Weekends, lol.

I have had the most ridicufuckintastic weekend ever, and I'm in college people. I can't believe its only Saturday. Last night I managed to drag myself out of bed and I did my workout, and right up at the end when I was getting ready to do lunges, I was picking myself up off the floor, tripped, and banged my knee something fierce. I've got this huge super-gash across the front of my leg, and a bruise that looks something like Virgina. So, I didn't get to do my lunges. And I had a huge glass of orange juice this morning, so its not exactly my routine but hey. I probably burned an equal amount of calories cursing the world and hating my life after the knee incident. Whatever, it wasn't perfect. I've been drinking this weekend too, so yeah. I figured it out, Thursday was something like 2200 calories and yesterday was probably about 1800. Oh cool story, on Thursday I reached a new level of cardio when I was playing a few pickup games of basketball down at the gym. I though my heart was going to explode. I bought a bottle of vitamin water and it was literally gone in about six seconds. I don't even like vitamin water that much, but it was cold and available. I've never been so completely bombed in my life, and it felt good. I can't wait for next Tuesday, the next time I have enough time to go play a few games. And the best part? I don't have to run on tuesday-thursday if I go play basketball, because I'm getting triple the exercise doing something I enjoy. I feel like it makes my urges to eat a bit more intense though, so gotta be careful. But yeah, I feel good. Maybe I'll go for a run... peace out people.

I'm never drinking again.

Man, I've been fighting those hangover binge urges all day today. But, I made it this far. Now I just have to convince myself that lifting seems like a good idea. Ugh. It doesn't. I think I'll take (another) nap and see how I feel once the ibuprofen kicks in. I've got nothing interesting to say right now, so I'll update this pathetic excuse for a post later.

Second Weigh-In

Thank god, no more class for the week. I quit smoking and it is literally impossible for me to fall asleep, so today I was fucknuts tired. I couldn't keep my eyes open in class. On the plus side, I DID make it to all of my classes, and I got to have breakfast this morning. Brought lunch with me to school so I ate in the middle of the day too. But when I got home, I collapsed into bed and didn't wake up until 10 pm. Again, it was terribly difficult to get my lazy ass out of bed and workout, but I did it. Actually, once I started lifting, I woke up considerably. And I noticed that I'm not breathing quite as hard, probably the side effect of not sucking down cancer anymore. I felt good afterwards, made myself some dinner, and now I'm watching a Sienfield marathon. But good news, today I weighed myself, and the scale read 224! Or, at least really close to 224, I have one of those old fashined scales so its hard for me to tell exactly where the needle is landing, but nevertheless, I was happy! I'll expect my weightloss to slow down considerably now that two weeks have passed and most of the water weight is gone. I don't eat a whole lot of sodium so I don't think that is going to be a problem either. But yeah, so I stuck to it today and everything is going great and I'm beginning to see results so woohoo. I've got nothing else, so peace.

Lions, Tigers and... Starvation Mode?

Well, I was recently asked about my eating habits. Truth be told, I at most only eat around 1300-1500 calories a day, and often enough I don't even make it there. At first, the reason for my eating this way was to severely restrict the amount and type of foods I was eating. I'm an impulsive, binge eater. Just to be honest with everyone, my capacity for eating is almost limitless. Before I started dieting and exercising (which I like to think of as more a lifestyle change nowadays) I was eating about 8,000-10,000 calories a day, easily. Probably two or more trips to a fast food restaurant, a two liter or more of Mountain Dew, large bag of chips, couple of candy bars, and then I would usually make myself some kind of gigantic dinner. I'm the guy that can eat two large pizzas without a second thought. I can eat two boxes of spaghetti with sauce and meat, or whatever else I could find to throw on. And I could do that after a whole day of eating. My "dinner meal" at McDonald's was 5 double cheeseburgers, 2 large fries, 2 ten piece chicken nuggets, and a large sprite. That's 4870 calories, for one meal. I'm not kidding folks, it's a miracle I only weighed 240 pounds when this started... my body is a very efficient machine, my metabolism is better than most. But the reason I restrict myself is because I don't have full control over my problem, and I fear for the worst.

So I was asked by both people on this blog and people I live with, are you trying to starve yourself? Aren't you afraid of starvation mode? Yeah, I'm afraid of it, especially since I work out 3 times a week and run the rest of the time. But, here are my conclusions about starvation, based on the research I have done myself, and taken from the benefit of others.


First of all, starvation mode is not a proven science... there is no absolute, direct correlation to the idea that eating 500 calories a day will make your body "completely shut down." Here is a commonly understood example based on the idea of starvation mode. If someone whose BMR is 2000 calories a day cuts 500 calories out of their diet, it will result in gradual 1-2 pound weight loss, but their metabolism will also slow down. The difference is, you aren't going to notice a 3-5% reduction in metabolism because its such a small number, only a difference of maybe 50-70 calories a day.

A comment made on a thread I was reading says it best:

"Simply put, if, under normal circumstances, your body needs 2000 calories a day, and you consume 1500, you will lose weight, due to the deficit of 500 calories. If you consume 500 calories, initially you may lose weight at three times the rate (1500 calories' deficit), but if keep this up for a while, you will not lose weight at the same rate, because your metabolism will go down (you'll need less than 2000). This is what "starvation mode" means. It does not mean you will stop losing weight with such a low intake. It means you will not get as much benefit (weight loss) for the calories you cut out of your "normal" diet. It is the natural reaction of the body, to resist the change that is being forced upon it." (Linden)


So what does this mean? It means that starvation mode is relative to the amount of calories being consumed. Instead of your body "burning more muscle" or "storing every last nutrient and calorie", it just means that your body begins to burn less calories a day in order to survive. Think about it this way: If your car was running out of gas, you wouldn't pour motor oil into the tank, you would slow your RPM and hope/pray for a gas station. Simply put, if your body is only getting 500 calories a day, then your bodies BMR is going to drop, probably by 500-700 calories easily.

Again, this is simply based on what I have read, and what I think I know. This is a great, high fire discussion on the topic, with several scientific articles:

http://caloriecount.about.com/starvation-mode-myth-thread-see-evidence-ft46163


I have to agree with the original poster, starvation mode seemes to be a phrase designed for fear-mongering. It seems the more reasonable or accurate definition would be " significant reduction in calories = significant reduction in BMR. I'm an English major specializing in Rhetoric, so from a semi-professional standpoint, I can say that starvation mode is definatly a rhetorical device, despite and regardless of its accuracy.


So, I guess to answer a lot of people questions.... do I eat too little? Probably. Do I need to eat more? I'd love to, eventually, I probably will." Am I going to feel terrible or stop losing weight because I eat too few calories or miss a meal every once in awhile? Maybe, but mathematics don't leave room for error. In this case, its mathematical.

But more importantly, how do I feel eating such controlled portions? Well, I feel great. I have tons of energy, and I can already see/feel the difference in my chest and arms. The muscle is growing, already I've had to increase the weights on almost all my workouts. As far as I'm concerned, the way I do things works, and the signs of it working are evident.

O.K. Well instead of running tonight I went to the gym and played 2 hours of pick up basketball. I thought I was going to die, it was MUCH more challenging than my run. I think if I can, I'll try to do that from now on, but if not I can always do my route outside. Aaand, I'm gonna try and stop counting calories, so I'll stop posting what I eat every day. Lets see how that goes.

Well, crisis avoided

Sorry about the late post. I've had a pretty insane 48 hours. You know, I was waiting for this to happen, one of those days or weekends when everything is just completely overwhelming and keeping to my rules and workouts becomes an even greater challenge.

Yesterday (Sunday) I woke up around 12. I ran a bunch of errands and did some homework, and got home around 8pm. I had the first portion of a final project due in a class I, for lack of better explanation, need to do better in. Needless to say I wanted to do well. Problem was, I needed to do an interview with my roommate for the project. Well, my roommate didn't come home. And then he still didn't come home. And then, he didn't come home some more. Turns out he was out with friends all night, and didn't get back until 4am. I had to stay up and wait for him to come home, perform the interview, and then basically do the rest of the entire project. I was up until about seven, and then realized I didn't have all of the materials I needed to finish the project. So I had to go down to kroger, were I had to stand outside for half an hour waiting for them to open so I could get the things I needed. I ended up finishing the project around 8am, and I had class at 11. So, I didn't get to sleep, didn't get to eat breakfast or lunch, and as son as I came home, collapsed into a subconscious stupor. I woke up around 10:30, and still hadn't done my Monday workout.

I laid there for about 15 minutes, contemplating if I really wanted to get up and do my workout. And then, I don't know what it was, but I knew I just had to do it or I wouldn't have been able to live with myself. So, I did it, and honestly the hardest part of the entire thing was getting up, laying on the bench, and putting my arms on the bar. The rest was history, and afterwards I made myself a "very" late dinner. And now, here I am. Despite everything I'm happy with what I was able to accomplish today. Day like today are the reason why I know my eventual success is rooted, and also why it is so important to keep honest with myself. I guess the point is, excuses are sometimes good, but every once in awhile, you just have to bite the bullet and do what you gotta do. I feel great now, and even though my Monday was crap otherwise, it has gotten me ready for the week.


2 cups Mixed Veggies, 1tbsp butter

Calories: 150g
Calories from fat: 0g
Fat: 0g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 28g
Fiber: 6g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 2g

Butter (1 tbsp)

Calories: 80g
Calories from fat: 80g
Fat: 9g
Saturated fat: 2g
Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 0g


Tv dinner, Glazed Chicken

Calories: 250g
Calories from fat: 25g
Fat: 3g
Saturated fat: 0.5g
Carbohydrates: 46g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 10g


Grand Total:

Calories: 480g
Calories from fat: 105g
Fat: 12g
Saturated fat: 2.5g
Carbohydrates: 74g
Fiber: 7g
Sugars: 18g
Protein: 12g

The Fear.

Well, truth be told I'm just bored out of my mind and I feel like posting. But I do have some things on my mind. Last night I was up till 3:00AM reading various weight loss blogs and workout tips, and I had this sudden wave of fear loom over me. The problem is, on a blog, you can read weeks and weeks of information over the course of minutes. If your reading a decent blog, you see all the ups and downs that occur for every individual, and it was the downs that really scare me. I know that as of yet I haven't slipped at all, but it's almost like I'm waiting for it to happen. One of these days, I just won't be able to lift, or I won't be able to run. Maybe I sneak a cheeseburger without thinking about it, and I'm afraid that I'm going to beat the crap out of myself because I don't do well with failure. It becomes so hard to see all my goals as long term ones, goals that are going to take years, not weeks or even months. I'm a victim of instant gratification and weight loss is just one of those areas where its not going to happen. And then, even as I read these success stories, I realize that everything is realitive, and I'm always going to be struggling, having problems that I'm trying to overcome. I'm afraid of reaching my goals and still not being satisfied with myself. So, I don't know. I do know that my goals are realistic, and that I'm well on my way to achieving them. I guess just accepting the fact that nothing is ever going to be perfect no matter how hard you try is the biggest thing I'm dealing with, as I am quite a perfectionist. On a good note, I'm quickly approaching a full two weeks of error free dieting-exercise, and even though it has seemed like a lifetime, it is a reminder that yes, I can do this. I'll post my daily eatin' later, for now I have some big ten basketball to watch.


Bagel, Turkey and Mustard

Bagel:

Calories: 240g
Calories from fat: 10g
Fat: 1.5
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 49g
Fiber: 7g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 13g

Turkey (6 slices)

Calories: 50g
Calories from fat: 10g
Fat: 1g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 1g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 9g

Mustard:

Calories: 0g
Calories from fat: 0g
Fat: 0g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 0g


Total:

Calories: 290
Calories from fat: 10
Fat: 2.5
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 50g
Fiber: 7g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 22g


2 cups Mixed Veggies, 1tbsp butter

Calories: 150g
Calories from fat: 0g
Fat: 0g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 28g
Fiber: 6g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 2g

Butter (1 tbsp)

Calories: 80g
Calories from fat: 80g
Fat: 9g
Saturated fat: 2g
Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 0g


TV dinner Roasted Sirloin Supreme

Calories: 230g
Calories from fat: 45g
Fat: 5g
Saturated fat: 1.5g
Carbohydrates: 34g
Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 13g

Grand Total:

Calories: 750g
Calories from fat: 135g
Fat: 16.5g
Saturated fat: 3.5g
Carbohydrates: 112g
Fiber: 15g
Sugars: 13g
Protein: 37g

Another Glorious Weekend

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. And another one bites the dust. I went bowling tonight, and sucked it up bad. But I didn't eat any of the pizza that was all around me, so I suppose that is some kind of victory. It feels weird on the weekends, when I don't work out or run. But I'm excited for next weeks exercise, I might try a little more on the bench depending on how I'm feeling. Or maybe I will run further, who knows. Thing is, I'm starting to see some changes in the mirror, so that is a great motivator. Overall, a pretty successful week so far, except the past few days I haven't been waking up early enough for an excuse to have breakfast, and I know that I should be. I think I'll just force myself to ge tup tomorrow, the Buckeyes play Illinois at 1pm, so I want to be sure I'm up for that. Pretty boring weekend though, hopefully tomorrow will be more interesting. In a good way, of course. Anyways, here's my daily eating:


Bagel, Turkey and Mustard

Bagel:

Calories: 240g
Calories from fat: 10g
Fat: 1.5
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 49g
Fiber: 7g
Sugars: 7g
Protein: 13g

Turkey (6 slices)

Calories: 50g
Calories from fat: 10g
Fat: 1g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 1g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 9g

Mustard:

Calories: 0g
Calories from fat: 0g
Fat: 0g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 0g


Total:

Calories: 290g
Calories from fat: 67g
Fat: 2.5g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 50g
Fiber: 7g
Sugars: 8g
Protein: 22g





2 cups Mixed Veggies, 1tbsp butter

Calories: 150g
Calories from fat: 0g
Fat: 0g
Saturated fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 28g
Fiber: 6g
Sugars: 10g
Protein: 2g

Butter (1 tbsp)

Calories: 80g
Calories from fat: 80g
Fat: 9g
Saturated fat: 2g
Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Protein: 0g

T-V dinner Chicken Alfredo

Calories: 250g
Calories from fat: 60
Fat: 7g
Saturated fat: 3.5g
Carbohydrates: 34g
Fiber: 2g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 12g

Total:

Calories: 480g
Calories from fat: 140g
Fat: 16g
Saturated fat: 5.5g
Carbohydrates: 62g
Fiber: 8g
Sugars: 13g
Protein: 14g


Grand Total:

Calories: 770g
Calories from fat: 207g
Fat: 18.5g
Saturated fat: 5.5g
Carbohydrates: 112g
Fiber: 15g
Sugars: 21g
Protein: 36g