Back to it, 12 week challenge

I've been bad! I see that the last post was back in October so any idea that i've been tracking well is completely lost.

Yes i am over the 100, and i'm well ashamed of myself for that. No excuse for any of it.

But as of Saturday i am back on track and working on a new 12 week plan. This was to start 1st of Jan but as i've been particularly bad over xmas i thought it best to start a week early and avoid too much overdoing it at the new year.

so, 12 weeks. I have set myself three goals:

1. Get back to lowest weight from last time - don't know what i am today but lowest was 96kg. i think i can do this in 4 weeks and i'm taking the 30 day fat loss from TT for this as it has a four day work out which i will feel more comfortable with.
2. Get below 90kg. this is a great milestone and at 6 kg below the first goal i think it will work well for the four weeks. Buff Dudes and Hot Chicks for this one.
3. Finally, to be below 85kg at the end. Reformed Meat Heads for that one.

My nutritional plan is firstly no drinking of any kind. not a drop must pass these lips - make the reasons for this clear in many other posts. Secondly it's low carb and low cal. I will stick to three meals a day each of only 500 cal and no carbs. This i will combine with two ESE days per week. I know this is hard but i must be strong. If i hit my goal before the end of the 4 week period i will go onto a more healthy diet but maintain till the beginning of the next goal - this is a blitz process.

I intend to do a lot of additional cardio work, not HIIT because i have that with TT and it will kill you if you do too much. Also not tread mill, bike blah at the gym - four times per week is enough of that place. no, i will just do the walking the streets, playing with the kids, go shopping, clean the car type stuff.

Very important is that i've also given up televison - this will help with the above.

So, today is the end of day two of no carb. i haven't been too strict on the calories so far as i know the low blood sugar affects my moods, also haven't been working out too hard - that starts tomorrow. But come tomorrow i will be low cal, low carb and burning it like crazy. i will also begin a 30 hour ESE after lunch tomorrow. I will take the boy to the beach on Tuesday and not eat till the evening of that day.

I will also post regularly from now on - please if anyone is reading give me some support.

What are your Goals?

Firstly i weighed in today 1 kg down from Monday. Not much but it's something - i hope i can keep it off given the trip to China next week. Good workout this morning, I'm keeping it down on the weight and the sets for the following reasons. 1. It's mostly food that must be controlled to lose weight 2. Some exercise is what is important, if i hurt myself then i might miss even some. 3. Stress has been the major cause of weight increase in the past few months, therefore i need to reduce the stress caused by working out also. 4. i can build up the weight while concentrating on form.

I'm quite comfortable with the logic above and do feel good from my workout - even though they feel too short and don't push the limits like before. I worry a little that i'm not hitting that 11 in terms of effort in my workouts - with the BFL programme it was always about getting to that extreme and going beyond what felt physically possible - or in his words going with will power alone as strength had been exhausted. i guess i need to build up to that point again. This is to some extent the reason for the subject of this post.

Today while listening to a Podcast in the car i was hit with the question 'What are your Goals?' For some reason this seemed to hit home hard. I could answer quite easily - get down to 80kg by March and be fitter. But is this a good enough answer - i don't think so as it just looks short term and is quite shallow.

So what are my goals? i don't really know, i mean to be fit and healthy (in the context of this blog, obviously there are other life goals but lets keep to the subject). but to develop an action plan and monitor progress then goals need to be specific. define 'healthy' or 'fit', does it just mean healthier and fitter - because this can only ever be true to a point.

I don't have the answers, but I'm going to contemplate this point a lot over the next few weeks, and blog my thoughts in the hope of finalising a plan. for the time being i can focus on the goal at hand - get to 80kg by end of March and then to stay there.

I can then break it up that i need to be below 94 by year end and expect a tough 12 weeks from there to the end game.

Stress

It's been a while, a long while. i think that the subject here has been a topic before but it's been such a big part of my life in the past two months that i need to talk about it. Stress messes you up! Previously i would say that when the body goes into melt down then you know that you are stressing about something, sometimes you can't figure it out until the problem goes away and the pain also disappears - then you have an aha moment and realise what was stressing you out.

Well this time was different - i have been stressed out for over 6 weeks and i clearly knew all the things stressing me out but could only use the means at hand to deal with it without being able to stop the causes. Issues with clients, serious illness at home, lack of sleep, long flights with disabled children, money issues etc.

Methods of coping - lots of alcohol, comfort food, denial etc. the end result was of course putting on a lot of weight and feeling pretty low about myself. What i found interesting was how much this affects me and how it affects my wife differently. I put on weight and she loses weight under stress.

I am out of this period of stress now. I wound down with a weekend of rest and good food. No Alcohol since Friday night and a good workout this morning - also on ESE since lunch yesterday.

I weighed in today at 101.5 KG. while this is a long way from the June low it's only 3.5 kg from my hovering weight over the past three months. Pretty good considering the things I've eaten and the lack of exercise. But quite sad also that now i have to start again and it will be weeks before i get down to where i was! (and just between you and me i'm now obese again which is cause for depression) So, what to do about it.

I'm back doing TT workout. One issue I've had trying to get back into it is that i was hurting myself trying to get back to where i was. Even the hotel room workout proved too much for me. So I've started the TT for fat loss once again but at the Beginner level. What's more I'm doing only two sets and 10 mins interval. next week I'll look to moving up.

You really can't discount the beginner level - i am surprise how hard it was. Now I'm looking forward to moving through the whole programme again.

Diet wise i need to focus. I'm trying to do 2-3 ESE fasts per week. I have conferences, football trips, board meetings and visitors for xmas in the coming months. I really need to be focused otherwise it will all slip again. I've set out a plan which takes me back to end of March which is the beginning of this one year journey. I need to lose an average of 1kg per week to hit my target of 80kg by then. Need to be focused, lose each week and never have a gaining week!

Alcohol will play an important part in this. i will be off it from the new year till i reach goal, but also i need to keep it in check the rest of time.

Wish me luck!

Two Weeks Of Hell

This past two weeks has been the most incredible time of bad news, bad luck and bad experience. Let me put it down here to record it in its horribleness.:

• Started with putting my back out in the gym. After months of squats and dead lifts i could not believe that a rear deltoid raise would pull a muscle in my back.
• Then my oldest sprained his arm playing football at school.
• The winds were good all weekend so even though my back was hurting i went kite surfing - this ended in the need for some serious rescue - a 'fast as you can' 2km swim and then a run to the club to get the rescue boat. Some serious damage to the kite but got most of the gear back and am still alive. So seriously tired though - this lead to coming down with the full flu (not swine though)
• Monday i was so sick but had to meet some important clients. Got back from a very long drive to go to the hospital to see the doctor. as the boy's arm still hurt i took him to the doctor too. I was in no mood to have them x-ray and waste my time and money. Turns out it was broken so that had me looking like a bad parent.
• Then we all got sick, three boys, wife etc.
• A full weekend and some of looking after sick kids and the fun involved in that, just as they were getting better i had to go on a business trip - at last a chance to sleep.
• Two days into my conference i get a call, my second son's care giver had a stroke - she has not insurance, no money and is my total responsibility

Just when you think you have it bad some one or something let's you know that it can always be worse. I've been through three hospitals and had arguments with seven doctors - we are mentally and physically drained. But who are we to complain - we can walk and talk. It is a cruel world.

So, as this is a fitness and weight loss blog I'd better turn this into a fitness and weight loss topic. What has all this meant to my condition? well for the first 10 days i actually lost weight, not working out meant that i was less hungry - that combined with the illness etc.

At the conference i was good, skipped breakfast, had only the healthy snack options at coffee break and restricted what i ate at meals. Everyone commented on how much weight I'd lost - that was good confirmation.

BUT, as soon as the impact of someone you care for being struck down like this i went for comfort food. I had to rush back from Hong Kong to deal with the situation and when straight for Burger King. I want to say that after 6 months of eating healthy it was really hard to eat a Whopper - no wonder the world is fat if that is what we try to put forward as a meal. it was quite sickly but I'm not going to say i didn't like it - just that it was soooo big.

Then after getting home i went for all the comfort foods i could muster. Chocolate, potato chips, plus more crap. The result being that i put back the weight i lost in a very short time.

But Monday i started back the exercise and the diet. I'm off the booze for three weeks, started a new TT program and today I'm having an ESE. Yesterday i weighed in at 98 kg which is only 2 over my lowest of 96. So i think i have a good chance of coming out of this look even better.

Changes in the gym: I've reduced the weight (so that i can build up again) and I'm concentrating on form - for squats I'm trying to get really low which i could not have done before with the high weight (it is amazing how much more heavy things are when you get down). And I'm stretching after each session - putting most of my effort into the glutes and hips as this is sooo tight and needs work.

I will also not do intervals on weight days - i think this is better.

Moving Forward - somehow

I've been pretty bad this month. all the good intentions have been dashed completely with a lack of will power. I have had guests and taken a few business trips this month so that is part of my excuse - but it's only an excuse, the really reason for me being bad is that i have no willpower.

I've been boozing and mixing that with very bad eating. I've missed many fasts and even dropped the interval part of my training workout on most days. Last weekend for example i decided to do no activity at all - just rest.

On the up side i have done a few fasts and I've not missed any resistance training - i have gained some serious strength that i quite proud of. But best of all i seem to have lost some weight!! today i weighed in under 97kg and Monday i checked my body fat which read 27%. might be water or some other fluctuation but i feel that if i can just get through the weekend on track i will be heading in the right direction.

i really want to be below 95 by the time i go to Hong Kong - so the most important thing is to cut down on the wine etc. After all the drinking this week i am happy to have a few days off and eat some healthy food, plus getting some sleep will be a bonus.

Good News

This is a mixed bag here but i feel motivated so that makes it good news. I have been struggling with binge eating, alcohol and general laziness for the past few weeks. Last week in particular i felt that I'd fallen off the wagon and started to gain weight. Today i weighed myself and got 98KG - this is much better than i expected.

There was a fat tester sitting on the bench left out by the trainers so i thought I'd get a reading on that ('cos often we feel that the gain in weight is 'all muscle' but rarely do we check). So the reading was 30.1% (obese) i was a little shocked by the label but if that is what it is then time to push things a little harder.

I had planned to give up drinking and go hard core for the next 5-6 weeks as we have a regional conference in September and i really want to wow the crowd (plus any target is getter than no target). However i am expected to do some travelling and entertaining in the month which will be boring and un-enjoyable if i keep off the drinks - after all i do want to succeed without giving up completely. Yesterday i was a little down as i thought this might make my goal of under 94 by conference difficult to impossible.

But with today's weigh in i am much more confident. Plus while my body fat seems to be much higher than expected i now have more motivation to drop the pounds.

So, now for the August plan. I will try to really stick to this all month - i really want to see good results. here goes:

• Exercise - three days per week TT including intervals, alternating cardio and BW/DB intervals (i really enjoyed these last round), cardio on off days (either in the gym, stairs or back to running with the boss) but not too high intensity as we don't want to over train, golf practise every day in the evening (not super exercise but better than sitting at home watching tv), if i get comfortable with the golf then i can substitute one cardio day for golf at the course. trying to be very active on weekends but also have an afternoon snooze.
• Food - really stick to the Big Mac format, ESE twice a week, alcohol only if in a social environment for work (just friends doesn't count) and never get drunk. Once i get back from my business trip i will do a full two weeks of no-carb, last ten days also before the conference will go no-carb.

I'm off to a good start as this is still the last day of July and I'm fasting - i will keep dinner clean and go for golf practise tonight as well. I want to be clearly under 94kg by the 8th of September - also, to add to this challenge i set the goal of being 26.6% body fat, which at 94 will mean that i've gained a little muscle.

Please anyone reading give me some words of encouragement! i need help in this pursuit, i will post each week to confirm my compliance.

Motivation

i just can't seem to get motivated today. i'm feel depressed, i gained some weight by pigging out on stuff that i haven't had in ages - chocolate and beer etc. I'm feeling fitter and fitter and have had great confidence comments all weekend but still i'm struggling. What's going on?

Can't really be bothered to write this blog but i guessed i needed to at least put down how crappy i feel. My weight was almost back to the 'obese' level this morning. It's hard to work out what is going on, my clothes still fit right so i guess it's a little body composition thing.

this week is dinner and guests all week, it's also the last week of 2K3. I really need to step all of this up. i need to be down below my best weight by September - we have a regional meeting and i want to get some positive comments at least. Anyway it creates a goal.

So, for the four weeks of 2K4 i need to be on top of my diet - this is key. i also need to have something else to do on off days. let me ponder all this during this week so i can hit the ground running for the start.

Hang Over

Never ever think you can end a fast day at the pub! i didn't think i was that drunk but i have woken up today to the worst hangover ever - feel like i might die.

Yesterday was actually quite good. Lower body workout going super heavy and my dumbbell swing, thruster intervals - went 5 sets. Then i fasted for the day, this also went really well and by the end of the day i was feeling great, no hint of the sick feel from the day before.

No workout today, i think this week I'm doing to do the TT workouts only and skip anything else. will be at the beach for the weekend so that will be active enough.

Sick Day

I do not feel well today. I have taken the day off from working out and i am eating today even though i intended to have a fast day. I hope i feel better tomorrow as it is lower body day and my db swing workout. Feel like I'm coming down with something and need comfort food - i will try to keep it healthy.

Lovin' It

No it's not McDonald's i'm loving but Turbulence Training. These workouts are awesome to say the least. mixing up the combination of the exercises and the types has put some serious progress into my workouts. i like the fact that i actually hurt for a few days after my workouts - today was upper body and man do i feel it. i try to up the weight every time even if it's probably too much - and i seem to surprise myself each and every time.

i was never keen on the three days a week side of the TT programme - feeling that i need to work out every day just to keep the momentum. But now i feel i have to push against the momentum as i would kill myself if i went every day. always keen to hit the gym again but truly need that off day. Not that off days are a pain, i'm going to get serious about my golf so will practise on off days - simple really.

this is week 3 of 2K3 and i really can't wait to get to the next one - 2K4. it's kind of like video games, it really keeps the spark going.

Great Workout

I didn't do anything yesterday. I got dressed for a run and took the car the the service centre, the plan was to run around the park on the way home. But firstly the whole dropping off the car for service took way longer than expected and secondly as i was scheduled to play golf in the evening i got lazy and decided to just walk home - did run across the road though.

Once i got to work i realised that i would need to work all evening and wouldn't be able to join the golf. So a day of nothing. Plus i had a really big lunch - buffet style so today i really need to do some damage control.

This morning was lower body so i thought that rather than working my legs in resistance and then working them again in intervals that I'd try a more upper body interval programme. This is what i cam up with:

• 30 seconds thrusters with dumbbells
• 60 seconds dumbbell swings (30 each side)
• 30 seconds jumping jacks
• 60 seconds rest then repeat 6 times.

Started out easy and i thought i might need heavier weights or longer intervals. But after three sets i was near collapse - i guess the workout was not so upper body as whole body and i was fatigued from the resistance. I did four sets, next time will do five and then six. i want to work up to 6 sets with 20lb weights before moving onto a new format.

I'm fasting today which is good, i can feel my body trying to recover from the workout and as there is no food in the system the fat is burning - burn baby burn.

I'm feeling really fit, strong and healthy this week. I've had many comments about my shape - much more than at the end of the 12 weeks even though I'm about 3 kgs heavier than i was then. I guess composition has changed a fair bit since then as I've really worked hard. I can seriously feel a reduction in my man boobs which I'm very happy about. However i have a long way to go and need to keep off the booze, ESE as much as i can and just avoid fat food.

How i manage over the weekend will be critical for a good weigh-in on Monday.

Back on Track

Had a good day yesterday as far as healthy goes. hi-fibre breakfast, reasonable lunch (Thai Food, small rice) and Irish stew for dinner (my wife has really got the cooking down now) topped off with a low cal yogurt. Eating complete by 7:30 and then just tea till bed.

Today is fast day, started with an interval run. Feeling good, but i know that I'm going to have to skip lunch today with the team whom i haven't seen in weeks, plus the Muslim food here is great and i will miss that. I'm tossing up whether doing ESE after lunch might be better in general as i don't have to compromise lunches - like tomorrow i have lunch with a client. I guess it's just a case of do it when you can. I really love the fact that i was fully fasted when i hit the gym this morning, and now every key stroke is burning fat.

Still struggling to get back into work after my holiday, some say that's a sign of a good holiday - i guess they are right.

All Good!

Well the plan was to eat right and keep up the work outs etc while on holiday. I did most of my TT workouts missing only one, and the kiteboarding and surfing etc. have left me really really exhausted (seriously over trained i think). But as for food and drink forget it! i have pigged out and been really bad on the booze - especially beer which really fattens me up. I did fast a few times but not as many as intended and a few failed due to the arrival of super tasty food that i just had to try - you can't get that stuff here.

So what is the result? 98.6kgs. I am happy with this as it's about what i had weighed before i left, isn't above the obese mark and i feel I've actually increase some muscle with the new TT workout I'm on.

But i must lose more now, i cannot get lazy now that I've gotten back safely - i know that i could quickly find myself up above this if i let my guard down. What's more there is still more to lose and i should be focusing on getting to the target.

So, what is the target now. I want to be below 90kg by the end of the next TT 4 week programme. that gives me 7 weeks to meet my goal.

To break it down, i have one week before i do the marathon. Need to keep focused on that, will do the TT but keep it low weight so that i retain the energy to run.

Then i have two more weeks of 2K3 where i can pump up the weight and go hard on the intervals. Food wise i want to go low carb and do three fasts per week - this will help to drop a big amount as a head start to the race to break the 90.

For the 4 weeks of 2K4 i want to focus on low calorie, three meals no snacks and three fasts per week (one on the weekend to sort out some weekend overeating).

If i achieve my goal of breaking the 90kg mark then i will be able to treat myself to a kiting holiday - I'm thinking of Mauritius.

Holiday

I had hoped to be fit and happy with my weight at this point. Sadly i am somewhat disappointed. I do not have any real proof as the scale at the gym here is no good but i feel I've put on weight. The pictures i took yesterday don't show much but there is something there.

I watched what went on the first few days food wise. I went to the gym and completed my TT workouts. I fasted one full day in the week (second fast i didn't go through with as the baby gave me a cold i wanted to deal with). And most importantly I've been super active. A couple of hours surfing in the morning, several hours kiting in the afternoon. Walks, swims, etc. This should burn massive amounts of calories. I have done so much exercise i really really hurt. Haven't done intervals as i am so active already.

Food intake has been a bit of an issue. I've been drinking a lot of beer too, and I'm sure this does not help but at the end of the day this is my holiday so i should enjoy it. I have the day to myself today so i will fast and do all my activity. I will also rest a lot - lack of sleep on this trip is clear.

I'm off now to start my 2K3 workout - this should kick start a day of fat loss. the Family won't be home till late so i can fast all day. I will keep it low cal tomorrow and keep up the activity. Burn baby burn.

I'm Excited!

Had a bad weekend from a food perspective (but not as bad as last weekend and was a pretty good week). Weighed in today at 97.4 kgs today which is nicely down from the last official weigh in and only 1.4 from lowest weight.

Did workout A of the Original TT programme and it was awesome, added 5 lbs to each DB for everything - didn't think i'd make it but did everything but failed on the last set of the presses (still got 6 out). This is an amazing workout - i would never have thought i could be so exhausted from only two super sets.

Finished off with intervals on the Cross Trainer (just for a change as my knees hurt from the 12.5km run on Sunday).

I'm fasting today - again i feel awesome. Like on Friday but that fast failed because we had a last minute lunch with customers - doesn't matter as i still had 20 hours without food. Golf i only got 9 holes in but made it in 48 - very happy with that.

Only 4 days till we go on holiday - can't wait. I need/want to drop a few more kgs before we leave so will do two more fasts and work really hard. i absolutely intend to drop weight while on holiday - i think this is the holy grail of fat loss.

I will be completing the original TT mid holiday and will post some pics - stay tuned. Also after returning i do the quarter marathon so it's all good.

Awesome

Quick post today - just want to say that i feel Awesome! Did my TT workout with a full interval session (normally i would split the days) it's fast day so i was a little pissed at not enjoying b'fast but now i just feel pumped.

Got to go play golf this afternoon so that might drop me down a peg.

Roids??

Got a surprise today, i guess i am very naive about some things.


There are two big meat heads a the gym who are always there everyday that I've been there. They workout together. i always assumed that they didn't speak English.


This morning one was arriving so i held the door for him, "thanks for that" he said. Then he turned to me and said "After eight years of coming here i get a little fed up sometimes"


Not knowing what he meant i jokingly said "you mean it will take me eight years to look as big as you?
"

His reply surprised the crap out of me "no" he said, "it would take about two years, the steroids do the rest"


"oh really" i said.


"you start to bulk up after six months and you'd be really defined after a year" wow, i mean i had wondered how they got so big but i didn't really think they were on the juice. I guess they sell the stuff and he was giving me his sales pitch - i guess they just wait for someone to ask in the gym.


I don't want to get big and i go to the gym to be fit and lose fat so steroids are not on my radar. But if i was going to get big and wanted to look strong etc. then this would seriously be tempting. I mean we all like a short cut now and then. I've been going to the gym for 18 months straight now and at this rate it would take me another 10 years to look half the size of these dudes.

Anyway, that's not for me. had a good workout today but couldn't finish my last set of DB presses. Got the lot done with shoulder presses on a higher weight from last time so happy about that. I've cut my foot quite badly so i can't do anything other than the bike for intervals.


Had leftover chicken for breakfast - high protein was the intention. Will not have any form of snack including coffee till lunch time. Hoping to start to burn stored fat before lunch.

Binging begats binging?

Leptin was the answer given to my question of yesterday as to why we binge so much. Now I'm not sure that there is one simple answer but my research into Leptin has been enjoyable.


The Leptin diet is not rocket science - but interestingly it follows a lot of my poorly named Big Mac diet (I'm not gunna make millions with that) and some other things I've learned over the past few months. So what are the 5 rules of the Leptin diet - I'm glad you asked:


Rule 1: Never eat after dinner. Rule 2: Eat three meals a day. Rule 3: Do not eat large meals. Rule 4: Eat a breakfast containing protein. Rule 5: Reduce the amount of carbohydrates eaten.


Simple really, i won't bore you with the background to all these rules but one review made this statement: The Leptin Diet Means No Snacking. Isn't this the conclusion that I've been coming to? Isn't this the basis of the Big Mac diet? Doesn't this hinge on the Eat Stop Eat logic.


So, let's look at them quickly from my perspective. Give a long period between dinner and breakfast maximises the time you might burn fat and is a simple rule to prevent more fat being stored at this time. Have only three meals and don't snack (Big Mac Diet all over). Don't eat large meals (hmmm, maybe about the size of a Big Mac). Have more protein at breakfast - this is where I'm guilty, i like my fibre and have a high carb breakfast - but i do know the benefits of more protein and should return to my two eggs and on slice of toast b'fast. Finally, less carbs - well I've learned that this works but not cool to go 'no carb'.


So, i am not promoting the book above at all (i haven't read it and don't intend to). I'm just saying that any good idea has usually already been put in writing. I don't know if the hormone 'Leptin' is responsible for my fat or my binging but the rules of the diet are very much in line with my thinking.

What made me laugh was how many people on the web commented that 3,4&5 made sense but 1&2 were debatable. I mean when i read it i thought 1&2 made the most sense.

Anyway, it's fast day so i really shouldn't be thinking about food.

Off Track

Every month when submitting my report to Head Office there is a section called 'Off Track' - generally i hate this item and struggle to find things that are off track. But in my personal life i can certainly find a lot that is off track.

This week is clearly 'off track' in every way possible. if the path to success is a well made road then i'm off four-wheeling in a swamp.

Today i weighed in at 99.3kg. this is very close to the whole obese thing again - i need to get back 'on track' as soon as possible. So what went off track - EVERYTHING

I need some explanation - why do we get so far and then ruin it all with a week of stuffing crap into hour bodies. Yesterday was the worst - i ate and drank everything i haven't eaten for months and then topped it off with more crap. I did run in the morning but then felt like crap - constantly thirsty and hungry with zero energy. Funny thing also was that this morning i had about 12 zits - that constitutes acne. Is it possible that i have hit an estrogen peak and it's that 'time of the month'? All weekend i was acting like a woman - very strange.

So, to get back on track i need to be under the 96kg mark by the time we leave for our holiday. That is only 11 days away - can it really be done? i need to drop the 3kg of water weight plus 1.3 of real weight - i guess the only option is low carb and 30 hour fasts again. this got me down 4.8 kg in two weeks the last time - i have some obstacles though that i need to face. First is tomorrow evening - we have a function with alcohol (i guess i need to just make it minimal) then i need to take some friends to dinner next week (i guess again i can keep this clean - just need to plan where we go). Final hurdle is fibre - had some problems with this before and this time i need to avoid hurting myself - will have a vegita each morning (when eating).

So, low cal/carb tonight, fast tomorrow, keep it clean on the dinner function (just red wine), low carb Wednesday, Thursday stop at lunch and Friday fast. Then just keep it clean and keep active for the weekend and we should be doing well. two more 30 hour fasts next week and we'll hit that 95 mark.

TT is going great, i like this stuff. I'm sweating 3 mins into the workout and really feel like I've gone hard - trying to keep the increasing of the weight though. Doing the intervals after the workout is good too but i am still lost for what to do in the off days. Being used to working out every day now i'm not comfortable and feel like i'm slacking. Might just go and do some boring cardio or walk the streets.

Chin ups are now my major issue - just can't do enough. the assisted chin up machine is too far from the squat rack so i'm doing hangs instead.

Rules and Regulations

Well, it's now 5 days since I completed my 12 week challenge, started drinking again and went overseas. I thought I was doing well until just now when I wrote the last sentence. 5 days only, i feel like I've been on a roller coaster of binge drinking and pigging out for a month - only five days, holy @#$%

Today i weighed in at 98.5kg a total of 2.5kg (5.5 lb) in just 5 days. So, what did i do - many things but let's just look at the bad. After the doctors and a workout on day 1 i had a meal at the Irish pub with three pints of Guinness. Then i had wine with dinner, lots of crap'n cheese. Took it reasonably easy as i had to get up at 5 for the airport. (let's say 2,500 extra calories)

Day 2 was plane food, didn't eat it all and on arrival had a late meal of pork and rice (high cal obviously) at about 5pm. Later beer beer and wine before joining some friends at another bar for whisky and a late meal of sate. (let's say 2,500 extra calories)

Day 3 woke in hotel and had too much b'fast (not as much as fat Chris would have had but much more than usual these days). We had a reasonable lunch but some greasy appetisers so still up on that. Then dinner was over the top - soup, steak, wine, brandy, beer, whisky, beer, vodka,...(I'm guessing about 3,000 extra cals on that day)

Day 4, woke late, had a smaller b'fast and coffee, no real lunch. Then back at hotel i met my fat friend and we had a work out together - that was great. Then beer, beer, beer, white wine white wine before buffet dinner. didn't eat too much at dinner but had a fair few red wines. (I'd say only about 1,500 cals over the top).

Day 5 was travel home day, i made it fast day ESE. That worked well and even better than i thought it would. Not having the crap on the plane was really nice. Got back and went for middle eastern food which is healthy - had some chocolate when i got home that I'd got for the wife duty free (I'd say about 1,000 down from a normal day)

so, the total is 5,500 extra calories. they say that 3,500 equals 1 lb so let's call this 2. the rest is what we call 'BS Weight' and i contribute this to the following reasons - i pushed my weight down unrealistically for a good weigh in on Saturday, the returning glycogen holds more water, last nights meal was super salty making me hold even more water (was thirsty all night) and I've started doing a new workout programme that has my muscles really hurting (swollen). Altogether 5.5 lb makes sense.

Now the above is not meant to be excuses but in light of the facts the change is not too bad, i should not lose sight of my goals and keep at it. My current goal is to hit 94kg before i leave for my holiday. Let's see how i do at my offical weigh in on Monday.

Final note on alcohol. this has been an interesting experience, firstly going so long without and then spending a few days binging. i now have a final plan for this to take me to the end of the year - this is a big one. Never Wake with a Hangover Again (until Christmas) i can drink and i can drink what i like but it should not be crap for the sake of it and must stop before i get to the point where i will wake with a hangover.

ALRIGHT! Results

What a day! Hit the Doctor early this morning to get my blood work done, could have got there earlier to avoid the crowds but kept calm all the same. They took the blood and did the other usual checks so here they are first.

Blood Pressure: 117 over 71 - this is normal all the way and although i can't remember what mine was 12 weeks ago prior to that i had very high pressure. Even the nurse was excited by these results.

Resting Heart Rate - 50 bpm. This is a surprise, i have never seen it anything like this before. i couldn't get a feel for what is good from the net but i think this is excellent.

Weight!!! Official weight it 96.0 kg. that is almost 15 KG down. or exactly 32.6 lb. What a great job for 12 weeks, i could never have hoped for more than this and during the big plateau i was sure I'd never see a number like this.

We had breakfast after that and then took my second kid back to the hospital for an EEG, this didn't happen because the nurses would not listen to us - finally conceding and telling us to go home. But i got my blood work back:

Lipids - total cholesterol now 189, was 213. this is not fantastic in change but brings me from over to normal range. LDL dropped from 55 to 41 which is still normal but not good and close to too little. Finally HDL dropped also was 141 and now 133 which is still considered too high. All in all this result is better but not good, i assume it's the high fat diet of the last week. Let's check it again after i hit the goal.

Liver - my ALT is down from 49 to 24 which is super normal. this means that all liver stress was alcohol after all. this is great news, i do not have anything serious but must keep the alcohol in check.

got home finally and too the wife for a workout. we did a warm up by running / walking the stairs from the bottom to the top. we live on the 31st so this killed her - i loved it nice and easy stuff. then we topped it off with one of CB's body weight circuits. I've done one similar before but this one killed me - i guess it was the warm up we did.

Then for the photos, sorry this is not pretty but the result must be seen to be believed.

i think that this achievement is something to be truly proud of even though i know there is a long way to go. all these pictures are 'as is' no touch ups, no i am not sucking in my gut in the last one - i took one also with my gut sucked in just to be sure and can post this if you like.

No it's all about what to do in the future to continue the process. i will post one in four weeks from Bali, hopefully on holiday i can do something about the lack of tan.

Final note on this is how fat my back was, i never knew. You look at the other side and never think of the rest.

Last note, i went shopping for my trip tomorrow. i had to as i have no clothes that fit. i bought 36 pants!!! the girl looked at me and said, sorry we only have 36, i took them in defiance fully expecting to be giving them back in defeat. but they fit!! i will be wearing them next week.

We then went and got some 34 Levis - these are OK and i can move in them but you could still stay they are too small, these are now my bench mark jeans - if i ever get to the point where i can't put them on these i need to take serious action.

Yours, Chris.

Last Day

Well it's lunch time at the office, all the staff are in the canteen stuffing themselves so i thought i should occupy my time by posting something. Today is the last day before tomorrow morning's visit to the doctor and official final weigh in and photo shoot. Exciting times.

I am now 24 hours into my 30 hour fast. As I've been no-carb for the past week I know that once I'd metabolised the tuna salad I ate yesterday I know that I went straight to burning my own stored fat. I'm guessing that this started about 8pm last night and combined with this morning's workout i can feel the fat being used. This is quite outstanding - although i do not believe you could do this often i am glad I'm doing it today.

Also, Wednesday i weighed in at 96.8 AFTER a 30 hour fast and no carbs. Today after two days of eating a lot and only a few hours of fasting i weighed in at 96.4. Let's hope the trend continues for tomorrow's result.

I have also been reading up on how stress relates to weight gain and more importantly to difficulties losing weight. This does explain why i have a few fat friends that have lost a LOT of weight with Yoga. I mean I know that there is a physical strength element to Yoga but it certainly isn't high calorie burning activity. Reduce the stress and the fat can be used.

So, I am looking for ways to reduce stress. This needs to include all kinds of stress - work, family, exercise, etc. One element I'm changing relates to the half marathon goal, we decided after Thursday's run that we should change the goal, or at least return to the original goal of doing the 10k. What happened to lose our way was that at the first practise we managed the whole 10k and figured that we could build up to 20k. But we have not progressed at all and the half marathon seems more of a challenge with each run. Now it's clear that we can do it but what for? Neither of us want to be 'runners' so we have returned to the 10k goal but work on setting a reasonable time. Best time so far has been 1:05 so getting to under 50 would seem achievable but challenging.

Final thought that is on my mind is how to continue. I mean I have my training schedule all mapped out for the next 16 weeks but how do I stay focused and most importantly continue to lose weight?

I need some ground rules but I'm not sure what. OK, so I have the exercise - TT plus some running plus golf (decided that i will get serious with lessons and practise). Food, needs to be 'logical' but not restrictive so I think we keep the Big Mac concept plus Eat Stop Eat. Then comes alcohol?? This is coming back, is it really the only wild card? if so I must focus on this one.

I'm thinking two free meals a week (based on the 90/10 rule) these could be dinners with work friends or clients during the week or if that doesn't happen just a happy Sunday (like the old days). To keep the calories down i will stick to wine and whisky - wine because i really like it and usually expected to be enjoyed with work friends and the whisky as it has no carbs and is more low carb (plus i liked billy's idea that is was just more manly). Therefore, wine only with dinner - trying to limit the number of glasses, then if things kick on just stick with a glass of ice occasionally adding whisky. If I've already done that twice for the week then i decline any further offers, if i don't do it at all then i can make Sunday a good food/wine day. Wow, i think that works.

30 Hours Done

Wow, i must admit is was hard but not that hard. i did my fast from 2pm Monday afternoon when i finished my salad and chilled water until last night about 8pm (ok so it was just shy of 30 hours but the point is i missed three full meals and i think that is what counts).

Skipping dinner is the thing that i believe gives great weight loss but i also feel that it's the hardest thing as you have to sleep on an empty stomach. But once you get up then you can just forget about the fast and get on with the day. It was later in the afternoon when i started thinking about dinner that hurt, then i got stuck in traffic on the way home so all i was thinking about was that i should be eating.

Wife had made her chicken, plus she's thrown in some pork ribs so there was some good food to be had. it's quite lean provided you don't eat the juices (my son loves that so i leave it for him). But the big mistake was that she'd not bothered to make the salad. Being that hungry i wasn't going to cut things up for a salad i just went straight for the chicken etc. I ate way too much, could not stop, i knew that i should stop but just couldn't and this is BAD. For Fridays planned dinner i will make the salad myself the day before to avoid this issue.

so what's the result? today i weighed in at 96.8kgs that is fantastic - a full 14kg below my start weight. Now i know that this is partly due to no food in the system, water loss etc and will come back up while eating but i do have three more days including another 30 hour fast before final weigh in. If i can hold this number for the doctor's office then i'll be very happy - if i get below then that would be even better.

The 12 week pics are going to really tell the story. Wait for that one on Saturday!

for the longest fast

Well here i am at the 24hour point of my 30 hour fast. it was hard yesterday especially in the evening when a meal should have been enjoyed. But i got through - now it's starting to get to me. The staff are all having lunch and i know the cook even has something set aside for me, but i must be strong. If i just get to when they get back from lunch then we can do some work and it will be home time, maybe a coffee on the way and then back for dinner.

Wife is making her special chicken tonight - or as my son calls it 'mummy's chicken' which i can almost taste as i type. Got a few 'you lost weight' comments today and yesterday so that is the only thing keeping me going.

Bad news is that my fat friend has booked the buffet for us when we arrive, he's bringing his family so i can't back out as I've not seen them for so long. after all this work to have 'all you can eat' and free flow wine/beer is not my idea of fun. i guess I'll just have to show them how not to pig out too much while thinking of this as a free day.

i guess this is an example of how other people make you fat, if i was visiting a fit friend i expect they wouldn't even think of the buffet as a meeting place. so i guess i need to focus on fit friends both where i live and where i visit.

It's Official

It's now an official weight! 98.2kg (216 lbs) while it's the same as Friday's weigh in it is now official - this is the lowest I've been since Christmas 1998, i remember it well because we were at a friend's place in Byron Bay discussing how much I'd changed, well now I'm back baby and headed in the other direction.

This is also the last week of the 12 week challenge - after this the hard part starts but i still wanna go out with a bang. i am doing it all this week to drop an extra kg or two.

I've gone carb free since Friday morning, this hit me hard as it still did my workout Friday, golf on Saturday and ran 10k on Sunday morning. Then that familiar lethargic feeling set in, and i just could not move yesterday. But today the 'fat for fuel' has kicked in and i feel good.

Today i start the first 30 hour fast! i had lunch at 2pm (later than intended due to some idiot at work) and now will not eat until 8pm tomorrow night. This is going to be hard but i believe it will be worth it. Then i do another from Thursday through to Friday night.

Saturday is my visit to the doctor, then I'll have a body weight workout before my final pictures - stay tuned for that!

The tough part is that Sunday i go on a business trip to where my fat friend lives - possibly the person responsible for all these years of being heavy (not that I'm shallow enough to blame other people) - this will mean that my return to drinking will be like a frat party. I'm not sure how i will mange this but will do my best - it's only two days after all.

The great thing is that my friend is also trying to turn his life around and my transformation will become his inspiration (i hope).

Not bad

Well, i didn't post yesterday so i think I'll just hit the what happened items today rather than the usual rant about stuff.

Yesterday was running day. got up at 5 and started by 5:30. Running partner is not here so i was on my own. Started nicely but my mp3 player ran out of batteries and then at the half way point i just had to stop. But i kept walking and then ran the second half of the third lap. Then for the fourth lap i cut it in quarters - walk, run, walk, run.

i felt like I'd copped out of the run by the time was only 8 minutes more than the first time we ran so i am pretty happy. also, after 5k i really felt like there is not way I'll be able to run the actual half marathon - but after doing a little walking etc. i really feel that it wont be so hard - and there are still 8 weeks to go.

Today is fast day, had a good workout this morning and best of all i weighed in at 98.2kg. this is the lowest ever - now i know that Monday will be higher so i don't want to be too excited but it still is a milestone of sorts.

I will end today with a low carb meal and then stick to low carbs for the rest of the diet, which ends on the 6th. I intend to do two 30 hour fasts in this time - i know this will be hard but I'm sure the result will be great.

Exaggeration

In an attempt to remain motivated i like to read as much on nutrition, exercise and fat lose as i can as well as following blogs and listening to pod casts. I also subscribe to many discussion groups on this subject and have a great interest in the responses to the various topics.

I am astounded with the amount of BS and misinformation as well as the incredible contradictions of 'studies' and common knowledge. I've been wondering for a while what this all means and how it came to be that we could know so little about such an important subject. As we decode the genome and CERN's LHC seeks the boson how is it that we have an obesity pandemic that we don't seem to know the slightest thing about?

I've come to the conclusion that it's all a matter of exaggeration. This happens for a range of reasons, firstly that it is human nature to overstate things, secondly that it is human nature to look for the easy option and thirdly that marketing nutrition relies on the first two reasons to a large degree in the fight for a piece of this multi-billion dollar industry.

If all the methods of weight lose being touted had the results claimed then combining them would make the international concern 'underweight' rather than obesity. Plus we'd get there with no effort and everyone would be happy. As this isn't the case let's look at some of these elements and what i feel about them.

• Multiple meals per day - often we hear we need to eat six small meals, sometimes more, to burn fat and gain muscle etc. Doing this will increase our BMR while not allowing us to get hungry. Sounds logical as the body always has something to burn it should keep burning and easy as the glutton in us likes to eat more often and the lazy person in us does not want to be hungry. But really, how do you lose weight if you always have food to burn and how do you restrict how much you eat at each session if you don't want to be hungry and like to eat so much. This approach might help but only a little and it takes more discipline, not less.
• Interval training - old steady state cardio sucks and interval training is the new thing, it is apparently 9 times more effective. Really? if it's that effective there should be 9 times as many slim people as before, or something seriously visible as a result. If i lost 10kg in two months before using a steady state approach then now with intervals i should have lost more than 90kgs (wouldn't that be nice). Personally i do believe that intervals are better than steady state for me but my reasons would be different and you cannot say that steady state is bad either. For me personally i like intervals because i can burn more (because i work harder) in a shorter period of time, i really get the feeling of making progress by pushing as hard as i can an increasing that each week and it is not boring like steady state cardio. I like it but 9 times more effective is just plain BS.
• BMR - we often hear that if your intake of calories is less than your BMR you will lose muscle rather than fat. Every one will like this because if sounds like you shouldn't go hungry (remember that hungry is only a state of mind, you can be hungry while eating many times you BMR). This 'fact' makes no sense. If you eat at your BMR and then exercise then your caloric deficit would be less that BMR - what makes this number magic? It is relevant only to when you are doing nothing.
• Keytogenic - Dr. Atkins popularised the no carb revolution which we see resurging time and time again. He didn't invent it, nor did he study it and outside of this element he was a total quake. But it does work, he based the whole diet on studies done by two other doctors who proved that it does work. The principle is simple - burn fat as the only kind of energy (keytones) and when you run out of what you've eaten the body doesn't need to switch formats it just continues with the stored fat. Many don't like it because it is high in fat, many say that it's just water loss (but that's just the first five days) but really this is not healthy because it is so low in fibre and other nutrients one would get from other vegetables and fruits. Low carb is good but has clear down sides as well, plus you just can't do it for long periods of time.
• Carb Cycling - this one i find funny. it's trying to be a keytogenic diet but gives back carbs on "refeed days". The theory is that by having re-carb days you will not get the completely lethargic feeling of a full Keytogenic diet. BUT the lethargic feeling is only on the first few days of such a diet and by not hitting total keytone fuel this completely misses the point. In fact it is proven that when running on keytones the body is more energetic and has better endurance. The US army is looking to develop Keytone MRE's to exploit this fact.
• Diet is a dirty word - we must think lifestyle and not diet because a diet will not last in the future. The problem with this is that diet just means 'what you eat' and therefore saying that diet will not help weight loss is like saying that food will not help life. This is great marketing though as diet implies negative and hungry situations that people don't like. However there is no weight loss without a restrictive diet.
• Protein Shakes - after a workout get liquid protein into your system quickly to maximise the recovery and build muscle. Sounds logical but how much protein does the body need for this, how quickly can it really break it down and build it up and do we really want more calories after we've just burned some? This is not only a waste of money but it might just have a negative effect. Maybe if you are a serious body builder it might be worth looking at but never if you want to lose weight.
• Starvation mode - this theory is in line with many above that if you eat too little you will stop losing weight. Wow, how did we get sucked into this one. If you ate nothing then you lose weight, people who do actually starve because of reasons outside their control do not end up in a (holding pattern) - they lose weight. People that fast for religious purposes and then eat at night do not put all that nutrition to their hips because they have put themselves in starvation mode (actually they lose weight in most cases). This is again the lazy option, i am feeling hungry so i MUST eat otherwise I'll go into starvation mode - what a joke.

It's not hard to see why we are all getting so fat. We are kidding ourselves into the easy ways and then eating like pigs.

We also suffer from short memories. As a boy my father working in a gym (mid seventies i guess) and i remember that the main thing he was doing was circuit training. Funny how this is now what we are told we need to do to lose weight and that 'science shows' that this is the break through we've all been looking for. Maybe it's just a case of 'it used to work and what we are doing clearly doesn't work so let's do that again'

Dad was also a runner, the main technique used at the time to train was Fartlek (spelling) which is very simply interval training - have we really come so far or just full circle.

Personally i like circuits - it just feels right. I like lifting weights and the heavier the better because it make me feel like I'm working out rather than just cheating the system. I also like intervals for the same reason - i work really hard and it feels good without getting bored.

But i do not believe that i will drop massive amounts of weight in a short period of time.

What do you think?

Official Obesity

Well it is official! i have not managed to maintain below the obesity level. Today's weigh in was 100.8 kg. I am not happy however given the weekend's activities and last night's eating frenzy i know why. While initially very angry i have decided to look on the bight side - so here goes with some positives.

• It is a loss from last week and officially my lowest in the past ten weeks (and lowest official weigh in for the past 10 years also i think)
• The loss is fat, definitely not muscle.
• Losing 1lb of fat is pretty good, if i did it every week I'd be down 52 lbs in a year.
• I might have lost more than 1lb of fat as i have pushed hard and increased strength this week.
• The anger i felt this morning was turned into a really hard core workout.
• Stuffing my face on special food brought by my mother in law must have pushed the weight to a high point which will swing down later.
• My clothes fit better showing also that I've lost fat.

But, we must not let positive thoughts lead to a feeling of success. So this week i will continue with the ESE (even though i have guests from out of town and it will be difficult), run a full 10k on Thursday (even though my running partner is not here), eat lots of Shiritake noodles to reduce overall calorie intake and do a little more in the evening (most likely WII Fit).

I want to see a monumental result next week!

And Then the Wheels Fell Off

Yesterday was not good, a little bit extra with breakfast. Then as we had a stock take there was cakes and biscuits etc. for the teams. While waiting for them i had one, which turned into lots. Even lunch was a little bit over the top.

Got home and the family wanted dinner and with no food in the house we went for Pizza. Not quite as bas as it sounds this is reasonably healthy thin crust pizza and i only had two slices. Filled up on salad etc before hand.

But with a little bit more for each meal and snacks in between i think i ended the day at about 2,650 - a lot more than planned. i hope this doesn't mean i weigh in over the hundred on Monday.

Met my running partner at 5:30. i was TOO SORE to run and only made 5k. Clearly over trained the past few days and as Sunday is my rest day i shouldn't have been trying to run. Hope i can recover and move on.

Had Shiritake noodles for breakfast and will eat a healthy lunch - i hope this undoes the bad from yesterday.

Fasting & Golf

Hi, just a quick one. i had an appointment today to play golf with one of my customers. It's normally fasting day but i didn't want to be explaining to them why i couldn't eat lunch. And as i have another similar appointment on Saturday i it was only logical that i fast the day before.

But then i had just run 10k and didn't think it wise to go without nutrition immediately after that. so i came up with the plan to stop after lunch and then i could eat with the golfers the following day. Only worry was not having dinner, this is historically very very hard for me.

Got through it, but the wife was very upset that i wouldn't eat her food - she thinks i decided to fast because i didn't like what she'd cooked. Between you and me it did help a little but wasn't the reason.

Workout today was good, no issue with strength or endurance considering i hadn't eaten for 16 hours. Golf was really really bad. I'd like to accuse lack of energy or fasting for the poor performance but i don't really think it had anything to do with it - i just stink and today really showed it.

didn't actually have much to eat for lunch and haven't had anything since so i'm looking forward to getting home for dinner. i have some Shiritake noodles and a good idea of what i will do with them - more low cal for me please.

skinny-fat-skinny-fat-skiny

I'm not one of those people that 'has always been fat' but i have been fat at different points in my life so i also can't say i was always skinny until ...... I'm not sure if I'm a fat guy trying to get skinny or a skinny guy trapped in all this blubber. Let me give you some history.

As a child i was very thin. I guess i was a chubby baby but i have seen some family Christmas photos that make me look like a cancer patient (let me see if i can scan some when i go home in October).

Later in life, about 12 on i had a serious chubbiness. i have some shameful family pics from a trip to Queensland, don't want to dig them out. This stayed with me till about the age of 15, lost a lot with some mysterious illness that put me in hospital for a week.

So from 15 to about 22 i was skinny, but it wasn't till i was about 20 that i felt thin, even just those few years as an early teenager had me so body conscious. it wasn't till i was about 20 and working out a lot (unemployment) that i was comfortable to have people see me without my shirt.

When i met my wife i weighed 62kgs (136 lbs) and when my second son was born i weighed 115 kgs (253 lbs) that's almost double. Now I'm not ever going to be skinny like that again but it's still the truth (really must get some pics going - i think i have some VDO of me at 62kg)

In contrast, I've been heavy for a long time now but only recently have i begun to feel like a fat guy. Previously i was a skinny guy trapped in my fat body - but once people start describing you at the fat guy and no one you know remembers or was around when you were skinny you have to accept it (or do something about it)

So what I'm saying is in line with the title. Not always fat or thin but struggling with my weight is something I've always done. I remember times when I'd be eating 6 full meals a day in hope of getting heavier or doing Atkins till i was hospitalised (2005).

Now i don't know where this is going - guess I've got some demons to deal with.

Anyway, ran another 10k this morning. it wasn't any easier, maybe even harder but having the confidence that i knew i could do it was positive. Big issue is chafed nipples - at the end my white shirt was red from the nipple down on both sides - very embarrassing.

Anyone got a fix for this issue or should i stop running?

Liz, thanks for the advice on equipment and the link. I've now decided to change the plan for the next few weeks. Why isolate one muscle group when i can work more and burn more fuel. Also the elliptical won't be touched unless i have very sore knees (like right now) - there are plenty of other machines in the gym, i wanna use them all.

Not Obese

I am no longer Obese!! While it is unofficial (official weigh in is Monday only) today i weighed in at 99.8kgs (219.5lbs) which at 6 foot nothing makes me overweight and no longer obese from a BMI perspective.

Never did i think the term Overweight would sound so sweet.

Now i must try very hard to keep to my nutrition plan as i never want to see the obese reading again. I think Brad's ESE Post today really sums it up on this front.

And a big shout out to my followers Geoff and Liz. Finally i have some comments and someone to be accountable to.

Elliptical - what's the issue

OK, so yesterday i was good on the food front! Maybe went a little too low for lunch as i had only a fresh salad - but it was one of the best I've had. Today is ESE which is ok but I've got several guests today so I'm not sure how I'll go - if i can skip lunch I'll be there.

Workout today was the elliptical machine. So often i hear it said that this is a bad machine to work with, CB from TT hates it altogether. I really don't understand why.

I chose this today as it is low impact on the joints and after the 10k on Sunday my knees are sore. However, i find this the hardest of all my interval workouts and today was no different.

I set the thing to manual, give it level 17 and get going. i cycle at 6kms for the first two minutes, then i go a minute each of 8,10,12 &14 km/hr. i do this four times and then do a final blast at over 16 kms. one last minute slow to catch my breath and then follow the cool down.

It's a killer, i wasn't sure I'd make it. i really can't see how you can reject this piece of equipment. Maybe it's just that we see so many people on it going slow for hours - but you see that on the bike even more often.

One of the girls that does a full hour each morning on the same machine is a babe, she really has a super body.

What do you think?

Off Track

BAD NEWS! After the weekend of very very bad eating i have INCREASED in weight!

Last week 101.2 kgs (222lbs)
This week 101.4 kgs (223lbs)

i could think of a million excuses for this - it's only a small gain, i put on muscle because of the extra heavy workouts, it's just normal fluctuations, blah blah.

But the reality is that this is just unacceptable and my eating over the past week (few weeks) has been unacceptable.

There are only three more weeks left of my transformation (no alcohol, body for life). I vow (let the cyber world be my witness) to keep on track for the next few weeks with my Big Mac diet, Eat Stop Eat and no snacks. Also, to blast away the mistakes of last week i wish to do some extra - so every day i will do some additional activity , WII Fit, walking, Driving range, Golf, Wakeskate (something low impact that will not reduce my recovery from the regular workouts or intervals but does burn some extra calories). Then, during the last week of the challenge i vow to make my ESE fasts 30 hours, stopping food after lunch on Monday the 1st and Thursday the 4th - therefore giving me the full fat burning effect.

On a positive note today was the start of my workout change - every three weeks i change all the exercises in the programme. i keep the programme the same as it is the body for life challenge but i change the exercises. today was leg extensions and curls (mainly because i will not do these with future workouts) single leg calf raises with dumbbell, and for abs i really shook it up by using the back extension thingy to do side crunches using weighs (5, 10, 25lbs) and bent arm hanging leg raises. Not totally brutal today except for the abs but i have it mapped out as to how much i will increase the weight over the three weeks - this is exciting.

Let's look for some super good results for next week's official weigh in.

We Did It!!!

Today i ran 10 kilometres without stopping on the road (not on the treadmill). I can almost not believe that we did it.

I picked up the boss at his place at 6am and we hit the park shortly after. It's 2.5 kms once around so our plan was to do four laps. This being about half of our target - the half marathon in July which is 21Kms.

The first lap started hard, about half way around I started to feel better. But by the end of the second I was struggling - if I'd been by myself I would have stopped at two. but with company and a commitment we started the third. As we ended the third i really really didn't want to continue - but i took the attitude on the forth trip around that each step was one i didn't need to take again.

The entire last lap was run on willpower alone - I had nothing else. Really really tough. As we got to about 500 metres to go I picked up the speed. I noticed that I was passing everyone so I thought 'I won't let anyone pass me' then some guy in an orange shirt came thumping along, I had to give every last drop to keep up with him. Funny I was sprinting with everything I had and he was just jogging (it's all relative at the end of the day).

But we did it, two iced bottles of water later and i dropped the boss back home. then the problems started.

He's Belgian so he had some chocolates for my wife. I ate three before breakfast. I considered the "power noodles" but really wanted something more healthy so i had my usual cereal and strawberries and peaches. Then felt terrible, had to lie down on the bed - when I got up I had another chocolate. On the way to work I stopped at Starbucks and got a 'no fat' latte and a muffin. In total i think I've had 1,300 more calories than i need - much more than the amount burned on the run.

I must try to get though the rest of the day without going crazy.

Exercise

As i mentioned before I've always been quite fond of the gym. But having said that I've always signed up and worked out regularly for 1 month, felt great and then stopped. The most I've ever done is about 2 months.

Why this happens I've never really been able to figure out. i mean each time i could tell you why, got sick, went away, blah blah list goes on. What i find interesting or sad is that it always happens - it must be in my head.

But this time i can honestly say that it will not happen again. i have been going to the gym for over a year now, everyday and constantly. Not that the before picture on the right gives any indication of that but i think you can imagine what it looked like before.

I also have a range of other activities i do when I'm not at the gym ranging from Golf, sailing, wake boarding, kite surfing (that's a picture of me). In fact kite surfing is one of the main motivations behind this transformation as the lighter i am the more i can do it. due to light winds and my busy schedule i don't really get to do it enough for weight loss but hitting the gym each day and watching what i eat will help to get out more often.

Once i complete the 'Body for Life' programme that I've committed myself to i will start Turbulence Training which is truly three days a week. as i like to workout everyday this frees me up to do other interesting activities. I've already lined up a rock climbing course and at my son's Taikwondo studio they do Muay Thai so that will be on the radar. Also, as gay as it might sound i want to do a period of Pilate's as i believe it will sort out some of my other issues.

There is just so much to do. Spin classes i think are great and body pump at out gym is excellent.

Chris' BIG MAC diet

finally it's time for me to explain my nutrition logic for this transformation. i am not eating six meals a day, i keep things balanced and include periodic short term fasting.

Years ago after giving up on a quest to lose weight i was drowning my sorrows at McDonald's. it was just about the time that Super Size Me was being watched by everyone so you can see how low i was.

McD's had introduced nutritional information on their place mats to counter the idea that people didn't know what they were eating. while stuffing my face i realised that the Big Mac i was eating contained 500 calorie. this gave me the idea that if i had one big mac for breakfast, lunch and dinner i would only consume 1,500 calories per day. I truly believe that this would result in massive weight loss (but is probably not easy to do).

years later i was living overseas on my own with the family due to join in a few months. i was living in a hotel with the standard breakfast buffet - my worst enemy. so i decided to put the principle of the Big Mac diet into practise. Each morning i would make sure i had a breakfast of 500 calorie with a little of everything - toast for carbs, bacon and egg for protein and fat, oj to wash it down (but only 500 calories). Some days it was even hard to eat 500 but i stuck to it.

For lunch it didn't matter who i was with or where i was i just made sure i had 500 calorie only, sometimes leaving half a plate of food behind. Then at night same thing, if i was late home with limited options then I'd have.......... a Big Mac.

Now if i slipped up and ate too much, or often if i had a client meeting that required drinking or just a big night on the town it was a problem. i countered this by skipping meals the following day, small slip up no breakfast, big slip up no lunch also (always felt that this worked but it went against what we are told)

AND IT WORKED!

I lost a lot of weight and actually felt great. when the family joined me they were amazed by the change (although very small by current standards). of course i didn't keep it up and put it all on and more. later i lost some again with Atkins etc.

So now I'm back to the Big Mac concept - although i haven't been to McD's in all this time the 500 rule it what i stick to. i keep it as whole and healthy as possible. I've now added Eat Stop Eat to the programme which i like and i think will really help once i return to more normal eating habits and alcohol next month.

given the amount of exercise i do i haven't lost as much weight as I'd like but i have lost steadily for 8 weeks:

16-Mar 110.5 KGS 243.1 lbs
23-Mar 109.5 KGS 240.9 lbs
30-Mar 108 KGS 237.6 lbs
06-Apr 106.5 KGS 234.3 lbs
13-Apr 104.5 KGS 229.9 lbs
20-Apr 103.2 KGS 227.04 lbs
27-Apr 102.2 KGS 224.84 lbs
04-May 101.8 KGS 223.96 lbs
11-May 101.2 KGS 222.64 lbs

in reality my consumption is higher than 1,500 calories but the ESE brings it back in check. some say 1,500 is too low, i disagree.

What do you think?

Not Food

Yesterday was a very bad day for weight loss. I went to a food expo - this was a big event and we got tickets from a business partner as 'buyers' so the expo was not really open to the public.

there were samples everywhere! but as most manufacturers are processing food almost all food was processed which does not fit with my idea of food. in fact most of the items were not really food at all. even the 'Organic and Health Food' section was mostly good ingredients turned into CRAP.

One interesting thing was the 'healthy' instant noodles. this company markets themselves as trying to provide a healthy alternative to quick lunches of instant noodles. their product is MSG free, lower in fat etc. plus they give it supplements for improved nutrition. This is not advertising so i won't put their website here.

Anyway, the girl offered us to try the product for a week and see if we had any effect. My Japanese colleague (female) was given the Beauty version which contains collagen (or something like that) and i got the Power version that has one of the L-cariblahblah amino acids in it. Mine is supposed to improve recovery after workout and also increase sperm count.

At this stage I'm not sure if i will try this as i don't consider it food and thing most supplements are complete marketing crap. Couldn't even try it today as it's fasting day (or Starve Day as my mate Dave calls it). But i do like the business concept of this product - I'm sure they will do well.

Anyway, after too much chocolate, coffee, candy, and other crap i had to go to the bank. as another friend also had to go we went together. I think banks suck in all countries. this experience (2 hours) left us needing a burger so we found a place and tucked in. No as bad as fast food, we got a real burger and the fries were terrible so they didn't get eaten.

Bad day all round. i think crap at expo = 500 calories and burger = 900. Also had some cheese cake at our buffet lunch so lunch = 900. At least b'fast was small at about 300.

So total for the day = 2,600. this is about 1,100 more than my target - yes it was a bad day.

on the plus side i had a super heavy workout today. i bumped up everything and made most sets - I'm very happy. Dumbbell presses with 65 lbs in each hand for the max weight set is a long way from where i started.

AFD #61

Today marks the 61st day of no alcohol or Alcohol Free Day number 61 (AFD#61)

This is pretty impressive for me as i am virtually an alcoholic and really like to drink, work for a company with a drinking culture and live in a city with a drinking culture.

The booze for me is important to this transformation as it represents hollow calories, usually results in late night overeating and makes it so much more difficult to get up and go to the gym. Also they say it reduces testosterone - which normally i wouldn't see as an issue as i have too much anyway but as this helps with muscle growth having more helps too.

Today i was scheduled to play golf but as it was raining i did my interval training on the stairs at home. this is truly a killer workout. warm up for 5 mins (ground to 20th walking) then running up 5 flights and walking down (as hard a possible) then a walk from ground to home on 31st floor.

Heavy

Yesterday, thinking about my workouts and something I'd read on the net, I decided that I needed to go heavier today for my workout. They say that progress is what we must push for at each workout and it feels like I've been stuck with the same old weight for each exercise these past few weeks. So as this is the last week before I change the exercises again I thought it's best to pump it up and see what progress I can make.

Also, as today was the workout that comes after a 'fast day' i have been concerned that i don't have as much energy for those workouts - this was time to put that theory to rest.

Good news all round. I really pushed up the weight - today was lower body day. Squats, lunges, calf raises and abs. Everything with about 20-30lbs more than last week. i had expected that if i didn't complete all reps that would be OK - it was really hard but fun thing was i could squeeze out all the reps for all the sets - even the heavy ones.

Abs was the finale! I am using the decline sit up table set to the highest and holding a 35lbs weight (previously only 10). Again i got all reps out for all sets - i felt like a champion (most of the people probably thought I was a dick with all the huffing and puffing but i don't care)

Fasting

Yesterday was fast day as i follow EatStopEat on Tuesdays and Fridays (generally).

It went like a treat! Got up at 5:30 hit the gym by 6. It's interval training on Tuesdays and as i have just committed with the boss to do a half marathon in July (am i crazy) i hit the treadmill. Set to 9.3 kms/hr i cycle the incline from 1 to 4 and then for the 18th minute i go for an incline of 5. This is very heavy stuff (for me) incline 1&2 are fine but 3&4 really starts to hurt - that last 5 is serious. I like this workout, not changing the speed is better on the tread mill i find.

Got home and played with the baby because i had some extra time (normally for breakfast) and then a quick play with the wife.

Stopped in at Starbucks for a black coffee on the way to work. It's nice to have a quality low calorie beverage on fast day.

Worked hard, couple of meetings and closed the books for the month. Lunch time came around quick - i would hardly notice but my staff have a new programme of turning off all the lights at lunch time to save electricity. So sitting in the dark i did a few personal things I'd been meaning to get out of the way - the extra time on fast day can be really useful.

a little more work and then jumped in the car to see a potential client. got stuck in the rain but wasn't too late. usual 'coffee, tea or me' question and to my luck they presented coffee with sugar and creamer on the side (often they give it to you already mixed).

Got home early as i left straight from the clients office. a few panic emails to get out once i got there. This took me right up to 6pm. easy easy!

Now, as it's time to eat at 6 i always find it difficult if the evening meal is delayed - it's funny how easy it is to go without food if you are planning it but if you have to go without when you are planning to eat it is really hard. As the wife wasn't back but i could see she'd been cooking i just got out some pineapple as a small snack while i waited for them to get home. This kick starts the digestive system so when the food did hit the table it went down a treat.

Now a word of advice on dinner on fast day. it is very easy to woof down food quickly as the hunger kicks in. as the system is empty it can be easy to overload it, which is not comfortable and normally makes you feel that you've overeaten (even though you probably haven't).

It's much better to take the meal really slowly, savoring each mouthful and enjoying the experience and the tastes. i find i really don't eat all that much if i do this but leave the table properly satisfied. oh, and best to make sure there is quality food as junk just does not satisfy like quality.

Note: the picture is Robert De Castella winning the commonwealth games in Brisbane. I remember at the time i was into long distance running and he was my hero - I sat and watched the whole 2 hours on TV. i guess i would have been better going out running.

Blinding Flash of the Obvious

I want to lay down the details of how I've feel I've been cheated over the years in terms of the Gym and how to work out.

I've always been happy with the gym, my dad was a part time gym instructor so i grew up in and around the gym. i was a member at a young age and at about 19 i was working out hard trying to GAIN WEIGHT. I'd do super body building workouts of 6 sets and finish with half a chicken and chocolate milkshake (but I'll discuss nutrition next post).

Then at the age of about 24 i was really putting on weight so i returned to the gym but this time to LOSE WEIGHT. The instructor explained that in order to drop weight i needed to spend at least 20mins on the bike/treadmill in the 'fat burning' zone. this seems amazing but it was so easy to keep in the 'zone' that i did this a lot. They also told me not to work out on the weights so much and this also made sense as previously i used it to gain weight.

Since that day i have seriously struggled with my weight - now about 12 years. that day i walked into the gym i weighed about 80kgs. I've been up to 115kgs and now I'm trying to get back there.

Last year i decided to drop some weight, got off the booze for two months and modified my eating. I made sure i was working out every day (Sunday off) and dropped about 10kgs. During this time my method of working out changed as the long slow cardio was just plain boring.

From this i read a little and discovered that research shows that interval training proves better than the long slow cardio. Well this just instantly made sense as you just can't burn anything if you don't work hard. in fact it's clear that the harder you work the more you burn - blinding flash of the obvious.

I tried to create my own interval training/resistance training routine. It worked well but was just too hard to keep up. Over Xmas i lost track of the eating but managed to still lose weight. I thought i was really onto something.

I made a few clear mistakes with my programme and can now see this by following someone-else's. I'm doing the 'Body for Life' programme now and will then move to Craig Balantyne's Turbulence Training once complete.

What i now see is that intervals really push the limit of what you can burn while also increasing the cardio capacity (you get neither with long slow cardio) and mixing up the weight training keeps the muscles guessing. For mixing it up i do this even with body for life by changing the exercises every three weeks, it's amazing the difference it makes.

i believe that both bad nutrition and bad training advice are to blame for the Pandemic obesity that we see today in the world. i hope that more people can see the light as to how to get fit and how to eat.

Get Help

This is the beginning of a blog quest although the bean pole quest has been ongoing for some time. The reason for the blog is to help me achieve my goal and to stop me from giving up - as this is what usually happens.

So where are we at today. This is the beginning of week 9 of a 12 week transformation. I've lost 10kg (22lbs) so far and as this is the largest amount of weight I've lost in one go I am now worried that I'll lose momentum and give up (as I've done so many times before).

So this is my official log of my progress as I move forward in the quest to lose 30kg (66lbs).

The programme so far is the Body for Life 12 week transformation, no alcohol and healthy food combined with 24 hour fasts 2 times per week.

Once complete i will go onto turbulence training and keep the alcohol in check. As turbulence is three times per week i will do a range of other activities on off days including rock climbing, kick boxing, swimming and surfing. For now I've just committed to running a half marathon in two months time so i guess running will be a focus.

Today i had my upper body workout, a healthy breakfast of cereal, strawberries, peaches and low fat milk. Lunch was from the canteen (Thai food) with minimal rice. Tonight I plan for a salad but it will depend on what my wife cooks.

Tomorrow is interval training on the treadmill and fast till dinner.