Living Intentionally

2007-03-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

Journalism

I’ve been obviously struggling the past few months and not achieving any goals. I’ve been eating the right foods (mostly), lifting weights religiously, cardio a couple of times a week and curbing calories (I thought), yet nothing is changing…until-

I started keeping a good old-fashioned fitness journal on Monday. I’ve been tracking my weight lifting so that I know when to move up in weight or which weight to start with, but this journal is plain paper in a three ring binder. At the top I put the date. Below that my cardio activity and my weight training further down the page. Along the left side I write my food intake and keep a running tally of calories. I found that I was over estimating my food activity and underestimating my cardio activity. Since then, I can see that I am making progress. I’ve lost my 2 pounds this week and I believe my journal will keep me in check this weekend.

I tried to keep a tally of my calories at Fitday.com which is a wonderful site with a large food database. However, I may not be able to access the internet for any number of reasons and some of the information wasn’t being recorded. Using a pencil and paper, I always can write down what I ate and how many calories I’ve consumed.

2007-03-01T04:38:00.000-08:00

What I Really Want is One of Those New Skip Ropes...

I woke up late this morning and decided instead of doing nothing, I would jump rope for 20 minutes. Understand that I am not coordinated enough to jump rope so the fight itself would get my heart rate racing (and elevate my blood pressure). I warmed up with 5 minutes of light skipping followed by alternating 1 minute of fast skipping and 1 minute of slow skipping (intervals) for an additional 15 minutes.

The result was a 20 minute workout that beat not doing anything by 200 calories plus the boost in my metabolism. It wasn't pretty to watch, but at least I didn't strangle myself with the rope.

I'm really hoping to pick up the pace of this blog. I have rediscovered a few tips and techniques that are working better for me than anything I've done in the past 4 months. Stay tuned.

2007-02-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

The Power of Negative Thinking

A lot has happened since my last post. I did not manage to make the 275 bicycle miles in January; only 137. As explanation and not as an excuse, I got de-motivated. It happens to me sometimes and it leads to a lazy, unproductive spell.

I’m not sure how it happens, but it usually goes along these lines. I over extend myself, make too many promises, too many commitments and try to do too much at one time. Then something goes undone, a slip up, an unfortunate series of event and BOOM; one negative thought happens. Then another…and another until, like dominos, it all comes crashing down. A little negativity will hang you up, because there is no such thing as a little. Once you start down the hill it’s hard to turn and before you know it you are at the bottom.

That is where I’ve been since the middle of January. I’m not sure how it happened but I’ve definitely eaten way too much and exercised way too little. I awoke this morning at 192 lbs.

I am drawing a line in the sand. I’m tired of this negativity spiral that I get into sometimes. Enough is enough. I’m tired of fitness being a chore, also. If this is going to be sustainable, it must be enjoyable.

SO HERES THE NEW PLAN: I know what I should eat. I know I should lift weights and I know I should do cardio. This is what I am going to do. I am going to make good food choices. I am going to lift weights four times per week and I am going to do cardio at least four times per week. Above all I’m going to have fun. If I slip, it’s not the end of the world and tomorrow is another day.

I know my caloric intake needs to be between 1500-1700 calories per day. Without having to count each calorie, I am going to target Breakfast at 300 cal, Lunch at 300 cal and Dinner at 500 cal. I will add a 200 cal Mid-morning Snack, a 200 cal Afternoon Snack and 100 cal Late Snack. I don’t have to be precise, but in the ball park. This will take the number crunching out of it and keep it fun.

We have a Sunday school retreat coming up April 19-22. That’s ten weeks away and I want to be at 175 lbs. Doing the math, that’s 1.7 lbs/week so it is attainable. I’m writing it down and carrying it in my wallet. I will be updating every day or at least every few along the way. If you see me slacking off, e-mail me at ben@puppetminister.com

2007-01-04T18:39:00.001-08:00

Update
I’m still chugging along toward my goal of 275 miles. I’ve ridden 65.04 miles since 12/26 and luckily, due to unseasonable warmth or maybe global warming, most has been outside. It’s been slow (average 14mph) because I am trying to maintain those lower heart rates.

I’m still struggling to get up in the morning, but I plan on getting in bed earlier. The snooze bar is not my friend.

My calorie intake has been good but not great. I find it hard to eat 2300 calories a day. I find myself finishing up at around 2000 and gulping down a peanut butter sandwich or some sort late in the evening. I definitely need to improve on this situation.

Since metabolism determines how our body processes calories and since calorie deficiency is the key to weight loss, I am researching ways to naturally increase metabolism. I will list them here in later posts.

2006-12-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, here we go again:

Weight 137.0

Waist 37 (ugh)

Bicep 13.25

2006-12-27T06:36:00.000-08:00

NEW GOAL
Time to move on... My new goal is more of a performance goal than a fat loss goal because I am counting on my body to adapt to what I am doing. This will hopefully develop the habit of early morning cardio and it wont be so hit or miss.

My new goal is to ride (either on the trainer or on the road) a total of 275 miles between yesterday 12/26/06 and 01/31/07. I will maintain calorie intake between 2350-2500 calories per day which coupled with the exercise should be a 700-1000 calorie deficit per day.

I will start tracking my progress using an Excel spreadsheet and Fitday.com. You can see my food logs here. I will post distance totals on Saturdays and I will for the sheer joy of it keep tracking the same parameters as before.

It seems one of my biggest struggles is late night snacking especially for something sweet. I have to find a good 'something' to fill this void.

Starting Stats
Weight: 190 lbs. (I hope a lot of this is water weight and will drop quickly.)
I will make measurements tomorrow. Pictures to follow.

2006-12-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

Embracing Failure

I hate to lose. There seems to be no way for me to reach my goal of losing 2.5” off of my waist by December 24. Allow me to assess my situation as I plan for my next goal.

Positive Things
I did lose 1.5” off of my waist. My strength has increased and I am in the habit of lifting weights 4 days per week.

Negative Things
I didn’t achieve my goal.

Analysis
So, why did I fail to reach my goal? Was my goal realistic (attainable)? Was the plan sound? Was I diligent (tracking)? I believe it was a combination of the three, but I really think the biggest problem lies in my lack of behavior modification.

On most days, my caloric intake was good during the day but fell apart during the late afternoon/evening hours. I failed to perform cardio at the desired time and frequency outlined in the plan. My bed time is way too late to support early morning workouts. My eating on the weekends was weak in nutrition yet overly abundant in calories.

I’ve heard that you cannot break a habit; you can only replace one habit with another habit. My plan failed mostly because I didn’t develop the good habits needed to succeed.

Next Step
I maybe taking a final picture on Friday, December 22 because Christmas will involve numerous occasions to eat and very little time for exercise, however, I will try to make good choices to minimize the damage.

I will define a new goal to begin on December 26 and run for several weeks. Since most of my failure came from misbehavior, I am thinking of defining a performance goal instead of a body-specific goal trusting that my body will follow accordingly. I will need to make it challenging and fun as to make it sustainable. I may also take this opportunity to reset my workout routine. (It’s best to change it up every few weeks). Expect a more attentive effort in the coming weeks.

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-21T03:23:00.000-08:00

More On Calories

Our body uses X number of calories just to stay alive. This is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). There are several factors that influence this number such as body composition, weight and gender. These are calories required to do nothing other than exist.

Of course we hopefully do more than just exist. Daily activities such as moving at all (walk, sitting up in bed, making toast, .etc) increase the number of calories we need in a day. The more active we are, the more calories we need.

There are several ways to figure out your BMR, but the easiest way is to use this calculator.

Now in order to loose weight we need to have these needed calories to be greater than our intake. Remember 3500 calories make a pound. So if we know our estimated need, then we can either eat less or exercise more to make the fat go away. For best results, do both.

Update
Weight 182
Waist 36.5
Bicep 13.25+ (I’ve actually seen a slight increase)

Analysis Forthcoming

2006-12-13T04:47:00.000-08:00

Update: Another 1/4 inch, but still not enough.

182 lbs
36.5 waist
13.25 bicep

Yesterday's diet was good however I got sloppy just before bed time. I remained in range however. I did get my weight training in, but no cardio.

I spent 20 minutes on the trainer this morning and am planning a mountain bike ride after work. I will more than likely lift weights today because I will be involved in meetings tomorrow.

2006-12-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was nearly perfect as far as diet and exercise are concerned. I celebrated by oversleeping. Seriously, I did my early morning cardio on the trainer, lifted weights and even played some 3 on 3 basketball with the men in my Sunday school class. Nearly perfect

Calories
When I started this project, I set my daily calorie intake between 1800 and 2300 daily. You may be questioning where I got these two numbers and why they are significant.

It takes 3500 calories to change your body by a pound. Therefore if we want to gain or lose weight, we must increase or decrease our caloric intake by this much. At this point I want to lose weight, so I want to decrease my daily intake. For me, 1800-2300 calories is a 500-1000 calorie reduction from what my body requires. Therefore I should be on track to lose 1-2 lbs. per week…if only I would stick to this guideline, but alas, all the Christmas goodies keep jumping into my mouth.

This leads us to ask what our daily caloric requirement is, but I’ve got to save something for next time.

Tomorrow is picture day, but I may skip it because of my recent failures. But then again, I have to take the good with the bad. We’ll see.

2006-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

I'm still struggling to get my diet under control, but there are so many cookies and cakes and pies this time of year. Peppermints, double-mocha latte, hot chocolate. A get together here, a gathering there....sometimes two in one day. Arrrrghhhhh!

It's no wonder people resolve to lose weight on New Years day. I will however approach the coming year leaner and more focused than ever.

I have two weeeks to hit my goal. I'm committed, focused and gaining speed. Look out 2007, I'm a comin'.

2006-12-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

Update:

181 lbs
36.75 in waist
13.25 bicep

No picture today. I figure every 2-3 weeks will suffice. I did get up and ride my bicycle mounted in a trainer today. This is good because it is non-impact (easy on joints) and allows me about 30 minutes more sleep since I don't have to go anywhere but the next room to do cardio. (I was initally facing a 15 minute drive to the gym after the windshield was frost-free before.)

If I can stay on track with the morning cardio and my diet, my gains this coming week should larger than previous posts.

2006-12-04T18:32:00.000-08:00

It’s been along time since the last post, but here’s what you’ve missed:

Early morning cardio isn’t working for me. I just can’t get up. True, I could adjust bed time, but that would cut into other things that equally need attention.

My diet hasn’t been the best in the world, nor the worst. I need to be more diligent, but now I have challenged myself to figure out when diligence becomes obsession. The Bible tells me that diligence is necessary to succeed, but obsession is idolatry, which is a sin. So, at what point do you cross the line? I’m seeking to be more diligent without it becoming an obsession. In the past, I’ve not maintained the balance well.

Back on topic: How do you prevent muscle loss? Two simple things: eat more protein and perform weight-bearing exercise (lift weights). If you noticed in previous posts, I am trying to get 40% of my calories from protein. These are generally in the form of fish, chicken, cottage cheese and whey powder, which is a supplement drink mix found in most stores.

My current approach to lifting weights is very simple. I wanted a routine that I could do either with dumb bells, free weights or a universal type of machine. This allows me flexibility in the gym if one machine or station is occupied. I have a two-day split where I do upper body exercises one day, lower body the next and rest on the third day. I also rest on Sunday, so this is a Monday/Tuesday-Thursday/Friday schedule with rest on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. (I may do cardio on these rest days.)

So, for my upper body, I do chest, back, shoulders, bicep and triceps exercises in that order in rapid succession…boom, boom, boom. I work quads, hamstrings, calves and abs on the other day in the same fashion. After each set of exercises, I rest anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes and repeat for a total of 3-4 sets. So generally my workout looks like:

Upper Body
Bench Press
Bent-Over Row
Upright Row
Curl
Tricep Extension
Rest and Repeat

Lower Body
Squat
Stiff Leg Dead Lift
Calf Raise
Crunch
Reverse Crunch
Oblique Crunch
Rest and Repeat

This approach allows me two things. I can do my workout in 15-20 minutes (which is perfect on my lunch hour). The rapid progression elevates my heart rate to a cardio level and burns more calories.

As far as reps, the body adapts quickly to new stimuli, therefore I may do 15 reps at a lower rate for a few weeks and change to 5 reps at a heavy weight for a while. Either way, I am accomplishing my goal while I’m shocking my body to adapt. I try to be quick and intense to maximize my time in the gym. I probably won’t develop a body builder’s physique this way, but I should maintain the muscle I have and maximize my fat loss in the process.

A person should find what works for them, but not be afraid to try different routines, exercises and combinations of sets/ reps/ rest. A great resource is http://www.exrx.net/Exercise.html.

I’ll delve into the world of calories next time.

2006-11-29T06:31:00.000-08:00

Update: Progress! (not enough, but progress none the less)

Weight 184.5
Waist 37
Bicep 13.25

2006-11-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

Man, my diet is out of control. I hit around 2000 calories today, but dinner on the go meant Long John Silver's. Between that and me not getting my sorry butt out of bed before 6AM means I'm failing miserably.

Tomorrow is picture day. We'll see how it's going, but I'm not optimistic.

2006-11-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

Why Fat Loss is Good and Muscle Loss is Bad

To my knowledge, there has not been a study showing that having good muscle tone is bad for you. We know that excess fat is bad for you. Therefore, the goal of any fitness/weight reduction program should be geared toward fat reduction and muscle retention.

Our bodies burn calories just to stay alive and muscle burns more calories per day than fat. If you were to go on a reduced calorie diet without taking the time to protect your muscle, some of your weight loss will be from a reduction in muscle. Once you start eating at a maintenance level, the loss in muscle means that your body does not need as many calories as it once did. Therefore this “normal” level is in fact an excess calorie diet and your weight balloons back up.

So how do you protect your muscle mass from the ravages of a reduced calorie diet? More on this later.

Thanksgiving is no time to start a reduced calorie diet. Even though I pursued activities that promoted good health, I also maintained a “healthy” appetite. But I’m back on track.

Monday (11/27) Calories were in the 2300 range although peanuts (in mass quantities) are the devil. I’m being lazy on the morning cardio, but the weight training is still in place. Tomorrow will be an indication of how well or badly I’ve been doing.

This blog is keeping me accountable, but I am wondering if I need another accountability partner.

2006-11-23T19:19:00.001-08:00

Things I am Thankful For...

Grace, mercy, salvation, forgiveness, my wife, my children, my family, my friends, my church, my ministry, my life (it could be worse), my nation, my health, my home...

The list goes on and on. Count your blessing. Name them one-by-one. (Hey, that's catchy. Someone should write a song.)

Happy Thanksgiving.

I've eaten way too much, but I did go for an hour long bike ride today before the festivities began. C'est la vie.

2006-11-22T17:32:00.000-08:00

More On The Plan

I ran this morning, which is in accordance with my defined plan. Most of us understand that adopting the habits of proper diet and exercise are key to leading a healthy life. Let me explain my specific reasoning in choosing early morning cardio.

This time of year, I get up run in my church’s gym at 5:00 AM on an empty stomach maintaining a heart rate between 65-75% of my calculated maximum heart rate. This is known as low-intensity, steady-state (LISS) cardio in a fasted state. Translation: On an empty stomach, I jog slowly and steadily keeping my heart beating about 135 beat per minute (this is my number).

The idea is that the body burns any stored energy from carbohydrates in about 20 minutes. It will then start burning the next available source which is either energy from fat or protein. Studies have shown at the lower intensity, the body most easily uses fat energy, i.e. you’re burning fat. You are also strengthening your heart.

BUT BEN! Isn’t it true that high-intensity intervals (HIIT) will both burn more calories and boost metabolism longer in less time?
Yes, but at the higher intensity more protein (stored in muscle) is used and muscle loss is possible. Not good. I’ve done both types and both types work, but I’ve found that HIIT is harder on my joints and I personally am more apt to blow it off when I just don’t feel like getting up. I can turn on my MP3 player and stay steady for a long time.

This discussion merits a lot of back ground information especially on why muscle loss is BAD and which is a common problem that fad diets fail. That will be my next post…

Stats

Weight 182.5

Waist 37.25 in

Bicep 13.25in

Photo next Wednesday

2006-11-22T01:59:00.000-08:00

11/21/2006

I stayed up late last night to watch Puppet Up on TBS. This pretty much means unfortunately or fortunately depending on your point of view, I didn’t do my morning cardio. The great thing about my plan is the flexibility. I have five more opportunities to meet my remaining three cardio sessions. Sure, my results may come faster if the plan was more demanding but then it becomes so difficult to stick to that you experience a few small failures here, one there and soon you are so disgusted that you quit. There is a balancing act to all of this. Too flexible, no results; too strict, impossible to maintain.

I did do my weight training today and plan to outline my routine soon. I am making everything as simple and straight forward as possible.

Update: Due to unforeseen circumstances, I wound up eating on the road. My calorie intake was a little higher than desired at 2400, but the real mistake was coupled with a 40:35:25 ratio of fats:carbs:protein. Definitely unintentional, but not the end of the world.

A Little More About My Goal
I set my goal as a 2.5” reduction around my waist. Most people will set weight a weight goal of 10 lbs lost or a target weight of 175. My experience has been that weight will fluctuate greatly with hydration levels, sodium levels and carb levels. I have seen my weight vary 10lbs within a 24 hour period. Even the time of day will affect your weight.

My goal is fat loss. Since I store fat across my mid-section, monitoring my waist measurement across my bellybutton will give feedback as to positive or negative progress. I chose 2.5 inches because I assume the change in diet and maintaining proper hydration will account for a 0.5” (almost instantaneous) drop. The other two inches seemed “do-able” in the time frame. It may or may not be realistic, but based on the way my body responds to diet and exercise, it will be an underestimate of my ability if I am wrong.

2006-11-20T05:17:00.000-08:00

It Starts With A Goal

My goal is to lose 2.5 inches around my waist by Christmas Eve which is 35 days away (as I am constantly reminded by my children).

Okay, there should be some questions as to why “2.5 inches around my waist” and not a defined “weight” goal and I will get into that discourse over the next few days. Let’s now deal with my plan.

The Plan
Early morning fasted cardio (running or cycling) four or more days per week
Weight training four days per week
1800-2300 calories consumed per day with a 30:30:40 ratio of fats: carbs: protein
Drink lots of H2O ( a gallon a day)
Progress pictures/measurements made on Wednesday

Of course I will explain these decisions as time rolls on. But for now I have the goal and I have some beginning stats. This day is off and running (literally); approximately 2.5 miles in 25 minutes and upper body weight training.

Final calorie count for the day: ~2000 36:24:40 f:c:p ratio. Pretty good start.

Starting Stats
186 lbs.
37.75 in waist
13.25 in bicep flexed