Quest for a Superbod: BLC Chronicles

 

I am a weight loss veteran. I have lost weight for many reasons:

(a) Vanity. I wanted to look good for the dating scene.

(b) Health. High blood was giving me neck aches and causing me to be grouchy.

(c) Money. I wanted to win a weight-loss wager with a friend

Normally I win my weight loss battles. I just let go of my weight concerns once the original motivation has gone. This time I am losing weight for Performance (athletic performance you green mind!)

I want a Superbod not because it is eye candy and picture-friendly, but because I want to swim, bike and run faster. I do not want a dumbbell-pressed, machined-crunched, creatinine-induced biceps, abdominals and pectorals that are good only for posing and preening on the beach. I want, need, seek muscles that will bring me closer to my half-ironman dream.

Biggest Loser Contest Season 2 (Battle of the Abs) was conceived out of this vision. This time, we do not only want to lose weight. We also want to encourage lean muscle mass. Muscles that actually help us perform better. The Biggest Loser is the one who has the biggest combined drop in weight and/or body fat percentage. For Season 2, I will contend with these people:

                       Natz(L)                              Jet(C)                              RJ (R)

                         Junar(L)                          Angel(C)                      Topher(R)

                       Carlo(L)                            Jan(C)                          Tracy(R)

                                           Izie                              Marga

                                   Ronald                                         Sid

 

So how am I doing in my quest to be a Superbod?

I lost a couple of pounds already. But I am really pumped up by this Sub-Rico Challenge: Beat Rico in BLC 2 and win Php500! Sorry this is for BLC 2 participants only. But you can always try to beat me vicariously. BLC bandits my cheapskate (frugal daw) friends call it. Haha. I am not yet at that income level where I can offer this to everyone! I suppose this challenge is a win-win proposition for us BLC participants. I badly need to win (or at least do well) to avoid being debt-ridden.

I have approached BLC with a three-pronged strategy. When I think BLC I see RED. Rest, Exercise and Diet. In the past I lost weight mostly by running my ass and belly off. I supplemented it with dieting, but I exercised myself to exhaustion mostly. Problem with this is that it is Pyrrhic victory – I lose weight but I burn out in the end. Burn out is also an issue I have with dieting. After feasting on oatmeal you tire out eventually.

BLC, BLC , BLC. How do I win and not burn out in the process? Just like in marathons, the key I discovered is in even pacing. I exercise hard and diet seriously, but not to the point I puke out from difficulty. Rest – physical and mental – is something I have learned to value. I have tried successive hard or long runs, but the weight scale would not budge down. I invested hours in sweating it out, but that robbed my body of the time to recover. Under duress, my body protected itself, converted to fat whatever little food I fed it, and gave me lingering muscle tightness. Stupid, counter-productive exercise. I gave myself two days of rest a week and the weight scale cooperated. Now we’re talking. The two rest days, consider them as my Galloway walk breaks ;-)

I started calorie monitoring via Daily Burn, long enough to be familiar with the calorie counts of my usual diet, and short enough for me to realize that my restricted diet is still not enough to create a calorific deficit necessary for weight loss. They say that if exercise is king, diet is the queen. True, very true. I can still change my diet and accelerate the weight loss process, but I resolved to do it the sustainable way. I substituted refined carbs like rice and bread with natural sugars and healthy fats in fruits. On training sessions I munch on monggo hopia, lotus seed mooncake, or granola bars. I feasted on fibers and vegetables to feel full. I increased my protein intake a beat. More fish, yoghurt and soya products to repair the muscles I routinely tear down as I attempt to speed up.

Five more weeks till BLC 2 finals (Mar 28). I am banking on my EQ, negative split and strong finish to claim the title. I have trimmed down enough to muster the courage to buy myself a tri-suit. I considered wearing it in Century Tuna Superbods, but propriety prevailed over me. Maybe I can don it on the Ateneo Aquathlon.

Tri-suit...a month back I wanted to lose weight simply to fit into one.

Tri-suit... I look at it now thinking of what I can be and what I hope to become:

A Superbod. Abs that slice through waters, V-shaped back that can withstand a 90-km bike ride, and quadriceps that permit a sprint with a smile to the finish line.