Meet Alyx

I don't know what that acronym stands for, but it's a fiendish device that lives at the Blood Bank.

I give blood, it's one of the things I do. Yesterday they talked me into trying Alyx, which is a machine that spins your blood, removes the red cells and gives it back to you with some added saline. It took about two hours and kicked my ass, but I did it. I'm O- so I'm the universal donor and they really need what I got, so I give as much as I can. The lady who hoodwinked me into the procedure was a gal named Terry. She used to work at Vacaville Prison, so she told me, and now was at the blood bank. When I asked how long the procedure took because my dog was in the truck, she asked what kind of dog. A Doberman. She had lost her Doberman two years ago to leukemia and was still broke up over her. I get that. I brought Beauregard down after for some meet and great. The lady just glowed. I gave her the web address of Dog Works and suggested she contact them about fostering to help her get over the pain.

The good news is before I went to the Ministry of Disinformation (the parental unit) I did go to the gym and had a spectacular work out. I benched 205 unassisted. Yeah, I'm a bad ass.

Weight 206
Fat 35.2
BMI 35.1
Resting pulse 64
BP 100/74

Today, I'm off to Palm Springs for the Nabisco Championship. Fore!

It's like teaching a pig to sing,

it takes a lot of time and pisses off the pig.

Yet, eventually I may learn. First, it's time to discuss the weekend's exploits. I was a "breath", yes a breath away from getting hauled in on Sunday. When exactly will I learn to stop speeding? This guy would have never even given me the time of day, but nooo, I got to speed. I know better. Hell, it was moving violation #48. Tom Cruise had me out of the car because "he smelled wine in the car". Oh, that's Harry, he's drunk that's why I'm driving. It sounded good, but didn't stop him from making me put my toes and ankles touching, hands at your side, follow the pen with your eyes. I did it, successfully, which I think pissed him off, but he had to let me go.

Weight 210
Fat 35.7
BMI 35.8

Today, I did 1 HIIT on the stair master, then another HIIT on the EFX machine. Then I had breakfast, took the BMW to the shop, did some work around the house and went BACK to the gym and did a spin class. Then I drilled out the grout in the bathroom that needed replacing, smogged the Truck, picked up the BMW and dumped $70 at Home Depot. Now, it's only 8:15 and I can barely hold my eyes open and I still have ricotta and blueberries to go.

Breakfast
WW Tortilla
L/f cheese
pinto beans

Snack
Apple
String cheese

Lunch
sirloin burger on ww sourdough

snack
ww sourdough and a piece of string cheese

dinner
8 shrimp, marinated in orange juice and tequila
brown rice
salad

dessert
ricotta
blueberries

JACKASS

My dog wants to know why my ass is so big.
Here's a depiction of what happens when you fall short of your goals. Yeah, these look just like the beginning shots, maybe a bit more muscle.

Weight 209
Fat 35.1
BMW 35.6
Bust 43
Waist 40
Butt 47

OK, go to your room and think about what you've done

OK, I have spent some time thinking about what I did for the last 84 days.

I need to be better when I have company. I can eat BFL, and for that matter so can they. I know how to cook it so no one notices and that's what I need to do. I need to be more careful on weekends. That's when things tend to get sideways. Yesterday for instance, Jake's Etouffe AND crab cake appetizer for dinner. No wonder my stomach is bothering me. That's way too rich for my blood. I should have held with the Etouffe, or even better had the grilled swordfish and no appetizer. I would feel better and there would be less damage. For the most part I don't pig out on free days, but free days bleed into free weekends and that is where the problem lies. I did lose inches and that's a good thing. I did get much stronger. I'm doing 195 for 5 sets of two. That is straight-up impressive. I am adversely affected by bad weather and we've had 4 days this month that haven't rained and it's the 26th of March fergodsakes. I have begun walking Beau twice a day. That's a good thing. I have started sneaking in spin classes. Also a good thing. My portions are pretty good for the most part. I need for switch to non-fat latte's with equal except for my free day. I will post a start point tomorrow. I'm taking today off too and starting on a Monday like I should. We're going wine tasting today. Nothing good can come of that.

The end

Not such great results. I deserve what I got though.

Weight 207
Fat 35.9
BMI 35.3
Bust 43
Waist 40
Butt 47

Starting numbers
Starting weight 209.
Starting Fat 36.2%.
Starting BMR 35.6
Bust 47
Waist 43
Butt 48

Strange progress. I need to be better in my eating and better at getting to the gym earlier. I have been workng harder, I think I need to kick it up even another notch.

OTOH four inches off my chest and three off my waist. Shut the hell up! I'm happy.

Getting there

OK last Tuesday, I had a bone crushing headache in the morning. I missed the gym, but then, I didn't. I left work for lunch and decided to go to a Spin class. I sweat like a pig, the headache left me, and all is good. Then I hit the gym pretty hard yesterday, had a visit at Fitwell, (I'm still sore from Dr. Covey's adventures) and am starting to feel almost normal again. This getting old stuff sucks. If men had to deal with what we deal with, there would be mandatory PTO's for three days a month so you could get your head straight. Today I did a great cardio session. I've been pretty good on my eating too. OK, since the great S'More adventure, I've been good. Tonight, blackened sirloin, brown rice, Caesar salad.

My brain is bleeding...

OMG I have the headache of all time this morning. Four cups of coffee, four tylenol this morning. Four Advil last night. No gym this morning. I'm going at lunch. I have an event for work tonight so that justifies a lunch soiree to the gym. I miss working out midday anyway. Got a little off track last night, which may be the cause of the headache. It was 46 degrees at 5pm yesterday so I built a fire. Well, if you're going to build a fire you gotta make S'Mores...right? I think the sugar did me in even though I went to dog school two hours after the fact, I drank a ton of water, my brain is in pain this morning. It's funny how I get a worse hangover from S'Mores than I do from wine. Weird.

stop, rewind, play

It was a really great weekend. I got to play golf, even though it was swamp golf. Loaded up on my BFL groceries. Made an excellent curried chicken and grape salad for the week. Pulled weeds, then gave up and moved to Round-up. Laid nekkid by the pool, certainly a favorite activity. One you will see no photo journalism of in this space. Watched Patton. Did you know Francis Ford Coppola was a writer on that? Me either. It's also pretty close to what actually happened. Sometimes I might be a Patton at work. OK, I don't slap the burned out EO's, jeez. Took the big boy to the reservior for a walk, gave him a bath. Cleaned out the BMW. Fussed with more weeds. Cooked my food for the week. Had an epic free day. A pint of Haagen Daz (light) a blackened sirloin a little loaf of sourdough. Truely epic. BUT TODAY:

1 egg 3 whites
WW cereal with n/f milk

1/2 lean ham sandwich
baby carrots

Chicken/grape almond salad

grapes and string cheese

BFL baked chicken parmesean
ww pasta
sauteed spinach

ff ricotta
strawberries.

And now for the sad part

weight 209
fat 35.6
bmi 35.6

I'm not going to be the biggest loser, eh?

Limp Wrist

OUCH! Medial collateral tendonitis in my wrist. I haven't lifted for a couple of days now. I've been doing cardio, but it's still not getting any better. Hurts like a mofo. I had ART done on it last Wednesday and it's been taped for two days. I've been taking Advil regularly and it's still pretty messed up. Golf tomorrow should be interesting....

What works, what's not so much

First the good news. I finished the four week cycle and added 10 pounds to the goal weight. I successfully pushed 205 in the gym the other day. That's a happy day. Actually the day I did 195 for reps was a pretty happy day too. My shoulder, elbow and wrist on the left side are giving me trouble. I made a pilgramage to Fitwell Chiropractic and Lisa worked on my arm. Some is better, some needs more work. My wrist is killing me. My very supportive network of friends have advised me that it's arthritis brought on by my advanced age. OK, they aren't so supportive. They probably aren't right either. It's probably a form of tendonitis. Anyway, I'll be back to Fitwell tomorrow and the following Wednesday in hopes of getting it fixed. Strangely, this is the good news. The bad news, I just can't behave with my eating. I start out with the best of intentions and then silliness occurs. I think it has had more to do with the stress of my job then anything else. I no longer manage the band of miscreants that I'd been saddled with, so I think that will help dramatically. The Prima Donnas had one last salvo, and they think they got what they wanted. Now I call that branch Toyota. You asked for it, you got it!

OK, I'm not much of a loser

Weight 208
Fat 35.4
BMI 35.4

End of an era, ok a 4 week cycle...

I will do the last workout of my four week cycle in about 30 minutes. I made every single lifting workout on this cycle. I'm having some issues with my left arm going to sleep but I'm pretty sure that's the result of my HUGE pectoral muscles pressing against the nerve in my shoulder. I will start another cycle on Monday. There's a contest in Sacramento on April 22, another one in Chicago on July 17th, Aurora, CO on September 24 and then one in December and that'll be my year. I need to start up yoga again, possibly tomorrow or Sunday morning. I've been having a terrible time focusing on my eating. It's been sort of right, but not really. So I'm at:

Weight 207
Fat 35.0
BMI 35.3

And I'm tired. Work has been boring.

Gack.

The good news is I'm getting LOTS stronger. I did two reps at 195 this morning, no trouble at all. Two sets of 185 for three reps, no trouble at all. I haven't made any particular progress on my weight though. I've been getting into too much trouble and I've got to get my head focused. I'm bored at work and that's part of the problem. Must adjust head now.

Doing damage; the not good way

I'm definitely back on track. My eating has been pretty correct for the last couple of days. I fell into the food trough for the Superbowl, but I've gotten myself up and out and I'm good to go now. Unfortunately on Monday, I reinjured my left shoulder. I could feel something not good when I was lifting and I backed it off a bit. I iced it like a good dog, but that wasn't good enough. I woke up in the middle of the night and it felt like I'd been shot in the shoulder. The ache was like a broken bone. I took a bunch of Advil yesterday and it seems to be better today. It woke me up again but wasn't nearly as bad. I'm supposed to bench again today, and I will be very very diligent with my form. (say very like Elmer Fudd)

Breakfast
Whole Wheat english muffin
3 slices turkey ham
slice reduced fat cheddar

Snack
Myoplex Bar

Lunch
Yogurt
Slices of ham

Snack
Protein pudding

Dinner
Seared ahi
1/2 avocado
Salsa
WW Tortilla

Snack
Fat free ricotta
blueberries

Focus focus focus

Apparently it was absolutely necessary for Beauregard to alert me to the cat walking on the fence at 3:29am this morning. And again at 3:33am and again at 3:47am. So I'm up, the dishes are washed, the gym isn't open yet, it's 41 degrees, and I'm ready to go. That's a good thing. Much less coughing, I've been using an inhaler and it's helped. I spent last week getting used to being in the gym again and I should be good to go this morning. I forgot to buy lunch food for the week. I got breakfast, snacks and dinner covered. I have some Costco Sirloin burgers in the freezer so I think I'll have one of those today and think of something else for the rest of the week. One of the gals at work, we'll call The Raven Haired Beauty here for the sake of anonymity brought me some 40+ vitamins. Her fiance is a trainer and she used to work at a gym, so when I got sick she brought these in to me. I tried them out yesterday and they rock, so we'll see how it goes.

Waking up from my virus inspired hybernation

OK, I haven't lifted in a while, I'm still hacking and I'm pissed that I'm still hacking. My throat hurts, my lungs hurt and my back hurts. I just want it all to be over with. I just want to go home and to bed but I have a haircut tonight at Blow Salon I'll be home by 8pm though. I know I set this up so that I could go to yoga first, but I haven't been to yoga since January 7th. I've been ok with my eating, but not great. I'm moseying back towards on track right now. I will be en fuego by Monday. I think I need a steam bath right now, that sounds peachy.

Beyond facinating, I know.

Breakfast
Denver omelet

Midmeal #1
Apple and string cheese

Lunch
Chicken Burrito


Midmeal #2
Very berry ricotta with almonds


1/2 cup nonfat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
2 tbsp. sliced almonds

Dinner
Soft Fish Taco with Avocado Salsa

Dessert
Coconut Mousse

File this under STOOPID.

OK, I'm still sick. And I'm sick of being sick. And I want to go to the gym and I want to work out and I want to go on an adventure with my dog, and I'm still sick. And I'm sick of being sick. So, I compromise. I bundle up and go outside and prune my roses. Dr. Leda Horticulture would be proud. Then I got Stoopid. I decided that the tree next to the house needed trimming. Pacific Gas and Electric will undo the damage. Apparently, I have cut clean through both lines. I'm surprised that anything worked at all, but the nice man fixed everything and trimmed the tree back from the line too. Now it's naptime.

Beyond bored

I'm still sick. I was up half the night hacking. I'm not in Napa today and I'm kind of bummed about it. I asked a couple of lists I'm on for their opinion on Thursday, then my health circled the drain so badly yesterday that the answer was obvious. It's pouring outside and I've got three shirts on trying to stay warm. I'm going to stay in most of the day, putz around the house and hope to be better tomorrow. This is absolutely ridiculous being this sick. It's been five days with no let up! I'm making today a free day in hopes of returning to the gym tomorrow.

Weight 205
Fat 35.1
BMI 34.9

Documenting an epic free day

It was Saturday and I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I maintained my eating regiment even though I hadn't seen the gym since January 8th. Here's how it went. This is how you have a free day.

Breakfast:
French toast with honey creme syrup

Lunch
California Pizza kitchen small pizza

Snack
6 s'mores (it was cold and I had built a fire)

Dinner
Rib eye steak and baked potato

Dessert
5 more s'mores.

I used Lindt super fine milk chocolate for the s'mores, yeah that makes the difference.

Still sick

I have a cough and my throat remains on fire. I ran a four point temperature the night before last. Monday and Tuesday night I couldn't get warm, it was the fever. Yesterday the fever broke and I feel better, my joints don't hurt like they were, but I'm still afraid to go to the gym I've been eating clean and am reaping the rewards of my good behavior. I'm just not sure that I can safely lift on Saturday morning. I don't want to blow out my shoulder again and I don't believe it's that strong. We'll revisit this tomorrow. I don't feel bad, but I'm not well. If I feel strong enough I will still lift on Saturday, tomorrow will tell.

Weight 204
Fat 35.6
BMI 34.7