Day 9

It seems easier on the weekends.  Maybe because I sleep longer.

1200 calories per day +/-

A minimum of 30 minutes exercise on the rowing machine.  Hard.  Set a PR today for distance rowed in 30 minutes AND it was done in a fasted state.  So much for not having energy while I’m fasted.  Also did some pullups, pushups and deadlifts.

Drinking lots.  Lemon squeezed into my water first thing tin the morning as well.

I’ve been at 174.5 lbs for 3 days.  Mini-plateau.  I’ll kick it in the ass if it continues by going for a hard run.

Took my measurements with a tape today.  20.4% body fat.  If I hit 155 lbs I will be at 10% body-fat which is NOT unhealthy for a man.

Ate well all week.

Onward.

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Eat well

What’s Your Goal?

Delayed gratification is taking an action now that will give you the desired results later.

If I delayed gratification on a regular basis, I’d be incredibly fit, have saved enough for early retirement, have gone back to school and made a career change.  Easy concept.  But reality is its usual pain in the backside.

Can delaying gratification in one area of my life give me the tools to do so in other areas?  We’ll see.  First I need to meet a long term goal by successfully delaying some serious gratification.  Enter my current battle to drop a weight class for Jiu Jitsu…permanently.

Weight loss is the ultimate exercise in delaying gratification.

• The short term reward / gratification…well I can hear all the goodies in my refrigerator calling my name as I type.
• The delayed gratification…Being as lean as is necessary to be healthy in the long term, having a better strength to weight ratio, and if I’m honest with myself, looking great.

Step One: Make an Advance Decision

Done.  Get lean.  Not skinny.  But the detail is simple:

1. Control what I put in my mouth.  Full stop.  Quantity AND Quality.  At first, I will limit calories so that I lose weight gradually.  No alcohol.  No sugar.  No junk food.  Limit dairy.  Limit gluten.  Lean meats.  Lots of veggies but no starchy ones.  Lots of water.
2. Daily exercise minimum.  Even on high stress days.  30 minutes minimum on the worst days.  The rowing machine is always ready for a high intensity tear.  Face it, I eat and stop exercising when I am stressed, leading to…
3. Manage stress.  I can’t cure my son’s epilepsy.  I can’t make my parents any younger or less infirm.  I can’t control the demands of my job or the reality of a vested pension plan given my financial situation.  I can’t reverse my age related aches and pains.  My old dog IS old and yes he is starting to have bad days.  SO what can I control in order to minimize stress?  a) Sleep – I will get 8 hrs,  b) I will learn to say NO.  ”Not today”.  ”Not tomorrow”.  ”Can someone else do that?”. c)  I will ask for help.  d) I will leave the dishes on the counter, vacuum less.  e)  I will meditate everyday before bed.

Step Two: Ponder the Consequences of Failure

For me it is simple.  If I won the lottery today, I still would not have sufficient hours in the day to be with the special people in my life and to follow my interests.  So what am I waiting for?  As Mark Twight says, “Do it now, you aren’t going to live forever”.

The consequences of failure are status quo in every case.  I am an atheist.  In my reality I only get one chance.  What AM I waiting for?

The small dream is losing a bit of weight.  But it is also that the little bit of discipline that I gain doing that, translates into discipline to write more, to do more programming, to innovate, to invest in my family, and to live in the now.  A little bit of discipline goes a long way.  You get the idea.

Step Three: Reward Successes

When I hit target, I’m going to reward myself.  Not sure what yet but it might be:

1. A getaway with Annette
2. A trip with Annette and the boys
3. A week in NYC with Marcelo Garcia or in Salt Lake City with Gym Jones and Unified Brazliian Jiu Jitsu in SLC (If they’ll have me).

Step Four: Build on Success

This will be where I see whether some new-found discipline will let me tackle a new goal.  Maybe financial, maybe BJJ related…we’ll see.

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Ran just over 8 km today.  I burned 678 calories.  No problem.

I guess I’m doing more of a 20/4 fast.  But it’s still an intermittent fast.  Annette and I cooked Tilapia, eggplant, peppers, onion and spinach for dinner.  We also had guacamole with rice crackers and an oatmeal muffin.

So maybe 600 cal for dinner, 400 cal of muffins, 400 cal of guacamole = 1400 calories for today.  Hmmm.

Pics from class yesterday

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