4/17/23 - Cardio
Weight: 209.2lb
90mins cardio
Food
Cal: 1752
P: 324g
C: 6g
F: 37g
Having a hard time dealing with hunger. Probably a bit of rebound from dropping Semaglutide about a week and a half ago, possibly also due to Deca. Reintroduced Semaglutide to keep a better handle on calorie goal.
Weight: 210.3lb
Recovery: 42% (4h 10m slept)
3am newb gym
Toes to Bar
x8
x6
Oof - that sucks.
I had a similar sentiment this morning.
How long do these sessions take you?
About an hour total in the gym but my watch says average 53mins from beginning of first warmup set to end of last backdown set (and occasional bonus work). Legs takes longer despite having less sets - because recovering from a ~800lb leg press takes a lot longer than biceps curls lol.
Gym is also empty in the morning so I can usually do what I want, when I want, and bully some folks out of the way.
*not literal bullying, folks just tend to move on a little faster when you warm up with their working weight. Couldn’t imagine why 
NOTE: I don’t log warmup sets (usually two, first at 5x50%, second at 3x75% - roughly) or backdown sets (usually 6-12x75%, but with NO body english).
Awesome. That sounds pretty similar to what I remember doing DC. Thanks!
Full disclosure, PSMF and my lack of sleep are NOT working well when combined. Due to the nature of my work, I cannot do this low carb no sleep thing… I was fucking up literal basic math operations yesterday. Still going to be in a deeper deficit, but with carbs - it needs to be sustainable. I may use PSMF adjacent methods on weekends. Considering implementing 2-3 day diet breaks every 2 weeks or so, following MATADOR results and Layne Norton methods. Something about Leptin levels needing more than 1 day to reset, and 2-3 seems to be the most effective number. Frankly, there’s no reason I shouldn’t be losing weight at 2,000cals daily but the scale is unchanged with minor mirror progress… maybe this is from a prolonged deficit with no diet breaks? Sorry, thinking out loud.
To be totally honest, I’m tired of logging in so much detail. Not going to log weight or recovery, i have the metrics already and i dont think weight is being helpful. Will probably do weekly reviews.
I started logging total minutes of cardio and weight training so i can adjust this and diet accordingly based on weekly results. I still plan to cut aggressively, but adding cardio is by far the more desirable option compared to cutting calories even further.
Macro plan
Cal: ~1700
P: ~250g
C: 100-120g
F: trace only (25g give or take)
Toes to Bar
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x8
x3
42mins LISS
I wish I knew the answer. I’ve run into this a couple of times, too, where I dropped calories to seemingly absurdly low numbers and progress seemed to stop.
Also, going low carb sucks. I always forget how bad it is until I’m a week in, stumbling through my day, and struggling with warmup weights. Then, suddenly, one day, it gets better.
Based on my no knowledge whatsoever, a short diet break sounds like a good idea. It’s a total mindf*ck eating somewhat normal amounts of food again, but, if nothing else, it may help you relax and enjoy life for a few days before returning to the grind of dieting?
I have considered it more than once honestly. If/when i hit another wall, i will probably go for a diet break. Until then, sticking to diet plan and adding 1hr cardio/wk when the scale moves less than 1lb.
I’m still very much on the fence about the whole diet break thing tbh. It’s SO conflicting.
I’ve found that either adding a cheat/refeed meal once or even twice a week gets the body moving again. Carb cycling also seems to work well for me.
Diet breaks are tough. I find it becomes more of a prolonged cheat since you are not depriving as much and you start wanting to get all the good stuff in.
Food (yesterday)
Cal: 1445
P: 230g
C: 56g
F: 26g
This is so real, man.
I used to (because I’m so poignant) talk about “don’t change your goals to match your behavior, make your behavior meet your goals.” I still believe that, but now I think we have to be more honest with ourselves about our goals. I would have liked to get really lean this summer, but the truth is it was far, far down the list. Above that goal were some priority business pieces, prepping my daughter for softball, getting my son’s grades up, getting my family out for an activity every weekend, etc. I just wasn’t able to do it all - it is what it is.
Anyway, I think we don’t talk about this because most folks are looking for an excuse to be turds. We have to all individually know where our defaults are. I am great at putting my head down and going through it… but there’s a ton of collateral damage to those around me that is just no longer acceptable. I think you’re also willing to suck it up, but if underpants pictures falls below career aspirations… you have to pick. It’s almost the “conjugate of life” - there’s a huge chasm between eating cheeseburgers and sitting on the couch and living a spartan 1500 calorie bodybuilding lifestyle. For the season of life you’re in right now, I think it’s much more admirable to find that happy spot where you’re crushing your workouts, holding a healthy bodyweight, and still being a titan of industry and great family man. If you had a combine or Ranger school coming up, my thought would be different.
Anyway, I like to drop some old man ramblings here and there. They’re like bread crumbs scattered randomly around the forest that don’t actually lead anyone home.
Excellent old man ramble!
This is true in a literal sense for me - so yes it may seem like an excuse to some, but in reality I’m not willing to risk the lives of those I work with (or who will work with the products we make) so I can have abs.
EVEN MORE in reality, I can achieve much of the same thing but in a more maintainable manner. The level of difference one can feel by changing from 0g carbs to 50g carbs is tremendous - and just enough for me to get where I need to go.
Couldn’t agree more; onwards and upwards.
I’ve found for me even going to 100-150g carbs really doesn’t effect much on the weight loss side and is easily offset by the quality of lifting/recovery/sleep i achieve.
Food (yesterday)
Cal: 1773
P: 241g
C: 73g
F: 53g
^fats got a little out of hand yesterday.
4/21/23 food
Cal: 1920
P: 255g
C: 151g
F: 29g
4/22/23 food
Cal: 1789
P: 293g
C: 57g
F: 35g
20min HIIT session (shortest rest periods I could manage):
Snatch Grip High Row
10x135lb
10x135lb
10x135lb
Farmer’s Carry
80yd x 90lb
80yd x 90lb
80yd x 90lb
Sled Push
160yd x 190lb
160yd x 190lb
160yd x 190lb
+20min cardio
Food (yesterday)
Cal: 1902
P: 159g
C: 218g
F: 48g
^This was supposed to be 3k cal for diet break day… hard miss lol.
Toes to Bar
x8
x8
15min Treadmill
15min Stationary Bike
15min Treadmill
15min Stationary Bike
Cardio/Weight Log (in minutes)
| date | weights | cardio | HIIT | Weight Avg | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| week 1 | 193 | 182 | 20 | 209lb | 1700cal daily goal, 3hrs cardio weekly, 4x weight training. Hold. |
Sleep
Nutrition
Cal Avg: 1764
P Avg: 251g
C Avg: 93g
F Avg: 38g
Was supposed to train yesterday but was feeling really out of it. Sleep was shit the night before, decided a rest and refeed day was needed. Was just a well because the new gym toy showed up. Will post up when i have it situated. Macros tracked, just not posting.
Felt much better today, so enough of the touchy-feely garbage.
Probably skipping leg day this week. My knees are fucking pissed at me for those Hack Squats. This isn’t a ‘lazy skip day’ but an ‘injury prevention’ skip. Will have to workshop my hack squat or get rid of it altogether when knees feel less compromised.
Personal growth time.
I stepped away from all social media some 2-3 years ago because it was taking up too much of my time. More importantly, I was using it for social validation - which is even worse than the time-suck.
Then I started using BB forums because even though it’s technically still social media, it’s not predatory and doesn’t do much for social validation… until it does (for me). That’s what this has been for me for too long.
To be the person I need to be, I might need to step away from the ‘creator’ role and just be a consumer (think YouTube if you dont make any videos). I’ve grown a lot from who I was into who I’ve become, but I’m far from done… this new person I want to become is possibly the biggest change I’ve made to date.
Who I am and the relationship framework I have with the people around me isn’t making me happy. It’s actually pissing me off because it’s not who I need to be for the people I hold dearest in life. I need to reframe some relationships, and to do that - I need to level up.
Thanks for listening to my digital inner monologue, it helps to get it out on ‘paper’.
Food (yesterday)
Cal: 1623
P: 214g
C: 67g
F: 50g
Toes to Bar
x10
x8
x8
LISS Cardio 50mins
