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It’s not as wet as yesterday, but I thought I’d keep with the Swamp Thing theme. There’s probably a swamp in Kenora.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 79
Today is a weigh-in. The last of the phase because the risk of dietary issues as the Christmas season comes along is high. Plus I see a Naturopath tomorrow and I don’t want her office trying to weigh me.

I’m on Day 79, which means I technically have ten days left, but honestly I don’t know if I’ll make it. I’ve been very good with zero “cheats” in the sense of anything alcohol or sweets. The strain of schedule is mounting and I’m trying to manage stress.

We’ll see what today brings. I’m committed at least until Friday. Send calming thoughts.

In honour of Vancouver weather today, I give you Swamp Thing.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 78
Last night was one of those opportunities to throw in the towel. I had a plan with the family to go wheat free, but that restaurant was closed and the next best thing was Rocky Mountain Flatbread which is lovely but it’s still pizza. However, no alcohol, no dessert, no known sugar. And when I got home, it was just water.

It was an involuntary rest day. I was stuck waiting for my son to finish a Nutcracker rehearsal when I should have been in yoga class.

But you can tell the recreational eating season of Christmas is nearly upon us. I think all diet/fitness programs should go into damage control mode.

Staying with She-Hulk, I notice in this image Deadpool is surprisingly un-scarred. For some reason I want to hide in Brighton Ontario.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 77
On a soggy day, I contemplate a Tuesday weigh-in (last for Phase 8) and a visit to a Naturopath to try to discuss digestion. I worry the Naturopath will be like everyone else and assume I’d dieting wrong instead of actually looking at the data I have and wondering what body chemistry is at work that is so insistent on keeping weight.

Today is a rest day because I have to sit around in a mall waiting for my son. I will miss yoga class but given yesterday I worked so hard I was pinned by my bench press bar, I’m OK with that.

I made dinner last night with non-keto cheese sauce and potatoes. I did not eat afterwards and the calories consumed to calories burned ratio was still OK. We did watch Scrooged and I realize watching Christmas movies makes me hungry for chocolate. Damn. I have to wait four more days.

There were a couple of Things and She-Hulks at the gym today in Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 76
Because I took the day off, yesterday was weird. There were carbs and I tried to penalize my calorie count as much as reasonable. I was still burning 1500 more than I took in.

At what I call the stinky gym, which is not my regular one, but is super close to my son’s ballet studio, I did a heavy lifting workout because tomorrow’s schedule will force me to miss yoga. Well, I’m certainly sore enough now. I for sure know exactly on the bench press when to give up. On my last set I reached the “gosh you should do one more” stage. However, I was wrong; I realized I couldn’t make it and brought the bar back to my chest. I could hold it in place but I could not move it. I was stuck there for a few seconds until I could ask a fellow to help me. This particular guy looked in good shape, but he was exerting himself on my meagre 130 pounds.

That kind of experience does not help you feel less self-conscious. However, I’d rather that than drop the damn thing.

I was trying to sneak in an episode of Green Arrow last night but it didn’t work. Calgary has been in the news.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 75
Friday morning. It’s raining. I just had a breakfast with carbs. It feels good. If I stay strict for the rest of the day, things should be OK. If you look my sheets for the last week, I’m burning 1100-2500 calories more per day than I’m eating. This isn’t a real equivalence but it demonstrates I’m not kidding around.

For me – I don’t know about other people – the strain of this is significant. With me approaching the 2-week point of being super strict, it’s become a bit easier. The key effective thing is having supplies and planning ahead. I.e. Today I planned my mini cheat this morning, but I’m confident in how the rest of the day is going and have a mental food plan. Part of it is to say to yourself, “when lunch comes plan to grab x, y, z foods.” I find if I repeat it to myself a couple of times in the period prior to the meal, it helps push out the “but I’d rather have bad food a, b, c.”

Now, if I could only figure out what steady state looks like.

I’m trying to catch up on my Green Arrow on TV. It’s filmed in Vancouver.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 74
For a moment there, I thought this would be OK. But yesterday the fatigue kicked in. I had to go home and have a nap. The yoga class was weird because poses were difficult due to weakness in shoulders. Lots of strength elsewhere, but you need it all to hold these poses.

And the sense of “What’s the Point?” is huge. The mirror still does not show me what I want. I would bet serious dollars at the final weigh-in for this phase the numbers will be kind of meh. No doubt there’s progress but the goal feels unattainable. And what is the goal? I won’t be what I looked like at 25 ever again nor will I look like what I wanted to look like when I was 25.

An effort to align expectations to reality is needed.

I think we should have a black Superman in film. TV shows were filming in Kitsilano.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 73
I’m less freaked today and I’m wondering if my system has figured out that I’m being strict on calories and is finding a way to retain mass as a retaliatory action.

The workout yesterday pressed the boundaries of repetitions not the actual weight. I think my days of fast jumps in weight are done. It will be interesting to see if I can maintain that feeling of gaining strength even if I don’t jump in weights as dramatically.

I am 8 days away from the complete sugar and baked good embargo I promised my trainer. We shall see.

When superheroes go bad.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 72
Prepare for a rant.

I don’t need to lose weight of my fucking inner thighs. That’s where I felt change this morning. For fuck’s sake universe, don’t you see the giant middle? Prioritize. Fuck.

I also had a personal trainer at the gym interrupt me in the middle of a kettle bell burpee. I had to complain to management. I was so pissed off I wanted to hurl the 32 kg kettlebells I was using at her.

And a fairly obscure relative, who we were fortunate to see in Toronto last summer passed away. We went for ice cream in Oakville.

This year’s Flash crossover is inspired by the Elseworlds universe. I’m excited my British Columbia site will get a makeover.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 71
The weekend was OK diet-wise. I made decent fast food choices as it avoided sugar and wheat and dairy in any observable form.

I missed out on yoga, but honestly, I think I needed a little more healing time. I’ll have to see if I can fully complete the high intensity workout today. I never do a weights workout the day before the trainer takes me through my paces for a weights work out. I don’t think I’ll move ahead in weight but I’m hoping for more reps.

But, time to focus. A work deadline looms.

The last Birds of Prey in this series. Working on site upgrades, including Alberta.

Mutant Diet Phase 8 Day 70
A stricter adherence to the no sugar rule really does amp up one’s cravings for carbohydrates. I took the family to local takeaway restaurants and I ditched the bun but kept some yam fries and was well under the calorie estimate. But dang that’s a hard road.

The fact I have 11 days of strictness left is OK. This is beginning to make me think doing a cheat at the 2-week mark might be do-able. Thoughts for January.

In the meantime, unless there’s a miracle, child schedules are hosing me out of yoga tonight. I’m feeling recovered from the weights yesterday.