As you may or may not know, I’m currently testing a fat loss protocol called AltShift (see my previous posts about it here: part 1 and part 2). This is my update for rounds 4 and 5.
As I said before, one of the reasons I started this experiment was to find out how quickly I can go back to my original weight category in the (unlikely) event that I decide to enter a weightlifting competition. I got my answer on round 5: 37 days. See the stats below for more details.
Round 4:
- Lost 9mm off my waist, 1cm off my hips, 5mm off my thigh, and 500g.
- My digestion was better than in the previous shift.
- The swelling issue from the previous shift started to resolve.
- My energy and sleep were normal.
- I PR’d on snatch (+1kg) even though my hip flexor was still in recovery mode.
Carnitas and coleslaw for 5S
My version of ploughman’s lunch, a typical 5S quick meal
Vietnamese salad, one of my go-to 3S lunches
Round 5 (5 shift):
- Lost 1.6mm off my waist, 5mm off my hips, 1cm off my thigh, and 2.4kg.
- Compared to baseline, the numbers were: 2.8cm off my waist, 2.2cm off my hips, 2cm off my thigh, and 3.1kg. This is the leanest and lightest I have been during the experiment.
- I was super lean and started to see the shape of my abs.
- I was able to wear pants that were too small until the previous round.
- My digestion got back to normal.
- My hip flexor was still tender, but didn’t prevent me from training.
Egg & olive salad (recipe here)
Naked burgers
Round 5 (3 shift):
This was the first time I put AltShift on hold. I travelled to the Gold Coast for a 3.5-day Buddhist course, which fell on the entire 3 shift. I was tempted to make it work but we were eating out with friends and having drinks at night, so I decided it was easier to eat paleo-friendly the whole time. I also stopped tracking my intake, which means I ate more than I needed. My activity was limited to prostrations (a form of physical meditation) in the morning and some walking on the beach, and to and from shops.
The results:
- My digestion was wrecked from too much food and some of the crap I had (chips, alcohol), even though the majority of my intake was pretty clean.
- I didn’t measure again but I could see my body getting fattier around the middle.
- Too much sitting and not enough movement made my hips more stiff.
- I didn’t get sick but my throat was slightly sore on the last couple of days.
To be continued…
If you’re interested in learning more about AltShift, head to 30kview.com.