Journey to reclaim the depths of Moria

[Juni0r83]

This is to serve as my daily diary as I make myself battle ready to reclaim the depths of Moria from the creatures that now dwell there.

A few starting figures:

I'm 178cm (about 5'10") and weighed in this morning at 138.4kg, so morbidly obese. I'm also weak and feeble. And the main reason I describe myself as a dwarf is a naturally stocky build and short stumpy legs (as well as a fondness for single malt scotch and naturally brewed ales).

So I have to make myself combat ready. I will be doing this to start with by completing almost entirely bodyweight workouts, then transitioning this into gymnastics training combined with lifting heavy. ill have to pay for a gym membership to get the lifting done though.

First step for now though: 1unassisted pull-up and 1 unassisted chin-up.

Day one of this quest has good reasonably well, I kept my diet clean (so far) and I managed to complete my first basic bodyweight workout. All I have to say about that is: I hate lunges. That and Steve is clearly a sick sick man to come up with that workout.

Tomorrow is a cardio day. Have to figure out what that means on nightshift, but I'll see how it works out.

[Juni0r83]

Day 2:

I continued to eat right, and managed to control my hunger by drinking a 750ml bottle of water everytime I started to feel hungry. And only if I was still hungry after I finished the water would I have something to eat.

My daily menu consists of dinner first (I'm on nightshift so I don't wake up till late anyway) which was seasoned chicken breast, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and 1 large potato diced and cooked in a pan with a little olive oil then seasoned the way as the chicken. Tasty and satisfying.

That was followed by what most would call morning tea (around 10is at night I guess) when I had a protein shake. I wouldn't ordinarily consume protein shakes, because I like to eat, but my wife and I are on the same diet, and I need to eat more to maintain energy levels (being somewhat bigger and also male). So I'm making up the difference with 1 protein shake each day. Not too many more calories but enough that it should prevent my body going into famine mode.

Then lunch was 95g of tuba mixed with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on a tortilla with sliced cucumber, baby spinach and 2 tablespoons of salsa for a dressing. This wrap is a problem for me because I really hate tuna. I'm only eating it because my wife and I are also trying to get our finances in order and this makes for a healthy, cheap and quick (ish) meal for our lunches.

I also had a bowl of cereal with me in case I was hungry later in the night (which I wasn't in the end), but I was hungry when I went to bed. I need to keep reminding myself though that hunger isn't bad, in fact it's a normal part of being a healthy human being.

Anyway, I didn't do any exercise when I woke up this afternoon, but it doesn't make a failed day. My challenge requirements are 3 sessions of cardio a week and 3 sessions of bodyweight training. I still have 5 more days to get 5 more training sessions in. Not a problem (gulp!).

So that was my day two (with day 1's nutrition info, but hey, nobody's perfect)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

So I made it through my second nightshift, and I ate all okay. The only difference to last night was that I ate my cereal instead of drinking my protein shake. I tried mixing the protein with water instead of milk to lean down my eating a little more. But, doesn't taste very good, so better luck next time.

On a side note, my quads are killing me. They were last time I did the basic bodyweight workout too. Hopefully it will be fit to complete it again today when I wake up but I'll have to wait and see.

Until next time...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

So, a day after my nightshifts isn't really a day at all. Which I suppose isn't surprising considering I sleep for at least half of it. But, here is my dinner:

It's chicken and stir fry vegetables on a small bed of perk barley. Yum!

Anyway, BBWW tonight and that's another day of targets hit, so awesome!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Stonie]

You sound like your sticking to it fantastically! It's nice that you're doing this with your wife as well, the support helps immensely

Tuna isn't my thing either, good work for eating it despite that! Bahahahaha.

[Juni0r83]

You sound like your sticking to it fantastically! It's nice that you're doing this with your wife as well, the support helps immensely

Tuna isn't my thing either, good work for eating it despite that! Bahahahaha.

It seems easy to stick to the diet at work, but I'm now on days off, and convenience and the like is taking over. It's become a real problem. The only good thing is that I've stuck with the exercise routine and managed all of my workouts since the skipped cardio on Tuesday.

I'll post a more complete update in a little bit, but yeah, it's been harder than I thought it would be.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

So, yesterday didn't really equal progress. I slept too late to eat breakfast. Then used the rest of the day as a breakout day for my diet and took my niece and nephew to McDonald's (a tradition for us every time they visit my parents). And then did the whole pizza and a movie with my wife in the evening.

I did however go for my walk after the movie was over, and also started experimenting with resistance band assisted pull-ups. That really did go so well. But what warrior training would be complete without some sort of war wounds?

Anyway, today is a new day, and its BBWW day (with assisted pull-ups instead of dumbbell rows with my 18kg dumbbell) so onward and (hopefully) upward.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

I've been a bit slack on posting updates over the last two days. But then, I've also been slack on doing the work. I went for a walk yesterday, but apart from breakfast I didn't eat well.

Friday I ate well, but didn't do my bbww like I was supposed to, so it's been a bit of a mixed bag.

Anyway, I don't intend to make any excuses for my actions, just simply own my decisions and make better ones tomorrow.

End of the week is coming up and that means stepping back on the scales. I'm a little nervous about that but whatever result I get, I did that. If I gain, it's because I didn't eat right and didn't work out enough. If I lose, it's because I did enough of the good things and earned that result.

I'm going to finish with an idea I've been thinking about since catching onto this whole level up your life concept:

The things I did yesterday shaped who I am today. The things I do today shape who I will be tomorrow. So I had better make the most of it!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

So I did the whole "outside having fun" version of exercise. And I didn't sleep to well last night so right now I'm shattered. I ate pretty well, and even though I had dinner out with my parents, the only unhealthy thing about my meal was the smallish serve of rice. So, yeah, pretty good overall.

I really feel the need to get stuck back into my workout routine. And I'm hoping he upcoming week at work will help get me back on track.

Well, I'm thinking sleep is more important than updating this thread so thats all she wrote for now.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

So, I've now finished a week of my first challenge, and starting to feel the grind factor. 5 weeks of this challenge to go and I'm concerned about how I'll go toward the end.

Anyway, I posted a week wrap up on my challenge thread (a link can be found in my signature if you're interested), and overall I'm reasonably happy with my progress. I would like to lose a little more weight, but I think that'll come with time (increased muscle mass should give me a higher BMR, and my diet should begin to lean down as I get more accustomed to it).

As for day 1 of week 2 (day 8), I are well (all four meals) and I went for a walk. I was supposed to do the BBWW, seeing as it was Monday, but all is not lost. If i complete it today, I can still manage three bodyweight workouts this week. Just can't let myself be lazy again is all.

The further into this thing i get the more in seeing the advantages of pre prepared foods. A pre cooked batch of chicken could provide my wife and I with three or more meals in a week. The only problem is we don't own a microwave. I'm thinking I'm going to have to rectify that before the end of the workout. It should help on those busier evenings when I almost seem to have to choose between eating healthy and working out. This is especially true on days when I work dayshift. As a 12 hour shift worker, time becomes a precious commodity once I get home, and I can never seem to be able to drag myself out of bed early enough to workout before work (I'm generally out the door by 6:30 in the morning). Anyway, I think I've rambled enough for one day, so I'll come back tomorrow before spewing forth another stream of nonsensical consciousness.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[citizenkade]

Ah, the old Battle of the Resistance Band! You've got good spirit, my friend! Keep kicking butt!

[Juni0r83]

My first bbww of the week didn't really go as well as planned. I felt weak and feeble throughout the entire workout, and although I feel fit enough to finish these days (an improvement on last week) I'm struggling with the strength factors. I'm not sure if it's because I haven't done this workout in nearly a week (missed last Friday and swapped around my first one for a cardio day on Monday), or the fact that currently south australia has been temporarily relocated to the surface of the sun, and I haven't upped my water intake to compensate.

Worse news is I tried another technique with the resistance band that had my feet in the ankle holds instead of across the band itself (to prevent it coming out from under my feet like last time). Only problem is I could hear the Velcro coming undone under the tension and my added weight. On top of that although the weight I previously listed is technically enough for me to do assisted pull-ups with, I could only manage 2. And so I also increased the amount of assistance I used get through my sets, and yeah, it still burned anyway.

But at least the day was ticks all round, with me sticking to my diet, and managing to get my workout done. It's looking like it might be a good week for my overall score, I was just hoping to feel a little stronger this time around.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

Ah, the old Battle of the Resistance Band! You've got good spirit, my friend! Keep kicking butt!

Thanks kade, you make getting hit by a resistance band sound almost common enough to patch up my shattered ego!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stonie]

Oh man, you're in SA? That sucks Don't dehydrate yourself (as someone mentioned to me yesterday.) or you'll end up getting really sick. Not fun. Take it easy when it's hot, but keep your diet in check and your progress shouldn't slip.

Stay safe!

[Juni0r83]

Oh man, you're in SA? That sucks Don't dehydrate yourself (as someone mentioned to me yesterday.) or you'll end up getting really sick. Not fun. Take it easy when it's hot, but keep your diet in check and your progress shouldn't slip.

Stay safe!

Yeah Teagarden, I'm in SA. Where abouts in our wide and varied nation do you find yourself?

[Juni0r83]

Its been a strange day for me today. I was so certain that I would get up, workout, eat a healthy dinner with my wife, and then make the soul crushing journey to work and stumble through my last shift for the week.

I just re-read that sentence and realised it makes no sense unless you know I'm currently in night shift. So, there's that piece of information.

Instead, my wife woke me up to tell me that she had been asked if she would be available to go up to a fire ground (we're St. John first aid volunteers, so it happens every summer). We discussed it, and as she was a last resort and I was on night shift anyway, why not? It's not like we would be missing up on heaps of time together or anything.

Then reality set in. No dinner because we were running around getting her sorted out. No workout for the same reason too. Then I was waving good bye to her while trying to get ready for work myself. The good part is my inches are all pre-prepared so I can still eat healthy at work. And we used one of our breakout meals for dinner, so even that isn't going to affect our score for the week.

But I got to work and decided I wasn't going to let a brushfire in ceduna affect my workout schedule (even if it is going to affect my wife's). I must admit, I never really appreciated the whole "bodyweight let's you workout anywhere, and with anything" before now. But using an 11litre bottle meant for a water-cooler as a dumbbell I was able to get in my workout with only the dumbbell rows being of lower intensity than normal (I've moved onto assisted pull-ups after all).

2 things came out of working out at work. Firstly: I never before realised how much time I wasted with my wife while working out. The BBWW normally takes us around 45 minutes including warmup and cool down/stretching. Instead I was only 35 minutes from start to finish. And it's not like we have to share equipment or anything.

Secondly: working out on your own is awfully lonely. I mean, I got to push myself at ,y level rather than slow down and push my wife along with me, but still, I really missed having her there to talk to and congratulate, and share achievements with. Is it like this for anyone else, or just me? I always knew that eventually our workouts would go in separate directions, especially seeing as we have different goals, I just didn't realise I would wish she was here with me working out at my side so much.

Anyway, I think I've been melancholy enough for one night. Have a good workout everyone, and I'll post again tomorrow.

[Stonie]

Yeah Teagarden, I'm in SA. Where abouts in our wide and varied nation do you find yourself?

 

 South WA, away from the fires thankfully. Still hotter then usual and driving us all mad, but we're definitely not on the surface of the sun It was almost 40 degrees yesterday and then today it rained. Talk about varied! Bahaha. 

[Juni0r83]

South WA, away from the fires thankfully. Still hotter then usual and driving us all mad, but we're definitely not on the surface of the sun It was almost 40 degrees yesterday and then today it rained. Talk about varied! Bahaha.

Yeah, it was 40 something here the other day, and we got an actual lightning storm with warm rain (only about 6mm I think, but still). And today it got to 44.1. I would like to say thats really hot, but really, its been hotter, and probably will be again next week.

[Juni0r83]

okay, first day off from work - could have been worse.

 

I didn't eat all day (except for my cup of diced fruit at 4 in the morning, a staple for all night shifts and required to get me home alive). Then for dinner, we had our last break out meal of the week. Pizza and cider are always a welcome change from my healthy eating habits. I only had a couple, so it shouldn't affect my workout tomorrow (like drinking heavily has in the past). 

 

I also managed to complete my workout, despite the monsoon like lightning storm that swooped in as evening fell. I hung out at my parents place because they're out of town and have a pool (it peaked at around 44 C again today), and they have a treadmill. So, I walked my usual 4km on the treadmill instead. And I couldn't believe how much harder it was to actually finish my workout on a treadmill. Just getting out and going for a walk, even just walking the same route I always do, is way easier than trying to stay on a treadmill for 45 minutes. I tried moving it so I could see the tv and putting a movie on (I wouldn't even know whats on tv, as I don't own an aerial and can't be bothered scanning through all of the channels to find something I would actually like to watch), but that didn't help. In the end I had to get my wife to sit near me and talk to me for the remainder of my time, otherwise I would have just gone completely crazy. Plus we didn't realise that my dad leaves it on an elevation near its maximum, so it made my calves burn (which is good i suppose, nothing else i've done so far has made them burn like that).

 

So another day down, and provided I can stick to my diet, and get another BBWW in as well as another walk by monday morning, I'll finish the week with all A's! Lets hope I can stick to it.

[Juni0r83]

So, today is the last day of the week, and once again, I've missed a BBWW. We were supposed to do it yesterday, but my wife thought it would be a good idea to invite some friends over in the evening and have a few drinks, and maybe a swim in the pool (my parents were out of town, so we used there place, I'm not rich enough to have my own pool just yet). The only problem was i thought I would kill my afternoon playing WoW, and before I knew it, it was quarter past 7, and our friends were on there way around. I really am going to have to remember to get my workout over and done with much earlier in the day when I have days off.

There is a success story buried in here though, I did control my diet, even if I did drink a lot more than I should have. We ate a Thai steak salad for dinner, and no snack foods. The wife did have some buttered microwave popcorn, but I refrained, and or tht I am quite proud of myself (even if I am feeling guilty about caving o my wife about drinking another weekend!)

Anyway, cardio day today, shouldn't be a problem, but the day after a night of drinking? Food choices will become the telling factor I believe.

[Juni0r83]

Two big wins for today! It was weigh in day, and I've lost 3 kg this week! After last weeks 0.7 kg loss, I really needed that boost. Second big win: 10 push-ups from my toes instead of my knees. So I have officially graduated up to proper push-ups. Huge win for me. Now just to work on that whole pull-up thing.

On that issue, I'm still having technical difficulty when it comes to managing the resistance bands, but I came up with an idea today that should make it work. I'm going to talk to my mum (read complete sewing genius) about putting something together that hound allow me to permanently graduate up to assisted pull-ups. I'll post something once my solution is in place, should e good!

On the diet front, my wife purchased ice-creams (paddle pops) over the weekend, and now I have that temptation in the house again. So needless to say that until they're gone, I won't be having healthy snacks. But that's my fault, not hers. Other than that, it's all win! Healthy meals all round.

[Stonie]

Squee! Congrats on the weight loss! Damn them icecreams, I know how you feel. It seems like a waste to have them sitting there... Staring at you... Not being eaten. Gaah!

[Juni0r83]

I think it's been a couple of days since my last update, so please forgive me if I miss some details.

My diet had been pretty well a write off the last day or so, but once I sat back and broke it into individual meals, it works out that I'm only 1 poor choice snack over my weekly budget if 1 poor choice meal per meal type per week. And the icecreams are now all gone so as long as I don't binge on anything I think I'll be okay.

I've managed my workouts so far this week, and I can feel the BBWW getting ever so slightly easy as I continue to progress. My muscles still burn every time though. But at some point I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and start carrying weight when I do my squats and lunges, or else I'm not really making any progress am I?

I was planning on starting to use a running trainer last night (0-5km) but a combination of factors got in my way. In the end however, I found an excuse and didn't do it. I still went for my 4km walk, but yeah, it was still an excuse

My wife has gone off to volunteer at another bushfire, so I find myself having to workout on my own again. The walk wasn't quite as lonely as the BBWW was last week, but that's because I've gone out on my own before, it's just par for the course as far as I'm concerned these days. She'll be gone for 2 days however, so I'll be on my own again tonight for my BBWW anyway. I'll just have to find a way to push through and get it done.

On a side note, I can feel my creative side beginning to stir once again, and I'm thinking I need to get back into writing. Not sure what I really want to write just yet, but I'm sure at some point it will begin to consume vast amounts of my time. Mustn't let it get out of hand again.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Juni0r83]

Once again I find myself only updating this log every couple of days. I really am going to need to be more disciplined with myself if I intend to use this as a proper journal of my path from fat to fit.

Anyway, my wife came home for a grand total of 36 hours before shooting off again to Port Lincoln for further volunteer work. And on Triple J's hottest 100 weekend too. How inconsiderate. Not really, seeing as I'm on nightshift all weekend, but I am feeling rather indignant at the moment about how little time we are getting to spend together. I am a little proud of her though. We packed all her lunches to go off to the bushfire, and she actually managed to stick to eating only her packed food, and not snacking on the cakes and biscuits that were available all day long. Now if I could only manage to get her motivated enough to do her workouts while she was away she would be on a complete winner.

As for me, I've been really good on my workouts, completing my 3rd BBWW for the week (yep, 3 in a week, there's a first time for everything!) What's more, I managed to complete it in only 28 minutes. It's not like I was trying to set a record or anything. I just realised at the end that I had only started 28 minutes earlier. It was kind of encouraging at the time, and almost gave me a second wind.

My diet has been slightly less spectacular. I've dropped another two snacks, and another dinner as far as healthy choices. The snacks I have no excuse for, but the dinner was because I was all ready to cook myself something chickeny, and the chicken had gone bad. To be fair, we had defrosted it several days earlier, and just hadn't had a chance to cook it with everything else in our life that was getting in the way. So I took it out of the fridge, cut open the package, and instantly got that sour smell of bad chicken meat. Considering I had just finished my workout, it was enough to make my stomach turn. Anyway, I couldn't be bothered sorting anything else out, so I just went and bought some takeaway. Which I regretted. It was entirely unsatisfying and not very tasty. I still crave the soft drink though. Everytime I think I've kicked that addiction, I have another small serving and instantly I'm craving huge cups full of coke-a-cola again. Maybe I'll never really reform from being addicted to soft drink, but I really do hope that at some point in the future I get to once again enjoy it in moderation.

I'd like to point out as a seperate issue however that I don't normally spend this much time at home without my wife. In fact, we are normally nigh on inseperable. And not having her around is absolutely driving me crazy. In the past when she has spent time away, she's had to have friends of ours drop in when I'm home to make sure that I'm actually still functioning on a human level because I tend to just sloth on the couch and eat way too much takeaway whenever left to my own devices. Lets hope I dont begin to descend once again into those habits.

As for what's coming up this weekend with me once again on my own (sooner or later I'm going to start thinking I'm single again). Well, I've precooked all of my food for the weekend, and seeing as it is Australia Day weekend (or as I prefer to call it Triple J's hottest 100 weekend), I've decided to eat something slightly patriotic. I've precooked a heap of barbeque food. Specifically enough sausages for 2 per night, enough small lamb chops for 1 per night, enough small steaks for 1 per night, and enough chopped onion for a small serve per night. Ontop of that I've gotten myself a small container of coleslaw and a small container of potatoe salad, of which I am allowing myself a small spoon per night. Then I have a huge garden salad which I'm having without dressing as my vegetable green stuff. I'm actually getting excited about this weekends food. Not really sure why. Apart from the meat you wouldn't have caught me dead eating any of the healthy stuff before this challenge started. One other thing was that I am planning on letting myself drink 200ml of pineapple juice on Australia Day itself (the 26th for those not associated with the great land down under). I would make that a beer, but I'm working nightshift all weekend, and my job requires that I have a zero blood alcohol level.

Anyway, I think I've rambled for long enough about my own life, how's everyone elses going?

[Stonie]

I feel for you about not getting to see your wife; I get the middle of the week off and my Love and all my friends and family are at work so I'm stuck at home with just my mind and my dog. Your wife sounds like an amazing person though; volunteering for all those fires and working out with you; what a legend!

 

My Love and I are going out camping for this weekend with my family! I'll probably forget to listen to the H100 after having to hear about it for months on end. Work tried to get me in but in true Aussie fashion I told 'em to stick it. I already had plans, they can't throw that on me the day before.

 

It's weird how your body reacts to junk food after you start eating properly hey? Your brain goes into it thinking "This is going to be such a treat!" Then you finish it and it's just not the same! Commit that to memory next time you think you need takeout!