Otis fad diet thread — yoga, fasting, and kevzilla walking on🚶‍♂️ (1 Viewer)

[bostonfred]

this was HARD

60 second break between all but the last set.  90 for that one 

first 3 were pretty easy  feeling the burn at the end of 30.

26 burned the whole way.

last 20 of the last 40, sucked.  wicked burn

keep em coming fred!

I hate to say it but I think I'm going backwards not forwards. I think I went ahead too quickly. 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

I hate to say it but I think I'm going backwards not forwards. I think I went ahead too quickly. 

i like your approach.  take 5 off each and do that a couple times.  then do this one again.

 

[kevzilla]

My nose had ceased its impression of the Bellagio Fountains this morning, so I did the yoga before work. At lunch, the radar indicated I had a good window, so I got the walk in as well. Only thing I've really sacrificed is a shower. Overrated.

 

[MAC_32]

I hate to say it but I think I'm going backwards not forwards. I think I went ahead too quickly. 

I'm not familiar with this program, but your body is probably just asking for a stepback week. 

 

[bostonfred]

I'm not familiar with this program, but your body is probably just asking for a stepback week. 

Thanks. That's definitely possible.  I've been pushing hard with this and running while dieting, and I'm getting a good amount of protein but not 1g per lb body weight so I might be handcuffing myself there too. But I think the bigger issue is I tried to push through some tough sets and moved up without having really mastered them. I'm taking two days off, starting a level down from the sets that I struggled with, and redoing them humbly. 

 

[bostonfred]

Jogged a 5k, ate pretty well overall with salad and broccoli and knocked out the leftover chicken lo mein and vegetables.  Still no alcohol since starting this and still have not gone over my calorie goal with 5 weeks to go. 

30 days down, 35 to go. 

 

[eaganwildcats]

Jogged a 5k, ate pretty well overall with salad and broccoli and knocked out the leftover chicken lo mein and vegetables.  Still no alcohol since starting this and still have not gone over my calorie goal with 5 weeks to go. 

30 days down, 35 to go. 

Just killing it, every day, gb. 

As noted previously, my weekend didn't start off great and was an overall 'meh'. Monday felt pretty sore for reasons unknown so took the day off. Yesterday back at it with a 5K row and ab-ripper. 

Scale said 230.4 this AM. 

 

[culdeus]

Thanks. That's definitely possible.  I've been pushing hard with this and running while dieting, and I'm getting a good amount of protein but not 1g per lb body weight so I might be handcuffing myself there too. But I think the bigger issue is I tried to push through some tough sets and moved up without having really mastered them. I'm taking two days off, starting a level down from the sets that I struggled with, and redoing them humbly. 

If you have built up significant CNS fatigue 1-2 days won't do it.  There is a reason most well structured programs try to balance push/pull/leg movements.  When you throw everything you have at one your body can get out of balance and CNS fatigue spikes or injuries come from imbalances.   

The biggest imbalance to be concerned with on a 100 push up program is lower back extension.  Your upper body will get stressed and grow at least through the hypertrophy while your lower back and a lesser extent upper core gets stressed but doesn't see anything but metabolite stress.  

I would strongly discourage this program done in isolation.  As a part of a complete program, it seems fine but care needs to be taken how to program it in.    jmo

 

[fred_1_15301]

If you have built up significant CNS fatigue 1-2 days won't do it.  There is a reason most well structured programs try to balance push/pull/leg movements.  When you throw everything you have at one your body can get out of balance and CNS fatigue spikes or injuries come from imbalances.   

The biggest imbalance to be concerned with on a 100 push up program is lower back extension.  Your upper body will get stressed and grow at least through the hypertrophy while your lower back and a lesser extent upper core gets stressed but doesn't see anything but metabolite stress.  

I would strongly discourage this program done in isolation.  As a part of a complete program, it seems fine but care needs to be taken how to program it in.    jmo

Yeah I'm starting to hit a wall.  I'm on week 4, day 2 today and I'm not even sure I can physically complete it.  We'll see.  I did a body combat workout last night and there were a handful of pushups mixed in and I really struggled.  The ultimate goal of this program is to be able to do 100 consecutive pushups and I still don't feel any closer to that goal than when I started.  Given that I'm 2 and a half weeks away, I'll stick with it but not sure I'm going down the path of repeating weeks.  I do think that pushups will be part of my longer term workout routine.  

 

[bostonfred]

If you have built up significant CNS fatigue (Central Nervous System fatigue) 1-2 days won't do it.  There is a reason most well structured programs try to balance push/pull/leg movements.  When you throw everything you have at one your body can get out of balance and CNS fatigue spikes or injuries come from imbalances.   

The biggest imbalance to be concerned with on a 100 push up program is lower back extension.  (Hyperextension exercises) upper body will get stressed and grow at least through the hypertrophy while your lower back and a lesser extent upper core gets stressed but doesn't see anything but metabolite stress.  

I would strongly discourage this program done in isolation.  As a part of a complete program, it seems fine but care needs to be taken how to program it in.    jmo

I recognized almost all of these sentences as English but I didn't understand it so I looked everything up and put links. 

For the lazy - it might make sense to alternate days between pushups and pull exercises (does the concepts rower count?) Plus core/low back strength. And make sure to get enough rest and nutrition/sleep between workouts. Should be getting 1g protein per pound of your weight

 

[eaganwildcats]

I recognized almost all of these sentences as English but I didn't understand it so I looked everything up and put links. 

For the lazy - it might make sense to alternate days between pushups and pull exercises (does the concepts rower count?) Plus core/low back strength 

Oooh I hope so. That and every other day with Ab Ripper X maybe I am doing this "right". Even a blind dog finds a bone every once and awhile. 

 

[culdeus]

I recognized almost all of these sentences as English but I didn't understand it so I looked everything up and put links. 

For the lazy - it might make sense to alternate days between pushups and pull exercises (does the concepts rower count?) Plus core/low back strength. And make sure to get enough rest and nutrition/sleep between workouts. Should be getting 1g protein per pound of your weight

Rowing is probably fine, but rowing done correctly is not supposed to engage back/lats very much at all, which is somewhat counterintuitive. (It's mostly a leg exercise). The most common balancing activity for body weight push is simply pull ups.  I need to see the common routines out there, but most try to maintain a 10:1 push up to pull up goal, meaning you'd like to get to 10 pullups at the same time you get to 100 push ups in one go.  

I'm not saying you'll end up in the hospital with rhabado or something along those lines, but systematic fatigue is just as much a setback as an injury can be.  And push-ups for what they are have a tendency to be rate limited by arms and a lesser extent shoulders.  Arm length/trunk length dictates how easy these are, and so you can end up in a world where one person can really tolerate a ton of pushups and the next guy just drops dead way before pecs give out.

For nutrition, this is extremely controversial and depends on fat mass among lots of other things.

You need protein to build muscle, but carbs to recover it.  *note: this is not settled science, and you can recover ok even as keto.  So in general, you can't expect to increase protein content and recover better.  TBH you'd do better simply increasing water intake over any particular macro.  (And this (water) is backed with research)

For consideration:

On training volume:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kwl5LiuCs4

It's long, but opens the discussion around "Maximum recoverable volume" and how this is differed from person to person and body part to body part.  Isratel has probably done 100 hours on this topic over several videos and podcasts.  This one is a little better curated than ones that tend to ramble.

 

[Zigg]

Did my first quick run on the treadmill today. Four miles in 31:15, slowed down and finished the 10k in about 52 minutes.  Hoping to get the four miles under 30, and the 10k under 50 shortly.  

 

[The Flying Turtle]

Walked 20k steps yesterday and stayed under my allowed points.

Snacks -  1 slice cheese, 1/2 cup almonds, apples w/peanut butter.

Walked 15k steps today and stayed under on points

Snacks - 1 oz almonds, grapes, banana, low fat pudding

Only 2 days this month without hitting my 15k and 1 day over points.

 

[bostonfred]

Walked 20k steps yesterday and stayed under my allowed points.

Snacks -  1 slice cheese, 1/2 cup almonds, apples w/peanut butter.

Walked 15k steps today and stayed under on points

Snacks - 1 oz almonds, grapes, banana, low fat pudding

Only 2 days this month without hitting my 15k and 1 day over points.

Love it keep it up GB 

 

[Poke_4_Life]

So I learned yesterday that a mountain hike of less than 2 miles at 12k ft is a lot harder than a longer walk at lower levels.

Keep up the good work.   

 

[bostonfred]

Yeah I'm starting to hit a wall.  I'm on week 4, day 2 today and I'm not even sure I can physically complete it.  We'll see.  I did a body combat workout last night and there were a handful of pushups mixed in and I really struggled.  The ultimate goal of this program is to be able to do 100 consecutive pushups and I still don't feel any closer to that goal than when I started.  Given that I'm 2 and a half weeks away, I'll stick with it but not sure I'm going down the path of repeating weeks.  I do think that pushups will be part of my longer term workout routine.  

I repeated week 4 day 2 today myself and it's really hard. I did it after my run, and while I was a little hungry, which was a mistake. I had to stop in the middle, which either means I was way ahead of my skis on week 5 or I need to make sure this gets my full energy. If you're doing pushups during body combat and doing other workouts along the way, maybe you're running into the same kind of thing. 

 

[bostonfred]

So I learned yesterday that a mountain hike of less than 2 miles at 12k ft is a lot harder than a longer walk at lower levels.

Keep up the good work.   

You know why trail mix is called trail mix?  

Hiking is awesome exercise and a lot more fun than the treadmill. Where did you go?

 

[Poke_4_Life]

You know why trail mix is called trail mix?  

Hiking is awesome exercise and a lot more fun than the treadmill. Where did you go?

Cottonwood pass in CO, also Twin Lakes area. Several random hikes. The ones really high were hard. Saw a cool waterfall and lots of changing leaves. 

Amazing what a difference 8k and 12k is. We are staying at 8k. I guess we have adapted. 

 

[bostonfred]

I ended up a couple hundred calories under goal and didn't eat dinner. Have plateaued broefly on my weight and just want to see a 9 in the last digit. Is that smart? No. Is it important to me? Yes!  I have just under 5 weeks to get down to the next 9 and I have been powering through because I genuinely believe that's still in play. Still have not missed a day on calories or had a drop of alcohol for a full month. 

31 days down, 34 to go. 

 

[fred_1_15301]

Just completed Week 4, Day 2 of pushup challenge. 25, 29, 25, 25, 36.  I was able to complete all sets without stopping but my arms were shaking for the last 10 pushups of Set 5.  I did take a little more than the allotted 90 seconds break.  I wonder if doing it at night helped as I was able to maximize my recovery time.  God I'm afraid to even think about what is in store for week 5.

Fred - I definitely think that mixing this in with body combat/body pump is leading to some of my struggles of late but I'm not ready to give up those workouts for 6 weeks.  I've discovered that I don't enjoy running outside and I don't have access to a treadmill.  Thus, the Les Mills workouts are really my only options for exercise these days.  

 

[Otis]

Just killing it, every day, gb. 

As noted previously, my weekend didn't start off great and was an overall 'meh'. Monday felt pretty sore for reasons unknown so took the day off. Yesterday back at it with a 5K row and ab-ripper. 

Scale said 230.4 this AM. 

How are you eating GB?  Any particular diet?

Still my problem. I’m doing well with daily 30min rows and working in push-ups, but damn if I’m struggling on food and drink. Not going wild on alcohol by any means, but drinks regularly. The worst part per usual is I eat well during the day and then I’m famished at night and just start eating garbage.   Need food and drink restrictions in place again. Maybe I should try counting calories like Fred. Or I could do a regular fast day once or twice a week. 

 

[kevzilla]

We don't turn the clock back until 11/1, so I'm going to have to give up the morning walk at some point. I don't mind starting in the full dark, but I don't want to do the whole 1.5 miles that way, with rush hour starting. Starting next week, I think I'll do the yoga in the morning, and walk at lunch. We don't have that many 90-degree days left.

 

[bostonfred]

I ended up a couple hundred calories under goal and didn't eat dinner. Have plateaued broefly on my weight and just want to see a 9 in the last digit. Is that smart? No. Is it important to me? Yes!  I have just under 5 weeks to get down to the next 9 and I have been powering through because I genuinely believe that's still in play. Still have not missed a day on calories or had a drop of alcohol for a full month. 

31 days down, 34 to go. 

9.6!

 

[Otis]

Fred you’re less than 10lbs from your goal weight??  That’s nuts. Is that your “final” goal or will you be doing anything to readjust once you hit this?

 

[eaganwildcats]

How are you eating GB?  Any particular diet?

Still my problem. I’m doing well with daily 30min rows and working in push-ups, but damn if I’m struggling on food and drink. Not going wild on alcohol by any means, but drinks regularly. The worst part per usual is I eat well during the day and then I’m famished at night and just start eating garbage.   Need food and drink restrictions in place again. Maybe I should try counting calories like Fred. Or I could do a regular fast day once or twice a week. 

Currently, probably a slightly above average diet. I definitely intermittently fast at least 16-8 on the weekdays and try to do so on the weekends as well, but that can sometimes get thrown out the wayside depending on the family plans. Mentally, it's quite helpful for me to know "my eating window has closed" when craving a late night snack. Working out at night also helps with that since by the time the boy goes to bed -> I workout -> shower -> it's usually 9:30/10ish and time for snacking has come & gone. 

Probably most importantly, my wife is full-blown weight watchers so she's been making healthier variations of foods and we've been going out slightly less. I also eat very little for lunch so I can enjoy dinner. 

I've never been a 'couple of drinks at night' kind of guy - usually it's go big or go home for me on the drinking front so I've maybe had 2 beers since I re-committed recently (fantasy draft & brewery). Doesn't seem like it's possible, but kicking the drinking seems to be the most obvious step here - I'd just throw it all out or lock it in a drawer or something. Use the cost savings to hire some help if you are drinking because of the familial chaos. 

 

[MAC_32]

The worst part per usual is I eat well during the day and then I’m famished at night and just start eating garbage.   

The FFA

 

[Otis]

Currently, probably a slightly above average diet. I definitely intermittently fast at least 16-8 on the weekdays and try to do so on the weekends as well, but that can sometimes get thrown out the wayside depending on the family plans. Mentally, it's quite helpful for me to know "my eating window has closed" when craving a late night snack. Working out at night also helps with that since by the time the boy goes to bed -> I workout -> shower -> it's usually 9:30/10ish and time for snacking has come & gone. 

Probably most importantly, my wife is full-blown weight watchers so she's been making healthier variations of foods and we've been going out slightly less. I also eat very little for lunch so I can enjoy dinner. 

I've never been a 'couple of drinks at night' kind of guy - usually it's go big or go home for me on the drinking front so I've maybe had 2 beers since I re-committed recently (fantasy draft & brewery). Doesn't seem like it's possible, but kicking the drinking seems to be the most obvious step here - I'd just throw it all out or lock it in a drawer or something. Use the cost savings to hire some help if you are drinking because of the familial chaos. 

Great thoughts on all.  Your progress is solid and what I love about "a slightly above average diet" is it sounds like something sustainable.  

Yeah I'm feeling great about my exercising and the daytime eating.  My demon remains and always has been 7-10pm.  What happens after dinner.  Maybe I need an evening hobby.  Something stupid like model trains.  Or hell maybe I should spend that time billing a few extra hours. 

 

[kevzilla]

Yeah I'm feeling great about my exercising and the daytime eating.  My demon remains and always has been 7-10pm.  What happens after dinner.  Maybe I need an evening hobby.  Something stupid like model trains.  Or hell maybe I should spend that time billing a few extra hours. 

I feel you. My solution is an Atkins bar and a big glass of cold water. It's hard to binge on those things; I've tried. Relatively high in protein and fiber, and superior in every way to housing a sleeve of Oreos.

 

[MAC_32]

Maybe I need an evening hobby.  

That's a good idea.

Or hell maybe I should spend that time billing a few extra hours. 

That.s not.

But you also need to eat more during the day. 

 

[bostonfred]

Fred you’re less than 10lbs from your goal weight??  That’s nuts. Is that your “final” goal or will you be doing anything to readjust once you hit this?

No not final goal unfortunately, but this was my "stretch" goal for the 65 day period that ends on my birthday. Then I'm going to take a couple days vacation to drink my head off, and get back to work on body recomposition - I'll stop counting calories as closely and change up my exercise program. My turn on the concept2 wait list looks like it will be right around my birthday so I'm considering getting one as a present for myself, but with the demand for home fitness stuff, it might be more like an early Christmas present. Would be nice to add that to the rotation with running. 

I'm planning to make another weight loss push after the new year, but not for as long.  I feel like I'm better at alternating between maintenance/recomposition and cutting, than slow weight loss. 

 

[SWC]

down two pounds this week and keeping my bmi in the 24range and that is right where i want to be take that to the bank bromigos 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

@Otis you need to eat more in the day.   "i've only had a cup of coffee all day!!   i'm eating really well!!"  in reality, you're not.  especially if you're exercising.  your body needs fuel.  

you should figure out your caloric needs and go from there.  you'll have to count calories though.

 

[bostonfred]

"Cheat meal" today - chips and chili - 760 calories

Turkey chili - 1 lb ground turkey, 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles, one can black beans, spices. Easy to make, healthy, tastes good. Serves 4 at about 320 calories per serving, i had two servings/one overflowing bowl. 

Tostito scoops (11) - 140 calories. 

I haven't had a chip in over a month, it was awesome. Need to dig a hole in the backyard and throw the chips down there and light them on fire. A deep hole. #### I miss chips. 

 

[SWC]

one thing my dieticians told me is that you need to eat three meals at least a day for me that is cereal and milk in the morning then low calorie wraps for lunch and then something in the 800 calorie range for dinner if you starve yourself your body will just hold on to everything and you will not lose weight per my dieticians and nurses take that to the bank brohans 

 

[Otis]

No not final goal unfortunately, but this was my "stretch" goal for the 65 day period that ends on my birthday. Then I'm going to take a couple days vacation to drink my head off, and get back to work on body recomposition - I'll stop counting calories as closely and change up my exercise program. My turn on the concept2 wait list looks like it will be right around my birthday so I'm considering getting one as a present for myself, but with the demand for home fitness stuff, it might be more like an early Christmas present. Would be nice to add that to the rotation with running. 

I'm planning to make another weight loss push after the new year, but not for as long.  I feel like I'm better at alternating between maintenance/recomposition and cutting, than slow weight loss. 

Get the Concept2 GB.  It's fantastic.  Also I'm a really sick carpenter and can build you a sweet TV table to put over the machine so you can watch TV while you row. 

 

[Otis]

Did my week 3 day 3 push-ups today.  Actually did almost all of them (died on the 5th set).  Getting stronger.

PS I know I claim to be a trainwreck of human fitness, but reality here is I'm like 20 or 25lbs of fat away from being almost an Adonis.   If someone can crack this nut for me I'll offer you a $100 bounty.

-Oats

 

[MAC_32]

Did my week 3 day 3 push-ups today.  Actually did almost all of them (died on the 5th set).  Getting stronger.

PS I know I claim to be a trainwreck of human fitness, but reality here is I'm like 20 or 25lbs of fat away from being almost an Adonis.   If someone can crack this nut for me I'll offer you a $100 bounty.

-Oats

You've been informed what to do. We can't make you read it. Nor can we actually make you do it. You have to actually want to. Then hold yourself accountable. Your actions have been loud and clear for years - you don't give a ####.

 

[fred_1_15301]

You've been informed what to do. We can't make you read it. Nor can we actually make you do it. You have to actually want to. Then hold yourself accountable. Your actions have been loud and clear for years - you don't give a ####.

Baby steps

 

[MAC_32]

Baby steps

No. This has been going on for years. #### or get off the pot.

 

[bostonfred]

Baby steps

Please don't be an enabler. Saying things like that seem nice but are actually very damaging. 

Otis stopped drinking a month ago. I know this because we started the same day. He slipped up for the first time on labor day. I know this because he was worried about labor day weekend, and he said that he was worried about it. When he drank, I explained why it needed to be a one time thing, and he had to get right back on track immediately the next day, a bunch of you said hey you're human you've been doing a great job dont kick yourself over it.  

He drank again almost immediately. I again said dude, you have put in so much work, don't throw it away. You need to get this under control. Then you guys explained that he'd been doing a good job. 

Then he said I'm not going to drink anymore. 4 hours later, he was already drinking and said I don't care what azcards37 from the internet thinks. 

This thread was forcing him to be accountable, and to his credit, he has posted honestly in it since day one. He needs to feel accountable because he doesn't do it for himself, and his wife is the one making the drink for him.  When you tell him that it's ok to take baby steps, you are derailing that accountability. He sees the green light to do the thing he wants and he takes it. I wasnt giving him the green light, but a lot of you were, and when he said I'm not going to worry about what azcards37 from the internet thinks, he was 100% justifying in his head that it was just this one guy on the internet and not even everyone on the internet and why should I care what that guy thinks everyone else knows I'm good. 

He hasn't stopped drinking since and is again talking about his struggles getting back on the diet. 

You can be a good friend or you can be friendly. It's harder to be a good friend. 

 

[bostonfred]

Enabling is not helping

Spoiler

We can definitely do 220 by Halloween.  Should be a bit below that by then. Man that would feel good!

Come to think of it, no reason we can’t be below 220 by Halloween, and like 210 at Thanksgiving. Hell, could be near 200 by Christmas!  That would just feel so fantastic. Motivating to think about, as these milestones really aren’t far off at all. 

Well a mixed day to report. Big Labor Day family BBQ at the O Parents place. Everyone else drinking and Mrs O totally sloshed right now. Otis drank water. I was very close to giving myself a pass and having a scotch with the cigar I was smoking. But I just stayed water. 
on the negative side I had a couple desserts. So I didn’t end up eating great today and no exercise except for 100 month pushups and walking the dog. But I didn’t drink. And for that I’m at least a little proud. 
 

One more day of Labor Day weekend to go.  Kids back in school this week. Morning routine will be hectic but lots more freedom during the days to stay back on it hard.  Good run from now to Halloween is the next big test. 

Who cares about a few occasional desserts?  You’ve earned it.  The fact that you’ve managed to stay off the booze is very, very impressive.  I wish I had your will power TBH.

Fantastic post.  I was worried about you, Oats, for taking on too much at a time:  no booze, mostly vegetarian, all the various workouts.  I think it's great for you to find a little balance.  You had some dessert, but you stuck with the no booze and otherwise ate well.  You've been rocking the workouts.  It's really OK to let yourself enjoy something now and then.  +1 to being totally impressed with what you've been doing.

@Otis

this times a million

keep it up dude.

It’s a pass day. A little wine tonight (I just bought a single bottle....cant remember the last time I did that) with the Mrs to celebrate end of summer. Not gonna sweat it. It’s a big milestone for the kids going back to school tomorrow for the first time since March. Bittersweet end to a real roller coaster. 
 

Feeling good about the last several weeks and feel they are repeatable. The challenge will be fitting in the rowing, which I think is the most important of my exercises for me, the yoga, which has really grown on me and it’s nice not to groan every time I bend over to put on my shoes, and the Fred million push-up thing. But we’ll sort it out. Back at it tomorrow. 

Just don’t make this a habit.  You committed to this with Fred.  I’m more afraid of disappointing Fred than anything else lol.

We have done this before. A couple good weeks of hard effort and high expectations and then you backslide.  I am not mad, I'm not disappointed, but I am concerned. 

Rowing almost every day, ypga almost every day, 15 days sober, drinking water while the wife drinks wine, passing on opportunities to drink with friends and family, eating vegetarian while the family eats meat... that's a lot of effort you have put in. Yesterday you ate desserts. Today you drank wine.  Neither of those things will end your diet, and neither of those things will undo all of the work you've put in the last two weeks.  It takes a long time to undo the weight you've gained over the last decade plus. It takes more than a day to undo the good you've done over the previous two weeks.  Its not the cheating that concerns me.  I'll admit I'm a little concerned that it was alcohol, because it seems like your and your wife's biggest challenge, but I think you did good by limiting yourselves in advance by only buying one bottle. Good choice. 

What concerns me is that you called this A pass day.  This isn't A pass day. This WAS youe pass day, and you have used it, and you don't take another next weekend because that is what ultimately derails you every time. 

I am not saying this like I'm some kind of authority figure or like I'm perfect. I'm not. I'm still losing weight because I put on too much to begin with. When you decided to give up alcohol, I agreed to join you as long as I could keep my 3 bottles of wine i have in my house. I am not perfect. Like really really not perfect.  Nowhere close.

I had two and a half pieces of large cheese pizza and a cookie brownie from domino's today because we went to my mom's in the boonies and they have no Covid-19 in the area. It's the second time I have gotten takeout in 5 months and my kid was ecstatic. So I splurged. And I had a big piece of salmon and some other healthy stuff. Total was almost 500 calories over my goal., but still under maintenance calories for the day.

But I thought about this thread and our deal here and I got on the treadmill after a long day of driving and banged out a couple miles running and a half hour of walking to end the day with 26 calories to spare. That's 16 days in a row under my calorie goal out of 65, 49 left to go.  That's what accountability is doing for me. Knowing I'm going to reportback to you. I am trying to be that for you. 

You had your cheat day, You're back. Tomorrow is day 17 and we are fully committed to eating well, exercising, and not drinking. I need you to be with me on this. LFG

I’m with you GB. TBH I didn’t even enjoy the wine. It was fine. But I didn’t love it and don’t want more. 

Today is going to be a day of perfect eating and exercise. Abs all around the globe will whimper in fear as they see the better abs coming.  
 

Let’s do this. No more dominos or wine or junk. I’d like a good super healthy push through Halloween. 

What does one do after a holiday weekend, after a day of snacking and alcohol for the first time in weeks?

Wake up the next morning and row an hour.  Spent.

I came up with a plan -- I'll try to row every day (or almost every day).  Some days I'll row longer, like a 10k or 1 hour, for distance, at lower intensity; other days I'll do asensei app workouts which tend to be shorter sometimes and more intense.  And I will alternative yoga and push-up days.  So, today is a push-up day, tomorrow I'll grab one of the yoga workouts fred has posted, etc.  Keep doing that; keep eating well; keep abstaining from the booze.  Boom.

Oh man, today went off the rails immediately.  Came downstairs to the dog in his crate having crapped all over the crate and himself and having rolled around in it all night.  Get to get him outside and hosed and washed, crate all cleaned, 3 girls ready for school, all in a mad scramble.  Then work fired up and didn’t relent.  

The good and the bad:

I’ll start with the bad.  Mrs. O looked Iike a defeated shell of her former self, and rummaged through the basement to find a bottle of champagne.  Since we don’t keep wine in the house, and it was a moment of desperation, it was the best she could do.  Without consulting me we just exchanged sad banana glances and she poured one for me.  So, I drank a champagne.  Oh and I never got to yoga.  And now it’s after 7 and I’m toast for the day. 

The good: I managed to row a 5k in a break in the morning, and ate incredibly well.  Like, some melon and some avocado toast for breakfast and a salad at lunch.  In fact I’m still kind of starving and am about to go in and rummage for something healthy as I don’t think I had dinner.  So, from a net calorie perspective I’ve done great, and from an exercise perspective I did pretty OK.

Next week the kids will be in full time school and Mrs. O’s days (and mine) will free up a whole bunch more, and then we’ll be in a zone. And if she’s in a zone I’ll be in a better zone.  Frankly if I repeated today for 3 months I’d be in killer shape, so it’s not like a total failure.  But it wasn’t perfection.  Which is what my abs are screaming for right now.

So, back at it tomorrow.  Thursday and Friday work days should open up substantially and allow me double workouts those days, so we’ll get her done.  Alcohol creep is a concern for sure, and I’ll need to keep a careful eye on that.  But here we are.  Humans doing human stuff.

Onwards to tomorrow.  

@Otis 

Why did you drink tonight?

Why did you drink Monday night?

This isn't that hard.  There's a simple answer. You didn't drink because the dog #### itself. You didn't drink because your wife poured you a glass of champagne. You didn't drink because work was hard.  You didn't drink on Labor day because it was a holiday. You always have a story when you drink, or when you skip exercise, or when you go off the rails on your diet, but it's the wrong story. 

You drank because at that moment, you wanted to drink more than you wanted your goal. 

You had people over at your house drinking Saturday night and your wife got #### faced Sunday night. You didn't. Because you wanted your goal more than you wanted to drink. You were interested in your goal and you were thinking about being 220 by Halloween and maybe even 200 by new year's and you were excited enough to turn down alcohol and drink water all day. 

The hard question is what changed?   

Here's a famous actor explaining what happened

You are very good at short term goals.  you can row an hour and eat a can of tuna and an apple, or eat nothing but melon and avocado toast and a salad and forget dinner.  You have the willpower to do this for days. 

As soon as you have visible success, though, you change mindset completely.  You are no longer doing it, you have done it. And victory defeats you time and time again. 

You have worked really hard today. You had a ####ty day, literally and figuratively. You worked hard and didn't eat anything you wanted. And it all got derailed with one bad decision. 

You worked really hard for the last 3 weeks.  Then you had desserts, and drinks, and drank again tonight. And you risk undoing all that work, for a day like today, that you didn't even enjoy yourself. 

What a waste of all that work it would be if you backslide now. And it is happening.  You are currently failing.  

But it doesn't have to be that way. Today you can finish strong, avoid the cookies and comfort foods and have some fuel and nothing else. Tomorrow you can start over., with 7 weeks to go, and commit to the idea that the hard part isn't eating a good breakfast, but staying on target all day, every day.  It's not working out harder today.  It's working out consistently until you hit your goal. It's not skipping one drink.  It's stopping drinking for 7 more weeks. 

And that was something you said you could do. Because the weekends are the hard part.  Weekdays are easy. Do you remember saying that?  Because that was the exact moment you failed.  When you decided it was easy, you no longer took it seriously enough to handle the first challenge and it happened the very next day. 

Bro. You are better than this.  When you want to be. But you have to want to be.  You have to be honest with yourself and see these failures as what they are - the learning experiences that helped you to finally do this because you want this enough to sacrifice day after day until you get where you're going, and to want to tell us that you made it through another difficult day more than you want that drink and another excuse and another lecture. 

7 more weeks, and then you can tap the brakes.  Not until.  You have done a great job for nearly 3 weeks but you haven't accomplished anything yet. Not until you see it through. And learning to see it through will pay dividends in your whole life.  Do this with me. 

He had a glass of champagne, but didn't house a sleeve of cookies. This represents progress. He'll get there.

It seems like you're a new man but you're occasionally sidetracked by your wife.  If she's not inclined to drink liquor or beer, I bet you'll do fine.  In the grand scheme of things, you had 1 glass of champagne (after a ####ty day) and ate great.  That's better than like probably 80% of people out there.  But you did commit to something and you've now slipped 2 times in less than a week.  I don't think it will become a trend because it seems like you're legitimately changing.  Just be careful. 

Having a bad day after 15 or 20 good days happens.  You can’t string bad days together though.  Ever.  That is the habit that must be broken.  I love hearing the stories because we all go through it,   Dogs crap.  Stuff breaks.  Wives.   Well.   Wives.  But the stories don’t have to end with booze.   

Busy start to the day here, so got up earlier than everyone else and knocked out a 30 min row. Should have time midday for yoga and/or push ups. Healthy eating. Hydration. Here we go. 

Damnit I didn’t yoga today. But I rowed and I did Fred’s billion push ups.  Getting stronger. 
 

Also ate perfectly. Right up until I just found cause to celebrate and went to the wine shop and poured some wine. You see it’s Friday Junior, which normally is reason enough to drink.  But today the celebration is that I just auctioned off a truck I bought a few years ago for $25k, for an auction price of nearly $60k. That kind of rules.  So I’m a workout beast and not going nuts on calories, and some wine shall flow?  Azcards19 be damned? (Sorry GB Fred). 
 

Still need to yoga tomorrow in addition to the row. Work is quiet so would like to get in a one hour row and a yoga sesh. We’ll see. 
 

How many glasses you planning to drink?  Congrats BTW.

Wow, amazing news on the truck.  Invest it all in CYDY!   

By the way, "Friday Junior" never gets old.  Please thank Mrs. O again for that.

I’m getting better at the pushups pretty quickly. I’m still failing before I finish the 5th set, so I’m going to have to retest after week 2 and then drop down to the lower rating in week 3, but I’m not sweating that. I can feel the progress and it feels good. And if I can couple that with continuing to lose weight, obviously less to have to push, so it’ll get even easier. 
 

Looking for a good exercise and eating day ahead. PS I’m terrible at not drinking but really good at selling stupid old trucks. YWIA 

Rowed 30 mins. Bike ride with O eldest daughter. 

At least she and I are going to do the Chance for Hope fun run.  Thought about doing it tomorrow but I keep delaying registration—I’ll do that tonight and we’ll maybe run it next weekend. I’m pretty sure Okid can’t run a 5k, and I’m certain I can’t right now, but we’ll do a mix of jogging and walking. 

Just gotta stay active. Mrs. O assures me she’s getting back on the wagon with me Monday, so perhaps I’ll get another couple alcohol free weeks. Those are such a nice boost. Fingers crossed. 

Today’s project and revelation:

On Sunday’s I have enjoyed sitting around and watching NFL and usually drinking beer and eating some good food. Sometimes for many hours. I’ve recently been trying to watch Netflix on my phone while I row. It works pretty well and makes the time fly by, but the phone is small and my eyes aren’t great. So, today I will go to Home Depot and build a stand for over my erg.  I could drop my IPad on there or better yet I may even go and get a small TV to put on top. NFL Sundays don’t have to be all slovenly.  I could easily pass an hour rowing while watching football—and while my rowing intensity tends to drop while I’m watching TV and not pushing for hard workouts, even over a “leisurely” hour on the erg I burn almost 1,000 calories. That’s huge. And perhaps some Sundays I’ll go longer. At that burn rate, it would both satisfy my workout for the day and leave me some extra to enjoy a few beers. 

Fair points, and maybe that’s what I need.  Although to be honest, I didn’t need a blowout or cheat weekend.  And not to lay blame, but it’s really hard for me to stay on it when the Mrs. doesn’t.  That’s my Achilles heel.  Lame excuse and I need to get it done regardless of others.  But the good news is Mrs. O got up and got all three kids out of the house for the first time this morning, and went out and did a long walk and is back on board.  No booze at least tonight, and hopefully for many nights.

I only had coffee and a Kachava health shake today.  I’ll have a healthy meal and not screw around tonight.  I did my push-ups routine (got nearly kilt, got I’m weak and will need to repeat some stuff), and didn’t get in a row yet, but I’m aiming to do one later this afternoon.  So, I’m all in baby.

Let’s GO GO GO 

Did my pushups.

Did an evening row — a rarity for me, but just had to squeeze one in — before getting the girls to bed.

Ate all super healthy crap.

Had a half glass of white wine with dinner, mixed with seltzer.  MRS. O MADE ME DO IT

A great day overall and I’m sure way below any calorie limit.  Come to think of it, the ultimate diet would be one where every day I take a photo of myself drinking alcohol and eating chocolate and potato chips.  Even if it’s a half drink of alcohol and a little piece of chocolate and a handful of potato chips.  And then you still get really ripped and everyone’s like “wow you look great what’s your diet secret???” And you can just be like “well basically I just eat chocolate and potato chips every day and drink booze every night.”  Then you flex an ab. 

Seriously thinking I should come up with a twist on this that involves one (1) alcoholic beverage every day (within AMA guidelines), a small serving of chocolate and some kind of potato chip type thing.  And then you just get ripped and everyone will be all wtf. And then you don’t have to be a kale martyr, instead you just eat and drink good stuff every day in such small amounts that you still lose weight. 
 

Tell me why this isn’t brilliant. 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

i gently encourage, because otis has been ignoring my advice for years.    takes too much energy to get all riled up and try to talk some sense into him.  he knows what to do.  just chooses not to. 

 

[fred_1_15301]

Please don't be an enabler. Saying things like that seem nice but are actually very damaging. 

Otis stopped drinking a month ago. I know this because we started the same day. He slipped up for the first time on labor day. I know this because he was worried about labor day weekend, and he said that he was worried about it. When he drank, I explained why it needed to be a one time thing, and he had to get right back on track immediately the next day, a bunch of you said hey you're human you've been doing a great job dont kick yourself over it.  

He drank again almost immediately. I again said dude, you have put in so much work, don't throw it away. You need to get this under control. Then you guys explained that he'd been doing a good job. 

Then he said I'm not going to drink anymore. 4 hours later, he was already drinking and said I don't care what azcards37 from the internet thinks. 

This thread was forcing him to be accountable, and to his credit, he has posted honestly in it since day one. He needs to feel accountable because he doesn't do it for himself, and his wife is the one making the drink for him.  When you tell him that it's ok to take baby steps, you are derailing that accountability. He sees the green light to do the thing he wants and he takes it. I wasnt giving him the green light, but a lot of you were, and when he said I'm not going to worry about what azcards37 from the internet thinks, he was 100% justifying in his head that it was just this one guy on the internet and not even everyone on the internet and why should I care what that guy thinks everyone else knows I'm good. 

He hasn't stopped drinking since and is again talking about his struggles getting back on the diet. 

You can be a good friend or you can be friendly. It's harder to be a good friend. 

You’re right of course and I’m not one to be giving him advice anyways.  He made a commitment and obviously has slipped.  I made a different type of commitment and have also slipped from time to time.  But I will say that I’m still very happy with the progress that I’ve made overall.  This thread has helped a lot.

 

[Otis]

You’re right of course and I’m not one to be giving him advice anyways.  He made a commitment and obviously has slipped.  I made a different type of commitment and have also slipped from time to time.  But I will say that I’m still very happy with the progress that I’ve made overall.  This thread has helped a lot.

I’m pretty proud of my progress too from before this thread. But of course I can do much better. If I choose not to eat and drink. But then I like to eat and drink. Dilemma. 

 

[Otis]

Maybe I should try WW. Will they just send me all the meals and stuff?

 

[The Flying Turtle]

Walked 15k and stayed below my points goal.

Snacks - peanut butter/banana/spinach, smoothie, apple, grapes.
 

GAF is back...

 

[bostonfred]

No alcohol, under calories agaim. Updated my weight in myfitnesspal and finished entering my food and exercise, and for the first time it said if every day was like today, in five weeks, you'd be under your target weight. That's so awesome to see.  

32 down, 33 to go

 

[fred_1_15301]

i gently encourage, because otis has been ignoring my advice for years.    takes too much energy to get all riled up and try to talk some sense into him.  he knows what to do.  just chooses not to. 

That's the thing.  We all know what we're supposed to do but that doesn't make it easy.  Not everyone is wired like bostonfred and mac.  Not making excuses but obesity is a major problem in this country for a reason.      

 

[krista4]

That's the thing.  We all know what we're supposed to do but that doesn't make it easy.  Not everyone is wired like bostonfred and mac.  Not making excuses but obesity is a major problem in this country for a reason.      

I gotta say this thread has become way too preachy and not nearly supportive enough for me (and spare me the "preachy is supportive" stuff).  Everyone has different ways they need encouragement.  One size fits all doesn't...ummm, fit.

Not intended toward anyone in particular, but if you're making changes, no matter how "small," to be healthier, then I applaud you and support you.  k4out.