Mo's new Journal

[Moses]

K its time to start a journal!

So here goes...

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December 28th, 2005
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Action plan:
Plan: BFFM carb cycle 3:1
Goal: 200lbs by March 2006 w/ 20% bf or less

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Stats:
Weight: 220
BF: 27%-30% (damn skinfold calipers still havent arrived )
LBM: 160 lbs
TDEE Factor: 1.55
BMR: 1925
TDEE: 2983
Max Deficit: 895 cals (30%)
Min Deficit: 149 cals (5%)
LC goal caloric intake: 2100 cals
HC goal caloric intake: 2850 cals

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Low carb macronutrient goals:
Carb: 25% (131g)
Pro: 50% (261g)
Fat: 25% (58g)

High carb macronutrient goals:
Carb: 50% (354g)
Pro: 30% (213g)
Fat: 20% (63g)

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Exercise plan:
BFL program (day 59/84)
M W F: UB/LB split
T TH SA: Lifecycle lvl 13 30 mins cardio (HR 150 average)
Sun: off

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Previous History:
Used to be a low carb Atkins dieter (4 years). Lost 60 lbs to 180 over 10 months then gained it all back in 4. Started Atkins again in Jul 05, adding BFL training in October 05. Switched to BFFM eating program Nov 05 and started carb cycling Dec 15th 2005.

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[Pylon]

Atkins, huh? Not bad for short term, but it will come back and catch up later.

Good luck with the plan. How did you figure your current BF%? How tall are you? It sounds like you have a good plan and have done your homework, so you are ahead of most people!

 

[Moses]

Dec 28th notes

Dec 28th 05

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Eating Notes:
Got the meal frequency almost down pat and got the meals worked out.
Using a carb tapering and cal tapering system with starchy carbs meals 1+2, veggies 3-6, fats in 3-6, and a 18% - 15% caloric taper from meal 1 - 6.

Just started cycling a week ago, and still working out the menus for the high day. Last week has been rough with Christmas but managed to limit cheat meals to 2 a week.

Still having hunger cravings after my evening meals however. Until the darn skinfold calipers arrive, I'm going to limit my cals but I have a feeling I might be under my required cal intake/day. I get cravings 30 mins after the meal. The morning is fine, the evening sucks. No clue why. Also getting drained in the evening around 7:30, even after meals. Not sure if Im counting my carbs in right; I'm gonna ask on the forums.

Gotta figure out how to export my meals to a txt format so I can post on the journals!!

Supplements:
Finished creatine loading phase today and now cutting down dosage. Man, what a difference! I felt like I was going to explode after the workout yesterday - felt like a balloon! Still adding 10g glutamine /day pwo and before sleeping.

Stopped with the fat burners (Xenadrine / Hydroxycut / Lean+) for now. I had planned to finish using up what I had left but I think I'll shelf it for now for safety (started up with the green tea mixture again)

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Exercise notes:

Awesome workouts this week w/ noticeable difference with the high carb day and creatine.

Switched up chest routine this week and will be changing it completely next week.

Having problems now with the left side keeping up with the right. Not sure if I should keep the weight levels the same with both sides to prevent uneven growth. Ex. My hammer curls, my left side at the last set can only do 8@25 whereas my right can go up to my target 12@30.

Getting some soreness in the lower back however - not sure if it's due to new bed or improper lower body workout. Going to have to book a fitness trainer for a day to make sure I'm doing weights properly. Let's set a deadline: Jan 13th.

Hating my dumbell lunges with a passion!

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Progress:
Well, hard to say. So far it's been tough mastering the basics but I think I've got it worked out now. Managed to figure out the right meals, and combinations so that's a good thing!

As for fat loss, I have no clue. My weight is actually rising. The damn scale is driving me nuts as the BF calcs change so much and my damn skinfold calipers still havent arrived. I'm assuming that the weight gain is due to the creatine and the new carb cycling and my body adjusting. If the scale is accurate however, it seems like I am not losing at all but visually, I can see myself getting more defined. Even at 27% bf or whatever the scale says, I can catch a glimpse of a 6pack abs which I couldnt a week ago, so something is going in the right direction. Patience I suppose. And to wait for the damn skinfold calipers to arrive...

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Questions:
Eating:
-Still confused about PWO shakes / meals.
http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=58134

-Carb counting. Because of my energy crashes, I'm not sure if I am counting my carb intake right. Does fibre get counted into the total carb intake? Are energy drains in the evening a result of the LC:HC cycle, the fact that I dont eat carbs in the evening, or a sign that I'm way below my cal intake? Gonna post on forums...

 

[Moses]

Atkins, huh? Not bad for short term, but it will come back and catch up later.

Good luck with the plan. How did you figure your current BF%? How tall are you? It sounds like you have a good plan and have done your homework, so you are ahead of most people!

Hi Pylon

Wow, minutes after I start my journal and I got a visitor! Thanks for dropping by

Yea Atkins worked originally but like everyone else I know, it's near impossible to stay on long term. I did lose a lot of weight (60 lbs!) but I never understood the concept of lbm so I'm sure I lost alot of muscle with the weight. Needless to say, it came back in a big way and I had to figure out a "healthier" alternative! I came across Body for Life and started the training program with Atkins. Well it didnt work; my workouts were so flat and it didn't feel right at all. So I did alot of research into keto diets + HIIT and realized that no-carb or low-carb had to be taken into perspective and part of a larger program. After reading much about CKD and other carb cycling programs, I realized that Atkins isn't a healthy way to go and by searching alot online and on many bodybuilding sites, decided to go with the BFFM program which so far really does seem to be one of the most effective fat loss programs out there.

I'm getting my bf measurements out of my Tanita scale. But it's driving me nuts. It varies from 26% to 32%. I try to take my measurements at the same time of day (in the morning) but according to the scale, I am making no progress at all yet I can visually see the results. The variation is from evening to morning, evening being on the low side.

My biggest worry is that because I am going for quite a big push on my fat loss (30% defecit), my cal intake calculations depends greatly on my LBM and a 5% variation in bf% throws off my goal intakes by alot.

I ordered the Accumeasure calipers about 3 weeks ago, but it still hasn't arrived. If it doesn't show up in this next week, I think I'm going to "sign up" for a trial run at a Fitness World or some other gym to get the free bf measurements

I'm also adjusting my diet so there is a chance that the scale is accurate and I am not progressing. I didn't carb cycle originally and recently added creatine to my diet. Perhaps my body is still adjusting! I'm going to give it a week, then raise my cal intake to be on the safe side.

I'm 5'7" and 31 yrs btw

 

[Pylon]

Ignore the scale. They are rarely accurate. Especially if the mirror is telling you one thing and the scale says another.

I've seen a lot of people get screwed on the Atkins plan. There are just too many variables you have to account for if you want to be healthy while doing it. Most people don't know/care enough to put in the effort.

It sounds like you are on the right track. I'd have the BF measured as you mentioned. Heck, I'd plunk down $10 every month or so to have it done by the same person each time. It can make a difference.

 

[Moses]

Dec 30th Friday

Progress Update:
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Welp, I got my PWO shake question answered! Seems like I will be moving my 1st meal after resistance right after the workout with the 2nd meal 1 hour after. Details to follow as well as thread

Weighed in today (end of day 3 low carb day) and scale is down to 215 so something definitely is going right! Bf changes still tho... I think I will upp cal intake next week to make sure I don't drop too much muscle.

Damn calipers STILL havent arrived!!!

I've also broken all my lvl 10 resistance levels this week so this is going great!

26% bf on a good day (damn scales) and more definition on the abs.

There's nothing more inspiring than catching repeated glimpses of a 6 pack on a guy that has been overweight 90% of his life at 35%+ bf!

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Questions:
Still seeking clarification on Cal intake values. No caliper and inaccurate scale so its hard to go by trial atm, but now I'm finding very veyr mixed formulas on calculating intake levels. Will post q's later.

PWO shake got answered in bb.com. Using 50g carb (ban+dex), and 50g pro to start. 400 cals approx. Subbed meal #1 with this.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=660499

Carb q got answered also. Avoiding all bars, and supps for now. Sticking with good ol fashioned food.

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=58249

Made turkey meatloaf the other day w/ dry cottage cheese and no oats (the jodi recipe). Kicked ass. Went out and bought 20 packs of ground turkey the same night

Will look into matching sides on resistance training later this week. Left side still catchingup. Currently working right side the same as left until the left catches up then push past current levels. Still not sure if this is right or if I should work the sides independantly (R side can handle about 10% more weights than left)
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[Pylon]

I don't think there is anything wrong with holding back the right side until the left catches up.

I have a hard time believing you are seeing abs if you are really at 20% or higher. Sounds like your scale is looped.

 

[Moses]

Jan 03 2006
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Update:
Welp, Didn't mess up too badly on the holidays although one cheat meal did end up being more than a meal... more like a cheat day condensed into a meal... On the positive side, I'm sure that after that day my body isn't in starvation mode!

Calipers arrived today woohoo! Measurements show 24% bf so my scale is looped. It still shows 31% bf.

No mentionable progress this week however as I sprained my lower back. Decided it was wiser to skip a week than to risk further injury.
Feeling good today tho, so I will be hitting the gym tomorrow, then going back a week to pick up where I left off.

Eating notes:
Low carb days on the 3:1 cycle are getting harder to follow! After 4 solid weeks of measurements with the caliper, I might go back to a baseline diet with carbs and skip the cycling. Cooking 4 styles of meals is a bit draining too (carb and cal tapering, High day and low days).

Supps:
Trying some chinese formula that apparently has cured many ppl recently.
Going back to my Green tea hawthorn mix, some "miracle" vegetable/herbal soup mix, and also my dad's latest fad: Noni juice. Low cal and its all free so what the heck.
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