Day 90 – 90 Days

Wow 90 days, that’s one quarter of a year and one third of one percent of my life. These ninety days have taught me more about myself, my physical limitations, inner strength, nutrition, social norms and values and the unique and complex relationship between, food, exercise and the new world of unreal food, than any other time in my life.

90 days is great because it is long enough to ensure habits form and yet not too long that I could not see the finish line. Really the PCP is genius in its elegant simplicity and I believe anyone can do it and finish off well.

These are some of the big things I will take away from the PCP:

• The fitness and nutrition industries are designed around people’s need to be healthier/look better but exist because it is difficult to get results and keep the weight off. To me, one key is to make the system as easy to accomplish as possible and then make the intensity difficult.
• You can exercise all you want, if your diet sucks then your weight goals will never be achieved.
• Make sure the food you’re eating is real.
• Make your workouts count – don’t go through the motions – short term pain – long term gain.
• Keep it simple – no need to get crazy with weights or elaborate workout equipment. Likewise with food, keep it simple and build up with natural flavors for a real taste.
• As Mark Twain said – “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” I am an example to others and in being an example I find strength it that for myself to be better.
• With my children, while words often fail, actions are the best way to teach them what to do. While I know I succeeded in the PCP, it’s the fact that my children have learned so much good from this adventure that I know I’m successful.
• Read “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan.
• You need the support of others. Get as many people as possible to follow your progress. Use the PCP blog because it keeps your mind focused on the task. Where I missed workouts and dropped my nutrition plan was also when I missed my blog. Keep the dialogue going.
• Especially for men, you are not as fit, in as good shape or slim as you think you are.
• Life is too short not to be healthy(Although I had an argument with a very overweight man who said, life was too short to waste time eating all that healthy stuff – I tried to explain that my standard of living and condition plus lack of pain, sickness etc. was directly proportional to the time I spend keeping healthy. He didn’t buy it and went off to get a Big Mac…)
• My wife is starting to get active. Part of it is my example to her and I think more of it is that she thinks my newer/buffer body will bring on the women. This goes to what I said about role modeling but also, who doesn’t want a better body?
• Junk food makes me feel bad, good food makes me feel great!
• The right thing and the hard/tough thing are usually the same thing.
• Get a good coach who will encourage, support and give great wisdom everyday – Patrick is a great coach.
• Find inspiration wherever you can.

So here are my final critical stats:

BMI: 25.1
Fat Percentage: 15.2%
Height: 160cm
Weight: 91.4 kgs
Arm: 40 cm
Chest: 116cm
Waist: 92cm
Hips: 94cm
Thigh: 62.5cm
Resting Heart Rate: 53 bpm

Here is what my beginning critical stats looked like:

BMI: 27.2
Fat Percentage: 18.6
Height: 160cm
Weight: 102kgs
Arm: 36cm
Chest: 108cm
Waist: 101cm
Hips: 100cm
Thigh: 61cm
Resting Heart Rate: 62 bpm

So thats a BMI from overweight to normal, fat percentage drop of 3.4%, a drop in weight of 11.6kg or 25 lbs. , 4 cms on my arms, 8 cms on my chest, loss of 16cm on my waist and 7 cm on my hips, 1.5 cm on my legs and a loss of 9 bpm.

I am elated!

Here’s what I looked like 3 months ago:



Here’s what I look like today:




This one’s for my hero in the top logo



Here’s a few more for the fun of it:





This above all else was a great experience of discovery. I know more about myself then I would have ever dreamed possible. If you’re reading this and wondering if it’s the right thing to do, stop thinking and just do it. It’s the right thing.

Patrick has been great the whole time. He has thought of everything for the PCP and knows of what he speaks. Trust in him and his methods. Thanks Patrick for everything.

Tanya is a little firecracker! She always had a great blog and encouraging words for me. She worked extra hard on getting through some of the tougher exercises and even did pull ups! I only know three women who can do one pullup and one’s on the Canadian Olympic rowing team – awesome Tanya. If you ever need anything – let me know! I’m very proud of you for finishing so well.

I think that in this day and age we need to have a simpler lifestyle to a degree and that’s what the PCP does, it allows us to eat, be active and healthier, in a simple but very effective way. The best part about it is that the PCP teaches you what to do today and for the rest of your life.

So long and good luck to everyone on the PCP now an into the future!

Day 89 – ReTest

Like many things in my life, I need to measure my strength and condition for me to know how much I’ve improved. There is no doubt in my mind that the PCP has made me stronger, I can feel it but lets get a little more scientific about it:

If you would like to review, my original test methodology and results go to my day 44 here.

1. My resting heart rate is now 53 bests per minute, down from 57.
2. My 1-½ mile run time is now 10:47 minutes, down from 11:24.
3. My maximum pushups are now 94, up from 60.
4. My one-rep-max bench press is now 305lbs., up from 275 lbs.
5. My bent knee crunch maximum is 76, up from 63.
6. My sit and reach measurement is now 11cm, down from 16.

I am blown away by these results. I amazed myself with what I have accomplished and can say without hesitation that I am now in the peak condition of my life.

These tests are a way for me to gauge my progress but have been a source of motivation too. Each time I exercised, I wanted to work toward doing better on these tests and focused to failure when I had to.

I can now do 15 pull-ups consecutively, which amazes me to no end – I remember not long ago when completing two was a major chore.

So there you have it. Only one more day to go and I feel like superman. These test results have been a great motivator and a benchmark for me to get even better!

See you tomorrow!

Day 87 – A four letter word for Hypothalamus

I was listening to an interview with a pharmacologist who was looking at the hypothalamus. The interview reminded me that along with other functions, the hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and circadian cycles.

This doctor wants to find ways of playing with the hypothalamus so that a person would not have to exercise, wouldn’t have to worry about what they ate or drank and so forth. This is what the learned do, this is what technology is all about but what will happen years from now when we realize that playing god with our bodies when we don’t really know that much relatively about them and that the things we are doing to them today is or can be harmful.

One thing the PCP has taught me is that in many cases, simpler is better exercise is good for you and 80% of getting in shape is what we eat. There are no short cuts and in a world where instant gratification is the norm, I need to work even harder to be in the best condition I can.

Just a few more days. Tomorrow I am doing my final physical tests and in the next few days I’ll post some pics of me and give you my final stats.

See you soon.

Day 86 – The Great White North

I was planting carrots today and thought about living in a northern climate where much of the food we eat must be shipped in from other parts of the world. These foods cost more and then there is the environmental impact causing me to question whether people living north of a certain latitude are actually bad for the environment.

With winters longer than 7-8 months, much energy is spent keeping things and people warm, infrastructure from decaying, and the shipping in of foods, fuels, and all manner of items necessary to survive(live well). Wouldn’t it be better, all political and socioeconomic conditions aside, for us to be living in a more hospitable place? Time may tell. 75% of Canadians live within 161 miles of the U.S. right now.

I also thought about the distances that we in North America must travel to get places. Neighborhood pubs are almost non-existent, we need to drive to the grocery store in most cases and friends live hours away. This has had an impact on our health as we venture further out to get what we want, we drive more, take public transit, etc. but walk, and bike less. My wife and I both agreed to walk to the corner store more for small items – It helps the little guy out in this economy and helps our health too.

Great superset workout today! I love the extra level of difficulty that these final exercises have. Jumping rope for over 10 minutes is not something I ever thought I’d do but I did it and I feel the benefits!

See you soon.

Day 85 – Recon Part Deux

A few weeks back I was able to visit a gym that I could work out in and found the experience less than pleasant.

This weekend, I was guest at my friend’s club and again felt awkward in the presence of so many people who were either too focused on themselves or too focused on making an impression on others.

I explained to my friend Mike that I would work out with him but that I was also doing some reconnaissance. By the end of the session, he was eager to hear what I had to say.

I explained that I was used to working out at home with very little equipment and he was doubtful that anyone could get a great workout from bands, body weight and skipping rope. I then let him have it – most of the people doing exercises didn’t have a clue what they were doing and I felt that this is when people get hurt, I also questioned the patron’s reasons for coming since many seemed to make it a social time to talk. I also mentioned that with so many machines there can be a disconnect to how the body actually moves and muscles may not get isolated, plus you want to develop balance and synergy with your body. He asked if I thought the cardio equipment was great. I had to say that I’d rather get out on the road with my running shoes or jump rope rather than sitting on a bike or treadmill reading a magazine or watching TV.

Once I realized he wanted to hear more about the PCP, I let him have it all, the great program and the challenges. So I may have a convert and I don’t think I’ll visit a gym again, at least one like this very soon.

Last few days of the PCP and I am locked in!

See you soon.

Day 84 – Race Day

I regularly compete in trail running events where the terrain is varied and off road. I enjoy the change from road racing and the challenge of tree braches in your face, rocks on the paths and steep hills both up and down. I also like that the races usually involve kids with a short pre-race for them.

Today was the first one in the season for me and I wanted to compare it to how I did last year. I felt that I wouldn’t do quite as well since I haven’t been training much outside the PCP and it was not a physical or emotional focus for me.

I was surprised that I held my own on the course and the hills did not pose much of a problem due to the strength I gained in my upper legs and gluts from PCP. On the last hill, I felt quite winded but recovered quickly to finish the race strong.

I compared my time to the last year and found I beat the previous by two minutes even though in this event they increase the distance by about ½ kilometer. So, without as much running training, the PCP got me into really good shape for this race.

I am sure that my weight being down by twenty odd pounds, muscle condition and strength at my best level since university and a sense of euphoric self pride all helped to get me to the finish line faster.

After the race, I was famished and had a quarter whole-wheat bagel, a banana and some oranges. For the last few weeks, I haven’t been eating much fruit and have been seriously craving sweets. When I had the orange It satisfied a craving and I will have some this week when the need arises. For the last few days I’ve been craving pop, candies, almost anything sweet and for the most part I’ve been good but I’ve got to get back to fruit!

So there you have it, the PCP will likely help you finish a short race faster and you don’t even have to spend much time training for it.

I even did my rope jumps and training today, which really got me in the mood to race and I felt that there was no impact on my time because of this.

See you soon.

Day 80 – Speed PCP

Holy Toledo! I Did a power workout today that saw no rests between strength training exercises and cardio. It was tough but I had a choice as to cut it short or blaze through it.

It was amazing how it felt like a cardio workout the entire way through and I sweat like no other time - I think I made a breakthrough since I really didn’t believe I could do it when I started.

I also felt like I was pushing myself harder than ever before which I needed to do to get stronger. Even with a great program like this, that is constantly changing, I got complacent and this mixed things up a bit for me.

I’m going to do my regular workout tomorrow but I’ll come back to this speed session again before the end of the PCP for me.

See you soon.

Day 79 – Where Did the Fat Go?

My boys are really great about PCP – as much as they can they understand what it is and why I’m doing it. My wife and I encourage them to ask questions of anyone, regardless of their age and authority – this I believe sets them up to be able to function socially and effectively now and when they are older. So they ask all sorts of questions about what I do. Sometimes I have no answer for their questions(but we agree to look it up) and sometimes their very questions make me realize what I’m doing is not very good(“Dada, why do you like pop so much”).

So In making them comfortable enough to question everything and everyone respectfully, they have become an extended conscience for me and If I want to do right by them I better be able to give them the right answer by doing the right thing.

I am often amazed at how their sense of justice and fairness is as mature as I believe it is – perhaps a little parental pride, but If the future is to be better, if people are to become healthier, if the world is to become better – then teach your child to do what is right, confront ideas and articulate concerns. If they sit by idly while something wrong is happening then we are all worse off.

Its also funny how my eldest slaps my belly now and asks where did the fat go? I enjoy telling him where it went quite a bit.

See you soon.

Day 77 – Treat Day!

Today I ate the normal PCP diet until dinner…

For dinner I made some great hamburgers for my family and some friends. The burgers were big, about 10 onces each – lean ground beef about 80% beef, 20% fat. The burgers themselves were about 700 calories plus the whole wheat bun, lettuce tomato, mustard and onions - which would have topped it out at about 1000 calories.

It really tasted great! Although looking at the burger, if I changed the proportions arounde, it would have been close to what I would be eating on the PCP anyway, just not so much meat.

I love a good burger and barbecue them often during the summer. I like this book, not so much for the recipes but because the author does a great job of writing about burgers, some of his lines read like poetry:



Less than two weeks left and here are my critical stats:

BMI: 25.7
Fat Percentage: 16.1%
Height: 160cm
Weight: 93.6 kgs
Arm: 39 cm
Chest: 115cm
Waist: 93cm
Hips: 95cm
Thigh: 61.5cm
Resting Heart Rate: 54 bpm

Not too bad. I’ve got to get that fat percentage down – its coming slowly and I always question whether its accurate.

Here I am:




See you soon.

Day 76 - I'm not a caveman?

I often think how much better life would be if we lived in simpler times. No TVs, cell phones, email, 70 hour work weeks, deadlines, etc., etc. I believe we as humans are doing the best we can to cope with stresses but stresses that we did not evolve specifically to handle.

If I get stopped by a police officer, evolutionary behaviour kicks in and I want to either fight or flee. But something else happens before I punch the policeman in the mouth. I think about the consequences and do the right thing that society dictates fighting generations of evolution.

When it comes to our lifestyles, we are constantly bombarded with images and choices - most of which are bad – and more choice can actually be a problem to choosing the right thing for ourselves.

I guess what I’m trying to get at here is that if I was living one hundred years ago, or a million, there would likely be no need for the PCP. But I’m here today and so I'll just have to take all the good things we have with the bad.

What I really want to do is not let go of all the things that made life better for our ancestors, like more time with family, simpler eating and so forth so that my life is more basic and I can really enjoy the essence of things.

Things are going well. Tomorrow I am designating as my treat day and I am looking forward to it!

See you then.

Day 74 – This Is Why You’re Fat

I'm amazed with what companies come up with to satisfy the consumer’s cravings. I am even more amazed that people eat them. Take Burger King – they came out with Enormous Omelette Sandwich and they state: “Wake up to a mouthful of breakfast with the Enormous Omelette Sandwich. Two slices of melted cheese, two fluffy eggs, three crispy strips of bacon, and a sizzling sausage patty, piled high on a toasted bun. The Enormous Omelette Sandwich from BURGER KING®. So big, breakfast will never be the same.” And if you eat this regularly, you too will be enormous and never the same.

I ran across this website – this is why you’re fat, with a name that speaks for itself. At first I thought that all the foods on the site were made by individuals to create the most unhealthy food possibly, but then I realized that most of these were in fact meals prepared by companies/restaurants and consumed regularly by patrons.

My favorite has to be the bacon crust pizza, with (burp) bacon!



I also like the pork brains in milk gravy.



As if Swine Flu wasn’t enough, now pigs have to deal with the aftermath of this website!

If you’re ever craving something fattening and unhealthy, take a look at this site and you’ll probably run to your garden for some organic celery!

As for me I have an real queasy feeling from just looking at the site.

See you soon!

Day 73 - Failure is only an option

I spoke to a friend of mine who is a trainer. He had a lady client that started his program overweight and out of shape. He weighed and measured her and then did all the standard tests. At the end of one month he tested her again. She went from no pushups to 12, from no pull-ups to 1 and 11 situps to 25. The problem was that while her proportions changed, she did not loose any weight. This lady promptly quit the program.

If anyone is to blame, who would that be? Far be it from me to tell this experienced and certified personal trainer what to do. I have found during the course of the PCP that you need to see progress, and if no progress comes, then your initial goals have to be cultivated and motivation must be increased.

One aspect missing from this trainers program was a systematic nutrition program. Rather then telling people that they need to eat better, I believe people need a specific guide, at least to start, of what to eat and what not to eat. One of the things I found very enjoyable about the PCP when starting was that the portion weight was right there, all I had to do was find the right protein, carbs and vegetables and mix them together. It was and still is a lot of fun putting these combinations together.

This lady that gave up was likely unaware that what she was eating was the real problem – she may even have been rewarding herself with high calories after a great workout. I find that most people believe that if they would only start working out, they will get into shape and they don’t need to change their high calorie diet.

There are so many factors that can stall or derail a program like this. If one of the crucial elements is not in place, it makes it easy or inevitable that a person will give up.

I’m glad I found this program.

See you soon!

Day 72 - French Fit

I love France. I love the food, the culture, the people, even when they seem a little rude, I love that about them.

So I was a little intrigued when I saw this OECD report on cultural and social trends. What the article boils down to is that the French spend more time sleeping than all other researched countries and also devote more time to eating.

Time Spent Sleeping


Time Spent Eating


This may be an indication of why France is known for having one of the lowest rates of obesity in developed countries(10% obesity).

According to the report, the French spend on average nearly 9 hours a day in bed and more than 2 hours a day eating and drinking — nearly twice as much time at the table as Americans, Canadians or Mexicans.

But there are certainly inconsistencies: Americans, with one of the highest rates of obesity, get almost as much sleep as the French; Koreans and Japanese, with less obesity, are at the lower end of the sleep scale.
So although obesity may well be a “symptom” of a society that does not take enough time to eat and sleep - the relationship is unlikely to be that straightforward.

I do know that when I eat great food more slowly and get more sleep, I feel better and I’m overall healthier.

My abs are killing me today. Did the exercises to complete failure and now feel the aftermath!

See you soon!

Day 71 – 3 Weeks left

The PCP has been and amazing ride for me and its now down to the final stretch!

The past week was not a great one for me, I missed a couple of work outs and on two days my diet was crap. No excuses, I just let myself down. So I have to work extra hard in the next few weeks to accomplish some of my major goals:

1. Do 100 pushups in a row
2. Increase my flexibility and ranges of motion
3. Improve core strength
4. Reduce body fat below 15%
5. Increase leg strength and stamina
6. Actually see my abdominal muscles

While some of these are vague, I gauge them against running, especially hills, and where I want to be at Peak Condition. Some of these goals are newly formed during the program and others have been my goals for a very long time.

It all comes down to the next 3 weeks.

Here are my critical stats

BMI: 25.9
Fat Percentage: 16.5%
Height: 160cm
Weight: 94.3kgs
Arm: 38.5cm
Chest: 114cm
Waist: 94cm
Hips: 95cm
Thigh: 61cm
Resting Heart Rate: 57 bpm



Not much change from last week but If this is a plateau, I’ve got to get through it. Wish me luck!

See you soon.

Day 70 – Best of the worst

Its been a crazy day taking my two boys out by myself and without a plan for food. We went to a park for the spring opening and then downtown to a spring fair. Great fun but the food was not nutritious as you can imagine.

It seems to be an ongoing problem that when I leave the house without my planned meal, it’s almost impossible to get what I need to stay on track or even have a basic level of nutritious food.

So what happens if you need to eat something nutritious but you forgot to set it up before and your away from home? I checked out this site and at least it gave the best of the worst when it comes to fast food.

Here are some tips from www.surfnetparents.com that I need to remember when I go out, especially with kids:

Some healthy food choices
Whether you are the parent of a young child or a teenager, providing them with options is important. If you show them some of the better foods to eat when they're eating out, they will be more comfortable choosing those. Here are some healthy fast food options:
•Grilled chicken or fish sandwich. Grilled chicken and fish can provide your body with the protein it needs, but not all the extra fat.

•Whole wheat rolls or bread is way better for your body. It contains less sugar than white bread does.

•Fruit and yogurt

•Drink milk or water. Soda has a ton of calories in it and has no nutritional value whatsoever, and most fruit juice drinks are high in sugar. 

•Consider a different side, like apples. If you have children, you know McDonald's is always going to be an option because it's so cheap. So instead of ordering large french fries with the meal, get something different for your side. Even McDonald's has a little nutrition. You can get apples instead of french fries and give your child a little bit of a healthier meal.
Teach proper portion sizes

Now that you have covered what is healthy and what is not so healthy with your child, it is important to teach them about portion sizes. Our portion sizes have become ridiculously big and as a result so have people. Teach your child to eat until they are comfortably full; not feeling sick to their stomach and ready to throw up. Teach them to eat smaller portions more often throughout the day so they're not trying to digest a huge meal in one sitting. If you can teach them this at home by showing them what proper portion sizes are, they will know when to stop if they're eating away from home.
So what can you do to ensure your child chooses nutrition away from home? You can education them about healthy eating and proper nutrition at home, so when they eat away form home they are better prepared to choose more nutritious foods and proper portion sizes.

While this is great info, I still need to be better prepared for all contingencies to ensure that my family and I are able to choose what we can eat rather than being forced into eating something that is unhealthy for us.

It was incredible how bloated and uneasy I felt after eating some pretty bad food. This is the second day this week that my diet has been shot and my body has instantly told me how bad it is for me.

See you soon.

Day 68 – Technology can be bad for the body and soul

My eldest son loves hoses, sprinklers, pools, water features, really anything that has to do with a manmade source or tool for water. Today we went online looking at various water/gardening devices and found this: http://www.no-crank.com/, the no reel hose reel which ingeniously uses water pressure to self reel the hose with the flip of a switch. My son and I loved it and ate it up, with me wondering how I could justify the expense to my wife and myself. It wasn’t until I read several of the testimonies that logic sank in.

Many of the testimonies on the site wether real or not mentioned that the no-crank hose reel saved them from the laborious chore of reeling a hose. Others mentioned that they had a bad back and couldn’t lift a hose and some testimonies painted the person as lazy. While reading these I though that this type of work was good for people, something that I will enjoy and get something out of. I figured that the no-crank hose reel would be neat to have, save me some labor(but not time) and would prevent me from getting some exercise.

I then wondered how many things in my life were there to save me time and effort but ultimately hindered me from staying in shape.

Here a few of the things on my list:

Car: Do I really need to drive 1 km to get groceries?
Segway: I don’t owe one but please shoot me if I ever step on this to travel 5 km/hour instead of walking!
My automated sprinklers: I know in the long run they save water, but I should get out and do a little watering/gardening more often.
Snow Blower: I had a snow blower but I gave it to my dad. There is no workout like shoveling snow after a large storm.
Nintendo Wii: Come on, get out and play tennis instead of doing it with a computer!
Lawn mower: I switched to a manual reel mower and it's tough to cut the grass but satisfying for the ears, lungs and soul.

It was neat that while thinking about this, Patrick sent an email letting Tanya and I in on this: http://www.jumpsnap.com/. The reason that people don’t want to jump rope? “It’s too damned hard!”. No doubt and that’s the point.

Maybe we should all look at those things in our lives that were supposed to make it easier for us, but are actually killing us slowly and throw them out – just don’t use the automated, extra easy, super quiet trash compactor to do it.

See you soon.

Day 65 - Good with the bad

I always look for the bright side of any seemingly bad situation. Take high oil prices, they actually do quite a lot to motivate manufacturers that use oil and its products to make new and sometimes miraculous innovations. Now look at the economy, not very pleasant right now but there are some very good by-products.

Christopher Ruhm, an economics professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has spent more than a decade studying the effects of economic booms and busts on our well-being. He’s examined recession all over the world going back to the 60s and he’s come up with a simple formula: a one point increase in unemployment causes the death rate to fall by half a percent and the overall number of medical problems to fall 1.5%. While not advocating recessions he says that when times are tough and many things are beyond our control, people decide that the only thing they can take charge of is their own health.

When economic output slows, air pollution falls – that helps people with breathing and circulatory problems.

The fewer people with jobs also means emptier roads and so car crashes go down.

Since there is less work, people have more time for exercise.

As budgets tighten, people buy less booze, quit smoking and eat out less often. When work gets busy, we drink and smoke more to unwind and also get fatter.

When people are busy in a good economy, they also take less vacations. Dr. Mel Borins, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Department of Family Community medicine and author of Go Away: Just for the Health of It says that people who take regular vacations are less likely to suffer heart attacks.

Of course when the economy does bounce back, health suffers. So in order to be healthy you have to eat right, drink less, and exercise without the stress of your job overpowering you.

Here are my critical stats

BMI: 25.9
Fat Percentage: 16.4%
Height: 160cm
Weight: 94.1kgs
Arm: 38cm
Chest: 113cm
Waist: 94cm
Hips: 95cm
Thigh: 61cm
Resting Heart Rate: 59 bpm

See you soon.

Day 61 – Pork in Swine Flu

My eldest asked what a swine was as he had heard about the Swine Flu. I explained what a swine was and he asked if it was okay to eat bacon or pork. I wasn’t sure so I did some research which led me to the U.S. Center for Disease Control which reports that H1N1 influenza viruses are not spread by food - you cannot get H1N1 influenza from eating pork or pork products, eating properly handled and cooked pork products is safe.

So I told this to my son and he asked if bacon (or pork) was on my diet. I told him that while pork has become very lean in recent years I have decided not to make it part of my diet. I stressed to him however that it was fine if he or his brother or mother ate pork, they would not get sick from it when made properly.

I’ve read a lot about pork and how it how it has changed over the years, there is a lot of info out there but when doing your own research be careful since many sources have their own agendas. My father was a pig farmer for the early part of his life and has some very interesting and funny stories about the animals – these have lead me to be interested if not respect them.

I don’t eat real bacon but have on occasion eaten turkey bacon – realizing after, that the modified kind is probably not very good for me.

Pork has become very lean today through improved breeding and feeding practices, a system that rewards pork producers for producing leaner meat and better trimming of fat that the processor level and in grocery stores. I wonder however how else pork has been modified to become leaner and I have discovered that while it is leaner, the protein content is not as potent as it was years earlier due to over breeding.

I’ll stick to fish, chicken and lean beef from here on out.

See you soon.

Day 59 – Home Gym

Had a chance today to work out at a gym and do my sets for the PCP. Not too much different from the bands and still used jump rope and my own body weight for many of the exercises but one thing that hit me square in the chest was the amount of testosterone and puffed up ego in the air. It seemed like some of the guys were deliberately throwing weights around, oblivious to everyone but themselves(or acting like they were king of the world). There was lots of chat around the machines and weights and I had to excuse myself several times to use either the dip or chin up bar – frustrating and because of this and waiting around the routine took me longer then it would have at home. All this expensive equipment but not much use to me.

Score another for the PCP program.

I’m back home and glad to have my own food and scale to guide me. As tough as it was on the road I think I did okay. Best to keep all those things that are tempting away from you, but on the road there’s more of what’s bad for you than what you need. The constant bombardment of advertising, promotion and point of purchase glitz can erode your will power, however I know that the PCP has fortified my determination to resist such villainy.

See you soon.

Day 57 - This is Crunch Time

I’ve just come off from a week at a conference, missing workouts and not following my diet like I should, so now I’ve got to claw my way back to where I was a week ago and then some. It’s a little disheartening but also humbling and makes me appreciate the work I’ve done so far.

I was reading some of Patrick’s motivational suggestions for finishing one more set and I think they apply to the whole PCP program. I was thinking of a story my Father-in-law told me awhile back. In Ireland during the mid-eighties he and his brothers went to the final of the Triple Crown Rugby tournament between Ireland and England. Near the end of the game with Ireland down 3 points, one of the captains of the Irish team by the name of Fitzgerald went around to all of the players saying something in their ears and giving them a jab to the gut. The next play the team came together and a full-back ran forward with an amazing drop-kick to win the game. It was only after the game that the spectators found out what Fitzgerald said; when going around to the players he said in a serious, pointed and somber tone, “Where’s your fucking Pride?” of course saying “Priade” as only an Irishman can. They went on to show where their pride was and I use it too when something is rather difficult.

So its go time and I’m going to find my pride.

Here are my critical stats

BMI: 26.4
Fat Percentage: 16.9%
Height: 160cm
Weight: 96.1kgs
Arm: 38cm
Chest: 113cm
Waist: 94cm
Hips: 97cm
Thigh: 62cm
Resting Heart Rate: 59 bpm


See you soon.

Day 54 – Lookin’ Good

At the conference I’m at I just saw an old colleague of mine. I hadn’t seen her in a couple of years and the first thing she said to me was that I looked good. Normally I would thank her and move on to smaller or larger conversation but instead I asked her, perhaps bluntly, what made me look good. She stepped backed looked me up and down and said that I was thinner throughout my body though I still looked healthy.

I then proceeded to tell her about the PCP diet and program. She was polite but countered with saying that she had tried diets like this too but they never worked. I stopped right there and changed the conversation, I probably could have gone on and tried to convince her of the beauty of PCP but instead we talked about world politics and religion.

The reason I stopped was because I didn’t have the time or energy to reprogram her through cognitive behavioral therapy and I saw in her like I have seen in so many, self fulfilling prophecies. I’ll always tell people about the PCP and answer all the questions they have but when I realize that they don’t believe in themselves (without them realizing they don’t believe in themselves) I’ll usually turn it off.

To be certain there are a lot of bad diets out their and equally bad workout programs but the single biggest reason that people fail is because they fail themselves and believe it is the program’s fault. I’ve talked about this before but I’m still intrigued when I see self fulfilling prophesies right before my eyes, because just like luck, fate, karma, the outcome of future events is way more controllable through our beliefs and attitudes than we will probably ever realize.

This week I fell into some bad self-talk which got me into some trouble. Things like “It’s only one(more) drink” or “I’ll do some extra ropejumps and pushups tomorrow.” Great sentiments but they often don’t mean anything, I’m just trying to convince the angel on my right shoulder that it’s a-okay. I love situations like this where I am out of control of my environment as compared to home, because it gives me a chance to reprogram some negative behavior. Its hard but in the end I need to be stronger for it.

See you tomorrow.

Day 52 - Shot in the Arm

So I’m trying my best to eat well, while on the road. I had a bowl of oatmeal this morning with some steamed vegetables and chicken breast. For lunch and dinner I had pasta with chicken and a side of vegetables. I got a great workout of strength training but missed my ropejumps.

As I was going over some emails from Patrick I read one where he reminded his humble students why we doing what we do on the PCP diet. It was an eye opener because I have been on autopilot for awhile going through the motions but not really thinking about the real reason why things are done. It was great to read it, something that really energized me and something I know will help me get going again.

I haven’t been following the diet as closely as I should and I’ve noticed a few distinct changes. I can feel some weight around my belly. I’ll try to post a picture and my critical measurements tomorrow and I’m sure there will be a difference, in a bad way. I have also gotten mouth ulcers or cancor sores. They are painful and I am pissed off that I have them. While I am not certain, it is probably from a lack of nutrients, minerals, vitamins and the stress I have been under for the past few days. I have been employing some home remedies like drinking cranberry juice, putting a teabag on the site and applying kaopectate to the wound. I hope it clears up soon.

When I go out for food I usually get a lot of looks from the waiters stunned by my requests for certain types of foods in certain amounts. I found one great place that will cater to all of my needs and won’t look at me like I forgot to wear my clothes. I’m sticking with them since their food is good but their service is better – I’m going to tell them that the PCP is the reason I love them!

See you tomorrow.

Day 51 – On the road again

The last few days have been a mess with lost luggage, missed flights and a lot of travel related stress. Nevertheless, I’m finally at my destination for a business meeting.

The trip was a PCP nightmare, no time for exercise and I ate too much and the wrong kinds of stuff. So here I am feeling bloated and guilty because I know its all falling apart at the seams but I feel as if this is just apart of the PCP experience, my first real lapse and some mitigating circumstances.

I brought vegetables, fruit and eggs with me and had two meals the PCP way but then as my flight was delayed in Dallas I had little choice what to eat but made the best of it with the help of a woman at a restaurant called Au Bon Pain. She portioned out what I needed and did the best she could to give me whole grains, even if we both were uncertain of what the ingredients were. I mostly drank water but on the plane, I had some orange juice and a can of Coke.

As I got into my hotel in Miami at 1:30 in the morning I ordered room service of chicken noodle soup salad and chicken breast with fries, I knew all I had to do was to just put the phone down and go to sleep but I was hungry and wanted those fries.

I got up late for my first meeting and needed to eat breakfast in a hurry. I had oatmeal and a bowl of fruit with two chicken chorizo sausages. Not bad but I put two sugars in my coffee with little regard.

I know I could have done better trying to eat the right things but I wonder how much of our diets and lives are effected by stress, hurrying and strange agendas. I know that it is so much easier to have a great diet at home but would better planning alone have helped me. I don’t think so because several times I had my roadmap laid before me and I just said screw it! I ate what I felt like. Maybe I just needed to get it out of my system.

Today I don’t feel very well and have some indigestion. I also need to get back to a workout routine, which I will get up early tomorrow to do.

Let see how tomorrow goes.

Day 48 – TGIF Too!

Wow, what a hectic week! I have been going hard in all areas of my life and I am amazed that I am still rockin’ the PCP. I think that because I am always on the go and looking for something to do, constantly, I don’t get bored. However I do get tired and burnt out and sometimes I don’t see it until its too late.

I don’t think you have to take a break from your activities necessarily when you are overwhelmed, you just need to step back, look at what is working and what isn’t and make adjustments. The real key is to do this before the burnout occurs. Little changes can mean big results. I did this a few days ago. I was working out, doing all the exercises and then I stepped back and realized that my lower back was hurting. I tried to reason why this was – maybe it was the squats, lunges, etc. When I was doing my crunches I realized that near the end of my sets I was lifting my back up slightly. I corrected the movement and now my back is better and no longer sore. Little change, potentially big changes.

I’m going to take my advice and look back over the week and see what I could have done better in all areas of my life. This is hard as nobody wants to look at their faults too much, not unless they really want to improve. I want to improve. So there you go.

See you tomorrow.

Day 47 – Flying Large

I just read this article on airlines either being forced to allow two seats for the price of one for those obese passengers or charging them for two seats. In Canada there has been a supreme court ruling on the accommodation of severely obese passengers on Canadian Airlines, essentially giving them a free extra seat.

Yesterday, United Airlines announced it would begin charging obese passengers for two seats.

One commenter to the article said that it would be onerous on the person sitting beside an obese person if they only had one seat.

I take a different viewpoint. Look at cars, they are generally relaunched or updated every 3 – 6 years and every new model tends to get bigger in many ways. The seats particularly have been better bolstered and widened to accommodate (especially western) passengers because of increased weight and size. However over the regular sized seats and cabin area if you want it changed in some way, say heated seats, leather, lumbar support, bench seats, buckets, you’ve got to pay for it.

On planes, you cannot relaunch and upgrade the seats as often, but if you want two seats, then pay for it regardless of your size.

However, I am 6’4” tall and I am regularly cramped with my knees against the seat in front of me – before it has been reclined. Should I not get extra legroom, I would have a better case than an obese person saying that this is truly something I cannot control!

Anyway, I guess this like many things is systematic of the larger problems we have today when it comes to weight, body and how to deal with the changes.

It would be too easy to say just get off your ass and loose that weight and pay for only one seat. I know that some people have a legitimate obesity problem that normal exercise and diet cannot fix. However, that’s not true for every obese person. A ruling from our Supreme Court that is all encompassing and comprehensive makes it too easy for some to ride the system.

The next time I fly with my kids I’m going to ask if I can only pay for half a seat for each of them – they’re so cute and tiny.

Workout was great today; I worked my arms until they felt like phantom limbs, not quite there and full of lactic acid. Great burn.

See you tomorrow.

Day 46 – Trip

I just set up a business trip for next week that I was not expecting for a few months. It is not all bad but I am worried that I will not be able to follow my diet and perhaps not get the same workouts that I have become accustomed to.

I’m going to look for a small scale to take with me, I know it will be inconvenient but then again I can portion out the food I get. I have also put a call into the manager of the hotel to explain my special diet. The way I see it is that I’m no different than someone with an illness like diabetes who follows a restricted diet. The hotel should be able to cater to my needs.

I wonder when and if there will be a tipping point when others request this type of food service and a hotel/resort/restaurant sees it as enough of a trend to make it part of the regular services. I know some places do this now but it always seems like a patronizing marketing ploy.

So if you have any ideas on how to make it more manageable, please pass on the tips. Really, this trip should have no discernable effect on the PCP it will just take a little foresight, planning and more hard work.

Let me know what you think.

See you tomorrow

Day 45 – Half way done/started

Its half way to the new me. I noticed something today that I’ve probably been vaguely aware of for some time. I went out to lunch with a colleague of mine and I wasn’t excited in the slightest to go to one of my favourite restaurants. It may have been that I knew and anticipated that I wasn’t going to have a rich, fattening and otherwise flavorful meal but most likely it was because I knew that eating such food was rather unhealthy for me. This is really interesting because I wouldn’t have come to this restaurant given the choice, not because I was avoiding the food but because I genuinely didn’t want it – this is a behavioural change that really is important.

Will I not want to eat my favorite dish after the PCP is done? I’ll probably have it but I bet I will want it a lot less than I used to.

I am a little sad that my enjoyment of that kind of food is gone, at least for now but I have found a love of simpler, less refined foods and the joy of sweet fruit instead of sugary sweets.

Its something I haven’t got my whole head wrapped around yet but I think I like it and I know its good for me. I just hope I can convince all my family and friends that I’m not being anti-social, I just don’t want or need to go out for dinner as much any more. Oh and I know I’m going to save a bunch on it too.

By the way - In my last photo it looks as though I have ab lines – I’m sorry to say that is not the buff cut of abs. I just finished some situps and there were marks left by the creased flesh. Soon though my baby abs will see the light of day!

See you tomorrow.

Day 44 – Test my condition

A while ago Patrick gave me and article that outlined tests to evaluate your physical fitness. You can see the article here: How fit are you? Our simple fitness test will determine your level of conditioning—and teach you how to improve it.

From the article I’m concentrating on the following tests:

1. Resting Heart Rate
2. 1 ½ Mile Run
3. Push-up
4. One-Rep-Max Bench Press
5. Bent Knee Crunch
6. Sit and Reach Test*


Here is how I performed on each test:

1. Resting Heart Rate Test

This morning before I got out of bed I took my one minute pulse and got 57 beats. For me this is average – in running season my heart rate can drop to below 50 bpm.

2. 1 ½ Mile Run Test

On the weekend I completed this run in 11:24. This would put me in the top 70 percentile based on this chart

V02 max and 1 1/2-mile-run time, 30- to 39-year-old men

Percentile V02 max 1 1/2-mile run
rank (minutes)

99 >59 <7:11
90 50 9:30
80 47 10:47
70 45 11:34
60 42 12:20
50 41 12:51
40 39 12:36
30 37 14:08
20 35 14:52
10 33 15:52
01 <27 >18:00

Sources: The Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine
(1995)

3. Push-up Test

I have been working steadily on pushups and recently I completed 60 in succession. I’ll use this as a baseline.

Age 20-29 30-39 40-49

Excellent >36 >30 >22
Above average 29-35 22-29 17-21
Average 22-28 17-21 13-16
Below average 17-21 12-16 10-12
Poor <16 <11 <9

4. One-Rep-Max Bench

Last week a friend and I partook in the time honoured male bonding extravaganza of trying to out bench press each other. I didn’t win but I did finish lifting 275 lbs. which is 131% of my body weight.

Age 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59

Superior [greater than [greater than [greater than [greater than
or equal to] or equal to] or equal to] or equal to]
1.63 1.35 1.20 1.05
Excellent 1.32-1.62 1.12-1.34 1.00-1.19 0.90-1.04
Good 1.14-1.31 0.98-1.11 0.88-0.99 0.79-0.89
Average 1.00-1.13 0.89-0.97 0.81-0.87 0.72-0.78
Fair 0.89-0.99 0.79-0.88 0.73-0.80 0.64-0.71
Poor 0.73-0.88 0.66-0.78 0.60-0.72 0.54-0.63
Dismal [less than or [less than or [less than or [less than or
equal to] equal to] equal to] equal to]
0.72 0.65 0.59 0.53

Source: The American College of Sports Medicine's Guidelines for
Exercise Testing and Prescription (fifth edition)

5. Bent-Knee Crunch Test

The amount of crunches and v-sits I’ve been doing has really helped here. I completed a total of 63 before my form broke down and I was straining for one more.

Age <35 35-44 45

Excellent 60 50 40
Good 45 40 25
Marginal 30 25 15
Needs work 15 10 5

Source: Faulkner, R.A., Syringings, E.S., McQuarrie, A., and Bell, R.D.,
"Partial Curl-Up Research Project Final Report" (1988), submitted to the
Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute

6. Sit and Reach Test.

This one wasn't in the article but it's basically how close or over I can stretch toward my toes with my legs straight. I did not perform well on this one, although my flexibility is getting better.

I stretched to 16 cms from my toes which puts me in the poor category. I'm stretching a bit everyday to improve this number.

So now I know where I stand with these tests and every two weeks I’ll complete them to see how I progress. Hopefully I’ll get better since I’m more concerned with how I improve than how I compare to the article’s ratings.

See you tomorrow.

Day 43 – When does that fat drop off?

I am amazed that the little bit of fat covering my abs is so persistent and sticky. I can feel my abs larger and stronger than I ever remember them but they are covered by a relatively thin layer of fat obscuring them from all the world to see. I guess I’m finding it rather frustrating since my weight is down to 209 lbs. – thats 16 pounds down from where I was 43 days ago and I would have bet anyone that at 10-15 lbs off I would have been cut. At 6’3”, 16 pounds is harder to see coming off then if I was smaller but still I have lost 7% of my mass.

I know now why so many fail, it's because they don’t see much results from quite a bit of work. It's been over a month and I’ve worked extremely hard if I do say so myself but perhaps my expectations were a little tall.

So today I am realigning my goals and taking a longer range view. I commented to Tanya that I’m going to stop looking at my waistline and focus solely on the food and workouts for the next week. Hopefully that tiny bicycle tire will be gone soon enough. Maybe I should drop it as one of my goals since it will come if I complete my other goals.

Here I am at week 6:



Here are my critical stats

BMI: 26.1
Fat Percentage: 16.6%
Height: 160cm
Weight: 94.8kgs
Arm: 37cm
Chest: 112cm
Waist: 94cm
Hips: 95cm
Thigh: 61cm
Resting Heart Rate: 57 bpm

See you tomorrow.

Day 42 – Kids

My kids make me laugh. My eldest constantly reminds me of what I can and cannot eat, sounding a lot like my wife and I’ve come to really appreciate his sensibilities. Because I am constantly talking about the PCP, diet and exercise it’s rubbing off on him in a very positive way. So I find myself not wanting to let him down because he’s asking how the workout is going, do I like the food, show me your muscles etc. and looking up to me.

I’m also thinking about how I used to do things – I’d tell my kids to finish up their food even if they were full, essentially telling them to gorge themselves. Not very wise and to top it off I would eat their leftovers. Now we portion out the foods since little bodies adjust food intake sporadically and they may need more food one day and much less the next. I now don’t have to finish what they’ve left, there rarely is any except what wasn’t portioned out and that’s good old leftovers.

I blogged a while ago about obesity in children and it must be a priority for adults to show children what to eat and how to eat plus give them a very good impression of their bodies. My eldest asked why I was doing the Peak Condition Project and I told him to get into the best shape and top condition of my life. He asked me if he could start getting into his best shape right away too – pretty cool.

See you tomorrow.

Day 41 – Good Friday

My Parents are staunch Catholics and brought me up to be one too, but something happened on the way to growing up and I’m a little more liberal and eclectic in my views than I think they wanted. Nevertheless I value all viewpoints on any subject and believe someone’s viewpoint is as valid as any other, within reason and as long as it helps and doesn’t hurt.

So today being Good Friday I decided to partake in the Catholic tradition of eating no meat, only fish and went to the store to pick up some salmon for dinner. Unfortunately a bunch of other people had the same idea and only a lone package of out of date sardines were left, seriously just those sardines. Who knew it would be like this, so I wearily opted for a packaged frozen salmon that stated “no preservatives” and “no additives” and headed home. On my way home I passed a McDonalds and had a sudden urge for a Big Mac. I didn’t do it mind you but it reminds me of something that happened to me long ago:

During my first year of university I was trying out for the football team(not soccer) and was trying to bulk up my weight. I was eating lots of everything especially protein in the form of red meat. I was young and ate a lot more than I can now and it was hard increasing my weight. On Easter weekend I went to my Parents for their traditional dinner where they take it one step further and eat precisely no meat of any kind and have a sort of fasting meal. I tucked in and was finished before I knew it but was still hungry. Upon leaving I promptly headed straight for the Burger King and with more guilt than I could have acknowledge back then, had a double Whopper with everything on it. What happened next was both mortifying and kind of cool. As I left, my Dad was just parking his car to go into the drug store and our eyes locked. I think he smiled slightly, raised his hand and walked into his store, never saying a word. I know he didn’t tell my Mother(she would have laid into me hard) and he hasn’t said a word about it to me in almost twenty years. I gotta believe that if I secretly send him a Whopper on Good Friday one of these years, without my Mother knowing of course, he’ll really appreciate it.

By the way, the salmon was great and at least this year I’m still in my Mother’s good books.

See you tomorrow.

Day 40 – Sick Again

There’s a cold going around and I thought I could head fake it out but I’ve now got it. I wanted to skip today’s workout but I managed to get through it relatively unscathed. I did feel extremely tired and winded during and after but I also felt better for it too.

I’ve read that as long as you don’t have a fever there are benefits to working out and may even make the cold go away more quickly.

I know from the workout today that I got a good endorphin buzz from the pump and cardio but I remember reading that a workout also increases the white cell blood count helping fight off colds. It may be that I pushed myself a little hard after being sick last week but usually I don’t get sick and attribute that to generally being healthy and active.

According to research done by the American College of Sports Medicine, people that exercise in general tend to catch fewer colds than more sedentary counterparts and if done regularly, exercise could halve the number of days you spend with cold symptoms.

I already feel the tide turning on this cold and hopefully in a few days I’ll be 100% again. I’m going to stay hydrated and keep my workouts intense but won’t overdo it.

See you tomorrow

Day 39 – zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

A friend of mine has been worried that he may loose his job. The company he works for is apparently not doing so well and there have been some rumours of lay-offs. He is a hard worker and recently he told me that he was working extra hard to show management that he’s worth keeping. He is fearful, depressed and tired which is not a good combo. I asked him if he was getting enough sleep and he responded by saying that he was working extra hours, coming in early and going home late and when he did get home the stress kept him up at night.

I sympathized with him but told him that he has to get more sleep and sustain a healthy lifestyle and while he argued that it was easy for me to preach this I told him that limiting his sleep wasn’t going to save his job, it was probably going to do the opposite.

Sleep is crucial to the success of any PCPer but what does it do to the everyday Joe during their daily work?

Shortening your sleep time by as little as one hour dramatically cuts into cognitive performance. Research shows it diminishes your ability to concentrate, multitask, pay attention, retain information, problem-solve, react quickly, and make good judgments. Worst of all, you think you’re doing just fine.

Getting six or fewer hours of sleep each night is like being drunk. When you’ve been up for eighteen hours, studies show that you function as if your blood alcohol content were .07(in most states and provinces, the legal blood alcohol limit is .08.) After 24 hours without sleep, you’re at .1 – the same as a drunk driver.

Even if you resist tiredness and drink or eat stimulants, sooner or later your body will rebel, so sooner or later your body is going to have to sleep and it may just be on your way home from work.

Harvard Medical School recently released a study that showed that lack of sleep causes the brain to become 60% more reactive which translates into losing your cool, overreacting and being a real crank. In addition your emotional control is one of the first functions to go when lacking sleep and one of the last to return when you’re getting some sleep. In a survey I found, 44% of the respondents said that they were likely to be unpleasant without enough sleep.

Lack of sleep also makes you three times more likely than an eight-hour sleeper to catch a cold.

With the research that I’ve done on this I know I have to get more sleep – its actually quite scary when I think about being tired and driving my kids around town – I’m actually more scared of the other drivers but I’ve got to get my sleep too.

I told my friend that working the extra hours is not going to save his job if he’s cranky, making mistakes, with poor productivity and an unsociable nature. I’m not sure he bought it all but I did convince him to get some sleep tonight rather than watch the game with me – it’s a start.

And so I’ll catch a bit of the game but I’m going to get at least 8 hours of sleep tonight too.

See you tomorrow.

Day 38 – Red Meat

I was thinking about my dilemma with eating meat along side enjoying it and read this article:

Researchers have shown that those who consume 10 portions or more of red meat a week are nearly 50 per cent more likely to experience deterioration of the retina in old age.
But tucking into chicken at least three times a week can have a protective effect, reducing the risk of blindness by more than half.
The findings, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, are the latest to suggest a strong link between diet and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Britain's leading cause of vision loss. he macular is the central and most sensitive section of the retina. It allows us to see fine detail for reading and writing, as well as our ability to see colour.
The disease affects an estimated 500,000 people in the UK. It usually develops after the age of 50 and is caused by the growth of new blood vessels under the centre of the retina.
These blood vessels leak fluid, causing scar tissue to form and destroying vision in the centre of the eye.
For many sufferers this process can take several years. But in extreme cases, it can take place within a couple of months.
The latest evidence suggests curtailing red meat intake could help some people ward off the disease.
Researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia, studied 6.700 people aged between 58 and 69.
They documented how many had early signs of AMD and matched the results up with dietary habits gleaned from food questionnaires.
The results showed those who ate an average of ten portions of red meat a week – such as roast beef, meatballs or lamb chops – were 47 per cent more likely to be suffering the early symptoms of AMD than those who ate it less than five times a week.
In contrast, those who ate chicken at least 3.5 times a week were around 57 per cent less likely to have vision loss than those who ate it 1.5 times a week.

Now I know that life itself is a terminal illness but this article can be looked at like all things as a lesson in moderation. For several weeks I have been eating my fair share of red meat but this week I am going to eat more chicken and salmon. I know red meat is probably the worst of the proteins to eat but I love the stuff and will continue to eat it in moderation.

I have been concentrating so hard in my workouts to have correct form and balance and I've found myself sweating like crazy. I am drinking water during which helps and after I drink several more glasses. I have never been a heavy sweater but through shear concentration I am Niagra Falls. It is helpful though since it lets me know how hard I am working.

See you tomorrow.

Day 36 – Back in Action

I’m back from dropping off the face of the earth. I was sick last week with the flu and on top off that it was a very hectic week with all my time spent researching and with work. I know it may happen again I just hope next time I will be able to manage it and PCP.

Anyway I still worked very hard on the PCP diet and exercises last week ensuring that if work or sickness takes time away from blogging it won’t touch the core PCP stuff. I was happy with my workouts since I missed a few days and they were a little quicker than normal so I made sure they were 110%. Same goes for the diet, I had several big cravings during the week but worked through them. I am finding that the food just seems too much to eat and I have cut back the carbs and vegetables a little.

I can’t believe I have to eat 7 eggs now! I can feel my wife roll her eyes as I write this. I know it is a great source of protein but that is alot of eggs and in the end a lot of gas.

I also got back to drinking more water this week. I realized that I was not drinking enough and stepped it up a little. In addition I am finding that with so much protein I am not craving meat and especially steak as much. Its funny because I cooked some beef this week and was not even remotely interested in it, I ate it but was sdisapointed that a food that usually brings me pleasure did nothing for me.

My abs, shoulders, lats, pecs and legs are all sore. I’m glad I only had to do ropejumps yesterday because my muscles needed a rest. I love the idea that a person really doesn’t need a bunch of fancy equipment to do the PCP. It is simple and effective plus light on the wallet!

As for me, here I am at the end of week 5:



Here are my critical stats

BMI: 26.6
Fat Percentage: 17.6
Height: 160cm
Weight: 96.6kgs
Arm: 37cm
Chest: 111cm
Waist: 98cm
Hips: 96cm
Thigh: 61cm
Resting Heart Rate: 56 bpm

Its good to be back with you!

Day 31 – Intense Workout

I love a good intense workout, one where I am focused and strict in my form while working extra hard to complete all reps and sets. Today I had one of those workouts and everything just fell into place. My motivation was up which certainly helps and I got a buzz from each exercise feeding my drive to outwork and perform well. In the end I was dripping sweat, a sign for me that I was concentrating and working extremely hard.

Instead of doing the ropejumps today I went outside and did some interval runs. I went for a hard run for approximately 400 metres and then jogged for 30 seconds. I did this 10 times and was exhausted by the end. I found this more strenuous than the ropejumps and wonder how they would compare in calorie burn. I’ll try to do this once or twice a week. I’ve seen some research on interval training that has stated that training in short bursts with a short recovery period has some advantages over continuous training, namely it takes less time and you can see bigger cardio gains. During the heavy fast run, lactic acid is produced and a state of oxygen debt is reached. During the interval recovery, the heart and lungs are still stimulated as they try to pay back the debt by supplying oxygen to help break down the lactates. The stresses put on the body cause an adaptation including capillarisation, strengthening of the heart muscles, improved oxygen uptake and improved buffers to lactates. All this leads to improved performance, in particular within the cardiovascular system.

I have run longer and shorter distances for most of my life and have found that I am experiencing improvements by way of interval training from the plateaus I have been at for the past few years. I enjoy the experimentation to find the right balance of workouts for running and exercising to get the most out of it.

I hope I have another great workout tomorrow.

See you then.

Day 30 – Enlighten Up!

Always looking for a good film, I saw a trailer from the independent documentary Enlighten Up! By filmmaker Kate Churchill. She insists that yoga can transform anyone and decides to prove it. She selects 29 year-old journalist, Nick Rosen as her subject and immerses him in yoga, following him until he finds a yoga practice that transforms him. Sounds like a great subject and interesting to anyone who wants to become a better, more enlightened person.

One of the clips I saw shows a Guruji who explains that it took him 6 years to gain health saying “When health was not there, what can I think of philosophy?” He goes on to state that yoga is a subjective way of eradicating the instinctive weaknesses of human being. He asserts that change has to take place, transformation has to take place for whoever it may be.

While I have always held a fascination for yoga, I have never once practiced it, nor can I claim any wisdom about it. However, the words of this guru ring so true and remind me so much of what I’m doing now with the Peak Condition Project, that I will at least look into it more closely.

As far as the movie goes, there are so many parallels between it and the peak condition project but on a more physical level. A person like myself or any one of the many PCPers are looking for transformation, to be in the peak condition of their lives and to be a better, more healthy, confident and long lasting person. But I am starting to understand that being in good shape is the first not the last step in personal fulfillment for me, a stepping stone on a long path of stones to true happiness.

I look forward to this film and wonder what a PCP documentary will look like – I think it would be very interesting indeed.

See you tomorrow.

Day 29 – The Future is Getting Bigger

I was at a movie today with my eldest son and was thinking about Tanya’s blog about the appropriateness of taking a child to a fight or a mature rated movie. We saw Monsters vs. Aliens, it was rated G, and I only had to talk to my boy about several issues I had with the film. What threw me off this train of thought several times was the number of children I saw that were overweight. It struck me so hard that I questioned if it was my mindset in the PCP zone so I counted as best I could the number of children in the theatre and those that I felt were overweight (a little subjective but I gave people the benefit of the doubt on borderlines). Of the 73 children in the theatre, 25 were in my opinion overweight.

This would equate to 34% of the children overweight. I know that child obesity is on the rise but I just can’t think of children as being overweight. Statistics Canada has stated that the combined rate of children and teens who are overweight or obese has jumped from 15 to 26 percent over the span of just 25 years. The problem doesn’t stop here, about 70% of obese children become obese adults, increasing the risk of their developing chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease as well as developing poor body image and self-esteem related eating disorders.

What is most alarming is that many obese and overweight children are developing health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and joint problems, at very early ages.

I was not surprised to find that there is a major gap between the reality and the perception of Canadian parents about the weight of their children – I think of all children as healthy and active with fit bodies. A recent Canadian survey indicated only 9% of parents of children under the age of 18 years identify their children as overweight or obese. Of course, this contrasts with the actual combined rate of 26% so what are these parents thinking, maybe like me they have a perception of children that is not necessarily true.

What to do about this? Maybe Patrick can start a junior PCP but no matter how good that would be I think it needs to go deeper than that. A special Canadian Committee of this topic suggested the following:

A. Set Specific Measurable Targets
B. Implement a Comprehensive Public Awareness Campaign
C. Implement Mandatory Front of Package Labeling
D. Limit Trans Fats
E. Collect Data for Targets
F. Collaborate on Knowledge Exchange
G. Increase Research
H. Develop A Coordinated Effort between all parties and regions
I. Control Children’s Food Advertising
J. Increase Healthy Food Choices
K. Evaluate the Impact of Tax Credits
L. Support Appropriate Food and Physical Activity in Schools
M. Enhance Community Infrastructure

I love all of these recommendations but since the committee announced them last year, nothing concrete has come from it. I will look at some of these in future blogs.

Today the program changed. Exercises are more advanced and there is a focus on legs. I need to work on my legs anyhow so I like this a lot. The food intake has also decreased a little but today I felt the portions were just right. We'll have to see how I fell in a day or two.

Here are my current critical stats:

BMI: 26.9
Fat Percentage: 17.8
Height: 160cm
Weight: 97.5kgs
Arm: 36cm
Chest: 110cm
Waist: 99cm
Hips: 96cm
Thigh: 61cm
Resting Heart Rate: 57 bpm

Not much of a movement on the stats but I am undeterred and feel great!

See you tomorrow.

Day 28 –Day Flew By

Today was a whirlwind of meetings and work. I was out most of the day and when I was at home, I was doing work in my office. Not a great way to spend a Saturday but I’ll be ready for next week.

I was discussing with a friend of mine the implications of professional athletes taking performance-enhancing drugs and he felt it was okay for athletes to do so. I asked him two things: 1) If you had children that looked up to athletes and these athletes took steroids or other harmful drugs, how would that change your viewpoint? And 2) What if every professional hockey player (he’s a big hockey fan) took drugs to make themselves better would you idolize them the way you do today? And just for good measure I suggested that Pro Athletes are admired, loved and idolized by very young people and so there is a higher price they must pay to honour them – they are no longer the anyone they are now more responsible for their actions and much like a parent must do things appropriate and expect those that look up to them to follow in their footsteps.

He just called me up and conceded my points. I told him I wasn’t trying to win the argument but he said I was right nonetheless. Maybe there is hope for those bloodthirsty fans and for the future heroes of sports.

I had lunch out at a meeting today and when I asked for 140 grams of meat and 180 grams of vegetables everyone looked at me like I had a third eye. Not a problem – the server was great, the chef did all the right things and I felt great not having to compromise for the lunch meeting.

See you tomorrow.

Day 27 – High Fructose Corn Syrup

I was cruising’ around youtube and saw this:



I also saw this:



I don’t want to rant really but I would like to say that if you’re trying to lose weight there are evil forces conspiring against you. It is not easy to stay healthy and trim and when you are up against marketing machines and corporate dollars it is that much harder. Like the Tobacco industry telling the world that nicotine isn’t addictive - with a straight face, here the Corn Refiners Association is fighting against negativity, drop in sales or maybe a trend they see coming sometime soon.

I don’t mind these ads, they don’t affect me because I stay clear of the stuff but maybe someone should worry about this because it is a very slippery slope when you say “its fine in moderation”.

Anyhow. Patrick made a comment yesterday on chronicling how I feel after a whole day at work, playing with the kids and so forth. I know my stress levels have dropped considerably but I like the idea of gauging it more scientifically. So I am in the process of developing a system to record how the PCP is affecting my stress, outlook, moods as well as my physique.

I just read Tanya’s blog entry for the day and I salivated when I read about her salad. It sounded so good and I guess I should get more adventurous with the foods and combos I’m eating. I am content with my diet though and feel I’m hitting all the cravings at the right times but I will mix it up a little more.

See you tomorrow.

Day 26 – Test Day

Every week I’ll post a picture and divulge my critical stats so that you can see where I’m at. But today I wanted to test my strength as a baseline so that I can gauge what the PCP is doing for me in that capacity. I want to look better and feel better but one of the key factors for me is to increase stamina and strength.

The tests I have set up are maximum push-ups no time limit, maximum full sit-up in one minute, wide grip pull-ups no time limit and wall sit as long as I can go.

Here are my results:

Push-ups – 60
Full Sit-up – 32 in 1 minute
Wide Grip Pull-ups – 7
Wall-sit – 105 seconds

I am really happy with my results since I know a month ago I would not have been able to do near these numbers. My strength training is working!

I think I’ll test every second week since this took a lot out of me and I’m not sure there will be significant gains in just one week.

I also want to do a cardio test next week so if you have any ideas on this one let me know.

See you tomorrow.

Day 25 – Am I Obesist?

I just read an article titled Why obesity is not a lifestyle choice and found myself wondering if I am predjudiced against people who are overweight. I questioned myself because the article states that most people attribute obesity to simply making poor choices. “Why can't people with excess weight just push away the food and get off their butts? Why should the community pick up the tab for obese people's health problems resulting from gluttony and sloth?” Moreover, while reading this comment, I did not totally object to it.

And after reading the article I felt guilty for thinking that all anyone had to do was eat less and move more and their obesity problem would go away. Was I wrong, to feel this way, I think partially anyway.

People are obese for so many reasons, drugs, glandular issues, psychological problems, but this article makes it sound like those people who are obese are absolved of any wrongdoing. Dr. Sharma states, “I have yet to meet a patient who chose to be fat. I have also yet to meet a patient who chose to have diabetes, wished for a heart attack or longed for cancer.” I would agree and I have yet to meet a life long smoker who wants throat or lung cancer, emphysema or bronchitis but they still continue to smoke. A person can stop right now, or never - that is their choice and is more important than anything else in prevention of the undesired effect.
However, is it a case of self-control, will power or laziness? I don’t think its that simple. Just like people with mental illness, this is more complex and must be looked at through more compassionate eyes.

There are too many temptations and our western society makes it too easy to get fat and satisfy our cravings and so it becomes a more profound issue than one just of self-control. It is an epidemic, one created by people and so people must resolve to solve it but if governments, companies and society look at the problem simplistically as one of individual freedom and separate from their own initiatives then I think were all in for a lot more obesism. Therefore, I need to be more compassionate and with an attitude to help those who are overweight and want to change, I believe the PCP is a great way to start.



On Patrick’s suggestion, I departed briefly from my diet today and had a chocolate on chocolate cupcake. I have to say on my initial bite it tasted great but then the sweetness was overpowering and the lard in the thick icing did not go down well. At second bite I questioned whether this was the best choice but continued on. When I was done, I wondered what it was all about and felt a sense of guilt for veering away from my diet for such a cheap fix. It just didn’t taste the same and I was surprised that Patrick’s prediction that it might not be as good a treat as I imagined was right on the money. And the after affects? I’ve had an upset stomach since it hit my belly and remember my headaches? First one since I started. I guess I’ll try something a little more substantial next time, but hey, now I know.

See you tomorrow.