I finally finished my 4-week fat-loss phase last Saturday.
It’s been an interesting and very informative time. I’ve been able to apply the lessons I learned the last time I dropped some fat and they’ve worked fantastically well. I’ve also learned a few new things.
My 4-week fat-loss phase: weight(kg) and waist measurement (cm)
This chart shows my weight in kilograms and my waist measurement over a 4-week period.
Fast weight-loss
You can see that I dropped weight very quickly:
- 2.1kg (4.6lbs) in the first week,
- 0.8kg (1.8lbs) in the second week,
- 1.6kg (3.5lbs) in the third week, and
- 1.2kg (2.6lbs) in the final week
- 5.7kg (12.5lbs) in total
So I lost 5.7kg (12.5lbs) in four weeks. That’s an average of over 3lbs per week.
Fast fat-loss
I carry fat around my waist more than anywhere else so my waist measurement is a pretty good proxy for how fat I am. My waist measurement decreased just as fast as my weight:
- 4.2cm in the first week,
- 1.0cm in the second week,
- 1.4cm in the third week, and
- 0.7cm in the final week
- 6.5cm in total
So I lost 6.5cm in four weeks. That’s an average of 1.6cm per week. My other key measurements stayed pretty much constant, which gives me comfort that I didn’t lose much, if any, of the muscle I gained over the winter.
What I did right because I learned it last time
I learned lots last time I dropped fat and I applied it well this time. Key for me are:
- High protein, low-carb, fairly low fat diet
- Plenty of green vegetables
- Heavy weights, low volume, relatively high intensity
- No chasing stupid goals, like maximum deadlifts or squats
- Focus on bodyweight exercises (like weighted dips and pull ups), as they get easier as you lose weight
- Not too much cardio: one long bike ride a week and a couple of short, intense strength-cardo sessions
- Some non-exercise physical activity (NEPA) every day but not too much
What I learned that was new
- Chicken is the perfect dieting food: it is high in protein, fills you up quickly and is low-calorie
- Walking with a weighted rucksack is easy to do and is great for NEPA
- People commenting on how much thinner I looked after just two weeks really irritated me because it made me think I was losing muscle!
- Diet coke is fantastic for staving off hunger pangs in the evenings
- It is impossible to attempt to avoid coffee if you like it during a fat-loss phase
- Fat-loss requires a lot of commitment so dial back your other goals while you’re doing it
- If you do commit to fat-loss and park other stuff it suddenly becomes a lot easier
I’ll do a more detailed post about my thoughts tomorrow but I thought it would be good to get these thoughts out while they’re still fresh. I hope you found them interesting reading.
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