Monday Morning Bike Ride 3

Current Weight: 222lbs
Body Fat: 40.1%

This is my third Monday in a row riding my bike to work. I made it in 55 minutes, we'll see how the homeward commute goes later today.

Home in 69 minutes, making it a 62 minute average.

Goal Reaffirmation

Current Weight: 222lbs
Body Fat: 37.4%

Having a written goal is an important part of achieving it. Writing your goal down assists you in visualizing it, seeing the success you want to achieve, and working toward achieving it. As I mentioned before, goals should be specific and achievable.

A common problem with most goals are they are only a single, long term goal. This can become discouraging, and make it harder to see the progress you are making toward that goal. To prevent this issue, take your long term goal and break it down into smaller steps. This gives you intermediate goals you can achieve and helps you see the steps you are taking.

An important part of goal setting is defining a time limit. A goal without a time limit is only a wish. Goals are things we WILL accomplish.

My Goals are:

• Get below 20% body fat by January 1
  
• Drop 2% body fat each month for the next 10 months
  
• Perform 12 pullups without assistance or kip by October 1
  
• Perform 2 pullups without assistance or kip by May 1
  
• Perform 4 pullups without assistance or kip by June 1
  
• Perform 6 pullups without assistance or kip by July 1
• Perform 8 pullups without assistance or kip by August 1
• Perform 10 pullups without assistance or kip by September 1
• Make my 12 mile work commute on bike (both ways) within 45 minutes by January 1
• Make 12 mile commute within 55 minutes by June 1
  
• Make 12 mile commute within 50 minutes by September 1
  

Smaller Plates

Current Weight: 223lbs
Body Fat: 38.4%

It has been shown that by eating food from a small plate, people feel fuller than if they ate the exact same amount of food from a larger plate. With a larger plate, especially at a buffet, we also have the tendency to try to fill every inch of the plate, causing us to eat too much.

So instead of grabbing the largest plate you can and piling on the food, find a normal sized plate, and eat a normal serving size.

The Scales

Current Weight: 220lbs
Body Fat: 38.7%

I did it. I broke free of the stigma of the scales and am going to use it only as an additional measuring tool. I weighed myself today with the attitude of "so what?" So what if I've gained weight. So what if I've gained fat. I expected to since I didn't do anything for almost 6 months, and now I can use the scales to measure my progress once again.

Wednesday's Workout:

Assisted Dips: 12r at lvl 11 (weight unknown)
Assisted Pullups: 12r at lvl 15
Seated Chest Press: 12r at 115lbs
Seated Overhead Press: 12r at 115lbs
Cable Crossovers: 12r at lvl 7 (weight unknown)
Standing Calf Raises: 12r at 81lbs
Seated Flys: 12r at 94lbs
Seated Rows: 12r at 144lbs
Camber Curls: 12r at 55lbs

Paul McKenna: I Can Make You Thin!

My wife and I recorded "I Can Make You Thin!" on TLC with our DVR last Sunday and finally had a chance to watch it. The show is based on Paul McKenna's book of the same name. Paul's rules make sense, and reiterate a few things I've said previously. His 4 golden rules are:

1. When you are hungry, eat.
2. Eat what you want.
3. Eat consciously.
4. When you feel full, stop.

First, when we starve ourselves, our metabolism slows down, saving precious energy and storing fat for later. When we feel physically hungry, as opposed to emotionally hungry, we should eat, so our body knows food is available and our metabolism can maintain burning calories. Paul also revealed a very important weight loss tip: if you think you are hungry, you might simply be dehydrated. It seems that 75% of the time we think it’s hunger, it’s actually thirst. McKenna recommends drinking one glass of water and waiting to see if the hunger passes, common to the "15 minute" trick I mentioned previously.

Second, appetite only increases in the absence of the thing we desire. If we eat the foods we have cravings for, the cravings go away. If we deny ourselves that which we want, we only want it more, and will most likely binge on it when we get it. The foods we desire, however, will change when we follow rule 3.

Eating consciously means to eat slowly and deliberately. Don't multitask while you are eating, focus on the food. Take small bites and enjoy each bite of food. Place your silverware down between bites and relax, savoring the flavors of the food. Instead of getting a rush from quickly eating foods high in sugar, you will begin to actually taste them and find you no longer crave some of the processed garbage you used to like.

Despite what your mother told you, don't feel guilty for not cleaning your plate. Better for the unused food to go into the trash than to your hips and thighs. Eating to excess is one of the largest causes of weight gain. It is far easier to guiltily consume 500 calories than it is to burn it off afterward, you will always be under the control of the calorie equation.