Category Archives: Weight Loss

Retooling…

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Hi folks,

In case you’re wondering I’m behind in my updates because of Thanksgiving and because I’m still trying to do some winter retooling on my goals. Expect updates to resume next week.

In the mean time, if you haven’t voted in the Six-Pack Challenge I’ve put together a web-site (so you don’t need to be on Facebook) to make it really easy. Just go to this site to vote:

http://www.abclarke.com/6pack.html

Remember, please vote just once, and if I win we help raise another $1,400 for Team Continuum!

– Art

The Six Pack Charity Challenge

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Put Up or Shut Up

So, the week of November 5th has come and gone, and it’s time to pony up for the Six Pack Charity Challenge.

To refresh your memory, a bunch of folks I know have bet $200 each of our own money. To win the bet, we need to be voted as having the “best abs” as photographed last week. Whoever is declared the winner (and voting goes to December 1st) gets to donate his bet, along with EVERYONE ELSE’S bet to the charity of his choice (and strangely it’s only guys who are egomaniacal enough to try this…).

I’m playing for Team Continuum. My basic training plan was (a) train for marathon and (b) try not to gain weight. How did I do? Well, you can review the data in the “Nude Numbers” posts, but again a picture is worth a thousand words.

How to Vote…

I need your help. I think I have a chance to win – although there is stiff competition. Click on my photo below and it will take you to all the contestant photos. Once there, view the photos, select your winner, and then click on the vote link.

My face is obscured by the camera (hard to do a self photo without doing that) but rest assured it’s me. Please vote for whomever you think won, but I certainly wouldn’t begrudge you if you thought I did.

As a comparison point (apologies, but I don’t’ have many photos of me) this was me about two years ago. Feel free to let “effort expended” factor into your vote:

I’m not sure if I mentioned it but please VOTE FOR ME!!!!!

Thanks in advance,

– Art

Nude Numbers (#22)

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For reference, here’s last week’s data. Curious what this post is about? Click here to find out.

Summary

This is the week I have to come clean on my Six-Pack Challenge progress. I’ll post separately following this.

But I spent the last week in Mexico and did well on training in the start of the week, but got very sick at the end. Read on for more.

Subjective Data

Workouts earlier in the week went well, but starting Thursday the flu I’d been fighting off got the better of me (which was a shame since it got both me and J, and we were in Mexico). It was nice to eat-to-gain again though J. I also took my photo for the challenge… more on that in another post.

Objective Data

Click here for a PDF version of my dashboard.

Note: There is no Body-Fat data for most of the week because I didn’t have a way to do it in Mexico (and forgot on Sunday).

Assessment

Apart from getting the flu, the new plan started out well (“apart from that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”). I swam a bunch in the large pool at the resort we stayed at, alternating drilling and swimming, and I found things getting easier over time.

I decided to take the next phase of training with a new philosophy; listen to my body more. So, once the flu set in on Thursday, I’ve backed off training. I’m still a little under the weather as I write this, but am heading the right way. Hopefully this way I’ll manage injuries better.

Plan

I’ll be re-jigging how I present this next week, but my plan for this week is (subject to recovering from my illness):

  1. 20-40 25-yard swimming laps
  2. 90-150 minutes of Spinning
  3. 2-4 hours of weight training
  4. Set and maintain a diet of about 3,000 calories a day (trying to gain between .5 to 1.0 pounds per week)

Presentation Notes

No changes to data presentation this week. As with last week, data is presented in SOAP Note format.

– Art

Help me raise money for people suffering from cancer

Nude Numbers (#21)

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For reference, here’s last week’s data. Curious what this post is about? Click here to find out.

Summary

I’m posting the last two weeks in my old format to be consistent, but I have now starting on my new winter training schedule. A different format of data will show up the week of November 18th.

This is a post of data from before the marathon (which I didn’t do). I ramped down from workouts at the end of the week (which was planned), but otherwise stuck to plan.

Subjective Data

The main trick this week was diet; I kept to a strict diet, cutting at the end of the week and limiting sodium intake. Not doing the marathon sucked, but many of my friends successfully completed it and kudos to them. Next year!

Objective Data

Click here for a PDF version of my dashboard.

Assessment

Stuck exactly to plan. I worked out at the beginning of the week, then cut calories towards the end (who says I can’t try to look my best for the six-pack challenge). Also, since I was off to Mexico the next week and I’d eat a lot, it was fine to cut going into the week.

Plan

Go to Mexico; eat a lot; read a lot; do nothing; return.

The goals starting 11/5 are as follows:

  1. Be able to swim 1km without stopping by 3/1/08. This is really about form and balance for me.
  2. Gain 5-10 pounds from my 11/5/07 weight while keeping a 32 inch max waist by 3/1/08 (Starting weight: 157 lbs).
  3. For weight lifting, increase my 1RM by 5% on average across the board by 3/1/08 from my 10/30 1RMs (1RM = 1-Rep-Maximum).

Presentation Notes

No changes to data presentation this week. As with last week, data is presented in SOAP Note format.

– Art

Help me raise money for people suffering from cancer

Nude Numbers (#20)

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For reference, here’s last week’s data. Curious what this post is about? Click here to find out.

Summary

I did OK with my plan for the week, but I had a big decision to make. And I’ve made it. Read on for more (and do click the links… they’re fun J ).

Subjective Data

I did some (not much) weight lifting, tried some spinning, and went to see a physical therapist. Why? Because the pain from my run last Saturday did not subside as quickly as I would have liked. I also went back to my ortho-specialist to see what he thought and had an MRI. The result: nothing is broken, but I have a bad sprain and lots of bruising in my right foot.

My eating wasn’t great later in the week, and my numbers show it.

Objective Data

Click here for a PDF version of my dashboard.

Assessment

I had dinner on Thursday with my friends Jim and Sudipta (who by the way has a great new kids book on sale now… The Mine-O-Saur. Check it out). And during the conversation I asked them for their advice on whether to run or not. I thought Jim’s response is a good candidate for quote of the month:

You’re not Kenyan – the marathon is not a life defining event for you. If you injure yourself permanently during the run, it will become a life-defining event. Don’t make this a life defining event!

Well, facts are facts. I had a stress fracture, but now I have nerve pinching, swelling and bruising in my right foot. I get sharp piercing pain any time I stand up after sitting for 45 minutes or more. I could try to run the marathon on Sunday of next week, but odds are that (a) the pain would become unbearable late in the race and (b) I’ll permanently injure myself by re-breaking the stress-fracture or doing something else stupid as my body compensates over 26 miles to avoid the pain.

So, this morning I notified Team Continuum that I would not run, and have been guaranteed a spot in next year’s marathon. I’m going to take at least 6-8 weeks off running, and then work with a physical-therapist to slowly ramp up again. I’d like to target doing a marathon in the April or May timeframe of next year (and then maybe I do NY next year, maybe not…) – let me know if you have suggestions for one to do.

Also, thanks to everyone for their suggestions (public and private) on what to do. I really appreciate the feedback and support. In case folks are wondering on the breakdown of “live to fight another day” vs. “go for it!” the breakdown was:

Live to Fight Another Day

Go For It

20+ (I stopped counting…)

0

Telling, no?

Plan

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed – I am. But when God gives you lemons, you find a new God. Whoops, I mean, you regroup and start again. So, the plan for this week is continue my new weight lifting routine, do some spinning, continue physical therapy, and then… get ready for Mexico. J and I are off to Mexico for 5 days next week (so, no updates next week). When I return, there will be a new format for tracking the metrics on my winter goals, which to remind you are:

  1. Be able to swim 1km without stopping by 3/1/08. This is really about form and balance for me.
  2. Gain 5-10 pounds from my 11/5/07 weight while keeping a 32 inch max waist by 3/1/08 (I’m expecting my 11/5 weight to be around 153-158).
  3. For weight lifting, increase my 1RM by 5% on average across the board by 3/1/08 from my 10/30 1RMs (1RM = 1-Rep-Maximum).

Presentation Notes

No changes to data presentation this week. As with last week, data is presented in SOAP Note format.

– Art

Help me raise money for people suffering from cancer