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EvoMuse Fat Loss Sponsored Log - Kaprice

I don't hit chest again until a week from this Thursday. So, that should be plenty of time to recover.

Between now and then, I have:

Mon: Shoulders/Traps
Wed: Legs
Fri: Tricep/Bicep
Tue: Back

So, we'll see what happens.

I'm sitting at just under 1500 calories so far today. It's 8:20p and I'm feeling plenty full, so I SHOULD be able to avoid any more eating before bed.

I haven't been tracking calories much, lately, because dinner is usually impossible to track (complex recipes of unknown quantities made my my family). But, I'm going to start paying more attention to it.

According to the calculator at freedieting dot com, my maintenance should be at 2769. And target for fat loss should be 2215.

Given that I haven't been eating anything but protein shakes during the day and fairly small portions at dinner and no major snacking after dinner, I don't THINK I've been going above mainenance. But, the scale has been steady at 238.5 to 241.5 for a couple of months, so I guess I need to look at how much I'm really taking in.

Pics and measurement, tomorrow.
 
Kaprice said:
Oh, and it's only the Chest muscle group that has stalled -- and this is only the 2nd workout where there hasn't been an improvement. And, SOME of my chest exercises DID improve.

So, I think it's early to sound alarms.
Click to expand...

Yes, too early for alarm. Sometimes you get stronger and it just isn't enough to get that extra rep yet. It can seem like you are stalled but then that 3rd week you will get that extra rep easy.

bighulksmash said:
Next workout, make yourself do it ! Believe to achieve my friend !
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THIS. 3/4 of lifting is above your throat and behind your face.

Kaprice said:
It IS hard to push that last rep out with heavy weights and no spotter. I don't want to end up on YouTube as the guy with a barbell on my chest yelling "get it off me! get it off me!!" :)

Also, I'm very cautious about injuries. Later in the workout, I felt my arms and chest could pump out another rep but I felt a slight twinge in my back and chose to stop.

I've pushed past stuff like that in the past and it kept me from working out for weeks. Not worth it, IMO.
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Not sure what equipment you have...some benches have spotting arms...but if you don't have a spotter, can you move am adjustable bench into a power cage? Then you can push until you fail with no concern of having to rerack the weight. I train in a basement and this is what I do, and often push until the weight comes crashing down in me (hitting the pins).

The other thing is, you may just not be used to lifting heavier. As I said above, you may be getting stronger but not enough for that extra rep. But you may be surprised to find that you can go up 5 pounds and not lose a single rep. This extra 5 pounds will provide more stimulation and also get you used to handling a heavier weight physically and mentally.

Kaprice said:
That WOULD be nice.

Just remember, I'm 55, haven't worked out consistently for 20 years (once every year or so, I seem to go for about 6 weeks and then stop). And, on multiple occasions over the past decade, I've hurt myself sprinting or lifting weights.

Scale says I'm at about 35% BF, now. When I took a DEXA about 5 months ago, it showed somewhere between 40 and 45% BF. I didn't correlate it with the scale, but I'm sure it's gone a decent amount.
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You haven't worked out and things have been injured, but you are moving down a new path and I bet you are in better shape than you have been in a long time. You have made great progress!
 
bighulksmash said:
Smith machine helps me get to 305 fast . That locking mechanism is like a parachute.
Click to expand...

I'll look into that. From what I recall, our Smith doesn't have extra pins -- just the one set. But, I'll look again.

EDIT: I just Google it. The Smith machine isn't what I thought it was. That's the one with the rail.

But, isn't part of point of free weights having to control the lateral movement? If the bar is on rails, how's that better than a plate machine?

NOTE:

One gym I used to go to had a very cool machine. It was an olympic bar attached to cables. As long as you moved the bar at a normal speed, the cable was free wheeling. But, if you dropped the bar too quickly, the cable locked, allowing you to rest or even get up for better leverage or even to get some help placing the bar back on the pins.

You could do squats, deadlifts, bench press, military press. It was very comforting know you had that safety net.
 
Kaprice said:
I'll look into that. From what I recall, our Smith doesn't have extra pins -- just the one set. But, I'll look again.

EDIT: I just Google it. The Smith machine isn't what I thought it was. That's the one with the rail.

But, isn't part of point of free weights having to control the lateral movement? If the bar is on rails, how's that better than a plate machine?

NOTE:

One gym I used to go to had a very cool machine. It was an olympic bar attached to cables. As long as you moved the bar at a normal speed, the cable was free wheeling. But, if you dropped the bar too quickly, the cable locked, allowing you to rest or even get up for better leverage or even to get some help placing the bar back on the pins.

You could do squats, deadlifts, bench press, military press. It was very comforting know you had that safety net.
Click to expand...

Point being , using the smith allowed for controlled explosive movements with weight I had no business even touching . Then on free weights I got better press numbers.
 
Shoulder/Trap day

Last shoulder day, I twinged my left shoulder on the first set and had to take it easy after that.

Today, I spent about 10 minutes doing shoulder stretches and rehab exercises before getting to the workout. That plus changing hand positions seemed to help.

Previous weight x reps are in parenths.

Barbell Shoulder Press (standing) -- HIT4ME suggested a narrower grip in the bar and that seemed to help.
1. 50lbs 15x (40x12)
2. 50lbs 12x (40x1) -- yes ONE
3. 50lbs 12x (20 x 20)

Dumbbell Shoulder Press (standing)
1. 30lbs 12x (20x12)
2. 30lbs 10x (20x12)

Dumbbell Lateral Raise (standing)
1. 15lbs 15x (12.5x12)
2. 15lbs 13x (15x12)

DB Alt Front Raise (standing)
1. 20lbs 12x (20x10)

Dumbbell Shrugs (standing)
1. 65lbs 12x (55x12)
2. 65lbs 10x (60x10)
3. 65lbs 12x (60x12)
4. 60lbs 12x (60x12)
 
Doing good work man! Always makes me happy if I can help at all. That is a big jump on the barbell presses. Actually, a big jump on everything.
 
Geez. In a few more months you won't be able to use the old guy excuse anymore at this rate. What are you gonna do then?
 
Well, in fairness, TWO shoulder workouts ago, I was doing 60 pound shoulder press -- and that's the one that tweaked my shoulder, which caused a major drop in weight on the one after that. So, THIS week's jump up is still a drop of 10 pounds from my high. But, I want to be smart when dealing with a weak shoulder.

OTOH, I believe all the other sets are improvements from my high.
 
Well, my measurements weren't as good as I'd hoped, plus I had to take down my studio lighting and don't feel like putting it back up, yet. So, no pictures this week.

Here are my measurements. I still feel the measurements don't do justice to the progress I'm making. My muscles feel more solid, I can pinch less fat and what I can pinch feels more "squishy, which I think (hope) means it's less dense, even though it's not decreasing the circumference as much as I'd like.

It's also hard to interpret measurements in muscle areas, like my chest, because on the one hand, I'm (hopefully) losing fat and on the other hand I'm (hopefully) gaining muscle. So when my neck goes UP in size, I THINK that's a good thing. My peck area went down both when sucked in as well as flexed. My THINKING is that the key measurement is the difference between the two, but that might not be an accurate picture, either. I shrunk in both those measurements and the difference dropped by a quarter inch from last measurement and by a whopping 1.25 inches from two measurements ago.

OTOH, that 4.25 difference from two measurements ago looks like it could have been an anomoly, since it's way above anything before or after.

Belt area had good progress.

I've been doing leg exercises, so I'm hoping the increase in size of my thigh and calf means more muscle, not fat.

I'm probably happiest with the difference between my flexed and relaxed bicep. A 2 inch difference is a big improvement over anything before it -- a full half inch improvement since I started in May.

I'll try to get my lighting back up this week so I can do pics next week. But, I may not really know how much progress I've made until I do another Dexa scan. And I probably won't do that until I hit my weight goal of 215. That's 24 pounds to go.

My lowest weight since May was 236 on Sep 17. I'm 3 pounds above that. And my waist is a half inch smaller since then. Same with Butt. Bicep difference between flexed and relaxed also went up by .75 inches.

So, I've got to believe I've lost a decent amount of fat and gained some good muscle since then.

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Screw it. I decided to do do some quick & dirty muscle pics in the mirror. I cropped out the fat belly and focused on certain body parts.

Here are two chest pics that I think show the beginnings of some nice definition in the shoulder, pecks, and biceps. I think I'm also getting some nice lats coming in there.

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Bicep and Shoulder:

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(It's hard to hold the camera steady in this position. Sorry about the focus.)

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And here's a some Tricep separation STARTING to come in, along with some rounded shoulder:

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Kaprice said:
Screw it. I decided to do do some quick & dirty muscle pics in the mirror. I cropped out the fat belly and focused on certain body parts.

Here are two chest pics that I think show the beginnings of some nice definition in the shoulder, pecks, and biceps. I think I'm also getting some nice lats coming in there.

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Bicep and Shoulder:

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(It's hard to hold the camera steady in this position. Sorry about the focus.)

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And here's a some Tricep separation STARTING to come in, along with some rounded shoulder:

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Click to expand...
none of the pictures work?
 
That's odd. They were there for me a minute ago. Looking into it.
 
Hmmm... they work as LINKS, opening as a separate page. I'll try again.
 
Screw it. I decided to do do some quick & dirty muscle pics in the mirror. I cropped out the fat belly and focused on certain body parts.

Here are two chest pics that I think show the beginnings of some nice definition in the shoulder, pecks, and biceps. I think I'm also getting some nice lats coming in there.

Invalid Link Removed

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Bicep and Shoulder:

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(It's hard to hold the camera steady in this position. Sorry about the focus.)

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And here's a some Tricep separation STARTING to come in, along with some rounded shoulder:

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Do I see some lats there? And a bit of a biceps peak? Triceps is visible too!

Awesome progress, bro!
 
You can't tell much from these, but here are some pics looking down from above my shoulder. These are pretty sucky pics, but I'm including them because I think they show a bit more of the separation -- mostly in the shoulder.

Two with bicep flexed and one with tricep flexed.

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Great progress. I honestly wouldn't put much stock at all in the muscle measurements. Like you said, they could go up or down and it could be progress or a set back in either case. Hard to interpret beyond looking in the mirror. The waist measurements going down, I think, are the best indicator and the photos show progress, which is another great indicator.

Best way to tell if your muscles are growing over brief periods of time is whether or not you are gaining strength. I know a lot of people debate hypertrophy vs. Strength gain, but the two are closely related any way you cut it.
 
Today's Macros:


______________Pcts
Fat:_______80 22%
Carbs:____134 37%
Protein:__149 41%

Actual Calories:____1,919
Maint Calories:_____2,769
Fat Loss Target:____2,215



Carbs came from fruit in my protein shakes and white rice at dinner.
 
Kaprice said:
Today's Macros:


Pcts
Fat: 80 22%
Carbs: 134 37%
Protein: 149 41%

Actual Calories: 1,919
Maint Calories: 2,769
Fat Loss Calories: 2,215
Click to expand...

fck yeah.
 
For a little more perspective, here's a picture of my two belts.

The one on the top is what I wore when I started my journey in May.

From the wear lines, you can see I shrunk by 4 belt holes (the first one is very light because I only used it for a very short time.

Then I bought the smaller belt you can see on the bottom. I've gone through 4 holes on this belt as well. I just recently went to the 4th hole.

So, a total of EIGHT belt holes since May. I'm quite happy with that.

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My only snack after dinner was about 15 smoked almonds. Yay me! :)
 
The belts are telling a story of success!

Next step is buying smaller shirts -after that, shirts one size smaller than necessary to show off some guns!
:)
 
Off day.

Took a 1.5 mile walk with a few short jogs mixed in.

It's a bit before dinner and so far, I've had 669 calories -- pretty much all from protein shakes and one protein bar.

QUESTION: Is there a reasonable consensus on determining your ideal maintenance and fat loss calories?

The calculator I've been using has me at 2769 maint and 2215 for fat loss.

But I just read a recommendation that to calculate FAT LOSS calorie target, take your weight x 12.

For me, that's 2,880 calories. That's higher than the calculator suggests for MAINT. Plus, it doesn't take into account age or activity, so I'm calling bull.

But, it did get me thinking. So, I thought I'd ask if there's reputable source that's generally accepted.
 
Kaprice said:
For a little more perspective, here's a picture of my two belts.

The one on the top is what I wore when I started my journey in May.

From the wear lines, you can see I shrunk by 4 belt holes (the first one is very light because I only used it for a very short time.

Then I bought the smaller belt you can see on the bottom. I've gone through 4 holes on this belt as well. I just recently went to the 4th hole.

So, a total of EIGHT belt holes since May. I'm quite happy with that.

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Click to expand...

Outstanding!
 
Kaprice said:
Off day.

Took a 1.5 mile walk with a few short jogs mixed in.

It's a bit before dinner and so far, I've had 669 calories -- pretty much all from protein shakes and one protein bar.

QUESTION: Is there a reasonable consensus on determining your ideal maintenance and fat loss calories?

The calculator I've been using has me at 2769 maint and 2215 for fat loss.

But I just read a recommendation that to calculate FAT LOSS calorie target, take your weight x 12.

For me, that's 2,880 calories. That's higher than the calculator suggests for MAINT. Plus, it doesn't take into account age or activity, so I'm calling bull.

But, it did get me thinking. So, I thought I'd ask if there's reputable source that's generally accepted.
Click to expand...
Everyone burns differently and has a different metabolism. You have to find the sweet spot that gives you weight loss. My personal favorite (and has been accurate for everyone I know that used it) is the my fitness pal app. It gives you your calorie goal based off how much you want to lose. Probably best to see if that number is comparable
 
Bodybeast said:
Everyone burns differently and has a different metabolism. You have to find the sweet spot that gives you weight loss. My personal favorite (and has been accurate for everyone I know that used it) is the my fitness pal app. It gives you your calorie goal based off how much you want to lose. Probably best to see if that number is comparable
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll check that out.

I do want to find the sweet spot. Too few calories and I think I'm doing damage. Too many and, of course, I'm gaining fat.
 
Is the app by Wade Corp?

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So, this one, yes?

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Kaprice said:
So, this one, yes?

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Click to expand...
That's the one! It also does it using your age which can be helpful so it's not giving you what a 12 year old would need. It also has every brand of food I've ever used on it so tracking calories is a breeze
 
Looking forward to it.

Currently, I have an Excel spreadsheet where I've listed the foods I most commonly eat and it breaks down my macros. Works pretty good for me, but the app might be even better. I'll give it a shot. Either way, I'll try the calculator.

Thanks much!
 
I sit at the desk most of the day. Lift weights for a bit over an hour 3 days one week and 2 days the next. On the off days, I try to get some walking in.

What would you recommend I put in the MyFitnessPal form for Activity Level? There's nothing in there about excercise, just how you spend your day. That would mean "Not Very Active" for me, but it seems like there's no setting for desk during most of the day but working out.
 
Kaprice said:
I sit at the desk most of the day. Lift weights for a bit over an hour 3 days one week and 2 days the next. On the off days, I try to get some walking in.

What would you recommend I put in the MyFitnessPal form for Activity Level? There's nothing in there about excercise, just how you spend your day. That would mean "Not Very Active" for me, but it seems like there's no setting for desk during most of the day but working out.
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Put not very active. You can add calories to your calorie balance if you workout. So let's say you did 500 calories worth of cardio you can add that and if you chose a two pounds a week weight loss setting then you can add those 500 to whatever calorie amount it gives you

Edit: I personally don't count lifting as burning extra calories even though it does.
 
Wow! What a discrepancy!

The calculator at Freedieting.com has me at 2295 for normal fat loss and 2000 for extreme fat loss.

MyFitnessPal gave me a 1700 calorie target for 2 pounds a week, which assume would be considered extreme fat loss. And that's at LIGHT activity, not "not very active".

I don't see myself using the app for anything else, though. You have to pay $10 / mo to track macros. The free app only tracks calories.
 
12 is a good simple guesstimate. it there are much more complex formulas. I was given a Fitbit for my birthday by my gf, which I assume tracks motion and plugs info into an algorithm based on the more complex calculations and determines calorie burn throughout the day. When I was given the device I thought it would be useless since I'd already done a lot to get in better shape. But the device showed me how inactive I actually am. Without a strong effort to be active, if I just go through my workday during the week I wind up around 2000-2200 calories more often than I would like. This was very eye opening for me - spending a lot of time driving and behind a desk really makes me inactive.

This is a big part of the reason I think people worry about metabolic damage too much...it's a fear of eating to little and a justification to avoid doing what actually needs doing.

Find a BMR calculator and take a look at that, it will tell you what you burn every day just laying around staying alive. Then compare that to the other estimates and you will probably see that activity levels can have a HUGE impact on your TDEE and the 2800 calorie guess may be a little high some days. This is where a Fitbit can be really helpful.

Great work on the belt - did dsade give you that idea by any chance? Just wondering because he will owe me a royalty ...haha
 
Hit, I did look at BMR calculators. That's what started this conversation -- huge discrepancies in their recommendations.

BTW, I just downloaded Livestrong's MyPlate Calorie Tracker and it looks like it handles the food tracking nicely. Has a barcode scanner for auto entry, plus a large database of foods. It tracks by macros, too.

I haven't yet figured out how to add foods I WILL be eating but aren't eating right now. Hopefully there's a way to do that.

The Livestrong app recommends 1875 calories to lose 1.5 pounds a week. That's pretty much in line with MyFitnessPal's 1700 for 2 pounds a week.

I don't know WHAT that other calculator was thinking recommending over 2000 calories! :)
 
Macros for the day:


Fat:_______17g 18%
Carbs:____176g 50%
Protein:__111g 32%

Actual Calories:____1,707
Maint Calories:_____2,375
Fat Loss Target:____1,875



Most of the carbs came from fruit in the shakes. A small bit from a tortilla shell at dinner.

Now that I'm tracking again (though I'm not going to obsess), I'm going to go back to targeting slightly lower calories on off days and slightly higher calories on workout days. Though I may see if I can keep the workout days to the Fat Loss Target.
 
I would save carbs for post workout, works for me, currently not watching cal intake without getting fatter (at the moment :) )
 
Always conflicting advice. Others say some clean carbs pre-workout is helpful.

I'm not overly concerned, either way. It's half a banana, 1 orange, and about 4 frozen strawberries.
 
What I'm struggling with, today, is finding it HARD to eat during the day.

I had a morning protein shake and looking at my macros (and given that today is a lifting day), I decided I needed more protein and fat. So, at 11:15a, I fried just 2 eggs, a bit of onion, and a tablespoon of cheese. I wasn't hungry AT ALL and getting it down was a chore.

On the one hand, they say you should only eat when you're hungry. If so, I shouldn't have had the eggs. On the other hand, I've been going without food in the morning for so long I may have done something to my metabolism (even though overall calories for the day have been plenty high), and forcing some eggs down on lifting days might be a good idea.

But right now, I'm uncomfortably full.

I work out in 90 minutes. And I have to take jpx8/nos ether in 30 mins. I hope it all gets reasonably digested by workout time.
 
Maybe I should reverse the meals and have the eggs in the morning and the protein shake around 11.
 
Leg Day.

I was a bit worried because my back was a bit sore from some sort of bad reach or turn.

So, I started my workout with the roller on my back and then the hydra bed.

You may recall, the last time I did legs I was so wiped after the first three groups that I stopped my workout early. I was very close to throwing up.

Today, not only did I complete the full workout, I improved in nearly everything.

Previous weight x rps is in parenths.

Barbell Squats (standing)
1. 185lbs 12x (185 x 9)
2. 195lbs 10x (185 x 10)

Leg Press Machine (incline)
1. 380lbs 10x (360 x 12)
2. 390lbs 10x (380 x 14)

Barbell Deadlift - stiff leg
1. 155lbs 12x (150 x 12)
2. 155lbs 10x (150 x 12)

Machine Leg Extension (seated)
1. 150lbs 12x (0)
2. 150lbs 10x (0)

Machine Leg Curl (seated)
1. 115lbs 12x (0)
2. 115lbs 8.5x (0)

Barbell Calf Raise (seated)
1. 175lbs 12x (0)
2. 190lbs 12x (0)
3. 190lbs 12x

That said, I WAS feeling rather sick as I left the gym. Not sure it was a good idea to be driving.

Post workout weight: 235.5.
That's a new record low!
and hopefully, the beginning of a new period of dropping weight after being stuck around 240 for so many weeks.
 
Off day.

Legs are pretty sore from yesterday. Also had a hard time sleeping last night. Feeling rather lethargic, today.

I slept in and skipped all my morning supps, including BurnX. Yesterday, I commented on how I wasn't hungry and had to force myself to eat.

Must have been the BurnX because today, I'm feeling rather hungry and snacky. I guess I'll make it more of a priority to get that BurnX in each morning.
 
Last session looked good!
Maybe you should do the roller and the hydra before each deadlift/legs day.
If something feels good, keep doing it!
 
Kaprice said:
Off day.

Legs are pretty sore from yesterday. Also had a hard time sleeping last night. Feeling rather lethargic, today.

I slept in and skipped all my morning supps, including BurnX. Yesterday, I commented on how I wasn't hungry and had to force myself to eat.

Must have been the BurnX because today, I'm feeling rather hungry and snacky. I guess I'll make it more of a priority to get that BurnX in each morning.
Click to expand...

^^^ This is wat happens when you keep killing it hard ! Visualize that dream body ! Baby steps :D
 
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