It is so weird, but I love getting these Accountability Blogs on Sunday night and Monday morning. Each and every week I am seeing some tremendous progress from everyone. No, not everyone is dropping 5 pounds or a belt notch each week, but there is at lease some growth in their ability to reach their goals. For some it is just winning the battle against pizza at work. For others it was just the fact that they made it to the gym three days that week. For some it might not sound like a huge accomplishment, but to me it is the roots of something bigger going on in their growth as a person, even if it just in regards to personal health.
Now, I won’t babble for much longer, I just want to remind everyone that Leigh’s Body by Eats is growing every few weeks and she just released a new cookbook, “Around the World in 30 Recipes.” You get it as part of Body by Eats, as well as all other cookbooks she has released with it previously and in the future. Check it at BodyByEats.com
Now for the blogs:
Craig:
This week was even better than last week. I got a new program from Tony and hit it hard. My energy is much higher than it was the previous week. I spent 8 hours at school and Saturday without wanting to kill myself and still got my lifting in later on in the day.
Today I am down another 5 pounds and lost 3/4 inch off my waist. I still have a long way to go though, but you can feel when the momentum has started to build. The first week you start to count the days you are doing well. “OK one day down!” but after a few weeks you don’t even bother and its part of the routine and it’s exactly what I have been trying to get back to. This week I baked up some catfish and made some meatloaf. At Sam’s Club they only have farmed fish which I know Brain St.Pierre frowns upon, and thus it will be the last time I buy any seafood there!
To end this blog post, Tony and I have come up with a goal for me to lose 30 pounds in 3 months starting tomorrow (March 1st) and I am ready to crush it! To help I will also try using the website http://loseitorloseit.com/. It is a website that helps you stay motivated and accountable. You pay them some amount of money and over the course of 10 weeks you can earn your money back. How you earn it back though it by losing the weight and hitting your goals. You can choose friends who receive emails about your progress and you get SMS and email reminds to post. If you don’t lose the weight your money is gone. Money is a very strong factor and after I finish my taxes today I fully plan on putting up some cash and betting on myself. -Craig
Ken:
I felt pretty good about my eating during my first week out of town. I stuck basically to this simple plan.
Breakfast:
2 hard boiled eggs
apple or banana
Snack:
Fiber one bar
Lunch:
Grilled chicken salad (no dressing)
Preworkout:
Protein Shake
apple or banana
Postworkout:
Protein shake
banana
Dinner:
For dinner I usually ate at a restaurant. One night I had calamari at Bravo and two glasses of Cabernet. One night I had some buffalo chicken strips and two beers. One night I had sushi and then met a friend for two rum and diet Cokes. Are you starting to see a pattern? Yes, I had a few drinks this week. A few too many considering I’m trying to lose fat. I didn’t over do the drinking on any particular night and that’s important because I tend to lose will power after drinking too many.
My workouts for the week were very good. I used a free trial at a large chain gym three days and I did outdoor cardio twice. One of my cardio sessions consisted of running stairs at an old college football stadium. When I say old I mean none of the seats had any paint left on them. It was a tough workout in a different and interesting place.
My weight stayed exactly the same as last Sunday. 204. The measurement around my stomach also stayed exactly the same 38″. I do feel a little better and my belt and clothes feel a tad more loose. I am heading back out of town this afternoon. I plan to eat the same and workout the same. I just need to steer clear of the social two or three drinks each night. Maybe I’ll go see a movie instead. It’s been a long time since I went to a movie during one of my trips away. Do they serve beer at the theaters now a days? Just wondering.
Larry:
This was a zero progress week for me as the weather, death of an old friend, and competing in the Smith & Wesson Winter Indoor National Championship in Springfield, MA, took me away from my routine and to a match hotel that was connected to a Pizzeria UNO. I will get right back on the horse and know that this was a “one off” in terms of my fitness goals, but allowed me to travel around the worse of the weather and get to a IDPA Pistol Match that I have been shooting since 2005. If I have one primary reason to work on my fitness besides looking better and staying alive, it is to be a better competitor in the pistol shooting disciplines that I love, IDPA, USPSA, and steel. The very best shooters have extraordinary plyometic skills and tend to be very fit, move very quickly and smoothly, and are able to withstand the demands of a long shooting day (think of golf with guns over 8 hours). If you don’t like guns, that’s fine, one of the things we do is compete against local law enforcement, SWAT teams, Army, and TSA agents to help keep them “frosty”.
If you’re curious, check out: http://www.uspsa.org/USPSA_Videos/index.html
If you’re still reading, you might notice in the photo submitted this week, my left bicep looks a little funky. About two years ago, while trying to move my treadmill from the motor end, once lifted, saw stars, felt a snap and my bicep was torn in half. Strangely, looks bad but my shoulder is a bigger hindrance to my lifting than the bicep. Neither this past week nor any injury is going to stop me in this Accountability challenge.
Carrie:
I can’t believe it’s been a month! I guess it’s a good thing it feels like it’s gone by quickly. I started a new program Saturday that so far doesn’t seem TOO bad, but you may hear otherwise come next week. However, I did manage to jam the ring finger of my right hand doing rollover medball stomps in my warm-ups. It swelled up pretty good, but I can bend it more today and am hoping my training sessions won’t suffer too much. Also, I’m not sure if I tweaked something or what, but my hip and lower back were causing me some pain and I’m back at the sports therapist/chiropractor. It’s something I should keep up regularly and had been meaning to get back to anyhow, so it can only be a good thing. Not sure if it will be at all visible in this week’s pictures, but the giant bruise on the back part of my thigh most likely is a result of that. Unless it’s from some other ridiculousness I did in the weight room. Geez! I’m a mess!
But let me tell you, I was HUNGRY this week. I also think this was the first week I really clicked in with my nutrition numbers. Sleepytime green tea has been a life saver for me at night. You know, when you really want that something after dinner or before bed? That damn bear in his nightie got me through, and I love him. I found myself watching the same episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate Michelle mentioned last week this past weekend – I swear, the two of us just love food too much, and now I know why she’d kill for that cookie – I’m not even a huge chocolate lover but this episode made me want chocolate in the worst way. I satisfied the craving with a cup of cocoa. I think in the grand scheme of things, that’s not all that bad. Seeing how Pete handed me two boxes of GS cookies – thin mints to be exact – when I walked through the door at CP Saturday (I know, weird. Believe me, this is not normal behavior there.) I tucked them away for a later date. Not even opening the package.
Oh, and has anyone seen this?
This is what my sister sends to my phone. Whoever created this was solely put on this earth to torture us. But, I would like this mound of deliciousness to be a “reward”, so E.B. if you’re out there and paying attention, I would like one (or six) of these in my basket this year. Yes, I still get one, and don’t act like you’re not jealous.
I haven’t made drastic changes in terms of my appearance (or on the scale even) but I don’t hate myself every morning when I put on an outfit. This, for me, is huge. And I have all of you to thank for that. Things are looser, for sure. I’m not back in this pair of pants I’ve been trying to squeeze into, but at least it no longer looks like the Unsinkable Molly Brown would’ve stayed afloat if she’d just grabbed on to what stuck out above my waistband. (I’ll never let go, Jack.) Furthermore, I had a surprisingly pleasurable shopping experience this weekend. Of course no pants were involved (newsflash: I have an ass and thighs!) but I bought a dress for that wedding this weekend that I feel great in. Three, actually! Issues? Sure. No, I have no intentions of pulling off some crazy Cher costume change. I will make a decision and go with one, but I’m happy to have options. Now let’s just hope I don’t throw myself head first into the dessert table.
Michelle:
Hi all – I wanted to do something a little different this week and write my blog everyday so I wouldn’t forget anything or be at a loss as to what to write come Sunday, but then the days got away from me and I didn’t do that… I’d like to start doing that this week but it’s my crazy week at work so I’m not sure if that will work this week either. So two things, I actually feel great. I think my pictures look a little better than in the past weeks but more importantly my clothes feel better, and that’s how I really judge things. I can’t really “see” a difference in myself but I have these pair of jeans that I base my weight on. And they’re fitting. I mean, they’re not fitting how I want them to but they’re better than they were a month ago. But the second thing is that my energy is really down. I didn’t leave my couch after training (really after training and after bridal shower #1) yesterday for a solid four hours. Tuesday afternoon when I was training at scla, I actually had to sit down between sets because I actually felt deeply exhausted. One thing to note is that tony has me doing these sets of exercises back to back and resting for 90 seconds then repeating them for four times. For example, I am doing goblet squats x10, push up eccentrics x8, chest supported row x10 straight through and then resting 90 seconds for four times. I then have another set of different exercises next. Same concept but three times through with 60 seconds rest. They’re kicking my ass. and this week seemed to kick it even harder. Not sure why. Nutrition? Just tired in general? I don’t know. Anyways, hopefully this week will be better but it’s my week three of the program topped with my crazy week at work, by Thursday I’ll probably be ready to call it quits. I did get to the gym five days this week so that makes me feel good. I’m not sure if I mentioned this in my last blog but one thing that I am loving about this accountability blog is really having Carrie to push me to get to the gym. I think Luke mentioned last week that he was jealous that Carrie and I train at CP and train together and it’s really key to have someone that can immediately get back to you and push you on things. If I want pizza she tells me not to eat pizza. If I know that I want to go to the gym in the morning, she will text me at 5:30 am to make sure I’m up, and I think – or hope – I’m doing the same for her. Having someone backing you up, especially it’s an immediate response, I think is really key in what we’re doing. Keep up the good work everyone.
David:
Hey Everyone,
So its Saturday and I am just NOW getting around to reading everybody’s blogs, listening to the FitCast podcast, and listening to Leigh’s podcast. I have had my head kinda buried in the sand all week due to personal life stuff and some crazy days at work.
A note after my work day on Wed, why don’t the idiots out there understand the basics about driving a car….?
If you don’t have a drivers license….don’t drive a car.
If you don’t have insurance….don’t drive a car.
If you have been drinking….don’t drive a car.
If you don’t have a license, or insurance, and you have been drinking, and you are fighting with your girlfriend, and you smoke pot, and your truck has pieces falling off, and you can’t read signs telling you where to go….don’t drive a car!!!!!
DUH!
Anyway, all that aside, listening to the podcasts and reading the blogs today has me way fired up. I had a great week in the gym, but struggled a little at times with me diet. That being said, on to the things that have me fired up.
I really heard a lot of the issues I have been struggling with and the tactics I have been using to fight with them when I listening to the folks from this challenge on the FitCast call. One thing that struck me specifically was when someone (I think Larry) mentioned having to deal with not just actual hunger, but the “desire to eat”. One thing I have been making sure to do when the “need” to snack seems to come up, is to get up and walk around for a while. That just so minor distraction has helped me immensely in keeping to my eating plans. It seems to work better at work where I can do that as part of my job, but not as well when I am at home. I have committed this week to whenever that little desire to snack comes up at home, I am going to take the dog out for a walk for a few and hope the same strategy will help me from diving into the cabinets looking for goodies.
Since I seem to be going a little long I will only mention one other thing this week. For anyone out there struggling with the desire to “serve two masters” and trying to build muscle while still wanting to loose some fat, please please please listen to Leigh’s podcast from this week. She does a great job answering an email question from someone about that, and made me feel a lot better about this process and how I am going about it.
Thanks so much for all the support this has brought. Keep up the great work everybody.
DW
Batty:
The SO and I were down in the basement working out one evening and I saw him checking out his lower abs. He was all “what are these weird muscles?” and I looked and said “dude, those aren’t muscles.” Fortunately he had to go see his doc later that week, and it turns out he has suffered a DOUBLE HERNIA. I suspect it was from lifting, because, like me, he is the go-getter overachiever and likes to push himself almost beyond human limitations and next thing you know your organs aren’t where they’re supposed to be. It’s actually not bad, he’s not in a lot of pain, and will require minor surgery. But, I would like to nominate us for the “most active couple that can’t do shit because our bodies are all jacked up” award. Can we get right on that? Great.
So that evening was full of hernia jokes, because we’re like that. We were gathering up the garbage to take outside when he offered to grab the bag I was holding. He suddenly says “OH GOD” and doubles over, and from under the bottom of his shirt slid out the intestine-like package of pork loin planned for sunday’s crock pot dinner.
This is one of the many reasons why I love him.
Sunday I decided to go ahead and cut back 100 calories a day on the food intake, which is only 20 calories less a meal for me, which isn’t really bad at all, right? Right. Sunday night, I was really excited about it. I did well Monday and Tuesday, and I thought I had it made until Wednesday about a half an hour after lunch. All of a sudden I became ravenous and it took every fiber of my being to not attack the vending machine. I counted the minutes until my afternoon snack, and then dinner. Thursday morning I got up and just immediately consumed a homemade protein bar I had in the freezer, which pretty much threw off the usual food plans for the day, so I found myself scrambling. It was hell served with a side of hell topped off with hell flakes with hell for dessert. But, I did it. I made it through without cheating or going over my calorie goals. I drank an alarming amount of coffee during those couple of days, but goddammit, I did it.
A friend of mine told me “making body changes solves some issues and unlocks entirely new ones” and I gotta say I agree. Flaws that were once covered by fat are becoming more pronounced. Who knew I had stretch marks? I sure as hell didn’t until I lost weight. The fat stores, although shrinking, are looking kind of silly and awkward. And its sometimes hard to remain positive when you look in the mirror and see these things staring back at you.
So to keep myself in check and show you where I’ve been, I’m going to share a photo of myself taken 4 years ago. I sent this along to Kevin when I applied for the challenge:
you’ll have to scuse the mirror, my son was 7 months old at the time and liked to smear his little grubby paws all over it.
I’ve come a long way. I like to pull out this photo when I’m getting frustrated with my current progress so I don’t get too down on myself. And it gives me the strength to keep going.
This past week’s body changes were pretty significant. I broke 100 lbs on the bench press, and Friday managed to do 6(!) pullups. I do not know where that came from and have not been able to redo it since.
My Saturday morning pancakes were made of flax and almond meal and a heck of a lot tastier than using processed grain bread.
My stomach is getting flatter and that little pooch of fat on my lower abs is decreasing. I am noticing minor definition in my obliques now, too, that I didn’t expect. I also am beginning to see a hint of definition in my thighs which is also something not expected.
I am now down to 151 with 7 lbs of fat lost. This is what I usually considered my ’summer weight’ – that is, when I’m biking 200+ miles a week and not really paying attention to what I’m eating, and nowhere near this level of ab definition. A smaller goal I mentally made was to also hit 145 by my birthday. That’s 6 lbs in 7 weeks. I think that’s doable.
My MRI is this week and hopefully I can begin rehab soon because I am going bonkers.
you’ll also have to scuse these photos because they were taken at 4 am, so my usual sunny disposition isn’t shining through. Also, camera flash kills muscle detail.
Lucas:
I think I can sort of understand how a lot of ectomorphs have a fear putting on any fat when they are trying to gain muscle. I’ve never been, nor will I ever be, an ectomorph, so I can’t fully understand how they feel. However, we endomorphs have some fears of our own.
Just the other day, I put on one of my favorite shirts (it was a Revenge of the Nerds shirt my wife and kids got me for Father’s day one year), and I noticed it didn’t fit quite right. Then I thought that it might just be in my head. When my wife saw me, though, she confirmed it. The shirt was not as snug in the chest and shoulders. Now, some of you may be thinking, “Wow, he’s making progress.” And yes, it is now clear that I am making progress. I didn’t feel that way at first, though. All I could think about was how much muscle I must be losing and how I must be eating too little and not lifting enough.
This is the kind of stuff I worry about, and I think a lot of us who have been on a continuous “bulking” diet (a.k.a. – eating like crap and lifting a lot) for several years worry about. I’ve worked hard to put on some muscle, and I really, really don’t want to lose it. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize that I am starting to look better. I think Chris Shugart from
tmuscle.com wrote about this once. He wrote something about how when you get lean, you actually look bigger than when you’re soft, chubby, and “bulky.” So that is what I’m going to focus on. My lifts are still going up, and my weight is coming down. I know I’m getting healthier, and I know I’ll look better in the long run.
Training:
I made a goal in my last post to do some sort of training every day this week. On Wednesday, I almost didn’t do any training because I was so busy, but I managed to get a training session in from Coach Dos’s new book that took less than 11 minutes (literally). Even though it was short, it really kicked my ass – I was sweating and breathing very heavily afterwards. I’m sure I had what Alwyn Cosgrove calls the “Afterburn” effect going on afterwards. It was great, and workouts like these leave little room for the “I don’t have time” excuse. So here is the breakdown of the last week:
Monday – 5/3/1 – Front Squat & 1-Arm DB Row followed by a timed circuit. - Later that evening a 4 mile jog.
Tuesday – Infamous TRX Workout A Phase 3 #2 (Ouch.)
Wednesday – Coach Dos’ Kettlebell Complex form Cardio Strength Training (I loved this complex)
Thursday – 5/3/1 – Deadlift & High Incline DB Press with a timed circuit at the end
Friday – Infamous TRX Workout B Phase 3 #2 (Double Ouch.)
Saturday – Played football for 2 hours with friends – lots of fun and great “interval-like” training
Sunday – Steady State “recovery ride” on the stationary bike for 20 minutes (my legs were sore from football)
Nutrition:
I also made a goal of eating according to plan all week with no cheat meals. Mission accomplished. The nutrition is getting easier every week. I do find that sometimes right before bed I become ravenous. I just have to remind myself that this is my body’s way of confirming that I am indeed in a caloric deficit.
My weight was at 212.5 as of this morning (Monday, March 1st). That is a loss of 3.5 from last week (although I think I had a little bit of a “carb bloat” for my last weigh-in after a cheat day) and a total loss of 8.5 pounds since we started this accountability blog. That’s roughly 2 pounds per week – pretty much exactly what I was shooting for.
So, that’s it for now. Onward and upward, everybody! And like always, buh-bye for now.
Aaron:
I chase the Man in the Mirror
Tim can probably back me up on this, but one of the best ways to torture yourself when trying to pack on some muscle is to parade around in front of the mirror after a good workout. (Note: do NOT do this at the gym, or you risk being That Guy/Gal. ) I wonder if anyone has ever figured out lb. wise what the difference truly is, so if actual weight is 170lbs. – the pumped up version is what you would look like at 190lbs. At any rate, it’s maddening and the worst part is it will always be that way! Even if my hard work and good eating get me up to 190lbs., the pumped up version will look like 210lbs. I’m like a dog chasing my tail, haha.
Things this week went very well. I continue to put on either weight or reps to almost every lift, I’m curious to see how long this continues and what effect it will have on me when progress start to taper off. I put such a great deal of emphasis on winning the minor battles (get one more rep, or added a bit more weight each time) that it can be a real downer when I can’t do it. That’s usually when I’d call it quits, switch to a whole new program and basically scrap everything. NOT THIS TIME!
Body weight is up to 172 lbs consistently each morning for the past 3 days, up about 6lbs since this party started. I think so far it’s safe to say that my intake is about right, given that I’m adding body weight without too much fluctuation due to just water. I’m almost hesitant to add the creatine, as I really do suck up water when I’m on it – but I also see pretty good results in terms of strength and recovery. I may hold off for awhile longer than I thought just to keep an ace up my sleeve, so to speak.
I also bought an old dorm room-style mini-fridge that I’m going to put in my office. I’ve gotten a few glares at work when I try to cram in a huge lunch bag into the community fridge, and rightfully so. Try explaining why you want to gain weight to a group of middle-aged women and you are liable to get slapped. Better to stash my food like a secret-squirrel than feel their wrath, I guess.
Below is a link to my rudimentary workout Excel file I mentioned last week that I’m still tinkering with. It shows some of the set & rep undulations and frequency. It is probably more convoluted than necessary, but so far has proven to be very challenging and fun. If there are questions please let me know in the comments and if there are a lot I’ll address them with my next post!
http://rapidshare.com/files/357652515/Acct_Blg_Training.xls.html (limit of 10 total DL’s)
Please be aware that I am not a trained professional. Following this program is not recommended, and neither is covering yourself in honey and attempting to make sweet love to a bear. You’ve been warned.
Tim:
Pretty standard week. Workouts felt good. Nutrition wasn’t awful (but wasn’t perfect).
The Workouts:
2/25
1. Squat, 135×12, 135×10
2a. Static lunge, 85×12, 85×7
2b. DB single arm row, 40×15, 40×15
3a. Push up, 20, 15
3b. Swissball crunch, 20, 20
2/28
1. BB deadlift, 155×15, 155×11
2a. Step up, 60×15, 60×15
2b. DB single arm press, 30×15, 30×15
3a. Chinup, 5, 5, 5, 5
3b. Reverse crunch, 15, 15, 15, 15
This was my last week of these 2×15 rep sets and the last of working out two days per week. For the next 4 weeks, I’m hitting the basement gym four times a week.
I know I promised a nutrition plan for myself by today, but I just haven’t been able to pull it off. I’ve done some thought, and I think I need to do this in a phased approach. The first step is just pure calorie intake. I’m not one to eat absolute crap to begin with, but I also am probably not hitting the 3k-3.5k calories I need to make any substantial gains on muscle mass. I need to start measuring what I am taking in. Does anyone have any iPhone app recommendations? My phone is the only thing that’s with me all the time, and it seems like that’d be the best way to track intake. I’m going to keep working on a formal plan, but for now I want to figure out a decent way to track intake. What good is setting intake goals if I can’t measure progress against them anyway?
Attached are the same pics I’ve been sending for the past 3 weeks! Enjoy.
Robert:
The bad news is, I’m not losing any fat. The good news is, I’m not gaining any fat and I’m gaining some muscle mass. I joined this accountability blog to give me the motivation to get leaner than ever. Instead I’m realizing that with as much mental and physical stress that I’m putting on my body right now, my body fat would be considerably higher had I not joined this blog. At this point I’m working out once a week, running once a week and trying to keep my stress-related snacking in check. I literally don’t have the time or energy to do any more. My goal this week is to tighten my schedule and manage my time to try to allow more time for good rest and nutrition. I’m pretty sure the energy and time to train will follow if I can buckle down. It has been a huge morale booster to read everyone’s stories, comments and hearing the conversation on last weeks podcast. Thanks to everyone following and everyone contributing. Even when I’m having a hard week, I know things can get better with a little more discipline and everybody will be here to see my results.
Courtney:
Every week I take these pictures and every week they look exactly the same. It’s frustrating being so overweight because any loss I make is such a small drop in the bucket that I can’t see any different. This makes it hard to stay on program at times. I’m hungry, sore and tired and haven’t seen any visible results for my efforts yet. On top of this, its is the end of the quarter where I hardly have time to sleep, much less work out or cook. Oh well, I just have to make it through this and not give up since that’s what I’ve done every time before. I get three weeks into a diet and then my eating habits just fall apart. Going to grad school full time while holding down a 40 hour a week job is hard so adding this one extra thing on top of it really shouldn’t be that much worse.
I had my second workout with my personal trainer on Friday, and he is a monster. He did, however, send me home with a workout to do in
between our visits. It feels good to be working my shoulder again. Before my AC joint surgery one pushup would put me in horrible pain for the rest of the day. Now I’m slowly building up strength and the only pain is the burning of my muscles.
For this week my workout is:
Stair climber, arm bike and jogging for cardio: 30 min with intervals
of high intensity
Lateral Pull down: 2 sets of 15 at 40 lbs
Walking Lunges: 2 sets of 12 on each leg, body weight
Chest press: 2 sets of 15 at 15 lbs (I’m having to do this on the
machine to keep my arms stable since my shoulder still gives out a
bit)
Squat to press: 2 sets of 15 at 5 lbs (yea, yeah pink dumbbells, give
me time and I’ll be using some serious weights)
Planks: 2 sets of 30 seconds
Crunches: 3 sets of 15 EVERY DAY
Well, now it’s time for me to get to bed. 6 am is going to come nastily early but I am determined to get in a workout before I head into the office tomorrow so I can spend my evening writing like a mad woman without any regret.
This week 
-Nadine
