ATrebek\'s Log
I've been wandering around 2+2 forever and not made it into this form until a couple of weeks ago. Been reading quite a bit and now is my time to finally get in shape.
I am 6'2'' male, 25 years old, and I weight 258.5 according to the scale this morning. I am not exactly fat... ok well I am, just not terribly obese. Most of my fat is in the form of a a gut and excess baggage around my midsection. I actually am pretty muscular and athletic given my size, but I definitely have spare fat that's unsightly and unnecessary.
Last year in April I was 280 pounds, and I went on health binge and lost 45 pounds. Man was I proud of myself. Somehow, I gained 30 back (I've lost a few since I hit 265 again). I don't know how or why I just quit, especially considering how well things were going for me. I really can't explain it.
So now I am going to make a lifestyle change. I am going to set an immediate goal, but beyond that I am going to set a longterm goal of living the rest of my life differently.
My immediate goal is to get down to 220 pounds by Jan 01, 2008. That comes out to right at .3 pounds per day or 2.07 per week, which I think is attainable... (anyone disagree?)
My plan is pretty simple. Eat less and workout more.
<u>Exercise</u>
I have just started back going to Jiu Jitsu and will be going 1 or 2 times a week. For anyone who doesn't know what that is, it basically submission wrestling, and is the single most intense workout I have ever engaged in.
In addition to this, I plan to follow the 5x5 workout routing 3 days a week, and hit the elliptical machine on days that I'm not weight training or fighting.
Discipline to do these things shouldn't be an issue for me since I love going to Jiu Jitsu and enjoy lifting weights. Getting on the elliptical machine isn't hard for me anymore either now that I can play poker while I "run" thanks to my new kickass handheld trackball mouse.
<u>Eating</u>
I have read alot of conflicting information on calorie intake, but pretty much all of it indicates that I should take in less than I do now.
I was going to set a goal of 3,500 calories daily, but I'm not sure if this is too low considering my size and will lead to significant muscle loss. Any input here?
I also plan to break up my calorie consumption into 6 or so meals a day and shoot for a 40/30/30 proteint/fat/carb intake ratio.
The thing that's going to kill me is beer. I love beer. I brew my own and hence have a ton of it around all the time. I know I need to cut my beer consumption way, way back to be successful. I have already given most of my supply away in preparation for this, but I know this will be the hardest thing for me. Can I drink 3-4 beers once a week and be successful, or is it just going to kill my chances?
<u>Thermogenics</u>
I am still undecided on the use of a thermogenic product or stack. I sort of feel like it's cheating, but who really cares? I am overall pretty healthy so i don't think the health risks are too huge for me. If something can really help me burn 500-1,000 more calories daily by taking it its worth at least considering. If I do decide to use something I will probably wait a month to start taking it. I was looking at something like the ECA stack but It seems to be nearly impossible to by ephedrine these days. Bottom line is I don't know enough about these things to make a decision at this point, so i will research it some more before I do anything. I think I can get off to a good start on my own.
Ok so there it is. I tried not to be too detailed to keep the post length short. I am going to keep a log on fitday.com also.
Please feel free to criticize or make suggestions.
Thanks,
-Trebek
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