Caveman Good

Eight weeks ago I changed up my workout routine to more of a circuit style..three or four different exercises back to back and then rest...four weeks ago I changed up my diet to more of a Paleo style....which I adhere to except for Saturday evening which I use as a reload meal....and of course beer (lite) on Saturday and Sunday....I am fully convinced that cavemen had beer..fully convinced!

On May 5th I weighed in at 223 and this morning I tipped the scale at 208..so 15lbs in a month not a bad May. The next question is do I leave to 200's and lose me Clydesdale status for my next triathlon?

New Years Resolutionists

are gone..... We are 27 days into the "New Year" and my gym is for the most part EMPTY. Possibly since I live in Florida everyone is already slim, trim & beautiful and myself and a select few have at our disposal a fully equipped (PURPLE) gym. Even the red-shirted trainers have been standing around more and more this past week.

On a brighter note I got on the scale this morning and I met half of my January goal, to be under 220 lbs the other half is to remain below that number for the month of February. Even with a hearty serving of Wings with TNT Man the other day I managed to still drop some weight....... It's going to be a great weekend, some lifting, some running, some swimming and some biking.

The Clydesdale Division

The Clydesdale Division......apparently I'm a "Clydesdale" (This was my stripper name back in the day.....) any racer over 200lbs can register for this triathlon race division. Hopefully I'll be competing against some "Super Clydesdale's" or "Mega-Clydesdale's".
I'm down about 8 lbs since changing up my lifting from a Strength template to more of a Fat Loss template that and I've dropped the beer drinking (for now). I'm guessing by April I'll be under 210 lbs.

It's Sunday......

Somewhat MIA this week, both from posting on here as well as the 52DC forum...
It was just one of those weeks. I managed to get in 3 solid RT's as well as 2 CT's totaling 6.63 miles. I had to late week meeting, one ended up at PF Changs, I never knew that you could create a 1000 calorie chicken plate without using breading.....It was a good meal.



I got a small surprise from the scale mid-week...211.2. Down from 236/237 during the last week of 2010. I should be able to hit 210 by Warrior Dash time. This weigh in was before the whole PF Changs nightmare and my planned Saturday cheat day.



My TNT Diet Book arrived yesterday and I've skimmed through it and it's not that far off from how I'm currently eating. I still need to drop my carbs more and increase my healthy fat intake. I'll need to concentrate on the "Muscle Building Zone" and do a better job of feeding the furnace after my workout.

The book cost me less than $9.00 with shipping..If this whole TNT diet thing doesn't workout I figure for the amount of recipes that the book contains I bought a pretty decent cookbook for $9.00. The exercises don't appear to be anything ground breaking as I must have 5 or 6 of the Men's Health exercise book.

Accomplishments week of 4/2

This past week
I replaced roadwork cardio with DVD cardio, not a bad choice
Got in 4 resistance training sessions
Lost 1.6 pounds
I managed to drop my carbs to under 80 grams per day



The scale showed 212.6 this morning, not a bad way to start the weekend. I'm going to chalk it up to the Cardio DVD's and the drop in carb consumption. I should be below 210 by the end of the challenge.



I dug out my old GymBoss timer the other day and began using it for intervals, planks and rest times between sets....I forgot how handy this thing can be.




The food of the week Gardein Beefless Tips Package. They were 2 for 1 at Publix....yes I'm a bargain shopper. I cooked them in garlic and low sodium Soy Sauce, not bad tasting. 150 calories, 8 grams of carbs & 18 grams of protein all in 3/4 of a cup and yes I ate the whole bag.

On a lighter note I managed to snag my wife with a great Aprils Fools prank. I made a fake hollow roll of toilet paper. When she went to pull the toilet paper off of the roll she was greeted with a nice April Fools message. It worked like a champ.....

No One Wants To Eat What I Eat

This morning I drank my normal morning morning shake while I made breakfast for everyone, I got cleaned up stepped on the scale and........I lost a few oz's.....Food was within 10 or 15 calories of the day before no there was no major calorie deficiency so how could I have possibly lost weight? Note the sarcasm in that sentence, could it be the types of food that I'm eating instead of solely that number of calories...Hmmmm



Breakfast consisted of one whole egg, 1/2 cup of egg whites, peppers, frozen spinach and some leftover ground beef....so how come no one wants to partake in that for breakfast? I think I lose them at the ground beef with the eggs.
Roughly 300 calories, 6.5 grams of carbs and somewhere around 30 grams of protein, not a bad way to get the morning going. Tonight chicken on the grill some lentils and a salad....salad, really what's the use?


I've been enjoying this latest workout template, mostly from the book Power Training, it's a book I've had for years and so many of Coach Dos's workouts seem to help me shed
weight.


I bought a Bob Harper DVD at Sam's a few weeks ago and had never taken the time to run through it...damn 40 minutes into the 60 minute workout I was done....I even did it without weights. I must have something to do with weighing 160lbs and not 213.6.

Accomplishments week of 3/26

This past week
Spent time in Jacksonville, FL
Got in close to 18 miles of cardio
Got in 3 resistance training sessions
Lost 1.8 pounds


Again the scale was kind this week, dropping 1.8lbs for the week including a major breakfast screw up, I'll just call it a "Metabolism Adjustment". Three days on the road this week and I really didn't get near enough food into my system....then you add in all of the exercise it's no wonder that I lost weight and I'm sure some muscle along with those pounds. Dropping the carbs is working I'm going to continue on getting the total carbs down closer to 50 grams each day.

Calories 1,571

Fat 59.3 grams 34%

Carbohydrate 100.4 grams 26 %

Protein 155.8 grams 41%

Hump Day

Got on the scale this morning to a surprising 214, down from 217 on last Wednesday
The major change is the diet and particularly in the area of carbs and types of carbs. I've gone from approx 150 grams per day down to 100 grams per day and I've replaced the brown rice with the lentils and black beans. I'm trying to eat most carbs early in the day and after I workout.



Post workout breakfast this morning - egg, egg whites, frozen spinach and fresh peppers and about 1/2 cup lentils.
The water intake has also increased, as much as I dislike water I forcing myself to drink 96 ozs per day......Believe me it keeps you alert looking for rest stops on long drives.

The new workout template really seems to test my endurance, it's been a few years since I've done dumbbell complexes as a warm-up and the kettlebell swings as a finisher manages to send the heart-rate towards the higher numbers.

I've managed close to 15 miles since Sunday, which for someone who is not a "runner" sucks. I have no idea how anyone ever ran or jogged before WalkMans and iPods.......if I didn't have something to listen while running I'm sure that I would get lost in my thoughts and run into a telephone pole.

M.I.A. .......not really......

It's been a very busy last week, but I've managed to exercise almost everyday since the challenge ended including 15+ miles of walking/running.
I've signed up for another Warrior Dash...... and can't wait for that weekend to arrive..this time "More Beer"



Starting last Monday I've done all that I can to cut as many carbs out of my diet that I possibly can...by the end of the week I had dropped 3lbs. Around Christmas time I was at 236, 10 weeks later 213, maybe I will stop snoring now.

Along with dropping the amount of carbs that I've been eating I've traded brown rice for black beans...lets see if the rest of the household appreciates this change as much as I do. I've also been drinking more WATER.......Ugh as much as I try I just have a hard time sipping on water all day.

Accomplishments week of 2/18

Slow on posting the weeks results, it's been a crazy weekend, lots of projects.


This past week
Spent time in Boca Raton, FL, Orlando, FL & Miami, FL
Got in over 18 miles of cardio
Got in 3 resistance training sessions
Lost 3 pounds

I would love to break through into the 215's this week...lets see if it happens.


This last week I chose not to track my foods. Why you might ask? Because after 6 weeks of doing I was at the point that most breakfast, lunch and snacks were the same, the calories were the same, the carb - fat - protein ratio was the same so that left me with just really being concerned with what I was eating for dinner. I've done my numbers for the 40-4-40 and all that's left is to get in is my CE's this week.
I've been looking over the excerpts from 4 Hour Body Book and finally decided to shell out the $14.00 for a copy of my own. Tim has a blog and like most in the online, internet fitness folks it's full of all kinds of marketing hype but inside there is a bunch of free useful information. This morning I built a T-Bar for kettlebell swings for under $10.00...the idea came from Tim's site. I'll post the pics and the link later.

A New Low

Not a bad way to start a Tuesday!

Accomplishments week of 2/11

This past week
Spent time in Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC & Bonita Springs, FL
Barely did 4.5 miles of cardio
Got in 2 resistance training sessions
Lost 1.2 pounds

hSaw a nice number on the scale this morning, I'm down 13lbs since the start of the 52DC. My eating really suffered this week. I think I drank 4 or 5 Muscle Milks, 4 bags of Pork Rinds and probably 5 bags of Beef Jerky....it was one of those weeks where my food choice seemed to be Fast Food or something quick from a convenience store....My Mom and Dad did feed my Fajita's on Monday night...it's always good to share a meal or two with them.

Accomplishments week of 2/4

This past week
Spent time in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale & St. Petersberg FL
Survived the "Warrior Dash"
Again just shy of 14 miles of cardio
Got in 3 resistance training sessions
Broke through the 220lb mark

219.6 was not that bad of a way to start a Sunday morning.

The Warrior Dash and it's death defying fire pit leap captured by SportPhoto and for the low, low price of $52.00 I can have all of my muddy memories to cherish forever.











The finish lines' Muddy Mayhem did in my warrior cap...Ugh I had a few Spring formal events on the horizon and that hat would've completed the ensemble.

Accomplishments week of 1/28

This Past Week
I didn't travel
I didn't have any beer - some whiskey
Lost a CE last night to wings
Gained close to a pound
13 miles of cardio
Started a new workout template that I actually like



221.2 ahhh the mighty scale displaying my hearty wing fest from last night.
Not that concerned, I'm sure between the salt in the wings and the 4 or 5 Diet Cokes that washed them down it's a well deserved gain.






I need to get the calories up more, more almonds, peanut butter more calories dense foods. I'm burning 3000 calories per week on exercise alone I can afford to add some calories.

Accomplishments week of 1/21

This Past Week
2 trips out of town (Tampa FL, Baltimore MD)
Saw snow for the second time this year
Had 2 beers last Saturday
Lost 3 CE's this week (Beer, Italian food on Tuesday and wings last night)
Lost 11lbs since Jan-5

Managed to only drop 1 lb this week - I'm sure this is a reflection of only lifting one day this week instead of 3 as opposed to the loss of the 3 CE's.

Nutrition Breakdown

Grams	Calories
Calories	1,836
Fat	85.2
Saturated	25.9
Polyunsaturated	14.0
Monounsaturated	32.1
Carbohydrate	90.5
Dietary Fiber	19.9
Protein	170.0
Alcohol	0.0

My carb intake is way below my goal and so are the calories, which is not good because I know how my body will react as it adapts to the lesser caloric intake -----I hold onto fat and lose muscle mass.

Today will be spent working in the yard with a RT and some slosh pipe work in the afternoon.

Accomplishments week of 1/14

This Past Week
3 nights out of town (Tampa FL, Nashville TN & Port Charlotte FL)
Saw snow for the first time this year
Still no beer
Lost 10lbs since Jan-5


11 days into the Winter 52DC and here's where I stand.....The Clean Eats (CE) are going as planned. The Resistance Training (RT) & Cardio Training (CT) numbers are ahead of schedule but I'm really concentrating on getting the exercise in whenever I have the time.
The 40-4-40 is a reflection of the CT's & RT's. The Warrior Dash (Mud, Sweat & Beer.....baby) isn't till the end of the month and this morning I hit my weight loss goal.

I decided to change my weigh in day to coincide with my weekly accomplishment post.

221.4 was what greeted me one the scale this morning! After all these years I've learned at least one thing about my body and it is the relationship between carbs and weight gain and weight loss.....The goal has been to keep the carbs somewhere around 150 grams, using FitDay this has been repetitively easy and I can see a daily, weekly and monthly breakdown of my calories, nutrition and weight..

Jan 10

Weigh in Monday...down 6 pounds for the week. I'm sure most of it was the "Holiday Bloat" leaving my body aka....no beer for the last couple of weeks.
Managed another Biggest Loser Power Walk session this morning before the workday started and then ended the day with a mile walk next to my wife. Tuna Tuesday is up next..Have a great evening.

Jan 5

Today begins the Winter 52DC, and I weighed in at 231.6 a mere .4 lbs less than I weighed at the beginning of the last challenges....the holidays were very, very good to me! At first the scale showed "One At A Time Please" and just look at those little toes it's no wonder that I have no balance..

Participants have posted their goals and they range from limiting alcohol/soda, reading books and going to church.....to posting body composition pictures, to no nail biting.....it covers the gamut.

I've decided on 3 Personal Goals
40-4-40 - 40 minutes of exercise for 40 of the 52 days
Warrior Dash - Participate in the Warrior Dash on 1/30
Lose 10 lbs - self explanatory.
I got an early morning 40 minute resistance training in and then hit the road North to Orlando then across the state to Sarasota. Unpacked my suitcase threw on my sneakers and shorts and headed out for an evening stroll. Runkeeper told me I walked for 41 minutes...so that's 2 of my 40-4-40's out of the way.
I've been using FitDay to track my food intake, this strategy has always worked for me...inspect what you expect.
Food breakdown
Fats 35%
Carbs 27%
Protein 38%
One thing that I've learned from all the years of exercise is that my body does not react kindly to lots and lots of carbs, (Isn't beer high in carbs?) unless I'm bulking then my body is very happy....so next Monday I'll post another weigh in picture and we'll just see if the FitDay strategy pays off again.