# A Surgeon's Journal



## patricio (Jan 20, 2012)

Hi everyone
My name is Patricio, and I'm a bariatric surgeon from Buenos Aires, Argentina
After being mostly a lurker here I decided to start a Journal. I hope this will help keep my motivation up, get some good advice, and maybe positively influence someone!
I started a year ago searching for advice. I am 37, 5'8'' tall and weighed 190 back then. LOL, being a doctor specialized in weight loss surgery I needed a bodybuilding forum to get in shape!!!!
I lost 12 pounds this last year, thanks to the advice I got here. Right now I weight 178 with aprox 18% BF
My goal is to get to 10-12% BF, which means losing aprox 10 lb. After that, star a clean bulk to get back to 190 but in different shape.
My daily maintenance is around 2200 cal, so I'm on a 1600-1700 cal/day diet, 1g/lb of protein and 0.5 g/lb of healthy fats.
My routine:

Monday: Off
Tuesday: Upper body light
    Cleans 4x10
    Inclined bench press 4x10
    Inclined row 4x10
Wednesday: Lowe body light & Abs
    Globet squats 4x10
    Jump Lunges 4x10
    Some sort of crunch 4x10
Thursday & Friday: Off
Saturday: Upper body heavy
    Closed grip Chins 6x4-5
    Bench press 6x5
    Military Press 6x5
Sunday: Lower Body heavy & Abs
    Squats 6x5
    Romanian deadlift 6x5
    Weighted crunches 4x5

I try to do cardio 20-30 min after workout.

My biggest problems:
I can't stick to the diet. Weekends I eat too much and after 1-2 months I get bored and abandon it.
I hate cardio.

I promise picks this weekend


----------



## patricio (Jan 21, 2012)

Good dieting yesterday. Friday's night we eat homemade pizza, which should be one of my two cheat meals of the week. I had four slices, it was gooood.
Anyway, I only had 2100 cal throughout the day, with 170g of protein, which is quite good for a cheat day.
I'll be hitting the gym after lunch.


----------



## yellowmoomba (Jan 21, 2012)

Good luck Doc! 

Your biggest problem is EVERYONE'S BIGGEST problem (the diet!!!)   haha   One suggestion is to plan ONE cheat meal per week (usually on the weekend).  This helps keep me in check throughout the week and looking forward to the Pizza, burger and fries or whatever cheat meal I'm craving  

I have a similar workout routine.  I enjoy the upper lower set up.


----------



## patricio (Jan 21, 2012)

Thanx for the income. This forum has bien a milestone for me. I've changed the way I eat and exercise, I feel great and have great expectations!


----------



## patricio (Jan 21, 2012)

Nice workout today.
I still can't get to 5 reps on chinups 
I did 4*4 reps, the only got 3 reps for sets 5&6.
After that barbell bench press, 6*5 reps using 110 lb. The Military Press, 6 sets of 5 reps with 80 lb barbell.
Chinups to failure, the rest maybe 1 rep shy of failure.
Funny thing: a 5' 9'' 220 lb freak warming up with 10 rep chinups while  I couldn't get 5 straight reps hahaha I felt like a pussy.
After that 24 minutes on the treadmill 6 mph. I restarted cardio last week, 20 min, and decided to up it 1 minute per cardio session till I get to 40 minutes, then maybe I'll try some HIIT .


----------



## patricio (Jan 22, 2012)

Leg day today. I went as heavy as I could. Squats 110 lb (50 kg), 6 sets 5 reps. I added 20 lb last set and almost couldn't get up on the 5th rep.
Then Romanian deads 6*5 155 lb (70kg) and inclined weighed crunches.
I feel it was a good choice moving heavy days to the weekends. I eat more carbs, have the cheat meal and feel stronger.
I don't usually do cardio after legs (I only started exercising legs last year and I end up exhausted). But  today I did 20 min on the elliptical. I'm determined to lose at least 1 pound per week.
My legs were shaking then I left the gym!
Back with news tomorrow


----------



## patricio (Jan 22, 2012)

I have discovered that I suck at taking pics of myself.
You can see that my biggest problem is my lower gut.
I'll post more in a couple of week


----------



## patricio (Jan 23, 2012)

It was supposed to be rest day today, but tomorrow my surgeries start earlier, so I hit te gym today.
Three days in a row are kind of tyring when on a low cal diet, I didn't feel very strong.
I did my cleans 4*10 66 lb. I only started doing cleans a couple of months ago, I love how they work traps and front delts, specially when going down.
Then bent over dumbell row 4*10 42lb and inclined dumbell press 4*10 46lb
For the record it was 96° in Buenos Aires today, 1 million people in the gym and no A/C, and I still did my 25 min on the treadmill!
Tomorrow is rest and hunger day. Good night


----------



## patricio (Jan 24, 2012)

Starvation day. I managed to get through with barely 1600 cal, 166 g protein and only 33g of carbs.
I don't know if you guys have the same problem, but I feel lethargic and slow on this low cal days.
I eat 300 extra calories on my workout day, and I'm not as hungry as I was today. 
Also, I'm trying to cycle my carbs a little between training and not training days.
Tomorrow is leg & cardio, hope I have more energy .


----------



## patricio (Jan 25, 2012)

Very frustrating. After 10 days of really sticking to diet and exercise I got  on the scale only to find that I'm 2 pounds heavier. WTF!??!
It was really depressing.
I figured It was either going to Mc Donald's and having a good double quarter pounder with cheese or training harder....
Any thoughts on this?

PS: By the way, I skipped Mc Donald's and went to the gym


----------



## yellowmoomba (Jan 25, 2012)

Keep at it.   Drink lots of water to help the hunger.   Write everything you eat down on paper (some people THINK they eat well but when they see EVERYTHING they eat on paper it's not so good). 



I don't carb cycle so I cannot comment on that variable.

Rome wasn't built in a day    It takes time, consistency, drive and will power.


----------



## patricio (Jan 25, 2012)

Thanks for your support, yellowmoomba. I'm going to follow your advice and limit my cheat meals to 1 per week. Also on the water.
I'm using dailyburn on my Galaxy and trying to keep an accurate record of my meals.
However, as frustrating as it is, i agree with you: It's a long term thing


----------



## patricio (Jan 25, 2012)

I forgot to describe my training day.
Globet squats 4*10 with 70lb dumbell, then jumping lunges 4*10.
My right knee was hurting after the lunges but after my battle with the scale I ran 26 min on the treadmill.
Knee hurts a bit now but I have 2 days to recover.
I think I'm gonna have to change the Globet squats. The 70lb barbell is the heaviest in the gym I go to on weekdays. I was thinking maybe deadlifts for my light leg day?


----------



## bb1129 (Jan 25, 2012)

yellowmoomba said:


> *Keep at it. Drink lots of water to help the hunger. Write everything you eat down on paper* (some people THINK they eat well but when they see EVERYTHING they eat on paper it's not so good).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
^^ this! writing  down what you eat is a game changer for some. try it. following..


----------



## patricio (Jan 25, 2012)

I'm going to do that, I hate to see that my effort is a waste


----------



## patricio (Jan 26, 2012)

Family dinner today. I planned ahead and took careful note of everything I ate. 1580 cal, 160g of protein, 114 g carbs.
Planning ahead was essential, I even  allowed myself 1/2 glass of wine an 1 scoop of ice cream.
I'm proud of myself, usually I would eat twice as much as I did today on a family meeting.
Tomorrow I'm getting on the scale again at the hospital.
Back with  (hopefully good) news then


----------



## patricio (Jan 27, 2012)

So I got on the scale today, not so bad, 179. It's weird, cause I think I look a bit more defined. Specially the separation between delts and pecs, and a bit on my upper abs.
Whatever, I'm going to stick to the plan. And sort of advice is welcome.
Today I had 1650 calories. As we bake pizza with my daughter every fría night, I planned my meals to have 750 spare calories for the night (3 slices).
Tomorrow I have to get up really early to have time for the gym, we've been invited to a country house and need to leave early. Good night


----------



## patricio (Jan 28, 2012)

I usually get up at 9 on Saturdays, but today I needed an early visit to the gym. So I got up at 7 and got to the gym at 8 just to find out it opens at 9 on weekends. Damn!
I had to skip my heavy upper body day. So I don't know if doing a whole body routine tomorrow or just hit my legs. Thing is on tuesday I have my light upper body day, I don't know if I'll recover by then.


----------



## patricio (Jan 28, 2012)

Regarding my diet, it was my cheat meal day. So I had a great Argentine-style barbacue and had lots of red meat. I did't have a lot of carbs, mainly proteins and fats. Should I eat more carbs on my cheat day for refeeding? My diet is not ketogenic or anything, I have 50-100 g of carbs a day.
I must have had around 2500-3000 calories today. Great barbacue!


----------



## patricio (Jan 29, 2012)

Decided to skip upper body workout and go straight to legs. After all, when i designed my workout I knew there were weeks I can't train 4 days, but at least doing upper light/lower light/upper heavy/lower heavy I can be sure to train each body part at least once a week.
It was leg day and I'm satisfied. I upped my weights and trained intensely.

Squats
130*5
155*5
155*5
155*5
165*5
165*5 (failure)

Romanian Deads
200*5 (5 sets)
210*5

Then some weighed crunches (5 sets) and 25 minutes on the elyptical.
Around 1900 calories today. It's been 2 weeks of hard work sticking to the diet. Hope I can jeep It up


----------



## patricio (Jan 30, 2012)

Diet, diet and more diet. as days go by, however, hunger slowly goles away. I hadas around 1750 cals  today, mainly because we had grilled beef. Meat is great here, I can't help overeating a little.
If there's and advice I could give to someone on a cut is to plan meals in advance. Whenever I leave home not carrying my meals or,If eating out, not planning what and were I'm having them, I screw my diet.
So, hope this journal is useful forums somebody. It's helping me to feel a little more obligated to do things right.


----------



## patricio (Jan 31, 2012)

After having some issues with Tapatalk on my Galaxy (had to reinstall it ) I'm bach with news. As I skipped my heavy upper body day I did a not so light upper body routine today.

Cleans 
60*7
55*8
55*8
55*7

Dumbell bent over row 
48*10
48*10
48*9
48*7


Barbell inclined bench press 
110*8
110*8
110*8
110*6

I took my usual water with 10g of BCAA, and had 1/2 galon of water (very hot and humid today).
After weights 27 mins on the treadmill. I'm slowly improving my aerobic capacity, which feels good.
I listened to some movies' soundyracks
On my ipod today. Ended my cardio with Rocky's training theme, works every time when I need to pull out some extra energy.
Also Espn was playing an Olympic games winners compilation. It motivates me to see people that has worked  hard and got to their goal !!


----------



## patricio (Feb 1, 2012)

Nothing remarkable today, except that we had te heaviest rain in the past few years in Buenos Aires. I had to drive 2 hours back from the office when it usually takes 30'. My time is my biggest asset, I hate to waste it that way :thumbdown:
I took to work my usual chicken breast w/tomato. And had dinner at my parents', carrè with blueberry sauce and spinach souffle. Total today around 1550-1600 calories, 170g protein.
Tomorrow is leg day, I'll try to get some cardio also.
I'm feeling a little weak, not during WO specifically, but throughout the day. I hope this pays in terms of losing weight. I need to see some lower abs!!!!!!


----------



## patricio (Feb 1, 2012)

Usually I don't lose much weight on my first month when cutting, And after those 30 days I lose fat ok. I just need to hold on a little longer. It's hard when you don't see inmediate results


----------



## patricio (Feb 1, 2012)

I don't know if I made myself clear, I'm angry at myself and  at all that suculent food asking me to eat it :banghead::banghead:


----------



## patricio (Feb 2, 2012)

Being leg day I decided to replace my  Globet squats with deadlifts.
This was only my third time ever doing deadlifts. I already told you 2011 was my first year training legs. The past two times I tried deads my lower back really hurt when bringing the weight down . So I read about proper technique and watched a few videos on youtube.
I did 4 sets * 10 reps with (don't laugh) 90 pounds. But it felt great. I had the feeling I was exercising my quads, hamstrings, glutes, lower an upper back, traps and  bis at the some time. I'll slowly increase the weight so I can improve my form.
After that 4 sets of jumping lunges and weighted crunches with a twist. Then 20 minutes on the elyptical.
Calories around 1850 today, almost no carbs through the day, pasta (fuccile) with olive oil and parmesan at night.
Trying to get ready for a weekend full of birthday parties and  family gatherings. Hope I can come out victorious


----------



## patricio (Feb 3, 2012)

Birthday party I had today made me change my diet plans for the weekend. I had potato chips, peanuts, a couple of burgers and soda (no diet coke around). So that made it my cheat meal of the week, too early since I still have Saturday And Sunday to go!
Got on the scale today: 178lb, which is about the same I weighed when I started this Journal, but 1 lb lighter than a week ago.
Check in tomorrow for upper body & cardio day


----------



## Pony (Feb 3, 2012)

Good luck doc!  Self control is the hardest thing to hone.  I started getting into cardio with spin classes, then I started the Insanity workout.  Great cardio that NEVER gets boring.  Fuck a treadmill!


----------



## patricio (Feb 4, 2012)

Thanks , Pony. Cardio on the treadmill really sucks. I'm waiting for it to get a bit cooler here to jog outside, which I enjoy a lot more


----------



## patricio (Feb 4, 2012)

Nice workout today. Very hot day  also 

Chin ups 
*4
*4
*4
*4
*4
*3 (I don't feel I'm getting any stronger but keep trying)

Bench Press 
110*5
110*5
110*5
120*5
120*5 (almost died crushed under the barbell on the last rep with no assistance)
110*5

Military Press
80*5
88*5
88*5
88*5
92*5 (failure)
88*5

28 minutes on the treadmill. I can last 8 minutes longer than 2 weeks ago, good progress.
Not so good on the diet side. Around 2200 calories including pizza I had at night. It's still 100 below maintanence, but should've kept it below 2000. Tomorrow diet is gonna be easier


----------



## patricio (Feb 5, 2012)

Weird day today. I woke up with my muscles really sore, extreme fatigue, headache and an urge for carbs. A few years ago I had Rhabdomyolysis, and symptoms were similar. So I decided to skip the gym, get some rest and some carbs. Didn't count calories, must've been Around 2200 I guess.
Feeling better now, tomorrow is a new day.


----------



## patricio (Feb 7, 2012)

Nothing worthy of mentioning yesterday, just a so-so diet day. Around 1900 cal, should've been 1600.
Today I behaved better, I guess around 1900 cal on training day. I got a little lazy counting calories, I'll start back tomorrow.
It was upper body light training today. I decided to up my weights only when I reach 10 reps on all sets.

Cleans 
45*10
55*10
55*10
55*9 (guess I'll start with 60-65 next week and see how it works)

Bent over dumbell row 
48s*10
48s*10
48s*9
48s*8

Inclined barbell Bench Press 
90*10
90*10
90*7
90*6 + 2 forced reps

I don't if I should start my first sets with a lower weight or rest a little more between sets (90-120 secs right now). I feel I don't have much energy left on the 4th sets.
Also I get a bit of triceps failure at the end of the WO.
Already have my chicken with cabbage salad for tomorrow in the fridge. Getting my meals ready the night before is what works best for me.


----------



## patricio (Feb 8, 2012)

Down 1 pound since last week. Lower belly less prominent. I think I look a little bit more athletic.
Still there's a long way to go


----------



## patricio (Feb 9, 2012)

I had to go to the gym in the morning, which I hadn't done in a while. I felt a little rusty but with good energy.
Deadlifts
135lb *10
*10
*9
*8 (my form was pretty good, no lower back pain)

Jumping lunges 
4*10

Weighed crunches 
4*10

Diet was ok. Lots of beef (1 & 1/2lb through the day, low carbs)
Still not counting calories, although I have Dailyburn installed on my phone and it's as easy as it gets.
Maybe tomorrow.....


----------



## patricio (Feb 10, 2012)

I had my cheat meal tonight. It's going to be a tough weekend trying to stick to the diet.
I'll train hard tomorrow. Pizza got my muscles feeling strong. It was a low carb week, but I think the results are starting to show and it's kinder of exciting.


----------



## MaxSeg (Feb 10, 2012)

Good luck in attaining your goal Doc!


----------



## patricio (Feb 11, 2012)

Thanks for your support, Max.
Writing this Journal has been good in many was.
You know, in my life I've accomplished many difficult things. Like going through 7 years of hard med school, succeeding in one of the toughest surgery residencies in the country, being chief resident and getting to be a respected bariatric surgeon.
And at the same time, putting together a beautiful family.
So I can' believe I can't succeed on this quest with my own body. I'm determined to win this year and forever!


----------



## patricio (Feb 11, 2012)

Trained my upper body this evening.
Chin ups
*4
*4
*4
*3
*3
*3 (not only am I not getting stronger on this movement, I'm actually getting weaker!!)

Military Press
67*5
67*5
67*5
77*5
77*5
77*5 (added 10 pounds on last 3 sets)

Bench Press
90*5
110*5
110*5
110*5
115*5
115*5 (5 pounds heavier than last week)

I know I'm cutting and should't expect to lift very heavy, but my chinups are frustrating. I used to do 12-14 sets when I was in my 20s
After lifting I got to 30 min on the treadmill, 9.5 km/h (5.9 mph). This was pretty good, my cardio endurece has always sucked and getting to half an hour was nice.
My legs feel a little sore already, I better get some good sleep for my leg session tomorrow


----------



## patricio (Feb 13, 2012)

Couldn't train on sunday. I had to go to the Hospital for an emergency surgery and had my baby girl with high fever.
And on top of that I ate like a pig.
Shame on me :thumbdown:


----------



## patricio (Feb 13, 2012)

Fuck, it's happening again. After around a month of pretty solid dieting and training I'm starting to lose it again. I haven't fixed my meals properly for maybe three days and I'm not eating right. And I feel like this is going to continue, I'm kind  of out of motivation.
And on the side, my hours are crazy for the next 30-40 days.
Hope I can get back on track. I know this is the point when I start to lose weight, so it'd be a pitty.
I'm doing the imposible to train tomorrow, and since my fridge is empty I'll try to plan ahead where to eat healthy. Wish me luck


----------



## patricio (Feb 14, 2012)

Better job today. I started countin calories again, 1950 cal with 215g protein. Nota bad forma a gym  day, should've been 100 less.

Cleans
66*9, *9, *8, *9

Bent over Dumbell row (superset with Bench)
50*10, *10, *10, *10 (2 pounds heavier , same reps)

Inclined Barbell Bench press 
88*10
95*9
95*8
88*8

I was short on time so I did HIIT on the stationary bike for 16 min alternating 1 min level 4 70 RPM and 1 min level 8 95 RPM. I was still sweating 1 hour after I finished


----------



## patricio (Feb 15, 2012)

Luckily got back on track. Around 1600 calories, 190g protein, 78g fats and carbs below 50g.
Got on the scale and I obviously gained my last pound back. Weekend got back at me 
I'll be posting update picks this weekend for you to judge


----------



## patricio (Feb 26, 2012)

Family and work kept me out of the gym and off proper diet forma the last 10 days. I know it's only an excuse when it comes to dieting, but I didn't have time to prepare my meals.
However, I restarted gym today, and ate pretty well for the first time since last weekend.
I decided to change my routine a bit. Last month I felt volume was too low, even working each body part twice a week. So I'm going to up volume a bit for each workout, a 2-day split, 3 days a week for lifting and 1-2 days cardio alone 
Day 1 back-pecs-arms
  Dips      5*5  superset with
  Pull ups 5*5
  Inclined dumbell bench 3*10  SS with
  1 arm bent over row     3*10
  EZ bar curl  3*8  SS with
  Front rope extensions 3*10
Day 2 legs-shoulder-abs 
  Squats   4*10 SS with
  Romanian deadlift 4*10
  Clean&Press   3*8  SS with
  weighed cruces 3*8
  Delt Raise  3*10 SS with
  Oblique crunches 3*10

I'm using supersets since I only have 40-50 minutes to lift.
So, let me know how this looks


----------



## BP2000 (Feb 26, 2012)

Keep up the good work.  Plan those meals and make sure you have the right food in the pantry.  You can also use fitday.com to make tracking your foods a little easier.


----------



## patricio (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks BP. I know planning ahead is everything. Also, I installed dailyburn on my galaxy phone, so I can track calories. But seems whenever I'm rushed by work I lose control


----------



## patricio (Feb 27, 2012)

Forgot to post yesterday's routine:
Superset 1
  Dips BW*6,*6,*5,*5,*4
  Pull ups BW*3,*3,*2,*1 + 4neg, *1+4neg 
Superset 2
  Dumbell Inclined Bench Press
  22kg *10, *10, *10
  Bent over 1 arm row
  22kg *10,*10,*9
Superset 3
  EZ bar curls 
  20kg *8,*8,*8
  Cable Pull Down 
  25kg*12,*12,*11

As I can't do many pullups I decided to give negatives a try. Also, as I was doing cable pull downs I realized it was almost the same movement as dips. I'll switch to front extensions next time.
I have bien sticking to bigotes muscle groups, and hadn't worked arms in almost a year. I know it's of no benefit to a cutting routine, but I missed the exercises.
After lifting 20 min on the ellyptical.
I feel this volume is better for me. I'll see how recovery goes, feeling really sore today


----------



## patricio (Feb 28, 2012)

Yesterday I also trained
Superset 1
Squats
45 kg *10, *10, *10,*9
Romanian Deadlift
60 kg *8, *8, *8, *8
Superset 2
Clean and Press
20kg *10, *10, *8
Ab wheel rollout *10, *10, *10
Superset 3
Side delt raises
12 kg *10, *10, *9
Crunches with a twist 3*10

Ellyptical 20 minutes. I can´t move my legs today, it's funny how 10 days without working out get me rusty


----------

