I don’t want to live like this, I want to over come this problem. So here’s the first step. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that I do have an eating problem anymore. Before I always talked it down saying it’s not really a true problem, but it’s time to face the facts. People always say that the first step in overcoming a problem is realizing it’s there.

Second step, understand the disorder and what causes it. I read a lot of things on the internet blaming it on depression and loneliness, and most of my research suggests that binge eating is tied to emotions. I don’t think I agree. I definitely don’t feel depressed or alone. If anything the strongest emotion I have going into a binge is boredom.

I need to examine myself better during a binge. From the other night’s episode, I think I let myself become to hungry then at dinner I accidentally ate above my diet restrictions due to the hunger, and then after dinner I continued to binge out of feeling like a failure. Out of feeling like a failure! Well there’s my emotion. I’ve been blaming it on boredom, but i think I’m finding the deeper emotion driving my binge eating.

So I found the problems. How do I fix them?

Here are some things I want to try.

• Be more forgiving! This is my golden ticket out of binge eating. Almost all of my research suggests this as a good tip for overcoming binge eating, and for me I think it is especially important seeing as I tend to binge because I feel like a failure. If I forgive myself after eating 500 hundred calories over my diet, I wont feel bad and continue to go 2000 more calories over.
• Don’t let yourself get too hungry. I’ve been working on putting this tip into effect all week. I actually do pretty good with this, but the other night when I binged I wasn’t able to prevent the hunger because I was out and about most of the day. Moral to the story, take some snacks with you when you’re out and about?
• Fight boredom. Since boredom does seem to be a contributing factor in my binges, I need to avoid boredom at all costs. This could mean playing more piano even when I don’t want too or going for an unscheduled walk. Often I fall into boredom because I simply don’t feel like doing anything. To solve this I will need to force myself to do activities even when I feel like doing nothing.

I will give these ideas my best efforts, and hopefully I wont binge this week.

Do suffer binge eating? If so what helps you?

The concept makes sense. You’re body generally wont like using its weakest muscles, there for you wont like doing the lifts that use those muscles. This also means your body has the most to gain from improving its weakest areas, so you’re more likely to see faster results in these areas.

I decided to give it a try. I spent the last month focusing on my upper pectorals, the muscle utilized during the incline bench press. My routine started with a couple sets of incline bench press, then a few sets of decline bench press, and then finished with some incline dumbbell bench press. This way instead of avoiding my upper pectorals I was utilizing them specifically multiple times.

By the end of the month I had already seen drastic improvement in my upper body physique. Sadly though the results slowed down after the first month, but incline press is one of my best lifts now. Guess it’s time to find my next weakest lift. Squats!

So give it a try. Pick your most dreaded lift. Then build a routine focusing on that muscle group for a month, and see if you get faster results.

What’s your weakest lift?

A lot of articles suggest focusing on weekly goals and loosing a pound a week, and I’ve been trying this for the past year without desirable results.  I would loose my one pound one week, then the next week gain it back. Since 3,500 is such a small number, cutting about 500 calories a day, once I went even a little over my daily calorie budget one day I would feel bad then binge enough to ruin the entire week.

So it’s time to try a different mental approach. Instead of only focusing on a 3,500 calorie deficit, why not focus on cutting 35,000 calories? With this you’re not likely to feel like such a failure after one bowl of ice cream or one candy bar because you see the bigger picture. You can see that the one candy bay is insignificant, there for you are less likely to binge after a minor slip up in your diet.

With this reasoning, I’ve embarked on my 35,000 calorie challenge. I created a simple google spreadsheet to track my progress.

I’ve been pretty sore almost everyday now, so I think the routine must be working pretty well. After week 1, I am already feeling more fit. My breathing feels deeper and fuller. I’m guessing all of those squats this week really helped.

If you haven’t already I would suggest you try a full body routine to get prepared for summer.

2-interesting-ways-track-weight-loss-twitter

I’m still very new too twitter, so I haven’t tried this out myself yet. I mean, I only I made my twitter account this morning. Hey why don’t you follow me

“if you want to keep getting the same results, then keep doing the same thing. If you want to get different results, try something new.”

I mean, I liked the idea of simply eating healthier and letting the results follow, but I have been doing that for months and simply have not gotten the results I desire due to constant binges and slip ups. There for, for the next 30 days. I will be carrying a food diary to the kitchen and everything I eat will be logged. Hopefully if I write down everything before I eat it I will be less likely to slip up. For now I think it will be easiest to simply use a notebook and paper. None of those fancy online food journal websites like, My Calorie Counter. I mean they look like cool websites, but an online food journal doesn’t seem functional. How often do we eat when were not at a computer?

This morning I weighed in at 152 lb. 30 day hard core cut, here I come. Let’s see if I can’t get down to 145 lb.

I mean we’ve all heard the saying “seize the day”, but honestly most of us never do. so here’s my goal and I suggest everyone get in on it as well. Try to find something unique or crazy to do every day. This will make our lives more exciting.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that we all go out and do something detrimental or stupid. But we could have a little more fun and stop worrying what others think. Here’s something for the guys out there, doing something different is more likely to attract a chick’s attention than doing nothing.

So here’s what me and my brother did today. We went for a little joy ride with the windows open on the car, the radio cranked up, and tried to draw attention to ourselves. Hey, it actually worked. We got quite a lot of stares. Sure a lot of those people were probably just staring thinking we’re delinquent kids, but I bet a few people out there were admiring our joy. Oh and did I mention it was fun!

Try something new today. It doesn’t need to be elaborate or complicated, it just needs to be fun for you. Then come back and comment on your experience.

I wont lie, I had my doubts about whether I would be sore after a full body workout. Going into the workout I thought hitting muscle groups only once, as you should with a full body routine, would be a breeze. Pssh, I’m use to hitting these muscles groups multiple times in one workout. Just once should be easy. Man, was I wrong. Judging from the soreness the workout was very effective.

I was actually doing a good deal of sweating from weight training even. Now there’s a concept I’m not familiar with. My body was simply not prepared for a full body workout, and that means results! If you haven’t already, I would suggest everyone try switching to a full body routine this beach season. It can provide a nice boost in your physique this summer.

If you’re interested in my lifting stats, I made a quick spreadsheet on google docs here.

It’s almost beach season! We better figure out how to slim down and get looking good before we miss this summer completely, right.

I was using stumble upon the other day when I came across an article promoting full body workouts over split routine workouts. The article was suggesting that a full body workout may be better than a split routine. Of course, I wouldn’t know. I’ve been doing a split routine since I started working out. So I decided I better do my research.

I was excited with what I found. A full body workout burns more calories and requires less trips to the gym! Now tell me doesn’t that seem perfect for “beach season” preparation? Seriously burning more calories means more fat loss, and less trips to the gym means more time in the sun or more time for cardio. And when I say less days in the gym, I mean it. I’m talking about three workouts a week. Of course, I’ll still be spending my off days doing cardio.

Want more information on full body workouts google it or check out this article on one of my favorite fitness resource sites. It will show you how to get started on your own full body work out routine in no time.

I’ve been living a relatively stress free life these past few months, so I thought I would share some of the things I do that help me. We’ll start with two simple things for week one that will help lower stress levels.

First and foremost, set a bedtime! Yea yea, some of the older readers out there are probably thinking this is crazy. For me, I’ve always had a bed time so it’s nothing new. I try to get to sleep no later than 10:30. It is suggested by many sources that we should get around 8 hours of sleep each night, so set your bedtime accordingly dependent upon on when you are required to wake up. It’s also more important that you keep the same sleep schedule every single day. That means no cheating on weekends. Our bodies will adapt to a sleep cycle if we are consistent, and it is this adaptation that will allow for the most beneficial sleep. No more waking up and smashing the alarm clock, instead you’ll find yourself waking up fresher and ready to move on with your day. I’m told if you’re really consistent with your sleep, you can train your body to wake up without an alarm clock.

Second, start your day off on the right foot. Find something that will cheer you up at the start of your day. I find listening to an uplifting song on my way to school is a great way to do this. Others things you could try are things like going for a short 10 minute walk in the morning, or warming up on a musical instrument for a few minutes. The key here is find a quick activity you enjoy that will give you a positive boost on your day. You’ll be surprised how much a 10 minute activity can change your attitude towards the rest of the day.

Try to incorporate these things into your daily routine this week, and check back later or subscribe for next week’s tips on living a stress free life.