Build Me - An Ongoing Journey

 Wednesday 12/24/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 143.5 - down 1.5lb
Body Fat: 7.3% - up 0.4%
 
Diet:
Pre-Breakfast:
1 small bowl 2% Fat Cottage Cheese and Honey Wheat Germ
Breakfast:
1 medium Egg White Omelet with Lox, Onion, Lettuce, Tomato (Ketchup)
1 bowl Oatmeal
1 very small bowl 2% Fat Cottage Cheese and Bee Pollen
2 medium Apples
            Post-Lunch:
                        A few spoonfuls 2% Fat Cottage Cheese and Wheat Germ
                        1 medium Apple
            Lunch:
1 small plate Salad with Lettuces, Cabbage, Apple, and Other Vegetables/Fruits (Vinaigrette)
1 plate Chicken, Vegetables, a little Potato
                Post-Dinner:
                                5-10 Baby Cut Carrots
                                1 small bowl Oatmeal
                Dinner:
1 small bowl Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup [light broth]
1 plate Chinese Bass and Vegetables [light sauce]
1 cup White Rice
3 Baby Cut Carrots
5 Almonds
 
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
 
The Day:
 
I weighed myself this morning and the results were not favorable.  I lost weight again probably from not eating enough last night.  Even worse is my body fat percent went in the opposite direction.  I really got to get on top of this eating thing for traveling.  I simply am not eating enough when I’m out at restaurants or basically anytime I’m not at a buffet or cooking myself.  My resolution is simply to try and make the scale go up now instead of staying in the middle point.  By the scale going up I will be able to tell at which point is too much eating and then balance it with what I know now to be too little.  Using these two pivot points I think I will become better able to release myself from the constrictions of a non standardized diet plan.
 
For my workout today I went down to my dad’s gym which is located conveniently inside his apartment building.  The gym sucked.  There were two different types of ellipticals that I could try for my HIIT.  At first I tried the one that looked the most similar to my previous experiences.  It was an utter failure.  Once the first high intensity interval began I immediately knew that this wasn’t going to work.  The machine did not provide enough resistance, but if you tried to increase the magnetism it would become impossibly hard to move.  There was no good linear progression for each resistance level.  Basically it was terrible for HIIT.
 
I moved onto the next machine, restarting the HIIT activity.  It too had issues.  The design was very uncomfortable as it inclined my feet way too much causing pressure on the balm of my foot; also causing my foot to slide forward on every step.  It also had linear progression issues as for whatever reason it was too easy for almost every level except the last two which became almost impossibly hard (I nearly collapsed on the last interval because of this).  To top it off, even with all the exertion I gave, I still only burned 287 for 20 minutes of HIIT.  That’s way way below my normal.  Just for the records incase I’m ever needing to be on the same machine again (hopefully never) my rest intervals were at approximately 140-145rpm while my intensity intervals were at 180rpm.  The only good thing about today was that all the calories added up because of trying out the different machines means I still burnt my normal amount if not more than it.  Also, there’s the fact that I completed the movements.  That’s always good.
 
At night it was pushup time and I really did ****ty.  My form was bad and my pace was terrible.  I almost didn’t complete the reps or the sets.  I feel like this lack of energy is most likely due to my diet.  But, my sit-ups at least were all right, the normal.  Hopefully the changes I made will carry and tomorrow I will awake with a much needed boost in performance.
 
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #20.

 Thursday 12/25/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 145.0 - up 1.5lb
Body Fat: 6.9% - down 0.4%
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 medium Pear
1 small-medium Apple
1 large “pan-sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper (Mustard)
1 small bowl Oatmeal
                Pre-Workout:
                                1 medium Apple
            Lunch:
1 medium Pear
2 slices Whole Wheat Spelt Bread with Turkey, a little Roast Beef (Mustard)
1 small slice Whole Wheat Spelt Bread with a little Roast Beef (Mustard)
2 GG Scandinavian Crackers [very low calorie] with a little Turkey (Mustard)
10-15 Baby Cut Carrots
                Pre-Dinner:
                                1 small glass Tomato Vegetable Juice (Tabasco sauce)
                                1 GG Scandinavian Cracker [very low calorie] with a little Ham (Mustard)
                                5-10 small Almonds
                Dinner:
1 plate Lettuce Salad, Tomato (Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar)
1 slice Tomato with Buffalo Mozzarella
1 plate Tuna Steak with German Potatoes
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Today was a little crazy.  I had a good amount of energy to work out, at least at first.  But then, it being Christmas and me not caring because I’m Jewish, I realized the gym problem.  The downstairs gym in the complex is closed, nor does it have any barbells in the first place.  Figuring the best case would be the JCC I decided to walk the city blocks.  Upon arrival (and I should add I did try to call them, but they didn’t answer) I found out that the membership office is closed (but the gym facilities are open).  What does this mean for me?  It means ****!  I couldn’t get a guest pass even though they do offer them because the office that hands them out was closed.  It was ridiculous really.  Either way, I wasted a half an hour walking back and forth.  Now my motivation was plummeting, but I kept with my search.  After various phone calls, and a small argument with my father, I found the solution.
 
I had to pay a 15 dollar fee, but that was hardly an obstacle.  And so I began my workout.  I still had little motivation, and this time unlike usual that did not change.  I burned a little over 60 calories on the elliptical, below normal most likely because of the machine.  I then stepped up the flights of stairs to the fourth level where the free weights room was located.  It was barely a room.  So small, it was me and 5 to 10 other people squished into this tiny sweat aroma filled area.  I had to wait numerous times for all the lifts I needed to complete.  With that said, even though my mind wasn’t where it should have been, I did complete all the lifts.  The best thing I take away is the burn I felt from the squats today and the increase in weights with the deadlift.  I still don’t feel great about the day though.  I know tomorrow that feeling will pass.  Tomorrow I will wake up with the energy I so long for.  But for now, I am depressingly uncomfortable.
 
At least I can say with a little more confidence that my diet is getting in check again.  I still, naturally from my overweight days, worry that I am eating too much when it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to estimate (even more so than before because of all the eating out and inconsistent meals).  But: that is getting better.  I guess as a counter to my melancholy attitude to lifting today I can say that my diet improved.  Meh, but I still can’t deny that nagging sensation that I’m not eating right.  OK, in all honesty, neither of my attitudes today are that great.    It’s simply not a good day.  Tomorrow will be better: I can feel it.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #21.

 Friday 12/26/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 143.0 - down 2.0lb
Body Fat: 6.3% - down 0.6%
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 medium Pear
1 small-medium Apple
1 large “pan-sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper (Mustard)
1 bowl Oatmeal
                Post-Workout:
                                2 GG Scandinavian Crackers with Turkey (Mustard)
                                5-8 Baby Cut Carrots
            Lunch:
1 small-medium Apple
2 slices Sprouted Wheat Bread with Turkey (Mustard)
1 small slice Sprouted Wheat Bread with a little Ham (Mustard)
1 GG Scandinavian Crackers [very low calorie] with a little Ham (Mustard)
1 bowl No Fat Greek Yogurt with Honey Wheat Germ
10-15 Baby Cut Carrots
                Pre-Dinner:
                                2 Vitamin C Pills [10 calories]
                                3 Baby Cut Carrots
                Dinner:
1 small plate Lettuce Salad (Vinaigrette)
1 plate Cod, Ratatouille, French Beans, a little Trout
                Post-Dinner:
                                1 bowl No Fat Greek Yogurt with 10-15 Almonds (Cinnamon)
                                1 small plate Roast Beef (Mustard)
                                3-5 Baby Cut Carrots
 
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
 
The Day:
 
I wasn’t in a particularly motivated mood for running today.  I usually never am in the mornings it seems.  I feel like that will never go away.  Regardless, I felt a certain necessary uplifting from yesterday and that helped.  At around 10:00am I changed for the gym.
 
As only a treadmill and an elliptical were necessary today, I conveniently was able to simply go down 8 levels on the elevator and arrive at the gym.  The small room was packed with an abnormal amount of people, but luckily one of the treadmills was open.  The run itself was fairly good.  I was able, as is now the standard, to run the 1.5 miles without breathing through my mouth (though it was still a good workout and I was sweating by the end).  The only snag I ran into was my Zune kept shutting off randomly.  It did this once, a long time ago, but I haven’t seen that behavior since.  I had to keep restarting it to keep the music pumping in my ears.  If anything this exerted a little extra energy which means more calories (yay!).  After that I started on the elliptical.
 
Meh, like yesterday, it sucked.  All I can say is meh.  Since the machine measures in strides per minute instead of rpm I will use those figures to give you, fellow reader, an idea of what I did.  I started at 135-140 strides/min and increased every 5 minutes by 5 strides/min (the same way  method used for rpms).  The entire movement, all 20 minutes of it, felt more difficult than usual.  The worst part is that it wasn’t more difficult in a physical exertion sense, but more just uncomfortable because I didn’t like the elliptical’s particular way of moving my feet and legs back and forth, up and down.  From those 20 minutes I burned near 237 calories, if my memory serves me correctly.  I’m not even going to bother complaining about the low number: I now realize without being consistent with one machine’s method of counting the idea of keeping track of calories burned per exercise is useless.  Either way, there’s the number for the hell of it.  On another similar discrepancy of calorie counting, the treadmill workout (4mph at 6% incline) to top off the routine clocked me in at 108 calories burned.  Obviously a treadmill should have no inconsistencies between another treadmill; so, how there is a change there I have no idea, no explanation.  I am happy to say that this will be the last day, at least for a long time, I have to use these ****ty gyms of late.  Tomorrow I will be off to my aunt’s house where from experience I know exists two fairly well equipped gyms.  I’m excited.
 
After the workout I decided to eat a post-workout meal.  This is different than normal because usually I end my cardio routine right around lunch time.  Today it was not so.  I ate a fairly low carb, high fiber, snack with an emphasis on protein.  From what I researched this is the best diet plan for post cardio.  Speaking of eating, my body fat and weight took quite a plunge today.  I’m not sure what caused it as I felt like I ate a decent amount yesterday.  In all honesty, I am happy to see the numbers go down simply because this time body fat went down as well.  I do think I should eat more though as I have to be careful to stay at maintenance or slightly above if I went to gain strength while losing body fat.
 
A little later on in the day, following a nice lunch, I went for a walk.  It turned out to be quite a walk.  It was fairly leisurely, but I was moving for at least 2 hours straight.  I’ve found this kind of exercise to be the best fat burner so I’m happy to have done it.  It was a nice time to relax as well.  After the walk it wasn’t quite dinner time yet so I decided to get something in me.  I ate a few carrots figuring they would hold me over till the restaurant reservations.  I also felt the stirring malaise of a cold while on my walk so I decided to take a few vitamin c pills as well.  I only had the chewable kind, for that reason I counted the calories (though I admit it barely matters, but hey why not include them?).  It was a nice afternoon.
 
Following the afternoon came noon and with it dinner.  Dinner was small.  The food was decent, but the portions tiny.  I was still hungry as I left the building and I knew I would have to eat more if I was to stay at maintenance.  A little later, back in the apartment, I decided to eat my post dinner meal.  It wasn’t a lot, but I hope it did the job.
 
And I ended the night with my routine pushups and sit-ups.  It was interesting this time.  For the pushups I again changed up my form after noticing that I really wasn’t leaning over my chest enough.  This change pushed me to the brink.  I completed the first set of 33, but failed at 29 on the 2^nd set and at a lowly 15 on the last set.  I am proud, nevertheless, of this performance.  Why?  Well for one because of the awesome pump this gave my chest.  But also, because I finally realized why I have been lacking motivation for this nightly exercise.  It was because I knew I was cheating myself on the number of reps I could do and that I would have to continue to cheat myself every night.  Now I know I don’t have to anymore.  Next Sunday I will make sure that my form is impeccable in every way I know.  I need a real assessment not this masquerade of a performance I have been putting on recently.  As for the sit-ups, there is nothing wrong there.  I am improving nicely as I should be for the near failure I push myself to.  I am excited as well for Sunday in this regard as I expect a new maximum for my sit-ups.  Overall it was a nice way to end the night, a nice conclusion to a fulfilling Friday.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #22.

 Saturday 12/27/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 142.5 - down 0.5lb
Body Fat: 7.2% - up 0.9%
 
Diet:
            Pre-Breakfast:
                        1 medium Pear
                        1 small-medium Apple
                        1 small plate Egg Beaters with Peppers (Mustard)
                        5 Baby Cut Carrots
Breakfast:
1 plate Egg Whites with Lox, Ham, Leeks
1 bowl Porridge
1 slice 7 grain Toast
                Post-Breakfast:
                                1 small-medium Apple
                Pre-Lunch:
                                2-3 Handfuls Beef Jerky
            Lunch:
1 McDonald’s Southwestern Chicken Salad [grilled, half the dressing, no cheese, no tortilla strips]
                Dinner:
                                1 plate Lettuce Salad with Peppers, Walnuts (Sherry Vinaigrette)
1 plate Haddock with Tomatoes
1 small plate Butternut Squash
 
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
 
The Day:
 
I was surprised to see my weight go down and sadly my body fat go up.  I tried to eat a good amount yesterday and felt like that extra meal after dinner would pack on enough calories to counter for the mediocre portions I talked about.  I guess not.  I feel like my body fat going up is most likely just a standard fluctuation that is cyclical, but I could be wrong here as well.  It is clear, whatever the reasoning, though that I must eat more.  Today is a travel day so it is not the ideal time to pursuit this goal.  But, I will do my best.
 
And the best I did.  I ate all the rest of the fruit at my dad’s house before leaving for the road.  I also happened to find some beef jerky to take along with me.  I’m not going into details since it really is all outlined above in the diet section, but I feel like there was nothing more that I could have done.  I ate as much as possible.  I fear in the end it probably wasn’t enough, but again; I did my best.  I should also take to the time to give fair warning that tomorrow’s diet, in fact the next few days, may be a little off because of my polite courtesy I must give while at my aunt’s stay (meaning I’m not going to go around demanding we go food shopping for the foods I need as she graciously offers me her hospitality).
 
OK, enough talking about the diet.  Today I did get some moderate exercise in (yes it is a weekend so I am resting here as well).  I just thought I should mention that I walked a good amount after breakfast, if that matters.  Well, that’s it for that.
 
I will end this entry on the psychological side of my life.  For whatever reason I was graced with a motivational uplifting and feel more determined now to really push myself in every area.  Especially so did this pulse of energy hit me with the future thought of pushups.  I now am focused and see myself attaining those goals I reread every day.  I feel like some of this week has brought me down somewhat on the mental side.  Well, I’m back.
 
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #23.

 Sunday 12/28/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 144.0 - up 1.5lb
Body Fat: 7.3% - down 0.1%
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 large Pear
1 plate Egg Whites and Turkey [less than usual size]
1 bowl Oatmeal [more than usual]
            Lunch:
2 small Apples
15-20 Baby Cut Carrots
1 small slice Whole Wheat Bread [no HFS] with Ham (Mustard)
2 slices Whole Wheat Bread [no HFS] with Ham, Turkey, Lettuce Salad Mix, Tomato (Mustard)
1 bowl Lettuce Salad Mix, Cucumber (No Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette)
A small sample Mushrooms and Onions (sautéed in Pam and a little Olive Oil)
                Pre-Dinner:
                                5 Baby Cut Carrots
                                ½ Chicken Breast
                Dinner:
1 Lean Cuisine Spaghetti & Meatballs
2 small Tuna Burgers
1 large Chicken Breast
1 small plate Broccoli
1 small bowl Salad (Light Ceasar Dressing)
3 Baby Cut Carrots
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Before I begin I want to let you know that I did not forget.  I did take a picture of myself today.  The reason it wasn’t posted (and won’t be posted for a few days) is my laptop with the camera’s software is not with me at the moment.  On Tuesday I will arrive back home and at that time will upload the photo.  Regarding the details and progress of it, well I’ll leave that dialogue for when I actually post the picture so you can see what I am referring to.
 
I woke up in my aunt’s house this morning and promptly began to raid the kitchen.  I made do with what they had.  I feel like I really need fruit these days for the energy so I was lucky that they had these ginourmous pears which made up for the 2 pieces of fruit I usually eat for breakfast.  They also luckily had some deli meats so I was able to get a good deal of protein (though less than usual) through the turkey and some egg whites that I got from whole eggs (no egg beaters here).  Lastly they had some Quakers instant oatmeal.  I had 3 packets of it.  It wasn’t nearly as good as the old fashioned stone ground, but it was edible enough and did its job as the starchy complex carb of the mornings.
 
After breakfast my aunt graciously gave me some money for food shopping (as she knows I am a foody) and I was able to acquire all my staple eats.  I picked up some more turkey as well as some ham.  I also got a decent sized bundle of apples, egg beaters along with some sweet peppers, some good whole wheat bread with no HFS, lettuce and cucumber (for salads), and of course some mustard to accompany everything.  Breakfast and lunch for the next few days is now secured.
 
Dinner tonight was late and unplanned.  I, along with my aunt and uncle, went to see Benjamin Button which turned out to last longer than expected.  Because of this I had to compensate and forgo a dinner out by instead raiding the freezer and fridge to create whatever concoction I could.  Luckily, a lot was found and I think I did good.
 
After eating my final meal I tested my new maximums.  My pushups failed me at the 30^th rep.  Yes, that’s right: 30.  I am proud of the low number because my form was near perfected.  Instead of my usual flaws of not activating the chest muscles (I wasn’t leaning far enough forward) or not going all the way down (not nearly getting my elbows perpendicular) I suffered simply from a slight slouch towards the lower back that I tried my best to self correct.  I am also happy to be able to say that I increased my sit-ups.  I now did 37.  Both of these new numbers bring along with them new routines.  Actually, this isn’t quite true.  My sit-ups did increase to a higher 28.  My pushups on the other hand calculated around 23 reps.   It is interesting because this is what I have been doing anyway (even when I was apparently doing 50 to 70 pushups as my maximum).  Just goes to show you that in the end you don’t need a calculator to tell you what feels right.  In the end though, it is nice to know now that the two match.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #24.

 Entry #24 Correction:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I reread my last entry and found a mistake.  My new routine calls for like I said 23 pushups for 3 sets.  This is NOT the same as my old routine: it is in fact 10 lower.  This actually makes more sense than my other explanation because I don’t think I could do 33 REAL pushups considering my maximum itself is actually less.  23 is possible.  I plan to pump them out with vigor.


Goodnight.

 Tuesday 12/29/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 145.5 - up 1.5lb
Body Fat: 7.6% - up 0.3%
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 large Pear
1 small Apple
3 packets Instant Oatmeal
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper (Mustard)
                Post-Workout:
                                1 Protein Shake with 1+ scoop Whey Protein Isolate, Berries, Mango, ½ Banana
                                1 small Apple
            Lunch:
                                1 cup Chicken Soup with Couscous, Vegetables, and Meatballs
1 plate Spaghetti and Tomato Sauce
1 plate Cod and Tomato Sauce
                Dinner:
1 plate with 3 Chicken Breasts and lots of Quinoa [low GI grain] (Mustard)
1 small bowl Edamame
1 large bowl Lettuce Salad, Cucumber, Tomato, Avocado (No Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette)
3-5 Baby Cut Carrots
 
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
I woke up today to a large satisfying breakfast.  It was delicious and filling, the perfect combination.  I also woke up to an increase in weight following yesterday’s trendy lead.  This means at last that I have succeeded in the destroying the strength sapping weight loss that had been torturing me since my vacation and since the change in eating.  I now will attempt to maintain this 145 weight again, as I attempted to before, while lowering my body fat (which sadly seems to be fluctuating more and more these days that it is becoming hard to keep track of any progression).  The good thing is tomorrow I head back to my home where I will be staying for the next few weeks (followed by my entry back into 2nd semester college).  With that consistency I should be able to establish a more periodic trend that I can evaluate and adjust to meet my needs.  At least, that’s my goal.
 
My workout today was excellent.  I was motivated, but it was more than just that.  The gym I went to was nice, big, and well lit (I find good lighting can really make a difference on one’s mood).  It, the gym, also had everything I needed.  But, it was more than just that.  The real excellence was that I also found a method to get myself pumped out.  I started breathing hard, forcefully hard, getting myself angry as if I was steaming venom.  I got myself into this blood lust mood where I felt like I wanted to punch something.  While breathing hard with vicious vigor, I grabbed the squat bar, got myself into position, and started the pump.
 
And that feeling went on.  It didn’t stop with the squat.  The results were incredible.  My mind was focused, narrowed, on my muscles.  My strength was rocketing.  The lifts didn’t necessarily feel easier, but my mentality was no longer hindering my performance.  The workout was purely a war of muscle and metal; that is all.
 
With that all said, this is how I did.  The bench press again still felt a little on the light and easy side.  Thursday I will be increasing this.  I’m excited for the change.  At long last I will now have 35’s on each side of the bar (can’t wait!).  Most of my other lifts felt about right.  The shoulder press and the rows seemed slightly slightly too easy.  I will not be changing them this coming Thursday, but next week I plan to increase the intensity of these two movements as well.  After the nice pump from the chin-ups I performed the tricep dips.  These had the same feel as the bench press.  This calls for the same response and fittingly next Thursday I will be decreasing the offset to a more satisfying 20lb (nearing 0!).  That is all for the changes.
 
There are a few leftover side notes that I should mention.  I did the knee raises today using a stability ball as my backrest instead of just a flat pad.  It made it harder and I failed a little earlier than normal on my last set (I like failing on ab exercises, it’s an excellent burn – it really tightens them up).  I wish I could use this type of apparatus more often, but neither my hometown gym nor my college gym offer it.  Oh well, it’s not a huge deal.  Meanwhile on the knuckle pushups I failed at the 9^th rep on the last set.  It was a fatigue that I could feel coming since the 2^nd set.  I, like last night, made sure I was leaning over my chest more and going all the way down while this time also focusing on not slouching my back.  This all lead to a harder exercise.  I have no qualms with the failure though; it just goes to show that I have improvements to make.  And, I will make them.
 
Everything went pretty normal today regarding eating.  I did eat pasta for lunch for the first time in a very long period.  It was OK, but I felt guilty by habit afterwards.  In general, I think I will still avoid it because unlike most other foods I don’t know how to measure it (how much is a plate of pasta anyway?).  I didn’t feel like I ate too much for lunch, but still that unknowing fear regarding the pasta is enough to keep me away.  It’s just one meal though so I won’t obsess over it.
 
This is an update to the above paragraph.  After doing some research it appears that pasta is in fact very healthy for you.  I will make an effort to measure amounts to the point where I can eyeball it so in the future I will be able to add it as a further staple to my diet (it’s also a consistent entrée in the college dining halls – a big plus!).  I am now happy with my lunch because it opened a door to this long banned food.
 
I ended the day with a nice meal of chicken, salad, and this new whole grain.  Pronounced “keen-wah”, it is apparently very low GI, high in protein, higher in everything healthy basically.  It was a good meal to end a good day.
 
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #25.

 As promised, it is Tuesday and I have finally been able to upload my latest progress picture. There really isn't much to say. From my personal point of view I look pretty much the same, in fact, exact the same. The shot I noticed has very uneven lighting and therefore highlights some veins, softens up certain parts, and overall changes my physique. Really though these differences noted are still slight and not much is seen from this picture. With that said, here it is for the hell of it.

 Tuesday 12/30/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 147.5 - up 2.0lb
Body Fat: 8.1% - up 0.4%
Lean Mass: 137.52lb – -1.01lb
Fat Weight: 11.95lb – +1.01b
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 large Pear
1 small Apple
3 packets Instant Oatmeal
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper (Mustard)
            Lunch:
1 small plate Lettuce Salad with Chicken, Avocado (Light Dressing)
1 plate Lettuce Salad with Chicken [some skin] (Light Dressing)
                Post-Lunch:
                                1 whole wheat wrap [1/2 of wrap taken off] with Chicken, Mushroom, Onion (Balsamic Vinaigrette)
                Pre-Dinner:
                                6-8 Almonds
                Dinner:
1 small bowl Lemon Grass Chicken Soup
1 plate Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry with Onion, Pepper (Light Stir-Fry Soy Sauce)
 
                That was my diet.
 
The Day:
 
Today I am disappointed.  I have learned a lesson.  I rephrase the intro, I am not disappointed: I am enlightened.  I can eat too much and I have done it.  My body fat reached levels today not seen in a very long time.  This lighted a darkened cavern that I had not shed sight on before.  It has brought forth a goal that I guess has always been there, but I did not realize.  I want 6% body fat.  I will have it; that is my goal.  It is written.
 
Because of the numbers observed this morning I also decided to keep better track of my lean mass and fat weight.  I won’t go back and edit every post, but I did calculate on my own every journal entry’s lean mass and fat weight.  This is to get a better idea of where I stand on my goals for a body recomposition.  With this new data I am planning to convert to either client side or online software to keep track of it.  I want something that is flexible in that I don’t have to log food or don’t have to log daily activities and count calories.  At the same time though I want something that gives me the advanced options to do such things with graphs, charts, the whole nine yards.  For instance I want to be able to see a line graph of my body fat percent, but also still be able to write daily entries like today’s with my own simplistic form of diet logging.  If you, reader, know of such a service (free please) let me know it’s much appreciated.
 
Most of today I spent traveling back home (4 hours on Amtrak, 2 hour drive… yuck).  But, I did get some walking done as I traversed downtown Philadelphia for a nice lunch followed by a decent post lunch as well.  Also I, much later than usual – in fact at night this time, did, with all determination to succeed and disciplined willpower, get to the gym for my Tuesday cardio.
 
It wasn’t a pleasant gym day.  I had the motivation.  I had the stamina.  But it all went to **** (I love puns).  The first annoyance was the fact that breathing through my nose became difficult during my run.  For the last few cardio run days, this has become easier and easier.  I took this sudden difficulty as a setback.  But, really it wasn’t that bad now that I consider it.  Most likely it was just due to my body being in a different time of day (late at night versus mid morning).  This wasn’t a big issue.  But, during the run something else started to stir in the pits of my stomach… literally.
 
While on the elliptical, my stomach took a lurch.  What started as a minor growl during the run was now a full on stampede.  I figured this was just the signs of an oncoming cramp due to the fact that I was doing cardio right after eating (I usually always give myself a 1 hour break).  I was wrong.  I won’t go into much detail, but during the last few minutes of the exercises at the gym I was ready to burst a monster.  And I monster did burst, an ugly, liquidity, brown, mess.  Luckily, I arrived at the toilet in time.  OK maybe I went into too much detail, but I can’t help myself.  It was quite an experience; especially considering the gym was closing in 5 minutes so I really had to push myself to get it all out of my system if you know what I mean (I’m sure you do :P).
 
Anyway, my guess is that it was something in the Thai food I had for dinner.  After successive trips, the last being at home, I think it is now officially banished.  I did have to do my post stretching at home though (meaning around 15 minutes after actually finishing the workout).  Normally I stretch right afterwards, but this time couldn’t because of… well you know.  I doubt it makes much difference, but I figured I should mention it.  Also, despite the tummy problems, I did go on with the rest of the daily plan and do my pushups and sit-ups.
 
My pushups, as mentioned in earlier entries, is now set at 23 reps for 3 sets; and this time with perfect form.  I gave it my all and succeeded with the first 2 sets (though the 2^nd set may have had some slight slouching or the opposite butt raising issues).  The last set I fatigued on the 21^st rep.  I didn’t give up though.  I rested for 30 seconds and proceeded to pump out the last 3.  I love my determination.
 
The sit-ups, following the pushups, were a huge success.  I did them all, all 27 reps for 3 sets, with good form, isolated focused abs, and no failure.  I felt burns throughout the entire movement, but the 27 reps was a perfect stopping point as by the last one on the last set I knew I was on the brink of fatigue.  I love that feeling afterwards.  I can feel that moving blood.
 
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #26.

 Wednesday 12/31/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 144 – -2.5lb
Body Fat: 6.8% – -1.3%
Lean Mass: 139.68lb – +2.16lb
Fat Weight: 9.79lb – -2.16lb
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 small-medium Pear
1 large Apple
½ cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                Post-Workout:
                                1 small bowl 1% Fat Cottage Cheese with Cucumber (Hot Salsa)
            Lunch:
1 medium Apple
2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Ham, a lot Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
1 Low Calorie Wrap with Ham, 1% Fat Cottage Cheese, Pepper (Hot Salsa)
1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Onion (Low Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette)
15-20 Baby Cut Carrots
                Dinner:
2 Caraway Crackers
6-8 Almonds
1 small bowl 1% Fat Cottage Cheese (Hot Salsa)
1 bowl Black Bean Soup with Tomato, Onion, Carrot
8 Crab Legs (****tail Sauce)
1 plate tons of Shrimp (****tail Sauce), 2 pieces Squash [cooked with a little syrup]
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Before I begin my log I should report that I am very happy with my stats today.  It seems that yesterday’s weight and body fat were flukes.  This morning I found myself back to a good normal that I welcomed with an open smile.
 
Today was in every way an average day.  The workout was, as said average (though I am happy to report that there was no issues down below this time).  I burned 313 calories on the HIIT portion at the gym.  I think I can up this amount.  Next Wednesday I plan to try and hit 90+rpms for my sprints.  Normally I do 85-90, but after experiencing the difficulty of these elliptical machines at home (the ones at college are more intense) I think this change is very possible and beneficial.
 
The only setback during my workout was that my Zune complete froze.  Apparently there is a Y2K9 bug going around (no I’m not being funny; seriously google it).  It wasn’t a huge issue though, I just plugged my headphones into the Cardio TV receivers and watched the news.  Time flies by while I do HIIT anyway, so I was done before I knew it.
 
Afterwards I had a quick snack of protein.  I’ve been struggling to find a way of having a very high protein snack with low carbs and low fat that tastes good.  Today I tried cottage cheese and salsa.  It’s a wonderful combination and I am glad to have discovered it.  I will be using it in the future.
 
And finally there were the last exercises of 2008.  Tonight was an odd night.  My pushups, contrary to yesterday, were performed without failure.  I successfully pushed through all 23 reps on all 3 sets.  Psychologically I feel like the only explanation for this was an error in form, but I didn’t actually notice anything of the such.  Is it possible to gain that much performance in one day?  Maybe the body doesn’t do smooth transitions… Maybe it jumps?  I don’t know.  The sit-ups this time were harder.  I’m not sure if it was mentally more difficult or maybe just all in my head (in a similar, but opposite situation to my pushups).  I didn’t fail though; like the pushups I completed all the movements with passion.  This was a good way to end a good year.
 
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #27.

Thursday 1/01/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 147.0 – +3.0lb
Body Fat: 8.0% – +1.2%
Lean Mass: 141.65 – -1.97lb
Fat Weight: 11.76lb – +1.97lb
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 medium Pear
1 medium Apple
½ cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                Post-Workout:
                                1 Protein Shake with 1 scoop Whey Protein Isolate, ½ Banana, Frozen Blueberries
                                1 medium Apple
            Lunch:
1 medium Pear
2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Ham, a lot Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
1 Low Calorie Wrap with Ham, 1% Fat Cottage Cheese, Pepper (Hot Salsa)
1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Onion (Low Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette)
15-20 Baby Cut Carrots
                Dinner(ish):
a whole bunch of ****tail Shrimp (a little ****tail Sauce)
Deli Turkey
1 small plate Lettuce Salad with Cheese, Walnuts (Heavy Balsamic Vinaigrette)
2 small pieces Breaded Chicken
1 small piece Lightly Breaded Tuna Steak
1 small bowl 1% Fat Cottage Cheese (Hot Salsa)
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
And it looks like my weight is up again.  Maybe I’m obsessing too much over these daily numbers.  One change that I am going to make though is to stop trying to force feed additional food.  I don’t usually do this except at nights where I feel like my dinner is not enough so I respond by adding some extra dishes on the side.  For example last night my mother made a dinner of black bean soup, squash with maple syrup (I should have skipped this; don’t know what I was thinking) and shellfish.  I thought this would be under eating so I decided to add a bowl of cottage cheese and some almonds.  From now on I will stop doing things like that.  We’ll see what the results are.
 
Around an hour after my standard breakfast I was off to the gym.  I got myself all pumped up using the same techniques I talked about on my journal entry for Monday.  It worked.  I feel like the squats were still too difficult to increase the weight for next week.  My deadlifts on the other hand are improving at a very fast rate.  Next week, next Monday, I plan to increase the weight on these again by another 10lbs.  This should bring the total weight to 165lb.  I really want to feel that burn.  Next Monday, as mentioned earlier, my shoulder presses and bent-over rows will be increasing by an increment of 5lbs.  I’m excited for that as well.  After the deadlifts I was on to my new maximum for the bench press, a hefty 115lbs.  I pushed those puppies out with brute force.  It was awesome to have those nice sized 35’s on both sides.  Hell, I remember when I would turn to the left and see 2 small little 10 pounders.  Ah, good times.  Actually today really was quite a day for improvements.  The last needed change I found was on the pull-up.  It was difficult, but I think I can push myself further.  Next lifting day I will be decreasing the offset from 70lb to 60lb.  The pull-up is an exercise that I really want to master so this increase in strength is very pleasing to me.  So, that was pretty much the gym.  One last thing to mention is this time I did all 10 reps for every set of my pushups.  I barely made it through the last push, but made it I did with an angry smirk on my face.
 
I’ll scoot forward now to dinner as it is the only other event worth talking of.  There was no dinner.  It was more just like food at dinner time.  This is because I went to my cousin’s birthday party where dinner was served in the forms of sandwiches, a salad bowl, and a bunch of fatty mayo mixtures that I did not try.  The sandwiches were around 90% bread and the salad was quite clearly full of sugar as the dressing was more akin to syrup.  My plan of attack was to dissect the sandwich to eat the miniscule morsels of turkey inside.  I also had a little of the salad, until I realized how absurdly heavy it was.  The only good thing was that ****tail shrimp was served as an appetizer both before and after the so called main entrée.  I really dived in on these shrimp just to get some satisfactory feeling.  After all of this I drove back home and was presented with some of my step-dad’s cooking.  He made some tuna for himself that I was all too happy to down.  I know I said in my last entry that I wouldn’t do this, wouldn’t add on to meals; but, I think it is clear that today is the exception.  Following this exception I finished the day with some cottage cheese.  The end feeling was that of being full, but nowhere being stuffed.  I hope tomorrows results on the scale will fairly grade my diet performance of today as I tried my best in a turbulent environment to strike the right balance.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #28.

 Friday 1/2/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 146.5 – -0.5lb
Body Fat: 7.1% – -0.9%
Lean Mass: 136.10lb – +1.36lb
Fat Weight: 10.40lb – -1.36lb
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 medium-large Pear
1 medium Apple
½ cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
            Lunch:
1 medium-large Apple
2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Ham, a lot Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
1 Low Calorie Wrap with Ham, 1% Fat Cottage Cheese, Pepper (Sweet Onion Salsa)
1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Onion (Low Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette)
10-15 Baby Cut Carrots
                Post-Dinner:
                                10 Baby Cut Carrots
                Dinner:
1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Avocado (Vinaigrette)
2 plates Flounder [sautéed in Butter and Olive Oil], Quinoa [contained Nuts]
 
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Not much to report today.  The numbers this morning looked good and I was happy to see that.  My diet was in check for the most part.  I did have to have a post dinner snack of carrots simply because I was too hungry.  I don’t think the extra 30 calories is going to make any difference (hell, it’s not like I keep track anymore anyway).  I guess I just care by old habit.  I cooked tonight for dinner as it is one of many New Year’s resolutions of mine.  The flounder turned out slightly overdone, but it was my first time.  With practice, it should turn out delicious.  Tomorrow I plan to continue this new venture into cooking (besides breakfast) by making lunch out of some skinless chicken breasts and the last night’s left over quinoa.
 
The gym was a zoo today.  I did get all my calories burnt out of my body, but not without waiting a frustrating amount of time.  First I had to wait 5-10 minutes just to get one of the treadmills which I’ve never seen completely booked.  That sucked.  Then during my running I found out that hard disk mp3 players, such as my Zune, don’t do too well on crappy treadmills because this treadmill shook so much at 8.3mph that my Zune would simply shutoff every 30 seconds.  I had to run without music.  That sucked.  After my run I was all pumped to hop onto an elliptical, but someone up above said no again.  All the ellipticals were full.  Trying not to make a big deal out of routine breaking I simply decided to do my 10 minute 4mph walk that would normally act as my finisher.  After 8 minutes my mom (who was at the gym with me) got off one of the elliptical, opening it up for me.  Instead of waiting the extra 2 minutes, I decided to snatch the opportunity and immediately started my 20 minutes on the elliptical.  That went well as I could now listen to my music since I was on a machine that didn’t act like it was in a constant state of ecstasy.  To finish the gym day I decided to complete those missing 2 minutes and hopped back onto the treadmill for just that amount of time.  This way I could walk away saying I got my complete workout.  Which I did; and it felt great.
 
Later on it was standard pushups and sit-ups time, the last exercises before my weekend rest.  The pushups, as stated in previous entries, are getting easier.  I’m definitely expecting now a new maximum, determined on Sunday, as that seems to be unquestionably where the trend is directing.  The sit-ups don’t seem to be going at the same pace though.  At 27 reps they are without a doubt almost increasingly difficult everyday.  Today I literally was afraid of muscle failure on the last set.  I made it, but it was not without every ounce of mental will to drive those fibers to contract.  Like I always say though, that burn afterwards makes it all worth it.  And now I get to enjoy a relaxing weekend.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #29.

 Saturday 1/3/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 146.0lb – -0.5lb
Body Fat: 7.4% – +0.3%
Lean Mass: 135.20lb – -0.90lb
Fat Weight: 10.80lb – +0.40lb
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 medium-large Pear
1 medium-large Pear
½ cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
            Lunch:
15-20 Baby Cut Carrots
1 medium-large Apple
2 small slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Turkey, 1 piece Chicken Breast, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Onion (Low Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette)
1 plate of 3 pieces Chicken Breast, Quinoa with Salsa, Bell Pepper (Mustard)
                Dinner:
1 small plate Lettuce Salad with Tomato, Carrot (Ginger Dressing)
1 small bowl Miso Soup
1 small bowl Mushroom Seafood Soup
1 plate Sashimi
3-4 pieces Tofu and Broccoli (Black Bean Sauce)
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
There isn’t too much to report on as it is a Saturday, a no-gym day.  With that, I’ll keep this against my usual style and will make this daily summary brief.
 
I attempted to make some chicken breast in a brine today.  It came out miserably salty.  It was my first time so I feel no remorse for the fault and will try again, maybe tomorrow.  I believe the saltiness derived from a possible number of errors.  One is that I forgot to rinse the chicken breasts after removing them from the brine.  The other is I could of brined them for too long.  Or maybe it was simply the wrong amount of salt in the brine itself.  I will adjust all these factors the next opportunity I get to see what works best.  My new devotion to cooking is not staggered.  I learn from my mistakes and I will learn from this.
 
After lunch I went on a nice long walk with my mom.  We walked around a 6 mile circumscribed lake.  The pace was set by my mother as she is the slower of us.  It was still a nice walk, but not in any way an intense workout.  This is good though considering today is a rest day and I should be doing just that.  In all it took us about 2 hours to finish.  It was nice to get out of the house and do something.  Normally the weekends can become quite lethargic without the gym giving me that daily high.  This made up for that somewhat.  I am grateful for that.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #30.

 Today is Sunday and that means progress pictures. Sadly I am still seeing nothing. It's been a month now so I should expect to see something, but no. Nothing. If anyone has any advice for me please let me know. It is becoming increasingly frustrating to not see changes (though I know I am getting stronger from performance results). I've been reading "Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle" and it has begun to dawn on me that I probably have a strong endomorph component of my body type. Is it possible to ever see abs if your an endo? I don't know. I won't be quitting on that goal: I don't quit. But, it would be nice to know what is in reach and what is out of reach. Meanwhile, until I figure that out, I decided to also post a flexing shot just for some mentality booster. I have no idea how to pose, but I just gave a quick stance and figured it was good enough. Anyway, no more talking. Here are the pictures:

 Sunday 1/4/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 146.0lb – +0.0lb
Body Fat: 7.1% – -0.3%
Lean Mass: 135.63lb – +0.43lb
Fat Weight: 10.37lb – -0.43lb
 
Diet:
            Breakfast:
1 medium Pear
1 medium Apple
½ cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
            Lunch:
1 medium-large Apple
8-12 Baby Cut Carrots
2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper (Low Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette)
1 piece Chicken Breast
1 Low Calorie Wrap with 1 small piece Chicken Breast, Pepper (Sweet Onion Salsa)
                Dinner:
2 plates Chicken Breasts [cooked with Olive Oil and Red Wine] with Pepper, Eggplant, Carrot, Olive, Capers, Celery, Chili Pepper and Potato Skins [cooked with Olive Oil and Garlic]
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Today was a pretty relaxed day.  I did get out for a little bit; doing errands, going to an art gallery, but overall there wasn’t a lot of movement in my motions.  A lot of my day was actually planned around eating.
 
I cooked, literally cooked as in with fire not toasting bread, for all 3 of my meals today.  I tried brining my own chicken breasts for the 2^nd time today and it worked out beautifully.  They were slightly salty so next time I will decrease the period of submersion slightly.  The saltiness was irrelevant when compared to how tender the fillets were.  It was a well worth it effort.  For dinner I made a real meal.  I followed one of Mario Batali’s recipes and made this delicious spicy chicken dish with all these good healthy vegetables.  It came out great and I will most certainly be making it again.  Meanwhile, while cooking, I was contemplating the meaning of life.
 
OK, so maybe not that dramatic.  I was actually thinking about my goals.  I’ve been reading more and more of “Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle” and I’ve now come to realize I have no set in motion guide for where I’m heading.  I know the end result, I want those abs.  What I don’t know is which path to take: do I eat a lot and bulk, do I cut?  Obviously I’ll need to cut if I bulk, but is the end result a better result, is it worth the extra time?  What if I don’t have that genetic makeup to see those abs, even after a cut (as my Omron is showing me at a body fat level that should indicate cut abs).  All these questions and I have no answers.  I’m going to keep reading, and obviously never stop working out.  For now, I won’t be changing anything.  But I do know one thing, sometime in the future I will have to make that decision.  When that time comes, I’m going to make sure I tread in the right direction.
 
To end my Sunday, I tested my new maximums.  With ideal form I pumped out 44 pushups before failing at around the 50 second mark on my 45^th.  This is definitely an increase that I am extremely pleased with.  It means that my new workout will consist of 33 pushups.  Am I up to it?  No, but I’m ready to laugh in the face of muscle failure.  I love it.  Another grand pleasure of the night was my sit-ups.  45 baby!  Up from 37!  It’s quite a coincidence that my pushups and sit-ups landed within 1 rep of each other.  That 1 rep makes a difference though.  Come Tuesday I will be curling my abs through 34, not 33, of them.  I can’t wait.  Oh baby burn, here I come!
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #31.

 Monday 1/5/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 146.5lb – +0.5lb
Body Fat: 7.8% – +0.7%
Lean Mass: 135.07lb – -0.56lb
Fat Weight: 11.43lb – +1.06lb
 
Diet:
Pre-Breakfast:
4 spoonfuls 1% Fat Cottage Cheese
                Breakfast:
                                1 medium Pear
1 small-medium Apple
½ cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                Post-Workout:
                                1 medium-large Apple
                                1 Protein Shake with 1 scoop Whey Protein Isolate, ½ Banana, Frozen Blueberries
            Lunch:
1 bowl Mulligatawny Soup with Chicken and some Grains
1 very small plate Lettuce Salad with grilled Onion, Tomato, Carrot, Cucumber (Balsamic Vinaigrette)
1 Tomato Wrap with Tuna Steak, Lettuce, grilled Onion, other Vegetables (Horseradish)
                Post-Dinner:
                                1 medium Pear
                                1 small slice Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Turkey, Lettuce (Mustard)
                Dinner:
5 small Turkey Patties
8-10 Marinated Zucchini Strips [cooked in Olive Oil]
2-3 small Whole Spelt Wheat Biscuits
4-6 tiny spoonfuls 1% Fat Cottage Cheese
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
I really went to town today at the gym.  I was exhausted afterwards.  I tried to untie my shoes by putting my foot onto a bench, but my leg strength was completely sapped and I ended up stumbling forward.  It was awesome.
 
A numerous amount of activities yielded that result.  First my squats were for some reason more difficult than normal.  On the last set I felt like I slightly stretched some back muscle that resides along the middle to upper left back.  I still feel it right now, but barely.  The deadlifts afterwards were also a monster.  This is the first time I really feel like I was at my maximum exertion for deadlifts.  165 pounds for me is no joke.  The bench press was like the others with just the right amount of intensity so that I can really feel it.  I struggled on the last push, but made it through with a nice big grimace on my face.  And then came the two changes.  I upped both my shoulder press and my rows from 20 to 25 pounds.  It certainly made a difference.  The discipline I had to find was barely tolerable.  But, I did it.  I worked at the shoulders until failing on the last set at around the 6^th or 7^th rep.  I attempted to rest for 15 seconds and try to complete it, but it was a no go.  My shoulders were wiped.  The bent over rows resulted in some slightly higher marks.  With much mental willfulness I did complete all reps for all sets.  It was tough, but my delts will thank me down the road.  There isn’t much to say about the next two lifts: the chin-up and dips were standard.  The pushups afterwards were not.  On the last set I failed.  My muscles gave up around the 9^th or 10^th rep.  Again I tried to rest for a bit, but it didn’t matter.  My chest was dead: dead and ready now to be rebuilt.  The awesome experience finished with knee raises.  I focused my mind purely on the motion of my stomach curling, constricting, together.  The burn was fierce.  By the end, worms were crawling all over my insides.  I love it.
 
If that isn’t enough to wow you, I also (if you noticed from the writings way above) have changed my diet slightly.  I believe after reading more of Tony Venuto’s book that I have set a firm future goal with, this time, a means of getting there.  My long term remains the same: those abs.  The short term though must change to reach my long term.  I am now on a very slow, very clean, bulk.  My approach is to reach 10% body fat at which point I will be switching to a cut.  I will cut until I see a ripped stomach.  I want to see a chiseled stone with veins.  I will see that rippling muscle.  I will see it.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #32

 Tuesday 1/6/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 147.5 – +1.0lb
Body Fat: 7.6% – -0.2%
Lean Mass: 136.29lb – +1.22lb
Fat Weight: 11.21lb – -0.2llb
 
Diet:
Pre-Breakfast:
8 tiny spoonfuls 1% Fat Cottage Cheese
                Breakfast:
                                1 medium Pear
1 small-medium Apple
1/2 cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                Post-Workout:
                                1 small bowl 1% Fat Cottage Cheese (Sweet Onion Salsa)
            Lunch:
1 medium Apple
20+ Baby Cut Carrots
2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Ham, lots of Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
1 Low Calorie Wrap with 5-6oz Chicken Breast, Pepper (Sweet Onion Salsa)
1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Pepper, Cucumber (Low Calorie Italian Vegetable Dressing)
                Pre-Dinner:
                                1 small handful Almonds
                                1/4 cup 1% Fat Cottage Cheese
                                3 small Pickles
                Dinner:
1 small bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Tomato (Ginger Dressing)
1 bowl ****ake Mushroom Salad with Micro Greens (Sesame Ginger Dressing)
1 small bowl Miso Soup
1 Sashimi Dinner [15 pieces]
1 cup White Rice
 
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
I woke up with a set frame of mind and a set of expectations.  I like this clarity with clear cut short term goals; it is a much needed boost from simply thinking in the long term.  My goal was to see my weight go up (because of bulking) and my fat percentage to stay constant or only go up ever so slightly.  This is the ideal clean bulk.  Well my weight went up and my fat went down!  What a nice way to start the day.
 
I was a little sore from yesterday’s intense lifting so I wasn’t in the mood to run.  Really I’m never in that much of a mood to do cardio, but, like always, I did it anyway.  Once I got started it wasn’t a problem.  Everything went well today at the gym.  I actually ended up doing around 4 minutes extra on the walking portion because I decided to walk at the 4 mph on a 6% incline while waiting for the ideal elliptical machine to open up.  It took 4 minutes before one of the guys in front of me hit the clear button and got off.  I enjoy those extra calories burnt.
 
Like I said earlier, this new goal of mine, this crystal clean bulk, has brought about slightly new habits.  I have begun to eat a little more as well as more frequently.  Setting a standard for all my meal times is tough as I’ve gone through that route before and don’t want to be constricted because of it.  I have experienced that annoyance.  The lack of activities, of socializing, of having to know every single minute of my life advance, is well… stressful to say the least.  I don’t want it.  Regardless, doing my best, I am eating more frequently now and am trying not to have that “really hungry, I’m starving” feeling.  So far so good.
 
Along the same lines as dieting talk, I cooked a mean chicken today.  I think I have finally begun to perfect the brine.  I soaked 2 breasts in a quart of water mixed with 1/3 cup kosher salt for an hour.  The result was bliss.  The chicken was moist and this time not overly salty.  Oh, it was delicious just by itself!  I gobbled up one of the pieces circumscribed by a low calorie wrap and gave the other to my sister as they were quite large.  I will definitely be doing this again.  Bon Appétit!
 
Tonight was the first night of my new pushup and sit-up scheme.  The reps were most certainly miscalculated.  I simply think this technique of 75% your maximum is bogus.  The 33 reps of pushups were hard as ****.  I ended up, against all my will, failing during the 19^th rep on the last set.  I’m happy I made it that far!  Tomorrow I will be decreasing the reps to 30 and testing that out.  This is all one big experiment, but hitting failure 3 nights a week and not even during my main strength training routine is not what I had planned before.  I am improving without that further burden.  And I plan to continue to improve.  My sit-ups performed similarly, though slightly better.  I completed the first 2 sets, but failed at the 29^th rep on the final finish.  For this reason I am going to try a less aggressive approach and change the rep number to a still heavy 32 (not like 30 pushups is light either!).  It is nice though to simply fail.  At least now I know my limits.  I know where to push myself to, and I will push myself.  I plan to see another increase in maximum reps next Sunday.  You can plan on it as well.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #33.

 Wednesday 1/7/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 149.0 – +1.5lb
Body Fat: 7.4% – -0.2%
Lean Mass: 137.97lb – +1.68lb
Fat Weight: 11.03lb – -0.18lb
 
Diet:
6:45am:
                1/4 cup 1% Fat Low Sodium Cottage Cheese
8:00am:
            1 medium Pear
1 medium Apple
1/2 cup Oats
1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
10:30am:
                6-8 Almonds
                6-8 tiny spoonfuls 1% Fat Low Sodium Cottage Cheese
12:05pm[Post-Workout]:
                5-7 Baby Cut Carrots
                5-7 tiny spoonfuls 1% Fat Low Sodium Cottage Cheese
1:15pm:
                1 medium Pear
                3 Pickles
                1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Pepper, Cucumber (Low Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette)
                1 Low Calorie Wrap with Ham, 1% Fat Low Sodium Cottage Cheese (Sweet Onion Salsa, Chile Hot Sauce)
                2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Ham, lots of Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
4:00pm:
                1 bowl Snapper Soup [thick, but not creamy]
7:00pm:
                2 bowls Chicken Egg Noodle Soup [thickened slightly with coconut milk]
                1 plate Cucumber Tomato Salad (Olive Oil) and Eggplant (drizzled with a little Olive Oil)
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
I woke up to a surprise.  My weight really shot up today.  Most likely it is just the temporary jolt on my body of eating more than normal.  I don’t expect these results to continue.  Hell, I’m not going to actually say that I gained 1.68 pounds of muscle in a day: that would be ridiculous.  With the weight gain, my body fat went down again!  I’m like this trend, though I am not setting myself to be disappointed.  Like the weight gain, I doubt this nice balance of losing fat and gaining muscle will continue for much longer.  But, one can hope.
 
I had a good workout today.  I broke a new record on the elliptical machine by hitting 328 calories in 20 minutes during my HIIT.  I was able to maintain high intensity intervals at 95rpm for 1.25 minutes.  That was one of my goals!  I put a strike through it on my goal list and created a new one right under it.  100rpm here I come!
 
The rest of the day was fairly average.  I ran a good amount of errands while trying to eat fairly frequently.  In this regard I believe I succeeded; though perhaps too much as my fears of gaining fat and over eating started to fester once again.  Regardless, I put it behind me and I know that if I am to progress I must overcome that old habit of starvation to lose weight.  It has been thriving too long.  And yet the reality is that I may have very well eaten too much today in which case my close monitoring of the scales and numbers should report back to me long before any weight changes become an issue of concern.  Following the last errand, and a little bit of TV, I ended this Wednesday with my pushups and sit-ups.
 
As I mentioned on my last entry I changed the reps so ideally I would hit near failure, but not quite at it.  And that is exactly what happened.  Both exercises brought me to that edge, but never forced me to cross it.  I had the grand satisfaction of completing each movement in its entirety while also feeling a pump equal to that of muscle fatigue and failure.  I am proud of this accomplishment as it shows a definite improvement in my abilities.  I am betting myself and seeing the results.  What else can I ask for?
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #34.

 Thursday 1/8/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 148.5 – -0.5lb
Body Fat: 7.1% – -0.3%
Lean Mass: 137.96lb– +0.01lb
Fat Weight: 10.54lb – -0.49lb
 
Diet:
                6:50am:
                                1/4 cup 1% Fat Low Sodium Cottage Cheese (Hot Salsa)
                8:15am:
                                1 medium Pear
                                1 medium Apple
                                1/2 cup Oats
                                1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                11:00am [Post-Workout]:
                                1 medium Pear
                                1 Protein Shake with 1 scoop Whey Protein Isolate, 1/2 Banana, Frozen Blueberries
                1:00pm:
                                1 medium Apple
                                15-20 Baby Cut Carrots
                                1 big bowl Lettuce Salad with Pepper, Cucumber (Low Calorie Balsamic Vinaigrette)
                                1 Low Calorie Wrap with Ham, 1% Fat Low Sodium Cottage Cheese, Pepper (Hot Salsa)
                                2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little ham, lots of Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
                7:00pm:
                                2 Soft Corn Fish Tacos with Grouper/Monkfish, Romaine Lettuce, Onion, Pepperoncini (Low Fat Tzatziki Sauce)
                                1 plate Grouper/Monkfish, Quinoa with Celery, Pepper (cooked with a little Olive Oil), and Romaine Lettuce Salad with Onion, Pepperoncini (Low Fat Tzatziki Sauce)
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
There isn’t much to say about the actual day as it was fairly average.  I did a few errands, ate when I could, etc.  Not much happened.  Well, that isn’t completely true.  The gym happened.
 
My workout today was good, but annoying.  First of all the good ellipticals were all taken so I was forced to warm up on one of the ****ty awkward feeling ones.  It wasn’t too bad though because at least it still had my arms moving (compared to the other machines where your arms just hang there like dried salamis).  It ended up telling me I burned 70 to 80 calories, but that probably means jack ****.  OK, now onto the actual important part, the lifting.  The solo squat rack, which is rarely ever in use, was today in use.  Some guy ended up using the various bar placements for 30 minutes doing a plethora of different exercises.  Just goes to show you the versatility of this one hunk of metal compared to all these other overused pieces of equipment.  Anyway, my routine got completely switched around.  It went in this order: bench press, shoulder press, pull-up, chin-up, dip, squat, deadlift, knuckle pushups, bicycles (the abs workout).  The switch up didn’t end up effecting my performance too much so the whole situation really wasn’t that bad.  Besides, my new found strength on some of the lifts made up for it.
 
I’m finding the bench press easier and easier these days.  I now think the dips and pushups have really added to my results.  Before them I was barely increasing the weight, now I’m increasing it so often it is hard to keep track.  Next week I’ll be back in college for Monday’s lifting routine.  I plan on benching an extra 5 pounds, boosting the total to a nice solid 120lb.  I look forward to it.  All the movements on the anti-gravity machine were seeing increases as well.  Each one, the dip, the pull-up, and the chin-up, are next week going to become 10 pounds more difficult.  Well, not completely.  Since my dips are already at 20lbs offset, I don’t think it is possible to go down to 10.  For this reason I may end up forgoing the offset completely.  I am anxious for this challenge.  I can’t say everything today was smiles though.
 
Like the routine switch up I also had a switch up with my squats.  On accident I got my weights wrong.  I thought I was still placing 135 pounds on my back.  The truth is it should have been 145.  No wonder they seemed easier today!  Oh well, like I said it’s not a big deal.  It was still fairly difficult in the end, and on Monday maybe I’ll even come back with more strength.  Who knows, I have heard stories of that happening when going back to lower weights and then finding new talent in the higher category.
 
That’s pretty much all I have to say today.  I’ve been getting a few subs recently and just wanted to take the time and say I really appreciate it.  The fact that others are reading my posts makes me keep writing them: so thank you!  Oh, on a side note that I forgot to add…  For my dumbbell shoulder presses I was wondering if anyone had some recommendations to get the weights into the ready position.  As I’m increasing the weights, it is getting harder to lift them towards their proper places before I start the press.  Right now I can manage curling the 35 pounders to where they need to go, but I fear in the future as things get heavier I may not be able to keep up.  Any suggestions?
 
Tomorrow is my last day at my home gym.  It’s sad because it really is one of the best gyms I’ve ever gone to.  It is simply conducive to exercise.  Now it’s back to the shady basement lifting room that they call a gym in college.  I’ll make do though.  I did it for the first semester, and I’ll do it again.  In the end all that matters is my lifting, not where I do it.  Come Monday I’ll be pumping some serious iron, even if it’s in a room that screams leave.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #35.

 Friday 1/9/08 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 147.0lb – -1.5lb
Body Fat: 7.8% – +0.7%
Lean Mass: 135.53lb – -2.43lb
Fat Weight: 11.47lb – +0.93lb
 
Diet:
                6:45am:
                                1/3 cup 1% Fat Low Sodium Cottage Cheese (Hot Salsa)
                8:00am:
                                1 small-medium Pear
                                1 medium-large Apple
                                1/2 cup Oats
                                1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                11:15am [Post-Workout]:
                                1/3 cup 1% Fat Whipped Cottage Cheese (Hot Salsa)
                1:00pm:
                                1 small plate Lettuce Salad (Low Fat Raspberry Vinaigrette)
                                3 Jumbo ****tail Shrimp (****tail Sauce)
                                1 Virgin Bloody Mary
                                1 plate Baked Scrod [cooked with Butter and Oil] with Broccoli, Breadcrumbs, Tomato
                                a few bites Pita Bread with Lobster and Broccoli
                6:30pm:
                                6-7 Almonds
                                1/2 cup 1% Fat Whipped Cottage Cheese (Hot Salsa)
                                1 small Apple
                                10 Baby Cut Carrots
                                3 Pickles
                7:30pm:
                                1 small plate Thai Seafood Salad
                                1 tiny cup Chicken Soup
                                1 plate Chicken Breast stuffed with Seafood Mix, Rice, Thai Curry
                                3 small-medium Shrimp
                                1 piece Tofu [lightly fried]
                9:45pm:
                                1 handful Walnuts
                                5-7 tiny spoonfuls 1% Fat Whipped Cottage Cheese
                                8-10 Baby Cut Carrots
 
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Well, no good thing lasts forever.  Looks like my numbers rebounded from their epic succession.  As usual it is trends I must look for not daily changes.  I made sure not to give in to the hype of the last few days’ results.  It was a good thing too or I would have been extremely disappointed with today, which I am not.  I’ll probably give it a good one to two weeks before I make any predictions of success or failure.  Until then though, it’s always fun to guess :P.
 
My diet today started fairly normal.  Breakfast was the usual, and so was my post-workout.  But around lunch time everything got chaotic.  I was out doing things the entire today so fittingly had to have lunch out as well.  It was really good seafood, but simply not enough.  By the time I got home a little after 6 I was famished.  I knew dinner was coming soon so I just had a quick snack to hold me through.  Dinner was out as well and like lunch was tasty but not filling.  Nearing my pushups and sit-ups workout I felt myself getting quite hungry, more so than usual.  I just had to eat again, especially now that I should be bulking (albeit slowly and cleanly).  And so the day ended with cottage cheese definitely showing its versatility in my meals.
 
Along with my diet, my cardio today was on a similar note, a little chaotic.  My run went fine, but afterwards I noticed an interesting difference at my gym.  It seems they replaced the entire line of my favorite ellipticals with these new “full motion” machines that are supposed to be able to do stairs, ellipticals, sprinting, anything.  I figured I would try it out for my 20 minute period and see how it goes.  The machine sucked.  The concept is good, but the execution was extremely poor and the entire movement felt awkward.  After 3-4 minutes I had enough and had to switch to one of the crapier elliptical left (though even these were better than the new machines brought in).  The elliptical that I used said I burned near 300 calories in 20 minutes, but I don’t believe it.  That’s 50 more calories than normal, and if anything it felt slightly easier.  The nice part about the time was that with the switching of equipment I probably ended up burning a little more calories than normal.  I also walked a fair amount while I was out and about which I’m sure added to my “calories out” as well.  The day of exercise, as it usually does, ended today with my pushups and sit-ups.
 
It was not a good day for one of these body weight movements.  My pushups caused my muscles to fail twice on two different sets.  First on the 2nd set when I was on my very last rep I simply couldn’t push through it.  The second time I failed it was on the last set and I was just on the switch to the upward motion on the 20th set when I noticed all my strength was sapped.  I’m not sure what caused this change.  My only guess was I was leaning slightly more forward and over my chest more today probably causing more stress on the muscle and therefore more difficult.  I was also focusing more on my form by creating a straight as a board back and making sure to go all the way down through every rep.  Like I’ve been saying though, for lifting failure is good.  It lets me know my limits and in this case I think I will be sticking with the 30 rep change.  Even though I failed it still feels right.
 
It was a good day for the other.  I blew through all my sit-ups, even going to a 33rd rep for the last one without even noticing it.  Why is it that one of these nightly exercises is always easy and the other always hard?  Why can’t I see improvements in both?  For one night, is that really too much to ask?
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #36.

 Saturday 1/10/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 148.5 – +1.5lb
Body Fat: 7.6% – -0.2%
Lean Mass: 137.21lb – +1.68lb
Fat Weight: 11.29lb – -0.18lb
 
Diet:
                8:00am:
                                1 medium Apple
                                1 medium Pear
                                1/2 cup Oats
                                1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                11:15am [Post-Yoga]:
                                1/4 cup 1% Fat Whipped Cottage Cheese (Hot Salsa)
                                2 Pickles
                                5-7 Almonds
                1:30pm:
                                1 small-medium Apple
                                20 Baby Cut Carrots
                                1 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper (Low Fat Greek Yogurt Dressing)
                                2 slices Whole Wheat “Vermont Bread” with a little Ham, lots of Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
                                1 Low Calorie Wrap with a little Turkey, Ham, Pepper (Hot Salsa)
                4:00pm:
                                2-3 spoonfuls 1% Fat Whipped Cottage Cheese
                                1/2 cup 2% Fat Greek Yogurt
                                1 tablespoon Honey Toasted Wheat Germ
                                5-7 Almonds
                6:00pm:
                                1 bowl Spicy Chicken Soup
                                1 plate Tuna Steak Salad with 1 big Tuna Steak, Greens, Guacamole (Salsa and Tomato Dressing)
                                1 small plate Brown Rice and Black Beans [around 1 cup or more cooked]
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Today is my last day at home.  Tomorrow I am off on the train back to college.  I’m excited, very excited.  And yet, sad.  I’m sure those feelings are self explanatory when you’ve had the experience of winter break as a first year college student.
 
I ate a decent amount today.  But, I am slightly scared that I overate during dinner because of the full feeling afterwards that was a little too strong.  I’m probably just making a fuss over nothing though.

With my dieting my weight and body fat seems to be following a good path.  I think some more definition is actually showing in my abs even though my weight is going up.  Tomorrow you would normally see a picture of what I’m talking about, but this Sunday will be an exception.  I am leaving early in the morning and will not have time to take that photo.  Instead, expect an updated progress shot on the day after, Monday (my first day of classes no doubt).  Hopefully we will finally see what the title entails: progress.

If you noticed, or maybe you didn’t, my diet mentioned a new item.  Today I did yoga.  I know it is a Saturday, meaning a rest day, but I really wanted to try out this place that my mother recommended and it was now or never since I’m leaving within 24 hours.  It was well worth it.  The 90 minute period was intense enough to secrete sweat beads.  At the same time, it relaxed and calmed me.  An interesting combination to experience!  If you’ve been following my entries for awhile now you may have heard hints that I did Tae Kwon Do during my first semester as a college freshman.  I have made the decision to the drop it for the simple reason that I found myself just not enjoying the experience.  Now that I had a taste of yoga, I think I have found a replacement.
 
I’m off to bed now.  Next time I write, it won’t be from this chair I’m sitting on now nor from the desk my wrists are laying on.  It will be most likely from a train.  And then, most likely from a dorm.  But, until then, goodnight.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #37.

 Sunday 1/11/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 150.5lb – +2.0lb
Body Fat: 7.9% – +0.3%
Lean Mass: 138.61lb – +1.4lb
Fat Weight: 11.89lb – +0.6lb
 
Diet:
                5:45am:
                                1 medium Apple
                                1 medium Pear
                                1/2 cup Oats
                                1 large “pan sized” Egg Beater Omelet with Ham, Pepper, Onion (Mustard)
                9:00am:
                                1 medium-large Apple
                9:45am:
                                1 Deli Sandwich with 2 slices Rye Bread, Chicken Breast, Roasted Peppers (Mustard)
                                1 extra large Pickle
                1:30pm:
                                1 6in Whole Wheat Sub with Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickle, Onion, Olive, Hot Pepper (Mustard)
                                1 small Apple
                1:55pm:
                                1/2 medium bag Beef Jerky
                5:30pm:
                                1 bowl Tomato Soup
                                1 bowl Chinese Chicken and Cashers with Chinese Vegetables, Tofu (Chile Sauce)
                                1 bowl Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
                                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
                8:00pm:
                                1/2 medium bag Beef Jerky
[Meal Time]:
                [food]
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Today was my last travel day for awhile.  The effects are shown in my diet, which is all over the place.  I think I did a fairly good job with the options available to me.  My only concern was over dinner which had chicken that may have been too fattening.  It is just one dish though and I doubt it will make much a difference in the long term (however I do worry about tomorrow’s numbers).
 
With tomorrow comes an open door to the new.  I charted out my schedule for the next few months of my college life and it seems that lots of my workouts will have to shift around.  Sadly this causes weight lifting to occur in the evening around 5:30pm.  Maybe once I experience how my daily life plays out over the next few days I will find another time slot to squeeze it into, but for now that is the best I could do.  I will keep you updated on how these new workout times work including the changes for cardio, which also have had to have their usual morning times moved.  The one good thing out of all of this is that I do plan on doing yoga now in the mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I’ll be dropping Tae Kwon Do as I mentioned earlier so I shouldn’t be over stressing myself by adding yoga to my physical life.  It really is tough to predict all these changes in advance, so instead of continuing along this train of thought and over obsessing about planning I’ll just end it here with the note in mind that I will log all of the events as they happen in the future.
 
Regardless of it being a travel day, and a moving in day, and a homesick day, I did attempt to find my new maximums.  I mentioned, if you caught it, that it was a homesick day.  I’ve never felt so miserable.  That may be an exaggeration, but this feeling now is truly terrible.  I hate it.  I have this lump in my throat that I cannot dislodge.  I don’t know what to do.  I just hope some sleep will make it pass.  Even with this dreadful sickness I did do my pushups and sit-ups.  My pushups went well, I did 55 of them.  Normally I would write that with an exclamation mark, but everything has been numbed by this overwhelming sense of longing, longing for home.  After the pushups came the sit-ups, which, if you saw the tiny detail, I “attempted”.  I say this because though I did them successfully I only completed 35.  There is a good reason for this poor number though.  I could not find a decent location in my dorm room to plant my feet.  At home I would use my bed frame which prevented my feet from popping up.  In my dorm I see nothing suitable.  I’ll have to figure out some way to make this work.  I’m sure I’ll find something.  Meanwhile I won’t record this 35 number as really it s a fluke since so much of my effort was focused on maintaining foot posture which caused me to slow down my reps.  Overall, even the pushups are semi-irrelevant because I will not be changing my reps for them.  30 for pushups, 32 for sit-ups, remains the proper number.  I know this from feeling.
 
OK, I’m done for tonight.  I hope I feel better in the morning.  Goodnight.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #38.

 As promised, here are my latest progress shots. The one of me flexing is particularly revealing as it seems I definitely have built some mass. It is tough to tell though because I only have one other flexing reference picture which may or may not have been ideal when I took it. For this reason I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. Besides, it seems my relaxed pose still remains unchanged. I should note that though I feel fatter (from my weight gain) it does not seem to show in these shots. From the mirror though I feel like it is going straight to my face; hence why you don't see it. Just thought that it was something that should be noted if you are to take in a full consideration of the word "progress". And so, here are the photos:

 Monday 1/12/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 151.2 – +0.7lb
Body Fat: 7.7% – -0.2%
Lean Mass: 139.56 – +0.95lb
Fat Weight: 11.64lb– -0.25lb
 
Diet:
                7:15am:
                                8 Egg White Omelet with Ham, Onion, Pepper (Mustard)
                                2 small bowls Oatmeal
                                1 small Pear
                                1 medium Apple
                9:45am [Post-Workout]:
                                1 big slice Whole Wheat Bread with 2 Egg Whites, Ham, Onion
                11:00am:
                                1 small Pear
                12:00pm:
                                1 small Pear
                                2 Egg Whites
                1:30pm:
                                1 bowl Chicken Soup
                                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cottage Cheese, Cucumber, Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
                                1 medium Apple
                                2 egg Whites
                                1 small bowl Whole Wheat Pasta with Marinara Sauce
                3:00pm:
                                1 bowl Turkey Soup
                                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper (Low Calorie Light Italian Dressing)
                                1 small slice Rye Bread with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
                6:45pm:
                                1 bowl Turkey Soup
                                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper (Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar)
                                1 piece White Meat Roasted Chicken
                                1 small cup Broccoli and Tofu (Chinese Sauce, Soy Sauce, Chile Sauce)
                                1 bowl Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Onion (Salsa)
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Today was an iffy day.  It started with a screwed up breakfast.  I decided to try and eat earlier at this dining hall that is further away from my dorm, but opens at 7:00am instead of 7:30am.  The place, which is ironically supposed to be the better of the two, sucked.  Because of this I ended up eating two small breakfasts as I ate the meager meal at the ****ty eatery while waiting for the better place to open up so I could finish off eating there.  A little bit after the disappointment, I decided  to do my lifting.
 
Before I dive into that, I should let you know that this may be the last time I lift in the mornings for awhile.  My schedule seems to be pushing me towards lifting in the evenings.  I’m thinking around 5:30pm so that I can make my post-workout meal my dinner.  That should workout well.  We’ll see how it goes next Thursday.  My other routines have taken similar changes with tomorrow’s cardio routine being also at 5:30pm while Wednesday’s will be in the morning at around 8:30am and Friday’s even earlier at 7:30am.  I’ll also be adding on that yoga class I was talking about.  It occurs Tuesday’s and Thursday’s at 7:15am to 8:15am.  If you noticed this, since the good dining hall doesn’t open till 7:30am, this means I won’t be able to eat a proper meal before starting my workout.  For me this isn’t good.  Some people can exercise fasted, I can’t.  To solve this dilemma I’m thinking of having a small snack, maybe an Apple and some kind of protein (I have yet to think of a good one that I can take from the dining halls to store overnight in my fridge), early in the mornings around 6:30am.  Hopefully this light meal will hold me over until I eat my proper breakfast.  OK, now onto the lifting.
 
All I can say is that I became spoiled at my local gym.  Now that I’m back here, the place feels like a dump.  I tried to get out of my mind, but I really feel like my focus was effected and thereby my lifting was effected.  I can say happily that I didn’t forget to squat the proper 145 pounds this time.  I did them all, but I feel like I wasn’t quite going low enough for some reason.  I never had that problem before, but next time I’ll have to make sure I do it completely proper.  After the deadlifts that went normal, I tried to increase my bench another 5 pounds, but it didn’t take.  I did the first set OK, but wasn’t confident enough I could continue.  I took off the added weight and went back to 115 pounds.  I’ll have to keep at it before I increase; maybe another week?  After that, I did the shoulder presses, and failed.  Again this week I was unable to complete all sets and all reps with 25 pounds.  It is clear to me now that I will have to deload back to 20 pounds and weight it out a little bit longer.  I am going to stick with the 25 pound change for my bent-over rows though as I was able to pump out the proper amounts for the movement.  The 25 pounds for that exercise is perfect.  I then moved on to the 40 pound assisted chin-ups.  They were incredibly difficult at 40 pounds.  I think the design of the machine (making my stand on my feet instead of kneel on my legs) made the entire movement more exercise so the jump from 50 to 40 pounds was harder than it should have been.  Regardless I did complete every rep, albeit barely and with less than perfect form.  Even with that downside, I will be sticking with the 40 pounds.  I can take it.  As for the dips, I couldn’t find a 10 pound weight as I predicted so instead I just took the pin out but still used the offset bars to help me.  This seemed to be around the right difficulty.  I did try to do it without any assistance, but quickly realized I’m not quite there yet.  And then came the finisher movements.
After my pushups (which went fairly normal if not slightly hard – I barely completed the last rep) was my abs.  The machine I used for my knee raises sucked.  My arms kept slipping which really took the focus of my abs.  My hands kept sliding around too, forcing me to reposition myself numerous times.  It sucked.  I don’t know what to do though as there is only one of those pieces of equipment.  I’ll just have to deal with it.
 
Like my workout, my diet today also had a touch of chaos.  I wasn’t sure how I was to go about eating with my class schedule which provided only a 1 hour break from 10:00am all the way to 5:30pm.  Because of this I just tried to eat whenever possible, grabbing snacks from the dining halls to eat later and all.  Hopefully within a few more trial days, a more routine schedule will be set.  Using google calendar I already feel like I have developed a workout dieting routine.  We’ll see how it goes over the oncoming weeks.
 
I have a few more things I would like to say, but this has been a long entry and I’m getting tired.  If I have time I’ll have a follow up post, or maybe append it to tomorrow’s entry, or maybe I’ll forget it.  Either way, night is calling.  Goodnight.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #39.

 Tuesday 1/13/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 152.2lb – +1.0lb
Body Fat: 8.4% – +0.7%
Lean Mass: 139.42lb – -0.15lb
Fat Weight: 12.78lb – +1.14lb
 
Diet:
6:30am:
                1 medium Apple
9:30am:
                1 small-medium Apple
                1 small Pear
                4 Egg Whites with Ham (Mustard)
                1 bowl Oatmeal
12:00pm:
                1 slice Whole Wheat Bread [with HFCS] with Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion (Mustard)
                1 bowl Beans, Corn, Rice, and Tofu
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 bowl Chicken Vegetable Soup
                1 small-medium Apple
4:00pm:
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Cottage Cheese, Canned Tuna (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 bowl Chicken Vegetable Soup
7:15pm:
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 plate Meatloaf, a little Flank Steak [thin slices], Okra and Tomatoes, and Broccoli
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
It was a slightly better day than yesterday, but still not great.  It started with the numbers this morning.  I knew it was coming.  I predicted it earlier.  I said it myself that these things are cyclical, that the sign of all positives inevitably will lead to a negative.  Today was that negative.  My weight shot up at a faster rate than it should have.  This would have been awesome if my body fat didn’t shoot up even faster.  I’m not sure of the cause.  My best guess is I simply didn’t properly estimate the diet from yesterday.  Really this is no surprise since my diet was in fact quite chaotic and inheritably very hard to quantify.  Today’s diet was slightly more in check as I had a nicer, more manageable schedule.  I hope to see a nice rebound on the scales tomorrow.
 
Quickly after the morning routine of stepping on the scale I was supposed to be doing yoga.  This never happened.  I found out, after further inquiry while at the gym, that yoga does not in fact start until the week of the 26^th.  What a disappointment!
 
Even without yoga I decided to stick to my schedule just to see if I could handle what I theoretically planned out.  I could, but I didn’t like it.  First of all I simply get way too hungry in the mornings for a snack to hold me over.  I need a meal.  The problem with a meal is that I then have to workout, be it yoga or something else, soon afterwards.  This cannot work.  Through much confliction I have now realized the sad truth; I simply cannot fit yoga in my schedule.  It breaks apart my mornings in too many ways.  Another contributing factor is that it destroys my morning routine in that it doesn’t allow me to have one.  I would have to rush to yoga at 7:15am which gets rid of my one stress free period of my days.  I don’t want to get rid of this tiny pleasure that I have come to realize it’s enormous worth.  Now without yoga, my schedule got a complete makeover.
 
I started by getting rid of all those early morning snacks and instead substituting back in the standard breakfast at 7:30am (except Friday’s were it is forced to be 7:00am at the crappy dining hall).  I can do this now because I no longer have yoga conflicting.  The really nice part about this change is that it enables me to move all my workouts back into the morning, further completing the idea of a nice stress releasing morning routine.  Lastly, and this is not due to yoga but instead a personal choice, I got rid of many of my various eating times and attempted a more fixed 3 meal a day program.  This is because the dining halls offer too limited of a selection during off hours that it becomes hard to eat healthy.  Also the constant eating, as I noticed today, began to suck up too much of my time that I really have to begin to devote to classwork.  The only exception to this 3 meals a day is on Mondays and Thursdays since I have an odd schedule that does not allow for lunch.  Conveniently these days are also my lifting days so it works out that I can actually implement a post-workout meal this time without it being a hassle as I need to eat before the no-lunch period of classes begins.  At this time I will also probably figure out a way to snack on something during the long stretch until dinner.  Overall I am happy with all these changes and now feel more relaxed about my upcoming days.
 
The rest of my day went fairly normal.  My diet was more in check this time, and should with a more fitting schedule, be even more so in the future.  I switched my salad dressing to a slightly more caloric olive oil variety as it was suggested to me that I wasn’t taking in enough healthy fats.  I agreed.  Before I knew it, it became my time to run.  As I predicted, and as it was again mentioned to me, I wasn’t in the mood.  It was late in the day and all the added exercise from walking the campus was not a great incentive.  I pushed through that mental block and ran anyway.  My legs were feeling weak for the first 5 minutes or so, but afterwards the run seemed pretty normal.  I wasn’t able to get my ideal elliptical next, so had to suffice by using a worse one.  It worked out OK, but I don’t think I pushed myself hard enough on it.  I ended up burning a little over 240 calories in the 20 minutes.  None of the treadmills were open to finish my gym routine (another thing about going in the evening, it’s packed!).  I ended up being able to hop on a good elliptical, which was now open, for 3-4 minutes while waiting for someone to get off the treadmills.  In this way I made up for the less intensive workout during the 20 minutes on the elliptical by burning more calories in total than I normally do.  As always, the day ended with my pushups and sit-ups.
 
Both exercises went fairly well.  I completed all reps of the pushups, but I think my form was seriously compromised for portions of it.  I’ll have to keep a close eye on that.  I’d rather fail early than complete all the reps with improper motion.  My friend was watching over me as I did the movements and gave me a few pointers to improve my posture.  One is that I was sagging my lower back on the decline.  Two was that I was bobbing my head on the up and down motions.  I will work to fix both of these issues.  The sit-ups were also decently successful.  I was able to get my friend to hold my feet down which helped a lot in getting real sit-ups completed.  I did all reps of them on all sets.  The difficulty was perfect as I barely completed the last set, on the brink of failure just as I should be.  The only annoying thing about the sit-ups was that my tailbone quickly started to hurt.  My floor in the dorms is harder than the plush carpet of my bedroom at home.  To compensate I’m thinking of putting a towel or something soft underneath me.  That should solve it.  Regardless, in the end, I was satisfied.
 
And that was the day.  A lot changed today.  Hopefully it is all for the better.  We will see.
 
 
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #40.

 Wednesday 1/14/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 149.7 – -2.5lb
Body Fat: 7.6% – -0.8%
Lean Mass: 138.32lb – -1.15lb
Fat Weight: 11.38lb – -1.4lb
 
Diet:
7:45am:
                1 small-medium Apple
                1 small Pear
                1 “plate sized” Egg White Omelet with Ham (Mustard)
                1 bowl Oatmeal
12:15pm:
                1 small-medium Apple
                1 bowl 5 Bean Soup [thin]
                1 bowl Chicken, Tofu, Grilled Vegetables (Soy Sauce, Chile Sauce)
                1 slice Whole Wheat Bread [with HFCS] with Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Black Beans, Garbanzo Beans, Cucumber, Pepper (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
3:10pm:
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Garbanzo Beans, Cottage Cheese, Cucumber, Pepper (Light Low Calorie Italian Vinaigrette)
                1 bowl Black Bean Soup [thin with lots of black beans]
5:45pm:
                1 plate Rice with Vegetables, Lentils with Vegetables, Chicken with Vegetables, Peas and Onions
                1/2 bowl Turkey Noodle Soup [lots of turkey, little noodles]
                1 bowl Deli Turkey, Hummus, Lettuce, Tomato, Tunafish [with mayo]
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad, Cucumber, Pepper, Cottage Cheese, Tunafish [without mayo] (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette, Low Calorie Light Italian Vinaigrette)
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Today was a slow change for the better.  I can feel it.  I am again adapting to college life, and this “uncomfortableness” that has accompanied me since the transition is starting to fade.  It brings a smile to my face that I am beginning to become my old self, not this moody grouch of the last few days.
 
My workout today was a little easier than normal.  I was back to using my school’s elliptical machines and was not sure what RPMs I should be doing the HIIT on.  I ended up settling on 60-65rpm rests and 80-85 sprints.  I realized a little past midway that this was a fairly conservative estimate.  I could in fact go harder.  It was still a decent workout though and I did feel like I pushed myself at least somewhat.  I ended up burning something like 346 calories, but, as always, that doesn’t mean much.
 
The rest of my day was occupied by schoolwork.  With my deserving mood change I became much more motivated and efficient today to get things done.  And so that is exactly what I did.  Along the way I did my best to keep myself full and eat decently on my clean bulk.  I think I did a pretty good job, though I’m iffy about the hummus decision for my last meal.  I think I ate a little too much of it; in the future I’m just going to skip it as it is way too easy to go overboard with that tasty goodness.
 
This night was not “as always”.  First of all I failed on my last set of my pushups around my 24^th or 25^th rep.  I further worked on my form, getting rid of all slouching and most of the head bobbing.  This is what most likely lead to the failure.  I believe it is a good thing then that I failed early as it shows that my form did improve as my movement became harder to perform.  I really have to be careful with these pushups and the variance of performance from having good form to bad is very large.  I have to focus 100% of my attention on perfecting the movement, only then can I begin to care about reps.  And until then, I will be sticking with the 30 reps and most likely pushing myself to failure before completion.  I know that now, so I can deal with it when it happens.  It won’t be a problem; it will be a solution, an improvement to look forward to.  The real change for tonight though was the lack of sit-ups.  I bruised my tailbone yesterday night when I performed them on the dry rug of my dorm.  Now it is a sharp pain as I sit myself up.  I feel like this pain would override any performance.  I don’t think I’d even be able to complete 5 before it became unbearable.  And of course I don’t want to injure myself further.  I am annoyed that I will have to take a break from this exercise as it was something I really liked to see improvements on, and was seeing improvements on.  But, I know that in the future I will come back to it.  Once all is healed, I will come back and blow away my former self in execution.  I can feel it.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #41.

 Thursday 1/15/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 151.8lb – +2.1lb
Body Fat: 8.1% – +0.5%
Lean Mass: 139.50lb – +1.18lb
Fat Weight: 12.30lb – +0.92lb
 
Diet:
7:45am:
                2 small Apples
                1 bowl Oatmeal
                5 Egg White Omelet with Ham (Mustard)
9:40am [Post-Workout]:
                2 slices Whole Wheat Bread [with HFCS] with 3 Egg Whites, Ham, Onion, Hot Pepper (Mustard)
12:00pm:
                1 small Apple
1:30pm:
                1 small plate Whole Grain Penne Pasta, Broccoli, Tofu (Marinara Sauce)
                1 bowl Chicken Tomato Soup with Tofu
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Cottage Cheese (Low Calorie Light Italian Vinaigrette)
3:00pm:
                1 small Apple
                1 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Hot Pepper, Turkey (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
5:45pm:
                1 plate with 1 Couscous Vegetarian Burger and Asparagus
                1 bowl very little Chinese Stir-Fried Beef, Deli Turkey, Tofu, Cucumber, Pepper, Hot Pepper
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Hot Pepper, Cottage Cheese (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 bowl Spicy Chicken Tomato Soup
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Things are definitely changing for the better.  I am becoming more and more determined, like I used to be.  It’s all coming back and I love it.
 
I went into my lifting routine this morning with all the willpower I could muscle.  I was motivated to perform.  And that I did.  Every exercise seemed easier for me because of this mental lust for improvements.  By easier I do not mean that the burn was non-existent.  My muscles were responding with their same struggles and failures, but I pushed my mind through that.  Every movement went great.  The weight amounts were perfect for what I needed and I’m happy I found that equilibrium between ability and failure.  The best example of this is seen during my chin-ups and pull-ups.  I have never felt such a near failure feeling while actually not failing.  I barely barely completed the last of every set.  Every rep was a struggle and I longed for it.  One change that I would like to make though is for Thursdays to insert my dips in between the pull-ups and chin-ups exercises.  Doing chin-ups right after the pull-ups is making me fatigue slightly early.  I think I can push myself further by giving those similar muscles a rest and doing dips meanwhile.  I’ll make that slight alteration next Thursday.  After my main compound lifts I moved onto my finishers, the abs and knuckle pushups.
 
I worked further on my pushup form today and again made sure not to slouch my lower back.  I really strived for that straight as a board back.  Even with this added on focus I performed admirably.  In fact the reps seemed easier than normal as I completed every one without failure (which is a 50-50 chance it seems these days for the knuckle pushups).  I am very satisfied with this accomplishment of form and ability.  My plan was to go on to the bicycle kicks today for abs, but, as you learned about yesterday, I was concerned over my tailbone pain.  I lied back and put my feet up to test it out and everything seemed alright.  It was.  Luckily in that position with my legs raised and kicking back and forth the pressure was taken off of my tailbone.  I was glad because I wasn’t in the mood to struggle with the finicky captain’s chair I talked about during my last lifting entry.  After completing the first 30 seconds of movement I felt like I wasn’t feeling it enough.  For the next two sets I really focused on clenching those ab muscles to do their work and move my body from side to side.  I also focused on keeping myself up off the ground for the entirety of the motion.  Both of these additions greatly enhanced my workout.  On the last 15 seconds of the last set my abs were literally dead.  I could barely hold my shoulders off the ground.  It felt so good to end the day that way.  Like I said, what a great workout.
 
The rest of my day went on a similarly good note.  I think I am getting back into the groove and classes and am really grateful for that.  I know I said that last time, but I want to reiterate it because of how true it is and how good it feels.  Anyway, back to the day.  My diet was in check as well.  I had that long string of classes today with little to no breaks, but managed to squeeze in quick meals and snacks here and there which I believe added up to what would consist of a normal lunch for me if not more.  I also was able to include a post-workout meal which I found quite satisfactory in taste and quickness to make.  It, or some near combination of it, will probably become part of my standard lifting routine.  I like routines, there a nice way to relax when dealing with the chaos of the rest of the day.  I am happy on how these new ones are shaping out.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #42.

 Friday 1/16/09 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 152.2 – +0.4lb
Body Fat: 8.3% – +0.2%
Lean Mass: 139.57lb– +0.07lb
Fat Weight: 12.63lb– +0.33lb
 
Diet:
7:15am:
                2 small Apples
                1 very small Apple
                1 bowl Oatmeal [more than usual]
                5 Egg White Omelet with Ham, Pepper (Mustard)
9:30am:
                1 very small Apple
                1 small Apple
                1 small plate with 3 Egg Whites, Ham (Mustard)
12:15pm:
                1 bowl Seafood Soup [thin]
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Garbanzo Beans (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 plate with 1 Black Bean Burger (some kind of Sweet Sauce), Steamed Vegetables, Deli Turkey
                1 slice Whole Wheat Bread [with HFCS] with Deli Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
2:45pm:
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Garbanzo Beans, Black Beans, Cottage Cheese, Deli Turkey (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
5:45pm:
                1 bowl Seafood Soup [thin]
                1 large bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Deli Turkey (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 plate with 1 small piece Jerk Chicken Breast, Green Peas, Ratatouille, Three Bean Stew
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
Today was another good day.  It being the last day of classes, and having my classes end by noon, automatically makes it a good day.  But there was more to it than just that.
 
This morning I was forced to eat at the lesser of the dining halls as it opens at 7:00am, a half an hour earlier than the better of the two.  I say I was forced to eat here because my first class of the day was at 9:00am and, me liking to work out in the mornings, wanted to get my running and cardio session in after breakfast and before class.  The only way to do this was to start the workout at 8:00am.  Since it was cardio I needed some kind of decent break between eating and stressing my body.  A half an hour was the best I could afford myself by eating the early breakfast, but hey its better than eating at 7:30am and then hopping on the treadmill minutes afterward.
 
So anyway, after eating the breakfast (which really wasn’t that different from normal), I took my small break and then was off to the gym.  My workout began as normal (though I was feeling a littly grogy from still waking up and from eating not too long ago and from the sub zero temperature outside).  As I was running and trying to get myself to zone out to my music the time ended up flying by.  And I mean really flying by.  Before I knew it I was at the 10 minute mark and was almost done.  And yet before looking I figured I was at 8 minutes at best and didn’t think I would have any trouble of completing the mile and a half.  If you follow my logic, you would see how I thought when I noticed the timer saying I was already at 10 minutes.  I had all this energy still!  And for this reason I kept going.
 
I didn’t stop until 2 miles.  My first 2 mile run since middle school!  And I did it in 14:36.  I am truly impressed with myself.  I am improving and these are my hard earned results.  It could have just been a good day, but I hope to see this 2 mile run become my new standard as did the mile and a half.  I figure after it, maybe I’ll try scooting back down to 1 mile and increasing the speed until I build back up to 2 miles.  That sounds like a good plan to me.  I’m pumped to see myself get better and better.
 
After the run I moved onto the elliptical.  As with the HIIT I wasn’t sure what goals to strive for.  I ended up doing the 5 minute increasing interval for RPM s starting at 60-65 and ending at 75-80.  This turned out to be fairly tough so I found it satisfactory.  In total the machine said I burned 246 calories.  As I always say I know that number is meaningless in reality, but since I will be using this machine consistently for the next few months it does become another statistic to keep track of.
 
Normally this would be the end of my talk on the gym as I usually don’t need to mention my last 10 minutes on the treadmill.  This time I do.  They didn’t exist.  It turns out that I couldn’t fit in those last 10 minutes because before I knew it somehow it became time to get to class.  I’ll have to rethink my schedule slightly on how I’m going to be able to fit in the entirety of my session in the allotted time.  I’ll figure it out.  I wasn’t to be deterred from this breaking of routine though.  With diligence I made sure that I finished up to what equates as my typical Friday at the gym.  Much later in the day, at around 6:30pm, I hopped back onto that treadmill to complete those 10 minutes at 6% incline moving at 4mph.  I figured I would do my pushups and attempt again my sit-ups at this time too.  Turns out I wasn’t much in the mood.  See, those two movements have become routine as well and like my other habits it seems I can only get pumped for the pushups and sit-ups at night in my room.  Besides, they help wake me up if I’m feeling lethargic in the latter hours (which does happen from time to time).
 
So, speaking of pushups and sit-ups, I might as well jump to them now (notice how I no longer say “attempt” before sit-ups!).  The pushups went well, actually better than just well.  I completed all of them this time with what I believed to be good form with no slouching and this time a focus on no head bobbing as well.  It felt good to do them right.  If I keep this up I may find myself increasing the reps on the oncoming week.  I’m definitely curious to see what my new max is with this ideal form (and hopefully this is the ideal form this time).
 
If you’ve been following my journal entries you would know that I hurt my tailbone a little while ago doing sit-ups.  It still hasen’t fully recovered, but it is getting better.  I decided to do the sit-ups tonight regardless.  The real sharp pain doesn’t occur until the last 10% of the upward movement.  So, in a sense, I shorted my full movement slightly (very slightly) and was able to get the same burn in my abs without too much pain.  I also, by going slower, was able to use a tiny lip at the bottom of my wall unit to keep my feet planted.  When attempting my maximum (as I did last week with the lip) I don’t think it will work out too well, but since my weekday reps don’t need to be done at an abnormally fast pace, it works out well enough.  Regardless of these minor inconveniences, the inadequacy of the wallunit lip and the tailbone pain, I am happy I can still perform to the best of my abilities.  It is nice to know that I have that kind of determination to not be hindered by such obstacles.
 
This has been a long entry and there really isn’t much reason for me to go dragging on.  My diet seems to be working its magic as I’m gaining weight and muscle at a pace that seems appropriate.  I have upped my fats, healthy fats that is, slightly over these past few days, but I fear that I may have gone slightly too far in the increasing.  Only time and a close monitoring of the scale will tell.  And that I will do, as I always do.  I am the owner of my body.  And it feels good to change it.  Change it for the better.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #43.

Saturday 1/17/09
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 150.6– -1.6lb
Body Fat: 8.1% – -0.2%
Lean Mass: 138.40lb – -1.17lb
Fat Weight: 12.20lb – -0.43lb
 
Diet:
9:15am:
                1 small-medium Apple
                1 medium Apple
                1 bowl Oatmeal [slightly more than usual]
                5 Egg White Omelet with Ham [slightly more than usual] (Mustard)
12:15pm:
                1 medium Apple
                2 slices Whole Wheat Bread [with HFCS] with Deli Turkey [much more than usual], Lettuce, Tomato (Mustard)
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Garbanzo Beans [more than usual] (Light Low Calorie Italian Dressing, a little Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 bowl Beef Lentil Soup [thin broth, lots of beef and lentils]
2:45pm:
                1 small Apple
                1 bowl Hearty Tomato Soup
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper, Deli Turkey (Light Low Calorie Italian Dressing)
5:45pm:
                1 bowl Beef Lentil Soup [thin broth, lots and lots of beef and lentils]
                1 bowl Lettuce Salad with Cucumber, Pepper (Light Olive Oil Vinaigrette)
                1 bowl Broccoli (Light Chinese Sauce, Soy Sauce, Chile Sauce)
                1 plate Vegetable Stew, Green Beans, Acorn Squash, Steak Roast
               
                That was my diet.
 
 
 
The Day:
 
This may be the first entry where I have literally nothing to report.  I will just say these few brief sentences.  First of all, today is a rest day, and rest I did.  I barely even walked much today except to go out of my dorm to eat.  This isn’t because I take my Saturday rest so seriously that I refuse to do work (hell, last week I did yoga on Saturday), but more because of the gelid cold.  Negative five degrees is not the best walking weather.  Speaking of walking to the eat, I thing my diet today was fairly good.  I woke up later today so it wasn’t a huge issue that the dining halls didn’t open till 9:00am.  I did get pretty hungry, but I know that it’s not like all my muscle is going to wither away for not eating an hour late.  And so that was the day.  Like I said, not much to report.
 
I’m about to finish watching a movie now and then will be heading off to bed.  Tomorrow morning I will be taking progress pictures, so I’m excited for that.  Maybe we’ll finally see some results?  These days I don’t have my hopes up, but hey - ya never know.
 
 
That was the day.
 
 
 
 
 
This concludes Entry #44.

 Got some new progress shots today! OK, there's really no reason for the exclamation mark. I look still pretty much the same. Personally I think I've gotten slightly slightly bigger. I can't tell if it's more muscular or more fatter though. From the numbers on the scale, probably a little of both. Meanwhile my second flexing shot looks better. I don't think that tells much though because in reality I think it looks better because I've become better at flexing for the photo, not because I actually have more muscle to show. I mean it's without a doubt that I have gotten stronger, my lifting numbers show that, but as for building size: I honestly don't see much. But hey, I'm not an expert, maybe I'm missing something. After looking at the photos below, let me know, what do you see? Also, one last thing... I believe I am getting slightly sick with some kind of sore throat/cold. I hope it isn't too bad, but it may be affecting my "look" of the photos. I really don't know, but just thought I should mention it as it is another factor to take into consideration.