4XLT

Today’s Weigh-In: 366.6 pounds

Days Till Goal: 15

Pounds To Go: 6.6

The pounds are starting to drop again. I’m back in the 360s again. And now, I’m a pound lower than my former low mark. However, I’ve been here before in the last month and a half: twice. And both times, I let lazy gym work and poor eating knock me back into the 370s.

Not again.

It’s amazing how quickly I forget that 90% of the weight loss battle is all mental. Mental discipline and toughness. Keeping the goal in sight. When I stay smart, I keep track of what I eat and work hard in the gym.

And then – imagine this – the pounds start to come off.

Well, I’m staying smart this time and going to keep watching what I eat and working hard.

360, here I come. And I mean it this time!

Today’s Weigh-In: 371.4 pounds

I got my physical size measurements and body fat percentages calculated this weekend (along with trying to get sold into supplements and a $300 caloric counter at 24 Hour Fitness. Worthless trainers…). As it turns out, at 370 pounds, I am at 28% body fat. It’s not great by any means, but I was expecting a much higher number somewhere in the 30s. If the numbers taken and calculated by the trainer are correct, then my Lean Body Mass is somewhere around the 265ish mark (and according to my calculator, 266.4 pounds): There is no way that can be right, can it? I know I’m tall and have a big frame regardless, but that can’t be right. Even the trainer was stunned – so stunned he ran the numbers twice. Both times, 28%.

Total Weight * (1-BF%) = Lean Body Mass

370 * (1 - .28) = 266.4


Well, let’s just go with it for the time being.

I have two primary body fat goals I am working towards: 25% and 15%. According to some charts I’ve seen at the gym, under 26% is considered an “acceptable” percentage for men. 15% is in the middle of the “fit” range. I would be thrilled to be in that range.

I’ve been crunching some numbers based on that percentage, and I’m so surprised I’m sure something is off with my figures. I could use some help.

Acceptable at 25%

At 25% body fat, a quarter of my Total Weight will be fat, and three-quarters will be my LBM

LBM = (1 - .BF%) * Total Weight

355.2 = Total Weight


Fit at 15%

LBM = (1 - .BF%) * Total Weight

313.4 = Total Weight


That Can’t Be Right

Do those numbers just generally sound off to anybody else than me? Because 313 still sounds like a fat guy to me. But then again, I see video of Jesse Marunde from the World’s Strongest Man competitions. He’s 6′4″ and clocked in at 320, and he looks thin as can be – with a good amount of muscle packed on, too. So, I could very well be wrong and the error is only in my thinking.

Still, until I get someone else to verify it or diss my pitiful math skills, I figure my numbers must be off somehow. Math has never, ever, EVER been my strong suit, so it’s perfectly likely that I’ve just done some crazy math that doesn’t actually make sense.

Or, it could be that my Lean Body Mass will decrease as well, both that doesn’t logically seem to make sense.

Help, please!

Today’s Weigh-In: 370.6 pounds
10.6 Pounds Till Goal
21 Days To Go

I looked at the weekly weigh in chart on my wall this morning and had a sickening realization: I’ve been in the 370-374 pound range for a month.

Four weeks of no progress whatsoever. None. I refuse to be one of those guys who drops seventy pounds and then calls it good, even when there’s still a long ways to go.

But for all my talk and blustering, I’m not going to do myself any good by rambling about how I’ll change on my blog. Whoopty friggin doodah for everything I write on the blog if I don’t live it out in my own life and actions.

So,time to use the anger and frustration and disgust I’m feeling right now at my self-inflicted slowdown, and blast through my next goal: 360 by July 4th. Last month, I was figuring on crossing the three digit mark by the first of August, but I don’t know if 340 is an attainable mark by that point.

That doesn’t mean I won’t try.

Mapping the Course

So, how am I going to get there? Easy – on paper, at least!

Right food intake is key, as everyone knows. But a huge part of this for me has been my water intake as well – I rarely drink enough over the past few weeks, and it shows. Another part of the food intake battle for me is simply remembering to record what I eat. I’m continually suprised at how much that helps in my own mental game of watching what I eat.

Then there’s HIIT cardio sessions. I hate, hate, HATE them, but they do ramp up the fat burning machine, so they are a non-negotiable.

Finally, there’s the lovely monster known as weight training. For the next three weeks, I am going to be moving away from my rough template of the past couple of months (tweaked now to include a Horizontal Push / Pull, Vertical Push / Pull, Dead Lift variation, and Leg Presses).

Basically, my goal is to take my body to the pain, thereby causing it to burn a decent amount of calories during the lifting, and elevate my metabolism during the muscle build up following my gym time. I’m going to accomplish this by including a number of combonation / complex lifts.

Most importantly, this means I’m trading in the massive weight I can put up on the leg press (admittedly a guilty pleasure) for (re)learning to squat. I did my first 4×6 set yesterday at 200 pounds (pitifully low, I know. I’m fix that), and I am amazed at how my hamstrings were like jello after the lifting. Not to mention my traps (oddly) and my legs are still sore today. That’s a good feeling.

Power cleans, dead lifts, box step-ups (I don’t know why, but they do a number on me) and others to be determined will continue to shape my lifting.

As much as I want to cross into 100+ pounds lost territory over the next few months (a measely thirty pounds away!), I am craving to go on my weekend trip close to the 350s much more. That’ll be awesome.

Today’s Weigh-In: 373.2 pounds

Billy threw down the gauntlet today, and I’m picking it up. I’ve been too lax since crossing the 380 mark back towards the end of April, as my pitiful weigh-ins since then show. Time to change that, and some friendly competition amongst the FAT Coalition members will do quite nicely. But not nicely enough.

I Need A Better Reason

I’m not a very competitive person. Really, I’m not a competitive person, at all. So, ramping up to beat the other guy isn’t going to get me going. I need a better reason. Fortunately, I’ve got just the one I need!

Over the weekend of the 4th & the 5th of July, I’m heading down to the Rogue River valley for a bit of personal R&R and merry-making (other details are top secret because of national security and held on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know!). But, let’s just suffice it to say, I really want to be looking top notch, and hitting 360 will help out the mental game tons, along with a slightly more-lithe figure!

Time For 360

As you may remember, I set a major goal of hitting 360 pounds by July 4th a few months ago. So, my weekend trip to southern Oregon corresponds quite nicely. And this go round, I’m way more invested with hitting my goal because of the date on which my goal falls. I’m not sure, but I think that lack of important goal apart from a semi-arbitrary date may have affected my aggressive attack on weight loss the past couple weeks.

But not this time! I’ve got a great reason to drop weight by the Fourth!

So, time to man up and get this done. I’ve got a good reason to, and there’s only one way to get there: hard work.

Today’s Weigh-In: 370.8 pounds

Just checking in while I have a two hour layover here in Denver. It’s been frustrating the past couple of weeks, as I seem to be perpetually sticking around the 370 pound mark. I’ve dropped below the threshold two or three times briefly, but always seem to quickly rebound back up. I even got back to the 374 mark earlier this week.

I wish I could get a handle on what’s going on here. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I haven’t been really off track with anything. I wasn’t at the gym for two days in a row this week, but I wouldn’t figure it would have that adverse of an effect. I suppose this is all a matter of the engine has to be firing on all pistols to be able to race. Water intake, weight training, HIIT cardio, proper nutrition, and plenty of sleep all play a part. Still, it’s frustrating that nothing’s been remotely “bad,” just lackluster. Yet, the numbers bounce up and I work it down to 368 or so, then the numbers explode up almost instantaneously.

To potentially compound matters, I am going to be in Oklahoma for the next five days, pulling best man duties at my best friend Nate’s wedding. I refuse to pull another five pound gainer like I did back in April when I was back in Oklahoma. This time, I will track all my intake in my little book. When I don’t track my food, I fail every time. I can’t do that this time, because I really, really want that 360 number. And past that, I want 340 by August.

But, for all my rhetoric and good intentions, the real question becomes am I willing to invest the mental energy and physical effort to make that happen? I better be.

And so, the war is won in countless minor battles. Do I eat everything on my plate and skyrocket my caloric intake, even though it tastes so good? Or, do I half my food and take some home for my next meal? Do I buy some greasy food at the airport here? Or, do I buy some water and a couple granola bars, knowing I’ll be able to eat healthily in a few hours?

I think I’m going to go finish my granola bar.