Gluttons for Punishment

Have you seen this?

2009-05-28T12:51:00.001-07:00

http://bit.ly/Fatisnotyourfault

What do you think?

I have now officially crossed the 20lb mark!!!

2009-05-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

20lbs lost!

All I've done differently in the last couple weeks is tighten up my diet. I've been following the meal and snack suggestions from Red Carpet Ready.

Where I am now

2009-04-27T08:16:00.000-07:00

Not too bad. So far I am loving the Valslides. Totally new way to torture the body. :) Oh and I almost forgot - I am now down to size 27 jeans from 28 a month ago (29/30 was my starting point.)

Stats ranking from the beginning

2009-04-24T11:36:00.001-07:00

Here is how the top three people are ranked so far: (this takes beginning weight through last recorded weigh in)

1.Gabby -7.54% body weight -8.3% body fat
2. Amanda -7.37% body weight -3.8% body fat
3. Chad -7.35% body weight -3% body fat

Explosive full body workout

2009-04-23T09:26:00.001-07:00

http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=2454294

High intensity intervals but not just sprinting - sandbag sprints, jump squats, medicine ball throws etc. I would say its at the next level.

Another post along the same line

2009-04-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

http://joshsgarage.typepad.com/articles/2009/01/how-padma-from-top-chef-stays-supermodel-fit.html

Padma Lakshmi from Top Chef works out 12-15hrs per week while filming the show and still gains 10-15lbs by the end.

When exercise alone isn't enough

2009-04-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

http://fitin-lindam.blogspot.com/2008/09/when-exercise-doesnt-work.html

"...The Texas Study -- These data came in the form of a study I recently worked on at the University of Texas. In this study, nearly 100 initially sedentary participants either stayed sedentary (about half of them) OR began exercising (the other half). They exercisers were given a program to follow that added up to about 5 1/2 to 6 hours of activity per week and that lasted for a total of 12 weeks. The non-exercisers did nothing for the 12 weeks except show up for measurement sessions.These individuals, as stated above, did no exercise before the study began. As a result of this sedentary lifestyle, they averaged between 35% and 40% body fat (according to DEXA scans). Once the study began, the training group gathered together for 3 weight training sessions per week and 2 group exercise / interval sessions per week. All the training was designed by myself and overseen by a weightlifting coach and group exercise coach. So there was a pretty high level of quality control there.Now, it's important to note that we didn't alter the participant's eating at all. And we did this on purpose. We wanted to test the effects of exercise alone - without diet. In other words, the question became:"Without a dietary intervention, can exercise alone reshape a person's body?"At the end of the 12 week study, we got our answer: "Not so much..."

Reducing Lower Body Bulk (Women)

2009-04-16T08:35:00.001-07:00

http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=2450928

Covers fat loss, training to reduce muscle bulk - including pre workout muscle fatigue, plyometrics, sprinting, and long distance running.

More Fat Loss Intervals

2009-04-16T08:25:00.001-07:00

http://markyoungtrainingsystems.com/2009/04/interval-training-for-fat-loss-part-ii/

Week 1 - 4 intervals (1:4 work to rest ratio)
Interval #1 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds
Interval #2 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds
Interval #3 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds
Interval #4 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds

Week 2 - 5 intervals (1:4 work to rest ratio)
Interval #1 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds
Interval #2 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds
Interval #3 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds
Interval #4 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds
Interval #5 - Sprint 30 seconds - Rest 120 seconds

...

Arg stuck in a rut

2009-04-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

So I think I learned something. I can do one month of diet really hard, but after 5 or so weeks I really started to break down. I haven't had any problems with keeping up the exercise though. Its just the eating. For the last couple weeks I've been pretty much off diet but not going crazy. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are still on, but I've been eating a regular dinner at home. I also ate whatever my parents served me last weekend for Easter. :) No big deal. I feel a lot better after taking a break.
Anyways so I was trying to decide what to do to blast through the last four weeks and meet my goal - or at least not flat line like I did this month. I want to say that in no way am I dissatisfied with the Fat Loss Troubleshoot. To the contrary this plan completely turned things around for me. In fact, the training program was able to really take me to another level of fitness that I have really struggled to achieve. I can actually run! I can sprint! I could never do that before. So really I am just looking for something to get me motivated again (and something a little more intense so maybe I can eat? I hope this is possible but we'll see). So I was deciding between Alwyn Cosgrove's Afterburn (hmmm but don't want another 12 week program) as I am now in good enough condition to take a more intense program and Valerie Water's Red Carpet Ready program. I decided on Red Carpet Ready as I know the programs are home gym friendly, I've been wanting to try the Valslides for a while, and the purchase includes more client support as I suspect I need regular motivation. I'll start this up next week and see how it goes.

More interval training for fat loss

2009-04-14T17:10:00.001-07:00

http://markyoungtrainingsystems.com/2009/04/interval-training-for-fat-loss-part-i/

Complexes for Fat Loss

2009-04-14T17:08:00.001-07:00

Goes well with the interval training in the previous post:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/complexes_for_fat_loss

High Intensity Intervals for Fat Loss

2009-04-10T11:02:00.001-07:00

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/alwyn8.htm

The Routine
Warm up for five minutes.
One Round: Perform 1 minute as fast as you can (a level 9 or 10 intensity - on a scale of 1-10).
Recover at a moderate pace for two minutes (a level 6-7 intensity).That's one "round" - and it lasts three minutes.
Cool down for five minutes.

Weeks One to Four:Perform three rounds, three times per week.The total cardio time will be 19 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.
Weeks Five to Eight:Perform four rounds, four times per week.The total cardio time will be 22 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.
Weeks Nine to Twelve:Perform five rounds, four times per week.The total cardio time will be 25 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.
Weeks Thirteen to Sixteen:Perform six rounds, five times per week.The total cardio time will be 28 mins per workout including warm up and cool down.

More low carb/high protein recipes

2009-04-09T11:50:00.001-07:00

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/muscle-matters/53392-nutrition-recipe-meal-ideas.html

Gabby remains in lead, followed by Chad

2009-04-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

Is there anything we can do to stop the Sleeman monopoly?

As a group we've lost 41lbs so far.

Local source for PB2 found

2009-04-08T15:08:00.001-07:00

Plus has interesting smoothies... One in QA and one on 2nd.

http://www.customsmoothie.com/menu.aspx

Good article on how to estimate how many calories needed

2009-04-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

Back from New York

2009-04-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Back from New York. That was an exhausting trip. Mom and I were on the go from 9 to 9 and walked everywhere. I'd guess we covered 8-10 miles per day. Strangely enough we were both affected by the time change and thus skipped lunch on both days. I kept trying to get Mom to stop and eat but she wouldn't leave the stores (unless I bribed her with ice cream - "hey look - they have ice cream over there!") So despite eating fairly large dinners I seem to have come out more or less the same weight as when I left although I suspect I have a good amount of water weight right now from all the salt and not drinking water. Anyways, to answer Alvin's question - no, the rich food didn't make me sick at all!

Going to New York for four days

2009-03-31T13:09:00.001-07:00

Alvin wants to know if I plan to eat out while I am there. Hell yes! I am going off plan baby! Mom and I should be walking all day plus the hotel has a gym. I have reservations at Bar Americaine, BLT Steak, and Del Posto. I'll probably also end up at Bouchon, Almondine, and Dean and Deluca. So the question is - will eating food I have avoided for 7 weeks end up making me sick? Stay tuned...

Weight loss trend

2009-03-30T09:49:00.001-07:00

Don't get discouraged if you see the scale tip up for a short time period. What matters is the downward trend. This is my four week graph as of today. I circled the slight up bump and then added a red line to emphasize the overall downward trend.

Creatine - all you need to know

2009-03-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.flzine.com/creatine-dosing-and-faq/

I picked some up at the vitamin shop a couple weeks ago and other than maybe seeing some water retention - no odd side effects. I haven't been loading heavy though. I only do 5g per day so the real effect should be seen in two more weeks. Basically I was looking for something to help me preserve strength and maybe aid my recovery (I was having a problem with extended sore muscles there for a while.)

As a side note I also bought some stuff from Biotest last week: ZMA (zinc and magnesium), Surge (post workout recovery drink), and Flameout (EFA - to replace the Trader Joe's fish caps I used up). So far I like the ZMA as I helps me go to sleep. The Surge tastes like vomit. I will never buy this flavor (lemonade + vanilla taste = shudder) again. Otherwise it seems fine. Flameout is good on one level in that it does not produce "fish burps." I will post more reviews if I feel there are noticeable changes that can be attributed to these products.

Shoulder rehab video from dieselcrew.com

2009-03-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0ONHZmsFec

About 10min long.

Ugg it was like the last two weeks were lost weeks

2009-03-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have come to the point where I hate everything on my basic menu. It is clearly time to shake things up. Chicken breast tastes like cardboard. Salmon...like plywood (at least when I cook it). So I have kind of been avoiding eating. This is no good so I am on the commitment to shake it up again. I need new lean meats. I stopped by PCC on the way back from El Camino last night but their selection of grass fed beef was HORRIBLE. Nasty looking cuts.

One good thing I did just try this morning was the blueberry and pumpkin super shake recipe posted earlier this week in the Super Shake link. I used 1/3c frozen blueberries, 1/2T flax seeds (grind before you add), 70g pumpkin, 8oz almond milk, and one scoop designer whey vanilla. Tasted fantastic. It also hid the texture of the powdered creatine I add. All in all it was good for 20g protein and well under 300 calories.

Nutrition for newbies

2009-03-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/nutrition_for_newbies_part_1&cr=
http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/nutrition_for_newbies_part_2&cr=
http://www.t-nation.com/article/diet_and_nutrition/supplementation_for_newbies&cr=

Link for Gabby

2009-03-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

http://getfitandyummy.com/blog/

Gabby back in lead!

2009-03-25T17:02:00.001-07:00

Sigh...when you are #1 the only place you can go is down... :) Chad is still #1 for fat loss this weigh in.

Stats are in the discussion group as always.

Wish item: GoWear Fit Monitor

2009-03-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

Totally OCD and producer of numbers and graphs....yum...data....but spendy.

http://www.amazon.com/GoWear-Lifestyle-Calorie-Management-System/dp/B001HX36A0/ref=pd_bxgy_hpc_text_b

Great at home exercises using straps and bodyweight

2009-03-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=modeathletics&view=videos&start=20 videos here.

http://www.fitnessanywhere.com/ bands can be bought here.

http://elitestraps.com/ and here (not released yet.)

PB2 - Peanut Butter minus calories

2009-03-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

http://thefitcast.com/?p=1014 info here

http://www.bellplantation.com/index.php?option=com_ricettario&func=viewcategory&Itemid=27&catid=1 Database of recipies here.

Good article on making super shakes

2009-03-25T08:17:00.001-07:00

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/super-shake-creation

Yes I am becoming a fitness geek

2009-03-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

I am super excited because one of the questions I sent in to Mike Robertson of Robertson Training Systems (and IFAST - Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training) will be answered in his podcast tomorrow. As some of you may know - I have this odd problem where my right hip is elevated by as much as half an inch. I don't think I was always this way as I was a ballet dancer for 7 years (that's a lot of time spent near naked in a room of mirrors!). I spent a lot of time last year trying to find a solution for this problem - part of which led me to discover really helpful sites on functional fitness like t-nation.com. Most of the material I found focused on more forward/back postural deviations like slumped shoulders, forward tilted hips - which yes I do have - but nothing has addressed side to side imbalances.
Recently I came across an interesting book by Kit Laughlin "Overcome Neck and Back Pain" (as you also may know I've had horrible migraines for two years off and on) while looking for some books focusing on stretching. Amazon has that neat feature which lets you read inside a book and the first couple pages immediately focused on imbalanced hips throwing one's shoulders out of whack and then depending on which side was dominant to begin with vs which one has the imbalance (both right side for me) - this can cause significant pain. It had never occurred to me before that these two problems could be connected.
With this new incentive to find out answers I had Tieming take some pictures of me from different angles last week. It appears the problem has spread significantly to my shoulders. I may post the pictures later...haven't decided...exercise shorts seem to be somewhat transparent...:)
I sent a shorter version in to Mike Robertson as he's one of the main guys out there writing articles on how to fix old injuries, postural problems, and shoulder/knees AND he just started a podcast so I figured he would need material.
I'll be awaiting the answer tomorrow. I figure this must not really be that unusual...

One month in and

2009-03-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

The group as a whole has lost 29.4lbs in the first 4 weeks of the competition. Good job!

Since Sleeman is in the lead - lets examine goals

2009-03-23T09:46:00.000-07:00

Sleeman made an offhand comment that by the *next* weigh in he'd make his goal of 165lbs and he'd be done. But would he really? Is Chad setting the bar too low? Let's take a look.

The highest end of healthy body fat for men is 15% according to the powers that be. Using the equation on the right hand side bar we can calculate what Chad's weight would be at 15% - 152lbs. The leanest end of "healthy" for men is 10% - which is pretty low but I'll throw that number out here too - 143lbs. So Chad's healthy weight range is 143-152lbs.

Looks like Chad might be with us for a few more weeks. :)

Burn fat and build Muscle

2009-03-23T09:09:00.001-07:00

We can always hope... http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=2441807

Weigh in 3 - so far Sleeman is in the lead

2009-03-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

and everyone is down in weight and body fat.

Super Buffet

2009-03-22T12:43:00.002-07:00

Have you been to Super buffet? Its across from Northgate Mall underneath the Target. 300 Northgate Way. All you can eat Chinese seafood buffet. $13.99 per person for dinner on weekends. Cheaper other times. Lobster, crab legs, steamed buns, sushi, stir fry....Its a lot like Blue Fin but cheaper.

Don't forget - weigh in tomorrow

2009-03-22T12:43:00.001-07:00

Sleeman - you'd better be downing the cranberry juice!

Best of Trader Joe's

2009-03-18T13:19:00.001-07:00

At the fitcast blog:
http://thefitcast.com/?p=972

Oh and Alvin found pretzel thins there - before I forget. 28 for 110 calories I think.

Exercise = Hunger

2009-03-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

Last week was a rest week for me, so I ate at a pretty sharp deficit but really wasn't too hungry for the most part. This week I've worked out twice and find myself getting hungrier as time goes on....sigh.

Question from Vanessa - why do machines say you burn more fat...

2009-03-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

...when you go at a slower pace? I realised last night while I kind of explained it, I could have done a better job.

Basically this is a discussion of "the fat burning zone." Essentially what this focuses on is what type of fuel your body burns at a given intensity rate. It turns out at a lower intensity you burn exclusively fat, give or take whatever margin. The part they leave out is HOW MUCH you burn. So say you are sleeping - you are burning only fat...but not that much per minute...as you are not really moving. As your intensity increases you will burn a greater rate of fat up to a point where you will start to burn a combination of fats and other types of fuel (like say sugar.) So you could walk 30min at 2mph and burn 78 calories (based on a weight of 125lbs.) Of those 78 calories a high percentage could be burned from your fat stores as fuel. Lets say for argument sake 100%. In comparison you could run at 6mph for 30min and burn 285 calories. Again for argument sake lets say only half of those calories burned fat as fuel - that would be 142.5 calories in fat for the same given time. So 78 vs 142.5....there you go. And don't forget you still burned an addition 142.5 in other - which is that much more calories you can now eat or bank as a deficit.

Ultimately though I think the whole what are you burning when is silly and you should just focus on going out there and be as active as you can without being stupid and injuring yourself. I can't run at 6mph for 30min - that's for sure. But hey, I can do sprint intervals with walking or jogging for 40min I bet.

Does anyone else have ankle mobility issues?

2009-03-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice video featuring a mobility exercise and soft tissue work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxr9-IB0Rr4

Do "set points" exist?

2009-03-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Good post on the existence of body weight set points:
http://www.ttfatloss.com/fat-loss/fat-loss-set-point-theory/

Hey, look Mom pictures!

2009-03-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Oh wait, these are just numbers masquerading as pictures! Darn you!

Anyways, above is my four week weight progress graph. Basically I cannot believe how well I've done. I would have guessed this would be the best I could do at the end of twelve weeks, not four.

I would say the hardest week was week 1. Falling into a simple routine with regards to food was pretty much what saved the whole thing. Now at starting five weeks honestly this all feels so normal it will actually be weird to start eating a full amount again...but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

This is my basic routine:
Breakfast at 7am - EAS protein shake and two tablets fish oil

Snack 10am - 15g mixed nuts

Lunch 12pm - Boneless skinless chicken breast (my favorite herb mix is fennel, thyme, rosemary, oregano, and red pepper) and two cups veggie soup (have been using recipes from the nytimes - last week was mushroom and barley minus the cooking oil, this week roasted red pepper soup minus the oil). Sometimes I eat half the soup and then finish the rest mid afternoon or later. Multivitamin and two tablets fish oil.

Snack 3pm - 1/2c (30g) fiber 1. Whole egg or 1 egg white.

Dinner 6pm - more chicken breast, plus salad. Sometimes brown rice/wild rice mix. Multivitamin and two tablets fish oil.

Snack 8pm - 15g mixed nuts and 30g fiber 1. Sometimes a portion of fruit like banana or cantaloupe.

I also add more food into the basic routine depending on where I am with my calories. I can supplement protein shakes with almond milk, fat free cottage cheese, or fruit. I can add in Ezekiel bread and/or peanut butter. I have little snack muffins I made from either the Muscle cookbook or flzine.com. I have rice cakes at home...I also occasionally eat fat free Greek yogurt...some diet soda...I also as Brendan has noted - snack on red cabbage with "bitter tears" :) On the weekend I can get more creative and make actual recipes. For example this last weekend I made "Jen Heath's Protein Pancakes" which consisted of pureed 1c fat free cottage cheese, 1c egg whites, 1 c oats, and 1 scoop protein powder.

My exercise routine is pretty simple - 3 weeks on, one week off. Four weight routines per week and three cardio. Weights take maybe 20-30min and cardio is around 40min. Last month I was doing steady state cardio and this month I move on to intervals. Sundays are always off.

The Sleemans are kicking butt with Fat Flush

2009-03-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

So Chad stopped by today to weigh himself - looks like he's down to 177 if I remember correctly. Chad and the family are now following the Fat Flush diet which has them eating healthy low carb foods and tons of water/cran water, and ground flax seeds. Chad says what has really helped make a difference is simply following the provided meal plans to the letter. This is really important if you consider the fact that this diet and other diets only work if they have a built in deficit - and you can easily snack yourself right past it while still feeling like you are restricting yourself. The other advantage of Fat Flush is that it gives the users an "early win" in that all of the water, cran-water, lemon water, and fiber give you a good quick weight loss in the form of flushing out a lot of one's excess water.

Chad should post a lot of the food changes the family has made as I cannot remember them all but here's a short list:

using a fruit and veggie wash for all produce
fiber 1 cereal for snacks (only 60 calories for a half cup, sweet and crunchy, and tons of fiber)
Ezekiel bread and wraps (high protein and high fiber)
A variety of mixed greens for salads - not just plain lettuce but also argula
No more sugar! The family has switched to Stevia and can't really tell the difference.
Lean meat (and free range when possible)
Tons of water

Another good blog - Turbulence Training

2009-03-16T08:36:00.000-07:00

http://turbulencetraining.blogspot.com/

Turbulence Training has its own web site as well. Mostly specializes in losing body fat through high intensity interval training. Other good info on the blog as well.

Good posts include:
http://turbulencetraining.blogspot.com/2009/03/4-tips-to-avoiding-injury-when-starting.html

There are also videos available on youtube you may want to check out. The username is cbathletics.

Finally Turbulence Training also does 12 week get in shape contests and you can see some of their top transformations here: http://www.transformationcontest.com/

Interesting blog by Brad Pilon author of "Eat Stop Eat"

2009-03-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

http://bradpilon.com/

in post http://bradpilon.com/2009/03/the-5-things-you-must-do-to-get-super-shredded.html check out issue #4.

CDC has fruit and veggie recipe website

2009-03-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnparecipe/recipesearch.aspx

You chose what fruits or veggies, then select type of dish like soup or main entree, then hit search. Recipes from the database will come up and looks like they include nutritional info per serving.

Evil metabolic workout

2009-03-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

Pros - requires next to no equipment. You can do it in a basement or outside.
Cons - if you are not in shape at all or have bad joints, proceed with caution.

http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=2436909

OMG Hungry Girl.com Might save my life

2009-03-12T10:22:00.001-07:00

Low calorie foods I didn't know about like 25 calorie diet hot cocoa, 50 calorie low carb tortillas...

http://www.hungry-girl.com/chew/index.php

Of course pre-diet I was anti fake food but now if you tell me I can have 16 slices of soy pepperoni for like 70 calories - I am not asking questions.

Update: here is the master list of low cal products. http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=1635

Great post on fatloss for busy people

2009-03-12T09:46:00.001-07:00

Includes workout ideas.

http://alwyncosgrove.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-to-get-ripped-abs.html

Calorie-free indulgence: Massage

2009-03-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

My massage therapist (also Marc's) is willing to offer hour long massage's for $50. Vanessa is located in the Tuttle Chiropractic office on 43rd and Roosevelt.

Give her a call or email if interested.
206-403-5706
nyssa42@gmail.com

Vanessa is a really nice person and she's also very good with working with cronic problems and new aches and pains.

The lie of whole-grains

2009-03-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/safe-carbs

Another book: The Metabolism Advantage

2009-03-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

The Metabolism Advantage: An 8-Week Program to Rev Up Your Body's Fat-Burning Machine---At Any Age

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594863237?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwalwyncosgr-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1594863237

Hack for a treadmill desk

2009-03-11T08:27:00.001-07:00

http://www.flzine.com/treadmill-desk-for-20-bucks-chea/

Another interesting book: Move a little, Lose a lot

2009-03-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.amazon.com/Move-Little-Lose-Lot-N-E/dp/030740854X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236784871&sr=8-1

Don't forget about NEAT

2009-03-11T08:17:00.001-07:00

http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/training/burning_fat_is_neat

Requested: Ab workouts

2009-03-10T16:47:00.000-07:00

Good looking abs rely on the following - low body fat, controling water retention, good posture, and muscle tone. If you have too much fat, you can't see what you've got. If you eat tons of salt and not enough water - you'll have water bloat giving the illusion of fat (women 1 gallon per day, men 1.5) If your posture is poor, your belly will stick out giving the illusion of fat. And if you have no muscle, well that speaks for itself.

I'll assume we've covered the first and second issues well enough.

Posture - the link lives in the side bar but here it is: http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/training/pain_free_lower_body_posture

Abs: Read down for the "Britney Spears Syndrome" http://www.t-nation.com/article/bodybuilding/sexy_female_training&cr=

Stats update: Gabby is in the lead for fat loss

2009-03-10T16:46:00.001-07:00

Gabby's data has now been uploaded. Check it out, she's doing great!

Short term gains for long term pain

2009-03-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone comes into this competition with a set of assets - knowledge, determination, extremism, moderation. etc. One asset that you might not have considered was - hey, you didn't spend the last six months dieting. Wait, how is this an asset? Well it means you haven't had a chance to screw things up for yourself.

Before I bought the Fatloss Troubleshoot package (which comes with a Metabolism Repair manual) I wasn't really aware how easy it was to damage your metabolism. Since then I have been using the manual as a sort of "how NOT to lose fat" because I am not looking for new problems. While the books go in to necessary detail the documents below give you a good overview.

The two documents you want to look at are located here. Look for "Shutting Down of Fat Loss" and "Metabolism Repair Quiz". I am going to post these docs in our discussion group as well.

Another book mention

2009-03-10T11:22:00.000-07:00

Tom Venuto, The Body Fat Solution under $17 on Amazon.

I bet Chad would enjoy this

2009-03-10T11:10:00.000-07:00

http://www.evercrossfit.blogspot.com/

Food ideas

2009-03-10T11:08:00.001-07:00

Extra-Lean Proteins
Bass Bison Chicken Breasts Cod Crab (try canned, instead of tuna!) Egg Whites (boxed work well) Elk Flounder Extra Lean Ground Turkey, Chicken, or Beef (at least 95% lean)
Haddock Halibut Orange Roughy Ostrich Perch Protein Powder Tilapia Shrimp Snapper Tuna Turkey Breasts

Complex Carbs
Beans (black,red, brown) Brown Rice Cream of Rice Ezekiel Bread Grits Oats Oat Bran Hot Cereal Quinoa Rice Cakes (non-flavored) Tortillas (corn, rice, or spelt) Wild Rice White Potatoes
Wheat Bran (FULL of fiber, perfect for low carb plans) Yams

Healthy Fats
Almonds Avocados Coconut Oil Flax Seeds Flax Oil Grapeseed Oil Herring Macadamia Nuts Mackerel Natural Peanut Butter (no oil added) Olive Oil
Pecans Pumpkin Seeds Salmon Sardines Sunflower Seeds Walnuts

Veggies (few carbs; mostly fiber)
Alfalfa Sprouts Artichoke Hearts Arugula Asparagus Bamboo Shoots Beet Greens Bock Choy Broccoli (already a staple for most of us) Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower
Celery Chard Chicory Chives Collard Greens Cucumbers Endive Escarole Fennel Jicama (some carbs, not entirely "free") Kale Leeks Lettuce Mushrooms Onion
Peppers (GREEN; red and yellow have carbs) Radicchio Radishes Rhubarb Sauerkraut Scallions Spinach Water Chestnuts Zucchini

Nutrients - How much?

2009-03-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

Protein: during diet - 0.68g/lb. maintenance - 0.36g/lb. try to gain muscle - .81g/lb.
Using myself as an example: during diet (.68*129 = 87.72g) maintenance (46.44g) gaining (104.49) (I should add earlier I suggested a value of 1g/lb and this is actually closer to what is needed during a muscle gaining program. My mistake.)

Carbs: minimum intake - between 50g and 120g. A diet of less than 30g places the body in ketosis. Less than 100g/day = some ketosis. Between 100g and 120g = no ketosis for very inactive individuals. Maximum intake is more dependent on your level of training. See http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/how-many-carbohdyrates-do-you-need.html for more specific info. Includes definition of ketosis.

Fats: aside from some EFA's not a huge minimum required. Mostly depends on how many calories you can eat per day.http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/nutrition/carbohydrate-and-fat-controversies-part-1.html

Getting rid of aches and pains

2009-03-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

In addition to stretching, please consider foam rolling:
http://www.flzine.com/you-heard-self-myofascial-release-book/

Getting lean inspirational post

2009-03-09T13:31:00.001-07:00

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_diet_mass/the_beast_evolves

Author goes from 230lbs 18% body fat to 204lbs 5% body fat in 14 weeks. I want to add this article is not new, its a classic and the author himself wrote a follow up on how he would do it all differently if he did it again. :) Isn't that how it is?

Weigh in #2 almost done

2009-03-09T11:50:00.000-07:00

I have posted the results in the discussion group and ranked everyone by % body weight lost.

The summary so far - everyone but one lost weight. Everyone but two people show having gained body fat. Is this necessarily the case? No. The scale could easily judge excess water weight as fat. I am going to try to post some useful info on water so everyone can be primed for the next weigh in March 23rd. You may also have possibly lost lean mass. Look into whether you are eating enough protein (and consider listing weights.) I will be posting some info on this hopefully today.

Seriously?

2009-03-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

The food log at fitday can't figure out a raw carrot? Not a glazed cooked carrot. Not a carrot with cheese sauce. Not "carrots, raw, salad," which magically contains 30g of fat. Just a root vegetable. Scrubbed. With the leafy bit cut off.

More recipies - NYTIMES

2009-03-06T12:03:00.001-08:00

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/index.html

Local Company - Isernio's Chicken Sausage

2009-03-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.isernio.com/chicksaus.html

Many from 100-150 calories per serving.

Food for thought - great post by Alvin

2009-03-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.spanawaste.com/?p=776

Great post on food on the Ave here in the U-District.

Good link for healthy recipies

2009-03-06T09:43:00.001-08:00

http://livewell360.com/recipes/

Almost at the end of week 2

2009-03-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

So week 2 is almost up. Feel free to stop by and weigh in tomorrow morning if you want to get a sense of what to work on over the weekend. Otherwise, week 2 is mostly about evaluating and settling into a routine.

Next week I'll start posting some more detailed information on various diet style pro's/cons as well as the much requested "how much protein do I really need" type questions.

Kevin on Fitcast does FatLoss Troubleshoot

2009-03-05T13:06:00.001-08:00

Includes pics and looks like upcoming weekly updates.

http://thefitcast.com/?p=933

Fitcast is also really good but you have to be pretty *in* to fitness to enjoy it. In my opinion.

Exercise progressions

2009-03-05T12:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/exercise-progressions

Includes weightlifting and cardio.

Not what I was looking for.

2009-03-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Digging through my desk to look for a password that shouldn't have been written on a scrap of paper, I found the recipe for "Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Cake."

Ingredients include:
3 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups ricotta cheese

I think I can maybe just go throw this away.

Lyle McDonald helps me answer my own question

2009-03-04T10:47:00.000-08:00

When the scale goes down, what are you losing?

First wave of weight is usually water. After this is very heavy individuals most weight lost will be fat. For the rest muscle loss can be between 1/4-1/3 of all weight lost.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/measuring-body-composition-part-1.html

New doc uploaded to discussion group

2009-03-04T08:43:00.001-08:00

"The Office Guide to Diet and Training." (as in the TV show) From flzine.com

First few pages you can probably skip...

How to burn more calories at work

2009-03-04T08:07:00.001-08:00

http://avidityfitness.net/2008/10/09/are-you-a-fat-writer-the-ultimate-in-office-and-desk-training-and-fat-loss/

Shock and Horror, Horror and Shock

2009-03-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

http://www.camptechnique.com/pricing.html

as seen in the clip below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZAOUzo7tiQ&feature=PlayList&p=5402CBCBB9037C19

Interesting post on how you can start to look flabby

2009-03-03T13:34:00.000-08:00

While still losing fat.
http://forums.jpfitness.com/fat-loss-troubleshoot/36993-very-very-odd.html

Starting to feel and not just see effects

2009-03-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

I am very happy with my new scale. Its really fast and easy to use. I think it helped me cut back on a couple potion sizes I had been previously underestimating. Thus, now I am eating slightly less and feeling more hunger/tiredness. All of this is normal...but none the less.

Treadmill - Cheap!

2009-03-02T13:59:00.001-08:00

http://www.washington.edu/admin/surplus/inventory/item/treadmill

Next weigh in - Monday March 9th

2009-03-02T08:51:00.001-08:00

And also, its officially 12 weeks to Memorial Day, which some consider the beginning of summer.

Make your own mineral water

2009-03-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/mineral-water.html

This site is somewhat sketchy but the water recommendation seems good.

Good free online workouts

2009-03-02T08:20:00.001-08:00

Beast Building Part 1 2 and 3 3month program. This program is fine for beginners who have the patience to read the workout, determine what their one rep max's are, etc. Basically people not afraid to learn, find the answer to questions, etc. Otherwise, if you are a totally skittish beginner, this will overwhelm you. Minimal equipment needed - free weights, weight bar, maybe a bench or improvised bench.

Velocity Diet Training program - provides a beginner, intermediate and advanced program. Intented to focus on fatloss and muscle preservation. Lots of good free stuff - tell you what to do, when to do it, videos to show you how to do it...Downloadable in PDF format... Three weighted workouts (comprised of four exercises) per week plus one body weight-only exercise session. I am not sure it gets any simpler than this. Equipment also minimal. Some use of cable system. Research should probably yield a barbell or dumbbell alternative. Good for men or women. Diet included as well.

Free Full Length Videos available on Exercise TV - also provided for free via Comcast OnDemand (under Sports and Fitness), if you have this.

Attack the Fat Phase 1 and 2 via Figure Athlete. Assumed female readership. Some cable exercises. Finding dumbell substitutions should be possible.

Fatloss for Every Girl - Assumes female readership but EVERYONE could benefit towards using this zero-equipment required workout.

Not a workout per se but useful none-the-less: Training Principles for 50+

Metabolic training program - geard towards fatloss. Not good for people with joint issues, or so I think, but worth looking into and judging for yourself.

Bikini Body System 1 2 and 3 - Pretty straightforward and simple.

Not a good rear view

2009-03-01T17:02:00.000-08:00

I started a blog post describing the new digital food scale I bought and how great it was...when I realized...this.sounds.super.weird. I want to make it really clear I do not enjoy counting calories and macronurients. It is not fun. But what I have done before hasn't worked and I am tired of wasting my time.

I used to get by on exercise alone. Back in college I could go to the gym for two hours and burn off all excess calories and then some. Those were the days of logging how much I could lift, not how much I ate (yes, I still remember 20lb bicep curls. I also remember having two or three servings of mud pie.) This pretty much worked for me until I tore up my knee running with my dog back in 2004. I thought it was just a little thing until 6 months later my knee still felt weird. Weird escalated to limping, and finally I went to the doctor. This was an injury that could be improved by physical therapy but otherwise needed to be left alone to heal.

If I knew then what I know now about staying off my leg for 6 months I NEVER would have been so inactive. Before you know it your muscles weaken or get stiff, your posture is affected, and exercise that used to be easy now leaves you with injuries in new places. Even walking for more than 20 minutes became a struggle.

I didn't workout or do anything active for two years (minus one failed cross country skiing episode). My most recent wake up call came in the late summer when I realized I outgrew my wedding dress and it needed to fit by October. This began what I think we could call operation "semi-desperation." I knew I needed to exercise and cut back, but I did not count calories. Instead I estimated and eliminated foods I knew to be bad (goodbye Friday morning pastry, good bye eating out...) I did this while working out 20-35 minutes per day (5 days per week) for the first month (I actually started out doing 15min to begin with). It was pretty effective (I thought) and by month two I was back in my wedding dress. I think total I might have lost 5lbs.

While I was happy enough with everything at the time...when the wedding pictures came I was disappointed with what I saw...Now I have regrets because I still think of myself as an athletic person even though the pictures say otherwise.

In January I decided I would not give up and I would do whatever it took to ensure I never have to be disappointed with myself again. Again I started back with my old methods of "pass on dessert and exercise more." Unlike last time I also set a quantifiable goal of getting down to "x" inches and I made a habit of recording progress. I definitely saw some improvement between January and February but then felt like I stared to flatline. Around this time I stumbled across Leigh Peele's Fat Loss Troubleshoot (and I suggested the idea of this contest) - I decided it was worth the money to see if I was really doing everything I could. I would estimate pre-Fat Loss Troubleshoot I was doing at least 7hrs of exercise per week. No more than 1.5hrs at a semi intense level, the rest pretty moderate as the knees are still iffy. That's a lot of time spent that I could be doing something else.

I am so glad I made the step to buy the Fatloss Troubleshoot because it made what I was doing wrong very clear - I was overestimating how many calories I could burn through exercise by a long shot and WAY underestimating both how much was eating and how much I should eat to lose fat. I clearly cannot get by on an estimation plan. Okay, good to know. Now I can stop wasting my time. Another thing I want to add is - I think its also easy to flatline because you don't have a clear end goal. "Fitting into a wedding dress" is vague. Achieving 20% body fat is not. Without a clear goal its easy to fool yourself into thinking you are done and can take it easy. Also, tracking progress and reviewing it is very important. I think months ago if I had asked myself if a .6lbs per week was really going to get things done I would have realised the answer was no. Or not. Maybe I should have done the Marc Elvy vodka diet after all...

So in a nut shell, now that I have the tools - I am not going to be held back from my goals unless by my own choice - not by accidentally eating too much and not knowing it.

Food scale is here

2009-03-01T09:33:00.001-08:00

I bought a red Escali Primo for $24.95. Easy to use, zeros easily, and seems pretty sensitive (I was able to weigh a leaf of romaine lettuce. I can now weigh my chicken breasts and peanut butter with the best of them. :)

Weighing your food in grams makes counting calories way faster. Then you don't have to dish everything out in little cups and hope you measured right.

Sometimes simple is best - weekend exercise ideas

2009-02-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

Calories burned based on 160lb person and 30min:

Bicycling (leisure) 144
Backpacking 254
Sleeping 34
Sitting / resting 38
Reading 38
Sex - foreplay 53
Driving 77
Shopping 86
Billiards 91
Cooking 96
Housework 106
Bowling 110
Fishing 110
Frisbee playing 110
Playing guitar 115
Lifting weights 125
Stretching 144
Walk/run/play with kids 144
Showering 154
Sex - intercourse 154
Walking 3 mph 158
Basketball - shooting baskets 163
Washing car 163
Jumping jacks - moderate 163
Boxing - punching bag 216
Fencing 216
Hiking 216
Dancing - aerobic, ballet, modern 216
Swimming - moderate 221
Chop Wood 221
Jogging 254
Stationary bicycle / spinning - moderate 254
Soccer casual 254
Walking - up stairs 293
Basketball 1/2 court 298
Skiing - downhill 317
Rope jumping 365
Skiing - cross country 413

More vegetarian eating ideas

2009-02-27T11:15:00.001-08:00

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/members/showthread.php?t=11567

New Useful Link Found

2009-02-27T10:12:00.001-08:00

Found a workout online but don't know how to do some of the exercises? Precision Nutrition has a very extensive multi-view exercise video library available for all members. Membership is free. Check it out. http://www.precisionnutrition.com/members/exercise.php

Link has been added to right side bar under Exercise Resources.

Open call for questions...

2009-02-27T09:05:00.001-08:00

It keeps me busy, what can I say. :)

20 Min Stretching Routine Posted

2009-02-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

In the discussion group under "Files." This is good for post work out recovery.

Week 1 Wrap-up

2009-02-27T08:44:00.000-08:00

So this is where you should be right about now....

There are two main objectives to achieve and work on for the next week:
1. Know your goals and develop a plan.
2. Count your calories and track them in fitday (of course, no one is forcing you but if you don’t track, you can’t figure out where things are going wrong later.

Goals – you now know your starting weight and estimated body fat %.
Lets start out by determining what your daily maintenance calories are by using the link to the right under “Health Calculators” – “Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator” – mine comes up as 1386.65 calories per day assuming a bedridden state. To get the basic estimate of my daily calories needs based on activity use the link for the BMR Multiplier (which is right under the link for Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator.) I would guess my activity matches #2 “lightly active – light exercise 1-3 days per week.” The multiplier at this level is 1.375. 1386.65 * 1.375 = 1906.64. This is what I can eat every day and stay the same as I am now.

Now you need to decide what range of body fat you are going to aim for – 15? 20? (Note: If you think you may want to gain muscle – lose a reasonable amount of fat, say down to 12 for men, and then you want to switch to a bulking diet – roughly a 20% calorie surplus based on your size at that time, then cut again for fat, etc.)This is your end goal (and maybe not doable in 12 weeks, but that’s okay.) I’ll use myself as an example. I am aiming for 20% body fat and have a lean body mass of 90lbs. Using the equation [Goal weight = current lean body mass/(1-goal body fat percentage as a decimal)] I can see my goal is 112 = 90/(1-.20) a difference of 20lbs. Now the maximum I should try to lose is 1% of my total weight of 132lbs per week. That’s 1.32lbs. As we’ve discussed before 1lb = 3500 calories. 1.32 lbs = 3500 * 1.32 = 4620 calorie weekly deficit. Divide by 7 to get a daily deficit = 660.

So my daily maximum intake has already been calculated to be 1906 calories. My daily deficit needs to be 660 calories. So the question is, how do I want to do this? Through diet alone? This leaves me eating 1246 calories per day. This is pretty much what I am doing. Say though, I had a projected larger deficit I needed to meet (based on being taller…). It would make more sense to add in additional activity to free up additional calories I can eat. This is where using the Calories Burned Calculator comes into play. Plug in your info and then think about what you might reasonably commit to doing. Walking 3mph for 30min once per day? That’s 96 calories for me. Just don’t overdo it and don’t over estimate how many calories you are burning.

This is your basic plan.

The next step is to figure out what you can eat to stay in line with your daily calorie requirements. Remember, one serving lean protein and three veggies per meal as a starting option. No matter what you chose, log it all in fitday. Fitday will calculate everything for you and create cool graphs. We like graphs. And data. Charts….mmmmm….

Next week is about fine tuning and getting comfortable with your plan.

Discussions and private info moving to forum

2009-02-26T12:26:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, I wanted to find a way to keep everyone's info private for the competition, yet I'd like to take the password protection off the site as its annoying. At Alvin's most excellent suggestion I created a forum via Google Groups (limited just to us) - the link is there top right. All posts for progress, "what I ate," and various taunting should go here. I have also created a posted document with everyone's first weigh in and deleted everyone's weight from the posted site.

I have given everyone access (or so it appears on my end.) Let me know if you have trouble accessing or have any objections to this change.

Thanks!

BBC doesn't blurr boobs

2009-02-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

Supersize vs Superskinny
http://www.youtube.com/justadustyrose

Best books for beginners

2009-02-25T11:00:00.000-08:00

New Rules of Lifting for men
New Rules of Lifting for Women (do NOT do on a caloric deficit. The workout cause too much body stress and you will hurt your metabolism.)

The bigger picture: Calorie intake and nutrition

2009-02-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

So Dan asks “Can I get away with just eating protein?” Dan is playing the devil’s advocate by asking – are calories all that matter? I get the sense all of Dan’s questions are structured around “do I need to be healthy?” just to see what I am going to say. The goal here is to stay as simple and gimmick free as possible and not play the “high protein”, “low carb”, “no fat” game as a way of trying to get around the fundamental truth that at the end of the day what matters is a caloric deficit. All the above contain calories. Can we live on just one macronutrient indefinitely? No. Different foods provide different nutrients. Clearly a salmon exclusive diet would lack fiber and vitamins provided by fruits and veggies. A simple guideline to use is: eat lean protein at every meal (ideally snack too) plus three servings of veggies and then see where that leaves you with surplus calories. Another thing to consider is how certain types of foods make you feel. Should you really eat starchy foods, pastas, or breads if you know they are going to cause your blood sugar to spike and increase your cravings later? Maybe that’s not best for you.
Start simple and see how it goes. Follow the basic ideas suggested above. Plug your data into fitday.com and see where you are THEN look into optimizing your macronutrient ratios. Don’t do it all at once – just the basics are tedious enough.

Dan this is the link I promised

2009-02-25T09:26:00.000-08:00

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/sexy-vegetarian

Building muscle on a vegan diet.

If you are having trouble digesting additional veggies

2009-02-25T08:48:00.000-08:00

Don't be afraid to buy a bottle of digestive enzymes and/or probiotics. I have used the Renew Your Life brand before and liked it.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_nutrition/can_vegetarians_build_muscle