Marks cutting

[littlemark]

Well, after a highly misguided and ultimately fattening attempt to bulk directly after a CKD cut I'm in desperate need of help. We've got a baby on the way due in January, so needless to say I need to make this cut work - it may be my last chance for a long while. This is were Bobo comes in.

Starting Sunday I'm putting myself in his capable hands.
If only I can kick my recently developed addiction to hotdogs....

As you can see in the photos I've got one mother of a spare tire hanging around.

Stats:
31 yrs old - lifting on/off for 5-6 years
currently 195lbs
bf around 20-21% (as tested but probably higher in reality)

 

[NPursuit]

You're in good hands. Good luck!

 

[Dwight Schrute]

We will flatten that tire!

 

[littlemark]

Dard good thing we'll flatten the tire ... I'm almost as big around as my pregnant wife. Sympathy only goes so far in my books ...

 

[Matthew D]

Mark Bobo does a good job with flattening tires.. has an icepick he calls broccoli... it works

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Hey Mark, try to keep me updated with your prgress or let me know if you have questions. Even though I am not at home you can still call me (or PM me and tell me to call you since you are in Canada) or just post in here and I will get to it as soon as possible.


Figures a hurricane would have to hit the summer I move down there....lol

 

[littlemark]

Already let Bobo know, but let everyone else in on it, I was diagnosed with pneumonia on Tues. Therefore training and dieting are on hold for a short spell, while the antibiotics do there work.

The workouts were a change of training style for me, but I couldn't figure out why I was in such poor shape at the end. Guess not being able to use half a lung will do that to guy.

Anyways, this setback is just motivating me more for my inevitable return.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

How is it going Mark?

 

[littlemark]

Had a bit of a setback Sunday/Monday, running a slight fever again. As of today (Tues) seems to be better. Lung seems to be clearing up anyways, so that's something. Worst part now is the anti-biotics they've got me on are doing a number on my gut. Lets just say it sure ain't pretty and leave it at that.

Diet has been absolute crap. Looks like I have to push back any kind of training until later in the week, not much point in overdoing it and setting myself back even further. Its hard to imagine lifting or cardio when simply going to work leaves me so damn exhausted. Ahh well, this too shall pass ...

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Just take your time and let nature takes it course. You will be back soon enough then we can start. Until then just be patient...

 

[littlemark]

Well, its finally time. After the aborted start I'm now ready to go at it hammer and tongs and looking forward to it. Ended up losing somewhere around 10 lbs all together with the pneumonia.

On a side note all you Americans don't know how lucky you are to just up and switch docs whenever you want to. In Ontario we've got a real shortage, so you take what you get. Turns out I got the angry bitter guy who likes to drop the F-bomb with my name attatched after it. I gotta tell you if the jerk wasn't a doc I probably would have pushed his teeth back down his throat. I've not been talked to like that in a long, long time. Now if only I can channel the anger into cardio ...

 

[littlemark]

Well things seem to be settling back to normal. Weights lifted still suck, and doing bis/shoulders damn near made me puke today, but things getting better.
To give you an idea what I'm up against today I got a body fat test done. Didn't go well.

FFM - 142lbs (down from 158 when I got sick)
BF 23.8% (up from 20%)

As you can see the sickness kicked my ass pretty well. Oh well, it will all come back.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Yeah, your body went through hell. You just need time to recuporate. DEFINETLY hit your cheat meals

 

[littlemark]

Damn, thats something I never thought I'd hear you encourage! If all its gonna take is a case of pneumonia ...

I actually feel pretty good on the regular diet, although I was actually gaining a couple of lbs on it the first couple days. Hopefully everything will stabilize soon and we can get a true reading of how things are progressing.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

I figured you would gain a lot considering what you went through.

 

[littlemark]

Well Bobo looks like legs darn near killed me. After several minutes retching in the stall, I realized that I had to abandon ship with one exercise left to go. Probably should have realized that something was up when I started out with squats that were less than half my normal weight, and felt like I was going to collapse. Ahh well, such is the joys.

On a happier note for everyone its amazing how good even a sub-standard, abreviated workout feels after being sick. Mentally I feel refreshed, and even physically feel better the last couple of days. Although my sickness was fairly minor (look at MadMan) it sure made me appreciate what I have when healthy. The challenge now is to carry this over into my everyday life over the longer term.

Bobo one question. You've got me adding skim milk to my whey pre/post. Is this simply for carbs? Does GI matter at this point? Milk is getting to be a small pain in the ass seeing as it has to sit in my locker until I'm done ... warm milk sucks.

 

[xil]

It's amazing how much you yearn for the gym after being away for so long... but a brutal leg session quickly slaps you in the face and makes you want to get the hell out :run:

Try getting a cooler bag for the milk, most days I have milk included in 4 of my meals... so coolers bags helps keep the milk cool and not go rancid

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Well Bobo looks like legs darn near killed me. After several minutes retching in the stall, I realized that I had to abandon ship with one exercise left to go. Probably should have realized that something was up when I started out with squats that were less than half my normal weight, and felt like I was going to collapse. Ahh well, such is the joys.

On a happier note for everyone its amazing how good even a sub-standard, abreviated workout feels after being sick. Mentally I feel refreshed, and even physically feel better the last couple of days. Although my sickness was fairly minor (look at MadMan) it sure made me appreciate what I have when healthy. The challenge now is to carry this over into my everyday life over the longer term.

Bobo one question. You've got me adding skim milk to my whey pre/post. Is this simply for carbs? Does GI matter at this point? Milk is getting to be a small pain in the ass seeing as it has to sit in my locker until I'm done ... warm milk sucks.

I don't want you to have simple carbs except for leg day.

As for abandoning ship, DON"T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN!!! LOL j/k

Serisouly bro it might take you a couple weeks to get everything back to normal. And that means a couple weeks working out. You simply lost so much strenght, muscle and nutrients consdiering what you went through but it will come back. THis is ALL normal. It took me about 2-3 weeks to come back when I had mono and that is less taxing that what you went through. Sickness takes it toll and you just have to be patient

 

[xil]

I don't want you to have simple carbs except for leg day.

I think you misread him... he said "is this simplY for carbs" not simplE. Especially training under you, I'm sure we all know not to use simple carbs unless stated by now

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Ah.....crap.

I saw the words simple and GI and assumed....LOL.

 

[littlemark]

I learned my lesson with simple carbs long ago. During my CKD days I got the bright idea in my head to drink a can of Coke each reload day. Let me tell you that one can did more damage to me than 6 beers used to do. I was flying off the walls, charging around like mad. This experience led me to realize the power of a simple carb, especially when they are extremly rare in the diet.

One other comment I need to tell you Bobo is that your diet is now responsible for shutting down an entire line at the car plant I work in for almost 5 min. :thumbsup:

Not unexpectedly I got MAJOR gas yesterday. My colon was successful in forcing 10 people to literally flee my line in agony. I had grown men in tears, one woman had to run to the washroom ... it was like a chemical spill or something. Anyways, based on what upper management tells me it costs somewhere around $50,000 a minute to have my line down. So.... I guess my bodily ambitions cost Toyota around $250,000 in down time. Was pretty funny when I had to report out to management on the down time.

 

[littlemark]

Not much to report today. Chest workout was extremely painful in a good way. The double whammy of slower lifting style and illness has just bit into my lifts something fierce. Ah well, at least I'll see a lot of progress in this area in a short time.

Cardio is really starting to come around. One weird thing with this is that after about 25 min or so at 130 bpm heart rate, it starts to steadily climb although I'm still going at the same pace. To keep it at target I have to slowly lower the speed of the cardio as I go. Not ever having done a lot of cardio I'm wondering if this is normal?

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Yup.


And gas is normal in the beginning for some. It will pass.

 

[littlemark]

Let me start by saying lunges are now my most hated excercise. They did one hell of number on me. I wish now I'd been doing them all along. Gotta like that love/hate thing.

Workouts getting progressively better, less fatigue etc. Cardio times are now nearing the :45 minute mark where called for.

Got the blubber tested today. Results:

187.2lbs weight
22.8% blubber (down 1% from start)
FFM up to 144.6

Looks like during the recovery period I'm managing to gain some muscle and lose some fat. Pretty good deal. I expect once everything settles down with my body the real work of fatloss will begin. Looks like Bobo's going to have another success story on his hands.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Give it time. You will get in a groove where everything becauses routine.

You just got nailed with that damn sickness. Ruined everything

Mark be sure you tell me if you stall out at all. Considering the weight you dropped we might have to tweak your diet a bit but continue to monitor weight (try to keep it consistent though) and strenght. Hopefully if everything goes right you get back what you lost while continuiing to burn fat.

 

[littlemark]

Sure will. I weigh in every couple of days, and plan on getting the bf tested once every 7-8 days or so. I gotta tell you I actually feel pretty good once again. Actually feel full in the muscles for the first time in a long, long time.

By the way, my tris say thank you - they didn't like having to contract anyways.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

LOL....


Just be careful when you check your weight several times in a week. It will fluctuate and play with your head. To keep a a good idea of your progress just use that one time per week (Sunday morning is good since its after your cheat meal) is an indiciation of progress.

Tell your tri's, "your welcome"

 

[littlemark]

Everything seems to be running well with the program now, firing on all cylinders. Squats were somewhat disapointing today, not back to where I had hoped they would be, but rest of leg workout seemed to be OK.

I believe that I have proven the obvious once again - Tanita bodyfat scales lie like nothing else. On to the numbers

185lbs (down 2lbs this week)
23.2% bf (up .4%)
FFM 142 (down 2.6lbs)

I believe the total body weight may be correct, but the other numbers are plain wrong. My strength is rising so I doubt I lost all 2.6lbs of muscle this week with absolutely no fat loss in there. I suspect it was a hydration issue as I've read these scales are highly sensitive to fluctuations of this type.

In either case my love handles are visibly smaller and I had to pull my belt in a notch to keep my pants up. Numbers be damned, this plan sure seems to be working!

 

[Dwight Schrute]

NUmbers are a guide. It simply is not possible to increase strenght and lose muscle.

 

[littlemark]

Once again discovered my chest is definately my weak point. While all the other lifts are going steadily up, chest is hardly budging at all.
Just venting as I'm pretty disappointed with my chest workout today. I suppose I should just shut up and be happy as I did add at least one rep to each exercise.
Things are continuing to lean out nicely, mainly across my upper body and ass. Guess I'm the same as everyone else who says that the gut is the last thing to go!

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Welcome to the club. Chest is my weak point too but everyone is different. Some people lose strenght in shoulders or legs but we are the ones in wihch chest takes a hit. Just have to fight through it and realize you are getting rid of all that fat the built up over the years.

One thing that remains the same is the gut is ALWAYS the last thing to go.

 

[littlemark]

I have decided no more BF testing for me on the damn Tanita scale. I know I complained last week about it, but this is just plain stupid now.

Todays results
Weight: 187 (up 2lbs since last wk)
BF% 24.2 (again up a full 1%)
FFM 141.8 (down .2lb)

If I wasn't so darn stubborn I wouldn't have done it this week. This is officially the last time I set foot on the damn thing. It makes no sense that I would be gaining 2 lbs a week and still losing fat. Just don't work that way for me in general, and certainly not while following Bobo's plan. I'll say it one last time and end it. DAMN TANITIA SCALE!!

 

[Dwight Schrute]

They are horrible. THey never work. I remember when I went to Bodpod one time last yeah and tested at 8%. My gf's nice little electronic scale said I was 16%.

 

[littlemark]

I decided last week to start recording my body weight on Monday mornings after I got up. Looks like the weight loss is continuing, around 183-184. Thats down another 2-3lbs this week. Wow is all I can say.
I did have one trouble spot yesterday. I left for work and forgot to take my bagels. Stranded I had no choice but to include a 1/2 bag of rolled gold fat-free pretzels in one of the meals. (small bag) I actually understood bulimia for about 10 secs. Then of course I thought 'stop being a candy ass and suck it up.'
Was this the right course? It was the best choice available, but if it happens again should I just forgo the carbs all together? Adding them later wasn't an option as I was working an 11hr night shift and had only one meal left to eat at home before bed.
Hey Bobo, I've lost track, what week am I in?

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Well according to when you singed up, week 8 but you were sick for what, 3 weeks? So in reality like week 5. DOn't worry, I don't count those sick weeks. That would be just wrong

As for the pretzels, you did the right thing. I would rather you get the calories in then not. That is one mistake people make often. They think that missing th meal is better than getting the calories in and its not.

 

[littlemark]

Thanks for the update on which week I'm in. It's appreciated.

One question I do have for you is in regards to eating it up for one day. It's the Canadian thanksgiving this weekend, meaning I'll be eating turkey etc. for one day. I realize this isn't going to help weightloss, but its a partly social/partly spiritual day for my family and church so I'm going to have to suffer through turkey.

Anyways, I intend to try and keep it somewhat in check, focusing on turkey and potato's. How badly can I expect this to set me back? I'm stretching here, but is there anything I can do to try and minimize the impact?

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Try to elimiate the amount of fats you take. If you eat your face off and keep the fat in check, you won't be set back too much. But if you let loose then expect to be set back a good 2-3 days.


MattD can tell you about that one....

 

[NPursuit]

MattD can tell you about that one....

Matt, you slacker! I'm disappointed!

 

[Matthew D]

It happens.. real life gets in the way.. trying to not let it

 

[littlemark]

I'm not real concerned about the ingesting too much fat mainly the shear volume of turkey and carbs that will be going in. I've never been a big desert person so that should be easy to avoid. Its the two, possibly three turkey dinners that concerned me.

MattD you're right sometimes real life comes into play. Lets face it, in my case I'm not likely to ever compete or make a living off my physique. Given the spiritual dimension of giving thanks on this day I'm quite willing to sacrifice a couple more days of dieting. Nothing but respect for guys who do sacrifice everything for their physiques, I quite frankly admire them in many ways.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

It happens.. real life gets in the way.. trying to not let it

Yeah it does, especially when bills show up. I hate the real world then.

 

[littlemark]

Changes seemed to have worked. Dropped down to around 181 today. All systems go for this last week.
I've noticed a strange thing while losing weight. My waist has shrunk, my upper body has lost a ton of fat, and my legs are actually getting defined. Now the weird thing, I'm the same width at the waste, but a lot thinner front to back. Just a weird random thing that amazes me.

 

[littlemark]

This week was complete and utter ****. I was completely fatigued and felt like I was starving (got to the point I was shaking and dropping things between meals) all week long. I'm pretty sure its just stress - getting blamed for trashing a few million dollars worth of car production will do that for a man. Anyways, kept to the diet and the cardio, but lifted only once. Just too damn tired to move any kind of weight.
Due to the severe hunger I cracked on my cheat meal and ripped into a quizno's like a hurricane. 2 and a half subs later (1.5 turkey and 1 steak) I finally felt full. Feeling has lasted better part of afternoon now, so hopefully it has done the trick. Feel a lot smaller this week, so I'm guessing I'm still losing, we'll see when I weigh in during the week.

Question for you Bobo - in circumstances like this week where things just get silly quickly is it best to try and add in some cals to help out. In my case anyways it seems stress kicks my metabolism into high gear. If so, how would I add the extra cals in?

 

[Dwight Schrute]

Yes, when life kicks you in the balls just eat

Best thing to do is try to keep things low fat. That way you can actually get away with eating a lot of food without it causing too many problems.

 

[littlemark]

Hey Bobo,

Just thought I'd let you know that I need a new wardrobe. I feel like one of those guys in a late-night diet infomercial. Of course I'm going to keep the weight off, and haven't been photoshopped in anyway

 

[littlemark]

Update today: Weighed in at 178.5. Looks like the weight loss train just keeps on rolling. Bobo, I've got to hand it to you - this plan sure works!

 

[littlemark]

Couple of more shots, showing the results of the first 8 weeks. I'm happy with these for sure, but expect they would have been better had I not gotten sick.

Lessons learned:

Actually take the time you think it will take to recover from illness and add at least another week or two before trying to cut again. I found metabolism did funky not quite right things a little longer than I had anticipated.

Eating on a schedule - even during weekends really pays off. My wife got sick of me having to interrupt errands etc on Sat. to sit in the car and eat, but hell it sure worked.

You don't need carbs every meal. Pre/post and one other meal of complex carbs (aside from brocolli and skim milk of course) does the body good.

When you have a hole in your sock don't keep doing cardio - stop and fix it! You'll end up like me with a raw hole in your foot that will take 2 weeks to heal over from the rubbing.

When carrying a microwave outside to cook fish so as to not sicken your pregnant wife, hold onto it. They cost lots of $ to replace

 

[silverSurfer]

Bye bye flab and hello new waist ! Congrats on your 8 weeks !

 

[littlemark]

Thanks Surfer.

The fat loss fun just keeps on going. Down to 176.5 today. Thats another 2lbs this week. I'm starting to think I may well end up at 170 or so by the time this month is out. People are acutally noticing the loss which is good. Several people whom I haven't seen in several weeks all asked lately how much weight I've lost and that I've really slimmed down. Pretty damn enouraging, although the one who took me aside and asked if I was sick was touching yet strangely humourous.

Only negative is that strength seems to be holding steady, but minimal if any gains. May well be a function of missing many workouts two weeks ago. If I'm not 100% consistant lifting each week I tend to regress. Didn't think it should matter all that much, but my body is weird in that way I guess.

 

[littlemark]

Down around 175 today. I'm now officially the lightest I've been in 12 years. Smallest waist size in probably 15 or so years. It never ceases to amaze me how relatively minor changes in diet have made such a dramatic impact.

Do have a strange question however. I've noticed over the last couple of weeks I'm losing reps on the barbell bench press movements. However, I'm still gaining weight and reps on the dumbell chest movements and haven't lost any strength on other body parts. This would indicate I'm not losing any appreciable amount of muscle. I can't figure out why this would be. It's not like I'm at the levels of a personal best for these, so I can't see it being mental. Anyone have any ideas of comments on this one?