.:: An exploration of exercise plans, weight loss and better workouts. ::.

The last couple of days were uneventful — by then the shakes had become somewhat automatic, and I was mainly focused on how I was going to transition to a more normal eating pattern.  My skill with calipers is still a work in progress, but I would say that I went from about 18% bodyfat to about 13% bodyfat.  I lost 12 pounds in the 28 days, and I really don’t think any of it was muscle (it’s been about a week and a half since I finished up, and I’ve gained back 1-2 pounds while maintaining the same level of leanness, which I think represents any water weight that I might have lost).  There might even have been some muscle gain, which would make the numbers even more positive, but that’s a tougher thing to guage.  My stomach circumference measurement went down dramatically (I don’t have the numbers right in front of me, but it was at least 2.25 inches).  The interesting thing is that my stomach/waist measurements have both continued to decrease even since I came off the diet (even while I’ve been gaining weight). Aesthetically, I think that I look as good as I ever have (if I was ever this lean before, it must have been when I was in high school — back when I weighed 107 pounds).  The additional 45 pounds definitely makes a
difference. 

I’ve continued to do weighted walks on my offdays, although I don’t mind taking the occasional day of rest if I feel like I need it.  The walks seem to have a lot of benefits outside of their contribution to calories burned — I’m not sure if it’s the weight I’ve lost, or if it’s been the walks, but my legs just feel "springier" — kind of a general positive feeling of good health/athleticism.  I’m up to using an xvest with 20 additional pounds, typically for about 3 miles, and I typically walk at a 1 mile/16 minute clip (just enough to feel it, not so much that I feel like it’s interfering with my workouts).

I’ve ramped by calories up from where I was on the v-diet (1300 on nontraining days, 1600 on training days) to about 2000-2100 every day (slightly higher number of calories on training days, and typically more carbs on training days).  I’m doing a routine from Chad Waterbury’s book (which I highly recommend — you can find it on t-nation) and am going to stick pretty closely to his suggestions for at least the next year.  I plan on slowly upping calories by looking at my weight and body composition (based on calipers, waist readings, the mirror, etc.) every couple of weeks and increasing calories as my weight gain slows (assuming it’s good weight gain).  A little bit of fat is certainly okay (if there’s anything this diet has proven, it’s that I can take the fat off if I need/want to), but I don’t want to go overboard bulking.  I think that getting to 160 lbs while maintaining my current level of leanness by the end of the year is a very reasonable goal, and I think that it may even be possible to come in a bit higher and a bit leaner.