Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Check In, Weigh In

Ok, last two days are in the books:

Tuesday, January 10th: 1530 calories consumed (fiber one and milk in the morning, turkey sandwich and baked cheetos for lunch, veggie omelet for dinner); hit the gym for back, biceps, shoulders, abs, and a quick run. 1530 calories consumed - 1990 basal rate - 600 burned = - 1060 calories.

Wednesday, January 11th: 1400 calories consumed (fiber one and milk in the morning; green beans curry, masala corn, turkey breast, and greek yogurt for lunch; string cheese and veggie omelet for dinner; 3 nestle dibs for a small dessert); played about an hour of squash today. 1400 calories consumed - 1990 basal rate - 600 burned = - 1190 calories.

Current weight: 186.4 lbs
Target weight: 180.0 lbs
Time frame: 4.5 weeks

Let's go.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Assault Update

Made it through the weekend relatively unscathed, although I know I could have been better. The Friday night planned cheat was ok. Saturday, Bocephus put a sausage pizza in front of me, so I had two pieces. Sunday, TheFace came to NYC to visit, so I joined him for a few drinks and yes, we had an appetizer sampler. Ugh. But it's ok. Saturday was rest day, Sunday chest, triceps, forearms, and 10 minute run; Monday, back on the plan with 1650 calories consumed and 75 minutes of squash. Today, back, biceps, shoulders, and run. Generally, the goal is 2 pounds per week of healthy weight loss. Last Tuesday began at 190. This Tuesday, I'm at 187.4. One week in the books. 5 more to go.

Current weight: 187.4
Target weight: 180
Time frame: 5 weeks

The LSU Stinker

I got home last night from the gym excited to watch a great game of "big boy football" between Alabama and LSU. Problem is, only one team came to play big boy football. With all due credit to the LSU D, which was pretty excellent all day long, the Tigers just didn't bring the wood in the biggest game of the year. LSU fans the world around are still wondering what the hell Les Miles' game plan was for last night--if he had one, we never had a chance to see it, because LSU's offense simply could not stay on the field and exert their will on Alabama's D.

My suspicion is that Miles went into the game telling his team that, if they did exactly what they did in Tuscaloosa, they would come out victorious--play stout D, test the edges with sweeps and options, and hit a couple big plays downfield to keep the D honest. Not a bad plan, but it always pays to have a Plan B. After the first 2-3 series, it was abundantly clear that a) Alabama had prepared like crazy to defend the option and b) Jordan Jefferson was not running the option effectively. As Herbstreit pointed out on multiple occasions, Jefferson never successfully drew the challenge of the defensive end tracking him on the option. Instead, Jefferson always pitched early, allowing his poor running back to be swarmed by a gang of Bama defenders. I don't know the stats, but I would be surprised if the LSU option attack even gained one yard last night. Every play seemed to go for -2 or -4 yards. As an LSU fan, the lifeless option attack was supremely frustrating to watch. When the futility of the option became clear, LSU needed a different attack. Whether it's Jarrett Lee or power running or a bevy of quick slants and screens, something new needed to happen. Perhaps the most frustrating part of the game was  seeing that LSU did not change course or try anything different. Repeatedly, LSU threw horizontally for 4 yard losses, ran options for 3 yard losses, and found themselves in third and long situations. With a QB whose greatest weakness has always been holding on to the ball too long, third and long is not a good situation. And as expected, every time Jefferson dropped back to throw, after 2-3 seconds, he was enveloped by the Alabama D line.

Now, as much as I can bitch about LSU having come with a shoddy plan and not executing, let's think about what Alabama did. In the national title game, they held the #1 team in the nation to less than 100 yards, only gave up FIVE first downs, and only allowed LSU to convert 2 of their 12 third down opportunities. On offense, Alabama did something no other team could all year--they threw on LSU repeatedly, and with success. Clearly, LSU came into the game so prepared to stop Trent Richardson, they gave no thought to AJ McCarron and his apparently underrated corps of wide receivers. McCarron shredded what we thought was one of the best secondaries to ever step on the field, and did it with seeming ease. Great game plan by Saban, using Alabama's year-long demonstrated success in the run game to set up early down play-action fakes all night long. And once Bama gained credibility in the air game, LSU was toast. At that point, every dropback had to be honored, opening up a lot of space for the run game. And what did we see at the end? Lacy and Richardson gashing the LSU front seven for multiple 10+ yard runs and a devastating TD run to seal the game. In my opinion, Alabama put together a great game plan and played just about as close to a perfect game as they possibly could have. Kudos to them.

From this LSU fan, there is no question who the best team in the nation is after last night's display. In every facet of the game, Alabama outshined LSU. Even in the first meeting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama looked like the more dangerous team; LSU just managed to scrap out a win in a hard-fought FG fest. So, good for Alabama. But watch out for LSU--they have just about that entire D returning, and have got a gunner (and a Gunner) at QB coming in next year.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Duke Thoughts

Interesting week for Duke bball, and really the first big test for a young team. I think, after the Ohio State massacre a few weeks back, any Duke fan saw these early January dates at Temple and at Georgia Tech and perhaps saw some writing on the wall. This is a team that plays very well at Cameron, but outside of Cameron and especially in hostile, away team environments can be extremely shaky.

Well, the Temple game proved what we thought--Duke is a young crew who still hasn't figured out how to string together a complete, strong game on the road. That's why today's win at Georgia Tech was a big step for the Blue Devils. On the resume, it is a meaningless win, but for a team still finding its identity, it's a big step in the right direction. The Devils jumped out to an early big lead and perhaps sat on it a bit, eventually letting Tech into the game at the end of the first half and throughout the second half. Thanks to some clutch free throw shooting from Ryan Kelly, the team found a way to scratch out a hard-fought win in a tough environment. Now, does this mean I expect us to go into Maryland and the Dean Dome and come out with wins? Hardly. But, progress is being made--so mark this as a big day for this team, getting its first true road win of the season.

And for one minute, let's talk about Quin Cook. Coming into the Temple game, the guy had played 47 minutes of turnover-free basketball, logging 17 assists. I think the kid is making a strong play for that starting PG spot, and I think K is taking note.

Assaulting!

It's been a couple days, so in my effort to be accountable, here are the assault results from the last couple of days.

Thursday - back, biceps, shoulders, 10 minute run (8:30 pace). Cereal in the morning, small turkey sandwich for lunch (meaning 1 slice of bread), post-workout protein shake, green salad with cucumbers, broccoli, bell pepper, and grilled chicken for dinner; 10 minutes of abs before bed. 1690 calories - 1990 basal rate - 500 burned = -800 for the day.

Friday - 75 minutes of squash with Ach; designated CHEAT DAY with Bocephus for his birthday. Fiber one bar and banana in the morning, small turkey sandwich and baked cheetos for lunch, and then a blackout at Sonic for dinner--SuperSonic Double Cheeseburger with medium fries and a cherry coke zero AND a little less than half a frito pie shared with Bocephus. 2530 calories eaten - 1990 basal rate - 800 burned = -260.

The legs are tired today, so it'll be a rest day. Fiber one in the morning, small turkey sandwich and baked cheetos for lunch. Dinner plan is egg and turkey scramble with chopped peppers and onions. Tomorrow, back to the gym for chest, triceps, forearms, and a quick run.

Current weight: 187.2
Target weight: 180
Time frame: 5 weeks

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Random Thoughts

No particular theme here, just a late-night blog post.

For this weekend's football games, I like the Saints over the Lions (please God let me be right), the Giants over the Falcons, Bengals over Texans, and Steelers over Broncos. No idea what will actually play out, since each of those last 6 teams has had some major Jekyll and Hyde tendencies this year. In addition, the Saints-Lions game will likely become a shootout which anyone can win. In any event, it will be a fun weekend of football.

Got my belated Christmas gift from TheWife last night in the mail. Lo and behold, it was a Nikon D3100 digital SLR camera with an extra telephoto lens (55mm-200mm). She really nailed it on the head there--I've always wanted one, but never could bring myself to drop the dough to buy one. Now that she's gotten it for me, I'll immerse myself in photography again--something I used to do, but somehow stopped in recent years. Already downloaded 4 iPad apps so I can read about composition, depth of field, and all that great stuff and finally start taking some quality shots. Thanks, TheWife!

On another note, it's good to be back home after the 10-day vacation to Louisiana/Ohio for the holidays. Got the warm fire at my feet right now, watching X-Men 2 with Bocephus, and continuing to rehydrate after a long weekend of boozing and two good workout days.

Finally, the assault is in the books for today. Cereal and a banana in the morning, a small turkey and cheddar sandwich and a handful of baked cheetos for lunch, and a 3 egg yolk (whoops!), 5 egg white omelet with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and cilantro for dinner. All in all about 1550 calories without ever feeling too hungry during the day. On the exercise front, put in about 30 minutes of one on one basketball with Ach, and then 45 minutes of squash for what daily burn calls an 800 calorie workout. So the net for today would be 1550 eaten - 1990 basal rate - 800 extra calories burned with exercise = -1240. I can live with that. Tomorrow, back on the weightlifting train--back, biceps, shoulders, and a brisk run.

Current weight: 189.2
Target weight: 180
Time frame: 6 weeks

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The Assault - Update

Ok, so, the assault sort of went on a hiatus for the last week. I say sort of because I was in Louisiana visiting the family, so I had no available gym. There, I have a treadmill and a yoga mat, so cardio and pushups are my only legitimate options. While I was there, from December 22-29, I did the following:

Dec. 23 - Walked 9 holes of golf (3,100 yards of just course yardage, probably more considering I hit the ball all over the place; call it 2.5 miles) with Dad and Ro
Dec. 24 - Walked 18 holes of golf with Dad and Ro (5 miles)
Dec. 25 - Walked 2.5 miles in the morning with Dad
Dec. 26 - Ran 4.5 miles on the treadmill (10 minute pace), followed by 5-7 minutes of abs
Dec. 27 - Walked 2.5 miles in the morning with Dad; walked 9 holes of golf with Dad and Ro (2.5 miles)
Dec. 28 - Walked 2.5 miles in the morning with Dad; walked 18 holes of golf with Dad and Ro and Haddox (5 miles)
Dec. 29 - Walked 9 holes of golf with Dad and Ro
Dec. 30-Jan. 2 - New Year's blur in Cleveland. Eating was kept under control, for the most part, but snacking did occur, as did intense boozing. Severe setback.

As you can see, there was little to no intense cardio for the last 10 days, but at least I was being active and getting out of the house. Generally, I kept my eating in check--a few cheats with pizza, sonic, fried chicken, but hey, it's the holidays!

This morning, I reluctantly stepped on the scale, and fortunately, was 190 still. I was about 188.6 the day I left for Louisiana, so the holidays definitely were a setback, but not gigantic. Today, I got right back on the horse though--bowl of cereal around 11am, fiber one bar around 2pm, and then hit the gym for chest, triceps, forearms and an 8 minute mile. Dinner was a restricted portion of TheWife's ricotta gnocchi with fra diavolo sauce (I had to, or else she would have been pissed watching me make an omelet while her gnocchi was sitting there) and a muscle milk protein shake. All in all, likely well under 2,000 calories for the day with a solid workout at the gym; 10 minutes of abs before bed and today will be in the books. Tomorrow, we'll do cereal again in the morning, perhaps a turkey sandwich and baby carrots for lunch, cardio in the afternoon, and then an omelet with tomatoes, onions and mushrooms in the evening. Baby steps, headed back in the right direction.

Current weight: 190
Target weight: 180
Time Frame: 6 weeks