Back to the drawing board

G-Money

So after much procrastinating, I finally went back to the gym today. In my bag I had my gear and a surprising and unexpected dose of motivation, which is usually lacking. I sort of have to drag myself along usually, not really wanting to go, but knowing that I need to go. Today, I couldn't wait to get there.

But here's what I've ate

Breakfast
2 bananas
diet yoghurt with muesli

Snack at 11am
Apple

Lunch
Chicken breast with dry noodles (they weren't in any sort of sauce), salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers, beetroot) with a sprinkle of grated cheese and balsamic vinegar

Protein shake made with water (after gym)

Dinner
Chicken breast stir fried in olive oil with veg (frozen - peas, sweetcorn, carrots, string beans) with half a cup of Uncle Bens wholegrain rice boiled, with some sweet chilli sauce drizzled on it and some dried spices

Tea with low fat milk

1 granola bar (182 cals)


Workout

5 mins on the recumbent bike. I don't know if that's it's real name. It's the bike with the seat back. Did this to warm up

Seated row machine - 2 sets, 12 reps, either 20 or 60kgs, I can't remember which.

Leg Curl Machine - 2 sets, 12 reps, 10kg

Dumbbell Bench Press - 2 sets, 12 reps, 8kg dumbbell in each hand

Seated Calf Raise - 2 sets, 12 reps, 30 or 35kg. I could easily go heavier on this

Bicep Dumbbell Curl - 2 sets, 12 reps, 7.5 kg dumbbell in each hand

Triceps Extension - 2 sets, 12 reps, 20kg (2nd lightest setting).

9 mins on the crosstrainer on level 25 resistance (I think it goes to 50 or 100). Took a break for a few seconds to drink some water then did another 21 minutes.

G-Money

Day 2

So I woke up today feeling quite tired. I didn't really go to bed early enough I suspect and what with yesterday being my first workout in a few months, I guess it was inevitable.

I didn't feel too bad today, a bit sore from being back in the gym but nothing too bad.

Breakfast
Muesli and low fat yoghurt

Lunch
Chicken breast, dry noodles (no sauce), lettuce, tomato, sprinkle of grated cheese, balsamic vinegar, diet coke.

Whey Protein shake made with water (after gym)

Dinner
Steak grilled on the George Foreman, half a cup of Uncle Bens wholegrain rice, some frozen veg (carrots, sweetcorn, peas, string beans) stir fried in olive oil with some cashews thrown in (natural plain, not salted or anything). Added in some sweet chilli sauce. Diet 7up

Granola bar (182 cals)

Two cups of tea with low fat milk


Workout

5 mins on the recumbent bike to warm up

Lat Pull down - 2 sets, 12 reps, 40 kg I think.

Dumbbell Lateral Raise - 2 sets, 10 reps, 5 kg dumbbell in each hand

Seated Dumbbell Hammer Curl - 2 sets, 10-12 reps, 8kg dumbbell in each hand

Leg Curl Machine - Hamstring - 2 sets, 10-12 reps, 20-30kg

Leg Press Machine - 2 sets, 15-20 reps - 210kg - started at about 160kg but it wasn't heavy enough so I had to keep increasing it. Could easily have surpassed 210kg

30 mins on the cross trainer, level 25 resistance.


Tomorrow I will be taking off from the gym, with an aim to repeat this workout on Thursday and Friday, then take the weekend off. Diet wise it's been going ok, I could probably eat a bit cleaner, for example cut out the noodles with lunch and just have pure veg with the chicken. Also I could probably cut back a bit on the rice and maybe skip the sweet chilli sauce, but if the food is too plain and boring I won't want to eat it.

BossArky

What are your goals and current stats (height, weight, sex)?

G-Money

Male, 32, 5ft 10, currently weigh 251 lbs which is a tad under 18 stone. I was 255 lbs last week but I'm not sure if it's an accurate reading as I didn't weigh myself at the same time this week in the same clothes.

Well, mainly I want to burn off the fat and get down to between 11 and 12 stone. Unfortunately I have the man boobs and big belly that droops over my belt so I want to get shot of them. That's why I think I might need to get as light as 11 stone to get rid of them. A few years ago I managed to get down to 14 1/2 stone and I guess they shrank as I had to buy smaller shirts etc, but I guess it didn't feel like they had. They were obviously still there.

I'd like to be really lean and athletic. Some muscle would be good, the superman physique as I call it. But I'd settle initially for just being lean and thin with no man boobs or belly!

G-Money

Day 3

Breakfast:
Nothing

Lunch:
Wholemeal baguette with wholegrain mustard, sliced ham, grated cheese, lettuce and tomato. Glass of diet coke.

Dinner:
Mince fried in olive oil, with Dolmio Light Bolognese, half a cup of Uncle Bens Wholegrain rice boiled, a plain naan bread (347 cals). Glass of diet 7up.

2 cups of tea, one with low fat milk, the other with nothing. 1 granola bar (180 cals)


I didn't go to the gym today as I've been for the last two days straight so my muscles need a break. The diet wasn't great today, but I didn't really want a salad again for lunch. Probably should have skipped the naan too with dinner.

BossArky

Cut out the fizzy drinks and have water instead.

Eat something for breakfast. Porridge is a good option even if you are trying to loose weight. Slow energy release and will keep you full.

Eat more fresh veg (in containers brought to work - chopped up the night before). Avoid bread/pasta/rice/pizza.

Good luck.

G-Money

BossArky wrote: »

Avoid bread/pasta/rice/pizza.

Really? I hate eating just meat and veg. Is wholegrain rice not ok? I rarely eat pizza these days of any description and I don't eat pasta too often either.

BossArky

If you want to loose weight quickly then avoid those things mentioned above. By avoid I mean reduce your intake considerably - you can still have some every now and again... but just be careful that you are not codding yourself. Initially you could try having just meat and veg every second day. After a while bring it up to 2 days of 3, etc.

11 stone at 5 foot 10 will be pretty light. Maybe best to aim to get down to 14 ish stone though diet, weights and cardio. You can then reassess, plus it will seem more manageable.

Have you heard of www.fitday.com?

Create an account on there to track your calories in/out.

G-Money

I got down to 14 1/2 stone a few years ago and there was still plenty of flab to get rid of. I'm sure it will be the same this time.

I agree with the breakfast though, I'm been trying to take it most days these days.

G-Money

Day 4

Breakfast
Muesli with diet strawberry yoghurt

Snack (11am)
Maximuscle protein flapjack bar

Lunch
Chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, beetroot, carrot, grated cheese, balsamic vinegar. Glass of diet coke

Dinner
Half cup of Uncle Bens wholegrain rice, mince fried in olive oil, Dolmio Light Bolognese sauce, one large naan. Glass of diet 7up

Tea with milk, tea without milk, 1 granola bar.


Workout

5 minutes on the recumbent bike to warm up

30 minutes on the cross trainer, started at level 25 resistance for a few minutes then moved it up to level 30 for the rest of the half hour

20 minutes brisk walk on the treadmill, number 3 incline, built up to 6.1 in speed after 4-5 minutes and stayed at that until the time was up


Today was ok. I didn't do any weights in the gym today as I'm still sore from Monday and Tuesday. I think I will give it a few days to let the soreness go away then I'll go back to doing weights each time I'm there

I had a protein bar at 11am as I was starving. However I probably should have held off or had some fruit or something as I go for lunch at 12.

I'm going to go shopping this weekend and buy some fresh veg and bring it into work to snack on in the mornings between breakfast and lunch. Probably carrots and cucumber.

G-Money

Day 5

Breakfast:
Fruit scone with low low

Lunch:
Chicken breast, lettuce, tomato, carrot, red cabbage, few small chopped up potatoes, grated cheese, sweet chilli sauce. Glass of diet coke

Dinner:
Packed of Uncle Bens microwaveable rice, 2 chicken breasts stirfried in extra virgin olive oil, with veg and cashew nuts. Added in some sweet chilli sauce. Glass of diet 7up.

Tea with Granola bar 185 cals, Chewy Trail mix bar (114 cals)


Today wasn't a great day. I usually have cereal at work but they didn't have any of the muesli I normally eat. I have a box of muesli at home so I will start bringing in some each morning to have. The scone was ok but I know I shouldn't have had it. Lunch I could have skipped the sweet chilli sauce and dinner was a bit of a disaster too.

I didn't go to the gym today. I had planned to but one of my shoulders is a little sore still from earlier in the week so I'm going to rest it. I also had a bit of an upset stomach after lunch and didn't feel that good so I decided to skip the gym.

Exercise wise I've had a good week, going to the gym 3 times so I figured it was ok to give it a miss today. I will probably be doing a fair bit of walking tomorrow night depending on the weather so that will somewhat makeup for missing the gym today.

jayoo

Good luck with the log:)

G-Money

Day 6

Breakfast:
2 oatcakes with organic peanut butter
Tea with no milk or sugar

Snack:
Handful of cashews and hazelnuts

Lunch/early dinner:
6 Big Als chicken dippers
Erin Oriental Egg Fried Rice (low fat apparently)
Sweet Chilli Sauce
Diet 7UP

Late Night:
Burger King
Diet 7UP
Tea, no milk, with 3 granola/cereal bars


Exercise/Workout:
I walked from my place to the Luas which is about 15 minutes.


Today was a bad day. It started out ok, but I ruined it by eating Burger King and stuff late at night. I also really want a chinese so I'm sort of planning to have that tomorrow night, but other than that, watch what I'm eating and be more strict starting tomorrow and Monday.

G-Money

Day 7

Breakfast:
Oatflakes, raspberrys, strawberrys, few hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds, spoonful of gojiberries, low fat organic yoghurt. (thanks B-Builder for the recipe)

Lunch:
Small tin of tuna, Heinz low fat salad cream, raw carrots, some corgette, wholemeal pitta with wholegrain mustard

Maximuscle Protein Flapjack

Dinner:
Chinese

Tea with water, diet 7UP.

Workout/Exercise:
None

Not a great day. I knew I was going to have a Chinese as I was sort of gagging for one. Haven't had the best weekend food wise. Need to refocus from tomorrow. I'll be bringing some carrot and corgette to work to snack on in the mornings to stave off the cravings.

celestial

Why don't you give up the fizzy drinks as mentioned? They mess up your blood sugar, creating cravings for fatty/sugary stuff, e.g Chinese!

G-Money

celestial wrote: »

Why don't you give up the fizzy drinks as mentioned? They mess up your blood sugar, creating cravings for fatty/sugary stuff, e.g Chinese!

Yep, I'll give that a try also.

G-Money

I also took two sets of pictures. One of me in just my boxers and another of me wearing a t-shirt that's too small for me. I want to be able to fit into it ultimately, so I figured it would be a good way of measuring my progress.

As I said before, wish I could skip ahead a month or to, so I could see more progress. Just have to stick it out.

G-Money

Day 8

Just a quick update, I had to post this. I'm not sure if I should totally believe the scales as when I weighed myself last week I had track suit bottoms and a tshirt on and this morning I was just out of the shower and in the altogether, but this is what it says:

Last Monday: 251 lbs

Today: 246.8 lbs

Like I say, the scales might not be accurate and I probably should have weighed myself with the same clothes but I'm going to use it anyway as a bit of extra motivation. I don't feel much thinner but hopefully I am a bit lighter anyway.

Full update to follow this evening.

celestial

grandmaster wrote: »

Day 8

Just a quick update, I had to post this. I'm not sure if I should totally believe the scales as when I weighed myself last week I had track suit bottoms and a tshirt on and this morning I was just out of the shower and in the altogether, but this is what it says:

Last Monday: 251 lbs

Today: 246.8 lbs

Like I say, the scales might not be accurate and I probably should have weighed myself with the same clothes but I'm going to use it anyway as a bit of extra motivation. I don't feel much thinner but hopefully I am a bit lighter anyway.

Full update to follow this evening.

Great work and that is a fair difference in a short space of time - you'll definitely have lost a pound or two. Think of it like this - say to yourself 'I'm gonna stick with this no matter what for 3 weeks' - at the end of those three weeks you'll be seeing noticeable changes and that will be likely be all the motivation you'll need.

G-Money

Day 8 - Full Update

Breakfast:
Mixed oatflakes with gojiberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and low fat yoghurt

Snack:
Raw carrots and raw corgette

Lunch:
Slice of ham, lettuce, tomato, few small potatoes, cous cous, balsamic vinegar

Whey Protein Shake made with water (after workout)

Dinner:
Grilled steak on George Foreman, stir fried frozen veg and cashews in extra virgin olive oil, Uncle Bens Wholegrain rice. Added in some sweet chilli sauce and dried spices.

Tea with water, two oatcakes with organic peanut butter, Granola bar.

No diet drinks or soft drinks today, only water or tea.


Workout:

5 mins on the recumbent bike to warm up
Seated Row to Waist Machine - 3 sets, 12 reps, 3rd lightest setting
Leg Curl Machine - 3 sets, 12 reps, 5kg
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets, 12 reps, 8kg dumbbell in each hand
Standing Calf Raise - 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 3rd or 4th lightest setting
Dumbbell Bicep Curl - 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 7.5kg Dumbbell in each hand (I could only get to 8 reps on the 3rd set)
Tricep Extension Pulldown with Bar - 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 2nd lightest setting.

30 mins cross trainer, level 30 resistance, going at a good pace.
6-7 mins brisk walking on the treadmill. I had planned to do 20 but needed to leave.

Today has been ok. My diet has been pretty good today, no soft drinks, diet or otherwise. I thought about skipping the gym this evening but I knew I'd hate myself if I didn't go. Also I left work just after 4pm and I knew I'd have nothing to do for the rest of the evening and most likely I'd be bored stupid. That's one thing that I think about which sort of makes me go. I think to myself "I don't want to sit there from 4.30pm just watching TV and surfing the net".

G-Money

Day 9

Breakfast:
Home made cereal, same as yesterday

Snack:
Some Raw Carrot and raw corgette

Lunch:
Wholemeal baguette with english mustard, lettuce, tomato, ham and grated cheese. Glass of water

Dinner:
Stir fried chicken with frozen veg, cashews, soy sauce, Uncle Bens Wholegrain rice mixed with some Basmati rice, and sweet chilli sauce. Diet 7UP.

Tea with water, 2 oatcakes with organic peanut butter, granola bar.


Workout/Exercise:
Nothing

I didn't go to the gym today. I had my gear with me but I was pretty wrecked all day. I didn't go to bed early enough last night and I could barely open my eyes this morning. It hasn't helped that I didn't get enough sleep at the weekend either. Anyway I'm planning to go to the gym tomorrow after work. Hopefully it won't be that busy as everyone will be watching the match instead. I won't be!

I sort of feel a little bad today for skipping the gym and for having that baguette. However it was one of the more healthier options available at the canteen at work and I didn't feel like having a salad again. And I went to the gym yesterday so I guess it's not the worst thing in the world to not go today.

G-Money

Day 10

Breakfast: Maximuscle Protein flapjack, two oatcakes with organic peanut butter.

Snack:
Raw carrots and courgette.

Lunch:
White bread sandwich with butter, ham, grated cheese, onion (it was a ready made sandwich) and a bag of crisps (241 cals). I know I know.

Dinner:
Grilled steak, two slices of cheese in a wholemeal pitta, stir fried veg with cashews using olive oil, some Uncle Bens wholegrain rice mixed with some Basmati rice. Added in some sweet chilli sauce. Glass of diet 7up.

Tea made with water, 2 oatcakes with organic peanut butter, granola bar.


Workout:

7 mins on the recumbent bike

Seated Dumbbell Hammer curl, 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 8kg dumbbell in each hand
Dumbbell Lateral Raise, 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 5kg dumbbell in each hand
Triceps Pull down with rope, 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 2nd lightest setting
Hamstring Leg curl, 3 sets, 12 reps, 10 or 20kg setting.
Leg Press Machine, 3 sets, 15-20 reps, 230, then 250lbs for the last 20.
Lat Pull Down Machine, 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 4th or 5th lightest setting.

30 mins cross trainer, level 30 resistance, good pace. Was fairly sweating.
30 mins brisk walk on treadmill, level 3 gradient, built up to 6.1 speed after 3 minutes and maintained for the duration.


Today was grand enough. Lunch was a bit bad in that I had a ready made sandwich but it was the best of what was available. I know I shouldn't have had the crisps but the sandwich didn't seem like it would be enough and I didn't really fancy any fruit or anything. Workout was pretty good, although I'm wondering am I doing too much cardio. My tracksuit bottoms were rubbing against the inside of my thighs and left one of them a bit raw and sore.

I also have decided to skip the protein shakes as well for the time being.

G-Money

Day 11

Breakfast:
The home made cereal thing again

Lunch:
Wholemeal baguette, grated cheese, sliced ham, lettuce, wholegrain mustard. Glass of water

Dinner:
Chicken breast stir fried in olive oil with veg, cashews nuts, sweet chilli sauce and some wholegrain rice and basmati rice mixed. Diet 7UP

Tea with water, two oatcakes with organic peanut butter, granola bar.


Workout/Exercise:
None


I meant to go the gym today but skipped it. I probably could have went, however there's some maintenance issues at my apartment and I wanted to get back to check up on it and see if the people were there investigating it. Will try and go tomorrow. Lunch wasn't perfect either but its too late now to worry about that.

G-Money

PS: I'm almost sure my face is thinner and my jaw line is starting to appear.

jayoo

im expecting big things from this log

G-Money

jayoo wrote: »

im expecting big things from this log

Nothing like a bit of pressure :P

jayoo

I believe in you

now u cant possibly fail, unless disney has lied to me:mad:

G-Money

I'm not expecting much either. Just a ripped body and a 6 pack so sharp, some hottie could grate carrots on it

G-Money

Day 12

Breakfast:
Home made cereal again

Lunch:
Char grilled vegetable and spanish chorizo sausage wrap. Bag of crisps (241) cals, diet coke.

Snacks:
Nothing

Dinner:
Chicken breast fried in extra virgin olive oil, added in carrots, cucumber, half a jar of Uncle Bens Light Sweet N Sour Sauce (about 150 cals), 5 Big Als chicken tenders, fairly big portion of Basmati Rice.

Tea with hot water, granola bar (185 cals), trail mix bar (114 cals)


Workout:

7 mins on the recumbent bike to warm up

Seated Row to Waist. 3 sets, 12 reps, started at 2nd or 3rd lightest weight for the first two sets then went up one for the 3rd set.
Leg Curl Machine - 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 5kg plates on each leg.
Standing Calf Raise - 3 sets, 12 reps, 4th or 5th lightest setting.
Triceps Pull Down with bar - 3 sets, 12 reps, 2nd lightest setting.
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets, 12 reps, 7.5kg dumbbell in each hand (I couldn't find the 8kg dumbbells until after I'd finished).
Dumbbell Curl, - 3 sets, 10-12 reps, 7.5kg dumbbell in each hand. I could only get to about 9 reps on the 3rd set.

30 mins cross trainer, level 30 resistance, not sure about speed. Heart rate was in the 150-160 range for the duration, so it has come down a bit I think which is good. Machine said I burnt about 460 cals.

30 mins brisk walk on the treadmill. Level 3 incline, built up to 6.1 speed after a few minutes and stayed at that until the 30 mins was up.


Today hasn't been too bad. My diet wasn't that good today, lunch and dinner were a bit rough. Not as bad as they've been before but I've slacked a little this week with my lunches. I could probably do with cutting down on portion sizes with dinner too.

I'm not out tonight so I plan to hit the gym first thing in the morning for more cardio. I don't know if I'm going out tomorrow night, but if not, I may try and go on Sunday morning too. Will see how it goes.

I was looking for my weight watchers card from last year to see how my weight loss went back then. After 13-14 weeks I'd lost 22.5 lbs. Not bad, but that was 3.5 months and to be honest, I'd like to lose that within 2 months max this time.

G-Money

Day 13

Breakfast/Lunch:
Wholemeal baguette, 2 slices of ham, 2 slices of low low cheese, wholegrain mustard, cucumber. Diet 7up

Snack:
Granola bar, trail mix bar, tea with water.

Dinner:
Basmati rice, Big Als Chicken Tenders (5 or 6), half a jar of Uncle Bens Light Sweet n Sour Sauce.

Later:
A skin full of drink. Well maybe not. One pint and about 6 Jack Daniels and coke.


Workout:

7 mins of the recumbent bike.
30 mins on the cross trainer, level 30 resistance, good speed.
30 mins brisk walking on the treadmill. Gradient 3, built up to speed 6.1 after a few minutes and maintained it for the rest of the time.

I'm a bit late posting this. An ok day yesterday. I got out of bed and got into the gym by about 8.30am so it was good to go there first thing. Especially as my stomach was empty so I could burn fat for energy. I wasn't that tired afterwards, although my legs were starting to sting a little I was completely ravenous though after the gym and to be honest, cereal wasn't going to cut it so I went for the wholemeal baguette. I ended up going out last night and had a right few drinks. To be honest, going out and not drinking is rarely and option for me and I had a right few drinks, but I was still fairly coherent by the end of the night. Also I hadn't been out in ages and felt like I was losing my mind and becoming a hermit.

G-Money

Quick update.

So I weighed myself today. I was going to wait until tomorrow (Monday) so it would be a week exactly but I'm too impatient.

Starting Weight: 251 lbs

Last Monday: 246.8 lbs

Today (Sunday): 243.6 lbs

I don't know if those figures are right, but according to them I've lost 7.4 lbs in two weeks which is just over half a stone.

My diet hasn't been perfect and could be improved. It's been good enough and I've been in the gym 3 times the first week and 4 times this week. So I guess it's not impossible. Just need to keep going now.

G-Money

Day 14

Breakfast:
Nothing

Lunch:
Junk food, diet 7up

Dinner:
Junk food, diet 7up.

Tea with granola bar and chewy trail bar.


Workout/Exercise

None whatsoever.


Today I was massively hungover so I just had junk for most of the day.

G-Money

Day 15

Breakfast:
The home made cereal again

Lunch:
White bread sandwich with butter, ham, grated cheese and onion. A few mouthfuls of diet coke

Dinner:
Wholegrain Rice mixed with basmati rice, stir fried chicken, veg, cashews, sweet chilli sauce, diet 7up.

Tea with water, granola bar, two oatcakes with organic peanut butter.


Workout/Exercise:
None


Today was alright and unfortunately I'm still suffering the effects of my night out on Saturday drinking. I felt bad today. Headache, bit of a sore throat, very sleepy, restless and fidgety. I know this is just because of the drink. I haven't been drinking in a while and although I didn't get smashed on Sat night, I still wasn't sober. Didn't go to the gym today as I just didn't have the energy and I got held up at work anyway. I'm seriously thinking about giving up the drink as it led to me eating a load of junk yesterday, two days at least of feeling bad, plus excess cals, plus missing the gym. Not a very good investment.

G-Money

Day 16

Breakfast:
Home made cereal with low fat yoghurt

Lunch:
Thick brown bread sandwich with wholegrain mustard, ham, grated cheese, plain chicken, lettuce and tomato. Glass of water.

Dinner:
Mix of Wholegrain and Basmati rice, grilled steak, stirfried veg in olive oil with cashew nuts, sweet chilli sauce. Glass of diet 7up

Tea with granola bar, and two oatcakes with organic peanut butter.


Workout:

7 mins on the recumbent bike
2 sets of the seated row to waist machine, 12 reps, about 40lbs/kg
3 sets of the tricep pull down, 12 reps, 3rd lightest setting (this has gone up now)

30 mins on the cross trainer, level 30 resistance, pushed it to level 35 for the last 4-5 minutes.
30 mins brisk walk on the treadmill, level 3 gradient, 6.1 speed.


Today has been alright. I sort of cut my weights workout short as the gym was full of c***s sitting around on benches doing f*** all. I'm a bit annoyed that I didn't go over and ask to use one of the benches, next time I will.

I was out on Sat night and the hangover seems to have finally worn off. I didn't get to sleep last night until 1am, even though I was wrecked, and I was up at 6.45am this morning. I briefly considered skipping the gym but I actually felt ok today, just incredibly sleepy. I've got plans tomorrow night so I won't be able to get then, so I'll have to go on Thursday. I may be going home on Friday and if so, I probably won't get then either, or over the weekend. Will see how it goes.

G-Money

Day 17

Breakfast:
Low fat yoghurt, apple, banana.

Lunch:
White bread sandwich with butter, ham, grated cheese, onions. Glass of water.

Dinner:
Wholegrain and Basmati rice mixed with Big Als Chicken tenders and sweet chilli sauce. Glass of Diet 7UP

Tea: Granola bar, two oatcakes with organic peanut butter.


Workout/Exercise:
None


I was meant to be going out tonight to meet someone, then I was going to head to a concert in town. However the person I was due to meet cancelled on me and I couldn't be arsed going to the concert. As a result, I didn't bring my gym gear with me to work. I was so hungry when leaving work I probably would have passed out in the gym anyway

I slept better last night but wasn't that tired, even though I should have been exhausted. Unfortunately I won't get to the gym now until the start of next week. I'm heading home to the north tomorrow straight after work and I won't be back until Sunday.

I've ordered a bench to use in my apartment and I'm going to bring my dumbbells and barbell down from the north too. I'll buy a few extra plates and will do some weights workouts in my apartment. I got a bit sick of the weights room in Westwood so I wanted to see what I can do myself at home. I'm still going to go to Westwood to do the cardio. I know I could do that outside or whatever, but with the weather in this country, there's not a hope of me sticking to that promise.

G-Money

Day 18


Breakfast:
Homemade cereal with low fat yoghurt

Lunch:
Brown bread sandwich with bacon, grated cheese and some sort of sweet chilli type dressing (ready made one) and a bag of crisps (about 190 cals)

Dinner:
Chinese takeaway

Tea with milk, wagon wheel and 1 finger twix bar.


Workout/Exercise:
None


Today was a pretty bad day food wise. I was going home to the north straight after work so I didn't get to the gym and I probably won't now until next week.

G-Money

Day 19

Complete write off, all the food I had was fairly bad so I won't even bother listing it.


Workout/Exercise:
None


I have a bit of a cold at the moment. Am wishing it would either come on or go away rather than half linger like it is.

keane2097

It's your diet that's killing you man.

You have to think of it that every time you hit the junk food or the taytos or the chocolate that it's taking so much out of your 25 minutes on the cross-trainer and all the rest of the cardio you're doing.

I'm a fiend for the crisps myself as well so I understand the cravings, but just try to avoid the nasty food as much as possible - it's such a hinderance.

The thing is not to expect to be able to completely stop eating it all immediately. If you try to go completely cold turkey you'll end up breaking out and eating a tonne of it at some stage, but just be conscious every time you pick up something like that - even as you're eating it - that it's forcing you to do that extra mile on the treadmill and you'll find you'll sub-consciously start to train yourself off it.

You're doing great so far though, make sure you keep posting your progress.

I've noticed that some of your more recent entries have been a little bit less detailed. That's probably a sign that your motivation is waning. The great thing is, you're really close to the habit stage now - if you can beat this little lapse in motivation over the next 3-5 days (assuming that's what you're going through to some extent) you'll really find it much easier next week and the following weeks because you'll be over that hump.

Keep at it man!

EDIT:
Even on the really bad days you should take the time to write up what you ate - it'll help you stay motivated I think as you'll see the improvements you can make tomorrow...

jayoo

You need to get the crap food out of your house, i could go a month without eating or buying crap but if u put a tin of roses in the same house with me i would eat the whole thing in a day,

At the moment your training will still out weigh your diet, but as u shed more pounds it will catch up on you,

what about changing up snacks, popcorn and honey was my fav when i was tring to cut and need something sweet.

another good option would be to get some protein bars, mtself and my friend bought loads,bulk discount:D, and they worked out at under a euro a bar and are really nice, just like eating an unusually chewy choclate bar:)

Are you seeing strenght gains?

BossArky

grandmaster wrote: »

Day 14
Today I was massively hungover so I just had junk for most of the day.

grandmaster wrote: »

Day 15
I'm still suffering the effects of my night out on Saturday drinking. I felt bad today.

grandmaster wrote: »

Day 18
Today was a pretty bad day food wise.

grandmaster wrote: »

Day 19
Complete write off, all the food I had was fairly bad so I won't even bother listing it.

I don't want to be despondent here but it seems you are not THAT serious about getting in shape. If you continue like above you are not going to get anywhere soon.

Come on - sort it out. People here want to help you and see you succeed.

Have you created a www.fitday.com account yet?

G-Money

Yeah I know I've slacked off a bit. No real excuse really. I'll be back in the gym on Monday so that should help me get back on track.

Sometimes the eating thing is tough and I don't really want a salad with a plain chicken breast and balsamic vinegar for lunch, but it seems to be the healthiest thing we have at work. It's either that or a sandwich/wrap, or some sort of hot food dish. I don't like eating my "dinner" around lunchtime as even if I have a big dinner then, I could easily eat another at 7pm. I'm much more used to having something smaller at lunch-time and dinner in the evenings and I prefer it that way.

Anyway, just have to put the head down and get back to it.

I think my weights programme is a bit inconsistent. I've got my dumbbells, barbell and plates packed up so I'll start using those when I get back to Dublin tomorrow. The weights room at the gym sort of puts me off sometimes, so I should have enough stuff to be able to do a decent weights workout at home. And I'll head to the gym to do my cardio as well.

G-Money

jayoo wrote: »

another good option would be to get some protein bars, mtself and my friend bought loads,bulk discount:D, and they worked out at under a euro a bar and are really nice, just like eating an unusually chewy choclate bar:)

What make/brand of protein bars do you have? I bought Maximuscle Prograin Flapjacks, they're alright. I used to have these Reflex Protein bars but I got so sick of them.

G-Money

Couple of more things, I've created an account on FitDay there now. From what I can see I've ate about 1000 cals so far today which doesn't seem quite right, I'd have thought it was more.

Weights. As I mentioned, my weights programme is a bit erratic. I'm not doing weights the same amount of time each week, and probably not increasing the reps/weight like I should.

I used to be a member of Dundrum gym and they had a good programme for me then were they'd give me a weight and after every second visit, I'd increase the reps by 1. So for the first two visits, I might to 10 reps, the 3rd and 4th visit, 11 reps and so on.

I've got the following equipment that I can use at home. A barbell, two dumbbells, some plates, a preacher curl bar, a triceps bar, and a bench. I want to try doing my weights at home rather than at the gym. I'll continue to do cardio at the gym as its more convenient and more enjoyable.

I was looking at the Starting Strength programme and videos online. Are there some of the exercises, I need some sort of rack to start the movement off on? Stuff like military presses and squats seem to require the barbell be already on a rack. I don't have one and won't be buying one so I'm wondering if it will still be possible for me to do stuff like squats with the barbell behind my neck and plates on it.

Sorry for the newbie-ish type questions.

BossArky

grandmaster wrote: »

Couple of more things, I've created an account on FitDay there now. From what I can see I've ate about 1000 cals so far today which doesn't seem quite right, I'd have thought it was more.

Are you sure you are entering the correct amounts? It takes a while to get familiar with portion sizes. If you have a weighing scales take a few days to weight your usual meals and figure out the carbs/protein/fats in each.

grandmaster wrote: »

I was looking at the Starting Strength programme and videos online. Are there some of the exercises, I need some sort of rack to start the movement off on? Stuff like military presses and squats seem to require the barbell be already on a rack.

For military press you can just pick / power clean the bar up off the ground like I was doing here. Be sure to keep your back arched and don't round forwards when picking up.

You can use a similar method to get a bar overhead and lowered on to your back... just don't try anything too heavy with this method as it could be dangerous if you fail without a rack.

jayoo

Have you tried doing Dumbbell floor presses

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ7nYw_rFZ8

in this clip he is keeping his arm close to the body which makes it harder than the below clip in which he is using a rang of motion closer to normal benching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L39rtOFWA0&feature=related


I like these because you feel very secure and stable while doing them, and u always have a free hand just incase things go tits up


http://www.myprotein.co.uk/mp-max/mybar/mybar-high-pro/
these are the bars, myself and my friend bout 12 boxes which came to 143 pounds =157 euro, which comes to 1.09 euro per bar, postage was only 7 or 8 euro.

they taste quite nice, are chewy and they really do fill you up. with ordering stuff on line it would be worth seeing if any other boards members in your area would also like to buy, because bulk discounts rock

they also have this product
http://www.myprotein.co.uk/mp-max/one/one-promilk/

i havent tried it but it seems good, and if you bought in bulk it works out quite good price for a quality snack


http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/myprotein-co-uk-announcements/26453-mp-6000-gold-voucher-giveaway-latest-news.html

they also have a little promo going on so if you did want to buy maybe leave it a few more days

G86

grandmaster wrote: »

Yeah I know I've slacked off a bit. No real excuse really. I'll be back in the gym on Monday so that should help me get back on track.

Sometimes the eating thing is tough and I don't really want a salad with a plain chicken breast and balsamic vinegar for lunch, but it seems to be the healthiest thing we have at work.

The weights room at the gym sort of puts me off sometimes, so I should have enough stuff to be able to do a decent weights workout at home. And I'll head to the gym to do my cardio as well.

Hi, just my two cents here but could you not prepare something in the evenings to take to work and heat up at lunch? That's what I normally do myself. Do they not even have veg in the canteen that you could have with your chicken breast? It might fill you up a lot more if the salad is leaving you hungry. And here as for the junk food you really should just rid the cupboards of it because trust me it's so much easier not to eat when it's not there! I used to eat loads of it years ago and just went cold turkey one week and now I wouldn't want a bar of choc if you put it right in front of me, it's amazing how quickly habits can change.

Why don't you like the weights room in the gym? Is it that you find it intimidating or is it just too packed? You're paying the same amount as everyone else to be there so just remember that when you're doing your workout.

Chin up, you've done really well so far so it's just a matter of listening to the guys on here now who know ther stuff, and taking their advice to get to where you want to be.

G-Money

They have a salad bar at work with different types of veg. I try to avoid the stuff that's mixed in mayonnaise or dressing, so it tends to just be the plain veg like lettuce, tomato, beetroot, peppers, cucumbers, spring onions etc.

Its normally ok just sometimes I get sick of it.

Anyway I'm back in Dublin, weights with me. I'll be starting on the Starting Strength programme tomorrow. I'm not exactly sure how much I should be lifting on it (weight wise), but I'll give it a go.

I've got a barbell, dumbbells and about 40kg in plates so that should be enough to get me started. Will hit the gym beforehand as well probably to do some cardio.

I don't really have much in the way of junk at the apartment. I've got flavoured rice cakes, granola bars, chewy mix trail bars and protein bars.

I'm not sure what it is about the weights room that I don't like. Occasionally it's packed, but it's more a case of all the f****rs who seem to be gawking at me. I don't feel like that happens when I'm doing cardio in the gym. Or at least, I don't feel as aware of it. There's something about the weights room I don't like though. Never have.

G-Money

Day 21

Breakfast:
Home made cereal (about 50 grams of organic oat flakes, tablespoon of goji berries, about 6 almonds, 6 walnuts, 6 hazelnuts). A yoghurt. They didn't have any low fat yoghurts at work so I just had a normal one (175 cals)

Lunch:
50-60grams (uncooked weight) of wholegrain/basmati rice mixed. One chicken breast grilled. Some dried spices. Glass of diet 7up.

Dinner:
400grams of mince fried (drained the fat off it). Half a jar of Dolmio Light Bolognese. About 100 grams (uncooked weight) of wholegrain/basmati rice mixed. Glass of diet 7up.

Cup of tea with a Maximuscle Protein Flapjack bar.


Workout/Exercise:

7 mins of the recumbent bike.
30 mins on the cross trainer. I moved it up from level 30 to level 35 resistance for the half hour

Squats - 3 sets, 5 reps, 10kg

Deadlift - 1 set, 5 reps, 25kg

Dumbbell Bench Press - 3 sets, 5 reps, 12.5kg dumbbell in each hand


So today I got back on track and although my dinner was a little big, everything else was pretty good food wise. I didn't get any veg into me today which is a bit of a shame. I'll add some into the lunch I'm making for tomorrow.

I began the Starting Strength programme this evening. I did my cardio in the gym and came home and did the weights here. It went ok, however I know I'm not lifting as heavy as others do and I could probably do more on the squat and maybe the dead-lift. Regarding the squat, I'm doing it at home with a barbell and I have no rack so I think that is going to limit me in how much I can lift because of how I have to lift the bar behind my head and lower it down onto my neck/shoulders. I'm thinking about doing the hack squat instead. Would that be just as good?

The dead-lift went ok, but I need to buy some more plates I think. I reckon I could lift heavier on it but it was my first day so I didn't want to overdo it. It will also be interesting to see how stiff and sore my back is tomorrow

The dumbbell bench press went ok. I slapped on 12.5kg plates on each and by the 5th rep on the 3rd set, it was tough. I just about got it out. I could maybe have done one or two more reps, but it would really have been pushing it.

So overall, today was good. I'll cut back on the dinner portion sizes and do heavier squats and deadlifts.

I also only done 30 mins cardio today. I'm thinking about doing that going forward, except for the days I don't do weights and I might do 1 hour. Thoughts?

BraziliaNZ

grandmaster wrote: »

Day 21

Dinner:
400grams of mince fried (drained the fat off it). Half a jar of Dolmio Light Bolognese. About 100 grams (uncooked weight) of wholegrain/basmati rice mixed. Glass of diet 7up.

Cup of tea with a Maximuscle Protein Flapjack bar.

Why are you eating 400g of mince in one sitting?? That's far too much. I eat about 125g of turkey mince when having mince. 400g of mince is anything up to 1000 calories, and even the leanest mince would still be about 600kcals at 400g. With the rice and other stuff your dinner alone could be 1200kcals or so.

Should you not try and cut down meal sizes? You have to deal with hunger pangs if you want to lose weight, simple as, they get easier as time goes on though.

G-Money

I bought the packet of mince a while ago and froze it, cutting it into two. I hadn't bothered to weigh it or anything first. I'll be cutting down on the portion sizes a lot more from today onwards.

keane2097

grandmaster wrote: »

I also only done 30 mins cardio today. I'm thinking about doing that going forward, except for the days I don't do weights and I might do 1 hour. Thoughts?

I think 30 minutes decent cardio per day is not bad, especially if your diet improves and your weights regimen is up to scratch...