I’ve been doing this training blog for one month (started on April 6, 2008) and I thought now would be as good a time as any to assess my goals and progress.
First, I’d just like to say thank you to all of you readers who have read my daily progress reports, have given me encouragement and motivation and feedback and valuable advice. I couldn’t have made it this far without you.
OK, let’s take a look at my goals from a month ago, and the progress I’ve made on each:
My overall goal is just to get myself in good shape for my honeymoon in late June, and then after that to prepare for my 3rd marathon in December. Progress: I’ve been exercising almost every single day and eating pretty healthy in the last month. I’ve added triathlon training to my running and weight lifting and feel fitter than ever. I’ve lost an inch or two on my waist and about 5 lbs so far, though my weight has plateaued a bit. I really feel fitter than I was a month ago and feel like I’ll be seeing even more results in the next few weeks.
My sub-goals:
1. Start and stick to a regular strength training routine. I’m going to do 2 full-body workouts a week, just 6 exercises: bench press, standing rows, shoulder presses, pullups, bicep curls and squats. I might add deadlifts and dips later, and maybe a 3rd day per week once I’ve gotten into the habit (after 3 weeks maybe). Progress: I’ve stuck to this strength training routine extremely well so far, doing more than 4 weeks of this schedule. I’ve gone from one set per exercise to four (starting today) and have increased the weights for each exercise. I also feel stronger than ever. This is my longest ever to stick with a weight routine!
2. Build my running back up to a decent level. My focus won’t be on running, but I’d like to have a decent base (maybe 30 miles per week eventually) before I start my marathon training. I’ll also do a faster workout once a week, to increase fat burning and to get me in good shape for some shorter races I’ll be doing for the next few months. Progress: I’ve not only built my running back up to a decent level (20+ miles per week and still increasing), but have started doing hills/speedwork once a week and am feeling strong on the run. Also, not in the original plan, but I’ve begun triathlon training and am doing more cardio than ever before. I feel amazing!
3. Eat lightly. I’ll go into more detail on this in a future post, but I’ve created my own meal plan, and will be eating 4-5 times per day, about 300-400 calories per meal. Sometimes a little more. Eat when I’m lightly hungry (instead of ravenous), eat slowly, eat until I’m lightly full (not stuffed), eat light foods (not heavy). Allow myself to cheat a couple meals per week. Progress: I have definitely been eating more often, and eating less per meal, and eating healthy foods for the most part. The cheat meals haven’t been too bad, and while I haven’t stuck exactly to the meal plan, I think my eating has been really good in the last month. I eat when I’m hungry and don’t starve myself, but don’t stuff myself either — very healthy eating style.
4. Stay accountable. I will be trying to post daily (or so) here on this training blog, as well as keeping a public training and eating log on FitDay. Progress: I’ve posted reports each day (though I was late on a couple) so I’ve been pretty much perfect here. And while I don’t use FitDay anymore, I’ve switched to the much better The Daily Plate (see my diary) and have been logging faithfully every day. The accountability of this log and this blog have really helped keep me on track. Thanks everyone!
Overall Assessment
As you can see from my progress on each sub-goal above, I’ve been doing great on every account — overall fitness, strength training, running, eating healthy, and staying accountable. I’ve also added swimming and biking and am having a blast!
A few indicators:
- Weight: Started at 189.5 and have dropped to 185.5. While my weight loss has leveled off, I think the overall loss is decent and the plateau is probably temporary.
- Waist: Started at 38 inches, down to 36 inches as of today. Hooray!
- Strength: Went from 1 set of light weights to 4 sets of heavier weights.
- Running: Went from running 4x a week, 13 miles a week (my first week) to running 5x a week and 21 miles a week (last week).
- Overall exercise: Went from 6 workouts in a week the first week, total of 2 hrs 40 mins, to 11 workouts last week for a total of 8 hours and 20 minutes! That’s an increase of more than 3 times my total exercise minutes!
I’m obviously very happy with the last month and hope to just continue the exercise I’ve been doing and continue my healthy eating. I will continue to progress gradually with all four sports (weights, running, cycling, swimming) but will obviously not make the same kind of increases in total exercise time. If I just continue my schedule, I should do well over the next month.
Thanks everyone for your encouragement!
Woh!! Keep it up man!
You’ve made great progress, Leo! Keep it up, and you’re sure to meet your goal for June.
I’ve got a similar goal – get in shape for the honeymoon – but my deadline is June 2009. I’m likely to use your workout and eating habits as a guideline for my efforts (albeit a little lighter, since I’m just starting out). No pressure. ;)
Leo, you’re doing awesome. Keep up the good work!! The only advice I have is, don’t focus too much on your scale weight. 2 inches off the waist is pretty good in a month. Remember you might be adding some lean mass while losing fat, so sometimes the scale won’t move. The way you think you look and feel is so much more important. Keep up the great work!!! Very impressive!
Hey Leo – *BRAVO* and keep it up!! It’s funny, we are both in places with crystal clear warm tropical water…and the ocean swim is the hardest thing for me to get motivated for. ;)
Did you come to the realization that four or five small meals a day works better for your metabolism on your own? Has it helped you to overcome the feeling of always being hungry?
Also – I sent you an email regarding the “Train For Humanity” concept that we were discussing a couple of posts ago. If you don’t see it in your inbox it might have wound up in your spam folder (for some reason Google Mail thinks I am spam?).
All the best and continued success!
Mark H.
Amazing work, Leo! So happy for you.
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your encouragement — it has made a big difference this past month.
@Ben: Good luck on your honeymoon goals! Honestly, I think if you follow my triathlon training and eating habits, you’ll meet whatever fitness goals you have by next year, without a doubt. Just start small and work your way up to what I’m doing.
@Mike: You’re right, of course … the scale is just one indicator and not a very good one. I’d rather measure bodyfat percentage but don’t have a good way to do that at the moment (just using body measurements for now). I’m thinking of getting a BF scale. For now, I know that my waist is a better indicator than my weight. But still, it’s nice to see the pounds come off when I’ve been overweight for so long.
@mark: Re: 4-5 small meals … actually I’ve been doing it for awhile but these days I eat more than 5 times a day — more like 6-7 small snacks with no big meals at all. It’s not something I aim for but have evolved into doing, as I am learning to listen to my body. Has it overcome the feeling of always being hungry? Sometimes, but when I work out a lot, I seem to get hungry more often. :)
I got your email and will respond soon! Thanks so much.
I use the Navy’s method to measure bodyfat. I don’t know exactly how accurate it is but it’s a good reference for me. That’s how my initial body fat was gauged and I just kind of stuck with it. Here’s a link for a calculator for it, http://www.mwr.navy.mil/prims/PFAcalculators.htm. I agree with you it is nice to see the pounds coming off. That is after all the easiest way to measure progress. It just seems that a lot of people get discouraged because there weight doesn’t move but they don’t realize they’ve lost inches. So it’s good that you take measurements too. Once again keep up the good work. Good luck with the triathlon training.