J's Progress Log

A place to track your progress, or lack thereof

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J0
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Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#21

Post by J0 » Tue Jun 29, 2021 9:36 am

6-29-2021

Weight:220.8 Waist:35.5

Macros: Done measuring for a while. Will not be tenable for the remainder of summer, mostly due to my not wanting to while traveling, eating out, BBQ’s, potlucks etc. May reconsider if weight trends upward but for now I am not going to bother.

Workout

Bench: 245x5; 225x8; 205x12; 185x15
Pushups
Curls

Activity: Dog walk

Great day to be alive! Going to try and get a few more workouts in before heading back to the lake house for 5 or so days.

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#22

Post by J0 » Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:03 pm

7-2-2021

Weight: 221 Waist:35.25

Still not tracking food and weight is pretty stable and waist is going down. Perhaps adding in more consistent weight training is providing the smallest of recomps? Regardless, I will take the waist going down, especially with me not being shy regarding food intake. We shall see how we progress, especially over the next week.

Workout

Squat: worked up to 275x8; then 245 3x10
leg curls and ext after

Activity: dog walk, swimming, water skiing, wakeboarding, possible hike (well nature walk a 5 yr old can do).

Pleased overall with how things are going. Really like not being tied to the phone app or thinking about macros etc. I am thinking about it a bit with what I choose but have literally only a guess of my actual intake. I will say, though, unlike previous times I am making a more concerted effort to eat less fat and more carbs. If I didn't care about my health I would always eat all the fat/carb options. Now, though, I am satisfied and happy with what I eat and not worrying about it as much as in the past. The hard part is having "some pizza," not all the pizza. "Some potato salad," not all the potato salad etc. That and I have eliminated most of my alcohol intake. I still have some alcohol on the lake, golfing with buddies etc. but nowhere near the amount I had in the past. Anyway, off to get sunburnt and hopefully scratch the local course!

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#23

Post by J0 » Fri Jul 09, 2021 11:02 am

7-9-2021

Weight: 220.8 Waist: 35.5

Surprised at weigh in and waist. I certainly feel both bloated and dehydrated so kind of expecting a jump in weight over the next few days after getting back to more of my daily routine. Had much more fat (fat+sugar sure does hit the spot) and alcohol over the last week than usual. Carbs were most likely lower than usual.

Going to see what weight does over the next few days and go from there. Feeling like I may keep going as I am for another 2 weeks and then try to lose 10 lbs and 1 – 2 in off the waist. Not sure if I want to go back to keeping track of food via an app just yet but we shall see.

Workout

Deadlift – Work up to 315x8; then 275 3 sets of 8
Pulldowns and curls after

Activity of last week: hiking, swimming, water sports, golf, walking, few bike rides, horseback riding, tried fishing with my oldest (I am such a city slicker...)

Have not done conventional deadlift for a bit but it felt pretty good. Definitely felt it in the hamstrings and lower back. If or when I decide to lose more fat I am going to commit to more proper resistance training.

Hoping to get in 3 or 4 more workouts prior to leaving again next week for a golfing long weekend with buddies.

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#24

Post by J0 » Tue Jul 13, 2021 4:57 pm

Monday 7-12-2021

Weight: 219

10 mile hike alone. It was a great hike and some good alone time. Trail was pretty much all rocks, boulders and stairs. Took an off trail to a nice waterfall then the hike ended at a beautiful lake. Didn’t see any people until I was on my way down. All told it took 4.5 hours. Actual hiking time was probably around 3.75 to 4 hrs. Something like 2500 ft of elevation gain. About 45 min in I realized how not great my fitness is. I am also bad at taking breaks, even if my heart is thumping out my chest and in my ears…. It was a great time and am going to plan a few more hikes in the future.

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#25

Post by J0 » Tue Jul 13, 2021 4:59 pm

7-13-2021

Could not get a workout in yesterday afternoon after hike so got it in today.

Weight: 218 Waist: 35

Bench: Worked up to 275x3; then 225-3x10; 185x15
Incline DB Bench: 85-2x15
DB Upright Rows and Cable Curls

Weight probably down due to hike sweat and not bringing enough food for during and after hike. Legs a bit sore from essentially doing steps ups for over 2 hrs. Bench felt pretty good, 275 moved okay. Still not tracking my food intake or weighing anything. The freedom is great but I am curious what my intake currently is.

Overall I am feeling better than I have in a long time and am grateful I can do something like a 10 mile; which I would have never been able to do 4 or so months ago.

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#26

Post by J0 » Wed Sep 15, 2021 4:14 am

9-15-2021 – Wednesday

Weight: 224 Waist 35.5

Last few months have been crazy but good. However, I am glad summer is over and cooler weather and a more predictable schedule is here. I have been working out usually 2 times a week and some weeks 3. Nothing with any real structure but just to keep some resistance training going. Stress has been fairly high as integrating a third boy into the mix has proven to be more difficult than with the second. That plus travel, “vacations,” road trips (including the accompanying car ride vomit and diaper blowouts), and the general anxiety of not having a routine has worn on me. Preschool, fall, and routine could not have come soon enough. Although, once I have a week or two of recovery from the summer I am sure to look back longingly at the extra time spent with family and friends. BUT right now I am loving the dark, quiet solitude that this 3 am hour offers!

Nutrition wise I have been keeping track using Chronometer and have done so for I would say most days. I have been pushing kcals in order to prepare for another bout of fat loss in the near future.

2 Month Averages: kcals: 4605 Pro: 243.7 Carbs: 686.1 Fat: 99.3
Weight: 223 moving average Waist: 35.5 Last 7 day average

My weight has been up to 226 and down to 221.6 depending on the day with the waist also fluctuating from 35.2 up to 36 in. Some days I ate a ton of pizza, beer, chips, etc. but most days I stick with more whole foods but I always tend to eat a ton of cereal. Occasionally I have felt over stuffed and logging those days put me at over 6000 kcals and predictable my intake would drop the next day under the average.

Plan going forward is to try to get resistance training up to 3 times a week and keep pushing kcals until the waist gets out of control or I simply don’t want to eat anymore. I have surely gained some fat around the waist but I also wonder how much of the increase is due to increased food volume…. Either way I don’t really care but like keeping track of that metric.

I plan to start using the MacroFactor App as I think it will have much more utility going forward than Chronometer. Plus, I like trying out new things and tracking food and weight are not burdensome to me at the moment.

Workout from 9-13-2021 – Monday

Bench – 275x3; 245x6; 225x8
Incline DB fly - 3x12-20
Pushups and tri ext

Workout from 9-14-2021 – Tuesday

Pulldowns - 140 3x12-20
1 Arm DB Row – 65 3x12-20
Curls

J0
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Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#27

Post by J0 » Thu Sep 16, 2021 4:54 am

9-16-2021 - Thursday

Weight - 223.2 Waist 35.5

I used MacroFactor yesterday and so far I think it is a pretty decent app. Logging the food, for me, felt more cumbersome than on previous apps such as Carbon, RP, and Cronometer. However, I am hopeful after time it will just become second nature. I guess I am split between liking the timeline style versus planning out specific meal times. If I want to plan my day each time I add a food I have to scroll to the time slot I want it instead of simply filling in meal slot and moving on. I am pretty sure I am dense but it seems I can't add a meal for say 6:30; I can only place the meal in the 6-7 slot. Not a big deal but messes with my sensibilities. What I am most anticipating is seeing the week to week adjustments based on actual logged kcals and weight.

The onboarding algorithm placed me right about where I was previously. The initial recommendations were kcal: 4378 Pro:189 Fat: 97 Carbs:686. I tried to hit those yesterday but got hungry before dinner so had pretzels and an apple. Predictably my protein was a bit higher and my fat a little lower. Anyway, I plan to try to hit the apps recommendations or close and see what it does. May just use it to maintain or add some "fingers crossed" muscle till the new year and then lose fat in Jan. or Feb. It is difficult mentally after losing weight to think about gaining but I have also never paid attention to diet while lifting for hypertrophy with the goal of gaining weight. What usually happens is when I am motivated to lose weight my motivation to exercise also increases. However, once the diet/nutrition motivation goes, my motivation to exercise departs along with it. Might as well try to purposefully gain once and see how it goes.

9-15-2021 Nutrition
kcals: 4628 Pro: 224 Fat: 90 Carbs: 744

9-15-2021 Workout

Squat - 245x8; 225x12,12
Leg Press - 8 plates 3x12-20
Leg Curls/Ext - 2 sets each, 12-20 reps

Not sure why I keep doing squats as I really don't care for them. However, I don't really do any compound lifts past an RPE 6 or 7, thus I stay at a relatively low weight. My only strength goals are to maintain a base of strength such that if I happen to live to 70, 80, etc. I can get off the toilet, brace for a fall, get up after a fall and have enough energy and stamina to not die of a heart attack during old person coitus. Long story short, if I can continue to rep my body weight or more for squats I think I will be able to check those boxes. No data, not evidence based, just opinion.

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#28

Post by J0 » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:40 am

Decided I am going to give slowly gaining weight a try. I was able, with the help of John Helton, to enter my previous kcal and weight data into MacroFactor. Using that data I made my goal of gaining about 10 lbs with a rate of about 1% a month. So today's goal kcal and macros are

kcal:4513 Pro: 224 Fat:100 Carbs: 674

Excited to give this a solid shot.

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#29

Post by J0 » Fri Sep 17, 2021 11:06 am

9-17-2021 - Friday

Weight - 223.6 Waist 35.5
Nutrition from Yesterday kcal: 4406 Pro: 222 Fat: 91 Carb: 672

Was roughly 95 kcal short of the MacroFactor goal, which primarily stems from only hitting 91/100 g of fat. I ate quite a bit later in the evening than I normally do and really didn't feel like trying to hit the 100. And I am sure overall it doesn't matter, but then again what does matter? I am enjoying the app and I do have it on coached mode.

Press - 155x8; 135x12; 115x15
Incline bench - 205 - 3x12
DB Upright Row
Pushups
Curls

Felt pretty good today. Wasn't hungry yesterday but I also didn't exercise or do any real activity. I am quite hungry now but trying to make it till lunch. I may play with allocating more kcal on exercise days instead of an even distribution. However, I don't have a set exercise schedule so not sure what the best way to set it up would be without having to alter it each day I decide to exercise. I guess I could also just actually try to maintain consistent lifting days. But then I would need to bump exercise up on my priority list. It just broke my top 10, maybe in the future it can make it into the top 5! Not gonna lie, I do enjoy getting a good pump but not quite to the extent Arnold did in his Pumping Iron quote... Seems that adding in a bit more fat has actually improved my pumps for whatever reason.

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#30

Post by J0 » Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:34 am

9-18-2021 - Saturday

Weight: 224 Waist 35.6

Yesterdays Nutrition
kcal: 4627 Pro:239 Fat: 90 Carbs:724
Also of note, I started some creatine a couple days ago. Probably should have started this prior to actively gaining weight seeing as it could throw off the numbers due to water weight. It will also be interesting what the weather change will do to my activity level. During this last summer I was fairly active but with more of a home routine and less dry days I suspect my activity level will decrease quite a bit. Perhaps I will add in a little bit of formal cardio, either rower or Echo bike.

Workout

SSB Squat - 225 - 3x8-15
Leg Press - 8 plts - 3x12-20
Leg Curl/Extension

Workout felt pretty good. Still don't have much structure to my workouts. Looks like I default to a Chest/shoulders; Legs; Back sort of program. I suppose I should try and increase my frequency a bit in order to potentiate more muscle growth and mitigate some of the fat gain... We shall see, but I shall agree with Mr. Cube, "I gotta say today was a good day (and I didn't even need to use my AK)."

J0
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Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2018 1:42 pm

Re: J's Progress Log

#31

Post by J0 » Wed Sep 22, 2021 4:16 am

9-19-2021 - Sunday

Trap Deadlift - 315 - 3x8
Pulldowns - 140 - 3x12-20
Inverted Rows
Lateral Raises
Cable Curls

9-21-2021 - Tuesday

Nutrition kcal: 5256 Pro: 248 Fat: 91 Carbs: 853
Weight: 224.4 Waist: 35.4
Day got a little away from me. I got into some Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which got the best of me, and had a bit more than planned.

Bench - 250 - 3x8
DB Press - 50 - 3x10
Incline fly
Pushups
EZ Bar Curls

9-22-2021 - Wednesday

Weight: 225 Waist: 35.6
Weight spike, hopefully from continued use of creatine, which started Saturday, coupled with the carbs from yesterday.

Squat - 275 - 3x8; 225x10
Leg Press - 8 plates - 3x12-20
Leg Curl/Extension - 3 sets each

Was feeling decent so I pushed squats a little harder than normal. After a week with MacroFactor I like its ability to gauge progress dynamically. I keep going over on my kcals because I am actually hungry but it continues to adjust. As mentioned I should have decided to start creatine earlier because it is skewing my weight gain, I think. Waist has been stable within what I consider my measurement error, so hopefully gaining water, muscle with minimal fat but too early to tell. Will keep plodding along and try to stick closer to the apps recommended kcals at least. Workouts are going well. Some nagging 40 year old aches and pains seemed to have subsided for the time being. I hope that continues to be the case as I work on increasing lifting frequency.

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