Daily News Archives

August 2009

08/31/2009 - More on Twitter; Cheat meal last night, slept bad.
08/30/2009 - Good day yesterday; JSF is now on Twitter.
08/29/2009 - Random Saturday morning thoughts.
08/28/2009 - My "relaxed" diet for the past month has been quiet successful.
08/27/2009 - A bit about the enhanced recipe section coming to the new JSF web site.
08/26/2009 - When do you train?
08/25/2009 - Lackluster workout yesterday, will do better today.
08/24/2009 - Leg day, no hip pain; Progress report on the JSF re-design.
08/23/2009 - Sunday plans; Maintaining is going well.
08/22/2009 - A couple more screenshots of the new site and some new info.
08/21/2009 - Friday!
08/20/2009 - First public screenshot of the new site!
08/19/2009 - Very sore; Weight down, strength up; Site redesign is going well!
08/18/2009 - No hip pain yesterday; Working hard on the new site; September "100 Challenge".
08/17/2009 - Productive weekend; Feta and red onions; AtLarge 15% off: last day.
08/16/2009 - Working on the new site!
08/15/2009 - Lots of information about what's coming to JSF real soon now.
08/14/2009 - Maintaining is going well; Web site redesign.
08/13/2009 - Titan Killer?; Good back and biceps workout yesterday; Job drama continues.
08/12/2009 - JSF projects: what's done, and what's coming soon!
08/11/2009 - No leg work this week; New pictures; JSF Amazon Mall; AtLarge 15% off Sale!
08/10/2009 - Changes coming: JSF Amazon Mall, JSF Gear.
08/09/2009 - Bruschetta picture delivered!
08/08/2009 - Freeform workouts; Saturday plans.
08/07/2009 - Food talk.
08/06/2009 - Finally, some success at moderation; Cutting back on expenses; Projects.
08/05/2009 - Good meeting yesterday followed by a great workout!
08/04/2009 - Awesome workout yesterday; Chili report.
08/03/2009 - Breakfast; Cholula hot sauce; Chili!
08/02/2009 - Diet changes; A healthy cheat meal; How to make bruschetta.
08/01/2009 - Saturday plans; Diet changes; August 2009 TSM!

August 31, 2009

Okay, okay... maybe I was being a tad harsh on Twitter in yesterday's update. I spent some time yesterday learning more about the service (yeah, I know--welcome to 2007, John), and some of what I read impressed me. Twitter is a pretty simple service, but it's capabilities run deeper than I thought. I can certainly see how it could be a useful tool for JSF. I don't know if I should limit my Twitter updates to JSF news and announcements, or if I should mix some personal stuff in there as well. Maybe some of you Twitter pros can @JohnStoneFit me and let me know what you'd like to see.

I slept horribly last night for some reason. Well, actually I know precisely why I couldn't sleep: last night I had pizza for my cheat meal. That was only the second time in the past month that I consumed "junk" food, and both times I slept extremely poorly. It's like my body just can't handle crappy food anymore. When I eat a "heavy" meal like that, I always wake up around 3:00 AM, very hot and totally parched. No matter how much water I drink, I'm still thirsty and I can't fall back asleep. Does this happen to anyone else, or is it just me? Anyway, it's just not worth it. Pizza sounds disgusting to me right now.

Last Monday's leg workout was not very good, and even though I'm feeling a little tired this morning I'm not going to allow a repeat of last week's leg day effort. In fact, I think I'm going to take part of my workout out back. I feel miserably bloated from all the water I drank overnight; several sets of backyard barbell lunges under the late-August Florida sun should help take care of that!

This is your last chance to register for the September 2009 "100 Challenge"! Details are below...

August 30, 2009

I had a pretty productive day yesterday. I mostly worked on the new web site, but I also took some time out to play poker and watch a movie. I was in the mood for a dumb comedy, so we watched "I love you man". It was a fairly entertaining movie, but Paul Rudd's character was so annoying that I wondered how anyone --male or female--would want to spend any time with him. The supporting cast (especially Jason Segel, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly and Andy Samberg) was awesome, and what I enjoyed most about the film.

While I was working on the new site yesterday I (reluctantly) set up the John Stone Fitness Twitter account. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm not a fan of Twitter, but so many people have requested that I create an account for JSF that I felt I must. Maybe I'm being closed-minded. Maybe Twitter is friggin' awesome, and I just don't know it yet. Maybe I'll start twittering (tweeting? chirping?) every time I cook a meal or I let Loki outside to pee. Anyway, if you want to become a "follower" (again, how creepy and cult-like is that nomenclature?) feel free. Maybe I'll think of something interesting to say, but don't hold your breath.

Waitasec! I'm about to go outside to do yard work: this is the perfect opportunity to tell the whole world with a lively tweet! Hang on to your hats, followers: this could get good.

August 29, 2009

After a rather shaky start to this week's training (Monday's leg workout was not too good), I managed to put together a string of three workouts that I'm proud of. While my strength is not growing nearly as fast as it does when I'm on an all-out bulk, it is improving with each passing week. Also, with the exception of a daily multi-vitamin, I'm not using any supplements at all right now. Just good healthy food, hard workouts and progressive resistance.

For at least the next couple of months I'm going to continue eating and training as I am now, but I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do this winter. I was leaning pretty heavily towards cutting down to 8% body fat, but winter time always makes me want to bulk up. My body fat is is around 13% right now, and that's rather high (for me). My current body fat level is one of the biggest factors giving me pause about bulking this winter. Also, I have not been really shredded since late 2007. It would be nice to get ripped up for 2010.

While I'm enjoying my current training and diet right now, I also very much enjoy working towards a goal with 100% focus and dedication. My 2008 bulk was grueling, but I also had a lot of fun. It's been awhile since I've applied that kind of effort to a cut. Anyway, those are just some random thoughts for a Saturday morning!

Lisa has to work today, so I'm going to spend most of the day working on the new JSF web site. I'm also playing in a big poker tournament this afternoon - wish me luck!

August 28, 2009

Over the past month I've been training hard, but my diet has been far from strict. When I say "far from strict", I don't mean that I've been eating a lot of junk food; what I mean is that I'm not tracking my diet or worrying eating a meal every 2 or 3 hours. Most of the foods I've been eating have been very healthy. In fact, over the past month I've only had one cheat meal that I would classify as junk food (barbecue with french fries). The rest of my cheat meals have been things like whole grain pasta with homemade tomato sauce, 96% lean burgers with Feta cheese and roasted red potatoes... stuff like that. I've actually dropped about 3 or 4 pounds this month without even trying, and my strength is up. Even better, I've not had any cravings or felt deprived in any way. Not too bad!

I got an early jump on today's workload, and I'm hoping things stay quiet so that I can finish up by 3:00 PM or so. As soon as I'm done with my usual work for the day I want to get back to the new JSF web site project!

Happy Friday, and Happy Birthday, mom!

August 27, 2009

As of yesterday I had 3 unused vacation days that rolled over from last year, plus something like 23 days that reset at the beginning of August. I don't know if my company will be around long enough for me to ever get to use most of those days, so I'm trying to take them while I can. Yesterday I was able to use one of those vacation days, and I spent the entire day working on the new JSF web site. I'm slowly getting all the existing content ported to the new system. I've made good progress, but there is still a tremendous amount of porting work that can not be automated. I have not even started on the daily news updates, and that's going to be, by far, the biggest pain in the butt. Right now I've decided to focus on getting all the content ported over to the new system, and then I can go back and work on style and polish things up. I've also been working on other, even less exciting stuff such as SEO, tagging, analytics and meta tags.

One area of the site that I am going to greatly expand and enhance is the recipe section. I'm going to add lots of delicious, healthy dishes, and each recipe will be accompanied by a photograph of the completed dish. The recipes will be browsable by category, but you'll also be able to search by ingredients, tags and other criteria. I am going to be calling on the JSF community to help with this section. Don't send anything yet, but if you want to contribute then keep this update in the back of your mind as you cook. If you make something that looks and tastes incredible, snap a picture of it! The basic outline for submitting a recipe will be something like this: ingredients list, step-by-step prep and cooking instructions, miscellaneous notes, nutrition data and a photograph. I may even be able to make a form so people can submit their recipes directly to the site. Of course the JSF community will be able to comment on each recipe, offer tips, modifications and variations. I'm very excited about adding this level of interactivity to JSF!

August 26, 2009

My workday yesterday was even more stressful than it was on Monday, but I was able to put all that aside when it was time to lift. I had a MUCH better workout yesterday than I did on Monday. When I finished lifting I felt physically tired, but mentally refreshed; I had a very productive afternoon as a result.

Way back before I trained with weights (this was when I still worked in a regular office), I remember many times after lunch--usually in the late afternoon--when I literally struggled to stay awake at my desk. Sometimes I would even nod off for a few minutes. It was almost as if I'd been drugged. Once I started eating right and working out my afternoon fatigue completely went away. Training on my "lunch hour" further enhances my late day energy levels and mood.

I know mid-day training is not always possible, but more and more employers are recognizing the benefits of allowing their employees to grab a workout during work hours. Some companies even have gyms and showers for their employees, and I think that's a very wise thing to do! Employers who recognize the many benefits of supporting and encouraging their employees to work out is something I hope we see more of in the future.

When do you work out? Is your employer supportive, indifferent or opposed to their employees training during the work day? When the new JSF web site is launched you'll be able to post comments below each article, but for now please post your thoughts in this thread. I'm genuinely curious...

August 25, 2009

I had a long day at work yesterday, and it was pretty mentally draining. I had to force myself to train yesterday afternoon, as I really didn't feel like lifting. My leg workout was decent, but definitely nothing to write home about. My intensity level was not where it needed to be, and I never really felt like I was able to shake off the cobwebs. While I'm proud of myself for training when I didn't feel like it, I know I could have done a better job. Today I'm going to be better mentally prepared for my workout. Just me, the weights and the music.

I'm running late, so I'm going to go get breakfast started before the phone starts ringing. See you tomorrow!

August 24, 2009

Today is leg day, and I'm happy to report that the hip pain I was experiencing a little over a week ago has not returned. I was concerned that the heavy deadlifts I performed last Thursday might cause the pain to return, but my hip feels great this morning! I'll be squatting heavy today, but I may do some front squats instead of back squats to mix things up a bit.

Work on the JSF redesign continued in full force over the weekend. I made a significant amount of progress porting existing content to the new system. The main focus of my attention for the past couple of days has been the hundreds of progress photos I've taken over the past six years (I'm talking about the miscellaneous progress photos--not my daily/weekly/monthly pictures). All the photos had to be imported into albums, dated, organized into chronological order, tagged and commented. A lot of the work was cutting and pasting, but the tagging system is all new. Adding the tags took quite some time, but the effort was worth it. On the new system if you are only interested in seeing triceps photos from my 2006 bulk, you can simply search for the tags "2006, bulk, triceps" and that's exactly what you'll get. I tried to tag judiciously and consistently, and this took a fair amount of work.

I've got a pretty busy day at work ahead, so I'm going to sign off for the day. Train hard!

August 23, 2009

We never did clean the house yesterday. I started working on the new web site project as soon as I finished yesterday morning's daily news update, and I promised myself that I would tear away from the project long enough to clean. Yeah, right. One thing led to another, and the next thing I knew it was already 2:00 PM. It's not like Lisa was complaining about it: she was up in the theater watching movies all day. The house really does need to be cleaned, so this morning I'm not going to start coding until the housework is done.

I have not been doing much cardio lately. Maybe 1 HIIT session per week (if that--I didn't do any cardio this past week). My weight training workouts are intense enough that I get a pretty decent cardiovascular workout. My weight and tape measurements have remained constant since I started maintaining about a month ago, and my strength continues to improve with each workout. I'm very happy with my current diet and training program. That said, my body fat is around 13% right now. 13% body fat is definitely on the high side of where I like to be. While I'm cool with that for right now, in a few months I'll probably want to cut down to below 10%.

I'm going to get some breakfast in me and get to work. See you tomorrow!

August 22, 2009

I'm very happy that the weekend is finally here! I'm going to do some house cleaning this morning, but after that I'm going to jump right back into working on the new JSF web site. It's going to be nice to have a solid couple of days to devote to the project.

So much of what I'm doing right now is completely alien to me. Sure, I have some web development skills, but this sort of thing is pretty far removed from what I do every day as a network administrator. Occasionally lack of knowledge gets in the way of what I'm trying to do, but I've always enjoyed acquiring new skills and learning new technologies. So, overall, this has been a pretty fun gig for me.

As development on the new JSF web site progresses I'm going to continue to post updates, screenshots and information. In addition to the early main page screenshot and feature list that I posted a couple of days ago, last night I posted a couple of brand new screenshots and some more information. I think it's important to get feedback as I work on the site so I won't have to go back and re-design things later. Will the site be perfect at launch? No, of course not. After the site goes live I'm sure there will still be many weeks of tweaking, refining and bug squashing ahead of me. I'm just trying to minimize that process as much as I can.

I'd better get to work. I hope you have a fantastic Saturday!

August 21, 2009

Yay, it's finally Friday! I'm feeling very good about this past week: I had some truly excellent workouts, my diet has been good, my strength is coming back, I still have a job, I got a lot of work done on the new site re-design (check out the early screenshot of the new site that I posted yesterday if you like--comments welcome) and I got a lot of work done at my full-time job. Yep, it's been a very productive week indeed!

Today I have a lot of work to do, but as soon as I'm done I'm going to get right back to work on the new web site. This weekend I have to clean the house and do a bit of yard work, but other than that I'm going to devote most of my time to working on the all-new JSF.

Right now I'm in the middle of re-designing the training page, and it's proving to be no small task. I'm breaking up each "phase" of my training into separate pages, and the training index page will provide a brief synopsis of each phase (with data such as which training program I used, the overall success/lack of success I experienced and so on). I am also thinking about including before and after pictures for each training phase, and perhaps linking over to the food logs associated with each training period. I briefly considered combining the diet section (my food logs) and the training section, but I don't think that's a good idea. I like cross-linking those two areas, though. My #1 design goal is to make finding the information you are looking for easy and intuitive.

Happy Friday!

August 20, 2009

I was able to take a vacation day off from work yesterday, and I spent the entire day working on the new site pretty much non-stop. I accomplished a tremendous amount, but there's still so much more to do. I'd say I'm still only around 15% of the way there... maybe even just 10%.

If you'd like to take an early look at how the new site is shaping up, this morning I posted the very first public screenshot in the JSF Main Site Redesign thread. I also added a list of new features you can expect to see once the new site is completed and launched.

Unfortunately the next couple of days will be busy, and so my development time will be in the mornings and evening only. This weekend, however, I plan to spend almost entirely working on the new site. I really want to get it done as soon as possible!

I'm going to get back to work--I've got a couple of hours before my real job starts...

August 19, 2009

I am really sore this morning. I didn't work my legs last week because of the hip pain I was experiencing, and so Monday's leg workout has left my legs feeling extra painful. My chest and triceps are also starting to hurt from yesterday's workout. I'm glad that I have today off from training. I need to recover a bit.

I stepped on the scale this morning and was surprised to see that I'm down to 202.4 pounds. As most of you know, I'm not cutting or bulking right now, I'm not following any sort of strict meal plans and I'm not measuring my food. I'm eating on instinct, and I've been enjoying a wide variety of food. So it's interesting that my weight has dropped, yet my strength has been increasing with each workout. I guess I'm doing something right!

I made some excellent progress with the new JSF website re-design before and after work yesterday. I'm literally spending every waking moment outside of my full-time job working on the new site. It's amazing how a simple thought that came to me out of the blue has turned in to an all-consuming project. I'm really fired up about this. I think you all are going to love the new site. I'm torn between posting some early screenshots and waiting to surprise everyone with the actual launch...

I never did use all my vacation days from last year, and they just reset at the beginning of this month. With the future of my company in doubt, I should probably use those days whenever I can. I have about 26 of them! I think I'm going to try and take today off from work and continue developing the new website.

August 18, 2009

You may recall that last week I skipped my leg workout due to some hip pain. I think that was a good decision: my hip pain was 100% gone yesterday, and I was able to squat heavy with zero hip discomfort. Even though the hip pain bothered me most while doing squats, I believe that it flared up while deadlifting. It seems like every once in a while when I go very heavy with deads the hip pain rears its ugly head. It will be interesting to see if the pain comes back after this week's back workout, as I am planning to do three sets of 4-6 deadlifts using very challenging weight.

As soon as I got off work yesterday I jumped right into the JSF web site re-design. I worked on the new site it until it was (way) past my bed time. This morning I bolted out of bed at 6:00 AM, and after hurrying through my usual morning routine I got right back to work. I am trying to devote as many hours as I can before and after my full-time job to this project--It's the only way I'll ever get it done. I'm very tempted to post a screenshot of the new site because even at this very early stage in development it's already a huge improvement over the current site! I'm going to resist the temptation... for now.

I've opened the September "100 Challenge" for entry. Details are immediately below...

Registration for the September 2009 "100 Challenge" is now underway! Your Official Challenge post must be made by 7:00 AM (EDT) on September 1, 2009 if you plan to participate--NO EXCEPTIONS! To participate, you must be a member of the forum. If you are not a member, simply create a free account. It can take up to 24 hours for your account to be activated, so don't wait until the last minute to register! For all the details, official rules and sample entry data, just head over to the September 2009 "100 Challenge" thread on the forum. If you are ready to work hard and want to challenge yourself in a fun and competitive environment, then please take part!

August 17, 2009

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend! I did not take the weekend off: the past couple of days have been extremely productive. I got a significant amount of work done on the brand new JSF web site (if you missed Saturday's update, you'll want to check it out). There is still so much to do that it's a little mind-boggling, but so far I'm very happy with how the new JSF is starting to look. A couple of you wrote and asked how long the new site is going to take for me to develop. At this early stage it would be very difficult for me to come up with anything reasonably accurate, but I think it's safe to say that we're still at least a month or two from a launch.

If after reading Saturday's update you have questions, comments or suggestions, I have started a thread in the Technical forum. I'll be updating that thread as development progresses.

So for the past couple of weeks Lisa and I had whole grain pasta, fresh tomato sauce and bruschetta for our weekly "cheat meal". This weekend we want to change things up, but we also wanted to continue the trend of having a tasty, but relatively healthy cheat meal. We decided to have "deluxe" hamburgers served with roasted red potatoes. The hamburgers were 96% lean ground beef, and grilled to perfection. We served them on whole toasted grain buns with lettuce, tomato, spicy brown mustard, raw red onions and Feta cheese. Normally I grill the red onions, but last night I forgot. It turned out to be a happy accident: the raw red onions were absolutely incredible with the Feta cheese. Those two flavors just worked insanely well together. It was one of the best burgers I've had in a long, long time.

LAST DAY! This is the very last day of the AtLarge Nutrition 15% Off Sale! These 15% off sales do not happen very often, so don't miss out! Details are immediately below this update.

August 16, 2009

Yesterday I talked about some very exciting changes that will be coming to JSF in the near future. If you missed the update, be sure to give it a read!

One of the biggest changes that I'm working on is a complete re-design of the entire main site. I decided on a WordPress theme yesterday morning, and spent most of the day working on the new site. One thing is already clear: this is a daunting project, and there are some significant challenges ahead of me. I'm confident that when the dust settles the results will be well worth the time invested!

I've got today off from training and work, so I'm going to continue working on the new site all day long. When I get into a project I don't like to stop, but I think Lisa is going to force me to join her in the theater for a movie at some point today. I've got so many ideas rattling around in my brain that I'm going to have a hard time focusing on a movie.

Well, I'm going to sign off for the day and get back to work. Have a great Sunday!

August 15, 2009

This web site will be gone in the not too distant future.

That's right, I'm completely scrapping the current design of JSF, and I'm going to rebuild the entire web site from the ground up. The current web site design was launched more than five years ago--June 5, 2004, to be exact. Five years is practically a lifetime when it comes to technology, and this site is looking very long in the tooth and--even worse--it lacks nearly all the modern features that our loyal visitors expect and deserve.

That's all going to change. Work on the new site is already underway, and it will remain my #1 priority (outside of my regular job, of course) until the redesign is complete. This is a huge job, but it needs to be done.

Of course you'll still be able to check out all the content that's here now, but it's going to be much easier to find what you are looking for. In addition to information about my own transformation, I want to make the site more informative, more interactive and bring others into the limelight. Of course I'll still blog about my ongoing transformation every single day, but I want to add helpful training and nutrition articles, more recipes, hold contests, move the Transformation Spotlight of the Month feature off the forums and onto the main site, conduct podcast interviews and so much more. My mind is swimming with ideas...

There will literally be hundreds of new features and enhancements--some big and some small. Just to name a few of the new features: RSS feeds, integrated comments and discussions on my daily blog updates, integrated comments and discussions on any posted item (articles, recipes, news stories, Transformation Spotlights, etc.), greatly enhanced photo section with multiple albums, flash-based image viewer, image slideshows, pingbacks/trackbacks, tagging, integrated multimedia features, forum integration (the latest forum posts will show on the main page and you will be able to post comments on the main site using your forum account, etc.) and much, much more!

Another new feature that deserves special mention is that I'll be adding (at long last) a search engine. Do remember reading something I wrote three years ago and would like to locate and read it again? Well, good luck finding it on the current site. With the new search engine you'll be able to find what you are looking for quickly and easily by searching for tags and/or keywords.

Earlier this week I mentioned that I'm working with a very talented programmer on a brand new, very exciting project. This project is proceeding in parallel with the new site design, but it is a completely separate animal. I can't go into too much detail just yet, but if you were to put Fitday, Facebook, Bodyspace and Sickofbeingfat/Muscletank into a blender you'd be on the right track.

The re-design is a monumental task in and of itself, but porting all the data (over six years of daily updates) is going to take a long, long time. I feel the effort will be well worth it.

I've decided to use WordPress as the base publishing tool, and I am still trying to decide on the theme. Right now I'm looking strongly at Thesis and a StudioPress theme ("Lifestyle"). The themes will be heavily modified to fit my specific needs, but I'm looking to choose the product that will make that process as easy as possible. Unfortunately these themes are both commercial, so I can't try them without buying them. If you have direct, hands-on experience with one or both of these products, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please drop me a line or PM me.

I'm very excited about these changes, and I hope you are too. If you like this site now, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

August 14, 2009

I seem to be doing a good job of maintaining. My scale weight has remained between 204 and 205 pounds, my waist measurement has not changed at all and--best of all--my strength continues to increase with each workout. I am going to take a 7-point body fat caliper reading this weekend and see how that looks. I suspect it's going to be the same as it was when I started maintaining a few weeks ago, but it's best to be sure.

It's been nice to relax a bit: I'm not counting calories, I'm not tracking my food intake and I'm not pre-planning my workouts. Basically I'm letting intuition be my guide in the kitchen and in the gym. After over six years of careful tracking and planning, I guess shouldn't be surprised by how honed my instincts are. I do believe that tracking of calories and workouts is extremely important in many circumstances (cutting, bulking, new training program, new dietary approach, first starting out, etc.), but it's not always necessary. I guess I'm just learning that for myself now.

The design of this site is really starting to grind on my nerves. The re-design is going to be a huge project, but I need to make it a priority. With money being an issue, and my job situation still up in the air, I think this is a project I'm going to have to attempt to tackle myself. Of course I'm a network and Linux/Unix administrator, and not a web developer. While I do have some experience with web development (and I'm not a bad PHP programmer), I'm going to have my work cut out for me. We shall see how it goes...

OK, I need to get to work. Happy Friday!

August 13, 2009

In yesterday's update I talked about quite a few exciting JSF projects that are currently underway, and a couple that have already been completed. If you missed the update, you might want to take a couple minutes and give it a quick read.

One of the items I discussed yesterday was a (still unnamed) premium home gym system that will soon be on the market. I made an initial announcement on the forum, and included a link to a simple form you can fill out if you want to keep abreast of the latest developments. Unfortunately if you filled out the form yesterday prior to 6:00 PM (EDT), there was a technical issue that may have prevented your data from being properly stored. If you filled out the form prior to 6:00 PM (EDT), then I'm afraid you'll need to re-submit it. I apologize for the inconvenience.

Yesterday I worked my back and biceps. The hip pain I was experiencing on Monday is nearly gone, but I decided to play it safe and skip deads this week. I was able to do t-bar rows and bent-over barbell rows with no problems. I also did some heavy dumbbell pullovers supersetted with lighter wide-grip lat pulldowns (taken to failure). By this time tomorrow morning my lats are going to be killing me!

I've got a busy day ahead, including a conference call this morning at 9:00 AM that involves the situation at work. It could be good news, or it could be very bad news. Last night I knew this call was coming, but I didn't feel stressed at all. I seem to have worked past the stress I felt a couple weeks ago. I've accepted the reality of the situation, and I am confident that no matter what happens with my current job I'm still going to be OK.

August 12, 2009

Lots of changes--some big, some small--are taking place here at JSF, and there are many more changes yet to come. First, to recap what's been done so far:

- On Monday I updated the JSF Amazon Mall software and moved the mall to a new, much faster server. I also gave the mall a bit of a face lift, and changed the landing page to show random products related to fitness. Of course you are not limited to fitness products: you can purchase any of the millions of products sold by Amazon and Amazon 3rd party resellers through the JSF Amazon Mall. Also, the JSF Amazon software automatically shows the lowest priced item first when the same item is sold by multiple sellers. The actual checkout is performed on Amazon's site, just like normal. Using the JSF Amazon Mall for your Amazon purchases is an excellent, no cost way to help support JSF and the JSF Forums. Thank you for your kind support!

- The Official JSF Gear online shop has been updated. Some of the new designs are "live", and there will be more products coming in the days and weeks ahead. I hope you enjoy the new products! Many thanks to Chris ("1FastGTX") for all the work he put into the new designs!

As for what's to come, here are just a few of the things I'm working on:

- A major upgrade to the forum software will be taking place within the next few months. There will be many enhancements to existing features, and a whole bunch of new features.

- Despite a valiant effort, Fitcore has given up all hopes of resolving their differences with the manufacturer of the Titan. I am also moving on. Right now I'm in early talks with a fitness equipment manufacturer that has a a product on the horizon which, from my early knowledge, appears to be a true "Titan killer". Over the next few weeks I'll be releasing information as it becomes available to me. I'll be posting a more detailed announcement later today or tomorrow. I'm very excited about this one! EDIT: Here's the initial announcement!

- I'm working with a very talented software developer on a project that is going to take the functionality, usefulness and interactivity of JSF to an entirely new level. This is a big project, and it will not be cheap to develop and implement it. As such, there will be a very reasonable charge to access these new features. There will be a free trial period, and I'm confident that once you experience the new software you will find it well worth the small cost. More details to come over the next few weeks.

- The main site (what you are looking at now) is badly in need of a complete re-design. I have not yet figured out how I'm going to accomplish this task, as money is an issue and I am not a web developer. I may have to woodshed the latest web development technologies and do it myself. One way or another, though, it's going to get done. I'll keep you posted.

Those are the big projects, but there are other less ambitious projects that I'm working on as well. Stay tuned for more information on all the above, plus more!

August 11, 2009

My hip has been giving me some trouble recently, but up until yesterday the pain was not severe enough to create any real problems. I went pretty heavy on deads last week, and yesterday my hip was hurting badly enough that I knew squats and lunges were going to be a problem. I decided that it would be a good idea to take this week off from training legs, and also to not deadlift on back day. Hopefully this little break will provide my hip enough time to recover.

So, while I give my aching hip a bit of a break, this week I'm going to do a three-day split (M-W-F): Chest & Triceps, Back & Biceps, Delts & Traps. Yesterday's chest and triceps workout was outstanding! My strength is improving quicker than I expected, and that is fantastic! I felt energetic, intense and powerful as I proceed through yesterday's workout.

I know it's been a long time since I've taken an pictures, and so yesterday I took a couple triceps shots. You can find them the pictures in yesterday's post to my photo journal.

I was able to take a vacation day yesterday, and I got a lot of work accomplished! I updated the JSF Amazon Mall software and moved the mall to a new, much faster server. I also gave the mall a bit of a face lift, and changed the landing page to show random products related to fitness. Of course you are not limited to fitness products: you can purchase any of the millions of products sold by Amazon and Amazon 3rd party resellers through the JSF Amazon Mall. Also, the JSF Amazon software automatically shows the lowest priced item when the same item is sold by multiple sellers. The actual checkout is performed on Amazon's site, just like normal. Using the JSF Amazon Mall for your Amazon purchases is an excellent, no cost way to help support JSF and the JSF Forums. Thank you for your kind support!

Yesterday I also worked on the Official JSF Gear online shop. Some of the new designs are "live", and there will be more products coming in the days and weeks ahead. I hope you enjoy the new products!

Last, but certainly not least, AtLarge Nutrition is running one of the biggest sales EVER! They are offering a massive 15% OFF your entire order, including the cost of shipping. These 15% off sales are few and far between, so now is the time to stock up! Please check out the details immediately below this update.

I'm off to work now. Have a great day!

AtLarge Nutrition - MASSIVE 15% OFF SALE!

This is one of the BIGGEST SALES we've ever ran.

For the next 7 days (now through Monday, August 17th, 2009) you can save a massive 15% off all orders, to include the cost of shipping and on top of the already generous multi-unit discounts we have running.

This is the perfect opportunity to either try our products for the first time or, if you are an existing customer, to stock up and enjoy a huge saving!

To receive your discount, simply place your order as normal and when you get to the payment information page, you will see a box labeled "Discount Coupon". Simply enter the following coupon code to receive your 15% discount:

augsale

Your discount will then be clearly shown on the Confirmation Page.

AtLarge Nutrition

August 10, 2009

I hope everyone had a great weekend! I accomplished a lot of projects, but I also took some time to relax and have fun. My pager didn't even go off once, so I'm pretty happy!

I never did get to use the final 5 vacation days I had coming to me, but my boss allowed me to roll those days into this year's vacation days (my work "year" begins and ends on August 6th). Of course none of that means anything if my company goes belly-up. Anyway, I think I'm going to see if I can take one of those vacation days today so I can work on some JSF projects...

One of the projects I'm going to be working on today (assuming I can take the day off) is the JSF Amazon Mall. I need to upgrade the software to the latest version (which has some cool new features), and I also want to redesign the landing page to be focused on fitness products. Of course you can still purchase any of the products available from Amazon through the JSF Amazon Mall, but I want the main page to reflect that this is a health and fitness site!

Another project I want to tackle is the JSF Gear. My friend Chris (forum member 1FastGTX) came up with some awesome new designs, and I need to complete the changes to the existing shop, which is horribly (and inexcusably) out of date. The new designs, of course, feature the current logo, and they are also a lot nicer than the old designs. A lot of you requested JSF clothing in black, and I'm happy to say that all the new designs will be available in black!

I hope to have all these changes completed within the next day or two. I'll post updates here and on the forum as the projects are finished up.

Today is leg day, and I'm making a fresh batch of chili for PWO meal #2! I can't wait!

August 9, 2009

I had a fun and productive day yesterday! I got all the cleaning done, did some work on a couple JSF projects, did some work on a project for a family member, played some poker and won more than 5x my buy-in money and then Lisa and I had our weekly cheat meal.

Neither of us was terribly hungry last night, so we decided that we'd just have the bruschetta and skip the pasta. It was the right move: the bruschetta was delicious and relatively light compared to a full-out meal. When we finished eating we were satisfied, but not stuffed. If I'd made the pasta it would have been way too much food.

Last week I posted my bruschetta recipe, but I forgot to take a picture. I promised that this week I would remember to take a picture, and I did. Here it is:

bruschetta

Does that look awesome, or what? That pictures makes me want to have it for breakfast!

I'm going to get some work done this morning, but then I'm going to take the rest of the day off and watch movies with Lisa and Loki. Have a fun Sunday, and I'll see you tomorrow!

August 8, 2009

Man, I'm really sore this morning! I pushed myself pretty hard in the gym this week, and had some terrific workouts. I didn't follow any pre-planned workouts, either: I just got in there and basically said, "This sounds good" or "I'm going to do some drop sets here"... Training by the seat of my pants is not something I usually do, but there are times when it's the way to go. Sometimes I enjoy the freedom of training with no rules or structure. The important thing is that I am lifting and lifting hard. If you are feeling boxed in and find that you are not enjoying your workouts, then you might want to consider doing something like what I'm doing right now. If you hate your workouts then you're only going to put up with them for so long before you stop. I'm not saying your workouts shouldn't be tough, but I am saying that they can be tough and enjoyable.

This morning I've got to clean the house. Some relatives are coming over in a few hours to see the house for the first time, and then Lisa is going shopping with them while I stay behind and work on some JSF projects. I may sneak a poker tournament in this afternoon, too... shhhhhhhh.

Have a great Saturday!

August 7, 2009

Last weekend's cheat meal was so healthy and delicious that Lisa and I decided that we're going to make the exact same thing again this weekend. I'm not sure if we'll be having the cheat meal on Saturday or Sunday night, but this time I promise that I'll remember to take a picture of the bruschetta and post it here the next day. As mouth-watering as the bruschetta looks, it tastes even better! If you've never had good bruschetta, take a look at the simple recipe (link above) and give it a try some time. It's awesome!

The Frank's Hot Sauce and Cholula Hot Sauce that I've been using lately have done an amazing job of adding fresh life to my regular meals. I've discovered that I prefer Cholula over my egg whites, and Frank's on my grilled chicken breasts. These sauces have proven to be excellent, inexpensive and simple ways to change the entire flavor profile of quite a few of my meals. Zero calories, and one bottle goes a long way. If you like heat, give these sauces a try.

It's been a great week of workouts, and later today I'm going to close out the week with a fantastic delts and traps workout. PWO #2 will be chili and brown rice! I have been enjoying the chili so much that I think of it as a cheat meal.

I'd better get back to work, lots to do today. Happy Friday!

August 6, 2009

Earlier this week I briefly mentioned how pleased I have been with my choice to stop my cut and start maintaining. I didn't really go into much detail, so this morning I'd like to expand a bit on how things have been going...

My weight has remained steady (I will still check my body fat and tape measurements every few weeks, of course), my workouts have been excellent, my energy levels have been high, my mood has been positive and upbeat (despite being faced with unemployment) and my cravings for junk food have completely disappeared. It's been really cool not counting calories or feeling like I MUST eat this or that. I think the reason I was constantly craving junk food while I was cutting is because there was absolutely no variety in my diet. It's been awesome to not feel those horrible cravings, and eating healthy has never seemed more effortless. Could it be that I've finally found what it is that I need to be successful with moderation? I guess time will tell, but so far I feel that I've been quite successful.

Because I've had to face the very real possibility that I may soon lose the single largest source of our household income, I've taken a hard look at our current expenditures and started making some serious cuts. Basically I'm eliminating just about everything in my life that costs money and is not critical to my survival (well, I'm keeping cable TV and Netflix... for now). Along those lines, I've decided to eliminate ALL supplements except for a daily multivitamin and Nitrean protein powder (which is quite economical as meals go). So, no more EFAs, BCAAs, EAAs, Glucosamine, Waxy Maize, Glutamine, Creatine... nothing. I believe supplements--especially those I just mentioned--are useful adjuncts to a healthy diet and solid training program, but they are not essential.

Well, assuming things don't go haywire at work today, it looks like I may be able to take the afternoon off. I'm going to use that time to work on some JSF stuff. I've got some exciting projects in the works, and I think you guys are going to enjoy the changes that are coming. Some of the projects are large scale and will take months to develop and deploy, but other "mini-projects" will be rolled out sooner. Stay tuned!

August 5, 2009

I'm feeling more and more positive about things with each passing day. Yesterday at work we had a lunch meeting with a former employee who is extremely well-connected in the IT industry. It was a very productive meeting, and there are some new possibilities that we are going to explore together. Not only was it great seeing one of my old co-workers again, it was really nice to hear some potentially good news for a change. I need to stress (if only to myself!) that the recent glimmers of hope concerning the survival of my company--while very encouraging--are still faint. Still, I sensed an excitement at the table that I've not seen in quite some time. This could get interesting...

After the meeting I came home and worked out. I was in a really good mood, and I think that played a part in how well my workout went.

I had some more stuff to talk about this morning, but I really have to wrap this up and get to work. The meeting yesterday took up half my day, and I've fallen behind. Also, we are having some network issues that kept me up half the night and are still not resolved, so I have to get back on that project. Hopefully tomorrow morning I'll have a bit more time to write. Have a great day, and I'll see you then!

August 4, 2009

I had some pretty decent workouts last week, but yesterday's workout (legs) was at another level. Now that I'm eating at maintenance level and enjoying a wider variety of foods, I've noticed that my energy levels (both in and out of the gym) are considerably higher. Not only have I been able to increase the intensity of my workouts, I also feel mentally sharper and I am far more alert throughout the day. These are the exact results I was hoping to achieve when I decided to end my cut and go into maintenance mode. With my employment situation still in limbo, right now I need every advantage I can get when it comes to being mentally focused. A significant part of my mental well-being comes directly from the satisfaction that only a hard weight training workout can bring. I'm convinced more than ever that I made the right choice in ending my cut early.

So yesterday immediately after my workout I started sipping my post-workout (PWO) shake and cooking PWO meal #2--chili! I used "Carroll Shelby's" chili mix, 2 pounds of 96% lean ground beef, an onion, water and tomato sauce. First I tossed the 96% lean ground beef and some chopped onions into a pot and cooked it until the beef was brown. Next I drained the fat off and stirred in 2 cups of water, a cup of tomato sauce, the spice packet, the salt packet and the entire cayenne pepper packet. I let that simmer (covered) for 15 minutes, and then I added 1/3 cup of water mixed with masa to thicken it up. Finally, I put the burner on low and let the chili sit (stirring every 15 minutes or so) until it was time to eat again. When it was time to dig in I put 8 oz of chili into a bowl, added 1/2 cup of brown rice and also some fresh cilantro. It was really, really good but not nearly spicy enough. I'll definitely be adding some extra cayenne when I reheat the portions that I froze for later use.

I'm really happy with the chili: prepared with 96% lean beef and with the brown rice added it perfectly matches my PWO #2 macro requirements, it is healthy and it is absolutely delicious. Best of all, it was quick and easy to make, and now I have quite a few delicious meals stored in the freezer that can be ready to eat in just minutes.

I need to wrap this up and get to work. It's going to be a very busy day. Train hard and eat well!

August 3, 2009

In my weekend daily news updates I talked about how sick I am of eating the same things over and over again, and how I'm going to start exploring new ways put fresh spins on my dietary staples. I started off by having a healthy (but calorically dense) "cheat" meal on Saturday night (discussed in yesterday's update). In that same update I also posted my simple, but delicious, bruschetta recipe. This "cheat" meal was a far more healthy option than the junk food I usually eat when I chose to indulge, but every bit as satisfying!

I still love my egg whites and roasted red potatoes for breakfast, but I gave that meal a little kick simply by adding a whole grain English muffin and a fantastic hot sauce. The hot sauce I used was not Frank's hot sauce (which is also very good); it was a sauce that I've enjoyed at my favorite Mexican restaurant for many years. It's called Cholula, and it's incredible:

Cholula

I make my egg whites with fresh cilantro, cumin, garlic and ground pepper. Cholula hot sauce is perfect for eggs prepared like that. I may get some whole grain tortillas next weekend and make a healthy breakfast burrito from the same ingredients.

Today for post-workout meal #2 (PWO #2), instead of my usual 96% lean grilled hamburger patty and roasted red potatoes I'm going to make chili and brown rice. The chili is very easy to make using 96% lean ground beef (or turkey, if you prefer) and a prepackaged chili mix (such as "Carroll Shelby's"). The corn masa flour and tomato sauce add about 100 calories (mostly carbs), so I'll just compensate by reducing the amount of brown rice I serve with it to about a half-cup (cooked). The great thing about preparing chili in large batches is that it can be portioned off and frozen. These frozen portions are great for quick, healthy meals that are ready in just minutes.

Have a great Monday!

August 2, 2009

I've been doing a lot of thinking about the terrible cravings I was experiencing over the course of my last cutting phase, and I came the the conclusion that the main reason for those cravings is because I'm sick to death of eating the same meals over and over. Yesterday Lisa went grocery shopping, but before she did I put some thought into ways I could jazz up our healthy dietary staples without significantly changing the macronutrient profiles of the meals. Over the next few weeks I'll be talking about some of the new dishes.

Last night I decided to have a "cheat" meal, but instead of the crap I normally eat when I choose to indulge (pizza, pork barbecue, French fries, General Tso's Chicken, etc.), I decided to create a somewhat healthy "cheat" meal: whole grain pasta, homemade tomato sauce with fresh garlic and basil and bruschetta.

Bruschetta is absolutely delicious and is very easy to make. It makes a perfect appetizer before any Italian meal. Bruschetta can be made in many different ways, but here's how I make it:

Ingredients: 1 loaf of freshly baked French bread; extra virgin olive oil; 1-2 whole garlic cloves, fresh basil, 3 or 4 tomatoes (I like Roma), good Parmesan cheese, salt and fresh ground pepper. Notice that everything is fresh; nothing should come from a jar or can. It makes all the difference.

Preparation: Dice the tomatoes; peel the garlic cloves and then cut each clove in half (just 1 cut); cut the stems from the basil and coarsely chop (you can leave them whole if you prefer). Next, cut the French bread at an angle into slices about 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch thick. Place the French bread slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil. Place the French bread slices under the broiler until golden brown (this will only take a minute or two, so monitor closely!) Remove toasted bread from oven and then immediately scrape the garlic over the entire surface of each piece of bread. Place the diced tomatoes and basil on top of each slice of bread; add salt, fresh ground pepper and a little fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Optional: some people like to drizzle a little balsamic vinegar on there, too. Finally, put the bruschetta back into the oven (I lower the heat to 350 degrees F for this phase) and give it another minute or so to warm the topping. That's it!

I meant to take a picture of the bruschetta last night, but I was so transfixed by the incredible aroma that I dug right in and completely forgot. It's too bad, because it's an absolutely beautiful dish. I guess I'll have to have it again next weekend so I can grab a photo.

Have a fantastic Sunday!

August 1, 2009

I never thought I would make it to Saturday. Whew. So much has happened over the past week that last Monday feels more like a month has passed than a just a few days.I have some projects to work on this weekend, but I should also have some time to relax. A movie or two and a couple poker tournaments should hit the spot.

Now that I'm maintaining, I think I'm going to change my diet up a bit. I'm really getting sick of the foods I've been eating, and it's time to add some healthy variety to my diet. I think my aim will be to have a selection of choices at any given meal so I can eat what I'm in the mood for. Lisa is going shopping this afternoon, so I'm going to take some time this morning to come up with some fresh, healthy meal ideas.

Before I sign off for the day, I want to take a moment to encourage you to read the August 2009 Transformation Spotlight of the Month interview. Tim (forum member "Sole") really opened up and gave us an incredibly raw, candid and inspiring interview. If his story doesn't get you fired up to change, I don't know what will. Enjoy!

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