Day 74

The Workout

This morning I did a nine minute AMRAP of:

• 2 Handstand pushups
• 2 Pullups
• Increase the reps by 2 each round

I completed six rounds, doing 12 HSPUs and 12 pullups in the final round. I’m still working on these exercises – the pushups were done with my feet on a platform and the pullups were all negatives. Maybe I should focus on pullups in the near future.

The Food

For breakfast I successfully made a omelette for the first time in quite a while. It was filled with the leftover meatballs from last week. Lunch was a salad – mixed greens, mushrooms, bell peppers, cucumber, sunflower seeds, and chicken – from a place called SweetGreen.  I won’t claim the sample size is big, but this was the best salad I’ve ever ordered “to go.”I had some almonds and frozen blackberries as a snack in the afternoon. For dinner we had salmon, chicken and bacon, and asparagus.

Days 64 & 65

The Workout

Monday was a rest day. On Tuesday the plan was a twelve minute AMRAP of:

• 5 Wall climbs
• 10 Sumo deadlift high pulls, 65lbs

I ended up stopping and 5:30 which was three full sets. My neck/shoulder that has been hurt in the past did not like the wall climbs at all, so I stopped. This wasn’t soreness or discomfort, it was pain.

The Food

On Monday I had four fried eggs and a large grapefruit for breakfast. Lunch was a salad – mixed greens, sweet peppers, red onions, and chicken. For dinner Michelle made some spicy pulled chicken, to go with sauteed onions and mushrooms, avocado, and some almond bread.

Tuesday started off with four fried eggs, bacon, and a banana. Lunch was a salad – baby spinach, red onions, sweet peppers, hard-boiled egg, crushed walnuts, and chicken. Again there were some almonds as a snack during the day. For dinner we had broiled cod, asparagus, and a side salad.

The Weigh-In

Monday morning I weighed in at 229 pounds, which is six pounds fewer than the last weigh-in and twenty-seven pounds lost overall! After than initial (and massive) weight loss, I’ve set into a steady two pounds lost per week, which is very healthy from all accounts and would put me at my goal right around the 4th of July. I’ve been in one belt notch for some time now, so overall I’m feeling good about how things are going.

Day 63

The Workout

Today I did 21-15-9 reps of:

• 65lb Push press
• Rear dips
• Lunges

I finished in 9:42. Combining the push press and dips may have been a mistake, as my arms are aching along their entire length right now!

The Food

Breakfast was scrambled eggs and chopped bacon. For lunch, I had some leftover chili from last night along with half an avocado. I snacked on some of the almond bread from last night as well. For dinner, we had baked, crab-stuffed sole, with cauliflower latkes and a side salad.

Tomorrow is my next weigh-in day, but it is also a rest day for exercise, so tune in Tuesday night to find out how much more I’ve lost!

Day 61

The Workout

Today I did seven rounds of:

• 25lb overhead squats, 4 reps
• 25lb four-count overhead lunges. 2 reps
• 21 situps

I finished in 7:19. It was a good workout to jump into after not working out for a few days. I felt a lot better with these overhead squats than I did last time I tried them, probably due to both a slightly lower weight and to some actually physical improvement.

The Food

For breakfast I had four fried eggs, (a lot of) bacon, and a banana. For lunch I met my family at SaladWorks. I really wasn’t impressed, probably because they used iceberg lettuce, which I detest. There were carrots, apple chips, craisins, and chicken in the salad also. The unsatisfying lunch had me eating some almonds during the afternoon. We had a happy hour with a bunch of coworkers, where I had some chicken wings and some bourbon. For a much later dinner, Michelle and I split some sushi and sashimi.

Days 58, 59, & 60

The Workout

Tuesday was a planned rest day. Wednesday I woke up with that same crick in my neck. I also took Thursday off because of it. My neck feels good right now, so I do plan on working out again Friday morning.

The Food

Tuesday morning I had three fried eggs, bacon, and half an avocado. Some almonds filled in as the morning snack. For lunch I had another salad – baby spinach, pea sprouts, sweet peppers, broccoli, and tuna. Dinner was some shrimp and stir fry:

Wednesday I had four scrambled eggs and bacon.  For lunch we went to Chipotle and I had a salad (shock) – lettuce, peppers and onions, chicken, and medium green salsa. That salad was a little small (compared to the salads I bring from home) so I had a few more almonds than usual in the afternoon. For dinner Michelle make some great salmon steak, with asparagus and poached eggs.

Thursday morning I had  four fried eggs, bacon, and a banana. Lunch was a salad – mixed greens, pea sprouts, sweet peppers, broccoli, and a little chicken. I had planned to also bring some tuna for the salad, but completely forgot about it. Believe it or not, I managed to not need any almonds to tide me over at any point today! Dinner was bacon-crusted chicken breasts with a salad of cucumbers, sweet peppers, and onions.

Day 56

The Workout

Today I did four rounds of:

• Row 500m
• 65lb sumo deadlift high pulls, 10 reps

I finished in 15:23. I wish the bar I have had a centerline, which would make lifts with narrow grips easier to balance.

The Food

For breakfast we had french toast made with almond flour bread and bacon. After church, we had lunch at Wegman’s. I had a salad – mixed greens, broccoli, mushrooms, red onions, and bacon bits – and some sashimi tuna. For dinner, Michelle made some sweet potato beef enchiladas with a side of avocado.

Day 46

The Workout

Today I did a 15 minute AMRAP of:

• 10 push presses, 65 lbs
• 10 lunges
• 5 burpees

I completed four rounds and two more push presses. The burpees kill me. I hate them. And if you like them, I will openly question your sanity…

The Food

For breakfast I had four scrambled eggs and a large grapefruit.  Lunch was a salad – mixed greems, sweet peppers, broccoli, and salami (with the obligatory almonds & walnuts throughout the afternoon). For dinner, Michelle made some baked salmon steaks, with asparagus and avocado – quite the dish!

Day 43 – Weighing In

The Workout

Today was three rounds of:

• Row 750m
• 10 Wall Climbs

I finished in 18:47. For those who don’t know, wall climbs are where you start on all fours with your feet against the wall, then “walk” your feet up the wall until your legs are straight. As you get stronger, you can add walking your hands towards the wall until you are in a full handstand position. I’m not quite there yet, but it’s a great new exercise to add to the rotation.

The Food

For breakfast I have four fried eggs and several strips of bacon. Lunch was catered in at work, but unfortunately from a pizza place. I ended up eating what they lamely refer to as salad, which was mostly just iceberg lettuce and cucumbers. When I finally got home I dove into a handful of nuts to hold me up until dinner. For dinner, Michelle made some fish sliders with spinach. That wasn’t quite enough, so we split some salmon on almond flour crackers.

The Weigh-In

I checked in this morning at 235 pounds, which is 6 pounds less than my weigh-in three weeks ago and 21 pounds less than my starting weight. Obviously that is a lot less than my rate of loss over the first three weeks, but that’s alright. Losing 3.5 pounds a week is a far more reasonable “rate of return” than 5 pounds a week. Another theory I have is that the week before last was really stressful. Work was a bit of a pain, I didn’t get much sleep, and it was poor sleep. All of those will easily conspire to stop weight loss – and yet I still did lose some. It’s not as much as weeks 1-3, but I’m still happy with it.

Day 38

The Workout

Today was 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 reps of:

• Hand stand pushups
• Squats
• Pullups

I finished in 12:45. The HSPUs were still done from my knees on a platform, but it is higher than the chair I had been using. The pullups were still all negatives, but they were “truer” negatives than before. The time spent with my arms bent could be managed in milliseconds instead of nanoseconds! Thinking of the HSPUs, I need to work on my form for some of these exercises, so I’m going to plan to do that on my “rest” days going forward.

The Food

For breakfast I had three scrambled eggs and half an avocado. Lunch was a protein hearty salad, consisting of both chicken and tuna atop baby spinach, pea sprouts, broccoli slaw, sweet peppers, and pine nuts. I only had a handful of almonds throughout the day, which is an improvement. I think it was because I was busy – snacking still seems to be a time filler.  For dinner, Michelle butter roasted some shrimp to top stir-fried veggies.

Day 35

The Workout

I did a 20 minutes AMRAP of:

• 35 squats
• 25 pushups

I completed five rounds, along with 35 squats and 9 pushups in the sixth round. By then end most of the pushups were done from my knees, totaling a little over half of all of them.

The Food

For breakfast I had four fried eggs and bacon. For lunch we had a salad – baby spinach, sweet peppers, hard-boiled egg, and cucumbers – along with some smoked salmon.I had a can of tuna with some spicy mustard as a snack before dinner. For dinner, Michelle made stuffed mushroom caps, filled with spicy italian sausage, bell peppers, celery, onions, and cheese.