10 Weeks Out !

I have achieved great results over the course of the week and a half, in-fact my weight loss has almost been too rapid. The last time I made an entry on 8/14 I weighed in at 193, a couple days ago the scale dipped to 189 pounds. This was an alert to me to slow down! I have made the decision to increase my carbohydrate intake. Here is an informative tidbit from Layne Norton, PhD that describes the importance of carbohydrates:

“Carbohydrates act to maintain muscle mass while dieting by maintaining cellular osmotic pressure and cell volume. Cell size is an indicator of the "state" that the body is in. When cells are of large volume, it signals that the body is in a fed state. When cell volume is low it signals that the body is in a starved state. Without delving too far into the science behind this, trust me when I say that you would like your body to think it is in a fed state as this will increase the levels of fat burning hormones and anabolic hormones.”

For the last week my daily macronutrient intake has been:

■225g protein
■170g carbs
■60 fat

This is only 2,120 calories, which I decided is too low this many weeks away from the contest. Based on my BMR - a scientific method of calculating the amount of calories needed to maintain your weight - I need about 2,850. Subtracted by 500 equals a healthy calorie intake to loose weight. I'm going to add a substantial amount of carbs, a bit of protein, and let my fat remain the same. My new calorie intake is 2,350 and my macronutrient totals are as follows:

■235g protein
■217g carbs
■60.5g fat

Currently I do two medium intensity cardio sessions for thirty minutes each week, these are preformed on my days off of training. In the near future, I'll be adding three thirty minute walks each week -- these will be preformed in the morning after having a whey protein shake with a serving of oatmeal. In my next update I will post my food log for the week, so you will all have an idea of what I eat on a day to day basis.



If you have any questions or comments you can reach me at:

andrewbora@live.com