Today was a good day

So Summer is officially OVER! Started my Fall out pretty good.


Breakfast: Egg Whites Boiled + Beef Sausage
Snack Handful of Almonds
Lunch: Rotisserie Chicken + Salad
Dinner: Baked Fish + Zucchini

Hit the gym, did 5 Miles on the elliptical machine, about 915 calories burnt, and relaxed in the Steam Room for a few afterwards.

Back on Year End Goal!

So with September beginning time to get back on track for the end of the year goals. With that said, we're moving onto a 4 month plan. The key parts of the plan will be similar to the first three months of the year. Food wise, this will be a majority low carb diet, combined with a mix of weight training and cardio.

One goal deadline will be to run a 5K race mid November, so I will be tracking my progress of training over the course of 3 1/2 months. I am starting with about a 1 mile jogging stamina, as of last week.

Weight training, I will be doing about 4 weeks of full body routines, and then decide if I will move to heavier, isolated workouts.

For the low carb portion of my diet, the hardest part will be cutting out beer again...it's been a long, bbq / happy hour filled summer. They also have built a zeppelin hall Beer Garden near my home.....so I've put back on about 12 lbs in the past 3 months. I will be keeping a log, and picture documentary of my meals going fwd. to keep honest with the program as well.

Today

• Breakfast: 2 Boiled Eggs:
• Lunch: steak & chicken stir fry with boiled cabbage.
• Snack: slice of turkey and cheese stick
• Dinner: chicken and sautéed zucchini

Loving the outdoors

So now that the weather has been better I've been able to run outside.... Such a big difference from the treadmill/elliptical! I'm feeling better all around, trying to add that to the end of my weight workout daily.

The treadmill belt offers some help by pulling your feet back underneath your
body, so you are potentially exerting less energy to move your feet and legs
than if you were not on a treadmill.

When you run indoors on a treadmill, you do not have to overcome wind resistance. The lack of wind means you'll spend less energy running four miles on a treadmill than you will running four miles outdoors. However, it may depend on how fast you are running. For the average person, running 5 - 9 miles per hour (mph) will result in little difference. Some studies say outdoor running expends up to 5 percent more
calories; if you run faster than 9 mph, running outdoors could utilize up to 10
percent more calories because you are working harder against wind resistance.
Other studies say there's no difference. One study demonstrated the way to
balance energy use between indoor and outdoor running is to set the treadmill at
an incline (or grade) of 1 percent.

A few good points that I found on a running site explain it the best...

http://news.runtowin.com/2006/07/20/track-vs-treadmill-whats-the-difference.html

Treadmills are softer. You are going to take more of a pounding on asphalt than you would on a treadmill. If you jump into it too fast, you could hurt yourself. However, running on a grass or dirt trail could be even less impact than on the treadmill while still allowing yourself to stretch out a bit and avoid the boredom.

Running outdoors encourages stronger bone growth. Because there is more of an impact, there is more pressure on your muscles and bones which will lead to faster results when you are training.

You don’t have to break the wind on a treadmill. While you will not spend as much energy pushing air out of the way as you might on a bicycle, it still constitutes a large percentage of the energy that you are using. Air may not seem like much, but it takes a lot of work to get it out of your way so that your body can pass through it, and this is only made more difficult when there is a headwind pushing that air towards you. On a treadmill, you aren’t actually moving, so you don’t have to push nearly as much air out of the way.

Running outdoors gets you somewhere. Running is meant as a means of transportation from one place to another by moving over the surface. Running on a treadmill is having the surface move beneath you. It is not quite natural.

Running outdoors is more exciting. I have a definite bias against running on treadmills, mostly because it is so boring. When you run outside, you need to pay attention to where you put your feet, avoiding traffic and other pedestrians, and enjoying mother nature. There are more distractions that can keep you from dwelling on how tired you are, and to give you something to ignore when preparing for a race and learning how to focus.

Treadmills do not allow you to run downhill. At least, I have never seen one that does. For proper working out of the muscles, you need to work downhill and uphill workouts into your training. Always going along a flat or slight incline is not a natural way to move or to train.

The 5 most common treadmill mistakes do not apply outdoors:

Taking it too easy
Stepping off of a moving treadmill
Using the
handrails
Unnatural stride length
Not realizing how much easier it is

Treadmills are safe from cars, but you are not likely to get thrown off of the ground like you can from a treadmill. Getting hit by a car and being thrown by a treadmill are both experiences I do not really care to repeat.

It is tougher to hyper-extend your back outside than on a treadmill. If you do not use at least a 1%-2% grade on the treadmill, you can wind up leaning back as the belt kicks your legs backwards and you can hyperextend your back and hurt yourself. Using a small grade on the treadmill forces you to lean forward, which helps to protect your back.*

Back OMG[ON MY GRIND]

Oh man, the two weeks off definately took a toll on me! My body is extra sore!

So Monday I hit up Legs, went in with Squats, Leg Press, Leg Extensions and they were a little sore yesterday, but today... WOW I'm walking like Forrest Gump in braces!

Tuesday I hit up arms and back, Pullups, Bent rows, curls, pull downs, cable curls.....30min cardio!

My goal for week one will be to drop 4-5lbs which I know is mostly water weight, but what the heck!

Back OMG!

• Hey folk......
  
  I'm back....
  
  I know I failed on keeping up with the Blog the last month and a half!
  
  I did keep up with my workout and meal plan through the 8 weeks, and lost a total of close to 25lbs.....
  
  

Starting back up with a new 8 week program that will take me from today to May 25th which is Memorial day, also the beginning of Beach season!


I'm going to keep pretty consistent with the lower carb base, adding in carbs in post workout shakes and meals as I will be upping the weights and lowering my cardio on this plan.....

Here is a sample days food intake....

Breakfast: 2 Boiled Eggs + Protien Shake (40 grams protien)
Snack: Hand Full of almonds
Lunch: Rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken salad
Snack: Cottage Cheese

Pre & Post workout shake (20-25grams protien per shake)

Dinner: baked fish and vegetables.

OMG - On My Grind....

Hey Folk,

So day two into week 5 and going strong!

Yesterday hit up the pool in the morning, and kept to the menu...

B-Egg Beaters & Turkey Sausage
S-Handful of Almonds
L-Half of a small Rotisserie chicken.
S-Protien Bar
D-Low Carb Chilli with Cabbage.

Today hit up the weights for a mixed body workout.

I did upper body workout with dumbells, as well as a few sets of goblet squats.

Then followed up with eliptical 825 calories burnt....

Menu... pretty much the same, second half of my little chicken and left over chili.

B-Egg Beaters & Beef Sausage
S-Handful of Almonds
L-Half of a Rotisserie chicken.
S-Protien Bar
D-Low Carb Chilli with Cabbage.

Week 5 enter Water World!

4 weeks done, 15LBS later...Still going STRONG!

What's up good folk, ok so 50% done with the first 8 week program that I stated as an initial goal! I'm right on track for my weight goal to drop 30, with 15lbs down for the first 4 weeks.

Today I step it up for the second half. Partially just do to an increase in energy, after getting used to the workouts, and feeling like I can do even better. Today I started a morning swimming routine, to get me going before work, and to aid in burning excess calories, and getting the metabolism running.

I am going to hit the pool atleast 3-5, days during the work week in the am. I'm going to be continuing with the after work workouts, and stepping up the weight training to match the cardio. Another change will be that I will start to keep a better track of exactly what I do in the gym, to catolouge and rank my workouts.

Gotta drink, drink, drink water....H20 is my friend!

Supplements

A lot of folk ask me what supplements I take.

For the most part outside of my low carb diet I take the following.

Protien Shake in Water

Protien Plus Bars

Creatine

Multi-Vitamin's

So usually once I answer people want to know more about creatine... Well here are a few FAQ's to dispell some of the rumors.

The Facts About Creatine

Everything you need to know about creatine. Is it safe? Are there side effects? Just what is creatine, anyway?

Men's Health has the answers

Jamie BellavanceRichard Kreider, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Health, Human Performance and Recreation and Director of the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Laboratory and Center for Exercise, Nutrition & Preventive Health Research at Baylor University, answers your most common questions about creatine supplementation.Dr. Kreider has published more than 300& sport nutrition articles and abstracts that are published in scientific journals. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine, Fellow of the International Society of Sport Nutrition, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of the International Society of Sport Nutrition.

1. Are there any side effects to creatine?

The only significant side effect that has been consistently reported in scientific and medical literature has been weight gain. However, there have been a number of reported side effects such as stomach problems, muscle cramping, dehydration, and increased risk of muscle strains/pulls. There has also been concern that short and/or long-term creatine supplementation may increase renal (kidney) stress.One research group suggested that creatine supplementation may increase an individuals risk to developing anterior compartment syndrome (ACS). Over the last few years a number of studies have indicated that creatine is not associated with any of these reported problems nor increase the likelihood of development of ACS. In fact, there is recent evidence that creatine may lessen heat stress and reduce the susceptibility to musculoskeletal injuries among training athletes.While people who take creatine may experience some of these problems, incidences in creatine users aren't greater than subjects who take placebos and in some cases are less.

2. What is the best form of creatine to take?

Nearly all studies on creatine supplementation have evaluated pharmacological grade creatine monohydrate in powder form or have used oral or intravenous phosphocreatine formulations (a more expensive form of creatine).Since creatine has become a popular supplement, there are a number of different forms of creatine that have been marketed (e.g., creatine candy/bars, liquid creatine, creatine gum, creatine citrate, effervescent creatine, etc). Many of these forms of creatine claim to be better than creatine monohydrate. However, no data indicates that any of these forms of creatine increases creatine uptake to the muscle better than creatine monohydrate.The only potential benefits of these different forms of creatine are convenience, supplement variety, and/or taste preferences. The greatest disadvantage, however, is that many of these supplements are more expensive than creatine monohydrate. There is absolutely no evidence that you can take less of these types of supplements (e.g., liquid creatine or effervescent creatine) and get the same benefits than ingesting higher amounts of creatine monohydrate because of less breakdown in the stomach, greater intestinal absorption, faster absorption in the blood, and/or greater muscle uptake.The best raw sources of creatine monohydrate are from Germany (e.g., Degussa’s CreaPure™) or the U.S. (e.g., Ferro Pfansteihl). Care should be taken to only purchase high quality creatine monohydrate that is produced in inspected facilities that adhere to FDA good manufacturing practice guidelines.Editor's Note: We found another Creighton University study that found that creatine phosphate (Mega Creatine at gnc.com) improved performance three times as well as creatine monohydrate. The reason: Extra phosphate helps delay the onset of fatigue, says Joan Eckerson, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., the study's lead author.

3. Should athletes load or not load?

Research has shown that the most rapid way to increase muscle creatine stores is to follow the loading method, by taking 0.3 grams/kg/day of creatine monohydrate for 5 to 7 days (e.g., 5 grams taken four times per day). Studies show that this rate can increase muscle creatine. Once muscle creatine stores are saturated, studies indicate that you only need to take 3 to 5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day in order to maintain elevated creatine stores.Most of the creatine is taken up by muscle during the first 2 to 3 days of the loading period. While there is one study that suggests that taking lower doses of creatine over time (3 grams a day for 28 days) increased muscle creatine content, it is less clear whether low doses enhance exercise capacity. There are only a few well-controlled studies that reported that low dose creatine supplementation (5 to 6 grams a day of creatine for 10 to12 weeks) promoted greater gains in strength and muscle mass during training.On the other hand, several other studies found no effect of low dose (2 to 3 grams/day) long-term creatine supplementation on exercise capacity. Consequently, it appears that the most effective way to increase creatine stores is to follow the creatine loading technique for at least 3 days followed by ingestion of 3 to 5 grams a day thereafter to maintain creatine stores.

4. Should athletes take creatine alone or with other nutrients?

Creatine uptake into the muscle has been reported to be sodium dependent and mediated by insulin. This means that taking creatine with large amounts of glucose (e.g., 80 to 100 grams) or carbohydrate/protein (e.g., 50 to 80 grams of carbohydrate with 30 to 50 grams of protein), which is known to increase blood insulin levels, may be an effective way to enhance creatine uptake. There is also evidence that coingesting creatine with D-pinitol may help creatine uptake into muscle.Consequently, it is recommended that athletes take creatine with a high carbohydrate drink (e.g., juice or concentrated carbohydrate solution) or with a carbohydrate/protein supplement in order to increase insulin and promote creatine uptake.

5. When is the Best Time to Take Creatine?

Research shows that intense exercise increases anabolic hormone release. Ingesting carbohydrate and protein or essential amino acids following intense exercise may accelerate glycogen resynthesis as well as promote protein synthesis. Since insulin levels enhance creatine uptake, taking creatine after exercise with a carbohydrate and/or protein supplement may be an effective way to increase and/or maintain muscle creatine stores.

6. Should athletes cycle on and off creatine?

There is no evidence that cycling on and off creatine is more or less effective than loading and maintaining creatine. However, the greatest benefits of creatine supplementation occur with enhanced training. Therefore, if an athlete wants to cycle creatine, it's more effective to take creatine when they are involved in heavy training.

7. Does caffeine or acidity affect creatine?

Many of the initial studies on creatine mixed creatine in hot coffee or tea to help dissolve the creatine. These studies indicated that caffeine did not affect muscle uptake of creatine.Some have also warned that mixing creatine in acidic solutions (e.g., juices) may break creatine down to creatinine. Yet, the acid level (pH) of coffee (about 4.5), grape juice (about 3), and orange juice (about 2.8) is less acidic than gastrointestinal secretions (about 1) and the acid in the stomach (about 1.5). We know that creatine is not broken down through the normal digestive process.A number of creatine studies instructed the subjects to mix creatine with juice and reported muscle growth. Therefore, it is unlikely that mixing creatine in fruit juice would degrade creatine unless you let it sit for several days.

8. Do men and women respond differently to creatine supplementation?

About a third of the studies on creatine have evaluated women and/or mixed groups of men and women. Several initial short-term studies conducted on female athletes revealed limited enhancement of physical performance. This led some researchers to question whether women respond to creatine differently than men. However, a number of recent well-controlled short- and long-term studies in women have reported benefits.In our research, we have found that women typically benefit from creatine during short-term supplementation. However, gains in body mass and fat free mass generally are not as rapid as men. Nevertheless, women do gain strength and muscle mass over time during training.

9. Weight gain derived from creatine ingestion: Is it water or muscle?

Creatine supplementation typically promotes gains in body mass and/or fat free mass. Some have suggested that because the gains are fairly rapid, that the gains must be fluid retention. The initial weight gain may promote some water retention, but a number of recent studies do not support this concept.Most studies that have evaluated the effects of creatine supplementation on fluid retention and body composition indicate that although total body water increases, the increase appears to be proportional to the weight gained. Muscle is about 73% water. Therefore, if someone gained 10 pounds of muscle, 7.3 pounds of the weight gain would be water.Numerous studies report that long-term creatine increases fat free mass without an increase in the percent of total body water. Additionally, several studies have found that these gains were accompanied by increased muscle fiber diameter (hypertrophy) and gains in strength. Consequently, the weight gain associated with long-term creatine supplementation appears to be muscle mass.

10. Should children or teenagers take creatine?

No study has indicated that creatine supplementation may be harmful for children or adolescent athletes. In fact, long-term creatine supplementation (e.g., 4 to 8 grams a day for up to 3 years) has been used as therapy for a number of deficiencies and neuromuscular disorders in children. However, it should be noted that much less is known about the effects of creatine supplementation in younger individuals.Adolescent athletes should only consider taking creatine if the following conditions hold true:

1. The athlete is past puberty and is involved in serious/competitive training that may benefit from creatine supplementation;

2. The athlete is eating a well-balanced, performance-enhancing diet;

3. The athlete and his/her parents understand the potential benefits and side effects of creatine supplementation;

4. The athlete’s parents approve that their child takes creatine;

5. That creatine supplementation can be supervised by the athletes parents, trainers, coaches, and/or physician;

6. That quality supplements are used; and,

7. The athlete does not exceed recommended dosages.

If these conditions are met, then I personally do not see a reason why high school athletes should not be able to take creatine. Doing so may actually provide a safe nutritional alternative to anabolic steroids or other potentially dangerous supplements or drugs.If these conditions are not met, then I do not believe that creatine supplementation would be appropriate unless prescribed by their physician. To me, this is no different than teaching young athletes’ proper training and dietary strategies to optimize performance.Creatine is not a panacea or short cut to athletic success. It can, however, offer some benefits to optimize training of athletes involved in intense exercise in a similar manner that ingesting a high carbohydrate diet, sports drinks, and/or carbohydrate loading can optimize performance of an endurance athlete.

11. Is long-term creatine supplementation safe?

Athletes have been using creatine as a nutritional supplement since the mid 1960’s. Widespread use as a dietary supplement began in the early 1990’s. So far, no long-term side effects have been observed in athletes (up to 5 years), infants with creatine synthesis deficiency (up to 3 years), or in patient populations (up to 5 years).One group of patients taking 1.5 to 3 grams a day of creatine has been monitored since 1981 with no significant side effects. All evidence suggests that creatine supplementation is safe when taken within recommended guidelines.

12. Is creatine supplementation ethical?

Several athletic organizations and special interest groups have questioned whether it is ethical for athletes to take creatine to enhance performance. Their rationale is that since studies indicate that creatine can improve performance and it would be difficult to ingest enough food to creatine load, that it is unethical to do so.Others argue that if you allow athletes to take creatine, they may be more likely to try other dangerous supplements and/or drugs. Still others have attempted to lump creatine in with anabolic steroids and/or banned stimulants and have called for a ban on the use of creatine among athletes. Finally, fresh off of the ban of dietary supplements containing ephedra, some have called for a ban on the sale of creatine citing safety concerns.Creatine supplementation is not currently banned by any athletic organization although the NCAA does not allow institutions to provide creatine or other "muscle building" supplements to their athletes (e.g., protein, amino acids, HMB, etc).Moreover, although some countries limit how much creatine can be provided per serving in nutritional supplements, I am not aware of any country that has banned the sale of creatine. The International Olympic Committee considered these arguments and ruled that since creatine is readily found in meat and fish, there was no need to ban creatine.Frankly, I don’t see creatine loading any different than carbohydrate loading. Many athletes ingest high calorie concentrated carbohydrate drinks in an effort to increase muscle glycogen stores and/or supplement their diet. If carbohydrate loading is not a banned practice, then creatine loading should not be banned.

Two weeks down!

Let's see for updates...

I'm on my 3rd week since starting, I've been pretty good with the eating well, trying to keep my protein as high as possible, gets hard at times, especially forgetting to eat snacks. Sometimes the day goes quick and you realized it's been 5 hours or so. But the snacks help to keep everything up to par.

Last Monday the 13th, the day after my last post, I did a weekly weigh in and was down 5lbs, which is pretty good for the first week. My overall goal is about 30LBS in 8 weeks so that puts me ahead of the curve. I worked out MON-FRIDAY with the exception of Thursday, which I used for recovery.

This Monday the 19th I hit up a two-a-day workout, hitting the gym at lunch, but didn't feel like I got a great workout in, so I went back after work, and WENT IN, did 30 min weights, then hit 60 min cardio with the machine registering 850calories burned. Kept on top of the low carb meals and felt pretty good.

My Weigh in for week two was down 4lbs more from the 13th bringing me to a total of 9lbs down in two weeks.

Let's keep it going!

Day 8 - iPhone uncovers iHop! & Hydration!

Hey Folk,

I'm on day 8, it was a long week coming. I found myself really motivated not to stray this weekend, as well as work out. I did both, by planning my meals, as well as hitting the gym on saturday for a full body workout.

What I did find surprising was the hidden carbs I almost ran into at iHop.... Yup whats more protien low carb then eggs/cheese/steak all wrapped up in a nice omlette......well almost anything compared to Ihop, who decided that their omlettes would contain an entire ladel of pancake batter within them........ TSK TSK Ihop, almost got me...

Shoutout to the iPhone for the iHop google that set me straight before I ordered!

Here is a good article on drinking water which is essential for being healthy!

Why Drinking Water Really is the Key to Weight Loss
by Maia Appleby

http://www.inch-aweigh.com/water.html

Don't roll your eyes! The potion for losing that excess body fat is all around you. It covers two thirds of the planet. If you eat right and exercise at the intensity, frequency and duration proper for you, but still can't get rid of a little paunch here and there, you're probably just not drinking enough water.

No need to get defensive. You're actually quite normal. Most people don't drink enough water. Most people are also carrying around a few more pounds than they would be if they did drink enough water. If you can't seem to get that weight off, try drowning your sorrows in nature's magical weight-loss mineral. It works, and here's why:

"What on Earth is 'metabolism', anyway?" People use the term all the time, but ask them what it means and you'll get all kinds of answers. Merriam Webster defines it as, "The process by which a substance is handled in the body." A little vague, but that's really all it means.

There are many forms of metabolism going on in your body right now, but the one everyone is talking about it the metabolism of fat. This is actually something that the liver does when it converts stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs.
Unfortunately, another of the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you're also setting yourself up to store fat.

"I've tried it and I couldn't stand it!" The problem is that, though many decide to increase their water intake, very few stick with it. It's understandable. During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to, you're running to the bathroom constantly. This can be very discouraging, and it can certainly interfere with an otherwise normal day at work. It seems that the water is coming out just as fast as it's going in, and many people decide that their new hydration habit is fruitless.

Do take heed , though. What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of "survival mode". It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn't need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn't need to save these stores anymore; it's trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life. It's true. This is called the "breakthrough point."

One recent finding, as irresponsible as it may be, that caffeine increases the body's fat-burning potential has many people loading up on coffee before going to the gym. This finding may hold some degree of truth in it, but caffeine is, in essence, a diuretic, and diuretics dehydrate.

Caffeine may increase the heart rate, causing a few more calories to be burned, but this is at the expense of the muscles, which need water to function properly. This isn't doing your heart any favors, either. It's already working hard enough during your workout. Never mix caffeine and exercise. In fact, your best bet is to stay away from caffeine all together. It's a big bully that pushes your friend water out of your system.

Water is the best beauty treatment. You've heard this since high school, and it's true. Water will do wonders for your looks! It flushes out impurities in your skin, leaving you with a clear, glowing complexion. It also makes your skin look younger. Skin that is becoming saggy, either due to aging or weight loss, plumps up very nicely when the skin cells are hydrated.

In addition, it improves muscle tone. You can lift weights until you're blue in the face, but if your muscles are suffering from a drought, you won't notice a pleasant difference in your appearance. Muscles that have all the water they need contract more easily, making your workout more effective, and you'll look much nicer than if you had flabby muscles under sagging skin.

"Eight glasses a day? Are you kidding?!" It's really not that much. Eight 8-ounce glasses amount to about two quarts of water. This is okay for the average person, but if you're overweight, you should drink another eight ounces for every 25 pounds of excess weight you carry. You should also up this if you live in a hot climate or exercise very intensely.

This water consumption should be spread out throughout the day. It's not healthy at all to drink too much water at one time. Try to pick three or four times a day when you can have a big glass of water, and then sip in between. Don't let yourself get thirsty. If you feel thirsty, you're already becoming dehydrated. Drink when you're not thirsty yet.

Do you think water is yucky? Drinking other fluids will certainly help hydrate your body, but the extra calories, sugar, additives and whatever else aren't what you need. Try a slice of lemon or lime in the glass, or if you really think you hate water, try a flavored water. Just make sure you read the labels. Remember that you're going to be consuming a lot of this fluid.

It's probably a good idea to stop drinking water a good three hours before you go to bed. You know why. "How cold should it be?" This is debatable. Most experts lean toward cold water, because the stomach absorbs it more quickly. There is also some evidence that cold water might enhance fat burning.

On the other hand, warmer water is easier to drink in large quantities, and you might drink more of it without even realizing it. Do whatever suits you, here. Just drink it!

When you drink all the water you need, you will very quickly notice a decrease in your appetite, possibly even on the first day! If you're serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must. If you're doing everything else right and still not seeing results, this might just be what's missing.

Day 4

Hey Folk!

Well it's day four since officially starting my 8 week cycle. First I'll start by saying, the soreness is back! LOL No Pain No Gain, I guess, but I'll admit it's a good pain. It's the type of pain that means your doing something right.


Low Carb!

My energey level is a little low as 4 days of low carb is probably hitting rock bottom before the energy boost once I reach Ketosis. I'm gonna struggle through it, and focus to make it through saturday workout wise.... I figure that If I keep 8 Saturdays in my head it's all down hill! I'll rest physically on Sundays, but use the rest of the days to work out.


Drinking!

Well I did some research and also found that the "Light" beer I was drinking was about 107 calories a can, load up enough of those and that quite a bit of trouble. I've decided to do the entire 8 week program beer and liqour free! (I'm sure my liver will thank me for that as well)

I'm also trying to work 2000 calories minimum per week, outside of my weight lifting routine, doing cardio, I figure that will cover the beers alone that I've been drinking during the holiday season...LOL

So if I averaged 4-5 cans of beer a day, or 2-3 large cans then I'm minus about 500 calories, then workoff another 500 i'm taking down 1000 calories a day from an average december day. Since a pound of fat is about 3000 calories I should be dropping them pretty quickly starting my second or third week, once my metabolism catches up!


Here's a good article with more explanation of the Plan I've chosen to follow from Men's Health!

New Year, Time to strap down

Happy Monday, or first day back to work for most... so here we go, today I got a good article from Men's Health with a few good pointers on eating habits, that are pretty simple and not insane....

These 10 rules will be the main guidlines for the next 8 weeks as I'll keep you updated on any good reading, motivational stuff etc...

10 Easy Ways to Lose Weight Without Starving

1. Always Eat a Man's Breakfast
No more Lucky Charms—you want some protein and fat. Scrambled eggs and a few sausage links will keep you fuller longer than an airy doughnut will.

2. Eat More!
We're talking three good snacks and three healthful meals. But what do you serve during the bowl game if you can't have chips and dip? Mixed nuts—especially almonds—will satisfy your craving for something crunchy while helping to build muscle.

3. Just Say No to Starches
Foods like pasta, white bread, and potatoes make you fat. If you must have pasta, make yours whole-wheat. Same goes for bread, and swap white potatoes for sweet potatoes. Just don't eat too much!

4. Lift Weights
Yes, you have to hit the gym, and no, lifting beer cans during happy hour doesn't count. The muscles you build will not only improve your performance, they'll stoke your metabolism so you burn calories long after your workout is over.

5. Think Before You Eat
Don't just stuff your face with the stale cookies left over from the holidays, eat what tastes good and what's good for you. Take your time eating; you'll stay fuller longer.

6. But Have Fun Once in a While—or Once a Week
Stifle those cravings for too long, and you'll be miserable and might fall off your new plan forever. Just splurge reasonably—two slices of pizza, not the whole thing.

7. Go Low-Carb
It's the easiest way to drop weight fast. The cravings are hard at first, but it gets easier—especially when you see the results.

8. Run Intervals
It's easier to alternate between hard and easy running instead of going for a long run—especially if you don't like running. Plus, you'll be done faster and burn more fat.

9. Never, Ever Drink Sweetened Soda
But go ahead, have a glass of wine now and then. Low-carb beer is fine, too, in moderation.

10. Don't Fear Fat
It makes you feel full, helps control your appetite, and your body needs it.