Cereal

Rasin Bran (Kelloggs vs Post)- First off the noticeable diffrences. With Kelloggs you seem to get more raisins the pack more sugar on them. With Post you get lighter flakes, maybe they make their flakes more sugary instead of their raisins. I'll also note that the Post boxs says on the front "25% less sodium then Kellogg's Raisin Bran", even thought the facts on each box say the same amount of 250 mg. They both have 1 gram of fat, Post shows .5 of that gram is Polyunsaturated, while Kellogg's keeps it all hidden. Kellogg's has 2 less grams of sugar, 1 extra gram of protein, and 10 mg of extra Potassium. Post as an extra gram of Dietary Fiber and beats Kellogg's in the micronutrient catagory (with Vitamin A, Iron, Folic Acid, Magnisium, Zinc, and Copper). I would have to call Post the winner here (for me), but realistically I'll be buying whichever that brand cost less when I go to the store.

Grape Nuts- This is the second time I've bought it, thinking.. "I think I'm healthy enough that I can start eatiing this cereal" OR "I think my taste buds are bland enough that I can eat this cereal". The only cereal that could be worse then Grape Nuts would probably by gneric brand Grape Nuts. The box even shows aleternative ways to eat it on the back, and the recommened way to eat it on the side (microwave with milk (to be fair I haven't even tried this way yet)). I've found that it works well if it soaks and I have a layer of raisin bran on top. The bland taste is removed and you get a nice little crunch after you eat through the Raisin Bran. It basicly provides the same nutritents as Rasin Bran, but the half serving. Plus for half a cup you get 90% Iron and 50% Folic Acid (the percentages being Daily Value on side of box, not my personal daily values).

Day 51

Core Synergistics- I'm glad to be doing this again. Apperantly I didn't record anything in my log for this routine a month ago, aside from my blog entries. I do remember not being able to do the chatarunga run, which I was able to briefly do this time around. I walked away feeling good, no really soreness compared to last time's blog entry. Maybe, for next time I could push myself to achive a bit more.

Nutrition- I have made an entry in a while. Everything is similar to what it was. I now have been eating Walnuts more so then Almonds. They both rank as the top two healthiest nuts in many random websites. Walnuts are a little cheaper though, even though they don't taste as good. On the other hand, when I'm eating Almonds the little bits sometimes get caught in my throat and make me cough.. this only seems happens at work for some reason (maybe my throat isn't as lubricated?).

Saturated Fat

John wrote "Something I learned is that saturated fat is needed by the body, and that when the diet doesn't have it, the body makes it. "

That inspired me to do some digging. Assuming what I found is true... your body needs Saturated fat to provide calcium to your bones. As well as other things. See below links.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2009/06/06/saturated-fat/

http://www.health-report.co.uk/saturated_fats_health_benefits.htm

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9RXkm1SNmWkJ:articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/22/7-Reasons-to-Eat-More-Saturated-Fat.aspx+7+Reasons+to+Eat+More+Saturated+Fat&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Lunch break is over...

Day 36

Chest, Shoulder, Tricep- My form improved from last week and my reps and/or weight increased slightly. I'm happy with how I did today. I'm using the pull-up bar for about half of the pushups (it's designed that way), and that really makes it easier on my wrists. The "Pike Press" in particular, benifits with using the pullup bar as a pushup bar... because you start high and really have to sink low.

Ab Ripper X- It went well today. I never noticed with the "In and outs", how straight they get their legs out. So that gives me something to work on.

Nutrition- I bought cottage cheese recently. And.. I really like it. I didn't think I did, but I guess I do. Fairly low fat and alot of 'whey type' protein. The downside is the sodium content, which might not be to bad considering everything else I eat. I definately have to consider replace some (or all) of the protein supplement with some cottage cheese. Starting last week I replaced the instant oatmeal (for the most part) with good old raisin bran. I would like to do the oatmeal, but.. it's really time consuming. The raisin bran has a more versatile assortment of nutrients, but has a fairly large amount of sodium.

Day 7

Nutrition- I've finished off the last of my granola stash, I don't plan on buying more for an extended period. It's only the weekends, where I might feel slightly hungery and unoccupied that drives me towards granola or eating through my yogurt supply. On the days I work I seem to have more then enough food, even though I'm probably still a tad under my calorie intake.

It looks like my brother is taking me up on my offer. He'll try the program (Lean or Classic) and he'll be on the same rotation as me (where we both have Sunday night as our rest night/Stretch X), except he might switch his days around (within the week). My impression is he won't watch the food much, but might adjust when he notices the diffrences. He wanted to take a look the Stretch X video and in the process we both completed that tonight.

Stretch X- Not really intense like the others, but helpfull.

This coming work week, should be one of the more difficult ones. I'll have to cover someone's job duties that I don't feel fully comfortable with and also try to attend my own job functions. I'll have someone asisting with my job duties, but he is still in the process of training. Also the first of the month is busy for my department.

Day 2

Plyometrics- The workout was all right. I thought that maybe the knee issues had went away, but the creaking noise crept in towards the 2nd half of the workout. I was very timid with the jumping, I didn't want to cause any issues. Next week I think I'll try the Cardio X workout instead and see if that's better for my joints. Maybe with enough lunge exercises I can get my joints ready to go back to the Plyometric exercise sometime in the future. My "Rock Star Hops" were quite pathetic.

Nutrition- Last night I picked up what I need on the way home from work. I also found Almond Milk. A little expensive, but it has no soy, no lactate, and no animal ingredients. It was thicker and had more of a taste, then I would of thought it would. I also got Almonds.. which may not be as tasty, but I think they are better for me. My current biggest downfall would have to be the instant oatmeal I'm eating for breakfast. It's great cause it's quick and cheap, though I doubt my body gets much from it and I can taste the excessive amount of sugar in it. I'll have to go back to that NutritionData website sometime and see how things add up.

I didn't relize that I start this up again exactly a year ago (well.. 1 day off).

Day 1 (Again)

I'm back to working out. Partly because my brother-in-law is doing it again, partly out of a necessity, and partly because it is a great workout that offer immediant gratification (emotionally and physically).

I bought a motorcycle in early spring. My motorcycle jacket fits length-wise, but is a little loose in the arms. Getting a tad bit of muscle in the arms would help insure a safer landing if I crash. I've also noticed that I have made a few mistakes on my ride home, due to fatigue. Doing a workout at night should prevent that fatigue and ideally make me ready to go to sleep afterwards.

Chest & Back- The bad news is I kind of went straight into the workout, unlike last time were I worked out a little before. Comparing my self to my previous Day 1, I didn't do nearly as good with my numbers. I did however really try to get the form down. Like last time I am sore, but I think I might be sore in the wrong places. Right now I'm sore in the upper arms and shoulders. Before I felt it in my chest more. Hopefully with good technique I can beat my prior self in these upcoming workouts.

Nutrition- Well... I didn't plan to much ahead of time so, I'm lacking a few supplies (eggs, salt free nuts, bannanas). I'm thinking I will pass on the milk. Even though it's great for building musclemass.. I think I might be lactose-intolerant and I probably won't go the soy milk route either. For now it's mixing the protien mix in water, witch doesn't taste nearly as good. I also need to keep in mind that this decreases my calcium intake and fat intake.