re: Odysseus' Weight Loss/Gain Log - Never ever ever give up

What weight are you trying to get down to? 180 again? I think you had it right earlier in the thread when you went down to 2000 calories, imho. It’s not too low in calories and you’ll go ahead and get the weight loss out of the way. You could reach 180 in less than two months. I’d cut out the cinnamon swirl cake ( ) and replace a few eggs with egg whites. You won’t even feel deprived.

Great job on tracking though.

I hear ya. I’m a huge cinnamon fan. Yoplait had a cinnamon greek yogurt a couple years ago that got discontinued . My go to lately has been the bodybuilding.com oatmeal cookie or myprotein cinnamon swirl protein mixed with Greek yogurt. End of the day it’s the same calories as your cake I guess but way more protein.

Monda yMay 17th, 2021

Morning Weight: 185.4 Lbs

Workout
PPL Linear Progression - Day 4 - PULL

BB Rows: 4x5, 1x5+
1: 95 x 5
2: 95 x 5
3: 95 x 5
4: 95 x 5
5: 95 x 7

Lat Pull: 3x10
1: 105 x 10
2: 105 x 10
3: 105 x 10

Seated Rows: 3x10
1: 105 x 10
2: 105 x 10
3: 105 x 10

Face Pull: 3x15
1: 80 x 15
2: 80 x 15
3: 80 x 15

Hammer Curls: 3x10
1: 20s x 10
2: 20s x 10
3: 20s x 10

DB Curls: 4x8
1: 22.5s x 8
2: 22.5s x 8
3: 22.5s x 8
4: 22.5s x 8

Cardio
Treadmill -- 15 Minutes -- Interval Runs (1.02 Miles)

Notes
Felt good about this one. As you all are seeing, my back is embarrassingly weak, but I really hope that changes. The working weight at 95 for rows felt good, so I'll probably keep with that next week, or maybe go up to 100. I felt more comfortable with all my accessory lifts as well. The first 3 days were a little strange, being back in there, getting used to standing around for 90-120 seconds between sets, but I'm starting to feel the groove again. It's good to get there early, but god I wish some people would just be lazy and sleep in. That or open another gym. We swung by a smaller local gym with only one locations and there were far fewer people, but the space is much smaller. It seems that's the struggle with some of these gyms. I've never been in one where the amount of equipment was enough for everyone in the place. Oh well, I'm glad to be feeling good again. I'm much less sore as well.

Diet
7A - 11A: 5 eggs + diced potatoes + Ground turkey w/ salsa and parm cheese;
11A - 1P: N/A
1P - 5P: Salad (Green leaf/Tomato/Bell Pep/Cuc/Feta/Dressing); Blueberries; Chicken Fajita sandwich w/ cheese
5P - 7P: Baked chicken and vegetables w/ rice;





Notes
I'm thinking I'm gonna reassess my intake on Wednesday because I'm not liking what I'm seeing in terms of my weight, but boy it's easy to stay full eating this much protein. I know a lot of people who have a hard time putting on weight will see this and think I'm crazy, but if I go any higher on calories with my current activity level (gym in the morning, sedentary during the day), I'll be spitting in the wind.

Other Notes
Yesterday as I was writing this I was waiting for it to be over to grab a cup of coffee. So this morning I decided to write out the workout/diet portion of this thing, grab some coffee, and then come back to write this portion. I know on most days nobody reads this, but I see it as a sort of out in the open journal, so I don't like being rushed. I'm able to shoehorn my thoughts into a post about working out. Cheap? Sure, but I like doing it.

Anyway, I think my wife and I are really settling into a rhythm that is gonna serve us well over these next 6 months. We wake up at 4, hit the gym, come back, she walks the dog and I write this post. By 6:45 we are both halfway through our coffee and usually working (her actual work, me schoolwork). On the other end, it does lead to us being asleep by 8 PM at the latest, but unless it's the weekend or there's a game on, I don't particularly care to be up that late anyway. I've been called boring and grandpa, but most things that have happened in my life during the late evening hours the past few years have been drunken messes or drunken happy times, both of which involve alcohol, something I'm attempting to moderate. And that's an issue of its own, but when you don't live close to friends/family it really makes you take a look at yourself and analyze what you actually like doing. It's depressing when you realize that what you truly enjoy doing is very little. And then you realize that all those times you've had in your life that were good were due to sharing the activities with people in your life and not the activities themselves. So then what happens when you feel you are no longer compatible with those people, and you lack the capacity to make friends? Sorry to be a downer, but the positive thing is, I'm working on it, as we all are.

In other news, I'm starting to notice a significant difference in the professors at BSU versus the local community college I've been attending the past 2 years. I was intimidated reading the Intermediate I textbook, but my professor has been posting lecture videos which breaks things down in an easy to understand fashion. It's really great, but it does make me realize that I've been taken to the woodshed by the local community college by paying to teach myself for 2 years. At least I'm at BSU now.

Go Big Blue



Anyway, I'm ahead of schedule with schoolwork, but there is nothing wrong with continuing on with that. So I'll do some more homework, watch some videos, and then do a little doordash. I made $59 in about 2.5 hours yesterday, which is just way more than I'd be able to make doing anything else right now. I know employers are having a hard time getting people to work for them, but it doesn't make sense for me to go do labor for $16 an hour when I can sit in a car, deliver food, and make more money even factoring in car depreciation and gas. Better yet, my mind doesn't have to be fully engaged in the work, which is the biggest thing. I'm thinking about school and my family, and my forthcoming graduation. I know it sucks, but I can't be worried too much about providing quality service to a contractor who treats people like dirt.

This one is running a little long. I think I'll head out and get started on that aforementioned schoolwork before eating breakfast.

Have a good one!

Wednesday May 19th, 2021

Morning Weight: 184.8 Lbs

Workout
PPL Linear Progression - Day 6 - LEGS

Squat: 2x5, 1x5+
1: 135 x 5
2: 185 x 5
3: 245 x 5

Romanian DL: 3x10
1: 95 x 10
2: 95 x 10
3: 95 x 10

Leg Curls: 3x12
1: 105 x 10
2: 105 x 9
3: 105 x 8

Calf Raises: 5x10
1: 180 x 10
2: 180 x 10
3: 180 x 10
4: 180 x 10
5: 180 x 10

Leg Press Machine: 3x10
1: 275 x 10
2: 275 x 10
3: 275 x 10

Cardio
Treadmill -- 10 Minutes -- Fast Walk (.61 Miles)

Notes
I'm not sure what happened with squat. I warmed up with 135 and then 185. The 245 was my first working set and my bar speed was fantastic. I could have repped 315 if I had to, I imagine. But then when I racked I felt this pressure on my spine about 2-4 inches below where the bar sits that I've never felt before. I'm not sure if I went up in weight too quickly and my back couldn't handle the weight or what, but it felt strange. There was no nerve pain, nothing residual, just a pain that was very foreign to me. I went for another set and as soon as the weight was on my back I felt it again, so I re racked. I'm gonna ramp up slower next week as well as stretch more, but if I feel it again I'm calling off squats until I can find out what's going on. If it is a form thing it's definitely new, because I've always had near perfect form when squatting. It's one thing for which I was always lauded, and my coaches would always point to it as an example of why I could squat so far above my weight. But I suppose muscle memory fades? I don't know, because I feel like I'm doing the same motions I've been doing since I started squatting.

Diet
7A - 11A: 5 eggs + diced potatoes + Ground turkey w/ salsa and parm cheese;
11A - 1P: Apple
1P - 5P: Salad (BP, Cuc, Tom, Feta, Dressing, Lettuce); Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nugget; Yogurt w/ blueberries and honey; Whistle pig rye -- 3 units
5P - 7P: Baked Tilapia w/ rice and sauteed vegetables (onion, BP, Zucchini)




Notes
My alarm went off at 4 A.M. this morning and I hit snooze like I usually do. I'll lay there for a bit before forcing myself to get up. But this morning I hit dismiss and fell back asleep. The backup alarm came on and I decided that even if I went to the gym I was just gonna do some cardio. I didn't feel up to lifting. My wife's alarm went off and she snoozed as well. I asked her if she wanted to go and she said she was too sore. She had her first day of the gym yesterday. And I mean first ever day working with compound lifts. She did the bar squat for 3 sets of 5, used an EZ curl bar to do rows for 3 sets of 5 and did some dumbbell bench for 3 sets of 5. So we decided not to go. I suppose I'll just do my pull workout tomorrow and use my Sunday rest day as a gym day. Might work out better if I can get there around 7 after grocery shopping.

I finished the individual work for the group portion of our exam yesterday, which took about 4 hours altogether. I'll take the actual test portion on Saturday morning. I'm excited to get it done. I'm honestly excited to be done with school. School is easy compared to life, but it's easy to get burnt out. 2 more semesters and I'll have my undergrad. I feel like I've been repeating that for the past month.

I can't believe the weather in South Louisiana. I mean I can, but it still seems like they are getting absolutely mauled down there with rain. My sister lives in the Houston area and she sent me a pic with the roads nearly flooded over. It may just be me buying into the hype, but it feels like it gets worse every year. I remember in Cenla it would flood regularly, but it seems like it happens multiple times a year. That definitely could just be my imagination.

I picked up a few books from the thrift store the other day and I'm almost finished with one. It's called "Before She Knew Him" by Peter Swanson.



I buy books at thrift stores because I don't know how to get good book recommendations. I find that I typically like authors over certain genres. I like Stephen King, but when I read someone inspired by Stephen King I'm not as full in, even if the story is good. This one is okay. The writing is average as far as published authors, but I'm almost done and I think I'll pick up another one of his books. The tropes in this one are extremely cliche (girl with bipolar disorder who no one takes seriously, man hellbent on saving women), but there is something comforting about a completely average bland story to dive into at night.

After this one I have the Washington biography by Ron Chernow that I also bought in the same trip. I have read good reviews, but I hope it isn't too dense. It's an extremely large books and the print is pretty small. May take me quite a while.

I should probably study some more. I also have a few errands to run today, so I'll take care of those.

Hope everyone has a good day.

quote:

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I'll update again after my exam tomorrow

---

frick intermediate.

quote:

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frick intermediate.

---

You know, it hasn't been all bad. It's required my attention more than any other class, but I felt good about the exam today. I am sure I didn't get a perfect score, but I went over everything after I finished and there wasn't a single thing I felt like I did incorrectly.

On the update situation. We are done with that gym. I can't believe how crowded it gets, even in the early mornings. I think we are looking into getting some resistance bands. In other news, my dad has been given 1-2 months to live. We are leaving at the end of this month to see him in his final days. Sad news.

I think I'll have some more of that Whistlepig 6-year tonight. I have many emotions.

Morning Weight: 184.8

quote:

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I lost my mom a couple years ago, and being by her bedside that last week was definitely the hardest week of my life. I’ll keep you and your family in my thoughts. It’s hard, but you’ll get through it.

---

Thank you.

I expect a whirlwind of emotions over the next 90 days.

If I can come out of it keeping my diet intact and passing my summer classes I'll consider it a victory.

EDIT - 1 good thing about this day:



There were a couple extra credit questions, so I'm assuming I missed a few regular questions and got one or two of the extra credit correct.

Very anxious to see what happened.

There's no reason to remove yolk from eggs. That's the most nutritious part.

Excess sugar is what you want to avoid.

Okay. It looked like you agreed with a post that suggested replacing eggs with egg whites.

Good luck on reaching your goals.

Been a rough couple of days.

Cancelled gym, got some fitness bands coming.

185 as of this morning, but I've been stress eating a bit. I'll stick to my calories all day and then have a little extra at night.

I don't want this thread to become dear diary, but man I hate how personal issues can sometimes overtake your routine.

Not giving up.