Urgan Shapes Up

[Urgan]

My first real challenge thread! Movin' on up, guys. So let's get right to it. 

 

I have an overarching main quest that each challenge will only serve to promote. You can easily track my progress in my sig but recorded here for posterity:

 

Deadlift - 200 lbs

Squat - 200 lbs

BP - 125 lbs

OHP - 125 90 lbs (On further reflection this may have been an impossible goal, adjusted for reality)

 

The Deadline is August 30th 2015.

 

Starting Stats

 

Body weight: 102.8 lbs

Height: 5'1''

Hips: 32"

Waist: 23"

Neck: 11.5"

 

+_+_+_+_+_++_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+

 

Strength Up (STR+ 4 @ 75%)

 

Deadlift - 95 > 120 lbs

Squat    - 90 > 105 lbs

BP         - 50 > 75 lbs

OHP     -  40 > 50 lbs

 

Details of my workouts will be recorded in the battle log to keep that all in one place

 

Vitality Up (CON+ 2, WIS+1 @ 75%)

 

1. Keep track of my daily intake of food and water for informational purposes.  I'm of a maintenance mindset when it comes to nutrition. No calorie limitations. HOWEVER:

    i. NO soda, per the Soda PVP challenge. Zip, zero, nada.

    ii. No french fries, minimal fried foods (basically, fast food is almost entirely banned)

    iii. Minimum 8 cups of dihydrogen monoxide per day.

 

NOTE: I have been doing this already, but I need to improve. This is a Work In Progress.

 

2. I am a candy/chocolate monster. Limit my junk food habit to 5 pieces of fun size candy per day. Larger sizes of junk food such as a candy bar count as 2. Believe it or not this will be a reduction for me. When this becomes easier, I will tighten the loop.

 

3. Track the time I get in bed each night. FYI my alarm goes off at 5:30 AM on weekdays, I get up around 10-11 on weekends--yeah, I'm a lazy shapeshifter. Ideally, I would like to get in bed by 9:45 PM on weekdays, that seems best to keep the 2:30 slump at bay. 

 

Life Up (WIS+ 1, CHA+ 2 @ 90%)

 

1. Pay $1200 on debt - KILL IT WITH FIRE

 

2. Scoop the cat box daily, change the cat box weekly. No excuses. This is a big deal with 4 cats. 

 

3. For the love of all that is good, brush teeth! Embarrassingly, I have gotten sloppy about this at night. Considering my junk food intake, that's a bad combination. Fix.

 

I will post here and/or the battle log daily. Every week I will grade myself and the average of those grades determines point allotment at the end of the challenge.  

[Urgan]

Week 1

 

Strength Up -- A

Deadlifts -- 130/120

Squats -- 100/105 

BP -- 60/75

OHP -- 45/50

 

Vitality Up -- A

1. Fell short on water by 1 cup on 1 day - 95% 

2. Chocolate monster rehab - 100%

3. In bed by 9:45 on weekdays - 95%

 

Life Up -- A

1. Debt Reduction - $500/$1200 paid

2. Cat box maintenance - 100%

3. Dental care - 100%

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Week 2

 

Strength Up -- A

Deadlifts -- 130/120

Squats -- 100/105 

BP -- 60/75

OHP -- 45/50

 

Vitality Up -- A

1. Fell short on water by 1 cup on 1 day - 95% 

2. Chocolate monster rehab - 100%

3. In bed by 9:45 on weekdays - 100%

 

Life Up -- A

1. Debt Reduction, $500/$1200

2. Cat box maintenance - 100%

3. Dental care - 100%

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Week 3

 

Strength Up -- A

Deadlifts -- 135/120

Squats -- 105/105

BP -- 60/75

OHP -- 45/50 3 reps

 

Vitality Up -- A

1. Fell short on water by 1 cup on 1 day - 95% 

2. Chocolate monster rehab - 100%

3. In bed by 9:45 on weekdays - 100%

 

Life Up -- A

1. Debt Reduction, $500/$1200 

2. Cat box maintenance - 100%

3. Dental care - 100%

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Week 4

 

Strength Up -- A

Deadlifts -- 135/120 

Squats -- 105/105 

BP -- 60/75 

OHP -- 45/50 4 reps

 

Vitality Up -- A

1. Food and drink tracked - 100% 

2. Chocolate monster rehab - 100%

3. In bed by 9:45 on weekdays - 100%

 

Life Up -- A

1. Debt Reduction, $500/$1200 

2. Cat box maintenance - 100%

3. Dental care - 100%

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Week 5

 

Strength Up -- A

Deadlifts -- 135/120

Squats -- 100/105 

BP -- 60/75

OHP -- 50/50

 

Vitality Up -- A

1. Water - 100% 

2. Chocolate monster rehab - 100%

3. In bed by 9:45 on weekdays - 100%

 

Life Up -- A

1. Debt Reduction, $1200/$1200

2. Cat box maintenance - 100%

3. Dental care - 100%

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Week 6

 

Strength Up -- C

Deadlifts -- 135/120

Squats -- 100/105 

BP -- 60/75

OHP -- 50/50

 

Vitality Up -- A

1. Water/food - 89% 

2. Chocolate monster rehab - 100%

3. In bed by 9:45 on weekdays - 100%

 

Life Up -- A

1. Debt Reduction, $1200/$1200

2. Cat box maintenance - 100%

3. Dental care - 100%

[Ivan]

Subbed, and good luck! Mind letting us know your body weight and approximate body fat percentage? It helps put your goals in perspective.

[wildross]

That's a good idea putting that placeholder in there.

[Urgan]

Subbed, and good luck! Mind letting us know your body weight and approximate body fat percentage? It helps put your goals in perspective.

 

No prob! My bodyweight as of New Year's Day is 102.8. According to the Navy Calculator (note: data in calculator is default, not mine), my body fat is at 10%. I'll add my measurements and such to the first post so it won't be hard to find later. Thanks for the tip!

 

That's a good idea putting that placeholder in there.

 

I saw Wufkar do it and thought, ya know, that's a good idea...emulating greatness is good for your goals, right? LOL.  

[SpecialSundae]

You have some great goals, but the OHP one is perhaps unrealistic for August (possibly ever). Few women can strict press over their bodyweight and it usually stalls out a lot sooner.

 

I hope that doesn't sound too discouraging, as you're well on your way to achieving your other goals, just one to be aware of. 

[Urgan]

You have some great goals, but the OHP one is perhaps unrealistic for August (possibly ever). Few women can strict press over their bodyweight and it usually stalls out a lot sooner.

 

I hope that doesn't sound too discouraging, as you're well on your way to achieving your other goals, just one to be aware of. 

 

Thank you simply for taking a look! I will do my best to improve and not push myself too hard as it is a fairly arbitrary figure. And if (okay, probably more like "when") I fall short I shall not beat myself up.

 

This challenge will show me my potential for gains in the OHP and afterward I will adjust the figure down accordingly.

[starsapart]

Subbing for awesome!!!!!

[Urgan]

Subbing for awesome!!!!!

 

YAY! *highfive* We shall do ALL the things!

[Ivan]

According to that Navy Calculator link you posted, your body fat is 28%, not 10%. This is good, because 10% would be very unhealthy for a woman.

[Urgan]

According to that Navy Calculator link you posted, your body fat is 28%, not 10%. This is good, because 10% would be very unhealthy for a woman.

 

It appears the calculator supplies default data, I cannot save my own measurements in it (which I will post tonight when I can get to a tape measure as my memory is not gonna cut it). That would be cool if it would. I am the first to admit I'm a 5' 1'' stick, that's why I have absolutely no weight loss goals. 

[Urgan]

Mmkay, I measured again and I have a higher body fat percentage than last time, somewhere more in the 16-17% range. Swear it came out lower, but I think it was a function of whether or not you round to whole digits (the calculator truncates them but actually entering them affects the outcome). Bah. Probably just means it's a bad standard of measure and/or I'm bad at self-measuring. At any rate, I have added my approximate measurements to the top of the thread so anyone who wants to run it by their own calculation method of choice can do so. 

[Urgan]

Strength Up

 

N/A 

  

Vitality Up

 

Breakfast: coffee and cereal

Lunch: Far East Beef and Rice

Dinner: Black bean soup Usually add chicken, forgot it this time

Snack: Santa Krisp bar x 2, mini chocolate x 1, cheese ball and crackers

Water count (cups): 8 cups

 

No soda, fries, or frieds: check

Chocolate monster rehab: check

 

Bedtime (last night): 10:40....due to an unfortunate case of mid-afternoon coffee consumption and other factors, I did not successfully fall asleep until like...1. Might have gotten around 3 hours of solid sleep. Yay.

 

 

Life Up

 

Debt - $500 paid

Cat box - scooped

Teeth – brushed @ morning, night

 

Day one...done. I'm off to a clean start, with the exception of that unfortunately pitiful amount of sleep last night. It's gonna get colder here, starting this week...Thursday's forecast to be 20/10 degrees. Going to work out is gonna be FUN.

[mediaguy99]

Love your ambitious goals!  And glad to hear you're not at 10% body fat--that would not be good

 

Your weights are pretty beast for such a petite shapeshifter.  I'm interested to see where this all goes.

[Ivan]

Personally, I like calipers for my body fat measurements, but I appreciate that body fat just isn't a focus for you so there's not much point in going the extra mile - yet.

 

I'm going to guess from your numbers that you are pretty new to lifting, though. At some point you will get through the newbie gains, which is when you have to start paying much closer attention to how much you are eating and what you are eating in order to keep making progress (calories & macro nutrients). At that point calipers become very handy to tell you what is actually happening. 

 

Typical situation - you are eating at a surplus (bulking) and you've gained 2 lbs. Is that muscle or fat? Do you need more calories or less? Your body fat percentage will let you answer that question.

[Urgan]

Personally, I like calipers for my body fat measurements, but I appreciate that body fat just isn't a focus for you so there's not much point in going the extra mile - yet.

 

I'm going to guess from your numbers that you are pretty new to lifting, though. At some point you will get through the newbie gains, which is when you have to start paying much closer attention to how much you are eating and what you are eating in order to keep making progress (calories & macro nutrients). At that point calipers become very handy to tell you what is actually happening. 

 

Typical situation - you are eating at a surplus (bulking) and you've gained 2 lbs. Is that muscle or fat? Do you need more calories or less? Your body fat percentage will let you answer that question.

 

Yup, obviously I am pretty fresh at 4 months into my training, but it's long enough to have formed a habit of it. Part of this challenge is to dial back junk just a little further to establish a new normal that is more conducive to keeping fat static while building muscle with the easy gains. It may be the path of least resistance to simply reduce junk a little further instead of flat elimination, but it's the path to surest adherence as well. I think if I tried to do a more extensive change, I could probably adhere to it for the duration of the challenge, it's just six weeks...then I could go right back to inhaling candy. Not good. I can do the permitted allotment of sugar without much trouble, then lower it a bit more, and yet a bit more without feeling like I'm losing as much. In the meanwhile, I need to find replacement snacks so I won't have to choose between candy or nothing. 

 

The calipers definitely seem to be the simplest option, I will obtain some if only to put curiosity to rest. Later I will drill down into the intricacies of dietary management (bulk/cut/maintenance) as required and then the calipers will be super handy, as you say.

 

In general, however, I'm eating at least half again what I ate before I started training because that is what my body is asking for. Water consumption...whew, from 0 to 8.5 cups on average? Fast food once a week, every week, to sometimes having a hot dog, sure, but not every week and no fries or soda ever. I traded a once a week soda for a cherry limeade, and it's coming time to cut that out, too, as well as tighten up the ratio of protein to carbs a bit. I also probably should learn how to sear a steak, huh? 

[Urgan]

Love your ambitious goals!  And glad to hear you're not at 10% body fat--that would not be good

 

Your weights are pretty beast for such a petite shapeshifter.  I'm interested to see where this all goes.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I feel pretty sheepish about that. I will revisit this later, right now it's not a huge deal. 

 

 

Rawr.

[Ivan]

Lol. If you can get all your protein requirements from steak, you're doing better than me. A good rule of thumb is one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. If you are not very sure of your body fat percentage (and most people aren't) then you simplify it to 1 gram per pound of total weight, just to be safe.

 

So I'm currently eating 157 grams of protein every day.

 

Thing is, protein is the most expensive macro-nutrient. That's why most lifters use protein shakes as a supplement. It's a compromise between getting the protein you need and not breaking the bank.

 

If you decide to look into it, make sure it's whey protein, and not soy protein. Soy is heavy in estrogen and suppresses testosterone production, which is a big no-no if you want to build muscle.

[Urgan]

Lol. If you can get all your protein requirements from steak, you're doing better than me. A good rule of thumb is one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. If you are not very sure of your body fat percentage (and most people aren't) then you simplify it to 1 gram per pound of total weight, just to be safe.

 

So I'm currently eating 157 grams of protein every day.

 

Thing is, protein is the most expensive macro-nutrient. That's why most lifters use protein shakes as a supplement. It's a compromise between getting the protein you need and not breaking the bank.

 

If you decide to look into it, make sure it's whey protein, and not soy protein. Soy is heavy in estrogen and suppresses testosterone production, which is a big no-no if you want to build muscle.

 

When we are debt free, it will rain steaks, baby! Okay, not really...but there will be more of it than now (when we eat out of the house...which, if you take a look at my battle log's nutrition sections, ain't super often). As low as my weight is, with the 1g/1lb bodyweight ratio I honestly believe I am generally getting about that much protein a day (yesterday admittedly wasn't the best example). Most of it is powered by chicken and ground meats due to the $$ factor, so that may not be the ideal protein source and as I proceed, I can easily see it becoming difficult to keep up with that requirement. Also, there is the slim slim chance I am just flat wrong about meeting the 100 gram requirement. 

[Ivan]

Perhaps you are right. I suspect, having taken a quick look at your battle log, that you would be surprised.

 

I skipped yesterday (you said it was a bad example), and the wedding reception day (seems atypical). So you posted:

 

 

Posted 03 January 2015 - 04:21 AM

No Training Today

 

Nutrition  

    Breakfast - coffee and cereal

    Lunch - tuna and cream cheese rolls

    Dinner - another bowl of cereal

    Snack - a handful of Reese's Pieces, 3 snickerdoodles, reindeer cookie

    Water count: 5+ cups

    No soda

 

Things are a little vague, so I'll have to guesstimate. Your two bowls of cereal probably got you about 5 grams of protein. The snickerdoodles (call them 4 to include the reindeer cookie) give you another 2 grams, and the Reese's Pieces give you nothing at all. The tuna and cream cheese rolls come to 23g per pack (I believe 12 per pack), so unless you had four whole packs of sushi, you came up short.

 

The day before:

 

 

Nutrition  

    Breakfast - coffee and cereal

    Lunch - salami, sliced turkey, and cheeses, cherry limeade

    Dinner - Reform Jewish Penicillin

    Snack - 10 Rolos, most of a movie box of Reese's Pieces, 3-4 snickerdoodles

    Water count: 7~ cups

    No soda

 

Call it the same 4 grams for the cookies, and assume a 51 piece package of the Reese's for 5 grams. Your chicken soup gets you another 5 grams, bringing you to 14 grams. That means you would need to have eaten half a kilo of turkey (the most protein dense item in your lunch) in order to make your target.

 

Now, maybe you are eating enough protein, but without serving sizes all I can do is estimate. Speak from experience, though, we all make a lot of assumptions about what we eat, and most of us are shocked once we actually start tracking things accurately. This is one of those areas where many, many people let themselves down, because all the effort you put in at the gym is meaningless if you don't give your body the material it needs to actually build muscle. Your comment about slow progress makes me worry that this is an issue you are facing.

 

Remember that we don't get strong from lifting heavy shit, we get strong recovering from lifting heavy shit. Food and sleep are the two most important parts of recovery.

[Urgan]

It may be a case where I've been doing okay so far, given the "benefit" of starting at such a low point of muscle development and eating relatively more than I had been. I've seen physical changes for the better, my energy hasn't suffered, and gains to bear that out. And if we agree that is the case, come a time soon where things will have to change. The only way to know where to go would be to start tracking more closely. Do you figure I should record protein, carbs, and fat or just worry about protein first?

[Ivan]

It may be a case where I've been doing okay so far, given the "benefit" of starting at such a low point of muscle development and eating relatively more than I had been. I've seen physical changes for the better, my energy hasn't suffered, and gains to bear that out. And if we agree that is the case, come a time soon where things will have to change. The only way to know where to go would be to start tracking more closely. Do you figure I should record protein, carbs, and fat or just worry about protein first?

 

Equally, the first six months or so are primarily neurological gains; your nervous system learning how to fire your muscles more effectively.

 

I'd start by counting protein, because that's going to be the most critical, and increasing your protein intake is going to help you keep your calories up as well. 

 

That said, I'd also figure out approximately how many calories I need each day and spot-check a couple of days in a row, just so I have an idea of where I am; do I need to eat more, or do I keep trying to eat less?

[SpecialSundae]

In her defence, my chicken soup is more like 30g protein per bowl!

I get pretty much all my protein from food and only have the occasional whey and soy shake when I haven't eaten enough.

[Ivan]

In her defence, my chicken soup is more like 30g protein per bowl!

I get pretty much all my protein from food and only have the occasional whey and soy shake when I haven't eaten enough.

 

Ha! Sounds like good 'soup'.

 

I'm not trying to attack her, though. Quite the contrary, I wish somebody had explained all this to me years ago; it would have saved a great deal of my wasted time.

[Urgan]

In her defence, my chicken soup is more like 30g protein per bowl!

I get pretty much all my protein from food and only have the occasional whey and soy shake when I haven't eaten enough.

 

Yeah, I'm planning on getting as much from food as possible. As last resort, I will consider supplementation.

 

SO...I will continue logging recipes/ingredients as I have been by noting substitutions/changes to quantity of recipes, as an experiment I will add how many servings the food actually ends up being divided into and roughly how much protein is in each serving. 

 

Human nature is what it is, I'm probably low and inclined to seek out more protein-based foods to make the number go up, however, for the time being I will be focused on observation. I've been hovering around the 100 lb area for the duration of my training so far, I've not been trying to gain or lose (if anything I'd want to gain, 100 lbs only gets you so far...), so I figure by default I'm practicing maintenance. What that exact calorie figure is I don't know, if I worry about that it'll be later on after I've made a call about the protein levels issue. One thing at a time, I'm not stalling out yet.