Day 42: Loser town

According to Losertown's calorie maintenance calculator I should hit my goal weight on 3/18/09 if I continue to consume less than 2000 kcal per day. I'll take this with a grain of salt considering that this is just an approximate program.

DayWeightCalories UsedYour Calorie Deficit
01/07/2009218.342964.32964.32
01/14/2009216.422950.83950.83
01/21/2009214.532937.52937.52
01/28/2009212.662924.41924.41
02/04/2009210.832911.47911.47
02/11/2009209.012898.72898.72
02/18/2009207.232886.14886.14
02/25/2009205.472873.74873.74
03/04/2009203.732861.52861.52
03/11/2009202.022849.46849.46
03/18/2009200.332837.58837.58




Workout A
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 235 (+5)

  2. Bench press 5x5 @ 225 (+5 lbs)

  3. Inverted Rows 5xFailure (using body weight)

    • 1x10
    • 1x9
    • 1x8
    • 1x7
    • 1x6


  4. Push-ups 3xFailure (using body weight)

    • 1x22
    • 1x16
    • 1x10

  5. Reverse Crunch 3x12 (using body weight)


  6. Weight Lifting - 612 calories in 1 hr

Meals

  1. Meal 1: Slimfast Optima Shake with milk 200 kcal

  2. Meal 2: Beef sausage with Rice and Green beans 695.9 Kcal


  3. Beans, Green, Snap or String, boiled
    1 cup=237 ml or 4.4 oz=125 g
    1.5 servings
    65.7 calories

    Sausage, Lit'l Smokies, Beef Smoked Sausage [Hillshire Farm]
    6 links, 1.9 oz=54 g
    2 servings
    340.0 calories

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    1.2 servings
    290.2 calories

  4. Meal 3: Slimfast Bar 220 kcal

  5. Meal 4: Slimfast Optima Shake with milk 200 kcal

  6. Meal 5: Egg omelet over rice total 619.3

    Sausage, Lit'l Smokies, Beef Smoked Sausage [Hillshire Farm]
    6 links, 1.9 oz=54 g
    170.0 calories

    Ketchup, Tomato [Heinz]
    1 tbsp or 0.60 oz=17 g
    2 servings
    30.0 calories

    Tomatoes - chopped or sliced
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.3 oz=180 g
    32.4 calories

    Beans, Green, Snap or String, boiled
    1 cup=237 ml or 4.4 oz=125 g
    43.8 calories

    Eggs, Chicken, scrambled
    1 large, 2.2 oz=61 g
    101.3 calories

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

  7. Total: 1935.2

Day 41: Rawgrip.com

In light of yesterdays failure, I found an article from Rawgrip.com focusing on why most programs don't work. I have to admit that this section fits yesterdays mindset perfectly.


People see a good routine or a bad one and just pick a point from it. “Hmmm, it talks about lifting heavy that means I need to curl heavier -exercise order, sets, and reps were chosen for a reason and shouldn’t be messed with.

Yup, if it ain't broke why fix it.

Current Weight: 220 (down 10 pounds, 20 more to go)

Workout:

  1. Beginner H.I.I.T for the Bike 5 minutes

  2. Speedbag routine 5 minutes

  3. Jump rope 5 minutes


Meals:

  1. Meal 1: Slimfast Optima Shake with milk 200 Kcal

  2. Meal 2: Katsu Fish mini 402.5 Kcal

  3. Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

    Abalone, fried
    3 oz=85 g
    160.7 calories

  4. Meal 3: Slimfast Bar 220 Kcal

  5. Meal 4: Chinese Food 789.4 Kcal (went overboard)

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

    Chili Garlic Sauce, Hot [Sun Luck]
    1 tsp, 0.21 oz=6 g
    2 servings
    10.0 calories

    Chicken, light meat, fried
    1 cup=237 ml or 4.9 oz=140 g
    2 servings
    537.6 calories

  6. Meal 5: Slimfast Bar 220 Kcal

  7. Meal 6: Slimfast Optima Shake with milk 200 Kcal
  8. Total Calories: 2031.9

Day 40: Training Loads

According to my new program, I will be only doing 1 set of deadlifts. This bothers me because I like doing deadlifts. So I will be changing the 5x5 program to fit my needs. I'll be doing deadlifts and squats on each workout but alternating the intensity for both.






Current Weight: 221 (whoa dropped two pounds?)


Workout: Workout B

  1. Deadlifts 5x5 @ @ 225 (+5)
  2. Military Press 5x5 @ 125 (+5)
  3. Squats 3x8 @ 135
  4. Pull downs 5x5 @ 175 (+5)
  5. Reverse Crunch 3x12


edit: I didn't feel like this was much of a workout, so I'll be adhering to what the 5x5 workout B really says. Man I'm an idiot, I should listen to those who know more than me. So next time will be:

  1. Squats 5x5 @ @ 235 (+5)
  2. Military Press 5x5 @ 130 (+5)
  3. Deadlifts 1x8 @ 230
  4. Pull downs 5x5 @ 180 (+5)
  5. Reverse Crunch 3x12






Meals:


  1. Meal 1: Slimfast Bar 220 Kcal


  2. Meal 2: Teriyaki Chicken and Rice 591.4 Kcal and 1 16 oz water


  3. Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce [Kikkoman]
    1 tbsp
    15.0 calories

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

    Chicken, dark meat, fried
    1 cup=237 ml or 4.9 oz=140 g
    334.6 calories

  4. Meal 3: Slimfast optima Shake with milk 200 Kcal


  5. Meal 4: Beef with rice and vegetables: 458.6 Kcal and 1 16 oz water


  6. Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

    Tomatoes - Chopped
    2-2/5"=6.1 cm dia, 3.2 oz=91 g
    16.4 calories

    Cabbage, Chinese (Pak Choi, Bok Choy), boiled
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.0 oz=170g
    20.4 calories

    Sausage, Lit'l Smokies, Smoked Sausage [Hillshire Farm]
    6 links, 1.9 oz=54 g
    180.0 calories


  7. 1470 Total calories

Day 39: Record of the Lodoss War

Parn and Deedlit, Free Knight and High Elf.


Of all the genres, medieval fantasy has always been my favorite. I own dozens of fantasy novels, and have always lamented the lack of good fantasy in other media. Fortunately, with anime like Record of Lodoss War, I needn't lament much longer.

Record of the Lodoss War. This was probably the first Anime were I truly lost my mind. I remember getting episode one from Kathy Khoo a friend from highschool. That episode had no subtitles and was grainy as hell, but after watching Parn and company defeat the earth dragon, I was hooked.

I spent the next few months researching where I could get this anime in it's entirety. I called the companies of streamline pictures U.S. renditions, both two of the top distributors of Anime in the early 90's, with questions on where to buy this series. Each time I called I would get a similar answer: "It's not licensed in the U.S. right now. Try looking in local Anime or comic stores."

So I did, I scoured the yellow pages for comic book stores in my area then calling and asking for any "Japanese Comics", "Japanese art books" or "Record of the Lodoss War videos". All of the stores said they don't carry those kinds of comics. So I widened my search. I started calling comic book and Anime stores in L.A., but the few that heard of the series didn't have any idea how to get it. It wasn't until my family went to San Fransisco for a quick vacation, that I found Lodoss War.

It was located in the underground mall, in a tiny store that specialized in imported Anime videos. The whole original series was there. Unedited, uncut, and in Japanese. But I didn't care. I had searched for nearly a year and I was damned if I left without those tapes. So I paid the $125 for the 13 episodes and took it home. I didn't watch it at first, I waited until I got home where I could watch the whole series uninterrupted.

It was worth the wait.

As I sat there riveted watching the story unfold in front of me I began to lose myself in the pictures, the voices and the music. And while I didn't know the true story of Lodoss until years later when the subtitled version came out, I had come to know the essence of Record of the Lodoss War.

Only one word is needed to summarize this series: epic. Actually, calling it epic is almost an understatement. Between the massive armies, extensive story line, and sheer scope, Lodoss War is a monumental anime.




Current Weight: 223


Workout: Rest Day



Meals:


  1. Meal 1:Total Calories: 721.0

  2. Ketchup, Tomato [Heinz]
    1 tbsp or 0.60 oz=17 g
    2 servings
    30.0 calories

    Chicken, light meat, fried
    1 cup=237 ml or 4.9 oz=140 g
    268.8 calories

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

    Eggs, Chicken, fried
    1 large, 1.6 oz=46 g
    2 servings
    180.4 calories

  3. Meal 2: Slimfast Bar 220 Kcal


  4. Meal 3: Slimfast optima Shake with milk 200 Kcal


  5. Meal 4: Slimfast Bar 220 Kcal


  6. Meal 5: Total Calories: 263.6

    Tortilla, flour, fajita size
    80.0 calories

    Beef, various cuts, meat only, cooked
    3 oz=85 g
    183.6 calories


  7. 1 16oz Vitamin water 150 Kcal


  8. 1774.6 Total Calories

Day 38: Woah it's cold.


It's 40 degrees outside and I don't want to train, but then I remembered this motivational poster. So I went outside.




Current Weight: 224

Workout A

  1. Squats 5x5 @ 230 (+5)

  2. Bench press 5x5 @ 220 (+5 lbs)

  3. Inverted Rows 5xFailure (using body weight)

    • 1x9
    • 1x8
    • 1x7
    • 1x6
    • 1x5

  4. Push-ups 3xFailure (using body weight)

    • 1x21
    • 1x15
    • 1x9
  5. Reverse Crunch 3x12 (using body weight)


  6. Weight Lifting - 612 calories in 1 hr

Meals:

  1. Meal 1: Chicken and egg's 836.2 Kcal

    Ketchup, Tomato [Heinz]
    1 tbsp or 0.60 oz=17 g
    3 servings
    45.0 calories

    Eggs, Chicken, fried
    1 large, 1.6 oz=46 g
    3 servings
    270.6 calories

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

    Chicken, dark meat, roasted
    From 1/2 chicken, 4.8 oz=136 g
    278.8 calories

  2. Meal 2: 1/2 of a power bar 150 Kcal

  3. Meal 3: Slimfast optima Shake with milk 200 cal

  4. Meal 4: 1/2 of a power bar 150 Kcal

  5. Meal 5: Del Classic Chicken Burrito 560.0 Kcal


  6. 1896.2 - 612 = 1284.2 total daily calorie intake

Day 37: Post Game

After the celebrations yesterday I fell asleep for 12 hours. Tomorrow the workouts start again.

Day 36: Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! LAKERS WIN!

SUCK ON THAT GARNETT!

Day 35: Christmas Eve


I went shopping for presents today with some of my younger cousins who couldn't drive. We went to Target, Inland Center Mall, and to Big Lots (which is a great place to find a toy for dirt cheap!)

While most people hate shopping on this particular day, I love it. I love the crowds; jostling, folks bumping into each other with smiles and apologies that would ordinarily be absent on any other day. I hadn't been to the Inland Center for quite some time, and I was surprised by all the new stores. One in particular caught my eye. It was a sports store with a grip of Laker gear. Perfect for my mom and dad who are avid Laker fans. I bought for both, matching Laker sweaters for them to wear when they watch the game tomorrow and Laker lanyards so they could hang their ID's when they work. Quick and easy.

When we finished shopping, we all headed to my house to wrap the gifts, then headed to Mcdo and Travis' house to play Rock Band till 10 at night. But the night for me was just starting. Upon arriving at home, I was then informed that the family would be coming over for breakfast. Now our house is at the end of the renovation that started in May and it was a mess. Of course we couldn't have the house dirty for a family breakfast so we ended up cleaning till 5 in the morning. Now I'm going to sleep.

Day 34: I'm going to be an uncle!

My brother just announced during our family Christmas party that he and his wife are expecting. I'm going to be an uncle. I've got cousins with children and friends with children, but somehow, a nephew or niece already feels different, and I haven't even met him/her yet. It's really been getting me thinking. What will my role in his life be? I know the parents are the main source of knowledge and guidance. I also know that the grandparents have a geographic advantage -- I'll be the lesser-seen relative by a country mile. Will I just be another name, a strange face to stare at when it comes around, another semi-anonymous tag on a wrapped gift under the Christmas tree? I hope not. I don't intend for that to happen. I have a contribution to make too. I have things to teach him. Now that's a scary thought.




There is no workout or meal checks the remainder of the week. It's a mini vacation. But I'll try not to overdo it with the food.

Day 33: Strong Lifts




Man working out in the rain was something else. All through the workout the theme to rocky was playing in my head. Quite the experience.




This is a new month so I will be taking the strong lifts 5x5 program and tweaking it to fit my needs.


Workout A

  1. Squats 5x5 @ 225 (finally did my body weight)

  2. Bench press 5x5 @ 215 (+5 lbs)

  3. Inverted Rows 5xFailure (using body weight)

    • 1x8
    • 1x7
    • 1x6

  4. Push-ups 3xFailure (using body weight)

    • 1x20
    • 1x14
    • 1x8

  5. Reverse Crunch 3x12 (using body weight)


  6. Weight Lifting - 612 calories in 1 hr


Meals:

  1. Meal one: Slimfast optima Shake with milk 200 cal

  2. Meal two: Katsu Fish 805.0 cal

    (Katsu Fish broken down)

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup
    2 servings
    483.6 calories

    Sole, fried
    3 oz=85 g
    2 servings
    321.4 calories


  3. Meal three: Chicken curry with katsu fish 627.6 cal

    (meal broken down)

    Curry
    3.5 oz=100 g
    105.0 calories

    Chicken, drumstick, meat & skin, fried in flour
    1 drumstick, 1.7 oz=49 g
    120.1 calories

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup=237 ml or 6.6 oz=186 g
    241.8 calories

    Abalone, fried
    3 oz=85 g
    160.7 calories

    1 Dr Pepper 16 oz 250 cal

  4. Total: 1882.6

Day 32: New Month

Yesterday was the annual Yammerz Christmas party. I'm still tired from the festivities so here's the cliff notes. We ate while watching a slide show of the group throughout the years. Gave a gift of a years worth of speech therapy to Uncle Art, Rae and Kev's Dad. Opened some white elephant gifts, I got a juicer. Then did live music, karaoke, and rock band till 5 in the morning. Good times.

I'm going to upload the pics from that night as soon as I can.


Current weight: 224 (I had to recheck the scale but most likely water weight fluctuations. Oh and I'm going to buy a fat caliper to really measure my progress.)


Workout:

  1. Rest Day
Cardio:
  1. None
Meals:
  1. Meal One: Kare Kare Total Calories: 558.2

  2. (broken down)
    Bread, Potato, Country [Oroweat] : 2 slices 200.0 calories
    Beans, Green, Snap or String, boiled: 43.8 calories
    Eggplant, boiled: 34.7 calories
    Cabbage, Chinese (Pak Choi, Bok Choy), boiled: 20.4 calories
    Beef, various cuts, meat & fat, cooked: 259.3 calories


  3. Meal two: Slimfast optima Shake with milk 200 cal (while at work)

  4. Meal three: Slimfast optima Shake with milk 200 cal (while at work)

  5. Meal four: Chicken with rice and eggs: 911.2

    (broken down)
    Chicken, breast, meat only, fried: 160.8 calories
    Rice, Yellow 3 servings: 570.0 calories
    Eggs, Chicken, fried 2 servings: 180.4 calories

  6. Total calories: 1869.4

Day 31: One month

Thirty one days. Easy to say. Harder to live. This month was interesting to say the least. I've had my highs, lows and everything in between. I've come to a realization that I'm very lazy when it comes to working out. It's tough to go outside when it's 40 degrees and workout, but once I get going I can usually finish strong. Another aspect is, my food intake is very sporadic. I need to be more consistent in the types of foods that I take in. One month down, 3 to go.





Starting weight: 230 pounds. NOV 20, 2008
Current weight: 225 pounds. DEC 20, 2008


Workout: Due to the fact that I stalled on chest. I took a 3 day break. Got alot of rest and was able to finish the whole workout strong.

  1. Squats 5x5 @ 220
  2. Pull downs 5x5 @ 170
  3. Bench press 5x5 @ 210
  4. Dead lifts 6x5 @ 220
  5. Military press 6x5 @ 120

Weight Lifting, vigorous, 1 hr 20 min: 816 calories


Meals: Holiday party, I'll post what I ate when I get back.

Day 30: ...

Meals

  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima shake 200

  2. Lunch: Katsu Fish 805.0 cal
    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup
    2 servings
    483.6 calories

    Sole, fried
    3 oz=85 g
    2 servings
    321.4 calories

  3. Dinner: Chinese Food 870.0

    Fried Rice
    8 oz
    450.0 calories

    Chicken Breast with Sacha Sauce
    5.5 oz
    170.0 calories

    Mandarin Chicken
    5.5 oz
    250.0 calories

  4. Snack: Slimfast optima bar 22o cal
  5. Total Calories: 2095

Day 29: Not good

So today wasn't so good.

Current weight: 226

Meals:

  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Polish Sausage, Hebrew National: 540.0 cal
  3. Kare Kare : 1,111.2 cal

  4. Kare Kare broken down

    Rice, White, Short Grain, cooked
    1 cup
    2 servings
    483.6 calories

    Eggplant, cooked
    1 cup
    2 servings
    68.2 calories

    Cabbage, Chinese (Pak Choi, Bok Choy), boiled - shredded
    1 cup
    2 servings
    40.8 calories

    Beef, various cuts, meat & fat, cooked
    3 oz
    2 servings
    518.6 calories

  5. Snack: Kare Kare 555.6 cal (smaller portion)
  6. Total Calories: 2406.8

Day 28: Calorie counter

So I decided to look for an online calorie counter to help with my nutrition and I found this: Caloriesperhour.com. It comes with a free calorie counter, a calories burned calculator, and a weight loss calculator. The calorie counter has a huge directory of fast food chains and supermarket foods.It's freaking awesome! The downside to this is that I've finally found out the true calories that I've been taking in. No wonder why I'm losing so slowly.


Current weight: 226


Workout:

  1. Rest Day
Cardio:
  1. Shopping - non-groceries
    235 calories in 1 hr
Meals:
  1. Breakfast: Polish Sausage, Hebrew National: 540.0 cal
  2. Lunch: Baked lobster roll, 12 pieces : 507.0 cal
  3. Dinner: Chicken with lettuce wrap 800.0 cal
  4. Total Calories: 1807.0 calories

Day 27: On the state of your job

"You should work either for fun or for money: ideally for both. If your present job offers neither, you should find another." Me


Current weight: 225

Workout:
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 220
  2. Pull downs 5x5 @ 170
  3. Bench press (For some reason this workout was tough for me)
  • 2x5 @ 215
  • 1x4 @ 215
  • 1x3 @ 215
  • 1x5 @ 205
  • 1x3 @ 205
  1. Dead lifts 5x5 @ 220
  2. Military press 5x5 @ 120 (Could barely grind this one out as well.)

Cardio:

I'm finally adding a proper HIIT routine for the bike. Taken from this website. Even with my previous training, I'm going to start with the beginner program so that my body can get acclimated to this regimen.

  1. HIIT: One 4 minute cycle. 30 sec sprint, followed by 30 sec normal pace.
Meals:
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Chicken breast with brocolli and rice 600 cal
  3. Dinner: Chicken soup with rice 600 cal
  4. Post Workout shake 200 cal

Day 26: Rain and my new Camera.

It's one of those days. The rain is pouring down here in Southern California, just one month after the fires stripped the vegetation from the hills and I can't help but reflect on the two seasons of Southern California. Inferno and flood. It's a steady cycle here. The hills turn from green, to brown, to fire, and then to flood. The stinging smoke, raging wildfires and inevitable pyromaniacs will give way to months and months of biblical rain.

So today I decided to try my new camera and document the first real downpour of the season. I'm not a photographer by any means. I don't know any of the technical jargon that most of my friends, who are great photographers in their own right, understand with ease. All I know is how to point and click. Basically I decided that if I took a plethora of shots, one or two would luckily come out looking halfway decent. So out of the 20-30 pictures that I took, here are the two that made the cut.


Tree outside my work

When the rain cleared up


edit: So my cousin wants to know what kind of camera I used. The photos were taken with a Sony Cyber-shot. I didn't know how to stop the flash so I covered the flash with my hand. Yeah, basically point and click.



Current weight: 225


Workout:
  1. Rest Day
Cardio:
  1. None (I have shin splints)
Meals:
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Chicken Pho with Chinese Dumplings 900 cal

Day 24: Killing Time by Barefoot Fitness

This was taken from Barefoot Fitness, a site that I frequent to help me stay motivated.




People like to say that they are killing time.

"Oh, I'm at the mall, you know… Just killing time."

It doesn't work that way. Time kills you.

There are 28,251 days in the average human lifespan. What you do with them is up to you, but when the clock strikes midnight on that final day you no longer have any input. All you can do is look back on what you've done and the story you've written with your actions.

There are some people in this world that cut their days short on purpose. They don't want to play anymore and end their own lives. Maybe ten thousand days and then… suicide. All done.

But you would never do such a thing, right? You can tell yourself this, in your comfortable chair, reading some guys blog while you're supposed to be taking care of that spreadsheet for the boss. You're going to get all twenty-eight thousand days. Heck, with medical technology, you could probably get thirty or more!

Now look back on what you've been doing with your days. How many hours of television did you watch last week? Ever think about counting it? Kind of an uncomfortable thought, huh? What about that time you spend each day commuting to work; sitting in that same seat, driving the same route, cursing at the same intersections? All that time you spend preoccupied while you’re with your kids, friends or maybe that one person that you’ve chosen to love. Does that time spent with them really matter when all you’re really focused on is worrying about your mortgage?

Consider the path you’re on and total up the days again. How many of them were really lived well?

What is the difference between you and the girl who writes a goodbye letter to her cats and jumps off the Coronado Bridge? Sure, she cut her days short all at once, but have you ever considered the possibility that you’re doing the same thing, just one day or a few hours at a time, over the course of a lifespan?

Get up and do something. Achieve that thing that scares you, or at least fail while daring greatly. Love someone completely, take that trip that you’ve been putting off since your freshman year of college and actually say what you think for once. At the end of the day, when you step in the shower and watch the mud, blood and sweat wash down the drain, you’ll know that you can go to sleep with another day in the victory column.





Current weight: 226 (up 1 lb booooo)

Workout:
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 220 (+5lbs)
  2. Pull downs 5x5 @ 170 (+5lbs)
  3. Bench press 5x5 @ 210 (+15lbs)
  4. Dead lifts 6x5 @ 215 (same as last week)
  5. Military press 6x5 @ 120 (+5lbs)
Cardio:
  1. None (I have shin splints)
Meals:
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Beef, Rice, Green beans and Mungo beans 800 cal
  4. Snack: ??? don't know yet but it will be around 200 cal

Day 23: Narutard


So Konahamaru, a genin or beginner, is able to produce the Rasengan, and take out a Pain body. While Kakashi, an S-level Jonin, who is considered by the current Hokage, Lady Tsunade, a shoe in to be the Sixth Hokage, the most powerful ninja in the village, is defeated and possibly killed by said Pain body. Right ...


Current Weight: 225

Workout

  1. rest day

Cardio

  1. none

Meals:
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Jolly bee's "Chicken Joy" and 16 oz coke 900 cal
  4. Snack: Mango and Peach tart 250 cal
  5. Snack: Mango and Peacj tart 250 cal

Day 22: Ungrateful

If grandma is living with you, you don't make her pay for rent or make her buy her own food, you take care of her. She took care of you when you were little, why the fuck are you making her pay when she needs to be taken care of. Granted, some elderly people are a burden to take care of, but so were you when you were a 2 year-old fuck crying for your bottle. You're still being taken cared of by your parents. Sure you're married now but it was your dad that bought you that house for you and your sister. He knew you couldn't afford it so he shelled out his hard earned money to buy you that house then you go around and ask his mom for rent? Where is the gratitude?


I hope your kids treat you like shit when you are old. Fucking spoiled ass bitches.

(you can tell I'm abit mad)



Current weight: 225


Workout: (hope it doesn't rain before I can do this)

  1. Squats 5x5 @ 215lbs
  2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 195lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 215lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 165
  5. Military Press 5x5 @ 115lbs

So I took the workout from the previous day and tweaked it a little so that I'll still be using the same muscles and getting a high rep set added onto my low.


  1. Squats 1xFail @ 95 lbs
  2. Bench Press 1xFail @ 95lbs
  3. Dead lifts 1xFail @ 95 lbs
  4. Pull Downs 1xFail @ 95 lbs
  5. Military Press 1xFail @ 95 lbs

Cardio

  1. none.

Meals:

  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Chicken breast no skin with green beans with broth 700 cal
  3. Dinner: Roasted chicken with pene pasta on tomato sauce 800 cal

Day 22: Week in review

It was a so-so week for me. I kept up with the majority or my diet and workout plan and I'm down 5 lbs. I need to stay motivated so a friend of mine sent this to me.





Current weight: 225

Workout: Randy Couture training I'm trying something different on my light days



  1. Bent over rows x8
  2. Upright rows x8
  3. Military press x8
  4. Good morning x8
  5. Lunges x8
  6. Squat push press x8
  7. Deadlift x8

Cardio:
  1. 10 min speed bag
  2. 10 min jump rope
  3. 10 min jog




Meals:
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Cafe steamers Beef and green beens 300 cal
  3. Dinner: Polish hot dog with relish onions and ketchup 900 cal
  4. Snack: Slimfast optima 200 cal


Day 21: Golden Boy




If I could say only one thing about this anime, if sexual humor offends you, then don't even consider this title. This is one series which doesn't even try to hide its intent.

Meet Kintaro Oe, age 25. Kintaro refers to himself as a freeter, a person who takes on various odd jobs. The strange thing about him is that after achieving all the credits required to graduate college, he quit. He now travels the world on his mountain bike in search of knowledge, because, after all, 'Study is life!

The Golden Boy OVA has been positively received by English-language reviewers, but it is widely known for its mature content: while the OVA is not strictly a hentai animation, it does feature instances of partial female nudity, orgasms, and female masturbation. In contrast, the manga becomes almost pornographic starting in the second volume.

So if you want to read the Manga, I've provided the link.













Current weight: 225 Well damn. I'm down 5 pounds. 25 pounds to go.



Workout

  1. 1. Squats 5x5 @ 215lbs (+5 lbs)
  2. 2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 195lbs (+5 lbs)
  3. 3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 215lbs (+5 lbs)
  4. 4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 165 (+5 lbs)
  5. 5. Military Press 5x8 @ 115lbs (+5 lbs)

Cardio

  1. 1. none.

Meals:

  1. 1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. 2. Lunch: Hot dog with onions, relish and ketchup 300 cal
  3. 3. Dinner: Beef stew with rice and green beans 900 cal

Day 20: Deep thoughts...

To me, boxing is like ballet, except there is no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other.






Current Weight: 226

Workout
  1. rest day

Cardio

  1. none

Meals:
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Chicken and potatoes with carrots 700
  4. Snack: Slimfast optima 200 cal

Day 19: Robotech

In every era and in every medium, you have bad offerings, you have mediocre offerings, and then you have one or two gems that were put together by a team that might've given half a damn about the quality of the final product. The shining star in of '80s cartoons was undoubtedly Robotech. Heavily plotted, with rich characters (especially for the time), Robotech was the series to watch, and was by far the most complicated and adult animated show on daytime TV.

Robotech, broke the mold by working on the assumption that perhaps young viewers could appreciate a deep, ongoing storyline. It unwrapped a battle-torn universe where wars didn't just end because the good guys happened to foil the villain's plot in half an hour. In fact, the war lasted for generations, tuning kids into a very sad fact about life, death and war: Sometimes this shit just drags on forever.




Now there has just been announced a culture-quaking event of such import, that developmentally arrested 30-35 year-olds around the planet are shivering, no, quivering in excitement, stunned to the bone, mouths agape and rendered useless for the rest of the day. I'm talking about Robotech: the movie. While this is old news, I just needed to write about it. Words cannot express the extent of my infatuation with this animated series when I was in grade school. If it weren’t for Robotech, I probably wouldn’t have gotten into anime at all.


Any anime geek knows this intro.


Current Weight: 227

Workout

1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs
2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs
3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs
4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160
5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs

Cardio

1. none.

Meals:

  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Cafe steamers chicken with broccoli added 4 pieces of bourbon chicken 600 cal

Day 18: What did I learn today?

You can eat bourbon chicken for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without feeling sick.

Current Weight: 227

Workout

1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs
2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs
3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs
4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160
5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs

Cardio

1. none.

Meals:

  1. Bourbon chicken 5 pieces and 1 cup rice 400 cal
  2. Bourbon chicken 5 pieces and 1 cup rice 400 cal
  3. Bourbon chicken 5 pieces and 1 cup rice 400 cal
  4. Weight watchers spaghetti 300 cal

Day 17: They fucking sparkle

While I can reluctantly reconcile the idea that vampires feed on animal blood because they want to be able to live side-by-side with humans, I cannot accept changes like ’sunlight is harmless to a vampire.’ No, that’s not true… I cannot accept changes like ’sunlight is harmless to a vampire, they just have to come out at night because their skin sparkles like glitter in sunshine.’

The vampires fucking sparkle. THEY SPARKLE!

That very concept is riddled with FAIL and AIDS.




Current weight: 227

Workout: rest day

Day 16: Once again from the top.

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. Sir Winston Churchill(1874 - 1965)



I won't stop.

Current weight: 227

Workout

1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs
2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs
3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs
4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160
5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs

Cardio

1. none.

Meals

1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
3. Dinner: Sushi ??? cal

Day 15: Week in Review

It's Thursday once again, time to recap this weeks failure. I was inconsistent with my diet and my workout. The intensity that I had last week is slipping away. A dietitian and personal trainer friend of mine basically said that "You're too strict. You restrict your diet too much."

It's true with the exception of my dinner I limit my calories to the bare minimum. I exercise like I’m 20 again. Now it seems I can only keep this up for a week or two before my body finally screams for more food and I end up bingeing.

Current weight: 228 (no decrease so it's a wasted week)

Current weight: 227

Workout

  1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs
  2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs
Cardio
  1. Rowing: 45 minutes
Meals
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Gyro 600 cal and a Polish Dog 700 cal (went to Redlands farmers market)

Day 14: Grave of the Fireflies

"They live on, though the world has forgotten them, and will continue to live on forever, reliving their story. They have not forgotten the past; they cannot. And neither should we." --- unknown.


Seita and Setsuko from the live action version ( I couldn't find a decent pic of the anime).



In my long history with anime, not one film has touched my heart as did "Grave of the Fireflies". This anime classic tells the story of a pair of orphans following the firebombing of Kobe at the end of WW2.

The film opens with a montage that hints at the fate of Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, before an extended sequence showing an American attack on their home town. The two find out that their mother didn't survive the attack and leave for their aunt's home. When things don't work out, they take up refuge in an abandoned bomb shelter.

Based on the novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, "Grave of the Fireflies" takes tremendous care to illustrate the everyday details of life during war time. With the careful deliberation it lays out its heartbreaking story. Never resorting to manipulative tricks, the film instills achingly real sorrow for the orphans' fate. It doesn't avert its gaze from the bloody stumps and burnt out eyes of the childrens mother, or a little girl's last labored breaths.

One of the most devastating anti-war films ever made, animated or otherwise, "Grave of the Fireflies" takes courage to watch but rewards it in spades. Lovely and heartbreaking, this movie will stay with you.



Current weight: 227

Workout
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs
  2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs
Cardio
  1. Rowing: 45 minutes
Meals
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: ??? don't know yet

Day 13: Death of a Snowman


I'm looking for something that can deliver a 50-pound payload of snow
on a small feminine target. Can you suggest something? Hello...?

--- Calvin


Sometimes you just have to post things that make you smile.
--- anon


Current weight: 227

Workout
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs
  2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs
Cardio
  1. Rowing: 45 minutes
Meals
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Turkey with rice and broccoli 800 cal



Day 12: That time of year


Snowmen, hot chocolate, warm slippers, a raging fire in the fireplace — these are just a few of the many wonders of winter. Southern California winters are perfect — we get just enough snow in the mountains to really have good snowboarding but when we get tired of the snow we can just leave. Winter is the season for family holidays, new beginnings and making lifelong memories. When I was growing up, Christmas was my favorite holiday. I knew there would be presents. Lots of them. One of my annual pre-Christmas rituals was carefully going through the Toy's R' Us catalog and marking my selections in ink. Like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, I wanted to make sure my parents got the message.

Now Christmas also can be, for a variety of reasons, a time of stress. One source of stress is the oppression of the shopping list. The longer the list, the greater the anxiety--what shall I get for this niece or that cousin or friend? How do I avoid giving a gift that's too similar to what I gave last year? Bending to the pressure, many of us join the legions of shoppers hunched over and weighted down by bags full of holiday things.

Amidst it all, we lose sight of the meaning of Christmas. We forget why we give gifts in the first place--the story Christians believe about the first Christmas' gift to the world of the Prince of Peace. When He walked on the Earth, He spoke to us of the gifts that really matter:
"For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." Matthew 25:35
This message of giving speaks to what's good in and required of all of us. Giving to another reminds us of our own humanity, of how fragile, vulnerable and fearful we can be ourselves and how loving, generous and caring we can be to another. When you feel your life begin to spiral, when balance is hard to come by, think about a time when someone has given to you unconditionally and do that for another. It could be for a minute, an hour or an afternoon. When you stop to give unconditionally, you may be beautifully surprised to witness the effect it has on you and how quickly your life feels back in balance.

Current weight: 228

Workout
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs
  2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs
Cardio
  1. Rowing: 45 minutes
Meals
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Katsu Fish with rice and soup. 800 cal

Day 11: Back to it.

Thanks to my personal nutritionist, who answered my question with a lengthy email.

It sounds like you're referring to a "calories in vs. calories out" type of equation. First you need to understand that one pound of fat is made up of roughly 3,500 extra calories. So in order to lose one pound of fat, you need to create a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories.

Basically, you can create a deficit of calories in three different ways:

1. Eat fewer calories than you burn each day. Keep in mind that your body burns calories all day long as part of your basal metabolic rate (BMR), because it takes energy (calories) for your body to perform basic physiological functions that are necessary for life—breathing, digesting, circulating, thinking and more. On top of that, physical activity (bathing, walking, typing and exercising) uses even more calories each day.

Example: If you eat 500 fewer calories each day for a week, you'll lose about one pound of fat (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Again, keep in mind that your SparkDiet has already done these calculations for you, so simply follow the calorie recommendations on your plan (don't eat less than is already recommended).

2. Burn more calories than you consume by increasing your physical activity. If you eat enough calories to support your BMR, but exercise more, you'll create a caloric deficit simply by burning extra calories. This works only when you're not overeating to begin with.

Example: Regardless of your BMR, if you exercised to burn an extra 500 calories each day, you'll lose about one pound of fat in a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).

3. A combination of eating fewer calories and exercising to burn more calories. This is the most effective way to lose weight and keep it off. It's much easier to create a substantial calorie deficit when you combine dieting with exercise because you don't have to deprive yourself from food, and you don't have to exercise in crazy amounts.

Example: If you cut just 200 calories a day from your diet and burned just 300 calories a day by exercising, you'd lose about one pound per week. Compare that to the other examples above—you're losing weight at about the same rate without making major changes to your diet or exercise routine. Some people hate to cut calories, while others hate to exercise, so a combination approach allows you to do more of whatever comes easier for you.

As long as you are consistent, your calorie deficit will "add up" over time, and you’ll slim down. But it's important to remember that your Nutrition and Fitness recommendations are already based on the goals you created. You don't have to do any extra math.

It's also important to note that although this math seems relatively simple, our bodies are very complicated and you might not always see the results you expect based on equations alone. Many other factors can affect your weight loss rate along the way.

Current weight: heh didn't gain, still surprisingly 228

Workout
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 210lbs (+5lbs)
  2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 190lbs (+5lbs)
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 210lbs (+5lbs)
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 160 (+10lbs)
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 110lbs (+5lbs)
Cardio
  1. Bike: 45 minutes
Meals
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Beef Short Ribs with rice and vegetables 900 cal

Day Ten: Two steps back

I just realized that with all the rain that we've been having, I haven't workout since Tuesday. Naturally my diet has suffered as well. This is a big set back, brought on by my lazy ass. Damn.

Day Nine: Can't drive 55

Gonna write me up a 125, Post my face wanted dead or alive,
Take my license, all that jive, I can't drive 55!
No, no no, I can't drive... (I can't drive 55!)
I can't drive... (I can't drive 55!)
I can't drive 55! - Sammy Hagar


Waaay back in the day, when Sammy Hagar was not associated with Van Halen, the speed limit was indeed 55 mph. I was nine in 1987 when the speeding limit was changed from 55 mph to 65 mph. I can remember telling my dad not to go over 65 mph because 65 mph was too fast. He would laugh and tell me 65 isn't fast. All this was happening as I sat in the trunk area, of a Dodge LTD station wagon without any seat belts.


21 years later I can still hear my Dad's voice saying "65 isn't fast", and truth be told the only time that I drive 65 mph on the freeway is if there's traffic. So today I was on the 210 west headed to Victoria Gardens for some post Turkey day spending, the weather was clear and dry, unlimited visibility and traffic was light and moving well. All components for me to speed.
Then I get pulled over.

I'm issued a 22349 (a) VC, speeding. Apparently I'm going 90 mph, the officer reduces it to 87. I was hoping that when he pulls up my file, he would see that I work at a correctional facility ie; prison, and let me off with a warning like the other 4 officer have done. But it was not the case. I'm guessing, since it is the end of the month he needs to fill his quota.

I now have several options, appear in court and fight this misdemenor or to pay the fine. Good thing I have until January of next year to think about it.

Day Eight: Thankful for...

You've probably experienced going around the Thanksgiving table so everyone can say what he's thankful for. I used to dread this, because I thought it was corny beyond words. And what did I have to be thankful for that wouldn't sound shallow? But this year will be a bit different.

I'm thankful that I came out of surgery without any complications. Although it was just a tonsillectomy I didn't have any post surgery infections.

I'm thankful that the cyst that was found near my brain stem was a non issue. The doctor said it probably was there my whole life, and that the headaches were probably stress enduced.

I'm thankful that in this economy I have a career that enables me to live a good lifestyle. Have you noticed that the usual water cooler complaining has cooled off this year? Suddenly it doesn't sound so smart to complain about your job or your boss. Such bitching can be draining. It's good for business and morale that people are more committed to doing a good job. Even if they don't love their job, they recognize that having benefits is a good thing. If you were unfortunate enough to lose your job, you can find reason to be thankful, too. Unemployment benefits for about 1.2 million Americans

I'm thankful that I live in a country where all I have to worry about is paying my bills on time. I could still be living in the Philippines where all kinds of shit is happening.

I'm thankful that homes are getting more affordable. I think real estate prices should stabilize soon and if they get a little cheaper in the meantime, it will only make homes more attainable for all those Americans still hoping for a piece of the dream on terms they can afford.

I'm thankful that gas prices are falling. Last summer, gas prices nationally averaged over $4 a gallon. Now gas is at $1.87 on average nationally and heating oil costs are about 20% lower than last year.

And finally I'm thankful that I have a relationship in Jesus Christ. We live in a world filled with worry. There is always something to worry about. Jesus offers us comfort in a world where there is so much to worry about. If you have a personal relationship with him, then you will know to put all your problems in his hands. As humans, we can only do so much. We have to put the rest in his hands. The hardest part of making it in life is simply letting go or our situations and letting Jesus take control.

Oh, and to end on a non serious note. I give you big bird!








Day Seven: Week in review

So it's the seventh day of this bet and I'm going to post the results. I'm going to be brutally honest. Other than the past two days, I've kept to this diet. It looks to be a long and difficult road ahead of me.


Current weight. 228 lbs I've lost 2 lbs. 28 more to go.

Day Six: Whispering eye.

I'm done with another work week, and thank God it's finally over! Time to relax and unwind.
With that in mind I went and watched Role models.


"No venti is twenty. Large is large. In fact tall is large and grande is spanish for large. Venti is the only one that doesn't mean large. It's also the only one that's italian. Congratulations you're stupid in three languages." -Danny


I found the film to be immensely relatable, which is probably a bad thing because these role models are often anything but. Danny flips out on a barista over their ridiculous insistence on serving “Grandes” and “Ventis,” While Wheeler spends most of his day thinking about, and looking at, breasts. The conversations and style of speaking rings true to the way we talk these days, with plenty of curse words and sarcastic comebacks. Seann William Scott especially impressed me in this outing. He is spot on hilarious and seems like he’d fit in with any group of assholes, aka, our friends and us. Paul Rudd nails the depressed sarcastic guy, who by his own admission “hates everything.” His indifference to the world after his break-up is hilarious and delivered with such deadpan sincerity it’s easy to laugh out loud. All in all, Role Models is a very funny film with lots of laugh out loud moments, which is rare for me. The audience who saw it with me voiced their enthusiasm with near constant raucous laughter. I say you go see it. It’ll keep you in laughing from start to finish.





Current Weight: 228lbs

Workout

  1. Every muscle sore didn't work out.

Meals ( two days in a row damn)
  1. Breakfast: Beef soup 600 cal
  2. Lunch: Grilled Chicken thigh, and grilled sole, one cup rice. 750 cal
  3. Dinner: Grilled chicken thigh, and grilled sole, one cup rice. 750 cal

Day Five: Manipulating the system


Pretty much the voice of Bill Watterson dictating the current state of our school systems. Dead on if you ask me. The school system is more of a test for being able to acquire knowledge than preparation for anything worthwhile.

Current Weight: 227lbs

Workout

  1. Squats 5x5 @ 205lbs (+20)
  2. Bench Press 5x5 @ 185lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 205lbs (+20)
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 150 (+10)
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 105lbs (+25)
Cardio
  1. Run: 45 minutes
Meals (man I fucked up today)
  1. Breakfast: Salmon Chowder, with white rice 960 cal
  2. Lunch: Denny's country fried steak and eggs 1200 cal
  3. Dinner: Salmon Chowder, with white rice 960 cal

Day Four: Hell Freezes Over

It was a long time for you / It was a long time for me / It’d be a long time for anyone / But looks like it was meant to be

—“There Was a Time”

Yes it's true, the album that took 15 years to make has finally dropped today. I was 9 when the genius of "Appetite for Destruction" hit the stores, and while I couldn't buy the tape due to the fact that my parents hated metal, I knew I could rock out to the sweet licks of "Sweet Child o' Mine", "Welcome to the Jungle", and "Paradise City" on the now defunct Pirate radio in the comfort of my room.

The mention of GNR brings back so many memories from my childhood that it was with great anticipation when I purchased Guns and Roses new album "Chinese Democracy". So was it worth it? Sadly it was not. I wanted to be wowed, just as I was 20 years ago when the music of Guns N' Roses was hungry, reckless and born of the streets. But Chinese Democracy tries way to hard to to rock. Out of the 14 tracks that I listened to only 2 captured the effortless, dirty rawness we need from G N’ R. There are flashes of real promise in some of the melodies here but all too often they are mired in misguided arrangements. As a whole, there's no direction, no theme, no focus. And after 15 years, well, that's bound to happen.

Day 4: Current weight 229

Workout
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 185lbs
  2. Dips 5x5 @ BW 230lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 185lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 140
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 80lbs
Meals
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  3. Dinner: Tofu Curry, with white rice 800 cal

Day Three: Empty shell

"For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. And their love, and their hatred, and their envy is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5 & 6


There is no spirit of Grandma looking down on us from Heaven sending her love to the group of her grand kids. While it is a comforting thought, it's totally incorrect. So as we gathered on that hillside to pay respects to our Grandma for her birthday had she lived, it occurred to me that this little reunion of cousins was not for Grandma, but for us. It was for our benefit to meet so we could bring our sorrow and grief to the surface so that the living could comfort each other and solidify our group bonds. So that we could all share in the memories and be enriched by her stories. So we wouldn't forget her.

We still think of you and we miss you.



Grandma 1923-2008




Workout:
none rest day

Day Two: Time to kick some rocks!

There is an anecdote that Samuel Johnson, the British Writer, Was asked how he would refute Bishop Berkeley's statement that the world was an illusion.

"I refute it thus!" he said, and kicked a large rock.

Some people think he was right, some think he was wrong, and some don't think about it at all.

I've been thinking about it.

It's all because yesterday was world philosophy day and the BBC was kind enough to put up an article on:

Four philosophical questions to make your brain hurt



What both Johnson and Berkeley were concerned with is the nature of reality. Perhaps Johnson's answer showed a profound understanding of the nature of reality, on the other hand, perhaps it showed a profound ignorance. It could have shown a profound frustration, because what we are talking about here is metaphysics, which means we are dealing with beliefs, with faith-scientific proof is lacking.

Some people consider this existence like the caverns of Socrates, for a more modern example the matrix, basically the reality of perceptions. We can only perceive reality through our senses, we gauge reality by what we perceive, by what our senses tell us, and by what we make of those perceptions.

Sometimes, when I have a particularly bad shift, I'll stand outside the gates of the prison, look up at the sky and think to myself "Is this another Cavern of Socrates?"

Then I'll go and kick a rock.

Day 2:
Current weight: 228lbs (probably due to water loss and empty stomach)

Workout
  1. Squats 5x5 @ 185lbs
  2. Dips 5x5 @ BW 230lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 185lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 140
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 80lbs
Cardio
  1. No running today my shins hurt like hell
Meals
  1. Breakfast: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  2. Snack: Lean pockets 250 cal
  3. Lunch: Slimfast optima 200 cal
  4. Dinner: Salisbury steak 3 pieces, 2 cups broccoli. 800 cal

Day one: The bet.

This is primarily going to be a progress blog. You see, I made a little wager with my brother to lose 30 lbs by March 22, which is my sister's wedding. The wager consists of $1,ooo, my Xbox 360, and the inability to play final fantasy VIII for one whole year if I lose. If I win, I get... 30lbs lighter. This wager was place while I was in a bit of a euphoric mood, so I easily agreed to his stipulations. The problem is, 30 lbs in 4 months is quite a challenge. I've lost that much before but it required an excruciating amount of work, basically doing "2-a-days", almost 45 minutes of cardio and the metabolism of being 21. Now, I'm older, have little time to workout, (I sometimes work 16 hour days.) and I work nights. While it seems that I'm already making excuses, I'm not. I'm just stating the facts. Now for the program.

I'm going to be using a full body workout that consists of compound exercises to get me back into lifting form. This is going to be used until I can get my squat up to 300lbs. This workout is a basic 25 strong lift taken from T-nation.com

Cardio and diet are also a must to be able to get to my goal. Because I work primarily at night, I've been eating fast food for the majority of the past 5 years. Needless to say my diet sucked. So to start off I'm going to exchange my usual breakfast of 2 McDonalds sausage and egg McMuffins to using slimfast optima. Most people would be asking "but what about using protein shakes?" They hurt my kidneys and Slimfast tastes better.

With cardio, I'm going to start with a basic boring 45 minute jog. The distance does not matter at this point only that I go 45 minutes. Maybe later on I'll add in some H.I.T training.





Day 1:
Current weight: 230lbs

Workout

  1. Squats 5x5 @ 185lbs
  2. Dips 5x5 @ BW 230lbs
  3. Dead lifts (Romanian) 5x5 185lbs
  4. Pull Downs 5x5 @ 140
  5. Military Press 5x8 @ 80lbs
Cardio
  1. Run: 45 minutes
  2. Speed bag 10 minutes
Meals
  1. Breakfast: slimfast optima
  2. Lunch: slimfast optima
  3. Dinner: White rice, salad, beef teryiaki.