Build Me - An Ongoing Journey

Tuesday 2/10/09
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Weight: 154.2lb – +0.6lb
Body Fat: 10.2%– +0.7%
Lean Mass: 138.47lb – -0.54lb
Fat Weight: 15.73lb – +1.14lb

Diet:
7:15am:
3 small Apples
3/4 Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
8:50am [Post-Workout]:
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:15pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Tunafish [no mayo] (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Turkey Soup
1 cup Roasted Vegetables [oily]
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
5 Pickle Spears
3:40pm:
1 medium Apple
5:45pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Tunafish [no mayo] (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing, Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1 bowl Turkey Soup [extra turkey]
1 cup Chinese Beef and Mushrooms with Tofu
1 plate with 1 small Pork Chop, a little sautéed Shrimp, 1 small-medium Rice Stuffed Pepper

That was my diet.



The Day:

My weight seemed to rebound again this morning. I guess that is to be suspected because of the really sudden drop. My body fat on the other hand took a nasty turn as well. I’m hesitant to believe the number though. As I was plugging in my new weight into the Omron Handheld Fat Analyzer it suddenly gave me a battery warning and shut off. I turned it on again and quickly took my readings before it would die on me. The loss of power may have affected its accuracy.

For some reason I was feeling light headed and queasy after breakfast. I tried not think much of it and went on to my lifting routine anyway. The feeling didn’t exactly subside, but it turned into a trivial inconvenience as my workout was not affected. What did affect my workout was the entire football team lineup using the gym at the same time.

Apparently early morning Tuesdays are the not the time to go. The only reason I had to go earlier today was because of a testing block that I have 3 times a semester (the test went well by the way). Anyway, the place was a zoo. Having to navigate my way around a forest of bodies and having to wait for a scarcity of barbells and dumbbells made me around 5-10 minutes late. I barely was able to squeeze in a post-workout meal before the test. In the end though, it all worked out well.

I had a decent workout. I noticed I think some strength gains in both my chin-ups and squats. Next week I may be increasing those weights. The only really annoying thing about the entire experience was that I didn’t have time to make eggs for my post-workout meal and thereby had to substitute deli ham, which digests slower. But hey, that’s a minor complaint.

That malaise never went away. I fear slightly that I may be getting sick, but my gut instinct is that it is simply an upset stomach. For some reason I think it was the apples for breakfast. I hope by tomorrow it will dissipate, but I am as well prepared for the worst. Wish me luck and goodnight.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #68
 
Must be that extra turkey in the bowl of soup.
 
Backspace: If anything I am not eating enough. If you look back as soon as I switched to the cut I have now dropped 6 pounds in a little over a week. It would make no sense for me to be eating too much while dropping that kind of weight. Oh and that extra turkey is to try and balance out my protein/carb ratio. I do not think some extra turkey in a single bowl of soup is the reason why my body weight is dropping and yet my body fat seems to stagnant. Sorry if I seem rude, but that last comment of yours just seemed very snide.
 
You take yourself to seriously, it was what we like to a joke. Lighten up mate:) Of course extra turkey wont make you fat. Just trying to pop in and share some advice. Good luck anyway, bye.
 
Backspace said:
You take yourself to seriously, it was what we like to a joke. Lighten up mate:) Of course extra turkey wont make you fat. Just trying to pop in and share some advice. Good luck anyway, bye.
Click to expand...

Ah see this is why talking through text is absolutely horrible! I reread your comment and see what you mean :p; I just read it originally in completely the wrong light. Anyway, 'appreciate your advice and thanks for reading my journals. Cya later.
 
Wednesday 2/11/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 154.2lb – +0.0lb
Body Fat: 9.8% – -0.4%
Lean Mass: 139.09lb – +0.62lb
Fat Weight: 15.11lb – -0.62lb

Diet:
7:45am:
1 small-medium Apple
1 medium Apple
3/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
9:40am [Post-Workout]:
1/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg Whites
12:15pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1/2 bowl Garbanzo Bean Stew with Roast Beef
1 bowl Cuban Black Bean Soup [contained some ham]
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
3:00pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, White Beans, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
3/4 bowl Turkey Rice Soup
5:45pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Vegetable Pasta Salad, Cottage Cheese (Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1 bowl Cuban Black Bean Soup [contained ham]
1 small plate Oriental BBQ Chicken
1 plate 2 large slices Roast Turkey, Couscous Pilaf

That was my diet.



The Day:

At first I felt better this morning, but then not so much. Basically through repetitions at the toilet I found it all to be a digestion problem: definitely something I ate. It stayed with me as a minor inconvenience throughout the entire day, but by the evening the symptoms mostly dissipated.

I was happy to see my fat drop this morning. I hope it doesn’t rebound. I really hope it becomes a standard, as it should be when my weight is dropping as well. If my wishes do not seem to be becoming true I am definitely going to have to make a reevaluation of my diet. Something must be wrong if I am losing weight but not body fat. I’ll have to make it my mission to find that something.

Despite the stomach problem I pushed myself to do my cardio workout today anyway. I am glad it was an Elliptical HIIT day because I think the more severe up down motion of running could have put me on the edge. It actually turned out that the 20 minutes on the machine went quite well. I burned 362 calories. I know that is more than 30 calories less than last time, but I am convinced that last time simply must have been a machine error. The 393 calories from before in 20 minutes is too much of a jump from my norm, especially since I didn’t make any significant changes.

My diet was pretty much dead-on perfect today. I am slightly worried that I ate too much for dinner, but if I did it was only too much by a marginal amount. Also according to the nutrition facts posted on the menu the oriental chicken was supposed to be fairly healthy for you, but it seemed while eating it to be quite fattier than the apparent facts gave. For this reason I didn’t eat all of it (just in case my instincts were correct).

During my nightly routine I decided to try and add some more intensity to my pushups. I focused on getting lower than my usual during the downward movement. I even added an extra rep on the last set because I felt like my first was not quite the full motion it could be. This all added up to a nice pump by the end of the 3rd. My sit-ups meanwhile are becoming more and more frustrating. As I tried to really push myself with speed I was hindered by pain everywhere but in my abs. I felt it in my thighs, my feet, my tailbone. It wasn’t horrible, but I believe it was enough that it forced me to slow down my cadence. I don’t know what I’m going to do about that. I think I am doing all that I can already. I mean I got my hiking shoes that I put on specifically to plant my feet under my dresser’s lip near the floor. I put a folded towel under my lower back and tailbone for absorption. And I spread my legs a perfect shoulder width apart with the knees at a 90 degree angle. The only nice thing about the exercise was I did get a burn at last in the right place by the third set. And you know what: it was all worth it just for that.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #69.
 
Thursday 2/12/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 155.2lb – +1.0lb
Body Fat: 9.7% – -0.1%
Lean Mass: 140.15lb – +1.06lb
Fat Weight: 15.05lb – -0.06lb

Diet:
7:45am:
2 medium Apples
4/5 bowl Oatmeal [slightly runny]
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham
9:45am:
1 cup Oatmeal
5 Egg Whites
11:50am:
1 medium Apple
1:40pm:
3/4 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Kidney Beans, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Vegetable Minestrone Soup
3:05pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper (Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1 bowl Beef Barley Soup
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:45pm:
2 bowls Beef Barley Soup
1 1/2 large bowls Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, a little Garbanzo Beans / Other Beans, a little Deli Turkey (Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1/2 bowl Asparagus

That was my diet.



The Day:

At last it seems I got my body fat to turn around. But now my weight went up! Why can’t I get both to go down! Err, maybe I’m overanalyzing these daily numbers too much. I do think I ate a little heavily last night though because I went to bed still feeling fairly full, which does not usually happen on my cut. I’ll watch for that next time; maybe those slight changes will create this balance I am shooting for.

I am feeling much better this morning. I think all signs of trouble down below are gone. Turns out that while my stomach internally is feeling fine, the rest of my body is quite sore. I take this as meaning I had a good workout yesterday. I’m not that worried about the soreness affecting my running today though; usually things like that seem to go away as soon as I get my feet moving (plus stretching before hand as I always do will help).

And I was right. My run today was fairly normal; it hit that perfect balance between hard but doable. The real news though is later in the day, regarding my pushups and sit-ups. I really got into both movements today and really focused on isolating those muscle groups for each rep. This got good results in my pushups that I was able to get more of a pump in the right places, but I saw the really incredible stuff afterwards while doing my sit-ups. I made sure to go all the way and all the way up without using my arms to try and get momentum for the upward motion (that is I kept my hands behind my head as much as I could). This all lead to an amazing result. I failed! Yes, I say this with an exclamation mark. I failed! On the 23rd rep of the last set, I failed. And I did it with all the pride and vigor I could feasibly muster. I for the first time in awhile pushed myself to the edge and actually caused pain not in my lower back, not in my tailbone, not in my feet or legs, but right lasered in on where it should be: my abs. It was glorious.

My diet today was average up until dinner. My college was celebrating what we call the “Big Red Freakout” for our Ice Hockey team this weekend and sadly this ment ZERO healthy food. I did the best I could and just ate lots of salad and soup (there wasn’t even cottage cheese or tunafish out to put on my salad!). To compensate for some protein I did add some deli turkey. Like other times I know I said I wouldn’t do this, but there has to be exceptions to all rules. And today was such an exception. In a feeble attempt to get some more protein than just morsels of beef from the soup and a little sliced turkey I tried the “Theme Cuisine’s” Tso’s Beef. It was basically fried fat in a supersaturated sugar syrup: disgusting. I didn’t even swallow what little piece I tried. After the whole fiasco I promptly made a comment card: “If you’re going to throw a party at a dining hall where the entire freshman class eats, at least include ONE healthy entrée”.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #70.
 
Friday 2/13/09
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Weight: 153.2lb – -2.0lb
Body Fat: 9.3% – -0.4%
Lean Mass: 138.95lb – -1.20lb
Fat Weight: 14.25lb – -0.8lb

Diet:
7:15am:
2 1/4 small Apples
3/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham, Onion, Bell Pepper (Mustard)
8:45am [Post-Workout]:
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with 5 Egg Whites, Onion, Bell Pepper (Mustard)
12:15pm:
1 bowl with 1 Black Bean Burger, Beans
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Bell Pepper (Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1 bowl Clam and Rice Soup
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
2:45pm:
1 bowl Clam and Rice Soup [extra clams and rice]
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Bell Pepper, Tunafish [no mayo], Cottage Cheese (Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
5:45pm:
1 bowl Clam and Rice Soup
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Bell Pepper, Tunafish [no mayo], Cottage Cheese (Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1 bowl Chinese Chicken with Vegetables (Chile Sauce)
1 plate with 2 small-medium pieces Tilapia and a little Garbanzo Bean Stew

That was my diet.



The Day:

Today was a good day. I woke up feeling excited for my workout. I had a good breakfast (minus the apples, which are horrible in quality compared to the other dining hall). And most importantly, I had a good hour of lifting.
Every exercise was as it should be. I think I really am getting better at focusing my mind on isolating the corresponding muscles for each motion. For example during my squat today I really put the effort into keeping my core tight, my thighs and but clenched and lifting up using my hip drive. It made the entire movement feel “right” if that makes sense (not that I wasn’t doing it right before, but now it is even more so amplified). I also am definitely getting better at my bench press and chin-up. Next week I will be increasing my bench by five pounds and my chin-up decreased by five pounds as well (that is if the machine allows me to go in such small increments). I also think I can begin to push more with my shoulders so at least for the 10 rep movements on Tuesdays I will be changing those back to 25 pounds (a weight that I downgraded from because of consistent failure). I am excited for all of this and look forward to reporting back on the results.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #71.
 
Saturday 2/14/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 152.4lb – -0.8lb
Body Fat: 10.2% – +0.9%
Lean Mass: 136.86lb– -2.1lb
Fat Weight: 15.55lb – +1.3lb

Diet:
9:15am:
2 medium Apples
3/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:15pm:
1/2 bowl Roasted Vegetables
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Cottage Cheese (Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1 bowl Beef Noodle Soup [extra beef]
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
2:40pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Garbanzo Beans, Kidney Beans, Green Beans, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Beef Noodle Soup
5:45pm:
1 bowl beef Noodle Soup [extra beef]
1/2 bowl Couscous and Vegetables
1 very large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell pepper, a little Mixed Beans, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing, Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)


That was my diet.



The Day:

Yes, I see the numbers. Hell, I woke up to the “what-the-****” result. And it is just that. I’m not going to say anything more today regarding those changes. Well that’s not true, I do have one more thing to say. Bull****.

I mostly sat around doing homework today. My diet stayed standard up until dinner where yet again there was nothing to eat. Luckily the standard cottage cheese was provided so I just went to town on this giant salad. It seemed to work out alright. Also later in the day I did get at least some movement in as I walked to and fro from the RPI Field House for our big Ice Hockey game against Yale. We lost, but it was a fun time (first Ice Hockey gave I’ve ever been to). Besides those small tidbits there really isn’t much else to tell. Tomorrow will be yet another progress shot, and I’m hoping hoping to see some results.




That was the day.





This concludes Entry #72.
 
New progress shots are in today! I think I pretty much look the same, maybe slightly skinner obviously because I lost weight. But I don't think it's been long enough on my cut yet to really notice a difference in well "being cut" (it's only been around 12 days). On the other hand it does look like all my muscle is still there, and possibly even some growth in my chest (though you'll have to verify this - it could just be my imagination playing tricks). In the end, I'm pretty happy with what I see.
 
Sunday 2/15/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 155.2lb– +2.8lb
Body Fat: 9.7% – -0.5%
Lean Mass: 140.15lb – +3.29lb
Fat Weight: 15.05lb – -0.5lb

Diet:
9:15am:
2 very small Apples
1 small-medium Apple
3/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:15pm:
1 bowl Roasted Vegetables [slightly oil] with a little Quinoa
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Tunafish [no mayo] (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Chicken Tomato Soup
1 slice 12 Grain Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
2:45pm:
1 cup Quinoa
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell pepper, Mixed Beans, Tunafish [no mayo] (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Chicken Tomato Soup with Tofu
5:45pm:
1/2 bowl Broccoli and Curried Garbanzo Bean Stew
1 bowl Chicken Tomato Soup [extra chicken]
1 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Mixed Beans, Tunafish [no mayo], Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing, Light Red Wine Vinaigrette)

That was my diet.



The Day:

Today was another heavy load day, and by that I mean an intellectually heavy load day. I had lots of schoolwork to complete so much time was spent at a desk. That’s alright though, it is a Sunday anyway, one of my rest days (until later at night of course).

I am happy to see my weight rebound slightly from the all-too-fast drop it took and for my body fat to decrease back to where it should be going. I hope it is more of a steady curve now that my body should be beginning to get adjusted. I do fear that I am slightly overeating, especially for dinners. I think from now on I’m going to cut out my fourth meal, the dunch, because it is simply making me feel too full after eating dinner. I honestly believe that all that “eating often to keep the fire burning” mantra is ****-talk. I did 3 meals a day through most of my first semester in college and as long as I kept the calories coming in at a decent amount I was fine. In fact it wasn’t even until I started bulking that I began to try and incorporate more than 3-4 meals a day (post-workout included as one). Now that I am on a cut, and then onto maintenance dieting, I think it’s time to switch back.

Now onto the only real news for today. My pushups awarded me with a new record of 72. I’m not sure in the validity though as I may have cheated on the last few. I’m going to check back in on this next week to see if my numbers show up as high. I wouldn’t be too disappointed if they didn’t, it probably just means I focused more on perfection and less on reps (something hard to do when you’re striving for your maximum). As for my sit-ups, I still can’t break that damn 50 mark. I’m always hitting it on the dot. The worst part is I feel like it is getting easier! And yet, I can’t go faster. I’m not sure what to do, but keep working at it. Any recommendations are really appreciated in this regard. Anyway, that’s all there is for today. Goodnight.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #73.
 
Monday 2/16/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 155.8lb – +0.6lb
Body Fat: 10.3% – +0.6%
Lean Mass: 139.75lb– -0.40lb
Fat Weight: 16.05lb – +1.0lb

Diet:
9:10am:
2 medium Apples
3/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:25pm:
1 cup Oatmeal
1 cup Three Bean Chili
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Chicken Vegetable Soup
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
5:45pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper, Tunafish [no mayo], Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Broccoli with Tofu (Chile Oil, Chile Sauce, Soy Sauce)
1 bowl Chicken Vegetable Soup [mostly broth]
1 plate Roast Beef with Mushroom Barley Stew, Okra and Tomatoes

That was my diet.



The Day:

Wow, my numbers just seem to be all over the place these last few days. I honestly don’t know what to make of it. I do feel like I ate too much for dinner last night, but looking back it doesn’t appear that my meal was any larger than normal. But hey, if my body says I ate too much it probably means I did which most likely is what caused a skewing of the scale this morning. Today I plan to execute the lack of fourth meal program, that is no pre-dinner/post-lunch meals. This should cure my tendency to feel a tad too full after diner. Or so I hope. If not, it is quite simple to change some other variable: tweaking my diet until it is just right. I love this feeling, this feeling of being in complete control of your own food dominion.

I had an excellent workout today. As usual my motivation initially was lacking as it was a cardio day and I never seem to be in the mood until I actually begin the movements. But, once I started on the treadmill around 11:15am(later in the day than usual as President’s Day altered my schedule) that all changed. The TVs were not operating in the gym, but it didn’t seem to matter. Time flew by while I was running and before I knew it I was almost done. I found myself for the first time really having some extra energy in my legs so I decided to sprint the last 30 seconds. I upped the speed to 9.5mph and then found that lacking so I smashed the button further to a fast 10mph. My legs were flying underneath me and I hit a 14:28 2mile run, my best ever. I then hopped onto the elliptical, but only to find I got screwed by the inconsistent extra resistance version. I didn’t let this deter me and pushed the machine’s rotating arms as if I was on the lighter version (that is I didn’t stray from my standard increments of 5rpms starting at 65rpm). By the end I was exhausted. The machine said I burned 269 calories, which is actually less than the easier version. I know one of them is false, but I don’t know which. I am positive though that what I did today during those 20 minutes was far more caloric intensive than normal. I then ended the workout with my usual 4mph 6% incline walk for 10 minutes. After such a hard workout on the elliptical the walking felt incredibly easy. I was on a different treadmill this time; it said I burned 102 calories. But, I don’t believe it. I don’t care what the calories say. I know that during those 45 minutes I worked myself, I gave it my all; and the numbers can fall wherever they may knowing that.


And so the day ends. My diet plan worked out fairly well except for a minor blip in lack of energy midday. But, I don’t think that will be a big deal and as my body adjusts it should disappear. The important part is I didn’t feel overly full after dinner. My pushups and sit-ups went normal tonight. I focused more on getting the full ROM for my sit-ups as I found out quite recently that I wasn’t going down all the way. This made me go slower, but the burn was just as intense. Tomorrow I have a monster Physics II Honors test. Wish me luck.

That was the day.





This concludes Entry #74.
 
Tuesday 2/17/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 154.2lb – -1.6lb
Body Fat: 10.0% – -0.3%
Lean Mass: 138.78lb – -0.97lb
Fat Weight: 15.42lb – -0.63lb

Diet:
7:45am:
1 small-medium Apple
2 small Apples
3/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
9:45am [Post-Workout]:
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with 5 Egg Whites
3-4 Carrot Strips
11:20am:
1 bowl Chicken Soup [extra chicken]
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Red Pepper, Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans, Kidney Beans, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
4-5 Carrot Strips
1 small Pear
1:45am:
1 bowl Beef Mushroom Soup
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
5:45pm:
1 bowl Beef Mushroom Soup
1/2 bowl Peas & Onions with 1 small Stuffed Portabella Mushroom
1 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Tunafish [no mayo], Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)

That was my diet.



The Day:

My lifting today was everything it could have possibly been. For unbeknownst to me reasons I seemed to have a plethora of extra energy. Every lift seemed easier. I switched up my weights today increasing by 5 pounds on my bench, 5 pounds on my shoulder presses, and 10 pounds on my chin-ups. I feel like next week it may be time to increase by 10 on both squats and deadlifts as well as maybe even another 5 on bench as it did feel quite easy today. This confidence could be due to the funny amount of extra energy I had though. Thursday will give a hint as to where my true strengths lie.

My weight seems to be fluctuating all over the place. I just don’t get it. I felt like my diet today was pretty good though, at least I can say that much. I just hope things begin to even out soon. I really want to see a downward trend in both weight and body fat. It is really irking me that this is not what is resulting and worst of all I have no idea why not.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #75.
 
Hey! mcFreid! Just wanted to stop in an say hello. You are well organized young man, and have your shiiiit :) together!

I have been following your journal, and apologize for not posting in it. If there is anything I can do to help let me know. I get sort of busy at times (at home, and on the board sometimes), if I don't answer right away PM me, and I will get to you as soon as I can.

If there is anything you need, holler......

Keep up the good work!

Best wishes,

Chillen
 
Hey Chillin,

Glad to hear someones reading my entires and checking :D. If you wouldn't mind sharing some knowledge I do have a question. My weight seems to be dropping at the perfect clip of around 2lbs per week, but my body fat hasn't moved since I was at 160. It seems to be staying at 10%. This is really bothering me because it's becoming such that I had more at this body weight during my bulk than I do now because I had less body fat then. Would you know of any reasons why my body fat seems to be staying stagnant?

Thanks,
Michael
 
Wednesday 2/18/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 153.4lb – -0.8lb
Body Fat: 9.9% – -0.1%
Lean Mass: 138.21lb – -0.57lb
Fat Weight: 15.19lb – -0.23lb

Diet:
7:45am:
2 medium Apples
1 bowl Oatmeal [runny]
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:20pm:
3/4 bowl Vegetables with Tomato Sauce and a little Meat [possibly sausage], Chicken Breast
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, White Beans (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Turkey Rice Soup
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5 Carrot Strips
5:45pm:
1 bowl Turkey Rice Soup
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, a little Green Pepper, Tunafish [no mayo], Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 plate 2 medium pieces Ham, Crispy Polenta with Garbanzo Beans

That was my diet.



The Day:

I am honestly struggling to comprehend my loss in weight and yet my stagnant movement in body fat. This is not what I wanted! At this point during my bulk I had more muscle and less fat, and now it seems I have gained fat through the cycle. I just hope one of these days my body fat is going to drop in a sudden plopping motion to where it should be. I’ll never stop eating healthy. I’ll never stop working out at intensities worth measuring. But, I just want to see some results!

There isn’t anything to report about my cardio workout today. Everything was average. I burned 367 calories, up 4 from last time. But the intensity I feel was around equal (which makes sense since 4 calories is hardly a difference).

My pushups are getting easier and easier. After my next maximum test I am definitely going to be increasing the reps. I haven’t decided by how much yet though, maybe my new maximum will yield some insight. As for my sit-ups I’m really trying to make sure I’m doing full ROMS. I feel like this has slowed down my movement considerably but at the same time it feels more natural than the hectic pace I was going at before to try to show improvements in my maximum. I also am feeling it less in my legs (which are at a slightly awkward position due to how my feet are planted). Tonight these changes have lead me to fail after completing 29 reps on the last set. I am proud of this failure though. It means I pushed myself to the edge. It is comforting in a way to know that I kept trying to lift myself up through my abs, and yet couldn’t. It is comforting because it means I did my best.

That was the day.





This concludes Entry #76.
 
Thursday 2/19/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 153.0lb – -0.4lb
Body Fat: 9.8% – -0.1%
Lean Mass: 138.01lb – -0.2lb
Fat Weight: 14.99lb – -0.2lb

Diet:
7:45am:
2 medium Apples
1 bowl Oatmeal [runny]
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
1:40pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Green Pepper, Garbanzo Beans, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Chicken Barley Soup [extra chicken and barley]
3:15pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Asian Vegetable Soup
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:45pm:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Asian Vegetable Soup
1/2 bowl Steak Salad
1 plate 1 small piece Pork Chop, 1 small piece Curried Chicken Breast, Peas and Mushrooms, Roasted Vegetables, Bean Stew

That was my diet.



The Day:

Today was a good day. My diet was good. My mood was good. I had a decent amount of energy. And my workout was good.

I sprinted the last 30 seconds of my run, hitting my record dead on at 14:23. I then got stuck using the absurdly high resistance elliptical, but at the 6 minute mark I was able to switch over to the normal difficulty to my great relief as I don’t think I would have made it otherwise. My pushups were excellent and caused a great burn in my pecs. That felt good. The best satisfaction of the day was from my sit-ups. Doing a full ROM or as close as I mentally could get to it, I was able to this time complete my standard 32 reps for my standard 3 sets. It took a great deal of brain power actually to will my muscles on that final push. But the end reward was worth it. It feels great, and I had a great day.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #77.
 
Friday 2/20/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 153.0lb – +0.0lb
Body Fat: 9.0% – -0.8%
Lean Mass: 139.23lb – +1.22lb
Fat Weight: 13.77lb – -1.22lb

Diet:
7:15am:
1 bowl Cream of Wheat [slightly over the top]
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham, Green Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
8:45am [Post-Workout]:
1 small Apple
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with 3 Egg Whites
12:15pm:
1 medium-small Apple
1 small Pear
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Tunafish [no mayo] (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Tomato Soup
1 small Black Bean Burger
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:45pm:
1 bowl Tomato Soup
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Lettuce with Deli Turkey, Salsa, Tomato, Jalapeño Pepper
1 bowl Chinese Beef and Broccoli
1/2 bowl Vegan Taco Meat Mix, Refried Beans, Ground Turkey and Beef

That was my diet.



The Day:

Remember that sudden “plop” I was hoping for? Well apparently it has happened. My hopes are not up though as this is most likely a temporary one-day basis type of deal with the numbers I’m seeing. I do contend that in all probability my body fat will spring back to at least some portion of what it what was before. Meanwhile though I will smile in this delightful change of grace from the normal morning disappointments.

I would say my lifting today was normal. I didn’t seem to have the bundles of energy like last time, but that could be due to the sub-par breakfast which had a noticeable lack of apples and an annoying cream of wheat instead of oatmeal. I also don’t have time for my Aeropress Coffee on Friday mornings so that may be it as well. Either way, I still performed rather decently though I did have to switch up my routine slightly (because of the Footballers taking up the entire row of squat racks when I arrived). I ended up doing my chin-ups, pull-ups, and dips before the barbell movements of squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. This wasn’t a huge issue and didn’t seem to affect me much anyway. Overall I felt pumps in all the right places, so I am satisfied with my performance. I do not think I will be increasing the weights on bench, squats, or deadlifts quite yet though as I mentioned I may previously. I just don’t think I could handle it without sacrifices in form. But, I have patience, I know that eventually I will be able to increase and when that moment comes I will be ready for it.

I just can’t seem to win today with my diet though. To go along with the ****ty breakfast I mentioned earlier, my dinner tonight sucked as well. The only meal that had an ounce of decentness to it was lunch where I was able to have the rare treat of a pear at the dining halls. But for dinner, no such luck. I started off by making two bad choices: one I had the Chinese food (which regardless of protein content in beef is never healthy). Two is I decided to have Deli Turkey with a salad because they had no cottage cheese. In such cases I should try to stick to my promise of eating nothing if there is nothing good to eat. Even then the one food that did have some correctness to its nutrition facts, that is the ground turkey and beef was absolute crap. It had the consistency of sand. Meh, I guess that is one of the disbenefits of eating at my dining hall. Consistency is not their finest virtue.

That was the day.





This concludes Entry #78.
 
Saturday 2/21/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 154.4lb – +1.4lb
Body Fat: 9.5% – +0.5%
Lean Mass: 139.73lb – +0.5lb
Fat Weight: 14.67lb – +0.9lb

Diet:
9:15am:
1 small Pear
1 medium Apple
3/4 bowl Oatmeal
5 Egg White Omelet with Deli Ham (Mustard)
12:15pm:
1 small Pear
4 Pickle Spears
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 bowl Roasted Vegetable Soup [thick]
1 slice Whole Wheat Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
5:45pm:
1 bowl Roasted Vegetable Soup [thick]
1 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Green Pepper, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
1 plate Beef Brisket, Asparagus, Couscous

That was my diet.



The Day:

As predicted both my weight and body fat rebounded today. It was a significant rebound so if everything held constant I figure that it should drop back down tomorrow. It seems I am often wrong now in predicting these matters as the assumption “everything held constant” is becoming increasingly irrelevant as it is my weight and body fat themselves that are fluctuating beyond normal. Or maybe it is normal? Maybe I just have had a chance of luck that they used to be so constant in results. Hey, who knows; as long as they are both decreasing I am happy.

My diet today took a nice turn from yesterday’s disappointment. I was able to have real oatmeal in the morning as well as a dinner that satisfied my protein requirement. I spent most of my day doing schoolwork so there wasn’t too much activity to compensate for the food besides some walking between buildings and back. But, such is the normal for my Saturdays. I am off to bed earlier tonight though. I feel oddly tired and not motivated enough to continue homework. Tomorrow morning, as I am a morning person, will be more conductive towards a working environment. So for now, good night.


That was the day.





This concludes Entry #79.
 
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