Crossfit Hates Me

Sometimes, the easier you make things, the more you can progress.  Since my last post, I have been watching my sugar consumption (although I have indulged on birthdays and vacation....whoops).  Anyway, I want to put this out there....I have not counted calories in the past month.  I have not monitored a thing that I have put in my body.  I have enjoyed every meal, and have skipped quite a few as well.  I still fast...in fact....it is probably the single reason why I have been able to control my calories.  I have switched up my eating plan in the last month to make it even more accommodating to my lifestyle.  Before I worked on this meal plan, I did calculate that I wanted to keep my calories between 1800-2000/day.  Well, for 2 days of the week, I only eat dinner, and a normal dinner, meat veggies and carbs (and I don't really care if the carbs are starchy....what a joke).  Anyway, I've calculated on 2 days of the week, I can't exceed 600 calories during those meals, and the remaining 5 days, I can stick to 2300-2500 calories.  So, with those numbers, I don't go crazy on my fast day dinners, and I eat bigger meals on the non fast day.  I even mix in breakfast on  those days (gasp!).  Anyway, I figure my protein consumption is fine, and I am being responsible for my eating on most days.  If I slip and have a desert, I'm well aware of my lack of control, so I monitor it closely.  But, with my new position at work (it's almost been a year, hence the slowdown in the blog), I'm entertaining clients.  Plus, if you are in an office like mine, there is always good stuff lying around (although I do my best to stay away).  Anyway, the point is, I love my new meal plan, and by controlling my intake 2 days a week through fasting, I'm more relaxed with my eating the remaining 5 days.  This does not mean I eat anything I want!  Be responsible!  Oh, and I still don't drink :).

Now, remember how I separate my fat control (diet) with my muscle gain (weight training)?  As you can see from the updated photo, I am putting on some good muscle.  I also am thrilled with my numbers at the gym on the big 3 (bench, dead lift and squats).  Today, 315lbs on bench, the past few days has yielded reps of 395 lbs on squat and 375 lbs on dead lift.  This is on an empty stomach.  I made the mistake a few weeks ago of drinking a protein shake prior to my workout (don't ask me why), and I had a horrible time...I felt bloated and weak, go figure.  I'm still not doing cardio, so, the diet has been working just fine.  I do enjoy a protein shake after my workouts and I have been mixing in a tbsp of creatine.  I wouldn't say this is the sole reason for my gain, it's really just improving my numbers everyday at the gym.  I still keep track on my clipboard.

So, where am I at right now in my journey?  I'm 38 years old and the strongest I have ever been in my life.  I haven't been on the scale in 3 months...to hell with the scale.  I have found a meal plan that is not a scam (I'm living proof, and no, it's not that I have a special body type and it's only right for me, it's science), and I still workout 3 days a week....oh, and I still hate cardio.

A Few Quick Notes...Down With Sugar

As we get closer to summer I would like to share a few things. #1....I'm getting stronger still, which is always a good thing.  I'm up to 345 lbs on my deadlift (4x) after starting at 135 lbs. last May.  #2...sugars kill me, and if I stay away from them, I'm fine.  When I indulge, it leads to other bad decisions...that's the way I am.  At some point, I'm going to have to make a long term decision on what I will and will not stick to from a diet standpoint.  I eliminated alcohol a few years ago, and my success skyrocketed.  I've been hovering around the 189-193 lb range and have had muscle gain, but I'm ready to really dig deep and see what I am capable of achieving.  I plan on checking back in at the end of July to give you some updated photos.  I think you'll notice muscle gain for sure, but I'm still struggling with a cleaner diet.  I embraced the idea of "anything goes", and I think it's a great concept.  The problem is, anything should not be in my vocabulary if I want to continue to have long term success.  Alcohol I don't miss.  Hopefully, my next post will state that I don't miss sugars.  I'll keep you posted.....but remember, this journey started when I validated my insulin issues at the doctor.  Sometimes, starting a new job, working hard and progressing your career causes you to lose focus. Why would I continue to put things in my body that are causing it harm long term, just for a few seconds of instant gratification?  I'm not saying I'm never going to enjoy foods, it's going to be difficult for me to stay on track if I allow certain foods to remain in my life.  It starts now, alcohol has been gone....sugar, you're next....I have to remember what led me here in the first place.

Holiday Abs and the Summer Slim Down

You may have noticed I haven't been blogging lately.  I have been having a hard time finding time when my new position started in September.  But, I feel this blog is important to get my success/failures out there so others can see and possibly relate to what I am going through.

Let's rewind to July 2012, 9 months after starting my journey.  I bottomed out at 178....starting at 238.8.  I say bottomed out because I have gained some weight, but I am unsure what is muscle/fat.  I have gained some fat back for sure, and I'll get to that in a moment.  In July, we took a week long vacation to California.  I was feeling good, but I really didn't pay attention to my quality of foods.  I ate anything I wanted, just less frequently.  But I was eating foods that were not whole, nutrient dense, or high in quality.  It was bad carbs....fried....sugar....etc.  I started to forget what got me here.  It was ok to indulge in the bad stuff, just understand the calories you are putting in your body.  When I returned, I never really got back on full track.  The Holidays hit, and both Thanksgiving and Christmas were times in which I never really monitored the quality of foods I was putting in my body.

Two things happened during this time period.  #1....I become stronger.....I mean, my weight lifting numbers were skyrocketing....it's like the over eating really gave me a boost of energy I was lacking when I was at 178.  #2....I gained fat....I'm currently at 193.....but I'm estimating 5 pounds is muscle since starting back in the gym in May.  That leaves me with about 10 lbs. extra gained from July.  That seems reasonable, the top of my body is still pretty shredded, but my waist area still has my "Holiday abs".

Now, if you know me, I have been analyzing how I can maintain my success and not fall back into old habits for an extended period of time.  I isolated the one thing that was keeping me successful that I was not doing, and that was calorie counting.  You know what I found?  Calories counting is a pain in my ass.  I hate having to log my meals every day, it's like, if I wasn't inputting my meals for the day, I had no guide and would eat whatever I felt because I could make it up the next few days when I did start counting.  Only, I haven't really consistently logged meals since July.  So, now I have concluded that I hate calorie counting, and I have gained back some fat, but also gained muscle and strength in the process?

Here am today, with an even simpler plan that you can monitor with me.  I will get to 168 pounds.  Remember, with my height and average lean muscle mass for at 37 year old male calculations, that weight should put me in a good body fat %.  I'm currently at 193.  I still love fasting.  Non-workout days....I'm going to stick to try and max 1800 calories a day.  Two of those days, I will be mixing in a 24 hour fast and try to shoot for 1400 calorie days.  Workout days, I my go as high as 2800 calories.  I'm still skipping breakfast and giving around 16 hours between meals.  Here's the catch, I hate counting calories, but I also have a ballpark feel now about how many calories are in each of my meals. If I go out to eat, I will have a pretty good estimation about what plate I will be eating and the calories involved.  Also, I keep telling myself that if I monitor the bad stuff, I can mix it back into my diet for balance.  I can, but I have to be ready for a battle.  To many times of having a sweet here or there, or a deep fried meal leads to more indulgence, and I find myself gaining weight.  It's tough for me to stop when I go down that road, that's just how I am wired.  If I am going to detach from calorie counting entirely, then I will need to stick to the quality foods....whole, nutrient dense....no fried....no sugar (for the most part).  1-2 quality meals/day should get me to my goal.  If I anticipate a bad meal coming (and I am going to limit them), then I will break out the calorie counter. It's going to be that easy.  Also, I will listen to my body....if I am feeling depleted (I was feeling this way at 178), then I will feed my body with quality stuff.  I am going to, as Brad Pilon coined, "detach and relax".  Again, I am still gaining muscle, and that's a good thing, and I have to find that balance of feeding my body, but not over feeding it.  No supplements either, and lifting on a empty stomach...it's great.  I imagine if I stick to the quality foods, continue to lift heavy, and stop sweating the small stuff....I'll be ready to go by summer....I'll keep you posted.  Who's going to join me on this summer slim down?