AWL8UP’s BodyBlog

After many years of struggling I think I’ve finally got this thing down (knock on wood).  I have never had a problem with doing the workouts or the cardio but the diet was another thing.  Up until 10 weeks ago I was never able to hit the diet without any slip ups for a long duration.  Something always got in the way….getting sick…travel for work…..the kids weekend activities. For some reason it finally clicked with me and I have now been perfect for 10 weeks and I’m down 23 lbs of fat.  I just don’t even negotiate with myself anymore when I want to cheat.  I even surprised myself by hitting my diet when I traveled with work for 4 out of the first 6 weeks, then had a trip to Vegas for the Mr O, and most recently I felt horrible this entire last week.  In all those situations I "just did it" and I feel a great sense of accomplishment now.  To get ripped, I think I still need to lose another 10-15 lbs but I have no questions in my head that it will happen between now and Christmas.  Life is great!!!!

This was my best diet week.  It was not that I cheated before but rather that this week I made a radical change and cut out all my carbs (except green veggies).  It broke me out of my rut as I lost 2 pounds but it felt like more.  The mirror really told the story as I started to made visual changes!  My workouts were great too!!  The only thing I noticed is that my pump was not as intense once I was carb depleted!!!

My diet is as follows:

Meal 1:
•  8 egg whites
•  2 whole eggs
•  ¼ cup low fat cheese
•  Salsa

Meal 2:
•  8 oz. Flank Steak
•  ½ cup broccoli or cauliflower

Meal 3:
•  Two scoops John Scott XP Protein
•  1 Tbsp Flaxseed oil
•  6 non-salted almonds

Meal 4:
•  8 oz. flank steak
•  ½ cup broccoli, green beans or cauliflower

Meal 5: same as meal 3

Meal 6:
•  8 oz. chicken breast
•  ½ cup broccoli, green beans or cauliflower

Meal 7: same as meal 1

NOTE:  One (1) free high carb meal per week on Friday or Saturday.  Must be morning or mid-afternoon.  Post workout is the best.

Ok, my body is no longer losing bodyfat easily.  I’ve been doing five low carb days followed by two carb days on the diet.  Up until two weeks ago it was working fine with steady weight loss.  During the last two weeks I have dramatically increased the cardio and kept all other factors the same.  I have not gotten any positive results from that as my weight has stopped at 235 and by bodyfat did not move from 11.5.  Luckily I have one of the top trainers in Phoenix or I would be pulling my hair out.  The plan moving forward is to diet another four weeks and shift to a high protein, low carb, moderate fat diet (similar to Dave Palumbo’s diet).  My body will either be shocked into losing more body fat or it will be time to start growing again.  I really want to get under 10% bodyfat during this phase so that I have the confidence that I can get lean enough for the show I have targeted in November.  I can assure everyone of this: I will not lose focus and will always work harder than the people around me!!!!  I’ll be damned if I leave any doubts in my head that I put 100% in to meeting my goals.

So week 12 was perfect!!!  I hit my diet, workouts, and increased my cardio as I focused on dropping bodyfat.  I felt I looked better in the mirror and was lighter on my feet.  Then I weighed in and I was up 2 1/2 lbs.  WTF!!!!!  I am not going to freak out over my weight one week as I know the body does not always respond as we hope.  I’m still down over 20 lbs since I started leaning out.  I have 5 more weeks of dieting left so I would like to be down another 8-10lbs and my bodyfat be below 8%.  I’m ALL IN and plan on doing everything in my control to lose the bodyfat and maintain my muscle,

So after being sick all last week I had a great week this week.  I achieved complete focus in diet, workouts, and cardio.  My strength was up all week even though I was still having a hard time breathing between the sets.  It was a weird feeling because my carbs were low for 5 days and my strength continued to increase.  That’s a new feeling for me.  I had a goal to be at 235 by today and beat that coming in at 232.  My last weigh in was two weeks ago at 238.  I usually average between 1.5 - 2 lbs weight loss per week so it was nice to get two weeks of losing 3 pounds.  I also did bodyfat and dropped 1.5% in the last 5 weeks.  I am now 11.5%.   I have not been this lean in many years so I feel a lot of satisfaction now.  However, with my goal to get on stage this year, I know I still have a tremendous amount of work in front of me.

I was sick this entire week and had to travel with work too.  I did not go to the gym once and while I ate clean I did not eat enough.  I went back to the gym today to try and get into the groove again and really felt out of my element.  It’s amazing how quickly that happens.  I think I was just a bit run down still and need to get my calories up again so I can have the energy needed.  I’m looking forward to a great week this week!!!!

Only 6 more weeks to go!  The pressure is on.

Now it becomes difficult!!!!  I had a perfect week working out and did an additional 30 minutes of Cardio (4.5 hrs total).  I was feeling a bit lighter and was hoping for a 2lbs loss but it was not to be.  I lost less than a pound (4/5 total).  While that was frustrating, I can accept it as I can not expect the same results each week.  The bigger problem is that I’ve come down with a sinus infection, sore throat, and my lungs are now heavy too.  I’m down for the weekend and can only hope to get back in the gym by Monday. Also, when I’m sick the diet becomes a huge challenge.  I just want to each clean so I can get better.  So far I have not cheated big but my sore throat makes it difficult to eat a lot of chicken or steak.  What a bummer.

Everything is firing on all cylinders now.   My workouts this week were insane and I was surprised by my strength given the fact that my carbs are depleted.  The cardio was easier and I felt lighter on my feet.  Lastly, the diet is nothing more than a thing now.  It has taken me two years of struggling to eat "clean" and not have unplanned cheats to get to where I am now.  I finally feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It’s exciting and makes it a lot easier when you can realistically see what you will look like lean!

As for results, I am really focusing on execution and not a lot of measurements now.  The mirror is my guide but I do weigh in once per week to validate that I am going in the right direction.  I’m taking bodyfat measurements every 4-6 weeks too.  This week my weight hit a milestone……I’m under 240!!!!  I lost 1.7 pounds this week to come in at 239.1.  I was really hoping to hit the 2 pound mark this week but I have to be happy with progress.  It’s slow and steady but it is progress.  Based on our projections from the last body fat assessment, I have to lose 4 more pounds in the next two weeks to get to 10%.  This is achievable and a major milestone for me.  

58 days left dieting.  My goal is <8%

Best week yet!  Each workout was extremely intense and I did 4 hours of cardio this week.  I lost another 2 pounds which is right on schedule.  I just need to continue to execute!  My short term goal is to be at 10% body fat by the end of week 10.  I have 6 more pounds to get there!

What ever the past few weeks were lacking was a thing of the past.  I had a great week.  While I was not my strongest, each workout was intense and fully exhausted the muscles.  My diet was perfect and I met my goals for cardio.  I did Body Fat at the end of this week and had dropped 1.8% since starting my diet to 12.7%.  This is the lowest I have been in years and I still have 10 weeks of dieting in front of my.  I want to be at 10% in four weeks and below 8% in 10 weeks!!!  This is the most fun I’ve had in years.  I am so close I can taste it.