5 Weeks Out - Things Are Moving Again
Finally, things are moving again.
After dropping calories last week, my weight came down to 208 lbs.
I feel harder overall too.
It's still tough for me to look at the photos and say there's some huge difference from last week, but at least the scale is moving in the right direction again.
At five weeks out, I'll take it.
Current Status
Division
- Men's Physique
- Classic Physique
Weeks Out
5
Current Weight
208 lbs
Starting Weight
216.4 lbs
Weekly Change
-1.4 lbs
Phase
Prep
Weekly Check-In Photos
Front
Side
Back
What Changed This Week?
At this point I'm starting to get really strict with the diet.
There's not much room left for guessing anymore.
Luckily my motivation has been really good.
Training feels good, I'm still pushing hard, and I've been getting all my cardio in.
I've also been switching up the cardio depending on what I feel like doing that day.
Some days I'll run.
Some days I'll do an incline walk.
Other days I'll get on the stair stepper.
Doing the exact same thing every time gets boring really fast, so switching it up makes getting through all five cardio sessions a lot easier for me.
As long as I'm getting the work done, I don't really care which type of cardio I'm doing.
Training Every Day
I also changed my workout program this week.
Some of my workouts were just taking way too long.
I'd get into the gym and end up being there forever trying to fit everything in.
So instead of continuing to cram everything into fewer days, I added another training day.
I'm going to the gym every day now.
That lets me spread everything out a little more and make sure I'm still getting all the work I want without every workout turning into a two-hour event.
Right now I actually like it.
I'm already in the gym most days between training and my five cardio sessions, so adding another training day doesn't really feel like much of an inconvenience.
And with five weeks left, I'm pretty motivated to be there.
This Week's StageLab Recommendation
Recommendation
Hold the current plan.
StageLab still has me a little behind based on the visual assessment.
Honestly, it's hard for me to tell how much better I look compared to last week.
I think I look a little harder, but week-to-week changes get pretty difficult to see when you're looking at yourself every day.
What isn't hard to see is the weight change.
I dropped 1.4 lbs this week after lowering calories, and StageLab picked up on that.
Based on my current weight trend, I'm also technically on pace to get where I need to be.
Because of that, the recommendation is to leave everything alone for another week instead of immediately making another change.
I'm good with that.
The calorie cut did what it was supposed to do.
Now I want to see if it keeps working.
My Thoughts
The biggest thing I'm starting to notice now is hunger.
Nothing crazy yet.
I'm not walking around starving all day.
But I'm definitely starting to think about food a little more than I was a few weeks ago.
I knew that was coming.
Next week I'm probably going to start changing around some of the foods I'm eating without actually changing the plan.
Adding more vegetables usually helps me a lot.
They're low enough in calories that I can make the meals physically bigger without adding much to the total.
At this point, anything that makes 2450 calories feel like more food is useful.
Other than that, I still feel pretty good.
Energy hasn't fallen off a cliff.
Training is still strong.
Motivation is still there.
I just know this is around the point where prep can start wearing on me mentally.
Five weeks sounds short, but when you're hungry, training every day, and getting five cardio sessions in every week, it can start feeling a lot longer.
I just need to keep the intensity up and not start letting little things slide because I'm getting tired of prep.
Current Plan
Calories
2450 kcal
Protein
227 g
Carbs
230 g
Fat
70 g
Cardio
5 x 25 min
Training
7 days per week
What Happens Next
Nothing changes with the plan this week.
Keep calories at 2450.
Get all five cardio sessions in.
Keep training hard.
Stay strict with the diet.
The main thing I'm going to start working on is making the food a little more filling as hunger starts picking up.
More vegetables.
More volume.
Same calories.
I'm still a little behind visually, but the weight is moving again and I'm on track for where I need to end up.
So for now, I'm not going to overthink it.
Keep pushing and see what another week does.
Current Snapshot
Weight: 208 lbs
Starting Weight: 216.4 lbs
Weeks Out: 5
Phase: Prep
Classic Physique Weight Limit: 202 lbs
Current Recommendation: Hold the current plan.
Current Focus: Keep the weight moving, stay strict with the diet, and maintain training intensity as hunger starts to increase.
Next Update
Prep Files #15 - 4 Weeks Out