SkitsyKitsy

That clears up rather a lot, thanks. Solid advice that makes sense, though I need to re-take the reins with my discipline. Just earlier tonight I let myself eat a friggin' cupcake that I fully knew would push me from a deficit to a surplus. So grateful that I have so much leeway. As for my sugar intake, I should clarify that I do take in some sugars, probably enough to worry a "clean dieter", but far less than is typical. I log and track food pretty obsessively nowadays, so I'm aware of how much I have. I usually let myself eat something really "bad" every day or two, but I've been sliding badly because of these hunger pangs. According to most people I know, I'm a joyless orthorexic because I don't drink soda or eat potato chips or fast food at lunch time. >_> When I was on the ball, I averaged 50-60g of sugar a day, letting myself live a little and stay sane. Now? I'm embarrassed to say. I can usually hold on until later in the evenings, but that's even worse. After months of being relatively disciplined I'm doing just fine until the late evenings where I break down. .... I thought rice was gluten free, but wasn't sure. Ahem.

Hi folks, I recently decided I was happy with my weight and body composition, and wanted more energy and dietary freedom for sports performance, so I upped my carb intake to roughly the proportions most people recommend (about 50% of my dietary intake). I've never gone full ketogenic or zero carb, I always nommed on brown rice, quinoa, chia, the occasional candy, etc, but protein was definitely my dominant macro nutrient for a very long time. I never completely cut carbs out. When I started to reintroduce things like cereals, specifically weetbix and oats and such, I found myself getting a decent amount of energy and performance, but started to get major hunger pains. Especially at night, I'd wake up and just want to eat. I'd have very specific cravings for carby things, like cookies, cereals, and worst of all, straight up junk food (I ate 1500kcal of cake a few nights ago... halp). My typical measures for hunger control are not working. I never noticed this before, although I've been moderately low carb for a long time. Rice* doesn't cause this, and neither did candy or anything like that. I could eat candy and be happy with that, but now I was eating cereals and oats, I'd want to stuff my face with cake and cookies. Months ago, if I ate an entire bag of candy, that was me done for a few days. But I suddenly found myself snarfing 2-3 times that much because of incredible, painful hunger, despite eating more overall calories. Even on rest days or a deload week I'm visciously hungry at 10,000kj when I used to be fine on less on workout days. Wat. Could this be a result of gluten intolerance? Some people have mentioned that to me as a possibility. Maybe even just a result of going from about 7500kj to 10,000kj? Eating Weetbix before training is convenient but I'm suddenly having trouble sticking to 10,000kj limits when I used to have no problem with a really steep caloric deficit. Anyone have this problem? And hey, if you're trying to cut weight and having difficulty managing hunger, you might want to cut these forms of carbs right out. * - I typically eat basmati, jasmine or brown rice, usually marketed as gluten free. I typically use flexible dieting. -- Also, I don't eat table sugar on cereals and I eat/supplement fibre where I can. Big fan of chia seeds right now. I only take sugar in from rare naughty snacks, my overall sugar intake is very low.

You again! Gotcha, I think for now I'll focus on the levers for now, do them at the start of the workout and keep goin with what I'm doing calorie wise. Muscle-ups are awesome but they wipe me out a lot more than trying to hold tucks for 60s each, so I might just stick to those on Sundays for fun where I can focus directly on them. I'm trying to streamline my workouts, keep them functional and keep them fun. It's actually working really well, thanks to the advice and wakeup calls from people on this forum. I think this is going to work well.

Hey guys, just got a question or two about progressions for front and back levers. I'm just starting to play around with the levers after finally getting kipping muscle-ups down. The thing is, my training is fairly hefty at times, and I was just wondering if it makes sense for me to tackle the lever progressions at the start or end of my workout, or if I should just push everything else in the gym aside and focus on the levers for a few weeks. I don't consider gym-work a priority now, I mostly prioritize my sport specific training and conditioning, but I do have a routine built around weighted dips, pull/chin-ups, deadlift and overhead pressing; which is pretty minimal, I don't even go that heavy on deadlift anymore. I know the lever progressions (and planche and muscleup work) are considered strength exercises as much as technique; should I be doing these at the beginning of the workout? Just how fresh do you think someone has to be to make progress on these movements? Am I killing my progress by doing weighted dips before hanging from that bar? For that matter, how often should I be working on them? I tend to just hop into the gym and treat these like play-time fun things, even on my rest days. The next question is totally different: how critical is it to be eating on a caloric surplus while working on these? I'm trying to keep my weight mostly stable, eating to maintenance/recomping to stay in a weight-class, but I'm used to the concept of eating a slight surplus to get strength/size/performance benefits from exercises outside of neuromuscular adaptation. But these bodyweight exercises seem to be slightly different beasts (i.e., even more about technique and adaptation than hypertrophy). If anyone here has achieved the levers, muscle-ups and/or the planche, were you just eating to maintenance? Didn't pay attention? Doesn't matter? Thanks doods and doodettes!

I'll add my 2 cents! The others above have given good advice, so I won't go over that again. A lot of people hate running when they fall out of condition, only to end up enjoying it again if they stick with it. I find that's true with almost every form of sustained cardio, or cardio at all, really. I like to use music, comedy routines, audiobooks and the like so I don't get hideously bored while running, and the running itself got more enjoyable over time. But if you're dead-set on avoiding running, try the other usual suspects like cycling, swimming, recumbent bike, hiking, etc. Be wary of starting high-intensity interval training right away; sure, it's over quicker, not as boring, but without a good aerobic base (not to mention getting used to the cortisol and adrenaline) you could find yourself sick or sore. Definitely lead by example (your SO will probably join in), and definitely have a day or three where you make a workout routine a priority. Where you HAVE to accomplish your routine.Making it a priority and a habit will pay off hugely in the long run, obviously. It sounds patronizing, but it's true that a lot of people have trouble starting. You don't need to throw all your energy and effort into your workouts at first; you need put that effort into making it routine and regular. Microworkouts or "being more active" throughout the day helps a lot, but don't let that take the place of workouts. I would definitely try to get some resistance training in there too. Don't let anyone, like a personal trainer, sucker you into doing fluffy bunny routines or weird and outlandish things. You'll probably want to do some basic movements with dumb-bells or a barbell, not too much or too heavy at first. I recommend that everyone eventually starts to go "heavy", but slinging heavy iron while also trying to lose body-fat is a cruddy experience. But still do some resistance training, it prevents muscle-wasteage, improves strength, posture and physique, and will make you feel good! It also DOES help with weight-loss directly. If you say you're okay with that, then people can start helping you build a workout plan! An exact workout/training plan will depend on the frequency and volume of your resistance training and how intense your cardio will be. You should take some days off, but a 30 minute hike on a rest day won't hurt, but if you're running 2-3kms it isn't a rest day! Finally: almost everything is secondary to diet. BaconHunter said this, and I WILL repeat this. Clean that diet up as best you can. I personally count calories/macros, think it works great (and planning meals is so much fun!... I know, I'm weird.) but where you are at the moment? Don't need to. Cut back on the sugars, prioritize protein, and use your common sense. Then, patience! If you manage this, but don't see any improvement after 5-6 weeks, you might want to watch your calorie intake more closely.

Looking into that book. I'm a student at the moment (so I make about as much money as you'd expect from that) so I'm leery of buying it just yet. Looks like it might be worth the money when I can afford it though. Also checking out your website!

Alright! So, I want to simplify my gym time quite a bit (I think I was riding high on a few days of crazy gym sessions and was a bit silly with my first post), and I've got a pool of exercises I consider good choices, but I thought I'd seek some feedback here first. I've mostly done bodybuilding or hybrid-bodybuilding programs like SL5x5 and SS3x5 in the past, but I've experimented with unusual lifts and movements. Although I've always had a more "functional" mindset than my peers, I've never been a powerlifter or been coached in a proper periodized progression. That's why I'm here, though! I'm just going to lay my cards on the table and ask if anyone would be kind enough to help. This is a lot of open questions, I'm sorry. If you have anything chime in on, that's all I could ask for. Since I did mention aesthetics earlier, honestly I'm a firm believer in "fitness = aesthetics" anyway. I look fine, so forget what I said above. If I cared about aesthetics I'd go get a tan. My questions are: Does anyone have advice on periodization? How should they be organised? Full-body every day, or break-things up? What rep-ranges make the most sense for these lifts given my goals? How many times a week should I be hitting the gym seriously? Can I get all this down to 2 days a week sanely? Any other recommendations or glaring problems? (Like how I train legs almost never -.-) My go-to exercises are: Main lifts: Barbell Deadlift Weighted Dips Weighted Pull-ups Barbell Overhead Press T-bar or Barbell Rows (Pendlay) Power Cleans Assistance: Barbell Good Mornings - but I have been considering rack pulls or RDLs instead. Core work - I've been working more on my core region and found a lot of success with the ab-wheel and such. I don't agree that big lifts alone are enough for core strength, and I'm not the only person to say that. Sled Push - if I was going to pick a conditioning exercise outside of my training, it'd be this one. Jumping Lunges. Exercises/lifts I know might be useful that I've done in the past: Olympic lifts - hip inflexibility is creating a lot of trouble with these and also with... Barbell Squats - used to perform these religiously, but hip problems and DOMS means that if I do these my legs are ****ed for over 48 hours. No really. :S Leg Press - Can do this instead of squatting, results in less pain, but I know barbell squats are far better for a dozen reasons. Kettlebell Swings. Bench Press - of course I've done this one, just don't like it much. Feel like weighted dips and OHP are good enough, am I wrong? I've chosen to work on muscle-ups on a light day where I train the kid I mentor. He does his thing, I play on the bars for a bit. Can also squeeze in any other assistance work on that day, it won't really be tough. Approach it like a play thing! At some point, muscleups will probably become a serious mainstay in my workouts at least one day a week. But at this point I can only rep out about 4 or 5 for a few sets, so it's just for fun as I slowly work on them. Explosiveness and general athleticism is something I think I lack. Any recommendations? Should I REALLY push to get my hips right for Oly lifts? Plyometrics? Box jumps? One day weighted pull-ups, next time plyo pull-ups? Gymnastics work? Thanks guys!

Thanks for the feedback guys! Looking at the program I put here, I don't know what I was really thinking. For one thing, I haven't done bicep curls seriously for over 16 months, so I'm not sure why I was so dead-set on putting them in there. I think I really jumped the gun putting that routine up there without thinking. To be clear: this is completely aside from my technique and sport-related training. I train my skills 2-3 times a week and this is separate from that; I'm not a pro or anything like that, so I don't have a dedicated team of coaches or trainers, all my general physical prep. and conditioning is done in my own time. I'm on my own for now. :S But yeah, I'd do this on TOP of my 3-6 hours of training a week, and that number will be increasing in the future. Based on the feedback here, I will be dropping the small isolation movements. Especially the curls, since accessory arm-work seems redundant to me (pull-ups and dips are giving me arms that I'm perfectly happy with). The other isolation work was mostly for shoulder endurance; I'm unsure whether or not time in the gym (as in, weight-lifting gym) will help here. Front and side-raises for shoulders seems like it will help to a point, but so would general GPP and bag/pad-work. Going to simplify this routine. At the moment I'm really enamored with weighted pull-ups and dips, so I'd want to keep those in the routine, they're amazing, I'm getting results from them that I never got in years of other movements. Does anyone have any suggestions for lifts or exercises? I used to be a massive fan of olympic lifts, they seem like a good choice for power and explosion. Heavy and technical lifts will be moved to the start of the routine, same with muscle-ups, thanks Furius. That makes a lot of sense and it's something I normally admonish others to do. BaconHunter: the pain from squatting is extremely baffling to me. Deadlifts don't cause it as much as squats, KB swings don't cause it all, and neither do good mornings. Only squats, and even at something like 60kg. It's a real pain in the ass (literally, the glutes hurt too), because I know how great squatting is. I'd make it a staple in every workout day if I could. I DID for almost a year, actually. Bah. Any further advice or suggested movements before I post a re-thought-out (with your advice!) routine? .... As a related note, I once wanted to make muscle-ups a staple in my training, the same way I used to just go to the gym, squat, and go home. Off-topic, but whaddaya guys think about using muscleups in a small, time-efficient workout? A 2-or-3-movements-and-go-home routine? They're a LOT of fun when you get to do them.

Oh, it's been awhile. Well, not really. Okay, might as well state this here. I had another Helix scan roughly on the 13th of August (2 months later) and was down to around 7% body fat. A picture will be uploaded soon: in two months, I got a six-pack and dropped 5% bodyfat. I am soooo happy with myself.

Hi everyone, I'm trying to put together a new routine to fit my time and recovery constraints and wanted to see what you guys thought about it. This will be a bit of a read because I like to waffle on, but it's also because I want to give a bit of detail. Basically: I train in submission grappling (gi/no-gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu), muay Thai and MMA throughout the week, and I wanted a 3-day routine with Friday and Saturday as rest days. I'm trying to fit in all the movements that I think are useful - I won't tl;dr you to death by explaining every single exercise - while allowing for recovery, study/work and training. This is really just a restructure of what I've been doing the last few months, and I really like it, but I wanted to get some feedback. The goal is athletic performance, cardiovascular endurance and some minor consideration towards looking good. Summer is coming soon here after all! Not a fan of machines, but will use them when feeling lazy or for specific isolation work if needed. Before I get into it: I would reaaally like to introduce squats to every single workout, however I get crippling persistent DOMS in my hamstrings. This has been a huge issue that I just haven't been able to fix and I've tried a lot of fixes over a long period. I can't handle this while also training. Does this look like I'm covering all the bases I might need? Am I missing anything, does it look like enough? I'm not a beginner any more, so I'm not afraid of this much volume at all. Finally, gonna include some diet and supplement info if anyone has any critique on that. WHOAAA, IGNORE ALL THIS. Leaving it up for reference, but this is a lot of crap and I don't know what I was thinking. I have done literally 5 bicep curl sets in 15 months, no idea why I mentioned them here. Please ignore this routine and look below for what I'm thinking about now. ---------------------------------- Tuesday Main: Weighted Pull-ups 3x8 Weighted Dips 3x8 Barbell/T-Bar Row 3x10* Deadlift 1x5 Good Morning 3x8 Barbell Shrug 3x10 Abdominal/Core Work: Leg Raises 3x12 Crunch Machine 5x10 Ab-wheel roll-out 3x8 Kettlebell Swings 3x10 Supplemental/Cardio: Lat. Pull-down (light) 3x20 Bicep Curls 3x10 Glute Kickbacks 3x10 per leg Seated Calf raises 3x25 Burpees 3x10 Sled work Battle-ropes ---------------------------------- I don't normally go for the whole "push-pull split" thing, but that's how this mostly worked out with respect to the upper body. The lat-pull downs are only there as a suggestion because, weirdly, my WEIGHTED pull ups aren't necessarily improving my bodyweight pull ups. As weird as it sounds, I've noticed that and wanted to get a bit more endurance work in there. This sound dumb? Or anyone have an idea why weighted pull-ups isn't helping my unweighted? I think curls are a waste of time personally, weighted dips and pull-ups seem to smash my arms, but I put curls in there for hypertrophy and it's on an "if I feel like it" basis. These are the first things to go if I'm pressed for time. Calf training is basically the same deal. I'm trying to condition the calves a little bit, but I have small, high calf muscles and so I'm just trying to work on that a little bit. * I often do barbell/t-bar rows with overhand and then underhand grips, effectively doubling the amount of reps listed here. ---------------------------------- Thursday Main: Squat/Leg press 5x5 Standing Barbell Shoulder Press 5x5 or 3x8 Barbell Bench Press 5x5 or 3x8 Dumbbell Pullover 3x10 Pushup/Chest press machine/Cable-work (light) 3x25+ Dumbbell Front/Lateral Raises 3x8 super-set Dumbbell Arnold Raises 3x10 Lying Hamstring Curls 3x10 Abdominal/Core Work: Ab-wheel Roll-out 3x8 Kettlebell Swings 3x10 Supplemental/Cardio: Calf raises 3x25 Burpees 3x10 Sled work Battle-ropes Boxing (bag work) 20 minutes. ---------------------------------- The shoulder isolation work is primarily for endurance. When shoulders start to stiffen and get all glued up it's a huge problem in any of my sports. The pushups, cable or machine work for my chest is the same deal. I'm just trying to immunize them against the fatigue from grappling without burning myself out by doing a lot of heavy volume training. So I'm approaching strength and endurance building as two separate, synergistic goals. Once I get comfy doing heavier bench weights, I probably won't need to do this. Max strength improves endurance to a fair degree after all The pain from squats (lesser degree from leg press) means that I'm very leery of doing them at all. I keep telling myself "burpees will condition the legs!" Bah. ---------------------------------- Sunday (Light day) Main: Bodyweight Pull-ups (10+) Bodyweight Dips (10+) Barbell Power Clean 3x5 Dumbbell Bicep Curl 3x10 Dumbbell Hammer Curl 3x10 Lunges 3x10 per leg Abdominal/Core work: Kettlebell Swings 3x10 Kettlebell Side-raises 3x10 per side Supplemental/Cardio: Muscleup work. Superset of: Medicine Ball Slams 3x10 & Burpees 3x 10 ---------------------------------- Lighter day. None of these are meant to be challenging. I had a goal about a month ago to be able to do muscleups, and I succeeded, but I don't consider them a critical part of my fitness; so I only work on them today, when I won't be screwed over by heavy loads. Note the curls again. As weird as this sounds, I don't like curls but far too many people judge you based on your biceps' size. I'll admit here that this is why curls are even in my routine. Yeah, it's to look "alpha" so I don't have to put up with crap from insecure tough-guys. Believe it or not, it's helped in the past. PROGRESSION: I'm adding small amounts of weight on a weekly basis (e.g., +1.25kg on weighted dips, or +2.5kg on deadlift). If I miss reps or whatnot, I repeat that weight next week. I will probably deload if I miss again next week, and/or I need to think about entire deload weeks. I'm not good with deloads... DIET: my diet at the moment is based on flexible dieting (IIFYM), and I aim for a 5-10% surplus on workout days (which is most days), and a 10% cut on rest days with high protein. I don't eat clean, but I eat a lot cleaner than I used to and basically avoid sugars and trans-fats. SUPPS: I take only vitamin C, vitamin D3, fish oil, Swisse Zinc+ (zinc, magnesium, manganese, B6), whey protein, BPM Labs' Delta Zone. Am I doing anything stupid? Thanks Rebels. :3

Brief update: I recently had a Helix scan (ugh) and I am at 11.7% body fat. Almost there! Will update with more later.

Thanks for the help and advice, guys. This is the best discussion I've got about this out of anywhere, and it's really a pain in the... legs, for me. I enjoyed squatting heavy and would love to figure out some way to roll it back into my training.

I was expecting this one. I'll have to ask someone to video me next time I do them! XD I had mostly professional trainers checking it, from several gyms - I know PTs can be idiots, run into it several times before, but here in Australia they generally know a little more than the usual broscience and understand the value of squats and deads (which are becoming really popular here now...). They do receive actual education. One of them does Oly lifts. It's possible I'm doing something wrong, but if so, none of these guys spotted it. I would say I get enough water, although I never bother to measure. I frequently finish and refill several 600ml bottles through a day. The major difference between deadlift and squat for me seems to be, from a mirror check, how low and splayed my legs go to get the knee below the hip joint in squatting. With DL, I typically don't settle down that low and don't need to to avoid a rounded back.

I did StrongLifts 5x5, 3 times a week. Did this for months, probably five or six. That was the highest frequency I did, SL5x5. If you've done it by the book, you know that translates to a s***load of squatting due to the warmup sets. After getting up to around 87.5kg, deloading once, I caved in to the pain and realized I'd avoid stalling better by trying 3x5. Reduced my overall fatigue but the crazy DOMS was still persistent. Eventually I switched to doing 3x5 twice a week for around 5 months. I experimented with less warmup sets. Still no change in the DOMS - and it's DOMS, just extreme DOMS, it doesn't seem to be injury pain. It's exactly the same as when I did a bodybuilder-style bicep day for the first time and had to walk around like a t-rex the next few days, except it lasts for a week and never stopped happening. Finally, once a week for several months, and then I caved completely after getting to around 100kg. I felt my progress wasn't particularly good (though might be being hard on myself) and the pain was just excessive. It felt good and productive doing the lifts, but it just wasn't getting me anywhere outside the gym. :S

Have to throw in with Zorch and almost everyone else there. The answer is going to be caloric deficit, and it might have to be quite aggressive if you've only got a month to do this. It won't be pleasant, no matter what, but it's only a few kilos so go for it! Calculate your TDEE (should be high, 5 days a week in the gym is a lot of exercise assuming you're working moderately hard), work out a quick diet and stick to it. Maybe try out intermittent fasting. Drink lots of water, sleep, and the only supplements I recommend for this would be something to help you sleep if necessary. Diet pills make you feel cr@p for little extra benefit. Keep lifting weights, keep doing a little cardio (HIIT if you can do it without puking on a caloric deficit), and don't mistake "caloric deficit" for "starvation and no protein." As Zorch says, you're probably not undereating. You're 99kg and unless you're a shredded bodybuilder already - who would never ask for advice here - then your excess weight is due to a caloric excess. Alternatively, you can always hack off a limb...

Everyone's jumped in here and given solid advice already. I have a bit of a unique approach to this, and my own take on it is: Your attitude on this isn't surprising or unusual. A lot of people, at least partly, want to lose weight to become more attractive to others. I personally think it's only toxic if the standards you're holding yourself to, or the methods you use, are unreasonable and unhealthy; or if it's the only reason you're trying to reach that goal. It's hard to ditch these thoughts entirely, and certain industries are disgusting in how they promote such massively high standards of low fat and likely roided bodies. But trying to improve your appearance and attractiveness is a common goal and worrying about how toxic it is and berating yourself off for thinking that way might actually be more harmful and depressing. Look at yourself in the mirror, and tell yourself that your goal is to become the healthiest, most efficient and capable version of yourself - and that attractiveness and a better self image will be welcome byproducts. Remember that even though you're probably your worst critic, your goals should be to become attractive to yourself first and foremost, and that no decent man (or woman) is going to require you to look like a fitness model. People just want a compatible, healthy and confident partner. Focus on health and performance and looks will follow, making you more attractive to yourself. Nobody can love you if you can't love yourself. You can do it. Attractiveness is a useful tool and confidence booster - it doesn't objectify or subjugate you to anyone, it's yours; just because someone wants you doesn't mean you owe yourself to them - but the real path to it is being proud of your accomplishments and letting their results speak for themselves. It's more than a toned stomach or f*cking "thigh gap"*. Those things might be nice, but they're for you to feel good about first and foremost, and they're byproducts of improving your fitness and health. Love yourself first, and let "attractiveness" flow from your achievements. That's my, probably slightly politically incorrect, opinion. (* - can we hunt down and shoot people who run some of these Thinspo sites, seriously?)

That IS damn frustrating... I know the feeling. Definitely recalculate your TDEE like Disil said, and just triple-check you're under-cutting it, if you haven't done so already. Just in case you're actually now at maintenance levels. It's probably not a question of cutting out any more things, it already looks like you've got rid of the major offenders. Personally, I have such an extreme calorie deficit that in the last week I gorged on brownies and Starburst candy and still lost weight (not something to be proud of). I'm going to recommend weightlifting again for both of you, especially if you're not able to attend jiujitsu anymore. I find that without exercise and a sedentary occupation, you have to eat a dismal amount of food just to maintain, probably way less than you'd think (and that just sucks, all for want of a few 30m sessions of exercise). I know that, scientifically, all you need is a caloric deficit, but I think that exercise is a 100% necessity to do it without going insane. A walk or even 15 minute bike ride will never achieve the same overall long-term calorie burn as lifting weights or HIIT, not even close. You can try minor adjustments too, such as standing at your desk, fidgetting or using a grip-strength exercise tool, playing with kids, etc, all of those things have small effects on your TDEE, but I don't think they'll make-or-break anything. You mention trying to squeeze these activities in with your desk job, but maybe go a little further. Boosting your water intake might help a lot too, and finally make sure you're sleeping well 8-9 hours a night. If you need to resort to supplements to get that, then fine. I'll pay $60 a month if it gets me a month of good sleep. Also: you know what, have you spoken to a medical professional yet? Although almost never the case, you might want to just make sure everything is working fine, get a blood test, etc.

Keep it up! Weights are definitely a great addition to a cutting/weight-loss program, and that diet doesn't look too bad except for that Taco Bell splurge (though I just don't like TB, so I might be biased!). Don't feel too ashamed to let your hair out a little and break your diet as long as caloric deficit is maintained, I certainly don't let it bother me.

Whoops, stupid doublepost. Also: IIFYM is a great way to take the stress out of dieting. I'm only just now looking at trying it out, though, so can't comment.

Just going to chime in here that I've also heard of many success stories for people who went "keto" (extremely low carb, virtually none whatsoever), and it's actually a recommended diet for people with certain conditions, so although it's unconventional there's nothing saying that it's deadly. I've personally gone very low carb, but never to "keto" levels, and I've lost weight on it. I understand the frustration, having gone through the same sorts of experiences, but weight loss ultimately boils down to caloric deficit. The "type" or "brand" of diet barely matters at all, the only one that does anything remarkable IS ketogenic diets. You've mentioned you're very meticulous about portion size and so forth, but just in case: double check you're sitting at a decent deficit of 15-20% below your daily expenditure, not much lower than this, and make sure you're doing this consistently. Finally, weights. I think weights are probably a better tool in a weight-loss arsenal than anything else. I love jiu-jitsu but thirty minutes of weightlifting several times a week will blast your weekly caloric expenditure through the roof. Consider it if you haven't. It might bust the plateaus. Edit: just to explain, weightlifting doesn't expend a lot of calories in and of itself, it's the recovery and EPOC (and the effect higher muscle mass has on your BMR) effect that makes it very effective in the long run. Definitely do cardio, but you can't go wrong with some weights.

This is just a bit of a ramble about my weightloss story, which is neither incredibly dramatic nor exceptional, but I thought I'd share a few thoughts! Feel free to skip this one, but you might find it a little inspirational. :3 I recently revisited the United States, staying with the same people I did last time, and the difference was dramatic: the first time, I had been about 88kg of lazy teenager (edit: this may have been higher, as I never took pictures or recorded my weight at this stage in my life, I wonder why...). I had my reasons, and I don't hate on myself for messing my body up in my formative years, but this was the truth: I was very overweight, and no muscle development to speak of. The second time around, I was around 72kg, and had semi-defined biceps and shoulders. Though my hosts had seen me online, thanks to the occasional picture, the reality in front of them was a shock. I was physically a different person. It was actually the first visit to the US that started me on my weight-loss journey. While over there, people took me out to places that sold good food, I got to see how established grownups outside my family live, got a chance to step back and see things differently, and it changed my perspective on a lot of things. A lot of the changes were subtle. I felt like I could live a better life, be more of an adult. Perhaps due to the lesser stress while I was over there, I actually lost weight before I headed home. Like I said, that started it off. I started to move away from scoffing nothing but junk food, prefering things that were a little more adult, and even before I started exercising I had dropped a few kilos. It wasn't for another few years that I started working out, and being re-introduced to mixed martial arts completely blew my old attitudes out of the water. I often scoffed at "sports heroes" but it was in my twenties that I suddenly got one, and my entire attitude towards myself, towards goal setting, were changed. Combining that with starting to work out really changed me physically and mentally, entirely for the better. I started reading, and learning, and analyzing things, and made slow and steady adjustments to my diet. Soda was virtually gone, sugary sweets were massively reduced, and though I never quit fast-food entirely... I now don't think you actually need to, just need to be reasonable with what you order. The attitudes towards training and self-improvement moved me towards doing exercises I wouldn't think I would ever do. If you told me in 2005 that I'd be willingly doing things like medicine ball slams/burpee supersets and deadlifting nearly double my own bodyweight, I wouldn't have believe you. Not even slightly. Everything about me shifted, slowly but surely; my attitudes about food, exercise, physique, responsibility, goals... The end result is starting to show, and I'm only a few weeks from my goal now. It's my main fitness goal now, and I've stopped screwing around and taking half-measures. While I care a lot about athletic performance and strength and looking better, the excessive fat that had hounded me since I was a tween is starting to diminish and it's a really powerful emotion. I'm almost there, I've almost undone it all. I stood in front of the mirror this morning, and I realized something. It was no surprise that my changing body was shocking people. In almost a strange analog to puberty, I was undoing a lot of the damage I'd done to myself as a teenager, and my body was starting to inch closer to a taller version of the skinny little kid I used to be - although, this time, I had muscular definition and I'm just a liiiittle taller . In a way, I'm going back in time. My identity as a "fatter" guy was melting away, my "physical presence" was changing, being replaced by someone that wasn't familiar to everyone around me. Some of them even object to it, at least at first. But to me it's like seeing an old friend. It gives me hope that I can reclaim or salvage a little of what I had, before I screwed it up, and improve upon it - after all, I certainly never had a 140+kg deadlift and visible biceps as a kid. This is humongous to someone like me, who feels like they f*cked everything up when they were too young to know better, and thought he'd never have a chance to fix it; the prominent stretchmarks on my sides serving as a constant reminder of the permanency of my screw-up. Or do they? Now, those stretchmarks seem inconsequential, and I even hold hope I can eliminate them in the future, though I barely care now. The root problem is being diminished and I can see the progress every time I walk past a mirror; the thing that I thought I couldn't fix, is being fixed, and my permanent screw-up is proving to be decidedly impermanent. I can focus on being the healthiest, best version of myself ever, and whatever other benefits come, all the better. That one moment where I was like "huh, sh*t, I kinda look like when I was younger!" has served as a visible reminder that my opportunities aren't entirely lost. If you're like me, you want to turn back the clock and do it right this time before it's too late, and that's very much possible. If you've always been overweight and unhappy with your body, you ARE capable of seeing something you've never seen before. Don't tell yourself you're not. Don't tell yourself it's too late. And if you've got any form of battle scar to prove your struggle, don't let it get you down - it is what it is, and it is something to be proud of. Focus on becoming the best, the healthiest version of yourself, and deal with everything else afterwards. -------------- On a related note, you might run into what I was saying before, especially if (ironically) you were never extremely overweight: people are going to be surprised and confused, and possibly even concerned over the new, changing you. Tell them to relax. You'll be redefining yourself, and changing your body and even mind. For example, I've had people act like I'm becoming harmfully anorexic when I'm actually sitting at ~15% body-fat and consult doctors semi-regularly. It just happens that I'm actually a small-framed individual, and people since I was a teenager were used to seeing me at 25-30% body-fat; the real, healthy, happy me (that isn't afraid and ashamed to go shirtless at the beach anymore) is a lot smaller. Sort of unfortunately. However, obviously don't be deaf to those concerned and fall into the trap of eating disorders yourself. They're serious business and surprisingly easy to fall into. If people who love you are concerned, check why and at least listen. But you are going to be changing yourself, you will change yourself and your physical presence, and let people know to expect it. Thanks for reading, and I hope I didn't post this waffling crap in the wrong place. I didn't even really check this over or proof read it, this is just as honest (and probably stupid) as I could be. I wasn't sure where else, if there IS anywhere else, I could share my sappy feelings. Don't hate me, folks. :S

26/05/2015. Some stupid bodybuilding stuff with my friend. I don't do these sorts of things often but I do it now and then, to socialize with my friends and do the occasional higher volume stuff. Frankly, although he and his friend outperformed me, it was kind of annoying. Not a fan of this training methodology, this attitude. Note the excessive jump in weight. This bodybuilding "go to failure" "spot me dude" and "all about the reps" stuff annoys me, along with literally being too proud to add anything less than 5kg a side. I ended up looking bad today, but when I was lifting heavy, I would've had no problem. Losing ~20kg has impacted me hard. Also, I will give my friend something here: when I did this training with him regularly (2-3 years ago), I was lifting heavier with better endurance towards the end. Standing Press. 30kg x 8 30kg x 12 40kg x 8 50kg x 1 (I used to do 60kg 5x5, oh my god...) 30kg x 5 Arnold Press. Very quickly I started getting pain in my right shoulder. 12.5kg x 12 12.5kg x 12 15kg x 5 12.5kg x ?? Standing Barbell Pull I've never done this one before. 30kg x8 40kg x 3 (had to correct my form but was too heavy anyway) 40kg x 5 30kg x8 30kg x5 High Cable Pulls (?) Unsure of the name. Pulling a pair of ropes towards your neck, rear delt movement. 27.5 kg x 12 27.5 kg x 12 27.5 kg x 8 27.5 kg x 6 Seated Smith Machine Press... with the bar out in front for way too much front delt activation. First time I touched a smith machine in a long time. Pyramids. 10kg x5 20kg x5 30kg x5 20kg x5 10kg x5 Times three. Significant muscle fatigue after the first set. Pullups for fun. 6 x Bodyweight 6 x Bodyweight. Not a fan of this style of training and many of these exercises, but that's not excuse for my struggle to handle the weight. Part of the blame has to go to the low-calorie diet and months of cutting weight. However I'm sticking to my guns: the fat that's hounded me since I was twelve, has to f*cking go. If this means not performing 100% on heavy-endurance bodybuilding routines or not lifting as much as I used to on compound lifts, then fine. I've vacillated and done half-hearted attempts for ages. A concentrated push, at least six weeks of dieting and training, I owe myself at least that. Saw the gym roider shoulder pressing 100kg for reps. Not a baseless accusation, we know he does. Not judging unless he talks crap to naturals or competes in something. DIET: Didn't eat much today. This is honestly way too little, I need to go eat something... I don't have the measurements, but I doubt I've had more than 3000kj today. 8 slices of pastrami. (~440kj) Protein shake (500kj) Chili Biltong. Protein shake (double scoop, thermogenic, ~400kj). Chicken, brown rice, broccoli and peri-peri sauce! YES I ATE BROCOLLI.

Unfortunately not. I actually took a long break from my sports and actually prioritized the weightlifting. In fact, I still haven't returned to them. :S Funny, because it was recognizing weaknesses in my training (bodybuilder style programs just straight suck) that made me realize I should switch to a strength program to begin with.

This might be bang on the money. I've heard a lot about the hip flexors getting tight due to sitting a lot, which I do, and I have/had lower back issues. I follow you exactly. Discovered a few stretches recently that work wonders. You might be onto something there, although I'd need someone to check. Probably a physio. I feel like my posterior chain is probably stronger than the front of my legs, but I don't know for sure yet. The other weird thing is that I'm actually quite flexible in some ways. I'm a riddle wrapped in an enigma shrouded in DOMS! :< Do you have any exercises or lifts you can recommend?

The reason why I'm so confounded by my problem is that I CAN squat, unless I've squatted recently. My hips are a problem and seem really tight, but if you pull me aside after weeks of not squatting and give me a barbell, I can demonstrate a back-squat to near ATG. I recently went into the gym, loaded up 60kg (2/3 of my old max for 5x5), and did 5x5 below parallel. But I made sure to stretch, rest, eat, foam-roll and so on, and then in 48 hours when I came back to try it again I couldn't. What I used to do was stretch before the lift, and rely on warmup sets to slowly "squish" me down and push me into position, slowly and painfully getting me to parallel: my first few sets were never to parallel, some of them were quarter squats. Sometimes this straight up didn't work. But if I was completely fresh, no squatting for a week, I could easily do it. Could even do front-squats to parallel. Although I got stronger and squats fixed my knee pain (woo!) the end result was that I was in so much pain and my movement so limited that my athletic performance dropped. Badly. I lost the ability to use rubber guard in BJJ and couldn't change levels and shoot in wrestling.