Body Composition Challenge, Day 4

Who knew food affected your mood?

No Diet Coke, no popcorn and no...extrasensory enhancements make life a whole lot less fuzzy.

Is that a good thing?

Body Composition Challenge, Day 3

Thanks to the magic of the internet, I wrote and published this yesterday.

The toughest part by far in losing weight isn't working out regularly, it's not eating the right food and it's not even giving up soda. It's eating LESS food.

I work from home, where something to munch on is always available. I'm used to snacking multiple times a day instead of eating three large meals, but my problem is still quantity. When I was training for tough mudder, I easily put away 3500ish calories per day. This amount, coupled with my exercise, was enough to keep my weight even.

But because I'm not recovering from ingrown toenail surgery on both big toes, working out isn't really an option. Yes, I realize my arms aren't broken and there is a ton of stuff that I can do that won't affect my toes, but what I'm most concerned about is my body's ability to heal quickly. I don't want to be sore AND hurt, so I'm trying to offset my lack of exercise in the gym with more dog walking, more movement during the day and less food.

The food thing has been tough so far. My regular breakfast of turkey ham, egg whites, spinach and a little hash browns is going fine, as is my morning snack (protein/banana shake) and my lunch of chicken, spinach and whatever else I can find is super.

But then late afternoon comes around and I find myself craving popcorn, something sweet and something to keep me not bored.

Only two diet cokes for the past two weeks, though. And no microwave popcorn this week. Progress!

Also, did you know that pineapple has a ton of calories? Lots. Look it up.

Pictured below is Liberty Market's Western Scramble. I ordered it with meat and eggs only, ate the fruit and covered everything in salsa. No biscuit for me. Not a calorie-lite meal, but it tasted fantastic and wasn't terrible for me.

Body Composition Challenge, Day 2

At this time last year, I was already wishing I hadn't said yes to training with Vin Vallejo. I had puked my first day.

My first day.

My second day wasn't going a whole lot better when I realized that Vin would like not make me puke again, so I did the work.

This year, I don't have access to the same training. While I am four pounds lighter and much stronger, I'm also recovering from ingrown toenail surgery - on both big toes - making working out of any kind difficult.

Then I figured it was finally time to make better food decisions. I resisted the urge to chow down on Diet Coke and microwave popcorn and opted for cucumbers and mixed seeds instead.

I'm hungry, but that will go away. Starting p90x tomorrow, provided my toes can handle it. If not, I'll still head to the gym at my place and lift some upper body.

The food part is the hardest thing.

5th Annual Pro Fitness AZ Body Composition Challenge Starts Today

Last year, I got stronger.

This year, I'm going to win.

I'll be posting daily updates here under the tag 'bodycomp', with weekly updates at tdhurst.com.

My goals are a mix of endurance and strength.

Here are my starting measurements:

Neck: 16.5"

Shoulder: 50.5"

Chest: 45"

Waist: 42"

Hips: 44"

Biceps: 14.5"

Forearms: 11.5"

Right quad: 20.5"

Left quad: 21"

Right calf: 15.5"

Left calf: 16"

Weight: 219 lbs

Body fat: 26.7%

I'd like to be around 190 lbs, but that's not a hard goal. Being heavy isn't the same as being fat, but I do know that I feel good playing sports at around that weight.

I'd also like to drop to 34" waist jeans, because they hang better and look more streamlined that the 36" ones I currently wear.

My first few days will start off easy as I recover from ingrown toenail surgery on both big toes, but by week 2 I expect to be running or lifting every single day. I'll also update my struggle ridding myself of Diet Coke and slowly replacing everything I drink but coffee (black) and water with tea.

Day 1 has begun. You ready for this?