Changing It Up

Seeing as I have been plateauing a lot lately, and my weight has been going up and down in 1kg increments I have decided to lower my caloric intake. MyFitnessPal automatically calculates your intake but I have been finding it too much and it must be my maintenance.

In any case, I have lowered my caloric intake to ~1600 calories per day. This seems to be an average "cutting" intake that I have seen many people adhere to on bodybuilding discussion forums. I will give it a go and see how it works.

It hasn't been too hard to be honest, it means less snacking and more whole food, which is good. When I started I ate 90% whole food. The thing about whole foods I have found is that they are incredibly filling for the amount of calories in them.

I made a soup last night with my girlfriend out of a "vegetable starter pack" which basically contained a few soup staples (potatoes, onion, parsnip, leek etc.) and made a soup with that and some lentils and tomato soup. It was surprisingly good, and makes about 5 or 6 servings. Each serving has approximately the following:

Calories: 177
Carbs: 40g
Fat: 5g
Protein: 7g

So not too bad. I guess it wouldn't be ideal if you were on a really low carb diet but I don't bother with that, just stick to a calorie goal and try to eat whole foods. In any case the carbs are from vegetables so I don't think it's too bad. The soup is incredibly filling though, you don't even need bread with it.

So because I have been making myself prepare and eat whole foods, sticking to about 1600 calories per day isn't really that hard at all. One thing I was neglecting too was drinking enough fluids. I just wouldn't and probably confused thirst with hunger some times. Always good to drink some water with a meal to make you feel more satiated.

I was considering uploading some progress photos but I have been plateauing for ages so I don't see too much point, also the photos I took are just incredibly fuzzy. Must be the mirror or something, perhaps I will take a photo when next I weigh myself.

That is all for now.

Update

At a plateau again, weight keeps fluctuating from 87-89kg in the span of a couple of weeks. I've been trying to be consistent with my caloric intake but who knows. I am a bit lax these days, probably because it's winter.

However, I fit into small sized shirts now, bought a couple and a small jacket, and they fit me well, they aren't super tight either.

I am not too worried about it for now, however when summer comes I may get really into it and cut my calories more to try and get a "ripped" physique. Will see when that time comes!