Barnold's Diary - Project Mediterranean 2007

Ooh, there's nothing like making people shiver with anticipation... :) We're not 100 % sure of the name yet ourselves, but there's no hurry. She's really been a low-maintenance baby so far, but most babies are when they're just days old. Eat and sleep, sleep and eat, and every once in a while there's this look of intense concentration and a watery-sounding burble from somewhere under the diaper...

Sheidi, sorry I jumped to conclusions... :eek: Wish I could be able to take a trip to Australia someday. And NZ as well, me and my wife are both nuts over the (partly computer-enhanced) scenery in the LOTR movies.
 
Barnold said:
and every once in a while there's this look of intense concentration and a watery-sounding burble from somewhere under the diaper...
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HAHAHAHA that made me laugh really really hard!

I'm glad the new baby isn't too much trouble. I LOVE babies!! I can't wait to have one!! I love the way they smell and move... well I love it all! You're a lucky guy!! 4 Beautiful kids!!
 
Week 5: -0.5 kg

Paternity leave continues, as does the weight loss, although a little bit slower. I reckon it's mainly because the days aren't as organized as my usual working days, and it's easier to grab a bite to eat whenever peckish. But during the last couple of days I've actually managed to exercise. First I loaded roughly six cubic meters (65 cubic feet) or firewood onto a tractor trailer, and now I'm going to have to chop the bigger ones and stack them all in the shed. Should keep me busy for a while. And we bought a small stepper (or stairmaster, whatever you call it), but the stupid thing has a weight limit of 100 kgs. OK, I could still probably use it, but if it breaks down the warranty would probably not be valid. The irony - having to lose weight before being able to exercise...

OK, back to work. The baby's asleep, but there's tons of things to do around the house. And when there isn't, I've a whole new stack of sheet music to study, and to convert into midi files.

Oh, and T2 Trucker - these two beach volley teams are quite enough, thank you. :D
 
Hey Barnold! I'm glad you've still managed to lose some weight with the new baby around!! You're doing great!
 
Back at work after the paternity leave. Somehow I think last week wasn't very good regarding weight loss, but we'll see tomorrow morning. I did get some exercise (moving more than two metric tonnes of wood from A to B, chopping maybe a third of it and stacking it all), but all that work sure created an appetite. Oh well, if my weight has gone up, I'll just say I gained muscles. (Yeah, right. :rolleyes: ) Haven't been sleeping as much as I should, but strangely this is not because of the baby - she's usually very quiet during the night. I just haven't gone to bed early enough, because I've been working on transferring our choir's autumn repertoire from sheet music into midi format, and from there to CDs. Makes it easier for new (and old) singers to learn the pieces. And I've also tried arranging songs myself, which is never quite straightforward but even less so when, like me, you don't have any formal training in the theory of music. Just a good ear. Or two.
 
Week 6: +0.5 kg

Well, this was expected. I'm glad I only gained a little, though - and I know I'll be able to do better. It's funny how during previous attempts to lose weight even a minor setback like this might have been enough to scrap the whole project, but not this time. No way. I'm going to see this through.

And it's definitely going to be easier to eat more sensibly and regularly while at work. There's practically no opportunities for grabbing an unhealthy snack. The only things within easy reach are water and coffee (we Finns drink lots of coffee), and, most importantly, I'm not around someone who is able to eat almost all the time and still lose weight. Breast-feeding does that to you, I'm told. :D
 
One can only imagine the organize chaos in your household right now. I think we're lucky you have time to drop in on your diary and keep up us to date on how things are going.

Not everyone will understand this perhaps, but seeing someone gain a little (wee little in your case) weight and get on here and make no bones about it and just reset their thoughts and muster up an onward and upward attitude is pretty inspirational - at least to me it is.

No crisis, no excuses, just getting back in the parade and finding your step. I like that.

Carry on Soldier.
 
Week 7: -0.7 kg

That's better. Now just to maintain this pace and the Christmas target won't be a problem. No major changes in my eating or exercising (or lack of it) to report, all quiet on the Eastern front. Or as quiet as it can be around our house. Fall is rolling in, which means more work in the garden. Raking, digging up old currant bushes and planting new ones, tearing down the rickety old compost and setting up a new one, planting hundreds of flower bulbs...we moved in our house two years ago, and now that we've seen what the previous owners have put in the garden it's time to make some changes. In the winter that will mean cutting down maybe a dozen wrist-thick birch trees - they're just not right. Too close together and/or too close to other more "valuable" trees. Whee, I get to buy a chainsaw! :cool:
 
YAY for chainsaws!! haha. When my husband and I bought our house we had to cut down a tree and I got to use a chainsaw... awesome. Glad you are still losing considering your new baby!! How is she? When do we get to hear the name!!!!!???? :)
 
The name will be official on October 14th, we still haven't set it in stone yet. Another reason not to have any more kids - all the good names are used up already, or so it seems.

And a general comment about the state I'm in right now: Ow. Ow. OW. The other kids are now going to daycare three days a week, and since I'm the one who takes them there that means two mornings a week that can be used for something else, like working. Or going to the gym, like I just did. I knew I'd overdo it, but I think I did it all the same. I'll be lucky if I can lift my arm tomorrow morning, and yet I'm crazy enough to even think about going to the gym again tomorrow. Only this time I'll work my legs and arms, not chest, back and shoulders like today. Twice a week is all I'm able to do right now, but that should be enough to at least maintain most of the muscle mass I have now.
 
Hey there,
Just checking in - it looks like you are doing an amazing job!
You're doing great Barnold!!
 
Take it easy Barnold. It's easy to overdo it at the gym. Slow and steady, and you'll get there. I'm amazed you get done what you do. My youngest is 17, however, I remember when all three children were under 4 1/2 years old. Man I was busy!!
 
Hey Barnold!

Sounds like your doing a fantastic job being papa and with your lifestyle change. Your very well spoken, and very optimistic and that's very nice to read in a diary.

Hope all is going well with the new baby.

~ Sara Maria ~
 
T2 Trucker said:
One can only imagine the organize chaos in your household right now. I think we're lucky you have time to drop in on your diary and keep up us to date on how things are going.

Not everyone will understand this perhaps, but seeing someone gain a little (wee little in your case) weight and get on here and make no bones about it and just reset their thoughts and muster up an onward and upward attitude is pretty inspirational - at least to me it is.

No crisis, no excuses, just getting back in the parade and finding your step. I like that.

Carry on Soldier.
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I couldn't agree more. It's so great to see that even with a little setback, you just got right back on track and decided to start fresh. That is so great! Good luck to you! Keep up the good work!

x
Monica
 
That's great you will be able to go to the gym now! You are doing such a great job!! I can't wait to hear the name!!! :)
 
Thanks for the support, all of you! I think I mentioned this earlier, but going public on the weight loss project like this has definitely made it easier for me to deal with setbacks. It's all out in the open (anonymously, but still), so I can't just curl up in a corner somewhere and mope. Negative thoughts rarely benefit anyone, but it sometimes takes a kick in the <beep> to realize that.

I'm pretty sore all over - a telltale sign of a good workout. I'll be OK in a couple of days, I'll just take it easy and work on the abs until then. The gym I go to is at work, and it's pretty cramped and dull (in the basement, so no windows), and there's no TV. Which are all good things, if you're serious about working out. Nothing to distract you from the sets and reps, and doing the movements correctly and without cheating. Here's what I do:

Day 1: Seated bench presses (warmup + 4-5 sets), incline bench presses with dumbbells (3-4 sets), lat pulls (warmup + 4-5 sets), seated rows (3-4 sets), dumbbell lateral raises (3-4 sets), dumbbell shrugs (3 sets), back extensions (4 sets) and stationary bike for 20-30 mins.

Day 2: Leg press (warmup + 4-5 sets), calf raises on the leg press machine (3-4 sets), leg curls (4 sets), leg extensions (3-4 sets - these BURN my legs!), dumbbell bicep curls (3-4 sets), concentration curls (3 sets), triceps extensions (3-4 sets), one-arm triceps extensions (3 sets), stationary bike.

All sets are done to exhaustion, depending on the resistance I do 6-12 reps for each set. And I'm strict, meaning I for example do the bicep curls sitting down on a bench. That way I won't sway backwards and forwards, and the biceps have to do the work. Seated bench presses work for me - I never did like the standard bench presses. My arms are long, so the standard ones require lots of concentration, and I'm usually working out without a spotter, so getting pinned under the barbell is a possibility. Been there once with 200+ lbs, don't want to do it again.
 
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