Not Too Bad...

Two posts in a semester? Could be worse I guess. I need to get on Andy and Steven's case. Granted, the main reason I remembered to write something was being home sick from work and trying to delay doing any other chores.

As for me, Pilates has become less awkward and I've seen my flexibility improve greatly. I can downward dog like you wouldn't believe.  I've actually become  an acquaintance of the poor woman mentioned in the last post. We have friendly after class chats. Turns out she's hardcore into working out, so we might have to compare notes. And by compare notes I mean "have her motivate me to get off my ass more often"

This week also saw me signing up for a gym membership. While it's nice to have my campus gym open, it's usually busy when I have the time to get over there. This place is a new one that's open 24 hours and usually pretty quiet.  The place looks pretty snazzy so I'm very excited. Even better, Steven and his lady (another good friend of mine) go there too! So I'll have workout buddies! The gym's associated with the Spartan Race, so maybe there's sweet discounts to fuel my torturous marathon addiction.

Speaking of torturous races, another Tough Mudder has come and gone. I looked like this:

I take Tough Mudder to a whole new level.

It was more difficult than last year, partly because for a good 2 or 3 miles I was teamless. My first team was too cold to walk and I was not about to exhaust myself before the first half, so they went on without me. Then another team that wanted to recruit me before the race caught up with me and took me under their dirty wing. They're good people, those Dangleberries.

I'm not going to jinx myself by saying I'm excited about my workout class next semester and I'll definitely be losing weight, but I totally am. There's a Couch to 5k class! And as much as I hate running this will be perfect motivation for me. Theoretically, if I'm forced to run two days a week for class (and I imagine the homework will be to run the third day that's typical for those programs) I should lose something. You don't see many fat guys finishing marathons quickly...

So that's been me this semester, busy as heck but still working on my health. How've you been?

Still workin'

Man, paramedic training is tough! You guys remember school, right? How you'd cram for a test, spit out the answers, then promptly forget everything because you'd never need it again? I can't afford that luxury. if I forget something, people will die. (Or at least have a very bad time)

As for dieting, it's been pretty rough. I've been making new friends in sequence, and my instinct is to eat with them. I've always been a social eater, after all don't you make friends by "Breaking bread together"? Luckily, I spent way too much money, so I was forced to buy healthy groceries.

Pilates is very fun, albeit extremely awkward. As expected, I'm the only guy. I'm also about 7 years older than these pretty ladies wearing yoga pants. It's bittersweet, really. The instructor sometimes has us pair up to "critique our moves". So when she tells us to assume the downward dog position and "gently pull back on their hips until they feel the stretch" pretty  entertaining/mortifying/whyareyoumakingmedothistothispoorlady.  

Someone took a picture of me in class.

But I do feel like it's working, my core muscles are sore the next day. As for other workouts, I just recruited my Sequence buddies to workout with me in between classes. Maybe we can teach each other some tricks of the trade!

Week 1

One week has come and gone since I committed to changing my lifestyle around in regards to diet and exercise.  

You know what happened?  I pretty much failed.

However, I did eat quite a few less carbs and was more conscious of the things going into my body.  Also, my water consumption is through the roof, and my addiction to energy drinks seems to be broken.  There were still a few sodas throughout the week, but no more than one in any single day.

One positive thing that did come out of this week was what I learned about my eating habits.  The first thing that I learned is that the stuff I was eating that I thought was low-carb, might not have been so low-carb.  Also, I need to go back to my methods of having easy-to-prepare of pre-made low-carb meals.  When I haven't planned out a meal, I revert to eating crap food.

Also, I found an iOS app that I really like.  It's called Carbs Control and it might be the best $1.99 (USD) that anybody could spend for tracking carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake.  I tell the app that I can not have any more than 30g carbs a day, and as long as I enter my food in after I eat it, it keeps track of it for me!

For week 2, I plan to be on the plan.  I also want to actually start walking like I said I would

I need to come clean

Did you notice how I haven't posted anything since February?  Yeah, that wasn't because I forgot.

The truth is, I gained some weight I gained most of my weight back.

That was one of the hardest things I've had to say in a while.  When I had the gall bladder attack back in February, I was already feeling downtrodden because I wasn't seeing any more results from Carb Nite.  It wasn't that the diet stopped working, it was that I was going about it the wrong way.*  The visit to the hospital gave me an excuse to dial back my diet and exercise regimen "while I figured things out."

The only problem is that I never did.

I stopped exercising all together.  I cancelled my membership with my fancy gym**, I stopped cooking my own food, I started eating fast food all the time, and started drinking a lot of soda.  I didn't notice until it was too late that my shirts and pants were tighter, I got out of breath easier, my back pain came back, and that places and things that I used to fit into just wasn't happening anymore.

I think stress and depression are to blame for me pretty much letting go of everything I had worked so hard for.  However, the only person that can fix the stress, depression, and lethargy in my life is me.  

So here is THE PLAN:

Phase 1

• Return to Carb Nite.  When I started Carb Nite, I was doing it the right way.  I'm going to watch carb intake and keep it under 30g a day.  I'm also going to be watching macro-nutrients in respect to keeping a 2:1 protein to fat ratio.
• Strive for Paleo.  As I have said before, Paleo dieting and CNS are natural bedfellows.  While striving to eat low carb, I'm also going to try and eat clean.  Basically, even if the diet soda has no carbs in it, I won't be drinking it.  Which takes me to the third part...
• Drink lots of water.  It serves so many purposes.  Water acts as an appetite suppressant, it helps flush waste from the kidneys, and it keeps the body hydrated (duh!).
• Walk at least twice a week.  It doesn't sound like much, but I'm taking advice from Hark and I'm starting small.  He was so right when he reminded me that jumping in too much too fast would only cause relapse.  These aren't going to be short walks either.  I'm going for at least a mile each time.

Phase 2

• Maintain all aspects of Phase 1.  After I have reached a level of routine with Phase 1 and results are hitting a peak, I will start into Phase 2.  This process should begin within 4-6 weeks.
• Increase walking to three or four times a week.  Still striving to at least walk a mile or two each time.
• Start to add strength training.  At first, it will simply be two days a week.  One day of upper body, and another of lower body.

Phase 3

• Maintain all aspects of Phases 1 & 2.  After I have reached a level of routine with Phases 1 & 2 and results are hitting a peak, I will start into Phase 3.  There is no definite timetable for this as results vary from person to person and even from one personal attempt to the next.  My goal is to start this phase after being on Phase 2 for 6-8 weeks.
• Divide strength training into 3 days per week.  Instead of doing one day of upper body and another of lower body, I will divide the workouts into three days where I try to focus on one from each group.  The strength training sessions will be slightly shorter, but will provide more attention to individual muscle groups.
• Start Intermittent Fasting.  This will be for my Ultra Low Carb days where I may not have any carbs in that day, or only eat once throughout the day.  This will help to break through some plateaus that I will be hitting.  I will still supplement with lots of water and multivitamins on those days.

Phase 4

• After a period where I am hitting an unbreakable plateau (which happens to everyone), I will take a break from the Carb Nite portion of the diet.  John Kiefer, author of The Carb Nite Solution, has updated his stance on how long CNS can be done from 6 months to indefinitely, but I'm going to take some precautions anyway and revert to the Mark Sisson teaching on carb intake (that the body can be maintained safely at 50-100g carbs per day).
• One month of Paleo.  This part of the diet is still going to be crucial, as this should be a lifestyle more than it is a diet.
• Possible return to just walking three or four times per week.  This will all be determined on how I feel at the time.
• After one month has passed, return to Phase 1 and repeat.  I'll keep doing this until I get the results I want!

Everything said and done, this is going to be a slow process, but I am committed to making myself healthier in the long run.  

Last, but not least, I want to thank any of the people that still read the blog for sticking with Hark and I.  We may not be the best at updating, but we appreciate all of the feedback we get from you guys!

___________________

*On CNS, it is possible to eat low carb, but not lose weight.  The diet I was keeping had my ratios backwards, and I believe that is why I wasn't losing.  Instead of keeping a ratio of 2:1 proteins to fats, I had a 1:2 ratio.

**Even though I cancelled my fancy gym membership, I found a local gym that doesn't have all of the nice equipment, but it has the necessary equipment.  Instead of paying $30 a month, I now pay $45 a year.

Burning Bridges

In this complete overhaul of my life you have to remove temptation. My sweet tooth is ridiculous and very difficult to control. It's even worse when I have a few drinks, because I have a tendency to drunk-bake. I'll wake up with my kitchen covered in cookies, cakes, or some other sweet delicacy. 

So how do you deal with something like that?

I stopped buying crap. Life as a poor college student makes buying food difficult. Do I have the time to cook this? Will it taste good? Is it nutritious? Usually a college student can only choose two of those. So I went to my (not-so) local Trader Joes. Turns out they have all sorts of hormone-free, chemical-free stuff that's even cheaper than Walmart (where I even get a discount). It's a little bit of a drive, but I save money in the long run and I'm helping my body. And then there's the rocking out to the classic rock station part...

As for what I eat on a daily basis: Breakfast is super bran flakes (with almond or coconut milk), oatmeal and honey, or a couple eggs. For lunch, I'll eat a can of sardines and some whole wheat crackers (I checked it's legit whole wheat) and sometimes a small dessert that's usually a greek yogurt with honey. Dinners are all over the place, but pretty much never fast food. And even if I do eat some fast food, it's a lot less than when I used to go out. A four-plate chinese-food buffet has become two plates. A five-dollar footlong with two cookies and soda has become a six-inch and an unsweet tea. I can't give up bread or sweet stuff like Andy. I've tried and I feel sick afterwards. But I can make sure that there's more fiber in what carbs I do eat and that I eat a lot less of those calorie-dense cake and ice cream.

I've already tackled the nutrition demon, now it's time to begin my fight against the dreaded exercise monster!

Annnnnd we're back.

Fair warning, I have no idea what to write about today. I just really feel the need to update. I also feel the need to explain myself with my lack of updates this semester. Life can really get in the way of things. An extremely close friend of mine died suddenly near the beginning of the semester, which knocked me out of pretty much everything for a few months. Then because of my inability to notice what was going on with my body, a kidney stone struck which required surgery. As a result, I had to work my butt off to make up the coursework I had missed. It made it really difficult to do much of anything outside of school.

As far as progress, I haven't "lost any weight". I know, I know. You're thinking about how I was supposed to be exercising so much that it was going to be easy to lose weight. While I haven't lost mass, I have slimmed down a few inches. For example, by stomach used to hang over my belt. Now it more... looms. Sounds sinister, right? It's smaller, but it easily serves as a reminder that I can gain weight if I fall off the wagon.

So how's this wagon going to keep on rolling? I present to you: The Plan. Three simple steps that will make my summer a game-changer.

• Eat less crap: I generally eat until I'm no longer hungry. But sometimes I'm really really hungry and devour a meal that is much too big for me. Eating more often will prevent me from getting so extremely hungry that my eyes are larger than my stomach. Eating smaller meals will also help shrink my stomach back to a reasonable size. If your stomach is smaller, you'll be full more quickly and eat less.
• This rule also includes me eating more "real food" instead of fast food or other heavily processed crud.  I'm going to try to avoid anything in a box or that is otherwise "unfresh".
• Run/walk: I really want to do the Tough Mudder again this year. I really want to do the Tough Mudder with a much better time this year. So I'm going to train the way I need to. I plan on walking or running six days a week. My running will be similar to the couch to 5k programs, but less controlled. I'm going to run curves, then walk the straight parts of the track near my house. Then work my way up to running a half track and walking a quarter. And so on.
• Lift a little: I plan on doing the running training 3 days a week (walking the other three). While on my "walk days" I plan on doing a little bit of weight lifting at home. Nothing too crazy, just trying to increase my strength and keep the blood flowing.

The Plan looks to be pretty effective in helping me obtain my goals, which will be covered in my next post.

Update from the field

It's been a little while since either Hark or I posted anything.  To be honest, we have good reasoning for it.  We've both been swarmed here lately with school, work, and problems outside of both of those things.

I've been having some issues lately with my gallbladder and I still don't know what the exact cause of the problem is.  Hark has been feeling under the weather as well.  If someone were to stack 12-16 credit hours per week, 20-40 hours of work, and (in my case) the responsibility of being a single parent on top of that, you would have a good look at our daily lives.

As far as I'm concerned, I've had to make some changes in the diet that won't agitate my gallbladder until I figure out what the problem is.  This has been especially hard because one of the foods that I've had to cut is bacon, and I love bacon more than any other food on this planet.  I've also refrained from doing any strength training for the time being as well, because my abdominal and dorsal muscles are put into SEVERE pain any time I overuse them.

Hopefully, I'll know more tomorrow.  I'm supposed to have an MRI to see if we can find out what the little bugger below my stomach is up to.  If it is a problem, I honestly hope they remove it so that I can get over it and go back to my old routines.

Don't worry though, friends.  We'll be back soon!

Noticeable Change

I've been on the Carb Nite Solution for over a month now.  When I weighed myself two weeks ago, I had lost nearly 20 lbs of the weight that I had put back on.

I had intended to post this update with my current weight lost as well, but with it being the winter, and me having a son, my schedule doesn't always allow me to get to the gym when I want to.  The gym just happens to be the place where I weigh myself.

Checklist of things I need to buy:

• A bathroom scale

Anyway, the picture is worth quite a few words.  The first thing that I've noticed about myself is that I am noticeably not as wide as I used to be.  My moobs (man boobs) are smaller as well.  Something you can't tell from these photos is that ALL of the clothes I was wearing a month ago are so much looser on me now.  My jeans are practically baggy, when they were snug when I bought them just a month ago!

Progress is happening!

Are You Asking For a Challenge?!

Have you noticed the cruddy job market? I have. With a Master's in Public Health but no real experience outside of the classroom and my internship, it's even more difficult. Companies expect me to want to get paid for my education, which while nice is not what I expect. I realize that I have limited experience and only require an entry-level position and room to grow.

Now you're stopping me, "Hark, what's the deal? We're on a blog about being fat and how we don't want to be that anymore!"

To that I say: My career goals involve telling people to not be fat. If I can't practice what I preach, what does that say about myself and my ability to understand healthy lifestyles?

Also, another interesting career prospect, The United States Public Health Corps has a height/weight requirement. I imagine for similar reasons as outlined above. At my height, a person needs to weigh about 180 pounds. Considering I'm 246 (about I haven't weighed myself in a while, but I seem slimmer than when I weighed myself last), this can easily be achieved by the end of the year because of math.

52 weeks in a year X 1.5lbs a week = 78lbs lost

Considering my new classes of Weight Training, Walking for Weight Loss, and Fundamentals of Nutrition, I might even be able to get it done even more quickly. I've never put down a set goal for my weight, and I feel that this may help me achieve said goal more easily. I've never really held myself accountable for my health. Here's a set goal and timeline, and I'll give myself some sort of reward at the end. Every time I lose a pound, two dollars will go into a savings account. Barring financial crisis, this will be untouched until I hit my target.

So here's a challenge to my fellow Fatnicians: Determine a target weight for the next some amount of time. It can be six months, a year, or even at the end of your current diet. Put it down, make yourself accountable, plan a reward.

Carb Nite Solution: Carb Nite

I'm at the tail-end of my first "Carb Nite."  When someone first starts the CNS (Carb Nite Solution), they go for almost 10 whole days of eating under 30 grams of carbohydrates a day.  At the end of the 10th day, Kiefer tells them to go all-out on carbs.

It's really weird that he has been able to tell me exactly how I would feel each step of the way on the diet.  And, as he foretold, I feel stuffed even though I didn't eat more tonight than I used to on a regular night.  Also, I have this warm and fuzzy feeling all over my body, like I've crawled into a fleece-lined sleeping bag for a nice nap.  The only difference is that I've been feeling this way while I'm awake!  Right now, it's a love/hate feeling.  I love the warm and fuzzy feeling, but I hate the overstuffed feeling that I have as well.

As for the previous 9 full days on CNS, it started out pretty roughly.  I barely got in under 30 grams of carbs the first day, the second day I barely ate any carbs because of not knowing what was safe, and the third day was fine because I was eating some carbs but not too many, but I had some pretty severe hunger pains while my body tried to persuade me into eating more carb-rich foods.  Days four through seven left me with a cloudy mind, but I was still able to function pretty normally.  After that, I settled into the diet and felt comfortable with what I was eating.  

Now, I'm simply curious to see what tomorrow is going to feel like!

Review of The Carb Nite Solution

I will be the first to admit that I was skeptical about this program when I was told about it.  I'm an active member of a message forum that has a thread dedicated to fitness and nutrition, and I usually follow the advice of one of the gurus on this forum.  His name is Cormac, and you've heard me mention him before.  He is practically a genius when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, and he practices what he preaches.  

So when Cormac started talking up The Carb Nite Solution by John Kiefer, after only talking about the greatness that is Mark Sisson, I was hesitant to listen.  I had it locked in my mind that carbohydrates were pretty bad, and it was best to keep them under 100 grams a day, but the overall nutrition in my diet was the thing I needed to focus on.  

Kiefer's solution, however, is to focus almost solely on the carbohydrates and to keep them under 30 grams a day.  This is mostly acceptable to somebody so deep in the paleo-dieting world, until you find out that he also wants you to pig out (literally) one night a week.  For one night, every single week, you load as many carbs into your system as possible.  Cormac said that there was a lot of science behind it as to why it worked, but I had trouble believing him.  That was until he started talking about his overweight friend that was on it, and how much weight he had been losing with it.  He actually said, "It's funny to see the weight almost melting right off of him."

I decided to check it out for myself.  I went to the website, and started reading every little piece of information I could about it to see what Kiefer had to say for himself.  Naturally, the information on the website doesn't give away too much as to how it works or why it works, because Kiefer is selling his book that details the diet.  I took the plunge and bought it anyway, going in with an open mind ready to see what the guy had to say for himself.

What I liked about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist.  This means that every single part of the book is explained with science as to why it works.
• There are so many references and citations to back up what he's saying that it is hard to refute it.
• The idea behind the plan in the book is simple, and following the diet he lays out is not a hard one.
• He explains and forewarns of EVERY thing that will happen to your body when you go on this diet.  The good, along with the bad, are laid out on the table.
• He explains that this plan is not a lifestyle-diet, like The Primal Blueprint, Weight Watchers, Atkins, or any of the others, but it is a power-diet.  This diet is meant for fat-loss, not weight-loss, and is only intended for up to 6 months of use at a time.
• The last part of the book has a layout of meal plans, recommended foods, and other things that will help you succeed on this diet.  It is all very detailed.

What I didn't like about the book:

• John Kiefer is a physicist.  More importantly, he is a scientist (yes, I did list that twice).  This means that there are a LOT of details and science facts in this book to explain why it works.  I'm taking college level biology classes right now and some of it was still over my head.  I considered it to be a necessary evil.
• I don't agree with some of the recommendations on the plan.  One major disagreement that I had was pertaining to exercise.  He doesn't actually recommend it, but says that it can be helpful.  He states that under any circumstance, no cardio should be performed while on this diet.  
• It almost sounds too good to be true.

Overall, I was impressed with the book and the diet detailed out in it.  I think the website looks a little shady, and that it might scare off some potential customers/clients.  I ended up paying $19.99 USD for an electronic version of the book that was instantly available to me, and I think it was worth it.

At the time of this writing, I am on day seven of the diet.  The first couple of days were harder than these last few, but the book has prepared me for all of that.  I can't say for sure whether or not this will actually work as I have spent so little time on it so far.  However, I am fairly confident that this will be effective for me.

After only seven days in to the diet, I am already noticing changes in my body.  That's crazy to me.

You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Step 3: Get in some Exercise

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to give out some details for what I'm doing to kick the weight I put on from the holidays.  It's all going to be simple stuff that should get me (and you, if you do the same) back on track!

Step 3: Get in some Exercise

We're all nearly a week into our New Year's Resolutions.  I say all of us, because I don't know of many people who don't make the resolution each year to lose weight or get in shape.  Hopefully by this point the short detox period and the changes in your diet are making you feel better and you're possibly already losing weight!

The third step in the weight-loss plan involves getting physically active.  I still stick with the Mark Sisson, Primal Blueprint idea of hanging on to the basics:

•  Try to spend at least 20 minutes a day doing low-level cardiovascular exercise.  This means just going for a walk, housework, or anything that gets you moving.  You don't have to break a sweat, but make sure it isn't anything too low that it doesn't even count.  The idea here is to get moving.
• Do some strength training 2-3 times a week.  If time is a factor for you, stick to the basic muscle groups of the chest, back, and legs.  All of the other stuff will naturally follow.  You don't have to have a gym membership either, as push-ups, pull-ups, planks, and squats can all be performed in the comfort of your living room.
• Once a week, have an all out cardio session that last for no more than 10 minutes.  You want to be at 50-75% of your maximum heart rate.

You would be surprised how easily these tasks can be accomplished.  Go for a short walk every day, or park at the back of the parking lot when you go to a store.  Do some yoga, stretching, or tai-chi in your living room.  If you really want to, go to the gym and sweat it out there.  The important thing is not where you do it, but that you do it at all.

Quick Update from Andy

I'm using this as a final excuse to delay going to the gym, so while you are enjoying reading this, also put some shame on me for not being where I need to be.

I just finished reading a new book called the Carb Nite Solution by John Kiefer.  After a couple of months of talking it up by a friend and how awesome it was, I decided to look into it and see what the idea and concepts of it are.  I'll write a review about it later, but I just want to throw out there that I think the author is really on to something here and I'm going to give it a shot.

The past few months, like most of you know, have been a struggle for me with diet and exercise.  I fluctuate from taking excellent care of myself to not taking care of myself at all.  I like myself better when I take care of me, but it's really easy to just not.

I've got two things keeping me motivated to get things done.  The first is that I'll be running in the Tough Mudder again this year, providing I don't have to drive more than 6 hours to get to it.  The second thing is that I'm finally putting myself back out there with women.  It's been just Madix and I for the last year and a half, and frankly, I need someone to talk to and someone to care about me in an affectionate kind of way.  Yeah, I know how it sounds, but since I'm delaying the inevitable, I might as well be brutally honest.

That's all I have for today.  Thanks for sticking with me.

-Andy

Step 2: Change the Diet

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to give out some details for what I'm doing to kick the weight I put on from the holidays.  It's all going to be simple stuff that should get me (and you, if you do the same) back on track!

Step 2: Change the Diet

It's New Year's Day.  Drink some coffee and clear up that hangover, if you've got one.  For me personally, I didn't do any partying last night.  Instead, I put my son to bed at 9:00 p.m. and started watching episodes of the Classic Doctor Who series on Netflix (and I have decided that Tom Baker is now one of my most favorite Doctors).  I didn't even know that I was in a new year until a friend sent me a text message 15 minutes after midnight!

The next step in the weight-loss plan will be changing up what constitutes as "normal" in our everyday diets.  Getting rid of the bread and sugary sweets will be a must.  Meats and veggies from here on out.  

Most people think that the beginning of a new year means wiping the dust off last year's resolution and reclaiming it as something new.  This also means our local gyms will be flooded and healthy foods will start to fly off the shelves at the supermarket.  It's not necessarily a bad thing, unless you really needed that asparagus for your dinner tonight or had planned on using the treadmill today.  What I'm suggesting though, is not to drive directly to the gym, but to get our affairs in order at home first.  What good is it going to do if we work out for an hour and then go home and eat a whole pizza?