I want to shed 4" off waist in 4 months

Hi BBM team,

Over the past 2 years I’ve trained inconsistently and as a result, my lifts and body weight have stagnated. Programs: NLP, Bridge, Beginner

I am
27 years
182 lbs
5’10”
37” waist

In January I began the Beginner program and completed blocks 1 and 2. I always skipped GPP and conditioning. By the end of block 2 my lifts were: 260/185/285 e1RM squat, bench, deadlift. Which is exactly where they were in May of 2022.

After taking 3 weeks off from training in March I’m beginning the Beginner program again from the top of Block 1. I will complete all GPP, conditioning, and workouts prescribed programming this time. I’m also tracking my macros and body weight daily.

After reading “To Be a Beast” I’ve narrowed my macros down to roughly the following:

Calories 3000
Protein 207g
Carbs 236g
Fat 66g

My primary goal is to reduce my waist circumference to 32” - 33” in August.

My question:
Am I on the right track to reach my goal of a 32 – 33” waist by August if I hit my macros above and train the Beginner program as prescribed?

Thank you,
John

I would imagine you’d likely hit the waist goal sooner that that, but this is definitely a good place to start.

Your Calorie total is 2,366, which is about 600 or so below maintenance. This is a reasonable.

I would strongly encourage you to do the conditioning elements of the GPP and not taking any time off from the gym in your quest.

Please bear with me as I try to understand waist:weight lost.

In this older post (https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/forums/nutrition-q-a-with-dr-jordan-feigenbaum/42066-weight-dropping-waist-circumference-stuck-at-36?p=42298#post42298), you mentioned that on average, you expect a decrease of 1" in WC for every 5-7 lb weight lost. I note that this is for individuals with >30 BMI, so if anything, leaner people need to lose more weight to see the same drop in WC, right?

Playing around with the NIH BW planner, a 600kcal deficit for jokeefe’s stats over 4 months, gives a weight loss of ~15lb. To me, based on the above, that’s at best a 2-3" WC decrease. I sound pedantic, lol, but why do you think they could realise their WC goals sooner?

P.S. How accurate are the before and after BF estimates on the NIH BW planner for people who resistance train regularly?

As noted in the post you linked, the waist loss/pound is made-up and highly variable. Higher waist circumferences typically respond pretty well to lifestyle change.

I would not use any BF estimate - from the NIH or otherwise- to generate body fat data.

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