LiveJournal Project - March 2005

Oh yeah, the advent of the chicken diet! Cluck cluck, motherfuckers!

Date: 2005-03-07 02:34
Subject: got to paaump you aaaup...
it looks like i can finally return to a normal training schedule at the gym. i'm still going relatively low volume until i'm out of physical therapy, but progress is progress. apparently it's the elliptical machine that's been the source of my knee problems, as i'm finding no problems when i ride the bike. leg press seems to be ok, and i deadlifted for the first time in awhile today, again, with no problems. shoulder is starting to show some improvement, and my body seems to be happy to actually be moving heavy objects around again, as i'm finding that although i've lost strength (about 10% across the board) due to my hiatus and injuries, it's coming back quickly.
2/22/05
-- row: 100x10, 120x8, 130x6, 140x4, 80x15
-- bent bb row: 95x10, 105x8, 115x6, 135x5, 95x15
-- db bench: 40x10, 70x8, 80x6, 95x4, 50x14
-- preacher curl: 45x10, 55x8
-- tricep pressdown: 115x10, 130x8, 135x5, 140x6, 100x14

2/26/05
-- t-bar row: 75x10, 85x8, 95x6, 100x4, 50x15
-- db bench: 40x10, 70x8, 80x6, 95x5, 50x15
-- hammer strength lat pulldown: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 100x15
-- tricep pressdown: 115x10, 130x8, 135x6, 140x4, 100x15
-- preacher curl: 45x10, 50x8, 55x4, 55x4, 35x14
-- 1-leg leg press: 135x10, 225x8, 315x6
-- leg-press calf raise: 225x10, 315x25

3/4/05
-- row: 100x10, 120x8, 130x6, 140x6, 80x15
-- db bench: 40x10, 75x8, 85x7, 100x5, 50x15
-- hammer strength high row: 80x10, 100x8, 120x6, 140x5, 80x15
-- tricep pressdown: 115x10, 130x8, 135x6, 145x4, 100x15
-- preacher curl: 45x10, 50x8, 55x6, 60x4, 35x15
-- 1-leg leg press: 135x10, 225x8, 315x6

3/7/05
-- deadlift: 135x10, 225x6, 275x3, 315x1, 365x1, 405x0
-- tricep pressdown: 115x10, 130x8, 145x6, 160x6, 100x15
-- preacher curl: 45x10, 50x8, 55x6, 65x5
-- lying leg curl: 100x10, 110x10, 120x6
-- seated calf raise: 90x15, 90x15, 90x15
-- tricep extension: 70x10
-- hyperextension: 25x10, 25x10
-- ab machine: 100x15, 100x15, 100x15

Date: 2005-03-10 05:52
Subject: training log...
dumbbell bench: 45x10, 75x8, 90x6, 105x4, 50x20
hammer strength front pulldown: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x6, 100x15
tricep pressdown: 115x10, 130x8, 145x6, 160x3, 110x13
preacher curl: 45x10, 50x8, 60x8, 70x3, 40x15
back extension: 170x15, 170x15, 190x15
ab machine: 110x15, 110x15, 110x15
bike: 13min

i don't know what the therapist did to my shoulder yesterday, but it feels like i made a big improvement just in the span of 24 hours. the knee, well, it's still weird. sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn't - no problem riding the bike, but it tweaked on me while getting on the bike. i'll have to ask the doc some more questions when i go back for my follow-up visit.

Date: 2005-03-11 05:38
Subject: hooray, another tuition increase.
http://www.asuwebdevil.com/issues/2005/03/11/news/692432

"The Arizona Board of Regents increased ASU Main in-state tuition by 8.5 percent for both graduate and undergraduate students Thursday, in line with what ASU President Michael Crow recommended earlier last month."

and summer school is going to cost me $207 per credit hour - yikes!

y'know, i probably wouldn't be so pissed off about tuition increases if i actually felt like the money was going to my education. but i've been at ASU a long time, through many hikes in the pound of flesh, and there's really been no improvement in the quality of instruction. does president crow really think that just by erecting new buildings that we're suddenly going to become the harvard of the southwest? if that's really his goal, then ASU needs to raise admissions standards, hire more professors, and lower the average class size. cap the fucking enrollment already. oh, wait, all of these things would suggest that crow actually cares about the students, not his legacy.

Date: 2005-03-21 17:18
Subject: alligator test results.
1 part MDA.
20 parts caffeine.

what crap.

Date: 2005-03-23 01:54
Subject: PSMF!
what the hell is PSMF? officially, it stands for "protein-sparing modified fast" but i like to think of it more along the lines of "protein strictly, mother fucker!" it's a rapid fat-loss diet in which you try to go for a 100-0-0 ratio of food or as close to it as possible (100% protein, 0% fat, 0% carbs). the idea is that by maintaining a high protein intake (this is not the atkins diet, btw) you stave off a lot of the problems that often accompany a very-low calorie diet - e.g., metabolic depression, loss of lean body mass, etc. the goal for each day is anywhere from 1.5g / kg of mass to 1.5g/pound of mass, depending on weight, fat level, activity level, and the like. for me, i'm trying to fall somewhere in the middle - 1g/lb - so that's 260 grams of protein per day. 1g protein = 4 calories = total intake should be as close to 1040g as possible while still getting the required amount.

sounds fun, doesn't it? maybe they should call it the "tuna, chicken, and protein powder diet" or something. in any event, i've just completed day 2. at my RMR, with 2-3 workouts per week (there's no way i can do a full-volume 5 day / week routine on this kind of caloric restriction), i should be at a caloric deficit of 2500-3000 per day - more on days when i lift. the plan? to do this for 2 to 3 weeks, and then return gradually to a maintenance-level diet which includes the good (i.e., tastes good but bad for you) stuff. so far i'm finding that it's easy to fill up (you're allowed to eat things like broccoli, lettuce, all those low-calorie vegetables that help you shit on a regular basis) but it's hard to actually make my protein quota. and, of course, it's vital to supplement with EFAs (6g per day), multivitamins (2 per day), glutamine (1g with each meal), plenty of water, and that sort of thing.

so, here's the record from the first two days:
3/21: weight: 261.4lbs, 1070 calories, 175g protein (not enough)
3/22: weight: 259.8lbs, 1265 calories, 186.5g protein (still not enough)

i know you're not supposed to weigh yourself every day, but i'm doing it anyway, every morning when i get up and after my morning bathroom business. the first few days will be water weight - we'll see how things develop after day 4/5.

why the fuck am i doing this? well, one, because i'm tired of being a fat ass, but more than that, i believe that reducing the amount of mass i carry around on a daily basis will help my knee problems by reducing the stress on it. and, well, i've tried "regular" diets, and they don't work because i find that i'm starving constantly and always really bitchy. sure, i have to "suffer" more by doing it this way, (i.e., no bread, no pasta, no pizza, no chocolate, etc.) but i'm condensing it down into a few weeks rather than several months.

do i think i'll gain all the weight back when it's over? no. i'm actually pretty good at maintaing my weight, whatever level it is. i've weighed 250-260 for a few years now, so it's really just a matter of getting to the point i want to be at and holding there.

Time: 02:23
Subject: two entries in one day .. this one inspired by ailetoile
so, it looks like next semester is it... over the summer, i'm scheduled to take my bridge class (i'm doing POS305 - politics and film at the moment, but i may switch that to HPS323, history of science) and JPN202. once those are done, i've officially completed all of the requirements for a BA in political science and a BS in math. but, because i can't get into grad school until fall of '06 anyway, i'm sticking around ASU in the fall to take some courses and get my GPA up. i'd like to get out with at least a 3.7 overall. so, the time has come, said the walrus, given that pre-registration starts on thursday, to talk of fall classes. here's how it's shaping up.

JPN313: 3rd-year japanese I (MWF 9:40-10:30) -- this is a given; i like the professor (had her for 102 and 201) and may be able to secure a grad school recommendation.
JPN311: japanese conversation / composition (T/TH: 10:40-11:55)
JPN309: intermediate jpn conversation (MW 1:40-2:30)

eight credits of japanese is a lot, but i figure that since i don't know when i'll ever make it to japan, this is the best way to improve my skills and not forget everything.

then we have...

CSE210: design & data structures (MWF - 11:40-12:30) -- i don't really want to take this class, having done a data structures class (and a compilers class) when i was at new college, but the way the CSE department is structured at ASU, they won't allow me to take any of the good stuff until i've taken all of their shit courses. this is one of them. easy A, if nothing else.

POS560: international relations (graduate level) (M 1:40-4:30) -- i don't know if i can get in to this, but this is another class taught by a professor that i've had before, really liked, and who might be able to give me a good recommendation to grad school. also, if i take a grad-level course in one of my majors and get an A, that certainly makes my application look that much better. but, it conflicts with JPN 309.

POS498 - information technology & politics (T/TH: 1:40-2:55) -- this may be the only thing ASU offers that has any chance of touching on computational politics. but since it's offered in the POS department, i don't know what the IT / POS ratio is going to be.

POS364 - national security & terrorism (MWF: 12:40 - 1:30) -- the only reason i'd take this is to complete the requirements for an international studies certificate. i already have all of the other courses. but it's a long walk from the main campus to the brickyard if i chose to take CSE210.

i could take POS401 - political statistics - and convert my BA to a BS, but i've been told that for grad school purposes, it really doesn't make a difference which degree i get (at least in political science). bleh. so many options, so little time.

Time: 14:09
Subject: PSMF: day 3
starting weight: 257.8lbs
meal 1: chicken + lettuce + 1tbsp honey mustard + 1g glutamine + 500g glucosamine + 2g EFAs = 170c / 25g
meal 2: 1 scoop protein shake + 1g glutamine = 90c / 23g

workout:
5 min warmup on the bike
hammer strength row: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 150x5, 80x15
dumbbell bench: 45x10, 75x8, 90x6, 105x4, 50x15
hammer strength high row: 80x10, 100x8, 120x6, 140x6, 80x15
squat machine: 315x10, 495x10, 675x10
calf raise: 315x10, 315x10, 315x10
tricep pressdown: 130x10, 130x10, 130x9
preacher curl: 60x8, 75x5, 75x2
lying leg curl: 110x10, 110x10, 110x6
rear delt machine: 70x10
45 degree lateral raise: 2.5x10, 5x10

meal 3: 1 MRP shake + 1g glutamine + multivitamin = 290c / 42g
meal 4: chicken + broccoli + peppers + onions + 1g glutamine + 500g glucosamine + 2g EFA = 170c / 33g
meal 5: protein shake + multivitamin = 180c / 45g
meal 6: tuna + lettuce + 1tbsp light mayo + 2tbsp red wine vinaigrette + 2g EFA + 500g glucosamine + 1g glutamine = 200c / 38g

total calories: 1065
total protein: 213g (almost there)

Date: 2005-03-24 16:29
Subject: PSMF: day 4
starting weight: 257.8
meal 1: scrambled not-eggs + 1 slice fat-free cheese + 2g EFA + 1g glutamine + multivitamin + 500g glucosamine = 160c / 30g
meal 2: 6 pcs chicken + lettuce + 1tbsp caesar dressing + 2g EFA + 1g glutamine + 500g glucosamine = 280c / 50g
meal 3: protein shake + 1g glutamine = 180c / 45g
meal 4: burger (no bun) + 2 slices fat-free cheese + salad + 2g EFA + 1g glutamine + multivitamin + 500g glucosamine = 290c / 32g
meal 5: protein shake + 1g glutamine = 180c / 45g
total calories: 1090
total protein: 202g

Date: 2005-03-25 14:36
Subject: PSMF, day 5
starting weight: 256.2
total calories: 1070
total protein: 201.5g
meal 1: scrambled not-eggs + 2g EFA + 1g glutamine + multivitamin + 500g glucosamine = 120c / 24g
meal 2: protein shake + 1g glutamine: 180c / 45g
meal 3: chicken + broccoli + 2g EFA + 1g glutamine + multivitamin + 500g glucosamine = 280c / 50g
meal 4: tuna + 2g EFA + 1g glutamine + 500g glucosamine = 210c / 37.5g
meal 5: protein shake: 180c / 45g

Date: 2005-03-26 14:02
Subject: PSMF, day 6
starting weight: 255.0
total protein: at least 175
total calories: at least 1160
today's the first day that i've really hit any sort of fatigue wall; this is likely due both to the diet itself as well as my erratic sleeping patterns - which seem to have been exacerbated by the diet for reasons that i don't really understand. did some research, and it seems that this might be a dehydration issue, so i'll have to work on being more conscious of my water intake.

meal 1: MRP shake + 2g EFA + 500g gluc. + 1g glut. + vitamin = 290c / 42g
meal 2: burger + 1 slice FF cheese + salad + 2g EFA + 500g gluc. + 1g glut = 400c / 46g
meal 3: protein shake + 1g glut. = 180c / 45g

workout:
bike: 5 min
hammer strength row: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 80x15
dumbbell bench: 45x10, 75x8, 90x6, 105x2, 50x15
hammer strength lat pulldown: 120x10, 140x8, 160x6, 180x4, 100x15
squat machine: 405x10, 585x10, 765x6
tricep pressdown: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10
preacher curl: 60x8, 75x6, 75x3
seated calf raise: 80x15, 80x10, 80x10
lying leg curl: 110x10, 130x8, 150x4
45 degree lateral raise: 2.5x10, 5x10, 10x6

meal 4 (post-workout): MRP shake + 1g glut. = 290c / 42g
meals 5/6 (free): 6 slices of pizza + 1g EFA + 500g gluc. + 1g glut + vitamin = ??? / ??

Time: 21:58
Subject: fall classes, oboyoboy!
submitted my pre-registration request... since i don't see any reason that i won't get all of my classes, this is what i'm probably looking at in the fall:

JPN 313 - 3rd-year japanese I (wong)
JPN 311 - japanese conversation / composition (reiman)
CSE 210 - design and data structures (turban)
CSE 225 - assembly language / microprocessors : motorola (calliss)
POS 498 - information technology and politics (hindman)

i asked about getting in to POS 560, but the professor told me that unless i was absolutely sure i wanted to do graduate work in IR theory, i really didn't want to kill myself by taking the class, particularly in my final semester. no great loss - she did agree to write me a recommendation for grad school, and i think she'd probably write me a really good one - but i still need to secure at least two more.

Date: 2005-03-27 15:26
Subject: PSMF, day 7
starting weight 256.2
total calories: at least 840
total protein: at least 173g
so, there's actually a bit of an increase from yesterday, but that's to be expected, as i allowed myself a free meal - i.e., a meal in which i'm allowed to eat anything i want. so, i ate a pizza. yeah, that's right, a whole pizza. and it was GOOOD! ideally, i'd have only chowed down a couple slices, but there were leftovers, they had toppings on them that cory doesn't eat, and i believe that it's sacrilege to throw away pie. the weight increase is most likely due to the fact that it's still sitting in my digestive system being processed; even a whole pizza isn't going to have sufficient calories to cause me to gain a full pound back. anyway, today we're back at it. i think for future motivational purposes, i'll do a free meal every 10lbs. so, the next one will be when i hit 245 (sushi!), and then another one at 235 (pasta!). if i actually make it to 235, i'll probably stop this madness for a little while before resuming it again.

meal 1: the rest of the pizza + 2EFA + 500g gluc + 1g glut + vitamins = ??? / ??
meal 2: protein shake + 500g gluc. + 1g glut. = 180c / 45g
meal 3: burger + 1 slice FF cheese + broccoli + 500g gluc. + 2EFA + vitamins + 1g glut. = 370c / 45g

workout:
1-leg leg press: 135x10, 225x8, 315x6, 135x15
bench press: 135x10, 225x8, 275x1, 135x15(close-grip)
hammer strength row: 120x10, 160x8, 200x6, 100x15
45" lateral raise: 2.5x10, 5x10, 10x10, 10x10
15 min. bike

meal 4: protein shake + 1g glut. = 180c / 45g
meal 5: tuna + 1g glut + 500g gluc + 2g EFA = 210c / 38g

Date: 2005-03-28 17:15
Subject: PSMF, day 8
starting weight: 257.2
total calories: 1130
total protein: 200g
meal 1: protein shake + vitamin + 500g gluc. + 1g glut. + 2EFA = 180c / 45g
meal 2: chicken salad + 500g gluc. + 1g glut. = 170c / 25g
meal 3: tortilla-free chicken fajitas + vitamin + 500g gluc. + 2EFA + 1g glut. = 220c / 41g
meal 4: scrambled not-eggs + 1 slice FF cheese + 500g gluc. + 2EFA + 1g glut. = 170c / 29g
meal 5: protein shake + 1g glut. = 180c / 45g
meal 6: protein bar = 210c / 15g

Date: 2005-03-29 15:37
Subject: PSMF, day 9
starting weight: 255.8
total calories: 1372
total protein: 217g
meal 1: energy bar + vitamins + 2EFA + 1g glut + 500g gluc. = 210c / 15g
meal 2: protein shake: 270c / 68g
meal 3: tuna salad + 2EFA + 1g glut + 500g gluc. = 210c / 38g
meal 4: chicken + broccoli + 2EFA + 1g glut + 500g gluc + vitamins = 80c / 16g
meal 5: 10oz steak + peppers + onions + mushrooms = 1g glut. = 602c / 80g

ok, so the steak probably shouldn't have been in there, given that about 45% of the calories in it come from fat, but i just couldn't bring myself to eat any more chicken today. tomorrow's a workout day, though, so it should all balance out.
Music: Cosmosis - Dead or Alive

Date: 2005-03-30 10:47
Subject: random garbage...
... why is it that after people cut you off and almost cause an accident, they get upset when you show them the bird? i mean, really, if you weren't such a dumbfuck and knew how to stay in your lane when turning, i wouldn't have had to slam on the brakes to avoid plowing into you and turning you into a perma-gimp. and as you yell out the window at me, i'm supposed to believe that you are the innocent? sure.

... sometimes it's interesting to google the names of people that i used to know but have long since lost touch with for one reason or another. most of the time nothing new comes up, or i get so many results that it's simply not worth it to sort through the millions of other folks sharing the same moniker to find the one that matches, but every now and then something interesting pops up. just today, in fact, i learned that stephenie (a name which will be likely foreign to almost all of you - someone that i knew back in florida) actually married the dude that she dumped me for and they've been together for almost four years. i can't say i'm surprised - but i hope she's happy.

... a topic i was thinking about last night: are there an infinite number of possible thoughts? my first reaction was to say no - that the number of possible thoughts is merely finite (but very large) and then i started getting into arguments analogous to those used to argue for the infinitude of the natural numbers - i.e., if you somehow assigned a number to each thought and you reached a maximally-numbered thought, N, then N+1 would be the first number that did not have a thought associated with it - a new idea - in which case the number of thoughts is countably infinite. or, you could extend that and say that each number is its own intrinsic thought, in which case you might be lead to the conclusion that the number of possible thoughts is uncountably infinite (i.e., cardinality = |R|). but does that really make sense? i.e., if an thought contains information, and information can be represented as bits, then the number of possible thoughts has to be bounded above by the total number of bits present in the universe. the universe is finite (at least as far as we know) which means that it can be described by a finite (albeit very large) number of bits - therefore, the number of possible thoughts is finite.

time for class.

Date: 2005-03-31 02:43
Subject: PSMF, day 10
starting weight: 254.0
total calories: 1462
total protein: 227g

funny... i'm eating less than half the calories that i would were i not on this diet, yet i seem to be getting stronger. on march 7th, 405lbs wouldn't even budge off the ground when i tried to DL it. today, i almost got it all the way. i'm rowing 200lbs - something i've never done before. probably went a little too high on the calories today as well.

meal 1: protein shake: 180c / 45g
meal 2: steak + peppers + onions + vitamins + 2EFA + 500g gluc. + 1g. glut. = 602c / 80g
meal 3: protein shake + 1g glut. = 180c / 45g

workout:
bike: 5 min warmup
deadlift: 135x8, 225x5, 315x2, 365x1, 385x1, 405x0.75 (couldn't lock it out)
hammer strength high row: 100x10, 120x8, 160x6, 100x15
dumbbell bench: 50x10, 85x8, 105x5, 50x15
hammer strength row: 120x10, 140x8, 200x3, 100x15
lying leg curl: 130x10, 130x9, 130x6
calf raise: 315x20, 315x20, 315x20
tricep pressdown: 130x10, 130x10, 130x10
preacher curl: 60x8, 75x5, 75x4
45 degree lateral raise: 2.5x10, 5x10, 10x10
6pack (no, not beer): 1

meal 4 (post-workout): MRP shake + 2EFA + 500g gluc. + 1g glut = 290c / 42g
meal 5: protein bar + 2EFA + vitamins + 1g glut. + 500g gluc = 210c / 15g
Music: Ikon - Blue Murder