Day 31: new diet, no problems...

first day of new diet was a bit of a fail, due to china travel.  since then, been doing OK w/ the adjustments. don't feel too hungry and enjoying the more noticeable changes physically already from the smaller dinners.

exercises today almost seemed like "a break" after the first 2 intense days.  still, the legs and the abs were def. feeling it!  think i MIGHT have managed a couple of double-jump skips inadvertently but every time i intensionally tried to do them resulted in a trip-up~  will come soon enough i'm sure.

happy mid-week to fellow PCPers out there!  
and CONGRATS to the ones that just finished up this week!!  will be joining you there soon enough~

Day 30: following the program...

exercises: JUST on the cusp of getting double skips for the jump-roping i think.  def feeling comfortable with skipping faster, and doing alternating feet, as well as straddles.  still trip up when i try the double skip--think i need to jump higher?!
legs def burned today on the 2 exercises.
surprised that i was able to do the chest dips OK.
V sit-ups unf still look like sloppy U sit-ups~

diet: had shabu shabu for lunch, which was a nice find. otherwise, not hungry so guess that's the other victory to be found today.

Day 29: traveling s*cks when you're on PCP...

well, should clarify to specifically say that traveling in China is not the best place for PCP~~~  so much oil in the food overall and very difficult sometimes to get the service there to cater to something as simple as a no-soy, no-MSG, no-sauce request.

i'm sure when i go home to SF next month, being there while on PCP will be more like a dream come true.  HK is still a bit of a struggle, but once committed, it's kinda cool finding out about all the sprouting organic cafes and food shops in local popular neighborhoods. product choice still sadly leaves much to be desired but seems to be moving in the right direction anyway.

Day 28: still in the right, downward direction...

weekly weigh-in today:

weight:          70.7 kgs
body fat %:    20.6%

nice to see both continuing to move down, slowly but surely.

hope rest of PCPers are feeling strong, healthy and well.

congrats on finishing 4 weeks!

Day 27: sweating, sweating and MORE sweating...

so, no longer have access to my friend Chris' hotel gym, and now have to do daily exercises the local, ghetto way... in the public park!  i stayed true to the program by getting my 8 hours' sleep last night, but that meant that by the time i finished breakfast, it was 11:15am when i stepped out to Victoria Park (in Causeway Bay, HK).  needless to say, even having found a large area shaded by a big tree, it was still a sauna out there!!

exercises were difficult enough; add to the fact that it was midday and humidity was riding high... oh man, the sweat-dripping was embarrassing. but, it did feel great to get the work-out in, and satisfying to know that i'd worked hard b/c of the midday humidity.  but, prob not the safest way to get thru PCP...

Day 26: friday night... whoopee!

somehow, the thrill of the friday night lights is just not the same when 1. you're focused on PCP and 2. you're not working anyway!  haha :)

quiet one for me tonight, but healthy diet, healthy exercise, healthy sleep = "how-can-you-miss" healthy lifestyle, yeah?  i'm not even really a big drinker by any means, but the no alcohol part of this experience has really made me appreciate how different it can be socially in certain settings when one doesn't drink. i never used to really understand why those persons often ducked out for an "early night" before midnite, esp b/c the one or two times i didn't drink, i thought: no big deal.  

but now, after almost 4 weeks of no drinking and still going out fairly regularly, i can def sympathize with my fellow non-drinkers. i sometimes almost want to just pick up a cigarette (which i don't normally do) just have something else to do in these social settings~~  doesn't help that HK nightlife is pretty dominated by the bar/lounge/club party scene, but for now, i think it's fine and worth the sacrifice and experiment, for peak conditioning!

Day Twenty-Five: the perfect egg...

new exercises def whooped my a*rse today: leap frog jumps def had me winded by end of last set. the chicken wing reps also burned. finally, my V sit-ups were completely sloppy--couldn't hold the form at all~

but, did make a great egg for breakfast afterwards :)

Day Twenty-Four: all quiet on the eastern front...

hello again from HKers.  bit late doing the exercises today but actually pleasantly surprised at how quickly i got thru the 1100 skips, esp. after a bit of an off day yesterday.  planks were OK too, but i still can't do more than a set of pull-ups w/o needing to use my leg (resting on a chair underneath) to help a bit.  

surprisingly difficult were the new shoulder press exercises. def struggled on the last set there.

Day Twenty-Three: an off day

was traveling in Macau today so bit of an off day. took me a while to do jump ropes today and felt sluggish on the rest of the exercises. pretty much missed lunch unfortunately.

took off shirt by the pool though, a little more confidently than usual  :)   still showing the gut but def feel like there's more muscle underneath, than just the hanging layer of blob that was before~~

the hotel gym i had been going to until this week is no longer available to me tomorrow so will have to find new venue/routine.  THANKS Chris for temp gym access anyway--was good while it lasted :)

Day Twenty-Two: bringing it along...

more reps = more sweat.  i like the challenge of more reps now, and the upcoming new exercises to try--the pics of Patrick doing the floor jumps and chicken wing lifts are admittedly pretty hilarious too! :)

so bring it on, week 4--let's go get 'em~

Day Twenty-One: skipping sundays...

up to 1,000 skips now, under 10 mins... yee-eAHH!

always easier too, knowing there are no other exercises to follow for the break-day :)

tonight's healthy no-carb dinner:

Day Twenty: bubbly, anyone?

went to a friend's birthday dinner at a private kitchen tonight. people were dressed up, birthday balloons were placed around, the tables were set; as we were standing around, waiting for all the guests to arrive, the server was walking around, handing out flutes of champagne for pre-din cocktails.

in mid-conversation with a few people, i naturally accepted mine from the server. as my friend noticed all three of us in the conversation now had our glasses, he raised his and offered a welcoming toast to start the evening and we raised glasses to join. JUST as my glass was coming up, my friend Kathy, the gracious hostess, suddenly interrupted, saying, "hey, can you drink??"  <DOH>.  i stopped my glass suddenly, just before it had made it to the promised land~   with the usual party setting, i had COMPLETELY forgotten about the diet and corresponding no-alcohol--it just so naturally had slipped my mind given the celebratory nature.

we laughed about my timely forgetfulness, and i sheepishly and not-too-happily passed off my full glass of champagne and substituted a full glass of sparkling... water!

Day Nineteen: the PCP ripple

one cool thing i've noticed about PCP is how it's had a positive effects on those around me. seems to break down into 3 groups so far in my limited experience so far:

1. friends who are coming for the free (albeit, somewhat bland) meal. they know that i'm not as able to go out, so i'll invite them to join and they invariably get a "taste" of what we're going thru.  but asfellow PCPer Ken in previous blog pointed out, one effect is that they themselves end up eating a bit less. when i've offered to "spice" it up a bit for them w/ carbs or salt, some have even asked to try the meal just like we have to eat it!

2. others are mostly friends/loved ones supporting the PCPer.  this has been great and invaluable, having offers to help w/ exercises (thanks Belle!) or doing bits of the diet and program together, not b/c they need it, but more as show of support of our commitment,

3. still others (even new acquaintances) see the positive effects of the program and wanna try their own version of doing something healthy, be it changing diet or exercising more.  partially due to watching ken and me stay committed, my flatmate has started going to the pool to swim laps every morning at 6:30am--keeping with the same start time even on Saturdays and Sundays.  also, many people liked the discussion about getting the 8-hours sleep each night and have taken to trying to incorporate that.

i know at some point, my friends will prob get tired of the PCP talk, esp. in month 2 when things get more lean WRT diet. still, at the moment, the topic really been a big part of some lively and good conversations and discussions, resulting in great promotional exchange, both for the program as well as thinking overall about fitness and health.

having said this, i'm off to my Friday night "drinks"--haven't had my coffee or sparkling water yet today, so something to look forward to at the local bar ;)

Day Eighteen: healthy, healthy, HEALTHY !!

had a pretty delish, healthy and as always PCP-compliant lunch today:

haven't really been hungry much, but i do miss eating more fun foods (& can't wait for our first indulgence day)~~  as you read those ingredient and nutrition charts on the labels though, you really do see how many foods already have sodium in them. easy to understand how we get enough of it naturally, w/o adding more.  but from a culinary point of view, it's used everywhere, and does undoubtedly change/enhance the taste profile of dishes.

exercises all going well enough. after that mail abt appreciating the burn and not cheating ourselves, i've been trying to push as much as possible. still managing to complete the exercises in about 40 mins, and then i stretching at least 10 mins afterwards.  stretching is DEF a key to being less sore the next day, but must admit i'm feeling it after each workout anyway.

Day Seventeen: the good, the bad and the pretty disappointing ugly

the good: kept track of time for once today and finished the 850 skips today in less than 8 mins!  even got 200 skips in a row at one point~!!  still don't feel like i can do the fun stuff yet but def nice to be able to get a bit more of a rhythm going. for me, it def helps skipping in front of a mirror.  also, found this bit online and remembered another key is prob the type of rope and making sure it's the proper length. the video is pretty sweet too:
http://www.rossboxing.com/thegym/thegym26.htm


the bad: was def feeling it on the davinci's today. barely finished the last set.

the disappointing ugly: unf, could only get 3 pull-ups done, and most likely from initial strength and momentum of being the first set. tried to do a 4th but couldn't get up.  rested 20 secs and tried the 2nd set but didn't have strength. i know it won't happen overnight, but still wish i'd been able to show a bit more.

Day Sixteen: a PCP world

i know HK is a small place, esp amongst certain circles, but funny how many people i've been meeting that have heard of, completed, or know someone who's completed PCP.  before i started the program, i knew maybe 10 persons who'd finished it.  now w/in just over 2 weeks, that # of acquaintances has jumped to almost 20!

funny how much the program takes over your conversation, social and even idyll time. guess when are that committed to a 90-day program that will ultimately change your lifestyle and diet choices and physical fitness, just comes with the territory.  great to see how much curiosity the topic brings out amongst new people i meet, and also how much support i get from friends tho know i'm on the program.

well, all this effort to bring down the body fat %, get rid of my man-boobs and ultimately, get that 6-pack that i've never had... bring on the burn!!

Day Fifteen: no evening carbs

diet: got a bit of a late start today but made sure to get all 3 meals and snacks in so as not to get hungry. almost midnight and feeling fine.

exercises: managed to get thru the jump-roping rather efficiently, def was struggling w/ the push-ups as well as the da-vinci's.  on the other hand, felt quite strong doing the thumb-up curls.

loaded week 3 start photos in flikr and created a set of week-to-week photos there. went from 77kgs to 74 kgs, which is nice--prob much of it water loss more than anything :)

Day Fourteen: 2 weeks down...

missing good food, but overall, feeling positive, lighter and stronger. bring on week 3!

Day Thirteen: taco Saturday!

diet: made tacos tonight, w/ gauc, tomato corn salad and few more veggies, no salt but still managed to squeeze some taste into it w/ various other spices. :)    feels great knowing that we're being more deliberate about foods we eat and maintaining a filling and healthy diet.  of course, i still really miss the fun, tastier, less healthy stuff but am OK going more healthy at the moment.  

exercises: managed to skip 144 times in one go today!  of course, tripped up quite a few times towards the end of the 700 though. shoulders and back are def feeling the soreness from workout today.

Day Twelve: quiet Friday

diet: tonight was the first of what will prob be many quiet Fridays to come. had time to make some pasta tonight but was taken aback when i saw how little pasta i got when weighing out the carb portion of the dish. lots of leftovers though so will prob enjoy cold pasta salads for the carb portions of next few days. good msg from Patrick today abt extra food prepping to be ready for multiple days.

exercises: continue to lose my concentration towards end of jump-rope sessions, resulting in more trip-ups. def struggled with the da-vince's as well. otherwise, all good.

Day Eleven: sliver of noticeable progress?

allowed myself a moment of satisfaction when i looked in the mirror and thought i noticed a slightly noticeably more gaunt face. couple hours later, was hanging out with a friend who i hadn't seen in about 10 days, and she immediately comments on how my face looks a little bit thinner~~

diet: got up late today and so skipped on the breakfast, going right to AM fruit before having lunch soonafter.  still not sure if i should actually have the breakfast even if late or if better to just move on based on time of day.  char-grilled fish and salad w/ a slice of toast dinner.

exercises: getting to appreciate the nice little circuit workout we've been doing, esp. as i feel stronger as i get through it. DEF helps to do the skipping in front of a mirror and on a nicely padded floor.

Day Ten: dining out day

diet: first day for me to be outside for both lunch and dinner.  now, i understand why many PCP alums became so anti-social during the program. it's hard to find restaurants (esp. in HK) that can cater to the more specific parts of the diet (esp. no salt, nothing processed).

first place i went for lunch was called veggies sf, so i was mildly hopeful to be able to find something appropriate to eat.  but, upon mentioning guidelines, was told by the owner that everything on lunch menu had been "pre-seasoned" (i.e. they were too lazy to prep one order for special needs). so, i ate nothing there and just went on to salad bar at 360, after my friend finished. 

for dins, experienced the opposite: great service at an italian steakhouse called Bistecca. they were able to get me grilled veggies, steak and carbs all with no salt and sauces. only problem there of course was holding back against such enticing temptations. steak without a nice glass of red wine, bread with no butter, etc. prob ate a bit over rations but managed to hold strong for the most part :)

exercises: def feeling the soreness now in certain areas, mostly shoulders and upper back. so trying to leave add'l time at end for stretching more.

Day Nine: fish time!

diet: came in prepared today. got up early to shop at the couple of local organic shops in neighborhood, picked up a few fish, lots of veggies and started cooking in friend's brand new kitchen (thanks, Ken!). made oven roasted cod fillet w/ herbs, broccoli, cauliflower. dinner was pan fried, dill covered salmon fillets w/ lemon, shimeji mushrooms and zucchini, along w/ minced onion, pumpkin seed couscous. didn't feel hungry at all today either, which was nice.

exercise: worked hard, and def felt sore front shoulders and chest later in the evening.

Day Eight: with a little help from my friends...

diet: today was effectively my first almost-fail day. didn't sleep well, woke up late and was completely disorganized w/ schedule as a result. ended up doing light version of breakfast, no lunch and for dinner, THANKFULLY, fellow PCPer Ken W. had manned up and after a full day's work, shopped and got everything prepped. a stellar effort for the first dinner (steamed veggies, spiced chicken and couscous):

exercise: 600 jumps, just slogged away--doesn't feel like i'm getting better but think it's prob happening slowly and surely.  the new exercises were def more time-consuming and put more muscles to work than previous w/outs. felt satisfying though!  friend Belinda came over to help--she is a trained physical therapist so gave some good tips after watching me do my first reps, followed by good stretching exercises afterwards.  w/o that, def would be more sore tomorrow i suspect.

i unfortunately did the lower range of exercise reps, as this was first day of more intense activity.

Day Seven: one week down...

was def feeling lethargic and light headed at different points this week. but think that Patrick's mail hit it spot on in terms of the half potions def making you THINK about what we eat, how much we eat. already gotten much more accustomed to smaller plate portion sized servings since having lived in Japan for a while. at the same time though, living in Japan really introduced me to a new level of food, dining and cuisine appreciation, and i have most def realized my gluttonous nature :)  

diet: along those above lines, i gorged on my last day of "free eating"--thanks to fellow PCPer friend Ken for suggesting Outback Steakhouse for the last meal. i hadn't been in ages but was eager to share my half portions there, filling up on American family style portion of steak, fried onion, ribs~~~  

exercise: what a nice surprise to see only 1 item on the exercise list today. was able to complete the 500 skips rather quickly but def "tripped up" more towards the end. feet were feeling "hot' and achey by the end of the 500 unfortunately

Day Six: slowly but surely...

diet: had more food for dim sum lunch than i maybe should've.  call it 65-70% instead of half portions. didn't eat brekkie though so prob evened out i'm guessing.  dinner: tonkatsu!  figured it would be one of last proper meals til we add more restrictions so went halfies w/ some friends (didn't go over well w/ Saboten tonkatsu chain management WRT their free rice and cabbage refills unf, but that's a diff story)

exercise: was feeling it on the last set of push-ups as well as the last set up leg lifts. swam a few laps aftewards again to cool down and stretch out.

finally, weighed myself and am at 76kgs!!  hardly the end goal but nice to know that w/in the first 5 days of the program, headed slowly but surely in the right direction (albeit, i used a different scale than the one i started on a few days ago, so not sure how legit the minus 1.5kgs really is~ :)

getting ready to again hit the town and all its watering bars tonight!

Day Five: temptation test #1

was our first Friday night out since program started...

was feeling food abt the day's exercise and meals, and then came... Friday night in HK.  started with  HHH (in our case, HEALTHY happy hour) around 6:30pm, went to 2 restaurants, 3 bars and 1 club, until finally getting back now (3am).  went from tap water, to sparkling water, to bottled water, back to tap, then on to soda water, etc, etc.  i will def become a connosieur soon of all of HK bars' water offerings!

actually, this first night out was not that bad, as you have "the story" to tell everyone who gives you that initial look of surprise. thankfully, my friends were mostly supportive too, buying me fancy waters each round, but what an unfair payout when it came to my turn :)   "the story" will have get refined as we go thru more, but undoubtedly will become stale at some point. 

still, made it through w/o any fails on this first Friday night, and have a good night's rest as reward (instead of still being at club now with the friends that continued on)~~

Day Four: first admission of guilt...

diet: overall, no probs today, until i got to dins. after 1 week of italian only cuisine while traveling last week, i was craving the chinese food, and this time going to a special BBQ pork rice place in Wanchai, i just couldn't hold off. ended up having about 3/4 of a full portion, so slightly over the allocated amount~~ 

exercise: felt strong w/ all the reps today so decided to challenge myself to an extra set of leg lifts.  all of a sudden by the 3rd lift in the 4th set, the strength dissapated so i was left to eeke out painfully the last 7. still got it done and finished off with a few laps in the pool to stretch out.

over the hump for week one... pats on fellow PCPers' backs!!

Day Three: the weigh-in...

the weigh in:
OK, finally found a scale today and here are the unflattering #'s:
weight:         171 lbs ( 77.4 kgs)
body fat %:     21.9%
body fat was not as bad as i would've thought, but weight slightly higher than expected; nowhere to go but down from here, baby!

diet: first day to start gaining an appreciation of 1/2 portions diet. still able to eat what i want and realize that lesser portions are adequate.  still dreading next week tho, so gonna make the most of last few days on this 1/2 portions days

exercise: everything good--skipping, squats, push-ups and finally sit-ups. except, started feeling the strain and pain by the first set of ab exercies (previously, had been feeling it only by final 3rd sets)

Day Two: all quiet

happy again that we can eat what we want, just in half sized portions. think the hunger has been more psychological really than anything else at this point.

diet: half portions no probs really. did feel bit light and hungrier thru the day, but all good. still happy to not drink alcohol for a while.

exercise: managed to get 2 sets of 50 each for the jump-roping in w/o tripping up, so that was an improvement already from yest.  still, knees felt a little heavy/tired afterwards so think i need to find a better surface to jump on.  last set of leg lifts were tougher than expected.

thought i'd be starting first month of program in SF but still actually in HK for this month so have to start shopping for some of the materials still needed...

hope rest of you had a good day 2 out there.

Day One - it's all good...

Hello fellow Aug 1 PCPers!! 
hope everyone had a good day one to start this new chapter. have to admit that i was pleasantly surprised to find that we are being "eased into" this.  i spent the last week in Italy just gorging myself in epicurean goodness, in preparation for the extreme diet that i thought started from day 1, so the idea of 1/2 meals and even 1/2 drinks made things much easier. i know the challenges to our will power (esp. when it comes to my love of eating all things delicious) have yet to really begin, but i'm totally excited for this program.

been mostly inspired by the phenomenal results of 10+ friends who have completed this already in the past 1.5 years, mostly in HK and Tokyko. currently, i'm starting this session w/ one friend (Ken) and out of HK. also, first time to try this blogging thing so will see how long it takes me to find my "blogger voice"

diet: no probs really. was mostly jetlagged coming off the plane anyway so just enjoyed a cup of tea in the AM, along with a quarter bowl of muesli.  skipped lunch and had Thai food for dinner, trying hard to keep portions at half size.

exercise: took a few tries to gain some rhythm with the jump roping, but actually managed to do the last set of 50 w/o any misses :)      squats were fine, max reps on push-ups were good.  had a bit of a struggle on the sit-ups--wasn't sure at first how far to bring my upper body up but by the last set, couldn't manage of an upward angle anyway :)    still, tried to keep the abs crunched.

knees felt a little heavy after the jump roping. unf, i don't have an aerobics room or gym to skip in. will try to find a more forgiving surface soon though~~

adding some Day One photos. bring on Day Two !!