Kim's So Sore I Think She May Hate Me (Day 115)

Kim and I trained back today at the gym. She is now terribly sore from our Monday workout. Stretching to reach the pull down bar almost made her cry. I looked at her, smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Zane, welcome to my world." She laughed. I have muscle soreness somewhere EVERY day. Today is Wednesday and my legs are still sore from last Friday! I didn't mean to make her THAT sore. I'm gonna make sure she doesn't overdo it during the next couple of weeks. Then I'm gonna run all over her. Kidding, kidding. We'll have some good workouts though. Today's workout began with 30 minutes of cardio, incline 13, speed 4 (I did a little interval running for about 10 minutes). Our back workout began with me doing one set of pull-ups (sadly I'm still only doing about 9 reps - the pre-exhausting with cardio is killing me). Next we did 3 sets of pull downs, followed by 3 sets of t-bar rows, then 3 sets of y-bar rows, and finally 3 sets of hammer strength seated rows. We returned to the treadmills for 30 more minutes of cardio, this time I did incline 13.5 and speed of 4. Tomorrow we train arms.

Good food day. Breakfast was nutriflakes, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was yogurt, as usual. Lunch was pasta with beef and a veggie burger. My afternoon snack was a double chocolate almond cookie with a tiny amount of peanut butter. Dinner was macaroni and cheese with beef covering a morning star chick'n griller. My dessert was a South Beach Peanut Butter Bar, actually eaten before dinner at my parent's house as I was helping mom prepare her Xmas card order.

I can tell (I think anyway) that I'm dropping some weight this week. I've gone from using the 3rd hole in my belt to using either the 4th or 5th today. Maybe with a couple of more good days at the gym and good cardio workouts I'll have a nice loss on Monday. I'd be delighted to hit the 70 pound mark before Xmas week.

Shoulders, Photoshoot, TBL, & a Turducken (Day 114)

Kim and I trained shoulders at the gym today. Her chest is a little sore from her first workout yesterday, but nothing to bad. Before the shoulder workout we began with 30 minutes on the treadmill, incline 13, speed 4 (for me anyway, I'm not sure what intensity Kim was at). Shoulders began with Kim doing standing dumbbell military presses while I did seated dumbbell presses for 3 sets. Next was 3 sets of side lateral raises, followed by 3 sets of front dumbbell raises, and finally 3 sets of rear delts to finish our shoulder workout. Back to the treadmill for 30 minutes of the same as before to finish up our trip to the gym.

I had a very good "on" plan day. Breakfast was an apple strudel scone, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. Lunch was a chicken salad sandwich and a Morning Star Chick'n Griller. My afternoon snack was an oatmeal cookie. My next meal ended up being my dessert which was a chocolate crunch bar (I was in Atlanta shooting photos of my nephew for my parents' Xmas card). Dinner was a sourdough pizza with veggie chorrizo, a salad, a few olives, and a little cheese. Later in the evening while entering my food into the NS website I realized I forgot to eat my morning snack and was low on calories for the day. I added a sugar free jello as a final dessert and got my calories up to around 1500 for the day.

The photo shoot was interesting. Anyone who makes a living shooting pictures of children earns their money. It was very difficult to light the photo (my dad holding a small softbox with a strobe in it) as a baby walks around. It was also nearly impossible to keep my mother out of the frame (which she wanted) because she would not get more than 6 inches away from the baby for 95% of the time. But in the end we got a few decent images and I think Mom will be happy with one or two and we can order her some cards.









After returning home from ATL and eating dinner, Kim and I watched the season finale of The Biggest Looser. What a great show in general. I was so happy to see all of the contestants do so well. Even crazy Tracey did well, I'm just glad she didn't win.

Tomorrow we head back to the gym to train back, & get in another hour on the treadmill. More rain in our area so no hound walking for a few days. I took the plunge and ordered a Turducken for the family to try this Xmas. Fortunately all of the gonads have been removed from said turkey/duck/chicken monster so no one should worry about me eating anything uni-like. Our Turducken will be stuffed with seafood jambalaya as well. Wonder if there will be any roe in there?????

One last photo of the Grandparents with Oliver. This shot was just something for them to have as they did not want to be on the card. Next year they will be in the card (it made the entire process so much more simple).

My New Gorgeous Training Partner (Day 113)

I have a new gorgeous training partner. Kim! She finally left her horrible job and now we can workout together.

We began our workout with 30 minutes on the treadmill, incline 13, speed 4. Next we trained chest. Kim started with 3 sets of hammer strength bench presses while I started with incline presses. Next she did push-ups on the Smith machine as I dd 3 sets of decline presses. Next we both did 3 sets of body masters machine flies. I finished the workout with 3 sets of dips. Of course we returned to the treadmills for 30 more minutes of cardio before heading home.

I had a decent day with my food. Breakfast was pancakes, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a cup of yogurt. Lunch was broccoli and pasta parmesan along with peas and corn. My afternoon snack was a chocolate crunch bar. Dinner was a NS hamburger and a couple of slices of a butternut squash pie thingy Kim made. I didn't have a dessert after dinner either. The only other things I had were just terrible for me. A few pecans as my fat with dinner but then I decided to eat a few deep fried cajun peanuts, shell and all. They are terribly good. I don't even like peanuts, but these are good. I make Kim throw them away (along with the rest of the butternut squash concoction). I still did OK as far as calories on the day, but tomorrow I'm gonna make sure we don't bring anything bad home to eat. I think I managed about an 1800 calorie deficit on the day.

I'm debating ordering a turducken to take to Xmas dinner this year. If I do it will be a surprise. I'm just gonna show up with this beast of bird/duck/thing. Any of you every tried anything like this?

Weigh In

I weighed in this morning. I weigh exactly the same as I did before we went to Myrtle Beach for Thanksgiving. So I must have gained a little while there and then lost it last week. Cool. Now back to my regularly scheduled weight loss!

Quick Sunday Post (Day 112)

A quick post for a busy Sunday.

I woke early this morning and let Kim sleep late (she didn't feel so well). Breakfast was nutriflakes cereal, a veggie chick'n patty, a banana, and a slice of bread. We had to go to a job site a little later so we stopped at a Panera store so we could get Kim a well deserved bagel. I had a cheese pastry (400 calories!) and a sip of coffee. The rest of the afternoon the only other thing I ate was a small supreme protein bar (200 calories). We took Jumping Jack Flash on a 3 + mile walk before having to go to Kim's office for a couple of hours. Dinner last night was a NS hamburger, cauliflower with cheese sauce, and a little more supreme protein bar with peanut butter.

Back to my normal routine on Monday.


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Snow and a Party (Day 111)

This is for Saturday, December 5th, 2009.

We woke to a rare sight this morning. Snow in Georgia. Amazingly, the population did not fall into mass hysteria (I think because most people were still in bed, the local HS Football team had a playoff game the night before) and the event ended peacefully. I grabbed a few pics before the snow dissipated. The Pug didn't care for the snow at all. She ran out, slid to a halt, and then barked at the snow flakes for a moment before racing back to the door wanting to go back inside. The other hounds were indifferent to the snow. They just like being outside.

I made my way to the gym to train around lunch. I began with 30 minutes on the treadmill, speed 4, incline 13. Next I quickly trained calves with a total of 6 sets, 3 sitting, 3 standing. I returned to the treadmill for 15 more minutes of the same as before. Then I went to the elliptical for 10 minutes before heading home. Later in the day Kim, Jumping Jack Flash and I went on a 2 mile walk around the lake. It was COLD. We made it home just before sunset in time for me to watch some of the SEC Championship. Roll Tide. Poor Tebow, he cried.......

I had a good food day, however I was VERY hungry late in the day. I began with one of Kim's breakfasts. Egg Beaters mixed with veggie chorrizo, a blueberry muffin, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a yogurt and banana smoothie. Lunch was parmesan broccoli pasta with a Morning Star Chik'n Griller (70 calories, I think). My afternoon snack was a white chocolate chip cookie. Dinner was rotini with meatballs, broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower in cheese sauce, a slice of bread, and a few blue cheese stuffed olives. I LOVE blue cheese stuffed olives. They make my old jalapeno stuffed olives taste like junk. Dessert was another white chocolate chunk cookie. During the day I also had a small supreme protein bar, some PB, and a random sampling of olives. A good bit more calories than usual. I think all of the cardio from the week began to catch up with me, hunger wise.

Finally last night we went to a friend's birthday party. We picked up DJ and then arrived at the BEAUTIFUL home the party was being held at. Now in the past 5 years I've had more than 1 drink exactly 1 time (my sister's wedding) and I haven't really had anything to drink in a couple of years (during dinner on vacation doesn't count), but Kim still enjoys a drink from time to time. As does DJ. So Kim and DJ enjoyed their various libations and I enjoyed having conversations with people instead of dogs (my usual & actually preferred counterparts). We left early (Kim and I, DJ was just getting started) . Lovely night, I hope DJ made it home OK. If we get any pics (the birthday boy is a photog and pics should be on FaceBook soon) I'll post a few.

The only other item of note occurred before the party. As Kim was getting dressed I was letting the hounds back outside for a minute (remember, it was around 29 degrees at 7PM) before we left for the evening. I heard JJF go crazy barking and then all of the hounds join in. I walked outside to see JJF outside of the fence (he tunnels out regularly) about 100 yards from the house towards our barn, facing off with two large animals. It was very dark (all of the security lights had just blinked off for some reason) and I had just come out from a well lit room so I couldn't tell what he was barking at. It was either two small deer, or two large coyotes. They were not particularly bothered by Jack, but they did retreat when they saw me. I finally got Jack to come to me and I put him in the house. Kim still wasn't ready, so I grabbed a rifle and a light and went back out to make sure that if the animals had been coyotes they had really left the area. No sign of them anywhere (this is when I wish I had either good Night Vision equipment, what I have sucks, or a thermal scope) so I came back home and brought the hounds in. I'll check today for deer tracks or coyote scat to see if I can tell what JJF had been after. Whatever it was almost made it to our front door, so I'd be surprise to learn that it had been coyotes. They usually never get closer than the barn to our house.

ROLL TIDE!!!

21 Sets For Quads & Hams + 60 Minutes of Cardio = Jello Legs (Day 110)

This post is for Friday, December 4th, 2009.

If you're a regular follower of my posts then you know Friday is LEG DAY for me. DJ actually came to the gym but trained shoulders as I trained legs. So close to having a training partner! I had a response to my usual FaceBook invite for partners saying that he'd rather have a root canal than train legs with me. Probably feel about the same when it's over, just pain in a different place.

I began the workout with 30 minutes on the treadmill, incline 13, speed 4. I trained quads first, beginning with 3 sets of true squats, followed by 3 sets of hack squats, then 3 sets of leg presses, and finally 3 sets of leg extensions. Hamstrings began with 3 sets of single leg curls, then 3 sets of seated leg curls, and ended with 3 sets of hyper-extensions. I then limped back to the treadmill for 30 more minutes (felt like 4 hours) at the same intensity as before. I was dizzy as I left the gym. Good workout. Good cardio (not as good as DJ, he did a varied intensity running routine on the treadmill, I think he was dizzy too). I was sore before Kim got home from work. This weekend I'll be silly sore.

I had a great day with my meals. Breakfast began with an apple strudel scone, facon, a banana, and a slice of bread. My morning snack was a cup of yogurt. Lunch was mac & cheese and a broccoli pancake. My afternoon snack was a chocolate crunch bar. Dinner was veggie fajitas with fake chorrizo (YUM) served on 45 cal/slice bread with a little cheese and a salad. Dessert was a peanut butter cookie.

After my workout I spent a couple of hours working on a photo project for my dad. I was to remove old photos (aged anywhere from 30 - 115 years old) from a photo album and scan them so I can edit them in photoshop later. I gained some valuable insight into how to treat photos during the process. Always label your photos. 115 years after a photo is take NO ONE will know who "the little one" actually is. Don't use labels like brother, sister, me, and cousin either. 4 generations later no one will have a clue as to who any of you are. DON'T put photos in a album that has sticky materials. If you ever have to remove the photos it is near impossible. I used a craft knife and still almost destroyed a photo. I eventually gave up on removing each photo and had to scan them still affixed to the album. I know some of this doesn't apply with digital photos, but you should still tag photos (digitally label) correctly, and store them in multiple locations so you don't loose the data. I'll post a few images of my ancestors once I finish editing the project.

Finally, it is supposed to snow here in North Georgia overnight. If I don't post for a few days please send help. The mere sight of a snow flake here causes civil unrest. Combine possible snow with all of the traffic expected in the metro Atlanta area due to the Florida vs Alabama SEC Championship game & the state and local governments may be overwhelmed and law and order could break down. So if you were thinking of visiting the area over the weekend, don't. It could get ugly here. ROLL TIDE!! (I just can't bring myself to root for Florida, but I will if they play for the National Championship).