March 3:

We had some unbelievable thunderstorms today--trees down, powerlines down, and street flooding everywhere. Most of us holed up under shelter as much as we could unless we were called out--why risk getting into an accident in that sort of weather? Fortunately I'd scheduled my 8-hour day for today, so I got off at 2. Switched to the SUV which had a better chance of making it through flooded streets than my unit, and slogged my way to the gym. Got my shoes on (my yard and driveway were completely flooded, so I just stayed barefoot until I made it to the gym) and had a halfway decent workout of shoulders and triceps. Didn't do any cardio--I figured just making it to the gym was enough of an accomplishment.

Food:

2 eggs w/cheese. Protein shake. Protein bar. Grapes. Tuna/cream cheese on toast. Fat-free tortillas--lightly baked--with salsa. Almost like having real food. Mixed a can of sugar-free cherry pie filling with the rest of the cottage cheese. Not bad.

March 2:

Managed to drag my ass out of bed at 3am and do my 30 minutes on the bike. Only the fact that the halfway point of the dare is this Sunday kept me from wimping out and trying to get another half hour of sleep.

Food:

Fake eggs w/chicken, protein shake, lots of grapes, chicken breast, protein bar, and finally my latest experiment (actually not really an experiment since I got it out of a Cooking Light cookbook): one can tuna, half a package fat-free cream cheese, 2 tspns lemon juice, 1 tspn worcestshire, mixed thoroughly and spread onto toast. A gajillion grams of protein, and tastes pretty darn good too.

March 1:

Worked traps and back with Mike and Rene today. I guess we were all overly sore from yesterday because it was kindof a wimpy workout. ("God my ass hurts!" was the phrase of the day.) None of us really pushed all that hard, it seemed, and we didn't do very many exercises. I tried to make up for it afterwards by really hitting the cardio: did 20 minutes on the elliptical machine, and then 30 minutes on the bike. By the time I finished that I was soaked in sweat and felt nicely drained, so the day wasn't a complete loss (exercise-wise.)

Food:

Back to the fake eggs w/chicken for breakfast. Had a mammogram in the am, and then had my protein-oatmeal when I got back from that and before heading to the gym. Protein shake when I got home. Had a bunch of baby carrots for afternoon snack, then went out to dinner. Had a large tuna steak and broccoli that had been cooked within an inch of its life. I probably should have cut the steak in half and taken one half home because I felt bloated when I finished.

February 28:

Slept a nice long time last night and felt well rested when I got up at 7am. Went outside to let the dog out and there was still mist in the air, wrapped around the trees and muffling all sounds except for the dozen or so birds all announcing the morning to each other. I felt like I was in a tropical rain forest.

Got to the gym at about 8:20 and did a fairly intensive ab workout for about twenty minutes, then worked on my stretching until about 9am when Mike and Rene showed up. Today was Leg Day and Lunge Week. I had a lot of energy today which was good because we went hard. I upped the weight I used on my lunges, and did the glute machine as well after everything else, so my butt will no doubt start hurting tonight during my detail. I keep telling myself that muscle burns fat! I've started taking creatine again, and I definitely notice an increase in strength.

Food:

2 eggs scrambled w/2% cheese, and a grapefruit about an hour before heading to the gym. Protein shake when I got home, and then chicken strips and carrot sticks about an hour later. Had the rest of the "proto-pudding" for dessert. Went to Walmart last night and discovered that they'd restocked the EAS bars that I like so much. I bought them all. (Three dozen--I figure that will last me a while!) Anyway, had a Lemon Cheesecake bar in the afternoon. Minestrone soup later and a peanut butter sandwich before my detail. Another protein bar around 10pm.

February 27:

I fell asleep on the couch last night at about 6:30, woke up at 8:30 and went to bed and slept like a rock until the alarm went off at 3am. Did my 30 minutes on the bike and actually had energy to spare. Sleep.. what a marvelous concept! Today is mardi gras (a holiday which I detest) so we will hopefully be slow today since most everybody is in New Orleans making asses of themselves.

Mike and I had a long discussion yesterday about training goals and areas of concentration. I've lost enough bodyfat now that I can see what bodyparts need extra work if I'm going to go into competition. My back is probably my best bodypart right now, and my chest is probably my worst. (Yes, I know I have plenty of Development, but I don't have the muscular development I should have.) I think I also need work on my glutes, and Mike suggested that I try training them twice a week and see if that gives me any progress. I'll probably try and do some glute-type training when I do back, since many lower back exercises involve the glutes anyway. I'm starting to see just how far I have to go if I want to have any chance of not embarrassing myself on that stage come July. ;-)

Food:

Splurged slightly and had two real eggs with 2%cheese for breakfast. Protein shake a bit later. I should have gone to GNC yesterday to buy more protein bars; I'd forgotten that they would be closed today for mardi gras, and the only ones I have left are the ones that taste like sawdust. Had a banana late in the morning, and then went to lunch at Applebees and had their Hickory chicken sandwich--filled me up nicley for the rest of the day. Minestrone soup when I got home.

February 26:

Worked a detail from 6 to midnight last night, and then had to be up at 4am for work this morning,therefore, with only three hours of sleep, today became a rest day. Exercise-wise, that is. We were unbelievably short-handed today, since we had--literally--half our shift call in sick today. I am tired.

Food:

Oatmeal w/protein. I was so tired this morning that I had no appetite and had to force myself to eat the stuff. Came back home a couple of hours later and had a protein shake, and was finally starting to feel human. I bag-lunched and had a banana, large chicken breast, and a protein bar during work. Pasta and ground beef w/cheese when I got home.

February 25:

Weigh and measure day. Did not have the usual 2lb loss, however I rather expected that with being sick, and also with the muscle vs. fat ratio changing. I'm hoping to run into Kelly at the gym so I can get my bodyfat tested. (She has one of those nifty little hand-held testers.) However, the hips are still shrinking, and I even finally noticed some change in my thighs.

Worked chest and biceps today with Mike. Started with dumbell incline presses, moved to smith machine bench presses, then burned out with flyes on the pec machine. For biceps we did dumbell curls on the preacher bench, then incline dumbell curls (lie back on an incline bench that's at about a 60degree tilt, put your arms out to the sides, and do curls both arms at the same time. Serious burn!) Cable curls then, and finished with forearm curls from various angles and positions. After we finished with weights I did about 15-20 minutes of stretching (I really need to improve my flexibility) while Mike did abs, then I did 30 minutes on the bike.

Food:

Protein/oatmeal and a grapefruit. Finished off the protein bar from yesterday on my way home from the gym. Protein shake when I got home. Angel hair pasta with chicken breast, jello salad. Experimented w/sugar-free pudding w/added protein powder. Successful experiment! I now have Proto-pudding. Ground beef w/cheese before my detail.