Get in shape challenge

After a long break, the blog is resurrected and returns with a classic “get-in-shape-saga”. Facebook is clearly not the right forum for that, so the blog will do in order to up the ante and add some peer pressure.
 
I have to admit that since the move to Switzerland, my physical shape has degraded substantially and some people need to hit the bottom in order to get one’s act together. Some clothes don’t fit at all or much worse than before and this got to stop before overweight turns obese. Now is the time.
 
Tanya is on-board with her set of goals but here I will focus on my own targets and (hopefully) achievements.
 
To help to achieve ambitious goals we don’t only need a stoic mindset – technology to the rescue! In this spirit we have therefore invested 50 hard earned francs in scales worthy of the 20th century, i.e. with Bluetooth and apps.
 
After the initial set up of the new technological wonder, the scales are able to understand if it is Tanya or myself who is staring at the display and the scales present all measurement values (BMI, body fat percentage, and – wait and behold – the weight), on her or my mobile together with graphs and indicators.
 
It should be noted that the method used by these cheap scales to measure fat, water and muscles, bioelectrical impedance analysis, is not always 100% accurate but if measured in the same way at the same point in time of the day with the same device, the figures can be used to observe trends.
 
So, now to the hard figures… I start off at an not so impressing 81.9 heavy kilograms which is way too many taken into account my 175 centimeters and my current body fat and muscle percentages. Just the weight alone would of course not say much since in theory I could have much more muscles and much less fat than what is the actual case (and muscles obviously weigh more than fat).
 
To have a simple goal which is “easy” to work towards, I have stipulated that on 1st of July (this year, I am closing down that loophole…) the weight is no more than 70 kg and the muscle percentage (41.3) not lower than today. That should protect against the sloppy solution of just getting rid of muscles and preserving the hefty body fat level of 20.5.
 
So, what is the strategy? It is possible to theorize about energy balance, calorie deficit, the thermic effect of carbs vs protein and so on but it can also be put quite simple: eat well and do more work-out. “Eat well” in this case means for me to skip the sugar (and other food with excessive GI load) and up the protein on the expense of carbs. When it comes to the training, I aim for more and heavier power training and some cardio to be able to eat enough to keep the protein synthesis level reasonable. The lunch gym sessions that I already do needs to be more serious and be allowed to get longer. It goes without saying that alcohol will be kept to a minimum.
 
The almost 20 weeks are split in three blocks. The first block, which started yesterday is about shocking the body and making some progress which is good for motivation. There will be a noticeable calorie deficit and by 1st of April  we have the first milestone, the scales should show no more than 77 kg. The would mean almost 5 kg in 5 weeks which is challenging but realistic.
 
It is not possible to keep a hefty calorie deficit for long, the body adapts and lowers the basic metabolic rate and it might start to use muscle tissue as an energy source. In the second block I will keep only moderate calorie deficit and increase the workout intensity. Heavy load is the only way to show the body it needs to keep, and add, muscles meanwhile continuing to loose body fat due to still being on a calorie deficit. I expect a weight around 75 kg on 15th of May.
 
In the third phase it is time to get in shape for the grand finale which means back to fewer calories again and sufficient training to reach 70 kg on 1st of July.
 
Sounds easy. I hope I will have good news to report along the way instead of some miserable excuses.