1/31/06

So up a bit, after the weekend in MN (not shocking, as I ate pretty bad!)

For the month:
-1.5 pounds a week loss
-740 cal a day deficit
5 Days of (small) weight gain, 26 days of weight loss.
-5.5/week was the highest trend ariance

In "Real" weight, I went from 252 to 246.1 (around 6 pounds). I also continued to do some very heavy lifting - tomorrow is the last HST workout.

I'm very off from what I wanted to do, but I DID do fairly well. I need to re-assess the Plan, and figure out new goals. I'm thinking I should shoot for either a -1.5 or -1 pound loss a week, and might want to go with "real" weight vs actual.

Regardless, I need to get through this HST cycle first. Lifting heavy is NOT a great way to loose - that tends to drive a lot of hunger, and can be tough to loose weight on. I'm thinking of doing a 10 week Body for Life workout cycle, as that lends itself more to keeping muscle mass while loosing fat.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST -
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	248.8 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/30/06

#5 of the HST Max cycle - 1 more to go. Lifted very heavy today, went well. ... Except I'm getting very frustrated with the new Golds. I went at 7, and the free weight area was so crowded that I came close to being hit a few times. At at 8:30, all the cardio equipment was in use, with a line to get on.. I would have been there at least a hour to wait. Which really sucks, as I wanted to do cardio. And there is no parking, most people are parking off the street on the side of the main road As this is the third time in the last week this has happened, I've just about had enough - going to call tomorrow to ask what's up. I really regret doing the two year, as at this point I almost rather find a smaller gym that I can actually use. This may end up making me buy some cardio equipment for the house :(

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - #5 ax
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	00 pounds
Calories:	1789 total
Protein:	168grams
% Protein:	38%
% Carb:	39%
% Fat:	12%

Update

I was away on business this weekend (MN, cold and snowy) so didn't update here. I had a heavy workout at the local Y on Saturday, and that's about it. Didn't track cals (not great hehe) and weight, will start again tomorrow.

Only 2 more HST workouts. I actually may have pulled something in my side last week - felt wierd after the workout, and still is a bit touchy. So I may not lift tonight, but instead do tue and thursday this week

1/25/06

REALLY good workout tonight! Hit some very heavy weights. My shoulders/traps are throbbing!

Weight isn't where I'd like it - going to have to adjust my goals. I think work is having a lot to do with it - getting a lot of stress, plusing work long (14+ hour) days.

While weight was still up, I had a very good day food-wise.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - Max #3
Sit-ups	20
Push-ups	15 M / 10 T
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	472.2 pounds
Calories:	1964 total
Protein:	201 grams
% Protein:	41%
% Carb:	33%
% Fat:	17%

1/24/06

Ugh, first "Green" day in a while (positive trend line). Not sure what's up, can't seem to break out of this area of weight

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST -
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	247 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/23/06

Off from where I'd like to be, weight-wise. Did 2nd max HST set. REALLY hard workout, I can see the next 1.5 weeks is going to be tough!

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - Max #2
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	245.4 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/22/06

Did a quick 25 min cardio with B today. Food was so-so.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - OFF
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	245.2 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/21/06

Broke through the 145-ish plateau I seem to have hit. Need to be down 2.5 to hit the target Monday, which is going to be tough. Will try to stay exactly in the cal level this weekend, see what happens. I'd love to be able to break through into the 230's next week.

Trend is at -2.0, and Weekly loss is -2.2/-1109 cal. So I am not far off track. The very cool thing is, I have only had ONE day of "green" weight - that is, weight above the trend line. The thinking there is, even though I may increase/decrease on a daily basis, as long as I'm not above the trend line I am day in and day out loosing weight.

Work is also ultr-stresing me out, which isn't helping things :(

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - Neg #1
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	244 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/20/06

Good day cal-wise, but I'm not sure if I'm going to hit my target Monday - I haven't been eating great the last week. I hate it when I get off the diet, it can be such a pain in the ass to get back on.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	OFF
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	245.4 pounds
Calories:	1254 total
Protein:	112 grams
% Protein:	36%
% Carb:	35%
% Fat:	15%

1/19/06

Huh, weight sure has been flat - 245.4 again. Still going ok, but I can see I'm going to have trouble getting that 241.5 by Monday. My trend weight is 246.3

Tri's still a bit store, glad I have today and tommorow off from lifting (just did a 30 min cardio)

Today's Stats
Lifting:	OFF
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	32 minutes
Weight:	245.4 pounds
Calories:	1724 total
Protein:	147 grams
% Protein:	34%
% Carb:	41%
% Fat:	15%

1/18/06

Finished the last day of normal HST today. Was surprised at some of the strength increases! The next two weeks I just am doing the near-failure @ 5 reps. Which will be nice, as I'll work on some of the new machines.

The dumbbells were not cutting it for shrugs, so I went for a 450 standing lever shrug. My max is 510 on that one, but I nailed my left tricept a bit - after I had finished, had a weird "pulled" feeling

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 5's #6
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	244.6 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/17/06

At 244.6 today. Trend is at 246.6, with a trend variance at -2.o. I'm at a -2.5 pounds /1252 cal deficit, which is very much on track (been eating bad since this week, and having trouble getting back on it - but my definition of "bad" right now is probably better than "good" was a few years ago *grin*).

Ate kinda late tonight, be interested in seeing what the weight is, in the morning. Skipped cardio tonight as B and I went to a art opening.

Tommorrow is the last night of "normal" HST!

Today's Stats
Lifting:	OFF
Sit-ups	200
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	244.6 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/16/06

Didn't hit my target to today. Had a fair # of cals, but also did a record cardio (160 mins!) - the new cardio stuff at the gym rocks. Have a flat screen with remote to channel surf helps :)

Considering I was at 242.8 yesterday, and will prob be at or below 245 tommorow, I'm not very worried, but annoyed. The prob is I ate late. Which gets back to the whole "daily weight is meaningless". So I'm not sure why every monday I hava a daily weight goal while I should be having a trend weight (It's 246.8 today, BTW). Will prob do this another week, but might want to adjust the goals to reflect trend goals by a certain date...

Did the second to last workout tonight for HST! As dumbbells only go to 100 pounds, I had to adjust some workouts to machines. The machines are GREAT at the new gym, but it really throws stuff off.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 5#'s, #5
Sit-ups	10
Push-ups	200
Cardio:	160 minutes
Weight:	247 pounds
Calories:	2982 total
Protein:	150 grams
% Protein:	20%
% Carb:	48%
% Fat:	28%

1/14/06

WOW! Great new Gym! I did my normal HST with about the same things, but they've some GREAT new machins there! I actually almost couldn't a calf raise full-stack on one, which hasn't happened for a long time. I actually thing the level of equipment will help build some muscle, beyond normal. I'll be interested in seeing how it goes.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 5's / #4
Sit-ups	20 (M)
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	15 minutes
Weight:	245 pounds
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

1/13/06

Today is a planned day off - no workout of any kind.

Going ok, considering the slip from yesterday. My monthly loss per week average is -2.6, so I'm right on track there (and that's actually meaningful, considering 1/2 the month is gone.

The new Golds opens tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to it. While weight should be about the same, the cardio is MUCH MUCH better, and should be less crowded. Whew! Finally!

Released the blogripper version of StationRipper last night - so a VERY late night (like 4 AM), but still got to work by 10 - feeling it big time right now *yawn*

Today's Stats
Lifting:	OFF
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	245 pounds
Calories:	1943 total
Protein:	184 grams
% Protein:	38%
% Carb:	33%
% Fat:	25%

D'oh!

Hah, went way off cal-wise tommorow. With the burn I've been doing shoudn't impact too much, as long as it doesn't extend into this weekend.

Was at 242.2 pounds today (10 pounds lost!), at a really high trend rate of -5.5. While the cal was off, I ate a wopping 347 cals from potien - might be the highest EVER (ate off the diet, but had mostly meat)

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - OFF
Sit-ups	200
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	34 minutes
Weight:	242.2 / -5.5
Calories:	3997 total
Protein:	347 grams
% Protein:	35%
% Carb:	26%
% Fat:	35%

Looking back

One thing that's handy is that I've been tracking what I've been doing since 1/1/2004 - daily weigh-ins, over-all cal intake, exactly what I ate, working out, etc.

So, I can look back and identify exactly when I was doing the best, when I lost the most, when I gained, what I was doing, etc.

I'm doing really well this month, so did some research. Anything to keep on track :)

It turns out MOST of my weight loss in '04 was between 4/1/04 and 5/31/04 - I lost 22 pounds in two months. There was 10 pounds before that, and a slow loss of 10 pounds after, but I was really shedding weight during that period.

In April '04, I was on a 1073 cal deficit a day / -2.1 trend. In May, it was 1012, -2.0.

My lowest cals in a day was 750, my highest was 4060. I did cardio daily, hitting 1 hour 40 mins at the top. In April I didn't go to the gym 4 days (yikes! That's a lot of Golds!) and in May I also only missed 4 days.

So, a few things from this - I'm on a very solid track. As of this morning, I've lost 10 pounds on the nose (242, trend of -5.5, -2.5 over all w/ a deficit of 1258 day). I've already missed four days from the Gym, but have done a lot of cardio (101 mins one day, 93 on another). And my cals have ranged from 624 (fasting day) to 3004 on a day I got off. I've also not gone "off" the program, even over the weekend, which is a shock (off = multiple bad meals, or consecutive days of bad meals. I've fallen off the wagon twice, but for one meal, and over-all cals didn't exceed my resting burn rate). Even in '04 I messed up at least one day on the weekend (Burger King + Movies = Lots of Cals).

So, I need to just continue on the eating track - it's going VERY well. Weight lifting schedule is fine, but I should be hitting cardio more in the off days (as the # of days I do SOMETHING at the gym sure seems to correlate to over-all progress. Even if it's just a 30 min ride on the bike).

1/11/06

Another very solid day - finished up #3 of the 5's, did 54 cardio and ate very well. I let a few more cals in today (1695), and am contining solid weight loss (-4.1 trend).

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 5's #3
Sit-ups	200
Push-ups	10M / 5T
Cardio:	54 minutes
Weight:	244.2 / -4.1
Calories:	1695
Protein:	192 grams
% Protein:	45%
% Carb:	32%
% Fat:	16%

1/10/06

Way down on weight, so bumped cals justa bit today (as I was way too low yesterday). At one of the highest variance in a long time, -5.6

Today's Stats
Lifting:	Off
Sit-ups	20
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	243.2 / -5.6
Calories:	1824 total
Protein:	235 grams
% Protein:	51%
% Carb:	27%
% Fat:	14%

Long one

So, did a bit of cheat tonight - did a Full Stack. So was VERY revved. Did 93 mins of cardio, 45-60 of HST. Gym was very crowded tonight - the new one is opening Sat., but until then we have two gold's worth of people in one spot *shudder*

Figuring a burn of 3k, I did another 900 in Cardio. So as I only had 1k cal, that's.. umm.. not good :) almost 2900 cal DEFICIST. Which is waay too much. I'm burning muscle, and in danger of going of on a feast-fest.

Will probb bumb it a bit tomorrow

Milestone #1

Well, I hit the 248.50 pounds by 1/9/06 Milestone. I was at 246.2 this morning. So, "real" weight I've lost about 6 pounds the first week. Some water weight, but still doing good. My trend is at 249.4 / -3.2, and monthly is at -2.2 / 1099 cal a day deficit. Which is off from my goal of -2.67; I over-ate this weekend, which didn't help. If I keep at ~1500 cals a day, I should be over that # (and hope to re-adjust!!!)

Doing HST 5's #2 tonight. Should be a solid workout.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 5's / #2
Sit-ups	200
Push-ups	20 M/ 15 T
Cardio:	93 minutes
Weight:	262.2 pounds
Calories:	1014 total
Protein:	122 grams
% Protein:	48%
% Carb:	30%
% Fat:	16%

1/8/05

Took the day off from the Gym (was just a cardio day)

Eating was on track - which is GREAT, 'cause weekends are the hardest, and Sunday is my "Weakest" day of the weekend. B and I went and got dinner, which was good, as I avoid my normal bad chineese feast.

Should meet my target #1 of 248.5 tommow. "course that's not "Trend" weight - not sure if I should use that instead of actual, as actual is kinda meaninless.

Trend is at -2.8 right now, and montly is -2.2 (1121 deficit a week - a bit off, but ok).
Also noticed I'm all in the red this month (loosing trend every day), which is a first for a VERY long time!

Today's Stats
Lifting:	OFF
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	247 pounds
Calories:	1344 total
Protein:	115 grams
% Protein:	34%
% Carb:	49%
% Fat:	12%

1/7/06

Start of 5's Today. Went pretty well.

Had a umm.. issue with "Girl" named Wendy, so my cals were higher than I like today

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 5 #1
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	248.8 / -1.3
Calories:	3004 total
Protein:	200 grams
% Protein:	27%
% Carb:	43%
% Fat:	27%

1/6/06

Up in daily weight, but my "Real" weight this month has been 252, 251.7, 251.2, 250.8, 250.3, and then 250.2 today - even with the chow-fest last night. Trend is at -1.0, monthly is 1326 deficit a day (2.7 pounds), so exactly on track even though the scale doesn't reflect that.

I have to deal with this - I KNOW it's going to happen, doubly so when I don't eat enough in a day. As long as it doesn't happen often, I KNOW it doesn't matter and I'll still meet my goals - but I feel like shit that I didn't keep to my plan, which can get me to eat MORE (stupid, eh?) which WILl get me off the plan.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - OFF
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	294.2 / -1.0
Calories:	00 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	00%
% Carb:	00%
% Fat:	00%

Doh!

Had a a bit of slip today. Ended up eating REALLY bad tonight... I rather not get into details, but lets just say Papa Johns was involved...

So, Post mortem:

• Been very light on sleep all week
• Work was VERY stressful, doubly so today
• Didn't eat enough food (400 cals by 6 PM!), and then went and did card. Actually had to stop 'cause I was getting light headed. Ate a bannnana, but that wasn't enough, sooo.. :)

Plan to improve:

• Can't do much about the sleep and stress, without quitting the job
• EAT MORE FOOD! Don't get so hungry, and don't go to the Gym when I could crash like that.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - OFF
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	25 minutes
Weight:	246.4 -3.9
Calories:
Protein:
% Protein:
% Carb:
% Fat:

1/4/06

Another very solid day, food-wise. B came over last night - I made her a porterhouse while I had two chicken breasts :)

Finished HST 10's day #6 (so that's it for the 10's - start 5's on Saturday). Went pretty good, but a real killer of a workout. Was going to do some cardio after, but I was FRIED. Hit very near the correct weights, to failure - had to decrease forearm by 5, and increased tri's by 10.

Daily trend continued at -4.0 per week, and my over-all monthly trend is 2.9 a week with a 1429 daily deficit. I can see the last time around gave me some knowledge - I'm hitting very near my original goals and # guesses.

While I am ahead of schedule weight-wise (245 on the 16th was a milestone), I find that the first week of a diet does this. Your body don't know it's really starving yet, so you loose fast. And some of it's water (I have been UZZLING water, so hope not a lot of that!)

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 10's /#6
Sit-ups	15
Push-ups	15
Cardio:	5 minutes
Weight:	246.8 / -4.0
Calories:	1444 total
Protein:	148 grams
% Protein:	41%
% Carb:	38%
% Fat:	16%

1/3/05

Really solid day on the cal level - very much into kietosis now, so very little hunger. I had LOT of trouble getting to sleep last night, which I attribute to the restricted cals.

At a -4.0 trend, with a average of -2.7 pounds a week, and a deficit of 1345 cals - which would put my break-even point at 2845 cals. So I'm exactly on track to my target weekly weight loss at the moment. I THINK I'm going to far on the cals - may bump by 200-300, but we'll see how it goes, as it will take a week or so to nail down actual burn vs loss rates.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - OFF
Sit-ups	200
Push-ups	15M/15T
Cardio:	33 minutes
Weight:	247.2 / -4
Calories:	1480 total
Protein:	152 grams
% Protein:	41%
% Carb:	37%
% Fat:	19%

1/2/2006

HST 10's, Day #5 Today. I was off a bit on the 15's, so adjusted - and also adjusted the max on both the 10's and 5's. I could really feel that today - it was a very hard workout for the most part, and I anticipate the last one of the 10's on Wed is going to be a grind.

Feeling pretty good today. Had a semi-fast yesterday (624), then had a banana this morning, lifted for about 45 and did 50 cardio. "lost" 3.2 pounds, but trend is at 0.3 pounds loss. Trend direction is at -2.9 a week, so heading in the right direction. I am going to continue until Saturday and then re-eval - going to re-assess cal burn rate, then shift cals up or down based on that.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - 10's #5
Sit-ups	20
Push-ups	20 M / 20 T
Cardio:	50 minutes
Weight:	248.8 pounds -2.9
Calories:	1485 total
Protein:	00 grams
% Protein:	49%
% Carb:	31%
% Fat:	18%

John Stone Fitness

I *HIGHLY* recommend checking out John Stone Fitness for information & inspiration. This site originally got me on Max-OT, which worked great. Has a great forum for finding pretty much any kind of info!

Hackers Diet - Excel tracking

This is from the Excel Spread sheet of the Hackers Diet, back in 2004. Some interesting info:

• I had 5 days of weight "gain", and 25 days of weight loss.
• My highest pounds-per week average loss was -4.2. My highest trend gain was 2.5.
• My actual weight went from 238 to 233.5 (4.5 pounds lost that month)
• I was loosing, on average, 1.43 pounds a week during that month.
• My "Trend" weight went from 238.7 to 234.0 (4.7 lost that month). Under this diet, that would be the meaning full numbers.

This goes back to the idea that a daily weight means nothing. For example, one day I weight 234, the next 239, 236, 237, 237, 235, and 233. I wasn't worried during that period, as I was very close to a 0 trend, and ended up at a -2.6 trend by the end of that. As long as the overall trend stays in the "red", everything is going good.

One of my best months I was loosing 2.72 a week, which is exactly where I want my over-all weight loss to stick. So this my goals are going may be a bit tougher than I thought - but still do-able

The Hackers Diet / My Chart

One of the basic things about the Hackers Diet is that daily weight is meaningless - it can vary by as much as 4 -+ pounds a day, based on how much you eat, how much you drink, how much salt you took in, et al. What is VERY meaningful is weight over time, reflected in a moving average. So, over a 2 week period my weight might be all over the place (and may look like I'm gaining), but as long as the trend line is negative, then I'm loosing weight. The above is my chart for the last two years. The blue is daily weight, and the red is the trend line. You can see the HUGE weight loss in that initial part, and then a slow upward trend, with a bunch of flat-lines, losses, and gains, over about 1.5 years.

Using this info, you can also figure out things like how much you are burning every day (Look at average daily intake vs avg pounds per week. 500 cals deficit = 1 pound of weight loss or gain per week). This lets me nail down exactly what I need to do to loose X pounds a week. Handy!

I will also be using this for the start of 2006, to keep VERY close track of my pounds per week loss/gain - Using the tools with the Hackers Diet, I will adjust my cals per day to hit my target weekly loss.

1/1/2006 - Start of the Year

Did a little over 1.5 hours on the bike today (30 miles total). Also doing a bit of a fast. I've found that getting into ketosis fast can help - you naturally are less hungry. Eating normally, that can take a few days to do - and you're hungry during those days. Doing a very low cal day at the start can make you go into ketosis in a day or so, soo.. :)

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - Off
Sit-ups	200
Push-ups	20M/15T
Cardio:	101 minutes
Weight:	252 pounds
Calories:	624 total
Protein:	60 grams
% Protein:	39%
% Carb:	48%
% Fat:	16%