Hey folks. I wanted to write a post yesterday but just couldn't find the time. Project "StopBeingSoFatOhGodWhyAreYouSoFatEww" is going swimmingly. I did my bench press and conditioning workout yesterday, and ran some hill sprints this morning (which suck, btw), and I've been good with what I put in my face (and how much). Had a protein shake and a turkey wrap for breakfast yesterday, then a lunch of taco salad (lettuce, lean carne asada & chicken breast, salsa, and guacamole), and a Subway turkey sandwich (6") with double meat for dinner (which I count as one of my weekly cheats due to the bread). Been snacking on seaweed snacks, sunflower seeds, and beef jerky, and taking all the supplements that I usually do (creatine, magnesium, fish oil, and vitamin D).
I didn't get a chance to weigh in this morning, but yesterday I was 218, so I've already dropped some bloat weight. I'm feeling pretty good so far, a little tired due to eating low carb but that should go away after about a week or two as my body adjusts to burning fat more efficiently. I've had a few cravings for stuff like booze and burgers, but not as much as I though I would. I'm sure they'll hit hard at some point, so I just have to be at the ready with healthy alternatives and hope I can hold out. And I think the weekly cheat meals will help as well.
Initially I had planned to do a cheat day, but now that I'm actually doing this I think doing 2 simple cheat meals per week is a better plan. That way I can do one during the middle of the week (Wednesdays are particularly busy for me) and one on Friday or Saturday when I can go out to dinner with my girlfriend. I've been reading Dr. John Berardi's recommendations (from Precision Nutrition) and eating 10% of meals out of diet is in line with what he prescribes, which seems to work pretty well. It also forces me to get right back on the wagon after a cheat instead of just letting it ride for a few days and lose a ton of progress. We'll see how it goes, and I'll adjust if it's just not working.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Day One
Here it is, day one of my 3 month cutting cycle. Before we get into any of that, I'd like to share my experience at the very first Legendary Competitor Powerlifting meet this past weekend. It was a blast! The weather was gorgeous, the contest went really smoothly, everyone was super cool, and I PRed in 2 of my lifts! I squatted 385, benched 260, and deadlifted 450 for a 1095 total. For not having been able to train for about a month I'm pretty happy with my performance, but now I want more. The next meet is in September, and I plan on squatting at least 400, benching 285 or more, and deadlifting 475+. All at a lower bodyweight, hopefully sub-200 lbs.
Which brings me to the point of today's post. Time to lose some weight! I actually started yesterday, but whatever. Today's the official day one. I weighed in at 221.6 this morning. My goal for the month of May is to get my weight down by 7 pounds, which means 31 days from now I should be 214. This goal is easily doable as long as I keep my mind on the prize. In order to continue to increase my strength numbers I'm still making sure to hit the big lifts (bench, deadlift, squat, and press) at least once a week. I'm actually planning on squatting twice a week, one back squat day (powerlifting focused) and one front squat day (Olympic lifting focused). My plan for conditioning workouts is to hit sprints on the rowing machine once a week, and do 2-3 Crossfit metcons with other people per week. Add in some mountain and road biking whenever I get the chance and I'll be getting plenty of activity.
Diet is simple: focus on clean foods. Stay away from processed stuff. Eat big on protein, moderate on fats, and low on carbs. 3 big meals a day, minimal snacks. Snacks should be low-calorie (fruit, beef jerky, veggies). Lots of fish, chicken, and steaks with a side of veggies. Omelettes in the morning. Turkey chili and turkey wraps for lunch. Simple.
I've got a solid plan. I know what to eat, how to cook, and how to train. The only thing keeping me from reaching my goal is me. If I can be consistent in my training and diet as I've laid it out there's no way I can't be successful and hit my goals. Just gotta stay on the wagon.
Which brings me to the point of today's post. Time to lose some weight! I actually started yesterday, but whatever. Today's the official day one. I weighed in at 221.6 this morning. My goal for the month of May is to get my weight down by 7 pounds, which means 31 days from now I should be 214. This goal is easily doable as long as I keep my mind on the prize. In order to continue to increase my strength numbers I'm still making sure to hit the big lifts (bench, deadlift, squat, and press) at least once a week. I'm actually planning on squatting twice a week, one back squat day (powerlifting focused) and one front squat day (Olympic lifting focused). My plan for conditioning workouts is to hit sprints on the rowing machine once a week, and do 2-3 Crossfit metcons with other people per week. Add in some mountain and road biking whenever I get the chance and I'll be getting plenty of activity.
Diet is simple: focus on clean foods. Stay away from processed stuff. Eat big on protein, moderate on fats, and low on carbs. 3 big meals a day, minimal snacks. Snacks should be low-calorie (fruit, beef jerky, veggies). Lots of fish, chicken, and steaks with a side of veggies. Omelettes in the morning. Turkey chili and turkey wraps for lunch. Simple.
I've got a solid plan. I know what to eat, how to cook, and how to train. The only thing keeping me from reaching my goal is me. If I can be consistent in my training and diet as I've laid it out there's no way I can't be successful and hit my goals. Just gotta stay on the wagon.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Getting Geared Up
It's been a few weeks, so I'll bring you up to speed. Life's been pretty hectic lately, what with the new job, moving out of my apartment and into my parents' house (to save up for a condo/house of my own in the near future), changing to working out in the mornings, and a severe lack of free time in general. In my last post I noted that I was doing pretty good with eating right. Well, the last few weeks have made that statement incorrect. I've kinda been in "don't give a crap" mode in the weeks leading up to my move (which occurred this past weekend) and I hate it. My workouts have been minimal, although I've maintained/gained on my strength numbers. Right now I'm focusing on my powerlifting meet on the 28th, so just trying to get at least 3 workouts a week (mostly strength) and eat as well as I can.
What I am getting geared up for, though, is to very seriously start making a push for some serious fat loss. I've gone between 235 and 196 over the years, never really being happy with my body composition, even though I'm so much stronger, capable, and athletic than I was 4 years ago. I've been pretty waffly about my goals, switching between fat loss and strength/fitness gains without a whole lot of rhyme or reason, and that's (I feel) the biggest reason I haven't achieved my body comp goals. The best gains I ever made were in the early days when I was totally focused on fat loss and nothing else. Now, today I'm much better informed about how food and exercise affect me, and I have much better tools at my disposal, but I'm still lacking that one, singular focus to really drive me.
May 1st that changes.
I'm making a 3-month commitment to lose 20 pounds of fat.
I'm not doing any challenges, not going to worry about being strict anything; just going to watch my calories, choose quality foods, get lots of protein, and hit my workouts hard. I'll focus on Paleo foods, but I'm not going to flip out if I have to eat something outside of that or have a beer on a cheat day. The goal will be 6 days a week of solid eating and one cheat day, most likely from Friday dinner to Saturday lunch (sun-down to sun-down, like Passover). I'll probably throw in some intermittent fasting as a tool to reduce calorie intake, but not going to worry too much about it. Going to stay low-ish carb but not to the point where my workouts or mood are suffering. I'm finally going to use all these tools that I have and put them all together in a way that will (hopefully) allow me to really get to a place where I'm happy with my body, and improve my health at the same time.
I'm not going to focus on any specific athletic or strength goals during this time, although I do hope to see some improved numbers on my bodyweight and gymnastics movements. One goal at a time; if my strength numbers drop a little bit, so be it. I'll still be hitting the weights hard, and I'll be improving my relative strength regardless.
Another tool I'll be employing is simply increasing daily physical activity. I now have access to a Concept 2 rower in my home, and I have both a road bike and mountain bike. I plan on using these to increase my physical activity (and thus calories burned) while still keeping exercise fun. It's spring in southern California; I should definitely make the most of it!
I'll do my first weigh-in on May 1st and we'll go from there.
P.S. in case you're interested in the results from the Paleo challenge I mentioned in the last few posts: I lost 7 pounds and dropped 3% body fat. Right now I'm sitting around 215-217 at roughly 20% bodyfat.
What I am getting geared up for, though, is to very seriously start making a push for some serious fat loss. I've gone between 235 and 196 over the years, never really being happy with my body composition, even though I'm so much stronger, capable, and athletic than I was 4 years ago. I've been pretty waffly about my goals, switching between fat loss and strength/fitness gains without a whole lot of rhyme or reason, and that's (I feel) the biggest reason I haven't achieved my body comp goals. The best gains I ever made were in the early days when I was totally focused on fat loss and nothing else. Now, today I'm much better informed about how food and exercise affect me, and I have much better tools at my disposal, but I'm still lacking that one, singular focus to really drive me.
May 1st that changes.
I'm making a 3-month commitment to lose 20 pounds of fat.
I'm not doing any challenges, not going to worry about being strict anything; just going to watch my calories, choose quality foods, get lots of protein, and hit my workouts hard. I'll focus on Paleo foods, but I'm not going to flip out if I have to eat something outside of that or have a beer on a cheat day. The goal will be 6 days a week of solid eating and one cheat day, most likely from Friday dinner to Saturday lunch (sun-down to sun-down, like Passover). I'll probably throw in some intermittent fasting as a tool to reduce calorie intake, but not going to worry too much about it. Going to stay low-ish carb but not to the point where my workouts or mood are suffering. I'm finally going to use all these tools that I have and put them all together in a way that will (hopefully) allow me to really get to a place where I'm happy with my body, and improve my health at the same time.
I'm not going to focus on any specific athletic or strength goals during this time, although I do hope to see some improved numbers on my bodyweight and gymnastics movements. One goal at a time; if my strength numbers drop a little bit, so be it. I'll still be hitting the weights hard, and I'll be improving my relative strength regardless.
Another tool I'll be employing is simply increasing daily physical activity. I now have access to a Concept 2 rower in my home, and I have both a road bike and mountain bike. I plan on using these to increase my physical activity (and thus calories burned) while still keeping exercise fun. It's spring in southern California; I should definitely make the most of it!
I'll do my first weigh-in on May 1st and we'll go from there.
P.S. in case you're interested in the results from the Paleo challenge I mentioned in the last few posts: I lost 7 pounds and dropped 3% body fat. Right now I'm sitting around 215-217 at roughly 20% bodyfat.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Half-way
Today's Weigh-In: 208.8
So, my Paleo challenge is just about half-way done. I got pretty sick last week with the flu, but I ended up losing a big chunk of weight. Still nursing a cough, but I'm easing back into working out this week and hope to be back (or close) to full speed next week. I haven't been 100% strict during the challenge, but pretty dang close, and I think that's helping with my weight loss.
I started a new job this week. In the past this would be something that would probably cause me to change my eating habits for the worse, but I've been pretty solid. We have a big file cabinet full of treats (candy bars, chips, cookies, nuts, etc.) but I've been sticking to only helping myself to some of the cashews and beef jerky. The other stuff just doesn't even tempt me any more (except for snickers, those are a weakness). I'm still rocking homemade lunches on most days, and just eating healthy if I do go out. It just took a change in mindset that going out doesn't necessarily mean you get to eat crap. So I eschew frech fries and soda, and get my burgers wrapped in lettuce, or my Chipotle done as a burrito bowl, or just stick with meat and veggies as much as possible. It's not hard, and I'm liking the results.
So, my Paleo challenge is just about half-way done. I got pretty sick last week with the flu, but I ended up losing a big chunk of weight. Still nursing a cough, but I'm easing back into working out this week and hope to be back (or close) to full speed next week. I haven't been 100% strict during the challenge, but pretty dang close, and I think that's helping with my weight loss.
I started a new job this week. In the past this would be something that would probably cause me to change my eating habits for the worse, but I've been pretty solid. We have a big file cabinet full of treats (candy bars, chips, cookies, nuts, etc.) but I've been sticking to only helping myself to some of the cashews and beef jerky. The other stuff just doesn't even tempt me any more (except for snickers, those are a weakness). I'm still rocking homemade lunches on most days, and just eating healthy if I do go out. It just took a change in mindset that going out doesn't necessarily mean you get to eat crap. So I eschew frech fries and soda, and get my burgers wrapped in lettuce, or my Chipotle done as a burrito bowl, or just stick with meat and veggies as much as possible. It's not hard, and I'm liking the results.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Another Paleo challenge
Today's Weigh-In: 218
Sorry about the longish absence. I'm participating in my gym's 30-day Paleo challenge so I've been focused on posting on their message boards instead of on the blog here. You can check out my log at the forums if you're interested. I've committed to a strict 30-day no-cheat Paleo diet. I measured 22.1% body fat at 222 pounds on Monday, and I'm hoping to get under 210 and 18% body fat by the end of the challenge. So I'm not dead, I'm still training hard, and I'm still focused. Just not so much on here.
Sorry about the longish absence. I'm participating in my gym's 30-day Paleo challenge so I've been focused on posting on their message boards instead of on the blog here. You can check out my log at the forums if you're interested. I've committed to a strict 30-day no-cheat Paleo diet. I measured 22.1% body fat at 222 pounds on Monday, and I'm hoping to get under 210 and 18% body fat by the end of the challenge. So I'm not dead, I'm still training hard, and I'm still focused. Just not so much on here.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Powerlifting meet
Today's Weigh-In: 218.4
My first day back in the Crossfit group class went well. I back squatted 295 for 8 reps, then did a hard metcon in under 12 minutes. My cardio capacity and strength endurance aren't where I'd like them to be yet, so I need to focus on pushing the intensity in my workouts and not sandbagging when it gets hard. Today we're doing a longer workout, probably upwards of an hour, so I'll get a nice calorie burn from that.
Diet yesterday was mostly good, but I did have a couple of beers that were left over from the weekend. Didn't really track calories but just focused on high protein, with carbs post-workout only. I've committed to competing in a powerlifting competition in April, about 9 weeks away. That gives me time to complete 2 more cycles of Wendler 5-3-1 and then take a deload week before the meet. My goal is to compete in the Open division in the 210 lb. weight class. My goals are to hit a 400 squat, 450 deadlift, and 300 bench, for a 1150 lb. total. Are those goals realistic? Maybe. I've squatted 365 in the gym for an easy single, barely failed at 385, so my one-rep max right now is probably around 375. I've pulled 445 on the deadlift so 450 isn't a stretch. The bench goal is probably the most ambitious one since I haven't maxed my bench out in a long time, but I'd rather aim high and miss than aim too low and not push myself. I figure the adrenaline of the event will help me put up bigger numbers than I could do in the gym as well, which is a well known phenomenon in the powerlifting and weightlifting worlds. We'll see how the weight loss affects this as well.
This doesn't mean I'm going to focus on being a powerlifter. I'm still going to be doing just the standard Wendler 5-3-1 template for my strength program and hitting the Crossfit WODs for my GPP/conditioning. My goal is always to be as strong AND as fit as possible, without sacrificing one for the other. Right now I'll focus on shoring up any weaknesses for this powerlifting meet, but later I'll probably focus on a Crossfit competition or maybe even an endurance event. I like mixing it up; it keeps things fresh.
My first day back in the Crossfit group class went well. I back squatted 295 for 8 reps, then did a hard metcon in under 12 minutes. My cardio capacity and strength endurance aren't where I'd like them to be yet, so I need to focus on pushing the intensity in my workouts and not sandbagging when it gets hard. Today we're doing a longer workout, probably upwards of an hour, so I'll get a nice calorie burn from that.
Diet yesterday was mostly good, but I did have a couple of beers that were left over from the weekend. Didn't really track calories but just focused on high protein, with carbs post-workout only. I've committed to competing in a powerlifting competition in April, about 9 weeks away. That gives me time to complete 2 more cycles of Wendler 5-3-1 and then take a deload week before the meet. My goal is to compete in the Open division in the 210 lb. weight class. My goals are to hit a 400 squat, 450 deadlift, and 300 bench, for a 1150 lb. total. Are those goals realistic? Maybe. I've squatted 365 in the gym for an easy single, barely failed at 385, so my one-rep max right now is probably around 375. I've pulled 445 on the deadlift so 450 isn't a stretch. The bench goal is probably the most ambitious one since I haven't maxed my bench out in a long time, but I'd rather aim high and miss than aim too low and not push myself. I figure the adrenaline of the event will help me put up bigger numbers than I could do in the gym as well, which is a well known phenomenon in the powerlifting and weightlifting worlds. We'll see how the weight loss affects this as well.
This doesn't mean I'm going to focus on being a powerlifter. I'm still going to be doing just the standard Wendler 5-3-1 template for my strength program and hitting the Crossfit WODs for my GPP/conditioning. My goal is always to be as strong AND as fit as possible, without sacrificing one for the other. Right now I'll focus on shoring up any weaknesses for this powerlifting meet, but later I'll probably focus on a Crossfit competition or maybe even an endurance event. I like mixing it up; it keeps things fresh.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Good start
Today's Weigh-In: 216
Doing alright so far. I didn't get to work out yesterday because we had a Paleo potluck at the gym, which I attended. We ate healthy food and had a good time. Today I've had a small bit of sushi (6 pieces), a big salad with egg, bacon, and mozarella, a protein shake, and some strawberries. I'm sitting at about 1500 calories so far. My goal is to hit between 2200 and 2500 calories a day (depending on whether I work out or not). Today's a workout day so I'll eat a bigger dinner, probably with some rice. This is the last week I'll be working out on my own, and I'm pretty excited to get back into the big group workouts. They're just so motivating and really push you to your limits. Now that I'm stronger I'm interested to see how it affects my performance in the lighter workouts as well. I'm hoping the increased strength will allow me to increase my strength endurance more quickly and I'll be able to endure for longer without burning out, but we'll see how it goes.
I know that was kind of a boring post, but I just wanted to write something to keep myself on track and focused on the goal ahead of me.
Doing alright so far. I didn't get to work out yesterday because we had a Paleo potluck at the gym, which I attended. We ate healthy food and had a good time. Today I've had a small bit of sushi (6 pieces), a big salad with egg, bacon, and mozarella, a protein shake, and some strawberries. I'm sitting at about 1500 calories so far. My goal is to hit between 2200 and 2500 calories a day (depending on whether I work out or not). Today's a workout day so I'll eat a bigger dinner, probably with some rice. This is the last week I'll be working out on my own, and I'm pretty excited to get back into the big group workouts. They're just so motivating and really push you to your limits. Now that I'm stronger I'm interested to see how it affects my performance in the lighter workouts as well. I'm hoping the increased strength will allow me to increase my strength endurance more quickly and I'll be able to endure for longer without burning out, but we'll see how it goes.
I know that was kind of a boring post, but I just wanted to write something to keep myself on track and focused on the goal ahead of me.
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