Sal's Blog of Nothing

Okay, so July 13th was my last update.. Since then, I’ve lost another fifteen pounds. At this very moment, I weigh 174.6 pounds at 15.7% body fat and 28.0% lean mass. I thought 15% body fat would do the trick, but it won’t. The good news is – I’m very, very close to where I need to be. 12-13% body fat is where I’ll be comfortable. And that, I’m sure of. So I’m about three percentage points away from my final goal for fat loss – which I will reach by December 31st – the latest. I’m pretty confident that I’ll remain over 160lbs when all is said and done. So those who are worrying about me getting down to 140lbs like I did several years ago – you can stop worrying. Furthermore, I’ll be doing a LEAN bulk for the entire year of 2010. I expect to be around 180lbs or 190lbs at 12-13% body fat when I’m finished.

Obviously I’d set very long-term goals back in January. 2009 was/is an entire year dedicated to losing fat. I’ve gone from 243.4 pounds (not my heaviest, actually) at 26.8% body fat and 39.0% lean mass to 174.6 pounds at 15.7% body fat and 28.0% lean mass in nine months. I’ve lost 11.1% body fat and 11.0% lean mass. That’s about half the fat I had on my body – as well as half the muscle I had. I’ll get the muscle back next year.

All is took was persistence and dedication. I wake up first thing every morning and get on a tread mill at 3.4-4.0 miles per hour for 40 minutes – which usually comes to 2.5 miles. I weight train on Monday (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps), Tuesday (Back, Biceps, Traps), Wednesday (Legs and Forearms) and Friday (Full Body) and get an additional 20 minutes (1.25 miles) of treadmill cardio directly afterwards. On Thursday I do an additional 40 minutes of cardio on the treadmill and on Saturday and Sunday I do my morning session and then move around throughout the day since I’m not at my desk.

If you’re looking to start something like this – you certainly don’t have to begin the way I’m ending off. I only go crazy as much as I do because I’ve become very comfortable with it. At time during the middle of the day, I’ll just start jumping rope. Why? Because I have a goal and I know I’m going to get there. When you first start, just start off with 20 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning before you eat anything. You don’t even have to change your diet at this point. Do it for a month – yeah – bite the bullet and suffer for a month – and you’ll be so surprised at how much you accomplish in that time, that you’ll add more workout sessions and change your diet like I did. When you SEE something working, nothing will stand in your way. I’ll post good before and after pictures before I start my bulk-up in January.

I mainly eat the same stuff every day. Protein shake, fat free (THICK) Greek yogurt, high fiber granola bar with peanut butter on top (all before lunch), lettuce with grilled chicken or fish with full-fat ranch dressing as a wrap or salad for lunch, and either another salad or something healthy that my Wife cooks for dinner. Snacking in between or after dinner is healthy as well. Frozen yogurt or some type of healthy crunchy snack (chips, pretzels) does the trick.

Weight (where listed) / Fat % / Body Mass Index %
29.3 / 37.1
27.1 / 37.7
26.8 / 38
26.5 / 38.4
242.2 / 26.9 / 38.8
243.4 / 26.8 / 39.0
239.8 / 26.0 / 38.4
232.8 / 25.6 / 37.3
232.4 / 25.7 / 37.2
229.8 / 24.9 / 36.8 (the first time under 230 in years – first goal achieved)
217.2 / 23.2 / 34.7
215.0 / 23.0 / 34.4
213.8 / 23.0 / 34.3
211.6 / 22.7 / 33.9
211.2 / 22.9 / 33.8
210.2 / 22.8 / 33.6 (210 – second goal achieved)
209.2 / 22.5 / 33.5
210.4 / 22.6 / 33.7
208.2 / 22.2 / 33.3
208.2 / 22.1 / 33.3
206.4 / 22.2 / 33.1
204.4 / 22.0 / 32.8
203.2 / 21.7 / 32.5
204.8 / 21.5 / 32.8
202.4 / 21.4 / 32.4
202.0 / 21.4 / 32.3
203.0 / 21.3 / 32.5
200.2 / 21.1 / 32.0
200.6 / 21.0 / 32.1
199.4 / 21.1 / 32.0 (under 200 – third goal achieved)
199.4 / 20.7 / 32.0
198.4 / 20.5 / 31.8
194.8 / 20.5 / 31.2
196.8 / 20.2 / 31.6
197.2 / 20.1 / 31.6
194.8 / 20.1 / 31.6
194.8 / 20.1 / 30.9
191.4 / 19.8 / 30.7
190.4 / 19.1 / 30.5
190.6 / 19.0 / 30.5
188.8 / 19.1 / 30.3
188.2 / 18.6 / 30.1
191.2 / 18.4 / 30.6
188.6 / 19.0 / 30.3
189.2 / 18.3 / 30.3
—————- Since last update
188.8 / 18.6 / 30.3
188.2 / 18.6 / 30.1
187.6 / 18.7 / 30.0
187.6 / 18.5 / 30.0
185.4 / 18.2 / 29.7
184.6 / 18.0 / 29.5
184.8 / 17.8 / 29.6
184.0 / 18.3 / 29.5
182.4 / 18.1 / 29.2
181.4 / 18.2 / 29.1
180.8 / 18.1 / 29.0
181.8 / 18.1 / 29.2
181.0 / 17.5 / 28.8
179.2 / 17.7 / 28.7 (under 180 – fourth goal achieved)
178.8 / 17.3 / 28.7
180.0 / 17.5 / 28.8
178.8 / 17.2 / 28.7
177.8
175.0 / 17.2 / 28.0
176.2 / 17.0 / 28.2
—————- Went to Disney and ate like a normal human being
179.0 / 17.0 / 28.7 (as you can see here – after eating normally – my lean mass increased quite a bit – a good sign)
178.2 / 16.6 / 28.5
177.0 / 15.7 / 28.3
176.4 / 16.3 / 28.3
174.6 / 15.7 / 28.0

Well, I just saw 191 on the scale this morning.. It’s very nice to walk behind women and children and not have them looking over their shoulder, watching my every move. It’s also nice to be out of size 44 pants and into 34’s… My goal is 30 but I’ll be satisfied with 32… It’s probably safe for me to start buying clothes about now – I only have 11 more pounds to lose..

In regards to weighing food – I know it works – but that didn’t work for me. I basically ate until I was satisfied (and sometimes even more) but I ate the right foods. I found things I really enjoyed eating. Mostly Caesar Salads with Grilled Chicken and Ranch Dressing – and NOT light dressing either.. Full fat.. I just got the dressing on the side and “dipped” instead of putting it on the salad. I was introduced to Sushi and Sashimi by Kona Grille (heh – see www.salcollaziano.com) – and THAT was a lifesaver. Sushi and Sashimi are a WHOLE LOT healthier than Cheeseburgers and Hot Dogs – and that helped big time. So finding foods I liked and NOT worrying about eating like a bird worked for me.

Heck, you can eat just about all the lettuce and grilled chicken you want without having to worry. Same goes for Salmon and other types of fish – whether it be in sushi/sashimi form or cooked. Oh yeah, I’d have a lot of lettuce and fish meals as well…

Every so often I’d have snacks like potato chips or Sun Chips. Just ONE serving per day, though. Another thing I’d eat EVERY day was Non-Fat Greek Yogurt. It’s so thick and creamy you wouldn’t believe it. The name is Chobani. I’d also eat one of those new high fiber chewy granola bars – and sometimes I’d throw some peanut butter on top…

When I went out to eat, I’d have a little bread.. And my salads normally had croutons – and I’d have a few.. So I didn’t do “no carb” or anything like that. I had plenty of natural sugar (from the fruit in the yogurts), some bread and rice with my sushi. In any event, I DID do a LOT of exercise.. 20 minutes of cardio EVERY morning before I ate.. I’ve boosted that up to 30 minutes now since I’m looking to lose that “last few pounds” which is very difficult. I’d also weight train on Monday, Tuesday and Friday – and on days that I didn’t weight train, I’d “often” (not always) go to the gym a second time and do another 30-40 minutes of cardio.

I’m PRETTY sure the hard part is over now.. I mean, I do have some more weight to lose – but I’m happy where I am. Once I reach my goal, I’ll relax a little bit – but still watch the scale closely. When I find myself gaining a few pounds, I’ll turn it up again – watch my diet and hit the gym twice a day – and be back on my way to where I’m comfortable. So I WILL splurge a bit – probably on weekends at least a day or so – and see how that goes. I’m VERY comfortable being VERY active so I don’t mind doing this for the rest of my life. I’ve actually learned to REALLY enjoy being out and about like I am…