A late night...

So, first things first - please wish Susan luck on her test tomorrow (Friday, October 1).  It's the culmination of 6 months of OTJ training to become a OR Nurse, something she's wanted since she was in nursing school all those years ago.  She's been ridiculously stressed out, worrying about the test that I'm confident she's going to nail.  I have a bit of personal benefit to the test being done, too - that stress has made our house a bit tense to be in, what with our radical change into PCP mode...

My workout, after work again today, went pretty smooth.  The push-ups today were 10 times better than yesterday for reasons unknown to me.  The tricep-dips right after push-ups, though, are just not fair.  I did max / mid reps on both exercises, so I certainly got the 'big burn' Mr. Patrick has been advertising.

The food has been phenomenally time consuming.  I have never, ever eaten this food in more than a one-day stretch.  It's becoming a reasonable routine and my body certainly isn't rejecting the input.  In chatting with Patrick today, he mentioned something that makes me figure that all of my life I've probably been on the bubble or just within a caloric deficit, keeping me from getting any shape, fat or otherwise.  Sure, you might think it's great to be 'skinny' but I've gotten plenty of hell for it over the years...

I spent a bunch of time tonight trying to get ahead of our menu a bit, but it seems like just when we get ahead on one bucket (veg for example) we run low on another (protein today) and I'm just back to standing in the kitchen.  Combine that with the nightly routine of packing breakfast / dinner and it can make for some long nights.  I am, of course, keeping a close eye on the clock most nights to make sure I'm meeting that part of the training plan, too!

Given my larger food intake and my new routine of bringing my food to work, I'm entering a new 'crowd' at work and it's given me an opportunity to share PCP.  Some (ok, many) will never really think twice about the crazy project thing Ian's talking about, but at least one looks like he may be on track to be in the next group.  I proudly showed him my Day 1 and Day 15 photos to which he offered many compliments as well as asking even more questions about the project.  Initially I had thought I wouldn't really talk about PCP much, instead waiting for people to notice a difference, but I've had a little more fun bringing up with people than I expected.

Anyway, it's time for bed... I hope the Cookie Monster doesn't come for me tonight! ;)

Feeling better.

I took the morning off from exercise and instead spent it getting ready in a slight more leisurely way than lately.  Part of that was a little extra snuggle time with Olivia, and another part was giving myself the 'ok' to drive back after daycare to pick up my motorcycle.  I rode in to work this morning, the first time in the chilly fall air - a new experience.  Most everything on the bike, though, is new, given that I just got it in April and it's my first bike.

After work I made sure Susan could focus on completing her exercise routine before I dove into mine.  I worked ahead of her making sure all the equipment was in the right place and that Olivia stayed out of the way.  Once she was done, I was my turn.  For the first time I had a pre-workout item of 60g Carbs, so I grabbed two pieces of double-fiber wheat bread, sprinkled on some red wine vinegar and chowed down.  Susan thought the vinegar idea was disgusting, but I likened it to wiping the bottom of the salad bowl... you know, dragging your salty garlic bread through the salty Italian dressing?

I headed to the deck for jumps, only to trip a lot and be disturbed by the little one's curiousity.  During one of the trip, I decided to investigate the length of my rope.. and made it about an inch shorter.  Suddenly I could do almost my full sets of 100 - cute.

I blasted through the remainder of the routine, feeling serious burn in the push-ups, driving to failure in the davincis (I figure failure is barely clearing your hips...), and absolutely dying on the sit-ups.  Apparently I have no core.

I then walked down the street to meet friends at a local restaurant - I hadn't seen them in weeks and I informed them, up front, of my dietary requirements.  I ate a salad, starting with my post-workout egg white, and even had the strength to push the delicious bacon to the side...

I'm feeling pretty good now... now just to find enough carbs to make tomorrow's meals.

Hey - anyone have suggestions on oatmeal?  I worry that the flavored packets aren't ideal, but the whole oats taste like cardboard.

Quick update...

So I got on the scale last night for the heck of it... it's not something normal for me.  It's one of those fancy ones with the body fat percentage, too.  The body fat read 8.0%, but I didn't remember if that was up or down, so I looked up my original email to Patrick... to find 8.8% then.  I didn't believe the reading, so I just went to bed without a worry. 

I just weighed again - it's still at 8.0%, meaning I've cut .8% body fat in 2 weeks.  Awesome.

Drained...

I'm feeling a little rough at the moment...

The time management component of PCP is really beginning to bite me in the back-side.  Part of this is associated with the return from vacation and trying to get back into our normal routine, which is relatively busy...  having a nearly 3-year old that needs to get back and forth to day care makes the mornings and afternoons extra fun.  Combine that with Susan's job as a nurse that has really strict working schedules plus the fact that she's coming to the end of a intense training program.

We did the recommended "buy a lot of veggies and prepare them" thing on Sunday, but it hasn't helped with our dinners because we haven't pre-prepped our proteins.  I keep thinking I'll get a bunch of chicken put together, but I just haven't had the energy or time to do that amongst all the other stuff.  All I wanted to do last night was go to bed, but I needed to slog through getting breakfast and lunch weighed out first.

I'm now sitting in an 'enclave' at work to avoid all the people that walk up to my desk throughout the day, hoping not to let my grumpiness fly out at them.  I really want to go out for lunch and eat something other than what I carried in today, which is an old problem that I have to tackle - almost any time I bring my lunch, I want, more than ever before, something else.

The exercise has been reasonable, but my jumps aren't getting too much smoother.  My first set of 100 or so are really trippy, the middle sets are okay, and then I get tired and trippy to wrap it up.  Beyond that, as I've mentioned before, I can't keep up well with the counting, especially this morning when Olivia insisted on watching me, which involved plenty of conversations. 

"Daddy... Daddy... DADDY!"
"Yes dear?"
"You're exercising."
"Yes, yes I'm exercising."
"Hmmm... was it 50?  I guess... 51, 52, trip, 52, 53, 54, 55,"
"Daddy... Daddy..."

I woke up this morning with a lot of pain in my right leg, both the hip and the knee, so that was a little disconcerting.  I've noticed a little tweak now and then lately, but this was to the point that I didn't want to walk for a few minutes until it worked out.  It's not too noticable at the moment.  I figure it's associated with the jumps - I was on a stone patio in Disney World, but I've gone back to my deck and now added an exercise mat for more padding.

To add to all the excitement Susan and I are beginning a process of trying to sell our house.  We'll start moving the 'clutter' furniture out as early as this weekend and hopefully have some friends / family up next weekend to do some repair / touch-up work.  It's a bittersweet process... I really, really like this house and neighborhood, so letting go is going to be tough.  It's the 'right' thing to do, though, as the schools are pretty miserable, safety can be questionable at times and I'm really tired of on-street parking.

So... sorry for the disjointed bitch-fest, but I thought I'd be sure to share.  I am feeling pretty good about my physical shape at the moment and as soon as I can breath, I plan on a photo session to demonstrate.

We're home... oh crap...

This will still be a short post because things, as they often are after vacation, are a bit confused and messy at the moment.  Olivia just headed to bed for the first time in a week without a grandmother to sooth her as well as with a distinct bedtime... we expect a long night there.

Nearly our first task upon returning to town (around 4p) was to do some grocery shopping. I did this solo as we figured Olivia would prefer some time at home instead out walking yet again.  I grabbed (what seemed to be) tons of veggies of all different colors and flavors thinking we'd be just fine for a while.  I came home, began sorting out how to prepare them, then went about the chopping and cooking. 

Eventually we realized we'd need to eat dinner, so we did: shrimp, pasta, veggies.  Shrimp are small.  They don't weigh a lot...

After dinner and while Susan was prepping Olivia for bed, I started to tackle breakfast / lunch packing.  Wow.  All those veggies? Tremendously reduced.  Somewhat lucky for me, though, is the fact that I like tomatoes (and Susan doesn't) and they weigh a lot, so I'll be eating one over two meals.  I'm short a protein for lunch tomorrow, though, so I still have to sort that bit out...

Wow... I thought we ate a lot on vacation, but this is wild.  Plus I have to figure out how to get these longer exercise routines crammed in before work, yet combine that with 8+ hours of sleep!

The thought had already crossed my mind, but maybe the vacation should have been a day or two shorter to give us a better recovery window...

Nearing the end of the trip...

We'll head out sometime tomorrow, not sure exactly when, and then we'll be back where are able to eat more appropriately in regards to our PCP diet.  Veggies for breakfast have been pretty tough - basically just carrots most mornings.

Yesterday was our anniversary day, so we spent it together without the rest of the group.  We spent several hours at the spa getting massages, etc.  We went out to the California Grill for our dinner that night and I have to admit we blew out the diet entirely.  Sorry team!

It'll be sad to have the vacation end, but it will certainly make it easier to follow the plan properly.  The exercise portion hasn't been tough, and I've generally stuck with the morning routine to keep the day starting right.  Given the longer period of time it requires, I'm a bit concerned about getting it done before work once we're back at home...

Disney continues

So Susan and I have remained on the split front as often as possible, lining ourselves up to eat half portions for the remainder of the trip.  We're going to do all that we can to meet the new (TBD) guidelines as we finish out our trip to Disney World... we'll be driving home on Saturday at which point I'm sure we'll be able to lock into the plan properly.

The jump roping this morning was a bit tough - I don't care to count beyond 50, so I did 10 sets.  I probably got the occasional stretch of 50 or so, but there were also some serious stretches of trip after trip because I'd get overly conscious of the swing.

I'm interested to get the Day 8 email tonight to see everything...

Keep it up, team Blue - keep the real world going for us while we're away! :)

Stuck to 1/2 portion at lunch. Pork chop, potatoes, fruit. Actually feel full but struggle with that mentally.

catching up

let's see, we're in disney world now. i'm trying to post via my phone's browser but it isn't such a great experience.  i drove the majority of the trip (save about 30 - 45 minutes) but i did need to cave in on the caffeine front to make it through to sunrise.  we did a fair amount of sleeping at and around our arrival to catch up - the drive didnt offer anyone but Olivia worthwhile sleep. (we're travelling with susan's parents, sister in law and 1.5yr nephew)

our first dinner went well from a pcp perspective - susan and i split a shrimp pasta dish.  i thought it would be tough, but it was just right and i was happier.  i normally eat in that scale, but when we're here we go along with the overeating.  i also only had one adult beverage which is my personal version of half here. :)

exercise has gone just fine.  i did go check on the gym in the resort only to find a small room crammed with dozen or more machines plus a few free weights.  i couldnt have swung the rope without getting hung up on something. :(  my feet feel better and my pace on the rope is improving.  we've had no problem finding room or time to exercise plus after dinner settled we spent some time in the pool.

i can no longer see what i'm typing because of this terrible browser. go team blues

What a day... night?

So in an attempt to prep myself for an overnight drive, I decided to stay up last night as late as I could - and I did pretty well.  I went to bed 24 hours after I woke up.  Granted, I had a two hour nap in the midst of that 24, but it was still a long day.  I got pretty darn hungry throughout the middle of the night, so I went for the tea. 

Funny thing about tea, or caffeine really, when you never have it, it really affects you.  See, I avoid caffeine because it tends to do bad things to my stomach, plus my former route to the substance was via carbonated sugary drinks which are just horrible things all the same.  I had two cups of tea, with a tablespoon-ish of honey, and it kept me going as well as kept me away from the food.

I considered doing the workout at 5:30a, but figured that was a little dumb, so I went to bed.  I woke around 11:30 and hit the routine.  Jumps were okay, a bit trippy for a few reasons I think - a) I had literally just woken up, b) I was in a new place (sister's house) and c) in this new place I could see my reflection!  I also noticed through the first set or two my feet HURT, the arches specifically. 

The rest of the workout went fine.  At this point we're killing a few more hours until we pick up the rental van and start the packing for real.  I'm trying to sort out in my mind what food to stick near the driver's seat tonight so I'm not tempted toward terrible junk.  I'm thinking raw veggies - broccoli and carrots, likely - and fruit.

Unrelated, but too sweet not to share, Olivia stayed with my mother last night and ended up watching Bambi for the first time.  Despite multiple warnings about it being sad, she wanted to see it.  She cried through the bad parts, but stuck it out.  This morning she wanted to watch it again, this time without the tears.

Day three

Olivia helped in the process yet again today by waking around 5a.  Of course she also woke at 3a which did not help the process.  However, I was motivated enough to head out the door to get started on my jump rope which easily transitions into getting everything else done, too.  I still haven't secured a clean set, but I got really close on my first two this morning - my mind got the better of me when I'd get close.  I'm not sure what everyone else is doing, as I don't recall anything in the instructions, but I've giving myself a 10 - 20 second break between rope sets.

The squats were okay, but I can feel the slightly pain in my thighs by mid-morning - good workout!  The push-ups were fine, feeling a little more comfortable with them since the start.  The sit-ups, though, suck.  I'm finding myself driven to take the upper limit of the set counts on everything but the sit-up, and there I struggle to make the lower bound.  My poor abs just aren't there...

I headed into work planning to be there until noon, but my boss told me just to go ahead and leave.  I settled the last little bit of business I had and headed home.  I find myself wanting to eat... I wandered into the kitchen and laid my eyes on lots of things I shouldn't have, but wandered right back out.  I go for a plum on the dining table as soon as I'm done writing.

We've done most of our packing and I'll be finishing up now until Susan gets home from work.  From there we take a two hour drive to Chattanooga to 'stage' for the long drive on Saturday night.  Both sides of our family live there, so we're picking up a large contingent of them to go along with us.  Fitting the exercises around a crazy sleep / drive schedule should be interesting...

Keep at it team blue!

Day two... exercise early

I was thinking yesterday that it would be so much better to exercise in the morning, but my morning routine seems like it might be tough to change given the 2 1/2 year old that I'm in charge of at that time.  Plus, I really enjoy the routine - Olivia tip-toes into the room for a last snuggle before we get ready to head out.  (Susan leaves for work earlier than Olivia and I tend to wake).  This morning, though, Olivia woke extra early and wasn't interested in snuggling.  Instead, she decided to color and read books, giving me the opportunity I desired.

I headed to the deck into the darkness of 5:30a - I feel fall coming on - and begin my jumping.  I almost got through the entire first set without tripping which was a complete change from the day before.  Yesterday getting 10 in a row was an accomplishment.  Today 40 was the magic trip number.  I got through this part much quicker.

The rest of the routine was good - given the Pro Tip about push-ups, I changed my hand position from my pre-PCP workout and find this to be a harder exercise now.  I'm also discovering my abs have not been touched by exercise for ages and this hurts.  Oh well, I'm on track for the 6-pack abs... because I know Patrick is a giant believer in those and he's got them lined up for all of us!

Oh yeah - Susan and I go on vacation, technically starting tomorrow, but officially on Sunday when we arrive in Disney World.  The jump ropes and such were already listed for the luggage, so the exercise shouldn't be a hard thing to carry out... the diet, though, will be an interesting challenge...

Day One exercises completed

Alright... so the jump rope is quite foreign.  The first set was trip after trip after trip.  By the third set, though, it began to feel a bit like a meditation exercise - if I could clear my mind to just the sound and the count, I progressed better.  Sneaky!

The rest of the stuff were things I'd been doing lately, so they weren't terrible.  I found my legs to be a little shaky by the end of the squats, given that it came immediately after the (unusual for me) jump rope time.

All in all I'm feeling good - like I could a) do some more (but won't) and b) eat a horse.

Day 0... with only hours technically remaining

Oh man... I just took my photos.  I wish I hadn't.

A) My shoulders are horribly out of balance
B) The shadows cast by the flash / low light are frightening
C) My posture leaves something to be desired (yeah, I already got the Knowledge Worker's Survival Guide for that problem...)
D) HAIR... really?  There is that much hair on my legs?

Let's see how those jumps go tomorrow... I haven't been properly introduced to my jump rope.

Not quite the beginning - Day minus 1

The blog started, by Patrick, simply states: "Skillful diet, skillful exercise, no excuses just RESULTS!"

It's two days until the 15th of September per my time (US Central) but I'm still really, really excited.  And that's compared against a trip to Disney World that starts on the 19th!

Its going to be a hard slog, but I can't wait to compare my day 1 and day 90 photos, like I've done with so many of the other PCP bloggers recently.

Go Team (currently known as) Blue!