Taking this weight loss seriously

[MistrJay]

This is purely to keep myself accountable and keep me motivated. If you find it interesting or have some tips for me let me know as I go and I will definitely change what I can.

I started this journey last week when I weighed myself and the scale read 233lbs. Being 5’7” it sucks and I want to be able to keep up with my fireball of a son. It’s been roughly 2-3 years since I’ve lifted free weights and my goal weight is too eventually get down to 165 lbs and hang out around there to get down to 10-12% BF. Right now I’m trying to do this without SARMS, PH or steroids and specifically trying to change eating habits and gain a better relationship with food.

I’ve been doing StrongLifts 5x5 and plan to keep doing it while adding in assistance lifting until I hit “the end of the road” with this program and move to more advanced programs to keep gaining strength.

Current weight is 227lbs and while I roughly know what my kcals are I plan on getting some more diverse Whole Foods and get off protein bars/powder unless absolutely necessary.

Like I said before any tips or advice for weight loss let me know and I’ll keep this updated the best I can.

 

[Sean1332]

Subbed. You have some solid, attainable, goals. My only tip as of now is to commit to the process and accept that there are no fast results.

 

[MistrJay]

Subbed. You have some solid, attainable, goals. My only tip as of now is to commit to the process and accept that there are no fast results.

Yeah I got a little depressed yesterday morning as I thought I would’ve lost a little more, even .5lbs, but I woke up 227lbs again and I realized that I haven’t really been doing too much cardio other than trying to walk between 10k and 15k steps at work, so I’m going to add that in as well today after my workout.

But yeah you’re right. I’m trying to stay positive and put in the work that needs to be done.

 

[Sean1332]

It's easier to create a caloric deficit through reduced calories vs exercise. Eating 500 calories less is far easier than burning 500 calories. Use cardio as a tool but don't expect it to be your main source of weight loss.

The scale is discouraging. How hydrated are you? When's the last time you took a dump? How much food is in your GI tract? Expect and accept ups and downs on the scale. As long as you stay on track, the scale will move.

 

[MistrJay]

It's easier to create a caloric deficit through reduced calories vs exercise. Eating 500 calories less is far easier than burning 500 calories. Use cardio as a tool but don't expect it to be your main source of weight loss.

The scale is discouraging. How hydrated are you? When's the last time you took a dump? How much food is in your GI tract? Expect and accept ups and downs on the scale. As long as you stay on track, the scale will move.

I try and drink about 50% of my BW in water, but the past couple days has been between 86-100oz. I take morning dumps a couple mins after I wake up and after I do is when I usually weigh myself.

I don’t know exactly how much food is in my GI tract and I don’t know how to gauge that at all.

Also I try and do the rule of thumb that I take whatever my maintenance calories are and -20% from them and that’s where I try to stay around.

 

[Sean1332]

I try and drink about 50% of my BW in water, but the past couple days has been between 86-100oz. I take morning dumps a couple mins after I wake up and after I do is when I usually weigh myself.

I don’t know exactly how much food is in my GI tract and I don’t know how to gauge that at all.

Also I try and do the rule of thumb that I take whatever my maintenance calories are and -20% from them and that’s where I try to stay around.

I'm sorry, man: all that was meant to be rhetorical. I know there's no way to gauge all that. I just wanted to make a point that there's things that will always fluctuate our bodyweight. Just trying to say-Dont be discouraged by ups and downs on the scale.

 

[MistrJay]

I'm sorry, man: all that was meant to be rhetorical. I know there's no way to gauge all that. I just wanted to make a point that there's things that will always fluctuate our bodyweight. Just trying to say-Dont be discouraged by ups and downs on the scale.

Haha okay I’m with ya now, but yeah I’ll do my best to not let it get to me.

 

[SkRaw85]

Subbed for your transformation!

 

[SkRaw85]

Have you ever dabbled with intermittent fasting?

 

[MistrJay]

Have you ever dabbled with intermittent fasting?

I’m kind of doing that now I’m a way. My last bit of food is at 9pm and then I try not to eat until 10am the next day.

 

[MistrJay]

I’m also gonna post some pictures of my physique as it is today after I get home and update pics as I go through this journey.

 

[MistrJay]

Me as of 03/11/2020

 

[MistrJay]

Meant to post this last night after the gym, but came home and passed out instead.

Did workout B last night (Squat, OH press and deadlift). Back up to squatting over 100lbs safely and to depth. Hit a lifetime PR on deadlift lifting 165lbs without issue. I don’t remember how good my OH press was, but it seemed solid as well.

Dropped another .5lb in weight and people are seeing a difference as far as mood and appearance.

Planning on doing some cardio tonight on the rower for 30 mins.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

I'm in for the ride!

My two cents: don't weigh yourself every day, maybe just twice per week or even once per week. Daily fluctuations can lead to bad decisions.

 

[SkRaw85]

One brick and one day at a time. Consistency is key and like Benny said, don’t weigh yourself everyday. It is sabotage.

 

[MistrJay]

I'm in for the ride!

My two cents: don't weigh yourself every day, maybe just twice per week or even once per week. Daily fluctuations can lead to bad decisions.

One brick and one day at a time. Consistency is key and like Benny said, don’t weigh yourself everyday. It is sabotage.

I’ll limit it to weighing myself on Fridays. I can see how it would lead to being depressed about not seeing a change or not much of a change. Thanks for the tip.

 

[justhere4comm]

In for transformation!!!

 

[leosatriani]

I’m in and facing the same challenge. My 2 cents is to put down the fork, do more cardio, stay off the scale and be patient. Good luck!

 

[Dthcore]

You don’t look that bad dude but could look better. If you decide not to do it naturally get some DNP bro. That’s some good ****! Lol

 

[MistrJay]

You don’t look that bad dude but could look better. If you decide not to do it naturally get some DNP bro. That’s some good ****! Lol

We’ll see about that, haha. I may stick to more calm compounds like S4.

 

[Resolve10]

Nice start so far.

Don't want to over-complicate, but just provide my experience. I tend to have others weigh in 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days. Weight will fluctuate, so having a few per week allows for an "average" weight that will let you see the trend of gaining, maintaining, or losing. One a week may be fine, but if for some reason it is on an "upswing" day it can confound things.

That said whatever you choose, just be consistent and remember the scale is just giving you some information, but not always the end all be all.

Good luck, I'll be following and glad to help if I can!

 

[MistrJay]

Nice start so far.

Don't want to over-complicate, but just provide my experience. I tend to have others weigh in 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days. Weight will fluctuate, so having a few per week allows for an "average" weight that will let you see the trend of gaining, maintaining, or losing. One a week may be fine, but if for some reason it is on an "upswing" day it can confound things.

That said whatever you choose, just be consistent and remember the scale is just giving you some information, but not always the end all be all.

Good luck, I'll be following and glad to help if I can!

I gotcha. I may do a Monday and Friday weigh-in or Mon/Wed/Fri weigh-in to keep an on on the average weigh in you were talking about.

 

[MistrJay]

I’ve been debating on whether or not to do it, if I did add in a compound like S4 when would be the best time to do so?

My best guess probably after a month or two of dieting with my new diet and if results start to slow down or stall. Maybe I should wait longer? I don’t know.

 

[SkRaw85]

Diet and training on lock first, supplements and accessories second.

 

[MistrJay]

Diet and training on lock first, supplements and accessories second.

Gotcha. Thanks for the tip.

 

[HIT4ME]

Good start my man. Don't rush things. Forget about exercise to lose weight. Exercise is not for fat loss. Diet is for fat loss. Exercise will make you eat more. But exercise is necessary to create a stimulus that you adapt to. Focus on being able to "do" more with your exercise - i.e. - lift more weight, run further, etc. But limit your time exposure. Either do it well or rest.

As far as the weigh-in's - I am going to go against the grain. Weighing once a week or twice a week is a bad habit. I bet before you started this you never weighed yourself at all. If infrequent weighing got you here, why do you want to lean more toward that pattern? Get on top of it and pay attention and be mindful.

Now having said that, weight fluctuates and stalls, etc. So LOG your weight. If you have a bad reading, you can look at the overall trend and keep it in perspective - a bluetooth scale that logs and graphs these results is awesome for this. Sure you may bounce up 2-3 pounds one morning, but you won't beat yourself up too much because you will see that you've come down and it is one anomaly or bad day and you will get right back on it. But in order to build momentum with the data, you HAVE TO COLLECT THE DATA. I personally weigh myself twice a day. And I know at night I weigh a certain amount more usually after I eat. And I know in the morning I will normally weigh 3 pounds less. And if I am up or down...whatever, it is the trend over time that matters. And if I fall off the wagon, it is good to step on the scale and see, "Geez, I'm up 5 pounds today." Obviously I know a lot of this is usually water weight and will come back off quickly, but knowing I just jumped gets me RIGHT BACK IN LINE.

But on the other hand, don't try to expect linear weight loss. In the beginning it can seem easy - "Week 1 and I've lost a pound a day." then day 9 and you expect to lose "at least a half pound today" and it doesn't happen. Well, of course not. It doesn't work like that. You lost a lot of water in week 1. As time goes on, it will get harder and harder to predict. Search throughout these threads and look at how many threads on here say, "I've been losing 2 pounds a week, now I haven't lost anything in a week." and everyone jumps to try to make it happen again - but it's futile. This just happens. It slows. You will have a week where you do everything right and you seem like you've gained 0.5 pounds and then suddenly the next week (if you continue plugging) you lose 3 pounds suddenly. The trick is to KNOW you are doing everything right and keep doing it. Your weight today doesn't dictate the work you put in today. Just do the work and have faith!

 

[MistrJay]

Good start my man. Don't rush things. Forget about exercise to lose weight. Exercise is not for fat loss. Diet is for fat loss. Exercise will make you eat more. But exercise is necessary to create a stimulus that you adapt to. Focus on being able to "do" more with your exercise - i.e. - lift more weight, run further, etc. But limit your time exposure. Either do it well or rest.

As far as the weigh-in's - I am going to go against the grain. Weighing once a week or twice a week is a bad habit. I bet before you started this you never weighed yourself at all. If infrequent weighing got you here, why do you want to lean more toward that pattern? Get on top of it and pay attention and be mindful.

Now having said that, weight fluctuates and stalls, etc. So LOG your weight. If you have a bad reading, you can look at the overall trend and keep it in perspective - a bluetooth scale that logs and graphs these results is awesome for this. Sure you may bounce up 2-3 pounds one morning, but you won't beat yourself up too much because you will see that you've come down and it is one anomaly or bad day and you will get right back on it. But in order to build momentum with the data, you HAVE TO COLLECT THE DATA. I personally weigh myself twice a day. And I know at night I weigh a certain amount more usually after I eat. And I know in the morning I will normally weigh 3 pounds less. And if I am up or down...whatever, it is the trend over time that matters. And if I fall off the wagon, it is good to step on the scale and see, "Geez, I'm up 5 pounds today." Obviously I know a lot of this is usually water weight and will come back off quickly, but knowing I just jumped gets me RIGHT BACK IN LINE.

But on the other hand, don't try to expect linear weight loss. In the beginning it can seem easy - "Week 1 and I've lost a pound a day." then day 9 and you expect to lose "at least a half pound today" and it doesn't happen. Well, of course not. It doesn't work like that. You lost a lot of water in week 1. As time goes on, it will get harder and harder to predict. Search throughout these threads and look at how many threads on here say, "I've been losing 2 pounds a week, now I haven't lost anything in a week." and everyone jumps to try to make it happen again - but it's futile. This just happens. It slows. You will have a week where you do everything right and you seem like you've gained 0.5 pounds and then suddenly the next week (if you continue plugging) you lose 3 pounds suddenly. The trick is to KNOW you are doing everything right and keep doing it. Your weight today doesn't dictate the work you put in today. Just do the work and have faith!

Yeah I bought a Bluetooth scale off Amazon a while back and stepping on it to see that I weighed 233lbs at 5’7” was not what I wanted for myself or future so that’s what got me to start this journey.

I wasn’t consistent with the weigh-ins as you predicted, but I’ve been trying to weigh myself everyday in the morning after I wake up and take a dump, that way I guess to be more accurate. I did gain a pound overnight, but I’m trying to take your approach and not let it derail the process. I have a better meal plan that I’m going to start this weekend and hopefully that will help me to start feeling better and seeing some better weight loss in the future.

 

[justhere4comm]

@HIT4ME
^ This man knows about weight loss.

I will disagree on a personal level with regard to exercise causing one to eat more.
I have the opposite response. My appetite is suppressed when I start moving around and recomping.

I actually have to force myself to eat sometimes, knowing I need protein, and want to eat cleaner.
Its' strange that my tastes and cravings are flipped.

When i was gaining weight; and not active, I craved everything bad for me.
it was the strangest feeling wanting ice cream, and other snacks that comforted. Carb-a-bunga.
Now, I'm craving things like sardines in olive oil; I love my orange juice / banana with egg protein powder.
I no longer have a taste for sweets like ice-cream. I'd rather have a handful of almonds dusted with cocoa powder.

Bananas are a treat too.
It's as if the effort being put forth; is asking to be rewarded with high octane fuel.
The body knows.

 

[MistrJay]

@HIT4ME
^ This man knows about weight loss.

I will disagree on a personal level with regard to exercise causing one to eat more.
I have the opposite response. My appetite is suppressed when I start moving around and recomping.

I actually have to force myself to eat sometimes, knowing I need protein, and want to eat cleaner.
Its' strange that my tastes and cravings are flipped.

When i was gaining weight; and not active, I craved everything bad for me.
it was the strangest feeling wanting ice cream, and other snacks that comforted. Carb-a-bunga.
Now, I'm craving things like sardines in olive oil; I love my orange juice / banana with egg protein powder.
I no longer have a taste for sweets like ice-cream. I'd rather have a handful of almonds dusted with cocoa powder.

Bananas are a treat too.
It's as if the effort being put forth; is asking to be rewarded with high octane fuel.
The body knows.

If I work out in the morning I get this same feeling of not being hungry until hours later.

If I get my workout in at 6:30am I can go until almost 10:30-11:00am before my body goes “oh yeah I’d like some food now.”

I’ve also noticed my cravings for sugar have ceased to exist and I’ve cut Mountain Dew/energy drinks out of my life as well because the energy is too crazy for me to handle properly.

 

[MistrJay]

I’ve also got some creatine leftover from late last year that I never really used. Should I start taking some of that while on this cut?

 

[GOD OF WAR]

45 minutes of cardio every day and a 500 caloric deficit. Add resistance training to tighten everything up during the process. Optional GW-501516 from SARMS4Sale (www.sarms.forsale) to make the cardio more enjoyable.

 

[MistrJay]

45 minutes of cardio every day and a 500 caloric deficit. Add resistance training to tighten everything up during the process. Optional GW-501516 from SARMS4Sale (www.sarms.forsale) to make the cardio more enjoyable.

I’m doing a 20% deficit as of this moment. I will up my cardio, but it’s been a while since I’ve done cardio seriously. I’ll pick some of that up.

 

[SkRaw85]

I am a firm believer in creatine. Ive taken it consistently for so long I can’t remember. Some will argue about retaining water, but honestly it’s so negligible unless you are pro status and single digit body fat. There are multiple health benefits as well.

 

[MistrJay]

I am a firm believer in creatine. Ive taken it consistently for so long I can’t remember. Some will argue about retaining water, but honestly it’s so negligible unless you are pro status and single digit body fat. There are multiple health benefits as well.

I’ll start adding it in with my morning routine as well as the GW I just ordered.

 

[HIT4ME]

@HIT4ME
^ This man knows about weight loss.

I will disagree on a personal level with regard to exercise causing one to eat more.
I have the opposite response. My appetite is suppressed when I start moving around and recomping.

I actually have to force myself to eat sometimes, knowing I need protein, and want to eat cleaner.
Its' strange that my tastes and cravings are flipped.

When i was gaining weight; and not active, I craved everything bad for me.
it was the strangest feeling wanting ice cream, and other snacks that comforted. Carb-a-bunga.
Now, I'm craving things like sardines in olive oil; I love my orange juice / banana with egg protein powder.
I no longer have a taste for sweets like ice-cream. I'd rather have a handful of almonds dusted with cocoa powder.

Bananas are a treat too.
It's as if the effort being put forth; is asking to be rewarded with high octane fuel.
The body knows.

Haha, thanks brother. You know a thing or two and have come a long way yourself!

As far as the exercise...yeah, I can see a little of both. Some studies clearly show that we have a kind if built-in thermostat for exercise/food balance. Obviously when we eat less, we tend to have leas energy and there are signals to move less - which reduces NEAT and is often part if the metabolic slow down that people blow out of proportion.

There are also studies that show that when people start exercising, they actually spend more time later in the day doing less activity - again maybe this has to do with NEAT and they don't jump around as much when watching the football game as normal it whatever. It is like we have some kind if subconscious balance thing going on.

But what I am saying is that sometimes people exercise too much. When you start to go overboard with a huge amount of activity, especially cardio, leptin levels plummet and you will become ravenous eventually.

Having said all that, there was a study I saw about a year ago that showed TRPV1 receptors in the brain do reduce hunger. One if the authors noted that for a while after running on the treadmill he was never hungry and he suspected that this may have something to do with his increased body temp during exercise and his study showed that there are heat sensing receptors in the brain and they do ill appetite. So, yeah, you are right about that too.

How does capsaicin treat you?

 

[MistrJay]

Haha, thanks brother. You know a thing or two and have come a long way yourself!

As far as the exercise...yeah, I can see a little of both. Some studies clearly show that we have a kind if built-in thermostat for exercise/food balance. Obviously when we eat less, we tend to have leas energy and there are signals to move less - which reduces NEAT and is often part if the metabolic slow down that people blow out of proportion.

There are also studies that show that when people start exercising, they actually spend more time later in the day doing less activity - again maybe this has to do with NEAT and they don't jump around as much when watching the football game as normal it whatever. It is like we have some kind if subconscious balance thing going on.

But what I am saying is that sometimes people exercise too much. When you start to go overboard with a huge amount of activity, especially cardio, leptin levels plummet and you will become ravenous eventually.

Having said all that, there was a study I saw about a year ago that showed TRPV1 receptors in the brain do reduce hunger. One if the authors noted that for a while after running on the treadmill he was never hungry and he suspected that this may have something to do with his increased body temp during exercise and his study showed that there are heat sensing receptors in the brain and they do ill appetite. So, yeah, you are right about that too.

How does capsaicin treat you?

Are you asking me how capsaicin treats me?

 

[MistrJay]

Did workout A tonight of StrongLifts 5x5 with skull crushers as an assistance exercise. Slowly adding more stuff in as I go and feel stronger, but here are my lifts from tonight.

 

[jtbull]

subbed.

Looks like your size really is not that bad if you hit the weights you might even want to think 185-195 as you got some fat, but its not totally slobby.

 

[jtbull]

Did workout A tonight of StrongLifts 5x5 with skull crushers as an assistance exercise. Slowly adding more stuff in as I go and feel stronger, but here are my lifts from tonight. View attachment 192074

Which tracker is this? Looks cool

 

[MistrJay]

Which tracker is this? Looks cool

It’s the StrongLifts 5x5 app they on iOS. It keeps you on track for both workouts plus you can add in assistance or your own exercise if you want.

 

[MistrJay]

subbed.

Looks like your size really is not that bad if you hit the weights you might even want to think 185-195 as you got some fat, but its not totally slobby.

Haha I appreciate that, but in person it’s not that great. 165 is probably the lightest I want to go. I eventually plan on starting BJJ when I can afford to do so and have some time cut out for that.

 

[MistrJay]

How do you guys film your form to have people check and critique it?

I feel like I’m doing something wrong because when I squat the bar my hips are a bit stiff during warmups and then when I load the bar I’m totally fine. (Probably because I don’t really stretch or have researched any stretches).

 

[Resolve10]

I just prop my phone with a shaker and use that to film.

You could just be loosening up as you warm up and the added weight helps "push" you down into a better stretch. As long as you get to the full ROM by the working sets you should be good. I always find just doing more of the movement I want to do as a prep and warm up is usually better than a bunch of extra fancy stuff unless a specific issue requires it.

 

[MistrJay]

I just prop my phone with a shaker and use that to film.

You could just be loosening up as you warm up and the added weight helps "push" you down into a better stretch. As long as you get to the full ROM by the working sets you should be good. I always find just doing more of the movement I want to do as a prep and warm up is usually better than a bunch of extra fancy stuff unless a specific issue requires it.

Okay. Yeah I’m usually good by the working sets and I try to get to parallel or a bit below.

 

[BennyMagoo79]

How do you guys film your form to have people check and critique it?

I feel like I’m doing something wrong because when I squat the bar my hips are a bit stiff during warmups and then when I load the bar I’m totally fine. (Probably because I don’t really stretch or have researched any stretches).

Hips feel stiff because core is not activating until you are loading it up. Dead bugs, straight single leg raises, bridges etc are great for activating core prior to loading.

 

[MistrJay]

Hips feel stiff because core is not activating until you are loading it up. Dead bugs, straight single leg raises, bridges etc are great for activating core prior to loading.

Okay. I need to work on my core as well. On days I lift I’m going to do abs after lifting to start strengthening for the future.

 

[HIT4ME]

I just prop my phone with a shaker and use that to film.

You could just be loosening up as you warm up and the added weight helps "push" you down into a better stretch. As long as you get to the full ROM by the working sets you should be good. I always find just doing more of the movement I want to do as a prep and warm up is usually better than a bunch of extra fancy stuff unless a specific issue requires it.

Pretty much my thoughts here. I actually find my form suffers a little under lighter weights. Muscles are like elastic bands, they get force with stretch, so more weight can push you into a stretch more and create more force. I am a big believer, as Resolve said, in doing more warm up sets of the exercise rather than stretching or getting fancy. Sometimes it is good just to get the extra practice of the motion with a lighter weight.

In contrast to this, Jeff Cavilier recommends doing hip thrusts with a bar/weight across your upper thighs before squatting - as it activates the glutes and the hip hinge.

One other thing I notice - I am often stiff squatting with light weights and it gets better as I work up in weight, but I definitely find this gets worse when I am squatting more often. In some cases it could be a sign that your training needs a frequency adjustment.

 

[MistrJay]

Pretty much my thoughts here. I actually find my form suffers a little under lighter weights. Muscles are like elastic bands, they get force with stretch, so more weight can push you into a stretch more and create more force. I am a big believer, as Resolve said, in doing more warm up sets of the exercise rather than stretching or getting fancy. Sometimes it is good just to get the extra practice of the motion with a lighter weight.

In contrast to this, Jeff Cavilier recommends doing hip thrusts with a bar/weight across your upper thighs before squatting - as it activates the glutes and the hip hinge.

One other thing I notice - I am often stiff squatting with light weights and it gets better as I work up in weight, but I definitely find this gets worse when I am squatting more often. In some cases it could be a sign that your training needs a frequency adjustment.

I’m usually stiff during the warm up sets, but as soon as I load it or get to my working sets for the day I’m fine.

I’m going to start incorporating some pigeon pose and also core exercises as per BennyMagoo’s suggestion after my workouts for the day and after cardio on my off days.

 

[MistrJay]

Finished workout A. Squats felt a little heavier today in the beginning, but that’s probably because I was a little out of focus on lifting, but I got them done and made the last 3 sets count. Everything else felt good. Plan on doing some core work and starting my GW cycle for the next 8-12 weeks.

 

[MistrJay]

Took my first dose of GW. I’m gonna start off at 10mg the first week then ramp up to 20mg for the next 6 and then taper back down to 10 for the last week. It’s been a while since I’ve been on any compound and I forgot how much the alcohol suspension burns. XD