Lose the Fat Guy - A V-Diet Log

Jcopeland · January 21, 2021, 5:54am

Starting this mainly for accountability’s sake, having just purchased the kit this evening. Haven’t selected a start date yet; will update.

I am a 34 year old guy, fairly athletic my whole life, some high school sports, tons of time spent hooping recreationally in college. Slowly chubbed up a bit mid-college on, never fat really, but the belly gets bigger than I’d like when I’m lazy. I love beer and pizza. I’ve spent more time annoyed at a gut spilling over my belt than I have admiring visible abs.

We put a gym in our garage last January, and I did about ten months of Rip’s Starting Strength. I drank whole milk and protein shakes like it was my job. Went from 200-205 to 220 (6’2"), deadlift is up from never to 405+, squat is up to 320 or so, bench 275 or so. I built some muscle, now I want to strip off the fat so that I can see it and be thrilled for the first time about how I look in and out of a T-shirt. To be honest, I could also use four weeks with no alcohol to hit the rest button on that and drop back down to 1-2 nights/wk instead of 2-3 drinks most every night. I also took December off and haven’t gotten back in my regular workout pattern, so this should help me kick the bad holiday habits. Maybe I’ll make it an annual deal if it doesn’t completely blow.

Will get measurements, or maybe at least pictures, and a formal weigh in by the time I get started.

Time to ditch the fat guy!

Jcopeland · February 13, 2021, 5:57am

Weak update, but I just don’t have the time between family and work.

I’m on day five today. Officially weighed in at 220lb the morning of day one.

I’ve been hungry very infrequently, which is surprising. It’s more the act of not eating that is a little odd.

The shakes are OK, decent even. I’ve tried three flavors already. Sorry to Biotest, but Animal whey cannot be touched for taste. IMO, of course.

The workouts are brutal, unless I’m doing something wrong. I might have gone too heavy, but I’m pretty certain many of those stating that the workouts are easy went too light. I was alright after 20 front squats with 185lb, but my butt still aches from Wednesday’s reverse lunge with 100 lbs worth of dumbbells. Push press is fun; I’m usually pretty strict on my press.

That’s all for now. Not drinking any alcohol is the hardest part, but hey, I knew it would be.

Jcopeland · February 16, 2021, 2:40am

Week one weigh in, 213.5lb. 6 pounds. Great start!

Jcopeland · February 17, 2021, 12:13am

Going strong. Feeling more energetic. Workout last night was good. Dinner tonight was a chicken and broccoli stir-fry. The meals aren’t much different than our usual dinners; we eat pretty clean. Had to pass on the bite size Twix the 4 year old wanted to give me tonight though.

Chris_Colucci · February 19, 2021, 7:20pm

Sounds like you’re doing well, man.

Sucks to hear about the Twix temptation, had to be tough telling kidding no, but it really is little niblets like that that add up over a day/week/month. Too easy to accidentally knock down a couple hundred calories worth of bits from kiddo leftovers.

And no, your instinct was right. The workouts are brutal, they just look easy on paper. Chad Waterbury’s stuff is pretty much always like that. Ha.

Keep at it and check-in when you can.

Jcopeland · March 3, 2021, 2:53am

Been awhile; still rolling. Not eating food all day until dinner is a cakewalk; I’m usually a protein shake and cheese stick kind of guy for breakfast anyhow, so no big deal there. I get two shake breaks instead of a real lunch, and that doesn’t really bother me either. 5pm to dinner finds me getting really hungry. And I miss snacking at night (usually unsalted nuts, trail mix, something healthy - I just haven’t done a good job controlling portions with after-dinner snacking). Need to make sure I don’t have that kind of stuff in the house once this is over, and the temptation won’t be as strong.

Two week weigh-in = 210.3

Three week weigh-in = 205.3

Total weight loss through three weeks is approaching 15lb, or 6.8% of my bodyweight. Kickass! I’m also liking how I’m looking. I can’t imagine anything more efficient at dropping midsection fat this quickly; protein-sparing modified fasting is where it’s at.

Dinner tonight was super simple, but really great; worth sharing for others. Grilled broccolini, roasted butternut squash cubes, and mushroom chicken sausages all on a small bed of brown rice.

Chris_Colucci · March 3, 2021, 7:39pm

Progress sounds on point. Awesome to hear. It’s the home stretch now.

Have you played around with turning the shakes into “pudding”? Basically scoop the powder into a bowl, stir in bare minimum water so it stays thick, then throw it in the freezer for just a few minutes: