@jackolee does skinfold measurements of his chest, abdomen, and thigh. I’ve started doing the same thing. We don’t enter the information into any calculators to get a body fat percentage. It’s just a good measuring stick. If your quad measurement decreases then you know you’re shedding fat.
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@jackolee Very cool, fellas. I think I’ll add this to my existing regimen. The more data, the better! Why abdomen instead of waist? And what’s your approach for measuring the thigh area (i.e., how tight is the tape when you loop it around that area)?
If I’m doing tape measuring then I just make it snug. I try not to squeeze anything. But I was talking about skinfold calipers - the pinchers.
Ah, I just stumbled upon my calipers today and thought, “I should be using these bad boys.” Do you measure yourself or have your wife do it?
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I used to make my wife do it when I was doing all seven sites, but I think I’ll do the three sites I mentioned on my own.
I measure circumference right around the belly button. That’s just where my coach was doing it. Like j said. Get the tape snug but not digging in or anything. Only really matters that you do it the same each time in the same location.
As far as skinfold calipers go. I do 1 inch to the side of the bellybutton vertical pinch. 9 inches above the knee on quad vertical pinch. Pec on the outside edge near your armpit diagonal skinfold.
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I’m planning on giving myself one “fun”/mix-it-up workout per week. Tomorrow, I’ll do that with some bis and tris - gun show! Anyone have a preferred routine that could be completed in a home gym (mainly barbell/dumbbell movements)?
How often do you do the calipers?
When I was cutting I would track weight daily and measurements and skinfolds weekly.
Day 1/Today (Day 5):
Weight: 174.8/173.6
Waist: 30.1/29.75
BF: 12.0/11.5
Excited to see the scale go down this morning! At 11.5% as of this morning, I would have reached my BF loss goal for the week (0.5% * 8 weeks = 4% loss total for the challenge). But based on my experience, when BF drops significantly on the scale between days (and I consider 0.4%) significant, there is usually somewhat of a rebound effect the next day or two, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see myself hop back to 11.7ish tomorrow morning.
Yesterday was awesome. On my demanding day of cardio (basketball, 22K steps), I consumed 1950 calories – 187 carbs (36%), 223 protein (44%), and 46 fat (20%) – and felt great all day! I was super focused and productive in the afternoon, cranking out work.
Something cool happened earlier in the day, too: I had a meeting with my boss’ boss to discuss a project, but she opened by saying that people in the department have commented on how “jacked” I’ve gotten, and then she asked a bunch of questions about my fitness/nutrition strategies. We ended up chatting about it for about 20 minutes. The encouragement provided some nice fuel for this challenge and reminded me of how far I’ve come (I was an ugly 215 pounds a few years ago).
Probably as a result of how much I moved throughout the day, I could see my bottom row of abs poking through last night, and the veins in my midsection were apparent. Those definitely weren’t showing up one week ago. I’m already about as lean as I’ve ever been.
Even if I get to the end of this challenge and have only dropped 1-2% BF, but look noticeably better because of the recomp effects…well, that’s pretty great.
I blasted arms/abs this morning, fueled by .75 cup gluten-free oats with some strawberries, protein powder, and dark chocolate chips. Refueled with a couple leftover shrimp, a shake, and 1/2 cup cottage cheese mixed with berries and pineapple. This mixture is unbelievably tasty, and perfect for post-workout!
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You should probably lay off the body fat bong. Whatever method you are using, it’s notoriously inaccurate.
It can be a useful tool to track trends over time, but day to day is a waste of time.
My .02, you need to eat in surplus and add weight to the bar.
Thanks for the .02. I’m happy with what I’ve been doing and will be sticking with it.
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Day 1/Today (Day 6):
Weight: 174.8/173.8
Waist: 30.1/29.6
BF: 12.0/11.4
Happy to see weight/BF didn’t budge back up! Seems I’ll reach my 0.5% BF/week goal for Week 1, provided things don’t go sideways this weekend. Going to be careful not to binge on surf-and-turf with the fam on Mother’s Day. Having some snacks before the meal (bars/shakes) should help with that.
I wasn’t planning on eating any dessert with the meal (with family, it’s usually some type of cake/ice cream that I always avoid – yeah, I’m that guy), but my wife picked up a “healthy” dessert (a natural granola) specifically because she wanted me to feel included. She’s a sweetheart. I don’t want to seem ungrateful, so I’ll eat a tempered amount with some berries after the shrimp and steak.
I’ll be taking progress photos (unflexed) each Saturday throughout these 8 weeks. Here’s one I snapped this morning:
I can see abs poking through. I imagine the fat around my hips (some ‘baby’ love handles) will compress during these 8 weeks, creating more of a V-taper, which I’ve never had before.
Consumption yesterday:
1920 cals
158 carbs (32%)
226 (!) protein (46%)
48 fat (22%)
It seems I will still be able to drop weight if I come close to 2000 cals/day, at least at this point.
I’m really excited about progress through one week. Digestion, energy, body comp have all been on point; I’ve never felt this dialed in! I know I’m moving in the right direction and haven’t been starving at all, thanks to the strategies @jackolee and @Frank_C shared ahead of this challenge. Small meals + high protein has been legit. Thanks, fellas!
I should also reiterate that I’m on metformin (500mg AM & PM) and drink a good amount of coffee, both of which have probably helped suppress my appetite. I’ve also been enjoying some 0-cal drinks like Powerade Zero and Sparkling Ice.
Before hitting the road to see the family this afternoon, training today is chest and back, primarily benching and BB rows. Already have my meals for the day all figured out and punched into MFP…I’m getting good at this thing!
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I struggle with self control during these situations. My best strategy has been to fast all day leading up to the meal. If it’s dinner then I might do a protein sparing modified fast (PSMF) which is just having protein shakes throughout the day instead of food.
She definitely sounds like it!
I think PSMF will be the move for me. When I fast leading up to the meal, I end up bingeing. I’d probably end up eating like 2 lbs of steak and a ton of shrimp, plus plenty of carbs on the side. I think I’ll be able to control myself much better if I have some protein already in my stomach – plus that will help with macro targets. This is new territory for me, though!
She’s a dime all around, man. The best part of my life!
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Are you diabetic?
Nope. Hopped on after following Jay Campbell’s writing/podcasts on the subject. Have you looked into it? Is Metformin Dangerous, Testosterone Replacement Therapy & More!
I’ve read a little about it in combination with Growth hormone to help combat the insulin resistance that can occur. Do you get it through your TRT doc? I have never run GH, only peptides. I’ll read up on it more. Thanks
Yeah, that is one great thing about it! I will say there’s a minor adjustment period with gut discomfort but that faded for me after 3-4 days. I do get it through my TRT doc; it was incredibly easy to secure, and I can ramp up the dose above my prescription (500mg/day) very easily. Doctors aren’t concerned about it because it has such a long track record of research. It’s also very cheap, which is nice.
Noticed you were keeping your dietary fat on the lower end of things. I know fat has a lot to do with hormone production, so does being on endogenous test negate the need to have higher levels of dietary fat?