Day 59

I've been looking at buying a senior citizen lately. They're a lot like cats.....don't require a lot of attention, easy to feed, and are content to sleep most of the day. Some are, like cats, kinda crabby but that's their charm. And hey....two for one sale....whatta deal! But I won't be going to the International House of Pancakes this morning to purchase some old farts, I'll be going to another one of my notorious "working" breakfast meetings.

I don't know what it is about my team wanting to go to pancake houses for meetings once a month or so. Nothing productive gets done...really....except the ironic point being made that our productivity is a bit low, so we all should buckle down just as soon as we polish off the chocolate chip pancakes smothered in whipped cream during this two hour feeding meeting.

I'll have a cup of coffee. I'm not even going to make an attempt to find something coming close to being healthy on the menu. I had a Myoplex this morning and that will hold me until my next meal AFTER the meeting.

Just because nobody around me cares about their body, I've got mine for life.

Day 52

This is the point at which a majority of people who do this challenge quit. Though I'm not getting the results that I had hoped for....I'm not quitting, and I'll be doing another challenge after this one.

and another

and another

Whatever it takes.

Day 47

I wonder when EAS is going to send me the entry form for my challenge? Not that I think I would win the thing...but I would like to officially enter.

Day 39

This is really weird. I'm not losing much weight right now in the challenge but I seem to be getting smaller....or at least less round. I've had to start wearing a belt to hold up my pants.

Now, that might not seem like much to you...but for years I've worn jeans that were a bit tight around the middle and just let my belly snug up against my waistline. A couple of weeks ago I went out and got a belt because my britches were starting to droop. The other night, I was standing in the kitchen talking to Vickie and my pants just dropped to my ankles. I wasn't moving or jumping or stretching or making a suggestive pass at Vickie....my pants just fell off. It seems that, though I still have a gut, it's slowly going away.

I cinched up my belt a couple of notches when I went to work the next morning. I had to give a lecture and didn't want a repeat of what happened in my kitchen...though I guess it would be a good way to find out if anybody in the class was paying attention to me.

Day 35

It's my free day and what I really would like for breakfast is a Myoplex shake with blueberries.

There's something wrong with me.

Day 33

I've got a boo-boo that's put a crimp into my exercise.

You know how they say that most accidents occur in the home? Well, that's particularly true with a klutz like me. I mean, I've even broken my nose just getting out of bed in the morning...which is one really lousy way to start the day. The other night I ended my day just as well. While walking around the bed I snagged my little toe on a blanket, pulling it out of the socket and ripping off the nail as well. I let loose with the usual and expected colorful phrases that I had learned from my days in the Navy, then looked down to inspect the damage. My little toe was at a right angle to my foot and bleeding to beat the band.

No pain (thank gawd for shock) so I hopped over to the bathroom and stood in the tub to run some warm water over my foot. I contemplated on what to do. Go to an emergency room? Sure looks like an emergency. I mean, I can't leave my toe like that because I wouldn't be able to wear any shoes. Plus, the shock was wearing off and it was starting to hurt. So...keeping the warm water running I banged my foot against the side of the tub and knocked the little booger back into place.

I didn't do this because I am a tough macho man....I did it because I'm a chicken. I'm afraid of hospitals.

Anyway, my toe wiggles fine but hurts like hell. Cardio is all but impossible and lower body workouts are very, very difficult. I'm being slowed down by one little freakin toe.

Day 31

Just an update on my progress. My weight as of the last free day was 210 lbs with 32 % body fat.

Not impressive? Nothing that would elicit awe and wonder? No chance of starting an empire as a weight loss guru selling books and exercise DVDs?

Maybe not....but consider.....

I started at 217.5 with a whopping 36.5 percent of that in body fat. In the last month, I've managed to lose 12.2 pounds of that fat while gaining 4.7 lbs of muscle in it's place.

This is the way it works, folks. We don't gain the weight overnight and we sure can't get rid of it quickly. What I am doing with BFL is more than just getting to a lower number on the scale, I'm trying to build muscle as well. It takes time. It takes work.

I'm getting there.

Day 29

An upper body workout with a Myoplex afterwards.

Day 24

I've decided to do something about my lackadaisical workouts at the gym. They aren't as intense as I need because of several factors inherent in gyms...mainly, other people. Ya see, in the Body for Life program, there is a specific way to work out that can be rather difficult if there are other people using the equipment or other people waiting to cut in between reps. It's a system of 12 reps and wait a minute, 10 reps with a bit higher weight and rest a minute, then 8, then 6, then back off the weight a bit and do 12 and without rest do another 12 with a different positioning. Then...rest a couple of minutes while you move on to your next type of exercise.

You get into a zone and it can be a pain when you are into it and have to step aside while somebody takes several minutes cutting in, or having your whole schedule thrown off because all the equipment is being used. So I've decided to do my workouts at home with dumbbells and the first thing I needed was a weight bench. Nothing fancy, just a basic bench.

I mosey down to the local sporting goods store called Dick's...which is aptly named because it seems to employ a lot of them. Found one that I liked and waited around for a half an hour for somebody to show up and sell it to me. Left. I guess they were not interested in customers that day. Went over to K-Mart and saw the same bench for $30 less, so I grabbed it.

Three hours later...



I am in control of my workouts again.

Day 16

Guess what?

My weight is now 209 lbs. That's eight and a half pounds in two weeks.

happy dance, happy dance

Still trying to get my computer back up to snuff so I can share the joy with all the other BFL's over at YouTube.

Day 11

My arms are killing me!

Day 10

Okay...so I know it's been awhile.

The challenge is still going. I'm eating well, actually..probably a bit less food than I really need to build up some muscle. I would give anything to find a decent Myoplex pudding recipe. I haven't checked my weight because my experience has been that I always lose a few pounds during the first week or two, so I'm not going to set myself up for disappointment when the losses start to steady out afterwards.

My exercise?

sheeeeee

This damn yuppie gym I go to is driving me crazy. I have never been to a place that was so detrimental to working out as this place. Every morning, all the cardio machines are filled with designer clad kids strolling or softly pedaling whilst reading a magazine or watching TV. The weight machines are basically the same...and NOBODY understands the concept of multiple sets. This morning, just as I was was finishing up my last 12 on a lat pull and switching weights to do another 12 for my high point...some dillweed starts carping on me that "you're suppose to share, you've already done one set let me do one". I tried to explain that, sure, I would let him in between sets, but that I was just about to finish my last one myself". He wouldn't hear of it so I got up, watched him do four reps, then mosey on over to another machine. Pretty much throwing that whole routine off for me.

This happens all the time. Friggin yuppies so wrapped up in themselves and in a hurry to go through the motions to feel like they had a workout so they can hit the Starbucks before the office.

I'm alternating on whether to start driving to another YMCA about 20 minutes away that's in a, shall we say, lower economic demographic area but has people in it that are there to get fit rather than get seen....or getting a membership in another gym closer to home that has the advantage of being open 24 hours a day.

Either way, I'm not going back to my usual gym.

Day 2

Day Minus 1

With the challenge start date getting closer and closer, I'm doing lotsa thinking and planning around what I will be eating most days of the week. I'm all for convenience because I don't have a whole lot of time to prepare six meals every day. Besides...my cooking skills suck.

So I opt for fast and easy on most meals. Myoplex is good, but I can't drink those all day. What I usually do is pack ready to eat items such as cottage cheese, tuna, salad fixings, and raw veggies. I'll cook up a pot of brown rice and eat on that through the week. Same with some chicken breasts. Simple stuff, but nutritious and quick and easy.

I also like yogurt. It comes in a handy portion size and is loaded with good protein and calcium. Plus, it satisfies my sweet tooth a little bit. The trouble is....yogurt comes in all types of varieties. Sheesh...the yogurt aisle in a supermarket is worse than the cereal aisle.


You have all kinds of flavors from chocolate to some fruit that nobody outside of Peru has ever heard of before. There's fruit on the bottom, cookies on the top, whipped, blended, thick, custard, low fat, light, and smoothie style. Some of these yogurts have more calories than a bowl of rocky road ice cream. You can find some that claim to be 20% less calories than the others....because they are 25% smaller. Some have containers so weirdly designed that you can't really get a spoon into them. I guess you are either suppose to dump it into a bowl or use your tongue like an anteater to get at it.

I usually just buy the generic (translation = cheap) non-fat stuff. It's about 90 calories and tastes fine to me.

Day Minus 2

Well...whadaya know...I'm an old fart today.

Fifty. That's the age I obtain health and fitness.

better late than never, I guess

Day Minus 3

The days are counting down really fast now. I just realized that the start of the challenge will coincide with Labor Day. The down-side to that is my gym will be closed...so I'm going to have to figure out how to do the first workout without weights. The up-side is that, with my new work schedule, I'll have Sunday through Wednesday off. Plenty of time to to really focus on starting the challenge with vigor.

Day Minus 4

I do a lot of typing all day so...okay...maybe it's not really exercise. I'm not going to be breaking out in any sweat squeezing on a rubber ball; but it keeps things limber so that I can do workouts.

After all...if you are in pain...it's easy to tell yourself it's okay to skip a session at the gym.

Day Minus 5

Trying out the video option for blogger.

Day Minus 6

Daddgum, almost missed today. Oh well...Sunday's are going to be free anyway.

Day Minus 7

I have to say...working on Saturday is not all that bad. It's nice and quite. No emergencies. No crisis. I'm getting plenty of work done, with even some time to post here.