Sun 9/14

Weight was 204 lbs. yesterday with some clothes on…  Workouts have been lagging, I will be focusing on staying on track with exercise this week. Diet is going along easily.

Sun 9/7

Weight: 208 lbs.

Diet: as per plan, boring, but I hope effective

On target so far, it seems easy. I’m having to resist munching out of boredom today since I’m not at work. Also, worried about doing some recreational activities outside, since that often involved eating for entertainment. I would like to save eating out for work events or special occassions, to save some money and lose some weight.

So far so, so good

I have been following my program as written. Nothing to report, not feeling great today, but I don’t think thta’s diet related. Will weigh myself tomorrow and see where I’m at.

New Program for Fall

Inspired by Ellington Darden’s article Florida Dreamin’, and his book Flat Stomach ASAP, I’m setting out to do something similar.  If you like Dr. Darden’s writings, check out his short piece called Chiseled Abs: A Little Understanding Means A Lot. He tells it like it is, no b.s., which is unusual in the “abs industry.”  If you don’t know Dr. Darden’s writing, he is associated with the Nautilus and Med-X fitness equipment companies, and most recently with the Bowflex, and has been writing books about fitness for years. His perspective is from the high-intensity training school of strength training, where usually a weight lifting exercise is done for a single set until the trainee can’t lift the weight anymore.  This approach is not the mainstream, but it is consistent with the recommendations of the American College of Sports Medicine.  Except for the fact that Dr. Darden does not recommend cardiovascular exercise for slimming.  I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if one of his clients were active, walked or played some recreational sports, though.  

So, what am I up to. I will lift 3x/week, a single set to muscular fatigue of: leg press, leg curl, machine crunch, chest press, seated row, overhead seated press, cable pulldown, seated chest flyes, preacher biceps machine, triceps pushdown.  10 exercises, with three seconds of lifting and three seconds of lowering, for 8-12 reps each (increasing the weight when I can get over 12). After the initial workout or two, I will lift as many times as I can until fatigue even if it goes over 12 reps. Then I will increase the weight in the next workout.  Since I get hardly any activity outside of work and exercise, I will start each session with 5 mins on a bike, do my lifting, then return to the bike for whatever time makes it a 20 minute total session.  As long as my heart rate stays elevated, I will comply with the basic exercise recommendations of the AHA/ACSM.  Keep in mind that this is not what Dr. Darden would advise, based on my reading of his works.

Diet plan will be 1500 calories per day. Less than the 1900 in the Florida Dreamin’ article, because I am older, fatter and less active.  It will be as follows:

Breakfast (400 calories): 2 large omega-3 eggs, 1 packet instant oatmeal (TJ’s Heart Healthy flavored brand), 1 cup strawberries, coffee, 1/2 cup skim milk.  Alternative: 2 frozen TJ’s blueberry waffles, 2 T maple syrup, 1 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup skim milk, coffee

Lunch (400 calories): 2 slices 100% whole wheat bread, 3 oz deli chicken/turkey, 1 oz slice Jarlsberg lite, 1 T sweet pickle relish, 1 T light mayo, 2 tomato slices.  Alternative: 2 slices whole wheat, 1 T light mayo, 1 T relish, 1/2 can tuna, 1/2 apple, 1/2 cup canned corn (recipie from Dr. Darden’s site)

Dinner (400 calories): choice of frozen meal: for example TJ’s Kung Pao Chicken Rice Bowl, or Lean Cusine Comfort Classics Chicken Parmesean + 1 1/2 slices whole wheat bread (to make the calories up to 400), etc. See this article by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for a list of better frozen meal options.  I realize this isn’t for everyone, but for a time pressed bachelor it makes sense to enable having some variety and calorie control with no waste, cooking, cleaning, or time wasting.  I stole the idea from Dr. Darden’s article.  It’s hard to be too specific on the meals right now, depends on what’s in the store or on sale.  Alternative if I want to cook: 1/2 cup dry whole what pasta, 3 oz grilled chicken, 1 cup broccoli, 1 t olive oil, 2-3 T pasta sauce.

Snacks (300 calories):  2 string cheese sticks, apple, orange.  May substitute in some almonds, yogurt, etc.  Right now I have some string cheese to use up.

Shortfalls?  Well, obviously there isn’t enough vegetation.  It probably technically hits the 400 gram “five a day” standard but mostly because of fruit.  Right now I am going for convenience, and a way to avoid calorie bombs when I get home late and feel wiped out. Usually I order some take out, and have some beers. Frozen entrees are not necessarily health food, but I am looking for improvement not perfection. I will be looking to make it more healthy after I pick up some momentum.  

The other shortfall is so little exercise. We’ll see how it goes. The scale and the mirror will tell the tale, and I can adapt from there.

Still Here!

OK, I am back home again. Will start posting tomorrow.  I will come back with a more structured plan, since I got a little off track before going away and on holiday.  See you tomorrow.

Calorie poisoning

Here’s an older post from a practitioner of calorie restriction for longevity purposes, called “Calorie Poisoning: Civilisation’s Exploding Killer Disease“.  While I’m working on getting to a normal BMI for health reasons, and aesthetic reasons, there is a lot of food for thought in the article.

8/19, 8/20, 8/21

8/19: coffee with skim milk, lunch was 4 soft tacos with ground beef, cheese, avocado, tomato, sirloin steak, baked potato with butter, sting beans, large glass of red wine, cake x 2 large slices

8/20: coffee with milk, mini donuts x 10, 7 layer bar, 2 string cheese, loaded pizza x 4 slices, a cupcake, a pastry

8/21: coffee with skim milk, 2 omega 3 eggs, 1 pkt instant oatmeal, 1/2 c strawberries, 1/2 sandwich (1 slice ww bread, 1/2 slice Jarlsberg lite, 2 oz turkey, 2 t mustard) – didn’t eat the rest, 2.5 cups hunan chicken, 1 cup rice, 2 fortune cookies, 6 steamed Peking dumplings, 2 Michelob Ultra light beers

Exercise has been some walking…

Spotty reporting, will return to the usual format soon, but I am travelling for now, and eating terribly!

Mon 8/18

Weight: 210

Breakfast: 2 lg eggs, 1 pkt instant oatmeal, 1/2 c strawberries, coffee, 1/2 cup skim milk

Lunch: 2 sl wh wheat bread, 3 oz turkey, 1 sl low fat cheese, 1 nectarine, mustard

Dinner: roast beef sandwich on white roll (lettuce, tomato, horseradish), 3/4 order of onion rings, 1/2 medium movie popcorn, 3/4 packet of Junior Mints

Exercise: bike x 5 mins, single set (8-12 reps): abs, leg press, leg curl, chest press, cable row, seated overhead press, cable pulldown, triceps machine, biceps machine, bike x 20 mins

8/17 Sun

Weight: 210

Breakfast: coffee, 1/2 cup skim milk

Lunch: 3 slices cheese pizza (cold leftovers!)

Dinner: TJ’s frozen Kung Pao chicken, 2 Michelob Ultra Amber light beers

Exercise: none

8/16 Sat

Weight: 209

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 pkt instant oatmeal, 1 T sliced almonds, coffee, 1/2 cup skim milk

Lunch: none

Dinner: 4 slices large cheese pizza, large serving antipasto, 2 Michelob Ultra Amber light beers

Ex: none