261 morning

I lost 1 lb since last week. It's hard to know if the represents progress or not, but I'll take it. Traci and I did DDR most mornings last week, that's the extent of the exercise for the week. It's OK.

I am thinking that I would like to work out twice a day for a little while. Not every day of the week, but maybe every other day. I am thinking that I could lift 3 times a week, do cardio 3 times a week, and do some fun recreational exercise 3 times a week. This combination should get me in real good shape. I may have to start after I graduate in two weeks, but I am going to plan on it.

I was eating better during the beginning of the week, but I had a big weekend and erased some of the early progress that I made. I am hoping that this week that I will get down to 259. That would be 2 lbs for the week.

Back again . . .

Well, I am saddened to say that I have not been dieting now for a long time (since the last post). I have started working out again. I spent a couple months biking to school and then started lifting. So, physically I am feeling alright, but my weight is back up again. One thing about lifting is that if I don't diet while I lift I usually gain weight.

So I am back at 262 as of this morning. I don't know how that compares to my original 262 almost a year ago. I hope that I have a lower body fat percentage, but I it's not clear that this is the case.

The good news is that I am blogging again, which can only mean one thing, I intend to get back to my lower weight.

I have decided to take a more moderate approach to the diet. I was originally eating an average of 2700 calories a day. During the dieting week, I would eat almost no carbs. On the weekends, I would splurge on carbs. This was working, it is effective. The problem is that it requires a commitment, and right now, I don't have that level. I have other things on my plate, like getting a job.

But, I think what I will do is eat what I was eating before, and add some light carbs to it. This is more like the model that my parents follow and they have seen great success. So maybe I will eat 2000 calories from protein foods, meats, cheeses, etc. and then add 800-1000 calories of carbs to it. I will try to keep my carbs in the form of fruits and whole grain carbs.

I will also have a free day or two, but I will cap my calorie intake on those days to 3000.

I think that at 3000 calories a day, if I work out daily, I will be deficient 5-6000 calories a week. This is about a 1.5 lb fat loss per week.

As far as working out goes, Traci and I set up Stepmania, an open source version of Dance Dance Revolution and we will be playing that each day this week. We want to see what kind of work out daily DDR can be.

I also intend to lift weights 3 times a week and do some form of cardio 2 times per week. I will try to burn extra calories by working out more instead of dieting more, I think that his model is more sustainable for me.

So, this morning 262. I haven't lifted for about 2 weeks, so I am not sure where my lifts are at, but I will post them when I do know.

Til next time . . .

A month Off...

I have taken a month off. I had tried to get back on the diet. I had a chance to come home to Utah to work with a buddy. So, I have had a hard time dieting, but when I get home I will be back on the program. I have one more week here. I have been able to run a couple of times at the high school track. I will try to run several more times this week.

Break

I am on a break. Will be back again in a few days. I weighed 235 this morning.

Jake

Turn around . . .

Yesterday I bemoaned the fact that I hadn't lost any weight. Then, this morning I was several pounds lighter. Today I weighed 232.5. That's 1.5 pounds so far. I bet I hit 2 or 2.5.

I haven't run again since last Saturday. I have had sore joints and have been working more this week so I have had to be to work early several times. I am feeling pretty strong tonight, though, and I think that I will be able to run tomorrow or Sat this week.

Here's my lifts for this morning.

Pull ups
160 X 8 (pull downs)
8
4 X 25lb belt
8

curls
95 X 8
95 X 6
95 X 7

Calf Raise
135 X 12
180 X 12
180 X 12

Crunches
11
12
11

T-bar rows
70 X 12
95 X 12
120 X 4

Dumbbell Curls
40 X 6
35 X 12

Stalled Progress

I am not moving forward. Yesterday I went to try and run a bit, but my joints were feeling a little stiff. I decided to do the cardio machines. It went OK. I weighed 237 yesterday.

Today I weighed 236, so I lost a decent amount of weight since yesterday. I worked out. My bench is a little low today. I felt weak, and I had to quit early because I didn't have a spotter. I may have been able to squeeze one more out on the last 2 sets.

Bench
185 X 8
205 X 8
225 X 5
225 X 5

Skull Crushers
95 X 8
115 X 8
115 X 7

Squats
185 X 8
225 X 6
245 X 4
265 X 4

Crunches
11
11
12

Overhead Press
45 X 8
55 X 5
55 X 3

The Wife

Just a side note, Traci ran 9 miles today. It took her 94.5 minutes. She ran faster per mile and felt less tired than when she ran her 7 mile run 2 weeks ago. Next week she runs 4 miles and in 2 weeks she runs 12.

Weekend Stats

Yesterday, I weighed in at 234. I lost 0 pounds this week. That's OK. I made some progress in other areas. First off, I was stronger on most all of my lifts. This indicates some muscle gain. If I gained muscle and stayed the same weight then I lost some fat weight. Additionally, my running was significantly improved this week. In all, I am satisfied with this week's progress. I think that I will try to keep my calories down this carb load weekend so I can lose a few pounds next week. My goal is 220, so I have another 14 pounds to lose.

What I envision, is that I will stop dieting at 220, returning to a diet that includes carbs. I will immediately gain back 5-10 pounds of water weight as the carbohydrates increase water in the body. Then I hope to gain a few pounds of muscle. I'd like to end up at 235 under 10% bodyfat. I would like to hit those numbers by my birthday on September 2.

I ran this afternoon. It was a carb-enhanced run, but not any better than my run on Wednesday. I ran 3 miles in 31 minutes. I slowed down a little more than last time on the last mile. After 2 miles I was at 19 minutes. So my last mile was tough, it took me 12 minutes.

I lifted out last night, here are my numbers

Pull ups
8 X 60 lbs assist
8
6
4

Curls
95 X 9
105 X 6
105 X 6

Seated Calf Raises
90 X 10
135 X 10
180 X 8
215 X 6

Crunches
12
10
10

Hammer Strength Rows
90 X 8
135 X 6
135 X 6

Dumbbell Curls
45 X 12 (6 each side)

Push Today

I weighed in at 235 today. If I can get down below 234 tomorrow I will be happy. I am not sure why I haven't lost more weight this week. I hope it's because maybe I have gained some muscle. I have been able to lift heavier this week.

Bench Press
185 X 8
205 X 8
225 X 7
225 X 5

Skull Crushers
95 X 8
115 X 7
115 X 7

Squats
185 X 8
225 X 7
245 X 6
245 X 6

Crunches
11
10
8

Overhead Press
45 X 8
55 X 5
55 X 4

I did it!

Today, I did it. I ran 3 miles. I am very surprised that I was up to it today. I will explain.

I took the weekend off, so I didn't run a long run last Saturday like I normally do. Then, on Monday when I ran again, it was really hard and I only ran 10 laps (1.5 miles). I started to worry that I wouldn't be ready to do the 5K in a couple weeks.

I haven't been losing weight this week like I expected. I weighed 236 this morning. Which means that I have only 2 more days to lose another 4 pounds. It's not going to happen. On top of that, I have been feeling kinda beat. The closer I get to my goal, the more tired I feel. This isn't a huge surprise. Losing weight takes it out of you. Also, I have had a mild headache since Monday.

I had to be at work a little early in order to meet some contractors this morning. This meant that I had to skip my morning run. That may have been the exact thing I needed. I decided to go running during my lunch break which I took at like 11:00AM. I started running, and in spite of the headache, I felt strong. I ran the first mile faster than usual, 9 minutes. I then slowed down a little because I began to feel that I would probably be able to run the whole 3 miles. So the second mile was about 10 minutes. I felt pretty tired by the end of the second mile, but I still had some left in the tank so I kept going. It took me 11 minutes to finish that last mile, but I did it. Hooray for me!

I feel great now. The thing that makes it even better is that I hadn't carb loaded before hand. I'm always able to run longer after a carb loading day. Usually on Saturdays I can run over 2 miles. I think that the longest I have run on a regular day, in the middle of the week, is like 2 miles. Maybe not even that long. To be able to do it today is a huge improvement. I am not sure what exactly caused it. It could be the weekend rest I took, it could be the fact that I had eaten breafast (I always run 1st thing in the morning before eating), it could be that I had a vault about an hour before the run. It could be just that my body was ready for an improvement. It will be interesting to see how I do on Friday. Friday is my off day, but I think that I will run before I eat in the morning. That means that I will be at my lightest and hungriest. That should give me an idea whether or not my running has improved that much, or if I simply need to eat before I run.

I think that my use of caffeine in the form of vault zero is starting to take it's toll. It could simply be dehydration, but I have a suspicion that I have overdone the caffeine intake and now I am paying for it. It's still helping with the weight loss, but it is causing mild headaches that never really go away.

Pull Day

Today was a pull day. I weighed 236.5 this morning. Not a big drop from yesterday.

Pull Ups
6 X 60LBs assist
9
8
5

Curls
95 X 6
95 X 8
105 X 6

Calf Raises (seated)
115 X 10
160 X 8
205 X 5

T-Bar Rows
90 X 8
135 X 6
135 X 6

A few days off . . .

I decided to take a couple of days off. I didn't squat on Friday or run on Saturday. My legs and back were feeling pretty beat. Today I decided to run instead of lift. I didn't do too well today. I ran about 10 laps before walking a little, ran a few more, walked a couple, and finally ran 1 more. I probably did a little shy of 3 miles in all, but walked 4 or 5 of the laps. I do the 5K in just over 2 weeks. I hope that I can be ready. I suppose that if I really had to, I could run 5K without stopping most any time, but it would not feel very good.

I took it easy this weekend with the carbs. This morning I weigh 237. That's pretty good considering that last Monday I was over 240. I would like to get to 232 this week. That should be very doable considering my weight today.

Didn't make it this week

I weighed 234 this morning. That's only about .5 a pound this week. I will have to take it easy this weekend in order to lose the right amount next week. I'm not too worried about it. I woke up really stiff this morning. The back and legs are feeling pretty thrashed, so I didn't squat today. I may skip my run tomorrow as well. I need to heal.

Bench
185 X 8
205 X 8
225 X 6
225 X 4

Skull Crushers
95 X 8
115 X 8
115 X 7

Overhead Dumbbell Press
45 X 8
55 X 3
55 X 5

Short one today.

Secret Weapon

Today is Thursday. Only one more day until the carb frenzy begins again. I am going to play some racket ball later so I didn't work out this morning. I weighed 234.5 this morning. A good sign that I will lose a little weight this week. Probably not as much as last week.

I thought I would take some time out to introduce my secret weapon.First, some background. Mtn Dew is about my favorite thing in the world. Not diet Mtn Dew, regular Dew. I think most of the weight that I gained throughout my first year of law school (almost 50 lbs, I almost hit 280) could be attributed to Mtn. Dew.

A low carb diet is made really difficult because it means no Dew. So, a friend of mine introduced me to Vault Zero. It's a drink that tastes something like Dew, but has no calories. The key ingredient is, of course, caffeine. Vault has a lot of caffeine. More than Mtn. Dew. More than Coke. Still less than redbull or some of the other energy drinks, however.

Whenever I am about to break down, I reach for the Vault and it gets me through the rough times. It's still not as tasty as Mtn. Dew, but it is pretty good. Additionally, caffeine has the effect of releasing fatty acids from tissues into the blood stream, increasing metabolism and energy. Instead of hindering the diet, caffeine can be a diet aid.

Headed Toward 233

I hope to get to 233 this week. That's another 1.5 lbs. I may not be able to make it. I weighed 237 this morning. I have 2 more days to get to 233, 2 lbs today, 2 lbs tomorrow. That's even faster than last week. We'll see. I cheated on Sunday and took an extra half day of carb loading. When I have done that in the past it has stopped me from losing weight that week. On the bright side, I have been stronger on all my lifts this week.

Pull ups
8 X 60lbs weight assist
9
6
5

Curls
95 X 8
95 X 8
115 X 6

Seated Calf Raise
90 X 12
135 X 8
180 X 7

Crunches
11
8
11

Hammer Strength Rows
90 X 8
115 X 8
135 X 7

Good Morning

Today was a great day for lifting. I was stronger on all my lifts. It could be because I lifted harder on Friday (my last workout), could be because of the carb weekend, it could be just making progress. Either way, I felt good this morning.

I weighed 241.5 when I woke up.

Bench Press
185 X 8
205 X 8
225 X 6
225 X 5

Skull Crushers
95 X 8
115 X 8
115 X 7

Squats
185 X 8
225 X 7
245 X 6
245 X 7

Overhead Press
45 X 8
55 X 6
65 X 2

Running Progress

I went and ran this morning. I ran 17 laps in 27 minutes. I believe that this is one more lap than last week. Ultimately I want to get to 20 laps (3 miles). Traci and I are planning to run a 5K on the forth of July, so I need to be able to run 3 miles without stopping by next month. This shouldn't be a problem. If I had to, I could have run 3 more today (it would have been painful, though). Once I get to 3 miles I think that will be enough, I will work on running faster rather than longer. I bet I'll get there in 2 weeks.

Traci is planning to run a marathon in October. She ran 7 miles this morning. Pretty impressive.

I weighed 238.5 this morning, 4 lbs heavier than yesterday. I also added another large fries (570) and hot fudge sundae(340) to my food intake last night. That rounds my total out at about 5000 for the day yesterday. I think I will try to keep it under 4000 today. I won't need so many because I won't work out again until Monday.

By Monday I should weigh in at about 240. We'll see if that happens.

Tired and stiff

When I awoke this morning my back was still sore from last night. I had decided the day before to rest up and work out after work. I weighed in at 234.5 this morning. That's an 8.5 lb drop since Monday. I'm thinking that 5 of that is water weight that I will put back on in these two days of carb loading. We'll see. I have lost 3.5 lbs in two weeks. That's right about what I want. If I maintain this speed, I'll diet another 7 weeks.

So here's what I have eaten so far today:

Breakfast -
2 orders of Mcdonald's hotcakes and sausage - 1540 Calories
1 Peach - 40 Calories

Snacks
2 20 oz Mtn Dews - 568 Calories
1 small package peanut butter M&M's - 240 Calories

Lunch
Double cheeseburger - 440 Calories (this includes all condiments, so my "Ketchup Only" is slightly less than 440)
Large Fries - 570 Calories

Snacks
Large KitKat - 440 Calories
Doughnut - 310 Calories

Total so far - 4148

Keep in mind that I eat these large amounts of calories 1 or 2 days a week. The other 5 or 6 days a week I will eat about 2200-2500 calories. My average with these large weekend carb loads turns out 2500-2800 calories a day. This is about 700-1000 lower than my daily requirements. Which is why I am able to lose about 2 lbs a week.

My workout this evening was pretty good. My squats were weaker than I would like.

Pull ups
8 X 60 lbs assist
9
5
3

Curls
95 X 8
95 X 8
115 X 4

Squats
185 X 8
225 X 6
225 X 6
225 X 7

I superset my squats with crunches
Crunches
12
8
10

Cable Rows - I don't know the weights on these because the plates have only numbers (not pounds) on them
20 X 8
22 X 6
20 X 8

Too tired to run

I got up this morning and I weighed 236. So I hit my goal. I have one more day before I have my carb day, so I will probably weigh less tomorrow. I don't want to lose any more than 2 lbs a week because I start to lose too much muscle when I lose weight that fast. I will probably end up at 235 tomorrow. That's 2.5 lbs. A little more than what I want.

As usual, by the end of the week I am pretty tired and weak. So my run today was crappy. I ran for about 7 laps and then I gave walked a lap. I decided to do some 100 yard sprints because that's a little easier than jogging. So I did about 1 more mile of intervals. It ended up being about 12 80 yard sprints. Then I tried to do some eliptical (I usually do 20 minutes of running and 20 minutes of eliptical trainer). But, the machine I like was being used so I did about 15 minutes on the stationary bike. It was pretty weak. Hopefully on Saturday when I have more calories in my body I'll be able to run for 25-30 minutes. We'll see.

Morning Workout

I had to get up early this morning (6:30) in order to get to the gym and back by 8:00. Traci wanted to go to Indy for some things this morning. Today was a push day, here's the lowdown

Bench
185 X 8
205 X 8
225 X 5
225 X 5

Skull Crushers
95 X 8
115 X 6
115 X 6

Overhead Press
45 X 5
45 X 6
45 X 8

Because of the rush I didn't have time to squat. I did some crunches, however. When I woke up in the morning I weighed 237. Pretty close to my weekly goal of 236. I may even beat that .

239 lbs

I was 239 today. That's good news for this week. I figure I can lose another 3 lbs by Saturday morning. That's 3 lbs in 4 days. A tall order, we'll see if I can pull it off. I didn't work out this morning because I thought I might have a chance to play some racket ball this afternoon. I called up a buddy and we did go play. I then tried some jogging. I ran about 11 laps in 16 minutes. I am not sure how to compare that with my previous performance because I ran after having been fatigued. If I get to 236 this week that will be another 1.5 lbs lost this week.

Return from Carb Weekend

Yesterday was a day of fasting, which meant that I didn't eat until about 5:00 PM. Because of this late meal, I took a third day of carbs. Shouldn't have, but did. So this morning it is back on the diet. I weighed 243 this morning. That's a gain of about 6 lbs. We'll see if this week I can take this off and a few lbs more.

Here was my workout this morning:

8 weight assisted pullups (60 lbs)
7 bodyweight pullups
5 bodyweight pullups
5 bodyweight pullups

Curls
95 X 8
95 X 8
95 X 6

Seated Calf Raises (superset w/crunches)
120 X 8 - 11 crunchse
145 X 8 - 8 crunches
170 X 8 - 8 crunches

T-Bar Rows
90 X 8
115 X 6
115 X 6

Dumbell Curls
35 X 16
40 X 8
35 X 6

I think that these weights are a little down from last workout. Could be due to the fasting, could be due to not enough sleep.

Carb Weekend

Yesterday and today were carb loading days. For two days I eat mostly carbs. Yesterday for example I ate the following:

2 orders of hotcakes for breakfast
large french fries, hamburger for lunch
half a medium pepperoni pizza for dinner

In between I drank 2 20 oz bottles of pop, a package of reeses pieces, an orange, some grapes and some other things. In all, I estimate the daily calorie intake of about 4-5000 calories. During the carb phase I get really thirsty and I will usually gain about 5 lbs by Monday morning. A lot of that is water weight, so it usually comes off by Wednesday or Thursday.

I measure my progress by the lowest morning weight that I get to by the morning before the first carb day. This week I weighed 237.5 which is about a half pound of weight loss since the same day last week. That's not great, it may be that I ate too much on the carb days last week or it could just be that I have started lifting more regularly and I gained a little muscle.

I live for the weekend carb days.

Running

I've never really enjoyed running so I haven't ever gotten good at it. I started running about 2 months ago, semi regularly. I plan on running a 5K in July so my goal is to get so I can run the 3 miles without stopping. This is not a really lofty goal for most, but for me it is. I ran on Tuesday and again this morning. This morning a did a short run, I did some intervals, running for about 100 yards and then jogging 200. I started out jogging several laps, did about 5 intervals and then stopped. The track at the Y is 2/13 of a mile long. This is a short run.

Tuesdays run was more typical. Usually I run as long as I can and then walk some and run some more. I do that for 20 minutes. After that, I will add a 20 minute session on the eliptical trainer. The longest I had run was 10 laps. On Tuesday I ran 13. So I am up to 2 miles.

Here is a picture of me now. I will post periodic updates to this picture if I look different.

Pull Day

I weighed 240.5 yesterday and today in the morning. I ran yesterday and today was my pull day. Here's the breakdown:


Pull ups - weight assisted (60 lbs) - 8
Bodyweight (no assist) 8
5
5

Barbell curls

95X8
95X8
95X6

Seated Calf Raise

120 X 8
145 X 8
165 X 8

Hammerstrength Rows

90 X 8
90 X 8

Tomorrow I run again, more on that later,

Monday, May 28, 2007

This morning I weighed 242.

My weight lifting schedule is a two way split. Day one is presses and squats. Day two is pulls and calves. I do crunches every day I lift. I lift weights three days a week. So every two weeks I lift six times, three rotations of the two workouts. Today was a press/squat day. The recording format is as follows [weight] X [reps].

Bench Press

185 X 8
205 X 6
225 X 5
225 X 4

Skull Crushers

95 X 8
115 X 5
115 X 5

Squats

185 X 8
225 X 6
245 X 4
245 X 4

Dumbbell Overhead Press

45 X 8
60 X 2

Most of the time I stop just short of complete muscle failure. I usually start out with fewer sets and reps and then increases as my body adapts. I also increase the intensity by moving closer to absolute failure.

More to come.

In the Beginning

Well, I really should have started this blog months ago. I started dieting using a high protein, low carb scheme in January. From January to April I went from a weight of 262 lbs (first thing in the morning before eating and drinking) to 238 lbs. That's not fantastic weight loss, but it represents a loss of weight while maintaining or increasing my strength on all my lifts. This is the first time I have lost weight without losing strength at the same time.

So, the bulk of the weight loss is already finished. However, I still want to lose about 15 lbs and gain some strength. I will be posting my lifts, weight, and diet information at least once a week.

This diet is a variant of the atkins diet. The difference is that several days a week I do a carb load where I eat primarily carbs in order to maintain higher carbohydrate levels in my system. This idea comes from a book called "The anabolic diet." The book claims that the insulin surges that result from the carb load period cause muscle tissue synthesis. Whether this is true or true to a significant degree, I am not sure. What I do know is that it makes it a lot easier to eat only meats the other 5 or 6 days a week. And, I do feel like it helps maintain muscle.

As of tonight, I have just come off the carb load. I weighed 245 this morning.

I will post some pictures, probably just me in clothes, so they may not be telling, but considering who will be reading this post, I don't think I look good enough to be showing off my naked torso to F&F.

I will get into more detail later, but for now I'll give the basics of the diet.

From Sunday to Thursday or Friday I eat a high protein/fat diet. I will eat 6 scrambled eggs and 6 strips of bacon for breakfast, have a chicken breast for lunch and a steak or piece of pork for dinner. In between main meals, I drink protein drinks in between meals and have cheese/vegetables as snacks. That makes for about 22-2400 calories a day. It's about 1100 calories from protein and the same amount from fat.

22-2400 calories a day for me is about a little over 1000 calorie a day deficit. I guesstimate the I burn 3500 calories a day assuming that I work out 3-6 times a week. In order to lose 2 lbs of fat a week I need to burn an extra 7000 calories a week. So, on my carb load days, I eat 4-5000 calories a day. This takes my daily average up to 25-2800 calories a day per week.

My off day consists of eating whatever I want. I drink pop, eat pizza, rolls, candy, fruit, whatever I feel like eating. I have no doubt that eating healthier carbs would be better for me and make the dieting more effective, but I need a break from the discipline. I feel like after a week of eating perfect, and I am pretty disciplined during those 5-6 days, I can afford a break.

Stay tuned, more to come.