Too Little, Too Late?

First, the good news: I found a cardio routine that works for me. It’s kept my heart rate up and I’ve lost both weight and body fat much, much faster than in the past. Now, the bad news: It might be too late as far as the Bodybuilding.com 2013 Transformation Challenge is concerned.

While I definitely feel I’m ready for spring and summer, I’m just not quite as lean as I suspect others will be. On the plus side, my muscularity is good. Getting trim while still hitting the weights hard has done exactly what I’d hoped — I haven’t lost any size (that I can tell) and I look a whole lot more cut… I never knew I had so many veins!

I still have about two weeks left and will give it my all, but regardless of whether I place or not, I am excited about what I learned along the way.

The Delicate Balance

One thing that drives me nuts — I’m sure others can relate — is the seemingly delicate balance between fat loss and muscle loss. In my zeal to lose weight — fast — for the Bodybuilding.com 2013 Transformation Challenge, I discovered that I’ve been engaging in the latter and it’s discouraging.

I’ve lost an inch off my arms (which weren’t “fat” to begin with) as I’ve dropped 17 pounds over the past month. Yeah, my waist has gotten smaller; yeah, my abs and chest look better, but an inch off the arms? Give me a break.

Of course, this shouldn’t have come as a great surprise, given that I’ve been living on a diet of less than 2,000 calories while exercising 2-3 hours a day, 5-6 days a week.

So, I’ve decided to modify my diet. Last night, I upped my calories to 2,200 and I’ll continue at that level. Obviously, I’d love to do well in the Challenge, but it’s not worth losing a ton of muscle for. After all, I lift weights for size and strength, not to be small and malnourished.

The Secret to Weight Loss

I have found the secret to weight loss (at least for me)… and it's not eating/avoiding certain types of foods, snacking incessantly or any of the other stuff one typically hears.

It all boils down to ramping up one's metabolism. How that is achieved is up to the individual. For me, the combination of a good fat burner and slightly more intense (than I would like) cardio has done the trick.

When I started the Bodybuilding.com 2013 Transformation Challenge, I had a simple, tried-and-true diet in place. I would eat 6-8 times a day, mixing protein and complex carbs into my meals and snacks and I would lose weight and gain/retain muscle…

It didn’t work. My weight stayed more or less the same.

Undeterred, I decided that, perhaps, I was taking in too many calories and fat each day. So I revamped my diet and starting tracking everything I ate. I thought 2,000-2,300 calories per day would do the trick — beach body here I come!

It didn’t work. Sure, I lost more weight than before, but it was coming off very slowly.

Next, I decided to cut my daily calorie intake. Instead of 2,000-2,300 calories per day, I opted for 1,800-2,000 (mind you, my twin brother, who is naturally 30 pounds lighter than me, was losing weight with a much less stringent diet). But, hey, if fewer calories is what it took to get mean and lean, so be it.

It didn’t work. Again, I was losing weight, just at a glacial pace.

Then came my breakthrough. I noticed that, when I was walking on the treadmill (I’d maintain a pace of about 3.4-3.6 MPH at an 8-9 percent incline), my heart rate was generally in the 116-123 beats-per-minute range. Although I’ve heard that 60-70 percent of one’s maximum heart rate — crudely determined by subtracting one’s age from 220 — is ideal, I wondered if my body was resistant to that theory.

I decided to work in some interval training and quicken the pace of my workouts to get my heart rate up.

It worked. Now, when I get on the treadmill, my heart rate is immediately in the 130-135 beats-per-minute range and I’ve started losing weight — and, more importantly, fat — at a greatly accelerated rate.

So much for theories. I guess it's true: Practice makes perfect.

Seeing Improvement

Fantastic day in the gym today, continuing a trend of great workouts. Heck, even my 40 minutes on the treadmill was bearable today.

Even better, since I started tracking my diet, I’ve lost four pounds and I’m finally starting to show some improvement in terms of fat reduction. Consequently, I look slightly more muscular, which I knew would be the case once the fat started leaving my body.

I still have a long way to go, though. My waist is hanging — not literally, but close — at 39 inches (down just slightly from 40).

Nonetheless, I feel great about my dedication to the process. I may not win this Challenge, but I will win.

Counting Calories

Well, my workouts have gone really well, but my diet is another story.

Not through lack of effort, mind you… or planning… or anything else. The fact is I’m eating well, but my weight has pretty much stayed the same. I think it’s one of two things or, perhaps, a combination of both:

1) I’m taking in too many calories. I’ve planned out my meals, of course, but I haven’t really paid much attention to my calorie intake. Instead, I’ve just tried to eat healthier and eat enough protein-rich foods to fuel my training.

2) I’m not drinking enough water.

So, to fix this, I’ve started tracking my calories. It’s not fun, but I found a Web site, MedHelp.org, that makes it a little bit easier—and I’m guessing there are others.

My goal is to consume between 2,100 to 2,300 calories per day. My stats from Day 1:

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge