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THE CHALLENGE HAS BEGUN. NO MORE ENTRIES ALLOWED FOR THIS MONTH'S CHALLENGE!

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Questions belong in this thread (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=30384).

Until the challenge begins, please refrain from making any posts in this thread except your Official Entry post. Once the challenge starts, you may post all you like.

This premise of this challenge is pretty simple: Each participant starts the month with 100 points. A point is deducted each time a workout is missed, a meal is missed, an unscheduled "cheat" meal or snack is consumed or a daily update to your official challenge post is missed. The goal, of course, is to finish the month with 100 points!

Here are the rules:

1) The challenge begins on July 1, 2009. You must have your starting post up by 7:00 AM (EDT) on July 1, 2009--NO EXCEPTIONS!
2) It doesn't matter if you are cutting, bulking or maintaining. The common goal here is 100% consistency.
3) Each person participating in the challenge should start a post in this thread by the cut-off time. Your Official Challenge post must be updated each and every day. The updates won't take long (examples below). If you miss an update, you must deduct a point. Please note that you should edit your existing Official Challenge post--don't start a new post every day.
4) Miss a workout for any reason, deduct a point.
5) Miss a meal for any reason, deduct a point.
6) Eat an unscheduled "cheat" meal or snack, deduct a point.

Feel free to post before/after pictures if you like (optional).

Of course this challenge is based on the honor system. You can cheat, but that would be pointless.

Here's an example Official Challenge post (feel free to copy and paste, substituting your own information):

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

Sample Official "100 Challenge" post


GOAL: Cutting


COMMENT: I want to reduce my body fat to 8%.


WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: Stationary bike, 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM); Weight training: chest & triceps (PM)
Tuesday: Stationary bike, 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM)
Wednesday: Stationary bike, 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM); Weight training: back & biceps (PM)
Thursday: Stationary bike, 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM)
Friday: Stationary bike, 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM); Weight training: delts & traps (PM)
Saturday Stationary bike, 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM); Weight training: legs (PM)
Sunday: Stationary bike, 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM)


MEAL SCHEDULE
Six meals per day, one cheat meal per week.


STARTING STATS
WEIGHT: 200 pounds
BODY FAT: 9.8%
ARMS: 16.75"
CALVES: 16.5"
CHEST: 42.75"
FOREARMS: 13.5"
HIPS: 38.75"
THIGHS: 24"
WAIST: 32.5"


END STATS
WEIGHT:
BODY FAT:
ARMS:
CALVES:
CHEST:
FOREARMS:
HIPS:
THIGHS:
WAIST:


DAILY LOG (Note: Each entry should be completed the day after, or at the end of the same day after all meals/workouts are completed. Please be sure to keep a running total of your points, as shown below.)

JUL 1: I did my cardio and ate all meals as scheduled.
-0 points [100 points]

JUL 2: My car broke down and I missed my back workout. I walked to Burger King for dinner and had an unscheduled cheat meal.
-2 points [98 points]

JUL 3: I missed my cardio today, but ate all meals as scheduled.
-1 point [97 points]

JUL 4:

JUL 5: I missed yesterday's update, but I did my delts and traps workout yesterday, and ate all meals as scheduled (including my scheduled cheat meal). Today I did my cardio, ate all meals as scheduled and did my leg workout.
-1 point [96 POINTS]

You get the idea.....

START OF MY 2009 / 2010 BULK!

7 "meals" a day Monday - Sunday
No cheat meals Monday - Friday

Weight training 4 days a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays

MAIN OBJECTIVE:
To increase my weight by ONLY 0.5lb a week and 2lb for the month.


DAILY SCORE COUNT:
Wed 1st July: No update
Thurs 2nd July: No update
Fri 3rd July: No update
Sat 4th July: No update
Sun 5th July: My internet has been down hence lack of updates. Have done all training and diet OK just no updates (-4) OK run and official cheat day. 96 Points
Mon 6th July: Good chest and tricep plus diet strong. 96 Points
Tues 7th July: Moving leg workout to Wed, diet strong. 96 Points
Wed 8th July: Good leg workout and diet strong. 96 Points
Thurs 9th July: Postponed workout, diet strong but forgot to update. (-1) 95 Points
Friday 10th July: Postponed workout and diet strong. 95 Points
Saturday 11th July: Good Shoulders & Back and diet as expected. 95 Points
Sunday 12th July: Good Arms and Abs and diet as expected. 95 Points
Monday 13th July: Good chest and triceps and diet strong. 95 Points
Tuesday 14th July: Day off training, diet OK. 95 Points
Wednesday 15th July: Good leg set and diet strong. 95 Points
Thursday 16th July: Postponed Shoulders and Back, diet strong. 95 Points
Friday 17th July: Postponed Shoulders and Back again, diet strong. 95 Points
Saturday 18th July: Good Shoulders and Back and diet strong. 95 Points
Sunday 19th July: Good Arms and Abs and diet strong. 95 Points
Monday 20th July: Postponed my chest till tomorrow. Diet as planned. 95 Points
Tuesday 21st July: Good Chest and tricep and diet as planned.95 Points
Wednesday 22nd July: Rest day and diet strong. 95 Points
Thursday 23rd July: Rest day and diet strong. 95 Points
Friday 24th July: Rest day, diet strong, missed update. 94 Points
Saturday 25th July: Good Legs and Back set, missed update. 93 Points
Sunday 26th July: Good Arms and Abs. 93 Points
Monday 27th July: Day off as planned. 93 Points
Tuesday 28th July: Day off as planned. 93 Points
Wednesday 29th July: Good chest and triceps. 93 Points
Thursday 30th July: Rest day, diet strong. 93 Points
Friday 31st July: Rest day, diet strong. 93 Points

CURRENT SCORE : 91

Goal : Cutting & Commitment

Meals : 6 per day based around a tweaked version of my sgx protocol.

Workout : Each weekday @6.00am. I wake up at 5.20am and have 200ml of fruit juice so I'm not running totally on empty. I set myself 30 mins for a workout as a I have to get showered and ready to leave the house for work at 7.30am.

My faithful elliptical broke last month and I tried running for a week or so. I came to realise that I LOATHE running so I've been working on a routine using only weights that keeps my heart rate up high. For the past couple of weeks I've been really enjoying it and my body has reacted quiet nicely to the change.

Basically I've dropped the total weight used, upped the reps and been paying a close eye to form. It's like I've rediscovered weights again!

Here is my workout schedule. Normally done (early)a.m

Monday: 5 x 15 Deadlifts / 5 x 15 Bent Over Rows / 5 x 15 Jack Knives w/ball
Tuesday : 5 x 15 Clean and Press / 5 x 15 Chest Press / 5 x 15 floor sweeps
Wednesday : Circuit w/dumbells - This day is my fav. - INTENSE!
Thursday : 5 x 15 Shoulder Press / 5 x 15 Bicep Curls / 5 x 15 Crunches
Friday : 5 x 15 Squats / 5 x 5 Pull Ups ( I'm really lame on this exercise ) / 5 x 15 Leg Lfits

Again, I'm not fussed on keeping stats I want to go from what I see. I am keeping progress pics every Friday and when I'm through this month I may very well post them somewhere.

July 1st : All done without deviation : 100 points.
July 2nd : All done without deviation : 100 points.
July 3rd : All done without deviation : 100 points - I'm going to mix the workouts up - Mon & Tues are way more intense than thursday friday!
July 4th : All done without deviation : 100 points
July 5th : All done without deviation - Cheat Meal - Pizza & Chips : P : 100 points
July 6th : All done without deviation : 100 points
July 7th : All done without deviation : 100 points
July 8th : All done without deviation : 100 points
July 9th : All done, but had seconds and thirds at a family meal and then promptly fell asleep and didn't update : 98 points
July 10th : All done without deviation : 98 points
July 11th : All done without deviation - had my cheat meal - A delicious homemade chicken paenaeng: 98 points
July 12th : All done without deviation : 98 points
July 13th : All training and meals done but forgot to update: 97 points
July 14th : All training done but had a family meal and although I ate lean and clean, I ate a lot of it!: 96 points
July 15th : All done but missed some meals as I simply didn't feel hungry until late afternoon after last nights feast: 95 points
July 16th : All done without deviation : 95 points
July 17th : All done without deviation - I'm loving the new training schedule! : 95 points
July 18th : All done without deviation : 95 points
July 19th : All done without deviation, missed update : 94 points
July 20th : One could say, if one wanted to, that one totally nailed ones workout today.: 94 points
July 21st : One could say, if one wanted to, that one totally nailed ones workout again today.: 94 points
July 22nd : All done: 94 points
July 23nd : All done: 94 points
July 24rd : All done: 94 points
July 25th : All done: 94 points
July 26th : A hard day - wife is really ill with some crazy flu like dizzy virus so meals have been clean but eratic. 93 points
July 27th - Another hard day with some tough choices. For the first time in two months I chose to not workout in favour of my ever mounting work load. The code is looking good, but still needs some tests, meanwhile deadlifts and rows and pulldowns and presses wait until tomorrow when I'll double up for a mammoth workout. 93 points.
July 28th - Another difficult day - I've been feeling really ill so I missed exercise and caved into some bad meal choices. 91 points. Going by what my wife felt like I don't think I'll be exercising for the rest of this month - downtime needed

Gonna do it again!! This darn thing really helps me stick to the plan.

STARTING STATS:

Biceps 12
Calves 13.5
Chest 37.25
Forearms 11
Hips. 37.25
Thigh 22
Waist 34 (at naval)
Wt 153.5
Ht 5' 10"
B.F. b/t 16% - 18%

GOAL:

Bulking (to gain 4 - 6 pounds in the month)

WORKOUT SCHEDULE:

Mon - Weights - chest and back
Tues - Cardio (Bike/Kenpo 30 minutes)
Wed - Weights - arms and shoulders
Thurs - Cardio (Bike/Kenpo 30 min)
Fri - Weights - legs

DIET:

To bulk with 4-5 meals per day
4 cheat meals per month allowed.

MY RELUCTANT CAVEAT:

Even if I'm stuck with night shifts I'm going to try and stick to the schedule but I might have to change things into a maintain/cut routine until work and gym synchronize again. We'll see.....

Wednesday, July 1st - I'm taking this off and getting down to business on Thursday. Its Canada Day and I deserve a break!

Thursday, July 2nd - Diet on track no workout (recovering from night shift). - 1 point (99 points).

Friday, July 3rd - Diet on track and spent 6 hours jack-hammering concrete - I'd say I covered legs, arms, back, shoulders.... - 0 points (99 points)

Sunday, July 5th - Well this isn't going according to plan. Missed Saturday's update and late for Sunday. On the plus side, even though its a weekend (no workout's scheduled) I was working like a dog reno-ing the yard and I'm totally beat. - 2 points (missed entries) (97 points)

Monday, July 6th -

Tuesday, July 28th - I'm not dead yet! Well things haven't gone according to plan at all this month. I've stayed steady weight-wise with regular activity. Weight-lifting was very inconsistent though. August we'll be back on track to a regular schedule and a bulking program to try to crest 160 lbs (it'll be a first!!).

i'm in

game on.

Previous Challenges
February 2009 Challenge (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=691901#post691901)
March 2009 Challenge (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=698274#post698274)
April 2009 Challenge (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=708124#post708124)
May 2009 Challenge (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=718345#post718345)
June 2009 Challenge (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?p=727905#post727905) - Did not finish

July is month #6 for me. I'm coming back from a bit of a slump, as I did not complete the June challenge. Even though I have no excuse, my excuse is that I ended up working a ton of overtime, which involved some overnight shifts and it generally screwed up my schedule. I didn't totally cut out exercise, or stop eating healthy, but it was a good reminder that it's pretty easy to fall off the wagon. Thankfuly, July is going to be different!

GOALS FOR July

1. Work out 5x per week at the gym
5-10 minute cardio warm-up, then weights for each muscle group. Abs every other day. Occasional bonus weekend workouts.
Day 1 - Back
Day 2 - Biceps and Triceps
Day 3 - Legs
Day 4 - Chest
Day 5 - Shoulders

2. Bike 36 minutes EVERY DAY
Done on my home exercise bike. No missed days!

3. No junk food
Prep meals in advance, bring them to work. When I'm forced to eat out, it's got to be healthy (e.g. healthy thing vs. very unhealthy thing.) I'm going to keep the cheating to an absolute minimum this month, except for on my birthday... I think I'll be enjoying some cake then!

4. Stretch
I have a severe lack of flexibility, which I am improving through stretching. I need to commit to stretching every single day, to increase my range of motion and become more flexible.

5. Update this posting daily!
Time to get the lead out and do this thing. I want to buy a bunch of new clothes in September, so I'd like to have my weight under control and consistently in the mid 170's by then.

STARTING STATS
Bodyfat: 24.7%
Weight: 180.2 lbs
Arms: 13.75"
Chest: 38"
Waist: 33.75"
Hips: 39"
Forearms: 11"
Thighs: 23.5" L / 23" R
Calves: 16"

ENDING STATS
Bodyfat: %
Weight: lbs
Arms: "
Chest: "
Waist: "
Hips: "
Forearms: "
Thighs: " L / " R
Calves: "

DAILY LOG
July 1: Happy Canada Day! I'm coming into the month off an annoying cold, but I didn't let it stop me. I hit the gym and the bike, and ate on target today.
-0 points [100 points]

July 2: I ate on target and biked today. I didn't get to the gym due to work, but I'm going to make it up tomorrow and over the course of the weekend to hang onto the point.
-0 points [100 points]

July 3: I gymmed it up and did a brutal leg workout today. I also biked, and ate on target. Cha-fitness!
-0 points [100 points]

July 4: I ate on target, and biked 36 minutes tonight. Back in the gym tomorrow. My gym closed early today, and I made an "executive decision" to go meet some friends for dinner (I ate healthy) rather than hit the gym. After all, it can't be all about fitness. Plus, I've been under 180 for the past few days, which is good :)
-0 points [100 points]

July 5: Hit the gym today (and exercised back), biked 36 minutes, and ate on target. I'm looking forward to leaning down.
-0 points [100 points]

July 6: Exercised biceps and triceps at the gym today. Ate on target. Biked 36 minutes. I'm going to adjust my diet again, to cut some calories. If I can take the next 2 months and really focus on my eating, I'll lose the weight around my gut and in my legs that has been bothering me. It will also put me in a great spot for a lean bulk this fall / winter.
-0 points [100 points]

July 7: Exercised chest today, biked 36, and ate on target. How on earth do people have abs? I can't imagine having a stomach with no layer of fat on it. Even though I've dropped some lbs, I've still got a solid inch plus of fat around my midsection. And I've got 2+ inches on my thighs! Come on fat, get out of here!
-0 points [100 points]

July 8: Exercised shoulders at the gym, ate on target, biked 36. I can really feel it in my shoulders!
-0 points [100 points]

July 9: Exercised legs today. Ate on target. Biked 36. This month is going great!
-0 points [100 points]

July 10: Work was busy today, so I didn't get to the gym. However, I'm going to make it up on the weekend by going 2x. I ate on target with the exception of an ice cream cone, so -1 for that. I also biked 36 minutes. The amount of sweat generated during these 36 minute bike sessions is a bit outrageous. I guess that means I'm doing something right! I also bought a new box of protein bars tonight, which are good to have around for a healthy but not too terrible snack.
-1 point [99 points]

July 11: I had a nice long session at the gym today - I ran on the treadmill, I did a bunch of back exercises, and some additional leg work. It was great, I love going when I'm not rushed and I don't need to get back to work. I ate on target, and I biked 36 minutes tonight. I'm looking forward to adding some size to my chest and arms when I eventually bulk - I think I'm going to start that in September. I'm getting closer to my goal!
-0 points [99 points]

July 12: Today was a very poor day for fitness - I was away until late, so I didn't get the chance to go to the gym or to bike (-2) and I also ate some Chinese food (-1). Time to step it up this week and really focus on the effort I'm putting in. In fun news unrelated to fitness, I bought a pinball machine today, which will be fun to play :)
-3 points [96 points]

July 13: Ate on target and biked 36 minutes today. I did not get to the gym, since when I went the entire place was closed off by police as there had been a shoot-out in front of it! Crime scene tape, a forensics crew, the whole deal. No matter what the cause, I didn't get to go, so -1 point for that. I need to stop giving these points away like they're free.
-1 point [95 points]

July 14: I exercised biceps and triceps today at the gym. I ate on target, but had an unexpected meal out with a friend, so -1 for that. I also didn't get to bike, due to the fact that I'm extremely tired, so -1 for that too.
-2 points [93 points]

July 15: I ate on target today, and I cooked 20 lbs of chicken, 5 lbs of extra lean ground beef, and 5 lbs of eye of round steak tonight, so I've got food for the next few weeks in the freezer! I went to a hot yoga class in lieu of my chest workout today, as it was being offered at the gym, and it was interesting. If I continue to do that I think I'll definitely improve my flexibility. I biked 36 minutes in the evening, so today was perfect!
-0 points [93 points]

July 16: Ate on target today, exercised chest, and biked in the evening.
-0 points [93 points]

July 17: Exercised shoulders and biked in the evening. Eating was healthy, but I had some cookies after dinner so -1 for that!
-1 point [92 points]

July 18: I had an outrageous 2+ hour leg workout at the gym today, but I didn't really feel up to biking afterwards, so -1 for that. Ate on target. Man, my legs are going to be sore tomorrow!
-1 point [91 points]

July 19: My legs are sooooooo sore today! Holy lord. I took today as a rest day, and I'll exercise back tomorrow, since I need a bit of recovery on this one. I ate some pancakes in the morning, so -1 for that, but I got my sore legs onto the bike tonight and rode for 36 minutes.

I just signed up for the August challenge, and my goal for next month is to lose 10lbs of fat and really lean down. I've done a good job already, but it's time to push it to the next level. Since that's my goal for next month, there's no point in waiting until August 1 - I'm going to kick it into gear starting tomorrow by making the following changes to my plan:

- Cutting out juice and toast in the morning (see you later, carbs!)
- Once I finish my current supply, I'm going drop corn as a vegetable and only eat green veggies. Dropping carrots also, for celery.
- I'm going to warm up every day with 10 minutes of HIIT running on the treadmill at the gym. 5 minutes at 5 miles per hour, 5 minutes at 10 miles per hour, alternating every minute.
- I'm going to stop eating in the evenings. I snack (healthily) sometimes, but I'm going to do an absolute food cutoff after I eat my final meal of the day.
- And of course, 100% consistency. No cheat meals! If I need to eat out for work, I'm going to order the most boring chicken and plain salad that the chef has ever seen - he will weep out of culinary frustration.
- I'm going to drink more water. Right now I drink a lot of diet pop - I know I should cut it cold turkey, but it's a vice that I allow myself since it usually curbs most others. I'll work my way off the soda eventually!
- I'm also going to start adding a daily weigh-in to my update. While I know that there are general fluctuations in daily weight, it will help keep me focused and on target.
-1 point [90 points]

July 20: WEIGHT - 181.6
The first day of my new and improved cut was successful. I could have consumed more water during the day, but I ate 100% on target. After dinner (around 8pm) the only additional thing I ate was a protein shake before bed, and that was just to make sure I got enough legitimate calories in. If after a week I'm not losing weight, I'll drop the shake.
I had only a limited amount of time to go to the gym, so I skipped the warmup and instead did 46 minutes on the bike this evening. 46 minutes was tough but doable, so I may need to rely on that cardio bonus if I'm rushed at the gym.
-0 points [90 points]

July 21: WEIGHT - 178.2
My legs are tired today! I ate on target - no additional food after dinner with the exception of a protein shake after biking. My weight is down a bit, I've recovered from the pancake bloat of the weekend. Exercised biceps & triceps at the gym, and I biked 36 minutes this evening.
-0 points [90 points]

July 22: WEIGHT - 178.2 (No change!)
I exercised chest today at the gym. I ate on target, and I biked 36 minutes in the evening. Operation lean down continues!
-0 points [90 points]

July 23: WEIGHT - 178.2 (Still no change!)
I exercised shoulders and ate on target. A late night kept me from biking, so -1 for that.
-1 point [89 points]

July 24:
Exercised chest today at the gym with a friend who is quite into fitness. Ate on target, did not bike. -1 for that.
-1 point [88 points]

July 25:
I was away this weekend, so I did not exercise or bike. Today I had a birthday celebration which involved some unhealthy food, and I enjoyed it all! -1 for that.
-1 point [87 points]

July 26:
I biked today, but did not eat on target or get to the gym. -2 for that. I'm back in town and back on the lean train.
-2 points [85 points]

July 27:
I hit the gym and exercised back, but eating and biking were not accomplished. -2 for that.
-2 points [83 points]

July 28:
I ate off target again today. I did get a massive leg workout in, moving more weight around than I ever have before. That was good! I was in the gym for 2 hours on legs, so I didn't have it in me to also bike, but I'm not deducting a point for that.
-1 point [82 points]

I'm new to the site as of yesterday...saw the challenge and its exactly what I need for July!

GOAL: Cutting


COMMENT: I'm currently at around 14-15% body fat, and want to drop it down to 12% by month's end

WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: 30 min walk (fasted)
Tuesday: 30 min walk (fasted); legs and back, 20 min HIIT
Wednesday: 30 min walk (fasted); chest and triceps; 20 min HIIT
Thursday: 30 min walk (fasted); 45 min spin class and abs
Friday: 30 min walk (fasted); shoulders and biceps; 20 min HIIT
Saturday: 30 min walk (fasted)
Sunday: 30 min walk (fasted)

MEAL SCHEDULE
Six meals per day - approx 1400-1500 cal
Saturday refeed day/higher carb day - approx 2000 cal


STARTING STATS
WEIGHT: 121 lbs
BODY FAT: 14-15% (14.6% tested on June 26)
ARMS: 11.25" (flexed); 10" (not flexed)
CALVES: 15"
CHEST: 32"
FOREARMS: 9"
HIPS: 34"
THIGHS: 20"
WAIST: 28"


END STATS
WEIGHT:
BODY FAT:
ARMS:
CALVES:
CHEST:
FOREARMS:
HIPS:
THIGHS:
WAIST:


DAILY LOG

JUL 1: am right on track, finished all workouts today and just have dinner left to cook and eat [100 pts]

JUL 2: workouts completed for today, ate some chocolate covered espresso beans though today after work :( [99 pts]

JUL 3: workouts done, food on point [99 pts]

JUL 4: just as a heads up, i won't be doing my regular higher carb/higher cal day today as per my chocolate covered espresso beans fiasco on thurs. i have a hard time as it is with higher carb days because my mind still regards them somewhat as a "cheat" day and they're really not, and its hard to get them under control without going overboard or letting myself eat whatever i want. that being the case, i may opt to cut them out for the rest of the month as well, and instead just have an extra cup of oatmeal on saturday night to up my carb and glycogen levels a bit.

forgot to update last night -1, but did my morning walk yesterday and kept my calorie intake on target even though i was at a bbq all of yesterday. [98 pts]

JUL 5: morning walk completed for today, had to force myself to eat enough calories today...(i'm still only at 1200 right now so i may have a protein shake or something) just not hungry at all, which is weird for me because i'm usually always starving and have a HUGE appetite. I have been exhausted for a few days now, and took a 3 hour nap today, maybe i'm coming down with something?? Fingers crossed that i'm not! [98 pts]

Jul 6: morning walk completed, diet on track [98 pts]...as a side note i'm down to 117, which is a 4 lb. drop since the start of the challenge :)

Jul 7: woke up late so didn't get to do my 30 min fasted walk this morning (-1) did do legs, back, and HIIT though today and still on target with the diet. Gotta say, i didn't think this challenge would have such a great affect on me but after reading everyone's update everyday and knowing I have to post or deduct a point for screwing up it has helped me stay on target immensely. Like this morning I felt guilty that i missed my walk and felt shitty knowing that i had to -1 point for that all because i slept in late gggrrrr. (97)

Jul 8: morning walk done, chest and tris done, 20 min HIIT done....diet is on target., kinda still finding it hard to get in all the calories. which is the opposite of what usually happens when I diet :) (97)

Jul 9: morning walk done, spin class and abs done, diet on track. (97)

Jul 10: morning walk completed. am moving shoulders/bis day to tomorrow because I had to work extra late today. meals on target. (97)

Jul 11: did the morning walk and shoulders/bis from yesterday plus 25 mins HIIT on the stepper. extra hungry today...or maybe i'm just bored, that tends to happen a lot for me. (97)

Jul 12: i swear morning walks on the weekend are getting tougher and tougher as the challenges progresses...i completed it though, and once i was out there i was happy i ended up going. i stopped having cheat days and haven't had a higher carb meal/refeed day since i started the challenge because i didn't feel i needed to last week, but i have been losing weight quite quickly recently - down to 116 as of yesterday morning, so instead of having my high carb meal yesterday i had it tonight. had some sushi for dinner and man it was DELICIOUS!! hopefully my glycogen stores have been refilled and are ready for action for this week's workouts. (97)

Jul13: morning walk done, diet on target...even slightly less than i should be eating...not hungry at all today and my stomach has been upset most of the day :( (97)

Jul 14: just sitting down to eat my last meal of the day now...at 10:30 tonight...busy day, but i got everything done and ate all my meals :) (97)

Jul 15: already at the mid point of this month...it went by faster than i thought it would. exhausted today after work, just woke up from a 2 hr. nap, i love naps :) did the walk, did the chest/tris, did the diet. i'm pretty much rocking these days and have everything down, so much easier now than it was at the beginning. (97)

Jul 16: walk, spin class and abs all done today...still have to eat dinner tonight, but otherwise diet has been good. thought i would do a little half way point update on body stats so here goes...

WEIGHT: 116-117
BODY FAT: 13-14% (tested last thurs)
ARMS: 11.5" (flexed); 9.75" (not flexed)
CALVES: 15"
CHEST: 31.5"
FOREARMS: 8.5"
HIPS: 33"
THIGHS: 19.75"
WAIST: 27"

total inches lost=3.5 inches, and around 3-4 lbs. lost - looks like i'm well on my way of meeting my 12% body fat goal for the end of the month.

Jul 17: gotta be honest...had a peanut butter and banana sandwich last night...i was starving! all in all a pb and banana sandwich isn't BAD for you really, but its not on my diet plan right now so -1 for me. did my morning walk today, did shoulders and biceps, and diet has been great today. (96)

Jul 18:

Jul 19: the past day and a half have been a write off. i kind of had a carb breakdown. fri night i succumbed to the cravings and had 2 granola bars plus a bagel and some toast :( i think my brain/stomach lack the signal that tells you when you're full. i've had this all my life, i call it my goldfish syndrome. i could literally eat and eat and eat until i was physically ill and then still eat more. my stomach can even get bloated but mentally my mind keeps telling me to eat. its an eating disorder for sure, but not in the usual starvation sense, its a bingeing disorder. in everday life its easy to control i portion everything, i weight my food, i use measuring cups. always. its the days where i'm not in my usual routines that throw me off sometimes, like yesterday. i worked at my company's annual charity bbq for about 11 hours yesterday and ate 3 burgers, plus 2 sandwiches, plus a 1lb. chicken breast, plus salad, and a freezie. on top of that i didn't go for my usualy morning walk yesterday and instead took the morning to relax and read a book i really wanted to catch up on. after the bbq i came home and ate a whole tub of low carb ice cream i had made the day before.

writing all this down now, makes me look back at the moments during my cravings and see how ridiculous they really were, and makes me look seriously out of control with my lack of ability to stick to my diet. but everyone knows how difficult it is during those times, when all you think about is the food you want. i'm still struggling with those times and beyond just literally telling my brain/stomach to f*** off i don't need the food i think i do/want and then to just wait it out, I really haven't come up with a great solution to over come those situations. if anyone has suggestions msg me i could use any advice you'd be willing to share.

after all that thats -3 points so im down to 93.

back on the wagon for today, did the walk and the diet (93)

Jul 20: went for a half hour run/jog this morning instead of my usual walk, all that cheating on the weekend made me feel super guilty and i had to remedy it by at least burning off some additional calories, also rocked my meals today. (93)

Jul 21: morning walk completed, diet has been good today. tried a new workout routine today...just legs, followed by 15 min at low intensity on the bike just to get some blood flowing and the lactic acid flushed from my legs. here's what the workout looked like:

A1. squats 6 reps x 95 lb
A2. lunges 12 reps x 50 lb
A3. bodyweight squats x 25 reps

rest 2 min after completing superset, performed 3 times through

then...

B1. leg curls 6 reps done on the ball
B2. straight leg deadlifts 12 reps x 70 lb
B3. reverse hyperextensions bodyweight done on the ball x 25 reps

rest 2 min after completing superset, performed 3 times through

Jul 22: morning walk was done, did same type of workout as yesterday but for chest and back today...it was a killer. then tried to do some low intensity cardio on the elliptical but caved and did some intervals. i can't stand doing reg. cardio now, its way too boring and strangely enough i find it harder to keep a constant pace than to do intervals. diet was good today, i was surprisingly not very hungry at all. another phase of no appetite i guess, i'm starting to see a pattern now where i'll have no appetite for a couple days or a week and then be just ravenous for 3 days straight. if i can log this and figure out the pattern more i'd be able to plan more of a carb cycling diet with the ravenous days set aside for higher carbs which would help me out a ton i'm sure :)

Jul 23: due to inclement weather here in toronto i didn't get out for my morning walk, i plan on making it up though by taking a yoga class this coming saturday. i don't mind so much walking in the rain if its not too bad, but today it was coming down pretty hard. i did sweat it out in spin class this morning, followed by some ab circuits that made my core burn so good. diet has been on target (93)

Jul 24: got in the am walk today, but my left shoulder has been hurting all day. don't know what i did to it, but it feels like something is pinched and my trap is so sore and not in the good muscle sore way. if i get to make up the shoulder workout this weekend i'll give myself a point back but for now its -1. as for diet...my boss wanted to buy lunch today on himn and my choice so it turned out also to be an impromptu cheat meal day too, another -1. so i'm down to 91 now. on the plus side, i got my bodyfat checked again today and its 13% so that makes me happy :)

Jul 25: no walk, but went to a much needed yoga class this morning instead. diet was extra great today and had no cravings whatsoever :) (91)

Jul 26: walk this morning, then headed to the gym to make up that shoulder workout (+1) plus did some arms and 15 mins of high intensity biking...i wouldn't call it intervals really, just went all out for about 10 mins to get my heart rate up a bit and then did a 5 min cool down. had to go to my nephews 2nd bday party today it was bbq style and obviously cake was involved...brought my own food - salmon and broccoli, everyone is used to me bringing my own food to family functions now so I don't get harrassed too much, but ppl still like to eat cake right beside me and tell me how delicious it is. i tell them it doesn't bother me and that i actually don't crave the cake, which i don't, and then i flex the bicep and get nicknamed 'pipes' for the rest of the evening. in the passed two days i've been doing some work on myself and thinking about where i am and where i want to be...and i've been taking stock in all the accomplishments i've made this past month doing this challenge. today as i lift up my shirt to see my ab progress i can clearly make out lines that are there even when i don't flex, the obliques are nice and are getting sharper every day....seeing this kind of progress is great motivation in itself, i've read this quote quite a few times "nothing tastes as good as being in shape feels" and its damn true..i think i've surpassed cake. (92)

Jul 27: morning walk was completed. diet on track (92)

Jul 28: so close to the end!! did the morning walk, did legs and 20 min HIIT after. diet was on target too. feeling kinda tired tonight, but nothing a little coffee couldn't fix :)

Jul 29: totally forgot to schedule a cheat meal for today, it was my best friend's bday and we went out to a great sushi restaurant for dinner. i don't drink so i saved probably 1000 calories in cocktails, but had some ahi tuna and wonton chips. if you live in toronto and haven't been to blowfish downtown i highly recommend going. -1 for the dinner, 91

Jul 30: so as it turns out i'm not immune to the great tastyness that is baked goods. succumbed to cookies today. and since i was so tired from staying out late last night and not getting enough sleep i not only missed my morning walk but used the cookies and the sugar as a means of getting through the day :( i defintely need to work on incorporating my social life with my diet life. because when those worlds collide i end up being tempted. did go to spin class this morning though at least. (89)

Jul 31: so its the last day of july....and i have to say i'm damn proud of myself for seeing this challenge through. i'm usually one of those ppl that start things and never seem to complete them, so i'm proud that out of everything i kept posting and being honest with myself this entire month. we all know that dieting lends itself to cravings, and in those situations most people will add an extra spoonfull of something here and there to meals to help them along the way and not really think about it because they think something so small cannot have a legitimate effect on their overall day of dieting. doing this challenge made me conscious and aware of everything i put in my mouth and how the accumulation of the little things really makes a difference when you do them consistently. so going forward into august that's what i will be working on...but for now to finish off this month right...

i did do my morning walk, i actually did some running intervals mixed in just to get my heart rate up a bit and burn a few extra cals. because my work schedule was changed this week i didn't get a chance to head to the gym today and instead scheduled my workout for tomorrow afternoon. i did eat on track today even though my stomach has been upset for the last two days due to my dinner and unscheduled cheat snacks in the past couple of days. so i finish off with 89 points which equals 0.35 points lost per day on average. for august my goal is to not go below 95.

GOAL: Cutting+muscle gain


COMMENT: I want to reduce my body fat to 8%.


WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: Weight lifting (AM); cardio (PM)
Tuesday: cardio(AM)
Wednesday: Weight lifting (AM); cardio (PM)
Thursday: running 45 mins (aerobic, fasted) (AM)
Friday: Weight lifting (AM); cardio (PM)
Saturday swimming (AM), running (PM)
Sunday: running(AM)


MEAL SCHEDULE
five meals per day, one cheat meal per week.


STARTING STATS
WEIGHT: 177 pounds
HEIGHT: 6'2"
BODY FAT: 20%
ARMS: 28 cm
CALVES: 38.5cm
CHEST: 98 cm
FOREARMS: 26.5cm
HIPS: 67cm
THIGHS: 53.5cm
WAIST: 88cm


END STATS
WEIGHT:
BODY FAT:
ARMS: 29 cm
CALVES: 38
CHEST: 98
FOREARMS: 26.5
HIPS: 61
THIGHS: 56
WAIST: 85


DAILY LOG (Note: Each entry should be completed the day after, or at the end of the same day after all meals/workouts are completed. Please be sure to keep a running total of your points, as shown below.)

JUL 1: I did my cardio and ate all meals as scheduled.
-0 points [100 points]

JUL 2: I was on holiday and couldn't do my weight lifting. However I did go running. Still -1.
-1 points [99 points]

JUL 3: Did everything I expected
-0 point [99 points]

JUL 4:[99 points]

JUL 5: 99 points,

JUL 6: pretty good day, finished all my work outs, no cheat meals

JUL 7: 99 points- finished all my workouts. felt a bit weak so perhaps need to work on increasing energy levels. meals okay- 99 points

JUL 8: 99 points- done all!

JUL 9: 99 points!

JUL 10: 99 points

JUL 11: 99 points

JUL 12: 99 points

JUL 13: 99 points

JUL 14: 98 points- ate cake which I hadn't intended

JUL 15: 97 points- ate cake again!

JUL 16: skipped workout because of conflicting schedule- 96 points

JUL 17: 96 points

JUL 18: 96 points

JUL 19: 96 points

JUL 20:96 points

JUL 21: 96 points

JUL 22: 96 points

JUL 23: 96 points

JUL 24: 96 points

JUL 25: 95 points- skipped a workout

JUL 26: 95 points

JUL 27:

JUL 28:

JUL 29:

JUL 30:

JUL 31:

Ready to go. This will be month 3.
I think I'm going to change things up a little.
Working out-
Mon- work
Tues- Medhi 5x5, Cardio x 30
Wed- work
Thurs- Medhi 5x5, Cardio x 30
Fri- Cardio x 30
Sat- Medhi 5x5, Cardio x 30
Sun- Cardio x 30

Diet- one cheat day a week (likely Thursday), otherwise, clean diet.
5 meals/day
4 meals 250 cal, protein based
1 meal 300-500 cal, mix protein, fat, carbs.

Post daily.

July 1: 1 cheat meal, no workout really (scheduled), but did throw around the kettlebell at work. 99
July 2: Went a little crazy with Etoh. Did a good workout and otherwise diet on track. Not starting the month off good. 98
July 3: Good diet, good workout. 97.
July 4: Good workout. Diet was crappy, but planned for the fourth. 97.
July 5: Good workout, good diet. 97.
July 6: Missed posting. Had a cheat meal. Worked a little with the kettlebell but no workout really scheduled. -2. 95.
July 7: Great workout, too much alcohol. We just got our pooltable and bar in the basement, and had a few drinks. Nothing crazy, just not scheduled. 94.
July 8: Decent diet, no workout scheduled. Tired. 94
July 9: Good diet, no workout. 93.
July 10: Decent diet, great workout. 92.
July 11: Good diet, GREAT workout. 92.
July 12: Good diet, Great workout. 92.
July 13: Great diet, little kettlebell stuff, but no actual workout (none scheduled.) 92.
July 14: Good diet, great workout. 92.
July 15: Cheat meal not scheduled, no workout scheduled. 91.
July 16: Decent diet, missed workout. 90.
July 17: A little embarrassing, I've been awful on updating, and really also on working out. My work schedule got super crazy and I put in over 70 hours last week. Not really an excuse, but a fact, I was dead tired. Worked, diet was okay. Didn't work out, bad updating. -2. 88
July 18: No really workout, worked, diet was okya. Bad updating. -2. 86
July 19: Good workout, really pushed myself. Good diet. 86
July 20: Good diet, no workout scheduled. 86.
July 21: Pressure washed the deck so was pretty tired. Did a decent workout though, back and shoulders. Diet was okay. 86.
July 22: Cheat day, good workout though. On schedule. 86.

GOAL: Cutting
COMMENT: I want to reduce my body fat to 6%.

WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: (AM) Max-OT Workout; 30 min running
Tuesday: (AM) Max-OT Workout; 30 min running
Wednesday: (AM) Max-OT Workout; 30 min running
Thursday: (AM) Max-OT Workout; 30 min running
Friday: (AM) Max-OT Workout; 30 min running
Saturday: 30 min running
Sunday: REST

MEAL SCHEDULE
Six meals per day, 0 cheat meals Per week. 1840 calories (300g protein, 97g carbs, 32g fat)
LOL pretty much all chicken, wheat cereal, and protein shakes with no carbs after 5p.m.

I am debating on weather to have a rest week between July 18-25 or not because i wuld have been cutting for 8 weeks and think my body might need a quick rest after i diet for another 5-6 weeks. i will decide and update this when i do. i will eat reasonable well but i will take in my cutting diet of chicken and add carbs into the diet while keeping my caloric intake at maintenance.

STARTING STATS
WEIGHT: 171.5 pounds
BODY FAT:7%-8%?
ARMS: 13”
CALVES: 14.5”
CHEST: 39”
FOREARMS: 12”
HIPS: 37”
THIGHS: 22”
WAIST: 33.5”

END STATS
WEIGHT:
BODY FAT:
ARMS:
CALVES:
CHEST:
FOREARMS:
HIPS:
THIGHS:
WAIST:

DAILY LOG
JUL 1: Good Workout day
-0 points [100 points]

JUL 2: Today went alright, i dont know about you guys but whenever i diet, its like i dont want to do anything and i always have a bad temper around everyone. its like im a machine or something and my brain plays mindgames with me. but one thing ive noticed is that dieting is definetly not just a physical battle but also a mentle one as well
-0 points [100 points]

JUL 3: Good day, cant wait to take pictures sunday, also im waiting for my fat track digital pro to come in the mail so i can see my bodyfat!!
-0 points [100 points]

JUL 4: Couldnt really sleep last night, lol probably not tonight either because all the fireworks, good day though everything complete.
-0 points [100 points]

JUL 5: I took pictures today and man its motivating, i hit 167.5 lbs on the scale today and thats probably because i was really dehydrated over the night. but everythings goin good just have to keep goin strong.
-0 points [100 points]

Jul 6: Good day, Tired though im goin to bed lol
-0 points [100 points]

Jul 7: Everything done ate as scheduled
-0 points [100 points]

Jul 8: didnt run. dissapointed
-1 points [99 points]

Jul 9: Alright had a little break but its time to do work again. couldnt sleep so stayed up and ended up cheating. lol man i tell you eating healthy makes you feel a lot better, i started eating ice cream and literally as i was eating it 2 min in my stomach just twisted. haha it was so funny because i knew it was the bad food, i had to go the bathroom 10 min after that and the rest of the day i had a headache and i could barley do my cardio. on the other hand i had nice vascularity and pumps at the gym. back to my diet and back to work. i love the fat track pro by the way, just got it in the mail today and it is the most accurate one ive used.
-1 points [98 points]

Jul 10: back on track everything went well today.
-1 points [98 points]

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Choppie’s July 100 Challenge


GOAL: Weight Loss


COMMENT: I want to lose about six pounds, keep to my regular workout schedule, and be consistent through the whole month.


WORKOUT SCHEDULE:
* Monday: bike or run
* Tuesday: sandbag, gripper training
* Wednesday: long bike, or run
* Thursday: sandbag, gripper training
* Friday: sandbag, gripper training
* Saturday bike or run

I can deviate from the plan for something of "equal or greater value": ie, swim (laps, not messing around in the river) for an hour, or a day-long hike, etc.

I've been really struggling lately, so I'm going to try a challenge again to help me get back on track. I will be away from 11th to the 18th. I won't have much control over my food, which is generally very carb-heavy. I will be taking protein powder with me, though, to supplement my meals. I will also have to improvise my workouts, calisthenics and plyometrics. I will have a schedule for myself made up before I leave to which I need to adhere. I will also write out some food and alcohol guidelines to abide by.

I will take measurements on Wednesdays, starting on the first.

Nutrition: Calorie cycling, 40/30/30 ratio. Five meals a day, following Precision Nutrition guidelines. 90% adherence (allows for 3 missed or non-compliant meals per week). Since the first is a Wednesday, I will be calculating my weeks Wednesday to Tuesday.

Points:
July 1: I'm checking in ridiculously early today, but I'm driving down to meet Jedi for dinner, and I likely won't be home before midnight. I don't want to miss a check-in on my first day! Workout done, meals good so far, and on-plan meals packed for the drive. Dinner will be a free meal, but I'm keeping it rational. 100 points
July 2: Sandbag workout done, grippers done, meals 100%. 100 points
July 3 Run done, free was extremely moderate to the point of boring, but I wasn't really interested. Will be taking a free meal tomorrow for a 4th party, then I'm done til Wednesday for "off" meals. 100 points
July 4: Spent much longer than anticipated at a get together, so I haven't worked out yet. I probably won't tonight, and will do it tomorrow in lieu of my day off, or else I'll deduct a point. 100 points
July 5: Sandbag workout done, grippers done, meals 100% 100 points
July 6: Ride done, taking a point for having two glasses of wine with dinner. Not explicitly against my guidelines, but I'm not too happy about it. 99 points
July 7:Sandbag workout done, grippers done, meals 100% 99 points
July 8: I broke or badly jammed my toe this morning, so I haven't done a thing today. 98 points
July 9:I didn't work out again, but I'm cool with it. I'm Gimpy McGimperperson at the moment. I'm off tomorrow! Back on the 19th. Good luck, everyone! 98 points

GOAL: Bulking

COMMENT: To add 5lbs of muscle this month.

WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: Chest
Tuesday: Back/abs
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Arms
Friday: Shoulders/Abs
Saturday: Cardio
Sunday: REST

MEAL SCHEDULE
6-7 meals per day (depending on what time I go to bed and have to wake up) with 1 schedule cheat meal per week :)


STARTING STATS
WEIGHT: 171.6 lbs
BODY FAT: unknown
ARMS: 15.5
CALVES: 16.7
CHEST: 39.5
FOREARMS: 12.5
HIPS: 37.8
THIGHS: 22.5
WAIST: 34.25

END STATS
WEIGHT:
BODY FAT:
ARMS:
CALVES:
CHEST:
FOREARMS:
HIPS:
THIGHS:
WAIST:

DAILY LOG

JUL 1: Alright so today has been kind of weird. I've been feeling under the weather lately so last night I planned on resting today (and I'll workout Saturday instead) I took a 3 hour nap which threw off my diet (not the food but the time in between my meals) I still got in all my meals and ate exactly what I would've even if I wasn't sick. So no workout today but stuck to my diet so I'm not deduct any points because I did the best I could given the situation. Hope that's okay ;) lol (100 points)

JUL 2: So given my schedule today. I'm proud of myself. I had a great workout and ate my meals as scheduled. I have a 2 1/2 hour drive a head of me and probably only going to get about 5 hours of sleep :( night every one. cheat meal tomorrow! (100 points)

JUL 3:
so today wasn't as great (food wise as I hoped, but definitely bettet than I expected. (If that makes sense:) I hung out w/ a bunch of old friends, went wakeboarding and of course I enjoyed my cheat meal. The bad part is, I didn't workout and had 2 cheat meals. Was it worth it? It was an awesome time I don't feel too bad. I just know I need to work 3 times as harder in the gym next week. Night everyone! Happy 4th!! -1 point for un scheduled cheat meal. -1 point for missing workout. (98 points)

JUL 4: Today got off to a great start. I hit arms..bi's and tri's. Great workout. I also had to host this fireworks event for the 4th. On stage in front of 15,000 people, being featured on the news, etc, it felt great to know I've been working out. In my line of work (as I'm sure in your as well) confidence goes a LONG way. I had my cooler backstage and made sure I ate and drank my protein every 2 1/2 hours. I got a few comments as I'd refer to it so often but that just drives me harder. I also host a club on Saturday nights. That went well, and yes I drank water ;) then went home, crashed out, and woke up for cardio and abs in the AM. -0 points (98 points)

JUL 5: Woke up early. Did cardio and abs. I didn't hit abs as well as I hoped. I absolutely HATE abs. Which is ironic because if I could improve 1 body part, hands down it'd be my abs. Had to drive to San Francisco today to be on the air. Brought all my food. (I'm here now) after this, stopping by my girfriends' sister house for a barbecue. They promised they'd have grilled chicken..we'll see :) I should do pretty well there, not really in the mood to cheat..so I don't think I will. I'll wait to tomorrow to update my points though. Night everyone. Back to work tomorrow!! *UPDATE did GREAT at the barbecue and only had grilled chicken :)

Jul 6: Today was chest day. Had a great workout. Wasn't in a rush (usually I have a meeting at 10:30 so I'm forced to cut my workout at a certain time) Today, no meeting :) after the workout, stopped by the store to pick up some more chicken, veggies and almonds. Then headed out by the pool to grill them up..and had a FRESH grilled chicken breasts and rice by the pool!! yummm :) Unfortunately, one of my friends passed away last week so I went to his funeral later on. I brought my cooler and stuck to my diet. Excusing myself during the viewing to head to the car to eat meal #4. After that, went to San Jose to visit my parents. Diet went great, workout went great.. -0 points (98 points)

Jul 7: Solid workout today. Hit legs and abs. It definitely felt good to hit my abs w/out any shortcuts. My leg press went great today. I probably had the best leg workout I've had in the last 6 months. (we'll see how I feel tomorrow ;) Diet went well. I was a little more hungry at dinner time tonight than the usual so I ate 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. Other than that, great day! -0 points (98 points)

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this is my first time doin this but im in fa sho!

Goal: Gain 5-10 pounds of muscle

GOAL: Cutting


WORKOUT SCHEDULE
4 times a week weights.
Cardio for at least 3

MEAL SCHEDULE
No more than 3000 cal per day.
This should cut 2 lbs per week.


STARTING STATS
WAIST: 44"


END STATS
WAIST: 42"


DAILY LOG

JUL 1: weights, cardio, kept under cal count. :tucool:

JUL 2: after 3 days of weights, today is my rest day. No cardio either. Cal count good.

JUL 3: no weights. Cardio on kayak. Cal count good.

JUL 4: no weights. Cal Count good

JUL 5: Legs and Cardio Cal count good

Jul 6: Shoulders / arms . Cal count good.

Jul 7: day off. Cal count good

Jul 8: Cardio, and weights. Cal count bad -1

Jul 9: Cardio and weights again. Cal Count bad -1. Good news, is I still have not eaten anything junkie.

Jul 10: No Cardio, or workout. 4 days this week of workout. A little over, no too bad. -1

Jul 11: No cardio or weights, big workout on kayak. Diet?? unsure -1.

Jul 12: Shoulders/arms basketball. Diet decent

Jul13: Legs. No cardio. Diet good

Jul 14: Chest back, some cardio. Diet good

Jul 15: No workout. Diet good

Jul 16: No workout. Diet. Meh, -1

Jul 17: Shoulders, cardio. Diet no good -1

Jul 18: No workout. Diet no good.-1 I did not keep track.

Jul 19: Chest back. Little cardio. -1 did not keep track

Jul 20: Legs, 1 hour of good cardio. -1 did not keep track

Jul 21: Shoulders/Arms, 1 hour of cardio. -1 did not keep track. It is my vacation and I want to enjoy it. :nod:

Jul 22: day off. Calories off -1

Jul 23: chest and cardio. diet -1

Jul 24: legs. Diet -1

Jul 25: shoulder and arms, plus cardio. diet -1

Jul 26: vacation

Jul 27: vacation

Jul 28: vacation

Jul 29: chest back cardio

Jul 30: legs, cardio, diet off -1

Jul 31: arms, cardio, diet off -1

GOAL: Improve diet, build up metabolism, shrink 41" belly and add muscle. Quit smoking completely by July 22nd. No alcohol all month.

COMMENT: Completely new on this site. This is my first post. Why not begin with a 30 day challenge, eh. I am 41 years old and have been puttering about on here for a couple weeks trying to get as much info. as possible.

Have scheduled a session with personal trainer for day 1 tomorrow. My diet is poor, I have been drinking 6-12 beers every 3-4 days for the last year. I haven't had a meal before noon in over a year(probably more) and tend to eat crappy foods all afternoon and gorge myself with more crap late at night. I have smoked a pack of cigs for 28 years straight. I suffer from depression/anxiety daily. I have spent the last two months in the gym sitting on a bike doing hills for 45 minutes and the stairmaster for an additional 15(alleviates depression). Time to incorporate weight training and get my diet in order and achieve optimal health. I have taken a few months off of work so I can completely focus my energy on getting healthier.



WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: Waterbury's beginner plan: 4 compounds & 2 isometrics
Tuesday: am cardio 45 min/abs
Wednesday: 4 compounds and 2 isometrics
Thursday: am cardio 45 min/abs
Friday: 4 compounds & 2 isometrics
Saturday: am cardio 45 min/abs
Sunday: am cardio 45 min or Rest

Weeks 1,3,5,7,9 - compound straight sets of Incline/flat or decline barbell or dumbbell bench press; Upright or Horizontal Rows or Pull-ups or Pull-downs; Standing or seated military presses(I am doing them standing on a Bosu ball; Squats; Dead-lifts, Good-mornings, power cleans or snatches.

Weeks 2,4,6,8,10 are antagonist sets.

Isometric? exercises are bicep curls, hammer curls or preacher curls; lying BB or DB extensions; press-downs; front, side or rear DB raises; glute or ham raises or leg curls; standing, seated or donkey calf.

I am also doing pushups and I do abs on days I have cardio.

MEAL SCHEDULE
All home-cooked meals.
6 meals per day.


BMR (updated July 4th)
I have calculated my BMR using the following formula: BMR= 66+(13.7 x 84.82kg) + (5 x 198.12cm) - (6.8 x 41). My BMR is 1874. I multiplied my BMR by 1.55(moderate exercise 5 days a week)[should this be higher???] to get 2905. I need to bulk, should I add more calories? Check this.

My Macro-amounts:Carbs:Protein:Fats are 50:30:20. My goal is to be within 5% of each total at the end of each day(new to this). I may post my progress charts each night via FitDay. If anyone thinks my calculations are off, please let me know. I will have a cheat meal on July 12th and July 26th(no alcohol).


STARTING STATS
WEIGHT:84.82kg
BODY FAT:26% ??
FOREARM: 10.5"
BICEP:12" (flexed)
CHEST:39"

CALVES:14"
THIGHS:22"
HIPS:39"
WAIST:41" (yikes)

[B]END STATS/B]
WEIGHT:
BODY FAT:
ARMS:
CALVES:
CHEST:
FOREARMS:
HIPS:
THIGHS:
WAIST:

DAILY LOG

JUL 1: HAPPY CANADA DAY

07:45. I immediately force-fed myself 1/4 C Apple Sauce. Had 1 cigarette after. Drank 1 3/4 Cup Black Tea with 1/4 C 1% Milk - had 1 more cigarette. Had another Tea/Milk combo(both with 1tsp brown sugar).

08:30 I ate 1 cup of cooked Quinoa, 1/4 C Rolled Oats(uncooked), 1/2 C Blueberries, 1Tbsp slivered Almonds and 1/2 C 1% Milk. Had 1 more cigarette. (My trainer called and had to cancel due to a double booking - Not off to a good start - but then I guess, I can go Thursday/Saturday/Mon/Wed/Fri so that won't be so bad. Rescheduled for 8am tomorrow. My gym bills me a full session if I do not give 24hrs cancellation notice, so I suspect I won't have to pay the fee tomorrow - good news!!!!). Quinoa tastes yummy and is super easy to cook - glad I bought it in bulk !!!!

09:00 Sitting down now to plan my meals for the rest of the day.

10:35 - just finished eating 3 egg whites mashed with 1 avocado and 1tsp organic garlic powder - very tasty. Have had 3 more cups of black tea/milk/sugar and 2 more cigs. Off to the gym for cardio and abs in 1.5 hrs. From now till the 22nd I will leave all cigs at home(will reduce my consumption by 1/3rd). My Starbucks mug holds 2 cups of water - I always assumed it was 1.

13:30 completed 45 minutes cardio(bike/hills) at the gym. Ate an apple afterwards to stop my nicotene cravings.

14:00 cigarette.

14:30 Ate 6 cups dry spinach, 1 C blueberries, 2 Tbsp almonds, 4 egg whites, 2 Tbsp olive oil(too much). Drank 1/4 C soy milk. 1 cigarette.

15:05 1 cigarette.

16:30 1/2 C tuna.

18:30 1 med chicken breast(grilled), 3 egg whites, 1 C soy milk. 1 cigarette.

19:00 abs at home.

20:30 1/2 C Tuna, 1/2 C soy milk. 3 cigarettes last couple hours.

Total: workout completed : 6 meals : (100 points).

2749 Calories Carbs: 42% :Protein 29%: Fat28%
(had I skipped the olive oil with the salad, I would have been close to 50:30:20).

JUL 2:
06:00 awake

06:30 ate same Quinoa bkfst as yesterday - replaced 1%milk with soy milk and omitted applesauce. 1 cup of Quinoa gave me about 6 cups - just heated the soy milk and added with Quinoa and oatmeal mixture and topped with blueberries. Yum. My trainer this morning suggests I ONLY eat a piece of fruit prior to cardio OR weights. Had 2 cigs prior to leaving and 1 tea/1%milk(threw my brown sugar in the trash and replaced with 1tsp Agave Nectar).

07:30 cardio for 20 minutes and lifted weights for an hour, with trainer, focsed on proper form - I took a notepad and did more writing then lifting - on his recommendation I will lift weights twice a day(mornings and late 5-6pmish). I need to concentrate on my core muscles and do major pushups and abs - today I had to rest my knees on the floor to complete pushups - created major anxiety(ie: what are people thinking - why am I so "weak"). Have to fight through this so it doesn't bother me, but need to be aware of it. Guess I could do these at home if need be - no sense in being stressed, even a little while at the gym. Confidence will come, in time.

Weight program: Pushups 3x12-15; (gradually increase weight so I am near exhaustion on last rep) Assisted pull-ups(Pro or Sup);Flat or Incline DB Benchpress;Squat Press; Hack Squat; Side lat Raise with Lunge; Deadlifts; Good Mornings(should choose 4-5 of these compunds - alternate a couple every other day) - do 2 isometrics as well but not the same ones each day - can also do these at home but I figure since I am at the gym why not do most/all of them there.

I weighed myself for the first time in months and I only weigh 187/lbs so I have to redo all my caloric needs, etc. I shouldn't be concerned about weight and need to bulk. I was told my 41" waist will come down with diet. I don't have much fat at all - just weak stomach/ab muscles and core strengthening will take care of that with diet(no alcohol). Spent 30 minutes in the Eucalyptus Steam Room. Love being in there.

On the way home I bought a scale so I can weigh all my foods. He suggested I have 1/4 C almonds twice a day as a snack. Made an appointment for a group meeting with a nutrionist - next week. Included with my membership.

My nicotene cravings were too much and I stopped to buy smokes on the way home. Will deduct 5 points for this - frigging crazy that I would make a commitment and break it right away - I am disappointed in myself for giving in. I did not take any food with me, in the car - have to make sure I always have almonds and fruit available, in the car. Have to buy a car cooler - 105 degrees here today and crazy humidity.

11:30 ate 1 cold chicken breast(boiled from last night) chopped with 1 cup blueberries. I need to buy more blueberries this afternoon. This is my go-to fruit. I wonder if I can freeze them somehow??? Purchased 6 pints of blueberries at Whole Foods and layered them on separate cookie sheets in the freezer. http://www.pickyourown.org/freezingblueberries.htm ( am I allowed to post links on here???).

14:00 ate 1/4 cup tuna( I am now sick of tuna- cold/plain - awful) Find new recipes tonight.

16:30 ate 3 cups of fresh spinach with 1 cup of blueberries, 2 tblsp almonds and 1 egg white - omitted olive oil from yesterday and replaced with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar(actually tasted better this time). 1 cigarette afterwards.

My hamstrings,knees and lower back are sore. I think I should wait a couple weeks before I do my weight routine twice a day - don't want to overdo it too soon. Will do another 45 pushups at home tonight and 75 crunches with knees pressed against a foam block.

19:30 ate 1 cup dry, cooked, red lentils and tossed with 1 egg white and a pinch of organic turmeric. Ate half a avocado(pinch of garlic) and a few blueberries(1.1oz) and 1/4 C almonds. This is way too heavy on the fat at this time of night(I suspect) but my end of day amounts are closer to what I was aiming for. Should have had these fats earlier and maybe had the chicky breast/blueberries instead.

Total : Workout completed : 5 meals(missed a snack, delete 1 point) - deduct 2 points for two Latte's I bought at Starbucks & 5 points for buying and smoking cigs while in the car/breaking commitment within 48 hrs). 92 points.

2649 Calories - since I weigh 23 lbs less than what I thought I did my caloric intake should be lower than the original, but since meeting with the PT at the gym I need to concentrate on bulking/building muscle so my caloric/nutrition needs are out of whack. Back to the drawing board.

Carbs: 52% / Protein: 26% / Fats: 23% (within the 5% range I wanted but poor evening meal).

JUL 3:
08:00 awake - muscles sore from knees to shoulders - jelly arms.

08:30 ate an apple had 2 tea (2 cigs).

09:00 rode my bike outside for 35 minutes.

10:30 ate Quinoa bkfst - same as yesterday.

12:30 ate 1/4 cup almonds.

15:00 ate chicken breast chopped with 1 C blueberries.

16:00 - 18:30 had long nap.

19:00 ate 145g fresh spinach, 1.4g capers,3 egg whites, 92g blueberries, 26g almonds.

21:30 ate 1 cup frozen blueberries

I had no cigs away from home today.

I have not been on Fitday at all today - gets irritating after a while. I have made a note of my foods and amounts and have begun to weigh most items. I will transfer my amounts and update my Fitday account tomorrow.

I must have burned more calories washing dishes in these last 3 days then I did the previous two weeks. I have to buy more reusable containers and start boiling chicken/eggs in bulk.

I buy fresh & organic baby spinach which I love to eat(just open the container and voila - no need to wash). The blueberries really are the key to making this work day after day. The egg whites are a nice texture. I bought capers to give my tuna a zing and thought they may work with the spinach salad but not as well as I hoped - probably due to the balsamic vinegar. I suspect I will have better luck adding capers to tuna. I am used to eating spinach salad with tons of goat feta, pecan pieces and raisins which is delic and addictive but I want to try and avoid the extra fat.

Frozen blueberries are almost as good as ice cream - crunchy, creamy, cold and delicious. I will snack on these frequently.

Reminder to self: Check goat feta on Fitday. Post video links to exercises I am doing. Take before pictures. Buy 20lb DB's from used sports store.

Total: Workout completed : 6 meals (93 points).

JUL 4: Happy 4th

07:00 woke up late, had 1st smoke/tea in car.

08:00 Starbucks Latte - deduct 1 point.

09:30 ate 1 apple.

10:30 20 minutes cardio -45 weights - 10 abs: 20 minutes bike/hills - 3x15 Hack Squats, 3x15 side lat raise with alternating lunge, 3x15 Bosu Squat Press, 3x15 flat bench press, 3x3 assisted pull ups - 4x15 roman chair leg pull ups.

12:30 1 cup blueberries immediately after gym.

13:00 Quinoa meal.

14:00 1/4 C almonds(in car).

16:00 1 chicky breast diced with 3/4 of spinach salad (same as yesterday).

18:00 remainder (1/4) of spinach salad.

18:30 3x15 squats, 3x15 benchpress, 3x15 side lat raise with alternating lunge. Lower back stretches. 3x15 pushups.

21:00 ate 1 C frozen blueberries and 1/4 C almonds.

Total: Workout completed : 6 Meals (Starbucks Latte and cig in car) - 91 Points

JUL 5:
09:15 awake

10:30 ate 1 apple. 4 cups of tea.

12:30 ate 1 C quinoa, 7.3g blueberries, 1/4 C Oats, 1 C soymilk.

14:30 at 1/2 C almonds, 3 egg whites.

16:30 ate 487g spinach, 5 egg whites, 1 C blueberries, 1/4 C almonds, 1 chick breast, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar.

18:30 ate 3/4 C tuna, 1.5 tbsp capers, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 3/4 C white onions.

20:00 ate 1 C quinoa, 3/4 C soymilk.

3140 Calories consumed : Carbs: 42% Protein: 33% Fats: 25% (Goal: 50:30:20).

Total: no workout today - deduct 1 point : 6 meals. (90 points).

Jul 6:
08:00 awake

09:00 25 g almonds, 4 cups of tea.

11:15 Workout

13:00 ate 130g blueberries, 147g almonds(too much)

14:00 ate 146g quinoa, 76g oats, 45g blueberries, 8 oz soymilk, 2 eggwhites.

16:00 95g applesauce, 150g oats, 1/2 C soymilk

18:30 ate 1 large chick. bst, 1/2 C blueberries, 3 eggwhites.

21:00 ate 1 corn tortilla

2959 calories : Carbs: 48% : Protein: 23% Fat: 29%
I ate too many almonds and I replaced my 1%milk in tea with half and half. What was I thinking? Also, skipped the spinach salad and forgot to eat veggies today. Woops.

Total: Workout completed : 6 meals ( 90 points)

Jul 7:
07:00 awake

07:30 ate 1/4 chicken breast. 32(4x8oz tea/ 1/2 C cream(total)/ 4tsp agave nectar.

10:00 ate quinoa bkfst. 151g quinoa, 34g oats (raw), 55g blueberries, 1 C soymilk. 2 egg whites.

11:30 Workout : 45 minutes bike(hills), abs.

12:30 ate 3 egg whites.

13:30 ate 147g, dry, cooked lentils(I think maybe I should weigh my cooked amount???), 135g fresh broccoli, cooked.

18:00 ate chicken breast, handful of blueberries, 3 egg whites, 40g almonds.

21:00 ate 110g tuna, 1 tbsp capers, 1 C soy milk.

2769 Calories : Carbs: 45% : Protein: 33% : Fat: 22% (goal: within 5% range of 50/30/20).

I am a little low on the calorie intake - 135 or so. Today, I didn't use Fitday until after I had all my meals. I still have to eat more veggies - could have added 1/2 cup of zuch or brussels to bring up my caloric intake. I will try for the same tomorrow, with a couple more veggies.

After a week now, I find it easier to adjust if I have prepared my meals ahead of time. I have 8 hard boiled egg whites, a bowl of quinoa, frozen berries, 3-4 cooked(boiled) chicken breasts in the fridge so I don't have to worry tonight/procrastinate tomorrow when it comes to preparing my meals. I have figured out a simple way to peel eggs - just start at the narrow tip and work diagonally away. Huge difference. Also, I keep my cooked eggs in cold water in the fridge - that may have something to do with it. The last couple days I have had a strong urge, here and there, to drink alcohol. Been ages since I have been a week, without. I continue to not smoke in the car. I am down to 15 cigs a day after the first week. This next week, I am going to go for walks after my meals instead of sitting outside and smoking. This will bring my cigs down to 10-11 day. Two weeks from today & I will have my last cigarette.

Total: Workout completed : 6 meals. (90 points)

Jul 8:
08:00 awake

08:00-10:30 5 cups of tea with 1/4C cream and 5tsp agave nectar.

09:30 ate 142g quinoa, 27g oats, 64g blueberries.

11:00 workout - 45 minutes weights & 15 minutes cardio

12:30 ate 3 egg whites

13:00 ate 50g almonds and 4 egg whites

16:00 ate 2 cups of lentils (too much) with 89g raisins and med chick. breast. Was bloated all afternoon. WTF?!

19:00 ate 3 egg whites

21:00 ate 1 cup of raisins and 1/2 tortilla.

I realized I had been measuring my lentils incorrectly(dry instead of cooked). I was already at max calories at 16:00. No veggies, so tonight I went to the store and bought broccoli, zuchini, brussel sprouts and red potatoes. I have to dust off my Ayurvedic cookbook and get a little more serious with the low fat, vegetarian-type dishes.

3421 Calories: Carbs: 63% : Protein: 25% Fat: 12% (not a good day on the diet, but I had a real hard workout).

Total: Workout completed : 6 meals (90 points).

Jul 9:
07:15 awake

08:00 ate 153g quinoa, 100g blueberries, 39g raw oats, 8oz soy milk. 32oz tea, 1/2 C cream, 4tsp agave.

09:00 Met with the nutritionist at the gym. Recommended that I go to 40:40:20. Also, I was told to always eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking. Drink gatorade within 10min of cardio completion. Eat 4 egg whites with an apple - or other fruit or protein shake but I'd prefer au-natural, if I can help it - immediately after lifting weights. ALWAYS eat protein with carbs. I thought eating a piece of fruit by itself was okay. Eat no fat immediately after workout. I should be eating every 2-2 1/2 hrs and my last meal should be 1-2 hrs before bed.

10:00 Workout: bike 45 min & abs.

11:00 drank 12 oz Powerade.

11:30 ate 5 egg whites and 1 large apple

13:00 ate 203g tuna, 20g capers, 96g onions & 4oz soy milk.

15:30 ate 145g raw spinach, 4 egg whites, 80g blueberries, 1 large chicken breast, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar.

17:30 ate 24g almonds, 4oz soy milk.

20:00 ate 70g chicken, 189g brown rice, 1tsp Braggs.

2943 Calories: Carbs: 42% / Protein: 39% / Fat: 19% (awesome today - on target)
Still no veggies - not used to cooking with them - I don't really count spinach as a veggie, even though technically I did have the equivalent of 5-6 servings in the one salad. I have to find ways to add more veggies to more meals & do so before the veggies spoil and need to be thrown out :) I came so close to having a beer today. Strong urge to have a drink in the middle of the afternoon. Just one - is how I kept bargaining with myself, but I know I rarely can leave it at just one.

Total: Workout completed : 6 Meals (90 points)

Jul 10:
08:00 awake (every morning I drink 4-6 cups of Earl Grey, 1/2 C half and half, tsp/c agave).

08:45 ate 129g quinoa, 70g blueberries, 50g raw oats, 8oz soy milk; ate 75g chicken breast. I have to start including more protein at breakfast. I think this may be a good place to include a protein shake.

10:30 Workout & 15 min cardio

12:00 ate 4 egg whites and 1 apple.

14:00 ate 267g lentils, 133g chick. breast, 100g raisins, 3 egg whites. I really need to buy a microwave. This was doable, cold - thank god for the raisins - mixed it all and mashed.

16:00 ate 100g raw spinach, 2 egg whites, 97g blueberries, 69g chicken, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar.

18:45 ate 28g almonds & a sip of soy milk.

20:30 ate 12oz can of tuna(drained) with 2tbsp capers.

2995 Calories : Carbs: 43% / Protein: 36% / Fat: 21% (Good day - within 5% of each).

I have to start looking at my meals individually for proper protein/carb/fat split as opposed to my totals at the end of the day. Hopefully by the end of the month, I will have a clearer picture of what works well together. Not doing so well with the smoking. I have managed to quit cocaine, crack, crystal meth, ecstasy, pot and alcohol - all cold turkey and I know if I put my mind to it, I can beat the nicotene too. On July 22nd, I will be a NON-SMOKER !!! I was at Whole Foods today and they have this set-up where you buy your groceries and you can arrange to send them downstairs to the parking lot via baskets on a conveyor belt. How cool & convenient is that ?!!!! Maybe other places do that too? First time I have seen that. Now that's customer service. There is a clerk standing next to all the filled baskets - you just pull up with your vehicle and the clerk will place your groceries in the back of your car. Cool. Speaking of Whole Foods - blueberries sure are becoming expensive. I must look at other fruits - grapes, strawberries(bought today), kiwi, apples, oranges, mangoes, melons, pineapple, raspberries. I ought to go over to the big - and cheap - Mexican supermarket and stock up.

Total: Workout completed : 6 meals (90 points).

Jul 11:
07:30 awake

08:00 ate 127g quinoa, 38g raw oats, 98g blueberries, 1C soy milk. 4 cups tea/cream/agave.

08:30 - 12:30 outdoor class (not a workout).

10:30 ate 2 egg whites and 41g almonds.

12:45 ate 269g lentils, 3 egg whites, 100g raisins, 85g chicken.

14:00 - 15:30 nap. Very very tired today. Not used to spending 3-4hrs on my feet.

16:00 ate 98g raw spinach, 120g blueberries, 123g chicken breast, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.

17:45 ate 17g almonds and 1 C soy milk.

so far today: Calories: 2431 Calories: Crabs: 51% / Pro: 25% / Fat:24%
I was going to eat a large can of tuna for my last meal which would have given me the right macro split but I decided to have my cheat meal instead.

19:15 I decided to have my cheat meal this evening(scheduled for tomorrow) and bought two bags of peanut M&M's at 7-Eleven. I really should have eaten something else with it. No more M&M's until the 26th. I think, eventually I won't bother with the cheat meals. We'll see. Holy moly - according to FitDay 1 Cup of peanut M&M's has 44.4 grams of fat, 103g of carbs and 16g of protein for a whopping 876 calories. No wonder I have a 41" waist. Yikes.

3306 Calories: Carbs 50% / Protein: 21% / Fat: 30%

Total: No Workout Completed -1 point : 6 meals (unscheduled cheat meal -1 (88 points).

Have to get back on track tomorrow. Overall I am doing very well.

Jul 12:
07:30 awake

08:00 ate 115g quinoa, 37g oats, 97g blueberries, 1C soy milk. 4 cups of tea.

10:30 15min cardio & full workout & 10 min cardio.

12:00 ate 5 egg whites and 1 apple.

13:30 ate 339g lentils, 97g raisins, 145g chicken breast.

15:00 ate 25g almonds

17:15 ate 256g steamed brussel sprouts, 113g zucchini, 124g brown rice, 1tsp Braggs, 40g chicken.

19:30 ate 162g strawberries and 68g chicken.

2615 Calories. Carbs: 56% / Protein: 24% / Fats: 20%

Total: Workout completed: 6 meals (88 points).

Not sure why my diet is off today. I replaced the usual spinach/egg/chick./blueberry salad with steamed veggies and rice. I was going to add some tuna but had a craving for strawberries and had no eggs so added chicky to have some protein. I am used to having 8-10 hard-boiled egg whites and only had 5 post-workout. Tomorrow will be day 14 without alcohol - pleased with that.

Jul13:
08:45 awake

10:30 ate 145g quinoa, 28g raw oats, 101g blueberries, 1 C soy milk. Need more protein here!!!
Also, had 5 cups of tea, 1/4C half and half and 5 tsp agave.

12:45 10 min bike/hills and 30 min stairs. Abs.

1:45 drank 20oz? Vitamin water? I forgot the name - Gatorade has that corn syrup crap that I will not eat again! (no more M&M's - I had diarrhea the next morning just from eating 1 cup).

15:45 ate 266g Lentils, 47g raisins, 76g chicken, 3 egg whites.

18:00 ate 147g raw spinach, 111g blueberries, 3 egg whites, 97g chick breast, 1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar.

21:00 ate 12oz can tuna with 1/2 apple(diced) and 3Tbsp capers. 1/2C Soy milk.

2346 Calories: Carbs: 47% / Protein: 38% / Fat: 15% (I think I missed a meal)

Total: Workout completed - 5 meals deduct 1 point (87 points).

I have to aim for the correct macro split during each meal. I am weary of using whey protein as I am lactose intolerant. Cream in my tea is okay. I am getting tired of peeling eggs every frigging night. I can't believe my calories are so low today??? Maybe I forgot to add something cause my meals are close to yesterday. Huh.

Correct Macro Meals:

485 Calories. Carbs: 41% / Protein: 39% / Fat: 20% :
150g raw spinach, 3 egg whites, 110g blueberries, 100g chicken breast, 1/4 Californian avocado and 1 large apple.

840 Calories: Carbs: 41% / Protein: 42% / Fat: 17% :
225g lentils cooked, boiled without salt; 50g raisins, 4 egg whites, 150g chicken breast, 20g slivered almonds.

435 Calories: Carbs: 41% / Protein: 44% / Fat: 16% :
1 6.5oz can tuna(drained), 1/4 Californian avocado, 20g raisins, 1 large apple.


Jul 14:
07:45 awake

08:30 ate 158g quinoa, 48g raw oats, 108g blueberries, 1 C soy milk. 5 cups of tea with 1/2C 2% milk, agave.

10:15 8 min stairs and full workout and 10 minutes stairs.

12:00 ate 4 egg whites and 1 large apple PWO.

13:15 ate 18g almonds, 224g lentils, 50g raisins, 3 egg whites, 150g chicken breast.

15:30 ate 22g almonds and 1/2 C soy milk.

18:00 ate 150g raw spinach, 170g strawberries, 150g chicken breast, 3 egg whites, 20g almonds, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar.

21:00 ate 107g tuna, 1 Tbsp lemon juice.

2867 Calories: Carbs 45% / Protein: 33% / Fat: 22%

Total: Workout completed. 6 meals (87 points).

Jul 15:
08:15 awake

09:30 ate 147g quinoa, 180g strawberries, 45g raw oats, 1 C soy milk.

12:00 ate 2 egg whites and 1 apple.

14:30 ate 325g lentils, 75g raisins, 135g chicken breast.

16:00 ate 30g almonds and 1/2 C soy milk.

17:30 ate 140g raw spinach, 355g strawberries, 190g chicken breast, 1/4 avocado.

Total: No workout : missed 1 meal. Deduct 2 points (85 points).

Was feeling blue, all day today. Just one of those days, I guess.....

Jul 16:
07:15 awake

08:30 ate 112g quinoa, 42g raw oats, 140g strawberries, 1 C soy milk.

10:30 ate 23g almonds and 1/2 C soy milk

12:00 full workout and 15 minutes cardio(stairs).

13:30 PWO ate some chicken and an apple.

16:00 ate 225g chicken breast, 75g raisins, 225g lentils.

20:00 ate a few spoonfuls of cold lentils and had a diet Dr. Pepper.

Total: Workout completed : missed 1 meal (84 points).

I ended up on the frigging telephone for 2+ hours and I forgot to eat.

Jul 17:

Total: Workout completed. 5 meals. deduct 1 point. Missed update. (83 points).

Jul 18:
07:00 awake
08:30 ate an apple, and few almonds.

13:00 ate 137g quinoa, 64g raw oats, 130g blueberries, 1 C soy milk.

Missed 3 meals and 1 workout. deduct 4 points (79 points).

Jul 19:

Missed 3 meals and 1 workout and forgot to post yesterday. deduct 5 points(74 points).
This has not been a good weekend for me. Completely fell apart. Back on track tomorrow.

Jul 20:
08:30 awake

09:45 ate 125g quinoa, 39g raw oats, 90g blueberries, 123g strawberries, 1 C soy milk.

11:30 Workout & 10min stairs.

13:00 ate a banana and 4 egg whites.

13:45 ate 219g lentils, 210g chicken, 110g raisins.

16:00 ate 115g spinach, 150g strawberries, 75g raisins, 160g chicken breast & 2Tbsp BV.

18:30 ate 40g almonds and 1/2C soy milk.

21:00 ate a couple egg whites

Total: Workout completed / 6 meals (74 points).

Jul 21:

Total: no workout / 5 meals. deduct 2 (72 points).

I didn't have the legs to get on the bike or climb stairs for 45min. Did some ab work at home but I wouldn't consider it a full workout. Tomorrow, I AM a non-smoker!!!

Jul 22:

Total: Workout / 5 meals. -1 (71 points). No cigarettes!

Jul 23:

Total: No Workout(cardio) / 6 meals (70 points). No Cigarettes! My legs have been pretty sore on my days between weights. Have to revisit my cardio schedule.

Jul 24:

Total: 6 meals / Workout - missed update (69 points).

Jul 25:
Deduct 4 points

Jul 26:
Deduct 4 points

Jul 27:
Deduct 4 points (69 minus twelve = 57 points - Hanging in there)

Jul 28:

Jul 29:

Jul 30:

Jul 31:

GOAL: Cutting

COMMENT: I want to reduce my body fat to 15%. Been incredibly, terribly depressed lately, with no motivation, and I'm hoping this may help with my motivation issues. I was down to about that point a few months ago, but then backslid 40 pounds (jeez!). Rome wasn't built in a day, I suppose.

Last time I measured my bodyfat percentage, I was at 202.4 pounds, 16.75 percent. I was so close to my goal I could taste it. Instead, I started tasting M&Ms and doughnuts and now I'm up a shocking 42 pounds. That's been the story of my weight loss - down, up, down, up, down, up. Makes me wonder if being bigger is a setpoint, but I'm not a fan of such talk.

I'm not particularly bothered to be at this weight - like I said, I've been suffering from some pretty crushing depression lately, and I absolutely cut myself some slack on some issues to prevent myself from beating myself up over everything - I beat myself up over enough stuff as is without torturing myself over every single one of my faults.

WORKOUT SCHEDULE
4 days a week or so: At least 60 minutes of aerobic exercise, sometimes more. Usually some combination of upright/recumbent bike, but can also be walking, depending.

3 days a week: Aerobic exercise plus weight training.

Hopefully I'll be sticking to the current schedule: MWF - weight training, then cardio to fill the gaps. T-Th-Sa-Su - cardio-only, with ab work.

MWF's weight training alternates between two full-body workouts. It's essentially a variation on the workouts suggested by genius Lyle McDonald in the support forum (http://forums.lylemcdonald.com/showthread.php?t=1724) for his Rapid Fat Loss (http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/the-rapid-fat-loss-handbook) book. I'm changing it from the 2 days a week recommendation to 3 days a week to see how it goes, because it seems I really get a metabolic boost or something from weight training and it makes fat loss easier. So I wanna do it three days a week, but I'm not going to sweat the weight at all - if it stays the same it'll be a miracle, but if it drops, I'm not gonna worry about it. If I have to pull back to two days a week, that's fine, too.

The variation is to add in some different-but-similar exercises (I hate lateral raises) and to get some deadlifting in, which I love. I'm expecting to be deadlifting the bar pretty soon, the way things are going.

1st workout: Squats 2x6-8, Romanian deadlifts 1x6-8, dumbbell bench press 2x6-8, row 2x6-8, lateral raise 1x8-10, standing bicep straight-bar curl 1x8-10, assisted dips 1x8-10.

2nd workout: Deadlifts 2x6-8, leg press (probably - I hate leg presses, but need a quad-dominant exercise and hate holding the bar for front squats) 1x6-8, incline dumbbell bench press 2x6-8, assisted chins 2x6-8, military press 1x8-10, preacher curl machine 1x8-10, close-grip bench press 1x8-10.

Alternate the two workouts.

A disclaimer: I'm granting myself leeway to take one day off from exercise a week without costing myself a point. Any more than that and I get docked. New weeks, for the purpose of argument, start on Mondays.

MEAL SCHEDULE
Roughly three-four meals per day, one cheat meal per week. Any more cheat meals after that and I've cost myself a point. I really need to start weighing out my food again, and may get back to that at some point.

STARTING STATS
I'm omitting some of these measurements, because, frankly, I don't really care at this point how big my arms or chest or thighs or calves are. I've got a Myotape and can measure them, I'd just rather stick to hips and waist measurements, for simplicity's sake.

WEIGHT: 244.2 pounds
BODY FAT: 25.6% (62.5 pounds fat, 181.7 pounds lbm)
HIPS: 45.25"
WAIST: 44.25"

END STATS
WEIGHT: 225.2 (19 pounds lost)
BODY FAT: 21.4% (48.1 pounds fat, 177 pounds lbm)
HIPS: 43.25"
WAIST: 41"

DAILY LOG
July 1: 60 minutes on the upright bike, followed by the squat/row/romanian deadlift/military press day of the 10x3. Then 30 minutes on the recumbent bike to finish the workout. Hit all my meals 100 percent perfectly. 100 points.

July 2: 60 minutes on the upright bike, then some ab work, then 60 minutes on the recumbent bike. Hit all my meals perfectly, then went for a 90-minute walk after work. My hamstrings are a little sore - if I can make it through tomorrow, I'll likely have to take July 4 off 'cause the gym closes early (boo!) and I may not have time to get in. 100 points.

July 3: 60 minutes on the upright bike, then some ab work (not as much as I'd like - I was having trouble with it, for some reason), then a whopping 20 minutes on the recumbent bike before I just hit a wall and decided it'd be best for me to quit.

See, about 3-4 weeks ago I was in a dieting heavy phase, not taking in many calories and working like crazy at the gym, and I just "bonked" and was the absolute tiredest I'd ever been after a workout. I was so tired I had to sit down to shower. The next day, same thing, except I managed to stand up to shower (with several breaks to lean against a wall to get my balance back). That whole weekend every time I got up, I had to steady myself against something to keep from passing out.

I think it's a combination of the heavy dieting, all the stuff at the gym and some medication I'm on making my blood pressure low. Everything kinda stacks up and I dramatically run out of steam. So I didn't force the issue, 'cause I really wanted to stand up and take a normal shower.

Further reading has me wondering whether it's me running low on glycogen stores after a long week of going to the gym and not eating very much at all, and the body rebelling against it, which might also be causing the end-of-week carb cravings.

I'm really starting to think that even though low-carb diets are dramatically effective for dropping big amounts of "stunt" weight quickly, they might not be for me at this particular point in time for a list of various reasons and I probably would be better off on some sort of carb cycling plan.

Hit all my meals just fine - weight loss has been dramatic over the last couple of days, but it's all me playing with water weight. Won't say "never," but probably no gym tomorrow. 100 points.

July 4: No gym, like I thought - actually got up in time to go and get at least a little work in, but just couldn't get rolling in the time span required. We'll call that my day off for the week with the hopes of actually getting in there Sunday. I also spent the really big money (for me) on a pair of running/walking shoes that will hopefully make walking much, much easier on my poor feet and will thus increase the likelihood that I'll actually go walking.

Little discouraged by no weight loss at all yesterday, but not surprised, actually - weight loss is complicated, and you can't really predict what you're gonna do from one day to the next because your body will hold water for all sorts of crazy reasons and throw your weight off. Then BOOM, it'll shed it and you'll lose out of nowhere.

Hit my meals, but had a bowl of ice cream after work - was famished, absolutely starving, and stressed to bits. Could've been much worse. Could've been much better. I was tempted like crazy to stop by the store for some M&Ms, but I didn't - that's how I got in this fix in the first place.

It's funny how I do fine for a few days and then I really lose enthusiasm for being a good boy and start thinking about sweets. I think that may be a function of low-carb dieting not being for me right now. I think my craving for bad stuff would be held off a little bit if I were getting more complex carbs. Let's say that's my cheat meal for the week, and then we'll deduct Sunday if I manage to make some poor choices in eating then, which I most likely will. 100 points (for now, but probably not much longer).

July 5: Here's some oddball crap, and goes to show you what happens when you weigh yourself every day (I honestly don't suggest anyone do this, I'm just fascinated by the patterns and how your body responds to different gym loads/more or less food):

On July 3, I weighed 235.4 pounds. I went to the gym and had a good day nutritionally. I was hungry so I finished the day with a pound of fresh strawberries (no sweetener of any kind - just washed).

On July 4, I still weighed 235.4 pounds despite the fact I'd been losing pretty steadily all month. Did what few carbs were in the strawberries cause me to pull in some water?

The night of July 4 I was incredibly hungry after a long night at work with not as much food as I would've liked. So I came home and ate about a bowl of full-fat Butter Pecan ice cream, along with a couple of apples and a pear.

I get up today and I'm 3 pounds lighter, to 232.4. One would think the carbs in the ice cream would've caused me to retain water, which would at least have caused the weight to stay the same or even go up some. I was expecting my weight to go up at least a little, so needless to say I was pleasantly surprised that my weight went down by three pounds.

Now today's been interesting: Actually made it to the gym for the first time on a Sunday in ages and ages. Did 1:20 total worth of cardio on the recumbent and upright bike before time ran out on me. I should've lifted weights today, and that was the plan, but I got kinda sidetracked by talking to a woman at the gym for about 40 minutes or so while she was on the bike, so I joined her. :tu: I'll lift weights some other time. Maybe not even tomorrow, depending. I've got bigger fish to fry right now :D, and if that involves me doing more cardio so I can do a little more chatting, so be it.

And I basically didn't really eat crap today - had a salad from a restaurant that was pretty damn basic and relatively low-carby, then came home and I've had an apple and a pear. That's been it. Protein's way lower than it should be, all things considered, but I don't have any chicken baked and I can't use my beloved protein powder due to a medicine issue, so it'll have to do.

I desperately need to figure out a strategy for how to eat better when on the road. Every place has a grilled chicken sandwich, but the problem is most of them are tiny pieces of chicken on great-big buns and usually slathered in some useless sauce like mayo or honey mustard. Basically, all I want is the grilled chicken breast with no bun. I gotta do some more research into best places to eat while trying to keep the carbs relatively low (and not while eating something stupid insane like the Hardee's low-carb Thickburger, which has about 50 grams of fat). I'll figure it out.

I wouldn't consider anything I ate today a "cheat meal," so I'm actually keeping my points. I thought I'd cave and get something unhealthy from the restaurant instead of a salad, but I was chock-full of "gonna be a good boy" today after yesterday's ice cream. Plus it helps that my little talking buddy at the gym has my morale a bit higher than usual, though heaven knows where that's gonna lead. 100 points.

July 6: Weighed 228.8 this morning, dropping a surprising 3.6 pounds from yesterday. I'm gotta be near the end of this incredible water loss (I think the magic number's gonna be 20 pounds total - I'll get down to 224 fairly easily enough, but then the fun begins).

Did 10 minutes on the bike to warm up and then tried to lift weights. Some stuff did OK, others didn't - I ate next to no food yesterday and I had nothing in the tank when it came to trying to deadlift. Deadlifting was an awful joke. Everything else went pretty OK, though. I then did about 17 minutes on the bike to close out the day, followed by a 1:30 walk after work to break in my spiffy new expensive walking shoes.

Food went as planned - I introduced almonds into the mix to boost my fat intake and get the calories up a bit so it won't seem so like a starvation diet. Tomorrow: More biking with my new workout partner, hopefully. :tucool: 100 points.

July 7: Quick update to show the perils of weighing yourself every day. Today's weight: 231.6, up 2.8 pounds from yesterday. Body's gotta be retaining water from the stress of the diet and my insane attempt at lifting weights. I've gotta bring the weights WAY down or change protocol, either way. I think the boost in fats (which will also get another boost today) will help.

Did fine at the gym, an hour on the recumbent bike, then some ab work, then an hour on the upright bike. Afternoon went horribly and work went even worse, so I took solace in my "friend" that helped me put on 40 pounds, some good old candy. I was just so hungry and so aggravated. Just a slipup, hopefully I've gotten it out of the way for a while. Not sure I wanna weigh myself in the morning, though. We'll count that as a cheat meal knowing I pretty much don't stand a chance in hell of not cheating for the rest of the week. 100 points (but not for much longer).

July 8: Yeah, that not cheating didn't last long at all. Didn't go to the gym, either. That counts as my day off, but I still lose a point over the food thing. I'm getting ready to get back to it, I just hit a little patch where I need a bit of time off. Probably be back at it Friday. 99 points.

July 9: I'm off the wagon. Cheated and didn't go to the gym. Better luck Saturday, maybe. 97 points.

July 10: More cheating, no gym. 95 points.

July 11: Back at the gym, an hour on the upright bike followed by some weightlifting. Couldn't get into the groove on the lifting at all. Went to a baseball game, had hot dogs and some Italian Ice thing, gotta take off a point for that. 94 points.

July 12: An hour on the upright bike, followed by some low-rep ab work and then an hour on the recumbent bike. Got all my meals in properly at work. Then went for an hour and a half walk after work. So I'm losing no points today for the first time in 15 years. 94 points.

July 13: An hour on the recumbent bike, some low-rep ab work, then another hour on the recumbent bike. Hit all my meals, then went for an hour-and-a-half walk after work. Basically a carbon copy of yesterday. I'm supposed to lift weights tomorrow, but don't know if I will - I may wind up doing a cardio-only day again and lifting on Wednesday. Depends on who's at the gym. :whistle: 94 points.

July 14: No one was at the gym. Did the deadlift day on the weights, and I think I was helped tremendously by eating some cantaloupe before going to the gym - first weight workout in a while where I felt like I actaully had some pop. Then I did an hour on the upright bike. Hit all my meals at work (underate, probably) - gotta figure out how to turn down the cardio and turn up the calories for best results. No points lost. 94 points.

July 15: An hour of walking/running around the track/treadmill, followed by 30 minutes on the recumbent bike. Forgot to work abs. Legs are really tired. Am probably gonna try to run a bit more and do the bike less, maybe? I dunno. Hit all my meals at work, including taking in more fat than usual, which is a good thing - needed to up my calories and fat intake a bit on this low-carb diet thing I'm on. 94 points.

July 16: Continued using my fancy new running shoes, and saw how long it would take me to "run" a 5K on the treadmill. 40:47, which isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but isn't really that good, either. I'm learning more and more about how to approach running in terms of dealing with getting warmed up and stretching and so forth. If I can shave a couple of three minutes off my time by Aug. 7, I'm gonna enter a local 5K for the hell of it. But I've gotta come in at at least 37 or I'm gonna look like a moron out there getting passed by old ladies on walkers. Anyhoo, about 50 minutes on the treadmill, total, then 40 minutes on the recumbent bike. Forgot to work abs again, which sucks. Plan to lift weights tomorrow and not do any running (maybe some biking, if time permits). Hit all my meals at work, probably overdid the fat a tad, but I didn't have my beloved green beans to pad out my hunger after my can opener broke, which sucked. 94 points.

July 17: Got up at the crack of dawn, for me, did a few errands, etc., then tried a new full-body routine at the gym I plan on doing three days a week for a while. I thought the 10x3 was a bit much for the insane amount I'm dieting down right now, and wanted something a bit more forgiving and even shorter. Twas still brutal, for I am all sorts of weak and stringy right now. Finished the day with 30 minutes of cardio on the upright bike - I could feel a "bonk" coming on if I tried to extend past 30 minutes, so I called it a day.

I talked about "bonks" earlier - I think they're caused by my glycogen getting low, which causes this crazy full-body fatigue. I'd rather avoid them after the last unpleasant time I had with them. I guess it's just down to getting smarter about when to quit.

But I seem to have picked up a head cold or a sinus infection, or something, 'cause I've been sniffling all day. Doesn't surprise me (it's going around), but it does make me worry about my immune system being weak due to overtraining/undereating.

I've been loving dropping the weight as furiously as I have been, but I really could use some kinda cheat meal over the weekend to replenish the glycogen a tad and give me a boost in the gym. I'm gonna try to be a good boy unless I go out somewhere with a friend of mine or something, then all bets are off for that meal.

I'm gonna try to do some running/biking tomorrow, and I hope I actually remember to do some ab work. Gotta see how this cold feels in the morning, though. Hit my meals fine today. 94 points.

July 18: Got about five hours of bad sleep last night, then went into the gym and actually had a decent day, all things considered. I did about 55 minutes total on the treadmill - I tried to run another 5K, but I made the mistake of warming up too much - I did 10 minutes worth of walking, then five minutes of jogging at 5 mph before I reset the machine and "started" the 5K portion. The jogging at 5 mph ended up wiping me out, timewise, and I actually wound up doing worse than I did the other day. It really didn't surprise me, because I'm fatigued from the dieting. If you can trust the heart rate monitor on the treadmill (which I haven't really checked out against my pulse to see how off it is, because I'm usually too busy dying while trying to run), I got my heart rate up to 171 BPM at one point, which is about 90 percent for a 40-year-old. My legs are willing, but my cardiovascular conditioning is weak.

So I got done with the treadmill portion of the day and I was absolutely WIPED. I actually managed to do 2 sets of ab work, then tried to do some recumbent biking before quitting 15 minutes in because I was really verging on the brink of a serious bonk (see above) and I knew if I pushed it any harder, I'd be sitting down to shower again.

So I quit, and suffered through a shower before getting to sit down. I knew what would solve the problem - carbs - and it was time for my cheat meal. So me and a friend of mine went to the local Jason's Deli, which is pretty awesome, but a tad expensive. Who gives a damn? Time to eat.

What was good about Jason's is, they have all the soft-serve ice cream you care to eat. So after I ordered, I dove for the soft-serve and ate two cones of ice cream real quick, and there went the "bonked" feeling, just like I knew it would. Then my roast beef sandwich came, I wolfed it down, and I proceeded to have much more soft-serve ice cream.

I could think of "cleaner" cheat meals, yes, but it was a freaking cheat meal, and I needed the carbs. I feel so dang much better. I'm curious about what happens with the weight tomorrow - I think I'll be up a pound or two from the water, but I think that'll fade quickly and I'll baseline back to this morning's weight by Tuesday or Wednesday.

If I feel like going out to eat with my friend again tomorrow, I will, screw it. If I don't feel like going to the gym tomorrow, I won't, screw it. I'm very pleased with my progress right now and how things are going. 94 points.

July 19: Was only up .4 pounds from yesterday and will probably either baseline or actually lose more weight by Monday, most likely. This is a sign that I could actually pull the carbs higher and get away with it, I'm thinking.

Did 10 minutes of warmup, then tried to do another 5K, but accidentally pulled that stupid emergency plug on the treadmill and cut the damn thing off halfway through. It really wasn't going well anyway - I was definitely behind pace big-time leading up to it. I still ran/walked 5K worth of distance. I then did some ab work and left. I felt like I could've done about 30 minutes on the bike, but I just decided that I'd just leave things where they were for the day.

It's all a matter of priorities at this point - the fat loss is going amazingly well, but I've got absolutely no pop in the gym. I'm not ready to sacrifice fat loss for performance just yet, even if it means I wind up not doing the 5K I was looking into (and I've gotta see at least 3-4 minutes come off my 5K time before I'd enter, and I'm actually going backward, so I just can't see it happening).

The long-term plan is to keep riding this train until it stops - I don't really know exactly how I'm doing it right, but the weight loss is going very well right now. Sooner or later, it'll slow down/stop, and when it does, I'll actually UP the calories, place them around the workouts, and try to do more in the gym. It seems like the logical way to go at this point.

Right now my calories are pretty low and I'm going to the gym and doing something seven days a week - I've been setting my body up for some kind of rebellion water retention for ages and ages now, but every day when I weigh myself, I've at least lost weight or had an extremely reasonable explanation for why I've gained (like today). I don't think 20 pounds of weight loss in 20 days is anything to sneeze at. I can't explain it reasonably - usually people who try to do this shoot themselves in the foot, and maybe my shooting's on the horizon. But hopefully I'm smart enough to dodge the bullet.

I learn more and more every day about listening to my body and knowing my limitations, and I'm pretty sure I know how to adapt to anything that'll get thrown my way.

Anyhoo, Monday's a lifting day - gonna try to deadlift - be interesting to see how that goes. May try to eat more going into the gym than usual.

I guess I have to deduct a point for today's food - didn't eat much at all, but it wasn't "on program" - had a bowl of chili and a candy bar, and it was a pretty small candy bar at that. I'm not worried about it at all after today's response to yesterday's cheat meal. But hey, gotta play fair with the points. 93 points.

July 20: Down again. Surprising. Not by a gigantic margin, but my baseline after my weekend cheat meal didn't last long at all. I think I may write another cheat meal into the program, if I take it, to spare myself some points. Like I could've counted yesterday as a "cheat meal," even though I really didn't eat as much yesterday as I do during the week.

I'm actually having some substantial food before my workout today, so we'll have to see how that affects things.

Did workout 2 on the plan, with poundages sometimes better and sometimes worse than I thought I'd do - deadlift went better, leg press didn't go very well, incline chest went better than I thought, then everything else went kinda mid-poorly. Then did 30 minutes on the upright bike and 30 minutes on the recumbent bike.

Hit all my meals at work perfectly. 93 points.

July 21: Remember me saying I was bound to pay the water-weight piper at some point for my overtraining and undereating? It may be payback time - got up and weighed myself and I'm 1.6 pounds over yesterday, which makes absolutely NO sense. I had a little more food yesterday than usual - a chicken breast and some drained light fruit cocktail before working out in hopes of getting some more pop into my workout - but there's no way that caused me to gain 1.6 pounds. I'm still down exactly 20 pounds this month, so I can't complain too much, but I had this odd goal of losing a pound a day for the entire month that looks like it probably isn't gonna happen.

A theory might be that my body was like "easy, Tiger" during/after the weight workout and caused me to hold on to some water as a "panic" thing.

I can't wait to see what my weight does tomorrow after today's cardio day. Might take another pass at doing a 5K on the treadmill, might not. I need to see if I can improve my time at all before I abandon ship on my 5K plan and get back to more steady-state stuff.

So I tried a 5K again, and managed to do worse than my first time (I guess I can blame the difference on being at 0 degrees incline the first time and 3 degrees incline this time). So that's my new baseline: 41:47. I wanna get down to 37 before I enter any 5Ks, and the way my time's going backward, I just don't see it happening. I did a total of about 55 minutes on the treadmill.

I then did abs and 20 minutes on the upright bike before knocking it off for the day. I'm getting a little scared of "bonking" to the point where I'm letting it affect my workouts - I should've done at least 30 minutes on the bike, and in a perfect world, it should've been 60 minutes. I thought it'd tire me out too much. I did get a little tired at times, but then sometimes I felt terrible, like the shower wasn't too bad, but I was standing there combing my hair feeling absolutely terrible. Interesting.

I hit my food at work, no problem. 93 points.

July 22: Lost 0.4 pounds, which is a bit of a disappointment after gaining 1.6 pounds yesterday. I think the good times are over, as far as the rapid weight loss. I think I've lost the water weight and it turns into a struggle to get any bit of poundage off. Not sure how to adjust from here - I'd like to try eating MORE, to see if it helps my metabolism/helps me in the gym. I also think I'm to the point where I'm gonna have to get the food scale going again and get really anal about calorie counts. Who knows.

Did squat day (no pop) and romanian deadlifts (no pop for those either.) Everything went OK, at best - some stuff went up, some went OK, some stuff went way down. There's no way to guarantee anything here. Mostly, I seem to be losing strength, which is always fun. I then did 60 minutes on the upright bike.

Hit all my meals fine at work. Back to the gym for some running tomorrow, maybe. 93 points.

July 23: Scale went up a pound to 225 this morning, and I'm getting more and more puzzled. It's both surprising and not surprising. I think, if I had to muster a guess, that I may be trying to lift weights too much by doing so every other day and I need to go back to an every-third-day pattern like in the 10x3 workout. I like my weightlifting routine the way it is now - some big exercises but nothing drastic, takes about an hour to do, which rocks.

I did eat a couple of apples and a piece of chicken before working out in hopes of getting the weight workout to go better. Then I hit the rest of my day fine, as usual. As you can figure, there's no way a couple of apples and a piece of chicken had 3,500 calories in it, even if the rest of the day was at maintenance (which it wasn't) so it's not fat gain - I'm retaining water and I'm not sure if it's the weight training, the lack of food, or both.

Actually a third culprit that I just now thought of: Higher cortisol levels from stress at work - the last couple of days at work have been absolutely crazy busy and stressful, and today should be just as crazy. I bet when I've lowered my calories like I have and am trying to do what I'm doing in the gym, I'm a cortisol factory.

Time to do some reading on cortisol. I may take some time off from the gym later this week for some junk - will deduct points accordingly.

After some morning reading on cortisol, I came to the conclusion that it might be my little odd attempt at trying to train to run a 5K that ran me ragged - it's basically long interval work for someone as out-of-shape cardiovascularly as I am, and I'm not sure that with my low caloric intake, my body could handle that much training. I kinda started looking back at exactly when I started gaining weight and what I was doing differently training-wise, and the gaining weight and 5K attempts almost co-relate. Might be a coincidence, might not, but that's what I'm leaning toward.

I think the first thing we'll try is upping the calories a tad and losing the jogging and going back to steady-state cardio done at whatever the heck pace I feel like going - it usually puts me on the heart rate monitor right at the magical "fat burning zone," which means at least I'm getting some fat burning effects out of it without taxing the crap out of my system or my legs.

So today, I just did an hour on the upright bike and some ab work before calling it a day, and I'd say it's rather unlikely that I'll go to the gym tomorrow - got some buisness to take care of in the afternoon and probably won't feel like messing with the gym. If I do, that'll be my day off. Chances are fairly decent I won't make it Sunday either (gotta work), so that's when I'll deduct a point.

Hit all my meals today - gotta start weighing things out on my scale again - need a pretty decent estimate of caloric intake to figure out exactly where to go from here. I think I've lost the water weight and the rest of this weight loss is gonna be a tussle. 93 points.

July 24: Weight went down again this morning, which was quite a relief. It went back to 222.6, which is where it was July 20. The pattern:

July 20: 222.6
July 21: 224.2
July 22: 224
July 23: 225
July 24: 222.6

So I had about a three-day period there where my body was like "easy, tiger," and hopefully I'm back on track. Maybe cutting back on the training was smart. I gotta up the calories a bit, though, or my body's gonna rebel again at some point.

Didn't go to the gym (as figured), and probably had a bit more peanut butter than I should. I also had a handful of chips (not many, really - just enough to realize I don't like chips very much) and a snack cake - ran out of chicken early and was famished after work. We'll call that my day off and my cheat meal, but I'm bound to lose some more points over the weekend. I might make it to the gym today and Sunday. Today's much more likely than Sunday. 93 points.

July 25: Weight this morning was 224.4, up from yesterday - gotta be a water thing or something from the slight increase in carbs yesterday, not worried about it. I think I'm not as glycogen-depleted as I was last week, so I worry any cheat meal I have today (and I'm planning on having one) will go straight to fat instead of replacing depleted glycogen.

Getting a bit fatigued of all this overthinking - it's fun, to a point. but then it gets old sometimes.

And when it gets old, it gets old - I didn't go to the gym, didn't really eat well at all (especially at night). Gotta give myself the old double whammy here. Fell off the horse, but hopefully I'm backj on - it's 10:30 in the morning here and I planned on staying home all day before going to work, but the Internet's already boring me, so I may go to the gym to keep from tearing my hair out. 91 points.

July 26: Went to the gym but felt like I didn't do much - rode the bike for 10 minutes to warm up, then did the deadlifting day of the weightlifting (some went up, some went down, some stayed the same) and then piddled around for about 30 minutes of half-hearted cardio. It'll get better. I gotta get more serious about working out - gotta do more glycogen depleting leading up to my cheat meal over the weekend or things aren't gonna work like I want them to. Hit my meals, probably underate in a vague attempt to make up for last night's peanut butter and almonds fest. I can't eat a thimble-full of peanut butter without eating half the jar, and it may be one of those foods that I should just stay away from, like ice cream. 91 points.

July 27: Been taking a much-needed break from weighing myself every day. Did 60 minutes on the upright bike, some abs, then 60 minutes on the recumbent bike. Hit all my meals. 91 points.

July 28: Back on the horse (or the scale) this morning. Came in at 224 even, which is both surprising and not surprising at the same time. I'm starting to look kind of in the ballpark of where I was back when I was at 202. I can definitely see where I've got more weight to lose. Barring water-retention catastrophe, I know I'll be able to finish this month with at least 20 pounds lost, maybe more.

I had a pipe dream when everything was clicking perfectly of finishing with 31 pounds in 31 days, but life gets in the way of that, don't it? My determination usually is kinda like a tank of gas - it's full for a while, but as time goes by, it tends to empty, then I do something stupid like eat half a can of almonds and wash it down with half a jar of peanut butter, then it's back to full for a while.

I can feel it ebbing, though, because I've been hungry as all heck the last couple of days. I think it'll pass and things will get easier, but that's just a hope.

Gym was really a positive yesterday after Sunday's flat workout. I just gotta keep my eyes on the prize. :tu:

Did 10 minutes of warmup, then the squats weight workout (weight days got thrown off schedule a bit), then 60 minutes on the upright bike at a nice, controlled pace. Same story as the other weight workouts - anything legs suffers, anything not doesn't do too badly. My squat and RDL numbers define "anemic" right now, but I'm not gonna worry about it as long as the weight keeps coming off.

Hit all my meals at work. 91 points.

7-29: 224.6 this morning, darn it all. I dunno what makes me retain water sometimes - was it the weightlifting? I ate a little extra before I went to the gym (an apple and a piece of chicken), but was that enough to completely blunt the fat-killing possibilities of my workout? But you're supposed to eat before weight workouts. At least I know that with as little as I'm eating, there's no way it's fat. Actually, as the day's progressed, I have a much better explanation for it, but I won't get into it here. Bold prediction: I'll be down at least a pound in tomorrow's weigh-in.

224 is proving to be quite a tricky little barrier to cross and stay crossed, considering I worry I'm about to crack like an egg on my diet 'cause a bunch of life stresses are piling up and I'm starting to feel like crap. Plus the hunger's getting occasionally tough to bear.

Did an hour on the upright bike, some ab work, and an hour on the recumbent bike. Feel like I'm heading toward a good old fashioned end-of-week bonk.

Hit all my meals at work - had a tiny piece of blueberry pie a friend of mine gave me. I'm willing to declare it my cheat meal for the week, so I'll lose more points Saturday. 91 points.

July 30: Remember me saying I would lose at least a pound? WRONG. Gained 0.2 pounds. I could blame the pie (see above), but I seriously doubt that had anything to do with it.

I've got to seriously re-examine what I'm doing - it's not working anymore. I've hit the bottom of the line with it, and it's time to move on to something else.

I should start some kind of carb-cycling thing, but I'm fond of my weekly cheat meal. I know, just make sure the cheat meal's on a high day, and that would take care of some of it, but it's still gonna throw my macros off if it's a true cheat meal. I mean, I don't go out and have a whole pizza - my cheats are all pretty small as cheat meals go, but basically any restaurant food is going to be high-carb, high-fat by design. If I have to plan what I eat to the point where I'm looking for a high-carb, low-fat or a low-carb, high-fat option, it's not a cheat meal.

I've got to go back into some of my private notes and figure out what was working for me so well when I hit 202.

Heart wasn't in the gym at all by a longshot, did 10 minutes on the bike, an insane struggle to do the deadlifting workout, and then I skipped the usual post-weights cardio 'cause I had no desire to sit there and move my feet for yet another hour. I showered early and did a few things around town. I've got some errands to run before tomorrow. Hit my meals, actually turned up the calories by eating quite a bit more fat and a tiny bit more carbs. It can't possibly hurt at this point.

I think I'm gonna try a different approach soon. Need to work it out. Final weigh-in, etc. Friday. 91 points.

7-31: Things no different today. Final weight: 225.2. Discouraging. Gotta rethink what I'm doing. The plan: I go to the gym and eat like I've been eating today, then go to the gym/have my cheat meal Saturday, then eat like I've been eating Sunday.

Then starting Monday for two weeks, I'm gonna try eating at about maintenance, including a decent number of carbs (magic number: at least 130 grams) in attempt to kinda "reset" my body and allow for further, smarter dieting. I'm gonna have to give a little to get a little, for I am in a rut. More later.

GOAL: Cutting

WORKOUT SCHEDULE
Monday: Full Body Workout
Tuesday: 30 minutes of cardio
Wednesday: Full body workout
Thursday: 30 minutes of cardio
Friday: Full Body workout
Saturday: 30 minutes of cardio


MEAL SCHEDULE
Five meals per day, no cheat meals at all.

Meal 1 (5AM): 4 egg whites, 1 slice bread, 1 apple or orange. 2 MV, 2 fish, 1 grape.
Meal 2 (7AM): 2.5 scoops of protein, 0.5 cups of oatmeal
Meal 3 (10AM): 150g chicken, 25g rice, 35g almonds
Meal 4 (2PM): 2.5 scoops of protein, 1 teaspoon fats.
Supplement (4PM): 3 oz noni juice, 1 arginine, 3 teaspoon glycine in water, 2 horse chestnut
Meal 5 (5:30PM): 150g chicken, 3 cups of salad greens, 150g baby potatoes, 1tbsp natty PP. 1 mv, 1 grape, 1 C.

STARTING STATS
WEIGHT: 200 pounds

END STATS
WEIGHT:


DAILY LOG
July 1:

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THE CHALLENGE HAS BEGUN. NO MORE ENTRIES ALLOWED FOR THIS MONTH'S CHALLENGE!

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psrk, please edit your original "100 Challenge" entry post each day (don't start new posts to track your daily progress).

I've combined your recent posts with your official entry post.