Lengthening & Lightening Our Lives…

OK, since I’ve lost the fat, when I exercise, or just stay very active (natural state for me), my body will start to burn muscle in lieu of sufficient fresh carbs on hand.

I’m told this is particularly important while I’m transforming from “old busted” to “new hotness” (a Will Smith line from the movie, “Men in Black”) .

Until that process is completed, I need to cautiously prevent “muscle-wasting” and keep a strong focus on nutritional and fitness supplements. Will be different once steady-state. We’ll still need to focus on nutritional supplements but less on fitness supplements at that point.

So what the heck do I mean by fitness supplements? I’ve added two to my arsenal:

• BCAA (branch chain amino acids) to be taken before and after aggressive weight training workouts – reduce muscle-wasting, preserve lean muscle tissue and increases protein synthesis, and at bedtime to bridge the lengthy period (entire night) without nutrient intake
• Glutamine which enhances muscle recovery after aggressive weight training workouts (makes me a lot less sore after training – becoming increasingly important as I continue to move from casual to intense). Also important at bedtime.

And, of course, powdered form is the preferable delivery system since that’s orders of magnitude more absorbable and usable than pills or capsules. I guess the quality varies dramatically on this stuff, so work with someone you trust (versus just buying supplements at Wal-Mart, for example).

Who knew?

The more I learn about this stuff, the more interesting it is to me what some guys and gals will do to really bulk up in a hurry.

Short of dangerous steroid use (which causes liver and kidney damage, mood-altering toward not for the good, acne, and other very bad side-effects), there are a lot of hormone products, like “estrogen-crushers” and “strength-enhancers”, that I steer completely away from. Not even tempted… 

I’m strictly going “all natural” and “long term sustainable” and “organ-friendly healthy”!

That limits the really high visibility shape-changing muscle-packin’ vein-poppin’ possibilities you see on the cover of muscle magazines, but that’s just fine with me!

I just wanna be stronger and look and feel good.

En route!

Too easy to get caught up in this stuff when at the gym with serious (including some professional) competitors, or at the “Nutri-Shop” talking with body building gurus, and even some models for muscle mags.

Not for this ole son!

I’m holding pretty steady at 183 to 185 pounds, even though I feel like I’m eating like a pig (!!!!!), while continuing to replace remaining fat with lean muscle, and adding a small amount of muscle weekly. That’s the way to achieve and sustain, per Connie, our trainer.

Body Bugg Update:

The ‘buggs’ are great! We wear ‘em from the time we get outa bed to the time we crawl back in (except for showers, swimming, etc.)

Can’t tell you how reassuring it is for us to KNOW how many calories we’re burning and to have a precise record of steps taken.

More importantly, being able to log all your foods on the web site, upload calories burned to compare and plan, establish goals and reminders that are then automatically sent to your arm band and wrist receiver, for tracking calories, protein, carbs, fat, sodium, fiber, sugars, etc. if desired, is simply awesome.

I mostly focus on just the volume and ratios between protein, carbs and fat, along with calories burned vs. consumed.

We print out reports periodically for our fitness files which show a complete history with a wide range of detail flexibility, depending on what you’d like to track.

Net: the devices, the small monthly subscription to the web site, the free or small fee coaching sessions, and most importantly, the overall program, is worth every penny, and as goals change, it’s easy to adjust the overall program to adapt! I also like how they seamlessly integrate their program with the guidance from a fitness professional (trainer) if you’re working with one.

Very cool stuff…

My wish for you? Get well before you need to (if you haven’t already done so), and stay well!  I gave myself the best sixtieth birthday gift of all – I’m in the best shape of my life!

P.S. Kay just told me, “I didn’t get you anything for your birthday since I figured you’d find something you’d want”. I had two responses for her:

1. Perfect, and
2. Duh! (I always want something!)

As my old buddy, Al Lin, used to say with such meaning and intensity, “onward!”

Yesterday was a key milestone for me. Day 40 of my 84 day physical transformation program means just about half-way through, and measurement day with our trainer, Connie.

Setting all the verbal crap aside, we looked at the results (data!), and here’s my net of the good stuff:

1.  Walkin’ the talk toward achieving goals documented October 5th. Actually, well ahead of my plan (see below)
2. My goal was to gain very little total body weight (185 to 186), but to continue to decrease body fat while gaining muscle. I have indeed lost 7 pounds of body fat while gaining 5 pounds of lean body mass (muscle), resulting in a change from 17.8% body fat to 14% (goal: 12%). Means I’m 65.5% of the way there in only 47.6% of the time, which means that not only am I tracking to my goals, I’m well ahead of schedule… yeah!
3. My BMI (body mass index) continues to remain within the normal range of 19-25 (moved slightly from 24.6 on Oct 5th to 24.9 on Nov 13th), so I am NOT underweight or overweight for my frame size, height, etc. And Connie tells me that 23 is not better than 24 which is not better than 25 – it’s just a relative index range. Sounds good!
4. Connie was pleased with the development of my lean mass, particularly upper body such as abs (stomach area where my “six pack” is starting to be more visible), striations in front and top of shoulders (definition lines), triceps and biceps (back and front of upper arms, respectively) and overall increased leanness.

Connie’s constructive criticism:

1. Nutrition: Right on with supplements; however, I’m running too big of a calorie deficit daily (far more calories burned than consumed). Since my body fat is fairly close to minimal sustainable now, continuing to run a large (500 to 1,000) daily calorie deficit, without an increase in complex carb consumption and/or less calories burned (lower intensity cardio, which is pretty intense right now per BFL interval training methodology)–gotta keep protein input up to feed muscle growth–the body will start to burn good muscle instead of bad fat (since none left). So while good muscle growth over the past month, more carbs will prevent burning muscle and give new muscle growth greater definition. Manage to the appropriate deficit/surplus calorie balance between those consumed and those burned. For now, this daily balance should be close to zero, increase carbs (if not doubling up on protein too heavily) to increase calories consumed, but keep fat lower, however, as I increase calories consumed. Assumes calories burned will remain high. Caution: if I smell ammonia in my pee, too much protein, but I shouldn’t be anywhere near that at current or projected increased levels.
2. Lower body development: Lagging good upper body development. While I’ve lost another inch at the waist-line (36.75″ on Oct 5th down to 35.75″ on Nov 13th), and while my lower body is quite a bit firmer (hard), dimensions haven’t increased (she spotted this with just a visual appearance check – confirmed later with actual tape measurement). She recommended a few machines that would more aggressively isolate specific muscle groups needing focus (quads, or fronts of upper legs; hams, or rear of upper legs; glutes, or butt cheek muscles). Machines: incline leg press (Hammer Strength – eighty pound sled with additional free-weights to drive to muscle failure).
3. Plateau-buster: She also recommended mixing in an occasional “shock day” every 3rd or 4th workout. This means that instead of pyramiding (progressively increasing weights on each set of fewer reps) and stripping (after pyramid, strip off some weight from max last set and more reps) for every workout, throw in a shock day where I’d do 3-4 sets of 30-40 reps and taking every exercise to failure (keep lifting until there is absolutely nothing left (unable to do even one more rep(itition).
4. Upper body development: Lookin’ good, but some areas are over-developing, others need work. For example, my traps (triangular muscle from upper rear shoulder to neck) are over-developing, likely caused by tensing neck and shoulders during heavy lifts repeatedly. For developing a balanced upper body physique, she suggested exercises taking the traps ‘out of the loop’ for now, and those that would continue to develop muscle groups I want to see more progress on (pecs, or upper front of chest, to eat up the rest of my “old man titties”). Machines: pec/dec – full-range flyes, finishing with strong burns (half-range-of-motion “pumps” at the end of each set of full-range reps), flat bench press (with heavy weights/fewer reps and wide push-ups), and in general, work more with barbells than dumbells for now (better left-side, right-side symmetry).
5. General progress: Very good and quite rapid (more than double the BB projections) since she has me achieving my goals by Christmas (12 week program) where BB has me achieving my goals by 3/2010. Just means I can back off to maintenance sooner. I have a session with my BB coach (over the phone) tomorrow, so it’ll be interesting to compare that input to Connie’s. BB usually defers to the Fit Pro (fitness professional, i.e., trainer), since BB program tends to be more conservative and general; whereas, a fit pro tailors a program to an individual’s situation much more precisely.

So, on track and ahead of schedule, with a few mid-course corrections to balance further overall development. Awesome!

Cheers. G

Comin’ along, kids. Day 37 of my 84 day program! Almost halfway through, and just ten days before my sixtieth birthday. Gosh, has it been that long?

Burning in the good habits, having shed many of the old, making progress on abs, tris and delts, still need a lot of development on pecs, quads and glutes! Jeez, I love that kinda talk!

Not gaining (lean muscle) as fast as I’d like, however, since I appear to be running a deficit of >500 calories daily. Said a different way, I’m burning that many more calories than I’m consuming as measured by carefully journaling my six daily meals consumed and by reading calorie burn from my Body Bugg arm band.

I should only be running a deficit of about 50 calories per my plan, not 500!

This might be telling me that my workouts are likely causing me to burn off some of the muscle I’m working so hard to develop, since there’s not a lot of fat left to burn, despite the fact that I’m consuming a good balance of quality proteins, complex carbs and some (good) fat, along with supplements of essential fatty acids, branch chain aminos, etc.

But even though I feel like I’m eating like a pig, I’m not gaining much, if any weight. I stay right between 184 and 186, so maybe its working! Like Connie says, “you gotta eat big to get big!” (as long as you’re also workin’ out big, of course.

So this Friday (the lucky 13th), Connie’s going to redo body measurements and recheck the ole BMI (body mass index) to see if I’m really replacing remaining body fat with sufficient muscle mass to achieve my (all natural, somewhat aggressive) goals.

Can’t wait to see if I’m making progress in moving from a 17% BMI in early October toward my goal of 12% by Christmas! Hey! Maybe I’ll get that really cool adjustable dumbell set by Bow-Flex as a Christmas gift! (hint, hint, Kay! Remember to get the bigger set for the (now) bigger boy!!)

 

Now if I could just force myself to also find more time to get this puke-white bone bag some more sun, and pack on another six or seven pounds of rangy grizzle. Guess I gotta take some more time off from :

• writing (www.genowrites.wordpress.com and,  www.writing.com/authors/gjurrens), 
• restoring my good ole boat (www.oursojourn.wordpress.com) and, 
• amateur radio (www.k0gkj.wordpress.com )!

 Keep smilin’, sports fans!

I’m a gym’s worst nightmare – a data-lovin’ geek becoming a not-so-humble body builder!

They finally arrived, and I’ve set ‘em both up, one for each of us. Here’s mine. Fancy packaging, huh?

Pretty interesting system comprising:

1.  the arm band (bottom box above),
2. the receiver/display (can be worn on the wrist or clipped to clothing – its also a watch),
3. the software (part on our PCs, mostly on the www.bodybugg.com web site – requires a subscription, first six months included, then about six bucks a month with a contract

Relatively easy to set up. Lots of video tutorials, a medical questionaire to get the lawyers off the hook and a food preference questionaire used as a baseline for constructing a meal plan if desired.

Simple concept and fairly elegant execution.

The hardware measures, with considerable precision, your physical exertion during the course of the day, primarily in terms of calories/minute  burned (a neat trick accomplished with some sophisticated motion and exertion sensors) and steps taken (advertised as the most accurate pedometer available).

The more interesting part of the system, however, is the Internet-based Body Bugg (BB) program which interprets the data collected by the armband and integrates its data with a more complete view of energy burned vs consumed, along with other features like meal planning, online advisories, etc.

In this program, you establish your goals online (weight loss, muscle gain, performance, or combination, rates of desired goal achievement which then determines the timeframe, etc.) by answering some simple questions.

Same with types of foods you naturally prefer.

Then, based on that, targets (calories burned and consumed per day over a specific period of weeks or months) are established, and a variety of useful and intuitive reports are offered at any time from the real-time data. They give you advice and counsel during the customization process concerning how realistic your goals are.

Pretty cool stuff. Complex, useful and ostensibly precise data acquisition made dirt-simple.

For example, since I’ve already lost all the weight I intend losing, my goals are now based primarily on replacing some remaining body fat with a greater proportion of muscle mass (in other words, a small weight gain).

My objective, therefore, will be to create a modest but specific calorie surplus daily. Combined with my daily supplementation (vitamins, minerals, protein, etc.), nutrition (six balanced protein/complex carb meals) and exercise program, I am now armed with all the tools and knowledge necessary to achieve the following BB program goals:

1. By March 24, 2010, gain 0.9 lbs and weigh 185.9 pounds (big deal since I currently weigh 185 lbs, right? Read on, dear fitness fans!)
2. Lose 0.25 lbs of fat per week while gaining 0.5 lbs of muscle per week
3. Necessary to reduce body fat from 17% to goal of 12%, achieving a lean body mass of 163.6 lbs

In order to achieve these rather precise and imminently achievable goals (I’m excited that’s now even possible!), the BB program advises that between now and 3/24/2010, I need to:

1. achieve a daily calorie deficit of just 50 calories,
2. by burning  3,200 calories daily,
3. and by consuming 3,150 calories daily,
4. with a meal plan created for me exhibiting a macronutrient (MN) profile of approximately 60/20/20; that is:
   1. 60% carbs
   2. 20% protein
   3. 20% (saturated) fats

Now this raises some questions that I’ll need to resolve between my BB coach (one session included in the purchase price) and my trainer at the fitness center.

For example,

• Connie, my trainer currently has me on ”only” 3,040 calories per day consumption rate based on similar goals with a bit different MN profile of 49%/29%/22%. I need to understand whether these are just philosophical or physiological differences that require some adjustment.
• Yesterday, before bedtime I connected my armband (worn all day, taken off to sleep) to the computer via a USB port, uploaded the day’s data to the BB program, and my BB told me that:
  • I consumed 4,567 calories (!), including
  • 9,373 steps and,
  •  5 hours, 41 minutes of “moderate” activity (that’s quite a lot, including some pretty intense cardio and weight training).

So, am I burning off the muscle as fast as I develop it with this much of a calorie deficit? Am I far more active than Connie had assumed? Is this a calibration issue between how I’ve been measuring calories consumed vs the way BB is measuring calories burned? Inquiring minds wanna know!

Right now, all this is taking some time and energy to understand and set up, but the six meal thing is definitely getting easier (I’ve been tracking targets vs actuals, meal by meal, in a daily meal tracking spreadsheet I’ve created with formulas that automatically add up totals for each nutrient, and establish resultant targets for each for the next meal, so that’s definitely getting easier and quicker to track. Mostly based on total calories and the rest on grams (protein, carbs and fat).

Now that BB is more based on calories across the board, based on how it measures activity, I need to integrate that into my thinking.

Anyone who tells you that body-building is NOT a thinking person’s endeavor has NO idea what they’re talking about !!!!!!!

But it is a hoot for an old obsessive-compulsive program manager type figuring all this stuff out for the most important physical asset I own and now manage – by body!

So, to heck with nay-sayers. I’m movin’ on! This is all really very fascinating stuff to me! And I’m a gym’s worst nightmare – a data-lovin’ geek body builder!

Keep smilin, kids! I know I will…

Now comes the hard part, but you know? It wasn’t as hard as I thought. We’ve got the grits to see this through, in spite of friendly ridicule. Check it out…

After working hard on the boat yesterday (see www.oursojourn.wordpress.com), I emerged from the pilothouse and started walking home. Converged on the dock near our condos were half a dozen snowbirds who had just returned from “up north”, sporting their twilight coolers ‘n cocktails ‘n beers.

Saw me coming, and after the briefest of greetings, started commenting on my appearance after almost five months of weight loss (forty pounds) and a month of working out pretty aggressively:

 Oh my God, you’re a mere shadow of your former self!

What the hell happened to you!

Did a particular event cause you to change so significantly? (implying a health scare)

When one of my proclamations included the fact that neither Kay nor I have had a drop (of alcohol) to drink in several months, and that was definitely a contributing factor, reactions of this party crowd were predictable and varied:

Wow, I admire the hell outa you guys for that!

Jeez, well stick a fork in ya and call you done, Son!

Too bad. You used to be a lot of fun (not having spent more than thirty seconds with me in the last five months )

Now I know this was just friendly banter among the boys, during which I thankfully found myself essentially immune to temptation. This was the most fascinating aspect of this eposode for me -  my definitive lack of desire to revert to former unproductive behaviors, particularly when one of our pot-bellied friends proudly displayed his generous midriff. Impulsively, I did the same. The reaction produced wide eyes on the faces of this gang, and a smile on mine. I had been wondering about this moment, after spending the summer in relative solitude.

No worries!

The girls, sitting a few short yards away, then wanted to also see my “six pack” . I told them I wasn’t quite done yet, but within a month, I’d show ‘em in the light of day!

Within the next few days, I’ll try to post a one month snapshot or two. Helps me with motivation and commitment, and I don’t mind showing off to you a bit too!

My next goal will be that folks just expect Kay and me to be fit, and accept the “new” us for who we are NOW.

Big fun, kids! It’s a brand new bag!

Cheers!

 

Five Fitness Screw-Ups to Avoid & Five Critical Success Factors to Jump On–Now!

OK, once I got past the part of my life where I no longer was willing to just surrender to fat and lethargy, I knew I needed to “work out”, as they say.

Got it. But then what? Where would I get help in doing the right thing without wasting time and energy I already don’t have?

Like some of you, I used to exercise just because I knew it was good for me. I bought all the gear – all the right workout clothes, a sports bottle, a Bow-Flex and an elliptical machine, a smattering of free weights, endless club memberships, a few fitness books and the occasional session with a trainer who was usually half my age (maybe) and certainly didn’t understand what I was trying to accomplish or what this old body could or could not be subjected to. Of course, how could he or she, since neither did I!

I’d work up a sweat, feel good about that, and then went on to do dumb stuff that sabotaged my own efforts every single day!

Now generally, as a result, I would cycle between being generally fit and unfit (?), mostly through brute force, but just casually throwing money and time at fitness seemed insufficient and inefficient. How can this be for someone who has been a member of one athletic club or fitness center or gym for his entire adult life, and has spent thousands of hours and dollars “working out”?

There is a term in body building – a hard gainer – which refers to someone who just has a helluva time adding muscle and definition to his or her physique. I thought that was me, as do probably most folks who don’t take the time to study the science and efficient application of specific knowledge to this, or any topic, for that matter. the knowledge to efficiently gaining muscle, or the knowledge to efficiently gain any goal, first requires the baseline “work out” of the most amazing muscle in the human body – the mind!

OK, enough of the generalized crap. That’s not why you’ve taken the trouble to read this article so far. Let’s get more specific.

First, five things you SHOULD NOT do. Then, five things you SHOULD do in order to uncover the look and feel of a new you!

Fitness Screw-Up Number One:  Fail to pull back the bow before attempting to release the arrow, Grasshopper, usually results in breeding frustration and failure instead of hitting the target!

At the risk of mixing metaphors, armed with nothing more than desire, which is a critical ingredient but only one of several in the recipe, the arrow simply falls at your feet unless you take the time and energy to FIRST learn  the entire recipe for what’s required to rapidly propel the arrow forward, AND in the right direction.

Ignorance kills. Going to the doctor for a remedy with illnesses born of neglect and ignorance is like putting sugar into the gas tank of your car, and then getting towed to your mechanic for a fix, just so you can do it all over again as soon as you hit the road. Do you get where you’re going? Maybe eventually, but in a costly and entirely un-self-sufficient manner. And when you get there? Guess what…do you feel good about it? Hell, no!

Learning point:  Learn about the basic maintenance of your body, and then optionally, learn how to supercharge it at the lowest possible cost instead of treating it worse than your car which is only worth about one major reactive medical procedure! 

Fitness Screw-Up Number Two:  Creating a nutritional deficiency that unintentionally but irrevocably negates some or all of your fitness goals!

Why do we exercise? To feel and look better? Sure, but it does absolutely no good to try to lose weight if you feel like crap because you’re constantly sore and tired, does it? You need to deliver nutrients in the proper proportions and at the right time so your body is able to either lose weight and still feel energized, or is able to add tone or muscle as a result of your resistance training.

Learning point:  Without sufficient fuel (protein and complex carbohydrates, for example), your exercise only succeeds in burning off the muscles you’re trying to hard to tone and develop!

Fitness Screw-Up Number Three:  Believing that if you just eat right, you don’t need nutritional supplements!

In today’s world of highly processed foods that are broadly accessible, and whole foods that are not, it is indeed rare that anyone is taking in all the nutrients the body craves for just normal healthy living, much less for achieving virtually any level of improved fitness.

Learning point:  The catch-of-the-day here is to avoid further dumb or unproductive changes by gaining knowledge from reputable sources, and then consistently converting that knowledge into more healthy living and even longer life.

And, by the way, gang, the most important nutritional supplement of all, if not taken appropriately, will sabotage any other attempt to get your metabolism to burn fat and build muscle. Taken on a regular and frequent basis, all things are possible. And it’s FREE! What is this magical supplement? Water! Life’s blood! Without at least ten glasses a day, you’ve already lost the battle. With two glasses first thing in the morning, off you go! It’s often the simplest things that make the difference between failure and loud ‘n proud success!

Fitness Screw-Up Number Four:  As long as you exercise a few times a week, you’ll achieve good fitness as a result!

The facts don’t support this simple “physical activity yields results” notion of fitness wishful thinking. Without specific goals, and a plan to achieve them, you simply won’t.

Learning point;  There is wisdom and relevance in the old saying, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there!”. 

Fitness Screw-Up Number Five:  Thinking that one simple workout routine repeated over and over again is what your body needs to transform into one of those hunks you see in every fitness commercial on TV!

Let’s face it. If great fitness were easy, we wouldn’t live in one of the most morbidly obese countries in the world. “Twenty minutes, three times a week” like they say on TV is just the to get you to buy stuff and get you started. Unless you avoid all the screw-ups in this article, you’ll likely end up with another fitness product whose use is primarily to hang stuff on, or a club membership that mostly eats your valuable time and your scarce finances with disappointing results.

Learning point:  Find a program that works for you and includes an integrated program of nutrition (the right food), supplements (the right vitamins and minerals at the right time of day with respect to your meals and workouts) and a robust exercise program to constantly surprise your body into responding efficiently and to meet your fitness goals. Without all three legs of this stool, it will topple every time!

So to avoid doing the wrong things, you need to know the five critical success factors in creating a new you!

The key is to zero in on a balanced program of things you SHOULD pursue:

1. Specific and timely personal goals (create a self-sense of urgency!)
2. Necessary nutrition (give your body the fuel to create the new you!)
3. Sound supplementation (admit that you couldn’t possibly eat all the necessary food, even if you could find it and afford it!)
4. An efficient exercise regimen consistent with your goals (this requires more personalized knowledge than is found in any “for-dummies” book!)
5. Sustained application of all the above (easy to say, harder to do – are you up to it, or just too good with the lazy excuses that some people come up with?)

Does this sound like a challenge? Good! I wish I had discovered this “rosetta stone” to break the code years ago. Oh well, never too late!

Educational Resources to Avoid Screw-Ups and to Learn the Critical Success Factors: 

1. Check out a few of the myriad resources on the Internet as a starting point. Two of my favorites include Body for Life and Eat Clean. 
2. Another invaluable source of personalized information we gain from periodically working with a personal trainer that you feel comfortable is both knowledgeable and understands what you’re trying to achieve. He or she can then advise you on the mechanics of achieving those fitness goals. The good ones will advise you on all five critical success factors mentioned earlier. Just like selecting a trusted physician, select your trainer with equal care. Not cheap, but what’s your time worth. And even if you only use a trainer for a few sessions to get oriented and pointed in the right direction, you’re miles and miles downrange from the competition – your own ignorance! Our current club and trainer of choice is at Twenty-Four Hour Fitness in Cape Coral, Florida. In the past, we enjoyed a spectacular facility in Rochester, Minnesota known as the Rochester Athletic Club. The key is to find a club and a trainer that you trust and get goin’ !
3. Additional information on supplementation, independent of exercise, focused more on “life extension” as a principal concept (recommended by my physician who’s also very heavily into preventative medicine): Life Extension.

Happy hunting for your own solution to a longer, healthier and happier life! No time like the present, folks!

Old busted (well, not busted, just A bust, for what I need)…

 

New hotness!

Instead of me typing all the features of this other-worldly scale, check out this list:

Can’t wait to try out the UK food database!

When you’re tracking calories, protein, carbs, fats, sugars and sodium like I am, this beats the heck outa looking stuff up in reference books all the time!

You put your dish on the scale, turn it on (automatically zeroes out the weight of the dish), slap on your food, and start typing what it is. The database prompts what it THINKS it is, and you scroll down to what it REALLY is, and voila! Up pops weight, grams of protein, carbs, etc.!

Plus, it’s just a very cool gadget! Only thing lacking is print capability. A backlight would be nice too, along with maybe an MP3 player. Other than that, it’s really a “featured up” scale!

Got it at one of the coolest kitchen stores around – Sur La Table, while we were in Sarasota getting in a bit of shopping just before attending the opera. As it turns out, La Traviata is not one of our favorites (although I love Verdi), but SLT sure is!

Also, we’re making so many smoothies these days, we’ve likely heard the last few gasps from our good ole cheap Osterizer blender, so she’s getting a rest. We broke out the big gun, our Jenn-Air Atrezzi:

Remember, if you can’t go out, just blend in!

Ciao, baby!

OK, kids, the latest is that Connie, our trainer, has Kay and I each on different meal plans based on our respective (different) goals.

Kay remains focused on weight loss first and general conditioning, including strength training second, with her timeline adjusted slightly so as to fit more seamlessly into our lifestyle.

My focus remains strength training first, since I’ve essentially lost the weight I wanted to lose and now want to add muscle, while secondarily managing my overall physical condition appropriate for an active lifestyle of a “young adult” of sixty ;-)

So here are my marching orders from Connie which are entirely consistent with my Body-For-Life direction, just more specific… based on my own current physical stats:

1. Consume 3,040 calories per day, spread over six meals (whew!) comprising:
   1. 1.2 grams per pound of body weight for protein
   2. 2 grams per pound for carbs, and,
   3. 0.4 grams per pound for fat.
2. Daily, that equates to:
   1. 222g protein, or 88 calories from protein
   2. 370g carb, or 1,480 calories from carbs
   3. 74g fats, or 665 calories from fats
3. Or for each of six meals, that means;
   1. 37g of protein,
   2. 61g of carb,
   3. 12.3g of fat.
4. In general, it takes:
   1. a surplus of the right kind of 2,400 calories per day to add one pound of muscle
   2. a deficit of 3,500 calories per day to lose one pound of fat
   3. conversely, an additional 3,500 calories of the wrong type to add a pound of fat

Now interestingly, with the Body Bugg devices (see my previous post on these instruments), we’ll have some real-time information – a “dashboard” for the body, so to speak, to manage to the nums above.

Pretty cool, huh? Here’s the arm band:

and the digital display that can either clip to the arm band, a belt loop, or worn like a wrist watch:

Both of which are also supported by internet-based fitness management software. Can’t wait for them to arrive! They should significantly ease the task of managing our nums in a more painless fashion (plus it’s just too–cool technology!).

Right now, it’s time-consuming to manually map out all the foods we’re eating, along with breaking them down by nutritional component (calories, protein, fat, carbs, etc.) after more manual lookups of the nums, in order to know what’s going on. This will be just another tool in the ole kit. 

 And a  good tool, like “the buggs” should really help, ‘cuz let’s face it, boys ‘n girls, this takes effort, and for busy folks like us, we definitely need a productivity tool like this! And as us geeks well know, can’t EVER have too much instrumentation!

Speaking of which, the batteries for our Polar heart monitors (chest strap transmitter plus wireless wrist receiver/display) that Kay and I have each had for nine years (!) finally crapped out battery-wise. Sent mine in as a trial, to get refurbished with fresh batteries and re-waterproofed (you can swim with these babies) for only about seventeen bucks!

Good to know whether your heart is about to explode, OR you’re within your target range, I guess, ‘cuz if you’re above your target heart range (220 minus your age x 0.75 to 0.85), you’re burning muscle, not fat! Not good.

But you only wear this while you’re working out (strenuously), and then you take it off (unlike the bugg) if you don’t want to use it as a watch (which it also is, complete with alarms). 

For a watch, I prefer my Timex Expedition with a velcro expedition band. Not only is it ruthlessly rugged, waterproof to 100 meters, has alarms, chronograph and countdown timers, it also has an extremely accurate digital compass! Great backup whenever I find myself irrevocably lost in the wilderness, like North Ft Myers, or kayaking in the mangrove tunnels of Charlotte Harbor! 

Although when kayaking, I also strap my floating, waterproof Garmin GPSMap 76cSX on the foredeck. I also like this particular unit because you can load either top notch marine navigation charts OR highway and road maps. Very few units are this good both on the water and on land. They also have topo maps if you’re a hiker. Cool unit.

Like I said, just show me the data and let me decide !!!

Well, gotta hit the sack so I can get back to varnishing the mothership bright and early before Kay gets up and we head to the club. If you’re into boats, you might want to check out my boating blog at www.oursojourn.wordpress.com,

or my writing blog at www.genowrites.wordpress.com. 

And on the offhand chance you’re a ham, or are interested in amateur radio, take a peek at www.k0gkj.wordpress.com.

Now you have your homework… keep smilin’, crew!

Yeah, but its a very useful gadget. Recommended by our trainer (she uses one). It’s called a Body Bugg. One on the way for each of us.

Called a “complete calorie management system”, it will make our lives a lot easier as we strive to track how the foods we eat and plan to eat yield calories, protein, carbs and fat, all of which are essential in specific quantities to burn fat and add muscle – a tricky equation to balance, not to mention time-consuming, without some instrumentation and automation.

Pretty cool how it works. The primary device is basically a small arm band transceiver (about the size of a matchbox) with the most sophisticated set of physiological and psychological sensors currently available.

It measures, in real time, calories consumed, galvanic skin response, heat flux, motion, etc. It can do two things with this realtime data (most users wear it either all the time while awake, or twenty-four/seven in order to include quality-of-sleep measurements).

First, when plugged into a computer’s USB port, it uploads all the data to a sophisticated web site to be charted and used for goal planning and execution.

Second, it can transmit this data to a receiver about the size of a wrist watch. This can give the wearer instant feedback on calories burned, a very accurate count of steps taken, progress toward daily goals. This receiver can either be worn on the wrist or clipped to the arm band.

Can’t wait for them to arrive! Like having a dashboard for the body!

Workouts six days a week continue. Six meals a day continue. Since muscle gain is my goal, I need to build a daily surplus of calories taken in versus burned. I never thought it would be so hard to consume three thousand calories a day!

And I’m not talkin’ about that number of calories in two whoppers, but 3K of clean calories! That’s a lot of food, boys and girls! But I’m not gaining a lot of weight, either! Connie tells me it takes this caloric intake (while working out this heavy) to add lean body mass. OK, Colonel! Let’s get ‘er done! 

Well, Kay and I have an early Tee time for eighteen holes at a nice golf course down the road, so better pound down meal one after finishing my one daily cuppa Joe and after putting the finishing touches on today’s meal plan!

Dealing with DOMS right now (delayed onset of muscle soreness) from yesterday’s upper body workout, and a bit of the hair ‘o the dog (more activity) is just the thing to work through that!

Cheers!

 

Here’s a pearl that I verbalized to myself this morning while pushing for a new intensity level during my cardio workout:

 Which would you prefer?

Privately admitting guilt and shame and weakness about that which is most publicly visible for all to see (your body) and overall, for how you feel…

 

OR…

Publicly and humbly (or not so humbly!) conceding your success in that which literally determines the quality of the entirety of the rest of your life (yes, your body beautiful)?

Taken to its extreme, for example, food and alcohol addiction (both of which both Kay and I possess, but are proudly defeating), is merely slow (or not so so) suicide.

Or when destructive behavior is enabled between two or more folks, could even be considered “mutual murder”. Even if you’re not into “high drama”, it gives one pause, does it not? 

Gotta seriously ask yourself (like we did), why? And what’s the opportunity lost? What CAN’T you do? Do you give a shit enough to tackle  the hard part of changing? We ask ourselves that every day, and that keeps us goin’ in the right direction.

A corollary:

It FEELS far better to be a frequent victor than a perpetual victim, although it’s obviously not as easy, and my perception of the difference is key. I used to prefer easy. It became a chain of thoughtless habits – usually bad. Now I celebrate “not easy” when it comes to making good changes.

Weird.

In fact (no doubt a side-effect of all this focus we’re putting on looking and feeling good, and doing what it takes to “git ‘er done!”), it’s getting to the point where I equate the next difficult challenge with something desirable, even to be anticipated!

And I’m not just talking about fitness here. Other stuff too!

I know, also weird.

Took another pic. Comin’ along – still a distance to go, but this is how I track (sometimes subtle) progress to remain motivated – to fuel constantly movin’ forward!

 

Compare that to 2007, before I retired…

 Or less than one month ago… it “just” takes a sustained effort and focus…

By the way,

I would strongly assert that a positive self-image is FAR more than a mere narcissistic indulgence, at least for me. It IS the fuel for self-confidence and for sustaining an injury-free future for this aging kid who wants desparately for sixty to be the new forty!

At least that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it!

 Later!