What Chuck Does

Come on, man. Lie to me, Jerry! What the fuck you doing, Jerry? Put a stick in the kid’s back, prop him up or some shit!

Come on, call Steven Spielberg. Get some special effects on this shit! Get George Lucas on the case! CGl, motherfucker!

What the fuck! Tie some string around him, make a cripple puppet or some shit.

Lie to me!

— Chris Rock (and how I feel when I step on the scale)

142’s What’s Next 130’s?

Last night I had Papa John’s pizza (only 1 slice of “The Works”) and an icecream sandwich. While that may not sound like a big deal to someone like 6packsumo (he eats 4000+ calories a day), it’s a big deal to me. I haven’t had pizza in weeks.

Then why you might ask, am I eating pizza and ice cream when I’m so close to the “finish line” - i.e. getting into the 10% fat range (according to my scale)? Why would I possibly stop the progress I’ve worked so hard to create?

Because I’m scared. I’m wearing pants that were tailored for me when I was 170+lbs. I’m dropping a pound or more per week and I know that’s borderline too much weight too fast. Because I’m psychologically afraid to return to the 130’s. However at this rate, 130’s will soon be a reality. I’m trying to slow down my weigh loss and maybe I’m trying to sabotage my progress? I don’t know. The human psyche is a strange thing.

Well actually it will take at least another month before I get into the 130’s solidly. At 1 pound per week, it would take 5 weeks to drop from 145 to 140 lbs. I’m somewhat exaggerating because 142.6 lbs was what I saw on the scale this morning when I woke up (dehydrated). Then again I always weigh myself after dinner and when I’m well hydrated so maybe I’m realistically 143.5 lbs.

Anyway, I’m just thinking outloud. I don’t know what I’m worried about since I’m a) still making progress and b) just as strong as before. Maybe I should just get over weighing 130’s.

I’m Not Hungry

Seriously. I’m not hungry.

I’ve been consuming what is for me an abnormally low amount of calories (see my caloric input/output here). Over the past week I’ve broken 2000 calories once. But more importantly, I haven’t been hungry. Not even once. It’s strange but I think the “I’m hungry” button that my body used to press when it would get low on blood-sugar, got turned off or something. Maybe it malfunctioned? All I know is that I used to get hungry and now I don’t. It’s weird because I know my stomach is empty and sometimes I even get a little lethargic from low blood-sugar, but the “I’m hungry” feeling just isn’t there. Scary, huh?

Hell, I actually had to try to take in more food throughout the week because I started getting nervous about taking in too few calories versus my caloric expenditure. Imagine that. Trying to eat more… Part of my nervousness was seeing myself drop to 143.8 lbs. on Thursday morning (for reference I am 143.3 this morning). I haven’t weighed 144 in 7 years.

Strength-wise, I’m lifting the same if not more weight. It just goes to show you don’t need to be heavy to push heavy. I’m benching pressing 4-6 reps at 175 lbs. At my strongest I was doing 4-6 reps at 185 lbs. I’m repping bodyweight pull-ups 16+ times (never been able to do that!). Anyway, for what it’s worth I’m pound-for-pound in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I don’t think the fat-loss has been detrimental to my strength and overall health.

Speaking of fat-loss, it seems strange that a “skinny” person can drop 15 pounds and weigh in at 144 lbs. at 5’9” right? Maybe… maybe not. My theory is that there are lots of “fat skinny people” in the US. These would be your typical Asian guy with the hidden beer belly. They look “thin” but in reality they are carrying like 20-30 lbs excess fat around. I don’t think you would have ever called Larry or me “fat” per say. However, at our original weight we were absolutely overweight. Therefore the “fat skinny people” reference.

Am I underweight? What is the definition of underweight? I don’t know. My 24 Hour Fitness trainer used to say, “Don’t go by what you see on the scale. Go by how you feel”. I feel pretty good. Do I have an eating disorder? Probably not. Do I have body dysmorphic disorder? Absolutely. Speaking of underweight, what exactly is “normal”? What about the boxers that weigh in less than me and are just as tall? Are they underweight? Watching the flyweight boxers (112 lbs) in the Olympics, I realize that at 11% body fat, I’m fat compared to them!

Am I really 11% body fat? No. No way in hell. When I was 12%-13% body fat, Larry’s calipers said I was 7.7%. But hey, the scale is my bible and as long as I adhere to the results and the output, I know I’m making progress. That’s what counts. Whether or not I will know when to stop “cutting’ is a totally different question. My goal has always been 10% (or lower) by the output of my scale. I’m starting to realize that the scale’s fat % output is not linearly or at least not 1:1 correlated with what’s actually going on in my body. What could be happening is that when I lose 1% body fat, the scale registers maybe .5% to .8%. This would explain why for the last several weeks my weigh has dropped so dramatically and yet the scale says I’ve lost 1% body fat.

Speaking of body fat results, I mentioned a while back that I didn’t know whether or not I could possibly get “The Final Four” (bottom 4 abs muscles) to appear. Well, in my latest pictures I’m already seeing not only the sidelines but also the bottom lines of the 5^th and 6^th “pack”. This proves to me that I can in fact get a 6-pack (or at least a 5-pack). This is surprising because I never had a 6-pack even when I weight 130lbs in high school (I only ever had a 4-pack). This is also the fuel I need to keep pushing to get at or under 10% fat per the scale.

All in all I’ve made progress. But there’s still progress to be made. Stay tuned.

Three 11’s Does Not a 10 Make

Yesterday I weighed-in within the 11% range again. While I’m happy that I’m now pretty consistently in the 11% fat range, I know that I’m not in the 10’s yet.

But I’m so close.

I haven’t let up all week. Training has been spot on. My nutrition has been pretty consistent. But it’s hard. I’m getting cranky because I eat faster (cuz I’m hungrier) now and therefore don’t feel as full with the same amount of food. That and I really want to eat some greasy-ass junk food but can’t. Actually it’s more like “won’t”.

But I can feel the difference.

I used to be able to grab .75 inches of lard around my waist by leaning forward. There isn’t .75 inches of lard there anymore. I’m still in the stage where I’m in “flux”, so I definitely haven’t plateaued yet. I’m hoping when I do plateau, I’ll settle in at the 10% fat range.

Breaking Into the 11’s

I thought I’d share my excitement about breaking into the 11-12% fat range. For the longest time (before I started trying to get a six-pack), I was in the 14-17% fat range. I was not “fat” but in retrospect, I wasn’t that “thin” either. At the time I did not think I was carrying around that much extra weight, but I never made an effort to shed fat while preserving muscle.

In hindsight, I now realize I was so wrong about so many things. For years I figured the scale was wrong because I couldn’t have that much body fat. Furthermore I “heard” the scale was skewed against athletes and since I considered myself an athlete, it registered a higher fat percentage. Thirdly, I doubted the scale’s internal algorithms and figured that one would have to lose a lot of weight to register a single percent drop in fat.

Wrong, wrong and wrong.

Numbers don’t lie. Metrics are how we’re all judged. Just because you don’t believe it, doesn’t mean it’s not true. Over the past week and a half, I’ve seen a true reduction in body fat. I’ve seen the scale reflect this change in my body and I realize I was wrong on so many levels. The biggest realization was how I could be in so much denial about what was possible. I was even wrong about the hydration level staying constant as one sheds fat. It’s not possible to retain the same hydration percentage over time because muscles tissue hold more water than fat tissue. Therefore as one drops fat, the hydration % will naturally increase as muscle makes up more of ones body - Source

I’m not saying that I was wrong about all things scale-related. The FAQ I’ve written still holds true. The mental barriers for what I thought was possible, were what was wrong.

If you’re wondering why I posted a picture of a Corvette Z06, it’s because the Z06 can run 11’s in the 1/4 mile all day (and break 10’s on a good day!).

Week in Review

149.25lbs.
12.60% fat
62.16% hydration

These are my weekly averages. This is the first week that I’ve convincingly broken the 150lbs. mark. I’ve also (mistakenly) included my prior week’s average (the 2nd row) for reference. For that week you can see that my average was poor as a result of my bout with food poisoning.

For this past week however, I think I’ve done rather well for myself. If you look at my fat %, I’d would have averaged 12.5 of less if it weren’t for the outlier in the 14% range when I was dehydrated. Also, if you look at my hydration it’s consistently higher than the week before. I made a special effort to delay my weigh-ins until as late as possible since I can usually rehydrate by the time I go to bed. The higher hydration levels are also partially why my fat % has dropped.

This past week I also caught up on sleep. I was pretty drained from my bout with food poisoning last week so I made an effort to turn-in earlier. I’m going to try to get to bed earlier this week now that I’ve finished my most recent “project”. While it still needs a little work here and there, it’s mostly done and won’t require the heavy amount of time needed initially. Then again, I foresee that I will be spending some time post-processing the pictures that I took over this past weekend… it’s hard to get enough sleep when you want to actually have a life outside of work.

Based upon my calculations above, I took in a caloric deficit throughout the week. Much of this came yesterday when I played a combined 2 hours of tennis and basketball. I know that one day’s work does not a week make but with the revamping of my caloric models, I will be more accurate with what is actually happening to my body.

Oh and another nice thing about this past week. I put in quite a few cardio sessions and exercised more than 400 minutes throughout the week.

For this upcoming week I foresee some pretty intense workouts while holding my caloric intake steady. We’re so close to the end that I can’t let up now. That and I beginning to see the side lines for #5 and #6 so I’m pretty excited. Let’s see if we can’t take some good pictures sometime this week!

7 Truths You Should Know About Your Body

1. There’s no such thing as localized fat loss. Actually there is, it’s called liposuction. Sorry, but all those crunches will not remove the fat from your midsection. You can not choose where you lose fat. Your genetic blueprint is what determines where you lose fat. Suffice it to say; when you go into a caloric deficit you start burning fat. That fat can come from anywhere and everywhere.
2. You can not gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. This is practically a basic law of physics. To build muscle (protein synthesis) you need a caloric surplus. To burn fat you need a caloric deficit. Obviously you can have a caloric surplus and a caloric deficit at the same time. Therefore you can not l lose fat and build muscle at the same time. Now there is a caveat where beginner bodybuilders will experience a small gain in strength/muscle at the start of their fat loss program, but that is short-lived.
3. You can not lose fat without losing muscle. When you go into a caloric deficit your body looks for energy to burn. Simply put, there are two main stores of energy that your body can burn; fat and muscle. Your body will want to burn both and you can not stop that from happening. What you can do is minimize the muscle loss through a high-protein diet and resistance exercise.
4. You should not be working your abs everyday. Your abdominal muscles are made from the same muscle fibers as all the other muscles in your body. They do not differ in composition or structure so why would you treat them any differently from any other muscle in your body. Give your abs rest between days that you work them and you will be rewarded accordingly.
5. You can not change your bone structure. Furthermore you can not change the anatomical variances that occur from person to person. For example, some people have a cleft in their chin. You may not. No matter how much fat you lose, you STILL won’t have a cleft in your chin. There’s a reason why the cosmetic surgery is so highly sought after.
6. No two people are the same. You see that disclaimer on every ad? The one that says “Results may vary”. You may be doing the same thing someone else is doing. You may be eating the exact foods prescribed in the exact quantities. But quite possibly you will not achieve the same results. Remember, no two people are the same and the genetic blueprints our bodies use to make changes are as different as bone structure and other differences. Results will vary from person to person. Your results may be better or they may be worse. What you should learn is how to adjust to overcome the differences.
7. Skipping breakfast leads to weight gain. When you skip breakfast (or any meal for that matter), your body keeps your metabolism low to prevent caloric expenditure. This happens because body goes thinks you are starving/dying and therefore goes into “preservation mode”. The best way to kick start your metabolism in the morning is by eating a large breakfast to tell your body to wake up and producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight. - Source

Adjustments to Google Docs

Some of you know I track my physical results pretty intensively in the documents that are linked on the right of my blog. Today I’ve made a few adjustments to both:

The Physical Activity and Caloric Balance has been adjusted to reflect a few realizations.

1. Adjusted the per minute rate for physical activity
2. Incorporated BMR calculator
3. Reordered the worksheets to flow in order of calculations

I’ve rewritten parts of How I Calculate Calories… FAQ to reflect the calculation changes that I’ve made above and to be more consistent with the logic within the worksheets.

These are pretty substantial changes that affect the way I calculate the caloric balance on a daily basis. Previously I was using “band-aid” remedies to adjust for why I felt I was not losing weight when the spreadsheet specifically said I was calorically negative throughout a whole week. For example, I would decrease the per minute rate for certain physical activities or I would cut the daily caloric needs to reflect my lack of weight loss. With the deduction of BMR from the per minute physical activity rate, these band-aid solutions should no longer necessary and I can stick with the cold hard numbers as generated by the formulae.

My hope is that the model created by the spreadsheets can accurately reflect what I am experiencing on a week-to-week basis with my actual results. If this is effective then I may publish this workbook to the public so that others can use this too.

Results Discussion

I decided to graph out my results for the past 3 weeks. From the first graph, it’s obvious that there was no real weight loss until the last 7 days. The second graph shows the correlation between hydration % and fat % from the Tanita scale.

The above two charts show a few things. It first shows the obvious relationship between weight and fat % over the last 3 weeks. But it also shows what I hope to be a shift in fat % versus weight. The fact that the data does not support an “explicitly” negative relationship reflects that there might be a slow but existant decrease in fat % over time while holding weight constant.

The same can be said about weight vs. hydration. It’s obvious that when you increase hydration %, that weight would increase. However the goal also exists that if you hold hydration constant that the weight would decrease over time if we’re losing fat.

Much of the data is inconclusive. There are several reasons for this. First of all, there aren’t enough data points for a high enough “degree of freedom”. Secondly, I haven’t performed the proper multiple regression necessary to fully analyze the results. Actually I have (below) but I would be hard pressed to actually explain the results properly. The important thing is that the Significance F for the model is 0.01. Our model comes out be:

Weight = -161.34+4.71(F)-4.07(H) where F=Fat% and H=Hydration%

With this model I can hold hydration constant and plug in different values for F to see what my predicted weight would be. For example let’s start with the assumption that at 12.8% fat I’m 62.3% hydration (as suggested by past data points) where weight = 152.5 lbs. If I want to know what my weight would be for 11% bodyfat, I would plug in 11% for fat and 62.3% hydration. The model suggests that I would be 144 lbs. This confirms my belief that I’d have to lose many pounds to reflect a 1% loss in body fat.

This is just the beginning of my analysis as there are obvious improvements to be made on my fronts! Stay tuned.

State of Flux

I’ve been MIA for a couple days now. The best way to describe how I am is that I’m in a “state of flux”.

Why am I in a state of flux?

For a couple reasons. The obvious ones are that I’m still somewhat recovering from last week’s bout with food poisoning. While I’d say that I escaped relatively unscathed, my body and my scale tell me otherwise. This morning I woke up at a meager 146.6 lbs. For reference, I completely skipped the 147’s. Prior to this the lowest I saw was 148’s. My clothes don’t fit anymore. All my shirts fall out 5 minutes after I tuck them in because my pants don’t stay on my hips anymore.  My jawline is more pronounced and while that’s seemingly a good thing, it’s actually a little scary.

The wedding is drawing near. Preparations are starting to take more of my time on a daily basis. Later today, I have to go to Men’s Wearhouse for my tuxes.

There are other changing factors in my life that I won’t go into but needless to say these factors very much affect my state of being. This next month should be interesting as I don’t expect any lack of excitement with all that’s going on.