My Journal - I'm going to do this properly

Hi everyone,

This is probably quite long, but if I'm going to put my thoughts into words what better place to put them. Before I begin I'll hit you with my raw stats

Male, 45 from Brisbane Australia.
6 ft 1 (186cm)
Jan 2nd 2012 - Start weight 86.1kg (190lbs)
Bodyfat - 23.1% which equates to 20.0kgs of bodyfat and 66.1kg of lean weight.

Ok - so I've tried several different diets and eating plans before, with mixed success. I've always been attracted to the Atkins and South Beach low carb diets in the past, but somehow they just didn't seem to have long term attraction. I guess I was just missing something, doing something not quite right.....a missing piece to the puzzle so to speak.

Although the short term results were good, my eating plan was largely unsatisfying. I couldn't wait to attain a goal and then go back to "normal" eating. The end result is the weight / bodyfat yo-yo so many dieters struggle with.

THEN....

A good friend introduced me to THE BOOK on new years eve, which I devoured over the next couple of days.

This time, armed with THE BOOK, I am going to do it properly.

I'm probably not the typical example of someone who is looking to start a diet, as in I am not that much overweight, and dont have a great lot of excess fat to lose. I am in the gym 3 times per week for weight training, and run at least 10 km twice a week. What I am after is a lifestyle change. I'm way too into things like chocolate peanuts, ice cream, potato chips and bourbon.

I suppose I really dont have a specific goal, but initially I would like to get down to about 80kg (176lbs) and 15% bodyfat.

Start photo is attached.

OK - fast forward to January 16th when I had my first bodyfat analysis, which was done with the sticky electrodes at the gym where I work.

14 days into PB
Weight 82.6kg (182lbs). Loss of 3.5kg's which is not bad at all.
Bodyfat measured at 19.9%. This gave me a total of 16.4kg of fat on me.

My BMR is about 2700 calories per day with my activity level.
I don't know whether I am over thinking my eating plan, but I have mapped things out pretty well to approx 2000 calories per day to lose some of the excess fat. I am aiming for:

140g of protein
125g of fats
80g of carbs

I'm getting a pretty good eating system going when I am at work. Tupperware containers of primal foods are always on hand, and no snacking whatsoever on chockies or potato chips.

Back soon with an update photo :)

[ATTACH]5721[/ATTACH]Back again,

Had another body composition done on Feb 7th at the gym where I work (I don't work at the gym, but my employer provides a fully equipped gym with qualified PT personnel)

Results after 5 weeks are:

Weight currently 81.6 kg, total loss of 4.5kg.
Bodyfat currently 15.8% (or 12.9kg), a total loss of 7.1 kg of fat.
Lean weight currently 68.7kg, a gain of 2.6kg.

I'm starting to see some upper abs, which hasn't been seen since my mid 20's. Seeing such great results just gives me more incentive to continue this journey. I love reading the journals of other PB followers.

My aerobic exercise routine has changed from a jog / run regime of 10km twice a week to the move slowly routine for about 5 dedicated hours per week, keeping the heart rate below 75% max. Gotta say, it's much more user friendly.

After a bit of research, and trial and error, my eating plan is now pretty much under control. I find it quite easy to maintain 2000 calories a day, with less than 100g of carbs.

I gain so much inspiration from reading other PBers journals, hopefully I can provide some back to others.

Back in a month or so.

Neil

You are making excellent progress and looking great Neil! That is really neat that you are able to accurately measure your body composition at work to see how the numbers break down. Grok on brotha

Hi, I had another body composition test on Thursday and I'm a bit confused.....

From Jan 2nd to Feb 7th I dropped 7.1kg of fat and gained 2.6kg of lean weight.....very successful as I was following the PB closely.

BUT...

My last body composition test (very expensive electronic machine) stated that since Feb 7th I have lost a further 0.6kg, but gained 0.7kg of fat (currently 16.8%) and lost 1.3 of lean weight.....quite the backward step!

I'm not that disturbed by the reading, because my clothes are a lot looser around the waist, and the mirror continues to show dramatic improvement in my physique.
I am, however, a bit intrigued by the stats.

I'm doing the IF easily for 16 hours per day.
Food intake is approx 2000 cals per day as I am trying to lose body fat:
LHT days (3 days non consecutive per week)
150g protein
100g fat
150g carbs

Non training days
150g protein
140g fat
50g carbs

I posted a thread in the nutrition section a couple of days ago asking for thoughts or advice from peeps that have been doing this a while and can comment on plateau's etc, and so far I have been blown away by the responses.. 1 REPLY, and that was questioning the accuracy of the equipment.

Oh well, at least I have the PB book to refer to on how to deal with a plateau.

I'll still post here every month as it helps keep my focus.

Cheers

Neil :)

Latest monthly body composition analysis was very promising.

80.1kg weight
15.1% bodyfat.

I've pretty much stopped counting calories as I have got a pretty good idea what my body responds to. My LHT program is right on target as well.

Goals are still the same, maintain weight about 80kg's with bodyfat about 12%. Not far to go now.

Catch you all in another month.

Here's a photo taken last night........ :)

Hi Grok stars,

I had my latest body composition done yesterday and.....

[QUOTE=Hazy1966;706789]I suppose I really dont have a specific goal, but initially I would like to get down to about 80kg (176lbs) and 15% bodyfat.[/QUOTE]

[B]I've hit my initial target :D.[/B]

Current weight 80.0kg
Current bodyfat 13.7%

Specific details of my latest test are
11.0kg bodyfat at 13.7%
69.0kg lean weight at 86.3%
50.7 liters water at 63.4%
BMI 23.1
BMR 1991 (daily requirement 2987 cal).

So, I'm pretty chuffed at the minute. What I am doing is following the primal blueprint laws, but on a leangains schedule of 16/8 IF, and calorie cycling. This is working a treat, which is great for an everage guy who is staring down the barrel of 50 years of age!

So, I need a new short term goal.

I'm pretty much at desired weight but would still like to lose a bit more belly fat, so I'm thinking new goal is
78kg weight at 12% bodyfat. That would mean ditching about another 2kg of bodyfat whilst maintaining current lean weight. I reckon I can do that in 2 months - by the end of June.

Nothing to lose except a bit more fat :cool:

Just read your journal, well done! I hope to get some inspiration out of it. I'm pretty much where you were at 02-14-2012 and would like to get to something like in your last picture. Great results, any recent pictures? Any lessons learnt?

yeah, good info to me,Just read your journal, well done! I hope to get some inspiration out of it.thanks [img]http://www.oldjoy.info/jiechiok/images/4.gif[/img]