Thursday, April 23, 2009

Day 44 - Thursday, April 23

Previous night's sleep - off track - 6.5 hours - start/stop - poor

Consumption - good at work, terrible after.

Breakfast - baby carrots + Bear Naked Banana Almond Crunch Granola
Lunch - Caesar salad - romaine, light caesar dressing, parmesan cheese, and some croutons
Snack - tossed salad, light caesar dressing, parmesan cheese, and some croutons
Dinner - 3 ribs + rice
Snack - two chicken teriyaki and ginger sausages, one nathan's hot dog, 2 eggs, rice, and a whole wheat sub roll
Dessert - Turkey Hill banana split ice cream - 3 big scoops

No workout.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Day 43 - Wednesday, April 22

Previous night's sleep - on track - 7 hours - start/stop - terrible

Consumption - good at work, terrible after.

Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ Triple Berry Crunch Bear Naked Granola - Dannon low fat yogurt
Lunch - Son of a Gun beef stew with a couple of croutons
Snack - Caesar salad - romaine, light caesar dressing, parmesan cheese, and some croutons
Dinner - two foot long hot dogs w/ chili, mustard, and onion + onion rings + french fries w/ ketchup and mayo - from Jak'n Jill's and a rib that Visa made. Craptastically good and tumultuous for my so called healthier living experimental phase.

So, after running errands today, which included picking up a 25lb bag of charcoal at the Mexican grocery store along w/ a bag of bay leaves for $1.69 and a bag of Zaffron for $1.99, I ended up driving home around 9:30pm. I hadn't eaten since around 3:30pm, when I ate that salad. My mind raced toward food. I definitely had the intention of eating ice cream tonight, but didn't. Not because I am so grounded in my healthy habits, but because after my massive consumption, the thought of eating ice cream was very unappealing.

I am definitely, a creature of habit. Those habits are hard to change, hence the whole 90 day committment. I have come to realize in my more than quarter century of a lifetime that it requires pain for me to change. Sure, after an oil change or a car accident I will drive more safely, more conservatively. But given enough time, I forget that misery or that cost paid, and resume my inclinations of driving quickly and with disregard for gas conservation.

I want to turn the corner. I want to look back and think, wow, I used to look like that. I used to eat like that. And I have. I look back at pictures, not even two years ago. I used to look like that? I can't remember what it feels like to weigh less than 200lbs. Maybe, I am not self-conscious enough about my body. Both a pro and a con. Every good quality that I have, taken to the extreme, is a fault. Read - wanting to help others - good - white knight syndrome - bad.

So, re-committing and making promises is bunk. An empty exercise based in the absurd premise that I will keep them and that my will power at this very moment, sated, not even 4 hours ago by mounds of fried, unhealthy food, will carry me through a lifetime. It is simply time to start taking action. Ultimately, it's about accountability, and there aren't many people out there that I am accountable to in the world when it comes to my eating habits and level of fitness. You can't get arrested for being obese. You don't get fired for being fat (jobs I would have anyway). When it's just you and the drive-through, it's just you and the drive-through.

But who do I want to be? Do I want to grow up and be a firefighter? An astronaut? I don't know. But I do know, that I don't want to grow into my 30s and 40s as a chubby guy eventually dying at an absurdly young age due to high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, or something else I could have helped to prevent.

It's not that I don't want to be fat. It's that I want to be healthy.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Day 42 - Tuesday, April 21

Previous night's sleep - decent - 6.5 hours - I woke up around 7:30 and instead of going back to sleep like I always do, stayed awake and went to work

Consumption - excellent at work, terrible after


Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ banana almond crunch Bear Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - Son of a Gun beef stew with a couple of croutons
Snack - Caesar salad - romaine, light caesar dressing, parmesan cheese, and some croutons
Post Work Out - Whey + water (1.5 scoops)
Dinner - 17 wings - 7x boss, 8x slayer, 1x virginia fireball, 1x gold rush + celery + 2 bleu cheese dips - at Wild Wing Cafe
Dessert - a pretty big bowl of Turkey Hill banana split ice cream - decent - but my favorite is definitely Blue Bunny when it comes to banana split

Workout - after work - biceps and shoulders

seated curls dumbbells - 1x10, 1x8, 1x6 45lb
+ military dumbbell press - 1x12, 2x10 45lb
+ seated shrugs w/ dumbbells - 1x12, 2x10 45lb hold 10 seconds on last rep
+Leg raises on a decline bench - 3x20 - legs extended and coming up past 90 degrees from the ground - killer - done in between exercises - held legs above ground for 10 seconds after 1st two sets and on the last set, held legs off the ground for 20 seconds.
standing curls - E-Z curl bar - 1x12, 1x10, 1x8 approx. 70lbs - 30 on each side
+standing flies - 1x12, 2x10 15lb
hammer curls dumbbells - 1x12 20lb + 2x10 25lb
+front raises w/ dumbbell - 1x12 20lb, 2x10 25lb - one dumbbell, gripping each end with one hand
+ standing bent over reverse butterfly - hits the rear delt - 3x10lb
+ indicates a superset

Status Quo - working out, not sleeping enough consistently, eating better, but not well by any means.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Day 41 - Monday, April 20

Previous night's sleep - decent - 7+ hours - position - bad - I went to sleep on the couch downstairs and was sick when I woke up in the morning - hooray!

Conumption - great at work, terrible after

Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bear Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - Salad - romaine, ham, mushrooms, onions, parmesan cheese, croutons, and light caesar dressing
Snack - more of the aforementioned salad
Snack - some linguini and tomato/cream sauce - credit Visa
Dinner - a chicken tender crisp, whopper jr., large onion ring, and a spicy chicken wrap from Burger King
Snack - about 2x handfuls of popcorn at the end of 24

Day 40 - Sunday - Apirl 19

Previous night's sleep - good - 7+ hours - position - terrible - I fell asleep on Kiser's couch sitting up around 1am and woke up around 9am when he went to work. I had no intention of sleeping there.


Consumption - poor
Lunch - beef stew and rice + ramen and rice
Snack - 2 whopper jr.'s and a spicy chicken sandwich
Dinner - General Tso's Chicken, pork fried rice, an eggroll and a Pu-Pu platter - two chicken wings, 2 spareribs, 2 fried shrimp, 2 cheese wontons, an eggroll, and 2 x beef-on-a-stick - from Shun Xing
Snack - fried noodles w/ sweet and sour sauce + a rice crispy treat (little debbie's)

Day 39 - Saturday, April 18

Previous night's sleep - non-existent (terrible) - zero hours - I did not sleep - start/stop - N/A

Consumption:

Snack - beef stew + cornbread
Breakfast - 1 cinnamon roll + OJ + coffee
Lunch - a little bit of Caesar Salad (romaine, Parmesan, croutons, light caesar dressing) + beef stew + half a cookie
Dinner - Chef's choice - kebab platter, garlic naan, regular naan, samosa, rice, mulligitany (soup), and extremely thin and spicy bread/potato (not really sure what it was - but it was put out on the table like dinner rolls or breadsticks as soon as we sat down) from Ruchee on Midlothian (Indian Food) - I was not very impressed with the food, I wish I had ordered the "go-to" butter chicken.

So, Friday night, Saturday morning - I stayed up all night cooking for an event. The menu, "Son of a Gun Beefstew", Caesar Salad, Tossed Salad, and Sundried tomato and Garlic cornbread (I added fresh herbs to the top of the cornbread before baking - rosemary and thyme). I started earlier in the week buying paper goods and salad dressing. I thought I had finished buying the rest of the ingredients for the lunch, and luckily, after going to Sam's Club and Harris Teeter, I stopped by Food Lion after I remembered I would need potatoes. I got home around 9pm after shopping and picking up some chinese on the way home. Boy was I wrong. After reading the recipe for the stew, I realized that I had forgotten to get stewed tomatoes. It was about 10:50pm and I scrambled out the door. Food Lion closed at 11pm, and I got there with about 5 minutes to go. They had crushed tomatoes, whole, diced, and tomato paste along with a variety of tomato sauces. I gave up and went to Teeter.

It's now about 11:30pm and I start cooking. The stew takes forever, even if the prep work were done ahead of time, about 3 hours. I didn't know how many people were going to show up for the event, so I made about 4 gallons of stew. That's 3.5 lbs of London Broil, 5 lbs of red potatoes, 2 lbs of carrots, along with pounds of frozen veggies.

After I got the stew going, I mixed up the cornbread. I lost two little baking pans during our outing to Lake Anna a couple of weeks ago. After frantically scouring the house for them, Visa came up with a Pyrex casserole. Perfect. Armed with two of them, I managed to fix 6 boxes of cornbread mix + ingredients into both. Normally, when I follow the recipe (above) I make them into muffins or mini-muffins. I only have two muffin tins, regular sized and tiny. I wasn't about to make 6 batches, it was past 2 am when I started the cornbread. There was an issue - lack of texture on the outside of the cornbread - due to the shape of the pan - one ginormous rectangle vs. a small circle. Yes, the tops and sides were good, but I like more crunchy all around.

Maybe I will get another muffin pan. Who knows. After the cornbread was in the oven, I started cutting up the romaine for the salad. 18 hearts in all. I was finished and satisfied by about 5:30am. I knew that I could not go to sleep and wake up in time for the event, I needed to leave the house by 8:30am. So, I decided to stay up and watch the Dragonball Evolution movie - horrible.

I was on time to the event, but the doors were not open and I was unable to start breakfast - the cinnamon rolls. We got inside the building around 9:30am and I got to work. Pretty frantic, but we got it done and the day was a success. The crowd favorite was the cornbread. The event was over by about 2pm and I left for home around 3pm with about 1.25 gallons of the stew inside of a pickle bucket behind the passenger seat.

Day 38 - Friday, April 17

Previous night's sleep - on track 7 hours - start/stop - not so good

Consumption

Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bear Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - steamed broccoli + korean barbecue
Snack - cantelope
Dinner - General Tso's chicken w/ pork fried rice, an egg roll, 2 packs of fried noodles w/ sweet and sour sauce from Shun Xing + white rice from the house
Snack - piece of cornbread + beef stew - technically, I ate this snack on Saturday - please see the next post

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Day 37 - Thursday, April 16

Previous night's sleep - off track - 6 hours - start/stop - decent - bed around 2:30 woke up around 8:30

Consumption - great at work, declining after

Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bear Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Snack - cantelope
Lunch - steamed broccoli + korean barbecue
Snack - cantelope + chili and lime almond's
Snack - crepe with apple, brown sugar, and brie from Cville Coffee - not that good, very little texture
Dinner - meatloaf and rice + a small brownie (1"x1.25"x0.75") - credit visa
Casein + water

No workout. Still very sore. Also, I was supposed to do cardio in the morning, but last night, after deciding a full night's sleep was important to my overall health and weight goals, I stayed up past 2:30am. I am a self defeating proposition.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Day 36 - Wednesday, April 15

Previous night's sleep - on track - 7 hours - start/stop - poor

Consumption - as always, great at work, poor after business hours

Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bear Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - salad - green leaf lettuce, ham, bell peppers, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, light caesar dressing + chicken salad
Snack - the rest of the salad
Post workout - whey + water
Dinner - 3 ribs + rice + 2 slices of pepperoni pizza - credit visa
Casein + water

Workout -after work - cardio - 1 hour at 77% max heart rate - 900+ calories burned - 5+ miles on the elliptical machine

I plan on working out tomorrow morning - cardio again. My body is still aching from Tuesday. I don't know that I would have an effective bicep and shoulder workout.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Day 35 - Tuesday, April 14

Previous night's sleep - good - 7+ hours - start/stop - decent, went to bed at 1:30am, woke up at 6, went back to sleep, woke up at 7:30, went back to sleep, and woke up and went to work

Consumption - good during work, poor after

Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bear Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - salad - green leaf lettuce, ham, bell peppers, bacon bits, sunflower seeds, light caesar dressing + seafood salad - a smaller portion than usual
Post Workout - 1.5 scoops of whey + water
Dinner - 19 wings, celery, and 2 x bleu cheese from Wild Wing Cafe
Dessert - vanilla cone + hot fudge sundae w/ nuts + 2 apple pies - from McDonald's
Cassein + water

Workout - on track
Dips - 3 x 10 - chest out
+ Pulldowns - 2x10 120lbs, 1x5 at 130lbs + 1x5 at 120lbs
+ Leg Raises on a decline bench - 3x15 - held legs up for 10 seconds after second set and 20 seconds after third set
Butterflies - machine - 1x10 110lbs, 1x10 120lbs, 1x5 120lbs + 1x5 110lbs
+ pullovers - laying on a flat bench with a dumbbell - 1x10 35lbs, 1x10 40lbs, 1x10 45lbs
Chest Press - machine - with the seat in the lowest position - 2x10 160lbs, 1x5 160lbs + 1x5 140lbs
+ Seated Rows - 1x10 100lbs, 2x10 120lbs

Monday, April 13, 2009

Day 34 - Monday, April 13

Previous night's sleep - on track - 7 hours - start/stop - decent

Consumption - off track. let's get serious here

Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bare Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - salad - green leaf lettuce, ham, fake bacon bits, sunflower seeds, bell peppers, croutons, and light caesar dressing + tuna salad + seafood salad
Dinner - Brat, 2 eggs, and rice + life changing mac 'n cheese (smoked gouda, pancetta, heavy cream, and shells)
Snack - 4 pieces of Texas Toast (the kind w/ cheese on top)

Status report -
Milestones hit:
cardio workout - 1 hour at 60% max heart rate - on track
strength training - lifting more weight, good form, w/ super sets to keep the heart rate up - on track - I'm strongest I've been in a couple of years
Frequency of excercise - 3 x a week - on track
sleep - 7 hours a night - off track - big time, inconsistent amounts of sleep combined with bad choices in start/stop time
consumption - way off track - I have made improvements, but lack consistency. I need to start preparing lunch the night before to take to work to save money and to lose weight.

Overall - commitment - I feel as if I need to re-commit - I need to eat better during the week and more often. I need to workout more often and start doing it 5 days a week. I need to sleep better, starting tomorrow night - it's already 1am and I need to wake up at 6am to workout.

Achievement unlocked - I did my taxes today.

Takeaway - If you are eating a shit sandwich, it's because you ordered it.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Day 33 - Sunday, April 12

Previous night's sleep - great - more than 8 hours - start/stop - terrible, again, woke up around 2pm

Consumption - poor

Lunch - 1/2 a slop bucket - about 1 pint - layers of which are coleslaw, baked beans, pulled pork, and cheesy potatoes + 1 rib - all from Belmont Barbecue - w/ Dragon's Breath + Mild sauce - half each + 2 ice cream sandwiches
Dinner - the rest of the slop bucket [minus a coffee mug's worth] + 1 ice cream sandwich
Snack - 1 pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey

I attempted to start and finish my taxes but ran into an issue...I need my adjusted gross income in order to e-file...til tomorrow I suppose.

Day 32 - Saturday, April 11

Previous night's sleep - excellent, more than 8 hours - start/stop - terrible, woke up at 2pm

Consumption - typical, poor, weekend feeding

Lunch - sausage, eggs, and rice
Snack - brat w/ bread + brat eggs, and rice
Dessert - 3 ice cream sandwiches
Snack - wheat thins, dip, cheese log, carrot cake - small quantities of each - atypically small
Snack - two hot dogs

Friday, April 10, 2009

Day 31 - Friday, April 10

Previous night's sleep - off track - around 6.5 - went to bed past 1:15am and woke up at 6 to go work out and fell back asleep, woke up around 7:45am - so, Mike and Rana decided to play tennis before hitting the gym, the courts are at the gym. When I received my wake up call from Mike around 6am, I asked him if they would be playing tennis, yes he said. So, I figured, I would get a little extra sleep. Having done this a million times before, I knew I wouldn't wake up. But I went to bed again anyway, and woke up just in time to call them and find out they were getting ready to leave after playing an hour of tennis.

Consumption - terrible.

Breakfast - 5 hash browns + a steak, egg, and cheese bagel from McDonald's
Lunch - 1 slice of cheese and 1 slice of pepperoni from Christian's Pizza
Snack - sausage and egg biscuit left over from breakfast
Snack - a rib from Belmont Barbecue
Dinner - pho noodles w/ pork tenderloin and steakums along w/ the noodles + rice - very traditional, credit Visa
Dessert - chocolate chip cookie sandwich (icing b/n the two cookies) + an ice cream sandwich

Workout - imagined

30 days into the new lifestyle change, I have managed to gain about 5lbs. I started in at about 244lbs and now weigh 249lbs

Hopefully it's muscle gained.

Ha. Optimism.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Growth

So, today, most of my thoughts were spent on getting people together to celebrate a friend's birthday, Greg a.k.a. Old Dirty Greg, he turned 28. Needless to say, I was not super productive at work today. I called his girlfriend to see what kind of cake he would want, the answer, chocolate peanut butter pie. I have never heard of such a concoction. I called Harris Teeter, Kroger, Food Lion, and Whole Foods fruitlessly. Calling Albemarle Baking Company led me to voice mail. Chandler's bakery makes the dessert, but does not stock them regularly - requiring a lead time of 3 days. I tracked down the beast at Hot Cakes. $18 for a small, 6 slice pie and $31 for a 12 slice. So, cake - check. Gift - turns out Greg really desired to own a movie called "Foot Fist Way" - easy enough, I ordered it online from Best Buy for in store pickup - check. Made a bunch of calls to get a venue - Tristan's house - check. Called friends to come - check. I left work at 6pm to pick everything up. Eventually, made it to Tristan's house around 9pm. All was excellent. The cake and ice cream delicious and Greg had a good time. I left before 10pm and got home around 10:10pm.

Passive Aggression:

I come home, and start washing the dishes and taking out the trash. We have a cleaning schedule - credit me - where one of us has to wash dishes and take out the trash for a week at a time. If you are ever at the house, there is a calendar on the fridge, for 2009, A = Alan, J= me, and V=Visa. Pots, pans, and collanders are to be cleaned by the user, with the rest to be cleaned by whoever has kitchen duty. I unload the dishwasher and load it back up again with all of the dirty dishes in the sink. I empty the trash. Alan and his girl are in the living room. His gf's dog on the floor. I need my flip flops to go outside. I see one and am unable to find the other. I proceed to go outside and take the trash outside, barefoot. I come back in and search again for the missing flip flop. Alan asks if I need assistance, I reply, I should be able to find a flip flop on my own. Found - hidden between the dog and the couch. With my newly completed pair of flip flops on my feet, I go to the kitchen to finish cleaning. I wash my pots and pans. I wash my silpat. Alan's asks, "is there anything wrong?" - I of course reply, no, I just want to finish my duties so I can go to bed. Dishes done, I proceed to wash the stove and some counter space. As I am scrubbing away, I begin to take inventory of what's around me. I bought a giant pack of cheap towels to use around the kitchen. I see a dirty pile of them on the counter. They do not wash them, and after I launder, they magically reappear, ready to be used. There is one coke zero left, lone, from what was once a 12 pack. They do not buy coke zero, but drink them. As I am scrubbing the stove, Alan asks again, if something is wrong, I tell him the same thing, I want to finish so I can go to bed.

The only difference between unjustified anger and justified anger is how long you hold on to it. I finish cleaning the kitchen, the stack of dirty towels still on the sink. Pots, pans, a baking sheet, and a collander, still dirty, adjacent to the towels. I have a right to be angry right?

Reality:

I am full of anger, and have been banging around the kitchen and frantically making a scene in the living room in front of Alan and his girl, picking up things and moving them around to find my magical flip flop. I do not address them or ask them how their days have gone.

Less than 30 minutes after leaving a gathering that I helped arrange, I am full of spite. Who am I?

The dish towels - I do wash them every week. Though mentioned in passing, I have not explicity said to Alan and Visa that they need to wash them, why would they, seeing as I do it.

The soda - there were probably less than 6 left that they could have consumed. In a house of roommates, unless explicitly stated, the rules of the jungle are that you can eat anything, but can't take the last of anything. This leads to drops of OJ and milk left in the fridge. Single sodas where cases once stood. And a quantity of one egg remaining, in what was once a sheet of 2 and a half dozen. When they ask for a soda, I never deny. Do I feel the anger because they hadn't asked me if they could drink the ones they did, if any at all?

The state of the kitchen - I am not a clean and tidy person. How can I expect them to judge me on my best intentions while I judge them on their actions - or inaction? It is my week to do the dishes and tidy the kitchen. While it may be true that the kitchen was spick and span, on the surfaces at least, after I was done. It is totally Visa's right to go downstairs and clutter the kitchen once more. Do I like it? No. But he is not doing it to piss me off, he's doing it, because he's hungry.

After my hissy fit, Alan and his girl went upstairs to watch a movie. I went to my room to eat the last whopper jr. of the night. I started watching How I Met Your Mother and ate the burger. The rage subsided. Then guilt moved in. After eating, I smoked a cigarette. During which, I came to the conclusion, that the perceived injustices against me did not justify my childish behavior tonight. A few short moments later, alone with my thoughts, I knew I had to apologize to Alan and his girl. I did. I went in with the intention of saying my part, what I had done wrong, and that it was wrong of me to act that way. It became drawn out. I was asked why I had felt agitated. I said. Careful not to attack, I tried to stick to principles. I will not repeat what was said, but there was no calculated anger on my part. No underlying motive to "win." I want to be part of the solution and stop discussing the problem. I supressed my urge to keep score and negate the opposing points.

Change:

For all of my fans and followers of this blog. (Could be fan and follower.) My natural inclination is to argue - no matter what. If I could have answered you honestly, just a couple of years ago, whether I would rather be right or happy...right would have been my desire, even if it meant misery for me.

My tolerance of the wrongs done to others by me has diminished to the point where it causes distress in my person to know that I have rooked someone else. Though, this doesn't make me perfect - it allows me to grow. To get better, to take action, to try, and be...a better person.

How did I, within 30 minutes of being part of a celebration, turn into such a wretched troll?

The more important question, is how, did I, get to the point where I apologize for things and take ownership of my shortcomings as a human being?

I am grateful. We all have faults, and I can attest, that I can not always see my faults. But when I do notice them, I do not let them own me. When I see the good in others, I am at peace with the world. When I see nothing but unmatched expectation, surely, there is some sort of internal turmoil within me.

Day 30 - Thursday, April 9

Previous night's sleep - terrible - 5 hours - I went to bed after 1 and woke up a little bit after 6

Consumption - bad

Post workout - whey + water
Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bare Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - meatloaf, a double serving of mashed potatoes, gravy, a roll + 6 chicken wings w/ ranch
Snack - the rest of the meatloaf above
Dinner - whopper jr. + spicy chicken sandwich from burger king
Dessert - small slice of Kroger Turtle cake + small slice of peanut butter cake from Hot Cakes + some vanilla ice cream
Snack - whopper jr.
Casein + water

Workout - Cardio - excellent
1 hour at an average of 69% max heart rate - 144 beats/min on avg. on the interval setting of the elliptical machine

So, at work, they started this walking program, you get prizes for hitting milestones of miles walked/ran - 30 miles by May I think is the first and 400 miles by October

I didn't go on the kick-off walk today, seeing as I stuffed my face with meatloaf and chicken wings right before the walk. People won prizes - $100 in massage gift certificates...I wish I had walked...

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Day 29 - Wednesday, April 8

Previous night's sleep - decent - 7+ hours - broken - I went to bed around 2:15am with the intention of waking up at 6am to go to the gym. I ended up waking up after 9 with 20+ missed phone calls. Sorry Mike and Rana.

Consumption - mixed bag

Breakfast - 3 small slices of pizza - 1 w/ pesto, spinach, and goat cheese and 2 w/ the same as the other plus pepperoni
Lunch - went to Riverside North - had a bacon cheeseburger sub - think hamburger, multiple patties, on a sub roll - w/ everything - *Note - everything includes relish - I did not know + fries w/ ketchup and plenty of black pepper
Post Workout - Whey + Water
Dinner - steamed broccoli + 2 x nathan's hot dogs - 1 x bun, honey dijon mustard and diced onions - the other plain w/ the broccoli
Snack - a chocolate chip cookie sandwich w/ icing and walnuts in the middle + a portobello mushroom sandwich - 1/4 of a giant cap + 1/2 a sub roll w/ cheese and various condiments - credit visa

Workout - Triceps + legs

Skull crushers - E-Z curl bar - 3x10 approx. 90lbs - ~40 on each side
+Leg Press Machine - 3x10 170lbs + calf raises w/ same weight - 3 x 30 (10 each at toes straight, pointed in, and pointed out)
+ Leg raises on a decline bench - 3x15 - legs extended and coming up past 90 degrees from the ground - killer - done in between exercises - on the last set, held legs off the ground for 20 seconds.
Seated overhead dumbbell extensions - 3 x 10 - 45lb (1 dumbbell) - 3rd set was done standing because there were no free benches
+Quad extensions + hamstring curls - superset - 1x10 each 50lbs plus 2x10 each 60lbs
Close grip bench - E-Z curl bar - 1x20 90lbs + 2x15 approx 120lbs
+Squats - no weight - 2x10 + 1x15

Had a good workout today. It's weird that my triceps do not out muscle my biceps by such a large amount. I'll have to work on that.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Day 28 - Tuesday, April 7

Previous night's sleep - mixed - 7.5 hours - broken - went to bed around 1:10am, woke up at 6am, to go to the gym. Rana was supposed to call me to wake me up to go, so I figure, free sleep, I go back to sleep, and wake up when she calls. She didn't. I woke up again around 7:25am. Again, with the free sleep. Woke up a little after 8am, and then again at 8:45am when Rana texted me to say that she had overslept. I was then about 15 minutes late to work.

Consumption - not good, not terrible.


Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bare Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand
Lunch - beef stroganoff over egg noodles, steamed broccoli, and potatoes O'Brian (hash browns, peppers, and onions) - the broccoli from work looked disgusting - bland in color and limp, the florets were mush and the stems somewhat retaining some firmness, but definitely no crunch - surprisingly good, I wouldn't be surprised if the broccoli was bathed in butter and salt after said requisite steaming
Snack - shredded lettuce, light Caesar dressing, and chicken salad
Dinner - Buffarella w/ bleu cheese and celery - at Wild Wing Cafe - money - though, the chicken inside was not crispy - better for me than wings I suppose
Snack - popcorn - watched Fast and Furious - not worth it, not better than the first
Snack - pizza - two small pieces, equivalent to about 1 slice of a large pizza - credit Visa - portabello, mozz, tomato sauce, and alfredo sauce.

no workout

takeaway: I need more sleep. Period point blank.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Day 27 - Monday, Apri 6

Sleep - poor - 5.5 hours - at most - start/stop - poor - went to bed around 1:30 and woke up around 6:15am

Consumption - good during work, not terrible after

Post Workout - Whey + water
Breakfast - fat free vanilla yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bare Naked Granola - bought the fat free Kroger brand - 10 less calories per serving (1 cup) than the Dannon light and fit - terrible mistake - will never do it again. I don't know if it's Fat Free or because it's Kroger brand, either way - regret.
Lunch - potato salad + tuna salad + salad - lettuce, onions, bell peppers, croutons, sunflower seeds, fake bacon bits, and lite caesar dressing
Snack - more of the aforementioned salad
Dinner - approximately 10pm - Pizza - pesto, spinach, and goat cheese + pesto, spinach, goat cheese, and pepperoni - ate about the equivalent of a medium Domino's pizza - I bought the pizza dough from EndZone Pizza - about $2 for the dough in the two pizzas, stretched and rolled it out and topped with the aforementioned - ate while watching the latest episode of 24.

Workout - biceps and shoulders - awesome - I'm getting stronger
seated curls dumbbells - 1x8 + 2x6 45lb
+ military dumbbell press - 3x10 45lb
+ seated shrugs w/ dumbbells - 3x10 45lb hold 10 seconds on last rep
standing curls - E-Z curl bar - 3x10 approx. 70lbs - 30 on each side
+standing flies - 1x10 25lb + 2x10 20lb
hammer curls dumbbells - 1x10 20lb + 2x10 25lb
+front raises w/ dumbbells - 3x8 10lb approx. (left, right, then together = 1)
+ standing bent over reverse butterfly - hits the rear delt - 3x10lb
Leg raises on a decline bench - 3x15 - legs extended and coming up past 90 degrees from the ground - killer - done in between exercises - on the last set, held legs off the ground for 20 seconds.

the "+" indicates a superset

I will attempt to workout tomorrow before work. I have a bunch of errands to run tomorrow after work and so can't go to the gym after work - still have yet to submit my taxes. Procrastination definitely works right now.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Day 26 - Sunday, April 5

Sleep - decent - 6+ hours - start/stop - decent - went to bed past 2am and woke up around 9:30am

Consumption - train wreck

Breakfast - 4 x sausage patties, 4 x fried eggs (sunny side up), lots of rice - trust me, it will change your life + 2 or 3 ice cream sandwiches + 1 x can of coca cola followed by a two hour nap.
Lunch - 3 x sausage links, 1 nathan's hot dog - no bun, 3 x fried eggs (sunny side up), lots of rice + 2 x cans orange crush soda + 1 or 2 ice cream sandwiches
Dinner - pho noodles - credit visa - plus 2 ice cream sandwhiches

So...I did very little today

The weather outside was beautiful...after a late start I ate a coma inducing breakfast and watched How I Met Your Mother until I passed out. Then I woke up and picked Alan up from the Audi dealership and came home and did it again, except, I didn't sleep this time around, but watched many more episodes...

Also, I made chocolate covered strawberries for work tomorrow - think of it is a repayment of debt to Mary. A couple of weeks ago, maybe more like a month ago, I catered an event and asked Mary if she could make some of her famous brittle. She asked that I provide the ingredients and she produced. Her brittle is crunchy without being hard. I can not convey how good it is. Salted butter, hershey bars, sugar, slivered almonds, and chopped walnuts...

so good. So, tomorrow, I will bring her some chocolate covered strawberries along with the makings for the strawberry granola parfaits mentioned yesterday.

Day 25 - Saturday, April 4

Sleep - good - 7+ hours - start/stop - poor - I went to bed past 3 and woke up after 11

Consumption - poor at best

Breakfast - I can't remember if I ate breakfast...
Lunch - hamburger w/ american cheese, ketchup, mayo, lettuce + hot dog w/ ketchup, mustard, onions + the best macaroni and cheese in the world (heavy cream, smoked gouda, pancetta, and shells), and more
Dinner - 1 hamburger w/ two patties, cheese, egg, ketchup, mayo, lettuce + 2 hot dogs - ketchup, mustard, relish, onions + 2 x chicken legs + ice cream sandwich + 2 sliced strawberry, granola, vanilla yogurt parfaits


I had a barbecue at my house this afternoon, cooked some burgers, hot dogs, chicken legs, and the best macaroni and cheese in the world along w/ some parfaits.

It was good.

20+ people - spent around $100 and have plenty of food left over - people also brought food.

Day 24 - Friday, April 3

Sleep - 7 hours - decent - i woke up at 6am and went back to sleep, woke up again at 7:30 to see 18 missed phone calls on my phone - I missed the gym this morning

Consumption -meh

Breakfast - lowfat peach yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bare Naked Granola
Lunch - clam chowder + 8oz flat iron steak w/ cheesy mashed potatoes at TGI Fridays
Snack - yogurt + granola
Dinner - some sort of spicy tom yum soup at Thai 99
Snack - Noguri ramen noodles w/ the left over tom yum soup + rice
Dessert - 1/2 pint of Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Day 23 - Thursday, April 2

Previous night's sleep - good - 7.5 hours - start/stop - good - went to bed a little after midnight and woke up before 8am

Consumption - off track

Breakfast - lowfat peach yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bare Naked Granola
Lunch - a side of potato wedges w/ ketchup and mayo (try it - it's good) + 1/2 of the following - meat loaf w/ two servings of mashed potatoes, gravy, a roll
Snack - small banana
Snack -the rest of the meatloaf
Dinner - 4 Take It Away sandwiches - they're small and I combined 4 into 2 - 1 w/ bread, dressing, turkey, and roast beef + 1 w/ bread, dressing, veggies, turkey, and 2 servings of cheese + 1.5 cookies (they have awesome cookies - an oreo cookie - think chocolate chip cookie with crushed oreos instead of chocolate chips + 1/2 an oatmeal raisin and dried cranberry cookie)
Snack - lowfat peach yogurt w/ vanilla almond crunch Bare Naked Granola + two hot dogs w/ ketchup, mustard, relish and onions + 1.5 cookies - 3 x 1/2 of white chocolate and macadamia nut, oatmeal raisin and dried cranberry, and an unknown - perhaps made w/ molasses

I have been obsessively watching How I Met Your Mother, and it's awesome. Still haven't seen the end of Battlestar Galactica but plan on doing it this weekend along with my taxes, having a barbecue, amongst other things.

Out.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Day 22 - Wednesday, April 1

Previous night's sleep - poor - went to bed past 1am and woke up around 6am

Consumption - good at work - not so good after

Post - workout - whey + water
Breakfast - lowfat peach yogurt w/ raw rolled oats added - pretty good. the uncooked oats are very chewy and nutty in flavor, though I think i would prefer if they were toasted, unfortunately, I don't have access to a toaster or oven at work.
Lunch - salad w/ diced ham, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, sunflower seeds, fake bacon bits, croutons, and balsamic vinaigrette + tuna salad + seafood salad - all together, weighed about 1.25lbs. ate 3/5's of it for lunch and later for a snack
Snack - small banana
Snack the rest of the aforementioned salad
Dinner - steamed broccoli and a hot dog w/ relish, mustard, and ketchup
Casein + water
Snack - hot dog w/ relish, spicy brown mustard, and ketchup + jalapeno Cheetos (money) + some chunky monkey - about 1/2 a pint

It was the after dinner that did it. I totally wasn't hungry and was ready to eat some vanilla yogurt and granola.

Workout - cardio - on track - 1 hour at 60% heart rate (avg. 131 / minute) on the elliptical machine

I don't think I am going to workout before work tomorrow - my entire body is sore, I was planning on doing biceps and shoulders, but my shoulders are sore, possibly from doing chest and back on Monday. Maybe I will squeeze some cardio in, but my knees are starting to not feel so good...we'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Who knows what tomorrow brings...

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Day 21 - Tuesday, March 31

Previous night's sleep - 4.5 hours - poor - start/stop - poor - went to bed past 1:15am and woke up around 6:30am

Consumption - decent - with crappy ending

Post workout - whey + water
Breakfast - Dannon vanilla Light and Healthy yogurt + some bear naked granola and 1 small bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk - I had less than enough yogurt and granola so ate some cereal at work
Lunch - Panera bread - 1/2 a bacon turkey bravo and french onion soup and baguette
* achievement unlocked - did not eat any Maggie Moo's for dessert w/ everyone else
Dinner - steamed then sauteed broccoli w/ pan seared salmon w/ herbs de provence - what was supposed to be dinner from the previous night - I left it at home and went out to eat for lunch
Dinner - again - bad - wings from Wild Wing Cafe - 8 x Boss + 8 x Slayer - w/ celery and two bleu cheese dips
* for some reason, I always want to eat ice cream after wings...I have some Chunky Monkey in the freezer - but didn't eat it...it's Ben & Jerry's just in case you were wondering.

Workout - Cardio - on track - 1 hour at 60% max heart rate - actual - avg. of 125 beats per minute

I bought a heart rate monitor last night on the interwebs that Al Gore created - it is a Reebok precision trainer xt heart rate monitor w/ chest strap - if it comes in the mail, I'll let you know how it goes. I picked it up for $30 from Buy.com. I am concerned because it's been more than 24 hours since I placed the order and I have not received a confirmation email from them...though I do have my paypal receipt for the purchase. I guess it's out of my hands.

I hope to do cardio everyday and lift 3 x per week. I will start by trying to go to the gym Monday through Friday in the mornings before work. Let's see how tomorrow plays out.

My chest, shoulders, abs, and back are very sore. I know that it's working and for that, I appreciate the soreness. No protein before bed, I figure I got enough from wings.

Until tomorrow...

Monday, March 30, 2009

Day 20 - Monday, March 30

Previous night's sleep - 7 - good - but broken - went to bed at 12:45am woke up at 6am, then slept intermittently until 8:20am.

Consumption - same old modus operandi - good at work - poor after

Post workout - whey + water
Breakfast - Dannon vanilla Light and Healthy yogurt + some bear naked granola
Snack - almonds
Lunch - tuna salad, macaroni salad, seafood salad and a couple of cherry tomatoes - the salad bar downstairs was out of lettuce - go figure
Pre-workout - whey + water
Post-workout - whey + water
Dinner - 1 burger w/ white cheese, ketchup and mayo + 1 nathan's hotdog w/ brown mustard, relish, and ketchup plus a couple of baked curly fries and baked onion rings - credit Visa.
Casein + water before bed

Workout - good - chest and back

Bench press machine - 1x10 at 120, 140, and 160lbs
+ Pulldowns - 1x10 at 120, 140, 130lbs
Butterfly machine - 1x10 at 110 and 130lbs - then 5 at 150lbs, 3 at 140lbs and 130lbs
+ Seated Rows - 3x10 at 120
Incline dumbbell press - 3x10 at 45lbs
+ Dumbbell Row on a decline bench - 3x10 - 35lb
Leg raises on a decline bench - 3x15 - legs extended and coming up past 90 degrees from the ground - killer - done in between exercises

the "+" indicates a superset

My chest is sore and the muscles twitch randomly. I need to do the machine more often or find a gym I can do benchpress at to box out my chest.

I woke up today around 6am because I was supposed to workout w/ Mike in the morning. I looked at my phone and saw his text message from last night saying he was going to skip today and move it to tomorrow. Without my commitment to be there with him, I did not go. I need to get over this.

Tomorrow, we are slated to workout before work. The goal, 1 hour or more of cardio at 60% max heart rate.

Oh, and for dinner, when I got home, I actually cut up and steamed some broccoli and pan seared some salmon. But when my roomies started cooking up burgers and hotdogs, I gave in - the good news is that I did not go ahead and eat both meals ==> the salmon and the hotdogs and burgers - I will eat what would have been a healthy dinner for lunch tomorrow.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Day 19 - Sunday, March 29

Sleep - poor - 5.5 hours - start/stop - poor - woke up at 9:30am

Lunch - salad w/ bacon bits, croutons, eggs, 1xsliced beet, bleu cheese dressing + 4 pieces of pepperoni pizza
Late lunch - two cheeseburgers - ketchup, mayo, and A1 + 1 hot dog (nathan's) w/ ketchup and mustard
Dinner - cheeseburger - ketchup and mayo + 1 hot dog (nathan's) w/ ketchup and mustard

The week begins as does the working out and eating better. Moving forward, the weekend excess should be tapered down.

Day 18 - Saturday, March 28

Sleep - good - 7 hours - start/stop - poor - woke up at 11

Consumption - very bad

Breakfast - eggs, sausage, bacon, rice, buttermilk biscuit
Snack, lunch, snack, dinner -burgers, hotdogs, ribeye, chili, chips and salsa, potato salad, and brats

Day 17 - Friday, March 27

Previous night's sleep - 4.5 hours - poor - start/stop - 2am, woke up at 6:30 am - poor


Consumption - declining in quality

Post workout - whey + water
Breakfast - Dannon vanilla Light and Healthy yogurt + some bear naked granola
Snack - sausage and egg biscuit w/ 2 sausage patties
Lunch - salad w/ diced ham, fake bacon bits, light caesar dressing, croutons + chicken salad w/ raisins, sunflower seeds
Dinner + snacks - burgers, hotdogs, ribeye, chili, chips and salsa, potato salad, and corn bread


Workout - morning before work - good - Tri's and legs

Skull crushers - E-Z curl bar - 3x10 approx. 60lbs - 25 on each side
Squats - no weight - 3x10
Modified Skull crushers (elbows further back - bar does not touch forehead, but comes down beyond head) - E-Z curl bar - 3x10 approx. 60lbs - 25 on each side
Lunges - no weight - 3x10 (each leg - alternating legs b/n each rep)
Close grip bench - E-Z curl bar - 2x15 + 1x25 approx 85lbs
Quad extensions + hamstring curls - superset - 3x10 each
Hanging Leg raises (knees bent) - 2x20


After lunch all food consumed was at the lake house.

Played some three on three basketball at the lake house - supposedly at 60% effort, but I guess their 60% is different from mine - I was definitely tired, but we did win.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Day 16 - March 26

Previous night's sleep - 7.5 hours - excellent - start/stop - around midnight, woke up before 8am - excellent

Consumption - good

Breakfast - vanilla Light and Healthy yogurt (dannon?) + some bear naked granola
Lunch - salad w/ diced ham, fake bacon bits, light caesar dressing, croutons + chicken salad w/ raisins, sunflower seeds
Snack - banana
Snack - yogurt and granola - see above
Dinner - broccoli sauteed then steamed w/ water and pho broth paste + pan seared salmon - about 10oz. with burger seasoning and olive oil


So, tomorrow we go to lake Anna. I am stoked. It is not a business venture, but certainly planning for it has taken some work. Many players involved, calls made, reservations put in - my role - the food.

I spent $200 at Sam's Club today. 17lbs of ribeye, yielding 13 x 1.5" steaks, 36 nathan's hotdogs, 3lbs of bacon, 36 eggs, 20 brats, 10lbs of hamburger, 36 hamburger buns, 36 hot dog buns, 2 bags of Tostitos scoops, among other things.

Though the planning phase and the execution of great food takes effort, the results and the eventual eating of said feast keeps it in perspective. I've packed all the fresh food from Sam's in two coolers in the back of my car on ice. I will collect all the dry goods and prepare for shipment tomorrow right before we leave. I have an excel spreadsheet to help me keep track of things - I am not ashamed. For me, the food comes first. Suffice it to say, that I will stray from my better eating habits this weekend.

Today I heard about a college dropout who became a U.S. Senator and was briefly in the running for President a couple of decades ago.

Hope springs eternal as part of the nature of our over optimism. I have traded my constant joy seeking behavior for the pursuit of happiness through knowledge of myself. No longer am I fear driven all the time, though it does creep in. False optimism and delusions of grandeur have given way to genuine hope and grounded confidence.

Truly, there can be no end to a suffering you can not place.

I am grateful.

Takeaway of the day: Burger seasoning is awesome and goes on everything, from eggs to fish.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Day 15 - Wednesday March 25

Previous night's sleep - 5.5hours - bad - start/stop - mediocre - went to bed at 1am woke up at 6:30am

Consumption - good during business hours, bad after

Post workout - Whey + water
Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - a couple of chili+lime almonds
Lunch - chicken breast w/ some kind of sherry sauce - gravy like consistency, brown rice, broccoli, and a small roll w/ butter
Snack - small banana
Dinner - 1 english muffin + 7oz (dry weight) shells w/ cheese - a smoked gouda, heavy cream, cracked black pepper, garlic powder, salt

Workout - 7am - Cardio - goal met
1 hour on the elliptical machine at greater than 60% max heart rate (125+ on avg) - interval setting, 2 minutes low resistance, low incline, 2 minutes high resistance, high incline

I hope to workout tomorrow before work. If I can get into the habit of working out in the mornings consistently, I will not miss or cut them short after work because of obligations as I do not have any outstanding obligations b/n 7am and 9am.

The bad news is the food. Yes, I am doing better, but the urge to finish what I have in front of me and tonight that hankering for the smoked gouda mac'n cheese just hit me. After work, I shopped for about 1 1/2 hours at Harris Teeter and Food Lion. (Some friends of mine rented a house at lake Anna for this weekend and we're gonna have a cookout. Current budget exceeds $200 - working budget - actual - is about $180. No matter, I don't mind paying extra for good food.) I was essentially starving for about an hour, the snack I had after lunch just didn't cut it. No extra protein before bed tonight due to the gastro error for dinner. Next time, I will dish the food out into a bowl/plate instead of eating it from the pot I cooked it in. Meh.

Tomorrow is a new day.

Takeaway - smoked gouda tastes like bacon - would taste better w/ bacon - I've had smoked gouda mac'n cheese w/ bacon and it was the best mac'n cheese I've ever had in my life. Epic. Credit - Charlie + Timberwood

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Day 14 - Tuesday March 24

Previous night's sleep - 7.5 hours - excellent - start/stop - excellent - went to be around midnight, woke up before 8am

Consumption - good

Breakfast - Whey + water
Lunch - salad w/ diced ham, fake bacon bits, light caesar dressing, croutons + chicken salad w/ raisins, sunflower seeds + 1 slice of double fiber wheat bread
Snack - aforementioned chicken salad w/ 1 slice of double fiber wheat bread
Whey + water - pre-workout
Whey + water - post-workout
Dinner - two thin pork chops, a little bit of gravy, and some rice - credit - Visa for dinner
Casein + water

Workout - biceps and shoulders
seated curls dumbbells - 2x10 40lb, 1x8 40lb
military dumbbell press - 3x10 40lb
+ seated shrugs w/ dumbbells - 3x10 40lb hold 10 seconds on last rep
hammer curls dumbbells - 3x10 25lb
standing flies - 3x10 20lb
standing curls - E-Z curl bar - 3x10 approx. 60lbs - 25 on each side but one of the 25's has a crack in it and seems to be missing some heft.
upright row - E-Z curl bar - 3x10 approx. 60lbs - 25 on each side
+ standing bent over reverse butterfly - hits the rear delt - 3x10lb
Sit-ups - decline bench - 3x30 - between the above exercises

Today was a great day in terms of sleep, consumption, and workout. I definitely curled more than I thought I could - even though the gut doesn't leave at least I'm getting stronger. Consumption was good today. I felt motivated today after the workout. I hope the motivation carries me into tomorrow morning, when I'm supposed to wake up at 6:30am to go and do cardio at the gym with my buddy, Mike. I figure, even if I don't want to do this, even if I don't think I will lose the weight, that as long as I take the actions of going to the gym, eating better, and sleeping better, that eventually, it will happen.

Action.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Day 13 - Monday March 23

This morning, at the gym, I weighed most I have in the past two weeks - 248lbs. Probably the past couple of months. Is my body going the wrong way? Next weight check at the end of the month.

Previous night's sleep - 4.5 hours - poor - start/stop - poor - I went to bed at 2 and woke up around 6:30am

Consumption - decent

Whey + water - Post-workout
Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Lunch - burger w/ swiss cheese, mushroom, bacon, ketchup and mayo + fries
Dinner - salmon w/ rice pilaf and steamed broccoli from the Biltmore Grill.
Snack - half of a medium archer from Arch's - something w/ brownies, vanilla, and chocolate pudding ice cream
Snack - 1 small fuji apple
Casein + water

Cardio - 7am - goal met
1 hour on the elliptical machine - at an avg of 128+ heart rate


So, the workout stuff is getting there but the diet notsomuch. I hope to workout before work tomorrow so that the rest of my day does not interfere w/ exercise regimen.

Jose reminded me today of my pot belly and man boobs, moobies, chesticles, et al. He pointed out the Arch's in my hands and I threw it away. Motivation.

Day 12 - Sunday March 22

Previous night's sleep - 7 hours - good - start/stop - decent - I woke up at 11

Consumption - poor.

Whey + water - 1 serving
Lunch - onion rings, cheeseburger, hot dog, and chicken wrap from Dairy Queen
Dinner - 1 crispy chicken wrap and a whopper jr. from Burger King
Snack - whopper jr., two 10ct scallops (10ct is size - 10/lb - I ate two)
Casein + water - 1 serving

Day 11 - Saturday March 21

Previous night's sleep - 8+ hours - start/stop poor - I woke up at 1pm - I was up all night killing nazi zombies in Call of Duty

Consumption - notsogood

Lunch - scrambled eggs w/ smoked gouda, jarlsberg, and mozz, w/ two pieces of double fiber wheat toast
Whey protein w/ whole milk - 1 serving
Snack - crackers, the above cheeses, and pepperoni toasted in the oven
Whey protein w/ water - 1 serving - post workout
Late dinner - Meatloaf and rice + crackers w/ above cheeses and pepperoni toasted in the oven
Casein protein w/ water - 1 serving

Workout - chest and back, then cardio

Pulldowns - 1x10 110lb, 1x10 130lb, 1x8 150lb
Incline dumbell press - 3 x 45lb
Seated Rows - 1x10 100lb, 1x10 120lb, 1x10 140lb
Flies - on a machine - 1x10 90lb, 1x10 110lb, 1x130lb - this is the most weight I have ever done on this particular machine
Dumbbell Row on a decline bench - 3x10 - 35lb
Dumbbell press - 5x10 - 45lb - starting at the incline level, decreasing one notch on the bench, finishing flat.
Sit-ups - on a decline bench - 3x30

Cardio - goal met
1 hour on the elliptical machine - at an avg of 130+ heart rate

Day 10 - Friday March 20

Previous night's sleep - 7 hours - good - start/stop - poor

Consumption - during work - decent - after - not so much

Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Lunch - 3 mini burgers from TGI Friday's - the jack sampler - pretty decent - surprisingly not as good w/ ketchup instead of the sauce it came w/
Dinner - two slices of Christian's pizza - downtown location - 1 x tomato and roasted garlic + 1 x spinach, pesto, and goat cheese
Late night - the rest of the pork and noodle combo from Saigon + chicken tenders w/ rice and chili garlic sauce - credit Visa

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Day 9 - Thursday March 19

Adventures in food.

Today we had a financial wellness fair at work. I was asked to help oversee the food. The menu: hamburgers and hot dogs. At work there were to be two electric griddles and a charcoal grill. I went to work armed with a chimney starter, real wood charcoal, tongs, spatulas, lettuce, onion, and tomato. I cut the veggies up the night before. Around 10am, I left my desk to go downstairs to the staging area. We had 160 hot dogs and 40 hamburgers to cook. Food was to be served starting at 11am. In order to use the chimney starter, I need a cinder block or some bricks to spare the concrete the scars of charring. I collect 10 bricks conveniently located by the dumpster. I ask for the grill. The organizer points to a box. I need to assemble the grill. After ripping open the box and using my fingers to screw things in, I realize I need some tools. Get the tools. Assemble the grill. It's now about 10:40am and I have raw food that needs to be cooked. I put 16 burgers across the two griddles. I set up the veggies, condiments and chips up along the tables. Grab some napkins and plates. The plan: to cook the burgers off on the griddles and finish them off on the grill for that charred flavor. Execution: poor. After I went outside to start the coals I came back in to find the burgers just the way I left them. I hear no sizzle. I touch the griddles and they are cool to the touch. After checking the power cords, the power strip, the extension cord, and the other power strip I came up with nothing. I found out later that I had blown a fuse. Sweet. It's almost 11am and people start looking for food.

I notice that it has started to rain. The coals are warmed up and the griddles placed outside to be plugged in there. We get one griddle to work. The burgers have finally started to cook. I put the coals in the grill and throw a bunch of hot dogs on. Backup arrives. Melanie starts working the burgers and dogs. Someone offers me an umbrella and I proceed to tell them that I am anti-umbrella. I say this not out of spite, but because, truly, I am anti-umbrella.

The grill sports a paltry 18 square inches of cooking surface. The grill grate is less than 2 inches above the coals. I could be wrong, but I think that wood charcoal burns hotter than their fabricated compressed counterparts. The hot dogs puff up and blacken on one side and develop a light brown color on the other. Great - black and tan hot dogs. The people will have to wait, the food, after all is free. Just like people will do anything for a free T-shirt, people are very willing to eat any food that is free.

A batch of hot dogs are ready. The burgers transferred from the griddle to the grill. The second griddle had been plugged in outside, inevitably overloading the circuit. Down to zero griddles and one grill. Anxiously people with dressed buns await the arrival of burgers. Some had given up on the thought, taking their consolation hot dog. People have gathered around the table, looking hopefully through the glass door that separates the smokey grill from the temperature controlled office building. The fight for purchase. Hierarchies are established. My progress hindered. It seems that they do not know that I support their purpose, to provide them with food. Instead, I am seen as competition, and not the granter of hopes and dreams. I don't blame them - as their expectations and mine have not been met.

Things work out. The lack of burger frequency allows us to stretch out the hours during which burgers are served. We have plenty of hot dogs. People seem to really like hot dogs that are burned. I am grateful for this. A missing component arrives. Drinks. This occupies the would be consumers.

Credit goes to Melanie. She was a soldier today, working past her commitment with zeal. I want to make her cupcakes. Badass cupcakes.

Due to the imminent rainfall and the potential for the barbecue grill as the only source of heating, the grill and the chimney starter were moved close to the building for fear of downpour, creating a cornucopia of smoke. This is the environment in which she thrived. Props to her.

Later, I was given credit for turning out wonderful food and effective crowd control. I remember telling a woman who asked if the brownies were brownies that they were not, that in fact, they were bite sized pieces of meatloaf. I followed this up by telling someone else that the brownies were made of things found in the office - half & half, cocoa mix, and sugar - which is possible, but not the case. Credit to Sam for the brownies - they were good. I gave much deserved credit to Melanie for her grillmanship.

I am alive. Hopefully no one got sick from my food. I learned today that on the food line the diced onions should come last, or at least after the sliced onions, as they were rationed with the hot dogs in mind. I saw much used for burgers. Also, that if utensils are not given for community food, that someone will use their hands, at first with hesitation, but once that barrier has been breached, and slippery slope ensues.

Previous night's sleep - 6.5 hours - ok - start/stop - poor

Consumption - decent

Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - hot dog - it was a tester - no bun - and was not heated through
Snack - hot dog with ketchup
Snack - hot dog with chili
Snack - 4pm - leftover chicken and pasta w/ smoke gouda - see previous post
Snack - a rainbow M&M cookie
Snack - 8:30pm - slice of cake - really thin
Dinner - 10pm - 4 chicken tenders (about half the size at a restaurant) with rice and chili garlic sauce with some other stuff (oyster sauce, red pepper flakes, sesame oil) - credit Visa
Some lemon grass chicken and rice + pork over noodles (amazing!) - from Saigon Cafe

Workout - none - I stayed at work til around 7 to make up for time spent on the food odyssey.

I continue to go to bed late - the post says 9:30, but it's 1:30am.

I probably won't work out tomorrow - but will need to pull some on the weekends.

I have started looking into incorporation for the catering business. LLC, S corp, C corp, etc.

Funny fact - two women from work came up to me at the end of the day to tell me how great the food was. One said that hot dogs were not normally consumed by her but that those of today were some of the best she'd ever had. Again, I had to give credit to Melanie.

I also told them about my catering venture. They gave me encouragement and support. Solid.

Fin

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Day 8 - Wednesday March 18

I heard a crucial thing today. Being full of resolutions means little if one makes no decisions.

Previous night's sleep - 7 hours - on track - start/stop - poor

Consumption - during work - on track - after work - lacking


Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - 2-3 wedges canteloupe
Lunch - romaine with light caesar dressing + diced ham, croutons. side of chicken salad w/ raisins and sunflower seeds
Snack - the rest of the chicken salad
Snack - post workout - small fuji apple
Snack - a slice of cheese pizza from EndZone - credit Visa
Dinner - A three cheese chicken pasta dish - Bird's eye Voila - (wasn't that good - I ended up adding some diced roma tomato, smoked gouda, and heavy cream - ridiculously good - the smoked gouda tastes like bacon), two small cookies - progress ==> didn't finish the pasta, will eat the rest tomorrow at work

Workout - Cardio - on track - goal - 1 hour @ 60% of max heart rate
33 minutes on the elliptical - avg. heart rate 130. (120 is 60% of my max heart rate)
I need to stretch more before and after.

I was not going to workout today, I felt myself starting to get sick in the morning, but by the afternoon, I was over it. Still sore from Monday. My roommate is sick, I think it made me paranoid.


Today was a good day. Got a lot of work done. Prepped some food for the burgers and hot dogs to be served tomorrow at work at the financial fair.

I definitely am coming to realize that I am passionate about food. Not just about consumption, but the creation of. Don't get me wrong, I love to eat, but knowing how to make great food brings a smile to my face. I have spent hours planning and preparing food - in the past 7 days, more than 15 hours - without getting paid for it. But the opportunity and the experience make it worthwhile. The next 90 day challenge will be to start a catering/personal chef business. Possible business name - Junes Happens, a culinary venture. Need to come up with a mantra and tag lines. I figure overhead would be minimal - I have a kitchen, pots, pans, and cutlery. Variable costs would be food and how much I charge for labor. Profit a function of food margins charged and labor cost. Possible business models:

  • Catering meals for small parties.
  • Showing people how to cook food.
  • Preparing meals in advance for people - students/people on the go.
  • Helping people to budget food.
  • Doing food for people camping out/bbq's/beach outings.
  • Throwing a food party for a client and their guests where we cook the food and get to eat it - like a pizza party - I show them how to cook the pizza - or a sauce party - we get together and make a large amount of sauce for the guests to take home - like marinara.

Possible tag lines/mantras - Making Great Food Accessible. Bringing the family back to Dinner. We'll come over for dinner. We'll come over with dinner. We provide the effort. Fud.

Any thoughts, concerns, issues, personal vendettas, comments, suggestions?

Takeaway - Inspiration without fortitude is damnation.


Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Day 7 - Fat Tuesday - March 17

Sleep - 7 hours - on track - start/stop - poor

Consumption - on track at work - poor after work

Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - 2-3 wedges canteloupe, 10 almonds (roasted and salted)
Lunch - romaine with light caesar dressing
Snack - 2-3 wedges canteloupe
Snack - medium vanilla milkshake and a bacon bleu roastburger from Arby's - buy a drink and get the sandwich free
Dinner - 16 wings - 8 red hot and bleu + 8 boss - Wild Wing Cafe - 2 bleu cheese dips + celery
Snack - funny, I wanted McDonald's soft serve, when I pulled up to the drive through, they told me they were out - not as bad as the time I went to Starbuck's and they told me they were out of coffee...went home, had 6 or 7 chocolate and white fudge cookies w/ some milk. Then had some Thai omelet, rice, chicken and tomatoes - credit Visa.


I am continued to be amazed at the kindness of others - that someone with seemingly little gives so freely of what he has.

Also, today, a man I hold in high respect paid me a compliment - suffice it to say that he said he respects me and sees the good I do.

Lesson of the day - putting things off is bad. It has taken me so much time to write the updates from Friday to today that I had to take a smoke break.

Commitment - do my taxes this weekend.

Progress - so, overall, I continue to do a lot better than I have. Have I achieved perfection? Dominance? Far from it, but it is not the goal so much as the path. The action I take everyday defines who I am, for that moment and in the future. The actions of the past guarantee nothing but can lean me toward a particular direction. I hope to stay attached to the process and not the outcome. With that in mind, and my projected sleep at about 6.5 hours, I am going to bed.

Oh, I watched Blades of Glory today and it was pretty funny.

Day 6 - Monday - March 16

Sleep - 7 hours - on track - start/stop - poor

Consumption - solid

Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - 2-3 wedges of canteloupe
Lunch - half a footlong chicken bacon ranch subway sub - sans cheese - lettuce, onions, green peppers, sweet peppers, the spicy stuff they have on the line, and some ranch.
Snack - 2-3 wedges of cantaloupe
Dinner - the rest of the aforementioned sandwhich
Snack - 2 1/3 fried eggs and a slice of double fiber wheat toast, a small fuji apple. I held out and didn't eat popcorn for 24 - could be chalked up to sloth. An hour before going to bed, the hunger hit and I ate some cheese and crackers - approx. 10 crackers and 15 1cm cubes of cheese.

Workout* - biceps and shoulders
seated curls dumbbells - 3x10 35lb
military dumbbell press - 3x10 35lb
+ seated shrugs w/ dumbbells - 3x10 35lb hold 10 seconds on last rep
standing curls - E-Z curl bar - 1x8, 1x6, 1x5 - approx. 85-90lbs - 25+14 on each side but one of the 25's has a crack in it and seems to be missing some heft.
standing flies - 2x10 20lb 1x25lb
hammer curls dumbbells - 3x8 25lb (left arm, right arm, both arms = 1 rep)
front raises dumbbells - 3x8 10lb (left arm, right arm, both arms = 1 rep)
+ standing bent over reverse butterfly - hits the rear delt - 3x10lb
Sit-ups - decline bench - 2x30 - between the above exercises


*I do exercises in succession switching b/n body parts with minimal rest between individual sets, viz., set of curls, pause, military press
+doing an exercise immediately after - military press, then drop the weight and do shrugs


Lessons of the day:

I need to add more protein to dissipate hunger. I bought 14+ lbs of protein - I will let you know how they work once they come in the mail - I purchased on the interwebs - doi.

Two types, whey and casein.

Whey
  • Reasoning -whey absorbs quickly, within about an hour of ingestion
  • Use - post workout and meal replacement throughout the day
Casein
  • Reasoning - casein absorbs slowly, 7 hours or so after ingestion
  • Use - before sleep to help w/ muscle regeneration and curb late night cravings, mixed in during the day to curb hunger as well

Day 5 - Sunday March 15

Sleep - length - more than 9 hours - awesome. start/stop time - poor - I woke up at 1pm

Consumption - poor

I ate a lot of leftovers from the previous night's event

Lunch - half a thin crust chicken/pesto pizza - palermo's - topped with extra pepperoni, smoked gouda, mozz, and jarlsberg.
Dinner - a quarter of the pizza. also made some gougeres. They came out pretty good, but I had no idea what they looked like from the recipe and had never eaten them before. Ate some crispy beef Visa made. Finished off with some crackers topped with the above cheese and some pepperoni heated up in the toaster oven.

Day 4 - Saturday, March 14

Sleep - 6 hours - I went to bed at 5 or 6am prepping food and watching battlestar galactica

consumption - poor

Lunch - cut up some french baguette and melted mozz and pepperoni on top
Dinner - bruschetta (tomato, mozz, basil), thin crust pizza, chips and guac, brie and fig/orange spread baked in puff pastry with crackers, lots of coke zero, two handfuls of popcorn, a few cookies. Accomplishment - made 4lbs of chocolate covered strawberries but didn't eat any.
Late night - western omelet (no cheese), hashbrowns, and an english muffin (half w/ butter, half w/ grape jelly) - a la the Italian Villa

Workout - more like physical activity - I moved a lot of heavy objects from house to car to venue to car to house - large amounts of food, two loudspeakers, amp, and misc.

Day 3 - Friday - March 13

Previous night's sleep - 6.5 hours - close...

Consumption - on track during the day, nighttime, notsomuch

Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - probably a banana
Lunch - roasted chicken salad on one slice of double fiber wheat bread
Snack - roasted chicken salad on one slice of double fiber wheat bread
Dinner - thin crust chicken pizza - palermo's - I spent much of the night prepping food for an event that I am helping to cater Saturday. I cut up pounds of smoked gouda, jarlsberg, and mozzarella. I definitely ate some along the way. I also tasted some cantoloupe, bruschetta (tomato, mozz + a couple with pepperoni)

No workout.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Day 2

Previous night's sleep - approximately 7 hours - on track

Consumption - on track during the day, nighttime, notsomuch

Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - 1 banana
Lunch - tossed salad with light caesar dressing w/ some roasted chicken salad
Snack - 4 wedges of cantaloupe
Snack - large fuji apple - I didn't get to dinner until 10:15pm - I was busy
Dinner - broccoli steamed then sauteed in olive oil with some oyster sauce, about 1/2 cup cooked rice w/ pot roast (made with london broil, cream of mushroom, tomato soup, and onion soup mix), 4 bites of a concoction of said pot roast w/ spaghetti noodles (credit Alan), a hefty portion of popcorn while watching the latest episode of 24

No fitness today - neutral

Ramblings:

I could go on and on and live with regret about the decisions made today in the realm of diet, but I will not. Being a creature of habit, it takes time to change. My passion for the gastro experience lends to the proclivity I have for mass consumption. I have committed to eating healthier, and today, though not as good as yesterday, was better than the day before.* I see small victories, progress if you will, not perfection. I ate the broccoli upon arriving at my domicile and was greeted with great boastings of badass potroast. Did I eat some? Yes. Did I eat more than I should have? Probably. Did I eat less than I normally would? Unquestionably. The noodles and pot roast, I partook of, the mere novelty intriguing enough to draw me in. Lastly, the popcorn. I like popcorn - a lot. Made with oil, powdered salt (kosher salt ran through a coffee grinder until it produces a cloud), fresh rosemary and thyme (both herbs ran through said coffee grinder). I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ate more than I should have? Of course. But, about halfway through 24, I put down the paper bag (the big kind you get with groceries) that was used to mix everything and stopped eating it. Progress.


So, what does this all mean? Whenever I forget that bending over to tie my shoe is impeded by my 2 and 1/2 trimester protrusion, I will revert. Even when I do remember, I revert. Hopefully, I will change. But, I need time. Not to learn how to diet - I truly believe, that all diets ultimately fail, simply because, at some point, you stop - but to become accustomed to healthier eating habits.


*After work, the night before the 90 days started, I ate 16 chicken wings w/ bleu cheese and celery for dinner - not terrible, certainly not good. On the way home, I stopped and got some McDonald's: 1 ice cream cone, 1 hot fudge sundae w/ nuts, 2 apples pies (1 for 89cents and 2 for a dollar - duh), and an oreo cookie blizzard. Apparently, I knew this commitment was starting. Oh, and typically, for breakfast, I would eat 2 sausage and egg biscuits at work - the last couple of times, it was probably two sausage patties per biscuit along with the egg...

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Course Description: Day 1

So today, which has already become tomorrow, was day 1. The first day of becoming healthy. I have become too fat, too sedentary. I could go on and on about why I have become that way, but instead will outline a plan of action to correct what has happened. For the next 89 days and hopefully continuously for my life, I hope to achieve better health through exercise and better eating habits.

Guidelines:

1. Eat better. Monday through Friday, I will try to eat extremely healthy, with an allowance for some leeway on the weekends.

2. Exercise. I commit to exercise at least 3 days a week, hopefully more.

3. Get more sleep. I commit to getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night.

4. Stick with it, as with most things, it's pretty easy to simply think about changing. I need to take action and keep my eye on the prize: a healthier lifestyle.

Day 1 - 246lbs

Breakfast - 1 bowl of cereal, Honey Bunches of Oats w/ Almonds with light soy milk
Snack - 1 banana
Lunch - tossed salad with light caesar dressing w/ some roasted chicken salad
Snack - after working out - a small fuji apple
Dinner - broccoli steamed then sauteed in olive oil with some oyster sauce, 2 wedges of cantaloupe

Workout
Dumbbell Press - Incline - 3x10 40lbs
Dumbbell Row - on a bench - 3x10 35lbs
Butterfly (Machine) - 2x10, 1 set of 9
Lat Pull Downs - 3x10 90, 100, 110
Dumbbell Press - gradually declining incline - 3x10 40lbs
Seated Rows - 3x10 90, 100, 110
Sit-ups - decline bench - 3x30
Cardio on elliptical - 13 min total - 8 min of 2 min slow and 2 min flat out - 5 min cool down
Cardio goal - 60 min at 60% heart rate - parallel goal 20 min at 80%

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Appetizer

Human life is full of minutiae. Measured in increments of time with an exact account based on the frequency of an agreed upon cesium resonance, it is an exacting measure of our mortality - yet perspective is often lost on how long a particular moment actually lasts. Trying to figure out where things start and stop is an exercise in futility. Years pass, and with them, so do many opportunities. Ironic that when it really matters, seconds and minutes become so precious. Situationally ironic that an invention, allowing us to give meaning to moments could cause us to miss so many. As we hustle, frantically into the fray of our everyday lives, how often do we say to ourselves, if we only had more time.

It is easy to see why we miss so many of the details.

90 days is said to be long enough to become accustomed to change. Not all change of course, nor does this in any way purport to the sufficiency of time needed for acclimation. 90 days should be seen more as a minimum to get something started if it is to mean something. It could be argued that in any one year, there are four such periods. On the other side of it, more than a hundred.