Imp's fat loss log...because why not?

[Imp81318]

Yes, I have been feeling like I'm on top of the world lately. Funny that you mention my arms - that was one of the things that has jumped out to me when looking at my pictures too but I had convinced myself that it was a figment of my imagination. Nice to hear that someone else sees it too..haha.

Everything that I've been doing has obviously been working and I've been enjoying the process and my workouts, so obviously it was time to change things up a bit. I started on the Fierce 5 Dumbbell Novice Fully Body Program last night. The first workout went more quickly than I expected it to. I intentionally started out a bit lighter than I thought I could do, and at the end of the workout I still had plenty of energy left and was actually wishing it was a bit longer which shocked me. It will be interesting to see how I feel as I get into the program a few weeks and begin to go through the weight progressions. Here is the basic structure of the program:

Workout A:
Single Let Box Squat 3x8 - bodyweight on/off 5 gallon bucket
Chest Press 3x8 - Level 3
Upright Row 3x8 - Level 5 (too easy, will increase next workout)
Reverse Flies 3x10 - Level 2 (too easy, will increase next workout)
Calf raises / French Press Superset 2x15 / 2x10 - Level 6 / 4 (too easy, will increase both next workout)


Workout B:
Lunge 3x5 - Bodyweight + 40lbs extra
Overhead Press 3x5 - Level 5
RDL 3x8 - 105lbs (up 5lbs from last time I did RDLs)
Lat Pulldowns 3x8 - Level 6
Abs/Bicep Curls Superset 2x15/2x10 - Level 6/20 lbs. (I haven't done curls in forever so this is subject to change in either direction as I feel is appropriate)

[lukepeter]

This "moving heavy things around for gain" thing is new to you, it wont be long until you find a sweet spot from which to launch your progression with some measure of consistency.

When in doubt, the measuring tape doesn't lie The fact that you are making strength gains while still eating at a deficit is great - its so much harder for your body to do that when you are restricting its input, but the work will pay huge dividends when you reach the end of the process and have a lean muscular physique rather than the body of a desiccated draughr

[Imp81318]

Yeah, I'm definitely still trying to figure out what the appropriate weights are for me to be starting out with right now. In general, I've been finding out that I need to start with more weights than I expected to be able to move which has been nice. It is also, I believe, a testament to the progress that I had made on my own routine as well and confirmation that I had not previously been wasting my time with an "improper" routine.

Today we spent the day with about half of my wife's family and nearly everyone commented on how skinny I had gotten. This was the first time that I was around people that haven't really seen me regularly since I started dropping weight, so it was nice to hear how immediately apparent my progress was to everyone else. I also noticed that at the end of day I feel like I am looking a bit more trim in the mirror - not sure if it is a true whoosh effect (which I have tended to have periodically), or if it was a matter of looking at myself with a different perspective after all of the compliments I've received throughout the day today.

[Imp81318]

Week in Review:

Protein/Fat/Total Cals
Goal: 152 / 79 / 2,030

Sat: 154 / 89 / 2,036
Sun: 146 / 117 / 2,341
Mon: 175 / 69 / 1,883
Tue: 144 / 92 / 1,914
Wed: 135 / 82 / 2,259
Thu: 174 / 89 / 1,988
Fri: 193 / 131 / 2,254

Weekly Avg: 152 / 95 / 2,096

[Imp81318]

I went completely off the rails yesterday. We had an all-day cookout at a park for my grandmother-in-law's 90th birthday. My nutrition really wasn't too bad through lunch, except for the beer that I consumed. In the afternoon a buddy of mine from college called me out of the blue with an offer to go to a baseball game last night, which means us grabbing a few more beers together to catch up, followed by an 840 calorie sandwich for dinner at the ballpark. It was the first day that I did not track anything that I ate throughout the day. I just went back and added up everything that I ate yesterday. Without the beer I actually ended up right around my daily goal and was only 35g short on protein for the day, and I would've likely hit the protein goal if not for the ballpark sandwich. With the beer, on the other hand, I went over my goal by around 1,500kcal which means that I was around 1,000kcal over TDEE for the day.

It is funny to me - when I look at the number over maintenance it feels like a ton. But then when I think about it as a 2-day setback on my goals it feels completely worth it. This morning my weight was basically the same as it was yesterday morning. I've been hovering right around 176 for the better part of a week or so now, so my 7-day average weight has caught up to my daily weights. Typically, I would be due for a whoosh of weight loss in the next few days but with my yesterday I have no idea what to expect. I'm sure it will all even out soon enough. I'm really looking forward to getting a good workout in later today.

Yesterday was also the first time that I had people taking an interest in what I was doing and the changes I had made to lose weight like I have. Two different people talked to me about it - the first started the conversation by saying that she had heard I was on a diet, which really rubbed me the wrong way. I have tried to hard to tell people that I am making changes to my lifestyle and how I think about food and that this isn't simply a diet that I'm going to give up on at some point but they just don't seem to get it. I tried to explain this all to her, and gave a few examples of how I've changed how I think about and view food but I'm not really sure if she got it or if she left thinking "ok, yeah, he's on a diet but just doesn't want to call it a diet."

The other person has actually also been making similar changes. I'll classify him as a former athlete - played baseball through college and on men's teams basically all of his life and has been on and off with working out regularly since I've known him. Currently he's also back to going to the gym and making selective choices about what and when he eats to give his body the fuel it needs, rather than eating for enjoyment. He got what I am doing, and it felt really nice to be able to casually talk about it with someone that was truly engaged and understood what I'm doing.

[lukepeter]

Totally off the rails != 1000kcal over TDEE

People that are not invested in this process like we are are not likely to understand. They are constantly bombarded with fad diets from the media and friends that promise magic results, the fact that it is simple in vs out seems to elude them, along with the fact that its balance that we are after, not simply to lose x amount of kg, but to get to a healthy, sustainable lifestyle that does not cause our subconscious to shout out in deprivation. I suppose its like that with any passion that you have, but dont share with someone you are talking to, you will always be more invested, and their interest will always be shallow

Having someone who understands in day to day life to talk with this about is a huge plus, but for the days when they are absent, you always have us

[Imp81318]

Totally off the rails != 1000kcal over TDEE

That, I suppose, is up to each individual's interpretation of the process. Personally, I have tried to be SO strict throughout the process and only ever indulge in alcohol or "cheat snacks" or whatever when it fits well into my macros that a day like Sunday represents a huge deviation. I have taken a good deal of personal pride in how much I have learned through this process and also how consistent and disciplined I have been - I've been viewing each day as a significant success. And with that view, a day like Sunday felt like a significant failure when I totaled everything up the following morning. With a few days of reflection, and considering the amount of fun and enjoyment I got out of the day it was absolutely worth it. And I have the added perspective that I am able to have a day like that and still be at a reasonable total calorie intake for the day.

People that are not invested in this process like we are are not likely to understand. They are constantly bombarded with fad diets from the media and friends that promise magic results, the fact that it is simple in vs out seems to elude them, along with the fact that its balance that we are after, not simply to lose x amount of kg, but to get to a healthy, sustainable lifestyle that does not cause our subconscious to shout out in deprivation. I suppose its like that with any passion that you have, but dont share with someone you are talking to, you will always be more invested, and their interest will always be shallow

This is absolutely true. I find it irritating and borderline offensive when people ask me about "my diet" or refer to me being on a "diet". I know that they don't mean anything by it, but I've been working so hard to make real, sustainable, difference-making changes to my entire lifestyle that it feels like a slap in the face when others view it as a temporary thing that will end at some point. I know you and Peter have discussed this quite a bit in the past, and I'm finally getting to a point where I've made enough progress to start to get the same effects too. Even as I was describing how I'm not just eating less I'm eating completely differently and I've changed the way that I think about food to Shayna she quipped "well yeah, but there's a lot of food here so you're going to back off of that for today, right?"

Having someone who understands in day to day life to talk with this about is a huge plus, but for the days when they are absent, you always have us

This would be really nice to have. Unfortunately, I only see these people a few times per year and for every conversation with Jeff there are at least 3 or 4 more conversations with the rest of the family that 100% do not get it at all. So, I guess you're just going to have to get used to talking to me on here! Haha.

[Imp81318]

My weight has continued to hang right around 176 lbs. I weighed 176.6 lbs 13 days ago, and today I weighed in at 176.2 lbs. In that 2-week period, my weight has fluctuated between 175.0 and 177.2. My 7-day average weight has continued to drop, which shows me the true benefit of looking at a running average weight rather than individual daily or weekly data points. I feel like my weight has stalled for 2 weeks, yet my 7-day running average weight has continued to drop every day and, even though I weighed 1.2 pounds more today than I did 7 days ago, my running average weight today is actually 0.6 pounds below what it was last Thursday. This means that even though my weight is bouncing around more for the last 2 weeks or so, I am continuing to be on a general downward trend overall. Granted, the trend has slowed considerably, but the trend still exists. I am hoping that I'm still carrying some extra water weight from the weekend and I'll get a nice drop of a couple of pounds or so here in the next couple of days, but only time will tell. While I have been a bit more loose with my tracking of my foods (eyeballing portions rather than weighing/measuring everything at dinner time primarily), I do not believe that my diet has fallen off so badly that I have stopped losing weight entirely. Again though, only time will tell for sure.

I progressed weights last night and noticed that they felt significantly heavier than they had the last time I did the same workout. Initially I was attributing this to progressing too quickly, but I think it is more directly related to having worked out on a slight calorie excess (as compared to my target intake) last time and being about 160 calories below target at the time of my workout last night. I got through everything, but at the end of the workout I felt like there was no way I'd be able to do another progression next week. I'll get to do this workout again at the same weight as last night before I try increasing, so only time will tell for sure...

With summer break starting up, my wife is about to be home with the kids which means that I should be able to start getting into work earlier and having more free time in the evenings. I'm trying to decide whether I want to keep working out at home since I'm not currently maxing out the equipment I have available, or if I want to start using my gym membership and working out there where I'll have a full array of equipment. I like the convenience of working out at home, but it also might be nice to get out of the house and get my workouts in first thing in the morning in an empty gym with no distractions.

[Imp81318]

Week in Review:

Protein/Fat/Total Cals
Goal: 152 / 79 / 2,030

Sat: 170 / 113 / 2,506
Sun: 116 / 94 / 3,681
Mon: 175 / 97 / 2,135
Tue: 168 / 72 / 1,826
Wed: 175 / 84 / 2,025
Thu: 181 / 83 / 1,937
Fri: 135 / 97 / 1,977

Weekly Avg: 160 / 91 / 2,298

__________________________________________________ __________
After spending last weekend with family, including a cookout that involved way more alcohol consumption than necessary followed by a baseball game with an old game, I got back on track nicely and managed to round out the week in a deficit overall. Weight loss stalled for most of the week, but fell 2 pounds in 2 days from Friday - Sunday. Things seem to be getting back on track and back to normal at this point. I had two good workouts at home this week - Monday and Wednesday. Planned to workout on Friday, but an unexpected 1-day trip (i.e. Down and back) to Richmond, VA for work (4.5 hr drive each way) coupled with dinner at the park with friends meant no time or energy for a workout by the time I finally got home. Should've worked out on Saturday, but I ended up doing stuff around the house instead - nothing terribly physically demanding unfortunately, but I just didn't stop all day long. I'm sure I burned a fair number of calories but I didn't really tax my muscles and by the end of the day I just didn't have the energy to work out. I really need to start working out first thing in the morning on Saturdays. Had a really good workout at interval class yesterday - I heard several people saying the class seemed harder than normal. Not sure if it was how he changed up the interval timing or what, but it felt like a great workout. Hip flexor flared up pretty badly at the end of it, which I think might have been related to spending the better part of 10 hours in a car just 2 days prior. Today is an off day, and I'll get back to my workouts tomorrow.

One thing I really like about the class atmosphere on Sunday mornings is that I can measure my progress against the other people in the class since it is usually primarily the same people from week to week. Between workouts the trainer has us run wind sprints half the length of the gym we're working out in. At the beginning, I was consistently one of if not the last person to finish the sprints and there was one guy in particular that seemed like he was nearly lapping me (we run "down and back" twice for each set of sprints). Yesterday, I hung with him and finished about half a stride behind each time, except for the last round when I had to pull up early due to my hip flexor. This improved performance is also coming with much stronger and more aggressive performance of the actual exercises as well, so it is obvious to me just how much better shape I am in now than I was just 4 months ago. I am getting to a point that I am starting to feel pretty good about where I'm at physically - I have significantly improved my physical conditioning/cardiovascular health, strength has improved somewhat, and I've lost a fair bit of fat off my frame.

Since I am not terribly concerned with how I look or the aesthetic aspect of being "fit", I am considering whether to continue to cut and then go into a slow, clean bulk period to continue improving strength or if I want to end my cut where I am right now and raise my calories to maintenance and begin more of a recomp period. I think that I'm at about a weight that I'd like to end up at ultimately, but I'd like to be a bit stronger at this weight than I currently am, which means I'll need to have more muscle mass. I realize the most efficient way to get there is probably to drop another 10-15 pounds of fat and then slowly build back up, but I'm also not so sure that efficiency is really my primary focus since I'm getting to a point where I'm fairly happy with my fitness level. That said, I have been able to remain fairly disciplined and maintaining my caloric deficit has not felt too terribly onerous, so why not keep on going a little longer? Regardless of what I decide to do with my diet I intend to keep working out and continue to improve my physical conditioning.

[lukepeter]

Its great that you are "competing" in a group class. I think it is a natural thing for us to measure our performance against the status quo - but it is a double edged sword - so long as its healthy competition that is having a positive effect on your training and outlook then it is certainly a grand thing to have in your life. I always perform better when there is someone who is close to my ability, but just enough better than me that I have to give my all to remain competitive, its an environment that I thrive in, and by the looks of things you are doing well there too.

I also experience tight and painful hip flexors from time to time - its an unfortunate side effect of doing a predominantly seated desk job, if you get a recipe for success please share it

My strategy post fat loss will be a sustained slow bulk - not because I am unhappy with my muscle mass or strength, but because the idea of maintenance without progression is hard for me to swallow. I think when I transition into calisthenics there will be plenty of room for growth and fresh progression so that may make it easier. I think so long as you are paying attention to your bodyfat then a gentle bulk (200-300kcal over maintenance) is what you are after - it will result in muscle growth, and slowly enough that fat gain should be minimal so long as you are lifting correctly and keeping active - I have already mentioned my theory on body composition adaptation re: what your activity level is vs your intake.

It seems like you are finding some performance based metrics that you can use to set some new goals now (faster shuttle ruin times, more pushups etc.) these are great ways to track progress.

[Imp81318]

Thanks, Luke. I feel like I am starting to kind of settle in and get a bit more comfortable with this new "fitness" lifestyle. And I think a big part of that, I think, has been the ability to measure my progress in the Sunday classes. I've changed my workouts up a bit at home, and while I can see that I'm lifting X amount more weight than I could a few weeks ago, that has never really been my end goal or a meaningful metric for me. Seeing that my overall fitness has improved enough that I am able to complete the workouts in the class which are fairly consistent week-to-week, and see that I'm making progress and "gaining" on the other people in the class has really been giving me a boost of confidence and drive to hit my workouts with more intensity lately. One of my big goals is to get to a point where I'm not tracking my macros and calories so closely. Once I hit a weight that I decide to stop at, which may be coming pretty soon, my first step is, I think, going to be to stop weighing foods and tracking calories and just continue to monitor my weight and progress with my lifts. Then, as I begin to feel more and more comfortable with my process I'll start to allow myself to begin consuming more calories slowly until my weight loss tapers off and I hit a maintenance point. Ideally, I'd like to get to a point where all I'm doing is making conscious decisions with my food and drink, working out, and monitoring my weight. I hope to be at a point where I can maintain or even manipulate my weight up or down by adjusting what I'm eating without actively tracking everything like I have been up until now. So your suggestion of going into a 200-300kcal exceedance isn't really all that appealing to me because it would, at least to me on the surface right now, required continued close monitoring of my intake. I may end up going into a slow bulk to get back up to a strong/fit 175-180 lbs, but I don't want to attach a specific calorie amount to it, if that makes sense.

I've actually decided (as of this morning) to sign up for my first race too. I am going to run the Warrior Dash in August. I am not going to enter the "competitive" group, I just want to use it as an opportunity to push myself physically and see where I am at on a much broader scale in terms of fitness level and to have some fun with it. I don't plan on changing my current workout program to prepare for it at all, except to maybe start running once or twice a week to build up a bit more cardiovascular endurance. I'm not sure that I've ever run 5 kilometers in my life, let alone done it with all of the obstacles and everything else, but I'm really excited about this challenge and to see where I'm at. I think this will really give me a good gauge on whether or not I am truly in the best shape of my life right now or not. The only thing I really know for certain is that I never would have even thought about entering something like this before...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O8zfXSAkoU

[Imp81318]

Week in Review:

Protein/Fat/Total Cals
Goal: 152 / 79 / 2,030

Sat: 137 / 82 / 1,914
Sun: 167 / 71 / 2,130
Mon: 162 / 116 / 1,998
Tue: 152 / 70 / 1,805
Wed: 162 / 75 / 2,016
Thu: 141 / 67 / 2,146
Fri: 159 / 69 / 2,126

Weekly Avg: 157 / 79 / 2,019

__________________________________________________ __________

Another great week is in the books. After having stalled for about 2 weeks, my weight started falling again this week to the tune of around 2 pounds down from this time last week. I managed to hit all of my workouts - Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday (yesterday) at home, plus the Sunday class this week. We're getting hit with a heat wave right now, so I'm thinking that starting to run outside might have to wait another week or so. Starting running for the first time in the 95 degree (F) heat doesn't seem like the best idea.

I had planned to do some work in my shed today, but the heat has driven me inside. I'm not sure how much to blame my lack of energy and motivation today on the heat, and how much I should blame on having done 2 workouts around 12 hours apart for the first time. My workout yesterday got delayed until after the kids went to bed (which is starting to become the new normal and, surprisingly, as I've gotten into the routine of doing it then I am finding my motivation is remaining high at that time), and I went to the class at the gym this morning.

[Imp81318]

I've been noticing that I am struggling with impulse control lately. I haven't been killing myself or my goals or anything, but I just notice that I've been a lot more likely to "sneak" a pretzel or handful of crackers or whatever when I'm getting snacks for my kids in the last week or so. In the last several days I've also noticed that I have been more hungry, and it doesn't really seem to matter what I eat. So far, this has meant that I've been eating much closer to maintenance rather than maintaining my 500 kcal deficit the last few days. Today I plan to stick to my deficit goals, but the next week is not going to be kind to me - my wife is planning a special meal for me of some sort tomorrow night for my birthday, which will come with a lemon meringue pie just for me, Thursday night we're going to to my son's favorite burger joint for his birthday, and this weekend we have a 50th anniversary/vow renewal party for my aunt and uncle. Note that the pie means that I will have to eat the entire pie within about 4 or 5 days to keep it from spoiling (this has never been a problem for me in the past, and I'm sure it won't be a problem for me this year) - not difficult to do, but at ~600kcal per slice it doesn't fit into my macros very well at all. I'm thinking that if I can hit my daily macro goal of ~500kcal deficit each day without the pie, addition of the pie should put me around 100kcal surplus each day. If I eat it in 5 days, that is a 500kcal surplus for the week with 2 days left to make sure I end the week in a net deficit, which should be manageable. I am sure the added carbs and sugars and deliciousness will cause my weight to jump up several pounds but that will mostly be water weight.

Without factoring in the next week, I am on target to hit my goal weight of 170 lbs on June 30th. I am figuring this birthday week will set me back around 2 weeks, so I would expect to hit my goal weight around July 14th or so. I'll be going on vacation the second week of July and do not anticipate making any progress while on vacation - ideally I will hit my goal before vacation, but realistically it may not happen until the end of July or so. And that is perfectly fine by me.

[lukepeter]

Hey Steve.

Well done for getting signed up for the warrior race, those obstacle runs are very attractive to me also - they represent a very good balance of physical challenges - and I think having something like that to work towards is a really smart goal.

Impulse control gets exponentially harder the closer you get to "lean", your body will throw absolutely every hungry hormone it can at you to get you out of what it considers slow starvation to death, you are going to have to find a coping mechanism that works for you (assuming you continue with this weight loss thing for the foreseeable future). For me, I am finding that eating two times a day with bigger meals makes adherence easier at the moment, and it has not yet had any discernible impact on my ability to lift or harmed my fat loss process.

I certainly understand the dilemma of the entire cake to consume solo... As evidenced by my Easter debauchery I am in the camp of "eat it all in one sitting and be done with it", the mature and reasonable response is to simply not eat the entire cake yourself - it was a part of the habits that got you where you were at the beginning of this journey. Logic dictates the frugal eating scenario, but as I showed, logic doesn't always win out

Looking forward to mud splattered exhausted face pictures following the obstacle race

[Imp81318]

I know that as I get more lean it will or at least should become increasingly difficult to continue to shed weight, but I don't feel like I'm lean enough to really be experiencing that yet. I think that the lack of impulse control is a result of several factors compiled on top of one another: Allowing myself to snack throughout the day at my son's birthday party broke my streak of making good choices, and I allowed that relaxation to carry over for the next several days. I also did back-to-back workouts on Saturday and Sunday and for several days afterward my appetite was out of control. I believe that I had temporarily inflated my TDEE for a few days due to increased activity and I didn't adjust my diet accordingly which resulted in higher hunger levels and thus more cheating. Yesterday and today have been back on track, although I was more hungry than normal throughout the day yesterday I was able to avoid snacking and stuck to my daily macros.

I know that I shouldn't eat the entire pie myself, but I disagree that is the behavior that got me into my recent situation. This pie is a once-a-year treat that my wife makes for me on my birthday. And that is why I am going to eat it all, just as I have every other year - I simply enjoy it too much to share it. Plus, in the grand scheme of things, a few thousand calories deviation in a week or two isn't going to terribly impact my ability to reach my goals, it just may shift the date on the calendar that I do it. And since my goals really aren't "end goals" anyway, I'm fine with it.

Work and life are once again getting in the way of my workouts this week, but I was able to fit in a mid-day workout at home today and, with a bit of discipline, I should be able to fit in workouts on Friday and Sunday, putting me more or less back on schedule to resume with my Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday routine next week.

[Imp81318]

No workout Friday and we're out of town with no access to weights this weekend, which means I only made 1 of my 3 home workouts this week. I did manage to force myself to go for a run this morning, which was the first run I've done in around 6 years and the first of my life that I did of my own volition without my wife dragging me along with her.

I ran in 1:00 intervals alternating between jogging and walking. Total distance was 3.6 miles at just over 11:00 mile pace. At the end of most of the intervals I felt like I could've kept going even toward the end of the run. I actually felt like I could've run a bit longer too, but I wanted to take it easy being my first run in such a long time.

I definitely like I had much better stamina and recovery than I have at any other point in my adult life. Much to my surprise i also did not despise running neatry as much as i havd in the past, although I suspect those feeling will return as I continue to run. My current goal is going to be to continue to increase the running intervals and shorten the walking intervals until I can complete at least 3.1 continuous miles to prepare for the 5k warrior dash.

[Imp81318]

Week in Review:

Protein/Fat/Total Cals
Goal: 152 / 79 / 2,030

Sat: 131 / 142 / 2,513
Sun: 171 / 90 / 2,517
Mon: 148 / 122 / 2,432
Tue: 137 / 80 / 2,016
Wed: 143 / 71 / 2,255
Thu: 169 / 92 / 2,779
Fri: 170 / 70 / 2,128

Weekly Avg: 153 / 95 / 2,377

__________________________________________________ ___

This was by far my worst week in terms of nutrition with the combination of my birthday, Father's Day, my son's birthday, and a vow renewal ceremony/50th wedding anniversary for my wife's aunt and uncle. But at least I was able to stay under maintenance for the week so no real damage has been done, despite reading several pounds heaving on the scale for the last few days due to carb load-up. Even when you know what it is, and knowing that it will drop back off as soon as I resume normal calorie deficit-focused eating, stupid water weight is still stupid.

Legs are aching and a bit tight this morning from my run yesterday, but truthfully not as bad as I expected them to be. Woke up with a lot of chest congestion and sinus drainage so any thoughts about running again today are out the window, but hopefully I'll be able to breathe well enough to get a normal workout in later today when I get back home. I should finish my pie tomorrow night, which means I'll be my eating back on track starting on Tuesday.

[Imp81318]

I'm a couple of days late on monthly progress pics, so here they are. The left photo is from February, a couple of weeks after I started this journey, and the right photos are from this morning.

[lukepeter]

Aside from the obvious fat loss, your posture has improved, and your bearing implies significantly improved functionality, your forearms are larger and better defined etc. It just looks like you have become a more competent mover, both of yourself and of other things

Considering these pics come on top of pie consumption and fathers day feasting, and two birthdays - you should certainly be proud of your achievements in this process. You have been really consistent with your diet, and it shows. I wish I had your discipline regarding putting food into my mouth - hunger when faced with an abundance of possible foodstuffs is something I really struggle to ignore.

Its been great tagging along during this process Steve, thanks for sharing.

[Imp81318]

Thanks Luke. Much to my surprise, the diet part of this journey has come to me without too much difficulty once I learned what I should be eating to fuel my body. But as disciplined and consistent as I've been with eating, I have been equally as inconsistent and undisciplined with working out. I enjoy my workouts, I just continue to struggle to fit them into my regular daily routine. Every time I think I have figured out a sequence/schedule to my day that works something comes up and I've skipped an entire week's worth of workouts.

[lukepeter]

Between the two of us we are one well rounded human being

[Imp81318]

Between the two of us we are one well rounded human being

I had that same thought as I was reading your prior post - if you had my discipline with food and I had yours with working out we'd both be incredibly fit and unstoppable.

[Imp81318]

I had my lowest daily weigh-in yet this morning at 172.6 lbs. My 7-day running average is still up from a week ago due to the water weight gained from the various festivities, but it is nice to see that I am not back on track and continuing to make progress, as I expected would be the case. My running average weight will continue to be up for a few more days, but it has begun trending back downward again. With this morning's weigh-in, I am calling it - 30 lbs lost (my first 2 weigh-ins before I started changing anything were 205 and 202 lbs, respectively. This morning I weighed 172.6 with a 7-day average of 174.7 lbs. Feels pretty good.

[Imp81318]

Week in Review:

Protein/Fat/Total Cals
Goal: 152 / 79 / 2,030

Sat: 166 / 120 / 3,021
Sun: 141 / 79 / 2,486
Mon: 155 / 86 / 2,466
Tue: 149 / 68 / 1,853
Wed: 142 / 95 / 2,066
Thu: 161 / 68 / 1,943
Fri: 154 / 61 / 1,803

Weekly Avg: 155 / 83 / 2,234

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This week started with the conclusion of the onslaught of celebrations and a return to a more normal diet. As my diet fell back into the realm of normal I slowly dropped the extra water weight I'd been carrying. Other than about a 2-week setback from the festivities, I think I am back on track to hit my new goal weight of 170 lbs before the end of July. I was able to get all of my workouts in this week (Sun, Tue, Thur, Sat). Workouts were generally good, although I really struggles on nearly all of my lifts on Saturday night. Hoping I'll be able to hit my progressions tomorrow, but if yesterday was any indication I might be failing to complete a few sets.

I followed my normal workouts up with another run Sunday morning. I biked 1.5 miles to the local high school's track for a warmup, ran 2 miles around the track, and then walked 0.5 miles and biked 1.5 miles home for a cooldown. I didn't track my pace, but I believe this was the first time I have ever been able to steadily run for 2 miles without needed to stop to take a break. And I actually felt like I could've kept going but my friend that I was running with had had enough. Check off another personal-best accomplishment in the realm of fitness for me. Hopefully, at some point I will start achieving personal bests that I feel are indicative of me actually being in decent shape rather than continuing to serve as a reminder of just how poorly I've taken care of my body all my life.

[Imp81318]

Worked in a 3 mile bike ride (1.5 mile each for a warmup and cool down) and a 2.5 mile run after work tonight. My quads are toast.

[Imp81318]

Did Fierce 5 Dumbell routine A yesterday. Taking a day off today. I've been doing OK with my diet lately but I've been experiencing incredible hunger lately. I assume it is due largely to the addition of running on my "off" days without increasing my daily calorie allowance to compensate, but at the same time I doubt I am burning the number of calories I'd have to eat to feel as satiated as I was feeling just a couple of weeks ago. Today, for example, is an off day and I am at work. Typically, on a work day I would eat my breakfast shortly after I get to the office, around 7:30 or 8AM, followed by a banana around 9:00, lunch around 11:00, and an afternoon snack around 2:00 to hold me over until dinner time. Today I ate my breakfast immediately after I got to my desk because I was hungry all morning while getting ready for the day, ate my banana around 8:00, half my lunch as a morning snack at 10:00, and ate my lunch and afternoon snack at 11:30. And at no point in the day today did I ever really feel completely satiated. I'm hoping that this suffering is going to pay off on the scale soon, but for right now more salt and carb-heavy dinners than normal are throwing my morning weigh-ins off.

[Imp81318]

Last 2 morning weigh-ins have been 170.8 lbs. Just 0.8 lbs to lose to get into the 160's. I am quite confident I haven't been in this weight range since college, although I didn't really think about or keep track of my weight back then. Did Fierce 5 Dumbbell Routine B last night after work. I progressed all of my lifts on my last 2 workouts. It feels good, and I finally am starting to feel like I am actually moving some weight, even though the total amounts are still quite low. It feels good to look back and consider the progress that I've been able to make thus far, and it feels really good to be consistently adding weight to the bar week after week, even though the increments are small. I am really enjoying the Fierce 5 routine, but I am starting to get close to maxing out the weight that I have available at home on several of my lifts. I am confident that I can do a single leg box squat at this point, although I haven't attempted it in a few weeks. I actually think that might be the next progression that I try.

I also managed to drag myself out of bed early this morning and run 3 miles and bike 3 miles split into a 1.5 mile warmup and 1.5 mile cooldown. My pace running was around 10:30/mile, which is about a minute faster than my pace the last time I ran. I feel like I could've pushed the pace a bit more today, but I'm still learning how my body is going to respond to running. Need to continue to be mindful of and work on improving form while running - today's run seemed to be much more high impact than my last run, and when I focused on improving my form it felt like it really strained my calf muscles. I'm thinking that my legs were more tight due to hitting them harder last night, than the last time that I ran. Still working to figure things out, but at least for now I am not hating running like I used to. It was actually kind of peaceful to watch the day slowly come to life as I ran around the track all by myself this morning.

Things continue to go well on the nutrition front. I have decided that I'm going to take the next step in making this way of eating a more normal part of my daily life, so effective yesterday I have stopped weighing my food. I am still tracking everything that I eat, I am just estimating my portion sizes. I will monitor my weight gain/loss and adjust my intake from there. Assuming things continue to go well I may continue to drop my weight another 10 pounds or so, or I might not...I haven't quite decided yet.

[Imp81318]

I have had a very carb-heavy weekend - a sandwich for lunch and a sandwich on a roll for dinner Saturday, burrito wrap and bagel for breakfast and pizza for lunch/dinner on Sunday (ate so much at lunch that I skipped dinner), bison burger on a bun with french fries for lunch on Monday and grilled potato wedges for dinner on Monday night - which has led to my weight being up all weekend. I wasn't able to weigh myself most of the weekend, but today my weight is up a few pounds. Despite all of the extra carbs, I ate just below maintenance for the weekend which I'm considering a win overall. I didn't manage to exercise this weekend at all, but I did help a friend move out of her house and into a new apartment on Sunday and I was moving around all day Saturday and yesterday, so I was still burning calories all weekend, despite the lack of dedicated workouts. I'm hoping to be able to work out today, Thursday, and Saturday this week but it is going to be difficult to squeeze them in since I leave for vacation next weekend and have a lot to get done at work between now and then. While on vacation I will not lift weights at all, but I will be doing a fair amount of biking and walking around all week which will help to offset at least some of the additional calories to be consumed.

[Imp81318]

After struggling through the holiday weekend, my nutrition finally settled back in for the latter part of last week. Unfortunately, a looming deadline at work and preparing for vacation at home means that I skipped all of my workouts for the week. I did continue to see some progress on the scale, although it was not as much as I had hoped for. I'm currently on vacation and not tracking anything that I eat or drink this week. In general, I am much more active swimming and playing on the beach with the kids all morning coupled with our only means of transportation for the week being walking and biking everywhere we want to go. Today I also managed to squeeze in a 3.2 mile run on the beach at the ocean's edge during the kids' nap time. I am not going to be lifting at all this week, but hopefully I'll fit in at least 1 or 2 more runs to help offset some of the extra calories consumed.

Breakfasts and lunches this week are fairly typical, and I'm eating fewer snacks in between meals than normal but we're eating out for dinner every night plus ice cream and/or alcohol with/after dinner means that I'm sure I'm not sticking to my calorie goals. It will be really interesting to see what the scale says when I get to weigh myself at normal time Monday morning.

On the plus side, I am currently wearing a pair of shorts that I have not worn in probably a good 10 years. I used to wear these shorts all the time, until they shrunk to the point that I couldn't button them anymore (at least that was my story at the time). They're a tiny bit snug in the waist, but not uncomfortable after wearing them for the last several hours. I'm counting this as a major win. :-)

[Imp81318]

I'm back from vacation and can happily report that no damage was done! The extra activity of playing with the kids in the surf and biking everywhere offset the extra calories consumed throughout the week, even with vacation ending with a lot of extra carbs in the form of bread and alcohol Saturday night. I weighed in at 171.2, over a pound down from my pre-vacation weight this morning. I'm calling that a huge win and getting back on track effective as off 5:30AM today when I went for a quick little 1.25 mile run before getting ready for work.

While at the beach I decided to go for a run along the water's edge on our first day of vacation while the kids napped. My plan was to run every day or every other day while on vacation, but at the last minute I decided to ditch the shoes and run barefoot on the sand. It felt awesome, but the 3.2 miles was more than I should've done for my first barefoot run as evidenced by the insanely tight calf muscles for the next 3 days and the massive blisters on both of my feet which made it difficult to walk. Feet & legs were finally good enough to handle an 8-mile bike ride on Thursday, but I definitely wasn't able to run as much as I would have preferred.

Following this experience, I decided at least for now I'm going to shorten my runs up considerably and focus more on my form and conditioning my lower calf muscles so that I can maintain form for longer. I've noticed that around halfway through my 3+ mile runs my form really starts to break down and I can feel the increased impact through my back and neck as I'm running. So rather than continue to abuse my body, I'm going to try to be smart and take things a bit more easy with running. I'm also going to start running around my neighborhood rather than going to the track so I really want to make sure my form is good to avoid beating my body up on the concrete & asphalt. This also means that I'll be running up and down hills a lot, rather than flat, so my pace will be slower than I'm used to. Hence the 1.25 mile run this morning.