My personal experiment on weight loss

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2013-02-20

Hello. I (the author of this site) want to share my personal experience with weight loss. A year ago, I was preparing for a powerlifting competition. At that time, my weight was 98 kg, and I wanted to compete in the 93 kg category. So, I needed to lose 5 kg. Moreover, I had to shed only fat while maintaining strength and muscle mass. For some, this might seem like a challenging task. But for an experienced athlete, it was just a matter of time.

I reasoned like this: the faster I lose weight, the more muscle I will lose along with the fat. Therefore, I needed to lose weight slowly. I set a target for myself of 1 kg per week. In my calculations, this was the ideal rate for weight loss. Accordingly, I began systematically losing weight 5-6 weeks before the competition.

So, what did I do for this?

1. Jogging 2 times a week for 40 minutes at a moderate pace

This is about 6-7 km. My strength training sessions were on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I jogged on Thursday and Saturday, or on Tuesday and Saturday. In total, that’s 5 training sessions a week. Moreover, this running did not negatively impact the strength of my leg muscles or my entire body. From this, I concluded that jogging 2 times a week for 40 minutes does not hinder recovery and, therefore, muscle growth.

2. I slightly limited myself in consuming sweets and fatty foods

The thing is, I needed to maintain my strength and recovery. And, no matter how you look at it, with five training sessions a week, you need to eat quite a bit. So I simply couldn’t allow myself a strict diet. I needed to eat well, but I tried to avoid pastries, sweets, and all sorts of treats.

3. In the mornings, I replaced part of my food with a gainer

Moreover, this was a high-protein gainer with 35% protein. I drank 150 grams of it every day. Both proteins and carbohydrates were necessary for me. By the way, I chose a gainer that contained no sugar and fat. So I was attempting to restrict only fast carbohydrates (sugar), not carbohydrates overall. A lack of carbohydrates would quickly lead me to overtraining.

That’s it. The results fully met my expectations. I lost 1 kg a week. And at the weigh-in for the competition, I weighed exactly 93 kg, practically without losing strength, and performed very well. So I consider this experiment a success.

Conclusions

Cardiovascular exercise is essential for weight loss. Moreover, moderate exercise (2 times a week for 30-50 minutes) does not hinder recovery and muscle growth. Jogging is one of the most effective and accessible forms of aerobic training. After all, at a slow jogging pace, a person weighing 100 kg burns approximately 1000 kcal in one hour! 4 principles of successful weight loss.

You should not completely restrict carbohydrates, as they are necessary for recovery. Try to reduce your intake of fast carbohydrates (sugar) and fatty foods. This will be enough. 5 Principles of Nutrition for Weight Loss.

I hope my example inspires many. By the way, I've decided to lose weight again. And once again by the same principle. My starting weight was 103 kg two weeks ago. Now I'm at 101 kg. I think one more kg will suffice. After all, summer is coming soon :) And here in Krasnodar, it arrives quite quickly.)