A Success Story Pt II: "Secrets" and Post Competition Blues

The Secrets:
  The "secret" to my success was exactly as the subtitle of part on says.  "You can't outwork a shitty diet."  I completely overhauled my diet and buckled down with obsessive determination, driven by the desire to compete in a lower weight class by means of healthy and stable weight loss.  For a long time I relied on the excuse that I was "in shape enough" to "not need to worry about what I was eating."  I could not have been more wrong.  The bottom line is this.  Imagine your current fitness level.  Now imagine your diet in terms of what you eat.  If your diet is not a healthy one, you may still manage to maintain what is to you an acceptable fitness level and physique.  However, regardless of your current condition, imagine how great the gains could be if you actually bothered to control how much you ate and managed the nutrients you consume.  The point should be clear.  You may be "good enough", but is "good enough" good enough for you to settle on?  For me, it was not.
     The diet I followed was very strict.  I DO NOT recommend such a diet for every day persons seeking to modestly "live healthier" or "get back into shape."  Such a diet as the one I followed demanding to the point of near insanity and was only drawn up because the sports in which I compete mandate my body weight.
     I did not bother calculating my Base Metabolic Rate (BMR) at my starting weight, nor did I calculate the current time it would take to acquire the appropriate caloric deficit needed to meet my weight goals over the given period of time; something I should have done and DO recommend to my clients.  I started right off the bat with what I thought would be the minimum number of calories I needed.  Then number was 1500 calories per day.  I knew I would be losing a lot of weight and wanted to retain as much muscle tissue as possible to ensure that I was losing fat and not Lean Body Mass (LBM).  I chose macronutrient ratios of 50% protein (187.5g / 750 cal), 25% fat (41.6g / 375 cal), and 25% carbohydrates (93.75g / 375 cal).  Each day I recorded everything that I ate as well as the amount (grams or ounces), and grams of protein/fat/carbohydrates.  I also planned on completely blowing my diet on a "cheat meal" twice per week.  The reason for this is that it provides both and mental and physical stress relief while on a strict diet.  There was no new-fangled, press-publicized "super food", or fad-diet that simply remains a "fad"... there was simply science and agonizing perseverance.
     I did not adhere to any bodybuilding, isolation, or celebrity workout.  I simply trained in the sports of my choice (Boxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) for about 6 - 8 hours per week, as well as doing the same of strength and conditioning workouts I was having a client of mine (at the the time) do.
     I did use a few supplements while dieting down.  I made good use of Whey Protein both as a shake and in cooking/baking to keep my protein supply high and clean.  I also used a multi-vitamin to ensure that while losing weight my body still had plenty of micronutrients to work with.  In addition, I also used a Joint Health Supplement due to the nature of combat sports.

Problems:
  What I found was that I ended up cheating on my diet.  That is, I was eating more food than I was recording.  That being said, I was still consuming few enough calories to loose the required amount of weight.  About half way through the training phase I had a "coming clean" revelation where I began actually recording EVERYTHING that I ate.  I did not bother to revamp my planned diet.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it; as the saying goes... I was loosing weight at the sufficient rate to achieve my goal.  There was no problem, just a lack of honesty with myself.
     A later problem that I would find after the competition is that as I remained on the same diet, I was still losing weight.  This would not typically be a complaint for most people, however, I had my ideal competition weight class in mind and (now being much leaner) could not afford (psychologically or physically) to attempt to force myself to loose more weight.  

Post-Workout Blues:
     What this expression means is that there is that competition drives us to remain dedicated to our diets.  In a sense, it is more difficult to maintain a certain weight than it is to loose weight.  This is because the aspiration of a goal gives us a mental edge to push us towards obtaining that goal.  I HAVE to do this if, I want to compete at this weight class - or - I have to do this if I want to fit into that swim suit by summer.   

Part III:  The Story Continues
     My next BJJ competition is scheduled for August 21, 2011 in Chicago.  My goal is now not to loose weight, but to gain about 5 lbs and maintain that weight.  My goal is also to maintain that weight in a fashion that is a lay-man's diet and does not require the obsessive recording of every calorie and macronutrient my body takes in.  After much trial and error of the past few weeks, I have finally settled on a diet that I believe will allow my body to reach the weight goals I have in mind while keeping body mass lean and do so without obsessive documentation (though still with much effort).  The "new" diet is documented below. The "General Guide" as well as serving sizes are all that is to be memorized and logged.  I started with the basics.  Daily Caloric Need, Macronutrient Ratios, and then The New American Diet by Scivation as a guide and general game plan, but not as a Bible. 

6/21 Diet

2000 Calories

Protein	40%	200g	800 cal
Fat	30%	66.6g	599.4 cal
Carbohydrates	30%	150g	600 cal

Estimates

Meal	Protein	Fat	Carb	Cal
1 BFST	40g	13.2g	40.8g	442
2 POW	40g	6.6g	27.2g	328.2
3 LNCH	40g	13.2g	40.8g	442
`4 BRK(2)	40g	13.2g	27.2g	387.6
5 SPR	40g	19.8g	13.6g	329.6

General Guide

Meal
1	5 serv PTN	2 serv STRCH	2 serv FAT	1 serv VEG
2	5 serv PTN	1 serv FRT	1 serv FAT	1 serv VEG
3	5 serv PTN	2 serv STRCH	2 serv FAT	1 serv VEG
4	5 serv PTN	1 serv FRT	2 serv FAT	1 serv VEG
5	5 serv PTN	-	3 serv FAT	1 serv VEG

Information

STARCH serv = Foods Containing ~ 12 – 15g Carbohydrates

FRUITT serv = Foods Containing ~ 12 – 15g Carbohydrates

VEGETABLE serv = Foods Containing ~ 4 – 6g Carbohydrates

PROTEIN serv = Foods Containing ~ 6-8g Protein

FAT serv = Foods Containing ~ 5g Fat

*subject to change via caloric need and macronutrient ratios

**Some foods count as a serving of multiple nutrients

Free

One serv / Meal / Day:  less than 20 cal, less than 5g Carb, Cream Cheese, Fat Free Mayo, Fat free margarine, Fat Free Dressing, Fat free sour cream, hard candy (1), sugar free gum (1), low sugar/lite Jam/Jelly, sugar free syrup

AND

ONE unrestricted meal per week

*I do not work for, get sponsored by, or specificlly endorse any of the supplements, websites, companies, or links contained in this post

A Success Story Pt I: You Can't Outwork a Shitty Diet

In late May / early June of 2010, after graduating college I weighed 200 lbs.  This was quite the jump since I had wrestled in high school at 170, 152, and then at 160; and in college at 165, 157, 174, then back to 165.  The last competition being in the Fall of 2009.  Those were (of course) dehydrated figures depicting the weight classes I was competing in.  My natural weight would have been approximately 12 - 15 lbs higher.  At 200 lbs I was still in shape, or trying to convince myself that I was.  I did not look obese, but was not content with my now "average" (most 'average' Americans are overweight) body weight, athletic ability, or physique.  And so the journey began....
     After graduating college in May of 2010 I had been training to gain lean mass from previously weighing in the mid 180s.  It is generally acknowledged that if you gain about 10 lbs of body mass, about 3 lbs will be from fat.  However, the result of being in denial of my lax diet, and a very sedentary lifestyle outside of the gym, were very painfully obvious and certainly not favorable.  Again, I probably was not extremely obese, but nor was I were I wanted to be in terms of physical ability.
     I began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Boxing, and Muay Thai Kickboxing at Peoria Athletic Club in Peoria, IL in May of 2010.  After enduring many grueling training and sparring sessions my weight dwindled off a bit.  Slowly but surely I was shedding the pounds, but my diet was still completely lax.

     February 26, 2011 was my first Mixed Martial Arts fight.  I had entered my training camp phase weighing about 187lbs.  My goal through the next month (my "Training Camps" usually last 6 weeks with the first and last week being rest/recovery phases and the middle 4 weeks being exceptionally taxing) was to get to less than 185lbs in order to realistically be able to cut/dehydrate the remaining weight to weigh in at <170lbs.  The night before the competition, at the weight ins, I weight in at 168lbs (Dehydrated).  I got in the cage the next night at approximately 183lbs.  I was victorious by Arm Bar Submission in 2:40 of the first round.

     After the fight I did an analysis of my training, diet, and weight... the works.  I felt that in all honesty, I was too short to be fighting as a welterweight at 170lbs.  I am only 5'8" and my reach is short for my height, only about 65".  I had sparred with many other welterweights who had much longer reach and some who were nearly 6 feet tall and some TALLER.  It was clear that while I could manage at 170lbs, I was much better suited to fight at 155lbs (Lightweight).  But was I willing to make the dietary sacrifices required?
     With the summer of 2011 came the 2011 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  May 7th in St. Louis, MO would be my first BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) tournament.  The weight class was to be 170lbs.  However, different from MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) weigh ins, the weigh ins for this tournament were the morning of the competition, leaving only hours to rehydrate and refuel the body.  I began cleaning up my diet after my about a month ahead of time by eating healthier foods such as fruits instead of sweets, whole grains instead of white grains, much more protein, and weening off fatty foods in general while maintaining healthy fats (those found in fish and nuts for example).  At the competition I weighted 168 slightly dehydrated and without my Gi on.  When fully hydrated I weighed about 180 with a 5lb Gi, meaning my naturally hydrated weight was about 175lbs.  I took second place in the competition.  (Below is a flexing picture from my home before departing to the tournament)

   My next BJJ tournament was scheduled for June 11, 2011 in Indianapolis, IN.  However, the weight classes were to again change.  I was now mandated to weigh in at 167.5lbs while wearing a Gi.  There would also only be an hour or two between weigh ins and the start of competition.  Below are the progress pictures leading up to the tournament.  Both were taken while hydrated, first thing in the morning after going to the bathroom and prior to eating or drinking anything.  Preparation for this competition began immediately following the previous.  I would go on to finish 2nd in a 16-man bracket at the competition.

May 29, 2011

169 lbs

June 10, 2011

165 lbs

How was this all accomplished?  What new fangled diet and fancy supplements did I use?  Which zealous bodybuilding magazines and celebrity workout regiments did I employ?  Want the answers?  Stay tuned for Part II.