Fat Loss Week 3 Results

• Weight - 14st 13lb (down 2lb from last week)
• Bodyfat % - 27.5% (bio-impedance down 0.5% from last week)
• Waist - 36 inches (down 0.5 inch from last week)

I've trained hard this week and I'm happy with the results. I got a puncture on the bike yesterday so that disrupted that side of things but apart from that all cycling and gym sessions have seen some excellent effort this week. Ihad my first session this week of 8reps (increased weight though) and reduced rest periods of 30secs. That was workout A so that will transfer over to workout B on Monday when I'm next in the gym. I'll keep you updated.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Tired, but going well!

Hi there,

Things seem to be progressing along nicely but my legs have been getting some stick with the increased riding, change in sessions and diet. I think the slightly different riding position and gearing of the new bike and the distribution of weight now that I'm using panniers instead of the big rucksack is all contributing to hitting the leg muscles differently to what their use to. It's mainly the big hill on the way home and the recent windy weather hasn't helped any either. It's of course windy (windier than yesterday actually) so I've tried to reduce the baggage I'm transporting by leaving my folder at work and cutting down to just one pannier instead of two. Not sure if this will make much of a difference but I cann't hurt really can it.

In relation to Gym work it's still workout B that is the real killer for me. It's those bulgarian split squats with overhead press that make you want to just collapse. Anyway, I'm sure they'll do me good in the long run. Visually I personally feel (at the moment at least) that I'm looking better. Maybe that's wishful thinking but I am critical of myself so I would say that there is some positive improvement. Oh, just another quick mention about the cycling. I have in principle agreed to do a 50 mile bike ride in mid-May in preparation for the bigger 70+ mile ride in June. Before that I need to start to do some longer rides as I'm only doing just over 6miles to work and then the reverse coming back. I'm going to be taken out one weekend soon to have a slightly longer ride of 20mile just to get me started and begin building up the distances from there.

Right that's all for now. Cheers, BustaGut!

Fat Loss Week 2 Results

• Weight - 15st 1lb (no change)
• Bodyfat % - 28% (bio-impedance - no change)
• Waist - 36.5 inches (down by 0.5 inches since last week)

Although results show no change except for waist measurement I believe that BF must have reduced for waist to have reduced whilst still maintaining thesame weight. I beleive that this is another example of the inconsistencies of measuring BF via the bio-impedance method. So that's two weeks down and the plan is working slowly but surely. I'll give more of an update later I just thought I'd get the results up for people to loook over.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Another Week of training over.

Well been training hard this week but I have found the sessions difficult especially workout B (which I did today coincidentally). The eating part has been fine except for wanting nibbles. The rest of the family have made it a little more difficult by eating sweets, cakes and other carb laden no no's but I cannot expect them to stop eating these things just because I am. I will just have to stick with it and strengthen the will power, besides in the real world other people will be eating these things in front of me so I might as well get use to it.

Early this morning I got weighed on the scales and was a bit disappointed since the readings were 15st 1lb (so showing no movement) and initially 30% bf but when I re -measured again I got a consistent 28.5% bf reading (which is still up from last time). I haven't done anything wrong it's just one of the inconsistencies of the scales and definitely of the bio-impedance method for measuring BF. As many of you may or may not know depending on when you take a reading you may weigh and record a different bf. So ideally you should aim to measure at roughly the same time to limit this effect. Although I know all this the readings were still a disappointment though I shouldn't read anything into them. I'm on plan and doing things correctly so all that is needed is time and effort. I trust the programme, it works so I just have to be patient. We'll see what the results are like tomorrow at my official weigh in.

I'm doing my cycling to and from work. I even managed to start using the new bike yesterday which strangely hit my legs so I presume the riding position is different and that I will have to get use to it to get the best from the bike. Also at some stage I need to re-introduce some short 20min interval sessions on the stationary bike to help things along. I would have done this already but I'm just struggling to find the time and I've been tired from the normal bike riding. Anyway that's all for now.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Killer Workout B to start the Working Week!

Just got back from the gym and can confirm that workout B is an absolute killer of a workout. I was hesitant about going this morning as I've been suffering from a bad back but thought I'd give it a go. After a gingerly start I thought it went quite well. I was a little disappointed with the performance on the bulgarian split squat with overhead press and chins combination. I was exhausted and had to take a longer than prescribed rest period at this stage. I found this combination hard the last time round but it felt especially hard this time round. Perhaps with me withdrawing off of carbs might have something to do with it and I'm perhaps feeling a tad tireder than I normally would. I'm sure (if this is the reason) that my body will adjust soon. Like I mentioned before, for a beginner it would take a maximum of 4 weeks to become completely accustomed to the change in diet. I would expect this process to be much quicker with me since I was already doing a low carb for most of the week on the previous phase. Therefore I wouldn't have expected to have felt any big drops in energy etc.

Will be cycling to work soon and I hope topping up the tires with air should make a difference since they were down quite a bit when I checked them at the weekend. I have some minor adjustments to make on my new bike (mainly on my rack and panniers) and then I should be using that as much as I can to break everything in and then take it to the bike shop for its first service and adjustment / tensions resetting. This should take about 3 to 4 weeks but as the weather hasn't been great I've been putting off using the new bike. Silly I know as it needs to be used.

Well my last post said that my weight might rise slightly over the weekend, and whilst I haven't weighed myself I'm pretty sure that this is what has happened. So the expectation this week is to continue the training and cycling and see what happens. I'm by no means expecting results comparable with the first week's falls, but I would hope that a 2lb fall each week is comfortably achieveable. I'll keep you updated.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Nearly a one week update!

Well it's nearly a week since I started the Fat Loss phase and so far so good. The training has been tough going especially as I've been doing it in conjunction with my cycling to and from work in order to prepare for the charity bike ride I'm doing in June (though I gave Monday a miss since the weather was too bad to ride). I suppose once my legs get a bit more use to the shock it will become a bit easier. Friday's workout A was good and was better than the first attempt I did on Monday. After doing my second workout B session next Monday at 12 reps the rep range will decrease as will the rest periods. Therefore the sessions should become quicker and quicker.

Well in terms of results I would say that has been a productive week, although being the first in the Fat Loss it generally sees the biggest drop so these results shouldn't be expected each week. Anyway I weighed my self this morning and received the following;

• Weight - 15st 1lb (down 8lb from the start of week)
  
• BF % (bio-impedence) - 28% (down a whole 1% from the start of the week)


• Waist - 37 inches - (down 1 inch from the start of the week)
  

I have a couple of days rest now from exercise and the process again on Monday next week. There is a strong possibility that as I'm not doing any exercise for these two days that the results will fluctuate back up a little but again this is nothing to worry about and is to be expected to some degree. Well I have taken some photos of the first week results below. They aren't the best but are good enough to give you an indication of how things are progressing.

Yesterday's Workout B was a Killer!

Just a quick update. Yesterday's workout (B) was a killer. I find the combination of bulgarian split squat with overhaed press superset with chins a real energy zapping combination. Anyway I know that it's early days and weight etc will fluctuate a bit but I thought I'd check the scales this morning and there has been a significant drop;

• Weight - 15st 2lb (down by 7lb)
• BF% - 28.5% (down by 0.5%)

These results in such a short space of time (3days) is not uncommon because I have shocked my body and the inital reaction is generally quite large. The changes will quickly settle down and they will become smaller and incremental. Before this happens they may even rise a little but it's not something to get too worried about. The body settles down relatively quickly to the change in exercise and diet. For a beginner the diet will be well established within 4 weeks (on Plan A). So, so far so good. It's early days but I'll keep you updated.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Workout!

The first Fatloss session went well although tough in places. Trying to be as compliant with the TNT eating principles as I can for I know that the combination of exercise and correct diet has the most impact. I didn't cycle to work on Monday as the weather was too windy and was quite dangerous but I did yesterday. I think that as I progress through this particular phase this will become more benficial. At some stage I'll need to re-introduce some intervals as I found these to be a fantastic tool in assisting fatloss. That will be something I will try to establish once my body has gotten over the initial shock of the change in workout and the adjusted diet.

In terms of the number of workouts in this phase I will have to re-read that section of NROL to ensure I'm following correctly. I need to be disciplined and ensure I do things correctly in order to maximise the results I achieve from the effort I put in. I managed to change my body composition significantly last time round and so if things go to plan I intend to surpass those previous results. I am under no illusions that this will take time and a significant amount of effort on my part. I've taken the first step but need to stick to it until a new pattern is established then mentally it will become much easier.

Anyway, I'll have to go as I should be at the gym now for the second workout of Fatloss. I'll let you know how it goes.

Cheers, BustaGut!

Quick Measurement Update.

Before going to the gym this morning for that first Fatloss session I thought I'd quickly jump onto the scales to give a reading to add to the pictures I posted yesterday. The scales that I am using also (apparently) measure body fat though have found this reading to be way off when compared to a caliper reading. The method that it uses is bio-impedence which sends an electrical pulse through the body and then measures the resistance to that current. As I get more organised I'll also measure bf with the calipers so there is a comparison.

So the starting measurements that I have are as follows;

• Weight - 15stone 9lbs
• % Body Fat - 29% (bio-impendence)
• Waist - 37.25 inches (a massive reading from a simple tape)

The waist measurement is the most shocking from my perspective and definately highlights the amount of work that needs to be done. Well I had better get started.

Wish me luck!

The Fatloss phase begins again!

Right, tomorrow (Monday) will be the restart of the Fatloss phase that worked really well last time around. I've been on the Hypertrophy sessions for a while now and I know that have have some definate poundage of fat to lose. Hopefully over these few months I have built some good muscle as well that I intend to attempt to reveal by stripping away the fat. There is the added incentive un that I have the bike ride in June and do not want to be carrying any needless weight that will slow me down and make the ride more difficult.

So as promised I took some pictures to illustrate this fatloss starting point so that I can document the journey and hopefully see obvious visual improvements as well.

Unfortunately I do not have any measurements to accompany the pics but hope to provide them at some point. I have taken three pictures front, side and back. I must admit when I looked at the photos I was a little disappointed because it reminded me of when I was heavier and I felt a bit like the last few months have been bad for me. I suppose I was bound to feel like that a bit and probably wont know how much benefit I've gained from this period of hypertrophy until I lose the fat again. Well that process starts with the first Fatloss session tomorrow morning wish me luck

Cheers, BustaGut!

End of the Hypertrophy Phase.

Hi Everyone, I realise that I haven't updated in some time but there has been a lot happening personally that I don't intend to bore you all with now. Needless to say I have this morning completed my final Hypertrophy session in the current phase of training. I've been attending the gym regularly (3 times per week) and cycled to work most days. I must admit that the diet has been a little weak. The carb day was Saturday and I was taking carbs directly before and after a gym session within my protien shakes. The carb day was enjoyable but I think I applied it wrongly by overindulging on bad things. Basically I have been fitting a week's worth of crap into one day which does nothing but set me back and create a bigger deficit for me to make up on the Fat Loss stage that I will be re-starting next week.

I am attending a wedding tomorrow afternoon so intend to just have a final blow out before the fat loss work begins. Hopefully the diet will work as effectively as it did before. Infact as I know what I'm doing this time round it might even be better. So that coupled with my increased cardio of cycling to work 5 days a week (6.2miles there and same coming back) just over 12miles/day that's 60miles / week. I will be also training to get use to increased milage as I intend to participate in a 70+ mile bike ride in June. This is another reason to reduce the fat to make this a tad easier. I'll hopefully be more regular with my updates so that you can see how things are going and I'll also try to get some photo's up to document this. I suppose ideally I should really get one for this stage to show where I am now starting from. I will try to get this up in the next couple of days.

Cheers!