Kelly's Weekly Update

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Kelly's Weight Report

Hey everyone, here's my least favorite part of every week! The part where I tell you how much I weigh.  I've had a pretty good week in terms of weight loss: 3.5lbs down!  I'm pretty happy with that although the id part of my brain keeps saying that I've been on this diet for 2 months now, I should be down more than 12.6lbs.  Then the sane part of my brain takes over and reminds me that Rome wasn't built in a day, and I have a very long way to go.

The diet is still an adjustment,  I still miss all my favorite carbs (I'm looking at you, potatoes), but it's getting easier.  I've noticed since I've cut simple carbohydrates from my diet I'm not able to eat nearly as much as I used to.  I'm not sure if that's a side effect of lessening my sugar intake or if it's just placebo on my part but it's been interesting to experience.  I've also had a much more consistent energy level, as well as an easier time focusing at work and at home.   I've also cut way way back on alcohol intake for about a month now, so hopefully that will contribute to the goal as well.

Workouts are still really hard and I get winded faster than I'd like, but I keep doing them thanks to lots of prodding and encouragement from Jacob. I pulled a muscle in my calf 2 weeks back, and it's the first time I've ever pulled a muscle.  Now I understand why athletes take so much time off due to them, it freaking HURTS.

So that's about it as far as updates go for me.  I know I'm probably shouting into the void here, but in the event that someone is listening I hope this is encouraging.  If I can lose weight, then there's hope for everyone.

My Workout Playlist

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We all love music for working out right? Since I workout at home, I use a Chromecast Audio to stream my music to speakers on the other side of my basement. While the Chromecast can get uppity with me at times, it works really well for the most part. 

I also use Spotify for my music, because I love their collaborative playlists but I believe that Amazon music will work with a Chromecast and I know, Google Music will. 

My playlist is all over the place, I'm sure it drives my wife nuts. I've got Nerdcore, Classic Rock, Synth Pop, Old School Christian, Metal and everything else. Feel free to check out my playlist here 

-Jacob
@jacobingalls

Should I be using supplements?

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We have all seen workout supplements and most of us have probably tried them, but if you haven't and are considering trying them here's some pros and cons.

Things You Should be Taking Anyway
I don't consider protein a supplement, most people who are working out don't get enough protein in their diet and it is an absolute must for building your body up in a healthy way. Even if your mainly doing a cardio workout, protein is a must. 

I currently drink a muscle milk for breakfast, because of the convenience of the premade bottles that I can buy at Wal-Mart. If you're going for bulk powder, my personal favorite is Dymatize  but Syntha-6 from BSN is also very good and is a lot cheaper.

On to the Cons
Lets start with the cons of supplements. First, they are pricey, a full regiment of supplements will easily run $100 a month or more depending on what you are doing and how often you are taking them. 

A full regiment generally includes
Creatine
Protein
Aminos
Pre Workout
Post Workout

Along with the monetary price, supplements can have a negative impact on your body, and aren't always up to FDA standards for purity and other things. 


Pros
Especially when first starting to workout, supplements can work wonders, you can progress a lot faster than you would other wise and they can greatly reduce the soreness that you feel. Longer term they can help you progress and get definition or bulk or cut, depending on what you want them to do and what you buy.

I am currently supplement free but if you are interesting in seeing what my old routine was, here is what I did 

Creatine
Aminos
Pre Workout
Post Workout - I rarely did a post workout

Hi, my name is Kelly

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Hi everyone! Jacob is letting me post here because he's not the only one on this nerdfit journey.  I'm his wife, Kelly.   Over the past year I've started having various health issues like high blood pressure and constant fatigue.  I've seen many doctors about what's going on, but I'm pretty sure the reason for these symptoms, a long with my others, is pretty simple: I'm fat. 

I've deluded myself for a long time about it.  I lied to myself about how much and what I eat, how much I drink, and blamed my tightening clothes on the dryer shrinking them and the inconsistency in clothing sizes.  Ya know, the usual rationalizations.  However, a trip to the endocrinologist snapped me out of my delusions when he was wonderfully blunt and just said: "you need to prioritize weight loss in your life, or things are going to keep getting worse".  This was in late December 2016 and I'd weighed in at 190 with a 41" waist.  This is completely unacceptable for someone who is 5'2".  Dr. Rometo gave me some pamphlets on medically supervised weight loss programs (that was a shocking thing to receive) along with information on glycemic index, he also suggested joining weight watchers for increased accountability.  

The weight gain hasn't been a sudden one, and all of it has been my fault.  Here's a picture of me in 2006, it's the oldest one I could find.  This is when the weight gain started.  I was in college and I'd just turned 21.  I'd been a competitive swimmer for 9 years but I'd quit due to shoulder injuries and my university not having a swim team.  My boyfriend of 4 years had just dumped me and I was about to fall into a very deep depression.  These were the circumstances around my weight gain, I'm not trying to say that I was blameless, I just feel the story is important.

It wasn't just my weight that was effected here, due to the depression I allowed myself to fall into some very very bad habits.  Even though I wasn't on an athletic team anymore to this point I'd been working out and joined various intramural clubs that kept me active and social.  I was part of Tae Kwon Do and a regular at the campus gym before the depression set in.  After the depression however, all of that ended.  I started playing World of Warcraft and allowed myself to get completely sucked in.  It became my surrogate life where I was actually able to feel in control and forget about the fact that I was so unhappy in my life outside. Now, there's nothing inherently bad or life ruining about this game, I play it now and i enjoy it; but at the time I allowed it to become an addiction.  I played 12 hours a day at least. I nearly failed out of college, stopped taking care of myself, and I developed a habit of binge eating while sitting on my computer.  With the binge eating I also started to purge, thus... bulimia became a part of my life, again.

Now, the bulimia didn't start in college.  That actually started in high school, but it was a very small thing that I did as a part of an attempt to lose weight for, of all stupid things, prom.  However, coupled with the depression and self loathing the bulimia consumed me.  For about 5 years I binged and purged daily.  A trip to the dentist in 2010 snapped me back to reality when it came to how much damage I was doing to myself.  I had 16 (SIXTEEN) cavities in my mouth caused by all the acid erosion.  It was thousands of dollars to repair.  This snapped me (mostly) out of the purging. Its something I struggled with for years, and I still sometimes feel the urge; but my eating habits didn't change.  Binge eating just became my normal.

My weight held steady between 150 and 170 for a long time.  Mostly because my jobs kept me on my feet (working as a lab tech) and I met Jacob who's been a good influence on me when it came to working out, but my diet has never ever been something I thought about.  I ate whatever I wanted in whatever quantity I wanted.  Though, in 2014  we moved to Pittsburgh and I got my first desk job and predictably, my weight ballooned.  Here's what I look like now. This is my starting place and my work is cut out for me.  

My diet has changed dramatically.  I've cut out all alcohol and simple carbs.  Focusing on eating foods that have a low glycemic index.  I've lost about 8-10lbs so far and the weight continues to come off slowly.  Right now I'm frustrated with how slowly this is going, but I have to keep telling myself that it's a long road and Rome wasn't built in a day.

The Superhero Fallacy and Optimal Conditions

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We have all seen Chris Pratt, Chris Evans or Chris Hemsworth in a Marvel movies and have lusted, been jealous or both when we seem their superhuman physique. As someone who works out, and has worked out fairly consistently for most of my adult life, I have never been able to look anywhere near that and at times, it has discouraged me greatly.

Yes, ladies, we dudes do feel insecure when you start drooling over dudes, just like you do, when we do it to the ladies. 

The thing I want to get across to everyone out there, is yes you could look like those guys, if you had the conditions they have, but that is the thing, we don't. Most if not all of those actors are well off, they can afford nutritionists and personal chefs to make optimal diets, not just for working out, but the stage of the workout they are in. Just take a look at what Chris Pratt had and did.

In addition to being able to have perfect nutrition, they have the time and are paid to be in this kind of shape. Most of us, might have an extra hour per day to work out, instead of 3 or 4 per day. We also don't have former navy seals designing our workouts.  

This post is not to discourage, but to uplift. Do the best you can and be the best you, while knowing that if you had the optimal conditions you could be Thor, Cap or Star Lord

-Jacob

Jacob Recommends: Focus T25

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Beachbody Inc.,
Buy on Amazon

Starting to workout, or getting back into it can be a hard thing to do, so I am here to give you my recommendation on how to get that going, and that is T25 from Shaun T and Beachbody. It is a great cardio workout that is only 25 minutes long and will shred your abs if that's what you're looking for (and who isn't?). I personally no longer do T25, but I still mix in a lot of the exercises into my punching bag routine.

The thing I really love about all Shaun T workouts is the modifier aspect of it, which is a lower impact/easier to do version of the move, which lets people slowly work into the program without killing themselves. 

The other great aspect about T25 is the fact that all you need is resistance bands and floor space to do it, which keeps the cost down a lot. 

If you're thinking about doing it and want a highly in-depth review check out Dumbbells and Diapers' 

#GastonChallenge 1 Recap

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Yesterday I posted the first #GastonChallenge video of me doing push-ups, for those not familiar with the youtube i'm talking about, I have linked it below.

My initial pace is 13 push-ups in 9 seconds, which is 1 second off Gaston's pace, which is pretty good I think, and my total count is 31 push-ups in 30 seconds which is a solid pace and a solid number. My overall goal is to get to 75 in 60 seconds. I know that is a very torrid pace, but here's hoping

-Jacob

Jacob's Gym

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I live in the Northeast and I am lucky enough to have a basement that can be used to workout in. Right now the gym area consists of a Punching bag, gym flooring, kettle bells and resistance bands. There isn't a lot of space, so I have had to become very economical with it and the workout I do. 

I do a mix of Mauy Thai, High Intensity Interval Training and Weights, all of which are confined inside the 5' by 8' space that I have. As you can see with the pictures below, just a little effort can go a long way in transforming a space into a highly usable workout area. If you want to build your gym like mine, below will be some links

I know that not everyone has the ability to have a space like that and that's something I'll talk about next time.

-Jacob 

Gym Link Below:

Jacob's First Post

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Me and my Piggie

Me and my Piggie

What's up everyone, this is Jacob from Hi Fantasy and Great Scott, to talk to you about my #fitnessjourney. It is funny how that became to dominate workout blogs, YouTubes and other things, I work out for 2 simple reasons, 1) to not get fatter and 2) so my wife will still want to have sex with me. 

If you listen to my podcasts, you know that I'm a giant nerd, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be fit and hot giant nerds, and I hope this blog will help you want to get into better shape and give you some ideas on how to do it