Fit by 60! - TomO's Pledge

Rant away Tom! The frustration is HUGE!

I'm thinking you might need a couple of cheat days!
:)
 
I was so bummed out today I didn't even feel like going to the gym.

But I dragged my ass there anyway.

65 minutes on the elliptical, 1,038 calories, max 149 bpm (89%), avg. 139 bpm (83%)

Thanks for trying to cheer me up, m2m & Kelly. It means a lot, it really does.
 
Sunday, March 11, 2007

Weight: 244.8 - Plateau #2, Day #24

Maybe losing weight when you're in your 50's just doesn't work the same way. :(

Maybe if you've been overweight that long, your body just says, "F&#& you, jack, I don't believe you anymore!" Or maybe at that age, it really does take 2,500 calories to put a pound on, and 5,000 calories to get rid of it.

From what I can tell, I've done everything right. I'm running a deficit of around 600 calories. Exercising like a fiend. Eating good food. Started a new routine at the beginning of this plateau.

I keep telling myself, the last one took 31 days to get through.

So I guess I'll wait at least that long for this one.

AAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!
 
Well, and just think how much worse off you'd be if you were eating the way you used to eat, or not exercising ;)

Times like this are miserable, but they do pass and when you're on the other side of that number you'll forget all this :D

Have you taken your measurements lately?
 
i'm so sorry to read about your frustration!

for what it's worth, i think you are doing an awesome job! i always enjoy reading your posts, because they are always so knowledgeable and well stated. you are an inspiration around here!
 
M2M & Daiseangel, thanks so much for your support.

I was telling Marlene how frustrated I was, and she helped me get my head screwed back on straight. She reminded me what I was like 9 months ago -- totally out of shape, afraid to do anything physical, 25 lbs. heavier, on the edge of T2 diabetes and hypertension. She reminded me that I can't just look at a number on the scale -- I've got to focus on all the other positive things in my life, too.

Of course, that's what I tell everyone else all the time. But sometimes applying what you know is right to your own life is the hardest thing of all! Anyway, it's great to have support, both in real life and on the web.

Today's my off day, so I'm going to do some gardening for a couple of hours.

It's a beautiful day today, 72 degrees and sunny, so I think I'll enjoy it a bit!
 
gardening

Even on your off days you're doing something physical.

I am thinking I'll do well to lose twelve pounds this year, one a month.

You're hard work and steely determination is going to pay off big time.
 
Oooh, where are you in Southern CA? I'm in South Orange County and it's BEAUTIFUL today!

And Marlene was right - you have to look at the WHOLE picture!
 
I was so bummed out today I didn't even feel like going to the gym. But I dragged my ass there anyway.65 minutes on the elliptical, 1,038 calories, max 149 bpm (89%), avg. 139 bpm (83%)

Holy moly Tom! 1038 calories! That's awesome!!! :D

Weight: 244.8 - Plateau #2, Day #24

Maybe if you've been overweight that long, your body just says, "F&#& you, jack, I don't believe you anymore!" Or maybe at that age, it really does take 2,500 calories to put a pound on, and 5,000 calories to get rid of it.
QUOTE]

Not that a plateau is funny, because they are really difficult. But I couldn't help but laugh rather a lot at your F-you Jack comment! Sometimes I feel like my body says F-you too - I am going to think of your comment everytime I hit another plateau now and I'm going to say it back to my body "F-You Jack, you ARE going to drop some lbs!" :) You are working so hard Tom, the weight will surely take a dip soon! Best of luck!!
 
Oooh, where are you in Southern CA? I'm in South Orange County and it's BEAUTIFUL today!

And Marlene was right - you have to look at the WHOLE picture!

I'm in Encinitas, about 30 min. south of San Juan Capistrano. I love it up there. I've been there several times to do photography.
 
I'm in RSM - about 20 minutes north of SJC

We were going to go to the mission today to help rebuild the native american structure, but we got a late start!
 
Monday, March 12, 2007

Weight: 244.6 - Plateau #2, Day #25

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day I spent about 3 hours outside doing light gardening -- cleaned up all the undergrowth in the patio and pruned all the plants. Gave myself 300 calories for that. Went to the farmer's market in the morning and picked up some really nice dark whole wheat bread, fresh fruit, tabouli, hummus, and spices for fish and chicken that I'll try out this week.

No deficit yesterday -- pretty much a second maintenance day. I'm trying to stop focusing on the weight, and just think about how much better I'm eating and exercising now. If the weight comes off great; if it doesn't, well what can I say? I really don't know what else to do, and I'll be damned if I'm going to starve myself.

So this week I think I'm not going to worry so much about the weight -- just eat healthy the way I've been doing, keep up with my exercise plan, and see what happens.
 
Workout Log - 3/12/2007

Straight HIIT today on the Stairmaster (the one that looks like an escalator)
47 min., 713 calories
Avg. 135 bpm. (80% of max); Max 159 bpm (95% of max)
10 min., 30 sec. spent between 150 and 168 bpm.


Did 11 x 30 second sprints with the machine cranked up as fast as it would go. I was literally running up the steps. I was shooting for a work:rest ratio of 1:1, but I just couldn't manage it by the 4th sprint, and needed a 1:2 ratio for the remaining 7 sprints.

Absolutely brutal workout. I really felt like puking at the end, and almost did when I tried to do some crunches afterward. I think part of it was I only had 4 hours of sleep last night, so I was tired to begin with. The other part was that I usually do my HIIT/Interval routine on the elliptical, so I just wasn't used to this machine.

I wasn't totally feeling sure of myself, either. It's hard to slow down the damned machine when you're at the end of a sprint, and if you don't do it, you'll fall pretty hard on the floor below. In some ways, it's more dangerous than doing it on a treadmill, because you're about 3 feet off the ground. I just about fell on the last sprint, but regained my step at the last second.

I think next time I do straight HIIT, I'll do it on the elliptical. I have no desire to screw up my ability to work out from a nasty fall.

But it was a good experiment, and I'm glad I tried it. I think at least once a week I'll do straight HIIT, once a week interval/HIIT, and twice a week SS cardio, with weight training the other 2 days.
 
What are you cals at Tom, I can't remember? And are you tracking measurements on a regular basis?
 
Absolutely brutal workout. I really felt like puking at the end, and almost did when I tried to do some crunches afterward..

That's how I measure if my HIIT session was truly HIIT or just a heavy duty interval session...that desire to puke and die when it's over.:)
 
What are you cals at Tom, I can't remember? And are you tracking measurements on a regular basis?

Steve, the graph below shows my daily surplus/deficit. The last point on the graph is from yesterday.

View attachment 2815

So far in March, my average daily stats are as follows:
RMR: 2,437 calories
Calories expended in exercise: 789
Calories from food/drink: 2,736
Avg. surplus/deficit: 486
Neck: 17.3 in.
Abdominal: 43.0
Body Fat Pctg: 28.0

I'm a data freak, so I track EVERYTHING!

I really think breaking through plateaus is harder the older you are. I have nothing to back that up -- just my own experience. In my 20's, I could lose weight practically by just thinking about it. In my 30's I actually had to go on a diet. In my 40's, I had to change my diet AND exercise. In my late 50's -- well, you can see how painfully slow my progress is.

I've actually never worked out harder and more "scientifically" in my entire life. I've never tracked the calories in my energy balance. And yet, it's frustratingly slow.
 
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