Danny Poyner

Diet Changes: An Evaluation

Danny — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:31:47 +0000

A while back, I posted about some diet changes I was making. At that point, I promised at least some evaluation of how my progress was going. Well, after weeks, here it is.

Overall, the change is going well. I said I was going to shoot for 2000-2100 calories per day and I did. For about two days. It took me that long to make the jump to about 2300 calories. I have been fairly regularly losing a little bit. I say “fairly regularly” and “little bit” because I haven’t been as strict as I should have been. I would do fine during the week and then end up eating out or something on the weekend and jumping back up. At the time I wrote that initial post on the change, I weighed in at 223. I had dropped as low as 217 until I practically binged all weekend.

So, the good news is, the calorie increase didn’t have a negative effect on me. I continued to lose weight and felt better lifting weights and running. I have more energy overall, and am seeing better gains on the weight benches. Not to mention, I have a little more flexibility in the foods that I eat. I have been able to add a few things back in that I had been avoiding. I have been adding in a lithe sour cream, cheese, or even frozen yogurt. I also started making my oatmeal with milk instead of water and adding in a little coconut.

One thing I have noticed is that I need to keep a better handle of two things: sodium and fiber. Too much sodium and too little fiber will cause water retention and weight gain. I am trying to keep a better eye on my sodium intake, 3 grams or less per day. This will help keep blood pressure down in the future, and frankly, it helps me eat better foods. Most packaged food is ridiculously high in sodium and it adds up very quickly if you do not keep an eye on it. On fiber, I’m after more than 40 grams per day, closer to 50 if possible. This also helps counteract any negative effects that the supplements are having on my system, if you get my drift.

I have swapped out my training routine as well. We are working through the Stoppani Shortcut to Size program right now. We’re finishing out the last week of the first microcycle right now. So far, I like the program, but I wish I had one more week on the heavier lifts in each cycle. Obviously, there really is no shortcut to size, but I’m hoping it helps get some strength and size on. Calves twice a week is pretty killer when combined with running, so I’ve had to cut back on them. Unfortunately, I’ll also skip legs this week so I’m not so sore while running (see below). I like the cycles that this program runs through, so I think I’ll at least try to finish one 12 week cycle and see what happens.

I have also added a couple of new supplements. The first is some slow-release protein. I take a scoop of Dymatize XT protein each night right before I go to bed (Vitamin Shoppe has a great price right now). It is a combination of whey and casein, which helps feed my muscles overnight. I also added a potassium supplement. I take this simply to counteract leg cramps from running. So far, so good. The last supplement I added is some ZMA from MusclePharm. I’m already exhausted from working so hard at the gym or on the roads in the mornings. The ZMA helps with recovery and sleep. It has melatonin in it which practically knocks me out. An hour after taking this, I’m ready to head to bed and have no problems falling asleep. If you decide to take this, just watch your timing. You really need to have calcium out of your system before taking it. The zinc and the calcium offset each other, reducing absorption of each mineral considerably in some cases. This is why I take the ZMA an hour before I’m ready to go to bed and then the protein (casein is a milk protein) right before I walk up the stairs. The last supplement change I have made is to switch out my Orange Triad vitamin for Anavite. So far, I’m not noticing much of a difference. For some reason OT went up in price, so I’ll stick with whichever is cheaper, most likely.

I’m going to try to get my weight somewhere between 210-215 and then increase to a maintenance caloric level. I’m not sure what that number is right now, probably around 2600-2700. I can see me gaining at that level, but I’ll try it and see when I’m ready for the change.

Finally, I’m running my first 5K this coming weekend. My mile time is extremely slow right now (11:15-ish), so I fully expect to finish last. That is ok with me, as long as I can finish. I ran my first complete mile about 3 or 4 weeks ago in my entire life. The farthest I have run so far is 2.76 (today actually), so it certainly seems possible at this point. I wish it was one week later so I could really finish my training and have another week to work on my pace. But, I’ll go run it, enjoy it, and then sign up for another one.

Then, 10K training begins…

10 reasons that losing weight isn’t all fun and games…

Danny — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:11 +0000

The last 11 months have been a long and grueling test of my willpower. It has been a time of hard work, success, failure, tears (Hey, some of those cookies were awfully tempting!) and big changes.

BUT!

Losing weight isn’t all fun and games. It comes with certain, ahem…problems. So, if you’re trying to lose weight, here are some issues you need to take into careful consideration before you get too far.

If you’re like me and have a lot of weight to lose, get ready. Nothing will fit. Nothing. And it isn’t all shirts and pants. You will lose weight from places you didn’t expect to lose weight. I have not only had to buy shirts and pants, but have also needed new hats, socks, shoes, belts, wedding rings (I’m on my third wedding ring and need to send my class ring in to be resized), watch bands, and a few things that should probably stay unmentioned.
Get ready! Because your clothes will no longer fit and you likely can’t afford to buy multiple complete wardrobes, you will wait to buy clothes until you’re closer to your goal weight. People will feel the need to alert you that your clothes do not fit properly. Often.
Also, be prepared to buy more clothes than you had before. I have been overweight my entire life, therefore, I have been hot my entire life. Now, I am always cold. I lean toward pants more than shorts. I actually have long sleeve workout shirts. My hands and feet are freezing!
Shaving is painful. Suddenly, I’m finding angles and ridges in my face and head that I have never had to worry with before. When my face was fat, it was all smooth and easy to shave. It was a rare day that I nicked my face or head with a razor. Now, it is a rare day that I don’t nick my face with a razor.
Uncushioned stools and benches hurt. I no longer have built in cushion. I am sitting on my hip bones! Ouch!
On a related note, my mattress is now uncomfortable. I can feel every spring, ridge or divot in the mattress. Granted, it is time for it to be replaced anyway, but still, I didn’t notice this before.
On another related note, the hardware that I have installed in my back is a bit of a hindrance as well. Laying down on a weight bench at the gym is a perilous event. If I position myself just right on an incline bench, that hardware rests perfectly against the lovely, purple hinges between the seat and back of the adjustable incline bench. This hardware also has caused the need for a new way to carry my laptop. My backpack rested right on the hardware causing pain.
People will express concern over the amount of weight you have lost. Nobody cared when you were in danger of having a heart attack after the next bite of triple bacon cheeseburger being washed down by a double chocolate milkshake. However, the danger of starving to death or working out too much is too great to not say anything!
And speaking of working out, since I have lost enough weight, my heart rate will not stay elevated during weight lifting, and in fact, I have a freakishly short recovery time. If I can get my heart rate up to 130 during an exercise, it will be back down under 100 in approximately 8 seconds. While this sounds like a great thing, it really isn’t. I would burn twice as many calories if I could keep my heart rate elevated for more than 30 seconds at the time.
Continuing with heart issues, my blood pressure has dropped low enough that I can no longer jump out of my seat and run for the refrigerator. I like to think of it as a built in fat protection mechanism. If I jump up and take a quick step or two, I’ll be laid out in the floor until my BP stabilizes.
And one bonus: NO ONE will want to eat what you eat. This is a good and bad thing. It is bad because eating out and having meals with others is often problematic. It is good because you will have everything you make all to yourself! Bring on the quinoa and zucchini!

Most of this post is meant to be humorous. Some of these “side effects” of weight loss are things I never considered when I started getting serious about losing weight. Of course, the positives outweigh the negatives, but I thought I would have fun with some of the downsides of being 123 pounds lighter.

If you’re losing, keep up the good work and share some of the weird things you’ve found about weight loss!

Diet Changes

Danny — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:28:29 +0000

I’m getting to the end of my weight loss program and it is time to start looking at some changes. I’ve been doing some reading this week about changes that I can make that will help me get into maintenance mode and start packing on some muscle.

One of the things that my friend @mingpd got me reading about is what is called the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). If you want to know what yours is, try this calculator. Keep in mind that this is only a calculator and there actually are a couple of different calculation methods out there. Generally, they are pretty close together in their estimations—within about 100 calories. If you don’t want to read the links above, here is the gist: BMR is the amount of calories your body would burn in a comatose state. Those calories are what your body needs in order to survive.

Using the calculator above, it turns out that my BMR is 2022 calories per day. Interesting, huh? You know how many I’ve been eating? Between 1600-1700. Not good. I wish I had read this information before. One caveat here—if you are severely overweight as I was, eating below your BMR for a time is not all that terrible apparently. But at a certain point, your body starts to cannibalize muscle and will refuse to grow anymore if you aren’t eating enough.

I am at this point. This explains some of the issues I’ve been having lately with my weights and endurance in the gym. I’m not seeing any large muscle gains in size or strength. My bench press is a really good indicator of what is happening. If you’ve followed my posts on our workout routine, you’ll know were on a plan that should help increase strength over a 12 week routine. My bench press has gone us, but minimally. When I got back under the bar in January, I struggled under 115 (I was working out with 100 lb dumbbells or 265 on the bar). I am up to about 155 now, but really I haven’t moved in over a month. I just don’t have the strength to push that bar up enough times to give any real gains. I can see it in my runs too. I just don’t have the energy to push through the run.

With this new knowledge, I am going to increase my calories over the next week to around the 2000-2100 mark and see if I can get that bar moving again. After these last 7 pounds are off, I’ll hit another increase, up to about 2600-2700 calories. Since I have essentially been starving myself for the last 11 months, I hope this makes a positive difference in my strength and energy levels. I wish I had done the research into BMR before I started losing weight. I probably would have done things a little differently, especially after the first 75-80 pounds lost. But, I’m not dead and have time to adjust and get things right. I am looking forward to fine tuning my diet a little more and adding back in some things I have practically cut out (did someone say hummus?).

The thing I am probably most confused about is the far that LoseIt calculates your calorie level with your BMR in mind. If it is unsafe to eat below your BMR, why would the app recommend something lower than that? I understand that the app is “just a tool.” But, I’m not a nutritionist—just a fat guy trying to lose weight. I did not have a good understand of what BMR was before this week. I had estimated my number a little lower than what it truly is because of the information given in the app. I’m not knocking LoseIt. I think it is a great tool for dropping weight. I just wish there was some warning that when you set your goal to low, it would tell you. It can’t be that hard to implement if that app already does the simple BMR calculations.

I’ll keep you all posted on how the increase goes and how it impacts my workouts. Have a great Easter everyone!

Fitocracy is now out of private beta!

Danny — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:10:38 +0000

Fitocracy is finally out of private beta! Go sign up today and don’t forget to download the iPhone app while you’re at it! I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks now and really like the service for tracking workouts. The idea is that as you track, you level up similarly to a role playing game. I m currently a level 14. There are achievements you can get and quests that you can do, though I really haven’t focused on those yet.

There are a few things I wish were different. I’d like to be able to reorder my workouts so that I can track them more regularly. Entering workouts also isn’t the clearest process ever. I’d like to be able to save more than 8 workouts on a free account. 10 would be perfect. That would give me 2 for each workout day. I wouldn’t mind seeing some Nike+ integration either.

If you jump on and give it a try, add me!

Weight Loss Tips from My Experience

Danny — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:00:19 +0000

The most frequent question I get asked is, “How did you lose so much weight?” My answer is “counting calories.” Taking in less that you burn is the simple equation. Of course, you have to make sure you’re eating enough—you can’t starve yourself—but the basic equation is pretty simple. Find something to estimate your BMR (basic metabolic rate) and cut calories from there.

I know some of this may be a bit of a recap, but there is plenty of new stuff here. Without really realizing it, we have essentially been following a glycemic index type of diet. You can read more about this diet here (WebMD) and here (wiki). While I haven’t cut carbs, I have limited them somewhat by the things I choose to eat. I can eat pasta, but my portion size will be much smaller. At this point in my weight loss, I’d rather have quinoa or something like that because it is more filling for a similar amount of calories. I find that I’m eating a lot more vegetables and fruit now because I get more substance for less calories. This also cuts out a lot of processed and pre-made foods. These have plenty of added ingredients that, while they taste good, only add calories. These calories come in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), added sugar, added fat, added sodium, or other added chemicals that do bad things to your guts. Try not to drink your calories—sugar added fruit juice, soda, and half and half in your coffee are big calorie bombs.

The second question I get is, “how have you kept it off?” Well, technically, I haven’t kept it off yet, I’m still trying to get it off. Follow the above, and the weight will be easier to keep off. Allow yourself a treat from time to time, but don’t go crazy. If you fall off for a meal, don’t ruin the rest of the day. Just count that meal up to a learning experience and get back on the wagon. And as much as I hate the phrase, it really is a lifestyle change. Get used to eating good stuff and it will taste better to you. Use spices. Tons of spices. They have no calories and add a lot of flavor to your food.

There are basically two problems (barring medical issues) to losing weight and keeping it off. The first is portion control, the second is food choice. Portion control is a big one in America. Other countries don’t seem to have the epidemic that we have here in terms of gigantic plates full of food. There are a few practical steps you can take to avoid portion issues.

Avoid the buffet! You are guaranteed to overeat at a buffet.
Use smaller plates. If you use a smaller plate, you can’t get the same amount of calories on it.
Measure your food out from the start and be satisfied with what you have on your plate.
Do NOT put the serving dishes on the table. You’ll be tempted to pick and eat a bite here and there until you’ve added 100-200 calories.
With the above, go ahead and separate the leftovers out for future meals and put them in the refrigerator. Plan on those to get you through the week.
PLAN YOUR MEALS! This one is huge. I know about what I’m eating every day before I roll out of bed and have it entered into Lose It. We also have a shared calendar in iCloud just for meals. I know what my wife is planning and we talk about any special considerations before we get to that day.
When you eat out, do some research before you go. Plan what you will order and be prepared.
If you’re going to cheat, have a cheat meal, not a cheat day. Everyone needs a bite of cake sometimes—just don’t eat half of it.
My new one—drink at least one whole glass of water before you sit down to eat. Sometimes I drink two. It helps you to feel fuller from the start.

The second problem is food choices. This one is a bit harder to give tips for, because in reality, it all comes down to your willpower. There are a few things that help:

Get rid of the junk in the pantry and fridge. Just ditch the chips, sodas, cakes, candy bars, etc.
Go ahead and throw out the sauces and condiments with the above. Mustard and hot sauce are your friends. Use lots of spices in your cooking so no sauces are needed.
Put your lunch together the night before so you aren’t tempted to eat out when you’re running late in the morning.
Use a meal calendar! You’ll buy groceries based on that calendar. Just don’t skip the calendar altogether and eat out.
In restaurants, skip the added butter, oil and sauces.

Hopefully these help. These are things that have helped me with weight loss. What are some tips that have helped you?

Workout Routine, Week 7

Danny — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:46:10 +0000

Not much different again. Basically, we’re stepping back up to 8 reps per set, and of course, a weight increase. This week has been very humbling. The continual weight increases and rep fluctuations have been very good, but on these weeks where the weight increases along with the reps, it has been brutal. There have been some exercises in which we’ve had to back the weight down just a little bit. Maybe this is because of a good day where we’ve increased a little too much, or maybe it’s just an off day. It’s hard to say, but either way, it is painful.

If I’m not mistaken, this next week brings some workout changes. I’ll post those as we get there.

I also actually ran some distance this week. From the end of my neighborhood street down to the stoplight, it is 3/4 of a mile. Yesterday, I ran that entire distance down to the stoplight and probably about half of that back. I don’t think I’ve ever run that far in my life. I probably would have gone for my longer route which adds about another mile, but the weather was threatening. That also means I didn’t have my iPhone with me to track my progress. I was afraid it would get rained on, so I left it at home.

I still have some fitocracy invites if anyone is interested in trying it out. It looks like the iPhone app will be out very soon!

Previous weeks:

Workout Routine, Weeks 5 and 6

Danny — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:00:50 +0000

Not much to add to weeks 5 and 6. See the week 4 post on the exercises and all of the details. Week 5 ups the weight and drops reps to 8 (5 sets of 8 reps). Week 6 ups the weight again and drops the reps, this time to 6 (5×6).

One thing I have added this week is 30 minutes of faster, steeper treadmill. I’m walking at a speed of about 3.6 mph and an incline of 4.5%. My reasoning for adding this is to get my heart rate up for more of the workout. I have been recovering too quickly between sets. According to my heart rate, my rest between sets would average approximately 5 seconds. I am absolutely baffled by this, but I am working my rear off during the set, and my heart rate drops almost instantly after the set. If I walk as specified above, my heart rate stays up longer and I burn more calories. So, I’m going to try it for a while, even though it means getting up even earlier.

Also, I still have some fitocracy invites if anyone is interested in trying it out.

Previous weeks:

The After Pictures

Danny — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 02:22:48 +0000

You saw the before pictures—if not, click here. I was cleaning out some of the suits in my closet tonight and decided to take a few pictures. This suit is the same size as the one in the before shots. I know it may be hard to spot the difference, but look closely, it’s there. Enjoy!

Workout Routine, Week 4

Danny — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:12:55 +0000

I think it is probably better just to do this by week. At the end, I’ll try to collect everything. Click here for the first 3 weeks of the program.

I have made two changes this week. The first is a new multi-vitamin. I went from Opti-Men to Orange TRIad. There were two reasons for this. Not to be gross, but the Opti turns my urine neon yellow—a commonly reported side effect. This means a lot of the vitamin is passing straight through, though knowing how much is impossible without some major chemical analysis. The second reason is that the Orange Triad also contains a joint complex of glucosamine and chondroitin. I’m up for anything that helps my knee feel better, particularly on leg day. These vitamins seem to be absorbed much better than the Opti brand. The second change I made was a Tommie Copper knee sleeve. This is basically a copper infused knee compression sleeve. The compression helps, time will tell if the copper does. It may just be “snake oil,” but if it helps relieve the pain from surgery, I’ll try it. I’ll let you know how it goes.

We’re moving more towards a lower rep/higher weight workout now—from endurance to strength—though this workout is still higher in reps. If you’re like me and dying to get to the heavier weights, don’t worry, they’re coming. The major change this week is dropping reps and adding one set. Instead of 4×12/15, we’re moving to 5×10 (5 sets of 10). Some of the exercises have changed, see the workouts below.

Chest (no change this week)

incline bench press (bar)
flat bench press (bar)
flyes (we use the machine, I get a better squeeze than with dumbbells)
pushups (to failure). We skip the pushups and do 3-4 drop sets of decline bench.
We finish the day off with 4×15 crunches (I use the decline bench)

Back

wide-grip high rows
close-grip low rows
wide-grip lat pulldowns (to chest)
dumbbell pullovers (my nemesis)
dumbbell shrugs
smith machine shrugs
back hyperextensions
reverse flyes (moving these from shoulder day to here in an attempt to consolidate shoulders)

Legs

squats (bar)
stiff-legged deadlifts (we actually switched this and seated leg curls. This was better for both of us on weights. Do whichever is most effective for you.)
seated leg curl
weighted lunges (I stuck with leg press because of the knees. Lunges felt very unstable.)
leg extensions
standing bar calf raises
machine (seated) calf raises

Arms

standing bicep curls (dumbbells)
one arm preacher curls (dumbbells)
concentration curls (dumbbells)
close-grip bench press (we used the Smith machine today because both benches were occupado.)
tricep pushdowns (V-bar)
standing overhead triceps extensions (we used a bar)
leg raises (I do hanging raises)
(even more) crunches.

Shoulders

dumbbell military press (no back support)
Seated front dumbbell raise (no back support)
Standing side lateral raise
reverse flyes (deltoid flyes)
might as well do more crunches…

As always, if you have questions, please ask. I’d love to help you in your weight lifting goals. Work hard and work efficiently.

Also, I have some fitocracy invites if anyone is interested in trying it out. I have added my workouts there after tracking with FitnessFast. Supposedly an iPhone client is being released in March, but the mobile web seems useful for now. I’ll review the service after I get into it a little more.

Previous weeks:

Weeks 1-3

Workout Routine—Phase 1

Danny — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:46:31 +0000

For a couple of posts now, I’ve been saying that I would post more on my workout routine. Well, here it is! We started this routine with the goal of increasing weight on bench press, but we ended up doing everything using this plan. It worked in the past to increase our bench weight up to 265. Considering that right now, I struggle under 135 (bar + 45lb plate on each side), I’ll take anything to get that back up! It has been my experience that bench is one of the first things to go when you don’t lift for a while, and I was out for two years. I need all the help I can get on bench. As I said, we applied this to every exercise that we do.

This plan comes in three phases. The first is the conditioning phase. This is where I am right now, in the last week of this phase. I’ll give you this phase now and will come back to the other two when we get there. One week on this phase and you’ll understand the conditioning part. Your goal is to do at least one warm-up set, maybe two if you’re lifting heavier.

The numbers:

In week one, you want to do 4 sets of 15 reps. This is a little tricky to get started. It may take you a workout or two to get the number right. Basically, when you hit that 60th rep, you don’t want to be able to push/pull number 61.

In week two, you want to increase the weight by a little bit, 5-10 lbs depending on the exercise, and decrease reps to 4 sets of 12. This week is much easier for me compared to the first. Maybe it is the drop from 60 reps per exercise to 48. Endurance has never been a strength of mine.

Finally, in week three, you’re increasing the weight again, 5-10 lbs, and increasing reps back to 15. This week is killer. At this point, you’ve increased the weight a total of 10-20 pounds per exercise over your first week. This is where we are as of the writing of this post.

The exercises:

We get our bodies moving with 10 minutes of treadmill walking every day. It gets the blood flowing and the heart rate up a bit to prepare for pushing all of this weight. The order is key on these workouts. They are designed to fatigue muscles in a particular order. Remember, every exercise gets the required number of reps—4×15, 4×12, 4×15.

Chest

incline bench press (bar)
flat bench press (bar)
flyes (we use the machine, I get a better squeeze than with dumbbells)
pushups (to failure). We skip the pushups and do 3-4 drop sets of decline bench. Pushups to failure would be about 2 at that point.
We finish the day off with 4×15 crunches (I use the decline bench)

Back

wide-grip rows
single-arm bent-over dumbbell row
straight-arm lat pushdown
wide-grip lat pulldowns (to chest)
dumbbell shrugs
smith machine shrugs
back hyperextensions

Legs

squats (bar)
stiff-legged deadlifts
seated leg curl
leg press
leg extensions
standing bar calf raises
machine (seated) calf raises
decline crunches (again)

Arms

straight bar bicep curls
preacher curls (ez curl bar)
hammer curls (dumbbells)
tricep pushdowns (rope—pull the ends of that rope apart for a great squeeze!)
skullcrushers (keep these under control so they don’t result in actual skull crushing)
dips (we use the machine)
leg raises (I do hanging raises)
(even more) crunches.

Shoulders

dumbbell shoulder press
Arnold press
dumbbell lateral raise
reverse flyes (deltoid flyes)
We do these on arm day so no more crunches necessary

This is a whole week’s worth of exercises. We do one body part per day, except for shoulders. We’re going to split those up to shorten our Friday workout a bit. Arms and shoulders are too much for one workout. Shoulders suffer because we’re too exhausted to push too much weight, not to mention the workout hits close to two hours at this point. That is simply too long to lift. We workout Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. On Saturday, I try to get a few walking miles in to keep my legs from being too sore on Sunday. Thursday and Sunday are rest days.

Each of these workouts burns approximately 500 calories with my heart rate averaging just over 100 bpm. Obviously, your mileage will vary depending on your height, weight and age. Rodney’s average is probably around 120 for each workout.

If you have questions about any of these exercises, please leave a comment and ask. Persevere. This is hard, but it is worthwhile in order to build endurance for the coming strength weeks. 60 reps over 4-6 exercises makes for a long, but very satisfying workout. I’ll post the next section before you have a chance to complete this three week cycle. Keep me posted on your progress and lift hard!