Before and After Pics 2.0

I posted some before and after pictures on September 13 of last year. That is the most popular blog post of all so I just wanted to update it a little bit.

Here is the original before picture (Beginning of February, about 1 month in; ~195-200 lbs.):

Here is the one from last September (about 8 months in; 167 lbs.):

Here is the most recent from my lowest weight yet, 155 lbs.:

Not a crazy amount of weight loss but I'm getting to the point where there is not much more to lose. I'm still following pretty much the original diet; using a lot of the recipes I have posted on here. I am still using mostly the same exercise plan that used leading up to my duathlon and half-marathon; that's seems to be what helped me break my plateau of weight-loss. When I was a freshman in high-school, I remember that my weight on my physical for soccer was 154 lbs. so I'm right where I was as a 14 year-old.

People keep asking me where I'm going to go from here and the answer is...I'm not really sure as far as weight loss goes. I'm not really pushing to lose any more weight but if I can shed a couple more pounds of body fat I would be cool with that. The truth is that I'm comfortable with my current diet and lifestyle and don't really feel like I'm sacrificing too much; and I really like how I look and feel right now. But where to go from here...I want to keep challenging myself; so marathon, triathlons, maybe half- or full-ironman eventually. I want to be in the kind of condition where I won't be too intimidated by anything, so I guess that's where I want to go from here. If you have any suggestions of how I can challenge myself, I'm open to any thoughts.

Recipe #10: Home-made Pinto Beans

In an earlier post I had a "recipe" for pintos. But this just involved using canned beans and adding stuff to them. For the last couple of months, I have been making pintos from scratch, two pounds of dry beans at a time. I developed the recipe using a method that my mom found online (no pre-soak required). My final mix of seasonings has been constantly evolving but this is my current blend; my favorite so far.

Ingredients: 2 lbs. dried pinto beans, 3-4 quarts of water, 3 minced jalapeno/serrano peppers,  4 tbsp. canola oil, 2 tbsp. salt, 1 tbsp. garlic powder, 1 tbsp. sugar (or sugar substitute),  1 tsp. red pepper flake, 1 tsp. Old Bay

1. Rinse dried beans well and place in a large pot.
2. Add the water to the pot of beans; make sure it covers the beans by at least a couple of inches.
3. Put the pot over high heat, covered and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for a couple of hours.
4. When the beans are the proper texture, it's time to add all of the other ingredients. Stir well and bring back to a boil, uncovered.
5. After about 10 minutes, check the consistency of the liquid and once it is as thick as you like, turn off the heat and let the beans cool.
6. Stir occasionally while the beans cool, otherwise they will develop a film on top.

 This will make 6-8 servings of beans and this, with some chow chow, is my lunch pretty much every day (along with a can of green beans).

Turning them into Refried beans: 
Turning normal pintos into refried beans is really simple. Over a skillet on medium-high heat, put in a tablespoon of oil and a teaspoo of minced garlic and let garlic become fragrant. Add some beans to the skillet, add a teaspoon of cumin and mash with a spoon while they cook. Once they are a heated and the right consistency,  they are ready.

50 lbs. lost!

I have lost 50 lbs. since starting to change my life less than a year-and-a half ago!

Starting status: 207 lbs. ~ 30% body-fat

Current status: 157 lbs. ~ 7.6% body-fat!

 

First Half-Marathon Results

Last Sunday I raced in my first ever half-marathon. (My third race of any kind, following my first 5k and my first duathlon). 13.1 miles of what would hopefully be running. I ran in the RunRaleigh which started and finished at Cameron Village shopping center in Raleigh, NC, just a few miles from where I live. It started at 7 am which seems to be the norm for these kinds of events but getting out there and running and doing anything active that early is kind of a shock to the system. Everything went okay and I'm happy with my results.

Preparation
I had been training for this half-marathon as well as the duathlon that I raced the week before so I had been doing a lot of running and biking. If I had just been training for one, then I think it probably would have helped my results but then playing soccer 2-3 times a week also didn't allow for total focus on any of the events either. But I'm essentially doing these to challenge myself and for fun so quitting other activities is not really in the cards. I generally tried to get in one "long" run every week leading up to the half; so like a run 5-7 miles, as well as my other running and biking. I did one run of 10 miles but that's as long as I went. The week of the race I kept on normal pace except I just took rest days on the 2 days prior to the event (except for the soccer game I played the night before; more on that later). I've still been following my same diet and didn't really change it until right before the race. The day before was a binge day so I could have eaten anything but I did the same chicken and brown rice dish that I had done the week before and at turkey sausage and brown rice for breakfast the next morning. Going back to the soccer game; in order to get rid of the lactic acid from my legs after the soccer game I took an ice bath. Essentially, I put 20 lbs. of ice in the bathtub and soaked my legs for 15 minutes; it sucked but seemed to work.

Good ole' number 2124

Race Day and Race
Got up at 5:45 and ate breakfast. I had prepped all of my clothes and everything the night before so getting ready didn't take long at all and then I drove the 4 miles over to the race site. When I got there, I went through warm-ups and stretches and just tried to pass the time until it started. 

Once the race started, I just went at my normal comfortable pace and was feeling good. I was worried about going too fast and not being able to finish strong but this didn't up being the case. I was passed by hundreds of people even though I didn't start near the front but I knew that it was a long race. Starting around mile 6-7 my legs and feet started to noticeably hurt but I expected that too. It certainly wasn't unbearable but definitely uncomfortable. I never had any problem with my lungs, just with my legs but had to power through it. The race course went north from shopping center, came back by it and then turned toward downtown Raleigh on Western Blvd. where you ran all the way over towards southeast Raleigh and came back. For the most part, it was pretty flat. Eventually, I felt like I was picking up my pace (about mile 10) and started passing a lot of people. The biggest hill of the whole event was in the final mile and I was able pass a bunch of people there as well and even pick up my speed even more as a saw the finish line. So I was able to run the whole way and felt pretty okay afterwards as well.

Results
Time: 2:04:08
Time/mile: 9:29/mile
Place: 390 out of 909 overall finishers (42%)
           227 out of 361 men
           37 out of 52 25-29 year old men
           Overall Results

And............MEDALIST!!!!!!!!!

It was exactly like getting a participation trophy for playing sports when you were a kid; except now you knew why you got it. It will have a special place to sit next to my 2004 City of Raleigh Dodgeball Championship Trophy.

So, I didn't finish so great but I did run the whole way and beat my goal going in. There are a lot of people that are in pretty good shape around the area. Overall I was really proud of myself and completing in the event and I'm now looking forward to my next challenge for once soccer season is over. Maybe a true triathlon; will just have to work on my swimming. 

Here's some pictures from the finish line:

Duathlon Results

I haven't posted for a bit. I'm not really sure why. I have cooked many new recipes and had new successes recently and will post about them soon. But today is about my duathlon that I completed this last weekend. This is an event that is like a triathlon but the swim is replaced by a run so it goes run-bike-run. The particular event that I competed in was the Cary Short Course Duathlon that was a 2.5 mile run, a 17.65 mile bike, and a 2.5 mile run to finish.

Preparation
I had been running and biking daily over the month leading up to the event. I was also preparing for a half-marathon at the same time (which I'm running this weekend). I rode many 30 mile rides and continued my typical weekly schedule of running, 10+ miles per week and was feeling pretty confident going in. This increased amount of physical activity along with some tweaked nutrition got my weight down to a new low, 159 lbs. with 8.8% body fat. The only way I changed my diet additionally for the duathlon was to add some rice into my meal plan the night and morning before in order to have a higher carbohydrate level for energy during the race. I was pretty nervous/excited going into the event so I got extra-packed/prepared the night before and tried to get plenty of sleep.

Race Day
For the 9:00 am start-time, I woke up at 6:30 and got dressed and ate a breakfast of brown rice and turkey sausage at about 500 calories; this would be plenty to get me through the entire race without any additional sugar or carbs and it should be decent on my stomach (I wanted to avoid fiber). 

 Here I am before the race started; I really got there too early and had to figure out a way to kill time before the race started.

Race

So the race started a little after 9, 129 people were doing the same race that I was, and the first run went really well. The transition into the bike also went well and then...in the bike I got passed by what seemed like 50 people. I didn't know what to expect though and I did what I could, the second run also went really well. So here's how I finished:

Run 1: 19:42 (7:52/mile avg.)

Bike:  1:03:35 (~17 mph)

Run 2: 19:44 (7:53/mile avg.)

64th place overall.

My big disappointment was the bike; I thought I would have been faster, by like 10 minutes. So I will certainly have something to begin to work on immediately. Here's a link to the overall results; I will definitely look to do something similar very soon. I will also be looking to post some of my new recipes, techniques, and exercises that dropped me down to a new low as well as a recap of my half-marathon that I am running this Sunday.

 

Plans for the Spring

I have mentioned before about the idea of doing things that you enjoy instead of just exercising for the sake of exercise. Another thing that I think is helpful is to schedule activities in order to keep yourself excited about getting and staying in shape. Here are the things that I've got planned for the spring so far.

Spring Outdoor Soccer Season

 I play for Hibernian FC in a local adult league. We play 10 Saturdays starting at the end of February going to the beginning of May.  It's a fun team to play with, we are sponsored by a local pub and it gives me a group a team to play with pretty much year-round.

My First Duathlon

 So what is a duathlon? It is basically a triathlon that replaces the swim with another run; it goes run-bike run. This is good for a couple of reasons: they can be held anywhere (not constrained to being by a body of water or pool) and they are good for someone (like myself) that are not as strong of a swimmer. We are off for essentially one week in the spring from soccer so this is the duathlon I decided on:

 

FS-Series Cary Short Course Duathlon. It is a 2.5 mile run, 17.65 mile ride, and a 2.5 mile run on Saturday, April 7. I decided on the short one (half the other distance) because of the other things I am trying to do and because I wanted to be able to "race" it instead of just finish. This is the third of three duathlons in the FS Series; I would have liked to have done at least one of the other two but I didn't really want to miss a soccer game. I have done a few of these on my own before but not this long of a distance; it will be interesting to train for and I definitely excited to try it. Here is the link if you want to check it out or sign up.

My First Half-Marathon


One of my goals for the spring is to race a half-marathon and now I am signed up for one.

 My current maximum-distance for a run is 7.5 miles and I am constantly increasing distance so I am not too worried that I will be able to run the whole distance. This is 13.1 miles on Sunday, April 15; yes, one week after my duathlon and one day after a soccer game (I think I will be playing goalie that whole game). Here is a link to the RunRaleigh site. This will be another step on my path toward reaching my other goals. (And here are my originals/longterm) 

Hopefully I will be adding other events to this schedule soon (the possibility of a "mud run" has been brought up). Here is the lead-up and review of my first 5k that I raced late last year. If you have any other ideas, let me know but it's already going to be a busy Spring!

  

Movie Workouts

I am a big movie fan. I collect DVDs; I watch movies daily and love to go to the theater as well. One thing that I am constantly impressed with is the shape that actors are able to get into for their different roles.

You might think that they have a lot of help: trainers, lots of time to work out, funds for whatever they need, etc. which is true but, as we all, know there is know solution to getting into great shape other than putting in the work with diet and exercise.

A thing that is cool about this also is that you can find pretty much every workout (and usually their diet too) for every actor for every role.

One of the first and most popular movie workouts is Brad Pitts from Fight Club. Here is a detailed diet and workout plan. If you read into it, you realize the commitment that he had to make, especially from a diet perspective, to get down 5-6% body fat.

Some other recent and popular movie workouts include: Tom Hardy in Warrior; Chris Helmsworth in Thor; Chris Evans in Captain America; etc. There are literally thousands of these things online. Remember Ryan Reynolds in Amityville Horror? No? Well he was ripped, too and you can follow his workout if you want as well. There is so much interest in these workouts that Google completes the search when you start typing the actors' names with "workout."

For the most part these things are just interesting to read but one thing I do like to use them for is to get ideas when I don't really no what to do or am looking for something different to do. So this week I started with the "workout" for one of the biggest fitness-inspired movies ever: 300.

I put workout in quotes because the actual workout is more of a fitness test, something they worked up to instead of doing it daily. It is called the 300 workout because of the name of the movie (obviously) and because there are 300 total reps and you do it as fast as you can.

Here is the workout:

Pullups - 25 reps

Barbell Deadlift with 135 lbs. - 50 reps

Pushups - 50 reps

24-inch Box Jumps - 50 reps

Floor Wipers - 50 reps

Single-Arm Clean-and-Press with 36 lbs Kettlebell - 50 reps

Pullups - 25 reps

I had to modify it some. First, because I don't have all of the equipment to do some of the exercises. And second, because this thing is impossible for almost anyone to do. I tried for the 3rd time this week today to do my modified workout and did respectable but still not really close. Here is a link to a very descriptive page that has original, intermediate, and beginner versions of the workout; all are good. It also has pictures and a video description of the workout.

So today I got in something that was a mix of all 3:

• 15 pullups
• 2x20 lb. deadlift 50 times
• 50 pushups
• 50 body-weight squat jumps
• Floor wipers with 2x20 lb. dumbbells 30 times
• Single-arm Clean-and-Press with 20 lb. kettlebell 50 times
• 10 pullups

I'm not sure how long it took me but during certain points, I definitely felt like I was going to throw up. This is something that is a new challenge and I look forward to making progress on it.

Recipe #9: Restaurant-style Salsa (with dish)

I always have a craving for chips and salsa. It is one of my go-to snacks every binge day. There's a small problem though: most store-bought salsas are not very good. I'm not a big fan of "thick and chunky" salsa in the first place, which is what almost every jar contains, and most of them seem to be average in taste at best. I do like the salsa that you can get at Mexican restaurants around here and I've figured out a way to make it very easily, although I'll give you some possible extras as well.

Ingredients: 2 cans of "Rotel"-style tomatoes with green chiles (2 if it's a 15 oz. can, 3 if 10), 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. onion powder

• For the basic recipe, all you do is combine the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. You can certainly modify the spice level to suit your tastes as well.

Other possible ingredients/techniques:

•   Varying levels of fresh ingredients - I would almost always use canned tomatoes because they are just so easy and they work so well but you can mix and match fresher ingredients as you see fit.
• Chopped serranos or jalapenos instead of the green chiles found in Rotel. One of these will make it pretty hot and it will go up in heat from there. You could also use canned versions of these for more heat just realize that they will be pickled.
• Fresh cloves of garlic instead of garlic powder (2 would work well). You could also use jarred, minced garlic as well (1 tsp.)
• You can certainly use fresh onions as well instead of onion powder (1/4-1/2 chopped depending on the size of the onion)
• When adding these ingredients I would put them in before my tomatoes to make sure they're good and small before mixing it all together.

• Roasted ingredients - Roasting your ingredients adds a certain sweetness and affects the overall flavor. You can roast you fresh tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and onions on a grill, in a frying pan, in your oven's broiler or, in the case of the peppers, straight on top of the burner on your stove. After you roast these you'll just want to make sure you remove the burnt skins. You can also buy most of the stuff pre-roasted and canned as well.
• Varying levels of chunkiness - If you would like a chunkier salsa, you can use a little bit different technique. First add your peppers and garlic to the blender or food processor and mince. Next add 1/2 your tomatoes and onion powder and puree. Finally add the second 1/2 of your tomatoes and stir with a spoon. Whatever you want to have chunks of just add later and don't blend it.
• Additional spices/ingredients: You can add something extra to your salsa with cumin, fresh cilantro or some lime juice depending on your taste and all can add something positive. 

 My salsa definitely looks like spaghetti sauce.

What to do with your salsa:
As I said above, I always want chips with my salsa but I have yet to find any kind of chip that's on my diet. But you can use your salsa to cook with on your non-binge days. Here's something that I did today:

1. Took some chicken thigh filets and cut into large pieces and generously coated both sides with salt and pepper.
2. Seared on both sides in 2 tbsp. of olive oil over medium-high heat.
3. Added about 1 1/2 cups of salsa and turned the heat down to a simmer and let it sit for awhile.
4. For some greens I added a little of what I had at the very end: 1 can of drained green peas and 2 cups of baby spinach. 
5. Once these were stirred in I cut the heat and used it as one of dinner meals

It might not look so good put this was definitely a good home-made, Mexican-style dinner. And I am looking forward to putting my salsa to good use this Saturday when I can get some tortilla chips.

 

Recipe #8: Roasted Chick Peas

This new recipe was supposed to go as a replacement for salty snacks like potato chips or nuts. I do eat a lot of almonds and peanuts but these both have a good amount of fat so I am always looking for an alternative. I got the idea out of Men's Fitness but altered the recipe significantly in order to make it better (theirs wasn't tasting so great).

Ingredients: 1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained, 1 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tsp. cumin, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder to taste

1. Put the olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and add the chick peas (Make sure you don't use extra-virgin olive oil because it has a low smoke point).
2. Add the cumin, salt, garlic, and onion powders and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Place the chick peas on a baking sheet and put in a 400-degree oven for 25 minutes.
4. Let the chick peas cool on the baking sheet before storing.

When I made these things the first time I ended up adding a pretty good amount of salt; the initial recipe only called for cumin but it wasn't really doing it for me. I ended up making 3 cans and baking them all at once and it worked out pretty well. I am going to try to bake them for a little longer next time because they weren't as crispy as I would like. Maybe finishing them in the broiler would work too. With the ones that I had left-over the next day, I added some salsa and micro-waved them and ate them with a spoon and that worked as a change in texture from the usual beans that I have for lunch.

I tried with black beans today and it didn't really work at all; they tasted fine and will be okay to eat but they didn't crisp up for use as finger food.

Product Endorsement: Yurbuds

I always have trouble getting my earbuds to stay in while working out, so I haven't listened to music exercising recently. I don't always think it's safe to have earbuds in (like if riding a bike on the road), but sometimes it's nice to change up the pace and not have to rely on you mind to do all of the work. I read about these on another blog: Yurbuds

I bought them a couple of days ago because I needed new headohones anyways. They are a little expensive ($30) but it seems that that's the going rate for iPod type accessories.

Basically the only part that is different from normal headphones is a silicon "funnel" that fits around the earbud. It is molded to the shape of your ear so that it won't fall out. To start, you basically have to figure out how the tip goes into your ear and then turn it a little bit to get it to hold with friction. I tested them out on a run today and accidentally pulled on the cable a few times and it didn't slip at all. Also, I didn't have to keep messing with the earpieces over and over like I have in the past. They seem to work exactly like they are supposed to, so if you're looking for new workout earbuds or have issues with your current ones falling out these are definitely worth a look.

US News and World Report: Best Diets

I saw this a few days ago but just ran back across it.

There is listing of rankings of different diets in different categories and also some other diet idea links on the right side of the page. Link

They list the DASH diet as there best overall (It seems to be a very balanced diet meant for overall health). And list Weight Watchers as their best diet for weight loss. There is a lot of information on each plan and some ideas that are definitely worth checking out.

Getting Started With Weight Loss

I have posted a lot so far about what I am currently doing as far of my lifestyle but I don't feel I've posted too much about how I got started with it. And getting started and keeping everything going is probably the hardest part of changing your lifestyle. Also, these are the kind of things that I keep telling people when they ask me for advice to lose weight. I wouldn't usually recommend that someone jump in very quickly to a huge lifestyle change (i.e. extreme diet and workout change) unless you have an unusual amount of willpower or are in a "camp/retreat" environment. So here are some of the things that I think were really helpful to me in kind of a stream-of-consciousness way:

• Know the nutritional value of everything that you eat. Get in a habit of reading every label and at least take a mental note of your intake throughout the day. Most nutritionist s and diet plans will have you start out with a food diary in order to help you with this and this can be a great tool, especially if you don't have the greatest memory. This can also be a hassle...so the bottom line is know what you are eating.
• Piggy-backing on the last point, don't just count calories. Make sure you are limiting your carbs and fats as well. And try to get as much protein and fiber as possible because this will help you stay more full for longer.
• Try to eliminate all white carbs. This includes: rice, bread, potatoes, pasta, etc. If you are going to eat carbs, limit the amount and make sure it's a whole wheat option. A good way to limit your bread intake on something like a  is to get the smaller slices of bread. Again, pay attention to your serving sizes and nutritional values on the labels.
• Eat as many green vegetables as possible. Broccoli, spinach, green beans, etc. are all very low calories and high in nutrients. You can literally eat as much of these as you want; fill up on this stuff so you want be hungry for other less healthy options.
• Never drink your calories. If you are still drinking regular sodas and sweet tea and want to lose weight then stop now. Water is always the best choice but I'm not really one to talk, I drink a lot of Coke Zero during the week and I definitely have my fill of beer here and there. One thing I have done with beer though is cut out the random beer throughout the week. I would never drink a beer at home now and really only drink 2-3 nights per week. I know that if a cut back on these empty calories I would certainly drop some more weight. 
• Pay attention to portion sizing. This is why it's hard to eat out on a diet. If you are eating out, order wisely and then eat slow so you can recognize when your full and save the rest for later. At home, I usually give my self a set portion to eat and if I am still hungry afterwards then I will eat more. Don't just eat everything on your plate because it's there.
• Try to do activities (exercise) that you like to do. If you are solely relying on your gym membership, then you probably won't keep up with your plan. I play soccer, I ride my bikes, I run with friends; find something that you enjoy doing.
• Walking is a perfect starting place for being more active. Walking 1 mile burns about 100 calories and pretty much everyone can do it...a mile a day (basically 20 minutes) gives 700 extra calories per week. And I know it's played out, but use the stairs and walk for your transportation; it's easy and it makes a difference.
• Pick attainable goals. If you  are losing 1-2 pounds to week and you are reasonably normal body weight then you are doing great. Shows like Biggest Loser are great, but they are in an isolated environment where their diet and exercise are being monitored constantly and the people are usually very obese; this is really the only type of environment where you would see a "double-digit" weight loss in one week.

So that is a good start; I will post any more as I think of them. As I have said constantly, diet is much more important than exercise for weight loss. Your body is very efficient with calorie-use. Exercise is always helpful and will boost results but you can definitely lose weight by changing your diet. Weight Watchers, NutriSystem... all these things can work, the big thing that they have to worry about is people not following their plan correctly or following it for awhile and quitting. So do what you can, don't get discouraged and quit all together if you fall off the wagon a little bit. Find what works for you and follow some of these ideas and you will see results.

Recipe #7: Black Bean Brownies

My first experimental recipe!

One thing that my diet kind of requires is that you are okay with eating a lot of the same foods over and over again. Fortunately, I don't mind this. Also, dieticians seem to agree that this is the best way to stay on a diet that allows for weight loss and control. I think it stems from not having to think up new things to eat; you just know what you will be having for pretty much every meal.

I am also fortunate that I don't really crave sweets; I usually have more trouble with salty foods, which I still don't really control that well. I saw that someone had made brownies using beans instead of flour on TV and thought it would be a cool thing to try.

I started researching recipes online and almost all of them used sugar and most of them also used agave nectar, neither of which are on my diet. So a recipe that was the simplest and replaced the sugar with Splenda (actually fake Splenda). So here it goes:

Ingredients
1 can of black beans
3/4 a cup of Splenda (I used generic)
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
3 eggs
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Rinse the can of beans thoroughly in water to remove all liquid. This is important because otherwise the brownies will taste salty.
2. Put all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until it is a smooth batter.
3. Spray an 8"x8" baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and poor your batter in.
4. Place brownies in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until the edges start seperating from the pan.
5. Take the brownies out and let cool completely.
6. Cut and "enjoy".

Total calories: ~900  (plus a lot of fiber and protein and no carbs besides the fiber in the beans)

You probably noticed that I said "enjoy" in quotations. This is because, although everyone said that these brownies were just like real brownies, I found them like "Healthy Choice" brownies, or something of that type. They are dry-ish and not chewie and dense like a real brownie. I'm sure that using real sugar or agave nectar or chocolate chips would have made them taste better but it also would have violated the rules of my diet and I might as well just make regular brownies anyways.

I did find one thing that made them edible though and still mostly on the diet and that was:

If a put a 1/2 tbsp. of peanut butter on one of the slices of brownie, it made a good ~150 calorie desert with lots of protein and fiber and almost no sugar.

So this experiment was okay...I'm not sure if I would do it again. I did end up eating all of the brownies over the course of a few days but I don't think that would have been possible if I didn't add peanut butter. If I did make them again, I would definitely try to change something but maybe brownies are meant for binge day anyways.

Results/Plan Update

Here are some of my results/plans:

• Still hovering around 165 lbs. with a low of 163. I am still on the same diet and I haven't lost significant weight but I do feel like I have lost fat and inches off of my body. The new jeans I bought 2 months ago are size 33 waist and are now very loose. I would think I have a 31-inch waist now, just estimating. And I am showing ab-definition for the first time ever: 

 

• I have started to up my running distances and it's definitely getting easier and more tolerable. Instead of running 1 mile when I go out, I do 3-5 miles about 4 times per week. I am doing this so I can hopefully run a half-marathon in March and I also want to do a couple of duathlons coming up that I saw online here: FS Series

These are all still building to my goals of marathons/Ironmans within the next couple of years. And hopefully through all of this my weight will drop to the 155 lbs. that I set a few months ago but I'm okay with my current weight and don't really want to change my diet any more drastically. Overall, everything is going well and I am on my way to meeting some of my long-term goals.

New Workout: Kettle Bell

I got this about a month ago and have integrated it into my workout plan. So my current exercise plan is as follows:

• Running 3+ miles, 4-5 times per week
• Riding my mountain bike 6-7 times per week (I ride to work ever day so I get in at least 4 miles, but 2-3 times per week I will ride 10+ miles)
• Riding my road bike at least once a week for a ~20 mile ride
• Calisthenics 5+ times a week (push-ups, planks, pull-ups/chin-ups) mixed in with dumbbell work
• And finally the kettle bell and the workout that came with it that I try to do 2-3 times per week

Here is the kettle bell:

And here is the guy that is extra positive and light-spoken, think the opposite of P90x or Insanity that you see on the commercials:

I do both the beginner and advanced workouts and, including warm-up, cool down and stretching, it takes about 30 minutes. I have not done any lower body lifting recently so the first time I did this, I could hardly walk the next day. But as is usually the case, every time after that first time I haven't really had any soreness the next day.

In order to make the workout more difficult I have added in my 20 lb. weight vest and it definitely does the trick. I'll post more about my experiments with the weight vest later.

Overall, I like the workout; it gives me something set in stone that I can follow when I can't go outside or when I want to have a set 30 minute workout. It gets my muscles working, times everything for me, and really takes the thinking out the workout. This is good because there's no pressure involved in thinking of new things to do. It definitely gets me sweating, gets my cardio up, and has a good cool down afterwards as well.

Hiatus: Over

My unannounced, unofficial hiatus has come to an end. I hope everyone had a good holiday period. I know I had a good time spending time with family and struggling to stay disciplined on the diet.

I had pretty good success, I weighed in at 163 this morning (equaling my low) and set about enjoying this "binge" day with some great weather and sports.

I have plenty of new topics to post about in the coming days and weeks so I look forward to get back to it!