The Best Shape of My Life!

Food Counts…

4607 Calories
* 285.2 g Fat, 55%
* 314.5 g Carbs, 27%
* 215.7 g Protein, 18%

Notes:
Holy calorie! I about choked when I saw the total number…………..I JUST WANT TO SCREAM! The day started out so well, and then I ended it by taking my daughter to a pizza parlor, and well……that pretty much ended everything I had worked for today. Why do I do that? Because it’s EASY, CONVENIENT, and I was worn out from the day’s work. Excuse or not, that’s how it is. And it seems no matter how hard I try to fix it, the story ends up repeating itself.

Activity…

Garden work, 45 minutes

Notes:
Still trying to get our gardens and yards in good order. It’s not a "workout" as most would put it, but I’m going to tell you right now that I am WIPED OUT! Working in the heat is difficult…….I’m not sure how construction guys/girls do it. Hec, I even grew up on a farm, you’d think I’d be used to working in the heat. But it got to me today. I’m going to have to get used to that kind of labor because there are a lot of projects around the house that need to be done, including repainting.

So where do I go from here?

Anyone have any "tricks" or ideas, suggestions? I’ve been pretty diligent about logging stuff, and trying my best to plan as good as I can, but apparently it’s not doing a whole lot of good. It’s more depressing me than anything else. So if anyone has an idea that has worked for them they’d be willing to share, I’d love to hear it.

Food Log…

Not written. I spent most of the day at a niece’s b-day party, so pretty much didn’t do anything. And I woke up late in the morning anyway, so not a whole lot of time to do much. After the party, I came home and worked in the yard some, but nothing major. I know if I would have logged, it would have not been good. Trust me, it’s not a case of "well, I know it will be bad so I’m not gonna log it." I want to log, and will pick it back up tomorrow. It was just hard to control what I consumed today, and so the log wouldn’t have been that helpful in the long run.

Activity…

Light yard work in the afternoon, but nothing else.

Goals for Tomorrow…

1. Activity: Complete weight workout in the morning.
2. Nutrition: Consume < 3000 total calories.
3. Nutrition: Drink > 72 oz water.

Food Log…

Not written. See below.

Activity…

House and Yard work (in appr. 86 degree F weather).

NOTES:
I didn’t take a food log because I was extremely busy all day long working. The entire day was spent cleaning the inside of our house as well as working on the deck, grill, and yard. A pretty good day’s hard work, if you don’t mind me saying. My nutrition wasn’t that great, though I know I did drink a good amount of fluids. For supper we had grilled pork loins with grilled red potatoes and steamed green beans. A very healthy meal. But of course, I top it off with dessert. Oh well, there’s always another day.

Food Log…

2246 Calories
107.1 g Fat, 43%
214.6 g Carbs, 38%
108.3 g Protein, 19%

Activity…

Yoga (at the gym), 50 minutes
Mowed Yard, 45 minutes

Food Log

4106+ Calories
210.6 g Fat, 47%
454.1 g Carbs, 44%
96.2 g Protein, 9%

Notes:
- I ate out twice today with some colleagues. Celebrations kill me!
- At one of the eatings, I had a chocolate cake dessert and can’t find a calorie count.
- Some food items were approximated using another restaurant’s menu. Lack of adequate counts.
- Obviously, my protein intake was HORRIBLY LOW!
- Too many drinks at one of the eating venues. GGGGGGGGRRRRRRR, the carbs!
- Overall, this was a TERRIBLE day for my diet.

Activity:

Resistance Training
- 3 circuits (upper, lower, mixed)
- 24 sets total
- Times sets (45+ seconds each set). Reps not counted.

Goals for tomorrow:
* Consume > 72 oz pure water (no flavored drinks)
* Consume < 3000 total calories

Today…

2620 Calories
131.2 g fat, 45%
280.1 g carbs, 42%
87.6 g protein, 13%

Notes:
* Very low protein! Need to fix that.
* Too high on the carbs. Need to change some of the carbs for protein.
* Only took in 32 oz pure water. Need to increase that!

Activity…

Yoga
45 minutes
* Tried a headstand against the wall. Fun!

So I’m going back through some of my Men’s Health nutrition articles, as well as books and online sources I have about dieting. And I’m thinking that I’m doing it all wrong. In order to make good gains like I want, I need to eat 6 small meals a day, spaced out about every 2-3 hours. Ok, I can understand that. Apparently, it helps keep your metabolism from spiking, or something like that. Not quite for sure how our ancestors from long ago (whom fitness gurus are quick to compare us to) managed that when they were scrounging around for food all day long.

Here’s the deal. During the work day, it is downright impossible to achieve this. It frustrates me that the "science" apparently tells us to do one thing, but yet reality is making us do something different. Sure, eating 6 small meals a day might be better for me. But what good does it do to tell me that if I know I can’t achieve it?

I’m a teacher, and my schedule during the day is hectic. I have 6 minutes in between my classes to check my email, talk to students about various issues, get a drink and use the restroom, and get ready for the next class. I have a 22 minute lunch period, and during that time, I’m often working on things that I haven’t been able to complete during the morning sessions. So please, someone tell me when I’m supposed to find time to eat at 7 am, 9 am, 11:30 am, 2 pm, 4 pm, and 6:30 pm. Really, who’s bright idea was this anyway?

Granted, I don’t eat like I should, and I’m trying to fix that. But the above plan simply will not work for me. Maybe during the summer months I can pull it off. But since I work more months of the year than I don’t, how can I integrate the "science" of proper dieting into my life?

I guess it’s a good thing for me that I gave up my goal of having a 6-pack, eh?

Short, but awesome! I did agility/speed/conditioning drills today. I hate doing long-term cardio, and I’m an avid hater of the treadmill. So I went outside the gym this morning for most of my 30 minute workout and conducted some good old fashioned, hardcore training on myself. Did some crossovers, skips with punches, power pushups, one-arm wall pushups, jump squats, and some other fun stuff. In the gym I did some pullups, pushups, and just played around climbing on the equipment. Yeah, I’m sure some of the people there thought I was crazy, but I don’t care. It’s a great way to work the body, and it’s definitely NOT boring.

Tomorrow morning is weights, and then Friday is another freestyle workout! Can’t wait. Hope it’s not thunderstorming outside…..don’t mind the rain, but the lightning gets to me.

Okay, so I’m happy that I have finally reached 195 lbs (88.6 kg). But, I have reached it with quite a bit of fat. The pinch test and scale are telling me that I have about 16% bodyfat! Sure, by no means am I "fat" or grossly overweight, but…..it’s not 10%, which is my long-term goal.

One step at a time. My adjusted plan now is to try for 200 lbs (91 kg), and then to modify. I’m still working on trying to get the fats limited in my diet. Thats’ my major problem at this point. Using the caloriecount.com website, my analysis is pretty consistent with a daily intake around 40-50% fats in a day. GGGGRRRRRR!

So, by my 28th b-day, which is just a month away, I’m hoping to make some changes in my diet and restructure my training a bit to include just a tad more cardio/bootcamp style training (to zap at some of the bodyfat). In four weeks, I’m not planning on achieving the 10% bodayfat mark, but if I could pull in the 200 lbs with 13% or less, that would be significant progress. If nothing else, I’d like to maintain the 195 lbs and lower the bf to 12%.

I plan to conduct all the new measurements on 1 June or shortly thereafter.