taf1968 Land of the Lost (Abs) Blog

Well, I posted Month 3 progress pics this morning . . . I’m a little disappointed.  I mean, I’m pretty happy with where I am at compared to where I started at the first of the year–but I am not very happy with my progress over the last 30 days.  I can’t frankly see much change from the pics I posted at the end of February.  Maybe it’s time for me to change up my diet and/or routine to jump start things again?

Weight has been stalled at 188 lbs for a couple weeks.  Bodyfat measurements with calipers are coming in right around 18% . . . but I don’t know if that is really accurate.  If it is, then I have dropped about 5% since Jan 1st.  In the end, I’m still very much on track to hit my June 1st goal of 185 lbs and 15% bf.  I just got a little excited when I saw where I was a month ago and thought I’d make a similar leap in progress last month.  Didn’t really happen from what I can see.

Oh, well . . . at least I didn’t regress.

Well, I have been stuck at the same weight for the last week . . . which in itself is not bad, since it’s within 3 lbs of my goal for June 1st.  So technically I am still well ahead of the game.  But wondering if maybe I need to change some things up in my diet or my routine?  I’m a week away from taking Month 3 progress pics, so I guess I will reserve judgement until then.  If it looks like I’m still headed in the right direction then I’ll keep at it.  Could be that I am just putting on or maintaining muscle mass and the weight is just nit telling the full story.

At any rate, I just got back from morning cardio . . . 30 minutes of intervals on the elliptical and then did a nice ab workout to finish off. 

As of this morning, I am down 12 lbs from January 1st . . . actually had to go out and buy a couple pairs of 34-inch waist jeans.  The last new pairs I bought were around Xmas, and I had to buy 36 waist back then because I had gotten too out of shape.  That was sort of the kickoff point of my effort to get rid of the fat again.  I was so pissed at myself for letting things get away from me.

So was pretty excited when I was able to fit back in the smaller pants comfortably . . . and needed to get more of ‘em.  I plan to take the old, bigger ones to Goodwill tomorrow and NEVER have to buy a bigger size again. 

Jumped on the scale this morning and I was under 190 lbs for the first time in 2 years.  Pretty excited about breaking through that symbolic barrier . . . and a little earlier than expected.  My goal was 185 lbs by June 1st, so I am feeling pretty confident that I will meet or exceed that mark.  Celebrated with an hour of LISS this morning.  Good way to start the day off with some motivation to keep things rolling!

So my last post from a few days ago talked about how tired I was feeling and how I was just trying to push through it.  Well, I rallied and even changed up my next two lifting days (back/biceps and then legs) to try and add some variety.  Must have worked pretty well, because I woke up this morning and I have DOMS like I haven’t experienced in months.  My back and arms were sore already and were starting to fade out . . . but my legs just ached today.  Walking down the stairs was quite the adventure . . . I must have looked like Fred Sanford (showing my age with that comparison I’m sure). 

Will be back in the gym at 5am tomorrow morning for chest/tris/abs/traps, so I feel primed for a great week!  The latest progress pics have been an awesome motivator for me the more I look at them.  I am always highly critical of my own progress . . . but I really think I am seeing results now that I am trying to be more objective.  Can’t wait for Month 3 pic time in a few weeks–feel like I am on a roll now!

Not sure what it is about this week . . . I have just been feeling really tired.  Much moreso than usual when I get up to hit the gym at 5am.  Once I get to the gym I feel great, so I have just been trying to push through it and continue to work hard.  Had a really intense and hectic week at work last week negotiating some big contracts . . . which always goes down to the wire and leads to stress and late nights.  Maybe I just have a little "business hangover" that is affecting me.

Anyway, I was pretty excited about my progress pics that I posted this weekend for Month 2.  When I compare to my starting point I can really see quite a bit of improvement . . . that’s realtive of course, I still have a long way to go.  But I’m headed in the right direction at least, it would seem.  Great motivation to keep it going despite the lack of energy this week.

I simultaneously look forward to and DREAD when it’s time to post progress pics. I get so impatient to see results and then I always find myself nitpicking what I see as slow progress. But I know that it didn’t take me a couple months to get fat again . . . so it will take time to get where I want to go.

I’m ahead of the game as far as weight goes . . . down 10 lbs from Jan 1, with a total goal of losing 15 lbs by June.  So I feel great about that.  Bodyfat tracking remains elusive because I am still not confident that I had an accurate idea of my starting point and I am still not able to get a grip on caliper measurements to where I believe them.  So I am still sticking to trusting the pics and the tape measure to tell me the story.  Overall, I am pleased with my progress . . . but I want to do so much better.  I’ll just keep plugging away and try to stay consistent with training and diet.