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I made it to the gym one day last week. I did very well on my diet until the weekend. I partied and pigged out Saturday and Sunday, which killed my daily average. Even so, I came in under last week’s average, and I lost some weight. I’m going to try very hard to really stick to my diet and get to the gym four times this week.
Last week wasn’t great for exercise. The roads were terrible and I fought a sinus cold all week. I shoveled snow off my car pad twice. Other than that I did no exercise at all. I was only slightly more successful with my diet. I continued my two-month streak with no soda. I drank one beer. I ate a handful of Hershey’s kisses, two fudge chocolate chip cookies, and a slice of chocolate cheese cake. I didn’t keep strict track of my calories, but I think I averaged about 3500 a day. All in all, it isn’t a spectacular start, but at least it’s a start. I joined a “Biggest Loser” competition at work to give me added incentive, so I’m hopeful I can get the weight off of me again. Weight 01.04.10: 299.4 In March 2009, I weighed 305 pounds. My performance in the gym was as follows:
In June 2009, I weighed 275 pounds. I don’t know what my max performance was, but I swam 44 laps in under 40 minutes. Today, in January 2010, my weight has increased back to 299 pounds. I am unhappy with this regain of weight I worked so hard to lose, but I’m still in better shape than I was a year ago:
I’ve also made some progress on with my diet. I haven’t had a soda in two months, and I’ve nearly stopped my alcohol consumption. This week I am going to cut out the junk food as much as I can. I’m going to try cold turkey. We’ll see how it goes. This week I am also going to step up my gym routine and try to go 4-5 days a week instead of 2-3. I’m going to start posting my weekly “I’m a Loser” updates again, no matter how poorly I fare. The goal is to lose ten pounds a month for five months. At the end of May, I want to weigh 250 pounds. I know I can do it, if I can just get my diet under control. My biggest challenge is that I eat when I get stressed or depressed. I eat to calm down. I need to train myself to use a different coping mechanism. I’m strongly considering amphetamines or cocaine. (I’m kidding!) In all seriousness, I think I’ll get some exercise equipment for the house. I want to get a home gym built so I can stop paying the fitness center $45 a month. It will also help me with stress if I can lift dumbbells instead of cupcakes when I’m stressed. At work I’m not going to carry money or cards with me so I can’t hit up the cafeteria, vending machines, or ATM. I’ll go to the gym after work, burn out my stress, and go home. If I don’t pig out during dinner, the day will have been a success. Hey folks, It’s hard for me to believe a month has gone by since I last wrote here. I honestly don’t know where the time goes. Lots has happened in the the last thirty days. Please be patient enough to allow me one more catch-all update, and I promise that soon the posts will be shorter, more focused, and more timely. My JobWork is going very well. I know I’ve said it many times, but I must say it again: I’ve landed in a great place. I know it’s hard to believe, but I have absolutely no significant complaints. I could whine about some of the idiots that I deal with, but all of my immediate team members and management are awesome. My HouseAfter a chain of headaches, I finally bought my house. I’ve been really busy, but I’ve managed to get about 60% moved in. I have much more work to do, but I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. I can actually look forward and see a day when I’m settled and have time to do other things, like blogging and visiting my friends online. The house is very cool. So far I haven’t encountered anything to make me second-guess my choice, although the back yard is steep and very difficult to mow in places. I’m looking forward to spending the $8,000 first time home buyer’s cash! My BookAfter months and months of waiting, I’ve finally heard from the Barnard Agency. She isn’t representing anyone anymore. She’s cut her shop down to editing and critique work. I guess it’s better to hear “no” than nothing at all. The misadventure has pissed me off. Maybe I’ll finally get off my ass and start querying in earnest again. My friend, Aubrey Young, is working diligently on music for the site and also for a score that will accompany a digitally animated teaser I’m preparing to commission. My artist is making some progress on the art I commissioned at the beginning of the year. I should have something soon. My WebsitesEven though I’ve already invested many hours of work into combining HereticsQuest.Com with ShannonThomas.org. I’ve just about decided to update Heretic’sQuest with the same theme I use here, change the colors and layout a little to differentiate it from this site, and call it good. I have plenty of reasons to combine them, but I can’t get away from the notion that it is better to have a separate site for the books, for promotional purposes. My HeartI have a beautiful, sexy, smart, funny, caring, self-reliant woman in my life. She is my equal in every way, and I have no doubt that she is my soul mate. Having her in my life makes me glad for every shitty thing that has ever happened to me, because all of it – the good and the bad – contributed to my personality and circumstances that drew her into my life. If I was any different, or if my situation was even slightly altered, she would not be with me. The experience is enough to make me question my lack of faith in God. I’ve pretty much decided that I do believe in a higher power and a grander plan. I’m not going to pick up my Bible and head to church anytime soon, but I am praying again. My GutI’m back up to 285 pounds, but I’m not worried. I’ve bought a mountain bike and will soon be riding to and from work as long as the weather permits, and I’m starting a new gym workout this week. Also, the back yard is a total mutherf**ker to mow. I’ll be skinny before the snow falls! My AdventuresAdventures? Well, let’s see… I quit a job, started a new one, broke up with my girlfriend, met my soulmate, and bought a house. Somewhere inbetween all of that, I went camping with my three best friends in the entire world. It was the first time we’ve been camping in four years, and only the third time we’ve all seen each other in thirteen years. I had another birthday, thought I was going to Cancun (but it fell through at the last minute,) and I hope to use my new passport before the year is out. I haven’t had a real vacation in 12-14 years (depending on your definition of vacation,) and I think I’m due! Life has been very hectic since my last update. For some reason, I seem incapable of doing one thing at a time. I bitch about my schedule and swear I’m going to simplify things, and then as soon as I pull one iron out of the fire, I put in two more. Whether it’s nature or nurture, I seem wired to constantly run at 300 miles per hour, and invariably something gets left along the side of the road. Unfortunately, my writing is one of the things that gets left behind. I hate that, and I want to change it, but so far I’ve only managed to spout the best of intentions. But I digress. It’s time for another mammoth update! The HouseQuicken Loans gave me very poor service. They got my name and gender wrong when they called me. They put my name on an automated call list that called me numerous times at work. I suspect they sold my email address to advertisers. They never bothered to look at my credit report. They kept saying “oh yeah, by the way..” or “I forgot to mention…” When I complained, they dropped my preapproval. I refinanced with a local mortgage broker and things are back on track. I have an inspection scheduled this week. I have a check to pay for the first year’s insurance, and if all goes well, I’ll be able to close in time to prevent paying rent for September. This has been a frustrating, infuriating process, but I’m still excited to be doing it. I’m already making plans for upgrades and additions I want to make. The JudgeTaurus returned the Judge to me, repaired and ready for service. I test fired it, and it works well. I’m going to write another entry about it soon. I figure Cabella’s owes me about $160 for ammo and shipping, but I haven’t contacted them yet. It’s on the list, but I don’t know if I’ll get to it. I’m just glad to have my gun back. The NovelI’ve done nothing with the book. I know I need to, and I want to, but I work in front of a computer all day, and when I get home, I just don’t have the brain juice to sit in front of the screen for one more second. I’m hoping to get things settled down and get back into it soon, because I miss it so much. It really does complete my life, and I get sick in my heart when I don’t write. The WebsiteI’ve nearly finished all the conversions I need to combine HereticsQuest.com with this site. It’s just a matter of finding the time and motivation to sit down for 6-8 hours and make it happen. Again, I just haven’t found the spare brain juice required to deal with it. Once it’s done, I’m changing web hosts. I hope that will make the page load faster and alleviate other availability problems I’m having. I’m paying for accounts from two web hosts right now, and I need to get it done so I stop wasting money. The FunI went four-wheeling and muddin’ last weekend, and I had a blast! I have some other very fun plans for the future, but I don’t want to spoil the fun yet. I’ll tell you all about it once it’s over. Just believe me when I say that I’m going to have some adventures if everything works out as I hope The FlabAfter re-gaining enough weight to hit 280 again, I’ve finally gotten back on my nutrition plan and exercise routine. This week is rough, due to unexpected changes in my schedule, but I’m hoping to be able to post an new “I’m a Loser” entry next week! I’ve streamlined and condensed my routines so I can lift and do cardio six days a week, and get to work earlier so I have a little more time in the evenings. So far it’s working well, but I’m just in the first week of it. We’ll see what the results are next week. The JobY’all know I don’t mention many specifics about the job, but I will say that work is going well. I had a rough time last week – the kind where everything I touched turnend to a steaming pile of dog shit. Last week I could screw up just by breathing. In the greater scheme of things, I didn’t mess up anything too bad, but I’m aggravated that I boke my streak. I’d gone six months without messing up much of anything, and I made up for lost time last week. But this week is looking good. I’ve gotten some very good training and have some more lined up later in the year. I have tons to learn, but I actually want to learn most of it, so I’m excited. Love, Religion, and Other Easy QuestionsAs with work, I refrain from saying too much about my personal life, especially when other people’s privacy is at stake. I can say that things are going very well with the woman I’m seeing. We’ve had some storms already, but we’ve come out of them stronger than we were before. She and I are on the exact same wavelength 95% of the time, but when we aren’t – man, we REALLY aren’t! I’m reconsidering my stance on God. For over ten years I’ve been cetain that no God exists. I’ve gone from saying “He definitely doesn’t exist” to “He probably doesn’t exist” to “He probably does exist” to “OK, I believe there’s some power out there, but I don’t know what comes next.” What do I call something when I don’t understand it? How can I decide what to think about it when I don’t understand it’s origin, purpose, or agenda? I don’t know a lot, but it’s definitely a step in a different direction for me. In SummaryLife is good. It’s past my bedtime, but I’m excited and restless, and I’ve had nightmares every night since Saturday. I acknowledge that I need sleep, but I’m tired of having my toes smashed with hammers, my fingernails torn off with vise grips, and my skin slowly peeled off with giant carrot peelers. I’m tired of being shot, burned, hit with trucks, attacked by dogs, and beaten to death. So I’m staying awake a little longer. I made an offer on a house today. It is in a nice, secluded, quiet neighborhood only 3.5 miles from work. It’s on a gently sloping half-acre lot that’s roughly 80’ x 225’. It comes with a dog-run that traverses from the house to the end of the lot, which is important to me since I want a dog! The house is a single level, with a half-finished basement, car pad, big deck, and single-car attached garage (with opener.) It has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room (with a fireplace and recessed lighting,) and a full bathroom with a hot tub and shower stall. It has very little carpet. Most of the flooring is either hardwood or ceramic tile. It has recessed speakers, cable, and Ethernet professionally wired in every room. Four ceiling fans and digital thermostat/humidity controls will ensure the air suits me just right. It comes with washer, dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal, stove, microwave, refrigerator, and a full kitchen table that exactly matches the half-sized table I currently own. The garage is furnished with shelving and peg boards on most of the wall space. Half of the basement has been finished to make a recreation/exercise room. The other half is a blank slate that I can make into anything I want. Total square feet (not counting the garage) is approximately 1300. The seller has dropped the price at least twice to the point where he’s going to lose money once he pays the realtor’s commission. I also know that at least one other person is making an offer, and there might be another buyer interested. The seller is asking for $110,000. I won’t say what I’m offering right now, but I think it’s fair. I’ll know within two days if he accepts or not. I hope he does! In other news: I’m in the gym again, finally! I took a day or three to clean up all the files I had scattered across three computer and four types of removabale storage, but I’m now working on the webiste consolidation again. I have one more file to edit and test, and once it’s done, I should have everything I need to crash this site! (I hope not!) I had problems with my bank accounts tonight, and a distressing encounter with an ex. The moon is full, and I have a very stressful day waiting to pounce on me tomorrow. In short, I probably won’t sleep tonight. I didn’t exercise today, and my lofty ambitions notwithstanding, I doubt I’ll get much exercise in this week or next, thanks to training at work. I’m not going to complain. After all, they’re paying me to learn things I would otherwise need to pay someone else to tech me, and I cannot criticize that! However, it does wreck havoc on my morning exercise schedule, and I do not enjoy the forced break in my routine. I bought new scales last night. I can’t get as accurate a reading from them as I could with my old digital scales, but these won’t require new batteries every month, and hopefully its mechanical nature will make it less prone to malfunction. My weight is somewhere around 277. It’s not great, but at lest I haven’t topped back over 280. Since it seems my exercise routine is FUBARed for the next two weeks, I guess I’d better really watch the diet. I have an even better reason for losing weight now. My camping pack is heavy. I took it for a test hike yesterday. I was only out for an hour or so, and it smoked me. I can’t lose much weight in the pack, so I’ll have to shed it off of my own fat ass if I want to make the going any easier. As usual, it’s late and I should be in bed, but I’m not, or, if I’m going to defy my self-imposed curfew, I should at least be working on my epic list of shit to do. But I’m not. Site NewsI’ve worked diligently on the content migration from hereticsquest.com. I know you can’t see any of the content yet, because I haven’t actually moved it yet. Wordpress is built on a database, so to combine the content, I have to combine the databases. I looked for an easy way to do it and didn’t find one, so I’m doing it manually, which involves an unbelievable amount of manual data manipulation. I have two more files to edit, but they’re the two most complicated SOBs of the lot. Once I get them edited, I have to decide how I’m going to deal with site members who have duplicate accounts between the two sites. Once I figure that out, the migration should go smoothly. Once the migration is complete, I’ll upgrade shannonthomas.org to wordpress 2.8, which should give me the functionality I need to display the new content the way I want, assuming the upgrade doesn’t break any of the plugins I use (some of them WILL break.) I’ll deal with however I can at the time. Then I can start the real pain in the ass: changing web hosting companies. Lots of work to do, and that’s just on the site. Fitness NewsI’ve been off my diet for over a month and off my exercise program for over two weeks. Tomorrow I’m going back on the diet and I’m starting an even more stringent exercise program. I intend to run three mornings a week, swim three mornings a week, and lift six days a week. If I can stick to it, it will be a race to see if I work myself to death or starve to death first. My scales went tits-up a few weeks ago, and that’s been part of the reason I’ve been so bad. I’ve had no way to track how much progress I’ve been reversing. I have new scales now. I will report my current status tomorrow evening, and y’all can start keeping me honest again. Book NewsI haven’t done anything in weeks to promote the book or to otherwise further my publication goals. I intend to change that this week. I will query at least one new agent this week. I will re-establish my presence on the writers’ forums I was frequenting earlier this year. I will write and post more writer-oriented content for this site. Running for the HillsI’ve restocked and repacked my bug-out bag, AKA, the getaway gear. I hope to post a write-up on it this week, for those of you who’d like to know the gear I have ready in case the bombs fall or martial law is declared. I spent WAY too much money doing it, but I can’t tell you how much better I feel, knowing that it’s ready to go. Laptop LuvinI’ve got the new laptop set up as my new primary machine, with almost all of my software installed and peripherals attached. I still have the old one hooked up, and I access it through remote desktop, at least until I can get all of my files and storage cleaned up. Right now I have a mess of duplicate files and other data-related headaches that I must get cleared up soon, because it’s stomping all over my one obsessive-compulsive nerve. Once I get it all lined out, I’ll probably wipe the old machine, reinstall Windows XP, and use it only for surfing the Internet and testing software. I’ll put some free antivirus software on it, and I’ll use it to go to websites or download files, which I’ll put in a folder that’s accessible via the laptop. I’ll scan the data on the old machine, scan it with the laptop’s A/V software, and then copy it over. It may sound like a lot of bullshit just to get stuff off the web, but I am so sick of seeing my machine get shredded by spy-ware. This scheme should protect it better. Hatin’ House HuntingI’m looking for my first house. It’s a pain in the ass. I’m almost convinced to stick with renting for a few more decades. As I learn more about the additional expenses and other concerns involved, I’m seriously wondering why anyone ever bothers to buy a house, unless they plan to rent it out. Jury’s Out on the JudgeThere’s no word on my poor Judge. I called Taurus about two weeks ago and they said their repair shop was backlogged into mid-may, and it would be at least five weeks before they got to mine. I just hope it comes back to me in time to take it on some of the hiking/camping trips I have planned for the summer and early fall. On the plus side, I located and bought some .45 Colt, 3-inch .410 6-shot and three-inch .410 000-buckshot for it, so we can have a proper homecoming when it does return to me. One Day Older and Deeper in DebtWork is going well. We got a new man on the team, so I’m the not-so-new guy. (I hate being the FNG, and I’m so relieved to pass the title to someone else!) I’m finding my place and finally making a noticeable contribution to the team. I’ve learned enough of the basics so that it’s easier to learn new things, now that I have a foundation to build on. I’m not on top of the learning curve yet, but I’m much closer to apex than I was, and I’m starting to breathe a little easier. I’ve managed to land in a great place. If I can just stop spending money, I think I’ll be just fine. I think I could write all night, but I must get to bed, whether I want to or not. 5:00 AM comes at the same time every morning, regardless of when I got to sleep the night before. I’ve been meaning to post my workout routine for ages, and I’m finally getting to it! Before I get into the meat of it, let me establish a few things. First, any exercise preceded by an asterisk (*) is done on STRIVE equpiment. These machines are similar to Nautilus, except they use an adjustable cam to change the tension of the exercise. One setting puts all the strain at the beginning of the lift. Another places the strain in the middle. Another places the strain at the end. If I do three sets, that’s one set in each position. If I do six sets, that’s two sets per position. I use different grips when the machine allows it so I hit the muscles a little differently. Before you call me a pussy for using machines for the bulk of my exercises, please consider that I’m always pressed for time; I always lift alone (no spotter,) and most of my joints are so blasted from Ranger injuries that I need the form built into the machine motion to keep from blowing out my shoulders, hips, elbows, back, ankles, and knees. Besides, these STRIVE machines are brutal. Do not bash them unless you’ve tried them! Second, you’ll notice I lift with lighter weight and do more reps. This is because of my bad joints and old injuries. I hate to admit it, but I just can’t lift as heavy as I used to. It works out well, because at this point in my life I value endurance more than bulk or power. Even though I’m focused on endurance, I still increase weight about once a month, sometimes more often. Third, I write my notations as follows: weight/reps/sets. So 110/10/3 means I lifted 110 pounds 10 times, rested, lifted it ten more times, rested, and lifted it ten more times. If the weight is zero, that means I used only my body weight (“only,” he says. I weigh 270 pounds.) Fourth, my rest periods vary. I usually rest 30 seconds between sets in the same weight. I rest 60-90 seconds between weight changes. Then I work the opposing muscle group to give the current muscles a longer break. I try to do exercises that work multiple groups at once, and then I finish with a few isolation exercises. OK, enough of that book keeping bullshit. Here are the details: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Additional exercises: If I have time on my swim days, sometimes I’ll work my neck and forearms a little bit, but I don’t do it often enough to list it as a regular exercise. When I feel exceptionally froggy, I may go hiking/trail running in the evenings at the state park. I’ve also started running two miles here and there. I also climb a brutal set of steps a few blocks from the house (175 of them.) I don’t have a schedule for these exercises. I do them if I have extra energy to burn or if I’m pissed off in the evening about something. I never do them on Thursday, Saturday (leg days,) or Sunday (resting.) The Future Now that it’s warming up, and I’m trimming down, I hope to start running in the evenings on a regular basis. That will free up every morning to lift and I’ll be able to shake up my routine a little bit. I want to throw in some push-ups, chin-ups, dips, lunges, and different ab exercises. I’ll be camping and backpacking more often, and if I can get the cash together, I’ll be buying and riding a new mountain bike. It should be an active summer! I wanted to take a minute and update everyone on a wide array of events, projects, and other considerations that comprise my hectic and overcomplicated life. Novel/Websites:I had a really good feeling about an agent, but she fell completely off the face of the Earth back in March. She could be dead for all I know. I guess I should get motivated to query the remaining names on my “hit list,” but I keep finding other things to do. The longer this drags out, the more inclined I am to self publish. I’m very unhappy with the callused and apathetic nature of the mainstream publishing process. It’s almost as if they’re afraid to make money off of the work I’ve done. I really don’t know what to tell them. It’s their loss. On the plus side, my friend has found the motivation he needs to write a few musical scores for the novel/website, and he referred me to an animator who I hope will agree to create a video teaser trailer for the book. I’ve heard very little from the artist I commissioned for additional artwork last year. I guess he’ll deliver eventually. I haven’t had time to combine Hereticsquest.com with Shannonthomas.org, but that’s coming soon. Continue reading Sitrep »» I don’t presume to understand the fluctuations in my diet. I ate and drank like a man on death row while I was in Cincinnati, and I lost weight. I wasn’t a dietary angel the following week but I ate much less and exercised more than I had the previous week, and I gained weight. Last week I exercised the same as usual and did a little better with my diet, and I lost seven pounds. Seven pounds in seven days- seems a bit much, eh? I’ve really let myself slide these last few weeks. First my diet went to hell and I completely stopped tracking my eating habits, which resulted in yet another weight gain last week. Then last week I finally broke my exercise streak. I went eight or nine weeks where I made it to the gym six days a week. Last week I skipped a day Friday and intended to make it up on Sunday, but I nearly broke my foot Saturday. Still, that’s no excuse. I shouldn’t have skipped Friday. And now, to top it all off, I’m four days late with this update. I spent all last week in Cincinnati. I ate like a pig and drank like fish. The consequences could have been worse, but I’m not going to complain. I just have to get back to doing the right thing if I want to have any prayer of hitting 270 by Memorial Day.
I’m a little rushed for time this morning, so this entry won’t be as detailed as earlier ones. I didn’t stick to my diet very well (yet again,) but I can’t tell how bad because I didn’t track it for three day, and I’m not going to bother to guess how much I ate. I had the body composition done, and while it showed I had lost bodyfat, the results are not accurate because the last time I had one done, their scales were three pounds different from mine, and this time their scales agreed with mine, so I got shorted three pounds. I’d lost nine, but but the results only considered six. I think it’s reflected in the lean muscle gain. Last month’s test showed 213.1 pounds of lean mass. This test showed 213.3. I know I’ve gained more muscle mass than that. I can’t find the printout right now, and I don’t have time to look for it. Here’s the numbers I remember:
OK, now for the regular weekly results:
All in all, I am not unhappy. I set out to lose 20 pounds in 8 weeks. I did it in 7. My new goal is to be to 270 by Memorial Day. That will be my half-way mark, but it means I have to lose 12 pounds in a month. I think I can do it, but we’ll just have to see. OK, OK, I get it. I must get my diet back on track. I got on the scales this morning and got so pissed I almost had a stroke. Maybe I’m finally angry enough to find the will power required to do what I know I need to be doing. I was doing so well for awhile, and then I just let it go to hell. I have another body composition on Friday, and I wanted to lose ten pounds before I got it, but it looks like I screwed it up. I don’t think I can healthily drop 5 pounds by Friday. Dammit. I haven’t been slacking on the exercise though. That’s the only reason I lost any weight this week. Monday was rough. I think I had a 24-hour virus because I got to the gym and was drowning after 20 laps. I just didn’t have the energy to get my head above the water. I went home, called in sick, and slept all day. I felt better Tuesday, but I worked my upper body light and easy because my shoulder and back were still stiff and sore. I lifted legs hard on Thursday, and I lifted full body hard and heavy on Saturday. I hiked at Mountwood twice and walked to work twice. (It would have been more, but I don’t walk to work in the rain.) Even though I said I was going to wait until I dropped more weight, I couldn’t resist the urge when I was at Moutwood on Friday. I ran on as much of the trail as I could. It nearly killed me; I’m still hacking chunky shit up out of my lungs. I think it’s the first time I’ve ran since 2006. In all honesty, it wasn’t as hard on me as I expected, if you overlook the fact that on Sunday I was walking like a 90-year-old man with a cheese grater shoved up his ass. Best of all – and I won’t even try to be modest on this one, because I’m damned proud – on Wednesday, for the very first time, I swam a full mile! I didn’t switch strokes, and I did it in under a minute per lap! Weight 04-13-09: 288.6 Week 6 Average Daily Diet: 3300 Calories Per Day Weekly Exercise Log:
This was yet another terrible week for my diet, and it shows. I regained 0.6 pounds, and it really pisses me off, but I can only blame myself. I have another body composition in about two weeks, followed by a full week of training in Cincinnati, where I doubt I’ll diet or exercise very faithfully. I need to make these next two weeks count. I’m going to do my very best to get my diet back on track. More bad news: I popped my right shoulder on Wednesday; I think it’s the bursa sacks again, from an old injury back in the Army. My back is out of whack now too, probably from babying the shoulder. I’m going to take it easier on the weights this week and focus more on swimming, stretching, and diet. We’ll see how it goes. Despite the injuries, it was a great week for exercise. I went to Mountwood twice. I also increased weight on a number of exercises. For instance, I’m now doing shrugs with 315 pounds, and I finally got my curls up to 50 pounds (I used to warm up with 50 and workout with 70, but I’m trying to concentrate of what I can do, not what I could do.) Best of all, I broke my swim record. I’ve been trying to get 33 laps in under a minute per lap. I came close Monday, succeeded Wednesday, and surged forward on Friday. I’d like to move to 44 laps (a full mile) but I don’t know if I have time on the weekdays. I think last week was the fourth consecutive week I made it to the gym Monday – Saturday. I confess I am pleased with the work I’ve done so far, but there’s still too much to do to be too happy with myself. Weight 04-06-09: 288.0 Week 5 Average Daily Diet: 3500 Calories Per Day Weekly Exercise Log:
Last week was a terrible week for my diet. I ate a ton of comfort foods throughout the week. Then I partied hard Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I didn’t even try to track what I ate and drank those three days, so I have no accurate number for my average daily calories. I put down a number based on the data I have for Monday – Thursday and the assumption that I consumed 3700 calories a day for the remainder of the week. I also had to cut my workouts short on Friday and Saturday. Despite these deviations I still lost some weight from my lard ass, but I increased weight on almost every exercise I do, so I think I’ve gained some more lean mass. I’m going to try very hard to get back on track this week. I’m getting to a point where I can see and feel a difference. My pants and wristwatch were very tight, but now I have some room. I can see veins in my arms, neck, and shoulders while I’m lifting. It’s kinda cool to watch them rise up under my skin. I’m also moving faster and smoother. Just this morning I squatted down to get something from the bottom of the refrigerator. I was hunkered down there for about five minutes while a rearranged some things. Then I straightened up and went on with my business. It later occurred to me that I’ve been taking a knee when I get stuff out of there because I I’ve been too heavy and too inflexible to keep my balance any other way. Weight 03-30-09: 291.2 Week 4 Average Daily Diet: 3316 Calories Per Day Weekly Exercise Log: I already wrote an entry where I talked about maxing the leg press machine and getting the body comp done, so that stole most of the thunder I had for this entry. My average daily calorie intake is the lowest in three weeks, but it’s still higher than I’d like. The weekends are killing my average. I do very well Monday – Thursday, and not too bad on Friday, but then Saturday and Sunday come along. I spend time with friends, I eat out, I drink beer, I stay up late, sleep in late, miss meals, then pig out later… It is definitely a trouble spot I need to work on. Weight 03-23-09: 299.8 Week 1 Average Daily Diet: 2629 Calories Per Day Weekly Exercise Log: I had a body composition done on Wednesday. I wasn’t as fat as I expected, which I guess is a good thing, but I’m still not happy with the results. I’m going to keep working on it and have another one done in a month. I hope to drop it down a couple of points between now and then. I also need to start doing squats. I’ve been doing seated leg presses with a machine, but it only has 500 pounds worth of plates, and I maxed it out this week. I’m happy about the accomplishment, but I don’t like squats. I usually end up hurting myself. Anyway, here are the results from the body composition: Age: 33 I had previously thought I’d like to get down to 220 pounds, and I based that on how much I weighed when I was in the Rangers. I didn’t realize that I have more lean mass now than I did back then. If I don’t gain another ounce of muscle and drop my total weight to 220, I’ll be at 3% body fat, which is too low to be healthy. Basically, the numbers say I don’t have to lose as much weight as I expected. That makes me happy. I’m not slowing down until I get to 10% body fat. If my lean mass remains constant, I’ll have to get down to 236.666 pounds to reach 10% (I used some algebra to figure that out. Mr. Losch would be so proud that I finally got the pwan, peoples.) I don’t know what the final number of pounds will actually be because I expect the lean mass to increase. My final weight will probably be closer to 245. It looks easy on paper, and I know it won’t be nearly so simple in real life, but I am committed. I’m going to make this happen. The computer said I needed to consume 2572 calories per day to reach my goal. The last two weeks have averaged higher than that. This week I’ve stuck to my diet very closely and have averaged 1750 calories per day (so far,) but I’m feeling a little weak. I think I’m going to bump it up to 2000 per day for a week or two and give my body a chance to adjust. I should still lose weight fairly easily at 2000 calories per day. Humans burn 50 calories per day to maintain a pound of muscle. If I make the conservative assumption that 40 pounds of my lean mass is muscle, I’ll burn 2200 calories in 24 hours just to maintain that mass. Basically, I’ll burn up all of my daily intake just by living and breathing. It’s going to be fun to see how the numbers actually play out. I achieved a few fitness victories last week. On Monday morning I swam all 22 laps freestyle, without switching to a side or breast stroke as a way of taking a break. Last week was also the first time since I joined the gym in august 2007 that I made it in six days in a row. On the downside, I let my diet slip a little bit. This week’s average is a guestimate, because I partied very hard Friday and Saturday night. I haven’t let loose like that in almost a year, but I’d had an extremely upsetting and difficult week, and I decided I deserved some fun. So I’m guessing about the diet because I barely remember where I was, and I have no idea what I might have eaten. I have two goals this week. I want to continue the precedent I set last week and get to the gym six days. I also want to stick to my diet without straying. I have it down to a science, and I know the weight will melt off of me if I can just stick to it. I do well as long as I eat at the house and eat alone. I get into trouble when I go out with friends or have company. We’ll see how I do this week. In the near future I’ll need to find a way to track my bodyfat composition, because I’m gaining muscle weight now that I’m lifting again. I can’t judge my progress accurately with scales. Weight 03-16-09: 296 Those of you who’ve followed my blog will know that I’ve been struggling with weight gain for awhile. I keep saying that I’m going to do something about it, and sometimes I even manage to lose 20-30 pounds, only for it to come back on when I get busy or distracted with something else. I’m trying again, but this time I’m doing some things differently. I’m tracking my diet and exercise routines carefully, and thanks to my bi-pap machine, I’m actually benefiting from sleep. To keep myself honest, I’m going to post the weekly results every Monday morning, starting today: Weight 03-09-09: 303 Average Daily Diet: 2629 Calories Per Day Exercise Log: Walked to work and back x2 (2.8 miles total) |
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