30x40: Week of 7/21/08 Progress

THIS IS THE THIRD WEEK of my fitness program, and so far, the most important measure, weight, has been under control. Particularly important, because emotionally it was a shitty week (of which more later), and I didn't run out and bury my frustrations in some of the low-carb crap I've been wont to do. The only weekday meal that missed the mark was a Friday adventure with nacho chips and cheese, but I counted every chip, calorie, and macronutrient, so I have no food unaccounted for. (Plus I tossed the remaining chips Saturday morning in the manner of a repentant, backsliding smoker.)

So, for those who crave more obsession with my weekly rigors, the new list of goals on the board last Monday was as follows:

• Improve clean protein intake
  
• 7/21: Waist measure
  
• Perfect gym attendance
  
• Post weight #s on net
  
• More protein (sans bad fats)
  
• More veggies
  
• Push limits of at least two exercises
  
• Good dinner choices
  
• TARGET WEIGHT: 226

Here's how I made out:

7/21: Waist measure: I'd added a weekly bout with the tape measure to complement the scale readings. The number is nice and all, but the gut circumference helps reveal gross fat differences more clearly. And at the rate I plan to go, my clothing should not feel perceptibly looser from one day to the next, or even across a couple of weeks.

My ides of June measure, fresh from Las Vegas, was 51 inches across the navel and hip bones (which took a little doing to find). On 7/21, I'd reduced to 49.5; today, I'd shaved off another half-inch. Not bad, considering this weekend held some extra-naughty cake, courtesy of Steve and his co-conspirators at Jen's graduation party.

Because I expect a very gentle, gradual drop in this figure, with possibly imperceptible progress over a month — and because I'm so inept at finding the proper place to stretch the tape over my topography — I'm not setting a goal for this figure. I'll just let this one inform the more frequent weight surveys.

Perfect gym attendance: A second perfect week. Of course, I fouled up any chance to add a third week of this by sabotaging my sleep schedule. Upon returning home relatively early Saturday night, I made the mistake of pulling Watchmen off the shelf. I didn't set it aside until 2:30, and I still hadn't finished it. I even complained at the party earlier that day of the hazard of even peeking in the comic to confirm one quick detail, for fear of just plopping down and plowing through the whole book. Goddamn you, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

So tomorrow begins this week's cycle, with Monday's workout. No big thing, although past experience has shown the Monday lifting-fests to be a bitch if the preceding weekend featured scattershot protein intake. The past two days weren't so bad, but today was a lean-food day. Not the worst thing to admit for someone who backed himself into this situation with his fuckin' appetite, but still, I don't want my body snacking out on my own muscles and unraveling my work.

Post weights #s on net: I only added this because I kept blipping on saving the Blogger template, leaving yesterday's weight and date for all to see. Problem fixed.

More protein (sans bad fats): Having the small tins of tuna has worked well during the day, but I still see myself falling short of the 40% of total daily calories that I want to get from protein sources. I bought eggs and Egg Beaters, which I can have in a 50/50 blend to make scrambled eggs for breakfast on weekends or weekday dinners. I can snag small cups of yogurt to eat as dessert, though I do have to watch the simple carbs they contain. One other solution is jerky, but the bagged jerky around these parts tends to have some nasty chemical flavoring agent added (We put the "yak" in "teriyaki!"), and the good stuff you get online costs about as much as heroin. Will have to tinker with it this week.

More veggies/better dinner choices: Dinner in Week 2 wasn't so bad, but it was a little deficient in good veggies. Week 3 was just about the same, so I am going to keep these two goals to help guide the ship of progress inch by inch . . . into the nearest Chinese buffet. No, seriously, I can nail these if I plan ahead.

Push exercise limits: I did well here, thanks to the microloading tactic I adopted. I took some time (at work, of course) to plan out tomorrow's progressions, and I think being able to notch things up in 2.5-lb. steps ought to help me climb that wall I seem to be nearing. I do feel stronger while accomplishing various household chores, climbing stairs, and the like, so I'm in far better shape than some summers while working in the city, when I would sit panting at my desk after lugging my 240-lb. frame across Midtown or Chelsea and wonder if I'd have the endurance to roll back to Jersey in the murderous heat of the evening.

Target weight: 226: When I weighed myself Saturday morning, I came out at 223.5, well within my goal. I've already retraced some of this (225.5 this morning) due to the less controlled grazing at Jen's party on Saturday, but note: I didn't gain it all back. Good sign. I'm going to use today's weight as the goal for this week. If I remain at 225.5 by next Saturday, but I improve my lifting numbers, then I know I dropped a little more fat. If I do better at the weights and beat the goal . . . well, I won't complain.

So we'll see how I do during this week. If I can stay awake, I'll post some or all of the handwritten analysis of my work situation, which I scrawled out over a couple of hours in the office last Friday. It was by far the most productive thing I did there all week.