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Miloko's Fitness Journal


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I'm 33 and I've been vegetarian since childhood and a vegan for three years.

 

My fitness goal is to weight in at 60KG and 15-20% body fat.

 

I'm a dedicated martial artist. I take care of my body in order for it to perform at its best in the dojo. I want to feel strong, lean, light and fast. My secondary reason for maintaining fitness is to be ready to take on the post-apocalyptic zombie hoards.

 

The biggest thing I'm lacking at the moment to support my fitness goals is accountability. I use the MyFitnessPal app to log food and exercise and the Withings Pulse and Withings scales to measure other activity, heart rate and weight. These are great for mapping ongoing progress, but faced with a list of fluctuating numbers on my phone and some squiggly graphs, I find myself still cheating with food frequently and losing motivation when I don't get fast results.

 

So here it is, a journal put out on the internet where I'll periodically give updates on my progress and hopefully feel some personal accountability.

 

I have an under active thyroid and trouble with asthma, but both of these things are under control.

 

Current Weight: 62KG

Current body fat: 28%

Edited by Miloko
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1st/7th/14

 

Weight: 63.1KG

Body fat: 30%

 

I've been so bad with food over the weekend.

 

Friday: 853 calories over my daily goal.

Mexican food for a dinner party, where I ate too many taco shells and drank too much wine.

 

Saturday 2222 calories over my daily goal.

Huge indian banquet

 

Sunday was better. I exercised in the morning with a Fitness Blender HIIT workout that burned approximately 300 calories and left me feeling great. I kept within my calorie goal, even through the temptation of second helpings of my super-delicious vegan roast lunch. I loaded up on plenty of fresh veg and fruit and snacked on hazelnuts and my home made raw fruit, nut and carob bars. I kept to my daily calorie goal.

 

Monday I did another workout in the morning. An upper body weights set that sadly flared up an old shoulder injury but I got through it and then gave my shoulder some TLC. In the evening I trained for one and a half hours in Shotokan karate. I was over 300 calories under my daily goal, but didn't feel hungry so I left it at that. I ate lots of fresh veggies and lentils, snacked on hazelnuts and green tea.

 

This morning I did another Fitness Blender HIIT workout that burned approximately 300 calories and again, left me feeling fantastic. Today I've breakfasted on fruit and nut muesli, cheated at lunch time because after my workout I was craving ramen noodles. I'll cook a butternut squash and veg curry with white rice for dinner, controlling my portions, I kept within my calorie goal.

 

Since it's the first of the month, I've taken some body measurements. If my muscle gain is messing up the measurement of my fat loss through body weight records I can refer back to this to see if my body shape is altering in desired ways.

 

Waist: 75cm

Hips: 91cm

Thighs: 55cm

Calfs: 34cm

Bicep: 28cm

Forearm: 21cm

Edited by Miloko
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2nd/7th/14

 

Weight: 62.8

Body fat: 29.5%

 

Checking in here again today to keep track of activity and diet before I forget. I kept to my calorie goal again yesterday! Feeling good about that.

 

So far today I've eaten fruit and nut muesli for breakfast. I really need to give myself more time in the mornings and eat something with no added sugars. I don't think this muesli is a good food option, it's just convenient. I'm thinking of starting up some 'overnight oats' in the fridge, so I have a breakfast that's just as convenient but with no added junk. So that's the plan.

 

For lunch I've had hazelnuts, almonds and dried apricots along with a small cup of hot reduced salt vegetable bouillon as a tasty alternative to a heavier soup.

 

For dinner I'll be making a big vegan spaghetti bolognese, heavy with veggies and tomatoes and spiced with chillies. I won't use stock or oil and I'll keep my portion of spaghetti pretty small compared to the bolognese. I'll top it off with some nutritional yeast as a parmesan substitute and for some extra good eats.

 

My workout today was sixty minutes of HIIT, total body strength training with a greater focus on lower body. Similar to yesterday, so I got that nice feeling of muscle groups reminding me they've done this all recently. At least they're paying attention.

 

Tomorrow I'll do an upper body weight training session in the morning. I've got my meals all prepped for tomorrow (making good use of leftovers), so keeping to my calorie goal should be easier than usual. In the evening I'll do an hour of karate.

 

But Friday... I'm both excited about and dreading, since I'm going to hit my usual pattern of overeating because the weekend has arrived. I'll be doing some mega home made vegan pizzas topped with all sorts of deliciousness like avocados, artichoke hearts, fried asparagus, black olives and caramelised onions. I'll also let myself have some alcohol and there's a bottle of cinnamon spiced cider I've got my eye on in my drinks cupboard. Oh man.

 

So here's my plan to see if I can do myself a bit less damage, food-wise. I'll use it a a rest day, but I'll make sure to drink a good two litres of water through the day towards that amazing mealtime. That should mean I don't overeat quite so much, since I'll feel full and hydrated. Then after dinner, I'll get through something close to another litre of water leading up to bed time, since that should counteract the effects of alcohol and rich food on my totally stunned system.

 

Saturday, I'll get right back into an hour of HIIT and eat within my calorie goal. Then I'll use Sunday as another rest day, but I'll still aim to stick to that calorie goal, through the temptations of the family veggie roast dinner. I did it last week, I can do it again! Self motivation! Building good habits and counteracting my gargantuan appetite. Who am I kidding? I've got the stomach capacity of Godzilla.

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A quick check in before this week's workout schedule comes together.

 

Friday night was my vegan pizza night. It was a rest day, so my daily calorie goal was 1200 with no additional calories to play with from a workout. I ended up 1,945 calories over my goal.

 

Saturday I clocked up sixty minutes of HIIT, focussing on lower body. I filled up on fruits and veggies and kept to my calorie goal.

 

Sunday was my vegan family roast dinner day and although I ate healthily for my main meals I also snacked too much on nuts and some dark chocolate and nut cake that was brought 'round. I ended up 769 calories over my daily goal. It used it as a rest day but went for two long walks to stay active.

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Saturday, I'll get right back into an hour of HIIT and eat within my calorie goal.

 

Is there such thing as an hour of HIIT? I was under the idea that it was a 15 to 20 minute tops kind of deal. Do you go all out for a minute, and then do 4 minutes of normal exercise? and keep doing that cycle for 12 times?

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I use fitness blender workout routines, Gaia. They set them out in a tabata style, with repetitions. So you can get around an hour of HIIT with approx 10-15 seconds of active rest between intense activity (just go into boxer shuffle or march on the spot). It's good! Really pushes you.

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Monday's training was fifty minutes of various upper body weight training sets with 5KG in each hand. In the evening I got in some heavy cardio with two hours of karate. That was a tough combination. I kept to my daily calorie goal.

 

Tuesday I took as a rest day after Monday's training caught up with me in a big way (the pain...). I kept to my daily calorie goal.

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Wednesday's workout was a 45 minute HIIT routine to get in some heavy cardio. It focussed for the first half on working abdominal muscles to the max, but the whole workout put together was working total body. Wednesday night I had an evening out with some of my karate club and I ended up overeating BIG TIME. I worked out that I was about 1785 calories over my daily goal.

 

Thursday I took as a rest day from working out at home since I needed to recover from the night before and then to be out of the door as soon as I got organised for my day. In the evening I did a single hour of karate training, which was lazy of me. I kept to my daily calorie goal but those calories were almost exclusively from fat and carbs so I felt absolutely terrible. I never seem to learn from that!

 

Friday today. I'm going to do a lower body weight training routine a little later on and eat my 'overnight oats' with almond flakes and maple syrup. Mid-afternoon I'll eat some fresh fruit and drink plenty of water. Tonight, of course, is my vegan pizza night! Hurray for pizza, boo for my awful eating decisions this week.

 

I'll report back with a weigh in and fat mass reading later. Overall, gluttony issues aside, I'm feeling lean and strong. My muscle definition is quite good at the moment, all over. I'm still focussed on doing better with food and training routines as I go along. I'm expecting a weight increase for bad reasons (not because I'm gaining muscle!) when I do my weigh in, but I'm still very comfortably fitting in to my new clothes that were my target dress size, so my vanity won't be hurting. If I was only interested in aesthetics I'd just be on maintenance right now. But I'm not. I want strength, flexibility and stamina. There's my mantra right there.

 

GOALS: Aiming for a better week with nutrition coming up, as of tomorrow. Try to remember how burnt out eating badly makes me feel in the days afterwards. Keep up the new higher amounts of cardio, lower amounts of weight training I've had going on for the last two weeks to target fat loss over muscle gain as the current priority.

 

DON'T GIVE UP.

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16th/7th/14

 

Weight: 63.0KG

Body fat: 29%

 

Friday was my pizza night, but I didn't do too badly with keeping to my goals. In the morning I did thirty minutes of HIIT and felt great after it. I was 226 calories over my daily goal after including some alcoholic lemonade with my meal.

 

Saturday morning I did an active/static body weight strength training routine for twenty minutes. It's one I do quite often on semi-rest days. I kept within my daily calorie goal.

 

Sunday I took as a complete rest day. With a large dessert after dinner and snacking in the evening I ended up approximately 1138 calories over my daily goal.

 

Monday I did thirty minutes of upper body weight training in the morning and two hours of karate training in the evening. I was 355 calories below my daily goal.

 

Tuesday was a big celebration day for me because I had my graduation ceremony for my doctorate. I snacked on nachos, ate two desserts and enjoyed an indulgent dinner with a couple of cocktails. It was a rest day for me and I ate 500 calories over my daily goal.

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23rd/7th/14

 

Weight: 64.9

Body fat: 29%

 

Body measurements. Switching to inches.

 

Waist: 29 inches

Hips: 35.5 inches

Thighs: (L) 21.5 inches ® 21.5 inches

Calfs: (L) 13.5 inches ® 13.5 inches + 1 inch

Bicep: (L) 11 inches ® 11 inches

Forearm: (L) 8 inches ® 8 inches

Chest: (under bust) 32 inches

 

Update on nutrition and training.

 

17th of July: Kept to my calorie goal. Thirty minutes of upper body weight training and two hours of karate.

18th of July: 412 calories over my goal. Sixty minutes of HIIT and body weight strength training.

19th of July: 1275 calories over my goal. REST DAY

20th of July: 1504 calories over my goal. REST DAY

21st of July: Kept to my calorie goal. Two hours of karate.

22nd of July: Kept to my calorie goal. Forty minutes of HIIT and thirty minutes of total body strength training.

23rd of July: Kept to my calorie goal. Sixty minutes of HIIt and body weight strength training.

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  • 6 months later...

5th/2nd/15

 

Current Weight: 65.0KG

Current Waist Size: 27 inches

 

My body weight fluctuates between 63 and 66KG regularly, but my waist size is quite stable around the 27inch mark and has been for a few months.

 

Goals:

 

Weight: 60KG

Waist Size: 26 inches or so. Be good to not be in-between sizes in waistbands.

Badass Level: Ballet dancing, martial artist zombie slayer

Equipment: Tutu, baseball bat, red lipstick, arsenal of witty one liners.

 

Strength: This year I have completely changed the focus of my fitness goals. I have gone from mainly focussing on fat weight loss and muscle gain to focussing on improving stamina and flexibility. I do enough body weight training to maintain the muscle I gained last year (love being strong!). I've picked up a stretch band to work on the muscles in my ankles and feet for dance. Although I've only used this once so far. I'm trying to find time in my day to make that a routine.

 

Weight: I've still got some fat weight to lose. I'm hoping that will come off as I continue to do things I enjoy and strive for good vegan nutrition. I think Christmas indulgence set me back, but it was good times!

 

Cardio: Now I run using the Zombies, Run! app on my phone 3-4 times a week. Clocking up 5KM each run. It's getting easier.

 

Martial arts: I continue to train in karate, but usually only one night a week instead of two.

 

Dance: I take an adult ballet class once a week and I'm going to start taking two classes a week from next Monday. Ballet has quickly become a big thing for me.

 

Flexibility: I fit in occasional pilates/yoga sessions at home with a friend. I'm not really a fan of all this slow moving stuff, but I know I need it.

 

 

General: So, I'm keeping very busy. I'm not sure what measurements I'll put on here from now on. I should probably do a new full-body measure to see where I am with gains and losses in inches, but I'm actually not measuring or relying on the scales too much at the moment.

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