Welcome to Week 27 of me publicly broadcasting my goal of getting down to 195 pounds every Friday until that goal is accomplished.
Quick History Of How I Got Here
2010 – Early 2015
- Used weight training to lose 80 pounds of fat and maintained a happy healthy weight around 205-210 pounds based on busy 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)
First Six Weeks November – December 2015
Post Holiday/Winter Time Blues
Most Recent
- Countdown Week 24 (click here)
- Countdown Week 25(click here)
- Countdown Week 26(click here)
- Click Here To Check Out All The Previous Weeks
**DISCLAIMER**:
Michael could easily lose 10+ pounds of weight in a week just by going on an unhealthy super low carb diet or dehydrating himself of water. That’s not what this countdown is about! This is about fat loss not weight loss! There is a BIG difference between those two!
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 27: May 13 – 19 2016
May 13th Stats
Scale Weight: 200 pounds
Waist: 33.5 inches
Week 27 Main Goals
- Drop scale weight from 200 to 198.0 pounds
- Maintain a waist size less than 34 inches
- 30-60 minute walks 2-4x a week
- Take the MicVinny Challenge
- Eat about 1676 calories a day on my 4 off days
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- 195 grams Protein
- 138 grams Carbohydrates
- 37 grams Fat
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- Eat about 2556 calories a day on my 3 workout days
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
- 224 grams Protein
- 288 grams Carbohydrates
- 57 grams Fat
- For my fat loss/muscle maintenance goals that ideally breaks down to:
Observations & Challenges
MicVinny Challenge
The idea of the MicVinny Challenge had been on my mind for many months. Ever time I saw my weight go up, I thought how I could use a support system to keep me motivated.
The entire time I’ve been doing this countdown, not one single person has ever asked me how I was doing. I guess when you’re a best-selling author of a fitness related book (Release The Beast: Conquer Mental, Physical & Diet Challenges To Unleash The Champion Inside!), everyone assumes that losing weight is a piece of cake.
That’s the furthest from the truth! I’ve been doing this Countdown for 27 weeks now! I am human just like you! I have many many faults!
How many folks would have thrown in the towel and stopped documenting their journey?
I’m a man of my word, and when I put my first Countdown to 195 blog post online, I made a promise to keep posting every Friday until I got to 195. I guess you can say that was my own unofficial MicVinny Challenge.
When I finally decided to Challenge others, I spoke with several folks and noticed a common theme in their and my own struggles. We make our lives so complicated, that we forget that the biggest changes occur when you focus on one small thing at a time.
So for the First MicVinny Challenge, I truly wanted to get back to the basics and get us focused on building one habit at a time. I know I felt the change this week. I’m hoping others notice a change as the days go on.
Simplified Meal Plan
A friend of mine lost 10 lbs. in two weeks. We chatted and he mentioned to me all he did was eat less and added more cardio to his normal routine.
Pretty simple.
The weight loss he experienced is normally the typical weight loss I experience when in a fat loss mode. Somewhere on my current journey, I lost track of being simple.
As I looked at my past food journals, I noticed a common theme. There would always be weeks in which I would eat some type of cheat meal and let one of those cheat foods stay in my diet for multiple days. Those were normally my Red Trigger Foods.
As I thought about the MicVinny Challenge, I told myself….”I know Red Trigger Foods are bad for my body and mind. What if I just stop eating those red trigger foods for one week? I wonder what would happen?”
So that’s what I did for this week of the countdown. I created two meal plans: One for my workout days and one for my off days.
I made sure each day met my macronutrient goals by including simple foods I enjoy. Nothing complicated.
I was worried about being bored with eating the same thing all week. As the week went bye I saw how easy it was because I was using food that I actually enjoy in the meal plan!
The fruit I’m eating is satisfying my sweet tooth so I don’t crave cookies, ice cream or cake. There’s no desire to eat more food because my portions are pretty huge!
I’m not eating bland food either; I utilized spices and homemade marinade to create gourmet cuisine!
See how simple it was in my journal below.
Food Journal
Here are my delicious food stats for the week:
End of Week 27 Stats: May 19th 2016
- Scale Weight: 194.6 lbs. (5.4 lbs lost from previous week)
- Waist: 33.3 inches (0.2 inches loss from previous week)
Do you see the power of the First MicVinny Challenge? After 27 weeks, all it took was for me to take red trigger foods away. Something I knew I should do but decided not to do for weeks.
Those sneaky bastards had been my catalyst for the majority of my bad behaviors and progress stalls. I let them sweet-talk me into being in my mouth during the entire 2016 Winter time frame.
Upcoming Goals:
- Lose 2-5 more pounds of fat in private before starting my long-term 15 lbs. of muscle bodybuilding plan.
- Maintain a waist size less than 34 inches
- 30-60 minute walks 2-4x a week
- Do the 1st MicVinny Challenge for 21 days straight
27 Weeks Of Up and Down Fat Loss Documentation is OVER!!!
A HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders (and waist) by finally reaching my destination. I had no idea this journey would take me down the path it did.
I guess that’s life. You can either complain about it or do something. No matter if it takes 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 1 year……..just keeping going!
