Daily News Archives

April 2009

04/30/2009 - More changes...
04/29/2009 - Feeling crappy this morning.
04/28/2009 - Yesterday's lunch meeting, and the train wreck that followed.
04/27/2009 - Awesome weekend; Lunch meeting; Leg day.
04/26/2009 - Sunday stats.
04/25/2009 - Free meal BLOAT!
04/24/2009 - Finally Friday.
04/23/2009 - Incredible weather; Outdoor workout today.
04/22/2009 - Liberated.
04/21/2009 - I'm making some changes.
04/20/2009 - Learning healthy, safe fat loss techniques.
04/19/2009 - Weekly stats.
04/18/2009 - My coffee maker threw up.
04/17/2009 - AtLarge's new "Novus" protein bar review.
04/16/2009 - More on balance.
04/15/2009 - Robot mode; Are my daily updates going to stop because my goals are changing?
04/14/2009 - Made it happen; Shifting priorities.
04/13/2009 - Good weekend, more results; May 2009 "100 Challenge" open for entry.
04/12/2009 - Weekly stats; AtLarge news, and a 10% off sale for JSF members and guests!
04/11/2009 - Solid week; My plan for dealing with weekend temptations.
04/10/2009 - John: 1, Evil Cravings: 0
04/09/2009 - I just got HIIT; Building momentum.
04/08/2009 - Just three days in, and I feel so much better.
04/07/2009 - Day 1 progress report; No more bulking and cutting for me?
04/06/2009 - Daily updates resume; 2009 cut reboot.
04/05/2009 - No update - Turtle.
04/04/2009 - No update - Turtle.
04/03/2009 - No update - Turtle.
04/02/2009 - No update - Turtle.
04/01/2009 - No update - Turtle.

April 30, 2009

I don't know what it was that had me feeling so crappy yesterday, but by mid-afternoon I felt completely fine. This morning I feel fantastic! Weird. Maybe it was all the pollen and stuff that's floating around now. Anyway, I'm glad it turned out to be nothing.

I've been taking posed progress pictures since January 2003. For the first 479 days I took 2 photos every single day without fail. After that, I started taking the photos every month and have continued that to this day. That's well over one thousand pictures--plus there are hundreds of other photos, mostly taken after my workouts. That's a lot of pictures. There was a time that these posed progress pictures were very important, but at this point in my life I no longer see the point in them. I've really grown to resent my self-imposed "requirement" that I take these pictures on such a ridged and structured time line. From here on out I'll be taking pictures whenever the hell I feel like it, and in whatever format I like.

As most of you who read these updates know, I've been feeling pretty boxed in lately. Health and fitness will always be very important parts of my life, but for more than six years those things have absolutely ruled my life and dictated just about everything I do. I'm simply at a point where I must make some changes or I'm going to burn out. [insert midlife crisis joke here]

I love working out. I love eating right. I love updating this site every morning. I love watching people on the forum get in shape and reach their goals. All of these things bring me an immense amount of joy, and I don't want to ever get to the point where that changes. So, I'm making adjustments that I feel are necessary to ensure that never happens.

Have a fantastic day!

April 29, 2009

I woke up this morning with a headache and I'm definitely feeling less than 100%. I've been pretty stressed out lately, and I know that's having a negative effect on me. I haven't been sick in a long, long time, so hopefully I can keep that streak alive and fight off whatever it is that I'm feeling this morning. Oh, and the first person who makes a lame swine flu joke in my journal is getting banned.

Even though I'm feeling a little under the weather, I still feel well enough to do my cardio this afternoon. Bring on the HIIT!

I'm running late this morning, and I've got so much left to accomplish this week that I hardly know where to begin. This would definitely not be a good time to get sick! Also, today Lisa is going out of town on business. So, sick or not, I'm fending for myself until Sunday.

April 28, 2009

Yesterday's lunch meeting was at a gourmet deli, so finding something somewhat healthy to eat was pretty easy. I decided to have roast turkey breast on rye, no mayo and no fries. When we first sat down I knew there'd probably be questions, so I preemptively gave everyone the 30 second version of my new attempt to balance the health and fitness side of my life with the other parts of my life. There were smiles and nods in agreement, and that was that. Actually everyone I work with has always been really cool about my "weird" eating habits and that sort of thing, so I didn't think anyone would make a big deal about this, either. I'm glad the subject of my diet was just a very brief blip on the radar before we got down to business. The sandwich was darn good, too.

I'm not going to whine about some of the difficulties that I'm going through right now with regards to my employment. I'll just say things at work are a bit tenuous at the moment, and that yesterday when I got home from the meeting I felt tired, stressed out and weak (mentally). I pretty much fell apart: I skipped my next meal and skipped my workout. After work I poured a drink and ordered a pizza. Sigh. Of all the ways to deal with stress what I did was immediately gratifying, but clearly not very healthy. I'm not proud of how I handled things yesterday, and admitting it here this morning just adds salt to my wounds. But hey, I did it and this journal is about honesty. I can't do anything about yesterday, but today I'm going to own up to my mistake and do better.

April 27, 2009

What a great weekend! The weather here was absolutely incredible, so I spent a good deal of time outside working in the yard and detailing the cars. It seemed like everyone was outside enjoying the weather. One of the things I love about my neighborhood is how active everyone is: I see people out walking with their families and dogs, jogging and riding bikes all the time. Oh, and for the past three days a pair of mocking birds have been flirting with each other in my gardens! I really hope they nest somewhere in my yard. Some of you may remember the mocking birds that built a nest in a Nellie R Stevens Holly at my old house (youtube video). It was so much fun watching the chicks hatch and fledge, and I'd really like to see that again.

Today I have a lunch meeting. In the past what I would have done is eat just before the meeting, not eat with anyone at the restaurant and then have another meal waiting in my cooler in case it was time to eat before I got back home. Today I'm going to take what I think is a more balanced approach. I'm going to eat with everyone else at the restaurant, and I'll just try to pick something fairly healthy from the menu. I'm not taking a cooler, and if the meeting runs long then I'll just have to be a little late on my next meal. I'm not going to stress about it at all.

Today is leg day! Normally I eat at my desk and then take my lunch hour around 3:00 PM to lift, but the lunch meeting is going to alter that plan. I'm probably going to do my workout around 6:00 PM instead of my usual time, which I don't mind doing at all. I've worked out first thing in the morning, mid-day and at night and there are things I like and dislike about all of those times. I can't say I strongly favor one time over another, but if I had to choose I think the mid-day slot works best for me. I like having a few meals under my belt when I hit the gym, and hitting the weights in the middle of the day provides me with a nice mental boost that lasts for the rest of the afternoon.

Speaking of work, I'd better get to it. Thanks for stopping by!

April 26, 2009

Week #3 of my 2009 cut is complete. I'm still horribly bloated from my Chinese food free meal (junk food always has that effect on me), so all my numbers are going to be skewed today. There's nothing I can do about that...

My scale weight this morning is 211 pounds, so that's a 2 pound GAIN from last week's weight of 209 pounds. Of course this gain is just water weight, and nothing to be concerned about. I was actually down to 206.4 pounds prior to my free meal, so I'm pretty sure once my bloat is gone in a couple days I'll be back around 206 pounds. In other words, I think I lost a couple pounds over the past week.

My body fat reading this morning is 13.8% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). This is a tick less than last week's reading of 13.9%, and down from my initial reading of 14.6%. Again, I think today's result is artificially high.

Every single one of my tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) are identically to last week's measurements. The running totals after three weeks are 3/4 of an inch off my waist and hips, and a 1/4 inch off my thighs.

All my stats, past and present, can always be found on the stats page. My complete 2009 cutting diet is here, and my training program is here. If you are interested in obtaining a diet and training program customized just for you and your goals, please contact Mastover.

It's a fairly cool morning, and absolutely beautiful outside. I don't really have any yard work that needs to be done, but I think I'm going to go invent something to do in the garden. I just love being out there when the weather is like this. Have a wonderful day!

April 25, 2009

I decided to have my first "free" meal in three weeks last night - Chinese food. It's amazing how good something like that tastes when you eat it only rarely. The meal totally satisfied the cravings I was experiencing all day yesterday. I was only able to eat about half of my food, but this morning the leftovers don't sound appealing to me at all. I guess I'm going to give some to Loki and toss the rest.

After three weeks of clean eating I wasn't holding any excess water at all; predictably, after last night's meal I'm now holding almost 5 pounds of additional water weight. I also didn't sleep very well last night, which is common when I eat a "heavy" meal before bed. These free meals are always such a double-edged sword for me. Anyway, I loved every last bite and that should hold me for awhile.

Today looks like it's going to be yet another beautiful day! I'm going to sign off here and go wash and Zaino the cars before it gets too hot. Enjoy your Saturday!

April 24, 2009

Some weeks just seem to fly by, and other weeks time seems to run backwards. This week has definitely been the latter. I've been very busy at work, and every night this week (except, mercifully, last night) I've been paged in the middle of the night to deal with network problems. It's pretty tough for me to fall back asleep once I'm wide awake and my mind is active.

Yesterday I think the lack of sleep caught upto me; despite my best efforts I wound up having a fairly piss-poor workout. Thankfully my pager was silent last night, and I slept like a rock until Loki woke me up at 6:00 AM sharp. Loki's sense of time is so accurate that it's a little scary. He almost always wakes me up at 6:00 AM, +/- no more than a minute or two. Breakfast is serious business.

Speaking of breakfast, I'm late for mine. Happy Friday!

April 23, 2009

The weather this week has been so unbelievably beautiful that I'm having a hard time staying indoors. The incredible weather is actually very motivating to me as I continue to shed my post-bulk fat; it's a constant reminder that shirtless season is here (and I'm not ready!)

Today is back and biceps day, and I actually get to do part of my workout outside! Of course the 3x40 yard farmers walks will be done in the back yard, but I'm going to do my shrugs and curls out there, too. Loki always likes it when I workout in the back yard. At first he runs around like a nut, but eventually he finds a nice sunny spot to relax and just watches me lift. I wonder what he thinks I'm doing?

My diet has been almost perfect this week, but I did miss one meal yesterday. My weight is down to 206.4 this morning, and now that I'm down over 10 pounds I'm starting to see a difference. I still have a lot of work ahead, but it feels good knowing I don't have to be perfect. I'm definitely going to have some popcorn this weekend, but I can't say I've had the desire for a full-blown cheat meal. OK, well that's not 100% true: I haven't had Mexican food in ages, and that's an itch I may have to scratch at some point. For now I'm savoring the idea that I have given myself the freedom to do that if I want.

Breakfast time. I hope you have a wonderful day!

April 22, 2009

Writing yesterday's update was one of the more liberating experiences I've had in recent memory. Finally giving myself "permission" to not be perfect all time time felt incredible! I was in such a good mood all day yesterday. The feedback I've received from everyone has been very positive, and that means a lot to me. I think people understand that my intention is not to be lazy or slack off, but to shift some things around so that my life is a little more balanced and not so one-sided.

Of course as a self-proclaimed "all or nothing" guy (if I'm not doing "all", then I must be doing "nothing"), there are significant challenges ahead for me. The trick here is going to be learning how to not be so lopsided in the pursuit of my goals. As several forum members pointed out yesterday, sometimes being moderate is in many ways more difficult than being 100% strict. This will be a learning experience for me and I don't expect to get it exactly right the first time. But I tend to be pretty quick on the uptake, and I expect that with a little practice and some trial and error I'll be soaring.

Today is a cardio only day for me, and I'll be hitting those intervals hard! I still feel like my cardiovascular fitness level is not where it should be, and HIIT cardio is a great way to improve that (or die trying ).

April 21, 2009

As most regular readers of this site know, I'm an "all or nothing" type of person; I seem to thrive when I commit myself to something 100%. So, in the case of cutting body fat, that means no cheat meals and no alcohol for the duration of the cut. The "all or nothing" method has served me very well in the past, but this time around it's completely draining me. I suspect that I'm feeling this way because of my recent thoughts about finding balance between my fitness program and the rest of my life. I just re-read my April 16 update, and I noticed that there was sort of desperate tone to my writing when I was talking about completing this cut...

The other day I was invited out to dinner. Of course I instantly declined ("I'm cutting right now, I can't"). In fact, when I turned down the offer my response was so instinctive that I did not even consciously consider the invite. The woman who invited me out to eat asked if I was preparing for a contest of some sort, and when I told her that I wasn't, she looked completely perplexed. Shortly after this exchange took place, I started feeling, well... sad. Is this really how I want to lead my life?

You know what? Life's short. Why should I wait until after I complete this cut to start restoring some symmetry to my existence? The clear answer is that I shouldn't. There is no reason why I can't reach my goals while occasionally enjoying dinner and drinks with friends, or some popcorn with a movie on the weekends. All things in moderation. I'll still get where I want to go, and I'll have a lot more fun along the way.

Along the same lines, I've also been thinking about my target body fat goal of 6%. I had to ask myself, "Why do you want to get down to 6% body fat?" I tried, but I couldn't come up with a good answer. I've said from the beginning that I have absolutely no interest in maintaining such a low level of body fat, I've already reached that goal before and getting down to 6% body fat is going to require 100% strict dieting--and probably an extra month of cutting. I plan to maintain at around 8% body fat, so that should be my goal, not 6%.

So there are going to be some changes, starting now. I'll still be following my cutting diet as written, but I'll be having a cheat meal or snack if the opportunity arises and I'm so inclined. Hopefully I can prove to myself that there's more than one path to success.

April 20, 2009

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! The weather was really nice here, so I wound up working in the yard quite a lot. Everything is either blooming, or about to bloom. After the especially harsh winter (harsh for Orlando), it's so nice to see all the plants growing and thriving once again.

Four or five years ago I didn't know a podocarpus from a petunia, and had absolutely no idea how to care, feed, prune and properly maintain plants, trees and shrubs. Back in 2005 I had my old house professionally landscaped, and found myself a bit panicked about how I was going to keep up with the large investment I'd just made. The Internet made learning what I needed to know pretty easy: all it took was some time spent reading and studying, and then applying what I learned. Once I had the basics down, I felt comfortable enough to begin experimenting and adjusting to further enhance the results.

The whole "learning to garden" phase of my life reminded me of when I decided to lose fat and get in shape back in 2003. It's not like our bodies come with manuals, and much of what I thought I knew about losing fat was inaccurate, inefficent and--wost of all--unhealthy. Once you become somewhat knowledgeable about proper, healthy fat loss techniques, a conversation with almost anyone on the subject of fat loss is pretty much guaranteed to make you cringe. It's amazing how much bad information is out there, and how ingrained it seems to be.

If you are starving yourself, skipping meals, afraid of carbs, taking diuretics and/or popping "fat burners" like candy, please take some time to read some of the educational material on the forum. Start here. The time you spend reading and learning will be well-rewarded if you apply what you learn.

Well, I've got a very busy day ahead followed by a brutal leg workout. I'm going to sign off for the day and get some breakfast in me. I hope your day is a great one!

April 19, 2009

Week #2 of my 2009 cut is behind me, and I'm chugging right along and making good progress. Here is my weekly progress report...

My scale weight this morning is 209 pounds, so I've lost 3.2 pounds over the past week, and a total of 8.2 pounds from my starting weight of 217.2 pounds. I didn't expect to lose 3 pounds this week, but I'll take it!

My body fat reading this morning is 13.9% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers), down from my initial reading of 14.6%.

My tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) show continued fat loss progress: this past week I lost another quarter inch from my waist and another quarter inch from my hips. I also lost a quarter inch from my thighs. All the rest of my measurements are the same, and that's exactly what I was hoping for. So, the totals so far are 3/4 of an inch off my waist and hips, and a 1/4 inch off my thighs. Not bad for two weeks of hard work.

Enjoy your Sunday!

April 18, 2009

I woke up at 4:45 AM and couldn't fall back asleep. A lot of not-so-great stuff is happening at work right now, and I think that's why I couldn't doze back off. Around 5:45 I decided to go ahead and get up. I let Loki out back, and then came into my office to check my email. The wireless network connection on my main computer was down, and it wouldn't come back up. I'm pretty worthless without my coffee, so I let Loki in, fed him and flipped on the coffee maker. While the coffee was brewing I came back into my office to pound on my computer with a rock. About 15 minutes later I went to the kitchen to get my coffee, and it was all over the counter, cabinets and the floor. I think the release valve that allows the brewed coffee to drip into the carafe had become stuck. I wish I'd thought to take a picture of the mess, as it was quite a sight. Anyway, it took me like 15 minutes to clean up the kitchen, and another 30 minutes to clean out all the wet grounds that had backed up into the coffee maker. I swear, every time I thought I had all the grounds out I'd fill the reservoir and there would be more floating on top of the water. So now--an hour and a half after getting up--I'm finally sitting down with a cup of coffee. Like I said, I'm pretty much unable to function until I get some black coffee in me, so this whole ordeal was sort of like trying to thread a needle while wearing mittens.

In the last paragraph briefly mentioned there is some crazy stuff going on at work. By the end of the day yesterday I was so stressed and tired I decided to push my workout off until today. If it had been any other day of the week I would have made myself do the workout, but since it was Friday and I knew I could do it today without it interfering with another workout, I decided to postpone it. I think I'll wind up having a much better workout today than I would have yesterday.

Well, now I'm really behind on things, and I have quite a lot to do today. I'd better wrap this up and get breakfast going. I'll be back tomorrow with my weekly measurements and progress report. Have a great day!

April 17, 2009

I placed my regular order with AtLarge Nutrition on Monday, but this time around I decided to order some their brand new Novus protein bars (both flavors). As usual, all my stuff shipped out the same day I ordered it and arrived at my home on Wednesday afternoon. The shipment came in just before meal number 4 (normally Nitrean + oats), so I decided to substitute a "Mint Cookie" Novus bar for that meal...

The Novus protein bars each contain 338 total calories, consisting of 36g protein (a complex of whey protein, soy isolate protein, hydrolyzed protein, whey isolate protein and glutamine peptides), 3g net impact carbs (31g total carbs/28g sugar alcohols) and 6g fat. There are also quite a few vitamins and minerals in each bar. Complete nutrition information can be found here. As I mentioned, there are 28 grams of sugar alcohols, so if you are sensitive to stuff like maltitol be aware of that. Personally I've never experienced any stomach problems when consuming sugar alcohols, nor has Lisa.

The first thing I noticed is that these protein bars are hefty and dense: each bar weighs 90g, and is quite large. This was a relief, because some protein bars I've tried are small, lightweight and not very filling.

Coming from AtLarge, I expected Novus to be good, but I was completely blown away by the taste of the Mint Cookie bar. I've never had a protein bar that I truly enjoyed until now. I really felt like I was a eating a candy bar. The bar was very chocolaty, with just the perfect hint of mint. I know tastes are subjective, but I can't imagine how anyone could not love this protein bar. It was absolutely delicious!

About 15 minutes after I ate the Novus protein bar, I felt quite full and satiated (and--simply because it tasted so much like a candy bar--a little guilty!)

I very rarely eat protein bars, but I will definitely be keeping some Novus bars on hand for those times when I need a quick meal on the go.

Lisa, on the other hand, eats protein bars nearly every day. She took a "Cookie Dough" bar to work, and called me after trying it. She said it was the best protein bar she's ever had, and that she's definitely switching to Novus. She shared her bar with two of her co-workers, and they both loved it as well (one ordered a box that same day). I tried a bite of the "Cookie Dough" flavor, and it tasted like delicious cookie dough dipped in chocolate. Just awesome.

AtLarge has a real winner on their hands here. I'm seriously impressed with this protein bar, and I think you all will be, too. Give them a try and be sure to post your thoughts in the AtLarge Nutrition review and discussion thread.

Now is a great time to place an order because AtLarge is running an exclusive JSF 10% off sale! Details are immediately below. Hurry--sale ends on Sunday.

April 16, 2009

Re-acclimating myself to the strictness and discipline required to cut body fat has been a challenge for me, but I'm forcing myself to make it happen. When I say "forcing", I really mean it: this cut has not been an easy process for me so far, and staying on target has required every ounce of self-discipline that I can muster. I'm very anxious to get my body fat back down to a level I'm comfortable with, and that desire is pretty much the only thing keeping me going right now. Staying 100% focused, dedicated and strict will allow me to reach my goal as soon as possible, and the shortest path from point "A" to point "B" is what I'm after right now. Once I hit my target my focus will shift to creating a diet and training plan that is an adjunct to my life, rather than the central focus of it.

Reading this week's updates may give the false impression that I'm feeling burnt out on training. Actually, that's not really true. I love working out and living a healthy lifestyle; those things bring me a lot of joy, piece of mind and satisfaction. What I am burnt out on is the self-imposed strictness I've lived with for the past six years. Recently I've come to realize that life is too short to, for example, interrupt a movie 30 minutes before it ends because I don't want to be late on a meal. Life is too short to feel like I can't attend a company dinner around the holidays, or go to a party with friends and not worry about every bite of food. Being strict, dedicated and disciplined has its place, but there has to be balance. It's taken me six years to reach this point, but here I am. I know I can be healthy, in shape and strong while maintaining a reasonable balance in my life. I'm looking forward to this next stage of my journey. I think it's going to be an interesting one.

April 15, 2009

Yesterday I was feeling a bit more motivated to workout than I was on Monday, but I still had to sort of resist the temptation to skip it. Thankfully this time there wasn't a whole lot of hand-wringing involved. When it was time for my workout I simply shut out the option to skip it by entering a mindset that I call "robot mode". This is a mental trick I sometimes use to stay on track when I'm feeling less than enthusiastic about training, or thinking about going off my planned diet. I know it sounds really dorky, but it helps to think of myself as a machine that has no choice in matters. Instead of weighing my choices, I just do what I'm "programmed" to do. Yeah, go ahead and laugh... it works for me!

I received a couple of concerned emails regarding something I said in yesterday's update. Specifically, a few of you were wondering if my announcement that I would no longer be cutting and bulking in some way implied that daily updates to this site would also cease. Don't worry: I love updating this site and talking about fitness, health, weight training and nutrition. I have absolutely no plans to stop updating this site each and every day. In fact, I see my new focus as a very cool opportunity to try new things and, hopefully, provide a nice fresh change from the usual cutting and bulking talk. For example, I might like to play around with adopting a 4 meal a day diet so that I don't feel so tied to the kitchen. I'd love to put the "you must eat six meals a day" axiom to the test (I know others have, but I have to find out for myself). Will I be able to do something like that without compromising my health, strength and physique goals? There's only one way to find out! Anyway, that's just one of about a million embryonic ideas I have warming in the back of my mind right now.

Today's a cardio-only day (HIIT), and I'm going to hit those all-out intervals as hard as I can. I'm really starting to feeling like I'm getting back in shape, and I want to keep the momentum going.

My breakfast is ready, so I'm going to sign off and go eat. I hope you have a great day!

April 14, 2009

I really did not feel like working out yesterday afternoon...

Yeah, yesterday I was feeling pretty irritable and hungry most of the day, and as the time for my leg workout drew closer my inclination was to skip it and continue sulking. It's interesting how sometimes we have urges to resist the very things that we know would make us feel better. Of course I knew from experience that a hard workout was precisely what I needed to shake off the funk I was in, but it took every ounce of resolve I had to get off my butt and actually make the effort. Man, after just a few sets my mood improved 100%. By the end of the workout I felt awesome! I'm very happy that I didn't allow myself to take the easy road, and I was well rewarded for my self-discipline.

As I mentioned earlier this month, after this cut I'm done cutting and bulking. While I don't regret that I've had the cutting and bulking experience (heh, many times), this is no way for me to live. Once this cut is over I'm going to focus on maintaining sub-10% body fat levels while making slow, steady progress towards improving my overall symmetry. When I started this journey all the way back in 2003, getting ripped was my main goal. As the years rolled by, my goals have continued to evolve; now that I've entered my 40s, overall health & fitness levels, functional strength and lifestyle/dietary balance are presenting themselves as my top priorities. Does that mean I'm doing to stop doing isolation exercises? No, but I can tell you that maintaining 18" guns is not something I really care much about at this point in my life.

April 13, 2009

I managed to avoid the harrowing dietary pitfalls associated with relaxed weekend living, and I stuck to my planned cutting diet 100%. Doing so was not easy, but I was rewarded this morning when I stepped on the scale: 210.8 pounds - that's a 6.4 pound drop from just one week ago. Most of that weight was water (probably 5 pounds or so), but I'm sure I've burned off some fat as well. Another week of dieting should result in a nice drop on next Sunday's body fat caliper reading.

I'm absolutely starving this morning, and the smell of my breakfast cooking in the next room is seriously affecting my ability to concentrate on this update...

OK, I had to stop writing and eat. Now I feel much better!

I've opened the May 2009 "100 Challenge" for entry. Details are immediately below this update. Don't forget to check out the special AtLarge Nutrition update and sale, also below this update.

Registration for the May 2009 "100 Challenge" is now underway! Your Official Challenge post must be made by 7:00 AM (EDT) on May 1, 2009 if you plan to participate--NO EXCEPTIONS! To participate, you must be a member of the forum. If you are not a member, simply create a free account. It can take up to 24 hours for your account to be activated, so don't wait until the last minute to register! For all the details, official rules and sample entry data, just head over to the May 2009 "100 Challenge" thread on the forum. If you are ready to work hard and want to challenge yourself in a fun and competitive environment, then please take part!

April 12, 2009

The first week of my (rebooted) 2009 cut has been a very successful one! Let's go over the numbers...

My scale weight this morning is 212.2 pounds, and that means I've lost 5 pounds over the past week. Of course most of that weight loss was water and bloat, but it's a solid start.

My body fat reading this morning is 14.6% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). That's identical to last week's reading, but I'm still confident that at least a pound of my weight loss this past week was fat. Calipers are a pretty good tool for taking your body fat measurements at home, but there is always a margin of error.

My tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) are very satisfying: this past week I lost a half inch from my waist and a half inch from my hips, while all the rest of my measurements held steady. I must have been very bloated last Monday when I took my starting measurements! That's what a crappy diet will do to you.

All my stats, past and present, can always be found on the stats page.

All in all I'm very happy with my first week of progress. My diet has been perfect, I didn't miss any training or cardio sessions, I lost 5 pounds of bloat, my energy levels have improved, I've been sleeping well and I'm feeling very positive.

Before I wrap up for the day I want to let everyone know about some cool happenings over at AtLarge Nutrition - and an exclusive 10% off sale just for JSF members and guests! Please see the details immediately below this update...

AtLarge Nutrition - 10% Off Sale, Sister Site Redesign and New Product!

The guys over at AtLarge Nutrition sure have been busy lately!

First, AtLarge's sister site, wannabebig.com recently had a complete makeover and it looks absolutely terrific! WBB is jam-packed with articles on training and nutrition, and there are also interviews, blogs and all kinds of other stuff that is of interest to anyone who is in the iron game. Be sure to check it out!

Also, responding to popular demand, AtLarge has released a brand new product: Novus Protein Bars. Each bar is packed with 36g of protein, and has just 3g of net carbs. Early reviews have started coming in and they have been very positive. I've got some of each flavor on order, and will be posting my own review sometime within the next couple of weeks.

Finally, to help celebrate the redesign of WBB and the new product, AtLarge is running an exclusive 10% off sale just for JSF members and guests! The sale will only run until Sunday, April 19, 2009, so don't wait! This is a great time to try the new protein bars and stock up on all your other favorite AtLarge products. Simply use coupon code jsf10percent at checkout, and you will receive 10% off your entire order, including shipping.

April 11, 2009

I'm really happy with how the past week has gone: I performed all my workouts and cardio sessions, didn't miss any meals, didn't eat any meals off my planned diet, got plenty of rest and drank lots of water. I feel like I'm firmly back on track, making solid forward progress and starting to build momentum. Tomorrow morning I'll take all my usual weekly measurements and body fat reading, and will post/evaluate those numbers here (and I will do this every Sunday for the remainder of my cut).

Last night I definitely had some cravings, but (thankfully) nothing like those that I experienced on Thursday evening! This weekend will be a challenge because the weekends present the most opportunities to slack off. More specifically, I'm going to have to resist the very strong temptation to have popcorn while watching movies up in the theater. In fact, I may not watch any movies this weekend to sort of take away that temptation while I'm still getting my "all or nothing legs" under me. Perhaps staying active, doing projects around the house and working in the yard would be a very good idea at this stage of my cut.

Enjoy your Saturday - back tomorrow with more!

April 10, 2009

Early yesterday evening I experienced some of the worst cravings I've ever had! It took every ounce of discipline I had to not give in to temptation. I'd had a long day at work, and a really tough back & biceps workout; a few hours after my workout I wanted nothing more than to make a huge tub of popcorn, kick back and play some online poker. I got past the cravings by remembering what I great workout I'd just had, and how that effort would be compromised significantly if I didn't feed myself properly. I also thought how horrible I'd feel the next morning if I slacked off from my cut and, conversely, how proud of myself I'd be if I stuck to my guns...

Well, I ignored the cravings and instead had my planned meal of eye of round steak along with 12 ounces of roasted red potatoes. While I was still hungry after my meal, it definitely took the edge off and calmed my cravings. I was right on target with my reasoning: this morning I feel terrific for sticking to the plan. One day at time, one challenge at a time; that's all it takes and before you know it you've reached your goal.

Yesterday was a good reminder of the kind of discipline I know I'm capable of when I put my mind to it. Little victories like that are excellent confidence boosters, and are also very important momentum builders. Remember, "just this once" is probably a lot more detrimental to your plans that you may allow yourself to think. Once you go off your plan, the next time a craving hits it will be even easier to falter. Anyone who's ever fell off the wagon will tell you that it always started with "just this one time".

Happy Friday!

April 9, 2009

I knew I was out of shape, but yesterday afternoon's HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) cardio session really drove the point home. I think my heart rate got up to over 190 BPM... while I was adjusting the seat on my recumbent bike. OK, that was a slight exaggeration, but I'm not embellishing when I say the 14 brief minutes I spent on that bike hurt. I really pushed the "all out" intervals to max. When I finished the cardio session I felt like I had sand in my lungs, I was beet red and I was drenched in sweat. If you'd seen me immediately after my cardio you'd thought I'd just run a marathon in the desert.

When I started my 2008 bulk back in October I was also in pretty bad shape. The first few weeks of my bulk were really tough for me in some ways, but at the same time it felt great to be back in the gym and making forward progress. Despite the uphill battle I'm facing right now, I feel the exact same way as I did back in October.

When you're out of shape and you know that many months of hard work lie ahead before you'll reach your goal, sometimes the temptation to slack off is strong. That's why it's important to build momentum. The way I build momentum is to give a maximal effort when I work out, to know in my heart that I'm doing everything in my power to further my progress and to celebrate the small victories along the way. When I say "celebrate" I DON'T mean with junk food or alcohol, which is how most people celebrate things. My celebrations are simple and quiet. I look at the progress I've made, think back to where I was when I started and feel strong and empowered. This is why the "all or nothing" approach works so well for me: I crave progress like it's a drug.

Right now what I'm craving are egg whites and red potatoes, and so I'm off to make my breakfast. Have a great day, and celebrate your victories!

April 8, 2009

I'm only three days into my cut and I already feel 100% better. Since Monday morning I've dropped 3.4 pounds of (mostly) water weight, and I feel far less bloated and puffy than I did just two days ago. Also, last night I slept like a baby for the second night in a row; this morning I woke up feeling completley refreshed and highly alert. After almost a month of extremely poor sleeping habits, it's so nice to get up in the morning feeling rejuvinated and well-rested once again! The cutting diet I'm following consists of healthy, all-natural foods, and my body is responding extremely well to a proper diet after a month of "convenience" junk food. Finally, my entire body is aching from the past couple of workouts (here's my 2009 cut training program), and I love it.

The hardest part of my "comeback" so far has been the loss of strength. It's been a bit of a blow to my ego to struggle with weights that I was throwing around with ease just a couple months ago. I'm such a competative person (especially with myself) that any sort of backsliding really grinds my gears. Of course being so competative has its advantages, too: the loss of strength pisses me off enough to make me really dig in and work my butt off!

Today is a cardio-only day, and I'll be doing some HIIT this afternoon. HIIT is not only a great fat burner, but it will also help improve my cardiovascular fitness level in a hury. I've certainly felt a bit more winded than usual while doing this week's weight training workouts, so I'm going to hit those intervals hard this afternoon!

Before I sign off this morning I'd like to thank everyone for their very nice welcome back emails, PMs and posts. It's great to be back doing what I love again, and I'm feeling very positive and highly motivated.

April 7, 2009

Yesterday was a very successful return to the fitness arena. All my meals were on-plan (here's my 2009 cutting diet), and I really enjoyed the healthy foods after all the junk I ate over the weekend. To help flush out my system I drank even more water than usual (close to two gallons), and some of the water weight I was holding is already starting to go away (down almost 2 pounds overnight). I had a good leg workout, but my strength is definitely down and I had to fight through some lethargy. I slept better last night than I have in many weeks. I did wake up approximately 327 times to urinate, but at least I fell back sleep immediately each time. I'm sure my strength and energy levels will improve as I move forward.

I know this is a bit of a random time to bring this up, but the past few days I've been thinking (again) about the cutting and bulking that I normally do every year. I'm really starting to develop a distaste for this style of training. After I get my body fat back down to 6% this year, I don't think I'm going to do any kind of formal "bulking" or "cutting" in the foreseeable future. I know my traps and maybe a couple other muscle groups are lagging a bit, but overall I'm happy with the amount of muscle I have. In fact, now that I look at my 2008 bulking photographs at a "distance", I don't even want to be that big. I think my focus after this cut is going to be slow, steady progress in an effort to improve my overall symmetry while remaining below 8% body fat. Of course the #1 goal is health, and I want to add to that balance. There really is never any balance for me because I'm pretty much always cutting and bulking. I'm going to change that.

Hey, be sure to check out The April Transformation Spotlight of the Month (immediately below this update)! Euan has done an amazing job with his transformation, and I know you will all be inspired by his story.

Breakfast time!

April 6, 2009

I'm back, and back to stay. This past month has been a difficult one, and I don't think I could have made it without the support of my family and friends. Thank you all so much.

Now, let's get back to business...

Well, I suppose the best place to start is to take stock of my present situation. As one would reasonably expect, a month with no training, lack of consistent sleep, high amounts of stress and an absolutely terrible diet (many missed meals, alcohol and unhealthy foods) exacts a toll on the body. I've put on some fat, and lost some muscle. I'll go over the data in detail now, but I want to preface that by saying that I've decided to re-start my 2009 cut as of today.

My scale weight this morning is 217.2 pounds. That's only a couple of pounds difference, and about five pounds of that is bloat from this past weekend (I decided to have a "free" weekend knowing that I was going to re-start my cut this morning). The problem is I've lost some muscle, so--as always--scale weight is deceiving and fails to tell the full story. That's why body fat calipers and tape measurements are so important.

My body fat reading this morning is 14.6% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). Ouch. That's almost a full point higher than it was at the end of my 2008 bulk. I've definitely got some work ahead of me!

My tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) complete the picture: since the end of my 2008 bulk I've added a half inch each to my waist and my hips; I've lost a full inch from my quads, a half inch from my arms, a quarter inch from my calves and a half inch from my chest. It hurts to type that, but those are the facts.