Dave Fowler’s Daily Update Number 9

Thursday 11th December 2008

Damn, slept in AGAIN. This time until 5.30. The simple fact is I’m getting to bed too late.

I woke up with a pounding headache and a sore throat from the cold I’ve been incubating for the last week. It’s been building for a few days now and is determined to derail my fine efforts to get fit.

Picture: Robert Brook

Despite the headache I hauled ass out of the door and went running. The freezing conditions made it treacherous underfoot and I had to do some mincing style running on the hilly bits. The butt cheek twinge in my left buttock has moved across to exactly the same place on the right side. I wonder if I have a muscle weakness in that part of my anatomy?

Yesterday
I did the body weight exercises yesterday but they were tougher because I hadn’t had a day’s rest in between.

Late afternoon I took the dogs for a walk in the woods and knocked out a very brisk walk lasting 30 minutes. As an aside…. It’s so dark in the woods around 4.30pm that I can barely see where I’m going, but funnily enough I encounter more people in the woods when it’s dark. It worries me a little

My eating yesterday, was similar to Tuesday’’s but I was disappointed when I ate more than I wanted to at dinner. Getting presented with a plate piled high with food is a problem. Firstly I don’t like to see food going to waste and secondly I don’t like to insult the person preparing the meal by leaving two thirds of it on the plate. It’s not a problem normally because I’m usually the one that prepares and serves the meals, but yesterday my wife cooked and served the dinner – and I’m grateful – but as a result I ate too much.

Here’s Wednesday’s food intake:

• 0700 – Serving of Shreddies – whole milk and a teaspoon of sugar
• 1000 – Slice of chocolate cake WITH icing
• 1200 – Baked beans with two slices of brown oatmeal toast
• 1200 – OMG another slice of chocolate cake (no icing)
• 1230 – Cup of tea, whole milk, one sugar
• 1400 – Carrot
• 1700 – Good quality burger (grilled), mashed potato, carrots, peas.
• 1900 – Cup of tea, whole milk, no sugar
• 1900 – Apple

SOOO much sugar!!!

Weight Yesterday: 195.6
Weight Today: 195.4

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Dave Fowler’s Daily Update Number 6

Saturday 6th December 2008

In Daily Update number 5 Avlor and I were wondering (in the Friday Comments), whether there was a link between my recent lack of sleep, my desire to eat sweet things and overeating?

Picture: alastairb

Having only six hours sleep and therefore being awake an extra two hours each day means I’m more fatigued for sure, but I wonder if it’s more to do with the timing of my eating plan. I set my eating plan at a time when I was waking around 7am, but now I’m waking at 4am I want to eat breakfast at around 5am two hours earlier than normal.

Come 10 am when I would usually have a snack, I’m actually ready for my lunch and my belly is telling me that a snack is not good enough, so I end up eating sweets to satisfy my desire for energy dense foods. It’s a bad move.

I’ll review my eating plan again over the weekend and see if I can adjust what I’m doing.

The exercise is going well and I’m not too sore now. I’ve managed to get in a couple of extra long extra brisk walks with the dogs while my wife has had a few days off work. Not having to take the kids with me means the walks are more vigorous.

Sunday 8th December 2008

A day without any structured exercise has meant that I’ve been better able to control my eating.

I haven’t had my body telling me it’s worked hard and therefore wants to be fed more.

I also managed seven hours of sleep last night and that had to help.

I’m looking forward to my Monday morning run, but I know it’s going to be freezing.

Monday 9th December 2008

It wasn’t as cold as I feared it would be when I set foot outside my door, but it was cold enough.

It was tough to get going this morning and it was tough to keep going.

I suspect it will be the same every morning now that Winter is starting to bite.

Running at 4am has to be amongst the most ridiculous ideas I’ve ever had. But the honest truth is, if I left it until later in the day it probably wouldn’t get done.

So yes, it’s tough but it would be tough no matter what time of day I did it. Might as well be first thing when I haven’t had enough time to talk my way out of it.

My biggest challenge today is to repeat yesterday’s performance with my eating plan, i.e. stick to it.

After yesterday’s success in that department I believe I can do it again today.

This has been a good start to the week.

Have a great week yourselves!

NOTE: We have another post for you today at Blog To Fit, just follow the link to read about Dave Wright’s food choices and how you can help him make better choices

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Dave Fowler’s Daily Update Number 5

Thursday 4th December 2008

For the entire day yesterday I had the overwhelming urge to run, I have no idea why that was. I mean I wouldn’t say I love running, I like it well enough, but I don’t love it. Strange. Maybe I’m becoming Forrest Gump?

Picture: MindlessCreativity

Anyway I deferred yesterday’s bodyweight exercise right to the last knockings. My day was packed so tight I barely had room to stretch. So I didn’t. Anyway I was still sore from Tuesday’s exertions so the delay was justified.

In Wednesday’s update I reported that I’d rushed through the bodyweight stuff with bad form. In the comments Matthew Dryden pointed out that correct form is much more important than the number of repetitions, and of course he’s dead right.

My form was better this time but I still cranked them out too fast. Instead of doing my thirty repetitions in 2 sets of 15 I changed to 3 sets of 10 and it helped improve my technique… although I’m not happy that 30 push ups wipes me out these days – I’m not the man I was and sometimes that’s difficult to accept.

I’ve been struggling to keep up with my quota of sleep this week and Dad quite rightly pulled me up on that and I’m grateful. Last night I got a full seven hours in.

That said, it was the first time this week that I didn’t get straight out of bed with the 4am alarm. I felt very tired and this reflected in my run. I did it without stopping but I was slow and I wanted to stop half way through. Perhaps what I write next will explain it?

Okay, now for an admission: My eating yesterday was atrocious and I’m cross with myself. It was the sweet stuff and I ate with wild abandon. It’s not that I ate the sweets, it’s just that I didn’t stop after I’d had a few. I got to that point where I realised I’d harmed my progress….so I ate more! Not good enough!

Today and for the rest of the week I’ll stick rigidly to my eating plan. Sorry!

I won’t dwell on my mistake. The day has started well. Onwards and upwards.

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Dave Fowler’s Daily Update – Number 3

Wednesday 3rd December 2008

Woo Hoo! Once again I woke at 4am and got straight out of bed. I don’t know how I managed it as I didn’t get to bed till 10pm and even then I didn’t fall asleep for another twenty minutes or so.

I hit the streets again this morning and ran the mile and a half circuit around my neighbourhood. It was cold but at least it was dry, unlike my first run on Monday.

Picture: WiciaQ

It’s really very cold at 4am so wearing a woolly hat is essential, but I feel too hot in it after about half a mile. I need to look into how runners regulate their temperature – although it’s not a big deal as I’m not running too far.

I didn’t time the run precisely but it took about 12 minutes, which is fairly slow. The last time I was doing this seriously I regularly ran this distance in 10 minutes 30 seconds. To an athlete that would be slow but to a regular guy just turned forty it’s not too shabby. I’d like to get back to that kind of time now is not the time to push. For now, all that matters is that I run.

In the comments on Monday Urban Panther mentioned that she stretches after running rather than before and places greater emphasis on warming-down than warming up. I thought this was great advice so I followed it today. Thanks Panther.

Yesterday I did the body weight exercises element of my plan – 30 Push ups, 30 Dips and 30 Squats. I left these until mid morning as I just felt too cold first thing at 4am. I think it was a good decision.

I managed to complete the lot in two sets of 15. My form (the execution of the technique) was poor though. I rushed through the exercises too quickly because I was determined to not to fail. Tomorrow I’m going to do the same exercises in 3 sets of ten and I’m going to slow down – even if it means I don’t complete the desired number.

Yesterday, Lance, whose site has a great new look, mentioned how much squats hurt his thighs – and so that he doesn’t feel all alone… I can confirm that squats hurt my thighs too!

Another great start to the day. All I need to do now is stick to the eating plan.

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Dave Fowler’s Daily Update – It’s Dark Outside

This is the first of my daily updates as promised in my last post where I talked about a sub-optimal approach to fitness and fatloss.

NOTE: The main post of the day is David Wright outlining his fitness plan.

Please go and check it out. He’ll never forgive me if I steal his thunder.

Picture: vanGTO

Monday 1st December 2008

At 4am I hauled my 198 lb carcass out of bed and put on my running gear. I didn’t know what the weather was doing and I wasn’t going to find out because I didn’t want to give it any rational thought.

I stepped outside and immediately felt the cold and the rain in my face. It’s December in England – of course it’s cold and raining.

I fully expected to be running in the pitch black but surprisingly the streetlights were all on – and it was nice that they were on but it really didn’t matter because I was going to be going running this morning come hell or high water.

I’ve been putting it off this last two weeks claiming that I didn’t have the time and I wanted to get my diet sorted first. Well, the diet isn’t quite there yet and not finding the time is a pretty lame excuse.

There were no excuses this morning. I was determined to start the first day of December as I mean to end the month – actively perusing my fitness and fat loss goals.

Woolly hat atop my head, I walked about thirty paces before breaking into a jog, and I didn’t stop until I’d completed a mile and a half.

This first run was a major victory for me. Previous attempts at getting fit have seen me quit my first run half way through and feel discouraged, but I’ve learnt from my past mistakes.

The brisk walking I’ve been doing over the last fortnight has without a doubt ensured that I was able to complete the run without having to stop and catch my breath. My legs didn’t feel fatigued but I felt a niggling twinge in my left butt cheek.

Getting out of bed at four in the morning and going running without any sort of warm-up to speak of, probably isn’t the greatest idea in the world. But it’s something that had to be done today. And I’ve done it.

Don’t forget to go and see Dave Wright who offers up a realistic approach to weight loss and diet.

Want a bit of humor and motivation delivered via email every weekday? Subscribe to get each BlogToFit post delivered for free! Email not your thing? That’s okay, you can also subscribe via RSS – like all the cool kids do. It’s also free. Unless you really WANT to pay us.