So Joe…

Substantial Completion is a phrase used in the world of architecture to describe “the stage in the progress of the Work when the Work or designated portion thereof is sufficiently complete in accordance with the Contract Documents so that Owner can occupy or utilize the Work for its intended use.”. In other words, the building is close enough to done that the owner can move in. Applied to my previously set goal, I’ve reached substantial completion. I gathered my measurements today, and two of the three have surpassed my goal, and the other is close enough that I feel I can move into my new body and start using it.

• Weight: 148.5lbs (down 2lbs, surpassed 150lb goal)
• Body Fat: 14% (down 1.5%, scale says 15%, caliper says 13%, surpassed 15% goal)
• Belly: 33″ (down only .25″, 1″ away from 32″ goal)

I’m suprised that the belly only went down .25″ while the other two went down pretty much as expected. I’m guessing this is due to the splurging I did in the last two days (had pizza on Friday, and lots of beer last night). The belly is probably a bit extended from holding all that beer I drank last night, so I’d bet that had I not gone out the measurement would have been closer to 32.5″.

So, what the heck do I do now? Well, I’m going to transition to the new calorie count that I’ve mentioned in the last few posts. Adding about 1000 calories a day to my diet should make eating a bit more enjoyable. I’ve already stated that I want to add muscle mass, and still reduce body fat, but I haven’t yet set any hard numbers. I’m not very experienced in this area, so it’s hard to know what a realistic goal would be, but I pulled numbers out of the air last time, and I was able to make it happen, so I guess I’ll try that again.

New Goals
By June 1 I would like to see the following changes:

• Body Fat: 10% (down 4%)
• Belly: 31″ (down 2″)
• Bicep: 15″ (up 1″)
• Chest: 42″ (up 2.75″)
• Thigh: 22″ (up 2″)

I have no idea if these numbers are realistic, but I think I’d have to be happy reaching them in two months time. Notice that weight is not included, I don’t much care what I weigh really, and weight will be hard to evaluate as well, with fat going down, and muscle mass going up. I figure with 10% body fat, I may even be able to see the start of a ’six-pack’ if I can develope the ab muscles enough. Another change I want to make that I’m not sure how to measure is in my gluts (ass muscles). Last night I noticed while sitting in a wooden chair that my ass isn’t as comfortable to sit on anymore without the extra padding (I’ve got a boney ass!). So, I’ve read that lunges will help build the gluts, and I intend to add back some padding in that area, but this time it’ll be firm instead of flabby.

I’ll be adding more soon on diet details as I solidify them.

Now that I’ve calculated how many calories and what type of calories I should be eating each day, I need to know when to eat them. I’ve been doing the ‘6 meals a day’ thing for a bit now and it seems to work fine (keeps my metabolism going), so I’ll continue on that path. Now, I just need to divide up the calories into those 6 meals. After looking around at different plans and rationals, here’s how I’ve decided to spread my calories out:

• Breakfast (approx 7:30am) 25%
  Breakfast is a much more important meal than I’ve given it credit for in the past. Now that I’m doing cardio when I get up, and eating breakfast, I feel much more energized throughout the day. I’m going to dedicate 25% of the calories to this meal to help lay a good foundation for the day, and to take advantage of the fact that I have full access to my kitchen, and can be more creative with the meal.
• Morning Snack (approx 10:15am) 10%
  The goal of the snack is to maintain consistent blood-sugar levels, and to feed the muscles as they continue to grow.
• Lunch (approx 1:00pm) 20%
  Lunch is important to provide that extra energy boost to make it through the afternoon. Generally being at work for this meal, I don’t have as many options.
• Afternoon Snack (approx 3:45pm) 10%
  The goal of the snack is to maintain consistent blood-sugar levels, and to feed the muscles as they continue to grow.
• Dinner (approx 6:30pm) 25%
  Dinner is my ‘enjoyment’ meal of the day. Here’s where I hope to spend a little extra time making something that’s not only healthy, but enjoyable to eat. On days I workout, this will likely be the meal after the workout, which is also important for getting the right mix of nutients to the recuperating muscles.
• Evening Snack (approx 9:15pm) 10%
  The goal of the snack is to maintain consistent blood-sugar levels, and to feed the muscles as they continue to grow.

So, now I know how many calories I need, I know when I need them, and how much of each kind of calorie I need for each meal. Now I can look at what kinds of meals I can have, stay tuned!

Based on my current measurements of 150.5lbs and 15.5% body fat, I have a bit more than 23lbs of body fat. That means my Lean Body Mass (LBM) is 127lbs.¹ Based on that, my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)² is 1619, (370 + (21.6 * LBM) / 2.2).

To then include calories burned for typical daily activites, aka ‘Activity Factor’, I multiply this by 1.4 which is typical for light to moderate activity. So, my calories burned through basic activity is 647. Throw in 30 minutes of rowing (300), and add the 45 minute walk at 4 mph (264) and it goes to 2830.

I’ve been averaging 1581 calories per day, which is 1249 calories shy of what I need to maintain weight. That would be 8743 calories per week. It takes 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat, so my 8743 would result in 2.5lbs of fat loss per week. I’ve been losing an average of about 2lbs a week (sometimes higher, sometimes lower), so my estimated calorie count is at least within the ballpark.

Wow, I’m gonna be adding over 1000 calories to my daily diet just to stop loosing weight. How to do it? Well, what I eat is going to be important if I want to continue losing body fat and gaining muscle. This means increasing protein notably, and from what I’ve seen, a 40:40:20 breakdown should work well for my goals. This means 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat. Knowing this, I can calculate the number of grams I’ll need of each. Carbs and Protein have 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9 calories per gram. So, doing the math, I get the following:

• Carbs: 1132 calories, 283 grams
• Protein: 1132 calories, 283 grams
• Fat: 566 calories, 63 grams

So, starting on Sunday, I’m going to switch to this new plan. Note that none of this factors in the weight training. I’m going to first try these levels, while still training with weights, and see how it goes. After a few weeks, I can make adjustments as necessary depending on what happens to body fat and LBM. Now that I know how much I need to eat, stay tuned to see when and what I’m going to eat.

Well, it’s Sunday, time to take my measurements. Here’s the results:

• Weight: 150.5lbs (down 1.5lbs)
• Body Fat: 15.5% (scale=16, caliper=15, down 1%)
• Belly: 33.25″ (down .75″)

Not bad, I’m almost there. If you remember from my original goal, I wanted to get to 150lbs, 15% body fat, and 32″ belly by June 1. I’m pretty suprised, not only that I’ll hit that almost two months early, but that those three different, and not strictly related numbers, have all come so equally close to my goal at the same time. Damn I’m good!

Now that I’ve figured out the formula to loosing body fat, which is actually pretty simple if you are willing to do the work, I need to change things, and it will probably become more difficult. I’m gonna stay with the current plan for one more week, which should easily hit my target weight and body fat, and come within .5″ of my belly goal. Then I’m going to change things up to try and gain muscle, and loose body fat. Weight lose will likely stop decreasing for a short time, and then go up slowly as the muscle mass replaces the body fat (muscle weighs more than fat). This is going to be difficult, since I’ll be eating more calories to promote growth, yet trying not to have any of that go to fat.

I’m going to try and do weight training three times this week (as long as the muscles feel like they’re ready for it). I’ll try to balance getting enough workout in, while still allowing enough opportunity for muscle growth. Stay tuned, things should get interesting!

Haven’t checked in for a bit, so here’s a catcher-upper. Friday was St. Patricks day of course, I took the day off and met my siblings downtown. I walked to the bank (probably 1.5 miles), then kept walking down KK until it was time for the bus to come, I made it to Clement, just past the new Outpost, so based on how long it took, that should be just shy of 3 miles. Met Josh at BW3’s, was filled pretty much to capacity. Mooched off their pitcher of Bass, then we moved down the block to Brothers. I recognized the inside, can’t remember what it was called when I was there last. We had Guiness there, and my brothers friend kept ordering shots. I’m not big on doing shots, especially whiskey, but i ended up doing three shots of Jameson (Irish Whiskey). My sister joined up with us there, and I think I had three Guiness before we moved on. We ended up getting picked up by someone in a university van to take us to Champions, which is near Oakland and North Ave. Had another Guiness there and then we decided it was time to get some food, so we walked over to Pizza Man. Hadn’t been there in probably 15 years. Got another Guiness there while we waited for a table, and then noticed that Josh was petering out. He got to BW3’s at 11am, so he already had 4 hours of drinking before I even got there, and it was now showing. So, Cristin and I decided we better get him out of there, so Josh’s friends stayed, and the three of us caught a taxi back to Cristin’s place.

We needed some beer (at least Cristin and I) so while they went up to her apartment, I went across the street to the Metro Mart to get beer. I picked up some Beemish (got a free T-shirt for it!) and headed back over, and then even though I asked before I left, I couldn’t remember what apartment she was in! I was able to get into the building (people are to trusting when they let you follow them through security doors), and I knew the location of her apartment on the floor, I just didn’t know what floor. So, I tried 7, nope, 8, nope, then I thought, 10 sounds kind of familiar, bingo, found ‘em. Then of course we debated how a cell phone would have simplified things, but I just hate phones, and don’t want to pay $40-$50 a month for the three times it might come in useful. So, now that I’m back from the store, we decide not to order out, but instead, get some steak and potatoes, from the store I was just in. so, Josh decided he needed a walk and headed over. Dinner was delicious, and Val (sister-in-law) stopped over after work to pick up Josh, and give me a ride home (thanks again Val!).

Waking up Saturday morning, I had a headache. I only had 6 beers I think, must be the three shots that did it. So, I was moving pretty slow all day, missed my morning row for the first time in about a month. I did get out for a walk at 6pm, and by then was feeling pretty much normal again.

Got up this morning, ready to see what my weekly measurements are. My belly’s feeling flatter (I’ve always got my hand on it now like I’m pregnant or something, just appreciating the change) so hopefully the Chinese lunch and St. Patrick’s Day didn’t set me back to much. Here’s the results:

• Weight: 52lbs (down 3.5lbs)
• Body Fat: 16.5% (scale says 17%, caliper says 16%)
• Belly: 34″ (down a full inch!)

I think the scale may be losing it’s reliability, I heard that the lower your body fat, the less reliable those are. I have a hard time believing I could loose 3.5lbs, and a full inch of belly, yet no body fat, so I will probably have to rely a bit more on the caliper measurement.

At this rate, it’s possible I could reach my weight and body fat goals by next week, and the waist measurement a week or two after, so that would put me almost two months ahead of schedule, pretty amazing since I was thinking shortly after setting the goal that it might be to aggressive, and maybe I should cut it back. I’ll need to start thinking about what I’m going to do next. I’d still like to loose more body fat, but I think I should start focusing more on building more muscle. So, I think I’ll prepare a more aggressive workout schedule (while still allowing proper recooperation time), and recalculate my calorie needs to stop the weight lose, and promote muscle growth (more calories, yay!) To keep body fat from going back up, I will still continue with cardio work, and I’ll be careful about the type of calories I’m consuming, focusing on natural foods much more, and a higher percentage of protein than I have been.

Ate a bit conservitively yesterday cause it’s Survivor night, and I’d be having a few beers. Choose the lowest cal soup I had for lunch, applesauce for afternoon snack, and leftover fish from Wednesday’s chinese lunch for dinner.

It was raining out again, but rain can’t stop me, I went walking anyway. Walked for 45 minutes, little over 3 miles, passed all four of the lights that I’ve ‘affected’ before, three were already off, and one was on and didn’t go off when I passed it. No magic today.

Had three Lite beers watching Survivor and CSI, and then we watched parts of last Saturday’s SNL, which Mike hadn’t seen. Natalie Portman was looking good, and that rap skit she was in ruled!

In bed at 12, up at 7, interval row, breakfast, and out the door.

On the topic of what you would do if you were guaranteed to succeed, hopefully you’ve given some thought to why it is you haven’t tried to pursue your ‘dream’. I would venture that it’s most likely something that can be overcome. If it relates to money, time, or skill, then it can if you simply break the task down into small enough pieces. You can accomplish almost anything if you break the big task down into much smaller, easily attainable tasks. Keep plugging away at those small things and pretty soon you’ve made a huge dent in the big one. So, try thinking about how you could take what’s stopping you and break it down into pieces small enough that you could accomplish them. Write them all down in a list, and then start trying to cross them off, get it done! I think you’ll find that it’s not as hard as you think.

Personally, I’m gonna try and make some money off the internet. I’ve always enjoyed posting web stuff (see my old ‘Clobberbots’ website as an example at http://fiebers.com/clobberbots), mostly for the enjoyment of sharing with others, but now their are ways to make money off it through Googles AdSense, and other programs like it. You put their ads on your website, and they pay you for every ‘click’ they get. So, if I can just get some content on the web that will interest people, I may be able to make some money off it. Some people have succeeded at this and even quit their full time jobs! I’m not aspiring to go to that level (at least not yet), I’d like to get some suplimental funds this way if I can. I’ll also be giving thought to other ways I can expand my funding sources, with the preference for something that I do once, and then passively benefit from.

Got to bed at midnight as usual, woke up around 4, and again at 5:30, and finally 6:45, with my butt finally leaving the bed at 7. Normal row and breakfast and out the door.

I asked you yesterday to think of something you would like to do in your life, something that you haven’t done, but that you would do if you were guaranteed success. What did you think of? I know I have a hard time with this one, I’m a creature of habit, and I don’t like to gamble. I get into a comfort zone and just like to stay there. The idea of big changes that might shake up my life brings on some feelings of fear, even if they would be for the best. That doesn’t mean that I don’t still reach out occassionally and break that mold, but when I do it’s seldom and for good reason. So, it’s hard for me to want to think of something like this since fear holds me back.

So, after some thought, I considered the area of employment. Now I’m happy with my job, I’m practically my own boss, it gives me opportunity to use many of my skills, and it’s a nice environment to work in. On the average day I can pretty much make my time as easy or as challenging as I choose. On the down side, I’ve pretty much moved up the ladder as high as I can, my boss is a business/financial manager, a job unrelated to mine that I wouldn’t want. The best I could probably do is a lateral move on campus, but I think I may already have one of the best positions of this kind on campus. Financially, university salary doesn’t compare to the ‘real’ world, though the benefits help make up for that.

What I think might be more enjoyable is to be my own boss. To be an entrepreneur, dependent on my own efforts, but also rewarded by them. To be able to work from home, in any location that I choose. To set my own schedule. On first thought, this seems like an appealing situation.

So, the next question for you, and for me, is what is preventing you from doing this? What stops you from doing that one thing that you would otherwise do if success was guaranteed? Is it lack of funds, time, or skill? Is it just fear of the unknown? Try to examine what barriers, either real or imagined, stand between you and your dream.

Nothing to exciting to talk about. Yesterday after work, Josh and Val stopped over and we walked over to grandma’s house (she lives two houses down from me) to say hi, so I ended up walking a little later than normal, which was fine cause it was pretty nice out. At least I thought it was nice out. I bundle up pretty good with a heavy jacket, a hat, scarf, and gloves, and then pull my hood over my head as well. I didn’t even notice until near the end of the walk that it was sprinkling/sleeting on me. With the iPod on, didn’t hear the sound of it bouncing off my hood, and you could barely see the marks on the ground. The light was out when I got to it (around 8:40pm), maybe I killed it. I was listening to Brian Tracy – The Science of Self Confidence, a self-help kind of thing (not the latest radio hit). Pretty good stuff. Here’s something for you to think about. If you could choose to do any one thing, and be guaranteed to succeed at it (you wouldn’t be hindered by lack of money or time, or by fear or lack of skill, etc.) what would it be? Think about it and meet me back here tomorrow.

Well, I’m starting my fourth week. I’ve been counting calories, rowed, and had breakfast for 21 days in a row! If you’ve lost track, in the last 21 days I’ve lost 6lbs, 2% body fat, and 1.5″ off my belly (I would say waist, but I’m actually measuring across the belly button, I think technically the waist is a little lower). I’ve added Flax and Green Tea Extract to my diet, been drinking at least 3/4 gallon of water, and I’ve taken at least one walk a day for 7 days straight. I feel great, I can tell my metabolism is cranked up.

I’m going to keep on the pace I’ve set, and will try to add more weight training now, probably two to three sessions per week depending on how the muscles feel (I’ll allow plenty of time for recoperation). This may stop the weight loss, or even reverse it (muscle weighs more than fat), but should help with body fat reduction which is my main goal.

I shoveled last night, I’d say we had about 2-3 inches. Took about 35 minutes, was a pretty easy one (listening to the iPod helps!). Katrina IM’d and mentioned she was snacking on chips and salsa. Now why didn’t I think of that? 10 calories per serving for the salsa, and I’ll be able to make my own this summer (I suppose I could now with store bought veggies). Must look into that, just need to find the right chips. Got to bed at midnight , woke up a little past 4:30, then after that a few more times due to cats, and eventually woke up and crawled out at 6:45 (to see more damn snow!). Interval row, breakfast, out the door and into the mess.

I didn’t post yesterday. The reason was, I was busy, and my computer wasn’t available much of the time. Why not? Well, I finally broke down and bought an iPod Nano. I decided that with all the walking I’m already doing, and all the cardio work I plan to continue doing as part of my lifestyle, it makes sense to have one.

So, I picked up a 4GB black Nano at Best Buy. Now, I had to get it working with my computer. My computer was already behaving a little flaky, so I wiped it and reloaded it from scratch. Their’s lots of stuff I use on it, so it takes quite a while to get it all reloaded again. Long story short, I got it all working, and while things would install, I also worked in some strength training. I went on my walk last night with the iPod, and boy, does it make a difference. I put Metallica’s S&M on it, which I hadn’t listened to for some time. Made the walk go by in a flash!

More on the walk. I went south toward ‘the light’ and at 6:14pm I got there. The light was on, and as I passed under it, nothing happened, but as I walked away, when I was about 50′ away, it turned off. I then looped around the block and about 10 minutes later reapproached, but the light was still off. I went back around a few times, but the light didn’t come back on. In those passes, I looked for security lights, their are none, so my speculation on Friday wasn’t true. Speaking of Friday, I ended up not going out, so no calorie overload.

So, I’ve worked real hard this week. I’ve added at least one walk a day to my schedule, and stuck to my calorie count. Weigh in time was this morning. I told myself before hand that even if the measurements don’t confirm it, I feel great, and I can see the difference. The ever important ‘how do I look naked’ is much improved (you’ll have to trust me on that one). So, if the measurements didn’t confirm this, I swore to still stay on track, because eventually they would have to, their is simply no doubt. So, here’s the results:

• Weight: 158 (down 3.5lbs since last week)
• Body Fat: 19% (down 1% since last week)
• Waist: 35.75 (down 1/2″ since last week!)

This is exactly what I was hoping for. The body fat finally adjusted, and both the scale and caliper agree on that. And the waist measurement, 1/2″ in one week, damn, that’s the greatest of all. The weight is a little more than most doctors recommend (1-2lbs per week are generally recommended), but I’m eating healthy, so most of that is probably due to the extra exercise (and reduction of unhealthy consumption), so I think I’m fine there. So, this is very encouraging, and I’m driven to continue on this path. I’m going to copy all my ’self improvement’ audio books to the iPod, and listen to them on my walks as well as music, so this will help make that time even more useful.