Accountability as a Motivator

All of five people voted on whether or not I should do the Boise tournament, and the results were split.  This makes my vote the tie breaker.  Boise it is.

I weigh 196 right now, and need to get to 190 by 6 p.m. on the 24th to make the 171-190 bracket.  I tried cutting back calories and increasing exercise last week, only to go from 198 to 193, then back up to 199 a few days ago, and finally to 196 today.  Something needs to change if I’m going to get my weight where I want it.

This post will be my new online journal for the next couple weeks.  Tracking my progress (or regress) in the public eye may make me more accountable and less likely to cheat.  With family outings, Easter dinner, and plans with friends coming up I can use all the help I can get.

I’ll chart my progress starting tomorrow.

04-11-09

8:30 a.m. 2 mile jog

9:00 a.m. Lean Turkey Sausage/Egg/Bell pepper concoction, toast PB&J, fiber drink (this will be my last real breakfast) vitamins, msm

12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Trained at Westside.  Brought along Trey.  Little bro held his own!

2:00 p.m. 40g protein shake, fiber drink

4:00 p.m. 15g protein shake, half an apple, fiber drink (Mixing the fiber in with the protein tastes like those chocolate oranges, except gritty.  Mmm!)

7:00 p.m. Chicken Salad, light on the dressing

9:00 p.m. Animal Flex, ZMA, fish oil, MSM (That’s about 15 pills haha)

Today felt good!  I’m a little wary about tomorrow since it’s Easter and there will be a ton of food and candy.

04-12-09 (Happy Birthday DAD! and Happy Easter to everybody)

08:00 a.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink

11:00 a.m. Easter Breakfast (approx. 5 eggs, small slice of ham, 1/2 cup hashbrowns, 2 cups O.J., plus MSM and vitamins)  This was horrible.  There were so many temptations I avoided.  Not the best breakfast in terms of sheer quantity, but I avoided a ton of goodies.

03:00 p.m. 50g protein shake, fiber drink

08:00 p.m. Easter Dinner (7 oz. salmon and a huge spinach and veggie salad)  This meal was later than what would be ideal, but it was a bit out of my control.  I ate a ton of salad, but that shouldn’t be a problem.  Again, the temptations here were ridiculous.  Mary Rose made good dessert, and I had to avoid more good food.  It was a fun night hanging out with the family; I just felt like an alcoholic trying to stay sober at a Beer festival.

12:30 a.m.  We got home pretty late; I took my ZMA, Animal Flex, and MSM and hit the bed.

This day sucked mentally, but I held it together for the most part.

04-13-09

08:00 a.m. 35 gram protein shake, fiber drink

10:30 a.m.  4 oz. turkey burger (no bun) 1/8 head broccoli, 6 mini carrots, low fat ranch dip, and a Golden Delicious apple

01:45 p.m.  5 oz. chicken breast, 1/8 head broccoli, 6 mini carrots, low fat ranch dip

04:15-5:15 p.m.  YHA exercise group: moderate-high intensity

05:30 p.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink, Benefiber tablet (thanks Anonymous)

07:00 p.m. 5 mile jog light-moderate intensity.  My knees feel like they just aged 50 years.

08:15 p.m. Fiber drink, Animal Flex, MSM, ZMA, Fish oil

I didn’t go to Gold’s today to weigh myself, so I have no idea if I did well this past weekend or not.  The amount of exercise I got today damn well better have made a dent though.

04-14-09

8:00 a.m. 46g protein shake and fiber drink, vitamins and MSM

12:00 p.m. 5 oz. chicken breast, broccoli, carrots and low fat ranch

03:30 p.m. 5 oz. chicken breast, broccoli, carrots and low fat ranch

06:00 p.m. 35g protein shake and fiber drink

10:00 p.m. Animal Flex, ZMA, MSM, Fish oil

I ate fine today, but I swear not exercising messes with my head.  I’m convinced I put 2 lbs. on.

04-15-09

07:00 a.m. half an apple

07:30-9:00 a.m. light to moderate strength training and interval training on the bike

09:00 a.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink

01:00 p.m. 9 oz. chicken breast, 1/4 head broccoli, 10 mini carrots, low fat ranch

04:15-5:15 p.m. YHA exercise group: moderate-high intensity

07:30 p.m. Olive Garden family party: Fettuccini Alfredo, 5 bread sticks… ha, just kidding.  I really struggled, but kept it together and had a Chicken caesar salad with dressing on the side (used about 1.5 tbsp.)

10:00 p.m.  Animal Flex, ZMA, MSM, Fish oil, Fiber drink/Benefiber

Today kicked ass.  I finally got to weigh myself at Gold’s.  The very Gold’s scale that told me I was 199 a week and a half ago had me at 192 today!  I’m on a great pace.  Tomorrow I get to train again, and try to polish up.

04-16-09

8:00 a.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink

11:00 a.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink

01:30 p.m. 8 oz. turkey burger, 1/4 head broccoli, 10 mini carrots, low fat ranch

04:30 35g protein shake, fiber drink, apple

06:00-08:00 p.m. Trained at Westside.  I was a little rusty with my takedowns, and got beat a couple times but felt decent.

08:30 p.m. 4 oz. turkey burger, mixed salad, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar/olive oil mix

10:30 p.m. Animal Flex, ZMA, MSM, Fish oil, Fiber drink/Benefiber

I notice I ate a little more today than usual, but it was all clean stuff.  I’ll just make sure to dial it in this weekend like I did last weekend.  No temptations this weekend, other than watching UFC with my buddies this Saturday.  Pretty easy to cheat when with friends.

04-17-09

07:00 a.m. 3 strawberry

07:30-8:15 a.m. 15 minutes stairmaster, 15 minutes of HIIT on bike

08:30 a.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink, daily vitamins and msm

11:45 a.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink

02:15 p.m. 8 oz. chicken breast, 1/4 head of broccoli, 10 mini carrots, low fat ranch

05:00 p.m. 1.5 mile walk with the dogs.

06:30 p.m. 10 oz. salmon steak, huge salad with veggies, sauteed mushrooms

11:00 p.m. Animal Flex, ZMA, MSM, Fish oil, Fiber drink/Benefiber

I decided to “cheat” by having an extra large salad tonight and a generous helping of salmon.  I did so because I’m already on weight!  I weighed in at 189 today, which is great because if I can maintain then I don’t have to cut water.

04-18-09

09:00 a.m. Kashi hot cereal mixed with 23g scoop protein, fiber drink, vitamins and msm

10:00-11:00 a.m.  Core workout with this girl I am training

11:45 a.m. Protein bar 32g protein, 26g carb, low sugar  (I okayed the carbs as I wanted to have a good workout.  Is this justifying?)

12:00-2:00 p.m. Trained at Westside.   Alot of people were there today, which was great.  Most of the people there were planning on doing the Boise tournament, so everybody was motivated to train hard.  Good, solid day of training.

2:00 p.m. 46g protein shake, fiber drink

04:30 p.m. 9 oz. turkey burger, bowl of fairly low calorie soup, 10 mini carrots, low fat ranch

08:00 p.m. 35g protein shake, fiber drink, fat free cheese roll

11:30 p.m. Animal Flex, ZMA, MSM, Fish oil, Fiber drink/Benefiber

04-20-09

Being sick sucks.  I didn’t write my diet down yesterday because, by my accounts, I didn’t stay strict.  I didn’t blow my diet by any means, but I relaxed a little.  I woke up with a head cold, and got caught in a cycle that led to the minor binge.  My cycle looks like this:

“I feel like crap.” -> “I’ve been trying to be so healthy, and this is what I get?” -> (feeling down, poor little me) -> “You know what, screw it.” -> (feeling craving plus mental weakness) -> (Justification) “Besides, I’m sick so I need the calories.” -> GOBBLESNARFGOBLERAGGOBBLEGOBBLE -> “I blew it.” -> “I feel like crap.”

…and the cycle repeats.  Nevertheless, I woke up this morning feeling sick still but I vowed not to fall victim to the same destructive, thought cycle.  Back on the wagon:

08:00 a.m. Load up 2 gallons of water with 20g of fiber and drink throughout the day, 35g protein shake, fiber drink, vitamins, msm

11:30 a.m. 1 apple

01:30 p.m. 8 oz. chicken, 1/4 broccoli head, 10 mini carrots, low fat ranch

04:30-5:00 p.m. YHA exercise group, moderate to high intensity

05:45-6:45 p.m. walk two miles light intensity, run three miles moderate intensity

08:00 p.m. 7 oz. salmon fillet

10:30 p.m. Animal Flex, ZMA, MSM, Fish oil, Fiber drink/Benefiber

MUCH better day.  I didn’t get a chance to see what damage I did weight-wise, but today should have negated any impact.

04-23-09

So, I haven’t made an entry the past couple days.  Here’s a summary.  I basically kept the exact same diet and exercise routine as last weeks.  The only change is that for the first three days of this week I drank 2 gallons of water a day, the last couple of days I’ve drank 1 gallon.  Tomorrow on the ride up to Boise, I’ll drink and eat very little water at all.  Once I weigh in, I rehydrate and replenish.

I was exactly where I needed to be weight-wise today.  The only problem is I feel sluggish.  Tomorrow will only be worse, but I’ll have time to get energized before I compete Saturday.  This is my last post until I get back from the tournament.

Stay tuned for the update!