The power of the written word is unmistaken. The pen is mightier than the sword … without Googling, I can guarantee was written by an Englishmen. Or if you are an SNL fan, “I’ll take Penis Mightier for $200 Alex” ~ Fake Sean O’Connor.

Well, this is not one of those moments … The Big Dipper Life lesson #46 – life has its ups and downs … enjoy them both!

Are people still saying “Staycation?” Well, that’s what my wife and I did today. A day trip to our favorite spot, Santa Cruz, California and the world-famous beach boardwalk. How could one not love this place? Beach – check! Roller coasters – check! Beach 20 yards from the roller coaster – check! Let’s go eat and ride, but definitely not in that order. I don’t have the teenager stomach any longer!

Morning weight 171.5. Let’s see what a day at the boardwalk will do at tomorrow’s weigh-in!

Today’s Meals:

• 8:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
• 12:20pm – Our nomination for Triple D (Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) and our favorite spot. All vegetarian all the time! Saturn Cafe.
  • 1 BBQ Ranch Chicken Burger with house dressing and jack cheese
  • 1/2 order of onion strings. I order these to make it my equivalent to one of my childhood favorites, the Carl’s Jr Western Bacon Cheeseburger.
  • 1/4 of my wife’s chicken and bacon club sandwich. She wins the ordering — don’t say anything, but I secretly wanted the remaining 3/4!
  • 1/4 of a pancake with house butter and syrup
  • 1 cup of fresh fruit
• 3:45pm – Self-proclaimed “Best Corndogs in the Country” at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Right in front of the bumper cars. I asked the “Jake” at the counter if they were the frozen kind. He said, they are the only one on the boardwalk that uses fresh and they dip using their own batter. He never tried one, but people like’em!
  • Veggie corndog. Ate 3/4th and my wife sacrificed and only ate the 1/4th. Both agree — they earned the title of Best Corndog in the County!
  • Small fries. 1/2 order
• 6:45pm – Pacific Thai Restaurant. Drove Pacific Avenue and car-window browsed to look for a spot to eat. This was the winner! They actually had “mock chicken” for an extra buck and we’ve never tried mock chicken in Thai food, so that streak ended today. Free parking on the street after 7pm, but even if you have to pay, forgo the parking garage and stay streetside. 1 quarter = 1 hour! Can’t beat that!
  • Yellow tofu curry
  • Hot and sour rice noodle soup with mock chicken. Stick with tofu. It was good, but not the best. It’s the mock chicken out of the can. Old Vegheads know what I’m talking about … newer vegetarians just trust me.
  • 1/4 cup of rice
• The Penny Ice Creamery. Times are good for this small business as they have now opened a second location. You may know the name from President Obama’s 2010 State of the Union Address.
  • 1 Tahitian Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Sandwich. Homemade, but not what I was expecting. The ice cream was very tasty. Rich, creamy … all that stuff. But I was expecting a a soft, chewy sandwich and it was quite the opposite. Wife had the Whiskey Bourbon and she seemed to enjoy it quite a lot.

Meal 2

Meal 2.1

Meal 3

Meal 3.1

Food and fun

Today’s Activities:

• Roller coasting, bumper-carring, merry-go-rounding, retro-arcading, and hand holding through the boardwalk! Thoughts of David Hasselhoff came to mind, but didn’t do the Bay Watch beach run.
• The Boardwalk comes equipped with an arcade full of newer and 80s games that I grew up on. Of course, I was drawn directly to Tron, Gorf, and Millepede. If you’re there, don’t play Tron … there was a reason the Hi-Score was only about 6,000. It was impossible to even finish Stage 1 Light Cycles because the joystick was broken in that direction. That wasn’t the case with Gorf though! Space General … not too bad for at least a 25 year weekend furlough.

Gorf Hi-Score / Honorable Mention Millepede

After a day at the California State Fair and all it’s fried and dipped glory,  can say the answer is YES! Buttered corn and cinnamon rolls are friendlies. Well, a friend you see maybe 2-4 times a year, but you text regularly. “Let’s hang out soon” “I’ll call you later” “Let’s do lunch next week” Definitely friendly, but not invite-to-your-wedding material.

Morning weight 172. Post buttered and parmesan cheese corn and fried jack cheese sticks – 171.

Life lesson #44 – Bad decisions have consequences, but use insight to determine if some decisions just aren’t that bad. Some people beat themselves up over every misstep, perceived or actual. Others have no barometer to say “Stop!” In the immortal words of Mr. Miyagi, “Balance Danielsan, Balance!”

Today’s Meals:

• 7:30am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder. 
• 10:50am – Power Crunch Cookies & Cream Bar
• 1:05pm – Chinese food
  • 1 serving of sesame tofu
  • 1 serving of egg fried rice
  • 1 serving of salt and pepper mushroom
  • 1 1/4 patties of vegetarian egg foo yung
  • 2 Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Milk Biscuits
• 3:45pm – Herbalife Recovery Drink. 1 scoop of Herbalife24 Rebuild Endurance and 1 scoop of Herbalife24 Rebuild Strength. Mixed in 14 ounces of water.
• 5:30pm – Dos Coyotes Veggie Ranchero Burrito. Wife and I split. We don’t eat that much because we eat throughout the day and there would be no way either of us could finish one on our own and as an added bonus, it saves us a ton of money on eating out.
  • Cooking Tip – if you order it, ask for the chips and the guacamole on the side. The chips won’t get soggy from the ranchero sauce and the guac won’t make the inside of the burrito cold. Also, ask for the burrito “extra crispy”. It will make the cheese taste like the best tasting slice of pizza you’ve ever had.

Meal 2 and 2.1

Food, physical therapy, and exercise

Today’s Activities:

•  Physical therapy. Total 4 sessions, 3rd with Doug.
  • Left shoulder. Measurable results in range of motion. My increased movement and pushing beyond pain thresholds is starting to break down the scar tissue. Continue as planned.
  • Right arm/fingers. Advised this pain is not improving and in many day-to-day activities, actually much worse. Doug tugged and pulled and there is relief. Doesn’t want the pain to continue because it can cause a scarring of the nerve which leads to a lifelong issue. Best relief, pressure on L-5 vertebrae. It’s like Doug transforms into a WWF wrestler and puts a sleeper hold on me. That L-5 pressure press is instant relief and delight!
  • Next session scheduled. In the meantime, use the medication previously prescribed to see if there is any relief. It’s anti-inflammation qualities can be extremely helpful.
• Weights:
  • Dumbbell floor presses
    • 1st set, 15 reps, 40 lbs
    • 2-5th set, 12 reps, 50 lbs. Movement was slow and controlled down and explode up
  • Standing “Bar”Curl. Used the Same weight I was pressing to curl with both hands. Arm position is similar to a hammer curl.
    • 1st set, 15 reps, 40 lbs
    • 2-5th set, 10 reps, 50 lbs
  • Lawnmowers or Dumbbell Rows. Right arm movement — not bad. Left arm movement. Cannot explode back without pain. Did the left arm with caution to prevent any setbacks.
    • 1st set, 6 reps, 40 lbs
    • 2-5th set, 4 reps, 50 lbs
• The Wolverine screening. Rating B+

Monday. New week. New checklist, but first, a trip to the California State Fair. The land of fried butter. Where fried Twinkies are considered health food. Where the answer to every question “Do you want _______ with that?” is an automatic “Yes!” It doesn’t matter at the fair … every answer is yes and more. Yes, please dip my roasted corn on the cob in that vat of melted butter. Yes, please batter and deep fry my zucchini. And, “John” (they are all named John), can I have just a little more. The state fair is a tradition in our household. We go. We eat. We don’t feel a darn bit guilty!

So, the evaluation. Excluding today’s meals of course. Last week’s performance. Celebrate the good and readjust the not-so-good to be in alignment.

The Good                                           The Not-So-Good

• Weight remained steady            Didn’t eat many fresh fruits/veggies
•  Strength without pain                Unable to get left arm behind back
• Ate plenty of junkfood                Ate plenty of junkfood
• Able to do pushups                      Unable to do pullups
• Finished half-marathon             Since, only ran once.

Morning weight 171.

Writing down goals is a well-known task all successful people perform. Life lesson #43 – Don’t beat yourself up, but lift yourself up.

Today’s Meals:

• 9:45am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder. Herbalife supplements
  • Multivitamin
  • Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Joint Support
  • Xtra Cal)
• 12:30pm – Taco Bell
  • 1 Black bean burrito
  • 1/2 Chalupa (no meat, sub beans)
  • 7 Hot sauce
• 1:45pm – Fair Food (in this order)
  • Cinnabon – World Famous and lives up to it!
  • Hot Dog on a Stick Jack Cheese
  • BBQ corn with butter, parmesan cheese, and paprika
• 7:45pm – Chinese food
  • 1 serving of sesame tofu
  • 1 serving of egg fried rice
  • 1 serving of salt and pepper mushroom
  • 1 bowl of vegetarian hot and sour soup
  • 1 1/2 patties of vegetarian egg foo yung
• 9pm – Herbalife supplements (not listed on MyFitnessPal … I took them after posting)
  • Multivitamin
  • Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline

Meal 2

Fair Food! Meal 2.1

Meal 3

Fair food and holding hands!

Today’s Activities:

• Today was a non run type of day. Wife back in town and our annual trip to the fair. Walked the California State Fair and I got the hi-score for Tron! I’m an 80s child! Isn’t my best, but 30 years later, I’m still making it beyond the 4th round. This time, of all things, the light cycles got me. Darn you memory! I couldn’t remember to break right with a quick up or break right with a quick down.

Tron Hi-Score

Looks like whatever I eat these days, I can always get back into my new average. After a week of little to no fruits and vegetables, an entire pizza, and a couple of drumsticks (not the musical kinds) and throw out that post race weight of 168.5, I’m right back at where I started for.

Weight 171

Why is that? How can someone eat whatever foods they like to eat and eat 3-5, sometimes 6x’s per day and still remain the same weight. There’s article after article if you Google it, but in the spirit of keeping things simple, a food journal has to be the most useful accountability tool. I use MyFitnessPal.

I’m sure there’s others that do just the same, but this one has all the things I need. A food UPC scanner for ease of entry. You can remember your prior meals and create your own meals for future entries. And oh, it’s free. Life lesson #42 – there are no excuses when it’s free!

TODAY’S MEALS:

• 8am – Shake and vitamins
  • Herbalife Formula 1 Instant Healthy Meal Chocolate
    • 4 oz of Blue Diamond Almond Milk
    • 4 oz of water
    • 2 scoops of Herbalife Instant Meal Chocolate
    • 1/2 cup of raw cabbage
    • 1/2 raw (frozen) banana
    • 1 tspn of Skippy Chunky peanut butter
  • Supplements
    • Herbalife Formula 2 Multivitamin
    • Herbalife Formula 3  Cell Activator
    • Herbalife Herbalifeline
    • Nature’s Made B6
• 2:20pm – Jack’s Urban Eats — “we have no eggs today” To which I said, “huh?” and “to go, please” Going to eat this sucka at home because I have a drumstick with my name on it.
  • 1/2 Salad with balsamic vinaigrette
    • beets
    • since no eggs, two portions of garbanzo
    • tomato
    • broccoli
    • apples
  • Macaroni and cheese
  • Nestle Drumstick
• 5:45pm – Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter packet
• 7pm – VitaCoco Pure Coconut Water (1/4)
• 7:30pm – Top Ramen with egg
• 10:55pm – 1 1/2 cups of Kimchee Fried Rice at our late night spot. Wife was hungry after returning from Oahu and how can I turn down a late night snack with my wife. Those are precious moments.

Meal 1

Meal 2

Meal 2.2

Meal 3

Meal 4

Food and promising exercise

Today’s Activities:

• Within 45 minutes of waking up, attempted some pushups. Old school pushups. Drop down and give me … whatever! Keep in mind that I was only able to do 3 just about a week ago before the left shoulder pain kicked in. Today, drumroll please, 21 perfect pushups. Almost time to dust off that P90 disc!
• Church service. We had a new volunteer today. Welcome Nick!

First time in at least 3-months I was able to do back-to-back weight training. It’s not a recommended plan to do the same body part in consecutive days, but it’s just been so long since I’ve been able to throw up any weights without severe, sharp pain in my left shoulder, I just couldn’t help myself. This morning, I still felt that familiar chest pump. Only one word … Yes! Life lesson #41 – Severe, sharp pains allow us time to slow down, reevaluate, and get a new plan.

Weight 171.5

Today’s Meals:

• 8am – Made a 16 ounce, but still full from the previous day’s pizza slices. Only drank 8 ounces and saved the remaining for my 10am snack. As far as snacks go, this will be a perfect one. Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder. Rather than a straw, used a spoon because I added 1 tbs of Diamond chopped walnuts. Herbalife supplements (Multivitamin, Cell Activator, Celluloss, Herbalifeline, Joint Support, Xtra Cal). Also took a Nature’s Made B6
• 10am – Remaining 8 oz from this morning. Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder.
• 12:15pm – Visited parents and had a childhood favorite! Mom’s homemade fried rice and egg. She also cooked up some crispy tofu wedges.
• 3:45pm – 1 slice of Pizza Guys White Garlic Sauce with pineapple and mushroom. McCormick’s red chili flakes. 1 Kind Plus Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate bar. Herbalife supplements (Multivitamin, Cell Activator, Celluloss, Herbalifeline, Joint Support, Xtra Cal, Garden 7)
• 7:45pm – 3 slices of Pizza Guys White Garlic Sauce with pineapple and mushroom. Poured McCormick’s red chili flakes.

Meal 1 and Meal 2.1

Meal 2

Food and no exercise

Today’s Activities:

• Visited parents! 

Ok, not quite Moses and the flood, but we both move by faith. By faith, Moses risked losing everything for the promises of God. By faith, I say I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Life lesson #40 – for those who say there is no such thing as faith, the next time you sit in a chair or drive on the freeway, you should believe otherwise.

Today’s Meals:

• 7:30am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder. Rather than a straw, used a spoon because I added 1 tbs of Diamond chopped walnuts. Herbalife supplements (Multivitamin, Cell Activator, Celluloss, Herbalifeline, Joint Support, Xtra Cal). Also took a Nature’s Made B6 — it’s a vegetarian thang!
• 11:30am –  Chinese food leftovers. 1 1/2 servings of general sesame tofu with steamed broccoli. 1/2 serving of steamed broccoli. 1/2 serving of vegetable chow mein. 8 ounces of water with 1/2 oz of Herbalife Herbal Aloe Concentrate Mango.
• 3:45pm – Pizza Guys White Garlic Sauce with pineapple and mushroom (5 slices). Added red chili flakes to each slice. Took 2 Herbalife Thermobond tablets with 8 ounces of water and Herbal Concentrate Tea. 1/2 Power Crunch Cookies and Cream 
• 9:15pm – Pizza Guys White Garlic Sauce with pineapple and mushroom (2 slices). 1/2 Power Crunch Cookies and Cream. Herbalife supplements (Multivitamin, Cell Activator, Celluloss, Herbalifeline, Joint Support, Xtra Cal, Garden 7).

Meal 2 and 4

Meal 3

Food and exercise

Today’s Activities:

• 5 continuous sets, no rest between, triceps and chest
• Chest. Floor dumbbell presses. Slow down for the negative burn and explode up. It’s time to build up bulk again!
  • 1 set, 15 reps (35 lbs)
  • 5 sets, 14 reps (50 lbs)
• Triceps. (5 sets, 16 reps each set). Floor triceps, P90X style. Lie on side and cross arm over the body and use your body weight to push up. Repeat on the other side. For the right tricep, I can actually throw my body weight up. For the left tricep, just getting my left arm across my body to get into position for the movement is major progress. I wasn’t able to do this just 2 weeks ago.
  
• Shoulders. Attempted standing “V” presses with 20 pound weights. After the 3rd rep, I  had to put the weights down. The pain in my left shoulder didn’t allow me to continue.
• Walk to Target and back.

Walk to the Store

Everytime I approach anything that involves 40 days, I can’t help but remember Moses. 40 days, 40 nights. Jesus fasted and was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. The number 40 has biblical significance. So knowing that, I study why? I know the point of these entries is to log my daily food and exercise as I prepare for my first marathon. But on a whole, the big picture, is that life is also a marathon and I need to learn along the way.

Forty ultimately represents a period of testing and in the bible, from Old Testament to New Testament, it always ends with a period of renewal. Interestingly enough, the Saturday night’s half-marathon was a significant period of testing and I am hopeful and thankful that there is a promise of renewal at the end. Life lesson #39 – after every season of trial, there comes a season of revival.

Weight. 7:15am – 173. 10:30am – 171.5.

Today’s Meals:

• 7:30am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder. Rather than a straw, used a spoon because I added 1 tbs of Diamond chopped walnuts.
• 11:30am –  Chipotle leftover veggie fajita burrito bowl. Guac and sour cream on the side. Finished 4 ounces of Herbalife shake from this morning as well. My wife is on vacation and I’m not accustomed to making a single serving shake.
• 3:30pm – 1 cup of Honey Nut Cheerios with 1 cup of Blue Diamond almond milk.
• 5:15pm – Chinese food. 1 1/2 servings of general sesame tofu with steamed broccoli. 1 serving of steamed broccoli. 1 serving of vegetable chow mein.
• 9:45pm – Nestle Drumstick

Meal 1 and 2

Meals 2.1, 3, and 3.1

Food and exercise

 Today’s Activities:

• 5 continuous sets, no rest between, shoulders, biceps, and chest
• Chest. Floor dumbbell presses. (1 set 15 reps, remaining 14 reps). Started at 35 to warm up with 15 reps. Then 40, 45, 50, 60. Even 60 is very doable. It is just the first movement to get the weights off the floor to press position. I would be able to do 80 pounds, given the right spot.
• Shoulders. (16 reps each set — used bands). 5 sets of standard “V” presses in a controlled movement.
• Biceps. (16 reps each set).
  • 1st set (static arm curls 20 lbs)
  • 2nd set (in-and-out curls 22.5 lbs)
  • 3rd set (one arm concentration curls 25 lbs)
  • 4th set (one arm concentration curls 25 lbs)
  • 5th set (in-and-out curls 25 lbs)

Two weeks ago, I wasn’t able to use weights for bicep exercises due to pain in my right shoulder. Measurable progress in the range of motion. Why? Physical therapy appears to be helping, but it has only been 3 hospital sessions. It is the home sessions that are reaping the biggest benefits — I have been forcing my range of motion to a point of high pain levels, but from what I was told, I can’t do any more damage. I’m no where near my peaks of P90X weights, but pressing towards those.

• Walked to dinner. This 6-minute walk will make a difference. I learned this trick during my last Hawaiian vacation. Walk to and from the restaurant and you can have appetizers and desserts … in somewhat of a moderation too!

Will Walk For Food

Dropped off my wife to the airport and she’s on her way with a girlfriend to the beautiful island of … Hawaii. You’re suppose to read that in your best Price Is Right prize announcer voice. Not a long vacation, but I will miss her. She is my best friend and who wouldn’t miss their best friend? Life lesson #38 – Don’t hesitate to tell the world you miss your wife.

Weight. At 7:15am, I weighed 172. At 11:50am, I weighted 169.5.

Money Saving and Weight Loss Tip! Buy a footlong sandwich. Eat 6″ now. Eat 6″ later. You get to enjoy two meals and you only paid one price.

Yahoo! had an article today regarding a new daily protein requirement using your ideal weight.

Use this formula from Caroline Apovian, MD, to determine the minimum amount of protein you should eat daily to offset muscle loss–and protect your metabolism–while you lose weight.

STEP 1 Estimate your ideal weight. “If you’re a woman, start with 100 pounds for the first 5 feet in height, and add 5 pounds for every extra inch,” says Dr. Apovian. “For men, it’s 106 pounds for 5 feet in height, plus 6 pounds for every additional inch. However, if your ideal weight is less than 120 pounds, don’t eat less than 82 g of protein daily.”

STEP 2 Ideal Weight (in lb) ÷ 2.2 = Ideal Weight (in kg)

STEP 3 Ideal Weight (in kg) × 1.5 = Daily Protein Goal (in g)

Based on this formula, I should be at 105 grams of protein per day. Today I was at 139 grams. I reviewed the last 7 days … I am averaging 108 grams per day. Pretty interesting … coincidence, I think not! Take some time to figure yours out!

Today’s Meals:

• 7:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder.
• 9:30am – Detour Bar Caramel Peanut 30grams of protein, low sugar
• 10:20am – 1 stick of Herbalife24 Hydrate in 12 ounces of water. Drank 6 ounces.
• 11am – Drank remaining 6 ounces of Herbalife24 Hydrate
• 12:30pm – Subway 6″ Veggie Delite on sourdough (tomato, lettuce, spinach, onions, bell peppers, pickles, pepperchinos, light on the mayo and mustard, and salt and pepper. I over-made our Herbalife shakes this morning so I had an extra 4 ounces. Added 4 slices of Morning Star bacon. Finished off with a See’s Candy Milk Chew (like a Snickers, but way better).
• 3pm – Remaining Subway 6″ Veggie Delite. Added 2 slices of Morning Star bacon and a Morning Star chicken patty. Also ate 1/3 bag (1 serving) of banana chips we purchased during our last trip to Maui.
• 7pm – Chipotle veggie fajita burrito bowl. Guac and sour cream on the side, along with the tortilla. I finished half the bowl, guac, and sour cream. I finished the entire tortilla and had 9 Trader Joe’s Pita chips.

Meal 2 – Subway and See’s

Meal 3 – Subway

Meal 4 – Chipotle

Food and exercise

Today’s Activities

• 11:20am – Ramp runs and sprint home. This is my first run after Saturday night’s half-marathon. After that race, I was actually questioning whether I wanted to even attempt another half, let alone a full. Today was my effort to get my joy of running back. Here’s a video of today’s route. Herbalife Run

First Run Post Half-Marathon

Stepped on the scale this morning and was somewhat surprised at 172.5. I even did a step-off-step-on maneuver as if I was in an 80s step aerobics class just to double check. Checked the previous day’s meal and caloric intake and I was actually in a deficit. So, who knows and I won’t spend anymore time trying to figure out things beyond my pay grade. I will however continue to be mindful. Life lesson #37 – sometimes you can do the right things and still get the wrong results. The key is our attitudes when this happens.

Today’s Meals:

• 8:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 1 cup of raw cabbage, 1/2 cup of Costco Organic Frozen Blueberries, 4 large Costco strawberries, and 1/2 frozen banana. 2 scoops of Formula 1 and 2 scoops of Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder.
• 10:15am – Odwalla Mango Super Protein 1/4 of the remaining bottle
• 11:55am – Spaghetti Factory leftovers. Gluten-free Manager’s Special half mizithra cheese – half mushroom. Microwaved a Boca Chicken Patty and finished the Sprite I opened on Sunday. Herbalife supplements (Multivitamin, Herbalineline, Cell Activator, Male Factor, Total Control, Garden 7, and Joint Support)
• 3pm – Leftover Chinese food. 1 serving of Singapore Tofu noodles and 1 serving of Sesame General Tofu with 1/2 cup of fresh brocolli. Also had a piece of Amber Lynn sugar-free milk chocolate.
• 5:30pm – Johnny Rockets. 1 Original Veggie Route 66 with no cheese and only 1/2 bun. This is what I usually do anyway … started eating 1/2 bun years ago before the big “carb craze”. I find the burger is better balanced. Half order of bottomless fries. And the last thing your bottom will be is less if you eat fries bottomless anything! Life lesson #37 – understand the power of moderation or you may fall into a bottomless pit. 

Meal 2

Meal 3

Meal 4

Food and exercise

Today’s Activities:

• 5 continuous sets, no rest between, shoulders, biceps, and chest
• Chest. Floor dumbbell presses. (14 reps each set — 25, 35, 45, 50, 60). I am getting stronger even though I haven’t done this movement in about 10 days. I would be able to do 80 pound presses, but my only hurdle is getting the weight from the floor to a press position for the first press. Need a spot or I’d end up being a spot on the floor when it comes tumbling down.
• Shoulders. (14-16 reps each set — used bands). 3 sets of standard “V” presses in a controlled movement. “V” press and then alternating right then left to make 1 set (repeat for the final set).
• Biceps. (10-16 reps each set). My last 3 times curling, I used a combination of two bands because my left shoulder would hurt in certain directions. Today, was not that day. I’ve been really stretching it and it appears to be paying off. Used dumbbells. 2 sets of in-and-out curls using 25 pound weights for 16 reps. 2 sets of one arm concentration curls  using 25 pounds for 10 reps. 1 set of static arm curls using 25 pounds for 10 reps.