So long 2012

It's the final days of 2012 and time to once again dust off this blog and see how I've done. 2012 was a pretty good year. At the beginning of the year I set out to accomplish three things:

Lose weight
Learn Swedish
Draw more

We'll at the end of the year, I can say I have only accomplished one of those. I have lost weight but I didn't get down to my target weight. I'll do a final weigh in and measurement next week. While I didn't get down to my target weight, I have lost fat and that's what really matters. Clothes that fit tight at the beginning of the year are now too loose and I've drop several pants sizes. I'm still trying to get under 90 kilos but that is part of next years goals.

While I didn't accomplish all my goals, I did several other new adventures. I started a movie history podcast, which is incredibly time consuming. Each episode takes me between 4-6 hours to write for a podcast that is only 15 minutes long. I also have kept my other marketing podcast alive and well. It's going on two years and doesn't seem to be slowing down.

All in all, 2012 was a good year. 2013 will be a new year full of interesting things. I've got stuff planned but that's another blog post.

Gaspari Phenorex final results

I started taking Gaspari Phenorex on March 1st. It's 30 days later and I've taken all 120 pills. Over the course of the month I started at 98.1 kg/216.2 lbs and dropped to 96.5 kg/212.7 lbs. That's a 1.6 kg/3.5 lbs. That's not dramatic weight loss. That's average weight loss. Anyone should be able to lose a pound a week. No big deal.

Since I also exercise and lift weights, maybe I did lose fat and put on muscle mass. I measured my waist and went from 90 cm to 88 cm. Again, not dramatic weight loss. For the price of the bottle, I was expecting a little better results. I was hoping to lose around 2kg/6 lbs at least.

After trying two different thermogenic products, I would say don't waste your money on them. I did lose slightly more weight with the Phenorex than with the Animal Cuts but not much more.

I started the year at 100.1 kg/220.7 lbs. that's a loss of 3.5kg/8lbs. Not a lot of weight in 3 months but I also went from a 97 cm/38 inches waste to 88 cm/34 inches. I'm not too upset about dropping two pants sizes over that time period. My pant size goal is 71 cm/28 inches.  If I continue at this rate, I should be there by September.

If I look at weight loss, I'm averaging 1.16 kg a month. It will take me 8 months to get there or around November, which kind of sucks.

I'm going to try intermediate fasting next. It should be interesting to see how that works. 

Gaspari Phenorex followup

I still have two weeks of the stuff left and so far, I have mixed feelings about it. It does provide lots of energy and I don't feel jittery. I've pretty much cut all coffee out of my diet while on the stuff and taking the Jack3d. It I can't imagine getting any more caffeine in my diet. It would probably cause some problems.

I have lost weight but I can't say it's been dramatic. There have been some side effects like body acne. By the end of next week I will have taken all 120 pills and I'll be off thermogenic fat burners. Overall, it's been an interesting experiment but I don't think they will be worth the cost in the end.

I'll have a full review in a couple of weeks.

I started doing bench presses a couple of times a week and that is a new thing I've added to my exercise routine. That has caused some muscle building which will affect the final results. I have also done something to my right arm. It's like the tendons are sore. This has affected some of my exercises that involve using my forearms. It makes it quite difficult to do some things like curls. If I let it rest for a few days, it's OK, but once I do exercises again, it hurts like hell.

Gaspari Phenorex test begins

Started with Gaspari Phenorex today. Took two scoops of Jack3d this morning before my workout then when I got home, I took two Phenorex. The bottle says to take between 1-3 pills twice a day on an empty stomach.

I was afraid I would be jittery and nauseous. It's been three hours so I'm smack in the middle of the effects of the pills. I have lots of energy, maybe a little too much but I don't have the overly caffeinated. So far I have horrible cottonmouth and have had four or five 8 oz glasses of water. I haven't been going to the bathroom very much so I feel like I might be retaining the water but that might change in the afternoon as I hit my hydration limits. I might be a little dehydrated from working out this morning.

I read an interesting review of the product this morning. It wasn't encouraging but the reviewer referred it to the another very similar Gaspari product. That might be a good thing. I'm going to take three pills a day for the next three weeks.

My starting weight is 98.1 kg. I'll do this for three weeks to see how it goes. I'll provide constant updates on how it goes. It should take me a week to adjust to the pills and then I might play with dosage a little.

Exercise Supplements: do they work?

I've been trying several different exercise supplements over the past few months. I'm a big believer in better living through chemistry. I like to try out different things see how they work and if there is any credence in their abilities. I have tried two pre-workout supplements and one thermogenic fat burner.

I've tried Jack3d and N.O.-Xplode 2.0 as pre-workout powders and Animal Cuts as the thermogenic fat burner.  A pre-workout supplement isn't for everyone but I train 4-5 times a week and use various weights and body cardio workouts. Getting that little extra boost at 6 am, while not completely necessary, is appreciated. Most supplements are caffeine based and if you can't handle caffeine I would never recommend taking any of these products. I feel like I should add the disclaimer, consult your doctor before using these products. I know no one does that but still, you've been warned.

I'll start out with me biggest disappointment, I'm big on the idea of fat burning weight-loss pills. Who doesn't want to find that magic pill that will just "melt away the pounds". I've steadily been losing weight for the better part of a year. I've dropped around 20 kilos/44 lbs since April of 2011. I'm hoping to be down to a solid 50 lbs loss by the first of April. My goal is 86 kilos/189 lbs, so anything that help me drop 5-10 lbs will have me taking a curious look.

My daily caloric intake is between 2000-2200 calories a day. I don't eat sugar, complex carbohydrates or flour during the week. I have a cheat day once a week on Saturday where I drink beer, eat pizza and have other bad things. During the week it's grilled or roasted meats, salads, lots of veggies and beans or lentils.

Animal Cuts has good reviews overall. I had some hope trying it out.
The Pros: It gives you energy.

The Cons: You better like taking pills, each pill pack is 9 pills. You take two packs a day, 18 pills a day!
Horrible crashes. At the end of the day, I was falling asleep by 9 pm. It was rough. After I got off the pills, my evening energy increased.

This is a three weeks on, one week off system. It comes with just enough pills to cover the three weeks so you can't over do it. Of the 9 pills per pack, one is the fat burner and two are diuretics. You'll need to drink a lot of water and be prepared to pee quite often. A lot of people reported sweating like crazy but I never had that. I didn't get jittery or edgy while taking the pills either. Over the three weeks, I lost 1 kilo/2.2 lbs and 2 cm off my waist. I can't say that I saw any difference between using that product and not using it. I wouldn't recommend this product.

I'm taking two weeks off then I'm going to try Phenorex. It's gotten some good press and only require two pills a day but is more expensive. So if it works, hopefully I'll have something good to report.

N.O.-Xplode 2.0
If you've tried N.O.-Xplode in the past and didn't like it, now might be the time to try it again. This is another product that is well respected and has gotten good reviews. It's a good product but not a great product. This wouldn't be my first choice but as a second choice you could do worse. Like all pre-workout supplements, you need to wait 30-45 min before you begin your exercise routine.

The Pros: Good clean energy, no crash, increased focus and increase weight stamina.

The Cons: Not the best taste, bloating and big doses.

N.O.-Xplode 2.0 is highly fizzy and dissolves in water. Because of this, you will probably be bloated on the days you take it as the air being released from the power completes the chemical reaction in your system. It's not horrible but if you are trying to look lean, this won't be your friend.

I don't know if you consider this pro or a con but N.O.-Xplode 2.0 has a strong laxative effect. This is another reason you'll want to wait to at least 30 minutes before you workout. If you're like me, the idea of taking a break in the middle of your workout while you are sweating like a pig to drop a deuce is less than ideal.

I finished the entire bottle of N.O.-Xplode but switched back to Jack3d halfway through and would take occasionally. I would go back to this after I tried a couple of other pre-workout supplements first.

Jack3d
I've been using Jack3d for probably 6 months now and love it. It tastes great, gives lots of energy and doesn't have any energy drops. I really like this product. It give me energy but doesn't over do it. I can't say I've had any adverse side effect to it.

The Pros: Low price, lots of servings, tastes good, no crash, strength gain and great endurance

The Cons: None really

Some people complain about crawling skin, which means you should probably cut back on your scoops. If you are caffeine sensitive, take it easy at first to get used to it. I'm at two scoops a time but the packaging says you can go up to 3 scoops. I'm sure I would be fine with three but just haven't tried. This also has a mild laxative effect but it's not nearly the level of N.O.-Xplode 2.0.

All of these products have high caffeine levels, roughly 2 cups of coffee per serving. Don't take it close to bed time unless you just want to stay up all night. I recommend taking them 30-45 min before you begin your workout. You'll be fine. None of these are for the casual gym goer. If you are going to the gym on a regular cycle and want to get a boost, you'll want to try these out.

In Sweden, Jack3d is going to be banned as it could test positive in some drug tests for sporting events. I don't compete and have no plans to compete in sporting events on a professional level so I don't care about that.

There you go, a little review of some exercise supplements. I really recommend Jack3d if you can find it. I would skip Animal Cuts but it's gotten good write ups. It just didn't work for me at all. Maybe it if I did more than one cycle on it I would see different results but after three weeks, I should have seen some results.

I'll update after I try Phenorex. After that I'll try something called intermediate fasting.This is an interesting idea where you just don't eat for 24 hours. So you eat your last meal at dinner and then don't eat again until the following dinner. I've done it once or twice and I seem some issues but need to do some more research on it.

Spartacus workout

I started a new exercise routine this week and the first two days were rough. I have 10 exercises in a row within 10 reps of each. After the first round, I break for up to 2 minutes then do it 2 more times breaks between rounds. I'm starting with 6 kg weights to just get the movements down then I'll slowly up the weights.

I found this routine on Men's Health and it's the program that Liam McIntyre used to get in shape for the lead role in Spartacus: Vengeance. On Monday I did the first five exercises and on Tuesday I did the next five. On Wednesday I was incredibly sore and didn't want to move. The plan is to do this routine three times a week for six weeks and then change it up again.

Today I'm at 97.4 kg. I've lost 3 kilos in 4 weeks, which is 6 lbs. I have to lose 24 lbs or another 11 kgs.


1. DUMBBELL SQUAT TO ALTERNATING SHOULDER PRESS AND TWIST



Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hold a pair of dumbbells next to your shoulders, elbows bent, palms facing in [A]. Push your hips back and squat deeply [B]. Push back up, rotating your torso to the right and pivoting on your left foot as you press the dumbbell in your left hand above your shoulder [C]. Lower the weight and rotate back to center. Repeat, rotating to the left and pressing up the dumbbell in your right hand.

2. MOUNTAIN CLIMBER AND PUSHUP



Assume a pushup position. Your body should form a straight line from your head to your ankles [A]. Without allowing your lower-back posture to change, lift your left foot off the floor and move your left knee toward your chest [B]. Return to the starting position, and repeat with your right leg. That's a mountain climber. Now do a pushup [C].

3. DUMBBELL SIDE LUNGE AND CURL



Hold a pair of dumbbells at arm's length at your sides [A]. Take a big step to your left and lower your body by pushing your hips back and bending your left knee. As you lower your body, bend forward at your hips and try to touch the dumbbells to the floor [B]. (Note: Go only as low as you can without rounding your lower back.) Then push yourself back to the starting position as quickly as you can. Perform arm curls [C]. Alternate back and forth, doing a lunge to your left and then a lunge to your right.

4. PLANK WALKUP WITH DUMBBELL DRAG



Start in a pushup position with a dumbbell on the floor next to your right hand. Lower your body into a plank so you're resting your weight on your forearms instead of your palms [A]. "Walk" back up to a pushup position [B]. Without leaving this position, grasp the dumbbell with your left hand [C] and drag it underneath your chest until it rests on your left side [D]. Repeat, this time dragging the weight with your right hand.

5. DUMBBELL STEPOVER



Stand holding dumbbells at your sides [A]. Step forward with your left foot and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees [B]. In one motion, push back up and take a long step back with your left foot into a reverse lunge [C]. Keep shifting between forward and backward lunges with the same leg for 20 seconds, and then repeat on the other side.

6. DUMBBELL SINGLE-ARM ALTERNATING CLEAN



Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and a dumbbell between your feet on the floor. Push your hips back, squat, and grab the dumbbell with one hand [A]. Pull the dumbbell up and "catch" it at shoulder height as you rise to a standing position; keep your knees slightly bent [B]. Pause, lower the dumbbell to the floor, grab it with your other hand [C], and repeat on the other side [D].

7. PUSHUP-POSITION ROW AND SQUAT THRUST



Place a pair of dumbbells on the floor and assume a pushup position with your hands on the dumbbells [A]. Pull the right dumbbell up to the side of your chest [B]. Pause, and then lower the dumbbell; repeat the move with your left arm [C]. While holding the dumbbells, quickly bring your legs toward your torso [D], and then jump up [E]. Once you land, squat and kick your legs back into a pushup.

8. GOBLET SQUAT AND ALTERNATING REVERSE LUNGE



Hold a dumbbell vertically in front of your chest, cupping one end of the dumbbell with both hands [A]. Keep your elbows pointed toward the floor and perform a squat [B]. Then push back up to the starting position [C]. Now step back with one leg—into a reverse lunge—and lower your body until your front knee is bent 90 degrees [D]. Pause, and then push up quickly. Alternate your lunging leg with each rep.

9. DUMBBELL RUSSIAN TWIST



Sit holding a dumbbell in front of your chest. Lean your torso back slightly and raise your feet off the floor [A]. Without moving your torso, rotate the weight to your left [B] and then to your right [C]. Move back and forth quickly.

10. DUMBBELL STRAIGHT-LEG DEADLIFT AND ROW



Stand with your knees slightly bent and hold a pair of dumbbells at arm's length in front of your thighs [A]. Without rounding your lower back or changing the bend in your knees, bend at your hips and lower your torso until it's nearly parallel to the floor [B]. Without moving your torso, pull the dumbbells up to the sides of your chest [C]. Pause, and then lower the dumbbells. Raise your torso back to the starting position.

Want more Spartacus? The Complete 2012 Spartacus Workout is available on Men’s Health Personal Trainer. There you’ll find the complete four-week plan with exclusive exercise videos, and have access to our customizable nutrition program—which will help you create the best diet for your goals, lifestyle, and preferences.

Read more at Men's Health: http://www.menshealth.com/fitness/skinny-spartacus/page/4?cm_mmc=PTNL-_-780132-_-01172012-_-body#ixzz1lpCkZxe8

Healthy chocolate chip cookies???

I made these cookies and it turns out it's a very tasty cookie. I found this paleo cookie recipe. I had my doubts it would be good but I was happily wrong. There is a caloric breakdown after the recipe.  


Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, Makes 16-20
5 oz (1 1/4 cups) very finely ground blanched almond flour (sift the flour through a sieve)
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup raw agave nectar (or 1/4 cup raw honey plus 1 to 2 tsp water.)

1/8 cup macademia nut oil (I couldn't find this so I used coconut oil.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
A scant 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips. I used 72% cocoa.

• Heat oven to 325.
• Mix almond flour, salt, and baking soda well. In a small bowl, mix agave nectar, Macadamia nut oil, and vanilla. Combine wet and dry ingredients, mixing well. Add dark chocolate chips. Batter should be thick enough that you can roll a small ball between your palms and set it on the cookie sheet without it drooping or losing shape.
• Make 16 - 20 small balls of cookie dough and space them evenly on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press the cookies down as flat as possible with the palm of your hand. This is important! The cookies will NOT spread out on their own.
• Bake about 6 minutes. Watch closely and remove when the edges start to brown. . . they could be done at 4 minutes or at 8 minutes depending on the size of the cookie and your oven calibration.

125 g almonds 726 calories, 63g fat
25 g 72% chocolate 162 calories 9.25g fat 
50g honey 160 calories, .1g fat
.25g coconut oil 258 calories, 27.4g fat
1 tsp/4g 12 calories


16 cookies  
82 calories, 6.2 g fat per cookie


Comparison to regular cookies
252 calories, 11g fat per cookie

Moroccan Braised Beef

I made this for dinner last night without the raisins. I'm not a big fan of raisins. It is very delicious.

Check out the caloric breakdown on yummly.com

3 tbsps olive oil (divided) 2 12 lbs boneless chuck roast (cut into 34 inch cubes) 2 cups onions (chopped) 3 garlic cloves (chopped) 1 tbsp garam masala 1 tbsp paprika 1 tsp ground cumin 12 tsp turmeric

12 tsp cayenne pepper 1 cup dry red wine 12 cup dry sherry 2 cups beef broth 14 12 ozs diced tomatoes (juice) 1 12 cups golden raisins

1

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Add meat to pot; sauté until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer meat to bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in same pot. Add onions; sauté until brown, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and next 5 ingredients; stir 1 minute. Add wine and Sherry; boil until reduced to glaze, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes with juice, and raisins; stir to blend. Add beef and accumulated juices; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until sauce is thick and beef is tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Season stew with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly, chill until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before serving.)

2

*An Indian spice mixture available in the spice section of many supermarkets.

Monday morning workout

Week 2 has begun. After my leg intensive workout on Saturday, Everything below my waist is sore. Tomorrow should be better.

The leg exercises included the following.

sets 3/reps 10/squat 10 kg
3/10/jumps 10 kg
3/10/lunges 10 kg
3/10/side lunges 10 kg
3/10/skater jumps 10 kg
3/10/leg lifts 90 kg
3/10/calf lifts 50 kg
plank 1 min

I didn't have time for treadmill this time. Usually I like to finish any exercise routine with 20 minutes of hill intervals on the treadmill. The whole routine took me about 25 minutes to do.

I've got the exercise/weight loss part of my resolutions down. Now I need to focus on the other two parts: learning Swedish and sketching.

My first weigh in

I spent Thursday and Friday sick in bed. It really sucks and kind of derailed my exercise routine. I'm better now but I took four days off to rest up. I still did my first weigh in and I have to say I'm pleased with the overall results.

My starting weight is 100.1 kg/220 lbs. I didn't gain any weight over the holidays. In fact I lost 3 kilos.

I'm also doing measurements to track in case i don't drop any more pounds. I'm measuring my arms, legs, chest and waist.

Arms = 34 cm/13 in
Legs = 58 cm/22 in
Chest = 107 cm/42 in
Waist = 97 cm/38 in

The last time I did a 12 week routine, I lost 13cm/5cm off my waist. So at the very least I should see a similar drop even if I don't lose any weight. I don't expect that to happen this time. I will be very surprised if I don't see a drop in weight this time.

One additional thing I'm doing is tracking my caloric intake. I should be around 2200 calories a day to get down to 185-190. I'm using fitday.com to track what I eat. It breaks down the calories by nutritional graph, average daily calories and how much I've eaten compared to how much energy I've burned.

Right now I'm getting 1900 calories a day at best. I need to eat a larger lunch or a larger breakfast. I can't super load all my missing calories before bed. 

Exercise routine 2

Today is my body cardio day. In many ways it's harder to do than weight days as you are using your own mass against you. I started doing these back in April 2011. It's been a great way to get my core solid and as the fat goes away, I'll have a nice muscular frame. At least that's the idea.

I dropped 15 kg/33 lbs in about three months. By the end of the year, I hadn't lost any additional weight but I lost 5 in/12 cm. So that is about two pants sizes. I can't complain much about that.

Here is today's routine.

Prisoner squats 3x10
Seal jacks 3x40
Plank 3x1 min
Mountain climber 3x20sec
Burpees 3x10

Treadmill 20 min

Tomorrow is a rest day. 

New exercise routine

Today I started a new exercise routine. I am going to the gym four days a week. Usually Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Because of recovering from New Years Eve, I switched to Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

I start the week with heavy weights, do low reps and only take a minute break in-between sets. It takes me about 20-30 min to get through these exercises. It's a good way to start the week. The second day will be only body cardio exercises. The third day will be the same the first day but with high reps and low weights. The fourth day will be legs intensive.

Today I did the following:

I do one round of the following then take a minute break before starting the next set.
3 sets, 10 reps, barbell lifts 50 lbs (5 squats, 5 jump squats, 5 chest lifts, 3 dead lifts)
3 sets, 10 reps, dumb bell squats 10 lbs
3 sets, 10 reps, kettlebell swings 20 lbs

I then do one round of the following with a one minute break in-between sets
3 sets, 10 reps, chest flys 35 lbs
3 sets, 8 reps per arm, biceps curls 35 lbs
3 sets, 8 reps triceps pulls 50 lbs

Plank 1 min

20 min tredmill - level 9, 3.5 speed

It's a full workout that leaves me a sweaty mess. I also use a prework-out supplement called Jack3d. It's a nice little boost to get you going especially at 6 am. I'll talk about prework-out supplements later.

Huh...

It looks like I started this blog in 2010 and never did anything with it. Well, now it's time to correct that. I finally have something to talk about. This year is going to be a little different. I'm going to do more stuff. This year I will do the following things:

Learn Swedish
Lose 30 lbs
Start drawing again

I'll be logging all those things here. It should be an interesting year and by the end of 2012, I should be a different person. Maybe better, maybe worse.

I've been actively losing weight since April 2011. So far I've dropped 30 lbs/15 kilos and plan on keeping up with the current program. I'll post all my dietary, exercise and weight programs.

After living in Sweden for four years, I will get off my ass and learn the language. I know four years is too long to live in a country and not know the language. I've tried a couple of times to learn and never really did very well. Now is the time to at least be able to converse with people.

I loved to draw and still like to doodle. I used to be a decent artist and I've missed it. Now that my daughter is older, I can get back on that horse and not have to fight with her for drawing space. I just need to invest in a few items like pencils and paper.

Things I will do less of in 2012, spend time online and watch TV and movies. These are too passive and I'm going to take a more active role in life.