was feeling good about the diet last weekend. it looked like i was on target to meet this months goal. the problem is my weight rebounded back up. so i'm going to make my diet as strict as possible for the rest of the month. cutting red meat, dairy, fruit, sugars, and sugar substitutes. reducing fats to 15%, protein will be just over 200 grams, and carbs will be about 150 grams. carbs will be split between fibrous veggies and some complex carbs. similar to how a pre-contest bodybuilder might diet. its not the healthiest (nutritionally), so this won't last long.

bodyweight dropped to 197. that's a new low weight (since the previous round of cutting). the current goal is to get below 195 by the end of the month. bodyfat percentage has been measuring about 9% (unofficial). visibly, i'm starting to see some more ab separation. keeping calories at 2000. only nutritional change is that i added some milk and fruit sugars back in. did this because my energy levels were dropping a little. i've cut protein to allow for the extra carb calories, but am still keeping protein above 200 grams each day. the major change is that i've started doing morning cardio too. low intensity, so it doesnt burn many calories, but it really seems to get the metabolism jump started. one problem is that i haven't been sleeping great. for sleep, i shoot for 8 hrs each night. i need 8 hrs to heal torn muscles, burn fat, release some GH. but i keep waking up lately. my diet, activity, stress levels have been the same ... so i'm not sure what's going on. i'm considering a sleep supplement, but they are kind of scary. i have no problem taking supplements to jack up my muscles, but my brain is another story.

this months goal is to lose 5 and get under 195 lbs. for nutrition, i'm going to stay at 2000 calories (20% good fats, 225 grams protein, the rest as carbs). its actually more like 2100 calories, because i allow myself to snack on low cal items throughout the day, but they are too low cal to count without feeling silly. this technique of shooting for really low caloric intake and then allowing small 'cheats' throughout the day seems to work best for me; compared to having a higher initial caloric intake and then not allowing any cheats. on heavy weight days, i will add in some extra starchy carbs post workout. for cardio, i'll do 30 minutes each day. it will mostly be lower intensity post workout, but i'll jog on my off day. if i need an extra push to meet the goal, then i'll add in an additional 30 minutes of low intensity cardio in the morning. for lifting, i need to increase the weight and lower the reps. probably 3 to 4 sets of 7 to 10 reps. workouts are split for 5 days on and 1 off : chest, bis/traps/abs, legs/calves, back, tris/shoulders/abs, off

for bodyfat, my chest is measuring 4-6, thigh is 5-7, and belly is 15-17. so that is where i'm still carrying most of the fat. upper abs are visible, but the lower 4 are still covered by a sheet of fat. love handles are there too. i really wish spot reduction worked, but it doesn't, so i'm going to have to keep pushing my bodyfat percentage down. keep hoping that i reach some point where i've cut enough fat from the rest of my body that it just starts shedding off my belly. it seems that my bodyfat measurements for my belly have to start converging with my chest and thigh measurements sometime soon. i'm also hoping that when i start to bulk back up, that my body does a slightly better job at distributing fat throughout my entire body.

been preparing my own meals, so i'm slowly learning how to cook (a little). anyway, i just started marinating. started out with some store bought marinades, but i just noticed they all have high fructose corn syrup ... as the 2nd main ingredient (behind water). WTF! i really did not expect a sugar substitute to be in that many marinades. now i'm having to play around and make my own.

this wasn't a good month. started out at 205 lbs, and the goal was to get below 200 lbs. then i got the flu and dropped below 200 lbs in less than a week. since then my bodyweight has been bouncing back and forth between 200 and 202 lbs. i'm hoping that my bodyweight kept fluctuating like that because it was regaining some of the muscle i lost during the flu. else, i need to re-evaluate how many calories i actually burn per day. or i'm underestimating how many calories i consume per day. started out consuming about 2300-2400 calories per day (20-25% good fats, 250 grams protein, the rest as carbs). for the last week, to drop below 200 lbs, i switched to 2000-2100 calories (20% good fats, 225 grams protein, the rest as carbs). i also added back in some high intensity cardio (i.e. jogging). was hoping to avoid jogging because that really saps my leg strength for lifting, but i seem to get better weight loss results from jogging, and weight loss is the current priority.

the good news is i did make it just under 200 lbs. for bodyfat percentage, i had been measuring 10-11%, and now i'm measuring 9-10%. another cool measurement is that my waist and belly (at belly button) both measured in exactly the same. those two measurements have slowly been converging. i still have a little flare out at my love handles ... which are going to be stubborn. i'm also happier with what i'm eating this round. mainly, i'm eating most of my protein (150g) vs what i get from protein powders (75g). and i'm getting protein from a wide variety of sources. each day generally consists of a protein from eggs, beef, chicken or turkey, fish, and cottage cheese. the protein powder sources are whey, isolate, and casein. also eating more veggies this round. sugar intake is kept to about 5% per day, and sodium is kept around 2.5 grams. i had been getting ALOT more sodium from deli meats the previous round of cutting.

of course, with low calories, my strength and energy are down. this becomes a battle against my ego. its mentally challenging for me to tear myself down while cutting. especially now that its summer and the punk kids are coming back from college. the testosterone tells me to eat some more carbs and kick their ass on the weights. instead, i have to keep that under wraps and ignore when somebody is lifting heavier than me. that is why i've never been able to switch to bodybuilding in the past. granted, once i get leaner, the plan is to bulk back up ...