Sober and at it again, getting rid of the 17+ kilos I put on since I left BB.com

[luckducky433]

Hello everyone, thanks for visiting!

Please feel free to comment or give advice, make suggestions or throw out words of encouragement.




So...about me for those interested in reading...if not just skip this post and go to the next one

I came to BB.com when I was doing my M.Sc. in Sweden because I found myself surrounded by healthy, fit people and I felt out of place. I needed a place to get advice, encouragement and train smart so I could get ahead. In 4 months I managed to go from around 230lbs down to 200lbs (give or take a pound), or about 105kg down to 90kg. I felt great, I was starting to get some bigger lifts (numbers below) and I had not had a drink in that period.

Stats at my peak in Sweden (from what I can remember so I know what to target)

Bench: 92kg
Squat: 140kg
Deadlift: 180kg
Triceps: 40kg (each, 80kg double-grip pulldowns)
Biceps: 30kg (same as above)
Pullups: 15 consecutive (this number was higher but I can't remember so I'm being conservative)


So what happened? I left Sweden, was reunited with my (at the time) wife, and returned to America...after going from a controlled lifestyle with a set routine and a country full of healthy, skinny people, America flipped things upside down. Now I was the skinny guy, there was no longer a reason to cook myself or measure food because everything was instant or came in portions that were fit for a large boar or worse...I also found myself out of work and doing construction jobs here and there to support my family which didn't exactly encourage the best dieting structure...you ate when you could, you pulled 18hr days and slamming a few beers or shots was the only way to hit the sack quickly and be up 4hrs later to do it again.

After breaking my back for 4 months putting in 90+hrs a week without rest and with alcohol the only way to sleep at night, I gradually slipped back into alcoholism, something I've struggled with since 16. Now when some people say alcoholism, they mean a few beers a night and that's that...my version is a little different. Since the age of 22 I have pretty much lived on 1/2 to 1 bottle of scotch a night...every night...7 days a week...for 6 years...

Fast forward to today. I live in Japan where I have a high-pressure job but at least it's stable. I had a fallout with my wife when she tried to kidnap our son and flee the country on New Years this year and shortly afterwards I woke up in a hospital incoherent from alcohol poisoning and an ethanol level of 300%+ (it's supposed to be 10% or less) and liver markers double what is considered "dangerously high". I was diagnosed with liver disease and they told me to stop, to which I just ignored.

A girl from the building I work in was the one standing over me holding my head down when I woke up in that hospital...not my wife (she hadn't picked up the phone because she had taken her typical (triple) dose of rohypnol that night. They had called this girl because her number was in my phone and it was the first Japanese name they found...best thing that ever happened to me...Since that night, that same girl has been by my side and has encouraged me to quit little by little, moving me from Scotch to Sake to beer, and for 7 days I have been totally sober...it's not a lot some might say, but for me I have to start somewhere.

Last week I bought a LifeFitness G7 ( http://www.lifefitness.com/home/stre...-home-gym.html )...I'll upload a picture once I remember how to do that on this website. I put it in the spare room (which she totally supported by saying "couldn't you have bought something smaller?!) ...but she's really supportive all joking aside, it was part of the deal to get me to stop drinking, I told her about Sweden and how when I used to lift I didn't drink because I was concerned about my health and what I was putting into my body...she saw this as a good trade-off and she's supportive.




So now what? Well, first things first. Today, as day 7 of being sober I got on the machine, did some benchpressing, curls, flys, pulldowns, presses and as many pullups (assisted sadly) as I could do until my arms felt like they should...burning and I couldn't lift myself anymore. I figured that's the best way to get the DOMS out of the way in a single training day.

My goal will be to change my diet again to what it was before. My girlfriend doesn't live here yet, only on weekends so Monday-Thursday will be strict diet days (I do not count calories, I weight food, this worked well for me before and I'll be doing it once again) with Friday, Saturday and Sunday being days I spend with her, and for the most part, since she is Japanese, our diet when we are together is actually healthier than when I'm alone, so these will be semi-cheat days.

My goal will be to get my body back to the 90kg/200lb look I had in my previous profile picture (should still be on my bodyspace profile somewhere) by the end of July. That gives me 3 months to lose 30+lbs/17kg which is a very reasonable 10lbs a month, 2.5lbs a week. Considering cutting alcohol out of my diet should reduce my calorie intake by about 5,000-6,000 calories a week, I think this is pretty practical!

To note, I will NOT be weighing myself as I do not have a scale and frankly I don't care. I know what I looked like at 200 so I'm going for that again. I will be taking pictures every week despite how terribly disgusting I think they are and I will be monitoring my lifts carefully to track improvement...these are how I will measure results.

By the end of July I want to have triceps/biceps back at the peak they were at. Benchpress is impossible as my machine maxes out at 175lbs/80kg but I can substitute this target by achieving a max bench on the machine 3x20 and having a goal of 30 unassisted pullups.


Wish me luck, goals and diet in next post.

[luckducky433]

*this has been updated to be accurate, i figure if i'm not putting down a set regime, then who's gonna follow me?

Goals:

Triceps: 40kg per side 1x10
Biceps: 35kg per side 1x10
Bench: 80kg (max for machine) 3x20
Row: 80kg (max for machine) 3x20
Presses: 80kg 1x20
Flys: 30kg per side 2x10
Pullups: 30 unassisted without rest


Diet:

Monday - Thursday (Starting May 6th because I will be on a business trip starting Friday and return on May 5)

Breakfast: 100grams of cereal w/milk (dried fruit and oats) or apple, at least 8oz of water, shooting for 24oz, select vitamins (bcaa, l-carnatine, vitamin A, C, chitosan)

Lunch: this is usually a bento or some oden from the store as I eat lunch with the little lady every day

During day: 1 liter of ocha (tea), peach or plain, up to 2 coffees, 1 monster energy drink (Japanese size, so 1/2 the size America has)

Dinner: 200grams grilled or baked chicken with a sauce (bbq, teriyaki, kimachimayo, hot)...these are homemade so no chemicals and just basic sugar/water/soy sauce variations, 100grams of a carb (either tofu or sweet potato fries), a Dr. Pepper (it's better than a scotch, so until I'm comfortable going to plain water with dinner, this stays)

After workout - just water, minimum 24oz, I usually chug a few cups so it's easy. Sometimes 8oz of cold-brew coffee when I have made it in advance.

Snack (if needed): lettuce, 1/2 - 1 tomato and oil/balsamic dressing





Workout:

Monday - Chest
Tuesday - Rest
Wednesday - Back
Thursday - Arms
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Abs and legs (I don't do intensive leg work due to a motorcycle accident years ago) so this is more like a semi-cardio day
Sunday - Rest

The workout intensity will increase as I get used to things again and improve RoM...for now I will be doing a mix of whatever muscle seems under utilized (such as a chest/back combo or an arms/back, etc.)...this is the schedule to break myself in and then I'll revert to the solid "only chest" or "only back" routine as stated above.

[blownsi]

Just wanted to say that I enjoyed your story and wish you well. For now, focus more on staying sober than on specific fitness goals. It takes a long time to get things straight in your head when getting sober. Sounds like you've found someone supportive, be honest with her. Tell her your upset, angry, need a drink, etc. Remember to do the things that you know work and avoid doing the things that destroy your progress, forget about what others think, you have to live with yourself.

[luckducky433]

Just wanted to say that I enjoyed your story and wish you well. For now, focus more on staying sober than on specific fitness goals. It takes a long time to get things straight in your head when getting sober. Sounds like you've found someone supportive, be honest with her. Tell her your upset, angry, need a drink, etc. Remember to do the things that you know work and avoid doing the things that destroy your progress, forget about what others think, you have to live with yourself.

I appreciate you coming by and saying that. Actually the fitness is the best way to keep alcohol out of my head...when I'm finished working out all I can think about is how much I want water The hardest part is the train ride home every day where I constantly have easy access to convenience stores at every station where I can just pick up a small bottle like I used to do every day...it's about changing that routine to look forward to a workout instead of looking forward to a drink.

To be honest, I'm not an angry person at all, she's great to be around and I'm probably the most calm person you'll meet...her family knows that and despite me being a gaijin, they've accepted me because I'm kind to her. My last wife was an abusive addict which just fueled my need to drink to cope with her. I would drink so that things weren't so bad and no matter how belligerent she would become, it would be like I wasn't even there...that was my passive life for 6 years, hiding behind a bottle.

Thank you for the support, I'll do my best! がんばる！

[luckducky433]

9 days sober!

Today a little sore, but just as it should be. Did the following...these numbers are pathetic, so try not to laugh too hard, but if i'm not honest about these now, it will be that much harder to improve. These are in order of how I trained tonight:

Pulldowns: 3 sets, 12x30kg, 10x50kg, 8x40kg

Rows: 4 sets, 12x30kg, 10x40kg, 10x40kg, 15x30kg (I went back down because I wasn't tensing by back right at first and I noticed my forearms were getting fatigued before my back...corrected this in 2nd set and then did 3 sets from there correctly)

Cable...pullacrosses? 1 set of 10x10kg (standing, grip each cable from opposite side and pull across body extending the arms fully)...basically looks like I'm flashing someone

Bicep curls: 2 sets, 10x20kg, 8x20kg (sitting on bench, same position as my rows only flipped my grip palms up)

Cable Flys (seated): 2 sets, 10x20kg, 6x30kg

Benchpress: 2 sets, 10x40kg, 6x50kg


I went back to rows afterwards and did maybe 30 rows (split across 2 mixed sets) at 20kg to focus on squeezing my back and getting the form right, trying to relearn mmc for this exercise...


Overall, sweating but not dead tired after, however my biceps and shoulders are still fatigued 1 hour later, so it wasn't terrible.




Diet today:

Breakfast: 8oz water and vitamins, 1 riceball (i was late today)

Lunch: Tonkatsu (fried pork and a bowl of rice), shredded cabbage, 4oz water, 8oz green tea

Daytime: 1 monster energy drink, 1 liter peach tea

Dinner: homemade ratatouille, maybe 500grams (didn't measure to be honest), 2 cadbury eggs (wanted scotch, chocolate helps mellow that craving), 24oz water

[laff79]

coming from someone without a drink for almost 10 yrs now. Focus on sobriety first. Everything else will come as it should. Good luck