Day 43 - what a workout!

No sure why, but did anyone find that work-out tough? Seems to drag on and on...maybe its just me.  That time of week again, pictures and weigh in tomorrow. Just looking the gut is still around, I am hoping its smaller relative the everything else, but it really is stubborn!  Pretty much given up on the morning workouts.  If I do manage to get up I end up racing to the office still sweating scoffing down my breakfast so I will stick with the morning skips and evening workouts, so far it seems to be the most suitable . Can't imagine when this is over what I will do with my spare time!
Finding it interesting on how sleep, food and weather all drive my tempo for the day. Never put my finger on it before but any one of those 3 don't work for me and the energy needed to get me moving is equal to a workout in  itself!

Seems like a large portion of my office is really interested in my diet - they see me always eating, not out drinking and losing weight...those who make good comments, and those who ask if i'm sick (with a smirk...), maybe making a move for my job thinking back to it!

Haven't been able to get back into my regular sports schedule of basketball and futsal yet, just not enough time in the day. Doing occasional workouts at the gym and some swimming, but find it really knocks me about the next day and drains any last bit of energy I have.

Seems friday night is my night of rest these days...no prep for the next day!  used to be the day I would knock a few brews back after work at home before heading out to dinner and drinks and return home stumbling through the door at 2am (on an early night)

Cant believe we are just days off the half way mark. Cant believe I have been working out every day for a month and a half, and cooking at home every meal!  (My credit card bill believes it!...not only am I getting healthy...I'm saving a small fortune!)

Weight:85.5
Chest:106
Waist:95.5

Day 40 - In the spirit of todays email....

Had to blog, guilt got to me.  So here I am! ;)
Feels like the real workouts are starting (cant believe Ive been doing this every day for 40 days already...) and the last few days I am starting to feel like I did on the first few days of the program.  Good muscle pain and sore tired limbs towards the end of the day.  While previous weeks were a strain to get to the last set in most cases, these days it is, but I know its going to be felt the next day.  Actually like that, and even more so when I complete a set right to the end without losing form.  Feels good.
Besides the good pain - I also have bad pain right now. My left achilles and calf are giving me some problems, seems OK if I work out in the afternoon, but if I try anything in the morning, its so tight and sore I soon need to stop the leg workouts.  So far so good with the skips but that is also starting to get a little messed up, suppose i am favoring one leg over the other and things get sloppy quickly. Hoping this goes a way quickly, will stop the creeps and floor jumps for a bit upon Patrick's advice.  Its a shame as I really started to burn through those quickly...but I am sure it wont take long to get back to the same pace.
Well off to my late night run to the shops to stock up...someone keeps stealing my apples and bananas!! But they wont take my egg yolks!

Day 37 - Weigh in and pic day...

re: title...that can wait until tomorrow.  Haven't been able to manage a full week of morning workouts, and to make things worse, not sure if it change in diet but my energy is really running out earlier and earlier each day.  So much so last night I got home from work and passed out on the sofa without doing my work out. And it was Friday! Need to catch that one up this weekend.  I am trying to get a couple hours in at the gym a couple times a week to get my swimming up to scratch to start some long distance training post PCP, maybe that's draining any extra juice from me.  Noticed there is a difference in my intensity when working out evening vs mornings, can definitely push through the workouts stronger and quicker in the evening, and the skips definitely go a lot smoother, with just 2 or 3 misses throughout the 1400.
Continue to drop weight consistently, my goal of 85kg (ideal as far as I think) has been as close as 1kg off so far, but my official weigh in today was 86.3kg.

Couple of new exercises this week, looks interesting.  Really don't get the "pistol squat"though.  While the ab workouts are intense haven't had any issues until today with the bicycle.  Just seems so easy to kt gravity take over and drop the feet.
Getting to a point where I can feel it would be a lot easier to just not do this...been a bit of a down week energy and attitude wise in general, but hoping the weekend and change in pace over the next 2 days helps refresh me.
Will snap my pics and get them up tomorrow. Personally haven't noticed too much change since last week, but now I got the new sets of resistance bands really going to start focusing on maxing those out and making myself ache! love it when you feel it the next day, lets you know what you did is somehow working in your favor. No pain, no gain...

waist: 97
chest: 102
weight: 86.0

Day 31 - One month down, 2 to go!

Yesterday marks the 1/3 way mark through the PCP program.  My last post I mentioned that my weight had been stable for the last week and a bit, that changed in the last few days, and at one point was down in the 86.x ... which was a surprise. Since then though been fairly consistent in the lower 87.x's which realistically isn't too far away from my goal of being stable at around 85kg.    Wondering what the change was.  The dinner diet being just a banana, apple, 2 egg whites and 300 mls of milk (as little as it sounds) actually doesn't bother me, easy to prepare, saves me time and is easy to eat, and switching night snack from fruit to vegetables is good as well.  Avocado guacamole, and raw veggie sticks / cabbage. All stuff I love, and simple to prepare.
Been having a real hard time trying to do my workouts in the morning still.  They are also starting to drag on a bit longer and approaching the 1 hour mark on certain days. Managed to hit my best count today before tripping up, and that was due to a shoe lace.  See if I can hit the full 1350 without stopping tomorrow.
Had a long awaited delivery yesterday as well.  Some decent resistance bands.  Used them today and it made a difference.  No more wrapping the band around my fee and almost doing the splits to get the right tension.  Now I just need to get to know what workout needs which bands, should be able to really push now of these workouts - the only one really still not working out if the pull ups.  Thinking that the bar I got would be fine for someone a lot smaller than me, or for doing curl pull ups, but with my shoulder span and lank long arms its impossible to do those movements within the constrains of a door frame.  Unfortunately my doors are not normal and wont let me use one of the door frame mountable contraptions. I'm fairly good when it comes to working out these things, but I cant think of any way to do these at home without some major wood work, so the dinning table continues to be the location for the pullups, and I see that starting to bow a little in the middle as well...somethings telling me I am not meant to do these!
Uploaded my new pictures today.  While I don't think they visibly look to different from previous ones, I am noticing more definition forming as the blob around my waist slowly melts away! And have really noticed the hips don't overflow half as much as out of my pants now as they did just a month ago.  really looking forward to day 90 to see how things turn out.  But if I don't hit my news year resolution and have a 6 pack, might need to continue on to get to a point where i can get to and maintain good shape before I drop my guard!

Day 28 - Week 4 done and dusted...

Almost skipped my first day of workouts yesterday as a result of the indulgence (or over indulgence) the night before.  I ate well, kept it reasonable in size and healthy in choices...but man wine hits me 3 times harder now.  Shared a bottle of wine then later had a couple of glasses drinking heaps of water in between.  My tolerance is obviously down, which probably means my liver is getting happier!  good experience either way, if I wasn't paying the bill I am sure it would have made whoever was paying a happy person, nice restaurant, good bottle and some great food all coming in at 10,000 JPY.  PCP may actually turn out to be a positive return on investment in a very short period (if it hasn't already!) Back to the point, I managed to drag myself to the rope on Wednesday, do my Thursdays skipping, then did Wednesdays work out today... worked out great. Also found these workouts are much more quicker and focused which helps knock them out a lot quicker.

Found I am really having problems getting to bed at a decent hour with all the cooking, cleaning, shopping and workouts I am trying to fit into the day.  Result is I ignore my alarm, miss the opportunity to workout in the morning, and not as awake and alert as I was for the first 2 weeks of the program.  My immediate goal is to get this back to a morning regime and reclaim my evenings to fit in enough time to put some time into cooking up something that is original and tasty so I don't get bored of the plate of food in front of me (and prep breakfast and lunch for the following day)  With no carbs in the evening it really makes it easier and quicker to cook something up.

I'll be weighing up on Saturday, and taking some pictures.  My weight has been really steady over the last week or 2.  Trying to get some more calories burnt in the pool or on the bike on the side.

While I am not losing weight day to day, I am starting to get more verbal comments about thinning out. Funny enough it comes from most people when they see me from behind....not sure why that is.

Looking forward to see what surprises are in for us from tomorrow.  That might be something that forces me out of bed early!  ciao for now!

Day 26 - Indulgences

So Day 25 gave us a day of indulgences where we could go off the program and enjoy something that would not be considered part of the program.  I saved that up for today, and heading out to a restaurant then off to a birthday party after that.  Rather than digging into a pizza or cake, I m going to eat what I can off the menu (with condiments) and try to stick as close to the program as possible but without looking like a weirdo asking for all my seasonings / sauces etc on the side - and add a few glasses of wine to that.  I am sure a couple of glasses will get me plastered,  finally... i'm a cheap date for anyone wanting to take me out!

Hit the gym for a bit last night.  It really wipes me out, think I have been 3 times now since starting PCP and added swimming to the mix last 2 times.  Once I get home after that pretty much just pass out on the floor with little to no energy to put together something tasty, so end up eating raw veggies and whatever fish or meat I can find rather than trying to get creative and making something half decent.
Enjoying the new sets of workouts, they seem to take a lot less time than the previous, which is good - especially as GW holidays are over and back to the grind in the office (Pull ups still a no go...not even 1!)

Wondering how my knees will hold with the duck walks and frog jumps...though.  So far so good, hoping the gradual increase in load will stop me from blowing them out so easy which seems to happen when I play a game of basketball or futsal putting me in a little pain for 2-3 days.

Well, off to dinner! Looking forward to eating something different and not counting or weighing my food. Will update how I go tomorrow, see how much I indulge!

Will be interesting on the scales on Friday or Saturday.  Haven't changed weight much at all but think I am visibly putting muscle on specifically around the shoulders, back and arms, see if the pics show this later in the week.

Day 22 - New week!

Checked out the new workout plans and the new measurements for the food.  Looks to be nothing to crazy just yet.  Haven't had any problems with the food, except I'm getting a little lazy on going by the book....but getting really good with the stuff that coming out of the kitchen. Even managed to get other eating the same food (with an dose of salt).  I did notice the zero carbs at night. That should be OK, except I have noticed since it was reduced last week my stomach is telling me its still hungry, so while i am only dropping 60g's it might make a difference in the evening, day time I am sure it will be fine. For the workouts I am still wondering if ever I will be able to do a pull up. Between the grip and the way I had to setup my pull up bar not looking too promising at this point.

Uploaded my Day 22 pics today, and took some measurements.  Down a little on the weight although not as much as I had hoped for, another 2 cm on the waist and nothing on the chest. It is good to see and just hope it continues as that drives me week to week.  Hoping it doesn't go back up, that could be something that demotivates me (or the opposite....depending on the mood for the day)

Well last day for my golden week break, (besides the weekend just around the corner)  going to the gym to do some cardio and get some swimming in, needed to start that sooner rather than later. Good luck all, enjoy your weekend and for those of you in the northern hemisphere hoping the summer is coming your way quickly!

Day 21 - Last few days

Day 21 and I think have now I have been in enough social situations to know I wont be giving into the pressure of having a beer or a drink (that doesn't include the conscious decisions to have a single drink etc when its "called" for) Ability for me to have 1 drink if and when I think its appropriate is something I hope sticks around.  I used to drink when I had nothing else to do, or before I go out for dinner, or when I got home after work and there was no plans for the evening...pretty much any time when I was in a situation that I could have a drink for some reason.  I have even been to the local pub and my regular hangout a couple of times over the the last few weeks, drove the car and had a pint of ulong tea on the rocks! Makes for a cheap night!
Have been finding the sheer amount of food I am eating is keeping my fridge and fruit bowl over flowing. Getting used to this now and reducing the trips to the shop for eggs, milk and bread which would have been a daily occurrence in the last 2 weeks.
Seems I have stopped losing weight at the pace I had been over the last 3 weeks I think, or I am just now in the habit of looking at the scales every day, dragging the days on. Trying to avoid that, but at the same time I think its good as it keeps the focus on my goal of losing kg's as a result of the work.
As I go through this I definitely notice that my definition is changing from a blob to something else, and I am reducing in size.  Unfortunately I think my belly is not moving with the flow and wants to be a little stubborn.  I am hoping once it does melt away the 6 pack I have been hiding forever will show its face! That is my new years resolution for 2011.
Woke up today and saw that we are just skipping today? This is good timing actualy, stubbed (broke?) my little toe 2 days back, and its all purple and bruised, and the movement of the lunges yeserday through me to the ground when my toe did what it does and tried to keep me balanced! Painful!! Luckily skipping seems to be OK, and the rest of the workouts don't bother it at all. Seems to be getting back to normal though 3 days later.
Actually noticed a lot of people don't tend to like the skipping, but I am the opposite. Definitely a great way to start the day, even if I cant fit in the other exercises, ill make sure I get the full count in once, then do it again prior to starting the full sets when I get the time later in the day.
Also made a trip to the gym for the first time since 3/11 on Tuesday.  Have noticed my cardio was suffering a little from when i left it almost 2 months back, so will make an effort to get a couple of sessions in each week along with my old workout regime known as the TWP (Konami gym) which crosses over a little with PCP in the sets of muscles it works out, with 2 noticeable differences (so far) from the muscle soreness the following day (lower back and internal obliques), these definitely help with the waist. As well as my regular sports will start up again soon, so will get in 2 hours of basketball a week and the same of futsal every 2 weeks.  That should help with the carido.  Another resolution for 2011 is to complete the Izena Triathlon (2/66/20) which will help me decide if I even attempt the full Miyako "strongman" triathlon in 2012. One step at a time.

Well off to hit my 1000 skips, highly recommending the skipping ropes with the counter on it, means you can talk or watch TV or do something without counting, it makes the time fly, especially as the counts get higher.

Day 19 - Full speed ahead

Tried today to see how long it took me to do my sets.  Fortunately since starting there has been a lot of weekends and holidays, so time hasn't been a major concern to get the workout in, but I have a full plan over the next 2 months between work and some personal goals I am working on, so need to fit everything in. Overall 36 minutes including a couple of extra sets on some of the workouts.  7 Minutes for the skips (went crazy today with a new rope...it counts for me! and the cord is heavy so can do much quicker jumps) and hit all the max reps for each set except for the dips where I bombed out 5 short on the last set, then did another full set to make up for it.
Seems my upper body workouts are not developing as much as I would have hoped.  Pull ups are something I am not sure will work in the short term future, doesn't help with the bar setup but gotta live with what I have for now.

Jumped out of work on time today and got home ready to start the 3 day break by hitting the gym and then start the marathon annual house cleaning, cupboard clearings, garbage disposal effort that is meant to take place this time of year! that will keep me moving for at least 2 days...and the other I think I'll go diving. Throwing air tanks around a boat is a great workout!

For those in Japan - enjoy your golden week!

Day 18 - Temptation

Just over a week on the real start to the diet part of the PCP program and I get invited to go on base shopping! After 10 years on Japan I thought I had gotten used to whats what, and in general not too familiar with a lot of the American eating habits, surprisingly different when I see what you can actually buy in cans and boxes, saying that but I am sure if I went back to aus now I would see the same - after all it has been 10 years now since I went grocery shopping back home.  Anyway, besides those things I noticed different, I did notice a all the good (bad) temptations that will haunt me until I get back on after PCP finished....cold cut meats, fat juicy steaks, tonnes of different dips and cheeses, so many different soft drinks in HUGE containers and  cartons of cheap beer....and all I bought was a heap of multi grain tortillas, few kg's (sorry...lbs) of fresh prawns and some really bad snacks (but my best ever favorites - pork rinds....I know....but I wont touch them until day 90! and that will be a once off!)

For those who don't live in Japan...don't see this too often!

Up until dinner stuck to the plan.  Invited out for dinner, ate as close as I could to my allocations for the night without taking a scale with me.  Think I did well, the food was really fresh and only slightly seasoned and where possible the chef put everything including sauces etc to the side for me.  Will make that a once a week event just to make a point of getting me out of the kitchen.  Given its golden week in Japan after tomorrow, another 3 days off so will focus on a few things, including getting my meal preps down to make it much easier for the months to follow.