The day after...

It’s amazing how water affects the readings on body composition scales. After a night of drunken debauchery, my weight went up 5lbs but the scale shows my bodyfat dropping by almost 3 percent or 8lbs.

All that extra water in my system messed up the reading. This is why I advise keeping body water constant when monitoring bodyfat with a scale.

It’ll take a few days to get back to normal. No biggie ;)

Oh Me, Oh My! Oh Me, Oh My!

Yesterday was a really bad day, today will be worse…

Jen had a few relatives down yesterday so we went to Bella Italia West (one of my fav). Though I didn’t overeat, I still had too much sodium.

Then I went over to the Criner’s because the Patitz boys are visiting. Had 2 Bud Lite and 2 slices of pizza (I get hungry every 3 hours and it was 1am).

Woke up to a gain of 1.4lbs, mostly water.

Tonight, we’re going to watch the Cowboys spank the Ducks in the Holiday Bowl. It’ll be a drunkfest.

It’s great catching up with old friends. A couple of days won’t hurt too bad. Just going to relax and have FUN!

Boxing Day! a.k.a. What was I thinking?

What was I thinking? Restarting my healthy lifestyle so close to the holidays?

Luckily, I was able to avoid gaining fat. My weight actually dropped 0.4lbs.

As per our X’mas tradition, I cooked :)

X’mas lunch was ravioli agli’e olio with crab cakes (topped with wasabi sauce and drizzled with blasamic glaze).


Dinner:
Grilled shrimp (rubbed with butter)
Grilled pork steak (sliced)
Grilled portobellos (with my special seasoned extra virgin olive oil and tossed with balsamic vinegar)
Roasted green peppers (tossed with my special oil)


I don’t know what the nutritional details are on theses but hey, it’s X’mas.

;)

Merry X’mas to Me! ;)

I got myself a trainer to work on my core.

Yes, I know there are lots of workouts out and almost every exercise is on BB.com… but I hate working my core so I need the extra push.

Used to do a lot of core training in judo. Hated it.

When I started doing heavy compounds, I noticed it worked my core. So I did what Arnold recommended. Train without a weight belt and straps.

I started light but as my core got stronger I was able to lift heavy again. I noticed greater overall strength gains.

I was able to add 40lbs to my bench in 8 weeks. All this from doing deadlift, clean and press, and squats without a belt and strap.

Since I’m not able to go heavy as I’m still recovering from a knee op and shoulder injury, my core has been sliding. Recently, I noticed my hip flexors weakening when I stand for too long.

So now I’m doing core work once a week and hope to work it up to twice.

;)


All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey

What were you thinking, woman!?

Jen’s one of the nicest person you’ll ever meet, but today she did something that left my jaw hanging.

Jen asked Cindy (her mom), in front of me at the dinner table, if she wants to lose weight. Cindy replied with awkward silence but Jen repeated her question until she got an answer. Cindy said she didn’t want to lose weight.

D’oh!

Other stuff were said but we won’t go into details.

Cindy’s 5′1" and used to be about 100lbs. Through years of sugar abuse and other bad dietary habits plus an aversion to exercise, Cindy put on about 60lbs. According to Jen, Cindy put on about 30lbs in the last 4 years.

Jen, of course mom wants to lose weight. Do you think she’s enjoys her lack of energy? Don’t you think she wants to feel attractive? Do you think she likes it when her clothes don’t fit?

Jen, of course mom wants to lose weight. She just doesn’t think it’s possible. After trying and failing for so many years, she feels helpless.

Jen, you need to empower mom with knowledge. She needs to know that she failed to lose weight because she went about it the wrong way, NOT because she’s weak.

Both you and Sherry have to encourage her. Don’t let up. Don’t let her give up. Help her claim back her confidence.

Lifestyle changes are more successful if the whole family gets involved.

I just saw on tv that 1-in-3 Chinese over the age of 45 has diabetes. Diabetes can result in death, blindness, amputation, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, and many other complications.

I know you all love her and want her to have a full and healthy life. With a family history of diabetes, maybe it’s time for a family intervention?

Training and Eating for Fat Loss (Deatils - Part 2)

The most important part of any training is diet. I believe that diet accounts for 80% of our results.

All the training won’t make you bigger or stronger if you don’t eat enough protein, nor will you lose fat if you eat too much refine carbs and fats.

My diet is very simple. Whole grains, lean meat, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Avoid salt and sugar. Definitely avoid liquid sugar!!!!

Of course, I give myself a break every 3 or 4 days. For one meal, I eat whatever I want (NOT as much as I want).

It very easy to give up and go back to old habits when you slip up. You think to yourself, “My diet is screwed anyways, I’ll just give in and start eating healthy tomorrow (or next week)”. And you go eat an entire cheese cake.

This is very self-destructive. Don’t beat yourself up if you slip up. Start doing damage control. Stop eating that cake. Throw it in the trash. You don’t have to finish that cake. Next, get back on track.

Just got back from Red Robin for lunch. Had grilled chicken breast, a bite of my wife’s Royal RR Burger, and 4 onion rings. I’ll be going to the gym later.

I love food. That’s how I got to 345lbs. I still eat whatever I want, just not all the time.

Here’s what I used to eat in Singapore. I’ve changed my diet a bit in Texas. Will have that up soon.

1st meal: Oats with skim milk.
2nd to 5th meal: Whole grains, broccoli, lean meat (mostly chicken breast), and nuts.
Bedtime snack: 500ml (18oz) skim milk and cheese.
Other snacks: Protein drink (low carb).

Diets may vary. No need to be too rigid. A little sinfulness won’t hurt, as long as it’s not everyday (or two).

PS: Strawberry limeade? Haha. Need to work on your sugar addiction ;P

Training and Eating for Fat Loss (Deatils - Part 1)

Compound exercises are great for strength, mass, cardio, and even fat loss. In fact, compounds jack up your metabolism so you burn more fat even when resting.

Compounds are great and often recommended for all levels (beginners to advance). Some trainers may avoid compounds as more effort is required to teach proper form. Often, it’s easier to use machines.

I do lots of supersets with compounds. This gives me an anaerobic and aerobic workout simultaneously.

Below is one of the workouts I used before my 3rd knee op (old judo injury) and shoulder injury (dumb spotter). Was able to lose fat and gain muscle with this.

All workout starts with 5 minutes cardio and ends with 30 minutes cardio plus stretching.

Day 1:
Incline Dumbbell Press + Deadlift
Bench Press + Barbell row
Dip + Pull-up

Day 3:
Stiff-legged Deadlift
Squat
Standing Calve Raise

Day 5:
Clean & Press + Barbell Shrug
Arnold Press + Dumbbell Shrug
Front + Side + Rear Delt Raise

Day 2, 4, 6:
60 minutes cardio

Day 7:
Cardio or Rest

I do 6-10 reps on all exercises. Once I can hit 10 reps, I increase the weight.

Also, I’ll drop the weight (reverse pyramid) to stay in the rep range.

Example 1: I can do 6 reps for the 1st set. I’ll drop the weight to keep in the 6-10 rep range for the next set.

Example 2: I can do 10 reps for the 1st set. I can keep the weight because I’ll be in the 6-10 rep range for the next set.

Rest 1 minute between sets if needed and 5 minutes between exercises.

Training and Eating for Fat Loss (Overview)

Before & After

I’ve successfully used this training and diet technique to lose fat and gain muscle. It’s actually very simple.

Recently, I read this article and BAM! I was doing just that.

Only eat carbs for before and after training, complex carbs. I eat a combination of hull-less barley, buckheat groats, and hulled millet. I buy them from Bob’s Red Mill.

Eat lean meat, vegetables fruits, and nuts for all other meals. Eat 1.5g of protein for every pound of desired body weight.

Do only compound exercises. They burn the most calories. Don’t wast time on single-joint exercises.

Do cardio 5 minutes before and 30 minutes after workout. Main workout should not last more than 45 minutes.

Do 60 minutes cardio on non-weights days.

Wasn’t that simple? Never said it was easy, just simple. I’ll give details in my next post.

;)

Fat Loss vs. Weight Loss

Many people go through the vicious cycle of losing weight and putting back on the weight, only to end up fatter then before. Those people usually think weight loss is fat loss.

My parents and in-laws equate weight loss with fat loss. Most of us know it’s WRONG. Though it (weight loss is NOT fat loss) seems like common sense, many people still think they’re synonymous.

Think about it for a while…

You’re 250lbs, 100lbs fat (40%). You train and diet. Now you’re 220lbs, 92lbs fat. Are you leaner? NO, your bodyfat went up to 42%. You lost too much calorie burning muscle.

Yes, you did lose fat… BUT YOU GOT FATTER!

There are tons of info out there on maximizing fat loss while gaining muslce, maintaining, or minimizing muscle loss. Go read it up. I’m not going to reharsh everything.

Focus on bodyfat percentage, NOT weight.

;)

Using a Body Composition Scale

Just started back on my healthy lifestyle on Tuesday. I’ve eliminated excess salt from my diet. It’ll take a few days to purge the excess water. This means the readings from my body composition scale will only be consistent after a few days.

I used a body composition scale in Singapore. Kept a spreadsheet of the data with 7-day and 4-weeks moving averages (MA). Body weight and composition fluctuates daily, so the MAs keeps the big picture in perspective. Don’t worry about the daily fluctuations as long as bodyfat goes down in the MAs.

Got a new scale when I moved to Texas this May. The readings are different as algorithms vary among scales.

I weigh immediately upon waking up, after peeing and before pooping. Bodyfat reading may be higher after peeing, but it is constant day to day. I also stay away from diuretics and anything that makes me retain water. The amount of water in our bodies affect bodyfat readings.

The only way to monitor bodyfat with a scale is to keep body water consistent. If not, readings will be all over the place.

Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam

Aut Viam Inveniam Aut Faciam (I'll either find a way or make one) was the other choice for my blog title. Oozing with testosterone, this seemed perfect for me.

Ultimately, the fear of failure is a bigger motivator for me than the glory of conquest. In other words, I hate to lose.

Don't misunderstand, I love winning together with all the fame and fortune that comes with success. I just hate losing more than I like winning.

Everything I've excelled at started with a failure. Analyst this as much you want, it works for me.

The problem is that, recently, I've lost the ability to feel fear. Either I find a new motivator or I learn to be afraid again.

I'd rather feel fear again.

Fear makes a person feel alive. Being vunerable keeps humility in perspective and humanity in introspective.


One - U2