W8J7 - W4D7 (W2D0)

Yesterday was quite the day.  I hit a new weight low at 265.6 - 6 pounds to meet my goal!  I did not workout.  I know I said "10 days I need to kick my own ass." but I was not with it yesterday.  I've been quite dehydrated lately due to this head-cold-flu.  I will workout today and kick my own ass.  I need to make sure I have enough energy to do so.  I also had a cheat meal of a Chicken Grilled Stuft XXL burrito, some Mozzarella sticks (with marinara) and a footlong coney with cheese and chili.  None of them were worth it.  I shouldn't have eaten any of them.  I feel bad pysically and mentally (guilt).  I'm so close to my goal I felt like that was a sabotage maneuver...jackass!  So, I've decided today I won't even have any olives - I'll stick with all juices and water.

Today has been 56 days since I last had a Coke (really any soft drink) or anything other than juice, water, vegan protein shake, or BCAAs.

My pants are so loose I've had to start wearing a belt again - which makes my pants look like I've cinched them with rope.  I can't wait to buy new clothes that fit right.

I did not get in my workout today.  I spent the entire day working on my book and running around with kids.

Yesterday and today I've gained about 6 pounds from the different foods I've eaten.  As soon as I "eliminate" then I'll lose all of that weight.

I'm calling Monday to schedule an appointment with my trainer and his company to do full measurements.  I'm going to continue going to them to do measurements until I've reached my goals.

I'm very close to my goal now.  I can feel it and I'm not giving up now.

W8J5 - W4D5 (W2D3)

I was not well overnight.  I have a sore throat, major sinus pressure, and a horrific headache.  My son was over here for a couple of days with the flu and the same symptoms.  I did manage to get about 7 hours of sleep before I woke up at 5 and was awake for good.  I was dreading going to the scale b/c I was sure I had some extra weight going on and I felt horrible.

My weight is the same: 266.8 (7 pounds left to beat my goal!).  I decided to do some measurements to see where I am (approximately) mid-week.  I'm doing quite well.  My sizes have decreased another half to one whole inch.  Calipers are mm smaller on each measurement.  If I measured correctly then I've gained about a pound of muscle in about 4 days.  At my weight I could gain approximately 4 pounds of muscle a day.  I'm ok with not gaining a lot, I'd rather see the fat fall off.  I don't think my measurements are correct, which is why I'm scheduling an appointment with my former trainer to get accurate measurements.  I'm a lot stronger.  Last night I was doing moves on the TRX that a month ago (see W4D5 in the title) I couldn't do very well at all.

Today's workout plan (ETA 90+ minutes):
My Pull Up plan (1x)
Pull Up 5x
Incline Plank 2x10s
Incline Press 8 (with one leg down)
Dips 15
Jump and Hold 5x5s

My Ab plan (2x)
Hinge 15
Suspended Crunch 15
Mountain Climber 15
Pendulum 3 each direction
Standing Body Crunch 15

TRX Pull Up Program (4x)
Inverted Row 15
Wall Slides 15
Low Row - Biceps Curl - Y Fly 15
Pike 10-15
Squat Row 15

TRX Force (2x)
Squat Row
Chest Press
Plank 4x10s
Hip Abduction 15
Squat 15
Row LMH 15
Triceps Curl 15
Side Plan 3x10s
Biceps Curl L3 15
Hamstring Curl 15
Spiderman Push Up 8 each side

I'm not really doing well on my hourly mini workouts.  I need to do more incline pushups (like 10 an hour or something) and maybe something to do with the parallettes.

I did everything on my list except I only did one of the TRX Pull Up Program.  After the last one this week I'll probably drop those from the list and then add them back in after the 12 weeks is done.

I lost my energy most of the way through.  I don't know why this time, normally it's a pretty solid energy level - but not today.  I need to figure out what I want to do to add more energy to my workout.  I have been saving the apple shavings from juicing so maybe I'll eat some of those a half hour or so before I workout.

W8J3 - W4D3 (W2D0) - W8J4 - W4D4 (W2D2)

Tuesday 27Jan14
I noticed that I didn't think I really worked out my abs yesterday, but they were a bit sore today.

I started off with some hanging leg lifts (which hurt my hands quite a bit) and some pull up practice.  Once I got to the incline planks and incline presses my nose started bleeding and didn't stop.  I finished the planks and presses then cleaned up the mess and stopped the bleeding.

Wed 28Jan14
Today's workout was intense - even more than normal.  I did completely kick my ass again AND I only accomplished half of my workout.

Upper Body daily set (1x)
Pull Up [bar] 5x
Incline Plank 2x10s
incline press 8 (1 leg down)
dips (parallettes) 15
jump and hold 5x5s

Abs daily set (1x)
Hinge 15
Suspended Crunch 0
mtn climber 0
pendulum 0
standing body crunch 15
hanging leg raise 15

Feel Good Full Body (Lower) (2x)
Abducted Lunge 15
Jumping Jacks 50
Lunge 15
Jump Rope 50
Balance Lunge 15

At 46 mins I had to stop my workout.  My lower back was hurting a little and I may or may not have the flu.  Later tonight, I'll do the Suspended Crunch, Mountain Climber, and Pendulum from above and the entire TRX Force workout below.

TRX Force (W2D2)
Hip Press 15
Overhead Back Ext 15
Lunge 0
Pike 10
Sprinter Start 15
Side Lunge 15
Hamstring Runner 15
Body Saw 10
Half Kneeling Rollout 5 each side
Burpee 8 each
Y Fly to T Fly 15

well, I ran out of energy 20 minutes into the workout.

I accomplished:
suspended crunch 15
mtn climber 15 (alternating)
pendulum 2 each side
Hip Press 15 (2x)
Pike 15 (2x) - by the end of this I couldn't hold myself up and fell to the floor (no injuries)
Sprinter Start 15 each leg

That was it.  I couldn't do anything else.  Tomorrow I'm going to increase my allotted time for my workout to 90 minutes and see how much I get through.

The ab exercises felt really good.  I was surprised at how well I was holding myself up and how little my back was hurting compared to this morning.

W8J2 - W4D2 (W2D1)

The scales tipped at 271 this morning.  After the weekend, I usually have some weight gain b/c I have my cheat day either Saturday or Sunday - in this case about 4 pounds of cheat still remains (and probably some muscle gain too).  Tomorrow I'll probably drop down to 268-269 then Wed I'll drop back to 266-267.

I did go ahead and do calipers this morning.

Yesterday's measurements were: chest 36mm, belly 38mm, thigh 42mm = 32% body fat
Today's measurements were: chest 32mm, belly 32mm, thigh 42mm = 30% body fat

This goes to show you that the measurements are either off [for two measurements] by a pencil eraser or I'm 4mm smaller today than yesterday.  This also goes to show why I think having another source for measurements is important.  If I have them measuring they're going to measure the same way each time where I might measure one way and my wife might measure another way.  In any case, I still like the measurements and with these next 10 workouts I'm sure I'll see a lot more progress.  I remember what my progress was like with TRX 12 weeks before - and that was drinking Coke - this is without.

These next 10 days (including today) are going to be primarily juice (no cheat days) and I have some extra apples.  I'm still going to have BCAAs and protein shakes as well as load up on water.  However, I will not be eating any other solid foods.  This will be an all vegetarian 10 days and 95% of that juice.

My workout today took longer than I thought it would.  I was able to pump it up a little bit as well as add a few new ab exercises so I could kick my belly too.

Today's workout:
Pull Up prep (one circuit):
Pull Up [bar] - attempt 5 pullups - pulled shoulders up 1-2"
incline plank 2x10s
incline press (1-leg down) 8
Dips (parallettes) 15
Pike (8-10) 10
Jump and Hold (pull up bar) 5x5s

Abs (3 circuits):
completed one set - need to finish up later
Hinge 15
Suspended crunches 0
mtn climber 0
pendulum 0
standing body crunch 15
body saw 0

Pull Up Program:
completed one set - need to finish up later
TSpine Rotation 5
Pull Up 0
side plank 0
body saw 0

TRX Force
complete each section then rest and do it again before moving to the next section (two circuits)
Squat Row 15
Chest Press 15
Plank 4x10s
Hip Abduction 15

Squat 15
Row LMH 15
Triceps curl 15
Side Plank 3x10s

Biceps Curl 15 (L3)
Hamstring Curl 15
Spiderman 8ea leg - could not do one - did 16 pushups

I ran out of time today to do the other exercises marked as zero (0) - as well, some of the exercises, specifically those where my legs are suspended and put strain on my back were stopped because I need to get more stretching in.  If I can't use my back or I injure it then I can't do any workouts.  I need to workout for the next 10 days.

Later tonight, I'll complete all of the sets and circuits I didn't complete at lunch.

I haven't been posting how I feel during the workouts like I used to (like "doing body saws was hard").  For the most part, the exercises I do are the max I could do at that time.
Like the Row LMH I do 15 of those, but I have to stop every 5 or so to give my shoulders a little break.
Planks I was able to do without trouble - though in the 2nd circuit my arms were a bit shakey.
Side planks were much more comfortable to do today than they have been.
Pikes were ok.  I had to stop after 4 to rest for a second, but I did them all without any other issues.
Incline Plank - I held straight without any issues
Incline Press - These were a little harder today.  I'll either do 16 tomorrow or increase the angle.
Dips - I'll probably stick with 15 for now - though I could do 2 circuits
Jump and Holds were a bit rough at the end of the 5th one.  I'll stick with 5 for now.
Hamstring Curls were rough as well.  I was having problems keeping everything up today.  the last time I did them i didn't have that problem.
Spidermans - I was able to do 1 each leg a week or more ago, now I can't do a single one.  Mostly because by the time I get to them my arms give out.  I could try doing these first tomorrow and see how I do.  Instead, I did 16 pushups with my arms extended out and knees on the ground.  If I have pushups again I'll do 8 regular pushups in a plank position and build up from there.

I was behind today and therefore didn't juice this morning (in addition to having a sick kid).  I did steal some apple juice boxes (100% juice) to make up for it.  I finally juiced for tomorrow.  I am going to skip the 2nd workout and plan tomorrows workout accordingly.

W8J1 - W4D1 (W2D0)

50 days no Coke and 49 days juicing.

measurements two weeks ago:

weight: 273.6

neck: 16

chest:42.5

bellybutton:48

hips:51

thighs: 31.5

measurements this week:

weight: 272

neck: 16.5

chest:42.5

bellybutton:46.5

hips:51

thighs: 30.5

This last week has been nuts. I started kicking my ass during workouts (more than normal) and have ended up unable to move much at all afterwards.

I have been doing caliper readings about every week as well as measurements.

I started at 35% body fat and 175 pounds of lean body mass

25 days later I am at 32% body fat and 182 pounds lean body mass.

I'm going to go to one of my former trainers and have him do measurements every week or two so I have someone who does them more often than my wife do the measurements.

I'm quite excited about all of the changes.

This week I'm adding some lower back and ab exercises to my routines this week to strengthen my back and abs and hopefully decrease my mid section.

W7J5 - W3D5 (W1D3) -- W7J6 - W3D6 (W1D0)

Yesterday, I kicked my own butt again.  When I was done I could barely walk.

My Pre-workout
Pull Up [with bar] - could not do one, but was able to pull my shoulders up by a couple inches.
Inclined Plank 2x10s
Inclined Press 4 (with one leg on the ground)
Dips 15 (with parallettes)
Pikes (cut from the pre-workout since I'll be doing those with the TRX Force workout)
Jump hold (with pull up bar - jump up and hold) 5 count x 3

Pull Up Program (supposed to do 4x, did 1)

Inverted Row 8-12 (I did 8)

Wall Slides 15

Low Row - Biceps - Y 15

Pike 8-12 (I did 8)

Squat Row - skipped because it's in the regular workout

TRX Force - 2x

Squat Row 15

Chest Press 15

Plank 4x10 on floor not L1 because of lower back

Hip Abduction 15

Squat 15

Row LMH 15

Triceps Press 15

Side Plank 3x10

Biceps Curl 15

Hamstring Curl 15

Spiderman Push Up (8) - I could not do a spiderman pushup - so I did 16 pushups

I'm working on my upper body strength to lift myself for the pull up or even do handstand push ups 

Friday (today), I did not workout.  I got wrapped up with work and not feeling great as far as muscles go.  They weren't bad, just sore.  So I decided today would be my break day.  Tomorrow I'll do the workout I planned for today (preworkout, Feel Good core and W1D4)

I did eat some tortellini today.  I can't wait to be smaller.

W7J4 - W3D4 (W1D2)

Week 7 Juicing Day 4 - Week 3 working out Day 3 - Week 1 TRX Force Day 2

Day 2 of the 18 days to kick my own ass is underway.  I just kicked my own ass.

I had some taco soup (beef, tomatoes, corn in a tortilla flour bowl shell) tonight.  I hadn't planned on it, but I felt like it was the right thing to eat.

I still did all of the juicing I needed to for the day.  I also had my standard veggie protein shake and BCAAs.  Still no Coke.

My work computer was down for the third day in a row so I was able to do a few things on my mac.  I'm still setting up my work laptop from the new hard drive that was installed.  That's not important it's just for reference when I look back through my logs to remember what day was what - after a while they all blend together.

Yesterday, I found that I could not complete my pre-workout, workout, and post-workout workouts without my arms being extremely tired.  Today I mixed it up.  I did the post-workout first, followed by the pre-workout, then the workout.

My Pre-workout
Pull Up [with bar] - could not do one, but was able to pull my shoulders up by a couple inches.
Inclined Plank 2x10s
Inclined Press 4 (with one leg on the ground)
Dips 15 (with parallettes)
Pikes (cut from the pre-workout since I'll be doing those with the TRX Force workout)
Jump hold (with pull up bar - jump up and hold) 5 count x 3

Feel Good Workout (Lower)
Abducted Lunge 12 both sets
Jumping Jacks 50 both sets
Lunge 12 each leg both sets
Jump Ropes 50 both sets
Balance Lunge 12 each leg both sets

TRX Force - W1D2
Hip Press 15
Overhead Back Extension 15
Lunge (none - I did Lunges during the Feel Good Workout)
Pike L2 12
Sprinter Start 15 each leg
Side Lunge 15 alternating
Hamstring Runner 15 alternating
Body Saw L2 10 with 5 done on the floor (L0?)
Half Kneeling Rollout 5 each leg
Burpee 8 each leg
Y Fly To T 15 each

Times
Pre-Workout - 7 min
Feel Good - 8:09 - 8:48
TRX Force - 29

I was going to go back and do the 3rd set of the Feel Good Workout but my whole body is exhausted and I felt like I was going to throw up.  I generally workout at the optimal time after my veggie protein shake and lunch juice - I haven't had any carbs since 7:30 and it's 10:30 now.

Another great kick my ass workout.  Don't tell him I said so, but Jo-Jo is my inspiration for this.  He kicks his ass daily.  When I think about quitting I think "what would Jo-Jo say?" the answer is "get off the f**kin' ground you pu**y" - I don't know why but I'm motivated to finish correctly (not cut corners) and get of the f**kin ground.

W7J3 - W3D3 (W1D1)

I'm currently 45 days without a Coke.  My only liquids have been juice (that I make), coconut water, vegan protein shake, water, BCAAs.   I've been juicing for 44 days.  I've been working out for 2 weeks now.

I haven't posted any workout updates in a couple of days.  I've also added a layer of complexity to my workouts.  I'm going to "up my game" so-to-speak.  I'm continuing with the Pull Up Program and the Feel Good Full Body TRX Workout.  I'm adding TRX Force and a few other exercises to help with the Pull Ups.  I think I can still achieve the full workout in 60-90 minutes.  I feel like the TRX Pull Up Program and Feel Good Full Body TRX Workouts are great.  They push me well for 30 minutes.  I can increase reps and get a better workout.  However, I want to add to my workouts.

I was looking at my pictures yesterday and noticed that I achieved great results with TRX Force and I've achieved great results juicing.  I already know that after my juicing is up in 18 days that I'll be doing more solid fruits and veggies and probably still either juice or make smoothies (either should cut down on my costs - which are about 200-240 a month in food bills).  What I want to do between now and 18 days from now (and don't forget I've got about 2 months before KC PCC) is get in some monster workouts that get me a bit more of a workout than what I've been doing (through no fault of the workouts, they've been great) and increase my muscle a bit more than I have been.  I'd like to achieve my 260 goal in 18 days - that's 7-9 pounds (I hit 267 this morning).  I believe that's doable.

In order to achieve that 260 - I'm going to adjust my workout as follows (for today, tomorrow will be different):
TRX Pull Up Program - Circuit D - 4 times
T-Spine Rotation 5 each side
Pull Up 8-12
Side Plank 4x10 each side
Body Saw 6-10

TRX Force - 1 time
Squat Row 15
Chest Press 15
Plank 4x10
Hip Abduction 15
Squat 15
Row (L, M, H) 15
Triceps Press 15
Side Plank 3x10 each side
Biceps Curl 15
Hamstring Curl 15
Spiderman Push Up 8 each side


My Own Additions - 1 time
Pull Up (Bar) - see what I can do  -- DID
Incline Plank 4x10
Incline Press 4
Dips (TRX or Parallettes) 15
Pike 8-12
Jump and Hold (Pull Up Bar) [count of 5] 10  -- DID 2

As you can see there's a lot going on.  The first section is to aid in doing a pull up (in addition to a regular PT workout).  The TRX Force is my regular PT workout.  The additions at the bottom are because I want to build some strength for the hand stand push up which I also cannot do, but I can do a plank or vertical hand stand (against a wall for stability) - so I want to work on that.

This will only be for the next 18 days that I add these additional works to my workout.  The main benefit is to add muscle which will hopefully burn more fat and drop my size and weight to at least the 260 mark.  After the 60th day of juicing and 18th day of these type workouts I'll re-evaluate where I'm at and see what to change.

By the end of my workout (58:30 later) my upper body was so tired it was exhausting to do any of the inclines, dips, or pike.  I started an incline plank, but my arms gave out before I could hold it for more than 4 seconds.  Tomorrow I'll do the regular Feel Good workout and the additional stuff before doing the TRX Force W1D2 workout.

I feel completely exhausted as far as my arms go.  My brain is quite tired too.  I feel like I could take a nap.

I smell ammonia - I need to do more research on that.  I'm taking BCAAs now too so I can curb any muscle-used-as-fuel that may be going on.  I have also realized I need a way to track my exercises in some sort of app that I can also use in a browser.  I am going to use My Fitness Pal and see how that goes.  I don't like typing it in here b/c then I have to refer back to previous days (which is what I'd have to do on MFP).  What I'd really like is a way to put in the exercises and what I'm supposed to do, but also see what I last did for reference.  I normally do this on paper, but I'm wanting to get away from that.  This may require me to write my own app or browser application (which I'm ok with, I just don't have a lot of time).

As for the rest of the day, I'll do the additional stuff over the course of the next few hours of work (about every hour or so do some of the exercises.  I really want to be able to do a pull up in 18 days and be at 260 pounds or better.  I can do this.

One last thing, for now, I'm going to schedule a meeting with my first trainer, Paul, to do a fitness test and get the calipers and measurements done.  Then every 2 weeks I'll schedule another one.

I weighed in at 267 this morning (that's 19 down from when I started juicing and 30 down from 11 months ago).

Here's a note I posted to my weight loss support group earlier:

I've been Coke free for 45 days only drinking juice that I've made, BCAAs, vegan protein shakes, and water.

I dropped more size as well:
chest 41" (18Jun14 it was 44" and 21Dec14 it was 43.5")
waist (belly button) 46" (1May14 it was 50" and 14Dec14 it was 48.75)
butt 50.5" (2May14 it was 54" and 7Dec14 52.5")

My pants are falling off - I almost fit into XL shirts (which I was almost not fitting into XXL shirts).

I have decided to push as hard as I can for the next 18 days (that'd be 60 days of juicing). I hope in that 18 days I can meet my goal of 260 - if so, then I'll reset my goal to 250 (and so on).

I also want to note that I've been eating some solids. For example, on cheat days I'll have some brats (just the brat) and daily I may have some black olives or an apple or two.

One final note, I'm getting closer to being able to do one pull up. That doesn't seem like a lot, but when you weigh 267 pounds, pulling that much weight up is not as easy as it may sound. I can pull myself up about 1"-2" right now, which is 1"-2" more than I was able to do 2 weeks ago.

Photo time

I thought it was time to update the photos.  I've been juicing for 43 days and no coke for 44 days.  I have noticed a lot of difference in my size, now it's time to see what that size looks like.

I copied the last post about photos with comparisons so I could put all of these side-by-side with todays.

Previous picture comparisons
http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2012/06/old-pictures.html
http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2014/05/picture-comparisons.html
http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2014/07/photos.html

Jan2010	May2014	July2014	Jan2015

Here are all of the pictures I took today - I wanted to show what I look like "unsucked in" and "sucked in".

W6J6 - W2D6 -- W6D7 - W2D7

I did not workout yesterday.  I chose, instead, to get some work done.  I wasn't feeling like the workout was the best idea.  I knew I should, but I wanted to take the time away from working out for the time being - I was not feeling like I had enough energy.

I woke up this morning at 268.2 - which is fantastic.  I need to stick with just juice for the next 3 weeks.  It's been 42 days since I've had a Coke and I don't crave one.  I don't even crave anything that I used to and I believe that's because the juices satisfy any of those cravings.

I did severely crave a burger made of ground chuck, apple brats, cheese, and bacon all ground up together.

I am still fine tuning my hourly miniworkouts and what I want to do before and after work - however, I'm almost done.  As I stated yesterday, I want to come up with a 10 minute or so pre and post work workout.  Then I want some 2-5 minute workouts I can do every hour or so.  I did this last year when I would do planks or work on my pullups.

Today I'm going to do one or both of yesterday and todays workouts and see what I can do about the miniworkouts.

W6J5 - W2D5

I have become increasingly obsessed with losing weight.  I should not - it's just happening.  I'm getting stronger, which is good.  I'm getting smaller, which is good.  I'm not losing weight, still good.  My brain is telling me conditioned that losing weight is better.  Most of the time I'll agree with that summation.  As I've mentioned in previous blog entries I've been obsessed with weight since 1997 when the Army told me at 189 I was overweight and I needed to lose weight.  So 18 years later, what am I thinking?  Lose weight.

My goal for the year is to be able to do one single, solitary, pullup.  Nothing more.  My secondary goals are to be small enough to fit back into stormtrooper armor so I can troop as a TK again.  My terciary goal is to be able to do more bar work and planches etc.  That goal has got to be easier to accomplish when there isn't a bowling ball (ok fine multiple bowling balls) on your belly button to keep you from being able to bend the ways you should to accomplish some things... like touching your toes (which I can do).

I am thinking that in addition to my current taping I'll add caliper measurements as well.  That way I can add these to scoobys doc and see what's happening from a fat loss perspective.  I mean, clearly, when I look down there is a difference in size.  As well, I've tried on shirts that are XL (I currently wear an XXL) and those XLs are barely tight.  My pants are falling off.  My underwear is falling off.  Taping measurements show these size losses.  So I'm clearly getting smaller.

Today's workout:
chest press 12-25 - 12 both sets but a steep angle (almost a plank)
50 jumping jacks both sets
tricepts overhead 12-25 - 12 both sets.  steep like the chest press
50 jump ropes both sets
mid back row 12-25 - 12 both sets
biceps curl 12-25 - 12 both sets.

first set time 7 min
second set time 7:30 min

I went with half of what I did last week.  I didn't feel the muscle tiredness I did last week.  I still felt like I got a good workout, but not an excellent one.  Next time I do any of these I'll up the reps to 15-21 and see how that does.

Again, before my workout I attempted a pullup from three different hand positions.  I wasn't able to lift 270 pounds.  I was able to hold the jump-and-hold for 5s without dropping.

I need to figure out a workout to do before and after work and something that emphasizes the pull up every hour.  Maybe 5 mins of pullup bar work or 5 mins of parallette work or evern 5 mins of inverted planks with the TRX.  I don't know yet.  All three of those options sound really good to me.  I'd like to be able to hold myself up on the parallettes.  I also realize that may take some time because at 270 I have to build up that muscle strength and be able to lift me.

W6J4 - W2D4

I am only slightly sore.  I've been feeling hungry since I am not having anything but juice.

I did two of the four sets I wanted to do today.  I did adjust my intake so that I had the protein and aminos 1.5 hours before my workout and my juice a half hour before.  I did have more energy - I also felt quite tired.

side plank 3x10 L1 both sets - I dropped to L1 from L2 b/c I wasn't able to hold L2 the last time without a lot of issues.
hip press 10 L2
Inverted row 10 L2
Pike 8 L1 - I did these on my elbows not realizing that I should have done them as a pushup.

W6J3 - W2D3

Today I tried a variation on my normal routine.  I made my juices for the day, had the first, then coconut water, then about 10-10:20 I decided to have the protein and amino acids.  Then at 12:20 I started my workout.  I noticed after the first workout I was about out of energy.  I then remembered that yesterday I had my juice before working out.  So tomorrow I'll do about the same thing with protein and amino acids, then have the juice about 11:30.  That should give me enough energy to push through.

Today was the Day 2 workout - Feel Good Full Body TRX Workout (Lower).  I did 2 sets with some difficulty.

Again, before I started I attempted a regular pullup with bar - I pulled myself up about a half inch to an inch... so another foot and I'll be to the top of my head.  I was able to hold myself up slightly longer than yesterday.

In between my two sets today I used the parallettes to push myself up and hold myself in a plank (with my heels on the floor).

I'm wondering if I should start off my day with 50 jumping jacks and 50 jump ropes and 3 sets of lifting and holding on the parallettes.  I'll think of and come up with a routine I can do 2x a day or something simple I can do for a few minutes every hour; maybe some planks, push ups, reverse planks, and attempt to do some planches, or even some inverted pushups (like with the TRX).

Abducted Lunge (12-25 each leg) - 12 each leg both sets
Jumping Jacks (50) - 50 both sets
Lunge (12-25 each leg) - 12 each leg both sets
Jump Rope (50) - 50 both sets
Balance Lunge (12-25 each leg) - 12 each leg both sets

I didn't time the first set, but the 2nd set took 7:54:36

I felt wiped after 12 each leg.  I'll increase that over time.

W6J2 - W2D2

Today's workout came after 2 days of rest from a workout.  I lifted and moved boxes all this weekend, but I didn't do an actual workout.  I felt the soreness in my triceps and my body seemed to have relaxed some.  My lower back still hurts.

I attempted a pullup before my workout (like I do before every workout).  I was able to lift myself slightly off the ground, but not high enough to do a chinup/pullup.  I then jumped up and did a hold for a few seconds.

I did 4 sets of Circuit A of the Pull Up Program and I timed it so I'd know how long the sets were taking.  They felt like they took an hour in the past, but my actual workouts all took only about 7-8 minutes a piece.

Squat Row                                           15 each
PullUp                                                   6 L1 each
Body Saw                                              8 L2 (sets 1-3) 8 L1 (set 4)
Low Row - Curl - Y Fly                      12 L2 each

By the 4th set of pullups I was able to pull myself up once as an actual level 1.  Before that it was an almost level 1 where I needed more help from my legs.

On the body saws I was able to do the L2 where my elbows were on the floor and feet in the TRX.  In the 4th set I started at L2, but my lower back finally couldn't hold me up so I did them on the floor.  Once my back is stronger I'll be able to do the L3s like I like.

Times
set 1 (unknown)
set 2 - 7:24:02
set 3 - 7:10:05
set 4 - 7:52:48

W5J7 - W1D6 -- W6D1 - W2D1

Day 35 no Coke!  As a reminder, for the last 35 days I've also only had juice that I've made, water, vegan protein shake, or BCAAs.  I've not ingested any other liquids.

I have had a lax week when it comes to food.  I forgot about the first few days hunger parts and this week (week 6) I'm not going to eat solid foods.  I've been lax the last few weeks in terms of what I'll eat and I've been eating other solids like olives, cauliflower, etc.  I think it's time for me to get back to all liquids (especially juice) where I felt better.

In the last 5 weeks, I've felt fantastic.  I have some occasional brain fog which I attribute to the fact that I've been hitting some insomnaic nights and am tired during the day.  I probably need a day to just sleep, but I have so much to do.

One of the big things I've noticed is my lack of 'O' in OCD.  When I was in Iraq I was diagnosed with OCD where my 'O' was 9, and 'C' was like a '6' - then I started taking Zoloft and that dropped from 'O' to 4, and 'C' was like an '8' - which was ok for me.  I needed to "just do stuff" and zoloft helped with that a lot.  I've noticed that juicing and veggies (and most notably lack of Coke) has given me more of a 'C' than the 'O' - I'm able to drop things a bit more easily in my brain and "just do stuff".  An example of this was Thursday I decided I wanted to clean my office and organize it so when the shelving is built I'll be able to put my collectibles on the shelves, have room to workout, work, have the projector set up, and the flight simulator I'm building.  I accomplished most of that.  Last weekend, I accomplished cleaning up the kids playroom (mostly by moving stuff into my office.  This weekend, I accomplished a large scale separation of boxes that I need to go through and throw stuff away and the collectibles.  The "trash" boxes are in the toy room stacked neatly.  My plan is to go through a box a night while my wife and I relax and watch TV - If I just do one (office) box a night I should be done in 4 weeks.  While none of that is related to juicing, it does provide some evidence of the juicing affecting my brain - for the better.

I just finished moving everything around in my office and the playroom so it's much neater and now I can visualize what's left to do.

measurements:
weight: 273.6
neck: 16
chest:42.5
bellybutton:48
hips:51
thighs: 31.5

A slight increase in weight and size.  The sizes, I think, are up because I measured myself and didn't have my wife measure me.  The weight increase is from a week of constipation.  I'm sure my actual weight is less than 269.  My weight this morning was 271.8.  I've probably got 2 pounds of water in me.


Of other note, yesterday I made some new parallettes.  The original ones I made were out of 3/4" pvc pipe.  I didn't break the pipe, but I did break one of the pvc elbows.  So these new ones are made out of 1 1/2" pvc (following this tutorial: http://journal.crossfit.com/2003/09/really-cool-homemade-parallett.tpl).  I did not get end caps because that seems like a waste to me.  I can see where it would keep "bugs" from getting in, but I could do the same thing with some duct tape.

W5J6 - W1D5

I was not feeling well at all last night.  I woke up feeling much better this morning.  However, I feel extremely tired - like energy has been sucked out of me and I've used all of my muscles - not like it's late at night and i'm sleepy.  Though I didn't get to bed until after midnight, so that could be part of it.

My muscles are a little sore.  I'm ready for today's workout.

I felt like today's workout was fairly easy.  I didn't have a chance to finish it.  I may do so later.

I plan to start moving my office out so I can clean everything then set it up how I want - so I may skip the last half of the workout and just count the heavy lifting as part of a workout.

TSpine Rotation - 2 each side
TRX Wall Slides - 15 both circuits
Squat YFly - 15 both circuits
Overhead Squat - 15 first circuit
PullUp - 8 first circuit.

I really need to start working out a little bit sooner so I have enough time to complete the workouts.

W5J5 - W1D4

This morning I woke up again with some vertigo.  I've had several bouts of vertigo during the day - including right now (post workout).  My wife has been sick for 3 days and I hope that I don't have what she's got, but we'll see.

Todays circuit is the upper circuit of the Feel Good Full Body TRX Workout.

Chest press outside grip - 25 L2 each set
Jumping Jackgs - 50 each set
Triceps Overhead Extension - 25 L2 each set
Jump Ropes - 50 each set
Mid Back Row - 25 each set
High Knees - 1 min each set
Bicep Curl - 25 each set

I skipped the 1 min sprints.

I don't feel really well.  I think I may have picked up the flu from my wife.

Weights over the years (since Dec 2008)

Since December 2008 I've fluctuated from mid 290s down to mid 260s.  At my heaviest I weighed
 297.4.  At my lightest I weighed 265.6 .

Nearly 11 months ago I was my heaviest.

I have been tracking my weight and workouts off and on since at least December 2001.  Recently, while cleaning out old crap I have found workout journals that list pretty much everything MyFitnessPal does but it's all handwritten.

The other day when I was going through my phone to find out the first time I entered a weight in one of the apps I've used I went all the way back to December 2008 where I weighed about the same as I did when I started juicing in December 2014.

I also found that February 16, 2014 I weighed 297.4 - so that gives me a 27.4 pound weight loss in the last year, with 13.5 just in the last 5 weeks.

I also noticed from the journals that there's a neurosis, of sorts, about weight and size - mostly due to my role in the Army and I had to weigh a specific weight and be a specific size.  In 2001 I weighed 208 pounds.  I know when I got to Iraq in May 2003 I weighed 190 or less.  From October 2003 to Feb 2004 I was prescribed a medication for OCD and I gained 65 pounds and was up to 255 which I would come home between 255 and 260.  I would drop down to 239 for a bit in nov 2004.  From there I struggled off and on and the stresses of work and I would gain weight.  I gained about 15-20 pounds after I quit smoking.  And in the last 7+ years I've maintained.

I ate everything that my trainer said I should.  I worked out how they told me I should.  I even documented 5 minute miles in October of 2002.  I never lost much weight.  I gained some muscle, but never lost much weight.  My belly and butt also kept getting bigger.

I shared all of this boring detail to get to this - The only thing that was consistent in ALL of my logs was that when I lost weight I dropped Coke - which didn't usually last long or I would drop it down but didn't drop it completely - until Dec 6, 2014.

You've read my results after 4 weeks of juicing, eating right (90% veggies), and cutting out Coke and all drinks not water, juice, or vegan protein shake.

I'm not sure where I'll go.  I have 3.5 weeks or so but I'd like to see 260 or better.  I've been working out heavily the last 4 days and felt great except the last two days where I think I think I have the flu.

W5J4 - W1D3

I woke up a little sore this morning.  I also woke up with some incredible vertigo.  I experienced a lot of vertigo during my workout which I had to cut short.

Before the workout I attempted one pullup.  I could not lift myself off the ground.  However, I jumped up and was able to hold myself most of the way up for a few seconds before I dropped it.

I did Circuit B of the TRX Pull Up Program

Long Torso Stretch - 30s each side both circuits
Side Plank L2 3x10s each side both circuits
Hip Press L2 13 (in 35s) first circuit, 15 in 35s the 2nd circuit
Inverted Row L2 10 both circuits
Pike L2 8 first circuit 10 2nd circuit

While I was working out I actually felt stronger.  That's not usually something that happens.  I also felt like the vertigo hindered me a little.  If there hadn't been vertigo to the point that I had to lay down until it passed I would've completed the remaining two circuits that I needed to.

W5J3 - W1D2

Started the first day of the smartfoodandfit "Feel Good Full Body TRX Workout"

I was concerned that I would run out of energy during this workout like I did yesterday.  I had my protein shake (vegan) one hour before my workout.

I did not run out of energy even as exhausting as the workout was.

Squats - I did Squat Rows yesterday so I didn't do any of these
Abducted Lunge - 25 each leg (1st), 12 each leg (2nd) - I felt like I overdid it with the 25, so I cut it back.
Jumping Jacks - 50 (each circuit)
Lunge - 12 each leg (each circuit)
Jump Ropes - 50 (each circuit)
Balance Lunge - 12 each leg (each circuit)
Jog in place knee highs - one minute (each circuit)

I was supposed to do three circuits, but only had time to complete 2.

Pre workout
BCAAs
vegan protein shake
16oz water

during workout
nothing today - I normally do BCAAs

post workout
BCAAs
vegan protein shake
16oz water
my juice for lunch

I feel great still.  I'm only a little hungry and that's because I missed my 5 o'clock juice.

I am feeling a little sore, otherwise I feel great.

W5J2 - W1D1

Today was my first workout since I started juicing.  I gave myself 29 days of juicing to give my body time to adjust.  I worked a lot through December b/c my kids were out of town so I didn't do much in the way of exercise either.

I started at the beginning with the TRX Pull Up Program as I started before on the 27Oct (http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2014/10/and-so-it-begins-again-week-1-day-1.html).

I ran out of energy, but I still felt good.  I did 2 rounds instead of 4.

Forward Lunge - 5 each
Squat Row - 15
Pull Up - 6 (1st), 10 (2nd)
Body Saw - I couldn't do any of these the first time I instead did 10s plank L3 and then I did 8 L2 body saws
Low Row to Curl to Y - 12 (1st), 10 (2nd)

W5J1 - 28 days of juicing and measurements

29 days no Coke.  I've only had water, juice that I've made, or coconut water to drink.  As for food, I've been mostly juice and occasionally some Green Beans or Black Olives.

As you can see by the numbers below I've made some great progress:
nearly 16 pounds lost
2 inches off my waist
2 inches off my hips
neck the same
1 inch off my chest

I'm feeling really well.  The only side effect I've had is some occasional weird dreams.  One dream I had I was driving my car and lived in a connex container in a gravel parking lot.  I was carrying around this baby the whole time with a chest carrier.  I swapped out my wrecked car for a black jeep... when I looked in the mirror I was Stephen Amell without a shirt on and the baby was his daughter.  I don't know why I dreamt I was Stephen Amell, but I'll take it.

http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2013/06/6june13-day-31-3rd-time.html
http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2014/04/measurements.html
http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2014/07/measurements.html
http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2015/01/w4j5-day-25-1jan15.html

	13May12	7Jun12	6Jun13	30Apr14	9Jul14	7Dec14	21Dec14	5Jan15
weight	270	272	270	284	279.4	286	275.6	270.6
navel	49	48.5	46.75	50	46.75	49.75	48.15	47.75
waist	46.5	48	43.5		45			46.5
hips	54	52.5	52	53	50	52.5	51.75	50.5
neck	18	17.5	16.5	16.5	16.5	16.75	16	16
chest				44	41.5	43	43.5	42

W4J5 - Day 25 (1Jan15)

This is my fourth day of juicing this week.  I have had a few "cheats" this last week (such as some sushi with my wife last night for New Year's Eve).  Most of my "cheats" have been solid foods (green beans, or olives) and not been "cheats" as in meat.  I'm still at (just a guess) 98% meat free for the last week.

I'm still down in the 273-274 pound range and my wife says I'm looking a bit smaller.  I need to spend some time cleaning up my office and organizing it so that it looks better.  Right now, it looks like I'm going to be on the cover of hoarder magazine.  In reality, I moved everything from the storage room to my office and the play room to make the former workout room/storage room into my wife's new office.

I found that I was losing veggies to rot - so I've decided to buy my juicing foods for about 2-3 days at a time.  I peel and cut the carrots and celeray and put them in the fridge in tupperware.  The apples, pears, and sweet potatoes I leave on the table in a dry bowl.  And the, kale and spinach I rotate the bag daily to make sure any moisture doesn't cause rotting in the bag.  I buy the sealed mexican cucumbers which I peel when I need.  This seems to cut down on all of my food loss to rot.

My estimate for juicing (since the 6th of December and one week was both my wife and I):
week 1: $126 (6Dec)
week 2: $50 (14Dec)
week 3: $220 (21Dec)
              $35 (22Dec)
week 4: $32 (28Dec)

In week 3 I also had to throw away 10 pounds of carrots, and 2 containers of spinach/kale/carrot mix - which was a total of like 20 -30 bucks in food and not all of that purchase was juicing food - so I'm going to estimate 150ish was mine.

I'll do a little better at keeping track this month - my preliminary estimate is about 400 bucks for my juicing this month.  I don't know what I'd spend on fast food, but I would guess about the same, if not more.

I finally got a measuring tape to do my weekly measurements - Instead of showing the table I've decided to show you a comparison between 21Dec and today.

2014 year in review

Almost a year ago I published this blog entry (http://elvisapocalypse.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-new-year-cognitive-shift.html).

I want to review some of that blog entry compared with one year later.  Did I make any changes that I am happy with?  Or was it the same thing just another year later?

The first thing I notice is that my weight on 3Jan14 was 295 (according to the blog).  My weight today is 273.  I have actively worked out quite a bit this year; just a guess but probably 7 or more months.  Reading through the headline entries where I mentioned what I did when I worked out I probably only worked out 3-4 months; felt like 7.  Overall, a win in the lower weight category and working out.  I have found that I do like conditioning calisthenics like TRX, American Ninja Warrior gym, etc.  So, this year, the plan is to increase exercising to at least something every day - today will be a TRX workout to see how that goes for me with the juicing since I've not really worked out in 25 days since starting the juicing.

Offending people - over the last year I have noticed more and more that people are more and more offended by less and less.  Some people seem to exist only to be offended.  Others seem to exist only to jump on the bandwagon of someone offended.  It seems like high school bullying has entered the world (years ago, but gotten worse); only now instead of being able to escape when you go home, you're inundated with attacks constantly.  As well, if someone says something you don't like you can public shame someone and then there aren't just you and your close friends that are offended, but whole groups in the world that can be offended.  If you make a mistake and it's captured on video you can be laughed at by many people in the world in a matter of days.  There are whole groups of people dedicating their lives to ripping apart what everyone says and taking one word someone says and turning it into a whole "they suck" message.  If you're so offended by so much then what the hell are you doing with your life that keeps you happy?

I apparently made some resolutions that I didn't keep
"At the end of this year I will be able to say that I ran a 5k, I lost 100 ish pounds, I'll have run and biked and played with my kids, and I wrote and filmed a sitcom that makes me laugh.  That will be me doing awesome for the year."

I didn't know I made resolutions, but apparently I did.  I didn't accomplish many of those things.  I did run, bike, skate, and play with my kids.  I didn't run a 5k, and didn't lose 100ish pounds.  I lost 20+ so 1/5th of the "goal".

What I did do this past year: 

• Helped develop an online Cherokee Dictionary (http://www.cherokeedictionary.net/)
• Started writing a Cherokee language book - mostly to take all of the lessons I've found and consolidate them into a reference book since there are no text books that I've found anywhere.
• Bought a TRX, roller blades, bicycle, and built a slide board that I used until my car died in July
• I learned how to ride a motorcycle and rode over 1500 miles 
• I did a lof of ancestry work this year to make sure I had information before elders in my family died
• I put my dad into a nursing home for Alzheimer's - now he and my grandmother see each other and don't know who the other is (just a joke, but we don't know if they actually remember each other).
• I attended a ton of BMX races from July/August until November.  My son's "rookie" year and 3-4 months racing took home the 1st place trophy for the 9 Novice class.  His trophy is 7' tall.
• I started work on Sky Net Now (http://www.skynetnow.com/) which is going to be awesome.  It's an weather early warning system.  Big things are coming with skynet in the next year.  Each module (called a Terminator) contains a LUCAS (Lightweight, Universal, Cartographic Atmospheric Sensor) module named after my son.
• I joined a group of friends to post about our successes and failures each week when it comes to eating better and working out.
• I've learned a ton about a bunch of electronics projects.
• I built a rudimentary HUD using BLE, my iPhone, an Arduino Mega, and an OLED
• I have been speaking out more to veterans about PTSD.  I want everyone to know that "they are not alone".
• I quit drinking Coke for 26 days (still going)
• I have had mostly vegetables and juice for the last 25 days (still going)
• I picked up my old Battlestar game (DRADIS) and started rewriting it

What would I like to do this upcoming year:

• Get my car fixed
• Skate, bike, and TRX more 
• Fix my slide board so it's more slippery
• Build an American Ninja Warrior playset in my back yard (ok, it's an actual gym, but we'll call it a playset)
• Ride my motorcycle more
• Clean up my office and get it organized the way I envision it with collectibles displayed
• Add a bunch of features to the Cherokee Dictionary project 
• Finish my book on the Cherokee language
• Do a Spartan Race, Highland Games, Run a 5k (Haley's Hope in August)
• Get down to 150-200 pounds (closer to 175)
• Build an articulated flight sim in my office
• Finish writing my sitcom (1.5 years and still not done)
• Complete a playable demo of DRADIS

Those aren't resolutions, just things I want to do.

I really only have three resolutions:

• Be a better person than I was last year
• Don't let myself stop me from accomplishing my goals (don't let negative thoughts get in the way)
• Workout at least 300 days during the year.  That gives one day off a week and a few days for vacations and if I get sick.