Blogging Weight Loss Challenge: Day 24
May 3, 2009 Posted by Tyler CruzAnother week has passed which means that the Blogging Weight Loss Challenge: Cruz vs Volk has already hit its 3 week mark. That’s 3 weeks down and 7 more to go, or 46 days to be exact.
I’ve been sticking with my workout routine so far, and decided to finally start making some food changes as well. Right now I’m focusing more on not what I eat but how I eat. For example, I hadn’t eaten breakfast for probably 10 years or so, since I around 15. I was just never hungry in the morning and always waited until lunch.
But since I always hear that “breakfast is the most important meal in the day”, I decided to start forcing myself to eat breakfast every day. I started doing this close to a week ago and haven’t missed a day yet. I’m still hungry in the morning so I just eat something small like a banana or orange, but at least it’s something.
Part, if not the main, reason I was never hungry in the morning is because I have an extremely bad habit of eating a big meal right before bed. I’ve done since ever since I was a teenager so it’s very ingrained in me. I know how bad this is for you in terms of gaining weight, so I’d like to try to cut down on how much I eat shortly before bed and/or increase the gap of time from when I eat and when I go to bed. To be honest though, this will be extremely difficult for me.
I also started making some very minor food changes as well. I haven’t eaten out for around 10 days now, got SunChips (multigrain) instead of Doritos or Lays, and I look at the calories of what I’m eating. That doesn’t prevent me from eating what whatever it is, but I think it’s good to be aware of how many calories things are and to be more conscious of it. And I make other small changes such as always opt for whole grain bread instead of white. I’m willing to make small changes to my food choices if it helps with my weight loss, but nothing drastic as I just love my food to much to give it up 🙂
My Sneaky Evil “Get Jonathan Volk Fat” Plan
After a bit of research, I discovered that my rival in this competition, Jonathan Volk, has a special weakness when it comes to pop, in particular Jones soda.
In order to take advantage of this, I ordered a case of 12 Jones soda to Jonathan’s doorstep. I had custom labels made for each bottle with the “before” photos of Jonathan and me on them. I also sent him a small pack of Jones carbonated candy.
Each bottle contains 190 calories so hopefully he will not be able to resist the delicious and refreshing Strawberry Lime flavour and will pack on the pounds… haha, that was my evil plan.
Here’s a video of Jonathan receiving my evil package:
In his latest update on our weight loss challenge he mentioned how he has lost 3.5 pounds so far. That is very good, especially considering his starting weight was 16 pounds less than me.
While he’s my rival in this competition, the real goal was for both of us to lose weight, so I’m happy he’s doing well so far. Remember, if either of us doesn’t lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks then we have to pay $500, so it’s not just our pride on the line.
Jonathan also posted a video of himself biking. He sported a Clickbooth headband and shirt which immediately reminded me of Michael Cera in Juno. I compiled a quick comparison in the photo below – the likeness is uncanny, isn’t it? Haha!
A New Personal Record
A couple days ago I completed my 8th “run” around Westwood Lake. That works out to a total of 48 KM (or 30 Miles).
I managed to set a new personal record during the last run, finishing in 59:35, which is exactly 10 seconds faster than my previous best. Lisa has really improved on her time as well, with her best being 50:06 now, so I have a lot of catching up to do, but she also jogs 85% of it.
My feet, ankles, and shins are still absolutely killing me. I’d have thought they would be fine by now as it’s been 3 weeks since I started, but they’re just as bad as when I started. On my last run I tried using a different pair of shoes than I had tried before. It seemed to have helped reduce the pain in my ankles and shins, but amplified the pain on my feet. It also caused a massive blister on my right baby toe which I had to endure with every step.
Is it normal for such foot, ankle, and shin pain to continue after 3 weeks? It’s really annoying because I could improve my time if I wasn’t forced to walk such long stretches due to foot pain.
On the last run I stopped using my Blackberry headphones since they kept falling out of my ears and I constantly had to adjust them, especially during jogging sessions. Also, the right earphone stopped working. As a replacement, I used my wireless Bluetooth behind-the-head headphones which worked great as I didn’t have to adjust them and could change the songs, pause them, etc. with the touch of a button. The funny thing is I can even accept or make phone calls through voice activation with the headset while jogging if I wanted.
Anyhow, I managed to set a new record because I had a fantastic first 2-3 KM. I jogged longer stretches and added about 2-3 more jogging stretches than I normally do which cut off a minute-and-a-half by the 3KM mark.
Westwood Lake Time
| Date | Time | Comments |
| My 2007 Best Time | 1:00:34 | My previous record… |
| April 8, 2009 | 1:06:00 | Feet and calves absolutely painful |
| April 12, 2009 | 1:05:33 | Feet, shins, and calves still absolutely painful |
| April 15, 2009 | 59:45 | Jogged a couple extra stretches |
| April 20, 2009 | 1:00:45 | Off my record by a minute  Shins killed me |
| April 22, 2009 | 1:02:30 | Shins and calves still very painful |
| April 24, 2009 | 1:01:45 | Came close to record but couldn’t push near the end |
| April 26, 2009 | 1:03:30 | Had a very bad first 2-3 KM |
| April 29, 2009 | 59:35 | New Record! Had a fantastic first 2KM |
Weight Loss Status
| Date | Weight | Total Pounds Lost | Days Left |
| April 11, 2009 | 205 | 0 | 68 |
| April 14, 2009 | 205 | 0 | 65 |
| April 19, 2009 | 205 | 0 | 60 |
| April 23, 2009 | 204 | 1 | 56 |
| May 3, 2009 | 201 | 4 | 46 |
Please note: I had a real ordeal last night and didn’t eat very much as I didn’t have time (was unable to), so the May 3rd numbers were probably affected in my favour as a result. However, I think this would only contribute for 1-1.5 pounds so there is progress being made.
Don’t Forget to Participate to Win up to $250
Remember, all you need to do is blog about my Weight Loss Challenge with Jonathan Volk and predict who you think might not make the challenge to be eligible to win a possible $100-$250. Full details can be found in the original post.
I really hate to rain on everyone’s parade but this competition and the weight loss you two have realized thus far is not really accurate in determining progress.
The average person’s weight can fluctuate daily by several points just due to water retention, the amount of food in your digestive track, whether you weigh yourself before or after using the bathroom, etc.
The most accurate way to get a measurement is to weigh yourself under the exact same conditions each day and then take the average. The bottom line is losing 3 1/2 pounds is far too small of a number to determine if it’s from being less hydrated and/or having less food in your digestive track or because you reduced the number of fat cells in the body.
Also, one piece of advice: muscles burn calories up to 4 times faster than fat does. You don’t have to do strictly cardio to see results. Muscle training would definitely help you see results and once you have muscle, it’s actually relatively easy to maintain. It’s certainly a lot harder to put on muscle than it is to maintain.
Good luck with the rest of your program.
Benjamin
Hey I am new here at the blog. Keep it up! 🙂
@Bejamin: You always have the exact same number of fat cells.. just their content varies. And fat doesn’t burn calories.. fat is a form of stored energy and energy doesn’t burn energy. 😉
@Tyler: You don’t lose weight by running faster. If you want to lose weight through cardio, you should aim at running LONGER… the longer you run the more you burn. Also, doing weight lifting and other muscle training will actually help you burn fat faster, a lot faster. Cardio is great and necessary, but it’s not effective for fat loss.
Also, stepping on a weight won’t say you how much fat you have lost. Measure your waist and the percentage of body fat.
Good luck!
*Stepping on a scale, I mean. 🙂
To both Benjamin and Oliver: I agree with both of you completely.
Benjamin: I understand that when you weigh yourself can make a big difference on the scale, and also the fact that weight can deviate by quite a bit day to day even without changing anything, but at the same time I also haven’t been this low (201) for like a year, so I know that I am making some progress.
Oliver: Again, I agree. The reason I’m trying so hard to beat my record and make such a big deal out of it is because I HATE jogging. It’s really painful and boring and I just don’t like it, so turning it into a game and challenge makes it fun for me. That’s the only reason I care so much to beat my record. I know that setting a new record doesn’t necessarily mean I’m shredding off more pounds 🙂
🙂
great update on the challenge…however I was more interested in the Jones Soda…that beverage is like liquid heroin to me!
Cool update, love the devious plan Tyler!
Remember: Breakfast like a KING! Lunch like a prince. Dinner like a pauper.
Tailor your meals down this way, don’t eat after 9pm, and you’ll lose the weight if you stay fit
BTW: About the feet, run on the grass… it is a lot better for you overall and you won’t have as many problems
Not eating after 9pm has already been shown to be
another of those popular myths that has grown up around the “Diet Industry”.
Time of day that you eat will make no difference to weight loss. It is what you consume and in what quantities that matters.
Regards,
Mandy
Simply Lose Weight
Hey,
Sorry to be doing this again but, like your last post. You seem to have very little motivation and self-discipline.
“That doesn’t prevent me from eating what whatever it is, but I think it’s good to be aware of how many calories things are and to be more conscious of it.” – Knowing the amount of calories wont make you lose calories, not eating that thing will.
Last post I said you should do some weight training, you could have lost SO much more weight by now it isn’t funny.
@Oliver: Not necessarily true. I think the best way to lose weight via cardio is a regiment called HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which is basically. A Sprint for 30 seconds, followed by a light jog for 30 seconds … Numerous times. Of course the times can vary but the only variation i would suggest is to increase them. The higher the intensity of the workout, the more weight you will lose.
ok so.
1. Stop eating crappy food then justifying eating them by knowing how many calories are in something and then still eating it wont help!
2. Weight Training is a MUST.
3. use this HIIT. Do some research on it 😉
I’m not having a dig. Just trying to help you win.
Yeah, you are right.
I personally do a lot of HIIT myself because it’s effective and not as boring.
@Tyler: Jogging is really boring, I was wondering if you love it because you even put up movies of you doing it. 🙂
If you hate it, why stick to it? It’s an uphill battle if you force yourself to do something that you hate, such as working a full-time job. 😉
I’d recommend trying out different things and than applying the good old 80/20 rule to your portfolio of tested exercises. 😉
I recommend trying out martial arts.. trains both body and spirit and it’s fun.. guys love to fight, right? 😛
Dang Tyler… no offense…. in that video you looked really wore out… I don’t know… just the coloring of your skin didn’t look good.
On the note about Jones soda…Humm I’ve never had any… I might try it… I love Coca Cola… and I know.. that your friend Jonathan does too.. so I am guessing that I will like it too lol
Absolutely brillient.
As I have mentioned before I am also trying to lose weight and find this little competition is very interesting and actually helpful.
Congrats on beating your record, great job! I mentioned the Juno likeness to Jonathan, but I don’t think he picked up on it. Maybe now, though.
Have you tried wrapping your ankles with ace bandages and using band aids before you get blisters?
190 calories is nothing… you can drink that case and still manage to lose weight as long as you work it off. Michaels Phelps eats 3000 calories just for breakfast during training.
You should have sent him some McDonald’s coupons… that’ll fatten him right up!
Well Michael Phelps and other athletes have to eat that much and that many calories, because they use so much energy in those intense workouts! I have seen shows where they show some body builders… and the guy was having a hard time eating so much food, because he had to have about 7,000 calories per day. Crazy stuff!
You can do it Tyler. That soda looks pretty good. Do you have a link on where to get it. Greg Ellison
http://www.jonessoda.com/
It’s a challenge that every overweight people are to face, many I have seen they can not stand to strict diet especially looking at cakes, chocolate, ice cream etc.Well good luck then.
What does this have to do with online business?
Not much, why?
First, I’d like to address the issue of your pain. Since I’m hoping you plan to continue long after the challenge is over, you should do everything you can to minimize the pain now. In fact, find out why you are having problems and remove the ill effects completely.
I’m sure you are already aware of, and practice most of what I am about to write. But here are a few things I know.
1. Proper stretching. Are you stretching your calves properly? Slow, gradual increases to the stretch; not quick, stabbing stretches.
2. Properly wear in your shoes. You said you tried out a different pair of shoes. I hope these were different without being new. Shoes, especially for physical training, should be worn to conform to your feet before major use.
3. Try running barefoot, as the foot was made to be used. I’m not suggesting a full run, but maybe partial. Find out if you’re still having problems with your feet, ankles, and shins. Making such a drastic change like this might help you highlight the real reason you are experiencing these pains.
4. Tone it down. I know this is a challenge and you are on a race with time. But again, since you’ll hopefully want to continue long after this challenge is over you might want to scale down a bit. Many people move right into jogs/runs thinking that because their lungs can manage the stress their whole body is ready for it. It’s likely (and often the case for many people) that their legs are not ready for the stress. A good running program begins with walking to build up the muscles and ligaments all throughout the legs before the pounding explosiveness of the run begins.
5. Inspect your feet, shins, calves, etc… after each run. Apply anti-inflammatory creams or such to problem locations. (Runners will often find the back of their foot/ankle rubbing against their shoe.)
6. Get a massage. Who needs a reason?
Second, your devious strategy is genius. Few people, especially declared fans, can resist the pull of Jones Soda!
I’ll be very interested in seeing how this competition unfolds in the coming weeks!
Well, considering how sedentary it is being a blogger I think in “blogging weight loss challenge” is a god thing.
I guess I’m going to have to root for you instead of Volk since I have no clue who he is:)
lol
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