Summer 52DC, Day 6 - 212.5

Burned a CE last night, but I'm still lighter than when I started the weekend out. Neat. I like it. Last night was movie night with popcorn and a little candy.

I spent the weekend in Stayner with my son. It rained most of Saturday, but Sunday was sunny and warm...until we hit the beach in Wasaga. It was surreal. Stayner's five minutes away, but it might well have been in another timezone as far as weather was concerned. We played in the sand for three hours amidst the weirdest fog. There was a seven degree difference in temperature and the fog didn't lift until well into the afternoon.

The fog didn't stop anyone else from visiting the beach, either. Teens and Tweens swarmed the area; boys hunting in packs, shorts riding low, underwear riding high, and shirts nowhere to be seen in the 15 degree (celsius) fog. The girls dressed in anything from pajamas to sweat-clothes to the skimpiest of bathing suits; with goosepimples covering the cumulative acres of exposed skin.

It was good times.

One of the attractions to the Georgian Bay area is the antiquing. I'm not really into that particular pass-time - shopping makes me want to poke my eyes out - but I ended up buying a hundred-year-old dinner table and chairs that need a little love, but look pretty solid. The whole urban IKEA lifestyle's been getting to me, I guess. The set wouldn't fit in my Focus (grin), but I think I'm going to have a couple of trucks in the area for an event at the end of July.

I also purchased a few new t-shirts over the weekend. All of the ones owned previously were for a larger, differently shaped frame. I'm enjoying my transformation - even if it is relatively slow (my own damned fault, really). I've gone from an XL to just a plain ol' large. Neat.

Today's my fourth Fatloss 1 workout. Bulgarian split squats.

Not looking forward to that.

*****

It's almost three o'clock, and I'm not feeling so hot. Almost passed out at the gym over lunch (finished the sets of bulgarian squats, thankyouverymuch), and cut the workout short. I feel like the top of my head is going to come off. My eyes hurt. I'd think I was hung over, if I'd had anything to drink over the weekend. I'm back at the office now, and trying to hydrate as much as possible. Hopefully that's all it is.

Summer 52DC Day 3 - 215lbs

After a brief, pretzel induced bump up to 216 on Wednesday, I'm back to 215. I'd been hoping to keep the cardio numbers strong early in the game to avoid a last minute flail like the last challenge, but it looks like I'm slacking again. I've just been having trouble getting out of bed early enough to get it in before work.

I'm up to speed on the RT, though.

Today is NROL fatloss 1, session a. The worst part of that workout is the rotational lunge. The first couple of times I did them, it felt as though my left knee was pulling apart. I'm also not sure I'm doing the twisty part right...which would explain the knee thing. I'll see if I can get someone at the gym to check out my form for me today. I do NOT want to pop that thing again.

Even with the knee, I prefer this workout to the other session. The bulgarian squats are friggin' killer. I tried them the first time with dumbells, and this last wednesday, I tried with a barbell on my back. Word to the wise - DO NOT do it with a barbell on your back. It's far easier to ditch the dumbells if you start to go down, and about halfway through the second set my upper arms started to cramp. They weren't really doing any work, aside from balancing, but it hurt like a muther.

Next week is barbecue-riddled, so it's gona take some extra planing to make it through. Then, the week after that, The Doras. Major schmooze-fest. I'm gonna have to be sociable AND make it through the free food and hooch (the hooch will be less of a problem) without doing myself damage. Fingers crossed!

Today's numbers:

CE: 4/4/94 (4.26%)

RT: 1/23 (4.35%)

CT: 1/23 (4.35%)

PG1 (10 Pullups): 0/10 (0%)

PG2 (5% challenge): 1/11 (9.09%)

June 16, 2009 - 215lbs (gulp!)

That's right. I've managed to undo most of the progress I saw over the last 52DC. The last week has been pretty decadent with one party or gig after another. I spent 14 hours on a bus tour of a hiking event I'm working on next month last Wednesday, we had a housewarming party, three birthdays, a work barbecue, and just plain ol' bad eating all 'round. It was fun, but it's time to buckle back down. Most of the re-acquired weight should come off over the next few days as clean eating resumes and I shed the extra water. The couple of pounds of actual damage will likely take another week or so. At least, I'm hoping that's the case.

I'm going to try harder to post EVERY day this time around, both on the 52DC board and here. I slacked a bit last time around, and I think the psychology of posting will help me reach my goals. Progress will become more difficult as I continue, and I'l need every edge I can get.

As of yesterday, I'm clean eating, back on TNT A, and back to the NROL workouts. Happy Tuna Tuesday!

Monday, June 8, 2009 - 210lbs

Well, I finally finished a 52 day challenge. And ended up with a friggin' Platinum Medal, no less! I'm disappointed that I didn't hit the 5% goal. I came close, but shot myself in the foot with a few cheats. The next challenge starts in 9 days, and I intend to do better. There are a few events in there, for example, the Dora Mavor Moore Theatre Awards. The Doras will be my attempt to schmooze with the theatre crowd in an attempt to renew old contacts and boost my career. I hate that kind of thing, but I'm gonna have to do it if I want to keep this gig. There's only so long I can pick up my boss's left-overs.

This weekend, I did a tour of Costco. I'm trying to determine whether it would behoove me to purchase some of my staples there in bulk. The jury's still out. I picked up a ginormous can of tuna that will yield 1300g of fish-flesh for about 11 bucks. That's about the same as 11 normal sized cans. I think in the future, I'll continue getting the sixpacks at the Real Canadian Superstore near work. I also think I'll be better off buying whatever meat is on sale there rather than hitting the Costco.

Today, I find myself plagued with a wicked head-cold. I'm going to call it a day early, today.

Spring 52DC, 23 days left - 213.5lbs

Well, nuts. It's my own damned fault, really. I dipped down to 209.5, then cheated. Twice. Almost in a row. Big. Monday was seeing Trek at the movies. We turned into a double feature and ate horrible cinema food that tasted so good, but was sooo bad. Yesterday was Thai food.

I'm 4lbs up, which should be managable, but I've got to find a way to deal with Jaclyn's issues related to my diet. Our early relationship was always punctuated with food; Beer and wings and mcdonald's and nachos and beer and pizzas and beer and burgerking and thai food and chinese and sushi and taco bell and her family's italian extravaganzas. Those are the things that make her happy. Sharing those things makes her happy. Eating those things and watching me eat a tuna or caesar salad make her angry. Very angry.

I have to find a way to reconcile my diet and her expectations. Or I'm going to die - one way or another.

Today -

CE: 56/58/90 (62.22%)

RT: 13/23 (56.52%)

CT: 7/23 (30.43%)

PG1 (15 lbs lost): 7.5/15 (50%)

PG2 (1 X 5 chinups/pullups): 6/5 (120%)

Spring 52DC, 30 days left - 212.5lbs

I think. I killed my scale over the weekend and am now using my backup analog deal. 212.5 means I've just finished undoing the damage of the weekend. It also marks a milestone - 70lbs down. That means, to hit my new target of 192.5, I need to lose 20 lbs. That's kinda awesome.

Things are really picking up at work. I took a four day break from the excersize regime just after I finished the TNT Program before starting the NROL program. That break ended up coinciding with a very busy few days, which was god from a scheduling point of view, but bad from a planning-my-diet-ahead point of view. Sunday ended up being a giant flail full of choices between bad and worse food. It was a wobble, but I'm back to making some progress.

Posting sucked during that time, too. Show sites tend not to have much in the way of internet connection. Fortunately, my new toy arrived yesterday. A mobile internet stick is my new tool to keeping on the straight and narrow. It'll prolly help out with work too....which is theoretically why I got it.......riiiiiiiight.....

NROL seriously kicked my ass yesterday. I skipped HIIT this morning 'cuz my legs just hurt so bad. I'm hoping to get it in tonight before heading out to see the new Trek flick.

I'm excited for the midnight showing...a little worried about what it'll do to my day tomorrow, but excited, nonetheless.

Spring 52DC, 38 days left - 214lbs

Wow. I haven't posted in a while.

I'm feeling pretty good today, although I haven't been sleeping well. The last week or two, I've been waking up exhausted. It passes after a while, but it makes getting out to the gym harder.

I've been keeping up with my sessions, though, and on Friday I finish the TNT workout program. On Sunday I move on to NROL's break in program. I'm changing up my schedule a bit so I can still get all of my RTs in before the end of the challenge. NROL incorporates 1 week breaks at the end of many of its modules, including the break in module.

Last night, I had an unfortunate encounter whilst attempting a CT. I've recently moved to a condo with my g/f. I've taken to doing CTs in the morning, hitting the condo's communal dreadmills (thanks, TNT Man) for some HIIT. Having rolled out of bed late yesterday, I managed to make it to the condo gym after work. At about 6pm, the place was relatively busy, with three treadmills, and most of the bikes taken (NB - the small weight room was only populated by tumbleweed and a haunting whistle...). The only remaining 'mill was one I'd been warned against by a nice old lady last week. The thing has a tendency to breaker itself off. The eighty pound septuagenarian testified it had done it to her once or twice.

Hoping it had maybe been fixed since, and having no choice other than to wait until the middle-aged power walkers had finished watching their soaps, I hopped on and started the warmup. At five minutes, I cranked the speed to my max and started going at it, incurring blistering looks from the lady next me who pointedly raised her remote to turn up her volume. Two minutes later, same deal. Stink eye and remote brandishing from Lady X. Round three, same start - stink eye and remote. With a couple of seconds left, the machine lost power. dammitdammitdamit. As I bent to flip the safety on the machine, Lady X flipped her headphones, and reprimanded me for putting so much stress on the treadmill.

'You know - the machines can't take your pounding.'

'Apparently,' I said, out of breath, and moving to a recently vacated, somewhat newer machine.

'Are you actually an owner?' she asked, questioning my right to use the machines.

'Yes.' I panted, as I resumed my run.

'Really,' she said, disbelief in her voice. 'What suite?'

'404,' I replied, and kicked into my cool down.

Maybe I'm just being sensitive, but that pissed me off. To get into the gym, you have to have an electronic swipey thing and one of those keys that locksmiths aren't allowed to copy. Moreover, the entrance to the gym is through the parking garage, which you also need the swipey to get into. The chances that some miscreant, fortuitously garbed in workout attire, would accidentally wander into Lady X's secret lair are pretty freaking slim.

Yes, Lady X, I belong here. Yes, I put too much effort into my workout to simultaneously keep up with 'Days of our Lives.' And you know what? I'm lucky I got as far as I did, if that nice little whisp of a woman from last week also had issues with the damned thing. Go watch T.V. at home and keep your comments and stink-eye to yourself. It's a gym. That's what it's for.

That felt good.

In other news, I've got an appointment with an Academic Advisor at York U, today. I'll, hopefully, figure out where I stand and what it'll take, both in terms of class credits and funds to resume my studies and finish the degree I left behind ten years ago.

Today's post:

Thanks for hosting again, Skycabin. Like you, I've got a borderline addiction to Diet Pepsi. Mine dates back to before I started this journey....there's just something about the taste of aspartame in cola that turns my crank.
I'm avoiding it this week, though, along with cheese, nuts, and chewing gum.
Hey! I'm in the top 10! Wooohoo!

Keebes - I'm a klutz, myself, as well. Your numbers look great! Keep it up!


My numbers:

CE: 28/28/90 (31.11%)
RT: 6/23 (26.09%)
CT: 4/23 (17.39%)
PG1 (15 lbs lost): 7.5/15 (50%)
PG2 (1 X 5 chinups/pullups): 4/5 (80%)