Bodyweight 100, Week 1 Finale

Let's get the calorie count outta the way.

For breakfast, at about 3am I dug into a PB sandwich, followed shortly by a cookie at work. After that, at about 6am, I worked my way into a can of peas, and from then until 9 I munched on small bits of chocolate. Coming home, I made a Tamale and 2 eggs, and then dug into the remnants of some Greek pita thingy. 

Total calories for the day: 300 + 200 + 240 + 50 (bits of chocolate) + 460 + 300 = about 1500. Clearly, my body is revolting every time there's easy access to food around. Thankfully, I've got at most 6 hours left in my day at this point at 2:30pm, so I think I can get away with more calories, so long as I'm only munching and it's very few calories. Lunch was the big problem, with the 760 calorie intake. I pretty much blew it right there. Thankfully, about half of lunch was protein, so after my workout, the protein will be put to good use and not go to waste or body fat.

Tomorrow I'll report my weight. I'll do so every Sunday and post it in the "about me" section as well.

*****

today I was supposed to do the bodyweight 100 with a target time of 7 minutes. I didn't time myself, but it took at most 7 minutes, and it honestly felt like 6. Here's the workout.

 

The 20 squats took about 40 seconds. 20 pushups, the same. 20 jumps, my legs were feeling pretty rickety at 15, but I grunted through it, another 60 seconds. No chinup bar, skip. 20 lunges, this took about 2 minutes given about 3 seconds per plus needing some breaks because my legs were noodles at this point. 15 close grip pushups amended to 20, took about 20 seconds (10 pushups), a 10 second break, then 20 seconds (10 pushups).

Total estimated time: 140 +120 + 40 = 140 + 160 = 300 = 5 minutes.

Believe it or not, it did kick my butt a little. My breath was raw afterwards, my legs still worn out. Pretty fast test of strength and endurance though. Endurance is a tad lacking, but should be remedied by next week enough that I can grind through the bodyweight 100 2x next week.

I will do pullups at school tomorrow, just to see how many I can do in a row, and I'll report it in the next entry.

Cheat Day

Today started out good. PB sandwich for breakfast, famous amos cookies to munch over 3 hours, tamale and eggs for lunch. Dinner was a disaster though: Lucky Wishbone. I DEVOURED a completely unhealthy Chicken Breast dinner from Lucky. that meal itself was probably about 1500 calories, putting me at maybe 2500 for the day.

Can you say FAILURE. Hahaha. Oh man.

The diet does allow for a cheat day, within limits. The limits usually go in the way of eat whatever, but stay in calorie range. I pretty much failed at that. Thankfully, when you eat excess calories, if you go way outta whack, most of that doesn't go to fat. Most of it actually gets thrown away. Why do you think it takes a month or two to put on all that weight?

So, while I was planning on some Tiger Stripe cake for my off day, I'm gonna have to forgo it this week. I burned my cheat day on fried chicken, fries, and garlic bread.

Either today or tomorrow I'm supposed to do this bodyweight 100 workout. I think I'll do it tomorrow, as I don't particularly feel like doing it today.
 
In regards to the Lucky Wishbone, the parents were running out to get some, and offered to me one. It's a childhood favorite meal, I held out for about 10 seconds before my mouth betrayed me.

Week 1 Workout 3

So the way the workouts work is this: 4 a week. the first week is A B A, the second B A B, and so on through 8 weeks. So this week had me repeat Workout A, ie the first workout. I'm not sure yet if the reps will each increase for each exercise over time, however, I'd be surprised if they didn't. Below is Workout A.

 

The workout was actually somewhat easy today. Not much to say about it, but as I say this I realize that the bodyweight 100, the end of week workout for Week 1, is going to kick my ass, especially given that I have 7 minutes to complete it. 20 squats, 2 pushups, 5 pullups, 20 jumps, 20 something else, and 15 something else. It's a no holds bar sprint for the finish.

As for today's eating, I haven't yet had dinner. PB sandwich for breakfast, a literal bowl of cooked hamburger with some green beans. Yeah, I know, my diet is pretty simple right now. I haven't yet actually gone out and done some shopping for the diet part of this program, so until I do, I'm just wingin' it with the concept. The concept was largely portion control, mostly protein, low-carb (fruits are ok), and some fat in each meal to keep the hunger away and reduce cravings. For instance, one of the recommended snacks is a handful of almonds, a food with a good deal of fat considering how many you're supposed to eat for a snack.

Week 2 Day 2

Started off my day with another PB sandwich. Hey, don't look at me cross-eyed, it's standard breakfast fare for me. It's easy to make with only 2 ingredients, and I like doing things pretty much as simply as possible. Anyways, that was at 9:15.

Once I got to work, I bought that pack of Famous Amos Cookies. It cost a buck, and I had it in change. I snacked on it from about 10:30 to 12, so I didn't wolf down the cookies too fast. I spread the calories out , so chances are it won't all go to fat.

Total Calories so far: 550.

Well, that sorta sucks. That's like a 3rd of my limit already, and I still gotta get lunch and dinner sometime. Lunch is probably going to happen about 2pm, since that should be about when I make it home. Dinner will probably happen about 6. Hmm, maybe I should work out WHILE I make lunch, that could work! (I'm still at work, but it's a slow point right now as I wait for the computer to finish what it needs to do, as I can't do anything until it's done.)

***** 

I skipped lunch. It's not the best choice, but at 2pm, and with dinner around the corner, a snack was a better option. I had a can of tuna (in water) and a yogurt, both 100 calories, totaling 200. After my workout, I had a Chicken breast and a can of green beans with some salsa. That's 180 + 60 + maybe 10 for the salsa. It's 8pm now, and I'm not going to eat anything else for the day.

Total Calories for the day: 550 + 200 + 250 = 1000.

Failures for the day: I didn't even consume 1200 calories, only hitting 1000. That's not quite enough. I need to watch that more closely and stay closer to 1200 so that weight loss doesn't plateau.

Successes for the day: I didn't overeat at any point, so most likely none of what I ate today went to body fat. Also very important is that I didn't have any mass cravings because I kept munching at appropriate times. I need to make sure I keep this behavior up.

*****

Today was Week 1 Day 2 of the workout.

Warmup: (2 sets, 30 seconds rest between)

10 Squats, 10 pushups, 10 stick ups, 10 mountain climbers, 10 lunges, 10 bows.

Set 1: (2 sets, 30 seconds between)

15 prisoner squats, 16 (8 each side) walking offset pushups

Set 2: (2 sets, 1 minute between)

12 split squat (front foot elevated), 12 inverted rows (I had no bar, so I substituted that for wall-pushoffs)

Set 3: (2 sets, 1 minute between)

12 (6 per side) stability ball jacknives, 12 stability ball leg curls

Set 4: (2 sets, 1 minute between)

16 (8 per side) spiderman pushup (subbed regular pushups for this), 30 (15 per leg) 1-leg hip raises

Cardio:

3 minute warmup, easy level

3 sets of 1 minute hard, 1 minute slow

3 minute cooldown

It's official, my body did not agree with me today. Almost hated me in fact. The warmup pretty much sucked, and during the split lunges my legs were killing me, almost giving out. Nevertheless, I managed to get everything done on time without cheating. I didn't have a stability ball, so I used a computer chair for the ball. It's a little harder because the chair doesn't want to go where you tell it, but it works out and saves buying a stability ball.

At the end of the workout, I felt pretty tired. Pretty beat. I didn't feel like I was going to die or hurl though, so that means I did good. Worked out just hard enough, not too little, not too much. With this complete, and tomorrow an off day, I'll be stretching again, hopefully everything this time.

My dad asked me if I lost any weight so far. Technically speaking, I've lost two pounds. Chances are it's water weight though. See, I used to drink nothing but diet soda prior to this week, so I'd bet right now that the majority of weight loss will come from that. 

That's all for today, I'll be back tomorrow.

What to do on an Off day

I started this morning at 9:15. I picked up another PB sandwich and water and rolled into work. Jot down 250 calories for the morning.
Nothing at work was there to get in the way except for the $1.10 I had in change laying around at work. "Monster energy drink? Nope, it's 2 bucks. Soda? Wish I had another 15 cents. Cookies? ugh, must. have. cookies." I managed to resist, wrapped myself up in a little more work, then bee-lined it for the car in the parking garage and went home.

Lunch, once I got home was a Beef Tamale with 2 and a half eggs. Half an egg because I meant to have two, but accidentally busted one and spilt half of it. 1.5 eggs wasn't going to cut it for me, so I had to crack another. I'm not real sure on the calorie count of those tamales, but I'll be generous and say 300 per since they're homemade. Dinner ended up being the same, minus the half egg.

Total Calories: 250 + 500 + 460 = 1210

Supposedly, caloric intake below 1500 is pretty bad, but to be frank, I didn't feel the need to eat more except for the times in between meals, but without anything to snack on, there's nothing to be done about it. Given that my metabolism is wrecked from switching sleep schedules twice a week as well, well, you could imagine how my body reacts to the recommended 2000 calories a day: I gain weight. 

Let's see how this plays out. I'm not purposely trying to starve myself after all, just trying to reduce how many calories I take in at any one meal.

Since today was an off day for the workouts, I decided to do the opposite of what the workouts do. Strength training has this side effect of binding your muscles even tighter, reducing flexibility. This is why so often warm up exercises involve stretching, to counter this effect somewhat. Quite frankly though, I've only gotten hurt in some fashion doing stretching as a warmup to a regular strength training workout, so I stopped entire many years ago.

But, as mentioned before, it wasn't a strength training day. After doing what I do for enjoyment, and having left TV for last, I put on the TV and stretched for about 25 minutes. Just my legs really, even though I should have done everything else. Stretching works the muscles in the opposite fashion of my workouts, so I think this will be quite good. I can workout every day without over exerting any of my muscles. 

As a side benefit, I'll be more flexible. Usually a trait desired in women by men, I can't say it'll hurt to loosen up my muscle-bound body. (The term muscle bound brings to my mind a Mr. Universe, but I think it actually just means that your muscles are reducing your flexibility because you don't stretch.) After all, martial artists have to be strong and flexible, it only makes sense then to stretch, right?
Tomorrow is the second workout of the week, and I think I should talk a little about my diet and what I shop for tomorrow as well.

Till tomorrow then.

Temptation, thy name is Easy Access

Total Calories: 0. - 2:30am

I went to bed last night at 9:30pm. Got about 2 hours worth of sleep between then and  2:30am, so I was feeling incredibly groggy. Made a peanut butter sandwich and grabbed a water, and ate it on the ten minute drive into work. +1 for me, PB sandwich is relatively low calorie while being fatty enough to help make you feel full and still have some protein.
Total Calories: 200. - 2:50am

I pop into work at 3, and get into the cooler at 3:10, and what do I find there but a nice helping of Tiger Stripe cake sitting out, knife there, already sampled, and demanding I eat some. I lose all self control and scarf down 2 thin slices of it before pulling myself together. I had to get rid of it: out of sight out of mind. I put it on the top shelf, and being above my eye level, was much easier to ignore. That little failure probably added another 200 calories to my already 200 calories from the peanut butter sandwich.
Total Calories: 400. - 3:15am

Throughout most of the work shift, I keep myself relatively under control, catching a lot of those moments where out of habit I'd pick up a piece of whatever (cookie, pastry, chocolate) that had broken off of that item, and just toss it back without a thought. Because of how quickly I move combined with the habitual movements, I missed a few, having already ate the item before realizing it. Given that I ate what amounted to about 50 calories of bits of food, I'm going to call that a major success.
Total Calories: 450.- 5:30am

5:30am, I was starving. I went and bought a can of peas and ate it. Tick off another 200 calories for the day. After that, keeping my sanity was quite a bit easier. Drinking lots of water helped a lot too, giving that stuffed feeling that keeps me from eating more. I managed to make it through the rest of the shift and get home at 9am and get some more sleep.
Total Calories: 650.- 9am

I woke up at noon and made an egg McMuffin. 3 eggs are 240 calories, so total calories is about 300. After this thing I've got right now, I expect to crunch through the workout in about an hour and a half.
Total Calories: 950. - 12:30pm

***********

Dinner was a piece of fish cooked in some sort of onion and butter, with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans. The old diet doesn't allow for carb heavy stuff such as mashed potatoes, but I've found over the years that only rice and LARGE portions of pasta seem to affect me in terms of gaining weight. I'd tack the total calories of dinner at about 400 calories, despite how bad it sounds.

Total Calories: 1400 - 6:30pm

As promised, I started the workouts today. While it's easier for me to just pass you along to the belly off workout on men's health, so that you can see what it entails, here's the basic structure of the program: every week has 3 weekday workouts called A B and C, all different workouts, and all followed by about 15 minutes of cardio. The fourth workout of the week is a measurement workout, where you test your strength and endurance as quickly as possible. Each week, the difficulty of the A B and C workouts increase, as well as the end of week workout, which keep pushing you and keep you from plateauing. Perhaps most importantly, all the workouts are geared at using your own bodyweight, so you don't need weights or machines, just your body, a floor, some old phone books or a non rolling chair, and a rolling chair or ab crunching ball (medicine ball?). Your nearby park has all the bars and benches you might need for chin ups and such, so that's helpful too if you don't happen to have those at home.

 

I started week 1 of the workout today. I feel pretty crappy right now, just goes to show how out of shape I am. So what was the workout?

Warmup: 

2 sets of - 10 squats, 10 pushups, 10 lunges, 10 mountain climbers, 10 waiter's bows, 10 stick ups. 30 seconds rest between sets.

Superset 1:

3 sets of  - 10 shoulder press, 24 step ups, 1 minute rest between sets

Superset 2:
3 sets of - 16 RDL, 20 mountain climbers, 1 minute rest between sets
Superset 3:
2 sets of - 10 inverted rows, 20 pushups, 1 minute rest between sets ( I skipped the inverted rows, as I don't have a place to do these, but the pushups are harder anyways )
Interval Cardio:
Warmup for 3 minutes
6 sets of - 30 seconds hard paced cardio, 30 seconds easy paced cardio. ( I like to jumprope, as I can still watch TV, but mostly because I loathe running. In terms of swimming, this equates to a sprint 50 then easy 25 repeated 6 times. )
Cooldown for 3 minutes.

Total time to complete: roughly 40 minutes.

Week 1, Day 1 complete. Here comes Week 1, Days 2, 3, and 4!