(grin)
Cheat/treat/free meals are a part of your plan. They’re not to be used as a reward or punishment based on a given week’s results. They’re a given, something both you and your wife can count on every week.
You have a great weekend, Franchise!!! And stay strong!
Weighed myself at the gym today: 220.0 lbs
Came home, had a shake, and now here are the measurements:
R. Bicep: 16"
Chest: 45-1/2"
Stomach: 38-1/4"
Hips: 42-1/2"
R. Quad.: 25-3/8"
R. Calf: 17-5/8"
I don’t have a scale yet. My birthday is coming up July 11th, and I’m not allowed to buy myself ANYTHING until after that. So if I don’t get one for my birthday, I’ll buy one. I’m sure there’ll be some kind of weight change in so much as I’ll be going from weighing myself after a full day of eating & drinking, as opposed to fresh in the morning. But it is what it is.
Also, my wife is now your biggest fan. I told her about the dinner date and she wants it TOOOO-NIGHT!!! So as soon as she’s out of the shower, I’m hitting it, and then we’re off for some Chinese food.
Also, my wife is now your biggest fan. I told her about the dinner date and she wants it TOOOO-NIGHT!!! So as soon as she’s out of the shower, I’m hitting it, and then we’re off for some Chinese food.
(laughing) Life sure is good, isn’t it? For me, it’s what makes the plan/approach work on a practical level. It’s what makes it a lifestyle, more than a diet.
You actually lost some fat/weight that isn’t being reported by the scale. It takes a few days (3 or 4) to lose the water weight that a person gains when they eat something like pizza.
If you don’t get scale on your birthday, get one that’s accurate to a tenth or two-tenths of a pound. And don’t get that measures body fat. Not only are they more expensive, they’re notoriously inaccurate. Drinking a glass of water will cause your body fat percentage to go up a few points.
Last Week’s Numbers:
Right Bicep: 16-1/4"
Chest: 43-1/2"
Waist: 38"
Butt: 42-3/4"
Quad: 25"
Calf: 17"
This Week’s Numbers:
R. Bicep: 16"
Chest: 45-1/2"
Stomach: 38-1/4"
Hips: 42-1/2"
R. Quad.: 25-3/8"
R. Calf: 17-5/8"
Up in your bicep, down in your waist? (grin) What’s not to love? You’re up in all the right areas and down where I want to see the numbers go down.
All I want you to do is weigh and measure out of bed Friday morning so that you can go to your cheat/treat/free meal on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
With all the challenges, it was a good week, Franchise!!! I’m very happy with your results!!!
Sounds great.
I think I’m also going to get a measuring tape or something, from a fabric store…something. Anything is probably better than my old tape measure.
And I’m curious as to how my measurements & weight will change, once I get the scale. I won’t have a day of eating & drinking behind me, but at the same time, I won’t have just finished a workout either.
My biggest challenge is eating right on the weekend. So far, so good. Two meals in, both were protein & carbs, both had fruit. I’m making the right steps, so I’m a happy camper.
Progress is usually made in small, progressive steps … not quickly, all in a rush. You’re establishing new and improved habits, patterns and routines. It takes a while for those new and improved habits to become permanent.
I think I read somewhere that it takes 6 weeks to make a new behavior a habit.
First the #'s, then the whining…
lbs: 222 220 218.8
Bi: 16.25 16 15.5
Ch: 43.5 45.5 45.25
Waist: 38 38.25 39
Hip: 42.75 42.5 42
Quad: 25 25.375 25
Calf: 17 17.625 17.5
So basically my #'s are all over the place. Plus, I haven’t been as awesome about sticking to my diet this week…well, every meal but dinner I have. I have to figure out a way to reign that in. And the next 3 days aren’t going to be any help.
Tomorrow I’m pushing my lifting back to get a tattoo touched up (the only time they could fit me it) plus we’re having some kind of employee lunch at work which I’m supposed to be a part of.
Saturday is Father’s day with my dad which will involve eating out somewhere greasy.
Sunday is Father’s day at my in-laws which will probably be less greasy, but still not within my diet realm.
The good news is that outside of those meals, I’ve done a decent job of sticking with this new eating structure. I’ve gotten my protein in every day, as well as 3 servings of fruit, so I suppose I should focus on that.
Additionally I’ve gotten MUCH better about eating well on the weekends. Before it’d been a free-for-all when I did eat, and hardly ever any structure (and definitely no fruit).
Also, my wife was asking me about scales the other day so I’m thinking that I’ll for sure get one for my birthday…so that’s a bonus. Now I just need to get a tailor’s measuring tape so I’m not going out to the garage to get my metal one for my inaccurate measures.
Couple quick questions…
-At what point will we re-adjust the nutrient values? By that I mean say I drop to 210, then do we go through & reconfigure everything to a 210 lbs person, as opposed to a 220 lbs person? It’s not a big deal, just wondering…
-Right now the plan is lift 3 days, HIIT cardio 2 days a week. You don’t have a problem with me doing yoga or hitting the driving range on the other 2 days, right?
OK, couple more quick questions-
Please don’t take these like I’m challenging you, or disagreeing with your recommendations, I’m not. I’m just trying to understand the process.
You recommend 3 lifting days, 1-2 cardio days, & the rest as off-days, right? Is there a particular reason for this? The reason I ask is I tend to get bored with the same lifting program after 4 weeks or so, my body tends to adapt to it, and I move onto a new program. I have some ideas about what I want to do, because mentally I’m there already, but I don’t want to go outside of the protocol.
I don’t think I ever really understood what we’re doing with the fats. Why did we start with the .4g per lbs. and what is the ratio of 1/3 per type of fat? I’m just curious how that works & forces my body to change.
Thanks again.
Franchise, the scale weight loss is perfect. It’s stead, consistent and not extreme. Taking measurements and getting consistent results can be a bit of a challenge. A Myotape would help. They’re fairly cheap, fast, easy to use. If you do a search on the Internet, you can pick one up with S&H for about $11, maybe less.
Another thing that will improve the accuracy of your results is making sure you measure in the EXACT, SAME PLACE. Where you measure isn’t quite as important as measuring in the same place. There are a couple of measurements I take that are made a lot easier because of a freckle I have that is just perfectly placed/positioned. If you’re not lucky enough to have freckles strategically placed, you’ll have to resort to measuring up or down with a tape measure from given anatomical landmarks. You might measure your bicep a certain number of inches up from the crease in your bent arm. You might measure your thigh a certain number of inches below your hip bone. You might measure your calf a certain number of inches up from your ankle bone. You can pick the anatomical landmarks, but hopefully this gives you some ideas.
You’re making steady progress, so in that regard, I’m not too worried. But if you’re able to rein things in a bit and tighten up, I know you’ll be happier with your results.
My Father’s Day celebration involved going out to eat at the Golden Corral, which is a buffet type of deal. They had the bread and pizza and spaghetti and fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rice, gravies, potato salad and macaroni salad, but they also had an awesome salad buffet and not overly cooked (meaning mushy) veggies like cauliflower and broccoli. I had a steak and some mushrooms and finished it off with a slice of chocolate cake. All in all, it was just a delightful meal!
Even when you go to eat out (buffet or not), you usually have a choice/selection and can make better food choices if you are so inclined … or take it as a cheat/treat/free meal if not. I’ve found I can eat at just about any restaurant and find something reasonably close to my plan.
My trick when eating at a friend or family member’s house is to bring a few dishes that do fit into my plan, but that doesn’t look like diet food. I might bring a large, elaborate salad with a mountain of baby shrimp on top, decorated with heart of palm, diced, red, yellow, orange and green peppers, along with cherry tomatoes and grated red cabbage for color. I sometimes even throw fresh blueberries on top.
What makes people go crazy over my salad, though, is when I make my salad dressing. I use olive oil, apple cider vinegar, Splenda and fresh herbs, all run through the food processor or blender. For herbs, I like to use marjoram, oregeno, basis, lemon thyme. I grow my own herbs, so I literally grab handfuls of the stuff. People just go crazy over the dressing, not realizing that it was concocted so that I could hit my good fat requirements. (grin)
With a little bit of planning (and sometimes a little bit of culinary creativity), you can still get together with friends and family and share a meal without sacrificing your body composition goals.
Franchise, I see lots of improvement and progress. There were a lot of things you needed to address and tighten up on. Improving one’s diet is definitely a journey. All that matters is that you keep taking it up a notch here and a notch there. Over time those improvements will become habits. I’m proud of the progress you’ve made. That was an excellent critique/analysis of the week.
When do you get to re-do your numbers? (grin) Every 10 pounds. We’ll re-calculate your numbers at 210, 200, 190, etc.
Right now the plan is lift 3 days, HIIT cardio 2 days a week. You don’t have a problem with me doing yoga or hitting the driving range on the other 2 days, right?
None whatsoever. It gets an enthusiastic thumb’s-up from me. Being active and having lots of hobbies and interests is what makes life good!!!
And don’t ever be afraid to ask questions or ask me why I make the recommendations I do. My recommendations in some cases are bare minimums. If you want to do a different program and work out 4 days a week, I have no problem with that. As far as HIIT goes, you just don’t need any more than 2 days a week. In addition to that, if you want to play a game of golf, do it! Or if you want to go biking with your kids, again, do it. If the family wants to go camping or hiking or roller blading, don’t let me stop you. The trick is to do all of what is necessary to achieve your goals (improved health and improved body composition) and not one iota more. Your diet is what will give you the biggest bang for the buck. Working out is a means to an end, not the end to a means. (grin) If you have spare time and want to put in a garden or remodel, do it. There really is no greater gift than the gift of time … that and vibrant good health and energy.
Re fats, a certain amount is required for health and for fat loss (improving body composition). People who try to do the no-fat or low-fat thing end up inhibiting/slowing fat loss. 0.4g is what your body requires for health and to maintain fatty structures like myelin sheath (the fatty insulation around the nerves in the body), membranes of cells (made of phospholipid membranes (lipid = fat)) that let nutrients in and waste out, not to mention hormones (made of fat) and the brain (also made of fat).
The reason I break it up into thirds is that the body needs some of each type of fat you’re consuming. Some fats are anti-inflammatory. Some fats are pro-inflammatory. The body needs BOTH in a certain balance or ratio. If you’d like to get a better idea of what I’m talking about, try doing the following searches:
omega antiinflammatory
omega inflammation
omega mood
omega hormonal balance
omega weight loss
The “omega” part of things refers to Omega 3 fatty acids (antiinflammatory) and Omega 6 fatty acids (proinflammatory). Both fatty acids are called Essential Fatty Acids because the body can’t make them and they’re required for health.
Good questions, Franchise.
OK, another fat question.
So right now, I’m at 88g per day.
88g - 28g(2T Olive Oil) - 27g(2T Flax Seed Oil) = 33g
Currently, per Fitday, I’m getting fat additionally:
1g from my Fat Free milk
3g from my 2.5 serving ON Whey
5g from my 1 egg white
1g from my various fruit
3g from my 3oz Turkey
4g from my 4oz Chicken
1g from my Tuna
5g from my 1C Oats
That adds up to 23g leaving me roughly 10g fat for dinner. Is that cool?
I’m toying with the idea of cutting my oats out of my post-workout shake and using frozen berries or something, to give me a bit more fat with dinner. That or just split it in half with some fruit. Also an option is pulling that yolk from my breakfast, but I always thought a little yolk was healthy for you.
Thoughts?
Franchise, if you’d like to have a few more fat grams for dinner, you’re right that you can reduce it in other places … just not your olive oil or flaxseed oil. (grin)
If you’re having white turkey meat (a real turkey breast, not deli), chicken breast tilapia or shrimp, those are all 0g of fat per ounce. And since I know you get plenty of variety in your diet, you can eliminate the egg yolk, too.
If you’re stingy with your fat during the course of the day, you have more to “spend” at dinner. It’s how the game is played. (grin)
Well, the turkey breast & chicken breast are ones I cook, not stuff I buy already treated from the deli. Maybe I should just make a new entry in fitday to represent those.
Based on what you’re saying, what is the protein & kcal for an oz. of each?
Franchise, cross-reference www.fitday.com with www.nutritiondata.com. I always look at a few different entries. I look at larger serving sizes and smaller serving sizes to get a feel for how much protein and fat are in each.
I saw someone (I believe it was Phill but I’m not sure and I can’t remember the thread) say that beans weren’t complete proteins. What does that mean? I believe he said they had to be mixed with rice to make them so, but I could be way off.
You are correct. Meat is a complete protein source. That means that when the body breaks it down, all required amino acids are present. Beans are an incomplete protein source. That means that some of the required amino acids are missing.
Complementary foods are two foods that together contain all of the essential amino acids, thus forming a complete protein. For example, the amino acid missing in grains is found in legumes, and vice?versa. So rice and beans together would make up a complete protein.
Complementary protein sources don’t need to be eaten at the same time in order to be used by the body to build protein, as once was thought. We just need to eat them within 24 hours.
Nonetheless, I generally tell people to count the animal-derived protein they consume as going towards their per-meal (and daily!) protein requirements.
lbs: 222 220 218.8 220.8 221
Bi: 16.25 16 15.5 - 16
Ch: 43.5 45.5 45.25 - 43.5
Waist: 38 38.25 39 - 37
Hip: 42.75 42.5 42 - 41.25
Quad: 25 25.375 25 - 25
Calf: 17 17.625 17.5 - 17.5
Okey dokey…
So obviously I messed up last week, getting my weight but not my numbers. Also, I weighed myself at the gym yesterday & took my measurements this morning. The good news is I bought an actual tape, so that should help with the accuracy.
My weight doesn’t seem to be changing at all…however I’m not too concerned because my strength is actually improving and when I look at myself in the mirror, I am actually noticing changes. I’m starting to see some early ab definition on the sides of my abdomen, so that’s cool. My chest looks bigger too.
I’ve recently changed my diet up a bit. I got bored & wanted to make some minor changes. Here’s what I’m working with now:
Meal 1 (7:00am) - 6 egg whites, 1 egg yolk, 1/2 C black beans, 1/2 t parm. cheese, 1/4 C salsa, 10 oz. fat-free milk, 1ea apple, 18oz coffee, 2 t sugar
Meal 2 (10:00am) - 3 oz. turkey, 1/2 C pineapple
Meal 3 (12:30pm) - 4oz chicken, 1 C broccoli, 1 orange
Meal 4 (3:30pm) - 1 C spinach, 1 can tuna, 2 T Olive oil
Shake (6:45pm) - 2 Servings whey, 12oz milk, 1 t sugar, 1 C Oats
Meal 5 (7:30pm) - Dinner, varies
Meal 6 (10:00) - 1 C Fat free cottage cheese, 2 T Flax seed oil
Per fitday, I’m averaging 2,683 kcal, 229g pro & carbs, & 90g fat (evenly split) per day over the last 2 weeks.
I have been entering my cheat meals. I’m doing a good job of hitting .4-.45g fat per day, per lbs.
Per my calculations, I’m getting about 12xbodyweight, calorie-wise.
Like I said, I’d like to lose some weight, but I’m also satisfied with my current progress. The scale isn’t changing, but I am noticing results - so I suppose the actual weight shouldn’t be an issue.
Also, I really think I’m getting a scale for my birthday. That’ll be nice. The one I’m using now I use right after my workout, before my shake, so around 6:40pm. So I’ve got a full day’s food & water on me, plus a billion people carelessly jumping on & off the scale, possibly screwing up the calibration.
Finally, in addition to my whey, creatine, & multi-vitamin, I’ve added BCAA’s & ZMA to my daily intake. Don’t know if that matters at all.
Franchise, you’ve definitely got some body RE-composition going on. Waist and hip measurements are going down. I like that! (grin) I also like that your quad and chest measurements are staying the same and that your calf measurement is up a bit. If you ate this way as a way of life, you’d get even leaner and stronger over time! (grin)
Aren’t you glad you took measurements and aren’t using JUST the scale to measure progress? (grin) The measurements validate the changes you see in the mirror.
I’m doing a good job of hitting .4-.45g fat per day, per lbs.
Excellent!!!
Per my calculations, I’m getting about 12xbodyweight, calorie-wise.
If you want to have some fun, Franchise, the two things below, either A or B or A+B will speed up progress:
A. Eating at 10 times body weight
B. Adding in 1 hour of walking
A+B is obviously what would get you the most dramatic results.
BTW, when you’re thinking of adding something in (and trying to talk yourself into it), just tell yourself that you’re going to test your new approach out for 4 weeks and that that would be a good test.
You have collected some interesting data about yourself at this point, Franchise. You’ve got a good idea of what maintenance calories are for you. You’re eating in a way that allows you to lose fat without sacrificing LBM (maybe even adding to it a bit!) and where your energy levels, mood, sleep and recovery are optimal. At this point, it’s just a case of manipulating the variables to suit your purposes.
I like walking because it’s low intensity and doesn’t use up muscle glycogen. It also makes you more insulin sensitive (a good thing!) and helps the body to mobilize stored body fat. The walking thing is a Lonnie Lowery trick. He uses it to stay lean and even when dieting down for competition. You can break it up, by the way. Three 20 minute sessions are just as good as one hour. You can walk at lunch or get out of bed early (try taking some HOT-ROX 1/2 hour before your feet need to hit the floor!), make some green tea and walk while it’s cool. You can park a little farther out so that you have to walk 10 minutes into work and 10 minutes back. Then if you were to leave your lunch in a cooler in the trunk of your car, you’d add another 20 minutes to the totals.
Franchise, since they’re just empty calories, do me a favor and nix the sugar. Buy some Splenda and use it instead of sugar.
A little exercise for you …
Assuming it takes 3500 calories to add or lose one pound, all you’d have to do to gain one pound in one week is eat 500 calories per day more than maintenance calories. But let’s break that down further. Eating 100 calories per day more than maintenance calories will result in 2/10ths of a pound per week. Not that big a deal? Well, done consistently, over the course of a year, that works out to an increase of 10.8 pounds.
Bottom line, the little things matter. (grin)
Congrats on scale and tape!!! With the things you’ve been learning, you’ll be able to really dial things in.
Awesome…just awesome.
I turn 30 next Wednesday, so I suppose it’s high time I finally start drinking my coffee like a grown-up…black.
No prob. I’ll do it. And I’ll take the sugar out of my post workout shake.
Actually, I had a question regarding that. You had me adding a cup of oats to it, for some carbs. On occasion I have been using frozen berries instead of fruit. My question is, aren’t post workout drinks supposed to have fast digesting carbs? I think you made it a point to have me use slow digesting, and I was just curious as to why.
Also, I have 2 parties for my birthday next week, I’m going to do my best to stick to my diet guns on those days, but I have a feeling it may be a bit tough. I will do my best though.
I’m already walking for 20 minutes a day in the AM, so adding another 40 throughout the day should be easy…especially now that it’s summer. Some mornings though, I have been jogging. Not as a way to make-up for any overeating, but just because I feel like it.
I want to improve my cardiovascular as well as muscular conditioning. Plus the puppy seems to enjoy it, so no complaints. Of course, now that I’ve said that, I haven’t ran at all this week, in the AM, because of how sore my body has been since I upped my lifting.
Thanks again for all the great advice. I will tinker & drop some calories, and up the walking.
I can’t wait.
Also, I have 2 parties for my birthday next week, I’m going to do my best to stick to my diet guns on those days, but I have a feeling it may be a bit tough. I will do my best though.
Franchise, enjoy your birthday!!! If you have two parties, make 'em both your cheat/treat/free meal. My birthday present to you. (grin) Seriously, it only comes around once a year.
Some mornings though, I have been jogging. Not as a way to make-up for any overeating, but just because I feel like it.
Just so long as it’s not fasted state!!! Running will burn a few more calories, but depletes muscle glycogen to a greater degree.
I want to improve my cardiovascular as well as muscular conditioning. Plus the puppy seems to enjoy it, so no complaints. Of course, now that I’ve said that, I haven’t ran at all this week, in the AM, because of how sore my body has been since I upped my lifting.
If you want to improve your cardiovascular conditioning, do 2 or 3 HIIT sessions per week. It can be done on the cardio equipment of your choice or even running-type sprints when you’re out with the puppy.
Instructions. Ues a watch with a second-hand. Warm up for 6 minutes to get your core temp up and your heart rate up and blood flowing to the muscles… Do seven 30-second sprints. I’m talking pedal to the metal, all-out, everything you’ve got!!! Follow each sprint with 90 seconds of slow and easy to get your heart rate down. You’re done in 20 minutes. If you think you could run another sprint, then you didn’t put enough into the seven you did. (grin)
What kind of puppy, by the way? Got any puppy pics? (grin)
For your purposes, HIIT and walking are different. You can do two sessions a week, but that doesn’t replace the hour per day. At the end of a week or two you’ll actually be able to equate one hour of walking with x pounds of weight loss. At that point, you can walk or not, but you’ll know what the ROI (Return on Investment) is.
Actually, I had a question regarding that. You had me adding a cup of oats to it, for some carbs. On occasion I have been using frozen berries instead of fruit. My question is, aren’t post workout drinks supposed to have fast digesting carbs? I think you made it a point to have me use slow digesting, and I was just curious as to why.
If you want fast-digesting carbs, I’d go with Surge. I’m not picking slow-digesting carbs on purpose. I’m picking carbs that are starchier in nature on purpose. Starchy carbs have two glucose molecules, both of which can refill muscle glycogen. Fruit, even though it’s a requirement, is not a replacement for the starchy carbs you’re supposed to include in your PWO meal because fruit tends to be higher in fructose, a type of sugar which is processed in the liver and which does not refill muscle glycogen.
And all of that aside, I’d PREFER to see you rotate your starchy carbs – oatmeal, sweet potatoes, yams, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, amaranth, Ezekial sprouted breads.
I turn 30 next Wednesday, so I suppose it’s high time I finally start drinking my coffee like a grown-up…black.
Have you ever TRIED Splenda?