It's been a real struggle since the halfway mark.
My journal notes a steady decline in quality of sleep, in recovery from workouts, in my feelings about food, and in my desire to train. These are...bad signs.My ego takes a blow every time my waist measurement trends downward from week to week.
Measurements suggest I've lost 15 pounds of lean mass and 5 pounds of fat. I was carrying about 12 pounds of fat on a 200lb frame to begin with. The sluggishness and poor sleep could well be due to insufficient fat tissue, combined with eating not nearly enough.
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| Right in the middle of the path for me. |
There is a commitment I could probably make in order to finish this experiment successfully -- stopping strength training and filling my 5 hours per week with leg-wasting cardio -- but one of my initial goals was to remain just as strong as at the beginning, just 30 lb lighter.
Last week, 20 pounds into this thing, I still felt fairly strong. This week, after busting ass to break into the 170s (and still being exactly 180, but with a slightly higher body fat percentage), I've been hurting units for 2-3 days after training and my squatting and pressing strength have fallen way off (to the order of 20% or so in the back squat, barbell press, and handstand push-up).
I am abandoning continuing to lose 10lb, for my sanity, for my health, and for my competitive goals.For the next 21 days, I strive to stay exactly where I am -- 180lb -- and be as strong as possible here. Then, when I compete in kettlebell sport on February 17, just 4 days after this is slated to end, I can actually put out a decent performance and look alive, instead of being hollow-faced, thin, and ashen.
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| How I feel all day. |
A client said to me, "You're really wasting away."
And Mrs. Fit Life loves to joke about my vanishing waistline.
No thanks.
I would love to have a tidy, happy ending for you: "Everyone succeeded and it was completely worth it. Can't wait to do it again." But that just isn't the case. If you are very lean and have athletic goals, losing 30 pounds in a short time period could be a blow to your health and would definitely hurt your performance. If you have plenty of fat to lose, take a long-term approach. Choose to Get Strong, Eat Clean, and Live Well; the fat loss will steadily take care of itself. (I'm glad to help you do it! Get in touch.)
For me, this experiment involved getting un-strong, being obsessive and negative about food, and feeling exhausted and sore for days at a time. Not a good way to live.
So I'm done with 30 Pounds in 3 Months. Until my next bizarre experiment, thanks for following Friends!
(By the way, Terry is about 20lb down, and we're going to turn up the volume on his training to get him there by February 12. Look out for pictures!)
