Kevin's Watch

I gotta say, I'm stoked about my 'program' progress so far... I'm consistently under 200 now, by bf% is going down weekly, my energy level is way up, and I've successfully made getting up at 4:45am to work out at the gym a daily Mon-Sat habit for going on the fourth solid week.

I have been using Body Tracker and Diet Power software to set goals and track my progress. I am that kind of geek - but it is motivating me, and the DietPower software learns your metabolism, which I find to be pretty cool, and requires less thought on my part.

Of course, neither program is required to achieve the results I'm getting - I'm pretty sure that I will see results as long as I stick to my exercise and food plan - but doing the tracking makes it real, it makes it measurable, and keeps it easy - and is way more forgiving than I am.
The coolest thing about the Diet program is you can set a weight goal and a calendar date - then the program tells you how many daily calories you need to make it there - along with a general indicator of whether your goal is reasonable. It has a database of exercise and food, so keeping counts is reasonable, and adding new stuff is easy.

I'll spare you all further gushing, but I'm in the best shape of my life so far, with plenty of room for improvement.

So, keep up the good fight everyone, and keep posting here for encouragement! It is a good thing!

dw

Congratulations, DW!

I'm glad we can all encourage each other here.

Well, congrats to everyone doing well. I had a mixed reaction today. I had a customer point blank say, "You have lost about thirty to forty pounds." No you look good, no compliment, just a statement. I was kinda like hey yeah, good for me but also kinda like, hrmmm... he's been guessing my weight. That bothered me a little cuz it felt like a judgement.

Cameraman Jenn wrote:Well, congrats to everyone doing well. I had a mixed reaction today. I had a customer point blank say, "You have lost about thirty to forty pounds." No you look good, no compliment, just a statement. I was kinda like hey yeah, good for me but also kinda like, hrmmm... he's been guessing my weight. That bothered me a little cuz it felt like a judgement.

Don't let others' lack of tact get you down, Jenn!
When somebody says something jerky like that, just look right back at them and quote Clint Eastwood from the movie Bloodwork, "You're an a$$hole, and you can't help that..."

It is cathartic - and it pushes it back onto them, where it belongs. Down with the haters!

dw

magickmaker17 wrote:

MsMary wrote:I have been watching my food intake all week (to the point that I almost never feel full and usually feel a little hungry) and doing exercise and I haven't lost one oz.

you're probably losing fat and gaining muscle. don't feel bad about the fact that the scale says you've made no progress. Hang in there, you can do it!

Heh, that doesn't apply to me. I'm not weighing myself, just going by the fit of my clothes. I haven't shifted the merest millimetre. And I should have, according to the programme.

Cameraman Jenn wrote:Well, congrats to everyone doing well. I had a mixed reaction today. I had a customer point blank say, "You have lost about thirty to forty pounds." No you look good, no compliment, just a statement. I was kinda like hey yeah, good for me but also kinda like, hrmmm... he's been guessing my weight. That bothered me a little cuz it felt like a judgement.

That's just odd. Why would anyone think a completely cold assessment like that is a good thing to say to someone? And yes, it does seem to imply that he's tried to estimate your weight in the past. How unsettling.

It was weird. I would have chalked it up to cultural differences but the old old Russian guys always tell me I look beautiful/wonderful/lovely. This guy is mid fifties, Russian and very familiar with the language/culture. He's been here since his twenties. I dunno. It was weird.

If we're talking about nifty gadgets, I'd like to fully endorse the Perfect Pushup. I picked mine up for $20 at Dick's Sporting goods, and they're the bomb.

Using them, I get no ache in my elbows, I can dip down below my hands, and I can only manage about 2/3 of the pushups I can do either on the ground or with stationary handles. I do three 2-minute drills every other morning, and the results are quick.

Cail wrote:If we're talking about nifty gadgets, I'd like to fully endorse the Perfect Pushup. I picked mine up for $20 at Dick's Sporting goods, and they're the bomb.

Strongly agree. Depending on the amount of money you have to invest in equipment, a very nice complement to the Perfect Pushup is the Power Pushup 2 Use both at the same time! (and no that is not me in any of the pictures. )

Oooohhhhhhhhh, that looks painful. I'll have to pick one of those up.

AjK wrote: Strongly agree. Depending on the amount of money you have to invest in equipment, a very nice complement to the Perfect Pushup is the Power Pushup 2 Use both at the same time! (and no that is not me in any of the pictures. )

Pity. Well, still...nice ass.

PAIN! PAIN! On the above suggestion, I acquired the Perfect Pushup (Dicks is now selling a deluxe version for $40, but I found the brand-name product at Walgreens for $20).

I would say that it kicked me a$$, but it feels more like it ripped my arms off and is now beating me with them. Itt doesn't help that I also got my flu shot yesterday...

PAIN! PAIN!

dw

Humbling, isn't it?

Are you doing the 2-minute drills, or do you have a different workout?

I'm still relatively new to supporting my own body weight with other than my legs... I just did the one set max thing, and.... let's just say I am humbled, and my form blows chunks.

Apparently, the lion's share of my upper-body strength is in my chest and upper back, and not my arms....yet.

The PP is a good, sturdy piece of equipment - I just need to figure out how to work it in without derailing my current gym regimen... I do M-W-F upper body, Tue-Thu-Sat lower, + a 3-5 mile run every day except Sunday.
I've been losing ~1lb per week steadily, which is bound to taper off at some point- but I'm also noticeably toning and adding muscle. These results are noticeable both in the mirror, as well as with the bf% calipers I am using.

The DietPower software has kept me on a steady but sane track -

I've come a long way already - but I've also got quite a ways to go, still. So far, I'm still having fun doing it... we'll see if that changes once it becomes monkey-butt-freezing cold.

dw

Interesting regimen. I do the pushup drills every other day before I go to work, alternating a drill with a set of decline crunches. Great way to wake up in the morning.

I know what you mean about the wake-up power of exercise. I'm getting up at 4:45 most days, and stumbling to the gym. Coming home from that, I am euphoric - I feel like I have machine-gun body parts, and other stuff of Neill Cumpston legend.

It's only much later in the day, at my sessile desk job, when I groan like a 70yo while getting up, that I wonder if it is worth it... so far, the answer is an emphatic "Yes!"

dw

Unfortunately I can't get a full workout in before work, and with my visitation schedule with Cailette I need to readjust what I do in the afternoons and which days I do them.

I'm lucky I don't have to go to a gym, I have The Pain Cave in the basement. Even still, it's tough sometimes to get everything in.

But damn right, it feels good getting it done.

You could do the One hundred pushups challenge.

I was doing it till a personal crisis in my life interfered.

To clarify, I can only do modified pushups right now. I can't even do one "real" pushup.

Another 1.4 lbs. down this week. 41.6 lbs. total.

Yay, ali!

I lost a lb or two - pretty good considering the Jewish holidays. I am trying hard not to overeat, to avoid too much fatty and sugary foods, and to leave the table just a little bit hungry. I am also doing better at sticking to my exercise program, such as it is.

Yay, MsMary!

I can do wall pushups -- do those count?