Pretty much, all other factors tend to stay quite constant. But you do bring up another good point that wearing the right clothes plays a role in how you look – by extension how you feel as well.
Most of my clothes fit well, shirts always show off the shoulders and arms, shorts show my always amazing calves (despite never working them). An outfit tune-up certainly could help though… my clothes currently are just clothes; new ones are always more fun to wear.
I appreciate you and @throwawayfitness taking the time to help me figure out my rut; introspection has never really been my strong suit.
Too burnt from the fake sun yesterday to train today. Will try to make it up tomorrow, pending school stuff.
Diet (yesterday)
Cal: 2000
P: 215g
C: 170g
F: 46g
I need to:
define a quantifiable goal
develop a plan to meet this goal
provide myself with small rewards as I meet interim goals
This should set me up for a much needed dopamine feedback loop. Above in my log, you’ll find at least one comment from me stating my goal is to get more lean; this is not quantitative.
Yikes, I’d be lean as fuck at 198… would certainly be an impressive transformation though; it’s worth considering for sure. I guess my goal was always to be lean enough for well(ish) defined abs so i could just use them as a visual gauge for bulk and cut. Bulk until the bottom row isn’t visible – cut until i see a lower ab vein.
I think going sub 200 would be a very reasonable goal and would probably get me to where I need to be for this bulk/cut plan. I need to think on this so I can set my sights on the right goal… i know I’m the person who will stop working towards it if i get “close enough”. Trying to prevent that from happening.
I haven’t, and don’t really have an interest in doing so either… ive always trained strength for it’s utility in my pursuit of hypertrophy. Would I compete? Maybe, but i wouldn’t place top 5 in most competitions
Thinking out loud, if I were to prescribe to the goal of <200lbs lean - I would like to get DEXA scanned so I have a reference to what BF% I’m at. I’m just too analytical to not want that number I guess.
Will do some more thinking on this, thank you for always being there to push me to my best self.
Lots of people like this.
I am paying for my GFs online coach from a different country and now she is getting epic results. When i gave the same advice she couldnt stick to it for a week. Now when we are losing a lot of money, she is doing everything right, so the money wouldnt go to waste.
Basically i am paying for a very similar info, i could have given, just so she has a reason to not fuck up. Guess what, 3 months without overeating a single calorie or skipping a single session of cardio or not doing 14k steps a day. She walks around the appartment building on the street at nights, if she hasnt gotten the daily 14k in.
Now if i would have said she needs to do that, not her female bikini competitor trainer, she would have said i am out of my mind for suggesting that.
If sticking to stuff is a problem, maybe hiring an actual coach you like, would be of help.
Are there set macros, or you just go by calories? I have noticed that if i eat low fat i can eat more carbs and more calories in total while losing same amounts of fat. On my 3000kcal deficit days my fat was as low as 20. Since you are on TRT you dont need fats for hormone production, no?
It’s easy to break my own rules, harder to break rules I pay someone to make for me (even if they are the same rules). If I don’t make this goal, I’ll start searching for a coach to keep me honest.
Beforehand, I used to set everything off the protein macro; if I was over in calories but still had not met my protein goal, I would continue to overeat to meet protein goals (this was to spare muscle loss, but probably unneeded).
Now I am trying to meet the macros, and have a meal plan that can do it - I just didn’t have the food available. To answer your question, I am going by absolute calories now, but still aiming to meet my protein goal. If fats are high one day and carbs are high another - I guess I really don’t care that much… nicer to have some flexibility in an otherwise strict plan.
I believe this to be true for androgenic hormones (test, estrogen, DHEA, etc), but hormones are kinda complicated so I’m aiming for 0.3g/lb fats minimum (per Vertical Diet and Renaissance Diet (if you see the same info in 2 places, it’s probably true)) and letting the rest wash out as carbs or fats. IDK what all effect it has, but I know your cells need lipids (fats) to help carry proteins in and out of cell membranes… I wouldn’t go too low fat for this reason as well.
I also took Coach Thibbs Neurotype test and tested as a Type 3 and Sub-type 1A… Basically I should try to be higher carb to avoid cortisol buildup. I work a stressful job, pursuing a stressful degree, and have all the regular life stress of a father who is the sole provider for my family. I wouldn’t mind reducing the amount of cortisol my body has
Any favourites? I love a self-help book. The problem is filtering through all the ones that say the exact same thing. The last one I finished was The Untethered Soul and it’s up there with the best for me (although I feel it’s a book that needs to come at the right time). “The Like Switch” by an ex-FBI negotiator was recommended by an old article here and I’ve told myself I won’t buy anything new until I finish it. It’s proving a difficult task though as it got really repetitive around the halfway mark. At least it meant I got around to finishing a bunch of the non-self help books I’ve had for ages.
#1 pick would have to be “How to Win Friends and Influence People” but I’m old school I guess.
Most of these books have the same stuff in them, just repackaged and rebranded Socrates-isms. 80% of the stuff goes in one ear and out the other, but the 20% is the important part.
Right now I’m listening to “12 Rules for Life” by Jordan B. Peterson… I envy his mannerisms and composure, so the least I could do is buy some of his content. Too early on to give recommendations though.
Same here. I’ll tell my wife something and it is dismissed easily. If a friend or trainer (especially if a girl) says the same thing it is genius. I suppose the reverse is likely true too even if I don’t see it.
One thing I’ve had trouble with lately is the idea that my training should take longer than her training. It is tough for her to understand that. As objective as possible, I am quite a bit better lifter than she is. Also, just the absolute strength difference makes a difference. It just takes longer to warm up to 5 plate deadlift sets, than it does for 185 lb deadlift sets even if those are the same percentages.
I need to print out the article that recently came out here about differences in training. One of the big things was that men on average need longer rest periods.
I kinda got lost in the logs, but found my way back. Your programming kinda makes me chuckle, because of the combos, but I’m pretty sure you’re stronger than me so it’s working!
