Diaries of a coach (13 week CHECK IN)

13 weeks ago I started a journey (see 5/30/25 blog post). The journey was around moving the needle forward towards fitness:

Lifestyle factors are what move our needle towards either end of the spectrum: exercise, nutrition, recovery, etc.

Of the health metrics that could be tracked, I wanted to specifically improve my bodyweight, body fat %, skeletal muscle mass, hip to waist ratio, and HbA1c.

I identified that my nutrition was previously holding me back from achieving my goals. Specifically that the quantity I consumed was supporting excess body fat.

So I identified a healthy caloric deficit and a macro split to adhere to for 3 months: 2,010 cal/day at 205 g carbohydrate/70 g fat/140 g protein (CrossFit’s general recommendation of a 40/30/30% split).

I also limited my alcohol intake to no more than 3 drinks a week and my sweet treat intake to no more than 2 per week. These needed to be tracked and within my allotted daily macros/calories.

I also worked with a therapist once a month to identify the triggers I had around food and overconsumption.

I kept the same exercise and recovery routine.

For three months, I tracked my food in the app My Fitness Pal. I worked to hit my allotted macros and caloric intake each day. I took my bodyweight, body fat %, skeletal muscle mass, and hip and waist measurements each week.

And I put those results up on this blog for the world to see and to hold myself accountable.

My starting metrics were:

Bodyweight: 162.7

Body Fat %: 25.2
Skeletal Muscle Mass: 69.2
Hip measurement: 42.5 (hip to waist ratio: 0.74)

HbA1c: 5.9%

My end goal metrics were:

Bodyweight: 155

Body Fat %: 22
Skeletal Muscle Mass: 72
Hip measurement: 41 (hip to waist ratio: 0.73)
HbA1c: 5.3%

Actual results after 13 weeks:

Bodyweight: 147.3 (-15.4)

Body Fat %: 18.5 (-6.7)
Skeletal Muscle Mass: 69 (-0.2)
Hip measurement: 40.25 (hip to waist ratio: 0.72) (-0.02)

HbA1c: 5.2% (-0.2)

The results were far better than I expected with the exception of maintaining my skeletal muscle mass. Biggest learnings:

I didn’t need to be perfect on my macros each day but instead aimed to be relatively close (+/- 5-15 g) and ensuring I wasn’t over on calories.
I weighed and measured my food for the first 3 weeks to calibrate my eye then used the eyeball method the remaining weeks. This helped keep me sane because weighing and measuring everything truly sucks.
I was VERY hungry the first 2-3 weeks of my deficit. Drinking more water, having an extra high protein snack on hand, and taking walks to distract my mind were helpful in overcoming this. Once my body adjusted to the new caloric intake, the hunger was much less. This part was the WORST and was probably the main reason why I failed so many times in the past.
I prefer a diet higher in fat and still saw great results even after I adjusted my macros to 190 g carbs/78 g fat/140 in week 2 and to 180 g carbs/85 g fat/140 g protein in week 8.
For the future, I may need to increase my protein intake and add in an extra weight training day to my exercise plan in order to increase my skeletal muscle mass.
Working with a therapist and journaling each morning was extremely helpful in controlling urges to over eat or stuff with sweets and/or alcohol.
Having non-alcoholic beer (that I enjoyed) stocked in my fridge at all times was a GAME CHANGER.
I can have 1 off day per week on my macros and still see positive results (within reasonable limits).
Taking my measurements and posting to this blog each week were PIVITOL in keeping me on track and encouraging me to keep going, especially during the hard weeks.

The journey, of course, doesn’t end here. I need to continue choosing the right lifestyle habits that keep my needle at the fitness end of the spectrum. For the next few months, my goal will be to maintain my current metrics. I will be adjusting my macros to the following: 2,200 cal/day at 195 g carbohydrate/95 g fat/140 g protein.

I will plan to track some days in My Fitness Pal but not all. If my metrics hold after 1-2 months then I will move away from tracking but still focus on eating whole foods at the right quantities.

Thanks for sticking with me through this journey!

Week 13 Progress Photos: