An 8 month journey to lose bodyfat (journal)

[BornagaininUES]

Put on about 20 lbs ever since I moved to NYC and have been working on losing it. So far, here is where I am at.

Turning 28 in a couple weeks despite what this site says lol.

Height = 5'11 (as much as I wanna say 6 ft)

Weight = 195 lbs (last time I weighed myself, way up from the 175 lbs I used to walk around at)

BF % = By looking at pics, so far it has been near the 30% and probably slightly over it.

I want to cut weight down to about the 165-170 lbs range.

My Life so far before I decided to make the change

Always ordering through Seamless and getting stuff like Bagels with cream cheese in the morning and then having Chinese takeout or Mexican food for lunch and dinner. A lot of drinking and partying before COVID-19 so a lot of alcohol on weekends and a lot of pizza slices as well. Poor sleeping habits as well with almost no working out and here we are.

Habits as of this week

So far I have been running a mile every day, gyms here are all closed. Trying to do at least 30 push ups on top of that and then full body workouts like air squats and jumping jacks.

Diet has been scrambled eggs (about 3) breakfast with lunch and dinner being just grilled chicken strips or ground beef with peppers and onions. So far grilled chicken is about half a pound and same with ground beef. Just started this week but want to turn it into my daily log.

[AlexSays]

Put on about 20 lbs ever since I moved to NYC and have been working on losing it. So far, here is where I am at.

Turning 28 in a couple weeks despite what this site says lol.

Height = 5'11 (as much as I wanna say 6 ft)

Weight = 195 lbs (last time I weighed myself, way up from the 175 lbs I used to walk around at)

BF % = By looking at pics, so far it has been near the 30% and probably slightly over it.

I want to cut weight down to about the 165-170 lbs range.

My Life so far before I decided to make the change

Always ordering through Seamless and getting stuff like Bagels with cream cheese in the morning and then having Chinese takeout or Mexican food for lunch and dinner. A lot of drinking and partying before COVID-19 so a lot of alcohol on weekends and a lot of pizza slices as well. Poor sleeping habits as well with almost no working out and here we are.

Habits as of this week

So far I have been running a mile every day, gyms here are all closed. Trying to do at least 30 push ups on top of that and then full body workouts like air squats and jumping jacks.

Diet has been scrambled eggs (about 3) breakfast with lunch and dinner being just grilled chicken strips or ground beef with peppers and onions. So far grilled chicken is about half a pound and same with ground beef. Just started this week but want to turn it into my daily log.

God I know those 'will never quite be 6 foot' feels

Good luck man!

[BornagaininUES]

God I know those 'will never quite be 6 foot' feels

Good luck man!

Thank you brother!

[BornagaininUES]

8/5/20:

Might just be feeling the effects of a caloric deficit here. Usually my diet is the following:

1. Scrambled eggs (usually 4 eggs) for breakfast with coffee (I put nothing in the coffee).

2. Grilled chicken strips from Tyson for lunch, usually half a bag of this here. The ones in the green bag which are at about 1.37 lb total (623 g).

So I estimate that as being about 0.5 lb of these chicken strips with some bell peppers and onions I throw in for flavor.

3. Dinner is usually the same.

Thinking of a change up as I add peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread.

So far my new caloric deficit has left me feeling weak and kinda dizzy at times, has it tough for me to even get up in the morning sometimes due to it. Obviously tweaks need to be made here, I don't even think I am eating 2k calories but at best around the 1500 range.

[BornagaininUES]

8/5/20

So for today, went on a mile long run but it took me like almost 10 minutes to complete it :'(

Calculated my caloric intake for fat loss using like 3 different calculators online (one from this site) and it said I need to be eating in the 1900 to 2200 calorie range.

For today, I ate the following:

1. Scrambled eggs (4 which 280 cal) with pepper and onions + a protein bar (270) = 550 calories (breakfast)

2. Grilled chicken breast strips (half a green Tyson bag of them) with pepper and onions (200 calories WTF!) + 2 tablespoon of Justin's organic peanut butter = 390 calories (WTF this is low!)

3. Same Grilled chicken breast strips with pepper and onions (same amount) + wheat bread (2 slices which was 140 calories) with peanut butter sandwich (2 table spoon) = 630 calores

4. Snack was 2 table spoon of peanut butter (190 cal) and 3 reeses minis (36 calories each) which all came out to = 300 calories (specifically 298)

550 + 390 + 630 + 300 = 1870

Jesus christ you are telling me I can eat more? I think binge drinking might have done a number on my waistline then over the weekends.

[AlexSays]

Hey man checking in

Have you got a scale to weigh yourself and make sure you're on the right track?

One bit of advice, sounds like half a bag of those chicken strips is a little over 0.5lb. One tip for estimating calories for fat loss, it is always better to overestimate calories than underestimate, that way you know if you're wrong you know you're wrong in a way that means an increased deficit rather than a decreased one. Also calories are almost always underestimated no matter how careful someone thinks they are so it pays to take this into account.

1 mile in 10 minutes is fine! a mile is a mile

If you feel nice and full on 1800 then there is no reason not to stick with that

Keep at it dude!

[BornagaininUES]

So I am tracking everything through my fitness pal but anyways for today.

8/6/20:

Oh dear, it was a heck of a day that really tried me. Did not go for a run today either so took a rest day but here we go....

Breakfast = Scrambled eggs as usual (4 eggs) which was 280 calories

Lunch = Went heavy here. Got a brown rice packet from Lundberg which was about 300 calories there with the peanut butter sandwich equaling about 330 and then the chicken which was 200 so Lunch was almost 850 calories.

I put soy sauce on the rice.

Dinner was a grilled chicken sandwich from Chick Fila which was 310 calories.

Now drinks and snacking is where I get hurt.

I had 12 mini bites of kit kat which came to 280 calories. A margarita for drinks which game to 202 calories total. A Brooklyn Lager due to meeting up with a friend which came to 258 calories.

I had some reeses minis too and about 6 of them.

Total caloric intake today from MyFitnessPal was 2291.

Really messed today up and I expect to kind of party on Saturday so gonna have to get creative there.

[BornagaininUES]

8/7/20

Yet again, fell off the wagon a bit on this day due to social pressures but I was able to contain well enough. Did go for a mile long run which burned like 150 to 200 calories though so I will subtract those at the end.

Breakfast = Scrambled eggs as usual with peanut butter sandwich on wheat and protein bar which came out to 880 calories.

Did not have lunch

For dinner I have a steak bowl from a mexican food place I estimate at 615 calories and chips with salsa which was 305 so 920 calories there.

920 + 880 = 1800 so far.

6 reeses minis to snack on, a peanut butter sandwich again, tequila, and a bluepoint toasted lager at friend's place which came out to 821 calories.

821 + 1800 = 2621 - 200 from running = 2421 calories.


So far today have not had anything to eat but that might change soon.

[BornagaininUES]

8/8/20:

Went on a run on this Saturday and didn't really eat much of anything other than 5 large slices of pizza. I think that comes out to about 1500 calories.

[BornagaininUES]

8/9/20:

Sunday was a little bit better with the intake.

I had 5 scrambled eggs with a peanut butter sandwich.

I also had a steak burrito.

All of it ended up being about 1600 calories.

[AlexSays]

keep it up!

Even if you have bad days just the fact that you are tracking keeps you more conscious so that still makes you better off than the average person. How's the weight looking?

[BornagaininUES]

keep it up!

Even if you have bad days just the fact that you are tracking keeps you more conscious so that still makes you better off than the average person. How's the weight looking?

So I weighed myself a couple days ago, I am at 193 but then again it could be water weight if even that. I think doing it next week might give me a better forecast since I only started this program after the first day in August.

[BornagaininUES]

8/10/20:

Tracked yesterday with the following

Breakfast was same as usual with Scrambled eggs and a protein bar so it came out to 550 calories.

Lunch was light, only a peanut butter sandwich (wheat bread and organic peanut butter) with 330.

Dinner was grilled chicken with red onions, jalapeños, and broccoli which came out to 340 or so calories.

Snacked on Kit Kat minis and Hersey mini bites.

Ate about 1300 calories so that was too little. Will likely need to up the intake a bit but I did wake up later than I wanted and had only coffee for breakfast. Might throw in an extra protein bar or something.

[BornagaininUES]

Have not updated this thing in days, been a crazy week!

8/11/20:

I had 1798 calories and no exercise.

8/12/20:

I had an estimate 2140 calories but did order dinner for takeout. Did go on a run too which helped with a lot of things in terms of trimming the calories.


Finding myself this week skipping breakfast and just having coffee (pure black) for it.

Also weighed myself this morning:

Current weight is 192.

[BornagaininUES]

8/13/20

Weighed myself again without peeing or anything this morning, stuck at about 193 lbs.

Now as for calories on yesterday. I ended up at 2100. Skipped breakfast as usual and did have a couple cans of Corona as well but before that I went on a run. Beat my 1 mile run time by 10 seconds though.

[AlexSays]

Find I don't have much use for breakfast anymore, tend to get less hungry if I don't start the 'eating' cycle early.

Sounds like water fluctuation, probably from beers, takeout etc. Should bugger off soon

Keep it up bro

[BornagaininUES]

Find I don't have much use for breakfast anymore, tend to get less hungry if I don't start the 'eating' cycle early.

Sounds like water fluctuation, probably from beers, takeout etc. Should bugger off soon

Keep it up bro

Yeah I have been experimenting with the no breakfast experiment in the past week, only having coffee for breakfast and so far it has been pretty good for me. I did not get hungry until 6 PM today when I had my first meal. Updating the log soon.

[BornagaininUES]

So been falling off the wagon a good bit in the past few days. Definitely roadblocks in the way for my goal but still had to record.

Friday

Total of 2042 calories and definitely went heavy with lunch and dinner, had a couple of beers too.

Saturday

Total of 2180 calories but what really did it was lunch. Carbs will make you starve was the hard learned lesson here, they will have you starving hard! Had a tuna baguette with barely any tuna on it. A one mile run kinda saved me overall for the day. Did drink due to a UFC fight and only snacks I had were mini milky ways, prolly had 10 of them, would not be surprised of close to 2500 calories here.

Sunday

Total of 1492 calories but had takeout for dinner. Due to NYC chains being unique, guestimated calories so prolly close to 2000.

Monday

Once again, empty on the breakfast but had Panda express for dinner and a couple hours later a caesar salad. Falling off my cooking grind, ugh.

I estimated 1250 calories but probably close to 1800.

Getting this show on the road tomorrow.

[RTB1]

I'm following along, good luck to you. I'm no expert, but for me the first step was logging everything I ate, even when I slipped up. It looks like you're doing that as Alex said above, so I will be curious to see how things progress. Keep it up!

[BornagaininUES]

Been off the logging too and cannot do it daily due to my schedule but back on it boys!

Tuesday (August 18)

1509 calories in total. Only coffee for breakfast.

Grilled chicken for lunch and chipotle steak burrito for dinner. Milky Way minis for my snacks.

Wednesday (August 19)

Had a parfait ordered from local coffee shop for breakfast which was 500 calories, grilled chicken for lunch, milk way minis snack, and chipotle steak burrito for dinner. Came out to 1934 total calories.

Thursday (August 20)

Now this was a heavy day. Had Starbucks bites for breakfast, strip steak for lunch, a whole package of steamables rice, protein bar for lunch.

Dinner was quesadilla and chips with salsa.

Had 3 white claws since we had an e-happy hour in my industry.

Had 2490 calories.

Trends.

1. I skip breakfast more, coffee usually does the trick and keeps me full.

2. The less protein I eat the hungrier I get, carbs are making me hungry a lot.

3. I get insecure of way under-eating since even protein heavy foods have such little calories.

[BornagaininUES]

I'm following along, good luck to you. I'm no expert, but for me the first step was logging everything I ate, even when I slipped up. It looks like you're doing that as Alex said above, so I will be curious to see how things progress. Keep it up!

Thank you man. My biggest struggle in life has been staying slim. I have been a fatty most of my life, a lot has to do with a horrible upbringing of parents that discouraged sports and fed me crap foods. I did get into manageable shape in my late teens and early twenties walking around the high 170s range while being 5'11 or so but even then, could not look good with shirt off. It's a journey but here at 28 years old, I want to get it right.

[RTB1]

1. I skip breakfast more, coffee usually does the trick and keeps me full.

2. The less protein I eat the hungrier I get, carbs are making me hungry a lot.

Yes, these two findings are key for me! Cutting is so much easier if you start planning your meals with lots of protein (which often includes fat if you're eating non-processed foods like meat and dairy). Then you can add carbs after that to round out your calories for the day. I had 600 kcal of popcorn today and damn am I regretting it haha. AlexSays mentioned waiting in the day to start to eat and that's helpful too. I find once I start eating, it becomes harder. Plus I would rather be hungry in the morning than in the evening when trying to sleep. Also, since you're already fasting overnight, it makes sense to continue.

Thank you man. My biggest struggle in life has been staying slim. I have been a fatty most of my life, a lot has to do with a horrible upbringing of parents that discouraged sports and fed me crap foods. I did get into manageable shape in my late teens and early twenties walking around the high 170s range while being 5'11 or so but even then, could not look good with shirt off. It's a journey but here at 28 years old, I want to get it right.

Man, I feel for you. I hate seeing overweight kids because that is 100% the parents' fault and they're setting up the kid for a lifetime of bad habits. You're on the right track now though, and you're making progress. At 28, you have so many good years ahead of you barring something unforeseeable. I wish I had taken up your attitude at that age...I coasted for far too long. Regardless of how old we are, every day above ground is a blessing, and we owe it to ourselves to make the most of our brief time here. Let's do this!

[BornagaininUES]

Well, good news is that I weighed myself today and am at 189.2 pounds. I had underwear on and did it first thing in the morning after taking a piss. Pretty big hurdle there not to see the 19- in front of my weight anymore.

Friday (August 21)

Skipped breakfast as usual.

Lunch was actually 5 scrambled eggs, put some salsa on them. Equaled to about 600 calories, hmmm.

Dinner was rosemary balsamic chicken from Wegmans and Steamables basmati rice. Total was 640 calories.

I had two white claws (200 calories) which equal out to about 200 calories. 4 heath mini candy bars for snacks.

Total was 1611 calories.

Saturday

I might have just a whole large pizza perhaps lol. That would be like my only meal.

[beowulf359]

Good job on your progress so far! In addition to cardio are you doing any strength training? If not, I would recommend you include some to help maintain your muscle (maybe even gain a little).

[BornagaininUES]

Good job on your progress so far! In addition to cardio are you doing any strength training? If not, I would recommend you include some to help maintain your muscle (maybe even gain a little).

None at all, just 1 mile runs. All gyms near me closed. I might end up getting those workout bands.

[BornagaininUES]

Saturday. (August 22)

Definitely went overboard on this day. Calorie total was 2570.

6 slices of pepperoni from Papa Johns, 4 Heineken cans and a protein bar but that was for breakfast. Definitely more in line with a cheat day.

Sunday (August 23)

Total was 1960 calories but burned about 150 through a 1 mile run.

Made myself Strip Steak and scrambled eggs for breakfast. 2 slices of leftover pizza and then had a Chickenshack from Shake Shack.

Monday (August 24 aka today)

1674 calories total.

I am shocked that I ate this little today but man, I guess skipping breakfast can be a letdown.

Scrambled eggs (4 eggs) for lunch, 2 Nugo protein bars.

Chicken breast from Wegmans (3 oz), spaghetti with sauce (spaghetti sauce), and tries to overcompensate by having 5 links of the Brown n Serve sausage.

[AlexSays]

Glad to see you're keeping it up! Well done on the diet seems like you're getting some variety in there


where is weight sitting at the moment?

[BornagaininUES]

Glad to see you're keeping it up! Well done on the diet seems like you're getting some variety in there


where is weight sitting at the moment?

So yesterday when I weighed myself towards the end of the night it was at 191 lbs.

Now this morning I weighed myself naked in my bedroom after taking a piss, it was sitting at 189 lbs (like right at that number).

I want to say fluctuating between 189 to 192 lbs to be on the safe side tbh.

[BornagaininUES]

Man how time flies by and I forget about this log at times due to work hours being so unstable lol. Weighed myself with underwear on this morning, I am down to 190. When I weigh myself naked I am at 189, 1 pound underwear lol.

Tuesday (August 25):

1,873 calories total.

Chicken breast with the Minute brown rice package was just so clutch. Afraid I might have underestimated some calorie counting here as I had the Mozzarella salad and it was something I have over-measured.

Wednesday (August 26)

2280 Calories total but I also worked out, counted it as 200 calories burned.

Thursday (August 27)

2305 calories total due to drinking two cans of beer close to dinner time. I also ordered the burrito from Dos Torros which was apparently 800 calories per MyFitnessPal!

Went over yesterday.

Big changes I have made are in what I order with food, ordered pasta salad and more pasta in general which might mean me having more simple carbs for dinner time. The way I think is if I stay in the 2k calories mark I should still be good.

[BornagaininUES]

Weird thing, so today I weighed myself with just underwear on and my weight was 188.6

I did not expect this since yesterday I went a bit overboard with my eating and drinking so interested to note how this anomaly continues. About to go on a run although the weather in this city right now is very depressing, it is like it is supposed to rain but not supposed to rain lol. Before I do, I wanted to update my log from yesterday.

Friday (August 28)

2,417 calories total.

I went 160 calories over my goal.

Started making special breakfast of granola, peanut butter, and yogurt. More carb heavy than usual so far from the keto I have been wanting.

I also drank 3 cans of Modelo.

Surprising things, surprising things.....