Weekly Body Fat Measurements

[jbish8]

I have to admit I am initially quite skeptical of Lyle mostly because of the huge deficit he recommends for PSMF. I will admit that it sounds the most logical of any crash diet I've seen but I am just automatically skeptical of anyone recommending that kind of a deficit.

Of course if you couldn't tell I have a pretty healthy dose of skepticism about most new information I encounter Doesn't mean I will ignore it though so I will take a look at the link. Thanks.

Don't mean to keep butting in here, but you seem to have some similar beliefs that I had when I came to this forum and I figure I can help by telling you what I've learned here and possibly easing some of your doubts in the process. Keep in mind, these are my opinions only and what I believe and I'm not stating them as facts.

1. Everyone has their guru.
You will find that Lyle Mcdonald's methods are highly praised here, and rightfully so most likely. I've yet to try any of his diets (I plan to though), but I also haven't heard any complaints from anyone who has.

2. What works for one does not mean it works for another.
I had no problem using Venuto's plan to reach my goals, but my wife was a different story. I was completely baffled as to why it was so hard for her to do what was so easy for me, and chalked it up to me just having more determination. Not so. Simply changing up the macro's while cutting has made it so much easier for her to now do what I was able to do. (She's alot funner to be around too I might add).

3. Both diets are good.
Whithout Venuto's program, I would not have become as aware nor organized about my diet. Because of this, I feel I easily got every penny I paid for his book. As I said before, his plan in general is one I will adopt for my long term health and fitness. I do however think it's just a starting point and that there are many details that just by way of practicality must be omitted (the book is already 300+ pages).

Lyle's Programs seem more extreme but they are also geared towards specific people with specific goals and so in my mind they are temporary.
Nothing wrong with that if you already have the basics of a healthy diet down first and realize that it is your basis. I've only actually read one of his books UD2.0 because it's the one that most applied to my situation, but I think I know the general idea of his others. I do plan on reading them as well if for nothing more than curiosity. I was very impressed with the book I read and it makes sense and he backs it up with years of research and science.

4. Best way to find what works is to try it.
Lot's of diets look good on paper but since everyones different, it's virtually impossible to find a blanket diet to work for everyone. Educated trial and error (and documenting) are the best way to figure what works for you. If it makes sense and is not dangerous I'm willing to give it a go.

5. I have alot to learn.
After reading Tom's book, I felt like I knew all the answers to the dieting universe. Boy was I wrong. I realize I haven't even scratched the surface, but I'm having fun learning more and more each day, especially when you try something new and it works.

 

[Built]

2. What works for one does not mean it works for another.
I had no problem using Venuto's plan to reach my goals, but my wife was a different story. I was completely baffled as to why it was so hard for her to do what was so easy for me, and chalked it up to me just having more determination. Not so. Simply changing up the macro's while cutting has made it so much easier for her to now do what I was able to do. (She's alot funner to be around too I might add).

I'm so glad she's more comfortable! She must have been SO FRUSTRATED! I remember how I felt trying to diet and train like this. It was impossibly uncomfortable to maintain. I just couldn't do it. (The fact that others COULD did nothing for my morale, lemme tell you!)

 

[jbish8]

I'm so glad she's more comfortable! She must have been SO FRUSTRATED! I remember how I felt trying to diet and train like this. It was impossibly uncomfortable to maintain. I just couldn't do it. (The fact that others COULD did nothing for my morale, lemme tell you!)

Thanks alot Built. She's doing awesome and she's very excited as she is starting to see the definition in her legs and the booty is getting tighter. She's lost 6lbs with hardly any LBM loss. She's gone from 18% to 15% BF and is finally getting the form down on squats (thanks to the goblets). We both are doing variations of your BGB and are both responding very well even though I'm bulking and she's cutting. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Built]

My pleasure.

 

[danzik17]

Thanks alot Built. She's doing awesome and she's very excited as she is starting to see the definition in her legs and the booty is getting tighter. She's lost 6lbs with hardly any LBM loss. She's gone from 18% to 15% BF and is finally getting the form down on squats (thanks to the goblets). We both are doing variations of your BGB and are both responding very well even though I'm bulking and she's cutting. Thanks again for all your help.

Pics or it didn't happen!

 

[jbish8]

Pics or it didn't happen!

I only have a before picture cause' she won't let me take another one till she reaches her goal of 13%. This was at our backyard pool party with some of her friends. She's the one in the hot pink on the right. She measured 18% the morning before this. We used a bioimpedic scale so it could be a little off, but I pride myself on being a good judge of BF% just by look, especially on women, and I'd have to say it was pretty spot on. Enjoy!

 

[danzik17]

Oh man, can you hook me up with the hottie in green?

 

[gigaplex]

Hmmm. Are you sure it didn't read 18% lean instead? Easy to confuse the two

 

[jbish8]

Ok, so here are the real progress pics of the wife. I thought Built may be interested to see how well she's progressing. She still has another few lbs. to go but she's really excited at how good she's done so far.

So this her about a month ago on left and now on right

She is flexing her back in the after and not in the before but it's the lower half that I think has the biggest change anyways. Any guesses as to her BF in these shots. Here's another back and leg shot.

 

[Built]

Holy cow, she looks HOT!

Bodyfat - hmmm, high teens maybe? It's harder to tell on her than on me because she doesn't carry as much in the lower as I do.

Tell her I hate her. That'll tell her what she needs to hear.

 

[Marat]

Wow. She certainly deserves being excited. She's doing an excellent job.

 

[Built]

Ok, so here are the real progress pics of the wife. I thought Built may be interested to see how well she's progressing. She still has another few lbs. to go but she's really excited at how good she's done so far.

So this her about a month ago on left and now on right

She is flexing her back in the after and not in the before but it's the lower half that I think has the biggest change anyways. Any guesses as to her BF in these shots. Here's another back and leg shot.

Just having another look here. Maybe 16-17%, which is to say lean - most gymrats have a skewed perception of what lean is. I'm 14% in my avatar and profile pix and although they don't show up in the pix, I had veins around my navel.

17% on a woman is LEAN.

Her butt and outer thighs have noticeably leaned out. How much weight difference in that month, jbish8?

What were her average macros before she switched gears, and what are they now?

 

[jbish8]

She's lost 6-7 lbs. this month. Her macros were based on %'s before at about p-30, carbs-50, fat-20 so that would be 108g/181g/32g eating approx. 1450 cals per day. For the month, she's been eating about the same grams in protein, but we pretty much doubled her fats and the rest is carbs, plus she's been making sure to get her 25 g of fiber in those carbs. She says it makes her much more comfortable but it did take about a week to adjust to the energy loss. Now she feels great. It also took some figuring on how to find the right meals to work with more fats and less carbs.

 

[Built]

I am SO glad to read this - not just because I was right (I love being right. LOL!) but because she's feeling better - nobody deserves to feel THAT uncomfortable while dieting.

Plus she looks awesome!

 

[jbish8]

Yep. Ya done good. She's only got about 4-5 lbs left to reach her goal, but I have a feeling these last lbs. are gonna be tough. My strategy for the next few weeks is to have her drop off another 150 or so cals per day and lower the volume a bit on her resistance work but keep the weight heavy. Should I have her do more cardio? She's been doing it after workouts for 20 min like you prescribed and sometimes on rest days, but she misses sometimes so she really does it 3- 4 times per week. Any tips for losing the last bit?

 

[Built]

jbish8 - good call.

Have her read "daredevils", in my sig. She may find it helpful to drop VERY low (basically PSMF) on the off days so she has enough food on lifting days, and on the very low days, she can try up to two hours (in total, it need not all be at once) of low-intensity cardio (read: walking) over the course of the day for an additional deficit that seems to fly under the radar of appetite - in fact, walking seems to help settle down appetite for many of us while we endure the subtle starvation of those last five pounds.

 

[jbish8]

jbish8 - good call.

Have her read "daredevils", in my sig. She may find it helpful to drop VERY low (basically PSMF) on the off days so she has enough food on lifting days, and on the very low days, she can try up to two hours (in total, it need not all be at once) of low-intensity cardio (read: walking) over the course of the day for an additional deficit that seems to fly under the radar of appetite - in fact, walking seems to help settle down appetite for many of us while we endure the subtle starvation of those last five pounds.

Sounds good. we will try it and keep you posted.

 

[DocHoliday]

Use a Tanita Bodyfat scale that also measure hydration level. Do first thing in morn after taking a leak. Use spray bottle of water and spray water on each metal pad before stepping on it. Record your weight, % BF, and % water, along with the date. Very informative!

 

[Marat]

Very informative!

...and inaccurate.