Day Forty Five

The 21.1k mark of PCP has been crossed - woohoo!

Back onto a regular schedule of exercise, though left the jump rope alone for today as woke up feeling tight in my right Achilles, which is a problem spot for me, so decided to leave it be - going to soak it again in a hot bath tonight and should be good by tomorrow.

Feeling really well after the marathon. Took it easy, as I was worried about my left knee. But all ok and still finished strong at around 4:35 min. Definitely being lighter helped.

Back on diet, and man am I looking forward to this week. As I mentioned in previous posts, there is a great vegetarian buffet restaurant in Hibiya park right where I work. But, I always have to trim back whats on the plate. Not this week - all you can eat veggies for lunch - I like it.

Here is my week 6 photo from Patrick's on Saturday. Muffin top is still hanging in there under the obliques and lower abs, but much less than before, starting to get some hard definition around the external obliques and even the magnus serata. Biceps are ok, but the other muscle groups I am keen to build up, particularly the lats and deltoids are still taking time.

Diet all ok - after my Saturday night carb loading on smoked oyster pasta sauce and fettucine - back to the apples and egg whites. Here is breakfast (bran flakes in boiled low fat mily and strawberries - great for a cold day).

Day Forty Four

So another marathon down. Feel pretty good - no injuries. Time was ok - considering the lack of serious running training. Tough balance with the PCP, as the running can burn off some of the hard-earned muscle along with the fat. However, I am less concerned with bulking up a lot of muscle - which though it looks great - is going to slow me up in the aerobic activities I am interested in like swimming, cycling and running.

Am very glad to slip back into a set program, one of the recurring problems I have is peaks and troughs with my training. Whenever I complete a big event like a marathon or an ironman, I tend to kick back and let myself slide for a few weeks and this is where the relentless visceral/sub-cutaneous fat has built up. So I am going to be back to a strict diet, though may throw in a few more egg whites to rebuild some of those muscles

Day Forty Two

Another day of early morning jumps, 1,500 of them - first couple of sets are painful, but building it into the morning routine.

Also, put in my last 7.5k loop of the Palace prior to marathon. Left knee had been bugging me (it always seems to be something), but it was ok today, so hopefully it will be ok on the day of the race. Also, have been working the lats in the gym, I figure that is my point of failure on pull-ups so have been going for some low resistance, high repetition pull-downs to try and build up strength there.

Diet is all ok. Sticking to the program. Though, I have to say the carb loading tomorrow night is going to make the pain of running the marathon all worthwhile. On average I would burn somewhere between 4,000 - 4,500 calories on a marathon - so that is at least a big bowl of pasta and pasta sauce ... smoked oysters, in pasta sauce, mmmm....

Day Forty One

Got up did my jump rope before breakfast and - while I made more mistakes skipping than I did on Day One till I had woken up - once done, I felt really good about it. Going to set the alarm clock forward 20 minutes to give myself more time to build this into morning routine.

Have come to grips with the new diet, don't miss the carbs at all. But, look longingly at the smoked chicken each night and can't wait to lunch-time protein allocation the next day. I am padding out some of the gaps with soy milk lattes, which I really enjoy.

Including a snap of my evening, egg-white whipped with soy and cinnamon/nutmeg and vanilla drink. This is awesome and sends me packing off to sleep each night.

Day Forty

Five more days to go to the half-way mark. Will be interested to take my measurements at the end of the week, but I feel like I have definitely shed some subcutaneous fat this week. The stuff just below my obliques is extra sticky visceral fat, and is not shifting ... yet.

Ran my usual 7.5km loop of the Palace and Hibiya Park, I am making a point to swing by the pull-up place and try and improve my feeble efforts on the bars each day. Still shocked at how tough these are. Went through the rest of the exercises, no problem, chest dips are a good burn.

Diet on track. I am measuring out the lunches carefully - usually a mix of fresh veggies (carrots, snowpeas), protein - smoked chicken/salmon, and an egg (if I don't have one for breakfast). Spacing out the snacks can be tough, though usually have a banana with my soy latte as morning and afternoon snack. However, many evenings I have conference calls so I tend to roll the evening snack into dinner - rather than have it just before bed.

Looking forward to catching up with the other PCPers down in Yokohama - good luck with the rest of the week's program.

Day Thirty NIne

Ok - most of the exercises I can handle without to much drama. Even the pistol squats, though I agree with the posts I have seen about these being tough on the knees.

The one thing that gets me is the pull-ups. Not the incline pull-ups which I have been able to do ok - found a bar fence near our place for that a few weeks ago. But the full deal pull-ups, which to be honest, I have been substituting other back exercises for, simply because we have no doorway ledges and nothing suitable near home - just found the place near work that I can do these, and man they are killing me.

Managed first set of 10, then 6 on the next set, then 2, then zero - just hung there from the bar helplessly trying to lift myself up.

Still on the plus side, diet is going well - am managing to push past to post-work hunger pangs. All the other exercises are good - put in an extra 7.5k around the Palace today, so burnt an extra 733 calories on that. Am going to try taking Patrick's tip about getting in the jump rope first thing, but man is that going to be hard - am definitely not a morning person, till I get that first cup of coffee.

Day Thirty Eight

Still on track with the diet, though the cut in protein in this week's diet is definitely leaving me hungrier than last. I am starting to notice the changes though, pulling in the belt buckle a couple of extra notches, definitely looking leaner and feeling lighter.

I find the evening egg-white mixed in with soy milk and warmed up with cinnamon/nutmeg is a great way to go to bed. Got this tip from an PCPer (thanks Jason). But for me the really tough time is when I come back from work hungry and pull open the fridge. I have to have my measured amounts ready - or otherwise I would go loco and eat out the whole thing ;-)

Day Thirty Seven - post script

809 jumps - no fouls - a new record - woohoo!

Day Thirty Seven

Made it down to the yoga studio in Yokohama yesterday, which is always good motivation. Unfortunately, my stats flat-lined this week, so not much progress. Bit disappointed, but need to stay focused on the end goal. Previous PCPers tell me the big changes come in Week 9.

Still, you see that I have made a dent in the muffin top - so that is some progress

Still liking the new sets of exercises, side crunches is a new one on me, and finding really good on the obliques, which are one of my focus areas.

Today got in 23km around the Palace as probably the last training run before the Tokyo marathon which is coming up this Sunday. According to the Nike + app, this was 2,226 calories, so pretty good burn - but still going to do the PCP work-out today to make sure I stay.

Diet is still on track, though I am having to spread my dishes around, like a lot of PCPers, I have a tough time having exactly the right amounts at the designated times. So, am going with Patrick's suggestion of being a bit flexible inter-day, but not carrying stuff over between days.

Below is my evening vegetable snack 180g tofu with ginger (and a cup of tea)

Day Thirty Five

Finally found a chin-up bar that is convenient - though it is in Hibiya Park - so it can be a bit chilly.

My gym is pretty close, so I can go change, work out in the park - which is much better than inside a gym, even if it is cold, and then I can go back and sit in the sauna/spa and defrost. I noticed there are all these salary men in their shirt and ties doing the occasional pull-up, so I have a ready made peer group.

I am eating a lot of tofu these days, which is awesome with grated ginger. Not sure whether to treat it as vegetable or protein, but typically I opt for the former. Am also starting to fool around with different ingredients into the smoothies - nutmeg, vanilla, all pretty tasty.

Looking forward to next weeks sets and diet.

Day Thirty Four

Another good day. Cereal and a smoothy for breakfast - got to buy some more blueberries. I love those in the morning shake. Small salad and banana for lunch and used my protein quota on fish for dinner. Went out with some friends who I haven't seen for ages to a restaurant we have gone to for a long time.

Owner is a great guy and specially cooked up some PCP friendly grilled medai fish with ginger - so light and juicy it was just fantastic, along with a couple of grilled scallops - no salt. There was a couple of PCPers at dinner so not a lot of pressure, though I have to say the smell of the jumbo shrimps in garlic and onion was very tempting.

Exercises all done, haven't been able to top my record on jump rope, I find my legs get pumped after about 500 and I start making mistakes. Like some of the new exercises, the elevated tricep dip is another great one. Keep them coming!

Day Thirty Three

Okay, finished exercises and a 12k run today (2 loops of the Palace and Hibiya Park). Those chest dips are great - really get the burn going allow your pecs, lats and trapezius. Though, even with the heavy resistance band, I am not getting much out of the standing ovation sets.

Diet is still on track, and kilos are coming off. Down to 93.2k so finally touched the 50% mark of my original goal. Expect the going to be slower from here (hopefully as I replace fat with muscle). I am finding I prefer soy milk to low fat these days, and have started substituting it more into smoothies. See below for this mornings blueberry smoothy. Still love the yoghurt and berries though, so getting my dairy in there.

Day Thirty Two

Squeezed in a 5k run, interestingly according to the Nike + GPS app, at around 5 min per km, I burn around 100 calories per km. Would be interesting to know how many calories we would burn in the average PCP work-out.

Did my work-out at the local gym today. Went there because I figured they would have pull-up bars - what gym doesn't. Well apparently my one. Did the pull downs instead, which definitely worked the lats, but not sure if it hits the same muscle groups as pull ups.

Also did the 8min abs work-out at the gym, that video is so hyper-peppy it was definitely made in California - I would love to see a NY version of the same thing, "1,2,3 ahh fughedaboutit!" That said, it was a great work-out, and as Patrick mentioned - the enthusiasm, while over the top, does get you going.

Day Thirty One

Squeezed in a 5k run, interestingly according to the Nike + GPS app, at around 5 min per km, I burn around 100 calories per km. Would be interesting to know how many calories we would burn in the average PCP work-out.

Did my work-out at the local gym today. Went there because I figured they would have pull-up bars - what gym doesn't. Well apparently my one. Did the pull downs instead, which definitely worked the lats, but not sure if it hits the same muscle groups as pull ups.

Also did the 8min abs work-out at the gym, that video is so hyper-peppy it was definitely made in California - I would love to see a NY version of the same thing, 1,2,3 ahh fughedaboutit! That said, it was a great work-out, and as Patrick mentioned - the enthusiasm, while over the top, does get you going.

Day Thirty

Had a business call from NY in the middle of my evening work-out, which blew my rhythm, which sucks. Have been trying to get all my kit laid out so that I can get the whole thing done and dusted in under thirty (no way to get it under twenty unless I skip rope like Superman).

Anyways, finished my routine, and had my smoothie. Had banana as my afternoon fruit so used a half a papaya for my afternoon smoothie, with my evening egg white and a mint sprig. Looks as good as it tastes.

My super heavy resistant bands also arrived in the mail from the US today. It sure makes a difference on the bicep curls. Cannot use them on the double katana as I just stand there like a trussed goat grunting and trying to get my wrists above my ears. Swap over to the medium flex ones for that.

Below is the Week Four shot Patrick took, gradually wearing down that muffin top.

Day Twenty Nine

One third of the way through the project, and my stats at least are looking good! Woohoo

Did a quick workout with Patrick at his yoga studio, and came back and finished off the jump rope at home, 584 is now my new record for jumps - another woohoo.

Had some sauteed spinach and garlic in China town (was eating with the family) and came back and had my banana smoothy and apple. Here is another tip to anyone on the same end of the PCP diet with a banana, egg white and milk. Let the banana ripen till its soft (not brown and gross on the inside, but kind of soft and speckled on the outside) - tastes much sweeter then, and not as bland as a fresh banana - still miss the honey and nuts in the smoothy though. Ah well, wait for another indulgence.

Congrats to all the other PCPers who have hung in there to the 1/3 mark - hang tough for another 2/3s.

Day Twenty Eight

So, finally got a training run in for the Tokyo marathon. Did 17k around the palace and back to my place. Good news is that the snow had largely let up, bad news was that my left knee started to twinge on the return run, so pulled the plug (I had been aiming for 21k), as last time I did a long training run before Mumbai marathon I tweaked my right achilles and had to limp it round the course for 15k till the muscle loosened up.

Did my Day 29 work-out, I was a little worried about the jump-rope because of my knee, but actually so long as I keep my legs flexed it put very little strain on it. In fact I beat my record for straight skips, no breaks no errors at 524 skips - very happy.

Noticed the diet has flipped over again. Dinner has no meat! Still can make a pretty good smoothy with the ingredients and I love apples, so that is cool. For the meat dishes, I have found beef pastrami at Nissin is a pretty good buy, cold cuts and very lean - so it is convenient and healthy. Cooked up some chicken, pumpkin and garlic to eat tomorrow, and planning to make up a big batch of pumpkin soup on Sunday - mmm nothing like hot pumpkin soup on a cold day!

Oh, and as I got the run in, I finally had my indulgence while sitting on the sofa, watching Inception (my fav movie of 2010) and having my milk ration in a latte.

Day Twenty Seven

Swamped with work and late night calls - so missed my blog and only got my jump rope in. Still met my diet and plan to do the Day 26 exercises tomorrow to make up.

Here is my week 3 photo that Patrick kindly took. Muffin top is still there, despite the kilos coming off. But, I understand that it is the visceral fat round your belly that puts up the most resistance.

Anyways, am continuing to fool around with recipes. Am also pasting up a photo of last night's dish of fried mushrooms and garlic in olive oil with salmon and oregano. I am thinking the salmon is going to go pretty well with dill - so am going to pick up a big bunch of that when we go to Costco on Sunday.

The yogurt and berry smoothies are also a great way to finish the evening. Thinking of some ways I can put a spin on these. Throw in some mint, etc.

Day Twenty Five

Ok, bought new resistance bands. Found a place nearby where I can do pull-ups, all good to go on the exercise. Am being much more diligent about having all my kit laid out in advance, so that I do not waste time between sets. Jump rope is coming much easier now.

On food side of this whole thing, I am getting more imaginative about the meals - and have been checking out the recipe sites for interesting stuff to make out of the limited food types and amounts we can eat.

Here is one I dreamed up myself. Avocado (125g) stuffed with smoked salmon (75g) with lemon juice and capers to spice it up. Fried up some mushrooms and left over 35g of salmon as a side dish. Mmmmm..

Day Twenty Four

Found a vegetarian buffet in the middle of Hibiya Park, upscale and a little pricey for a work-day lunch for one. But good mix of vegetable dishes and pasta in olive oil and spices. Am pretty confident of how much 200g of veggies are by eyeballing it now, and left about a third of the pasta on the plate. Wasn't even tempted by the desert - so I must have crossed some psychological line. Headed down to do my workout, 1100 jump-rope here I come.

Day Twenty Three

Another day down! Did my exercises in around 30 minutes - as I managed to bust my resistant bands on the last shoulder set. I think it was a) buying a cheap set of bands from Don Quixote, and b) the pull down that actually did in the bands, but luckily no harm done - except to the bands. Am going to order a decent set on-line.

Also, went to Costco and bought an awesome amount of fresh berries, fruit and veggies, which I have now stuck in little freezer bags with the date and amounts written on them (how anal is that) still - makes me feel as I have a head start on the diet for the next week.

I am pasting in a photo of my desert, 180g of rasperries and 120g of low fat yoghurt, as I have been reading Richard's blog - which looks like a gourmet traveller magazine.

Feeling good and dropping those kilos, measured in at 93.7 at Patrick's - assuming I am not losing too much muscle mass, I should be making a dent in the muffin top soon.

Wishing you a good week to all those PCPers out

Day Twenty Two

Went down with Jason, James and Richard to Patrick's yoga studio and did the work out with them in 18 min flat. This is about half the time it normally takes me and really brought home the point that if you are focused you can squeeze the workout into any part of the day. Just got to be focused.

Was devastated to learn on the Week 3 vid that dried fruit was off the list (or at least only in reduced quantities). Dried mango has always been a fav of mine and have already had to give up the walnuts. Oh well, need to do a bit more prep and a trip to CostCo to pick up the low cost fresh fruit in bulk. Going to start experimenting with some recipes for what is still on the list.

Good luck to everyone on the program - would recommend a trip down to Patrick's if you can make it - good for motivation.

Day Twenty One

Woohoo!

1,000 ropes jumped and feeling good. got to branch out on my diet a bit though. Chicken as protein is fine as far as it goes, but thinking of lashing out and getting some smoked salmon to throw in with the tofu this w/end. It may be a bit bad, but I added just a touch of light soy to the avocados - been having them that way all my life and they taste pretty bland without it.

Althogether, feel like I am getting into the swing of this. Still a little snuffly from the cold, but definitely bouncing back - got to put some milage in this weekend for Tokyo marathon training as well. Hope everyone else is doing well, thanks to all the former PCPers for your encouragement - it really helps!

Day Twenty

Much better today! Cold all gone. Exercises all done and feeling good on my diet. Bring on week four!

Day Nineteen

Ughh! Sick with a cold. Went to bed about 8:00p and hate to say it but shirked the exercise. I figure that it is better to recover quick and get back into it than push it when you are sick and drag out your recovery. Spent today home - and starting to feel better. Will try and get in my set tonight if I am up to it.