Progress Not Perfection

Getting Real Day 2

My own experiment with vegetables for 30 days

Progress not Perfection.

Today is my second day of attempting to keep it real when it comes to the food.

As you know, I have put on approximately 25 pounds over the last 6 months and yesterday I wrote about how I want to stop that roller coaster once and for all.

For me to do that, I have to accept that my physiology just does not process all foods equally and that I cannot subject myself to trying to be more normal.

The way I am is the way I am and if I accept it, then it should work out fine.

I do not process grains or junk foods well at all.

In only 6 months I am up 25 pounds, shocking and disappointing.

Having said that, I want to use this experience as fuel for me to power forward, to not give up, to keep working on finding what does work for my body and sticking to it.

I wrote about creating a new room, a new home which is built on improving every day in every way that I can.

Certainly that will apply to food. I know that with all due respect (is there any respect due?) to Doritos, despite how great that flavor is, I know I am a goner after that one bag.

I get bloated, my face expands to the size of Mars and I am not a happy camper after those heavenly chips are finished.

Either I am going to be improving with every meal, or really harming myself.

So, in this new room, new home, the foundation must be healthy living habits.

Good food, good drink, good sleep, good air, good workout.

I have never heard any dietitian or nutritionist condemn vegetables.

Everyone agrees on vegetables, so that is the foundation.

Fruits are also well liked but appears to be more effective with a bit more moderate use.

Everyone agrees that junk food is the pits, but some say that a cheat meal every now and then is okay and can even help boost your metabolism.

Well, that might work for someone else, but not for me!

It is not working for me, even one meal with bread, alcohol or cake sends me into enough of a tailspin that my result is a 25 pound gain.

Okay, but let’s not give up.

I am still not up to my starting weight on June 21, 2012 of 275 pounds and it is never too late to nip this in the bud.

I also decided to do this very strictly for the next 30 days, no matter what.

And what is that?

Vegetables

The base of every meal, shoot for three meals a day, that is if I get hungry.

My experience with vegetables is that I do not get as hungry with vegetable based dishes as I will with a bread based dish.

Fruits

For snacks, such as apple, berries.

Nuts

For snacks as well, but go easy.

Protein

Either Tofu, Tempeh, Eggs, Fish or Chicken

So for today, I have had an apple, a grapefruit and a big omelette which had a half onion, quarter garlic, half yellow pepper, a little olive oil, a couple of handfuls of spinach, 2 whole organic eggs and 2 egg whites.

I did not even add dairy such as cheese or parmesan.

What am I not going to have?

Grains, any grains, including bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, oatmeal, barley.

Legumes, any beans, because they always give me heartburn. I am going to miss peanuts and peanut butter though.

Alcohol, even the touted red wine, I just want to go an entire month without red wine and hope that it is a plus.

Dairy, cheese, milk, even parmesan for sprinkling.

Oreos, the toughest part of this, but no Oreos or any other junk food for that matter.

In addition, I want to lift weights and walk, so for today as an example:

I did 5 sets of squats, starting light with 55 pounds and in between each set of squats, I did 20 pushups.

That whole workout took about 45minutes.

Later on today I will take a walk for 30 minutes as I do not usually enjoy running on a treadmill, but I am going to be open to changing around my workout routine as I get leaner.

How To Get Fit Fast - Fat Loss and Strength Gain Chart

Date	Body Weight	Body Fat Percentage	Pushups or Pullups	Squats (below Parallel)	Deadlift
Monday December 23, 2013, Day 8	195lbs	22.7%	5 sets of 17 + 8 + 7 = 100 in under 10 minutes	5 sets of 75lbs, warm up with 45lbs, rest between 2 and 5 minutes between sets
Sunday December 22, Day 7	196lb	22.9%	5 sets of 16	none	none
Saturday, December 21, Day 6	197.5lbs	23%	5 sets of 16	none	none
Friday December 20, Day 5	199lb	23.3%	5 sets of 14	70lb	none
Thursday December 19, Day 4	200lb	23.5%	5 sets of 13	65lbs	none
Wednesday December 18, Day 3	202lb	23.8%	5 sets of 12	60lbs	none
Tuesday December 17, Day 2	204.5	23.9%	5 sets of 11	55lbs	none
Monday December 16, 2013 Day 1	205lb	24%	5 sets of 10	45lb bar	none
October 31, 2013 Day 5 of the 30 Day Adventure			Pullups - today shoot for using 85lbs on the stack assist. Did 4 sets with 85lbs, will shoot for 5 sets on sunday or monday..	Rest	Shoot for 5 sets of 120lbs, going up 5 lbs from Wednesday did 4 sets of 120lbs...will shoot for 5 sets again on monday..or next time ...it was tiring...grr
October 30, 2013, Day 4 of Hashi Mashi 2			Today did maximum number of pushups possible. I have not tried that for many months and glad that I have gotten back to it. I did 40 which is not awful in the scheme of things, so that actually motivated me. I also did sets of pushups in between squats, 21 pushups between each set of squats.	5 sets of 5 reps using 70lbs	Rest
October 29, third day of this 30 day Hashi Mashi Adventure, results so far have been promising, 5lbs down and 1% bodyfat down. Keep going			Today did pullups using 90lbs on the stack and will shoot for going down to 85lbs	Rest	5 sets of 115lbs, did one set of 135lbs, so not too far back but have to make progress slowly
October 28, 2013 Wow it has been way too long since I was keeping track, but better late than never!			5 sets of 20 pushups, will take some time till I can build back up to the max pushups that I was doing which was 56 back in April	5 sets of 5 only using 55lbs, it will take time to build up again to 130lbs...it is a good thing I still had this table so I can see how fast I have lost strength over the last 6 months.	Rest
April 3, 2013 Day 286			Shoot for sets today, not max..	warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs x1 then 120lbs 5setsx5reps - did them..should stay at 120 till it feels easy enough to move up to 125	shoot for 150lbs...good form.....decided to stay at 135lbs...1set of 5 reps...that was enough for today, did not want to push it! max 155 or 160..see how we feel..
April 2, 2013 Day 285			Rest Pushups - Take a Break!	Rest	Rest
April 1, 2013 Day 284			56 full pushups - the last 10 were purty difficult...	warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs x1 then 120lbs 5setsx5reps - did them..should stay at 120 till it feels easy enough to move up to 125	Rest
March 29, 2013 Day 281			Will shoot for 52/53	Have to see if I can do any! And I did..whew...warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs 5setsx5reps...did not feel too bad...happy I could do them..kept strict form...now rest for 2 days..	shoot for 150lbs...good form.....decided to stay at 135lbs...1set of 5 reps...that was enough for today, did not want to push it!
March 27, 2013 Day 279			52 - went up 1	135lbs 4 sets of 5, felt pull in right thigh...so stopped at 4 sets, will go down in weight	Rest
March 25, 2013 Mon Day 277			51 - went up 1, the last 5 were pretty difficult, consecutive full pushups	135lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, these were so @#$ hard, went up 5lbs but think I might have to stay here for a week or so till I am moving the weight easier	165lbs is the goal for today, did warmups of 95, 135 and 155 and then 1 set of 5 reps of 165lbs. I think the form can be better, so stay at this weight in the meantime.
March 23, 2013 Sat Day 275			50 - Yeeha! Did many shoulder dislocations for warmup	130lbs is my new High, 5 sets of 5 repetitions, up 5lbs from last workout.	Rest Deadlift
March 22, 2013 Fri Day 274			Rest - Wedding Celebration
March 21, 2013 Thur Day 273			Rest
March 20, 2013 Wed Day 272			Rest	125lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up	155lbs 1 set of 5 reps, up 5lbs using mixed grip, left overhand, right underhand
March 19, 2013 Tue Day 271			45 pushups first set max	Rest	Rest
March 18, 2013			Chest so sore, could not even do 1!	120lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up	Off Today
March 15, 2013			41 repetitions nose to floor, yea, i have a long nose	115lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up 5lbs from the previous workout	150lbs 1set of 5 reps, up 10lbs
March 13, 2013			40rep max	110lbs 5 sets of 5 reps	140lbs 1 x 5
June 21, 2012			1	2 repetitions using 45lb bar	2 reps 45lb bar

Date Body Weight Body Fat Percentage Pushups or Pullups Squats (below Parallel) Deadlift

Monday December 23, 2013, Day 8 195lbs 22.7% 5 sets of 17 + 8 + 7 = 100 in under 10 minutes 5 sets of 75lbs, warm up with 45lbs, rest between 2 and 5 minutes between sets

Sunday December 22, Day 7 196lb 22.9% 5 sets of 16 none none

Saturday, December 21, Day 6 197.5lbs 23% 5 sets of 16 none none

Friday December 20, Day 5 199lb 23.3% 5 sets of 14 70lb none

Thursday December 19, Day 4 200lb 23.5% 5 sets of 13 65lbs none

Wednesday December 18, Day 3 202lb 23.8% 5 sets of 12 60lbs none

Tuesday December 17, Day 2 204.5 23.9% 5 sets of 11 55lbs none

Monday December 16, 2013 Day 1 205lb 24% 5 sets of 10 45lb bar none

October 31, 2013 Day 5 of the 30 Day Adventure Pullups - today shoot for using 85lbs on the stack assist.

Did 4 sets with 85lbs, will shoot for 5 sets on sunday or monday.. Rest Shoot for 5 sets of 120lbs, going up 5 lbs from Wednesday

did 4 sets of 120lbs...will shoot for 5 sets again on monday..or next time ...it was tiring...grr

October 30, 2013, Day 4 of Hashi Mashi 2 Today did maximum number of pushups possible. I have not tried that for many months and glad that I have gotten back to it. I did 40 which is not awful in the scheme of things, so that actually motivated me. I also did sets of pushups in between squats, 21 pushups between each set of squats. 5 sets of 5 reps using 70lbs Rest

October 29, third day of this 30 day Hashi Mashi Adventure, results so far have been promising, 5lbs down and 1% bodyfat down. Keep going Today did pullups using 90lbs on the stack and will shoot for going down to 85lbs Rest 5 sets of 115lbs, did one set of 135lbs, so not too far back but have to make progress slowly

October 28, 2013 Wow it has been way too long since I was keeping track, but better late than never! 5 sets of 20 pushups, will take some time till I can build back up to the max pushups that I was doing which was 56 back in April 5 sets of 5 only using 55lbs, it will take time to build up again to 130lbs...it is a good thing I still had this table so I can see how fast I have lost strength over the last 6 months. Rest

April 3, 2013 Day 286 Shoot for sets today, not max.. warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs x1 then 120lbs 5setsx5reps - did them..should stay at 120 till it feels easy enough to move up to 125 shoot for 150lbs...good form.....decided to stay at 135lbs...1set of 5 reps...that was enough for today, did not want to push it! max 155 or 160..see how we feel..

April 2, 2013 Day 285 Rest Pushups - Take a Break! Rest Rest

April 1, 2013 Day 284 56 full pushups - the last 10 were purty difficult... warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs x1 then 120lbs 5setsx5reps - did them..should stay at 120 till it feels easy enough to move up to 125 Rest

March 29, 2013 Day 281 Will shoot for 52/53 Have to see if I can do any! And I did..whew...warm up with 45lbs2x5, 65lbx1, 95lbsx2, then 115lbs 5setsx5reps...did not feel too bad...happy I could do them..kept strict form...now rest for 2 days.. shoot for 150lbs...good form.....decided to stay at 135lbs...1set of 5 reps...that was enough for today, did not want to push it!

March 27, 2013 Day 279 52 - went up 1 135lbs 4 sets of 5, felt pull in right thigh...so stopped at 4 sets, will go down in weight Rest

March 25, 2013 Mon Day 277 51 - went up 1, the last 5 were pretty difficult, consecutive full pushups 135lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, these were so @#$ hard, went up 5lbs but think I might have to stay here for a week or so till I am moving the weight easier 165lbs is the goal for today, did warmups of 95, 135 and 155 and then 1 set of 5 reps of 165lbs. I think the form can be better, so stay at this weight in the meantime.

March 23, 2013 Sat Day 275 50 - Yeeha! Did many shoulder dislocations for warmup 130lbs is my new High, 5 sets of 5 repetitions, up 5lbs from last workout. Rest Deadlift

March 22, 2013 Fri Day 274 Rest - Wedding Celebration

March 21, 2013 Thur Day 273 Rest

March 20, 2013 Wed Day 272 Rest 125lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up 155lbs 1 set of 5 reps, up 5lbs using mixed grip, left overhand, right underhand

March 19, 2013 Tue Day 271 45 pushups first set max Rest Rest

March 18, 2013 Chest so sore, could not even do 1! 120lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up Off Today

March 15, 2013 41 repetitions nose to floor, yea, i have a long nose 115lbs 5 sets of 5 reps, went up 5lbs from the previous workout 150lbs 1set of 5 reps, up 10lbs

March 13, 2013 40rep max 110lbs 5 sets of 5 reps 140lbs 1 x 5

June 21, 2012 1 2 repetitions using 45lb bar 2 reps 45lb bar

Our Focus is on Fat Loss and Strength Gain. Fat Loss is accomplished by eating real foods and avoiding processed foods. Real Strength means doing a workout , doing exercises such as core, compound exercises like pushups, squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press and barbell rows using free weights or your bodyweight.

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