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stymee · 06-21-2009, 04:00 PM

Not so short bio:

I am a 35 year old male, 5'7". I have always loved to eat, everyone told me it would catch up to me eventually. Well, it did. My weight had ballooned to 225 over the last 12 years since graduating from college and starting work in the real world. I estimated my body fat to be around 34%. I remember one morning in particular late last December... I bent down to tie my shoes and I noticed that I had to hold my breath to do it. WTF? That just isn't right. I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't the ripped, tanned, six-pack havin' specimen I was in college. Hell, I wasn't even remotely fit, I was a supersized McFatty.

So I started scouring the interwebs. I stumbled upon a web page "What does 200 calories look like" http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-20...-look-like.htm , and the lightbulb went on. I didn't have to spend an hour on the treadmill every day to lose weight, I just had to have some clue as to the amount of crap I was shoveling down my pie hole. Suddenly the problem changed from "I hate cardio and that's the only way I'm going to get in shape" to "I love to eat, but maybe eating a little less won't be so bad".

I read more and more about nutrition, strength training and cardio, and how they work together to burn away all that flabby flab. I started putting together a plan. I was going to shoot for about 3 lbs a week for as long as I could take it. 1500 cal deficit a day, which put me around 1400 calories total intake. I started with keeping the protein at somewhere between .75g and 1g per lb of bodyweight, and let the fat and carbs fall into something like a 30c/40p/30f ratio. I tracked everything I ate on The Daily Plate. I started a little half assed, but once the results started showing, my accuracy improved along with my motivation.

Since I had a Bowflex (*gasp* I know, I know), I bought Ellington Darden's "Bowflex Body Plan" and started my way through the "HIT" like workouts per the book. It was kinda different from stuff I'd dabbled with in the past, so I enjoyed the "1 set to failure". I could get an entire full body workout done in around 30 or 40 minutes, and I could do it right in my house.

I was seeing good results (I had A LOT of fat to lose), but I knew those were mostly due to me sticking to a clean, high protien, low calorie diet. I averaged about 1450 cal/day for the first 8 weeks, and bumped up to around 1600/day for the next 4. I had lost about 35lbs in 12 weeks, and felt like my strength had improved significantly. However, I felt like the workouts were getting a little stale. 1 set of 12 of the same 10 or 12 exercises (lots of them isolation movements) can only stay interesting for so long. I needed something new to keep the drive alive!

Enter JP Fitness, which I stumbled on in late March and just couldn't get enough! I devoured the Fat Loss Troubleshoot, Nutrition, Training and NROL forums. JP turned me on to many other sites that I've made a habit of keeping up with on a regular basis. So, thanks to the proffessionals Leigh, Alan, Coach Hale, Tom, Coach Hayle (I'm sure I've forgotton someone!) and all of you regulars who's consistently thoughtful, enlightening, informational, encouraging and often entertaining posts have surely made a huge difference for lots of other people.

I made the plunge and bought a GoWear Fit for myself and my beautiful wife (who is right there with me on this journey into welness). You see, I'm an engineer, and I absolutely LOVE data. I have been using all kind of spreadsheets with every equation I could find regarding fat loss, calorie burn, body composition, you name it. The one data point that I just could not nail down was the calorie burn. Sure I could estimate with any number of formulas, but it still felt incomplete. The GoWear fit supplied me with that last data point. I know it is probably only accurate within +/- 15%, but at least I could see the changes from day to day based on my activity. Not to mention, the food tracking system is really quite nice, it took a while for my wife to convince me to use it (I started with the nutritional assessment while I still tracked on my beloved The Daily Plate). Once I switched over, I never looked back. The "I ate the same thing as yesterday" button is just awesome.

I also bought the New Rules book and boy am I glad I did! The NROL workouts were SOOOOOO different from anything I've ever done. I don't think I had done a barbell squat or deadlift since high school (I'm so ashamed!). I loved the book so much, I found a 300lb olympic weight set with a real nice New York Barbell rack on Cragslist for $250, SCORE!. Pair that up with a set of SelecTech dumbbells and I had a complete, if somewhat cramped home gym.

My wife and I did the Break In workouts 3 times a week for 3 weeks, and we absolutely loved them. She had been dabbling with some different strength training programs since the beggining of the year, so the combo movements weren't quite as much of a shock to her system as it was mine. I just finished Fat Loss I and am a few workouts in to Fat Loss II. Call me crazy, but I love the BSS with overhead press! (well, I'm cussing all the way thru them, but I love them when they're done!)

Fast forward to today, 6/21/09. I'm 170lbs and somewhere around 13% bodyfat, and feel better than I've felt since High School. I'm fairly certain I haven't put on much lean mass since I've been carrying a calorie deficit the whole time, but by golly I've got a six-pack again!I've been taking body measurements, including skinfolds, since mid January. I know the calipers aren't perfect, but seeing a noticable change in the skinfold measurements is a big motivator for me.

I was originally aiming for 180lbs and 12% bodyfat, but that included some seriously delusional expectations regarding lean mass gain. I've since adjusted my goals twice and settled on an even 165lbs and ~10% bodyfat (as best as I can estimate it). That would put me very close to the condition I was in right after graduating High School. You see, I have this picture of my sister and I the summer after we graduated when I was pretty ripped. It has been a prime motivator for me (no offense, Mahler!). It seemed like an impossibility 6 months ago, but here I am, 3 or 4 weeks from being back in that picture!

I'm sorry for the novel, I told myself I was going to keep this brief, but I got carried away. If you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me! I hope this might be even slightly inspirational for someone out there who may be where I was 6 months ago -- Unhappy with their current condition, but afraid to get started. It's always tough to get started, but if you put in the effort, results will come!

Starting Stats:
12/31/08
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 225 lbs
Waist: 40"
Bodyfat: ~34%

Phase 1 Goals:
By 8/1/09, 7 months
Weight: 165 lbs
Waist: 33"
Bodyfat: 10%
Assuming my bodyfat measurements are close, going from 34% to 10%:
62 lbs of fat lost, 2lbs of lean mass gained

Phase 2 Goals:
By 12/31/09, 5 more months
Weight: ~175lbs
Waist: 33"
Bodyfat: 11%-12%
8 lbs lean mass gained with 2 or 3 lbs of fat along for the ride
Squat: 315 lbs
Deadlift: 325 lbs
Bench: 250 lbs

06-21-2009, 04:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
stymee Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 85	Engineering a Leaner Me Not so short bio: I am a 35 year old male, 5'7". I have always loved to eat, everyone told me it would catch up to me eventually. Well, it did. My weight had ballooned to 225 over the last 12 years since graduating from college and starting work in the real world. I estimated my body fat to be around 34%. I remember one morning in particular late last December... I bent down to tie my shoes and I noticed that I had to hold my breath to do it. WTF? That just isn't right. I finally admitted to myself that I wasn't the ripped, tanned, six-pack havin' specimen I was in college. Hell, I wasn't even remotely fit, I was a supersized McFatty. So I started scouring the interwebs. I stumbled upon a web page "What does 200 calories look like" http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-20...-look-like.htm , and the lightbulb went on. I didn't have to spend an hour on the treadmill every day to lose weight, I just had to have some clue as to the amount of crap I was shoveling down my pie hole. Suddenly the problem changed from "I hate cardio and that's the only way I'm going to get in shape" to "I love to eat, but maybe eating a little less won't be so bad". I read more and more about nutrition, strength training and cardio, and how they work together to burn away all that flabby flab. I started putting together a plan. I was going to shoot for about 3 lbs a week for as long as I could take it. 1500 cal deficit a day, which put me around 1400 calories total intake. I started with keeping the protein at somewhere between .75g and 1g per lb of bodyweight, and let the fat and carbs fall into something like a 30c/40p/30f ratio. I tracked everything I ate on The Daily Plate. I started a little half assed, but once the results started showing, my accuracy improved along with my motivation. Since I had a Bowflex (gasp I know, I know), I bought Ellington Darden's "Bowflex Body Plan" and started my way through the "HIT" like workouts per the book. It was kinda different from stuff I'd dabbled with in the past, so I enjoyed the "1 set to failure". I could get an entire full body workout done in around 30 or 40 minutes, and I could do it right in my house. I was seeing good results (I had A LOT of fat to lose), but I knew those were mostly due to me sticking to a clean, high protien, low calorie diet. I averaged about 1450 cal/day for the first 8 weeks, and bumped up to around 1600/day for the next 4. I had lost about 35lbs in 12 weeks, and felt like my strength had improved significantly. However, I felt like the workouts were getting a little stale. 1 set of 12 of the same 10 or 12 exercises (lots of them isolation movements) can only stay interesting for so long. I needed something new to keep the drive alive! Enter JP Fitness, which I stumbled on in late March and just couldn't get enough! I devoured the Fat Loss Troubleshoot, Nutrition, Training and NROL forums. JP turned me on to many other sites that I've made a habit of keeping up with on a regular basis. So, thanks to the proffessionals Leigh, Alan, Coach Hale, Tom, Coach Hayle (I'm sure I've forgotton someone!) and all of you regulars who's consistently thoughtful, enlightening, informational, encouraging and often entertaining posts have surely made a huge difference for lots of other people. I made the plunge and bought a GoWear Fit for myself and my beautiful wife (who is right there with me on this journey into welness). You see, I'm an engineer, and I absolutely LOVE data. I have been using all kind of spreadsheets with every equation I could find regarding fat loss, calorie burn, body composition, you name it. The one data point that I just could not nail down was the calorie burn. Sure I could estimate with any number of formulas, but it still felt incomplete. The GoWear fit supplied me with that last data point. I know it is probably only accurate within +/- 15%, but at least I could see the changes from day to day based on my activity. Not to mention, the food tracking system is really quite nice, it took a while for my wife to convince me to use it (I started with the nutritional assessment while I still tracked on my beloved The Daily Plate). Once I switched over, I never looked back. The "I ate the same thing as yesterday" button is just awesome. I also bought the New Rules book and boy am I glad I did! The NROL workouts were SOOOOOO different from anything I've ever done. I don't think I had done a barbell squat or deadlift since high school (I'm so ashamed!). I loved the book so much, I found a 300lb olympic weight set with a real nice New York Barbell rack on Cragslist for $250, SCORE!. Pair that up with a set of SelecTech dumbbells and I had a complete, if somewhat cramped home gym. My wife and I did the Break In workouts 3 times a week for 3 weeks, and we absolutely loved them. She had been dabbling with some different strength training programs since the beggining of the year, so the combo movements weren't quite as much of a shock to her system as it was mine. I just finished Fat Loss I and am a few workouts in to Fat Loss II. Call me crazy, but I love the BSS with overhead press! (well, I'm cussing all the way thru them, but I love them when they're done!) Fast forward to today, 6/21/09. I'm 170lbs and somewhere around 13% bodyfat, and feel better than I've felt since High School. I'm fairly certain I haven't put on much lean mass since I've been carrying a calorie deficit the whole time, but by golly I've got a six-pack again!I've been taking body measurements, including skinfolds, since mid January. I know the calipers aren't perfect, but seeing a noticable change in the skinfold measurements is a big motivator for me. I was originally aiming for 180lbs and 12% bodyfat, but that included some seriously delusional expectations regarding lean mass gain. I've since adjusted my goals twice and settled on an even 165lbs and ~10% bodyfat (as best as I can estimate it). That would put me very close to the condition I was in right after graduating High School. You see, I have this picture of my sister and I the summer after we graduated when I was pretty ripped. It has been a prime motivator for me (no offense, Mahler!). It seemed like an impossibility 6 months ago, but here I am, 3 or 4 weeks from being back in that picture! I'm sorry for the novel, I told myself I was going to keep this brief, but I got carried away. If you've read this far, thanks for sticking with me! I hope this might be even slightly inspirational for someone out there who may be where I was 6 months ago -- Unhappy with their current condition, but afraid to get started. It's always tough to get started, but if you put in the effort, results will come! Starting Stats: 12/31/08 Height: 5'7" Weight: 225 lbs Waist: 40" Bodyfat: ~34% Phase 1 Goals: By 8/1/09, 7 months Weight: 165 lbs Waist: 33" Bodyfat: 10% Assuming my bodyfat measurements are close, going from 34% to 10%: 62 lbs of fat lost, 2lbs of lean mass gained Phase 2 Goals: By 12/31/09, 5 more months Weight: ~175lbs Waist: 33" Bodyfat: 11%-12% 8 lbs lean mass gained with 2 or 3 lbs of fat along for the ride Squat: 315 lbs Deadlift: 325 lbs Bench: 250 lbs