Gordi Log's 5lbs of Liptropic Protein

[gordi]

I'm still waiting on the protein, but I figured I'd get started anyway. At the very least, it'll help motivate me to get to the gym and keep my diet clean.

At the present time, I'm the Director of a small church camp, though it's very likely that I'll be looking for new work soon. All summer long, I was dealing with the temptations of having food like mac and cheese, lasagna, burgers, and nachos right there in the dining hall for free. I usually just made a shake when the meal was a real diet-buster, and I did my best to stick to salad, fruits, veggies, and protein... but I didn't exactly bat 1.000

That bodes well for the log, though, since my body should be ready to adjust to more of a strict diet again.

I've done pretty well on the diet since camp finished. The "worst" things I've eaten have been meat pizza on whole grain crust and my wife's homemade wonton soup (which is pretty healthy: full of garlic and veggies and made with extra lean ground beef... but the wonton wraps aren't on my list of acceptable foods).

Otherwise, it's been:

Omega 3 eggs with veggies cooked in olive oil
Canned tuna or salmon mixed with a tablespoon of garlic and chili flax oil (delicious!)
plain grilled extra lean ground beef
protein shakes
turkey jerky
almonds
avocados
small slices of brie cheese as a treat
yakitori on the BBQ with grilled squash and eggplant

This morning I'm having one of my favourite breakfasts: steel cut oats with yogurt and blueberries. I don't cook the oats, just mix a cup of them with a cup of plain probiotic yogurt and cover the whole thing with blueberries. I put it in the fridge overnight, and it's ready to eat in the morning.

Supps are: flax seeds, greens powder, fish oil, magnesium, zinc, trans resveratrol.

I hit the gym yesterday, too. Started with 5 minutes on the treadmill to get the blood flowing, then went straight into 5 X 5 on cleans and presses from the floor. I only use 135lbs for that, but I was sucking wind like a madman by the time I was done. I followed it up with three sets of pushups with my feet up on a swiss ball. I do those until I collapse in the pool of sweat that's collecting under my face. My shoulders were completely fried by the end of that, and my heart was still pounding, so I kept it going with squats (high reps, no weight). I partially tore the piriformis muscle in my right leg, so I just do free squats and lunges until I can feel it acting up. For some reason, deadlifts and cleans with moderate weights don't seem to aggravate it too much, so I use a lot of those.

I finished off with a bunch of planks, and a single set of dumbbell curls. That was it. I'm really feeling it this morning, though. Those cleans take a lot out of me.

[gojimmygo]

Good luck Gordo

[gordi]

Thank you, gojimmygo!

This pic is from 3 days ago, good record of how I look starting out:
http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=46

I also weighed in at 262 yesterday, which is lighter than I started the summer (by about 12 pounds) so I got away with the occasional indulgence!


Also: I can't belive I put that apostrophe in the thread title: Gordi Log's? Yeesh! I used to teach English in Europe (and I might teach it in Japan some day) I should know better than that! :o

[gordi]

Spent the whole day watching football today. :yeah

I'm bummed about the Brady injury, and not just because I drafted him in the first round in the Fantasy league... I really enjoy watching him lead his team down the field. I caught every Pats game I could last year, even when I was in Japan getting married (They show one NFL game a week on TV there. Luckily, they chose to show Pats vs. Colts!)

It made me realise how great it is to be healthy and free from injury.

I did take half an hour to do some lunges and squats and planks and other core-specific and mobility-related training... That'll free me up to concentrate 100 per cent on upper-body work at the gym tomorrow.

:bch

My wife was off work, and she made spicy teriyaki tofu, and baked salmon in a spicy lime sauce, so I ate really (really) well today.

I'm going to be excited going to check the mail, waiting for my protein to arrive.

[seanf76]

Gordi

i emailed the LG headquarters to find out when and if they shipped it yet
I will let you know asap

Log is starting off good bro
I was bummed about the Brady injury as I live 3 towns from Foxboro Stadium

but on the other hand I dont have him in fantasy so it doesnt effect me

a hint of advise for your fantasy league
pick up

Forte rb for chicago
Matt Ryan qb atlanta
Mcfadden if you have a keeper league

these 3 are going to be good fantasy value

[gordi]

Matt Forte is Fantasy Gold already. He was running through the Colts front 7 like they weren't even there.

I'm going to wait on Matt Ryan, even though I need a QB now. He won't be playing against that weak Detroit secondary and non-existant pass rush every week. Nice first pass, though!

Don't have DMC, and he's already gone... but I do have the Titans rookie, Chris Johnson. He'll be a starter by mid-season if he doesn't hit the wall.

I'm really psyched to hit the gym today. Feeling good, lots of energy.

[seanf76]

Protein enroute let me know when you get it ?

:bch

[gordi]

Awesome. Thanks! I will make a shake and post about it as soon as I get it.

Had a great workout today. Tried a new variation on curls: Start out with ordinary dumbbell curls, then when you can't do any more reps switch up immediately to hammer curls with the same dumbbells, then when you can't do any more of those try to get a couple more reps by doing the hammer curls across your body. I got so much blood in there that my arms started to cramp up. It looked like they were going to burst.

I almost wish I'd brought my camera to the gym, I really pushed it on most of my sets, and ended up with such a great pump that my shoulders and traps were practically getting into Paul Dillet-type territory. :flagC

[seanf76]

have you ever tried 21s
look up on youtube bicep 21 to see the exercise

[CreatineAmonster]

lol if you look up 21's find a few vids cause there are some of 18yr old kids rocking so hard I swear they are going to fall over lol. One thing about 21's is they are all about strict form. Hell of a pump though.

We did them this summer with added same idea with overhead tricep extentions super set back to back 21's bar bell curl to barbell over head tricep ext 21's. They can and will make you puke lol.

Great log so far I am subbed interested in this protein as I am very overweight. I had some luck a couple years ago with a lipo protein from ALRI but they stopped making it. I actually don't think it ever went into mass production.

Anyway good luck this log looks good already.

[seanf76]

vanilla flavor should be released in about 30 day s

[gordi]

Thank you, monster. I appreciate the encouragement.

I used to do 21s all the time back when I was a youngster working out in my parents' basement with my 1970s era Sears-bought concrete-and-plastic weights. I remember when I convinced my folks to buy me a curling bar (must have been right at the tail end of the '70s). Once I had that, I really started hitting the 21s. I felt like a real hardcore weightlifter!

Anyone remember what those old weight sets were called? They were named after someone, but it wasn't Joe Weider...

I'm definitely going to give those a try this week. Since losing fat while maintaining muscle is my main goal at this point, I tend to push pretty hard through my workouts and try to keep my heart rate high. By the time I get to biceps (generally last or second-to-last in the workout), my shoulders are usually all pumped up and sore, and I tend not to be in the mood to do a lot of sets. I like to hit 'em hard and get out. Drop sets work great, and I really enjoyed the "Mechanical Drop Sets" I used on Monday (dumbbell curls into hammer curls into cross-body hammer curls with the same 'bells). 21s should be fun to try again. Too bad there's no curling bar at my gym! (I just go to the local community centre, since my wife likes to go swimming. I meet her in the hot tub after my workout. That's a nice treat!) I might go get a ten-visit punch card for a more serious gym just to be able to add some more variety into my workouts. There's tons of fun gear that the community centre doesn't have... like curling bars.

I'm kind of achy today... if I weren't keeping a log I might have talked myself into waiting a day before hitting the gym again. Instead, I talked myself into it by thinking that I could do a full-body 3X15 routine, just getting the blood to flow and pushing the lactic acid out. Once the blood starts flowing, though, I'll probably end up tossing in a couple of heavy sets of something fun.

[gordi]

Well, I started out carefully: Did a few minutes minutes on the treadmill to get the blood flowing, then a couple of high-rep sets of pushups with my feet up on a swiss ball... then I got into deadlifting and my ego just wouldn't let me go high-reps there. I ended up having a great workout, and I feel just fine this morning. Slept about ten or eleven hours, that probably helped.

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=47

How many other hobbies are there where scraped-up, scabby shins are a badge of honour? :cool:

[Mr.Freeze]

Hardcore, Go Gordi!!

[seanf76]

http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m255/seanf76/gemmavswhey.png

[gordi]

Looks like good stuff. I'm very much looking forward to giving it a try!

Hit the gym today, and I went to an actual gym rather than the community centre. Nice to have more than one Olympic bar available!

I did my usual lunges and planks, then went into 5X5 cleans as the basis for my workout. It felt easier than last time, but I crapped out at 3 reps on the last set. My grip gave out, of all things.

There was a ton of new equipment at the gym. (It's been over a year since last I visited. The awesomely friendly and knowledgeable guy who works the counter there still remembered my name, though). Most interesting for me, by far, was the Cybex Functional Trainer, which is basically a super-adjustable cable machine with pulley on the end of arms that you can set up at pretty much any angle. I did my whole chest and back workout on the thing. I tend to feel (to simplify things greatly) that the more exercises I do standing up, the more I'm addressing and correcting the variety of imbalances and injuries that I've built up over 26 years of training, wrestling, and football.

I sweat so much that my shirt was soaked through. Of course, I forgot to bring a shirt to change into, and I had to go shopping after my workout... Don't you just love pulling on a clammy workout shirt after you've showered?

Also: The gym has two curling bars, so I was going to do some 21s... only when I got done with the Cybex, there were two older guys (yeah, older than me) using them, each guy had one five-pounder on each side of the bar. Oh well, I got a ten-visit punch card, so I'll have nine more chances to hit the 21s. (I did mechanical drop sets instead. I'm really getting to like those).

[seanf76]

hopefully the protein arrives soon bro
not sure how long it takes to get there and also not sure if there will be a problem at the border (customs) i hear they confiscate a lot of the ph's and stuff the protein should be no problem though

[gordi]

The protein arrived today!

In fact, it showed up just as we were finishing dinner. My wife was off work, and she made a feast: Baked sole with lemon and rosemary, Japanese winter squash, green beans, miso soup. and rice with mushrooms.

I was stuffed... but I had said that I would mix the Lipotropic Protein up and post about it as soon as it arrived, so to keep my word I tore into it right away.

It's a really nice protein. It mixes easily, with no big lumps, has a nice milkshake-type texture (even mixed in water), and a pleasantly malty taste. I was kind of worried about what I would write if it tasted gross or didn't mix well... but neither of those is an issue at all.

My favourite thing about my first shake: No aspartame aftertaste! Instead, there was a mild legume-type aftertaste, similar to what you get after eating edamame, soy nuts, or wasabi peas (without the wasabi burn, of course). I really enjoy that kind of flavour, and I really don't like the aspartame aftertaste at all, so this is a HUGE plus for me.

I'd assume that Gemma protein is at least in part made from peas. Is that right? If so, that's another plus in my opinion, as I occasionally get some allergy-type reactions if I just drink whey, whey, whey all the time. Egg protein is a pretty good alternative (as long as I mix some berries or something into the shake to disguise the taste). If Gemma is non-dairy then it's a far better alternative since it tastes really good straight up.

I tried eating a spoonful dry, and it was still good. I tried mixing it to a pudding-type texture in just a bit of water, and it was delicious. I'm going to mix some into my oatmeal the next time I have some, and my guess is it will be better than the comparatively over-sweet stuff I usually use.

Finally, I didn't feel bloated with this stuff, even though I drank a big glass of it right after a huge meal.

My first impressions of this product are really positive. I'm looking forward to putting it to the test.

I'll be on the road for business from tomorrow through Friday, but I should still be able to post a couple of times (and hit the gym on Wednesday. I love going to different gyms on the road, I usually try at least one new thing, and almost always have a great workout).

Thanks for this opportunity, seanf76.

[seanf76]

Glad it arrived and glad you like it
yes it is lactose free

something else you could try with it seeing as your body absorbs it kinda quick i mix it with a scoop of whey before bed so as i sleep my body will absorb the gemma first then the whey

lol about you trying a dry spoonful :rofl:laugh
talk about chaulk mouth

[gordi]

I'll try that!

I managed to hit the gym today between meetings. Apparently, it was "MILFs get in for free day" as it was wall-to-wall hot women in their early 30s today. Very inspiring.

Just did lunges, squats, planks, pushups, presses, rows, and curls. I was getting checked out a fair bit, some of them weren't even trying to be subtle about it. That made me feel good. Nine months and 40 pounds ago, I didn't get that so much...

[gordi]

I did a half-assed job of sticking to my diet on the road. Lots of chicken and veggies... but also a couple of pieces of pizza, a glass of coke, and a few nachos. Too many temptations and not enough time to get in a good meal on Thursday... or maybe (more accurately) I need to stop justifying lazy habits and just stick to the damn diet...

I just went to the freezer to get some chicken breasts out for tonight.

Hit the gym today on the way back home. Typical whole-body work-out, but I threw in some upright rows at the end (which I haven't done for a while... and some 21s! Those were fun.

Had a shake as soon as I got home, too. I'm really enjoying that LG protein! I brought it with me on the road, and explained to the people I was staying with that I got it for free but I have to write about my training and diet while using the protein. They were all encouraging. My wife, too. She was proud of me for winning the contest to get the free protein. It's sure nice to have lots of encouragement when you are doing something as difficult as a complete body recomposition.

More good news: My weight has been holding steady under 260 (256-258) the last four times I've stepped on the scales... so that's another busted plateau! I honestly don't think I've been under 260 since 2002.

I picked up a 5-pounder of chocolate "time-released" protein blend to mix with my Lipotropic for bedtime shakes. Is it OK to mention other brands in this thread? Anyway, my guess is that it will be one crazy delicious bedtime treat when I mix the two.

[gordi]

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=52

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=51

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=50

Should I find or take a couple of pics where I just look terrible, then use them as "before" pictures?

[seanf76]

looking good bro keep it up
you can mention other companies we do not disrespect other companies

another thing i have done is mix a scoop in with a med dunkin donut black ice coffe turbo a quick pre workout drink if i am in a hurry

[gordi]

you can mention other companies we do not disrespect other companies



That's something I can respect.

What I've been doing is mixing one scoop of LG Lipotropic with one scoop of Dymatize Elite 12-Hour (fudge brownie flavour) in a shaker cup full of water. It makes a thick and delicious bedtime shake, something I genuinely look forward to enjoying on a daily basis.

I did a good job of sticking to chicken, eggs, protein drinks, veggies, flax, greens, and fish oil over the weekend. I did my lower body and core-specific exercises at home today, freeing me up to hit a high-intensity upper body session in the gym tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that just as much as I'm looking forward to my next shake!

Mixing chocolate protein into iced coffee sounds good to me! I'll give that a try, too.

[Proteinkiller]

gordi looking thick bro keep up the good work... im interested to see how your cut continues you have alot of mass so itll be nice to see how u look after this is all said and done
keep it up my man PK

[gordi]

Didn't get to the gym yesterday because of a work emergency. I was calm about it at the time, but at night I really felt restless, pacing around... not interested in watching the tube, reading, playing video games, or doing anything but getting to the gym today.

Ended up having a fantastic workout, though. I was kind of low on energy this morning, so I took my ECA (for the first time in weeks, actually) to give me a boost. I did the 5X5 cleans again, and this time I didn't crap out on the last set. My heart was just pounding and I was gasping for air. It was awesome. Time to add some more weight to the bar!

I weighed in at 254! Lowest I've been in years. I'm pretty damn excited about this steady progress.

[gordi]

Another pretty good workout today. I think I'm going to break it down so that I'm doing one lower body/core-specific day, one heavy upper-body day, and one whole-body day per week, rather than 3 whole-body days. I might even go to a four-day split, with two lower-body and two upper-body workouts... but the three-day scheme fits my schedule pretty well.

Tried doing GSP-style blast-strap work for my chest and back today, that was kind of fun. My forearms were just bursting with veins by the time I was done. I was looking like a poor man's Gaspari! (As long as I kept my shirt on).

Holding steady at 254, and I honestly think I'm making slight improvements in my overall muscularity already. Here are the pics:

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=56

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=55

Now I'm going to make some veggies and eggs, then it's back to work...

[gordi]

Mixed a scoop in with some cold coffee... it was really good. I'll definitely have that again.

[gsxr750]

Looking great Gordo, feeling as great i'm sure! :) Keep it up!.. traps are getting alot bigger too!

[gordi]

Thank you, gix. I appreciate the encouragement... and I feel fantastic! Nothing compares to making progress. Talk about motivation...

Training's going well. I had a planned cheat meal yesterday: Chinese food and pizza while watching the Steelers and Ravens beat one another senseless. The Sunday night and Monday night games were both pretty hardcore this week! Watching games like that is inspiring to me.

Also, I was struck by the contrast between TO (falsely and selfishly complaining that he doesn't get the ball enough) andTampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant (gutting it out and doing his job to honour the memory of his deceased 3-month-old son). I want to be more like Bryant (putting others first) and less like TO (thinking of myself all the time).

Of course, doing a log about my training and my diet... it's tough not to come across as a little self-obsessed. :rolleyes:

I did a no-weights lower-body and core-specific workout before tucking in. Hopefully that helped a bit. (Here's the theory: post-workout, your muscles are ready to take dietary carbs and turn them into glycogen to replenish what you spent during the workout. I'm a big believer in going low-carbs to lose fat... but when I do eat carbs I like to keep it to either: breakfast or post-workout. Hopefully, I can burn off what I eat at breakfast, and hopefully, my muscles can suck up whatever I eat post-workout. In particular, if I'm craving something sweet... I'll save it for after training and trust that the insulin released by the sugars will be put to better use than it would otherwise).

Took my ephies this morning to help with Damage Control. Off to the gym this afternoon to work my upper body. Looking forward to it!

I'm going on a short vacation (road trip to Alberta) with my wife next week. I'll have to really plan ahead to stick to my diet while we're on the road.

[gordi]

Weighed in on the wrong side of 255 today. I'm pissed... even though it's 90 per cent likely that it's just extra waterI'm holding because of the carbs and sodium in my cheat feast...

Still, the idea of re-gaining any fat at all is appalling to me at this point. I'm more determined than ever to do a good job of keeping it clean on the road next week.

Workout went well, at least. I got up to 155 for my last two sets of cleans. That felt good.

[gordi]

Shoulders and traps are killing me today. It's that good kind of pain, though. The one we all love. The one that means you are growing. It's the best reward you can get the day after a hard workout.

Now, to mix up a shake and give my body the protein it needs to repair that damage and help me grow!

[gordi]

I think I'm getting addicted to cleans. Even though I did them on Monday, I just had to hit them again today. I want to beat the crap out of my muscles before going on the road, since I don't know if I'll be able to hit the gym while travelling. I'll still be able to do my man-yoga and pushups and stuff, but I figured I might as well really fry my muscles this week.

Kind of a funny story: I wanted to try clean and pressing 155 again, so I put a 35 on each side of the bar for warm-ups, then added a 25 to each side. Next set, I hit 5 reps... but it was pretty tough going. The set after that, I crapped out at three. I rested a bit... then crapped out at two. It was only while stripping off the 25s that I realised that I was actually lifting 165. What a dolt! At least I'm making some kind of progress, though...

I did back and chest work on the blast straps, then finished the whole thing off on the cybex pulley machine. I sweat so bad that I had to roll my windows down on the way home (I forgot to bring a towel to the gym). I couldn't stand my own BO! It was that sour kind of smell. My wife was pretty happy when I took my shower.

First, though, I made a huge salad with all kinds of greens, apple cider vinegar, garlic chili flax oil, flaked tuna, almonds, and craisins. It was delicious. My wife enjoyed it, too.

That'll carry me nicely until my bedtime shake.

[gordi]

On the road, had a great time driving from BC through the Rockies. In Calgary today.

It's kind of crazy how few restaurant meals there are that fit with any kind of bodybuilding diet. I tend to just stick to salads with chicken, though I did have a very nice ahi tuna steak in Revelstoke...

We went to three restaurants yesterday where there was literally NOTHING on the menu that I could feel good about eating. I guess I could have had an omelette and just left the toast and hash browns and butter and jam and syrup and eaten the eggs... but I was almost freaked out by the general unhealthy nature of the menu. I felt like an orthodox Jewish guy in a restaurant that specializes in pulled pork or something. I just couldn't see myself eating any of that stuff. Anyway, my wife just ordered something and I had a shake in the parking lot. We went out and got some almonds and fruit and a couple of those bottled organic greens smoothies...

My wife and the people we're traveling with and visiting have all been really supportive so far. My wife, in particular, understands that I have to be fussy about what I eat. Also, everyone we visit is all "Oh! You lost so much weight! You look great!"

That's some pretty good motivation when it comes to not giving in and just eating a bunch of burgers.

[Mr Ontario]

Good work Gordie....your so sexy :)

[gsxr750]

Awesome work man looking good keep it up!!

[gordi]

Thank you, gentlemen!

I'm back home. I hit the gym today and once again weighed in under 254, so I'm happy. Meeting my goals feels better than any unhealthy food could possibly taste.

Definitely glad that I took the protein along on the trip. Protein drinks, nuts, and fruit saw me through just fine. I also got right into visiting those fancy juice places while on the road. They don't have any where I live, but they were all over Calgary. I've seen them in Vancouver, too. I'm happy about that, as well. It'll serve as a good, healthy alternative when I'm in town on business.

I think that killing myself with consecutive heavy workouts before hitting the road was a good strategy. Doing lighter workouts while travelling gave me time to recover, and I think that I responded well to that.

[gordi]

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=60

That's me in, no kidding, the pants that fit me kind of snugly last November. If I look at how far I've got to go, it's daunting... but when I look at how far I've come it's inspiring.

[RagingRandy]

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=60

That's me in, no kidding, the pants that fit me kind of snugly last November. If I look at how far I've got to go, it's daunting... but when I look at how far I've come it's inspiring.

Awesome progress. Keep it up.

[gordi]

Thank you, Randy!

Thought I'd throw out a few of my favourite recipes over the next few posts. To start with, here's my favourite shake recipe:

2 cups water
2 scoops protein powder
5g taurine
5g creatine
2 heaping tablespoons of cold milled flax seed
1 level tablespoon of greens powder

blend, then add:

1 - 1.5 cups of frozen fruit (I usually peel, wrap, and freeze bananas for this, and I buy frozen strawberries and blueberries in 2kg bags at the grocery store).

I'll drink half of it now, then put the whole blender jug in the fridge and drink the rest in 2 hours.

Here is today's picture:

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=65
October 13 '08

compared to:

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=46
Sept 3 '08

I took it within an hour of lifting at the gym, so I'm still a bit pumped up. If I compare it to the picture I took when starting out, I think I've made some decent progress in just one month.I've dropped 8 pounds, but I don't think I've lost much muscle. Looks like steady training, a sensible diet, and quality supplementation can make a difference in your physique. Who knew?

[gordi]

And here's my basic omelette recipe:

Take 1- 2 cups of frozen mixed veggies (I like the oriental mixes best) or frozen French cut green beans, and microwave them in a bowl with soy sauce and hot sauce to taste (my microwave has an automatic setting for cooking frozen veggies, I just use that)

In the meantime, heat up a big pan on your stove (I use the upper end of medium-high heat for omelettes). After the pan is hot, add a healthy tablespoon of good olive oil. Let it get hot.

By then, your veggies should be ready. Dump them in the pan and stir. Add some spices ( I like black pepper, cayenne or that Japanese spice mix, but eggs and veggies work with pretty much anything but ginger). Let them fry until they start to change colour a bit.

In the meantime, crack 4-6 omega 3 eggs into a bowl and whip them up with a fork. When the veggies are ready, pour the eggs in. When the eggs start to cook, you can puncture the middle of the omelette and lift up the edges with your spatula to let some uncooked egg run in. We're using a lot of eggs, and we need to make sure it all gets cooked. When the edges are starting to look cooked, but the middle is still soft, you can add cheese or meat if you want to. I sometimes use a small handful of fresh parmesan, or crumble in a bit of feta. A little bit of left-over meat or chicken, or some ham or turkey sausage, can be cut up and tossed in, too.

When it's almost ready, sprinkle on some sesame seeds and a bit more spice. Fold the omelette over and slide it onto a plate. I sometimes add a side of salsa and/or cottage cheese.

It's a rare day when I don't eat this at least once, when I'm not on the road.

[gordi]

And... Tuna Patties!

Drain two cans of flaked tuna. Mix in one or two omega 3 eggs and a couple of big tablespoons of oat bran, cold milled flax seed, or dry instant oatmeal. You can add some fresh ground black pepper, cayene, curry powder, chili powder, cumin, basil, or other herb or spice, if you'd like.

Fry it in olive oil until the egg is cooked.

Easy, healthy, and delicious.

And... Fudge Bars!

Mix one scoop of chocolate Lioptropic protein, one scoop of Dymatize fudge brownie flavour protein, and two scoops of cold milled flax seeds. Mix in four tablespoons of natty peanut butter. Add a quarter cup of water and stir and mix and mix and stir until it looks like a blob of crap. Break the blob in two, wrap the bits in plastic, and mash them into a kind of rectangle shape in a small baking dish. Put 'em in the fridge. Eat them cold.

You could probably make these with oatmeal instead of flax seed, but you'd have to mess aorund with how much water you use. It's best not to use too much.

[gordi]

Had another really good workout today. Started out with a kind of front squat into push press, to wake the whole body up. It's the first time I've done any kind of squatting since tearing my piriformis in June. No pain, so I'm happy! I only went up to 135 lbs, but it still got me sucking air and sweating profusely.

I followed that up with incline presses, Hammer Strength rows, Blast Strap inverted rows and push-ups, leaning lateral raises to isolate my delts, and mechanical drop set dumbbell curls for my biceps.

That was enough.

I had a big shake, my wife is baking some fish for supper, and there's UFC on the tube all afternoon and evening. My kind of lazy Saturday! I'm loving it.

[gsxr750]

Wow I really enjoyed that tuna recipe thanks man.. that's a new treat.. with some chedda cheese!!

[gordi]

Wow I really enjoyed that tuna recipe thanks man.. that's a new treat.. with some chedda cheese!!


Awesome. Glad you enjoyed it. Shredded cheese would be great in that, I'm going to give it a try.

Anyone else try any of the recipes?

Don't be afraid to make comments. I appreciate the encouragement a whole lot, but I can take constructive suggestions and criticism as well.

[gsxr750]

Try this if you haven't yet Gordi :)

1 can of Tuna that has been in the fridge so it's chilled. Mix in some Whipped Salad Dressing ( the cheap mans mayonaise with the blue lid by Kraft - has to be that kind for the sweet flavor )

Add 1 TBSP of Tangy Dill Bits ( has to be the BICKS kind )

Salt / Pepper to taste.

Mix in with a few cups of Spinach, or Lettuce.

Really refreshing and cool..great tasting salad, the dill really goes well with the mayonaise and Tuna. Give it a try :) Easy and quick! Like Mr. O.

[gordi]

That sounds like a great salad for a hot day!

I've recently gotten into adding tuna to my salads when I don't have any left-over chicken around. It tastes great and it's so easy to fix up.

[gordi]

Here's a quick tip: Try marinating your chicken breasts in lemon juice, lime juice, or orange juice for 24 hours before grilling them. You can add spices or hot sauce to the marinade, too. Fast, easy, and delicious!

[buffdaddy]

Great thread Gordi. A wealth of good info. I'll be trying the veggie and tuna recipes, quick and easy.

[seanf76]

Gordi looking good bro
what are the effects that you are feeling from the protein?
do you notice a difference between it and whey?

[gordi]

Thank you Buff, thank you Sean.

The big difference between Gemma and Whey that I've noticed is the total lack of bloat with the Gemma. I'm also still really into the taste and texture of Chocolate Lipotropic half-way into the tub. The lack of aspartame after-taste is still something I appreciate. The taste goes really well with greens powder and flax seed, so it works great in my healthy shakes. It mixes well and tastes great with Dymatize 12-hour fudge brownie flavour, so that has become my regular bedtime shake. I like the way it tastes mixed in with my oatmeal, and I like it mixed up thick and eaten like a pudding.

As a result, I've been drinking shakes far more regularly, and this in turn has made it easier for me to keep up 5 or 6 feedings of protein on a daily basis. I was never a regular bedtime-shake-drinker until this past month. I'm sure that is making a difference in my progress.

In the last month I've dropped 8 pounds of body weight while adding strength. It's difficult to know how much of that I can attribute purely to LG Lipotropic, since my diet has been pretty strict and my training pretty regular since September... but I'm willing to state that I sincerely believe that using your product has contributed to my continued progress and positive results. I'm happy, and I'm impressed. This is a great product.

To sum up: No bloat, tastes great, mixes well, works great in all kinds of combos, and it is contributing to my ability to meet my goals.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to get LG Lipotropic shipped to me in Japan, since it looks like my wife and I will be moving there within the year, and I certainly plan to continue using this protein.

[gordi]

...And... I weighed in at 251 today, so I'm on the doorstep of smashing another personal goal.

[gordi]

I went to Vancouver to hear Henry Rollins speak on Sunday. He talked for around two and a half hours. When he was done and I stood up, I could feel the blood rushing to my glutes and upper hams, which had been flattened out against an uncomfortable seat cushion for that whole time. Still, I would have been happy to sit and listen to Rollins tell stories for another two and a half hours. He was never less than fascinating.

Rollins has great stories to tell because Rollins leads a great life. He's constantly on the go, either touring and talking, or traveling to parts of the world that most of us would never even imagine visiting (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria...) and just walking around and talking to regular people.

If you've ever read Rollins' reflections on Iron... you know that it was lifting weights that gave him the courage to begin walking the path that led him to the endlessly fascinating life that he now leads. He looked much leaner this year than he has in the past, but he's still obviously a guy who trains, and trains hard.

Then he gets out of the gym and really lives.

[gordi]

I got some tremendous news from my doctor yesterday!

The results from my blood tests are in, and all of the values (liver enzymes, prostate enzymes, etc.) that doctors worry might be elevated in people who are on TRT came back either normal or LOW!!

All of the meat and eggs I'm eating, all of the protein I'm drinking, the little bit of test I'm shooting, all of the workouts... and my liver and prostate are totally fine. I'm pretty damned pleased about that.

I'm also totally out of the danger zone now after having been diagnosed as dangerously pre-diabetic at the beginning of the year.

I'm dropping weight while adding strength, I'm off my gout medication and haven't had any kind of flare-up, and I'm feeling better than I have since 2002, when I came back to Canada after having lived in Europe.

I've got some major life changes on the horizon, and I'm not stressed about them at all.

My doc gave me the go-ahead to bump my TRT up to 100mg every 5 days (I've been injecting once a week), because my body is obviously responding so well to the treatment without any real evidence of negative side effects.

Changing my diet to follow Dr. John Berardi's basic principles, getting on TRT, hitting the gym with honest persistance, getting my shakes, greens, and good fats... coming here, getting advice, and keeping this log... it's turned my life around.

I have to sincerely thank everyone on these boards who's offered any kind of encouragement, and there are a whole lot of you. Making such huge changes was heavy going at first, it meant (and it still means) a whole lot to get good advice and hear some kind words.

I've been so nervous about the blood tests that I found it hard to post add to this log... When I thought about my own training, diet, and supps, I couldn't help thinking about what I'd do if it turned out that the TRT was hurting my health in any way. The improvements in my sleep, mood, work, social life, married life, boners, recovery, and intensity in the gym are so great that I think I'd rather have 20 more years living like this than 40 more years of "the old me." What a huge relief it is that my body can handle the therapy.

I got through the stress of waiting to hear the results by hitting the gym, going to concerts, watching a ton of MMA, and coming here to argue about MMA with guys on the board.

I'll post more in the next couple of days: Reflections on the changes coming up, thoughts after having seen Neil Young in concert, a couple of recipes and ideas for how to mix Gemma protein with food...

:greet

[gordi]

So six days ago I was back in Vancouver to see Neil Young in concert. He's looking pretty old now, and I guess that makes sense considering he's been around since 1945 and has lived pretty hard for most of that time. The guy has been a touring musician longer than I've been alive, and I'm 43 years old! The people in his band carried clear evidence of many years on the road, as well. Still, they blew the roof off of GM Place. There wasn't even a tiny hint of anyone going through the motions. These were not business people trying to bleed a few more dollars out of the nostalgia market. These were driven artists and performers, doing what they dearly love to do.

Thinking about that, and reflecting on Natenator's "Does Anyone Ever Get Tired of This?" thread, I've come up with the following:

If you want to keep loving what you're doing, you can't ever let it become a chore. Obviously, I don't mean to suggest that you should not work very, very, very hard at it... but I do mean that you have to get some enjoyment out of it as well. You can't ever let it become "just" work.

One of the ways to do that is to mix things up once in a while: Neil Young sometimes tours with Crazy Horse. Sometimes it's just him and his guitar. This time around, it was family and old friends that he's been playing with for years (His wife Peggy, old crony Anthony Crawford, Ben Keith, Rick Rosas, Chad Cromwell). He's got an insane number of songs to choose from, and he mixes his set list up every tour. During a single concert he'll shift from all-out rockers like Cinnamon Girl to acoustic ballads like Old Man and back again. He doesn't just do the same thing over and over again.

It's like us in the gym. We've got so many exercises to choose from, but it's all too easy to fall into the rut of just doing the same thing all the time. Switching from doing bench presses all the time to doing more pushups, blast strap work, and cable stuff on the Cybex machine has got me all excited about working my pecs again. When I get tired of that, maybe I'll switch to dips or something. There are a lot of ways to get your muscles to grow.

There are so many ways to train, but a lot of guys are so focussed on high-volume work that they never go high-frequency or high-intensity. A lot of guys are so into high intensity that they never do multiple work sets for one bodypart. There are a lot of training styles that work... but most of them only work for a limited time. Switching things up in a big way can renew both your growth and your enthusiasm.

I'm sure that Young takes breaks from time to time, where he doesn't sing a note or pick up a guitar for days at a time. If you're not peaking for a contest or something, you can probably take the occasional break yourself. Just don't make the huge mistake I did and allow your break to expand into a couple of years of lazy living.

The musicians that Young plays with may not be the technically greatest players in the world, but they are the people who bring out the best in his songs and the people that he loves to work with. In the same way, if you want to love training, you need to find the place that suits you and surround yourself with people who get what you're doing and support you in it.

Finally, Neil Young blew the audience away by doing an incredible version of the Beatles' A Day in the Life as his encore. It was totally unexpected, but it worked like a charm. Sometimes, you just have to break the mold. For me, keeping this log is something brand new and it's inspired me to be consistent with my training and diet in a way I never expected. Taking a new protein, and having my shakes on a daily basis has probably been a huge contributer to me being able to keep adding strength as I the drop fat.

I'm excited about training, and I'm excited about dieting. I want to keep that going.

I'm never going to compete as a bodybuilder or powerlifter. I'm never going to be a professional strongman. Still, I want to keep training hard and eating right for the rest of my life. I'd like to go into the gym when I'm in my 60s with the same energy and passion that Neil Young has when he takes the stage in his 60s. I gave up on it and let myself go once, from 2004-2007. I ate whatever I wanted and only exercised once in a while and with very little intensity. I ended up a 300 pound sack of goo, with gout and kidney stones and a bad back. I never want to go there again. If I want to stay on the right track, I've got to keep it fun and keep it interesting.

It's a life-long battle. After all... rust never sleeps.

[gordi]

Had a nice workout today. I went to the local pool, because my wife likes to swim while I'm lifting, and we can meet in the hot tub afterward for a soak. Nice stuff.

The actual weight room isn't anything spectacular. In fact, there's only one Olympic bar in the whole place. Usually, though, no-one is using it anyway.

Today... well, today there were two other guys in there training seriously. There was a guy who looked to be a bit older than me, who was doing some Olympic-lifter type training. There was a guy who looked to be younger, who was genuinely huge and ripped, in tremendous condition. The younger guy was using the barbell to do upright rows, so I asked if I could work in. He said that he was already working in with the Olympic lifter. The older guy, hearing this, invited me to join them so I did. It was pretty nice. A lot of the time, where I live, I am pretty much the biggest and strongest guy in the gym. In this case, the younger guy was WAY bigger and in MUCH better shape, and the older guy was pound-for-pound a whole lot stronger that I've ever been. It was kind of inspiring.

Also, both guys were friendly and helpful, but not chatty or distracting. All three of us trained pretty hard. It was more or less a perfect workout atmosphere. The older guy gave me some really helpful tips on my form in the clean. I complimented the younger guy on his traps, and he said that he hardly ever works traps and shoulders, because he's focussed on keeping everything in proportion. I figure that, if you're going to have one body part that grows too fast, shoulders would probably be the best one.

It was cool just working in, too. The weight on the bar was a bit less than I usually use for the clean & press, so I just did a few more reps than usual. I got a great pump out of that. Sometimes it's nice to mix things up a bit.

[gordi]

Went shopping for groceries, here's what we got:

2 club packs of chicken breasts
1 club pack of chicken thighs
5 cans of tuna
2 tubs of cottage cheese
2 tubs of yogurt
2 dozen Omega 3 eggs
2 cans of black beans
1 kilo bag of frozen French style green beans
1 kilo bag of frozen Oriental style mixed veggies
2 kilo bag of frozen blueberries
1 bag of fuji apples
1 bag of red delicious apples
3 pounds of onions
1 bag of baby carrots
10 avocados
2 pineapples
4 bottles of high fiber V8
1 bag of oats
tomatoes
cauliflower
cucumber

Just looking at that list makes me happy. When my wife and I were wrapping the chicken before freezing it, I understood how lucky I am to have someone like her that supports me in my goals.

Those groceries, my protein, some olive oil, some greens powder, fish oil, and flax seed...

I'm good to go.

[gordi]

One of the great things about the LG Gemma protein is that it mixes in quite nicely with other stuff. I like to mix it in with my oatmeal, with yogurt and berries, with cottage cheese and fruit (about 1 scoop per cup works well), with cold coffee... for whatever reason I didn't like it as much when I mixed it in with yogurt and oatmeal at the same time. With everything else, though, it works just great.

Here's something to try as it gets colder, kind of a protein nog:

Mix up two scoops of protein, a cup and a half of water, a big pinch (half teaspoon) of cinnamon, and a little pinch (quarter teaspoon or less) of cayenne pepper. It's really good, probably better that you'd think.

And here's a healthy frozen treat, kind of a bodybuilding version of fruit gelato:

Fill a food processor about 2/3 full with frozen berries. Add three scoops of protein. Turn on the processor, and add a tiny bit of water as it blends. Don't make it runny, though. Scrape the sides down and process it some more. This one is amazing!

[seanf76]

looking good bro

[gordi]

I've been working a couple of new exercises into my routine, just subbing them in for other things once a week or so. I find that it helps me to keep my interest and motivation high, which is really important to me these days.

For example, Doing cleans and presses from the floor for 5X5 has become my favourite exercise and a staple of my whole-body routines. I've seen some real improvement in my delts and traps, and it really gets my heart going as well.

From time to time, though, I like to do one-arm dumbbell hang cleans instead. For those, I start with the 'bell hanging by my waist and my knees slightly bent, I straighten my legs while explosively pulling the dumbbell up in an upright-row type of motion, then I snap my elbow down under the 'bell, and press it over head. I do 6-8 on each side, and I don't rest until I've done both shoulders. It's a killer. I can barely make 8 reps with 60-pound dumbbells and I really feel it the next day. It seems to beat the crap out of my entire shoulder girdle.

[gordi]

well, my weight is still hovering around 251-252, I just can't seem to bust through that 250 lb. barrier...

My training's going really well, though. I'm doing more work in less time and continuing to make small improvements in my strength and endurance.

I think that I look like I'm leaning out and there seem to be some slight improvement in muscle shape and fullness. I'm certainly not discouraged.

Here's today's pic, if you compare it with my av, I think there's some improvement there:

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=97

[gsxr750]

Definately leaner, good for you man!!

[gordi]

Thanks for the encouragement, Gixxer!

Here's another new (for me) exercise I've been using a lot lately: Inverted Rows.

I love these. I've got that inner elbow tendon/ligament problem (golf elbow?) on my right arm. I'm sure a lot of you have dealt with that, and if you have, you know how it can interfere with pulling movements. Pulldowns and chins are just to painful when it's flaring up, even when I wrap my elbow. For whatever reason, inverted rows don't create as much strain for me.

If the gym I'm in has blast straps, I use those. If not, I set the Smith Machine at crotch height, or in extreme cases I'll put a barbell in the rack at that level. (I'd never tie up the rack if there are people who need to use it for squatting, though, obviously).

Then it's either hands pronated or facing each other, about close-grip bench press width. Elbows tucked in, shoulder blades pulled back and down, staying tight, leading with my chest, explode up and control on the way down. It's pretty hard work for me, 3 sets going 10-8-6 with the reps with limited rest seems to work well. I really feel it in my mid-back the next couple of days.

When 3X10 gets easy, I'll try it with my feet elevated.

[gordi]

AND... here's my latest "Breakfast on the Road" plan: I take a 1L bottle, fill it half way with cold coffee, add three scoops of LG protein, add a little cold water, and shake that up. Quick and easy breakfast to go!

If I make extra coffee the day before I can let it cool down and then put it in the fridge. That makes for a nice cold mocha shake.

[gordi]

I'm almost at the bottom of my free tub... but I do have a tub of chocolate and a tub of vanilla LG Lipotropic on the way. I'm totally happy with the progress I've made since starting this log, and I feel like eating right and training hard are just part of who I am and what I do now, rather than something I need to work hard to keep doing.

[gordi]

It's nice to see this log up over 1000 views!

I've been dragging my ass around the last week and a half or so: Low energy, almost lethargic, achy, a bit cranky. Not sure what it is, maybe fighting off the 'flu or something?

Even worse, my weight is back up to 254, after dropping steadily for so long.

My waist isn't any bigger, though, so maybe I need to stop worrying about what the scale tells me and start paying more attention to what the mirror tells me (I feel like I'm looking a bit thicker and more dense through the upper chest and shoulders)...

Anyway, I found inspiration to get through this mini-slump in (of all places) an interview with Team Noguiera's boxing coach "Stankie":


"(You got to have...) the five d’s and the two a’s... on my report card. You got to have desire, determination, dedication, drive, and discipline, and that’s the hardest one, discipline. The two A’s, one is ability, but more importantly is attitude. You give me all that and I can take you to the top..."

Damn straight, "Stankie!" Thanks for that.

It's Monday, and I'm Gordi, and Monday is when Gordi goes to the gym and busts his ass doing cleans and presses. So, am I going to sit around moping about not being 100 per cent, or am I going to go bust my ass in the gym? I'm going to go bust my ass, that's what I'm going to do.


Here's the complete interview, if anyone is interested (and why wouldn't you be? It's Stankie!!):
http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/11/21/exclusive-stankie-in-his-own-words/

[gordi]

Well, now I am laid out with the flu. I don't go to the gym when I know I've got something that could spread to other, healthy, people. On the other hand, I still wanted to get a workout in on Wednesday.

My home gym set-up consists of this: 2 swiss balls, 1 foam roller, and a set of power block adjustable dumbbells. I don't think that I could build the body I want using nothing but that equipment, but it's surprising how decent a workout I can have with it in a pinch.

I can do various lunges, Romanian deadlifts, and squats, with or without the dumbbells. I can do all kinds of planks and pushups using the swiss balls. I can do cleans and presses and curls and rows with the dumbbells. It's not too hard to get my heart pounding, work up a sweat, and get a bit of a pump going.

Better than nothing, for sure.

Here's the shake I made today:

2 cups water
2 scoops LG chocolate
1 scoop Dymatize fudge brownie
1 tablespoon greens powder
1 heaping tablespoon flax seed
blend, then add 1 frozen organic banana, then blend again.

It was really thick and delicious.

[gordi]

Feels like I've already shaken off the 'flu, so it was back to the gym today. My energy levels were through the floor, though. For the first time in a very long time I had to will myself through the workout: "ONE more exercise, ONE more set, ONE more rep..." style. Got 'er done, though.

My new protein arrived yesterday, and I got a nice surprise with the order:

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=101

[gordi]

Sorry not to have posted as much recently. My contract at work is running out, and the wife and I are planning to move to Japan in the coming year. I've been pretty busy working out the deatils, plus I just got back from a business trip to Ontario.

My wife was was born in Japan, and she is qualified as an RN over there, so she'll have no problem finding work. I taught ESL in Europe for seven years and loved every minute if it. With a spousal visa and my experience, I should be able to pick and choose among the schools and other teaching options.

We're looking at Nara city: A quarter million people, so big enough to have great restaurants, plenty of gyms, and many grocery shopping options, but no so big that I'll be overwhelmed by the crowds and everything. It's half an hour by train from the huge city of Osaka, which opens up a ton of entertainment options (pro wrestling, MMA, sumo, baseball, concerts, even more great restaurants and lots of shopping...). It's also half an hour from the tea capital of Japan: Uji city (where we got married) and the history and culture of Kyoto.

We've done a ton of research. I'll be able to stay on TRT without any hassle. My wife has lots of friends who are doctors so I should be able to get a script there if things work out. If not, you can get test by mail from Thailand without much hassle. It's illegal to buy needles in Japan... but my wife being a nurse should make it pretty easy to get around that.

Protein powders are expensive there... but sashimi and yakitori are good, cheap options. Grocery stores put tuna on sale an hour before closing, so that's where I'll get my sashimi from!

There is a restaurant called Tori Kidoku where everything on the menu is 280 yen (One yen is about one penny Canadian). They specialize in chicken dishes. I'm going to be a regular there the way Norm was at Cheers. If you get a group of eight people together, you can eat and drink all you want for two hours for about $28. Our plan is to make six friends and go there once a week to pig out.

There's a big gym chain in Japan that has a bunch of branches in Nara. I'll probably get the most expensive membership, which will let me work out at any of their branches in Japan at any time during open hours. You can get cheaper memberships that let you work out only during certain times of the day... but a teacher's schedule isn't always regular.

I'm pretty excited about this.

[gordi]

Looks like my piriformis is healthy enough to take some heavy work again. I've been using the free motion squat machine at my gym, and loving it!

To me, the vanilla flavour LG Lipotropic doesn't taste as good by itself mixed in water as the chocolate flavour does... but it mixes really, really well into my ingredient-rich shakes with all the greens and flax and fruit and stuff. I'm pretty much done my first tub and I figure I'll burn through the two new tubs in two or three months. I can't emphasize enough that it really makes a huge difference for me to get enough protein. I've been super-happy with my results so far!

[seanf76]

good log Gordi

[gordi]

Thanks, bro.

I'm down to 251 lbs, but my arms and my thighs are both a bit bigger, so I'd guess that I'm still adding muscle. I pretty happy about that. Here are today's pics, goofy facial expressions and all:

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=128

http://www.canadabodybuilding.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=8&pictureid=127

[gordi]

Just made an almost-perfect shake:

3 cups water
1 cup plain probiotic yogurt
1/2 scoop Dymatize Elite vanilla flavour
1 scoop LG Lipotropic vanilla flavour
blend, then add 1 cup frozen blueberries, then blend again.

It tastes like a cold blueberry cheesecake. It's unreal.

Speaking of frozen: I keep a gym bag in my car for those times when I can unexpectedly hit the gym. Had one of those times two days ago... but my shorts, shoes, and gloves had all been in the car for days in sub-zero weather. I nearly froze my nuts off! I was laughing at myself thinking that if I'd set any new PRs that day, I'd have worn frozen shorts for the rest of my life just in case that'd had something to do with it....

[gordi]

Couple of funny stories involving snow tires:

I have two snow tires for my car. No rims, just tires. The last four winters, I've been able to get them mounted on my front rims and that's handled any snow quite nicely. This year: No dice! Some douchebag got two snowies mounted on his car last year, got in an accident, and tried to sue the company that mounted the tires. Now the local tire companies won't mount just two. I'm moving to Japan at the end of February, so... I don't want to buy two new snow tires. Couldn't find any used ones at the wreckers... so... No snow tires for me this winter.

Of course, we've had a record-breaking dump of snow, so I haven't been getting out too much. In fact, for close to a week around Christmas I just didn't go to the gym. My shoulders and my right elbow have been letting me know that it's time to take a break anyway, so that and the snow was enough to convince me to take a break between that "frozen shorts" workout on the 21st and today.

I only did a few no-weight squats and lunges and some light midsection work. Didn't do a damn thing for my upper body. I also ate a ton of stuff that I usually go really light on: Cheese in particular, but also oatmeal, rice crackers, turkey pepperoni, fruit juice, and stuff that I fried up in generous amounts of canola oil... I didn't eat any candy or anything, but I enjoyed myself over the holidays. Chitose and I polished off a bottle of wine and a whole plate of cheese (cheddar, mozza, brie, and smoked gouda) on the 23rd.

I was dreading what the scale was going to tell me when I got to the gym today, though... It took me forever to break the 256-pound barrier, and I was really happy about being down to 251 before taking my break. If I'd been back up to 256, I'd have been crushed. Instead... on the same scale and wearing almost exactly the same thing that I'd weighed in at 251 with on the 21st... I'm still at exactly 251! I was about as happy as it's possible to be about something like that. I don't get it... but I'll take it!

Finally, my car got stuck in the snow on the driveway going into the gym. And I mean I got STUCK. The girl at the from desk lent me a shovel and some stuff to shove under my tire, but there was just no moving my car. A couple of guys walking by offered to help... but it was no use. We pushed and pushed but my car wasn't going anywhere. One nice thing was that the minute I went back into the gym a bunch of bros IMMEDIATELY offered to try and push me out... but I'd already called a guy who owns a towing company that I know through my wife (his wife works with her). It felt pretty good that they offered without me even saying anything, though.

Even better: When the guy got me unstuck, just as I was going for my wallet, the woman who owns the building that the gym is in came out. She explained that she'd hired a backhoe but that it broke down before the driveway got cleared. She INSISTED that she should pay for the tow. Again, I never asked for this, she offered it of her own free will.

I went home feeling just great. I took a break and didn't lose any strength or gain any weight, and a few people went out of their way to be kind to me without me having to ask for anything. In a way, I feel lucky that I couldn't get my tires mounted, because I got to experience what I did today.

[seanf76]

Great Job Bro

I am going to try the weirdest thing you have probably heard of

I brew beer and found a recipe for chocolate beer where you use nestle chocolate power i am going to ose lipotropic protein to see if i can make a protein enriched beer

[gordi]

If that works, you''ll have invented the best-selling supplement of all time.