The end of the beginning.

Hi Everyone. The last post is coming up a bit late but i have still been grappling with the workouts and had a very busy week.

I think it is normal to start with Thank You's but I would like to start with apologies. Sorry Patrick for such a late Day 90 post. It got inevitably late. I wanted to really think hard about it and then got a bit lazy and then a bit busy. Honestly, I don't have much excuse to offer.

Compared to all my friends here doing the PCP, i think i had it a bit easy as my wife helped me out with almost all the cooking and without her it would have been almost impossible for me to get anywhere. Not just that, she made a lot of emotional adjustments. She was very encouraging and patient esp when i was throwing tantrums all over. That happened a lot when i was bordering on obsessiveness about the workout, about the diet, about everything and nothing. Trust me, I would have given up on myself. She has been a rock. I gave her a bit of a hard time even today. Sorry. I love you, Prachee :).

I am really glad that in the end it turned out to be an injury free 3 months. It would have been very difficult to cope up with injury or any other hiccups in between. E! overcame his knee and Melanie did so well to stick around. It was an honor to be doing the PCP in their company.

I can't thank Patrick and Chen enough. Just by way of stumbling upon PCP, all of us were looking to do something about our health and it might have taken more wandering, more wasted time and money if not for Patrick and Chen. The program was carried out very well and I looked forward to the daily emails from Patrick telling us something new about some exercise or about healthy eating or just cheering us on. Saturdays emails were of course a bit dreaded because of the new workout plan every week. :) Even now, after more than a week, I do open my email everyday hoping to see an email from Patrick.

Time for the pants shot :). I have dropped about 4 inches. I am yet to buy new clothes because this is not where i want to be. I am yet to get to Peak Condition as I was way off when i started but i will get there and my new clothes will have to wait a little while longer.


When I look back at what we have achieved, it does look immense but in reality all it took was consistency and discipline. It just goes on to show how consistent dogged small step every day can make such a huge difference. All the posts from fellow PCPers helped a lot in making sure that the small step was taken every day. There were off days but it was easier to get up when i stumbled because of the fact that there were people around encouraging each other every inch of the way. Also knowing that what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger helped during difficult days of workout.

Here are the Vital Stats from before and After.

	9-Aug-09	9-Nov-09
Weight	90.3	78.9
Fat %	26.8	20.2

I know i have some more distance to cover before i want to get to the maintenance stage. Things are a lot better since I embarked on PCP but I still have miles to go. Since I finished PCP, I have learned a few fancy tricks with the jump ropes. Running in Place and Single Leg jumps. It was quite fun and look forward to doing other things with the rope as well.

Things happen eventually but in the end it all depends on how desperately you want it. I was desperate before I started and PCP showed me what I could achieve and helped in fueling my hunger. (I hope not for food :))

To E!, Jessica, Mike and Amy. Thank You all for your support all through the PCP. Thanks Patrick & Chen. I will try and live up to what I learned through both of you.

Cheers to a great beginning !!

Till we meet again guys. Good Bye and Good Luck !!!

Day 89 Or Day 84. PCP Blues !!

Hey Everyone !! Just read E's entry for T-2. He is the Sean of our group. Am pretty excited for him and for everyone of us but i have done something which is pretty disappointing.

It might have something to do with the fear of what lies beyond PCP but it could just be a rationalization that my mind is coming up with. Here is what happened.

Last Friday after i measured my weight i was pretty excited. Sat was soccer day and was a bit tired after the game. Don't know why but i decided to take it easy that day. Sunday followed, went shopping and when i was trying a new pair of trousers I realized how much my waist had shrunk, I couldn't contain myself. Also i don't know but i felt i should make up for the three days of workout that i had missed during the last three months. That and a mixed feeling of what was to come post PCP brought me to stand still. Monday followed, just did the jump ropes. Tuesday, made up for Day 52. Today, just finished the Day 73.

I don't know why i am doing this. I do feel that i don't want my PCP to be over. The plan is to do my Day 76 tomorrow (that is when i make up for all the lost days) and then i start with my Day 85 onwards. So that extends my PCP by 5 days. Not enough. I am pretty sure it is not the super-sets that is scaring me.

I have been reading Patrick's PCP blog just to find something to hang on to. To get an idea of things to come and how to cope up with it. I really feel things would get tricky with no one over looking. Like i said, i am known to start off things in full steam and slowly give up. That is what scares me a bit and I know the object of PCP was to get all the right ideas into our brain and see them work so that it keeps us on the right track going forward and all that has happened but still .......

I am sorry to disappoint you guys but as you all will be crossing the finish line i would start my final lap, a lap which i wouldn't want to end. All the best to all of you. I will join you all shortly for the victory lap before we start running again.

Day 84. Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! O! What a feeling i weigh only 80 kilo !!

Just wanted to share this with all of you. I weighed myself today. I am only 80 now. So dropped more than 23 pounds since the start of the PCP.

Only a week to go. I need to wait before I celebrate :).

My routine got even crazier after the last blog. On Wednesday I finished my workout around 1 AM and so it was not a surprise that yesterday when i came home, no matter how much i pushed myself, i couldn't bring myself to start the workout. Slept early. Had a good sleep but i decided to make up for the lost day today.

This is something i have done for the first time in the last 84 days. I came home during lunch from work and i finished yesterday's workout and then when i got back from work today i did my workout for today. It is past midnight already and i finished around 20 minutes back. I couldn't believe what i saw when i stood on the weighing scale.

May be it was the two workouts that caused the weight to drop so much but whatever it was I am pretty happy about it and all charged up.

Bring it on. Last week ya !!

Have a great time everyone.

Day 82: Horrible Internet Connection & a Short Blog Update.

Hey, hope everyone is having a rocking time. 37th day for the newbies :). Not newbies really, all you guys are doing great. Mike, E, Jessica, Amy last few days, eh? I have been meaning to update the blog but the bad internet connection is not allowing me to do it.

This is what my routine has been lately. Infact for most of the PCP except for a bit of difference.

Get up 6:45 Leave for work 7:30 Come back 7:30-8:00 PM. The difference is that previously I used to come home and get started with the workout in 10-15 minutes but now with things getting difficult, it inevitably gets delayed. So I would start anytime between 10 - 11 PM and finish around mid-night and obviously you can't sleep right after that, it is like taking a caffeine shot. So I end up sleeping around 1 AM. Also, my wife has an exam end of this month, so I am trying to sit down with her and work through the sample tests. I should have been doing this for a few weeks now but a jerk that I am. Now with less than 10 days remaining (for both my PCP and her exam), I hope things turn out well.

Weekly Assessment: I dropped 200 gms week on week and the Body Fat dropped from 23% to 22.2%. Not Bad.

Achievement of the Week: Yesterday, I managed to jump ropes for 21 minutes non-stop without tripping. Only thing is my right calf muscle is hurting a little bit and I hope that doesn't cause any problems tonight.

Disappointment of the Week: In all, still missing 3 days of PCP workout. (3 out of 82) Have tried to make up for it but almost seems impossible. This weekend will be the last opportunity or otw my PCP would run to 93 days. Don't mind that honestly.

I will keep my entry short. My internet connection has been horrible but yes I could have written the blog anyways and updated when the connection was alright but a little bit of excuse never hurt anyone. Hopefully I can have more short but regular updates as we hit the final lap.

All the best to everyone.

Cheers !!

Day 73 - Can't think of much to write.

Had a pretty uneventful week. No bloodied paps, no broken bands. (but while doing the jump ropes today, i realized that the jump rope has worn out, and the metallic wire inside is getting exposed so i need to get a new one, i guess the guys down at the store know me pretty well now, managed to get a discount last time around and hard to believe but they gave me money back for my broken resistance band. I actually went there to get it exchanged as they had been kind enough last time but something got lost in translation and they returned me the money :). I did order the bands from amazon so that i am not left stranded if this one breaks.) Workouts went on schedule. Had a mid-week hiccup last Tuesday and i am still trying to make up for it. Now with the workouts getting really hard it is almost impossible to make up for a lost day until you get a holiday in between or have a quiet weekend. I hope to make up for it this weekend.

I have been slipping on the diet and i hate myself for that, especially on the weekends I have been letting up and last week I was eating a slice or two of bread in the evening. I try to justify it by saying that since we have to get back to normal life in a few week's time i might as well try getting used to it. On the other hand there will be enough time to get used to that life but now is the time to go for the kill. Everything that we have worked towards over the past 1o weeks will be a waste if I can't consolidate it. I don't want that to happen. I have come this far and if I let myself down now, I can't think of it ...

Here is the weekly assessment.

	4-Oct-09	12-Oct-09
Weight	82.9	82.4
Fat %	23.3	23

I think the diet is showing up here in the results. Am pretty sure it is. This week no compromises.

Hope everyone else is having a good time. E ! you have been rock solid. Jessica, Keep that horse running :). Mike you need to get back on track and I wonder where amy is? Hope she is keeping well.

Adios.

Day 66: Of Broken Band II, Bloodied Pap & Indian Sweets.

Hey ! Hope everyone is having a great time working out and taking care of their diets. A pretty eventful week this last one.

I snapped my resistance band again for the second time and this time I was at a total loss of which one to buy. HK sucks when it comes to getting these things. I found a few shops today and these guys were asking anything between 40$ to 80$. What the heck? I had the misconception that it was breaking because of the light tension level and without realizing i ended up getting one which was pretty heavy, heavy enough that i couldn't even do the standing ovations. Obviously a bit frustrated with the whole resistance band thing. The light one breaks apart and the heavy one, i can't lift. Obviously there are ones in between but HK sucks anyways. I came home and checked on amazon and realized i had paid 3 times more for the resistance band. I am thinking of ordering these. In the meantime, i will have to figure out how i manage my resistance band exercises. Some of them should still be do-able using these bands that i have. I will try to get this one changed to something lighter but will see if they give in to it.

After my soccer game on Saturday, I decided to get the jump-ropes done right away. I was already quite sweaty and didn't realize my vest flapping against my chest non-stop. When i finished my jump-ropes and looked myself in the mirror. Guess what i find. Two red spots in and around the pap. Well, i had just bloodied myself doing the jump ropes. :). It was scary at first and then a bit amusing.

Last week, we found out that a very good friend of ours is getting married. He came over with a box of Indian sweets. People need to try it to realize how sweet and rich these things are. Normally, i wouldn't have succumbed but it was a joyous occasion and I ate pretty heartily. I have had too many of these digressions lately. We also have this big Indian festival coming up on the 17th. That is one day when things would get tricky and if at all there has to be any digression between now and the end, i have to save it for the 17th. Hope nothing else happens in between.

Finally the weekly measurements were carried out and things look on track.

	27-Sep-09	4-Oct-09
Weight	83.7	82.9
Fat %	24.4	23.3

I know it is not just about these no.s but also about getting these principles ingrained in our lifestyle. Slowly but surely the metamorphosis is taking place. I will be uploading the photograph tomorrow.

Have a great final dash everyone and let us all cross the finishing line together and in peak condition.

Day: 58. Too many Digressions. Champagne, Red Wine, Gratin -- oh My !!

The usual weekly measurement.

	20-Sep-09	27-Sep-09
Weight	85.6	83.7
Fat %	24	24.4

Last week was full of digressions and was super challenging in terms of the diet. A few senior guys were in the office and inevitably went out for dinner twice on Tuesday and Wednesday and lunch on Friday. I was able to more or less avoid the non-pcp stuff but still it was dinner. Friday we had a dim-sum lunch and it wasn't too PCP-friendly. Yesterday night we were invited for dinner at a senior colleague's place and observing me over the past week i was particularly categorized as being very fussy and was asked yesterday to avoid being so finicky for once. I had to relent and the yummy food wasn't helping either. Here is the description of the assaule that followed :-

A glass of Champagne
A glass of red wine + Chicken Stew
Potato Gratin
Beef Curry
Just the smallest bit of pok choy you can imagine :). (This was the only PCP friendly stuff)
Cheese Cake (Generous Serving) + Dessert Wine

Even the PCP indulgence was not as bad as this one. My wife was nudging me to stop but i don't know what happened :). I did enjoy the food but the guilt came knocking right after.

Well one other thing that i have learned on PCP is that it is okay to make a mistake (I am not giving my self an excuse to keep committing them) but it is more important to get back on track. I finished my workout today on time and I plan to stick to the diet going forward. I just hope we don't have these office outings for some time to come.

Feeling a bit tired today so will keep it short for today. Hope everyone is having a good time. Happy Week 9.