To stay motivated, Michael has decided to update everyone on his main 2015 goal of getting down to 195 pounds every Friday until the goal is accomplished.
History
Back in January 2015, Michael had a goal to lose at least 15 pounds of fat by the end of the year. If he were able to not lose muscle, 195 pounds would roughly equate to 15 pounds of fat loss.
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 fat loss. One of Michael’s other goals for 2015 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 measurement.
(If you missed it, go back and view Week 1 and Week 2)
WEEK 3: November 27th – December 4th
November 27th Stats
Scale Weight: 206.2 lbs
Waist: 35.0″
Week 3 Main Goals
- Stay 90% compliant with my eating .
- That means that out of ten meals of the week, nine of them had to follow my healthy eating plan.
- Get 7-9 hours of sleep a night.
- Eat about 1776 calories a day
- Two years worth of data shows that this is where my calories need to be to lose weight
- That breaks down to:
- 178 grams Protein
- 178 grams Carbohydrates
- 39 grams Fat
- Weight Training 5 Days a week
- Sunday: Chest & Calves
- Monday: Back & Abs
- Wednesday: Shoulders & Hamstrings
- Thursday: Quads & Abs
- Friday: Biceps & Triceps
- Conditioning
- 10 minutes of random exercises three times a week after weight lifting
Observations
Thanksgiving happen to fall on the end of Week Two. The first day of Week Three was Black Friday aka Leftovers day. As planned, I continue to eat Thanksgiving leftovers throughout the day. Once Saturday, November 28th rolled around I was suppose to go back to my normal eating ways.
Well…that WAS the plan. What really happened was me giving in to another day of leftovers. My wife and I had Thanksgiving at our house, and our family left us with the majority of the leftovers. Most of the items were foods we normally don’t eat like macaroni & cheese, stuffing, glazed carrots, cakes and pies.
At first that was OK because I was expecting company to stop by our house to eat the leftovers and take most of it with them. But our intended company cancelled and we were stuck with the food. Seeing that massive amount of food brought life to the old “Beast“ within. That Beast took control of my mind and stayed around for a few days.
Being reintroduced to foods high in fat and sugar left my stomach in pain. It always taste good going in but the after effects are horrendous. The pain in my stomach is what slapped me out of my daze.
Going from over 4,000 calories back down to under 2,000 calories was a challenge. At night, I would get cravings. Some of the nights I caved in, but as the week went along I started to get mentally strong again. Having my “300 vs 3,000” calorie list and trigger foods posted on my refrigerator was a big help. I had a ten minute conversation with myself, reminding me that I didn’t need to eat cheese and crackers late at night. Something two weeks ago I would have simply brushed off, now became this psychological game.
I don’t know how it is for you, but for me, I can only go two days straight with eating foods high in fat and sugar. Any longer than two days and my body blows back up and starts to go back towards craving and desiring unhealthy foods. That’s exactly what happened during Week Three.
NOTE: If you haven’t heard about “300 vs 3,000” calorie list OR trigger food lists OR cravings vs. desires, check out my book, Release The Beast: Conquer Mental, Physical & Diet Challenges To Unleash The Champion Inside!
Food Stats
Here are my food stats for the week:
End of Week 3: December 4th, 2015
- Scale Weight: 206.6 lbs
- Waist: 35.2″
- 60% Compliant
- 12 out of 20 meals I ate during the week were compliant with my eating plan
No big surprises here. I ate way over my 1776 calories/day allowance. Some people would panic and start to increase their cardio even more. Not me. I know that my diet is the key to getting down to 195. During this next week my biggest focal point will be getting my eating habits back in control. I still have four weeks left in 2015.
When I started this journey three weeks ago, I wrote down a goal of getting down to 202 lbs by December 4th. Week Four’s planned goal was to get down to 200 lbs. I think I can realistically get down to 202 by the end of Week Four. Getting to 200 lbs may be stretching it for one week. I’ve shown in the past I’m capable of losing weight quickly if my eating is on point.
All I can do is control what goes in my mouth, not what the scale will say. So that’s why during this next week my biggest focus point will be maintaining 1776 calories/day.
The days after Thanksgiving unexpectedly kicked my butt. Does that mean I should just give up? Accomplishing goals is tough! I knew what I was getting into when I decided to do this during the holiday season. I had an entire year to accomplish this goal and stalled. That was all on me!
Think I got what it takes to be 195 lbs by December 31st? Stay tuned for Week Four!
