Enough excuses

ErinGoBrath

Hi all,

I'm a 26 year old 5' 11'' foot male that has been relatively active most of my life. Giving the amount of football I play my body should be in better shape however I've always struggled to limit my alcohol consumption. I've been appointed the captain of my football team this year so it's a good incentive to get me going.

I'm well built - carrying a lot muscle which unfortunatly is covered by a layer of unsightly fat. I've got a beer gut and man breasts (although not too bad) but you can tell that with some hard work and focus I could easily get the physique that's screaming to get out!

Genetically I seem to have been dealt a good hand in body composition so it'd be a shame to let it go to waste.

EXERCISE
My weekly routine will stay the same for January and then hope to introduce weights depending on my progress:

• Monday - Rest
• Tuesday - Football training - 2hrs inc H.I.I.T.
• Wednesday - Indoor football - 1 hrs
• Thursday - Football training - 1hr on astro
• Friday - Rest
• Saturday - Match or spinning class
• Sunday - 4 mile jog

GOALS
I've set out a lot of goals that range from weekly to one year down the line. I'll give you the main ones I'll be concentrating on short term:

• - To reach 19% bodyfat by April the 4th
• - To reduce my weight to 12st 10lbs (losing most body fat) by April the 4th
• - To lose 2 lbs a week (with as little lean body mass loss as possible)
• - To run a sub 45min 10k on April the 6th
• - To make player of the year by the end of season

My diet has been really good of late and I've a good deal nutritional knowledge so I'm not going to bore you with the details as yet. I'll do a weigh in and update each week so you can see how I'm getting on.

Initial stats as on 03/01/2008

Weight (lbs): 193 lbs
Bodyfat: 25.2%
Skinfold (mm): 28
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 144.36
Fat Mass (lbs): 48.64

ErinGoBrath

Week 2 - 10/01/2008

Weight (lbs): 191 lbs
Bodyfat: 24.4%
Skinfold (mm): 26
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 144.40
Fat Mass (lbs): 46.60

UPDATE
Delighted with the results from the first week. I've been eating healthy however had a few setback due to all the food from Christmas lying around. I've also had a cold/flu which held me back in training slightly. If I got these results for a few weeks running I'd be over the moon.

NOTE
For my bodyfat reading I'm using a accumeasure one point skinfold reader. It takes a single measurement from one inch above the hip bone. I've been told it's very accurate if used consistantly but time will tell!

Jimmy Bottlehead

Well done! Whatever you're doing, its working!

ErinGoBrath

Cheers Jimmy, tomorrows weight should tell it's own story.

Updated some details in the first too posts also.

ErinGoBrath

Week 3 - 17/01/2008

Weight (lbs): 189 lbs
Bodyfat: 23.4%
Skinfold (mm): 24
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 144.78
Fat Mass (lbs): 44.23

UPDATE
Clean eating this week mixing two normal calorie days in with 5 calorie deficient days. Worked hard in training although found it tough going as I'm carrying the same cough/cold and haven't given it a chance to clear up. Will take it easy this weekend to get it sorted.

Great results for week 3 as I've managed to lose another 2 pounds of bodyfat without any muscle loss. I'm wondering how long I can keep such a loss up for without hitting a plateau but I'll cross that bridge when it comes.

Although my diet and activity levels have been good for the previous two weeks I can't help but think the main factor to these loses is my abstainence for alcohol since New Years Eve. It's the first time in many years that I've been off for so long and plan to keep it up until the end of January at least. Watch this space!

ErinGoBrath

Week 4 - 24/01/2008

Weight (lbs): 186 lbs
Bodyfat: 22.3%
Skinfold (mm): 22
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 144.52
Fat Mass (lbs): 41.48

UPDATE
Suprised (and immencely relieved) at this weeks results as I had too nights on the beer for the first time in January. Saying that I did feel guilty as a results of it and put in additional work in other areas.

I'm can't believe how simple and effective this style of living is. I'm convinced that the element that is making the biggest different is the reduction of portion size, increased amounts of meals and making sure each meal has some element of protein in it to prevent blood sugar spikes.

I can really see the difference when I looking in the mirror and it's starting to become apparent that I am not as far from my ideal body composition as I thought I was.

Fingers crossed whatever I'm doing keeps working into next week

ErinGoBrath

Week 5 - 31/01/2008

Weight (lbs): 185 lbs (13st 3lbs)
Bodyfat: 22.3%
Skinfold (mm): 22
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 143.75
Fat Mass (lbs): 41.25

UPDATE
Thought it'd be a bad week as I was over in London and had a few sessions but still managed to lose a pound.

Will make the effort this week and hopefully edge a little closer to the 13st mark.

ErinGoBrath

Week 6 - 07/02/2008

Weight (lbs): 187 lbs (13st 5lbs)
Bodyfat: 21.6%
Skinfold (mm): 21
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 146.61
Fat Mass (lbs): 40.39

UPDATE
Not sure how to take the results this week. Did Pilates/Yoga last night instead of my usual football training so I reckon some of the gain could be down to not being as dehydrated as usual on a Friday morning.

My skinfold measurement has gone down yet again so at least I'm going in the right direction and won't get hung up over this weeks gain.

ErinGoBrath

Week 7 - 14/02/2008

Weight (lbs): 186 lbs (13st 4lbs)
Bodyfat: 21.0%
Skinfold (mm): 20
Lean Body Mass (lbs): 146.94
Fat Mass (lbs): 39.06

UPDATE
Only a pound loss in weight however did manage to get the bodyfat percentage down again and the stats indicate I'm not losing any muscle mass which is good.

Being honest with myself I've been a little too slack with my eating & training so will make the effort this week to hit a calorie deficit each day and hopefully burn another 2 pounds of pure fat. Fingers crossed.

7 weeks on and I've:

• lost 4.2% bodyfat
• lost 9.5 lbs of fat
• gained 2.5 lbs of muscle

My motivation is still at a high and getting plenty of compliments from friend regardling my visable trasformation thus far.

It's looking on track to reach my 19% BF goal however I'll need to push it if I'm to get down to 12st 10lbs by April the 4th!