Hi guys,

I took part in the October 2007 "100 challenge" and performed quite OK. Lost some fat and at the end of it I felt really good about my decent transformation.

I intended to join the November 2007 "100 challenge" too but backed out at the last minute because I had my semester final exams.

November was bad. I was back to my old unhealthy eating habits. December so far has been worse.

To take corrective action I'm starting this journal. This journal would be on the lines of "100 challenges" (a little more flexible I guess)

-K

Plan 1 (Thursday 12/13 to ___________)

I'll do the following:

1) Update this journal every single day.
2) Drink 4-6 liters of water everyday.
3) Do 60 push ups (3 X 20) every morning after waking up.
4) Take measurements every Saturday.


WORKOUT SCHEDULE:
Monday: Weight training: legs (PM)
Tuesday: Weight training: shoulders (PM)
Wednesday: Cardio 30 minutes LISS (PM)
Thursday: Weight training: back and biceps (PM)
Friday: Weight training: chest and triceps (PM)
Saturday: Cardio 30 minutes LISS (PM)
Sunday: Rest day

DIET PLAN:
I'll keep this simple:

1) 5-6 small meals i.e. general idea is to eat every 2.5 - 3 hours.
2) Lots of water.
3) One cheat meal per week.

DAY 1:

I took my bf% measurements today and now I realize how much I slipped up during the past month and a half.

BF% on 31st October - 13.4%
BF% on 14th December - 15.434%

A gain of 2%. Back when I was following my routine a couple of months ago and started feeling good about myself due to all the exercise and eating clean that I was doing, I used to look at other people's post on JSF and they usually started off saying how they lost X amount of weight and then slipped and gained it all back and MORE. I always used to wonder WHY would anyone lose weight and when he/she is feeling great about themselves, go back to their old eating habits and gain it all back. I guess I have been answered because I let myself slip and I feel really stupid about it. The only consolation is that I know I have the discipline to be very strict about my diet and follow my exercise goals. I have learned my lesson. No more mini-cheat meals, laziness and thinking a little more greasy stuff won't make a difference. It DOES.

Time for me to start working hard. :mad:

I'm about on target with your BF gain since the October Challenge. I don't particularly like what's looking back at me in the mirror. At least we've made an effort to stop the back sliding.

Your right it's time to start working hard.

Day 2

I'm eating right and drinking lots of water. That's good. And, I had a nice small clueless workout at the gym yesterday. Clueless, what's that you might ask?! Well I'm a newcomer to weightlifting.. just a couple of months old but I'd like to write about a few lessons that I have learned about working out. I'm sure they are plain common sense and have been rehashed a million times already; but I'm doing this so that I can reinforce them in my mind. Some might not agree with these observations but that's OK with me.

Lesson for me #1: Always plan out a workout before entering the gym.
In fact, I'd say write it down on a piece of paper. Write down in what order you are going to attack the exercises and what your rest time periods will be. If you workout in a public gym, make sure you have a back up order of exercises if someone else is using a particular machine. It is terrible when you are in that particular zone, hitting the weights hard, your body sweating, the rush of endorphins and you have to wait for someone else who is using the next machine you planned to. Don't kill the flow. Don't stand and wait and stare. This problem is particularly acute in small and crowded gyms(like the one I go to). You might say it's a waste of time to plan so much but trust me before long it'll be second nature to you and besides, you'll be saving a lot of time in the gym that otherwise you would've spent loitering around and thinking "what should I do next?". And the best part is that you are going to have an incredibly intense workout session.

Well, time for me to get ready for a jog.

Note to myself: Next lesson for me: #2 Psych yourself up before and during a workout and #3 Track your workouts.