Hmm, we’re more than halfway through January and no posts in this thread since last year.
It’s okay guys, I know you’re all just too busy doing food prep and your daily cardio, right?
Anyway, today I lifted an elephant.
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I’m back at it starting Feb 1st.
Jan 1 of 2023 I was 204 lbs. I got all the way down to 178 ish, but then got lazy and sloppy again so Jan 2024 I was up a bunch. I gave myself one more month of not caring and Feb 1st, 2024 I was 189.5. Just under 190 which was my back up “line in the sand.”
I got two workouts so far. Both on the elliptical. I do the hill profile where it’s 3 min slight incline followed by 4 min steep incline then repeat. 42 min is 6 hills then I cool down. Today I added some planks and press-ups as a warm up. Over 500 calories burned each workout with an avg heart rate of 145 bpm. End goal is to get to 175 and see what that feels like. I never quite made it last time. I got close. This time it’ll happen.
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On Sunday when the clock hits midnight, I will end my 3 month / 111 days cutting phase. I started around the 20% bodyfat and currently on 12%. The plane is that from Monday on i’ll enter a 8 week maintance phase, where the goal is to do a bit of body recomposition. Maybe a gain a small amount of muscle, but most importantly keep the fat away. When the 8 weeks are over, i’ll begin a new cutting phase 8-12 weeks. Getting below the 12%. Then maintance again for 8 weeks. When that is done i’ll begin a lean gain phase.
Even though I’m sick and tired of cutting, espeically the last 3-4 weeks have been a drag. I still seen an increase in muscle mass, while a decreas in fat. My Whitings smart scale as it’s a 2.4% muscle mass increase since i begun. I’m a bit sceptical that I gained 2.4% muscle mass while cutting. That said I do believe that I gained muscle, I been consisdent with weighing myself on the same weekday and time of the day, before eating, after peeing and such out through the process. So the baseline should be as close to identiacl as possible.
Good work buddy, our weight will swing up and down. The important part is that you still lost almost 15 lbs, didn’t go all the way back to the start point. It might even be lower, water weight can have a big effect on your weight. One of the tools I use to lose weight, is to begin with in a cutting phase, I start out by switching one meal out with a meal replacement shake (200 cal and 27g protien). It might not fill me up, but it will take the hassel out doing a meal prep. For me convenience is more important then begin full. I can easily handle being hungry.
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Dude that’s incredible. It sounds like you’re about to drop below 10% here on the next one too. Keep it up.
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I hope to hit around 7-8% when done with the next cutting period and make 12-15% my new stable.
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Long time no see. How are you people?
I have been training hard but somewhere in winter I started to lose mass even tho I was training as usually.
In the past months I felt kinda let down with so small energy and I’ve been trying all sort of vitamins to see what I’m missing. B12, E, D3 (take this all year long because without I have way too many pimples) and C all year long because they say it’s good for the immune.
Then there was a period I was taking the Animal Pak pills version and that was very useful. No pimples, felt good and all but I was taking them wrong. Apparently I have to take them with food to make my body assimilate. I was taking them only after workout with proteins because I felt disgusted to take all those pills only with water. Or I took them the day off in the morning same with protein and that’s it.
But then there was a problem that at some point near the end of the whole cicle I was feeling my liver strange like swollen and so I cut it immediately.
And I started to feel again weak with no will or energy so now I’m taking the powder one but this time with food.
Today is the first day and I have a great feeling.
Among Animal Pak I am also taking OMEGA 3 because I almost never eat fish and after getting a nasty inflammation on a dorsal I read that these prevents that as well. I started yesterday and I believe that I was mostly missing this because I feel full of energy and in a good mood.
And don’t laugh but at the same time I am getting stronger erections as it says that omega 3 helps with the blood flow. Maybe it’s all in my mind.
I take those one pill at breakfast or lunch and another one at dinner. Important is to take them with food they suggest.
I have no recent photo of my self to publish but I will get back here in a month with hopefully good results.
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One week and a half of Animal Pak:
Surprisingly this thing fixes a lot more problems that I have.
For example, in the last maybe half of year I feel my knees weak in everyday activity and especially at work. I walk a lot, sometimes going up many stairs and my knees and legs were always so tiered even earlier than it should.
Now I am amazed how come I never noticed this was an issue. I knew I was missing some vitamins from my body but I realize only now I was missing something very serious.
A few hours ago I went for a run. I had the same knee combo legs problem that they get tiered quick but even so I kept going because no pain no gain, right? Well now I din’t felt a thing, like no weakness in my legs or the feeling that it’s coming. I just kept going and going and again I was so amazed not to say enormously happy. And I took Animal Pak this morning 15 hours ago or less with breakfast.
On training days I take it an hour prior hitting the gym with pre workout food which can be 2 or 3 slices of whole grain bread with peanut butter or sometimes 5 brasilian nuts and a low fat yogurt.
And the energy and motivation that delivers in the gym is insane. Not to mention the endurance.
I’m just happy to bust my ass and I have this maniacal smiling face while doing so. Sometimes I even laugh laud after a series.
But! On the days I don’t train it does’t give me this energy somehow. If I am mentally prepared to train then it makes feel like an animal. If I take it on the days I don’t train it makes me feel kinda lazy.
It is probably all in my head but it goes like this for me.
About gains I can’t say anything because it’s too early to tell but for now I am more than happy and satisfied that it is adjusting me in everyday activity.
Ah yes the omega 3. The only difference is doing so far is making me feel happy which is a good thing.
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One month of Animal Pak:
I ended up in the ER
This thing gives me kidney stones or something similar. They couldn’t find them but the symptoms are there. They cheeked by blood and urine and everything came back clean. Liver is perfectly healthy.
But I feel this thing inside me that is hard. When standing I feel it on the right abdomen where the liver is, when laying down i feel it a lot more in the back on a kidney.
No pain at all, just the feeling of something hard there and it doesn’t give me problems in everyday activity especially during workout.
And this is the only issue that gives me. This sensation of something hard.
They give me a medicine to take for 10 days that helps melting if there is a kidney stone and after that I have to go back for another visit to see if there is something left.
I had the same identical problem back in 2009 and from there it came and went over the years.
The conclusion was micro kidney stones and to drink a lot more water a thing I didn’t do back then but now at least 2 liter a day I can manage.
But I am still not renouncing on Animal Pak. I need it way to much because while on one side it gives me this problem on the other it keeps me moving.
I have the strength in the gym as when I was 17. Same energy and greed. I got buffer and stronger really quick. My acne problem is going away and my knees just keep going and not getting tiered.
So I decided to quit protein after workout and take the Animal Pak only on training days. Let’s see how that is going.
I am training one day yes and one no. So 48 hours might be enough to have those vitamins in my system and the liver to recover. I think.
Anyone can suggest me a good alternative to proteine shake after workout?
I was thinking about 3 boiled eggs.
Pre workout I got that cover. I eat 2 slices of whole grain bread with peanut butter and a banana. Shortly after I take the animal pak, wait one hour and go to hit the gym.
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tofu, lentils, beans, oatmeal. if possible, maybe get bloodwork to see if you actually lack vitamins and minerals. overloading on some of these can have detrimental effects.
also, can I just say, it doesn’t matter really matter when you eat protein. as long as you eat enough, your body will use it to repair when the need arises. no need to time it.
just took a look at that animal pak thing and their website is just bro science crap. it’s nothing more than an overpriced multivitamin friend.