Battling Temptations of Bourbon and Jambalaya - OEP's Fat Loss Log

[OrangeEarPlug]

Introduction

It’s been a while since I’ve worked out. Like many, I was a very active teenager and that lasted a few years into my 20’s. Eventually, with no competitive reason for going to the gym I just stopped completely. I’d say it was somewhere around 21-22 when I really stopped. Conversely, this is also the time I started drinking alcohol. Mostly whiskey. Hell, who am I kidding? Just whiskey, folks.

I am 27 years old, married with no kids. I currently weigh in at 219 lbs. at 5’7”. This not working out and affinity for imbibing alcohol has been coupled with about 5-6 years of hard warehouse labor. At my young age I have managed to somehow develop thoracic arthritis as well. My asthma acts up way more than it ever did, even when I was a kid. Which is sad considering the doctors said I grew out of it. The promising news is, while I can’t undo the stress my body has taken over years of carelessness, I can prevent any future diseases I’d take on if I continued this lifestyle for another decade or two. My blood sugar levels are still good! That’s some promising news. I don’t have cancer (I think). All my organs are working well, and my cholesterol levels are fine. At my lightest after boot camp I was right below 180 lbs. That’s what I’m trying to achieve again. I think I can do it.

At my best I was in high school, 185 pounds running a 4.6 40-yard dash with a 245 bench and a 415 squat. Now? I’d likely run above a 5. I could maybe get 205 for a single rep. I don’t even want to think about squatting until I drop 30 lbs.




The Plan of Attack

I’ve been reading journals today and I’ve seen some pretty impressive things. So while I won’t be stealing anything verbatim, I will be taking a few ideas and using them on getting myself to drop some weight. Isn’t that what these logs are here for? That and accountability.
I’m gonna start tomorrow morning with a 24 hour fast. No, that does NOT mean I will be binging tonight. I’m gonna eat like normal, mostly because I made a big ass pot of chicken and sausage pasta and I have no way to know how many calories are in a bowl. And we have leftovers that should last us for dinner. Also, there are brownies, and while I won’t be eating the entire pan, I’d like to have dessert before I schedule a cheat meal 2-3 days out.

I’ll be going to the gym 3-4 times a week. Stretching will be first. I’d say 5-10 minutes of stretching. Then I’m going to do 25 minutes of the stationary bike before I do any resistance training. Then I’ll do 30-40 minutes of resistance training, followed by a 5-minute cool-down on the treadmill. I’ve never been one to spend 90-120 minutes in the gym, even when I was in my best shape.

Currently, I just enrolled in school. It’s going great! Thanks for asking. But that means I left my job of 2 years to focus on that. Currently, I’m unemployed. Which is fantastic, but also a bit depressing. I’m currently on the job hunt right now. But all of this is to say that I don’t have a set time to go to the gym. My gym is a very busy one, probably the busiest gym in Boise, Idaho. If you are in Boise, you know that I’m referring to Axiom. I’ll shoot to get there at 5 AM, and even then, I have a creeping suspicion that it will start to fill up fairly quickly. I may need to push that back to 4:30. If my discipline will allow it.

Diet will be the toughest part by far. I love food. And I know a lot of people love food, but I really really love food. Maybe not more than anyone, but I’d say I’m in the 70th percentile of those who love food on earth. It’s just a spitball of an estimate, but it’s one in which I have confidence. That means that I need to curb my cravings and keep **** out of my eyeline. Whiskey goes in the cabinet. Lettuce will be front and center in the fridge, along with hummus, yogurt, and the rest of the fruit. I will need to start counting calories and weighing my food again. It’s been a while but there was once a time where this was common practice. I’ll dive into my macros in the next post.

Cheat meals will be three times a month, and it’s all dependent on what’s going on. For instance, this month LSU plays Vanderbilt this coming Saturday and then has a bye. That means I don’t need to plan on making Jambalaya or Gumbo all this month. However, my father in-law will be coming into town next week. That means I will have to indulge in at least one meal with him, and really work on keeping my wits about me with my alcoholic consumption. He’s something of a drinker. I’ll go over those as this log goes on, though.



Conclusion

If you’ve read this far, thanks. I love when people write **** like this in a log, so that’s why I’m doing it. When I’m really into a log I find myself wishing people included more info. I’ll have pics, charts, and just random journal entries in here as well. If nobody reads, oh well. It’s probably healthy to jot all our thoughts down from time to time anyway.

GEAUX TIGERS

[OrangeEarPlug]

Current Stats		Goals		Foods
Age: 27				Weight: 170 lbs		Bananas	   Onion
Height: 5’7”			Bench: 225x5		Apples	   Celery
Weight: 219 lbs			Squat: N/A 		Avocados   Olives
Bench: 205 (estimate)		Mile: 6:30		Grapes	   Pasta
Squat: 315 (estimate)					Sberries   Pita Chips
Mile: 8:30 (estimate)					Bberries   Potatoes
							Lettuce	   Blk Beans
							Wt Bread   Grd Turkey
							Hummus	   Fish
Macros						Deli Tky   Chicken
TDEE: 2250						Bell Pep   Veg Broth
Goal: 1900						Cucumber   Black Eyed
F/C/P: 70/200/120 					Eggs	   Milk
Keep Fats as Healthy as Possible			Yogurt	   Cheese 
350 Caloric Deficit					Coffee	   Creamer 
							Sugar 	   Italian 
								   Dressing

WORKOUT (9/19/19 – 10/20/19)
Tuesday		   	Thursday		Saturday		   Sunday
Bike – 25 Minutes	Bike – 25 Minutes	Bike – 25 Minutes          Bike – 45 Minutes
Upright DB Rows: 4x6	Flat Bench: 3x6		Deadlift: 3x6		   Med Ball Twist: 3x20	
Lat Pull: 3x10		DB Incline: 4x8		Leg Press: 4x6		   Planks: 4x45 secs
Seated Rows: 3x10	Chest Flies: 3x12	Leg Curls: 3x10		   Swim – 8 laps
EZ Bar Curls: 3x10	Skull-crushers: 3x8	Leg Extensions: 3x10				
DB Curls: 4x8		Tricep Pushdown: 3x10	Calf Raises: 4x15
Treadmill Cooldown	Treadmill Cooldown	Treadmill Cooldown

Other Notes

• Cheat Meals within this workout period are on the following days: 9.28.19, 10.12.19

• I will drink whiskey on Saturdays ONLY. I will try to limit myself to 10 units. Yes I know this is a lot, but when I have a glass of whiskey I typically have 2-3 shots neat or with rocks

• The food list is not an all encompassing food list, but more of a guideline. I will eat ground beef from time to time and try to fit it in my macros

• With a deficit of 350 daily and burning no less than 500 calories every gym session, and 2 cheat days, I hope to be in a daily deficit of 850 calories for 31 days. My goal weight on 10/20/19 is 211 lbs. I'm hoping that I'm being conservative here.

• I will not keep up with other exercise, such as leisurely bike rides. I do those for fun.

• As soon as I get to 50 posts expect many pictures. I will try to accomplish that feat within the next 2 days.

• Thanks for reading!

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

I will follow your log.

I weigh more than you, much more, though I am taller by 2”. You don’t have that much to lose actually. You can do it if you stick to it.

[OrangeEarPlug]

I will follow your log.

I weigh more than you, much more, though I am taller by 2”. You don’t have that much to lose actually. You can do it if you stick to it.

Thanks!

I'm hoping it melts away. I appreciate the encouragement.

[OrangeEarPlug]

09.18.19 - Day 1
Notes/Miscellaneous
Fasting day. It's about 2 PM Mountain time and all I've had today was coffee. A few calories in there but not much. Next meal will be tomorrow morning (coffee, 3 eggs, toast with hummus). Had a few hunger pangs but nothing I can't handle.

Trying to stretch out my school work so I can stave off boredom for long periods of time. Have a few assignments to get done that require me leaving the computer. I think I'll go swimming later as well. Not trying to burn too many calories, but it's been a while since I've been swimming and I'd like to do 2-3 laps just to see where my cardio is. In other news I had a phone interview with a hospital for the position of transporter. I'm currently on the fence as to whether I want to pursue nursing or veterinary sciences. Veterinary sciences is my passions but I'm a little old to be racking up hundreds of thousands in debt. Nursing seems like the smart option to make money quickly so that's where I'm leaning. Interviewer said to expect a phone call for an in person interview soon so I think it went well.

That's all I got for my ramblings today.

Concrete Info
Weight: 216.4
Activity: Informal Swimming Session - 4 Laps
Diet: Fasting
Mood: Optimistic/Hungry

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

Are you thinking RN or assistant nurse?

[OrangeEarPlug]

Are you thinking RN or assistant nurse?

RN for sure. I could be done with school by 2021 with my current track. It's tempting.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

^ ^ ^ sounds good.
Go for it!

[OrangeEarPlug]

09.19.19 - Day 2

Workout
Stationary Bike
Time: 25:01
Distance: 7.04 Miles
Calories Burned: 175

Flat BB Bench: 3x6
Warm-up: 115 x 10
135 x 6
155 x 6
155 x 6

DB Incline: 4x8
37.5s x 8
50s x 8
52.5s x 8
52.5s x 8

DB Chest Flies: 3x12
17.5s x 12
17.5s x 12
17.5s x 12

Skull Crushers: 3x8
40 Straight Bar x 8
50 Straight Bar x 8
50 Straight Bar x 8

Tricep Pushdown: 3x10
55 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 7

Cooldown: Treadmill
Time: 8:46
Distance: 0.27 Miles
Calories Burned: 27

Notes
What a fantastic workout! I got to the gym at about 1:30 which seemed to be perfect. I was off the bike and headed to the weight section around 2:00 PM. The gym was fairly sparse which allowed me to grab benches and the right weights at will. I think I'll try to time it like this or early early mornings. As you can see with my weight selection, I sorta guessed at which would be my best weights with the first set. I chose right on flies but that's about it. BB Bench was a lot tougher than I remember. I did struggle on my last set, but next week I think I'll start my working sets at 155 and try for 165 on the 3rd. I am extremely sore today, but that's to be expected. The cooldown was a nice touch. I was able to get my heart rate under 100 before I left for the day.


Diet
Breakfast: Eggs, Toast w/ Hummus, Coffee (cream and sugar) - 187 Calories
Lunch: Avocadao, Hummus, and Turkey Sandwich w Mozz Cheese, Cheese Stick, Mandarin Slices, Pita Chips - 738 Calories
Dinner: Baked Potato (butter/cheese), Wild Ocean Perch, Ketchup - 592 Calories
Snack: Yogurt and Banana, Honey w/ Tea - 313 Calories
Total - 1830 Calories (63g Fat - 258g Carbs - 88g Protein)

Notes
That was fairly easy. As soon as I finished my food for the day I felt some hunger pangs but I'm almost positive that was just psychological. Eating a large lunch helps me get through until I have my snack and dinner. I didn't hit my macro goals, but to be honest I'm more so worried about staying in a deficit. I think as long as I'm working out and I'm not eating nothing but mac n cheese I'll be okay. I'll keep the goals to shoot for, but as long as I'm nearing 100g of protein a day I'm okay with it.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

You had a good day.

If you are still hungry after your meals, try increasing your Protein and Fiber. That will keep you more satiated.

[OrangeEarPlug]

You had a good day.

If you are still hungry after your meals, try increasing your Protein and Fiber. That will keep you more satiated.

Thanks for the tips brother. I will try that during dinner tonight.

[OrangeEarPlug]

09.20.19 - Day 3 - Friday

No workout today

Diet
Breakfast: Eggs(5), Toast w/ Hummus, Coffee (cream and sugar) - 517 Calories
Lunch: Avocadao, Hummus, and Turkey Sandwich w Mozz Cheese, Cheese Stick, Mandarin Slices, Pita Chips - 713 Calories
Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Broccoli, and Bellpepper burrito w/ cheese - 715 Calories
Snack: Honey w/ Tea - 24 Calories
Total - 1969 Calories (98g Fat - 142g Carbs - 152g Protein)

Notes
Pretty solid day. I did **** around and eat my last meal at 5 PM so I was pretty hungry all evening, but it was kinda fun to battle my impulses and win. Much more protein, which I'm pretty proud of. I didn't even plan it that way, it just kinda happened.

On a more frustrating note, it's currently 6:18 AM Mountain Time Saturday as I type this. I love college football. I like to wake up an hour before gameday, do any dishes or chores I need to get done, drink some coffee and chat in the cfb discord while I wait on gameday. Knowing that I had to work out today I woke up at 4:30 AM to get my workout out of the way so I could consume college football and bourbon (I put in the rules I get whiskey on Saturday, piss off). I pulled up the gym around 4:45 am and I was pumped. Nobody was in the gym and only a few cars were in the lot. I'll get the gym to myself, right?! Wrong, bitch. It doesn't open until 7 AM on Saturdays. I was unaware of this and will have to adjust accordingly.

I guess the best way to do it is to move the workouts a day forward. That will mean no real rest on Monday, but I'm having 2 rest days today so I think it will be okay. Also I'll step on the scale Monday after my swim.

Could have gotten an extra hour of sleep, but oh well. Here's to hoping we all have a great gameday experience.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

At least you have a gym membership. Because of my ridiculously hectic schedule, I had to cancel mine because I ended up going very few times and did most of my workouts at home. So now I do all my workouts at home or in the outdoors.

Enjoy your weekend.

[OrangeEarPlug]

At least you have a gym membership. Because of my ridiculously hectic schedule, I had to cancel mine because I ended up going very few times and did most of my workouts at home. So now I do all my workouts at home or in the outdoors.

Enjoy your weekend.

I was doing that for a little last year but whenever the weather was the least bit inclement I didn't want to go.

Hopefully the gym membership keeps me on track. You have awesome discipline

[OrangeEarPlug]

09.21.19 - Day 4 - Saturday

No workout today - Explanation in my previous post.

Diet
Breakfast: Eggs(3), Toast w/ Hummus, Coffee (cream and sugar) - 373 Calories
Lunch: Burger King Double Cheeseburger (2), Medium Fry, 3 Chicken Fingrs, 10 tbsp ketchup - 1447 Calories
Dinner: Chili's Chicken Quesedillas w/ skillet queso and chips, skillet cookie for desser(free) - 3095 Calories
Alcohol: 7 Units Pikesville Rye, 3 Units Jameson - 980 Calories
Total - 5895 Calories (278g Fat - 451g Carbs - 173g Protein)
Sodium Intake: 10,481mg

Notes
Not really sure where to start here. What a fuking mess.

I started with the alcohol, which is what I planned on doing. Everything was going well until about 1. My wife was hungry and I was pushing for Burger King. I think the alcohol lowered my impulse control. I got the 2 cheeseburgers and fries and actually took a nap for an hour. When I woke up I started drinking again. By the time dinner rolled around I checked my E-Mails and saw that I had a reward for a free dessert because my birthday is coming up soon. So I decided, **** it I'll get Chili's as well. At this point I had lost any sense of how much I had already consumed. Had really bad gas all night and felt like absolute ****. I feel fine today, but my face is sorta puffy.

I think the most important thing I can do is put it behind me and use it as a reminder. I could have very well skipped this update, but I think it's important for myself that I remain accountable. Very early in and I ****ed up. The difference here is I actually calculated how much I ate, which is something I usually don't do. Typically I try to forget and move on. After tallying it up I'm ashamed of myself. That's an inordinate amount of calories and sodium. Aside from being gluttonous it's straight up unhealthy. I can not keep doing things like that and live longer than 45 years. My in-laws are coming in town Thursday, so I'll be forced (and I want) to have a drink, but I'm gonna do everything I can to keep it isolated to restaurants only. If anything them coming in town is good because it will get me off the couch this Saturday.

Anyway, I am writing this at 5:50 PM Mountain time on Sunday. I'm headed to the gym in an hour to do yesterday's workout so I'll update that tomorrow. I'll also be headed to the gym Monday for cardio, swimming, and ab work. Still pretty sore atm.

In other news LSU's offense is soaring. 66 points yesterday and a 30 point win. Joe Burrow is 100/124 with 1520 yards and 17 TD through 4 games. Pretty stellar.

That's all I got for now.

[OrangeEarPlug]

09.22.19 - Day 5 - Sunday

Workout
Stationary Bike
Time: 25:15
Distance: 7.32 Miles
Calories Burned: 192

Leg Press: 4x6
210 x 6
230 x 6
270 x 6
270 x 6

Leg Curls: 3x10
130 x 10
130 x 10
130 x 10

Leg Exts: 3x10
100 x 10
100 x 10
115 x 10

45 Degree Calf Raises
135 x 15
135 x 15
135 x 15
135 x 15

Cooldown
Activity: Treadmill
Time: 5:42
Distance: .15 Miles
Cals: 15 cals


Notes
Decent workout.

Diet
Breakfast: Coffee (cream and sugar) - 57 Calories
Lunch: Avocadao, Hummus, and Turkey and Egg(2) Sandwich w Cheddar Cheese, Pita Chips - 806 Calories
Dinner: Feta and Olive Salad w/ Dressing, Baked Chicken thighs Coated in Bread Crumbs w/Ketchup - 890 Calories
Snack: Chili's Egg Roll (leftover) - 203 Calories
Total - 1956 Calories (112g Fat - 101g Carbs - 149g Protein)

Notes
Was hungry at the end of the day but I would not be too surprised if the monumental stretching out of my stomach Saturday Night had something to do with that. I made it through, though! Back on track for the week.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

good workout and macros on sunday
keep it up

[userXCDQVNCAM5V]

you can do it man, im 5'7 as well,was almost 200 lbs (198-200 lb) just back in march ,im 160 lbs now
tracking everything is the best way to keep losing weight

[OrangeEarPlug]

09.23.19 - Day 6 - Monday

Workout
Stationary Bike
Time: 35:00
Distance: 9.77 Miles
Calories Burned: 236 Cals

Med Ball twists: 3x20
12 Lb. Ball x 20
12 Lb. Ball x 20
12 Lb. Ball x 20

Planks: 4x45 Sec
45 sec
45 sec
45 sec
Incomplete

Cardio Activity
30 min leisure bike ride around the greenbelt


Notes
The actual workout went okay. The bike shut off on me at 35 minutes. Not sure why exactly, but it just kept flashing my stats. I guess next time I want to do more than 35 minutes I'll need to manually put in for it. Oh well. I was planning on swimming as well, but the pool is cleaned every Monday from 1-3pm. I was there at about 2:30 and didn't want to wait around 30 minutes. I still needed to do some extra cardio so I just went on a bike ride. It was fun.

Diet
Breakfast: Coffee (cream and sugar), Eggs(3), Toast and Hummus - 373 Calories
Lunch: Avocado, Hummus, and Turkey Sandwich w Cheddar Cheese - 374 Calories
Dinner: Turkey Burger w/ Cheese and Ketchup - 570 Calories
Snack: Tea w/Honey, Yogurt, Banana, 2 units Jameson - 421 Calories
Total - 1738 Calories (67g Fat - 149g Carbs - 96g Protein)

Notes
Not a bad day. Willpower got weak there at the end and I ended up having a drink. Proud of myself for keeping it to one glass. Still came in under goals. Good day.

[OrangeEarPlug]

you can do it man, im 5'7 as well,was almost 200 lbs (198-200 lb) just back in march ,im 160 lbs now
tracking everything is the best way to keep losing weight

Yeah it's really helping me not overeat. usually I'd just grab a grape or two when I walk to the fridge, but stuff like that adds up. Thanks for the motivation.

good workout and macros on sunday
keep it up

Thanks man.

[NoCarbsNoSugar]

How’s it going?

[OrangeEarPlug]

How’s it going?

It's been okay. Very busy with my birthday and the in-laws in town. Will update tomorrow as today was their last day here.

[OrangeEarPlug]

9.24.19 - 10.1.19

My in-laws came into town for my birthday, so I tried my best to stay the course. I stopped tracking calories as we ate almost every meal out at local restaurants. I tried my best to stay within my limits, and honestly I think I did okay. I did get an absolutely monumental present, though. I wish I had enough posts to post pics, but my in-laws got me a stationary bike. It tells the distance, calories, etc. and I've used it twice now. I think I'll do that before the gym, and I am thinking about actually getting a $150 weight set to pair with it. It would be so so huge if I didn't have to go to the gym to workout. Realistically, all I would need is some dumbbells and maybe even a small bench.

Anyway, today was my first day back really counting calories. Going well so far. I'll have a formatted update tomorrow with my cals and everything.

Thanks for reading!