Sig,

I both hear ya AND appreciate your attention to this. I've been complaining about a "weak" return on my dieting efforts for some time now. Where others cut back a little and do some exercise (and see results)...I tend to crank away at the cardio, move weights and see relatively little scale loss. To me it doesn't seem right....

...On the flip side, my nutritionist keeps insisting and telling me that my progress is stellar, incredible and amazing. He's thinks it's awesome that the scale hardly drops and my body-fat% keeps going down & down. The thing is, what he tells me my BF% is just doesn't make sense. I know the calipers come in low compared to ther methods, but I just don't feel like I'm at sub-12%..and let's not forget, those calipers just measure the subcutaneous (sp?) fat. As my wife and others point-out, I'm just built with a barrel-chest and have a clydesdale physique....it's just not in the cards for me to look like Chillen or anyone else who looks svelt & lean. BUT I've never seen a bulky-lean person....so something has to give.

I think I need to get into Alan and get a complete measure & evaluation...and get those numbers up!

I also should get some pics taken so you can see what body that the good Lord has seen fit to cast me into.....

I also agree with you, if my BMR is nearly 2,400 (which it was measured at with that nose-clamp/respirator-analysis thingy)...then that means I'm burning about 100 calories an hour just sitting, so if I workout 3 hours, 300 of that is just base/automatic.

Ya know....in the end, I don't really think I could exercise more or eat much less, it "is what it is" and so long as progress continues I rather figure I should just continue to complain and see where things go.

Glad I'm not driving you nuts with this! Hehe. To me, the science stuff tends to be the most fun to analyze play with, and you seem to be trying to gauge things using scientific tools & methods.

I guess I'm offering my questions and comments to you for two reasons. One is to help crystalize your own focus: what are you actually doing descriptively and how can you best prescriptively plan for the future. I'll come back to that in a minute, as this is the core part that matters here. After all, it is your journal, your planning.

The other reason I'm commenting, questioning - and quite frankly nitpicking - is that OTHER people will be reading this and getting ideas from it. Let's face it: your transformation is inspirational and motivational to other people. They see this and think "Hey, I want to do that too!" That's super cool. You got the power, dude! However, to quote a very reliable source, with great power comes great responsibility. Hehe. Aiming for calorie deficits in excess of 1000 calories per day is not really an ideal plan for MOST people, and suggesting that these wildly huge deficits will not lead to significant weight loss (and often muscle loss) might be giving other people a false impression.

Now, here's where we get to the you part. You say that you can't possibly see exercising more. I think you're right. In fact, depending on what your goals are (performance? strength? etc.), you may be exercising too MUCH. Calorie estimates aside (again, I think yours are too high), the key is the amount of TIME and INTENSITY of your workouts, and you seem to act as though how much you've done is the key factor, whereas the quality of the workout and the quality of the REST PERIOD AFTER are critical.

I guess what I wonder is: what are you TRYING to accomplish right now? Is it a body fat loss? Is it improved speed and endurance at the sports you're going at? You talk about maybe doing a triathlon if your knee is ok. That sounds really cool, and if it's something you want, I hope you are healthy enough to do it. For someone who is starting out, I can see "I will go to spinning and swimming for two hours every day" as a goal. For someone who is already committed to the habit, I would expect there to be more of a purpose than just showing up. But maybe I'm wrong. When it comes to doing activities you love, the key could be to maximize how much you do it!

As to the numbers game, I can't tell you if the calipers are right. I find the best method is to use multiple techniques for estimating body fat % and look at error margins. I also like looking at relative gains within a system. Until you see how you are at what seems like the most lean (or closer to it), it's hard to know what that really is. People carry fat different, so 11% bf can look different on different people. Most of us have clear "plateau" markers at certain levels that really change the look and feel. You might be close to one that will make it seem different.

You also seem surprised that you can exercise so much and not see much scale movement. Here's the reality: the bulk of what determines that scale movement is what we eat, not what we do. Yes, you are exercising enough to make a real dent in the equation. However, I repeat, the PRIMARY influence on the scale movement is the calorie intake, not output. The activity influences what your body does with those calories.

Could you eat less? I don't know. I have no idea how much you are eating. I can read everything you are writing, but I don't know anything about your estimates on portion amounts. To me, this doesn't really matter now, because you are still losing fat. So there is no big reason to change your diet. However, there will come a point as you get leaner where you want to maintain or you'll need less food, and your inability to estimate may become a hinderance.

All I know is that your math is clearly wrong, probably wrong in lots of places, and what that means is that it isn't such a useful tool for you to describe what you've been doing or to plan from for the future unless you are consistent enough to judge relative differences.

As for the body-type, there are lots of bulky-lean people. This is what bodybuilders are! Of course, you need not think in those extremes. At your most lean, you won't ever look like a competitive distance runner or cyclist cause that's not your body. I think what you are commenting on about yourself, though, is a lack of proportionality. You don't carry your fat or muscle "evenly" throughout your body. While this is true for most people, it may be especially true for you.

Ultimately, if you care about a "look" you would have to plan around this very carefully. You can't spot reduce, of course, but you can target muscles in different ways. Also, if you care about athletic performance and your distribution harms your athletic performance, then you also might want to start caring about this. Otherwise, it's one of those things you just accept about yourself! Hehe.

Ok. This is long enough. I hope it's helpful to you and I really look forward to seeing your progress. You have a great attitude and it's really awesome to see your results!

No, you're not driving me nuts at all.....I'm very much into the science behind all this stuff. Honestly, there's no end to my fascination and willingness to consider all aspects/approaches to dieting & fitness. And yes, I'll admit, I'm not entirely happy with my progress and I would welcome and fully appreciate any and all help you're willing to offer. Please....get into it in full capacity!!!

I can appreciate the concern for what others may read, but I really doubt anyone will really read much of this. Still...keeping it kosher is always good. I also don't see how you perceive what I've done as "transformational"...aside from a few stats & numbers, I've not posted any pics or given any info that makes me stand-out as someone who has done much.

As for the calorie deficit, every day is different....but I'm telling you, at this point I have to exercise this much AND eat that little just to see a wee bit of progress! My "routine" in terms of exercise & eating has evolved because this is what it takes for me to make even small progress. Trust me, I run into people all the time who have lost tons of weight by merely cutting-out bread and taking a walk a few times a week. Not me, I have to go 15-18 hours per week of exercise AND cut way back on my caloric intake. I'm telling you, in ancient times, my kind of people were the last to die from famines!

I've often considered that concept: that I'm exercising too much. My nutritionist says it's nonsense: exercise burns calories and doing less isn't going to result in more weight loss. As for intensity....when doing cardio, I'm well past my ideal heart-rate. 220 less 43 (my age) = 117 x 80% = 141.6 and most my spinning is done at 150-160, my mountain biking is done at 150-165. Swimming doesn't get as high an HR on account of it just using upper-body, but I'm rarely pacing along. I'm doing BOTH intensity AND time!!! I'm passing people in the pool, only the athletes doing sprints pass me and not going all that much faster. I hear ya on the time/intensity...but I'm there. As for rest, I'll have plenty of time for that when I'm dead. (billboard saying from years back). I try to get 7 hours of sleep per night and every couple weekends we go upto Lake Arrowhead and I just relax.

Another thing, when I do less....weight-loss entirely stops, progress stops and no benefits are realized. Less does not equal more.

The triathlon is a goal, I just want to complete one. For a person to say they competed in a triathlon is a mark of some athleticism...and a mark I'd like to record as being part of my life. I also like having goals.

What am I trying to accomplish? Some couple years ago I bought a fun sports car. I love the way it feels, I love the way it drives, I love the way it handles, I love the way it looks. I feel proud to own it and to some LIMITED degree is represents an achievement because not everyone can have one of these. In the same sense, this is what I want from my body. I want to see myself in photographs and not delete them or feel ashamed. I want to wear clothing that doesn't hide my flaws but instead highlights my positive attributes. I want to be comfortable taking off my shirt in public, I'd even like people to think "Wow, he's in great shape and works out"....I want to be proud of myself.

As I'm entering mid-life and coming to terms wth my "youth" being behind me, I want a sense that I've not missed-out on having a fit body at some point in my life. I'm tired of "getting in shape" being part of my plans, I want it to be my reality. (Did Chillen say that?). I want to know that I'm in great shape and feel like I've pretty much done everything I could to make that happen. I want to see the doctor and be told my bloodwork is awesome and I'm in the upper threshold of health and I've done everything I can to be healthy.

More specifically, I want to be lean, fit and proportional. I want zero-flab around the waist, I'd like some reasonable ab definition and to be tone & cut. I want to find and become the best person I can be. On another note, I'd also like a 2nd woman in the bedroom and so I'm pursuing the more practical of two goals. (that was a joke for some of you more serious people or Canadians amongst us)

My body-fat% is taken using digital calipers. The measurements are taken in several areas of my body and the process is done 3x and the average is taken. The calipers are operated by my nutritionist who is a registered dietician, certified trainer, has several degrees, lectures and has been published. He is as qualified to operate the calipers as Wolfgang Puck is to work in a kitchen...or something like that.

I totally agree & concur with you. Our bodies are very efficient and once we burn those calories, the body acts to persuade us (through hormones/hunger) to replenish those lost calories. It's what we put in our mouth that makes the biggest difference....agreed. I'm always careful not to let me mind (after doing all this exercise) grant me the right to consume big calories. I train & workout hard, but eat lean, light & smart. I'm aware of it, really.

That's exactly what my nutritionist keeps saying. I keep complaining and he keeps smiling and telling me I'm doing awesome. He knows what I'm eating, he says my diet is great...he can't find any flaws (or so he says). The scale movement is slow, but my body-fat% has routinely been falling.

I disagree. Maybe they're off, but not by much and certainly nothing that should affect things in the grand scheme. I've contrasted my Heart-Monitor's calorie-counter to charts that depict calories-per-hour of various exercises....all things considered, it's pretty on-the-mark. As for calories, I've spent a lot of time measuring, reading and learning portions....my guaging is pretty darn accurate and I'm very aware of how easy it is to under-estimate calories! I'm always saying "there's more calories in food then you may imagine" and "you'd be surprised & shocked how it can add-up!".

That pretty much sums it up....I'm not built like a cyclist or LD-runner. I was genetically designed to replace the ox when it collapses from exhaustion while working in the fields. "Barrel chest", wide-shoulders, husky...these are the terms people use to describe me. I think this is one of my problems....my expectations and what I can reasonably expect to achieve are not on par with eachother. It's too hard to have an accurate self-perspective. My friend came over the other day and raved about how dramatically different I looked, he said I went through an amazing transformation. Myself; I just don't see it. I'm evidently the worst judge when it comes to these matters....BUT I do see msyelf in the mirror and want to be leaner/thinner. Again, I need to get some pics taken....it amazes me that you have such insight when you've not really ever seen me before, but you seem on-mark with most your comments.


At first, I exercised because I wanted to lose weight....but at this point I really enjoy & need my spinning, biking & swimming. It's something I do, it's something I enjoy....it's part of me.

Today.....(Weds)

Ate an apple (100 cal), drank 1/7th from my protein-shake.

Protein shake: large canister: 1/2-water, 2 small scoops protein powder, 1/2-cup soy-protein vanilla flavor, some Green-Machine juice. Uh, 450 calories?

9:15-10:20 Spin-Class; high-intensity....great music, lots of energy. Continued on after class an extra 20 minutes to get my 1,000 calories indicated on the HR-monitor. Total exercise time, 1 hour & 30 minutes to get 1k. Where'd the extra 5 minutes come from? I arrived at 9:06, started cranking/warming at 9:10 and that's when I started the HR-monitor.....

Note: 1k calories for 1.5 hours is about 670 per hour: very reasonable count.

Paused HR-monitor..... Drank 3/7 the protein shake, popped 3 BCAA's, chatted-up a hottie in the hallway while heading to gym. Okay, she wasn't that hot, but it's not like I have a choice.

Showered pool-side, jumped in pool. Re-started HR-monitor. Swam 32 laps (1-mile). Got out, paused HR-Monitor. Calorie burn incated total of 1,480 calories. Total time in pool, about 50 minutes. But Steve, you can swim a mile in 37 minutes, what's up with that?. Well, backstroke and other strokes are slower, I stopped half-way to drink 1/2 of what remained in my protein shake and I had to fiddle with my ipod player a bit. 480 calories for ~47 minutes of swimming, very likely.

Finished protein shake, showered, left the gym feeling VERY hungry. Met friend at Korean/Japanese fusion restaurant (30 miutes later)...feeling almost light-headed from hunger. Very hard to esimate calories. Hit the seaweed salad for 1.5 cups! Many vegetable-based dishes too. About 8 pieces of sushi, and many other weird dishes that were mostly vegetable based. I just have NO idea the calorie count, but I ate slowly, watched what I ate and my friend commented on how lean, light & vegetable-based I kept it. I'm gonna guess....uhhh, errr, hmmm......let's go high: 1,000 calories??

Problem: must have been way too much sodium....I feel so bloated!!!!!!

Dinner. Still feeling bloated from lunchy. Some of wife's home-made egg-drop soup, maybe 3/4-cup. About 4 ounces chicken, no skin. About 4 ounces beef, no flavor. 2/3-cup rice. Vegetables. Let's go with say.....700 calories? Did I mention she tried to make some Korean lettuce wraps (unaware of where I had lunch).

Sweet-tooth attack post dinner. 4 squares of dark chocolate. That's easy, the chart says 120 cals per 3 pieces, so that's 160 calories.

So let's do this....

Food in: 2,410 calories

Exercise: 1,480
BMR: 2,340 less 300 to account for time during exercise 2,040

Total calories out: 3,520

Result: Deficit 1,110


Again; I will not carry this deficit every day. Each day is different.

Hey BSL,
I'm interested to know how you calculate calories burned in your exercises?

Is there some formula out there?

The formula is as follows:

Go to store
Buy a Heart-Rate Monitor (wrist-watch & chest strap) that features a calorie-counter
Program the monitor with your weight, gender, height, age, etc
Press "Start" when you begin exercise, press "stop" when done....or just look down at the disply while exercising.

How accurate is it? Well, it basically just counts heart-beats and uses an algorythm (sp?) to project an estimation of how many calories you burned. Most charts indicate that moderate to vigorous biking burns about 650-700 calories per hour. When I ride, my HR-Monitor projects right around 625-670 calories per hour....so it would seem to be on-the-money in terms of accuracy.

On an interesting note, the transmitter (chest-strap) emits on the same frequency as the chest-strap that comes with my Precor Elliptical machine....so I can see my heart-rate & calories burned on BOTH my HR-monitor and the Elliptical machine at the same time. When I spend an hour on the elliptical machine, the display on the machine says about 980 calories, while the HR-monitor says just 580. Other equipment in the gym also projects very high. I've compared what my HR-monitor says vs. what scietific charts show for exercises and found it's pretty much on the mark.

What I've noticed is that you get a lot more calories burned at higher HR's, sorta like you may work twice as hard but the calories run-up 3x faster.

For the most part, I don't really figure on it's accuracy, I just like to use it as a guage to know when I've put-in my time.

Tried something new today. My buddy Scott dragged me to a boxing place and I did 2 hours of their "grueling" workout. Funny, he kept telling me how it'd wreck me and yet I kicked butt using heavier weights then everyone else. Proud about that. My knee is a bit achy (from being on my feet for 2 hours) and my othropedic surgeon friend told me to pass on it..he specializes in arm/hand and says the boxing thing is not good. I think he's right, the only soreness I have is not muscular but just in the elbow....comes from throwing a punch and not completely getting a solid landing, sorta like tennis-elbow, works the joint when it abruptly meets the end of it's range. Bummer, or as the French are fond of saying, bummier'.


Whatever. Got in 2 hours doing the boxing thing, but I'm gonna rank it down to just 700 calories. Yeah, I sweat....but hitting a bag and some of that other stuff just wasn't taxing enough. 350 cals/hr is about half what a good biking routine offers, so that's safe.

Food:

cereal-thing for breakfast, some juice, a few almonds....call it about 400 calories at most.

After working-out, some of my pasta-salad with salmon and a bit of soy-milk protein. Also had some kung-pao tofu leftovers. I dunno, I was pretty darn hungry but didn't satisfy the beast. Figure 750 calories at most.

Got busy cleaning-out the garage, vac & wash the truck, got all hungry and went out with wife for Thai food. Btw, saw the movie Drillbit Taylor...cute at best. Soup, salad, 2 chicken-based dishes, some brown rice. Free popcorn at the movie, ate 1.5 Reeses peanut-butter cups (shared 3-pack with wife...and she took the larger of the split piece; it'll go to her ass!). Let's roll the total damage at 1,300. Portions were small but food often has more calories then we imagine and I like to go high to cover what I call the delusional spread.

Food in: 2,450 calories

Exercise: 700 calories
BMR less exercise time: 2,140

Deficit: 390 calories

I feel like I went a bit too rich with dinner. Tomorrow I plan to double-spin (2 spin classes back to back) and then swim a mile. I will not leave the gym unti I burn 2,000 calories. Yes, this is a form of payback for having eaten a bit more then I'd like.

Reeses Peanut Butter cups are pure friggen evil and should be outlawed, and classified as a felony with severe criminal penalties!

Checking on the forum brotha.

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ROCK IT! Yes bring it up in the sky baby!


Chillen

Today was nothing short of stupid-wicked-wrong....

Breakfast: 3 strawberries, 2 slices of mango....and packed a nice protein shake to bring to the gym. Large shaker: 1/2-water, 2 scoops protein powder, 1/2-cup vanilla soy low-fat, 2/3-cup Green Machine smoothy.

Arrived at gym, proceeded to:

8am-9am spin-class, cranked it hard, drank a bit of protein shake afterwards
spun on my own until next class
9:15-10:30 spin-class, cranked it stupid hard, just broiling with sweat.

(note: went through 6 bottles of water throughout classes)

Left the class (more like stumbled out) with HR-monitor indicating just over 1,920 calories! OMG I felt exhausted. I drank half the protein shake and a 120-calorie fiber bar I had in my swim-bag. Feeling exhausted, I regretted not having eaten more for breakfast. Wondered if it helped me burn more fat, or just catabolized my muscle. Since I do this often, my body has adapted to this capacity & endurance level. Plus, I popped some BCAA's to help...I'm hoping it was a heavy-duty fat-taxing thing.

Got into the pool. Swam & swam & swam...and swam. Got out of the pool with HR-monitor indicating 2,740 calories. Could 4 hours (total) of exercise do this? apparently, yes. I'm sure I pushed some lactate thresholds today, as well as some other thresholds. I was staggering into the locker room. Before anyone questions those calories, please remember I'm 225 pounds, about 12% body-fat and largely comprised of muscle...I burn calories like Hummer's go through gas!...so please don't compare me to some 130-pound cheerleader.

Went home, ate about 5 ounces of chicken, some hummus, a few whole-wheat crackers, some dried plums & about 5 almonds. Basically, I foraged the kitchen. Went to pick-up the car figuring I'd have lunch with my buddy mechanic, as it turned out, he couldn't do lunch. Picked-up the car (some 3 hours later) and , to no surprise, was still feeling light-headed/hungry. Ate some more plums, nuts and another protein shake. Still feeling hungry, but too tired to care....let my body burn fat...you know; it's that food I ate years ago still stored on my body!

Dinner was more chicken, vegetables.....some kind of Jamaican chicken dish that my wife botched. That's the advantage of bad cooking; it inspires you to eat less! Passed on the rice. Hit some dark chocolate after dinner and I'll probably snack later tonight and maybe have another lite protein shake an hour or so before bed.

Oh, another thing...I'm not going to "pause" the HR-monitor between routines or while at the gym, I'll just deduct the total workout time from my BMR. After those spinning classes I was all cranked & sweating and radiating with EPOC...I earned it, I'm gonna let it get counted and then deduct the total time working-out from the BMR! It's fair, it's accurate!

Calories in: 2,240

Exercise 2,740
BMR 1,940 (2,340 less 4 hours during exercise) Total out: 4,680

Results: DEFICIT 2,400

The caloric deficit and intense cardio & weight-training will continue until the fat is defeated. There is no turning-back. In class, compared to the few other guys in there....my chest/arms are HUGE & glistening under the blue/red lights as we spin. I can't wait for my waist to get even smaller (making my chest look comparatively even larger) and my arms to get more cut.

Tomorrow I'll promise to eat more and just stick to 1.5 hours of weight-training and maybe 45 minutes of elliptical. Progress must continue. I'm now scheduled to see my nutritionist on Monday, can't get sloppy over the weekend; must rock the scale & body-fat calipers come monday!!!!!

Hope everything went well with g8r80!!

My kind of thought process, baby!


Have a good day, BSL.


Chillen

Thanks Chillen. Hey, last night I noticed a slight vertical recession running right down the center of my abs. I've had the sides for quite some time, but now a vertical is coming in and I can sorta see the very top horizontal trying to bud. My point; some 6-pack action is starting to develop & emerge!

Thus far today things are good. Kept breakfast to some crackers, natural peanut butter, a kiwi, some orange-juice with some Green Vibrance added. Snacked a bit on the ingredients as I made another batch of my whole-wheat heavy-vegetable pasta salad. Probably took in about 450 calories in all.

A friend called to go biking today around 2pm, he's calling it a "recovery" ride....which means he's fronting an excuse for why he's going to take it easy & go slow...but make no mistake, it's always about who's in front. The other friend is a guy who I thoroughly cleaned last week. The 3rd guy is a mystery...but either day, it's another opportunity to burn another 1,500+ calories, be outdoors and enjoy some friends! I'll be sure to hydrate well, bring some road-snacks, etc.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner....about 2,200 calories in all.

Mountain bike riding, crazy-high output (trying to chase a triathlete who is younger, faster and in better shape)...saw HR at 187, got scared! Not to mention out of breath!

HR-monitor read 1,470 calories after the ride. Legs feel burnt!

Calories in: 2,200

Exercise 1,470
BMR 2,140 (2,340 less 200 for time spent during exercise)

Total deficit: 1,410 calories

Took Sunday off entirely, just rested, ate some food, relaxed.....

Okay, interesting news....

I saw my nutritionist today...hadn't seen him in just over 3 months!!! His initial observation was that I looked leaner & lighter, he guessed I'd lost about 5 pounds. He always does his pre-lim observation. He said:

My arms looked larger AND more defined & cut
My stomach looked leaner and I had some ab's starting to show
My quads looked ridiculously huge

I got on the scale, both of us expecting a modest loss, maybe 3-7 pounds.
I had gained nearly 5 pounds!!!!!

Then he took out the body-fat calipers and we found that I'd lost just a wee bit of body-fat, and that he was pinching me at 12.1%....but let us remember that he's just pinching the subcutaneous fat under the skin, he's only pinching me in 3 areas and the calipers (at least his) tend to measure lower then most means.

Yes, my knee injury set me back on my exercise, but I had compensated with lowering my calories and doing more swimming & upper-body weight-training. But still, after 3 months I was EXTREMELY disappointed with a gain in overall weight.

Of course, my nutritionist tried to assure me that I've not gained fat and it must be a combination of muscle, water and what-not....but it wasn't fat AND the fact that I looked leaner, lighter, had better definition and larger arms means I should be celebrating...but I just don't feel it.

Not to worry, I'm not going to quit....but seriously, I'm at 14-16 hours per week of exercise and I'm eating about 2,150 calories per day maximum and maintaining a solid deficit. I just don't get it. FWIW, my nutritionist (who I'm gonnna just start calling Alan and presume you guys know this)....Alan said of ALL his clients, I am by far the most challenging one ever, bar none!

The only thing I can being to work with is that most people just lose fat and do some exercise...whereas I've transformed myself into an athlete. Even now I'm back to doing 2 spin-classes back to back AND swimming a mile...so I crank 3+ hours and keep going. I move heavy weights and...well, I'm just not the fat guy gone skinny, I'm the fat guy gone (can I say this modestly?) buff. So muscle weighs more then fat, blah blah blah. And in the end, my arms, chest, abs and face all look leaner....so I suppose we have to ignore the
DAMN 5 POUND GAIN
and resovlve ourselves to the bigger picture of how I look & feel.

Dammit. I'm now at 233 5' 8"

The other thing we've done is arranged for me to have a DEXA-scan, it is by far the most accurate body-composition analysis short of disection available. Btw, the water tank has all sorts of confounding issues....bone-density, etc...it's hardly as accurate as people think. The DEXA should tell us what's going on, and we found a local place that has this $16k machine and they do it for just $50. Wish I had done it 1 year ago and then every 3 months, but at least we'll have some point to start with.

Overall, Alan feels I have (at most) another 10-15 pounds of fat to lose before I'm "there"....a bit on the chest, a bit around the love-handles and some on my chin/face....aside from that my arms, legs, back and all are firm muscle. Apparently my initial goal of getting below 200 is just not practical.

Alan wants me to take an entire week off from ALL training, he says athletes are supposed to stop for a whole week every 10-12 weeks and that it'll somehow help re-initiate my thyroid, metabolism, etc.

Frustrated, I endeavor to persevere. I think I'll bug Wrangell to see how I can celebrate my weight GAIN and still see the good side of this....

Food:

Apple for breakfast 110 calories
fiber bar 120 calories

Spicy Tuna salad 570 calories

Pasta salad thingy 550 calories
prunes, nuts & chocolate snack 270 calories

Egg,chicken,tuna salad with 2 slices wheat 780 calories
protein shake 380 calories


9am Spinning class
some core work
5:30pm Spinning class
30 minutes swimming

Calories in: 2,780
Exercise: 2,010
BMR: 2090 (2.5 hour adjusted down)

Deficit: 1,320

I've been posting in the weight-loss section for a few days now, back to Journal.

I've really put the microscope to my diet and I'm doing a re-boot of my whole eating habits. Time to crunch the consumption and really inventory the calories. Yesterday was 2 spin-classes & swim. Today was weights & elliptical.

Anyways, I'm finally posting some pics. As you can well imagine, I'm not really proud or too happy with these...mostly cause they don't look like centerfold material But I suppose this is a good point so use for comparison down the line. Nobody starts out perfect and so here we go.

I had to use the camera myself and each time the flash went-off the mirror was full of light...so I had to take-off the flash and the result is some pretty grainy stuff. Still, you can see what's up. One of my biggest issues is the right peck, there's some sagging moob action and I hate it. Sometimes it's not there, sometimes it's really there. I've been assured over time it'll suck-in and lay down. It was much worse some 40 pounds ago!

I took one pic in my wrestling sinlet, the black color and white side-stripes really lets you see the contour of my waist. I like working-out in my own gym wearing this...it's very comfortable, cool and really lets me see my body perfectly: I like to see what I'm waging war on. shorts & t-shirts just cover stuff up and get water-heavy when I sweat. Again; ONLY in my own gym!
Without further delay....

Oh...the one with the blatant flash (4th)...well, if you click on that the flash really shows the cut on the sides of my abs. You wouldn't see that detail w/o the flash. The pic of my back is pretty bad too, the right side shows some width, the left just shows nothing. Enough excuses....

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