Progress Check 2: Fitness at Forty: Shreddin' Time

I am two months into my 3-month shreddin’ effort. I last updated on progress here a month ago. 

Where do things stand?

My last DEXA scan this past Friday put me at 12.5 percent body fat. Up from a month beforehand, but I have more confidence in this number. Furthermore, my fat level is down, but my muscle mass fell by about three pounds.

The reason? Nappy. That first week with the pup was ruff, and I was forgetting to eat and getting 4-6 hours sleep every night. It affected my workouts and I’m sure resulted in the muscle drop. Muscle mass is affected by water fluctuations too, and the variance between tests can be a couple of pounds. 

I am happy with my progress so far. I can move more to a maintenance calorie level for the next month to maintain my fat level while refocusing on workouts and getting some of that muscle back. As I keep the same level of body fat and add back some of the muscle, my body fat percentage will drop even further. 

My resting heart rate has dropped a bit too. I’ve had it as low as 54 and am usually around 56-57.

Becoming a single father disrupted my routine quite a bit, but over the last week, I have been able to get back into my normal habits. Over the next month, I’ll be able to make a more concerted effort in nutrition, exercise, and regular sleep. While I look forward to finishing this plan strong, I think I’ll keep up the more rigorous and focused effort for a while afterward. 

I will do a more comprehensive write-up when I finish, but the main takeaways from this effort so far are how important it is not to overdo it like I did my first two weeks. Too much training, too much intermittent fasting. I also have not tracked my lifts in a long time, and doing so makes a significant difference and gives you something to shoot for every time you are in the gym. 

All things I once knew but for some reason chose to forget.