Some Good News and Some Bad News

Well, the good news is that I'm getting stronger. I managed about 7 declined push ups in the middle of yesterday's Chest & Back routine (I can remember struggling with 3 at the beginning). Even the pull ups and "diamond push ups" from yesterday are getting more tolerable. I haven't had to duck out early from any routines for quite a while now (with the exception of excluding parts of Ab Ripper-X), so I think I'm getting over the initial difficulty of getting my body used to working out...although my left elbow has been cracking and feels kind of iffy during the overhand pull ups.

The bad news is that I'm back at 159 lbs. I'm really not sure how this is possible unless I have an extremely slow metabolism that is refusing to kick it in to high gear. I don't think this weight stagnation can be directly attributed to muscle gain at this point. Here's a goal chart of hitting 145lbs by my upcoming Vegas trip 2/19...it's not looking very probable any more. (I went back and retroactively added past weight milestones based on entries)





Most advice is for males to operate on no less than 1,800 calories per day for a sedentary lifestyle. I've been doing 1200-1400 calories a day comfortably, though, and I don't go for periods of feeling hungry or starving--which is what they warn against. I followed the advice that by pacing my meals out roughly 3-4 hours apart throughout the day I'd increase my metabolism and burn calories with greater ease. That doesn't seem to be happening, though.

There is the potential that I'm not eating enough to force my metabolism to increase, but my fear of gaining even more weight is too great to attempt an experiment now. Additionally, my energy level has been fine throughout the workouts and my general energy level has been high, which should mean that my body has been receiving enough fuel/food.

I have been eating soon before I go to sleep, though, so I'm going to make a concerted effort to avoid eating within 3 hours of bed to see if that makes a difference. My favorite snacks of the day are always my last.

Sigh...

This was the first time I ate asparagus on this diet. It's hard to describe just how amazing this burger, cheese, mustard, asparagus, and soy sauce combo tasted.














Chicken breasts, light swiss, grilled peppers.














My new dumbbells (awesome upgrade), push up bars, and purple yoga blocks that help me perform difficult stretches that require touching the floor in strange positions.













Marvel at the beauty and simplicity of the modern pull up bar. No need for drilling, it's all about gravity and weight distribution.