Frozen Gator

I have been away from NF challenges for several months and thought I would get back to it. Good to leap in the for the last couple weeks. Then hit the next challenge hard. Training for the Spartan Race on May 25th. The final 8 weeks of training. Down from 235 pounds on April 2012 to 204 pounds today. Now paleo completely; except for occasional chocolate binges, an adult beverage or two, and completely falling off the wagon with a pizza about every 4 weeks. Still about 12-14 pounds too heavy for my tastes. We are still snow covered, so it looks like more indoor training for the next two weeks. Then playground obstacles, outdoor trail running and getting some much needed sun--I am so pale as to be nearly transparent now. The treadmill and pull up tower in my basement are getting old. Here is today's morning workout. The running is at a 6.2mph pace at 2% incline. Walk 5 min Run 0.5 mi Burpees 30 Run 0.5 mi Pushups 30 Run 0.5 mi pullups 6 Run 0.5 mi Burpees 30 Run 0.5 mi Pushups 30 Run 0.5 mi Pullups 4 Walk 5 min

But with Shaun T., I can walk around the house after a successful workout and say, "Yo, that sh*t was bananas, yo." And irritate the entire family. With P90X, I worry that Tony's hair dye will run into his face and his spray-on tan will begin to drip. Checking in: 1. Whole 30 plan--day 4 was better. I need to lay off of the nuts. I am also a little bit light in the protein. IF status: 15 hours between last meal yesterday and 1st meal today. Fat 122.9g 53.1% Carbohydrates 130.1g 25% Protein 114.5g 22% Total calories: 2029 2. Insanity--cardio recovery (33 mins). A good workout for tired legs. 3. Ran 48 minutes this morning. Still a very slow run, but my sore feet and ankles are getting better. I prefer trail running, but the ground was frozen hard today and uneven--may as well have run in the street. 4. No chins today. Tomorrow is a big test. AM run and PM hard insanity with chin-ups. I am not sure if my body is improving, but I am definitely getting mentally tougher. I don't give up when things get hard (wimpiness is a big problem for me). So that is good. Mind leads and body will follow.

I did not think that the Whole 30 eating approach was too bad. No cravings, so far so good. But last night I dreamed of eating a pizza with a ninja in an old diner. We did not do or say anything, just ate. Damned ninja took the last slice. I guess that it is better to fall off the eating plan in dreams than in real life. I do not crave pizza now, but I am still upset at the pizza stealing ninja. Cut my thumb yesterday (not serious), so took the day off chin ups. But the run and Insanity were completed and showing improvement.

Welcome, fellow ranger. Excellent goals and great start. We are about the same build (I am shorter--5'11" and 213) with similar goals. I am also not much of a runner, but really enjoy the https://www.zombiesrungame.com/ (Note: I have no association with this business, except as a consumer). I take the dog, get engrossed in the story, and before you know it I have run 45 minutes. I am certain that I would not be a regular runner without some sort of game like this. Good luck.

Great start and a strong plan. I also hate running in the dark and prefer trail running to the road, but I am way too clumsy to try that without full light. Does anyone run with those headlamps? Does that work for lighting a trail? IDK.

Yeah, the Whole 30 folks don't seem to want folks obsessed with scales and measures. But I have "before" photos and a host of measures. Weight 213 and 24% body fat. Will post before and after photos at the end of the challenge--well...only if things are good. 1. Whole 30 plan--day 1 was good and comfortable. But not perfect--my daughter brought me a piece (about 1oz) of dark chocolate and I ate it. IF status: 16 hours between last meal yesterday and 1st meal today. 1698 calories 48.9% fat 22.9% carbs 28.2% protein That seems about right. But I am really going to miss dairy. 2. Insanity--plyometric cardio circuit. 41 minutes of sweating, panting joy. I am starting to hate Shaun T. 3. Ran 50 minutes this morning. But very slowly. Still have sore feet and ankles. 4. Chinups app done. Five sets 2/2/2/3/3/

I like the IF plan. I am finding the 14-16 hour fast very reasonable. The first two weeks have not been bad. I agree that the 24 hour fast was tough. The was fine with the fast, but then ate too much and felt sick for the rest of the day.

Such energy! Great goals and an exciting time of life. You are inspiring. I want to know about your playground activities. Have fun and get fit. I will be following your activities and hope to learn from you.

This is completely brilliant. Work the heavy bag, bench press heavy weights, chop wood, enjoy Iron Horse champagne and a fine beer, be loyal, treat your "Susan" like she deserves, and don't forget to take Pearl for a run. You will have some fun goals. Great job.

Emcee, welcome back to 6 more weeks of butt-kickery. I always find your posts inspiring and entertaining. Good luck!

Good goals and especially good luck at the dentist.

Wow. Tribal belly dancer and fire spinner?! That has to look awesome on a resume. Good luck and great goals!

Goals for November the 12th challenge: • Follow the Whole 30 diet program consistently and with one exception (vacation on December 22-27—my sister is a great cook). I use the LoseIt! website to record everything I eat (motto: if you bite it, then you must write it!). I have done my shopping for the week and tossed out the foods that are members of the evil league of evil. • Complete round two of the Insanity program (six weeks remaining) • Run four days per week using Zombie 5k training (it is way fun and the short runs are helping me to develop new muscles for barefoot running) • Continue Twenty Chin-ups iPhone app to completion (a great app) • Post diet and workout progress daily, and support my fellow rangers, on the NerdFitness community I am clearly stupid-reliant on my iPhone. Photos and measurements taken. Travel completed. Family support on board. And have the benefit of lessons learned and mistakes made from previous challenges. I have signed up for a 5k run in mid-February (my first) and am seriously thinking of training for the Spartan sprint race in Montreal taking place at the end of May. The latter is pretty hard core for an old guy. Much will depend on how this challenge goes. Thanks to the folks on this board--I am down 22 pounds over five months with a lot of muscle-mass gain. About halfway to my goal. Hoping to lose 12 pounds on this challenge, but the whole 30 program is not big on weigh ins and measures. I am just focusing on following the plan and will measure up at the end. Best of luck to all.

Thanks. I forgot my password and did not write it down. After 20-some guesses, I finally got it. Here is a picture of me in my NF Hoodie on the pier in Gdynia, Poland--that is the Baltic Sea. Great trip, much work done, and a good time was had by all. Doing the Zombies, Run! program in the morning with my dog. Really fun. And the NF body weight workout + the cardio abs workout from Insanity in the evening. a Current weight--214.5. Not bad considering the amount of beer, vodka, golabki, placki, and pierogies consumed. Now I need to get back to daily posting, food tracking, and having concrete goals. Trying intermittent fasting. The type I am using is reducing the eating window by not eating for 16 hours--from dinner to about 10:30 the next morning. Seems to be working for my wife. I am going to give it a week to see how things work. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5785[/ATTACH]

Travelling for the next 8 weeks. Goal: 5 workouts per week wherever I can get them--no excuses. In airports, hotel rooms, and at rest stops at home. Using the body weight workout, interspersed with Insanity workouts when I am home. Today's workout was Steve's hotel room workout. Tomorrow--a run along the wet and chilly Baltic Sea in Sopot, Poland. FYI--Poles seem to have no problem pointing and laughing at the dude wearing the Vibram five fingers. I have my nerd fitness hoodie with me--need to get some good photos. Diet: Gotta aim for 80% paleo. Not easy in a place known for pierogies , vodka, beer, and potato dishes. Tonight had a wonderful salmon, a green salad, and fruit--so it is possible. I still think I can lose weight on the road. Here is the effort. From an all-time high of 235 points. Now at 215.5. Goal 208 in six weeks. I will get more specific with goals after some thought and a more clear head.

Goal keeping: #1: Diet is good. Bringing it up to about 160 grams of protein. #2: Did the zombie app again this morning. Not really a big run, but a slow 4k in 29 mins. Of course some of that time was for picking up after my dog and butt sniffing with other dogs. Fun and low effort exercise. This evening is Insanity Max interval circuit. This one routinely kicks my butt. Result: 34 good minutes. But my left knee is a bit tender so I stopped early. #3: And today is a chin up day. Result: 2/3/2/2/2 #4: Flossed this morning.

Goal keeping: #1: My wife suggested that I was not eating enough calories and not getting enough protein. I have been eating about 110g of protein. My lean body mass is about 165. Need to get it up to about 165 grams of protein. Really not losing weight, but getting more fit. #2: Tough workout today. The very long max cardio conditioning--I am mentally ready. 59 minutes of Insanity. I am spent. I also did a nice 32 minute run with the dog this morning using the Zombie, run! app just for fun. And it was fun. #3: Off day for chin ups #4: Ugh. Forgot to floss this morning. Need to do that tonight.

Goal keeping: #1: staying primal. That is mostly paleo with some nice 0% fat Greek yogurt today. I am enjoying eating this way. #2: back to working out. I have been sidelined with Montreal's mutant ragweed. This stuff makes me a tired, whiny, slug. Going to overcome and not make excuses today. I spent yesterday putting together Ikea furniture for the new TV room--that must be something of a workout. For today: Insanity core cardio and balance. For tomorrow: zombie run app in the morning and Insanity cardio in the evening. #3: chin ups today. For today: 2/2/2/2/3 #4: flossed. This part of the challenge is a major win.

Goal keeping: #1: ate a little too much today, but stayed paleo #2: did the zombie run app with my dog this morning. It is silly fun. Probably not helpful for a serious runner--but works well for my daily 4 km walk/run with the dog. I am pretty we were eaten by zombies when she stopped to sniff another dog's butt. Tonight is a recovery day on insanity. Still a solid 34 min workout. Legs a little heavy from the morning run, but I got though it nicely. #3: Chin ups and pull ups are not easy. But I recommend the iphone 20 chinup app. Very nicely done. This is my favourite exercise right now. So I am going to keep going while it is fun. I am getting callouses from the chin-up bar. Doing five sets--2/2/2/2/3 reps. #4: Flossed after the zombie run.

Goal keeping: #1: Back on track. Good food day. There are far fewer temptations when you are working from home. #2: Yesterday's workout was a little weak. Let's see if today is better. #3: Today is supposed to be a rest day, but did 7 chinups when I walked the dog to the local park. #4: Flossed well. I downloaded the Zombie, Run iphone app just for fun. Tomorrow morning with the dog will be day one. I am not sure that a Brittany understands the value of escaping from zombies.

Goal keeping Back after a holiday break. #1: Staying paleo. Too many nuts. But today was very solid. Need to focus hard on the last few days of this challenge. I doubt that I will meet my weight goal, but should be close. #2: Last few weeks of Insanity. But I also went running with my dog. We do sprints on a local soccer pitch. Also did a few chin ups on the monkey bars at an adjacent park. Am moving toward a two-a-day workout schedule. Morning walk with sprints with dog and evening Insanity. #3: Did a few chin ups at the park. But that really doesn't count for much. Will focus energy on evening chin ups. #4: Flossing is almost a habit. I created a news spreadsheet this weekend to keep track of everything (workouts, diet, etc). Actually, it was mostly a good way to procrastinate--but the spreadsheet should be useful.

Goal keeping: #1: Good work at restaurant for lunch. Salmon and grilled veggies. Did not touch the pasta that came as a side dish, nor did I touch the bread. I am good when I think about it, but later I totally ruined the whole thing. I happened to have $2 in my pocket and picked up a candy bar at the train station without even thinking. Only when I was finished did I look at the wrapper and think--what did I just do? I certainly did not taste or enjoy the candy: completely mindless. New strategy--do not carry cash or ATM card unless I plan on using it. Make cheating difficult and effortful--amazing that I just learned this. #2: My body feels tired and a bit worn down. Going to try to tough out a workout. I think ragweed allergies are taking a toll. Okay. Finished a nice workout and feel a lot better when I finished than when I started--a very good sign. I am hoping that tomorrow is a good and long workout building on the success of today. #3: Chin up rest day. Much needed. #4: Flossed this morning. Looking forward to getting a little rest on Labour day weekend and then my sabbatical leave starts. Top goal--finishing the final two weeks of the challenge in style.

Goal keeping: #1: I have fallen off of the wagon a bit this week. Keeping track of food intake has not been good. I ate a candy bar today (too guilty to be satisfying) and had to try my daughter's paleo fudge (really good) and overate nuts. Sigh. It is a new day. Let's get back to it. #2: Still have a little back stiffness. Let's see how this workout goes. It is a max recovery workout, so it is slightly less difficult than the others. This was not easy. I got through it, but it was not pretty. #3: Chin up day. But today is a major increase in reps from 8 total to 11 total. Not sure if I can do it, but am ready for the challenge. Could only get up for 10 good chinups. I muffed the 11th. Still--good progress. I will repeat this workout until I can get 11 and move to the next level. #4: Did not floss. Wow. First time I have missed for a while. Just a little disappointed that I have lost ground after early success. There is still 2.5 weeks to right the ship and finish strong. Might try a fasting day on Saturday (my next scheduled rest day) to jump start things. Okay--less whining, more doing.

Taking a rest day. Back is still a bit tight. Should be ready to go for tomorrow's regularly scheduled workout. Challenge #3 Daily log I think I missed some food, because this is a very light and I was not hungry yesterday. Daily Log Calories Breakfast 359 Egg, Scrambled, Large 2 Each 204 Bacon, Cooked 3 Pieces 130 Onion, Green, Chopped 2 Tablespoons 2 Water, Tap 2 Cups 0 Strawberries, Whole 0.5 Cup 23 Lunch 474 Chili Con Carne, Fast Food 1.5 Cups 383 Raspberries 0.333 Cup 21 Nuts, Almonds, Whole 10 Each 69 Dinner 336 Lamb, New Zealand, Rib, Cooked 3 Ounces 289 Tomatoes, fresh, med 0.5 Each 11 Cauliflower, Cooked 1.25 Cups 36 Water, Tap 2 Cups 0 Snacks 196 Apple, Medium 1 Each 95 Water, Tap 4 Cups 0 Almond Butter 1 Tablespoon 101 Nutrient Summary % Calories Fat 79g 50.7% Saturated Fat 27g Carbohydrates 87g 24.8% Fiber 15g Protein 85g 24.4%

Goal keeping #1: Much better today (see below for the horrible diet day yesterday). Back on the paleo track. Replacing steak with lamb chops. #2: Need a good workout after an ugly one yesterday. Tomorrow is a rest day. My back tightened up a bit. I think I am going to stop at 20 minutes into the workout and try again tomorrow rather than take a rest day. But if I am sore or get worse, then I will take the rest day. Probably just a twinge, but I am going to be cautious. #3: Chin-ups are fun. Not really, but I am enjoying the progress. 2/2/1 pullup/1/2 #4: flossed. I feel like I have a cold coming on. Could be ragweed kicking in. Today's log looks like non-stop whining. Mini-challenge #3 daily food log (just too embarrassing to view) Breakfast 603 Egg, Scrambled, Large 2 Each 204 Bacon, Cooked 5 Pieces 216 Sugar, Granulated 1 Teaspoon 16 Syrup, chocolate 2 Tablespoons 109 Milk, nonfat/skim, w/add vit A & D 0.667 Cup 56 Coffee, Brewed 6 Fluid ounces 2 Water, Tap 2 Cups 0 Lunch 317 Strawberries, Whole 0.667 Cup 31 Chocolate, Squares, Dark Chocolate, 60% Cacao 2 Ounces 287 Dinner 434 Fish, Atlantic Salmon, Wild, Cooked 7 Ounces 361 Raspberries 0.333 Cup 21 Tomatoes, Cherry 6 Each 18 Asparagus, fresh 1.25 Cups 34 Snacks 520 Candy, Chocolate, w/ Peanuts 2 Ounces 293 Brownie 1 Each 227 Nutrient Summary % Calories Fat 95g 44.6% Saturated Fat 34g Carbohydrates 164g 34.2% Fiber 17g Protein 102g 21.2%