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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Trend Graphs January


Now that's a fair image, hopefully clicking on it makes it even larger. That red line that's bouncing around a bit is my actual weight from my daily morning weigh ins. The smoother yellow line is the one I pay attention to. That's the trend of my weight.. am i gaining, am I losing and how quickly.

So far.. so good. I haven't pulled together the whole "since I started losing weight" graph yet.. perhaps over the weekend. edit, or maybe I can come up with something faster

Food..

Reading through lots of other blogs by people trying to lose weight and I notice that pretty much everybody mentions something about food. That's something I'm still trying to figure out.

My basic approach has been to follow the The Hacker Diet methodology of daily weigh ins on a spreadsheet that averages several days of weights to create a trend line. The philosophy is that any single time you weigh yourself, it is prone to error. Even if you weigh yourself at the exact same time of day, buck naked ever time, your water consumption, hormonal shifts and many too many other things can change you weight. Therefore, single weigh in's, especially daily ones can be a pretty disheartening way to track your progress.

Yet, if you average them, you get a pretty clear trend to indication if your weight is going up down, or staying about the same. (I finally spent a little time playing with Open Office's graphing so I'll see if I can post my January actual weight vs trend line)

When I started, I made minimal changes and checked what my trend line was doing for a week or so. Then I started taking things out of my diet that didn't need to be there. 2 to 3 can's of Mountain Dew once I got to work (Hello vending machine) (approximately 170 calories * 3) replaced with a cup of coffee instead (black, no cream, no sugar) (Approximately 1 calorie per oz, so for my coffee mug, 12 calories) I cut out my work, afternoon break, milky way bar (more than 117 calories) , and my before work stop at Caribou (Large Mint condition, 559 calories).

That actually didn't cause as much of a downward trend as you might think. And that's because prior to cutting those out my trend line was going upward.

That was my starting change, and I've slowly changed that. I'm living in a one bedroom apartment with my two cats, so my fridge is umm... bachelor like. With a slight odd variation because there is a natural foods type co-op less than a block away. So I've been adding more friuts and vegetables as well as whole grains.

A couple weeks ago I finally started adding in more lean meats. I have concluded that Pollack is not something I enjoy eating.. I'm sure there are wonder methods of preparing it, but the last time my oven had something other than a pizza in it.. umm.. I'm not sure I can remember. Microwave, and my George Foreman grill are my current methods of food prep. So lime juice and salt are not sufficient seasoning to make pollack palatable.

I think chicken breasts, salmon, and possibly lean cuts of beef (I don't know of anyplace i can get goat at a reasonable price) will be my main proteins.


As of last night, I've added pears, oranges, dried cranberries and dried blueberries to my diet, along with replacing my "normal" snack of pretzels with walnuts and soybeans (Can you tell I found one of the myriad links to the list of SuperFoods?)

I doubt I will ever actually count the calories I do eat (instead of just making note of the calories I am no longer eating) because that's just not in my nature. Yes, I have a PDA, yes, I could download the food list application from the Hacker's diet website, but it's just a level of organization and forethought that goes against the grain for me. Techweenie or no, I am good at viewing problems from two possible view points.. I see neither forest or trees. I see multi-forests (odd connections between groups and business areas is a job specialty) and I see bark. (I get lost in the details sometimes to the detriment of my overall task schedule). I see calorie counting as more of a tree thing.

Oh... and I am not sure if it's a guy thing or a me thing.

Yes, I can and do eat the same thing for several days in a row. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

No this does not make me feel deprived. It makes me feel like I know what will leave me satisfied at the end of the day and have what overall effect on my weight.

Diets that try to switch things up to keep it interesting? Ummm.. thanks but that just leaves me staring at the choices in my fridge/freezer, unable to decide which I'm going for.

Monday, January 29, 2007

Why we do this..

I created a workout/weight loss specific blog because I ran across Mr. Greg Todd from a link in Fark (or more appropriately TotalFark because I'm not sure if that ever got over to the main page).

I'd been tracking my workouts in my normal LiveJournal but that was a hodgepodge of my normal occasional rant/flight of fancy that slowly got taken over by my workouts. Time to let that get back to "normal" in time for the next presidential election cycle and move over here for exercise, etc.

I've been using Greg's link section to jump off and read other people's stories as well, and there seems to be a rather huge community of us out here blogging on this same subject. All at varying levels of fitness and weight and all at varying levels of success.

So why is that.. we're vying for our 15 minutes in the spotlight?

Maybe, but I don't think that's the primary motivation. The primary reason we're putting ourselves out here in this fashion is personal accountability. Even if no one ever reads this blog (or if no one ever comments on this blog, which amounts to the same thing from my side of the screen), I know it's here. I know that if I skip a day of calisthenics, or I don't do my cardiovascular workout on a day I am 'supposed to', it's going to end up published right here.

Because I made that commitment to myself.

Am i going to honor that commitment? Well, the only way you'll know that is to keep on reading. (Or, if you happened upon this blog and the current date is sometime in 2008 and this is still the most recent post in the blog, the answer would be "no".) :D

I am fairly confident that the commitment to post is one I can keep.

I'm only slightly less confident about the commitment to get in shape and maintain that level of fitness for the rest of my life.

Why is that? I've got a couple friends who think it's because i have iron will power.

Ummm.. no.

What is driving me to make this change, and gives me confidence that I will achieve it is simple. My desire to change is stronger than my desire to stay on the same path I am on.

So.. I'm no longer a smoker.

And most likely, even at this moment in time I am in better shape than i have been in at least a decade, most likely two.

And reaching my goal is getting harder. I've been bobbing up and down around the 195 lb (88.5 kg) mark for most of this month. And even less to my liking, my body fat percentage keeps hanging around the 20 percent mark. That means that approximately 40 pounds of my 195 pounds is fat. Now I only really show fat in two areas.. my love handles/spare tire and my butt.

I'm not completely confident about my scale's ability to give me an accurate reading on that front because I absolutely know I have added muscle (I'm doing more push ups with about the same difficulty as I had) and looking in the mirror I'm seeing greater definition which should mean less fat.

None the less, if I keep on this track, I should be able to nudge that percentage down as my weight continues to decrease and my strength continues to build. I could be wrong, but my view of the situation says that is the only logical outcome.

The other "why do we do this" which seems to strike the general population as odd. The glowing terms that we (those attempting to lose weight and get more fit) use for what we're doing. Some seem to think we're attempting to win converts to the cause, or even to our specific method of weight loss.

Maybe to one degree, in that one person who succeeds wants others to succeed as well, so they will suggest the method that works for them (You'll likely see me pointing folks toward The Hacker Diet or at least the exercise portion of it) but another reason is very selfish. Being upbeat about successes, no matter how small, reinforces our own desire to continue that success. My sounding pumped about getting heavier hand weights for my cardiovascular workout makes it more likely that I will actually go out and buy them. I couldn't care less if you read this and do the same, I'm making the suggestion for myself, and I may end up deciding it was a silly idea some weeks/months down the road.

Workouts ... Week beginning 29-Jan-2007

Workout 29-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:48:46
Time In Zone 0:45:57

Watch calculated limits: 127- 156
Average Heart Rate 150
KCal/Fat: 711/40%

7 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark

Workout 30-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Workout 31-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:48:58
Time In Zone 0:46:04

Watch calculated limits: 127- 156
Average Heart Rate 149
KCal/Fat: 709/40%

7 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark

Workout 01-Feb

Morning Calisthenics

Workout 02-Feb

Morning Calisthenics (Well, in the afternoon)

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:49:23
Time In Zone 0:47:01

Watch calculated limits: 127 - 156
Average Heart Rate 150
KCal/Fat: 723/40%

7 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark

Workout 03-Feb

Morning Calisthenics

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:50:31
Time In Zone 0:46:27

Watch calculated limits: 132 - 156
Average Heart Rate 148
KCal/Fat: 714/45%

7 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark

Workout 03-Feb

Morning Calisthenics

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Odd workout..

Saturdays, being my only cardiovascular workout day that doesn't have a rest day in front of it are usually paced a little slower. So my calisthenics are one group at a time, rest, then another group. Until it's time for the cardiovascular then I gotta hit it all at once.

So first, my Polar Heart monitor watch which threw me for a bit of a loop by bringing the bottom end of my target zone up to 144 a little over a week ago. Now, today it decides to drop down to 127, which is below where it's been in along time. Part of me was tempted to take things easy and go with the flow but then I remembered my own post. About Challenging myself.

As you can see by my average heart rate, I did pretty well at staying at the challenging level. It's more difficult because there's less indication that I'm slowing down.

I thought about changing the watch target zone from automatic to manual to move it back up, but that's not in the spirit of how I want to be using it. I'm the techweenie, I use technology to help me achieve things and I am going to let this piece of technology do it's thing.

And I think I'm also going to hit Target in the next couple weeks and pick up some hand weights. Maybe something like these so I can keep it challenging. I've tried my heaviest juggling balls, but their 4.4 pound weight along with their size make them too much of a challenge right now. But eventually I will need more weight than 2 pounds per hand which I'm using right now.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Workouts ... Week beginning 22-Jan-2007

Workout 22-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:49:31
Time In Zone 0:45:41

Watch calculated limits: 144 - 156
Average Heart Rate 149
KCal/Fat: 717/55%

6 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark

Workout 23-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Workout 24-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:48:55
Time In Zone 0:45:49

Watch calculated limits: 144 - 156
Average Heart Rate 149
KCal/Fat: 708/55%

7 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark (Well, 6 the first two then I decided to kick it up a notch)

Workout 25-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Workout 26-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:51:14
Time In Zone 0:46:43

Watch calculated limits: 144 - 156
Average Heart Rate 150
KCal/Fat: 752/50%

7 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark


Workout 27-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Cardiovascular:
Time exercising.. 0:48:42
Time In Zone 0:46:00

Watch calculated limits: 127- 156
Average Heart Rate 148
KCal/Fat: 693/40%

7 Chin ups on each 10 minute mark

Workout 28-Jan

Morning Calisthenics

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Workout schedule..

I already covered my daily calisthenics in my previous post.. so every single day I get Bend & Bounces, Push Ups, Sit ups, and Raises, running in place and Jumping Jacks..

I am adding a little bit to those because I like customizing things..

For push ups, I got myself push up bars, so I'm raised a little further off the floor and I get a better range of motion. Upper body strength is a major weak point for me. As a kid I certainly rode my bike hither and yon, I ran around a lot and even through college I ran a bit and I danced at least once or twice a week. But nothing for upper body development. Well, juggling, but until I started actually buying heavier juggling balls, that wouldn't qualify as much of a workout. Push ups are definitely my major nemesis when it comes to working out.

For sit ups, I have a stability ball, and I use a couple of my heaviest juggling balls (2 kg each), so I have 4 kg (8.8 lbs) in my hands as I lay back on the stability ball and do my sit ups. As with my push ups that gives me a greater range of motion. I can definitely feel it.

I also do a cardio workout 4 days a week. I'd been doing 30 minutes of cardio 3 days a week before i started the daily calisthenics, so it felt like I would be cheating if I counted my running in place/jumping jack time, since that was part of my calisthenics time in my 30 minutes. Using my Polar heart rate monitor, I just decided my running in place was about 10 minutes so I needed my cardio days to be 40 minutes including that.

As my customization of my cardio.. I got myself a chin up bar. Every 10 minutes of cardio means i take a break and do 6 chin ups. That many always pushes me over my cardio target range, but it comes back down pretty quick.

I've tended to do one post a week with the statistics my watch gathers.. then I edit that post each workout and add to it. Hopefully if/when I end up with a reader or two, that'll be easier for them to see what I'm doing.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Welcome..

Hi there.. yes, this is the obligatory introductory post. an obligatory picture or two will follow once I get around to uploading them and setting up an account on one of the various services that let you upload pictures (not necessarily in that order)

I'm debating whether to backfill my workout posts from my other journal, or just start fresh here. At this moment I'm inclined toward starting fresh.

I made a major change to my life in 2006. For my 41st birthday, I quit smoking. I had smoked a pipe since I was in college. I started smoking with cigarettes. I didn't like the taste, and rather than choosing the sensible course of "Well, maybe I won't smoke then", I tried cigars. I found some cigars I liked but couldn't afford those that I enjoyed the flavor of. So, I settled on the same source of nicotine that my father did before me. A pipe.

And for 20 plus years that was a huge part of my identity. But, along with other signs of getting older, I recognized that smoking was interfering with my efforts to get back into shape.

My Dad quit smoking in his 60s. Now I know that being in your 60s today isn't anything like being in your 60s was 20 years ago. Thanks to modern medical science and lots of learning about what makes us tick, 60s aren't the end.. they are for many people a new beginning. None the less I couldn't shake the feeling that if you're going to quit smoking you should do it when you're still young enough to enjoy the benefits.

Well, ideally that would have been about a decade ago, before my metabolism slowed down and I stopped fitting into my 32w, 32l 501 jeans. But that didn't happen. I was going to quit for my 40th birthday, but I had a storm of wonderful stress producers fall from the sky and into my lap a couple months before that birthday and I decided that trying to quit on top of the rest was a road map to failure. I didn't want to quit and fail. I wanted to quit and be done.

So i worked through those stress producing months, and I kept to an on/off workout schedule, trying to get into better shape whether I was still smoking or not.

Now, 2007 has rolled around and for the first time since 1985 I didn't light up a smoke on New years day. Instead I have marked the beginning of my 6th month as an ex-smoker.

My workouts have been a part of my life since 2003, I'm not even sure what the inspiration was at the moment, but it certainly didn't become a constant thing. I'd workout for a few months and something would interrupt my workout schedule. Sometimes I would get back to it, and sometimes I wouldn't for several months.

Releasing myself from my daily nicotine dependence has changed that. because about 2 1/5 months after my last dose of nicotine I discovered that many smokers discover when the become ex-smokers.

As of the middle of October 2006, I weighed more than I have ever weighed in my entire life.

On the grand scale of things being 6 foot tall and 210-220 pounds isn't a terrible thing. In the United States I could certainly walk down the street and be considered of at most average weight/size. But it sure as heck wasn't average for me. In American culture men don't usually worry as much about their weight as much as women do. We're not surrounded by as many cultural messages that we need to be thinner, we need to be taller, we need to be thinner, etc. That's slowly changing, not in the lessening of such messages for women, but in the increase in those messages for men.

For me, the first trauma was having to buy pants with a 34 inch waist, then a 35 inch waist, and finally settling in at a 36 inch waist, then after I started working out in 2003, back to a 35 inch waist.

So when I saw my weight in October 2006, there is no way I will buy 38 inch waist pants. No way, not gonna happen.

I ventured over to a website by John Walker, founder of Autodesk, called The Hacker's Diet because I had found it months before from a posting on Fark and forwarded it on to a friend at work who'd just started to try and lose weight.

His approach to weight loss made a lot of sense to me and while I'm not really up for counting calories, his idea of exercise and his approach to measuring your weight loss both worked for me.

So, that's what I started doing. I started myself on rung 10 of the "introductory ladder" and have not missed a single day since. I'm currently at rung 30, getting ready to move up to rung 31. I paced myself by the method he specified.. what rung of the ladder can I complete in about 15 minutes.

And I started weighing myself. Every single morning.

So far I'm down about 12-13 pounds. Which is about the pace I was looking for. When it came to the holidays I decided all I really wanted was to keep a holding action.

Now I'm back on track for slow, maintainable weight loss.

Welcome to my journey.. we'll see where it goes.