Oh boy, I'm in trouble now

[TomG]

All right, let's see how much I can embarrass myself.

Here are my first before and after pictures . . . if I can load them . . .

Ok, I can't. It's not like an attachment, huh?

Oh, there it is.

My goals are to lose a bunch of fat. There is a skinny ectomorph under there.

I am 6' by about ten in the morning and weigh 215. A while ago, in the same shape, I got dunked and came out at about 21% BF. I need to get at least down to 200, or, better yet, 190.

The most important goal is to get my blood pressure down and my blood tests in the normal range.

Three times a week I do kruddy, which I've been doing 38 years. I'm 51. I would like to get back to working out for health beyond that. I'm looking at body cals, some odd dumbell/kettlebell work, and only watching youtube, video, and UFC fights while on my Nordictrack. Other than Nordictrack, I don't plan on doing any long and slow, or fast and pukey workouts. I prefer fast and reasonable.

My diet will be a combination and experimentation of Nos diet, Protein Power, Lyle McDonald's, V.'s, Andy's, Welsh's, or whatever the heck his name is now.

I should have taken my picture a month and a half ago. I was on heavy duty pain medication and ate enough to prevent ulcers and to peak at 227 or so.

'Nuff said, here are my Dec. 17, 2007 Before and After pictures.

[Gooseneck]

Great progress so far Tom, keep trucking and you'll make your goals before you know it.

I'm cheering for you and am looking forward to those afta-photos.

Where did you find that Sacramento Bee? I know you are too cheap to buy one on your own.

See you Saturday.

[LiftGirl]

Pardon my ignorance, but I am very curious to know, what is kruddy?

[TomG]

Sacramento Bee? I know you are too cheap to buy one on your own.

Yeah, well, I did, so don't expect any Christmas presents.

what is kruddy

It is a super secret deadly form of fighting developed by the Shaolin monks in the land of the rising sun to teach ninja-samurai to fight the forces of evil without being seen or hurt, usually to save princesses (we call them himes) from cruel warlords. Don't worry about it. It's complicated 'n I got a black belt. Bow to your senses!

[.V.]

Hey, looking forward to seeing your progress in this. You have a good chance if you work hard.

[TomG]

I'm down a pound or two for the week after a weekend of eating/pigging on good Christmas chocolate, cakes, etc. Monday comes around and I'm ready to low-carb for the week no problem. No eating after 9:00 also cuts back on a lot of face-stuffing. Per JDR3, cutting the snacks sure helps, too. I think my stash of good Christmas stuff will last well into February. There is only so much I can eat or feel like eating on weekends. The difference is in the scale, not the picture.

But that's not the big news. The big news is that I did a little circuit workout last night and can do burpees!!! For those of you not engrossed in my life as much as I am until now, I'm getting over a bad, long-term rib strain, tear, crack, break, or something. I can't kick the feet back all that far at the bottom of the burpees, and I can't put a pushup in there at the bottom, but they felt good, I mean bad, I mean good.

I did three circuits of 10 burpees, pull-ups (leg assisted), slow push-ups, overhead stick squats, ham curls, and sit-ups. It would have been a warm-up for most of you but felt like a good, mild workout for me.

[cursor]

Nice work. Make sure you keep your next appointment.

[minime]

hey tom, good luck reaching your goal! and great job on those burpees! man, i hate burpees.

[bodyshop20]

A big shout for you Mr, you have embarked on a true path.
Good luck Tom

[TomG]

The holidays, Christmas, New Years, and my birthday made me pretty frustrated by the middle of January. I had gone down 5 lbs. to 210, and then during that time went back up. There was no mystery as to why - uh, I ate.

Some coworkers had lost a lot of weight going to a cardio kickboxing class every morning for an hour before school. I decided to check it out. I have some new heroes, the cardio teachers. Jeesh, they don't stop, for a whole hour!! And that's just one class.

The idea of spending $70 a month on doing fake karate, when I can get just as exhausted amping up my own karate, did not appeal to me, so I made myself a deal. From January 15 until February 15, I had to lose 12 pounds, or join that class. I did well, starting reasonable and gradually going more and more Andy's and McDonald's route. I have nine days to go and three pounds left. This week I am trying pure Andy's high fat eating. I haven't gotten anywhere near the 10cal/lb yet. I did have one kiwi and an apple with peanut butter before karate today, and worked out enthusiastically. Tomorrow, less than 5% carbs, Thursday another apple if I do karate, no carbs if I don't.

This is what I'm really excited about: my blood pressure is normal/normal for the first time in at least six years. I checked it yesterday in the middle of the day without exercising beforehand (post-exercise readings have always been normal, with a high heartrate).

If following Andy doesn't get me down by Sunday, I'm going to pull out the stops and do McDonald's crash diet book. I'll be darned if I'm going to do that silly cardio class.

By saying "If following Andy doesn't get me down by Sunday," I mean if I don't do it right, perfectly to the letter, not that Andy has anything to do with my failure.

I am nine pounds down from when I started (first time in years), I've been taking pictures off and on, but I don't see any difference in the pictures so I'll not put them up now.

Tom

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the update post. It is very instructive to me. And here's my belated birthday wish. Keep up the aging and soon the number of years in your age will be greater than the number of inches of your waist. Worked for me.

Great news about the blood pressure.

I hope you win your bet. Otherwise, you'll have to buy a pair of pink leotards and tie-dye t-shirt to wear to your cardio kickboxing class. Don't forget your bottle of water to sip on during class and the small talk about veggies and dindin after class.

Keep the pedal to the metal - you can do it.

[LiftGirl]

Originally Posted by pierini

Otherwise, you'll have to buy a pair of pink leotards and tie-dye t-shirt to wear to your cardio kickboxing class.

Oooh, and leg warmers too, preferably in a flourescent color!

Keep up the good work, and the results will show.

[TomG]

Oh, those, I already have those. It's just that now the teacher will be wearing the same thing and she'll look so much better in it.

Also, on Monday, two days ago, I did a 24 hour fast. It was my personal Ash Monday. I did some fasting years ago, juice or short water fasts. One day is short and I just feel light instead of hungry, which is nice after eating more than usual over the weekend. They (whoever they are) say it's good to give the stomach a break. I don't know if 24 hours is any more necessary than 12 - 15 hour one, Sunday night to late morning Monday. One way or another, some sort of food restriction is common in a lot of religions and customs . . .

[Gooseneck]

Originally Posted by TomG

Oh, those, I already have those.

You do ??!!