Daily News Archives

June 2003

 

06/30/2003 - Another busy Monday.
06/29/2003 - Enjoyed my cheat meal; Feeling bloated.
06/28/2003 - Lean mass progress; Pizza and Chianti.
06/27/2003 - Ab crunches and dogs; Big breakfasts are good; Camera woes.
06/26/2003 - Further increasing calories; Leg day.
06/25/2003 - Increased calories, still losing weight.
06/24/2003 - More on my fitness strategy for the summer; Benefits of increased calories.
06/23/2003 - Site updates; Monday network blues.
06/22/2003 - 3000 Calories yesterday: pizza and beer never tasted so good!
06/21/2003 - Rough outline of my summer bulking strategy.
06/20/2003 - Thanks for the congratulatory emails!
06/19/2003 - Official announcement: end of my fat loss program; What's coming next.
06/18/2003 - "No time for love, Dr. Jones!"
06/17/2003 - 8% body fat and the end of my fat loss program; Loose skin.
06/16/2003 - Busy Monday; Pagers suck.
06/15/2003 - Soreness; DVDs; Stinky dogz!@!
06/14/2003 - Importance of not missing workouts; advice for staying motivated.
06/13/2003 - No data.
06/12/2003 - No data.
06/11/2003 - The 3 types of responses to my progress on public message boards.

 

June 30, 2003

On most Monday mornings I don't have much spare time, and today is no different. I'm going to get right to my workout. Have a good day and I'll see you tomorrow!

Back to comments index

 

June 29, 2003

Last night's pizza and wine may have been the best tasting meal I've ever had in my life. I'm not kidding, it's amazing how good something like that tastes when you never eat it. "Absence (or abstinence, as it were) makes the heart grow fonder" is a quote that's not just applicable to people! Of course today I'm feeling really bloated, probably from all the sodium and the alcohol, both of which my body is not used to anymore...but I'm going to take care of some of that in a few minutes on the stair stepper!

Today I'm doing 200 ab crunches and 23 minutes of HIIT. It rained all night and I'm not sure what the weather is going to do today. Hopefully it will dry up so we can get the yard work done after my workout. If it doesn't, I think it's going to be a movie day. I overslept a bit this morning, so I better get started. Have a good day, see you tomorrow!

Back to comments index

 

June 28, 2003

It looks like I'm slowly adding some lean mass. Today I weighed in at 162.6 and 8% body fat. The last time I weighed 162.6 was on the 3rd of June, but I was at 9% body fat at that time. It sure is weird getting used to wanting the scale to move up after all those months of wanting it to move down.

Today I'm going to have my weekly "cheat" meal. My wife picked up a nice bottle of Chianti (alas, no fava beans), so tonight we're going to have pizza and a couple glasses of wine. I can't wait! I'm going to savor every bit of it. :)

Big workout today: pecs, delts and triceps. It should be a great workout. I'm feeling very powerful and energetic this morning, no doubt thanks to all the extra calories I've been eating. I'm going to go crank the music up and get started. Have a good day, be sure to work out, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Back to comments index

 

June 27, 2003

I've started training my abs 3 times per week (I've been working them 2 times per week until now), for a total of 600 crunches per week. Today I'll be doing 200 crunches (100 "regular" crunches and 100 reverse crunches), followed by 23 minutes of HIIT on the bike. When I finish a set of ab crunches, I feel like someone punched me in the stomach. When my dogs see me writhing on the floor in pain and moaning, they run up to me with worried looks and lick my face all over. They must wonder why I do that to myself. Hell, sometimes I wonder... :) Anyway, it sure is cute when they do that, but it's hard to do crunches and laugh at the same time.

I'm really enjoying the extra food. Today I'm having eggs (well, actually I eat "Egg Beaters" -- they are excellent, try them), meatless sausage, a bowl of cereal, skim milk, a protein shake, a banana, black coffee and some orange juice for breakfast. I have not noticed any increase in body fat so far, but am watching closely. I've been working out really hard in the weight room, and I hope to see some muscle growth over the next few weeks.

I'm going to get started now. I hope you all have a great day!

NOTE: The USB port on my camera gave up the ghost this morning. I have today's pictures, but I need to go purchase a digital media card reader to get the pictures off the memory card! I'll post the pictures a little later today as soon as I have time to run to the store.

11:00 AM UPDATE: I bought the card reader. Today's pictures are now online.

Back to comments index

 

June 26, 2003

I've decided to go ahead and increase my calories a little bit more right away. I'm going to try to get somewhere around 2100-2200 calories every day for the next week or two and see how that goes. I'll take in even more than that on Friday or Saturday, because I'm going to have another pizza and a couple of beers! Now that I've reached my fat loss goals, it sure feels good to finally loosen up a bit after all those months of not allowing myself to even have a single "cheat" item.

Today I'm working my legs. Leg day is probably my most grueling workout, but I look forward to it. I've got the music cranked up, I'm feeling good and I just finished my protein shake...time for me to get started! Have a great day and make sure to get your workout in!

Back to comments index

 

June 25, 2003

The scale is still moving down, so I'm probably going to need to increase my daily caloric intake again in another week. It's great being able to eat more now! I feel like I'm getting plenty of food, but if I need to eat more to maintain my body fat and increase my lean mass, I think I can handle it -- I love to eat! :)

I've don't have much time this morning, I have to go into work today for meetings. I'm going to go kill my abs and do my cardio so I can head that way. Talk to you tomorrow!

Back to comments index

 

June 24, 2003

This week (and probably next week), I'll eat about 2000 calories a day, still aiming for a "40/40/20" (protein/carbs/fat) balance of macronutrients. Friday or Saturday I will have a "cheat meal", so my calories will be higher on one of those days. If my body fat percentage stays the same at the end of the two weeks, I'll probably increase my daily caloric intake to about 2200 for a couple of weeks. I want to find a good balance between maintaining my current body fat level, while giving my muscles plenty of the raw materials they need to grow. Like I said a few days ago, this summer is mainly a learning experience. My real bulking program won't begin until fall. Still, I think I can put on some lean mass this summer without compromising my body fat percentage. We'll see!

Today I'm working my biceps and back. It should be a good workout. I noticed that yesterday on the bike I felt particularly strong and my stamina seemed very high. I'm definitely feeling the benefits of my increased daily caloric intake!

I'm going to get started now. Have a great day, and don't forget to workout!

Back to comments index

 

June 23, 2003

Yesterday I did a lot of updating to this page in order to reflect my new goal of gaining lean mass. The main page, the FAQ, the training page, the pictures and the charts have all been revised. I also added a new section that contains archives of my past "daily news" items.

I've got some network problems at work that I have to attend to right after my workout, so I'd better get going. Have a good day!

Back to comments index

 

June 22, 2003

Well, I went a little crazy yesterday celebrating my fat loss success! I ate about 3000 calories, which included a pizza, a couple of beers and more popcorn (no oil this time). The popcorn and the pizza both contain a lot of sodium, and beer always makes me feel bloated, so this morning it's no big surprise that I'm about 1.5 pounds heavier than yesterday. I'm also definitely looking a little puffy in my pictures today. I'm not worried about it -- I know it's just water. Besides, now that I'm trying to add lean mass, I need to get used to the scale moving the other way. The main thing I'm going to keep an eye on is my body fat percentage.

I've decided to keep this page going and not to create a whole new page for my bulking and maintenance phases. I decided that clearly indicating where one phase stops and another starts should suffice. I've already started making some changes to reflect this, but there is more work to be done. I'm hoping to get to some more of it today.

I can't wait to workout this morning. It felt really weird skipping my cardio after my weight training yesterday!

Have a good day, hopefully I'll have time to update later today sometime.

Back to comments index

 

June 21, 2003

I'm still working on my new plan for the summer. Nothing is set in stone yet, but here are just some of the things I'll be doing as I change my focus from fat loss to gaining lean mass:

I'm going to be monitoring my BF% very closely. I do not want to add any fat this summer. This is a learning experience for me. After summer is over, I think I will have a good feel for what I need to do to really start packing on the muscle. This fall and winter I'll go 100% towards gaining lean mass, which of course also means gaining some fat, and that's ok. I think maintaining my clean diet will help minimize any fat gain. In spring 2004 I will cut again and by summer 2004 I should be cut like I am now, but much more muscular. That's the general plan.

As for the future of this site, I don't know what I'm going to do at this time. I'm still thinking about it. I may just freeze this site within the next few days and start a new one since my focus has changed, or I may just keep updating this one. Not sure yet. I also have considered taking a brief hiatus from the daily updates, but I'm leaning away from that. Just kicking some ideas around. Your suggestions are welcome. :)

I just finished my protein shake and it's time to lift! I'm off to work on my pecs, delts and triceps. Today is an important workout day, my pecs are seriously lagging and I need to hit them hard.

As always, thanks for visiting. See you tomorrow (actually, I may update this page again later this afternoon with some new stuff).

Back to comments index

 

June 20, 2003

Thanks for all the great congratulatory emails yesterday -- it was very nice to read them all!

I'll be updating the page quite a bit this weekend to reflect my new goal of adding lean mass and maintaining my body fat percentage. I'm still putting the final touches on my plan of attack.

I've got a busy day ahead so I'm going to go get on the bike. Have a great day!

Back to comments index

 

June 19, 2003

As of 6/17/2003, the fat loss/weight loss phase of my transformation is finally OVER!

I lost a total of 55 pounds, and I am stronger and healthier than I've ever been in my life. Obviously I'm very happy about reaching my goals and staying 100% dedicated. It was not always easy. I celebrated my success yesterday with my first "cheat" snack in almost 6 months: I had some popcorn made with oil last night and didn't feel a bit of guilt while I ate it. My calorie total yesterday was 2300, and I still weighed less this morning than I did yesterday morning. Between my workouts, my clean diet and the frequency of my meals, my body has really changed into an efficient fat burning machine. I should be able to eat without worry at this point. I'm still going to eat healthy foods almost exclusively -- that will never change -- however I'm not going to worry too much about the amount of food I eat any more, and may start eating more carbs at night. I'm taking a friend out to eat this weekend for his Birthday, so that will be my first official "cheat" meal. It will also be the first time I've gone out to eat in over 6 months.

Even though my lower abs are not showing as much as I would like, it is not fat that is covering them -- it's loose skin. There's nothing I can do about that except wait for it to shrink up. There is nothing more to be gained by losing weight, just muscle to be lost.

So, what's next? I'm going to maintain my body fat percent through the summer, I'm going to keep lifting weights harder than ever and I'm going to keep doing my cardio workouts. My goal is to slowly gain muscle without putting on fat this summer. This is difficult to do, but I'm going to try. At the end of the summer I will enter a bulking phase with full force, but I want to bulk cleanly. For some people "bulking" is nothing more than an excuse to eat anything they want. This will not be the case with me, I will continue to eat healthy foods and stay away from junk. I feel great every single day now, and I don't want that to change no matter what!

Of course I will continue to update this page every day as I progress through the next "phase" of my transformation. I really want to thank all of you for visiting this page, and for your many kind emails. I can't tell you how much those things have helped keep me motivated over the past few months. :)

Well, that's enough writing for today, I've got to get to my leg workout now! I'll be elaborating more on my future plans in the days to come. I'll also be updating my "FAQ" page to reflect my new goals soon. Additionally, I've been saving my "daily news" musings for the past week or so, and plan to add a page with my past ramblings.

Have a great day everyone! See you tomorrow...

Back to comments index

 

June 18, 2003

I've got an insane day ahead, no time to write this morning. I'm going to get right to my workout. Have a good day, cya tomorrow!

Back to comments index

 

June 17, 2003

I'm down to 8% body fat as of this morning. My top 4 abs are really showing through now, but my lower 2 (4?!) abs are still not there yet. I'm going to start training my lower abs even harder now, but I also think there is some loose skin covering them. There's not much I can do about that, except wait for it to shrink. That's what I get for letting myself get fat. "We may be through with the past, but the past is not through with us..."

Today it's back and biceps, and I'm feeling strong and ready to go. I'm going to go get started before things get too crazy around here. Have a good day and don't forget to work out! See you tomorrow...

Back to comments index

 

June 16, 2003

Another busy Monday ahead... I am going to go get my workout in before my pager goes off again (it's gone off twice already this morning).

Have a great day!

Back to comments index

 

June 15, 2003

I am so sore. I was feeling especially good yesterday, so I hit my pecs and delts extra hard. I can tell that I did a very good job this morning. :) I love being sore, and I'm disappointed with myself if I'm not very sore the day after a weight training session. I've pretty much been in a state of perpetual soreness since January, so I'm used to it by now. Back when I was a swimmer I never minded being sore either.

Today is a pretty light workout day -- 200 crunches, 23 minutes of HIIT cardio and a few hours of yard work. It's looking like it's going to be a very sunny morning, so I can't wait to get my shirt off (heh) and get out there. After that, we probably clean up the house and watch a DVD. Oh, and I need to give the dogs a bath. STINKY DOGZ!@$#

Have a great day, see you all tomorrow.

Back to comments index

 

June 14, 2003

Ah, Saturday. Finally. It's been a loooong work week, and I'm ready for a couple of days of rest and relaxation. This past week has been so busy that it has been tough to get all my workouts in. A couple of days in particular I found that it would have been very easy to make excuses and miss my workouts, but as soon as those thoughts enter my mind I shut them down by reminding myself that excuses don't get me any closer to my goals--only hard work does. What's really cool is that on the 2 days that I was really pushed for time and feeling a little bit tired, I actually had great workouts, and felt really good afterwards! I find that when I do something difficult and do it well, particularly if I don't feel like doing it in the first place, there's a greater sense of accomplishment afterwards. That sense of accomplishment provides me with a sustained mental boost through the rest of day: I feel productive and positive, when I might have otherwise felt tired and over-worked.

Today I feel less pressured for time, and I think I'm going to have another great workout. I'm hitting my pecs, delts and triceps, followed by a 12 or 15 minute HIIT cardio session. I'm going to go crank the music up and get started. Have a great day and I'll see you tomorrow.

Back to comments index

 

June 11, 2003

I'm in a big hurry this morning and running late, so I'm going to go get my crunches and cardio done right away. I'm still running behind responding to my emails, sorry! It's been a crazy week so far...

I'm going leave what I wrote yesterday up for another day since it's worth repeating... well, that, plus I don't have time to come up with anything new this morning! ;)

When someone posts a link to this page on a public message board, I always see 3 types of replies:

Back to comments index

 


 

All documents and graphics published on this site are copyright © 2003 - 2008, John Stone Fitness LLC.
Web design and development by Sverre Sjothun

 


 

Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional

AtLarge Nutrition

Welcome! This site is updated each morning by 9:00 AM EDT.