2012-10-06 Check in [212.7 @ 36.5]

Mass:  212.7 (+0.7)
Waist:  36.5 (+0.625)
Arm:  16.75 (+0.125)
Thigh:  25.125 (+0.125)
Calf:  15.25 (+0.125)

Not much of a change.  The waist increase I will attribute to bloat from dinner on Friday night (went out with Alicia and Sean).  This is including a 2-week span of not eating correctly (went to CO), and not lifting enough.  So, not too bad.  Probably need to increase my intake a bit.

2012-09-12 Check in [212.0 @ 35.875]

Mass:  212.0 (-0.6)

Waist:  35.125 (-0.125)

Arm:  16.625 (--)

Thigh:  25.0 (--)

Calf:  15.125 (--)

First week on my custom body-building routine.  It seemed to have gone rather well over all.  The only day I had to skimp on was legs on Thursday - I was too hungry/tired/low on energy.  Meh.  But I am enjoying the routine, and it definitely is a major change from 5/3/1 BBB.

My measurements are fine.  I'd rather hold a little steady than gain fat too fast.

2012-09-14 Check in [212.6 @ 36.0]

Mass:  212.6 (+4.6)
Waist:  36.0 (--)
Arm:  16.625 (+0.125)
Thigh:  25.0 (--)
Calf:  15.125 (--)

Not quite sure how I gained 4.6# this week, but I'll accept it, as it came with no gain in waist size.  Probably water retention for the most part.  Very likely I will be lower next week, but that is ok.  Weekly spike up & down are acceptable, provided the overall trend is more mass without a larger waist.

Only one more cycle of Boring But Big.  Which is good, as I am losing enthusiasm for the program.  Next up:  a more traditional body building split.  I have yet to work out the details, but it will probably be a four day rotation (legs, chest, back, shoulders), but with some direct arm work every day.  The high frequency back work I am doing currently seems to be very effective (rows, chins, or deadlifts every lifting day), so I figure that if I try the same frequency for my arms it might help them.

After my bodybuilding cycle (12 weeks or so), I will begin the slow process of leaning out over a 6-month period or so.  Diet will probably be more Shelby-traditional carb cycling.  Lifting will start with something like the Triumverate (same basic set up as Boring But Big, but more strength than hypertrophy focused).

2012-09-12 Check in [208.0 @ 36.0]

Mass:  208.0 (-2.8)
Waist:  36.0 (-0.625)
Arm:  16.5 (-0.125)
Thigh:  25.0 (--)
calf:  15.125 (--)

Well, I have erased the damage from the CO trip.  Next I am out there (in three weeks) I will have to be a bit more restrained.  *wry grin*  The results are also considering I had carbs a few times (including some pizza), rather than being purely low-carb all week.  Seems to work well.

So, back to carb back loading, but a bit more restrained.  Rather than force-feeding myself, I will just have my carby-meal after lifting, and then possibly another protein meal after that.  Rather than over-eating carbs for a few hours straight.

I am going to try to get at least 400g of carbs in post-workout.  Mostly clean.  But again, these will all be in my post-workout meal, hopefully within an hour or so of lifting.

Other thoughts - I am switching the order of my lifting days.  Currently it is OHP, Deadlift, off, Bench, Squat, off.  I am going to change it to deadlift, OHP, off, squat, bench, off.  Reason?  The day after squats or deadlifts I am ravenous.  I'd rather have the additional food/carbs available then, rather than having an off (low carb) day.

2012-08-24 Check in [215.7 @ 36.625] - Go to CO

Mass:  215.7 (+6.8)
Waist:  36.625 (+0.5)
Arm:  16.5 (--)
Thigh:  25.0 (--)
Calf:  15.25 (+0.125)

I did not control what I ate post-workout this week.  I actually over-ate (force fed myself).  My waist & mass explosion attest to that.  Need to fix that.  However, the next five days I will be in CO, so my diet will suffer

2012-09-01 Check in [210.8 @ 36.625] - Start Low-Carb

Mass:  210.8 (-4.9)
Waist:  36.625 (--)
Arm:  16.625 (+0.125)
Thigh:  25.0 (--)
Calf:  15.25 (--)

Annoying results, but not hideously unexpected.
1.  From Saturday - Wednesday, my diet was absolute shite.  I went out to CO (red-eyes both ways), and over ate a lot of junk.  I also did no exercise
2.  Thursday & Friday I did low carb (none on Thursday, about 60g post-workout on Friday), so I have probably lost some water weight already.  Thus the mass loss without waist change.

This coming week I will continue the low-carb routine, basically running the CBL prep phase again.  Hopefully I will be able to get my waist back to a reasonable size over the next week, and then resume more controlled back-loading.

Longer-term thoughts:

Lifting
1.  Finish off the Boring But Big challenge (1.5 cycles remaining)
2.  Go to a 2-on/1-off cycle for lifting days.  The 3:1 was killing me.  If I need to, I will drop to a set 4 days per week
3.  I will probably switch to a more varied high rep routine

Diet
1.  Remain on CBL for the BBB challenge.  However, go back to Shelby-style eating (clean food, measure quantities post-workout)
2.  Whether I stay on CBL or go on a carb-cycling routine will depend upon:
  A) my overall CBL results
  B) how I feel about it (energy levels, overall well-being, etc)

2012-08-18 Check in [208.5 @ 36.125]

Mass:  208.5 (-2.1)
Waist:  36.125 (--)
Arm:  16.5 (+0.125)
Thigh:  20.5 (--)
Calf:  15.125 (--)

Right.  So.  The "just eat as much as I feel I need post-workout" concept obviously is not working.  This past week I measured out my pre-workout meals (roughly 40-50p + 15f each), then ate whatever I wanted post-workout (usually another 40-50p and then random carbs).  On the one hand, this has not hurt me.  On the other, it has not helped me.  But it is nice to know that it might be a sustainable "maintenance" lifestyle for me.

But this coming week, I am going to have to actually measure stuff out to ensure that I am eating enough.  According to Keifer's chart I should be aiming for 700c post-workout.  I think I will go for about 400, and mostly clean (potatoes, rice, etc).  I'll see how I do.

Today (Saturday) is an off-day.  However, I skipped out on a meal yesterday, and I woke up crashed.  So I might have a cheat meal for my first meal of the day.