Travis Speegle's Fitness Journey

Day 9

This morning I realized that I only have 17 days left in the program.  The following day we leave on a trip to Mexico, 3 days of meetings/business and 3 days of vacation. 

That trip makes a good deadline and being somewhere that I'm likely to be seen with my shirt off creates a compelling reason to shed the fat that currently rolls over my belt line.

I'm still a long way from seeing my abs, but I'm a firm believer in the idea that if anyone can make it happen in that incredibly short period of time, I can.  (Thank you Lisa, for reminding me) Full throttle from here on out.

Just egg white protein in my 7am shake this morning.

10 Min Z Health Neural Warm Up

8AM 15 minutes with the Kettlebell - 30 second -1 minute intervals of basic KB drills... I felt like my heart was going to pound right out of my chest. 
    Immediately following 4g BCAA, 5g Glutamine and 500mg Vitamin C

9 am shake whey with flax meal

Today's going to be a good day.

11:30 2c Mixed Organic Greens w/ 4 oz chicken breast
Green tea

2PM Egg Protein Shake with Flax

I went out with a friend to walk 9 holes of golf this afternoon which will take the place of my afternoon energy expenditure training session.  By the end of the round, my stomach was full out yelling at me.  Hungry is an understatement.   On the way up the 9th fairway my buddy asks if we can stop in the club house for a pint of Guinness.  That is really tough to pass up, but we're going to have to wait til next month for my next pint. 

4:15p I had a shaker bottle ready to go with my regularly scheduled protein shake back in the car.

Then to add to the pain of the thought of that nice cold pint calling my name in the club house, he asks if I will stop at my favorite burrito joint so he can pick up the world's greatest burrito.  It's a 15 minute drive home with the smell of that burrito wafting through the car... now this is pure torture.

Fortunately, I made it.  If I can pass that test, I can make it through anything. 

6pm 2oz chicken breast while I started to prep dinner.

Dinner 5oz grilled pork loin, 1/2 cup cauliflower with spinach and cabbage salad.

After this day, I look forward to sleeping while my body continues to devour the excess adipose tissue that plagues me.   

Can't wait for tomorrow. 

Day 10

It always seems that the second strict day is easier than the first.  Today I'm not hungry when I get up, not thinking too much about the food... it seems easy.  It is easy, a little protein every 2 hours lots of activity..there's nothing difficult about that. 

8am Protein with flax

9:30 I'll be jumping rope today. Maybe I'll feel like a boxer.  5 min warm up, 4 min Tabata Intervals, 5 minute walk to cool down.  (I feel like a boxer that just got knocked out)

10 Protein with 5g Glutamine and an Apple

I'm in the office all morning working on the fun administrative stuff that comes along with running a growing company. 

12pm and 2pm It's more of the same.  Protein with ground flax seeds.

I take off to meet Lisa for 9 holes of golf.  Today I decided to use a slightly larger carry bag to increase the workload of the round.  The bag probably only weighs 5# more than the one I used yesterday, but that made a huge difference. 

Lisa hit the ball very well today, almost every shot was straight as an arrow... impressive.  I'm really proud of her for that.  Golf was something that was very unnatural for her, but she stuck it out, invested the time to learn, dealt with the frustration like a champ and now can enjoy an afternoon on the course.  It's nice to find inspiration so close to home. 

I carried an additional protein shake with me so I could keep on my regularly scheduled feeding time.

This is a great energy expenditure activity, especially in this specific program. Caloric expenditure estimates for someone my size carrying clubs are over 450 calories an hour.  9 holes in 2 hours means I burned nearly as many calories as I will take in all day. 

I don't think there is any way around the craving for food and Guinness when I'm playing golf, but today at least no one was taunting me with it.  Given the energy expenditure calculations it would make sense that I would want some food by now. 

After that I headed over to the studio to check on a few things and figured while I was there I could use a little cardio.  I've been avoiding it, justified by the golfing... but it's still not the same thing.  So I spend 25 minutes sweating on the elliptical trainer while chatting with some clients.  I was multi-tasking, so it wasn't all that bad.

Protein shake immediately following the cardio. 

By the time I get home, I am really hungry and almost dizzy.  Today was a lot of work on very little nutrition. 
Dinner is 4oz pork loin steamed broccoli and mixed greens

15 minutes later I'm hungry.  Over the next hour, just about every tasty food craving you can imagine made its way through my mind.

I love times like this!  It's times of challenge like this, that truly separate the extraordinary performers from the average. I know that this pain has a purpose. 

9:30 I have a little left over pork loin (2oz) and some broccoli.

Today was a really good day.  I feel like I've cleared another hurdle and I'm picking up speed.

Can't wait to see what we can create tomorrow.   

Day 11 - I'm ready to eat again

After yesterday, I'm looking forward to a little more solid food this afternoon.

I realized something today about my overfeeds that has probably been impeding my progress.... On strict days, I approach eating in a very organized, scheduled way, but on my overfeeds I have been leaving too much up to chance.  Each of my previous overfeed days I have not eaten meals on a consistent schedule (every 2-3 hours) and I have neglected to get in enough protein on those days.

To solve this problem, I will be sticking to the same eating schedule and "always available" food choices that I utilize on the strict days and simply adding additional food to the majority of those feedings.

Today begins like most others with a scoop of protein and a little ground flax. 

Another scoop of protein at 10am and I throw on my 30# XVest to add some energy expenditure to the chore of washing the cars.  Turns out this makes for pretty effective means of interval training. 

One more protein shake to reward myself for the clean cars, then it's off to my training facility for the heavy training session. 

5g of Glutamine, A scoop of PowerDrive and 4g BCAA on the way to the gym. 

Todays session:

Bench Press and Deadlift SS 10 sets of 3
     5 minute rest + 1/2 diluted carb/protein shake

15 Min EDT Push Press and SHELC
        5 minute rest + 1/2 diluted carb/protein shake

10 Min EDT Dips and Lateral Lunge

Wow!  Now that was a great training session!  I don't know what happened, but this session was different.  By  about 15 minutes into  the session I had an overwhelming rush of energy, it was like some sort of really strong "buzz".  (I guess after the last two days I could have just been hallucinating)  Whatever this endorphine rush, buzz or accidental drug dosage was, it certainly powered me through the session.  I was able to increase the weights and volume on every exercise.  I felt really good after that session. 

Hmmm??? I wonder if all of that was just excitement for consuming something other than protein shakes for the remainder of the day?   

Immediately following the session I mixed up a full serving of my preferred post-training shake.  It measures in at 350 calories and about 50g of sugar.  It was actually tough to get down.  I was feeling "full" before it was half down.  Powering through the shake was almost uncomfortable. 

About an hour later I had two pieces of sprouted grain toast with home made peanut butter and a little local honey.  Again not hungry, but easier to push this meal down as it was something I had been craving all week. 

2 hours later a scoop of protein.

Dinner - A big salad and 3 slices of Hawaiian pizza from our favorite local joint. That was a little easier to force down.   

A couple hours later I had some yogurt with a little extra protein mixed in and some fresh blueberries.

Lots of excess energy, it was tough to slow down enough to get to bed. 

Day 12

We're heading up the hill to pick apples today.  It's nice to know exactly where some of your food comes from.   

Coffee and a small MRP shake on the way out...

Our preferred breakfast  joint was packed so we proceed on to the alternate. (I will rarely, if ever, wait an hour for a table to get breakfast)  In this case, It may have been worth the wait.  Breakfast at the "other" place was disappointing. Especially when I only get to eat a real breakfast once every 4 days.

I had what they called a Joe's scramble (eggs, lean ground beef, mushrooms, spinach and cheese all scrambled together) with whole grain toast and coffee. 

After a morning of picking apples, we head down the hill and stop for a burrito. 

So far so good for an overfeed day.... but then quite a hiccup.  I didn't eat again for almost 5 hours!  That burrito was like a brick in my stomach and there was nothing that could make me believe that it was a good idea to put more food in there.  This is where overfeed days are much harder than the underfeeds.  As soon as I realized, I ran for a protein shake and got back on track. 

For dinner I had a big serving of my homemade meat sauce, it usually goes over my signature ravioli dish, but I didn't feel like the pasta, so we had it with toasted sourdough and steamed broccoli. 

After dinner it was a fresh picked apple with some peanut butter. 

I still need to do better with the overfeed days. 

I'm exhausted, it's time for bed.

Day 13

Yesterday's overfeed was a mess.... so I'm pleased to be back to the more simple strict day (at least for now)   The overfeed days seem to mess with my sleep a bit, so I'm tired this morning. 

7am Protein with Flax
8:30 4g BCAA
20 minutes of HIIT -  Today's session was all about high intensity drills.  Lateral sprints, Kettlebell swings/snatches/cleans, stairs and push ups.  Lots of sweat and a fair amount of pain.
10 minutes of Z drills to release some of that tension and insure that there is no pain in the remainder of my day.
9:30 Protein shake and a small apple.

I have some consulting work today, so I'll be away from the safety of my office or the training studio.   I packed two premixed shaker bottles with protein into my briefcase so as not to miss any feedings today.

12:15 lunch -  Mixed greens with 4oz of seared ahi --- doesn't get much better than that for a client meeting over lunch. 

2:30 protein shake w/ flax

back in the car at 4:30 for another shake.

by 5:30 I was back in my training studio for some cardio.  15 minutes on the treadmill at 13 degree incline, followed by some lateral hops with a client and finished off with 15 more minutes on the elliptical.  I still really don't like the steady state aerobic exercise....I keep thinking it'll grow on me. 

6:30 another shake

8pm 6 egg whites scrambled with spinach served with steamed broccoli.

I'm exhausted....

Today was a good day.  I felt good, energy levels remained fairly constant and we made some good progress with a client.  I was a little worried about face to face consulting in such an energy depleted state, but my alertness didn't seem to be affected at that point in the day.

I'm looking forward to some sleep... good night!

Day 14

Hello, my name is Travis and I've been dieting for 14 days. 

I just realized that I haven't had a drink in 14 days either.... Not that it's affecting my life, but it's interesting that it's even something that I recognized.  Prior to that, even without thinking, I probably averaged a cocktail every day.    7 drinks a week certainly adds up....from a calorie perspective 200 calorie pints of Guinness would equate to 1400 calories or nearly 1/2 a pound of fat each week.

7am Protein shake with flax

Off to the studio for some morning interval training.
25 minutes on the elliptical;  6 minute warm up, 4 min Tabata intervals, 3 minute cool down, 4 intervals at 1 minute hard, 2 easy.   

9am Protein shake.   Off to run some business errands 

11am shake (gotta keep those things ready to go in the car at all times)

Damn, I'm hungry.... and my head's feeling a little fuzzy. I'm gonna go eat something.

12:30 Protein and an apple - It's amazing how an apple can feel like so much food....  I feel much better now. 

Back in the studio at 2 for 30 minutes of steady state aerobic activity.  After this bout of exercise, I am pretty much out of it... light headed, dizzy, legs are wobbly.  I sat down, had a small apple and some aminos, followed by a protein shake about 20 min later.   I think I may have pushed it a little too far right here.... I should have taken in some sort of nutrition in closer proximity to beginning this training session. 

The remainder of the day I felt pretty crappy....Hungry, low energy and my mood was slipping. 

Dinner was early 5oz of grilled pork loin, mixed greens and 1/2c steamed broccoli. 

Sat around for the rest of the evening handing out treats to the goblins, fairies and vampires that showed up at our door.  Actually I sat around and watched Lisa handle Halloween duty. I have more fun watching her excitement for the cutest costumes and happiest kids. 

Still starving 2 hours later, I had about 3oz of left over pork loin and a celery stick. 

Exhausted, I'm off to bed early... I was asleep by 9:30

Two Weeks Down - Something Must be Working!

It's been another successful week on what can be accurately described as an intense program.  I continue to learn about myself, the interaction with others while doing something drasticallly different that the "norm" and what it really takes to get truly impressive results. 

I keep hearing similar things from people around me. Quite frankly these common themes are starting to fire me up a little bit and my answers are probably going to become more and more blunt as the program continues.   Here are a couple:

"I don't know how you do it". The answer is simple.... I made a committment, I follow the program and when it gets really hard, I SUCK IT UP AND FOLLOW THE PROGRAM, which actually helps me gain momentum. 

"That's too hard... I just couldn't do it"   If this is the way you think, you're absolutely right you can't do it!  The program is not easy!  Just like almost anything else great in life that is worth achieving, it takes hard work, a strong will and the commitment to stick it out.

"It's easier for you because it's your job"  If that makes you feel better about the continued failure that you continue to experience with diet and exercise programs, then go ahead and believe it.  Just remember,  it's just another excuse..... excuses never produce results.   If you think it'll make it easier for you, get yourself committed to a program and make it your second job. 
-------

I am pleased to say that I am finally noticing some significant changes in my body.  I can see a difference in the mirror.  The waistbands on my pants are no longer straining to make the buttons connect. My "comfortable" jeans are once again comfortable and the fat that remains around my midsection feels much less dense as if it's on it's way out as well. And the best news is that my shirts are not getting any looser through the shoulders, and may actually be tightening up a bit.

Could I actually be gaining muscle while losing fat?   I'll get measured again, but I don't need to know tale of the tape... I will stay the course and continue making progress. (my personal body fat indicator says I'm about half way there)  It will be fun to look back on the progress numbers when I'm finished. 

It feels like I've got things pretty well dialed in.  The extra intesity of the cardio sessions seems to be necessary, so I will continue to increase intensity at each successive session.  The weight training sessions are awesome.  The progress is starting to feel pretty good. 

I do feel like some days I need a little extra rest... so I will get to bed a little earlier on those days. 

I mentioned last week that I wasn't eating enough whole foods on strict days.  I have increased the veggie intake slightly, but the protein powders are really the only way I can keep my calorie intake as low as necessary to keep with the plan.  Next week will follow what we've done this week.  I'm getting better with the overfeed days and will be dilligent about cramming in as much healthy, nutritious foods as possible on those days. 

I've still got a long way to go over the next 10 days, but I am very optimistic.  It feels like I'm firing on all cylinders and will be able to power through the finish line with great success. 

I'm looking forward to the result, but I'm also finding new ways to appreciate the process.  Thank you for sharing this journey with me. 

Day 15

I woke up this morning looking forward to my afternoon training session.  I'm not sure if it's the training session I'm looking forward to or being able to eat real food, but either way it's something to look forward to. 

6:30 I started the morning with the standard protein and flax shake.

With as low as my energy levels were yesterday, I decided to replace my morning cardio session with 25 minutes of Z-Health I-phase drills.  I definitely feels good to get every joint in the body moving and warm as a way to start the day.  I-Phase Z is challenging, so while it won't count as cardio, it's definitely still a training session. 

8:30 A scoop of protein

I had a morning meeting, so I put some protein in a bottle and took off for the meeting.  Mixed that up mid-meeting at about 11

About 1 I'm heading into the studio for my training session. Prior to leaving for the studio I took my pre-training mix of 4g BCAA, 5g Glutamine, 1g Vitamin C, and a scoop of PowerDrive. 

Today's session:

5 min Z-health warm up
5 min specific warm up

Front Squat and Chin Up  Supersets 10 sets of 3
    5 min rest + 1/2 dilute protein carb shake

15 Min EDT  Bulgarian Split Squat and Inverted Row
     5 min rest + 1/2 dilute protein carb shake

10 Min EDT Partial Pistol and DB Lateral Raise
    Full serving of post training carb/protein shake (Surge)

10 minute cool down.  Stretching and Z

I didn't get quite the buzz that I did in my last weight training session, but I still improved all the numbers over the previous session and I felt energetic throughout.  Overall it was a great training session.   

About 20 minutes later I did start feeling quite a buzz.... this time I don't think it was as much from the training as from the sugar in that Surge.  I am definitely a believer in "food as a drug" now. WOW... this is good stuff. 

About 90 minutes after my training session my first solid meal consists of about 4oz of grilled pork loin and 2 chicken enchiladas.   

It's my nephew's birthday, so we've got a little family gathering over at my mom's house.  (Happy Birthday Trenton!)  Good thing it's an overfeed day :)  I spent the majority of the evening grazing over roasted chicken, BBQ ribs, salad and even a piece of really tasty french bread.  I finished the party off with a big, homemade chocolate chip cookie (that was always the favorite treat from mom's kitchen) 

Back at home, I needed to eat one more time.... 1 left over slice of pork loin, an apple and a serving of nuts. 

I feel like I got the overfeed right today.  Never too stuffed, but still a lot of food and I think I'll actually be able to get to sleep tonight.   

Day 16

I keep thinking that these overfeed days are going to be the ones to look forward to, but somehow in the context of the program it's just not the case. 

This morning I got up looking forward to consuming copious quantities of all the healthy stuff to refuel the tanks. Most of the food was even prepped and ready to go  for the day (marinated chicken breasts, fruits, veggies, eggs and yogurt).  Overnight the refrigerator decided to transform itself into a warming oven, just perfect for breeding bacteria in all of the food I was planning to eat today. 

The refrigerator had been making some funny noises, so we actually have a repair guy coming out to look at it today.... couldn't it have waited until tomorrow to die? 

So for breakfast it's a couple scoops of protein and dry granola.

As soon as I made my way up to the office the phone rings... it's the refrigerator repair guy calling to reschedule.  He's out sick today!  Is the whole world against me today?   

Second breakfast this morning consisted of a couple servings of nuts. 

After a couple of morning meetings Lisa brings me a burrito from my favorite joint in town. (the one that my buddy waved in front of my face last week)  So the day's looking up.  I got through half of it, before feeling completely stuffed. 

The other half was consumed about 90 minutes later.  Unfortunately, my body doesn't seem to like this sort of "junk" food quite as much these days. I know I would have felt better if I had been able to stick to what I had in the fridge.

Meetings fill the afternoon.  Nuts and a protein shake keep me going. 

I just realized that my legs are really sore from yesterdays training session. 

Late afternoon I make a batch of fresh peanut butter and spread some on a slice of sprouted grain toast.... I think this was more of treat today than the burrito that I thought I had been craving. 

For dinner we head to a local diner.  I enjoy a 3 egg omelet  filled with steak, mushrooms, onions and cheddar cheese and a piece of whole wheat toast.  That's what overfeed days should be about ;)

About an hour before bed, I have 1/2 an apple with peanut butter.

Off to bed to rest these aching legs.   

Day 17

17 days of this already.....  I feel pretty good about what I've accomplished so far. 

It's always hard to believe, but these mornings after the overfeed day are when I wake up noticeably leaner.  It's good motivation going back into the strict, low calorie days. 

The broken refrigerator won't be causing me any trouble today. Powdered protein and water don't require much to stay safe for consumption. 

7am protein and flax

A couple of brief, but interesting morning meetings have my mind running a million miles a minute, I'm going to need to remind myself to eat for the next few hours. 

9am protein

At about 10:30 I throw on the X-vest and set the timer for 20 minutes of high intensity interval drills.  This session included, lateral sprints, stairs, push ups, kettlebell swings and snatches.  Finished off with 5 minutes of Z drills to release some of the tension. 

11 - Small apple - scoop of protein

1pm - Protein with flax

After another off site client meeting, I make my way to the studio for my afternoon cardio training. 
Today I'm shooting for 30 minutes on the "DreadMill" at a 13 degree incline.  The challenge of that made it almost bearable and I felt good about the accomplishment when I was done.  10 minutes of Z drills as a cool down  really helped.

3:30 Protein 

5 Protein w/ flax

Now comes the biggest temptation of the program thus far... this is the one event that I have been dreading since I started. 

We have planned (for months) to meet some old friends that we haven't seen in some time at a favorite Mexican restaurant in Sacramento.. Great food and award winning margaritas, it's like a party in there every night.  Right up to the minute I walk in the joint, I know this will be the true test of my commitment and will. 

I actually thought to myself, "if I crack just a little, one margarita, one homemade tortilla or a little rice and beans, won't hurt that much"  This is when my " inner coach" kicks in with some relentless commentary about being tough and staying true to my personal commitment....that voice is certainly not Politically Correct.   

So I agonize over the menu to find something that will fit into my program. Ceviche appetizer it is...white fish marinated in lime juice with peppers, onions and tomato, it doesn't get much cleaner than that. As soon as that decision was made, it was like the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders and I was free to enjoy the company of our friends.

Turned out the serving of Ceviche was huge, so I was actually filled up by an appropriate portion of the dish, which left me another serving for later in the evening (good thing, because the refrigerator is still broken.)

All in all it was a nice evening and  powering through another one of these "tests" was great for the psyche and continued success of the program.   If I can get through this one, there is pretty much nothing that's going to pull me off the wagon.

Certainly a successful day!