BRIENMALONE's CalorieKing blog
Thursday, Jan 31 2008 - Creating a Good Plan
View BRIENMALONE's food & exercise for this day
I tend to repeat things in my blog to keep good messages in focus. The more I talk about the "plan" the less likely I am to deviate from it. SO... with that in mind...
The Plan
Burn 650 calories per day on low calorie days (rest optional on high calorie days)
Net 1850 calories on low days and 2500 on high days.
Aim for macronutrient ratios of: 15-20% fat, 25-30% protein, and 50-55% carbs
Eat as many whole foods as possible - prefereably lean, nutrient and fiber dense foods.
The Short-Term Goals
I want to have two full weeks where I am perfectly on track with the plan above.
Aim for 2lbs fat loss per week with minimal lean muscle loss.
Setting a Short Term Plan That Guarantees the Long Term Goal
You'll notice that my plans and short term goals have nothing to do with achieving a particular weight. It's the whole "focus on the process, not the destination" way of thinking. Create a good plan that you know will lead to the desired outcome, then work the heck out of that plan. Don't look up; don't see how far away the long term goal is, just focus on working the plan.
That's not to say you shouldn't pay attention to how things are going. I gave myself a monitor in the form of a short-term goal - 2 lbs of fat loss per week. If I don't meet that goal, I will tweak the plan once every 2 weeks until I do.
Easy!
--------
[8pm]
Distractions...
The one bad thing about getting your foods in order and your food timing down is how off you feel when something disrupts your schedule.
My eating schedule is actually pretty flexible... I eat breakfast between 8 and 9am, snack between 10:30 and 11, lunch between 1 and 2, afternoon snack between 3:30 and 5pm, then dinner around 7.
Around 10:30, one of the IT directors came by and asked me to go over the office of a recently dismissed co-worker. The guy that got sacked used to work with me on web-related things until it was clear that he didn't understand how to manage or create corporate level web projects. The CIO moved him to the helpdesk, but he couldn't do that either - so they let him go.
The director wanted me to go through his stuff to see if there was any useful software lying around. The sacked guy was neat, but he was a real packrat. I threw out 90% of the stuff he had because it was all 5+ years out of date. There were some great archives of previous projects, so all in all it wasn't a total waste of time.
Tick-Tock
But the next time I looked up, it was 1pm! No kidding! I completely worked through my 2nd meal without eating! I grabbed my lunch from the fridge and chowed down.
Since my snacks are kind of small, I just had both later that afternoon.
Still - I really felt out of whack... Kinda cranky... Maybe this is just a reminder that I'm in a calorie deficit. (At least, I hope I am. Maybe I'm just a crab *laugh*)
Morning Workout
I'm a little disappointed in myself this morning. I had plenty of energy to work out, but I woke up late and was rushed.
( excuse )
The past few days have been extremely busy... Tuesday morning I had to get up early to finish fixing the showerhead (bought a new one and fussed with an uncooperative piece until I realized that it was broken). The shower fix pushed my workout back, making me later than usual, which put pressure on my wife to do more to get our son ready for pre-school. That night I was up late working on school projects.
Wednesday morning I got up early to pay the bills (which took longer than usual because two of the websites I needed were down)... Once again, my workout was pushed back, which made me late and inconvenienced my wife.
I hate doing that. I mean - yeah, I was busy with important things, but she's got her hands full with mom duties and working part time, so I don't like to make things any more difficult for her than necessary.
This morning, I wanted to get up on time at 6am. I was so paranoid about oversleeping that I woke up at 3:30, 4:30, 5:00 and ...6:45. DOH!
Higher Intensity = Same Burn?
Sooo, I tried to kick up the intensity since I only had half an hour. Kind of funny, my heart rate rose faster and was higher than usual, but I seemed to burn at the exact same rate as normal. I think I should recheck the settings on my watch... I still think it registers kind of high on the calories burned.
The Plan
Burn 650 calories per day on low calorie days (rest optional on high calorie days)
Net 1850 calories on low days and 2500 on high days.
Aim for macronutrient ratios of: 15-20% fat, 25-30% protein, and 50-55% carbs
Eat as many whole foods as possible - prefereably lean, nutrient and fiber dense foods.
The Short-Term Goals
I want to have two full weeks where I am perfectly on track with the plan above.
Aim for 2lbs fat loss per week with minimal lean muscle loss.
Setting a Short Term Plan That Guarantees the Long Term Goal
You'll notice that my plans and short term goals have nothing to do with achieving a particular weight. It's the whole "focus on the process, not the destination" way of thinking. Create a good plan that you know will lead to the desired outcome, then work the heck out of that plan. Don't look up; don't see how far away the long term goal is, just focus on working the plan.
That's not to say you shouldn't pay attention to how things are going. I gave myself a monitor in the form of a short-term goal - 2 lbs of fat loss per week. If I don't meet that goal, I will tweak the plan once every 2 weeks until I do.
Easy!
--------
[8pm]
Distractions...
The one bad thing about getting your foods in order and your food timing down is how off you feel when something disrupts your schedule.
My eating schedule is actually pretty flexible... I eat breakfast between 8 and 9am, snack between 10:30 and 11, lunch between 1 and 2, afternoon snack between 3:30 and 5pm, then dinner around 7.
Around 10:30, one of the IT directors came by and asked me to go over the office of a recently dismissed co-worker. The guy that got sacked used to work with me on web-related things until it was clear that he didn't understand how to manage or create corporate level web projects. The CIO moved him to the helpdesk, but he couldn't do that either - so they let him go.
The director wanted me to go through his stuff to see if there was any useful software lying around. The sacked guy was neat, but he was a real packrat. I threw out 90% of the stuff he had because it was all 5+ years out of date. There were some great archives of previous projects, so all in all it wasn't a total waste of time.
Tick-Tock
But the next time I looked up, it was 1pm! No kidding! I completely worked through my 2nd meal without eating! I grabbed my lunch from the fridge and chowed down.
Since my snacks are kind of small, I just had both later that afternoon.
Still - I really felt out of whack... Kinda cranky... Maybe this is just a reminder that I'm in a calorie deficit. (At least, I hope I am. Maybe I'm just a crab *laugh*)
Morning Workout
I'm a little disappointed in myself this morning. I had plenty of energy to work out, but I woke up late and was rushed.
( excuse )
The past few days have been extremely busy... Tuesday morning I had to get up early to finish fixing the showerhead (bought a new one and fussed with an uncooperative piece until I realized that it was broken). The shower fix pushed my workout back, making me later than usual, which put pressure on my wife to do more to get our son ready for pre-school. That night I was up late working on school projects.
Wednesday morning I got up early to pay the bills (which took longer than usual because two of the websites I needed were down)... Once again, my workout was pushed back, which made me late and inconvenienced my wife.
I hate doing that. I mean - yeah, I was busy with important things, but she's got her hands full with mom duties and working part time, so I don't like to make things any more difficult for her than necessary.
This morning, I wanted to get up on time at 6am. I was so paranoid about oversleeping that I woke up at 3:30, 4:30, 5:00 and ...6:45. DOH!
Higher Intensity = Same Burn?
Sooo, I tried to kick up the intensity since I only had half an hour. Kind of funny, my heart rate rose faster and was higher than usual, but I seemed to burn at the exact same rate as normal. I think I should recheck the settings on my watch... I still think it registers kind of high on the calories burned.
1 comments so far.
1.
a decade ago
hey man, i'm alive. just been focusing on the work this week. getting a little busy. in reading your blog, i can't help but be mesmerized by your attention to detail. you are really in touch with your body. mine hasn't spoken to me in years. you're obviously making great progress. keep up the fine work, my man.
by TLO