Day 63.

I'm having an incredibly hard time finding the urge to blog tonight.

Today was uneventful except that our landlord sent someone to fix our drain. The previous bimbo tenants poured paint down the drain and it dried in a huge clump which caused the slow drain. So hopefully it will work better now. Same guy also fixed the handle on our mower and is going to sharpen the blade soon.

40 intense minutes on the Hell Machine before I did calves, ad and abductors, incline chest press, fly, stationary row and abs. Arms=sore. Vanessa bought some more protein powder at the grocery store and it's the Jillian Michaels brand, so I'm hoping that I'll be as buff looking as her very soon. Wish me luck.

However: I ate a lot today. Eggs at 11 in the evening is probably not a good idea. It was mostly egg whites though. Plus cheese and ham... dammit.

Doctor is next week. I have not lost anywhere near the amount of weight I wanted to before the appointment. But I have lost like 20 pounds and built some muscle, so... I don't know. Randomly feel good about this but frequently like I'm spinning my wheels because I like to eat a lot. I frustrate myself.

Breakfast:
1 cup of Special K Granola with blueberry yogurt
2 pieces of Oatnut toast with butter

First Dinner:
Shrimp Fried Rice with peas, green beans, onions and carrots

Second Dinner:
4 egg whites plus 1 yolk, 1 piece of ham and 1 piece of cheese
1 piece of Oatnut toast with butter

Snacks:
2 FiberPlus bars
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake
Small bowl of ice cream

See you tomorrow.

Day 62.

OK. Several things.

1.) Dude who lifts weights then gets up and does karate moves between sets: no one believes that you actually do karate, so please stop. You look like a six-year-old playing Power Rangers except less cute.

2.) Giant black dude: please don't look over the shower stall into my shower. It really creeps me out. Especially after I just wrote a column about how showering in public isn't so creepy. Way to prove me wrong.

3.) I really only had two points but didn't feel like changing "several" to "two."

To elaborate on point 2, seriously, giant black dude, please don't ever do that again. It's not that I have issues with you being a giant black dude--I'm actually totally cool with that. The problem is that you peeked over your stall and into mine to look at my pasty white ass getting dressed. And. THAT. IS. WEIRD. This was not preceded by a conversation nor did we enter stalls at the same time. I was done showering when you entered your stall. So, seriously. This is about as creepy as creepy gets.

Before things got all weird at the gym I did 35 INTENSE minutes on the Hell Machine (seriously, heart rate was 159 the whole time). And then I blasted my arms like mfing WHOA. Did the incline chest press, stationary row, bicep curls and the fly. I am sore but feeling good. Excited to do it again tomorrow. Not so excited for the abs. That sucked today. I left the chair lower instead of raising it and apparently I work my abs much harder that way and IT SUCKS. But I did it. And lats.

Breakfast:
1 cup of SPecial K Granola with Strawberry Banana Yogurt
2 pieces of Oatnut toast with butter

Lunch:
Leftover pasta with sauce and sausage
1/2 an apple

Dinner:
Leftover Chinese

Snack:
Might have had 1/2 a pound of chocolate covered peanuts and pretzels... not of each, but mixed. It would account for my incredibly high blood sugar tonight.
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake.

See you tomorrow.

Day 61.

I AM NOT DEAD.

I had to take Friday off for some reason that I totally cannot recall but I wasn't able to hit the gym. I also had a fat weekend and ate all kinds of things that were bad for me. Especially ice cream.

That seems to be the biggest problem (not ice cream, food in general). I can't turn down food. I like food. A lot. There's a reason that I'm fat. But I'm doing my best.

Kind of.

Today wasn't really a shining example because it's my birthday and I wanted donuts for breakfast. Have you ever had a donut? They're amazing. You should totally try some if you get a chance. They stuff jelly into some of them. Fantastic stuff. Not so good for you, though.

I also killed some sushi for dinner and it was amazing. The special roll was spicy crab, tuna, and avocado tempura-fried then drizzled with eel sauce. Not to be repetitive, but it was amazing.

I did my time in the gym today, 45 on the Hell Machine, calves, ab and adductors, lats and abs plus light rowing because I missed a day last week. Tomorrow is full arms and I'm excited for it.

Food over the weekend:
Ha, I wish I could remember. Ice cream at least 3 times though. Maybe 4. And every single one was worth it.

Today:
Breakfast:
DONUTS. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 3, but I'm not sure. Vanessa cuts them in half which is deceiving. Before you know it, you've killed a bunch of them without realizing it. But it's my birthday. So suck it.
2 pints of milk.

Lunch:
Strawberry Yogurt Granola bar thing.

Dinner:
3 Crab Rangoons
1/2 an eggroll
1 bowl of Wonton Soup
1 sushi roll as listed above
1 tempura shrimp roll
1 spicy crab roll
Bites of Dan and Vanessa's respective dinners. House of Hunan is delightfully evilly delicious.

I will try to be better.

See you tomorrow.

Day 60.

I did not go to the gym today, technically.

I stayed home with Lilly and it was awesome. We went to the Indian buffet together (she LOVES Indian people, apparently... it was kind of nuts how enamored she was by the workers there, and they loved her too), did yoga, took a walk with Lilly, picked up Matt and hung out with both kids while we waited for Vanessa to come home.

It was a seriously awesome day.

But back to the technically part: I did 40 minutes of yoga with DDP and took a nice half-hour walk around several blocks while pushing Lilly. This was another thing that she loved. It was a nice day out, so there was a lot of activity and Lilly was wide-eyed for everything. It was awesome.

(Yes, "awesome" three times in one post, I don't care. I love spending time with my babies.)

My quads are killing me. I went deeper on the sled than I normally do and I can definitely feel the difference today. Watching me walk up the stairs is probably pretty hilarious...

Breakfast/Lunch:
Indian buffet!
(Lilly loves rice pudding, is feeling the Chicken makhani, passed on the naan and destroyed a piece of coconut burfi.)

Dinner:
4 boneless chicken wings
Salad with tomatoes, croutons, lettuce, cheese and Italian dressing
2 1/2 pieces of pizza from Guys Pizza (tasted like Papa Johns but better because they actually give you enough toppings and sauce for one entire pizza. Also, the pepperoni were sandwich-sized slices and they were possibly the best pepperoni I've ever had.)

Dessert:
Sugar free banana pudding with strawberries

See you tomorrow.

Days 58 and 59.

So, I apparently neglected to blog last night. Weird.

Um. What did I do yesterday? Crap. I know that I did 45 on the Hell Machine, shoulders, biceps and triceps. I didn't get to do abs or lats because there were people hanging out by both machines. And I mean that literally. There were people sitting on the machines and talking to their friends instead of actually using them. This is a huge peeve of mine.

Today I got a compliment from my buddy Nate (bartender at UPie) who said that he could tell I had been working out. He said I looked good. To which I said, "I'm going to spoil it by ordering a Tank Wrap." And I did and it was awesome.

But then I did 45 on the Hell Machine and killed myself doing: biceps, triceps, shoulders, calves, quads, glutes, abductors, adductors, abs and lats. Full body days are nice because I really feel like I did some work. Mostly because I really do.

I also mowed the lawn today and it didn't kill me, despite my landlords best attempts. The mower that he has supplied is a death trap. The handle is held on by a screw that is not made for holding a lawnmower handle together. If it had a nut on the end of the bolt, I could see it working, but it doesn't. It fell out at least twice. The engine spits gas and other liquids as does the gas cap. The blade is as dull as a butter knife while still managing to to spit out as much crap toward my shins as humanly possible.

Well played, landlord, but you can't kill me that easily.

Yesterday's foodstuffs:
Breakfast:
2 servings Multigrain Cheerios with bananas and skim milk
2 pieces of Oatnut toast with butter

Lunch:
Ham and salami sandwich on a bun with provolone cheese and mustard
Raspberry yogurt
Mixed BBQ and Plain potato chips
1 apple
I think that is it

Dinner:
Leftover Mac N Cheese
Leftover BBQ chicken

Snacks:
1 FiberOne bar
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake

Today's foodstuffs:
Breakfast:
6 eggwhites plus 1 yolk with hot sauce
3 sausage links
2 pieces of Oatnut toast with butter

Lunch:
Tank Wrap with grilled chicken, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and Sriachi Mayo

Dinner:
Steak marinated in something delicious
Broccoli
Leftover pasta salad
Cajun Shrimp

Snacks:
1 15 oz can of Frosty Chocolate Protein Shake (the powder stuff is better, this is kind of funky tasting and has more calories)
1/3 an apple

See you tomorrow!

Day 57.

I'm an emotional eater.

I relate food to just about everything. The two extremes, of course, would be joy and sadness. Over the weekend, we had Lilly's birthday party. I was joyous. And I ate tons of stuff. Birthday cake and all of the random foods that we had lying around. I also drank tequila (different day) and regretted it. Today, I took my math placement test after waiting far too long to do so.

It was not pretty. In fact, it was ugly. I tested into the class that I need to take, so it's fine, I guess, but it was a long, long, looooooong 45 minutes of my day. For 10 questions.

And I felt terrible after. So I drowned my sorrows in a delicious buffalo chicken wrap from UPie. Along with half a basket of fries.

And then I went to the gym, did my 35 on the old Hell Machine, did calves, quads, glutes, adductors and abductors as well as lats and abs.

Even? Probably not. But I survived.

Breakfast:
1 1/2 servings of Multigrain cheerios with banana and skim milk
2 pieces of Oatnut toast with butter

Lunch:
Buffalo chicken wrap with hot sauce, ranch dressing, tomato, cheese and coleslaw
Fries

Dinner:
Chicken breast stuffed with rice, broccoli, carrots and I don't know what else
Salad with croutons and lettuce
3 small biscuits
(This dinner was surprisingly tasty. Surprising because my mom made it and she is not the best cook in the world.)

Dessert:
Pudding with strawberries and bananas

Snacks:
Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter (emotional eater, duh, don't forget)
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake

See you tomorrow.

Day 56.

UNCONTROLLABLE HUNGER.

That has been an issue recently. I've just been so fricking hungry. Every time I turn around, I need to eat something. And it's not an emotional, I'm lacking something hunger, it's an honest to God I need to eat hunger. My stomach is rumbling and growling. You know those hot dog commercials where the giant, muscular arm reaches out of someone's stomach and shoves a hot dog down their throat? THAT IS WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME.

It's over the top. And annoying. Because I rarely reach for something good in these cases. A cold piece of pizza or a bowl of ice cream seems to really hit the spot. I was out of apples. Also, apples make me hungrier. Basically, what this all boils down to is that I have to work harder in the gym. Dammit.

And I think that the problem boils down to: I'm hungrier because my body needs the calories because I'm burning them so quickly. As I go from cardio to lifting, my heart rate stays elevated so I keep burning calories AND I'm building muscle so there's a deficit somewhere, I think. I just don't know that I know where. And always being hungry is crappy.

I don't know what to do. Help.

I guess that I should just be stoked that I'm getting smaller even if my weight isn't going down. Right? Someone tell me that I'm right.

Gym was 35 on the old Hell Machine and then legs. But everything was all out of order because the machines were busy. Some dude was doing his calves for an hour, i swear to God. I was fricking annoyed. By the time I got to it, I forgot to do my lats. Which is fine, I guess. But still annoying. All told, I did the sled, calves, two other things that work the whole leg, abductor and adductor. Plus abs. Those killed today.

Breakfast:
1 1/2 servings of Jumbo Rice Krispies with yogurt
2 pieces of whole wheat toast with butter

Lunch:
1 piece of pizza

Dinner:
BBQ chicken (1 breast, total, maybe? It was in strips...)
Mac N Cheese
Mixed vegetables
Strawberries with Splenda

Dessert:
Chocolate ice cream with peanut butter

Snacks:
2 FiberOne bars
2 servings of Protein Powder

Day 55.

So yesterday was late and today is going to be short. Sorry. I might have run out of material.

I will try my best to make funny and amusing things happen at the gym, but I make no promises.

Anyway. 35 on the old Hell Machine. Incline press and then the Standard Row, one arm at a time. This thing kills me, but in a really great way. I like it a lot. Only lid lats again because I was in a rush. Wanted to meet Vanessa for lunch.

TOday was Lilly's first birthday so Vanessa scooted from class a little early. We ended up having dinner with my parents, Tim, Samantha and Jeffrey at their house which was really nice. It was kind of a run-through for Lilly's party on Sunday. We got a little cake which she slowly, almost timidly demolished. in case you were wondering, it was absolutely adorable.

Slightly strange when Vanessa shoved Lilly's face into the cake, but adorable all the same.

Breakfast:
6 egg whites and 1 egg yolk
4 pieces of ham
1 Everything Bagel Thin

Lunch:
Ham and Turkey on a sun-dried tomato wrap with lettuce, pickles and mustard
1/2 bag of BBQ chips
1 apple
1 Raspberry yogurt
1/2 of a clementine

Dinner:
1 piece of Pepperoni pizza
2 pieces of Fried Chicken
French Fries
Cole slaw

Dessert:
2 small slivers of cake (lemon and german chocolate)

Snacks:
1 FiberOne bar
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake

See you tomorrow.

Day 54.

I know, I know. This is late. But it happens. I was wicked tired last night. Possibly because I killed myself in the gym or possibly just because I was tired. Hard to say.

Anyway, fairly uninteresting day. Nothing fun or exciting except that I saw an adviser on campus and discovered that I only have three semesters left. Which is 10 kinds of exciting, at the very least. It's also about damn time. I need to get on with taking the Praxis so that I can get into all of my upper division classes next semester but that sumbitch is like $180 I think. If you want to donate to the cause, you can send me money via Paypal at beane.jay@gmail.com

Just saying.

Anyway. 35 on the Hell Machine, lifted the crap out of my legs and then did arms. Boring, except I did the normal rowing machine, one arm at a time and it was AWESOME but kind of killer at the same time. My legs feel the burn today. I realized that I could do a lot more weight with them than I had been doing. I also did more on the abs and lats than I normally do. I like when it works out that way.

Did a little bit of yoga before bed. Not a whole routine, just enough to calm me down before sleep. I've had a problem with jittery legs the past few nights. This definitely helped.

Breakfast:
2 servings of Multigrain Cheerios with yogurt
2 pieces of whole wheat toast with butter

Snacks:
2 FiberOne bars (different times)
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake

Dinner:
Salad with lettuce, cucumber, tomato and Italian dressing
2 pieces of garlic bread
1 1/2 servings of Stouffers Lasagna with meat sauce. Pretty tasty, but might have given me bad poops... :(

See you later tonight.

Days 51, 52 and 53.

Slacking, kind of. Whatever.

Actually, I've been seriously slacking. I took three days off from working out and I ate pretty poorly those days. I don't know about that, actually. I don't know how bad Mediterranean and Indian food is for you. I do know that baklava isn't so good for me and I had a bit of that. And it was possibly the best baklava that I've ever had. That totally makes it worth it.

On Saturday I helped my parents move, which almost counts as working out. They fed me take-out Chinese food. I want to say that one counter balances the other, but I'm not really so sure.

But I was in Pittsburgh on Sunday for Wilco, which was fantastic. The band, the city, everything. It was a fantastic time and I really look forward to heading that way again. On one little street, they had a Thai noodle restaurant, as well as Chinese, Mediterranean AND Indian places. On one street! I could stay busy there for well over a year. That's before the used bookstore and vinyl shops.

Dan and I ended up eating at Ali Baba Restaurant and I got a Lamb Kebab with rice, hummus and a salad. For dessert Dan got the biggest piece of baklava that I've ever seen, which we shared, and then ordered another because it was so amazing. This place alone was worth the trip. Then Wilco played for three hours and almost made me forget about the awesome restaurant. Then we walked by again on the way back to the car.

I really like Pittsburgh.

Monday I was so beat from Sunday that I didn't go to class (sorry, Dr. A.) but we still dropped the kids at the sitter's like normal. That meant that Vanessa and I got to spend the whole day together doing whatever we wanted. Which included Saffron Patch for lunch and then the Penny's outlet for fun. The funny thing about SP is that we haven't been there in almost a year and a half. Funnier is that it is where we found out that Vanessa was pregnant. It was nice. And, for the record, delicious.

I have also had problems with not being able to get full recently. Or getting rabidly hungry. So much so that I had to buy food at school even though I had a lunch AND snacks. And I bought KFC which is super not good for me. I felt guilty eating it.

But today I got back on the wagon and did my 35 on the Hell Machine and did the shit out of my arms. Like, whoa. Pulldowns, rows, bicep curls, tricep extensions and incline press all at higher weights and more sets than normal. It felt pretty good. I also did lats but not abs because the ab machine was practically handing out tickets because it was so busy. Tomorrow is legs and arms and hopefully abs. We shall see.

Breakfast:
2 servings of Multigrain Cheerios with Strawberry Banana yogurt
2 pieces of whole wheat toast with butter

First Lunch:
KFC Twister Wrap
1 bag of Pretzels

Second Lunch:
Turkey, cheese, lettuce and mustard on a wrap (in retrospect, I'm pretty glad I got the KFC because this sandwich kind of tasted like crap by the time I got to it...)
Sunchips
Cherry yogurt
1 dill pickle

Dinner:
Santa Fe Chicken Lean Cuisine

Dessert:
Sugar Free angel food cake with strawberries and whip cream

Snacks:
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake
2 Fiber Plus bars

See you tomorrow.

Day 50.

Sorry kids, no blog again tonight. TOo tired and too much crap going on. Tomorrow will be another no blog night because I'm going to Pittsburgh to see Wilco.

So, see you on Monday.

Day 49.

Sorry, kiddos. Quick one tonight.

Did 35 on the Hell Machine and then crushed some leg stuff. I'll have to figure out all the names, but I did the sled, abductor and adductor, calves and then two other leg machines plus abs and lats.

I also spent the last hour Frankensteining cardboard boxes for eBay stuff. I think that should count as working out...

See you tomorrow.

Day 48.

A travesty happened the other day.

I went to the gym and forgot to take a spare set of underpants. By the end of my workout, I'm drenched from head to toe. After showering, there is NO CHANCE of me putting those underpants back on. So, I always bring a spare set. Except for yesterday. So I drove home soaking wet from my workout, stinking like whoa.

It was terrible and vaguely traumatic. Fortunately, no one saw me. Vanessa was picking Matt up from school and I was able to run in and shower before she got home.

Today, I didn't not forget underpants, so it was a successful day.

I did 2 minutes on the treadmill while I waited for a Hell Machine. Mostly because standing over someone's shoulder while they're doing their work is kind of creepy. Then I did 35 on the Hell Machine on Interval. Then I did arms starting with the Chest press, pull down, row, bicep curl, tricep extension before finishing with lats and abs.

It was a good day, overall. I kind of wish I had something to complain about, but I don't. I did finish the first draft of the column version of this thing and I think it turned out pretty well. But you'll have to wait to read that.

Breakfast:
6 egg whites plus 1 yolk with ham and cheese
Everything bagel thin with butter
1/2 a banana

First lunch:
1 slice of pepperoni pizza

Second lunch:
Ham and cheese sandwich on Eveything bagel thin with mustard
1 apple
Some sunchips
1/2 South beach diet bar

Dinner:
Lean Cuisine Beans and rice with some leftover Jerk steak

Lots of water today. And a PowerAde because EVERY VENDING MACHINE IN DEBARTOLO HALL WAS OUT OF WATER. Very upsetting.

See you tomorrow.

Day 47.

When I come in, they should really clear the Hell Machine. I shouldn't have to wait because I'm important, dammit. Everyone else can use the other, crappy ellipticals.

But that doesn't happen and today I had to kill 15 minutes on a bike before I got my Hell Machine. And the bike is seriously a waste of time. Sure, I could pedal faster and work on a higher resistance setting but it's uncomfortable as it is, so working harder on the stupid thing just isn't an effort I'm willing to make.

The other thing for tonight: Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, whatever brand you like. I'm trying to be better about my calorie intake and I've got a handful of them in my freezer to aid in this.. Do you eat them? Like them? Flavor suggestions? Please let me know. Thank you.

Anyway, the gym. 15 on the bike and then 30 on the Hell Machine on the Interval setting. Dug it. Then I did arms AND legs. Which was INTENSE. I did vertical chest press, pull downs (that is the actual name of the exercise. I looked it up.), row, bicep curls, tricep extensions, calf extensions, the sled, abductor, adductor, some other leg machine that I don't remember the name of, and finally, abs and lats.

That was a lot. If you're wondering, when I lift, I do 5 sets of 15, 12, 10, 12, 15 starting with a lower weight, then moving up each set and then back down. For abductor, adductor, abs and lats, I just do 75 total reps at the same weight.

Breakfast:
2 servings of Multigrain Cheerios with Vanilla yogurt
2 pieces of Whole Wheat toast with apple butter

No lunch.

Dinner:
Caribbean Jerk steak (SPICY!)
Spicy teriyaki rice with carrots, peas and corn
Salad with lettuce of several types, cucumbers and Italian dressing

Dessert:
Sugar free Angel Food cake with Strawberries with Sugar free whip cream (this was delicious and mostly guilt free)

Snacks:
2 South Beach Diet bars (one pre workout, one post)
2 servings of Vanilla protein shake

See you tomorrow!

Day 46.

I'm stuck at 260. But my clothes are getting looser. Because fat takes up much more room than muscle. Which means I'm building muscle. I'm OK with that.

Todd, my father-in-law, wants me to be a "bad ass" so that I can protect my wife and children. He promised to teach me how to fight. Which is weird. Did I mention that he also wants to buy me a gun? Does this mean that he thinks I'm a wuss? Sure, I'm a reader and a musician AND a writer, but I think that I can hold my own in a fight.

I also talked about getting into MMA, but Vanessa nixed that. She doesn't want me to lose any of my precious brain cells. BO-RING.

So, yeah. I bought 38 waist shorts the other day, which I think I mentioned. Did I mention that my belt does nothing to aid in holding them up? It's a 40-42, so it's literally just an accessory without a function at this point. I'm proud and nervous, all at the same time. Nervous because I'm petrified that my pants are going to hit the ground at a moments notice.

The gym today was a good one. 35 minutes on the Interval program on the Hell Machine. This worked nicely. Whereas the Fat Burner did 4 minutes on a resistance before switching, the Interval does 2. It also has 4 resistance level differences instead of 1 (Fat Burner I would start on 5 and go to 6 then back down; Interval I start at 4 and go to 7.) Also, I control the timing. Awesome.

Did upper body today. Incline Chest press, tricep extensions, bicep curls, row, bicep/back pull-downs (I don't know the actual name), abs and lats. Tomorrow, I'm doing upper AND lower as well as my cardio. HOLY JEEZ I MUST BE CRAZY.

Yup.

Breakfast:
2 servings Special K Granola with Vanilla yogurt and 3 strawberries
2 pieces of Whole Wheat toast with butter

Lunch:
12" TUrkey sub on Whole Wheat with provolone, mustard, lettuce, tomato and pickles
Blueberry yogurt

Dinner:
Lean Cuisine Pesto Chicken with Bow Tie pasta
1 apple

Snacks:
FiberPlus bar
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake

Water, water, water.

See you tomorrow.

Day 45.

So. Food is my enemy. And, as in all really good stories, I have an intimate love affair with my enemy. I. Love. Food.

And all of the really tasty things that I love are really bad for me. For instance, french fries. I love french fries. And just about every restaurant in the world gives them as a side dish when you order ANYTHING. Salads come with fries on them, which really defeats the purpose of a frigging salad.

And UPie is probably the worst. Their food is so fantastic that just walking by, I gain a pound. Today I got a gyro and it was awesome. And I did this before I worked out. So I worked out on a full stomach, which is a bad idea. Because what I really wanted was to take a nap.

And after walking around the parking deck for 20 minutes, in flip flops, looking for the car, I was almost ready to take that nap. I was hot and sweaty, my feet hurt and I hadn't even hit the gym yet.

But I persevered. I even thought about doing the fat burner program twice. Of course my genius wife informed me that if I do the Interval program I can set the time and it does the same thing as the fat burner. I shall investigate.

I also did legs FOR FRICKING REAL. I did the normal front and back, then the abductor, adductor, and then I did this machine that works the calves. And it was hard. But kind of really awesome. I'm going to have AMAZING calves. Get jealous. I also did this thing called the Sled.

You sit and push yourself up with your legs. Kind of like a squat, but you're sitting. This kind of scared me. You know how when you're lifting and you feel like your arms are going to give? Then, you're just like, "no big deal, it's just my arms." But when your leg starts to feel like it's going to give? That is scary. Because if your leg gives, you're screwed. On a machine like that, you'd face-plant before you had time to think about catching yourself.

And then your face is jacked up too. So, you see my point.

Also did abs and lats.

Breakfast:
1 cup of Special K Granola with milk and strawberries
2 pieces of whole wheat toast with butter

Lunch:
Gyro with fries
1/2 bowl of Chicken Curry Soup

Dinner:
2 slices of leftover pizza
1 apple

Snacks:
2 servings of Vanilla protein shake
1 South Beach Diet chocolate bar

See you tomorrow.

Day 44.

I shouldn't promise things. Inevitably, I have to break that promise.

Like last night when I promised yoga. I actually helped my dad move some stuff today and my knee has been acting weird all day. Buckling at inappropriate times (like carrying a dresser down a flight of stairs). I'm counting that as exercise. Also, there was some nondescript, none-of-your-business cardio.

Highlight of the day was either:
A) at my parents, standing outside with my mom, I pointed at a random area in the front yard and said, "Oh, snake!" and my mom screamed and jumped. Hilarious. Works EVERY time.
B) playing outside with Vanessa and the kids. Lilly tried to eat a stick and Matt was having a great time kicking the ball around.

Breakfast:
1 waffle with sugar free syrup and butter
3 pieces of bacon
two bites of breakfast casserole
a couple strawberries

Lunch:
Filet O Fish

Dinner:
1 1/2 pieces of Salmon
Several bites of cheesy noodles with broccoli (which totally sucked)
more strawberries

Snack:
Rice Krispies with blueberry yogurt and a banana

Lots of water. And a diet Coke.

See you tomorrow, back to the official grind.

Days 42 and 43.

Sorry. Late night last night. Vanessa and I went to see The Cripple of Inishmaan in Youngstown. It was good; dark but very funny. After, we had dinner at Mike's Place and did some shopping for Easter brunch.

We don't get to do adult-only dates very often, so it was nice. We didn't have to rush home for anything because the kids were at Grammy Vickie's house overnight. It was really nice.

Yesterday I did 40 minutes on the Hell Machine and I burned the same amount of calories as I do when I do the fat burner program. The whole thing is very confusing. I also did legs as well as abs and lats. That doesn't sound near as exciting as when I talk about doing arms. I don't really like doing my legs either. That probably sounds weird, especially after I said that I like lifting. I don't get the same rush out of it.

I hate doing abs a lot. Especially because I can't tell if I'm doing anything. It doesn't hurt, really, but there's a "muscle pain" involved. It just isn't fun and I don't feel anything later on so, liked I said, I don't know that I'm doing anything.

Today was my day of rest, mostly because Vanessa and I were running around all day trying to get rid of extra baby stuff we don't need. Do you have any idea how hard it is to sell baby clothes? Extremely. Which is why I still have a basement full of it.

Before running around, though, we got lunch from Raj Mahal and it was fantastic. They redid the buffet and it looks like a real buffet now. Classy. The food was the best that it has ever been, I think. I want to go back RIGHT NOW. They had this dessert which was essentially chickpea flour, wheat flour and coconut that was the most amazing thing in the world. It melted in my mouth and I could have eaten a truckload of it.

ALSO. Bought some shorts yesterday. Had to return them; too big. I'm wearing 38's now, fool! I wear my pants kind of low, but still. That's awesome. I think I was 12 last time I wore a 38.

Yesterdays Menu:
Breakfast:
6 egg whites and 1 yolk with sausage
2 pieces of Whole Wheat toast with butter
(This breakfast might have made me sick later on. The sausage, I think.)

Lunch:
Strawberries
McDouble
A couple fries
(We were on the road. It was awesome. I seriously love a McDouble.)

Dinner:
A GIANT fricking Romanburger from Mike's Place
Fries
(This was an incredibly terrible eating day. But seriously, this sandwich was delicious and GIANT.)

Today's Menu:
Breakfast:
Skipped.

Lunch:
RAJ MAHAL INDIAN BUFFET LUNCH. HELL. YES. I ate 2 plates worth, which is a lot, but less than normal. It was seriously amazing. I wish that I could cook like this on a regular basis. The coconut dessert was worth killing for.

Dinner:
Romeo's pizza and wings.
(Damn. I really sucked at eating this weekend. It's ok, I'll make it up.)

Tomorrow, I don't promise better food. But I promise some yoga.

See you then.

Day 42.

Seriously, the smell coming from my locker today was ridiculous. I have never been offended by an odor from my body before but today, finally, I was.

I'm not sure whether I should be proud or not.

Anyway, Lilly ended up going to school with us. It was an experience. Trying to convince an infant to be quiet while you're discussing Small World by David Lodge isn't the easiest thing in the world. Thankfully she didn't poop in the middle of class OR throw a huge fit. She did fall asleep in Senior Seminar, which made me insanely jealous.

Things didn't go as smooth for Vanessa, apparently. She left class early because Lilly was getting fussy.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting enough cardio. Doing the fat burner program on the Hell Machine burns about 460 calories in 33 minutes (28 plus a 5 minute cool down). Then I go and lift. I know that I'm still burning calories and my heart rate is probably still elevated, but I don't know if I'm doing enough.

And I need to re-become more aware of what I'm eating. With Lilly at school today, I bought a thing of Froot Loops to occupy her and she ended up feeding half of the container to me. Granted, they aren't terrible for you, but still. I'm trying to lose weight here.

So, the gym included 5 minutes on the bike while I waited for a Hell Machine to open up, the fat burner program for 28 minutes and then lifting. I think I like lifting. Like, it kind of sucks but I like the way that I feel afterword. Does that make any sense at all?

I suppose that the same thing goes for all of working out. I really, truly, genuinely hate it while I'm doing it. After, though, I get a weird high where I'm like (I'm going to swear here, you've been warned), "FUCK YEAH, I'M AWESOME, I KICKED THE SHIT OUT OF THAT!" Then I move on and it sucks again.

Even doing yoga, when I'm doing the Broken Table or Road Warrior One, the whole time it's, "Fuck you, I fucking hate you." But again, when it's over: "That was nice. I feel goooood."

Anyway, while lifting, I did biceps, triceps, abs and lats. Kind of a simple sounding day, but I did a bunch of machines.

Breakfast:
2 servings of Special K Vanilla Almond with milk (this cereal is losing it's luster for me. It has kind of a funky aftertaste.)
2 pieces of Protein Plus toast with apple butter
1 container of Cherry Yogurt

Snacks:
(all bought for Lilly but munched by me)
Froot Loops
Organic Animal Crackers (very strange tasting, not as sweet as normal ones)

Lunch:
Ham and Turkey on a sun-dried tomato wrap with American Cheese, mustard and lettuce
Sun Chips

Post-workout:
2 servings of Vanilla Protein Shake

Dinner:
1 and 2/3 servings of Rice Krispies with vanilla yogurt and strawberries
(not a whole lot of GOODNESS in there, but it tasted awesome and didn't kill me on calories)

Plenty of water. Good day, overall.

See you tomorrow.