What a difference a day (or 3 weeks) makes...

WOO!!!  Guess who is back?!

This guy! Well, not Leo, but ME!  Fat-Man-DO!

That's right! It's time to get back in the saddle and hit the blogosphere with my workout missives!

I needed to take some time off. Well, that's not entirely true. You NEVER need to take time off from being healthy and whatnot... but I was in a bad headspace for a while and I needed a reset so to speak.

So now, after nearly 3 weeks of inactivity and a REALLY poor diet of candy, carbs, and and more carbs.... with a side of carbs and a healthy sprinkling of carb-related sprinkles... I'm ready to get back out there and do the thing!

Let's just call it what it is - I was being lazy for a few weeks and enjoying the sweet, sweet reward of instant gratification through eating.

Always easier said than done, I know... but still. This time I have a new workout partner... my lovely wife. (Seen here eating some noodles.) She's decided to give it a go and we will be starting a new journey together tomorrow morning at 6:00am.

I'm not actually sure when the last time is that she was awake at 6:00am... but we're doing this! (She is not a morning person... but I love her anyway)

I will not be relying on a scale for this. I no longer care what I weigh... more or less. I just know that I want to FEEL better... and my body should be able to do that one way or another. Honestly - I feel pretty freaking great right now. I've been sleeping, more or less, well for the last few weeks. My diet hasn't been AS bad as I've let on above.  I have had too many donuts and potato chips... but I've pretty much stuck to similar eating habits I've developed in the past 6 months. I'm going to call that a win.

Progress, for me anyway, will be tracked by improvements on certain abilities, measurements, stamina, and just how good or bad I feel overall... which, like I said before, I feel pretty great these days. Might just be the warm, spring air... but who knows.

With that, I welcome you all back to my journey!!  Wish me US luck!!

That hurts... is that supposed to hurt?

Every now and then I'll work out a little harder than I probably should, go home, shower, and go to bed... thus resulting in almost crippling body aches the next morning for not properly stretching out my muscles before sleep...

So... yeah. This morning I'm moving around like an octogenarian... I need to remember to take my time at the end of my workouts and properly stretch out before bed or else I'll be unable to go to the gym all together. And that would be bad. 

Until Next Time - Stretch out!

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!!! 

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!