Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Change of goals and reflection

Hey everyone. It's been pretty quiet up in the FAT coalition, myself included. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I just haven't felt like blogging at all. It's not that I'm falling off the wagon or anything, I just haven't had a lot to say. But I do have some new things going on that I'd like to share.

I've shifted my focus from weight-loss into strength-gain. My body was being stubborn with my previous workout and eating programs, so I figure it's time to change it up. I'm currently doing Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength program. I will continue doing it until I stop making progress. On this program (and any real strength program) progress is defined simply by adding weight each session. I want to get my back squat up to at least 300 pounds, and my deadlift up to 400, which I think is doable by year's end. I'm not too concerned about losing weight right now, as I will need additional calories in order to continue to get stronger. Once I reach the limits of this program I will change up my approach, as deemed necessary.

I'm also doing a form of intermittent fasting during the week. Basically, I don't eat anything from midnight to 4PM, and then I do eat from 4PM to midnight. So I have an 8 hour eating window, which allows me to have larger, more satisfying meals, while also keeping calories in check. There's also a host of other benefits that fasting provides (better nutrient partitioning, reduced inflammation, improved insulin sensitivity). I've done it for 2 days thus far (on my 3rd day today) and it's been pretty nice. I thought it would be hard, but it's not really, as long as I stay busy and don't mistake boredom for hunger.

October 18th is officially my one-year anniversary of attempting to get fit. At least, it was my very first weigh-in that I have recorded in my spreadsheet. In one year, I've lost over 30 pounds, reduced my blood pressure from stage-1 hypertensive to normal, eliminated pain in my legs and acid reflux, and have gotten way stronger. Not too bad of a result, seeing as though all I did was fix my diet and add exercise to my lifestyle. I've learned an immense amount of information throughout this journey. Maybe I'll do a post later for anyone interested in starting out, but unsure of how to proceed.

That's it for me. Everyone who's slacking off out there, post a blog and let us know what's up, even if it's bad.

1 comment:

lj said...

it's great that you were able to fix all your health problems! your fasting program sounds hard. I don't think I could do it. however, it seems like alot of people are doing intermittent fasting these days.