BIG ASS SALAD (BAS) ON CHEAT DAY

Okay here it is- I did an IF until lunch and missed my workout because I was busy with work. I was not that "hungry" but felt compelled to hammer Sweet Tomatoes on one pass through the salad bar. 2 plates, spinach, veggies, blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese, other dressing's, and a load of chicken from the premium area.This is my BAS- Big Ass Salad- but I think the veggies must chew up to take up less space- this is how I "carb" up on a cheat day. I was actually too busy to get to the gym and had to go to a business meeting where I ate some Indian food for dinner- I stuck to the chicken dishes and what I thought was cauliflower- it was so good I went back for a second round. I know I am eating way too much! But after the meeting I went back to the gym and walked on the treadmill for 3.5 miles and then road 30 minutes on the stationary bike with a 4 minute 90% Tabata- I did not go 100%...it still hurt the legs though and got me out of breath with my heart rate close to 150 bpm.

I am doing a 36 hour fast day today (it is almost 8 pm and I am heading to the gym- I want to lift arms and do slow cardio for 1 hour- then eat a normal meal- so it will be a 24 hour fast). And I have been reading about the BulletProof Rapid Fat-Loss-Protocol which is an improvement of the Atkins "FAT-FAST" concept. For my program I try to do a 24 or 36 hour fast once per week- but this week I need to see if I can kick off some real fat loss (more than 4 lbs)- I decided I am going to try to do two 24 or 36 hour fasts- Today Thursday 4/26 and on Monday 4/30. I am kicking around the idea of loading up some coffee- but I am not quite sure how to do it. Typically I try to drink green tea all day long during a fast day. This seems to help me stay not so hungry and of course I take my supplements. I have not taken BCAA's since I thought the shorter fasting period would not affect much muscle tissue- but maybe I will add some if I am working out heavy the day before the fast I need something to keep the muscle recovery going. I don't think I will be able to gain much muscle if I am doing 2 fast days per week. But what I really want right now is to drop an additional 20-40 lbs right away! I want to get down below 260! If I can do that I will really know I am on my way! And my dream of a "six-pack" and sub 10% BF will be a reality!

I want to be clear about "cheat days"- going forward I will only "cheat" with either low-carb approved foods or "safe starches". I won't be hitting the junk food like I did last week eating corn chips and quesadilla's. The shear volume of my BAS is like a cheat day or a warrior meal.

I am doing another thing that I thought I would try- Cold Thermogenesis Living An Optimized Life Dr. Jack Kruse I started this program last week. I think I am somewhat cold adapted since my body typically runs hot and I don't need a jacket or sweat shirt when most other people need them. But I thought I would try to get my body fully cold adapted- I know during the winter time when I duck hunt I become cold adapted since I spend a lot of time out in very cold conditions and can get acutely cold for a few hours. But I know there is nothing that makes a person more mentally tough that enduring a cold shower or plunged for 10 or 20 minutes in  ice cold water. So far- cold water still sucks! But my low back is certainly feeling better. I am taking a cold bath in 55F water and using a couple of ice packs on my gut that does not get exposed to the cold water. I keep my head out of the water right now and my arms and hands- it will take a few more weeks before I go in all the way. When I feel a little hypothermic with a shiver coming on I end the session between 35-40 minutes.

I have not hit the "groove" yet in my weight loss since I feel like I am just eating too much- but it sure is a fun and satisfying "diet"...I hope I can get in the groove and lose 6-8 lbs per week. I think with 2 fast days per week, daily IF (skipping breakfast) and cold thermogenesis  while going low-carb (Paleo/Primal) <25 grams 4 days per week, with a ~100-150 carb gram leptin boosting day/meal (cheat day) and probably less than <50 grams the other 2 days along with supplementation. I should be able to put myself into an optimal fat burning groove. Looking back at the salad was HUGE!

MISSED MY WEEKLY GOAL!

Let me start by talking about all the exercise I have been doing. This last week I was hitting the stationary bike with Tabata and lifting heavy- chest, back, and abs. On Friday I did a low intensity ride for 60 minutes with a 4 minute Tabata. Then I drove 2.5 hours to my parents ranch on Friday night and did the 27th Annual Bike Around The Buttes I only got about 4 hours of sleep which was not much. Since I have not been riding I did the 40 mile loop. I have done the 100 mile ride in years past- many years past...I have been doing this ride for more than 20 years as it is a good fund raiser for diabetes plus it is the biggest bike event in the town I grew up in which is not that bike friendly. I made sure I ate a big protein meal Friday night and hydrated with plenty of water. I did the ride without eating anything and road slow since my friend was having a worse time than me and riding even slower. This was a good experiment of long distance cardio with low-carb. It did not work that well- I tried to recover eating chicken, polish dog, salad, right after the event then about 3 hours later I had a tuna, cheese, tomato, olive, green salad. I was eating strict Low-carb and I felt wiped out. I was really feeling bad. I finally got tempted by some corn chips and chicken quesadilla's that my Mom had bought for the family dinner. I had a hard time saying no! The minute I ate the chips I felt relief in my brain- my head felt better. I ate the carb-loaded corn tortilla dinner and my body felt better but I was still tired. I guess I was bonking- but it felt different than bonking from what I am used to- I was hungry but not ravenously hungry. Maybe next time I should eat a sweet potato? or some "safe starches".

On Sunday I got up and planned to not eat- but about by 11 am I was really hungry from the previous days ride- I made bacon, eggs and sausage. I wanted to go for a ride but kept waiting as I was really tired. Finally in the afternoon I went on a 25 mile ride that took over 2 hours- I was going really slow. I took 2 small apples and a banana with me as an experiment. If I felt bad I wanted to see how I felt after I ate these. I stopped at the half way point and decided to eat the fruit. My head felt better and my legs felt like they got some energy although I was not pedaling fast by any means. I made it home in pain in my feet and butt! I need to lose weight so I am not so heavy on the bike!

So I essentially cheated both days on Saturday and Sunday. I needed a fast day to make up for it but it did not happen on Monday. I road 1 hour on a stationary bike in the gym easy and was really hungry so I had Vietnamese PHO Soup- NO NOODLE! Extra Chicken. I did do an IF for 16 hours before the workout.

So how did I do last week. The scale LIES! I know I am gaining muscle- my strength is going up! I lost only 2 lbs. Down to 297. But I will take what I can get. My goal for this week is 293- a solid 293! I think I look better with my shirt off than my cover photo- but I have a long ways to go. I really want to get to 280 lbs! This will represent a successful strategy in my opinion.

CHEAT DAY(S)

Well I need to talk about "Cheat Days" these are not really a day but rather a day you eat 1 blow out meal. Typically I eat at lunch but sometimes it is more social to eat at dinner. The "cheat day" is a day you up your calories and can eat other carbs also. I like to do mine most of the time using low-carb food. I up the quantity and get really, really full. I will hit Sweet Tomatoes loading up on 2 plates of salads- one specialty and the other spinach with all the veggies smothered in blue cheese crumbles and blue cheese dressing. I have not tried it with Pizza, but maybe I will have to in the not so distant future- I make low-carb pizza with Atkins bread mix- the way I make it is awesome! I spent $90 making 2 pizza's that started out almost 3 inches thick on a thin crust. Loaded with cheese, meat and veggies. So we got it- 1 big meal whatever you want to eat. The next day is a FAST DAY! NO FOOD! Water, green tea and light exercise. Lots of water!

This last week because of a business meetings I found myself at dinner on Thursday having Sushi- I cheated. It was a "cheat meal"...I fasted on Friday for 24 hours then ate my typical chicken and broccoli with cheese for dinner. On Saturday I had another business dinner with a 20 oz porter house, 3-4 glasses of Guinness and some garlic bread that was off the chart- I had to try it- I wound up polishing the rest of the garlic bread. I fasted until mid afternoon and was sucked into eating a sandwich with sourdough bread, since I cheated I had sushi again for dinner and fasted only 18 hours before I had lunch and now have fasted about 24 hours. Okay this is not how I want to run the program. I was cheating and fasting and cheating and fasting. I want to do 1 cheat day per week. But I did a pre-weigh in this morning and I am almost at my goal. I think by tomorrow I will hit my goal of breaking the 300 lb barrier. I weighed in later today and hit my goal of 299! Not a great week for me but I still did it! I lost 4 lbs. This next week I want to hit 295 my NEW GOAL! 295!

So that is the basics of a "cheat-day" one or two meals that are more calories and more carbs than you would normally eat. Followed by fasting and light cardio.

Looking In The Mirror

That fat picture of me at the top of the page really helps motivate me. I can tell you that fat people don't think they are so fat. We can't see ourselves in the mirror- for some reason it does not register. Or at least that is my case. I don't see myself as so fat- but I see that picture and now I understand my wife and her frustration. She does not want me to be fat and I don't want me to be fat either. I just have gained weight these last 5 years since she came to the USA from China. Yes I was a bit overweight when we got married- I weighed in around 240. I needed to lose 20 or 25 lbs to be in really good shape. But things happened- I went back to school to get my MBA and we had two children. I was super busy and did not have time to make it to the gym. I was stressed and liked to eat. My wife is a great cook and she cooked for me...I ate...And I packed it on. So now I am finished with my MBA and I have not yet been able to lose the weight- 2 years ago I went from 300 lbs down to 260 lbs then I did not stabilize and I bounced. I have not been disciplined enough to keep a consistent workout program. I did not follow a diet program other than the "see food diet"...

So that is why I am here. To write this blog about my weight loss goals and to make it happen! I am going to do "whatever it takes" to make this become a reality. To lose 100 lbs of FAT and show a nice midsection photo. I will be happy and I know my wife will be happy too. So I need to hit the gym tonight- I will do a Tabata on the recumbent stationary bike with a 30 minute program- 16 minutes of warm up then a 4 minute Tabata Interval catch my breath for 2-3 minutes then push 1 or 2 30 second intervals with rest in between. I need to lift shoulders tonight and maybe I will do an ab Tabata. For abs I like to up the intensity as much as possible. I see guys rattling off so many sets of crunches- that is all low intensity stuff- if you can do 20 to 30 crunches that is too low of an intensity. Up the intensity with form- right now I am so out of shape and training- it is easy. I use the 1/4 ball not a full exercise ball- this just provides stability- position your butt to provide the most intense crunch, hands behind the head or gently on the ears- neck straight- eyes straight up on the ceiling. Crunch straight up and hold for a count, down without touching the floor and back up. I burn out 8-10 in 20 seconds and my abs are screaming! This is INTENSITY that is what I am looking for in a Tabata exercise. 20 seconds of INTENSE movement followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 sets of burn! It is all done in 4 minutes. So far I think I really like the Tabata idea for cardio and core exercises. For my split body part workouts I up the intensity by compounding two exercise movements back to back- for shoulders as an example shoulder press then immediately go to rear delt flies or dumbell lateral raises side or front. Burn to failure then strip the weight and burn to failure again. I can take a body part and finish my resistance workout in 15-20 minutes. I think rest and recovery is very important- I am old...45 years old not 26 anymore...I give it at least a week or 7-10 days to come back and work that body part again.

Okay time to head to the gym before it gets too late...

Losing Fat is Hard!

I did my weigh in today and fell short of my goal of breaking the 300 lb mark. Must be too much salty ham on Sunday. Okay I will make excuses. I hit 303 lbs. So I "lost" or burned off about 4 lbs- not bad considering that I really did eat too much too many times this last week. I feel better and I think I look a little better since the scale lies! YES it LIES! I am coming from such an out of shape condition that I think my body is gaining muscle weight- I am lifting heavy with intensity- so I think I am adding some muscle also. Remember my weekly goal is to lose 3-6 lbs of fat...I am going to have to push back and use a smaller plate if I am going to hit the 6lb loss...The problem is with intense exercise I get more hungry- I had some really big meat cravings and cooked up and ate more steak than I should- I just kept going back and eating more...

On Saturday I rode 25 miles and it really hurt my butt and feet- need to get the weight off so I can ride my bike! I did a 15 mile ride on Sunday and was hurting. I feel good that I got on the bike. I have a 40 mile ride to do in 2 weeks- so I need to get ready for that.

My GOAL for this week is lose 4lbs to reach 299! I want to break the 300 lb barrier!

FASTING...OR INTERMITTENT FASTING...

Yesterday I did my weekly Fast Day- My Goal is every week take a day and FAST for 24 or 36 hours. I had worked out hard at lunch so by about 10 pm when I got home from a meeting I was feeling like I WANTED to eat something- I did not need to eat but I wanted too. So I had a small piece of steak and 2 boiled eggs that were in the fridge (should have stopped there) then I fried up some chicken breast in olive oil and spices...I am not going to boil my meat unless I am making soup...Anyway so here is the plan...

Typically a Fast Day should come after a blow-out day or a cheat day- we will cover cheat days later- one needs to make progress on losing weight first before they start throwing cheat days in...Because my body is adapted to burning fat and protein and I am not feeding it much carbs it is easy to skip meals or even fast for 24 or 36 hours without getting crazy cravings. If you are just starting out you will have to go slow at first and work up to it- I did- when I tried my first 36 hour fast I thought I was going to starve- I was still eating too many carbs back then. A Fast day is a good way to rest the body and cleanse- WHY DO YOU HAVE TO EAT EVERYDAY? This is not starvation it is simple giving your body a break. Typically during a Fast day I will do an "LSD" work out- "LONG SLOW DISTANCE" of 50-75% Max Heart Rate for an hour or two- either walking or spinning on the bike- stationary recumbent bike for now- because I am so fat then my road or mt bike when I drop some lbs. During the Fast I drink lots of water and green tea. Normally I drink green tea everyday but I try to step it up during a fast day.

Last night I made it for more than 24 hours- I broke the fast by eating lean protein- my definition include whole eggs, lean steak, chicken breasts, fish, etc...yes of course there is some fat- but I am going to skip the cheese, blue cheese and the excess fat like bacon and butter. I will go "Protein Only" and skip all the vegetables and nuts. During these days I will add a quality fiber supplemental drink in the evening with some pro-biotic. I try to do 2 "Protein Only" days per week- but feel free to move these around as it gets boring to do these back to back. Or even drop back to 1 "Protein Only" day per week if you can fast for 36 hours. Count the Fast Day as part of your "Protein Only".

I was feeling great yesterday at lunch time when I worked out- so I did 30 minutes on the bike with a 4 minute TABATA interval that kicked my butt! Then I did an ab TABATA- 4 minutes of pain! I did low back extensions and stretching. I felt like since I stressed my muscles I should feed them before I went to bed so that is why I ate some lean protein. Okay on to "IF" or Intermittent Fasting- this is the skip a meal program- let your body feed itself.

Most of the time I skip breakfast-even if I workout. The only time I MUST EAT BREAKFAST is if I am coming off a 36 hour FAST. Then I work out first and then eat. I take Thyroid medication in the morning so I can't eat for an hour afterward. Plus generally I am not that hungry. Don't get me wrong- I LOVE TO EAT BREAKFAST- Bacon, eggs, sausage, ham, omelets, cottage cheese, avocados, coffee, water, etc...My favorite breakfast place makes a bacon, sausage, spinach, scramble- I have them hold the potatoes and make it a 6 or 8 egg special. So back to "IF" just skip a meal- sometimes I have skipped lunch- when really busy at work or if I had a big lunch then I skip dinner. If you can't skip the meal then you can have a really small meal- something you would consider a snack. Drink a lot of water and be done. How many times per week? 3 or 4 times a week I think is good for "IF"ing.

Today is Friday and I have 3 more full days to hit my Goal of 300 lbs. I will weigh in Tuesday Morning. I am so out of shape I think I will be gaining muscle and burning fat at the same time. My Weekly Goal that I think I can do for an ongoing basis is 3-6 lbs per week. I will be happy to lose 5 or 6 lbs right now but I am sure it will slow down as I drop down to 280 or 270. Let's see what I can do...

EAT LESS FOOD...

Yeah Right! Just eat less food- that is all one needs to do to "lose weight"...Not that easy...I keep telling myself that is all I need to do...Okay let me tell you what my plan is. But first I need to bag on the shake replacement folks- I hate this type of gimmicky diet program. Just drink 2 shakes a day and magically you lose weight- duh! You have to "replace" two meals with only shake crap per day- I say this and I love to make shakes! But it is shake crap if that is all you get to eat and then you only eat 1 regular meal and watch the lbs melt off. I don't care who's shake you are drinking this won't satisfy me for more than a day or two- I have got to have something to chew- something to eat or that 1 meal is going to be BIG! So I have tried these kinds of diets and they don't work for me...I do love my protein shakes though and shakes are a great way to relax and refuel after a hard weight training session or intense cardio intervals. I like to make mine with water, splash of cream or half/half, good quality low carb protein powder (no soy) with frozen berries and ice or use the chocolate formula with some sugar free low carb chocolate syrup as a kicker. Yummy! But forget about drinking shakes as a meal replacement- I like to use mine to wash down the chicken breast or steak that I just finished as a desert.

Everybody says eat to "SATIETY" I know that is the point to when you just start to fill a bit full. The problem is it is hard to STOP at this point. I have been conditioned to "clean my plate" plus I like to eat and I am not eating unless it tastes good so then I want to eat the rest of whatever I have on my plate. So eat to satiety is difficult for me. I like to eat till I am full...and then the clean the plate still kicks in and I eat past that point until my plate is clean. So this going to be tough to overcome. Lucky that with a low carb diet my eating habits have a lot more room for allowance. It is true that if you eat too much you won't lose weight even eating low carb. But when you eat more fat the triggers for "FULL" happen if you can eat slower...which is another challenge in itself. The other idea is to put less on your plate- folks use a smaller plate or smaller bowl. Another tough habit to change- I tend to eat large quantity- my salads are gargantuan- and I know better but continue to eat past satiety, then full and on and on until the bowl is empty...What is a guy that needs to lose weight to do? Start somewhere and work on it. At least the best thing about low-carb once you have broken the carb addiction is that most of the intense cravings are muted...not totally gone- a little shifted...now I crave big time meat- I know I was over doing it last week- I went to OutBack SteakHouse and had a 12 oz Special plus a 6 oz fillet, split an order of babyback ribs with my friends, plus appetizers of wings, seared tuna and grilled shrimp with the side salad/blue cheese and broccoli with water and ice-tea (unsweetened). Plus my buddy threw me couple bones off his lamb chops. It was ALL SO GOOD! Now how the heck am I going to lose weight eating like that? I am sure that dinner would have floored the Weight Watchers People- Points OFF THE CHART. Well eating big is okay as long as you don't do it everyday...

So the plan is to vary the amount of food per meal and per day- I am good with extremes- I can skip a meal or just eat a Quest Bar say for lunch. I tend to skip breakfast and still don't understand why they tell you to EAT BREAKFAST? What is the difference if I sleep till noon or get up and go to work or even work out in the morning on an empty stomach? However, I like to work out in the morning on an empty stomach- cardio primarily. It makes me feel good all day long if I can get in a good cardio session in the morning. I tend to like to lift weights in the afternoon or evening so then I can relax at home recovering with steak, chicken or fish with a protein shake to wash it all down...

Key Points: Vary the amount, Eat Less, Eat More, Skip Some Meals (the ultimate "meal replacement") let's talk about Intermittent Fasting and 24-36 hour Fasting next time...

Goals for the week: last time I weighed in on Monday I was 307 lbs I am trying to break 300lbs this week- not sure if I can do it. Forgot we had Easter this Sunday- as the wife and kids are in China. I feel like I am working pretty hard in the gym. Plan to do some bicycle rides this weekend for the first time which should help-weather permitting or at least I can go for some long walks. I had a blow out lunch yesterday at Sweet Tomatoes- two plates stacked- spinach salad on one of them- hit there premium chicken hard! Blue cheese was rolling off the plate. I think I hit satiety at the 1/2 way point on the first plate, I was full by end of the 1st plate then had the second plate with specialty salad with grilled chicken (no croutons) that was a stretch. I should have taken a picture to post up...Oh Yeah- EAT LESS FOOD!

My Starting Point

This was my all time HIGH weight a few months ago- I yo yoed down and back up to 321 just last week. I started my program on Tuesday of last week. Today is Monday evening. I have lost "weight" but I know it is mostly water balancing as I am doing a low carbohydrate diet approach. As you rid carbohydrates out of your system so goes the water molecules attached to them. It feels good but don't get to giddy the fat loss is just starting.

I am not just dieting but hitting the gym again as well. I plan to post what I am doing and the progress I am making on my journey to lose 100 lbs of fat. My goal is to show everyone a set of ripped abs before the year is over. The last time I had a set of ripped abs I think I was 10 years old. By the time I was 13 I gained a layer of fat that covered my abs. I was a athlete in high school and college and still had fat over my abs. I raced bicycles at Cal Poly and was 10% body fat but still did not have ripped abs. My goal is to show my abs.

So what am I doing about my diet program. I am taking what I think are the best principles on burning fat and using my Engineering Background to design a program that simple burns fat without serious restrictions. I am NOT using HCG and doing 500 calories per day- I tried it with the homeopathic stuff and I lasted about 3 days- I loved the "loading" phase eat all the bad food you want- but starvation is not my style. I think I am taking the best principles from low carbohydrate dieting or call it ketogenic diets and putting it together. I am using principles from Paleo, Atkins, Dukan and others to construct a fat burning program that works best for me. I think it can help others too, so I will share my success and what I am doing.

So how did my first week go? This morning I weighed in at 307 lbs. 14 lbs in 6 days- most of it is water. My goal is to break 300 lbs. I want to do it by next week- say Monday or Tuesday. I am not sure what day I am going to weigh in yet. I have more than 7 lbs to burn. I don't have all day to go to the gym as I work as an Engineer in Electronics. The job is stressful and that is bad for losing weight. Cortisol is our enemy. I need to hit the gym. Join me on my 100 lb fat loss journey. I will show you how for FREE!