A Body For Life Blog

After today's LBW at my LA gym, I sat down and talked with the head trainer/manager about my progress since starting the program to get some insight from how he has seen me progress. I don't use a trainer when working out, but they do keep their eyes open and watch. When I first started out with my BFL exercise routine, 10 weeks ago, I kept my workout journal and he noticed it right away and asked how things were working out. I guess the journal pages have a LOOK and trainers have an EYE for those type of things.  Also he could tell by watching me workout that I was doing the BFL workout. It is that obvious. A set of 12, increase weight, 10, increase weight, 8,increase weight,  6, increase weight, jump right away on another machine and burn the same muscles. Then finish it off with 1 more set reaching for that 10.

I told him in the last 10 weeks I have lost 15 pounds.  His remark was, "there are only 2 basic things that are important. 1) Do you feel like you are in good shape? and 2) What is your body fat?"  I told him my body fat is 22% down from almost 29% using my weight scale /impedance thingamagig. He said that body fat percentage for someone your age is just a bit better than good and would be excellent if you got near 20%. Now concerning do I feel like I am in good shape, I commented that I feel like I am about 75% of where I should be. I have really good cardio workouts but I would like to be able to run for 30 minutes on the road without stopping.  A treadmill and elliptical machine is so different then running outside.  "He stated that there are thin people who are in bad shape, and just being thin doesn't make you healthy or look like you are in shape. Conversely there are heavy people who are in great shape."

Well I feel like I am in pretty good shape. Based on body fat scales which also consider age as a factor, if I shed 2% more of body fat or 4 pounds I would be considered in excellent shape.  I have found that these last couple pounds are tough to lose. But I will lose them. It is helpful when you have people that see you, and bring a different perspective to the table give you some feedback as to how you are progressing.  I feel better than I have in years. It shows in how I look and how I act, especially how I train, everyday, every morning.

As I progress through this transformation I am experiencing changes in my life that I never had before. Just last night I had a dream, a dream that was very strange, surreal, vivid, a dream that I will remember for a long time.  I don't know why I had this dream, because I never had one like this before, and I probably won't have another again like it, but I hope I would.

In the dream I was having a tug of war, one on one against someone else.  It was almost like a gladiator type dream.  All that I had on was something wrapped around my loin area, not a bathing suit or gym shorts but something like a cloth. I don't remember who I was competing against either.  But what was so vivid was the shape my body was in.  I had not just a six pack but an eight pack.  My whole body was pulling on the rope totally flexed.  I saw definition in all body parts.  My legs, thighs, stomach, arms, and forearms were chiseled body parts that were not overly big but nicely porportioned, very toned and very much stirated.  My skin color was my own. In my dream I knew it was me because I was in this body pulling the rope, seeing the rope and myself from my eyes, from the vantage part of pulling the rope.

This was a strange dream.  We talk about visualizing what we want to look like as we progress with our transformation, and now I have a vivid picture of what I want to look like. I blogged before about how I look different this time around as compare to 1999.  Well, this is a look that I like and one that I will aspire to as I train and do my cardio.  This will give me a bit of an edge because maybe, just maybe I saw a glimpse of the future. A future that I like and want to be.  The body I had a dream about is real and it is attainable. All that is now needed is a plan of action, a good diet, a good workout program, and encouragement from by peers(you). 

This week my family took a small 4 day vacation to Niagara Falls. I thought that spending 4 days out vacationing might not be the best thing in following a BFL plan. But I tried to eat right, get my workouts in and try to keep to a good regimen.  Glad to say that when I came home there was a small reduction in weight about .2 pound loss and after I worked out this morning I weighed in at 185.8, a loss of 2.4 pounds from last week. I reached my goal!!!

This was tough but I'll talk about some of the things I did to keep my progress going.  First, I brought my blender with plenty of shake mixes. We always ate two big meals. First was breakfast (all you can eat buffet) I would typically have scrambled eggs, hash browns, 4 slices of bacon and mixed fruit. (maybe some frwnch toast)  We would eat about 10 in the morning. After breakfast we would spend the next 3-4 hours on various tours walking everywhere.  The Falls is beautiful, it was the first time I was there. We did the maiden of the mist tour, a great leg workout in itself. We saw the falls from underneath or behind.  We went to the live butterfly exhibit and botanical gardens.  30,000 butterflys of all different types in one large place. The garden with all the flowers was breathtaking.  We would get back to the hotel in the afternoon and I would get a workout in while my wife was getting ready for the evening.

The workout facilities at Tthe Hilton were pitiful, but I improvised and got in great workouts in.  They had a four position ancient all in one workout machine.  My first workout was legs.  The machine had a station that you could do leg curls and extentions, so that was ok.  For leg presses I used the bench station, laid on my back and pushed up on the bar for a chest press to do my leg presses.(pretty impressive adaptation)  This hit the legs at an angle that I ususlly don't get at the LA Fitness I go to, so I really got to work out my legs as good as I could.  For calves there was nothing except for a raised base of the machine, so I did calf raises three ways (straight, toes in and toes out) until I could do no more.  I probably did 200 calf raises total, but I did get a great burn and all inn all it was a great leg workout. Situps could be done anywhere and so I ended the workout with ab crunches.

Two days later I did upper body, and even though the machine was well worn, I got in an acceptable upper body workout. Nothing earth shattereing but enough to get the muscles fatigued. After my workout I would make a shake in my room and the get ready for the evening. We would then maybe go shopping or go to the casino before dinner.  Prior to dinner I would have another shake.

We would all meet for a late dinner and typically I would have a steak, baked potato and vegatables.  I had a shared dessert one evening (apple pie with a smmmallll scoop of ice cream).  Anyway, I thought that I would come home with a weight gain like I always do when I go on vacation (always). But this time was different.  I got my workouts in, even though they were not first thing in the morning.  I ate as right as I could ( two big meals and two shakes a day),and when it was over and I was home my weight was surprisingly where I didn't think it would be. 

This is probably the first vacation I took where I didn't gain weight and I ate well.  So everyone out there it can be done, just plan it and follow your plan and hopefully you will do as well as I have done.  Vacations will not bother me in the future because I know now that I can conquer this mindset of with a vaction come a gain in weight.  And I won this time.

Today marked the halfway point.  Over the last 5 weeks I lost a hair over 2 pounds per week.  This week was tough and my weekend weight was 188.2 pounds with a body fat of 23.5%  I had a great week with both cardio and weights,  and my food intake was normal, but I couldn't just get to where I wanted to be.  Maybe because as I am losing more weight it naturally will be harder to keep consistent 2 pound losses.

At T-com, I have been told a realistic weight loss for someone my size is 1 .5 pounds a week.  Well 2 pounds is a bit more especially over 6 weeks.  To date I have lost 11.8 pounds in 6 weeks. That is something to be proud of.  I lost an additional 12 pounds prior to dedicating myself to the BFL program. So since I hit my altime high weight, I lost almost 24 pounds. I look different, feel different and act different.

Today marked the end of week 5. I had a great week with everything, food, exercise, mentally, and spiritually. My low weight was 189.8 with bodyfat at 23.6% I am really happy with the progress so far. So that means from day 1 till now I have lost 10 pounds and lost almost 7% body fat. I hope to continue with the progress made and have a new photo for this coming weekend which would be the end of my 6th week. I want to learn how to paste all three photos together to make one photo. It would be so much easier.

I ran the other night at a slow steady pace. That was a new experience- running! I have been to heavy (aka FAT) to run, all I could do in the past was walk fast, but being the weight that I am now makes a big difference.  I'm not ready for any marathon but it did feel good. A treadmill is easy- running down a road or trail is whole bit different.  Again I would like to thank everyone for their support and encouragement that you have shared with me.

Week 4 did not start off well considering how my off day on Sunday went.  By Wednesday I still wasn't progressing like I should have.  But some of the things I did during the week helped out tremendously.  First I drank water all day. I always had my container of water on hand wherever I went.  Even right after I would drink a protein shake I would have water.  I still worked out hard and kept to my schedule, but for the last two nights I added a little bit something else.

I have a training partner who helped me at night.  I would spend about 50 extra minutes about 45 minutes after dinner going for a brisk walk with Cora, my dog.  She is the best, she loves to walk and walk and walk, and during the summer heat she only does well at night once it cools off.  It helped maybe burn off some calories and water weight.

But this morning I weighed 191 pounds with my body fat at 24.9%.  Now the body fat fluctuates sometimes up to 4% a day, so I am just going to focus on weight.  I surpassed my 4 week goal by 1 pound and I will have the photos posted shortly.

Good luck to all of you in your quest for a body for life.

Well, this weekend I will have reached week 4 of my 12 week program.  The first 3 weeks everything was going great.  Ate well, worked out well and was losing the weight I wanted.  Sunday was my free day for eating, and I happened to have baseball tickets for a suite at our local Triple A baseball team.  I ate and ate- two hotdogs with chili, some meatballs, perogies,one beer.  Maybe this was a bit too much.

I have been struggling all week with my weight and with the rest of my busy schedule I am finding it hard to get my weight down to my 4 week goal of 192 pounds. I am a little dissapointed about that, but I won't give up.  Something really neat happened this week. Today was my upper body workout at 6 am and I had the whole workout planned.  What time I was getting up - the weight amounts - the reps for each set. By the time the forth set came around I was increasing my weight for that exercise by 10-15 pounds.  That was a big jump in weight for me. I increased weight in my bench press, pulldowns, and tricept extensions.  My shoulders and bicepts were as planned.  I added in an exercise in the end for forearms just to hit the arms and bicepts a little harder. 

So with all that said it was a good week.  Will I reach my weight goal by the weekend?  I will try my hardest.  One thing I won't do is skip a meal.  I will eat right, take my supplements, and drink my protein drinks.  I know one thing, I won't be piggish this Sunday.  I will just have one special treat to reward myself for the hard work put in this week and get ready for week 5. 

Good luck to all of you and leave me a note.  It is appreciated.

So maybe I can conclude that I had a great week.  Everything will not always go as planned, but there are areas where I made significant improvement.

Today it has been three weeks since I commited myself fully to the BFL lifestyle plan. Initially I weighed 200 pounds with 28.5% body fat and my gaol was to get down to 175 pounds with 16 % body fat.  That means a loss of 2 pounds a week and 1% reduction in bodyfat. I am surprise to say I reached my goals, I really didn't believe I could have these results this fast. My weight today was 192.6 pounds at 24.9% body fat.  My goals by this time were to have lost 6 pounds in weight and drop 3% in body fat or weigh 194 pounds at 25.5%. I exceeded my set goals.  I will post pictures next week. I hope to be below 192 based on my preset goals, but maybe I should readjust them soon.

Anyway when I take my 4th week pictures, should I wear the same black squared off briefs or I have a great speedo swimsuit that really makes my daughter cover her eyes and say "Dad, that's not right, cover up" ?  Let me know.

I like to thank everyone here for the motivation and encouragement that you have given me the last three weeks. It really helps knowing that there are people out there helping me through this process.

One of the most important aspects of this challenge that I have learned is about doing things at the right time. This is a crucial aspect in the progress that we make in our transformation. Timing.  Timing of when we eat, how much we eat or portion size and what combination of food we eat. Its important to eat six times during your day, breakfast usually around 7:30, a protein shake at 10:30, lunch at 12:30, another protein shake or power bar at 3:30, dinner at 6:30 and a good snack at 9:30. I said a good snack. My favorite is one glass of milk mixed with myoplex chocolate powder with one tablespoon of chocolate no fat instant pudding that is refrigerated.  Chocolate Mouse! Really nice. I did all of this before in 1999 and got great results.

Drinking supplements and taking other nutrients at the right time is vital. I take my power drinks right after every hard workout.  Drinking water. When is the right time for that.  There isn't, it something you should be doing all the time. Stay hydrated, you will feel more full thus eating less and you will sweat more during workouts, getting rid of the bad toxins.

The right time in working out is KEY!  I use to workout at lunchtime and even though I got good result, I think I will have better result this time, because I am working out first thing in the morning. Working out at the right time sets up your metabolism for the day. I have already achieved my week 3 goals weight wise and I know week 4 goals will be reach, at which time I will post new pictures. I'm contemplating wearing my Speedos for this, let me know if I should take the picture with speedos or boxer brief like the other photos posted. I believe this transformation will be better than in 1999 because I learned one key element this time and that is doing things at The Right Time.