Intro

Here is my second cycle of using the LeanGains style of eating for the purpose of fat loss. My first 6 week cycle is documented in the blog post entitled ‘LeanGains Results: Round I.’ If you are unfamiliar with LeanGains and/or Intermittent Fasting, I recommend that you take a look at that post and the links contained within. Unless noted otherwise, I followed the same principles/procedures/methods contained within that document. This post will make much more sense if you read that post.

Background

After my first 6 weeks of LeanGains went well, I took two weeks off from the diet and ate whatever I wanted (within reason) over the holidays. I still fasted 12-16 hours per day and tried to make sure my protein intake was high (160-200 grams per day). Initially, I was planning to do the 6 week cut (11/10/12 – 12/24/12),  then start a Body Recomposition cycle (-20/+20) after the holidays.  Since the cut was relatively easy for me, I instead decided to cut again and increase the time period to 8 weeks.

My Plan & Goals

My plan for this cycle is documented here: LeanGains Plan: Round II. In general I planned to follow what I did during my first cycle with some small modifications.

Goal-wise I wanted to lose 2 inches from my waistline (measured at navel), which I believed would reduce my body fat percentage to less than 10 over an 8 week period (1/6/13 – 3/3/13). During this cut, I hoped to maintain or increase my strength. I estimated that my final measurements would be approximately 165.0 lbs with a 30.75” waistline. According to some online calculators, that would decrease my body fat percentage to around 9.5%. To measure body fat percentage, I would use three methods: IFCalculator, Skinfold (suprailliac site only) and Naval Research Method. I would take the average of these three methods and use that number as my body fat percentage.

Working Towards a Goal

During this time period, I kept a journal to keep track of my progress and to make writing this entry easier. Instead of simply re-posting all of that information, here is a link to the entry: LeanGains Journal: Round II

Some things work noting:

• Weeks 2 & 3
  • Sick, so broke fasting period early to take medication.
    • Weight increased, possibly due to expanded feeding window
  • Added Overhead Shoulder Presses (OHP) and re-organized workout schedule
  • Started doing body weight squats on the days following barbell squats to reduce DOMS
• Week 4
  • Got over illness and back to normal fasting schedule; weight started dropping again
• Week 5
  • Realized that when my activity level rises (on vacation, moving boxes and hiking daily), following the diet becomes increasingly difficult with each passing day, since when figuring out my TDEE I set my activity level to sedentary
• Week 6,
  • I hit my lowest weight (164 lbs)
  • The last week I tried to stick with my original kCal and macro targets
• Week 7
  • Decided to:
    • increase my daily caloric intake
    • to eat back some of the calories burned due to cardio activity, if it becomes frequent
    • make sure I eat plenty after long hikes. If I don’t, following the diet in the following days will be difficult.
• Week 8
  • Set PRs for several exercises

Results

My goal for the this period was:

Lose 2 inches from waistline (measured at navel), hopefully reducing body fat % to less than 10% in 8 weeks (1/6/13 – 3/3/13), while maintaining or increasing strength.
Target (guesstimate) – 165.0 lbs w/ 30.75” waist ~ 9.5% bodyfat

In the end, I was able to decrease by body fat % to less than 10% (per my methods of measurements) and I was able to increase my strength level for most of my lifts. My estimates for what my weight, waist circumference and body fat % were close.

Body Measurements

*Average body fat % is the average of the following methods: IFCalculator, Skinfold (suprailliac site only) and Naval Research Method. The individual measurements for each of these methods can been seen in Appendix I.
**This number seems low to me, but I attained it using the same methods that I started the cycle with. For the sake of consistency, I am using this number.
***This number seems really high to me, however I did lose 2″ off my waist and my weight stayed nearly the same.  An increase in LBM could explain this. 

Strength Measurements

*1 Rep Max is calculated using the 1RM Calculator or Bench Press Calculator.
**Estimated 1 RM = bodyweight + weight added to dip belt
***New exercise, so low initial weight can be attributed to unfamiliarity with the movement

Conclusions/Thoughts:

After the success I experienced during LeanGains: Round 1, I thought I had things figured out. During this cycle I learned some new things as well as reinforced some of the things I observed previously.

Key Points:

• 5-6 weeks of fast cutting (-30/-10) appears to be my limit. The first 5 weeks went really well, as it did during my previous cut. By the end of week 6 and into weeks 7 & 8, I had a hard time keeping my calories down and cycling macronutrients (carb cravings).
  • Edit: recently read an interesting article about losing fat once you hit single digits. Check out the article here: LeanGains.com
• Fat loss is not necessarily linear in my experience. I can go a couple of weeks where it doesn’t seem like I’m making any progress, then follow that up with a week or two where I lose .5% or more.
• I shouldn’t underestimated the usefulness of water when comes to limiting caloric intake and curbing hunger pangs.
• If I add regular cardio work to my daily schedule (short hikes and exercise bike), it may be necessary to eat back a portion of the calories burned.
• When doing long hikes, it is necessary to eat back a large portion of the calories burned. If this doesn’t happen, sticking to the diet will be very difficult for 2-3 days after the hike.
• Logging my intake is a very valuable exercise, even if it seems tedious at times:
  • I need to log my supplement intake (fish oil, vitamin D, etc). If I’m not logging it, I’m not likely to take it. To a lesser extent, this applies to water intake too.
  • No one, other than myself, looks at my food log. For the most part, I just look at the kCals and macro break down, so I’m not really being held accountable for what I eat by anyone.  Nevertheless, if I have a craving to eat something that I shouldn’t, the simple act of logging it is usually enough to deter me from eating it.
• The myotape gives me a lower measurement(1/8-1/4″) than a cloth tape measure, but it is consistent in terms of how much it tightens up when taking measurements. From now on I will use it exclusively.
• My daily weight can fluctuate greatly (1-3 lbs) from day to day. It all depends on how many carbs I eat the previous day and how much water I drink. When taking measurements to see how I am progressing, it is important to average the measurement for 2-3 days.
• On this diet I realize that I can eat pretty much whatever I want, as long as I am willing to ‘make up for it’ at another time (through either exercise or ‘saving’ the calories). On average, I ate at In-N-Out or 5 Guys once per week (protein style cheeseburger) and had pizza and ice cream on several occasions (hiking/cheat days).

 What’s Next?

I am taking a break (3/5/13-3/16/13) from tracking kCals and macros. I will keep an eye on my body weight and body fat and will continue to fast 16 hrs per day, as well as cycle carbs and fat intake. During this time period, I will decide what my next eight weeks will consist of. Here are a couple ideas I am considering.

• 4 week Lean Bulk (-10/+20) followed by a 4 week Fast Cut (-30/-10).
• 4 week Lean Bulk (-10/+10) followed by a 4 week Slow Cut (-20/0).

Appendix 1

Body Measurements (Starting)
Weight: ~167 lbs (1/06/13 – 167.0 lbs, 1/07/13 – 166.8  lbs, 1/08/13 – 167.4 lbs)
Bodyfat per http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/: 14.2% (32.75” waist at navel on 1/08/13)
Bodyfat per skin-fold test: 10.7% (8 mm at suprailliac site on 1/08/13)
Bodyfat per Navel research method: 12.46%
Average Body fat: 12.45%

Body Measurements (Ending)
Weight: ~166 lbs (average measurement  3/3-3/6)
Bodyfat per http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/: 9.7% (30.9” average measurement 3/3-3/6)
Bodyfat per skin-fold test: 8.83% (5.33 mm at suprailliac site average measurement 3/3-3/6)
Bodyfat per Naval research method: 7.96% (average measurement  3/3-3/6)
Average Body fat: 8.83%

Body Fat Percentage (click for large image)

Daily Weight Fluctuations (click for large image)

Average Weekly Weight (click for large image)

Strength Measurements