Out of Time...

You were closer than family
Never leaving my side
Seems like everywhere I went
You were along for the ride

You were truly divine
Seems you always had time

No matter what I'd do
Seems you always came through

But as I wandered about
I guess your time ran out

With you to the end
I won't forget you, my friend

Nothing less than the best
You were always top notch
And no matter what comes along
You'll always be my favorite watch

RIP My Pulsar 2002-2008

Week 3- Big Changes to Come

Well, not a lot to say here. I'm definitely seeing physical changes and all is well. Not a whole lot new to report. What did I learn in week 3?

1. My legs are capable of much more than I have given them credit for.
2. Baked apple and cottage cheese = Yuck
3. Use your cottage cheese wisely.
4. Even on a diet, I can't seem to keep peanut butter in the house.
5. Kirkland Cinnamon from Costco is the best damn Cinnamon I've ever had.
6. Sugar free syrup is a lot better with a tablespoon of peanut butter on your pancakes.
7. I'm starting to make peace with the dumbbell lunges

Favorite Week 3 Recipes:

• Protein pancakes are still a savior
• Can't beat the Fuji Apple and Cottage Cheese
• Orange-Creamsicle post-workout shake (Vanilla Whey Protein with Orange Juice)
• Tacos with Ground Buffalo

That's about it. So on to week 4, I'm postponing free day to Wednesday this week so we'll see how that feels. Anyway...

Week 2 in the bag

Two weeks down and like 10 to go or something but that's just for the challenge. I see no reason to quit this routine once the challenge ends. I wouldn't really consider this a diet, or rather may consider this a diet more than any fad diet as I am not starving or consuming massive amounts of protein and depriving myself of carbs and I can really see myself living my life this way on a more permanent level.

So what can be said for the workout portion? I love it! The weight training is great and I am really starting to see a change. For anyone who ever thought that weight training wasn't for them or didn't work, I can speak from experience when I say that you either weren't doing it properly or not lifting enough weight. If you're not straining to get that last rep up then that's not enough weight for you. I'll be honest, for me, weights suck in the beginning- getting used to new exercises, using muscles that you feel as if you never knew you had, and the soreness! Once you get into your routine, the soreness is nice as it gives you piece of mind that you are really doing something and it's never as bad as the first couple of weeks.

This whole free day thing is getting to be less and less important (we'll see what I'm saying around week 6) I mean, I guess it's cool to eat what you want but it's not cool to feel like crap even when you don't overindulge.

So, let's see what have I learned this week?

1. Creatine really works and is still not a steroid.
2. Forgetting your bag that holds your change of (work) clothes for the day may hinder or (in my case) suspend your morning workout.
   
3. This program is really for anyone. (consult your doctor if you have legitimate medical problems that don't include hypochondria, laziness or wussititis)
4. I don't think that protein bars agree with me.
   
5. Dumbbell lunges don't suck as bad as they did last week but I'm still not in love with them.
6. Cycling (for exercise not commuting) in 32 degree weather is a hell of a lot harder than running in 20 degree weather. If I keep that up I'll have to wear goretex gloves and invest in a mask of some sort.
   
7. It's kind of hard to write this when my cat won't get off of my lap.

Favorite week 2 foods:

Turkey Chili
Turkey Sammich on wheat with lettuce, dijon, lowfat mayo, pickles, onions, pepperoncinis, and a little part skim mozzarella
Chocolate-Raspberry-Peanut Butter shake
Orange cream-sickle post workout Whey Protein Shake
Costco Fuji Apple (the best ever!) with Cottage Cheese
Protein Pancakes

So the saga continues, I feel good and plan on trying some new grub this week so we'll see how that goes. Thus far, I've lost around 6 lbs and an two inches from my waist. I'm down to only a couple of pairs of pants that don't completely try to slide off my ass every five seconds and all my long sleeve shirts are continue to grow closer to the 3/4 sleeve mark but fortunately all jackets still fit. I'm trying to hold off on buying any clothes until this challenge is over so we'll see how long I can hold out.

One Week Down 11 to Go

Looks like I've successfully survived week one of the Body for Life Challenge and a wiser man am I . So what did I learn in week one of the challenge?

Lets see, first off eating smaller portions is great when you're eating 6 times a day however even when you're as carnivorous as I, eating a portion of protein 6 times a day can be a challenge itself. Thankfully we have protein powder and because of protein powder we have protein shakes.

Second of all, Cottage Cheese is one diverse mofo! To quote Kenny Rogers, "I was raised on the dairy, b*tch!" (dairy products that it). It was cottage cheese for me, every night growing up but I had no clue that you could put cinnamon in it and eat it with an apple and have it taste so damn good! Also, did you know that lowfat cottage cheese, fat free vanilla yogurt, sugar free/fat free cheesecake pudding mix, grapenuts and strawberries mixed together tastes just like cheesecake? True story. However, I will recommend that you not attempt mix cottage cheese in your oatmeal and eat it!

Third, no matter what your mom tells you, creatine is not a steroid and if you accidentally take too much of it your body will just get rid of it with tens of trips to the bathroom. Make sure to drink lots of water too, you'll get dehydrated. Oh and if you decide to make a trip to the store in this state beware that side-effects may include chewing out other customers who insist on blaming customer service cashiers for ridiculous store policies, indecisiveness and fatigue.

Fourth, the concept of a free day is a great one as is the actual free day itself but don't make plans for what favorite foods you plan on consuming that day. I never thought I'd see the day when a quarter pound burger and onion rings turned into two meals for me but in one week that day seems to have come. Sure, I could have powered the whole meal down but misery wasn't on my agenda for the day.

Fifth, dumbbell lunges suck!

Finally, I suck at cooking and have passed the torch to my favorite chef, Jenn.

Here is a list of my favorite week one foods:

Breakfast Burrito
Green Salad with Chicken Breast
Garlic-Lime Steak
Cheescake-like concoction
Chocolate-Peanutbutter Shake
Sweet Potato with cinnamon
Apples and Cottage Cheese with cinnamon.

All around, I feel better and have much more energy. I have quit coffee by choice, not as part of the diet and have also cut down on my tea consumption. So all is well. I do miss cycling to work every day but do not miss riding home in the dark and having to contend with idiot, psycho motorists. I think I'll hold off on cycling to work until the challenge is over and then go back to my full time schedule. I can already see a change in the definiton of my upper arms and shoulders, my long-sleeve shirts have become a little short in the arms, I guess that this would be a downside to weight training when you have monkey arms like mine but there's a simple solution, It's called short sleeves and when your arms have been puny your whole life it's hard to see a downside to them getting bigger.

Peace!

Less in '08

Okay, I'm going to lay it all out here. I very much dislike New Years, in my opinion it is the most worthless, depressing holiday there is, yes even more so than the one where you go to the cemetery. "Hey, let's go get drunk tonight because, well because we can, not because we really give a damn about the first day of the new year or the last day of the old year but just because it's an excuse to get drunk!" Ya, that used to be me too. Well this New Years eve was especially crappy to me because my ongoing abdominal pain, accompanied by nausea started to flare up when I walked in the door last night (sorry for the late cancellation Dan and Dixie). This would have really been a bummer for me 2 or 3 years ago when I was a still an alcohol consumer. So for the first time since I can remember, I spent a quiet New Years eve on the couch; thankfully the pain was intermittent so I was able to break for the occaisonal Smackdown vs. Raw match on the Wii.

So whoopee, yay, it's here, New years Day (queue the U2 song), and I'm happy to say that my day will not be wasted sleeping in and nursing a hangover and I'm not dehydrated either. Man, I sound old. Five years ago if you had told me that there would come a day when I didn't like beer anymore I would have gotten depressed and went out and got piss drunk! Okay maybe not, I was never that kind of beer drinker thankfully. And thanks to my former neighbor who was a Whiskey Salesman for helping me to realize that I'm not a drinker and that whiskey and my Native American blood do not mix.

So on to the festivities! Umm nevermind, this is seriously just another day to me folks. I'm not a huge football fanatic, I don't get obsessed over watching a bunch of sweaty dudes lay on top of each other. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a homophobe and I do enjoy the occasional college football game every now and then (Go Ducks!). Maybe it's just the non-conformist in me but I can't justify dedicating my life to that crap. A day off of work, for me this is a chance to play with my kids and help my wife in dealing with the every day insanity of raising three, very active, young boys.

So, 2008 is here and everyone has made their resolutions, those who know what a resolution is, and I have made a decision to change my lifestyle (health, not sexuality) that just coincidentally happens to begin in January- I don't do resolutions, this year anyway. This is all fine and dandy but the pessimist would like to see some things go away in '08 or at least see less of them. So heres the start of my list, feel free to comment and add your own-

• Less sunken-faced tweekers
• Less hostile rednecks that think they rule the road and have the right to tailgate other motorists, speed and brake at the last minute on the ice and completely disregard cyclists, pedestrians and pretty much anybody but themselves
• Less Britney (her sister should not be a replacement either)
• Less of multiple stories of the same event on the news/media websites
• Less War
• Less Government Spending/Deficit
• Less tax increases
• Less driving to work when possible (more cycling)
• Less of hippies telling you that you should not drive at all no matter what (If they had a job/kids they would understand)
• Less City Buses driving in the bike line
  
• Less SUVs
• Less price gouging on gas and everything else
  
• Less crappy music on the radio. How about a classic rock station that, one that plays more than 20 songs, Eugene?
• Less idiots riding the wrong way in the bike lane
  
• Less Wal-Mart/Wal-Mart shoppers
• Less fat people riding on the motorized carts at the grocery store reserved for individuals with legitimate ailments- applies mainly to Wal-Mart
• Less fat smokers with handicapped parking permits- again, mainly Wal-Mart
  
• Less Oregon Duck fans booing their own team and being drunken a-holes in general, you represent the rest of us in a negative manner and give us a bad name
  
• Less people obsessing over watching athletics and more actually getting off their fat asses and participating in a physical activity. How hard is it to ride an exercise bike or lift wieghts while you're watching football all day?
  
• Less, actually No knowledge of religious affiliation amongst government officials/candidates
• Less defiance from my kids
• Less noise in my house
  
• Less corporations
• Less gambling/glorification of gambling and the loose classification of poker as a sport
• Less NASCAR- not a sport either, stands for Non-Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks
• Less pet breeders
• Less middle-class white kids speeding around in small cars with annoying loud mufflers, thinking that they are thugs
  
• Less people worrying about what two consenting adults want to get married
• Less TV
• Less teenagers pooping in my driveway
  
• Less people worrying about the fairness of mountain lion hunting with dogs and more people worrying about population control, urban growth, conserving land and cougars attacking humans
• Less abdominal pain
  
• And finally, Less Bush Administration

Oh ya, I almost forgot- MORE COWBELL!!!