Milo

Thanks for following, guys. As I mentioned, I'm playing it a little bit leaner this challenge regarding time spent on the forums. I have a lot of life goals I'm working on outside of fitness right now, and it's crunch time. I just realized I forgot to post above what my calorie goal is. I aim for 1700 daily, but I know +-50 calories is pretty close. So I put 1750 as the stated goal. I injured my ankle two days ago. Pain is 80% diminished today, but I'm still walking with a little bit of a limp. I'm going to take it easy on the exercise for a few days, see how it feels then. Progress: I'm down 14 lbs since January 8th. Sometimes that seems fast to me, sometimes that seems slow. But I have 30 lbs more until I look "good", and 15 lbs after that until I look "great". Many small steps to complete a long journey.

Sorry, guys. I finished the challenge, but I got too busy to update near the end. My goals for this challenge: Ongoing: - Track calories and meet macros 5x/week (20x total) - (30 exp) - completed exactly 20x, a success - Strength Training 3x/week (12x total) - (20 exp) - completed 13x, a success - Cardio 3x/week (12x total) - (20 exp) - completed 12x, a success One-time: - Research calories and macros, quantify my diet - (10 exp) - I figured it out, and I've been adjusting it every two weeks or so - Discover a workout routine I can do in my new (smaller) gym - (10 exp) - I meant it to be more reasearchy, but I ended up developing my own routine - Set up my home office (a large undertaking) - (10 exp) - Office is now functional for getting work done. Huzzah! Some graphs of my progress (though this encompasses the week following the challenge as well): It wasn't always easy, but I did make substantial progress towards my goals. And I'm starting to wonder if I was off somewhat from my estimate of 35% bodyfat at the beginning before I replaced the battery on my scale. Hard to tell. Wish me luck in the next challenge, found here:

Hey, guys. I've fallen off somewhat on my posting of funny stuff and keeping up with people on the forum. However, I have been keeping with my goals. I made a lot of progress during my last challenge: I lost 13 lbs, my stomach is slimmer, my arms are bigger, and my chest feels firmer. I must have been doing something right. This challenge will be similar, since I just need to sustain: - Stay under 1750 calories 5x/week (20x total) - Be within 4% of my macro goals (40%p/30%c/30%f) 3x/week (16x total) - Strength training 3x/week (12x total) - Cardio 2x/week (8x total) - Life goal: write and record two songs this challenge Let's do it!

Two weeks ago, I finished The Brethren. I've read it before, but I love it. Then I finally made it through Master and Commander, first of the series. Probably my fourth attempt, but don't tell anyone. Ahsoka was a breeze, and pretty fun. Star Wars: Aftermath was less so, actually. Not a huge fan. And yesterday, I started How Music Got Free, though it isn't what I was expecting: I thought it might be on the changing monetization of music and how record labels have been adapting, but so far it's the origin of music piracy and the history of the mp3 format and the people behind it. I fly through audiobooks while cleaning, driving, cooking, etc. Hence the rapid pace. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is high on my reading list, but it's dreadfully long, and I promised my fiance I'd read it with her. Also on my short list are The ONE Thing, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've never read Eragon, I have a smattering of new sci-fi books to try out, and it may well be time to check out a Carrie Fisher book. Where to begin? What about you guys?

Whoa, sorry I missed the earlier question. I could answer what books are on my list, if it's still relevant. Is this less about all of us reading the same book and more about getting all of us reading? @Breeedget I read The Metabolic Manual, as referred by a friend. I didn't love it. It bounced back and forth between overwhelmingly complex and overwhelmingly simple, which just seemed like bad writing. And a lot of the info seemed a little off to me. That said, I found the chart on the glycemic index very helpful from that book. A book that I found much more useful was Bigger Leaner Stronger (for men), and it's counterpart Thinner Leaner Stronger (for women). I've read all of the former and about half of the latter. The book isn't entirely dedicated to nutrition, but a good chunk of it is, and the material seems well researched and grounded. The author spends time breaking down calories and the three macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fat, for the unitiated). And he also writes about micronutrients. The book has advice on how these play a role in the fitness-minded person, how to set goals for the person cutting, bulking, or maintaining, and when and how one should turn to supplements (less than you might think). I haven't read scads of books on nutrition, but I'm happy with the stuff by Mike Matthews. Salesy-sounding chapter headings aside, my BS detector didn't go off. =]

Welcome, Jayden. It's good to be pursing goals again, isn't it? What kind of information and advice are you looking for?

I've very interested! Thanks for writing. I appreciate the detail in your post, and I admire your goals and your dedication. I think we could get along famously. I felt very knowledgeable 18 months ago. And I felt hopelessly lost two weeks ago. But as I've been brushing up on my research, a lot of things have been coming back to me. I would be very happy to share what I know and to help educate you in any areas I have more knowledge than you. But there are many schools of thought, and I want to make space for the areas in which your approach may be different than mine. Education is a marvelous thing, but as you said, you've been reading and researching for months now. I'm sure there are areas you could educate me. But overall, I think communication and accountability is the most important thing, even more important than education and exactly aligned goals. On a separate page, I'm in a group with three other people. But the most recent any of them reported in was five days ago... Maybe they gave up, maybe they forgot the online portion, or maybe they're just busy. Are you more interested in joining that group or communicating with me privately one-on-one?

Oh! I almost forgot my progress graphs! Weight loss is proceeding well. The bump in the middle was challenging, but I pushed through it to set a new low. As of this morning, I'm down just over 10 lbs. It looks like six of those pounds are from fat, and four from muscle. Burning any muscle is unfortunate. But I also know there is a margin for error with my scale measuring my body fat. For what it's worth, my chest and my arms feel firmer than when I began. I'm doing okay with the diet, but I'm behind with the exercising. I got a late start, and I took a long weekend off of exercising. I can definitely increase the number of days I do cardio, but I'm worried about doing weights two or three days back-to-back. If I choose to do that, I'll have to avoid working out the same muscles twice. I spent three full days putting together my home office, but it's still not there. Two or three days to go, I think. But I'll finish it before the end of the challenge, certainly. I think I mentioned I got my diet figured out, calories and macros. I have not yet done sufficient research on workout programs. A few of you have helpfully offered me suggestions, and I plan to follow them up. Thanks for everyone commenting and encouraging me! I really appreciate it!

Wow, time for an update. My cheat meal finally happened on Monday. We went out for sushi, and I wet the swab with a pair of cocktails. I left full, but not stuffed as I so enjoy to be. Curiously, my weight stayed the same Tuesday morning, but went up Wednesday morning. It wasn't until Thursday morning that it finally passed below Monday. Enjoyable though the meal was, I'm wondering if cheat meals are a good decision if each sets me back three days. Otherwise, my diet has been super good, staying under calorie, and meeting my macros almost exactly. Getting enough protein is always a challenge, though: So I've been hitting the protein shakes pretty hard. Usually two servings in the morning and two at night. But if my diet gets a little wonky because I'm trying to squeeze in something high fat and high carb, I have to take even more. As for exercising, I've been sort of creating my own program at the gym. Out of laziness to research a real program. But even though I don't have a power cage, I believe in the rationale behind StrongLifts, so I'm lifting heavy for 5 sets of 5 reps. Compound if possible, isolation if not. Weights every other day. I was sore for five days after exercising abs in longer than I can remember. I've largely been ignoring legs for now. I want to do squats and deadlifts for those. I might be able to work out deadlifts robbing the bench of its bar, though. But for now, I'm tempted to skip leg day until they re-do the gym at my apartment complex (3-4 months, they said). I hate cardio. But I do want to burn some extra calories between lifting days, and to help my muscles recover faster. Part of my challenge is 20 minutes 3x a week. I'm just dying on the treadmill compared to what I used to be able to do (not that I was ever great). I'm not sure how much is my current lack of fitness and how much is due to living about a mile further above sea level than I used to. I'm doing my best to push through it. I'll keep working. Gotta keep working. My fiance and have conversations like this more than I want to admit:

It's been awfully quiet around here lately. I trust you three are well? I do hope to read a zealously written report from each of you noting how you've been industriously sticking to your goals.

I inherited Santa's surveillance system when he retired: Congratulations on your veggie progress. That's a mighty goal I haven't been willing to take on.

Group questions! 1) What do you want, and how are you going to get it? 2) What's your nerd-fix? 3) Are you interested in this group's accountability for creative pursuits as well? 4) What makes you feel motivated and energized to change? 5) What's one thing you've already learned since the challenge has begun? Go! - - - - - 1) What do you want, and how are you going to get it? I'm not going to lie, vanity is a big part of it. I want to look attractive. I want to feel I look good in most clothes. I want the confidence I've briefly felt the times of my life I've been closest to this. It'd be super cool to achieve 10% body fat, but that's very optimistic. 15% is more realistic, though even 20% would be a definite change. Also, I suspect a part of my success breaking into my hopeful career will be tied to my appearance. If attractiveness makes me marketable and attractiveness is something I can largely earn, why not? What works for me is eating foods I like, just in smaller portions. I'm a carnivore, I like deserts, I like things salty, and I love most any Asian seasonings. I like the science and facts that go into a macro-tracking diet, so that's what I'm doing. And heavy weights seem to be the exercise I'm least allergic to. I would love to get back to StrongLifts if my gym had a power cage. Supposedly it's being remodeled this year. 2) What's your nerd-fix? Star Wars is my favorite. I know a lot of the movies are a little cheesy or very cheesy, but there's something to it. And the life and vitality outside of the main characters, even outside the timeline of the popular stories, is just fantastic. Lord of the Rings is great. I'm working my way through Game of Thrones and dabble in others. DC over Marvel. I'm a mildly active PC gamer, I absorb audiobooks through osmosis, I love discovering new music, and I'm a sucker for good stereos. And if we're branching wide, I'm a bit of a foodie, a bit of a rum enthusiast, and I enjoy occasionally cooking fancy meals. 3) Are you interested in this group's accountability for creative pursuits as well? I think it's really cool that we have a novelist and a screenwriter in the group. My pursuit is towards music. I'm not sure if my goals could be mapped to NF for accountability, but I'm willing to try if the rest of you guys are interested. 4) What makes you feel motivated and energized to change? The easiest way for me to get through something I don't like (a long drive, a sink full of dirty dishes, a big pile of laundry, a long workout) is to listen to an audiobook. My mind is captured by fiction and the task goes by much quicker. This is a staple for me. Outside of that, a lot of music inspires me, and hearing how people make music is super inspiring to me: it's a great push towards creating more myself. And listening to podcasts or audiobooks on topics like motivation, drive, and time management really seem to spur me onward towards anything. I know this so deeply that I now procrastinate by choosing not to listen to material like this. I'm hoping to change that. Just get stuff done, and tap into what helps me do it. You know? 5) What's one thing you've already learned since the challenge has begun? Yeah, yeah, I adore the feeling I get when I'm eating or drinking some succulent, unwholesome treat. And I actually enjoy that I'm-too-full-to-move feeling after a really big meal. How sick is that? But I learned this weekend that feeling full, feeling satiated, may actually be more important to me. Yesterday, I ate gloriously unhealthy food in small portions and was left wanting. Today, I ate healthier food in larger portions (same calories, more appropriate macros), and I feel happier and more full. This is a really new concept to me, but I'm going to see how it plays out.

LD, Mothma, Kaya: I'm glad to have you guys. We can do this. PM could work, though I might prefer email over that. Gmail makes it super easy to organize chains of replies, and it's handy to be able to see what you wrote that others are responding to. Thoughts? LD, is there a reason you're cutting out gluten? What is the driving motivation behind all of your goals, the reason you're on NerdFitness? Kaya, the comments during running must be tough. A lot of people don't realize that's sexual harassment. Sorry to hear about that. If running, a healthy pursuit, makes you feel good, I wholeheartedly encourage you not to ignore it as a pursuit.. Are there other areas of your life you find yourself self-sabotaging? Mothma, weight loss is a long road. And it can be so discouraging when food has become your solace on bad days. It certainly has been for me. But I know it can be done, and I know there's a lot of momentum involved that will make it easier to maintain than to get there. I'm getting through by making sure I don't feel too limited, too starved, too deprived. Dangerous question: what do you like to drink?

LD, I'm sorry to hear 2016 was filled with so much loss for you. It's incredible how much those things can affect the other aspects of your life, diet and fitness certainly included. I'm glad to see you're making goals, and I'm glad you're interested int he accountability group. Welcome to the fold.

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General update: This weekend was weird. I tried to have my cheat meal yesterday, and fiance encouraged me to spend it at Panda Express. I love good bad Chinese food, and it's probably what I've been craving most. I went there for lunch and loaded up a two entree platter with a side. But I put aside half of the noodles and rice to have with a later meal. I ended up staying within my calorie goal for the day. And while the orange chicken put me over the top for carbs, it was actually lower calorie than I would have guessed. My macros for the day were off, but not tremendously off. I couldn't call it a success day, but neither was it really a cheat meal. In the evening, I was super hungry. Eating no carbs for the rest of the day left me cranky. I guess eating stuff like that can leave you feeling empty, if you actually eat the recommended amount. Then surely today was going to be my cheat meal! Especially since I was having dinner with some new friends at the restaurant of their choice. But ... I ended up ordering off the low calorie menu and only consumed 660 calories including the beer I had. I was hungry not long after, and I made a beast of a sandwich that fit my calories and macros perfectly. Scarfed it down with several pickles. Did you know pickles are virtually calorie-free? So ... I don't know when I'm going to get my real cheat meal. Maybe tomorrow. But I've been a very good boy all weekend. And, though restaurants catch me in their tractor beams all the time, singing their siren songs, it's actually somewhat comforting to eat at home, knowing I'll feel full from a larger meal that I make myself since I can control what goes into it. And it really makes a difference. P.S. I've been taught to believe in "cheat meals", not "cheat days". A cheat meal can sometimes be accounted for in the same day, sometimes with the following day. But a cheat day tends to encourage one to cram in absolutely everything, undoing a week's work or more. Oh, and fiance says I'm looking a little thinner already. Hooray for only one week into dieting and fitness!

Mothma, Thanks for the message. No worries on choosing not to focus on macros at this time (or ever). Each person's goals are their own. I'm a little bit burned out on fitness and diet reading at the moment. But if things stall out, I'll give those book recommendations a try. I appreciate it. Nope, no exercise today. But tomorrow should find me back in the gym.

Kaya, what keeps you from running more often? Or more consistently? Do you have other fitness goals as well? I like to dream big, then break it down into small, actionable steps. Mothma, glad to have another Star Wars fan in the fold. =] I don't know how much weight you have to lose, but I have a lot to lose. Probably 45 lbs of fat. Overcoming addiction to sweets is not easy. Although I did find this article super helpful: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/robots/ I do try to think like a robot, to say that I'm not allowed to violate my programming. It's just not an option. That can help. Also, I drink sweet calorie-free beverages. I have slowly created a list of diet sodas that taste the least diet-y. Some people say this is still to b avoided, but it's definitely a step in the right direction. And I'm a fan of eating according to my macros. My goal is to eat 1780 calories every day, 40% of which come from protein, 30% come from carbs, and 30% come from fat. This keeps my portion size in check, but it also makes sure I have enough protein to build muscle, enough carbs to enjoy and to perform in workouts, and enough fat to keep my hormones running properly and my mood up. But I'm perfectly fine breaking the rules a bit, as long as it meets my macros. I've been working my way through a Costco box of chocolate chip cookies. And I want to see if I can work in Chinese food today. I'll probably have to have a small portion of Chinese food, and I'll probably have to eat very low fat the rest of the day, but I can do it. I don't know if macro counting is for you, but it's a good way to allow you to eat some of the sweets you like without eating too many. For both of you, if you haven't yet, I recommend building a challenge thread. We're almost a week in to the four week challenge. But better to start focusing now than wait until the next one, right? If you have created a challenge, link to it here, and probably put it in your signature too. If you need help creating a challenge, let me know. The short version of my story is that I went whole hog on dieting and working and out everything NerdFitness two years ago. In four months, I lost 30 lbs, I got stronger, and I learned a whole lot about the process behind these things. But ... I got lazy and stressed and gave up. Here I am again, fatter than ever, determined to do it again. But this time, I'm going to succeed. I look forward to hearing your stories.

Kaya, Mothma, welcome to the club! (Are those good names to call you?) What I'm envisioning, and you can help me sculpt this: - A small group that helps each other build goals - Celebrate successes - Encourage during the hard times - Check in most days (few or many words is up to you) - Know each other by sharing about ourselves - Have fun If you're comfortable, we can do this in an open thread, or keep it behind closed doors with personal messaging. Or emailing, even. What are your preferences?

Thanks so much, all three of you. I have a lot of links to follow up on. I'm not a Facebook user, but I'm considering it. I'll try to find a dumbbell routine, and I'll try out the apps you guys mentioned. Will post back.

I see a few groups with a purpose in here. But what about people just looking to give and receive accountability and encouragement? If you're interested, let's start something.

Thanks, Brodin. I appreciate the recommendations. I'll have to find out what the "major lifts" are to see if my gym can accommodate. If it doesn't, I guess I'll have to find another app. Progress report: I'm slightly behind the benchmark of time left in the challenge, but I did get a late start. I think I'll be fine. I've lost 8 lbs so far. But I'm sure a lot of that was beginner's bloat (from stuffing myself the last couple of days before starting). What's concerning to see is that a little over half of that weight loss came from losing muscle. I was aiming for 1300 calories for the first couple days, and that might be why. I'm starting to see why programs don't recommend more than a 15-20% calorie reduction. But also, I'm calculating this with the body fat measurement on my scale. I'm sure it's not as accurate as a BodPod, or the submersion method. My plan is to not sweat the details and day-to-day change, but to focus on the big picture. I'm sure the scale will be accurate enough to demonstrate a trend over a longer period of time. Also, I started loading creatine yesterday, which I hear does weird things to your water retention and weight for a while. But probably for the better, I think.

Thanks for the welcome and support, guys. I just finished my workout for the day. I've got my calories and macros dialed in. IIFYM kept preaching modest protein and super high carbs, but their calculator ended up giving me super low carbs. I don't trust it to be honest. I'm trying to figure out if their "blueprint" is worth the $47 it is sometimes marked down to. I went with the Bigger Leaner Stronger method. My daily calorie goal is 1770. And since I'm over 30% body fat, that puts my macros at 40% protein, 30% carbs, 30% fat. As for workout apps, two days ago I used Gym Buddy. It was very simple. It has sample exercises, but I create my own programs completely. Adding or subtracting weight is manual, not automatic. No timers. No routines built in to tell me what to do next. Today, I tried Workout Trainer. Free or Pro, you get a gajillion workouts. But they're all programmed routines of lifting a little bit of weight in very large sets, then immediately rushing to the next exercise, the next exercise, the next exercise. More like cardio than strength training, in my opinion. And the programs were either basics like planks, or expected me to have a power cage (which I really wish I had). I love the 5x5 app, but I can't use it without a power cage. I've been waiting for the Stacked app to come out for over two years. It's perpetually just on the verge of release for iOS, but it still isn't out, and I'm an Android user anyway. What do you guys use for apps?

I'm in. Do you guys have any suggestions? I have a million books in my pile, but I don't want to assume you guys have the same reading taste I do.