Day 3 of 60 in 60...or something like that

Wow, I keep getting later and later with my posts. Today is actually day 4, and we're more than halfway through the day and I'm just now getting around to posting Day 3 results.

Maybe...just maybe I'll get this all caught up this weekend. For now, though....

Today would have been the end of week 1, had I remained with our original plan of starting March 30. Of course, those of you who are regular readers will recall beginning Friday night, the weekend wasn't the best of times -- at least when it comes to healthy eating and trying to lose weight.

I weighed in at 288.6 pounds that day, with a goal of dropping 11 pounds within the first week. Truth be told, even with the bad Saturday and Sunday (and Friday night), I may have come close to this anyway of we were counting this as the first full week.

But, we're not. I started over on Monday of this week -- three days ago -- at 283.8 pounds, but my goals remain the same: 11 pounds the first week, 27 pounds the first month. So, I'm looking to be at 272.8 by this coming Monday.

Toward that end, I'm still staying strict on the healthy eating and exercising. Here's how yesterday, Wednesday, Day 3, went, for both my eating and my exercise.

Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 2 ounces

Lunch
Lean center pork -- 5 ounces
Baked sweet potato -- 6 ounces

Snack
Greek Yogurt (fat free, sugar free)
Banana

First dinner
Grilled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Black beans -- 1/8 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/8 cup
All mixed up with a bowl full of mixed lettuces and greens

Second dinner (plus late snack. I just ate the same stuff, spread out over a few hours, so it's all totaled as one meal)
Lean ground beef -- 8 ounces
Kidney beans -- 1/3 cup
Salsa -- 1/3 cup
Lettuce/greens -- 1 cup
Soft tortilla taco boats (that's what they're called on the box) -- 4 of them

My totals for the day:
1,530 calories
36 grams of fat
141 grams of protein
Water = 80 ounces
Diet soda = 48 ounces

Again, high on the diet soda, but getting better on the water intake. Protein was a little light. The fat grams aren't bad, especially when you consider 5 grams was olive oil, a healthy fat your body actually needs.

Now, for the workout. Wednesday was back and biceps days.

Back
Seated row (narrow grip)
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
(wide grip)
160 pounds -- 2 sets, 10  reps each

Lat pulldown
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Screwy little back machine (I have no idea what it's really called -- you slide in it, seated, but you really have to scrunch in and your stomach is nearly on your thighs, then you push back all the way back until you're almost in a prone, lying position. Works the lower back, thus from henceforth in this blog it shall be known as the lower back machine).
65 pounds, 2 sets of 10

Biceps (I'm limited here because of some forearm pain I've hard periodically since doing something to it a few years ago)
Dumbbell curls
25 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Preacher curls
40 pounds
2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine ab crunch
100 pounds
1 set, 15 reps
1 set, 12 reps

Well, that was about all for yesterday folks. If you have any questions, comments, or better yet the key to dropping 60 pounds really, really fast, drop me a line down in the comment section!

I'm Such A Slacker...

Two days without blogging...three days without cardioing (didn't know that was a verb, did you?)...yep, I'm slacking bad.

So that stops today.

I haven't fallen off the weight loss wagon, I'm still working out pretty hard with the weights, eating healthy, but I've fallen off a bit on the cardio and the blogging.

Part of that is something I've mentioned before -- planning. I cannot emphasize enough how important planning and preparation is, and doing things today with tomorrow in mind.

This may be a simplistic example, but here's what's tripped me up on my cardio this week. First, if you've been reading my blog, you know I did do some pretty long, hard cardio sessions Monday and Tuesday, so it's not as if I just stopped doing it. And Wednesday was a planned day of no cardio, so I guess missing two days isn't all that bad. Still, you can't make up for missing a workout.

Anyway, my problem was as simple as not going to bed early enough. I'm a natural night owl, and am definitely NOT a morning person. That was compounded a bit by working a lot of late-night editing shifts a few years ago, often working from 3 p.m. until 1 a.m. (which meant getting to bed around 3 a.m.) It's been a few years since I worked that shift, but I've never gotten over it entirely, in that I'm still on that internal clock that doesn't want to go to bed until 1 or so in the morning. Heck, I've always been like that. My sisters tell me stories of when I was a little tiny kid, and I would stand up in my crib and bang my head on the wall until it would bruise (and then keep banging) just to keep myself awake.

So that's what's in my genes, folks. I just don't like going to sleep until late, late, late. My problem is, I need to do cardio in the early morning, before work. Since I started this I've mostly been able to force myself to hit the sack by midnight, maybe 12:30 at the latest, and I can crawl out of bed and go to the gym the next morning. But when I go to bed at 1, 1:30, or even later, it's pretty tough to get up early and go to the gym.

I know, I know, it all comes down to discipline, something I've handled pretty well since starting this back in March. But every once in a while, those old habits sneak back in. That was the case this week, at least Wednesday night and Thursday night, so no Thursday morning or Friday morning cardio (though I did do weight training both nights).

And today, Saturday, is usually an off day, but I went ahead and did a cardio workout this morning. So all-in-all it's not like I've missed a lot.

As for the blogging? Hmmm...I just ran out of time. We've had a couple of long days at work, stories that needed a little more attention in the editing process, other things coming along. Couple that with the fact I'm doing more writing in the world of fiction, and I've just been running short on time. Those nights I stayed up late I wasn't watching Netflix -- I was working.

For now I'll try to keep up the daily blogging-- it's a great way to keep track of my workouts and eating, and I get notes from people when I don't blog, so it's a good way to keep myself accountable.

Now, for the past couple of days...I'm going in reverse order here, so I'll start with today and work back to Thursday.

Today (Saturday)

Workout
Cardio -- stationary bike
46 minutes (25 on level 6, rest on level 5)
16.5 miles
600 calories

Eating -- well, I am taking today off on the eating, which doesn't actually mean I'm overeating. As of 1 p.m. I actually hadn't eaten anything yet, though as I write this I have two pieces of pizza next to me, so that's changing...

Friday
Workout
Back and biceps, minus the biceps because I've still been having more issues with the forearm.

Seated row -- regular grip
130 pounds -- 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip
160 pounds -- 3 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pulldowns
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine crunch
125 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps

Eating for Friday
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounc

Lunch
Low-fat ground beef -- 3 ounces
Frozen veggies -- 1/2 cup
Fat free Greek yogurt

Snack
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Frozen veggies -- 1/2 cup

Dinner
Fish -- 4 ounces (I have had Salmon or Talipia every day this week, twice one day. I don't want any more fish!)
Rice -- 1/2 cup
Veggies -- 1/2 cup

Totals for the day
Calories -- 1,100
31 grams fat
118 grams protein
60 ounces of water
32 ounces diet soda

Thursday
Workout -- legs
Well, okay, it was an abbreviated leg workout, between the two main Sunday leg workouts.

Squats
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 10 reps
225 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Supersquat machine
180 pounds -- 10 reps
270 pounds -- 8 reps
360 pounds -- 8 reps

Standing calf press
450 pounds
2 sets, 12 reps each

Abs
Seated machine crunch
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 20 reps each

Food for Thursday
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 1 white
Lean ham -- 1 ounc

Lunch
Lean ground turkey -- 2 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/4 cup

Snack
Chicken breast -- 3 ounces
Mixed lettuce and spinach -- 1 1/4 cup
Fat free Thousand Island dressing

First Dinner
Chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Teriyaki Sauce -- 1 tablespoon
Sesame Seed Oil -- teaspoon

Second Dinner
Tilapia -- 4 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Teriyaki Sauce -- 1 tablespoon
Sesame Seed Oil -- teaspoon

Totals
1,245 calories
35 grams fat
109 grams protein

Water -- 65 ounces
Diet soda -- 20 ounces

Okay, that's it for the Long, SuperDuper Thursday-Friday-Saturday blog! I'll have more tomorrow, including (if I get the time) some thoughts on a recent study that suggests fatness is...well, it's inevitable for some of us (though I refuse to accept that).

More on that tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.

21 Straight Days Eating Clean....

Yep, it was exactly three weeks ago today when I started my 30 consecutive days of clean eating, which came on the heels of dropping 21 pounds during the previous month. That first month, of course, I ate pretty low-calorie most days, with what amounted to an off day each week, where I ate whatever I wanted.

This second 30 days I decided to go with no off-days, staying clean the entire month, while concentrating on eating a little more in the way of complex carbs each day. I was a little worried that eating clean -- and eating more food -- would end up slowing my weight loss, but that hasn't proven to be a problem. While I didn't weigh today, last week I crossed the 246-pound mark (245.8 pounds on April 29) which means I'd already dropped more than another ten pounds about 18 days into the clean-eating month. My goal this month was to drop another 14, and I'm closing in on that.

Okay, that's a lot of numbers. I guess the long and short of it is I'm still losing weight at a pretty decent rate, though admittedly I've not been eating as much as I had planned so far during the second month of my weight loss efforts.

Today was also the day I promised to give you an update on the legs -- I did go a little harder in some respects yesterday, and I have had some soreness today, but nothing like the past couple of weeks, and I've certainly not been as worn out today as last Monday, so maybe the idea of no cardio on leg day (Sunday) along with eating a little more after the leg workout is helping.

Oh, and one note on the bike that's now measuring in kilometers instead of miles: another guy who works out at the gym and uses the bike a lot stopped me and asked if I had noticed the bike measuring "funny," (you might recall a couple of days ago I mentioned the one stationary bike the gym now appeared to be measuring in kilometers instead of miles.) Seems he's kind of frustrated, too, that no one at the Carroll Wellness Center much cares about getting anything working properly because of this long-promised all-new cardio equipment upgrade. We'll see...

Cardio
Stationary Bike
50 minutes
28.5 "miles" (which I think should be kilometers because of the screwy, broken bike at the gym -- which would actually be just a shade under 18 miles if they would fix the bike)
685 calories

Workout
Back and biceps

Seated Row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip seated row
160 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Lat Pulldowns
90 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
NOTE: This is the first time in a while I've done regular lat pulldowns, because the angle I hold the bar stresses the forearm. Thought I'd give it a try tonight, and things seem to have gone okay, though I have to use lighter weight, and just go really, really slow and controlled to make the work harder,

Biceps
Curl-bar curls
40 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
Note: The forearm felt okay tonight, even with a little more weight. If all continues well, I may try adding a third set next time.

Abs
Machine seated crunch
125 pounds
1 set, 15 reps
1 set, 12 reps

As for the food, here was what I took in today:

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Centercut lean pork loin -- 5 ounces
Rice -- 2/3 cup cooked
Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup

Snack
4 ounces chicken breast, cook in olive oil
Lettuice/spinach salad mix

Snack 2
Fat free Greek yogurt

Dinner
Sesame chicken (i serving whole wheat noodles, 5 ounces chicken breast, sesame oil)

Snack
Raisin bran (1 cup)
Almond Milk -- 1 cup

Totals for the day

1,420 calories
46 grams fat
121 grams protein

Far too low on protein, high on carbs today.

Water -- 95 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Well, that's about it for Monday. Thanks for stopping by. Keep checking in -- one day this week I'm going to blog about new studies that show scientifically why people who lose weight often have trouble keeping it off -- through no fault of their own.

The Cravings Have Hit!

Any of you who have been reading my blog over the past couple of months knows that I started this thing on March 9, and for the first month I concentrated on working out and restricting overall calories each day as a means of losing weight.

I was happy with the results -- 21 pounds lost that first month -- and after taking a couple of days off from the diet, decided to change things up for the second 30 days. Instead of making it about total calories and taking an off day every week or so, I decided to simply eat clean for 30 days. No sweets, no high-fat food, a minimal of processed food. Just clean eating.

Yesterday (Friday) was day 12 of that, and for the first time I found myself really, really craving the junk food. I kept thinking of Big Macs, pizza, hot wings (and yes, a long time ago I extolled the virtues of tacos, even calling them my favorite food, but the truth is there is NOTHING I like better than good hot wings. In my mind, the perfect restaurant would be a combination of East Coast Wings and Taco Bell).

It was even worse last night. We were at the grocery store and I saw boxes of popcorn, and suddenly was craving popcorn. When my son put a pizza in the oven, I really, really want a piece (or five).

I didn't eat any of that stuff, but it's been along time since I had food cravings that bad.

My son thinks that will get worse as the 30 days goes forward, I'm wondering if it'll get easier -- the further out from having eaten anything like that, the less I should want it, right?

I suppose this is the very reason many weight loss programs include an off day. I know the old Weight Watchers (when it actually promoted healthy food choices instead of calories and points) always suggested an off meal each week. Body For Life suggests an off day each week.

I understand the psychology of that idea -- if you can have anything you want once a week, or for a whole day each week, that makes it more likely you can stick with a strict diet plan the rest of the week.

That makes sense. But from a practical standpoint, it can wreak havoc on your hopes to lose weight and get healthy. It really doesn't matter how strict you are the rest of the week, a really bad off day can destroy half of your work. What do you think three or four Krispy Kremes, a Big Mac and large fries, a big bowl of buttery popcorn, and a dozen hot wings (or three pieces of Pizza Hut pizza) do for your weight loss goals? That might sound like a lot, and it is, but it's not really too extreme. I suspect there are a lot of folks who eat that way several days a week. I know, as an off-day from a diet, I could pack all of that away, and then some.

Like I said, all of that hard work in the gym, the discipline in sticking to a healthy eating plan for six days, and then you do that? There goes half your weight loss for the week. Even forgetting the fat loss, do you know how bad each of those things are for you?

In my case in particular, not only can an off day be a disaster, but on many of my past weight loss efforts, I'll find myself taking an off day one week, then the next week (particularly if I'm doing well with the fat loss) I take another off day, but expand it a little. I might start eating badly on Friday night before an off Saturday, or take off half of Saturday before a Sunday off day.

Going strict for 30 days, while a little harder when it comes to not satisfying those random cravings, certainly makes life easier in many ways. A slice of pizza? Just one? Nope. Just a handful of popcorn? Sorry, does't fit. Just a taste (or two, or maybe three) of the mashed potatoes? I mean, it'll still work for total calories for the day. Sorry, that doesn't fly either.

See, it's easy. There's really no gray areas -- it's either part of the eating plan or it's not. Once committing to 30 days of clean eating, certain foods just don't fit, no matter what the total calorie intake is, because the 30 days isn't about total calories, it's not even solely about a certain amount of fat loss, it's simply about sticking to a healthy, clean eating plan.

Okay, enough of my soapbox for the day I suppose.

On Friday, I did no cardio (a planned break), but did back and biceps

Workout
Back
Seat machine row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Wide-grip seated rows (first time I've tried these)
150 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Lat Pulldown (with nautilus machine, less stress on the forearm)
130 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Bent-over barbell rows
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps each

Biceps -- Okay, I'm still not really doing anything here because of the forearm issue. I did one token set that wasn't so much about working out as it was just making sure I haven't forgot how to do them.
Curlbar curls
40 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Abs
Machine weight crunch
115 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps

Eating for the day
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Banana -- 1/3 of a banana (leftovers)

Lunch -- a big salad
Seasoned chicken breast (no sodium seasoning) -- 3.5 ounces
3 olives
1/4 cup cheese
Mixed lettuce/spinach
Fat free Greek yogurt (no, that wasn't part of the salad).

Snack
Banana

Dinner
Taco soup -- 2 big bowls
Note: My wife makes this with black beans, chicken breast, tomatoes, corn, and some seasonings. We got the idea from Applebees. Thing is, Applebees' version has more than 240 calories in a small bowl. Our version has just 95 calories in a big bowl. Another example of how eating at a restaurant is almost always gonna be bad for you.

Snack
Taco soup -- a big bowl (this stuff's really, really good)

Totals for the day
1,260 calories
26 grams fat
143 grams protein

That's it for the day. Thanks for stopping by!

Back At It! Cardio AND Weight Training In One Day

Well, you know I had an off day yesterday, with no workouts and eating off the diet yesterday, Easter Sunday.

So today I went right back at it, staying strict on the eating plan as well as putting together a weight-training and cardio workout back-to-back. That's not the first time I've done that, but the other times I cut the cardio short to about 20 minutes or so. Today I went a lot longer.

From my experience as the World's Greatest Yo-Yo Dieter, I'm always a little nervous about taking a day off. Too often I've let that spill into the next day, then the next, and so on. But, as I was reminded yesterday, I'm still far, far too heavy, and that means after an off day I have to jump right back in and be strict for a while, and I think I did a pretty good job of that today.

Here's what I ate:

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Chopped mushrooms -- about a 1/4 cup

Lunch
Lean pork chop -- 5 ounces
Mixed Veggies -- 3/4 cup
Fat Free Greek yogurt

Snack
1/2 cup fruit (grapes and fresh pineapple)
Salad with boiled egg (day after Easter, imagine that!) and mushrooms

Snack 2
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Denver Steak -- 5.5. ounces
Baked potato -- 5 ounces
Diet butter -- 1 tablespoon

Snack
Denver steak -- 3 ounces

Total for the day
Calories -- 1,305
Fat -- 41 grams
Protein -- 173 grams (getting closer to what I should be doing here)

Water -- 66 ounces
Diet soda -- 34 ounces

Exercise

Cardio
Stationary Bike
35 minutes (30 minutes on lvl 5, the rest on lvl 4)
11.5 miles
375 calories

Weight workout
Back and biceps

Seated Row
130 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds, 2 sets, 8 reps each
200 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pulldown
100 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
90 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps

Bicep workout
Curl-bar Curl
40 pounds, 1 set 10 reps
75 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
70 pounds, 1 set 8 reps
70 pounds, 1 set 6 reps

And that's about all for today folks! Thanks for stopping in.