Welcome to Week 22 of me publicly broadcasting my goal of getting down to 195 pounds every Friday until that goal is accomplished.
History Of How I Got Here
2010 – Early 2015
- Used weight training to lose 80 pounds of fat and maintained a healthy weight around 205-210 pounds based on home/work lifestyle.
- 2015 goal to lose 15 pounds of fat that would equate to about 195 pounds (if no muscle loss)
- Challenged myself to get to 195 during 2015 Holiday Seasons (hardest time for me to lose weight)
November – December 2015
- Countdown Week 1 (click here)
- Countdown Week 2 (click here)
- Countdown Week 3 (click here)
- Countdown Week 4 (click here)
- Countdown Week 5 (click here)
- Countdown Week 6 (click here)
January 2016 – March 2016
- Countdown Week 7 (click here)
- Countdown Week 8 (click here)
- Countdown Week 9 (click here)
- Countdown Week 10 (click here)
- Countdown Week 11 (click here)
- Countdown Week 12 (click here)
- Countdown Week 13 (click here)
- Countdown Week 14 (click here)
- Countdown Week 15 (click here)
- Countdown Week 16 (click here)
- Countdown Week 17 (click here)
- Countdown Week 18 (click here)
- Countdown Week 19(click here)
April 2016
**SPECIAL NOTE**:
Truth be told, Michael doesn’t care how much he weighs. The real stat that matters to him is his waist. That’s the measurement that tells the real story about his health/fat loss. One of Michael’s other goals was to have a consistent 34.5” or smaller waist size. Since waist measurements aren’t as sexy as weight loss, he decided to focus on the scale for these countdown weeks, while looking at the waist as a secondary (but way more accurate) measurement.
WEEK 22: April 8 – 14 2016
April 8th Stats
Scale Weight: 199.8 pounds
Waist: 33.5 inches
Week 22 Main Goals
- Drop scale weight from 199.8 to 199 pounds
- Maintain a waist size less than 34.5 inches
- Increase daily activity (ie: neighborhood walks, spring cleaning, etc.)
- Maintain a new weightlifting routine emphasizing strength while losing fat
- Eat about 1776 calories a day on my off days
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- 195 grams Protein
- 160 grams Carbohydrates
- 39 grams Fat
- Eat about 2756 calories a day on my off days
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- 240 grams Protein
- 310 grams Carbohydrates
- 61 grams Fat
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
Observations & Challenges
Workout
This was the second week of my new strength workout routine. I could feel the difference between this week and last. My lower body was screaming at me last week whereas this week their was no intial soreness. That soreness was just due to being inactive for a week and doing something completed different.
For those that have been following me, I was primarly doing a bodybuilding style routine with high reps and low rest periods. This current strength routine is less reps but more rest in between exercise sets. My current routine is more about seeing how strong I am while losing weight.
Sleeping
I was able to get 7.5 hours of sleep every day this week. The key was forcing myself to be in my quiet bedroom before 9:30 PM. The only entertainment I allowed myself was reading. I did get caught up on my iPhone one night but put it away when I saw the time on the clock get close to 10PM!
Depending on the time I turned the lights out in my bedroom, I set my alarm to wake me up between 5:15 and 6:15 AM. That insured me 7.5 hours of peaceful sleep. I’ll try to keep it up this next week.
Eating
For the majority of this countdown I was keeping track of my eating compliance. Basically I was allowing myself 1-2 cheat meals a week. When following this new strength protocol I decided to switch things around and not have classic cheat meals anymore.
My strength training routine involves me eating enough calories to support working out so on my weight-lifting days I eat more. I save my calorie deficit days for my non weight-lifting. This insures that I have enough nutrition to support my stressful workout days.
Looking over the history of this journey, I saw that my biggest faults were on the weekends. I decided to put a fix on that by not working out on the weekends. That would force me to eat cleaner.
To keep myself sane, I decided to allow myself to eat any food it takes to meet my macros. I’m disciplined enough to know how to get in all my protein, veggies and clean carbohydrate sources before moving on to the sweets.
Food Journal
Here is the Real World food stats for the week:
End of Week 22 Stats: April 15th, 2016
- Scale Weight: 199.8 lbs (0 lbs lost from previous week)
- Waist: 33.4 inches (0.1 inches lost from previous week)
The number on the scale didn’t go down but my waist sure did. During the previous two weeks, I had massive weight losses on the scale. It was only a matter of time before I slowed down. This was one of those weeks.
Additionally, I don’t believe the scale. Due to the way I’m eating, my daily weight fluctuates. That’s why I don’t rely only on the scale to justify my progress. The visual and waist measurement tests are proof that I’m making progress.
I will not change my diet. I will stick with what I’m doing. If my weight doesn’t change but my waist shrinks, I’m making progress. If my weight doesn’t change and my waist gets bigger, then I would bump my workout calories down.
Upcoming Week 23 goals:
- Drop scale weight from 199.8 to 199 pounds
- Maintain a waist size less than 34 inches
- Start taking 30-60 minute walks 2-4x a week
- Eat about 1776 calories a day on my off days
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- 195 grams Protein
- 160 grams Carbohydrates
- 39 grams Fat
- Eat about 2756 calories a day on my off days
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- 240 grams Protein
- 310 grams Carbohydrates
- 61 grams Fat
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
22 Weeks Down……5 Pounds to Go ….Waist goal achieved and now must be maintained!
After two hot weeks, I reached a temporary stopping point. Will I still be at 199 pounds next week? Could I possibly be gaining muscle due to my weightlifting routine? Is a ice cream sundae on the agenda for next week?
Tune in next Friday for Week 23!
