Daily News Archives
July 2004
07/31/2004 - I cheated twice this week and I'm feeling it.
07/30/2004 - I screwed up my meals yesterday.
07/29/2004 - No time this morning.
07/28/2004 - Another post-vacation update; Shoulder surgery musings.
07/27/2004 - Postponing visit to orthopedic doctor.
07/26/2004 - Post-vacation weight loss going well.
07/25/2004 - Yesterday's workout; Today's plans.
07/24/2004 - Overslept; Trying a chest, shoulder and tricep workout today.
07/23/2004 - Friday is finally here; Seeing my doctor next week about shoulder.
07/22/2004 - Forums: happy 7-month anniversary; Treasure Island.
07/21/2004 - Good workout yesterday; Shoulder update; Lots of work this week.
07/20/2004 - Water weight gone; FAQ update in the works.
07/19/2004 - Back from vacation!
07/18/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/17/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/16/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/15/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/14/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/13/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/12/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/11/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/10/2004 - No update - on vacation.
07/09/2004 - Last update before vacation.
07/08/2004 - Skipping today's leg workout.
07/07/2004 - Abs and cardio today.
07/06/2004 - 4 days until vacation; Shoulder hurting from simply WASHING THE CAR?!?
07/05/2004 - BLOAT!
07/04/2004 - Yesterday's upper body workout a no-go; 4th of July plans.
07/03/2004 - Going to try an upper body workout today.
07/02/2004 - Excited about my upcoming vacation and time off.
07/01/2004 - Shoulder physical therapy; Lower body workout; Vacation.
July 31, 2004
I've got to workout, shower, eat and get to my haircut appointment by 9:00 AM, so this is going to be a quickie update.
I had two cheat meals this week (Wednesday night and Friday night) and I'm feeling the negative effects this morning. Just one extra meal of wine, pizza and ice cream and I feel bloated, my sinuses are a little stuffed up and I have a touch of heartburn. One cheat meal a week is more than enough, and is about all my body can handle anyway. I'm so used to feeling great all the time that the effects of poor eating are really magnified.
I have to get going now. Have a good workout and Saturday. See you tomorrow!
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July 30, 2004
Yesterday I was not all that hungry before I left for work, so I rushed out of here without eating breakfast. One thing led to another and I didn't get to eat anything until 3:00 PM! I won't make that mistake today...
I've got to go get my workout in and then get to work. It's going to be another very busy day, but I should be able to relax this weekend. Have a great Friday!
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July 29, 2004
I'm in a rush this morning. I've got to shower and go into work to deal with some issues there. I'll have to do my leg workout this afternoon when I get home. Have a good day!
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July 28, 2004
Post-vacation update: I'm back down to 169.6 pounds and 9% body fat. Losing another 3-4 pounds should put me right back to my normal body fat level of 8%.
I've been working my upper body this week and, as I mentioned earlier this week, my shoulder doesn't feel any worse than it does normally. It sure is nice to feel soreness in my pecs and arms again. My triceps and chest are still on fire from Saturday's workout, and my biceps are sore from yesterday's workout. Part of me wants to keep working out and wait until after the summer to have the shoulder surgery, and another part of me is saying "just go get it done". I don't really want to spend the rest of the summer in a sling, and I have to move a lot of equipment around at work in early September so if I have the surgery now that could create several problems. I'm leaning towards waiting until fall and continuing to work my upper body. It's not like I'm making things worse -- the impingement is there and it ain't going away. So, as long as the pain is not bothering me, why not? I'm just thinking out loud now, but I'm going to run this plan by my doctor when I see him and see what he thinks.
Time for my workout: abs and HIIT cardio today. Don't forget to do your workout! 
See you tomorrow!
July 27, 2004
Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to break away from work long enough to get to my orthopedic doctor this week, so I'm going to have to postpone that visit.
I don't have much time this morning so I need to keep this short and get my workout in while I can. Today it's back and biceps. Have a good day, see ya!
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July 26, 2004
My post-vacation cutting cycle is going well. This first week I lost 4.6 pounds (about 3 pounds of that was water) and 1/4 inch off my waist, hips and thighs. Another pound or two and I'll be down to 9% body fat. I figure about three more weeks will be all it takes to get back to 8% body fat. No problem!
Once you learn what works for your body and then apply that knowledge by dedicating yourself to a fat loss program, most people find that cutting is relatively quick and easy compared to gaining lean mass. For most people, it can take many months or even years of dedicated lifting to add a significant amount of lean mass. Also, as I've discovered, injury is another potentially limiting factor when it comes to gaining muscle. I know a lot of you are doing MAX-OT and really pushing yourself to the limit. I know I was. Be careful!
Time for my workout and then it's off to work. It's going to be a busy week: a co-worker is on vacation and I'll have an increased workload while he's gone. Have a great Monday, I'll see ya tomorrow...
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July 25, 2004
I rolled out of bed this morning and thought, "what the hell is wrong with my chest
and arms?" It's been so long since they've been sore I almost forgot what it feels like! So, yeah - I
had a great pecs/delts/tricep workout yesterday, and this morning my shoulder hurts no more
than it usually does (whew). On the other hand, my triceps, pecs and delts are killing me!
I played it safe and used what I once considered moderately heavy weights, but now those same weights were fairly
challenging to me: as expected, I've lost a lot of upper body strength over the last 8 months. Oh well, I'll get it
back in time. Anyway, I felt great after my workout! My arms were pumped up to nearly an inch larger than they
are when cold, and I could barely hold my shaker bottle and make my breakfast. 
I'm going to go wash our cars and putz around in the yard. After that, I might take the S2000 for a spin if it's not raining. Have a great day, see you tomorrow morning!
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July 24, 2004
I always wake up between 6:00 AM and 6:30 AM everyday (even on weekends), but today I
didn't wake up until 7:40 AM! I didn't go to bed any later than I normally do, so I guess
I must have needed the extra sleep. It's weird because I still feel kind of groggy... hrm,
you don't suppose Lisa may have drugged me last night?
Well, I better get my workout in or my meal schedule will be thrown off for the whole day. I'm going to go ahead and attempt a very light pecs/delts/triceps workout. If it hurts my shoulder too badly, I'll just curse a bit and do some cardio.
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July 23, 2004
I'm glad it's finally Friday. I think the longest week of the year is the week immediately following a vacation. After today I should be mostly caught up with my work, but I still have a million things to do around the house so I'm really glad the weekend is almost here.
I'll be seeing my orthopedic doctor next week, so I'll have an update and (hopefully) details about my upcoming shoulder surgery. If my doctor doesn't want me to do surgery for some reason, then I'm going to find a new doctor. I think after eight months we're out of options, and I'm definitely out of patience.
I'd better go get my workout in. Today it's just 50 minutes on the elliptical. Update: I decided to do an even 10 miles (tonight is cheat night, after all!)
Took me 1:01:27 with an average heart rate of 147 BPM.
I hope your day is a good one, see you tomorrow!
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July 22, 2004
Our forums just celebrated their 7-month anniversary yesterday! Coincidentally, we also recently signed up our 4,000th registered member. It's astonishing how quickly and comfortably the forums have grown. Since January 21, 2004 we've averaged around 20 new members per day, and almost 300 new posts per day. Of course that's just the average over the past 7 months: the past couple of months the number of new members has been more like 25-30 per day with 400-500 new posts every day. Thanks to everyone who helps to make the forum such a great community!
Speaking of the forums, hopefully I'll be able to get caught up on my work soon so I can start spending a little more time there! This week has been insane, but somehow I've
managed to maintain the after-vacation glow (so far). I wish I could take off this weekend and go back to the beach for a couple of days. I can't stop thinking about how
fun and relaxing it was on Treasure Island. Treasure Island/St. Pete Beach not the place to go if you are looking for wild nightlife fun and a college-town type atmosphere.
It's much more laid back than that. You'll see lots of BMWs, Porsches and Audis and very few ricers.
I'm just babbling on and on when I really need to go get started on my lower body workout. Have a great day, see you tomorrow!
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July 21, 2004
I had an excellent back and bicep workout yesterday. I lifted more yesterday than I was able to just before my vacation, so I think nine days of rest did my body and mind good in more ways than one. I feel pretty comfortable doing back and bicep work even with my shoulder injury: my orthopedic doctor and physical therapist both said working those two muscle areas shouldn't present a problem, and so far they've been right.
Unfortunately my shoulder has been grinding and popping more than ever lately when I do things like yard work and wash the car. The pain flare-ups are also more frequent. I'll be calling my orthopedic doctor today and setting up an appointment so we can take the next (and hopefully final) step: surgery. I wish that it had not taken so long to come to this, but I had to try all the less invasive procedures before resorting to surgery.
I'm slowly making a dent in the work that piled up while I was gone. I received lots of emails while I was on vacation, many of which I have not yet had a chance to read. Also, I've barely had time to glance at the forum since I've been back. I hope to be caught up by the end of the week. The first week back from vacation is always busy, but I'm doing it with a smile on my face. It's great to be back, and I still feel very relaxed and calm from our wonderful vacation!
I'm off to the weight room. Today I'm working my abs and doing 23 minutes of HIIT cardio. Hope your day is a good one, see you tomorrow.
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July 20, 2004
I guess I underestimated how much of the weight I put on was just water. I weigh 4 pounds less than I did yesterday. So, with only 6 pounds left to go, it looks like this is going to be a very quick cutting phase indeed!
Last night I started working on an update to the FAQ. People have been emailing me with a lot of new questions, gems such as: "Why are you not bulking, your upper body is too small." (A: I just knew something was wrong - thanks for pinpointing it for me! Oh wait, I've got this shoulder injury that I keep forgetting about. I've only mentioned my shoulder injury 3274698743298 times since November 2003 because I'm trying to keep it s0up3r s3kr3t. Shhhhhhh.)
Oh, they get better: "I love that you had a hernia. It's just proof that working out is pointless and is done by people who are compensating. I hope you drop dead from a heart attack."
Yeah, this FAQ update should be a lot of fun!
I'm going to go work out now, have a great day!
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July 19, 2004
Hello everyone! We're back from our vacation, safe and sound. We had an awesome time - everything was perfect! I feel rested, relaxed and recharged. I've got a lot of ground to cover this morning, so I'm going to dive right into it:
First off, if you have not seen the pictures, here they are. I've also added a short (and boring) video of our hotel room, which is linked just above the first picture (the snake sign).
Ok, I went completely nuts over the past nine days when it came to food and drink. In just nine days I've gained about 10 pounds, and I am currently at around 10% body fat. I added an inch to my waist, a quarter inch to my thighs and 3/4" to my hips. Yeah, it bugs me but it's nothing that a few weeks of cutting can't fix.
After over a week of unrelenting indulgence, I was really starting to feel bad this past Saturday. I felt run down and I had a headache all day. Junk food sounded horrible to me, and I was craving my typical diet of chicken breasts and broccoli. The thought of drinking any more alcohol sounded repulsive. I decided to end the junk food part of my vacation early and started eating right again on Saturday. I don't know how I used to eat so poorly before I started my fitness program. No wonder I felt like crap all the time! Proper diet is everything.
Even though I did a lot of walking on the beach, I didn't work out at all until yesterday. I really missed working out, so I did 10 miles on the elliptical yesterday morning. It felt GREAT! I'm going to do another 10 miles this morning.
I feel much better now that I'm back to eating good foods and working out. Because I have about 10 pounds to lose, I decided to end my maintenance phase and start an "official" cutting phase.
You might be wondering how I gained so much weight so quickly. Basically I ate and drank everything I'd been missing for the past year and a half. Here's a list of what I ate over the past nine days (from what I can remember): Bacon sirloin burger w/ cheese & french fries (I had that 2 times), Doritos, chips, snack mix, trail mix, 12 Oz. NY strip w/ blackened shrimp, baked potato w/ butter, many rolls and bread w/ butter, a fried fish sandwich w/ french fries, a huge piece of 4-layer chocolate cake w/ ice cream, large pepperoni pizza (actually 2 of those), California Pizza Kitchen pizzas (um, 3 of those), ice cream sundaes w/ whipped cream and sprinkles (2 of those), buttered popcorn (had that 3 times), chocolate w/ nuts (too many to count), pulled pork BBQ, sliced pork BBQ, BBQ ribs w/ french fries & garlic bread, pork chops in wine sauce w/ wild rice & garlic bread, Popeye's fried chicken w/ french fries, red beans & rice and biscuits (had that twice), 12" roast beef sub w/ Doritos, an iced coffee, a milk shake, 4 Pepsis and a great deal of beer, wine, vodka, tequila, rum and bailey's Irish cream.
My god, no wonder I felt so bad by Saturday night. I definitely overdid it and I'll never do that again. Next time I go on vacation I'll still indulge, but in moderation.
So now I've got about 10 pounds to lose. I'm sure some of it is water, but most of it is fat. I really don't look different, just a little bloated around my lower abs which is where
I gain weight first. I'm still going to stick with my monthly picture updates, so don't even bother to ask.
I really enjoyed my vacation but I'm extremely happy to be back to my normal routine. One thing I learned over the past couple of weeks is how much I truly enjoy working out and eating right. I could never go back to living the way I did prior to January 2003!
As you can imagine, massive amounts of work and emails have been piling up in my absence. I'm going to go work out and then start trying to make a dent in my workload.
Well, I sure missed you all. It felt really weird not updating this page while I was gone. It's great to be back!
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July 10, 2004 - July 18, 2004
No update - on vacation.
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July 9, 2004
At long last, tomorrow we leave on our vacation!
There will be probably be no updates to this site from July 10 - July 18. Daily updates will resume on Monday July 19, 2004.
I hope you all have a good week. I'll be back on the 19th with pictures!
July 8, 2004
Today I'm skipping my leg workout so I won't be hobbling around the beach on sore legs. I'm going to do some cardio and try to get caught up on my work so I can spend tomorrow afternoon getting packed and ready to leave for our vacation.
Have a great day, see you tomorrow!
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July 7, 2004
I'm going to get right to my workout this morning (abs and HIIT cardio) and then I've got to get to work. Just three days left until my vacation starts! I can't wait...
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July 6, 2004
It's crunch time: 4 days until my vacation. I'm going to have to put in a lot of overtime this week so that I can get things squared away at work before we leave. I've also got a lot of personal things that need to be dealt with before we go, so I'm not going to have much spare time this week.
I was washing my car yesterday when my shoulder really started to hurt bad. I've had it. I'm sick and tired of this. When I get back from my vacation I'm making an appointment with my orthopedic doctor and I'm telling him that I want the surgery, and I want it right away. My shoulder is no better now than it was 8 months ago when I first injured it, and I'm not going to waste any more time with treatments that are not helping. Enough's enough.
I'm going to go attempt to work my back and biceps. If my shoulder starts to hurt, then I'll just do cardio.
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July 5, 2004
I'm feeling bloated from yesterday's Independence Day cheat foods (popcorn, burgers, fries, beer, queso and tortilla chips). I'm going to go get on the elliptical for about 50 minutes and get busy. After that, I plan to relax and enjoy my day off! See you tomorrow...
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July 4, 2004
Well, unfortunately I wasn't able to perform my upper body workout yesterday. My shoulder was pinching as soon as I started, so I did the right thing and stopped. I think I aggravated it later in the day, though. I replaced the rollers in our sliding glass door, which is quite heavy and awkward to lift. It was kind of hurting last night but it doesn't feel too bad this morning.
This morning I'm going to wash and detail Lisa's car, then do some yard work. Later this morning Lisa's parents are coming over.
We're all going to watch a DVD and then Lisa and I are treating her parents to dinner. We're going out to eat, but I'm going to have
typical 4th of July fare: burgers and beer.
I need to get started on Lisa's car before it gets too hot. I hope my fellow Americans have a safe and fun 4th of July! See you tomorrow.
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July 3, 2004
My shoulder has been feeling very good lately, so I'm going to go ahead and try a pecs/delts/triceps workout this morning and see how it goes. I'm going to have to keep it pretty light, but that's ok.
After my workout I've got a pretty busy day ahead. I'll be spending most of it taking care of some personal stuff before we leave for our vacation next weekend.
Have a good Saturday, see you tomorrow!
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July 2, 2004
I'm feeling pretty tired and burnt out right now, but I should have plenty of time to relax and recharge my batteries this month. I've got 3 days off for the 4th of July weekend, and then there are just 4 more days until my 9-day long vacation. For our vacation Lisa and I will be dropping the top on the S2000 and heading to beautiful Treasure Island. It will be great to hit the beach and not have to worry about how I look with my shirt off. It's been a long, long time since that happened!
I'll have my iPAQ and laptop, so I may update the web page a few times while I'm gone, but don't count on it! I won't be near my computer most of the time because I'll either be on the beach, in the ocean riding a jetski, in a restaurant enjoying large amounts of fresh seafood or sitting in an Oceanside bar drinking Ketel One while the sun sets. Ahhhh. I can almost smell the salty air now...
Where was I? Oh yeah, time for cardio. Have a great Friday!
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July 1, 2004
I've got shoulder physical therapy this morning, and I'll be doing my lower body workout later this afternoon. My abs, back and biceps are killing me from Tuesday and Wednesday's workout but my shoulder feels pretty darn good!
I need to be at the rehab center early today, so I'd better get my butt in gear - have a great day!
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