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Updates for 2012: Part II - It comes at a cost


If you missed my previous post, you might want to read that first.

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the goal for the year 2012 suddenly took a U-turn. Instead of continuing on with weight gain phase to reach 154 lbs, I decided to start a fat cutting phase, just for the simple reason that I am unable to gain any more weight no matter how much I eat.

It is now June 2012 and I have decided to lose fat. I cut down on my forceful over feeding and went back to good old 3 square meals a day with a snack in the evening. All the meals were regular sized ones, i.e. when I felt full, I stopped. Unlike before when I had to force feed. I felt way better with the normal diet. No more feeling of full all the time. My stomach was also feeling great. No more ahem, flatulence. I was gradually losing weight and fat. As is always the case with cutting down phase for me, I was losing a healthy dose of muscle as well.

Come July, I had to do another US trip for 4 weeks this time. And again I took a break from gym. During the trip I continued to eat normally and when I returned I checked that my weight and fat indeed have continued to drop. I decided to try and get to that elusive 7% body fat. I also decided to change my workout to the THT (targeted hypertrophy training). It was all going well and I continued to lose fat quickly until I reached about 9% body fat. This has always been my sticky point. I find it hard to go below 9%. It has happened several times before and it happened again this time too.

To speed up the process, I decided to try something new. I threw in a diet change into the mix. I never let myself starve since I started working out. But this time it is different. The diet I chose was a modification to the "eat stop eat" diet. Basically I would eat a light breakfast at around 9.00 am, then skip lunch. Go to gym around 2.30 pm, come back and have lunch at around 4.30 or 5.00. Eat stop eat tells you to pretty much skip all meals and eat a huge 4 hour long meal in the evening. I did not go to such extreme. Instead I delayed my lunch and ate dinner at normal time. This means the only meal I am really skipping is the snack that I used to have in the evening and a few less calories at the breakfast.

It did wonders and I continued to lose fat (also muscle sadly). While I was getting weaker, I was also nearing my fat % goal! By the end of the year with my THT and modified diet, I was at 7.5% body fat as measured by the 3 pinch Jackson/Pollock method. Although the numbers say I am at 7.5% fat, I think it is more closer to 9-10%, from what I can tell from seeing myself in the mirror. So how do the graphs look for the year 2012 and how do I look in the mirror? Those updates and more coming in my next post.

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