It's time to get some size - Exnor's diary

[Exnor]

Aka23: Thanks, although I am very confident it is due to my immune system. This is not the first time I have been "Burnt out". I am however having allergy testing done on my skin in a few weeks time, to try to identify what chemicals my mild eczema reacts to (if any). I had a routine test done as a child that claimed I was not allergic to any of the common irritants.

[Exnor]

My week long rest is now over, I did not get as much sleep as I originally intended due to work on my website. However, the congestion problem I had in the morning appears to be greatly reduced. My eczema is also reduced, but still active. I have plans to go to the gym this evening but perhaps it is better to rest until my symptom clears completely. I think I will begin my cut today and try to get more sleep over this coming fortnight.

Since I have never deliberately lost weight before, I have little knowledge on 'cutting'. I have read Saint Patricks cutting guide but I am still left feeling slightly unsure about how to go about it. I know that I must consume less calories than I burn, which is most easily tracked by counting calories. I have never accurately tracked my macronutrient breakdowns during my bulk as my estimates are usually sufficient. I think I may have to track them in more detail for the cut.

I am also unsure about 'carb cutting', and if this is something I should take into account (cosuming a small amount of carbs for a few days, then one or two days of carb loading, etc.).

Any pointers would be appriciated. I will continue to search the forum for answers.

I intend to keep my gym routine the same, and do cardio on my off days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), involving either cycling or running. These will probably be quite high in intensity.

[Exnor]

Overall Update: Cutting Time

I resumed my training last Monday, and did cardio tuesday, and another gym session Wednesday. By Thurdsay I was feeling pretty rough. I took the following friday session off and slept a lot. This seemed to have helped.

I have sorted out a cutting diet that I am going to follow until mid-august.

I will cut using traditional methods. I am going to cut carbs down, but not reduce them too much.

My weight training will stay the same, and I am adding cardio (3 mile run/cycle) on the days in between.

Training

Monday: Chest/Tris/Abs
Tuesday: Cardio
Wednesday: Back/Bis/Abs
Thursday: Cardio
Friday: Shoulders/Legs
Saturday: Abs/Stretching
Sunday: Rest

Diet

Nutritional Goals @ ~600kcals burned at daily workout, ~15% bf, ~175lb (12.5 stone / 80kg):

Cals: 2400-2600
Protein: 180
Carbs: 170
Fat: 71

My detailed diet is attached as a word document. It needs some adjusting.

Any tips for the diet would be helpful.

[Beast]

Maybe you should drop one of those rolls at the 14:00 snack. Use only 1 scoop of protein for bfast, and half the fried chicken breast at the end. I think that should get you nearer to the diet you want. It does look very good, though.

Another thing you might want to consider is "carb cycling." A few members of this site have used that technique with success. An example would be something like:
Day 1: 50g carbs
Day 2: 100g carbs
Day 3: 200g carbs
Day 4: 400g carbs
Day 5: 200g carbs
Day 6: 100g carbs
Day 7: 50g carbs
You get the idea. Just something you could try, and it keeps your body guessing. Also is less boring than totally restricting your diet. Good luck!

[Exnor]

Thanks a lot for the tips. I'll try making the modifications you suggested.

I think I may need to cut down on even more protein than that, I seem to have really overshot the mark there.

[TheGimp]

It does sound good, plenty of fruit and veg and unprocessed foods which is nice to see. Some good suggestions from Beast to streamline it. Have you considered refeeds at all?

[Exnor]

As I have no real experience at cutting, I designed this diet around the WBB article by John Williams (here), and made some changes, but it's fundamentally the same.

He seemed to think that there were enough carbs in his diet to not warrent a refeed, with all the inherent insulin response issues to deal with.

[mixta]

I had a look at the link above and I might see if I can change it around a bit to suit me as I am going to start cutting soon. Good luck with your cutting!

[Exnor]

Thanks mixta. Yeah the diet looks quite good.

It was quite amusing - I missed the article with the recipies and thought Salmon Loaf and Zucchini Bread were actually bread types they have in the US. When I asked about them here in the UK, the look I got in the bakery and supermarket was quite something.

Just for reference, the recipe article is here.

[mixta]

It was quite amusing - I missed the article with the recipies and thought Salmon Loaf and Zucchini Bread were actually bread types they have in the US. When I asked about them here in the UK, the look I got in the bakery and supermarket was quite something.

Lol, cool thanks for the link, good to keep for reference.

[TheGimp]

lol

I had a (very) brief look at the article and he seemed to be commenting on carb loads rather than refeeds per se. By refeeds I simply mean eating (substantially) over maintenance reasonably frequently (perhaps once a week, depends on how long your body fat becomes) to keep your metabolism from slowing down too much and keep up the weight loss.

[Exnor]

Ah right. Yeah that might be a good idea.

I am hoping to be very strict with the diet, and I was originally thinking of doing it simply based on the mirror rather than the scales. On second thoughts this may be a harder way to judge progress, although I have never deliberately lost weight before, so I am unsure to how my body will respond.

[JustinF]

I wouldn't worry too much about scale weight. That can fluctuate so much...even day to day. I'd say use the mirror and pick up some calipers.

[Exnor]

JustinF: I shall definitely consider that, thanks.

I'm going to post a few end-of-bulk pictures I took over the weekend, after a weeks rest (no activity). Looking back on my diet, it was quite clean, but it could have been more controlled and planned, as I am realising in my cutting diet.

I feel my traps are the most obvious area needing some work to be proportionate. However, I believe this to have been a relatively successful bulk (my first).

As you may have read in earlier posts I am in the process of cutting, ending around late august. I wish to get to around a visual 8-9% bodyfat (abs visible), time permitting.

Feel free to critique.

[Zoomer]

looking good ex

[Exnor]

Diet with slight modifications. Protein is still way to high, but i'll play it by ear.

[TheGimp]

Not looking too shabby Exnor Also looking pretty lean, do you feel a cut is really necessary?

[Exnor]

I estimate my bodyfat has gone up by two or three percent since I began, and I would like to get into the 8-9% range for my holiday, ideally. I'll just drop as much as possible in the time frame and see where I'm at.

[Exnor]

Comments

I am not logging my cut, as I am very busy with work and my own personal projects, my cut will also be relateively short.

My holiday begins on August 6th, where I leave for the Netherlands. I will spent 2 weeks there, before flying to California and driving around there for 2 weeks. I will arrive back in the UK on September 1st.

During my cut I have noticed the benifits of eating completely clean, unprocessed food, without salt etc.

After my current cut, I think I am going to try to find my optimal calorie intake over a period of a few weeks, rather than just eating as much as possible. I will also incorporate cardio, once or twice a week.

My overall goal will be to maintain bodyfat% whilst slowly gaining LBM, until around 185-190lb. This long term goal may take several years, and hopefully, if all goes to plan I will not need to cut.

An update on the cut

I appear to have lost considerable bodyfat already. A large portion of the fat around my midsection has gone, and my arms/legs are notably more defined.

My abs are also beginning to creep through.

I have around 3 weeks left on the cut.

[mixta]

My holiday begins on August 6th, where I leave for the Netherlands. I will spent 2 weeks there, before flying to California and driving around there for 2 weeks. I will arrive back in the UK on September 1st.

Sounds great,have fun

[ryuage]

you are somewhere in the netherlands right now, so uh ya have fun you'll love cali!

[JustinF]

Have fun on vacation man!

[Exnor]

you are somewhere in the netherlands right now, so uh ya have fun you'll love cali!

Yeah, i'm just staying with friends at the moment in Almere, and now some place called 'Den Bosch', relatively near Einhoven. I went to a dutch festival called 'Dancevalley' on Saturday - great dance music and lots of very attractive girls.

The weather is amazing and it is extremely hot.

I am unsure of what to expect in California, so I'm just going there with no expectations

JustinF: Thanks!

[Exnor]

I have just returned from a holiday in California, it was very enjoable, and an eye-opening experience as I have not visited any countries outside of Europe before. Some of the towns/cities that I stayed at include: San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Santa Monica, Santa Barbra, Monterey and San Francisco.

In regard to my training - I found it extremely difficult to maintain any kind of training or diet regime. Most of the hotels did not include a fitness area that included freeweights/reistance machines, and I did not see any way I could maintain any kind of planned diet. I decided that I would just try to choose the most healthy items from the menu as possible, that include a good amount of protein and carbs, without saturated fats. Again, not easy as a tourist in America eating out for every meal!

One of the places I visited was Golds Gym, in Venice, one of the most famous gyms in the world. I trained there on one morning (at a pricey cost of $20!) and it was quite an experience. As expected it seems to have changed considerably since the video 'Pumping Iron' where Arnold trains there. During my visit a limo pulled up and a famous actor, who I cannot recall the name of, went to workout.

I have clearly lost a fair amount of LBM, despite my efforts. My cut from before the holiday and continuing in Holland before leaving for the US was successful, although it did not go far enough for clearly defined abs. I could see a faint outline of my upper 2 abs, and had to be flexed or pumped to see them well. I believe I am somewhere in the range of 73-75kg, a reduction of 5-7kg from my bulking peak.

At the moment, I am staying at my parents house until my contract for my new house in Brighton begins on the 10th of September, where I begin a serious training/diet regime again. I shall continue to use the local gym near my parents and eat as best as possible in the mean time.

I have learnt a bit about my body from the cut, and believe my next (second) bulk will be more productive. My goals are probably to get back to my peak size (80kg, or 176lb), ideally with a slightly lower bodyfat than before. This goal shoull be reached relatively quickly. My next goal from there will be to reach 90kg (~198lb), at which time I may decide to cut again - depending on my bodyfat percentage.

For my next bulk, I may try a different method of training this time, possibly some kind of HST. I believe I can step up to training the same muscles more than once a week. I may also incorporate cardio once or twice a week to maintain and possibly improve fitness levels.

As probably mentioned earlier, I purchased a car before my holiday. This will enable me to get to the gym much faster, and as a result, it will be more practicle to visit the gym more than my previous 3 times a week.

[mixta]

That holidiay would have been fun!

I have learnt a bit about my body from the cut, and believe my next (second) bulk will be more productive. My goals are probably to get back to my peak size (80kg, or 176lb), ideally with a slightly lower bodyfat than before. This goal shoull be reached relatively quickly. My next goal from there will be to reach 90kg (~198lb), at which time I may decide to cut again - depending on my bodyfat percentage.

Good luck with those goals. Im doing my first cut soon and I hope to learn things about my body cutting wise.