Progress and supplements

Another week completed, and a new week starting. Probably as good a time as any to give a bit of an update about how this is going!

• Weight-wise I have not lost any weight over the last 3 weeks. Infact, standing on the scales this morning versus 3 weeks ago when I started this journey I can actually tell you my weight is up 2lb.
• Fat percentage-wise (and this is the bit I care about!) I have lost 2% bodyfat in 3 weeks.
• Measurements wise this week alone I have lost an inch from my waist and half an inch from my neck.

To summarise what the above means - its almost akin to the holy grail of bodybuilding. I am getting leaner whilst maintaining my current muscle mass.

I took some pictures on Wednesday night. Now they are not fantastic but hopefully you can see just about see my top 2-4 abs coming out and the separation and definition in my chest and shoulders developing. This is 14% bodyfat measured by callipers. Interestingly our Tanita body comp scales also show the same bodyfat percentage (suggesting the £80 price tag is maybe worth it to get fairly accurate readings!) 

You'll also see I am holding fat on my lower abs - standard male gut and love handles and lower pecs. These are shrinking away slowly but surely. I am most interested to see just how much fat I can remove from these areas as I have alot of leftover skin and fat cells from when I was stupid enough to get to a fat 25stone lard ass in my youth. Typically for me I expect that my legs and shoulders/traps will (and are) leaning out very quickly as these are the 2 areas I do not hold bodyfat. My gut and love handles, lower pecs and lower back will be the last areas to lean out - which is typical for most guys that struggle to get below 10% fat.

In terms of diet I am still fully committed and not having any issues sticking to my specific meals, macros or calories. The hardest days by a country mile are still the carb-free ones. Particularly Fridays, due to a number of factors inclusive of; end of the working week, end of the dieting week and therefore glycogen at its most depleted state, end of the training week so all the early mornings taking their toll.

I am currently toying with some fasting on cardio only days and non-weight training days. This equates to basically not eating anything for 2.5 hours after waking up. The idea is that having being fasted through the night (and due to my macro timing) not having had any carbs for over 16 hours that glycogen is depleted and therefore fat used for energy. This should work particularly well on cardio mornings and also utlise the EPOC effect post training to further burn fat. Alot of guys are turning to intermittent fasting to get freaky lean (just google it for details) but the idea of not eating anything until around 2pm and then trying to get all your food ingested in a 6 hour period doesn't excite me all that much!

Still skiploading, but I am messing around with this too at the moment and have dropped my 6 hour refeed to a 4 hour refeed today. The leaner I get the more I'll need to up the refeed, but at the moment I am interested to see what the minimum refeed period is to get optimised fat loss (ie why refeed for 6 hours if I only need to refeed for 4 hours - especially as 2 hours can equate to another 200-350g carbs!!). It still amazes me what a refeed does for the metabolism. Even just sat here typing this I am literally sweating and boiling hot because my metabolism is in overdrive.

Somebody was asking me about supplements on this diet so a quick piece around that too for you. I am a big believer in supplementation. 95% of people can't get lean, or grow muscle, or recover from exercise without the aid of supplements. Training is hardwork on your CNS (central nervous system). Dieting is hard work on your CNS. Train hard, diet hard and your CNS is taking a fucking pounding. Fail to supply the right things to a) recover b) support your immune system and I give you 2 weeks before you are sick. There will be no serious trainer or bodybuilder out there that hasn't started a diet and ended up ill after a few weeks because they have just over-stepped the limits of their recovery abilities through lack of nutrient intake in their diet, or the supplementation to account for the deficiencies in vitamins and minerals their diet has created. Now if your one of those super-natural people that can cut fat on high carbs or high calories (yes unfortunately some lucky bastards can do this!) then its not such a problem. For me its not possible. Carbs have to be low and therefore things like milk, normal yoghurt, fruit, and even some vegetables get cut from my diet.

Below are the supplements I am using throughout this cut (note that I would not necessarily use some of these on a bulking or maintenance phase):

• Whey Protein - As a 220lb man aiming for 1.5lb Protein per 1lb of bodyweight I need to supplement with whey to increase my overall protein intake. Whey is the king of proteins and is proven to provide a host of health benefits. Its convenient and the speed at which the amino profile of whey is released into your body can be manipulated by mixing with other products (typicall whey protein is a quick release form of protein but by mixing with egg whites or milk you can slow down the protein/amio release to suit)
• MyProtein Pulse V4 - this is a simple pre-work out supplement. It contains caffeine, creatine and a bit of arginine. When its early in the morning, cold, dark and pissing it down this is what gets my ass into the gym.
• BCAAs - I take in powdered form and add to Pulse V4 before workouts and to some of my other whey based shakes or mixes throughout the day.
• MyProtein Total Greens - This is a mix of 22 green superfoods in powder form. Its a potent shot of anti-oxidents and vitamins and minerals to replace things I am lacking in my diet. I try and use this at work as eating cold broccoli is nasty shit. Chugging this back is much easier and convenient!
• Creatine - I like creapure which is the purest form of creatine.
• Vitargo - this is a carb powder I use in my post work out shake. It absorbs stupidly quick - quicker than sugars like dextrose.
• Multi Vitamins - I opt for a multi-vit that is split into a 3 a day dosing for a cut (on a non cut I go for a twice a day multi vit). This provides the body with 3 doses of vits and minerals during the day and allows for better absorbtion (single dosing multi vits are crap because the body just pisses half of it out due to the inability to absorb)
• Vit B6 P5P - P5P is the usable part of vit b6. I dose at 400IU per day.
• Liquid Egg Whites - I buy 1litre bottles. Great source of pure protein and slows the release of whey protein down when mixed together. Convenient for work if on the road, in meetings etc etc.
• Caffeine tablets - I take one in the middle of the day. It just perks me up mentally ensuring my performance at work is not negatively impacted by goals outside of work.
• Fish and Nut Oils - A great source of omega 3 and all that good stuff. I have capsules for work and pop a few with every other meal. I also use Udo's oil (omega oil derived from nut sources) on no carb days where fat content is being elevated to off-set the calories lost by carbs.
• Nut Butters - Peanut butter, almond butter and cashew butter.A good source of healthy fats and vitamins. PLEASE AVOID ANY OF THE SUPERMARKET SOLD SHIT. Read the label - if it has palm oil avoid it like the plague. Palm oil is a bad fat added at the expense of removing the natural nut oil (ie peanut oil in peanut butter). Palm oil is a bit lard like and turns your peanut butter into that thick stuff most of you are used to. Peanut butter or any nut butter should not look like that shit in the supermarket!! It should be runny and full of peanut oil (because the peanut oil is the whole reason for eating it!!!). A propper nut butter should naturally seperate and therefore when you open it you'll have a layer of oil sitting on the top. You can buy propper nut butters online, or alternatively head to your nearest health food shop (such as H&B).

I should also point out that I have absolutely no preference to brand or product when it comes to choosing my supplements. Often my choice is driven by taste, cost and availability. I don't think any one brand is better than the other in terms of product quality. I personally buy most of my products from My Protein or Bulk Powders because I bulk buy as its substantially cheaper than buying branded stuff, and often the taste is on par or better!