Friday Update

Well, I've got that mojo back.  Been pushing myself hard in the gym and focusing on the diet portion much more.  Still difficult to stay under 2K KCal Net, but working out, being active helps to offset some of that.  I know the action/reward shouldn't be as direct as activity/food, but that's the way I'be been treating it and it's been working better for me.  If I have a rest day and try to stay under 2KKCal, I'm hungry all day.  Being active and eating more helps me feel better and fuller throughout the day.  I've also noticed that while on this cutting routine, drinking lots of water and continuing to take the OEP helps me forget that I'm hungry.

I have noticed I've been getting more night sweats lately, woke up a few times this week drenching wet with sweat.  A little abnormal... often my head would do that, but now it's my whole body.

Off to judge a debate tournament right now and I'll be in FL next week for work, but will continue to stay active and try to provide an update mid-week.

Cheers!!

Rob

5 Months in... time to shock the system

So, I've been doing "this" now for a little over 5 months now... I have quite a start to my body transformation under way, but have been feeling like I was running out of steam lately... not pushing myself as hard in the gym, bailing out on my cardio routines to go downstairs and lift instead, taking breaks from healthy eating, and kinda feeling down on myself for doing so.

New Dedication


I'll be here blogging daily, showing what I've done to improve myself, what I've eaten, and what progress I'm making.

I'm starting a new, "Cutting" phase (no... not that kind of cutting), where I will hopefully lose fat, while trying to retain as much muscle mass as possible.  Time to get these muscles out from under the blanket they've been hiding.

Plan


Low Calories - Balanced Macro-Diet
Sub 2000KCal Net Daily should lead to 2lbs/week loss

Correctly Timed Nutrition -
Carbs earlier on in the day but almost eliminated in the evening.

Eating nutritious, whole foods.

Lots of Water - 1.5 Gallons/Day

Vitamins - AMP Ripped Vitapack

NO SODA

Use of Thermogenic Fat-Burner on Non-Workout days - Oxyelite Pro

Better Sleep Cycle -
Seriously, sticking to 10:30PM-7AM daily sleeping schedule, which means turning off TV, Computer, Phone and iPad at 9:30PM.

Increased Cardio activity -
30 Minutes at end of workout on Workout Days
>40 Minutes on Non-Workout Days

Oh yeah... here's my 5 Month Progress Photos!!

Background History

When I started my transformation at the end of August, I was looking for a lifestyle change. I wanted to look better, feel better about myself, and just be a healthier version of me. 5 months later, I've done that.

I started working out 3x week back in August with a co-worker. Having someone just to keep me accountable to going to the gym is what I needed to get me moving. We never really worked out together, just gave each-other shit if we didn't go the day before.

I started by doing a mix of cardio (initially stationary bike, then the elliptical machines once I figured out it was OK to bounce a little while using them) and weight-lifting primarily using machines. My cardio work improved to a point and I saw improvement in muscle size and lifting ability.

Quitting Smoking

I decided to quit smoking on October 30th (actually quitting on the 31st) when I felt guilty for leaving the gym after a solid workout, getting into my car, and lighting up on the way home. It was clearly counterproductive to health and I felt it was limiting me. Used Nicoderm patches through a short-cycle and was off completely. I was smoking a little more than half-a-pack each day, which put me somewhere between a heavy and light smoker. I started on step 1 of the patches... did a 3 week cycle on that... moved to step 2... 2 weeks on that... step 3... 2 weeks, bought another 2 week box, and practically forgot to use it. A few days had gone by where I had forgotten to put on the patch (or even think about it till the late afternoon) and I decided to try to stop using the patches completely. It stuck. Done smoking completely now.

Kicking it up a notch

In late December, with the motivation from quitting smoking and seeing visible progress in the gym, I decided to take my level of intensity up, where I was going to the gym 6 days a week, 4 days of lifting and 2 days of cardio only. I was blowing away personal bests and trying new exercises. I transitioned away from machines towards free weights, feeling that they offered a better workout and more uniformity in comparison numbers. I track all my workouts on Fitocracy and have felt a bit of competition from it.

A good friend of mine who had recently gone through a body transformation recommended the rowing machine as a good, full-body workout. He said to shoot for 8 minutes on a 2Km row. My first attempt took about 11 minutes and I was beat. I found some videos online and got a better form, working that slowly down to around 9:15 and I had plateaued there. Asked him for some advice, and 2 workouts later, I was below 9 minutes... my own personal goal.

I felt this HUGE sense of accomplishment, but have fallen off the wagon a bit since then.

Exhaustion and Burn-Out

I have been feeling a little burnt out with the health-kick. Stopped tracking my daily food intake and started eating junk-food every now and then. I need another shock to my system like quitting smoking did for me, time to see some visible results. I posted progress pics on BB.com asking for a little motivation, and most of the feedback was that the progress pics should be motivation enough. Why stop now? Look how far you've come! This blog (and subsequent logging activity) will be my method to change-up my routine a bit, keep myself more accountable to myself (as my workout partner still goes to the gym... I've pushed way past him in intensity, drive, and routine. He's a father of 2, now, and I understand time constraints and differences in lifestyle, no blame here).

My Dedication:

I'll be logging every food I eat on Lose-It, Every activity on Fitocracy, posting summaries here and keeping you updated on progress through measurements, pictures, and what I've found helpful in keeping me moving.

Hit Me Up if you have any advice, questions, or additional motivation.

Rob