Thanksgiving dinner last night was great. Other than one meal at Blocky's and one at Benson's this was the first meal I've had that wasn't in my apartment or at my desk since I went to HK 7 weeks ago. I was amazed at how apprehensive I was about going to a friend's house to eat, it was far too real world and out of my little bubble. It was by far the furthest off the reservation I've gone since I never took my indulgence, but it wasn't really so far off. Turkey was about the right amount of protein, went heavy on the green beans, light on the mashed potatoes, skipped the cranberry sauce and had some yams. There was some butter and salt in the food, but I didn't add any extra. Had a little bit of stuffing and a roll, but other than that it worked. Stuck to water, skipped the wine.
Would I have rather had seconds (and thirds)? Yes. Would I have liked to drown everything in gravy? Yes. Would wine have been great? Yes. Did I miss any of it that much? No.
Best of all, I didn't really have to think about it. I know what 80 grams of protein looks like. I know how much veg I need to fill me up (not that much these days). I wasn't hungry. It was awesome. I have new hope for sustainability after the project ends.
17 days left? Oh yeah, bring it on.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
fuel
New diet came out today. Goodbye apple dinner, hello real food.
If I'd thought about it I would have thought I'd be excited about that, but I'm not. Very first thought was to be annoyed at having to spend time making dinner again. The last few weeks the only meal I really had to do any work for was lunch. I guess this comes back to what my top problem has been through the whole project, time management.
I don't remember the last time I was really excited about a meal. Some people in PCP have blogged about this before, the concept of food just as fuel. I understand it, but I don't much care for it. It is convenient, but I like food. I like liking food. I guess this also comes down to a matter of balance. Have good meals, just have them sparingly and eat reasonably in between.
Speaking of good meals, Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I'm going to a friend's for dinner. I can justify it half a dozen ways, but I'm not going to.
Things are going great. Workouts are still long and boring (50 mins of cardio a day now?!?), but the results keep coming. Down 14 kilos at this point, I think the last time I weighed in at these levels I was just out of college.
If I'd thought about it I would have thought I'd be excited about that, but I'm not. Very first thought was to be annoyed at having to spend time making dinner again. The last few weeks the only meal I really had to do any work for was lunch. I guess this comes back to what my top problem has been through the whole project, time management.
I don't remember the last time I was really excited about a meal. Some people in PCP have blogged about this before, the concept of food just as fuel. I understand it, but I don't much care for it. It is convenient, but I like food. I like liking food. I guess this also comes down to a matter of balance. Have good meals, just have them sparingly and eat reasonably in between.
Speaking of good meals, Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I'm going to a friend's for dinner. I can justify it half a dozen ways, but I'm not going to.
Things are going great. Workouts are still long and boring (50 mins of cardio a day now?!?), but the results keep coming. Down 14 kilos at this point, I think the last time I weighed in at these levels I was just out of college.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
recovery
I was trading emails this afternoon with one of my friends who had a birthday last week. He threw a party that I skipped because a night out for dinner and boozing just isn't on the agenda right now as much as I wanted to go and celebrate with the crew. I apologized for missing the party and he said something to the effect of "No need to explain, you need to stay in the zone. Giving you a hard time for missing the party would be like offering a recovering alcoholic a tequila shot."
I'm still thinking that through. People don't (or at least I didn't) think of fat and out of shape in the same way they think of alcoholism. I'm not saying fat is a disease (at least for me it wasn't), it is more about making bad choices. Is what I'm doing really any different from an alcoholic going to rehab though? Both are about developing new habits and making a lifestyle change. One big difference is that as opposed to an alcoholic's goal to have "not one drop" I'm already doing a lot of thinking about how life works after this ends. I'm excited to go back to eating out with friends and meeting people for drinks, but I can't imagine ever going back to the way I was. It is all about striking a balance and no doubt it will take time to figure out.
Things are going well. New diet is a touch smaller than last week's, but nothing to be afraid of. Timed cardio all week again. Turns out 45 minutes a day of cardio is boring and time consuming (it takes 45 minutes!), but it sure is effective. Still failing by the end of pretty much every exercise, but getting further and further so all good.
I'm still thinking that through. People don't (or at least I didn't) think of fat and out of shape in the same way they think of alcoholism. I'm not saying fat is a disease (at least for me it wasn't), it is more about making bad choices. Is what I'm doing really any different from an alcoholic going to rehab though? Both are about developing new habits and making a lifestyle change. One big difference is that as opposed to an alcoholic's goal to have "not one drop" I'm already doing a lot of thinking about how life works after this ends. I'm excited to go back to eating out with friends and meeting people for drinks, but I can't imagine ever going back to the way I was. It is all about striking a balance and no doubt it will take time to figure out.
Things are going well. New diet is a touch smaller than last week's, but nothing to be afraid of. Timed cardio all week again. Turns out 45 minutes a day of cardio is boring and time consuming (it takes 45 minutes!), but it sure is effective. Still failing by the end of pretty much every exercise, but getting further and further so all good.
Friday, November 12, 2010
keepin' on
The monotony continues. Missed a workout on Wednesday. Got home from work around 8, sat down for a minute, woke up around 11. I added the back exercises into yesterday's workout and the triceps into today's so I'm sorta caught up, but not really. Clearly I need to get more sleep, but that is easier said than done.
A few milestones this week. Finally got through 100 jumps in a row, only to 103 but making progress. Got my time for 2 miles under 30 minutes and for 1k down to 8:30. Not breaking any land speed records here, but it is much better than the 12 minute 1k I was doing when this started.
Has anybody looked at their current diet vs week 1 diet? I did the other day and it was downright funny. Really not hungry at the current level, but it would have freaked me out if I'd seen this at the beginning.
Only a month to go and so much progress left to make...
A few milestones this week. Finally got through 100 jumps in a row, only to 103 but making progress. Got my time for 2 miles under 30 minutes and for 1k down to 8:30. Not breaking any land speed records here, but it is much better than the 12 minute 1k I was doing when this started.
Has anybody looked at their current diet vs week 1 diet? I did the other day and it was downright funny. Really not hungry at the current level, but it would have freaked me out if I'd seen this at the beginning.
Only a month to go and so much progress left to make...
Sunday, November 7, 2010
monotony
Blogging was easier in the beginning. More daily revelations. More things to think about. Things now are routine. Go to work, come home, workout, eat dinner, make next day's lunch, repeat.
Weekends have been relatively quiet. No going out until 4 in the morning. No going out for dinner. That said, none of this is really a bad thing. I've been in a good mood and have been feeling good, just not very interesting.
Met up with Ian today and we headed down to Yokohama to workout with Patrick. We did today's PCP workout and it wasn't awful, but I couldn't get through all of it. Chest dips were a joke, planks were their usual fail, but all of it is getting better.
Came to a scary realization on the way home. I weigh 109 kilos and have 20% visceral fat. That works out to 48 pounds of fat in my gut. 3 bowling balls. Add in a few wetsuits worth of subcutaneous fat on top of that. And this is a massive improvement over where I was 2 months ago. Wow, scary. Going to think about that when I don't feel like working out tomorrow.
Weekends have been relatively quiet. No going out until 4 in the morning. No going out for dinner. That said, none of this is really a bad thing. I've been in a good mood and have been feeling good, just not very interesting.
Met up with Ian today and we headed down to Yokohama to workout with Patrick. We did today's PCP workout and it wasn't awful, but I couldn't get through all of it. Chest dips were a joke, planks were their usual fail, but all of it is getting better.
Came to a scary realization on the way home. I weigh 109 kilos and have 20% visceral fat. That works out to 48 pounds of fat in my gut. 3 bowling balls. Add in a few wetsuits worth of subcutaneous fat on top of that. And this is a massive improvement over where I was 2 months ago. Wow, scary. Going to think about that when I don't feel like working out tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
not much to report
No news is good news. Meals are still fairly boring. Exercise is still hard. Jumping is getting better. After 67 I hit new high scores at 84 and 99. Then my rope broke. Going out to pick up a new one in the morning. All good.
Been a bit frustrated about lack of progress, but then realize that I'm down 9 kilos in 6 weeks. What was I expecting? What took 35 years to do doesn't get undone in 6 weeks. Came to the realization that while this will keep ramping up (and I look forward to continuing the ride) I could stop now and just continue at this level or less and would still keep moving in the right direction. That thought really set my mind at ease. I don't need to keep up this pace forever for things to be better. I think the most important thing so far is just some changing of basic habits. How, when and what to eat. Less pizza, more vegetables. Sounds so simple when you put it that way. Do some exercise. Not standing around a gym staring at machines. Just simple work.
All that said, I really want to go out to dinner and not have to cook (or blend as the case may be). Give me some Indian food, or Thai food, or a good burger. Mmm... burger.
Been a bit frustrated about lack of progress, but then realize that I'm down 9 kilos in 6 weeks. What was I expecting? What took 35 years to do doesn't get undone in 6 weeks. Came to the realization that while this will keep ramping up (and I look forward to continuing the ride) I could stop now and just continue at this level or less and would still keep moving in the right direction. That thought really set my mind at ease. I don't need to keep up this pace forever for things to be better. I think the most important thing so far is just some changing of basic habits. How, when and what to eat. Less pizza, more vegetables. Sounds so simple when you put it that way. Do some exercise. Not standing around a gym staring at machines. Just simple work.
All that said, I really want to go out to dinner and not have to cook (or blend as the case may be). Give me some Indian food, or Thai food, or a good burger. Mmm... burger.
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