xpzen

Avoid carbs that spike insulin, not fat

2009-07-08T08:01:00.001-04:00

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_interviews/eat_your_lungs_out_while_getting_leaner

He "spent a year reporting a story on how we came to believe that low-fat
diets are good for us. Again, the science behind it was pretty
universally terrible."
...
"The answer, which we've known since the early 1960's, is insulin.
Insulin is the hormone that primarily regulates fat accumulation. If
you want to get fat out of your fat tissue, you have to lower your
insulin levels.

And insulin is regulated for all intents and purposes by the
carbohydrates in our diet. That's the simplest possible hypothesis.
The physicist would call it "the zero-order approximation."

Other hormones play roles, and most of them work to get fat out of the
fat tissue, but they can't do it if insulin levels are elevated.
Adrenaline, growth hormones, all these things work to make you leaner,
but they don't work if insulin levels are elevated.

And this has never been controversial. That's the weird thing."

Progress pic

2009-06-24T22:46:00.000-04:00

Can almost see abs starting to show.

Bristol Gold's Gym

2009-06-03T14:34:00.000-04:00

Did 40 minutes/4.38 miles on the stairmaster at Gold's in bristol during lunch. Plan on doing p90x kenpo at home tonight and a 30+ minute walk with the 75lb vest.

Got Protein?

2009-06-02T21:52:00.000-04:00

Some casein and creatine, but mostly whey.

New kitchen countertops

2009-05-27T12:57:00.000-04:00

The granite counters were installed today.

New fat loss monitor

2009-05-21T22:26:00.000-04:00

Received a new body fat analyzer from Amazon today, an Omron HBF-306C. Here's a pic of it next to my Tanita TBF-551 scale. The tanita said I'm at 16.2% today and the Omron gave a reading of 15.6%. I have the omron set at normal even though I've been working out frequently enough to use athelete mode according to it's documentation.

Have around 12 more pounds of fat to lose to reach my goal of 10%. Then I can concentrate on gaining some more muscle.

Little progress

2009-05-16T12:03:00.000-04:00

Three weeks in and I'm seeing little progress so far, same weight and bodyfat according to the scale (althouth I'm down one waist size). So it's time to get strict with the diet, cut out all carbs except for vegtables and some berries (well maybe allow a half bagel for breakfast), stick to high protein medium health fats.

The 1 month cardio challenge at work starts on monday. Maybe I can bump up my workouts to three a day. Cardio in the morning and at lunch, plus a walk and p90x at night. I wonder if walking with a weighted vest counts as cardio.

Fitness goals

2009-05-09T22:32:00.002-04:00

Almost done with 2nd week of P90X. Looking a little leaner already. I've only done the ab ripper x part once so far. Usually too tired to do the ab workout after weight lifting. Hopefully I'll be able to start including abs every other day during my lunch time cadio workout at the gym.

Tried the Yoga workout for the first time this week. Got through 30 minutes before giving up. Couldn't bear the idea of a 90 minute workout. Will try X Stretch as a substitute next week. It's only 60 minutes.

Some random fitness goals:
10% bodyfat (8% would be better, want to look ripped)
16" arms, think they are 15" now
225 x 5 bench press
315 x 5 squats

2009-04-27T13:25:00.003-04:00

Started first phase of P90x again yesterday. I've already done week one of P90X at least four times before, but had to stop because of a three week cold and later the Florida vacation. I have been exercising fairly consistently for about 5 years. My best guess is that I was over 30% bodyfat when I first started.

My current stats are:
195 lbs @ ~ 16.5% bodyfat (tanita scale/single site caliper/DOD chart all give similar number) (I'm almost 6'2" tall)

My goal is to reach 10% or less by the end of 90 days. I usually do two workouts a day. 30-40 minutes of cardio during lunch and the P90X workout in the evening.

Heading home

2009-04-26T09:10:00.001-04:00

Heading home today, 9am at Tampa airport sipping a Starbucks grande latte. Waiting to board our 10:25 Southwest flight.

Lunch yesterday

2009-04-24T08:10:00.001-04:00

Had lunch at the Columbia in St Armand Circle yesterday. Spent the evening by the pool at our hotel reading Little Brother on my Sony Reader. Heading to Epcot today!

Sunset

2009-04-22T21:01:00.000-04:00

Sunset at the beach in St Petersburg.

1st day of vacation

2009-04-22T16:02:00.000-04:00

Landed in Tampa airport at 11am. Staying at Trade Winds. Picture is from our balcony. Had a late lunch at the Brass Monkey. Picked up a bottle of Dewers for later. Going for a walk on the beach soon.

One last build

2009-04-21T22:01:00.000-04:00

One last build before vacation!

Expobar office lever

2007-12-15T22:01:00.000-05:00

Here's a picture of my Expobar Office Lever espresso machine taken with my new phone.