More Lessons Learned, More to Consider

It’s been a month since I last posted any report of progress or non-progress in the pursuit of that Last 10 Pounds. Well I think I have made a noticeable gain; based on weight – down 4 lbs, based on the Army measurement system – down 1” in the waist, and based on comment(s) from friends – “are you loosing weight?”. My best guess is that I’m at about 17 to 20% body fat and shrinking.

In my last post I had cleaned up the diet a bit by ditching the lunch yogurt (replacing with apples, oranges, etc…) and cutting back on my evening wine intake. I had also increased my cardio day activities to include 300-20’s burning close to 900 measured calories in an hour. My weigh training has been pretty routine, 4 sets of supersets.

However, it should be noted that the cleaner diet and 6 days a week of training wasn’t the turning point. The turning point was a one day a week ‘Intermittent Fasting’ routine. Now I’m not one to go without eating for a 24 hour period but I can make it through a Sunday morning and afternoon and put off eating until 4:00 to 6:00 pm. And over the last 5 weeks, that’s just what I have done. Just 1 day a week, a 14 to 18 hour fast, and then resume eating at dinner time. When you start eating at dinner, just eat your normal amount, e.g. don’t make up for lost time. And, if you’re keeping up with your workout routines, slowly but surely the pounds will come off and those pounds will be mostly fat, minimizing any lean mass losses.

Like I said in the ‘lead in’ to this post, when your friends start to notice, you’re onto something.

Also, over the last 2 weeks, I have shifted my weight routines toward a modified drop set. For example, my dead lift routine is 8 reps at 225 immediately followed by 12 reps at 150, rest, then 8 reps at 185 immediately followed by 12 reps at 125, rest, and finally 8 reps at 150 immediately followed by 12 reps at 115. I will increase the weight by 5 lbs a week until I reach 300 by 8 reps for that 1st set. Since dead lifts are the focus, then all of the other leg routines (seated leg curl, calf raises, glut pushes, etc…) during the session are still the basic supersets as described in previous posts.

It just goes to show, calorie deficit is the only way control weight but it’s ‘sweat’ that controls the fat. And this also shows that it’s not so much a daily calorie deficit but more of a weekly or 2 week average. In other words, if you eat heavy one day, lighten up the next. If you ‘write it down’ you can track what you’re doing and make adjustments throughout the week. And if you decide to take a short respite from eating, it’s O.K. and won’t change your metabolism or slow down any progress toward that Last 10 Pounds.

Stay healthy.

MMJennings