This is the journal of my path moving forward from where I am now. Sometime soon I will update this with some more stuff, but for now I will be using this as my posting area for this month's 100 Challenge.

Posted below is the start of this month's challenge and the first few days of posts to give some state of where I am right now.

Here we go...........:tucool:

-----------------------------------

So here we go again. Not only will this time be different, but I will be successful in the long run this time. I have been delaying and delaying for almost 5 months now. I let all of the successes and the good feeling I had earned go away with the months of inactivity and poor eating at best. It is time to change and attack my fitness problem head on instead of ignoring it and letting it fester unhindered.

My motivation is that I am looking forward to August for a wedding I am attending. I don't own a suit and I want to buy a suit I will be proud of and not one that I'll be using to cover up my poor fitness. I know my health will benefit and I will feel better every day during this month and I am looking forward to that as well.

My plan of attack is as follows:

1) Exercise 6 days a week (4 weights, 6 cardio)
2) Regain my hold on my diet by entering my diet daily into FitDay (or equivalent) and weighing all of my foods as best as possible
3) Eat 5 to 6 meals daily with no refined sugars to attain a daily caloric deficit of 1000 or more
4) No cheat meals
5) Weigh myself daily and take pictures weekly and record the results

Start weight = 200 lbs

4/1 - Updated page per goal from yesterday and have calculated the approximate correct daily caloric intake to provide my daily deficit of 1000 or more. I am tending to err on the side of a larger deficit because I believe I have in the past lost less weight than expected using the standard numbers and will be gunning for a daily intake of about 2200 calories. I am excited about going to the gym tomorrow to kick this off! [0 pts lost, 100 pts remaining]

4/2 - First real day of the challenge with a chest/bi workout and some cardio. I'm having some issues with a groin pull I had a couple weeks ago, but I'm going to keep on stretching and work through what I can without reinjuring it. I cut short my cardio last night, but got 25 minutes in. Nutrition was good calorie wise and will be improved quality wise (not that it is bad right now, but could always use improving) as I get more of the basic foods in stock. [0 pts lost, 100 pts remaining]

4/3 - Went to the gym to do legs but I wasn't able to do squats or even substitute leg presses for them due to my groin pull. In the past I would have pushed though that and injured it further keeping me out of the game for weeks at a time instead maybe just a week. Instead, I used the leg extensions, leg curls and calf raises to get a half leg workout. I did my cardio as well (Stairmaster), my caloric intake was right in range and the quality was improved. Going shopping today to pick up some different foods to add into the diet to further improve my diet quality. I am excited right now and I am feeling the effects already if not really physically, but definitely mentally. It just gets me in a great mood and gets me bouncing up the stairs all day! [0 pts lost, 100 pts remaining]

4/4 - I'm starting to feel the effects of being on a cutting diet with a 1000 calorie deficit per day now. I am not used to it since I have been eating so poorly recently and eating at a break even rate or at a surplus for months on end. My head tells me to go to the store and buy a bag of Doritos and go buy a burrito and just eat them all. I have been listening to that voice for a while now and look where it got me.......nowhere! I know I set a tough goal for this month with no cheat meals and it is going to be difficult especially spending this weekend at home with my Mom's home cooking and my friend coming in from out of town. Our usual hangout spot is at a chicken wing joint (Buffalo's speciality) so it will be extra tough, but I NEED to do this for the first time. My efforts were always sabotaged by over eating on the weekends and having huge cheat meals. Not this time.

Cardio completed today with minimal pain in the groin-al area. I did have some pain in my left knee, but that is almost definitely from the fact I haven't been working out in a good long while. Solid nutrition today. [0 pts lost, 100 pts remaining]

At first when I read you were going to reduce your calorie intake by a whopping 1,000 a day I was scratching my head. I think I understand that you are trying to cut on 2,200 calories a day, is that right?

I weigh 198.6 lb and on weight training days I consume 2,400 calories and on non training days I get just over 2,000.

Anyway, just making sure you weren't trying to loose to quickly on a 1,000 a day restriction.

At first when I read you were going to reduce your calorie intake by a whopping 1,000 a day I was scratching my head. I think I understand that you are trying to cut on 2,200 calories a day, is that right?

I weigh 198.6 lb and on weight training days I consume 2,400 calories and on non training days I get just over 2,000.

Anyway, just making sure you weren't trying to loose to quickly on a 1,000 a day restriction.

If I am understanding you correctly, yes, I am attempting to cut in somewhere around the 2200 calorie range.

My current goal is to use a 1000 calorie deficit per day to try to average a 2 lb per week loss of fat with an approximate 40/40/20 macro split. Over the first few days based on the Harris Benedict BMR Formula (from the sticky in the beginner section) with an activity multiplier of halfway between moderately and very active (weights 4 days and cardio 6 days), here is what I have eaten and the approximate deficits. I am tending to show a larger deficit than 1000 because I can't really estimate the amount of calories that I used in cooking my chicken in olive oil and some other unmeasurables.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/224/447645184_4862bf16eb.jpg

I am trying to keep the caloric goal updated based on my current weight so that I don't get stagnated and I am going to try eating slightly less on only cardio and no workout days.

OK, I'm off to the gym for shoulders and tris day with cardio following it.

Later!

:bb:

4/5 - Shoulder and tri workout completed and 40 mins of cardio completed. Diet was in range and nothing else really of note to say for now. Headed home in the morning and will try my best to stay on diet this weekend and hit the gym today or tomorrow to do a back workout. We shall see....... [0 pts lost, 100 pts remaining]

4/10 - So......yeah. The weekend didn't go as planned AT ALL. I ended up not hitting my workouts, not eating well and not updating the site. In the end, I think it was a net break even though. I was pushing very hard at the start of the months and was starting to burn out quickly due to some nagging injuries that I got to rest over the weekend. When it comes to the eating I should have been better, but I didn't and I will deal with the consequences that come from it. I have recovered from that and my weight is down to 193.5 lbs this morning. I will take off points from the weekend as best as I can and I am back into it now. Keeping it rolling......

[-4 pts for not updating, -2 pts for missed workouts, -5 pts for bad eating problems for a grand total of -11 pts for the weekend, 89 pts remaining]

Hey there!
I would seriously reconsider that 1000 cal deficit.
How many lb do you wanna lose? How much time do you have?
500 cal deficit is plenty. Less risk of losing muscle and falling off the wagon too.

How do you cook your chicken?
Try grilling it and you wont have to worry about olive oil.

Hey there!
I would seriously reconsider that 1000 cal deficit.
How many lb do you wanna lose? How much time do you have?
500 cal deficit is plenty. Less risk of losing muscle and falling off the wagon too.

How do you cook your chicken?
Try grilling it and you wont have to worry about olive oil.

:nod:

I spray Pam on foil place about 8 frozen breasts on the sheet and cover with more foil. Bake at 425 for about 35-40 minutes and they come out juicy. Just store in fridge and reheat in microwave. Timesaver too. :drool: :eat:

4/11 - Everything went well today with a successful workout and diet wise things were just fine and dandy. Legs workout did not have squats or leg press again due to my persistant groin injury, but hopefully in the next week or so that will subside and I can get them back in there. Not much else to say here.....I will update the journal later today (after I get less busy, hehe) to address some of the issues people have brought up.
[0 pts lost, 89 pts remaining]

4/12 - Decided to take an off day today (cardio only, so I won't have any problems with tired muscles at the start of next week) instead of on Sunday in preparation for the start of the NHL playoffs for the Sabres. I'm very excited about this year and am on edge for this exciting playoff run. Good diet today (for the plan I'm currently on) and I'm ready to hit the gym with shoulders and tris after a nice day off. I am doing 5 days of lifting this week (back on Monday and Saturday) to make up for the fact that I missed my back workout last week, but I am still keeping that point off because it wasn't within that weeks time.
[0 pts lost, 89 pts remaining]

4/13 - Had a solid shoulder/tri workout and a good cardio jaunt. Nothing particularly exciting to note. I haven't been able to update at home because my keyboard has not arrived in the mail. My old keyboard decided to kick the bucket and the backup keyboard rebelled against me as well. Hopefully it arrives soon because not being able to type reduces my ability to use the computer (shock!). Good day!
[0 pts lost, 89 pts remaining]

4/13 - Had a solid shoulder/tri workout and a good cardio jaunt. Nothing particularly exciting to note. I haven't been able to update at home because my keyboard has not arrived in the mail. My old keyboard decided to kick the bucket and the backup keyboard rebelled against me as well. Hopefully it arrives soon because not being able to type reduces my ability to use the computer (shock!). Good day!
[0 pts lost, 89 pts remaining]

Glad to see you still holding on to your points. It's so hard to even let one go. Keep pushing and you'll be there in no time. :tu:

Today marks my return to my fitness journey. I have found myself for the past 2 years or so basically ignoring one of the things I care about most and as a result am in the worst shape I have been in a long time. If you look at the beginning of this journal, as short lived as it was, you'll see my previous plan.

I plan on going back to something like that, but moving into it slowly instead of making a huge leap and finding setbacks. In the past my MO was to go in full rigidity and not allow any flexibility for myself. I have been working on all parts of my life and being more flexible and forgiving of myself has been beneficial all around. I will bring this to my fitness while still being dedicated to working out and eating better.

I'll leave at this for now. I did hit the gym today for a cardio workout, but wasn't up to snuff on eating. I did toss the chicken in the oven for lunch the rest of the week and will toss the sweet potatoes in as well.

This is only the beginning of what will hopefully be a long and successful journey.

Good day!

-Stromie

Yesterday was reasonably successful fitness wise. I got to the gym late and banged out a quick back workout as well as some time on the ArcTrainer to close out the night. I was definitely getting tired by the end of everything despite the relative shortness of it, but that’ll happen when you don’t work out consistently for a long time.

Food was better, but still not perfect. I was able to eat my standard food at work, but after leaving I had some troubles. I think I might need to add some food to my time at work so I’m not a ravenous monster on my drive home when I’m able to hit all of the “bad choice” places. Just an FYI, my food at work was approximately:

½ cup steel cut oatmeal
2x the following meal:
4.5 oz chicken
5 oz sweet potatoes
5 oz broccoli

I’m not sure what I’ll do to add to that, but I’ll put some though into it. Also, I do need to plan out what my later meals will be b/c that part has seemed to be a problem in the past and remains that way.

OK, I’m planning on getting some cardio in today before I have my first curling game of the year so I need to finish off my day at work. Later!

I think I'm going to re-read Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. The first time I went through it, I definitely found some interesting tips and strategies. The motivational techniques and the goal setting was especially beneficial. Despite the fact that the amount of information found within was, if I remember correctly, a bit overwhelming, I think a refresher would be a nice way to kick off my working out again.

No cardio yesterday and the diet was calorically good, but lacking in the quality. I did have a half way decent curling match last night despite the fact that we lost. It's only of some solace that I personally played well until the last end of the game where I basically just fell apart. I was definitely tired from getting back in the gym, but I know it's worth it and will continue forward with both at the same time.

My goal is to get to the gym today, but my brother is coming in from out of town and who knows what will happen with that. More to come.....