Day 30

I've been done for a couple of days but I wanted to finish this out with a closing statement.

When I started I weighed 170 lbs at 12% body fat.

Now I weigh 170 lbs at 10% body fat.

I'll do a picture when I can (hopefully this weekend).

By cutting out all pop, candy, baked sweets, only eating plant based foods during the day, working out five mornings and two evenings a week I feel I was able to lose the 2% body fat. I did zero supplementing while on the diet, and did not experience any ill effects.

I'm going to keep working out the same, and mostly follow the same diet restrictions (I'll allow sugary things on special occasions, like valentines day) but I'm sticking to the no-pop rule. I have an MMA fight in april, and I'm hoping to get down around 7% body fat by then.

Day 26

Had another hard class last night, I ate a big meal after class (about a half hour before bed again) and I have to say, that does the trick. I've always been indoctrinated that you're not supposed to eat during the two hours before you go to sleep, but there seems to be an exception in my case... The difference is night and day, I feel 100% better in the morning after a hard night of MMA when I eat a big dinner. Now I'll admit, these are some of the hardest workouts I've ever done... I don't think the same would be true if I was just going to the gym and doing half an hour on the treadmil or whatever, so it depends on the intensity.

On the diet front everything is going good, I really haven't had trouble sticking to the plan. Sometimes on a day I'm going to MMA class I'll eat some nuts for lunch instead of steamed veggies, but that's still a "plant based diet" so I'm not really breaking any rules. I would like to have the bulk of my daytime diet come from vegetables because I don't really eat that many in the evenings, but I'm not against eating nuts every once in a while.

Since I'm going to be in a fight next month I'm just going to roll this 30 day thing into next month, but I am going to lift my "no-sugar" ban for valentines day, because my girlfriend is an amazing cook :)

Day 24

I had my MMA class last night which ended at 8:30. I decided to eat a real dinner after my class to see if I felt better in the morning after (because nothing else had really worked). I grabbed some fazolie's (pizza and bread sticks) on the way home, and went to bed about a half hour later. Surprisingly I felt good this morning... I was a little sore from wrestling, but my energy level was fine, and I made it through the whole workout.

This just reinforces the fact, just because everyone says it is a certian way, does not mean it is that way for you. I've been training five days a week (twice a day two days a week) and have not suplimented protein once, and have not experianced any negative side effects.

Day 19

Finally! It's Friday... I must say, working out five mornings and two nights Monday through Friday does take it's toll on me by the end of the week. I had a good hard class last night, woke up feeling sore all over, but because I had a banana with some peanut butter before going to bed I wasn't completely exhausted when I woke up. I had another banana before I went to the gym this morning, so that gave me enough gas to make it through my workout. I weighed myself this morning, and I was at 166 lbs, that's a few lbs lower than when I started, I'm definitely starting to see a change in my shape though, so I'm not too worried about my weight. I'm in the last 11 day stretch of my 30 days so there won't be as much to post, but I'll take a picture when I'm done and throw it up there with my other two, that way I'll be able to see how my body has changed over the year.

Day 17

Well I'm over half way through my 30 day experiment on the warrior diet. My MMA class got canceled last night, so I wasn't able to try anything as far as keeping my energy up this morning. I did weigh myself this morning though, and I'm right around 171 lbs, not far off from where I started, but I do notice a difference in my sides and back. I think I'm loosing fat and gaining muscle.

Day 12

Last night before my MMA class I ate this...

It's a breakfast burrito :) (eggs, sausage, salsa, cheese, and multi-grain tortilla)

I have to say, I felt much better in my class energy-wise, and strength-wise. Since I did not eat after my class I woke up starving... I was so hungry I was unable to think straight, and I ached all over, like you do when you have the flu or something. So I was not able to finish my workout, I called it quits after about a half an hour (halfway through my workout). By this point I was feeling nauseous, and really thinking that I might actually be sick. I got some coffee and a couple of bananas from the local coffee shop, and a fruit and nut bar, strawberry and banana smoothie. After about an hour I'm feeling much better.

Day 11

Feeling much better this morning. Virtually all soreness is gone, my energy level was high (for waking up at 4:45 anyways) and my performance while working out was much better than yesterday (I was able to do more reps, with heavier weight).

There are two possible reasons for this day and night difference.

1. I had quesadillas last night, and consequently about a half pound of meat (the first real source of animal protein I've had in a couple of days.
2. Because I was feeling so crappy yesterday morning, and wasn't able to finish my workout with my normal intensity, I would basically call yesterday a "rest day".
   

Tonight I have my class, and since I had a good morning at the gym I'm going to change my evening meal a little bit to see if I feel better tonight and tomorrow morning. Instead of just eating oatmeal for dinner before class I'm going to eat a home-made breakfast burrito (whole grain tortilla, eggs, sausage, onions, & peppers). I'll know tomorrow morning if protein is a better pre-workout meal than complex carbs.

Day 10

I had forgotten how hard this is... not the diet, but training for a fight. I've been doing well on my diet, really haven't had any cravings for pop in the past few days and I feel better through out the day, so it seems like I'm getting used to hunger again.

Over the weekend I deviated from my plan a little bit by eating lunch on Saturday and Sunday. I don't think eating lunch every once in a while is going to ruin my diet, since for those evenings I ate far less due to eating lunch, and I still held to the no sweets plan.

Last night I had to eat before my MMA class, since it starts at 7 instead of 6 now and I don't want to eat at 9 o'clock after class... anyways I had a bowl of oatmeal last night, and I didn't feel like throwing up, which is good, but my overall energy level was low. It may partially be due to the fact that I'm working out in the mornings as well as going to my class in the evenings on tues and thurs, but I was dog tired at my class, and was not able to complete the workout with the intensity that I would have liked. On the flip side when I went to the gym this morning I was still sore from the previous days work, and lacked the motivation to push myself like usual. It's only wednsday, and I have another class tomorrow, but I feel like I may be on the verge of over-working myself. I think part of the problem may be my diet. I'm reading a book that indicates excessive protein intake can lead to cancer, heart disease, etc. So this week I've had very little protein in my meals, and no supplimentation. Tonight I'm having beef quesadillas for dinner :) so we'll see how I feel in the morning. I need to find a happy medium, where I can eat right, and still push myself to work hard, or else I'll get burned out.

Day 4

I'm four days into my program, so far so good. I've eaten according to plan, and gone to the gym in the morning every morning so far. I feel like it's already starting to make a difference, just in the way I carry myself it seems like I'm getting leaner. I measured in at 170 lbs and 12% body fat before the week started, so I'll keep checking every once in a while to monitor my progress. I'm not going for a specific shape, or size, but I'm trying to get into fighting shape for march.

On another note, I'd forgotten what cravings were like... it's safe to say I am addicted to pop, and sugar in general. It's been really hard to say no to the guys going out for mexican, and pop, and junk in general. But so far I've been strong.

Is it Friday yet?

I woke up and my body thought it was friday... took me about five minutes to convince myself that I wouldn't feel any better if I slept for another hour. Apparently the holidays have taken their toll. I'm feeling sore from my workout yesterday morning, since I've got my MMA class tonight I just did some HIIT training on the treadmill for 20 minuts before hitting the weight room. Another reason for running is because doing burpees all the time tend to wear on my shoulders, and by the end of the week I can't lift my hands over my head, so I'm taking it easy in that sense.

I did really well yesterday as far as eating goes. For dinner I had cajun chicken and whole grain pasta. My only regret is while I was waiting for the pasta to cook I polished off half a bag of sun chips (those garden salsa ones :P) while they were whole grain, I could have picked a more nutriant dense snack.

Back to work

Starting today I'm off of pop completely, no candy, pastries, baked desserts, or super suggary drinks (frapachino's, latte's etc.). I am going to allow myself to drink carbonated fruit juice on the weekends, and the occasional orange juice (fresh squeezed). Coffee will be taken with a zero calorie sweetener (stevia, splenda). 5 days a week I'm going to fast through the day (plant based diet without grains) and plan out my meals through the week so I'm not just eating the same old carb's every night.

I'm going to go to the gym five days a week (mon-fri) and I'll have MMA class tues and thurs night. This is my plan, and I'm going to try to stick to it for 30 days.