adrian312's journey to get cut up aka. lose bf!!!

[adrian312]

Hi all,

I am new to the board, however I am not new to bodybuilding. I have been working out on and off, mostly on, for the last 7 years. I am 25 now. For the most part I have just stuck with weights and haven't touched cardio. I want to change that and get cut up. I am going to list all my stats and keep this thread updated as best I can to track my progress. I started my new program february 15th. If anyone could give me advice, feel free to do so. My goal is to lose 10-15 pounds of body fat in 3 months.

My stats are:
Height: 5'5
Weight (starting): 174

My current cardio program: 30 minutes of regular cardio (running or ellyptical)7 days a week in the morning on an empty stomach (This may be an overkill of cardio, but it seems like I lose weight slowly)

Weight training in afternoons: 3 times a week broken up as
Monday: Chest/tris
Wednesday: Back/bi's
Thursday: Shoulders

Diet: only 4 meals a day typically.

meal 1: 4-5 egg whites (1 yolk)

meal 2: 6 inch subway veggie on wheat

meal 3: myoplex deluxe shake

meal 4: salmon/chicken with bread

I will post weekly progress on here. The last time I weighed myself was March 1st, (14 days after program started). I was 172 lbs. at that time. So I lost an average of 1 pound a week so far.) I will be weighing myself every wednesday from now on.

I also am attaching my pic as of March 1st as well. I didn't take pictures until after 2 weeks in.

I am open to suggestions, I am also trying to get my body fat percentage reading soon. Could anyone tell by my pic how much bf I have?

I never really was cut up, and I want this to be the time for it to happen. Thanks everyone!

[adrian312]

So daily update on what I have done the last two days. On Sunday, I ran for 30 minutes. (15 min at 5.0 and 15 min at 5.5) Since I have been running everyday, seems that my knees are getting somewhat irritated. I am getting a slight pain on the right side of my knees.

So, this morning I stuck to the ellyptical machine. I did that for 30 minutes. This afternoon I'll be doing chest and tri's. Til next time....

[StrongEnough?]

Where is your leg workout?

I would clean up that diet, removing the Sub for starters. 5-6 meals a day, keep protein in your system every 3 hours, more veggies, more EFA's.

You have a great deal of LBM already, so cut strict, clean and keep your workouts intense, and in about 12 weeks, you'll be happy. After that, I would do a bulk.

Good luck!

BF is around 14%

[adrian312]

Thanks for the advice....

With legs, I am kind of lazy with that. I used to do legs back in high school, but when I started weightlifting again in college, I just stuck to upper body. My legs were never really that small (I played soccer.), so I didn't feel the need that much. I want to start doing legs, however I am thinking of doing it after I finish my cutting cycle.

I know my current diet is not the best. I looked at it like if I keep it a little loose, than ill stick to it. I was/am afriad of if I became extremely strict with the meals, than I would lose interest too soon. Right now, 4 meals works out well for me with my current schedule. With the veggie sub, I was eating that since that was the only somewhat nutritious meal I could find around my job....

Maybe if I mapped out my typical day someone could give me some specific advice on how to adjust.

7:30 AM: 30 min cardio on treadmill/ellyptical

9:30-10 AM: 4 egg whites (1 yolk)

1:00 PM: 6 inch veggie sub

4-5:00 PM: Myoplex deluxe shake (with water)

6:30 PM Weight training

8:30 PM Dinner, consists of chicken or salmon with wheat bread.

If I could get advice on something quick that I could fit into my schedule, that would be great. I am pretty busy so I want to be able to do something convienient. Also, I didn't mention that I do go out on the weekend to eat like 1-2 times per week. Those meals are like grilled salmon or chicken kabob with bread.

[adrian312]

Well today I did my weekly weigh in, and I weighed in at 170 lbs. Thats a 2 pound loss since 1 week ago. So far my total weekly weigh ins have been: (except week 2):

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.

For some reason I am feeling that my shoulders are getting a little bit smaller in mass, I don't know if its really true, other people I know have not noticed any difference.

As far as cardio, I am still going strong with 21 consecutive days of cardio (rotating ellyptical and running) for 30 min. However, my knees are bothering me still....

Anyways so I have lost a total of 4 pounds in 21 days. Does anyone thing that much of that could have been muscle ?

till next time....

[adrian312]

Yesterday I had a cheat meal (my friends bday party) I had a full sized fish (steamed) with white rice and a tgi fridays desert. I kind of regret eating the desert, but oh well. I don't think I want to cheat again anytime soon.

Well anyways, I revised my meal plan, here it is, I am waiting on some prolab whey protein and glutamine, then I will integrate it into my daily meals.

7am: 30 min cardio

9 am: 6 egg whites 1 yellow - 1 banana

12-1pm: 5 oz chicken with 1 slice wheat bread
-or
5 oz tune steak with 1 slice wheat bread

4pm: myoplex deluxe protein shake

6:30: workout with weights ( 3 times a week)

8:30: 5 oz salmon or chicken or tuna steak
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup steamed veggies


I want to integrate another meal somewhere, I am not sure where I should put it right now, when I get my protien in the mail, I want to use that as a meal. Right now I am at 4 meals. I want to be at 5 a day.

Anyone have any further suggesstions. thanks.

[adrian312]

So, I did my weekly weigh-in today. I lose 2 lbs since last wednesday. So I am now at 168 lbs. Here is a history of my weight thus far....

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs.

I am trying to get my BF % done this sat, the gym that I go to sucks and none of the trainers have time / or care to help, since its a free service at the gym...

I haven't gotten anymore feedback from the forum , but I did start taking glutamine in the morning, I take 1 teaspoon mixed with water after I do cardio in the morning.

I was thinking my target weight loss should be 10-15 pounds of bf, anyone thing that might be too much?

[adrian312]

So, I did my weekly weigh-in, 165 lbs, So that's a 3 pound loss since last week. I think a pound of that was water weight, Yesterday I drank a few cups of green tea, and I was going to the bathroom every hour pratically.

I am now noticing a couple veins showing when I do biceps. I also have been noticin my stomach has been loose. Normally its pretty tight.

I also tested my BF % last saturday (5 days ago) it read 17.1%. I didn't know I was that high, but I think I can get to at least 13% in 1 month. Total weight loss so far has been 9 lbs.

I also improved my diet, I posted a message in another thread to get some feedback, but no one has responded. If you'd like to give me your take, here is the thread link: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...31#post9287731

So here is a history of my weight loss thus far...

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs.
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
(I think closer to 166, I think I lost water weight)

[adrian312]

well here goes my weekly update...I weighed in yesterday at 165lbs , the same as last week. I might have lost 1 pound if last week was in fact 166 due to water weight. But I cant assume that 100%. Either way, I am gonna increase cardio intensity slightly and cut out my carb in meal 5. I posted another thread regarding why i did not lose any weight, but i gotta keep going and see what happens next week.

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs.
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
Week 7 - Day 42 - 165 lbs.

[adrian312]

Weekly update here.... I lost 3 pounds this week, finally some solid progress after 2 weeks. I am gonna contine doing what I did this past week and see how it works out. My top 4 abs are starting to show in the shadows, so that is obviously a plus. But I still think I need to lose 10-12 more pounds. I originally thought that I only needed to lose 10 pounds and max 15, but I was wrong. I've lost total of 12 pounds, and I think I need another 10-12 pounds to lose. So new goal for the end of my 12 weeks is 152, and if i get lower then that, then that would just be a plus. I have 5 remaining weeks, so I need to average out 2 pounds a week loss from now on. It's gonna be hard, but I still have strong motivation. If I do reach that goal that wold be 22 pounds total loss. Lets seee.....


Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs.
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
Week 7 - Day 42 - 165 lbs
Week 7 - Day 49 - 162 lbs

[noreaga1982]

Is a 6 inch sub really that bad for you ?

[adrian312]

It's not necessarily "bad" for you. However, did not contain enough protien for me. I replaced it with grilled chicken breast or fish, with some brown rice and veggies.

I would say if you eat it, that's fine, but you should be getting some more protien in that meal somehow.

[felixno9]

Hey bro, i just read your thread and congrates. I think hte hardest part is cardio in themorning.
I can only give adivice to the **** i read here in the forums, but you are doing it, so let me ask you a question. You still do your weight traning right. Have you been noticeing you stilll have your strenght? or have you been adding weight to your weekly routine? Because everything you do seems ot go against what ppl say.
1. cardio in morning on empty stomach
2. Your diet looks kind of off
3. They say not to do cardio every day.
4. Do a cheat meal, or a refeed once a week or so

But hey if what you are doing is working, keep on doing it. My only question is, while working out with weights. are you noticeing a muscle gain or lose? like are you adding weight to yoru routine? adding reps? or keeping everyting the same week in and week out?
Just curious on how you think your muscles are and you LBM is.
anyways, everyone is different and we are our own ginny pigs, so you are accomplishing y our goals dude, that is awsome. keep it up.
p.s. got any new pics?

[RyanCollins]

Hey man, running irritates my legs as well, do stationary bike for 30 minutes keeping your heartrate above 170. It's good and it really gets me going if I wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt (my usual workout getup).

[adrian312]

Yes, I am still weight training, for the first 4 weeks I kept my same routine as before I began cutting. I actually was increasing in weight almost consitetly each week. After 4 weeks I switched up my routine, mostly different excersizes, and high reps. It's hard for me to compare my strength now since I am doing anywhere between 12-18 reps per set. However, I do feel like I may have had some strength loss in general...My shoulders escpecially I think have lessened in mass. (I usually lose mass in my shoulders first if i dont work out for awhile) But most of my mass is still there, not too noticable. From my weekly pics, I can't really tell that I have lost much LBM. I look more defined now, and much fat is gone.

Yeha, I know my diet is a little low in caloric intake, but I was going with this for many weeks and I lost weight, I adjusted it 2 weeks ago and added more things, and I didnt see progress again. So right now I am sticking to what I have. Yes, I have been doing cardio everday, I kinda am just in the habit at this point, I figure if I have a couple days off then ill lose focus and be less strict...

I do some kind of "clean" cheat meal on the weekends when I go out to restaurants. I dont go all out, I mostly eat healthy things like chicken and fish, and sometimes have a dessert. I dont know if this would constitute as a cheat really or what.

I am going to get by Body fat tested again in aproximately 1 and a half weeks. So ill see the progress from there. I was 17.1% on march 13th. I am hoping ill be around 13-14ish by then. I have no idea where I am at now though as far as bf%.

I have been taking weekly pics, but I was thinking just to post it after my 12 weeks are up, there is noticable differences though, much more definition, its exciting to see areas being more "cut" every week. This past wek my lower chest tightened up, last week it was my tricept cut that got better. I am getting more veins now, so its all pretty motivating...

[Alb19732]

Looks like you are making good progress. You may want to eliminate the dessert all together. One thing I can say is that those calories will add up. Before I started cutting, I thought I knew how many calories I consumed daily. Since cleaning up my diet, it has made all the difference.

[KeepintheFaith]

Great work thus far, keep it up! I am in your boat on the leg workouts. I need to do more and am working on that. Last night I did some squats for the first time in a LONG time. They successfully made me feel like I was walking on rubber bands and today they are sore, but it's the "I worked out good last night" sore! Best wishes!

[adrian312]

So heres my weekly update here...I did my weekly weigh-in and weighed in yesterday at 161 lbs. Thats a 1 pound loss from last week. The last couple days I have been kind of sick so I think my metabolism slowed down. Also, I finally took a day off from cardio yesterday, I was too sick and needed rest. I still did not skip my weight lifting session in the afternoon though. This morning/week I am also gonna change up my cardio to doing it slower , but with an incline around 4-6, 30 min duration still. I did it this morning and I was pretty burnt out. This saturday I am gonna be getting my bf tested again, which would make it 4 weeks since my last test. I was 17.1% then. I am hoping to be around 14 %. I have a little more than 4 weeks left in my program, so I gotta work hard if I want to reach my goal of 152 lbs, I am still unsure if I do not reach it, if I should extend my cutting a few weeks to reach it, but its too early to say anything about that now with still 4 weeks left. Heres my progress so far.

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs.
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
Week 7 - Day 42 - 165 lbs.
Week 8 - Day 49 - 162 lbs.
Week 9 - Day 56 - 161 lbs.

[adrian312]

So, I did another weigh-in yesterday, I weighed in a 157 lbs. 4 lb loss from last week, I weighed myself before weight lifting...I also weighed myself afterwards and I weighed at 158.5. For record keeping ill leave it at 157 since I have been weighing myself before weight lifting the whole time.

Things I changed this week. I kept my diet pretty much the same, I had a cheat meal at red lobster on sat. I increased the intensity on cardio, I started incorporating HIIT. For 2 days I did high inclines on a moderate speed, and the rest of the week I did 23 min worth of HIIT, breakdown like this:
3 min warmup
1 min 6.0
1 min 7.0
1 min 6.0
1 min 7.5
1 min 6.0
1 min 8.0
1 min 6.0
1 min 8.5
1 min 6.0
1 min 9.0
1 min 6.0
1 min 9.5

I did this until 23 min, I would go up in down on the peaks depending on how I felt, but I think this is what I needed to kick off another layer of fat. I feel my chest is real loose and parts of my stomach as well.

I am going to try to do HIIT around 6 days a week, but if I am huring, I probably will do 4 or so, and the rest of the days moderate cardio sessions around 30 min.

Another note, I didnt get my bf tested this past weekend, the trainer forgot to bring his calipers, hopefully ill get it done this weekend. I think I am gonna keep going until I see a solid 6 pack, then after that ill do a clean bulk with no-explode/cell mass stack...this is all tentative....

[adrian312]

So I weighed in yesterday at 156 lbs. That's a 1 pound loss since last week. I noticed a trend in my weight loss.... It seems like one week I only lose 1 or no pounds, then the next week I lose 3-4 pounds, and it cycles like that. So, if the trend continues, I should be at aprox 153 next week, we'll see how I weigh-in next week.

This past week I was pretty burnt out from all the HIIT. I had an off day of cardio on wednesday, I think I am going to have this as my off day from now on. I am going to alternate HIIT every other day, and do ellyptical on my non HIIT days. Also on sundays, I am gonna do a longer run at about 30 min around 3 miles, right now I am at 6.5 mph on the treadmill for 28:10 sec, (3 miles). I am closing in on 90 days of completion, I most likely will extend it until I feel satisfied. I was thinking I might need to go down to 145, so I'll see how I look in another 2 weeks, and go from there. I still didn't get my body fat checked, i m having some scheduling issues with the person, hopfully one of these weeks ill be able to do it...

Here is a total progress thus far....

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs. ~17.1% body fat
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
Week 7 - Day 42 - 165 lbs.
Week 8 - Day 49 - 162 lbs.
Week 9 - Day 56 - 161 lbs.
Week 10 - Day 63 - 157 lbs.
Week 11 - Day 70 - 156 lbs.

[adrian312]

I did my weigh-in yesterday, and results were okay. I weighed in at 155 lbs. So 1 pound loss since last week. I wanted to be at 153, but I did notice I didn't lose that much weight this week at least visually, however my arms did get slightly more defined. Time is winding down and I still need to lose more fat so I decided I am going to start using a fat burner. Right now i have EAS thermodynamix at home. I took one today. And ill take one in the afternoon, Ill increase the dosage to 2 pills per serving after 2 days or so. I cant use any thermo that has gelatin in it, and I dont want to break the caps and swallow it... But i was looking into VPX Redline, I think I might use that instead...I am going to do some more reasearch on it. So far I lost a total of 19 pounds, I know these last pounds are gonna be hard, i think this will help.

This past week I had a cheat meal, 8 ribs, I actually think i ate too much cause the next day my stomach was hurting. So i think ill stay off any heavy cheat meals for now. Technically my 90 days are up on may 15th. I know I wont be where I want to be by then, but i still am gonna push, hopefully ill be at least 153 by then.

Heres my updated weight loss history...

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs. ~17.1% body fat
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
Week 7 - Day 42 - 165 lbs.
Week 8 - Day 49 - 162 lbs.
Week 9 - Day 56 - 161 lbs.
Week 10 - Day 63 - 157 lbs.
Week 11 - Day 70 - 156 lbs.
Week 12 - Day 77 - 155 lbs.

[adrian312]

So, weekly weigh-in update here again. I weighed in yesterday at 153 lbs., that's a 2 lb loss from last week. I had a good feeling of losing about 2 pounds, I felt that my stomach tightened up a bit. 12 weeks are up and 21 pounds total are lost.

Things I changed this week: I really cut out all PM carbs (after 4) and morning oats, so I felt kind of weak the last couple days, so now I increased carbs again to get my energy levels back up. I also took EAS thermodynamix (1 pill in morning empty stomach, 1 pill before afternoon meal). I was planning to take 2 pills per serving after 2 days, but I stuck to 1 since I felt that was working. I also took 2 days off from cardio to rest up my knees. I think I am gonna now change up amount of cardio to 4-5 days per week now.

This week I am going to increase my fat burner dosage to 2 per serving, (2 in morning, 2 in afternoon), and see how it works. My goal this week is to lose 1 pound, I think I should be able to do it. My 90 day mark ends on the 15th, and I did pretty much reach my revised goal to be at 152. My new goal is 150, but probably will try to go lower than that depending on how I look. (I think I would be pretty ripped at 145)

I really want to get my body fat tested again. I think I am probably at least 12% range now. (I want to be conservative in my estimates) I ordered some body fat calipers , so ill measure it when it comes in.

[adrian312]

So another weekly update, I weighed in yesterday at 152, a 1 pound loss from last week. I know I set my goal to lose 1 pound, but I was still hoping to lose 2. But either way 1 pound is still good. I am setting this weeks goal to lose another 1 pound, although I hope to lose 2 , and be at 150 by next week, but ill try my best and see.

Things I did this week:
I am sticking to 4 days a week of cardio, 3 HIIT, and 1 longer mid paced run. This past Sunday I ran for 30 min at 7.0 mph.

Since I decreased my cardio, I kind of cut more calories a little since I am not as hungry, not too significant though

I had 2 cheat meals actually, I went to a wedding and ate some greasy foods, and had 2 deserts over the weekend (including a chili’s dessert) I needed something sweet to keep me sane. This might have damaged my progress a little, cause I felt pretty full the next day, plus my stomach was hurting from the grease.

I continued to take EAS thermo pills, 2 in the morning, 2 before lunch meal, ill continue to take the same dosage this week. Yesterday, I was contemplating to start taking red line liquid form bottle instead, but I am gonna stick with the EAS for now, and see what happens this week, if I don’t make progress I probably will switch it up. So here is a history of the weight loss to date.

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs. ~17.1% body fat
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
Week 7 - Day 42 - 165 lbs.
Week 8 - Day 49 - 162 lbs.
Week 9 - Day 56 - 161 lbs.
Week 10 - Day 63 - 157 lbs.
Week 11 - Day 70 - 156 lbs.
Week 12 - Day 77 - 155 lbs.
Week 13 - Day 84 - 153 lbs.
Week 14 - Day 91 - 152 lbs.

[adrian312]

Another weekly update, I weighed in yesterday at 151.5. Only a .5 pound loss from last week. I didn't reach my minimum goal of 1 pound, but i think its due to the fact I had 2 cheat meals this past week. Seems to be getting harder for me to lose weight. Before weighing in, I predicted that the scale wouldnt move much from last week since I didnt see to many visual differences in the mirror.

Things I did this week:

I continued to take eas thermo 2 pills in morning and 2 in afternoon.
I had 2 bad cheat meals this weekend, one sushi chea meal with dessert, 1 1/2 cheesesteak with dessert.
So I think that may had to have a part in the lack of weight loss, but its okay, I needed to splurg a little, not I am back on track...
I started to do more HIIT cardio the last couple of days, I started to feel my fat loose again, so from past experience, it looks like it'll be ready to go this week.

Things ill do this week:

I take a week off from the eas thermo, I feel its lost its effect for me already
I am going to keep the HIIT cardio sessions up, I have pretty high energy levels now, so Ill do as much as i can handle
I bought a bottle of redline liquid, I was thinking of using it this week, but I have a feeling I can lose weight without it with the increased cardio intesity.
Maybe next week ill consider taking the redline. Goal this week is to get to 150 lbs, a 1.5 lb loss. Lets see...

Weight Loss history thus far....

Week 1 - Day 1 - 174 lbs.
Week 3 - Day 14 - 172 lbs.
Week 4 - Day 21 - 170 lbs.
Week 5 - Day 28 - 168 lbs. ~17.1% body fat
Week 6 - Day 35 - 165 lbs.
Week 7 - Day 42 - 165 lbs.
Week 8 - Day 49 - 162 lbs.
Week 9 - Day 56 - 161 lbs.
Week 10 - Day 63 - 157 lbs.
Week 11 - Day 70 - 156 lbs.
Week 12 - Day 77 - 155 lbs.
Week 13 - Day 84 - 153 lbs.
Week 14 - Day 91 - 152 lbs.
Week 15 - Day 98 - 151.5 lbs.

[Swivel]

You've lost a good deal of weight. Congrats. Progress pics yet?

[adrian312]

thanks, I was thinking when I wanted to post my progress pics, on one hand I was thinking that I should wait till I get to where I want to before posting it, but I guess I can just post where I am at now, Ill try to post an updated pic as of yesterday sometime tonight.

[adrian312]

So, as promised, I attached my progress pic as of yesterday, I have some more but this will do. I blurred my face in this one, I shouldda did it in the original, but oh well... I think in that pic I am around 12%ish, if anyone wants to give feedback feel free, I do want to get into the single digits around 8-9%.

[Krust]

So, as promised, I attached my progress pic as of yesterday, I have some more but this will do. I blurred my face in this one, I shouldda did it in the original, but oh well... I think in that pic I am around 12%ish, if anyone wants to give feedback feel free, I do want to get into the single digits around 8-9%.

holy **** dude!! excellent work!

[Swivel]

Your face is blacked-out in the "after" shot, but not the two "before" shots.


Great work on the weight loss. Looking good.

[danosaur]

Your face is blacked-out in the "after" shot, but not the two "before" shots.

I just saw that too...its funny

you've done a great job, especially on the stomach..keep it up