1st 7 days into it...

[lipripper]

ok, been learning a whole damn lot and am trying to get rid of the body fat. I dont really want to loose a lot of weight but I know thats part of getting rid of that fat. Trying to get lean and cut, so then I can start bulking clean maybe by Sept.Last week I took measurements and was at 18.5 % Id like to get down to 14 % as a goal and see how it looks. then take it from there...

Now remember.. Im just trying to learn.....

my understanding is required calories is 2057 to maintain for me

with working out 3188 per day

Now, I started watching calories on a tracking spread sheet( livestrong.com) and trying to verify on actual food ect for serving size cal amount ect. Tracking everything, no cheating.

According to the livstrong.com site in order for me to loose 2 lbs per week my intake should be 1864 calories a day.( but I believe thats with out work outs...I may be wrong)

I have continued my muscle failure 3 mornings a week as well as 45 min to an hour of weight training those same afternoons.

I have bumped up my cardio to running 5 days a week ( from 2)up to 3 miles in the mornings, and 4 mile power walks the two off weight days in the afternoons.

I have not gone over my 1864 cal intake after including the reduced calories burned for my work outs. If I average it out Im at about 1540 calories a day
( after work outs) for the 7 days.All healthy foods almost no processed foods and reduced sugars in diet a whole damn lot.

I dont feel hungry, and have increased strength in gym and running is getting easier and I believe will soon be up to 4 mile runs in a few weeks if things keep going along as they are.

I'm pushing 48 years old 6'4 and now down to 211... 100 days ago I was a sloppy 235...

1st 7 day total weight loss since watching calories this am was 5 lbs. I was surprized I lost as much as I did. but not complaining. Im going to wait for a month then take BF measurements again.:thumup:

thoughts?

[Bouncer]

i like to keep things simple. scrum will be along to offer a more mathematical approach i am sure. :D

my view is that is you are having good results and like what you see, then you are doing the right thing. if those results stop then it is time to change it up etc..

[Scrumhalf]

I'm with Bouncer here. If it is working, and it seems like it is, don't mess with the formula and ride it until it stops working. There are only 3 criteria to monitor to make sure you are losing the right kind of weight - muscularity, strength and BF% (as measured by say waist measurement or how your pants fit around the waist).

If your pants are getting looser and you are not getting weaker, whatever you are doing is working.

One thing I will say - be careful with running 5 days a week if you are not used to it. I think you said you were in the army so you may have been used to doing this but you are a big dude and the last thing you need is to get hurt. Watch out for shin, knee or ankle pain and listen to your body basically.

[lipripper]

Pants getting looser..... yep damn things can slide off my ass with out opening if I pull um down now...LOL

I started the running out slow 3 months ago hurt like hell..one day a week then two now up to 5. not hurting a bit now,actually feels good like it used to. But taking the mile increases up slowly. Running 3 miles now started out at 1 mile when I started a few months ago.I did it this am in 23:20. Feel like running more but Im holding it back a bit to build up more. running about 8 min miles... not too bad for an old dude..

[Scrumhalf]

8 minute miles are good, old man! :rofl: I will be 45 in September, so I can relate. :)

[lipripper]

8 minute miles are good, old man! :rofl: I will be 45 in September, so I can relate. :)

yep at this age..Ill take what i can get...:hibb:

[alwaysgrowing]

With the working out 5 days per week in addition to the five pound weight loss, I think it may be beneficial to add some calories. I'd start with 200 extra per day for a week and see how it goes. Losing weight at a rate 5lbs per week probably means some muscle wasting. So why not add some extra protein in. If you lose less than 2 pounds, take the calories back out. But as 200 calories a day is 1400 per week, you should still be losing over 2lbs per week.

[lipripper]

With the working out 5 days per week in addition to the five pound weight loss, I think it may be beneficial to add some calories. I'd start with 200 extra per day for a week and see how it goes. Losing weight at a rate 5lbs per week probably means some muscle wasting. So why not add some extra protein in. If you lose less than 2 pounds, take the calories back out. But as 200 calories a day is 1400 per week, you should still be losing over 2lbs per week.

Ill keep this in mind. Since I have only gone a week I need to see if

1, Im consistant with my dieting and excerise( which I will be shooting for)

2, if I am... will I still loose as much weight or was it a bigger loss just starting out and maybe not loose as much in following weeks...

then maybe I can change up as needed.

Im very new to this and just been reasearching a lot on the net trying to figure this stuff out. I am concerned about loosing muscle as its hard to put on a long frame.( I remember the struggles I had when younger)

But I really want to try and get ripped prior to trying to get my weight back up and do it with out the fat... time will tell....

Most of the guys at work are a lot younger then me.. all fat all on meds..I dont wanna go down that road with um...

[lipripper]

Well 3 week update... Since I started this I have dropped 9 lbs now. Down to 207. feel a lot better and definatly getting stronger in the gym. Since march I have lost 26 lbs total. If I can keep this up I should hit my BF goal by late Aug Mid Sept and the BF should be in the 12 to 14% range by then... I think that 1st week was several lbs of water weight as suggested, last 2 weeks have been 2 lbs a week.