(in my best Jim Morrison voice)…This is the end

OK, not quite the end and not really an end at all but a new beginning. In just 9 days I’ll complete the Men’s Health Belly Off! 2008 program. I’ve loved every minute of it and feel great with how my body is developing. The concept of quick, high intensity workouts really fits my lifestyle while being super effective. With the end coming up so quick, it was time to look for a new program to work on. So last night, I went ahead and purchased the Turbulence Training package from Craig Ballantyne.

Body composition calculators

Well, I was going to create my own scripts that would help you calculate your BMR and then help you figure out how many calories you needed for a day, but I found a really good site that does all this already. I’ve taken the formulas and put them into a spreadsheet that I use to keep track of my weight each week. Now I can see my weight loss, but also my body fat % and lean body mass changes.

I can eat more!!!

In just one day of using FitDay to track my calories, I’ve discovered I’m not taking in close to enough calories in a day. Using a formula I used from Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle, I determined my daily calorie requirements (for my age, height, weight and activity level) should be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2400 calories. On Monday, I took in only ~1700 and that’s not taking into account my interval training. So I’d say my calorie total for yesterday was closer to 1400 and that is WAY too low.

Weekly Review – Week 6

Here we are, at the end of Week 6 with just two more weeks to go. The Belly Off! program has been great and I’m very happy with my results. Not only physical, but the mental results as well. Even when I had a seemingly rough week this week, I’m still motivated to keep moving forward and am not really discouraged at all. I really believe that I now posses the tools needed to continue living a healthy lifestyle.

Altered state

Here we are, 38 days into the Belly Off! 2008 program. That leaves just 18 more days for us to work on hitting our goals for the 8 weeks. This time has gone by quick, but at the same time I feel like I’ve been living this new lifestyle for a lot longer. What once took a lot of thought and planning is becoming second nature. What once was considered cruel and unusual punishment is now considered exhilarating and enjoyable. Things can and have changed in just 38 days. Here are some thoughts on those changes.

Artificial sweeteners = weight gain?

A new study from Purdue University has come up with some interesting results of tests on artificial sweeteners. I’ve seen some of this info around the web before, but this is the most recent study and seems to confirm what other studies have found.

I’ve tried to remove all artificial sweeteners from my diet since the beginning of the year. I have noticed a huge change in my cravings and health. Looking back on it now, I can say with 100% confidence, there was definitely a link between me drinking Diet Pepsi and my junk food cravings.

Bodyweight 350

I’m finally getting around to writing about my Bodyweight 350 experience. I completed the challenge on Saturday morning, and I swear some of my body is still feeling the effects of that beating. That was a tough workout (aren’t they all???). And, as always, I feel great for having been able to finish it and under the target time.

Weekly Review – Week 5

I don’t have a lot of time to write my review for Week 5 right now so I’m just going to say one thing and post my numbers and pics. I’ll come back later today to finish up a complete review for the week.

Great article on eating more to lose weight

Here is a great article by Matthew McNutt from Season 3 of The Biggest Loser. Just a refresher, Matthew was one of the contestants who lost his weight at home, not on the Ranch. He lost a total of 176 pounds from start to finish (8 months). His blog has tons of great information, I recommend you check it out (linked in my blog roll).

Jillian Michaels radio show

Hey all! I just wanted to let you know that Jillian Michaels, from The Biggest Loser, has her own health & fitness radio talk show. It is on KFI AM 640 out of LA. I’ve just started listening to it and i”m enjoying it so far.

Check it out, follow this link to get to the page where you can download each weeks (Sunday morning show) show or listen to it at your computer. If you want to add the show to your iPod, you’ll have to download each individual show and manually add it to iTunes because I cannot find any iTunes feed for this show anywhere.

Weekly Review – Week 4

This weeks theme is disappointment with a reality check. I knew it was coming, I saw it in my trends, and I thought I did extra this week to fight it, but in the end, it happened. I didn’t hit my goal weight for this week, losing only 1 pound. That was a pretty depressing moment, but it’s still a loss and I’m happy with that.

Have I been fighting my heredity?

As I take a look back in my life and then look at my parents and grandparents, I start to realize that I alone am the reason for why I reached 210 pounds. I used to be skinny, probably a bit too skinny. When I joined the Navy, I was around 160 pounds (72.57 kg). I was active in high school, playing baseball and wrestling (just to get in shape for baseball, because I sucked at wrestling) and I was active out in the neighborhood all the time. My high school’s cross country coach (our gym coach) wanted me to join the team after I did a few laps around the track for a Presidential Fitness test. I declined that offer because I couldn’t see the point of getting up early in the morning in the summer to go for a run. Who knows, that may have been a poor decision. Thinking about that now, it may have got me into a running routine that I might have enjoyed and stuck with. Regardless, I used to not have weight issues.

Not a good day

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. I had to have a day where I don’t feel fantastic the whole day and that day is today.

I woke up full of energy and feeling great, but as the day wore on, I started feeling tired and just sorta blah. Then my stomach started doing flips on me and I’m feeling bloated, so my pants feel tighter. I don’t know if I’m coming down with a stomach bug, or I ate something bad but I feel like crap and I have no energy.

I was planning on taking today off from exercise, but I may knock out the 13 minute interval when I get home to try and shake this. Funny, I never thought hard exercise was an option to make myself feel better, but now it sounds like just the thing I need to get me out of the funk today. And as I write this, I’m actually looking forward to getting on the treadmill. I guess that changes my plans of having an off day today.

Oatmeal is even more healthy than we thought

There is an interesting article over at the Biosingularity blog.

Here is an excerpt from the post.

“A new scientific review of the most current research shows the link between eating oatmeal and cholesterol reduction to be stronger than when the FDA initially approved the health claim’s appearance on food labels in 1997.”

Just a few more reasons to include oatmeal in your Belly Off! diet. I like mine with cinnamon and blueberries in low-fat milk.