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Ok here we go, starting light strength training today. I'm currently in week 10 of my cardio routine and I'm adding some simple body weight training.

 

It's probably a good idea to give everyone some history just so you have an idea of where I've come from and where I'm taking this fairly new life-style. Oops almost forgot, the cardio program I'm currently on is 30 mins, twice a day, 4 times a week (MTThF) on a recumbent. I use to ride on a standard stationary, but it utterly destroyed my groin, so I fronted the cash for the recumbent. I get anywhere from 7.5-8.0 miles in a 30 min session.

 

Anyway, I grew up in Hawaii and was raised in a rather food-centric family/culture where we'd eat large portion with rice at every meal. This is where I learned to associate food with love and comfort and more importantly family. I then moved up to Alaska (yes I know I rather huge change, imagine the shock I experienced) for a job opportunity. The location I moved to was rather remote and only had two flights every other day in or out of the village. Yes I said village, its population is less than 550 people and majority of those work two weeks off and two weeks on. So they really shouldn't be counted; I was one of the year rounders. Anyway, I was 340lbs at 6ft and started picking up really expensive eating habits in this new location. Especially since Korean take-out was the main source of ANY un-self-prepared food in the village. So seeing how it was destroying my wallet, my roommate and I decided to start the atkins diet and we both lost a substantial amount of weight. I came down to 240lbs on changing my diet alone. Note that the type of work I did was very sedentary.

 

Ok fastforward a year or two and I'm hurting physically and feeling like crap day in and day out on this all meat diet. I thought at the time it was the stress of my work, so I up and quit as well as relocated to a more populated part of Alaska. Where, yes you can guess, had produce. Yep, if you hadn't already guess, with flights into a village every other day, produce is scary. Getting back to the point, I researched the vegan/vegetarian diet and started the most healthiest change of my life.

 

Here is what my goals are:

 

Get anywhere between 185-205lbs

Get anywhere between 10-12% bf

Improve lean muscle mass

 

As you can see I've given ranges. I figure that's the best way since I have no idea what is realistic for the type of gradual routine.

 

I'll list daily what my workout routines are and what my food intake is. Next post I'll list what I ate on SUN so everyone has an idea of what my dietary habits have been for the last 10 weeks.

 

Ok, here goes, wish me luck.

Edited by LocalBrada
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Morning weigh-in (233.4lbs @ 36.1%)

SUN Meals (spaced every 2.5hrs)

 

Spinach/berry blend [Frozen berries (marionberry, blueberry, raspberry) + baby spinach + 2 tbps organic cold milled flax seed + water ]

1 cup grapenuts + unsweetened almond milk

1 cup Miso + silken tofu

pinto beans + carrot puree

Salad (Romain lettuce, baby spinach, carrot tops, carrots, mushroom, bell peppers) [No dressing]

Edited by LocalBrada
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Weekly workout plan

 

S - rest

M - (2) 30min cardio + (2) calf/quad

T - (2) 30min cardio + (2) bicep/tricep/forearm

W - rest

Th - (2) 30min cardio + (2) calf/quad

F - (2) 30min cardio + (2) bicep/tricep/forearm

Sa - rest

 

I'll probably end of swapping the leg days right before the breaks so I don't have to struggle thru the cardio, but I was really excited about doing leg work. Since I see tons of results already in my legs. Anyway, I'm thinking I'll start off slow with 50 calf raises and 50 squats twice a day immediately following the 30 min cardio sessions. That way I'll be warmed up and the blood will be flowing. For the upper body days, I figure bicep curls, hammer extensions (for the triceps) and wrist curls (for the forearms). No idea what kinda weight I should toss on those, but gonna play around with some free weights I've got laying around.

 

Yes I know your thinking, hey dude you said body weight training. Well yes for the legs, but for the upper body I'm gonna have to use some sorta weights if I'm gonna see anything. Anyway, I'll post before bed my progress for MON.

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MON workout

:30 - 7.60 miles / 10x5 calf raises / 10x5 squats

:30 - 8.09 miles* / 10x5 calf raises / 10x5 squats

 

*new high

 

@offense74 - thanks man. Hoping to keep this up and see some sorta results.

 

Also side note, I think my scale is jacked. That bf % seems all kinds of wrong. I might go grab another one, anyone have a recommendation? I've got the Tania brand..I think that's what it's called...it works well, but I bet one of my nieces went onto it with socks on. Which is a big no-no.

Edited by LocalBrada
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MON meals (6)

 

Spinach/berry blend

1 cup miso + silken tofu

Salad (Romain lettuce, bell pepper, mushroom, cucumber) [no dressing]

Soup (firm tofu, zucchini, baby Portabello mushroom, garlic, BRAGG Liquid Aminos)

3/4 cup grapenuts + unsweetened almond milk

Spinach/grapefruit blend (1/2 grapefruit + baby spinach + 2 tbps organic cold milled flax seed)

 

Ok last meal of the day, gonna relax for the next 2 hours or so and then head off to bed. Tomorrow is most likely gonna have 2 or 3 back to back miso meals since it's a work day.

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TUE workout

:30 - 7.80 miles / 15lbs 12x3 bicep curls / 15lbs 12x3 wrist curls / 15lbs 12x3 hammer extensions

:30 - 7.98 miles / 15lbs 12x3 bicep curls / 15lbs 12x3 wrist curls / 15lbs 12x3 hammer extensions

 

I'm gonna have to change this up for now. I am not sure how heavy I should be doing it just to start off. I've got a rather serious hand injury on my right hand that has for a few years now restricted my lifting. I'll post pics and more about it next post. It would be nice if anyone had to time to give me suggestions for alternatives. I've got a few different resistance bands that is probably going to be the solution. But I'm open for suggestions. And yes currently I've got those vinyl barbells and strapped lifting hooks and padded weight gloves, but it seems that any prolong pressure just isn't gonna work.

 

----------------------------------------------

TUE Meals (6)

 

Spinach/berry blend w/non-GMO Isolated Soy Protein instead of flax

miso + silken tofu

Larabar "Cherry Pie" <--not gonna make a habit of this, but the district manager came in with a ton of samplers and wanted me to try 'em so I can comment on them. Of course its vegan =).

Soup (firm tofu, zucchini, baby Portabello mushroom, garlic, BRAGG Liquid Aminos)

Salad (Romain lettuce, bell pepper, mushroom, cucumber) [no dressing]

Spinach/grapefruit blend (1/2 grapefruit + baby spinach + 2 tbps organic cold milled flax seed)

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As you can see I had tendon repair on both the ring finger and the small finger. For a couple of years I had no feeling in any of them and just recently the nerves have grown back and I've got hyper sensitivity. Especially around the scar line. I find that any pressure when grasping things is rather a pain. Also any prolonged weight on the palm gives me pain in the distal joint. I find it easier with lifting that places the weight off the palm and onto the surface area of the thumb and forefinger. Which is what I ended up doing to complete my bicep curls. The hammer extensions were a pain since all the pressure is being placed on the small finger and the outer ridge of the hand.

 

Again any modified lifting techniques or alternative lifting all together would be appreciated.

DSCN0252.JPG.63f863ac7b20f37a26e79cf0992843a2.JPG

Max extension

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Max extension side

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Close up

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Howzit Bra?!

Thanks for supporting this pupule howlie. I miss Hawaii and am trying to get it back into my life.

This forum can be a big help, with a lot of total experience on which to draw. You have all my support. Good luck!

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WED rest day

-------------

WED Meals (6)

 

Soup (firm tofu, zucchini, baby Portabello mushroom, garlic, BRAGG Liquid Aminos)

miso + silken tofu + whole apple

Soy patty + whole apple

Spinach/grapefruit blend (1/2 grapefruit + baby spinach + 2 tbps organic cold milled flax seed)

larabar "peanut ?"

Spinach/grapefruit blend (1/2 grapefruit + baby spinach + 2 tbps organic cold milled flax seed)

 

I worked late, so I prepared 2 servings of the spinach/grapefruit blend and took them in a little cooler. Also I wrote "whole apple" since I enjoy eating the entire fruit, core, seeds and all.

 

@John V hey tanks bra fo headin' ova ta my page. Ye I miss home too, it's been 16 plus years before I when go back. I'm scared fo go back and dey not gonna let me leave :)

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THU Workout

:30 7.45 miles - 10x5 calf raises / 10x5 squats

:30 7.95 miles - 10x5 calf raises / 10x5 squats

-------------

THU Meals (6)

 

miso + silken tofu + whole apple

Soy patty + whole apple

Spinach/peanut butter blend (baby spinach + 1 tbps organic unsweetened peanut butter + 2 scoop non-GMO soy protein isolate)

Salad (Romain lettuce, bell pepper, mushroom, cucumber) [no dressing]

larabar "cashew ?"

Spinach/peanut butter blend (baby spinach + 1 tbps organic unsweetened peanut butter + 2 scoop non-GMO soy protein isolate)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Keeping up with the daily meal and excerise routine. Just haven't been posting, since I'm more or less writing everything down on my calendar as finish workouts, etc. Weighed myself yesterday and maintaining weight around 228.8lbs and down to 27.3% bf. So things are looking well. I ran around today looking for a gym to join, since I'm gonna need to get on some sort of machine to increase my muscle mass. I've found that after the first week of body weight squats, that my body doesn't ache like it use too, especially during the next couple of days. I've doubled the sets and still no "recovery ache" and that was at 500 per day. So I'm thinking adding weights instead of doing endurance style lifting is probably my best bet. All in all it's probably a better choice if I plan on "filling out my skin".

 

Anyway, I'll write once and awhile if I have any slip ups or new developments. I've yet to crave any meats or junk foods, even when a friend came into town to hang out. So I don't foresee any derailment from my course. Also my outlook on food itself has changed completely away from eating to fill an emotional need to eating as something to do to live. What I mean by that is eating is something that I MUST do to remain a healthy balanced person.

 

Oh well, looking over these gym membership pricing sheets and I swiped. Not sure if I want to drive all the way across town to the cheapest joint or sign up at the "mom and pop" style one that I'll probably feel alot more comfortable at? We'll see. The good thing about the cheap one is I could bring my sister or a guest along off their plan. Which would be nice for some company/support. We'll see.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ok been responding really well to the new weight training routine I'm on. I'm seeing muscle development, which is alot more motivating then watching numbers on a scale. last weight post was [email protected]%. I am currently at [email protected]% which is actually a pound or so above what I had 3 days ago, but the bf is the same. So it's gotta be muscle =). Anyway, been making sure to get 30 mins of cardio in, usually a little before my last meal on days I don't work and before I go to work on days I do. Along with my weight training, which is of course with dumbbells, so I guess I need to change my post SUBJ: which I don't have a clue how to. As for weight lifting, I have found that my recovery time isn't as long as I remember back in my teenage years. Back in the day I would have to force myself to rest every other day to allow for the muscle ache to go away. Not this time around! I've been working out everyday and each session is what I'd consider intense for a beginner. I did have to take yesterday off, since my upper back felt the previous days routine. Other than that it's been something like a week and a half or two weeks with no breaks.

 

Also I think this change up is alot better than the cardio heavy routine I was doing. For some reason it looks like I've been tearing down more muscle than fat. Maybe it was the reduced caloric intake, maybe the increased caloric expenditure? Or the combination of both? Anyway, with this, I'm shooting for 300-400 cal a meal, even though I mostly hit 200-300 cal, since I get full rather fast.

 

Anyway, I'm a keep at this! Feeling good and eating green =)

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[email protected]% 51% water

 

Still on track and eating green. Had a BBQ last weekend with a co-worker and her friends. I supplied a little Hibatchi (grill) and a bunch of veggies/tempeh, which folks had in addition to their traditional BBQ meats. I also ended up playing bball, which was sorta frustrating. Since I still had my movement/mobility, but a non-existent shot (due to the ghetto/gimp hand). Every time my hand fell into place on the ball for a solid shot, my fingers wouldn't lay flat on the ball. Then my shot would end up either going way too long or way too short. My rebounds were still up to par (again a mobility thing), so I ended up playing point and getting some nice assists. Who would of thought this chick had the money shot, so I kept feeding her.

 

Anyway, had a blast and looking forward to doing this again. Slick thing is the State Fair starts up this weekend and a few of the folks there were talking about carpooling out. So I'll probably post a few days after the fair...who knows, I might have some pics to post.

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Spent the entire day at the state fair yesterday with my sister, her gf and her gf's daughter. We got up pretty early and was on the road by 9am to get to the fair grounds by 10:30a. It started drizzling on the ride there and when we got to our destination it was rain-central. So needless to say the digital camera stayed in one of the pockets of my "shake/food bag". Which I thought would of been a chore to carry around all day, but turned out to be quite fun. I'd walk around with it and the crowds of people would part, most likely thinking I was a vendor moving perishables to a food booth. =) I had it loaded with a gallon of water, spirulina + psyllium seed husks shakes, soy iso + wheat iso protein shakes with a hint of turmeric and a single wheat iso protein + flax seed + banana smoothie. Of course I tossed in a few bananas, apples and oranges which the keiki (8yr old) ended up snatching up every hour or so. But who can blame her, they are yummy and cheap compared to the fair ground prices. I did however find the one booth in the entire joint that sold vegan food. Slick thing was each purchase donated like 50 cents to a variety of different organizations of your choosing. So you'd get this blue chip and just toss it into the donation box of the org you liked. So I ended up buying 3 vegan cookies, which were made of oats, dates and walnuts mainly. And trust me I was sure to ask about non-dairy and non-eggs, since I find more and more ovo and lacto vegetarian recipes passing themselves off as "vegan". Then ate one and gave the rest to my sis and her gf. All in all we had a great time, got to see a ton of the farmer grown produce, which I totally spaced taking pictures of especially since it was all tented off. But I got caught up in the excitement of the size and variety of locally grown Alaskan vegetables, fruits and berries. If that isn't motivation to be a vegan and support local farmers, I don't know what is.

 

Anyway, I have a co-worker who's gonna wanna head out there this up and coming FRI since there are going to be a bunch of cover bands jamming out. So if it's sunny...you'll see pics.

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Oh well, looking over these gym membership pricing sheets THAT I swiped. Not sure if I want to drive all the way across town to the cheapest joint or sign up at the "mom and pop" style one that I'll probably feel alot more comfortable at? We'll see. The good thing about the cheap one is I could bring my sister or a guest along off their plan. Which would be nice for some company/support. We'll see.

 

Totally spaced posting an update about gym membership. I ended up not dropping the cash for one of the clubs, but what I did do was spring for free weights. I figured since travel time and gas prices seem to be my concern that I should just get something for the house. And we all know how spendy complete gyms and machines are! Also I am doing a bunch of composite lifting so free weights are giving me more bang for my buck vs isolation. Anyway, I headed off to one of those used sports equipment stores and got a bunch of free weights. I got a few different hex dumbs 2x15, 2x30, 2x40 which are the bomb =). What made me think about this post is that today I'm heading out to get some more dumbs and possibly a bar so I can do some shrugs and bent rows. Which I could do with dumbs, but I'd have to get heavier sets. So today I'm a go hunting at these thrift stores and see what treasures I can find. Wish me luck on good deals. (Dang I miss the swap-meet...to bad Anchorage doesn't have one.)

Edited by LocalBrada
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The vegetables at the fairs are inspiring. Unfortunately 4H livestock competitions usually stipulate the animal MUST be slaughtered, an "important lesson" for "future farmers." Folks here tried to save a steer named Bentley for a rescue refuge but some "pro farmer" people paid a huge amount for Bentley to see the animal rights people defeated. Glad you had fun with the wahinis. Happy bargain hunting on the used steel, which I also have to do. I'm going to try Craigs list first.

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Yeah no idea on what they do to the livestock after they've attended the fair. I know they did a bunch of weighing and of course have these little children, mostly young girls, parade the animals around. The big sow was nice to see, she hadn't popped yet, so no piglets. I did leave my cell phone in this big ole jar, so I can get the call when it happens. Would love to go down and take pics of the new borns.

 

This morning was an adventure though, hunting for "steel", like John put it. I hit like 7 different thrift stores and that used sports place; not one of the thrift stores had anything. Although, the sports place was basically selling them for maybe 5 bucks cheaper than buying new. Suckie thing is they didn't have 65 or 75 dumbs, so I ended up breaking my "I won't buy from Sears" rule. Ran over there, picked up some Weidner plates that fit my vinyl barbells. Which I should be using anyway since they are way better for my hands. That basically rounds out my 25-40lbs ranges, but doesn't address my shrugs or incline press.

 

Of course after John V, suggested craigslist I got on and emailed some dude intown with a set of 75 hex dumbs. So lets hope he still has em =).

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No idea what's with the weather, the days that I plan on going out there turns out to be rainy. The days I want to stay at the house and rest are super sunny. Thank you =(

 

Anyway, been keeping up with the diet. Been eating at least 3 servings of pineapples with high protein meals in order to aid in the protein breakdown. I could go buy pills, but I rather be eating it than horking down pills. Feeling good about health in general, been popping some Vpill Taurine and Qo10. Been adding 3g of spirulina and 3g of alfalfa to my diet. At first I was sorta gagging on the spirulina by itself, but I found adding 6g of flax seed makes it super yummy. It's gotta be that good fat =). Other than those, no major changes.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My wait paid off and I got a insane deal via CL. I got an Olympic 45lb squat bar, an 20lb Ez-Curl bar, 2-5lb dial clamps, 2-5lb plates, 2-10lb plates, 2-20lb plates, 2-35lb plates and 2-45lb plates...all for a hundy!!

 

So yeah gonna be hitting the weights hard. I was able to do some rather heavy weights with the ez-curl during seated overhead tricep extentions. Although I was sorta chicken without a spotter. I had a bad experience benching without a spotter a few years back, so I'm not gonna go insanely heavy solo.

 

Anyway, super excited and I this might motivate me to toss up some self pics. If I can get these muscles to fill out this skin =(.

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Glad to hear of your success with Craig's list.

My nephew has helped me as a trainer and spotter. I wasn't going to risk testing my bench pressing limits without him. He gave me one finger of assist on some overloaded bench presses and I really felt it the next day. It was nearly too much for this old geezer.

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