My Diet to Add Muscle for The Next 5 Months (or how to Manage the Former Fat Boy Syndrome)
That being said, one of the best things I have done is outsource my nutrition and have changed my workouts to include metabolic conditioning and TRX workouts. I feel stronger and better about myself.
Then why the hell did my recent BodPod results go EXACTLY the wrong way!
My Recent BodPod Results
According to my recent BodPod results, my lean muscle went down and my fat mass stayed the same. What I wanted to see was my fat mass go down and my lean mass go up or at least stay the same. Obviously something was totally messed up.
There is usually only one reason for results like this, especially since I have been
lifting heavy and working out so hard. That reason can only be diet!
lifting heavy and working out so hard. That reason can only be diet!
More specifically, I have NOT been eating enough food. When you want to build muscle a person needs to eat enough food. No matter what anyone tells you – you need to eat enough food to build muscle. I am not a scientist nor a nutritionist but I do know that I you don’t eat enough you will not add muscle. Worse, if you workout hard enough you may actually lose muscle. I am living proof of that fact and it took having to live through these results to actually believe it.
I have trouble eating enough food though…
My Psychological Barrier – Former Fat Boy
My problem with food stems from the fact that I am a former fat boy. If you are unfamiliar with this term, let me explain it like this.
A former fat boy is a guy who used to be fat, lost a lot of weight and is giving it all to make sure it stays off. What this does do is create some issues with food where the last thing you want to do is eat too much because you feel that if you do you will put all that fat back on.
That is why when left to my own devices, I will eat much less food than I need as opposed to enough food. Even with a nutritionist I am at risk of this.
However, based on the BodPod results it is very clear that this is not working. I know empirically now that I am ok to eat more and should see better results. My workouts with the heavy lifting, TRX workouts, and metabolic conditioning are where they need to be – I just need to eat more food to support it.
The key is going to be monitoring my food intake as well as eating the right foods…
The Next 5 Months
My last couple of posts have covered my diet in some detail. In fact, in this post I covered my two protocols for both fat loss and for muscle gain. In that post I outlined the calories that I need to do either or. The trouble is is that the calories for fat loss are an after the fact reflection. Those 2000 – 2200 calories I need for fat loss were actually more like 1200 to 1400 calories per day with a couple fasts in there. That was WAY too low and I know that know. The right amount is more likely 2000 – 2200 calories.
As we are in the winter months and to get the body I want I need to focus on building muscle. That will give me the foundation I need to then drop some fat slowly for the summer months.
As I go along, I will be using my Withings body fat scale and more BodPod test to gauge my results and adjusting calories up or down depending on results. I want (need) to see lean muscle going up and body fat going down, or at least staying the same. My main goal is building muscle however so that will be my focus.
As was written about in this post, I will continue to live by very simple nutrition rules. Since I am looking to build muscle I will not be doing the Eat Stop Eat fasts. As a reminder, here are those rules:
- A post workout shake from the best nutrition book available – Power Eating – that includes 1 cup milk,
1/2 cup orange juice, 21 grams of whey, 1 tablespoon of honey, and 1/3 cup of frozen berries. If you don’t have this book I highly recommend you get it now – Amazon is the cheapest. - Five to six meals per day – this is just to keep hunger at bay and because I struggle if I get too hungry.
- As long as the food is natural and not full of sugar or processed crab, I do not worry too much about eating it. I don’t worry too much about food selection – moderation is key.
- Balance the carbs, proteins, and fats in each meal – don’t worry too much about the ratio, but I try to get some protein in every meal. The key is everything in moderation and not trying to overcomplicate things by eating too much of anything.
- Take one day off from counting per week – my days are Fridays. I eat pretty much whatever I want on Fridays.
I am going to start my calories at around 2500 calories per week and adjust up or down depending on my metrics. I will post this metrics here so we can all see the results.
Summary
I am confident that I have a good plan in place. It took me seeing some pretty shitty results to know what I now need to do. Even with outsourced nutrition, I now that I need to take full ownership of my results. For me, I know now that I need to actually eat more food instead of less. While I was losing my first 50 pounds it was simply less food that mattered. However, now that I am focused more on the minutia of building muscle as opposed to just losing fat, that means I need to dial the diet in even more and put my focus on the right things. As always, I will keep you updated.
P.S. If you have any comments I would love to hear from you…please post away in the comments section.
Why I Need to Outsource My Fitness and Nutrition
Last time I wrote about being on the Anabolic Diet. Granted I didn’t give it a long time to actually work – this is because my most recent BodPod results were not positive.My Recent BodPod Results
On October 6th I had my third BodPod test. My 2nd test had gone in the right direction. I went from 23.8% (May 2011) body fat to 18% (July 2011) body fat in 3 months. However, my test on October 6th, 2011 saw my body fat go to 21.9%. Better than my May results, but certainly not in the right direction. It was definitely time to re-evaluate my whole program and get some dedicated outside help.
Two Key Products for a Strong Foundation for Fat Loss
Over the past two years during my fat loss and fitness journey I have pretty much done my own research using the internet and the various strategies that I have come across. That includes doing exercise routines such as the 5/3/1 Program and Max-OT. It also includes trying nutrition programs such as Intermittent Fasting and just plain old low carb / low calories stuff.
I know for certain that I got started on the right foot with this research. In fact, there were two main programs / ebooks that got me off on the right foot and were responsible for the majority of my initial loss of approximately 40 pounds of fat.
The first was Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss program. This book taught me the true fundamentals of fat loss, how it works, and what is the quickest way to lose a great deal of fat quickly. It is by no means easy as it is very low calorie with high protein, but it works IF you do it exactly as laid out in the book. This book will get anyone with a lot to lose off on the right foot. As the pounds went away, it became more and more motivating and has allowed me to continue focusing on getting in better and better shape. It is the first book of two that I would recommend that people interest in fat loss pick up. You can pick up the book here – Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss.
The second book is Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat. Eat Stop Eat is an intermittent fasting method where two times per week you do a 24 hour fast. Essentially, you have your last meal of the day around 6:00 pm and then don’t eat again until 6:00 pm the next day. It sounds hard at first, but as you do it it gets easier and easier. This taught me how to control hunger and made me realize more than anything that I didn’t need to eat as much as I thought I did. It was also an easy way to control calories, which at the end of the day is most important. It is the second book that someone interested in fat loss should pick up. You can get Brad’s ebook here – Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat.
Outsource BOTH Fitness and Nutrition
Fitness
However, I got to a point where I lost the bulk of that easy to lose fat and it started to become harder and harder to do so. As I mentioned earlier, I was not seeing the results I wanted to see as I continued on with my current protocols (fitness and nutrition). I am getting a little older so the results are not as easy to come by. Fat does not “melt” off as quick as I want and it seems that the little details are becoming more important. As such, with the eye-opening results from the BodPod going the wrong way, I realized I needed some extra help. I sought outside help and am know listening to my fitness coaches and nutrition coach.
I have been working out at a place in Calgary, Alberta called 2110 Fitness. This facility has been great as it has opened my eyes to a fun and dynamic way to train using both metabolic conditioning and lifting. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday’s I train with Christopher Campbell (owner and trainer) and Curtis McGorman (trainer) who run sue through circuits that are different every day but include things like tire flips, TRX movements, push presses, skipping, airdyne sprints, etc. I do this with a pretty regular group of people and we all push each other through it.
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday I used to do things like the 5/3/1 program or Max-OT. However it was clear these programs were not working for me so Chris was good enough to put a program together for me focused on hypotrophy but that worked with the metcon work I have also been doing. The program is great and I look forward to the results.
Nutrition
As discussed earlier, I did fine on the nutrition front as I went from the really fat to in better shape with less fat. However I was still holding fat and the results were not coming as quick as they did at first with programs such as Rapid Fat Loss and Eat Stop Eat. I have tried all sorts of other programs such as other Intermittent Fasting protocols, Paleo, and the most recent Anabolic Diet.
The trouble was not the programs. Given the time and the discipline I know these programs would work as there are many others who have seen success with them. The trouble was me and discipline. It has become clear that I need structure and someone basically telling me how to exercise and what to eat. This takes the guess work out it for me and the feeling there maybe something better for me that I should try.
As a result of all of this, I am now relying on the gym and trainers at that gym to guide all my exercise selections (all included in my monthly membership). I no longer need to think about what program is best and will leave it in the hands of the experts. I am also relying on my nutrition coach (more on that later) to devise my eating program, including the meals and calories I consume. This allows me to focus on my job and family, while my coach works and plans my meals that are focused on good performance in the gym and body recomposition.
Summary
It is clear to me now that too much information is a problem for me. I am very analytical person who given the choice, will constantly analyze things and feel that there may always be something better. With my coaches and trainers I now that they will guide me in the right direction. Yes it costs extra, but I am confident that I will be able to report good results from my next BodPod test coming up in December.
Fitness and Body Composition Results Tracking Using my iPad
I have been tracking my progress for awhile now, but something always felt incomplete about it. For example, I did waist and chest measurements but have not religiously tracked them. I was my reading through Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman and the concept of personal experimentation was discussed and I realized this is an approach I should be taking – keeping very close tabs on my results and testing various protocols to determine what works best for me.
As a result, I have decided to take action and am now using my iPad to diligently track my measurements. This will hold me accountable, as well as most importantly allow me to set-up mini 4-6 week experiments where I can gauge progress and determine scientifically (sort of) what is working and what is not.
Here are the tools that I will use to track my progress, including those of professional fitness consultants (not trainers):
Evernote to journal workouts
MyoTape Body Tape Measure
Warrior DIgital Body Mass Caliper
iPad Apple Numbers for iPad
Body Composition Test – done at TCR Sport Lab
Metabolic Measurement (determines resting metabolic rate) – done at TCR Sport Lab
Here are a couple of screenshots of the tracking tools – one for the body measurements and one for the lifts (sample). Again, both have been done using Numbers for the iPad:
Be sure to sign up for my RSS feed so that you can see what I do with these numbers and start to build out programs to take myself to the next level.
Welcome to Digital Weight Loss
Welcome to Digital Weight Loss, a new blog that is going to marry the pursuit of a fit body with that of digital technology that can help me lose weight. Losing Weight and achieving a toned body has always been a struggle for me. I have turned to digital technology to help me in my fight against the bulge. In this blog, I will document my use of digital technology to help me in my fight against weight loss and a fit body.
The Stats – Numbers
Now how about the stats. As a technology user and the fact that this blog covers weight loss using digital technology it is only appropriate that I provide you the details as they are provided by my new trusty sidekick – the Wii Fit!
Height: 5 ft 6 in
Weight: 176.4 pounds
Body Mass Index: 28.49
Next Steps
And that takes us to the next steps. Stay tuned to the blog for updates on my progress, and most importantly how I use various technology products to help me lose weight and achieve a toned and fit body.
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