201.4 - 16.5% BF

Took a BF reading for the first time in a while.  About what I expected.  I've been eating 3000 cals a day for a while and not gaining much, so probably need to up it if I really want to do a bulk.  Think I'll maintain this a little longer and see if u can make strength gains. 

(Walking around like a sweaty weirdo right after class)

202.4 - hurt back

Threw my back out a week ago, spent a couple days in bed and missed a week of training.  Trying to get back in the rhythm now.

BJJ competition

I'm Competed in Subleague, tied for 3rd (6 man division). Should have done better, but still very happy with that improvement.  It was at the same weight class as 2 years ago, but I was a lot leaner than the first time.

200.8 @ 14.5 % body fat

Weight holding steady, strength improving and BF slowly lowering 

Back to lifting "heavy"

Not lifting huge numbers, but I'm back to trying to push my max lifts.  I've been eating more, worked my way up to around 2900 calories and can feel the difference when lifting.  Got back to 290 deadlift today (that's all the weight I have, going to get more this weekend).

Weight is holding around 199, so I'm happy with that.  If my weight starts to climb, I'll probably cut calories again and see if I can get body fat down to around 12%

197.6

Been "reverse dieting", slowing increasing calories to get back up to my approximate total daily expenditure.  Basically trying to get back to neutral.  Seems to have improved my metabolism because I have more energy, am still hungry (feeling more hungry even though I'm eating a fair bit more) and my weight just hit a new low after getting to my highest daily calorie intake in many months.  

I'm debating if I should go above my TDE (total daily expenditure) to try to focus on muscle/strength gains, or if I should just level out, then calorie cut again to get my body fat % lower.  I think I'll do the latter at least until I see if I'm going to compete in BJJ (want to keep my weight low for hopefully better chance in competing against lighter people).  Then after that I can experiment with bulking.

200.4 lbs - 15.6% BF??

A week or so ago I took a body fat reading and got around 15.6%, which I figured was an anomaly (maybe hydration levels or moisture on my feet, etc).  So today I took another one and got 15.6%. Not sure what to make if that.  I am noticeably leaner and at 200 lbs, it would only take losing 2 or 3 lbs of fat to take me from 17/18% that I had been consistently measuring at down to this new number.  

I've been hitting the diet and lifting pretty hard, so I want to believe that % is accurate, but I'm not sure.  Time will tell I guess (if % keeps lowering and if I can see it in the mirror)

199.2 lbs & 17.6% Body Fat

Look a little leaner even though weight isn't moving down, so I did a BF reading today and was happy to see the lowest BF I've registered so far

Got 3rd stripe on my blue

That's about it, just thought I'd log the date for my records.

198.8 - going to 2500 cal diet

Everything is going great, weight has been down in the 199 range, so I'm happy it didn't bounce back up after I was sick.  Now I'm increasing my calorie intake to around 2400 to 2500 and increasing the intensity of lifting.  Did my first fairly heavy day today, getting up to 225 on deadlift.  Nowhere near my max of 295, but I was doing higher volume (20 reps on warm up weights, then 12 reps up to 205, then 2 reps of 225).  My right knee felt like it might not like going heavy, and I've strained that knee on deadlifts before.  Something about my lack of hip or hamstring/calf mobility causes a torque in my knee even on lifts where I'm not aware of any torque.

Regardless, I was happy with today's lifting, want to slowly build back up and set a new PR for all my main lifts, then maybe back off again and cut (if I've put on weight during the strength focus).

A rough and wild week

On 3/17 Owen started having random bruising and petechia.  We took him to a doctor and they recommended we keep an eye on it and take him to the emergency room if it spread.  It didn't appear to get any worse for the next day, but then on Saturday it seemed to spread, so we made a Monday morning appointment for a blood draw.  Test results came back Tuesday and we were told to take him to OHSU's Pediatric ER immediately.  His blood platelet count was 5,000 (normal is 140k to 500k, so he had around 1 or 2% of the normal platelets).  The doctor later told me it was the lowest platelet count he'd ever seen.

We immediately jumped in the car and went up to Portland.  After a few hours, the doctors there decided that Owen had ITP, which is an immune response where the body attacks its own platelets.  There is no treatment, just give the body time to sort itself out.

Today we took Owen for a follow up blood test to confirm his platelet count is rising.  Hopefully this will be the end of it.  

In the middle of all of that, I had a stomach virus and my cell phone died.  So nothing was going our way.  But it looks like we are coming out the other side of this, I just have to get back on track (my diet and exercise went out the window, mostly because I was sick).  

199.4 - mostly better

Not sure if this weight loss is permanent, I was definitely eating less for a week while I was sick.  But I could also still be dehydrated and once I start lifting weights again, I'm curious to see if my weight bounces up.

But I feel mostly better and today will be the first day I'm back to eating 100% normal.  I went to BJJ last night, but kept it moderate.  Just trying to get back in the swing of things.  

Took a BF reading this morning, it said 20.1%, so I'm also curious to see if that changes with hydration levels.  It's possible I lost some muscle, but I don't think I lost pounds of muscle.  I'll check again in a few days and see if both my weight and BF return to their pre-sickness figures (202 lbs and around 18.2% BF).

199.6 and sick

I'm just about over it, but I've been sick for about 4 days.  One silver lining is that I was under 200 lbs this morning, although I expect my weight to go back up to 202 or so in the next week.  But I'll take that brief moment of seeing 199 on the scale just to know it's possible.

First ice bath

Tried cold shower, couldn't do it.  Ran cold tub, did 10 minutes but only got half my upper body under.  We'll see where this goes.  Definitely was breathing hard and started sweating.

201.8 and 19% BF

Good news and bad news.  About a week ago I noticed my sodium intake was high (from looking at my food log in the FitBit site), with about 4500mg on some days.  I realized the majority of that was the "all natural" sliced turkey if been eating daily.  Salt is natural, but I didn't realize that about 250mg per ounce of turkey had been added.  I was eat 4 to 6 oz a day.  

So on Monday I switch to chicken breast that I baked myself.  Looks like the lower sodium made me drop some water weight, as I was suddenly down to 291.8 this morning.

The only bad news is that my BF % rose, since I guess those extra pounds of water were making my numbers look better than there were

Choked a guy out & Owen got a Gi (pic)

I choked my first person totally out today.  It was a guy who used to be better than me, but he stopped coming in as much, so I've caught up.  He didn't want to tap, so I left him face down and sleeping.

It was fueled by ego on both sides, but I'm happy to finally be coming out on top of those kinds of battles.

204.2 and 18.3% BF

Weight keeps bouncing around but hitting new lows every week or so.  Got my Omron scale and had a body fat of 18.3%.  

It gave some other numbers, like Visceral Fat of 8, BMI of 26, and a body age of 59 (not sure what that is about).  My reduced calorie diet might be giving me s low resting metabolism and effecting the body age calculation.  It gave me a resting metabolic rate of 1950 calories.

205.4

Had a week of no weigh loss, started to lose the drive and focus.  That's when feelings of "I'm still doing the same thing but it's not working anymore" start to creep in.  But when I really look at it, I'm not going at it with the same intensity.  I fell into a routine, cut corners a bit here and there.  Was going for 2 or 3 miles runs, then dropped that to 1 or 1.5 mile runs, etc.  

So yesterday I stepped it back up and am feeling good again.  The scale rewarded me for my efforts, even though obviously I was still losing weight before, I was probably just retaining water or something.  

Either way, things are going good, it will be great to get under 200 lbs for the first time since I crossed 200 lbs at around 13 years old.  

For my birthday I'm getting an Omron full body composition scale (scale with handheld part to give more accurate body fat %).  It's supposed to arrive today, so I'm excited to finally start tracking BF.

Ran 8:26 mile

I don't usually try for fastest 1 mile times, and my jogging pace is usually 9:30 or 10 minute miles (or worse).  So, I was happy with an 8:26 mile.  It was raining and my legs were sore, so I'm hoping to improve that time soon

207

Overall, feeling great and making good progress.  There are days, like today, where I feel the down side of calorie restriction/deficit, but it usually doesn't last long and I just try to keep some light activity going.  

I'm feeling the increased energy, focus and improved attitude when I workout or train BJJ.  I've been able to make some real progress in the last month or so, finally hit some collar chokes last night on a guy who is pretty equal to me (for months we've rolled mostly to stalemates, but I caught him twice last night).  

Things are looking good, if I can keep this up for another 2 months, I should be pretty close to my goal of 190.  Then I want to get a body fat percentage taken to see where I am.

207.8

Having fun tracking everything with the fitbit.  

Fitbit

Caitlin got me a Fitbit, so that's been fun to mess with today.  Hopefully it will help me get my BF % down to under 18%

208.4

Still on track.  I'd like to get down to 190, then maybe go back to a strength focus

210.8

Diet is going great.  Feel a bit of a jittery energy at times, had a few nights where it was harder to sleep, but overall feel much better than I have in a while.  BJJ is going well, feel like I am performing better on this 2000 calorie diet (high protein, moderate fat and carb)

213

Diet is going well, keeping to 2000 on most days, 2200 on days I workout hard.  Feeling good, have a bit of nervous energy at times, finding it easier to get up in the morning, but sometimes harder to fall asleep.  I try to get in some general activity during the day, a few sets of push up or planks.  Still need to get a regular running schedule going.

215.4 - calorie counting again

Realized it's been a while since I updated this.  The holidays and the winter in general have been tough, my weight shot up briefly to about 218, but I started getting my diet back in line.

I know I've put on some muscle, but obviously a decent part of that weight gain is fat.  I'm now 3 days into a calorie cut, going for 2000 per day, 2300 on BJJ days.  It's amazing how much I can feel the difference if 509 calories when my diet was already pretty lean.

BJJ has been going well, training really hard and added in Sunday rolling so now I'm getting 3 days a week in.  

I want to get back down around 200, then maybe I'll up the calories and focus on strength again in the summer (it's been so cold in my garage that I haven't been able to lift much anyway)

Update and PRs

So, been holding steady around 209.  Last week I got overloaded with work and my diet slipped a bit, which of course made me feel worse and then made dieting that much harder.  I also felt sluggish and weak in my workouts, but I've managed to get it back on track since Monday.

I seem to have hit the end of the super easy beginner lifting gains.  I'm not consistently adding weight to every lift, so I guess now the real work starts.

Here is where I currently sit on everything:

Dumbell Curl - 53 lbs x 2

Barbell Curl - 115 x 1

Military Press - 140 x 2

Seated Dumbell Overhead Press - 63 for 4 (have switched to Military Press with barbell though, so probably won't go higher with dumbbells)

Squat - 185 x 2 (had a couple good squatting weeks, but have been having some back issues since, so not sure how I'll proceed with squats) 

Bench Press - 210 x1 

Decline Bench - 205 x 2

Incline Bench - 170 for 2 (my setup isn't good for incline, so limited a bit by that)

Seattle Spartan Super and finishing Trifecta

Did the Seattle Super yesterday, had a clean run.  Didn't feel like I was running fast, but kept a consistent pace and didn't fail any obstacles.   It's definitely the highest I've ranked in a Spartan race. 

Deadlifted 290 (and other PRs)

That's all the Olympic plates I had, so I'll be getting more this weekend.  I've had such issues with my back in the past, I thought it would take me longer to get to this weight, but I'm glad my back issue seems sorted out.  Still going to be cautious with it though.

 

My lifting PRs currently are:

Dumbell Curl (most important first) - 53 lbs

Barbell Curl - 105 for 3 reps

Military Press - 135 for 3

Seated Dumbell Overhead Press - 63 for 4 (have switched to Military Press with barbell though, so probably won't go higher with dumbbells)

Squat - 170 (I think I can increase this quickly, I've been playing it extra careful)

Bench Press - 195 for 2 (I haven't benched since I built my bench rack, so I can try for 1 rep max now)

Decline Bench - 185 for 4 (doing this and incline bench after standard bench, so it suffers a bit)

Incline Bench - 165 for 2

 

So my Squat, Deadlift & Bench add up to 655.  I have a ways to go to reach the 1000 club.  I've been adding weight every week for the last couple months, so I'm curious to see when that tapers off and the real work begins.

DIY squat rack and bench rack

Needs some finishing touches, but was good enough for leg day today.  It wobbles a bit, but the fear helps me lift more.

I've had a lot of back issues and major form issues that always made me avoid squats.  But I've been working on it and made big improvements in the last few months.  

In the past, just squatting a 45 lbs bar was uncomfortable.  I could never arch my back properly, so it would hurt or feel weak.  But I'd slowly worked my way up to squatting 147 last week.  My back basically wouldn't allow my legs to generate force.

But this week I also got a cheap lifting belt.  I was surprised how much it helped.  I really focused on taking a deep breath and tightening my core before the squat.

I'd been increasing my squat my 5 or 10 lbs a week, but this week I added 23 lbs and felt I could have gone heavier, but I have a race next weekend and want to get in another training run before then, so don't want my legs too fried.

I'm excited to see if I can finally start squatting a weight that I don't feel embarrassed about.

Ran 3 miles yesterday

Felt very sluggish, and my GPS made me run a lot longer before it said 3 miles (running same coyrse, probably ran a 1/4 mile farther than last time before it announced 3 miles)

207.8 - 3 mile run

Went for a run, first time in a while.  Need to get a few more in before the Spartan Super on 10/17

211.4

Not sure why my weight dropped (have been around 213 for a while), but I'll take it.  I have been in a calorie deficit for weeks, and have been seeing changes in the mirror, but not in the scale.  I figured my weight would eventually start to move down.

212.6 - ran 2.5 miles

213 - ran 2.8 miles

Have to start getting ready for the Spartan Sprint race on 8/8, so I'm going to run a couple times a week.  

My weight has been holding steady, but I look more muscular, so it's hard to tell exactly what's going on since I started this weights/calorie counting program.  

I've been keeping calories around 2400 with 180 grams of protein (overall, about 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat).  

I feel pretty good, so only time will tell how this will work out for me.  

Screwed my neck up

A new guy showed up at Jiu Jitsu class.  He was pretty strong but had no idea what he was doing.  I was just trying to roll lightly,but somehow he ended up driving his shoulder into my face.  I felt the tip of my nose touch my forehead and blood started gushing a second later.  I thought that was the worst of it, but then I got really light headed and my neck started to hurt.

An hour later my neck was starting to lock up completely.  I woke up this morning very stiff, felt dehydrated.

I'm mainly pissed I may not be able to lift today.  Hopefully my neck will loosen up.

1.6 mile run

Went for a light jog, 1.6 miles in 16:29.  Felt rough, first time I've felt like I was in a calorie deficit.

Shoulder & ab day

Did second week of shoulder and an routine. 10 Side laterals, hammer front lifts, bent over lateral's, front raises to ceiling, 20 push-ups, repeated 5x.

Did all reps with 13 1/2 pounds, have missed matched weight set so odd weights right now.

Then did five sets of declined sit ups, using 10 pound weight for last set. Sets varied from 20 to 40 reps doing some on each side, as well as straight up.

Got Owen in on the action 

My awesome garage weight set

214 - Back and Legs day

Weighed myself for the first time in a while.  Slight weight gain, but about what I thought considering the creatine and lifting. 

I'm still figuring out what my weight lifting routine will look like.  Not sure it's good to do legs and back in the same day, since there is a lot of overlap.  I did back first, then when I got to squats, my lower back was not enjoying the squatting much.  So I think I'm going to separate those two.

But, today I did (with some warm-up sets not counted):
Pull Ups - 3 sets of 5 (had to jump a little, still can't do dead-hang pull ups)
Deadlifts - 3x5 @ 200lbs (that was every weight I had in my garage.  Probably a good weight for me right now so I can work on form.  I could probably max out around 245 right now, but it might be ugly). 
One Arm dumbbell Rows - 3x10 @45lbs
Bent Over barbell row - 3x10 @97lbs (using a combo of weird weights and a cheap bar from yard sales and Goodwill, so some are 8.8 lbs and weird stuff like that)
Upright Rows - 3x10 @63lbs
Back extensions - 5x10

Then I did legs:
Squats - 3x10 @63lbs  (starting really light because I still have major issues with squat form)
Back Lunges - 3x6 on each leg @63lbs
Front Lunges - 3x3 on each leg @52lbs (my knee started to feel weird after the back lunges, so I took it down a bit)
Jump Overs 3x10 over 18.5" box (actually jumped over my archery target)
Stiff Leg Deadlift - 3x10 @ 78lbs

Looking to build quickly on some of these, but starting out safe and focusing on strengthening my lower back without aggravating it.

First shoulder day

We've been in the process of selling our house, so the scale has been packed away.  I haven't weighed myself in a while, it will be interesting to see what the scale says when I finally do step on.  I feel like I'm still around 210.

Did a shoulder routine today:

10 lateral raises

10 hammer raises

10 bent over laterals

10 front raises (to ceiling)

20 push ups

Repeated above for 5 sets

My shoulders are weak, I've never really tried to work them before.  I did this routine with 10lbs in each hand.  The good news is that I think the "newby gains" I'll make in my shoulders will help me in BJJ and other functional strength movements.  Since  starting from so low, even a small improvement should be noticeable.  

New lifting/diet plan

Started taking creatine a couple weeks ago, and lifting 2 or 3 times a week (just using dumbbells in the garage).  Also been using a pre-workout drink (caffeine, creatine, yurba mate, guarana, etc), and whey protein shakes after workouts.  Noticed a big difference when doing that, both in willingness and ability while working out, and in recovery and strength after. 

So I've put together a more structured lifting program (still a pretty vague program, I hope to nail it down more as I go).  I wanted to do a 5x5 Stronglifts program, but I still have major issues with squat form, so I'm just going to do the following:
Sunday - Legs & back
Monday - Light active recovery (walking/jogging)
Tuesday - BJJ
Wednesday - Arms & chest
Thursday - BJJ
Friday - Shoulders and core
Saturday - rest

As I said, still pretty vague because I haven't worked out exactly what I'll be doing on each day (may depend on if I keep working out at home, or go to Mark's house, etc).  I want to track what I'm lifting, so I can be conscious of increasing weights over time.  I also want to program out the number of sets and reps, etc. 

As for diet, I'm going to a high protein, moderate carb, moderate/low fat diet.  Going for 30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat, and am limiting simple carbs.  I'm going to start with 180 grams of protein a day, which is 1 gram for every pound of my target weight.  I'm going to keep calories around 2000 a day.  I want to see if I can gain muscle/strength and lose fat for the first month or two (since I haven't been recently lifting or dieting hard, I think I can accomplish both for a little while).  Once I plateau, I'll decide if I want to continue on a bulking phase or a cutting phase. 

Today I did arms/chest.  I didn't have a spotter for the bench, so I didn't push myself too hard on the max weight. 
Benched 160

Curled 95 (with bar, both arms). Max 1 arm is about 40.

210.8 - still doing Whole 30

I'm feeling a bit better than when we started this diet, but not as good as I've felt doing some other diets (probably because I'm eating too much fruit on Whole 30).

I've started working on strength a few times a week (a dumbbell routine in the garage, pushups and rope climbs).  I've definitely noticed an immediate improvement in strength, muscle endurance and recovery time doing the Whole 30, similar to how I felt when I did strict Paleo for a month.

I plan to finish out the Whole 30, then add back in dairy, reduce fruit and other fast carbs and see how that goes.

211.8

Feeling a little sluggish, but I've felt stronger at the same time. Hopefully I'll feel more energetic soon as I adjust to the Whole 30 eating

212.6 - ran Alien 1 mile race yesterday

Starting the "whole 30" diet tomorrow, so the weight should start coming down.  

Ran the Alien Festival inaugural 1 mile "obstacle" run.  That was fun and very McMinnville.

Spartan Beast

Did the Beast yesterday.  The course was pretty crazy.  My time was about 5:55.  I'm hobbling around today, but happy I was able to finish it.  Made the rope climb, missed the spear throw by an inch.

 

Edit:  Here are some photos I got a couple weeks after the race.

 

 

Ran 4 miles and threw some spears

Ran to Mark's house, finally practiced spear throwing.  Feel pretty good about it.  My legs still feel stiff, I'm hoping that goes away soon.

Ran 6 miles.

Trying to get back in a rhythm.

208.8

Feeling the best I have been since November.  Need to get some longer runs in.

208.8

Got the weight bench cleared off in the garage. Starting to lift again.  It's sad to see how weak I've gotten.  But with only 2 months until the beast, fear is becoming a big motivator  

209.2. - first 3 mile run of 2015

It was painful and slow, but I'll have to keep at it if I do t want to die at the Spartan Race.

208.4

Just about over the mild sickness I had

209.8

After taking a month off of most activity, that first BJJ class has left me pretty sore.  I feel like I might also be battling a cold, so hopefully it doesn't develop into a full on sickness.  I think I can beat it if I skip BJJ tonight and get extra sleep for a few days.

210.2

Just a couple days home and the scale is moving in the right direction.  I haven't even made much if an effort, just getting back to my usual stuff.  Once I get into a rhythm with my new college schedule, I'm going to make another charge at getting below 200 lbs

Got my BJJ blue belt tonight

I wasn't sure I wanted to be promoted as quickly as I have been, but I'm in a good "head space" lately and will use this to spur me in to try harder so the promotion will feel justified.

212.4 after 3 weeks in LA

Finally got back home last night.  It was rough being in LA, but I don't think I did too much damage.  

205.6 - ran 7.3 miles last night

I wanted to push the distance a bit.  It was rough, the last couple miles I was really dragging myself along.  Started out with about a 10 minute mile, ended with 12 minute miles

205

We had a cold snap and some freezing rain, so I haven't been out running this week.  I'm going to try to get out this weekend.

Spartan races

I've registered for the Montana Beast and the Seattle Super.  I'm holding out for a Groupon deal on the Portland Sprint, but I'll complete the trifecta regardless.  I've roped Mark into it, so we'll see how they goes.  

207.2 Ran 5.3 miles

Ran 5.33 miles tonight in 1 hour 2 minutes.  Longest run I've ever done and haven't run much recently, so I was happy just maintaining that slow pace.

275 lbs deadlift

Not sure if that is a PR, but it's the first time in a while that I've gone for a 1 rep max.  I actually wasn't feeling good/strong today, so I was happy to hit that

Grace time - 7:45 @ 115lbs

This is from around Sept 2013, but blog messed up and moved it here

Ran 5k in 30:38

Used a GPS to confirm exact distance.  Feels good to see the time dropping off

Got my 3rd stripe at BJJ tonight

I felt I was due for another stripe, but I was surprised to get two tonight. 

Ran Warrior Dash on Sunday

Great course, constant hills.  Wasn't officially timed, but did the 5k in about 48 minutes

205.6

Started back at Crossfit on Monday after almost a month off.  It's been pretty hot, so it gets extra sweaty in there.  Here is how pretty I look after a workout.

204.4 return from trip to Mom's house

Had Nina on town for a few days, then dropped her off at the airport and went straight to my mom's house near Seattle, so diet went out the window a bit.  Now to get back on track.  The 2k calorie diet didn't seem to be working that well (got initial results, then started to stall and feel worse).  I'm thinking of doing 2500 this time.

201.2

Ran three miles yesterday.  Hopefully things get back on track and I cross under 200 in the next day or two

202.2

I would be mad if it weren't so funny.  Every time I come close to getting under 200 lbs, my weight jumps.  I didn't do anything different yesterday.  I'm going to try adding in some running today and see what happens 

200.6

Strict calorie counting is going great so far.  Hoping to keep this up until I hit 190

203.2

I've been logging every calorie I eat and keeping the total under 2000.  I'm only 3 days in, but it's already had a big effect.  It should be easy to get down to 190 if I keep this up.

209 - Ran Spartan Sprint on Saturday (photo)

I ran the Spartan Sprint at Washougal MX Park on Saturday, it was a great course and definitely a lot harder than the Rugged Maniac courses I've done.  I finished in 1 hour 49 minutes, which put me about 780th place (out of 4611 people).  I'd like to do the Super & Beast length Spartan courses next year. 

But, my weight has ballooned suddenly, which I'm guessing is partly due to swelling, and I wasn't eating that great leading up to the race, so I expect the weight to come back down.

My attempts to cut calories over the last couple weeks failed miserably.  I'm not really sure why.  I ate significantly less, but gained about .2 per day until I hit 206, then jumped to today's 209.  The lesson learned is that I'm going to have to actually count and track calories if I want to keep losing weight, the easy days of just "eating less" are gone, I'm not fat enough for guess-work anymore.

 

 

203.2. - trying to lose 15lbs in a month

I've been floundering a bit since the BJJ tourney, not sure if I wanted to bulk up or lose weight.  So, I've decided to try to drop another 15 lbs.  that would get me down a weight class and make me able to cut a bit of weight to then drop another weight class for competitions.  

Then I will have lost most of the weight I have to lose and can start slowly adding muscle.

201.2

Bjj tourney went terrible, but at least it gave me something to focus on to get my weight down.

202.2

Weight is on track for Saturday

202.8 and 21% body fat

I'm on target for being under 202 by Saturday to make weight for my BJJ tournament, so that is good.  I'll be glad when it's over so I don't have to think about it so much. 

I got my body fat measured in a Bod Pod yesterday.  I was surprised to get a reading of 21%.  I'd like to get it down a little farther, but I think now I need to add some muscle first.  Next week I'm going to work out a higher calorie diet and see how much muscle I can put on in 8 weeks (that is when the Bod Pod will come back to check everybody again)

203.6 (got new scale that has .2 increments)

203.5

I was surprised to see that number this morning.  I've cut back on eating but didn't think I had cut back that much.  I have been feeling drained the last 2 days, so maybe I'll eat a bit more today and try to find a good balance. 

206.5. - starting calorie cut

I started putting on weight and felt much stronger with the higher protein diet, but I need to weigh about 202 by 6/21 for the Subleague tournament, so I'm cutting back to taper down.  After that, I'll probably look into a diet with bulking and cutting phases.  I need to get the rest of the fat off me and I feel like I've been treading water for a while.

Got my first stripe at BJJ class last night

A minor accomplishment, but I was happy about it.  It's one more step in the right direction.

Rugged Maniac time - 48 minutes

I ran the Rugged Maniac again last Saturday.  I did it in about 48 minutes (they don't have a clock up, so I had to ask someone the time at the finish).  They had a few new obstacles that were interesting, including a traverse over a mud pit on rings (hung like Olympic rings).  There were about 10 rings and I made it across with no issue, so that was cool.  I've been uncertain how I would do on some of the monkey bar type obstacles at the Spartan Sprint in August, so this was a good warm up.

203 - Entered a BJJ tournament

Been holding at 203 to 203.5.  A few days ago I decided to start increasing my protein intake because I see to be at a stall and am not getting stronger or losing weight.  Also, I entered a BJJ tournament (Subleague on 6/21) and I don't think I can drop a weight class by then, so I might as well be as strong as I can be by then. 

I thought my weight might quickly start going up, since I am eating a fair bit more, but so far my weight hasn't moved but I feel better.  We'll see how this goes.  I ordered some Mt Capra Deep30 (goat milk based protein powder), and I'm curious to see how I do on that. 

202.5 and landed first triangle choke

I'm pretty beat up today, but BJJ class last night was a good one.  Usually I'm lucky to roll for 4 rounds at the end of class, then people start leaving or they stay paired off.  But last night I got in about 7 rounds in.  The class is mostly white belts, so I'm finally able to hit some moves that I never pull off on people better than me.  I finished a few armbars and the first triangle I think I've ever actually pulled off. 

I'd prefer to just work on positions and control, but it's good to land a sub at least a few times to know you can potentially do it.

203

My weight has been holding around 205, was surprised to see it down to 203 this morning.  Maybe the addition of BJJ into my Crossfit routine will help me drop the last 20 lbs.

Last week I did both and it was definitely a busy and tiring week, but I think I can get into the flow of it pretty quickly.  My first BJJ class was pretty rough on me, since I didn't remember anything and was straining harder than necessary.  The 2nd class was already a big improvement.  I should be able to get through the class with it just being a cardio/light strength type activity, so I can leave the harder workouts for Crossfit.

185 back squat

A bit ugly and slow out of the bottom.

135 full clean

It was a bit ugly, but I did a full clean (with squat) with 135.  This change in my squat form is making a big difference.  I don't think I had properly full cleaned more than 65 before this.

Started at Impact Jiu Jitsu today

Just finished my first class.  Had a good time, nice laid back atmosphere.  And no exercise to start.  A lot of places put you through a workout as "warmup", which is generally a good idea, but since I'm doing Crossfit 3 days a week, I'm glad to not have too much more added in.

115 lbs front squat

I've always had trouble with squats, mostly due to form.  I can't keep my back straight/arched, so adding any weight just pulls on my lower back.  It has been very slowly improving, but is still something I'm trying to sort out.  I think yoga or some other combo of stretching/physical therapy might be needed.

But, by adjusting my squat technique a little, I found I was able to comfortably add weight for the first time in a while.  Basically I just push my hips back a little bit at the bottom of the squat, before I come up out of the squat.  I think this is what Mark Rippetoe teaches.  I found that if I start the drive up with my hips, then follow with my back, I have a much easier time.  When I try to lift everything evenly and keep my back/chest upright, I just can't generate any power. 

I feel fine lifting like that, so I'll probably keep it up but still try to improve flexibility in my hips and lower back to see if I can't do it the "right" way.

275 lbs dead lift

And did all 36 lipping pull ups without a band

Filthy Fifty - benchmark time: 35:08

Used an 18" box, 35 lbs kb.  Couldn't get my knees to my elbows, but got my knees higher than usual.

203 - dropping fruit/fructose/sugars

I've been holding between 205 and 207 for a while now and not feeling as good as I was in January.  I realized one of the main differences is that I was limiting fruit when I started Paleo, but when I got sick, I stayed with Paleo but starting eating a lot more fruit.  I've noticed for many years that I don't do well with a lot of fruit in my diet, but I still crave it more than just about any other food.

So I was already thinking about what I needed to do to get my diet back on track.  I then happened to come across an article by Ben Greenfield on How to Fix Your Gut:
http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/07/how-to-fix-your-gut/

I knew that fruit sugar probably had a sugar spike effect on me, which kick starts a high & low cycle that then leads to more craving.  But I had never heard of people having fructose/FODMAP sensitivity.  I had heard of FODMAPs before, but it sounded complicated and I never researched it.

So, I decided to drop fruit completely and am trying to limit all other sugars and foods on the FODMAP list.  After just 24 hours of doing this, I was suddenly down 4 lbs and noticed significant improvement in my digestion (less gas, if you must know). 

So I'm going to keep this up for a few days, then introduce individual low-FODMAP fruits one at a time to see which ones I can eat without issue.  I'm still going to try to keep all fruit intake to a minimum, but I want to find a sustainable level for the long term.

PR - 11 DUs

205 - WOD & Diet update

Weight is holding steady.  I'm feeling good eating paleo, not having to calorie count or put too much thought into it.  I figure if I want to get under 200 I'll have to put in some extra effort, but I'm happy maintaining right now. 

Crossfit is going well, seeing the results day by day.

Today's WOD:  (we are in a de-loading week, so lighter weights for higher reps)

Strength: push press 5x5 adding weight each set

4 RFT
8 shoulder press - 65 lbs
10 front squats - 65 lbs

 Then

3 RFT
12 wall ball sit ups - 18 lbs ball
12 PVC jump overs

Then

2 RFT
25 DUs  - I did all DUs, but I have to do a DU, single, DU,... can't quite chain DUs together yet.
15 diamond pushups - Did them all without going to my knees, but the last 5 got pretty "wormy"

TOTAL TIME:  17:06
I was last place out of the class of about 15, but I was actually proud of that since most everybody used only a bar and did single-unders.  Not knocking them, I just remember when that was me.  I'm glad to be able to push myself through a harder workout these days.

My tips for significant weight loss

On another forum, someone was asking for tips on losing a significant amount of weight.  I guess I was in the mood to do some typing, because I gave a pretty complete answer, which I thought I'd copy over to here in case I'm ever asked for my opinions on the subject again.

----------------------------
I've weighed as much as 345 and am currently at 205, so I know what it's like to try to lose a significant amount of weight.  I was also a fairly active fat guy, but the funny thing is that as you start losing a significant amount of weight, you'll look back on your current weight and say "what was I thinking?". 

I still feel like a fat guy and it takes a while to change that mind set. 

My recommendation for significantly overweight people is to keep exercise light and focus on diet.  Walking is actually perfect.  As far as diet goes, I would start out with a very limited menu, eating mostly the same thing every day (or having one or two options that you alternate between).  The problem with starting a new diet is what they call "decision fatigue".  Your willpower is drained by having to constantly make decisions about what you are eating and how you are exercising.  My keeping to a set program and limiting your food options, you reduce the number of decisions. 
Then, later into the program when it isn't a struggle to keep to the basics, you can start to get a bit more creative, but always fall back to your basic starting program if you find yourself falling off the wagon. 

Get enough sleep.  Actually, get more than you think you need.  Change your priorities so that your diet, light exercise and sleep are your main focus.  That might mean cutting out some TV time or not going out with friends for a while, so that you can get into this routine.  If you are tired, your willpower will break quickly. 

There are many ways to start a weight loss program, but I've always been a fan of just jumping in with both feet.  Figure out your diet and just starting immediately.  Drop all the fast food.  Acknowledge that the first week is going to suck and just decide to at least go hardcore for a week.  You are going to be hungry at times.  You are going to want to quit.  At the end of that week, you should feel good enough to keep going. 

Look into what a good daily calorie total for you is.  I would recommend something fairly aggressive, like 1800 per day.  Then plan out each meal and get an exact count for everything you eat.  Don't cheat, not even a little. 

You have to look at this as life and death.  If you knew a  heroin addict and they were trying to get clean, you wouldn't tell them it's ok to shoot up sometimes as long as you get back with the program tomorrow.  With obesity, it's the same thing.  It's not the calories that matter when you cheat on your diet, it's the psychological spiral and physical roller coaster (the bad food makes you feel worse, which then makes it harder to find the willpower to get back on the program). 

But, when it really comes down to it, it's a mental thing.  You have to find something inside you that you can latch onto and keep going.  For years I would get on a program like the one I described above, lose 30 or 40 lbs, then slowly put it back on.  It wasn't until my son was born 2 years ago that I was able to really look at myself and my life, and make a long term commitment.  Once I did that, it actually wasn't hard to lose 100+ lbs.  Something just changed in me and it was just a matter of putting in the time to get the work done. 

But obviously that's a difficult thing that is going to be different for everybody.  I wish you the best of luck.  It's a different world once you get to your goal weight.

Finally over flu

Went back to Crossfit yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks.  I was afraid I would cough my way through it, but once I got warmed up, I felt fine. 

200

I guess 200 was my next goal, but I won't feel like I've made it until I'm under 200

200.5

Hoping to go back to CrossFit tomorrow.  Right now I still can't take a deep breath without coughing, so we'll see. 

201.5

Finally over the flu, but still have some lingering chest congestion.  Not sure if this weight drop will hold or if it's just a temporary side effect of being sick.

203.5

Being sick is working for me

Got sick

I started feeling a bit sick on Tuesday and it probably didn't help that I'd just done the Murph.  Yesterday and today have been bad, mostly because Jenny and Owen are also sick and I was up until 5am with Owen last night.  So I think one good night of sleep will finish off this cold.

205.5

Sore and tired still from yesterday's WOD, but hopefully I recover enough for tomorrow's WOD.

"Murph" time - 66:09

Probably the hardest 66 minutes of physical activity in my life, but it felt great to finish.

I did all of the pull ups with a blue/medium band, which I was pretty happy about.  I figured I would have to go to a heavier band or maybe even jumping pull ups, but I was able to gut it out. 

The push-ups got ugly.  I didn't go to my knees, but they did get shallower and shallower as time went on.  I kept pretty good form on all of the squats.  I did stand on the edge of the mats to get a heel lift towards the 2nd half of the squats.

First linked kipping pull ups

I did my first linked/unbroken kipping pull ups.  I did 6.  This was the first WOD where I did all the pull ups without a band and I did all the DUs (I can't link those together yet, I have to go double/single/double).

skill: push ups by metronome (3 seconds down, hold 1 second, fast up, then hold 1 second at top)

strength: bench press

WOD:
10 min AMRAP ladder
(starting with 1 rep of each, then adding a rep each round)
wall ball
pull ups
KB swings
-------
10 Double Unders after each set

then 100 abmat situps to finish.

I did 6+1 rounds.

207

Had a pretty heavy leg workout yesterday, which often makes my weight go up or at least hold steady, so I was surprised at the weight loss.  I guess eating Paleo does show that wheat/dairy/etc makes me retain some weight.

Not only did I feel better working our yesterday, but I wasn't as sore as I expected today.  I was feeling energetic, so I went for a run.  Did 3 miles in about 33 minutes, which I was happy with since my legs felt dead from the start.

I need to work on the mental side of running, because I can run much faster when I focus, but I zone out and revert back to a shuffling jog.

208.5

Felt pretty good today.  I think I don't do well with too many nuts in my diet, so that first day was pretty almond heavy and that was probably the cause of my difficult transition. 

Today's WOD
skill: rope climb and then...
plank/Burpee/rope climb fartlek race

strength: OH Squat

WOD:
Bear Complex

We had to do 7 reps for 8 rounds.  Once you started the first rep, you couldn't put the bar down until you finished the 7th, and you had to add weight each round until you couldn't finish a round.  I did 7 rounds and got to a max weight of 85 lbs, but that took so long that I didn't attempt an 8th round.  It was a good high rep/low weight workout, which is what I feel I benefit most from at this point.

209 - January Paleo challenge

I ate mostly Paleo yesterday.  Didn't really feel great, but there is always an adjustment period.

210 - A lot has happened since October

I didn't realize it had been so long since I had posted here.  I had some physical issues (which I am mostly over now), had the holidays and had a new baby, so it's been a busy and distracting time.  When my daughter was born on 12/3/13, I didn't make it to Crossfit for the next 2 weeks, but I've managed to go once or twice a week since then. 

I think I was dehydrated before, so when my weight hit 202, that was kind of a false number.  I started having issues and one of the big things that has improved that is drinking more water, but my weight shot up about 5 lbs in just a couple days once I started drinking more.  I also loosened up my diet at that same time, so some of that could be inflammation or other unnecessary water weight.  But we'll see what happens when I clean the diet up and keep the water intake high, maybe some of that will drop back off quickly.  I've actually been quite happy with my weight holding at 209 to 210, considering my diet has not been great.  But it also hasn't been terrible, which is good.  One of the keys to keeping myself in shape for the long haul is improving my habits so that even when I'm "off the wagon", I'm not totally wrecking myself.

My plan is to lose 10.5 lbs in January, so I should be at 199.5.  That's a big milestone, and I got close at 202, but wasn't quite able to get over that bump.

Today's WOD:
Skill: Perfect Push Up  (did 12: 5 then 5 then 2.  We were short on time, so only had about a minute to do this)
Strength: Floor Press
10-8-5-3-1-1-1  (got up to 165)

WOD:
5 min AMRAP:
10 Push Press (65/95)
10 Box Jump
- (did 3+10 @ 95 lbs & a 20" box)

 3 min rest

3 min AMRAP:
7 Pull Ups
10 KB Swings
(did 2+15 using green (2nd heaviest) band and maybe 45lbs kettlebell)

 2 min rest

2 min max reps Back Squat (65/95)
(did 20 with 65lbs.  Still have major issues with squat form)

And here is the new baby girl

100 thrusters and about 60 burpees in 20:30

Zombie Apocalypse Run - Official time

I ran in the Zombie Apocalypse race on Saturday.  It was pretty fun and I learned a few things.  I need to be a little more confident and start farther up in the pack (at least for "fun runs", where half the people don't try very hard).  I spent much of the race just navigating around crowds of walkers. 

As far as my time, it turns out that the lead runner took a wrong turn and everybody followed him, so we ended up running about 3.5 miles.  That accounts for at least a few minutes of added time over my previous 5k runs.  Overall, I'm pretty happy with that.  The course was on dirt, gravel, corn field, etc, and had a few small hills, so it was a good little test of how I would do on unknown terrain. 

Photo Update

My hairstyle doesn't change much.

203

My weight keeps bouncing around, which is odd, but I'm expecting it to level out once I start back on my regular routine on Monday

206 -- It's been a rough month

After getting down to 203.5 (mostly due to not eating much for a few days), I went back up to 209, and have been fluctuating a lot.  When I went back to Crossfit for the first time in 2 weeks, my weight shot up, which I'm guessing is swelling from the heavy leg work.  Then the weight drops if I take a few days off. 

Either way, the weight isn't really an issue.  The last month (actually 2 months) have been difficult due to some sickness and other "health issues" that I will not go into detail on, but I think I've finally made the necessary dietary changes to resolve the problems. 

So, I'm doing a Zombie 5k this Saturday, then I'll be back to Crossfit on Monday.

5k time: 27:40

Just ran a 5k (the full route from the last Discovery Meadows 5k).  I think that is my fastest time by far, so I guess it's true that you can build endurance and running speed with Crossfit alone.  I haven't run at all in many months.  We ran 1 mile at Crossfit one time in the last 6 months or so.

First toes to bar

Got my toes to the bar for the first time.  I can't chain them together yet, but I'll get there.

155 push press

203.5

After 10 days on the road in LA, I weighed in at home and was down to 203.5.  Pretty surprising.  My eating was pretty clean and light while we were down there, and I didn't eat much on the drive back, so we'll see how much I put back on in the coming days.

209 +WOD info

Sept benchmark WOD

Bench press to 1RM 

AMRAP

5 min if each set:

2 Turkish getups & 30 DUs (60 singles)

15 push press & 15 box jumps

20 KB swings & 10 burpees

I benched 175 

On the WOD I did:

3+1

2+1

3+11

End of Paleo challenge - 210 lbs

I didn't lose much weight (down 2 lbs this month), but it looks like I put on a fair amount of muscle.  I'll try to get officially measured on Tuesday, but our home measurement shows 3/4 inch increase in arm and 1.5 inch increase in my chest.

I could see the difference too, but I'd still like to see the scale keep moving down.  I also am not used to eating so much meat, so I'm going to try juicing most of my meals the next couple days to sort of "reset" myself.  I'll keep some aspects of the Paleo diet, but I don't think it is worth trying to maintain as a permanent way of eating.

As far as the benchmark WOD goes, I added 30 lbs to my total lifts and shaved about 90 seconds off my time, so that's pretty good for just 1 month.

WOD and 115 front squat

Today's WOD:

Skill: Air Squat to the beat! (Basically 3 minutes of continuous air squats)

Strength: Front Squat 5-3-1 (ending at 95% of your 1 rep max)

WOD: 12 min AMRAP
15x Thrusters (65/95)
15x Pull Ups
For the front squat, I got up to 115, which is probably the most I've ever front squatted, but my 1 rep max would probably be around 135 (considering we had done air squats and lunges for warm up, then 3 minutes of air squats about a minute before, my legs were feeling tired, but very well warmed up).

For thrusters I used 65 lbs. 

My final score was 3+15

208.5

After this Paleo challenge is done, I think I'm going to do a fast.  I'm eating so much more meat than I'm used to, which has some benefits, but I feel like I need to give my guts a rest.

Approx 10 min mile + WOD

WOD was:

Skill: Pistol Practice

Strength: Push Press 5-3-1

WOD: 21 min AMRAP

9x Push Press (65/95/135)

9x T2B

9x Ring Dips

• At 3 minutes: Run 1 mile

• At 17 minutes: Run 400m

I did 4+9

Did the mile in about 10 minutes

Kipping pull-up

Did my first real kipping pull-up yesterday.  No bands and no jumping.  I hit the underside of my chin pretty hard on the bar, so I know I got high enough. I've been close for a couple weeks, so it didn't feel like a big deal, but it's nice to see concrete proof of progress.  

209

Had food poisoning yesterday, so this drop in weight might just be dehydration

210

Over the last 9 days I went up to 212 and then back down.  I do feel stronger, so I think the Paleo diet had been good for that, but it's not making the weight fall off.  It also seems like I've felt worse more often (both physically and mentally), but it's hard to gauge that since I've always had good and bad weeks.  

Eating strictly Paleo definitely isn't helping with that though.  I'm going to finish out the month, but I'm certainly not sold on this being an ideal way to live.

 

Paleo + raw milk

I didn't notice any benefits from a week of strict Paleo, and actually felt worse most of the time.  And I didn't lose any weight.  So I added raw milk back in and felt great today.  Hard to know how much of that is psychological or coincidental, but who cares.  

Apparently some people argue that raw milk is Paleo, so I guess I'll be one of those people.

210

I felt bad the first day of the Paleo diet, but I think I was trying to eat too much protein.  I went grocery shopping and have some better options now.  I'm still not 100% sold on Paleo, but I'm feeling normal now.  I have been constantly hungry since I started, even though I feel like I'm getting around the same calories, so maybe it has upped my metabolism.  I'm going to stay on it strictly for a few more days, then maybe add back in raw milk (since I'm already paying for it anyway and it arguably allowed in Paleo diets)

Body comp Crossfit challenge

1 rep max on:

Back squat

Shoulder Press

Deadlift

Then WOD:
3 Rounds for Time of...
400m run
40 air squats
30 ab mat situps
20 pushups
10 ring rows

My final results...