Alcohol... I love you and I hate you.

Alcohol... The sweet nectar of the gods...

Not going to lie - I am a huge fan of bourbon, scotch, top-shelf tequila, rum, vodka, and beer... But the problem is that alcohol is basically a 4th Macro.

Protein: 4 calories per gram
Carbs: 4 calories per gram
Fat: 9 calories per gram
Alcohol: 7 calories per gram

So - you're looking at 64 calories per ounce roughly.

And you're thinking - well, that's not too bad. That's only 200 calories or so for a few drinks... And while true - here is the problem: Alcohol will interfere with the body's processing and burning of FAT...  Normally, the liver metabolizes fats, but you drink, alcohol takes preference. The liver breaks down alcohol for energy first, causing a build-up of fatty acids... Thus counteracting all that cool fat-loss stuff you've been working on.

This makes me sad. Because there are few things better than coming home, having a drink, and chilling out on the couch. But then I see things like this - Reddit User /u/Klamsykrawl gave up alcohol for a year... He lost 53 lbs and claims to feel better than he ever felt before.

Think before you drink... it could be hampering your progress.


Until Next Time - Stick to Water for a week. See how you feel.

Do you want to be thin? Or healthy?

SO... My name is FatMan Do...

Not too long ago I had 265 lbs of fat hanging over my belt, and I was huffing and puffing for air as I climbed the 2 steps into my house.

I decided that I'd had enough and I wanted to lose some weight...  I became fixated on LOSING WEIGHT!
I HAD TO LOSE WEIGHT! 
DEAR GOD WHY IS THE SCALE NOT MOVING FAST ENOUGH!!!!

It was like that... and I went out to my garage every most mornings for 6-9 weeks and I jumped and squatted and lifted little dumbbells. I ate salads and starved myself and I lost weight. That scale moved from 265 to 240... Then to 235... 230... all the way down to 225.

Holy. Shit. I was awesome. I thought that was some pretty cool stuff right there... BUT... tadaa... it all (Not all, but most) came back.

Why did it come back?

Because I wasn't smart about it. Using the bathroom scale to measure of how "healthy" I am is dumb. I didn't change my habits. I didn't add muscle to replace the fat I was losing... I simply worked the fat, and some of the muscle, out of my body in an ever maddening struggle to become lighter... and then I thought that weight would magically stay away because I was naive and didn't want to work out in the garage anymore.

I'd like to now draw your attention to WEIGHT... This is Kelsey Wells of Instagram fame...

Kelsey learned the difference between "thin" and "healthy"

She shows that you can actually replace fat with muscle and be thinner... while weighing the same. Fat weighs more than muscle. 5 lbs of FAT is easily twice as big as 5 lbs of muscle. So if you wait for it... if you bide your time at the gym or in your garage - while eating right at home - you can replace your fat with muscle and be AWESOME.

You don't have to just lose weight. Yes, losing weight feels awesome... but replacing your fat with muscle is even better. Teach yourself how to eat well, exercise right, and be good to your body... it takes time. 

Until Next Time - Muscles are good. Use them. 

You are what you eat.

How was your weekend?

*waits for answer*

Great!

Moving on....

Let's talk about diets... and by "diet" I mean - What you eat breaks down and becomes your body. Let that sink in... you LITERALLY are what you eat.. If you eat nothing but Tacos - you're a taco. And that might actually work for some people. But eating and dieting is not a "one size fits all" kind of thing in my opinion.

So... are you "big boned"? Mediterranean? Tall and skinny? V-Shaped? High Blood pressured???  We are not all the same. Let's be honest - not all of us have the same genetic makeup. Some people have ancestors who probably ate nothing but nuts and berries... some of us might have come from a colder region and nothing but fish and seal meat!(?)... But over time and generations and more time - those groups of people would tend to make better use of their food sources. Thus - a Keto diet for an Endomorph who puts on and stores fat easily would be good... a high carb for a very athletic person who is constantly on the move would be good.

The point is - you have to see what you are, how you operate, and what you want to get out of it.  The "Everyone needs to eat _______" method of blanket statement dieting is a terrible thing.  As are most blanket statements and ideas.

I've tried to the low-fat/no-fat thing. I've tried the "eat what you want but count your calories" thing. And I've tried to standard "60/20/20 Carbs to Protein to Fat" thing... And while all of these have their merits - they didn't work for me all that well. So, after looking around and reading and then trying it out - I've found that the lower Carb intake approach works very well for me. I'm ingesting 196g of Protein every day 93g of Carbs and 83g of Fat... And Since July I have dropped inches while putting on muscle and I feel great.

You can diet or you can exercise and you'll see results... but if you "Diet AND exercise" together - you'll see even BETTER results. And in less time.

So - There ya go.

Until next time - Eat well and lift heavy things.

So... WTF is a Macro??

Buckle-up, readers... it's a long one... a little "light reading" before the weekend.

I have spent the last... 3 months or so FOREVER reading up on nutrition. Words like MACROS! and Keto! Low-Carb, high-fat, SUPER PROTEIN!!!  All get tossed around like we're in some sort of political commercial for food. From what I gather - you can basically lose weight by doing about 8,000 different things and nobody has 1 specific way of doing things - or at least no good way that they’ll all agree on. 

But the thing I've been trying to wrap my head around is the idea of:  “What the Fuck is a macro and why should I care?”

Before we dive into that - We will need to figure out a few things about ourselves first. Like - what body type am I?

This is GROSSLY oversimplified... but it'll work for now

Ectomorph - Tall and lanky, difficult to gain fat
Mesomorph - Lean, gains muscle easily
Endomorph - Big, straight bodied/pear shaped, gains fat easily - difficult to gain muscle

I am 100% Endomorph... I'm a big rectangle with a head on it.

Endomorphs store fat easily and should avoid carbs like pasta and white bread. Luckily I'm already a whole grain person. So a low-carb diet with some whole grains is perfect!

But, aren't carbs energy? If you're not eating carbs for energy... what does that leave? 

Protein... and Fat.

Calories come from the macronutrients (and alcohol) - I need to find the appropriate ratio of macronutrients to support my end goal of calorie intake vs overall plan. Those macronutrients are: Carbs, Fats, and Proteins.

• One gram of protein yields 4 calories.
• One gram of carbohydrate yields 4 calories.
• One gram of fat yields 9 calories.
• One gram of alcohol yields 7 calories.

Fat is an essential nutrient that our bodies require to live; it assists in vitamin absorption, hormone regulation, brain function, and more.

Protein intake will help build muscle and/or prevent muscle loss if you are in a calorie deficit.  It controls appetite and staves off hunger better than fats or carbs as it causes you to feel full longer.

Carbs are stored in the liver, brain, blood and muscles as glycogen. Our bodies use carbohydrates for energy.

So - there it is. Holy trinity of body requirements (at least the ones that aren’t water, sunlight, and oxygen)... BUT... in which quantities do I eat these things?  33-33-33? 40-20-40? 60-20-20??? 

OH GOD!! SO MANY OPTIONS!!! WHAT DO I DO!!?

I have to ask myself - “Self, what is your goal?” - Then I whine about how I want to eat ice cream and pizza and magically get a 6-pack.... BUT... then it turns out my ACTUAL goal is to lose fat, maintain muscle, and not become a beefy muscle-head.

Sounds easy enough... right?

Based on what I have researched - my body weight, age and overall daily activity level should require around 2,362 calories for daily maintenance - and to lose the weight I'd like to lose, I'd need to cut that down to 1,862 calories a day... but what about the almighty MACRO breakdown? 

The “If It Fits Your Macros” people are all over the place... Some say you can eat as much as you want - so long as it is within your Macro range. Others say that everything that enters your body must be macro-perfect...  There is “Low-Carb” “Moderate Carb” “Ratios for cutting” and “Ratios for bulking”... I mean, seriously, there are a lot of different rations and everyone I’ve talked to has given me their opinion on what I should eat. And while I do appreciate their opinions - I’m not looking to bulk up and I’m not looking to get “shredded” - I just want to drop some fat, maintain and build lean muscle, and not die going up the stairs.

So - I’m choosing a low-carb approach with a high protein and higher fat content for my daily macro counts. This is, in theory, a macronutrient ratio that will help me to maximize fat loss while not sacrificing muscle growth.  Will it work?  Fuck if I know!

For a 1,862 calorie/day diet - I am planning on actually running this with 40% Protein, 40% Fats and only 20% Carbs... So, on a daily average I’ll get: 186g of protein, 83g of fat and 93g of carbs...

Which is a pain in the ass to try and do. I’ve spent hours adding food to MyFitnessPal in various configurations and amounts trying to find some way to remain fed - while still meeting these “MACROS” - I also feel that whenever someone says that word it should be with jazzhands or something - and I know it seems counterintuitive to eat more fat, but it works. When your body lacks carbs, which it stores as fat, it burns fat. So - you give it fat to burn to basically "teach" your body to burn fat. This is Ketosis - the state in which your body burns fat and releases Ketones into your blood.  Ketones are the byproducts of the body breaking down fat for energy that occurs when carbohydrate intake is low.

And to date - it's actually been working.

HOWEVER... LOW CARB DIETS RESULTING IN KETOSIS WILL RESULT IN HALITOSIS... Like... seriously. You'll need some gum.

ANYWAY... I think I’ve found a good starting point. My dietary needs for the coming weeks are being looked at... and my hope is, by the start of April, to be at or below 220 lbs... 

Until Next Time - EAT MORE PROTEIN!!! 

So sick and tired of being sick and tired...

Laziness is a hard habit to break... 

You have to recognize that laziness and procrastination are destructive to your word. When you take on a task you make a promise to somebody (perhaps just yourself, but somebody) that you will complete that task. But being lazy means you are breaking your word... That’s not bad, or wrong, it just is.

You can't fix a problem with good intentions. You can't get healthy just by not wanting to be fat and unhealthy anymore. You have to get up. You have to move.

I'm really sick of being fat and out of shape. I'm sick of being lazy. I'm sick of being sick of it all... I've got more false-starts than I care to. I'm sick of the amount of time I spend on the couch...

Today is the end of 7 weeks of healthier eating - healthier living - and a better me. 

If you're at the beginning of your journey - Make today DAY ONE! And take as many DAY ONEs as you need until you find that motivation and that drive. Dig down, dig deep, get up and GET MOVING!!

Until Next time - GET UP!

Your Body Is A Car... And You're On a Roadtrip

And now... story time...

Fitness - and the desire to be a healthier person - is much like a cross country road-trip.... but in a busted, broken down car that you can't get rid of.


Close your eyes and imagine - You can't read with your eyes closed, I get that - but go with it, okay?

Imagine that you want to pick up from where you are now and go to someplace better. You can see it in your mind and it's glorious... You've seen photos of other people who are there. They seem happy. They seem carefree... But they're so far away and all you have is a shitty, rundown car that has been neglected for 12 years or so.

You jump in, fire it up and BAM! - you only go 3 feet on your first day.

You realize you can't do this without new tires - so you get new tires. And then you go 2 miles - and realize the oil is crap, so you replace the oil... then the fuel, then the plugs, and everything else that goes into the car until you are feeding the car the fuel it needs to run, keeping the fluids in check, and making sure everything stays together... overcoming years of bad habits and cheap gas.

You can't replace the car - it's the only one you've got. But you can put better things in it, you can outfit it for the trip and get moving... you can slowly move from where you are to where you want to be. Some days you'll have breakdowns and some days you'll find that awesome, big-ass hill to go down that takes you so far and so fast you think it'll fall apart...

You just have to learn to be a mechanic... you have to learn to enjoy the trip. You have to learn to accept that nothing happens over night.

Getting there isn't going to happen today. It might not even happen this year. But every day is one little bit closer to where you need to be.

If you think little efforts don't matter, give it two months...

If you think little efforts don't matter, give it two months...

Not going to lie - this picture is just being used for clicks

No real visible or even noticeable progress is made in a single day or even a single week... But you take those days and weeks and add them up and it'll show.

Take smoking for example - You quit smoking and still feel like crap on the next day or two... well, duh... you don't magically get healthy overnight. But give that 3 weeks and see how it feels. 

Anything you want to do to become healthier - stopping smoking, going to the gym, giving up alcohol, eating better - whatever you do, give it at least 30 days... or better yet, give it 60 days. Are you going to get ripped and shredded like the P90-X commercials? Maybe - if you put in the time, effort, and energy to following every aspect of that program. 

More realistically - You're not going to follow the diet exactly. You're not going to be able to do th 50 pull-ups he magically thinks everyone can do. You're not going to push yourself as hard as you should.

Why?  Because you're a normal person wanting to get healthy and not someone wanting to become a professional athlete. I mean - damn - if I got paid to go to the gym instead of sit in my chair at work, I'd be one fit SOB. But the gym is where I go at night - after work, after dinner, after time with the kids... When I have the the time or even the energy to go. 

And even doing that - just putting forth the effort that I can - without turning my life completely over to "fitness" - the change is noticeable at 30 days. I see it in my face, my stomach, and my chest. I feel it when I go up the stairs. I feel it when I play with the kids or do ANYTHING requiring some amount of physical strain on my part. 

And it feels good. 

In 30 more days - it'll feel even better. 

Until next time - Keep going! You're almost there!

Not a movie review... I promise.

This weekend I, along with the rest of the world, saw the movie Black Panther... And it was awesome.

BUT... if you see that movie, it will make you want to go to the gym.

Everyone in that movie is fit, toned, and in shape. Especially Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa and Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger...

Clearly SOMEONE has been at the gym... 

It so happens that Michael B Jordan is no stranger to being in shape and hitting the gym. He hit the gym and bulked up for Creed and for Black Panther he once again hit the gym and got cut.

Of course - it's much easier to do these things with a personal trainer... and I'm assuming getting paid to look good helps a great deal.  I'm just envious of him for it.

His trainer has posted his workout plan online - and I have to say it looks good. So I may have to try it out for a month or two... You can see it here - as posted in Maxim

Anyway - that's it. Just a break from my normal posts about food and Macros.


Until next time - Eat more protein!

Adventures in Food Tracking!

Good morning faithful readers! Just kidding - nobody reads this blog....

So - Ask yourself: "what does it mean to be healthy?"

• Flat stomach?
• 6 pack abs?
• Muscles rippling beneath your clothes?

Maybe. Not necessarily. 

For some, it could be as simple as:

• Not being out of breath on the stairs
• Losing 5 lbs
• Slimming down that 2nd chin

For me - it's more of the second group of answers. But I've found that it is also profoundly more than that. In many different categories. I'm slimming down, I have more energy, I am in a better mood, I eat smaller portions, I go to the bathroom regularly, and my stomach isn't always giving me problems like it used to... It's pretty cool.  (Plus - I've caught my wife actually checking me out... WIN!!!)

1 month ago I made my first entry in "MyFitnessPal" - I say "first" because I've done this before but always stalled out around day 14 or so... I am now on a 32 day streak of entering absolutely every food I've eaten - good, bad, or otherwise. When I finished my first week and hit that "Complete Diary" button it said "if you do this every day, you'll weigh 226 lbs in 5 weeks."

Well, I weighed-in this morning and I am 226.5 lbs - and, well, I had a lot of sweets and carbs this week with Fat Tuesday and my local bakery's "Cherry Thing-A-Lings" (They're amazing)

So - I'm pretty freaking excited. 

This week MyFitnessPal says "if you do this every day, you'll weigh 221 lbs in 5 weeks." - And that's AWESOME. 

So - keep following and reading... and in 5 weeks - see if I've kept sticking to my guns.

Until next time! - Stay happy, stay healthy. 

Getting fat on Fat Tuesday

Ah... Mardi Gras... or "Fat Tuesday" in the vernacular... is the day before Ash Wednesday and the start of the Catholic Lenten Season of fasting and something... Sorry, I'm not Catholic so I don't know what all goes on other than a lot of commercials for fish and a lot of people swearing off of sweets and or Facebook until Easter.

Anyway.... I DO love traditions, though. And I'm a sucker for sugary cakes. So, I bring in a King Cake every year on Fat Tuesday and share... and I ate a piece and it WAS AMAZING.  It was, in one bite, more sugar than I've consumed in a month. Which means I've totally blown my carb intake for the day week... but it was good - And totally worth it.

But that's the point of my post today - It is totally acceptable to occasionally indulge in your sweet tooth.

Let me say that again. Slower. And with emphasis on the proper words:

It is totally acceptable to occasionally indulge in your sweet tooth.

This means that, from time to time, you can eat that piece of cake or chocolate and not freak out about it. As long as it is A: OCCASIONALLY and B: In moderation. It does not mean "Oh man, what a fun workout - I'm going to eat this whole cake today because I earned it." or "I've lost 1 lb this month - I've earned a 3,000 calorie Frappaccino every day this week."  It DOES mean that once every 3 weeks or so - I'll eat something that totally blows my calorie and carb count out for a day... and that's it. I'll enjoy it, it's good, and then it's gone. Allow me to think back to that post where I talk about it NOT being a diet and being a decision to live a better/healthier life... That's it! You can be healthy and still eat sugar from time to time.

Unless you're allergic to sugar - and that would just be awful.



So - there ya go, kids!  Enjoy your Fat Tuesday... but remember that it's one day - and next week you're back to FIT Tuesday

Cardio! It's what's for dinner!

Holy... cow.

After tonight's weight-lifting session we decided to add a small, 10 minute, cardio session to our workout.

Well... 4 minutes of Tabata Box-Jump - Jump up on the box, then down for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, then repeat for 4 minutes... and I was about dead. Not really - but I could feel the years of overeating and smoking. After that, we did Tabata Wall-Ball - weighted medicine ball tossed up about 10' on the wall, catch it when it comes down and go into a squat, then explode out of the squat and throw the ball back up... we did that for 20 on/20 off... 

I love doing cardio... even though I hate it. 

Cardio and I are somewhere in this range...

Ah well - it'll help, right?

I plan on doing more cardio... not enough to kill my muscles, but enough to help trim some of the fat. I'm really starting to see a difference in my body... my stomach doesn't stick out as far, some of my shirts are fitting better, and I feel better. Well - I feel better as long as I'm not dying of the plague that everyone keeps passing back and forth this winter.

So - There ya go, dear internet, fun time with sweat and weight loss.

Until next time - be better!

Getting off of you A** and doing something...

Yesterday was Sunday - which is the first night of my weekly gym trips, and I... didn't want to go. True story.

I spent all afternoon on Sunday playing with my kids on the floor building Lego castles, space ships, and boats... and I was having fun. Then I spent some quality time with my wife - and I, to put it simply, just lacked the motivation to leave all of that and go to the gym. I was too comfortable. And that, like any excuse, isn't a good one.

But - my wife is an excellent supporter in this endeavor of mine and urged me on towards the door and the awesome pain of Chest Day awaiting me at the YMCA.  I also have a good workout partner who keeps me accountable - even on dreaded LEG DAY!!!

And the thing is - much like my normal, social anxiety - Once I was there and doing it, I was happy. It's the getting up and going that is my stumbling point.

And that's the problem with a lot of things in life - finding the deep down, innate desire to get up, out of our comfort-zone or routine and try new things or do something difficult. It's absolutely easier to stay home, take "fat-burners", eat pizza and dream about being healthy than it is to get up, get dressed, go to the gym when it's 17 degrees out, and work hard for 90 minutes with various heavy objects.

Don't get discouraged. I know many people are just like me - impatient. Didn't see any results in 12 days? Might as well stop going to the gym!  - That's not how this works. That's not how ANY of this works. It takes 3 weeks before you might even feel a change in any aspect of your personal health or behavior, let along see one. It takes 21 days (I'm told) to form a habit. And to make a habit you need a routine. And that's why Sunday sucks so much for me. Friday and Saturday are rest days and Sunday comes and I am still resting. But that'll change - and having good reminders from family and friends helps - as does the reward of how good I feel after the gym. Well, except on the days when I go and I'm really dehydrated and I cramp up really bad in my sleep - but that's more of a personal problem LOL.

SO - go out there, form a routine, make a habit - AND BECOME THE BEST VERSION OF YOURSELF!!!!  Even if it takes 6 months, 6 years, 20 years, or 40 years!

Weight Loss and other factors...

Getting healthy - changing your lifestyle for the better - isn't just about losing weight. Anyone can lose weight if they just starve themselves or burn more calories than you take in... and that's not healthy or a good change for you to go through. In many of those cases, the lost weight comes back with a vengeance shortly thereafter. It's good for a short-fix, but not long-term.

I was one of those people concerned only with the scale and what it said for a long time. I just want to lose weight I just want to lose weight I just want to lose weight... 

But it's not about weight. It is about body make-up and composition. What I really wanted was to lose fat, build some muscle, and learn how to treat my body better. Don't get me wrong - if they came out with a pill tomorrow that would allow me to lose all of this weight in a week - I'd really consider it. I'm lazy. 

Fat loss is better than weight loss. 

So - 3 weeks ago, or so, on January 14th I decided to take some measurements along with my weigh-in and track that as well. 

My first measurements looked like this:

Neck: 17.25"

Hips: 43.5"

Waist: 44.5"

Not exactly the picture of fit - even though I was "losing weight" I wasn't losing size. In all reality I was probably losing muscle do to an insufficient diet. Muscle, as you might know, weighs MORE than fat... 

Here we see 5 lbs of fat next to 5 lbs of muscle... note the MASS of each....

For the past 3 weeks - I've been really working on eating the right foods - high in protein, low in carbs, healthy fats that my body can process... And my weight-loss has slowed.  I felt I should be down to 225 by now easily. But that's not the case - I'm still hanging around 228/230... but...

BUT...

I measured again today... 3 weeks to the day.

Neck: 16.5" (down .75")

Hips: 40.75" (down 2.75")

Waist: 42.5" (down 2")

And that's pretty damn great!!

So - I am pleased... and I am going to go another 3 weeks and re-measure. Maybe I'll be down another couple of inches and another couple of lbs... Who knows. 

Wish me luck, kids!