the17thman

Less Is More

Cut yourself some slack! According to recent research, people who work out 3–4 times per week and log their steps burn the same amount of daily calories as those who exercise excessively. You can rest easily knowing that your rest days aren’t setting you back. (Hunter College)

Spirit

0 Carb KETO Cheese Bread by Joe Duff - The Diet Chef

This Keto Cheese Bread Recipe is EASILY one of the best keto bread recipes you can make! It has 0g of carbs, and is made with just 3 main ingredients. Plus, this low carb cheese bread takes practically no time at all to make too!

Used in today's video:

11x7 Tray: https://amzn.to/2XxhHeR

Food Scale: https://amzn.to/3a2j4HI

Pizza Cutter: https://amzn.to/2PofXjG

Garlic Powder: https://amzn.to/2EQSp4V

Onion Powder: https://amzn.to/3gxym9N

Italian Seasoning: https://amzn.to/3gCsuMA

Parchment Paper: https://amzn.to/30v7Lo8

-------------------------------------------------------------

Macros Per Slice (10 slices):

125 Calories

7.5g Fat

0g Carbs

10g Protein

Day By Day

“Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.” —Lowell Thomas

#OrangetheoryAtHome Challenge Edition - HardCORE

Let’s get HardCORE. Cue up this #OrangetheoryAtHome Challenge Edition and your abs will know the true meaning of “rock solid.” You’ve got 3 rounds of 6 exercises — 10 reps of everything! From v-ups to bear steps to that final hollow hold, this is core work you won’t forget. Dive in here — and don’t forget to contact your local studio to see if it’s reopened!

Recommended equipment: - Mat or towel

What's Your Step Count?

Fun fact of the day: On average it would take 65,740,092 steps to walk around the world. How many steps have you walked today?

Happiness

Swim.com and United States Masters Swimming Host First-Ever Virtual National Championship

With most in-person swim meets and races getting cancelled this summer, virtual competitions are proving to be an enticing alternative for elite and casual athletes alike. Swim.com and U.S. Masters Swimming, are pioneering the creation of a virtual racing experience for all types of swimmers in the era of COVID-19 and beyond.

Current virtual swimming competitions are limited -- and those that do exist, require the labor-intensive act of manually emailing race directors or uploading results to a meet hosting platform. Swim.com is aiming to transform the virtual swimming experience into a seamless experience that harnesses the power of wearable technology and motion sensors, while providing flexibility for easy manual uploads via smartphones.

While e-racing has been gaining momentum in sports like cycling and running on platforms like Zwift, swimming is now making the shift towards the virtual sphere. Partnering with U.S. Masters Swimming, Swim.com is powering the first-ever 2020 Toyota USMS Virtual Championships, running August 12-23. The event will feature a variety of pool-based competitions at varying distances as well as open water races. Details on the event and specific race distances can be found here. 

“We were already heading in this direction with the Swim.com platform but the impact of COVID-19 on swimming pools and competitions accelerated our focus and development”, said Swim.com President, John Anthony. 

“Our strategic partnership with Swim.com is creating an opportunity to greatly reduce the barriers for swimmers to compete against each other. While we look forward to the return of in-pool competitions, these virtual competitions give every one of our members the opportunity to participate safely without the need to travel or attend crowded events. It’s a game changer.”, said Dawson Hughes, CEO of U.S. Masters Swimming. 

“This championship is the latest project that has come out of our partnership with Swim.com, following our successful integration of members’ My USMS and Swim.com accounts and launch of our enhanced Workout Library.” 

To support swimmers and coaches leading up to this event and during the virtual championship, Swim.com is releasing a number of new features focused on Open Water swim tracking, Challenges and Smart Workouts. “We are giving coaches and swimmers new tools to improve the overall swimming experience. Swimming can be highly structured and, more recently, isolated, so we are focused on delivering fresh, new experiences that keep swimmers and coaches connected and engaged,” said John Anthony. 

To learn more about each of these new features, visit The Swim.com Blog. 

For more information U.S. Masters Swimming, visit www.usms.org.

My weekly progress report from Fitbit for Jul.​ 27 - Aug.​ 2

CONCLUSION:

I need to step it up!

My Lunch - Poor Man's Easy Avocado Toast

Hungry?  Looking for an easy fast lunch that isn't another frozen pizza or turkey sub?  Confession during the pandemic lock down those were my top two choices for lunch for months.  But once I started to pack on the pounds it was time to eat a little bit healthier at lunch.  That brought salad after salad after salad.  When it comes to cooking I'm not that creative so my salads were made up of some prepackaged bag of spring salad mix, a few tomatoes, some cut up cheese and an avocado.  That got old fast.  So I came up with a quick and easy Avocado Toast that can be changed depending on what I have in the fridge. I start off toasting the bread.  Now I use white bread which you can substitute with Whole Grain or Ezekiel Bread to cut down a bit on Carbs and Sugar.  I find for the difference of price compare to Carb savings I go with generic white bread at Aldi.  If you want a messy sandwich go with a large Avocado or a smaller one for something easier to eat with two hands and no fork.  I mash a wipe Avocado and add about 3 tablespoons of Chi Chi Salsa but any salsa you have works.  I don't recommend Aldi brand Salsa's as they tend to taste strong with vinegar.  I add 2 slices of the pre-cooked bacon from Aldi but all stores have some brand of it but the Aldi is the cheapest by far!  All you got to do is slice, mash and toast!  It's simple, easy and a healthier choice for lunch.  Here is the nutritional breakdown via MyFitnessPal.

Poor Man's Easy Avocado Toast	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
beefsteak tomato - Tomato, 0.75 medium	19	4	0	1	15	2
Avocado, 70 g	112	6	10	1	5	0
chi-chi - salsa, 3 tablespoon	15	3	0	0	225	0
Aldi bacon - Bacon, 2 slices	80	0	6	6	270	0
Deli White American Cheese - White American Cheese, 2 slice	160	2	14	8	540	0
0183 Generic - 2 Slices White Bread, Toasted, 2 slices	100	18	1	3	170	2
TOTALS:	486	33	31	19	1,225	4

So try it and tell me how it was in the comments or below.  Or feel free to post your own Avocado Toast recipes.  I'm always looking to try new things.

Road Runner Sports - Hoka One One Torrent 2 Shoe Review | Made for Going Fast on Trails

Check out the Hoka One One Torrent 2 below: https://bit.ly/2Xj5Yka

Drop: 5 mm WEIGHT: 9.3 ounces M / 7.4 ounces W

Engineered mesh upper with recycled polyester fibers:

Offers breathability

Reinforcing overlays: Provides protection against trail debris

PROFLY™ midsole construction: Delivers a cushioned landing and a propulsive toe-off

Updated multi-directional lugs: Delivers supreme grip on uneven terrain

Marbled, sticky rubber outsole: Provides superior grip

Take legendary HOKA ONE ONE smoothness off-road in the Torrent 2 trail running shoes. Now with updated multi-directional lugs for better grip, feet are protected with reinforced overlays and a durable engineered mesh made from recycled fibers. With a PROFLY™ midsole, the Torrent 2 energizes toe-offs and cushions landings even through the most uneven terrain.

It All Starts With Action

“The chief condition on which life, health, and vigor depend on, is action. It is by action that an organism develops its faculties, increases its energy, and attains the fulfillment of its destiny.” —Colin Powell

What Ever appened to the Jawbone Up Activity Tracker?

Jawbone, known at the beginning as AliphCom, first stood out for the quality of its headphones and wireless speakers and later, for its wearables.

The willingness to find new market niches to jump into them meant that finding investors was never a problem for this company. That is what the relevant venture capital firms have invested in it: Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and even a sovereign investment fund.

By 2014, the company had raised $900MM and was valued at just over $3B. But all that money did not help it cope with its strongest competitors, including Fitbit, or deal with customer service problems. Jawbone’s case was listed by the CB Insights consultant as the second-worst bankruptcy of a VC supported company in the United States.

How did this happen? This is Startup Forensics: Jawbone.

Optimism...

My Fitness Journey From Skinny Fat to Athletic at 50! EP One - July 2020

I'm going to put myself out into the internet to hold myself accountable to My Fitness Journey. As I turned 50 years old a few months ago I made a vow to myself not to be like some of the other guys my age that I see around.  I'm not talking "Dad Bod" guys as a 50 year old is beyond the "Dad Bod" phase and slowly moving into the "Pregnant Man" phase of his life. 

What is the "Pregnant Man" phase?  Well it's something I've seen at so many gyms over the years.  It's the older man who has great arms chest and back but due to poor eating habits has a big belly.  It's that typical former body builder body guy who lifts heavy as hell but eats horribly out of the gym.  For me I'm was becoming "Skinny Fat" slowly going into the "Pregnant Man" phase.  Now I'm not here to "fat shame" anyone but I'm using these phrases as a guide but to actually look at my Body Fat % and my Visceral Fat to determine how "Fit" or "Healthy" I need to be.  But let's face it we are stick labels on ourselves so I'm sick of being skinny fat and want to look more athletic even at 50 years and counting.

To do this I can't just go by looking at a mirror on how I look or I will fall into body dysmorphia.  I'm going to use numbers from my scale to watch my body fat percentage as well as my Visceral Fat.  In the past I created spreadsheets to track my workouts and now have expanded that to include body fat percentage, calories and carb tracking. Below I've posted my end of July results minus my BF% and Visceral Fat.  I will admit I'm a bit embarrassed by the numbers but will post them after August to see if my plan for the month worked or not and what I can do to move forward.

So let's start with July!

JULY
WORKOUTS TOTAL	24
CALS	13509
INSTENSITY POINTS	2745
AVG SPLAT POINTS	30
MINUTES	1187
STEPS	256833
AVG SLEEP	6.5
AVG STEPS p/DAY	8285
AVG CALS p/ WRKT	563
AVG MINUTES p/WRKT	49
AVG WEIGHT FOR MTH	171.1
AVG CARBS P/DAY G	161
AVG CALS EATEN p/DAY	2392

 WORKOUTS: Looking at July I completed 4 additional workouts then I did in June so that is a great start.  Skipping calories burned in workouts, intensity points, splat points and minutes worked out as I care more about the monthly average to compare months to months.  It may look like my recovery days are a bit random but I use the days I work early in the morning as my recovery days as I'm not waking up at 4am to work out before hand and after work is a no go for me.

STEPS:

In July I completed 256,833 compared to June with 217,972 via Fitbit.  Most of that is due to being back to work and being more active at work.  Studies have shown that a steady active exercise such as walking is great for weight loss so I'm trying to get up and walk more at work.

AVERAGE SLEEP:

Ugh!  That is so hard!  I don't sleep well most nights and wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom.  My goal for August is to be in bed by 9:30pm every night except for nights when I work to 9pm at work.  That is usually just once a week.

AVERAGE STEPS PER DAY:

Good news was that I'm up with July 8.285 compared to June with 7,266 via Fitbit.  Pre-pandemic I was averaging between 10,000 to 15,000 per day.  As I'm planning on short runs in August I should easily get back to 10,000 per day.  Right now the days I go into work earlier are my recovery days and I do walk more at work those days but plan on trying to a nightly walk once home besides walking the dog as walking once again is a great tool for weight loss.

AVERAGE CALORIES PER WORKOUT:
Every workout will have a different kind of calorie burn as my workouts do vary.  I do admit when I am at home working out I sometimes add in an extra bit of work out at the very end.   Today for example after I did Les Mills On Demand Body Pump I did a 10 minute portion of the Orange Theory at Home Workout on Youtube.  

AVERAGE MINUTES PER WORKOUT: Nothing scientific here but I aim for about 50 - 60 minutes per workout.  If I'm having a bad morning I'll do a 30 minute workout just to get in something.  Usually those 30 minute workouts go a bit longer as I feel better once I get into a groove.  Going forward I'm going to mix it up between Orange Theory, Les Mills On Demand at home and running out on the streets.

AVERAGE WEIGHT FOR THE MONTH:

Ugh, I'm skinny fat.  Mind you my arms and legs are toned.  I'm happy with the progress I'm making.  I don't want to be a weight lifter body builder build but just to look athletic, whatever that means.  Finished the month on average about the same as the previous month but I'm about 6 pounds down from mid-pandemic lock down.  Eating frozen pizza for lunch every day was not a good thing!

STOP!!!

Before we move down the spreadsheet go Carb and Calories I want to say I figured this out based on figuring out my Macros and using that base and tweaking the formula for each Macro to fit based on my experience what works for me.  Months ago I posted "How to Calculate your Daily Calorie Intake and Macronutrients" LINK with an easy step by step downloadable worksheet so anyone can figure our Macros.  The big difference for my daily Macro breakdown then that of the worksheet is that I go by the formula of 20% Carbs, 45% Protein and 35% Fat while in a 300 - 400 calorie deficit per day.  Generally most people are recommended 40% Carbs and Protein is based on your Lean Muscle Mass.  Check out the post LINK to read more.  I go by what worked for me in the past and adjusted it.  I will admit it's hard to reach my Protein Macros each day and usually get in about 25% Carbs.  But to me the key thing is make sure I'm in that Calorie Deficit based on my TDEE, Total Daily Energy Expenditure .  Once again all of this is in my "How to Calculate your Daily Calorie Intake and Macronutrients" post LINK.

JULY CONCLUSION:

The good the bad and the ugly!  It wasn't perfect.  I did blow my Carb intake the Calorie Deficit many many days.  For me my downfall was alcohol!  Empty calories and too many carbs!  I'm not going to stop alcohol as of today but instead have switched to Hard Seltzers to save on Calories and Carbs.  Will that work?  Hopefully that and running should help.  We will see in next months post.  Wish Me Luck!  For now I'm ending this rambling post but will add posts weekly to review based on my Fitbit.  Till then stay healthy!

DISCLAIMER:  YOUR RESULTS MAY VARY.  BEFORE STARTING ANY NEW NUTRITION / DIET PROGRAM PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE BY YOUR CAREGIVER.  THIS POST IS JUST MY OWN EXPERIENCE BASED ON ME ALONE.  NO INTENDED RECOMMENDATION IS IMPLIED BY THIS POST.