find your logs to be quite inspirational as you balance your life so well. Good job once again.

[BaseJumper]

Keep up the good work! I've been reading and find your logs to be quite inspirational as you balance your life so well. Good job once again.

Hey! I'm glad it can be motivational, but I never expected anyone but me to read these. Anyway, I have every reason to keep an unbalanced life, but I'm trying to keep fitness as a priority. Doing so, some of other areas in my life are getting in place as well.
If you have a log, and feel like sharing it, please do so.
See ya.

[BaseJumper]

Day 98

Weight: 104.4 kg

This week I started with my creatine supplementation. I expected some water retention. Plus, last weekend, during the world cup game, I had a full brazilian barbecue, at my MIL's house. Plus, last night, I had some Poke and wine with my girl. All this lead to my 0.9 kg loss this week. I'm not gonna lie, I was expecting around 1.3 kg, but it's still a good loss.
The weekend was better than I expected: my MIL noticed my weight loss (I don't know if it's me, or people really treat you better the fitter you get), Mexico beated Germany and Brazil tied with Switzerland. I'm not a big fan of football, but during the world cup I really dig it. And oh boy! Neymar really is a pain in the ass. I never liked him, and never will, even if he brings us the 6th star. It's not the kind of athlete that inspires me or that I look up unto.

Anyway, this week, other than Brazil vs Serbia, there's not much happening. So I will try to amp up a little my fat loss. Next stop, 103!

[BaseJumper]

Day 105

Weight: 104.6 kg

This is the first week, since I started this cut, that I gained weight. Last time my progress wasn't as expected was around 111 kg. I stayed there for 3 or so weeks. Then the swoosh effect happened, and everything got back on track. So I decided not worry about the result this week, and try to find the reason.
Some possible explanations for this:

I stopped running
Since running puts stress on my knees, and I am still overweight, I decided to change, for a while, to LISS. Some, I've been walking a lot, on inclination, but not running. This may be one of the causes of the weight stall.

Unexpected meals
Last Tuesday, I had a unexpected dinner. Yesterday, I had homemade sushi and shimeji. I counted the calories in these meals, but there may be some water retention.

Less movement
Since the world cup started, other than gym, my main activity is watching TV. Right now, I watching Russia vs Spain, and Russia took Spain to penalties. This is the best world cup ever. By watching so much TV, I may be expending less calories.

Unexplained weight fluctuation
Weight loss isn't linear. This happened before, and I know it's normal. There's a few weeks around the same weight and suddenly comes a big loss.

I will keep exactly what I'm doing for, at least, 2 weeks. If nothing happens, the running will come back.

P.S.: Russia won! What a world cup!

[BaseJumper]

Day 109

This week's weight loss (or the lack of) has been bothering me and I decided to check the key points of my cutting:

- Exercise: nothing changed, my strength keeps getting better.

- Rest: nothing changed, average of 7 hours sleep nights.

- Diet: here I decided to reevaluate my TDEE. And what a surprise: 2500 for maintenance. So far I thought that it would be 3000, so I decided to check MFP. And there it was. I had put that I was fairly active (exercise 3 times a week). So far, so good. But, I was counting my exercise calories again. This means that, on non training days, I should eat 1500kcal, and not 2000.

Well, to be honest, 1500 seems a little low for me. So I decided to wait 2 weeks to see progress. If I don't get to 103kg by the end of the world cup, I will change my diet.

[BaseJumper]

Day 111

Weight: 102.2 kg / 103.3 kg / 105.6 kg (wtf!?)

A tale of two scales

This week's weigh-in was troublesome. I have been watching my old scale fluctuate a lot, and not even on a day to day basis. It was seconds after I jumped over it. Thus, I was weighting myself a few times and taking the simple average. I also bought a new scale, so I could have another way of checking progress, but it was always 2.3 kg heavier.
On my last post, I was trying do find out the reason for my plateau. I never considered that the scale could be wrong, as much as fat logic as it sounds. So, today, on my first measure I saw 102.2 kg, which would put me back on the planned progression. But, as I literally stepped off and in again, it changed to 104.4. Well, almost 5 lbs up in less than 2 seconds. And so I went, stepping in and out, until I've got the 103.3 kg average. Then I went to my other scale: in 10 out of 10 times, it was 105.6 kg (2.3 kg heavier than average).
Since the first requirement for any measuring device is the reliability, I decided to change to the new scale. It will put me back 2.3 kg, but I honestly don't mind. The number it shows is not important. It's the downwards trend that I'm looking for. And my estimation of how long will this cut take will come from my DEXA scan (which now I'm seriously thinking about take when under 99 kg). So, from now on my weight is 105.6 kg.

Moving past the scale subject, my Friday was peculiar. I was working on a new job, which I hated off the bat. I would eat at 01:00 PM, as always, but Brazil's game would be at 3 PM. So I decided to fast until the start of the game. Since we lost it (Belgium 2-1, world cup 2018 is over), I was not feeling much like eating, and decided to try a 24 h fast for the first time in my life. And it was awesome. I didn't felt dizzy, weak or anything like that. And the clear mind effect is real! I'm totally trying this once every few months. The only thing I screwed was my first meal after it. I ate 1500 kcal, in less than 30 minutes, and just before going to bed. It was not one of my best nights of sleep.

Anyway, I'm going to gym right now, do my light training, fasted. I'm not feeling like weighting myself again, since it will become the new standard for weighting: fasted, after training. I prefer just step on the scale right after waking up from a good night of sleep.

See ya

[BaseJumper]

Day 119

Weight: 105.6 kg

Scale is not moving, and I may know why. Last time I've posted here, I decided to change my scale, since the fluctuation was huge in the last one. Nevertheless, my weight still haven't moved. And, trying to be as scientifically accurate as possible, I come up with a few more reasons:

1)(unlikely) I started eating brazilian nuts (called Pará nuts here) and cashew nuts as a way to improving my fats consumption. Even though these calories are being counted, they may be off a little. And since they are so calorie dense, I've been eating a 1000 kcal more than expected, thus not being on a deficit.

2)(plausible) My last weigh-in was after a 24 hour fast. This depleted some glycogen and made some water loss. So, after refeeding this week, my glycogen stores are full, some water came along, and my fat loss become masked.

3)(I don't quit buy it) Since my liftings are going up, I'm stronger. Even though I'm in a deficit, some muscle mass was gained, in the same amount as the fat loss, and that's why I'm breaking even. This one I'll call bull**** right off the bat, since it's not possible to gain muscle on a deficit.

4(highly possible) My activity levels are lower than I believe. Although my modifier for the TDEE has been lightly active, maybe it's time to put sedentary. In doing so, it's just a 300 kcal drop. So it may be worth it.

That's it. My plan for keep the scale moving is to cut another 300 kcal and wait. After that, I've no other ideas. That's how I'll deal with the scale problem this week. Other than that, I started brazilian jiu-jitsu this week (but it's called just jiu-jitsu here), and already love it. It burns a lot of calories, teach some self-defense, and it's a sport that can be practiced for the rest of my life.

Well, time to go to the gym now. Last night me and fiancee had some wine and lasagna, and it's time to burn all it off. After that, watch the world cup finals and hope that Croatia, the must underdog team ever to get to the finals, take the cup home.

See ya!

[BaseJumper]

Day 124

Stuck in this job I hated, less than one month in. Already quitting. Next Friday will be my last day.
On a bright side, I have been using the same belt for a long time. It has 7 holes, and, at my heaviest, I was closing it at the last one.
Today it's on the 4th (the exact middle). Must mean some progress.
Looking forward for this weekend's weigh in.

[GirthRogers]

it's not possible to gain muscle on a deficit.

That is an incorrect statement. Research has proven that it is quite possible for several groups of people. If your BF is above 25%, you are definitely one of those groups. Click on the first two videos in my log and watch them carefully.

[BaseJumper]

Hey man, tried to find your log.
Only found one thread, with no videos in it.
Could you please post the links here?
I'm really open to new information...
Thank you.

[BaseJumper]

Day 125

Weight: 105.3 kg

Just ****ing 300 grams down. Officially tied with the biggest plateau I had (3 weeks, when I was around 110kg).
Diet is already in check, calories are as low as I imagine is possible (1500 kcal in no training days, for a 6'2'', 230 lbs guy), and training is spot on, with the additional jiu jitsu.

Well, nothing more to do other than wait. GirthRogers said that is possible to gain muscle in a deficit, if you're over 25% (which I am). I really hope that it's my case. Will sure try to find some credible sources over this.

Other than that, all i can do is train, diet and wait.

[GirthRogers]

Hey man, tried to find your log.
Only found one thread, with no videos in it.
Could you please post the links here?
I'm really open to new information...
Thank you.

https://youtu.be/wkBtHOBmpb0

Advanced Body Recomp thread.
It has a ton of info.