Took some time to review the past week MyFitnessPal entries. First thought … I eat like a guy on death row! More reasonable thought … routines and schedules play a significant role in a successful wellness program.

I am like the Einstein of breakfast. Fact or fiction, Einstein had a closet full of the same clothing options to simplify his life. Of course, he’s the same guy who said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Eating the same breakfast every single day certainly has simplified my meal plan and I would also suggest has kept me from making repeated poor choices. Chalk one up for routines!

I also noticed that I am really digging this Filipino suman as a high protein and low calorie snack. And regarding snacks, I eat a lot of them. Sometimes my snack caloric output is higher than my main meals, but key, it looks like I get a lot of my protein from snacks.

Life lesson #61 – Don’t make simple things difficult.

Morning weight 170.

Today’s Meals:

• 8:30am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Garden 7
• 10:30am – Filipino Suman
• 12:15pm – 2 El Monterey bean burritos and a bag of Doritos
• 5:15pm – One of a Kind bar Dark Chocolate Nuts and sea salt
• 6:00pm – Herbalife24 Hydrate
• 6:30pm – Post Run Drink
  • Herbalife24 Rebuild Endurance
  • Herbalife Instant Chocolate Formula 1
• 8:15pm – Leftover Pasta. My wife doctored it up with more mushroom. Eat your heart out Mario Batali.
  • Trader Joe’s Organic fusilli pasta – Imported from Italy
  • 1 1/2 corn on the cob with butter and paprika
  • Squash and zucchini sauteed in olive oil and a little butter

Meal 1.1

Meal 2

Meal 3

Today’s Activities:

• Fun Run. Dropped off wife at the hair salon and I hit the pavement in a resounding, “Meet you back at the house!” Thank God that I brought along another running buddy in the form of Herbalife24 Hydrate. It was a humid and windy 84-degrees. The last 2 .5 miles were in a headwind. Actually got sunburned on my face. 

Fun Run in the some heat and wind

Friday, 08-09-2013

Interesting article on Yahoo! “Worthless Fitness Tips You Probably Follow”  and yes, they are right. I did follow the stretching before a workout routine for at least 2 decades, but when I started to seriously train for run distance, I noticed I would fatigue quicker into my training so guess what I did, I stopped downward dogging and cobra-ing before a long run. Even a short, faster pace run. I just stopped stretching. Turns out, even without a Ph.D. or R.D.N. or a goodnight stay at a Holiday Inn, I knew my level of fitness decreased with a pre-workout stretch.

To Stretch or Not To Stretch

Science and studies say 8.3 percent. I would have guessed 8.4, but again, I don’t have a Ph.D. in this stuff.

Life lesson #60 – listen to your body, it may be telling you something very important.

Morning weight 170.5

Today’s Meals:

• 8am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale.
• 10:30am – Banana and 1 Graham Cracker
• 12:45pm – Mom-made Favorites
  • Homemade vegetable and tofu tempura. Mom makes it very tasty … restaurant worthy. Thin slices of vegetables and tofu are her secret to a longer lasting crispy edge and no “soggies”. Soggies are the limp tempura you see at some restaurants and because she cooks it thin, the batter is cooked all the way through.
  • 1 Vita Coco juice box
• 5:30pm – Bean, cheese, and rice burrito. Small side of sour cream and guacamole.
• 9:45pm – Kikkoman – Chinese Style Egg Flower Hot and Sour Soup (3 cups)

Meal 2

Meal 3

Meal 4

Food and Windows

Today’s Activities:

• Visited parents and washed their exterior 1st floor windows. No before and after photos here, but trust me, there will be many a bird that flys into these babies very soon. 3 1/2 hours.

Thursday, 08-08-2013

At the beginning of this week, I set my mind to exercise Monday-Friday. I didn’t make any decisions on Saturday, but we’ll see. For now, focusing on Monday-Friday and as of Wednesday, I am on track. There’s still plenty of week left to get a run in.

Life lesson #59 – Take time to re-set your mind on your goals.

Morning weight 171.5

Today’s Meals:

• 8:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
  • Total Control
  • Garden 7
• 10:45am – Filipino suman with 2 tbsp of Skippy Chunky peanut butter. If you’ve never tried this, what are you waiting for other than I’ve never seen it sold in any restaurant in America. Just a small hurdle for something that warms the soul! It’s a snack. It’s a dessert. It’s delicious.
• 12:30pm – Leftover Pasta, 1 fresh fig,  and Herbalife Herbal Concentrate Tea
  • 1/2 serving of Tofu Shirataki
  • 1 serving of Trader Giott’s Organic Pasta penne rigate
  • 1 serving of homemade mushroom pasta sauce
  • 2 squash wedges
  • 3 fresh mozzarella “ciligiene”
• 2:50pm – One of Kind Dark Chocolate Nuts and Sea Salt bar
• 5:30pm – Vietnamese Tofu bánh mì sandwich.
• 9:30pm – 1 1/2 cups of Gourmet Popcorn Chicago Mix

Meal 1.1

Meal 2

Meal 2 (beverage)

Meal 3

Today’s Activities:

•  Chest. Flat dumbbell press. Slow down and explode up. Rebuilding size.
  • 1st set, 16 reps, 30 lbs
  • 2nd set, 20 reps, 40 lbs
  • 3rd-6th set, 20 reps, 50 lbs

Wednesday, 08-07-2013

Well since Friday, it seems like it’s been one long buffet table. Don’t believe me, look at my food logs and pictures. I’m a big believer in 5 small meals per day as part of a healthy eating regiment, but even though I’ve been following this plan, it still feels like I’m eating all day long. Every time I look up, I’m sitting in my chair at the food table.

My wife and I were cracking up and commenting, “I sure do eat a lot” and I have been “feeling” so full lately. Life lesson #58 – you can’t always trust your feelings. Feelings are fickle and can change based on emotions. You know this … think about a time where you did something in the spur of the moment without thought. Ok, you get it now.

Trust facts. Here’s the facts … Morning weight 169. Yesterday’s weight 170.5. The takeaway … you can eat like a king and lose weight like a pauper.

 Today’s Meals:

• 7:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale.
• 10am – Justins Organic Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
• 10:30am – Filipino Suman with Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter
• 12:15pm – Round Table (Buffet!)
  • 1 small salad with mixed greens and spinach and scoops of beets, garbanzo beans, cheddar cheese, sunflowers, baby corn all with a 1/2 scoop of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
  • 5 veggie pizza slices. Sounds like a lot, but you know how they cut them during a buffet. This is equivalent to a single bite of a Costco pizza!
• 3:10pm – Herbalife Herbal Concentrate Tea (8 ounces of water) with a single Stevia in the Raw packet
• 6:30pm – Post Run Drink
  • Herbalife24 Rebuild Endurance
  • Herbalife Formula 1 Instant Creamy Chocolate
• 7:30pm – Pasta night! Trying something new tonight … Tofu Shirataki, a spaghetti shaped noodle substitute. And just to be safe, we’re matching it with an old favorite, Trader Giotto’s Organic Pasta penne rigate. The verdict … Tofu Shirataki tastes just fine, but don’t smell it without any sauce. It will turn you off immediately. Overall, taste is fine and you are suppose to be able to eat a larger portion of it, but it doesn’t have that al dente texture you want in a fine pasta. The grade = B-
  • 2 full servings of pasta
  • 2 big scoops of homemade mushroom sauce with Boca Ground Crumbles
  • 4 squash wedges in olive oil
  • 3 broccoli pieces
  • 4 fresh mozzarella balls “Ciligiene” from Nugget Market

Meal 1.1

Meal 2

Meal 3

Pasta Brands

Food and exercise

Today’s Activities:

• Physical therapy session number 4 with Doug or I like to call this time, 30 minutes of pleasure! Get your mind out of the gutters y’all!
  • Left side. Range of motion has increased from 20% to 40% in some areas. More tugging, pulling, and stretching … continue as outlined. My home therapies are moving the progress along very well.
  • Ride side. Today was a special day because I got a heat rub application to the right neck. Felt like I should tip the guy afterwards because it provided so much relief to my right side.
• Run. 3-mile quick run. Dropped off my wife at the grocery store and she was supportive enough to give me the green light to leave the shopping cart pushing duties. Thank you! And off I go. The goal today was a quick 3-mile run and based on my splits, the goal was met. I was very happy to have each mile faster than the first. Building endurance.

Food and exercise

 Tuesday, 08-06-2013

(Monday) … My wife pulled a legitimate Ferris Bueller today and we got to extend our weekend for another day together. One of the benefits of having her home is the meals are upgraded significantly.

I felt like one of those Nursery Rhyme characters who get constantly fed treats to hefty them up in preparation for a future banquet where I would be the main course. Don’t get me wrong … absolutely not complaining. Especially since my original plan of Friday leftovers for Monday microwave-madness was put on hold.

But now, with all the eating, it actually feels like somebody punched me in the stomach and then forced me to participate in the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest (veggie of course). Time to put Herbalife’s Mango Aloe to the test!

Life lesson #57 – Be flexible with your day when someone surprises you. If you have to put on a pair of stretchy-buffet ready pants, so be it.

Morning weight 170.5

Today’s Meals:

• 8:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
• 12pm – Homemade tofu classic with Herbalife Tea
  • 5 fried tofu slices breaded in gluten-free flour
  • 1 serving of fresh brocolli
  • 1 serving of fresh carrots
  • 1/2 cup of rice
  • 1 corn on the cob with butter and paprika
• 3:30pm – 3 celery sticks with 1 tbsp of Skippys Chunky peanut butter
• 3:40pm – 1 cup of Gourmet Popcorn, Chicago Mix (Caramel & Cheese)
• 4:45pm – Herbalife Tea
• 5pm – Repeat of lunch (meal 2) with a side order of an egg. Still very full from the previous eating. But it is noteworthy, even if you are full, keep to your schedule. Always feed the body regularly.
  • 1 fried tofu
  • 1/4 serving of carrots
  • 1 broccoli
  • 1 fried egg
  • 1/4 cup of rice
• 5:25pm – Herbalife Herbal Aloe Concentrate Mango (8 ounces of water and a quick pour of the aloe)
• 7:45pm – 4 sips of 7-up (at the movies). Things just taste better at the movie theatre. It must be the darkness … you have to rely on all your other senses.
• 9:45pm – 1 Justins Organic dark chocolate peanut butter cup
• 9:50pm – 1 bowl of Filipino suman

Meal 2

Meal 2.1

Meal 3

Meal 3.1 and 3.1a

Today’s Activities:

• P90X variations to compensate for left shoulder pain. In this order. 1 minute rest between sets. It feels so good to do a push up again!
  • 1st Movement
    • Chest. Standard push-up, 20 reps
    • Shoulders. “V” shoulder press with 20 lbs, 10 reps
    • Biceps. In-and-out curls with 20 lbs, 16 reps
  • 2nd Movement
    • Chest. Wide fly push-ups, 25 reps
    • Shoulders. Alternating shoulder press with 20 lbs, 16 reps (8 per side)
    • Biceps. Static arm curls, 20 lbs, 16 reps (8 per side)
  • 3rd Movement
    • Chest. Military press, 25 reps
    • Shoulders. Arnold Schwarzenegger press, 20 lbs, 10 reps
    • Biceps. Full supination concentration curls, 25 lbs, 16 reps (8 per side)
  • 4th Movement
    • Chest. Diamond push-ups, 25 reps
    • Shoulders. Deep swimmers press, 20 lbs, 16 reps
    • Biceps. Crouching Cohen Curls, 25 lbs, 16 reps
  • 5th Movement
    • Chest. 2 Twitch speed push-ups. 5 fast, 5 slow to a 5 second count. Did 20 total reps with these and then finished off with 5 fast.
    • Shoulders. Alternating shoulder press, 20 lbs, 16 reps (8 per side)
    • Biceps. Twenty-ones, 17.5 lbs. 7 reps (low to midline), 7 reps (midline to full), 7 reps (full motion)

Monday, 08-05-2013 

Off to San Francisco to support my auntie and her first-time invite to the American Craft Council Show and it just happens that world-famous, Zagat rated, Greens is right next door. Oh darn! Love the Fort Mason area … if you’re not from around here, Google it, then Travelocity It, then Visit It!

Fort Mason, S.F. (Farmer’s Market)

Sunday morning was filled with farmer’s markets, tourists eating loaved-artisan breads, and talk about vegetarian friendly. On this particular day, along with all the other wonderful San Francisco-based “onlies” (meaning, only in San Francisco), I stumbled upon my very first fresh vegetarian dumpling site. They do exist!

Life lesson #56 – Just because you have never seen something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Faith is a powerful thing!

Morning weight 171.5

TODAY’S MEALS:

• 7:20am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
• 10:30am – Kind Almond & Coconut Bar
• 11:30am – Farmer’s Market Samples. The Belani Booth is an all-time favorite. Stood in line at Happy Dumplings simply because their menu said, “Vegetarian Dumpling” which when we got to the front of the line, quickly turned into “We’re all out”
• 11:55am – Greens Restaurant
  • Heirloom Tomato Sandwich (1/2 sandwich). Split the vegan sandwich with my wife. Avocado, romesco, lettuce, spinach and arugula on herb loaf.
• 2:30pm – Greens Restaruant
  • Yellow Fin Potato Griddle Cakes with spring onions, asiago, parsley and chives. Served with Rolling Oaks Ranch eggs over easy, romesco, salsa verde and coquillos olives.
  • Mesquite Grilled Brochettes (mushroom, Mariquita Farm potatoes, peppers, white corn, summer squash, red onions and Hodo Soy tofu with muhammara sauce and picked beets) – 1 skewer
  • Peach raspberry galette with peach raspberry sauce and vanilla bean ice cream (1/2 dish – shared with my wife)
• 5:30pm – Doritos Nacho Cheese (1 bag)
• 7:30pm – Vietnamese Rice Noodle with tofu, mock ham, and an egg.

Meal 1.1

Meal 1.2

Meal 2

Meal 3

Food and San Francisco

TODAY’S ACTIVITIES:

• Family time in San Francisco’s Fort Mason Pier. Walked and laughed through farmer’s markets.
• Supported my aunt in her debut at the American Craft Council Show
• Watched some practice runs of the America’s Cup. The Prada catamaran was zipping across the open seas.
• Not sure if this counts, but I sure did eat like a King!

Rise and shine … after a pseudo Breaking Bad Season 5 marathon on Netflix, feeling a bit like Jesse Pinkman after a Season 4 relapse. But, some things never change. Even as a kid, I was always up early on Saturdays to see what Schoolhouse Rock could teach me about ‘Being a Bill’ or the ‘Adverb Train’ and seamlessly move into the next stop, “All Aboard the Soul Train!”

Life lesson #55 – Hop aboard the soul train and get up offa that thang! (James Brown)

Morning weight 171.5

Today’s Meals:

• 8:30am – 1 1/2 serving of homemade fried rice and 1 1/2 servings of scrambled eggs
• 9:30am – Herbalife24 Hydrate (1 stick in 16 ounces of water)
• 11:45am – Taco Bell
  • Black bean burrito
  • Chalupa, no meat – sub beans
  • 6 packets of hot sauce
• 3:45pm – Gourmet Popcorn – Chicago Mix (1 cup)
• 5:30pm – Burma Superstar
  • Tea Leaf Salad (Featured on Food Network). Order it! Delicious … one of the best salads I’ve ever eaten. Those fried garlic peanuts are unique
  • Vegetable Curry Delux. Burma Superstar’s special curry made with tomatoes, squash, eggplant, lentils, and tofu
  • Coconut rice (recommended by the server)
  • Burmese Vegetarian Samusas. Burmese raviolis hand wrapped and filled with curry spices, potatoes, deep fried, and served with house special sauce.
• 7:15pm – Ici Ice Creamery
  • 1 scoop of vanilla-dark chocolate-caramel swirl
  • sugar cone
  • 1 peanut butter bon bon

Meal 2

Meal 3

Meal 3.1

Food and exercise

Today’s Activities:

• 9:45am – Morning run. Up and over the ramp overpass (my mock hill runs). The last 0.5 miles, I included 4 dirt hill runs to access the main path. Maybe I was just really thirsty today, but that Hydrate drink really hit the spot.

Ramp runs with my wife

Wow! This is one of those weeks that just flew by. I find myself saying, “Wow, before I know it, it will be Christmas.” I’ve had these weeks before and of course, weeks that I say, “What! It’s only Tuesday?” So reflecting on the week to see if there is a way to duplicate this speed, I find this. Everything was scheduled. Every minute was occupied with productive moments. And we slept at a reasonable hour.

For the most part, the scheduling and occupation aren’t typically an issue. Now, sleep on the other hand is somewhat of a Big Foot in our household. Very elusive! Only seen by a select few! We did much better this week … in bed by 11:30 and up by 7:30. No wonder the week flew by … 40 hours (8 X 5) of them were spent with my eyes shut.

Morning weight 170.5

Life lesson #54 – A healthy plan includes pajamas.

So, with that said. Check out what why my wife stayed up until 4am and why I wasn’t able to make shakes this morning.

Layered Cake

Today’s Meal:

• 9:10am – McDonalds. 1 Sausage McMuffin with no sausage and no butter. Removed the top muffin and replaced it with a hashbrown. Three words – De-Lish-Us. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
  • Joint Support
  • Male Factor 1000
  • Ultimate Prostate
  • Total Control
• 1:30pm – Microwave Madness!
  • Seeds of Change – Organic Quinoa and Whole Grain Brown Rice with garlic (1 cup)
  • Quorn Meatless and soy-free chik’n tenders (1 cup)
  • 1 fresh fig
  • 1/4 tablespoon of Herbalife Herbal Aloe Concentrate Mango in 8 ounces of water
• 3:20pm – Gourmet Popcorn – Chicago Mix – Caramel and Cheese (1 cup)
• 5:50pm – Jade Chinese Restaurant
  • 1 1/2 servings General Sesame Tofu (extra crispy and less sauce)
  • 1 serving of Chinese water spinach in garlic sauce
  • 1/2 cup of steamed rice
  • 3 vegetarian egg rolls
• 10:30pm – Dessert
  • Peach cobbler slice
  • 1 1/2 scoops of Crystal vanilla ice cream

Meal 1

Meal 1.1

Meal 2

Meal 2.1

Meal 3

Meal 4

Food and exercise

Today’s Activities:

• P90X movements – Chest and Shoulders. For shoulders, attempted actual pull-ups. Unable due to pain in the left shoulder. Used resistance bands, but I even see improvement here. Just a week ago, it would still hurt and there was a lot of shaking on my left side when I fully extended. Today was quite the opposite. Full extension on shoulder presses with no pain and no shaking. In this order … 
  • Regular Pushups, 25 reps
  • “V” Shoulder Press (using lower tension resistance band), 16 reps
  • Regular Pushups, 25 reps
  • Shoulder Press (using lower tension resistance bands), 16 reps
  • Decline Pushups, 25 reps
  • Alternating Shoulder Press (using higher tension resistance bands), 10 reps per side
  • Diamond Pushups, 25 reps
  • Straight arm, in-and-out, flys, with a pitcher pour on the outward movement. 16 reps with 8 lb weights. 1 rep = all 3 movements.
  • Regular Pushups, 25 reps
  • “V” Shoulder Press (using higher tension resistance bands), 16 reps
  • Wide Fly Pushups, 20 reps. NOTE – felt left shoulder pain on these. Not fatique-related. It’s that shooting pain.
  • Shoulder Press (using lower tension resistance bands), 16 reps
  • Decline Pushups, 20 reps. NOTE – felt left shoulder shooting pain on these.
  • Alternating Shoulder Presses (using higher tension resistance bands), 10 reps per side
  • Diamond Push Ups, 25 reps
  • Straight arm, in-and-out flys, with a pitcher pour on the outward movement. 16 reps with 8 lb weights. 1 rep = all 3 movements.

Yesterday, with all the running around doing planned and unplanned errands, there were no weights lifted and no roads ran. So, I made a declaration of “I Will Run Tomorrow (today)” … like my friend George Zimmer (not to be confused with the guy who literally got away with murder) “I Guarantee It!”

Life lesson #53 – Personal accountability stops the blame game so you can get off excuse train! 

So tomorrow is today and today is here! After deciphering that Riddler-like statement, with my Brooks PureCadence 2 running shoes and iPhone Apps, off I went into the wild blue yonder. The marathon is coming — it’s just around the corner, so I did a 4 fast and 1 slow mile run. I’ve read so many articles on Yahoo! daily news feeds regarding this type of run — it is an endurance builder. Not going out on a limb, but I’m assuming after 26.2 miles, endurance can be an issue. I’ve participated in I believe 5 half-marathons now and I don’t remember seeing the casual runner come across the finish line saying, “I’m ready to do that again!” So yes, I will build endurance.

Morning weight 170. Post run weight 167.5

Public Service Announcement

Are you a runner? For $6, do you upgrade at each organized race to the technical shirt? Well, me too. I think someone’s about to report me to Stacy and Clinton from What Not To Wear fame because it seems I’ve been wearing them a lot. With jeans. With running shorts. With regular shorts. Commando. Ok, too much. I know. I’ve gone too far.

But for all you runners, experienced, first-timers, or just curious to see why hudreds of people keep running by your house every other month, here’s my helpful tip. It’s not found on the care label, but bandaids! Probably a heed mostly for the fellas, but bandaids!

We guys know what it’s like to purposely forego gloves at the gym to build up calluses. Well, you definitely don’t need the irritation and callus build-up on the man-nips. I learned of this tip last year, thankfully before I learned the hard way. I learned that BYOB meant Bring Your Own BandAids, but a friend of mine spared a few and spared me some serious pain!

And I quote from one of the other participants at Tough Mudder

My nipples are raw! It hurts so bad!

Don’t be Phil Shifley and fake your own death. Pop on the bandaids and you’ll thank me later. And together, we can force these manufacturers to properly label these technical shirts!

Technical Shirt Care Label sans WARNING!

Today’s Meals:

• 8:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. 1 cup of cabbage. 1 cup of kale. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
• 10am – Pre run hydration and meal
  • Herbalife24 Hydrate
  • Herbalife24 Prepare in 10 ounces of water with a dash of Herbalife Herbal Aloe Concentrate Mango
  • 1 medium banana
• 10:40am – During run fuel. Around mile 3.1, I ate 2 shots back-to-back to get ready for my fast push home. It worked. My last mile was almost as fast as my early miles.
  • 2 Clif Bar Chocolate Shots 
• 11:45am – Post run recovery in 10 ounces of water
  • Herbalife24 Rebuild Endurance (2 scoops)
  • Herbalife Instant Healthy Meal Chocolate (1/2 scoop for flavor)
  • Herbalife Joint Support
• 2:45pm – Need more protein! Feeling a little weak. Actually weighed myself and down to 167.5. Burning too much and too fast for my plan.
  • Sinagong vegetarian. 1 serving. 1 serving of Quorn Chicken Bites (fried yesterday, microwaved today). 1 cup of rice.
  • 2 fresh figs
• 5:35pm – Hong Sen Tofu (Vietnamese All-Vegetarian Noodle House)
  • 1 Mock Beef/Chicken House Special Soup with Rice Noodle. Mild this time, but the last dozen, spicy. Had plans afterwards and quite frankly, I didn’t bring an extra shirt! And no lemon grass.
  • 1 Mock chicken cutlets
  • 1 Mock shrimp and veggie spring roll with peanut sauce
  • 1/4 cup of rice
• 7pm – Leatherbys Ice Creamery. They actually gave me 3 spoons. Should I be offended?
  • Rita’s Strawberry Shortcake. Instead of vanilla ice cream, I opted for banana nut ice cream.

Meal 1

Pre Run Fuel Meal 1.1

Post run fuel Meal 2

Meal 2.1

Meal 3

Meal 4

Food and exercise

Today’s Activities:

•  10:25am – 5.02 mile run at a 8:58 mile pace. Building endurance so I did 4 fast and 1 slow. Mile 4 was the slower so I could kick for my last and 5th mile.
• 11:10am – .31 mile cool down walk home. When I got home, did a series of hamstring stretches and side bends to stretch and elongate my body. Those stretches sound so technical, but ultimately, I just stretch afterwards because it feels good and if there is any body part that feels like it needs it, find a way to stretch it.

Run with 2 Clif Bar Chocolate Shots

Passed a landmark yesterday … 50 straight days of pressing along, jotting down everything I eat, I do, and when I do it. Not sure how good of read it is for the public, but what I have reinforced something I’ve felt very strongly about for many, many years. 4-5 small and enjoyable meals per day with a good attitude and purposeful activity leads to a steady weight loss. Life lesson #51 – slow and steady beats fast and radical in the marathon of life.

Morning weight 169.5

Today’s Meals:

• 8:20am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Protein Shake. 5 oz of Healthy Balance Apple Juice, 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. 1 cup of spinach. Herbalife supplements:
  • Formula 2 Multivitamin
  • Formula 3 Cell Activator
  • Herbalifeline
  • Xtra-Cal Advanced
  • Mega Garlic Plus
• 10:30pm – Sinagong vegetarian. 1 1/2 servings and to appease my salty festish, 1 serving of Hawaiian Style Mango Habanero chips. 1 cup of rice.
• 1:40pm – Sinagong vegetarian. 1 1/2 servings. 1 cup of rice. 1/2 Power Crunch Cookies & Cream bar.
• 3pm – 1/2 Power Crunch Cookies & Cream Bar.
• 5:30pm – Macy Taste Bar
  • 1 – 3 cheese panini
  • 1 pickle wedge
  • 1 bag of Miss Vickie’s Jalapeno Chips
• 9:30pm – Ikeda Peach Pie slice (warmed in the microwave) with a scoop of Crystal ice cream

Meal 1.1

Meal 2

Meal 3

Meal 4

Food and exercise

TODAY’S ACTIVITIES:

• It’s still early afternoon — I’ll be gone the rest of the evening so definitely no run in my immediate future, but I’m not quite throwing in the towel for a quick set of heavy weights.
•  Weights
  • Biceps. Needed mini breaks at the 4th and 5th sets.
    • 1st set, 16 reps, In-and-Out curls, 25 lbs
    • 2nd set, 16 reps, Static Arm curls, 25 lbs
    • 3rd set, 16 reps, In-and-Out curls, 25 lbs
    • 4th set, 16 reps, Isolation curls, 25 lbs
    • 5th set, 16 reps, Static Arm Curls, 25 lbs
  • Shoulder Dumbbell Presses. If you just glance at the number of reps and the total weight, you would wonder why this is even noteworthy. You may even be thinking, “Dude, nobody is watching you. Just embellish a little.” Well, if you have been following me for the last 50+ days, you know that this is significant progress. Even as little as 10 days ago, I had to quit after 1 set of 3 reps because of the shooting pain in my left shoulder. 
    • 5 sets, 6 reps, 20 lbs