Alright, I already posted my background in another thread, but I'll do it here, too for completeness's sake.

Last year at this time, I weighed in at close to 260 pounds. I'm just shy of 5'10", and was totally in denial about my weight-- I told myself that the gut was because I slouched, that I was just enjoying life, blah blah blah.

http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/may2005.jpg

Then, one day, I got sick of being fat. So I did something about. I joined Weight Watchers. My goal initially was to get down to 200, and then I revised it to be 174. I achieved that goal weight not too long ago.

http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/goalweight.jpg

However, I still wasn't satisifed. My weight was fine, I thought, but my body could look better. So I started doing research and figuring out what I could do to work on that.

See, Weight Watchers worked really well for me; obviously, I lost a lot of weight, did wonders for my blood pressure and my heart. But, it has its faults. But I'm not going to get into that here-- they were faults that I could have corrected myself, had I done my homework a little more rather than just following their plan as it was.

Anyway, having achieved my goal weight, I have a new goal-- I want to reduce my body fat, and increase my muscle, so that I can see my abs. Yeah, it is a cliche, I know, but I think having that fabled six-pack is not really the end result-- it is a symptom of the end result I want.

I'm moving across the country at the end of August to begin the next phase of my education-- a PhD in English. I'd love to have reached my goal by then. I might not quite get there, but that's my current target.

I've been eating very healthy, and working on paying more attention to the nutrients in my diet, since I started reading more. I also have started working out with weights, something I didn't do while on Weight Watchers. I work out at least six days a week-- three days of weights, and three days of HIIT.

I figured out my base metabolic rate, and so I am shooting for eating 2400 calories a day, with the goal of losing one pound per week. Of those calories, I want 50% to come from carbs, 30% to come from protein, and 20% to come from fats. Once a week, I'll have a cheat day, where I'll indulge a bit, but still try to keep the calories reasonable (around my maintenance level), but I won't worry so much. That food will come in the form of six meals per day (3 large meals, and 3 snacks).

I've decided to start this journal because I want to invite feedback from all the people who are more experienced in this than me, and all the people who are working on similar (or even dissimilar) goals. If I have learned one thing about myself, it is that communicating with other people helps keep me honest-- I think that is why I was successful with Weight Watchers.

But yeah, I'll post some starting pictures tomorrow. I ordered a myotape, and so I'll get some accurate measurements going, too.

So today is officially start day. I took today as a cheat meal (i've been eating fairly clean otherwise), but ended up getting a tonne of exercise in, so I think I was actually at a calorie deficit! I ate a lot of crap, but I went and shot some hoops with a buddy for two hours (not intense, but definitely a lot of running and jumping) and then, this evening, played some good old-fashioned road hockey. More running, lots of stops and starts. I'm worried I am going to be super sore tomorrow. Right now I can totally feel all my muscles saying "Whoa, we haven't seen that much action in a while!" but it is a very GOOD feeling. :)

Anyway, expect an update tomorrow, with some more picturese.

Syn -

Very awesome progress so far!!! Great inspiration for me!!! I look forward to reading about your achievments. We have similar body (well starting weight at least - I'm still at 230) so it's nice to see what my figure will look like in a bit :D

Welcome to the boards!!

Congratulations on your excellent transformation! With the level of dedication you've shown, it's going to be great to watch you take it to the next level. Thanks for sharing your story and be sure to keep us updated.

awesome progress!!

look forward to reading more!

Z

I know I said I'd post pictures, but I am not going to, because, well, I can't find my digital camera. Uh oh. I am sure it'll turn up-- it has to be in my apartment somewhere.

Anyway, yeah. Went to the gym today. I've been going regularly for the last 3 weeks, and have been trying to increase my weight load by 10% each week, if I can. Today i did that for every exercise. Also, I added in an extra set.

I'm doing a circuit, because I find it easier to keep focused that way, and I've been seeing some good results with it, so far. The past few weeks I've been doing 1 set of various abs exercises, followed by two sets of the fuldl body circuit, three times a week. Today I did 2 sets of the abs exercises, and 3 of the full body. It was tought, and I'm a bit sore, but it is a good kind of sore.

Eating wise, I did alright.

Before my workout, I had a protein shake (about 45 minutes before lifting). I had the second half of it (I make them myself with yogurt and milk and protein powder and fruit etc) right afterward. For a mid-morning snack, I had an apple with some peanut butter smeared on it.

Lunch was "breakfast for lunch." I had an "Egg McMuffin" (not from McDonalds-- I made it myself with one egg, scrambled, a couple pieces of Canadian Bacon, a slice of partly-skimmed mozzarella cheese, on a whole wheat english muffin) and some oatmeal.

Later on, for an afternoon snack (i was out working) I had a latte and a Clif Bar.

Dinner was a beef stir-fry with brown rice.

The only real mis-step was my evening snack. It has been incredibly hot here the last few days, and a friend and I were cruising around doing some shopping and generally sweltering, so we had an ice cream cone each. Not "clean," I know, but it hit the spot. I'm not big on banning food, anyway. I am not cutting myself off from anything. That's not to say that I am going to go get McDonalds every week-- not at all. But banning stuff just doesn't work for me. I'll have these things once in a while. The ice cream was a treat, for sure, but also, by my estimate, I am still just shy of my calorie cap for the day. My macros weren't even that bad afterward! So I'm not too worried about it. It isn't as though we're going to be going by the ice cream stand every day. :)

Anyway, yeah, I'll post pictures as soon as I can. My myotape has shipped, so I hope to get some proper measurements posted, too. When I do get the pictures up, I'd appreciate anybody trying to estimate my body fat percentage-- I'm trying a few methods of measurement and they vary greatly, ranging from around 12% to 18%.

But yeah, gotta find the camera first. :)

By the way, thanks to everyone who replied to my first post! I really appreciate feedback. I want to do this right.

Alright, found the camera... So before I go off to do my carido, here are the pics. I apologize in advance. ;)

http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-1.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-2.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-3.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-4.jpg

Today I was supposed to do some HIIT this morning, but the "real world" got in the way. I was just out the door and then I remembered a bunch of things I had to fix and print off at the university, so I went and did all that. I got some exercise this evening though, and went and shot some hoops for an hour and a half, by myself. I really enjoyed it-- it was kind of zen or something. I'm not very good; I played in high school but after that only a couple of times a year. But I like playing a lot.

Food was good today, too. Breakfast was an English muffin with peanut butter, apple, and Canadian bacon. For a snack, I had a Clif Bar and a banana. Lunch, grilled chicken pita. Afternoon snack, peanut butter and jam sandwich. Dinner I made something pretty tasty. I browned some lean ground turkey, and then added some salsa and a few seasonings. I served it over 2oz of whole wheat pasta with a salad. It was actually really tasty. Then, my evening snack was a turkey sandwich. I didn't get quite enough protein but I was close.

I felt really peckish all afternoon. It was bad, and so I got out of the house for fear I'd start grazing. In the end, though, I was right on for calories, and my macros were decent (though not idea-- like I said, not quite enough protein).

Tomorrow's another weight training day.

Syn, I look forward to watching your journey. Changes so far are amazing and I can't wait to see what the future brings!

Today went pretty good. My workout felt good. I pushed hard, and it was tough, but afterward it felt like a job well done. I also went on a decent walk later in the day.

Food-wise, I've noticed I am having trouble with my macros. Specifically, I always end up getting my carbs too low, and my fat just a bit too high (protein is also a tad high but I am less concerned about that). I'll have to see what I can do to fix that. Looking over my fitday log, there are a few things that spring to mind:

- Switch to skim milk (small difference)
- Stop eating cheese (I don't have much, maybe an ounce or two a day, but still)
- Get rid of at least some of the egg yolks

Today's fat was also high becuase I ate some almonds, but that is at least good fat. I am going to explore any lower-fat alternatives to some of the foods I eat, too. However, most of it seems to be from nuts and eggs. As for getting the carbs higher? Well, that's a bit tougher. However, I think what I am going to do is make a very conscious effort to eat more fruit. According to fitday, a medium apple gives me 21 grams of carbs with no fat and no protein, and I really do enjoy a good apple.

In other news, I posted my most recent pictures (see above) in the beginner forum, asking for a body fat estimate. The estimates I got were quite a bit higher than the grocery store machine, which I expected. What was more surprising, though, was that the general consensus was that I shouldn't be cutting at this stage, and instead should be focused on building muscle.

It seems like good advice, so I am going to try to slowly increase my caloric intake up to maintenance. I'll keep careful track of my body fat and measurements, to make sure I am not putting fat on, though.

That said, I was running some numbers and that additional 500 caloires to take me back to maintenance looks like a lot of food. I guess that's why they recommend you up things slowly. :)

Oh, and my myotape arrived today. It's great! Much easier to measure myself now. I'll post some numbers tomorrow.

Alright, I used my myotape and took my measurements this morning. Some of these are not exactly impressive. But that's why I am working at this. :)

June 15 2006

Weight: 175.6
Body Fat % (BioElectric Scale): 11.5
Body Fat % (Navy Circumference): 17%
Body Fat % (HealthCentral test): 12.5%

Waist: 33.5"
Hips: 36.75"
Wrist: 7"
Chest: 37.25"
Bicep: 13.5"
Forearm: 11.5"
Quad: 22.5"
Calf: 17"

So today I begin eating at maintenance levels of calories! I hope it goes okay.

I kicked this morning off with a nice HIIT on the elliptical trainer. Wow, it was hard. It felt great, afterward, though. Not great as in euphoric, but great as in "I know I just did my body a good thing." Food was good, too, though my macros are still a bit off. I'll have to work on that.

I'm slightly worried about the next couple of days; a friend is visiting from out of town. We're usually not bad-- he is doing Weight Watchers-- but I am fairly sure we'll eat out. I've planned for this for tomorrow, and luckily the web site of the restaurant we are going to has nutritional information on their site, so I've budgeted for it. The food won't be terribly clean, but I've adjusted my diet for the rest of the day to compensate for the meal out so my macros are actually going to be better than they were today!

Tomorrow is weight day number 3. I'm hoping I can coerce my buddy into hitting the basketball court with me in the evening. I think he'll be game.

Yes you've made amazing progress! :claphigh: I must say your calves look enviable from what I can tell.

I lean towards the fats too: cheese, nuts, fatty meats, whole milk. Unfortunately since I'm eating low carb my protein suffers :doh: Gotta work on that.

Well at least your buddy is watching his diet too so maybe the damage wont be so bad and you can both encourage eachother. Good planning too looking up the nutritional info! :nod:

Wish you luck :tucool:

Thanks, Naturegirl!

My calves are a physical anomaly. I've always had abnormally big, muscular calves. I have (so the doctors told me) tight tendons in my legs that make me walk on my tiptoes if I go around barefoot, and so I get quite the calf workout. The first time I set foot in a gym, when I was 13, the competitive bodybuilder / personal trainer who was showing us around asked me what I did to train them, because he said they were nicer than his. :) I just have to get the rest of my body to match!

I got used to looking up nutritional information when I was on Weight Watchers. Now I have the points for a few restaurants, but I need to go back and find the calories. I just wish more restaurants provided the info. I've e-mailed some and they've replied positively, but others say they can't provide the info because of variances in how the chefs cook, etc.

...but others say they can't provide the info because of variances in how the chefs cook, etc.

What a load of shit...they can give an estimate, at least. They're probably just embarassed about the content. :nope:

What a load of shit...they can give an estimate, at least. They're probably just embarassed about the content. :nope:

Yep, I agree... I try to avoid those places as much as I can, except the odd cheat meal. I'm a bit more understanding of a local place, but the big chains are all so standardized that I'm fairly certain it is a bit load of grade a bullplop.

So my friend is gone. He was just passing through en route to the sunny south, and will be back going the other way next Saturday.

Things went alright. I did my weight training in the morning before he showed up, and had lunch, and then, as I said, we went to a restaurant tha had its nutritional info available, so I was able to plan around that. Ditto for breakfast and lunch today. So I know my calories are okay, and my macros are not bad, but I'm pretty sure that I wasn't getting those things from the best sources. Oh well.

On Monday, I am starting a new lifting routine. I've been doing a circuit from Men's Health's Abs Diet book for the past 5 weeks, so it is time to switch things up. I have a routine in mind, and I'll post it later when I have it handy. Hopefully it will get me some good results!

What type of workout program are you leaning toward?
fullbody? some type of split? something else?

And very nice transofrmation good job!

Shahar.

I like to do a full body workout. I'm going to give the "Home Grown Muscle" program a shot-- full body, twice a week, though I may up to three times a week after the first two weeks depending on how I feel.

Well, this weekend was not good. After successfully navigating my friend's visit relatively unscathed (aside from way too much sodium, I am sure), I sorta binged last night. McDonalds. I was in a really bad mood, and the golden arches looked mighty comforting.

I think that alone might have been okay, but I also sorta overdid the PB&J sandwiches. At least those were clean. However, tonight, I also had dinner plans with a friend. We went for Vietnamese, and I ate too much there, also.

Bah. Weekends are always rough for me. Monday through Friday, I am fine, no worries on sticking to eating healthy and whatnot. Actually, Sundays I am usually good, too-- the dinner plans were an anomaly, and I ate normally the rest of the day-- but for some reasons, Saturday nights I tend to lose it. It is always stupid stuff, too, and I get the REALLY bad habit of saying "Well, I've already blown this day, I may as well go all out." :mad:

I'm going to have to work on that. In any case, tomorrow, I'll be back in the gym, and I've planned out my meals for the week and been grocery shopping. I ran my food plan through Fitday, and my macros for tomorrow are looking excellent. So all I can do now is look forward and think about what I can do to avoid a similar problem next weekend, while sticking to eating healthy and going to the gym (and that's never a problem-- I actually look forward to hitting the gym).

What a craptacular workout that was.

I started a new program today after 5 weeks of doing a circuit.

The new program (Men's Health Home Grown Muscle) looks like this:

Triad A:
Dumbbell Bench Press
Dumbbell Dead Lift
Lat Pulldown

Triad B:
DB Squat
Cable Seated Row
DB Lunge

Triad C:
DB Cuban Press
Seated Calf Raise
Crunch

The program says for the first week, do 12-15 reps of each exercise in a triad with no rest, then rest 90 seconds minutes, then do the triad again. Then 90 seconds rest, then either do another repetition of the triad, or move on. Because it was my first time and a few of these lifts were new, I took it fairly easy and did each triad twice.

But it felt awful. Maybe I took it too easy, or maybe I was paying for my awful nutrition this past weekend, but this workout was an ordeal. Not because of the workout itself, but because of me-- my form was shite, for one thing, and it felt like I was just spinning my wheels. With the circuit I was doing, it was hard, but I always came out feeling invigorated, and looking forward to the next workout. This one, not so much. The more "Classic" lifts, like the squats and the bench press and that felt fine, but the ones that I hadn't done much before (especially the lunge) felt ungainly and useless. Not saying that lunges are useless-- far from it-- but with the form I had going on they probably were.

I don't know, I am going to give this guy a couple more sessions and then maybe go back to a circuit-based routine, as I enjoyed that much more. The last thing I want to do is turn my weight routine into a chore, becuase then I just won't get it done.

Of course, my bad experience was compounded by the fact that I overslept, and felt rushed. One thing I really need to fix is my sleep pattern. I stay up too late, and then when morning comes, it is tough to get up.

Today was a much better day, after the crappy workout this morning. Tomorrow is HIIT day, and hopefully that will go a bit better than today's regime did.

Food today, at least, went very well, and my macros were as spot on as they've ever been. I also entered tomorrow's meal plan into FitDay and it is looking good as well.

I'm still a bit disheartened, following the weekend. I put on some weight, and I am pretty sure it isn't all muscle. I will take proper measurements on June 22nd (one week after the initial measurements with myotape) and see if there have been any changes. I don't expect much muscle growth, but I am worried about my gut. After working so hard to lose it, I am still somewhat concerned about putting it back on. The fact that I am currently trying to build some muscle before I cut again is also a bit weird. I've been so used to eating at a deficit, that getting the calories up over 2800 looks really strange.

It is just a state of mind thing, I think. Now, I am not trying to lose weight; I am trying to improve composition. The only thing I need to worry about is keeping that body fat percentage static, and getting stronger. That's all I have to focus on.

The other thing I want to do is get a regular sleep pattern going. As it is, my bed time is pretty variable, and the last week or so I've been pretty bad about going to bed too late and then struggling to get up in the morning. I'm going to try to get to bed by 11:30 as much as I can (though I know the weekends will be rough for this, as far as socializing goes).

The other goal for the week is to NOT binge on the weekend. I haven't planned a cheat meal. That way if something comes up, I'll just use it then. If nothing does come up, then I won't bother. It isn't as though I crave the cheat, or anything. I think since I started having one I've been having it for the sake of having it. THat's not cool. I looked forward to it, sure, but I don't think I necessarily need it. I don't know. We'll see what not planning it does for me.

HIIT day today. Did it on the elliptical trainer again, and it was tough, just like it should be. Now my quads are sore. Diet today was good, too. My macros were about 22F : 48C : 31P, right around where I want them.

All that said, I have to admit that I am feeling discouraged. I know I'm getting stronger. My lifts are clear proof of that. But I don't feel like my body composition has changed at all since I started weight training and eating properly (read: a proper amount of calories) well over a month ago now. I'm trying to diagnose what is going on, but I don't know. I think I overdo it on cheat meals, so I'm going to keep doing what i am doing for the rest of the week and see what happens without a cheat meal this week, and hopefully things will be a bit more positive.

I'm also very confused by all the conflcting information I get. I'm comfortable with my training regimen. No worries there. It is diet that I have the most trouble with, though, absolutely. And that seems to be where everything goes crazy. I've got one formula saying I should eat at about 2850 calories to maintain. Another says 2500. Still another said 3500!

I guess all I can do is fiddle with numbers and see what starts working for me, but in the meantime, I feel like I am spinning my wheels here. It isn't as though I am going to give up. I know what i am doing now is healthier than what I was doing before I lost my weight, and I know incorporating weight lifting is a positive change. I'm also happy with the fact that I've routinized it, and look forward to my workouts. But the whole food thing throws me for a loop. I know there are no hard and fast rules that anyone can follow, but when there's a 1000 calorie variance in how many calories I should be eating, I just get confused. I mean, if I followed the 3500 calorie thing, that could lead to me gaining weight, and I don't think it'd be all muscle. On the other hand, if that formula's right, and I am eating 2500, I could be underfeeding myself, and compromising my results that way, too. Sigh.

I'm also confused about whether I should be cutting or not. When I posted my pictures in another forum on this site, as well as on another men's fitness forum, everyone said I needed to work on building muscle and should eat at a maintenance level for a few months. Then I read something else that said I should try to get my BF% down to 12% before I worry about anything else.

Blah. I just want something that gives me some results that I can stick to. Maybe I am expecting too much.

In other news, the university I'll be attending starting in September has a BodPod! I'm SO going to go in for an assessment. That might be very useful.

Syn, what uni you hitting up?

Also, re results. I, too, was discouraged after a month or so (mind you, I was just cutting). Despite that the scale was showing me numerical results, the photos and mirror were not giving me the same feedback. I didn't really feel that I was SEEING results until about 3 - 4 months had passed...even though some of my pants were fitting differently and what not, the visual stimulus was missing.

I guess what I'm saying is just to give it time. In the fitness world, a month isn't much, y'know?

I'm off to UWO in London. I'm starting to get excited. Everything is falling into place-- have a place to live, in an awesome location, with a roommate who so far sounds sane. :) Booked my flight out last night in fact. The only downside is I have to sell my car. :(

Yeah, the trouble I'm having is that the scale isn't showing me much, either. I lose for a couple days, then eat out once, and kablammo, right back where I started. I'm also just, in general, confused. I don't know if I should be cutting or not. There's just so much conflicting information, and the more I research things, the more discrepancies I find. I mean, I didn't expect to have a six pack in six weeks or anything like that, but I thought there'd be something tangible. So far, though, nothing.

Part of my axiety probably goes back to my experience with Weight Watchers. I lost at least something every week I did it, right up until the week I hit my goal. I know now that I probably wasn't eating enough, and I obviously lost a lot of muscle and the weight came off too fast, but it was still very encouraging.

But yeah, I think I'd be happier, in general, if I could settle on what I want to do. I know what i want to look like, and I know that ultimately, getting under 10% BF is the goal. I just need directions on how to get there so I can enjoy the ride.

I almost went to UWO for law school. Well, not "almost", per se. They were just the first ones to accept me and were probably my 4th choice when all the acceptances were in.

I obviously chose UBC > Dalhousie > UNB (offered me a half tuition scholarship) > UWO. I liked the UWO promo materials and London sounds fun.

Should be a good time.

Yep, they were my top choice, though I'm doing something a bit different from you (that being 19th century American Romantic Lit) :)

Ah, practically the same :lol:

Just caught up man... great work thus far. I am looking forward to seeing it continue. As far as your crappy feeling working... dont fret it. Most new exercises feel very alien and sometimes impossible or worthless till you get proper form down. Im sure it goes without saying... low weight good form on new exercises till you feel comfortable with the motions (even if you are just going to heavy weights fast... like same workout). Just have to be vein and look in the mirror at everything you do.

Alrighty, that workout felt MUCH better today. Last time, when I finished, it didn't feel like I had actually done anything. Today, oh yeah. I reduced the weight a bit and focused on my form and it worked.

Except the damn lunges. I have huge problems with lunges. It is a combination of two things: balance and grip. I do them with dumbbells, and I feel like I am working constantly to make sure I don't tip over or something. Also, I have trouble holding the weights in my hands, which baffles me, because I can hold dumbbells of an even greater weight in the same grip when doing other lifts and I am fine. Hrm.

I also used my gloves for the first time today, and they worked a treat. I think that really contributed to my form. I was worrying less about my hands and just lifting, so that's a good thing.

So now, if I could just get the lunges going! I'm going to reduce the weight on them next time and work on getting the form just right.

Weight: 177.2 (+1.6)
Body Fat % (BE/Navy/HealthCentral / AVG): 12.5 / 16.5 / 17 / 15.3% (+1.6%)

Waist: 33.5 (+0)
Hips: 36.5 (-0.25")
Wrist: 7" (+0")
Chest: 38" (+0.75")
Bicep: 14" (+0.5")
Forearm: 11.5" (+0)
Quad: 22.5" (+0)
Calf: 17.5" (+0.5")

I'm chalking up most of these changes to variances in measurement technique. I'll have to work harder on my diet this week. I'm not pleased about that BF% gain at all.

What does "BE" stand for in your bf% calculation?

Judging by your measurments alone I would say you gained
mostly lean mass rather then fat.

You gained in biceps/chest/calfs. are you prone to store
fat on your chest/calfs/biceps?

Do you feel you've gained fat? the numbers don't seem
to add up for me. (hips reduction and 1.6% gain in bf)

Shahar.

Thanks for the feedback.

BE is bio-electrical (impedence). I own a little device that is of questionable accuracy but I use it mainly for change than anything.

I'm not sure of the gains, though-- they seem like a lot for a week, and that's why I am skeptical. I'm more inclined to think that they are just inconsistencies in my measuring than anything.

I definitely feel like I have gained some fat. I don't know how much, but when I look in the mirror I do think it looks like I've added some weight around my midsection (where I am most prone to store fat).

But yeah, my measuring is probably not the most accurate in the world.

Today went pretty well. Did some HIIT on the elliptical this morning. I love that workout. I cranked up some high energy tunes on my iPod and went away at it. I think the people around me, doing their "40 minutes at a snail's pace" cardio think I'm nuts, but who cares. :)

After that I had to pick my friend's wife up at the airport. She's pregnant, and it hasn't gone smoothly, so a couple of weeks ago they shipped her down to Vancouver (with my buddy) because they were short-staffed and ill-equipped here (a perpetual problem at the hospital here). Anyway, two and a half weeks later, baby's still fine, she's still fine, and the hospital is apparently less short-staffed enough that they felt confident enough to put her back on a plane. My friend drove back up here and got back tonight. She seemed fine, just tired. She said she was planning to sleep all day, but was worried that she'd have family and such dropping by to see her as she had been out of town. I hope she got some rest!

Food was good, too. Got right at my calorie total, and macros weren't bad either-- a bit too much carbs and a bit too little fat, but very close nonetheless. I was worried after dinner-- I ate a substantial dinner at around 6, and at 7 I was starting to feel hungry again. But, instead of eating, I made a cup of green tea. Wow, that stuff works. Hunger pangs gone. Excellent. That tied me over until 9, when I had my last snack of the day. I also went for a long walk tonight, just becuase I was bored. Beats watching TV!

Tomorrow, back to the weights. Saturday I'm going to go for a run. I'm still working on the sleep thing, and have been BETTER, but ideally I'd like to get up at 7am each day. The last few days I've hit 7:30, but the trouble part of this equation is getting to bed early enough. :)

So yesterday went fine. Did my full body weight workout, and it went well again, save for the lunges. I don't know, I just can't seem to stay balanced. One side is definitely worse than the other.

I thought I'd post the pictures I took this morning. First, the old pics:
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-1.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-2.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-3.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June13-4.jpg

Now here are some pictures from today:
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24Front.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24back.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24Side1.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24Side1.jpg

And, for fun, here's the flex shot!
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24flex.jpg

Weekends are tough for me. Well, I don't think weekends are inherently difficult-- it is just that since I started this little program I've had a string of weekends that are compromising, between graduation right when I started, to visitors, et cetera, et cetera. Last weekend I had a visitor, and so i did again this weekend.

I actually ate decent on Saturday, I guess. Not perfect, but decent. Breakfast was fine, if late (I overslept, which also meant i didn't go for a run as I had planned as I had to rush to pick my friend up from the airport). Lunch time, i got a chicken sub at subway, with just mustard and hot sauce. The bread is not good, and it probably had about as much real chicken in it as my coffee table, but it was better than many of the alternatives. Then, for dinner, we went to a Thai Place. I didn't eat to excess, really. It wasn't an all you can eat pork out. But we also got some tasty tasty ice cream for dessert.

Anyway, as a result of this, the next day, the scale said I had gained over four pounds. :lol: Now, I'm not dumb. I knew this had to be water weight, because guaranteed there was a tonne of sodium in that thai food. Also, I can do math, and i know that one thai meal and an ice cream cone does not equal four pounds (even if I had metabolized it that fast). Nevertheless, I was feeling pretty crappy, because I'm not rational when i see these things. It wasn't helped by the fact that we hit Denny's for breakfast. I chose from their "Fit Fare" menu, but, I mean, it is Denny's. There's just no way you can make a couple pancakes, a ham steak, and egg beaters all THAT healthy. :) Especially when it involves over 2000 mg of sodium!

But yeah, after that, my weight went up more. I think sodium makes me retain an exceptional amount of water, maybe more than the average person. But anyway, lunch wasn't great, but not terrible either. Not something I'd make a staple, but it was a peanut butter (natural) and banana sandwich (on whole wheat bread). After that though, I went to do laundry, and it's customer appreciation day at the laundromat, so two cookies and two timbits later...

Anyway, I got home and was in a BAD frame of mind. I was thinking "Hell, I'm screwed this weekend anyway. May as well get it out of my system and go for McDonald's, too." However, cooler heads prevailed! I thought about it, and then I went and found the calorie counts for the stuff I ate (luckily, the package from the cookies had nutritional info on it!) I plugged it into my nutridiary, and checked the numbers, and realized it hadnt been a bad day, really. No, not a good day-- my macros weren't great. I was on for carbs, but was at 25% protein and 25% fat rather than 30% protein and 20% fat. And i am sure there was a lot of saturated fat in there. But still, it wasn't THAT bad.

So instead of going to Rotton Ronnie's, I said "Well, hell, I'm going to go for a run and sweat out all that water." But, it was incredibly hot here, so I decided to hit the gym and use the treadmill.

I was planning on doing 20 minutes, but after running for 20 minutes, I felt GREAT. I wasn't winded AT ALL. I attribute this to doing the HIIT workouts. They REALLY work well, even when you go back to do a regular run. But anyway, I ended up doing 25 on the treadmill, stretched a bit, and said "I still have a lotta juice in me... May as well hit that elliptical, too." So I did. Half hour later, I had done the best elliptical session of my life. I remember what resistance I had it set on, just a few short months ago, and the speeds I was hitting, and I knocked them out of the ballpark. It was awesome. I felt great.

So I got home from the gym, cooked a salmon fillet for dinner, had a spinach salad, and have felt great ever since!

But yeah, I am most impressed with how much HIIT has improved my cardio-vascular endurance! That stuff is amazingly good. I think I'm going to make this a regular occurence-- do the HIIT tuesdays and thursdays, and then the longer cardio on the weekend (probably on Sundays).

Now I have to look ahead to surviving this week. On Wednesday I am flying down south to stay with my family. That won't be BAD, except I'll lose a lot of control over what I eat for dinner (hello, white potatoes and white rice!). I'll still have access to the nearby gym, though, even if I have to pay a few bucks. The only danger zone is going to be Sunday / Monday, when I head over to the island to visit my buddy. Here's a guy who doesn't care what he eats. However, sounds like we're going to have a barbecue on Sunday to celebrate Canada Day. That should be easy. As long as I can try to be as clean as possible the rest of the time, I can get around it.

I am sure my macros will be way off, and I'll probably be S.O.L. when it comes to tracking, anyway-- the way my mom cooks, there's little that I can do to see what actually goes into her recipes-- but usually when I go home I do lose weight. I think I might get a portable tin to take some whey protein in so I can at least still make some protein smoothies for snacks and make sure I get that stuff up there. If nothing else, I'll be able to say "Okay, I had one chicken breast, that's this much protein..." and ballpark things.

I find that ballparking works great when visiting family. Just making wiser decisions in general helps, as well. When the cake comes out, just saying "no thanks, I'm full" or "only a very small slice" works well for me.

Good luck and congrats on the cardio thing!

Today wasn't bad. Did some weight training this morning. I am still not a big fan of the current workout. I might try to develop something with exrx and see what comes of it, but I should give it a little time, at least until I see what's going on with gains and whatnot.

Actually, when it comes down to it, I probably over-trained today. This afternoon i was feeling restless, so I went for a run. Yeah, cardio on the same day as weights. Not enough time to rest, etc etc. But I felt like going for a run, and I made sure I ate a little more to make up for it.

On the agenda for tomorrow is HIIT.

Gak, I'm not helping myself along, food-wise here. I won't go into details, but let's just say I binged a bit tonight, and it wasn't on good stuff. I HAVE to stop this.

I don't know what it is. I mean, if i was stressed or whatever, at least I could say "Okay, I'm eating due to stress. Let's find something more constructive to do that helps with the tension." But I wasn't. I was fine, and then KABLAMMO, I'm stuffing my face, fully aware I'm wrecking my program for the day, and then now feeling guilty about it.

What I really don't understand is that when I was on Weight Watchers, a far more restrictive (calorie-wise) food program, I didn't have any binges like this between the time I started, in December, and Christmas. It is weird.

But I have to get these things under control.

I'm also thinking of tossing my scale. I think I check it way too much, and, I mean, I don't entirely trust it anyway. Seriously, yesterday I stepped on it right foot first, and it said one thing. Then I stepped on it left foot first, and apparently that added a pound and a half. Sigh. I think I'd be better off if I just worried about appearance and measurements.

I did HIIT today. I think I was a bit over-tired after doing that extra cardio session yesterday. I got halfway through the HIIT on the elliptical and my legs felt like jello. I didn't stop completely, I just went back to doing a regular cardio session. Better than nothing, I guess. Tomorrow I'll hit the weights again.

Off to the sunny south tomorrow. It is actually a slightly bit cooler down there than it is up here, which is fine by me, because I am sweltering in my little apartment. There's very little air circulation in here and so it gets to be like an oven. According to the thermometer on the wall, it is approaching 90F indoors. Sigh. It is cooler outside, so maybe I'll go for a walk to cool off.

I binged tonight, too, Syn (burger and fries while out for dinner with a friend). But the way I look at it, I'm not "off program" and not "off the wagon" because I'm still eating healthy and exercising 90% of the time. And so are you.

Don't let it get to you and move on. One day at a time, as long as those days don't all involve binges.

Thanks, Silver, that's a good point. I'm usually on program. I just go on these binges now and then. I mean, when I look at it in the long run, it isn't like I am gonna balloon back up to my starting weight because of one meal. I'm just the sort who gets frustrated when I can't figure out why I do things. :)

Dude, food is good. Most bad food is even better.

At least that's why I do it :lol:

Touche. :tu:

I'm down in the sunny south visiting my parents for the week. The weather's great here. I'm doing my best to stay on track, but it is going to be tough. Yesterday was alright, I guess, except the gym here has very different equipment! I went to do my HIIT on the elliptical, but the ellipticals here are weird. Much shorter stride, and there are no "ski poles" for arm pumping. I didn't like it much.

The other problem with the local gym is that they got a huge upgrade about a year ago, but it is all machines! They stuffed them all into the room and there is barely room to walk around between the machines, and even less so when there are people using them. I didn't even see where the free weights were when I was there yesterday.

At any rate, I don't think I'll be getting a weight workout in today anyway. :( My mom has the day off so we're going into Vancouver proper to check out the sights and go out for lunch. At least I'll get a fair bit of walking done.

Been feeling discouraged again, lately, I think because I'm not getting in my usual workouts and beinf forced to make do with what's available around here. I might try to go for a bike ride tonight, I think.

Argh, I hate the gym near my parents place.

It is pretty new, but it is horrible. It was built to accommodate the local WHL team, and so you'd think it'd have lots of stuff, but basically it has the free weights all squeezed on one side of the room, where there is barely enough room to walk between the wall and where the weights are lined up (and very little room to actually do any exercises), a little corner with some mats which is the only room to lie down (ie to do my abs stuff) which, when I was there, was occupied by two people lightly exercising and carrying on quite the conversation, about fifty billion exercise bikes, treadmills, and elliptical trainers, and a number of machines, all of which but maybe three are targetting the chest and back.

I tried to get a workout in, but I got frustrated with the stepping around things and people and left. It didn't help matters that I've been sleeping like crap lately.

This week's been awful. Down visiting my parents is great, but as I have been trying to log my food as best I can, everythign is off-- macros, calories, everything. I am looking forward to getting back home so I can slip back into my routine.

Oh, by the way, happy Canada Day. I might try to go for a bike ride or something later.

Where you at, Syn? I might know if there's a decent gym around.

I'm out in Ladner, for today... Tomorrow I am off to Victoria for a couple days to visit a friend from my UVic days.

nothing in Ladner that I know...community centre? local pool? city facilities are alright sometimes...

closest I know to there is the Fitness World in Surrey - that'd be decent, but not close to you (102nd and 152 or something like that) or maybe Richmond - Elmbridge.

I think they're expensive for drop in as well, so that probably isn't worth it.

Yeah, I went to the local community center. The pool's nice there. :)

I'm also hampered by my lack of a car. Flying down is nice in that it saves 7 hours of travel time, but it is not so nice when I want to get out of the house.

This week continues to be whack as far as macros and whatnot go, but I am not going to let it bother me too much. Tomorrow will be toughest, as I'm heading over to the island to hang out with an old college buddy for a couple of days, but I am hoping I can steer us clear of too much bad stuff (well me, anyway-- what he puts in his system is his own business).

See, today wasn't so great. Well, breakfast was fine, and dinner was fine, but aside from that, I didn't get my mid-afternoon snack in, and lunch was very late. Just life getting in the way. We went to this salmon festival thing, and one of the things we were expecting there was some tasty fresh salmon. No dice, though. It was there, but the line was incredibly long, and we were all starving. So, I ended up with a chicken donair / gyro. Yeah, not exactly too healthy. I looked it up on Fitday out of curiousity and it says 630 calories. I reeeeally doubt that. Maybe a big proper donair at a real deli or something, but not this one.

Anyway, after that we went to this great pub. I exercised a bit of willpower but succumbed to some temptation (it is Canada Day, after all) and had a diet coke (not TOO bad) and a Strongbow Apple Cider (which tasted absolutely awesome, though it probably wasn't good for me).

I also had two really good compliments today. I saw my sister's boyfriend for the first time since I started trying to lose weight. He literally didn't recognize me. I was standing with my sisters and he pulled up in his car and kind of nodded to me and then started talking to my sisters, and then after a minute, in mid sentence, goes "Holy shit, is that Dave?" It was pretty cool.

Also, later, my sister said I looked leaner than I did the last time I saw her (not too long ago). I am actually weighing in a few pounds heavier than I did then, so i guess that is a good sign-- I'm still trying to get myself in the mindframe that weight is less important than what things look like and my body fat percentage, but I am still feeling unsatisifed that I've made any gains when I look in the mirror. I think I was initially, about a month ago, but they kind of tapered off. That said, I also think I need to learn a bit more patience with this.

I got through my trip to Victoria relatively unscathed, I think. I didn't eat properly, I know, but at least I didn't go crazy or anything. We were running around the whole time and eating out and paying attention to macros and whatnot was pretty much a futile endeavour yesterday. We did barbecue for dinner, and that was fine-- had a nice top sirloin steak, fresh corn on the cob, a big salad... Good stuff. Of course, I also had a bunch of cookes for dessert. But, on the other hand, I didn't get any snacks in yesterday except for my morning one. :o So, calorie-wise, I was probably decent, even if nothing else.

Today wasn't too bad, either. Ate out again, but I managed to have a fairly light (calorie-wise) breakfast, a great wrap at a place in the food court (they actual had WHOLE WHEAT wraps! so I had one of those with turkey, and mustard, and a bunch of veggies-- it was just completely clean.)

I'm going to give the gym here another go tonight, just because I'm going crazy for being inactive (other than walking). Who'd a thunk it! Now I get antsy when i don't lift weights for a couple days!

Some of my friends there had some good comments for me, too. My buddy's girlfriend told me I looked bigger, but in a good way-- "You just looked skinny before, but not so much now" is what she said. It is nice to get positive reinforcement!

nice - compliments definitely help the process along

good job on the eating - I wish I could eat as well as you when I'm not tracking! (I ate like shit yesterday and today)

Thanks, Silver. I have to say, it was tough, especially in a food court where other people I am with are getting greasy fast food, but the wrap was actually really good. The steak wasn't bad either. We were having a barbecue and the guy I was staying with said he was going to get pre-made burgers for everyone (which I wouldn't do even if I wasn't trying to eat clean, but that's beside the point) and I told him since he was putting me up, I was buying us steak. Worked a treat, and tasted a lot better, too. :)

But yeah, the compliments go a long way. The recent ones have especially, because nobody knows that I'm trying to build muscle or anything. :)

Today started out so well. I got back from the 'rents last night, and was really happy with how well-behaved I was over the trip. I was feeling very encouraged, and this morning, got back to MY gym, was able to do MY routine, just the way I wanted to, and was psyched for the rest of the week.

Then the afternoon time hits, and I over-indulge a bit. Well, let's be frank. I ate about five peanut butter (natty at least) sandwiches (and on whole wheat bread, at least). It isn't a huge concern, ultimately, as if I am judicious the rest of the day I won't go too high over the calorie count, but it was still frustrating to me.

Anyway, to help motivate myself, I started looking on the web for pictures of what my ideal *goal* should be. I don't want to get huge, or anything. I just want to look pretty damn good when I take my shirt off. Hell, my short term goal could be "I want to be able to hit the beach and not feel like a fatso when I want to do something about that farmer's tan."

When I was thinking about this, I remember reading an interview with Jason Statham in Men's Health magazine, and he was talking about how he was more interested in practical muscle than body-builder competition muscle. That makes sense to me. If other people are into looking like competitive body builders, that's cool, but it is not for me. Like I said, I just want to look good. So i started googling Jason Statham, and, after giving a bit of thanks that none of my buddies were around seeing me look at topless pictures of muscular British men ;) I found a picture that I think approximates the type of body that, ultimately, I'd like to have:

http://www.thefader.com/blog/files/jason.jpg

Now, obviously there's some problems with that, becuase Statham's physique is largely related to the sports he did (I remember reading he was a British national team diver), but that sort of gives me an idea of something to shoot for. I hope this can help to motivate me.

In other news, I've decided that when I get to my new home in Ontario this September, I am going to get involved in some additional activity beyond my current training. Part of me is really interested in some martial art (any suggestions? My sister's boyfriend is in jiu jitsu, and I am curious about that) or rugby. I played rugby in high school. The trouble with that is that rec rugby leagues seem to be non-existent in London, where I'll be living (not London England, obviously!), and I don't quite have the skills, especially after not playing for nearly 8 years, that I'd need to make a proper team. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for rec leagues. Hopefully that'll give me a chance to develop some skills- I really miss the game.

If not rugby, how about soccer? There are ALWAYS rec soccer leagues. In London, you might need an indoor one, but that shouldn't be too hard to find. What about intramural rugby at UWO?

I agree re Statham - I read that article as well. It made a lot of sense and I agree with most of it. He's in good shape. I'd like that same look. Good choice.

Eh, I've never liked soccer nearly as much. Not enough bashing, I guess. :) No intramural rugby at UWO, unfortunately, but I'm hoping I can find some sort of recreational league friendly to all skill levels.

Weight: 175.8 (-1.4)

Body Fat %
Bio-Elec: 12.9% (+0.4)
Navy: 16.46 (-0.04)
HealthCentral: 12.5% (-2.8%)
AVG: 13.95% (-1.38%)

Waist: 33.5" (=)
Hips: 6.5" (=)
Wrist: 7" (=)
Chest: 38" (=)
Bicep: 14" (=)
Forearm: 11.5" (=)
Quad: 23" (+0.5)
Calf: 17.5" (+0.5")

Okay, I have no clue why my HealthCentral BF% dropped so much when my measurements stayed pretty much the same (it doesn't ask for quad size). I dunno, there must be something wrong with the way I measure things or something. I'm inclined to think the navy is closest to the right number.

Anyway, on to pictures-- the ones on the left will be the ones from the last time (June 24) and then, on the right, from today. I dont' know if I see much change or not. Honestly, it looks like my gut is growing. :(

http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24Front.jpghttp://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/July6Front.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24back.jpghttp://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/July6Back.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24Side1.jpghttp://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/July6Side1.jpg
http://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/June24Side2.jpghttp://daviddrysdale.net/ProgressPix/July6Side1.jpg

maybe try the measurement based one at www.mybodycomp.com - you have to sign up, but it's free and has a lot more measurement points, I just used an email address designed for junk mail

re the gut - I'd say that's either based on a bit of bloat or just the way you were breathing in the pictures - I know mine can look hugely different from day to day, so I wouldn't worry about it

Also, it's probably pretty hard to see any noticeable difference in pics that are only a week and a half apart

I might have the check that site out..

Yeah, I am not sweating the lack of change. It takes time.

Alright, after a couple of hairy days, I am back on track and things are looking up.

Yesterday was pretty good. I didn't get my weight training in, though. I woke up at about 4am feeling really ill-- nauseous, that is. I went back to sleep, but when I woke up again, it was still there. I decided to get a little bit more sleep, and consequently overslept, missing not only my scheduled workout but also my appointment at the mechanic to get my car's routine maintenance done! That wasn't good. Plus, I was still feeling pretty ill. I decided not to push anything, and concentrated on eating normally. By dinner time it had passed. I think it was something I ate.

In any case, yeah, yesterday diet-wise was good. Today, so far, has been better. Had a good long cardio session at the gym, and made a really tasty post-workout smoothie afterward:

1 peach, chopped
1/2 mango, diced
1 banana, sliced
1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup skim milk
1 scoop whey protein

I blended it all up. It was pretty thick so I added a bit of water, probably too much, but it tasted fine. Roughly a 2:1 carbs to protein ratio, and it made a LOT-- I filled up two pint glasses of the stuff. :)

After that, I hit the farmer's market hoping to get some tasty organic vegetables, but there wasn't much there today, unfortunately, so I went to the grocery store. Got some stuff to make a great stir-fry for lunch, and that brings us to the present.

I've also been reading Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, which is a lot of stuff I've heard before, but it is good to read it set down in one place, as opposed to compiling it all from bits and pieces here and there. One thing that Tom emphasizes is the importance of goalsetting, and I thought about it, and realized that while I have an idea of what I want to happen here, I've not set anything down in writing that clearly define what I want to do. So here we go.

Tom recommends setting goals for a variety of time periods-- daily, weekly, three months, a year, and long-term. He also says to state them in the present tense. Well, I'll give it a try. What harm could it do?

So daily goal.
Today, I am eating in such a way that I meet my caloric and macronutrient targets, sticking to clean foods.

This week, I am maintaining my nutritional goals, and getting six workouts in-- three with weights, three cardio.

In three months, I am carrying six percent less body fat.

In a year, I have maintained my fat loss, and reduced my body fat to nine percent. Additionally, I have improved my cardiovascular endurance so that I am capable of entering and completing a half-marathon.

In the long term, I have become fit, healthy, and gotten into great shape. I can walk around without a shirt on when it is hot, and catch girls checking things out. :)

So there are my goals! I hope that having a timeline like this will help me out.

Anyway, I am off to get some work done. My job is great in that I set my own hours and work whenever (and wherever) I like. Now I have to make up the hours I missed from oversleeping yesterday. :)

Smoothie sounds tasty. What's with chopping all the fruit up, though? If your blender is anywhere close to being worth its salt, it'll pulverize soft fruits like that without a problem.

Good on you re the goals. You've reminded me to re-check mine from the beginning of my thread and evaluate how I'm doing. :tu:

My blender isn't worth much salt, let's say. :) I got the cheapest one with a glass container that I could. I didn't chop them up fine, though-- they were one-inch chunks or so.

I see, makes sense.

I just break stuff down into the largest size that will fit into the actual blender.

Yeah, I'll get a good one one day. Mine right now can crush ice and make smoothies, and that's alright for now. :)

So today was my day off (from exercising anyway), and I stuck to a decent diet, for the most part. I also managed to get myself out of bed at 6am. This is going to be one of my goals for the week: get up at 6 every day. I start my second job (just a sorta part-time gig, typing notes for a deaf student at the university) and so will be at school from 9 to 3 on Mondays and Wednesdays for the next six weeks, and I want to be sure I can get my workout in before that. Plus, it makes my meal schedule much better, as I can actually eat every three hours (6, 9, 12, 3, 6, 9-- before I'd eat breakfast around 8, which mean morning snack around 10, lunch at 12, snack at 3, dinner at 6, snack at 9). This probably isn't a huge deal or anything, but I figure getting up early is a good habit anyway. Honestly, it isn't the getting up that is the problem, it si going to bed at a decent hour. :)

I'm also facing a couple of other additional challenges this week: packing food to take on those days I am at the university for most of the day, and also, I am housesitting for a professor, so I have to plan for that, too (I'm bringing my own food, anyway, but I know there's a lot of things there that I probably shouldn't eat that will be tempting me!). I'm confident, though. The last few days have been very positive, so I am hoping I can carry that momentum forward.

The housesitting will make my scheduling pretty messed up though-- it is less housesitting than dogsitting. They have a couple of big newfies that need to be let out every few hours lest they destroy something, so I am going to be doing a fair bit of running around to begin with. Plus, the house is a fair distance away, and thus farther from the gym, so I'll have to budget time for that. Not a huge issue, if I can make sure I don't oversleep!

I also managed to avert temptation a couple times, today. The laundromat I use has "customer appreciation day" every Sunday, which means, essentially, that there is a big plate of goodies out. In the past, I usually snag a timbit or something. I walked past it today though, and thought about it, and said "No, I don't need to eat that," and kept on going

And I just remembered that I forgot to pick up the ironing I left there. Oops. Another thing to do tomorrow, I guess. It is going to be a busy day. :) I just hope I can get in when the usual lady is working-- she does my ironing for free (which is why I get it done at the laundromat instead of just doing it myself).

Haven't updated here in a few, but things have been going well the last several days. I've made it to the gym each day, and my calories have been fairly good. I went a bit over yesterday, but was still under my maintenance level, so all is well, I guess. Monday and today were, as I expected, a bit hectic, but the rest of the week should be fine.

I've done a fairly decent job of not succumbing to the various temptations in this house that I am housesitting at-- and they are there, including my favourite candy treat, Peanut Butter Cups. I admit I had some, but I counted the calories, and though it threw my macros off a bit and there are certainly far more nutritious things to eat, I am hoping that I have the desire for 'em out of my system. They didn't even seem to taste all that good, which is a big deal considering they used to be my number one favourite candies (along with chocolate-covered almonds).

Other than that, things are going pretty good. I'll take my measurements tomorrow and see if there's been any positive changes. Even if there is not, I was thinking today and I know there have been in my body over all. Number one, I weigh more than I did when I started, yes, but I'm pretty sure that I have gained in muscle, not fat, because I can fit into pants that I couldn't fit into when I was at this weight before, for one thing. I mean, I haven't gained a tonne, but before when I was at 180 or so, I couldn't get into some pairs of pants I had until I got down to 174 or so. So I've put on muscle mass, for sure, and that's a very good thing. Also, I can definitely see a big difference in what I can lift now from where I started, and can see more muscle, especially in my arms and shoulders. So I'm happy right now.

Tomorrow is cardio day... Looking forward to it. But, tonight, I have to take tehse two giant dogs who live here for their walks (have to walk them separately-- one is a full-grown Newfie, and the other, I don't know what it is, but it is just as big).

First, pictures are here (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=29632).

Weight: 177.4 (+1.6)

Body Fat %
Bio-Elec: 13.6 (+0.7)
Navy: 15.57% (-0.89)
HealthCentral: 11.5 (-1)
MyBodyComp: 12.42% (- n/a)
AVG: 13.27 (-0.68%)

Accumeasure: 7mm (!)

Waist: 33.25" (-0.25")
Hips: 36.5" (=)
Wrist: 7" (=)
Chest: 38" (=)
Bicep: 14" (=)
Forearm: 11.5" (=)
Quad: 23" (=)
Calf: 17.5" (=)

Not a bad week. I really mistrust the accuracy of those calipers. Even a conservative chart (not the official one) puts me at around 11.5% body fat.

I am not sure why all my body fat measurements are so low, when, when I look at myself, I am clearly not that low. Not that I'm complaining! I guess when I go off to Ontario and can get a session in the BodPod I'll know how accurate any of these things are.

You have a great thread. Real impressive progress. I look forward to continue reading your thread each day. You have huge calfs, in relation to the other stats you list. It might prove another thread I was reading correct, he credited his huge calfs to being overweight for a long time, which he said caused his calfs to grow to support his heavy body. That was his theory anyway.

You have a great thread. Real impressive progress. I look forward to continue reading your thread each day. You have huge calfs, in relation to the other stats you list. It might prove another thread I was reading correct, he credited his huge calfs to being overweight for a long time, which he said caused his calfs to grow to support his heavy body. That was his theory anyway.

Thanks, Shamie!

Yeah, my calves are abnormally large. However, they've always been that way, even when I was fit before. I walk kinda funny, and have since I was small. The doctor told me (well, my parents) that I have tight tendons, which makes me walk on my toes a bit. Consequently, my calves get quite a workout all the time. That's the one part of my body I've always received compliments on. Even the first time I set foot in the gym, the personal trainer I had asked me how I had been training them, because he was jealous. :)

Alright, I'm moving to London, Ontario, at the end of August. I also recently decided that I want to shoot to run some real distance, and get involved in some racing (more for the social aspect than the competitive aspect-- I know I'm not that quick [yet]).

So I did some googling and have decided that I have found races to do:

First, a 5km on September 10th (http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/races/2006series/Race5/raceinfo.htm), followed up by a 10km on October 29th. (http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/races/2006series/Race6/raceinfo.htm)

New goals! I'm a bit excited now. Thanks to some help here at JSF, I've found a few nice programs that should take me from my current 5km max to a 10km race in a couple of months. Excellent.

You can see a difference already! It definitely looks like you lost alittle fat in the rib area and gained muscle in general in your upper body.Your flexed shots look really good and solid. That's what I notice the most :)

Hehe, I've got well developed lower soleous' unfortunately and it's not a good look for a girl :lol:

Keep up the good work :tu:

Thanks, naturegirl! I complain a lot on here, but on the weeks where I am good, I totally can tell that there has been a change. I'm trying to stay more positive in general, and focusing on what is going well and what is not. This isn't going to happen overnight, after all.

Heh heh I totally had to look up soleous. :)

Shiiiit, just look at the pics in my journal and you will see what I mean :) I was bitchin about it a couple pages back :lol:

Hey, you're looking pretty good to me! Keep up the good work!

It is pouring rain outside! We're getting quite the little thunderstorm. I love it.

Tonight I am going out, so I thought I'd update now. Hit the weights this morning, and it went really well. I quite like the workout I am currently doing. It is nothing fancy or special or anything. I just used exrx to set up a full body workout, alternating upper/lower, and then do it as a circuit-- 8 reps of each lift with minimal rest (basically as long as it takes to set up the next one) followed by a couple of minutes rest between each set, and then repeat. This week, as I am pressed for time, I am just doing this circuit twice. Next week I am going for three. It has been feeling really good, in that it is tough, but it feels like something's working in there.

I supplement that with an abs circuit-- just your standard crunches et cetera to target the various parts of abs, a circuit I also do twice. The whole thing is modified from the Men's Health Abs Diet stuff, except I have changed a few of the lifts as I felt that the Abs Diet one neglected a few things.

And hey, while I am here, I may as well go over my nutrition stuff, since it has changed a bit, especially after I read Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle e-book.

Well, it hasn't changed all that much. It is simply this:

Eat at 80% of maintenance three days (roughly 2400 calories), followed by one day of 105% of maintenance (roughly 3100 calories). Repeat. :)

Each meal consists of a simple carb (fruit for the two morning meals, and vegetables for the others, usually stuff like spinach but I also eat a lot of broccoli, green beans, et cetera), a lean protein (tends to be eggs in the morning or whey protein), and a complex carb (brown rice is optimal, but also sweet potatoes, occasionally white potatoes, et cetera-- whole grain stuff). Eat a meal six times a day, every three hours.

For macros, I am a bit looser. I have two basic aims:

Priority one: get my body weight (lbs) in grams of protein
Priority two: get 20% of my calories from good fats

When I do this, I usually end up hitting a good ratio of 40/40/20, or, at worst, 50 carbs and 30 protein, which I am okay with, too.

I am allowed a cheat meal once in a while. Before I was doing it once a week, but I found that let to a cheat day, or a cheat weekend. Now I am doing it as circumstances dictate. No guilt about it.

Those are my basics.

I am taking a cheat meal tonight. Hopefully I won't overdo it. It is my 3100 calorie day, anyway, and I am only about half way there right now (with only two scheduled meals left). I also tend, when I have cheat meals, to forgo the following snack, so I think I should be okay with calories, though I know I won't be getting the best nutrition. But one meal out of the entire week shouldn't cause too much damage. I just have to not look at the scale tomorrow because we're hitting a Chinese place, and the sodium is going to put my water weight through the roof.

Alright, so the last couple days haven't been great. Actually, the days have been okay, but the dinners, not so much.

Yesterday I had a planned cheat meal. That was actually not bad. It was Chinese, and I was expecting a lot of sodium, so I upped my water intake drastically before and after. I already take a lot of water, but yesterday, I sucked 'em back. The cheat meal was fine, actually. I finished up when I was full and didn't stuff myself sick like I did the last time I was at the same restaurant.

However, I forgot that today was my buddy's post-wedding reception! I wasn't actually that bad. I had one (double) hamburger and some raw veggies. However, the cake was awfully tasty...

That said, for once, I am not feeling super guilty about this. I started to, and then said, "You know what? This guy's never going to have another one of these, so I am going to enjoy it with him." So that's what I did. I didn't too badly, either. I'm sure I went over my caloric total with the cake, but oh well. I have to take these two huge dogs for a walk, separately, and that's something at least. Tomorrow I'll be right back on track.

Actually, I feel worse today about missing my gym time. I was up too late last night hanging with friends, so when six rolled around, I was the living dead. So I slept in till 7:30. After marvelling over the fact that after just a week of consistently getting at 6am 7:30 felt like sleeping in, I went about my day, which unfortunately involved errands and work all day, so I couldn't get in to the gym. That's okay though. I take one day off of exercise a week, and it is usually Sunday, so I'll just head in tomorrow morning. No biggie.

Anyway, today I was feeling really good about things, and I'll just hold on to that and fly in to the next week. I probably won't have a cheat this week, and just make do with my two days at maintenance.

In other news, I learned that The Who are playing in the city I'm moving to! I'm going to try to get tickets. No, it sure as hell isn't the same as seeing the in their prime. It isn't even the same as seeing them when they had Entwistle. But you know what? As long as either a) they play Baba O'Riley or b) Pete smashes a guitar, it'll be worth the price of admission.

Ugh... Things have taken a rough turn for me, I guess. Well, yesterday started okay, and I got a good workout in, but I ate a bit too much in the evening. Today, so far food is okay, but it hasn't been great, really. I don't know why, but I feel like I haven't eaten anything. It is almost dinner, so hopefully that will make me feel better. But, I missed my workout this morning because I was trying to get tickets to The Who. Then worked all day, and came home, and I am absolutely bushed. I didn't get enough sleep last night, and now i have no energy. I was going to hit the gym, but I am exahusted and just want a nap... Sigh. Tomorrow will have to be better.

I'll just say that today was crap.

I've decided I'm not buying peanut butter again for a while. I'm usually good with it for a few days, and then there comes a point when I binge. It is weird. Of all the foods I used to eat, I don't miss anything, even the things I thought I would. Chips? Meh, who needs them? Pizza? Tastes good, but I don't need it. I do like myself some Chinese food, but I can do without, or make my own clean version of my favourite things.

But peanut butter? I get the natural stuff, so it is technically clean, but I sometimes just get these incredibly cravings where I eat it and eat it and eat it. I've tried every trick in the book, but nothing works. So, for now, I am just going to ban peanut butter from the house. I'll have to get some good fat from another source, I guess. That's okay. I can cook with olive oil, or put it on salad, and ground flaxseed is easy enough to come by. So yeah. Tonight, what was left of the jar went in the garbage. No more peanut butter, at least not for a little while.

Ugh, I feel kinda ill now. That's the price i pay. Tomorrow I'll do things right, and then stick to my plan. When I'm on, it works great. I just have to stay on.

Okay, got back on track today. Hit the gym this morning and did an hour of cardio-- half hour on the treadmill and a half hour on the elliptical-- and also went for a walk (35-40 minutes to the coffee shop, 35-40 back). Diet was also good. Calories were pretty well bang on and the macros were decent.

On the downside, I've had a sore neck all day, and I feel like I am getting a cold (I am thinking the two are related). There is something going around campus, and I really hope I don't catch it. It may be allergies or something too. Occasionally I get all the symptoms that a cold is coming on and then wake up the next day and feel fine. Hopefully this is one of those cases.

:lol: I just posted on zoe's journal about trying Zicam. I'm like a walking advertisement for it :p But that is weird that it's not coming on full blown, or maybe like you said, it's not a cold but something else?

I dont have a problem with peanut butter, but peanuts yes. Especially honey roasted ones :D To help with that I put an alotted amount in a ziploc baggie or get one of those 50 cent packs and take that with me to wherever. Works really well and I get my fix without eating way too many.

The cold symptoms seem to have subsided today, but my neck is still sore. I went to the gym anyway but not after weight myself. It was a bit of a shock-- 183. Wow. I haven't seen the scale that high in a long time. I guess that must be some water weight. I had a bad few days there, but not enough to gain five pounds (I hope!). I did drink more water than normal yesterday, because I felt the cold coming on, and because I think I've been neglecting that anyway. I hope it is just water weight, anyway. Because, unless I miraculously put on five pounds of muscle (and I am pretty sure I'd notice that in the mirror), I'm going to be pretty pissed off at myself for being so weak on the weekend.

The workout went okay at least. One guy there made me laugh. He's some young guy, the sort who dresses like he's a gangsta even though he's a white kid from northern BC. Anyway, I've seen him in the gym a lot lately. He doesn't really do much-- he goes from one cardio machine to the next, spending about five minutes on each one, and not going very intensely, either. Anyway, I heard him talking to this guy and he was telling him he was trying to bench 180 pounds yesterday and dropped it on his neck.

Note: the kid, who is saying this, is standing there, looking the same he always does. He continued and said it gave him a hairline fracture in his rib or something like that. Oy.

Anyway, I had to try hard not to laugh. Yeeeeah right.

Of course, today's session was also marred by my other gym pet peeve-- these people (and, I hope I don't sound sexist when I say it is usually older women) who take three or four treadmills in a row, and then walk slower than I would if I was window shopping, and TALK. And then they move over and block access to various other parts of the gym and TALK.

Y'know, I appreciate that everyone is at different places when it comes to fitness, and good for them for at least making it to the gym. But, for one thing, I don't think they're doing much for themselves walking at about 1.5 mph and carrying on a conversation the whole time. Second, there's a great, public track RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET and it is a beautiful day. Why not go there, save yourself some money, and not tie up the machines? And third, if you're going to chat at the gym, so be it, but don't stand around blocking off everyone who wants to get by you!

Okay. Rant done. It is out of my system. Now I'm off to have a shower and be paranoid that I somehow exceeded my maintenance calorie level by 17500.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't discouraged about things right now. Well, I mean, I'm having one of those "down" days in general, but fitness is a part of that. I mean, I had a good workout this morning, and my food intake was bang on but I can't get over that weight gain from the weekend. I mean, I can accept a couple pounds of water weight, and my sodium intake yesterday and today (soy sauce yesterday, not even sure what today, until I looked at the jar of salsa I had-- over 220 in 2 tbsp!).

But still. I mean, I have to say, I am terrified at becoming one of those people in the statistics you see that 9/10 people gain the weight back. Every time the scale climbs, I get a twinge. last week, I felt great, because I could SEE the changes. Today, I see changes, too, and they ain't good. Last week at this time, if I flexed my abs right, I could see where that six-pack is going in. Now? Not so much. I can see sort of an outline of the abs, in general, but no definition.

I dunno, I am just so frustrated that one bad weekend has set me back so far. I've accepted that I am not one of those lucky people who can have a great body and not really work at it, but I have a lot more trouble accepting that I can have a few bad days and get set back what feels like a month.

I am probably over-reacting, I know, but days like today make me think "Hell, who cares what my body looks like? Is it worth th effort?" And then I get jealous of those friends of mine who just don't care. They eat what they want. Not all of them look great, but hey, they don't worry about this crap. And here I am, counting calories, planning meals out, looking at macros.

Seriously, the exercise side of things, I am totally okay with. I enjoy it now. I feel grumpy if I don't get my workout in the morning. But I don't get why my weight has ballooned up six pounds JUST because of a few bad days. I mean, there's no way I ate that many calories, and I can't see water weight being THAT much. Plus, I've tried to counter-act the sodium by drinking a tonne of water. I sure don't FEEL like I am retaining water.

I dunno, I should stop thinking like this, but there is a big part of me right now that wants to just say screw it and go visit Rotten Ronnie.

I know I won't, at least not tonight, but my current shitty mood, combined with how discouraged I am feeling, is not a good combination.
:bang:

Weight: 182.2 (+4.8)

Body Fat %:
Bio-Elec: 13.2% (-0.4)
Navy: 17.43% (+1.86)
HealthCentral: 12.5 (+1%)
AVG: 14.37 (+1.1%)

Accumeasure: 8mm (+1mm)

Waist: 34" (+0.75)
Hips: 37" (+0.5)
Wrist: 7" (=)
Chest: 39" (+1)
Bicep: 14" (=)
Forearm: 11.5" (=)
Quad: 24" (=)
Calf: 17.5" (=)


Not happy at all. I use the Navy measurement to calculate my lean body mass, and according to that this week I gained 4.1 pounds of FAT. Not good at all. I'm a bit in disbelief, because that's what, 14000 calories? I didn't think I ate that much over maintenence. But there it is in black and white. And right now I should be at the gym, but I can't go, because my friend and his fiance are passing through town and are sleeping in the next room, so I'll have to wait until later, and I want to go NOW. I hate putting off exercising.

Argh, I am reeeeeally frustrated right now. How the hell did I gain 4 pounds of fat over the course of a few days? :bang:

I'm feeling a bit better about things now. Sure, I gained some fat, which may make my goal more difficult to achieve, but I at least have to keep trying. I've never been one to give up because something is hard. I'm still frustrated with myself, yes, but I'll just have to file that feeling away so I can refer to it the next time I think I am in danger of binging. I've had three decent days in a row now, and I can keep that up.

Today was actually not that ideal, but it wasn't entirely my fault. I had houseguests who were just passing through town for the night, and they didn't leave until 9, so I didn't get my cardio workout in. Then at 9:30, I had to go off and do some good old-fashioned manual labour. One of my professors is involved with the kennel club and they are having their big show this weekend, so I was asked to help set up (for a small fee!). So I did that and it took five hours. It wasn't really strenuous work, but it was five hours, so I am sure I burned off some calories doing that (building fences from PVC and setting up tents and canopies and whatnot). I also went for a long walk tonight, to the grocery store to pick up some things. About an hour total, I guess, and the way back I had a bag of groceries in each hand.

It is really hot here today, and supposed to get hotter this weekend. That heat wave that has been getting the rest of the continent seems to be headed our way, I guess. I'm not a big fan of the heat but I guess I'll endure.

On another positive note, the grocery store FINALLY had some blackberries. I love blackberries. They're not great-- certainly not like the ones I used to pick with my (now ex-) girlfriend on their property on the Island, but they're still blackberries.

Well, today I weighed myself and was 179.8, so I guess most of my gain was in fact water weight. This is why I was thinking of getting rid of my scale, but I do use it to calculate lean body mass and body fat percentage, so it will be hanging around for a bit.

Good workout today. Diet is shaping up pretty well, too. Today is a maintenance day, so I have a few more calories to play with. I also just made a good PWO smoothie, thanks to my recent acquisition of blackberries. It has blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries in it, and so it is a nice purple colour. Tastes good, too.

In other news, I officially registered for the first two races (the 5km and the 10km listed in my sig). Whoa. Now I am committed. If I don't do them, I'll have lost my entry fee!

Yesterday ended up being a good day. I ate at my maintenance level, which was tougher than I expected. I did it though, mostly with clean food (save for a biscotti at the coffee shop, but since it didn't muck with my ratio, I am not worried too much). I did overcome a major temptation. After my workout, my friend called. He's moving house, so guess what? Yep, he needed some more muscle to haul beds and desks and bookshelves and boxes and whatnot, so he roped me in. We did that for a few hours, trying to get as much done before the real heat hit (we were moving stuff from one side of the duplex to the other), and then afterward he and his wife ordered pizza for everyone. It smelled really good and was very tempting, but I did not have a single bite. I'm a bit proud of myself.

It is weird, though-- some of the foods I ate the most and loved the most are the ones I don't really miss eating at all. Pizza is one example. Potato chips are another. There was a time when I'd sit and down a bag between the time I got off school (around 3) and dinner, and then have a big dinner on top of it! Now, chips? I'm not even tempted. The pizza was tempting, yeah, but I reminded myself that I had a tasty tuna sandwich waiting at home :lol: and didn't bother.

This morning, I ran five km on the treadmill (well, actually a bit more with the cooldown). Rather than run it flat I set the treadmill on the "random hills" program. It went quite well. Then, after that, I did another 25 minutes on the elliptical. I'm honestly not that worried about my cardiovascular endurance for my first race. :) I think my biggest problem with the 5k will be pacing. However, I had an idea-- one of the songs that I came to on my iPod while I was running was exactly in time with my stride. I wonder if I can just run with that tune on repeat and use it to guide me. :)

Good job Syn, I'm happy to see that you're still going strong, despite a few hiccups and disappointments.

I like the race registrations too, that prompted me to reg for the tri tonight.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's physiologically impossible to put on 5 lbs of fat in a week. At least eating like "we" do.

Anyhow, I'm glad to see that it's going well for you so far.

Thanks, Silver! I was starting to worry I was talking to myself here. ;) Yeah, that five pounds came off pretty quickly-- I was back down below 179 this morning. Mostly water.

Today was not bad. It was my day off, but I ended up going to work tearing down after a local dog show. It took about three hours. Not hard work, but some lifting and such. It is still damn hot out, though.

This week I start working on my 5k time. I hope it goes well. Basically this means I am stepping up my running. I think I'm going to run in the morning and then lift later in the day, before dinner. Hopefully it'll go alright. The real trick will be getting myself out to the gym later in the day.

Here's the tentative schedule:

Monday: Weights (morning)
Tuesday: 3 mile run (morning)
Wednesday: 3 mile run (morning) / Weights (late afternoon)
Thursday: 3 mile run (morning)
Friday: Weights (morning)
Saturday: 2 mile run (morning)
Sunday: 4 mile run (morning)

That's a lot of running! Well, I think I am up to it. Next week will include fartleks and all kinds of other fun running things. :)

Weight: 180 (-2.2)

Body Fat %:
Bio-Elec: 12.9 (-0.3)
Navy: 15.97 (-1.46)
HealthCentral: 11 (-1.5)
AVG: 13.56 (-0.81)

Accumeasure: 8mm (=)

Waist: 33.25" (-0.75)
Hips: 36" (-1)
Wrist: 7" (=)
Chest: 38.5" (-0.5)
Bicep: 14" (=)
Forearm: 11.5" (=)
Quad: 24" (=)
Calf: 17.5" (=)

Well, looks like I nearly worked off what I seemed to have added last week. Pictures arriving soon in my picture thread.

Well, I blew it again. I decided to buy some peanut butter. Banned it for awhile, and decided that I'd been good and could control it. Not so. Ate a bunch of peanut butter sandwiches.

Then, my friend calls me up and wants to go out for a cup of coffee or something, and we go, and he said he hasn't had dinner so he wants to grab a bite to eat. We end up splitting a plate of nachos. And then dessert. I feel incredibly ill right now. I honestly wasn't sure I was going to make it home without puking.

I'm truly baffled by this occasional lack of will power. I don't know what the difference was with Weight Watchers. On that program, by all rights I should have been binging. I was eating way too little. While cleaning the house, I found an old food diary and I could believe I subsisted on what I was eating. But now, I am shooting for a healthy diet, and I still fall off like this at least once a week, sometimes more.

I'm pretty worried because my weight keeps squeaking up, and while I am certainly getting bigger, muscle wise, I am supposed to be cutting. I want that body fat to go down, and I keep wrecking it for myself. Every time I start to get happy with things, I mess it up. I don't know why I do it, either.

Anyway, I threw out the rest of the peanut butte,r and won't buy any more for a long time. I think it might be a "trigger" food or something. So out it goes. I'm getting back on track tomorrow. I'm running 4 miles in the morning (ugh, that should be fun, as i am sure to have a carb hangover now), and then eating clean ALL DAY.

Actually, what really sucks is that this next week was going to be rough anyway. My parents are in town, as are some relatives i haven't seen in two years, so we're having a big get together with my grandma and another set of aunt and uncles. Also, my parents mentioned something about taking me out for my birthday, since we won't be in the same town for it this year. And, finally, the professor I've been working for is taking me out for lunch on Tuesday. Not looking up for this week.

I am stepping up my running.

Do your food cravings have any relationship to when you added the running? The obvious question is did the increase in activity get fed well enough?

If you have trouble avoiding overeating, then you have to get the calories right when you add work.

Zen, no, it started pretty much not long after I stopped with Weight Watchers and started eating cleanly.

It is possible I am not eating enough, I guess. I calculated things out using the Harris-Benedict formula, with an activity modifier of 1.55. Not sure if that should be higher or not. I'm running five days a week and doing weights three days a week. This week, I ran three miles on three of those days, two miles (faster) today, and will do four miles tomorrow. The training program I am following is here (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/142.shtml) (I just push everything ahead one day so I have Sundays off).

My height is just under 5'10" (say 69.5 inches), so according to the H-B I should eat approximately 2900 to maintain, so 2400 to cut:

BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )
= 66 + (6.23 x 180) + (12.7 x 69.5) - (6.8 x 25)
= 66 + 1121 + 883 - 170
= 1900

1900 x 1.55 = 2945 to maintain

On my good days, I eat between 2400 and 2500. For macros, I am emphasizing the carbs a bit more for the running, so I am shooting for a 50:30:20 (C:P:F) ratio.

I do wonder if that activity modifier is low, though. It is such an abstract that it is hard to decide where to go with it. But if I upped the activity modifier to "hard exercise / sport 6 - 7 days a week", it'd be 1.725, and so I should be eating 3277 to maintain, 2777 to lose.

I wouldn't sweat it too much, Syn.

I think that the binging thing can be simply written off as lack of willpower. I know you know that, plus the way to avoid doing it - don't.

I know that when I binge, it's because I choose to. I have that thought that says "This isn't helping me meet my goals", but I do it anyhow. I'm not sure this is the best approach. At the beginning when I was strict, I didn't binge or cheat at all (almost). Why? Because I chose not to. I had the motivation not to. I wanted to achieve this more than anything else. Every once in awhile now, I'd rather eat a mini-apple pie than achieve my physical goals (like last night, yum).

I know that, personally, I'm tired of making that decision and feeling weak. I'm not going to do stupid things like that because I know I don't have to and I know I don't really want to. I actually got somewhere between little and no satisfaction from that stupid pie. It wasn't even good enough to have made it worth it and I felt a bit sick afterwards. It was a good clue that I'm past that.

Although I did eat a hot dog at Costco today...it was damn tasty, too...

Y'know, the thing that troubles me is not so much the fact that I am doing it-- it is the why. I like to know the logic behind things. :) I mean, I looked back at those old food journals I had and I was eating like 1500 calroies in a day, at most. That's insane to me now. I can't even imagine eating that little. Yet, I joined Weight Watchers in September, and didn't have a single cheat, at all, until Christmas Eve. I just don't get why I seem incapable of being that "good" now.

And you've hit on the other thing-- when I do binge liek that, it is totally unsatisfying. The cheat meals that I have had that are satisfying are not eating out, or eating peanut butter. It is when I have a big family meal. Maybe the conviviality makes it worth it or something. So I still have to wonder why the hell I sit dow and eat a stack of PB&J when I know, for a fact, that it isn't going to be satisfying and that I am going to feel terribly guilty afterward. It is weird.

But, all that said, the exercise stuff is going amazingly well. My running program is going great. I did the "long" run for the week--4 miles-- yesterday, and it felt GREAT. At the end, I had a tonne of energy still, so I picked up the pace a fair bit for the last mile or so. Awesome run.

The agenda, running-wise, this week:

Monday: 3 miles
Tuesday: 4 miles fartlek
Wednesday: 2 miles
Thursday: Off
Friday: 2 miles
Saturday: 5 miles (longer than I've ever run before!)

Plus, weights in there as well (MWF).

awesome, good job man!

As for the why, if it's anything like me - it's because there isn't that urgent sense of need anymore. That's why I do it. At the beginning, I had the sense that if I did anything wrong, it was all gonna go to shit and I'd just end up staying fat like I was. I don't know about you, but I don't have that feeling from eating pie anymore. Maybe if I ate a lot of it, but in the amount that I've been cheating, I'm just not that worried about it.

I probably should be more worried than I am, but I'm not :lol:

Well, the week from nutrition hell is nearly over. It started off on Friday, when my parents arrived. I met them at the airport, and then we went out for lunch before they headed off ot stay with my grandma, about an hour away. Then on Sunday, I had a good breakfast, then two big meals with family. Not only were the meals not entirely healthy, I was compelled to have some pie (just two slivers, and they were diabetic pie, so not TOO bad). Then, yesterday, my parents were back here, and took me out for dinner. We went to Earls, where I had kung pao shrimp. I found their nutrtional info online and it was a lot of calories (over 1000), but I managed to eat the rest of the day around it so I didn't do too badly, calorie wise. Macros were shot, and I ingested waaaay more sodium than you should in a day, but not too awfully bad. Then, today, my prof took me out for lunch to Moxies. I had a hamburger with spinach salad. I tried estimating it with Fitday, and am figuring on about 550 calories for the burger and 110 or so for the salad (mainly the dressing).

My parents are still here, but my mom is making dinner tonight-- a turkey breast, some new potatoes, and some vegetable, so that will definitely be managable. So from here on in, I should be able to stay clean for a while. :)

Exercise, at least, is still going alright. I didn't get to the gym yesterday or today becuase of visitors, but I did get out running. I did three miles yesterday in just over 27 minute, and today I did a four mile fartlek. Both runs felt really good, and my speed is improving every time I go out. Good stuff. I'm looking forward to this race, just over a month away. I know I will probably finish middle of the pack, but finishing it iwll feel great.

I am also going to try to up my calories a bit this week and see if it helps my binging and such. If not, it is just one week, right? I'll track as carefully as I can starting tomorrow (I am tracking today, too, but since I am just guess-timating my lunch, it isn't the best case situation) and see what happens. I think I will have to be careful about undereating as my runnning mileage increases, for sure. I'm looking at my schedule, and this week I will be doing 16 miles, next week 17, ten 18, and so on, right up until the week of the run, when I'll be hitting around 20. I need to make sure I am fuelling myself appropriately for this, as the last thing I want is to burn out or get hurt.

I remember the Moxies in PG fondly.

It was the ONLY thing that wasn't awful when I was there (I used to work at Future Shop so went up there for a week to help them set up for their grand opening a few years back).

Also...

The waitresses there were pretty hot. It's like they had a "no one actually from PG is allowed to work here" rule, because everyone I met that was actually from PG was really fucking fat. I couldn't believe the obesity rates up there. Nuts.

I remember the Moxies in PG fondly.

It was the ONLY thing that wasn't awful when I was there (I used to work at Future Shop so went up there for a week to help them set up for their grand opening a few years back).

Also...

The waitresses there were pretty hot. It's like they had a "no one actually from PG is allowed to work here" rule, because everyone I met that was actually from PG was really fucking fat. I couldn't believe the obesity rates up there. Nuts.

There are a few decent restaurants here-- Cimo is good, but I think it is pretty new. There is also a Thai place that I loved the first time I went there-- the food was very fresh and seemed authentic-- but I went again not too long ago and it was really greasy and seemed very pre-made. Than Vu, the Vietnamese place, is also good. Aside from that though we're pretty well stuck with chains. I've been drooling over the menus of some of the places in London. PG is a culinary wasteland in comparison with most places.

But yes, the waitresses there are amazing. I don't know where they find 'em, because you are quite right. PG is a very fat town. I think Moxie's must grow them in the basement or something. :)

Good run today. After yesterday's 4 mile fartlek, today was an easy run-- just 2 miles. I did it faster though, upping the pace to about 7 mph. I actually did a bit more than 2 miles-- I started out on one of the older treadmills because the three good ones were occupied by the stupid talker/walkers. However, the old one seemed to have NO grip. I started going and every other step, I slipped. Very frustrating. Oh, there is also the warmup and cool down on top of the actual run.

I've been good with food today, but I am finding myself feeling a bit peckish, still. Trying to fight it off-- I am going to go for a walk in a few, I think. I already walked to the grocery store and back (About 3 miles total) today, but I don't want to give in and eat something I shouldn't eat.

Also, in a little less good news, the side of my foot hurts. I am not sure what it is. It feels like the bone or something is sticking out and getting banged up. It doesn't actually feel like that, touch-wise, but that is the way it feels-- when I put any pressure on the side of the foot, it hurts a bit. No running tomorrow, so hopefully it will recover. I've also been feeling this low-level cold type thing that has been hitting me of fand on the last several weeks. I am fairly sure it is allergies, and I don't like it. I'm fine in the morning but later in teh day I start to feel it. Nothing major, just like a reaaaaally weak cold. Hrm.

The other thing I need to focus on right now is getting my sleep pattern back to where it should be. I stayed up too late just about every night this week, and so getting up has been a chore. Not good! I'll try to hit the hay earlier tonight.

Gotta hate those random pains...feet are the worst too, because there isn't much you can do to avoid using your feet (at least in my experience).

Syn, I'm not sure how many other journals you frequent, or if you care, but if you want comments in your journal - visit others. You might be the kinda person who doesn't give a rat's poop, but if you do - that's the way to do it!

I think it is my walking shoes. They're old, falling apart, and they never fit right. Just about time to retire them I guess.

I read a few other journals, but between houseguests and packing, I haven't had much time to comment recently.

ah, I see

I personally enjoy getting comments in my journal...between being a bit of an attention whore and using it as motivation - someone I'm accountable to that "gets it" - I find it gives me a bit of a boost.

Today was good calorie-wise, but my macros were shite. Oh well. Live and learn. I've actually been thinking about my macros lately. My primary focus right now is running. I know that runners should take in a lot of carbs from things like oatmeal, and brown rice, and whatnot, but there seems to be more debate about protein and whatnot. Hal Higdon recommends more fat than protein (http://www.halhigdon.com/Articles/Diet.htm), at about 50 carb : 30 fat : 20 protein. CoolRunning's Josh Clark (http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_1/162.shtml) says 60 : 25 : 15. Then, there's Runners World's recommendation (http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s6-53-85-0-7771,00.html) of 50 : 25 : 25.

Man, what I wouldn't give for concrete, absolute advice in the fitness world! :lol:

That said, with the exception of the Runner's World thing, I think these guys are talking about runners who are not necessarily trying to build muscle. Then again, I'm not trying to build muscle at the moment-- I am more worried about maintaining it and cutting the fat. And, of course, my goals right now are firmly focused on running. So maybe I should try to cut the protein a bit in favour of fat. I'll think about it, anyway, and do some more research. Any opinions from the folks around here would be appreciated, of course, though I understand that the focus of most people on this forum is on building muscle, and not necessarily on running a marathon.

So yeah, I'm thinking about that right now, too.

My foot is a bit better today. I really think it is my shoes, which is a shame-- they're my "ol' reliables." Time to chuck them, I guess. I do have other shoes, but I like the ones I have because they're so loose and easy to to take on and off. Yeah, that's lazy. :)

I also picked up a new cookbook today. In addition to trying to eat clean, I also like to eat well-- meaning that the food has to taste good, too. I'm also not so crazy about weird concotions that are focused entirely on fuel at the expense of taste. If it tastes good, I'm all for it, but if not, it makes the ol' diet a lot harder to stick to. Anyway, the book I got is the Rebar cookbook. Rebar's a vegetarian restaurant in my old stompin grounds of Victoria. I ate there once, and I was opposed to the whole thing-- a meal without meat ain't a meal, I thought. But, I'm more willing to try new stuff right now. There's no way in hell I'd go vegetarian, but I think some of the vegetarian cook books have some great ideas. I like the Moosewood books, too.

So yeah, there are a few things in there I want to try. I'm glad there's a site like NutritionData (http://www.nutritiondata.com) around, though, because so many of my recipe books don't have nutritional information.

Of course, I was looking for a really good basic Thai book, but the search for that will have to continue, I guess.

Wow, this was a long post. I'll leave off by saying that tomorrow's another short, fast run-- 2 miles. Saturday is the big daddy-- 5 miles. I am thinking of trying it on the road this time, as I don't want to tie up the treadmill for that long, but I am a bit worried about what it might do to my time and/or shins.

I love cooking.

My favourite right now is the 375 Sensational Splenda Recipes - Low in Sugar AND Fat!

I'll have to check that one out-- sounds good to me. :)

Well, I just ran farther than I ever have before in my life! And it felt great.

Today was my "long" run, and I had been debating whether or not to do it outside or at the gym on the treadmill. Yesterday, I had pretty well concluded that I should do it outside. I was frustrated with the people hogging the treadmills again-- there were two old ladies walking incredibly slowly (PLEASE! THERE IS A RUBBER TRACK, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, ACROSS THE STREET!), and then a guy who was running at a good pace, but had been on there for a loooong time.

Anyway, long story short, I decided that if I went and did five miles on the treadmill, I'd be just as bad. Woke up this morning to grey skies and a temperature of eight degrees (Celsius). Oh, and a decent rainfall. That doesn't bother me, really. Actually, I prefer running when it is cool. I drank some water, waited a few minutes for it to settle, and then off I went.

The first few minutes were a bit tough, but after I was warmed up, the run felt really good. I felt like I was going slow the whole time, but I didn't want to push the pace much as I knew I'd never run a full five miles before and didn't want to tire myself out. Anyway, I did the course I had plotted with the gmaps pedometer the night before, and completed it, stopping only twice for traffic lights.

Aside: the two biggest nuisances about running outside in the city are the cracked, buckled, uneven pavement (that might just be a Prince George thing), and the traffic lights.

Anyway, I had been hoping to do the course in 50 minutes, but I got back to my apartment in 44:30, which made me happy, too.

Anyway, Tuesday's my birthday, and I'm looking at another couple of meals out with friends this week (Tuesday's my birthday, and Saturday is one of my best friend's) so I'll have to work on being extra good so I can have some fun on those nights.

Haven't updated in a bit, so I thought I'd check in... Things are going alright. The running is still going well. I've "graduated" to running outside, which is nice as the weather is not so hot as it was. Today felt a bit sluggish but I think that was due to lack of sleep as much as anything. Outside is definitely a bit tougher on my joints and whatnot, but, since I want to be involved in races, none of which take place on a treadmill, I should get used to it. I have good shoes, which helps, and I'm able to complete all the runs and my recovery time is good, so I am feeling encouraged on that score. Next week, the long run is 6 miles, just 400 meters shy of 10km, which will be a bit milestone (no pun intended) for me.

The food has been good the last couple days, too. I'm happy about that, because I've been feeling really down lately, and usually that's a major time for me to overeat. Tonight I felt like going nuts, but had a few baby carrots instead.

My birthday's in two days, and that is what has me down. I'm not upset about getting older or anything, but more about what a non-event it is turning out to be. I should be used to my birthday passing by like this, but this time I feel really frustrated. I'm leaving town, hopefully for good, in two weeks, and I am turning 25-- a quarter of a century old!-- which should count for something. But nobody around here has asked me if I want to even so much as go out for dinner for my birthday or anything like that. I really don't want to plan my own birthday celebration! The best I have go so far is my friend, whose birthday is three days after mine, telling me that I can come along when her friends take her out for her birthday. I don't really feel like being a tag-along. Actually, the only ones who seem sympathetic to this are my friends who don't live in the same town as me. They're all quite upset that I'm probably going to be spending my birthday alone, but as they're all hundres of miles away, it doesn't do me much good.

Oh well. Maybe this is part of growing up. But, as I am usually at my parents' on my birthday, I haven't been able to have a proper celebration with friends in... well probably since high school.

Alright, emo stuff over. I'm still busying myself with work and packing (tentative birthday plans: work and pack). The packing is almost done but I've been getting frustrated with this woman who I got in touch with through the local Freecycle group. She has been supposed to pick up a tonne of my stuff that has been sitting in my hallway since Thursday, but each time "something comes up" and she doesn't show up without letting me know that she isn't going to show up. Today she was supposed to come in the morning, and didn't show. I e-mailed her and told her to come get it tonight or else i was going to offer it to somebody else, and she e-mailed me back and said something about her kid sticking a key in a light socket :confused:

riiiiight.

Anyway, this is a fitness journal, not a day to day bitch journal, so yeah, running is going good. I wanted to hit the weights today but the gym was closed due to the stat holiday, so maybe tomorrow.

I just read through your journal for the first time, so congrats on your big loss from your Weight Watcher days. I know that isn't always in the forefront of day to day life, but it is motivating for sometimes to think of how far I have already come and that I can push through any issues that are currently befalling me.

As for your birthday, don't get too down about it since there isn't a damn thing you can do to change it. It has happened to me before and it is no fun. Make sure to get a good workout in and and accomplish something you can be proud of, even if it is mundane like packing. Something is better than nothing!

I don't know about you, but even though I just started with the journal thing, I've been kind of using as a theraputic thing. I have seen other people who do the same and it makes sense to me. The fitness journey seems to be more mental than physical and all of lifes foibles affect how we approach our day to day fitness activities especially eating. Getting some of the more aggravating or concerning things out can make you think about why things happen and how they can be changed.

In any case, good luck with your packing and keep on track!

Thanks Stromie. I'm sure I'll find plenty to occupy me with tomorrow. I have two jobs (tomorrow is the last day for one of them) and am editing a book for my professor, and that needs to get done this week, so if I need to occupy myself, I won't have to look far. If that fails, I'll go to my local coffee shop and try to get some pity from the girls who work there or something.... riiight. :)

Just got back from a run. Should have gone this morning but woke up feeling really sluggish and thought I'd hold off. The worry was that I wouldn't actually do it, but I made myself go out. I am glad I did. I was really happy with my time. I want to run my race in 24:00 and I just did the run in just under 25:00. Good sign, I think.

That said, I can't wait till I move. The running here is so boring. I miss running in Victoria-- the scenery was always beautiful. Here, it is just concrete, asphalt, and more concrete. I think I mentioned it before, but the apartment I have in London has a trail system right behind it, that runs along a river. It should be a lot nicer, I think.

I think I am going to take tomorrow off, for my birthday. It isn't like I have anything planned (as I mentioned previously), but I think a day of rest might do me good. I probably will make it an "active rest" day as my track coach used to say, and do some cross training.

Well, today's my birthday, and I haven't done much. I ate crap. Not too much crap, though. I had a couple pieces of pizza for lunch, yeah, and for dinner I took myself out to a restaurant and had a couple of cookies for dessert. The restaurant has nutritional info, so as near as I can tell, I am still doing okay calorie-wise (had to estimate the pizza, but I think I am pretty close on it). Of course, my macros are shot, but oh well.

My weight has skyrocketed this past week. Right now it is water weight, but I am still way up even without the water weight. It is kind of frustrating, because I can see my gut is much bigger than it has been. Hopefully I can be good the next couple days. I ate too much again yesterday, and it shows I guess.

Haven't gone for a run yet, today, or done much of anything. I have people coming by to take away some of my furniture, and maybe if they come by soon I can get out early and then get some work done or something. I just have a short two mile run scheduled for today, but I would like to get out if I can. Oh well.

Anyway, happy birthday, indeed.

Happy Birthday! Don't knock the uneventful birthday. It still beats the alternative.

And I'm pretty sure you're allowed to be lazy and eat crap on your birthday. We'll cut you some slack. Enjoy! ;)

Dude! Happy birthday! :D

I must also extend my compliments on the Refridgeron and Magnimus avatar. I know it's belated, but there you go. :bow:

Thanks for the happy birthday wishes.

M@: Yeah, PBF is great. :) I think you're the first person who has recognized the avatar. :)

Thanks for the happy birthday wishes.

M@: Yeah, PBF is great. :) I think you're the first person who has recognized the avatar. :)

Shit, I missed your birthday. Congratulations on completing the first quarter of your life. And good job with the running outside. Treadmill=:evil:

Yes, Happy Birthday (a day late)! Hope you enjoyed your pizza and cookies, I know I will when my brithday comes around. No reason to sweat the extra weight, just work a little harder to get rid of it and all will be well.

Thanks, guys. The cookies were good, the pizza not so much. The cafeteria at the university must make the worst pizza in the world-- the crust is like cardboard. Makes me miss our old local parlour in Victoria. Best in the world!

Oh well, it was a nice change-- I haven't had pizza in a long time. :)

Alright, I might as well admit it. I have absolutely no ability to pace myself when I go running. I went out today, intending to take it easy. I think my tiredness lately has probably been because I was pushing too hard in my training runs. The ones that are supposed to be easy, I push pretty hard on.

So today, I tried to go slower. It is hard! I usually just run-- I get out and go and adjust myself as I feel. Unfortunately, this usually leads to me pushing too hard at the start.

In an effort to stop this, I checked out my route on the google maps pedometer, and looked for the mile markers. Okay. I knew what I wanted my one mile pace to be, so I thought I could go by that. And I tried, I really did. I hit the first mile, and it was a bit too fast, so I eased up. Second mile, much better Right where I wanted to be.

Then, I hit the end of the course. Lo and behold, my time was faster than my last 3 miler! What the?! I mean, it is good, becuase this run FELT nice and easy, which is the main thing. I had a huge amount of energy at the end, and was able to go quite a bit faster for the last couple hundred meters. But now I'm trying to figure out what I did differently.

As well as my running is going, my diet is still struggling. I'm eating too much. On the positive side, it is good food that I am getting too much of, but those extra calories aren't getting burned off. Actually, to tell the truth, I still haven't established how much I should be eating. Every time I try to gauge myself, I either have some sort of binge where I can't remember how much of something I ate, or didn't measure, or I have a day that has a tonne of sodium, or something or other happens. I need to try to be extra good, so I can figure out if I am under or over-eating. Right now, I know I am over eating, but that's because of binging and/or eating out. Need to stop that. Of course, tomorrow is my friend's birthday and the buzz is we're going out for dinner. Sigh.

Oh well. At least the running is going well. T hat's something I can hold on to.

Holy crap-- I just looked at my fitday stats, and for the past several days I've been getting over 80 grams of fibre.

Wow.

No wonder I've been feeling a bit... sluggish. Going to have to cut back on that! Good thing I'm pretty much out of that Fiber One cereal...

You have a great thread, when I log on to update my thread, I alway check to see your updates. And belated Happy Birthday.

Thanks, Shamie, glad you're enjoying my whining. ;)

According to my running training program, today was cross-training day, so that's what I did. I did some rowing, some biking, and some time on the elliptical. It felt pretty good. Tomorrow's the long run, a 4-miler this week. I'm looking forward to it.

My gym membership expires on Monday, and since I am moving just a little over a week after that, I don't want to renew it (obviously) and per-visit passes are pretty pricey. I think I am going to look for some plyometrics or something. I think they're a good thing to add to the old repretoire, anyway, since when I travel, or whatever, I should be able to do them regardless of where I am and/or what equipment I have. I think I should start working on upper-body stuff, since my legs get so much work done with my running.

Any suggestions for weight/equipment-free exercises? Not necessarily plyometric. Pushups are obvious, of course. I may have to invest in a medicine ball, but not until after I move-- I don't want to pack one to Ontario with me, I've enough stuff to move. :)

Sigh, I gotta get my eating under control... Another bad weekend. Today was better (so far). It's always late at night, with me, and it is really hurting me. Today I weight myself and I was in at 188, and that ain't muscle. My shorts were feeling tighter, and I can see my gut getting bigger. Don't know what has happened the last few weeks. It seems just as my physical activity starts to click, my diet goes by the way-side.

Neeed to get it under control... I don't know why I do it. I sit there, and I know I'm doing harm, but for some reason, I can justify it to myself. "I'll eat bad now, and get right back on track tomorrow. At worst, I'll maintain this week." But I'm weighing more than I have since January.

I think if I had one, good, solid, clean week, I could get things back under control, but right now it feels as though I'm in a car sliding on the ice toward the brick wall. I was hoping to be in the shape of my life when I made the move. Now, I'm not in the worst shape, but certainly not in the best.

So things have been going well the last couple days. Yesterday, I was supposed to run 3.5 miles but ended up doing closer to 4 (I missed the turn-off I was supposed to take). My time wasn't bad-- 34 minutes or so. Today I did two miles, which is a nice distance. I managed it in just over 16 minutes, which is about the pace I want to do my 5k race in. Maybe slightly faster. If I break 24 minutes at the race, I'll be ecstatic.

Diet's been good, the last couple days, too (touches wood). Hopefully I can keep it up. In the next week, I'll have a meals that I have to watch out for. I'm going to visit my grandma on Sunday. The good thing is that she cooks good food-- vegetables from her garden and all that-- but she does love to bake. She's diabetic, which means most of her baked goods don't have a lot of sugar in them, which is a plus, but she does like to put a lot of food on the table. Then, on Monday, there's a big dinner to celebrate my leaving town ;). We're going to a nice Mediterranean (Greek and Italian) place here called Cimo's. The food there is very good, and hopefully I won't set myself back too much!

On Wednesday, I drive down to Vancouver for a few days before I fly out to Ontario. My mom has a big meal planned-- turkey with all the fixings-- as it is birthday season at my house, and also because I am leaving. Again, it will probably be clean food, but there'll be a lot of it.

I think, though, if I stick to plan aside from those meals, I should do well this week. My weight's down to 186 this morning from what I hope was a top-out of 188.

I've been investigating gyms in London, too. I'll have access to the university gym, but there is one in my neighbourhood that looks promising. The web site advertises a once-a-week personal training session for $8 a week, and it says they have student prices, but it doesn't say exactly what those prices are. The university gym will probably suffice, but in my experience university gyms are often very crowded and it is hard to find times when they are dead, and I hate waiting for equipment. Plus, the neighbourhood one is about a kilometer away, which would make it slightly more convenient for early morning work-outs and whatnot. I'll pop in when I get there and check their prices. The fact that they don't list them on the web page is a bit troubling, though it may be because it varies from location to location (they seem to have a few franchises in southern Ontario). My big worry is that, like so many other gyms, to get the good deal you've got to lock in for the rest of your life. ;)

Anyway, yeah, things are going well for now, and hopefully I can stick it out for a while now! I expressed interest in the diet challenge thread, and maybe that'll help keep me honest.

Alright, two perfect diet days in a row. Let's see if I can make it a threepeat. Then a fourpeat. And so on. :)

Went for my run this morning. Three and a half miles. It felt pretty good. I think one thing I will have to make sure and do when I race is warm-up somehow before the race! Right now, I just roll out of bed and go, and consequently the first bit of the run is effectively my warm-up. I don't want to waste time in the race waiting for my muscles to catch up!

Not much else to say. My move is getting closer and closer and I have a tonne of stuff to do before I can get out of here. I'm actually starting to get a bit stressed about it. I'm a terrible procrastinator, you see.

I think I have to
1) Take car in for scheduled maintenance
2) Arrange for my stuff to get picked up
3) Finish a crap-load of stuff for my research job
4) Go visit my grandma
5) See some people I want to see before I go

Today, I'm going to call the mechanic and arrange an appointment for my car, and finish as much of the research stuff as I can. The latter HAS to be done today, as I have a meeting with my boss / prof tomorrow and I will need to give him a lot of stuff so he can look it over, get it back to me, and have me fix any errors before I go. Whee.

Anyway, off I go!

I've been checking out some of the fitness options available at the university gym this coming semester.

They have a couple of programs. I could sign on and get 8 regular sessions with a personal trainer, which might be good. I'm also considering swimming lessons again. I took some a few months ago, but I don't think they really took. The instructor was nice, but not a great teacher, and I think I overestimated my base abilities. The swimming lessons are cheap, anyway. In fact, they have one class that coincides with my "cross-training" day on my running schedule, even. That might be good.

There's also a gym near my place that has a six-week fat-loss program, but I'm not sure how much it'd cost, or what it would involve. I mean, if it was going to be super expensive, I'd just go and invest in SGX-- at least I'd know I'd get out it of what I put into it. I've seen too many incompetent trainers at the local gym here to trust one right away.

But we'll see.

Today was a rest day, but I did walk to the grocery store and back, about 2 miles or so. Not much, but more than I was supposed to do. ;) Tomorrow I have to find some cross-training to do that will fit with my schedule, and doesn't involve the gym, since my membership there expired a couple days ago.

Hoo, almost didn't get out for a run today. I was off to seem my grandma, who lives nearby, for the last time before I left, and had laundry to do before I got that far. So I didn't get out in the morning. After lunch with grandma (eep, two pieces of pie! Diabetic / sugar-free pie at least), drove back, messed around with packing, had dinner, et cetera, did some more work. It was coming up around 8, and I thought i should do the run. It was the long one today-- 5 miles-- but I almost talked myself out of it, and into doing it tomorrow.

But, finally I said "I'll just go out and see how it feels. If it goes rough, I'll at least walk the distance."

So I went out, fully expecting a crappy run, but it wasn't that bad at all. It was weird. The first two miles went great, and then the third mile I got hit with a side stitch. See, that's why I prefer to do my running on an empty stomach. Tried to run through it, but ended up walking for about 200 meters or so. Then I started running again. When I hit the start of mile four, I was feeling great again, and mile five might have been the best one I've done yet. Weird how that works.

Anyway, the run went well. What's more, if my estimates for the calories on the pie are close, I only went over my calorie mark by about 75... Not bad, if I do say so myself.

where you at, man?

moved already? how's london? lots of nubility there...or so I hear...and lots of pubs with which to use as weapons in taking advantage of nubility!

where you at, man?

moved already? how's london? lots of nubility there...or so I hear...and lots of pubs with which to use as weapons in taking advantage of nubility!

Hey,

I'm still around. Yep, got to London on Sunday, and am currently getting everything organized. No net at home yet-- I'm leeching wifi at a local mall for now.

And yes, plenty of nubility 'round these parts. :) And many pubs. Coincidence? I think not. ;)

Hope school started out well!

Enjoy all that London has to offer ;)

Wow, it has been a while! I still don't have the Internet at home (But that's a rant for another day), so I haven't been updating. Hopefully when it gets hooked up I will be able to do so again.

Long story short:
Diet has been shite since I moved, but I'm determined to get back on track.

Ran my first race today. 5km. I came in 44th overall, with a time of 24:41. That is slower than I had hoped (I was shooting for 24) but not surprising given the diet stuff. Also, I think I went out too fast. At the start line I was in the middle of the pack, and got frustrated and so passed a bunch of people at the start. Most of them stayed behind me, but I don't think I recovered from the initial energy expenditure. I still had a bit of a kick at the end but not quite like what I have had in training. Oh well. The 10km is coming up.

The running has been great here. My apartment building literally backs onto a trail system that runs alongside the river here, and I ahve been running along it. THe downside is that it isn't marked for distances and so I have no idea how far I've been running. I've estimated as best I can using the google pedometer, but it doesn't show the trail, so it is just an estimate.

Also, I'm hoping to get a cheap bike next weekend. There is a bike sale on campus and I want to get a little something to just ride around the town (for errands and whatnot). I have been walking a lot, though, which is good-- London is much more conducive to walking places than Prince George was, that's for sure.

Anyway, yeah, if all goes well, I'll have the net back at home tomorrow. Cross your fingers (and curse Bell while you're at it).

Excellent job on the race, man! That's killer! That's definitely not a time to sneeze at and if Coachese sees it, he'll probably cry.

No net yet?

Woohoo, the Internet is back!

Not much new to say since yesterday, except for one thing. I joined a local gym, and also signed up for 12 sessions with a personal trainer-- 2 a week for six weeks. I'm hoping this will help to motivate me, and focus my training a bit more. It sounds like a good program. They take a lot of data to do before and after comparisons, and the gym has a wide variety of good equipment. Not too busy, either. There's a pool, and, though it is small, it is nice to have it there. They also have a bunch of group classes, a couple of which I am interested in. They're included in my membership fees, so that's cool, too.

Hopefully this will work out. My PT is supposed to call me tomorrow, and arrange a meeting time for my first session.

I'm actually kind of looking forward to it. I think having a "coach" might be just what i need.

Excellent job on the race, man! That's killer! That's definitely not a time to sneeze at and if Coachese sees it, he'll probably cry.

No net yet?

Heh heh, you posted whilst I was writing my other entry.

I'm not too upset with the time-- it felt good to just get the race under my belt. Now I am a runner, and not just a jogger. :)

EDIT:
Here are the results (http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/races/results/2006/SBRR%205K.htm). Look at #41!!! I got beat by a 9-year old girl! And 46th was also a nine-year-old-- I out=sprint him at the end. :)

:lol:

some of the kids doing the tri were fucking nuts, man - super athletes! it was amazing...I can only imagine what a running race would be like

Umm that's ok.. #114... can whoop my rear-end... right now I'm "running" (more like walking with spurts of run) at 17:00 miles... :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :o :doh:

Great job on the race!!! :bb:


EDIT:
Here are the results (http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/races/results/2006/SBRR%205K.htm). Look at #41!!! I got beat by a 9-year old girl! And 46th was also a nine-year-old-- I out=sprint him at the end. :)

Great job with the race. It must have felt good to get one under your belt.

Congratulations on the race! That's all kinds of good stuff.

"Now I am a runner, and not just a jogger." - I like that. :tu:

Thanks guys!

I'm hitting the new gym for the first time tomorrow. I thought the PT was supposed to call today to arrange a time, but he/she didn't, so I am gonna go in on my own anyway. I'm paying for the membership, so I may as well go! I get 12 sessions with the PT either way. My training schedule says to do 3 mile run or cross train, but I'll probably do an easy three miles and some weight work, or, failing that, run to the gym (it is about 2km away), do some weights, and run back. See how I feel in the morning. :)

I'm looking at some of the group classes, too. I think if I do 2 proper sessions with teh PT a week, and one group class, and one other day of weights, I should be sitting pretty (this on top of my running). So long as I keep my diet on the up and up, that is. The PT is (so they tell me) also there for dietary advice, but looking at some of the material they had at the gym I think I'm likely to stick with what I know from this forum on that score. The brochure had a guy on under 1800 calories a day; given that I am going to be going for an 8 mile run in a couple weeks, which'd knock off at least 800 calories right there, I don't th ink that is a wise thing.

I'd find it really hard to get nutrition advice from a PT now without literally talking for hours to discuss what's worked and what hasn't worked to date.

I think the advice is here is pretty good, given the results so many of us have seen, so I think it's a wise choice on your part. With that in mind, a little experimentation is always fun.

I have my first session (of twelve) with the personal trainer tomorrow. THe timing's not fantastic. I was planning to hit the gym tomorrow but was hoping to take part in one of the classes in the morning. However, I want to get started with the PT as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to seeing what she has me do, and to see what sort of results I can get in six weeks with her. I'll try to take some decent before/after pics. I haven't done any pictures in a while because my diet has been so awful that there has been precious little change to note.

Speaking of diet, I am still struggling with that (obviously). I am considering looking for a pre-planned week or something, where I am told exactly what to eat. I don't know, it just feels that lately I've been too lax with everything. I even planned out a week's worth of meals, stuck to it for a couple days, then fell off the wagon again.

Plus, it doesn't help that I'm trying to be very social here. I'm in a new city and while I am fortunate enough to have a couple of online acquaintances here (whom I have met and are great people) I've always been bad at the whole social side of things, and I think I'm going to need that to keep me sane. Of course, the upshot of this is that I've drank more since getting here than I have probably in a year. :) No, I'm not going all out crazy binging like the first year undergrads, but there have been a lot of department / grad studies social mixers and whatnot that I've been going to, as well as pub nights with the people I've met so far. To make matters worse, these usually involve pizza in the wee hours of the morning.

So there are definitely things I need to work on. That said, I think if I can clean my diet up, I could see some really good results in the next six weeks. I know I can stick to running, and with a PT on my case, I'll do all right in the weight room. The diet's the one thing I've got to take charge on. It's ALWAYS been the thing. Really, it is a good thing I am as active as I am now, or I'd be ballooning faster than... well something that grows really fast.

Uhm, another side bar-- the gym has a room with a bunch of heavy boxing bags set up. Now, I know nothing about the "sweet science," but I gotta say, I'd love to get in there and get my frustrations out with a few rounds at the bag. I don't have any interest in actual sparring or anything, but I'm considering seeing what I can do about getting a few informal lessons just so I can go do a workout punching a bag. IT seems like it'd be hugely therapeutic. :)

I think that those first couple of weeks of school are just like that Syn. I've been the same way. I've sworn up and down that I'd make it all work, but there's just a lot of socialization going on.

Once things settle into routine, you'll do fine.

So, first session with the PT today. It went alright, I guess. Most of all, she really helped with my form and such, which is, I suppose, what I was after. I am not sure of the logic of the training system though. The basic idea is high weight, low-reps, which I understand, but then there is only one set. Previously, I had been doing 2 or 3 sets of 8 reps.

That said, I'm going to go with it for now and see how things develop.

We're doing full-body workout, and she said she wants me in three times a week (I think only twice with her and once on my own). Next session is on Monday. That's when we're doing measurements, apparently. Today she just took my blood pressure etc to check if they were healthy (which I think is most likely an insurance deal). Apparently we're going to have to do it again as I got there early so I did ten minutes on the elliptical while I was waiting, so my systolic (I think) was high. That said the other one (I'm terrible with these names) and my heart rate were both in the healthy range for a male of my age, even after the exercise, so she was pleased with that.

The other thing I sort of liked is that she kept underestimating how much I could do. Sometimes I actually like to be underestimated, because then you can impress people with you exceed their expectations. :) But, yeah, she kept setting me up with a certain amount of weight, and I could usually do it pretty easily, so she had to add more. That's kinda cool.

Anyway, I hope this works out. I think that, again, if I can keep my diet under control, I'll do alright. I'm sticking with the running, too, of course. Tomorrow's a big day-- 7 miles. THat'll be the farthest I have ever run before, without a doubt. It'll also put me over 10km, which is the distance of my next race (which isn't until the end of October). The training plan I am on is actually for a half, but there are no halfs coming up in the area, so I am just working on building up my distance until I can do the half. Then I'll try to focus on getting the speed improved.

I didn't get out for a run this morning, because I overslept and then wanted to get to that bike sale before everything good was gone. I did make it to the bike sale and picked up a cheap mountain bike with shocks (not that I really need them, but hey, why not) for $55. It is nothing fancy, but everything works, so I'm happy with it. I rode home (had bussed there) and then had some homework to do.

After doing said homework, I went for a walk into town and ran into a friend (well somebody I had recently met at school) and we went on to the big market here together, wandered a bit, and had some Indian food. Then I had to head back and made it home in time to go meet another friend, and we went out for an early dinner at East Side Marios, where I was terrible and got a meatball sandwich with fries. Whoops.

Anyway, I got home, and by 8 I wasn't hungry at all, but decided I should go out for that run. I was planning on going seven miles, but missed one turn, then went the wrong way at another, and ended up in the middle of nowhere. I turned around and retraced my steps, and was going to just head back, but, what the hell. For some reason, I was feeling great. So I went on running, following one road for a while, then another, fairly haphazardly, until I found myself back on the main road. Took that back to my place. I plugged it all into the google pedometer, and figured out that I actually went a little over eight miles! Cool. That's nearly 13km. I'm thinking that, distance-wise, that 10km in six weeks isn't going to be too awfully difficult. :)

Too bad I ate like crap today, or I'd feel really good about myself. :) Oh well. I probably burned off a lot of the extra calories with that run.

Tomorrow's session 2 with the PT, and we're taking measurements, etc, so I get to see how bad things are. Eep. I'm a bit nervous.

Alright, back with the PT today. The workout was a bit more vigorous this time. Full body again, any my legs, especially, were really feeling it, though that probably had as much to do with the long run yesterday as anything.

Anyway, I got some statistics this time.

Blood pressure (Resting): 122 / 72
Resting heart rate: 52

Both of which she said were excellent. I also got weighed, and got a body fat measurement (Tanita).

I was dreading the weight; I was so worried after how I'd been eating the last few weeks. Seriously, I was anticipating 190. To my surprise, it came in at just over 180, and that was in shorts and a t-shirt, not long after dinner. Whoa. The body fat percentage was at 13.5%. I'm not sure how accurate that was, either, for the same reasons (accuracy of the Tanita scale aside).

Anyway, by all those measurements, I am a very healthy young man. I just wish that that 13.5% fat wasn't all located around my belly button!

Way to go with the run! Especially with an unexpected extra mile. And cheers to good health and all that, too. It sounds like you're getting settled and right back on track. Good job. :tu:

The thing about my PT is that she is treating me like a beginner. The other thing is, that is good, because I am actually learning a lot, especially when it comes to form.

Anyway, tonight she took my measurements. Here's where we are at (all non-flexed)

Upper arm: 12.5"
Chest: 40"
Waist: 35"
Buttocks: 39"
Right Thigh: 21.5"
Right Calf: 17"

We talked about my goals, and whatnot too, and I said my primary goal is to lose my belly fat. She pointed out that my body fat percentage is healthy, but she understood that I didn't like where it was, so we're going to keep working on burning it off. That means, she says, lots of leg stuff next session. Oh boy. We also talked about if there was anywhere that I want to (in time) build up; of course I said (like just about any guy, I think) chest, arms, and shoulders. But first things first-- get rid of the flab.

EDIT: and, I didn't mention it before, but I have to say, I love that I went for a 4.5 mile run last night, and it felt SHORT. That was awesome. :)

So I'm still here. A bit worse for wear, but still here. I've had a helluva week, not the least of which is because I've managed to catch the brutal head cold that's been going around. Consequently, I haven't been getting to the gym, or running, or anything. Not cool. I'm hoping I get back in top of things soon, but as it is, the cold doesn't seem to be getting better but is just moving around. Blegh. I even got some of that ColdFX stuff that everyone seems to love so much, and it didn't do all that much for me.

Oh well. I'll be back on top of things soon enough, gym / running-wise.

My diet's still shite, though. I've an appointment to see a nutritionist on campus on Monday, and I'll be interested to hear what she has to say. I've just been bad lately. There's no excusing it. I just have to do better. Of course, it doesn't help that there seems to be some sort of party or get-together every freaking week here! Last week was the new grad student party; tomorrow's somebody's birthday... Sigh...

Whoa, I haven't posted in a while!

I had a terrible cold last week, so it wasn't so great. Then came Thanksgiving. Yeah. Not so great for the ol' diet either, which hasn't been very good anyway. But aside from last week, the whole exercise thing has been going pretty well. I'm loving working with a PT. Tonight we did some plyometric stuff, which was kind of cool. She also totally kicks my abs' ass (now there's a weird mental image).

I think I'm noticing some better definition in my shoulders and chest, so maybe the bad diet has actually been helping me build up some muscle. I dunno. The gut's still there, though.

But, yeah. The diet's the thing to watch, because I have the whole exercise routine down. I'm happy with my weight stuff, and the running is still going strong. Just need to get the diet in balance and I should see some really positive changes, I think. I actually did go see that nutritionist the other day, and she didn't really tell me much I didn't already know. Oh well. I'm working on counting calories and tracking what I eat now, which is something I've been neglecting the last many weeks.

Of course, it also isn't helping that my social calendar seems to be much fuller now than it ever has been. Take this weekend: tomorrow night, a potluck. Friday night, a party for the first-year PhD students. Sunday, supposed to go to the pub with some friends. Yikes.

Hey Syn, good to see you.

How's the new school and new life in London? Good times?

Social calendar's an easy thing to fill up in school. Mine's constantly full, it seems.

You using fitday now? It's been working well for me, that much I can say.

Hey Silver,

Things are going awesome-- I love it here. Lots and lots of good times-- maybe a bit too much! School keeps me busy, too, though, but I am enjoying everything so far. Presentations and papers left right and center!

I'm not using Fitday, I'm using nutridiary. I guess I should change my sig! But, yeah, Fitday is nicer for some things, but I like nutridiary's meal system. Just makes things a bit easier to parse when I look at them.

I started using Nutridiary, then I considered paying for it for access to all the extra stuff and realized that it's not maintained, at all. You can't even pay for it anymore (Paypal won't accept it) and so I moved on to FitDay because I didn't want to see everything I put in get lost if the stupid site dissolves.

Too bad, too...ND is pretty much vastly superior.

I think Fitday has its benefits, too. I like how simple it is. But the meal thing is the nicest thing about Nutridiary. On Fitday it gets kind of messy, and you see all these miniscule measurements for things all over the place. I was about to pay for nutridiary, too. I'll stick with it for now, though. I don't really use it to keep track of trends or anything so much as I do to keep myself honest.

yeah, it's killer as far as meals etc go

just wish it was more reliable

Ah, it has been a great weekend. Saturday was pretty low-key. I did some homework, but I did get out to run a seven-miler. It felt great. I wanted to get out again today, but no such luck. Yet, anyway. I do have a tonne of homework left to do, though, because I didn't get enough done on the weekend. But we'll see. I'm sure I can fit a half hour in there and do a few miles.

On Sunday, well, I met an amazing girl, and we had coffee, and it went really well, and I'll resist saying any more for fear of jinxing it. :)

But then, I went to the gym because I had an appointment with my PT. Unfortunately, she didn't show up (she had good reason). I went through our routine on my own, though. I don't think I am imagining it, but I'm positive I am getting bigger--in a good way--in my chest, shoulders, and biceps. This is cool. Now I just have to reduce that gut!

aim to be one of the few that starts school in shit condition and ends school looking good

that's my goal, too

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates.

Anayway, I had my 10k today. It came off really well. My time wasn't stellar, but I decided going in to take it slow and easy as I am getting off of a cold. Anyway, I finished, and passed a lot of people on the second half (including probably five or six in the last one hundred meters). My official time was 55:57. and I had myself in at about 55:50. That was good for 164 out of 255.

There was also a 3km walk/run beforehand. What amazed me about that is this one guy who ran it as a warm up, came in first with a time just over 10:30, and then, afterward, ran the 10k and came in... 7th I think, with a time of 34 minutes or so! That blew my mind!

Anyway, all in all, I am happy with my time. Faster would have been nicer, of course, but the weather was lousy (2 degrees, with a huge wind), I was getting off a cold, and I got there way too early, meaning I was standing in the cold for a good hour before the actual race started. So I'm okay with how things turned out. I receoverd really well, and feel like I could go run another one tomorrow. My eyes are on the next goal-- a half marathon. Not till the spring, though.

In other news, my diet is still awful. But I've signed up for more sessons with my personal trainer, and she's putting me on this 6-week fat loss program. Apparently I am guaranteed to lose a certain amount of fat (13 - 19 lbs) over the six weeks or I get my money back. Hey, why not? It includes a meal plan and all kinds of stuff, so hopefully it'll help get that part of things back on track.

Syn, you may not be happy with your time, but that's hella respectable.

I think my ultimate goal (for now) is to do the Sun Run in just under 50 minutes.

Got some badass Halloween parties going on or what?

Got some badass Halloween parties going on or what?

Heh heh, could say that. Friday night, a friend of mine from my program was performing with the UWO Hip Hop Dance Team at a local undergrad club, so I went out to that, and then last night we had a little Halloween shindig. I was a good boy, though, and stuck to the water (though I wasn't so good about avoiding the cookies and chips :whistle: )

Hah, that's funny. I avoided all the snacks but imbibed extreme amounts of alcohol.

Oh well, once a month or so is hardly cause for great concern.

Hah, that's funny. I avoided all the snacks but imbibed extreme amounts of alcohol.

Oh well, once a month or so is hardly cause for great concern.

Once a month? What's this once a month business?

-synecdoche (the lush) ;)

that's only about how much i drink...i'm too cheap to drink more than that

I have to admit that my budget has become kinda... skewed of late, when it comes to the fun side of things, but I try to keep things cheap by going with the classics (G&T) when I am out, versus that crazy foreign beer I prefer (but I have to watch what I say about Labatt in this town!)... mmm Guinness. :)

My workout today was... really tough. I am not sure what happened. Actually, most of it went okay, but my quads felt really tired the whole time. We (we being me and my PT) started out with the side-steps (onto a platform) and weighted jumps, and after that I was feeling it, and then we moved onto squats.

Not sure what was happening there, but, I mean, it was a good tired-- it felt tired like my muscles were rebuilding, and that's good.

I also got the booklet for the nutritional plan. We're officially starting this next phase of the program next week, but I wanted the book early so I could read through it and make sure i got the shopping done so I could get right down to it. It looks alright, but a couple things concern me. Foremost among these is that it suggests that during the six week program that I shouldn't do cardio. This really doesn't feel like an option to me; I like running (wow, I never would have thought I'd say that!) and I DO want to build on my distance so I can get to that marathon.

I'll try to find the rationale behind the lack of cardio:

- "If the activity is continued long enough at an adequate heart rate for many minutes, then it is said to be aerobic. Fat loss would ten be retarded in two ways. Too much repetitive activity prevents maximum muscle building by using up your recovery ability. Unimpaired recovery ability is necessary for muscular growth. Too much activity--especially if you are on a reduced-calorie diet--causes you to get the blahs and quickly lose your enthusiasm. If this happens, you're sure to go off your eating plan."

Now, I understand the bit about getting the "blahs." Sure. But, I mean, I'm not sure that I'm prepared to give up my running. I'll ask my PT about it. She's been very encouraging of my running all the way through my time with her, and I doubt she'd ask me to stop.

If nothing else, I might just keep it up and then eat a bit more those days. I think that this book is aimed at people who haven't worked at educating themselve as much as I have (really, there isn't anything in it I haven't heard before on these forums), so I can likely work around it.

That seems a bit whack.

They're basically saying that doing cardio will make you too tired based on the eating plan. What does the eating plan look like?

Dude, none of these chumps were able to appreciate my Hal Johnson Halloween costume. They don't know what they're missing.

Yeah, it seems weird to me too, so I'll bring it up with my PT and see what she says.

The diet is primarily a low GI thing, but it is lower in calorier than I normally do (about 2200/day). But then, I calcuated my target taking into account the running, and I run 15-20 miles a week, at least.

I think your costume was awesome!

Well, don't know if anybody is still subscribing to this thread, but I'm going to try to get back.

I've been pretty slack the last couple of months, I have to say. I started that six week program, and it was pretty much a bust, weight-loss-wise. Not because of the program, but because of a total lack of self-discipline when it comes to diet.

Also, I sorta... got hit by a car in November. It wasn't that bad, really-- I just sorta got swiped and had my foot ran over. Needless to say, no running for me. I actually went for the first time again on Christmas day.

But, I am going to try to get back into things. Fix the diet, keep up in the gym, get back into the running.

Honestly, though I have been eating a lot of shit (especially the last few days), I'm not entirely happy with where I am at. I came home for the holidays and saw my family for the first time, and my sister told me I actually look better now than I did during the summer. She said then, I was just looking skinny; she said now i have some shape. Plus, i've started dating an incredibly woman, and she keeps saying nice things about me (my arms in particular) which feels pretty good. So I am hoping I can work on getting even better.

But yeah, program's going to be simple-- weights three days a week, running three days a week. Also, the girlfriend and I might take up squash. She plays a bit already, but I haven't since gym class in high school, so she'll probably beat my ass, but hey, sounds like fun, anyway.

So, I'll try to post more frequently, and hopefully school won't kill me too badly. Last two months have also been very hectic, and next semester looks like it might even be worse. Yikes.

Welcome back syn! :)

Ah yeah man those cars are pretty dangerous things. How'd you get hit? I cant imagine getting my foot run over. Though I crashed right into the front of the car and it sent me flying, I'd imagine an over 2000 pound machine sitting on a limb/extremity would be pretty painful and put you out of commission for a while.

Well hopefully your new girlfriend will help keep you on your toes :p