Don’t Have a Keg…

Oddly enough my weight this morning is exactly what it was last week. I don’t remember the last time that happened. Bodyfat is up according to the scale, but my guess is that in reality things are holding steady there as well.

Busy weekend - no time to blog now! Until later - take care.

I had a couple lessons about what’s really important this week.

First I learned that my best friend from high school - who I’m still good friends with and consider him the brother I never had (which annoys the heck out of my actual brother) was admitted to the hospital Sunday due to abnormally high blood pressure. Tests were conducted and the long story short is that he now has a defibrulator/pacemaker device implanted in his chest because his heart was working way below capacity, about 80% below capacity. No artery blockage or anything like that, he just has a weak heart and apparently always has had a weak heart. In fact one of the things he was told was that he’s lucky to have made it as long as he has. A full recovery is expected and he should continue to lead an active life. But what a scare and of course he will have to make some lifestyle changes.

The other event was much more tragic. A co-worker’s brother died in a house fire last night. He too was relatively young and of course this was totally shocking and unexpected. My heart and prayers go out to my co-worker and her family. I can’t imagine having to go through this type of tragedy - though sadly these things happen to someone, somewhere each and every day.

The lesson from these events? The usual lesson that we all seem to forget - life is short, live each day like it’s your last because it very well may be. No matter how healthy, wealthy, or wise you are it could all be over in an instant.

Love one another - take care of each other.

P.S. Be sure to read "Tuesdays with Morrie" or one of Mitch Albom’s other books if you haven’t already. He is good at reminding us of what is really important.

I did today - and at the most unusual time, too. Warning - ego in full bloom below:

I stopped at the restroom on the way out of the office today (don’t look at me like that, you stop at restrooms too). I was in my overcoat and ready to leave but while washing my hands I looked at myself in the mirror (you do that, too) and noticed just how big my arms looked even in my coat. I mean, the coat isn’t tight or anything but very clearly my arms fill the sleeves and as I washed I noticed that you could see the muscles moving under all the cloth. Could some of this have been my overactive imagination? Probably - self perception is almost always better than reality - but on the other hand we are our own worst critics.

I think this moment in the mirror was one of the rare unguarded times where I saw myself as others see me. And I have to say that in an overcoat I look better than I thought - because my chest and shoulders are still larger than my waist you can’t see how much fat I have in the middle and rear. So what you see is, I must admit, a rather large guy and not large in a bad way.

Who would have thought that winter clothing could be flattering?

Okay, so if you’re like me one of your biggest challenges is getting your fruits and vegetables in (or maybe it is just me). Anyway, I finally succumbed to the marketing campaigns and started looking at V8. In theory it sounds like a good way to get some veggies everyday without too much effort. Unfortunately, in my humble opinion, V8 tastes too much like ketchup (catsup if you prefer) and I just can’t actually get much down before I gag on the taste - though oddly enough I like catsup (or ketchup if you prefer) on my burgers, etc.

So, I come along this product called V8 Fusion - a fruit type drink which contains a full serving or vegetables and fruits in each 8 ounces. "Perfect" I think, "just what I’m looking for." Then I looked closer at the ingredient list. That delicious fruit taste comes a quite a price - 25 grams of sugars! I might as well be eating Fruit Loops. Of course fruits are high in sugar naturally, but this sounds like a good case to once again go back to my old standby fruits, apples. Especially the Granny Smiths - relatively low sugar, a nice sweet taste with a bit of a "bite."

Anyone have other ideas?

So, there I am sitting around playing Yahztee (yes, my life is just that exciting). Oh, remember during this story, I’m wearing a loose long sleeve shirt. Anyway, when joining in during the excitment of a "Yahtzee" roll one of the women int he group grabs my arm by the tricep, looks shocked and then says "oh my goodness!" I must have looked at here with a puzzled expression and she said - is this you? I said, "yes, that’s me." "Do you…?" she asks while making a curling motion with her arm. I indicated that yes I do lift and then she turned to the other two women and said, "here’s something I bet you didn’t know about Dave" and encourages them to feel my arm. They question me for a moment or so, during which time I visibly blush, and then the game resumes.

Now as enjoyable as this moment was, I was actually a little surprised by my reaction. One would presume that this type of attention is one of the reasons I work out and I think it is, but, I did react with some embarrassment to the whole situation and fuss being made (the blushing), even though I was enjoying every second of it. I’m left to wonder why. I don’t have an answer at this time, but I’ll keep pondering on this.

I’m also a little surprised that these folks hadn’t noticed before now, as I see them on a regular basis. All I can guess is that many people assume my size is predominately fat until they actually touch me and discover that I’m actually quite solid (except around the waist that is). Oh well, I’ll just have to keep working on losing the middle so people don’t continue to jump to the wrong conclusions about my conditioning!

Woo-hoo! Biggest drop in bodyfat and weight that I’ve seen in weeks and well outside of what I consider my body’s normal fluctuations/variance. I’m back to the lowest levels since late November and December of this past year. So if I can keep this up - and I’m doing everything I can to do so - well, let’s just say I’m back baby!

I think I mentioned it here earlier but just in case, we are going to have a little competition at my office. Sort of a "Biggest Loser" but with the added twist that some of us guys will be also seeing who can increase his bench press the most, too. The gals are welcome to join, but so far it’s only myself and two others - I’m by far the oldest but oddly enough I’m actually the small guy in this competition. The other two have the advantage of age and presumably faster metabolisms. I have experience and knowledge on my side. We’ll see who wins.

We do expect a few more of the fit but "little" guys to join in the bench press competition - should be fun in any event. And if we all get thinner and fitter because of it - great!

Maybe it’s because I’m now middle-aged (unless I live to be 120 I pretty much have to admit that the age has arrived), or maybe it’s because of the events of the day (for future reference Barack Obama was inaugurated today as the 44th president of the US) but I found myself caught between two vending machines and wondering "how did I get here? What’s brought me to this point in my life? Why is it so hard to choose between carrots and a honey bun when I know which is the only choice? Why is this so hard for me?"

My earliest recollections of wanting to be muscular are back in elementary school, when a classmate was showing off his "big" bicep to a bunch of us. It seems laughable now as to what impressed me, but this third grade classmate of mine - had what seemed to be a huge bicep. And from the amazement of my other classmates, and the girls who wanted to touch "it," I’d say I wasn’t alone. For someone our age to have an actually muscle that flexed - that was just amazing!

I also remember a cartoon which Captain Kangaroo would show called "Sinbad the Sailor" or something like that about a kid who, true to the show’s name, sailed around the world and when he was in trouble would pull on his magic belt and become a muscular adult. I remember seeing ads for Charles Atlas and Joe Weider in the comic books I read (and still do actually). But the tipping point for me was when I saw Dave Draper on the "Beverly Hillbillies." He seemed larger than life even on that small screen and I knew that I wanted to look like that.

While growing up I also thought I was fat, though photographic evidence indicates just the opposite, I was really quite thin. I don’t know why I thought I was fat. Was it because my father and grandmother were always concerned about their weight? Was it because I had to wear "husky" pants to fit over my hips/thighs (later to be considered one of the strengths of my body)? I don’t know. But I do remember being ashamed of my body, to the point that I actually dropped out of basketball in fifth grade because we were scheduled to play an exhibition game at the Varsity Boy’s half-time and I didn’t want to risk having to play on the "skins" team (no uniforms). To this day my family doesn’t know the real reason I stopped playing basketball and it’s one of the few true regrets I have from that very tender age.

Junior High and High School came. I felt I was weaker than the other boys, though I was active and participated in not only Marching Band but the Track team as well. I kept wanting to have bigger muscles, arms especially, but had no way to build them. Now many people today would ask "why didn’t you just start working out?" Well, you have to understand that back in the seventies weightlifting was actually frowned upon by many high school coaches - even for football - because building muscle would just weigh an athlete down. And bodybuilding for the sake of bodybuilding was considered odd (at best) in small town America. This was before "Pumping Iron" really became popular and no one could pronounce Arnold’s last name (he was billed in movies as Arnold Strong at the time in fact - "Hercules Goes Bananas" anyone?). My high school didn’t have a weight room and when we finally got a Universal Gym it was kept in a store room. Today by comparison the old High School Shop has been transformed into a weight room which most commercial gyms would envy.

My dad bought a weight set when I was a Junior in high school and I finally had access to a weight set. To his credit, my dad kept up with weightlifting for quite a while and I also started but didn’t stick with it. I now realize that my father had many of the same body issues I did, but we didn’t know how to communicate with each other about this and we never actually worked out together. Another regret I suppose.

College brought true opportunity to workout regularly. But I was involved with marching band and other activities. Since I was still shy about working out I rarely was motivated to go to the gym myself. On occasion I could talk a friend into going with me, but they would never have the same interest I did and soon stopped. But, I gained confidence and by the time I graduated I was going to the gym by myself on a regular basis. This was also the time I met the man who would become my brother-in-law and training partner. In a successful effort to attract my sister, he had built (to me at least) an impressive pair of arms. Big biceps with a high peak that stretched the tape at nearly 16 inches! He could curl 100 pounds as well. He became both my hero and my rival in terms of bodybuilding and the standard which I would hold myself to as I continued to workout.

Other inspirations came along after graduation from college. I’d occasionally meet someone in my community activities, mostly community theatre, who was interested in working out and would share training tips with him. A cousin of mine also became interested in bodybuilding and though we lived several states apart we would email each other about training and workout when visiting each other, too. All in all things were going well. My weight was pushing 190 relatively lean pounds (no belly, but no six pack either), I’d moved up to large size shirts, and my arms were over 14 inches. I felt too small, but clearly things were moving in the right direction. Then my world changed…

I started to get frequent stomach aches. My weight started to drop for no apparent reason. I couldn’t keep food down and what I managed to keep down passed through me at an alarming rate. The first doctor thought I had an ulcer. Medication didn’t help me. My weight continued to drop. I would often be doubled over in pain which became more frequent and more severe. More tests…I was poked, prodded, put in uncomfortable and embarrassing positions…my weight continued to drop….170….160…150…my white blood count was elevated. I had trouble standing up straight. I could see my ribs….140…135. I was back in medium shirts, which looked loose on me, my waist was at 28 inches - down from 34. I was flat, pale, sullen looking. My eyes appeared to be receeding into my head. I had trouble thinking and reacting quickly. Finally, I was diagnosed properly. I had Crohn’s disease.

This was better than my worst fears (the other C word) but my life had changed. I would now always be on some form of medication. I would always be keenly aware of where the nearest restroom was. I would avoid certain foods. I, for some reason, no longer could tolerate chocolate. But I was fortunate. I responded well to medication and to date have not needed surgery. My weight started coming back - with a vengance! I was ravenous and since I had gotten so thin I ate everything in sight - I didn’t care what it was, I ate it. Instead of using this as an opportunity to literally start from scratch, to establish healthy eating patterns and only add back quality mass I ballooned in weight. 170….180…190…200 pounds. On the plus side, my strength went way up. My arms grew to a size which rivaled my brother-in-laws. I moved into XL shirts. But, I now had a "beer belly" and had established eating habits which I still fight today.

My brother-in-law started to join me at the gym I joined about once a week. When I moved back to my home town we worked out together more often and this is when I made some of my best gains and a personal bench press record of 350 pounds. I found other inspiration as well. On vacation I met a competitive bodybuilder who became a friend and my personal trainer for quite a while. Thanks to him I learned how to lose the weight and keep it off. I made better gains. Soon my arms were over 17 inches (my brother-in-law had moved up to 18 in the same time). It’s funny to realize now that I worry if my arms get down to 16 inches - a size I once considered huge! I lifted with a community recreation program and a couple of guys about 15 years younger. I was secretly pleased when I overheard one of them say to the other "he’s sure getting bigger" as he looked at me and there were only three of us in the weight room at that time.

I changed jobs and at a conference I met another like minded guy who I now workout with about twice a year as we both attend the same conferences. He’s about 9 years my junior, but I’m pleased to say that even though he is in my opinion far better built than I am, I lift just about the same weight as he does. I’ve found more motivation with co-workers who also lift, we don’t train together but we keep each other motivated. And finally, I learn about Bodybuilding.com when on a trip to LA I meet an aspiring bodybuilder in a hotel gym and he tells me about it. I sign up on Bodyspace and suddenly I feel like I’m home with literally a couple hundred friends all who have something to share.

All this leads me back to my choice between carrots and the honey bun. I make the right choice and choose the carrots. I’m glad the vending company has some good options and I’m glad that I have the power to make the right choice.

I just wish it wasn’t so hard to do…

No, it’s not a bad Britney impersonation - but since I had the day off I did something that I promised myself I wouldn’t do and stepped on the scale. After breakfast, but before lunch, and though I shouldn’t be surprised my weight is up actually more than 3 lbs since Saturday. But, the good news is that the bodyfat is down. This leads me to still believe that the more hydrated I am the lower my bodyfat percentage is on the scale. Which makes some sense I suppose, since it works on an electrical impulse and water is a better conductor of electricity than fat/muscle/bone I would suppose.

Anyway, nothing important, just another little side note on the daily fluctuations of my bodyweight/fat.

Okay - I just discovered the "new" MyBB.com - I’m not sure when the changes were made, but I like them. Now my problem is that I spend more time seeing what my friends are up to than I do in the gym (lol-not really, but close). So this blog is just a quick thanks to those at Bodybuilding.com who are responsible.

If you haven’t done so already, I suggest you check it out!