MissoulaSquatch

I come through NF every once in a rare while, my group is still active in the Missoula area..we're at 2700+ members now (with 80%+ active monthly..ikr)..if you're ever out this way give Missoula Adventure Crew a look..I'm not the only nerd in the group. :D

So the home gym.. Has a weight set I got when I was 20 as a gift..back on my first attempt to get in shape (this one is attempt 3 and it finally stuck). Has a bench that you can incline and decline with including all of the attachments for everything from incline bench to decline crunches. Weight rack..but just a basic one..not solid enough for me to do squats with (I'd tip it over when I slam the bar back in..lol). Barbell that's barely been used (the knurling tears my skin up..lol). 265# in plates. Also have an EZ bar and one of those free weight bars that you can toss plates on. My parents have also picked up a 55cm exercise ball and I think a smaller one as well, yoga mats, foam roller, and one of my dowels is there as well. So I can honestly do quite a bit with the setup..I'll hit 2-3 upper body hypertrophy workouts on it..maybe hit some RDL's..I "could" do deadlifts..even as light as it is they have rubber flooring and I never drop weights. They also live a quarter mile from Rock Cut State Park..no mountains but it's got some decent hills and lots of trails..so I can get out on that for some winter hiking while I'm there. That's a good fat burner.

Ok, vacation is over..I haven't been to the gym in weeks..so that's going to change today..gonna just go in without a plan and ease back into things..my vacation kinda roughed my legs up a bit so I just want to focus on some mobility stuff, dynamic stretches, and form checks on myself today..make sure my range of movement is solid before I jump back in. Surprisingly I didn't gain any weight on vacation..considering I was drinking from sunrise to sunset most days everything from mezcal to margaritas to my weight in pacifico. Which gives you a good look into how hard it is for me to eat when I'm doing things with my family. I was practically begging them to buy starchy foods (we had a kitchen in our beach house so we did quite a bit of meal prep) because they absolutely will not put carbs on their plates. They're all still stuck in Atkins mode believing carbs are all evil. I lose weight eating <300g of carbs a day..I'm pretty sure carbs aren't evil, lol Got a few weeks here in Montana then I'm off to visit my parents for 2.5 weeks for the holidays/extended vacation for me. I've gotten them to agree to let me prep my own extra food (carbs) for meals so I can try to eat close to my diet..and I've been guaranteed access to a gym atleast 2x a week where I can hit some heavy compound lifts..should be enough for me to maintain my strength (they have weights in their basement..but it maxes out at 265#..I can do only so much with that these days..lol).

Just take this in for a bit..

My face when I saw you all let this post die a year ago, here's to hoping my epic beard can breathe some life back into it. At the very least @Guzzi will appreciate all my hard work.

I retired my old username as soon as it became an adult.. (literally it hit 18 years around the time I decided to do away with it).. So this new one.. Missoula is where I live now. Squatch..short for Sasquatch..I've been called both interchangeably for the last year or so by people in the hiking/outdoors group I run..pretty sure it's because I'm big, burly, bearded/hairy, spend a lot of time in the woods, grunt and growl a bunch.

So, cool thing I found on Google Music and I'm sure the other streaming services have it as well: you can pull up a list of your most "liked"/"played" songs. Use that list to build a workout station. I did a few weeks back, discovered a bunch of songs I haven't listened to in awhile that really motivate me..built a pretty amazing workout list with a wide variety of genres..but all stuff I can move to and enjoy.

So, bodyweight staying the same, strength going up. You're basically going through a Recomp, your body is burning fat AND building muscle at relatively the same rate. If you want to increase strength more, add 100-200 calories to your diet, if you want to get back to cutting then subtract 100-200 calories. Sit at those numbers for 6-8 weeks and see what happens. Also worth eating around your maintenance (tdee) calories for a day every few weeks..just keeps that furnace (metabolism) burning brightly.

I figured I should probably add, if you want to try those numbers out I gave, first use a tdee calculator (IIFYM.com has the best one) to figure out your TDEE. Total Daily Energy Expenditure. This is your BMR plus work/activity (how active you are during your day, how often you exercise, how intense that exercise is, etc). This is the total number of calories you should be eating to maintain your weight. Base your calorie deficit off of this (no more than 1000 below). On MyFitnessPal, from a PC (I'm not sure the app can do this) go to the Goals section (under the My Home tab), click "Edit" on the Daily Nutrition Goals and input your Calorie goal based on TDEE. Then for the Carbs/Fat/Protein bits, change the percentage of Protein until the total grams is equal to your bodyweight in pounds or 0.8xbodyweight (bodyweight is the ideal for cutting weight). Change the fat percentage to anywhere between 35-45%, this is just a starting point to find what works for you..there is no right answer. Change the Carbs percentage until your total is 100%. Save. You're all set. You may have to fine tune the fat/carb numbers over time to find what works, I recommend 6-8 weeks between changes.

Lifting increases speed, totally a real thing. Good work! If you ever find yourself in a place where you've got access to a Trapbar, throw some Trapbar Speed Deadlifts into your routine, these have a massive impact on improved speed!

*stumbles in* Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey everybody, MissoulaSquatch here (formerly known as Ajaxus on these here forums, retired that handle after 18 years recently..thank you Deadpool). I'm not exactly new to these parts, been around NF for a little over 3 years now. CNF15 alumn, member of NF Academy, NF Yoga, think that's about it. This is kinda my respawn/new battle log/accountability post through the ridiculous amount of vacation time I've got coming up (3 weeks of vacation between now and January 3rd..yikes!) TLDR on what happened before I started this today: Quit smoking 3 years and 4 days ago (and roughly a few weeks after joining NF), lost roughly 15% bodyfat, went from a guy who could barely get out of a chair to a guy who squatted 340# last week, founded an outdoors/hiking group in western Montana that has 600 members, oh and speaking of Montana..moved here 2 years ago to get a new/fresh start on life which was inspired quite a bit by this journey to better health. That covers all of the good stuff I think. I've been spending the last 1.5 years focusing primarily on bulking, I've spent most of my life weak and I don't want to be weak again. So I've prioritized muscle/strength gain over fat loss, I'm still leaning out over time but it's been a bit slower. I am getting ready for a deep cut in January which I'll be posting in the Challenge section of the forums, it's my war on my belly..we're gonna kiss that sucker goodbye once and for all and I'm taking you lot along for the journey with me. Here's some fun links: https://www.instagram.com/missoulasquatch/ Food, hiking, there's some videos of my heavy squats from last week in there too. In August I posted this gem, my very first progress photo (which I don't think I'd shared much until this point) side by side with where I was in August. It's a good example of how much more important body composition is than body weight. You can probably see from the food pictures that I'm pretty decent in the kitchen, here's a bonus link for you to one of my personal recipes for a staple dish in my diet (if you're on a budget..this is your best friend): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UKcAZw9n2KCAqoNk6SmmHWycqarsBHQK3M0Ea-OPLPs/edit?usp=sharing Note: You can do 2-3# of whatever meat/protein you want in this. I also recommend buying Bob's Red Mill Black Beans and BRM Wild&Brown Rice on Amazon, dirt cheap and good quality. If you make it, let me know what you think. I worked with Personal Trainers up until this summer when I started writing my own programs. Here's a look at the program I wrote (still fine tuning bits of it) for my deep cut in January: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tFErLbHN7J1P6qLRmucwyBuNaQG-1bEWA6XvlFfAwMs/edit?usp=sharing I think that's enough for a first Battle Log post.

The science is still divided on the impact that dietary gelatin/collagen consumption has on our bodies. So if you're looking at it for those purported benefits, that's worth acknowledging. Yes, I do realize this is an old post, but I still wanted to add some thoughts. I've considered bone broth powder myself, but honestly I can't justify the elevated cost for such a low yield of protein/serving. The best way to go is a blend, which most protein powders are moving that way now. Something whey isolate/egg/casein will do the trick. I'm personally a fan of Trutein or Pro Jym..if you've got more money to play with a company like MyProtein will let you make your own custom blends..I can't speak to the taste/mixability/value of those as I've been just fine with the proteins I use..but I know many people do swear by it.

@Draugin since you linked a 7 year old post from Leangains about IF, here's one from last year on their study: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/intermittent-fasting-study/ Tldr version: No significant difference between IF and a traditional deficit in terms of fat loss, marginally better performance on blood tests by IF participants. Overall conclusion: you do you, but don't expect any magical results from IF. All that said, IF is a great tool for some people (especially those late night snackers who struggle to set boundaries) and if it works for you keep at it. I kinda skimmed the replies so my apologies if someone touched on these things: BCAA's will not impact a fast, that's why they are so popular right now. There has been talk from John Berardi, Founder/CEO of Precision Nutrition, about some studies he consulted on that are being released right around now that apparently show that EAA supplementation has a greater impact on fasted exercise than BCAA's. Up until now the general consensus has been that since we can get EAA's easily through diet via eating a variety of proteins that there is no reason to supplement them. That's why no one has really looked into their effects until recently, now they are looking at how supplementing them during fasted exercise impacts overall performance and recovery..in addition to getting them from a well balanced diet. It's something I've been eager to hear more about.

Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. That's your short answer. You can lose weight on a caloric deficit while still consuming carbs, and you should feel better about your athletic performance and/or recovery times with the right fuel. If you aren't tracking your food intake, start. Learn where you're at before you do anything else (especially reading the next paragraph). Also start reading up on IIFYM approach to eating..if you want to fix how you fuel your body then learning the basics of macro tracking can get you set in the right direction. Obviously don't eat just carbs, I should probably stress that since I kinda over emphasized them. You'll need plenty of protein (ideally 0.8-1.0 grams/lb bodyweight), healthy fats (35-45% of calories from fat if you're still trying to lose weight), and the rest of your calories from carbs. This is an oversimplified version of things..I really do want to stress researching and learning.. IIFYM has great articles so does Precision Nutrition. Google both. Beyond diet, make sure you're getting restful sleep at night and limiting caffeine intake in the afternoons (and overall). Sluggishness isn't always diet related.

Want to add one more thing: Some of that might also be loose skin..you lost 25% of your body weight (fuck yeah), some things are going to be saggy for awhile until the skin snaps back. All that said, muscle burns calories. If you find that your leaning out is plateauing, you might look into increasing your calories for awhile and getting some strength training in to build some mass. Do that for 6-8 weeks, then start to cut your calories back (keep the protein intake up) and watch those last bits just fall away.

*throws @Laghail off a mountain*

I'm a little late to the party, thanks for the tag @RisenPhoenix I've been bulking a lot over the last 1.5 years, my bodyfat hasn't been below 20% in that time. A little over a year ago when I started getting into bulking more, I could barely hold onto 135# when doing RDL's, I was doing goblet squats with 10kg and pushups were interesting to say the least. Right now I can pull 400# on the trapbar for working sets and I'm fairly confident that if I went for 500# on it for a single I could do it with no risk of injury (my sumo dead is coming up quickly behind the trapbar). I squatted 340# for one last week, and I had more in the tank. So, do you need to have a specific bodyfat percentage to build muscle efficiently? Simple answer: Fuck no. Hell, find me a Strongman putting up world record numbers with 10% bodyfat and I'll sign over everything I own to you. Caloric Surplus + Lifting Heavy Shit = Muscle Growth Yes, with lower bodyfat percentage your body will produce more testosterone, yes it will be better for your overall health, yes you can build muscle more rapidly..but you don't have to be completely leaned out to some random number just to start building muscle. I have done some small cuts along the way, I'm getting ready for my first deep cut in January which I'll be writing about here on the forums..mostly I'm doing it to see what's under the fat on my stomach and back..because from what I can see/feel right now..it's pretty damn impressive. I should probably also note when I got into this whole fitness thing 3 years ago, I could barely get out of a chair. I had almost no muscle mass to speak of, I've busted my ass for what I have. And I built it all without being completely leaned out. Honestly the amount of extra fat you put on is determined by how far above your tdee you go. A clean bulk is approx. 300 calories over your tdee, a dirty bulk is considered 500+ calories over your tdee. Regardless of how you go about it, if you are in a caloric surplus you will gain fat with muscle. The goal is to eat enough calories to get as much muscle gain out of your workouts as you can while minimizing fat gain. Since we tend to put the fat into our hips and stomachs first..just get a tape measure and keep an eye on those when bulking. If those numbers start shooting up a bit too fast, cut back about 100 calories/day for a couple weeks and see what happens.

So that last example, massive hunger pains followed by binge eating a crap ton of calories is pretty common if you're not fueling your body right, the body has a tendency to voice its concerns pretty intensely if something is wrong. I realize you were looking more to use this as a vent than to problem solve, but if you're interested in addressing these issues and making things easier on yourself I'd be happy to help. I should mention I'm workin presently on a Nutrition certification because this is something I'm quite passionate about and want to help people with. If you do want to work through it, could you get me a few screen shots of several consecutive days worth of food entries? I'd just like to get a general idea of how you're currently fueling your body.

Last week of bulking right now..made myself one of my favorite comfort foods..which happens to be high in fat (bacon, ham, heavy cream, half and half..all present and accounted for). Based on the smell that has seeped into my walls these past few days, it's no wonder why I'm single still. Worst. Farts. Ever.

I have not walked these sacred halls in quite some time.. *burp* *scratch*

I've got questions: Calorie goals: Are you using the calorie goal that MFP gives you or have you put in your own goal? If the latter, how did you come about figuring out what your caloric intake should be? Logged exercise: Assuming you have your Fitbit linked to your MFP based on your above comments, are you "eating back" the calories burned? Basically if your MFP goal for the day is 2000 calories, your Fitbit says you burned 600 calories, are you then eating 2600 calories that day? Obviously a hypothetical situation with spitballed numbers. Here's where I'm going with this second part: 1. There is honestly no accurate way for your Fitbit to measure your actual calorie expenditure, mainly because it can't account for your "effort" during activity or exercise. Activity trackers are great for seeing your habits overall (were you sedentary on Wednesday and stupid active on Thursday, for example), they may even be able to tell you with some degree of accuracy how far you moved (step counters have come a long way) each day. And using your height, weight, age, sex..it can to some degree guess how much energy was exerted..but it's still a guess. 2. MFP then syncs with this estimated guess and adjusts your caloric intake based off of this guess. And then it encourages you to eat back those estimated calories burned. And it is quite common that people end up going from a caloric deficit to a caloric surplus. 3. MFP calorie goals for weight loss or weight gain, and even their macro goals as well for these, are frankly complete junk. 4. Take all of this information together and you've got a recipe for yo-yo weight loss/gain, frustration, and problems. So, what can we do, well, we can try to understand calorie goals better first and customize MFP to fit what we want. We can also unlink our fitbit so we aren't being encouraged to eat back calories (seriously, disconnect it from MFP). First thing you want to do is learn what your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is and what it means. The easiest way to calculate your TDEE is with a TDEE calculator, you could do it manually but it's so much faster to just use a calculator. IIFYM.com has probably the best calculators out there, others will be pretty close tho. The number a TDEE calculator spits out is the amount of calories you need to consume daily to maintain your weight. TDEE is in essence your BMR (calories required to exist) plus "work." Work being calories required to walk, to do your job, to live your life, to exercise (TDEE calculator will ask how often you workout, how long, what the approx. intensity is, etc). Caloric Surplus (bulking) and Caloric Deficit (cutting/fat loss) should be based on your TDEE. Typically when cutting, which is where you're at, we don't go beyond 1000 calories below our TDEE (personally I recommend 300-600 calories below TDEE, it's a bit easier to hit than just shooting for the bare minimum). Once you decide on how steep of a deficit you want, you can plug that into MFP as your calorie goal. Since this calorie goal accounts for "work" since that was in the original TDEE calculation, you don't need to eat back calories anymore. You eat to this calorie goal every day, regardless of what your fitbit says. You won't have MFP "yelling" at you anymore at the end of the day to consume extra calories, you will know at the start of the day what you have to consume and that's it. I know this post is probably a bit more to consume than you were expecting in a response, but MFP is frankly pretty flawed. It is great for its database and recipe feature..and that's about it. I'd be happy to expand on anything you might have questions with or help guide you through the process of customizing MFP to better fit your goals. If you want me to explain any parts of this post in more detail I'd be happy to, also feel free to PM me with any inquiries you have. Ultimately, if there is any one thing you can do today that can move you towards your goals more efficiently: unlink your fitbit from your MFP account.

Not really, but if you ever find yourself in Missoula, MT I can help ya out! Or really anything around the Bitterroot Valley to the Flathead Lake area. Basically, western Montana, I can help you with everything west of the mountains.

Hey, I keep forgetting to come back here and check on your progress. Don't worry about inconsistencies here and there, they are going to happen. You're making a ton of changes to your lifestyle and routine, and it's going to take some time for things to take hold. If you're really struggling, I'd suggest simplifying what you're trying to do until you find a rate of change that works better for you. So, a little fun fact about the challenges, they actually used to be 6 weeks and that wasn't a randomly chosen number. Lots of studies show that 6 weeks is the amount of time it takes for us to start dropping old habits and start developing new habits. The original idea around these challenges was to help people make methodical and positive changes to their lives, and once those changes took hold they would start on the next round. Unfortunately some people were a bit ocd about the number of weeks and it was shortened to 4 so people could make a new challenge every month. But the basic premise is still there, this is about habit building. And if you're having trouble building these new habits, something needs to give. As far as workouts go..I just missed 6 workouts at the gym in a row, I had a bad mental health week last week and I was laid up the start of this week recovering from a 19 mile hike on Sunday..and I'm fine with missing them. Things happen. I just need to take the necessary steps to make sure I'm back in the gym on Thursday when my workouts resume again (I still take rest days on rest days even after missing workouts). If you're on Facebook, you should join my group Missoula Adventure Crew, we use FB as more of our social side of things and there are always social activities being posted. Generally speaking, the people in that group and the friends I've made there are pretty healthy and active and I've noticed how much of a positive impact being around them has on my health and activity levels even outside of the hiking. Keep at it!

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/intermittent-fasting-study/ Whenever I see people talking about IF, I share this study. There really is no definitive study proving the wild claims of IF. It isn't for everybody. If it doesn't work for you or your training goals, you don't have to do it to be healthy or to do what you want to do. Find what works for you, if you try something and it doesn't work for you then move on and try something else. I'm not saying IF is bad, this study does show that they found some benefits to it, just that you don't HAVE to do it to get where you want to go.

I saw a few posts about finding hikers to join @Lana so I figured I'd toss this out there: https://www.meetup.com/cities/at/vienna/ I moved to Montana a year and a half ago for many reasons, among them was to get away from the city and be outdoors more. Shortly after coming here, I started a hiking group on Meetup.com because there weren't many options around me that were currently active. My little group has exploded to 516 members as of the writing of this post. And I've made dozens of friends and explored all sorts of trails, terrains, conquered mountains, and more. I definitely recommend searching that site to see if you can find something local to you to join. As far as my hiking goals go, this time of year I'm trying to hit as many 15-20 mile (approximately 24-32 km) trails as I can..the distance can be pretty brutal in this heat but it can be done as a day hike without requiring an overnight stay. It's about going places I can't get to when the snow arrives, and standing on the tallest mountains I can find. When I come back from these hikes I'm on an emotional high for several days..I feel like nothing in the world can touch me. Hence, I do them weekly. They help me fight my demons by showing me each time just how much I can accomplish when I put one foot in front of the other and do the thing.