jstanlick: Lean Mass Quest Part 1

[jstanlick]

I got an email from a friend (he introduced me to home brewing some 13 years ago) and former co-worker (he's also smarter than me since he managed to escape). He's been trying to loose weight for years. We've texted/emailed back and forth, but I haven't seen him Easter time. He sends me this email (names have been edited) with the subject line 'Transformation':
 

So this is a little long for a text message. You and I have had some good conversions over the years about the trials and tribulations related to weight loss. Back in the middle of June, I went for a physical for the first time in about 8 years. My doctor was concerned because my cholesterol was borderline high, my blood pressure was borderline high, and I was pre-diabetic (borderline high blood sugar). Instead of medication, he wanted me to first try to lose some weight (Yeah, Right!). He asked me to try a low glycemic index diet (similar to Atkins or South Beach). This link (http://www.bodysculptorsinc.com/pdf/glycemic.pdf) points to the instructions he gave me. He said that I could eat anything in the first column plus eggs and nothing in the third column and he told me to move the Breads, Grains, and Pasta categories from the second column into the third column as well. I still drink diet soda throughout the day and I eat one sandwich ([employer]-provided) with wheat bread each week. 
 
I was convinced that it wouldn't work because I've hovered around 217 for about 2 years and haven't been able to lose anything no matter how hard I tried. Plus, I was sure that I would crave bread and pasta too much. This morning, after about 2 months, I was a little over 198. And because I am eating less processed sugar, I don't get hunger pangs every couple of hours like I used to. And the weird thing is that I don't crave anything that I can't have.
 
It definitely takes a whole lot more preparation to eat this way. The easy things to make and eat are all in the third column. Luckily, [wife] is also eating this way too.
 
I have to see the doctor in about a month to see if he will need to prescribe any medication but I am hopeful that things should be okay.
 
Take care,
K

 
I couldn't be happier for him! 20 pounds in 2 months is excellent progress. I picked up the phone and called him to tell him so. He said the only drawback was that he bought a bunch of new pants the week before he went to see the doctor. I hope its sustainable for him. He's a good guy and a better friend.

 

I find myself more motivated than ever to achieve my quest. But, I also find myself doubting my motivations. Is it because his success just has me fired up? Or is because I feel a need to compete with him? I gotta be honest, I think it's a bit of both. Which kinda makes me feel like a crappy friend instead of just being excited for him.

[cline]

You are not a crappy friend.  Your first reaction was joy.  Pure joy for him.  A second reaction of using it as motivation for you is good!  I bet he would love that.  We all need people to motivate us.

 

Sprint.

[AgentsSka]

KICK HIS ASS!

 

You got this!

 

 

 

 

..... ahem... uh, yeah... motivation and stuff.

[jstanlick]

You are not a crappy friend.  Your first reaction was joy.  Pure joy for him.  A second reaction of using it as motivation for you is good!  I bet he would love that.  We all need people to motivate us.

 

Sprint.

 

Good point. He's a former Marine, so motivation is kinda his thing

 

KICK HIS ASS!

 

You got this!

 

 

 

 

..... ahem... uh, yeah... motivation and stuff.

 

 

You guys are the bestest! Alright, time to sprint...

[jstanlick]

I'm off to coach baseball to 6 year-olds. But, the knee is feeling good so, we'll see what tonight's workout brings. More later!

[leighanne1941]

There you go, a whole bunch of stuff about me you didn't know or probably didn't even think was worth knowing.

 

 

Nope, all good stuff  But we still need a nickname for you :-p

 

You are not a crappy friend.  Your first reaction was joy.  Pure joy for him.  A second reaction of using it as motivation for you is good!  I bet he would love that.  We all need people to motivate us.

 

Sprint.

 Ditto this!

 

You hill looks a lot nicer than the hill I run.  My view is cars and more cars.  Oh but I do run by a cemetery LOL.  Hope the knee is feeling better!

[jstanlick]

Nope, all good stuff  But we still need a nickname for you :-p

Well, everyone in my family has been known to respond to "Stan". My dad's friend's used to call him Stan, my brother used to be Stan, my other brother used to be Stan, and I still have a few friends who call me Stan. Although, nobody ever called my sister Stan. She was "Stan's sister" 

Ditto this!

 

You hill looks a lot nicer than the hill I run.  My view is cars and more cars.  Oh but I do run by a cemetery LOL.  Hope the knee is feeling better!

Running by a cemetary adds to the coolness factor. Especially if you're using the Zombies app

[jstanlick]

While the knee felt better last night, it really wasn't digging any heavy squats or DL's. Lower weights were just fine. But, Friday and Saturday's workouts for those bodyparts called for high rep, low weights. So, I decided to skip the squats and instead of the DL's I grabbed a pood and did some RKBS (3x20) instead. It's not quite the same, but my knee didn't mind it and it was the only back exercise in the plan that I had to substitute (seated cable rows and 1 Arm DB Rows didn't need my legs). Plus, I got a bit of KB fix for the day

 

I decided to run a mile on the treadmill this morning on an incline to loosen up the legs since it was a tad stiff. Feels fine now with a good ROM. Glad this was such a minor setback.

 

Food update: Well, I ate some. It was not a bad day, but not a great day either. Carbs were about right for a day of lifting. Protein was 60 g too low. Fat was right on. Total calories were a little low. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn't what I targeted for a lifting day.

 

Life quest: Um, no update. No progress was made yesterday.

 

But, more importantly, our last night of baseball (did I mention we'll be on vacation next week ) was pretty good. I worked with half the team on batting while the other coach worked on throwing. Then we had our game. Everyone got a hit and the throws were more accurate. My son was pretty jacked because he finally had a hit that left the infield. Unfortunately, our team really needs to work on getting their gloves down to the ground. So many balls going between kid's legs. Oh well. They're only 6, and they had fun. As a coach, I'll take that and call it a win.

[cline]

Little league is awesome.  I'll bet your son was sooooo excited!!!

[jstanlick]

He was getting a little down on baseball lately because he was having a hard time making contact with the ball. The league had these professional coaches (instead of us volunteer coaches) come in the first 3 weeks and teach the kids batting, throwing and fielding. I think their methods would work well for high school kids. But, for 6 year olds, they aren't strong enough to hold the bat off their shoulders the way those guys were teaching it. So, I departed from everything those guys said to tell the kids last night and told the kids to keep their back elbow high. Which is what I was told as a kid, but these guys said not to teach that anymore. With their back elbow down, the bat tended to fall to their shoulder and then their swing looked more like someone swinging an axe or sledgehammer.

 

Truthfully, most of them took the coaches too literally and kept their elbow down and pinned to their side. When I told them to keep it up high, they all put their elbow about where the other coaches said it should be. Between that and getting them to square up to the plate properly, and they started making contact with the ball last night. It was great fun to see how happy they were.

[AgentsSka]

Baseball is hard.  My son had a similar feeling brewing because of lack of contact.  

 

But, his coaches weren't really working with them on hitting... or anything really.  They had 2-3 games a week and no practices... just the little warm-up sessions.

 

I was able to take him into a cage and pitch to him and identified three things right off the bat for him to correct.  He got two hits in the next game, and started feeling better.  It's amazing how that little bit of success can breed confidence.

[jstanlick]

It's amazing how that little bit of success can breed confidence.

 

That's true of a lot of things in life!

 

Next time you're in Wisconsin, you wanna help coach? I'll be honest, I've never been a great baseball player (soccer, basketball and swimming were more my thing) and I'm sure there are many, many people who could coach better than me. If I'm finding things to help someone with their swing, there's lots of things they're doing wrong. But, no one else would volunteer, so the kids have me and they seem to be having fun.

[AgentsSka]

At the age of 6 - having fun and getting some fundamentals are all that matters.

 

And believe me, the three things I found were super basic.  

 

Like, as the ball is coming towards him, he was looking down at the ground just prior to swinging.  No idea why.  Then, he'd look up and close his eyes before potential contact.  He had no freaking clue where the ball was.

[cline]

Fundamentals are key!  Elbow up is always what I was taught.  I think it works way better for kids.  It makes sense.  also I spent hours fielding fly balls, ground balls, and batting.  Just Dad and me. 

 

A good friend of mine was coaching his little boy's soccer team (about 5 year olds).  The team was still "swarm" playing - they'd all chase the ball all the time like a little hive of bees - no sense of position or passing or plays.  So that year was the World Cup and he taped a couple of matches.  And oh, the poor kids, he had them over for a pizza party at coach's house - YAY! - but then made them watch World Cup soccer and he kept pausing and doing slo mo to show the kids positions, set up, plays, etc.  FAIL!  The kids were so bummed and unhappy.  I think they made it about 15-20 mins.  It was a hilarious story. 

[jstanlick]

At the age of 6 - having fun and getting some fundamentals are all that matters.

 

And believe me, the three things I found were super basic.  

 

Like, as the ball is coming towards him, he was looking down at the ground just prior to swinging.  No idea why.  Then, he'd look up and close his eyes before potential contact.  He had no freaking clue where the ball was.

 

Ah, we have one kid on our team like that. He always closes his eyes as he's swinging. We started throwing pitches in rapid succession so he had to open his eyes or the next ball would already be gone. Last night, he kept his eyes open and had a monster hit.

 

Fundamentals are key!  Elbow up is always what I was taught.  I think it works way better for kids.  It makes sense.  also I spent hours fielding fly balls, ground balls, and batting.  Just Dad and me. 

 

A good friend of mine was coaching his little boy's soccer team (about 5 year olds).  The team was still "swarm" playing - they'd all chase the ball all the time like a little hive of bees - no sense of position or passing or plays.  So that year was the World Cup and he taped a couple of matches.  And oh, the poor kids, he had them over for a pizza party at coach's house - YAY! - but then made them watch World Cup soccer and he kept pausing and doing slo mo to show the kids positions, set up, plays, etc.  FAIL!  The kids were so bummed and unhappy.  I think they made it about 15-20 mins.  It was a hilarious story. 

 

It's not like we want the kids to have that up so far up its a weird angle or something. They just need it up high enough to get a solid, level swing.  Sounds like good times with your Dad. I told my son he could bring his bat and ball to the lake next week and he can try to hit past me. If he gets it past me, then Daddy's gotta swim to get it. He got this big grin on his face, turned to walk away and quietly whispered, "This is awesome." Ah, the little things.

 

As a former soccer player, ref and coach, (my turn to whisper) this story is AWESOME! I can just see it too. Best intentions in the world, but at that age, LOL! I love soccer, love watching soccer in person but I HATE watching it on TV. I can't imagine stopping it and slowing it down for 5 year-olds. Let 'em have some fun and in a couple of years there will be a few kids who start to get it. The rest will quickly fall in line. It's amazing how quickly they can learn from "doing" with each other rather than "listening" and attempting drills with the coach.

[cline]

Yeah, it was a funny story.  He meant so well and was sooooo excited by his plan.  BUT he's a nerdy computer science professor.  I suggested he let the kids run around in the street and block the street off and he'd be the coolest dad EVER.  LOL. 

[leighanne1941]

Well, everyone in my family has been known to respond to "Stan". My dad's friend's used to call him Stan, my brother used to be Stan, my other brother used to be Stan, and I still have a few friends who call me Stan. Although, nobody ever called my sister Stan. She was "Stan's sister" 

Running by a cemetary adds to the coolness factor. Especially if you're using the Zombies app

 

Well that's convenient, since I call you Stan in my head

 

While the knee felt better last night, it really wasn't digging any heavy squats or DL's. Lower weights were just fine. But, Friday and Saturday's workouts for those bodyparts called for high rep, low weights. So, I decided to skip the squats and instead of the DL's I grabbed a pood and did some RKBS (3x20) instead. It's not quite the same, but my knee didn't mind it and it was the only back exercise in the plan that I had to substitute (seated cable rows and 1 Arm DB Rows didn't need my legs). Plus, I got a bit of KB fix for the day

 

I decided to run a mile on the treadmill this morning on an incline to loosen up the legs since it was a tad stiff. Feels fine now with a good ROM. Glad this was such a minor setback.

 

Food update: Well, I ate some. It was not a bad day, but not a great day either. Carbs were about right for a day of lifting. Protein was 60 g too low. Fat was right on. Total calories were a little low. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn't what I targeted for a lifting day.

 

Life quest: Um, no update. No progress was made yesterday.

 

But, more importantly, our last night of baseball (did I mention we'll be on vacation next week ) was pretty good. I worked with half the team on batting while the other coach worked on throwing. Then we had our game. Everyone got a hit and the throws were more accurate. My son was pretty jacked because he finally had a hit that left the infield. Unfortunately, our team really needs to work on getting their gloves down to the ground. So many balls going between kid's legs. Oh well. They're only 6, and they had fun. As a coach, I'll take that and call it a win.

 

Yay for minimal knee pain!  And a KB fix

 

At the age of 6 - having fun and getting some fundamentals are all that matters.

 

 

So unbelievably true for all things 6 year olds are learning!

[jstanlick]

So, yesterday I already mentioned the workout and the incline running, what else? Took the whole family for a walk last night. Well, the kids all rode their bikes and the dog, my wife and I walked. Family walks used to be more quiet, relaxing and my wife and I could talk. Now, our talks are interrupted by shouts of, "Car!" and "<insert child name>! Get over to the side of the road! You were saying." Oh well. It was still better than doing the dishes or watching TV 

 

On the nutrition front, well, not so good. I got home yesterday, and I was starving cuz I worked through lunch, opened to cupboard and there was a Snickers bar sitting there staring me in the face. Well, that Snickers bar ain't in the cupboard anymore. Fortunately, by skipping lunch, my total calories were still in line. Unfortunately, the carbs and sugar were through the roof and the protein was way too low. The tricky part will be today. Since I juggled my workout/rest days today is the last rest day of the week, also making it 24 hour fast day. I'm a tad bit concerned that without more starchy carbs and protein to sustain me, we'll see if it's harder than usual today.

 

On the life quest front, yeah, no progress to report there either. So, basically, other than the workout yesterday was kind of a fail on the challenge front, but today is a new day.

[jstanlick]

Yeah, it was a funny story.  He meant so well and was sooooo excited by his plan.  BUT he's a nerdy computer science professor.  I suggested he let the kids run around in the street and block the street off and he'd be the coolest dad EVER.  LOL. 

 

Ha! As a kid we never waited for permission to play in the street or to get it blocked off. As a parent, my kids would be in sooooo much trouble if they did that. Funny how a change of perspective/responsibility can change your opinion on such things.

 

Well that's convenient, since I call you Stan in my head

 

 

Yay for minimal knee pain!  And a KB fix

 

 

So unbelievably true for all things 6 year olds are learning!

 

"Making things convenient" is my middle name. The other kids were rough on me growing up with that middle name 

 

I really like the KB. I think I'll take mine with me on vacation and use it in the early mornings while everyone else is sleeping. I'm thinking of something like, shuttle sprints on the beach out and back, KB swings, repeat. Or, swim to the raft and back, KB snatches of Goblet split squats (snatches and swimming might be too much shoulder work at once). Or some combination of all of the above. Should be some good times.

[AgentsSka]

Ha!  I just realized that the synchronicity is continuing... I'm heading out for vacation next week, as well.

 

Get out of my head!!!

[cline]

Ha! As a kid we never waited for permission to play in the street or to get it blocked off. As a parent, my kids would be in sooooo much trouble if they did that. Funny how a change of perspective/responsibility can change your opinion on such things.

 

Really?  I grew up playing in the street.  I also rode my bike everywhere (in the street) with no rules or concerns.  Dude, we even sledded down our street (steep hill) across another street and down into a ravine.  LOL.  I thought all kids played in the street.  I still even walk down the middle of my residential street now versus on sidewalks. 

 

And I'm confused about one thing on your walk:  why wasn't the dog on a bike, too?

 

[jstanlick]

Ha!  I just realized that the synchronicity is continuing... I'm heading out for vacation next week, as well.

 

Get out of my head!!!

 

LMAO! Well, you can always use it as a reason NOT to start a food log to break the cycle

 

Really?  I grew up playing in the street.  I also rode my bike everywhere (in the street) with no rules or concerns.  Dude, we even sledded down our street (steep hill) across another street and down into a ravine.  LOL.  I thought all kids played in the street.  I still even walk down the middle of my residential street now versus on sidewalks. 

 

And I'm confused about one thing on your walk:  why wasn't the dog on a bike, too?

 

 

We used to play in the street all the time and I almost got run over numerous times (especially on my bike). But, I'm not letting my kids do that.

 

Our dog is old, so we took away the keys to his bike.

[cline]

Our dog is old, so we took away the keys to his bike.

 

awwww... poor guy.  He probably misses his freedom....

[AgentsSka]

LMAO! Well, you can always use it as a reason NOT to start a food log to break the cycle

 

Curious.  What are you aiming for re: Protein?

[jstanlick]

awwww... poor guy.  He probably misses his freedom....

 

Nah, it's much harder to mark all the fire hydrants from the bike.

 

Curious.  What are you aiming for re: Protein?

 

Since my goal is to add lean muscle mass, I'm using the time honored goal of having the protein in grams to match my weight in pounds. Or at least be close. Last weigh in was 211 pounds. So far 150 g has been hard enough to come by. So, when I get to that mark, it's a decent day.