Barry's Body Transformation!

Still going!

2012-01-21T00:11:00.003-06:00

So I'm coming up on FIVE years of lifting weights three to four times a week.

As for my "transformation" I've transformed over the last six months into a semi-fat man, tipping the scales a month ago at 200 lbs!!

Beer and food are two of my many weaknesses. Anyway, I've been doing a protein sparing modified fast (PSMF) for the last three weeks and I'm back down to just under 190. I am going to do it another week or two and hopefully hit 180 before I back off to a much more moderate diet.

I have however found renewed interest in and inspiration for body building, getting lean and really bulking up.

I still struggle with drinking too much beer and I still like to use tobacco but hey, everyone has their vices right?

If you are struggling with your goals don't feel alone. We've all been there. Just NEVER GIVE UP.

Oh yeah, and I have my squat up to 315 lbs. for 5 reps, and my deadlift up to 375 for five reps. Nice!

Until next time,
Barry

I'm not dead

2010-12-22T23:51:00.002-06:00

I just never update this blog anymore.

I still lift three times a week. I've been doing an upper lower split for a LONG time. Been very lightly dieting since September. Leaning out very slowly but not dropping body weight which is weird.

I've been doing Eat Stop Eat for the last few weeks and while I enjoy it, I'm not sure I'll stick with it long term. It works, I guess. I just feel better about my fat loss when I'm suffering on a daily basis. Weird, right?

My real weakness is that I drink too much. I still manage to create a calorie deficit but some nights I'll have a few drinks and then I don't care so much about my calories for that day.

The BIG revelation for me is that I will NEVER bulk again. Bulking is for people on steroids. I will eat a very SLIGHT calorie surplus and keep adding weight to the bar SLOWLY. My primary goal after I'm done dieting is to stay lean, and build muscle very slowly. I highly recommend everyone else who isn't on drugs do the same.

I'm reading Beyond Brawn right now. BRILLIANT book. Highly recommended. Wish I'd read it three years ago - and the irony is that I knew about it three years ago and never got around to reading it.

Until next time.

Deadlift 5x315

2010-03-12T22:12:00.003-06:00

I can't believe I forgot to post this.. me deadlifting back in November.

Auto-regulating Workouts for Bodybuilding, Strength, & Fat Loss | AmpedTraining.com | Matthew Perryman, CSCS

2010-02-17T10:22:00.000-06:00

If you are not familiar with Matt Perryman, start reading.

Auto-regulating Workouts for Bodybuilding, Strength, & Fat Loss | AmpedTraining.com | Matthew Perryman, CSCS

Kelso Shrug Variations - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums

2010-02-09T10:31:00.000-06:00

If you're looking for a new way to stimulate your traps and lats, check out Kelso Shrugs.

Kelso Shrug Variations - Sherdog Mixed Martial Arts Forums

Hello again

2010-01-29T23:51:00.003-06:00

I ended up being out of work for only six days! Thank you GOD!

I started a diet almost two weeks ago. I'm going to run it for six to eight weeks and then get back to lifting.

My new program will be Jim Wendler's 5/3/1. If you're not familiar with it, and you want to be big and strong.. well... time to get up to speed.

Update again

2009-12-11T23:12:00.002-06:00

So it's December 12th, 2009. Yesterday I found out that my engine needs to be replaced because it "threw a rod" and today I found out that I no longer have a job. Funny how life always kicks you in the balls more than once all at the same time. Oh well. God is in control.

As for my workouts, I finished up another eight weeks of bulking, and then two weeks of deloading.

My plan now is to eat at or near maintenance calories for the rest of the year, and then do six weeks (give or take a week) of Ultimate Diet 2.0 starting in January.

Of course, I will hopefully have a new employer by then so I don't know how that will impact my workout schedule but it doesn't really matter. If you are dedicated to your goals, the external circumstances do not matter. You will find a way.

So that's it.. I'm at about 185 lbs. Maybe.. 14 to 15% body fat. Possibly a little less. Some would say I could keep bulking. But I don't like the way my stomach looks or my pecs for that matter with a little surrounding fat. I'm either deeply insecure or very vain, or both. Either way I am cutting up come January.

Good bye.

12 Days Later

2009-10-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

Here's a photo I took this morning after 12 days of Rapid Fat Loss. To see the before picture from 12 days ago, scroll down to the previous post.

Hey Kids!

2009-09-23T09:18:00.002-05:00

I'm still here, still working my ass off in pursuit of my goals.

I'm on a 12 day stint of Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss program right now. I'll be done on October 1st, and then I'll resume bulking.

This is my general approach to body transformation at this point. Bulk a little, cut a little. Repeat. Don't ever let yourself get too fat while adding muscle. For me I would say the upper end is 14% body fat and even that is pushing it.

Here's a photo I took on Day 1 of RFL (three days ago):

How Are Your Shoulders?

2009-07-22T16:07:00.002-05:00

If you're like me you have one (or maybe both) shoulders causing you a little discomfort, and possibly even pain in certain movements.

If not, you're interested in preventing shoulder problems. Have a look at this video. I've implemented it into my training to address the issues I've been having with my right shoulder. I'll be posting again in a week or two to report my progress.

What's your maximum muscle potential?

2009-06-19T18:10:00.001-05:00

Here's a very cool calculator that you can use to figure out your maximum muscle potential.

Here are my results:

Height: 72 in Wrist: 6.5 in
Ankle: 9 in

Your estimated maximum muscular bodyweight at ~10% bodyfat is: 204.8 lbs

Your estimated maximum muscular measurements (@ ~8%-10% bodyfat) are:

Chest: 47.2 in Biceps: 16.7 in
Forearms: 13.4 in Neck: 16.3 in
Thighs: 25.5 in Calves: 17.1 in

I found it reading Lyle McDonald's latest article.

Weird Video of the Day

2009-06-17T19:53:00.002-05:00

This is a video of deceased Japanese body builder Katsumi Kitamura drinking a bowl of egg whites and making a frozen chicken shake. And yeah, the guy was obviously taking lots and lots of steroids.

New Rules Of Lifting Fat Loss Routines Suck

2009-06-02T15:51:00.002-05:00

That's pretty much it. If you're using them you should stop now. They suck. Here's why.

Photos after 6 weeks of Ultimate Diet 2.0

2009-04-20T09:43:00.004-05:00

Progress Pic

2009-04-06T09:37:00.003-05:00

Week 5 of Ultimate Diet 2.0 begins today. Here's a quick photo I took this morning:

Neglect!

2009-03-23T19:52:00.002-05:00

I've been seriously neglecting this blog. So here's a brief update.

I've been training a minimum of three times a week for the last (almost) 2 years. Some people send me messages from time to time wondering if I've quit or given up. Never!!!

I'm in week 3 of Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0. It's challenging but it's also a lot of fun. You workout four times a week, and I do a morning cardio session on Thursdays. All told I'm spending about six hours in the gym each week which is the most I've ever done. Surprisingly it doesn't seem like any more than when I was only doing three hours a week.

I'm going to take some new photos this coming Monday and post them.

That's about it..

Taking a 2 week break.

2009-01-30T21:35:00.002-06:00

I have one week left of a two week break from dieting.

Look, let me speak clearly. If you want to lose fat and keep muscle, and not waste a lot of time doing it, you simply MUST get Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss Handbook.

It's hands down the best $40 dollars you will ever spend.

I actually hate having to take a break. The progress on Rapid Fat Loss is so amazing and so.. well, rapid, I hate to stop.

I'm going to start again in one week as a "category 1" dieter and do the diet for 12 days and then take another two week break, and then it's time for Lyle's Ultimate Diet 2.0.

I can actually say that my abs are almost visible. I'm honestly within a month or so of dieting before I have clearly defined abs and I could not be happier.

I'll update again later on.. hopefully some pics will be posted after I get ripped.

PSMF

2008-12-21T00:19:00.002-06:00

I have been doing a protein sparing modified fast since 12/07. It works wonders. In two weeks I have seen a dramatic decrease in the amount of fat on my body. It is not a scientific measurement by any means but simply squeezing the fat on my abdomen makes it apparent that I have been shedding fat.

Tonight I am having some alcohol and for the next two weeks I will be eating maintenance calories.

After New Years I will be back to doing PSMF. I love it.. hunger is almost non-existent. Taking ephedrine and caffeine has made a huge difference too. I highly recommend Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss Handbook, even though Lyle is a big asshole.

Changes.

2008-09-01T01:10:00.001-05:00

I've decided I'm sick of doing Starting Strength. I've increased all my lifts substantially while my body has continued to look basically the same. This is to be expected. Strength training in the five rep range results in myofibrilar hypertrophy.

So starting tomorrow I will be starting Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST). I'll spend the next week figuring out my 15, 10 and 5 rep maxes on a variety of exercises and then I will take two weeks off from all lifting (I plan to continue some low intensity cardio during this time).

Afterward, I will begin an HST cycle. You can learn more here.

So that's it.. hopefully I will see some noticeable change in physique and in January I'll start cutting with Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0, a cyclical ketogenic diet. I will cut for four months and resume bulking in May of 2009.

Until next time.

Hello again

2008-08-14T10:12:00.002-05:00

I went back to eating for strength a few weeks ago, and now I am stuck with my lifts. I cannot get my squat back over 270 x 5.

Likewise, bench and press are stuck. Lots of room to improve my deadlift.

I've also started power cleaning instead of rowing but my form sucks so I have some learning to do there.

Tomorrow I'm going to cut volume and drop weights by 10%. On Monday I'm going to start an intermediate routine described by Mark Rippetoe in Practical Programming for Strength Training called The Texas Method.

Essentially you schedule progress weekly using Volume/Recovery/Intensity days.

Cut Begins Tomorrow

2008-07-11T21:35:00.004-05:00

Today I squatted 270 lbs. for 3 sets of 5 reps each. I think I'm at my physical limit for now because I can *barely* get the last rep in each set, and I have no choice but to let out a primal drawn out grunt as I drive up on the last rep. My face is beet red with veins popping out on the sides of my face. Not pretty. Then my heart is beating like a drum for a minute or two after each set. One technique I utilize is to pull the bar down against my back when I'm pushing up on that last rep. It's supposed to trigger some kind of fight or flight response and it works. You feel that bar dig into your delts and back and somehow squeeze out the last rep.

So, I'm going to stick with this weight for the next month or so. Hopefully as I cut some fat I can keep squatting this amount of weight.

It's funny to think of how difficult squatting 270 lbs. is for me when I watch videos like this one (50 seconds in) where the guy squats 215 lbs. for 40 reps in 90 seconds. "Holy shit" is about the only thing that comes to mind watching that.

Hydrostatic Weighing Results

2008-07-10T20:48:00.004-05:00

In November my hydrostatic weighing results were:

age: 31
height: 72
weight: 175

%fat 11.00353

Fat mass: 19.25618
Lean mass: 155.7438

I kept dieting down to 163 lbs. until February. Then I slowly raised calories until I eventually reached 3600 kcal some time in April.

Today my hydrostatic weighing results were:

age: 32
height: 72
weight: 187.7

%fat 12.9653

Fat mass: 24.33587
Lean mass: 163.3641

Gains:

%fat +1.96177

Fat mass: +5.07969
Lean mass: +7.6203

Ratio lean to fat gain: 1.5 (for every 1.5 lbs. of lean mass gained, I gained 1 pound of fat).

Total weight gain: +12.69999

Not too shabby for less than three months of work!

The beauty is that if I lost five pounds of fat and kept the lean mass I've gained I'd be at 10% body fat. Losing five pounds of fat is easy and can be done in a month. However, as mentioned in a previous post I'm easing back into dieting since this will be my first post-mass gain phase cut. My first cut was just post-fat ass. The point being, I don't want to lose any strength, so I'm easing calories down slowly. Next week I'll drop down to 2500 kcal and start watching the scale more closely. If I'm not seeing any movement after another week I'll add in thirty minutes of jump rope on my off days. I'm hoping I don't have to drop calories any lower but I probably will have to, so long as I keep all my strength gains.

Hopefully by September or so I can return to another mass gain phase. I'm going to do things differently with respect to my carbohydrate consumption next time, but I'll save all of that for a post some other time.

Easing back into fat loss mode

2008-07-07T19:59:00.002-05:00

So for the time being I'm done bulking. I've gained a lot of strength and presumably some muscle, as well as some fat. It's time to take out the blow torch and shed the fat and show off what I've created over these past few months.

I'm playing around with some ideas. Today I did an intermittent fast, so I didn't eat until 1:30 this afternoon. I'll stop eating in about thirty minutes, and tomorrow I'll do another 16 to 18 hour fast. Calories are still at 3000 but I'm going to lower them slowly while still attempting strength gains, or at least not losing any strength. I'm going to do cardio on my off days. I bought this high tech jump rope by Nike yesterday so tomorrow I'm going to give that a try. I have a heart rate monitor calorie counter so I'll be shooting for 400 to 500 calories in 30 to 45 minutes of work.

Goal will be to lose a pound a week, possibly more as long as I don't lose any strength. I'll be keeping protein high at around 250 grams per day.

I'm still doing starting strength but I'm going to reduce the volume to one work set instead of three.

I'll also be carb cycling.. so I'm excited to lose some fat and lean out.

On July 10th I'm going to be hydrostatically weighed so I'll report back with the results.. I'm 192 lbs. as of this morning.. quite a long way from my low of 163 pounds back in February.

Until next time!

-Barry

Still here

2008-06-25T21:48:00.004-05:00

I'm still here, still doing Starting Strength.

Some stats:

Weight: 190 lbs.

Squat: 235 x 5
Deadlift: 255 x 5
Bench: 167.5 x 5

So I should probably stop bulking up but I'm going to wait a while longer. I'd like to wait until I progress to an intermediate level before I go back to cutting some fat off my body but we'll see. On a related note I am drinking three to four gallons of skim milk a week. If you handle lactose then it's really a perfect food.

My deadlift should probably be higher than it is relative to my squat but I'm not worried about it. I imagine the squat will plateau before the deadlift anyway.

Here are two videos from this morning's workout:

Squatting 235 lbs. for 5 reps:

Deadlifting 255 lbs. for 5 reps:

I'm not thrilled with the execution of the deadlift. The first rep is good but my hips rise too quickly on the rest of the reps. I think I was unintentionally trying to avoid scraping my right shin which already has a scab on it from the last time I deadlifted. I must either learn to love bloody shins or buy a pair of skin tight track pants.

Proper Deadlift Set-Up

2008-06-10T08:46:00.003-05:00

Coach Mark Rippetoe demonstrates how to properly set up the deadlift:

The Case for Weighing Yourself Daily

2008-06-09T08:26:00.005-05:00

I believe that when you're in the process of transforming your body, whether it be fat loss or muscle gain, you should weigh yourself daily and keep a log of your body weight.

The reason is pretty simple. Your body weight fluctuates a lot from day to day depending on a number of factors including how many and what type of carbohydrates you ate the day before, how close to bed you ate your last serving of carbs, how much water you drank, how dry the air in your room where you sleep is, whether you consumed any diuretics like coffee, and on and on.

As an example: On June 3rd I weighed in at 186 lbs. Two days later on June 5th I weighed in at 183.3 lbs. Today, June 9th, I weighed in at 187.6 lbs. If I weighed myself weekly I'd have to conclude that I had gained almost three pounds! Of course that would cause me to reevaluate my weight gain diet and probably scale back on the calories I eat each day. The end result? I would wind up not eating enough calories to build muscle because I was scared off by what I didn't realize was merely water weight gain.

So, it's important to weigh yourself every day so that you can analyze the trend in your weight over time, and know when one day's weight gain is abnormally large.

The same thing applies to fat loss, especially if your fat loss diet includes reduced carbohydrates or periodic carbohydrate refeeds. You can experience a sudden drop in your body weight leading you to conclude that you're losing muscle when in fact you're just dropping water weight.

Once you've been weighing yourself daily and also logging all the food you eat, you'll get pretty good and predicting what your body will do. Last night I had some vanilla ice cream about an hour before bed. Just like clock work I "gained" a pound in one night. Today, I'll be drinking plenty of water all day at work and consuming a (relatively) reduced carbohydrate diet so that tomorrow I will have "lost" a pound or two. I would guess that within a few days I will weigh in at 184 lbs. or less.

Another fun trick you can try is to have no carbs with your last two meals (assuming you eat six meals a day which everyone should). You'll "lose" at least a pound, possibly more simply by going low carb for six to 8 hours before bed.

Weigh yourself daily and keep a log so that you don't fall victim to the sometimes wild swings of your body weight.

The Horror of Steroids

2008-06-09T08:25:00.002-05:00

Considering steroids?

Read this first.

One Year And Counting!

2008-06-02T07:47:00.002-05:00

It was in May of last year that I began my transformation. So I've now been lifting weights for just over a year. In that time I've only skipped three workouts. Yes I am bragging.

Starting Strength is going great.

Yesterday's workout stats:

Squat: 3 sets, 185 lbs. x 5
Bench: 3 sets, 145 lbs. x 5
Deadlift: 1 set, 220 lbs. x 5

So far so good, no missed reps. Weight gain is going slow and steady. Today I was 184.8 lbs.

Do Cholesterol Lowering Drugs Work?

2008-05-29T11:17:00.001-05:00

If your doctor has you on a statin to lower your cholesterol, you're wasting your money.

Squat - 170 x 5

2008-05-24T22:02:00.002-05:00

Video from today's workout. I posted it to my thread on Strengthmill (see the post below) and Mark Rippetoe said: "Much, much better set." So, obviously I'm pretty happy about that.

Mark Rippetoe's critique of my squat & deadlift form

2008-05-15T20:22:00.001-05:00

I'm honored to have Mark Rippetoe take a few moments from his busy day to watch my squat and deadlift videos and tell me what I'm doing wrong.

Check it out.

New Videos!

2008-05-13T20:37:00.003-05:00

These were taken tonight at my first Starting Strength workout. The weights are pretty light, so I'm excited for my upcoming workouts so I can begin to make progress. I'll be increasing all lifts five pounds at each workout so in a few weeks things should start to get fairly challenging.

First up, a side view of me squatting 145 lbs. for 5 reps:

Next, a rear-side view of the same weight and reps:

Next we have me deadlifting 205 lbs. for 5 reps:

Finally, here's me bench pressing 145 lbs. for 5 reps:

My squatting form still needs work but it's improving. The biggest flaw I can see is that my knee(s) track forward sometimes when I'm at the bottom.

I Quit!

2008-05-12T10:52:00.002-05:00

I've decided to bail on Hypertrophy I from the book "The New Rules of Lifting". I had five more workouts left before the official end but I've decided there's no point in continuing.

So, on Tuesday (5/13) I will begin Starting Strength. I'll post my workouts to this blog to track my progress in the squat, bench press, military press, deadlift and pendlay row.

Also my weight in the right nav. bar now reflects a five day running average as I have been weighing myself each morning upon waking (and after eliminating).

And Now For Something Completely Different!

2008-05-07T20:09:00.002-05:00

May 20th will be my last day of the Hypertrophy I routine from "The New Rules of Lifting".

For a variety of reasons, I will no longer continue the NROL routines. I will be going back to basics, and on May 22nd I'll begin Starting Strength from Mark Rippetoe.

This is a "beginners" routine, and frankly my ego has a hard time accepting the fact that I should go back to a "beginners" routine. However, contrary to what you might expect, beginner routines are the most aggressive in terms of weight progression. As you become more trained and get closer to your physical limitations, you can no longer continue to increase weight lifted from workout to workout. That's when it's time to move to an intermediate workout where lifts progress from week to week instead. Eventually you'll be at a point where you have to use advanced programs where the weight you lift might only increase once every few months. The most elite lifters in the world train all year for a single increase in weight lifted.

Beginners can enjoy the rapid gains of a beginner program that uses linear progression in the amount of weight lifted simply because they have so much untapped potential. One of my big complaints with NROL is that it doesn't even bother to provide this sort of workout. ALL of the workouts utilize undulating periodization wherein reps and sets change from day to day, which is just not necessary for a beginner.

It may be that I am not a beginner and that I won't be able to advance from workout to workout, but I doubt it. Since I've spent almost all of my one year training in a caloric deficit my lifts have not gone up that much, so I am betting I have plenty of untapped potential left. If I find I can't progress from day to day with Starting Strength, I will move on to Bill Starr's 5x5 Intermediate routine.

So that's it.. I'm shaking things up a bit.. at a later date I'll write a longer post with all of my criticisms of NROL. I think it's a great book to read, even for beginners but I would NOT recommend someone new to weight training begin with those routines.

Think About It..

2008-05-07T12:06:00.006-05:00

"Most of us spend many hours each week watching celebrated athletes playing in enormous stadiums. Instead of making music, we listen to platinum records cut by millionaire musicians. Instead of making art, we go to admire paintings that brought in the highest bids at the latest auction. We do not run risks acting on our beliefs, but occupy hours each day watching actors who pretend to have adventures, engaged in mock-meaningful action.

This vicarious participation is able to mask, at least temporarily, the underlying emptiness of wasted time. But it is a very pale substitute for attention invested in real challenges. The flow experience that results from the use of skills leads to growth; passive entertainment leads nowhere. Collectively we are wasting each year the equivalent of millions of years of human consciousness. The energy that could be used to focus on complex goals, to provide enjoyable growth, is squandered on patterns of stimulation that only mimic reality."

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

New Progress Photos

2008-05-05T20:39:00.002-05:00

I've added new photos to my progress posts. See the links in the right side-bar.

Over all, I'm not incredibly thrilled with my progress over the past few months, but only because I'm impatient, not because I necessarily think I should be farther along. For some reason in my mind I had imagined growing big and muscular rapidly by giving my body lots of food. Sadly it doesn't work that way. It will take at least a few more years of solid training before I am close to my ideal physique.

The last two photos on each series are from the first of April and the first of May.

In May there's definitely some lat and pec development. My right bicep is smaller than my left, either that or I'm not flexing it hard enough. I'm not sure what it is but experimenting in front of the mirror shows the same thing. Perhaps I need to think about tacking on a few isolation exercises for that bicep to the end of each workout.

So that's about it.. the bulking process continues and I've contacted the university professor who has done my hydrostatic weighing in the past, and he's going to weigh me again in late July or early August depending on when I decide to end the bulk.

Until next time..

Welcome U.K. Muscle Members!

2008-05-04T08:52:00.002-05:00

It looks like I'm the subject of discussion here at this forum. Never heard of the place, but I'd like to thank them for driving all kinds of traffic to my blog!

It's interesting though how people think they know what such and such body fat looks like, when obviously they don't.

Mark Rippetoe Q&A

2008-05-03T09:38:00.002-05:00

This is pretty sweet.. a forum where the legendary Mark Rippetoe, author of the definitive book on squatting- Starting Strength, fields questions from readers.

http://strengthmill.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=36

Feel The Heat!

2008-04-30T20:49:00.002-05:00

I've been attracting the attention of anonymous howler monkeys here on my blog as of late. It's because I'm a trouble maker and an instigator by nature, and I've picked a few fights over on Mark Sisson's blog, as well as on the Iron Addicts forum.

Mark Sisson is a low carb zealot, and the administrator of Iron Addicts is a short sighted demagogue. I tell them things they don't like to hear, and as it is with any popular forum their sycophantic readers sometimes take it upon themselves to follow me back to my blog and throw poop at me.

So it was on my post below entitled "A Little History". One of the anonymous monkeys said the following (in between grunts and screeches of course):

What is your background in human physiology? Are you an M.D. or just a guy who has an interest in being fit? It seems to me you are just a guy.

And one that isn't all that fit to boot...

I felt this deserved a posted reply all its own:

I'm just a guy. Is anything that I wrote in that post wrong? Please share with the rest of us if I'm wrong.

As for my level of fitness, of course I could be more fit. Couldn't everyone?

Telling me that I'm not "all that fit" may make you feel better about yourself but it's a meaningless statement. All that fit compared to whom? I'm more fit than I was a year ago, and my only adversary is myself. That said, what's your method of measuring fitness? VO2 Max? Big purty muscles?

Someone once said there's no greatness in being better than others, only in being better than your former self.

New shoes!

2008-04-26T18:35:00.005-05:00

I bought another pair of shoes.. the FiveFingers Classic from Vibram and they are really wild looking!

I bought them after reading this article about how wearing traditional shoes is actually bad for your back and feet. The FiveFingers are functionally equivalent to going barefoot, with the added protection of a rubber sole to protect your feet. I'm excited to own a pair and try them out.

Tomorrow I am going to wear them to the gym for my squats/deads workout.

Check out my bad form!

2008-04-22T11:50:00.001-05:00

My less than ideal squat form has made the front page of StrongLifts as an example of how not to squat.

I'm so proud! Well, okay maybe that's the wrong word. At any rate, I am glad to see my bad form can help others improve theirs. I am working on mine as well and will be posting new video in a week or so.

EAT MEAT!

2008-04-18T22:18:00.002-05:00

Look it! Another reason why being a vegetarian is STUPID.

A Little History

2008-04-16T09:52:00.006-05:00

You can't make this shit up:

On your own site, you chronicle your transformation from 189 lbs. and 19% body fat to 167 lbs. and 10% body fat in eight months. During that time you supposedly embarked on a program of weight training for the purpose of building or maintaining muscle mass, yet by your own admission you still lost three pounds of muscle. Eight months, man. That seems ineffective at best and a big waste of time at worst. Any effective weight-training program will always at the very least preserve muscle mass – provided your diet is working on your behalf. You should have been building muscle while you were shedding the fat, Barry, but your devotion to carbs partly sabotaged your hard work You even had to starve yourself some days!

That's Mark Sisson responding to me on this post after I criticized him for essentially lumping beans, an excellent source of carbohydrate and protein, not to mention other vitamins and minerals, in with other carbs like donuts.

So, in case there is any confusion let me give anyone interested a bit of history.

In June of 2007, I was hydrostatically weighed at the local university by a professor of Human Physiology. That morning, after breakfast, I weighed in at 191 pounds. The results of the under-water weigh in showed that I was carrying 18.2% of my body weight as fat.

In November of 2007, I was hydrostatically weighed again in the same location by the same man. That morning, after breakfast, I weighed 175. The results of that under-water weigh in showed that I was now carrying 11% of my body weight as fat.

I continued to lose weight, eventually getting down to 163 lbs. in February before ending my cutting phase. Therefore, I do not know what my body fat was at that time. I would guess that it was below 10%. It's highly unlikely that I suddenly began burning up muscle when nothing in my program changed. Yes, the leaner you get the more likely you are to burn muscle but I didn't get *that* lean.

Mark Sisson asserts that he "knows what 10% body fat looks like". Well, obviously he doesn't. Visually, most people at 10% body fat don't look that impressive. You don't have much vascularity, if any, and you don't have much if any muscle separation. Also, and obviously, the more muscular you are, the leaner you will appear at 10% body fat.

I've gone ahead and removed the body fat estimate that was at the bottom of January photo on the left, since honestly I don't know for a fact what my body fat % was at that point, only that it was below 11%.

All of that aside, Mark's other assertions are just simply not true. When you are in a caloric deficit, you can consider yourself extremely lucky if you preserve 100% of your lean muscle. Every single body builder who has ever gone on a diet will tell you that you always lose at least a little bit of muscle. Further, the only way I know of to build muscle and lose fat "at the same time" is to cycle calories. The body does not build muscle and burn fat "at the same time" anyway so giving it a surplus one day and a deficit the next is the only way to do a body recomposition. Talk to Martin Berkhan or the other intermittent fasting advocates and you'll be told the same thing. Their programs where body recomposition (building muscle and losing fat) is the goal are all based on calorie cycling.

Mark asserts that I had to "starve myself some days". I simply have no idea what he's talking about there. To burn fat you need to be in a caloric deficit. If that constitutes "starving" then I'm guilty as charged. However, eating 1900 calories a day for three days followed by a 2700 calorie refeed hardly qualifies.

Mark also claims that my "devotion to carbs" sabotaged my efforts. What?? If Mark had taken five minutes to read this blog he would have known that I cycled carbohydrates. Many of the leanest, most muscular body builders and figure competitors in the world cycle carbohydrates to lose fat. It's probably the single most effective method of stripping unwanted fat. How that constitutes a "devotion to carbs" is beyond me. Let's say for the sake of argument that I did eat tons of carbs. Is Mark's assertion that my supposed muscle loss is the result of carbohydrate consumption? Carbohydrate is protein (muscle) sparing! That's why you cycle and do not eliminate carbs! Again I ask, what planet does this guy live on?

Mark's blog is interesting but his health and fitness advice is questionable at best.

Carbophobia!

2008-04-16T08:08:00.003-05:00

Posts like this one seem to support my recently acquired belief that the low-carb fad has gotten completely out of hand. In that post, Mark Sisson tells his readers that beans are a less than ideal food because of their carbohydrate content.

Folks, when you stop eating beans because you think it will stop you from losing fat, you may want to consider the possibility that you've already lost your mind.

The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of people have normal insulin sensitivity and will lose fat just fine by simply eating less and moving more.

Those who don't lose fat with that approach will usually find that by removing the simple sugars and refined carbohydrates from their diet, in addition to a caloric deficit and increased activity, they will lose fat.

Only a small minority of people are so insulin resistant that they simply cannot lose fat without removing virtually all forms of carbohydrate from the diet.

Even those people who are highly insulin resistant will find that their insulin sensitivity improves with time as they lose weight and exercise more.

Mark Sisson asserts in that post that "at the end of the day, carbs are carbs." I'm sorry, but that's one of the stupidest things I have ever read in my entire life, rivaled only perhaps by Brooke Shields when she said "Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life."

Strong Links

2008-04-15T11:58:00.002-05:00

I don't know who Mike Moore is but he commented on my last post so I took some time to read his blog. I have to say that it's quite a good read and I recommend you to go over and check it out.

He packs a lot of good info into each post, and links to some very informative articles.

Wall Squats!

2008-04-13T20:47:00.003-05:00

So I had my 4x10 squat/deadlift workout today, and it didn't go that great. I am still struggling with my squat form. I did lower the weight today, checking my ego at the door and all of that, and it helped, but I still leaned forward a few times towards the end. All it takes is once and my lower back muscles are spasming for the rest of the workout to the point that I have thoughts of simply saying fuck it, and going home. It's that unpleasant. It would be one thing to simply have some low back pain but to have to deadlift on top of it is pure misery.

So I came home and, obsessive-compulsive that I am, sat down to search for ways to improve my squat. Once again, the StrongLifts website came in quite handy as I found a post in the forums where someone mentioned wall squats. These aren't the wall squats you're probably familiar with. In these wall squats, you are facing the wall.

Try it right now.

Go to a nearby wall, face it with your toes about an inch away, feet shoulder width apart, toes pointed slightly outward. Squat down, but do not let your knees or your face touch the wall. Your hands can drop down between your legs. Attempt to touch the floor, and come all the way back up, again without touching the wall. I have yet to do this even one time successfully.

Squats are without a doubt the most technically complicated movement that I have ever attempted. I need to work on my form in a big way, and for the foreseeable future that will be my primary objective on squat day.

Proper Squat Form

2008-04-10T08:46:00.003-05:00

After purchasing my new flat soled Chuck Taylor shoes, a new problem in my squat form has emerged. With my heel no longer elevated I find that I am leaning forward in order to get the weight up. By the end of my last squat workout which was four sets of ten reps, my lower back was having a fit. To make it worse, squats are followed by deadlifts, so suffice it to say I was in pain and the workout was unpleasant and not very fun.

The phrase "Check your ego at the door" is something I need to keep in mind when I squat. I don't want to reduce the amount I am squatting (the 4 x 10 workout was 175 lbs.) but I have to. I need to push from the heels, squeeze my glutes hard, and not allow myself to lean. I'll know if I've corrected my form because my glutes and hams will be sore, instead of my quads.

This post on StrongLifts has a lot of good advice about proper squatting technique. This one addresses the problem of leaning forward. I also need to go back and re-read the chapter on squats in Starting Strength.

Stay tuned. The weight I lift will go down, at least temporarily but I will reap the benefits of proper form going forward.

The Psychology of Weight Gain

2008-04-09T08:23:00.003-05:00

I weighed in this morning at 177.6. I haven't weighed that much since about mid-September of last year! It's quite the head-trip, because there's this little voice in my head that won't shut up and it's screaming at me that I'm going to get fat again.

After spending over eight months dieting down, making the mental shift into weight gain and convincing myself completely that it's okay to gain weight (muscle this time!) is very difficult.

The funny thing is that if I stop and think about it, I can't possibly have as much fat on my body as I did back then, for the simple fact that when I weighed in at 177.6 in September I was cycling carbohydrates. I would always weigh in after my third day on low carbohydrates, before my high carb day. That means my glycogen stores were mostly depleted, which in turn means I wasn't carrying nearly the amount of water that I am carrying today. My diet today is upwards of 400 grams of carbohydrates daily. More than enough to keep glycogen stores full and my muscles full of water (please correct me if I have any of this physiology wrong).

Oh, I almost forgot. My post-workout drink last night was 80 grams of waxy maize starch. If what I've read about waxy maize is to be believed, it engorges muscle cells with tons of water. Many people report increased vascularity and skin tightness after drinking it. This means that this morning I'm carrying even more water than I would be otherwise. Unfortunately this also means I can't tell if I've actually gained any real weight over my 176 from a few weeks ago. I'll have to wait another week to see if the numbers keep moving or hold steady.

So the bottom line, and what I have to keep reminding myself of, is that it's impossible for me to be carrying near the amount of fat at this weight as I was carrying in September at the same weight. It still messes with my head though. I know the facts and yet I can't stop that little voice from needling me with fears of getting fat again. I worked so hard to get here, I'd just die if I ever went back. Perhaps that's a bit melodramatic but it would make me miserable. I've thought of what it would be like to get injured such that I could no longer exercise. Talk about depressing!

At any rate, I need to continue to monitor my weight gain very closely, week by week, as well as taking weekly body measurements. If I'm gaining more than a pound a week I'll back off my calories a little bit.

Have a great day!

No new photos

2008-04-04T08:49:00.002-05:00

My wife took some new photos of me night before last, but I'm not going to bother posting them.

Basically, I haven't changed much since January. Or rather, I did change substantially by the end of February, dropping down to 163 lbs., but never got around to taking photos. Since I've started eating a caloric surplus I've gained a little fat and substantial water weight and so basically I look just like I did in January.

It's a little disappointing, though I suppose not totally unexpected. I've found that I was just not eating enough for the last month so as mentioned in my last post I'm increasing my calories to 3500 on lifting days, 3100 on off days.

I'll check the scale in a week and see if my weight is moving up at all. I hope it does because eating that much food is actually work! Most of the time, I am eating even though I am not hungry. I have my second meal of the day coming up in twenty minutes so I better scoot.

Have a nice day!

Nutrition Confusion!

2008-03-31T19:40:00.003-05:00

My head has been spinning these past few days as I've been doing more research into the various approaches to building muscle.

The only thing everyone seems to agree on is that you need a caloric surplus to build muscle.

There's the dabate over macronutrient ratios. Here, there are the 'new traditional' body builders like Tom Venuto who advocate a high carb, moderate protein, low fat diet- something like 50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat. Then there are the original traditional body builders who advocated animals and vegetables, and not much else- guys like Vince Gironda. Beyond that, you have the CKD (cyclical ketogenic diet) guys who believe in doing low carb, moderate fat, high protein all week and having a two day carbohydrate bonanza on the weekends. Mario DiPasquale's Anabolic Diet is a good example of a CKD.

On the topic of protein you have those who insist that nobody can grow on less than 1.5 grams per pound of body weight, while others like Layne Norton insist that most folks will grow fine with 1 gram per pound of body weight.

On carbohydrates, you have people like Alan Aaragon who says that GI is an outdated, worthless tool for making food choices. Then there are other guys who live and die by the GI and would no sooner eat a potato or white rice than inject glucose intravenously. Some guys say that carbs are anabolic and that you cannot grow muscle without them. Others say that carbs just make them fat. Still others believe that eating too many carbs, even complex carbs, will result in decreased insulin sensitivity over time.

Then there are debates inside of debates. Fructose! Is it good or bad? Some will say that fructose in moderation is good. Others say that fructose with the first two meals of the day is good, presumably because liver glycogen is depleted in the morning. Still others point out that when liver glycogen stores are full fructose is stored as adipose tissue (fat!). I've been eating a lot of fruit this past month but I'm going to back off. I didn't know the finer points of fructose metabolism. Did you?

What about fats? Well, testosterone is created from cholesterol. Eating fatty foods high in cholesterol is good for building muscle. You read that you should eat eggs, milk, and steak and yet this takes you right back to the debate about macronutrient ratios. You can't very well be sucking down fatty animal products and hoping to also keep your fat intake low, assuming you subscribe to the new traditional school of thought. If you instead think all that fat intake is anabolic then what about the fact that saturated fat is more likely to be stored as adipose?

A quick search of popular body building forums will turn up debates that rage for literally months, sometimes years, over which approach to building muscle is the best one. It's enough to make your head spin right off.

I guess I just have to pick an approach and try it for a while. Since I'm pretty carb tolerant (I can eat a giant plate of spaghetti and not get tired and lethargic afterwards) I think I'm opting for the moderate to high carb approach.

Previously I was on 3,000 calories per day, with about 183 grams of protein, give or take. I kept fat under 100 grams and let carbs fill up the rest.

So, with all that said I'm changing up my bulking diet a little bit.

On non-training days:

3100 calories
240 grams of protein (31%)
250 to 300 grams of carbohydrates (32 to 39%)
104 to 127 grams of fat (30 to 37%)

Training days:

3400 calories
240 grams of protein (28%)
400 grams of carbohydrates (47%)
93 grams of fat (25%)

(Fats here come mostly from peanut butter, olive oil, fish, grass fed beef, etc.)

Feel free to post thoughts, links, advice, questions, whatever. I feel pretty schizophrenic with respect to my diet right now. I think what I've chosen here is sound but I really have no idea.

Don't Be That Guy!

2008-03-26T20:07:00.002-05:00

Here's a great compilation of gym bloopers. Enjoy!

New Shoes

2008-03-25T15:29:00.006-05:00

Because one of the cardinal sins of squatting and deadlifting is doing so in a running shoe, or any shoe with an elevated heel, I've eschewed my New Balance sneakers in favor of a pair of classic, high top Chuck Taylors:

Deadlift Videos

2008-03-23T20:29:00.004-05:00

I took my Flip Ultra camcorder with me to the gym today to record myself doing deadlifts, in the hopes that I might improve my form. I recorded four videos, but I think this one is one of the better ones in terms of form. Feel free to critique what I'm doing. I might take you seriously. :) If you'd like to see the other three videos follow the video link to YouTube.

I read Eric Cressey's Mastering The Deadlift series on T-Nation earlier today before I left for the gym. I think his advice definitely helped some.

The Body Transformation Lifestyle

2008-03-17T19:48:00.002-05:00

Someone asked in my last post about my meal planning, time spent working out, etc. So, without further ado, here's the skinny on my body transformation lifestyle:

Meal Planning/Food Prep

I do food prep on Sundays which involves cooking chicken breasts, turkey, salmon, etc. It's all from frozen, and done in the oven. I take things out to defrost on Saturday and they're ready the next day. The actual time spent prepping the food for cooking and putting it in storage afterwards is maybe thirty minutes.

Each morning, I spend about ten minutes putting together food for that day. This process is actually rather easy. I eat three times while I'm at work, so I need three protein sources. So for example I might choose cottage cheese, chicken, and salmon. Next, I'll pick my carbohydrates. Here, I might pick oats and raisins, brown rice, and a few pieces of fruit. Additionally I try to eat some good fats with each meal. I might pack a tablespoon of natural peanut butter to eat alone or with fruit, and a tablespoon of olive oil to dip the chicken in. I don't really worry about the exact calories. I've been doing this for so long that I almost always pack about the same amount of calories every day. You get to know in your head what the content of various foods are so it becomes second nature.

I weigh everything on a digital scale. I also have a bunch of little plastic containers of various sizes that I use to store the food in, as well as zip loc bags.

I store all the food in one of these. It goes into the freezer at night and is ready for a day at the office the next morning.

The Workouts

I workout three times a week for an hour. It takes me about 10 minutes to get to the gym, so I spend about four hours each week getting to and from the gym and working out.

Other Thoughts

At first glance, to the average person considering a similar lifestyle, this can all seem overwhelming. Don't let any of this discourage you! The key is making change gradually. If you go from sedentary junk food eater to clean eating and weight lifting three times a week, you'll probably burn out pretty quickly.

In 2005, I started out by just doing some cardio twice a week. I waited until I actually wanted to move to three times a week. Eventually I wanted four times a week. I still was eating whatever I wanted, but I was starting to pay attention to my portions, making better choices. You know, like ordering a quarter pounder with cheese instead of the double quarter pounder! At that point, that was what I considered a good choice. Compared to how I used to eat, it was.

By the time 2007 rolled around I was down to 195 from 210, and still eating crap food. A small miracle occurred when I stumbled upon a post about John Stone on the Digg social news website. His transformation blew me away. When I saw what he did to get there I thought: there's no way in hell I'm going to do all of that. Over the following days I thought more about it and so began writing down calories of the food I ate. Then later I started keeping calories at 2,000 per day. Next, I started using FitDay to track my food. By this time I was spending copious amounts of time each day reading about body building, bulking, cutting, nutrition, etc. John Stone's website was a great resource for me. I next was introduced to a man named Tom Venuto. I acquired his e-Book "Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle", and implemented carbohydrate cycling as he describes. Within a few weeks the pounds started dropping off pretty quickly and by August of 2007 my fat loss was in full swing.

And let me tell you, once you see your body change from one you loathe into one you don't mind (I still don't quite love mine- yet!) you will NEVER EVER go back to a sedentary lifestyle where you eat crap- you know, like the vast majority of people.

Today, I count calories without thinking about it, I love eating nutritious, healthy food, and I look forward to working out. I just wish I could pile on solid muscle faster! This bulking thing is taking too long! However, patience is a virtue and I have learned patience well in this pursuit.

So in summary, look at major lifestyle change like getting into a piping hot bath. You can't just jump in or you'll leap out screaming. You have to ease yourself in a little at a time.

I could ramble on and on about other related topics like will power, desire, and other psychological aspects of this whole thing that come up at various times, but I'll save it for another time.

If anyone has other questions please ask! I'd like to help as many people as I can embrace a better way of living.

Caveman Power?

2008-03-11T15:14:00.002-05:00

Here's an interesting website I found while reading Martin Berkhan's Lean Gains blog dedicated to his approach to IF (intermittent fasting).

I'm not sure I agree with Matt's views on diet.

He suggests people not eat potatoes. That's what I call kooky-talk. I certainly don't see any reason to conclude that cavemen would not have had access to roots like potatoes. Additionally, the vast majority of people will find that they can eat potatoes and lose fat without a problem.

Carbophobia is based on an obsession with the GI (glycemic index) of foods. The GI measures the impact of a given food on a person's blood glucose. The problem with that is that the GI values are based on fasted subjects who eat the food alone. Most people aren't fasted, and don't eat high GI foods alone. I don't know about you, but I like a chicken breast with my potatoes. Fats and proteins, not to mention being in a fed state, reduce the GI of any given food substantially.

Either way, Matt's website is interesting and his blog is thought provoking and passionately written.

Be sure to pay him a visit and check it out!

Serendipitous?

2008-03-07T23:32:00.003-06:00

I find fortune by accident quite often. I think it's because I'm digging around randomly looking for nothing in particular. Serendipity comes easy when you're looking hard for nothing specific. So it was with a recent series of events that came my way almost entirely by accident.

I was perusing Google Reader when I happened upon a blurb that stated: "What would Michael Pollan eat?" That piqued my interests immediately. I'm always interested to hear what yet another so-called expert has to say about what we should and should not be eating. I clicked the link and read a bit, which prompted me to Google his name. That lead me to his article in the New York Times entitled "Unhappy Meals".

After reading that, I searched for him on Amazon and found his book The Omnivore's Dilemma. I ordered it, and a few days later began reading. Without giving a full blown book review, which I plan on doing on Amazon after I finish reading it in a few days, let me summarize by saying that the book blew my mind and substantially altered my mental state and my world view.

I found myself searching for grass-fed beef online. My family has groceries delivered to our house so I searched the website we order from for grass fed beef. I found some, and the next day a pound of it was in my freezer. I tried it, and enjoyed it. I noticed the label had a website on it. I went there, and found that they were located in my state of Minnesota and that I could buy direct and have them ship grass fed beef to my house. I did so, and currently have fourteen of sixteen pounds of healthy grass fed beef sitting in my freezer.

Shortly before ordering the beef my wife suggested that we take our two boys to the Twin Cities Pet Expo, which two weekends ago, we did.

Before she had asked about that, I had done more research on the company I was to order the beef from, and learned that their founder had created the farm and company after reading Michael Pollan's book, Omnivore's Dilemma. Pretty weird, right? It doesn't end there.

We take the boys to the Pet Expo, and as we're walking from booth to booth, I look up and notice a familiar font. Why, it's the Thousand Hills Farms company I ordered beef from just days earlier, but here they're selling raw dog food build around grass fed beef. I look closer and notice a man in a cowboy hat, and lo and behold it is the founder of the company whom I had read about just days earlier.

I talked to him for a while and we briefly discussed Michael Pollan's fantastic book. I bought a pound of grass fed beef formulated raw dog food for my two dogs.

The yellow lab puked shortly after eating it.

I guess serendipity doesn't bode well for all parties involved.

Why Do You Stretch?

2008-02-27T08:14:00.004-06:00

An article in yesterday's New York Times casts doubt on the efficacy of stretching before or after working out.

I see lots of guys stretching at the gym but I never do. I just run on the elliptical at a moderate pace for five minutes.

Do you stretch? If so, why?

I think if you like the way stretching feels, you should do it. It probably won't hurt you but save it for your days off, and don't do it before lifting. Stretching before you lift weights increases the chance of injury!

Obligatory Update Time

2008-02-24T19:49:00.003-06:00

I feel like I should post something since I haven't in a few days, and I haven't posted anything about the status of my body transformation in more days than that. There's lots on my mind these days so let's get a little of it down in ink- er, bits.

I'm up to 2600 calories per day now, and I'm allowing myself a Friday night cheat meal. The first Friday after I ended my cutting phase we had pizza from Papa John's. The next Friday was chinese from Lee Ann Chin, and this last Friday we tried a new chinese restaurant called Chin Yung. I have an absolutely voracious appetite and I know I could consume 4 to 5,000 calories per day with ease. That's not a good thing!

With an appetite like mine, the problem with not cutting is that it's very easy to let yourself eat more than you should. I anticipated that this would be a challenge, and I was curious about how my mindset would change. Predictably I have found myself rationalizing eating out on the following Saturday for the past two weekends and having ice cream that night. Granted, I still eat clean the rest of the week but I simply cannot continue to allow my cheat meal to turn into a cheat day, or I will end up having to end my bulking phase earlier than I want to because frankly, I'll just get too damned fat. I can't allow that.

My iron will served me will during my cutting phase where I routinely went for a month or longer at a stretch with no cheating of any kind. Nothing but clean food and low calories week after week. I suppose my saving grace was the fact that I carb cycled so every four days I could look forward to a higher calorie higher carb day, but it was still all clean foods. My iron will must again serve me as I bulk up.

Going forward I will still allow myself a Friday night cheat but no longer will I continue to let myself cheat the following day. I eat 42 meals each week. Only one of those can be a cheat meal, period!

As for my weight, it's been pretty steady. I'll usually soak up a few pounds of water after a cheat, and within 24 hours it's gone. I'm at around 166 right now. I want to limit my weight gain to just under a pound a week, or three pounds a month. This widely referenced article at T-Nation says that if you're gaining faster than that you're gaining some fat- something I want to keep at a bare minimum. The small problem with gaging my weight gain right now is that I'm still raising my daily calories, and thus my daily carbs, meaning I'm holding more water the more carbs I eat. I won't have a good idea of my actual non-water weight gain until my calories level out at 3,000 per day. The irony is that I may find that my non-water weight gain at that caloric intake is to great and I'll have to back off some. I'll be at 3,000 calories per day in two weeks so I'll know soon enough if I'm eating too much.

My workouts are fun again. Fat Loss III was pure misery. I did not want to go to the gym and felt drained when I left. I forced myself through it and I'm glad I did but now I'm glad it's over. Strength I is a lot of fun. Additionally I feel a lot stronger in the gym now that I'm eating for size. Today I deadlifted 225 lbs. That's a lot for me, and certainly the most I've ever deadlifted. Squatting and deadlifting are by far my favorite exercises so I look forward to those workouts. My legs have been sore non-stop since starting this routine.

In my personal life, my wife and I are taking our two boys down to visit my family in Oklahoma next week so I won't be able to do my six meals a day, and I won't have access to clean food at all times. Additionally I may end up missing one or all of my workouts for that week, which really sucks. However, I haven't had a week off from lifting since November so it won't hurt and will in fact help. Bryan Haycock calls it "Strategic Deconditioning" and it's a required part of his Hypertrophy Specific Training protocol. The bottom line is that taking a week off gives your body a chance to fully recover meaning you will be in your optimal state for strength and size gains when you return to the gym after the break.

So that's it for now. I'm going to watch an episode of House on DVD, read a bit from The Omnivore's Dilemma, and call it a night. Good night, folks.

USDA Orders Largest Meat Recall in U.S. History

2008-02-18T11:50:00.000-06:00

Once again, we are seeing the fruits of industrial agriculture where profit is the ultimate and over-arching objective. Health is not the objective- not yours, and certainly not the animals'.

Consider buying grass fed beef from a farmer in your area. Make sure that they practice sustainable organic agriculture as well. You'll get healthy, tasty food while at the same time supporting your local economy and doing your part to help the environment as well.

If you live in Minnesota, consider purchasing beef directly from Thousand Hills Cattle Company.

If you live in the U.S., check out Local Harvest to find local farms in your area. You can buy eggs, chickens, beef, lamb, turkey, pork, honey, and more from people who treat their animals and the environment in a sane, responsible manner.

As a final note I should point out that I'm by no means an environmentalist, nor am I an animal rights nut. I just think that when you can afford it and it doesn't impose an undue burden on you or your family you should make choices that are best for living things and the planet. Anyone with basic common sense can see that a system that abuses animals, feeds them things they were never meant to eat and poisons the soil with synthetic fertilizers is a system we should all try to opt out of if possible.

Here's the full story..

World's smallest bodybuilder

2008-02-13T10:30:00.000-06:00

Click the pic for the full story.

Top 20 Worst Foods In America

2008-02-11T14:31:00.000-06:00

Men's Health magazine debuts their first annual Top 20 Worst Foods in America list.

Outback Steakhouse takes the top slot with their "Aussie Cheese Fries". This "appetizer" contains a staggering 2,900 calories.

http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/20worst.html

Cutting Phase Officially Over!

2008-02-08T07:46:00.000-06:00

Last night I finished my last Fat Loss III workout, and thus I finally and officially end my cutting phase that began last summer in June.

In 2005 at the age of 28 I weighed 210 pounds, had a resting heart rate of 68 and blood pressure of 139/90.

Today I weigh 164 lbs, have a resting heart rate of 53, and blood pressure of 100/60.

Not too bad for eight months of hard work.

Tonight I'm celebrating with pizza and ice cream. Tomorrow I'll return to my usual clean eating, however now I'm eating 2200 calories per day. Technically that means I'm still in a caloric deficit but by next Friday I'll be up to 2400. A week later 2600, another week 2800 and finally I'll top out at 3000 calories per day.

I hope to spend the summer building some nice solid muscle while keeping fat gains to a minimum.

That's it for now. I hope to have new progress pictures to post soon.

Have a great day!

Must see video

2008-02-06T15:34:00.001-06:00

This video has nothing to do with health or fitness, it's just funny as hell.

Is an Idiocracy at hand?

2008-02-01T08:25:00.000-06:00

If you've never seen the film Idiocracy, starring Luke Wilson, the basic premise of the film is that stupid people breed faster than intelligent people and that in the future the world will be over-run with morons. While there's already considerable evidence that this is in fact the inevitable outcome of our modern practice of thwarting natural selection whenever possible by protecting stupid people from themselves, this video would seem to confirm once and for all that stupid people are definitely on course to take over the planet entirely. Enter the Hawaii Chair, your workout machine for the 21st Century:

You're NEVER too old to change your life!

2008-01-31T08:23:00.000-06:00

This popped up in Google Reader this morning and I knew right away that I had to post it here and e-mail it to some people in my family.

Staying a Step Ahead of Aging

Dr. Wright, a 40-year-old runner, decided to study people who kept training as they got older or began competing in middle age. She wanted to know what happens to them and at what age does performance start to decline.

Their results are surprising, even to many of the researchers themselves. The investigators find that while you will slow down as you age, you may be able to stave off more of the deterioration than you thought. Researchers also report that people can start later in life — one man took up running at 62 and ran his first marathon, a year later, in 3 hours 25 minutes.

[more...]

The man in the images above is a good representation of my personal vision of myself as an old man, except I'll have bigger muscles :)

Do you have a vision of yourself in a year? Ten years? Fifty years? If you don't, you should! Take the time to form a mental picture of the ideal you, and keep that vision in your mind as you strive towards your goals. It will make a big difference when the going gets tough and you feel like quitting.

The Most Stubborn Fat

2008-01-28T20:40:00.001-06:00

Someone sent me a Meebo private message earlier tonight and I wasn't at the computer to reply. They wanted to know where I had my most stubborn fat.

Like all, or at least most men, my stubborn fat is right around and below my navel. It's frustrating but I've come to accept that at least for this phase of my transformation it's not going anywhere. Granted it's far, far, far less than it was last summer when I started this journey but it's not gone either.

So, that's my answer!

New Low Weight

2008-01-26T13:03:00.000-06:00

I weighed in at 165.4 lbs. this morning! 12 days left until I officially end my cutting phase.

After that I'll raise my daily caloric intake by 200 calories a week. On March 15th I'll finally be eating 3,000 calories per day.

The macronutrient ratios I've settled on are as follows:

Protein: 183 grams
Carbohydrate: 342 grams
Fat: 100 grams

I'll also be eating a lot more fruit than I've been eating during my cutting phase. As usual the diet will be about 90% clean foods and I'll be having a weekly cheat meal as well- stuff like pizza, Chinese, etc.

I'll be tracking my fat gains using AccuMeasure 3000 calipers. I'll bulk up for a minimum of 2 months, and possibly longer depending on fat gains.

Have a great day!

Fat Acceptance??

2008-01-25T15:09:00.000-06:00

This kind of garbage turns my stomach. How anyone can suggest that being fat is an acceptable way to go through life is completely beyond me. I'd love to know how many of these people who go on diets are:

1) Eating clean
2) Eating enough (you know most of these knuckle-heads go on semi-starvation diets and trash their metabolism)
3) Lifting weights three times a week

Folks, if your nutrition isn't dialed in and you're not lifting weights you're not going to get lean and stay that way, period.

To defend being overweight as some sort of virtue is sickening.

Study Of The Day

2008-01-25T08:23:00.001-06:00

U.S. Researchers Link Belly Fat To Higher Risk Of Heart Attack, Stroke

Boy, I'm glad I got rid of all that nasty visceral fat I had accumulated in my abdomen over the last ten years.

Being lean is a treat you get to enjoy each and every day.

Study of the Day

2008-01-24T08:09:00.000-06:00

I think I'm going to start posting studies that show the benefits of a healthy lifestyle including proper diet and regular exercise. Here's one for today:

Exercising Just Three Days May Provide Heart Attack Protection

The Importance of Omega-3 Fatty Acids!

2008-01-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

YADD (Yet Another Diet Drug)

2008-01-10T08:20:00.000-06:00

Well, the drug companies are at it again, busy concocting a new diet drug because some people are stupid and weak and gullible enough to believe that a pill, any pill, will cure their weight problem.

The article leads off by suggesting that people simply lack the will power to resist eating crap. No, sorry. You don't lack will power. You lack desire. You would rather eat crap than lose weight. Let's face it. If you keep falling back on your old habits, be honest with yourself: being fat doesn't bother you that much. That's okay, too! If you're happy eating crap and being fat, go for it. I think happiness is more important than health. Being healthy and miserable is no way to go through life and if eating garbage makes you happy then stop fighting it. Of course, many folks find that they are far happier when they eat clean and exercise regularly but others don't find that at all.

Will power is a temporary tool that can be useful for maybe 24 hours. There are times when I do not want to go to the gym, and I force myself to. Will power. Your long term tool for success is desire. How bad do you want to be lean? It's either a burning desire for you that will easily overwhelm your desire to eat junk and skip workouts, or it isn't. I don't know how one can manufacture desire but desire is the only way you will achieve your goals over the long term while remaining happy and sane. Will power, whatever that is, only lasts so long because as the phrase implies it is the brute force of your mind compelling you to do something you don't really want to do.

These drug companies make me sick because they play on the worst traits in people. People want a quick fix, they want something that makes life easier, they want immediate gratification. Hey, look, a pill! In the mean time, the drug companies reap billions of dollars in profit and in the end, you're still overweight.

Until they can create a pill that makes you want to be lean more than you want to eat junk food and watch television, people will continue to get suckered by drug companies and people will continue to be overweight.

Almost finished..

2008-01-09T07:49:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow I will finish Fat Loss II from the book "The New Rules of Lifting".

Sunday I'll do my first workout of Fat Loss III which involves one "giant set". That's four exercises done back to back without any rest, followed by sixty seconds rest. Repeat four times. Should be grueling to say the least. I should wrap up Fat Loss III on February 6th, at which point I'll begin Strength I and begin easing my calories up to maintenance level and beyond to begin bulking up. I can't wait!

Have a great day!

Progress Photos Posted

2008-01-07T20:44:00.000-06:00

As you can see below, I've finally posted all my progress pics going back to last summer. All the photos start with the first and go in four week intervals.

I'll wrap up my cutting phase which is going on seven months now at the end of January and begin bulking for at least two months, possibly more depending on fat gains.

Keep in mind that I did take a two week break from dieting in November, and in reality should have done so much sooner.

You should never stay in a caloric deficit for more than four months, and the leaner you are the shorter your time in a caloric deficit should be. Those in single digit body fat levels shouldn't diet longer than four weeks or perhaps eight weeks at the very most without a two week maintenance level re-feeding before resuming dieting.

Personally I will never again diet for more than two months at a time. Hopefully if I manage my body fat I won't have to cut up for more than a month at a time.

Progress Photos, 4 week intervals, front

2008-01-07T20:32:00.003-06:00

Progress Photos, 4 week intervals, side

2008-01-07T20:31:00.001-06:00

Progress Photos, 4 week intervals, flexing

2008-01-07T20:30:00.002-06:00

Anti-Alzheimer's Properties of Fish Oil Discovered

2008-01-03T12:54:00.000-06:00

Many Alzheimer's researchers have long touted fish oil, by pill or diet, as an accessible and inexpensive "weapon" that may delay or prevent this debilitating disease. Now, UCLA scientists have confirmed that fish oil is indeed a deterrent against Alzheimer's, and they have identified the reasons why.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071226003611.htm

I currently take about 3.5 grams of combined EPA/DHA per day in the form of 12 pills daily, 2 with each meal. Some days I get even more because I eat salmon as often as five times a week.

This large amount of Omega-3 fatty acid consumption brings my Omega-6 to 3 ratio much closer to 4:1 or better which is where everyone's ought to be. Most Americans however have a ratio of 20:1 or worse, which has been correlated with all sorts of nasty ailments.

I also partly attribute my drastic drop in blood pressure to my consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids. Last summer, before I decided to change my life, my blood pressure was 138/90. That is classified as pre-hypertension. Today my blood pressure is 100/60, which is the absolute lowest blood pressure still considered normal.

If you don't currently supplement with fish oil, you should!

Holiday Break

2007-12-24T14:12:00.000-06:00

I'm taking a break from dieting today and tomorrow to enjoy some good holiday food!

Today's weigh-in: 168.1

A New Low!

2007-12-23T10:43:00.000-06:00

Today I weighed in at 169.4! I've sort of seen 170 as milestone of sorts, given that I haven't weighed less than 170 since I was 18- twelve years ago! Since that time an unhealthy lifestyle of excessive drinking, over-eating and not exercising packed on almost forty pounds. Around the time my first son was born, two years ago, I was up to almost 210 lbs. Yuck!

I'm going to drop five more pounds and I think that will be it for my cutting phase. Hopefully I'll see some good abdominal definition by then. I expect to reach this goal around the first of February.

As for my new workout, Fat Loss II is definitely more of a challenge. Particularly workout B. It includes a Bulgarian split squat with overhead press which is absolutely grueling. My heart rate jumps from around 135 to almost 180 within ten seconds!! After a set it's almost impossible not to fall down on the bench, with my vision pulsing and my head swimming. It sucks but at the same time it's awesome. When your heart is pounding an adrenaline is surging you know you're alive.

Anyway, I'm bumping my calories back up to 1900 because I have actually been dropping weight a little too fast the past few weeks. I really don't want to cut fat at a rate greater than a pound a week and I've been nearing two pounds a week. At my current leanness the propensity for the body to burn muscle increases with greater caloric deficits and beyond two pounds a week it's almost certain that you're losing some muscle.

For Christmas Eve I am allowing myself one cheat meal so I am looking forward to it. My wife has some delicious food planned for the family!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

New workout begins on Sunday

2007-12-14T17:10:00.000-06:00

This Sunday will be the first workout of Fat Loss II from the book "The New Rules of Lifting" by Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove.

The workouts will span four weeks, three workouts each week, moving from supersets of 12 reps for each movement and 60 seconds rest between each movement, down to 8 reps, more weight and only 30 seconds of rest between each movement.

Given how difficult some of the movements in Fat Loss I were, I expect to get my ass kicked pretty hard.

I'll post back with thoughts later on Sunday.

Pizza Party!

2007-12-13T12:49:00.001-06:00

They're having a pizza party in my office today.

I'm having a turkey, couscous, blueberries and plain fat-free yogurt party in my cube!! Woo hoo!

Yes, sometimes being on a diet is tough but it's all worth it in the end. Besides, being lean and healthy feels a lot better than pizza tastes.

Words To Live By

2007-12-12T08:16:00.001-06:00

I saw this on Billy's Lean Body Quest (see the link on the right). Take a moment to think about it.

"The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want now."- Zig Ziglar

I'm A Nerd

2007-12-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

I've come up with a mathematical formula for computing how many calories I need to burn at each workout.

Since I know my body fat I can use the Katch-McCardle equation to calculate my BMR (basal metabolic rate). Then, I assume an activity level of 1.2 (sedentary, office work, etc.). This allows me to calculate my TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) if all I do is get up, go to work, come home, eat, spend time with family, go to bed, etc.

I wear a heart rate monitor that calculates calories burned at each workout, so given all of this information I can calculate how much work I need to do at each workout to burn a pound of fat per week for a given caloric intake.

Since I cycle calories it's a bit more complicated, but not much. And, the cool part is that MSN Search solves for X. You enter an algebraic equation and it spits out the value of x. Pretty slick!

Here's the formula I came up with for a TDEE of 2254.5 kcal, on a carb cycling plan of 1800 calories for three days followed by one 2600 calorie refeed day, and working out three times per week. This value is computed over a 4 week (28 day period). I do this because due to the carb cycling, one week every four weeks will contain only one refeed day while the other three weeks will contain two. For accuracy it's better to do the computation over four weeks.

((2254.5*7)+(x*3))*4 = 14000+((1800 * 5 + 2600 * 2)*3)+(1800 * 6 + 2600)

Punching that into MSN Search, I learn that I need to burn 573 kcal at each workout to lose a pound of fat a week.

Since I'm currently eating 1900/2700 and burning around 400 kcal per workout I see that I need to drop my calories a bit, and add some low intensity cardio to the end of each workout!

Tomorrow it begins!

2007-12-05T09:37:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow marks my return to cutting and lifting. I'll drop my calories back down to 1900 per day for three days (150 grams of carbs), followed by one day at 2700 calories (350 grams of carbs). I'll repeat this four day cycle until I reach my fat loss goals. If all goes well I should be lean enough to start bulking by mid to late January.

Tomorrow night I return to the gym for my first workout in 2 weeks. I can't wait! I plan to take it easy on the squatting at first so I don't irritate my left hip flexor again.

I will post a photo update in the first week of January.

Have a great day!

And now for something completely different..

2007-11-25T19:06:00.000-06:00

I've been lifting three times a week for almost six months. In that time I've missed a workout twice. I've decided that I'm going to take a break from dieting and working out for the next week. My body needs a break and my metabolism needs a reboot. My left hip area has been bothering me a little bit after doing lunges. All signs point to me needing to give it a break for a while. Psychologically this has been the hardest thing to do in my entire transformation process. Not going to the gym sucks! Or rather, not getting to enjoy the way I feel after a workout and the way my body looks when I'm lifting regularly sucks! After my break I'll return to carb cycling and I'll finish Fat Loss I and move right into Fat Loss II. I feel that I still need to drop about five pounds of fat before I'm ready to do a slow, clean bulk. That's it for now.. I'm still planning on moving the rest of my posts over to this journal but I've been procrastinating.

2007-11-18T20:50:00.001-06:00

I'm still in the progress of transferring posts from my John Stone Fitness journal to this blog.. should be done in a day or two.

2007-09-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

G'day mates..

Today I weighed in at 175! A new low.

The Omron is starting to get really finicky. I had readings this morning from 10.0% all the way to 11.0%.

I'm going to see if I can schedule an underwater weighing or perhaps a consult with the personal trainer at my gym to get body fat measured with calipers..

I'm at a new gym so it will be interesting to see if this PT gets the same or similar body fat measurement as the PT from the last gym who measured me at 11.5%

I'll update again in four days.

2007-09-22T17:40:00.000-05:00

Today's weight: 176.3 lbs (down 0.9 lbs)
Today's BF %: 10.5%

Actual BF readings:

10.4%
10.6%
10.6%

lbs. of fat: 18.51 (down 0.1 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 157.79 (down 0.8 lbs)

History: I've lost 11.3 lbs since June 11th when I started this journal. That's an average of 0.75 lbs per week, though the weight loss has been at or greater than a pound a week for at least a month now.

Thoughts: Well, I'm pleased to see my weight loss progressing. I am not sure what if anything to make of the fact that my body fat % according to the Omron didn't change even though my weight went down. If that accurately reflects reality then obviously I lost lean mass. That lean mass could in theory be muscle. I guess I'm not worried because there's nothing more I can do to preserve my muscle. I'm eating right, lifting weights, getting plenty of antioxidant supps as well as eating antioxidant foods every day. Getting great sleep of 7 to 8 hours every night. Not a whole bunch more I can do.

Also I stopped drinking a carb protein shake after my workout and have instead switched to a 12 oz drink of 30 grams of BCAAs. I sip half during my workout and then drink the other half afterwards.

I did this for the first time on Thursday night, and WOW! I can't believe how much better I felt even though I was on low carbs. It was a drastic difference, and I felt like I could have kept working out well beyond when I stopped at 1 hour and 700 calories burned.

Well, today's a refeed so I had a Jimmy John's sub for lunch, and a cookie for desert. Tonight I am thinking either pizza or Lee Ann Chin for dinner. Then it's back to the low carb low cal grind for another three days.

See you then!

2007-09-18T13:39:00.000-05:00

This is from this morning's weigh-in..

Today's weight: 177.2 lbs (down 0.4 lbs)
Today's BF %: 10.5%

Actual BF readings:

10.4%
10.5%
10.6%

lbs. of fat: 18.61 (down 0.52 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 158.59 (up 0.12 lbs)

Thoughts:

Well, things are definitely headed in the right direction, although I think these body fat values are probably a little lower than reality.

The good news is I'm on target to reach my stated goal of having the Omron reading 10% by the end of September.

In other news, today is a re-feed day so I'm enjoying lots of good carbs. The day started with two servings of Kashi Golean Crunch and two servings of 'Light n' Healthy' Tropicana OJ, plus 110 grams of fresh blueberries on the cereal. Breakfast alone was a whopping 125 grams of carbs! MMMMMM! My carbs for the morning snack came from two servings of black beans. Lunch carbs will be 144 grams of blueberries and a cup of fat free plain yogurt, and the afternoon snack's carbs will be a serving of brown rice. Tonight I'm going to enjoy a slice of apple pie my wife and I picked up last weekend on our visit to the local apple orchard. I may even follow that up with a Klondike bar! Yes, you can lose weight and build muscle and still enjoy great food as long as you can commit to your diet for a few days. It's why I love carb-cycling so much. Every fourth day I enjoy lots of good carbs and bend the rules a bit by eating just a bit of junk food.

My diet the past week has also changed a little bit. I've dropped my low carb days down to under 100 grams a day, and raised my fat up to around 80 grams a day, keeping sat. fat to under 30 grams. I always get at least 190 grams of protein every day, the vast majority of which comes from real foods- not protein drinks.

I have definitely been feeling the effects of reduced carbs too- Sunday's workout was a bitch. The 25 minutes of cardio after lifting sucked beyond belief. I wanted to quit so bad! After it was over though I was feeling great!

That's about it.. I'll do another weigh in on my next re-feed which will be Saturday.

Until then..

2007-09-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

Okay update time!

First, weigh-in from last Friday, 9/14

Today's weight: 177.6 lbs (down 0.8 lbs)
Today's BF %: 10.77%

Actual BF readings:

10.7%
10.9%
10.7%

lbs. of fat: 19.13 (down 2.69 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 158.47 (up 1.89 lbs)

2007-09-13T23:44:00.000-05:00

I have really awesome news!

I had the personal trainer at my gym measure my body fat tonight with calipers.. and.. drum roll please..

11.5% body fat!!!!

I've dropped my body fat by 6.7% (from 18.2%) in just 2.5 months!

I am pretty much on cloud 9 about that. My hard work has paid off, but there's more to do!

I won't stop until I reach 10% body fat and if my abs aren't nice and visible I may go lower before I begin a slow, clean bulk.

WAHOOO!!!

2007-09-02T12:02:00.000-05:00

Today's weight: 178.4 lbs (down 4.1 lbs)
Today's BF %: 12.23%

Actual BF readings:

12.0%
12.2%
12.5%

lbs. of fat: 21.82 (down 1.6 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 156.58 (2.5 lbs)

Thoughts: Obviously about half of this weight loss is water gained from the previous weekend's cheat day at the fair. I am nearly back to my original lean mass when I first started using the Omron. Not sure what this means since my lifts are still slowly improving in the gym.

In a few days I should be posting new photos. Hopefully I'll get time to do the superimposing of the old photo on the new one in an animated format but we'll see. Life is crazy busy these days.

2007-08-27T23:59:00.000-05:00

Today's weight: 182.5 lbs (up 1.4 lbs)
Today's BF %: 12.83%

Actual BF readings:

12.7%
13.0%
12.8%

lbs. of fat: 23.42 (down 0.304 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 159.08 (up 1.704 lbs)

2007-08-25T20:01:00.000-05:00

Today is a refeed day and my wife and I are taking the boys to the state fair!

I plan on cheating, a lot.

Cookies, french fries, deep fried everything, cheese curds, you name it, I'm going to eat it.

It'll be interesting to see what my weigh-in on Monday morning says.

See you then!

2007-08-23T00:40:00.000-05:00

Now is a good time to re-visit my goal of 10% body fat.

I originally did some number crunching in this post back on July 16th.

With a weight of 181.1 lbs and 13.1% BF according to the Omron BIA:

lbs. of fat: 23.724
lbs. of lean mass: 157.376

Goal:

Weight: 174.86 lbs

17.49 lbs of fat

Need to lose: 6.234 lbs of fat

6.234 weeks @ 1 lb per week

44 days

I should show 10% BF on the Omron on or around October 3rd.

Previously I had projected Sept. 28th as the date for this goal.

So, I'm more or less on track.

Since I know the Omron reads high, I will probably reach 10% actual body fat sometime in late October or early November.

In a few days or more I'm going to get the personal trainer at my gym to take my body fat measurements.

2007-08-23T00:14:00.000-05:00

I'm late again.. I did my weigh in on Monday morning but never had a chance to post until now. I started a new job on Monday so I'm not comfortable posting from the new job. On to the results..

Today's weight: 181.1 lbs (down 1.9 lbs, a new low!)
Today's BF %: 13.1%

Actual BF readings:

13.1%
13.1%
13.1%

lbs. of fat: 23.724 (down 0.615 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 157.376 (down 1.285 lbs)

Thoughts: None really. I'm glad I'm losing weight, and the fact that this week the majority appears, according to the Omron, to be lean mass worries me a little, but not a bunch. My strength in the gym is still improving. I guess I'll keep an eye on things and if the trend continues, I'll look at raising my calories a little bit. Truthfully I am okay with a little muscle loss if I reach my body fat goal.

I plan to do "culking" based on writings of Alan Aragon anyway so hopefully when I'm ready to pack on muscle it won't come with a lot of fat.

A bit of history:

From July 9th:

Quote:
Today's weight: 186.3 lbs (a new low!)
Today's BF %: 16.2%

Actual BF readings:

16.2%
16.2%
16.2%
So, that means:

30.181 lbs of fat.
156.119 lbs of lean mass.

So since July 9th I've lost:

6.457 lbs of fat.

I've gained:

1.257 lbs of lean mass.

Total net weight loss: 5.2 lbs.

2007-08-14T23:04:00.000-05:00

New myoTape numbers

waist: 37.25
hips: 39
forearm: 12
wrist: 7

At a weight of 183 lbs, Body Fat from HealthCentral's calculator: 13.5% !!

To get a perspective on these numbers, on July 6th I posted the following:

waist - 39
hip - 40
forearm - 12
wrist - 7

at a weight of 188, body fat %16

2007-08-13T17:50:00.000-05:00

Today's weight: 183.0 lbs (down 4.3 lbs, a new low!)
Today's BF %: 13.3%

Actual BF readings:

13.3%
13.3%
13.3%

lbs. of fat: 24.339 (down 3.251 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 158.661 (down 1.049 lbs)

Thoughts: Well, obviously some of the weight loss was water gained from cheating last weekend, but it still comes out to two extra pounds lost in the last two weeks. Two weeks ago I was 185.1. The loss of lean mass doesn't concern me much since water is lean mass, and since my strength at the gym is still improving, albeit slowly.

2007-08-07T16:42:00.000-05:00

I'm late with my Monday morning update.

Today's weight: 187.3 lbs (up 2.2 lbs)
Today's BF %: 14.73%

Actual BF readings:

14.6%
14.8%
14.8%

lbs. of fat: 27.59 (down 0.11 lbs)
lbs. of lean mass: 159.71 (up 2.31 lbs)

Thoughts:

Well, I had family in town so I had a cheat meal Saturday night, and then again Sunday lunch and dinner were cheats.

I think then my weight gain is water and should be gone by next Monday, and perhaps I'll hit a new low by then.