Alright... 31 minutes of cardio (15 min treadmill @ 6.7mph, 15 min stairclimber, random climbing, level 3), 302 calories burned. Total for the day: 588.

Since I just changed up the diet, plus haven't posted it in a while:

Breakfast: 1 cup multigrain oat bran, 1 cup fat free milk, .5 cup blueberries (DELICIOUS!): 273 calories
Pre-Workout: protein powder shake, 120 calories
Post-Workout: protein powder shake, 120 calories
Lunch: 6.5oz boneless, skinless, roasted chicken breast, 2 cups lettuce, 1 tomato, 1 tbsp Hidden Valley Ranch Light, 1 slice sprouted flax seed bread, 1 apple: 512 calories
BADNESS: 1 chocolate truffle, 31 calories (couldn't believe it but that's what it said)
Dinner: 3oz pork chop, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup green beans, 1 slice sprouted flax seed bread, 1 orange, slim-a-bear 100 calorie ice cream bar: 487 calories
Pre-Workout: 6 pcs Mrs. May's Cashew Crunch, 150 calories

Total Intake: 1843 calories
Deficit: 455 calories

My intake was still a bit more than I would like by about 130 calories. No more ice cream. ;)

DAY 25, although I started today eating correctly. It's strange, but when I was eating too much I felt like I was eating after i was done eating. After recalculating it's almost identical to my old plan's metabolic adjustment.

Anyway, day 25 is identical to day 21, which was Sunday. 37 minutes, 282 calories burned. Stay tuned for cardio... :)

Well, my brain has been declared dead. Or should be. I dunno.

In Making the Cut, one of the first things you do is calculate your RMR. You can use an online tool, or you can do the calculations yourself with a formula provided in the book. I opted for the formula. I REALLY wish I could find the paper where I did my math, because certainly I was wrong somewhere along the line.

I had my calories set for 2166. The past 3 1/2 weeks I've been EXTREMELY careful to be as close to this number as possible. After three weeks, you're supposed to recalculate BMR. This time, I used Excel.

The formula is, for men:

66 + (6.23 * weight in pounds) + (12.7 * height in inches) - (6.8 * age in years)

My BMR is 1711!

So I was thinking, hmm. As of this morning, since I started the new plan I've gained 4 pounds. 4 pounds in 3 weeks, and I've been trying hard not to be upset over it because I've lost an inch around the middle. Still, the results certainly haven't been what Jillian Michaels claimed in the book, not even close.

So let's see... 2166 - 1711 = ~455 extra calories I've been eating every day. So I look at my log software, which will tell me each day how much deficit I had.

Today: 542 calories
4/1: 331
3/31: 320
3/30: 583
3/28: 95
3/27: 433
3/26: 730

So with JUST those, taking an average, what do we have? 433 FREAKING CALORIES!!! Sound familiar?!?!?!?!? Yup, I've been set up for maintenance.

I swear, man. There must be something wrong with me. Today's what, Day 24, off day, cardio day. 6 more days and the 30 days are up. After that I'm starting back at Day 1.

I should be an expert now, right? :)

I ran 5k again today, and once again, I felt like I was flying... but I wasn't. Today was 29:19, over a minute slower than my best outdoor time.. Still, I got to play with my GPS toy. :P I just keep wondering why my perception is that I'm running a lot faster than I really am. 11 days until the real deal!

Afterwards I walked back to work, total 437 calories burned.