Week 15: 164.0

I hereby wash my hands of this silliness.

In the course of the past 15 weeks, I have gained 13 lbs.  In general, I made almost perfectly linear gains at a rate of 1 lb/week.  I lost 2 lbs as a result of a week and a half of stress and poor eating around finals; that was the only setback.

I’m going to declare the program a success.  The muscular gains that I have made have been reflected in measurably improved athletic performance.   I have retained a great deal of metabolic fitness throughout the program, and I managed to track my overall caloric and macronutrient intake in great detail as a result of using the zone block system.

I hope that I have documented this program in great enough detail and with a sufficient degree of “quasi-experimental” control to allow for replication by others who are interested in gaining weight and improving athletic performance.

Benchmarks and Measurements

I just totaled my Olympic lifts this week.  Although I was somewhat disappointed in my Snatch, I hit a massive new PR in my Clean and Jerk.

Snatch: 65 kg
C&J: 100 kg*

I feel like I’m reaching the end of my rope on the current weight-gain project, so I took a final set of diameter measurements of various body parts.  The resulting changes were generally consistent with my predictions at the beginning of this project.  Here are the figures in inches:

Neck: 15.75
Chest: 39.5
Waist: 33.0
Hips: 38.0
Thigh: 24

The changes in diameter (all changes were positive) from my original measurements are the following:

Neck: 0.55
Chest: 0.5
Waist: 1.0
Hips: 1.0
Thigh: 0.75

I made significant muscular gains on my hips and legs, and gained a significant amount of fat around my natural waist.  Now, the trick will be to shed some of the fat without losing the new muscle tissue.

Week 14: 163.0

After fighting off a holiday cold, eating holiday junk and drinking new year’s booze, I’ve miraculously made it back to 163 lbs.

I haven’t been eating paleo or zone, nor have I been training regularly.  This week marks a return to relative “normality” in training and diet.  Since I’m still at home, I won’t be eating zone, but I will be eating very close to paleo (with the exception of dairy).  I will be training heavy in a two-week strength cycle, maxing my o-lifts once each week.  Two weeks ago, I maxed my clean & jerk at 97 kg for a new PR.  I’m hoping to break 100 kg this week.

Week 13: Holiday Garbage

I didn’t get a chance to weigh in on Wed, the 30th because I was road-tripping up to SF for new year’s.

I ate absolutely everything this holiday season.  Mincemeat pie, peach pie, stuffing.  Everything smothered in butter or gravy when possible.  Always accompanied by plenty of wine and scotch.

I still had trouble gaining weight.  In my family, most meals are planned, “social” meals where it’s rude to eat anything other than what’s being offered; everyone around the table observes, and feels entitled to comment on, how much you’re eating.  Snacking between meals is strongly taboo (everyone in my family is trying to lose weight).  I poured down glasses of 2% milk (my mom refuses to buy whole milk) while dodging the admonition that I would “ruin my appetite.”

Special thanks to my mom’s Broccoli Bake.  Full of mayo, cream of mushroom soup, eggs and cheese (and a little bit of broccoli), it’s the casserole side-dish that eats like a meal.

Week 12: 161.2

Grading 57 final exams in 48 hours left me stressed and hurting.  I lost about 2 lbs of bodyweight and probably lost about 2 years off of my life.

I had hoped to be pushing 165 by the time I went home for the holidays, but this is where I ended up.