ren01's 12% BF Club: 7/28 Check In

See Aiming for 12% BF, Who Wants In??? for more details.

Monday 7/7/08

Check in here with updates.

Start Weight: 197.5 lb

Today's Weight: 193.6 lb

Goal Weight: 180.0 lb

I changed my goal weight from 175.0 to 180.0 because I realized that with the added muscle mass I'm gaining from my workouts, losing 22.5 lbs just isn't very feasible. 

Otherwise, I'm on my way... 13.6 lb left to go!  Hoping to weigh 191.0 lb next Monday!

Good idea dcyounts! This should keep us all *honest*

Start weight: 196.5

Today's weight: 189.0

Goal Weight: 180

Your right about the goal weight, I realized 180 might be the actual goal since like I said before weird things happens when u lose just a few pounds past 15% bodyfat. Well it's always easy to change the goal to a lower weight later lol.

I destroyed my shoulders, biceps, and triceps last night. Normally, I would do plyometrics tonight but I sprained my big toe at jujitsu last week so I can't realy jump around much.  Looks like chest and back tonight!

I'm still holding at 228 or so. Between my "Lady Issues" and lack of sleep I'm not digesting as I normally would. (Aren't I polite?)

I am still working out so I am still on track. I hope you all have a successful week.

191 this morning.  By the math that puts me 3 lbs away from 15%.  We'll see....

With the 4th coming up (haha, take that, Brits!) I might have some repair work to do next week.

Start weight: 196.5

Today's weight: 187.0

Goal Weight: 180

Looking in the mirror my best guest would be that I'm somewhere around 14%. The first set of abs are much easier to see now, and I can kinda see the second set. The general shape of whats the abs should look like is there complete with the cut down the middle and a small indent, but I still have the fat gut

Congrats on the loss st_rider!

Well I forgot to post on 6/30 but here were my stats (I was bloated that day btw):
Weight: 194.4 lb (+0.8 lb from 6/23)

And now for today's update:
Weight: 191.2 lb (-3.2 lb from 6/30)

Goal: < 180.0 lb

Start weight: 196.5

Today's weight: 183.5

Goal Weight: 180

Can't believe it's already been another week. I seem to be losing it everywhere except that stubborn lower gut. It has the illusion of looking even bigger since everywhere around it has gotten smaller. 3.5 pounds to sub 12%, looks like I might have to hit the high 170's after all.

It might be better for you to get down to around 175 and then build your way back up with a very slight calorie surplus and heavy lifting.  You would look shredded after that.

I don't think I can possibly get down to 175 without starving myself because I have developed quite a bit of muscle... got my bench back to 260ish :)

I wouldn't be surprised if our difference in height and frame would keep us at two different weight goals. I agree, that cutting to sub 10% and bulking up would probably be the best way to look shredded, but I'm a little sick of bulking.

I think there comes a point when you need to decide if you want to get any bigger. I know that if I get much bigger I won't be able to fit in some clothes not because of fat, but because my arm won't go through the sleeve or my quads won't fit through the pants. The last time I bulked I couldn't do it clean and sure I got stronger, but I also got disproportionately fatter. I think my next goal will be maintenance. I think everyone has their own idea of ideal and if it's a healthy goal I don't see any reason for everyone not to strive for it.

Definitely... every time I tried to bulk, I ended up putting on as much fat as I did muscle... it SUCKED.  Proper diet is my biggest goal right now.  I hope to be a strong 180 permanently because I'd like to be able to cut to 175 when I compete in competitions.

Start weight: 196.5

Today's weight: 188

Goal Weight: 180

Interesting jump eh? I binged somewhat on the weekend, somewhere along 5000+ calories each day, but when you consider I burn a little under 4000 a day the result should be trivial, a pound gained at most. The interesting thing was how insatiable my appetite was when I do not take any protein shakes. I'm also hoping this binge will spur me slowing weight loss.

This did get me to thinking however, the trend line might be my best friend. On Friday I weighed in at 182.5 but the trend line said 188. This is my weight on a calorie restricted diet where I'm undoubtedly carrying less water and undigested food in me than if I was at maintenance. So the goal may be to reach 175 on a diet and bounce back to 180 at maintenance due the extra water/food I'll consume and retain regularly. I'll be watching the trend line much more closely these coming weeks.

Also, if anyone has any ideas about calorie cycling be sure to share! I'm thinking two days a week at maintenance as I'm certain my weight loss is slowing.

The trend-line is the most accurate representation of what you weigh. Just try to keep it decreasing. I consider that the point at which I reach my goal is not when I weigh 180.0 for one day, but when my trend-line is 180.0.

Start Weight: 197.5

Today's Weight: 191.0 (-0.2 from last week)

Trend Line: 191.45 (-1.27 from last week)

Goal Weight: 180.0

Todays Weight:   191.5

Between the dietary debauchery that was the week around the 4th of July, but some added cardio, it seems like pretty much a wash since the last check in.

If schedules and plans had been right, I'd be getting a BF measurement today, but.... best laid plans and all....  not worth getting checked, change isn't significant enough since last measurement to be worth it.

Now, a (long) question:  Training for a Century ride in September, (100 miles on a bicycle), I'd like to incorporate my weight training schedule w/ weekly bike training (40-80 miles once a week, with maybe some shorter rides during the week on normal cardio days).  It's time for me to change my gym routine anyways, so this is a good time to get some new ideas.

My current line of thinking is a 3 day split, upper/legs/upper (different muscle groups on the 2 upper days, obviously), with the big bike ride on day 6.  Does that make sense?  I don't want to kill my legs the day before the ride, and I'd like to have a couple days for them to recover after, so that split looks to make sense to me.   Thoughts?  Anybody have a good routine that matches that split?  Other thoughts?  Timewise, I really don't wanna spend more than 3 days a week going to the gym.

Thanks in advance, great job everybody, keep it up!  (Abs By August!!)

Original Post by ren01:

Also, if anyone has any ideas about calorie cycling be sure to share! I'm thinking two days a week at maintenance as I'm certain my weight loss is slowing.

A member pointed this site out to me and I've used it often. It has lots of different calculators on it, including a calorie cycling option. When I followed it, I lost 1pd/week every week.

Now why did I stop?...

Oh my gosh, I just used that site to calculate my BF% (using a tape measure, as I've never had a skinfold test done), and get this:

I am 7% BF away from being clinically obese. Ready for the kicker?

I am 5'6", 32 and weigh 123pds

Now admittedly,  I find it's never good to weigh yourself in the evening, and I suppose the same could be said for measuring your waist later in the day as well. So tomorrow morning I'm going to hope that I have more accurate results....

And I hope that I'm not just in denial!

Start Weight: 197.5

Today's Weight: 189.0 (-2.0 from last week)

Trend Line: 190.53 (-0.92 from last week)

Goal Weight: 180.0

Almost halfway there!  On a side note, I did NOT touch a single weight last week so this week I'm going to go pretty hardcore with exercise.  I'm going to Jamaica in 15 days and I want to weigh < 187.0 by then.  Stomach muscles still are not visible but muscle definition throughout the rest of my body is significantly more.  My arms are starting to look beast :)

My first official check-in:

Start weight- 126

Todays weight & BF%- 122.8, 23.87%

Used to have a goal weight of 115, but that was before I switched to a BF% goal. I'm not sure how it works, if you can lower BF% without lowering your weight. I'm going to do it in baby steps, aiming for 20% BF, see where I'm at weight wise, and take it from there.

I've been lifting 5 days/week and do cardio about 3 or 4 days/week. From what I've gathered, after lifting in order to simply repair and maintain your muscles, you need to consume your weight in grams of protein- ie- I would need to have 122 grams daily. To do more than maintain, I need more protein than that daily? This is pretty challenging for me- I used to only have around 30 grams of protein daily, if that much!

Welcome queenmedia :)

20% is a very healthy bodyfat % for a female.  Because of your "assets," women will naturally have 5-8% more bodyfat than men.

You CAN reduce your bodyfat % without losing weight.  That would require burning fat while concurrently building lean body mass (i.e. muscle).  If you lose 5 lb of fat and gain 5 lb of muscle, you will weigh the same but have a much reduced bodyfat %.

I'm not sure if you meant to say it, but you do NOT need to eat your bodyweight in protein AFTER a workout.  I wouldn't recommend more than 30-40g of protein at any given meal.  You should aim for about 120g of protein over the course of the entire day.  The amount of protein you eat really doesn't have a whole lot to do with "maintaining your weight."  Instead, the protein is critical to rebuilding the muscle fibers you just tore when lifting weights.  It is also critical for a balanced diet.

If you're having a hard time getting enough protein in your diet, buy specialty foods like pasta/cereal with added protein.  Also, add a little extra meat/poultry/fish to your diet.

Welcome aboard and good luck :)

Hit my first real stumbling block this week. I hit maintenance, but I wasn't really trying to hit maintenance, I just couldn't stay on the diet. Less than 5 pounds to go, but I was having a hard time staying motivated until I looked at some old fitness journals I wrote. I can't believe how long I've been trying to lose weight, 5 YEARS IN THE MAKING. This time I'm going all the way and I'm doing it for the fat kid who believed he kid do anything and didn't let anyone say otherwise.

Start weight: 196.5

Current weight: 183.5 at maintenance

Goal weight: Sub 180 at maintenance