In the month of September, I will be going through a controlled diet primarily for the fat loss. Purpose of doing this is because I had little too much to drink during the summer and need to reset myself. At the same time, I have not done this kind of controlled diet in a while so this may become a fun project. Purpose for this article is to share what my plan is and what my mindset and actual data during the process.
Purpose:
For 30 days, my focus is to reduce body fat especially the visceral fat without losing too much of muscle mass. I also want to reset my daily habits to what I consider ideal to me. With 30 days results may not be significant, however, it will be interesting to see how much change (if any) that I can make.
Measurements:
I want to make this simple and practical, I will be using InBody and hip to waist ratio. I will be monitoring this once a week to see the changes. InBody will give me overall look of how I am progressing and area to adjust if necessary. Sometimes numbers on the scale may not be as accurate as we want so I will add hip to waist ratio. To keep the measurement consistent, I will be fasted, not exercised and at same time.
Current Measurement:
According to InBody, I currently have 18% body fat and visceral fat being level 4. Little embarrassing, however, for monitoring progress this is an interesting start. For waist to hip ratio, waist 32 in and hip is 38.5 in, which means the ratio will be 0.83. More than ratio, I will be checking on changes in waist circumference.
Nutrition:
Nutrition plan will come in 2 phases. First 2 weeks will be low fat diet for easier calorie manipulation and satiation and second 2 weeks will be low carb diet to limit insulin production. Protein intake will be consistent throughout the month at about 160g per day which is my ideal weight. Only adjustment I will do is with fat and carbohydrate.
During the low-fat phase, main protein source will be chicken breast, chicken tender, and cod. Although it is higher carbohydrate intake, I will refrain from consuming added sugar as much as possible. Therefore, I will be using rice and vegetables as my primary carbohydrate source. Due to my work schedule, I will be using whey protein powder in the morning but using the one that has less sugars (<5g) so I can arrange my protein shake easier. I will be consuming banana along with protein shake to add sugar during the first 2 weeks. Macro split will be 3:1:6 (Protein : Fat : Carb).
The last 2 weeks will be low carb. Protein source will be chicken thighs, beef, pork, salmon, and so on. Feels like low carb diet has easier access to protein. Carbohydrate will be minimized and mainly coming from vegetables. To increase fat intake, I will be using MCT oil with my protein shake and use walnuts with a meal. Macro split will be 3:6:1 (P : F : C).
As for beverages, I will be cutting out alcohol beverages, soft drinks, juice, and anything else that adds unnecessary sugar. I will be drinking water, sparkling water, coffee, and tea. With water I may add electrolyte powder to get adequate amount of minerals. Coffee will help with fat burning process with caffeine by stimulating the enzyme called hormone sensitive lipase, but will not be drinking after 9am for it may interfere with my sleep.
Meal Frequency:
To manage my insulin level throughout the month, I will set my meal frequency as 3 meals per day.
Supplements:
I will be regular with supplement usage with fish oil, multi-vitamin, vitamin D, and iron.
Exercise:
Training schedule will be 4 times per week with each session being about 60 minutes. Each session will include strength training focusing on improving 4 main lifts (Squat, Bench, Overhead Press, and Deadlift) and there will be speed, agility, and conditioning work for soccer. Mobility and stretching routine will be 2 times per week along with 20 minutes of Zone 2 walking for recovery.
I am also on recreational soccer team and there will be practice once per week and game once per week.
Sleep:
Sleep schedule is set to get 7-8 hours of sleep every day.
Thoughts:
Something that I will need to be mindful is there is a high chance of cortisol accumulation due to the volume of work that I have which may have impact on insulin management. This may be able to controlled since I'm eliminating alcohol consumption but may still need to monitor by sleep quality and recovery from day to day.
Kota Shimada
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