Guest viewing limit reached
  • You have reached the maximum number of guest views allowed
  • Please register below to remove this limitation

Weights up, scales down…

If that is the case I recommend you go back to a full maintenance calories for where you are. Get rid of some diet fatigue and get ready to blast off again with the diet after this meso.
I’ve been really conflicted lately. I’m kinda tired of the “cut” so to speak. But I know I have more weight to lose.

same time I’m wanting to just eat maintenance and try to grow some muscle start pushing strength.

so I’m conflicted on what direction I should take.
 
I’ve been really conflicted lately. I’m kinda tired of the “cut” so to speak. But I know I have more weight to lose.

same time I’m wanting to just eat maintenance and try to grow some muscle start pushing strength.

so I’m conflicted on what direction I should take.
The bolded means you should probably take 6-8 weeks at maintenance. You have diet fatigue, AKA, "I am over this sh*t!" If you take 8 weeks to eat at maintenance on purpose you will start to recomp, then when you are done with your maintenance period you go back to dieting with renewed vigor and your progress will pick back up. You will have a little more muscle to burn energy, and your body will recovery from some of the fatigue of training hard in a deficit. All of those things will set you up for better progress on the other side of your maintenance phase.

To be honest, you have already lost a ton and I was expecting this at some point soon. No need to bang your head on the brick wall when you can maintain, add some muscle, have some fun, then get back to dieting but more productively again.
 
Kinda wanted to go hit the treadmill today but opted to stay in bed lol. Last week with hitting treadmill it seemed to zap me by Friday.
The bolded means you should probably take 6-8 weeks at maintenance. You have diet fatigue, AKA, "I am over this sh*t!"

a lot of it is because it's work, rather than play. makes it mentally taxing. When you were a kid you kept burning calories until you fell asleep on a pile of legos.

Aside from Kleen's advice the only other snippet of thought I have is that if you can find a lifestyle hobby that naturally incorporates calorie burning, then it may help some. If you liked to run (I'd hate you) then of course running a 5k every other night would be no big deal. But kayaking, indoor rock climbing, boxing, etc. Walking a round of golf is estimated at a LOT more calories than you think. it's 3-5 miles carrying clubs and taking 100 whacks. Xfit worked for me because it was 1-2hrs of "play time". no matter how tired I was, we showed up, ripped our shirts off, started a clock and competed. But that was the old days of open gyms when crossfit was legit.

but bodybuilder style cutting is legit hardwork and discipline. way harder than getting on a bike and riding 10 miles if you truly love riding. I don't know a lot of people that crave jumping on a treadmill for an hour every day. (or have the time)
 
all that said, 2hr xfit sessions etc got me ripped but did not build strength past a certain point. plateaus were real and permanent. eating to lift and lifting to eat is a lot more fun, lol
 
Ya honestly I'd just go with how you feel. You crushed some serious weightloss, taking some time at maintenance or even above to enjoy some strength and muscle gains can make a big difference for how you feel when you come back.

It is a long journey don't feel like you have to rush, go where your motivation is (especially because it isn't like you are just being wishy washy you made a ton of progress already).
Agreed, and most long term coaches will advise a mini-break in the diet. Especially when drive and adherence start to become an issue. It is even a built in part of the RP Templates to go to a maintenance phase after 4-6 months of dieting then start cutting again. So definitely not just being wish-washy. Going to maintenance when adherence and drive start to wain will help a lot psychologically, and also with bringing metabolism back up to speed so you can make a smaller calorie cut when starting back and make some more progress.
 
I want to add a caveat: if you are no longer losing weight, what you are currently doing IS maintenance.

You may be able to add a few hundred calories daily, but there is no point you can expect to go off the reservation but not end up lost in the wild.

That is not meant to be depressing, but it’s important to realize the difference between maintaining your new, svelter body you worked hard for vs actually re-gaining weight.
 
The bolded means you should probably take 6-8 weeks at maintenance. You have diet fatigue, AKA, "I am over this sh*t!" If you take 8 weeks to eat at maintenance on purpose you will start to recomp, then when you are done with your maintenance period you go back to dieting with renewed vigor and your progress will pick back up. You will have a little more muscle to burn energy, and your body will recovery from some of the fatigue of training hard in a deficit. All of those things will set you up for better progress on the other side of your maintenance phase.

To be honest, you have already lost a ton and I was expecting this at some point soon. No need to bang your head on the brick wall when you can maintain, add some muscle, have some fun, then get back to dieting but more productively again.
I agree and have been wondering since end of August roughly if I was getting fatigue from diet and work all of it and progress was at a standstill. I am starting to think a 6-8 week of still tracking and not just throwing everything out the window, but running a maintenance and maintaining weight is looking like a good idea.
a lot of it is because it's work, rather than play. makes it mentally taxing. When you were a kid you kept burning calories until you fell asleep on a pile of legos.

Aside from Kleen's advice the only other snippet of thought I have is that if you can find a lifestyle hobby that naturally incorporates calorie burning, then it may help some. If you liked to run (I'd hate you) then of course running a 5k every other night would be no big deal. But kayaking, indoor rock climbing, boxing, etc. Walking a round of golf is estimated at a LOT more calories than you think. it's 3-5 miles carrying clubs and taking 100 whacks. Xfit worked for me because it was 1-2hrs of "play time". no matter how tired I was, we showed up, ripped our shirts off, started a clock and competed. But that was the old days of open gyms when crossfit was legit.

but bodybuilder style cutting is legit hardwork and discipline. way harder than getting on a bike and riding 10 miles if you truly love riding. I don't know a lot of people that crave jumping on a treadmill for an hour every day. (or have the time)
That’s the down fall all my hobbies are summer time and work takes all the time because it’s are busy season. Then winter when I have time, well feet of snow 😂
Ya honestly I'd just go with how you feel. You crushed some serious weightloss, taking some time at maintenance or even above to enjoy some strength and muscle gains can make a big difference for how you feel when you come back.

It is a long journey don't feel like you have to rush, go where your motivation is (especially because it isn't like you are just being wishy washy you made a ton of progress already).
agree with that. I wish looking back I would have taken 2-3 of tracking my old eating and intake to have a baseline to reference back to. Also this being my first successful weight loss plan, that has amounted to some actual weight loss. I feel like I learned a lot and have a little better understanding.
I want to add a caveat: if you are no longer losing weight, what you are currently doing IS maintenance.

You may be able to add a few hundred calories daily, but there is no point you can expect to go off the reservation but not end up lost in the wild.

That is not meant to be depressing, but it’s important to realize the difference between maintaining your new, svelter body you worked hard for vs actually re-gaining weight.
This is a really good point and I was looking at this last night. My macro tracker app I plug my info in blah blah blah says maintenance 2,400. But going off the last few weeks I feel my true maintenance with my current activity level about 2200.

I definitely don’t want to climb back up so I think I’m going to have to run around this number and keep tracking weight and adjust as necessary.
 
You may be able to add a few hundred calories daily, but there is no point you can expect to go off the reservation but not end up lost in the wild.

This is a really good point and I was looking at this last night. My macro tracker app I plug my info in blah blah blah says maintenance 2,400. But going off the last few weeks I feel my true maintenance with my current activity level about 2200.

you know these two things spurred two thoughts in my head.
a. I really don't like one size fits all calorie calculators. I've never found them to be very accurate. if you are logging 2,200 calories a day and not gaining or losing any weight, then you're right. that is your maintenance.

b. it may be worth really looking into and researching reverse dieting. keep in mind that last year I had chronically dieted so much that I was down to 1700 ish calories not really losing weight anymore. I added 100 calories per day every week and it took from Sept till Dec before I started adding any weight at all and I was able to up my metabolism to like 2200-2400 as a new baseline. I also put on some additional muscle mass at better than a 1:1 ratio with fat by end of year (4 months)

I mention Layne more than enough to even make myself sick now but I'm still super intrigued by the year that he spent doing roughly 4 week cuts followed by 4 week reverses and had a great amount of success finishing the year out at a lower bf and seemingly higher muscle mass.


I agree and have been wondering since end of August roughly if I was getting fatigue from diet and work all of it and progress was at a standstill

keep in mind after a year at it by the time I hit my 300# bench I was sick of being 15lbs heavier, and I think burnt out a bit. a month of changing it up revitalized me a lot (along with some cheering from my wife). everyone gets burn out occasionally in all aspects of life. doesn't mean we are done forever or hate it, but that sometimes it needs a little freshening up.


also this meso cycle I have not been cutting my calories as much I have been maintaining around 2000-2200 a few 24 hr fasts here and there. Also not a lot of steps like previous. So I have stayed consistent 227-230. I feel like though I have made some decent progress on moving more weight and gaining some strength this meso.

when you say 24hr, do you mean 20hr? I said 24hr a lot and realized it was actually 20hr. (stop eating at 8pm, then have dinner the next day around 4-6pm. My own personal experience has been that a 20hr fast lets me eat in a surplus on lifting days but maintain overall, whereas a solid 36hr fast shows a legit decrease in fat/weight.
 
I agree and have been wondering since end of August roughly if I was getting fatigue from diet and work all of it and progress was at a standstill. I am starting to think a 6-8 week of still tracking and not just throwing everything out the window, but running a maintenance and maintaining weight is looking like a good idea.

That’s the down fall all my hobbies are summer time and work takes all the time because it’s are busy season. Then winter when I have time, well feet of snow 😂

agree with that. I wish looking back I would have taken 2-3 of tracking my old eating and intake to have a baseline to reference back to. Also this being my first successful weight loss plan, that has amounted to some actual weight loss. I feel like I learned a lot and have a little better understanding.

This is a really good point and I was looking at this last night. My macro tracker app I plug my info in blah blah blah says maintenance 2,400. But going off the last few weeks I feel my true maintenance with my current activity level about 2200.

I definitely don’t want to climb back up so I think I’m going to have to run around this number and keep tracking weight and adjust as necessary.
So start at 2200, and weigh yourself daily for a week see if the average goes up or down from where you are. If it moves adjust calories up or down until it stops moving, that is your new maintenance. You've got this.
 
So start at 2200, and weigh yourself daily for a week see if the average goes up or down from where you are. If it moves adjust calories up or down until it stops moving, that is your new maintenance. You've got this.
That’s going to be my plan I weigh every day just out of habit anyways. Thanks for the tips and advice from everyone in here!

one of the many great things about the fourm you can have a question or concern or anything and post it up and get some solid feedback!
 
I would begin with what Kleen said, great advice. You can even add 100 calories to that soon, because the metabolism tends to be trainable like Dustin mentioned to a degree (the body wants to stay at homeostasis).

Also, even if you were in a weekly surplus of ~700 calories, 100 extra per day, that’s not even 1lb of fat accrued per month. Pretty good trade if it means you get that extra big navel orange daily, 4oz chicken breast, or whatever helps you feel more satisfied. Veggies are always a good calorie investment to curb hunger. Nobody got fat snacking on some extra raw baby carrots (served plain lol).
 
Oh and before I forget, those that were looking for updates on inciderine. I didn’t even get a full 7 days in and I’m going to shelf it for now. I will resume when after my maintenance period is over and I resume my fat execution.
 
Gym time 5:15 am 6:45 am
1-0 RIR
BW 227
Yesterday macro content
Carbs:169g/protien:171g/fat:103g
2,262 calories

bench 1RIR
95x12
135x8
165x4x7x7x5

chest supported DB row 0RIR
20x12
30x8
45x14x12
25x16x12
Rear db flys


cable over head tricep extension 0RIR
20x12
30x8
40x11x11x9
Drop set to single arm extension
20x12x10

ez bar preachers curl 0RIR
20x12
30x8x16x13x11
DB shoulder shrug in between sets
30x12x10x10x10

cable rope face pull 0RIR
20x12
30x12
40x16x13x12x11

machine crunch 0RIR
160x8x8

One of my better sessions, had great pump that lasted, more energy. Was a little disappointed on bench I wasn’t staying locked in like I like and not firing like I should.
 
That’s going to be my plan I weigh every day just out of habit anyways

speaking of habit, I think the reason I'm still making progress and don't weight 300lbs is because of the Sunday habit my wife and I have with our meal prep. although these days I make 4 breakfasts and 4 lunches knowing I'll run a 20:4 fast at least one day every week on a rest day. I do still pack my extra 300 calorie rice bowl for lifting days, but knowing that 2 of my 3 daily "big" meals are already prepped (80/20) if I want to be sloppy with dinner I can. that might alleviate you of some of the diet fatigue as well, knowing you can have pizza tonight because you were so dialed all day.

it really is habitual. even when we go out to eat when I look at the menu I'm actively looking for the most protein and carbs I can find in the menu while controlling fats. I often enjoy "cheat" meals on dates while simultaneously picking things that I think will contribute positively to my next session.

Also, even if you were in a weekly surplus of ~700 calories, 100 extra per day, that’s not even 1lb of fat accrued per month.

hell at 100 extra per day if he's still lifting hard those cals might go towards muscle growth as well which might contribute to improved metabolism. I sorta theorize that's why I made it a number of months in reverse dieting before I gained any weight. strength and muscle development improved before I was a true "excess" and put on the fat.
 
Oh and before I forget, those that were looking for updates on inciderine. I didn’t even get a full 7 days in and I’m going to shelf it for now. I will resume when after my maintenance period is over and I resume my fat execution.
Smart move!
 
Gym time 5am-6:30am
0RIR
BW227

DB stiff legged deadlift
20x12
30x12
50x4x13

leg extension
50x12
90x8
140x4x10x10x10 pretty happy with this quads where looking pumped

deadlift
45x12
135x8
185x5
225x3x6x4 ( narrowed my stance some seemed to help)

plate raise calf machine
45x12
80x8
115x10x10x10

cable side shrug (one arm at a time)
20x12
35x8
50x14x12x11 (these seem to be the best shrug version for me get a amazing stretch and pump)

BB OHP
45x12
95x8
115x5x3

lying leg curl
50x12
95x8
140x4x8

BB wrist curl
65x12
85x8
95x18x14x14

hammer curl
20x12
30x12
35x8

probably a silly pose but I thought it was looking good this morning 😂

Invalid Link Removed
 
it's not a silly pose at all, I practice it all the time because I golf, and if you ever plan to pick up the sticks you need to have it in your toolbox.

plus you can totally tell you're leaning up muy rapido. traps are looking yoked man




Invalid Link Removed
 
You have really trimmed up, and I see those traps and delts popping through!
 
it's not a silly pose at all, I practice it all the time because I golf, and if you ever plan to pick up the sticks you need to have it in your toolbox.

plus you can totally tell you're leaning up muy rapido. traps are looking yoked man




Invalid Link Removed
That had me laughing this morning!
thanks my traps definitely seem to be popping a lot more, but I do a lot of shrugs!
 
Forgot to mention in here that this week is my annual hunting trip with my dad. So this week no training just good times and memories.

normally we would have some deer hanging but chronic wasting disease has taken a toll so no deer the last few years and for a few more year probably.

so we predator hunt, calling coyotes. Something me and my dad have done since 2007.
 
that's awesome. I've been horrible about getting out the past couple years, I feel like the season just creeps up on me and I don't make the effort after like 20 years of never missing a season. you guys have whitetail or mulies over there? I'm working on getting my boys gun safety course finished up so we can maybe chase turkeys and deer next year.
 
Forgot to mention in here that this week is my annual hunting trip with my dad. So this week no training just good times and memories.

normally we would have some deer hanging but chronic wasting disease has taken a toll so no deer the last few years and for a few more year probably.

so we predator hunt, calling coyotes. Something me and my dad have done since 2007.

Enjoy the hunt with your father!
 
that's awesome. I've been horrible about getting out the past couple years, I feel like the season just creeps up on me and I don't make the effort after like 20 years of never missing a season. you guys have whitetail or mulies over there? I'm working on getting my boys gun safety course finished up so we can maybe chase turkeys and deer next year.
We have both pretty good numbers. Just we quit hunting 2 years ago down here to let the CWD run its course. I didn’t get a SD tag this year but the in laws did so I’ll go out in November/December for white tails.
 
We have both pretty good numbers. Just we quit hunting 2 years ago down here to let the CWD run its course. I didn’t get a SD tag this year but the in laws did so I’ll go out in November/December for white tails.

on the west side of the pacific crest trail we have black tail, which are really just mule deer. on the east side we have mule deer and whitetails. maybe if I can get off my ass and get my bow tuned i'll finally try taking one out of my front yard this year. turns out my wife likes venison....

That CWD is a pain in the ass. I know it's worse over your parts, we had an Asian Louse that ran havoc on our herds in eastern wa one year and I truly don't think those herds ever rebounded.

this guy was in my front yard (those are my headlights on him) a couple weeks ago:

Invalid Link Removed


picked this one up on the game cam in the same area. biggest one I saw I think was a 7 x 7 believe or not (including eye guards)

Invalid Link Removed
 
I could be starving and I would still starve 😂

we used to sell them but not much market now. So we just do it for fun and population control. They were so thick like 06/07 they over run and got the mange that killed a bunch. They are back on the rise again.
 
I could be starving and I would still starve 😂

we used to sell them but not much market now. So we just do it for fun and population control. They were so thick like 06/07 they over run and got the mange that killed a bunch. They are back on the rise again.
You should sell the pelts to meat eaters so we can wear them and go throw beet juice on the vegans like they do us for wearing fur. You'll sell a million quick. LMAO!
 
Another great day
237429
 
Well back home into the normal routine. With the time change this weekend we wanted to be home a few days early to get the little one adjusted back.

had a great time back on the farm, I sure miss that quiet no neighbors life. Pretty surprised too because for a week of my mom and wife cooking making big good meals and having plenty of adult beverages. Checked back in this morning and still sitting at 229. So pretty happy about that I was thinking it was going to be a little more.
 
Felt like an arm day.

hammer curl warm ups15x15, pin wheel 15x10 each arm

hammer curl
15x8
30x10x10x8
20x10x8x8

spider curl ex bar
20x12
50x8x9x8
30x10x15x12 + partial reps

Ez bar preacher
30x15x12x10+as slow as possible decline x10

Cable curl
30x10x8
20x10

curl machine
40x15x12x10

assist dips
#80x10
#60x10x8x8

Db one arm extension
15x12
25x8x8x8

skull crusher ez bar
40x12x12
60x10x8x6
45# plate crusher x10x8x8

v grip pushdown cable
50x10x8x6
30x14x12x10x8

was a pretty good session and gym was pretty empty so I enjoyed my time there. Arms felt smashed and pumped.
 
Also I have found a new favorite of mine. Seems like a weird combination, chocolate protein powder and SNS grapefruit creatine. I started this probably a month ago now. It’s weird because the taste reminds me of something but I can’t place it, it creates just a little tang to the chocolate flavor, kinda reminds me of a chocolate malt? Anyways odd combo but thought I’d share because I have really been enjoying it.
 
Also I have found a new favorite of mine. Seems like a weird combination, chocolate protein powder and SNS grapefruit creatine. I started this probably a month ago now. It’s weird because the taste reminds me of something but I can’t place it, it creates just a little tang to the chocolate flavor, kinda reminds me of a chocolate malt? Anyways odd combo but thought I’d share because I have really been enjoying it.
Definitely not a typical flavor combo, but I know some people like the whole chocolate/orange flavor, so imagine it'd be sort of similar?
 
Started a new meso cycle today, doing a shoulder and arms focus. With thanksgiving coming up soon and then I have a week of work training in Denver will be doing what I can.

gym time 5am-6:30am
2RIR
BW 227

DB press incline
20x12
35x8
45x4x12x10

Skull crusher ez bar
30x12
40x8
60x4x10x10
45#plate super stretch x6

cable tricep pushdown single arm
10x12
15x8x10x10

DB shoulder press
(All the way down touching top of shoulders, pause then push)
20x12
25x8
30x4x10x8x8

cable single arm lateral raise
5x12x8x10x10x8

DB seated shrug
40x12
50x8
60x8x8
 
Good stuff, congrats on not gaining your weight back.
 
Good stuff, congrats on not gaining your weight back.
Well the good thing about tracking so much I feel I guess within a ballpark of where I’m at. I definitely was holding back on some food because of beer intake. So wasn’t sure how the beer was going to effect, turns out I played it right. Also though did a lot of walking every day so it wasn’t like I was just idol with my feet kicked back too.
 
Thanks for keeping the Road runner safe!

are there road runners in his parts? lol I have only seen them in AZ

Well the good thing about tracking so much I feel I guess within a ballpark of where I’m at. I definitely was holding back on some food because of beer intake.

That's great, I think unless you get ready to compete on stage or in a lifting comp one thing about nutrition is that it becomes habit and lifestyle over time. Kleen and Hyde of course are two extreme examples of ramping up nutrition in a particular direction for competitive purposes, but you will be able to maintain a lifestyle of balanced nutrition that won't create so much diet fatigue over time most likely. for me it's a 50/50 combination of habit as well as just... knowledge. like you just pointed out, you cut some food calories to allow some beer calories.
 
are there road runners in his parts? lol I have only seen them in AZ
LMAO! No, well maybe but probably not. He was holding "Wiley E Coyote" by the foot, so I thanked him for saving the road runner.
 
Long day I didn’t have time to post this morning.

gym time 5am-6:30am
2RIR
BW 228

seated cable row
30x12
40x8
80x4x12x10

Ex bar preacher curl
20x12
30x8
40x4x14x11x10

Hammer curl
15x12
20x8
25x4x10x10x10

db front raise
5x12
10x8
12.5x4x10x10x8

DB upright row
12.5x12
15x8
20x4x14x14x12

DB wrist curl over bench
15x12
25x8
30x4x20x20x15

this was a awesome session and man was my shoulders and arms pumped. Sadly I had to be in the field all day and forgot my lunch so ready for some dinner 😂
 
Do eye spy a Burris Eliminator laser scope? Invalid Link Removed oh my jealousy 🤣 . Nice camo on the stock! And upon further look, spiral cut, fluted barrel and silencer. Dang nice rifle.
Yes you do, been using them for 4 years I guess now. I upgraded last year to a seekins havak very nice rifle with a quite tube on the end!
 
Gym time 5am-6:30am
2RIR
BW 226

drop from yesterday lack of food. Did not have a very large dinner so intake was pretty low yesterday. Definitely performance suffered today but still got done what I needed just not at the intensity I like.

leg extension
50x12
90x8
140x4x12x11

cable pull through
35x12
45x8
70x4x8x8

squat
95x12
115x8
135x5
185x4x8

lying leg curl
50x12
95x8
130x4x8x7

calf plate raise
45x12
80x8
100x4x12x12
Drop set 90x15

machine crunch
60x12
110x8
160x4x10x10
 
Performance may have suffered, but you did the work so progress made!
 
Back
Top