It might be time to change things up

Ok, maybe I'm being drastic with that title, but I think it might be time to change things up a bit. Today was another unofficial weigh in day, but the friggin' number went up again. Today I was at 197.8. Yesterday was a super clean diet day too. On that note, I should also say that this week I'm finally getting sick of salad for lunch, and as far as cardio goes, my feet and legs are killing me.

This isn't complaining. This is me realizing I need to listen to my body. My current plan has been to focus on cardio/HIIT workouts, and for 15 weeks and 42 lbs it's worked. Those are damn good results. I've never been really that sore, nor have I ever hated my diet. For some reason, that's all changing this week, and that, to me, means it's time to reevaluate the plan.

So all this time I've been planning to get down to 170ish, then switch to weights. There's a lot of reasons for that, mainly that if I don't focus on weights (note that I've only been doing 2 upper body workouts per week) it's easier to track my downward progress on the scale. BUT, increased muscle does promote fat loss, so starting weights earlier isn't a bad plan - it's just a harder to track plan.

With that in mind, I'm seriously debating moving up my timetable and starting a heavier lifting program next Saturday, after I complete my current program. Yes, I'm OCD about my 8-week programs. That's not changing.

What do I need to do this then? Well, first off, I need to find a new way to track progress. Measuring body fat is priority 1, so I'm looking into options for that. Something more accurate than that pincher thing would be nice, but that might need to be it. Second, I'll need to accurately and frequently measure my waist, which in terms of fat loss is my most important section. Finally I'll want to measure arms and legs, so I can tell if they're growing, and compare that to overall weight loss to see if I can better account for any unexpected weight gains.

What's the plan then? Well, I have several Body Beast and Hammer and Chisel workouts lined up. I'd been considering doing an every other day thing in the summer, and I'm planning to tweak that a bit. Saturdays will still be Bas Rutten, M, W and F will be the big 3 workouts from Max:30. That leaves three workouts per week for heavy weights. Sundays will be big heavy since I have a little more time. Should clock in around the one hour mark for workouts. Tuesday and Thursday are going to be 30 minutes like normal, but total body, no more upper body only.

Right now my biggest concern with this is my work weight loss program. Come May 9, I'm stepping onto a scale to weigh in, and I need that number down. I started at 216, so if I were to step on today I'd be down 17. Not bad, but not what I wanted either. This would put me into week 3 of this program, but I'm thinking I can't put on that much muscle weight in 2 weeks. It'll be necessary to track though.

Also I want to add in a few basic supplements. Definitely creatine, and also two good protein powders: a full meal replacement whey protein for after workouts, and a casein protein for one hour after dinner.

Anyways, I'm giving myself another few days, probably the weekend, to completely make up my mind, but come next Friday I need to have a decision in place and this seems to be the direction my body and mind want to go. And, worst case, after 8 weeks, I can just go back to major cardio then.

Oh, today I did Sweat Intervals. Kicked my ass, my energy was low, but hey, I came out of it sweaty. All the more reason I was disappointed on the scale this morning, but I've gotta say no matter what I'm proud of the work I put in in the mornings.

Ok, that's where I'm at. Updates to follow.

Bring it!