<p>I like Almond Joy, and Mounds but I generally don’t like coconut on its own. I’m not a fan of macaroons.</p>
<p>Those single-leg squats did a job on my glutes. They’ve been sore since yesterday. I do the regular squats and have no problems so it’s something about the single-leg variant.</p>
<p>We have torrential downpours at the moment and it looks like the temperature has dropped into the comfort zone. I assume that humidity is way down now too. Off to the Y.</p>
<p>Back in the gym after a two week break. Happy to report that scale-wise, no damage was done on the trip. Might have lost a bit of muscle, but c’est la vie.</p>
<p>5 minute row intervals
Pilates/core stuff
kb swings
push ups
squats
deadlifts
OH presses
lat pull downs
TRX rows</p>
<p>I had initally told the trainer, no upper body small muscle isolations, because I wanted to focus on big heavy moves like squats and deadlifts. I put on a bunch of muscle in my legs that is very visible because I don’t carry fat there. Also my shoulders are pretty fierce. However, with the weight loss, I am starting to want to see more definition in my arms, so will be requesting bicep/tricep stuff, which I hate. Talk about feeling the burn.
Have taken off most the weight through my midsection, so I am also flirting with the idea of some kind of visible abs. That’s sort of the holy grail–but given my body type, might be forever elusive.</p>
<p>CJane- welcome back and it sounds like you are doing great with your body definition and workouts!</p>
<p>Booked my flights and the rental house for Kona Ironman! I need a second job to pay for it all. The flights are brutal, too. Nashville to Kona is not an easy trip, and I have to return to Phoenix for a business conference (which is actually better than coming back to Nashville).</p>
<p>Occasionally at work bags and boxes of candy show up in our break rooms- I guess vendors drop it off. Awesome lemon drops are all that tempts me, really- most of the rest is pure junk. Nothing like Reeses’- more jellyish things.</p>
<p>Have struggled to hit the gym lately. Got a decent workout in tonight…</p>
<p>-TRX Push Ups
-TRX Inverted Rows
-Dumbbell Rows
3x8 on each in a tri-set.</p>
<p>-SLDL on Foam Pad 3x5 each
-One Arm DB Bench Press 3x8 each
-Pull Ups 3x5</p>
<p>Monster Walks 2 trips</p>
<p>Kettlebell Circuit
-Deadlift
-Swing
-Snatch
-Push Press
6 of each circuited through each arm and switch. 2 rounds. Used an 8kg kettlebell tonight.</p>
<p>4.25 miles (2.25 + 2.0), Abs Dolly+, Smith Machine, Dumbbell Squats, Curls, Dips, Pullups, Rotary Torso. Pullups are quite difficult for me to make progress in. I can typically do one more rep per week. At the moment, I’m doing 80 pounds 8 times. I imagine that I should be able to do my own weight in five years. Pullups are easier. I could probably do one without any assistance but I like to go up to ten reps and then the next drop in 15 pounds of assist I can usually do four of.</p>
<p>It’s a good thing that I’m not in a hurry.</p>
<p>Sorry I have been late to thanks those who reply to my earlier post. It is a busy day at work today.</p>
<p>First of al, I am NOT starving myself at this round. If anything, I am eating too much and, based on the analysis, too much of wrong kind of food. </p>
<p>About skipping dinner. As some of you know, our Asian dinner are typically loaded with carbs - rice and veg based. Therefore, eating fruits and nuts equals the same intakes.</p>
<p>Had a talk with DW and she will up the protein content in the meal from here on. </p>
<p>So frustrated today that I ate a large piece of Kroger chocolate brownie. As of right now, I am preparing to be at target plus 20 tomorrow, gaining another 3 lbs from that one piece of sweets. </p>
<p>Yep, that is my life - one extra bite and I would gain 2 ~ 3 lbs.</p>
<p>It has been tough cutting way back on rice because my wife tends to cook it by default. She also likes to cook noodles. She also cooks Indian food: dosa, naan, various other kinds of very tasty dipping breads. It’s also hard to turn down a plate of these with curry. So yes, what you have communally at the table can be very tempting to losing fat. And I really don’t like to get into arguments over food.</p>
<p>Today is a rest day per Insanity. My legs are not recovering. may be 6 days a week work out is too much. Since this Saturday is the a timed evaluation for the training program, I might take both Thursday and Friday off. In other words, I might actually gain back all the weight I have lost so far. </p>
<p>I just can’t tell you how frustrated I am at this point. </p>
<p>I need to lose at least 25 lb to be “normal” per BMI. Based on the feedback here, I am not eating the right food. </p>
<p>I was eating the same food as now in the last round when I lost 55 lbs. The only difference is that I was running and doing weights in the gym. This time, I am doing the insanity.</p>
<p>May be I would get my 25 lb from the full marathon training. Will see once I start running regularly again.</p>
<p>The only good thing from three weeks of insanity is two holes down on my belt. pant that was tight is pretty loose now.</p>
<p>If your waist size is shrinking, does the weight matter that much? I would like more muscle and less weight but that’s a relatively tall order and it’s asking the body to go in two different directions almost.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Tell me about it. Chin ups in today’s workout for me, first time I’ve done them in two months. It’s the only exercise I do that is absolute maximum exertion. </p>
<p>I am gobsmacked by my workout. Shower and bed. Too tired to even nosh at this point.</p>
<p>CJane:</p>
<p>Welcome back. You may have lost a few ounces of muscle on your cruise, but think of all that great vitamin D.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>well, yes.</p>
<p>They say that every lb reduced equal about 2 seconds faster. In other words, my 25 lb target will translate to about 50 second off my pace. I definitely need that to run a full under 4 hours.</p>
<p>DadII:</p>
<p>If you are down two holes in your belt, then we should be throwing you a party. That’s a better measure than the scale. Not only in the way you look, but belly fat corresponds much closer to health (diabetes, heart disease) than the scale does…</p>
Did my first round of core exercises today. Bout time! Learned the modified bicycle, plank, side plank, something dog, bridge and one more that escapes me. Just did a couple of minutes of each but it’s a start!
<p>
</p>
<p>A fantastic start. Core training is a way of like. Like Zen Buddism or something… 
Everday that you do it brings you closer to enlightenment… Seriously, though. Stick with it. The payoff is a year down the road when all of those exercises feel completely different.</p>
<p>My core today was the [ValSlide</a> body saws](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcq9HmEIaNk]ValSlide”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcq9HmEIaNk) again. My abs are literally sore from doing little 8 rep sets of those things.</p>
<p>"As of right now, I am preparing to be at target plus 20 tomorrow, gaining another 3 lbs from that one piece of sweets. </p>
<p>Yep, that is my life - one extra bite and I would gain 2 ~ 3 lbs."</p>
<p>But you know that isn’t true. No one gains 2-3 lbs from one brownie. I get the sense that you say these things to get attention or sympathy. Perhaps I’m off base.</p>
<p>I can do five unassisted pullups, but I can only get the bar to about mouth level, I can’t get the last 2" to get my chin over the bar.</p>
<p>So close…</p>
<p>Thanks, Abasket. 
</p>
<p>Stretch/strength/core for me. Put the toys to work – stability ball, Bodylastics, and dbs.</p>
<p>Welcome home, CJane!</p>
<p>One thing that I find that can speed up progress is to do one or two at a higher resistance setting from time to time. I guess that this builds a little extra muscle that gives me a bit of an edge the next time I do them. I usually don’t do this because I’m so tired out from doing the regular sets and I want to work on other machines or exercises. I do do this with the Smith Machine though - mainly because I don’t get to use it that often. It’s one of the most popular machines at the office.</p>
<p>I got my chinny-chin-chin over the bar, but I could only do four…</p>
<p>Lots of guests visiting this weekend (one of the problems of a vacation home–kids invite their friends). Managed to get in two walks on the weekend–3 miles each. Spent most of the weekend watching movies because I had passes to a local film festival. Got back to the gym today and did: 30 minutes on a Cybex elliptical trainer–much more difficult than the one at my gym at home). Worked on moving the resistance up and by the end I was at the highest point. Checked these out on-line thinking that it would be a great piece of equipment to have at home–found that a reconditioned (not new) machine was $3600–guess I’ll keep going to the gym.</p>
<p>Followed elliptical with a rope trainer–machine looked like this.
[Marpo</a> Kinetics VLT Rope Trainer](<a href=“http://www.healthstylesexercise.com/shop/marpo-kinetics-vlt-rope-trainer.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=frgl&gclid=CI_427L8j7gCFc-f4AodD0kA6A]Marpo”>http://www.healthstylesexercise.com/shop/marpo-kinetics-vlt-rope-trainer.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=frgl&gclid=CI_427L8j7gCFc-f4AodD0kA6A)</p>
<p>Did 5 sets of pulling for 90 seconds and resting for 60 seconds. Set it on the second highest resistance.</p>
<p>Moved to kettle bells and did KB swings (30 times both hands) and single hand swings (20 each). Used a 30 pound KB. Followed with squats holding KB and then ended with walking on the treadmill-- finished 2 miles in 27 minutes. </p>
<p>Signed up for a power class tomorrow and Thursday. </p>
<p>Welcome back CJane! Congrats to all the runners on successes in various events. </p>
<p>DadII–did you eat a late dinner the day you gained? I find that if I eat late at night–after 8 pm–my weight is usually up in the morning, even if I’ve stayed on my eating plan.</p>