Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Day 7, Week 12 LAST DAY
Today is the end of my Twelve-Week "Boot Camp" summer diet and exercise program. I've seen my body change significantly, especially my back and shoulders. My clothes have taken on clown pants proportions. I've climbed probably about 10,000 floors of stairs. I've lived in a near-constant state of soreness. I've become capable of lifting a barbell weighing nearly as much as I do. And I'm certain I've exceeded what would have been my lifetime quota of chicken and eggs.
I have eaten some kind of protein meal every three to four hours every single day since June 4. Damn I'm sick of chicken.
This has been an amazing experience. It was extremely difficult but I was very determined to be as compliant as I could be. I was not perfect though I did try; ultimately I found the rigors to be very tiring. I felt tested in many ways. Tested to keep getting out of bed at 4:15am to endure a cardio routine I grew to hate for its monotony and love for how amazing I felt when I was done. I was tested to trust in a process that seemed antithetical to beliefs so deeply ingrained they are nearly instinctual. This diet program was not about deprivation. I HAD to eat. More than I could even stand. So much that I often had to force myself to keep eating, little by little "grazing" over periods of time to get it all down. So much that I began to long for the relief of NOT eating and feeling empty. I got up every morning and I boiled and scrambled eggs. I broiled chicken and grilled steak. I weighed it and measured out the permitted condiments. I counted out baggies of exactly 16 almonds. And when the scale numbers did not go down but my clothes became loose and the extension of my physical abilities began to accelerate, I was compelled to persist. In some ways, I felt like I didn't understand what was happening. I just knew I'd committed to follow it through to the end so I did.
Truths I knew but which became reinforced and proven over this past summer:
The most critical elements to achieving fitness goals are consistency, consistency, and consistency. And being consistent. For a long time. A really long time. Like three months at least.
To develop new muscle you must lift until you're hurting and eat protein every three hours every day.
What am I going to do now? I have paid for training sessions through October so that's not ending. But for right now? Tomorrow is Carb Fest '09. It's likely to last about 10 minutes. Once I stick a big chewy bagel in my face and it gets settled in my gut like a brick, all my starchy carb fantasies will be a distant dream. After NOT EATING for awhile and indulging in the limited treats I still enjoy, I believe next Monday I will start a low glycemic index diet. I'd like to see how vegetarian I can be while still maintaining a high protein intake to support my on-going weight lifting.
And I will get back out on the stairs. ¶ 8:03 PM
I have eaten some kind of protein meal every three to four hours every single day since June 4. Damn I'm sick of chicken.
This has been an amazing experience. It was extremely difficult but I was very determined to be as compliant as I could be. I was not perfect though I did try; ultimately I found the rigors to be very tiring. I felt tested in many ways. Tested to keep getting out of bed at 4:15am to endure a cardio routine I grew to hate for its monotony and love for how amazing I felt when I was done. I was tested to trust in a process that seemed antithetical to beliefs so deeply ingrained they are nearly instinctual. This diet program was not about deprivation. I HAD to eat. More than I could even stand. So much that I often had to force myself to keep eating, little by little "grazing" over periods of time to get it all down. So much that I began to long for the relief of NOT eating and feeling empty. I got up every morning and I boiled and scrambled eggs. I broiled chicken and grilled steak. I weighed it and measured out the permitted condiments. I counted out baggies of exactly 16 almonds. And when the scale numbers did not go down but my clothes became loose and the extension of my physical abilities began to accelerate, I was compelled to persist. In some ways, I felt like I didn't understand what was happening. I just knew I'd committed to follow it through to the end so I did.
Truths I knew but which became reinforced and proven over this past summer:
The most critical elements to achieving fitness goals are consistency, consistency, and consistency. And being consistent. For a long time. A really long time. Like three months at least.
To develop new muscle you must lift until you're hurting and eat protein every three hours every day.
What am I going to do now? I have paid for training sessions through October so that's not ending. But for right now? Tomorrow is Carb Fest '09. It's likely to last about 10 minutes. Once I stick a big chewy bagel in my face and it gets settled in my gut like a brick, all my starchy carb fantasies will be a distant dream. After NOT EATING for awhile and indulging in the limited treats I still enjoy, I believe next Monday I will start a low glycemic index diet. I'd like to see how vegetarian I can be while still maintaining a high protein intake to support my on-going weight lifting.
And I will get back out on the stairs. ¶ 8:03 PM
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