Tag Archives: measurements

Day 238: Lean out

Day 238 - front

Weight: 139.0 lbs.
Workout C: 30 minutes, 3 seconds; next: Workout C, April 29
Total inches: 125.0
Protein: 131 g (0 g over target)
Calories: 1,940

I have slid backwards in body fat.

My fat went from 25.5 percent at the start of the year to 26.7 percent.

Date	Aug. 30	Oct. 1	Nov. 1	Jan. 2	April 19
Body fat %	23.5	24.5	26.8	25.5	26.7

body fat percent

The challenge before me is to figure out where I need to tweak: exercise or diet. For my age and gender, 18.1 percent to 19.6 percent is considered good, while 13.6 percent to 16.3 percent is excellent. I am back in the poor to very poor range.

I already made a big adjustment last week in recalculating my protein intake based on my protein shake epiphany. For now, I stay on this new course, hoping that the next BodPod assessment — maybe in July — yields happier numbers.

Day 238 - side

Day 140: The end of snack time

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Day 140 - front

Weight: 135.8 lbs.
Workout C: 13 minutes, 29 seconds; next: Workout C, Jan. 21
Total inches: 123.4
Protein: 128 g (0 g over target)
Calories: 2,347

My diet has changed in interesting ways since Project Bulk began.

Up until my food crisis in 2007, I ate for convenience. I microwaved a lot and ate fast food. Post-food crisis, I wiped almost all processed food, working to eat better and cook more.

Neither affected my weight, my outlook, my energy or my body, as far as I could tell. I did notice that the few times I eat fast food, it made me a little queasy.

Because I now count calories and protein intake, I tend to stick to the easiest pattern possible. Most days, that’s a protein shake and either oatmeal with raisins or eggs and waffles for breakfast. I usually skip lunch. Dinner is whatever I can eat to hit the daily minimums as closely as possible.

What’s gone is snacking.

For 6 years, I followed a simple directive. Eat when hungry. If my body says eat, I eat. That led to snacking throughout the day: trail mix, peanuts, cereal, cheese, instant oatmeal. I would go through all of these staples quickly, so I kept plenty on hand at home and at the office.

This pattern worked. Instead of two or three big meals, I had six or seven snacks throughout the day. The most important goal was to keep my blood sugar at the right level so I could stay sharp.

Now, with a big breakfast, I’m simply not hungry till late in the day. No hunger, no snacking. Plus, I don’t want to measure out snacks every time to track the numbers. A jar of peanuts lasts and lasts and lasts. It’s protein- and calorie-rich, so I don’t need to screw up dinner later on because I’m too close to the “limit.”

Someday, I may go back to my carefree routine: Eat whenever and never measure. But I’m content with the numbers and their results, even if it means the end of snack time.

Day 140 - side

Day 119: An involuntary precision

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Day 119 - front

Weight: 133.6 lbs.
Workout C: 15 minutes, 15 seconds; next: Workout C, Dec. 24
Total inches: 122.1
Protein: 128 g (2 g over target)
Calories: 2,310

I sometimes still surprise myself.

What has surprised me the most, 4 months in on Project Bulk, is my meticulousness around all aspects of this project. I know what I’ve spent, to the penny. I weigh myself first thing each morning, then wrap the tape measure around various limbs.

I calculate and recalculate what to eat to hit my calorie targets. If I’m bothered by any one aspect, it’s that my form on lifting and curls isn’t great. I bet if I were in front of a wall mirror, I could pinpoint where I need to improve my movement.

Such precision probably isn’t needed to accomplish my simple goal of gaining muscle. It’s just part of who I am. It’s what I do in blogging, in training, in measuring, in project work. It gives me clearer direction in what’s working and what isn’t.

I can be bigger. I don’t think I can ever be less precise.

Day 119 - side

Day 105: Eat like it’s your job

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Day 105 - front

Weight: 133.2 lbs.
Workout C: 11 minutes, 40 seconds; next: Workout C, Dec. 17
Total inches: 122.4
Protein: 126 g (0 g over target)
Calories: 2,261

After 2 weeks of 2,200-calorie days, the next step is simple: 2,300-calorie days.

Surprisingly, my weight has remained stable the last 6 weeks, when I’d prefer it go up. And, of course, with more lean pounds than fat pounds.

A recap:

Days 1-14: no calorie counting, no weight gain;
Days 15-30: calorie counting, but no target, resulting in steady weight gain;
Days 31-61: 2,500 calories a day, resulting in steady weight gain;
Days 62-76: 2,000 calories a day, no weight gain;
Days 77-91: 2,100 calories a day, no weight gain;
Days 92-105: 2,200 calories a day, no weight gain.

The target protein has been a minimum of 122 g to 126 g a day, with the overall average being 136.6 g to date.

The sweet spot would be gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously. It might be happening now, but I won’t know until I check my body fat percentage again, perhaps in 2 weeks.

It will not be difficult to ramp up calories again. Having already done a month at 2,500 calories, these small tweaks are really nothing. I just didn’t realize that the range of calories I consumed these last 6 weeks would have no effect on my overall weight.

My job continues to be to eat sufficient protein and calories every day. So far, it has been a minor hassle in accounting but enjoyable nonetheless.

Day 105 - side

Day 64: When numbers mean more than your (expanding) gut

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Day 64

Weight: 134.0 lbs.
Workout B: 20 minutes, 28 seconds; next: Workout A on Nov. 9
Total inches: 122.1
Protein: 125 g (1 g over target)
Calories: 2,104

We live in a world of predictive models.

Smart statisticians can program computers to guess your spending habits, your traffic-avoidance patterns and your browsing preferences. Numbers are at the heart of sabermetrics, the method of putting together winning baseball teams with the most effective players at the lowest cost.

(No, I haven’t read or seen “Moneyball” [aff. link], but it’s on my list.)

Using statistics to measure the value of each player flies in the face of “gut,” used by club owners and managers for decades. But it works, and every team uses it in some part of its decision making.

Numbers are at the heart over the recent kerfuffle about FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver’s high-profile blog tracking election forecasts for the presidential and other races. His track record has been solid in 2008 and 2010, but recently, pundits have questioned his model for the Obama-Romney outcome. We’ll know the answer in 4 days.

Most of Project Bulk is pure numbers. I use a slew of measurements, but I have a limited data set: 64 days and growing.

Sometimes, the numbers tell me I’m doing fine. Sometimes, my belly distracts me from the numbers. Sometimes, the numbers frustrate me.

In several cases, I have used charts and graphs to understand the patterns. This has helped me more than any other tool in this experiment.

(Surprisingly, the daily photos have not helped me much. Call it inhabitant bias: I see myself every day directly and in the mirror. While others can see the external changes, I am not as keen an observer, a type of blind spot.)

My guide, “The 4-Hour Body” [Amazon | iTunes aff. links], has helped with a few formulas, but a lot has been simple trial and error. For example, I started with no calorie measurement. I then measured starting Sept. 15, and soon after, set a daily goal of 2,500 calories minimum.

After more pounds of fat added in October than September, I decided to tweak the formula. My best guess is to try a 2,000-calorie minimum. I’ll need to see how this affects my weight through Nov. 15 and readjust if needed.

The challenge is not predicting the outcome. The challenge is building the predictive model so that I can understand if and when I’ll reach my goals: toned upper body, 13.6 percent to 16.3 percent body fat. (At my current weight, I would have to convert 14 pounds of fat to muscle.)

I enjoy the number crunching. Each day brings me new figures to create my ultimate figure.