V-Diet Log --> Abs for Summer

Alright, after a long time of half-assing my way through working out and dieting, I’m going to get serious and get in shape for this summer. I have 21 weeks until a summer vacation on June 10th, a trip to a resort in Arizona, and I plan on being in peak condition by this time. Basically, I hope to use this forum to help motivate me and provide a record of my progress.

My Diet:
Anabolic Diet combined with the Velocity Lite Diet. So, three solid meals a day, fat and protein with very little carbs, less than 30g a day. Combined with Metabolic Drive shakes in the morning and at night.

For supplemens I will be using the following: Metabolic Drive, HOT-ROX, Flameout, a multivitamin, creatine, and flax seeds in my shakes.

Also, I should mention that I’m giving up all alcohol for the extent of my diet, which for me should result in many less calories per week.

My workouts:
2x a week lifting (I find I improve most on low volume, I get very sore from lifting), once upper body and once lower body.
4x a week cardio in the gym for 30 minutes.
2x a week brazilian jiu-jitsu class, it lasts 60 minutes. I’m going to try and up this to 4x a week and cut back on cardio but the commute to the gym is a bear.

After One Week, My Measurements (Didn’t get my scale or measuring tape in time for day one):
Weight: 183.2
Resting HR: 71
Neck: 15.5
Gut: 36
Upper Gut: 34
Chest: 38
R. Arm: 13
R. Leg: 24.5
R. Calf: 15
According to Bodyweight tracker:
BF%: 20.35
LBM: 147.35
Body Fat: 37.65

Of course, any advice, encouragement or comments would be helpful and appreciated.

Thanks.

Measurements: 1/24/08, morning pre-breakfast.
Weight: 181.2
Resting HR: 65
Neck: 15.5
Gut: 35.5
Upper Gut: 33.75
Chest: 38
R. Arm: 13
R. Leg: 24
R. Calf: 14.75
According to Bodyweight tracker:
BF%: 19.43
LBM: 147.44
Body Fat: 35.56

Your in to BJJ. Very cool. Along the same vein you may want to try out Capoeira it has a wicked cardio component which may actually eliminate your need for direct cardio. Not to mention that cross training in BJJ and Capoeira would greatly benefit you, even if you choose to only continue with the BJJ. I myself, play Capoeira and am looking to start training BJJ seriously, in the near future.

I really want to start doing Muay Thai, or boxing, to complement my ground game. For me the issue is that I live right next to a gym, but I have to travel about 45 - 60 minutes to get to the BJJ gym.

I think I’m going to try and compete in a BJJ tournament in two months. It should provide another motivation to drop weight. I’m at 183 now, but ideally I’d like to compete in the 150 - 160 or 160 - 170 class. Realistically, I’m aiming for 170/5 by the time of the tournament. So, that’s a bit above the 145 class I used to compete at in scholastic wrestling. But that’s what you get for letting yourself go.

I think you’ll like BJJ. The competition aspect is what makes it such a good workout. If you stop trying, you get choked out. So, there’s a strong incentive not to slack off; plus it’s a great isometric workout since your constantly trying to hold your opponent in position.

Capoeira, on the other hand, has tons of smoking girls. At my gym there are at least half a dozen girls in each Capoeira class that could, or maybe they actually do, model for a living. If you were really good at Capoeira it would be an amazing way to meet gorgeous women.

[quote]H.E. Pennypacker wrote:
I really want to start doing Muay Thai, or boxing, to complement my ground game. .[/quote]

I did muay thai for years I started off in tang soo do which is alot like tae kwan do and shotokan and i was conditioned pretty good but when i hit the kickboxing gym …man was I wrong

my opinion is muay thai is great it will teach you more about striking I think

add muy thai concepts and jujitsu concepts and you will be very dangerous on the ground and in the striking game

and not to mention that kickboxing focuses on alot of flexablity and equal lower and upper body endurance
its just good all around I think

I started the velocity diet today.

Don’t put whole flax seeds into anything. They need to be milled.

[quote]msd0060 wrote:
Don’t put whole flax seeds into anything. They need to be milled.[/quote]

frank mcgrath would use whole ones, just throw it all in, push the “liquify” button on the blinder and choke that shit down.

Okay, I need to buy some milled flax seeds then. I’ve been using regular flax seeds. On the plus side I weighed 179 this morning, which is the lowest I’ve been in years, even though this is definitely water weight.

Day 2:

This is a tough diet. I’m already dreading the next shake. On the plus side I just weighed myself and I came in at 179.4, this is pretty good since I weighed 184 Sunday night. I also seem to look thinner.

At the same time I really enjoy the discipline the diet requires. I want to prove to myself that I can do this.

Regarding pictures, I lost the cord to my digital camera so I would have to take the memory card into a drugstore to burn the photos onto a CD. I’m also embarrassed by my gut, I’ll cop to that. I’m thinking in two weeks I’ll take the time to make the CD. I have before pictures taken so hopefully I’ll have a good before/after combination.

Good luck.

Day 3:

I’ve started varying the kinds of shakes so that I don’t have the same flavor more than once a day. This definitely helps make the diet more doable. On a more negative note, I’ve started to feel the effects of dieting, a little dizziness and sluggishness. Hopefully this will pass.

Try adding flavoured instant coffee to your shakes for variety. My favourite is the hazelnut, but french vanilla is also good. It may also help with the sluggishness, but thats just my guess.

good luck!

Day 4:

I tried a ‘mocha’ shake this morning: chocolate Metabolic Drive, a half cup of instant coffee, and several cubes of ice. Pretty tasty. Unfortunately, the coffee in addition to the HOT-ROX left me pretty jacked up and made it hard to concentrate in class.

Placed an order today for a USB cable so that I can start posting some of my photos online. I realize this thread is pretty pointless unless there is some objective way of evaluating my progress, and photos are far more interesting than my tape measurements.

On another note I should mention that I’m violating one of the rules of the Velocity Diet by “chasing two rabbits.” I’ve trained Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu twice this week. While I realize this is sub-optimal, the fact remains that I can’t just step off the mats for a month. Purely from a technical standpoint I don’t want to regress by not training for a month.

Day 5:

Was supposed to do a leg day in the gym, but I was unable since I tweaked my right hamstring yesterday in jiu-jitsu trying to sink an arm bar. For the record, I did get the submission.

I’ve found a new favorite shake, vanilla Metabolic Drive with a few drops of lemon extract. Really makes it easier to drink.

I’m looking forward to my official weigh-in on Sunday. I’m looking, and feeling, leaner so I’m expecting some big improvements.

[quote]H.E. Pennypacker wrote:
Day 5:

Was supposed to do a leg day in the gym, but I was unable since I tweaked my right hamstring yesterday in jiu-jitsu trying to sink an arm bar. For the record, I did get the submission.

I’ve found a new favorite shake, vanilla Metabolic Drive with a few drops of lemon extract. Really makes it easier to drink.

I’m looking forward to my official weigh-in on Sunday. I’m looking, and feeling, leaner so I’m expecting some big improvements.[/quote]

You’re almost done the first week, way to go.

I’m going to start looking into BJJ once I’m finished the vdiet(I start monday). I hope there are some places to learn and train around here.

Day 6:

Thanks. Good luck with BJJ. I have no idea if there are gyms in Manitoba, but the sport is growing rapidly, and there are gyms spouting up everywhere. Like I said before it’s an amazing workout.

A mental trick I’ve been using to stay on track: I tell myself that I have no choice, I have to finish this diet. This way the diet seems easier, not a series of difficult decisions made by willpower, but instead a 28 day period where I have no choice. All I’m doing is following a preset plan, there is no input from me.