Long post incoming. TLDR version is I am getting fat again and should really do something about that.
Long version…
I took four full days off from lifting to “deload”. I “deloaded” by drinking WAY too much beer, going out to eat too much, eating miscellaneous crap including cake, some type of green mystery dessert, an entire bag of something called “Fudge and Caramel Sea Salted Drizzlecorn”. Yep, DRIZZLECORN!!! This is on top of a general slide in eating habits over the last month.
Strength is going to have to wait. I’m pretty fucking strong already, I need to lose fat. Time to attack.
What I have already done:
I had a discussion with my girlfriend about my very serious intentions to get back on a serious fat loss program. She claims to be on board, which is important because I am the principal cook of the household. We’ve already had one disagreement today on the preparation of vegetables - I like them steamed but she likes them covered in oil and then browned in a pan. These are the types of things she will probably needle me with as I get back into the process of fat loss.
I have basically told her that I am taking full responsibility for what I eat and I will be preparing every meal with fat loss and muscle preservation in mind. I don’t think she really understands what that means, but we’ll see how it all plays out. I told her that she can expect lots of simple, lean meat and lots of steamed frozen veggies for dinner. If she doesn’t want to have what I am making she will have to fend for herself. Just making sure my meals are in order will take enough effort, trying to keep her happy as well will not be likely.
I’ve done this before but she did not handle my lifestyle change very well at all. She complained about the lack of variety. She tried to talk me out of buying a food scale. She would take offense when I was not interested in eating what she wanted to eat or what she would prepare. My mindset at the time was also very annoying to her, as I was very, very focused on my diet and training and she did NOT like to hear about any of it. This all came to a head on the night before my last birthday in March, when she really tore into me about my attitude, my obsession with lifting and diet and how she thought I was being too overbearing with my approach.
What killed me was that I was coming off of my best week ever, execution-wise, before she laid into me. I was really riding high about my progress and she just let me have it and somehow made me feel terrible for doing so good because my obsession with it bothered her so much. It really took the air out of my tires and I have not found that “lighting in a bottle” feeling about fat loss since then.
Action offends the inactive, even if we still love the inactive people in our lives.
What I am going to do.
I am going to do what works for fat loss and muscle preservation and manage the relationship consequences as best as I can. She is going to have to learn to live with my change. I will do my best to not irritate her during this process.
The lifting plan.
Keep my lifting program more or less as-is. Monday will be Squat, Bench Press with Lat pulldown, ab work and loaded carries as assistance. Wednesday will be deadlift and press with curls and calf work as assistance. Friday will be squat with DB bench press and Kroc Rows as assistance. I may do extra on some days, but those are my main movements. Modifications may be made and I am working on incorporating some 5/3/1 principles. I was actually planning on adopting 5/3/1 this week, but an honest look in the mirror tells me that I need to focus on everything outside of the weight room for now.
Kettlebell work as I feel up to it, but I am not setting a stake in the ground with that. Lifting and diet are the priorities. Anything on top of that like KB work, swimming, hiking, etc is great but not part of my plan, per se.
The cooking plan.
Fortunately, this fat man is a pretty good cook and I have the basics of food prep and planning down fairly well.
Lots of meat and frozen veggies for staples. I can do good things with a cast iron pan and some meat. Fish, steak, chicken, pork, it all cooks up good on a hot slab of cast iron with some basic seasoning if you know what you are doing. I’m also pretty good with the grill, but it is getting cold outside. Limit carbs except when when lifting. My staples will be greek yogurt, whole fruit, nuts, meat, vegetables, stews and protein shakes as needed to hit numbers and for PWO nutrition. Some rice and sweet potatoes too, plus baked potatoes here and there.
Stay away from artificial sweeteners. Stay away from processed food.
Portions will be weighed. All intake will be logged with myfitnesspal.
200+ grams protein per day and 2600 calories will be my targets for now. Fat and carbs can fall where they may for now if I hit those two numbers. I am a lot stronger than my last period of fat loss consistency, so I may need to up the calories for a bit. I’ll know after a few weeks, I suppose.
The consistency and accountability plan
I am going to begin posting my daily intake summaries here, in addition to lifting numbers and scale weight. I will make this a habit, even on days where I cheat.
In the near future I will post a thread asking the T-Nation brain trust to critique my diet. For now I am focusing on “good”. “Better” will be a priority once habit is achieved.
The beer plan.
I got a prescription for hydroxizine, which basically works by making me relaxed and putting me to sleep if I feel like I really need a beer. Otherwise I just need to stay away from beer 5 days out of 6. And the beer I do drink will be included on my logged food intake. Hydroxizine is a last resort, as it is the only prescription medication I currently have, but it is nice to have that safety net of just knocking myself out on a day where I’d normally decide to go get a sixer.
Thanks to everyone who follows along and chimes in. Having supportive and positive people taking an interest in my journey is really, really great. I appreciate it so much.
That’s it. Time to get it done. Advice and feedback is, as always, most welcome.