On Monday, May 6th my weight was 75.1 Kg. Fast forward a month later, on Saturday, June 8th it went down to 70.4 Kg (14.5% body fat).
Before finding the right formula to achieve this result, I did a bit of trial and error.
I first started experimenting with intermittent fasting. I adopted the 16-8 schedule, fast for 16 hours (including overnight) and eat within an 8-hour window.
This was not easy for me and it actually led to some weight gain.
I also tried to take on running, and trail running later on, in addition to strength training.
While this led to some short-term weight loss, especially after a long run (I would run on average 50 Km per week split into 4-5 days), I would gain back the weight almost immediately.
Eventually, I tweaked both my training and nutrition, which led me to losing 4.7 Kg in 32 days.
This is what I did:
Nutrition, Week 1-3
I started counting calories like I used to do last year. For this, I use an app called Myfitnesspal.
I set my daily calorie intake to roughly 1,990 calories a day. I would stick to this threshold regardless of the additional calories burned from training.
I would have three main meals per day, the classic breakfast, lunch and dinner, and two snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Also after each meal, I aim to do 100 steps in the house.
Macros, Week 1-3
Calories: 1,990
Carbohydrates: +250g
Fats: +50g
Proteins: +100g
Nutrition, Week 4-
After three weeks, my energy levels were quite low, and my mood was not the best. This probably was having an impact on my weight loss so I decided to further tweak my diet.
I increased my calorie intake to 2,200 a day, also without adding the extra calories burned from training.
I stopped taking protein powder and replaced it with 0% fat free Greek yogurt.
Macros, Week 4-
Calories: 2,200
Carbohydrates: 250-300g
Fats: +50g
Proteins: 100-130g
Daily Nutrition (Sample)
Breakfast (400-450 calories): 4 egg whites, 100g black beans, 30g avocado, 50g cherry tomatoes, 30g rye sourdough bread with 15g peanut butter and 15g homemade jam (typically blueberry), coffee with 30ml almond or soy milk and 1 tsp honey
Mid-Morning Snack (250 calories): 225g 0% fat free Greek yogurt, 50g fruit, 20g muesli, 1 tsp honey
Lunch (500-600 calories): 250g vegetable soup, 100g brown rice, vegetable curry (typically 100g chickpeas, 150g vegetable like beetroot, zucchini or aubergines, 50g plant-based milk and 100g chopped tomatoes), 15g peanut butter, coffee
Mid-Afternoon Snack (250 calories): 225g 0% fat free Greek yogurt, 50g fruit, 20g muesli, 1 tsp honey
Dinner (500-600 calories): 250g vegetable soup, 100g brown rice, vegetable curry (typically 100g chickpeas, 150g vegetable like beetroot, zucchini or aubergines, 50g plant-based milk and 100g chopped tomatoes), 15g peanut butter, decaf coffee
Nutrition Notes
My diet is 70% vegan and 30% vegetarian, the 30% vegetarian being egg whites (4) at breakfast, 0% fat Greek yogurt mid-morning and mid-afternoon (225g each time) and pizza (once a week).
90% of my diet is organic wholefoods, the only exception being organic rye sourdough bread and pizza. My wife follows the same diet.
We get weekly delivery of organic fruit and vegetables from a local farm, Green Earth Organics.
On average, I eat 300g of legumes per day, generally black beans or chickpeas.
I eat vegetable soups twice a day.
At the end of each meal, I eat a teaspoon of peanut butter.
I cook my meals for the week on a Friday. 99% of the food we eat is homemade.
It’s also worth mentioning that consciously I decided not to do the typical bulking and cutting phases. I feel these are too extreme and don’t generate the results I want.
I went instead for about 3 months of body recomposition, where I would eat an extra 200-300 calories above my daily needs, followed by a calorie restriction phase, where I would eat 400-500 calories (Week 1-2) and then 200-300 calories below my daily needs.
Both calorie intake and daily calorie needs are measured by using Myfitnesspal.
More recently, I bought an advanced scale by Renpho, showing metrics such as body fat, visceral fat, water in the body, etc. which I find to be very helpful.
I tend to check my weight every day in the morning, on an empty stomach, after going to the toilette.
I also use a fitness watch, Polar Pacer, to track and log both my strength training and running sessions (into the Polar Flow app). I also use it to monitor my sleep pattern, including sleep duration, recharge and boost.
Daily Supplementation, Week 1-
In terms of supplementation, the disclaimer is that both myself and my wife are trying to conceive and have been taking supplements helping with this goal.
I don’t take pre-workout and I stopped taking protein powder from Week 3 of my dieting phase.
Proceive Max for Men: 1 sachet
Alpha-Lipoic Acid 300mg: 1 tablet
Q10 Enzyme 100mg: 2 tablets
Vitamin C + Zinc: 1 tablet
L-Carnitine 500mg: 1 tablet
Ashwagandha: 1 gummy
Omega 3 Fish Oil: 2 tablets
Vitamin D3: 10 drops
Probiotics: 1 tablet
Gonasi HCG: 3 injections per week
Training, Week 1-2
For about two weeks, I did both strength training and running. My routine would look like this:
- Monday-Wednesday: 1h strength training session, 1 running session
- Thursday: 1 strength training session
- Friday: Rest
- Saturday: 1 trail running session
- Sunday: Rest
Training, Week 3-4
From Week 3 and in consideration of my low energy levels, I decided to reduce my running sessions to the following:
- Monday-Friday: 1h strength training session, 1h walking session
- Saturday: 1 trail running session
- Sunday: Rest
Training, Week 5-
More recently, I went back to (treadmill) running more regularly but at a very easy pace (up to 5:27 / Km) for up to 5 Km / session.
And I also kept my daily walking sessions.
Daily Training (Sample)
Monday: Chest / Upper Body; 3km treadmill running; 1h walk
Tuesday: Legs / Lower Body; 1h walk
Wednesday: Shoulders / Back / Upper Body; 5km treadmill running; 1h walk
Thursday: Legs / Lower Body; 1h walk
Friday: Arms / Back / Upper Body; 3km treadmill running; 1h walk
Training Notes
It’s worth mentioning that I mostly do super and giant sets. I find this to work best for my body.
I follow a workout programme by personal trainer Paul Sklar.
As far as treadmill running, I keep my heart rate under 140 bpm.
By doing so, I avoid to stress the body to a point of getting a spike in cortisol, which would be detrimental to my weight loss goal.
My walks are also to and from the gym, roughly 30 minutes each at a relaxed pace.
The gym I go to is Southside Gym Sandyford.