engineer88’s BodyBlog

I am back at the gym now and am weighing with all my clothes/shoes and everything on.  So the weight went up but actually, not really (was just weighing in the boxer shorts only).  I got a new gym and it is 24/7, so I have been in heaven.  I am still in the figure out where I am at stage because it has been months since I worked out (the garage was just getting too danged cluttered).

So I have been doing a bit of discovery of what my new gym has and does not have and been planning around it accordingly.  It has been fun actually and I have put some new twists on old workouts and have been having a blast.  The pain has been incredible because I am leaning more on the push hard and see where the true maxes are, then the take it easy and be careful way of doing things.  However I am being careful about getting my sleep and getting enough days between muscle groups for recovery.

Speaking of rest, I am headed to bed now.  It has just been too darned long since I have been on!

I keep on smacking myself up the head about eating/drinking better.  I am stubborn, but little bit by bit I have convinced myself to prefer brown rice over white, whole wheat over bleached, white cheese over yellow, unrefined/uncooked honey over sugar.  Heck I have even taught myself to get only one sandwich at Subway (You have no idea how tough that one was!!!!).  Heck nowadays even when I do eat bad it is one double cheeseburger and no fries.

All at the same time, when the job permits I am doing my cardio, stretching and weightlifting whenever I can get it in.  It is really hard to be consistent when you work 60 hours a week, but I am doing it whenever I can.  I still struggle with having a soda every so often, I just need something other then water.  So I do damage control and try to get the smallest one (can if they’ve got it).  I don’t order sodas when I am eating out anymore (which is maybe 2x a month).

I still need to consistently eat more F/V and keep the water intake high.  Other then that, my consistent inconsistency of efforts have still paid off.  Almost another 2 pounds off the scale.  I call that a success!  Heck, better then last month.  HAHAHA!!

Sheesh!  It seems like a blur.  And looking at the old progress meter ain’t too impressive.  Lost a half pound in a month.  BAH!  I been working at it too.  Oh well a few more tweaks and a little more effort will add up to more next month I am sure.  Heck, at least I didn’t gain!  ROFLOL!!!

Got myself on a better sleeping schedule now.  I am pretty routinely getting 6-7 hours of sleep a night (3-5 has been my average for fifteen years or so now).  I have also been back at the weights more regularly (minus a bad week with a back injury, <mumble>).  Had a good workout tonight in fact.  Anyhow, these two small changes have got me down a few more pounds since the last time I posted.  No miraculous weight loss there in that amount of time, but the needle is still going in the right direction.

If I can go one more full week of getting in my 3x a week of lifting weights, I will work on my next goal the following week which is to get my light cardio in 5x a week in the mornings.  After that I will look to add my 3 heavy cardio days back in again.  At that point I am sure that I will be seeing the numbers drop a bit faster on the scale. 

OK, so I have come to the conclusion that I am indeed a sadist.  I have been at the weights again.  Been hitting them hard actually.  I have found out a few new very painful and intense twists on old movements.  It is pretty amazing how taking a rep a little further, twisting or a different angle can really hurt so good.  I have actually been able to go a little less on the weights (which is good with a home gym and not so unlimited funds).
Weights and the cardio together should start adding up to some nice losses.
I am pretty excited about getting all my ducks in a row.  I feel pretty good and I have a good helping of hope.  I am loving it!

Ok, I have made a lot of small changes that are starting to add up to be huge changes.  I started a little while back, my weight was starting to climb and I decided I am definitely tired of the excess weight.  Tired enough to do everything it takes.  So I started making changes.  The first big one (and probably the most important) is I decided to make sure I was getting enough water (not soda, juice, energy drinks, etc.) and that had an immediate effect.   Honestly it was not one I was fond of, over the span of a few weeks I put on a lot of weight.  I was actually alarmed at first.  I literally put on over 20 pounds.  It freaked me out!  But what I found was I have been dehydrating myself.  All the sugar, no matter how much water I drank, was drying me up.  I still have a soda here and there, maybe one or two a week.  But not one or two a day like I was.

That made a lot of difference, then I started eating 6-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  That seemed to make a huge difference too.  We hardly ever eat out anymore, which helps a lot.  It is so easy for me to make my own meals and know what is in them.  I have also backed off on the caffeine (another thing that was drying me up) and though I still get some here and there (when I need the pick me up) I am definitely down to 1/3 or less of what I was taking in.

The other big change I made was to start getting in 45 minutes of cardio 3 days a week.  This has been great for my heart and lungs.  I go home whooped every time as I am always pushing to run 0.1mph faster or go for another minute.  But it is definitely worth it.  As always I try to make my meats lean and get a decent amount of protein in.   The only carbs for the most part are brown rice, whole wheat, etc.  I have been keeping a food journal for a year or so now and I can honestly say that I am proud of what I see in it on a daily basis now.  What I was putting in there a year ago is downright embarrassing to me.

Sadly I did drop weightlifting for a little while, but I have shrunk my schedule to three days a week and I will be starting back up this week.  I have two more changes on my list to make (I do one a week to slip it in and make it stick) after that and I will be there for all my physical goals.

I am happy about the strides I am making.  It is starting to pay off in small ways that add up.  Like I do not crave sugar hardly at all anymore.  I am hungry less often.  I have a little bit more energy (I don’t feel like a teenager again or nothing, yet…) and I do feel better all around.  I have noticed some changes in what clothes fit me now.  I had some early signs of insulinemia and they are beginning to fade away.  I am very happy about that.  Took my BP the other day and it was almost perfect.  All these little positive things are stacking up, it is great.

I just had to share my small success story.  I am by no means thin.  I have a very long way to go.  However, I do expect that I will most likely be two pounds thinner again come Monday.  I will keep my fingers crossed LOL.  But so far has been so good, so we will see. 

Getting too close to an all time high again.  I hit the scales at 389 tonight.  Made a promise to my wife and myself that I will now lose a pound a week.  Gonna have to cut for a good long while and bulk up later.  I just am carrying around too much at the moment.

Just thought I would share what I am currently taking.  It is nothing fancy and I am taking minimum levels cause I am poor.  =P

Day:
ACE’s - Antioxidant(1cap)
Multivitamin - Necessary nutrients(2tabs)
Glutamine - Anti-catabolism and protein synthesis(2caps)
BCAA’s - Anti-catabolism and cell reproduction(2caps)
Arginine - Anti-catabolism and protein synthesis(1cap)

Night:
ACE’s - Antioxidant(1cap)
Multivitamin - Necessary nutrients(2tabs)
Glutamine - Anti-catabolism and protein synthesis(2caps)
BCAA’s - Anti-catabolism and cell reproduction(2caps)
Gabba - Sleep aid(1tab)

For instance some new supplement, or a new piece of equipment at the gym, finding a protein powder or protein bar that you really like.  Well, I was all excited because I got myself an EZ curl bar.  Just in time for arms night!  I had a heckuva good workout with it too.  Managed to use my new toy for a biceps and a triceps movement even.  It is really cool!

Anyhow I am glad I split my workout back up to 5 days again.  It just gives me a lot better time to zero in on certain muscle groups, especially the ones that need some extra attention.  Now I am off to bed for a full 6 hours of sleep.  Ia m gonna need it!  =)

Ok, for some of you, you do these every day like nothing and you are probably laughing at me.  But for me, it seems like 1 or 2 are always falling through the cracks.  Either I don’t sleep enough, or don’t have time to lift or do cardio.  It drives me nuts.  If I was hitting it every day, I would be doing so much better.  So I wrote them down and memorized them and I am trying to think about them every morning when I wake up.

1.  Get 6-8 hours of sleep a night.
2.  Do not drink a single soda.
3.  Drink 1.5 gallons of water a day.
4.  Stretch and do light cardio every day.
5.  Lift Weights 5 times a week.
See how pathetic I am?  I can’t get 5 things right every day, LOL!!  Oh well, I will get better, I must.  =P