Daily News Archives
July 2003
07/31/2003 - Another recently discovered "before" photo; Leg day.
07/30/2003 - Back and arms progress--new picture.
07/29/2003 - New grilled chicken recipe; Heart rate monitors.
07/28/2003 - Long, aerobic-level cardio session.
07/27/2003 - A couple of excellent weight training workouts; Staying dedicated.
07/26/2003 - Message board humor; Today's workout.
07/25/2003 - Cool transformation animation; Cheat meal day!@#
07/24/2003 - Looking back at the last 200 days; Thanks everyone!
07/23/2003 - Getting right to my workout: Redux.
07/22/2003 - Getting right to my workout.
07/21/2003 - Lean mass progress/measurement grid update.
07/20/2003 - Relaxation day?
07/19/2003 - Cisco woes.
07/18/2003 - "The day after."
07/17/2003 - Steak tonight; Obtaining nutritional information data.
07/16/2003 - Tomorrow night: first steak in a dozen years.
07/15/2003 - Back and biceps day.
07/14/2003 - Another busy Monday morning.
07/13/2003 - A good night's sleep; Rainy day.
07/12/2003 - Difficult week.
07/11/2003 - Another excellent leg workout; It's "cheat" meal day!
07/10/2003 - Advantages of tracking stats closely; No excuses.
07/09/2003 - No time to write.
07/08/2003 - Body fat increase, cutting calories slightly.
07/07/2003 - Extra busy post-holiday Monday.
07/06/2003 - Another excellent weight training workout; 6 months (and counting)!
07/05/2003 - California Pizza Kitchen; Bulking progress.
07/04/2003 - Best workout ever?
07/03/2003 - Busy day ahead in preparation for the long weekend.
07/02/2003 - Yesterday's back and bicep workout; Fat-head picture.
07/01/2003 - Increased ab training.
July 31, 2003
Here's an absolutely terrifying picture of me that a co-worker dug up and emailed to me yesterday. That picture was taken 1 year ago (July 2, 2002). No further comments are necessary -- the picture speaks for itself.
Well, that particular photo has provided me with enough inspiration to get through the next several thousand workouts. 
Today I'm working my lower body
in the weight room, and it's about time that I got started. Hope you have a good day -- see ya tomorrow.
July 30, 2003
I took a new picture of my back yesterday. This is the first time I've checked my back's progress since the last time I took a picture of it, which was about three months ago. I'm really happy with my progress in that area, definitely some new muscle growth since April--not only in my back, but also in my arms. Here's the picture. I sure wish I'd taken a picture of my back in January when I first started! Oh well... Anyway, I'm really excited to see what I can do when I start my true bulking program in a couple of months!
Today my abs are the focus: 200 crunches, followed by 23 minutes of HIIT cardio on the stair climber. Time to get started. Hope you have a great day!
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July 29, 2003
I prepared a new grilled lemon and herb chicken dish last night that came out great! Check out the recipe -- it's simple, but a real winner.
Yesterday I did a 50 minute aerobic-level cardio session instead of my usual HIIT cardio. I was aiming to average 152 beats per minute (80% of my maximum heart rate), but I wound up averaging 154 BPM. By the way, I use a Polar "A1" heart monitor, which is one of the most basic models available. I looked at the fancy models, but they all seemed to have a bunch of useless bells and whistles that I didn't need and would never use. The Polar "A1" does everything I want, which isn't much: tell me my heart rate while I'm working out, and tell me what my average heart rate was when I'm done working out. Everything else is superfluous.
No cardio for me today, though. Today I'm working my biceps and back in the weight room. I'm feeling great this morning and I can tell I'm going to have a productive, high-energy workout. Time to crank up the music and get started. See you tomorrow.
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July 28, 2003
With a busy Monday ahead, I'd better get right to my workout. Today I'm going for a long aerobic-level ride on the stationary bike (50 minutes @ 80% of my maximum heart rate -- 152 BPM). See you tomorrow!
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July 27, 2003
I had a great workout yesterday (pecs/delts/tris). I think my pecs and delts -- two of my weakest areas -- are finally starting to show some real progress. I didn't mention it on Friday, but I also had my best leg workout ever on Thursday. Today my quads, hams and calves are all still really sore from Thursday's workout.
Yesterday I was thinking back to when I first started my weight training program. I remember for my first leg workout I did squats, then I did leg lifts, then leg curls, then lunges and then I worked my calves. Well, at least I tried to do lunges -- by the time I did squats, leg lifts and leg curls, I could barely stand up. I remember I could not do a single lunge, even without weight. I went down and my legs just collapsed! This past Thursday I achieved personal bests in both weight and reps for squats, leg lifts and leg curls, and then I did a few dozen lunges with 100 pounds (two 50-pound dumbbells). My point is, it doesn't matter where you start -- if you work hard and stay dedicated and stay consistent in your efforts you will see BIG improvements. Six months from now I'll probably look back at last Thursday's workout log and chuckle.
Today I'm doing 200 crunches, 23 minutes of HIIT on the stair climber and then I'll be doing a few hours of yard work. Later today I should have time to get to some of the email that's been piling up over the last 48 hours, and then maybe I'll watch a DVD. Hope you have a great day, see you tomorrow.
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July 26, 2003
In the "I'm not masking my jealousy with humor" department: Drifter, you definitely came up with one the
funniest message board comments I've read in a while -- nice work.
Today I'm working my pecs, delts and triceps. I should have plenty of energy after eating about
32098832 carbs last night. I'm going to go get started, I've got a lot of stuff to do around the
house today. Have a good day and I'll see ya tomorrow.
July 25, 2003
One of the visitors of this web site, Jeff Carlson, was kind enough to create and email me an animated GIF of
the first 199 days of my transformation. It's really cool to watch, check it
out! Warning: it's almost 7 MB. Thanks again Jeff, nice work! I also made a permanent link to it on the main transformation page.
Tonight I'll be having my weekly "cheat" meal. I think I'm going to go with another 5-cheese & tomato pizza and red wine. I've been craving pizza all week, so I can't wait!
I'm off to do my workout. Today it's 200 crunches and 23 minutes of HIIT on the bike. Have a good day, cya tomorrow!
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July 24, 2003
Wow, so I've been doing this health thing for 200 days already?! It sure doesn't seem like it. That's a long time to
go without missing a single workout, picture or web update. I'm proud of myself for sticking with it. When I started my program way back in January, I knew I
was going to do my best to lose weight, but I had no idea just how passionate about health and fitness I would become. I tend to throw myself into everything I do with
110% effort, but damn... 
OK, I don't want to break my arm patting myself on the back -- I still have a lot of very tough goals to meet, challenges to
overcome and, more immediately, I have a grueling leg workout to complete this morning! I'm going to get started in a few minutes, but
before I do, I'd like to sincerely thank you for taking the time to visit this page. I know from the emails I receive and from the
posts on various message boards that my page has been helpful to many of you, but it really works both ways. If I were to "slack off",
I would be not only letting myself down, but I would also be letting down many of you. I like it that way. You guys keep me highly
motivated and very inspired with your daily visits to this page, and also with your many success stories. Let's keep up the hard work! See
you tomorrow, have a great day.
July 23, 2003
I've got to go into work early this morning, so I need to hurry up and get my crunches and cardio in. Have a great day, see you tomorrow!
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July 22, 2003
I don't have much to say this morning and I've got a busy day ahead, so I'm just going to go get started on my
workout. Today I'm working my back and biceps, and I'm feeling good this morning
so it should be a great workout. See you tomorrow!
July 21, 2003
It's been just over a month since I started my maintenance/lean mass phase, and I'm pretty happy with my progress so far. I've gained a little over 5 pounds, and my body fat is still at 8%. I updated my measurements grid (on the main page) to include my measurements at the end of my fat loss program (6/17/2003). Since that time, I've gained a 1/4" on my forearms, 1/4" on my biceps/triceps, 1/4" on my calves and 1/2" on my chest! My waist, hips and thighs are the same, which is good since increases in those areas (except maybe thighs) would be fat. I'm especially pleased about the 1/2" I've added to my chest. It needed (and still needs) the most work.
Today is my lightest workout day of the week: just 23 minutes of HIIT cardio on the bike. I'm going to go get started. Have
a great day and I'll talk to you tomorrow. Oh, Lisa said to say "thanks!!" for all the Happy Birthday wishes.
July 20, 2003
The last couple of weeks have been really stressful. If work will leave me alone I'm taking today day off. I'm going to go get my 200 crunches in, do 23 minutes of HIIT cardio on the stair climber, take a recently completed Linux server to a co-worker and then RELAX.
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July 19, 2003
I'm in a big hurry this morning, I've got a lot of work to do. As some of you already know (particularly those of you who work in the IT industry), most versions of Cisco's IOS contains a major DOS vulnerability and there are already exploits in the wild. So I am in the process of upgrading the software on every single router we have deployed. I've already upgraded quite a few of them, including our core router, but every router I use at our head-end and at remote locations is Cisco, so I've got plenty more to upgrade. And to think I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Oh well...
...but I'm not going to let the threat of a few dim-witted script kiddies keep me from my workout. First things first.
Today I'm working my pecs, delts and triceps. I'm going to go get started. Have a good day and I'll see you tomorrow (if
I don't destroy my network).
July 18, 2003
Wow, check out my food log -- I ate quite a lot last night! When we got home I felt like I was going to burst. I should have
taken a picture -- my stomach was so bloated that I almost looked like I did in my "before" shot. OK,
maybe not quite that bad... Anyway, we had a really great time. Happy birthday, Lisa!!
Today I'm going to eat a little less than normal (I still feel full from last night!) and I think I'm going to skip my HIIT cardio training and instead go for a loooong aerobic-level ride on the bike after I do my crunches.
Have a great day, talk to you tomorrow!
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July 17, 2003
I'm pretty excited about this week's cheat meal. Tonight is the big night and, as I mentioned yesterday, I'll be having my first steak in over 12 years. Since we're eating out, I'm probably not going to be able to get the exact nutritional information, so I've done the best that I can. I estimated what I'll be ordering for now, and I'll adjust it later depending on what I eat. This is going to be quite a big, fattening meal!
While I'm on the subject of nutritional information, I usually get the data for my spreadsheet from food labels and from web searches, but last night my mom sent me a link to a nutritional information site that I like a lot. I used this site to get the values for tonight's meal, and also to update some items in my database. Check it out at http://www.nutritiondata.com/.
It's been another busy week and I'm way behind answering my emails. I'll get to all of them by this weekend, I promise!
Today is leg day, and I need to go get started. Have a good day and I'll see you tomorrow!
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July 16, 2003
As most of you know from reading my FAQ, I was a vegetarian for over a decade. I started eating seafood again in late
2002, and chicken and turkey in 2003. Lisa's birthday is this weekend, so tomorrow night I'm
taking her out to dinner and I'll be eating my first steak in a dozen years. 12 years is a long time to go without a steak, so it
should taste particularly good. This will also be the first time we've been out to eat since I started my transformation program, so
tomorrow night will be a real treat for both of us!
I'm going to go get started on my workout. Today it's 200 crunches and 23 minutes of HIIT cardio on the stair climber. See you tomorrow!
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July 15, 2003
Today is my back/biceps day and I feel great this morning. For my biceps I'm going to do hammer curls, barbell curls and concentration curls. For my back I'll be doing dumbbell rows and back extensions. I'm running a little late this morning, so I'm going to go get started. Have a good day, see you tomorrow.
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July 14, 2003
Another Monday morning and, as usual, I don't have much extra time. I have a lot of work to do today, so I'm going to get right to my workout. Have a great day!
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July 13, 2003
Despite being tired yesterday morning, I had a great workout. My pecs and triceps are really sore this morning.
The network gods decided to give my pager a break and let me sleep through the night last night, so I feel really
good this morning. I got a lot of work done yesterday so I can take the day off today with clear conscience! Too
bad it's raining, because I really need to get some yard work done. Oh well, if the rain doesn't let up at least I'll have
a good excuse to sit around and watch DVDs all day. I should also finally
have some time to answer the email that's been piling up all week.
For today's workout, I'm doing 200 crunches and 23 minutes of HIIT on the stair climber. I'm going to sign off and get started! See you tomorrow...
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July 12, 2003
Sometimes it's hard to find the time to workout, especially when you are tired and over-worked. This week has been a real test of my resolve. There have been more network problems at work this week than I can remember in a long time: server hardware failures, switches failing, fiber cuts, circuits going down, routers acting squirrelly, network security "incidents", pagers going off at all hours.... Last night alone my pager went off 14 times. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. I'm feeling a little groggy right now, but I'm just going to drink an extra cup of coffee and get to my workout. I wish I could take the day off, but I have too much work to do. I am definitely taking tomorrow off unless something major goes wrong (which wouldn't surprise me the way things have been going this week!)
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July 11, 2003
I wasn't sure how I could top it, but yesterday's leg workout was even better than last week's workout! I felt great the entire time,
and the weight and reps just keep going up. I love the feeling I get after a really good weight training session. It makes me
feel like I can do anything.
Well, well, well... it's "cheat" meal day again already!@# Tonight I'll be having one of my old favorites: The California Pizza Kitchen
"Five Cheese & Tomato Pizza". This is the most fattening of all the cheat meals I've had. One single serving pizza
contains 45 grams of fat, 27 of it saturated. I used to eat these things all the time, along with a ton of garlic bread and
beer. It's no wonder I used to be so fat. Once a week is MORE than enough for these types of meals. They sure do taste good.....
I'm off to do my workout. Today it's 200 crunches and 23 minutes of HIIT on the bike. Have a good day, see you tomorrow!
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July 10, 2003
I'm back down to 8% body fat. One of the many advantages of keeping close tabs on my stats is that I can make adjustments very quickly when needed.
This has been and continues to be a tough week at work. No matter how busy things get, I always make the time
to workout. Missing a workout is simply not an option. Working out is like breathing.
Today is leg day, and it's going to be a tough one if I expect to best last week's excellent leg workout. I'm going to go get started. Have a good day, I'll see ya tomorrow.
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July 9, 2003
Bah, I've got no time to write again this morning. We've got some network equipment down at work, and I have to leave early to go deal with it. I'm going to go get my workout in and get going.
I'm way behind in answering my emails. I'm sorry if you've sent one this week and have not heard back from me yet. I promise I'll get to them as soon as I can! Have a good day, I'll see you tomorrow.
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July 8, 2003
Well, my body fat has crept up slightly to 9%. My goal this summer is to put on as much lean mass as I can without gaining any body fat. This fall when I start my bulking phase I won't care if I add some fat with my lean mass, but that won't do right now. I'm going to try cutting my daily caloric intake slightly, to about 2000 calories per day, and see how that goes.
I'd better get started on my workout, today is going to be another busy day at work. I'm hitting my back and biceps today, and I'm looking forward to a great workout. See you tomorrow!
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July 7, 2003
I'm going to get right to my workout this morning. It's going to be an extra long workday for me today, so the sooner I get started the better! Have a good day, I'll see you tomorrow...
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July 6, 2003
I'm so stoked (and sore!) Yesterday's workout (pecs/delts/triceps) was every bit as productive as
this past Thursday's leg workout! It must be the extra
food I'm eating. Once again I increased the amount of weight and the number of reps for each set and each exercise. I did
incline dumbbell presses, dumbbell flyes, dumbbell bench presses (I always do 3 exercises for my pecs -- they need a lot of work),
dumbbell shoulder presses, side raises, lying tricep extensions and standing tricep extensions. I felt very strong through the entire workout.
I'm really sore this morning, which is just what I was hoping for.
Today marks exactly six months since I started my transformation program! I can't believe it's been six months already. I've been so focused on my goals that the time just seemed to fly by. Looking back at what I've accomplished so far, I feel a real sense of pride. Now I'm not talking about cocky or egotistical pride; I'm talking about the healthy kind of pride that is only experienced when goals are set and met, challenges and obstacles along the way are overcome and a job is well done. Until this year, pride is a feeling that has been in very short supply for me for a long, long time.
Ok, that's more than enough self-aggrandizement -- there's still a lot of work to be done. So, here's to the next six months! I'm determined to make them even more productive than the past six.
Speaking of which, it's time for me to shut up and get started. Today I'm doing 200 crunches, and
23 minutes of HIIT cardio on the stair climber. Have a great day, cya tomorrow!
July 5, 2003
I sure enjoyed my evening last night. I'm not trying to tempt those of you who are currently on fat loss programs, but California Pizza Kitchen makes the best frozen pizzas I've ever had. Last night I had one of their newer varieties: "Garlic and Chicken". It was incredible, but I would never eat one of them while on a fat loss program. One of their individually-sized chicken and garlic pizzas packs an amazing 36 grams of fat, 18 of it saturated. It also has almost 100 carbs, and these are not "good" carbs -- sugar is high on the list of ingredients. It's also pretty high in sodium and, combined with the 2 glasses of wine I drank, it's no wonder that I feel pretty bloated this morning. That's why I only have one cheat meal per week, and it's also why I didn't have any cheat meals at all for the 5 months that I was on a fat loss diet.
My bulking phase is going well. My body fat percentage is still at 8%, and my weight has gone up at least 2 or 3 solid pounds! Today
I'm working my pecs, delts and triceps. If today's workout is anywhere close to as good as
Thursday's leg workout, I'm going to be very
happy. I feel a little cloudy-headed this morning, probably from the wine last night (which I'm not used to anymore), but I also have lots of
energy (probably from the 100 carbs in the pizza). I'm finished with my protein shake, so I'm going to go get started. I hope you
all have a great day -- I'll see ya tomorrow.
July 4, 2003
Yesterday I had one of the best, if not the best, weight training workouts of my life. Ironically, Wednesday
evening I was feeling a little weak and tired just before I went to bed, but when I woke up Thursday morning I felt
remarkably good. I achieved personal bests for weight and reps on every single exercise that I did (squats, leg extensions,
lying leg curls, lunges, one-leg calf raises and standing calf raises). In two cases (one-leg calf raises and lying leg curls), I even did an extra set.
I felt great for the duration of the workout -- absolutely no fatigue or pain. When I finished my workout, I could barely lift my
legs high enough to get in the shower. This morning I'm very, very sore (and loving it!)
Today I'm doing 200 ab crunches and 23 minutes of HIIT cardio on the bike. Tonight I'll be having my "cheat" meal. Yep, you guessed it--my favorite: pizza and beer (or wine). I can't wait. I really enjoy my once a week indulgence, even if I do feel bloated the day or two after.
Have a great day everyone, I'll see you tomorrow.
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July 3, 2003
It's leg day, so I've got a grueling workout ahead this morning. After my workout I've got a busy day planned, as I will be trying to tie up enough loose
ends at work to allow me to take the long 4th Of July weekend off. I've finished off my protein shake, so I'm going to go get things underway.
I hope you all have a good day! See ya tomorrow...
July 2, 2003
My arms and back are killing me this morning from yesterday's workout. My back workout was pretty standard: dumbbell rows (which I love) and back extensions. For my biceps, I did five sets of barbell curls, five sets of concentration curls and five sets of hammer curls. As most of you already know from reading my workout and training page, I do 12/10/8/6/6 reps for each exercise, increasing the weight with each successive set. I know my training page says I only do two exercises per muscle group, but sometimes I go ahead and do three, especially if I think extra work is needed in that area.
Did you see the new fat-head before/after picture I posted yesterday? I sure was puffy, pale and unhealthy looking (an accurate reflection of how I felt). I'm so glad I got off my ass and started working out, eating right and taking care of myself. I'd look and feel even worse by now if I hadn't. Looking at pictures of myself from back then sure keeps me motivated...
Well, I've procrastinated enough this morning. It's time to go kill my abs. I've got 200 crunches and 23 minutes of HIIT on the bike lined up for this morning's workout. Make sure to get your workout in! See ya tomorrow....
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July 1, 2003
I'm really glad that I decided to add a third abdominal training day to my weekly workout schedule. Abs recover much more quickly than most other muscles, and when I was training them just twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays), there were a few days that they were not sore. Now they are sore pretty much every day but the actual days that I train them. Of course training a muscle group that is already sore is counter-productive, so this seems like the perfect balance. I'm hitting my lower abs extra hard, and I hope to see some real progress in that area soon.
Today I'm working my back and biceps, and with my protein shake gone, it's about time I got started! Have a good day, and be sure to take the time to do your workout!
UPDATE: This before/after picture really shows just how fat, pale and sickly my face looked right before I started my program.
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