21 Day Total Transformation: Day 1

Alright so in regards to what I wrote about in my last post, I have RE-discovered the paleolithic diet. I was perusing through the Paleo Magazine and I read an article about this fisherman who had the same kind of issues that I have been having; slow weight gain, achey, lack of energy, etc...even though I followed Conventional Wisdom decently. He mentioned reading a certain book, "The Primal Blueprint" by former marathoner and Ironman Triathlete Mark Sisson.

I read this book and MAN did it speak to me. Not only did it make the paleo diet easy to understand, it showed me that it is a lifestyle modeled after the lives of the hunter-gatherers of the past. And better yet, IT ALL MADE SENSE. After finishing reading that fun and awesome book, I decided to implement the principles and "10 Laws" into practice, which was fun and easy. For those of you who don't know the 10 laws, they are as follows...

1)  Eat Plants and Animals
2) Avoid Poisonous Things
3) Move Frequently at a Slow Pace
4) Lift Heavy Things
5) Sprint Once in a While
6) Get Adequate Sleep
7) PLAY
8) Get Adequate Sunlight
9) Avoid Stupid Mistakes
10) Use Your Brain

So, after I learned about all of this, I decided to try out Mark's "21 Day Total Body Transformation",
a day by day challenge to help shift people away from "Conventional Wisdom" and become more Primally aligned. It all boils down to optimal gene expression.

So I signed up for this program, and yesterday 06JUL2015, was Day 1. I will outline the various challenges I had to complete and what I ate, etc. So here goes.

DAY 1:

Breakfast: A Vanilla Coconut meal-replacement shake. (YUM)

Lunch: A salad made up of Spinach, green bell peppers, chicken breast, bacon bits, tomato, and sunflower seeds drizzled in olive oil.

Dinner: 8 oz. ribeye steak with a lime based rub, asparagus, onions, red peppers, mushrooms all drizzled in herbed butter.

other challenges included:

- Getting at least 8 hours of sleep (Didn't do so well here. Got about 6.5 hours.)
- Getting 15 mins of sunlight, minimum. (completed)
- Going for a walk for 15-30 mins of slow cardio aka walking. (completed)
- Implement ways to allow an easier transition to sleep and have an energized wake-up (Installed a yellow reading light, turned off major electronics, etc) (Completed)
-Read an article detailing why Chronic Cardio isn't the best thing for us. (Completed)

So far so good. Day 2 has a lot of the same, with some minor tweaks. But I will update you when that happens. =) If you haven't read "The Primal Blueprint" I suggest it highly.

If you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to ask.

Starting Points

Hello again,

Ok, so here we go...I took a few pictures this morning of my nasty self for a few reasons. 

1) To show my starting point.

2) I will be putting the pictures around places that I frequent in the house, (ESPECIALLY the refrigerator.) This will help curb my appetite when I get random cravings for food that aren't part of my regimen.  

3) I want to be better...my eating is out of control, and my exercise life is in desperate need of discipline. and I want accountability.

 AND NOW, the pictures

 

And this is a starting weight of 224.8 lbs. and a BMI of 30% with a Total inches of 160.7 (All of this will be described shortly.) 

I've done a few things that will help make this FUN for me...if it's not fun, why do it, right?

1) Make it conscious: Take before and after pics and make the decision to update graphs and spreadsheets and other data recording things.

2) Making it a game!: Making it fun tends to make things motivating and making it motivating gives me a reason to do it.

3) Making it competitive: Research shows that people are more willing to be compliant if they have something to lose compared to if they have something to gain. So I plan on betting 10$ against myself to my brother if I miss an update or whatnot.

So now back to the numbers...

THE NUMBERS AND WHAT THEY MEAN

Weight: Easy enough to attain, any old scale will do. 

BMI: Body Mass Index aka how much fat is stored in yo body.  This is both fat under the skin and around organs. Here is an MRI of a 250 lb woman and a 120 lb woman. Notice the large amounts of fat deposits around the organs...can't be healthy.

Total Inches: I took measurements from six locations, Left and Right arm (mid bicep), waist (Horizontal at the navel), Hips (Widest point below the waist), and Left and Right leg (mid thigh).

for me the measurements were, in inches

Left arm = 13.5 

Right arm = 14

Waist = 42.5

Hips = 43

Left leg = 23.25

Right leg = 24.5 

Im interested in seeing how my prescribed regimen works. Here is to the future.

Intro!

HEY-YO Everyone!

It is now 18 days till Tough Mudder: New England. I am stoked! I have been preparing for this for a while now, and I am almost ready for it. (I think.) New England is supposed to be a tough course...it takes place on a ski resort...and that means mountains. However, Im not where I want to REALLY BE, in terns of weight and actual fat percentage. So I figured I'd start this challenge for my NEXT Tough Mudder in September. (Great NorthEast.) What Im planning is starting at my current weight and hopefully be under 210 by September...200 would be even better. This blog WILL BE Updated every other day, I have a plan to make sure I comply with this. (More on that later.) There will be graphs, science and biology, pictures etc. This will be fun! Anyway, my next post will be my starting point.

I hope you all follow and like this!

In Mud We Trust,

Brad