Tag Archives: data

Day 119: An involuntary precision

Day 119 - front

Weight: 133.6 lbs.
Workout C: 15 minutes, 15 seconds; next: Workout C, Dec. 24
Total inches: 122.1
Protein: 128 g (2 g over target)
Calories: 2,310

I sometimes still surprise myself.

What has surprised me the most, 4 months in on Project Bulk, is my meticulousness around all aspects of this project. I know what I’ve spent, to the penny. I weigh myself first thing each morning, then wrap the tape measure around various limbs.

I calculate and recalculate what to eat to hit my calorie targets. If I’m bothered by any one aspect, it’s that my form on lifting and curls isn’t great. I bet if I were in front of a wall mirror, I could pinpoint where I need to improve my movement.

Such precision probably isn’t needed to accomplish my simple goal of gaining muscle. It’s just part of who I am. It’s what I do in blogging, in training, in measuring, in project work. It gives me clearer direction in what’s working and what isn’t.

I can be bigger. I don’t think I can ever be less precise.

Day 119 - side

Day 5: Setback! Aiyee!!

Day 5 - sept 5

Weight: 122.2 lbs.
No workout today
Total inches: 114.4
Protein: 116 g (on target)

I’m close to my starting weight and size. Panic!

Not really, but the trouble with tracking numbers is becoming lost in the data. Five days in, and it’s going in the opposite direction.

Having crunched millions of pieces of data over the years, I know how important it can be to look at both the big and the little picture simultaneously. Five days isn’t enough to judge anything on.

(Part of it can be attributed to user error. Each day, I can’t seem to measure each thigh properly, because I can’t get the measuring tape around my leg in the same exact location every time. Arms, belly and hips? No problem. Thighs? Like measuring a wet cat.)

day 5 chart

Target weight: Days 1-5

Do I eat more? No. Do I work out more? No.

I kinda wish I could ignore the numbers for the next 25 days, but I know they’re keeping me on track, even if each day isn’t perfect. I’ve read friends’ diet blogs, and I know from their years of daily blogging that they have triumphs and setbacks. But in the end, they lost hundreds of pounds because they kept at it.

I’m not panicking. I’m enjoying the ride, wherever it takes me.

Day 2: Learning to stuff my face

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day 2

Weight: 122.6 lbs.
No workout today
Total inches: 112.4
Protein: 119 g (3 g over target)

Having done small fitness routines before, I expect a little soreness the day after. But I was lucky today: no aches, just tired. Luckily, it’s a holiday weekend.

Having changed my eating habits radically 5 years ago, I eat small portions of real food daily. My worst habits are eating “bachelor dinners” (popcorn! cereal!) and drinking diet sodas throughout the day.

My new challenge is counting protein grams, something I’ve never done before. I’ve never dieted, so I haven’t endured the mind-numbing task of looking at labels and recording calories and other nutritional data.

The milkshake makes it easier in some ways: 75 calories for drinking about 4 cups in one sitting (though I could easily save some for later in the day). I had planned on going to a friend’s cookout down the street, and he was serving hot dogs and hamburgers.

I searched on Google for the protein content of each, and then estimated if I ate four hot dogs or one hot dog and two hamburgers, I’d be set. That’s more than I usually eat, especially at a party, but this is my “job” now.

The first hot dog was easy, starving from earlier today. And then I had two bratwursts on buns in a row. The third brat was slower, but manageable. (No danger of winning any extreme eating contests here.)

I know that if I stay on target with workouts, then my only other real task is to eat enough protein to build muscles. I like to eat, so the only dull part is looking up numbers and recording them on my spreadsheet.

It’s bodybuilding for accountants.