Mindflayer's looking for abs Log
I Turned 55 a month ago. On my birthday my 7d.a.wt. was 166.77 lbs. I have lots of financial, education, and fitness goals, and thought I should start posting to give myself an extra boost.
Since I am up there in age, I am not trying to build muscle to look good for the ladies. I have been studying health and longevity for a while and so i thought it would be better to set an alternative goal. If I end up looking better that is just a bonus.
The actual goal is to become more healthy. By that I mean.
Eat better, get a good night sleep, exercise regularly, lower my weight and keep/gain a bit of strength.
I will give more explanation of those goals as time goes on.
At the top of my list is to lose enough body fat/weight to see a six pack. I am sure I do enough ab exercises to actually have abs, but it is hidden under a layer of fat.
I have been tracking my weight and exercise daily since January 1 and will post my morning weight and 7 day average, (7d.a.wt shortened to 7d) which I use as my actual weight. When you see my diet, you will know why.
I am sure this log will change over time, but as it may be interesting, I will post about all the things that I am doing to get my health in good shape.
See you at the other end.
Day 6 at sea, June 6
up 6:50am
Walking on deck at 7:15am
Deep muscle massage at 8am
Breakfast is coffee only.
10:30am walking
Lunch was salad, fruit roast beef, veg, shrimp, lemonade, apple pie square, brownie 1000 cal.
1pm more walking
Dinner, Fettuccini, shrimp, scallops, black forest cake, ice cream 900 cal.
9pm more walking
31,751 steps, 23,27km
June 7, day 7 Stockholm
up at 6am.
8500 steps by 8am.
Scrambled eggs, egg wrap, bacon, smoked salmon, yoghurt, 800 calories
9:10am 1/2 day tour.
Vasa museum .. oldest preserved royal sailing battleship. 1628 It is preserved because it sank
in shallow fresh water on the first day it set sail, a few hundred meters from launching.
(reason was the Swedish king at the time was in a rush to have it sail, and did not want
to wait for the ship builders to fill the ship with enough appropriate ballast.. (rocks in the
lowest level of the ship... was advised the ship might tip over and still ordered it to set sail)
Was raised in 1961 and is now in a museum.
Lunch ham.cheese sandwich, 2 cookies, lemonade 700 calories
3:45-4:45 walking 22,000 steps by 5pm
more walking after dinner (no record)
32,846 steps 23.98km
Day 8, June 8th .. in port at Stockholm.
Up at 7:40am feeling back to normal timewise.
2 egg omelette, with mushrooms, 1 pc toast with marmalade. coffee.
350 cal.
8000 steps by 10:30am.
79.0kg at noon. = 174.0 lbs. not bad
Lunch at 12:30 salad, roast beef, sausage, eclair, pineapple, coffee 800 cal.
lots of walking
Dinner crab bisque, baked salmon, diet coke, chocolate eclair, fruit. 700 calories.
lots of walking. Advice from another well travelled couple on staying thin...
No sauces, no carbs, no elevators... will try the elevator thing.
30,572 steps, 140 stairs. 22.31km.
Day 9 Tallin Estonia. June 9, 2024
Up 7:50 light rain
only me on deck 18 walking 6500 steps by 9am
Have a good Chess GM Paul Keres story but will skip is as this is H&F
we are at 59.5 degrees N. Anchorage is 61 degrees N, Arctic Circle is 66 degrees N
Sunrise is 4am, sunset is 11pm.
No breakfast, Coffee only
No lunch
Dinner is smoked salmon, lean Chicken breast, diet coke.
Gelato 2 scoops, + fruit 900 calories. all desert!
30,925 steps 22.57km
Day 10 June 10, 2024 Helsinki Finland
Up 6:10am 9 degrees Celsius light rain
breakfast 6:30 fruit, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon
took a banana bread and 2 cookies for a snack
800 calories.
3k steps by 7:10am
8:15 on a tour. bit of walking
back at 3:30
walking 4-5
dinner fettuccini alfredo, trout, blueberry cobbler
late night snack, fried chicken leg, fruit, 2 chunks of beef (from beef stew)
5 shrimp 1100 calories
lots of walking after dinner before the late night snack.
31,507 steps 23.0km
Day 11, June 11, Visby Sweeden
up at 6:15
Breakfast .. coffee only
Walking on deck 7800 steps by 8am
8:30 morning tour of Visby
back on ship at 1pm 13.400 steps
Lunch Salad, fruit, chicken stroganoff, 2 cookies, 1 brownie, apple crumble,
prune juice, fries. 1100 calories.
Weigh in after lunch 79.8kg w/ jeans on
Dinner Spaghetti Bolonese, baked salmon, diet coke, pistachio tart, lemon tart, brownie
1000 calories
guilt walking after dinner... too many desserts.
33,716 steps 24.61
Day 12, June 12 at sea
up late 8:15am
Walking .. 6400 steps by 9:15am
Breakfast 2 scrambled eggs, 2 fried eggs, egg omelette, coffee 1 pancake, 800 calories
walking between
lunch Chicken Croissant, 1cookie 450 calories
more walking on deck
4pm Sailing under the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark
formal dinner
escargot, shrimp cocktail, bread roll,
4oz lobster tail, 4 oz tenderloin
dessert Lychee mousse 1200 calories
Evening show is a Rock Opera 10/10
9pm Natural Phenomenon at sea, Double Rainbow !!
9:30 Ramen and puff pastry 500 calories ... 3000 calorie day =(
guilt walking from 10pm to 11:30
40,501 steps 29.56km
Day 13, Jun 13, 2024 Kirstiansand Norway
11 degrees C and calm
up at 7:50am walking 7700 steps by 9am
Breakfast: Coffee, no food 0 calories
9:50am more walking
17,500 steps by 11:15am
11:30 lunch, egg salad, fruit, cookie, coffee 500 calories
Afternoon in town and a steam train ride along the Otra River
No elevators..
25k steps by 5:30
before dinner snack cookie, pastry 300 calories
6pm dinner
spaghetti + 1 meatball
pork ribs 900 calories
8pm comedian ventriloquist 10/10
After show dessert gelato and cake 500 calories
Walking on deck at 10:30pm watching Top gun Mavrick
late night snack hot dog + 1/2 fries 600 calories
2900 calorie day =(
sleep at 12:30
33,041 steps, 24.11km 600
walking stairs instead of elevators today
600up stairs (+600 easy down stairs)
Dau 14, Jun 14 At sea
up at 7:15
on the track from 7:45 to 9:55 16,443 steps by 10am
Breakfast Coffee only 0 calories
more walking after coffee
25,200 steps by noon
Lunch Beef rending, curry curry(beef), Large salad, chicken breast, lemon souffle, coffee, 700 calories 700 calories
more walking,
1 shrimp, fruit tart, fries, 1 chicken nugget, 1/2 tuna croissant, nacho with guacamole, 125ml prune juice! +700 calories
More walking like mad 38k steps by 5pm
Early dinner: no appetizer, no dessert Fettuccini alfredo + diet coke 500 calories
More walking till 10pm.
no late night snacks
Sleep at 11pm
new record for me 7.5h walking in one day
51,028 steps, 37.25km pedometer says 2295 kCal burned.
Day 15, June 15 Departure day. Southampton
10degrees C, cloudy
Up at 5:15am Nice sunrise photo.
Walking on deck at 5:30am
Will have limited time to walk. Will be on plane for 9h or so.
Breakfast Coffee, yoghurt and 1 Egg. 250 Calories
Packed and ready to depart at 6:30am
On a bus with luggage at 7:45am ETA London Heathrow 9:30am
In Air Canada Lounge from 10am to 1:pm
Flight is scheduled to depart at 2:10pm.
More free food in the AC lounge.
Lunch paninni, 2 cookies, Diet Coke, mini muffin 750 calories
Takeoff delayed to 2:40pm
Watched 3 movies.. ate on plane.
Cheese Sandwich, biscut, fruit hot water 400 calories.
at home bowl of granola / 1c milk 350 cal
1750 calories 7800 steps only.
Weighed myself before bedtime 174.8 lbs.
Weighed 173.7lbs on May 29th so not bad for a two week cruise.
that was a fun scroll!
the progression of your calorie intake mirrored mine on those kinds of trips...slowly the willpower recedes as the days go on and more treats and carbs sneak in. but for a 14 day trip where there was indulgent food on tap constantly, you really held it together well.
Albeit (and I've never been on a cruise so this is a guess, but one informed by the family hotel i stayed at recently that had buffets) was the sight of the giant people overindulging a good catalyst for your willpower?
The step count was incredible - did your missus complain about you being away/walking all day when on the ship or was she doing it with you?
Were you listening to music/pods while walking around the ship or just thinking/talking with people?
also...it reads like you didn't gym much while on ship - was it too crowded or not very good?
thanks for sharing and well done on the lack of weight gain - I'm guessing you crapped out at least 1lb over the next 36 hours as well?
that was a fun scroll!
the progression of your calorie intake mirrored mine on those kinds of trips...slowly the willpower recedes as the days go on and more treats and carbs sneak in. but for a 14 day trip where there was indulgent food on tap constantly, you really held it together well.
Albeit (and I've never been on a cruise so this is a guess, but one informed by the family hotel i stayed at recently that had buffets) was the sight of
feel wrath, thanks for your comments and questions.
Was the sight of giant people overindulging a good catalyst for your willpower? In short, no. If I ate at the buffet, I tried eating on deck away from the buffet,
where it was essentially empty, rather than in the dining area.
I did see that the average age of the cruiser was 55-60. I will be 58 next week. So it put me right in the middle of the average age.
What did push me to limit my calorie intake that I can remember, was seeing what I call "Great White Whales" +300lb old men and +200lb women Sunning themselves
by the pool on warm/sunny days. It was not a pretty sight. The other thing was seeing many of the overweight elderly older people using scooters or wheelchairs.
They even have a mini crane next to the jacuzzi on the sides of the ship. There were many jacuzzi and at least two of them had 'lifts' that you could scoot from
a wheelchair into. The lift would then raise a person over the side of the jacuzzi, instead of having to walk up the stairs on the side of it.
Wife did not walk on the track with me. My only responsibility was to have meals with her, see the evening show with her and go on all shore excursions with her.
She spent extra time in the cabin, getting ready, dressed, watching movies, watching the daily videos on the ports and events, taking naps, sorting purchases, etc.
I brought my old school Sony digital walkman. It has plug in earbuds and is about the size of a memory stick/flashcard. I think it has about 10h of music and the entire
Think and Grow rich audio broken into chapters. Thank G for that. Without it, I would have been pretty bored. I am sure I listened to all of the music and book everything several times.
I did not talk much while walking on deck. Did lots of talking with other guests at dinner and anytime when we were at a sit down meal or waiting for the evening show to start.
The only talking story i can remember while on the track is...
I found an elderly gentleman on the walking track that had a prosthetic leg. (an aluminium or steel post and plastic foot in runners)
He was wearing shorts, so you could see his prosthetic. I pulled out my earbuds and I told him he was my hero. He asked why? I told him I would think about it.
After lapping him on the track and meeting him again, I told him that 95% of people in your situation would make their leg an excuse to not exercise... .and you didn't.
That put a smile on his face!
Rarely went to the gym. It only rained hard for a few hours on a couple of days. I only went into the gym to weigh myself or it was raining when I wanted to walk. That was maybe
2-3h total. 80% of the time there were less than 10 people in the gym. When It was busy (rarely) there were 30 people in the gym. They had 25? Treadmills, and 40? or so machines
as well as joining rooms with guided stretching or yoga etc.
Last comment on why I walk. I still lift but nothing over 50-60 lbs. There are a lot of big guys that post here. I used to lift heavy (for me) but reading lots of these threads, you will find that
guys lift heaver and heavier until they injure themselves and then have to take a break for 18 months to rehab and during that time put on 30 lbs. At my age, the heaviest thing
that I plan to lift in the next 20 years is supposed to be a grandchild. (that is where the 50-60lb limit comes from).
Walking is the low impact way to exercise, lose calories and be able to turn it down if my knees or ankles get sore. I would Swim for even lower impact, but if you followed my thread,
you will know I have skin issues. When I got put on meds for my skin issues, I gained 30lbs.
Jun 16 Up at 4am. still on UK time
173,7lbs
21,871 Steps
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Jun 17 Up 4am
20,008 steps
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Jun 18 Sleep 9pm up 4:20am
173.9lbs
21,992 steps
Jun 19, Sleep 9pm up 3:50 still jet lagged
175.4 lbs
24,573 steps 16.5km
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Jun 20 173.7 lbs sleep 9pm up 4:30am
23,351 steps
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Jun 21 Sleep 11pm up 5:30am back to normal
174.8 lbs
20,014 steps
June 22
Sleep 9:15 up 5:10am
174.6lbs
22,445 steps
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Jun 23
up 6:10am
back and shoulder out .. hard to get up
20,125 steps
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Jun 24
175.4lbs
20,020 steps
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Jun 25
173,9 lbs
20.038 steps
June 26,
174.1 lbs
20,365 steps
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June 27,
6 am: BP 118/78 BP HR 61 BPM
174.1lbs
20,254 steps
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June 28,
174.1 again..
20,100 steps.
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June 29
174.8lbs
oddly it is harder to lose weight at home as my home office
has a fridge right behind me and I can get food in my pj's.
When I got back to my cabin on the ship, I would never eat anything more.
It is just too easy to eat at 12:30am sitting in my shorts at home.
i will have to put more effort into restricting late night diet.
20,058 steps 15.97km
June 30
173.5 lbs.
20,091 Steps 16.0km
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July 1
173.5 lbs.
23,479 Steps 18.7km
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July 2
175.2 lbs =(
20,046 steps 15.9km
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July 3
174.8 lbs.
21,790 Steps
17.3 km
July 4,
172.8lbs
20,572 steps 16.4km
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July 5
174.1 lbs
20,125 steps 16.0km
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July 6
175.2 lbs
20,205 steps 16.1km
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July 7
175.2 lbs Fasting Day
20218 steps 16.1km
Very consistent steps. Is that basically the same walk every day?
In a normal day without any treadmill I get about 5k steps.
I have a treadmill in the room next to my office.
I walk 5km/h about 10-15 minutes every hour and either read or watch a video while I am on the treadmill.
Roughly 8 minutes = 1k steps.
I wear a pedometer that has a goal set to 20k steps per day.
So I add about 15k steps or 2h on the treadmill per day.
When I hit 20k I stop walking on the treadmill.
Turned 58 this week.
The good and bad of getting old.
Disadvantages with weights.
I still lift, but nothing over 100lbs. Just to maintain muscle mass.
I don't really care much about looking good as those times are long gone.
Being semi retired gives me time to do lots of low impact fat burning.
Everything is about longevity and quality of life as I age. Dad died at 75.
So I am planning for the next 17 years and beyond.
It is weird, but I am now concerned about the wear on my teeth from eating hard foods...
my eyesight, and high impact on my joints. These are the three
top issues with my mother who is 91 years old this year.
She wears dentures, has 10% of her vision left (100% blind in one eye) and has
rheumatoid arthritis.
July 8 172.3 lbs
22,549 steps 17.9km
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July 9 173.2 lbs Fasting Day again
20,630 steps 16.4km
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July 10, 171.7 lbs
20,030 steps
15.9km
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July 11, 173.7 lbs
20,201 steps
16.1km
July 12
173.5lbs
20,156 steps 16.0km
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July 13
173.9 lbs
20,050 steps 15.9km
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July 14
173.2 lbs
20,038 steps 15.9km
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July 15 Fasting Day
173.0 lbs
20,036 steps 15.9km
Failed fasting yesterday
July 16 Try Fasting today again.
172.6 lbs
20,072 steps 15.9km
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July 17
170.8 lbs
20,059 steps 15.9km
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July 18
172.8 lbs
20027 steps 15.9km
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July 19
171.2 lbs
20,605 steps 16.4km
A few friends of mine joined a Whatap group called fasting Aug 15 or so..
they want to skip a day of calories.. essentially 36h without calories.
the general rule is if you stop eating/drinking at 9pm.. then next day no calories
then the following day 9am .. break-fast so 36h.
can be 8pm stop ... 8 am start.. whatever time you pick.. can be +- but 36h is the goal.
This group will definitely help with my success in fasting.
I also added a personal change to my step goal if I am fasting..
On a fasting day I can do 5k fewer steps.
If I do 2 days of fasting in a row I can do 10k steps fewer on the 2nd day..
One of my friends has a goal to do a Three day fast.. He has yet to complete a 36h fast after first two tries.
If we ever get there.. I only need to do 5k steps on day 3. or -15k off my regular 20k.
July 20
171.9lbs
20,633 steps
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July 21
171.9 lbs
21,401 steps 17.0km
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July 22 Fasting Day
171.7 lbs
20,005 steps 15.9km
(as per previous post will drop to 15k from Aug 15 or so on)
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July 23
169.3lbs
20,029 steps 15.9km
July 24 up 5:50am
170.5 lbs
20,325 steps 16.1km
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July 25up 5:45
171.9lbs
20,149 steps 16.0km
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July 26 up 5:45am
172.3lbs Fasting day
20,057 steps 15.9km
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July 27 Failed fasting up at 7:10am
171.5 lbs
?? steps.
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