Intermittent Fasting

Previously, I posted an article which provided you with potential reasons why you can’t lose weight and also how to lose fat. One of the suggestions given under the “how to” section was to “Fast: 16-20 hours daily and/or 24 hours twice weekly.”
I’ve run across an article regarding Intermittent Fasting …. Here’s a little “taste” of the article:
It has become sacrilege to skip a meal. Skipping meals, they say, only slows the metabolism, promotes fat storage, and makes us more likely to gorge on unhealthy foods once we do decide to eat.
The same goes for workouts. Missing a workout – especially in conjunction with a skipped meal – can make a fitness buff feel like a lazy slob. Missing two, or even three? A crisis of monumental proportions! A cascade of guilt and regret!
What are we to do?
Read the full article ….. At the bottom of the article are additional articles, including a “How To” fast article if you’re interested. As previously pointed out under a What Works for Me post (in terms of workout) …. CHANGE was mentioned. Perhaps a little CHANGE (in the area of diet) will get you through a weight loss and/or fat loss slump??
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/intermittent-fasting-skipping-meals-healthy/

Thursday Challenge 02/25/10

Max Sets in 15 Minutes

1 Set Equals:

1 - Wall Ball
1 - Burpee
3 - Wall Balls
3 - Burpees
5 - Wall Balls
5 - Burpees

Thursday Challenge 02/18/10

AFAP Four Sets:

30 Air Squats
30 Lunges
30 Sit-ups

Note: Lunges should equal 60 right and 60 left.

Choose to Lose Fitness Challenge

How are all you Choose to Losers doing?

a) Great. I’m down 5 or 10 pounds … can’t wait for the next weigh in.
b) O.K. I’m down 5 or 10 pounds …. But slowly losing willpower.
c) The effort is there, but no results ….. this sucks!
d) What the heck was I thinkin’ when I joined?
e) Other??

Although the scale is the measure of your success during this fitness challenge, I would like to encourage you not to let it dictate whether or not you continue on your journey for lifetime weight/health success. Personally, I weigh myself once a month. I base my success on how healthy I ate, how dedicated I was to my exercise plan, and how my clothes fit. My belt was and is my measure of success …. Waist vs. Weight.

Two things I would like you to think about as you continue with you fitness challenge …. The first being words from our friend Lou from one of his Extremist posts for Trinity Training:

Failing is painful.

Or is it? I find more pain in not having goals. I find more pain at not competing. I find more pain in not having a chance to succeed. Failing to me means I gave it all I had in a risky effort, but came up short. Failing means I have to try harder next time. Commit to a new course. Visualize myself being the champion. The Extremist. ...... I want people to claim a stake in their own success. Not sitting back expecting some fair distribution of prizes or rewards. I want people to take a bite out of failure and chew on it until a new plan, a fresh path, a renewed vision of success is crystal clear.

The second item is an article which you may find helpful. I think it’s one of the best articles to read if you don’t have time to read an entire diet book. It gives you 10 reasons you’re not losing weight, 13 ways to lose fat and 5 of the best foods to eat to lose fat. http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20to%20lose%20fat

Keep the faith!

W.O.D. - Week #3

W.O.D. #1 (AFAP-4 Rounds)
Beginner                    Intermediate                    Practiced
10 Air Squats              10 Zercher Squats (40lb)   10 Zercher Squats (80lb)
10 Air Get Ups           10 MB Get Ups                 10 SB Get Ups (40lb)
10 KB Swings            10 KB Swings                    10 KB Swings (35b)
400m Run                   400m Run                          400m Sprint

  Please review the video on right column regarding Sandbag Exercises for an example on Get Ups. Review the video labeled Sandbag Zercher Squats for proper form on the squats.  For KB Swings ensure the KB starts between your legs behind your heels and you have FULL extension overhead.  KB weight for Beginner and Intermediate should ensure you don't max out your first set.

W.O.D. #2 (AMRAP-20Minutes)
Beginner                    Intermediate                    Practiced
5 Push Ups                  5 Push Ups                        5 Plyo Push Ups
10 Step Ups                10 Box Jumps                    10 Box Jumps
15 Flutter Kicks          15 Flutter kicks                   15 Flutter Kicks

  For Step Ups and box Jumps utilize a height which challenges yourself each set

W.O.D. #3 (AFAP-10 to 1, 1 to 10)
Beginner                    Intermediate                    Practiced
Jack Knives                 Jack Knives                       Jack Knives
Deadlifts (115 lbs)       Deadlifts (185 lbs)              Deadlifts (225 lbs)

  Each round you decrease the number of Jack Knives by one and increase the number of Deadlifts by one.  The first round is 10 Jack Knives and 1 Deadlifts, the last round is 1 Jack Knife and 10 Deadlifts.

Thursday Challenge 02/11/10

AFAP - 10 Sets of 10

Wall Ball
4 Count Mason Twists (right - left - right - left = 1)

W.O.D. - Week #2

W.O.D. #1 (AMRAP-20 Minutes)
Beginner                    Intermediate                    Practiced
5 Thrusters(Bar Only)  5 Thrusters(75 lbs)             5 Thrusters(95 lbs)
10 Forward Lunges     10 KB Lunges                    10 KB Lunges
15 Sit Ups                   15 Sit Ups                        15 Sit Ups
20 Single Unders          20 Single Unders                20 Double Unders

  The Under refers to Jump Rope.  A single under is when the rope passes once under your feet with each jump.  A double under is when the rope passes twice under your feet with each jump.

W.O.D. #2 (AFAP-21/15/9/3)
Beginner                    Intermediate                    Practiced
Inverted Rows             Pull Ups                             Pull Ups
Deadlifts                      Deadlifts                             Deadlifts
Mountain Climbers       Mountain Climbers             Mountain Climbers

Mountain Climbers should be a two count exercise for Beginner (left then right is 1 rep) and a four count exercise for Intermediate and Practiced.  Deadlift weight should be approximately 1/3 body weight for beginners.  Intermediate and Practiced lift an appropriate weight which will not leave you at failure after first set.

W.O.D. #3 (AFAP-Deck of Cards)
Beginner                    Intermediate                    Practiced                    Suit
Push Ups                     Push Ups                           Push Ups                     Spades
Sit Ups                        Sit Ups                               Sit Ups                        Diamonds
Air Squats                   KB Front Squats                Sand Bag Squats          Clubs
KB Clean & Press       KB Clean &Press              KB Clean & Press        Hearts
400m Sprint                400m Sprint                        400m Sprint                 Jokers

This workout can be segmented by removing Aces, Facecards, and/or Jokers.  Each number card is the amount of reps, Facecards are valued at 11, Aces can be valued at 1 or 15.

What Works For Me (for Super Bowl)

Do you have a game plan for Sunday (in terms of what you're going to eat)? I just finished mine, so I thought I'd share a few "plays" with you. Remember, my focus is high protein / low carbs.

Deviled Eggs

Lunchmeat Wraps (piece of lunchmeat, spread some onion and chive cream cheese on it and wrap a pickle up in it ... then cut into pieces and put in a toothpick).

Celery sticks filled with Merk's Cheese

I'm planning on having a few dips, BUT, I'll be dipping with celery or carrots (I avoid crackers and tostidos)

Also, I plan on working out before attending the party to help get my metabolism going .... remember, muscles continue to burn fat even after your workout!

That's my game plan.

What Works For Me

There are sooooo many diets on the market today, and bookstores have rows and rows of diet books to choose from -- "The Paleo Diet", "The Sonoma Diet", "Neanderthin", "Protein Power Life Plan", "The Zone Diet", "Good Carbs Bad Carbs" etc., etc.

One common denominator is low carb, low sugar (no artificial sweetners and no high fructose corn syrup) and good quality protein. Basically, 90% of your food groceries should be purchased from the perimeter of the store (I like Trader Joes!).

The hard part is TIME. In the beginning, it took TIME to read labels to figure out what is good and what is bad. I was surprised to find out how many salad dressings are loaded with sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup). I was surprised on the sugar (or artificial sweetner) content on yogurt. What I look for on the label is:

# of Carb grams (I limit my daily intake to about 75-90 grams)
#of Protein grams (I try to eat about 4 oz of protein every 3 hours)
# of Sugar grams (As low as possible - not to exceed 20 grams per day)
Also, I check to see if the product has high fructose corn syrup in it. If it does, forget it!

The first month or two took TIME, but not any more. I know what brand(s) are good, I just grab it off the shelf.

It takes TIME to pack my lunch/dinner, but it has become part of my routine. Again, in the beginning, it took some adjustment, but the benefits have paid off so much, that I truly don't mind. You learn creativity as you go.

For example, this is what's in my breakfast/lunch box right now (I'm working early shift):

Protein Bar (14 gms protein, 10 gms carbs & 5 gms sugar)
Bag of Almonds (9 gms protein, 8gms carbs & 2 gms sugar)
2 Tomatoe & Basil Pizza Burgers (20 gms protein, 14 gms carbs & 4 gms sugar)
1 Cheese Stick (8 gms protein, 1 gm carb & 0 gms sugar)
2 slices of ham (11 gms protein, 3 gms carbs & 3 gms sugar)
5 Oatmeal granola bites (3 gms protein, 16 gms carbs & 8 gms sugar)

I literally threw this stuff into my breakfast/lunch box in less than 5 minutes. I didn't stop to read labels because I know what's good and what's not. I didn't have enough time to pack a salad, so I'll stop at McD's or Wendy's. They have nice side salads for $1.00.

I'll probably have chicken and broccoli for dinner.

This is what works for me in terms of food intake.

Thursday Challenge - 2/4/10

AFAP-5 Rounds

20 Burpees
20 Air Squats

  Thursday Challenges are back!  These will be posted every Monday in preparation for the Thursday Challenge.  Once you complete the challenge you are encouraged to Comment to this post with your time.  This is for your own reference to look back on since these Challenges may be repeated later in the year.  If you aren't comfortable posting a time at least post that you have completed the event. 

  SEE YOU THURSDAY!