bwana's get unfat log

[bwana devil]

I began working out a little over a month ago and have made some slow and steady progress during that time. I figured I’d document what I’m doing along the way and get some feedback as well.

Last week I mentioned in a thread that I tweaked my back at the gym. I stopped working out and it got progressively worse. I finally went to the doctor, got some muscle relaxers and am on the mend. I’ll probably go the gym again this weekend after two weeks off and start lifting again but won’t specifically workout my back for another few weeks.

Goal: Drop more chub. When I started my workout routine last month I was around 202. I’m now down to 197. My goal is to get to 185lb. I am 6’2”. If I get cut along the way to dropping weight, great but really I just want to have a smaller waist. I think I'm what is considered skinny-fat - tall, thin frame and I carry my extra weight in the midsection.


Program: I’m on the Starting Strength bandwagon and am working out 3-4 times per week. I’ll post the workout with weights in a future post.


Strengths:
Motivated. During the month+ I lifted I liked the progress I made. The quick change to my body was noticeable, I felt much better during the day and slept better at night. Unfortunately from my back injury taking about 2 weeks off, I’m seeing the muscle disappear although I’ve kept the weight off I lost.

Diet. I eat pretty well and love my fruits and veggies. I will post my daily diet in a following post so everyone can rip it apart.

Convenience. I live 3 miles from work and the gym is in between work and home. Right next to the gym is a grocery store so after I workout I go load up on fresh fruit.


Weaknesses:
Family time. I have a young son which severly cuts into the schedule. I do my usual nightly routine with him and get him to bed. Then I sneak off to the gym at night and get a good workout in. Not being able to workout right after work and holding off and doing it later in the night hasn’t been too big of an issue—plus the gym is less crowded.

Back problem. I’m going to take it slow on my back. I was having trouble standing up and I couldn’t carry my son around. I injured it doing squats which I love doing. I changed my form that day and went lower than I ever had which is probably how I injured myself. Once fixed I’ll crank the weight waaaay down until I’m more comfortable with it.

Beer. I love me some Red Hook which even by beer standards is heavy on calories. I found when I’m lifting I don’t have much downtime in my schedule and I don’t want to wreck the progress I’m making so I have cut back. The last month I’ve drank once per week and had Miller Lite.

[AZK]

i cut out most garbage and still drink beer...unless you are an alcoholic beer isn't the issue.

[bwana devil]

yesterday i went to the gym for the first in two weeks. i was getting frustrated that the progress i had made in the last month was disappearing. my back is not 100% yet as i can feel it strain when i bend over and pick up anything that weighs more than 30 lbs or so.

because of this i wasnt able to do a regular starting strength workout and really only worked my upper body and was careful in doing that. ill probably be off of starting strength for at least another week. yesterday i did do squats w/ the bar only and was surprised that felt pretty good.

here are the puny weight amounts i was working w/ right before my injury:

squat 165
bench 115
deadlift 165

military press 90
pendlay row 105

[bwana devil]

i wrote everything down i ate for a week. here are two typical days from there. i used to eat nonfat yogurt but have since cut that out of my diet. and i usually allow myself one cheat day which usually means one really bad meal.

i also just started taking fish oil. have been for about 3-4 days.

below isnt the ideal diet for weight loss but i think it's alright and it's easy for me to stick w/. i eat all of this spread out through the day every 2-3 hours. please comment on problems.

example one:
three scrambled eggs or four hardboiled egg whites
two banana
two diet sodas
non fat yogurt
three serving of mixed veggies
lots of deli ham and turkey

example two:
three scrambled eggs or four hardboiled egg whites
two banana
two peaches
two diet sodas
three slices of turkey meat
three serving of green beans
.5 lb sirloin steak
meatball sandwich from whichwich

[bwana devil]

[ QUOTE ]
i cut out most garbage and still drink beer...unless you are an alcoholic beer isn't the issue.

[/ QUOTE ]

eh, it's contributing to the problem for sure. for instance 3 six packs of a heavy calorie beer is around 3600 calories - one pound. by making the change to a light beer once per week i take in around 600-800 calories instead. that's a fairly painless way for me to cut out some unnecessary calories.

[AZK]

OK fair enough. Other than the rare binge night celebration (pretty much non-existant post college for me) I might drink 1 or 2 beers a week. I rarely drink liquor but have been drinking more wine. Don't really notice it affecting my workouts/diet. The biggest problem I see with alcohol is not it's calories or sugar, more my inability to be productive in the gym for the next 3-5 days following a huge drinking night.

[cbloom]

[ QUOTE ]
OK fair enough. Other than the rare binge night celebration (pretty much non-existant post college for me) I might drink 1 or 2 beers a week. I rarely drink liquor but have been drinking more wine. Don't really notice it affecting my workouts/diet.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL it's not affecting you cuz you don't drink, mang.

[cbloom]

bwana,

diet looks pretty decent, but it's hard to tell unless you break it down into the meals and do a nutritional count. There's nothing wrong with yogurt dunno why you cut that. It certainly wouldn't hurt to add more variety of veggies. If you don't do that make sure you take a multivitamin. It looks off hand like you might actually be going too low in fat. You need about 25g of fat a day for testosterone production and other basic bodily functions, don't go under that. You're also definitely not eating enough protein to really add muscle but I guess that's not your goal at the moment.

[ QUOTE ]

Back problem. I’m going to take it slow on my back. I was having trouble standing up and I couldn’t carry my son around. I injured it doing squats which I love doing. I changed my form that day and went lower than I ever had which is probably how I injured myself. Once fixed I’ll crank the weight waaaay down until I’m more comfortable with it.


[/ QUOTE ]

Dude, be careful and go slow !! A back injury could bug you for the rest of your life! Don't worry about how much weight you're moving and just take it easy. If you hurt yourself squating deep that would tend to suggest you are lacking flexibility in the hips & hams and your pelvis is rolling under when you go deep, so take some time just really go easy lifting and spend a lot of time stretching. IMHO if possible you should take another 2 weeks and not lift and swim laps and stretch.

[bwana devil]

[ QUOTE ]
bwana,

diet looks pretty decent, but it's hard to tell unless you break it down into the meals and do a nutritional count. There's nothing wrong with yogurt dunno why you cut that. It certainly wouldn't hurt to add more variety of veggies. If you don't do that make sure you take a multivitamin. It looks off hand like you might actually be going too low in fat. You need about 25g of fat a day for testosterone production and other basic bodily functions, don't go under that. You're also definitely not eating enough protein to really add muscle but I guess that's not your goal at the moment.


[/ QUOTE ]

i do need to spend time analyzing my diet. i get lost beyond the calorie count. when people state how many carbs, fats and protein etc they eat during the day, i think that would be equivelent to a part-time job for me to monitor and understand how it all comes together properly.

for protein i was looking at getting some protein powder and ill try and incorporate some good fats in my diet. lately i have been eating mixed nuts and olive oil.

[ QUOTE ]

Dude, be careful and go slow !! A back injury could bug you for the rest of your life! Don't worry about how much weight you're moving and just take it easy. If you hurt yourself squating deep that would tend to suggest you are lacking flexibility in the hips & hams and your pelvis is rolling under when you go deep, so take some time just really go easy lifting and spend a lot of time stretching. IMHO if possible you should take another 2 weeks and not lift and swim laps and stretch.

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks for the concern. i feel much better right now - about 95%. im still going to take it slow. i went to the doctor for a follow up visit yesterday and he thought i was recovering fine.

can someone recommend some hip mobility exercises? i found an article on t-nation but it was terribly technical and went over head. i need 'hip mobility for dummies.'

[byronkincaid]

[ QUOTE ]
i do need to spend time analyzing my diet. i get lost beyond the calorie count. when people state how many carbs, fats and protein etc they eat during the day, i think that would be equivelent to a part-time job for me to monitor and understand how it all comes together properly.


[/ QUOTE ]

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