CAG Lose It weight loss challenge.

[quote name='seanr1221']I know they're classics but I'd stay away from sit ups and crunches. Too much strain on the back.

Nothing hits the core like a solid deadlift. Definitely my favorite lift. I always feel so pumped afterwards.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. Actually, the Insanity Cardio Ab workout is great. You can skip the crazy warm-up and just do the ab exercises and finish in about 15 minutes. No situps or crunches and your abs ache afterwards. Never had the ab line on my sides before and after 3 weeks of Cardio Abs it is showing. It's great.
 
[quote name='Javery']Agreed. Actually, the Insanity Cardio Ab workout is great. You can skip the crazy warm-up and just do the ab exercises and finish in about 15 minutes. No situps or crunches and your abs ache afterwards. Never had the ab line on my sides before and after 3 weeks of Cardio Abs it is showing. It's great.[/QUOTE]

Mind posting it here? Curious what it looks like.

The routine not your sides :)
 
Hmmm... going from memory -

1. Sit in a "C" position. Knees up and the "C" is made from your knees to your shoulders (bent at the waist). Think sit up and leaning backwards slightly. There are 4 exercises here without taking a break and they are about 30 seconds each:

- Fold your arms like a genie (hands to elbows) and move your right elbow to your left side (alternate sides).

- Keeping your arms folded, move your right elbow to your left side but raise your left knee so your elbow almost touches the knee (alternate sides).

- Repeat the first motion except instead of arms folded, make an "A" with your arms and extend them over your head and come down (alternate sides).

- Repeat the second motion except instead of arms folded, mmake an "A" with your arms and extend them over your head and come down (lifting your knees and alternating sides).

2. "C" position but one leg straight out and the other one bent. Hands touching the ground in front of the glutes (this is very important - the further your hands are to the front the more difficult the exercises are). Bring your straight leg in then out then up (like a leg lift) and down. Alternate 30 seconds a side.

3. Same thing as #2 except you do both legs at the same time. This is freaking impossible and it hurts like hell.

4. Get in "high plank" position - basically a pushup position with your back flat. Bring your knee to your side to hit your obliques alternating slow for 30 seconds and then fast for 30 seconds.

5. Same as #4 except "low plank" position (pushup position but on your elbows). This is tough.

6. Low plank/high plank. Basically alternate humping the floor - "contracting your core" - but don't touch the floor. Do this 8 times in low plank and then 8 times in high plank without stopping - 4 complete sets. This one hurts at the end too.

7. Then they do some stretching/yoga (cobra, downward dog, etc.).

It's pretty good but probably most helpful if you watched the video...
 
[quote name='Javery']I don't have the balls to post a picture.[/QUOTE]

Ditto...I'm afraid you'd all laugh at me. :lol:
__

My wife hugged me yesterday and got all grossed out because she felt ribs. She then yelled at me because I said I have just 5 more lbs to go. :D
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']I like your idea Chase, and I'll continue doing progress updates. Ps, you plan on starting a CAG big arms club? jeez lol.[/QUOTE]


You are too kind, sir. I've had to reduce focus on my arms 'cause the extra mass was messing with my hand speed. I'm not a "beach muscles" guy. Soon as a felt my punches slow, I decided to focus more on my chest—which is necessary as my chest is rather small.

Quick personal blurb:
When I first started T therapy, due to earlier sports injury, I had this "I'm gonna double in mass and transform into the Hulk" mentality. From my experience, I'm leaner, have more intensity, and haven't had to do crazy-ass six-hour sessions—but I'm no Hulk. I would be disappointed but I'm growing more facial hair, which is a plus. :lol:

[quote name='RallyV'] . . . I think this is the longest stretch where I stuck with a program instead of giving up after a couple weeks.

Who knows, maybe using the WiiFit as my scale is not the best idea.[/QUOTE]


Stick with it, sir. Progress takes time. :) And invest in a better scale. I heard the Wii Fit can be very inaccurate.

[quote name='Number83']Ditto...I'm afraid you'd all laugh at me. :lol:
__

My wife hugged me yesterday and got all grossed out because she felt ribs. She then yelled at me because I said I have just 5 more lbs to go. :D[/QUOTE]


I have nothing but respect for you all. But, I definitely understand the apprehension.

And congrats on the weight loss. Hopefully your wife doesn't leave you 'cause you're a different man than the one she married. ;)

I read the yoga part on this page. There's a DDP Yoga video floating around about a dude who lost, like, 150 pounds from DDP's program. Pretty neat.
 
Tuesday Weigh-In

Height: 6'0
Starting Weight (4/23): 190.0 lbs
Last week's Weigh-in: 189.4 lbs
This week's Weigh-in: 186.0 lbs
Pounds Gained/Lost this week: -3.4 lbs
Pounds Gained/Lost total: -4.0 lbs
Goal weight (175 lbs): 11.0 lbs to go

Back on track...barely. I have a nasty respiratory infection, but I still managed to keep up with my cardio this week and did not miss a day. Not as good as 3 weeks ago, but I still managed 6.75 miles in 72 minutes on my long run.

I figure the only way I'm going to punch through to my goal is to add some weekend work to the mix, but I really don't want to over do it. So I'm adding in mowing the lawn to my workout routine...Hey, I need to mow the lawn anyway, right? And my son appreciates it.

I live on a corner house on a hill, just under 3/4 of an acre. It takes me about 90 minutes to do the front yard and 2 hours to do the back yard with a 21" push mower. So I do the front on Saturday and the back on Sunday. Since it's on a hill, I go up and down. It's like hitting a blocking sled.

Diet has gotten better. I'm not hitting the pretzels hard anymore...However this week was the battle with Ice Cream...and I lost. Curse you Cookies and Cream!!! But now that it's gone, it shouldn't be a problem this week. For Mothers Day, I grilled up some Bison Burgers and they were great!

Nice to see everyone is still on track and making thier goals. Keep up the good work!
 
Nice job number83, thats a pretty sweet drop in a week. When you get to 175, do you plan on staying there, or will you be hitting that and then resting at 180-185? Only reason I ask is I know that when I hit 175 I plan on staying there for a short time, and then letting 18ish become my *comfortable* weight. I've started letting the grass go a little longer and mowing 2x a week, just to throw a little bit more on two of my leg days :) I also had some cookies and cream sunday, it was wonderful lol.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']Nice job number83, thats a pretty sweet drop in a week. When you get to 175, do you plan on staying there, or will you be hitting that and then resting at 180-185? Only reason I ask is I know that when I hit 175 I plan on staying there for a short time, and then letting 18ish become my *comfortable* weight. I've started letting the grass go a little longer and mowing 2x a week, just to throw a little bit more on two of my leg days :) I also had some cookies and cream sunday, it was wonderful lol.[/QUOTE]

I plan on hitting 175 and then stop dieting/counting points completely, and just keep working out. Im hoping I stay from 175 to normal BMI which is 184. I'll still weigh myself once a week and maintain that range. Comfortable weight for me was 190 but that week I took off and gained 8 lbs really scared me.

Agree 100% Cookies and Cream is the DEVIL!!! I love it so much!
 
I was down the shore this weekend and we stopped for ice cream and they had "Moose Tracks" as the special so I had to try it. Vanilla ice cream with Reese's peanut butter cups and fudge mixed in. So freaking good. One scoop was definitely worth it.
 
Talking definitely helps. When I began my first diet, some 9-10 years ago, I would watch Good Eats and Unwrapped for, uh, "therapy". ;)
 
[quote name='Number83']I find talking about it helps...in some weird way. Like watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network.[/QUOTE]

I love that show and want to eat everything on it.
 
[quote name='Number83']I find talking about it helps...in some weird way. Like watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network.[/QUOTE]



That makes it 100x worse for me. I just get hungry and go to the kitchen to look for food.


@troy: What kind of grass do you have that needs to be cut twice a week? Bamboo?
 
After complaining to a friend that sometimes I don't have much energy for workouts, he recommended I try a pre-workout supp.

After browsing around, I went with White Flood.

First workout was tonight. I wasn't expecting much, but damn, I had more energy! Ended up putting more reps into every exercise tonight!

Except...it's a couple hours later, and, I'm on the toilet. :lol: Dunno if that's from the supp or from the loaded (veggies) sub I had earlier today.
 
I think I want to change things up.

Doing the 5x5 has definitely given me strength, but I feel like I'm stalling/getting sloppy. Here's what I'm thinking.

A clean diet around 1700 calories.

Day 1
- squats 5x5 at 185
- bench 5x5 at 135
- rows 5x5 at 135

Day 2
- run
- planks/ leg lifts

Day 3
- overhead press 5x5 at 95
- deadlift 1x5 at 245 (keep bringing this up)

Day 4
- run
- planks/ leg lifts

Day 5
- squats 5x5 at 185
- bench 5x5 at 135
- rows 5x5 at 135

Day 6 and 7 rest

I wonder how this will go. I really think I need to work on my form.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']Weigh in Wednesday: 184.5[/QUOTE]

Congrats dude! That's great you've gotten that low.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I weighed in at 193.8 this morning, which is still lower, but not where I want to be. I am eating a great, high protein, low carb and low calorie diet during the week, doing the Power 90 workout 6 days a week, and on the weekends, eating ok, but cheating here and there. I expected to be quite a bit lower by now. I am not stuffing my face on the weekends, so I didn't think the little cheating would cancel out the rest of the week's work. I am going out with drinking with friends once a week (just got divorced, so I'm trying to be social). Kind of frustrating, though. I would think I'd be able to have 5 beers a week and some non-breaded chicken wings and still lose weight with the strict diet and exercise the rest of the week...but I guess not. :whistle2:/
 
Honestly, you probably aren't doing anything wrong. You've probably lost weight (fat) while gaining weight (muscle). I've been biking a ton lately, I think that is what has really stepped up my weightloss. In addition to doing 5-6 miles of walking a day (7 days a week). I keep my calories pretty low during the early part of the day and eat a ton at night to be honest. I also weight lift, which I know raises my metabolism. I've been pretty fit my whole life other than my 5-6 month span that I gained this weight, so I think that kind of helps with my weightloss.

Your body will get the message to lose weight though, don't worry. All of a sudden you'll kick past your hump and drop 4-5 pounds in the next week and a half.
 
[quote name='mightymek']Congrats dude! That's great you've gotten that low.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I weighed in at 193.8 this morning, which is still lower, but not where I want to be. I am eating a great, high protein, low carb and low calorie diet during the week, doing the Power 90 workout 6 days a week, and on the weekends, eating ok, but cheating here and there. I expected to be quite a bit lower by now. I am not stuffing my face on the weekends, so I didn't think the little cheating would cancel out the rest of the week's work. I am going out with drinking with friends once a week (just got divorced, so I'm trying to be social). Kind of frustrating, though. I would think I'd be able to have 5 beers a week and some non-breaded chicken wings and still lose weight with the strict diet and exercise the rest of the week...but I guess not. :whistle2:/[/QUOTE]

You are doing everything right. Since I started Insanity back in February I've lost like 5 lbs. max (probably less) but everything is moving around, muscle weighs more than fat, etc. so I'm OK with it even though I really want to get to 175 for some psychological reason (I hover around 180).

The beer might not be helping but it's not like you are going overboard and you are certainly exercising enough. I'd just keep it going.
 
Yeah your body composition will change and your weight may not necessarily go down at all. I was 133 in march put I on 7+ pounds. It was real quick too. I was eating more granted but not enough to put on that much that fast. I also started my squats and running again and my legs have definitely gotten stronger as well as my bench even if only marginally.

Now I've been dieting again and working out and I'm not losing a ton of weight but I'm definitely leaning out and I'm ok with that. At some point in the future id even like to weigh as much as 160 at 5'8" if I can add it all in lean mass. For the summer though I'm going to lean out. Ill add weight in the fall and winter and lean back out next summer.

@chase
I believe it was you, sorry if not, who told me to take in more complex carbs to aid me with my lethargy and low energy levels. Well thanks! It has as far as I can tell worked so far. Coasting through a deficit isn't nearly as hard as it used to be. I still think I might be eating a little under my needs even for losing weight but right now I feel ok so I will ride with it
 
Thanks guys. It's always nice coming to this thread and hearing from everyone's personal experience. I actually plan on getting my bike fixed up (it's a little rusty since it's been sitting on my patio for 3 years unused) so I can ride on days that I do sculpting on Power 90 instead of cardio, to get some cardio calories burned. I am sure that will help lose the fat. I do see a difference. My pants are bigger, and my shirts I buy are smaller, but my stomach, while smaller, seems to be going down the slowest, and that's the part I want gone the fastest, lol. I definitely see muscle growing. I almost cried when I looked in the mirror and flexed...I had never seen that before, lol. But I will keep doing what I've been doing, and adding a little extra cardio as well, and not worry so much about the digits as opposed to the view. Thanks again!
 
Numbers are the devil. I didn't have a scale for a long time b/c I didn't care what I weighed, I cared about the fit of my clothes and how I looked physically. I bought one a few months ago, and now I know why I didn't buy one. Ugh.

I don't check in (here) much, but I got some momentum working. I was 225 last christmas, probably peaked at 235 last year at some point. Today I'm in the 192-194 range (also of note: never dropped below 200 since I was 15-16, and I'm in my mid-30's today). Run a lot (4-7 miles 6 days a week), lift a few days a week, and have 1-2 cheat days a week. Not into any strict diet other than not buying processed crap. A constant supply of fresh veggies and fruits from the local co-op.

I do drink a good amount of beer, and if my abdominals are slightly less visible because I sit on my stoop at night and have a beer, I'm comfortable with that. My goal is to be fit and happy and healthy, not be on the cover of some dude bro magazine.
 
[quote name='seanr1221']Blinding, weight loss is pretty low on the list of benefits of exercise. You can easily drop the pounds without getting active.

It's important to go with what's backed by science. In the simplest sense sugar is the issue. Problem is eating excessive carbs will turn to sugar. There's a reason a diabetic on a low carb diet will have their blood sugar go down.

Play the High fructose corn syrup game. Look how many foods contain it. It's disgusting.[/QUOTE]

IMO anyone who is trying to lose weight should be playing the HFCS game, I alone lost 25lbs JUST from cutting out HFCS, I did not do anything else, and I didn't exercise any more than normal. I just started eating better, making sure I don't eat HFCS in anything and eating more fruits and veggies. I think it really works. I have also kept the weight off for like 4-5 years. I am really sedentary, but I still lost weight. I am also battling various foot problems and a previous ankle injury which still nags sometimes which is why I am sedentary, I won't go into grave details, but it really sucks when your feet hurt and you want to move around instead of being confined to a chair. I am at a time right now where my feet are feeling pretty good now, lets just hope it stays that way so I can walk a lot this summer.

Also unless you are on a really strict diet a little bit of ice cream is ok, if you are eating it at home measure out 1/2 cup which is a serving, and only have it like once a week. A lot of ice cream has HFCS but you can get kinds without it. I eat a little bit of candy every day, but just 1 bite since I have a terrible sweet tooth. Most candy actually doesn't have HFCS, and yes I shouldn't be eating it and I know that, but I have to have that little bit of sweet in my life. If you are at the ice cream shop with friends or you are forced to be there just get a baby cone, its amazing how large a baby cone actually is, it will be more than enough. Sometimes you have to ask as a lot of places don't have baby size on the menu but they do have it if you ask. It won't hurt if you only get it a couple times a summer.
 
Congrats, Troy. Per usual. I'm sorta unimpressed that you've continued to keep on task this entire time. Where's the suspense and drama in this story? ;)

Mek, diets can be tricky. Everyone's different. Not gonna go at length about my dietary guidelines, as I think I've done that ad nauseam. In general, unused protein can become fat. And I'd avoid "cheat days." Drinking once a week should minimally affect your progress—unless you're drinking a ton during that one day. Keep at it. Everyone plateaus. It's like that Rocky quote: It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. :)
 
Alright. This is weak but whatever:

photo1wo.jpg


You can't really see anything but this is from the gym this morning. It's kind of embarrassing to snap a pic in a crowded room so I tried hiding it which is why is came out so bad. I'll try again maybe next week.

So my wife is now 2 days past her due date and I'm starting to freak out (I can only imagine how she feels). I'm thinking this will be very good or very bad for my diet - there will be no in between. Either I eat to calm the nerves or I don't eat anything because I'm too nervous. I've been pooping a lot and not eating so I'm thinking it's the latter. Fingers crossed!
 
[quote name='Javery']Alright. This is weak but whatever:

photo1wo.jpg


You can't really see anything but this is from the gym this morning. It's kind of embarrassing to snap a pic in a crowded room so I tried hiding it which is why is came out so bad. I'll try again maybe next week.

So my wife is now 2 days past her due date and I'm starting to freak out (I can only imagine how she feels). I'm thinking this will be very good or very bad for my diet - there will be no in between. Either I eat to calm the nerves or I don't eat anything because I'm too nervous. I've been pooping a lot and not eating so I'm thinking it's the latter. Fingers crossed![/QUOTE]

I can't see the pic because the site is blocked at my work. But I wanted to chime in and say hang in there! Good luck with the delivery!!!
 
Ya, I'm thinking it'll be a weightloss week for Javery lol. I'm so glad my wife and I have been waiting on children, I don't want to even think about how stressful that would be.
 
Thanks guys! I'm hoping it will be a weight loss week for me - I sure as hell won't be sleeping. I weighed in at 180.2 this morning so right in the zone. I'd still like to hit 175 though. I'm generally OK with everywhere except my lower abs (who is actually happy about their abs other than the Situation?). I've got pretty good definition in my arms and legs and back and shoulders - just need to work on the middle. I stopped with the protein shakes and I think I'm going to start that up again. One a day in the afternoon really worked wonders for both my physique and my appetite.
 
Stepped on the scale today. 183. That's about 10 pounds heavier than when I started strong lifts over 12 weeks ago. Definitely starting my cut today. Sticking to that plan above, except I was told to do 3x5 since I'll be on a calorie deficit and I'll have less energy.

Might start posting what I'm eating. It'll encourage me to stay on target.

Breakfast 237 calories
- two eggs, 1 egg white, 2 pieces of bacon

Lunch 669 calories
- 2 burger patties, lettuce, slice of tomato, cup of strawberries

Dinner 607 calories
- 12 oz of pork loin, 1.5 cups green beans mixed with olive oil

Snack 140
- scoop of whey

Total- 1653 calories, 23 carbs, 175 protein
 
I just don't have the drive to eat specific food at specific meals, I think it would make me feel trapped lol. Whats the average weight you carry sean?

Any news on the baby front Javery?
 
df24c50b.jpg

There's my starting point.

Troy, since I'm on the road most of the day going from client to client, I find it easier to plan all my meals when I wake up :)

Not sure about your weight question. I'm 183, or do you mean how much am I lifting?
 
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Looks like my picture link isn't working. Stupid mobile image shack.

Yeah I'm 183, 5'8

Edit fixed the picture.
 
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Patience is key and even if you plateau stick with it, perhaps changing up some things here and there. I started off pretty lean beginning of the year and decided why not eat a bunch while working out? I mean I'd gain a lot more muscle and barely any fat right? But oh boy I gained probably 15-20lbs of fat in no time and became disgusted with myself.

Just a few weeks ago I started doing cardio and weights again and with some patience I can finally see the unnecessary fat melting off my body again. I feel and look better lean so I think I'm going to just maintain that and slowly add the muscle (which seems to work better for me anyway). Plan to be shredded again by summer and all I'll need afterwards is a nice tan to bring out the definition further.
 
[quote name='perdition(troy']Any news on the baby front Javery?[/QUOTE]

Baby was born today (12:28 AM)! I am exhausted and I obviously skipped the workout this morning. I'm hoping I can get back to the gym on Wednesday but it might be a week off for me. I'm also eating a ton - just nerves in the delivery room and dealing with a newborn. I don't care - it's awesome.
 
[quote name='Javery']Baby was born today (12:28 AM)! I am exhausted and I obviously skipped the workout this morning. I'm hoping I can get back to the gym on Wednesday but it might be a week off for me. I'm also eating a ton - just nerves in the delivery room and dealing with a newborn. I don't care - it's awesome.[/QUOTE]

Congratulations man! That's awesome news.
 
Dude! Nice arms, Javery! I feel a need to put more effort into what I do. I love a good competition. And I'm never happy about my abs. Hahaha...

Looking over your diet, Sean. I'm vegan but I like what you're doing. Well-proportioned.

Good luck with your goals, AndrewCP. :)

Reading through the page— Oh hey! Congrats on the baby, Javery! Nice work!
 
Tuesday Weigh-In

Height: 6'0
Starting Weight (4/23): 190.0 lbs
Last week's Weigh-in: 186.0 lbs
This week's Weigh-in: 185.6 lbs
Pounds Gained/Lost this week: -0.4 lbs
Pounds Gained/Lost total: -4.4 lbs
Goal weight (175 lbs): 10.6 lbs to go

I guess you could call it a loss week...some loss is better than none, considering I missed my 2 hoops days.

I am COMPLETELY bored with my 75 minute run on Monday's. Was 45 minutes into it yesterday and just said F it and jumped off. Last time I did that was 3 years ago when I lost 80 lbs and got to 172...then proceeded the process to put 70 lbs back on. I do not want to do that again. I need to think of something fast, or my motivation will be completely shot. I thought about instead of doing 1 long run, do 2 smaller runs (one in the morning and one at night) but the way my mindset is now, I don't think it will help. Plus I like to sleep! My gym offers a spinning class and a Bodypump class, so I might try one of those to see what its all about.

The diet is what it is...I'm not snacking it up, nor am I really watching what I eat anymore. I did make it all week without snacking or Ice Cream. I did have a small popcorn at the movies, but no butter and I skipped dinner that night so I think it was a push. With Memorial Day weekend coming up, I'm looking forward to grilling some Turkey Burgers and Buffalo Steaks.

All in all, I am disapointed with myself...a) for quitting on my run yesterday and b) for my lack of motivation. I'm just tired of being tired and sore all the time.
 
Congrats Jav!

Today's food

Breakfast - 2 eggs, 1 egg white, 2 pieces of bacon

Lunch - 8 oz of pork, 2 cups lettuce, 1 cup broccoli, 2 tbsp of spinach dip all mixed.

Dinner - 3 Italian sausages, 2 cups green beans.

Snacks - scoop of whey in water.
 
Congrats Javery, good luck sleeping!

Had my physical today, weighed in @184. Felt really good to actually keep my weight down as long as I have. I thought I might stop losing around this weight, but now I kind of want to just keep dropping just to kind of see how low I can go, no real drive anymore (kind of like you number83). One thing that has helped is getting my wife involved in bike rides, and doing more and more things outside help me mix it up.

Also 83, if it starts feeling like a chore it is time to start doing something else. Throw some weight lifting in there, some biking, hiking etc.
 
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