Statistics:
Weight: 180 (-2; -5)
BF%: 20.2% (-1.6%; -1.6%)
Waist: 101 (-1; -3)
Hips: 100 (0; -2)
Chest: 103 (-2; -8)
Thigh: 60 (+1; -1)
Calf: 36 (0; +1)
Arm: 33 (0; -1)
Right, so here I am with the details from week 4.
Down the 2 pounds I was hoping to get last week. I had thought the 182 from last week was just a trick of the numbers, but no, it was apparently really there. So, losing down to 180 is good. I was 179 just before Sunday, but I'm happy with 180.
Body Fat has finally moved, which is encouraging to see. I did a bit of thinking on the topic which helped me mentally. I had worked out (from prior data), that I lose approximately 1 notch on the calipers for every four pounds of weight loss. So, going from 185 to 180 means I am down those 4 pounds, and I finally get my notch. I should have expected it about this time, but I guess I was hoping it would have hit earlier.
If the trend continues, I should get the next notch somewhere between 177 and 176 pounds. That would put me down to 18.6%, which I feel is a massive accomplishment, but also pretty much guarantees that I will not hit the desired 15% by 175 pounds. That's fine, I expected to have to go down to 170 anyway.
It is nice to see the other measurements have either stalled out or dropped. Only exception this time is the Thigh, which, honestly, I'm not bothered about. My legs are looking a little bit better all the time, so I don't mind if they decide to be bigger while the upper bit of me gets smaller.
Since I made my target loss for the week, I will not make any tweaks to the diet. Looking over the weekly data, I notice that I was under the daily total pretty much every day last week, so I am eating under my limits and still not feeling too bad.
There's a niggling concern about dropping my metabolism rate, but I'm hoping that putting in some cardio will help with it.
On the exercise front, I am going to add on some post-workout cardio. Not a lot, and probably not at a great intensity. Likely I will get on the stationary bike and ride that for 15 to 20 minutes. The overall goal is just to draw even harder from the fat stores I have.
With evening workouts, I'm going to have to figure out which day to replace my Wednesday workout. I can either shift everything so I do Mon, Thur, Sat, or go for back to back days Mon-Tue, or Thur-Fri. Everything else just doesn't work out as well for me. More thinking on this one.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
All of this
Sometimes I wonder whether all of this effort to lose weight is really worthwhile. In those times, I have to remind myself that, yes, it is worthwhile. It will take me some time, and it will not be as easy as sitting and doing nothing, but it will be worth all the efforts.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Evening at the gym
My weight has been teasing me. UP to 181 today. Basically, on target for a 2 pound loss from the start of the week, but disappointingly far from my hope of getting down to 178 by the end of the week. If I managed to make it to there, it'd reinforce the idea that I really wasn't at 182 at the start of this week, that it was just a flux in the day to day weighing.
I'm half thinking I need to do weekly trending instead of day to day spot checking, since that would at least be something with better direction indicators - though this week would look a bit flat.
PL was at the gym when I went on Tuesday. He was on his way out, but we hadn't talked in a while, so we had a chat. He was there again today, so we had another chat. He mentioned that my waist seemed to be going down, which is certainly good to hear.
I asked him about his frequency at the gym, and he does 5 days. He asked me about what I was doing, and I try to avoid really giving an answer to such questions, as it tends to end up with me feeling like I'm doing something wrong (which certainly may be true). I told him I've only recently gotten a good grip on my diet - which I feel is true. Before the last two months or so, I wasn't really tracking anything, and I certainly wasn't putting the proper amount of effort into actually losing weight.
As the prior 16 week cycle shows, I only managed to lose 15 pounds. That's a good, slow pace, but it's not giving me the impression of someone who's got a firm grip on what they're eating. The fact that I'm aiming for between 10 to 15 in just 9 weeks means I have to put in the necessary efforts.
PL suggested that I do some cardio after my workouts. Which seems like a good idea. I have been feeling like I need to do some cardio. Bike, run, something. What I really need, though, is just to start doing it and stop thinking about it.
I'm half thinking I need to do weekly trending instead of day to day spot checking, since that would at least be something with better direction indicators - though this week would look a bit flat.
PL was at the gym when I went on Tuesday. He was on his way out, but we hadn't talked in a while, so we had a chat. He was there again today, so we had another chat. He mentioned that my waist seemed to be going down, which is certainly good to hear.
I asked him about his frequency at the gym, and he does 5 days. He asked me about what I was doing, and I try to avoid really giving an answer to such questions, as it tends to end up with me feeling like I'm doing something wrong (which certainly may be true). I told him I've only recently gotten a good grip on my diet - which I feel is true. Before the last two months or so, I wasn't really tracking anything, and I certainly wasn't putting the proper amount of effort into actually losing weight.
As the prior 16 week cycle shows, I only managed to lose 15 pounds. That's a good, slow pace, but it's not giving me the impression of someone who's got a firm grip on what they're eating. The fact that I'm aiming for between 10 to 15 in just 9 weeks means I have to put in the necessary efforts.
PL suggested that I do some cardio after my workouts. Which seems like a good idea. I have been feeling like I need to do some cardio. Bike, run, something. What I really need, though, is just to start doing it and stop thinking about it.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
179 and counting
Morning weigh-in had me at 179. Been quite a while since I've been under 180. Feels good.
Am switching over to working out in the evening after work and before eating. Went yesterday. Things were very different in the evening than in the morning. In the morning, there are usually only a few other people. I got used to not having to worry much about people there. Lots of space to do my own thing, and never have to worry about the path of my bar smacking someone who thought they could go and load their bar during my set.
The number of people at the gym in the evening is pretty high. And the Bro population seems to be very high. Bros generally don't come in the morning - there's nobody to impress with their curls there.
I try very hard not to judge others at the gym. I don't know them, I don't know their goals or limitations or if they are on a program or just making it up. There are a couple of things that make it hard for me not to judge.
One of them is strange and pointless usage of the Smith machine. Like Smith bench when you don't seem to have any issue with motion of your arms and there are benches free. Or Smith rows, as the required motion of the body to perform them is just not possible with a regular bar or dumbbell.
There's also full-body motion bicep curls. These always feel to me like the person is just pushing too much weight - though they always seem to have huge arms, so maybe there is something to just working the weight up in whatever fashion gets it done.
When I notice myself thinking these things towards others in the gym, I try to remind myself that I should really be focused on what I'm doing, and not what they are doing. I'm sure my workout looks like stupidity to everyone else too.
Am switching over to working out in the evening after work and before eating. Went yesterday. Things were very different in the evening than in the morning. In the morning, there are usually only a few other people. I got used to not having to worry much about people there. Lots of space to do my own thing, and never have to worry about the path of my bar smacking someone who thought they could go and load their bar during my set.
The number of people at the gym in the evening is pretty high. And the Bro population seems to be very high. Bros generally don't come in the morning - there's nobody to impress with their curls there.
I try very hard not to judge others at the gym. I don't know them, I don't know their goals or limitations or if they are on a program or just making it up. There are a couple of things that make it hard for me not to judge.
One of them is strange and pointless usage of the Smith machine. Like Smith bench when you don't seem to have any issue with motion of your arms and there are benches free. Or Smith rows, as the required motion of the body to perform them is just not possible with a regular bar or dumbbell.
There's also full-body motion bicep curls. These always feel to me like the person is just pushing too much weight - though they always seem to have huge arms, so maybe there is something to just working the weight up in whatever fashion gets it done.
When I notice myself thinking these things towards others in the gym, I try to remind myself that I should really be focused on what I'm doing, and not what they are doing. I'm sure my workout looks like stupidity to everyone else too.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Feeling down
Been a bit down the last couple of days. I think part of it is related to the lack of progress on the weight, the rest, I dunno.
Missed out on the gym yesterday. On Sunday my arm was paining me pretty hard, and sleeping fixed most of it, but I figured I'd hold off on hitting the gym for a day to give it more rest.
Set the alarm for today, meant to go, then just before I decided to skip. So, will hit the gym tomorrow. I do want to go, just got to get there.
M mentioned that me getting up early to go to the gym always disturbs her sleep schedule - which is pretty fragmented as my own sleep is rarely great. I tend to interact a lot if I'm dreaming, and I have been dreaming a lot over the last year.
I'm considering changing up my gym time to try to not work out in the morning, That would mean either finding a gym I can hit during the workday (unlikely), or working out after I get home but before I eat. I can't work out if I've eaten, as it upsets my stomach and makes me sluggish.
There's a window of time between when I get off work and when it would be too late to hit the gym. Since I go to bed in order to get up early, I'd need to go early. But, if I don't get up early, then I can stay up later at night and go to the gym without much trouble.
I may give it a try this week and see if it works.
Missed out on the gym yesterday. On Sunday my arm was paining me pretty hard, and sleeping fixed most of it, but I figured I'd hold off on hitting the gym for a day to give it more rest.
Set the alarm for today, meant to go, then just before I decided to skip. So, will hit the gym tomorrow. I do want to go, just got to get there.
M mentioned that me getting up early to go to the gym always disturbs her sleep schedule - which is pretty fragmented as my own sleep is rarely great. I tend to interact a lot if I'm dreaming, and I have been dreaming a lot over the last year.
I'm considering changing up my gym time to try to not work out in the morning, That would mean either finding a gym I can hit during the workday (unlikely), or working out after I get home but before I eat. I can't work out if I've eaten, as it upsets my stomach and makes me sluggish.
There's a window of time between when I get off work and when it would be too late to hit the gym. Since I go to bed in order to get up early, I'd need to go early. But, if I don't get up early, then I can stay up later at night and go to the gym without much trouble.
I may give it a try this week and see if it works.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Week 3 update
Stats:
Weight: 182 (0; -3)
BF%: 21.8%
Waist: 102 (0; -2)
Hips: 100 (-1; -2)
Chest: 105 (-1; -6)
Thigh: 59 (0; -2)
Calf: 36 (0; +1)
Arm: 33 (0; -1)
Not sure what happened here. On Saturday I was 180, and by Sunday morning (despite keeping a close reign on my food intake), I was 182 again.
This puts me with no loss for the week, and annoyed at the whole thing.
I debated myself on whether to nudge things down, as per my plan, or to assume the data was wrong and make no changes.
In the end, I decided that I cannot choose to ignore the data, because that sets a bad precedent. The data is what it is, and things can only go the way they go. So, I nudged everything down. Now down to 1750/1400 per workout/rest day.
Gonna get tough.
Weight: 182 (0; -3)
BF%: 21.8%
Waist: 102 (0; -2)
Hips: 100 (-1; -2)
Chest: 105 (-1; -6)
Thigh: 59 (0; -2)
Calf: 36 (0; +1)
Arm: 33 (0; -1)
Not sure what happened here. On Saturday I was 180, and by Sunday morning (despite keeping a close reign on my food intake), I was 182 again.
This puts me with no loss for the week, and annoyed at the whole thing.
I debated myself on whether to nudge things down, as per my plan, or to assume the data was wrong and make no changes.
In the end, I decided that I cannot choose to ignore the data, because that sets a bad precedent. The data is what it is, and things can only go the way they go. So, I nudged everything down. Now down to 1750/1400 per workout/rest day.
Gonna get tough.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Things are going fine
I'm on target this week so far, as long as I don't muck it up with the weekend.
Am over calories today by a bit, and hoping that I can keep everything under control for tomorrow and get to where I want to be on Sunday morning. I figure I'll maybe go into the gym tomorrow for a bit to kick my own ass with assistance work or something.
I have been wanting to do more conditioning work, but thus far haven't done more than one evening's worth of it. I have an aversion to doing workouts in the presence of people I know. I don't know why. I suppose I look silly doing whatever it is I'm doing.
Less issues working out in the gym, but then, there's usually far fewer people there, and those few which are about are often very, very involved in themselves. They're not watching me, so I don't care. But, here at the house, yeah, people would be watching.
Keeping to the non-workout day calories has been difficult. I am finding things a bit harder than I'd like there, but I know that it's all part of the process. Got to push myself to get down to where I want to be.
I just reviewed last week's calories, and I was apparently farther down than I thought. This week, I'm riding much closer to the line on the calories day to day, so I can only hope to get down low enough on Sunday to not have to nudge things again. Nudging would probably make me rather grumpy.
Worst bit for food is that my protein shakes on the workout days are about 500 calories. Which, effectively leaves me with 1300 other calories in the day. Less than on my non-workout days. So, I actually have less that I can eat on a workout day, instead of more.
I've been thinking of cutting out the milk part of the shake, as that would at least give me some kind of break on the calorie amount.
The longer I'm on this diet, the more I feel like it isn't the right way to go about changing my body composition. I'm hoping that's simply a false belief. That I just need to keep going like I am and things will work out fine. Regardless, I've set my goals, and I do not intend to break from them. This is only the third week out of nine, so there is a lot of time left for changes to happen.
Like I've said before, if I just keep going with what I'm doing, eventually it will work it's way through to where I am trying to go.
Am over calories today by a bit, and hoping that I can keep everything under control for tomorrow and get to where I want to be on Sunday morning. I figure I'll maybe go into the gym tomorrow for a bit to kick my own ass with assistance work or something.
I have been wanting to do more conditioning work, but thus far haven't done more than one evening's worth of it. I have an aversion to doing workouts in the presence of people I know. I don't know why. I suppose I look silly doing whatever it is I'm doing.
Less issues working out in the gym, but then, there's usually far fewer people there, and those few which are about are often very, very involved in themselves. They're not watching me, so I don't care. But, here at the house, yeah, people would be watching.
Keeping to the non-workout day calories has been difficult. I am finding things a bit harder than I'd like there, but I know that it's all part of the process. Got to push myself to get down to where I want to be.
I just reviewed last week's calories, and I was apparently farther down than I thought. This week, I'm riding much closer to the line on the calories day to day, so I can only hope to get down low enough on Sunday to not have to nudge things again. Nudging would probably make me rather grumpy.
Worst bit for food is that my protein shakes on the workout days are about 500 calories. Which, effectively leaves me with 1300 other calories in the day. Less than on my non-workout days. So, I actually have less that I can eat on a workout day, instead of more.
I've been thinking of cutting out the milk part of the shake, as that would at least give me some kind of break on the calorie amount.
The longer I'm on this diet, the more I feel like it isn't the right way to go about changing my body composition. I'm hoping that's simply a false belief. That I just need to keep going like I am and things will work out fine. Regardless, I've set my goals, and I do not intend to break from them. This is only the third week out of nine, so there is a lot of time left for changes to happen.
Like I've said before, if I just keep going with what I'm doing, eventually it will work it's way through to where I am trying to go.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Something, something, something...
I've had a rumble of a thought crossing my head for a while now. The idea stems from wanting some long-term goal, but not being willing to commit to one.
There have been a couple of ideas which have come up.
One is centered around competition. Specifically, powerlifting. The idea would be to scope out a local competition slated for late spring/early summer/summer of 2013, and from now to then working on getting into competition shape.
The drawback on that is that I'm currently in a massive cut, and I'm not sure how long that will continue to be the case. To build up with powerlifting I'd need to eat a surplus, and it would feel a bit like throwing away all the effort that went into the cut in order to bulk up enough to make serious strength gains.
Of course, I'd feel like I was doing better if I knew some other people to encourage and compete against. I know Athalos would potentially join me, but nothing is ever definite.
Another is more conditioning related. Been thinking along the lines of "if you knew there was a zombie apocalypse coming, what kind of training would you be doing now?" I've been thinking something aiming for improving my overall zombie combat preparation between now and the end of the year/January. This would be covering the basics. Running, bodyweight conditioning, maybe some swimming, maybe some light combat skills.
Drawback to this is measuring the progress in everything. Running is measurable, and maybe also conditioning, but the rest is kind of floaty.
A third is working towards participation in a race of some kind. A 5K run, a sprint triathlon, a sprint cycle-swim-cycle (is that a duoathalon? biathalon?), maybe just working up the fitness to participate in a Tough Mudder or similar challenge run.
There are drawbacks to this, but far less than with the others. The major one is finding something I want to do, and something I can commit to doing.
I think the issue here is both the number of potential choices, and also my own hesitance at committing to the amount of effort involved in training for something like this.
Working up to a 5K would require me to start running, and then to continue running on a regular schedule through the rest of the year. Running outdoors in the rain or snow is not something I enjoy, and training by running a 5K on the treadmill just seems like torturing myself.
Still, learning to run would probably not be a bad thing. Learning to run would give me a serious boost to my cardio, and would give me some short-distance endurance.
There have been a couple of ideas which have come up.
One is centered around competition. Specifically, powerlifting. The idea would be to scope out a local competition slated for late spring/early summer/summer of 2013, and from now to then working on getting into competition shape.
The drawback on that is that I'm currently in a massive cut, and I'm not sure how long that will continue to be the case. To build up with powerlifting I'd need to eat a surplus, and it would feel a bit like throwing away all the effort that went into the cut in order to bulk up enough to make serious strength gains.
Of course, I'd feel like I was doing better if I knew some other people to encourage and compete against. I know Athalos would potentially join me, but nothing is ever definite.
Another is more conditioning related. Been thinking along the lines of "if you knew there was a zombie apocalypse coming, what kind of training would you be doing now?" I've been thinking something aiming for improving my overall zombie combat preparation between now and the end of the year/January. This would be covering the basics. Running, bodyweight conditioning, maybe some swimming, maybe some light combat skills.
Drawback to this is measuring the progress in everything. Running is measurable, and maybe also conditioning, but the rest is kind of floaty.
A third is working towards participation in a race of some kind. A 5K run, a sprint triathlon, a sprint cycle-swim-cycle (is that a duoathalon? biathalon?), maybe just working up the fitness to participate in a Tough Mudder or similar challenge run.
There are drawbacks to this, but far less than with the others. The major one is finding something I want to do, and something I can commit to doing.
I think the issue here is both the number of potential choices, and also my own hesitance at committing to the amount of effort involved in training for something like this.
Working up to a 5K would require me to start running, and then to continue running on a regular schedule through the rest of the year. Running outdoors in the rain or snow is not something I enjoy, and training by running a 5K on the treadmill just seems like torturing myself.
Still, learning to run would probably not be a bad thing. Learning to run would give me a serious boost to my cardio, and would give me some short-distance endurance.
Stable
Thus far this week, I've been 182, 183, and yesterday and today at 182 again.
Projections say that with Sunday as the end of the week, I should lose 1 pound after 3.5 days, so, no change expected until the 4th weighing. That's Thursday morning. So, I should be down to 181 if I'm on track. Last week it didn't show until Friday, then was there for Sunday. I'm hopeful.
I find that my current scale is very difficult to read in the mornings while I'm all blurry-eyed. That, and I'm just getting older. Been considering making a change to a digital scale, but it's a bit silly to buy a new scale when the old one is working well enough.
I've got a bit of soreness in the shoulders, back and around my knees. Most likely due to the extra conditioning work I did on Monday. Gotta find some place to fit more of that into the daily routine.
Projections say that with Sunday as the end of the week, I should lose 1 pound after 3.5 days, so, no change expected until the 4th weighing. That's Thursday morning. So, I should be down to 181 if I'm on track. Last week it didn't show until Friday, then was there for Sunday. I'm hopeful.
I find that my current scale is very difficult to read in the mornings while I'm all blurry-eyed. That, and I'm just getting older. Been considering making a change to a digital scale, but it's a bit silly to buy a new scale when the old one is working well enough.
I've got a bit of soreness in the shoulders, back and around my knees. Most likely due to the extra conditioning work I did on Monday. Gotta find some place to fit more of that into the daily routine.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Monday
Monday is my start of week flux day. I'm up to 183.
The week always seems to go like this. A weight on Sunday comes up generally as a pound higher on Monday. By Tuesday, the weight is down where it belongs, and then somewhere around Thursday there's a slight loss. On Saturday I'm down again, but by Sunday, I'm up slightly.
I'm hoping to break this pattern, as the flux doesn't really benefit me at all. I hardly even mind the change for a Monday, though, it's so frequent, but always leaves me feeling like I'm starting out the gates behind.
The week always seems to go like this. A weight on Sunday comes up generally as a pound higher on Monday. By Tuesday, the weight is down where it belongs, and then somewhere around Thursday there's a slight loss. On Saturday I'm down again, but by Sunday, I'm up slightly.
I'm hoping to break this pattern, as the flux doesn't really benefit me at all. I hardly even mind the change for a Monday, though, it's so frequent, but always leaves me feeling like I'm starting out the gates behind.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Aug 12
The stats:
Weight: 182 (-2; -3)
BF%: 21.8%
Waist: 102 (-1; -2)
Hips: 101 (-1; -1)
Chest: 106 (-1; -5)
Thigh: 59 (-2; -2)
Calf: 36 (-1; +1)
Arm: 33 (0; -1)
Numbers are in pounds and centimeters. Numbers in the brackets are change from last week, and overall change.
I'm a bit surprised that I made it down to 182 - despite my post from yesterday. I didn't expect to hold the weight through to today.
I'm happy to see everything is down overall (aside from Calves - but I don't mind them). The one real sticking point is the body fat percentage. Hasn't moved yet. I'm waiting for it to shift, that will be a real sign I'm doing something right.
Weight: 182 (-2; -3)
BF%: 21.8%
Waist: 102 (-1; -2)
Hips: 101 (-1; -1)
Chest: 106 (-1; -5)
Thigh: 59 (-2; -2)
Calf: 36 (-1; +1)
Arm: 33 (0; -1)
Numbers are in pounds and centimeters. Numbers in the brackets are change from last week, and overall change.
I'm a bit surprised that I made it down to 182 - despite my post from yesterday. I didn't expect to hold the weight through to today.
I'm happy to see everything is down overall (aside from Calves - but I don't mind them). The one real sticking point is the body fat percentage. Hasn't moved yet. I'm waiting for it to shift, that will be a real sign I'm doing something right.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Ahead
Hit 182 this morning, which puts me a day ahead instead of a day behind. My body works in strange ways it seems.
There's a bit of potential for over-eating today, but I'm going to do what I can to keep on top of it. Assuming I hit 182 still tomorrow, then I'll be set for the next week's pace. No predictions, though, since I know my body to be able to shift 2 pounds in the upwards direction in the space of a day.
Will still try to get in some NEPA or light exercise today, just to start building up some conditioning.
There's a bit of potential for over-eating today, but I'm going to do what I can to keep on top of it. Assuming I hit 182 still tomorrow, then I'll be set for the next week's pace. No predictions, though, since I know my body to be able to shift 2 pounds in the upwards direction in the space of a day.
Will still try to get in some NEPA or light exercise today, just to start building up some conditioning.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Maybe just a bit behind
Down to 183 this morning. Which is about a day off of the expected schedule. So, I may be close to where I need to be. There's a chance I'll hit 182 in time for Sunday's check, but I don't know.
A bit more about faith. I have trouble believing the scale sometimes. Like this morning. I expected things to be at 184, and seeing 183 threw me. I fiddled with the scale a bit before resetting it to show me what I saw the first time. Messing about with the scale does bad things to the consistency of the measurements.
I'm still looking at doing some other work tomorrow, rather than just not doing anything in particular.
Also, I'm finding hunger to be more of an issue than normal today. Sticking to the diet, though I really wanted a muffin this morning.
M suggested that a muffin was hardly a horrible thing to want, but I know that if I make an excuse because I feel hungry, then I'm not going to see the results I want. This is only week 2, and I've got 7 more weeks after this. I may allow myself an overage day around the end of week 4 or week 5. Just to break the monotony of the diet.
A bit more about faith. I have trouble believing the scale sometimes. Like this morning. I expected things to be at 184, and seeing 183 threw me. I fiddled with the scale a bit before resetting it to show me what I saw the first time. Messing about with the scale does bad things to the consistency of the measurements.
I'm still looking at doing some other work tomorrow, rather than just not doing anything in particular.
Also, I'm finding hunger to be more of an issue than normal today. Sticking to the diet, though I really wanted a muffin this morning.
M suggested that a muffin was hardly a horrible thing to want, but I know that if I make an excuse because I feel hungry, then I'm not going to see the results I want. This is only week 2, and I've got 7 more weeks after this. I may allow myself an overage day around the end of week 4 or week 5. Just to break the monotony of the diet.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Just a blip
My weight was down to 184 again this morning, as expected. This, however, bodes poorly for the week. I should be around 183 at this point if there's much chance of hitting 182 by Sunday.
Though my diet records show me being under on each of the days, I am likely underestimating the amount of food or calories in what I'm eating. This is of course simply going to undermine my efforts to lose weight at an acceptable pace.
Today's food is turning out problematic. I planned to eat a couple of wraps for lunch, made from chicken and cheese and avocado. Surprisingly, each wrap works out to about 650 calories, which leaves me with only a couple hundred other calories for the day. This seems a difficult proposition, as a single meal is an unlikely thing, and I'm not sure what choices I can make which won't put me over by at least 200 calories on the day.
Better planning seems in order if this diet thing is going to work.
My current expectation for the end of the week is to end up around 183, again, short of my 2 pounds per week goal, but still moving in a downward direction. Another nudge is likely, bringing me to 1750/1400, which I feel is starting to push on to the bottom limit of daily food. 1400 seems drastically low - but I suppose that remains to be seen.
I am giving a lot of thought to adding on at least a couple days of cardio to try to nudge the output calories upwards as well. Likely, I will add the cardio regardless of the outcome of Sunday's weighing.
Though my diet records show me being under on each of the days, I am likely underestimating the amount of food or calories in what I'm eating. This is of course simply going to undermine my efforts to lose weight at an acceptable pace.
Today's food is turning out problematic. I planned to eat a couple of wraps for lunch, made from chicken and cheese and avocado. Surprisingly, each wrap works out to about 650 calories, which leaves me with only a couple hundred other calories for the day. This seems a difficult proposition, as a single meal is an unlikely thing, and I'm not sure what choices I can make which won't put me over by at least 200 calories on the day.
Better planning seems in order if this diet thing is going to work.
My current expectation for the end of the week is to end up around 183, again, short of my 2 pounds per week goal, but still moving in a downward direction. Another nudge is likely, bringing me to 1750/1400, which I feel is starting to push on to the bottom limit of daily food. 1400 seems drastically low - but I suppose that remains to be seen.
I am giving a lot of thought to adding on at least a couple days of cardio to try to nudge the output calories upwards as well. Likely, I will add the cardio regardless of the outcome of Sunday's weighing.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Fluctuation
So, yesterday, I post about faith, and here I find myself marginally higher in weight than I was the day before. It is things like this which test my faith that what I'm doing is working.
There are a number of reasons why my weight may be higher now than it was yesterday. Maybe I counted wrong with my calories yesterday, so I'd end up with more calories than I needed, which could push me over the limit.
All I can really do is try to keep track of things, and maybe kick up some conditioning work.
On the upside, squats felt better today - almost "pretty good" even. Still damned heavy, and I feel my form is really breaking down because of it. I did all the required reps, but I don't think I'm ready to advance on them yet.
There are a number of reasons why my weight may be higher now than it was yesterday. Maybe I counted wrong with my calories yesterday, so I'd end up with more calories than I needed, which could push me over the limit.
All I can really do is try to keep track of things, and maybe kick up some conditioning work.
On the upside, squats felt better today - almost "pretty good" even. Still damned heavy, and I feel my form is really breaking down because of it. I did all the required reps, but I don't think I'm ready to advance on them yet.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Faith
Faith in what I'm doing is one of the major areas where I fall down in my self-motivation.
I know I am eating fewer than maintenance calories. Thus, there is no way for me to actually gain weight. I may fluctuate higher than the previous day, but I am not gaining. Today the scale told me I was the same weight as yesterday. And that's fine. My scale is not very accurate, but it is consistent.
I need to have faith that eating this way, keeping track of the calories and limiting myself in order to stay within my calorie budget is ultimately going to work out.
There are a lot of areas where it feels like this may not be worth the sacrifices, but I have to keep my head up and push on. I am committed to my plan, I know it will work, and the faith in it will bear itself out with sufficient time.
I start to fold too easily.
I am on the third day of week 2, and the notch down of 50 calories per day feels more significant than I think it should. I'm not sure if this is a result of the change, or simply a mental thing. Likely mental. I'm not getting much less food. 50 calories accounts for less than half a banana's worth of food. Of course, I'm working on the compounding angle. 50 calories over 7 days is 350 calories, which is a reasonable chunk of a daily total - but not that much more off a weekly total.
Weekly, I'm going from 11,550 down to 11,200, which should be a good starting point.
I'm going to keep tracking what I eat. The plan, still is to try to hit 2 pounds per week loss. This is the goal rate. Once I achieve it, I just keep on that pace until I hit my goal weight.
Currently, I have a bit over 7.5 weeks, and 9 pounds to go. I will get there, I just need some faith and diligence.
I know I am eating fewer than maintenance calories. Thus, there is no way for me to actually gain weight. I may fluctuate higher than the previous day, but I am not gaining. Today the scale told me I was the same weight as yesterday. And that's fine. My scale is not very accurate, but it is consistent.
I need to have faith that eating this way, keeping track of the calories and limiting myself in order to stay within my calorie budget is ultimately going to work out.
There are a lot of areas where it feels like this may not be worth the sacrifices, but I have to keep my head up and push on. I am committed to my plan, I know it will work, and the faith in it will bear itself out with sufficient time.
I start to fold too easily.
I am on the third day of week 2, and the notch down of 50 calories per day feels more significant than I think it should. I'm not sure if this is a result of the change, or simply a mental thing. Likely mental. I'm not getting much less food. 50 calories accounts for less than half a banana's worth of food. Of course, I'm working on the compounding angle. 50 calories over 7 days is 350 calories, which is a reasonable chunk of a daily total - but not that much more off a weekly total.
Weekly, I'm going from 11,550 down to 11,200, which should be a good starting point.
I'm going to keep tracking what I eat. The plan, still is to try to hit 2 pounds per week loss. This is the goal rate. Once I achieve it, I just keep on that pace until I hit my goal weight.
Currently, I have a bit over 7.5 weeks, and 9 pounds to go. I will get there, I just need some faith and diligence.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Aug 5
Here's the end of week 1 (weights in pounds, measurements in centimeters):
Weight: 184 (-1)
BF%: 21.8%
Waist: 103 (-1)
Hips: 102
Chest: 107 (-4)
Thigh: 61
Calf: 37 (+2)
Arm: 33 (-1)
So, overall I'm down in size everywhere but my calves. Maybe the heavy work with them made them grow a bit?
My weight is down 1 pound, but just barely.
Were this the first week of a new diet, I would expect quite a bit more due to water weight being shed. But, since it's not, this is probably the full, actual amount of mass lost. Hopefully more fat than muscle, but there's not much way to know.
Given the low accuracy of my calipers, there's no way I can predict the ratios either, yet.
So, I'm going to nudge the per day calories down for this week, and try to keep vigilant.
Today is a scheduled rest day, but with a holiday tomorrow, I need to either move my workout to today or do a workout 2 days in a row. I think I'd rather have it today.
Weight: 184 (-1)
BF%: 21.8%
Waist: 103 (-1)
Hips: 102
Chest: 107 (-4)
Thigh: 61
Calf: 37 (+2)
Arm: 33 (-1)
So, overall I'm down in size everywhere but my calves. Maybe the heavy work with them made them grow a bit?
My weight is down 1 pound, but just barely.
Were this the first week of a new diet, I would expect quite a bit more due to water weight being shed. But, since it's not, this is probably the full, actual amount of mass lost. Hopefully more fat than muscle, but there's not much way to know.
Given the low accuracy of my calipers, there's no way I can predict the ratios either, yet.
So, I'm going to nudge the per day calories down for this week, and try to keep vigilant.
Today is a scheduled rest day, but with a holiday tomorrow, I need to either move my workout to today or do a workout 2 days in a row. I think I'd rather have it today.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Squat all the time
With the current RPT program in place, I'm following an overall program that really closely mirrors the Starting Strength program I've done so much before.
I like the SS approach. Focused on a few main lifts, using the full body, and working to build strength first. Size and mass are secondary items. Of course, the RPT swaps up the program by removing the 3x5 work weight, and putting in the pyramid progression instead.
What this all means is that I'm back to squatting every workout. I'd moved away from squatting so often to focus some effort on the deadlift and OHP - which worked, but left me lagging everywhere else.
Now, I'm working through all of the stuff I neglected. Some things are harder than others.
I like the SS approach. Focused on a few main lifts, using the full body, and working to build strength first. Size and mass are secondary items. Of course, the RPT swaps up the program by removing the 3x5 work weight, and putting in the pyramid progression instead.
What this all means is that I'm back to squatting every workout. I'd moved away from squatting so often to focus some effort on the deadlift and OHP - which worked, but left me lagging everywhere else.
Now, I'm working through all of the stuff I neglected. Some things are harder than others.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Diet and vigil
My current diet is a workout/rest day cycle. Fewer calories on rest days than on the workout days.
I have been following this plan for a while now. I've been bad in the last couple weeks about either tracking my food, or keeping within the limits I have set for myself. Given that I know that the diet is the core part of my weight loss program, falling outside the limits seems like a good way to work at failing.
My diet is not restrictive - other than calories. I can eat anything I want, whenever I want, and I don't worry too much about the overall percentages of protein to fat to carbs. I know that with some careful planning and balancing, I could probably work out a decent carb cycling process, which is supposed to have very good results. But I think I will hold on that one, as I am not in charge (usually) of the composition of meals.
My diet isn't going to be a fixed thing. I'll be looking at it every week, and reviewing in more depth at 2 and 4 week intervals, looking for places I can make a change to try to improve the diet. If I find I am loosing too fast, I'll bump up my calories, and if too slow, then I'll notch the calories down, and give some thought to throwing in either more NEPA, or perhaps a non-workout exercise set during the day. Maybe even some cardio.
Generally, the level of calories I am currently eating is pretty good. I am occasionally hungry (a good thing), but I am not starving for food. Rest days are the most difficult, as the number of calories is lower than a workout day, which means that my body is constantly adjusting to eating less or more food.
There have been some benefits to this. I have begun to find foods that I can eat which keep me full, but at the same time do not provide with massive numbers of calories. I need to work a bit more on finding more of these foods so I don't end up just eating the same thing every day.
At the moment, I am trying to gear towards a 2 pound per week rate of loss. This is on the upper end, but I believe it is sustainable. I think I'm just a bit under that pace this week, but with some extra vigil, I should be able to get there. Likely, I will be making a downward notch in the food allowance for next week. A small nudge, but hopefully enough to start to offset the balance.
After all, a 50 calorie per day deficit accounts for 350 calories per week. Effectively 10% of a pound, throwing in a bit of cardio or other NEPA should bump me to the right spot.
No shoes, no soccer
Was supposed to play in a pick-up game of soccer last night, but I forgot to pack my shoes. So, no game for me. Apparently, no game for anyone else either, as everyone else got bogged down with work.
Talked, briefly, with Athalos yesterday about his routine, my routine, our (independent) goals, and when we could arrange a workout again. His injury has slowed his progress down, but he's going to focus this month on getting back up again.
I'm not sure if I covered my goals or not, but I will now.
Aug-Sep is all about losing weight and body fat. Hopefully at the same time. The initial goal for weight is to get down to 175 pounds. That's a 10 pound drop. I should be able to do that in relatively short order, but I will have to be far more vigilant on my diet. I'll save that topic for a follow-up post.
The body fat goal is to have my calipers read 15% (14.8% estimate according to my caliper set). Right now, I'm estimated at 21.8%, and need to move down about 5 notches to get to 15%. Hopefully, this will not be something impossible. I believe I can do it.
Beyond those goals, I don't have anything else set. No workout goal, no special achievement. Just focusing on the weight for at least these next two months.
Talked, briefly, with Athalos yesterday about his routine, my routine, our (independent) goals, and when we could arrange a workout again. His injury has slowed his progress down, but he's going to focus this month on getting back up again.
I'm not sure if I covered my goals or not, but I will now.
Aug-Sep is all about losing weight and body fat. Hopefully at the same time. The initial goal for weight is to get down to 175 pounds. That's a 10 pound drop. I should be able to do that in relatively short order, but I will have to be far more vigilant on my diet. I'll save that topic for a follow-up post.
The body fat goal is to have my calipers read 15% (14.8% estimate according to my caliper set). Right now, I'm estimated at 21.8%, and need to move down about 5 notches to get to 15%. Hopefully, this will not be something impossible. I believe I can do it.
Beyond those goals, I don't have anything else set. No workout goal, no special achievement. Just focusing on the weight for at least these next two months.
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