DFWShook’s BodyBlog

Well, Saturday I finished up week six.  On Sunday I decided that since I was going to Tallahassee Aug. 1 thru 4, I would go ahead an take a break (from working out not the diet) and start week seven when I got back.  Then on Monday I found out that my job is getting eliminated and that I’ll be laid-off as of the end of August.

So I have been on the job hunt:  going on interviews, etc.  Glad that I decided over the week end to take a break from the gym.  Only problem is that I’ve also taken a break from the diet.  Popcorn and coke have returned.  I obviously use food to deal with stress.  Aint that a kick in the pants.  I guess I have always know it, but since I have never been obese I have never faced it.  I guess I will now. 

Well it has been a while since my last post and the biggest problem I have had is sticking to my diet, especially on my cardio days.  For the past two weeks have have been doing swimming for cardio, 3 times a week.  I was a navy brat and living in Dallas, I miss the water; especially during the summers (100+ degrees).  After I finish swimming, I’m so hungry that I start foraging at the office.  This usually ends up with a bag of popcorn and a coke and maybe a Baby Ruth.  Totally out of control.  Maybe I need to include more carbs (brown rice and green vegies) than usual in my lunch.  Or maybe I need to load up on carbs before I swim.  Any advice?

I will take progress pictures this weekend and we’ll see if there is any improvement over the initial ones.  I have noticed my pants are fitting loser and my belt needs to be tightened a few notches 

Well, today is the end of Week 2 of the 12 week transformation. But, now that I think about it . . . our bodies are always being transformed.  This transformation fortunately is a positive one. 

Worked on legs and shoulders this morning.  Really worked my legs hard - focused on keeping the muscles under tension throughout the movement.  My shoulders are weak esp. when it comes to the raises (lat and bent-over).  I have to hunt down those girlie (no offense ladies) weights and use those.  And even then it is a struggle to finish up.

Tomorrow morning I’m going to weigh myself and get a BF% reading.  I going to do this at the end of each two week period.  I noticed this week I was a bit obsessive about the scales and my diet.  It was driving me crazy.  So I’m just going to forget about the numbers and focus on eating correctly.

 I also realize I have to learn/practice patience.  And I can’t tell you how much I hate practicing patience.  It reminds me when I sobered up many years ago.  I told a friend I was praying for patience.  His response was that when you pray for patience God’s answer is more opportunities to practice it.  I stopped praying for patience.

 I can’t express how grateful I am that I found BodyBuilding.com.  The members’ stories are inspriring and motiviating.  (Capt. Ahab immediately comes to mind.)  The Boby Blogs and forums are great sources of information and support.  This site is AWESOME.

One more thing:  With Independence Day just a week away, I just want to thank all our brothers and sisters in the Armed Forces for guaranteeing our freedoms.  I was a Navy Brat and understand the sacrafice you and your families have to make.  You guys amd gals are my heroes!  Keep safe.

Man, this body building takes a lot more work (meaning brian power) than I thought!  First lesson: don’t go gym-hopping.  Find a gym and stick with it.  I have memberships to two gyms; Gym A is very close to work and Gym B is not.  I’ve been going to Gym A for the past month, but the lockerroom and shower area should be closed down by the health dept.  The towel service should be renamed the sandpaper service.  Gym B is a on the East side of town, but the facilities are in excellent condition.  Clean, working and soft towels.  The lesson I leaned this monring is that not all equipment is the same.  I had a much easier time on the Lat Pulldowns at Gym A; instead of using a cable, the machine utilizes a belt.  The Lat Pulldown machine at Gym B uses a cable and it is much harder to pull down the same weight.  The EZ curl bars at the two gyms are not the same weight, so that was different too.  And don’t get me started on the leg machines.  Lesson One:  Use the same gym and equipment whenever possible.

The next item on my list is diet.  I assumed I knew what a healty diet was.  I thought my problem was lack of exercise.  After reading on BB.com What is the best way to keep track of your progress?, I decided to track my typical food intake for one day on www.fitday.com.  Was I shocked at the end of the day.  I had consumed over 2800 calories; 56% of which were carbs and 28% fat!  Only 16% of my diet was protein. 

I then started reading articles on BB.com about nutrition and dieting.  I was obviously a novice on the subject and had to find something EASY and BASIC.  BiologyBabe’s Energy Needs…What Are Your Calorie Requirements? is excellent.  I was able to determine what my daily caloric intake should be in order to lose a few pounds of fat a week.  I also read Hugo’s Rules for Getting Lean in 8 Weeks which enabled me to determine the daily gram amount of fat, protein and carbs I should shoot for. 

Lesson Two:  KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).  5 meals a day.  My mid-morning and afternoon snacks are Myoplex shakes and my lunch and dinner are pretty close to the same thing.  I grill (in Texas its too hot to cook inside during the Summer) on Saturday or Sunday a week’s worth of chicken breasts.  That takes care of my protein for lunch and dinner.  My carbs are a green vegetable and some brown rice.  I make enough at dinner so that there will be leftovers for lunch the next day.

After working out this morning, I thought:  Hey, I worked out hard today.  A fruit smoothie would be a good idea!  So I bought a large Mango/Pineapple Smoothie at a local franchise of Company A and drank it on my way to work.  Once at my office I got on the interenet and did some research on my healthy smoothie.  YIKES!  526 calories with 113 grams of carbs.  This is not good.  That’s nearly 30% of my caloric intake for the day and more than half of my daily carb intake!  Hell, I could have had a piece of cake.  Lesson Three:  Know what you are eating before you eat it.  If I had known what disaster this Smoothie was, I would have avoided it like the plauge.

Well, those are three lessons learned.  I wonder what else the Learning Curve will bring.

Got up this morning at 6:00 a.m and made it to the gym just prior to 7.  Not too bad for a first day.  The only SNAFU was mistaking the orange juice container for milk.  Kashi and orange juice - not too bad.  Reminded me a friend of mine in boarding school who had lived in Brazil for a number of years.  He always used orange juice in his cereal; said it was how they did it in Brazil. 

Workout went very smooth.  Only people in a gym that early are those who are serious about.  Very little chit-chat on the floor.  I think I need to push myself more with the weights.  I wish I could lose this tire faster, but I have to remember it took years to get there.

Well I’ve just finished week one and I’ve noticed some changes.  Some of the fat in my middle is leaving and I can notice more definition in my upper arms.  I’m really enjoying the work-outs and am sticking to the diet pretty well.  Did have a coke and some popcorn at the movies last night, but that is quite an improvement over what I used to consume.  This week I’m going to move my work outs to the morning rather than lunch.  That way I can knock it out before work rather than interupt my work day.

 I’m really glad I found bb.com.  I love being inspired by everyone’s stories and transformations.  I also love all the info that is available.  Thanks.

I received my Omron Body Fat Analyzer yesterday in the mail.  BTW - I’m pretty impressed with BodyBuilding.com’s Store.  I ordered it on Friday and it arrived on Tuesday.  So this morning I got up and weighed myself and got my Body Fat %.  The good news is my weight is down to 170.6 lbs.  YEAH!  Losing the FAT!  The bad news (sorta) is my BF% is 17.4%  I got my BF% last week at the gym by one of the trainers.  He used calipers and I wasn’t too impressed with his technique.  I’ve had a trainer in the past who did this with calipers and he was very thoughrough.  This guy was wham bam thank mam.  It was one of the reasons why I ordered the analyzer.  So, I’m at 17.4% - now I have a "good" starting point.

why then do only two come to mind:  HOLY CRAP!  I look like I"m 55 and pregnant!  This is really depressing and MOTIVATING.  I DON’T want to look like that anymore!  I can’t believe how different I look in the photos than I do in the mirror.  This is going to change.  I have to change.  I’m going to transform my body in 12 weeks.  That gut has to go!  Those love handles have to go!  That posture has to change!  This is not the man I want to be.  This is changing!

This is my first entry.  A couple of weeks ago I found out that my Cholesterol was 280.  Time to get to the gym and get back in shape.  Tomorrow I will take my "before" picture and take my measurements.  I want to lose my tire and see my abs.