Gaia

Wow, that would be a hard one to figure out being type 1 diabetic and trying to get down to low bodyfat. Though I do know that decades ago, insulin shots were the way to go to get rid of bodyfat easily (and not healthy as the individuals were not diabetic at all). Carb cycling sounds good to try next. But be careful that you don't go into starvation mode/preservation mode (where your body shuts down to only basal metabolism). Also look into your carbs. Try to keep the carbs whole instead of ground up (flours, meal, etc). And maybe only on your high carb day, then you can do the ground up/ fine milled grains/seeds/beans. Why I say that is because if I keep my grains whole, the body definitely doesn't get the rise in sugars from the fine particles entering the blood stream right away, the internal flora get a chance to eat and make by-products my body needs (B-12 for instance), and I do not digest all of it which means I saved some calories. Anyways that is my theory on that. Another thing you might want to look into, since you said visceral fat, is your emotional well-being. Fat stored there is usually from stress. You might need to do something you love to de-stress. Endorphins when exercising are great, but what to do when you are stressing from something in the moment, and you have to deal with it now. Emotional stress (and possibly physical stress from your workouts - make sure you are resting for recovery well) raises cortisol levels, and you might want to look into supplements (in addition to any physical skills of destressing - such as meditation) that could help you keep the cortisol levels down.

I would add lentils (green or red, though the green ones are bigger and have more of a transitional chew to them), and cashews (raw and unsalted). The lentils are good for a veggie soup (I just put what ever veggies in the fridge doesn't look the greatest to eat raw or cooked by itself), or take the cooked lentils and add tomato sauce with a drop of Agave (a sugar from the agave plant (cactus - yes, it is the same plant that they ferment down to tequila) and you have sloppy joes (put on the bread, toasted to get more of a chew). Cashews are great for cream of anything. Soups mainly for me. But a little bit of nutritional yeast and sea salt and you have a cheesy sauce for any veggie. Also the oil in the cashews are satisfying for the transition from the animal fat in meat to just plant oils. So I guess add on lentils agave tomato sauce cashews nutritional yeast

I wanted to say that I have trouble sleeping some nights too. It usually happens when I have calorie restricted my day. And what I mean with my no sleep, is that I basically pass out at the beginning, then wake up 3 hours later (around 2 AM) with the feeling that I want to go run outside and do something. I will go to the bathroom (even if I don't have to go, just to let that energetic feeling go into some action), then I will settle down in the bed and do some yoga deep breathing to slow the heart rate down, then do everything to get myself comfortable, and then I will get back to sleep. I also noticed that I have lost a pound or two the next day. My theory is that for some reason the body has switched to the stored fat to utilize for basal metabolism (basal or more - because the body is trying to repair the damage I have done during my workouts) as I sleep. And the body can't regulate it, so it is utilizing all this fat at once, and that is why I feel like I do when I wake up. With this theory in my head, I smile when I wake up instead of getting all worried about not enough sleep. This helps as I try to go back to sleep at night because thinking about not getting enough sleep AGAIN produces anxiety, which has a way of spiking your cortisol levels instantaneously. Cortisol is not good for leaning out because the body now has to decide whether to utilize the fat and keep it up at that rate (albeit unregulated correctly) , or go into shut down mode because it is forecasting calorie restriction for the next couple of days, aka starvation mode). Sometimes I will have a shot glass of juice (watered down, but enough so the taste buds can taste the sugar) to help the body not go into shut down mode, and it also seems to calm my body down - maybe it switches from the fat utilization for a little while to carb/sugar utilization from the little bit of sugar I just gave my body? This is just from my own experience. I also have high anxiety, but when I wake up at night from anxiety, it is usually because of stupid dreams/nightmares, and then I have to walk around and recover (definitely getting my adrenaline and cortisol levels down to normal) with my true reality of what is (my family sleeping soundly, the coldness of the weather, and what needs to be cleaned up tomorrow/chores).

Nice that the UK requires strict labeling of produce. The USA keeps trying, but the industry is just so big and strong - bullies. Make sure you are not overtraining. This has happened to me in the past (my younger years of bodybuilding). You should read Thrive by Brendan Brazier. He talks about the stresses that you have in your life that you have to balance: physical (which we call working out), emotional (the usual meaning of the word stress), nutritional (he advocates plant-based nutrient dense foods as opposed to processed foods with no real nutrients), and environmental (the toxins that are in your air, water, and living accommodations-home, car, outside, inside, etc). I had placed so much emphasis on physical stress, and was not aware at the time of my nutritional stress,or that I was not eating (or sleeping) correctly to compensate for my workouts. Which in turn caused me to have emotional stress (freaking out about why I was not able to push the weights, nor why I wasn't able to lose any bodyfat - also a sign of metabolic damage-my body had shut down to minimal calories and I was taking muscle mass to fuel my daily routine). And Michigan may have the Pure logo/mantra, but we have the highest use of pesticides in the US, so environmental issues I am sure were contributing. The Great Lakes are getting better, but while I was growing up, the Lakes were so polluted. Also about your yeast quest, do know that one can swap yeasts back and forth with anyone who also has an overgrowth of yeast in their body. I think you know where I am going with this one. Not just sexual body fluids, but any kind of mucus/saliva also.

When you throw in the words "I don't even drink alcohol anymore", I become a little concerned that you might have done too much damaged to your body, and are looking at the vegan diet to help you deal with it. It may help you heal some things inside your body, but not if you damaged some thing really bad. With that said, I will proceed to give advice now on fruit. I do not know if you are from the States, but there is a website EWG.org that I frequent when I question whether or not to buy organic fruit and veggies, or if they are OK to buy conventional. With fruit, I already know right away to always buy strawberries, grapes, peppers, and melons ORGANIC as they are high on the list of pesticide use. I wonder if they will come out with one for GMOs? - like I know soybean has to be ORGANIC to not be GMO. Personally I do not lump all GMOs together. I just want to stay away from the ones that insert the pesticide gene into the plant's genome because they haven't done much testing of what that protein (usually a protein) from the GMO gene, is inserted into the fruit. Or other toxins, in which scientists are just now finding out that certain GMO soybeans in certain regions have a concentrated level of formaldehyde in the soybean itself. Thus, look into your fruit and vegetables and see if you are eating high levels of some kind of toxin/pesticide. It might be acceptable to the average person, but you might have an underlying issue, and may be sensitive to them. For example, your liver is trying to repair itself still from your repeat use of alcohol, and now you are trying to help it by eating healthy, but if it is this food that has all these pesticides on it, and now you are eating an abundant supply of it, the liver has to deal with all those extra toxins. And then if you are losing weight, which can release old toxins, you might be asking too much of your liver. And also to remind you, ibprofen does damage the liver too. So if you are taking some kind of pain killer (NSAIDS) then you are once again asking your liver to convert the toxic by-product of ibprofen (a toxin), which may be too much for your liver again. Another thing you could look at is metabolic syndrome or even the next step after that, diabetes type 2, when talking with your doctor. Get the A1C test.

You need to do it slowly. You can't just start downing 4000 calories if you are use to 2500 calories. Your body won't be able to process it and it will just end up in the colon waiting to be exported out. I find eating every 2-3 hours to be most helpful. There is no mind set of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. It is meal 8 AM, 11 AM, 3 PM, 6 PM, and 9 PM for me. Also just wanted to mention the low fat. Make sure it is no fat. You will need the long chain fatty acids to be building blocks for your body to make testosterone/hormones/cholesterol. I have seeds, avocados, and wheat germ oil (due to the high squalene content) to get my oils in.

I tell clients when they start to clean up their diet, that they will detox for awhile . . sometimes up to 6 months. Detox is the fat letting go of the toxins it held within itself so the body could be isolated from the poison, but now you are utilizing the adipose tissue for energy (which can be why it hits you in mid session of exercise) and releasing all the toxins. And detoxing can feel like fatigue, like you have the flu, and weird tastes and smells can come up. All depends on what the body is currently detoxing itself from at the moment. Establishing new gut and intestinal bacteria/flora could also be happening. So you could be getting rid of old yeast and bacteria while establishing new bacteria and yeast.

Lost only a pound for this week, but I haven't pushed myself with the diet - just cleaned it up and regulated portion control. My main focus for the past week has been trying out a different workout routine. I have gotten into a routine just the past 3 days - which means I have been consistent and trying hard not to overtrain (my biggest worry as I have experienced this in the past). So On Tuesday I did Back and Biceps (which I have always done together when doing 2 bodyparts for 1 workout) in which I did a Back exercise for 3 sets with the last set being my PB, and then I went to the Bicep exercise for 3 sets with the last set being my PB. After doing the PB to keep my muscle mass, I then proceeded to do 4 sets of 25 reps with a low weight back to back (superset) for the two exercises (Back first, then right to the Bicep, and I was able to do it for 2 sets, but then had to walk around to get some energy back into me, and then finished with the last 2 sets). Then on Wednesday I would usually just stay at home and recover, but I decided to just go to the gym, hop on the elliptical for 30 minutes and do the 5K trail, and then was suppose to do some body weight only exercises, but I got so light headed and sweaty (my hair was drenched within 5 minutes) that I just got on the Stationary Bike and drank some juice water to get the glucose back up into my brain. Ummmm...overtraining already? Mind you, on those days I still did my 3 mile jog in the morning. Thursday was totally rest day. I even didn't go jogging in the morning. My body was sore and kind of achy in the joints. Just focused on recover and what I was eating that day (Pomegranates are in season here. Love how I have to "work" to get at those little fruit encased seeds!). Friday, jog 5 miles this time in the morning (feeling much better) and then I was able to do Legs and Delts that night at the gym. I was still able to do my PBs for my Legs, even though I jogged 5 miles instead of only 3 miles in the morning. I still took a walk around the gym as a break during my supersets (the routine for supersetting is now getting to be two 2 sets of 25 reps because my muscles are still running out of energy . . . . thought - maybe I need to do creatine again? Get the micronized form and put it in my workout drink. I shall wait till next week. See if I can establish the routine without it first. If not, then I will look into it and see if it helps). Saturday I was able to go to the gym, get on the elliptical for the 30 minutes/5K trail and not faint this time. I did 4 sets of 25 reps of back and bicep exercises that are fun and isolated with either body weight or low weights. And what I mean by that, is for example for a Back exercise (with the PB on the last set) is is Widebar Pulldown, and a fun one is light weight straight bar/arms with elbows locked front pressdown. Sunday was Chest and Biceps (favorite pairing) in a "nobody here but me and the music was off" gym . Creepy feeling. . . also hard to get motivated. This is why you have written down what you did last time, with the PB circled, and then you just do what you did last time, and then do the supersets of 4 sets for 25 reps added in. Just do. No thinking.

I did have leftover stuffing (three types of bread, EarthBalance, and walnuts - plus other veggies but those are OK for this eating plan) yesterday that would not be allowed anymore. So here I go. Official weigh in this morning was 164.4 lbs. My son reminded me that I have to go back to looking at all my macros. I am back to weighing my food, and writing it down. Tonight I will plug it into my Armstrong: MyPlate acct, and figure out my macros for the day. Since I am just starting back, I thought I would just eat a serving of whatever I am eating, and adjust accordingly as I go along. So far I did only a 3 mile jog this morning (in the 45 degree F drizzle here in Michigan - it stopped pretty much thru my jog, but as I came up the driveway the drizzle began in earnest again) as I do not want to tire myself out for tonight's workout. Now the trainer in me is suggesting supersets again, but the weighlifter in me is screaming to try and keep all my PBs that I made in November. So I am going to compromise. A warmup set first, then a 15 rep middle weight, and then try for the PB. After that, it is superset of 2 different exercises. Last time I did 4 sets of 25 rep supersets I hurt more overall then just doing heavy weights (with a nice 3-5 minute break by walking around the gym and letting the blood return thru out my whole body and not just the bodypart I just finished pushing the weights with). I am going to have to figure this out with my body thru trying something and observing the results and adjust accordingly.

Dedicated December my son has coined the term for the month of December starting tomorrow. I like to start on Mondays, so I decided to start today - and if I blunder by eating something yummy (like vegan pumpkin pie) then I will just say it was a trial run. So far I jogged 5 miles this morning. I did Chest and Triceps heavy last night. Afterwards I had one serving of cream of rice hot cereal with 1 scoop of protein powder, and wheat germ oil. (why I do wheat germ oil is to provide squalene to my body to make into cholesterol, that can then be the building block of testosterone, and also just to help my skin with putting cholesterol into the cell membranes to keep them pliable/fluid - I am beginning to chafe too easily). The scale said 162.6 this morning. So that is my starting weight for beginning to get lean for December. I have had so many PBs for the month of November and thoroughly enjoyed watching the weights go up, up, up, while eating what I would consider Normal for me. I did not overeat like I did one off season where my weight soared up to 180 lbs, and I came in at 145 for contest weight and that was hard for my body to get back down to. I plan to eat minimally again (rice, beans, tofu, veggies, yams, seiten) and it is my day off from lifting, so maybe I will just hop on an elliptical tonight as I watch the Monday line up of TV shows, or pump up to EDM on my playlist. Favorite so far:

Well, I am just under 160 lbs already. I have gone up in weights by 5 lbs for the dumbells, and off the charts for my back and legs. I did a 360 lbs on the Smith Machine Power Squat! Now, the range of motion was short, and my glutes were sore, but so was my lower back (core muscles had a hard time stabilizing that squat, but they helped alot to keep the weight smoothly moving up and down). I was working out at night, and coming home and downing a Rice Milk/Protein powder shake, and then going for dessert like donuts and cake. Maybe that is why I am already 160. LOL. Last night instead I had an everything I wanted protein powder induced oatmeal bowl. I added some coconut, agave, EB (the new olive oil type), and walnuts. Very delicious, and I went to bed easily (not all zooped up on sugar and fat). I was doing 2 body parts every other day. Too taxing to my system, even with the day off in between. In fact, I really didn't like the rest days. Yesterday I was able to do 4 exercises for Chest, and tonight's it will be 4 exercises for Triceps (instead of 2 exercises for each Chest and Triceps during the one workout session: lasting 90 minutes). Right now it is 60 degrees F outside and it is bike day. These are now starting to really tire me out for the day, but I have a limited amount of these bike rides left before winter comes swooping in and making me have to choose the spin bike. . . November in Michigan can be warm like today, but snow is inevitable by Thanksgiving. Thank goodness my Legs feel almost back to 100% since leg day was a week ago. . . Well off I go.

This week I decided to stop fighting all the holiday treats and go with bulking up in the next 2 months. I will follow the culture this time and use it to my advantage. So I have been trying to eat more, bread and pasta are back on the menu, and the weights are progressing up, up, up! The only thing that I do that hinders my body from using everything to go to repair is my morning cardio. Like today is Leg and Delt day, and I am gearing up to go outside and jog. It is already November and the above 40 degree F outside means it is still warm to go jogging/biking. Today is jogging, but I will only go the one loop for 3 miles today. I go really slow (12 miles an hour) so it is just basically a walk outside. . . for an hour or a little bit less. It invigorates my day for me, so I will keep this up while the weather holds. I have been warming up almond milk to put my vanilla protein powder into with a touch of cinnamon when I get back from my morning cardio, long hot shower, and then cook up pancakes and vegan breakfast sausages for real meal #1. Also I will have grapefruit. I think my body is craving Vitamin C, and maybe it needs it to processes all this food I am eating. (I also have orange juice on hand at all times so I can down a juice glass full whenever I crave it during the day). I will feel sleepy after eating sometimes, and will sit down on the couch and watch something on the moniter, so all my energy can go to digesting the food. Then in half an hour I am ready to get back at it (whatever I was doing before eating). I will try and post my bulking techniques for the next 2 months, and then January is the getting lean stage - hopping on the New Year's Resolution band wagon with everyone else.

Sounds like exercise induced asthma. My kids had that when they played soccer. You have to increment your cardio training, and doing yoga breath work (to work your lower lungs) helps build up the time before it hits you. My personal breathing technique helps me with this. Instead of taking one long breath in while exercising, take 2 to 3 inhales to fill up ALL of the lungs before exhaling. This way you get the max of oxygen into your lungs before you exhale the conversion to carbon dioxide, and you are stretching all the lung tissue to work for you. Also, take advice, try it in your routine, and if it works for you (at the time), then hold onto it. If it doesn't work for you (after awhile of time has passed), then go on and try something else.

I also wanted to post this photo because this is my perspective. http://i61.tinypic.com/34pbe2w.jpg

OK, it is now cold in the morning in Michigan: 46 degrees F. I get to wear my long running pants with the pocket for my iPhone on the sides of the legs - luv it because I do not have to strap the fanny pack around my waist. And I do not know what I did before my earbuds with bluetooth (just have to remember to charge it up at night as I use it for the 2 hour morning cardio and 2 hour workouts at night). Decided to put my diet on pause for the year. I am going back to bulking. I am not pleased with the scale of 145 lbs, but my abs are flat (and the skin on my abs have started to fill out smoothly now that I am eating fat again). So I am lifting heavy. Eating reasonably. No cake and cookies ALL the time. Just after morning cardio or before working out at night - so they can go to use instead of filling up my adipose tissue (fat cells) again. I have 2 more months left of being able to be outside in the morning without fear of frostbite, so I am still keeping my morning cardio . . just because I love it. I am trying to balance it out by keeping 12 hours between cardio and lifting heavy, with eating to support my recovery - which is easy on a vegan diet full of veggies and fruit. Supplementing heavy with protein powder in chocolate almond milk also (YUM!!!). Saw this and thought that this is so true, and easy to do when bulking! Not so much when dieting. . LOL! http://i60.tinypic.com/15na9fl.jpg

impressive photos of your progress! And finally, someone who understands balance of life and working out. And doesn't see it as an excuse to just say f*ck it and give up saying it isn't doable. Luv how you can weave work, eating, budget, and fitness goals set for yourself with a realistic perception. Keep inspiring with your posts!

What a week it has been. I am follower of Dana Lynn Bailey, and to hear her facebook vid on why she wasn't going to be in the Olympia this weekend was sad, but at the same time the posts of her and Rob out traveling the US instead of last years post of her falling asleep before a workout 2 weeks out from the Olympia are heartwarming this time. The last photo of them posted made me realize that from my own experience traveling around the Western Coast of the US one summer with my husband (2 years into the marriage) resulted in starting a family. . . love and no stress makes for good fertile grounds. ^.^ And now to hear Kai Greene is not going to be in the Olympia. Though I am hoping that this is just a cry wolf stunt, and that he will show up for the athlete's meeting later on. Still, to see his resolve to keep to his responsibilities and realize that there is always next year, or the year after that. . . which he is SOOOO use to, inspires me. I am so use to waking up every morning and heading out the door for my morning cardio, with the intent of losing bodyfat, only to have the scale and pinch of the calipers not move the next day. I am in it for the long haul, and I guess I just keep moving forward. I also decided this week that I just like making muscles on my body, and using my body. I don't like to throw in that I am over 50 and can still jog 10 miles in the morning if I want to, or I can kick my ass pushing over 1000lbs on the leg press (like yesterday), because I don't feel like I have the usual 50 year old body. I guess I can make an analogy to the beautifully kept cars that we see during the Woodward Dream Cruise here in Michigan. Lovely old cars that are spectacular and well cared for, and they can still hum along on the road. Well with that said, it is the day after Leg/Delt day (I am doing 2 bodyparts on a day, with a rest day in between - trying to figure out how to push it alittle bit more, but rest this body as it is feeling the affects of the morning cardio - which I won't give up, so I have to manipulate my weight training - only 1 more good month left before winter kicks in around here and I am not fond of jogging in 20 degree blizzard weather - though I do it, just not as much - and I am back to stepping on Stanley the StepMill again in the gym). Seiten, or the teasing word of satan as some of my friends call it, is also called wheat meat, which I just can not like at all. I listened to the CEO and founder of Field Roast with his grain meat as he called it - "why does meat have to be strictly flesh? it can be a nicely textured grain also" was the comment that stuck in my head from his seminar about ten years ago. Sorry, meat to me is murdered animal flesh all cut up into tiny little parts and pieces. Time for colors out on the trail for a casual 3 mile jog this morning, and a crisp 50 degree F! Lovely day so far . . . .

Seiten turned out very rubbery. Not enough grain flour to minimize the vital wheat gluten. I will just have to make sure I cut it up into very small pieces. Also way down in the dungeon (basement) there is a sausage grinder also - but I think I will be horrified to try and find it down there. I will have to add "clean up basement storage area" to my to do list. not fun. Went for a lovely 7 mile jog on the Paint Creek Trail from Clarkston to Gallager Rd this morning. Was late getting out at 7:30 AM as the temp was already starting to rise. Yeah, I was sweaty when I got into my car to drive home - yes, I was ambitious enough this morning to drive somewhere to jog. I am trying to get out of the boring mind set of jogging on the trail that is just down the road from my house. Today is making sushi and brown rice, to go for my lettuce wrap rolls. I do not have a sushi wrap roller, but parchment paper works just as good. I cut a piece, lay it flat on the counter. Spread out 4 romaine lettuce leaves, end to top in a rectangle shape, drizzle a little vinaigrette salad dressing (Whole Foods 365 Herbs de Provence), spread on the sushi rice first and go really wide, but still within one inch of the lettuce ends. Then a little brown rice (mostly for nutritional value) in the middle of this rectangle, and then slices of seiten, avocado, and usually shredded carrots over the brown rice. Pick a sauce to drizzle over the middle part (Thai peanut for today) and then roll it up by first putting the ends of the parchment paper together, look inside to readjust the lettuce leaves over the rice, and then put the parchment paper back together and basically squeeze and roll it together into a tube. wrap one end into a twist, and the other side cut to open and pull down to the roll as you eat it. Back is on the agenda for tonight's workout at the gym. I shall do the usual pulldowns and rows, but am now putting emphasis on the traps of the middle and upper back. I want to have muscle there and not just my spine sticking out as I lean out more and more.

Still bored with the bike ride and now the trail jogging. Funny though, I still get up and do it out of routine. Once I get out there and am doing it, and the endorphins kick in, I am happy as can be. It is only when I am not doing it, and only thinking about doing it, that it is boring. Which makes sense as I am bored not doing it. I am also aware of how the light is not getting shorter and shorter, thus winter is coming - which means that cardio will either be in the freezing cold or inside the gym (yuck! treadmills and ellipticals). So I am off to go and run. It is already 70 degrees this morning, so I will be sweating and a chafing rash is sure to follow. My Legs last night actually were hurting as I went to go lay down to go to sleep. About time they started to hurt! I thrashed them with weights on Wednesday, went for a 2 hour bike ride the next day, and now DOMS has finally come! Only twice has this happen all summer. My Legs recover fairly quickly, plus they bike ride is not really cardio as I do go slow and steady and just "use" the leg muscles - not pushing them to their limit while biking. Today I am going to make my own seiten again. I haven't make it in a very long time because I usually end up just buying seiten stuff. But now there is so much extra "stuff" in with seiten that I am going to make plain seiten with only garlic and onion granules in it for flavoring. And I add nutritional yeast for the earthy flavor, and wheat bran to make the texture unique. I will also add some other grain flour (maybe tapioca flour for a smooth seiten or coconut flour for a grainy texture) to make sure the vital wheat gluten doesn't become fully rubberized once the liquid binds it. I then put it in a loaf looking shape, wrap it in cheesecloth and boil it for 2 to 3 hours in a veggie broth (turning it every 1/2 hour so it cooks evenly). Then I unwrap it, refrigerate it, and it is ready to be used for whatever I need it to be. Cubed for many stirfry entrees, or even a huge slab slice with avocado all over it (need some kind of oil/fat, as the seiten cooked this way has no fat added to it - unless I add it). Well, off I go to go and run. Spinning Session episode 118 is on tap for my music for today. Last 2 episodes have been awesome. EDM producers are coming out with some new stuff lately that I really enjoy listening to. Very uplifting and inspirational. (Beginning of the summer is seemed to be all about unrequited love and breakups/relationships gone wrong). Favorite for this week is Opus by Eric Prydz: (I listen to it at the beginning of a long downhill bike ride . . . it was awesome by the time I got to the end of the hill and was then using the momentum to go back up the next uphill part of the trail).

This has been a trying month this summer for me. I gave in yesterday again. This time it was Thai food (drunken noodles with tofu), quick bread, sprouted wheat toast with EB, and alot of grape juice, and when that was gone I made orange juice. My daughter laughed when she heard about all the horrible food choices of bingeing on yesterday, she told me that most people do more like cookies, cake, and my favorite tiramasu. I told I know, but that was all that was in the house (except Thai food) and I wouldn't let myself get in the car and go buy the things I wanted (part will power, part lazy - it is very hot and humid here in Michigan - finally the dog days of summer). The one good thing that comes from bingeing on so much carbs is the - TMI warning - BM I had this morning/the day after. It makes me mentally think of how much of the food I ate yesterday is now gone from me. I am off to go and bike. It is a nice cool 65 F right now, but it will be a balmy 75 F when I get back in 2 hours. A nice breeze will be nice, and the trees in parts of the trail thru the woods is also cooling. A part of me does not want to go though. I am getting to be bored with this bike ride in the morning. I am also in the mental mood that every workout lately is boring also. I think it is time to switch it up to do something different. I was thinking of doing dance, especially hip hop. . . . LOL.

I am going to chime in and offer some advice on the ankle. Do some calf raises on the leg press. Keep the weight light, and a short range of motion on the calf raises. Go up on the balls of your feet to where it stretches the muscles around the ankle (plus the calf), and then with a rocking type of motion to keep a circular momentum going with the ankle, push down on the heel (the heel has to be off the platform) till a nice stretch is felt there. The calf raises can be done on another machine or just standing on a 4X4 piece of wood (balls of the feet are only on the wood). When I advice light weight, it is because you need to focus on the ankle, and not on the calf. I do not know if you know what a Bosu Ball is, but doing freestanding squats on that within a range of motion that strengthens the ankles, and the knees, is the next thing I would advice. This should get you ready for a heavy squat below parallel - at least the ankles. . . knees are a different story.

An unassisted wide grip pull up is also on my list of goals in the near future! I am still on the assisted machine, but on the last (15 lbs) plate! Have you noticed that when you do the assisted pull-ups, that having that platform under you really helps you mentally to do the exercise? When my legs are just hanging there, mentally it feels so awkward. I have yet to ask someone to at least grab my feet and hold them stationary and see if I can do it.

Was able to keep the calories 200 below the 1800 allowed for the CRday1 (CR1) yesterday. I did not feel like eating at night. I had a good workout for my Chest, in which I headed over to the Anytime Fitness Gym in Troy, MI. I love the vibe there, and in the afternoon it is quiet. I proceeded to do my workout in peace and whatever equipment I needed at that moment was available for me - where you can do one set, walk around for the rest, and come back to the same equipment without someone using it or used it and messed with the settings. And I saw the older couple that I saw alot of during the winter when I would go to Troy to escape from my usual gym, and they looked awesome working out. Plus I saw some teenagers with their brightly colored hair (love it when someone is creative with their body - yeah I love tats and piercings too) and how they just play around with the equipment trying new things out. Love it there. Flash forward to the morning. Woke up hungry and sore in spots. Good stretching session got rid of the soreness, and one Lipo6X (anhydrous caffeine) took the hunger away and woke me up. Time for my usual 2 oz of carrot juice/2 oz of acai berry juice morning introduction to some calories in form of fruit sugars (though not much in either one of them), another Lipo6X to get me really going, and then my 2 hour bike ride on the Polly Ann Trail. CR2 today, and lets see if I lose any weight today when I get back from the bike ride (which is when I usually weigh myself). Bodypart at the gym is only Triceps today, with a set or two for Delts (doing Delts twice per weightlifting cycle because I want to keep them full and large as that is the trend in the competitions lately).

I cycle for cardio, which just uses my leg muscles - not the ripping muscle tissue for building it up by repairing it for bodybuilding. I guess to me, it is a more bodyusing. Which is good for utilizing the fat in the tissue around the leg muscle - thus getting ripped and vascularity. What is wrong with machines? Machines are great tools to build leg muscles when used properly. Especially if you have a physical issue that your body needs to have addressed when working out. I personally do not allow my knees to go over my ankles when working the heavy weights. I use the light weights to stretch the ligaments over my knees and around my ankles by using full range of motion (full ROM), but then when going heavy, I only use the short ROM that makes me use the belly of the muscle and not so much the ligaments - and machines can help with this with all their safety latches and stops.

I didn't keep track of what I ate yesterday. I just tried to keep the portions small as I ate so my stomach would not physically stretch out. I started off with leftover pasta with tomato sauce, baby spinach, onions, and apple-sage vegan sausage (FieldRoast). Then it was raisin toast with EB and orange juice. I stopped after that, but then went to Whole Foods and got the Daiya new york style cheezecake, med container of raspberry beets and roasted Brussel sprouts, and the Gingerade Kombucha (in case my tummy starting hurting - which it did not). Was sluggish thru my Leg workout (probably due to food coma of a PB and J right before heading to the gym to workout) and the gym was very busy and the guys were bummed that I took all the 45 lbs plates for the Leg Press/Sled. I just sat on the Leg Extension machine and kept doing set after set of the whole stack for 8, then 10, and then 12 reps. Last night was a waking up after only an hour of sleeping/passing out drooling with my body racing, and again probably at 3 or 4 AM. Morning cardio of only a 3 mile jog with a 3 mile walk (got my first deer fly bite on my hand while trying to swoosh them away from my head), and I am still at 149 lbs (so no damage done yesterday. hopefully my body will continue to utilize its own bodyfat for fuel today and not shut down). Goal this week is 148lbs by Saturday, June 27, 2015.