On my right shoulder this morning after weights and the bike ride. I haven’t seen it before but it was there.
There is also a bit more definition in my stomach poking out.
They’re small changes, but big enough to be noticed.
I’m looking forward to this weeks weigh in. It’ll be on Sunday though as I’ll be out of action and really busy Sunday night through to part way through Monday.
There are still changes that I’m noticing from day to day in my body. Rather than noticing something every couple of days now it’s more like once a week or after I’ve finished a workout there will be something popping out that didn’t before. No, not that, that always pops out.
Anyway I was thinking today about how my main goal from the very beginning has been to be comfortable with my shirt off. I reckon that it seems to be the inalienable right of even the most average looking dude in Australia so it would be great that at some point I don’t feel like I’m going to freak people out or make them ill. It’s going to be a lot harder for me than other guys both physically and mentally but I think I’ll get there, actually this diet and it’s after effects have given me confidence that I’ll get there.
So to the changes.
I’ve definitely noticed my legs thinning out quite a bit, it’s slowed lately because I do actually have quite a bit of muscle mass in my legs plus with starting squats and proper bike riding that’s going to help pump them up rather than deflate them. Either way it’s noticeable when sitting and running that there have been major changes there. My running tights no longer have to work hard to constrain my thighs and a pair of boardies that were tight are now super loose. More specifically the seperation in the middle of the quads is getting way more pronounced.
My chest is still getting better but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to fix this problem area completely by myself. Who knows a few months of low body fat might help the skin. However there has been some definition start to form in the center of the chest that wasn’t there before.
Biceps now quite often have visible veins running up them and across them. They’re getting more pronounced week to week and though they peeked out after a workout previously they’re there pretty commonly now just in day to day life. Other veins that I now noticed are on the underneath of the forearm and these run the entire length of the forearm now rather than just peeking out at the wrist and elbow joints.
There is a vein that run across my right shoulder that used to be visible only after a workout that is visible at all times now and actually reaches quite a way across my chest. That was never there before the diet and it has become far more pronounced in the last couple of weeks.
Back is another area of great progress, probably because I’ve been really working it lately but also I just store a lot of mass there. Removing a bunch of fat has revealed some definition and I can now feel and see my lats, rhomboids and erectors rather than just seeing a slab of back.
Deodorant has become difficult to apply now because it’s so concave under my armpits. I tend to use talc now a fair bit, but lynx is too big so it’s spray on or talc now. I seem to sweat heaps less now though so talc has proven to be pretty good actually.
So my stomach is the last area to talk about. I’m really surprised and a bit happy actually. It’s been the biggest changing part in the last week or two really, I can actually quite prominently feel my abdominals the top two are easy to feel when relaxed but I can easily feel it all when tensed slightly. I have to stress none of them were anywhere near noticeable before the diet. Also an important change is that this evening when I was stretched out I could actually see the outline of the top two in the mirror without any tensing. It gives me confidence that I could have some decent abs in a while by continuing these new habits! When I eat a big meal now I can easily feel my top two abs straining under the pressure.
So that’s what I’ve noticed in the last couple of weeks. The changes in back, chest, thighs and stomach are probably the biggest. It seems my arms are waiting for the rest of the body to catch up before they lean out more.
This is by far the leanest I’ve ever been. Who knows I might have a decent stomach for my birthday after all.
So it’s been a week of normal eating and seeing if the behavioural changes have stuck, getting into more exercise and integrating normality into my life. It’s gone really, really well.
The flexibility of being able to eat solid food is great and I think because of the six weeks of strictness now this period seems so very easy. I’m still sticking to my macros of 220g protein, 40g fat and 100g carbs on non workout days and 220g protein, 80g fat and 140g carbs on workout days but it’s proving to be very easy to stick to these numbers.
The thing I found again this week has been eggs! Egg white and whole egg powders to be exact, I used them to make a lot of vegetable omelettes, I don’t bake them so much to be a fritata but more just fry them with enough egg to keep everything together. Cabbage, onion and tuna has been a favourite so far. These are a staple at the moment for me.
As far as meat goes I’ve been eating a balance of kangaroo, lean beef rump, chicken breast and fish (tinned tuna and fresh fish) so that’s pretty good I think. I’ll generally be having the meat for lunch or dinner with a big salad or bunch of steamed veges. I’ve found this to be the biggest change in my diet, the sheer enjoyment of vegetables. It makes it very easy to be full and I think definitely makes me healthier.
So on to the measurements for this week … I’m really happy and wasn’t expecting this sort of change! In brackets is just the change from last week. I am taking all measurements but I thought I’d stick to what I consider the important ones.
Measurements
Weight : 96.2kg (-1.6kg)
Bodyfat : 15.0% (-0.9%)
Waist : 91cm (-1.0cm)
Hips : 104cm (-1.0cm)
Thighs : 63.75cm (-0.25cm)
Chest : 101cm (-1.0cm)
So I think the healthy eating is paying off, maybe also the increase in healthy fats but just generally I fell good and I think it’s showing by the weight loss.
I had the goal of being 95kg by March 10th and it looks like I’ll definitely be in the 95’s for Future Music (next weekend) and reach my goal. Awesome.
So all going well. This diet rocks.
I’d been waiting to try this stuff for a while. There had been mixed reviews on taste and mixability but after trying their whey I was pretty confident this would be another great product.
They boast that it contains a stack of Micellar Casein in it which seems to be all the rage at the moment as far as a sort of meal replacement type protein. It’s a very slowly digested protein that gels in contact with the acid in your stomach and makes you feel fuller for longer. It’s chock full of amino acids and the various building blocks you require to build muscle.
Other than the micellar casein there is also calcium caseinate so it’s a bit of a blend which I prefer anyway, I think it’s better to attack from two places than one.
For the velocity diet the reccomended blend is between 50/50 to 80/20 for casein to whey with whey only for your first meal out of bed and post workout. I’ll be mixing it 50/50 for my normal shakes now.
Personally I think it’s great. I got the chocolate flavour and it’s bloody beautiful to me, it has an unusual aftertaste but it doesn’t linger and isn’t off putting at all. It mixes very easily though it does thicken up quite a bit. I find for a casein only shake you need about 3-4x the water and you still get a thicker shake. I like it, it’s like having an actual milkshake.
The casein, whey mixing is easy and nothing unexpected happens. I mix my strawberry whey with the chocolate casein and get a thick, delicious shake.
I have to say I have no complaints at all with this stuff. Given the cost of other equivalents it’s quite cheap and allows you to make a custom whey/casein blend if you really are that keen. Taste is really, really nice and the mixability is great.
I’m not sure why people would say this is no good, to me it’s as good as their whey (which is amongst the best) and just as tasty. I even prefer the casein chocolate to the whey chocolate flavour!
For the V-Diet it’s great, and even just for your typical daily shakes and before bed, perfect!
The main filler here is cabbage but other flavours are red onion, chilli, mushroom, tomato and chick peas. It’s really a perfect accompaniment to a lean piece of meat and is very filling.
So you will need …
Pre-heat your over to 150deg C and get a fry pan you can put into the oven.
Heat the pan and fry the chilli and onion with the chick peas a little then then cabbage for a few minutes until it starts to soften.
Add the egg and leave it to cook a little and place the halved tomatoes and sliced mushroom on top.
Cook for about 20 minutes.
Now you have a wicked vegetable and egg pie. 31g protein, 11.5g fat, 10g carbs for a total of 150calories. I just halve mine then add it to 150g of lean meat and that’s a fantastic meal.
Measurements
In brackets are my loss after the first four weeks then the total loss including the two week taper period.
Weight : 97.8kg (-11.7kg, -1.3kg, -13.0kg)
Body Fat : 15.9% (-6%, -0.6%, -6.5%)
Waist : 92cm (-13.0cm, -1.0cm , -14.0cm)
Hips : 105cm (-3.0cm, -2.0cm, -5.0cm)
Thighs : 64cm (-5.75cm, -0.75cm, -6.5cm)
Calves : 42cm (-3.25cm, +0.25cm, -3.0cm)
Arms : 34cm (-1.25cm, -0.75cm, -2.0cm)
Chest : 102cm (-7.0cm, -1.5cm, -8.5cm)
It’s pretty fair to say that I’m happy with that. If you take the main measurements of waist, thighs, upper arm and chest then it means I lost a total of 39.5cm or 15.5″.
To put things in perspective. The shorts I had that were snug before I went on this diet are now swimming on me, I have to wear a belt otherwise they will quite literally fall off. Shorts I bought a week into the diet that I thought would be cool to fit afterwards are also now starting to become too big too! I’m a size 34 waist in most of my clothing now and that’s stuff I haven’t worn in a year.
Changes are really apparent in my arms, chest and thighs but I’m starting to see some changes in the stomach and my back is really starting to come together too. More than anything it’s given me some real optimism about what I can achieve in the next couple of months.
My Closing Thoughts
Where is the water weight I was supposed to gain back ? It’s not there that’s where it is. In the last two weeks after introducing carbs back into my diet I have lost 1.3kg, not put anything on.
If you follow this diet then you will lose weight, if you follow it to the letter you will lose a lot of weight. I didn’t really follow it completely but when I started to do it better the results improved drastically, so I’m wondering what would happen if I did follow it properly next time!
The benefits are way more than just the weight loss, it’s changed my eating habits and tastes, it’s given me a passion for cooking and food and more of a passion for weight lifting and exercise in general. It’s given me a better attitude to exercise rather than simply smashing myself all the time I’ve learned to take a rest sometimes and to change things up.
If you know you can do it then I’d say do it, if you think you can then try, but just make sure you have the will power to make the first four or five days and the you’ll be fine.
My Recommendations
Definitely get a powder with high amounts of micellar casein. I found the best type was Milk Powder Concentrate from Myopure, it was great. It mixed well and was completely flavourless, not gross in any way, just completely bland. I could mix it with jelly or cordial and it was great. This is an 80/20 micellar casein/whey mix and the weight loss improved dramatically when I started using it.
Reduce your exercise to the walking and weights three times a week. More exercise doesn’t help and it’ll just get you run down.
Get enough sleep, it will really impact your performance when lifting. I found that as I lost weight I required less sleep but then I’ve never been one to sleep eight hours. However I found that if I didn’t get my normal six hours each night my lifting would suffer quite dramatically. Get your sleep!
Use your ingredients and create some concoctions to break up the monotony. I believe that it’s mainly important what’s going in your mouth, not the form it takes so if you want to make your shakes into the V-Diet Muffins or mix it with diet jelly or whatever then I say go for it. All you need to do is watch you aren’t adding calories and it’s fine.
That’s about it I think. This has really opened my eyes to the fact that I still have control over my eating and my body and we’ll see where I am in a month or so.
Sleep
I got about seven hours sleep last night and woke up feeling pretty groggy. I think I still just need to get a night of solid, awesome sleep. Last night I was pretty restless.
Exercise
I went for the usual Sunday run and it was pretty easy, we just did 5km, enough to cover our breakfast easily and count as some Sunday morning exercise.
Solid Meals
I had a bit of oatmeal before the run, just a typical 50g serve with a protein shake when I woke up.
My true solid meals consisted of some flounder and salad for breakfast weighing in at 170 calories (32P, 3C, 3F) so that was really good. I’m not a fan of restaurants serving fish with bones still in it though. It made the meal annoying to eat.
Dinner was 200g of kangaroo mince plus some broccoli and cauliflower. This totalled 300 calories (51P, 18C, 3F) so that was a great meal to sort of finish the day on.
General
So the whole regime including taper is finished, what do I think about things ? This diet is absolutely awesome. Really.
Here is how I will sum up things. Today I tried on some shorts that at my thinnest were tight and before the diet I couldn’t do up and now they are perfectly wearable. They aren’t loose, but they are by no means tight. I’m the leanest I’ve ever been.
So I lost weight, but so do most people on a ‘diet’, but this has had many other benefits. I fucking love salad!
Really I used to hate the stuff, there would be a perfectly awesome salad left on my plate and a bunch of meat and fried potato devoured but salad I’d leave and steamed veges I wasn’t all the fussed on. Now though, well today I asked for them to replace the chips with salad and it was because that’s what I wanted to taste not that it was better for me, though that was a secondary consideration sure. My food tastes have changed and the temptations of ice cream, chocolate, cakes and all sorts of sweets are almost gone. They’re not gone completely of course, I’m still human, but they’re 5% of what they used to be. The decision to give something a miss is so much easier than it used to be.
Being hungry is so much easier to control too, I actually can better listen to my body rather than mistaking dehydration for hunger or just jumping on the nearest food when I’m hungry. When I’m hungry now I’ll grab a tin of tuna with a bunch of water and wait half an hour. Just last night I hadn’t had a chance to eat for six hours and I had all sorts of cravings for fruit and nuts and so on, and lots of it, instead I had my shake, some psyllium and some water and 15 minutes later I wasn’t hungry anymore. That’s a pretty huge change for me.
I want to cook food now too, not just heat it up. I’m looking at getting a portable induction cook top because electric just isn’t cutting it for me anymore. I want to do stir fries and cook meat and veges properly and I just can’t at the moment. I didn’t care before, fry some meat, microwave some veges and we’re done, not anymore though it’s not enough. I want to cook all sorts of wicked things.
Cravings have also changed too, from bad things like ice cream and chocolate, biscuits and chips, milk drinks and yoghurt, now I crave fruit, veges and tinned tuna normally. It’s really cool. What would I like to snack on right now ? Probably some cashews with apple cubes in cottage cheese, that’s pretty amazing. Do I want some Cafe Grande ice cream, to tell you the truth not really. I don’t want anything right now, if I had to choose something I’d probably grab a chocolate protein shake with some unprocessed bran in it for crunch.
It’s given me back control of my body. I used to be bulimic and was up until not long before this diet started, probably at least three times a week, I think it went for close to a year and I always thought it was under control. In reality it wasn’t but in true human fashion I applied some wicked cognitive dissonance and said it wasn’t that bad, it was just a societal constraint. However it’s been six weeks now without even a thought of throwing up crossing my mind and they say after 21 days you’ve broken a habit. I feel like this habit is definitely broken. Control is a great thing to gain through this diet and I think it’s been given from the very beginning of tackling cravings, through to realising the impact of a small imperfection in your diet isn’t that big.
So there have been a stack of wicked benefits from this diet, just being able to complete it has also shown me that I can do anything I put my mind to. A lot of people would have considered this incredibly difficult but I found it very, very easy. I’ve also worked out a few kinks along the way so if I wanted to do it again it would be even easier!
From this point on I’ll be eating three to four solid meals a day and aiming for 1650 calories on non-workout days and 2250 calories on workout days. Workouts will be between one hour and one and a quarter hour and be three times a week. I’ll be doing a chest & shoulder workout and a back and arms workout and these will just be run one after each other. I’ll be aiming to get more sleep as that has had a big impact on my lifting too and I’ll be aiming to start increasing lifts with the extra calories. I’ll be aiming to get 220g of protein each day and 100g or under of carbs, workout days will have 40g or so of sugary carbs after and during the workout so solid food will be pretty strict these days. The change in calorie intake will also be covered mainly in a change in fat intake which will probably take the form of nuts, olive oil and avocado mostly, it’s not that much really but the extra nuts and stuff will probably be appreciated.
The aim at this stage is to reach 95kg by April 1st, that will probably be about 0.75-1kg loss per week.
So would I recommend this diet? Of course, for some people. You need to get into a mindset that you are going to do it, not that you can do it like some Disney movie, but that you will do it. The hump is only three or four days then you’ll be into the swing of things. By the end of the second week I was sailing and the last week just zoomed by.
My outcomes. Better cravings, reduction in power of crap cravings, desire to cook, weight loss, control over body, better communication with body.
Sleep
I got about six hours of solid rest last night, it’s still not enough but it will have to do. Over the weekend I will probably need to get an afternoon of sleep because I have early mornings both days.
Exercise
Weights this morning was good, I’m yet to plug the numbers in but it feels like I increased volume in most exercises. Lat pull downs felt great this morning as I increased the weight and reps over last time, shoulder presses also were better than expected. I think I’m at the stage with my squats now where I will be increasing weight once a week rather than twice. I want to concentrate on getting low and doing justice to the squats. I reckon after another four weeks on this 20x program I will change to a 5×5 for a while. The squats were really good today though, I just need to get some padding for my neck.
I took the train in to work today because I have three hours of BJJ tonight. I think I’m going to have to have a shake prepared for afterwards and one before. It won’t be heavy rolling, more drills and pointers I’d say. It wasn’t tiring really but three hours of moving around and performing drills still takes it out of you and I felt completely spent after I’d cooled down. Sure straight afterwards I felt hyper but that was all gone about an hour and a half afterwards.
Solid Meals
Lunch today was some left over chicken breast and a tin of tuna with salad. In total it was 315 calories (33P 11C 17F) so not too bad.
Dinner was cauliflower and broccoli with olive oil dressing and 150g of chicken breast. In total it was 370 calories (49F, 19C, 13F) so that’s a really good dinner.
Today was a high fat and carb day due to the weights and exercise however it was mainly good fats and I got 35g of fibre.
General
This diet has taught me the difference that sleep can make to your intensity and right now I’m feeling tired in my bones. Luckily Saturday isn’t a day where I do much exercise so I can get some sleep in the afternoon or go to bed early. If that doesn’t happen then Sunday afternoon can be sleep time as well. I think with proper rest my lifts will start to increase much more.
I’ve noticed a couple of changes in the last week, mainly in my back. I’m much more defined in my upper back but also the crevace around the spine is much more pronouced as the erectors stick out and the fat is not smoothing out my back anymore. I happened to put my hand on my lower back today and it feels different, blockier and harder. So the main difference this week has probably been in my back.
I’m feeling like the weight loss and muscle gain is helping me quite a bit with BJJ and just in general. I can feel that it’s easier to move to break into a run and so on. It’s definitely paid off.
I’m looking forward to eating healthy and normally again, so shakes will probably be twice a day but the rest of the time is going to be lots of veges and lean meats and effort into making that happen. The V-Diet gave me a passion for healthy foods and tastes but it also gave me a passion for cooking again. Instead of wanting to cook a really fatty lasagna or pasta or bread or any number of things I am looking for healthy alternatives and where I can slot in protein sources or fibrous veges. I think it’d be cool to see a restaurant that made this a priority too.
I’m not sure if I’ll be losing any weight this weigh in but I’m fairly confident I’ll have lost some fat and maybe a kg of body weight. Given my strength increases especially in the back and legs I’m quite sure I’m putting on muscle.
I forgot to bring home some protein from work so I didn’t have any protein for my shake after BJJ or for the night meal so instead I had cottage cheese, tuna and peanut butter. It was really nice actually and not that bad. Considering I had done three hours of BJJ the added carbs wouldn’t have gone astray.
I’m looking forward to the weekend now and catching up on some sleep!
Sleep
I was up last night working again so I ended up getting about four hours of sleep. I am really feeling run down right now and am keeping the nutrition tight to try to not get weak.
Exercise
Today is BJJ and with so little sleep I decided to catch the train in this morning rather than riding.
I had heaps of energy at BJJ and there wasn’t any match where I felt drained at the end of it except perhaps one, but the guy is a good 25kg or more heavier than me. I think the weight reduction has helped me move a bit better and I definitely feel like I’m rolling better than before I lost the weight.
I am sore though, so I have made sure to get protein in before and after BJJ and will get good, long sleep tonight.
Solid Meals
Today I had for lunch some minced chicken breast tossed through a big salad of lettuce, sprouts, tomato and red onion with some salad dressing. All up it was 290 calories for 46, 11, 8 PCF but with only 3g of fibre.
Dinner was brussel sprouts, cabbage, tomatoes and celery with some balsamic and 150g of lean red meat. It came to 280 calories split into 37, 20, 8 PCF with 9g being fibre.
All up today I had almost 70g of non fibrous carbs.
General
Work has been pretty mad lately and I’ve been working all hours of the night, drinking lots of coffee and eating lots of caffeine. It’s not good, but it’s basically over now. I can get back to a normal sleeping pattern and reduce the amount of caffeine I am taking in, I think it may be a contributing factor to any constipation I might be having as I feel constantly dehydrated even though I’m drinking plenty of water.
My energy levels are good all things considered, but I’ll be aiming to get in a good 10 hours or more of sleep tonight so that I can do a good weights session in the morning and have fun rolling tomorrow evening with Royce Gracie at our club. It’ll be great fun so I don’t want to be unprepared or tired.
Eating healthy is so easy now because I had the motivation to do it and now the benefits are obvious, so it’s really as to continue the pattern. Put good stuff in, get good stuff out. I’m eating more veges in a day now than I would’ve in three previously and fresh too rather than frozen. I’m eating less meat in a serving but probably more overall, but it’s all good, lean meat. I’m enjoying my food now, it’s tasty and I know it’s good for me and I can eat pretty well as much as I want of most veges.
I accidentally left myself without whey at home (it’s all at work) so I have just enough to have some before I work out tomorrow plus an egg white omelette. Then after I ride to work I’ll down some there. Oh well, you can’t do it perfectly.
I bought a bunch of great food tonight because I’ll be starting to eat three or four solid meals a day. I didn’t buy any bread or grains but I did buy some multigrain oats and some milk which I’ll use on work out days and the occasional coffee or desert. I also bought a salad spinner and a big bowl for work so that I can more easily make salads and eat the stack of food I usually do for lunch.
So everything is honky dory, lots of energy and I just need to sleep to let my body recover. I ‘m happy to have control over my eating again and being moving in a solid, forward direction!
I’m here at Wednesday night in the second week of the transitioning stage and I’m just thinking about what I’d like to do moving forward after this coming Sunday. I’m planning what I’m going to eat, getting an idea of recipes I could make and setting a regime and target for the four weeks after that.
Diet
This isn’t diet as in the Velocity Diet but diet as in the food that I’ll be eating, calorie restrictions and PCF splits etc.
The first thing I wanted to work out was how slowly I’d like to lose this remaining weight. I would like to do it at a rate of 1kg per week. Some people will say that’s too quick and 0.5kg a week is a good amount but I’m picking 1kg and we’ll see how it goes strength and lean body weight wise.
The guidelines I’m using are to have at least 1g of protein per lb of body weight and to keep carbs at about 100g not including fibre. The rest of my caloric intake will be from healthy fats and that’s what I’ll use to yo-yo my calories between workout and non workout days.
I’ve worked out that on non-training days I want to eat about 1650 calories and on training days I’ll eat 2250 calories for a one hour weights session. On non-training days I’ll stick to 100g of carbs and on training days I’ll add 40g of carbs. I’ll consistently get at least 1g of protein per lb of body weight and the rest of my energy needs for the day will come from healthy fats.
What I’ll Mostly Eat
I’ll be eating a lot of vegetables, a lot of fibrous vegetables to get me full for very little carbs. So good ones are eggplant, broccoli, brussel sprouts, sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage and I’m already eating most of these every day. I’ll also be using sweet potato and pumpkin a bit and onion is a great flavour for most things. Portion sizes of each vegetable will probably be about 150g except for potato and pumpkin and the like and I’ll have two to three portions per meal. That’s a lot of veges, and it’s very filling.
Other salad type veges I’ll be eating a fair bit will be lettuce, tomato, olives, mushrooms and celery. All this stuff is easy to prepare and fills you up for a while and energy content is virtually nothing.
For protein I’ll be eating lean beef, kangaroo, chicken breast and fish, I’ll be mostly eating chicken and kangaroo though but beef can be quite lean if you get the right cuts and fish oil is very good for you. Portion size for most meat will be about 150g though fish will more likely be 200g and I’ll be having meat three times a day. The fish will range from fresh fish to tinned fish such as tuna and kippers.
I’ll be having a protein shake probably twice a day sometimes three depending on activity. I’ll have one first thing when I get up in the morning and probably one before bed.
For healthy fats I’ll be eating avocado, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, nuts, fish and olive oil.
So meat, vegetables and protein powder will make up the majority of my food intake. Other things that I’ll be using though will be yoghurt, cottage cheese, milk, fruit juice and fruit, some grains. All of this stuff will be in small amount though.
Things I won’t be eating very much at all, if at all, will be bread, fatty meat and pasta off the top of my head.
Goals
So at this stage the goal from this point on is to lose about 1kg per week, if I go faster than that then I’ll begin to increase calories to compensate. My overall goal is to be 93kg by the beginning of April, but I will be pretty happy to get under 95kg by then. That gives me six weeks to lose 6kg to get the goal or to lose over 4kg in six weeks to be happy.
My longer term goal is to be 92kg or less by my birthday, which will be in 10 weeks. That gives me 10 weeks to lose 7kg and if I’m not on track by the beginning of April of being below 95kg then I will do another V-Diet run to get there.
So that’s the picture moving forward. At 92kg I will be about 12% body fat. I’ll consider what I want to do at that point but I think when I get there I’d like to get into the 10’s. That’s a goal not worth considering yet though.