My cold has gotten worse. But not enough to justify the day off work. :( No gym for me tonight.
Yesterday was a recovery day so no gym anyway.
Diet as follows:
Fruit (see other days this week)
1 tuna sandwich
2 pieces of chocolate (85%)
*mumble mumble mumble*1 sausage roll, 1 mince pie, 1 slice of Christmas cake *mumble mumble mumble*
Chicken and chickpea Jalfrezi.
Okay so I broke. I had to walk into town to pick something up from the estate agents which meant I was surrounded by Christmassy stuff which put me in the mood for some baked goods. No damage done, this morning's scales showing 13"10' still (or 192lbs to the Imperials and 87.1kg's for the metrics).
As an aside, Tesco Finest Jalfrezi sauce is pathetic. I've never had a jalfrezi in my life that had no heat to it whatsoever before but now I have.
Just need to get well now as the rest of this week's gym is likely off. Have to balance it out by controlling the junk food.
Thursday 25 November 2010
Wednesday 24 November 2010
I'm a sick man....
No not a perve, I'm actually sick. Now I'm usually suffering either allergies or some kind of sinus infection (not sure which, but four months of a runny nose isn't a headache) but now I have a cold. It's not too bad yet but it'll go down hill if I don't get some rest. Mercifully tonight is a recovery day so let's see how it goes. As a silver lining, if I'm sick tomorrow I can take a day off in bed. Lovely, lovely bed.
Okay, so yesterdays eating:
2 apples
1 orange
1banana
1 tuna sandwhich
A few pickled onions
2 Carrs small water biscuits with v small bit of jarlsberg
1/2 pitta bread with 3 chicken dippers, HP
chicken pesto pasta
3 boiled sweets
1 Penguin Orgasm (like a Tim Tam Explosion, just more English and with coffee)
Although it could be better, the I kept the worse bits small.
Exericse
2k row, 8:23 mins
50 minutes endurance spinning
stretching
Took it easier as I could feel this cold coming on, and my leg is feeling funnier by the day. Might swap a spin sessions later this weekfor the running, see if that helps.
That's it. Onwards and upwards.
Okay, so yesterdays eating:
2 apples
1 orange
1banana
1 tuna sandwhich
A few pickled onions
2 Carrs small water biscuits with v small bit of jarlsberg
1/2 pitta bread with 3 chicken dippers, HP
chicken pesto pasta
3 boiled sweets
1 Penguin Orgasm (like a Tim Tam Explosion, just more English and with coffee)
Although it could be better, the I kept the worse bits small.
Exericse
2k row, 8:23 mins
50 minutes endurance spinning
stretching
Took it easier as I could feel this cold coming on, and my leg is feeling funnier by the day. Might swap a spin sessions later this weekfor the running, see if that helps.
That's it. Onwards and upwards.
Tuesday 23 November 2010
2 Week Health Kick
Okay, so I know my posting has been sloppy, my apologies. This should pick up for a little while at least, as I'm going to do a 2 week health kick.
Myself and my darling dearest have decided to do a couple of weeks of heavy gym going (for us), good diet, low booze (boooo!). Our attendance has slipped markedly compared to the previous two months (I told you it'd happen) so we need a boost to get us back in the game. I'm aiming for five sessions a week; four mid week standard sessions, 1 long session at the weekend. This is also about getting us to a point where have a little leeway over Christmas. So this is my benchmark, where I am right now (192lbs). I don't want to go back over it during the festive period. If I lose about 3-4lbs before 23rd December (when work ends and the fun begins) that should be enough breathing space. I'm hoping to be able to hit the gym at least once and do some walking (trudging*) through the snow so stabilise the damage.
As such, I shall be going back to basics and jotting down my consumption and exercise again. A tad boring I know but it's helpful to keep me focused.
So yesterday I ate:
2 apples
1 orange
1 tuna sandwich (two slices of seeded batch bread, butter, 1 tin of drained tuna)
2 slices of toast, butter, marmite
1 Penguin (it's a biscuit, not a bird...)
Couple of small pieces of tikka chicken
1 pitta bread, toasted, a little houmous, a little tzatziki
1 Battered Haddock, Mash, Mushy peas, ketchup, can of Bass Shandy.
Okay, so not perfect but okay. We're trying to clear out our freezer a little which is why the haddock is there. The biscuit wasn't needed but I'm not gonna bitch at myself for it, it's not a regular thing. Same goes for the shandy - I only ever drink it if I'm having some variant of battered or breaded fish (something about it just goes right).
Exercise? 45 mins running, usual cycle. Was planning on an hour but my hip and leg were hurting so cut it short. I think it might be just tension in the leg so I stretched it out after the run. Followed with some crunches and reverse planks.
Easy, feels good.
Just gotta keep at it.
* Trudging - To trudge: the slow, weary, depressing - yet determined - walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to simply soldier on.
Myself and my darling dearest have decided to do a couple of weeks of heavy gym going (for us), good diet, low booze (boooo!). Our attendance has slipped markedly compared to the previous two months (I told you it'd happen) so we need a boost to get us back in the game. I'm aiming for five sessions a week; four mid week standard sessions, 1 long session at the weekend. This is also about getting us to a point where have a little leeway over Christmas. So this is my benchmark, where I am right now (192lbs). I don't want to go back over it during the festive period. If I lose about 3-4lbs before 23rd December (when work ends and the fun begins) that should be enough breathing space. I'm hoping to be able to hit the gym at least once and do some walking (trudging*) through the snow so stabilise the damage.
As such, I shall be going back to basics and jotting down my consumption and exercise again. A tad boring I know but it's helpful to keep me focused.
So yesterday I ate:
2 apples
1 orange
1 tuna sandwich (two slices of seeded batch bread, butter, 1 tin of drained tuna)
2 slices of toast, butter, marmite
1 Penguin (it's a biscuit, not a bird...)
Couple of small pieces of tikka chicken
1 pitta bread, toasted, a little houmous, a little tzatziki
1 Battered Haddock, Mash, Mushy peas, ketchup, can of Bass Shandy.
Okay, so not perfect but okay. We're trying to clear out our freezer a little which is why the haddock is there. The biscuit wasn't needed but I'm not gonna bitch at myself for it, it's not a regular thing. Same goes for the shandy - I only ever drink it if I'm having some variant of battered or breaded fish (something about it just goes right).
Exercise? 45 mins running, usual cycle. Was planning on an hour but my hip and leg were hurting so cut it short. I think it might be just tension in the leg so I stretched it out after the run. Followed with some crunches and reverse planks.
Easy, feels good.
Just gotta keep at it.
* Trudging - To trudge: the slow, weary, depressing - yet determined - walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to simply soldier on.
Thursday 18 November 2010
Slow Posting, slow going
After my good news last week and my intention to update here more....it all came to nothing. A weekend in London (people who walk slower than me really should either stay in days, walk in the gutter or be prepared to be punched in the back of the head. I hate tourists) which included far less drink and far more cupcakes than it should have scuppered me for a few days. But just look at them....
I was shattered from the weekend. A 3 hour train ride home turned into 5 because our shoddy nationalised Railtrack can't stop people stealing copper wire from the signals. Which meant dinner was from the Chinese, yum yum!
Okay, so I'll stop with the excuses and get to the facts. No workouts on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Absolutely shocking performance. Poor form dude, poor form.
Back in the gym last night. Hit the rower, didn't go nuts, kept my time under 9 mins for 2k. 120kcals. Then on the spin bike. Felt great for first 40 minutes but then energy sapped from me and slacked. Not ideal but I think I might well be developing a cold. Temp who sit's next to me refuses to stay at home with her cold is spreading it round. Bloody carriers.
Anyway, I checked the scales this morning to assess the damage. Huh, whaddya know, 13 stone 10lbs (192lbs, 87.1kg). Maybe I have cracked some new fangled diet, cupcakes and stress!
I was shattered from the weekend. A 3 hour train ride home turned into 5 because our shoddy nationalised Railtrack can't stop people stealing copper wire from the signals. Which meant dinner was from the Chinese, yum yum!
Okay, so I'll stop with the excuses and get to the facts. No workouts on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. Absolutely shocking performance. Poor form dude, poor form.
Back in the gym last night. Hit the rower, didn't go nuts, kept my time under 9 mins for 2k. 120kcals. Then on the spin bike. Felt great for first 40 minutes but then energy sapped from me and slacked. Not ideal but I think I might well be developing a cold. Temp who sit's next to me refuses to stay at home with her cold is spreading it round. Bloody carriers.
Anyway, I checked the scales this morning to assess the damage. Huh, whaddya know, 13 stone 10lbs (192lbs, 87.1kg). Maybe I have cracked some new fangled diet, cupcakes and stress!
Thursday 11 November 2010
Current Stats - Redux
Been a bit lax in my updating lately, need to pick up the slack. It's coincided with a drop off in my gym going too - only been twice this week (good sessions though at least, one bike session, one treadmill session) - and too much drinking at the weekend
To kickstart my re-use of this blog I'm going to update you on my stats. I'm not using the gym's monitor any more (or often anyway). If it can't calculate my height or body fat correctly, it's just telling me my weight. Which my bathroom scales can do. So I'm using those guys and leaving the body fat check till I can afford some decent calipers (any recommendations would be appreciated). It also means I can do it at home at the same time each week, which will be Thursday mornings (should be longest time since I've had something to drink).
So weight this morning:
Weight: 194lbs/88kg
Woop! I am under the 14 stone barrier finally. Yeah it's in the morning before I've even had a glass of water but still, I'm not gonna bitch. Between my original weigh in back on the 1st October, I've lost 8lbs. More like 14lbs since I actually started taking my training seriously again which was a week or so before that.
I think the key to this has been my weekday breakfast of fruit without increasing my cals later in the day. This has been an easy change to make, I love fruit anyway, and seems to be melting the fat off me despite my brief relapses into laziness.
Speaking of stripping out calories, I've often been having tuna sandwiches for lunch, but because one tin of tuna is too much for a single sandwich, it ends up two. Frankly, I don't think I need the extra bread, even if it is wholemeal. I often come away from lunch feeling a bit stuffed, which I don't want. I think I'll just try stuff the sarnie for now and just munch at the counter whatever won't fit.
In regards to training, the running seems to be really good in terms of both calorie burn and CV fitness, but it seems to have brought on a pain in my right hip. I might alternate my sessions between the bike and the treadmill to help reduce this, at least till it stops. I'm wondering if it's my stride doing the damage as I have long legs and the treadmill doesn't give me much room to stretch unless I'm going hard. Let me know your thoughts if your reading this.
Okay, so with that good news I am going to re-motivate myself. There's a chance I'll be in Oz next year so I want to be in good condition by the time I'm there. A barman extraordinaire like myself (well I was before I wound up in a bank) needs to look their best if they want to maximise their tips.
To kickstart my re-use of this blog I'm going to update you on my stats. I'm not using the gym's monitor any more (or often anyway). If it can't calculate my height or body fat correctly, it's just telling me my weight. Which my bathroom scales can do. So I'm using those guys and leaving the body fat check till I can afford some decent calipers (any recommendations would be appreciated). It also means I can do it at home at the same time each week, which will be Thursday mornings (should be longest time since I've had something to drink).
So weight this morning:
Weight: 194lbs/88kg
Woop! I am under the 14 stone barrier finally. Yeah it's in the morning before I've even had a glass of water but still, I'm not gonna bitch. Between my original weigh in back on the 1st October, I've lost 8lbs. More like 14lbs since I actually started taking my training seriously again which was a week or so before that.
I think the key to this has been my weekday breakfast of fruit without increasing my cals later in the day. This has been an easy change to make, I love fruit anyway, and seems to be melting the fat off me despite my brief relapses into laziness.
Speaking of stripping out calories, I've often been having tuna sandwiches for lunch, but because one tin of tuna is too much for a single sandwich, it ends up two. Frankly, I don't think I need the extra bread, even if it is wholemeal. I often come away from lunch feeling a bit stuffed, which I don't want. I think I'll just try stuff the sarnie for now and just munch at the counter whatever won't fit.
In regards to training, the running seems to be really good in terms of both calorie burn and CV fitness, but it seems to have brought on a pain in my right hip. I might alternate my sessions between the bike and the treadmill to help reduce this, at least till it stops. I'm wondering if it's my stride doing the damage as I have long legs and the treadmill doesn't give me much room to stretch unless I'm going hard. Let me know your thoughts if your reading this.
Okay, so with that good news I am going to re-motivate myself. There's a chance I'll be in Oz next year so I want to be in good condition by the time I'm there. A barman extraordinaire like myself (well I was before I wound up in a bank) needs to look their best if they want to maximise their tips.
Thursday 4 November 2010
The running bug
Okay, Tuesday fell flat. No booze, not much crap (couple of small choc's left from halloween) but no exercise. Thumbs down.
Yesterday though was good. Straight onto the tread mill. Ten minutes warm up with increasing intensity, start the cycles (2 min 7.0, 1.5 min 9.0, 1.5 min 12.0) for 45 mins (final cycle was 2 mins 7.0, 1 min 9.0, 2 mins 12.5, all on higher incline). 5 mins cool down. I don't think I've been so sweaty outside of the sauna. It was brilliant.
I always found running on the treadmill deathly dull and if my music wasn't keeping me going it was just a royal pain in the ass. Doing these cycles is different. I am only looking at the next shift in pace rather than to next 50 minutes of plodding on. During the 2 min walks I'm focusing on dropping my heart rate ready for the next. I am fully engaged in my training. Also, it's challenging my heart to stretch itself at a higher level than it's used to, then get back as close to resting as possible. The higher end bits take me out of my cardio zone and into glycogen burning, which is good for calorie burn once I stop running. This is definitely not boring anymore.
I'm looking forward to tonight's session. I might hit the spin bike to give my feet a rest min, or split my time between both. See how it goes.
Yesterday though was good. Straight onto the tread mill. Ten minutes warm up with increasing intensity, start the cycles (2 min 7.0, 1.5 min 9.0, 1.5 min 12.0) for 45 mins (final cycle was 2 mins 7.0, 1 min 9.0, 2 mins 12.5, all on higher incline). 5 mins cool down. I don't think I've been so sweaty outside of the sauna. It was brilliant.
I always found running on the treadmill deathly dull and if my music wasn't keeping me going it was just a royal pain in the ass. Doing these cycles is different. I am only looking at the next shift in pace rather than to next 50 minutes of plodding on. During the 2 min walks I'm focusing on dropping my heart rate ready for the next. I am fully engaged in my training. Also, it's challenging my heart to stretch itself at a higher level than it's used to, then get back as close to resting as possible. The higher end bits take me out of my cardio zone and into glycogen burning, which is good for calorie burn once I stop running. This is definitely not boring anymore.
I'm looking forward to tonight's session. I might hit the spin bike to give my feet a rest min, or split my time between both. See how it goes.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
End of an era
No not me training, I haven't given up yet even if I am almost at the month mark. I mean the the demise of Mr. Eugenides blog (hopefully temporary). I've been reading him for years and he never fails to make me laugh (or furious by highlighting yet more grotesqueness from our overbaring state). Hopefully it'll be temporary when he realises that the current bunch of assholes are only slightly less malicious than the last lot. But for now I'll remember this fine blogger by my favourite words of his about my beloved aqua vitae.
Drinking with friends is one of life’s small pleasures. No, let’s change it up; it’s one of life’s biggest pleasures. How many memories are burned on the brain – albeit fuzzily – from boozy student nights out, when tomorrow morning’s lectures could be skipped with impunity and the whole world was there for the taking? How many lifelong friendships forged over pints on lazy summer evenings? How many of your friends have met, taken a fancy to and fallen in love with life partners with the aid of a shot of Dutch courage to loosen the inhibitions or a glass of wine to lubricate the tongue? How many of us and our children, to say nothing of geniuses yet to be born, owe our very places on this earth, and some of the fondest times of our lives, to the joyous, self-actualising, life-affirming, complex, subtle, almost magical force that is alcohol?Too true.
Good day bad day
I didn't post how my Sunday went so I'll roll it into my notes on yesterday.
Food - Bacon sandwich (1 rasher, slice of tiger bread, butter, dash of HP), too much extra bread (but I'll be damned if I let tiger bread go to waste) with peanut butter (organic unsugared stuff) and jam. Rhubarb yoghurt. Dinner of corned beef pie (1 slice of, little HP). Went a bit nuts on the bread but it was the weekend so no big worry. I did have a couple of diet cokes while at the pub watching the Newcastle-Sunderland match (haha, 5-1. The thing we Smoggies and the Geordies can agree on is how much we hate Sunderland FC). I don't want to drink too much of the stuff but it's that, water or beer so I thought I'd take the middle ground. Anyway, it's the weekend. Oh yeah, and it was Halloween and we had some stuff in, so I had a cupcake.
Training - Well, all that carb loading was good for something. Good session running. Opened with my 2k row, did under 8:30. Onto the tread mill, 6k 5 min warm up. Improved my cycle - 2 mins quick walk (7.0), 1.5 mins medium pace (9.0) followed by 1.5 mins good pace (12.0). When I felt stronger in the run, I shortened the medium pace and did 2 mins on 12.0. Did 45 mins total on treadmill. This may not be hugely impressive to some but I'm happy to see myself slowly getting better. Followed the CV by dips, chins, planks, reverse planks and frog crunches. After that quick dip in the pool and a 5 min steam. Fun day at the gym.
So not a bad day all in all, especially for a Sunday where the main temptation is to stay in bed as long as possible before rolling out of bed for the match and a beer. Followed up by junk food, bottle of wine and other assorted booze. Well that's my kind of Sunday anyway.
The title of this post was good day bad day, so you can probably guess what happened. I wasn't feeling great (understatement) so I came home after a couple of hours work. I'd had some fruit at work (banana, pear), but got home and had slice of corned beef pie. Then later I had the nub end of the tiger bread with some spicey chicken strips. Later, we had our pasta pesto and a whole bunch of cakes. And two bottles of Pinot Grigio between us. And no gym (although I had got up early to continue my pursuit of 100 press ups).
Seriously, this is why I find it hard to lose weight. When I break, I break. I'm not worried overly by the food in there - it's rare we'll have cakes in the house and they would have been eaten across the week anyway, at least they weren't stale last night. But did we really need both bottles of wine? We're supposed to be not drinking during the week. Well, no more booze till Friday. I need to show some will power and work out at least three times midweek. And with the little lady at tennis tonight, that leaves me with the options of running outside or getting on the rower at home. Or sitting on my ass playing Medieval 2. I know what I'd prefer....
Food - Bacon sandwich (1 rasher, slice of tiger bread, butter, dash of HP), too much extra bread (but I'll be damned if I let tiger bread go to waste) with peanut butter (organic unsugared stuff) and jam. Rhubarb yoghurt. Dinner of corned beef pie (1 slice of, little HP). Went a bit nuts on the bread but it was the weekend so no big worry. I did have a couple of diet cokes while at the pub watching the Newcastle-Sunderland match (haha, 5-1. The thing we Smoggies and the Geordies can agree on is how much we hate Sunderland FC). I don't want to drink too much of the stuff but it's that, water or beer so I thought I'd take the middle ground. Anyway, it's the weekend. Oh yeah, and it was Halloween and we had some stuff in, so I had a cupcake.
Training - Well, all that carb loading was good for something. Good session running. Opened with my 2k row, did under 8:30. Onto the tread mill, 6k 5 min warm up. Improved my cycle - 2 mins quick walk (7.0), 1.5 mins medium pace (9.0) followed by 1.5 mins good pace (12.0). When I felt stronger in the run, I shortened the medium pace and did 2 mins on 12.0. Did 45 mins total on treadmill. This may not be hugely impressive to some but I'm happy to see myself slowly getting better. Followed the CV by dips, chins, planks, reverse planks and frog crunches. After that quick dip in the pool and a 5 min steam. Fun day at the gym.
So not a bad day all in all, especially for a Sunday where the main temptation is to stay in bed as long as possible before rolling out of bed for the match and a beer. Followed up by junk food, bottle of wine and other assorted booze. Well that's my kind of Sunday anyway.
The title of this post was good day bad day, so you can probably guess what happened. I wasn't feeling great (understatement) so I came home after a couple of hours work. I'd had some fruit at work (banana, pear), but got home and had slice of corned beef pie. Then later I had the nub end of the tiger bread with some spicey chicken strips. Later, we had our pasta pesto and a whole bunch of cakes. And two bottles of Pinot Grigio between us. And no gym (although I had got up early to continue my pursuit of 100 press ups).
Seriously, this is why I find it hard to lose weight. When I break, I break. I'm not worried overly by the food in there - it's rare we'll have cakes in the house and they would have been eaten across the week anyway, at least they weren't stale last night. But did we really need both bottles of wine? We're supposed to be not drinking during the week. Well, no more booze till Friday. I need to show some will power and work out at least three times midweek. And with the little lady at tennis tonight, that leaves me with the options of running outside or getting on the rower at home. Or sitting on my ass playing Medieval 2. I know what I'd prefer....
Monday 1 November 2010
Stats Update: 28/10/2010 (with pics!)
Okay so this is very delayed. I apologise. Busy busy weekend. But I finally have my new stats and yes even those pics I promised. I'll try re-edit them later so the one's I've added to aren't so tiny. I'm not chuffed that the least flattering ones are the ones that kept their original size. Anyway, stats up first, including height this time...
Height: 6"3.1
Weight: 200lbs - 90.9kg
BMI: 24.9
Body Fat: 24.1% - 21.9kg
Lean Weight: 69kg
Analysis? Well I'm 2 inches taller! This really nails it for me how useless this machine is. I'm not sure if my hair was spikier than usual at the start of the session but that's just crap. It also derails the BMI numbers, not that I care too much for them.
Better news is that the weight is coming down still. I flubbed on the Wednesday (and the Monday) having drinks and crap to eat, but the numbers are still showing a drop. I know from doing a weigh in at home the following day that some of this was water bloating.
Again good news is the body fat is dropping and lean weight increasing. As we found out last week the BF testing (by electrical resistance testing) is inaccurate, but hopefully by testing in similar conditions (pre-gym) it's a bit better. Surprised to see a .6kg jump in the lean weight though, my strength training has been minimal. I suppose it could be legs...
All in all not too shabby. Not hitting my target though yet but I keep mucking up before weigh ins. Later week testing shows my weight lower. I need to cut back on my drinking properly. This weekend was better though, half a bottle of wine and a few beers across the weekend. I actually stuck to the soft stuff through a footie match too.
Anyway, what we've all been waiting for (or dreading) are the pics. I'm not going to over-analyse these. They are just going to stand as a testamount to the time I let myself go too far. Also, I've never really seen my back, and I'm not particularly pleased with it. But just gotta keep plodding on with my training, things will improve.
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