Body Fat Percentage
Table of Contents
1. Intro
This document is a log of my journey to 8.5% body fat. I have been regularly recording my weight and body fat percentage in a spreadsheet.
This year (2021)
I reached a plateau of weighing between 138-142 and a body fat percentage between
(about) 9.5%-10.2%.
While I am happy to maintain these numbers, I want to reach a new level of low body fat percentage, the weight isn't too important to me.
2. Goal
I want to reach 8.5% body fat before .
I believe this can only be realized through deliberate action and I
cannot rely on the habbits that have brought me to my current level as of .
3. Reasons
Weight-management has been important to me for years, I believe bfp-management is an extension of this.
I enjoy the discipline and care about the results.
Eventually, the notes I take can help others who wish to reach lower bfp.
4. Challenges
- Events
- Typically if I plan before an event I can maintain or lose weight. Without planning I tend to gain.
- Snacking
- I can gain significant weight and bfp when snacking subconsciously. I am more likely to do this when I have many snacks in the house and when they are easily accessible.
- Comfort
- When progressing, I can become too comfortable and then act leniently with my food.
- Injuries
- If I exercise too hard to compensate for poor eating I have a change to injure myself. When injured I can't do my routine exercises which contribute to my caloric burn.
- Criticism
- Self
- When I evaluate something as poor performance I lose track of my goals and enter a negative perspective.
- External
My goals are not appreciated by anyone else.When confronting criticism about my choices I can gain negative perspective.- In reality, these goals are mine. External opinions shouldn't effect me and I need to remind myself that.
- Self
5. Path to 8.5%
I categorize the pieces that I need to reach 8.5% as follows:
- Weekly planning in addition to daily monitoring for bfp.
- Emphasis on mental/spiritual connection to my goal on a daily basis.
- Active analysis of the challenges with proactive plans, when predictable.
6. Log
6.1.
- Today
- 9.6%
- I will do calisthenics, kettlebell, and yoga.
6.2.
- Today
- 9.7%
- I will do two sessions of calisthenics and yoga.
6.3.
- Today
- 10.1%, deliberately making choices for snacks.
- I will do two sessions of calisthenics, a kettlebell workout, and yoga.
6.4.
- Today
- 10.3%, I took this result personally and it effected my mood.
- Realistically, I have about a week's worth of work to get back on track.
- I listened to Demartini refocus and change my perspective.
- Everything is part of the path to our goal, negative emotions are just messages.
- I am practicing visualization.
- I am exercising in the morning.
6.5.
- Today
- 10.5%, been unable to defecate properly since Saturday morning.
- I ate a lot yesterday to try to push it out and was not successful.
- I am low-spirit today due to the results.
- My observations:
- I made short-sited choices, despite planning for the weekend.
- This gives me the feeling that avoidance is superior to proactive planning.
- I was criticized for exercising extra at night.
- These criticisms were based on the resultant actions, not on the actions that led to the behavior.
- The opinions are "I should take care of myself and not exercise late" and "I should sleep better".
- I have poor sleep, regardless of exercise.
- There were no criticisms of the actual cause that led to me exercising more (excessive eating 2 days in a row).
- Everyone is happy with those decisions because they enjoyed themselves. (eating the food)
- I genuinely hate bad results, much more than I enjoy small moments of pleasure.
- I need to adjust my method because I believe it is failing.
- I need to accept that I have undisciplined eating right now and it is the root issue with my progress.
- I have decent eating habits during the week, my weekends have been effectively undoing the hardwork I put in throughout the week.
- I need to make a decision to progress, I believe I need to eat for my health and not for enjoyment.
- This is because when I eat for enjoyment:
- I have bad results that take several days to recover.
- Bad results make me negative.
- I then attempt to correct the issue ineffectively.
- Both of the previous two results are externally criticized and damage my relationships.
- This is because when I eat for enjoyment:
- I made short-sited choices, despite planning for the weekend.
- Adjustments:
- Exercise:
- Daily calisthentics.
- Any time.
- Daily yoga.
- Before bed.
- Cardio once a week.
- Morning.
- Kettlebell
- Night.
- Daily calisthentics.
- Meal Plan:
- Breakfast:
- Oats + Berries
- Lunch:
- Soup + Egg
- Cabbage + Meat
- Dinner:
- Nothing
- Whipped Egg White
- Snacks:
- Nothing
- Apple
- Breakfast:
- Restaurant Options:
- Plain Salad
- Steamed Veggies
- Grilled Fish
- Sanity Check
- I can taste things once.
- Exercise:
6.6.
- Today
- Woke up early (3:30). Early weigh-in was high. Exercised. Will weigh-in again after 6, pref after 8.
- I evaluated my thought-process with choices and results as objective as possible.
- Wrote on paper an introspective analysis of values, strengths, weaknesses and patterns.
- 10%
6.7.
- Today
- I am 9.7% this morning and ready for the Briar Patch.
- Had nausea and a headache after eating for the remainder of the day.
- Weighed-in late at night, negative perspective with results.
6.8.
General
I am enjoying practicing a deeper connection to my goal.
- Today
- I started eating popcorn + tajín as a snack, it is very high-volume and low-calorie.
- I am 9.7% and I am ready to eat pizza today.
6.9.
- Today
- I am 9.7%.
- Last night I ate late which attributed to the higher number, I believe.
- Tomorrow
- We are having Tomasinos, it will be my only meal.
- I want to see 9.5% tomorrow morning. I will need a light lunch and dinner.
- Saturday
- We are going to winter park to a farmer's market.
- We are going to the Briar's Patch, it will be my only meal (depends).
- I want to see 9.7% accounting for pizza.
- Sunday
- I may fast, depending on my stats.
- I want to see 9.5%
6.10.
- Today
- I am 9.6%, my PR is 9.2%.
- I have no events this weekend.
- My longest streak sub-10% is 20 days, in January. I want to surpass this.