VeggieGuy's journey to 11% body fat (3-6months)

[veggieGuy]

DAILY LOG

DONE= Went gym and did all the exercises + ate healthy
NOT DONE= Did not go gym or did not stick to healthy diet.
REST DAY= Rest day (2days a week)
ILL=

Hopefully I will have very few if any "NOT DONE"
I have been going gym for last 3 weeks but let's start it officially from now ie May17th 2007

MAY 2007
17th- DONE_100%
18th- DONE_80% (right eyelid is all swollen and painful... either insect bite/ allergy/infection...very irritating and messed up my gym time)
19th- ILL + Rest day
20th- ILL + Rest day
21st- ILL
22nd- ILL
23rd- DONE_100%
24th- DONE_100%
25th- DONE_100%
26th- Rest day
27th- DONE_100%
28th- DONE_100%
29th- DONE_100%
30th- DONE_100%
31st- DONE_100%

JUNE 2007
1st- DONE_100% My ego messed up my left shoulder!
2nd- REST DAY
3rd - REST DAY
4th - DONE_100% (minus shoulder related exercises)
5th - DONE_100% (minus shoulder related exercises)
6th- DONE_100% (minus shoulder related exercises)
7th- DONE_100% (started shoulder exercises again)
8th-REST DAY
9th-REST DAY
10th-REST DAY
11th-DONE_100%
12th- DONE_100%
13th- DONE_100% Skipped gym and went for a bike ride instead ( 1h:20min).
14th-DONE_100%
15th-REST DAY Caught a cold as well! Slight fever to go with blocked nose and throat!
16th-REST DAY Full blow Flu
17th-REST DAY Full blow Flu
18th- DONE_100% Skipped gym and went for a bike ride instead ( 1h+).
19th- DONE_100% Skipped gym and went for a bike ride instead ( 1h+).
20th- DONE_100% Skipped gym and went for a bike ride instead ( 1h+).
21st- DONE_100% Skipped gym and went for a bike ride instead ( 1h+).
22nd- Ate too much (nothing too unhealthy but stuffed myself!)
23rd- Ate too much again (cookies)
24th- DONE_100% 60km bike ride (felt guilty so had to push myself)
25th- Rest day
26th- DONE_100% Back to gym after a mini gym break. Did cardio and lower body. Still staying away from upper body weights.
27th- DONE_100%
28th- Resting. Frozen neck as I messed up my neck yesterday

29th ---10th July - Forced rest due to my neck. Last 7+ days have been nightmare as far a neck movement and sleeping was concerned.

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On 17th May 2007according to Tanita fat measuring machine-I was

Age- 33 (soon to be 34
Sex- Male (still)
Height- 171cm/5' 7"
Weight- 71Kg/156lb (Edit- It was 73kgs)
BMI- 24.5
Basal metabolic rate- 1680kcal
Fat Percentage- 19.8%
Fat Mass- 14Kg/31lb
Fat Free Mass- 57Kg/125lb
Body water- 42Kg/93lb
Ideal measurements- according to Tanita
Fat Percentage- 17-23%
FatMass- 11.7-17.1 Kg/26-37lb
_____________________________________

MY GOAL-

Weight around- 65kg/143lb
Fat Percentage - 11%
Time frame- 3-6months or however long it take
Long term goal- Maintain good health/body for rest of my life
______________________________________

[veggieGuy]

MY DIET

I wake up around 6am and don't eat anything.
At 10am I go gym.

At 12

I eat LARGE VeggieGuy's special salad-

Finely chopped raw cabbage
Finely chopped raw carrots
Tin of plain chick peas
Mung sprouts
Green Olives
Plain Tofu or Quorn chunks (<1% fat)
Sliced tomatoes

I mix all of it together after sprinkling black pepper, dry herbs, dry chillies etc. Basically no oil or fatty sauces are added. Everything plain and simple. The olives and tomatoes combined with the dry herbs/chillie provide all the kick I need.

3-4pm

I eat banana, apple (whichever fruit is available orange, pear, melon) and handful of mixed nuts.


7pm

Some sort of vegetable special. Typical example-

Large cup of red kidney beans OR pulses mixed with Spinach, Broccoli and tons of other mixed vegetables...all cooked together in a non-stick pan. I never use any oil. The water cooks it just fine. I add spices and herbs and love the taste.

I eat it all with two slices of whole wheat brown rough bread.

I go to bed around 12. I might eat one or two apples before I sleep.

I will be adding photos of my cooked food in next two days. Any advice on the diet?

Btw I use this as my rough food guide "8 Foods every vegetarian should eat"
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/document/387
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[veggieGuy]

PART-3

My gym routine

Ok so I am going gym 5 days a week. My gym does not have free weights but has nice Nautilus machines.

In correct order-

1) I do weights for my upper body for 40minutes. 12- 20 reps just one set.
2) Use Stairmaster recumbent bike for 40minutes at intensity 8-9. There is enough resistance...apart from cardio my ass and leg muscles get a decent workout as well.



3) Stairmaster step machine for 20minutes at intensity 8 for 20minutes



The steps machine + bike cardio results in me burning 400-500kcal.

4) After that I hit the machines again to do lower body. This I do for 15-20minutes. Again like upper body 12-20 reps.

When I get home I quickly do basic 2-3 dumbbell exercises and some push ups and pull ups for 10minutes.

Do you think I am on the right path? I have been doing this for 2 weeks and I can cope with it.

So to reiterate...I want to lower my BF and get more cut. I am not interested in bulking up and getting huge or anything. Just want nice definition. So an ideal goal for me would be something in this direction-



Questions I want answers for

Q1- Let's count today as start point (May 17th). If I keep up with my diet and routine then how much time will it roughly take for me to achieve the results I am looking for? 3 months...6months...a year?

Q2- Is it true that doing cardio on an empty stomach results in burning more body fat? Going gym on an empty stomach is no problem for me as I liek working out with an empty stomach. Just curios if there is any truth to the empty stomach gyme = more fat burning idea.

Q3- Is it true that one should not eat anything 2-3 hours before going to bed?

Q4- I take multi-vitamin pill every day and another 500mg B6/B12 tablet. Is this dangerous?

Q5- I will be 34 in few months. Is my body going to go into decline even if I eat healthy and go gym? I mean will I have to work harder and harder as I get older to stay fit?

Q6-

Q7-

Q8-

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[veggieGuy]

PART-4

space holder

[offense74]

Q1: Why don't you choose a lifestyle that's going to last a lifetime and thus stop worrying about how long it would take?
Q2: I like to not be full either when I work out. There have been hundreds (if not thousands) of myths in the fitness industry since we started to get fat about 70 years ago. People have been following them and we're still fat so this one is probably false too. Do what you like, be happy and get tired. That strategy will last a lifetime.
Q3: No. The only correlation we know about weight loss and food is total energy in - total energy out = weight loss/weight gain. They also know that people who eats breakfast usually eats better during the day and if you eat too much in the evening you might not be hungry in the morning...
Q4: Skip the b6 and try to find a multi without iron. As a vegan you might have problems with b12 and zink. Almost all people in the northen hemisphere are deficient in vitamin D (at least during winter), vegan or not.
Q5: Read Healthy at 100 by John Robbins. Also read up on calorie restriction.

[veggieGuy]

Q1: Why don't you choose a lifestyle that's going to last a lifetime and thus stop worrying about how long it would take?

Thanks offence74 for the reply. Will check out the book.

Regarding Q1 yes you are 100% right and that is what I am doing but it's always nice to have an aim based on some sort of time frame. My question was just general to understand roughly what kind of time it takes to loose what I want to loose.

Edit- That John Robbin's site is full of good info! Nice link

[veganpotter]

Your using that Tanita scale??? I wouldn't touch that with a 10ft pole. I tried one before and it said I had a bf of 27%...I checked it over and over. Then I went out for a workout in the heat(I lost nearly ten lbs but this isn't that abnormal when your a 300lbs athlete) and when I tested and retested it said my bf was something like 15-16%. This wasn't a one time deal. I've tried it on Tanita and a few other bf scales. The only true way to test bf is to do a float test. Skin folds are just as bad...I have a friend that folds 4%bf in his arms but there is no way in hell that he's under 18%(he's a 300lbs strongman competitor). Don't put too much on that scale and go by how you look.

[veggieGuy]

You are right that nothing beats visual indication + good old tape measure for the waist

[JW]

Based on your goal picture... are you a Manchester United fan?

[veggieGuy]

Based on your goal picture... are you a Manchester United fan?

Just Ronaldo fan Guy is an awesome football talent. Don't dislike ManU as such but not mad about any club in particular. Just like watching good football. Which club do you support?

[veggieGuy]

Not that anyone is following but my eye is almost ok so I went gym again. Was very hot today but I gave my 100%.

I was in the toilet and washing my hands. Some guy after taking a piss went back into the gym without washing his hands. People like that really drive me nuts! I avoided all the machines that he touched SOAB!

I was doing my cardio and I had the window slightly open but some idiot kept coming and closing it. Guy did not even have the decency to ask me first. Sucker was not even in the cardio area but kept coming back and closing it. I kept opening it as well He gave up finally!

Edit- Ate fresh broad green beans + fresh mushrooms + tomatoes + pulses combo. With side serving of salad. It was heaven I tell ya! Now I am eating some mixed nuts + yellow melon + banana.

I love clean healthy food!

[veganpotter]

This is why you need to lift with a new pair of disposable full fingered gloves.

[veggieGuy]

Another good day at the gym completed.

This is why you need to lift with a new pair of disposable full fingered gloves.

You really use those? OR are you being sarcastic?

[JW]

Based on your goal picture... are you a Manchester United fan?

Just Ronaldo fan Guy is an awesome football talent. Don't dislike ManU as such but not mad about any club in particular. Just like watching good football. Which club do you support?

I'm a big Man Utd fan and obviously a big Ronaldo fan too

I love watching him play. I wish I had half his speed and creativity

[veggieGuy]

So going to gym regularly is proving easy as it has become part of my daily routine. Avoiding unhealthy food does not seem to be a problem either. I am a perfectionist and when I put my mind to something then I normally succeed