The Steak Out Challenge

Back on track with training today - came up with the brilliant plan of sleeping with my Adidas shirt on - thus minimising temperature shock in the morning.

The proper-length skipping rope is great - not that my sequences are getting that much better, but it hurts a lot less.

The big challenge today was my first restaurant meal since we started on controlled rations. I psyched myself up for it, reading the menu in advance, and I think I passed. I got a 160g pasture-fed petit fillet (less fatty than the grain-fed ones - also this was pre-cooked weight, so I ate it all despite my allowance being 120g), steamed vegetables (I think I can eyeball 190g by now - though I had some suspicions about possible added oil/butter) and a small chunk of bread and some baked potato.

I'm sure this was not 100% compliant, but we have been told not to obsess, so I'm calling it close enough.

I did also taste the beer and wine, but between them it would constitute less than a mouthful. I'm sure God would forgive me that if s/he/it existed.

Unideal

Somehow I couldn't get started this morning - the world outside my bed just seemed too cold. I checked the new emails and blogs, and then realised it was too late to do the training and make breakfast, pack lunch and get to work.

So I didn't do the training - any of it. Felt bad about it all morning - kind of like hangover guilt - but without the grim satisfaction of at least knowing one had been drunk. And I had a friend coming for dinner, so after-work options were looking dicey.

But with Patrick's advice about not allowing PCP to be a choice (and the words of another trainer telling me I have to replace the word "should" with "must") I rushed home and did the entire thing faster than usual (less the pull-ups which I did after my guest was gone).

Hmmm. This has been a remarkably dull post. I apologise.

Oh - bugger - the real news is my longer skipping rope arrived (I love that phrase by the way - 'jumprope' sounds so hardcore and serious - skipping rope sounds like something frivolous children do). If anything it's slightly too long, but with a couple of knots near the handles, it seems to be a great improvement. Roll on 15,000 reps!

I Have Detailed Files

As everyone knows, nothing can possibly be happening on the PCP unless there are scientifically rigorous data to back it up.

To this end, may I present the first graph of weight loss to date (I know what you're thinking "WHAT? Only 2 primary and one derived metric?". Well, you needn't worry, I am keep ing a range of other metrics too - it's just I don't yet have sufficient data points to make a compelling graph. But many more graphs there will be).

So, as you can see week 1 came out swinging hard in the weight loss category. Average loss per day was over 500g. That's a pound a day for you Americans. Now, as Patrick rightly pointed out, this is not necessarily a good thing if you're losing muscle. And it sure as hell didn't look like I was losing fat according to the scales.

Week 2 changed everything, introducing almost 2kg of food per day (plus milk) and upping the activity a little. The weight immediately and abruptly stabilised and meandered around a 400g range for the whole week.

Okay, so weight-loss consolidated, but where's the payoff in fat reduction? Why is the body fat percentage stubbornly staying at 19-20%?

And then BOOM - this morning the the scales finally admitted things were moving in the right direction. Twice! 18% fat, bitches! Read my statistics and weep!

Next step: titanium endoskeleton under human flesh!

Latissimus Lateral Thinking

It were coming down in sheets in Sydney today so I was very much dissuaded from going to the park to do the incline pull-up. I have a little gym in my building and I went there to do my skipping and noticed the bench press machine - it has horizontal handles protruding. So I kicked away the bench, ratcheted up the bar et voilà - a perfect incline pull-up bar.

Exercise is a mixed bag - skipping still troublesome, but improving. No matter how often I trip, though, I try to get going again without hesitation. Longer rope is on order but may take a few days. Let's hope it makes a difference.

Scheduling meals at the weekend is more difficult than around work. If you get a late start, then it feels like you're eating all day to cram in all the means and snacks. Was getting bored of the bland already, so made my own pasta sauce for dinner tonight. Sure beats plain spiralini and I have a bunch in the fridge for future meals. I absently threw in some kalamata olives and realised while eating it, they're rather salty. I suspect they'll be banned from future iterations of the sauce.

It's interesting shopping while channelling the spirit of my great-grandmother. My supermarket has 14 aisles. If you removed the cleaning products, and other non-food items, you'd have maybe 10 left. If you then removed the frozen dinners, processed foods, foods that are 'enhanced' or 'improved', foods you'd remove easily another 5-6. If you then took out things that are too fatty or sweet for PCP and you'd be left with maybe 2. It would be nice if they did this, as it would make shopping a damn-sight quicker!

Peak Flatulence Project

So I guess I'm not the only one having inconsistency in the bowel region. Thanks Pete for drawing attention to society's silent trauma. Or not so silent. Or silent but deadly.

I've had a mix of minor cramps and times when I've rushed to the bathroom only to release a cacophonous litre of air and nothing else; and we've gone from nicely bratwurst-shaped tubes with the consistency of a freshly baked biscuit to a green-tinged almost-sludge.

I'm sure ultimately this is good for me.

I treated myself to kangaroo steaks for dinner. Lean and tasty; haven't had them in far too long.

Longer Skipping Rope Required

I've tried a few skipping ropes now. I like my leather one best, but it is just about a half-foot too short and it's messing me around. If I get the tempo absolutely perfect I can miss the back of my head and can even avoid having the rope touch the floor. When you get a run of those, it feels pretty great.

However, the slightest perturbation in the air or any unevenness and thwack you've hit your head, and spoiled the rhythm or worse caused a trip.

I've been doing some online window shopping and I think I've found the solution (emphasis mine):

The Skipmate has two modes of play, the first will count the number of skips and encourage you. The second lets you skip along to 4 different groovy skipping songs. Rope has glittery handles and the rope itself has sparkle woven in. The Skipmate Pod has belt clips that hook on the the belt. Skipmate comes with all accessories including skipping rope, Skipmate pod (batteries included) and adjustable belt.

This is how happy I want to look while skipping or I want my money back

Day 1 (if we're honest)

First real day today I feel. Double the number of exercises and a real start on dietary management. Like everyone else (it would seem) I felt like I spent a whole lot of the day stuffing myself. I was so excited when my diet said I could go back to two eggs for breakfast but by the end of lunch was struggling to complete.

What it comes down to is almost 2kg of food per day (1880g + 300ml milk to be precise). That's an astonishing amount of mass to put in one's body. No wonder I look pregnant tonight. I was feeling a bit smug when I saw that I got to eat more than most other people in my group this morning. This was before I discovered what that quantity of food actually feels like.

Bye bye hunger pangs.