Day 90 and onwards - Sayonara but not goodbye

Almost a week of life off the chain now and I am still struggling with this final post.  No profound insight to share or key nugget of advice to offer future PCPers without coming off as overly pedantic or verbose or both.

To me, the genius of PCP has been the simplicity. Taking something simple (fitness, health, weight loss, physical appearance) - which some people spend endless energy complicating, breaking down into billions of different micro components, exercises, supplements, so that others can (or will) waste billions of dollars on trying to get the promised results - and offering an uncomplicated, but in no way easy, solution for results.

I never imagined that listening to Patrick and Chen would take me from here...

no chinned and surely lookin

to here..

how bout a hug

and here

well you get the picture

in 90 days.  Though initially skeptical with some aspects of PCP's structure - and not easy things to commit to going in - they all played a key role in its completion.  Blowing through all of the bullshit, consider me one satisfied customer Patrick, and one who will continue to spread the gospel long after the euphoria of buying size 32 pants (ironically, now that I am leaving Japan, I can finally buy pants here) has worn off.

By The Numbers -

Weight Going In to PCP - 93 kg
Weight Coming out of PCP - 80.1 kg
Haven't been this weight since I left high school.

Waist Size Going in - 35
Waist Size Coming out - 31.5

Didn't really track the body fat very well but will really focus on getting this down to the mid teens going forward.

My Key Take Aways -

1) My wife Mags is an AMAZING women - not only am I very very grateful for her accepting 90 days of a reclusive, home centered lifestyle, my moods, my picky and onerous diet requirements, perpetual bitching/preaching about the types of foods we eat, newfound vanity, and in general another baby in the house to look after,  she married this guy!  (note - lost all my other fat photos, so will replace this one when I find one i am proud of, strange to say i want to share fat me.)

I LOVE YOU MAGS - THANKS FOR EVERYTHING

2) The human being is a resilient animal - it is amazing how 20 years of bad habits and the accumulation of results therefrom can be reversed in only 90 days.  I am utterly amazed at everyone who has done this.  

3) Life off the chain hasn't really changed me much - not sure if I will sustain these habits, but 75% of my meals since we ended PCP are compliant.  Even stranger, I like them just as much as the non-compliant ones.

4) Sayonara is not goodbye - entering post-PCP life and leaving my job and japan does not mean you have heard the last of me.  I will be there, lurking!

Day 90 - Paydirt

Just finished!   What an amazing three months - thanks team orange crush, team cookie monster, and a special shout to the master of ceremonies patrick.  A lot to ponder for the last post.  Will try to get final blog / photos up by this weekend.

Day .... doble ocho

Landed at 930 am this morning, prepped a good breakfast when i got home, took a quick nap and then had an absolutely phenomenal workout - one of those that you wish you could have every time.  Super sets are the real deal - why do we only get a week of them Patrick?!  Wow my rudimentary plank skills kill me on the v/plank combo - feels like I have a cinderblock tied around my waist.

Passed on a dinner out with friends for a number of reasons, but my primary one was that I wanted to stay home and prep my own food - shrimp soaked in lime juice, covered with paprika and chili sauce and flash fried in a little avocado oil - along with steamed squash, zucchini and broc.  Though I imagine my stomach is better prepped for the real world than many of the other PCPers with all the travel and road based meals, the home cooking feels better in and on my system.  Knowing how the travel and my slipped discipline with it has cost me this last month, may consider a month 3 mulligan when I get settled in come jan/feb.  

88 days in - auspicious number.  2 days left.  Movers come on tuesday, so not a lot of time to enjoy the accomplishment.  About a month ago, all I could think about after finishing was the types, quantities and varieties of japanese comfort food and drink I was going to crush before leaving - now prepping for the exit comes first.  Poses, old trousers shots etc may have to wait.

Day - 85 moving goalposts

Now that I am where I am, I want to be where I am not...I want the six-pack, unclenched; I want the veined arms, unflexed; I want real calf muscles, a guy can dream right - funny how the goal posts seem to move. This project has ROCKED, and I am really happy with where I am on all levels, but I am definitely realizing with less than a week left now that I could have put more into it to get more out of it - especially during this last month.  Missed too many little things like egg white snacks, 8 minute abs (which I started doing on sunday...) or proper stretch sessions to get to "peak condition."  Still, I will repeat the sentiments of many fellow posters here, that these 85 days thus far have really been just the beginning.   That being said, it is also good to know that there is a way back if I ever fall apart and let myself go.

On to the homework assignments:  The Gym

I am probably in the minority here, but I loath the home workout.  It might be that I have limited space, but I like my home to be my sanctuary away from that which I have to do.  I am lazy and the couch is my friend - I wish I could spend more time with my friend and when I see my friend, I get soft.

Anyways, I like working out at the gym and have continued to do 90% of my workouts there throughout this project.  As I was mentioning to Patrick, the types of people I come across at the gym really depends on the time of day that I go.  Early in the morning, there is a group of regulars - some of them in decent shape, some in fantastic shape, and some out of shape - that hit the cardio machines or exercises pretty hard and with purpose to get out of there and on the road for work.  When I go later in the mornings on the weekends or during the afternoons on weekdays, it is a totally different story - a lot of socializing takes place in this place and there is a lot of time between sets - pretty much like my college rec center scene - a place to score not a place to get sore. 

There are also usually 2-3 people a session working out with personal trainers doing some similar things to what we do core wise (with more rest), but also a whole host of other activities.  I used to be one of them (the student not the trainer) and spent more than a JPY 15k a week with a personal trainer without any real noticeable physical results for 2 years.  I can't complain about the time and money spent because 1) it got me on the path to thinking about my health 2) I never addressed the intake component and 3) it helped my chronic back pain.

Still, I do look at the people now toiling through their exercises or pounding the weights and think to myself - I wonder if these people know there is an alternative, one that requires commitment, but is effective and affordable -  it is so easy!  do the PCP!  Easier said than done, though, as it took me several months of trying to tell myself why I DIDN'T need PCP or I COULDN'T do it for whatever bull shit reason (birthday next week, travel, friends party...and on and on) before committing - thanks for the push blo and bill.


Homework #2 - Abs exercise -

The Windshield Wiper - not sure if this has been previously posted...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CBJRg_67Xc&feature=fvw

No explanation necessary - not sure I can even pull it off, but will give it a whirl when I get back to tokyo and let you all know...

Day 80 - Tangible results

I never really told many people this, but a big part of my motivation for committing to PCP came from a physical exam I took in August of this year.  Aside from the usual finding of being "overweight" and having  "excess visceral fat" was that my cholesterol was off the charts at 260.  Am pleased to say I just received the results from a blood exam I took last Friday (day 73) and my cholesterol is back within the normal range at 192! 

On another note, last night during dinner I actually said "wow, this is some great broccoli" - which to my knowledge I have never previously muttered in my adult lifetime. 

Day 79 - Indulgence III and more

Was in China and elected to indulge on mexican food - kind of sounds backwards, but that is what I did.  Given the difficulty staying on course during business shindigs in China, I elected to roll with it and hit one of my usual Xiamen haunts - Coyote, which serves up surprisingly good mexican food and margaritas.  You said to hit it hard Patrick, so that is what I did.  My colleague and I started with the beef nachos and I went with 2 steak tacos and a fish taco for the main, and a premium margarita to wash it all down - I also ordered some cucumber sticks, just in the spirit of PCP.    All in all, where the other indulgences were fully appreciated, this one was underwhelming.  I won't say it was a letdown, but the taste just isn't quite as I remember it - maybe it was an off night or something.

With the indulgence out of the way, it was still very hard to stay on course (with the exception of breakfast) both meal and snack wise.  Meetings ate into snack time, and my chinese just isn't good enough to be able to order boiled eggs or steamed veggies and fish without salt or oil.  I definitely give my hosts a great deal of gratitude for trying, but I the "grilled assorted veggies" with no salt were actually fried veggies doused in oil, and the "steamed fish" came served in the same manner with surplus chili oil.  I am not sure if the food had anything to do with it, but I certainly felt less energetic than I have over the past few months, and was grateful to get home last night and steam some veggies and grill some chicken. 

Have a four days in Tokyo to recover before leaving for Europe on Monday.  Kind of disappointed that most of my last week of PCP will be on the road, but the time does fly by.  I think if I learned anything with this last indulgence, it is that I have really begun to enjoy the PCP way - something I would have never imagined back when I was forcing myself to stay sane while wolfing down the apple and egg white shakes.  Am really curious to see my habits come the end of December when I am no longer being told what to do.

Day 74 - Late Turkey Day Confession

Thanksgiving dinner - had one, last night (sat), with mixed results.  For starters, it was the first time I have not left a thanksgiving dinner in a tryptophan induced semi-catatonic state of consciousness, as I stayed on point with portion sizes and at least made an effort to indulge in a PCP compliant manner.  My friend had been kind enough to marinate the turkey in citrus, onions and herbs and no salt, so the turkey wasn't the usual thirst inducing main course I have become accustomed to over the decades of indulgence.  I had also brought some PCP compliant veggies (beets), and carbs for myself (whole wheat bread), so the meal itself was pretty much like any other meal over the past few months of the project.  I did make the stuffing (sauteed in butter of course) so it was only appropriate that I have a small spoonful to confirm it as edible.  However, I passed on the mashed potatoes, the cookies, the cranberry sauce and most of the other wonderful, traditional thanksgiving offerings.

The problem for me was the snacking, vino and the dessert.  Like most holiday feasts, the party at this one started well before the meal and the meal was served well after the planned time.  My plan was to eat around 3 and call it lunch then be home by 8-9 for a smaller, late dinner.  However, as 3pm came and went, the hunger pangs came as well and I filled them with raisins and almonds (there was no fruit in the house) and washed it down with sav blanc, then perrier (more than a liter of it).   Still, felt good that I avoided the full platter of home made chocolate chip cookies (I think my wife had 5 or 6 of them to represent) and the chips, cheese, crackers and other appetizers laying around the dining room.  Meal time finally arrived at about 6pm and it did not disappoint - it was great.  I easily had the smallest plate of food for anyone over 4 years of age at the event and felt neither full nor hungry. Then came the homemade pumpkin pie, which I thought I could do without, and didn't even crave - that is until I had a customary bite and liked it.  I followed it up with 3-4 more bites of my wife's plate as it feels better for some reason that i didn't have my own plate, like I wasn't really indulging in it, but merely offering an assist.

Dinner ended at about 830 pm and by the time I got home there was just no way I could put down an afternoon snack, dinner, and evening snack - so I had some grapes and called it a night.  Woke up this morning to see we have a new indulgence - I am not sure this would fully qualify and will need to think about whether or not I want to really go over board with an unhealthy meal this week.

The workouts are going well and I am getting to failure pretty regularly.  Did better on the bicycle and plank this week, but took a step back on the pull-ups.   Was initially having trouble getting 50g of carbs in me before the workout, but can definitely feel the improvement on the strength side when I do.  I also noticed that I can actually eat something shortly before working which is a significant improvement over my old self that would need 3-4 hours of digestion time before doing anything active, that is unless I wanted to vurp it up all over the gym.

On my way to Xiamen, China in the morning for a few days and am not really looking forward to it. Not so much that I don't like the place (I do) - however 1) it is harder for me to stay on course in china than other places - especially the egg/yogurt snacks, 2) I have only a few weeks left in Japan and need most of the time available to get the family affairs/move sorted, see friends, etc and 3) am missing the family more and more when I am away.   Will be dark until Wed night given China isn't blog friendly yet.