I’ve been working out for 98 days in a row. It has not been easy. There have been a few days where all I could do was stretch / mobility type stuff and hit the massage gun, but I haven’t had one of those in a while.

I started out my fitness journey at 227lbs, and am now down to 194. I wanted to make sure I lose weight slowly and that I didn’t lose muscle, because at my age (weird to say that now) – 40, sarcopenia or muscle loss begins. Weight loss at this age can accelerate the process. One theory is that people are less active over 40 which is why they tend to lose muscle rather than maintain it.

Maintaining muscle and lifting while cutting on a diet is counterintuitive. One requires eating, while the other encourages eating less. Selectively losing fat while building muscle means you cannot do either very quickly. Strength training makes me hungry and tired, which can lead to snacking and weight gain.

This process of wanting to burn fat while keeping muscle is called a Recomposition. It’s different than doing simple calorie restriction and not caring what comes off. In simple calorie restriction it doesn’t matter what you eat so much as how much you eat, but with a recomp, it’s important to keep protein and carb adequate while fat can drop to moderate. For me, I focus on protein obviously, and aim for 160-200g a day. Carbs can be 150-250, and fat 60-90g per day. Below these ranges of carbs and fat I begin to feel quite fatigued.

The deficit cannot be too large, if it is, strength is lost. I’ve found that I feel the best with a small 400 calorie deficit rather than a 700 or 800 calorie deficit. I’ll often exceed my calorie goal but in carefully planned ways with high carb drinks like orange juice, or I’ll hit some whole wheat bread with a slice of cheese. I’ll do this on days I feel fatigued, and may even completely close the deficit on those days.

Creatine is another trick that can help with energy. It helps recycle ATP, and improves energy levels in the body.

Progress So Far

I’ve been eating around 2100-2300 calories per day and over the last few weeks my intake has been increasing to an average of about 2400. I have lost 2lbs over the last week and 3.5lbs over the last month. A little less than 1lb per week. That means it should take about 8 more months to reach my goal, or by the end of October.

Once I reach my goal weight, I will start bulking, by lifting heavy and eating a lot more carbs. I’d like to get pretty big but we’ll see.

Most of my exercises have added weight to them, I think 10-30pounds per exercise from the last calculation. I’ve been doing about 7-10 reps for 5 sets and once I can get to 12 to 15 reps consistently I add 5lbs.

I want to make sure I keep my lifts moderately heavy but at my age (again, feels weird to say that) I’ve learned that an injury can take me out for weeks and derail months of progress, so not getting injured is my top priority.