tomocalypse

You said there you were eating 50% fat... If you want to "tone" then you'll want to build some muscle, so the main thing is to make sure you're getting enough protein in your diet. Protein is king.

[uPDATE] End of Week Two / Start of Week Three "Our hero, fresh from his merriment at the festival, returns home and returns to training. Laziness Demons lurk around every corner, but are sent running by his renewed intensity. And... Oh, whats this? ...NEW GEAR! As a reward for his travails, (and because he had left his old ones in Prague), tomocalypse has obtained new running shoes... Vibrams Speed's! *magical noises*" Ok, so Week two went really well. To sum up my goals: Parkour Training: 2/2 After obtaining my new Vibrams, I spent one session running around the local botanical gardens, testing them out by climbing shit and vaulting and jumping things. I've also been doing a lot of work on my pull-up bar, to make sure I can lift my own weight. And, I found a great way to add parkour training into my basic exercise schedule. When out for a run, try and incorporate extra leaping and vaulting into it, moving through the town in the most efficient way as possible. Yeah, I got some weird looks from people, as I ran through in my weird toed-shoes, jumping fences and stuff, but DAMN it was fun. Bodyweight Workout: 3/3 Did all of the hard training I wanted to. Even did one when hungover, and damn that took a lot of determination, but felt good afterwards. Diet - Eat as Paleo as possible: I did ok, but not fantastic with this, this week. Probably rate myself a solid B+. Stuck to paleo for the most part, lots of veggies. But I also ended up eating junk food Friday and Saturday, along with a bit more beer than is probably good for me. Not enough to derail things, but not great either. Room for work? Maybe, but I was enjoying myself with my Dad and with my best friend this weekend, so I'm not going to beat myself up over some pringles. To sum up, a good week. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Week Three - It's only Monday, and it's been an ok start to the week. The problem is that I went for my first full length run in my lovely new Vibrams yesterday. Which means today, my calves hurt like hell. I was going to do a full Bodyweight Workout today, but seeing as my legs aren't working, I made it an arms day instead. Lots of push-ups, and lots and lots of reps on the pull-up bar. Here's hoping I can get back to normal tomorrow.

[uPDATE] - Halfway through week two. Been a while since I've been on the forums, busy times. Week One went pretty much exactly as expected. I exercised and stuck to the diet Monday and Tuesday, then headed off to a festival Wednesday and went into survival mode. I made sure I ate as well as possible, most of my meals being ones I'd brought with me, and so were mostly in keeping with the diet. Although I didn't manage any workouts, there was plenty of wandering around, and as a result when I checked the scales when I got home this Monday, I'd even managed to lose a little weight! So far week two is progressing very solidly. Managed a couple of very intense bodyweight workouts in the sun, and I'm eating as paleo a diet as I can manage. To sum up, it's all going rather well here. Laziness may be setting in a little, but I'm making sure I get everything I need to do, done.

[Week One] Ok, so, I wanted to join in this challenge at the same time as everyone else, but the timing is somewhat awkward for me. This first week, I will be heading to a music festival (Download, anyone?) from Wednesday through to the following Monday. Obviously this makes it somewhat difficult to complete my goals. I have already done one BWW this Monday, but this is probably all of the proper workouts I'll manage this week. So, for this first week, the above goals will not apply, instead my one main goal is to eat as healthily as I possibly can whilst enjoying myself as much as I can. Keep moving, avoid the junk food, try not to go crazy on the drinking. Then I'll kick it into high gear once I'm home, and can work out and eat food that hasn't come from a tin or a van.

Challenge #2 - Level: Home Village - Skirmish with the Laziness Demons ...and so the new assassin tomocalypse completed his first challenge, and cheers filled the streets of the gothic city in which he resides. He finishes his tasks, and prepares to head home to his family, to rest and recover, before starting the next task in his epic adventure. He reaches the small, seaside village, and is filled with satisfaction at the familiar surroundings. However, this quiet abode hides a secret foe... It abounds with Laziness Demons!Sly little bastards, they lurk where least expected, and prey upon the slow and comfortable.The assassin has often been dragged down by these foul creatures before, lulled into a false sense of security by the familiar environment... But not this time.Sharp from his recent conquests, he spots the Laziness Demons lurking at the edges of his vision, and devises a plan to defeat them! MAIN QUEST: Defeat the Laziness Demons, by maintaining training and learning new skills. To complete the MAIN QUEST, these three tasks must be overcome: These creatures feast on the slow and immovable, he must improve his speed and dexterity.To this end, he determines to learn basic Parkour skills, such as jumping and rolling, and practise at least twice per week.You can't defeat what you can't catch.(+4 DEX, +1 WIS) Continuing from the successful techniques of his first challenge, he will continue to do bodyweight workouts to stay in top form. Bodyweight circuit workouts 3 times per week. The strength to fight will always be of utmost importance.As the beginner bodyweight workout is getting a bit easy, and a little dull, I will cycle 2 different bodyweight workouts of my own, encorporating exercises from the BBWW, and from this source: http://www.apexmovement.com/blog/top-10-exercises-for-beginners-in-parkour/(+3 STR, +1 STA) The home village is full of junk food within easy grasp. These foods slow heroes down, making them easy prey for the Laziness Demons.Combat this by maintaining an 80-90% Paleo diet. Write down what you eat every day to be sure of this.(+2 CON, +1 WIS) LIFE GOAL: Write Moar.Whilst naturally gifted with decent writing ability, our hero has been struck down by Laziness Demons so many times in this field, that he has almost completely stopped writing.But they will not win this time!Write one short story, or 2-3 poems/songs per week.The mind needs regular exercise just as much as the muscles. Think. Create. Live.(+2 WIS, +1 CHA)

Also, this. Get yourself pumped, and the energy will come. Moping about the man in the mirror, when you know you are making good progress, is just going to drag you down. 35lbs is a lot man! Be proud of yourself, you're doing fucking awesome!

I think it comes with time. From my experience, I've found that although the weight loss/muscle gain is all happening slowly, gradually, and relatively consistently, I tend to see no change for a while.. then BAM, I suddenly see a change. I reckon seeing yourself in the mirror every day means you tend not to notice gradual change. If you didn't look in the mirror for a couple of months, when it came to looking again there would surely be a big difference. So yeah, just keep on slugging away, when you've made a big positive difference to yourself, you might just check yourself out and find that "Holy shit! I look good!"

I've seen this, or a version of it, around too, was wondering if there was any substance to it. Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one to be highly skeptical. This is very interesting, thanks for posting it. I do find it hard to believe that cravings are such a highly tuned 'warning system' from the body. They have always seemed very much psychological to me. If I haven't had sweet things for a while, I'll think more about them, then crave them. Even when I'm eating enough varied veggies and things to make sure I'm getting all my nutrients.

Well, then eat somewhere in the middle. Plenty of protein, some fat, low carbs, and LOADS of veggies. Cannot stress the importance of vegetables (and fruits) in making sure you get all the nutrients your body needs. As for protein/fat ratio, just eat meat. Lots of cuts of meat have shedloads of protein, along with enough fat to keep you going. Fat isn't the enemy after all, so as long as you're avoid processed stuff crammed full of fat, you should be ok. ...Actually I was just re-reading this, worth checking if you're worried about getting healthy foods on a budget. http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/12/27/cheap-and-healthy-food/ And creativity and going primal/paleo should be no problem at all. I've found since switching to a mostly paleo diet I'm far more creative in the kitchen, purely because I have to put more thought into my food choices. There are so many awesome recipes out there, just got to do the research and build up a good knowledge base. Knowledge is power, and all that. Keep up the fight!

Yeah dried fruit is the best. It's just like candy, only slightly better for you. Still pretty calorie dense, but at least it's from a natural source, not just sugar and artificial flavourings and junk.

How about stocking up on fruit for such occasions? That way you'll get some of the sugar you're craving, but from healthier sources. Plus, a load of fruit should fill you up a bit more than candy will.

Ooft. My hamstrings hurt just thinking about that... Good long term goal though, maybe that's what I should aim for next, flexibility wise. This was just reaching previously levels of fitness after all, never managed that. Anyway, thanks for the support peeps!

Wow, I'd never heard of that site, but those products look really cool. I'd love to get a load of that, maybe in the future when I have a bit more money to spend on making sure damn near everything I eat is paleo. Bookmarking that site for later anyway, thanks for mentioning it in the first place

If you think your workout schedule is making you ill, then potentially dial it back a bit. Maybe space out your workouts a little, give your body more time to adequately recover.

Far from being potentially problematic, I'd say that's a pretty good workout schedule, especially if weight loss is one of your goals. It may be a little intense, just make sure you're eating well enough, that your body is getting enough protein and nutrients to keep it up. And don't be afraid to take an extra rest day if you feel like you need it. Keep up the good work, and good luck!