Day 13. Saturday

Did 3-2-1 intervals today. Getting easier and easier. I'm going to put the pace up next time.
I am a little worried about shin splints though, it often comes when I raise the intensity too quick and that would give me problems. I really need to keep the intensity up and get my pulse peaking as close to 100% as possible. That's what kicks my metabolism into top gear. The other option is doing the intervals on the bike. We'll have to wait and see.  

The food:

Morning protein shake with 15g protein powder. (60 kcal) and 15g protein

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. 17g protein.

1st meal (267 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 2 fried eggs. 17g protein

2nd meal (274 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 125g mackerel in tomato sauce. 19g protein

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. That gives me 30g protein.

3rd meal (354 kcal) = 2 piece of rye bread and 150g roast beef. 33g protein

Snack 1 apple (65 kcal)

Snack some strawberry (48 kcal)

Late night snack (1600 kcal).
200g A38 yoghurt. (80 kcal) 9g protein
91g banana (80 kcal)

1748 kcal 140 g protein.

Little low on the protein today but that's ok for one day. I need to keep an eye on that tomorrow.

Tomorrow is my rest day and I'm really looking forward to sleeping in.

Have a nice evening.

Day 12. Weigh in day # 2

It's Friday.

Friday is good for many reasons; end of the week, start of the weekend and Friday is weigh in day. The highlight of my week. The motivational factor.

Lets take a quick look at the status.

On the 15th of April I weighed 82 kilos there of 21.8% fat which is 17.9 kilos.
After 1 week sticking to the plan I weighed 80.7 kilos, 20.3% fat which is 16.4 kilos.
After 2 weeks..... First lets see what happened today.

Training:

Usual weights program with Patrick. This will be the last week of this weight program, on Friday we're going to change it up before I hit the plateau.

Here we are doing lying rows at SATS Nørrebro.
After that I did 1 hour of cardio on the spinning bike.

The food:

Morning protein shake with 15g protein powder. (60 kcal) and 15g protein

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. 17g protein.

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. That gives me 30g protein.

1st meal (170 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 70g chicken breast. 17g protein

2nd meal (170 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 70g chicken breast. 17g protein

3rd meal (170 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 70g chicken breast. 17g protein

Snack 1 Carrot (26 kcal)

Main meal ( 383 kcal) + 30g protein =
200g Fried fish balls (260 kcal) + 20g pr
206g Asparagus (45 kcal) + 4g pr
221g Broccoli (77 kcal) + 6g pr

Late night snack (282 kcal).
200g A38 yoghurt. (80 kcal) 9g protein
113g apple (58 kcal)
91g banana (80 kcal)
9g almonds (51 kcal)


1781 kcal 152 g protein

Enough waiting. The result are:

After 2 weeks I weigh 80 kilos there of 18.4% fat. That is 14.7 kilos of fat. I have lost another 1.7 kilos of pure fat.

That gives a grand total of 3.2 kilos of fat loss in 14 days!!
I know you are looking at the start weight and thinking "3.2 kilos of loss??? That doesn't make sense." 82 - 80k is only 2 kilos. The explanation is due to the heavy weights program and the high protein intake I have gained 1.2 kilos of muscle mass. I'm in shock. I looked at the results for about 20 min today. I couldn't believe it. 

Here's the picture.

We're starting to get some definition here.

Here is the proof...

You can see the dates at the top. I have highlighted the fat mass and the muscle mass.

It shows that when you diet and train you need to look at more than just the scales. The total weight can be miss leading.

I'm incredibly happy with the progress. It looks like the weight loss will not be a problem. Now we need to focus on marking the abs and that means more hard work.

See you tomorrow.

Day 11. Thursday. Will my knees hold out?

Hello.

It's Thursday and now I'm starting to feel the pain this week.
Remember I took my rest day on Saturday so now we're on 5 days of hard training in a row. My knees are really starting to feel the pressure.
I played a lot of football from childhood to my early 20s, since then I have done a lot of running so my knees have taken a beating. Tomorrow I have heavy weight training with my personal trainer Patrick Boiken so that's going to be a hard day too. Injury is not an option.

Today's training:

3-2-1 intervals 16 km/h - 17 km/h - 20 km/h only 1 min break between sets.
30 min steady pace on the X-trainer.

The Food:

Morning protein shake with 15g protein powder. (60 kcal) and 15g protein

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. 17g protein.

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. That gives me 30g protein.

1st meal (182 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 90g chicken breast. 19g protein

2nd meal (182 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 90g chicken breast. 19g protein

Main meal split into 2 (600 kcal) which gives me 66g protein=
100g full corn bulgur. (300 kcal) + 17g protein

1 carrot (25 kcal)
3 tomatoes (13 kcal)
51g 1 egg (61 kcal) 6g protein
140 g tuna (162 kcal) 40g protein
50g Green peas (39kcal) 3g protein

Snack (49 kcal) = 1 apple

To round off the day (160 kcal).
200g A38 yoghurt. (80 kcal) 9g protein
91g banana (80 kcal)


Total kcal for the day 1753 with 175g protein. Weigh in tomorrow. Can I hit 1.5 kilo again?

Day 10. Wednesday. feeling fine.

Hello again.

Wednesday was a good training day. I managed to catch up a bit for yesterdays laziness and my calf feels fine.

I did the usual weights program;

Heavy weight training (all 3 sets of 6 reps with max weight):

Squats

Seated dumbbell military press

Leg extension

Lying leg curl

Dumbbell row

Dumbbell press

Ring roll outs

Standing joystick twists

I'm starting to put some extra ab exercises on top to start working on the definition of the 6 pack.  Today I did 3 x 10 swiss ball crunches. I could feel that.

After the weights I did 30 min on the rotex machine at a steady tempo followed by 30 min on the x-trainer.!
Worked for 10 hours and was still feeling fresh, it must be the sun I could not do this in the winter! Then I did 30 min on the sofa cycle. Long day. But got 90 min cardio in.

   


The food for the day:

Morning protein shake with 15g protein powder. (60 kcal) and 15g protein

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. 17g protein.

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. That gives me 30g protein.

1st meal (182 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 90g chicken breast. 19g protein

2nd meal (182 kcal) = 1 piece of rye bread and 90g chicken breast. 19g protein

Main meal split into 2 (579 kcal) which gives me 60g protein=
100g chick peas. (365 kcal) + 20g protein

2 carrots (37 kcal)
2 tomatoes (13 kcal)
1 spring onion (2 kcal)
140 g tuna (162 kcal) 40g protein

To round off the day (282 kcal).
200g A38 yoghurt. (80 kcal) 9g protein
113g apple (58 kcal)
91g banana (80 kcal)
9g almonds (51 kcal)

Total kcal for the day 1796 with 169g protein.

Day 9. Tuesday.

Hi again.

Got a bit of a shock last night. I thought I'd pulled a muscle in my left calf playing football. It feels really tight today so I didn't want to push it too much.
So it was a pretty slow day. I had to go to SATS Amager today which took about half an hour one way. When I got there I did 30 min on the x-trainer medium pace. I need to hit it a bit harder tomorrow.

Food:

Breakfast (460 kcal) = 100g porridge oats, 100g skimmed milk and 15 g protein powder. 32g protein.

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. 30g protein.

1st meal (280 Kcal) = 180g chicken breast+ 1 piece of rye bread. + 40g protein

3^rd meal (250 kcal) = 140g mackrel in tomato sauce + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 13 g protein

Snack (65 kcal) = 1 apple

Snack (40 kcal) = 1/2 a pear

Main meal (434 kcal) which gives me 54g protein
50g chick peas. (182 kcal) + 10g protein
1 egg (90 kcal) + 9g protein
140g tuna (162 kcal) + 35g protein

Late snack (80 kcal). 200g A38 yoghurt. 9g protein

1729 kcal 178g protein (wow that's a lot of protein!!)

Day 8. the 3 Ts.

The key to my success so far has been the 3 T's

The 3 T's are;
Tea.
Especially green Tea. It balances the blood sugar and dampens hunger. So you don't crave as much of the sweet stuff.  
Tiger balm.
Seriously. When you train almost every day a little bit of tiger balm goes a long way to killing aches and pains in the muscles.
T....chewing hum.
Ok so it doesn't start with T but it almost does. Chewing gum has helped me take my mind off food and it also kicks your digestion into gear. Could not live without it.

Today has been a good day. Went to the family Easter lunch and didn't struggle too much with the food. Had to say no to some good looking cake but other than that it was ok.
I'll start with the food:

breakfast (360 kcal) = 100g oats, 100g skimmed milk and 15g proetin powder. 32g protein

After training (120 kcal)= 30g protein powder. 30g protein

Snack (85 kcal)= a pear

Hear comes the Easter lunch i calculated every thing but I forgot the weights so i'll just note the calories(591 kcal) + 52g pr. =
Rye bread (240 kcal) + 6g pr
Smoked salmon (138 Kcal) + 30g pr.
Boiled egg (112 kcal) + 10 g pr.
Pork tenderloin (41 kcal) 2g pr.
herring in sauce (60 kcal) 4g pr.

Snack (31 Kcal) = a small apple

Evening meal (291 kcal) +38g pr=
142 g lettuce (24kcal)
74 g carrots (30 kcal)
72g tomatoes (12 kcal)
20g black olives (22 kcal)
185g chicken breast (203 kcal) + 38g pr.

After Football (220 kcal) = 300g A38 yoghurt and a banana + 12g pr.

All in all. 1698 kcal + 164g pr.

Training.

Weights normal program. With out Patrick The weights are on average 8 kilos lighter. Tip!!! if you want to get in shape. Get a personal trainer!!!
1 hour running
1 hour football.

Have a great night.

Day 7. Fresh Leon nails the 3-2-1 intervals

Hello again.

A happy easter sunday to you all.

Today was great. After the rest day yesterday I was in top shape. My legs were fresh and I was feeling good.

On the program today was 1 hours cardio and 3-2-1 intervals.
Instead of doing all the cardio in 1 block I ran 5 k from my flat to SATS nørrebro. There I nailed the 3-2-1 intervals. Because I was feeling so feisty I only took 1 min break in-between sets (normally 2 min) and ended on 20km/h for the last 1 min (normally 18km/h). I haven't run that fast for a long while. Then to finish off I ran the 5 k home. All in all a good session. Thank you rest day.  

The food:

15g protein mania to start the day (60 kcal) = 15g pr. 

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. 17g pr.

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. That gives me 30g pr.

1st meal. ( 336 kcal) =
2 boiled eggs (196 kcal) 18g pr.
70g rye bread (140(kcal) 2g pr.

Snack (81 kcal)= a pear.

2nd meal. (214 kcal)=
2 fish balls (130 kcal) 13g pr.
35g rye bread (72 kcal) 1g pr. 
2 tomatoes (12 kcal)

Snack (81 kcal)= a pear.

Evening meal (269 kcal)=
170g chicken breast (187 kcal) 36g protein
220g broccoli (77 kcal) 6g protein
4 pieces of asparagus (5 kcal)

Snack (81 kcal)= a pear.

Little low on protein today so I'm going to close the day with a protein shake
30g protein powder (120 kcal) 30g pr.

Todays total is 1762 kcal with 168g protein

Tomorrow I'm going to a family Easter lunch thing so food is going to be tough.  My goal is just to stay under the 1800 and get as much protein as I can, might end up being 1 big meal of eggs and bread but lets wait and see.
 

Day 6. Saturday is a day of rest.

Nice with a rest.
Stayed in bed till about 9.30. Have done my best to do as little as possible all day. 
Felt like having steak for dinner so I checked out the calories and fit in the meal plan.
It just shows that you can eat what you want while dieting you just need to make it fit in.

Food:
Protein drink (60 kcal) + 15g pr
Breakfast (400 kcal) + 17g pr
1st meal (300 kcal) 2 eggs on 2 pieces of rye bread. 24g protein
snack (60 kcal) a pear
Afternoon snack (120 kcal) 30g protein powder mixed with water. 30g protein
snack (60 kcal) a pear

Main meal (452 kcal) 44g pr
200g green beans (52 kcal) + 4 g pr.
200g steak. (400 kcal) + 40 g pr.

evening snack (266 kcal) 15g protein.
300g A38 yoghurt (120 kcal) 12g pr
100g banana (90 kcal) 1g pr
10g almands (56 kcal) 2g pr
 

All together 1718 kcal + 145g protein. Little under the allocated 1800 but that's ok on a rest day.

Day 5. Weigh in day. End of the first week.

So it's Friday.

I know I started the blog on Monday and I know a week is 7 days but today is the end of the first week. The first weigh in was Friday the 15th and we have weigh ins every Friday. I started the training program on Monday the 18th but the start weight and fat % is from the 15th.

I've been looking forward to today. I need the first week to be good. I'm expecting my weight loss to slow as my metabolism alters to accommodate for the low calorie intake (I have a plan for when that happens) so i need to loose most of the weight in the first couple of weeks. I've stuck to the plan and trained hard for the last 5 days and not cheated on my diet. It has to have paid off.

A quick recap on the last weigh in.

On the 15th I weighed 82 kilos, had 21.8% fat which is 17.9 kilos.

And today after 1 week sticking to the plan I weigh 80.7 kilos, have 20.3% fat which is 16.4 kilos.


In 1 week I've lost 1.5 kilos of pure fat. 0 muscle loss. I'm very happy with that.

Here's the pic.

Training:

Training today with Patrick was excellent. I'm not only loosing fat but I'm getting stronger. We increased the weight significantly on must exercises.  
Same resistance program as day 1. 
Super set the squats with the military press, the leg extensions with the leg curls, the dumbbell press with the dumbbell row and the ring roll outs with the joy stick twists. but we added some hyper-extensions to strengthen my lower back. 

We tried to follow the weights with the 3-2-1 intervals again but it was no good. I didn't have the legs for it after yesterdays session. so I did 30 min on the cross trainer which is fine.


The food. 

I mixed it up a bit today.

As soon as I woke up I had a protein shake with 15g protein powder. (60 kcal) and 15g protein

That took the edge of my morning hunger. I waited an hour or so before training then had my usual breakfast so not to go cold to quick. It worked.
Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. 17g protein.

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. That gives me 30g protein.

Snack (88 kcal) = 1 egg. 10 g protein

Main meal split into 2 (676 kcal) which gives me 62g protein
100g chick peas. (365 kcal) + 20g protein
180g chicken breast. (180 kcal) + 38g protein
50g green peas. (35 kcal) + 3g protein
50g sweet corn. (48 kcal) + 1 g protein (lots of calories in sweet corn)

50g carrot. (18 kcal)
30g pepper. (30 kcal)

3^rd meal (250 kcal) = 140g mackrel in tomato sauce + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 13 g protein

To round off the day 140 (kcal). My all time favourite 300g A38 yoghurt. 12g protein

All in all for the day 1735 (kcal) and 159g protein. 

Tomorrow I will take a rest day so my legs have a chance to be fresh again. They deserve it.

It's been a good day today.

Day 4. Thursday. Hardest day so far.

It's Thursday and it was tough.

The training plan was:
3-2-1 Intervals and 1 hour cardio. That was all!!
I decided the best thing to do was to run to the closest SATS, do my intervals and run back. The nearest SATS centre is Hvidovre which is about 4k from where I live. I ran there no problem, did the 3-2-1 intervals which was really hard. The only thing keeping me going was "weigh in tomorrow. weigh in tomorrow. weigh in tomorrow." In the end I was pretty wasted but happy. I managed to run about 2 k on my way home and then just ran out of steam. Had to walk, tried to run a bit had to walk again. So I didn't get the cardio I needed today. No where near an hour I hope this doesn't affect the weight tomorrow.
I think the main problem was that I ate my breakfast at 6.30 and fell back to sleep.I didn't set off until 9.30 and didn't eat between breakfast and the run. 460kcal for breakfast and then running 3 hours later was just not enough fuel.

The food:

I got my fingers on some 0 carb protein powder. 100g = 99g protein and it actually tastes ok. That is going to help me A LOT.

Breakfast (460 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk plus 15g protein mania powder. The protein powder gives me 15g + 17g. all together 32g

After training (120 kcal) = 30g protein mania. That gives me 30g protein.

2^nd meal (250 kcal) = 150g chicken breast + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 28 g protein

3^rd meal (250 kcal) = 140g mackrel in tomato sauce + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 13 g protein

Main meal. (545 kcal) =
90g full corn bulgur (280 kcal) 13g protein
185g chicken breast   (185 kcal) 37g pr
onions and fresh vegtables pan fried (80 kcal)

Gonna finish off the day with 300 g A38 natural yoghurt. (120 kcal) 12g protein.

1745 kcal and 165g protein

First weigh in in the morning. Can't wait to see if it is working or if we have to change our plan.

Day 3. Wednesday. I forgot my lunch box

Wednesday:

Day started with me forgetting my lunch box. So I got an extra 40 min cardio from cycling home to get it and then back to work again. There is genuinely nothing worse then the feeling you get when you realise you have forgotten your food. Especially when you are on such a tight diet.  The panic. The shear panic.

It's the easter break from tomorrow so today is a bit like a Friday. I would usually eat some ice cream or chocolate on the sofa on a Friday night with a glass of wine. I'm sure you can relate. 

Today I have cunningly made room for some yoghurt and a banana to substitute my sofa snack. I know I'm going to crave something.

Some plain yoghurt and a banana!! I've been in a great mood all day looking forward to that yoghurt and banana.

Today I started the day with heavy weights on my own. 

Same program as day 1. I super set the squats with the military press, the leg extensions with the leg curls, the dumbbell press with the dumbbell row and the ring roll outs with the joy stick twists.

Directly after the weights I have 1 hour of steady cardio holding my pulse between 70-80% vo2 max on the x-trainer. I will not be trying the 1 hour cardio on the wave again. That machine drained the life out of me.

Food plan:

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. That gives me 17g protein

After training (270 kcal) = 2 x low carb protein shakes. That gives me 50g protein.

2^nd meal (250 kcal) = 100g sandwich chicken  + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 23 g protein

Snack on (100 kcal) 1 apple and 1 pear

main meal split in 2  (575 kcal) 70 g protein

100g full corn bulgur (300 kcal) - 25 g protein

1 egg (105 kcal) - 8g protein

140g tuna (140 kcal) - 37g protein

bit of peppers, carrot, onion, (no more than 35 kcal)

Late night snack aka highlight of the day (220 kcal) 13 g protein

1 banana (100 kcal)

300g A38 yoghurt (120 kcal)

Total 1815 kcal and 173 g protein. 

So far I have been using Maxim low carb shakes. but as from tomorrow I will be using something a little better. I'll tell you more tomorrow.

Weigh in the day after tomorrow. Will it all be worth it?

Day 2. It's gonna be a long day!!

Tuesday was day two and I was really tired when I woke up, slept very poorly. Must be the full moon! I could really feel those squats and the football in my thighs. My legs weigh a ton and it’s only day 2.

Got 3-2-1 intervals on the treadmill then an hour of cardio. Fuck the thought of it seemed impossible.

For those of you that aren't familiar with 3-2-1 intervals they are easyest to do on the treadmill. I run for 3 min as fast as I can then I get 1 min break, Then 2 min as fast as I can, 1 min break, then 1 min as fast as I can then 2 min break. Repeat 3 times in total work out time 30 minuets.

I’m going to try the cardio wave machine today for my 1 hour cardio training se if that works.

Although running is my cardio of choice, I can’t just run for 9 hours a week.

The reason for this is: I haven’t run that much for a long time and if I just start from nothing to 9 hours a week I will get shin splints, and mess my knees up. if Shin splints or knee injury means game over. The other reason is that I need to keep myself occupied for an hour if I do the same thing over and over I’ll get board. As this is quite a challenge for me I need to keep my interest and motivation high. I need to make sure I’m looking forward to training not wishing I were doing something else.

Here’s the food plan for day 2:

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. That gives me 17g protein

After training (270 kcal) = 2 x low carb protein shakes. That gives me 50g protein.

2^nd meal (250 kcal) = 100g sandwich chicken  + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 23 g protein

3^rd meal (250 kcal) = 140g mackrel in tomato sauce + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 13 g protein

Main meal splits in 2. (650 kcal)

100g chick peas = 365 kcal + 20 g protein

180 g chicken breast = 250 + 38g protein

bit of peppers, carrot, tomato, (no more than 35 kcal)

1820 kcal +160g protein. Perfect. I wasn't hungry when I went to bed. Not tired. 

Day 1. Monday. Training and eating

Hello.

We started yesterday with the training but it took me a little longer to set up the blog then I thought. Here we go.

Food: 

Breakfast (400 kcal) = 100g porridge oats 100g skimmed milk. That gives me 17g protein
 

First meal approx 11:00am (250 kcal) = 100g sandwich chicken  + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 23 g protein

Snacks (250 kcal) 1 banana and 1 low carb protein shake. That gives me 25g protein

Main meal split in two (650 kcal). Gives me 62 g protein
50 g quinua
140 g tuna
150 g egg
100g sweet corn
150 g tomato
60g carrots

Supper approx 10:00pm (250 kcal) 100g sandwich chicken  + 1 piece of rye bread. That gives me 23 g protein

Total: 1800 kcal 150 g protein. (not quite enough, need to up the protein)

Training: 

Heavy weight training (all 3 sets of 6 reps with max weight):

Squats

Dumbbell military press

Leg extension

Lying leg curl

Dumbbell row

Dumbbell press

Ring roll outs

Standing joystick twists

Cardio:

1 hour constant endurance training on pre core x-trainer. Pulse constant 75-80%

1 hour football. Relaxed pace.

Not a bad day. not feeling to hungry or tired. Need to make sure I get 8 hours sleep.

Day 1. First weigh in. Make a plan

Hi.
My name is Leon and I want a six pack.

I'm 32 years old and work at SATS Nørrebro which is a training centre in Denmark.
I am a personal trainer and have a lot of training experience. I was in great form up until the end of 2009 but, as you hear all too often, too much work, too little focus on training and too much "good" food takes it's toll even on a personal trainer.

This is me today. A bit wide around the middle.

I way 82 kilos and have a fat % of 21.8%. That means that I am carrying 17.9 kilos of fat.
 
With the help of my personal trainer Patrick Boiken. My goal is to drop a minimum of 6 kilos of fat in the next 6 weeks and end with a six pack.

We're going to weigh in and update the photograph every Friday so you can follow the progress. But I'll blog my training programs and how I'm feeling as much as I can. If you want to feel free to try and train the same, maybe it'll work for you too?
  
It's time to make a plan.

To start with I need to be burning a lot more calories then I'm eating.
So I'm going to limit my self to 1800 kcal per day split into 6 meals. Due to my background in training I still have a good amount of muscle mass. I don't want to loose that so of those 1800 kcal I need to make sure I have about 160g protein per day.

As far as training goes I'm going to aim high and say that I want to train twice a day 6 days a week. that'll be 12 sessions all together. Due to time issues I'm going to have to put some sessions together but I'll get back to that. 3 of these sessions will be heavy weight training, 3 will be high intensity intervals and the rest will be regular cardio.  

Wish me luck.