Or head the opposite direction and say "I reckon"
Consistency. It's not a pizza topping.
- Thread starter [Focus]
- Start date
I reckon that I suppose you are, FF. Have you tried listening to music? I hardly notice other people with my earphones in. Well, I hardly notice people either way, but the music is a good excuse. I recommend Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" on repeat. 
I reckon I'm not a fan of treadmills because running or even walking on them feels unnatural to me. It's not the same motion. You do definitely have more control though. Don't have to deal with traffic lights and such.
I reckon I'm not a fan of treadmills because running or even walking on them feels unnatural to me. It's not the same motion. You do definitely have more control though. Don't have to deal with traffic lights and such.
One of the things I do like about the treadmill is once I set my speed I have no choice but to keep up with it. When outside I notice from time to time I might slow my pace when I start to tire. Once I realize it I push myself back faster. The treadmill will force me to keep moving at the same pace and not slack off. I much perfer running outside though.
That's a very good point you make there lads.
I try to keep my intensity high regardless. Sometimes it's actually an issue for me. I burned up a lot more willpower I think stopping myself from doing any more running yesterday than I did in getting started. And over the course of the next few weeks you'll notice me chafing at the bit constantly, haha. I'll be shocked if I manage to make the 9 week couch-to-5k program last even 4 weeks. And this from someone who's been largely inactive and overweight for his entire adult life. XD
Speaking of which, it's time to hit the weights soon. I'm still sort of adjusting to the whole "not in the morning" thing. Trying to find the best time. Seems it'll either be around 3-4 in the afternoon or 6-7 in the evening. And I do find it a bit harder to get started later in the day. More because I'm used to doing other things around this time than because I'm out of energy.
211.2 lbs, 96.8F this morning.
I can't believe I don't lose weight. XD Today I'm bringing my cardio back. It actually was nice to take a little "break" from it for a while with the skiing and the running and the "simulated long walk"s and the actual long walks and whatnot, but I needs my cardio. Cause no it would be too reasonable for me to drop weight like a normal human being on a large caloric deficit.
Gonna take some pictures tomorrow and see if I can notice a difference. I hope so.
I can't believe I don't lose weight. XD Today I'm bringing my cardio back. It actually was nice to take a little "break" from it for a while with the skiing and the running and the "simulated long walk"s and the actual long walks and whatnot, but I needs my cardio. Cause no it would be too reasonable for me to drop weight like a normal human being on a large caloric deficit.
Gonna take some pictures tomorrow and see if I can notice a difference. I hope so.
02/28/08
C5K Week 1, Workout 2. 2.6 miles. Suspect it was actually 3.0. Not quite sure if I did 3 or 4 laps of one particular route but I prefer to underestimate.
It's weird because I decided I'd avoid the lights n train and just do laps around the neighborhood. Felt like significantly less work (despite having less break time without the lights). Maybe I'm just crazy.
I was actually kinda sore going down the stairs today to start my run. That rarely happens to me. Yeay for adaptive stress.
C5K Week 1, Workout 2. 2.6 miles. Suspect it was actually 3.0. Not quite sure if I did 3 or 4 laps of one particular route but I prefer to underestimate.
It's weird because I decided I'd avoid the lights n train and just do laps around the neighborhood. Felt like significantly less work (despite having less break time without the lights). Maybe I'm just crazy.
I was actually kinda sore going down the stairs today to start my run. That rarely happens to me. Yeay for adaptive stress.
211.2 lbs, 96.8F this morning.
I can't believe I don't lose weight. XD Today I'm bringing my cardio back. It actually was nice to take a little "break" from it for a while with the skiing and the running and the "simulated long walk"s and the actual long walks and whatnot, but I needs my cardio. Cause no it would be too reasonable for me to drop weight like a normal human being on a large caloric deficit.
Gonna take some pictures tomorrow and see if I can notice a difference. I hope so.
Yeah, I can't understand why you aren't losing any weight either... I can tell you are working hard and are very determined.
are you 100% sure you are measuring your food correctly? I just can't understand it... because I am sure you pay very close attention to it.
Can you tell me what you eat during the day by the way? I think you forgot to do that
Maybe your pictures will tell the story, though. Hopefully your losing fat and gaining muscle... when do we get to see those? End of contest or sooner?
Last edited:
I know, right? I'm quite sure I'm measuring my food very carefully. It makes me a little crazy. I actually contacted the Kinetics department at the U today about getting some body fat testing done. I just don't know about these measurements - I'm so squishy that I can't tell if I'm actually improving or not, though my clothes are looser... I think.
Can you tell me what you eat during the day by the way? I think you forgot to do that
Welp, today I had
3 servings (93.75 grams) of old cheddar
100g (after cooking and draining) of bacon
200g (cooked and drained - but not rinsed) of regular ground beef
250g of lean ham
And uh, that's it so far. Need to eat a little more. As far as I know those numbers are accurate within 3% (I estimate to an extent when I do my portioning - what I mean is that the servings I consume will average out to those numbers, but any given serving may vary by as much as 3%). That adds up to 1750 calories, 61% of them from fat, 37% from protein (for my 160g minimum intake) and <2% carbs (10g).
Sorry. If I forget stuff, please remind me. My life is full of distractions, mostly of my own making, haha.
Actually I'm taking a new set tomorrow (since it will have been a month from the contest start). I'm a little nervous. Last time I could hardly see any difference, doing somewhat similar things. But this time the photos will be much more uniform as I was having to take them in the bathroom mirror before, and couldn't get proper shots of the back at all. I don't want to find out that I'm working this hard and seeing almost no result. It won't stop me, but yeah I'd prefer not to be in the "genetically disadvantaged" category. -_-
Then again a lot of my "worrying" is just the result of overanalysis. I'm expecting the pictures will show some good progress. I can almost see it myself. Especially after a workout.
Last edited:
210.2 lbs, 97.1 F this morning.
Okay so I decrease my calories even more and my temperature goes up. And I lose a lb. Oh boy. A trend? We'll see. I mean starving myself always worked in the past, so I guess why not try it, hey? As long as I'm getting my minimum protein intake, I'll be aight. Maybe my metabolism is just super efficient. That would make sense. But then why wouldn't I have gained massive amounts of weight on my "pizza diet". Grargh. I just can't let this go ever can I. The body fat testing will help. Gonna get that done some time this next week.
Also I think I'm gonna phase out the bacon over the next few weeks (while I use it up - I got A LOT) and go for less "shady" food sources. I always wonder if the "cooked and drained" is really the number of calories it says it is or if I'm eating 500-1000 calories over without even knowing it. Kind of an irrational fear, as I measure it all very carefully and weigh it afterwards, but whatever. It'll comfort me. Besides I burn it half the time because I'm doing something else with headset on and I forget about it.
Okay so I decrease my calories even more and my temperature goes up. And I lose a lb. Oh boy.
A trend? We'll see. I mean starving myself always worked in the past, so I guess why not try it, hey? As long as I'm getting my minimum protein intake, I'll be aight. Maybe my metabolism is just super efficient. That would make sense. But then why wouldn't I have gained massive amounts of weight on my "pizza diet". Grargh. I just can't let this go ever can I. The body fat testing will help. Gonna get that done some time this next week.Also I think I'm gonna phase out the bacon over the next few weeks (while I use it up - I got A LOT) and go for less "shady" food sources. I always wonder if the "cooked and drained" is really the number of calories it says it is or if I'm eating 500-1000 calories over without even knowing it. Kind of an irrational fear, as I measure it all very carefully and weigh it afterwards, but whatever. It'll comfort me.
Besides I burn it half the time because I'm doing something else with headset on and I forget about it.Maybe you could get turkey bacon? I don't know if that even addresses the problem. I just like to solve problems with turkey.
Turkey angers me though. I forget which comedian it was (well actually I remember who, just not his name - I'm bad with names - no wait it's Mitch Hedberg or something like) that said it, but turkey always seems to be having an identity crisis. Just be yourself, turkster.
I dunno what I'd replace it with though. There's nothing that really compares macronutrient wise (that I can think of at this moment), except cheese, and cheese worries me because of the trans fat and the hormones and antibiotics and whatnot. I consider it something I shouldn't really be eating at all, but it's so good. Anyway I'm not gonna increase my cheese intake, no sir, so what do I do, then? Eat leaner meats and supplement with say coconut and flax and such? That would make for a pretty unsatisfying 1500-1800 calorie diet, I tell you what. I could do it though if I added more bulk (fiber - vegetables). Wouldn't be as fun, but I'll do what I gotta.
Last edited:
Nagging doubts, overanalysis, and the need to burn
So as usual I had too much free time today and I've been pondering on why my progress is not what it could (and based on past experiences, should) be. My emo is so journal. -_-
Anyway, reflecting on the past, specifically where I was around this weight and dropping very fast, the only real difference I can think of is that I was just eating as little as possible and doing ****lots of cardio. Seriously a lot. I mean like 3 hours a day of moderate intensity (140'ish bpm HR - which is pretty high for me). In addition to daily activity, which at the time was substantial. And I would eat maybe 1500 calories a day. And that worked for me. But sticking to it past about the 3-4 month stage where I was down to 170-175'ish but still looked pretty squishy with my shirt off, that was very hard. (I think I might do considerably better today if I wanted to, though.)
There were times I did the same except with added strength training (with no idea what I was doing) and became discouraged because it seemed like I was becoming significantly weaker every session (too much volume is likely what that was - also a ridiculous 3000-4000 calorie deficit on which I really was losing almost a lb a day for nearly two months) and seeing less progress on the weight loss front.
So now I'm like, well, eff, what am I supposed to do. I want results, and in a reasonable timeframe. None of this 3 lbs lost in 6 weeks bull****. Half a lb a week at what is probably 22% body fat (or more)? Come on! I know I can do better. Can I do better without losing large amounts of muscle at the same time? Not quite as sure, but still. **** if anything I might have even gained weight, because if I'm down 4-5 lbs from the glycogen and such (because of keto), then I'm up overall.
I've already decided to simply eat less (gonna aim for around 1500-1800[WO days] calories per now, so long as my temp doesn't dip - and it doesn't seem to be) and see what that accomplishes. But in a few hours I'll hopefully be taking some pictures that'll show some sort of dramatic, obvious "wow you put on like 8 lbs of muscle and lost 8 of fat" type results. But, I doubt that'll be the case.
I guess I need to either let go of my impatience and my desire to see an extraordinary transformation by the start/end of the summer, or turn up the intensity. I'm pretty sure I could handle more on both the nutrition and the exercise aspects of the effort. Y'know, instead of spending all my time crying about how it's not working well enough, make it work.
I've been reading some of the "Soviet" material on "auto-regulation of training", can you tell?
Shugs is a goofball most of the time, but I want that "Phoenix" mentality again. I feel like I'm not trying hard enough and that's why I'm not seeing the results I want. I want to be burning up, hard. I remember one time back in the day I missed half of my cardio because I slept in a little and I was pissed off all day. It was noticeable and people complained. Hahahaha. That's the **** that got me mad. I want that back. :SaiyanSmilie_anim:
I mean I guess most people would consider going from consuming pizza and soda all day and getting 0 exercise to eating at what's supposedly a deficit, strength training and running 3x/week each, increasing my NEPA and all that **** good, but I just... I want a fire inside. I want to be consumed by it.
It pisses me off to no end for me to be this intent on something that is currently the #1 priority in my life and not be seeing better results. Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining for the reason I was last time; this isn't a prelude to giving up. It's just that things aren't supposed to be this hard for me. I'm that guy who does good at everything he tries. Why aren't I winning! Damnit. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough in the gym. Speaking of which, brb.
So as usual I had too much free time today and I've been pondering on why my progress is not what it could (and based on past experiences, should) be. My emo is so journal. -_-
Anyway, reflecting on the past, specifically where I was around this weight and dropping very fast, the only real difference I can think of is that I was just eating as little as possible and doing ****lots of cardio. Seriously a lot. I mean like 3 hours a day of moderate intensity (140'ish bpm HR - which is pretty high for me). In addition to daily activity, which at the time was substantial. And I would eat maybe 1500 calories a day. And that worked for me. But sticking to it past about the 3-4 month stage where I was down to 170-175'ish but still looked pretty squishy with my shirt off, that was very hard. (I think I might do considerably better today if I wanted to, though.)
There were times I did the same except with added strength training (with no idea what I was doing) and became discouraged because it seemed like I was becoming significantly weaker every session (too much volume is likely what that was - also a ridiculous 3000-4000 calorie deficit on which I really was losing almost a lb a day for nearly two months) and seeing less progress on the weight loss front.
So now I'm like, well, eff, what am I supposed to do. I want results, and in a reasonable timeframe. None of this 3 lbs lost in 6 weeks bull****. Half a lb a week at what is probably 22% body fat (or more)? Come on! I know I can do better. Can I do better without losing large amounts of muscle at the same time? Not quite as sure, but still. **** if anything I might have even gained weight, because if I'm down 4-5 lbs from the glycogen and such (because of keto), then I'm up overall.
I've already decided to simply eat less (gonna aim for around 1500-1800[WO days] calories per now, so long as my temp doesn't dip - and it doesn't seem to be) and see what that accomplishes. But in a few hours I'll hopefully be taking some pictures that'll show some sort of dramatic, obvious "wow you put on like 8 lbs of muscle and lost 8 of fat" type results. But, I doubt that'll be the case.
I guess I need to either let go of my impatience and my desire to see an extraordinary transformation by the start/end of the summer, or turn up the intensity. I'm pretty sure I could handle more on both the nutrition and the exercise aspects of the effort. Y'know, instead of spending all my time crying about how it's not working well enough, make it work.
I've been reading some of the "Soviet" material on "auto-regulation of training", can you tell?
Shugs is a goofball most of the time, but I want that "Phoenix" mentality again. I feel like I'm not trying hard enough and that's why I'm not seeing the results I want. I want to be burning up, hard. I remember one time back in the day I missed half of my cardio because I slept in a little and I was pissed off all day. It was noticeable and people complained. Hahahaha. That's the **** that got me mad. I want that back. :SaiyanSmilie_anim:
I mean I guess most people would consider going from consuming pizza and soda all day and getting 0 exercise to eating at what's supposedly a deficit, strength training and running 3x/week each, increasing my NEPA and all that **** good, but I just... I want a fire inside. I want to be consumed by it.
It pisses me off to no end for me to be this intent on something that is currently the #1 priority in my life and not be seeing better results. Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining for the reason I was last time; this isn't a prelude to giving up. It's just that things aren't supposed to be this hard for me. I'm that guy who does good at everything he tries. Why aren't I winning! Damnit. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough in the gym. Speaking of which, brb.
Well, it's good to speak your mind on these things, at least from my point of view. Whining in my journal helps me keep on track, I think. It's nice to have somewhere to go where you can express these things.
On a completely different note, are you sure you're not cheating yourself? Don't think I don't trust/believe in/all that crap you, I'm only asking to make you aware if that is indeed the case. When reading my old journal from two years ago I whined about no results but I looked at my food log and I was way cheating myself. I was eating tidbits here and there and just not accounting for them, or skipping workouts. It's like I thought that because I was trying I deserved to lose weight and not losing weight was just an injustice.
It's just a thought, I could be way off. Just offering some of my own experiences.
That being said, I believe in you, and I admire that you keep trying to tweak your plan to get optimal results. Go you!
On a completely different note, are you sure you're not cheating yourself? Don't think I don't trust/believe in/all that crap you, I'm only asking to make you aware if that is indeed the case. When reading my old journal from two years ago I whined about no results but I looked at my food log and I was way cheating myself. I was eating tidbits here and there and just not accounting for them, or skipping workouts. It's like I thought that because I was trying I deserved to lose weight and not losing weight was just an injustice.
It's just a thought, I could be way off. Just offering some of my own experiences.
That being said, I believe in you, and I admire that you keep trying to tweak your plan to get optimal results. Go you!
Oh, I know. But I get a double serving of whine when I complain about my complaining.
Oh, no worries, it's a perfectly valid question, and one I ask myself all the time. Except it's more like, "Am I really eating X amount of calories? Is that really how much I should be having? Is X really the best workout? Should I run more? Should I be running at all? Etc. I just spend nearly $150 "upgrading" my food scale to make daamn sure.
When it comes to discipline with my diet, I would say no, I am not cheating myself. I literally eat exactly what I am supposed to. On days when this is true it's because I've eaten less, not more, and always of the foods I'm supposed to be. I'm not bragging but I'm just not the cheating type. When I do allow myself cheats it throws off my game, so I simply do without. In 6 weeks or so of this I have not eaten anything that didn't fit within my guidelines even once. Unless you count switching to keto as a week of cheat meals. For which an argument could be made, really.
Aww, thanks muffin. <3 I appreciates the loves, and I do try. Homeslice isn't home right now so I can't go grab the camera yet, but it will be interesting to see what the pictures have to say.
And now a random for your enjoyment! Strength training results to follow shortly.
02/29/08
Did a little keto test and read at light to moderate (1.5-4 mmol) without any exercise and in near-transparent urine. So, that's pretty good I'm thinking. Probably in full-blown ketosis.
Not sure if I'll transition to targeted or not, as my strength seems to be making solid progress regardless of my WO nutrition. Probably will just to be on the safe side, but not for about a week and a half (to allow for the full month of induction). And I'm making myself late, so, hope everyone has a decent or better weekend.
Did a little keto test and read at light to moderate (1.5-4 mmol) without any exercise and in near-transparent urine. So, that's pretty good I'm thinking. Probably in full-blown ketosis.
Not sure if I'll transition to targeted or not, as my strength seems to be making solid progress regardless of my WO nutrition. Probably will just to be on the safe side, but not for about a week and a half (to allow for the full month of induction). And I'm making myself late, so, hope everyone has a decent or better weekend.
210.2 lbs, 96.9F today.
So paranoia has led me to check and re-check all my intake numbers and as far as I can tell they're dead on. Don't see that there's much else I can do other than be patient. I like that I can maintain this higher deficit - makes me feel better, like I'm not "cheating" the way I was at 2500 (which actually was already more than a thousand below maintenance, in theory... I know these things are prone to over or under estimation depending on whether you're talking about the deficit or the intake respectively).
Couldn't get the pictures yesterday but will for tonight. Gotta get that skinfold testing sorted out, too.
So paranoia has led me to check and re-check all my intake numbers and as far as I can tell they're dead on. Don't see that there's much else I can do other than be patient. I like that I can maintain this higher deficit - makes me feel better, like I'm not "cheating" the way I was at 2500 (which actually was already more than a thousand below maintenance, in theory... I know these things are prone to over or under estimation depending on whether you're talking about the deficit or the intake respectively).
Couldn't get the pictures yesterday but will for tonight. Gotta get that skinfold testing sorted out, too.
Yeah, i'd say your in full blown ketosis too. How long did it take ya, do you know?
Also, about your previous post where you said in the past severe calorie defecits worked well for you and you said you are going to try something like that again...
I say go for it, if it worked well for you in the past, why not try what works again.
When I plateaued maybe it was just because I was at my natural body weight. If you eat a lot under your maintance it's just common sense that you will lose weight... so i'm behind ya brotha!
EDIT: By the way, I am working on a calorie counter device that gets installed in your body and it gives you a detailed summary of the total calories every time you eat, what the Protein, fat, and carb content is and it can give you a daily total whenever you want it, a weekly total etc.
I am going to sell it for $25,000, do you wanna buy one?
Last edited:
Well, it's been 2 and a half weeks or so total, but was there by 2 weeks for sure. It was rare for me to go over 20g carbs, most of the time I had 10 or less. And my body tends to adapt to things quickly in general, so I just assumed I would rocket right into ketosis.
Thanks.
Yeah, it makes sense practically speaking. I mean if I'm not losing weight (and this isn't a plateau thing it's happened just like this before) then eat less and/or exercise more, right?
I think you were getting pretty close to your "set point" when you were dieting. You were not all that fat imo in your pictures after cutting, just need to put on some more muscle to show.
And it's good to take a break from prolonged deficit dieting anyway. Does things to your metabolism.Sometimes I actually wonder if I shouldn't just go on a bulk, since that's what my body seems to want to do, but damn it I want to lose weight. I comfort myself with the knowledge that success is inevitable long term, it's just a matter of outlasting my body's bull****.. Last time I wussed out around now and became all inconsistent before just giving up entirely (partly because of other stuff going on in my life, but no excuses). This round I'mma get it regardless of the time and effort involved, but yeah I just feel like I'm doing something wrong when my progress isn't optimal... or even average... for a lazy housewife half my size. XD