DietMoose

Today got off to a pretty good start.  My wife was off work, so she helped drag my furry butt out of bed, and got me down to the gym on time.  (I need to not miss any more workouts).   She was doing cardio today, and today was my lower body day.   Overall, I don’t feel my workout was as intense as the upper body from day one, but it wasn’t bad.  I probably hit a couple of 9′s (10 being the absolutely force-of-will, mind-over-muscle highpoint you’re reaching for on the Body For Life workout plan).   I had a brief unplanned bathroom break thanks to the energy drink, so that did interrupt the rhythm of the workout.  Oh well, at least I made it to the gym!

As for food, I came home and had a protein shake, and something else I can’t remember at this very moment.  When I got to work, I snacked on string cheese, and for lunch I had tilapia and veggies in a butter-parmesan sauce.  Pretty tasty, and nice and high in good animal fats and protein!  I snacked on some braunschweiger (a pork liver sausage, like pate) before leaving work, and I drank a liter of water in the course of the day.  By the time the train pulled in, I was STARVING.   For dinner, it was a good sized sirloin steak w/ alfredo sauce again (the old standby), and a huge cup of water (I also drank another cupful later and took my multivitamin).

Overall, I’d give the day a 9 for eating, and a 7 for the workout.  Not too bad!   Let’s see if I can wake up for cardio (ew) tomorrow!

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Today was the first hiccup (I don’t waste any time, eh?)   I ate well…BEAT Salad for breakfast, buffalo wings & celery w/ bleu cheese for lunch, and a big steak w/ homemade alfredo sauce for dinner.  Salami and string cheese as snacks for the day.  However, I did sleep in and miss my cardio in the morning, and I didn’t make it up later.  While it’s a bit less of a sin to miss a cardio day, I still need to do it…if for nothing else, the self-discipline aspect (I HATE cardio). But a big part of my motivation to get in shape is so I can participate in various physical activities, not just look good, so cardio and conditioning is definitely going to be a requirement to meet my goals.

In any case, the day is not a complete loss, and I will definitely be up tomorrow for my workout, since my wife has the day off, and she’s an early riser who is gonna drag my sorry butt out of bed!

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I woke up at 4:00am, chugged a sugar-free energy drink, and headed to the gym.  I worked my upper body harder than I’ve worked it in years, and I’m feeling it!  My arms are still jelly, and I know I’m going to be feeling this tomorrow, and even more so the next day.   When I came home, I had a protein shake and a piece of string cheese, and I headed to work.   At work I snacked on string cheese throughout the day, but didn’t eat a proper lunch.  I mainly couldn’t stomach the idea of having another bowl of plain tuna + mayo (I ate this for several days in a row a couple weeks ago, and kinda burnt myself out on it).  I was ok, but I don’t plan on doing this again.  I will be packing/planning my lunch in advance from now on.

When I got home, I was pretty hungry, so I had a big steak with homemade alfredo sauce and a big tumbler of water.   Snacked on more string cheese (it’s easy, carb safe, and tasty), and headed to bed.    Good workout, clean eating (even if not ideal), and not a bad start!   Oh, and I’ve decided to give up diet soda (save for my pre-workout energy drink).

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In my first post, I explained how I managed to reach such a sorry state, and just what I intend to do about it.   I didn’t get into exercise in that post, but as promised, here’s a basic overview of the fitness regime I will implement.

My starting point

As explained in my first post, I was initially inspired by the dramatic results I saw in the before-and-after pictures saw in the Body-for-Life book, as well as on their website.  The transformations are absolutely stunning, and I knew this was what I was after.   The diet plan provided wasn’t what I was looking for (read my first post for more details), but I liked the exercise plan it put forth.   It challenges the conventional wisdom (something of which I’m always in favor) by suggesting the best route to fat loss and a fit body is not hours and hours in the gym, endless miles on a treadmill, or even the ever-popular circuit training.   The  focus is on resistance/strength training under the premise that muscle takes energy to maintain, and as you build lean muscle, your body burns more calories all the time.  It debunks several myths about exercise and fitness, and gives a very good explanation of the why behind the specific methods.  Overall, it gives you a very focused plan that takes 20-45 minutes of your day at most, and has efficiency, speed, and effectiveness to offer.

The basic plan is as follows:

Day one: Upper Body

Day two: Cardio (20 min)

Day three: Lower Body

Day four: Cardio

Day five: Upper body

Day six: Cardio

Day seven: rest!

The idea with each workout is to do a variety of exercises, warming up, and end with a push for a new personal high point…just a bit harder than you’ve gone before, a bit more weight than you’ve lifted.  Basically shooting for total muscle exhaustion.  You may not hit it every time, but that’s what you push for every day.  This keeps your body constantly adapting, growing, and becoming more fit.  Once you hit that point, you’re done…you don’t spend another hour in the gym on a treadmill.  You hit your high point, and get on with your day.

So that’s the basics.  You can learn more about it at Bodyforlife.com.  There’s a lot of resources there, and a large community in which to participate without having to buy anything.  Bill Phillips (BFL’s creator) may push his products (EAS supplements) quite a bit in his books and on his site, but it’s totally free to use the resources there…and if nothing else, it’s awesome for inspirational purposes.

So that’s the plan!  If this fatso can get off his duff and start turning his life around, what’s your excuse???

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I’m 5’6″, and I’m 340lbs.  What the hell happened?

It’s Monday, May 17th, 2010.  I’m overweight, out of shape, and generally feel like crap.   Most people ask “How did I get here??”.  I’m sure for some it’s rhetorical.   For others, it’s genuine confusion.   I know how I got here.  One pound at a time.  One cheeseburger at a time.  One ice-cream sandwich at a time.  One abandoned diet at a time.   Day after day after day.  I got here by sitting in front of a computer monitor for 8 hours a day, and heading to the drive-thru for lunch.   This wasn’t something that happened accidentally.  No, this took years of effort.  Don’t get me wrong…genetics helped, but I chose the path, and I forged ahead, year after year, ignoring all the warning signs.

Mmmmm...

Since very few people blog about their ongoing journey toward a heart attack, I’ve obviously decided to do something different.  Initially, I’d planned on doing the Body-for-LIFE plan, by the book…but after a bit of reading, research, and contemplation, I came to the conclusion that the program, as written, may not the be the most efficient or sustainable plan for me, personally.   The workout portion resonates with me very well, but the dietary plan advocates a low-fat, calorie-restricted approach, which seems counter-productive to me (it was also rather heavy on BFL-branded supplements, for what that’s worth).  My goal is fat-loss, and I think I’d have a hard time shedding the pounds if my body thinks it’s starving.  The last thing I need is to lower a metabolism that makes glaciers look swift.  Additionally, I think I’m very sensitive to sugar (possibly even pre-diabetic), so I see no reason to take on an eating pattern which would serve to enhance any hunger pangs and cravings through modulating blood-sugar levels. Some may argue with the premise, but I’ve experienced significant results in the past on a high-fat, low-carb approach, and after many hours of educating myself on the subject, I decided that this would be the best approach for my fitness and weight loss journey.

(Don’t worry, my updates won’t be this long every day)

I stumbled across this site:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/

…and I really like the premise of eating hunter-gatherer style…VERY limited grains, plenty of meat and veggies, and lots of good fats.  I can feel sated after my meals, eat well (and frequently), and stay healthy (arguably, healthier than my low-fat, low-cal counterparts)…as well as adequately feed my body as I take on an intense workout routine.

Stay tuned for part 2, my workout…

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