My fitness plan

I see it all over the place, people are very concerned about health and fitness. So, the amount of info is immense and overwhelming and even more what works for one person might not work for another. In what follows I want to describe how I keep up the fitness habit, stay motivated, bounce back, ride the highs and lows and manage to still enjoy some of the less healthy pleasures in life.

I am no expert but in my quest to leading a healthier life I have made it a point to read as much as I can on the subject from experts and regular practitioners. With that said here is my philosophy on fitness. I begin by focusing separately on the two major factors and applying similar techniques to each: Nutrition and Exercise.

 

Nutrition:

 

Have a stated goal and time frame. At the beginning of this year I returned from the National Championship game in Arizona weighing a lot more than I liked. 211 pounds actually and it wasn’t the good kind. So, I made a short term goal to lose 20 lbs. in 3 months. This is a little less than 2 lbs a week. A range that is perfectly healthy.  

 

So with that goal as my starting point I knew I had to make changes and study myself to find out what was working. I became very neurotic about what I was eating. At first I had cut out all but minimal carbs and was actually under eating. After a week I had lost 4 pounds, more than I liked. So, I reworked my eating habits and did a little research into a more balanced diet.

 

Track your progress. I tracked both my weight and dietary intake every day. Weighing myself first thing every morning and using www.fitday.com to track everything I ate. I still do both today though my goals are different.

 

Stay on schedule. For me eating well is not a problem as long as I stick to the plan. The plan being 6 meals a day. As long as I do this I have very limited cravings and those that I do have are easily overcome with little tricks. However, when I get off schedule and go more than three hours without eating something during the day I begin to lose focus and tend to get caught up giving in to unhealthy options. Once I take that path the rest of the day usually ends up being shot. But on a day where I plan ahead and have 6 meals scheduled it is not hard to go the 2 or 3 hours between without snacking or eating something I shouldn’t.

 

Remove temptations. Simply put if I want to eat something that is not good for me I have to go out to buy it. I do not buy junk at the grocery to keep in my house so anytime I go off course it is a one time purchase such as a restaurant or something I purchase to have just that once.

 

Allow free days. Or free meals if that is all you need. I try to eat healthy all week but come Saturdays when college football is on I allow myself to enjoy bar food and some drinks. Or if I am going to the movies I get the buttery popcorn. In the end its not going to kill your progress. I like to take 90-10 approach to eating; if you eat well 90% of the time the 10% when you don’t is not going to stop you.

 

 

Exercise

 

 

Have a stated goal and timeframe. Just like with nutrition you need to have goals with exercise, they usually go hand in hand. When I was in college I took on a position in my fraternity that required me to be a little bit stronger than I was at the time so I spent the summer getting stronger and putting on weight. Over about 8 weeks I gained 15 pounds of muscle and got a lot stronger. Back then it was a lot easier to do. This year with the goal of losing weight I worked out knowing that my goal was to burn more calories than I was taking in.

 

 

So with my goal of losing weight I molded a program at the gym that would help with my progress. In truth it was not much different than it would be had I been trying to gain. I still lifted weights, but my focus was less on increasing the amount of weight each week. And I added more cardio to my routine.

 

Track your progress. Again the same principles apply. When I go to the gym I bring a notebook with me and record what I have done. It helps me see what is working and what isn’t, what I like and what I don’t. And it helps me shape my next workout.

 

 

Stay on schedule. I have experimented with many different splits in the 12 years I have been working out but the one that continuously works for me is a 2 on, 1 off split. Anymore than 2 days in a row and I feel like I am overdoing it, any less than 2 and I am likely to not stay motivated. So, I work out 2 days, then rest 1 and repeat. Within this structure I change the actual workout once every four weeks or so just to keep it interesting.

 

Lift weights and use Intervals. I am not someone who likes cardio, never have. But I do understand that it has value. Though, if I only had time to do one I would lift since lifting weights is the only real weight to change body composition. Still, after pushing myself through a difficult medium paced lifting routine I usually get in some cardio. I have done the slow steady state and the high intensity. Doing long bouts of moderate paced cardio may work for some but I get so bored I am likely to not get a whole lot of benefit from it. However, with high intensity intervals I can do a warm up, do a bunch of sets and a cool down before I have time to lose focus. I also usually feel like I could die afterwards which for me is the sign of a good workout.  

 

 

A few other things to note:

 

Fake it till you make it. I am not sure where I read this motto but it is a good one to use. A lot of days the gym is the last place I want to go. It could be rainy outside and you don’t want to leave the house or you have just had a long day at the office and you have no energy. Go anyway. Just getting there is half the battle. A lot of times you will find that as you get into it you will end up putting in a good workout. Or even if your workout is half ass, its still better than no workout at all and chances are you will eat better afterwards.

 

Take breaks. This is similar to Free days in a way but its more than that. When I go on vacation or go visit my family for a holiday I leave my goals behind. That does not mean I am not mindful of the big picture, it just means that whether I am in New Orleans or at my moms for dinner I am going to enjoy myself no matter what is put in front of me. And I will not be worried about missing workouts. For a few days in a row its ok to get off track as long as you are planning to get right back into it once you return to your normal routine.

 

Do not constantly stay in one mode. A lot of people have problems with this. Amateur weightlifters stay in constant bulking mode and end up getting out of shape. People trying to lose weight will push themselves for too long and end up binging until they regain what they had lost and all progress is shot. Instead of such extremes ease from losing to maintaining back to losing or from gaining to maintaining back to gaining. This year, once I hit my goal of reaching 190, it was not in my original timeframe but I got there, I decided to try to maintain for a while. I eat a little less restrictively and I am not as hardcore at the gym. My plan is to stay within a few pounds of 190 for a little while before setting a new goal and timeframe to do more.

 

Constantly readjust. Life does not happen in a vacuum and we are not science projects. Real life sometimes does get in the way of progress. When this happens adjust to it, do not let it stop you in your tracks. When March came and I was close to my 12 week goal but had to stop exercising and was away from home for two weeks I knew I would be set back. So, I changed my end date and kept at my goal. And eventually I did make it and now that I reached my goal I am trying to decide what my next one is while I maintain the progress I have already made.

 

 

 

There you have it, not sure if I wrote this to help anyone or just give myself something to look at and remind myself what I need to be doing. Either way, I think this will help motivate me and maybe it will help someone else. There are a ton of other little things that I do and other people do to keep up the habit of living a healthy lifestyle, so I know I can not put it all into one post. So to all those who are gym rats good luck and don’t hurt yourselves.

Thank you DVR

Now that we are a couple of weeks into the Fall TV season I feel the need to share a few thoughts on the season so far. But, first I really need to thank the makers of the Scientific Atlantic 8300 HD because mine has been working overdrive. Before adding the digital video recorder to my cable plan a couple of years ago I hardly watched any television at all. Mainly because the only show I could remember to watch was Smallville and even when I knew others were on it was hard for me to put aside other things to just sit down and watch TV all night. Since DVR however, I have become a full on junkie, to express this point I offer this example. Last week I spent 5 days in Louisiana and returned to a DVR full of shows to watch, since I have been working from home I was able to catch up on everything I had missed by Wednesday morning, by Wednesday night my DVR had 8 new recordings, in one day. So what exactly have I been watching this season? Here is the breakdown:

 

Sunday night:

Family Guy – Still funny, it’s not spectacular but enjoyable for it’s off the wall humor and seeming lack of direction.

 

Monday night:

Heroes – Through three episodes the show is teetering right around average. I forgave that in the opening episode as they have a lot of storylines to set up but I think this show would really benefit from having a story arc that comes to conclusion in about 6 or 8 episodes. Keeping up interest for a 24 part arc is very hard without the momentum from a good side story to push you along. So far its all build up and little action, I have faith though that it will get better. I also happen to hate the new characters of Alejandro and Maya, their powers suck and their little adventure to become illegals bores me to tears.

 

Chuck – So far I really like it. Even gift shop girl who plays Chuck’s sister is entertaining though I have hated her in most of her other appearances.

 

Tuesday night:

Bones – I never got into the CSI thing but I am guessing that this is kinda similar in that they are all medical mysteries. The storylines themselves though are not as big a draw as the characters and the actors that are playing them. Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz are great as the leads and the supporting cast all fits very well.

 

House – By now who doesn’t recognize House as one of the best shows on television. Count me as one of the people who really likes where they have gone with the search for a new team and finding a way, if not completely realistic, to keep the old cast still on the show. I wonder where Forman lands?

 

Wednesday night:

Pushing Daisies – Of all the new shows this is my favorite. Both of the episodes have been great. Visually it looks fantastic, sort of like the movie Big Fish in that in looks like a larger than life world. And the stories are great; right down to the voice over that kind of makes me feel as if we are watching a Dr. Seuss story.

Gossip Girl – I could go either way on this show. On one hand I can not relate to a single character, on the other I really need a fix for trashy television and Josh Schwartz does it well. So what if it is based on books for teenage girls, I can still find something to enjoy, right? Well, I have watched three episodes so far and the first two were pretty subpar, but the third one actually had me quite entertained. I still have to watch last nights but I could see myself either becoming hooked or just giving up before they hit the halfway mark.

 

Bionic Woman – Fading fast on my radar, the pilot was so-so and the second episode was a mash up that seemed disjointed. I hope last nights was better or this is getting dropped from the DVR before the 4^th episode.

 

Thursday night:

Smallville – I have watched every episode, own the first 5 seasons on DVD and can hardly believe I am now watching the 7^th. I like where they are going this season and you can totally see the show coming to a close as Clark Kent gets ever closer to being Superman.

 

The Office – I was so reluctant to watch this until I rented the DVDs over the summer. Now I love the show. I do not like the hour long episodes however. Still, I think we are in store for a good season and even though many people did not like Michael driving into a lake I found it funny.

 

Grey’s Anatomy – I think this show is going downhill. The spinoff siphoned away a good character and left a void that the new characters are not filling. Through two episodes I am the least excited about this show of all the returning shows. Shame really because that second season was great and it has not lived up to the hype since.

 

Friday night:

Friday Night Lights – My favorite new show from last season also came back with a great first episode. It could be my love of football or small town America but this show is great. I might even buy a “What Would Riggins Do?” Tshirt.

 

Moonlight – I have a soft spot for Vampires and even though this show is clearly a rehash of so many shows that have come before it. Whether you are thinking Angel or just about any other PI plus reporter solves crimes show you would be right. Still, its Friday night and you cant expect too much.

 

Las Vegas – Possibly the most ridiculous show on television and that includes those mentioned above. Repeating that point, the most ridiculous show I watch is about a Las Vegas casino and the people who work there, not the one about the Mutants, or the guy who had government secrets downloaded to his brain, not the guy who can bring people back to life by touching them or the girl with weird robotic parts. Nope, it is even more ridiculous than the show about the Alien who gets powers from the yellow sun and the Vampire PI. Still, the show is entertaining and the cast is hot. Again, it’s Friday night TV.

 

So there it is, my rundown. Where I realize I watch a ton of television and feel bad about it for a few seconds before coming to terms and realizing there are worse things I could be spending my time doing. And thanks to my DVR I get to watch it all on my own schedule without having to give up other more healthy pursuits like working out or spending with actual real live people.

Back from the Crescent City

I am home. Sick. Tired. And broke. But, even with the Gators losing, this trip was totally worth every cent. Here is my day by day recap of the trip:

 

Wednesday:

Mint and I left my house a little before 1 pm to drop off his car and then head to BWI. With the time change and everything we ended up landing in New Orleans around 8:50 pm. So, it was a really long day. At the airport we met up with Scott and headed to the W hotel on Poydras St. which is conveniently located right next to Harrah’s casino. The hotel was great, one of the nicest I have ever stayed in and we had a pretty nice view. After dropping our luggage we quickly headed out towards Bourbon St. After all, that’s what you do in New Orleans. As many would expect it was dead on a Wednesday night, there were people in the streets but most bars were pretty empty except for what looked like a convention crowd blowing off steam. After bouncing around for a few hours we decided it was time to hit the casino. Mint and Scott ended up at Caribbean Stud while I played Blackjack one on one with a dealer. By the time I sat down to play I was in that rare combination of drunk and tired where everything felt like a dream. It is entirely possible that I nodded off for a few hands but I still walked away with a few dollars of the casinos money before calling it a night.

 

Thursday:

We woke to overcast skies and lots of rain, the perfect day to just stay in and rest up. Even though we wanted to be out and about we just weren’t willing to walk around all day in the rain. We did make a few stops during the day, hitting the Harrah’s buffet for breakfast and getting a nice lunch at Mother’s. After lunch though, we spent the rest of the afternoon in bed watching TV and listening to the pouring rain outside our window while we waited on the rest of our crew to arrive. The second wave arrived around 6 pm, checked in to their room and settled in. We walked around the casino a bit before heading out to Port o’ Call for dinner. This place had amazing burgers and the look and feel of a place you would only see in New Orleans. It was all wood interior, very cramped and the clientele just oozed with Southern stereotypes, from the older suited gentleman at the corner of the bar to the drunken Cajun who looked like he had been there all week. After eating we headed out down some back streets towards Bourbon for another night out. Again, the architecture of the city was stunning, it is one of those places that just has a feel, a look, that if you were dropped into town blindfolded it wouldn’t take you long to realize where you were. And you don’t even need a landmark to do it, just the looks of the buildings all seems familiar and unique to this city. As the night wore on and our group grew larger, 7 total, we visited many of New Orleans famous bars, spent a couple minutes on a balcony, and drank some of the staple drinks like the Hurricane at Pat O’s. Again, we ended the night at Harrah’s where I won some more of their money before calling it a night.

 

Friday:

I awoke Friday morning to King and Scott discussing the arrival of more of our friends and as I was now awake I volunteered to join the trip. We got coffee and some food from the hotel before heading to the airport to get a second rental car and Shannon. All the while two other friends who had just landed in Baton Rouge decided to drive in for half the day. After meeting back at the hotel our group of now 10 decided to go eat lunch in the French Quarter. We took a long walk on a terribly humid day to the Gumbo Store where we had some of Louisiana’s finest cuisine. Gumbo, Jambalaya, Crawfish etouffee, you name it we tried it. Of course, combining hot sauce with the already stifling heat and forgoing water for beer might not have been the best plan but it did make for a great meal. After eating we headed over to Jackson Square to look at the art for sale and watch the street performers. By this time it was getting on into the afternoon and some of us had dinner plans in Baton Rouge so we had to get a move on. But, we could not leave before stopping at Café Du Monde for beignets. After the beignets, my car with Scott, Shannon and Mint left for BR. We luckily, just beat some nasty traffic and made great time. After arriving at Scott’s brother’s place we were treated to plenty of beer, tilapia and shrimp etouffee over white rice with a broccoli and cheese side. In short it was an amazing dinner, surprisingly cooked by an LSU grad student. Then we went out, which was just like any other bar in any other college town in America I imagine. Though, there were very few cabs in town and lots of drunk drivers, I am not even sure they have enough police to give out all the DUIs we witnessed. Though we did see a pretty entertaining one where the driver was so smashed the cop had to move the kids car off the road. And on that note to end our night we all walked home very carefully, staying as far as possible from the road.

 

Saturday:

Game day!!!! So this is what we made the trip for. Everything leading up to it was just an appetizer, an amazing one no doubt, but just a warm up. Our crew by Saturday had actually swelled to 12, but we were split up, with 4 of us staying at Scott’s brothers and the rest staying at another house. In this scenario where I stayed at sophomore’s apartment and slept on a reclining chair, I got the kind of sleep you would expect. But, I really didn’t need much. Mint and I woke up early, as did Shannon, so we strolled out while everyone else was asleep and got the best breakfast you can find without looking very far, McDonald’s. We also got a laugh out of the drunk drivers car from the night before still being in the same spot. We ate our breakfast and before we knew it we were on our way to the middle of the LSU campus right behind the Gameday set. On our walk wearing our Gator colors we really didn’t run into too many obnoxious fans. We hear Tiger Bait a lot but nothing really cruel until later in the day. Our first stop was at a Fraternity tailgate which was actually pretty impressive, a large tent in the middle of campus with a DJ and a bunch of kegs. This was even more impressive given that in Gville, kegs are not even allowed on campus and the fraternities do all of their pre-gaming in their respective houses. So, for what its worth I found the LSU set up much more enjoyable, obviously there are drawbacks to this but I think there are plenty of positives to having everything out in the open at a central location. Anyway, after spending some time at the tailgate we headed out to meet up with our Gator tailgate at another great location. We had a tent, a couple coolers and plenty of food. During the day, we drank, met friends and enemies, ate, and walked around. It was a beautiful day out and I don’t think any of us, especially those of us with tickets could have asked for anything more.

 

 

The Game:

At night we finally got to take in Tiger Stadium. This place seemed enormous and when they wanted to be the LSU fans could be insanely loud. We had seats very close to the field which were great but also made watching the game a bit difficult. Still, sitting in the Gator section and cheering on our team while they put up quite a performance was an awesome experience. I am now 2-2 on the road in the SEC and hope to continue going to games at new stadiums. But right now I have to say that the LSU experience will be hard to beat. Alabama was great, Tennessee was fun, but LSU was just a monster of a trip. Even with the loss it is not something I will soon forget.

 

Sunday:

 

Another long travel day. We left Baton Rouge early for New Orleans, had our final lunch and headed to the airport. Then I spent the rest of the day sneezing, coughing and blowing my now from one airport to the next and then on the long drive home. A day that started early in Baton Rouge ended very late in Northern Virginia. And now I think I will need at least a week to recover. Thank the scheduler for a bye.