So here's my story, for those unaware.
I was a 3 sport varsity athlete all through high school and was generally in good shape. Upon leaving high school, I was faced without structured physical activity for the first time in 4 years. Predictably, I did absolutely nothing. I could not have been lazier. To the point that within 2 short years, I reached a staggering weight. On May 15th, 2007, I weighed in at 300 lbs.
In the 33 months since then, I've lost the majority of the weight. I am healthier and in better shape. However, until recently, I still struggled to maintain a healthy balance between the food I ate and my daily activity. I found myself opening the fridge for absolutely no reason every few minutes to get food to eat. Over this past Christmas break, my weight began creeping upward again towards a direction I didn't want to see it heading. So I devised a complete lifestyle change in an effort to do two things:
1) lose the rest of my excess, unnecessary fat in a healthy, scientific manner.
2) break the poor eating habits I have developed over the years.
The results, through 33 days, have been staggering beyond anything I would have expected. I have lost 17.0 lbs since the beginning of this program. My strength and endurance have increased substantially. My resting heart rate (a good indicator of cardiovascular fitness) is the lowest it's ever been (54 bpm).
More importantly, I sleep like a baby every night, my stress levels are through the floor, and I am more focused and productive than I can remember being in a long time.
Now, as a goal oriented person, I am setting a few goals for myself. First and foremost, I will reduce my body fat percentage to ~9%.
Following that, I have a few athletic goals I'd like to achieve - mostly associated with running. As we age, our bodies lose the ability to activate fast twitch muscle fibers. We also lose flexibility and become more injury prone when exerting ourselves explosively. So my first running goals will be for relatively shorter distances (e.g., a sub-5 minute mile). Eventually, I'll work my way up in distance to (hopefully) marathons.
However, that's not the focus of this blog. This blog exists because I have executed my lifestyle change faithfully and perfectly for the past 33 days. I will continue to pursue perfection, and while I will fall short of that goal, I maintain that I can still attain excellence in my committment to a new and improved lifestyle.
By publishing my daily statistics on a forum where my friends and family can follow, I ensure an extra layer of accountability as projected by the expectations of those who choose to read. That is, you can help me by reading this blog regularly, if it suits you.
Now, there are rules to what I'm doing. They are detailed below. Even further below are my stats for the first month and my stats for today.
Daily statistics along with a brief (sometimes VERY brief) summary of my progress will be posted each day. The time I post is variable, unfortunately, but my diet is pre-planned, and my weight is measured at the same time each day.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your support.
Rules, then data below:
The Food:
1) No drugs (caffeine, alcohol)
I find that caffeine keeps me awake and more stressed, so I'm up for longer periods of time and get less work done. That vicious cycle interferes with my daily life and leaves me feeling progressively more tired and drained.
Alcohol is popular, socially, at my school. However, imbibing is often taken to extremes. Any alcohol will likely inhibit my progress, so I am abstaining until I have achieved my physical goals.
2) No processed foods
Everything I eat will likely be an ingredient (or comprised of reasonable ingredients) utilized by the home chef. They are clearly recognizable from their plant and/or animal counterparts. Counterexample: no chicken nuggets.
3) Calorically low, nutritionally high foods should comprise the bulk of my diet.
I find there's an inverse relationship with the nutritional content and the caloric content of food. For example, a McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese (an old favorite of mine) has 780 calories and a ton of protein, salt, fat, and sugar. Conversely, 2 cups of blueberries (a LOT of blueberries) has 120 calories, a range of antioxidant properties, 50% or more of your daily requirements in Vitamins C, K, and Manganese, and decent quantities (5-10%) of almost every other vitamin and mineral.
Unsurprisingly, processed foods are almost always more calorically dense than their fresh, unadulterated counterparts. This rule and rule 2 go hand in hand.
4) Drink at least a gallon of water every day.
The body's metabolic processes are restricted if I am not well hydrated. So I will ensure daily hydration by drinking at least a gallon (sometimes more) of water per day. Additionally, this will keep my kidneys flushed while I take in higher protein than most people.
5) Caloric intake will be analyzed monthly to determine if increases or decreases need to be made.
This month, I lost weight quickly. Because this is the beginning of the program, some of the lean mass sacrificed may have been water weight from the holidays, but I'm certain that not all of the weight lost was fat mass. 17.0 lbs of fat mass in a month is impossible for someone starting at my size without sacrificing an equally large percentage of lean mass in the form of muscle catabolism.
6) 6 meals a day
If I keep a steady stream of calories flowing in, there are a few positive effects. For starters, my body is continuously receiving fuel to keep my metabolism up. Imagine a fireplace where a log is thrown on the fire every 3 hours. The fire will burn steadily all night long. That's the goal here, to keep the fire at a steady blaze.
From a biological standpoint, my brain is receiving signals from my stomach every few hours that I'm eating. So I don't get ravenously hungry (a problem with the fad diets). This is a huge psychological boost.
7) Every meal is planned.
That's right, every one of my 6 meals will be planned in advance of the day I eat them. No exceptions. This will allow for some minor cheating...so long as I plan the cheat into my day. Which means I won't cheat. Planning to cheat is like planning to fail. Who does that?
8) Caloric intake and macronutrient ratios will be held constant for periods of time and varied slowly as necessary.
My goal is to lose fat at a reasonable pace. If I feel my weight is dropping too quickly, I will adjust my diet accordingly. Additionally, if my weight stays stagnant for too long, and body fat percentage tests suggest that I have either stopped progressing or am gaining body fat, I will also adjust. For now, my macronutrient ratios are approximately 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% protein. It's not a hard and fast rule. I generally try to stuff more carbs in on lifting days and more fat in on non-lifting days. That may vary with time.
The Lifestyle:
1) 7-8 hours of sleep a night (if possible)
This is the only rule I'll flex on a bit since my coursework and research demands a high time committment. I will instead lean towards attempting to ensure that I attain an average of 7-8 hours of sleep a night over the course of each week.
2) Weightlifting
Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday are my designated lifting days (this may have to be altered slightly as necessary). I lift on a 3 day split:
Day 1 - Chest, triceps, and core+lower abs
Day 2 - Back, biceps, and obliques
Day 3 - Legs and shoulders
Each body part receives 3 exercises to train it in several different planes of motion. Shoulders, for example, are given dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell shrugs, and dumbbell lateral raises. With the exception of olympic lifts (bench press and squat), dumbbells are used for stability in most lifts.
3) Cardio
I exclusively run 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), and the run typically takes the form of high intensity interval training.
I am working my way up to 12 intervals, 1 minute on, 1 minute off (I'm up to 11), where the interval pace corresponds to my heart rate being at ~187, and the easy pace corresponds to my heart rate being at ~145. Right now, those paces are 10.0 Mph and 6.0 Mph, respectively.
On lifting days, I run a truncated version of the HIIT workout AFTER my lift (when the glycogen has been depleted from my blood). Rest assured, this is MUCH tougher than my full length runs on non-lifting days.
4) Take a daily multivitamin.
This will help with any nutrients I may accidentally be missing out on. I wouldn't want to inhibit my muscular growth or fat loss due to inadequate nutrition.
Recordkeeping:
1) Daily
Every day, on this blog, I have been and will continue to post my food for the day, a brief summary of the day's workout, my weight that morning, and my net weight loss to date.
Weight will be measured every morning, after waking up, immediately after using the washroom.
Weight is actually the least helpful of the measurements I take, but it's interesting to watch it's trajectory over time. The more pertinent data will be monthly.
2) Monthly
Every month, in addition to my daily data dump, I will post analysis of my diet and weight loss to date, resting heart rate, tape measurements, and body composition analysis. This data will be much more beneficial in gauging what kind of shape I am in. I may take pictures of progress as well. Not sure about that one yet.
Following that, I have a few athletic goals I'd like to achieve - mostly associated with running. As we age, our bodies lose the ability to activate fast twitch muscle fibers. We also lose flexibility and become more injury prone when exerting ourselves explosively. So my first running goals will be for relatively shorter distances (e.g., a sub-5 minute mile). Eventually, I'll work my way up in distance to (hopefully) marathons.
However, that's not the focus of this blog. This blog exists because I have executed my lifestyle change faithfully and perfectly for the past 33 days. I will continue to pursue perfection, and while I will fall short of that goal, I maintain that I can still attain excellence in my committment to a new and improved lifestyle.
By publishing my daily statistics on a forum where my friends and family can follow, I ensure an extra layer of accountability as projected by the expectations of those who choose to read. That is, you can help me by reading this blog regularly, if it suits you.
Now, there are rules to what I'm doing. They are detailed below. Even further below are my stats for the first month and my stats for today.
Daily statistics along with a brief (sometimes VERY brief) summary of my progress will be posted each day. The time I post is variable, unfortunately, but my diet is pre-planned, and my weight is measured at the same time each day.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your support.
Rules, then data below:
The Food:
1) No drugs (caffeine, alcohol)
I find that caffeine keeps me awake and more stressed, so I'm up for longer periods of time and get less work done. That vicious cycle interferes with my daily life and leaves me feeling progressively more tired and drained.
Alcohol is popular, socially, at my school. However, imbibing is often taken to extremes. Any alcohol will likely inhibit my progress, so I am abstaining until I have achieved my physical goals.
2) No processed foods
Everything I eat will likely be an ingredient (or comprised of reasonable ingredients) utilized by the home chef. They are clearly recognizable from their plant and/or animal counterparts. Counterexample: no chicken nuggets.
3) Calorically low, nutritionally high foods should comprise the bulk of my diet.
I find there's an inverse relationship with the nutritional content and the caloric content of food. For example, a McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese (an old favorite of mine) has 780 calories and a ton of protein, salt, fat, and sugar. Conversely, 2 cups of blueberries (a LOT of blueberries) has 120 calories, a range of antioxidant properties, 50% or more of your daily requirements in Vitamins C, K, and Manganese, and decent quantities (5-10%) of almost every other vitamin and mineral.
Unsurprisingly, processed foods are almost always more calorically dense than their fresh, unadulterated counterparts. This rule and rule 2 go hand in hand.
4) Drink at least a gallon of water every day.
The body's metabolic processes are restricted if I am not well hydrated. So I will ensure daily hydration by drinking at least a gallon (sometimes more) of water per day. Additionally, this will keep my kidneys flushed while I take in higher protein than most people.
5) Caloric intake will be analyzed monthly to determine if increases or decreases need to be made.
This month, I lost weight quickly. Because this is the beginning of the program, some of the lean mass sacrificed may have been water weight from the holidays, but I'm certain that not all of the weight lost was fat mass. 17.0 lbs of fat mass in a month is impossible for someone starting at my size without sacrificing an equally large percentage of lean mass in the form of muscle catabolism.
6) 6 meals a day
If I keep a steady stream of calories flowing in, there are a few positive effects. For starters, my body is continuously receiving fuel to keep my metabolism up. Imagine a fireplace where a log is thrown on the fire every 3 hours. The fire will burn steadily all night long. That's the goal here, to keep the fire at a steady blaze.
From a biological standpoint, my brain is receiving signals from my stomach every few hours that I'm eating. So I don't get ravenously hungry (a problem with the fad diets). This is a huge psychological boost.
7) Every meal is planned.
That's right, every one of my 6 meals will be planned in advance of the day I eat them. No exceptions. This will allow for some minor cheating...so long as I plan the cheat into my day. Which means I won't cheat. Planning to cheat is like planning to fail. Who does that?
8) Caloric intake and macronutrient ratios will be held constant for periods of time and varied slowly as necessary.
My goal is to lose fat at a reasonable pace. If I feel my weight is dropping too quickly, I will adjust my diet accordingly. Additionally, if my weight stays stagnant for too long, and body fat percentage tests suggest that I have either stopped progressing or am gaining body fat, I will also adjust. For now, my macronutrient ratios are approximately 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% protein. It's not a hard and fast rule. I generally try to stuff more carbs in on lifting days and more fat in on non-lifting days. That may vary with time.
The Lifestyle:
1) 7-8 hours of sleep a night (if possible)
This is the only rule I'll flex on a bit since my coursework and research demands a high time committment. I will instead lean towards attempting to ensure that I attain an average of 7-8 hours of sleep a night over the course of each week.
2) Weightlifting
Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday are my designated lifting days (this may have to be altered slightly as necessary). I lift on a 3 day split:
Day 1 - Chest, triceps, and core+lower abs
Day 2 - Back, biceps, and obliques
Day 3 - Legs and shoulders
Each body part receives 3 exercises to train it in several different planes of motion. Shoulders, for example, are given dumbbell shoulder press, dumbbell shrugs, and dumbbell lateral raises. With the exception of olympic lifts (bench press and squat), dumbbells are used for stability in most lifts.
3) Cardio
I exclusively run 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday), and the run typically takes the form of high intensity interval training.
I am working my way up to 12 intervals, 1 minute on, 1 minute off (I'm up to 11), where the interval pace corresponds to my heart rate being at ~187, and the easy pace corresponds to my heart rate being at ~145. Right now, those paces are 10.0 Mph and 6.0 Mph, respectively.
On lifting days, I run a truncated version of the HIIT workout AFTER my lift (when the glycogen has been depleted from my blood). Rest assured, this is MUCH tougher than my full length runs on non-lifting days.
4) Take a daily multivitamin.
This will help with any nutrients I may accidentally be missing out on. I wouldn't want to inhibit my muscular growth or fat loss due to inadequate nutrition.
Recordkeeping:
1) Daily
Every day, on this blog, I have been and will continue to post my food for the day, a brief summary of the day's workout, my weight that morning, and my net weight loss to date.
Weight will be measured every morning, after waking up, immediately after using the washroom.
Weight is actually the least helpful of the measurements I take, but it's interesting to watch it's trajectory over time. The more pertinent data will be monthly.
2) Monthly
Every month, in addition to my daily data dump, I will post analysis of my diet and weight loss to date, resting heart rate, tape measurements, and body composition analysis. This data will be much more beneficial in gauging what kind of shape I am in. I may take pictures of progress as well. Not sure about that one yet.
Here are this month's stats!
Stats for this month:
Circumferential Tape Measurements -
Waist - 35.75 inches
Hips - 41 inches
Forearms - 12.5 inches
Wrist - 7 inches
Chest - 42 inches
Thigh - 23 inches
Calves - 15 inches
Arms - 16 inches
Neck - 16 inches
Official Body Fat Testing Analysis -
Weight - 211.6 lbs.
Body Fat Percentage - 17.3% body fat
Fat Mass - 36.6 lbs.
Lean Mass (muscle, water, bones, organs, et al.) - 175.0 lbs
Basal Metabolic Rate - 2159 kcal, 9034 kJoules, 104.56 watts (it takes less to power me than to power anything you shove in an outlet, apparently).
Chart of my weight through the month and my statistical data involving calories and macronutrient distribution shown below:
Today's stats:
Current Weight: 211.6 lbs
Net Loss: 17.0 lbs.
Workout: 60 minutes weightlifting (Chest, Tris, Abs), 13 minutes HIIT
Meal 1:
1 Medium Naval Orange - 64 calories, 1 from fat, 59 from carbs, 4 from protein.
3/4 Cup of Egg Whites - 90 Calories, 0 from fat, 5 from carbs, 85 from protein.
1/2 Cup of Quaker Oats Oatmeal - 150 calories, 25 from fat, 105 from carbs, 20 from protein
1 Banana - 110 calories, 0 from fat, 106 from carbs, 4 from protein.
Meal 2:
2 Scoops Body Fortress Protein - 270 Calories, 35 from fat, 24 from carbs, 211 from protein.
1 Tbsp Skippy's Natural PB - 95 calories, 65 from fat, 15 from carbs, 15 from protein.
1 Slice Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread - 50 calories, 9 from fat, 29 from carbs, 12 from protein.
Meal 3:
1 Medium Sweet Potato - 130 calories, 0 from fat, 120 from carbs, 10 from protein
1 Box Green Giant Digestive Health Vegetables - 180 calories, 50 from fat, 90 from carbs, 40 from protein.
Meal 4:
6 oz Tuna - 180 calories, 27 from fat, 0 from carbs, 153 from protein.
1 Slice Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread - 50 calories, 9 from fat, 29 from carbs, 12 from protein.
½ Cup of Edamame – 106 calories, 43 from fat, 25.8 from carbs, 37.2 from protein.
Meal 5:
2 oz Whole Wheat Pasta - 200 Calories, 13.5 from fat, 159.5 from carbs, 28 from protein.
2/3 oz of Sun Dried Tomatoes - 70 calories, 45 from fat, 21 from carbs, 4 from protein.
Meal 6:
4 oz Boneless Chicken – 110 calories, 10 from fat, 0 from carbs, 100 from protein.
1 Cup Cottage Cheese (2% Milkfat) – 180 calories, 40 from fat, 44 from carbs, 96 from protein.
Additional: At least 1 gallon of water.
Totals: 2035 Calories, 18.30% from fat, 40.90% from carbs, 40.85% from protein.
Circumferential Tape Measurements -
Waist - 35.75 inches
Hips - 41 inches
Forearms - 12.5 inches
Wrist - 7 inches
Chest - 42 inches
Thigh - 23 inches
Calves - 15 inches
Arms - 16 inches
Neck - 16 inches
Official Body Fat Testing Analysis -
Weight - 211.6 lbs.
Body Fat Percentage - 17.3% body fat
Fat Mass - 36.6 lbs.
Lean Mass (muscle, water, bones, organs, et al.) - 175.0 lbs
Basal Metabolic Rate - 2159 kcal, 9034 kJoules, 104.56 watts (it takes less to power me than to power anything you shove in an outlet, apparently).
Chart of my weight through the month and my statistical data involving calories and macronutrient distribution shown below:
Today's stats:
Current Weight: 211.6 lbs
Net Loss: 17.0 lbs.
Workout: 60 minutes weightlifting (Chest, Tris, Abs), 13 minutes HIIT
Meal 1:
1 Medium Naval Orange - 64 calories, 1 from fat, 59 from carbs, 4 from protein.
3/4 Cup of Egg Whites - 90 Calories, 0 from fat, 5 from carbs, 85 from protein.
1/2 Cup of Quaker Oats Oatmeal - 150 calories, 25 from fat, 105 from carbs, 20 from protein
1 Banana - 110 calories, 0 from fat, 106 from carbs, 4 from protein.
Meal 2:
2 Scoops Body Fortress Protein - 270 Calories, 35 from fat, 24 from carbs, 211 from protein.
1 Tbsp Skippy's Natural PB - 95 calories, 65 from fat, 15 from carbs, 15 from protein.
1 Slice Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread - 50 calories, 9 from fat, 29 from carbs, 12 from protein.
Meal 3:
1 Medium Sweet Potato - 130 calories, 0 from fat, 120 from carbs, 10 from protein
1 Box Green Giant Digestive Health Vegetables - 180 calories, 50 from fat, 90 from carbs, 40 from protein.
Meal 4:
6 oz Tuna - 180 calories, 27 from fat, 0 from carbs, 153 from protein.
1 Slice Nature's Own 100% Whole Wheat Bread - 50 calories, 9 from fat, 29 from carbs, 12 from protein.
½ Cup of Edamame – 106 calories, 43 from fat, 25.8 from carbs, 37.2 from protein.
Meal 5:
2 oz Whole Wheat Pasta - 200 Calories, 13.5 from fat, 159.5 from carbs, 28 from protein.
2/3 oz of Sun Dried Tomatoes - 70 calories, 45 from fat, 21 from carbs, 4 from protein.
Meal 6:
4 oz Boneless Chicken – 110 calories, 10 from fat, 0 from carbs, 100 from protein.
1 Cup Cottage Cheese (2% Milkfat) – 180 calories, 40 from fat, 44 from carbs, 96 from protein.
Additional: At least 1 gallon of water.
Totals: 2035 Calories, 18.30% from fat, 40.90% from carbs, 40.85% from protein.
No comments:
Post a Comment