I'm Such A Slacker...

Two days without blogging...three days without cardioing (didn't know that was a verb, did you?)...yep, I'm slacking bad.

So that stops today.

I haven't fallen off the weight loss wagon, I'm still working out pretty hard with the weights, eating healthy, but I've fallen off a bit on the cardio and the blogging.

Part of that is something I've mentioned before -- planning. I cannot emphasize enough how important planning and preparation is, and doing things today with tomorrow in mind.

This may be a simplistic example, but here's what's tripped me up on my cardio this week. First, if you've been reading my blog, you know I did do some pretty long, hard cardio sessions Monday and Tuesday, so it's not as if I just stopped doing it. And Wednesday was a planned day of no cardio, so I guess missing two days isn't all that bad. Still, you can't make up for missing a workout.

Anyway, my problem was as simple as not going to bed early enough. I'm a natural night owl, and am definitely NOT a morning person. That was compounded a bit by working a lot of late-night editing shifts a few years ago, often working from 3 p.m. until 1 a.m. (which meant getting to bed around 3 a.m.) It's been a few years since I worked that shift, but I've never gotten over it entirely, in that I'm still on that internal clock that doesn't want to go to bed until 1 or so in the morning. Heck, I've always been like that. My sisters tell me stories of when I was a little tiny kid, and I would stand up in my crib and bang my head on the wall until it would bruise (and then keep banging) just to keep myself awake.

So that's what's in my genes, folks. I just don't like going to sleep until late, late, late. My problem is, I need to do cardio in the early morning, before work. Since I started this I've mostly been able to force myself to hit the sack by midnight, maybe 12:30 at the latest, and I can crawl out of bed and go to the gym the next morning. But when I go to bed at 1, 1:30, or even later, it's pretty tough to get up early and go to the gym.

I know, I know, it all comes down to discipline, something I've handled pretty well since starting this back in March. But every once in a while, those old habits sneak back in. That was the case this week, at least Wednesday night and Thursday night, so no Thursday morning or Friday morning cardio (though I did do weight training both nights).

And today, Saturday, is usually an off day, but I went ahead and did a cardio workout this morning. So all-in-all it's not like I've missed a lot.

As for the blogging? Hmmm...I just ran out of time. We've had a couple of long days at work, stories that needed a little more attention in the editing process, other things coming along. Couple that with the fact I'm doing more writing in the world of fiction, and I've just been running short on time. Those nights I stayed up late I wasn't watching Netflix -- I was working.

For now I'll try to keep up the daily blogging-- it's a great way to keep track of my workouts and eating, and I get notes from people when I don't blog, so it's a good way to keep myself accountable.

Now, for the past couple of days...I'm going in reverse order here, so I'll start with today and work back to Thursday.

Today (Saturday)

Workout
Cardio -- stationary bike
46 minutes (25 on level 6, rest on level 5)
16.5 miles
600 calories

Eating -- well, I am taking today off on the eating, which doesn't actually mean I'm overeating. As of 1 p.m. I actually hadn't eaten anything yet, though as I write this I have two pieces of pizza next to me, so that's changing...

Friday
Workout
Back and biceps, minus the biceps because I've still been having more issues with the forearm.

Seated row -- regular grip
130 pounds -- 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip
160 pounds -- 3 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pulldowns
100 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Seated machine crunch
125 pounds -- 1 set, 20 reps

Eating for Friday
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1 ounc

Lunch
Low-fat ground beef -- 3 ounces
Frozen veggies -- 1/2 cup
Fat free Greek yogurt

Snack
Boiled chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Frozen veggies -- 1/2 cup

Dinner
Fish -- 4 ounces (I have had Salmon or Talipia every day this week, twice one day. I don't want any more fish!)
Rice -- 1/2 cup
Veggies -- 1/2 cup

Totals for the day
Calories -- 1,100
31 grams fat
118 grams protein
60 ounces of water
32 ounces diet soda

Thursday
Workout -- legs
Well, okay, it was an abbreviated leg workout, between the two main Sunday leg workouts.

Squats
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 10 reps
225 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Supersquat machine
180 pounds -- 10 reps
270 pounds -- 8 reps
360 pounds -- 8 reps

Standing calf press
450 pounds
2 sets, 12 reps each

Abs
Seated machine crunch
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 20 reps each

Food for Thursday
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 1 white
Lean ham -- 1 ounc

Lunch
Lean ground turkey -- 2 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese -- 1/4 cup

Snack
Chicken breast -- 3 ounces
Mixed lettuce and spinach -- 1 1/4 cup
Fat free Thousand Island dressing

First Dinner
Chicken breast -- 4 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Rice -- 3/4 cup
Teriyaki Sauce -- 1 tablespoon
Sesame Seed Oil -- teaspoon

Second Dinner
Tilapia -- 4 ounces
Veggies -- 1/2 cup
Teriyaki Sauce -- 1 tablespoon
Sesame Seed Oil -- teaspoon

Totals
1,245 calories
35 grams fat
109 grams protein

Water -- 65 ounces
Diet soda -- 20 ounces

Okay, that's it for the Long, SuperDuper Thursday-Friday-Saturday blog! I'll have more tomorrow, including (if I get the time) some thoughts on a recent study that suggests fatness is...well, it's inevitable for some of us (though I refuse to accept that).

More on that tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.

Still Around, Still Working Out, Still Losing Weight

Everyone miss me? Wonder where I've been?

Well, I'm still hard at it, eating healthy, working out, and...well, mostly anyway.

I decided to take a few days off, but not from everything. On Friday, which was May 13 I believe, I was just really, really tired, so I skipped the workout that day, and did no working out on Saturday, either, but that's normally an off day for me.

Saturday and Sunday I took a bit of a break from the healthy eating. I didn't pig out or anything, but I ended up with some pizza, and a little food from Taco Bell, as well as just general stuff from around the house.

As for the blogging? Well, I took what's amounted to a four-day break on that, so let me bring you up to day.

I did do a regular leg workout on Sunday, even though my eating that day might not have been the best. And yesterday, which was Monday, I was back at it with the regular healthy eating, cardio in the morning and a back and biceps workout at night.

So, let me bring you up to day quickly on my eating and working out these past two days, and then I'll be back on later with my regular Tuesday blog to talk about some things coming up this month.

First, Sunday's workout, which was legs. And let me say I may have discovered something, or at least rediscovered something I recall from years ago. I've been doing legs on Sundays now for a while, and you may recall I've complained about being a little sore and stiff the next day or two afterward. With the graduation and Mother's Day weekend throwing the schedule off, I did a full leg workout the Sunday before Mother's Day, then another leg workout the Thursday before Mother's Day, then another leg workout the Wednesday after Mother's Day, followed by one this past Sunday.

No soreness to speak of, and that reminds me of years ago, when I was working out regularly. If I did squats every 4 to 5 days, I rarely had any soreness or stiffness, unless I went really heavy. If I waited a week between workouts, I was always sore. So, unless I want to continue to deal with stiffness, I may have to do TWO leg workouts every week. Hmmm....avoiding pain by inflicting more pain. Something doesn't sound exactly right about that. Anyway, I'll let you know what I decide. For now, Sunday's workout:

Squats
135 pounds -- 10 reps
185 pounds -- 8 reps
225 pounds -- 8 reps
275 pounds -- 6 reps
245 pounds -- 8 reps

Leg Press
400 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Leg Curls
90 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
100 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
100 pounds -- 1 set, 8 reps

Standing Calf Press
450 pounds -- 2 sets, 12 reps each

Seated Crunch, 125 pounds
1 set, 20 reps
1 set, 15 reps

And now for Monday's workout, back and biceps

Seat Row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip seated row
160 pounds -- 3 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pulldown
100 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps each

Dumbbell Bent-over row
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Curl-bar curls
40 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
50 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
60 pounds -- 1 set, 6 reps (that forearm issue reared it's head again, with some significant pain there starting on about rep #2, so I decided to quit at 6).

Seat Crunch (abs)
125 pounds -- 20 reps
125 pounds -- 15 reps

Cardio
Stationary bike, 52 minutes
18 miles
650 calories burned

Now, for Monday's eating (gotta cut back here a bit to make up for the weekend!)

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Lean ham -- 1.5. ounces

Lunch
Lean ground turkey -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 1/2 cup cooked
Veggies -- 1.2 cup

Snack
Salad, consisting of 1 ounce lean ham, lettuce and spinach mixture, fat-free Thousand Island dressing
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

First Dinner
Talipia -- 4 ounces
Rice -- 1/2 cup cooked
Veggies -- 1/2 cup

Second dinner
Salmon -- 4 ounces
Baked potato -- 9 ounces (kinda big)
Diet butter -- 1-1/2 tablespoon

Totals for the day
 1,275 calories
31 grams fat
121 grams protein

Water -- 90 ounces
Diet soda -- 28 ounces

Thanks for stopping by! I'll have more later tonight!

21 Straight Days Eating Clean....

Yep, it was exactly three weeks ago today when I started my 30 consecutive days of clean eating, which came on the heels of dropping 21 pounds during the previous month. That first month, of course, I ate pretty low-calorie most days, with what amounted to an off day each week, where I ate whatever I wanted.

This second 30 days I decided to go with no off-days, staying clean the entire month, while concentrating on eating a little more in the way of complex carbs each day. I was a little worried that eating clean -- and eating more food -- would end up slowing my weight loss, but that hasn't proven to be a problem. While I didn't weigh today, last week I crossed the 246-pound mark (245.8 pounds on April 29) which means I'd already dropped more than another ten pounds about 18 days into the clean-eating month. My goal this month was to drop another 14, and I'm closing in on that.

Okay, that's a lot of numbers. I guess the long and short of it is I'm still losing weight at a pretty decent rate, though admittedly I've not been eating as much as I had planned so far during the second month of my weight loss efforts.

Today was also the day I promised to give you an update on the legs -- I did go a little harder in some respects yesterday, and I have had some soreness today, but nothing like the past couple of weeks, and I've certainly not been as worn out today as last Monday, so maybe the idea of no cardio on leg day (Sunday) along with eating a little more after the leg workout is helping.

Oh, and one note on the bike that's now measuring in kilometers instead of miles: another guy who works out at the gym and uses the bike a lot stopped me and asked if I had noticed the bike measuring "funny," (you might recall a couple of days ago I mentioned the one stationary bike the gym now appeared to be measuring in kilometers instead of miles.) Seems he's kind of frustrated, too, that no one at the Carroll Wellness Center much cares about getting anything working properly because of this long-promised all-new cardio equipment upgrade. We'll see...

Cardio
Stationary Bike
50 minutes
28.5 "miles" (which I think should be kilometers because of the screwy, broken bike at the gym -- which would actually be just a shade under 18 miles if they would fix the bike)
685 calories

Workout
Back and biceps

Seated Row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Wide-grip seated row
160 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Lat Pulldowns
90 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each
NOTE: This is the first time in a while I've done regular lat pulldowns, because the angle I hold the bar stresses the forearm. Thought I'd give it a try tonight, and things seem to have gone okay, though I have to use lighter weight, and just go really, really slow and controlled to make the work harder,

Biceps
Curl-bar curls
40 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
Note: The forearm felt okay tonight, even with a little more weight. If all continues well, I may try adding a third set next time.

Abs
Machine seated crunch
125 pounds
1 set, 15 reps
1 set, 12 reps

As for the food, here was what I took in today:

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites

Centercut lean pork loin -- 5 ounces
Rice -- 2/3 cup cooked
Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup

Snack
4 ounces chicken breast, cook in olive oil
Lettuice/spinach salad mix

Snack 2
Fat free Greek yogurt

Dinner
Sesame chicken (i serving whole wheat noodles, 5 ounces chicken breast, sesame oil)

Snack
Raisin bran (1 cup)
Almond Milk -- 1 cup

Totals for the day

1,420 calories
46 grams fat
121 grams protein

Far too low on protein, high on carbs today.

Water -- 95 ounces
Diet soda -- 24 ounces

Well, that's about it for Monday. Thanks for stopping by. Keep checking in -- one day this week I'm going to blog about new studies that show scientifically why people who lose weight often have trouble keeping it off -- through no fault of their own.

The Cravings Have Hit!

Any of you who have been reading my blog over the past couple of months knows that I started this thing on March 9, and for the first month I concentrated on working out and restricting overall calories each day as a means of losing weight.

I was happy with the results -- 21 pounds lost that first month -- and after taking a couple of days off from the diet, decided to change things up for the second 30 days. Instead of making it about total calories and taking an off day every week or so, I decided to simply eat clean for 30 days. No sweets, no high-fat food, a minimal of processed food. Just clean eating.

Yesterday (Friday) was day 12 of that, and for the first time I found myself really, really craving the junk food. I kept thinking of Big Macs, pizza, hot wings (and yes, a long time ago I extolled the virtues of tacos, even calling them my favorite food, but the truth is there is NOTHING I like better than good hot wings. In my mind, the perfect restaurant would be a combination of East Coast Wings and Taco Bell).

It was even worse last night. We were at the grocery store and I saw boxes of popcorn, and suddenly was craving popcorn. When my son put a pizza in the oven, I really, really want a piece (or five).

I didn't eat any of that stuff, but it's been along time since I had food cravings that bad.

My son thinks that will get worse as the 30 days goes forward, I'm wondering if it'll get easier -- the further out from having eaten anything like that, the less I should want it, right?

I suppose this is the very reason many weight loss programs include an off day. I know the old Weight Watchers (when it actually promoted healthy food choices instead of calories and points) always suggested an off meal each week. Body For Life suggests an off day each week.

I understand the psychology of that idea -- if you can have anything you want once a week, or for a whole day each week, that makes it more likely you can stick with a strict diet plan the rest of the week.

That makes sense. But from a practical standpoint, it can wreak havoc on your hopes to lose weight and get healthy. It really doesn't matter how strict you are the rest of the week, a really bad off day can destroy half of your work. What do you think three or four Krispy Kremes, a Big Mac and large fries, a big bowl of buttery popcorn, and a dozen hot wings (or three pieces of Pizza Hut pizza) do for your weight loss goals? That might sound like a lot, and it is, but it's not really too extreme. I suspect there are a lot of folks who eat that way several days a week. I know, as an off-day from a diet, I could pack all of that away, and then some.

Like I said, all of that hard work in the gym, the discipline in sticking to a healthy eating plan for six days, and then you do that? There goes half your weight loss for the week. Even forgetting the fat loss, do you know how bad each of those things are for you?

In my case in particular, not only can an off day be a disaster, but on many of my past weight loss efforts, I'll find myself taking an off day one week, then the next week (particularly if I'm doing well with the fat loss) I take another off day, but expand it a little. I might start eating badly on Friday night before an off Saturday, or take off half of Saturday before a Sunday off day.

Going strict for 30 days, while a little harder when it comes to not satisfying those random cravings, certainly makes life easier in many ways. A slice of pizza? Just one? Nope. Just a handful of popcorn? Sorry, does't fit. Just a taste (or two, or maybe three) of the mashed potatoes? I mean, it'll still work for total calories for the day. Sorry, that doesn't fly either.

See, it's easy. There's really no gray areas -- it's either part of the eating plan or it's not. Once committing to 30 days of clean eating, certain foods just don't fit, no matter what the total calorie intake is, because the 30 days isn't about total calories, it's not even solely about a certain amount of fat loss, it's simply about sticking to a healthy, clean eating plan.

Okay, enough of my soapbox for the day I suppose.

On Friday, I did no cardio (a planned break), but did back and biceps

Workout
Back
Seat machine row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Wide-grip seated rows (first time I've tried these)
150 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Lat Pulldown (with nautilus machine, less stress on the forearm)
130 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

Bent-over barbell rows
60 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps each

Biceps -- Okay, I'm still not really doing anything here because of the forearm issue. I did one token set that wasn't so much about working out as it was just making sure I haven't forgot how to do them.
Curlbar curls
40 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps

Abs
Machine weight crunch
115 pounds -- 2 sets, 15 reps

Eating for the day
Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Banana -- 1/3 of a banana (leftovers)

Lunch -- a big salad
Seasoned chicken breast (no sodium seasoning) -- 3.5 ounces
3 olives
1/4 cup cheese
Mixed lettuce/spinach
Fat free Greek yogurt (no, that wasn't part of the salad).

Snack
Banana

Dinner
Taco soup -- 2 big bowls
Note: My wife makes this with black beans, chicken breast, tomatoes, corn, and some seasonings. We got the idea from Applebees. Thing is, Applebees' version has more than 240 calories in a small bowl. Our version has just 95 calories in a big bowl. Another example of how eating at a restaurant is almost always gonna be bad for you.

Snack
Taco soup -- a big bowl (this stuff's really, really good)

Totals for the day
1,260 calories
26 grams fat
143 grams protein

That's it for the day. Thanks for stopping by!

My MISSED Monday blog

Okay folks, I'm giving you a quick rundown on how I did yesterday, Monday, because I was just too tired to do it last night, and once the clock started inching close to midnight, I figured sleep was better than blogging.

I will say this -- the legs were really, really fatigued today after doing legs and biking yesterday and biking again Monday morning. Not sure if there's some answer here -- more food, more sleep -- or if I simply need to not do cardio on leg day. Of course, this is only the second leg workout I've done since I've been working out, so maybe I just haven't had time to get used to it. 

Anyway, here's the scoop on how I did Monday:

Workout
Cardio -- stationary bike
50 minutes (all on lvls 5 or 6, except the final five minutes, at lvl 4)
17 miles
565 calories

Weight training
Back and biceps, but because I'm still a little leery about the forearm, I did not do any bicep work. I did, however, return to some of my normal weights on a few of the back sets.

Back
Seated row
130 pounds -- 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each
180 pounds -- 2 sets, 8 reps each

Nautilus machine lat pulldown
125 pounds -- 2 sets, 10 reps each

That's it. Feels like I didn't do much, especially with the cardio now in the mornings and the weights in the evenings. I did have my son working out with me though. Actually, on this night my youngest son and daughter worked out. The boy has been out the past three weeks with a rather severe foot issue (well, painful, anyway), but he went back to the doctor yesterday, all is good so he's back in the gym. The daughter? Well, she was just hanging around outside the gym while my wife was in Zumba class, so we got her to go with us to the weight room.

Eating For Monday

Breakfast
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Oatmeal -- 1/3 cup dry
Banana -- 1/2 of one, chopped up in the oatmeal

Lunch
Bottom round steak -- 4 ounces
Sweet potato -- 5 ounces
Veggies -- 2/3 cup

Snack
Protein Bar

Snack 2
Fat-free Greek yogurt

Dinner
Steak wraps - consisting of 4.25 ounces of bottom round steak, 1/3 cup mozzarella, 2 tablespoons salsa, all mixed and spread out on two whole-wheat wraps.

Totals for the day

1,480 calories
38 grams of fat
160 grams of protein

Water -- 80 ounces
Diet soda -- 20 ounces

That's it for my Monday. Thanks for stopping in! 

Back At It! Cardio AND Weight Training In One Day

Well, you know I had an off day yesterday, with no workouts and eating off the diet yesterday, Easter Sunday.

So today I went right back at it, staying strict on the eating plan as well as putting together a weight-training and cardio workout back-to-back. That's not the first time I've done that, but the other times I cut the cardio short to about 20 minutes or so. Today I went a lot longer.

From my experience as the World's Greatest Yo-Yo Dieter, I'm always a little nervous about taking a day off. Too often I've let that spill into the next day, then the next, and so on. But, as I was reminded yesterday, I'm still far, far too heavy, and that means after an off day I have to jump right back in and be strict for a while, and I think I did a pretty good job of that today.

Here's what I ate:

Breakfast
Coffee
Eggs -- 1 whole, 2 whites
Chopped mushrooms -- about a 1/4 cup

Lunch
Lean pork chop -- 5 ounces
Mixed Veggies -- 3/4 cup
Fat Free Greek yogurt

Snack
1/2 cup fruit (grapes and fresh pineapple)
Salad with boiled egg (day after Easter, imagine that!) and mushrooms

Snack 2
Fat Free Greek Yogurt

Dinner
Denver Steak -- 5.5. ounces
Baked potato -- 5 ounces
Diet butter -- 1 tablespoon

Snack
Denver steak -- 3 ounces

Total for the day
Calories -- 1,305
Fat -- 41 grams
Protein -- 173 grams (getting closer to what I should be doing here)

Water -- 66 ounces
Diet soda -- 34 ounces

Exercise

Cardio
Stationary Bike
35 minutes (30 minutes on lvl 5, the rest on lvl 4)
11.5 miles
375 calories

Weight workout
Back and biceps

Seated Row
130 pounds, 1 set, 10 reps
200 pounds, 2 sets, 8 reps each
200 pounds, 2 sets, 10 reps each

Lat pulldown
100 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
90 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps

Bicep workout
Curl-bar Curl
40 pounds, 1 set 10 reps
75 pounds, 1 set, 8 reps
70 pounds, 1 set 8 reps
70 pounds, 1 set 6 reps

And that's about all for today folks! Thanks for stopping in.

Tomorrow Never Comes

Given that yesterday (Sunday) was an off day, I decided I'd try to go just a little light on the eating today, a plan that was working quite well until I arrived home after a looooong day at work to find a big pot of chili on the stove.

Chili.

One of my favorite foods.

So I decided to, you know, have just a bit. Maybe a bowl. Or two. After all, I've done quite well on this little diet and exercise program, lost weight pretty fast, so one evening off the diet won't hurt, right? I can always go back strict tomorrow morning.

And that's when I stopped.

I've mentioned in some of my other blogs that I'm the KING of up and down dieting. In my very first post, way back on March 9 that I had hit 279 on the scales a few days earlier, something like 80 to 100 pounds over what I should weigh.

Maybe in some later posts I'll go into the reasons, some of the things driving me to eat over the years, but one thing suddenly stood out for me -- one of my problems over the years, one of the things that have undercut other weight loss attempts, was the fact I was always willing to go all-out, work hard in the gym, be super-strict on the diet -- tomorrow.

There was always a reason to say I'd start tomorrow.

Problem is, if you're not really willing to do what has to be done today, tomorrow never comes.

So I didn't eat any chili tonight. (Well, okay, I had ONE bite). There will be a tomorrow -- some tomorrow, down the road, I'll hit my ideal weight, I'll be 80, 90, maybe a hundred pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of this -- and on that day I'll eat all the chili I want. Or pizza. Or doughnuts (though I won't quit the nutrition and exercise plan, it'll just change, because I don't want to do this yo-yo thing any more, either).

Until then, though. except for the occasional planned free day, I won't be putting things off until tomorrow. I'll keep eating right today.

Now, for my day's eating and exercise.

Exercise -- I did both weight training and cardio today, although the cardio was a little shorter after having done the weight training.

Cardio
Stationary bike
25 minutes (9 at lvl 5, the rest at lvl 4)
8.5 miles
350 calories

Weight Training
Back and biceps

Seated Row
130 pounds, 1 set for 10 reps
200 pounds, 4 sets, 8 reps each

Lat pulldowns
100 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps
90 pounds, 1 set x 8 reps

Curl-bar curl
40 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps
70 pounds, 3 sets x 8 reps each

Food for the day

Breakfast
Greek Yogurt

Lunch
Bottom round steak, 5 ounces
Mixed veggies, 1 cup

Snack
Banana

Dinner
Boiled chicken -- 6 ouncs
Mixed Veggies -- 1 cup

Second Dinner
Protein Drink

Total for day
Calories 1,026
Fat -- 26 grams
Protein -- 139 grams

Water -- 60 ouncs
Diet soda -- 36 ounces

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Day 3 food and exercise (and maybe overdoing it a bit)

Okay, just for the record, I'm really not overdoing it, but that was for my sister, who thinks I'm too old to exercise like this!

Now, for the day, I had a little challenge that I mostly failed. That challenge? Someone in my office came around today with a big old bag of candy -- those little miniature smaller-than-bite size pieces of Snickers and Twix and Three Musketeers. I didn't want to be rude, so I took four pieces, thinking I'd just put them aside and then get rid of them later.

Well, I got rid of them all right...three of them anyway (I don't like Twix). Thankfully, those are so small they don't really carry a lot of calories (between 43 and 50 calories each, depending upon which listing you use. I think the 43-calorie website is much more reputable).

Otherwise, my biggest problem today has not been eating enough.

For my workout, I did back and biceps. Eventually I'll add a leg workout to the mix, but right now, just getting started, I'm going to get used to the workouts and the cardio before getting into much work with the legs.

Here was my workout for the day:

Back
Seated Row
1 set 120 pounds, 10 reps
3 sets at 190 pounds, 10 reps each set.

Late Pulldowns
90 pounds, 2 sets of 10 (That's a little light, but I have a bit of a forearm issue that sometimes limits how much I can do on certain lifts, and this is one of the lifts I have to be easy with).

Biceps
Curl Bar Curls (It's a squiggly shorter barbell).
40 pounds -- 1 set of 10
70 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps
60 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps
50 pounds, 1 set 10 reps

Legs(Okay, I wasn't going to do any legs, but the gym was nearly empty tonight, the squat rack was just sitting there empty, so I had to do 1 set. It's been a year since I did squats, so it was an easy, light set).
135 pounds, 1 set x 10 reps.

Abs
Ab crunch machine
95 pounds, 2 sets, 15 reps each

Now for the food.

Breakfast
Eggs (2 whole)
Lean pork chop (2.2 ounces)
Coffee

Lunch
Chicken -- 5 ounces
BBQ sauce -- 1/2 cup
Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup

Snack
Big salad with 1/6 cup mozzarella cheese, olives, and 1 ounce lean ham

First Dinner
Lean pork chop -- 5 ounces
Mixed veggies -- 2/3 cup

Misc. Snack -- those dreaded little mini candy pieces.

Second Dinner -- haven't had that one yet. I'll add the info later

Snack
Granola cereal 2/3 cup
Almond Milk -- 1 cup

80 ounces of water
32 ounces of Diet Mountain Dew.

Totals
Calories -- 1,285
Fat -- 37.5 grams
Protein -- 118 grams

So far, too light in the calories, WAY too light on the protein. I need to do a better job of planning my meals.

Well, that's all for now. I'll update after my very-late second dinner. Thanks for stopping by!