Daily News Archives
December 2007
12/31/2007 - No update - moving.
12/30/2007 - No update - moving.
12/29/2007 - No update - moving.
12/28/2007 - No update - moving.
12/27/2007 - No update - moving.
12/26/2007 - No update - moving.
12/25/2007 - No update - moving.
12/24/2007 - Last update before we move--I'm on hiatus for about a month.
12/23/2007 - Last weekend day before the move--packing!
12/22/2007 - Goals: turning dreams into reality.
12/21/2007 - Important meeting: New home Pre-Close Orientation; Delaying hiatus from JSF.
12/20/2007 - New home passed all inspections; Looking back over the past ten months.
12/19/2007 - Can't wait to set up my new gym; New home's final inspections are today.
12/18/2007 - Old house is pretty much ready to turn over to the new owners.
12/17/2007 - Moving is a huge job; Productive Sunday; New and old house pictures.
12/16/2007 - Another spending spree at Home Depot; January's "100 Challenge" open for entry!
12/15/2007 - AtLarge 10% off Holiday Sale; Less than two weeks until the big move!
12/14/2007 - Steak last night; Maintaining; Reminder about my time off from updating the site.
12/13/2007 - More packing; New gym floor was delivered (pictures).
12/12/2007 - Good all-dumbbell workout Monday night; Post move-in projects.
12/11/2007 - Brief update.
12/10/2007 - The mighty Titan has been disassembled.
12/09/2007 - Totally goofed off yesterday; Today we work.
12/08/2007 - Cheat meal today; Packing my DVDs; Today's plans.
12/07/2007 - New bed is amazing; 3 weeks until close; Tentative date for my hiatus.
12/06/2007 - New bed arrives today; No more room in the house.
12/05/2007 - Another great night of sleep; Rushing this morning.
12/04/2007 - Simple technique for falling back asleep that really works!
12/03/2007 - (Mostly) a sleepless night.
12/02/2007 - Fun day yesterday; HIIT cardio today.
12/01/2007 - More cheeseburger cravings; Simple tweak to my chicken; Packing continues.
December 25, 2007 - December 31, 2007
No update - moving.
December 24, 2007
Regular visitors to this site know that Lisa and I will be moving to a new home this week. This move will be a fairly large undertaking, and getting settled in is going to require my full attention for awhile. I'm taking all my vacation time from work in January, and I will also be taking a break from updating this site during that time. I will resume my daily updates on Monday, February 4, 2008
As most of you know, I update this site every single day by 9:00 AM. With the exception of a few planned vacations, in five years I've never failed to make my daily update to this page, and I've never missed my self-imposed deadline of 9:00 AM. I'm only able to be that consistent because updating this site everyday is something I enjoy immensely. I'll really miss updating the site while I'm on hiatus, but this break while I move and get settled in is something I feel is necessary.
January always brings many new visitors to this site who are looking to get in shape. Welcome! Please start educating yourself by reading the "sticky" threads in the Beginner's forum (the threads that are "stuck" at the very top). Also, feel free to check out my own detailed food logs, my training routines, my photographs, and daily news archives. I encourage you to create a free account on the forum and introduce yourself or ask any questions you may have.
While you always have the option to upgrade your forum membership and help support this site and the forum, everything you need to know is available to you for free. This web site and the forum is here to help you reach your goals, not to take your money.
Many of you have been following my new home construction journal (an upgraded forum membership is required), and I will continue to make regular updates to it with lots of pictures, video and text as Lisa and I move and get settled.
I think that about wraps it up! I sincerely hope those of you who are serious about making a lifestyle change dig in and make it happen. You'll find all the information you need here and on the JSF forum, but you're going to have to do the work. Educate yourself, make a plan and then work hard; do those things and I promise that you'll be amazed with your accomplishments. Best of luck, and see you soon!
December 23, 2007
I'm glad that Lisa and I got a lot of packing accomplished last weekend, because yesterday--one of only two remaining weekend days left before the move--I was blindsided with some emergencies at work and wound up working all day long. Thankfully I was able to get everything resolved yesterday, which is a relief because it could have been far worse. Today we're going to have to buckle down and get just about everything else packed. About the only things we won't be packing today are enough clothes, food and dishes to last us until Friday.
Just a reminder that today is the final day of the AtLarge holiday sale! Details are immediately below today's update.
Time to start packing!
December 22, 2007
Yesterday's Pre-Close Orientation meeting went extremely well. If you are interested, I gave a full account of everything that transpired in yesterday's entry to my new home construction journal (an upgraded forum membership is required).
After the meeting Lisa and I decided to celebrate. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and ate until we were stuffed, and last night for dinner I made cheeseburgers and fries. I normally never have more than one cheat meal in a day, but I decided that one day of completely cutting loose wouldn't kill me. I feel like a water balloon this morning, but I'm still glad I did it.
All the major hurdles are now behind us, and there's less than a week to go before we move into our new home. We're both feeling pretty euphoric right now. I took some time yesterday to reflect on everything we've gone through over the past year to make this dream happen. It has been a wild and crazy ride, and I'm still somewhat amazed that it all came together in the end. Selling our house in this market was small miracle in and of itself, but finding buyers who were willing to let us stay put and rent back from them until the new house was ready defied all odds.
Something I've learned since my initial transformation back in 2003 is that almost anything can be accomplished as long as you want it bad enough and are willing to fight for it. It doesn't matter what your goal is, you have to take it one step at a time and never lose sight of what it is that you're fighting for. When you go to bed each night you should be able to honestly tell yourself that you did everything in your power that day to make your dream a reality.
December 21, 2007
This is a big day for me and Lisa: we're exactly one week from closing on our new home, and this morning we're meeting with the foreman and a member of the quality control team to walk the house, create a final punch list and go over the various systems.
I drove out to the new house yesterday afternoon by myself and carefully looked over everything at my own pace. I've got a little over three pages of items that I feel need attention. 99% of the problems I identified are very minor things, such as paint and caulk touch-ups. Still, the builders are going to have a tough time getting everything on my list done by next Friday, because most trades are off on Monday and Tuesday for the Christmas holiday.
Today was supposed to be my last update to this page for a while, but I've changed my mind. You know, I absolutely love updating this site every day, and I want to continue it for as long as I can before the move. I expect that my final update to this site before going on hiatus for a few weeks is going to be Christmas day, or perhaps the day after. After that, things are going to get pretty crazy for the Stones!
I need to go eat, shower and head over to the house now. Happy Friday!
December 20, 2007
The new home passed all its final inspections yesterday, and the Certificate of Occupancy was issued! This is it: we're finally coming to the end of the long, exciting (and often stressful!) process that started all the way back in March.
It's funny because at the beginning of March Lisa and I had not even considered moving. One fateful day in early March the UPS driver was telling me about a really nice subdivision that he thought we'd absolutely love. I told him that I had no plans to move, but he laughed and said (and I remember this very clearly): "You will be out of here within the next year." Later that day I checked out the subdivision he mentioned online, and that weekend Lisa and I drove out to see it. While we didn't wind up moving to that subdivision, that short conversation with the UPS driver was the genesis of the entire process. Here we are less than a year later, and I'll be darned if his prediction wasn't spot on!
So tomorrow will be my final update to this site for about six weeks. With the exception of a few vacations, I've been updating this site without fail every single morning for the past five years. I'm going to miss the daily updates, but at the same time I think it's important that I focus my energies on the move and getting settled in. I'll still be around on the forum, of course, and I will resume my daily updates in late January or early February.
See you tomorrow!
December 19, 2007
I'm so excited about getting the new flooring installed and the Titan reassembled in the new home gym! It's going to be nice to finally have a tough, high-quality gym floor (more information on the flooring along with photos can be found in my December 13, 2007 update). The old foam stuff I had before was coming up at just about all the interlocking points and it was buckling up in many spots. The tiles could not even be re-positioned because the unladen Titan weighs nearly a ton (literally!) With the Titan disassembled and (mostly) in the garage, I went ahead and pulled all the old gym flooring out yesterday (it only took a few minutes) and put it out by the curb. I couldn't believe it when someone stopped and took it all! That stuff was totally ripped up and trashed! In fact, 95% of the junk we've thrown away while preparing to move never made it onto the trash truck. People will take just about anything...
Today a series of final inspections on the new home will occur: plumbing final, roof final, mechanical final and the overall final inspection (the electrical final inspection was conducted and passed about a week ago). Assuming these inspections all pass today, a certificate of occupancy will be issued and the house will legally be ready for occupancy.
This Friday is our "pre-close orientation" walk-through. During this walk-through the various systems of the home will be demonstrated to us, and we'll also create a final punch list. The builders will have one week to correct anything on the punch list: we close on Friday, December 28th!
December 18, 2007
As I mentioned yesterday, Lisa and I accomplished a tremendous amount of work over the weekend. Yesterday evening I knocked out the rest of drywall repairs and completed all the painting. All the remains is to finish packing and a final thorough cleaning of the old house right after we move all our stuff out. Clothes, food and the computers/office stuff are all that is left to be packed. We'll probably pack up most of our clothes and some of the office stuff this coming weekend. I'll leave a skeleton network up until the night before we move. Once we get in the new house one of my first priorities will be getting the home's network and security systems up and running.
I've not been working out at all for the past week or so, but my diet has been very clean and my weight and body fat percentage have remained stable. I'm certain that I'm going to lose a little muscle and gain a little fat over the next month, but when I return I'm confident that I'll be able to whip myself back into shape pretty quickly.
December 17, 2007
Preparing to move has been a much bigger undertaking than I imagined: aside from packing, the cleaning, drywall repair and painting of the old house has turned out to be a massive job. Then we've got the final stages of the new home's construction, which must be carefully supervised. In addition, all kinds of stuff must be planned out and taken care of before the move: address changes with dozens and dozens of companies + the post office, utilities, cable, phone, alarm & pest control services must be set up, insurance, blinds & window treatments, the gym flooring installation + Titan move and reassembly, appliances, the long and detailed mortgage loan/underwriting process, moving van rental, driver's license & voter registration address changes... I could go on forever, and that's mostly pre-move stuff. Once we move there are literally hundreds of projects big and small to accomplish.
The last time I moved was in 1994 right after Lisa and I were married. We were young, had very little to move and were moving from a small 2-bedroom apartment into our first house. At the time I thought it was a huge job, but this move is an entirely new ballgame.
Yesterday Lisa and I had more work done by noon than I thought we would get done all day. We continued to work until just before sunset, and I'm very pleased with the progress we made. I'm finally starting to feel like we're getting on top of everything. It's a good thing, too, because we've only got one more weekend before we close on December 28th!
After Lisa and I finished working yesterday I took a bunch of photos that show what all we've been doing lately. I put them in my regular journal. They can be found here.
I know I've been very focused on the new house and the move as of late, but believe me when I say I'm 100% ready to get this move done, get settled and get back to my normal life. My last update to this site before I take some time off to move and get settled will be this Friday. When I return to my daily updates in late January or early February I'll mention how everything is going but then it's back to fitness!
December 16, 2007
Lisa and I didn't get nearly as much accomplished yesterday as I'd hoped. I did manage to spend WAY too much money at Home Depot. We entered Home Depot with an already large list of items to purchase, and--as usual--I bought about twice as many things as I'd set out to purchase. My advice to those of you who are moving into a new home is to create a budget for all the things you'll need and then double it... and you'll still spend more.
Ok, today we're going to do nothing but pack all day long. We've only got three more weekend days to pack, and I'm feeling like we're never going to get it all done in time. We've got to make a huge dent in our workload today so I won't lie awake all night with worry.
In a few days I'll be taking several weeks off to move and get settled into the new place, so I've gone ahead and opened January's "100 Challenge" for entry a little early. January is always a big month for dieters, and the "100 Challenge" is a great way to help keep you motivated and accountable. Details are immediately below!
Registration for the January 2008 "100 Challenge" is now underway! Your Official Challenge post must be made by 7:00 AM (EST) on January 1, 2008 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 January 2008 "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!
December 15, 2007
The big news this morning is that AtLarge Nutrition is running a very special holiday 10% off sale! Everyone on the forum has been asking for a sale, and Chris and Daniel have come through. The holiday special only runs through December 23, 2007, so order right away! Also, be sure to take advantage of AtLarge's multi-unit discounts for even greater savings. More information on the sale is immediately below today's update.
There are only two more weekends left to finish packing and make final preparations for our move. This is going to be a very busy weekend for me and Lisa, and next weekend will be even more hectic. We've got a huge list of items we need to pick up from Home Depot today, and while we are out we're going to head over to the house and see how the various trades are progressing with their punch lists. I was out there last night and it's amazing how polished everything is starting to look as the house nears its final inspection. According to the builder the appliances will be delivered around the middle of next week, and final inspection should also happen next week. Lisa and I will perform our own walk-through next Friday morning, and will create a final punch list. The following Friday (December 28th), we'll meet the builder at the house for one final walk-through and then immediately head to over to the title company to sign the paperwork, hand over the rest of our down payment and collect the keys to our new home!
I'm going to get started on some projects now. Have a great day!
|
AtLarge Nutrition - Holiday 10% Off Sale!
It's that time of the year again! AtLarge wants to wish you a happy holiday season and to help celebrate we are offering 10% off on all orders now through 12/23/2007! Don't wait, get our usual multiple unit discounts, freebies (Turbo Shakers and t-shirts), AND save BIG with 10% off to include the cost of shipping. To take advantage of this fantastic offer simply type “happyholidays” in the discount code section when you place your order. From our family to yours, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! - Chris Mason & Daniel Clough, AtLarge Nutrition |
December 14, 2007
It's been months since I've had a nice big steak, so last night I indulged a bit and grilled a delicious porterhouse. Wow, that thing was good!
I've been maintaining my weight (about 197 pounds) and body fat levels (about 10%) for a few weeks now. My diet has been quite good, but I'm finding it impossible to stick to a 100% strict cutting diet right now. I'm going to continue to maintain until we get settled into the new house, and will begin an "official" cut back down to 6% body fat in January or February. It's not going to take too long to get down to 6% from where I am now, but I want to do it like I did earlier this year year with no cheat meals and no distractions. I figure I'll be at my goal body fat percentage by April or May.
As a reminder, my last update to this site before my 5-6 week moving hiatus will be one week from today (December 21st). I'll try to dig up some links to some of my more motivational updates from the past 5 years and leave those up while I'm gone. I know a lot of people will be finding this site for the first time in January, and I want to give those people all the tools and information they need to achieve their goals!
Happy Friday!
December 13, 2007
I wanted to lift last night, but I decided to go ahead and take a few weeks off as I'd originally planned. I think it will do me some good, both from a mental and physical standpoint. Also, I really need to start putting 100% of my focus into the final preparations of the move. So, instead of working out I got some more packing done last night. I got about half the DVD collection packed before running out of boxes.
I also tossed our cheap 15-year old mattress, box spring and frame to the curb and ordered another new Sealy Posturepedic ultra-plush pillow top mattress, box spring and frame for the guest bedroom. Lisa and I have been enjoying our new mattress so much compared to our old mattress that we didn't think it would be right to ask anyone else to sleep on it--especially our parents and friends!
Yesterday the new gym flooring was finally delivered! It's "Loktuff" gym flooring, made by Humane. I think I'm going to be very pleased with it: each tile is solid heavy-duty vulcanized rubber, measures four feet by four feet, is a half-inch thick and weighs around 50 pounds. I chose the "glacier" color, which adds some nice whitish-grey flecks throughout. It will look good with my Titan's grey upholstery. Here are a couple of pictures of the 12 tiles sitting in the garage:
Even though I'm technically not allowed to move any personal possessions into the new house before we close and take ownership, the foreman in charge of my house was kind enough to give me permission to install my gym floor on December 27th, which is the day before we close. I'll be on hiatus from updating this site at that time, but I'll post some pictures of the installed floor and my new home gym in my new home construction journal (an upgraded forum membership is required). Of course I'll post some pictures here on the main site when I resume my daily updates in late January or early February.
December 12, 2007
Monday night--my first supposed day off from weight training--I got the itch to lift. I went into my gym, maneuvered around the disassembled Titan and other clutter, grabbed some dumbbells and banged out a pretty good all-dumbbell shoulder workout. I may do some arm work this afternoon, but I might go ahead and force myself to take a few weeks off. The pain in my lat is pretty irritating, and I want it to heal up. With my Titan disassembled, the upcoming move and a very busy schedule in the weeks to come this seems like the perfect time.
I can't believe that we're moving two weeks from Friday! I'm so glad that I've got the entire month of January off from work. It's a huge relief to know I'll have plenty of time to get settled in. Aside from unpacking everything, I've got a lot of projects to accomplish: garage door openers, ceiling fans, audio systems/wall plates in the family room and home theater room, computer network wall plates/wiring punchdowns, multiple indoor and outdoor security cameras need to be installed, security camera DVR setup/wiring, security camera power box/wiring punchdown, security camera video feed wall plates, computer room setup, exterior floodlights need to be installed, the backyard fence needs to be ordered and installed... there's more, but those are the items with the highest priority. I'm not complaining! With the exception of the fence, I'm looking forward to all of these projects.
I need to wrap this up and get some breakfast in me. Enjoy your day!
December 11, 2007
This is going to be a very brief update. I've got about 100 things going on this morning, and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. I'd planned to do some LISS cardio this morning, but that's not going to happen. I'm going to do some HIIT cardio this afternoon instead. Hopefully I'll be caught up by then...
Sorry about the short update--have a great day!
December 10, 2007
Yesterday Lisa and I buckled down and worked almost all day long. First we cleaned the house, and then we resumed packing. My focus yesterday was on the home gym. First I took down all the mirrors, the clock and the accessories that I had hanging on the wall (wrist wraps, straps, ropes, boxing gloves and so on).
I'm tossing the mirrors, and in the new house I will put up a couple large mirrors instead of a bunch of smaller ones. I think that will look better, and will result in less holes in the drywall.
There are dozens of drywall repairs in the gym, and I started on those yesterday as well. Some of them are going to require a little more spackle after I sand them down. Once the drywall is full repaired, I'll have to paint the room. The floor is trashed and will be thrown away, so at least I won't have to worry about getting paint on the floor!
While I was in the gym working, I kept eying the Titan and began formulating a plan for disassembling it--a daunting project, to be sure. I had planned to wait until a little closer to the move to disassemble the Titan, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I couldn't wait any longer. There are only a little over two weeks to go before we move--I've only got two weekends left! I started making a mental list of all the things that we still need to do, and I couldn't figure out a good time to fit tearing down the gym in. I honestly had no idea how long it would take, and so I concluded that it needed to happen now while I had the time...
The disassembly process was not as bad as I thought it would be. It took between two and three hours. I just proceeded logically from the top downward (except for the sliding bench, which I removed first). I called Lisa in to help support a beam or two as I removed bolts, but 90% of it was a one-man job. I don't think reassembly is going to be nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. I didn't have to disassemble it to the degree required to ship it to me, so much of the initial assembly work will not need to be repeated. Of course some of these partially assembled pieces are extremely heavy, so I'm glad my buddy Chris (1FastGTX) will be helping me with the move and the reassembly process.
Here's how my home gym looks now:
I'll still be able to do cardio, and I may do some dumbbell work, but for the most part I will be taking a few weeks off from strength training. I'll probably resume my workouts about a week after the move--early January. I don't think a few weeks off at this juncture is a bad thing. It will likely do more good than harm to take a little break. I've had some nagging injuries--pain in my right lat, left wrist pain, pain in my right hip--that don't prevent me from training, so I don't mention them much, if at all. The injuries are still annoying, so I'm hopeful they will heal up with a few weeks of rest.
December 9, 2007
Well, aside from a haircut and picking up some dog food, I got absolutely nothing useful accomplished yesterday. Lisa and I went out to
the new house and took a longer, more scenic route. After we wandered around the house for about an hour (we really didn't want to leave!) we
went out to eat for our weekly cheat meal. The fajitas were incredible as aways, and the margaritas were extra strong. By the time we
got back home, neither of us felt like doing anything that even remotely resembled work. We goofed around on our computers for
a bit, and ordered a couple of nice goose down pillows for our new bed: Royal Velvet Majestic Gold 1200-Thread-Count Hungarian White Goose Down Pillows
Today we're going to get some work accomplished. First we're going to clean the house, and then it's back to packing. I may start taking down my gym mirrors and patching the drywall in there, too. So much left to do...
December 8, 2007
It's Saturday, and that means it's cheat meal day! I'm craving Mexican food--specifically fajitas. I think Lisa and I will go to a late lunch/early dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. The fajitas there are absolutely phenomenal, and their chips and fresh pico de gallo are so tasty that I have to force myself to stop eating them so I'll have room for the fajitas. I'll wash all that down with one of their fantastic jumbo margaritas.
Also on today's agenda: more packing. We're less than three weeks from the move now, and there's still so much to do. I've already taken care of all the utilities, cable/internet service, phone and the postal service change of address, but we've still got quite a lot of packing ahead of us. I've been putting off packing up my ridiculously massive DVD collection, but I think it's almost time. I wonder how many boxes it will take? I don't think I have enough...
Before we go out to eat this afternoon we're going to run by the new house and see how things are going. Aside from the the master bathroom mirrors, the delivery of the major appliances and the numerous cosmetic repairs that are normal at this stage of construction, the house is now complete. It's going to be a lot of fun watching everything come together and get polished to perfection over the next couple of weeks. Of course I'll continue to update to my new home construction journal (an upgraded forum membership is required) until we close. In fact, by popular request I'm going to keep updating the journal as we move and get settled in.
Enjoy your Saturday!
December 7, 2007
Wow, I've never slept better in my life than I did last night. Our new bed is AMAZING! It was like sleeping on a cloud. I didn't wake up even one time all night long, and neither did Lisa. That never happens! I was pretty sure that our inexpensive 15 year-old mattress was largely responsible for a lot of my tossing, turning and general restlessness and now I'm 100% positive. I was so comfortable this morning when I woke up that I had to force myself to get up. The bed was not cheap, but it was worth every last penny.
Just 3 weeks until we close on the new house and move! I can't believe how quickly the move is approaching. The week before we move is going to be pretty hectic, so I'm tentatively setting the start of my hiatus from updating JSF for Friday, December 21st. I'll resume updates after we're fully settled in and things calm down a bit--probably the end of January or the very beginning of February.
I have to face the fact that over the next couple of months my strict diet and training will need to take a backseat to other matters. I realize I'm probably going to lose a bit of muscle and gain a little fat during this time. I'm fine with that, but when I come back I'm going to go on a "formal" cutting cycle and get back down to 6% body fat.
I'm off to work now, see you tomorrow!
December 6, 2007
With all this talk about sleep this week, it's interesting that our new bed will be delivered today! You know that you are getting old when you become genuinely excited about bedding. The bed that Lisa and I have now is an inexpensive queen-sized bed that we bought around 15 years ago. Having a brand new, well-made KING-SIZED bed is going to be awesome! A queen-sized bed is simply not big enough for two adults and at least one (sometimes two, depending on Turtle's mood) 70-pound dogs.
This morning Lisa helped me tear down the old bed and move it out of the room. We're going to keep the old bed for one of the spare rooms in the new house. Unfortunately there is nowhere to put the old mattress and boxspring in this house except my home gym (in the spot where I do deadlifts). That means on back day I'm going to have to move a mattress and boxspring out of the gym before my workout. I'll just count it as a warm-up set, I guess.
It's getting ridiculous how full all the rooms are. Almost every square inch is filled with boxes and stuff waiting to be packed. We can barely walk around the house anymore. The poor dogs have no idea what's going on. We close on the new house three weeks from tomorrow, so it won't be much longer now! I'm going to wait until the final week to tear down my gym. I'm not looking forward to tearing apart and re-building my Titan. It's going to be a huge project. Thankfully I don't think I'll need to tear it down nearly as far as it was when it arrived from the factory. That should speed up the assembly time.
I'm off to finish prepping the bedroom for the new bed before I start my work day. See ya!
December 5, 2007
If you missed yesterday's update and have ever had trouble falling back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night, you'll definitely want to check it out. Once again last night I woke up a couple of times and my mind was cluttered with a million thoughts. I used the simple technique outlined in yesterday's update again last night, and in both cases fell back asleep almost immediately. It really works, and I can't thank Mr. Fleming enough for sending it my way. I hope it helps some of you, too.
I have to go downtown in a few minutes, so I'm sort of pressed for time this morning. I'm going to cut this update a little short and get showered and some breakfast. Have a great day!
December 4, 2007
With such a poor night's sleep on Sunday night, I was really feeling terrible by yesterday afternoon. Not just tired, but almost like I was getting sick. I decided to skip yesterday afternoon's workout (doing heavy deads when you can barely function is probably not a very smart idea), and for meal #5 I made myself some chicken noodle soup and took some extra vitamin C.
I went to bed very early last night--around 8:00 PM. Despite being ridiculously tired, I still woke up twice last night. Each time I woke up my mind was racing, and I could tell that I was going to have trouble falling back asleep... or would I?
Yesterday I received an email from a forum member named John Fleming (forum username "flem1064"). In this email he outlined a very simple technique that he thought might help me fall back asleep. Here's the email:
John,
I just ready about your recent bout with waking up and having too much on your mind. The following is the only technique I have found to get your mind to forget about these details and let you fall back asleep:
1. Close your eyes
2. Rapidly look to the left and then to the right, back and forth, repeat as long as necessary to start "disrupting" your thoughts of everything on your mental to-do list.
For me, within 5-10 minutes I have fallen back asleep.
I have read that this back and forth eye movement is what happens when you are in a REM state of sleep. I have also read that this technique is used on victims of traumatic experiences, to give them a way to put the recurring experience out of their mind temporarily and help them fall asleep.
Hopefully, you haven't tried this yet, and it works for you.
Take care,
John Fleming
The first time I woke up last night and tried this technique I remember thinking, "Oh, this is taking too much concentration I'll never fall back asleep!" That's the last thing I remember thinking until I woke back up several hours later. It really worked! When I woke back up I performed the same technique and the next thing I knew it was morning. I feel 100% better now, and well rested. If you have trouble sleeping you've got to try this--it really works! THANK YOU JOHN!"
December 3, 2007
Isn't it funny (not "haha" funny; more like "I want to bash in my head with a hammer" funny) that we have all day to
think about our problems and things that worry us, but for some reason our brains often decide that the middle of the
night is an absolutely perfect time to contemplate, oh... EVERYTHING. 
In case you haven't guessed by now, I slept very poorly last night. I woke up around 2:00 AM and my mind was going a thousand miles per hour, mostly thinking about the upcoming move, but also all kinds of meaningless random crap. For some reason every last little detail and issue--no matter how minor--seems to take on incredible weight in the middle of the night. I didn't fall back asleep until sometime after 5:00 AM. Thankfully the dogs let me sleep until 6:30 again this morning. I'm still completely out of it right now. I really don't do well without a good night's sleep.
I think part of the problem is I have trouble getting comfortable again after I wake up. Lots of tossing and turning. Thankfully Lisa and I have already purchased a new Ultra-plush European pillow top king size mattress set for the new house. It's going to be delivered any day now, and I can't wait!
December 2, 2007
I had a fun day yesterday: I got some more packing done, washed the car, watched a couple DVDs, went for a drive out to the new house and had an enjoyable cheat meal for dinner. My cheeseburger cravings have finally been satisfied. I think next week I'll do something different for my cheat meal. Maybe Mexican or barbecue. I'll try not to temp you all by describing my cravings as I did this past week!
I've got the day off today, but I am going to do some cardio this afternoon. I did all LISS cardio this past week, so today I'm going to get an 18 minute HIIT session in: 1 minute all out, followed by 1 minute of active recovery.
The dogs let me sleep until 6:30 this morning. That never happens! I'm running about 30 minutes behind my normal morning schedule as a result, and that includes breakfast. I'd better go get some food in me. Have a great day!
December 1, 2007
Last night I was craving cheeseburgers once again, but I was able to combat the cravings without too much trouble. I guess I know what I'll be having for tonight's cheat meal! I've definitely "earned" this week's cheat meal, and I'm going to savor every last bite.
I normally prepare my chicken breasts on the grill with nothing but a little salt and a lot of pepper. Lately I've been growing so tired of the taste that I think it's made sticking to my planned diet more difficult than it needs to be. Yesterday for meal #3 I cooked up another batch of chicken breasts on the grill (I do six at a time, and that lasts me about 3 days), only this time I used rosemary and garlic powder along with the salt and pepper. Smart move! The taste was awesome, it was very easy to make and I found myself looking forward to eating the chicken again for meal #5.
Today is our usual big housecleaning day, only this weekend Lisa is relaxing on a cruise ship and I'm left to clean by myself. Actually cleaning seems silly right now: the entire house is overflowing with boxes, packing material and piles of junk waiting to be packed. Yeah, cleaning would be pretty pointless. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it when Lisa gets back.
I may be blowing off the cleaning, but I am going to get some work done and continue packing. I'm glad we started packing several weeks ago, because it's taking forever!
Enjoy your day!
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