Dave's Journal: Getting in Shape

[Kaido]

6 weeks completed! Nearly 25 pounds lost! (March 2008 - 220 pounds; late May 2008 - 198 pounds) Just got out of school and working on my summer plan, stay tuned!

I figure posting about it will make me more accountable, so wish me luck

Progress Log:

Day 42 - 12-May-08: 6:00am, sick day
Day 41 - 11-May-08: Sick day
Day 40 - 10-May-08: 9:00am wakeup, sick
Day 39 - 9-May-08: 6:00am wakeup, sick, 4 small meals, 10:15pm
Day 38 - 8-May-08: -sick-
Day 37 - 7-May-08: 6:30am wakeup, -sick-
Day 36 - 6-May-08: 6:00am wakeup, 15 minutes on road bike, 6 small meals, 9:10pm
Day 35 - 5-May-08: 7:20am wakeup, 15 minutes on road bike, 5 small meals, 12:00am, 199 pounds
Day 34 - 4-May-08: 8:10am wakeup, exercise break for recovery, fasting, 12:30am bedtime
Day 33 - 3-May-08: 5:30am wakeup, exercise break for recovery, 6 small meals, 12:30am
Day 32 - 2-May-08: 7:00am wakeup, exercise break for recovery, 6 small meals, 10:30pm
Day 31 - 1-May-08: 5:45am wakeup, 2x15 minutes on exercise bike, 5 small meals, 10:30pm
Day 30 - 30-Apr-08: 6:00am wakeup, rest day, 5 small meals, 11:00pm bedtime
Day 29 - 29-Apr-08: 6:00am wakeup, PT + 30 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:50pm
Day 28 - 28-Apr-08: 5:30am wakeup, 30 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime, 200 pounds
Day 27 - 27-Apr-08: 6:30am wakeup, exercise break for weekend, 5 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime
Day 26 - 26-Apr-08: 4:40am wakeup, 20 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime
Day 25 - 25-Apr-08: 5:15am wakeup, missed exercise, 6 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime
Day 24 - 24-Apr-08: 6:50am wakeup, missed exercise, 5 small meals, 10:00pm bedtime
Day 23 - 23-Apr-08: 5:50am wakeup, 20 minutes on road bike, 6 small meals, 10:15pm bedtime
Day 22 - 22-Apr-08: 4:45am wakeup, 1:20 on road bike, 5 small meals, 10:00pm bedtime
Day 21 - 21-Apr-08: 5:50am wakeup, exercise break (chafing, owie!), 6 small meals, 10:00pm bedtime, 200 pounds
Day 20 - 20-Apr-08: 7:00am wakeup, exercise break for weekend, 6 small meals, 9:10pm bedtime
Day 19 - 19-Apr-08: 5:00am wakeup, exercise break for weekend, 6 small meals, 10:00pm bedtime
Day 18 - 18-Apr-08: 7:20am wakeup, PT + 15 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 10:45pm bedtime
Day 17 - 17-Apr-08: 5:00am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 10:20pm bedtime
Day 16 - 16-Apr-08: 6:40am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 5 small meals, 9:45pm bedtime
Day 15 - 15-Apr-08: 5:15am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 12:20am bedtime
Day 14 - 14-Apr-08: 5:15am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:15pm bedtime, 205 pounds
Day 13 - 13-Apr-08: 8:00am wakeup, exercise break for weekend, 6 small meals, 9:15pm bedtime
Day 12 - 12-Apr-08: 4:50am wakeup, exercise break for weekend, 6 small meals, 10:30pm bedtime
Day 11 - 11-Apr-08: 4:02am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 5 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime
Day 10 - 10-Apr-08: 4:22am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:30pm bedtime
Day 9 - 9-Apr-08: 5:00am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:45pm bedtime
Day 8 - 8-Apr-08: 6:15am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 10:10pm bedtime
Day 7 - 7-Apr-08: 4:45am wakeup, PT + 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime, 210 pounds, started PT Program
Day 6 - 6-Apr-08: 7:00am wakeup, exercise break for weekend, 6 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime
Day 5 - 5-Apr-08: 8:30am wakeup, 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime
Day 4 - 4-Apr-08: 6:00am wakeup, 2x10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 10:00pm bedtime
Day 3 - 3-Apr-08: 5:00am wakeup, 10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 10:15pm bedtime
Day 2 - 2-Apr-08: 5:00am wakeup, 2x10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:15pm bedtime
Day 1 - 1-Apr-08: 5:00am wakeup, 2x10 minutes on exercise bike, 6 small meals, 9:00pm bedtime, 215 pounds, started Anthony's diet plan

Current Goals: Updated April 28, 2008

1. Lose remaining 25 pounds over summer (by September 1st, 2008)
2. Increase endurance (especially on bike)
3. Work up to 1 hour of exercise a day (by the end of the year - 30 minutes morning, 30 minutes evening)

Current Habits: Updated April 28, 2008

1. 9pm bedtime
2. Anthony's diet (2 more weeks, 6 weeks total)
3. PT Program, 2 x 15 minutes on bike

Background:

I've been a computer nerd most of my life, mainly due to poor health and a lack of energy (hey, it's easy to sit in front of a computer!). A few months ago I discovered that I had a dairy allergy; cutting milk-based products out of my diet has eliminated most of my health problems including headaches, stomach pains, and asthma (for the most part). I've also found I'm somewhat sensitive to the chemicals in processed food; I get queasy after eating at McDonalds, Chinese restaurants, etc. My current problems include being tired all the time, not feeling good, and a lack of energy. My goal is to change that and start leading a healthier lifestyle.

With that in mind, I started researching healthy lifestyle choices - ways to eat better, scientific studies, workout routines, what actually produces results, etc. I believe the key to getting in shape is diet, much more so than exercise. My brother is a meathead and enjoys working out and getting buff; I've noticed that his group of people does a lot of working out, but aren't very consistent in their diet and therefore do not get consistent results. I'm not interested in a diet (short-term) so much as a healthy lifestyle (long-term). After doing some research online, I found a personal trainer named Anthony Catanzaro who sells customized diet plans online for $30. You list your allergies and other foods you avoid and he works out a 7-day rotating menu for you, with 6 meals a day. The meals are easy to make and the supplies are readily available at a local grocery store. It is clear, specific, and easy to follow. Because it is a rotating diet, you can re-use it every week for the rest of your life and never get sick of the food and never have to design your own foods in, if you choose to do so. Here's a link:

http://www.anthonycatanzaro.com/dietplans.html

I was interested in his system for several reasons. I had read some of his articles on body building websites. He doesn't promote the use of drugs or supplements; instead he focuses on natural foods - animals, vegetables, grains, and fruits. Pretty much he was the only guy I found who did that and who actually had a product that laid out exactly what meals to eat every day. It's all there, step-by-step, all you have to do is follow it. Rather than starving yourself or eating yucky food, you eat normal stuff, just healthier versions - whole wheat instead of white, fiberous cereal instead of sugar bombs, etc. I've decided to try this menu for 6 weeks to see if a healthy diet really impacts me the way I think it will.

Mission Statement:

I want high energy all throughout the day. I don't want "tired" dips and I don't want to feel worn out the whole day. As a byproduct, I also want to be fit and healthy.

My Goals:

I am currently 24 years old, 6' tall, and weigh 215 pounds as of Tuesday, April 1st, 2008. I would like to be 170, although maybe 185 is a more realistic number. Honestly I don't really care about "losing weight" so much as getting in shape and feeling good. I'm not hugely overweight, but I do have a gut that I'd like to kill. So here are my overall goals:

1. Lose weight, get to an ideal stable weight and maintain it through a healthy lifestyle
2. Make healthier eating choices
3. Get more sleep, go to bed early
4. Exercise every day (5 days a week then just walking on weekends)
5. Feel good all day, every day
6. Have a better mood, from increased energy

The Plan:

The plan is simple:

1. Consistent sleep with early bedtime (10pm at latest, 9pm preferred)
2. 6 meals a day, all homemade
3. Daily exercise

I believe that sleep is one of the most essential yet most underrated keys to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I suffer from a terrible sleep deficit; I'm tired all the time, I hate going to bed early, I have dark circles under my eyes, and I stay up all hours of the night for no good reason. There are scientific studies that show that every hour that you sleep before midnight counts for 2 hours to your body; that's why you don't feel as rested if you sleep from midnight to 8am vs. 10pm to 6am. I'm willing to buy into that. I'm not a nightlife guy and don't enjoy clubbing, so for me it's not a big sacrifice. I hate being tired and I'm tired all the time - it sucks the fun out of doing things and makes it hard to work up the energy to cook at home instead of eat out and to exercise. My specific goal here is to go to bed by 9:00pm, or 10:00pm at the latest (I have night classes and late work a few times a week).

>>> Goal: Bedtime at 9:00pm every night; 10:00pm at the latest. Computer off at 8:30pm; lay out clothes & shower towel for the next day before bed to help me get ready quicker. Stay in bed at night even if I'm not tired, until I fall asleep.

I believe that diet is the biggest key to getting healthy and fit. I'm not talking about dieting, just a healthy menu - i.e, what you eat. I am committing myself to sticking with Anthony's diet for 6 weeks before adding in my own meal options. This will get my body cleaned out of all the sugar and other junk inside of it. So my specific goal here is to stick with the pre-made diet for 6 weeks, then expand it with my own recipes after that.

>>> Goal: Follow Anthony's diet for 6 weeks, no exceptions. This means shopping every week, cooking the meals every day, and eating each meal with 3 hours of each other. No eating out, no processed junk food, no snacks or foods not on the daily diet plan. (note that this isn't a kill-yourself-to-lose-weight menu, it's very reasonable)

Exercise is definitely a key to staying healthy. My goal is NOT to become Arnold, just to get in shape. Getting buff requires a lot of maintenance, and if you don't maintain it those giant muscles turn into flab (see it happen on numerous occasions!). My current goal is to use my exercise bike for 10 minutes a day. Right now I'm so out of shape that even 5 minutes is pushing it, but I'm willing to commit to 10 minutes a day in the mornings. I am also cleaning out the basement to setup my elliptical machine and I am saving up for a treadmill because we don't have sidewalks in my area and the weather is often too poor to go walking outdoors.

My specific goal is to use the exercise bike for 10 minutes a day. After 6 weeks, I will expand that. My eventual goal will be 10 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes on my elliptical, and 10 minutes walking (if the weather is good) or 10 minutes on the treadmill, twice a day (so two 30-minute sets of exercise, 5 days a week). Rotating the machines will help me not get bored. I don't like going to gyms and I have a weird schedule between work and college, so doing it at home is a better choice for me. After 6 weeks I am also going to add on a PT Program which includes crunches, pull-ups, push-ups, etc. My dad was in the Marines and gave me a copy of his workout routine, so I will be incorporating that as well. But for now, I'm out of shape and 10 minutes on an exercise bike is a real push for me, so I'm starting small so that I'll actually stick with it.

>>> Goal: Use the exercise bike for 10 minutes a day for 6 weeks. Increase exercise plan after 6 weeks.

 

[paulxcook]

Good luck, and consider taking some "before" pics so you can look back 6 months from now and see how huge the change is. You don't necessarily have to post them right now if you don't feel comfortable, of course.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Good luck, and consider taking some "before" pics so you can look back 6 months from now and see how huge the change is. You don't necessarily have to post them right now if you don't feel comfortable, of course.

Thanks! I may post some before/after pics this summer. I figure it will be about 3 months before I get to where I want to be. It's hard to escape the low-level fog that we live in from processed food and staying up all night, but I'm starting with small changes (even if it's only 10 minutes on the bike a day!) and will graduate to bigger ones later on. I really want to have high energy and just feel good all day and I'm willing to sacrifice my much-loved but crappy food in order to gain it. With small changes on a consistent basis, a year from now my life will be much different than it is now

 

[Kaido]

My wife decided to join me on the menu change. We went shopping today for a week's worth of menu-item food. It looks like the food cost will be about $150 per person, per month, so about $300 per month for both of us. That's just grocery store shopping, no sales or bulk items from Sam's Club. I'll keep tabs on how much we spend every week to see how low I can get the monthly price down to. A lot of the stuff (meats, breads, veggies) can be frozen or bought frozen, which means cheaper costs in bulk and fewer shopping trips.

I'm also a big gadget guy, which will really speed up cooking. Between the George Foreman grill, steamer, and my rice cooker, I can make cooking a fast and painless experience. Plus a lot of the cooked items can be frozen, i.e. beef, chicken, etc., so I can make a bunch of meals on the weekend and freeze them for microwaving later.

 

[skace]

You may not be a big gadget guy, but get acquainted with a blender

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Good luck, and consider taking some "before" pics so you can look back 6 months from now and see how huge the change is. You don't necessarily have to post them right now if you don't feel comfortable, of course.

Thanks! I may post some before/after pics this summer. I figure it will be about 3 months before I get to where I want to be. It's hard to escape the low-level fog that we live in from processed food and staying up all night, but I'm starting with small changes (even if it's only 10 minutes on the bike a day!) and will graduate to bigger ones later on. I really want to have high energy and just feel good all day and I'm willing to sacrifice my much-loved but crappy food in order to gain it. With small changes on a consistent basis, a year from now my life will be much different than it is now

This is the most important thing, and you have a good attitude about it. If you try to change everything at once you'll get overwhelmed, but if you just change one or two small things at a time it's almost trivial to do. Do that a couple of times, and you'll find that you've changed your whole life around. Good luck!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: skace
You may not be a big gadget guy, but get acquainted with a blender

Ahh you misread, I AM a big gadget guy And I have one of those iPhone-blending Blendtec blenders

I'm on Meal 4, still going strong!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: spamsk8r

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Good luck, and consider taking some "before" pics so you can look back 6 months from now and see how huge the change is. You don't necessarily have to post them right now if you don't feel comfortable, of course.

Thanks! I may post some before/after pics this summer. I figure it will be about 3 months before I get to where I want to be. It's hard to escape the low-level fog that we live in from processed food and staying up all night, but I'm starting with small changes (even if it's only 10 minutes on the bike a day!) and will graduate to bigger ones later on. I really want to have high energy and just feel good all day and I'm willing to sacrifice my much-loved but crappy food in order to gain it. With small changes on a consistent basis, a year from now my life will be much different than it is now

This is the most important thing, and you have a good attitude about it. If you try to change everything at once you'll get overwhelmed, but if you just change one or two small things at a time it's almost trivial to do. Do that a couple of times, and you'll find that you've changed your whole life around. Good luck!

That's basically the approach I'm taking. 10 minutes on the bike really isn't much, but over time it will add up. People may scoff, but it will work...

 

[MegaVovaN]

Originally posted by: Kaido
That's basically the approach I'm taking. 10 minutes on the bike really isn't much, but over time it will add up. People may scoff, but it will work...

It does work. I started with 15 min jog and it was laughable.
I am up to 30 min jog now, and it is not a laughing matter anymore.

 

[Kaido]

Well I made it through the day:

-5am wakeup (didn't go back to sleep!), no naps during the day despite being tired
-10 minutes on bike in morning, 10 minutes in evening (20 minutes total)
-6 small meals, exactly what was on the menu plan, spaced out no more than 3 hours apart

I'm going to bed at 9:00pm again tonight. I went to bed at 9:00pm last night, but I didn't fall asleep until nearly midnight. It will take a few rough days of being extremely bored trying to fall asleep, but I WILL train my body (and brain) to go to sleep early. I popped on an audiobook and my headphones for an hour or two which helped me fall asleep as well.

My energy level has been pretty consistant throughout the day. Eating on a regular basis really helps, instead of having 3 large meals. I never felt stuffed or bloated or that I had to sit around for awhile to let the food sink in. I don't know if it's a blood sugar issue or what but throughout the day I definitely get energy level dips and today it was pretty consistent, no big drop offs.

I made it 10 minutes on the bike, and felt good enough to do another 10 minutes in the evening. 5 minutes is pushing it for me (out of shape, eek!), but I made it to 10 minutes thanks to the TV. Having a show to watch helped me take my mind off of it. I am going to work up to an hour a day, split into 30 minutes in the morning and late afternooon.

The real work will be doing this more than 1 day in a row I can talk myself into 10 minutes on the bike pretty easily and I've already gone shopping for the food for this week, so it shouldn't be too hard. YAY DAY 1 COMPLETE!!!

 

[paulxcook]

Congrats. 1 down, the rest of your life to go

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Congrats. 1 down, the rest of your life to go

That quote "I'm taking it one day at a time" takes on a whole new meaning :Q

Day 2 is going well. I woke up at 5:00am, used the bike for 10 minutes, and cooked all of my food for the day this morning. I also printed off a schedule to remind me when to eat the portions. I'll hit all 6 meals again, do another 10 minutes on the bike this evening, then hit the hay at 9:00pm. I'm still having trouble falling asleep - I don't think I fell asleep until midnight again. Habits are so difficult to change...I've been going to bed between 11:00pm - 2:00am for the last 10 years or so. I'm determined to stick with it though, so I'm just going to focus on my 3 goals for now. Scientific studies say it takes 3 weeks to truly change a habit, so I'm not expecting immediate results anyway.

 

[zebano]

Way to go. I also like riding the bike in front of the TV, but one thing I've found is that once the show ends, I'm done (incidentally I know that episodes of 24 on dvd are 42 minutes long). Once you've worked up a little bit of endurance try riding outside. Not only do the hills give you new challenges but it's more interactive and I have a harder time stopping (if I didn't have kids and a wife to come back to I'd ride all day).

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: zebano
Way to go. I also like riding the bike in front of the TV, but one thing I've found is that once the show ends, I'm done (incidentally I know that episodes of 24 on dvd are 42 minutes long). Once you've worked up a little bit of endurance try riding outside. Not only do the hills give you new challenges but it's more interactive and I have a harder time stopping (if I didn't have kids and a wife to come back to I'd ride all day).

Yeah I need to replace that rusty old chain on my bike. My only gripe about riding outside is that CT drivers are CRAZY - I don't want to get run over lol.

Just had Meal #2! I'm pretty tired right now because I only got about 5 hours of sleep, so I'm hoping my body will catch up tonight or within the next few days. I'm tired all morning and then when it comes time to go to bed early, I'm wide awake and have no desire to sleep. Grrr! Seinfeld nailed it when he talked about Morning Guy and Night Guy lol.

 

[Kaido]

Okay Day #2 is complete, whoohoo!

-woke up at 5am
-had all 6 meals on my menu
-had two 10 minute exercise sessions on the bike
-going to bed in 30 minutes (9pm)

My energy level was consistent all day! Usually this time of night I am flunked out in front of the TV or computer, but I feel the same as I did when I woke up this morning. I am less tired than I was before, but I'm still hitting the sack at 9pm tonight. I don't know how many more days it will take, but eventually I will be able to fall asleep at 9pm instead of getting into bed at 9pm and falling asleep at 11-12. I am doing better on exercise than I thought I would. I still can't go more than 10 minutes at a time, but I've added on another 10 minutes in the afternoon, in addition to the morning workout session. If I can swing it, I want to do 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes around lunch, and 10 minutes in the evening, a few hours before bed, for a total of 30 minutes a day. It's probably not as good as doing 30 minutes straight, but I'm not capable of doing that on a regular basis yet.

So far I've learned two things. One, having small, simple goals are easy to achieve because you think they're easy to do. Heck, I can talk myself into 10 minutes on the bike, no problem. Pop on a TV show and I'm all set! It's almost too easy! Two, having a clear, specific plan really helps. I know what I am going to be eating for every meal of the day, I know what time I want to wake up, and I know what exercise I want to do when I wake up. In addition, it's easy - I can make all the food in the morning, it's easy to sit there and eat a pre-made meal every 2-3 hours, and it's easy to use the exercise bike for 10 minutes a day. So I'm looking forward to 3 days in a row tomorrow!

Edit: Make that three things I've learned - variety in diet is ESSENTIAL. If I was eating this much and I didn't have different foods to eat for each meal of the day, I would get sick of it real fast. Knowing that I can have raisen bran tomorrow instead of oatmeal or shredded wheat is surprisingly encouraging to me to continue doing this. I have something new to look forward to! So a rotating menu is a key to being consistent on my new diet.

 

[Kaido]

I picked up some Tupperware containers with meal portion partitions inside this morning. I have a whole day's worth of meals sitting in nice easy-to-grab-and-go containers, ready to be microwaved and eaten. I did all of my cooking this morning again, which helps immensely because then all I have to do is eat the food every 2-3 hours. I'm worried about shorting out my house because I have so many appliances going in the morning, lol - George Foreman grill, electric steamer, rice cooker, electric stovetop, toaster, and microwave. The rice takes the longest (about an hour), so I throw that in as soon as I wake up, then I exercise, shower, and make the rest of the meals. So the first hour of my day, from 5 to 6am, I get my exercise and shower in, get dressed, and prep all the food for the day. This gets me completely ready for the rest of my day, plus I can start doing whatever I want at 6am, which is pretty early. The last meal I make is Meal #1, which today was whole wheat pancakes with 2 tablespoons of honey, so it was nice and hot while I sat down to eat and let the other meals cool before putting the lids on.

I also made a Master Shopping List for the entire week. I'm going to research the shelf life of all the different foods and ways to store them so that I don't have to go shopping as much. I have a Sam's Club card so I can buy in bulk and I'm starting to pay attention to sales at the grocery store so I can stock up on items. Like today I picked up 4 jars of natural peanut butter - 2 cans for $4. Yay for the Stop & Shop savings card! It's super easy to go shopping because (1) I'm committed to my diet and (2) I have a specific list of exactly what I am supposed to get. Since I am committed and have a specific list, I don't get anything that isn't on the list. Again I've found my cravings are reduced because I am full all the time. Sure I want some junk food, but since I'm full it's not a very strong pull. Plus each of the meals are pretty good so I don't feel like I'm missing out by having to eat "diet food". I've already decided that I am going to keep the 6 meals a day thing for life, although I am going to start incorporating some of my own recipes to add flavor and variety after following the original plan for 6 weeks.

 

[gramboh]

Glad to hear things are working out, and it is a positive experience for you, which should snowball and motivate you even more. Are you finding your energy levels are up from the exercise and diet changes? I'd really love to eventually get into an early rise schedule. Lately I've been sleeping from 1 or 2am until 7:45-8:15am, it sucks, I just waste time on the computer, it's 12:30 and I'm doing it right now.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: gramboh
Glad to hear things are working out, and it is a positive experience for you, which should snowball and motivate you even more. Are you finding your energy levels are up from the exercise and diet changes? I'd really love to eventually get into an early rise schedule. Lately I've been sleeping from 1 or 2am until 7:45-8:15am, it sucks, I just waste time on the computer, it's 12:30 and I'm doing it right now.

Yes, my energy levels are up - mainly from the diet from what I can tell. Right now the exercise just wears me out so I can't really say it's contributing, lol. I mean, I'm not bouncing off the walls with energy like a little kid (yet), but my energy level is consistent the ENTIRE DAY, which is something I've never had before. I feel the same at 6:00am, at 11:30am, at 2:00pm, and at 8:30pm. There's no drop, ever - just a consistent "awake" energy level.

The second biggest thing I've found for energy level, after diet, is sleep. I suffer from a huge sleep deficit from a lifetime of staying up late. With the 6-meals-a-day menu, my body's energy level is up all day, but now my brain is the roadblock. I find it EXTREMELY difficult to think clearly if I'm tired, even if I have the physical energy to work on something. Thus it's easy to stay up late on the computer all night just surfing the net because it's a form of entertainment which only requires a low-level of brain function. It's brain candy, basically.

My body is starting to realize that I'm going to continue to wake up earlier, so I'm starting to fall asleep quicker. I'd estimate it took an hour to an hour and a half last night, which is much better than the 2-3 hours it took before, tossing and turning until my brain turned off. This is the hardest part of getting in shape for me - I am tired all day and want to take a nap, but I force myself to at least surf the net or watch a TV show to take my mind off it and stay awake when I don't have something productive to do.

I didn't realize how different the physical and mental "tired" states were, or that they were really even two separate things. Physically I feel great all day long now - my stomach doesn't feel grossed out from junk food (McDonalds, sugar foods, etc.), my energy level is exactly the same the entire day - but mentally I am tired, which makes it hard to do anything. It's very clear how different those two things are and that they are, in fact, different.

I've learned we have to play mind games in order to motivate ourselves to do difficult things. Going to bed early is honestly one of the most difficult things I've undertaken in awhile - I'm changing a lifetime's worth of (poor) habits here, so I've come up with a simple trick: I set my alarm for 8:30pm. When that alarm goes off, it means that I quit whatever I'm doing (usually on the computer) - close out of IM, save whatever file I'm working on, and either shut off the monitor if I want my windows open the next day or just shut off the computer.

Basically as soon as I hear that 8:30pm alarm (I set it on my phone, which is always in my pocket), my computer goes OFF. Then I put on costume - I put on my PJs and brush my teeth. This makes me "feel" like it's bedtime. After that I find a towel and lay out my clothes and backpack for the next day - then there are no roadblocks to waking up. I can wake up, hop on the exercise bike for 10 minutes, hop in the shower, and get dressed, all without having to fumble around in the morning looking for a towel to use and clothes to wear. Since I know I'll only be half-awake in the morning and not thinking very clearly, and that those things are going to be roadblocks for me, I just get them out of the way the night before. Then I physically go around and turn off ALL the lights and hop into bed. So computer OFF at 8:30pm and lights out at 9:00pm. Doing the physical actions associated with the things I want to do jump-starts me into actually doing them.

 

[Kaido]

Day 4 Progress Log:

Yesterday did not turn out quite as well as I would have liked. I had something come up in the morning and had to run out, so I ended up eating Meal #1 at about 9:45am. This screwed up my eating schedule for the rest of the day by a couple of hours, but since I had my late classes at school last night it wasn't a big deal shifting all the meals over an hour or two. To combat interruptions, I think I may make my Meal #1 first and eat it ASAP instead of spending an hour making all of my other food first and then sitting down to Meal #1. This ensures that I start my schedule out on a consistent basis, which provides the roadmap for the rest of the day.

Change: Eat Meal #1 ASAP, after working out in the morning.

I am finding that the recommended portion sizes are too large for me, at least at the present time. For example, Meal #2 yesterday included a sandwich with 6 ounces of deli-sliced chicken, which was an ENORMOUS amount of meat for me to eat in one sitting. I hardly felt like having my protein shake for Meal #3 hours later. So to avoid feeling stuffed after a meal, I'm basically cutting all of my meat portions in half. I'll increase that as necessary after my metabolism changes and I improve my workout stamina so that I actually need that extra food for my body.

Change: Adjust meal portions (lower for now)

I had my late classes last night, so I didn't come home until after 9:00pm. I actually got home around 9:25pm, but I didn't go to sleep until 10:15pm. That happened for two reasons: (1) my eating schedule was a couple hours off, so I had Meal #6 (the small protein hit of peanut butter and rice cakes) just after my last class before I drove home (food within an hour of bed = no good + excess energy), and (2) I didn't have everything prepared before I went to bed. When I got home I had to review my meal plans for the next day, find a towel, and lay out my clothes, plus some other niggly things. I should have taken advantage of getting home a bit early and just hopped in bed by 9:30pm, but since I wasn't prepared I didn't do that.

Change: Do prep work early, based on my day's schedule (and to allow for interruptions).

Instead of waking up at 5:00am I woke up at 6:00am this morning. My wife asked that I do that because of her work schedule for the day; she needed an extra hour of sleep. I actually feel MUCH less tired waking up at 6:00am. I'm not sure if that's because my body is falling asleep faster at night or because I allowed myself to have more sleep. I've decided to try changing my sleep schedule for a set 9:00pm deadline each night (minus the two nights a week I have late classes) and then just waking up naturally for a couple of weeks, rather than at a set schedule. My day doesn't start until 8:30am so I have plenty of time to sleep in. I suspect that (1) I may need some extra sleep for a few days to overcome my sleep deficit and (2) I may need more than 8 hours of sleep a night, at least for now. Either way, I know that the changes won't be instant because I am re-training my body for a new sleeping schedule.

Change: 9:00pm bedtime = of supreme importance (OR, on the 2 nights I have late class, go to bed as SOON as I get home - be sure to do my "prep work" and lay out my PJs, towel, and clothes for the next day BEFORE I leave for class that night, and review my eating plan for the day before leaving, so that I don't have any obstacles to going to bed right away). So a set 9:00pm bedtime plus wake up naturally for a couple of weeks to allow myself to get the sleep my body requires at this point in time.

I'm a bit concerned that this change (waking up naturally) will hinder my "tiredness" at night, but I think with the daily exercise I will still be able to feel worn out or tired when I go to bed. Either way, I'm determined to lay in bed with the lights out until I fall asleep every night. This really is the most difficult part of my program, lol.

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Sleep experts say that the 8 hours of sleep thing is a lie; the average person requires 9 hours of sleep. I'll buy into that!

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I've decided to do REALLY small increments in my exercise routine. I do want to add in a treadmill at a later date, but for now the exercise bike and elliptical are perfect, plus I go on walks outside once or twice a day. So here's the proposed schedule:

April: 10 minutes on Bike (mornings)
May: 10 minutes x 2 on Bike (mornings/late afternoon)
June: 15 minutes x 2 on Bike (mornings/late afternoon)
July: 15 minutes x 2 on Bike, 5 minutes x 2 on Elliptical (mornings/late afternoon)
August: 15 minutes x 2 on Bike, 10 minutes x 2 on Elliptical (mornings/late afternoon)
September: 15 minutes x 2 on Bike, 15 minutes x 2 on Elliptical (mornings/late afternoon)

So by September (6 months from now), I will hit my goal of 1 hour of exercise a day, split into two 30-minute segments of 15 minutes on the Bike and 15 minutes on the Elliptical. This is a non-overwhelming approach since I'm only making small changes at a time and committing to them for a full month before moving on to the next small change. After September, I plan on sticking with the hour of daily exercise for life. I'm planning on doing this Monday through Friday, 5 days a week, and then taking Saturday and Sunday off except for walks outside.

Eventually I will add a Treadmill into the mix and do 10 minutes on each machine, probably starting with 5 minutes of warmup on the Treadmill, 10 minutes on the Elliptical, 10 minutes on the bike, and 5 minutes of cooldown again on the Treadmill. At some point in the future I would also like to add swimming to that routine 2 or 3 times a week, either Tues/Thurs or Mon/Wed/Fri, and replace the 30 minute morning routine with laps in a pool (local high school has one). That will depend a lot on my schedule, however. Someday when I get a house, I want to setup an Endless Pool system so that I can do all of my workout at home:

http://www.endlesspools.com/index.html

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Bedtime in an hour. Made all 6 meals again today, yay! I started a new job today, just part-time at Staples (Fri-Sat), so I'm on my feet all day which is good and gets me out of the chair. I'm still sitting the rest of the week in school, but since I throw in exercise it helps break that up. My feet are hurting from standing up for 7 hours, lol.

Unfortunately my eating schedule gets a bit messed up at work because the lunch break is a mandatory 30 minutes and I can't break it up, so it's a little harder to do the meals every 3 hours or so. I'll have to be more careful about when I start my day to make sure I'm hitting the meals every 2-3 hours so that I can minimize them while at work but still meet my goals.

I've been able to throw in some 10-minute exercise bike sessions in the evenings as well, so I'm getting a jumpstart on my workout schedule for May. I think I can work it in this month permanently and be a month ahead, we'll see how it goes though. Working out the second time in the same day is actually easier than the first time, I don't know if it's harder in the morning because I've been asleep vs. moving around all day or what, but it feels easier the second time around.

Again 9:00pm is my new set bedtime, minus the 2 days a week I have late classes. I am going to prepare my stuff for the next day earlier on those days so that I can go to bed as soon as I get home. No more set wakeup times either, I am just going to wake up naturally and overcome my sleep deficit over the course of a few days or weeks. I'm hoping that a set bedtime of 9pm will give me a wakeup time of 4:30am; my dad did that in college and woke up naturally at 4:30am every morning without an alarm (of course he was in great shape and super healthy, haha). So I'll get there eventually - I'll be happy as long as I wake up by 6am once I get my sleep patterns back to normal.

Day 4 complete, whoohoo! It seems like I've been doing this forever and it's only been 4 days! Funny how that works.

 

[rasczak]

keep it up! I'll be catching up to you as soon as i get off of my lazy ass and back into the gym. (took a week off beause of foot problems.)

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: rasczak
keep it up! I'll be catching up to you as soon as i get off of my lazy ass and back into the gym. (took a week off beause of foot problems.)

Ahh foot problems stink. Foot and back problems, those seem to be the 2 killer ones. I've been pretty happy with my feet ever since I started caring about shoes. I always bought Payless-type shoes; I could never justify spending $120+ on Nikes that would just sit on my feet when that money could go towards a new Athlon or video card But a few years ago my feet grew and the cheap stuff wasn't wide enough to fit my feet, so I tried on everything in the store from Nike to Reebok. The last ones I tried on - New Balance - fit me perfectly. No more foot problems!

I also invested in a pair of Rockports for my dress shoes for work and church. It made me sick to spend over $100 on shoes, but the salesperson ensured me that they were be good quality shoes that would give me a long, long time of usage if taken care of properly - I still have them, almost 5 years later (still looking good with shoe polish too!). They fit my feet extremely well and I have never had foot problems from them. Crazy how getting stuff dialed in helps!

Good luck with your foot problems, it's no fun to have to skip activities because of stuff like that! So far the diet is pretty easy (I just make all the food in the morning) and the exercise is almost more than I can stand, yet underwhelming at the same time (so I'll actually do it on a regular basis); it's just the sleep thing that is giving me problems. It's so hard to change habits! I'm already seeing small improvements though, such as falling asleep within 1-2 hours instead of 2-3 hours. I'm hoping by next week it will be within an hour, or less.

How long does it take you guys to fall asleep at night?

 

[Kaido]

Day 5 Progress Log:

After all that talk about a 9pm bedtime, I still managed to stay up until 10:00pm - d'oh! My wife likes to watch TV at night before falling asleep and I get super distracted by it; even though my eyes are closed I have a hard time not listening. So on the way home from work I picked up some wireless headphones from Radio Shack for her so that I can sleep in peace! lol.

I hit my 6 meals again, but started my eating schedule later than I wanted to. I originally woke up at 6:00am, but since I was still tired I went back to sleep until 8:30am. I feel much better today and didn't have any sleep headaches. I'm going to bed in about 45 minutes so I can starting nailing 9:00pm every night, so I should start waking up earlier without an alarm on a regular basis. I also missed my morning exercise routine because I slept late, but I did go on a 30 minute walk in the morning and did 10 minutes on the bike after work today, so I met my goals there.

So far the mechanics of cooking have been working out great. I use the rice cooker, steamer, and George Foreman nearly every morning; I'm making an effort to clean those out after I use them so that I don't have a mess when I get home. Then after Meal #6, I can just toss all of my containers in the dishwasher since they are all dishwasher-safe. So I'll adopt a clean-as-you-go mentality in the morning with the appliances and then toss the containers in the dishwasher at night - no more kitchen mess, yay!

So far I have learned that sleep, diet, and exercise are all essential to feeling good and being healthy. One of them is not necessarily more important than the other; it's more of a stepped or sloped system - sleep is the base. From sleep you move to diet, and from diet to exercise. If you screw up your foundation - sleep - then all the rest of them are screwed up. Because I am operating under a sleep deficit, I can physically feel good from the food, but I need to eat more, exercise is harder because I'm tired, and it's hard to think because I'm sleep. My cognitive processes are definitely slower when I'm tired - even doing simple things becomes difficult.

So sleep is the #1 thing you need to figure out. You can go pretty much the whole day without a food fade vs. every few hours if you're awake instead of tired. When your body is rested, your muscles perform better and you benefit more from exercise. The next is diet - I think out of all 3 this has the largest effect on how you actually feel during the day, aside from being sleepy or tired. Having changed my diet this week, my energy level is 100% consistent the ENTIRE DAY; I never get a fade, I don't need to flunk in front of the TV, computer, book, etc. I can do whatever I want up until bedtime simply because I have the energy to be in control of my body and direct the things I want to do, instead of turning off my brain because my body is tired.

Exercise is the icing on the cake. I think that sleep and diet are absolutely required but exercise is more liberal - simply taking a 30 minute walk is sufficient to maintain good health, if that's your only goal. If you want to get buff, then you need to lift weights and do other types of exercise. My goal is in the middle - I just want to get in shape and be toned, not be a meathead. I have no desire to maintain big muscles on a constant, weekly basis. I can handle exercise machines pretty easily, especially with some headphones and some good music or an audiobook, or a TV show to watch, but beyond that I don't really care. Being in shape is what my goal is.

Almost to Day 7! Two more days and I'll have made it a full week, which I believe is the most I have ever stuck with an eating plan or exercise routine in my life, hehe. I'm pretty excited that I've gotten this far...I treat cooking my meals in the morning as the most important thing I have to do; it's like showing up for work - I simply don't not do it. I've made my shopping list and done my shopping, and I sit down before bed every night and write out what I'm going to eat the next day - a prep list to help me when my brain isn't 100% online when I wake up. Once I've gone a full week, I'm going to figure out what I can start preparing ahead of time and freezing so that I can reduce my daily cooking workload.

Woot Day 5 complete!

 

[Kaido]

Day 6 Progress Log:

I did it!! 9pm bedtime! I think I actually fell asleep about 10:30pm, so I'm down to about an hour and a half to fall asleep now. I'm hoping that by the end of next week I'll be down to 15 minutes or so. I woke up this morning at 7:00am, so I got a good 8-1/2 hours of sleep. I feel pretty rested although still a little bit tired - my eyes are burning just a bit. I'm sure once I make my 9pm bedtime a regular habit that will go away. I also have a sore throat, I'm not sure if that's leftover from trying to wake up too early all week or what.

Good news in the mechanics department, my bowel movements have become consistent and solid. Once you realize your body is simply a machine, albeit an organic one, you start to understand that taking care of maintenance on it produces the desired results - a combination of healthy food and daily exercise has improved my stomach's processing capabilities (boy did that sound nerdy or what?). i.e. now that I'm treating myself better, my body is treating me better and my plumbing is working correctly. Also, my urine went from yellow to clear, which is a good indication that my body is clearing all the toxins out.

My skin is also starting to clear up. I didn't have bad acne before, but I did have more pimples than I cared for. From what I've read on skincare, it's not so much what you eat as much as your habits in touching your face. If I'm reading something on paper or online I usually rest my chin on my hand - doctors say that dirt/etc. from your hands transfers to your face and are probably the biggest cause of acne, so I need to change that habit. But I have seen some skin improvements simply improving my diet, so that's nice!

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I forgot to not exercise yesterday. I'm supposed to take 2 days off to let my body rebuild, so I'll just go on walks or something on Saturday and Sunday.

It also occurred to me that the headaches and stuff I've been experiencing have been a result of sugar withdrawl. I was a pretty heavy sweettooth and my body is probably freaking out from not having a daily dose of it. Stupid natural drugs, haha.

********************

Went on a 30 or 40 minute walk this morning. I actually got lost wandering around the side roads and followed the main road back lol. Lost in suburbia! It's like a maze out there!

I've also been reading a lot of articles on the BodyBuilding.com website. They have 18k+ pages of content, so it's really interesting to see all of the different viewpoints on health and nutrition. I have found a select few people like Anthony Catanzaro who are super-fit but are also interested in long-term fitness instead of just for contests - i.e. they have no "off-season". Their focus is simply on their diet - they very carefully control what they eat. That isn't to say they eat diet food; they actually eat very well, so it's not like they're "missing out" on yummy meals.

My personalized diet is great - I have steak twice a week, wraps, sandwiches, grilled chicken, etc. The focus is on proper amounts of carbs, protein, fats (unsaturated), and sodium (an appropriate level of daily intake). I've been learning how to use spices more and my food has been turning out way good compared to what I normally eat. So being really fit and feeling good doesn't mean yucky food, it just means a change in what you put into your body. I haven't really had a bad craving for junk food - even though I'm a sugar addict - because I am always full throughout the day. The craving go from being a VERY strong pull to just being a nice idea - "those cookies look good" passes through my mind instead of having to kill half a package. Even without the added health benefits of eating a lot of protein and veggies throughout the day, I would still keep the 6-meals-a-day system simply to remove the tempatation of cravings!

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Went for another 10 minute walk. It's weird to feel good enough to just go out and enjoy the outdoors!

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Another one bites the dust! Day 6 complete!

Tomorrow is Day 7, the last day of the rotating menu. Completing tomorrow means that I will have done a full week of 6-meals-a-day eating, daily exercise, and early bedtime. My primary goal this week is to improve my bedtime and really hit 9:00pm every night possible. I have late classes this week on Tuesday and Thursday, so my schedule will be:

Mon: 9pm
Tues: 10pm (or a bit earlier)
Wed: 9pm
Thurs: 10pm (or a bit earlier)
Fri: 9pm
Sat: 9pm
Sun: 9pm

Hopefully I can make it home by 9:30pm on my late nights; every minute before 10pm counts. I've got my meal plan written out for tomorrow as well. Bedtime in 45 minutes!

 

[MegaVovaN]

So far I have learned that sleep, diet, and exercise are all essential to feeling good and being healthy. One of them is not necessarily more important than the other; it's more of a stepped or sloped system - sleep is the base. From sleep you move to diet, and from diet to exercise. If you screw up your foundation - sleep - then all the rest of them are screwed up. Because I am operating under a sleep deficit, I can physically feel good from the food, but I need to eat more, exercise is harder because I'm tired, and it's hard to think because I'm sleep. My cognitive processes are definitely slower when I'm tired - even doing simple things becomes difficult.

Well said!

Originally posted by: Kaido
Day 6 Progress Log:

I did it!! 9pm bedtime! I think I actually fell asleep about 10:30pm, so I'm down to about an hour and a half to fall asleep now. I'm hoping that by the end of next week I'll be down to 15 minutes or so.

I had that problem too but eventually adapted and fall right asleep as soon as I hit the sack.
Keep going to bed early and waking up early. Also try not to do something that makes it hard to sleep before bed: watch tv or look at monitor (light saturates eyes and brain does not want to sleep), fill your belly before bed, drink caffeine, or exercise really close to bed time.
Keep up the good work!

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: MegaVovaN
I had that problem too but eventually adapted and fall right asleep as soon as I hit the sack.
Keep going to bed early and waking up early. Also try not to do something that makes it hard to sleep before bed: watch tv or look at monitor (light saturates eyes and brain does not want to sleep), fill your belly before bed, drink caffeine, or exercise really close to bed time.
Keep up the good work!

Well that's good to know, I've always had a hard time falling asleep but I'm learning it's because I'm not operating my body correctly for that kind of result. I've heard the same thing about light stimulation from a doctor - no TV or computer before bed, at minimum 30 minutes but more like an hour to be realistic. I also know of studies that show that phychologically you should only sleep in your bed, not even read, so that you brain gets used to the fact that the bed is for sleeping. It's like when you sit on your couch at home - you automatically pick up the remote and start watching TV, without even thinking about it!

I stopped watching TV in bed (got my wife some wireless TV headphones yesterday) and I'll move my evening reading to the couch so that I can re-train my brain that bed = sleep. So 8:30pm is shut off the computer/TV time, get out my clothes and towel, make my food prep list for the morning, and read for a few minutes so that I can mentally "disconnect" and get ready to sleep. I'll read on the couch or a chair and then go lay in bed when 9:00pm rolls around (or a few minutes earlier).