11/28/06 - Tuesday

Workout: Back/Biceps, Cardio

Lat Pulldowns
6 x 200
6 x 200

Seated Cable Rows
6 x 180
6 x 195

Hammer-Strength Back
6 x 300
5 x 300

Cable Curls
6 x 140
6 x 140
6 x 140

Straight Bar Curls
5 x 90
5 x 90
4 x 90

Cardio: Treadmill - 30 mins HIIT. Ran about 3.3 miles.

Pretty good workout - felt good lifting weights, not so great running, but not bad. I really don't like treadmills all that much - I prefer running outside or elliptical.

Nutrition:

Meal 1:
Met-Rx Protein Bar MRP
Water, Coffee

Meal 2:
1.5 scoop Syntrax Matrix 5.0
Water

Meal 3:
Lean Cuisine Panini
Diet Soda

Meal 4:
0.5 cup low-fat cottage cheese
Yoplait light yogurt

Meal 5:
2 slices wheat bread
lean deli ham/turkey
cheese
light mayo

Meal 6:
3 egg whites, 1 whole egg
1 slice 2% cheese
1/2 bagel w/natural peanut butter

Cals: 1960
Fat: 62 g
Carbs: 165 g
Protein: 183 g

Good Day.

Weight:
11.21.06: 193.8
11.22.06: 192.2
11.23.06: 193.0 (free day)
11.24.06: 197.8
11.25.06: 195.6
11.26.06: 193.6 (cheat meal)
11.27.06: 195.2
11.28.06: 194.4

Dropping. . .

11/27/06 - Monday!

Good day today - really good day.

Workout: Chest/Triceps, Cardio

Hammer-Strength Incline
6 x 245
6 x 245
6 x 245

Hammer-Strength Bench
6 x 185
6 x 190

Dumbell Flyes
6 x 65

Cable Triceps Pushdowns
6 x 140
6 x 140

Cybex Triceps Machine
6 x 120
6 x 125

Dips
10 x body weight
10 x bodyweight

Cardio: Elliptical - 30 mins HIIT.

Wow, great workout this evening. I increased weight on pretty much every lift and got all the reps. I was soaked after the cardio session.

Nutrition:

Meal 1:
Pure Protein Bar
Water, Coffee

Meal 2:
1 scoop Syntrax Matrix 5.0
1 cup 2% milk
Water

Meal 3:
Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Side salad w/ vinaigrette dressing

Meal 4:
1 scoop Syntrax Matrix 5.0
Water
Yoplait light yogurt

Meal 5:
Lean Cuisine Skillet Sensation portion
Water
Diet Soda

Meal 6:
3/4 cup light cottage cheese
1 serving natural peanut butter
yoplait light yogurt

Cals: 1781
Fat: 52 g
Carbs: 167 g
Protein: 155 g

Really good day - a bit low on the cals and protein, but not bad at all.

Weight:
11.21.06: 193.8
11.22.06: 192.2
11.23.06: 193.0 (free day)
11.24.06: 197.8
11.25.06: 195.6
11.26.06: 193.6 (cheat meal)
11.27.06: 195.2

Up a few pounds from yesterday, but that was expected due to my big meal yesterday. I'm guessing I'll be back down tomorrow morning.

11/26/06 - Sunday

Workout: None

I wanted to get a leg workout in - but never got to it.

Diet:

Bad - I took another cheat meal today. My goal all week was to have a free day on Thursday and then be good all the rest of the week, but today I chowed down on a bacon cheeseburger and french fries after church - oh well - time to move on.

Weight:

I haven't updated my weight in a while, so here goes - watch up balloon up and down:

11.21.06: 193.8
11.22.06: 192.2
11.23.06: 193.0 (free day)
11.24.06: 197.8
11.25.06: 195.6
11.26.06: 193.6 (cheat meal)

I'm sure I'll go back up tomorrow on weight, but hopefully I'll come down to the low 190's by the middle of the week.

11/25/06 - Saturday

Workout: Cardio

Today I did my 4-mile route that I do around the neighborhood. It's a pretty nice run, and it always seems to be a challenge (which is kind of sad, since I've done it a few times now). I finished it in 37 minutes, which isn't great, but not terrible.

Nutrition:

Not bad today - definitely not a free day, but not perfect.

11/24/06 - Friday

Workout: Shoulders and Abs, Cardio

Dumbell Military
6 x 65
6 x 65

Hammer-Strength Shoulders
5 x 190
6 x 190

Shrugs
6 x 275 (bad form)
6 x 245

Hanging Knee Raises
15 x b.w.
15 x b.w.
12 x b.w.

Incline Crunches
10 x 35
12 x 35
10 x 35

Pretty good workout - it's been a few wees since I have done this workout, and I pretty much lifted the same weights as last time.

Cardio: Elliptical - 30 mins

Diet:
Not recorded, but really good day.

Good day today. I did the workout after we got back from my mother-in-law's - we got home around 3:00.

11/23/06 - Thursday - THANKSGIVING: FREE DAY

Well, Thanksgiving day - obviously no workout, and tons and tons of food.

Today was a good day - got up, ate a lot, took a nap, ate some more, watched a movie, ate some more, went to bed. Perfect free day!

If I am good the rest of the week I'll be really happy.

11/22/06 - Wednesday

Workout: None

Diet: Not recorded, but I did very good. 6 meals, all good meals.

Notes: Today my wife and I left for her Mother's place for Thanksgiving. I spent most of the evening driving, and I didn't get a chance to work out today.

11/21/06 - Tuesday

Workout: Back and Biceps, Cardio

I got into the gym around 6:00 PM. Felt really good - good energy.

Lat Pulldowns
6 x 200
6 x 200

Seated Cable Rows
6 x 165
6 x 180

Hammer-Strength Back
6 x 295
5 x 300

Cable Curls
6 x 140
6 x 140
6 x 140

Straight-Bar Curls
6 x 90
5 x 90
5 x 90


Really good workout tonight. I increased weight or reps from last week on every lift.

Cardio: 20 minutes on the treadmill, HIIT. I did this right after my weight lifting. I felt O.K. I never really feel that good on a treadmill - I'd rather run outside, but it's too cold. I went about 2.25 miles in 20 mins.

Nutrition:

Meal 1:
EAS Myoplex Deluxe bar
Diet Soda

Meal 2:
1.5 scoops Syntrax Matrix 5.0
Water

Meal 3:
Grilled chicken breast
1 slice cheese
mushrooms
squash
diet soda

Meal 4:
1 scoop Syntrax Matrix 5.0
Yoplait Light yogurt
Water

Meal 5:
6 oz. steak
green beans
string cheese

Meal 6:
2 slices wheat bread
Natural peanut butter
Sugar-free jelly
skim milk

Calories: 1841
Fat: 62 g
Carbs: 131 g
Protein: 196 g

Notes: Not too bad, but I should have eaten more earlier in the. My cals were a bit low overall, and I was pretty hungry later in the evening. I could have had more carbs early, and less later in the evening.

Weight:
11/20/06: 197.6
11/21/06: 193.8

Well, as expected, I dropped about 4 pounds overnight. This is a usual trend for me early in the week, thanks to my loss of self-control most weekends.

11/20/06 - Monday

Workout: Chest and Triceps

I got into the gym about 8:30 PM or so. Felt pretty good - good energy and really enjoyed being in there tonight.

Hammer-Strength Incline Press
6 x 240
6 x 240
6 x 240

Hammer-Strength Bench Press
6 x 180
6 x 180

Dumbbell Flyes
5 x 65

Cable Rope Pushdowns
6 x 140
6 x 140
6 x 140

Hammer-Strength Triceps
6 x 210
6 x 210

Dips
11 x b.w.

Notes: Really good workout - good energy levels. I increased my reps or weight from almost every lift from last week.

Cardio: Elliptical - 30 mins. I did kind of an HIIT type workout here. Felt really good. I did this right after my weight training workout.

Nutrition

Meal 1:
Pure Protein bar
Diet soda

Meal 2:
none

Meal 3:
Lean Cuisine Chicken Carbonera

Meal 4:
1.5 scoops Syntrax Matrix (protein powder)
Water
1 carton Yoplait light yogurt

Meal 5:
8 oz steak (lean)
Asparagus
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Water
Diet soda

Meal 6:
1 scoop Syntrax Matrix 5.0
1.5 cups skim milk
1 serving natural peanut butter

Calories: 1731
Fat: 62 g
Carbs: 114 g
Protein: 179 g

Notes: Well, I didn't eat too much today - definitely not enough, but I ate a LOT over the weekend. Otherwise, really, really good.

Weight:
11/20/06: 197.6

Well, my weight is definitely up. I'm usually around 192-194, but I ate really bad over the weekend, which always makes me weigh in heavy on Monday.

Photos!

So I'm going to post some photos every once in a while (hopefully at least every 2 weeks).

Well, on with it. This will be my first photo of this journal, and I'll compare newer photos to this one in the future.



Every time I take photos, I compare to when I started - my New Year's Resolution for 2006.



That one always drops my jaw. Both in how bad I looked back in January, and how far I've come. There's a lot more to go, though.

-Brian

By the way, I have a website dedicated to my fitness journey at http://fitness.brianwahlband.com.

While I'm throwing out URL's, I'll give my band some pub - it's http://www.brianwahlband.com. Check out my music sometime if you've got a spare minute. Also at http://www.myspace.com/brianwahlband.

Sebastian,

There are a couple way to calculate bodyfat %. I use calipers - you can use several methods with them, but basically you measure skin folds and calculate based on those measurements. The most accurate way is to weigh yourself underwater - this is done usually at sports clinic or something like that. You can also purchase scales that measure bodyfat by passing a current through your body and measuring resistance - I've got one of these also, but I'm not convinced it's very accurate.

Journaling is a great way to stay motivated - I'd encourage you to do it! Thanks for following along.

11/13/06 - 11/19/06

Well, I didn't get any daily posts last week, so I'll just make one big week-long update.

Monday (11/13) through Thursday (11/16) went great! My diet was spot-on for all those days, and my weight reflected that. I also worked out pretty well for the first half of the week.

On Friday, things went downhill. I was part of a youth conference from Friday through Sunday as a youth sponsor, and I was going to really try and stay away from the sweets and eat healthy - sponsors are always treated to all kinds of junk at these kinds of things. I did well until the evenings, and then I'd binge on cake and brownies. This happened Friday and Saturday. Sunday we stopped a Chili's and I just pigged out, which is why my weight went from ~192 to ~198.

I'm sure the weight will come back down, but that's just one more weekend down the drain that I was going to eat healthy.

Here's my plan for next week (Thanksgiving week). I'll get one day to eat whatever I want - Turkey, gravy, potatoes, pie, etc. After that one day, I'm eating healthy.

How I'd like to use this journal:

I've kept journals in the past, and I've sort of acquired a method that I like.

I'll try and post daily. I track all my foods and calories through http://www.fitday.com, and I track all my workouts - every weight lifted and mile run. I also weight myself every morning right after I wake up.

This will be a typical journal entry:

Workout:

Summary of what workout (if any) I did that day.

Nutrition:

Summary of all meals eaten and/or calories and macros (grams of fat, carbs, protein)

Thoughts

Overall thoughts regarding that particular day.

Photos

I think one of the best ways to judge your progress (or lack-thereof) is to take photos periodically, using the same pose and background for each shot. This can be a very valuable (and revealing) tool. I try to take photos at least every 2 weeks, and I'll post those up, as well as comparisons.

I encourage you to follow along my fitness journey. Hopefully it will motivate and encourage some of you, and hopefully some of you will motivate and encourage me along the way.

My Plan:

My plan is pretty simple - eat right and exercise. My plan also should never expire. I desire a healthy lifestyle that I can continue indefinitely.

Part 1: Eat Right

I follow the 6 meals a day plan - its pretty typical anymore, but its laid out nicely in Bill Phillip's book Body-for-Life (and Eating-for-Life).

The hard and fast rule is this: Each of my six meals contains an equal portion of lean protein (about the size of your fist) and complex carbs (about the size of your open palm). Add a vegetable to two of the meals each day. Simple and effective. I take it a bit further and count calories and macro-nutrients (fat, carbs, and protein). I try to get 40% of my daily calories from protein, 40% from good carbs, and 20% from good fats.

Because eating 6 meals a day is hard, I've made my life easier with protein supplements. Usually 2 - 3 meals will contain a powder protein supplement. I also like to take creatine for muscle development.

According to Body-for-Life, one day each week is "free day". You can eat anything and everything you want in that 24-hour time period. I try to shorten this to one free meal, ideally, though I'm pretty unsuccessful at it.

Part 2: Exercise

There are several different workouts I like to do, but mainly I enjoy a balance of weight training and cardio. For weight training, I've stuck to either the Body-for-Life workout or the Max-OT workout. Body-for-Life is more of a full body type workout, while Max-OT breaks it up into body parts, each part being worked out once a week. I'll try to weight train 3 to 4 times a week, depending on what program I'm doing.

For cardio, I'll do different things, but mainly either running, jogging on the treadmill, or the elliptical. I really like a shorter (20-30 mins) high intensity interval training (HIIT) session for cardio. I try and do cardio 3 - 4 times a week as well, either between weight training days, or after a weight training workout.

Stats: A few things about me, numbers-wise.

Age: 27
Height: 6'1"
Weight (today): 193.8 lbs

Background: Where I've been and how I got to where I am

I've always been the athletic type - and football was my sport. My Dad was the coach in the small town I grew up in, so I sort of didn't have a choice. Dad pushed me pretty hard, so I was always in the gym lifting weights. My hard work paid off, and I received a scholarship to play college football (I was a linebacker). In college I worked even harder and got into pretty good shape. I graduated in 2002.

Well, after college I tried to keep up with exercise, but it was sort of hit and miss. I realized how important diet was to my health and looking the way I wanted to look, so I made efforts to eat right. In college, I was always trying to gain weight for football, so I didn't pay too much attention to what I ate.

Fast forward to 2005 - I was married on June 25! Unfortunately, I was at the worst shape I've ever been in, at about 230 lbs. I was weak and out of shape (though very happily married). From June to January, 2006, not much changed. Finally, on Jan. 01, 2006, I made a commitment to a better Brian. Since then, I've gone from 225 to ~195, adding some good muscle mass and getting into pretty good shape.

The Present and Future:

Since about July of this year, I have been rather inconsistent. It's time to step up again and take the final steps to getting the body I've always wanted.

My ultimate goal is not really a weight, but a body-fat percentage. I'd like to be right under 10% body-fat. I think to achieve that, I'll have to lose about 20 more pounds, and weigh in at 175-180.

Hello!

I'd like to use my comment section as sort of a blog or a training journal, to give more in-depth information about my diet and fitness journey. I'm very much into keeping track of everything on a daily basis - weight, workouts, calories, etc. I think it is very beneficial to me to stay motivated.

Anyway, I'll break up my introduction into several posts to keep it moving, and then I'll try and update on a daily basis.