Recovered

Things are pretty much back to normal - legs are 100%, I'm back to (more Reduced!) Warbiking. Started regular lifting program back up, which is great.

Didn't have a lot of time during the end of the 3 month cut, but I've FINALLY release V2.70 of StationRipper - which has the record last.fm update. Download here.

Info about the release is over here.

Here's the video:



While Warbking, mostly have been working on the Hunter. While I'm not Warbiking as much, still want to level it up so I can finally start raiding (haven't done that since EQ1)

(Low Cal + (6011 min Warbiking)) * 3 Months = -41 Pounds : The Wrapup

(Me and the Warbiking setup)

So, overall it went very well. I lost a bunch of weight (41 actual pounds / 15% of body weight) in a fairly short time. While I hit a couple of very rough spots, over all things went well. From all I have read, 41 pounds in three months is really pushing it - any more than that would have been unhealthy.

I really think a lot of this had to do with my doing Cardio while playing Warcraft. Here's the original post where I thought it up.

One of the bad parts of Warcraft is it can really suck you in - I tend to loose track of time and get pretty unaware of anything but the game (and it's addictive as hell!).

One of the bad parts of doing Cardio (to me, at least) is that it is VERY boring, so I tend to be very aware of how much I'm not enjoying it and how slow time seems to get. And I hate doing it!

So, Warbiking is the best of both worlds. I get to do 2+ hours of cardio without being aware that I'm really doing it. And as I can only play Warcraft while doing cardio (that's a self imposed rule - no cardio, no Warcraft), it's self regulating - no way am I going to play for 6 hours or something, my legs wouldn't do it. Yeah, I know, I hit 4.5 hours one insane Sunday afternoon, but I won't be doing that again any time soon :)

The only hard part was to keep pushing the cardio so it was doing something, while playing. It was interesting to see how the game impacted the cardio - when it was slow, the cardio toned down if I didn't watch it. If things got crazy (as in, I ended up running for my life in the game) I would end up peddling really fast on the bike (LOL, I know, kinda weird - YOU try it and see what you do!). I did find that listening to music helped - AfterhoursDJs.org kept me going most times!

I also think the weekly Golds weigh-ins helped a lot; it added a lot of focus, as I had to go in and have someone else weigh me - at some subconscious level, I didn't want to "loose" (e.g., not be at or lower than the week before), and because someone else would be aware of the "win/loose", it helped.

100 hours of Warbiking in 3 months has taken it's toll - my legs are pretty fried. As in constant ache. So, I'm going to take a full week off from ALL exercise. That's unusual for me, as before Warbiking I would normally lift 5-6 days a week with a bit of Cardio thrown in (and I've been doing that for a couple of years now). Once that week is up, I'll be continuing the diet and Warbiking (want to loose at least another 20 pounds), and will go back to Max-OT or BFL.

And then I'll go back to my crazy-ass weightlifting/bulking, Mwahaha! Hehe, I theorized I could do 640 plate loaded row, but my lower spine seemed to be ready to just POP out at 540, so didn't do it. Maybe I'll hit that next time around!

Anyway - it's been a blast, in it's own miserable tired/starving/fried way. Give me a tell sometime (VorRata on Elune and VorRata on Uther), or drop a note here if ya have any questions.

Here's a couple of pics of the setup:
The bike is a Schwinn 213 Recumbent Exercise Bike. The keyboard is strapped on to the main display (I can lift the front to get to the controls). The mouse is on a little table that's the perfect height (took a while to find).


The Main LCD TV is a Samsung LN-S4695D 46" 1080p LCD HDTV. It has a 6000:1 contrast, which rocks when playing games.

It is connected to the XPS Gen 2 Laptop via a DMI jack (8 MS refresh on the LCD - good god, it's AMAZING playing on a screen that size), with a fairly high end video card, which is able to run Warcraft with the highest settings (except res, as the LCD only goes up to 1024, the only down side).

Last.fm beta!

Well, it's out. Has some issues still, but I anticipate that it will be released sometime by next month. The cool thing is, you can record more than one Last.fm stream at a time. Need to write a relay server still (only big thing left).

The End!

End of the Golds contest! I went from 274 to 233! Holy crap! I am about to end the fast (doing some chicken broth - will work up to chicken soup, maybe, later today). My scale said 234.8 this morning - so that's a -8.6 variance and a trend weight of 243.4

This has been a very interesting 3 months. While I won't win, I am very happy with how I've done. I am going to take a week off (so 14 days without weights, which is good!) from dieting and Warbiking.

I really think the Warbiking had a LOT to do with how well I did, and how much I lost. I have done over *100* hours of cardio in three months, which is wild. There is NO WAY I could have done that without Warcraft, or something like that - it's ability to suck me in and make me ignore what I"m physically doing is amazing, and made this possible.

One down side - my legs HURT! I have been doing this pretty much non stop. Even at Disney, I walked a crap load. I have also noticed the quality of the Warbiking has gone down - the first couple of months I'd do reall well, be panting and drenched by the end. Now I'm barely winded. Some of that is I'm just in better shape - but I think the constant leg ache is having a lot to do with it.

So the week off should be great. When I get back, I will still be Warbiking, but will limit a MAX of 2 hours a day (1 in the morning, one in the evening) and will shoot for 1 a day.

I will put together a wrap-up next week at some point - maybe show a pic of my Warbiking setup (that my GF hates :P), give my general thoughts, et al.

...

Tired. Hungry. Not doing any more Warbiking - 100 hours in 3 months is damn well enough. And my right leg is killing me. I think I'm going to start eating tomorrow, then take next week off from any kind of exercise. Need to figure out if I'm gonna do normal Warcraf and break my rule, or go back to Warbiking in a week.

Decided to contiue fast into tomorrow. It's pretty rough right now, but I'm at two Red Bulls so am awake and was able to work ok today.

Very. Tired.

Argh. I want FOOD! :)

I've been doing 120 a day Warbiking. Hunter is ALMOST 33 now (I love STV, it's GREAT for quests).

I was ultra-fried this morning, and was going to call in sick for a couple of days. About 1 I broke down and downed two Red Bulls - the no cal version, so I'm still very much on the fast.

WHEW! To say I woke up is a understatement! Going good even though it's evening now (just finished up the 100th hour of Warbiking!!!)

I am at 240, with a variance of -5.1. But the really great thing is my Trend weight is right at 245 - that is the LOWEST it's been since I started doing this! And that's the # that really has meaning. It's also the lowest it has been since 3/11 of this year. If I can manage to not turn into a food-mad starving person next week, and keep to this diet, I'l be heading to my low point a couple of years ago.

I am debating ending the fast tomorrow, or going one more day. I really would like to do one more today, as that's a damn long time of fasting. I guess I'll see how fried I am in the morning.

Fooood

Whew. This sucks. No food since Saturday night. I'm ultra-beat. I was working ok until mid day today, when I started to start getting out of it. Might have to take a couple of sick days.

Energy level VERY low tonight. And I keep turning the heat up, as I'm cold :0

Needless to say, while lots of Warbiking (2 hours a day), no weight lifting.

Fast

OK, doing it. Started the fast last night at around 11 PM last night (I have had no food since then - um, bit hung over so it's not that hard right now... you know it's a bad night when you START doing shots of Tequila at 2 AM. All JIMS fault!)

It can be VERY hard doing this. I will try to do it until Thursday

Oh, and my hunter made 30 last night! Still doing gobs of Warbiking.

Back. Fark!

Great trip - had a lot of fun, and was one of the better business trips I've been on.

I was right - off the diet, and no cardo. I weighed in at 249 today - Crap :( :( :(

I'm sure this monster didn't help anything :P (yes, I'm taking pics of dinner now..)

Just need to get back into it, going to be tough!

I'm thinking of ending this with a fast. I actually intend to continue on after the contest, as I would like to loose another 20-30 more pounds.

The last time I lost a bunch of weight, I started with a fast. It's great way to get a REAL appreciation on what hunger REALLY is. Also gave me some focus and perspective.

Orlando

Well crap, this is going to suck. I'm going to Orlando until Sunday night (Disney, work thing). Which is very cool, but oh god I don't think I'll be able to stay on the diet. And won't be able to get in any cardio, more than likely

Slow but sure...

240.6 here, 239 @ Golds. Nice to be down, wish it was more :) Variance was -5.0 this morning, with a trend of 245.6, which is really good.

LOL - Southpark

HAHAHA, Oh god, Southpark had a Warcraft episode tonight. It was GREAT! One of the best computer game to tv/movies I've seen!

Found the full version here.

I was actually playing WoW during it - watched it on BeyondTV later, as I kept hearing guildmates laughing about it.

Down a bit, lots of cardio this month!

243.8 here, 241 at Golds. Damn, not fun. Wish I could break through this!

I didn't do cardio or lift weights a TOTAL of THREE days this month. Which is a personal best.

StationRipper YouTube Video

Been working on a StationRipper video. Should have edited it a bit tighter, but it's fairly cool I think. It's over here

Flat

242.4 here, 241 at Golds. Waay over ate last weekend, and I think I hit a natural set point, what fun.

258 mins of Warbiking!?!?

Huh - 258 minutes of cardio today (4 hours 30 minutes or so). Holy crap :)

Hunter is rocking, and my Warlock is FINALLY almost 50!

Last.fm

Started putting Last.fm in StationRipper this week. Going well - I think I can get a perfect copy of the MP3 :)

Now if I can just pull myself away from Warbiking.. :)

12.41% - 34 pounds in 6 weeks or so

242.2 here (-6.6 variance, which may be a record for me) and 240 @ Golds (12.41%). So 34 pounds in 1.5 months, which is a bit freaky.

I have settled down to BFL lifting upper body on Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon. I have done cardio EVERY DAY since 9/2. Also doing crunches and both kinds of pushups.

Warbiking is helping a lot!

245 on here, 245 @ Golds (odd, how that's in sync, huh?)

I'm back tracking calories (ranged between 490 yesterday and 1937 Monday).

I am finding something interesting about the Golds weekly weigh-ins. I tend to eat fairly freely on the weekend, and then start dropping the # of calories during the week. By Thursday I am very low. I don't know if this is the best way, but looking back at the last time, I did much the same thing.

Warbiking going well - 180 twice, 120 twice. Hunter is rocking - it's SOOO nice to level. Made 10 today, so have a pet - thank good, after playing a Warlock for so long, I'm used to the pet.

Legs... Hurt..

Eek! 220 minutes (over 3.5 hours) on the damn bike. I started a Hunter on Pauls server (which is a blast - what a relief, getting out of 49 hell)

I can see a downside to Warcraft. When I'm playing (and biking) I totally loose track of time. A hour goes by and I don't even realize it. I do hour sets on the bike - so 60 mins up, hit the start buttong again and do another 60. The only reason I stopped today was my legs were majorly aching.

9.85%

Farking WOOT! 247.2 on my scale, -5.1 variance (WOW), and 247 at Golds (9.85%)

A lot of this is the Warcraft/Cardio thing, plus going low cal (down to 1k yesterday, fuun). The top time I had in the last week Warbiking was 187 minutes.

Warlock is doing ok - I'm kinda stuck in 49 hell right now, trying to find a good zone to get some quests in. I imagine that this is the hump level, and 50 will go a bunch better.

8.76%

251 on my scale, 250 at golds. That's 8.76%. So yeah, I'm really loosing some weight. I've been averaging 1 hour a day on the bike.

The Warcraft rule is really working - I have done cardio ever day this week, ranging from 45 minutes to two hours (twice!).

5.85%

255.6 on my scale (255.1 trend weight). I was 258 at Golds, so I've lost 5.85% of body weight in two weeks - 16 pounds (yikes!)

Back from vacation, still on track.

Woot! Back from vacation, at the same weight. Yeah, kinda sucks, I have now lost a week of weight lost, but at least I didn't put any on. The H2 was a blast to drive - good to see the parents, and the highschool class reunion was a lot of fun (if a bit odd..)

Business Trip and Reunion

Well, this sucks! I'm going to go on a work trip to Chicago, and then home to Michigan for week. I am at 253 right now, with a -3.8 variance. Going GREAT, worried how vacation is going to screw me :(

Warcraft and the Bike?

OK, I've got a idea. I haven't played Warcraft in a year or so. I've been wanting to level my Warlock up, so... I think I'm going to start playing. Of 'course that is a major addiction (I was a senior guide and part of the quest troope for a couple of years in EQ, if that gives you any idea how much I got into it).

Anyway. I hate doing cardio. Having the bike helps a lot, but I think I'm going to combine both. I have hooked up the 47 inch LCD to my XPS Laptop. I've straped the keyboard to the top of the bike, and bought a tall table to put the mouse on.

So, I can ONLY play Warcraft when I do cardio. And when I'm doing cardio, I can play as much Warcraft as I want. I figure this will help regulate the downside to Warcraft, as eventually my legs will give out, LOL!

Bike!

Bought a Recumbent bike today. Looking back at the last time I lost weight (42 pounds), I did LOT of cardio. But going to the gym every day is a grind. And I SUCK at getting up early and going to the gym (which is the best time to do cardio, from what I read). So this makes sense, I think.

Start of Diet / Golds contest

Did the weigh in today. I was 267 on my scale (258.6 trend) and 274 at Golds. I had a big breakfast and lunch this morning, which accounts for the extra poundage. I damn well better loose some weight, as I've put some on the last couple of weeks.

Two days and counting

Two days to go - I'm at 261 (OUCH!) with a trend of 257.7. I'm WAY overeating, which is bad, I know, but kinda fun :)

Back Blogging - Golds Contest.

Well, the Golds contest next Thursday. I have, of course, been eating badly :)

It's three months, the winner is the person that loses more than 11 pounds and the highest % of body weight lost. 'Course I am unlikely to win, as I'm a big guy that could loose a fair amount of weight. I predict that the winner will be a short slightly chubby person.

Anyway, regardless, I don't do anything half way, so even though I'm sure that I won't WIN, this will be a great way to really focus on loosing some weight. I've been very happy over the the last six months on strength and muscle gains, but I really need to go back to cutting.

I'm obviously off on what I was planning to do this year (D'oh!) so this might get me back on track.

Back from vacation/meetings

I was in Seattle for a week, and then had 12+ hour work meetings all last week, so my workout and eating has been less then.. um.. optimal :)

Saying that, I'm doing ok - basically breaking even over that two week period. All in the red until today: Weight is 242.8, trend is 242.5. So I've sorta consolidated my weight loss, to the point where I've lost 10 pounds, both Trend and Real.

I did SOME lifting over the last two weeks, but not a lot. Did a MaxOT yesterday, and a 35 cardio today.

Last Day of Break

Wow! Hit 239 yesterday, and was at 239 today. 1422 cals monday, 2k yesterday (which is amazing, as I made prime rib for dinner!)

Trend is at 243.5 and variance is -4.0. I'm kinda amazed - I was supposed to hit trend/"meanigful" weight of 243.5 on 2/15... which I've done EXACTLY

Just need to keep this up - it's the best I've done with food since 2 years ago when I lost 40.

I've lost 12.5 pounds in 1.5 weeks (8.5 trend), so am doing good, even though I've had a few set backs.

I had the longest break I've ever taken - 2 weeks. Going to start lifting Saturday, light.

Wow!

I actually did it - got through the weekend without messing up!!

@241.4/Trend 244.5/Variance of -3.1. My Trend is supposed to be at 243.5 on the 15th, and if I keep at this I should be VERY close.

Going to start up light weights again on Thursday, which I'm really looking foward to!

2/12/06

Good day Yesterday - went out to dinner (Fish Bone!) but kept it reasonable. A little up today, but mostly 'cause I ate a bit late I think. At 242.4/244.9 Trend/-2.5 Variance. VERY low cals, @853 for the day.


Actually, doing shocking well as it's the weekend. If I can get through tonight without messing up, this will be one of my best weeks ever, as I haven't messed up since Monday - and got through an entire weekend.

I have a art show starting in two weeks at Cool Beans - so B and I are going to go there to scope it out, and have a light dinner.

Doing good

Ate very well this week. Did another 30 min running cardio last night, and I'm still at 241.4 (trend 245.1, var -3.7). Muscle-wise feeling pretty recovered from the HST cycle. Would love to go lift today, but need to wait until the end of next week.

I think I'm going to do a round of BoF - Still have that side thing, which is going to be looked at if it's not better by next week, and I haven't done BoF for a while, so might be a nice change.

Catch UP

Obviously off on my blog - work got (Very very) busy. Interestingly enough, instead of having some weight gain because of that, I've gone the other way. I guess it's SO much work, that I haven't been eating :)

I'm at 241.4 today, variance of -4.1 and a trend of 245.5. So schedule-wise, I'm fairly close to where I want to be. I've never gone off of Trend weight before, so this is going to be interesting - it takes a looong time for that time move, in comparison to actually weight (which is, of course, why I'm now using it).

I finished up HST last week, and am now on a 2 week break from lifting. I'm doing cardio at least every other night - Running, which is unusual for me, and the bike. I did 50 mins last night, and an hour on Tuesday.

Cal's have been low -1000 on wed, and 1254 yesterday.

2/5/06

Did a 30 mins run today - first time I've done that in a LONG time, already getting sore!

Kept it low cal today.

I got off food on Fri/Sat, and didn't track cals, so I'm guessing I'll have a spike tomorrow...

Today's Stats
Lifting:	Off
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	30 minutes
Weight:	246 pounds
Calories:	1256 total
Protein:	107 grams
% Protein:	34%
% Carb:	26%
% Fat:	17%

1/2/06

Taking the day off today. Feeling pretty decent, except the thing in my side (hope that's not a prob... gonna wait a few days and see what happens).

Did ok with food, stayed within my limit. Hope to back on a red trend tommorow (at a +.5 right now, and a trend weight at 246.5

Oh, and I'm 38 tomorrow :)

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - DONE!
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	247 pounds
Calories:	1918 total
Protein:	136 grams
% Protein:	28%
% Carb:	47%
% Fat:	17%

One note on weight - I was going by actual before. On the new schedule I will be going by "real" (trend weight). This will be a big change, as I won't be able to go real light on food to "adjust" weight before a weigh-in day. Which is good, as that is meaninless and counter-productive, as the starvation ends up making me eat more.

Last Day of HST!

Finished Day #6 of HST Heavy's. So I'm done!

Over-all, I liked the program. Kind of wierd, but decent.

I will probably do something else for a bit, as I want to focus on loosing some fat, but I may go back to HST at some point.

Today's Stats
Lifting:	HST - Heavy #6
Sit-ups	00
Push-ups	00
Cardio:	00 minutes
Weight:	248.8 pounds
Calories:	1751 total
Protein:	140 grams
% Protein:	32%
% Carb:	39%
% Fat:	19%

2006 - Goals and the Plan

My stated goal:

Today, 2/1/2006, I weigh 246 pounds.

On Nov 29nd, 2006, I will weigh 196 pounds.

That's a total of 49 pounds in 44 weeks. 1.5 pounds a week average, w/ break point every three weeks - 4.5 pounds a month loss.

Whew! Lofty Goals! :) I was originally going to go for 3.5 pounds a week average, tried for 2.7 and had problems with it. 4 Pounds is considered the healthy max, but I want to be very careful about loosing this hard earned muscle, so am still shooting for 1.5 pounds a week - but knowing about plateau and such, I have built in a break every 4th week, where I can hit NO weight loss for that week - that is, no GAIN, but try to just weigh the same at the end of the week. I will likely allow myself the ONLY "pig-out" days during that time.

Now the next "little" bit:

How am I going to do this? - The Plan

First, I'm going to continue to use the tools of the Hackers Diet to track progress. This includes daily weigh-ins and tracking averages.

Using those tools, I calculate to loose 49 pounds in 44 weeks, I will need to have a daily calorie deficit of 640 calories (Spread over the entire period -slightly less on loss weeks, more on non). As my burn rate is at least 2800 a day, that's around 2160 calories I can eat a day - call it 2000. My burn rate was calculated 2 years ago when I lost the first 45 pounds (see the Hackers Diet for more info on doing this). I will track running average loss and total calories per day, so may adjust that number up or down.

I will continue to lift weights. This will be a mix of Max-OT, HST (HST cycle is done tonight!), and Body for Life. I will likely go back to a 10 week cycle of Max-OT, depending on how HST goes - I find lifting gets me to the gym, so the 6 days a week part of Max-OT is a really good idea, at least for me.

I will push cardio HARD! Looking back at the first 45, I know that the main part of weight loss is eating less than you burn. A vast majority of that is all about cals in - But a 40 mile, 2 hour bike ride a day will really help that a LOT. So I will do a min of 30 mins of cardio 6 days a week, and will push that up as much as possible.

I will continue this blog - having to keep it up and tracking my progress here will help me to keep focused.

I know this is a really big goal - but I lost almost that amount in 4 months before, and managed to keep most of it off - so I CAN, and WILL, do this! One thing I've learned - it really doesn't take that much time to do this. While 9 months may SEEM like a damn long time, I have doing this for a few years now (lifting, cardio, and a over-all good diet) - in the total scheme of things, that 9 months will be gone before I know it. And I DO know that I CAN and WILL be able to keep that weight off!

Here's a detail chart of my milestones over the next 44 weeks. The italic lines are "break even weeks":

Week	Date	Target Weight	Total Loss	Per Week
1	01/01/06	246.00	0	1.5
2	01/08/06	244.50	1.50	1.5
3	01/15/06	243.00	3.00	1.5
4	01/22/06	241.50	4.50	1.5
5	01/29/06	240.00	6.00	0
6	02/05/06	240.00	6.00	1.5
7	02/12/06	238.50	7.50	1.5
8	02/19/06	237.00	9.00	1.5
9	02/26/06	235.50	10.50	0
10	03/05/06	235.50	10.50	1.5
11	03/12/06	234.00	12.00	1.5
12	03/19/06	232.50	13.50	1.5
13	03/26/06	231.00	15.00	0
14	04/02/06	231.00	15.00	1.5
15	04/09/06	229.50	16.50	1.5
16	04/16/06	228.00	18.00	1.5
17	04/23/06	226.50	19.50	0
18	04/30/06	226.50	19.50	1.5
19	05/07/06	225.00	21.00	1.5
20	05/14/06	223.50	22.50	1.5
21	05/21/06	222.00	24.00	0
22	05/28/06	222.00	24.00	1.5
23	06/04/06	220.50	25.50	1.5
24	06/11/06	219.00	27.00	1.5
25	06/18/06	217.50	28.50	0
26	06/25/06	217.50	28.50	1.5
27	07/02/06	216.00	30.00	1.5
28	07/09/06	214.50	31.50	1.5
29	07/16/06	213.00	33.00	0
30	07/23/06	213.00	33.00	1.5
31	07/30/06	211.50	34.50	1.5
32	08/06/06	210.00	36.00	1.5
33	08/13/06	208.50	37.50	0
34	08/20/06	208.50	37.50	1.5
35	08/27/06	207.00	39.00	1.5
36	09/03/06	205.50	40.50	1.5
37	09/10/06	204.00	42.00	0
38	09/17/06	204.00	42.00	1.5
39	09/24/06	202.50	43.50	1.5
40	10/01/06	201.00	45.00	1.5
41	10/08/06	199.50	46.50	0
42	10/15/06	199.50	46.50	1.5
43	10/22/06	198.00	48.00	1.5
44	10/29/06	196.50	49.50	1.5

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%