Monthly Weigh-In

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh - In Mon. Oct. 26, 2009

This morning I weighed myself 3 times using the regular scale and the result is that I now weigh 152 pounds. Hmmm, this is below what I'm comfortable with. I haven't been eating quite as much as I normally do, money is tight and I've got other things going on that require much of my time. I'm going to the gym 1 - 2 times a week these days, that will pick up, though. I had hunch I was loosing weight because one pair of my 32 inch jeans is very loose fitting at the waist these days. I'm looking at myself in the mirror, I don't see much difference - my musculature is good so I haven't felt particularly worried. But dropping 6.48 pounds in one month has me a little concerned. Normal for me is 156 - 158 so I will need to eat a little more to get my weight back up. I haven't been logging my workouts as often, but I haven't noticed an appreciable loss of strength, more of the way things are in my life lately that sometimes I have more energy than others. When things are better, I know I'll be much better at the gym. Still, I ate cereal today and two slices of wheat bread because of the reading on the scale. As a matter of fact I've been eating a little more candy these days even going slightly off from my Wednesday and Saturday reserve days (eating little candy on other days in order to share a happy moment with some relatives who are very important to me and that's it's own thing) yet I still have this weigh in at 152 pounds. I'll be okay, though, and get back up to normal weight soon enough.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh - In Thurs. Nov. 26, 2009

This morning before taking a shower I weighed myself 7 times - 3 using my regular digital scale and then 4 more times with the body fat scale. The result is that I now weigh in at 153.2 pounds. This is still a few pounds below where I should be. Interestingly, I have been eating mostly for maintenance but increasing my caloric intake on other days sometimes approaching what would be enough to gain a pound. Even though I haven't been getting to the gym as often as I used to, my activity level is obviously high enough that it is keeping my weight down this low. Normally I should be 156 - 158. I'm good, though. My body fat varies depending on the calculation. The range is 6.1 % - 12.5 %. I don't really agree with the lower percentage, though. Anyway, it's Thanksgiving and I did eat a lot today. I'm happy.

 

[Quiksilver]

I'm a little confused as to why you're being so meticulous still...

Here's a post of your on the first page of this thread from back in '07

I weighed myself twice this morning before eating anything or even having water.

current weight: 157.13 pounds
BF% according to the scale is 17.5 but I read something on a medical website that BF scales are off by as much as 8 %. So who cares what the scale says about my BF %. I'm 8-9 % body fat now.

My goal is to be 154 pounds all lean muscle with great definition with no excess body fat. I'm getting closer and closer to my goal

You've been fairly static in your body comp. for almost two years, so why keep track of your body(ie. weigh yourself 7 times, etc) when you aren't trying to change it?

I can understand keeping track of bf% levels when you're dropping or gaining weight significantly, but you've barely changed in years so you have fairly good control of what you put in your mouth and how much activity you do on a weekly basis.

Just seems a little strange to be recording/calculating/counting when your weight isn't moving anywhere.

As long as you're happy though...

 

[Being_the_Don]

I'm a little confused as to why you're being so meticulous still...

Here's a post of your on the first page of this thread from back in '07



You've been fairly static in your body comp. for almost two years, so why keep track of your body(ie. weigh yourself 7 times, etc) when you aren't trying to change it?

I can understand keeping track of bf% levels when you're dropping or gaining weight significantly, but you've barely changed in years so you have fairly good control of what you put in your mouth and how much activity you do on a weekly basis.

Just seems a little strange to be recording/calculating/counting when your weight isn't moving anywhere.

As long as you're happy though...

Because my weight crept up a few times there, Quik. Continuing to log my weight progress keeps me honest. And right now, tbh, it's a little under where I feel comfortable. I've even been adding on more fun carbs (candy) these past couple of months. I actually thought it would cause some weight gain but it's negligible.

One big concern of mine is that I don't lose any muscle. Granted that I haven't been training quite as often as I should but I've noticed that my fbbp numbers are way down. A few days ago I was performing one arm dumbbell rows and I barely lifted 2 x 100 with my right arm. I had to drop the weight down to 70 lb for 3 sets at 10 x 70 for both arms. I regularly perform that number of reps at 100 pounds (but it has been a long time since I've done that exercise). Anyway, I'll just keep logging away for the good of my health.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh - In Fri. Dec. 25, 2009

Before taking my shower this morning I weighed myself using my regular scale and the scale that also measures body fat. After averaging the weights together the result is 157 pounds which is an increase of 3.8 pounds since last month. Okay, now that I'm back to this weight, it's time to start cutting back on the fun carbs again. The last couple of months my weight was down slightly from where I feel most comfortable so I nudged up the eating a little - adding a few more candy bars or doughnuts during fun carb days. I also drank 20 oz cups of hot chocolate and had more bowls of cereal all of which which I knew would contribute to weight gain. Using a body fat calculation formula, my body fat is now at BLANK.

For anyone who is interested here is the formula:

LBM = 94.42 - 4.15 (X) + 1.08 (Y)

with X = waist circumference in inches and Y = weight measurement in pounds

TBF = Y - LBM

LBM is an initialism for "lean body mass"

TBF is an initialism for "total body fat"



I've been combining the cardio and strength training since last weigh in which helped to keep my metabolism elevated as I knew that consuming the extra carbs would increase the risk of adding on a lot of fat. I won't go into detail about my diet since most of you who follow my workout log have a good idea of what I eat. I will update my workout log in a few days, though, as I've got new information to report.

Some of you guys wonder why I keep a log of my weight after all of this time. As I mentioned last month, I continue to log my weight because it helps to keep me honest. If I don't watch what I eat I will gain weight. This can also serve as a way to help others understand that maintaining a certain weight is an ongoing process, the adoption of a healthy lifestyle is just what it means: it is for a lifetime not merely a few weeks or months.

Edit: The body fat measurement that I had listed above is inaccurate due to the fact that I didn't run the calculation correctly. In order to get the body fat the formula requires that total body fat be divided by weight.

TBF = 15.42

Y = 157

Body Fat Percentage = 15.42/157 = 0.098 x 100 = 9.8 %

 

[Being_the_Don]

My Monthly Weigh- In Mon. Jan. 25, 2010

I weighed in last Monday but I've been busy and didn't have time to post it. My readings were all over the place this time, so I'm not taking this one very seriously. After weighing myself 6 times I averaged them and the result is 161.8 pounds which is an increase of 4.8 pounds from last month. This is understandable, I know of a couple of days where my caloric intake was way over 3500 calories and I knew right then and there I had gained weight. My body fat went up slightly to 10.5 %. I'm doing something slightly different with regards to my cardio. It's winter time and I can't ride my bike as I would during the warmer months. I've started a program where I hit the gym early w/ only green tea and a medium orange, and ride for about 1 hour. (This is a variation on my combined HIIT and strength training routine), the first week I got in 15 miles and then I completed 18 this week. I'll be increasing the distance and doing intermittent bursts of intensely rapid pedaling then reducing speed to a more moderate pace. Of course I'm coming back to the gym mostly on those same days for my strength training. My weight should be back down by next weigh-in.

Last Thursday I rode for about 45 minutes then just for fun decided on some pull ups. I completed 17 reps in one set. LOL! This is better than I've done before (I do 14 - 15 reps before I stop). Then about three minutes later I did a set of 10 reps and went home. I did it mostly to see how much energy I had w/ only that small amount of food in my system and that was the result.



In case I don't get back in time to post this in my fitness journal, I've got some weight lifting updates to mention. Last week, I was thinking about adding in standing skullcrushers to my routine. I did it mostly for fun. I started at 50 pounds and then kept increasing it by 5 pounds up to 75 pounds doing 4 - 10 reps depending on whether or not I would continue. I did get 1 x 80 pounds but by that time I was very tired. I think that performing this exercise while standing is much better than lying down because of the inefficiency of the exercise. By this I mean, the body has to work that much harder to retain balance. I could feel it in my core as I had to keep myself standing straight. I like this exercise. I'll start doing these for a while. Also I did standing dumbbell overhead press 3 x 60 pounds w/o a warm up set which was very good.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Last week, I was thinking about adding in standing skullcrushers to my routine. I did it mostly for fun. I started at 50 pounds and then kept increasing it by 5 pounds up to 75 pounds doing 4 - 10 reps depending on whether or not I would continue. I did get 1 x 80 pounds but by that time I was very tired.

Actually those where overhead dumbbell extensions not skullcrushers. Sorry about that.

 

[Being_the_Don]

My Monthly Weigh-In Sat. Feb. 27, 2010

This morning just before taking a shower, I weighed myself using two different scales, the result is that for this month I weigh in at 160 pounds. With all of the early morning cardio I've been doing for the past month (to date 120 + miles) I had expected some weight loss. I did notice a few days where my food intake was well above what is needed to gain a pound, so the cardio may have countered it. Two years ago I decided to drastically reduce the amount of carbs I was consuming, averaging about 30 g a day. This was very difficult to do and I suffered a carb craving which resulted in eating a lot of candy and cereal. So I decided to modify this by allowing some fun carb days and when combined with the early morning bike rides of warmer months I noticed my weight went down by some pounds. However, I have been eating more carbs on a daily basis, I find now that they average about 70 g. On my fun carb days it can get up to 300 g or higher. There have been a couple of times that I ordered 20 + oz banana split milk shakes from Steak 'n' Shake and ordered the never ending pancakes special at IHOP. On the flip side, I haven't lost any strength during this bout of intensified cardio.

I didn't check my body fat this time. Those of you who follow this thread probably wonder why I make such a big deal out of this. Someone even pointed out that my weight has remained consistent throughout the time I have been recording these entries. That's true enough, but my body composition changed. I noticed that I my muscles became more defined as by December 2007. That continues to this day. The training helped me to get rid of the fat and built up my muscle mass. I can see my abs but there is still lingering body fat on my lower abs which has been a persistent pest for me. I want that fat gone. As I continue to workout, rotating some exercises out while incorporating new ones, it's important to keep a log of my progress. And for those guys who want the lean muscular physique without looking bulky, this thread can help others to see what works and what does not work so well. I maybe a mesoendomorph, I've considered this for a long time now. Still, it takes work to stay in shape and complacency leads to failure. I have to constantly improve myself and my goal is to get rid of every ounce of excess body fat. Once that goal is accomplished I'll go onto something else. Right now, I need to figure out why I basically stayed the same weight this month and fix it.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh-In Thurs. March 25, 2010

Last Thursday I weighed in at 164 pounds, this is up by 3.9 pounds from last month. Now here's the interesting thing: I know where the increase is coming from most notably sweets. The scale registers my body fat % at 16.5 %; however, I didn't check this against the hand calculations. But my waist size seems not to have changed because my jeans seem about as loose around the waist as they have been for the past few months.

I spent about 35 minutes performing cardio exercises including 15 on the bike and 20 minutes punching the heavy bag. I think I burned more energy hitting the bag so I might devote more time to that from now on. Not only did I work up a good sweat very quickly, but punching a bag that weighs at least 75 pounds is giving me a good upper body workout, too. Since it's spring, I should be shedding the unwanted winter fat. I'll provide updates next month.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh-In Sun. April 25, 2010

Prior to taking a shower this morning I weighed myself on the digital and body fat measurement scales. My weight is relatively unchanged at 164.82 pounds - having edged up by almost one pound. I know what it is attributable to so I'm not going to mention it. Interestingly, the body fat measurement is higher than it was last month, but when I look at myself I really don't see much difference. Sooooo, if my weight allegedly increased by almost a pound and my body fat went up by several percentage points, that means I gained fat pounds and lost muscle. Not likely. This is just another example of why I don't rely too much on the body fat measurement results of that scale. My clothes still fit me the same, I can still see my upper abs when I flex them which would not be the case if my body fat had climbed. Still, I'll be putting more miles on my bike for those cardio sessions to get rid of the unwanted fat that I do know I have. I want it off by summer and there's only a couple of months until June.

 

[Being_the_Don]

I weigh every morning. after taking the weigh normally i get to see some sort of loss,which is helps to keep my motivation up.
I normally get to see some sort of loss and which is helps to keep my motivation up.

Thanks for the input. I prefer once per month because it keeps me from obsessing over my weight (as ironic as this may seem to some of the readers of this thread). It also allows me to get a better handle on what contributes to the weight gain or weight loss.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Meh...being mediocre looking is boring, I say gain a **** load of muscle while staying relatively lean. You would probably look damn good with another 15-20 lbs of muscle. @ 10-12 % BF. You seem to have no pictures, scales are mind****s most of the time and a picture speaks volume. People store fat at different places. There's people who are sitting at 10% bf, who store a lot of fat in the lowerback/ab area, Yet look real lean vascular everywhere else.

Come to the bodybuilding darkside....we have lots of dead animals/protein powder and all the iron you can lift to your hearts content!!!

 

[Being_the_Don]

Meh...being mediocre looking is boring, I say gain a **** load of muscle while staying relatively lean. You would probably look damn good with another 15-20 lbs of muscle. @ 10-12 % BF. You seem to have no pictures, scales are mind****s most of the time and a picture speaks volume. People store fat at different places. There's people who are sitting at 10% bf, who store a lot of fat in the lowerback/ab area, Yet look real lean vascular everywhere else.

Come to the bodybuilding darkside....we have lots of dead animals/protein powder and all the iron you can lift to your hearts content!!!

Some other guys in the forum made the same suggestion a couple of years ago. Thanks anyway but I don't want to gain weight, Carlito. I prefer the 150s weight class. I have no difficulty putting on weight (muscle), what I work toward is to have a Spartan-like physique of low body fat, very good muscular definition and great physical strength. This isn't fantasy, it's mostly about CNS training.

Although I don't make much talk about it here, I do get a lot of compliments from women saying that I have an attractive body. I know I look good. The thing is that I must look and feel the best (for myself). The pesky fat on my lower abs is what I want gone once and for all.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Some other guys in the forum made the same suggestion a couple of years ago. Thanks anyway but I don't want to gain weight, Carlito. I prefer the 150s weight class. I have no difficulty putting on weight (muscle), what I work toward is to have a Spartan-like physique of low body fat, very good muscular definition and great physical strength. This isn't fantasy, it's mostly about CNS training.

I might come off like a **** but you started this thread in 09-26-2007. Yet still haven't achieved the fat loss you wanted? Your diet is either **** or you're just spinning wheels when training.

LOL you gave me a nice chuckle with the "CNS" training. Most people don't even know wtf the whole central nervous system entails. I'm studying biology courses, Anatomy/Physiology and I don't even throw that word around like some people do here. People read it from some coach or an article and all of sudden are CNS experts, internet educated neurologist !!!

Although I don't make much talk about it here, I do get a lot of compliments from women saying that I have an attractive body. I know I look good. The thing is that I must look and feel the best (for myself). The pesky fat on my lower abs is what I want gone once and for all.

Some women think prepubescent teenage looking men have attractive bodies. When I walk into a room, I want a woman to think "Wow that's the physique of a real MAN" (wide back/shoulders, powerful looking traps, big legs). Hollywood is making a mockery of what a real man should look like with all these skinny/frail looking actors playing leading roles.

Pesky fat on your lower abs, could be a result of high cortisol. Stress, ****ty diet/sleep all contributing factors.

Are you holding the majority of fat there and lower back area? Usually means you're not that carb tolerant and you would be better eating more protein + good fat meals

Spartans were hand picked from birth, only the biggest/healthiest babies made it in or your ass got tossed off a cliff. So genetically most of them naturally I imagine were pretty big and strong especially after their brutal training.

If you worried less about some small pesky fat/ripped abs and worried more about eating more protein, getting stronger in money exercises for reps at your weight, you would probably look stronger/bigger which in turn would make your waist look way smaller.

I think of a warrior and a physique like this pops into my head. This guy is an inch shorter than you and weighs around 210 lbs @ around 10% bf if I remember correctly. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/i...2008/10/24/117145/progresspic/2107452orig.jpg

legs
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/i...2008/10/24/117145/progresspic/2107422orig.jpg

 

[waynejohn]

some stuff

CarlitosWay, this guy is a lost cause. He's going to do what he wants with his body.

 

[Being_the_Don]

CarlitosWay, this guy is a lost cause. He's going to do what he wants with his body.

lol! Funny how a newb who just joins this forum can post what he does not know. You're on ignore.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Some women think prepubescent teenage looking men have attractive bodies. When I walk into a room, I want a woman to think "Wow that's the physique of a real MAN" (wide back/shoulders, powerful looking traps, big legs). Hollywood is making a mockery of what a real man should look like with all these skinny/frail looking actors playing leading roles.

Pesky fat on your lower abs, could be a result of high cortisol. Stress, ****ty diet/sleep all contributing factors.

Are you holding the majority of fat there and lower back area? Usually means you're not that carb tolerant and you would be better eating more protein + good fat meals

Spartans were hand picked from birth, only the biggest/healthiest babies made it in or your ass got tossed off a cliff. So genetically most of them naturally I imagine were pretty big and strong especially after their brutal training.

If you worried less about some small pesky fat/ripped abs and worried more about eating more protein, getting stronger in money exercises for reps at your weight, you would probably look stronger/bigger which in turn would make your waist look way smaller.

I think of a warrior and a physique like this pops into my head. This guy is an inch shorter than you and weighs around 210 lbs @ around 10% bf if I remember correctly. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/i...2008/10/24/117145/progresspic/2107452orig.jpg

legs
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/i...2008/10/24/117145/progresspic/2107422orig.jpg

Carlito,

I weigh less than a lot of the guys who regularly post in this forum yet I can lift and press as much as and even more than many of the guys here. Look at my fitness journal. How is it, then that I'm just spinning my wheels? I don't have a pre-pubescent body. I do not want to bulk up. This isn't directed at you but there is the prevailing notion that you have to bulk up to be strong or to look good. It seems to me that a lot of guys who weight train are worried about those who can attain strength without having to gain a lot of weight. Regardless of the compliments that I get from women about my body I won't be satisfied until I achieve the results that I want.

It's funny, actually. I can think of two uncles. One weighed was about 5'7 and about 225 pounds and could bench press 315 pounds. His younger brother weighed about 70 -75 pounds less but could press about the same amount of weight. I share genetics with both of them but tend to be more in line with younger uncle.

As for the carbs, I know where the problem is on that - mostly the cereal and candy that I eat. Sleep is a factor, too. You're right about that one. I average about 4.5 hours sleep per night and still go to the gym.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh-In May 2010

I weighed in last Wednesday but I didn't get a chance to post it up. My weight went up by about 8 pounds, but my body fat is hovering around 13 percent -according to the reading on the weight and body fat scale. My weight this month is a whopping 172 pounds. Funny that my body fat dropped considerably from last month (the reading last month was WAY too high which was likely an anomaly) but my weight went up by so much. Eight pounds?? Anyway, doing clean and military presses three times a week including on days that I'm doing leg press and hack squat, and the re-incorporation of the deadlift on the weekend may explain some of this weight gain. I'm thinking most of this is muscle. Nonetheless, I'm cutting back to one carb day per week (instead of two) just to be sure.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh-In Fri. June 25, 2010

First thing that morning just before taking a shower, I weighed myself using my regular digital scale and the body fat scale. According to the scale my weight is 162 pounds. This is a 9.7 lb drop from last month. This is the greatest drop that I can remember experiencing in a single month. I attribute the weight loss to cutting back to one carb day per week (instead of two) and eating more selectively even on carb day. I discount the body fat measurement on the scale because it said that I gained body fat which is something that I know didn't happen. I didn't take my own waist measurement this time, but I know that my body fat is back down to 9 - 10 % again. And I'm having trouble keeping my jeans (32") up even when I have them secured on the tightest belt notch. I should be back down to comfortable weight by next month.

 

[Being_the_Don]

Monthly Weigh-In (two months) 7/25/2010 & 8/25/2010

I didn't record my weigh-in for Sun. 7/25/2010. That month I weighed in at 160.56 pounds which was a loss of 1.74 pounds from the previous month. I'm discounting the reading on the body fat scale. I measured my waist circ. and it was 30.4 inches.

Wed. 8/25/2010

I weighed-in first thing that morning before taking a shower or drinking any liquids. The reading is 160.9 pounds which is an increase of a little over a third of a pound. I sound meticulous and picky, but I had planned to be down to 158 pounds by this time. Unfortunately I haven't been able to workout as often as I would like to. Although I dislike admitting it, my asthma is the problem. I prefer to merely say "respiratory problem" as it sounds better to me psychologically than asthma. I had it as a child then it was in remission for years only to return in late 2008 (after I did that dL at 410 pounds). I can handle pollen but temperature changes affect me and that has been the issue during the summer months. Anyway, I missed a week of working out due to the asthma, and have cut back on some of my workout intensity, too. And even today I skipped the gym because of slight chest congestion. Last week I also went to state fair and ate cookies, candy and a DQ Peanut Buster Parfait (all on carb day, though). To be honest I had expected to have gained weight so I was surprised to see that it remained relatively the same. Although I don't count the body fat measurements on that scale very much, the readings were lower than last month. Also my waist circumference is unchanged from July 2010. So all in all this month's weigh-in was okay.