Socrates 12 week Summer Shred!

[Socrates44]

Well I just finished my second year of graduate school towards my degree in Pharmacy. Only two more years and I'll be a licensed Drug Dealer. This is my last summer I get off in school, so I figured I would make it count. I have always been the "how does that guy move so well for his size" guy. Extrememly agile, pretty quick and passed up a D1 football career for a profession in pharmacy. Well seeing as I'm not going to be the star full-back for the Cleveland Brown's anymore, I need to lose the weight. I started about 5 months ago, with a lower carb diet and maintained pretty decent muscle mass.

3 months ago- I weighed 343 lbs @ 6 foot

Today I'm typing this up at 307.2 lbs

I won't be doing a low-carb diet this summer, instead I've decided to follow a 5/6 meals a day with 1 serving of protein and 1 serving of carbs at each meal. I can supplement fat in if needed with EVOO, Macademia nut oil or salmon a few times a week.

My overall weight loss goal is around 40lbs in 3 months. This is just over 3lbs a week, and I realize a lot of you skinny guys are thinking this white boy is crazy, but I don't see this as too lofty of a goal. I am doing 30 minutes of cardio, 6 days a week. I think this diet and workout regimen will help maintain my existing mass and help cut away the fat. My cardio is pretty low impact (Interval on an elliptical or 3.5-4 mph on a 5% incline treadmill)...the treadmill sounds tame, but Jesus H. Christ does it burn after a while.

I plan on doing all dumbbell workouts over the summer (probably 5-6 a week). These will be total body, so I am starting out kinda low to get my body used to repeated stress. The total body workout wont be the same workouts each day, so I can stress different parts of that muscle group. (i.e. tricep extensions one day and then dips the other day).

I'm really not counting calories which may seem stupid, but Im going portion control. A lot of people have told me that this sound like a "body for life" type diet or some sh!t.

I am already on day 2 and pretty freaking sore.

I probably won't update daily, but I will post as often.

Criticism, Support and Tips are all appreciated.

Supplements are pretty tame

Acai Berry Extract
Noni Fruit Extract
Omega 3/6/9
Vitamin B complex
Chromium Picolinate

No Stimulants, No Alcohol


The Only thing I have a problem with is follow through. It makes no sense, since I'm 22 and in my 3rd year of grad school. But when it comes to me, my body I have absolutely no follow though. Well I want this to change this summer, and it will change.

 

[Socrates44]

So its now day five and I am still going strong on this plan. I will tell you doing cardio 6 days a week on an empty stomach followed by a dumbbell routine of a certain muscle group is pretty grueling.

I would think that eating 6 times a day would bring a full level of satiety, was i wrong. I think along with the cardio/weight training and eating 6 small balanced meals a day, my metabolism has been cranked up. I feel warmer during the day, its odd and I can't explain it.

So far I have lost about 4-5 lbs. This is to be expected since most is water weight, but it still gives you a bit of a psycological lift. Funny thing to let myself know that I really am increasing my metabolism.

Weighed myself twice last night, within 30 minutes
308.5
308.3

Those were the two weights. I know throughout the day you gain weight from water and food and what not

When I woke up, after a healthy piss of course, I stepped on the scale again.

302.5
302.5


So over night I literally must have sweated/burned or utilized a lot of whatever was going on inside me.

Also, my calves are looking sharper then ever. I have the full heart going on my left and my right is coming around.

 

[rolandajoint]

what do your macros work out to? cuz if by 1 serving of protein you mean about 24grams, then you are going to need to rework your diet a bit.

i like 40/30/30 protein/fat/carbs. the most general is 40/40/20.

either way, im in. good luck brotha!

 

[Socrates44]

I really wasnt taking macro's into context. Basically each of my carbs per meal is roughly anywhere from 25-50g per meal and my protein is pretty constant around 30g.

My macro's are a little off, and I'm going to tweak it a little.

IF I had to guess its probably around 40/45/15 pcf

I need to incorporate a little more fat and drop my carbs a smidge.

Thanks for subbing, hopefully I won't dissapoint. Looking forward to that saturday work out. woo. haha

 

[Socrates44]

Worked out again today and did 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and 4 set rotations of triceps.

pushdowns
kickbacks
skull crushers
single arm extensions

I'm feeling good, pretty healthy and my mood has improved quite a bit.

I also have a question, I have some DCP and my cheat is tomorrow. Would it be beneficial to me to take 2-3 caps before I go to bed to keep me thermogenic during the night or just every now and then if one of my meals is less than stellar? or both?

It's only been 6 days but I believe I can notice subtle little hints.

For the guys that have done this 6 small meals a day plan, how much weight should I expect to lose. I am doing 30 minutes of cardio + working out with dumbbells mon-sat. I was thinking 2-3 lbs/week because of my size would be an adequate goal.

 

[supersize77]

Worked out again today and did 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and 4 set rotations of triceps.

pushdowns
kickbacks
skull crushers
single arm extensions

Just a helpful pointer but I would do the cardio after weights to maintain muscle mass and further deplete glycogen stores.

I also have a question, I have some DCP and my cheat is tomorrow. Would it be beneficial to me to take 2-3 caps before I go to bed to keep me thermogenic during the night or just every now and then if one of my meals is less than stellar? or both?

I don't know about the DCP but I would be extremely careful with the cheat meal until your bodyfat is lower. It's ok to "cheat" within reason but don't go overboard and undo a significant amount of what you accomplished during the week. I speak from personal experience on this.

For the guys that have done this 6 small meals a day plan, how much weight should I expect to lose. I am doing 30 minutes of cardio + working out with dumbbells mon-sat. I was thinking 2-3 lbs/week because of my size would be an adequate goal.

In the end it comes down to calories in vs. calories burned, regardless of how many meals you eat. I know people may argue that frequent meals speed up the metabolism (and it MAY slightly) but the studies just don't confirm it. One thing small frequent meals do is keep your appetite under control. 2-3 lbs per week is definitely reasonable. You may lose even more initially due to water loss.

 

[boozehound]

Hang in there man! I'm there with you: 6'2, 265 and also in academe...but I have 10 years on you.

 

[Socrates44]

Well the first week went off without a hitch. I felt like I needed to bump the intensity up a bit and so this week I have made a two-a-day challenge. This whole summer I have decided to be selfish and its about me. So lifting and eating right come before everything else.

I'm typing this up at 303.5, so I have lost 4 lbs so far. That is pretty kicking, considering the amount I have been eating. This is my workout schedule for the week.

Monday

9am- 25 minutes of HIIT cardio, followed by back workout. 4 excercises comprising a breakdown of 12,10,8,6,12 (the final 12th rep is using the weight used at 8 reps.)

6-7pm- 30 minutes of low intensity cardio, followed by bicep routine (same guidelines)

Tuesday

10:30am (slept in ) 30 minute of low intensity/Shoulder workout (Same)
8-9 30 minute low intensity/ Chest workout (Same)

Wednesday

hopefully 9:30 am: 25 minutes of HIIT/ Abdominals (havent figured out what Ill do for that yet)

7pm : 30 minutes low intensity/ Triceps (same)

Thursday-Saturday repeat above schedule

I am eating every 2-3 hours on this diet, drinking plenty of water. I am not sure if Ill be able to keep the pace and intensity so this is why this is just a trial this week.

Wish me luck

 

[0-hero]

Good stuff man.

You can do it! (in waterboy accent).

 

[youngandfree]

I think you can do it! The only two suggestions I would make are as follows:
1) Lift before cardio in AM. Your lifts will be better. You can warmup with 5-10 mins of cardio to wake up, but then lift. Then do your focused cardio work. You will be able to end workout with heart pumping, and will carry some thermogenesis a bit longer into the morning.

2)you want to do 4 exercises, 4 sets per bodypart, 2 times/week. Take those 4 exercises, and just do 2 on day 1, then do the other 2 on the second day of lifting that bodypart. It seems counterintuitive, but going hard 6 days a week doesn't leave much time for recovery. If you just do 2 exercises per workout, you can focus more intensity on just 2, instead of having to leave some gas in the tank to get the next 8 sets done. Go balls out for 8 sets and done. You will have a bit more energy left for cardio as well.

I think these slight mods will help keep you from burning out quicker, and it leaves you some room for progression down the road. You might hit a wall at 280 and will need to tweak somethings to get through it. This will leave some tricks in your bag to be able to use when you need to. Also, just weigh in AM, usually once a week, immediately after waking and pissing. For fun, I weigh before I piss, then eliminate a liter or more, and then weigh again. 3-4 lbs in liquid weight sitting in bladder alone. This will give a more accurate BW before you add a days worth of food to your system. And weigh on same day of week, sunday is a good day to know what your goal is for the week.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Socrates44]

I think those are both great ideas YAF, I believe I will incorporate them into my plan next week. This week I am going to try my damndest to stick to what I outlined, but I seriously believe I will be making the adaptations that you have outlined. Thanks a lot for the support.

 

[youngandfree]

No problem. If you start to feel completely run down 6 or 8 weeks down the road, just back off a bit for a week to recharge. Hit each bodypart 1 day that week, 1 exercise, 4 fairly easy sets, and some easy relaxing cardio to stay in the habit, just cut it back a couple notches. After a week or so, get back on the train!

I just read some posts about a guy here, FatAss101, he went from 305-259 since january. His posts didn't indicate he was able to use a gym like you can and still made it happen, so I know you can do it.

 

[0-hero]

Ive done 315+ (scales dont go higher) and im sitting at around 220 currently.

Thats in around 8months.

Its doable, blood, sweat and tears - ive paid in all 3.

 

[Socrates44]

Well I hit a personal goal today, I ended the dumbbell flat bench today and did 75's 6 times. Doesn't sound like much but that is the most I've hit since I had surgery on my chest a year and a half ago, it used to be considerably heavier, but oh well. Did only 22 minutes of cardio but the majority of it was at 3mph @10% grade.

The workout was solid along with the flat bench I did some pushups, cable flys ( bottom to top) and wide grip incline.

Came home and smashed some egg whites, 96/4 ground beef( how awesome is that ratio? Haha), half a green bell and two whole grain tortillas.

Ate again around 2.5 hours after the egg mixture, had 1.5 cups of whole grain rotini (after cooking), 30grams of b/s chicken breast and lemon and a tbs of evoo as dressing.

Relaxing right now, then back to the gym around 630.


I'm already telling I'm gonna be pooped by the end of the week.

Inspirational quote of the day.

" I'd rather spit up my own blood than swallow my pride"

 

[Socrates44]

Well I think the two a days challenge has been quleched. Woke up this morning with a burning throat and found out it was strep. It won't keep me out of the gym, just I won't be there twice daily. That routine was kiciking my @ss though. Like young said, I might get burnt out, and it was approaching. I think the 30 minutes of cardio per session was a bit much.


Haven't weighed myself again, and I won't until Sunday morning. Took a few measurements and not much has changed so far, but my hips are down 2 inches! It's probably a measurmebt error on my part, but I'll be blissfully ignorant and chalk it up to good progress.

On curls while oggling myself in the mirror ( you do it too, so I don't want any flack), I noticed my tricep and bicep are really starting to cut up, not bad for 9 days progress.

Overall I'm feeling good, tired, but I'm sad to say the two a days have vsnquisehd me. I am going to take a day off of the gym tomorrow and start my routine back up on friday.

 

[youngandfree]

Rest up and get rid of strep. Sometimes pushing hard when sick, makes it harder for your body to get rid of it. You won't lose much progress if you take a few days off, or do light cardio, nothing too taxing. Just adjust your calories accordingly to stay on track.

 

[Socrates44]

Well I have been laying low and I feel a bit better. I will probably start back up on working out on Monday. My diet was a but scewed yesterday, but it's back on track today.

Throat is killing me, and protein shakes are out of the question.

 

[Socrates44]

Throat is much better. I feel the rest really helped a lot, not to mention a whole ton of antibiotics.

Arms are getting a little more vascular each day and my stomach fay is extra jiggly. I'm assuming it's breaking up for use, so I'm noting it as a positive until proven otherwise.

Did my pattented tricep destroyer compound today and definately passed the " thalidomide free-throw" after the set. I am a pretty good basketball shooter and it took me 11 attempts to make a freethrow after lifting. I missed the net the first 4 times and barely nicked the rim the 6. I seriously think the bucket was a fluke, because I couldn't shoot for sh!t after the make. Hence, you'll shoot as well as a thalidomide child ( if you don't get the joke, search for it or just think I'm sick)... Or both

Diet is not nearly as clean as it was when started. But I've hit a slow economic patch and money is a bit tight. Still eating every few hours and not making terrible decisions, just not the immaculate ones that started the diet.

 

[youngandfree]

Just keep it up. As long as you keep your workouts intense and keep cardio up, you should be fine on the diet if you still don't go over your calorie requirements. That's the somewhat more important if you have to make sacrifices on some food choices.

BTW, what's the weigh-in? Any change yet?

 

[Socrates44]

I have abandoned the scale for a few weeks (i.e. I think it shorted out when my dog ran inside dripping wet). I cant really gauge myself too well, but I think my dress shirts are fitting a little looser. Good news being that my neck is still super tight, but my chest and upper abdominal region is a little looser. I dont have much neck fat, so Im kinda using this as a reference to muscle retention vs. fat loss/shrink.