I’m done with my cruise, taking a break from CrossFit, and now it’s time to get back to business. I weigh about 30lbs more than I think I should. And, my muscles are shrinking . . . so, what should I do, when my shoulder can’t take any more CrossFit?

My requirements were pretty simple:

1. Lose weight
2. Don’t lose muscle mass

(And, yes, I know that it is extremely difficult to build muscle and lose fat at the same time)

I asked out on Fitocracy. I was looking for weight loss, and strength training. The guys seemed split about Stronglifts vs Starting Strength. And, one person mentioned Leangains, which I had googled before, but, their site was a bit confusing.

So, I took the time to read a bit more, learn a bit more, and decided that I would build a plan based on Starting Strength, Leangagins, and, my normal Primal Diet. There were two reasons I picked Starting Strength over Stronglifts:

1. I have done Stronglifts before. And, while I did like it — I love new shiny things more
2. Someone on Fitocracy mentioned that Starting Strength did not take as long as Stronglifts. And, I do remember Stronglifts taking a VERY long time.

The Food Plan

So, what exactly is my plan? Leangains is a fasting / feasting plan, with 8 hours of feasting, and 16 hours of fasting. I have to use a slightly modified plan, since I workout in the morning. So, following the Early morning fasted training plan here: I have come up with the following schedule:

Workout Days

5:00AM Wake-up, have 10g BCAA (or low carb protein) shake before I head to gym.
6:00AM Training.
8:00AM 10g BCAA
10:00AM 10g BCAA
12:00PM First meal of the day. Large meal, since it’s Post Workout Nutrition (PWN)
5-6PM Dinner — Try to make this meal lower carb, since it’s pre-fast.

Non Workout Days

12:00PM First meal of the day.
5-6PM Dinner — Try to make this meal lower carb, since it’s pre-fast.

General Diet Guideline

I’ll be following the Primal Blueprint as much as I can on the meals. I will allow carbs on the first meal, but I’ll try to get them all from fruits & vegetables. If some grains / tubers slip in, though, it will be ok. Particularly in the beginning of the diet. If I stall, I will start counting carbs, and limiting them more aggressively.

The Training

As I said before, I will be following Starting Strength for a workout plan. The only thing I’m going to be modifying is Bench Press. Since my little gym does not have a power cage, I’m going to be doing dumbbell press instead of bench. (So, it is good that I’m starting lower, since I can only climb in increments of 10lbs (5lbs/hand)). Here is my schedule:

Workout A

3×5 Squat
3×5 Dumbbell Bench Press
1×5 Deadlift

Workout B

3×5 Squat
3×5 Overhead Press
3×5 Power Cleans

Schedule

Here is my workout schedule. Every workout the weights go up.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Week n	Workout A	Rest	Workout B	Rest	Workout A
Week n+1	Workout B	Rest	Workout A	Rest	Workout B

My particular workout regimen is in a google doc here

Starting Stats

And, finally, some starting stats. I am at my heaviest (since moving to Utah) starting this diet. I left for a cruise at 220lbs, and I came back at 225. (It would have been worse, but I stuck to my strict diet of soft-serve and liquor).

Body Weight: 225.2
Bench: 225(1RM), 205(5RM)
Press: 155(1RM), 135(5RM)
Squat: 255(1RM), 245(5RM)
Deadlift: 315(1RM), 275(5RM)
Clean: 185(1RM), 135(5RM)

I’ll find a measuring tape and update my google docs measurements sometime today and tomorrow, so, more accurate stats can always be found there.

Week 1:

The Rules

I just got finished doing a six week paleo challenge with my gym. The rules were very strict. We used the Whole 30 Plan, but did 42 instead of 30 days.

The rules I was most concerned with were:

• No alcohol
• No sweeteners of any kind, including stevia!

I was especially concerned because I had to deal with Halloween, a wine party, and, most importantly, Halloween parties!

Turns out, the parties weren’t that bad . . . but . . . I digress.

Hiding from sweeteners and artificial sweeteners completely was way harder than I thought. I eat 90% Primal, as my normal diet. So, eating paleo only meant:

1. not cheating
2. Getting rid of dairy
3. Really not cheating (i.e. no legumes at all, including soybean oils)

I found out a bit later that sweet potatoes and coconut milk were allowed.

Also, allowed, were pre/post workout nutrition. So, my normal breakfast of a protein shake, and Surge Recovery, or Aftershock after my workouts was ok.

The Scoring

Finally, the scoring and penalties. We got one point for every paleo meal (maxed at 3 per day), one point for every workout (maxed at one per day), and, -2 points for every cheat item. (So, one night of binge drinking could undo a week of points!)

So, at most, four points per day. And, one final kicker: we had to do 10 burpees per cheat item. (On about the 4th week, Andrew raised this to 50 per item)

Contest Results

The first couple of weeks, I had no cheats. But, I then started having a beer when I hiked up runs, and went snowboarding, so I started averaging one cheat a week, towards the end.

I found that I didn’t really lose any weight. I really missed sweets. Giving up Diet Coke was easy, but, giving up the sweet treat of it, was not. So, I started eating 3-4 pieces of fruit a day, which killed my weight loss. Toward the end, I tried to limit myself to one fruit a day, which helped.

Here were the point results:

Date	Points	Notes
10/12 – 10/23	46	No Cheats
10/24 – 10/30	25	One Cheat
10/31 – 11/06	28
11/07 – 11/13	23	Two Cheats
11/14 – 11/22	29	Three Cheats
Totals	151	Six Cheats

I think I did pretty well. I’m pretty sure I won. But, I could be wrong. There could have been some quiet winner . . .

Real Results

Outside of the contest, what did I get out of the challenge?

First, I learned that I was still drinking way too many diet sodas. I’m very glad to be done with that. I’ve learned to drink unsweetened teas . . . many different varieties. I may start using a little stevia in some of them, but, for the most part, I drink them w/o sweeteners of any kind.

Second, I did learn that my sweet tooth can not be ignored. I’m not sure how I’m going to get past that one. Maybe a stevia sweetened tea every now and then will help.

Finally, I learned how much I normally cheat. And, how many foods they hide sugar in. Including breakfast sausage — you can NOT buy breakfast sausage w/o sugar. At least, I couldn’t find any.

Body Changes

As usual, I was a bit anal about measuring my body changes. Just before I started the diet, I carbed up a bit. So, I gained the obligatory 7 lbs of water weight. (Went from 215 -> 222.7 for the initial weigh in.) So, that came off almost immediately. But, then, it just sat there. The scale did not move again, until I cut out the fruit. I did, however, get my body fat measured, used my body fat measuring scale, and, whipped out the measuring tape. Here’s my changes over the challenge:

Measurement	October 12, 2011	November 22, 2011
Weight	222.7	209.5
BMI (Computed)	32.88	30.93
Bodyfat (Crossfit Measured)	30.3
Bodyfat (Scale)	32.4	30.6
Neck	15.5	15.5
Shoulders	48	46.5
Chest	39	37
Waist	35	34
Hips	41.5	40
Arms	13.5	14.5
Legs	25.3	25
Calves	17	17
Total Inches	234.8	229.5

So, out of losing 5.3 inches overall, I still gained 1 inch in my arms (measured at biceps). That is pretty cool (I’m getting stronger at the same time that I’m losing weight & inches). I’m finally slightly under 36″ pants. Most 34′s fit now. Some 33′s. I’m looking forward to getting back into my 32s.

Fitness

We did Murph before and after the competition. AFTER the competition, I did my pullups w/o a band, so, I got Rx. That is a huge difference, but, it’s not very measurable. But, I also timed the first mile of each Murph, and I think those stats are even more telling than the overall time.

The first mile of my Murph in October took me 9:27. And, I was VERY proud of that time. After Murph, I paid attention again, and, my first mile was 8:36. That is a good testament of what I got out of Paleo. I did not train running, yet, almost lost a whole minute!

Conclusion

Now that I’ve done my Thanksgiving gorge, I’m looking forward to getting back into my Primal diet (I miss cheese), and finishing my loss, while keeping my strength. Also, I’ve been boarding 4 times this season, and I have yet to get tired.

I’m creating this post to remind me why I need to get up early, move heavy stuff, and eat healthy.

Oh, and it’s also for tracking measurements

Motivation

I love this video of me and my kids . . . reminds me how fat I used to be.

Photos

Here’s a pic of my progress, over a few months:

Measurements

Here are my current measurements . . and a link to the spreadsheet

I created this page to keep track of my PRs and maxes . . I’m keeping them separate because my current max at some things, is not the same as my personal record.

Current Maxes / Workouts

• Pullups
  • Strict: 6
  • Kipped: 10
• Pushups
  • Crossfit Standard: 41 in 60 secs
• One Mile: 9:27
• Double Unders: 18 (with singles between), 9 (in a row)

Personal Records

• Pullups
  • Strict: 8
  • Kipped: 10
• Pushups
  • Normal: 70
  • Crossfit Standard: 41 in 60 secs
• One Mile: 9:27
• Double Unders: 18 (with singles between), 9 (in a row)