Make it work

I’ve been out of the gym for a few weeks.  First, I went on vacation (a cruise…which was fun, but I gained some weight).  Then, I got back and have been too busy to work out much until today.  I have gained about 4 pounds since I left for the cruise, so now I’m hitting it hard again.  I’ve been reading a little about interval cardio training and started that today.  I didn’t really know much about it until this weekend, so I’m glad to be using it in the gym.  For the next several weeks, my plan is to do cardio at least five days a week and only do five lifts in the gym two or three times a week.  I’ll be doing squats, bench press, rows, shoulder presses, and deadlifts.  That should get me back in the habit and hit the major muscle groups. 

Today was a tough day at the gym.  I didn’t feel like going, but knew I had to if I want to reach my goal.  I did an upper body workout and was zapped afterward.  I was also slightly discouraged when I got on the scale and measured my body fat.  It turns out I lost about 4 lbs of muscle and gained .2 pounds of fat.  It really sucks, especially after I’ve been trying to eat in a more healthy way.  This diet things (not a fad diet, but eating right) is tough.  I used to eat bad food a lot, but the last 3 weeks, I have been working hard to track everything I eat.  My biggest problem continues to be too much fat and not enough protein.  I thought I had been doing better, but after looking at what I’ve eaten this week, it’s not good.

 Tomorrow, I’ll be working on some new menus and will plan what I eat for the upcoming week.  That way, I can be sure that I am getting enough protein in my diet while cutting out all but the right amount of good fat.  As of now, I’m trying to eat 200 grams of protein and carbs each day, and 30 grams of fat. 

 I’m looking forward to my workout on Monday.  I’ll be doing lower body again, and they seem to be some of my favorite workouts lately.  I used to hate working on legs, but now that I am doing squats and deadlifts, I enjoy it.  I can even see some progress in my quads and can feel it in my hamstrings and glutes.  I never used to work my calves, either, because they’re already pretty big.  But Thursday I worked them hard and I’m feeling it bad today.  LOL  In addition to lower body, I can see some progress in my biceps and shoulders…I even gotIf  some comments at work on Friday. 

 If anyone who reads this has some tips on getting more protein into my diet, please let me know.  I’m eating a lot more fish and chicken, drink a protein shake after every workout, and eat other forms of protein throughout the day (e.g., non-fat cottage cheese). 

This is the beginning of Week 3 of hitting the gym hard.  I also decided to start the Body for Life Challenge.  I’m planning to follow the BfL plan for the next 12 weeks and hope to see some major improvements.  I did cardio yesterday since it was Labor Day and hard to get to the gym to lift.  But today, I went all out on my upper body.  I still don’t have the strength I want, but I can tell that I’m able to lift more weight and not weaken too quickly.  I did notice today, however, that my grip strength is not what I’d like it to be.  When I was lifting, I noticed that sometimes it was difficult to hold the weight.  I think my grip will improve over the coming weeks along with the rest of my lifting abilities. 

 I’m still having trouble eating the correct portions of foods, but I think it’s getting better.  I have been able to increase my protein intake and limit my fat intake…mostly.  I now worry that I may not be getting enough fresh vegetables (not much of a fruit eater here, but there are some things I like).  I also bought some multivitamins, so that helps, too. 

 The biggest problem I had today was that I was slightly nauseous after my workout today.  I think it was because today was the first time I did my new workout (see workout section of my profile) and wasn’t ready to work that hard.  I just need to build my endurance and make sure I’m eating right and getting enough sleep. 

Well, that’s all I’ve got for today.  Keep lifting!

I have trying to get enough cardio in my schedule now that I am focused on losing fat.  So far, it has sometimes been a struggle because I get bored with a lot of it.  I recently was given some workout videos that I have been trying.  Some of them are boring as he**, but I sweat a lot and my heart rate gets to my target zone.  Last night, I finally went through a complete workout (HipHop Abs) and actually enjoyed it.  I have another video (Power90) that I use, too.  It feels good to be working out on a regular basis, and I’m starting to see some changes in my body.  I have noticed better tone in the muscle underneath the fat, and I can tell I’m losing the fat, too.  I compared my measurements from about 1 1/2 years ago to the ones I took this week, and almost every measurement decreased by at least an inch or two.  The only part that actually increased were my hips. 

In addition to working out, I have been keeping track of my diet.  This week, I have been eating far fewer calories than I burn so that I should lose between 2 and 3 pounds of fat.  Since I started my diet journal, I have also been able to figure out where I’m going wrong in terms of food composition.  I realized that I was eating far too few grams of protein and far too many grams of fat.  This week, however, I have been able to make some adjustments so that I am getting about 40% of the calories from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% from fat.   Much improved over last week.

I plan to weight myself on Monday and take my body fat measurement.  I expect to have some good progress by then.

I’ve been learning more about my diet in the last few days.  Although I’ve lost about 30 pounds since November 2006, I have finally realized that I’ve been eating way too many carbs and fats, and not nearly enough protein.  It’s difficult to get that protein in my body, but I’ve been able to increase my intake in the last few days.  I used to think I liked meat, but now that I’m eating a lot more of it (two chicken breasts for dinner, sliced turkey for breakfast) I’m not so sure.  I do like the fresh veggies that I’ve been eating, though, so that helps to get good nutrients in my diet. 

In terms of lifting, I’m trying to do splits, so that I work legs/arms one day, then chest/back/shoulders the next, alternating cardio and lifting Monday through Saturday.  It’s still difficult getting all that in because of my bad habits and schedule, but I have been doing a lot better.  The best thing now is that I am making the time to get it done right after work, rather than doing it when I feel like it. 

I wonder if anyone out there knows anything about the Body for Life program?  I talked to a personal trainer a couple of years ago who recommended it highly.  If you have any thoughts on it, please let me know.  My thinking about it right now is to lose about 35 more pounds of fat, then start bulking up with muscle. 

For the past week, I have been monitoring everything I eat throughout the day to pinpoint where my diet is lacking.  Most days, I have come in under my target calories (target=1800, average about 1600).  I’ve also been trying to get a 40/40/20 split between protein, carbs and fat.  I haven’t found quite the right balance yet, but I generally get pretty close to my protein (200g) and carb (200g) targets.  The biggest problem I have is going over the fat grams I want (target=35g, average about 55g).

I have also done more lifting and cardio in the past few weeks, so I had been hoping to lose more fat.  When I got to the gym last night, I weighed myself and weight was the same at 216, but my bodyfat had actually increased by half a percent.  I’m not sure what’s going on with that, but I had been hoping that bodyfat would actually decrease this week.  I guess I need to work harder and we’ll see what happens next week.

I just started back at the gym…again.  I’ve been working on and off for years, but I have never been able to keep it up.  A lot of times, I’ll get into the swing of things only to get tired, sick, or lose my motivation to keep going.  So far, I’ve been working out again for about 3 months and decided to start keeping track of my progress on bodybuilding.com a few days ago.  Right now, I weigh 216 with approximately 27% body fat.  Within the next year, I plan to get down to less than 10% body fat and put on a significant amount of lean mass. 

 I think one of the problems that has hurt me in the past is that I tend to try to do everything at once.  I mean, I’ll hit the gym 4 times a week lifting and doing cardio.  Then, after a month or two, I get so tired and worn down that I just want to stay at home and watch TV.  After a month or so of that, I get going again.

 This time around, things are different.  I’m trying to pace myself and build endurance so that I won’t burn myself out.  I have also worked on my diet and now keep a food journal to help me monitor what I’m eating along with calories, fat, carbs and protein intake.  So far, I have realized that I need to increase my protein and decrease the fat.  (Sounds like what I want to do with my body, eh?)

 I’ll try to keep up with this site on at least a monthly basis, so keep in touch.  I appreciate any words of wisdom and encouragement.  And to all of you who started out like me and stuck with it…THANKS!