Dropping calories is such a ball ache. Don’t know how you find it but I much prefer going extreme and losing calories in a big way. When I do it by small increments it always feels worse and I’m more prone to give myself leeway. I’m all in or nothing.
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Saw this @flipcollar dude in person 2 days ago. He wins the overall I think (rather than the transformation). Unless a bodybuilder at the end of a prep drops in. Guy had vascular neck and face ffs.
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Bro split is always fun - keep it up. I found tracking calories to be a real pain to start with, but once you get into the habit (and, if you’re anything like me and you’re OCD and repeat stock meals) it becomes easier and keeps you on the straight and narrow.
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Ah fuck.
Ah phew.
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Awesome work man, looking awesome.
Well, I hit a lifetime PR on the scale yesterday at 217.4lbs (after binge eating/drinking most of the weekend). Took some progress pictures this morning to mark the beginning of my official cut. Woke at 214.4lbs after dropping significant carb bloat. I think I’m holding onto another lb or two of it still. By this weekend I imagine I’ll reach a more representative weight of where I’m sitting.
I’m fluffy, but 12 weeks is plenty of time for me to get down to last year’s transformation end weight which will hopefully be even leaner this year, assuming some LBM was gained over the last several months.
Posted pics in my log: Maple Syrup Strength (littlesleeper) - #2156 by littlesleeper
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I’m down 5kg (11lbs) so far but I should never have gained that weight in the first place. I really need to take things more seriously now, as I have been coasting for a few weeks and I’ve got a lot more fat to lose. Strength and fitness levels are good, possibly the best they’ve ever been.
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I tend more towards the opposite. With extreme restriction (like when I’ve experimented with intermittent fasting-type setups), I tend to last a day or three and then crash and binge.
I’d much rather “move a little more and eat a little less” instead of turning the dial on either one to 11.
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I respect you guys that can lose weight slow and controlled at like .5->1 pounds per week. It always drives me insane because thats within the margin of error for water weight fluctuations and BM’s. I know that food calorie measurements can be off by 10% easy, even if you weigh stuff.
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I’m down like 5 pounds. I’m struggling pretty hard to get into this one. I underestimated how little fucks I would have with an infant around…
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So long as you log/track consistently then the 10% margin of error in actual calories shouldn’t massively matter*. Stronger By Science has a pretty good article about this.
The fluctuations do drive me bonkers, though.
*He said with authority despite being a fat shit.
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I get that. It’s just if you’re going for .5lbs per week that’s a deficit of 250cals/day. Let’s say that for you 2,500 calories is that deficit. That’s your 10% margin of error right there.
I know it works for allot of people, just drives me nuts. If I’m weighing out food and behaving myself, that scale better be moving in the correct direction every week.
Sure, but using your example say I don’t lose any/enough weight on what I perceive to be 2,500kcal (which is actually 2,600-2,800 a day due to margin of error) then I would just reduce calories.
Now I think I’m eating 2,300kcal but it’s actually 2,400-2,600 and I am losing weight. Obviously this only applies if you’re consistent with diet and logging.
EDIT: plus the 10% works both ways so maybe you think you’re eating 2,500 but it’s actually 2,250.
Anyway I agree with you on balance because any form of calorie reduction is shitty 
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That’s why you have to view it from a different perspective. Weigh yourself once a week or look at average weight week to week or month to month.
I’m trying to gain 1.5 lbs per month right now. It sucks but it’s the correct approach. I was 223.6 lbs yesterday and 222.2 lbs today. I even drank a little whiskey last night. If I wasn’t viewing this in terms of months then I’d panic and increase my calories today.
If I’m 225 by June, then 228 by September and so on then I’ll be successful on this journey. I could also hit those weights in a week with a dirty bulk. It’s tough going this slow but it’ll be worth it in the long run.
Would I cut at this rate? Probably not. But I wouldn’t kill myself with extreme restriction either. For me, I go at the rate that I can tolerate in terms of food. If I can lose weight at 2800 calories then that’s what I’ll do. No need to drop to 2000 calories and feel like I’m starving to death. I can’t do that day in and day out.
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Along this line, something I think I first heard from @The_Mighty_Stu is to weigh in every day and look at weekly progress. As long as the highest and lowest weights for the week are trending downwards, you’re on track.
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Ya gotta expect fluctuations. It’s just part of the process, and if you’re employing any type of cyclical plan (ie. carb cycling, or even steady with refeeds etc), you will no doubt see the variance in glycogen levels, as well as the amount of water the body will constantly be moving about. So if you can see your lowest readings every week or two moving in the desired direction, you’re most likely doing pretty good.
Using the higher numbers doesn’t work though because you can eat a bunch and create what I call “false weights.” One former poster on here used to joke (albeit being dead serious) about how if he missed a meal, he would lose 5 lbs. That’s a perfect example of someone who liked to say they weigh X, but in actuality, they don’t, they’re literally just full of shit -lol
S
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Down 15lbs so far. Wife gives me a hug before work and goes: “you feel… smaller.” Thanks babe. #jumping on after this cut
I wish.
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Not exactly physique related, but I had an awesome training session this weekend. I barely missed a 280 log press on 2 attempts. One I actually locked out, but lost my footing and didn’t hold it long enough for a good rep. But the strength was clearly there. The National record for my weight class in log press is 290. I found a comp that has max log in May that’s only about 3-4 hours drive from me. If I can get 300 by then, I’m going to get it on the books. I actually thought my max log wasn’t very good… Turns out it’s nearly the best in the country. lolz.
I also got a 300 lbs stone for a set of 3, almost 4. That was strong. Need to hit a 360 max stone by June.
Bodyweight was 195 this morning.
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Physique update with less cheaty lighting:
Training has been odd due to extended work hours, but I’ve been slowly upping the volume of my daily at home workouts.
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Well I’ve never really dieted before, usually just lose weight from running and mountain biking in the summer. Lost 11 lbs so far but tired of being hungry and weak so this might be it for me. On the bright side I’m usually not this lean until July so it’ll be fun to see what happens when I try dieting again once it gets warm out.
Here’s the original pic and this morning for comparison, time to start #SpringBulk2018
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Fuck I’m still fat.
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