Fitness Goal
Two more days until my goal date. I weighed 173.5 today, I am trying not to over diet for my goal. I hope I will see a major drop tomorrow. If not...I am going to be hungry as hell tomorrow night :). I might shave my head, and clip my fingernail, lol. Wish me Luck.
Weight Goal
Alright, it is three days until I reach the end of my first major weight-loss goal. I am currently weighing around 173, but it is common to fluctuate 2 pounds or so. I need to be at 170.(something) on new years. I may have to shave my head, but I will reach my weight goal.
Other Goals
I mentioned other goals in my last post, so here is my progress. I have discovered Scooter has not released their 09 tour schedule. I discovered roundtrip to Hawaii during my spring break is only $550, but it may still be too expensive. I might instead visit a friend in Destin Florida and visit Miami while there. I have made set in stone plans to drive to Washington for the presidential inauguration. My best friend and I have been working on plans that would involve a summer trip to Thailand, if we were to go to Thailand I would visit my roommate of two years in Japan. That would be four of my goals.
Fitness Goals - Sorry for the late post. I have been fluctuating on my diet the last month, but according to the same high quality digital scale at my schools gym, today I weigh 173. I have found it extremely easy to keep my weight around 175. I believe in something called Set-Point Theory which basically argues that your metabolism adjusts to keep you at a comfortable weight, and that after extreme weight-loss your body keeps trying to burn, or if you cram like crazy then you hit a point where even eating few calories causes you to gain weight your body is just used to storing those calories. This could also explain why extremely overweight people have very slow starts then lose 9-15 lbs in one week. In the last two weeks I have drank a decent amount of beer, eaten out about one meal a day, and the rest on quick food, and in a month I have lost 2 lbs. I want to lose more though, and I will need to get back on track to do that. My goal from the beginning has been to weigh 170 or less by 12:00am January 1, 2008. I will need to lose 3lbs in 9 days to do that. I have no doubt I will exceed my goal, and I want to thank Jason for following my blog and providing me with the motivation to stay on track. I can't say how much that helps. Family and friends are actually discouraging me from losing more weight. Friends are saying I'm to small, and that I used to be big and intimidating. My mom thinks my face looks to thin, and I should gain weight.
Other Goals - I was thinking today about the top ten places or things I want to see, not including the 7 wonders, or popular tourist sights. So here are the top ten things I want to see before I turn 30 in no order.
1. "Scooter" Live in concert.
2. Europe
3. Obama's Inauguration.
4. Thailand
5. Hawaii
6. Yellowstone National Park
7. The troops come home from Iraq.
8. Two Degrees with my name on them.
9. Miami
10. Japan
Ok, I reached my goal today. 170.2 I am still shooting for something in the 160's just so I can see it lol. Now I have to stay this low til new years.
This is the week before my final examinations, so I will not be able to hit the gym much in the next two weeks. I will update twice a week with my weight. My goals have not changed. I may end up staying around my current weight of 177 and then work my ass of in the last three weeks of December. Hopefully I will still be able to loose a little, but I don't have time to work out, or to plan my diet as close as I have to too be able to lose weight in a healthy way.
I finished this week 1 lb shy of my week goal. I am at 175 I am going to bump this weeks goal to 3 pounds. I know it is thanksgiving, but I'm gonna try to go big. I want to be on track with the goal sheet I set.
Today, Friday the 21st of November I weigh 174 lbs That is a 5 lb loss since Monday. I do not believe I have lost 5 lbs of fat. I believe much of it was excessive liquid and byproducts. I am working on maintaining my weeks weight loss over the weekend. I have the advantage this weekend of not having a football game to encourage me to eat pizza and drink a lot. I go to the University of Alabama, and I am a big fan of our #1 ranked and undefeated football program. I also have a ton of studying as well as a conservation/camping trip Saturday. Sunday I will have to work all day painting a store. Hopefully staying busy will help me avoid eating out, and eating out of boredom.
Goals
11/23/08 174
11/30/08 172
12/07/08 170
12/14/08 169
12/21/08 168 Then I'm done. No more weight loss. I will work to maintain my weight over the holidays. I am planning and repairing for this now.
12/31/08 168 I want to weigh no more than 170 on New Years day.
01/31/09 168 This will be the first day of my intentional weight increase.
02/29/09 175 At least five pounds of it being muscle.
03/31/09 180 At least four pounds of muscle.
04/10/09 183 At least two pounds of muscle. Then switch back to weight loss.
04/24/09 178 For my 23rd Birthday I want to be ripped, and to be the Bodybuilding.com transformation of the week.
Monday I bought a big slice of chocolate cake called 'Death by Chocolate.' I have had it before used to love it, but I have not had a slice in over a year. It is currently sitting in my freezer. The day I reach 169.5 or less I'm eating that cake. Now every time I look for something to snack on I'll see that cake, and realize the more crappy snacks I eat now the longer I will have to wait to eat the cake.
I have been finding it difficult to update regularly. My lack of motivation to post is probably due to the fact that I have made no significant sustained weight loss in three weeks. Each week I work very hard to get myself to around 174lbs. I have achieved that goal three times, but when I drop down to 174lbs it feels as though I am starving. When I eat I never seem to feel full. I have noticed that things like thirst and boredom are being calculated as hunger more than usual. Here is an example, I will feel extremely hungry thirty minutes after a meal, and then I realize that I am just thirsty. I need to work on dealing with this, and calorie counting must be it. I moved away from calorie counting, because I felt I had a grip on how much and often I should eat. I am also re-vamping my menu, and excel chart. Here are my stats. I will hopefully be posting more often. I am very close to my goal, and want to do whatever it takes to reach it.
Stats - as of 11/17/08
- I weigh 179 (+2.5lbs over 3 weeks)
- I am at approx. 13% BF
- I have about 23 lbs of fat on my entire body.
- I have about 155lbs of lean tissue/bone/organs/blood
Goal - by 12/31/08
- Weight 170 (-9lbs over 6.5 weeks or 1.38lbs per week)
- Body fat 9%
- 13lbs of Fat
- 154lbs of Lean
Sorry this is late. I was in my sisters wedding this weekend, and had events
So I just had my body fat composition calculated. As you guys may recall I weighed 193lbs and was at 19.3% BF 6 Weeks ago. Well earlier this week I took the test again and lets just say I aced it. 176.45lbs which is a 16.55 lb loss in 6 weeks. Now I am at 13% BF, which is a 30.63% reduction of body fat. I am in a very healthy BMI range. And feel great. At this point my weight loss is strictly for Vanity. I think I am in great physical shape now. Pictures, and a copy of my Bod Pod will come Sunday.
This week was a success. I reached a short term goal. I dropped below 180lbs for the first time since I was about 14 years old. During the week I got down to as low as 177, but after Voodoo Fest in New Orleans, where I actually followed a good diet, with the exception of too much beer, I weighed in at 179.5. That is a 2.5lb loss, and really gives me motivation to drop these last 9-10 lbs. My new short term goal is 175lbs and my long term is still 170. At the rate of 2lbs a week I should be at my goal by November 24. I notice a major improvement on my belly. I swear the difference between 187 and 177 is amazing, but honestly the difference from 179.5 to 177. I think 170 will be an amazing weight for me. I did some math, and my BF% should be about 14%, but I am having a test done as soon as possible next week to give me an exact number.
I also wanted to mention the closer I get to my goal the stronger my cravings get. I seem to be constantly starving no matter how much I eat. Any advice?
Skin Tightening Tips
1. Drink plenty of water. Allowing your skin to become dehydrated once can screw up most of your progress. Keep water handy and drink it when your thirsty. Do not put yourself in situations that keep you from having water handy. Theatre, bring water. Class, Bring water. Gym bring water. Don’t go without drinking water just to manipulate the scale. The more water you drink the less water your body wil try to retain. Water helps move waiste products such as toxins from your body, and helps regulate digestion. Water also helps you stay full. Becoming dehydrated severely damages your skin cells.
2.Know your body fat percent. It has become popular to completely blame that pooch on loose skin. Average body fat for men is around 15-17% (20-25%t for women who need more body fat for maternal, health, and breast purposes). Men shouldn’t appear “ripped” until they are around 8% (12-14% for women). If you do not fall in this range then you shouldn’t expect to be completely flat. Maybe you should lose more weight. Estimates show 90% of men who complain about loose skin have a double digit BF%.
3. Don’t lose weight too quickly. Slow weight loss encourages your skin to tighten. For someone under 250lbs 2lbs per week is considered a healthy rate. Realize as you approach your goal this rate will be more difficult to maintain.
4. Give your skin time. It’s not a rubberband, don’t give up on diet goals, or immediately seek plastic surgery. If you are in the single digit body fat % range, your working on a gody weightlifting program, and you have given it a *Edit* [at least a year not "a couple of months"], then see how you feel about the prospect of surgery.
5. Exercise. Doing a thousand crunches a day is ridiculous, but increasing your lean body mass will significantly reduce excess skin. This will also allow you to appear ripped at a higher body fat percentage. The benefits will be most noticeable around your arms and legs.
6. Maintain a healthy nutrition. You need plenty of protein, vitamin A,E, C, and the mineral zinc (all help collagen production), EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids) fish oil or flax seed oil there is a reason they are called ESSENTIAL Fatty Acids.
7. Know what to avoid.
• Stress – Causes your body to take in excess oxygen and to produce free radicals, which tear down the cells in your skin. This damage is most visibly seen in wrinkles and saggy skin.
• Smoking – Smoking, as with stress, causes your body to produce free radicals, which tear down the cells in your skin.
• Tanning – Developing a tan is your bodys natural defense against over exposure to UV rays. Think of a tan as your body’s homemade sunscreen. Now that you know what a tan is. It hurts your skins ability to repair its self by damageing your direct DNA.
• Try to think of it like this if scabs or scars were sexy would you cut yourself to get them? Then why damage your skin intentionally.
There is only anecdotal evidence behind the following tips
I will try to add more tips to this list, and feel free to comment for or against any of these tips, and include your own.
8. Wear tight fitting material like spandex as workout clothes or under workout clothes. It helps keep skin cells from breaking down as much while you’re exercising.
9. Lightly scrub your skin with a loofah, or another product. Another name for this would be exfoliation. Your body naturally disposes of old skin cells, and produces new one oily skin holds on to the skin, dry skin accumulates dead skin quickly. So by using a loofah or similar product, you encourage cell growth in your skin. I use a towel and scrub back and forth over my abdomen after every shower, I think it helps, but that could just be the weight-loss.
10. Rub coco butter and vitamin E cremes on your skin focusing on your worst areas. Another oil I have been reading a lot about is Bio Oil (From the site you can read reviews, and buy some. You can also purchase it from Walgreens). Bio Oil seems to take a few months, but it is good for blending stretchmarks and scars, or so I have read.
11. Aloe Vera extract and yeast extract hep with the production of collagen.
12.Take a long bath in pure sea salt. I know this used to me done for horses after races, and pro-athletes to help repair damaged muscle tissue. It may be a result of loosing too much sodium. Kinda why Gatorade was invented. Sodium baths also causes your body to absorb magnesium, which is beneficial in the synthesis of Hyaluronic Acid.
13. Hyaluronic Acid, basically helps with cell connectivity. Imagine your moving all your stuff, if you put it in boxes you can stack it neatly into a low mass area. However, if you don't box it up then it will take up more space. Think of Hyaluronic Acid as the tape keeping your boxes closed. You deplete and resynthesize 1/3 of your bodies supply of Hyaluronic Acid every day. You can take a Hyaluronic Acid supplement, or you can take magnesium to help with natural synthesis.
Hey guys it is week 5 and I lost a measly .5 lbs today placing me at 182 pounds. I didn't track my calories for about 4 days. I ate healthy half the day and ate unhealthy the other half. I missed the gym several days. I drove to school twice instead of riding my bike. Throughout the week I was blaming a lot of this on a major midterm I had to take Friday, but then the weekend came. I drank a lot of beer and ate Bratwurst on Saturday while watching football. In general I did what I have done in the past, after about two weeks I would crash. This time it took two months, and I'm not letting it go down like that.
This is how I am going to get back on track.
(1) I will start posting at least twice a week. (you guys can help by leaving me comments with advice and recommendations. Also links to other blogs, recipes, and tips.
(2) I will work on time allocation. I have allowed tests or major job assignments to affect, my routine.
(3) I am going to cut back on weightlifting, I think it is affecting how I feel consequently altering my mental view of going to the gym from a positive to a negative.
(4) I need to work on staying more organized, which plays into time allocation.
(5) Quit making excuses. I need to quit making excuses. Valid or not, I am weeks away from obtaining a life long goal and now is not the time for justification of my mistakes.
I will take a picture today and post it this week so you can see my before and after pictures. I already have some you can see here, but I have not taken one in 5 months so the predominance of my weight loss can not be seen. From here out I will put the link to my weightloss at the end of every post with my food log.
Before and After photos
Food Log
Hey guys week 4 and I definitely overcame my "Plateau" I lost a total of 4 pounds this week bringing my overall total since the blog 12 pounds. My overall weight loss total since new years is now 50.5lbs. I have implemented core training as well as weight lifting into my routine. I am still figuring out which days are best and a complete list of my exercises. As promised for a while here is my Stats since the creation of this blog. I will also start concluding every post with this link. I am feeling and looking thinner, and I am only 12.5 lbs from my goal weight of 170lbs. My BMI is now a 24.1 which is well in the healthy range. I still plan to schedule a body composition test for Next week so I can find out what my body fat percentage is for sure.
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=pGVwowW1tQiFi6EjXjnU3KQ
Hey guys I should have taken the time to post this Sunday, but I was a little pressed for time. I dropped my weight to 186.5 on Sunday. That only represents a 1 pound loss. I definitely feel that I am plateauing and I am not sticking to my diet as well as I should. Keep in mind, when I break my diet it is to eat a fairly small portion of a fairly normal meal, such as eating one taco a little rice and some beans. I am at a point now where I need to boost my metabolism. Reducing calories at this point would be crazy.
Here are a few things I plan to work on to help boost my metabolism.
1. Start weightlifting Tuesday and Friday night.
- I feel part of the reason my weight dropped so quick early on was because I was weightlifting 7 days a week.
- Which reminds me I have also started core training on Monday and Thursday. Now that I have lost a lot of weight I have realized I don't have a V. I really hoped under all that fat there would be one hiding, but no luck. Maybe when the pooch goes I'll see a little more definition.
2. I need to avoid sugar a little more.
- I already do this, but I'm gonna buckle down a little bit.
3. Eat more spicy foods and drink more green tea.
- Spicy foods have been shown to increase calories burned during cardio, and also help me feel fuller. Caffeine has a similar effect on calories burned and raises your resting heart rate a little bit. Green tea also has antioxidants which are always good.
4. Reduce stress and increase sleep.
- With this hectic semester I really should find more time to study and sleep. I have been parting too much on the weekends, and I need to refocus on my goals.
I am setting my week goal for next week A.K.A. Sunday as 185lbs. That would be a great stepping stone for me considering it is the lowest weight I ever remember weighing. I dropped to that weight about three years ago and felt really good about my appearance. Considering I am 6'1" and have a large frame 185 is probably an ideal weight, but I am aiming for less and may build it up with muscle in the months to come. Wish me luck this week.
Here is a list of exercises and daily activities and there estimated calories burned.
Here is a list of things you can use to calculate diffrent stats related to your fitness.
The diet is going great, I have increased my calorie intake by just a bit. I am still deciding how to post my food log. I like the style of this blog and look to it for motivation. I assure you my excel file will be included in my next post. My weight ending this week is 190.5 which is a loss of four pounds for the week. Definitely a good start. I did cheat on my diet a little bit. I didn't go over my calories, but I ate too much at one time. I really want to break-up my diet into 5-6 smaller meals. I am also working on ways to eat out a little bit, and stay healthy. I am currently single, and one of my integral forms of social interaction is eating out with friends. I hope to be at the healthy weight of 188 by Saturday 9/27/08.
I've stepped up my calorie intake, and my weight loss is leveling out. I lost 1 pound Tuesday, and .5 pound Wednesday. I had to do my morning cardio mid day Wednesday and today due to a test I had to study for, but I didn't skip it. My weight last night was 190.5 my short term goal was to reach 190 by the 26th, but I have a feeling I may reach it tonight. I can deal with half a pound per day as opposed to 2.5, but I may need to step up my calories a little more. I am setting my short term goals at 10 pound intervals until I reach 170. I will be posting my Excel sheet with my calorie intake Saturday.
I had a pretty large loss today 2.5lbs which brings me too 192, larger than I want actually. I am noticing that I am not eating quite enough, but I feel silly eating more than I want when I am on a diet. I know for my health, and sustained weight loss that I have to try harder to reach my set calorie Goal. Also if it falls off too fast I will have loose skin to deal with. So tomorrow I will try to eat a bit more. by the way I did my morning and night cardio today I plan to do this every night but Saturday night (due to gym hours), and every morning but Sunday morning (due to gym hours). Aiming for no slip-ups even with my busy work/school schedule. Now I am 2 pounds away from my short term goal which is about two weeks away.
So today I weigh 194.5, and have began tracking my calories. I also worked out at the gym since I am trying to lose weight I am avoiding all weight lifting. I am focusing on cardio twice a day once in the morning to get my metabolism going, and once at night to give it a spike before bed. Since I started my blog I have lost .5lbs which is a start, and for one day is good.
Today I had a Bod Pod done. Luckily my gym offers this service for 20 dollars. I had to go four hours without eating or drinking. However I had the test done around 9:00am so I had not eaten or drank for about twelve hours. I was surprised to find my weight at 193.2 and my body fat at 19.3% which is a serious reduction from 9 months ago. From the same test acquired my RMR which allows me to intelligently reduce my daily calorie intake without going too far. Here are free ways to find your BF% and your RMR if the test is not offered in your area. I weighed tonight and was at 195 which is more accurate given I had not eaten prior to the first test. I have been recording my stats on Bodybuilding.com, and in an excel sheet I will be posting once a week on Friday.
* My body weight is 195 which is 25 ponds away from my overall goal, and 5 pounds from my short term goal. I want to be at 190 in two weeks so by 09/26/08.
*My body fat is 19.3% my goal is 10%.
*I am tracking every calorie I eat, and to make my life easier I am creating a menu with the protein, carbohydrates, fats, and calories of foods and eating only off that list.
I am seeking to reach a goal I have worked on and came close to many times in my life. I am trying to get my weight to 170lbs. I used to weigh 240 then I lost a good bit of weight over a three year period I dropped down to 185. Then in my sophomore year of college I got into a serious relationship, and let myself go. I ended up blowing up to 233 about 9 months ago. Through diet and exercise, and weight lifting I decreased my weight from 233 to 205. Then I realized I needed to focus on weight loss, and then focus on muscle. Since I have dropped my weight from 205 to 195.
I have developed an action plan this time though.
*Get my RMR once a month, and use it to set a good diet plan.
*Get my body fat percentage.
*Keep track of everything I eat.
*Keep track of calories burned.
*Update my blog.
I will be going tomorrow to get my RMR and BF%
