I thought I would come over to the PM forums because it seems like the holy grail of all this nutrition junk. Sorry for the long post. I really appreciate any help given, and I just want to lay it all out there.
A bit about me:
I started doing scaled-down CrossFit workouts this past summer. 5'5" 140lbs. ~13% BF
At the end of the summer, I started strictly** Zoning with 16 blocks, which I later changed to 15 blocks around mid-fall.
Over the course of the fall I dropped to 130 lbs. and supposedly ~5% BF. I think I gained/kept muscle while losing fat. I did CF-like workouts, following a workout program sent to me by the Ruthless Gym in Manassas, VA. This felt like it took a step up in the last month, with workouts consisting of ME + metcon 5 days a week. This is all on top of fencing practice.
I saw performance improvements in metcon times, pullup numbers, muscle-up ability (1!). However, my CFT score on 12/14/07 was actually 10 lbs. lower than on 9/4/07.
Here are threads detailing my story, and pictures are included, so you can judge BF% for yourself (following links are W.F.S.)
Zone Strategy (part 1 of the story)
When to change fat blocks and/or total blocks (part 2)
Now here's where the problem is:
I went on a 10 day trip, and was so scared of "losing progress" that my plan of eating only Paleo and even IF'ing basically resulted in me not getting enough food. I now am at like 122 lbs. and supposedly 4% BF, although really I look slightly softer... so I think I've gained a tad of fat and simply lost muscle.
edit: to make it easier, compare these two photos
before trip
after trip
I probably will be starting a strength/power mesocycle once I get back off of winter break.
Do I:
- go back to 15 blocks
- 15 blocks and start multiplying the fat
- eat 'til I puke - a whole cheesecake, a gallon of milk, and throw the Zone out the window
Because I'm a little softer around the edges, I feel like I'm in a worse position for muscle gain than before. At the same time, I don't want to get stuck in some catabolic, downward spiral.
Thanks a ton!
**Strictly is sort of relative. I mostly eat at dining halls, but they have super-quality stuff available depending on what's open: grass-fed burgers, free-range eggs, copious salad options, etc. I have eye-balled it mostly, but I WAM'd in August at home, and WAM when I cook for myself in my dorm. I think I have a pretty good eye for proportions, except apparently when I don't have a "program" to work off of: This 10 day trip is a case in point! I gained a bunch of discipline with Zoning, but this backfired into neurotic starvation on the trip! I'd love to loosen up all the calorie-counting paranoia of the Zone, but maybe I'm not "there" yet.
I hope I can gain in 10 days what I lost in 10 days, but maybe that's way too optimistic.
Total Loss of Progress?!?
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