Body Composition Challenge Round 2: The Holidays (Page 12)

I tried the Paleo and didn't make it past 3 days. Weak, lol!

So, I'm up a bit to 141.8, but that's down from the 144 (YIKES!!) I got up to. Not too bad, and now that I'm on a regular 3x a week swim schedule, plus a bike ride with the rest of my team training for an Xterra,  should be firming up quite a bit.

You know what, I was just really looking at my legs because my pants are feeling so snug. I see definition in parts of my upper leg that I've never seen before. Being a soccer player, my lower legs, and hammies usually are biggest looking of my leg muscles. With the biking, my quads have gotten bigger, and the tops of them in front (don't know what it's called), are solid and bulging. I think it's from the swimming! My tops are getting tight in the shoulders, which has to be from swimming too. Pretty neat!

Laura posted a really funny note in my blog:

Fortunately nothing is sticking around and decorating for the holidays!!  I'm still up 1 pound since the beginning of the challenge and no where close to my goal. 

crimefighter2 - 2011-12-16 9:54 AM Good morning, and happy Friday.  The good news is I am down 2.2 pounds from last week.  The bad news I am up .2 pounds from the start, and I think 5 or more since the beginning of Nov.  I guess that isn't bad for 3 workouts in the month.  1 run and two nights of Y league (30 and over) basketball.  I have no explanation for why I'm not working out.  I don't get it.  Middle of the day I'm jazzed to do it - early evening the same - I get home and it just doesn't happen.  Alarm goes off at 4:30 with good intentions and I can't seem to pull myself out of the sack.    I hope you guys' day/training etc is going much better.

I'm the same with evening workouts.  Once homework and dinner are done and the family is settled in the family room doing their thing - the thought of leaving to go outside in the dark... ya it never happens.  I'm successful in the morning.  4:50am every day - the alarm goes off and I tuck and roll out of bed, stumble to the washroom and throw my clothes on and by the time I'm downstairs I'm awake and so there's no going back.  Personally I think the trick is to move the body in to action before the brain has a chance to wake up and start negotiating

I always used to - not sure what is going on and why I just can't get going.

I'm at 151.2 ... down from last week, still up almost 5 pounds from the beginning of this.

But - doing better.  Anally counting calories and forcing my roommate to be my nutrition dictator.  Trying to get in more cardio as well.

I'm determined to at least get back to where I started by the end of the year.  I refuse to start 2012 in the 150's.

I am still up in weight but I would bet I have a greater muscle mass than before.  These days right before the winter solstice have historically brought me very low.  I hate SHORT days!

Wow I missed 3 days o f workouts and was having an awesome streak.  My dark side reared its ugly head, grabbed me, took me down, and beat the out of me.  Well I kept fighting and I am winning.  Today's sunshine and run really helped.

I retitled my log:  Demons:  Find them and beat them.  That is what I am going to focus on until IM training starts Jan 7th!

SO MANY goodies hanging around!  There's piles of them here at work... and now home is a landmine as well.  My roommate is a personal trainer, and ironically, she gets a TON of home-baked goodies from her clients.  Which are now sitting on my kitchen table... a pile that will surely grow before the end of the week.  

Being strong so far.  The stuff at work, I can usually alter my route so I don't walk past it.  And at home?  I will think of all that as HER stuff... not mine.  Hand's off!

This certainly isn't going to get any easier, though...

My wife just informed me that I have a swim lesson with Dave Scott on Thursday.  I am so grossly out of shape and then I have to go to the Flat Irons Fitness Club (I think that is the name) for a REAL swim lesson with a legendary triathlete.  No time like the present to start getting ready for IM CDA. 

This will be fun--I have 6 lessons with him next year too.  I was hoping to postpone my lessons until I had at least a month of training in.  NO go.  Yikes!

No time like the present!!  That'll be a great way to jumpstart your training.    I think I had a quote recently on my blog that was something like, "A year from now you won't regret having started today."

Good plan, Abbie!!  Get food you can eat and know you won't feel bad about eating.

Enjoy spending Hanukah with your brother!1

Cameron, that's awesome! Take notes and share!

Cam - Thats a fantastic gift.  Have fun.  Just think how much you'll improve pver the next 6 sessions.  You add the fitness, he helps with technique.  That sounds like a winner.

Today was 'Taste of the holiday's' at the office.  I manage to walk the gauntlet twice and return with ice cold water.  I tell myself dosen't that look nice and move on.

I wanted to share my thoughts on traveling and eating this holiday season.  Take an anchor with you.  An anchor can be a phrase you can recite, a stone in you pocket you can touch to remember to eat well, or a piece of ironman jewelery that provide strong memories.  It only takes a couple of seconds to resist the sugars and you're free.  But once the sugar passes you lips, the desire grows and is much harder to resist.  It's the chemistry of simple sugars.

Merry Christmas,
Mark

x2! But I think I'll carry mine for a lot longer than just the holidays!