Tenacious DM and the Log of Destiny

[DirtyMartini]

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

Of course, I'm not drinking the 2-3 beers a night I used to, but I find that 2 on the weekend seem to fit in just fine...

[stingo]

Originally Posted by DirtyMartini

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

Of course, I'm not drinking the 2-3 beers a night I used to, but I find that 2 on the weekend seem to fit in just fine...

You've not read my log have you? lol I'm all for balancing out fitness and fun. Beer being one of the fun things.

[DirtyMartini]

Originally Posted by stingo

You've not read my log have you? lol I'm all for balancing out fitness and fun. Beer being one of the fun things.

Of course I have!! You've helped me feel more confident that a weight loss plan that includes beer can still be effective. After reading TNT & Precision Nutrition they've just got me so down on alcohol. I've missed good beer, damn it. It makes me happy.

We're going to Quebec city in a couple of weeks & I'm hoping to make a trip down to Unibroue (2.5 hours away). It's exciting!

[LWilson212]

Your pics look great, and I too don't think I can permanently live without beer.

I hope your trip turns out fun! I was supposed to go on a business trip to Calgary in a couple weeks, but they moved it to Sep.

[stingo]

Originally Posted by DirtyMartini

Of course I have!! You've helped me feel more confident that a weight loss plan that includes beer can still be effective. After reading TNT & Precision Nutrition they've just got me so down on alcohol. I've missed good beer, damn it. It makes me happy.

We're going to Quebec city in a couple of weeks & I'm hoping to make a trip down to Unibroue (2.5 hours away). It's exciting!

Oooh Unibroue! Nice! I've not had one of their offerings in a while.

[DirtyMartini]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to it; hopefully we can go. They don't have a lot of info on their website, but the Quebec tourist board says they do tours...

Stage 6 last night was fun - and short! I'm not sure if I should add more to do as I'm trying to keep my workouts to an hour long each.

Stage 6 - Workout A1

Negative Chin-Up
3xbw
These were too easy so I'm going to have to add weight next time.

Underhand-grip Lat Pulldown
1x2x100
4x2x105
5x2x110

Barbell Split Squat
3x10x65

Push Up
3x10
Did these with my feet raised on a 9" step

[DirtyMartini]

This workout is really short as well - less than 1/2 hour if I remember correctly. So, I added some deads to the end.

Stage 6, Workout B1

Reverse Lunge w/Dumbbell
1x10x25
1x10x35

2-point dumbbell row
2x10x35 (will increase next time)

Barbell push press
Alwyn says you can do these instead of the dumbbell push press, so I did.
2x10x65

Good Morning (instead of back extension)
2x10x95

Reverse Crunch
2x10

Deadlift
1x10x45 (w/u)
1x10x65 (w/u)
2x5x95
2x5x135

Food Today:

B: omelet w/veggies & natural ham
S: string cheese
L: salad and beef patty
S1: 4 strawberries & 1/2 cup cottage cheese
S2: protein ball
D: italian sausage & sauce over whole grain rotini, and a salad

I probably won't have a snack tonight. I'm pretty full...

ETA: I would love a beer... but I don't want to go outside (stormy) and I can hold out till friday... I'd really love a pint of Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA right now. It's been too long.

[DirtyMartini]

We went out for beers last night. I had an Ommegang Witte and we split a bottle of McChouffe. Man that stuff is good. I plan to buy stingo's The Beer Diet book when it's published.

My little experiment: I weighed myself this morning to see what my stats are after drinking, vs tomorrow morning when I haven't had anything to drink & ate healthy food. I was 147.6 this morning (vs 146 last sunday) and 29.5% body fat. I can't remember if I've ever been below 30% bf on the scale in the morning, so we'll see if it's still there tomorrow.

I'm getting a decent increase in vascularity in my arms, and especially in my hands. More & more veins are popping above the skin level in my forearms and there are a couple that should start to appear in my biceps. So that's pretty cool

Rode the stationary bike yesterday. Did 5 intervals. On my first three, I rode it at level 12 for ~35 seconds, standing up. Then down to level 8 sitting down for the remaining time. I didn't finish my 3rd interval that way; got to 45 seconds and went down to level 5 to recover. My last 2 intervals were levels 8/5 hi/lo. Then I did ss on level 5 (55rpm) until my workout lasted 35 minutes. I was tired.

[Bytsi]

DM - there is NO WAY you are 30% (or even 29%) bf!!!!

I measure bf for a living, and trust me, you are low 20's at most... Not that you can't use your scale for trending, but for some reason I just noticed your number and... no way!!!

[DirtyMartini]

Yeah, I have no idea what it is! I don't really care that much, I just like watching the number go down from my point of reference (when I started exercising in January, it was 34.5%). I figure I'm probably around 25% body fat or so. Maybe +/- 2%. If Leah is 22%, I figure I'm a bit higher than her - she's leaner than I am.

Thanks for the positive comments - I should have clarified in my post that i know the number's likely off.

On another positive note, I ordered a summer cardigan online in a size M (from ann taylor loft) and when I got it, I was swimming in it. So I guess I know to order a size S from now on... which seems so weird to me. My brain says I'M TOO BIG TO BE A SMALL.... and VANITY SIZING IS OUT OF CONTROL! I tried on a M cardigan at Target yesterday & it was also too big.

It's nice to fit into an S but let's be realistic here... I can't possibly be a size S at 5'6" and 146 pounds. What on earth do people who are 5'4" and 120 pounds wear?!!

[missjane]

Man, I totally agree about vanity sizing!!

And, I agree with you....looking at Leah is a great way to judge since we know her BF is now accurate. I'm with you....I think we are both around 25-26%. I may be a bit higher.

[Bytsi]

I do hate Vanity sizing in some ways... but I have to admit it feels GOOD (kinda like when the scale is nice for no good reason)!

I tried on size 4 Levi shorts yesterday - because they only had 4 or 14's left (I usually wear a 6 and sometimes they are snug so I get mad ) and they were good/loose-ish fitting. Guess who bought 'em ! I'm such a sucker for vanity sizing, even when I KNOW it's vanity .

Hey, why not enjoy it even if I KNOW it's not necessarily accurate, right? If the scale can lie to me and make or break my day (even though I SHOULDN'T let it), why not let a bonus size 4 make me smile for a moment . I can still use my "real" clothes to measure progress...

[DirtyMartini]

Originally Posted by Bytsi

If the scale can lie to me and make or break my day (even though I SHOULDN'T let it), why not let a bonus size 4 make me smile for a moment .

I'm going to remember this!

I ended up buying a cardigan at The Gap (this one: Shop clothes for women, men, maternity, baby, and kids at gap.com. | Gap in black) and bought it in a size small. The M was just a tad baggy on me around the back/torso and since the S fit JUST right, I went ahead & bought it. If it had been labeled a medium, I would have bought it; I shouldn't let the S tag make me think I'm buying something too small and am going to walk around with people thinking "OMG her top is WAY too small on her, who does she think she's fooling???"

And I gotta say - WHAT is up with the "cropped cardigan" look this summer? Like this: Modern Apparel, Handbags, Shoes, and Accessories | Banana Republic

They were everywhere! Everywhere I went & asked for a black cardigan, ALL the stores only had cropped ones. Now... can I tell you how stupid those look on a long torso? (about as stupid as the picture in the link above.) They make you look like you have a little girl's sweater on, they emphasize your belly, and make your hips look really long and big.

It's like the capris that go to the middle of the calf, the fattest part of your lower leg. They make your legs look big, emphasize your hips, and are not flattering at all.

I also tried on a dress really similar to this one today (in a size 8, yay): Anthropologie.com > Pagoda Petal Dress

It was super-cute and very summery - would have been great with the cardigan & sandals for work. BUT OH NO. The bodice was way too short, the boob-area ended on the underside of my breasts (on the slope, not underneath them) and the waistline was way too high and the skirt ended about 4" above my knees. It was obviously way too short... kind of sad about that as it was really cute. And now that my stomach doesn't fold over into rolls when I sit down, I feel comfortable wearing dresses. The downside is that they're so expensive....

[DirtyMartini]

Stage 6 - Workout A2

Negative Chin-Up
1x20sec w/10lbs in a backpack
1x18sec w/10lbs in a backpack
1x10sec w/10lbs in a backpack SO I did a re-do and did
1x20sec b/w

My backpack is 3.2 pounds so really I had 13 pounds strapped onto me...

Underhand-grip Lat Pulldown
5x2x110
5x2x115

Barbell Split Squat
1x8x65
1x8x75

Push Up
2x8
Did these with my feet raised on a 13" step
moving on to the weights bench next time.

I added squats to my workout. Getting a head start on Starting Strength I guess. :p
Squats
(w/u, 2x5x45)
1x5x65
1x5x85
1x5x105

That was fun. I did 105 just to see if I could break 100 and sure enough.... Got nice & low too and this was the first time I really FELT "hip drive".

[stingo]

I think this is the first thread on this forum that I've read that has the word bodice in it. Very good. Carry on.