Monthly Weigh-In

[Charm]

To get really low bodyfat you need to almost completely drop your carbs, eat really high quality proteins/fats and do a ton of cardio while drinking 1-2gallons of water/day to flush out every bit of crappy waste.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Wed. Jan. 25, 2008

Fri. Jan. 25, 2008

I weighed in today using two scales. Here we go:

Regular digital scale: 1st weigh in: 161 pounds w/ clothes
2nd weigh in: 160 pounds stripped to underwear

bodyfat scale: 1st weigh in: 159.36 pounds subtracting for clothes,
bodyfat: 11%
2nd weigh in: 159.36 pounds subtracting for clothes
bodyfat: 11%
3rd weigh in: 157.16
bodyfat: 10.5 %

I didn't weigh in first thing in the morning this time. I actually forgot about it until after I had been up for a few hours, even had some green tea. I don't like the numbers. If I just take the 159.36 that means I gained almost 5 pounds since last month. Last month I weighed in at 154.52 pounds. So that means a gain of 4.84 pounds in one month.

So, how much of it is fat gain versus muscle gain? I had a bad few weeks. I was sick with cold, wasn't able to get to the gym, didn't watch my food intake as much as I should have. But in the gym I've gotten past my deadlift plateau. And my weight lifting numbers ie how much I can lift are up on my farmer's walk, dumbbell squat, flat bench dumbbell press, flies. I'm increasing my numbers with the inclined situps; I'm using a 25 pound dumbbell now and my reps are increasing each time. As for the body fat%, I know. Don't trust the scale, look at the mirror. To be honest I CAN see my abdominal muscles when I flex. I've been able to see them for months now. So I will see even more progress there since I'm now doing weighted situps.

So what could be the reason for the weight gain? I know I'm getting stronger but I do not want fat. Actually I need more muscle and definition without gaining weight. I like being in the 150s weight class, and I need to stay in it. How much muscle gain I have gained in one month?

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh In Feb 25, 2008

Mon. Feb. 25, 2008

This morning before breakfast I did my monthly weigh in. I weighed myself six times using two different scales, the first scale also measures body fat.

157.16 pounds

Bodyfat 9.0 % - 9.5 % (that's factoring in the error percentage for electronic measurement)

This is an improvement from last month. I have lost 1.32 pounds and my bodyfat is within normal limits. Someone on a different thread posted a link to a bodyfat calculator and based on it my bodyfat is 10%. That measurement is similar to the result I got today using the electronic bodyfat scale. I need to get my bodyfat down to 8 %.

I didn't go to the gym at all last week because I wanted to let my body recuperate. During that time I slacked a little, had some chocolate candy (Nestle crunch fun size bars, miniature Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and M&M Peanuts), which might or might not have affected my weight. I need to get the excess bodyfat off by late spring. I'm getting there. Now it's back to the gym this week!

 

[Being_the_Don]

Tues. March 25, 2007

Tues. March 25, 2008

I weighed myself using two different scales.

non bodyfat scale:
body weight: 161.5 pounds subtracting for clothes (this is an average after 5 weights were taken)

body fat scale:
body weight: 161.56 pounds subtracting for clothes (this weight was consistent after 3 weights were taken)

body fat percentage:
9.16 % this is average after 3 measurements were taken

Okay, so my weight increased anywhere from 2-4 pounds depending on the scale since last month. My body fat is consistent at ~ 9 %. So, that means I'm not adding bodyfat, right? The past couple of weeks have been bad, I know. I've been eating cereal more often these days. I do need the carbs for my workouts, but I admit I do like the taste of cereal. It makes me feel kind of guilty. I have been eating more ham slices for the past month, this is to keep my body supplied with protein. The ham slices are a convenient snack throughout the day. Last Friday, I had pizza. I went to a birthday party so I indulged a bit. I didn't have any soda, though, just water.

I do have to watch it with sugar. That's the thing. I have been using artificial sweetner for a while or refraining even from that. But lately I've used a teaspoon of sugar with cereal. I realize that I miss the taste of sugar. It's hard to resist sugar.

I've got to work on getting my weight back down to below 160. I don't look fat, but I feel sort of fat.

Does anyone know the average amount of muscle men add per month?

 

[Quagmire911]

If you are truly 9% then you won't look or indeed shouldn't feel fat at all. DO NOT develop anorexia issues, there is a guy over on IA's combating that right now and it isn't pretty what it can do.

Don't worry about adding a few pounds or losing a few pounds. As long as you are in the same range with a consistent bf of 9-10% who cares?

As for cheat meals these are actually a good thing. Not only psychologically but they help to rev up the metabolism.

Keep it up anyway,

Quagmire

 

[Being_the_Don]

If you are truly 9% then you won't look or indeed shouldn't feel fat at all. DO NOT develop anorexia issues, there is a guy over on IA's combating that right now and it isn't pretty what it can do.

Don't worry about adding a few pounds or losing a few pounds. As long as you are in the same range with a consistent bf of 9-10% who cares?

As for cheat meals these are actually a good thing. Not only psychologically but they help to rev up the metabolism.

Keep it up anyway,

Quagmire

I love food too much to become anorexic. The reason my weight concerns me is that I have a body image that I want to attain and then maintain. For me the aesthetic build is the ultimate goal. There are four different actors that come to mind for this body type although they are not necessarily in the same weight class: Matthew McConahey (sp?), Clarence Gilyard (the guy from Walker Texas Ranger), Tobey MacGuire and then Jason Scott Lee (back when he played Bruce Lee).

I accept weight gain as long as it is muscle not fat. Yet, my goal is to have the muscle while remaining in the 150s class. Gilyard and McConahey weight more than that, I'm sure. For all I know so do the other two actors I mentioned. I can see definition when I look at myself in the mirror, but there is still some fat covering my abs, and I want it gone.

A woman I'm becoming close to very recently told me that I resemble a boxer. I laughed when she told me that. (What comes to mind are the guys from UFC.) She then told me that I resemble a boxer because I look strong and because of the way I walk. (Yeah, I'm saying than I should now.) The point is that I work out because I like being healthy, and it's just fun for fun's sake. Compliments from women is nice, too, though.

Thanks for the words of concern, Quagmire. I like cereal, when I first started my journal some of the other guys pointed out that I should modify my diet. Since that time I've cut a lot of things from my diet eg corn dogs (yeah, I did eat them), soda pop is now a very rare treat, as is ice cream. For a while I stopped eating cereal and milk and I noticed that it helped my body fat to drop. But then the cravings for cereal started creeping back in. Frosted flakes, frosted mini wheats, Honey Comb, Fruit Loops, etc. I don't eat those as often as you may think, however. When I do get around to buying cereal the most part it is raisin bran or corn flakes. But I've got to watch how much of them I do eat.

Does anyone know much muscle men normally gain per month?

 

[Quagmire911]

You should be able to get away with cereal as long as it is for breakfast, not ideal though and you won't be able to lose fat as easily.

How much muscle people gain depend on a bunch of factors. For someone of your weight around a pound a week would be a good bet.

 

[Being_the_Don]

You should be able to get away with cereal as long as it is for breakfast, not ideal though and you won't be able to lose fat as easily.

How much muscle people gain depend on a bunch of factors. For someone of your weight around a pound a week would be a good bet.

One pound a week? Hmm, that seems about average. Well, as long as I get the rest of this body fat off and stay in the 150s class I know I'm on track.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh In Sun. April 27, 2008

Sun. April 27, 2008

I weighed myself 5 times on the same scale (the body fat one), one of the measurements was tossed because it did not agree with the other four. Four out of five weight measurements had the same result:

body weight: 158.48 pounds 9.5%-10% body fat

So my weight and body fat have been consistent for the past several months. My workouts have not been as good lately due to the fact that I've been busy with some important things. Soon, I'll be able to get back to my regular workout schedule. Right now I'm at maintenance on both my weight and body fat which is good in one sense-I'd rather be maintaining this body fat percentage than gaining-BUT I do want this body fat down to 7 % or 8 %. It's mid spring, and I want to have it down to by early to mid summer. I'm going to start riding my bike again.

 

[Quagmire911]

Are you using a carb cutoff?

 

[Being_the_Don]

Are you using a carb cutoff?

Nope.

 

[Quagmire911]

Nope.

http://phonedifferent.com/images/2007/09/homer_doh.png

 

[Being_the_Don]

http://phonedifferent.com/images/2007/09/homer_doh.png

I'm aware of the carb cutoff, no carbs the last three meals of the day. It's a bit easier said than done in this case, though. It's slowing my body fat loss, I know. I have cutting back on the low GI foods, though. I can't remember the last time I've had ice cream, I rarely drink soda pop (my beverages are water and milk, I never drink alcohol) and only eat pasta once a month now. I incorporate what I can when I can (advice on what to eat) but I think I will add cycling back into my routine at least once per week.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh-In Sun. May 24, 2008

Sun. May 25, 2008

First thing this morning I weighed myself three times w/ standard scale and once w/ body fat scale.

standard scale: 155 pounds w/ clothes subtracted
bodyfat scale: 156.72 w/ clothes subtracted

The body fat scale also gave me a body fat percentage which was of course WRONG. It said that my body fat had actually increased. For the past two weeks, I've been doing timed carbs, only eating COMPLEX carbohydrates but according to THAT scale my BF % increased? So what I then did was get out my tape measure and took a couple of measurements. I now have a 31.5 in waist, I measured myself a second time just to be sure and got the same result. Then I used on online body fat calculator that uses a calculation based on the US Navy's Circumference method.

http://javascript.about.com/library/blfat1.htm

According to that calculator my body fat is now 8.6 % ! :cheer: Not bad. Of course I need to go lower and continue doing my ab exercises. I've been doing some at home but for the past few weeks I have not been doing them at the gym. I want my body fat percentage down to 7 % and I'm on my way there!

After my weigh-in I did some sprints. I had some green tea and .5 small apple and then chose a good place for my exercise. I sprinted about 70 meters, then imediatetely back again. Then repeated it two more times then rested. I then sprinted that same distance up and back again, then rested. I then sprinted 70 meters up and back again then was finished with the exercise. My best sprints were the first ones in which I did a total of four without resting. So now I'll alternate between sprints and riding my bike.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Wed. June 25, 2008

Wed June 25, 2008

Right after I woke up I weighed myself 4 times. With clothes subtracted the result was 159 pounds. I then showered, waited about 2 hours and weighed myself again. The results with clothes subtracted was 160 pounds. Although I was wearing sports shirt and jeans I subtracted the same amount for clothes weight. Averaging all the weights together the result was 159.4 pounds.

After that I checked my body fat using a tape measure and body fat calculator. It appears that my waist shrunk a bit-now it measures at 31 inches. So according to the calculator my body fat is now at 7.3 %. Hmmm. It doesn't feel like it to me. I gained about 4 pounds since I weighed myself last month. I haven't ridden my bike or sprinted in that time because I wanted my leg to heal up after that sprinting incident a month ago. And my weakness is cereal, ya know. I started eating it again after I weighed myself last month. I thought to myself I'm doing good, I'm in the clear. A few days ago I even ate some chocolate chip cookies, a medium sized one and a big cookie. I was at the Incredible Hulk movie and had brought along a medium chocolate chip cookie and then someone offered me a big chocolate chip cookie. I haven't had cookies in a while and I haven't eaten a BIG chocolate chip cookie in...well, I don't know how long so I ate it. Those are excuses, I know. I have to do better than this.

So now I was thinking prior to taking my body fat calculation, that the weight gain could be fat or muscle. I take progress pictures often. I took some a few days ago. When I compare what I looked like last December when I weighed in at about 154 pounds with the pictures I took last Sunday I can see a difference. I looked good then, no doubt about it but I look even better now, even better definition. So what would explain the weight gain? Well, I have been doing standing barbell overhead press/cleans using heavier weights and that is something to consider. As a matter of fact I have steadily increased the weight on those lifts since I started performing them with the Olympic bar. So it's muscle then. Even with an increase in muscle (providing that is the case) I must still watch my weight. For me it is important to remain in the 150s class. It's the goal I set for myself and to prove things about increasing strength and power without the added mass or bulk. A lot of the guys here want to get bigger and there is nothing wrong with that, but for me I want a different look. I can't be entirely sure about the body fat this time so it's back to riding the bike.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Fri. July 25, 2008

Friday July 25, 2008

I could say that I had a bad month. The problem is all the carbs I've been eating which caused me to gain weight and body fat.

I weighed myself 5 times this morning before taking a shower. Results were:

160 pounds with clothes subtracted. I measured my waist with a tape measure and the result is: 31.4 inches. I then put this into the body fat calculator which said that my body fat is 8.3 %. This is my fault. The hot temps have prevented me from riding my bike and I've been fighting the urge to eat easily digestible carbs. Several days since June weigh in I ate more calories than I burned off, so all things considered it could have been much worse. I don't consider this muscle gain, it's fat.

I'm considering increasing my consumption of fish oil supplements to 3 per day. I take them infrequently but this is because I know that fish oil is a natural blood thinner which leads to a drop in blood pressure. My blood pressure is on the low side of normal (in the safe range but still very very low for the general population) and I don't want to risk medical problems from it dropping to dangerous levels. I consume peanuts and mixed nuts on a regular basis but I'm messing up somewhere. I think it is the cereal and possibly the wheat bread. Although I like slices ham and pork cured ham, it's becoming more difficult to eat this as a snack food. So I've added 1 regular slice of wheat bread and a tblsp of mayonnaise when consuming the ham. I have only done this a few times and not with every meal but I think it should be factored into the weight gain this month.

I need to get back to where I belong ie 154-158 pounds. I might post up my diet from the last couple of days in June as well as the past few days leading up to this month's weigh in.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monday August 25, 2008

Monday August 25, 2008

I weighed myself a total of 12 times using two different scales and took the mean. The first seven were done using a standard digital scale. I averaged them together and the result was 158.85 pounds with clothes subtracted. I then weighed myself five more times using the scale that takes in body fat% and water. I only used it to get measurements on my weight, though. I averaged these together and the result was 155.84 pounds with clothes subtracted. When I added all of the weights together and got the mean weight it was 157.73 pounds with clothes subtracted.

I used a tape measure for my waist measurement and the result was 31.5 inches. My body fat percentage then would be 8.6 %


So! Did I do better than last month? I lost 2.27 pounds which is good. Still, with my weight decreasing why did my body fat percentage rise slightly?

Approximately one week I stared cutting down on my carbs again, I went five days without any milk and cereal. After I had finished eating the corn flakes I had a bad after taste from it so I decided no more cereal for a while. I haven't had any pastries either. The only bad thing I'd say was that on Thursday August 14, I had a DQ Peanut Buster Parfait. I haven't eaten anything like them in a long LONG time. And TBH, although it tasted good, it somehow didn't feel as enjoyable as I thought it would. Last night I had a cup of pasta and 4 oz of ground beef, I felt sort of guilty for eating it but it has been almost a month since I've had any pasta dishes. My body fat probably would be lower now if I was riding my bike. I haven't been doing it as much lately because of the heat. Schedule changes now might affect it again BUT since the weather is cooling off a little I'll find some way to get that exercise back in. All in all, I'm doing okay.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Thurs. Sept. 25, 2008

Thurs. Sept. 25, 2008

I haven't posted anything in this forum for a while because I've had some matters to attend to which I'll briefly mention when I post on my fitness journal. I did my monthly weigh in this morning, I'm posting the results below.

This morning just before taking a shower I weighed myself 4 times on the standard scale. The result was: 156.75 pounds which means I lost 1 pound this month. Well, I haven't been to the gym in nearly 3 weeks so I did not gain weight which is a good thing.

I didn't calculate my body fat because I didn't do a waist measurement but considering how my clothes fit me, I don't think it has changed since last month.

That's it for now, I'll post my fitness journal later.






But I'm still here.

 

[mrRuckus]

You are 155 lbs. Why are you trying to lose weight especially if you are like 8% bf?

You can't possibly be fat and i'd wager to guess you'd look better with 20-30-40 lbs added to you.

I've been 140-150 lbs before. I did not look good.

I mean do what you want, but I don't understand.

 

[Being_the_Don]

You are 155 lbs. Why are you trying to lose weight especially if you are like 8% bf?

You can't possibly be fat and i'd wager to guess you'd look better with 20-30-40 lbs added to you.

I've been 140-150 lbs before. I did not look good.

I mean do what you want, but I don't understand.

I know you mean well and thanks for the comments. I want to clarify something, though. I never said that I wanted to lose any more weight; my worry was that I might have gained four or five pounds of FAT considering my lack of activity and food choices. Fortunately that didn't happen. A comfortable weight range for me is 154-158 pounds and there's no way in heck I'm going to go up to 180 pounds. There was a time when I let myself go and ballooned up to that weight and I'll never let myself down like that again. Most people can tell I work out and I've been told that I have a muscular body. I myself have said on this forum that my build resembles that of a medium weight gymnast; this body type is what I'm happy with.