https://www.muscleforlife.com/the-definitive-guide-to-intermittent-fasting/

I'm a big Michael Matthews fan. Sure he uses these educational opportunities to try to sell his products, but all his articles are based on peer-reviewed scientific research.

This is a good article that discusses IF. I think he personally uses a 16/8 IF with fasted exercise when he's cutting.

Also if you have questions about the article Mike will usually respond to comments.

Just started dieting 1/2/18 hope this is something to reflect on

Personal info
31 M 5'7

Starting point
208 weighed in at 6pm 1/2/18

Goals
170
Nutrition. Get healthy

Motivation
Feeling like a balloon
Poor nutrition causes poor health conditions like limp D.

Strategy
Run/sprints or gym everyday
eat healthy
Decrease alcohol intake
Stay focus eliminate distractions avoid conversations at the gym

Hoping this encourages me to getting lean and healtht

M/35/5'10"

Starting point-245.6

Goals-Under 200 by end of August, build upper body muscles, run half marathon in Dec

Motivation-I have an 18 month old I need to keep up with. My body is not enjoying carrying the extra weight.

Strategy-Calorie count to maintain small deficit, go to gym 2 times/week to lift, begin run/walking and work up to 5k by spring.

How can we help-Accountability. Was doing very well last year. Started at 253 and was down to 226 and let 19lbs creep back on.

Gotcha on the spreadsheet. Welcome aboard.

Welcome, jakal. You're on the spreadsheet.

One day getting low after ballooning up won't be as easy.

Personal info:
F/38/5'2

Starting point:
about 115 - Don't necessarily need to see the number go down as much as a recomp

Goals:
- Lose belly fat
- gain some more muscle

Motivation:
- I just wanna be real strong

Strategy:
- Lift 5x per week
- Run 3-4x per week.

How can we help
- Some jovial competition. Tell me nice things on strava when I do well and mean things when I don't.

Personal info
43 Male / Married with 2 kids (14 & 12)

Starting point
286 / ~34% BF / 36.7 BMI (based off the Higi machine at HEB)

Goals
Not have the scale groan when I get on it
Seriously, weight to 230, BMI 30

Motivation
Tired of having to shop at DXL

Strategy
Diet -- focus on one meal at a time until it becomes a habit
Exercise -- combination of cardio / strength training

How can we help
keep me honest
advice
encouragement

Personal info
Old fat guy - 40s

Starting point
220

Goals
170 lbs.
BMI: 31.6 -> 24.5
Able to run 3 miles @ 9 min mile pace or better
become old healthy guy

Motivation
The usual - health, family, yada yada yada...

Strategy
Joined OTF - 5x week goal.
Take up jogging on off days
Diet - eat healthier, reduce alcohol consumption, etc.
Track meals

How can we help
Keep thread active

Do you have a good bailout fast food meal just in case?

Something that has helped me dieting is always having a good backup plan for days when I forget to bring a lunch or just don't have time.

For example, in a pinch I know a Chick-fil-a 12-nugget meal with the superfood side instead of fries is 595 calories. Not as good as what I'd make at home but it's way better to have decided on that ahead of time then trusting myself to figure it out when I'm hungry.

Anyone else have any suggestions on *relatively* healthy options for those times you don't plan ahead?

I see a lot of people looking for some sort of accountability. Would anyone be interested in a whatsapp chat? I've used it before for fitness challenges, and it's a bit more personal as it's really a chat group. I think 5-10 people is probably ideal. If people are interested, I'll create a group.

I'd be down

bagger05 said:

---

Do you have a good bailout fast food meal just in case?

Something that has helped me dieting is always having a good backup plan for days when I forget to bring a lunch or just don't have time.

For example, in a pinch I know a Chick-fil-a 12-nugget meal with the superfood side instead of fries is 595 calories. Not as good as what I'd make at home but it's way better to have decided on that ahead of time then trusting myself to figure it out when I'm hungry.

Anyone else have any suggestions on *relatively* healthy options for those times you don't plan ahead?

---

Bailout meals - (I eat carbs, so this won't help the Keto folks)
- Poke/ Sushi - type. There will be two Poke restaurants within walking distance of my office pretty soon.
- Subway 6" sandwich, or another sandwich place if possible - Subway doesn't use the best food products.
- Any Mediterranean place with a rice based bowl.
- Juice/ Smoothie type restaurants - some can be considered "meal replacements", but it depends on your hunger level - usually not a problem for me.
- Salads from places like Freebirds/ Chipotle/ Bullritos - satisfies the Mexican Food cravings.

I think the bailout meal idea is something I need to implement.

As for the Whatsapp group, count me in.

I think I need your names from social media, or a phone number to add you in whatsapp. You can email me or add me. lesleyhakari at gmail

Here are some more go-to options for me. Not strictly anti-carb but mostly don't contain bread, potatoes, or sugar (except taco and BBQ sauce).

• Chick-fil-a 12-nugget meal with a superfood side (595 calories)
• Chipotle burrito bowl, no rice, just beans, meat, salsa, and guacamole (allegedly less than 600 calories but I don't trust their portions so eat slow and leave some on the plate)
• Taco Bell 3-taco meal with sauce (about 550 calories)
• KFC 3-piece grilled chicken meal with no biscuit and green beans (about 500 calories)
• BBQ place - one meat plate with pinto beans and green beans (usually can do it for under 600 calories but you have to go easy on sauce and again beware of portion sizes -- assumes 4 oz and most places give you more -- least to most calories: turkey, ham, chicken, brisket, pulled pork, sausage)

Personal info
34, Male, Married w a 21 month old daughter.

Starting point
5'11", 216lbs as of this morning. Need to get my body composition measured, but based on my own caliper readings maybe 12-13% body fat. A month after my daughter was born in 2017, I had hit my heaviest point ever at 246lbs, looked terrible, felt terrible. It's amazing what slow steady progress can do.

Goals
Weight to 190 and/or composition to 6-8% bodyfat, whichever happens first.

Motivation
I have an ankle that is in pretty rough shape (4 surgeries in 10 years) and less weight mean less strain and pain on the joint. Also, I want to be an active, healthy dad, and do not want to be in the place I was at in spring of 2017 ever again.

Strategy
-I have been intermittent fasting since May, with positive results. My personal opinion on it, is that like much of the fitness advice out there, its effectiveness is probably somewhat overblown, however for me I realized that I eat large portions when I eat, so limiting myself to two large meals a day has helped with balancing calorie restriction and satiation.
-Need to clean up diet a bit more, especially after holidays. Going back to eating mostly salads and such for meals during week, starting next week.
-5x5 routine, but with some additional elements added to increase intensity. Main reason for doing 5x5 is to rehab my squat. Started in December with just the barbell, adding weight at half the pace. Old squat max was around 430.
-The ankle presents a challenge as it rules out a number of cardio options.

How can we help
Sharing your successes- its always motivating to hear about others moving towards their goals
Accountability and regular tracking, outside of my normal routine
Advice/ideas for when things get stale or a plateau is hit

got 3 of us in the whatsapp group so far. Let me know if anyone else wants added.

aggiespartan said:

---

I think I need your names from social media, or a phone number to add you in whatsapp. You can email me or add me. lesleyhakari at gmail

---

Email sent

CoachRTM said:

---

aggiespartan said:

---

I think I need your names from social media, or a phone number to add you in whatsapp. You can email me or add me. lesleyhakari at gmail

---

Email sent

---

got you!

PERSONAL

Female
49 y/o
3 kids

STARTING

Need to weigh in.

I lost about 30 lbs last year. Gained a few back over the holidays and I'm working to lose those. Then I'd like to lose another 15 to 25. Losing another 15 gets me back down to a normal BMI.

MOTIVATION

Some vanity, some health. I don't want to get to the point where I'm so unfit that I can't do things that I want to as my kids get older.

I play the bagpipes. I started playing again last year and if I wanted to compete I had to be able to get back into my kilt. A new kilt cost about $600; I decided that I just needed to lose the weight.

STRATEGY

I don't really exercise much. My weight loss is all diet. I used Weight Watchers "new" freestyle program last year. Plan on doing the same again.

I'll need to post weight and update spreadsheet later as I don't have that handy right now.

aggiespartan said:

---

I see a lot of people looking for some sort of accountability. Would anyone be interested in a whatsapp chat? I've used it before for fitness challenges, and it's a bit more personal as it's really a chat group. I think 5-10 people is probably ideal. If people are interested, I'll create a group.

---

You could also use a Strava group. It will show workouts and syncs up with Garmin and other devices. There's an existing TexAgs group we could use or start a new one for this thread.

Here's the link to the existing group for anyone interested.

I'm currently sitting at 5 out of 60 for hours logged this week. Who knew.

Personal info
42yo Male, 6'1" Married, 2-kids, Houston desk jockey

Starting point
205 - October 24, 2018

Goals
Maintain between 175-180 long term, recomp/add muscle ideally.


Strategy
Pay attention to diet. Cutting out all liquid calories, no snacking, eating significantly less of whatever we have at meal time at home, and ordering chicken, fish and veggies while out instead of pasta, sandwiches, and potatoes. Exercise moderately.

Motivation
Stress builds up and my brain hits the IDGAF button for months/years at a time. In October, I had my first full physical in forever and was not pleased with any of the numbers. I have since dropped down to ~186 as of today.

I have been as low as 170 before, but that's being really strict on things. Intense exercise backfires on me as far as weight goes, I end up feeling miserably hungry after intense workouts, but moderate stuff seems more manageable without slipping on quantity of food.

FYI, for people who have been listing specific goals I've been adding you to the spreadsheet. Folks like chimpanzee and spartan I wasn't really sure what you wanted to track so you're not on there. Feel free to hop on and put in your goals if you have something you want to track.

Personal info
29 yo, Male, 1 kid, DFW (soon to be Oregon)

Starting point
5'8" 165 lbs 18.5% BF (hydro test)
Lost 50 lbs to get down to 145 lbs and 14.9% BF from 195 and probably 35%+
Spent most of 2018 bulking up to where I'm at now.


Goals
12% BF at 165 lbs
Bench 240
Deadlift 315
Run a sub 25 min 5k

Motivation
Just want to be strong and have better cardio-vascular health for my family. We are moving to the Pacific Northwest soon where we will have lots of outdoor activities available, and I'd like to be able to do anything.

Strategy
12% BF at 165 means I'd have to lose 10 lbs of fat and gain 10 lbs of muscle from where I'm at now. It will probably take 2 cuts and 1 bulk.
Lift 3x/week
Run/Cardio 3x/week

How can we help
I'm not real well versed in the cutting/bulking game. Any tips?

Re: cutting/bulking

The difference is your diet. Calorie deficit = cut, calorie surplus = bulk. If you're cutting you can add some additional cardio if you want but overall I don't think there's much of a need to totally change your routine.

What's your lifting experience? If you haven't spent much time in the gym you can probably make strength gains while losing fat. In my experience "recomposition" isn't as mythical as many people make it out to be. Some act like this is only a possibility if you've never set foot in a weight room before. I'd say it takes a year of consistent, effective weight training before it becomes almost impossible to make strength gains without putting on some weight.

Even if you're in the phase where you are losing fat and getting stronger at the same time, I think it's wise to focus on one or the other. I say start with the hardest part, so unless you have a proven history of struggling to add muscle I would recommend cutting first. Get down to your desired body fat range and then bump up the calories to add muscle.

Mentioned it on the thread before but I recommend Bigger, Leaner, Stronger by Michael Matthews. A fundamentally sound approach to diet and weight training. It addresses cutting and bulking in detail.

Caveat regarding Bigger, Leaner, Stronger: this book is more about building your ideal physique and it isn't big on cardio. So if you have specific cardio intensive goals you probably need to run more than the author would advise.

Lesley, Add me and Melynda please.

Email me your numbers. You aren't showing up for me in the app.

Female 44

Starting point: 170

Goal: 155
- Fit my cute clothes
- gain some more muscle

Motivation: Better golf fitness

Strategy:
- Lift 5x per week
- Bike 40 miles per week

#fitforpinehurst

Personal info: I'll turn 43 this month, male, married, no kids.

Starting point: 199.9 on morning of January 2nd

Goals: realistic - hit 175 and maintain, stretch - hit 165 and maintain - all while gaining strength.

Motivation: tired of being tired. I can feel that I've gotten physically weaker the past few years. Being out of shape, hating the way I look in clothes, and continually doing nothing about it makes me depressed. That depression carries over into my work and personal life.

Strategy: Keto and weight lifting until I get to my goal. Once I hit my goal I'll mix in some carbs. Plan is to lift 4 days a week. I won't start that until I return from a NOLA conference next week. That'll be fun to stick with keto, but at least there's a ton of seafood.

Last year I was 215 on January 1st and made it as low as 188 via keto only - no working out. I spent most of the year around 192, gaining and losing the same 2 pounds. I definitely felt better. The last 6 weeks of the year I ate and drank anything and everything I wanted, popping back up to just under 204 the evening of 1/1 (not counting that weight as my start because it was NYE 15 hour extravaganza that added several pounds of bloat from salt/booze).

Today: 194.9, after eating keto every day starting 1/2. I technically "fasted" from the evening of 1/1 until dinner on 1/2.

As of this morning I'm 5 pounds down since 12/27 (I started a few days before the new year to get into rhythm). Counting calories, reducing portion sizes, and working out again. I've also been taking great pains not to eat out in January (both for weight and financial reasons) and I think that's helped the most.

Personal info:

Name's Brad, I'm a 39 year old male, married with an 8 year old daughter. Live in Minnetonka, MN and we also have my mom living with us in our basement apartment. I sell pipe and valves in the civil infrastructure market, so I'm behind the wheel a lot, entertaining and all that jazz.

Starting point:

Going off my Nokia Body Cardio scale, 208.3 this morning with 26.8% BF at 5'9" (average figures from the measuring tape methods that bagger05 posted is 19.9%, so not sure which is correct)

Goals:
Trying to stair step this a bit, my first goal is to get back below 200, eventually ending up around 190

Motivation:
My side of the family is all heavy, so I've always tried to live healthy. I've always been active in lifting and playing rec sports, but my diet and propensity to drink large amounts of beer at times hold me back. I also like setting a good example for my daughter. Also, looking good doesn't hurt. Have had two slipped disc instances in the past 6 months also, so hoping carrying less weight will decrease those flare ups.

Strategy:
We have a full power rack in our basement with 300lbs of weights with olympic bar, as well as Power Block adjustable dumbbells up to 75 lbs, as well as a treadmill. No excuse here of "can't get to the gym." I also am part of a local track club working towards competing in the sprints and long jump. Those workouts help. My wife also works out with me, and she's a huge help in the eating department because she's an excellent cook at home and cooks healthy.

What help do I need?
As we all know, TexAgs "knows stuff" so I look to this community for tips and tricks on EVERYTHING. Looking for others in the sales world on tips to eating healthy while on the road (when you don't have meal meetings scheduled).

M/22/5'11" 260lbs. Horrible holiday weight gain, nearly 25lbs. No excuses. Goal is to hit 180 by my ring day

I'm in.

Personal info:
F/31/Married, SAHM/Homemaker, 2 kids (5 & 2)

Starting point:
As of January 1 - 140lbs, 5'3"
My heaviest weight outside of pregnancy.

Goals:
Get back to 120.

Motivation:
My kids
My health
I want to stop feeling so self conscious about how I look
I would like to be at or very near my goal weight for mine and my husband's 10 year wedding anniversary in June.
And I just flat out refuse to go up another jean size.

Strategy:
Get my diet under control with tracking. Regular exercise.

How can we help:
Publicly checking in will keep my accountable, so keep this threading going!