Background:
Single White Male/33 years old, Machinist with a 4 year old son

Starting Height & Weight:
5'9" 199lbs

Goals:
165lbs and sub 10% body fat

Strategy:
IF & Keto with a couple of long term fasts (5 days) during 2019.

Motivation:
I no longer wish to have this dad bod.
I want to live a healthy example for my son.
I want to be visual proof that I was at one point in the Marine Corps instead of fishing up old photos.

how are you measuring your body fat % just curious ? keep up the good work

azulAg said:

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how are you measuring your body fat % just curious ? keep up the good work

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I have a Weight Gurus scale that magically reads body fat, water and muscle. As noted above, it has proven in the past to consistently be within 1% or so of more accurate methods. Every once in a while I'll get checked my a professional, but for the purposes of tracking progress it's accurate enough and as easy as stepping on the scale.

I'm in. Said I was going to get right last year and didn't.

Personal Info: 37 y/o male. Refinery Operator. Married with two kids and one on the way in July!

Starting point: 293 pounds as of January 1

Goals: I'd love to be at 200 pounds again back to where I was just over 4 years ago when I got off active duty.

Motivation: kids, wife, hobbies, be active again. Already see my kids going down the lazy trail. Nipping that **** in the bud pronto. Also when I was restricted to only certain stores for clothes that was a slap in the face to wake up.

Strategy: I know what to do, just need to make myself do it. Eat better and healthier and be active. Take the kids for walks, ride bikes, start a running program. All in all I need to do what I know is right.

What y'all can do: call me out, motivate, talk ****, encourage. Keep me honest and I'm going to do my damndest to hold my self accountable.

mrsbeer05 said:

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Strategy: macros, consistent strength and running

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Anyone have a good link or resource concerning macros? I'd like to calculate my needs and start tracking them closely, but have never done it before and am a beginner when it comes to this. I'd really appreciate any advice or just a point in the right direction.

Ag12thman said:

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mrsbeer05 said:

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Strategy: macros, consistent strength and running

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Anyone have a good link or resource concerning macros? I'd like to calculate my needs and start tracking them closely, but have never done it before and am a beginner when it comes to this. I'd really appreciate any advice or just a point in the right direction.

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The free My Fitness Pal app makes it super easy to track calories and macros. It's probably the best and most used app for this around the world. When you set up your profile you just input your info and your goals and it will tell you how many calories you need.

I would recommend going in and manually adjusting the macros though, because by default I think MFP puts you at like 50% carbs which is too high. I would recommend something close to a 40/40/20 split (protein/fat/carbs).

iifym.com

IIFYM

Bigger Leaner Stronger by Mike Matthews
(or Thinner Leaner Stronger for the females... haven't read that one but I believe it's the same content but more geared toward the goals girls are typically working toward)

Week 1 update: 236.7 lbs

Awesome - thank you and the others for the info and recommendations. I obviously need to do a bit more research. I also need to do something about something for taking meals with me throughout a long work-day. If anyone has any recommendations on this, please let me know, too.

bagger05 said:

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IIFYM

Bigger Leaner Stronger by Mike Matthews
(or Thinner Leaner Stronger for the females... haven't read that one but I believe it's the same content but more geared toward the goals girls are typically working toward)

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I haven't read this whole thread yet (so sorry if you spoke on this someplace in it or in another thread), but have you done this program (book) yourself? If so, I'm assuming you had great results? Thanks for your help!

This morning: 139.0

Had a 10 mile "run" this weekend - 12:49 pace.

Have a marathon this coming weekend that I'm nowhere near prepared for. My goal is just to finish the race. My stretch goal is to beat 6 hours (13:30 pace). We'll see how much mental fortitude I have.

Weigh-in (already input into the spreadsheet)
Start : 233.4
1/7 : 231.8

Starting point

286 / 34.54% BF / 36.70 BMI

Check In

285 / 34.46% BF / 36.58 BMI

I've been using BLS as the philosophy of my weight lifting for a couple years. I've gone through lulls where I wasn't in the gym as often but overall I've seen steady progress on my strength. I recently got measured for some clothes at a place where they had some measurements on file. Last time I got measured was end of 2016 so about two years ago. I've added almost 4" to my chest circumference.

There's nothing mysterious about the program. Just basic compound lifts mostly. To me the biggest thing about the program is the philosophy of adding either reps or weight EVERY SINGLE TIME you go to the gym. Early on you can go up 5 lbs every week or two. I'm to the point now where on some of my lifts I won't even bump up by 2.5 lbs for a few weeks. I don't think the pace is important (slower is probably better, actually) but making SOME increase every time is what's important.

But tracking progress and going into the gym every time with a goal has helped me mentally and been a big part of why I've been more consistent about going to the gym the last few years than at any other point in my life.

On the diet side of things he recommends a protein/carb/fat breakdown of about 45/38/17 for cutting. He has his reasons and lays them out, but I personally think he recommends more protein than what I need and it's always been hard for me to stay that low on my fat intake. Carbs he discusses the usual suspects: don't eat sugar, stay away from white carbs like bread and potatoes, eat lots of vegetables, etc. Following the diet strictly would take a lot of work and planning. I've never followed through in my attempts to stick with it and find basic calorie tracking and common sense is a better fit for me.

I'd rate the weight training program as an A+ and the diet as a B or B-. It's sound scientifically but hard to follow.

Week 1 check-in: 138.0

1/2 - 229 @ 30% BF

1/7 - 229 @ 29% BF This is after eating and drinking water

Incredibly disappointed. I have been down all week, and then this nonsense. Different scale and stuff might be the reason.

is there a Thinner Leaner Stronger for Males?

Seriously, at my size (5'9" 207) I'm already barrel chested, broad shouldered and have quads that don't match up to my waist size when buying pants. I don't need to get bigger, it's already a ***** to buy shirts and pants that fit.

I personally recommend weighing in (and measuring if you do calipers or tape) every day if you're not already. So many variables. How much salt have you eaten, are you dehydrated, when was your last BM, etc. If you want to track your progress compare an average of three, five, or seven days. Whatever noise you're seeing from measurement errors and variations caused by your lifestyle and body rhythm will cancel out.

Even when I behave on the weekend I see a spike on Mondays like clockwork.

Lol the book includes plenty of advice on cutting.

I don't use it anymore, but this weight/bf/tdee calculator is really handy. I agree with Bagger, weigh yourself everyday and take the average... which is what this spreadsheet does for you.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7gGXXQIy4R4ejRRNkZHZHFDOW8/view

This one is the same, but without bodyfat measurements.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8EbfzFB0mBrMGJ6V2N5QWNfeTg/view

Update 1/7:
128 Lbs

17.5%BF


BF Calculator I'm using

Better late than never....

31M, married, two kiddos, sit at a desk all day

Currently at 5'11" 181lbs, around 25% body fat

Goal is to be back in the 150s.

Motivation is to lose the dad bod (gut and love handles) and MAYBE hit my long time goal of a sub 2 hour half marathon (I am a bad runner, PR is 2:03).

Strategy is some combination of IF, lots of cardio, making an effort to eat less junk, and not eating 3-4 Quaker chewy bars every night....

Made a couple updates based on recent posts and sorted the info based on your last check in date.

Standard procedure will be for folks to update sometime on Monday, and then on Tuesday I'll post the screenshot and tag the folks who haven't checked in to give them a reminder.

Monday morning check-ins? Ugh, how about Wednesdays?

Thanks Bagger and LT, off for gym lunch

I agree. Gotta give my beer belly time to stabilize after the weekend!

Feel free to update the spreadsheet as often as you like. I put in my info every weekday since I'm tracking it anyway.

I weigh every morning so I may do that. You gonna put BF% on there?

Update 1/7:

220 lbs - net zero lost.

Workouts:
6 OTF workouts
1 mile @11:00

Pahdz said:

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I weigh every morning so I may do that. You gonna put BF% on there?

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I'll add another tab for BF% tracking. Anyone who wants to add into that can do so.

Thank you for that thorough and informative explanation regarding BLS. I'm going to check it out more closely online and maybe even see if the local library has the book before I buy it. Appreciate it! Sounds very similar to what I'm looking for.