Getting back into it

[darcy]

It's been ages since I've posted on here, but I thought I would share my progress so far for the year.

The 'before' pic was taken in August. I was lifting at the time, but paying very little attention to my diet. I was 190.5lbs and my waist measured 37.5". I stopped working out, for whatever reason, shortly after the pic was taken and put on a few more pounds... maybe 5. Unfortunately (or not), I don't have any pics at my heaviest from that period.

I started training again and paying close attention to my diet midway through January of this year. The 'after' pic was taken this morning and I weighed in at 157lbs (based on my bathroom scale... the one at my gym is of much better quality and puts me about 3lbs lighter, but for the sake of consistency I track using my bathroom scale), and my waist measures 29.5".

I'd like to hit 6% body fat, so I've still got quite a ways to go, but I'm making progress. I'm happy that, even having lost the weight, my arm measurements haven't gone down at all

[Fallen_Horse]

NICE progress! You have made good time too. Congrats!

[SunWarrior]

Good job man. Youve made really good progress in such a short time. Youll get down to 6% in no time at all.

[darcy]

Thanks guys.

Here's another comparison, this time from the side (same time frame, all progress since January 11th). From this angle, you can see where I'm still holding quite a bit of fat over my lower abs.

One thing to note is that in the after pic, I'm completely carb depleted. It's neither my normal nor preferred diet approach, but I've had success with it in the past and it's part of a last ditch effort to get my abs to show before leaving for Vegas on May 13th

So, when I carb up again I'll likely gain about 4 pounds from glycogen and water. That'll put me around 160lbs, assuming I lose a pound or so between now and then. I figure I'm sitting around 10% bf right now (haven't been tested, but US Navy formula puts me at 9.9% and the YMCA formula says 7.1%, which seems way too low). Either way, assuming I'm able to retain lean mass, I should hit 6% at around 153lbs. I hope to get there by the end of July, but we'll see how much damage I'm able to do over 3 days in Vegas

Once I hit my goal, the plan is to start lean bulking... I'm looking WAY too scrawny right now.

[robert]

Excellent!

Way to go. Getting really lean and well defined. Nice work!

Enjoy your time in Vegas and the ensuing bulking

[midnight112x]

Good post. I am in between your before/after pics and i am now comitted to losing a few more pounds. seeing your progress gives me a little push so thanks for sharing.

[darcy]

Excellent!
Way to go. Getting really lean and well defined. Nice work!
Enjoy your time in Vegas and the ensuing bulking

Thanks, Robert! I'm definetly looking forward to both Vegas and bulking... can't wait to try out some of the recipes I've been collecting while dreaming about food

Good post. I am in between your before/after pics and i am now comitted to losing a few more pounds. seeing your progress gives me a little push so thanks for sharing.

Glad to help motivate!


I'm coming off of this terrible low-carb/keto diet tomorrow; it's not agreeing with me at all (irritable, dry-mouth, dehydrated despite gallons of water, exhausted, weak, terrible training sessions, not sleeping, etc.) and I'm not making progress any more quickly than I was before I started. So, I'm looking forward to seeing my arms and chest fill back out when I carb up!

[Synny667]

You look amazing!

[darcy]

You look amazing!

Thanks!

It's re-feed time! My first carb meal is at 2:30 today; I've been looking forward to it for days now!
Starting with some high GI carbs, then a Vega pre-workout energizer, training legs as heavy as possible, and then it's time to load up on oats and sweet potatoes!

My 10 day keto experiment took me from 162lbs to 156lbs... My abs definitely became more visible, but I'm curious to see how much of that can be attributed to glycogen and water depletion. I'll weight in Sunday morning after 2 days of re-feeding to find out.

[Synny667]

Enjoy the carbs! I know my diet is getting tweeked today by my trainer

[veggiesasquatch]

This is pretty great. Why do you feel you need 6% body fat though? Am interested as that is pretty low to constantly keep.

[darcy]

This is pretty great. Why do you feel you need 6% body fat though? Am interested as that is pretty low to constantly keep.

Well, there are actually two reasons.

The first is purely aesthetic; I store my last little bit of fat over my lower abs. My arms, legs, chest, upper abs... everything else, leans out well before I'm able to get rid of that little pouch around my belly button, which means that I need to get down pretty low in bodyfat to have a fully defined 6-pack which I'd like to achieve before my birthday mid June... just kind of a personal goal.

The second reason is actually the real or important one.

I need to put on a significant amount of lean mass over the next 18 months to 2 years. So, I'd like to leave myself enough breathing room that I can put on the fat that inevitably comes along with bulking while never exceeding 10% bodyfat. I'd like to hit a walk around weight of about 185lbs at 10% bodyfat which would put me in a position to be able to quickly cut to 170lbs for a weigh in. Going from roughly 153lbs at 6% up to 185lbs at 10% gives me room for about 10lbs of fat gain.

The 145lbs and 155lbs weight classes are dominated by guys in their late teens and early twenties (speed, athleticism, reaction time), whereas the heavier classes tend to get better with age (skill, experience, strength, knockout power)... and I'm certainly not getting any younger

[veggiesasquatch]

I like the second reason as it shows a plan of action for your goals:) so you want to compete?

I'm not a bodybuilder so I can't get on board with the first reason, but I respect you for taking action...I dont train for aesthetics. 

Get a training log going (if you haven't already)

[darcy]

I like the second reason as it shows a plan of action for your goals:) so you want to compete?

Yea, the plan is to compete, but I've got my work cut out for me. I trained in Uechi-Ryu Karate my whole childhood, then switched over to Muay Thai when my family relocated from the east to the west coast. Practiced Muay Thai for years but then work and life got in the way. Now I'm back into it, focusing on boxing for striking and training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to develop my grappling/ground game (which, with Karate, Muay Thai, and boxing was non-existent). I'll start working with an MMA trainer near the end of summer/fall to start pulling it all together, but I figure I won't see a fight for a year and a half or so which gives me time to pack on some muscle.

I'm not a bodybuilder so I can't get on board with the first reason, but I respect you for taking action...I dont train for aesthetics.

I certainly wouldn't consider myself a bodybuilder... just a single guy who likes the beach and doesn't like shirts

Get a training log going (if you haven't already)

I don't, at least not online; I track everything in Excel, but I might start one on here soon.

[Synny667]

Have fun with the mma training, it looks like a blast! Love single guys who like to show off their bodies