TT Eric diet log 2014

[TT Eric]

Ok last day before going in vacation. I'm going to Mtl tonight to see my Biosignature guy so he can measure my BF% and LBM. IMO I'm around 10-11%, I think my LBM went down from ~165 into the ~157-160lbs area, but we will see tonight. I go see the same guy all the time, since he's very accurate and constant (he does that for a living since a long time), he also doesn't BS, ie let people think they have a lower BF% then they have, he usually read pretty high compare other Biosig guys.

Just took a few pics (had a re-feed meal yesterday, it helped been less flat):







Eric

[TT Eric]

I'm back from the Biosig. I was 181lbs on his scale, 159.6lbs LBM and 11.8% BF.

Eric

[steve_d]

Looking lean - I would trust the %. I once had my percent tested on one of those 10k $ fancy machines 1 week out and was 9%. You're probably not far off of that conditioning, and I'd say if you lost 5-7 more pounds + water you'd be able to hit the stage at a respectable condition. Getting to 6% is crazy, and no one actually gets to 3% as much as they think and say they are.
The insanely lean dudes are probably 5-6%, the really lean dudes are 6-8%, the decent competitor probably 8-10%. The average is probably over 10%. At a national level the majority who did their homework so to speak are probably 7-8% (and most of them claim under 5%)! Its nothing but a number, so it won't matter if they are right or wrong as long as they look good! I'm a numbers guy. but once I am under 10% I throw all numbers out the window except the number of lines I can count in the glutes.



Enjoy the vacation!

[TT Eric]

Looking lean - I would trust the %. I once had my percent tested on one of those 10k $ fancy machines 1 week out and was 9%. You're probably not far off of that conditioning, and I'd say if you lost 5-7 more pounds + water you'd be able to hit the stage at a respectable condition. Getting to 6% is crazy, and no one actually gets to 3% as much as they think and say they are.
The insanely lean dudes are probably 5-6%, the really lean dudes are 6-8%, the decent competitor probably 8-10%. The average is probably over 10%. At a national level the majority who did their homework so to speak are probably 7-8% (and most of them claim under 5%)! Its nothing but a number, so it won't matter if they are right or wrong as long as they look good! I'm a numbers guy. but once I am under 10% I throw all numbers out the window except the number of lines I can count in the glutes.



Enjoy the vacation!

Thanks! We think 100% the same on this Steve!

Personally I think I need to loose another 8-12lbs total to be 'stage ready'. TBH I'm disappointed to be at 12%, my goal was to be in the 8% area. Many BBers claim to be in the 8-10% area year round and if they hit 12% it's time to diet... also I often read that insulin sensibility is best to be under 10-12%. So I've failed at both my objective: being lean enough to be ready to compete if I was to and reach a BF% low enough to enjoy insulin sensibility and enhance LBM gain.

Would it be a good idea to resume the diet after the vacation ? I would have had a month of break, I could restart with keto with normal fat days + 60 min cardio and see from there. 2 months max and see if I can hit 8% (~-10lbs).

Eric

[Praetorian]

Eric I wouldn't put too much faith in the numbers you received. At best even with Harpenden the gold standard for skin fold testing even if done perfectly will still be out +- 3-5%. Also i have seen frequently in the past two clients measured by the same person the same time showing the same results while it was quite obvious that one was much leaner then the other. This is the very reason I never use BF testing and it the the very reason many personal trainers and commercial gyms do....because the numbers are easily manipulated I am not saying your guy is doing that just that it happens and more frequently then it should.

Bar far the best measure of body fat is the mirror or a a second eye. Numbers aside when my client displays striated glutes I really couldnt care less what % BF he is because he will most likely be the leanest guy on stage. Also numbers tend to get in the way of results...what i mean is people get so concerned about the number and what it means that it starts to become nothing more than a numbers game and I dont see any progress physique wise.

When Poliquin says 10% in regards to insulin sensitivity I would estimate that number is a bit low...for most guys it would be closer to 12% but again you can take two guys at 12% and they may look different.

Also being natural you need to be realistic about how much actual lean muscle you can build year over year. The number will be quite low as in 1-2 lbs at best..expecting a 5-10lb increase is going to be disappointing.
I realize people like to see numbers etc and If I were to go that route I think i would use much more accurate methods but again its only a number and my main concern is what i or my client actually looks like.

What i tend to look for in a client is what is their worst body part in terms of conditioning ...ie glutes, hams, quads etc and when that body part is shredded I know the rest will take care of itself. The majority of people concentrate on their best body part and when they see veins etc in the arms or shoulders they think they are lean...except when they hit the stage and turn around their lower back, glutes and hams are all soft. Bodyfat measurement will not help you in this case because its an average over the entire body. Someones arms may be very lean yet they have soft hams and glutes...but the number says 8%.

Early in my BB career I used caliper testing and the more I learned the more I got away from it.

P

[cog]

Eric I wouldn't put too much faith in the numbers you received. At best even with Harpenden the gold standard for skin fold testing even if done perfectly will still be out +- 3-5%. Also i have seen frequently in the past two clients measured by the same person the same time showing the same results while it was quite obvious that one was much leaner then the other. This is the very reason I never use BF testing and it the the very reason many personal trainers and commercial gyms do....because the numbers are easily manipulated I am not saying your guy is doing that just that it happens and more frequently then it should.

Bar far the best measure of body fat is the mirror or a a second eye. Numbers aside when my client displays striated glutes I really couldnt care less what % BF he is because he will most likely be the leanest guy on stage. Also numbers tend to get in the way of results...what i mean is people get so concerned about the number and what it means that it starts to become nothing more than a numbers game and I dont see any progress physique wise.

When Poliquin says 10% in regards to insulin sensitivity I would estimate that number is a bit low...for most guys it would be closer to 12% but again you can take two guys at 12% and they may look different.

Also being natural you need to be realistic about how much actual lean muscle you can build year over year. The number will be quite low as in 1-2 lbs at best..expecting a 5-10lb increase is going to be disappointing.
I realize people like to see numbers etc and If I were to go that route I think i would use much more accurate methods but again its only a number and my main concern is what i or my client actually looks like.

What i tend to look for in a client is what is their worst body part in terms of conditioning ...ie glutes, hams, quads etc and when that body part is shredded I know the rest will take care of itself. The majority of people concentrate on their best body part and when they see veins etc in the arms or shoulders they think they are lean...except when they hit the stage and turn around their lower back, glutes and hams are all soft. Bodyfat measurement will not help you in this case because its an average over the entire body. Someones arms may be very lean yet they have soft hams and glutes...but the number says 8%.

Early in my BB career I used caliper testing and the more I learned the more I got away from it.

P

As regards Poliquins 10% figure,this is the point where further fat loss becomes difficult?

[Praetorian]

The lower you get BF wise the more effort it takes to go beyond that point. As an example if you are say 20% BF then getting to 15% is not that difficult but going from 15% to 10% will require much more effort. The leaner you are the more your body will fight against you when trying to push even lower. I can easily get to within 10-12lbs of contest weight but those last few pounds even though they may be only 10-12 are the most difficult and will require a significant effort to achieve. Whether or not that line is 10% doesn't really matter because in a BB contest you are not judged by a BF % number you are judged on what you look like. Like I said before I have seen many a time two guys test out at the same BF % and yet look very different.

P

[TT Eric]

Thanks Ted, yes when I check myself in the mirror I tend to evaluate from the worst part. Also I've noticed from previous diet that I'm loosing visceral fat first and my skin stay thick pretty much all the way until most visceral fat is gone, then the epidermal fat goes away suddenly. My waist can become very very small, like now if I do a vacuum and put the tape very tight I'm at 26'', but when I was competing it went down to 24.5'' (I was wearing 28'' pants).

Is it a good idea to resume the diet after a one month break like I want to do ?

Eric

[steve_d]

Eric I wouldn't put too much faith in the numbers you received. At best even with Harpenden the gold standard for skin fold testing even if done perfectly will still be out +- 3-5%. Also i have seen frequently in the past two clients measured by the same person the same time showing the same results while it was quite obvious that one was much leaner then the other. This is the very reason I never use BF testing and it the the very reason many personal trainers and commercial gyms do....because the numbers are easily manipulated I am not saying your guy is doing that just that it happens and more frequently then it should.

Bar far the best measure of body fat is the mirror or a a second eye. Numbers aside when my client displays striated glutes I really couldnt care less what % BF he is because he will most likely be the leanest guy on stage. Also numbers tend to get in the way of results...what i mean is people get so concerned about the number and what it means that it starts to become nothing more than a numbers game and I dont see any progress physique wise.

When Poliquin says 10% in regards to insulin sensitivity I would estimate that number is a bit low...for most guys it would be closer to 12% but again you can take two guys at 12% and they may look different.

Also being natural you need to be realistic about how much actual lean muscle you can build year over year. The number will be quite low as in 1-2 lbs at best..expecting a 5-10lb increase is going to be disappointing.
I realize people like to see numbers etc and If I were to go that route I think i would use much more accurate methods but again its only a number and my main concern is what i or my client actually looks like.

What i tend to look for in a client is what is their worst body part in terms of conditioning ...ie glutes, hams, quads etc and when that body part is shredded I know the rest will take care of itself. The majority of people concentrate on their best body part and when they see veins etc in the arms or shoulders they think they are lean...except when they hit the stage and turn around their lower back, glutes and hams are all soft. Bodyfat measurement will not help you in this case because its an average over the entire body. Someones arms may be very lean yet they have soft hams and glutes...but the number says 8%.

Early in my BB career I used caliper testing and the more I learned the more I got away from it.

P

All of this x 100. Focusing too much on numbers and optimizing things will only make things worse. Like Prae said, you can only hope for 1-2 pounds over a year at best. In fact, this number is actually not all that off even when you talk about enhanced guys (who have been at it for years already and are not 21 years old). The young guys can gain a lot for years natural or not. The guys who just start gear will gain alot too for a few years. But then after that, its basically not really common to see guys gain 5+ pounds of muscle year after year. Otherwise, everyone would all be 250 pounds on stage after a decade or 2. What is more common (natural or not) is bringing up weak body parts - slightly, perfecting posing, dieting smarter, getting leaner while maintaining fullness, getting leaner period, getting more confident, carbing up better, not ruining your physique in the final few days, etc.

People tend to put most of their focus in gaining muscle. While they may or may not be doing it wrong, in their minds even the most disciplined individuals put all that focus and see no real benefits over just keeping it simple. EX. bulking like crazy thinking they are going to gain so much mass in their off-season.

My advice is to try not to think about the numbers so much, and reaching targets for optimal insulin sensitivity and so on. At best you'll change that 1-2 pound gain into 1.1-2.2 pound gain over the year as opposed to just training hard and eating reasonable. So as far as continuing to diet after the vacation - you probably know what my thoughts are already - but I say a big no to it. Dieting any more than you already have already is going to get hard. Unless you are competing, its silly to get leaner on purpose consisdering what you have to do already to lose 1-2 pounds a week. It's time to start eating normal and getting your lifts up again.

[steve_d]

Also i have seen frequently in the past two clients measured by the same person the same time showing the same results while it was quite obvious that one was much leaner then the other.

Another good example was I went from 8.8% as measured by calipers to 8.9% by calipers in 4 weeks. (ie I went up). This was measured both in the morning same time, same conditions. The calipers would say I didn't change, but it was insanely obvious I was far leaner. I had gone from 8 weeks out to 4 weeks out at that point and at 8 weeks out I was lean, but 4 weeks out could have hit stage easy. Yet no change on caliper.

Same diet, I took caliper at night, then in morning - went from 8.5% at night to 6.2% in the morning. The caliper was measuring water too obviously, which for me varies tremendously when I get into the single digits between morning and night.

PS: the reason I took those measurements was to prove a point to the person taking the measurments as to how useless they are.