If you enjoy this page or just want to send me a penny, I'll love you all the same! thanks

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

will be back to updates soonish

well i've almost hit 1000 views, been wanting to get back into this but things got very busy and i haven't even thought about it for a while.

bmw, sold...i'm now driving the 97 Grand Cherokee 4.0l and fixing it up.  i'll try to get some progress pictures up, plans are to finish getting all interior bits functional and installed, then fix the body up and paint it. i'll worry about lift kits and bigger tires another year, right now i want all speakers working properly, all options working like they should from the factory, and for it to look like a nice jeep, not the multi-color beast i cheaply tried to do last year.

got back into playing xbox 360, for almost half a month, then RROD strikes again.  i've done the penny trick (remove thermal pads on the bottom and replace with taped penny's to transfer heat better, i've modded the fan shroud to seperate the air flow and give the gpu better cooling, i've added a AUX fan in front of the cpu and on top of the gpu cooling heatpipe, i've used my heatgun to "hopefully" reflow the motherboard chips  (gpu and hana)....still freezes on netflix...  i am going to try to clear the hard drive cache/or remove hard drive to test it...and possible add a heatsink to the southbridge chip as well as take the case off so it all gets more air...i'm just sick and tired of trying to fix it, i really like battlefield 3 and trials evolutions, but jeez!

health wise, well its kinda a wash.  i hit 214lbs (don't know where i am today) but i haven't been very strict...been stressed and not worrying about health.  its going to be better though, i have a meat grinder, and i plan to use it, also have a deep fryer and peanut oil (maybe try to pickup some lard from morganton)

i'm up to almost 4 pull ups and i'm doing (sometimes) pushups with DD on my back (extra 30lbs)

thats it for now, will get back into the swing of things and updates to once a week or so.  thanks


Thursday, May 10, 2012

update 5/10

Alright, so i haven't stopped or anything like that.  My mother-in-law passed away last week.  Posting a blog or any updates isn't on the top of my list.  But i figured i should get on here and post something for my records.  Didn't do much friday but did weigh myself the past few days.  Friday i was at 219, then after the weekend i jumped up to 221, and today i was back at 220.  there was so much kindness shown to my family and i really didn't care what i ate, so thats all i'm going to say about that.

My MIL was a great lady, she took care of her daughters and loved her grand daughter.  she will be greatly missed.

nothing else really to say about the rest of life.  we are taking it one day at a time.  take care of the ones you love, and remember all the good times shared.  life is a wonderful gift we have.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

35+ hours into it...

alright, so another brief update.  still successful on my 40+ hour fast.  i should be ending it after gymnastic's with DD tonight and should be right around the 46-48 hour mark.  so WOO

so how does this feel.  well last night i did get very tired, it was easy for me to fall asleep at a good time.  i woke up this morning feeling great!  i was surprised and thought i would be very lethargic today, but thank heaven, i'm feeling good.  although now that its lunch time, i am thinking about being hungry...but its not a bad painful feeling either.

going to work out as well, all i can do is push as hard as i can and we'll see how that works out.  will probably only do a big fast like this once every two week to once a month.  we'll see how i feel and how things go.

thanks for reading

Monday, April 30, 2012

28 hours later...

alright, so i'm at 28 hours into my fast, 2nd attempt at doing a ~40 hour fast.  so far so good, i'm tired, only thing i've had is some diet mt.dew at work and one cup of coffee tonight, a little cream (palm oil based)

plan to work tomorrow normal, take a cup of coffee with me, and skip lunch...then work out hard as i can after work.  DW is already planning to fix my sweet potatoes and we'll have some meat...just don't know...chicken, pork or beef...any case it shall be grand!

also, saturday i did weigh myself, down to 220.  hoping this new weight loss keeps going and i'm back into the 210's again this end of the week.  learning to eat only what i need and not all that my eyes think i can.  bad problem with that, i turn into a bottomless pit for food.  so far 2 weeks of eating almost all in a "eating window" for 4 hours and paying close attention after i have one serving of food to see if i still feel hungry.

also still progressing nicely in the gym and getting closer to what i think is tabata hiit.  i basically go in and work out large muscle groups and have little to no break in between sets.  takes me about 20-30 mins to do all my workout and at the end i can barely raise my arm and i'm sweating, sounds like a good workout to me, and no cardio involved, my body isn't built for running thats for sure!


Monday, April 23, 2012

smallish update

ok, so heres a small update, re-wired my speakers in the bmw, huge improvement getting rid of the common ground!  also have two new pioneer speakers in the back deck, big difference with them.  next up for that car, new alternator belt and then fixing the shifter linkages...after thats done, i can put all the interior back in and not worry about the car for a while.

the other update, here are some pics i took, it goes from oldest to newest.  i'll find the dates later, but basically, its feb, mar, apr...that sounds right  :)



i can tell a difference, its getting more subtle, but pants are getting better, and my chest is getting more firm.  weight has went from 230ish then to 226 then to 223...so nothing big there but thats not the whole story, if you look at my inches, i've lost more than that, but its putting on muscle thats been helping the most.

i look like i'm loosing hair too.  just different times of hair cuts  :)

Friday, April 20, 2012

friday, its post time!



................2/23....3/2......3/9......3/16........3/23......3/30..........4/6...........4/20
weight -..230.....226......225......229........226........226..........225.............223
chest -....46........45........43.5.....43.5.......45...........................45...........43.5
Neck -........................................................16.5…...................17..........17
Waist -....42.......41.........39........40..........40.5......................40.5...........39.5
bicep -....14.4.....14.5.....14.5.....14.5.......14.75....................14.75...........14.75
forearm -.12.......12.25...12.5.....12.5.......12.25....................12.5...............12.75
thigh -......25.......25........24.5.....25.5....................................25.5.............25
calf -........17.......17.................................................................16............16



alright, so today was a good day for me.  taking measurements and weight that change after two weeks show that i'm starting to head in the right direction.  body fat lose and muscle gain.  body composition is also changing.  now when i flex my arms i can see the shoulder muscle, tricep, bicep...its a good feeling!  now if i can just start seeing those abs...thats a ways off.

plan to try and take pictures tomorrow, but we'll see, didn't have time to do it this morning.  hoping to keep a good 4 weeks between pics so i can see the progress but also track progress in the future.

weight lifting is back on track, twice a week with some pull ups and push ups at home.  also lots of play with DD.

short update today, hopefully post pics tomorrow and maybe talk about other projects i got going on.

Monday, April 16, 2012

so i haven't given up on the blog, just been very busy!

last week wasn't a weigh-in or a measurement week, so didn't have much to update.  working out my larger muscle groups first seem to be much more efficient and i'm seeing good gains each week.  this weekend was great!  me and DD were out in the back yard and we are thinking of putting in a tire swing on the plum tree out back.  i decided i would see how strong one of the branches  were and reached up and grabbed it.  without thinking i pulled myself up to my chin and was just watching the branch, seeing it it bowed or moved much, then i was just hanging there and was like...i just did a straight arm pull up...holy crap!

i changed out the muffler on my car this weekend as well.  it was rotted out bad...here is a pic
put a thrush turbo muffler in its place, so its working and no more drone on the highway.  also no backfiring when going down hills or stopping at a stop sign.

tore up a wooden frame out back as well (used to hold the metal building) and it was rotted as well.  still took a lot of lifting and hitting with hammers...even DD helped with her little wooden tools.

considering trying to go back to working on simple fit.  still do a workout in the weight room once a week, but do some simple fit through the week with proper pullups.  this is a constantly changing journey in finding what works best for me and my want to have a six pack and ripped arms/back.

alright, will report back later

Friday, April 6, 2012

Friday update


good day all, its friday, i did weigh in and take measurements today...heres a crappy chart i made to help watch progress (sometimes lack or bad measurement skills, but whatever)

................2/23....3/2......3/9......3/16........3/23......3/30..........4/6
weight -..230.....226......225......229........226........226..........225
chest -....46........45........43.5.....43.5.......45...........................45
Neck -........................................................16.5…...................17
Waist -....42.......41.........39........40..........40.5......................40.5
bicep -....14.4.....14.5.....14.5.....14.5.......14.75....................14.75
forearm -.12.......12.25...12.5.....12.5.......12.25....................12.5
thigh -......25.......25........24.5.....25.5....................................25.5
calf -........17.......17.................................................................16

so i'm getting better at measuring, getting much more reliable at the least, i think when i lost some it was due to me squeezing the fat around the tape...but who knows it could just be body composition changing.
i'm much strong than i've been in a long time!  with the new equipment i'm making good gains again.

heres what a routine now looks like for me.
leg press (~345lbs) x3
dead lift (135lbs) x3
triceps push downs  (235lbs) x3
i do  those one right after another without rest.
then move onto the next group
military press (165lbs) x3
Lateral Pull down (165lbs) x3
Curls (40lbs dumb bells) x1
Rows (100lbs) x1
Chest press (180lbs) x1

only done this one day, but feeling better now, thought is to build larger muscle groups first, helps release testosterone and HGH to make the rest of the work out more efficient.
 also just started up a better fasting routine for me.  Fasting every other day for 24 hours, the other days i eat lunch and dinner but thats it, gives me around a 5-6 hour eating window on those days.  so far it seems to be easier to adhere to.  but give it time.

thats it for now

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

alright, so going to swap up my workout routine a little.  will start off with squats, then military press, some dead lifts, negative pull ups (still can't do one from straight arm form), benchpress, and then just one round of curls until muscle failure...

the idea is that it is starting with the larger muscle groups and would be producing more testosterone and HGH from the get go and would allow the workout to reach its full potential.  think i've been slacking on my legs and shoulders/chest...so hopefully start seeing some different gains.

Monday, April 2, 2012

alright, so weekend went pretty good.  i got a Sport steering wheel for the bmw, didn't have leather on it so i god a wrap kit and sewed it on.


not perfect, but heard on some reviews that after it gets some heat it settles out nicely, but overall very happy with results and feels nice.

next part, i changed all the fluids this weekend in the jeep.
oil, like 30 mins at the most, rear end about an hour...transmission maybe 2 hours if not a bit more.  it was a PAIN!  but now it has a new air filter, new synthetic oil and filter, new transmission fluid (also new gasket and filter), new rear end gasket and gear lube.

its running much smoother, no more noise from the rear end.  give it a few weeks and should start seeing that MPG going back up to where it should be...

thats about it for now, working out today and then home for some chicken and sweet potatoes!  awesome start of the week.

Friday, March 30, 2012

well the weather was crappy last weekend, got all the parts to start working on the jeep/bmw/snapper/house...but didn't get a lot done.

i did sharpen the blade of the snapper, changed its oil, put on a new belt and cut most of the grass right before i went to Raleigh for conferences. 

this weekend looks much better weather.  jeep does have a new air filter, the old one looked like a lung from a smoker of 200 years...very black and filthy. 

i'll try to remember pictures,  cause it really spices up the blog =P

so hopefully oil change for the jeep.  start on the radiant barrier in the attic, install the chain locks on the front and back door.  still find time to have fun with family.  sounds like good weekend to me

Friday, March 23, 2012

alright this will be a big one, kinda...maybe

anyways, i took some pictures and put them beside of ones i had from 4-5 weeks ago. 


so after is first then the before pic.  i wasn't sucking in my gut and i think i had the same posture.  so there some good motivation, i still don't see it when i look down, but if i see it in pics then it helps a lot!

measurements, didn't change much, i gained a .25in on my bicep.  gained like 2in on my chest. 

everything else was unchanged for the most part, i think my measurement skills are to be questioned.  i don't think i take them consistantly enough yet.  i also took my neck and it is 16.5.

weight went to 226 today, so 3 pounds different than last week, still up 1 pound from two weeks, but i think i'm loosing fat and gaining muscle, so who cares what the scale says.

thats all i got for now, maybe more stuff over the weekend if the weather is alright

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

alright, so the 48 hour fast didn't make it, got to 24/25 hours and felt very hungry, so i ate some deer burgers and squash and a big salad.  also a small bowl of sugar free pudding made with half and half and some whipped cream on top, very yummy!

so looks like might be adding a "building a playset" to my list of things i'll post up here.  should be well worth it!  DD will love the slide and climbing and the swings, those are her favorites  :)

Monday, March 19, 2012

still here, going to be doing some different stuff up here soon.

little update, i was a 4 pounds as of friday, though measurements didn't really move, so i'm still keeping muscle...thinking my body is just getting used to the new nutrition and is building different things/healing.  we'll see what happens this friday.  tonight i'm going to eat a normal dinner, then i'm going to give a 48 hour fast a try.  won't eat again til wednesday dinner.  will update on how i feel and if i'll do it agian, probably just go back to skipping two meals after this week, but i'm curious.

alright, so whats going to be showing up here?  well i'm going to clean up and redo my entertainment setup.  right now its a computer just laying in a standup cabinet.  so i'm going to clean up the cables, and move some shelves around, as right now i have two printers there (laser and color) and one is on top of the case.  will try and move it inside the cabinet and put a runner on the wall for the cables running for antenna and internet.

also will be trying to clean up our back room (freezer room) and prepare it for use as a work room for car parts and a little storage, not like it is now.

I'll be fixing my bicycle (bent the rear wheel when i was closer to 270's and haven't done anything sense.  so once i can get it straight or buy a used wheel, i will start looking for a bike for DW.

next up (maybe the weekend) i will be doing Stage 0 on the bmw and the jeep.  for those that don't know, stage 0 represents getting the car to "factory" type specs, fresh fluids all around, new belts if needed, and any other moving part will be inspected.  so i'll be doing that in the back yard.  will take pics and update on better MPG, HP, whatever are bonus's...

last but not least.  bought a little riding mower.  an older (80's) snapper RER (rear engine rider) 30" cut.  it only needed a belt to work properly.  bought it and put it on wrong so after half the yard is cut, it breaks.  so i'll get a new belt this week, also going to change the oil on it, new spark plug (or clean up the one in it if thats all it needs) and grease up moving parts.  will also take the blade off and sharpen it.  should be a good little mower.  maybe next year i'll start a light restore process on it.

later...

Thursday, March 8, 2012

well i'm still here, just don't update everyday this week because its been a busy week. 

but lets start off with some truth, didn't do my body weight exercises, so yesterday i did hit the gym and hit it hard, about 30 mins of hard work out...

i add squats/military press/rows/free weight curls

i even went up a little on my bench and back to 190 on lateral pull downs...

squat was weak...only 100 pounds, guess i had my expectations high

well tomorrow is another weigh in day and measure day...we'll see you guys then!

Friday, March 2, 2012

friday, measure and weight

rb - 14.5
rf - 12.25
lb - 14
lf - 12
rt - 25
rc - 17
lt - 24
lc - 16.75
bb - 41
ch - 45


ok so theres my measurements for this friday, also I weighed 226 this morning!  feeling great, great dinner after work, got lots finished at work, feeling great!

tomorrow will be body weight work out day...so looking forward to busting my buns...

so looking at my other measurements, looks like I've dropped an inch for my chest, my waist at the belly button...and gains here and there (little gains) on my arms and legs...so this is great!  just what i'm wanting

for the weights i'll just use the big number, its easier to remember than the two number system on the machines and it might be changing as the college is upgrading to a new weight room...

Bench - 156
Curls - 100 first set and 90 the last two
tricep extension - 50
Lat. Pull down - 190 first 2 sets and 170 the last set
leg press and calf extensions - 551

thats pretty much my work out as of right now, i keep finding a better rhythm about it and i have to increase weights now to get to the same muscle failure as my first work out, so i'm liking it very much. will get measurements tonight after work

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Food...yay

It was good...sweet potatoes fried in coconut oil and burgers with onion and two cheeses...making me hunger on my fasting day





Wednesday, February 29, 2012

very sad

my okra was bad last night, i put in in the pan only to see it was freezer burned...i got very sad over this...mainly because i already put a lot of butter in the pan and i thought i had wasted it...and i really wanted to eat some okra last night.

well hears to tonight being better, i think i might try some okra and some sweet potato chips  :)  now butter of coconut oil...hummm  Delicious

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

smallish update

well did some weight lifting yesterday and i'm a little disappointed in myself.  i was able to go up in weight for bench, but everything else seemed like such an effort to do at the same weight as last week, so i'm wondering if i need to eat more fruit, or grab some tubers...or if i'm not eating enough calories.  maybe i should start a fit day and just keep track of it.

most days i don't eat breakfast, i have one thermos of coffee and thats it until lunch time.  then lunch and dinner are just normal meals, not really thinking on calories, but i would guess about 1500-2000 calories...humm really should do fit day

well hopefully this weekend will be nice, i want to change some of the fluids out in the jeep and hopefully go through all the tune up procedures for it to help get the most out of the MPG and life of the old thing.  i'll probably take some pics and do a small story of it as well, just to help chronicle it all somewhere.  google docs is good for that as well.

thanks

Monday, February 27, 2012

Not much to report

Well isn't much of an update due to onoy weighing and measuring once a week now. But I feel great and with the last wind storm we had, that took out one of our trees, I got some exersize in.  My father came by and helped saw the tree into smaller chunks (I guess around 30-50lbs) and then we carried them around back of the house.

Thinking of trying a little different work out schedule as well.  Maybe weighted on Monday ans Thursday and then on Saturday do a workout of body weight...

Friday, February 24, 2012

well got to do my workout at lunch, took about 20min today, did 3 sets of bench, lat pull down, curls, triceps extension, leg press, and calf extensions....

each one i would go until muscle failure. and by my last set (other than leg press) it hit faster, like 3-5 reps and i was already in failure.

all but the curls were done on a weight machine (thats whats here and i feel the burn)

bench i've moved up 20 pounds sense last week. 112-142 i think was the weight.
curls i'm at 30 pounds in each hand, should be at 32 next week
lat pull down was good at 190
leg press was good at 249-414 i think...it was one step up from last week
triceps were at 50 for the first rep then 60 for the last two.

so all in all i feel good, seeing progress in the gym...

so far i'm shooting for doing this 2 times a week, the first is either mon or tue after work, then the next is thu or fri either lunch or after work.

as far as fasting and working out, this was my first time, didn't see any side effects and feel great!

i will be trying to fast once a week..but i'll let that up to chance or like today was too lazy to fix something at home to bring to work.


also, almost kicked my diet soda addiction...i did have one a day, all but two days last week..so this week has been even easier.  i think drinking coffee in the morning really helps with this.  this is a first week of being really good for me food wise.  i've made good choices, (still too much ranch in a bottle) and i even decided not to grab a milkshake one day this week.  thats a big win for me!  


feeling great, though also researching leptin resets and cold showers...humm always something!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

rb - 14.4in
lb - 14in
rf - 12in
lf - 11.5in

rt - 25in
lt - 24.5in
rc - 17in
lc - 16.5

waist (bb) - 42in
chest - 46in

well there you have it, i'm right handed, but i guess i even use my right leg more to do everything with...i know both sides are the same strength as i use the same weight from either side...but the right just gets more use, time to start evening those numbers out...

and my waist at the belly button, holy cow!  i know at one time two years ago+ i measured larger at my waist then at my chest...can't get back there, and now i have my new year's baseline set...won't measure too often, might get the wife to help me next time to make sure i do it correctly  :)
i put a stick of butter in the pan, then the sprouts, then added salt and garlic powder, let it heat up for a bit, then mixed them all up. then i put a little more salt, more garlic, then added minced onion. then mix around until the onions and sprouts started to brown. good to go


so at the request of the wife, here is the awesomeness of the veggies



alright, so got home yesterday and HIIT really zapped the energy out, so i didn't measure or do much of anything last night, i guess i worked out my hands giving a back rub and foot rub to my wife, but went to bed shortly after 10, which is early.

i did loose a half a pound so thats awesome.  will try to get my measurements posted tonight, i'm going to keep track of both arms (biceps and forearms), both legs (calves and thighs) my waist (around belly button) and chest size...i may keep track of neck size as well...

should be interesting...oh i have a long term goal, for this summer...to be posted on Mark's front page as a success story...we'll see how that goes

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

well another day by, i'm down a pound now, 229 as of this morning.  i'm going to try and take measurements tonight so i have a new baseline (didn't do that 2 years ago)

i might either have a mild case of IBS or possible a gluten allergy...suffice it to say, i am paying for how i ate over the weekend.  this time i started thinking, everytime i have a few beers or something with lots of bread, it seems like the next day or two i feel worse and worse and spending a lot of time in a certain room.

so theres more motivation for me.it did snow a little sunday, and me and my daughter were able to go out and play.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

ok, well i didn't get an update yesterday.  i guess i was feeling bad because there wasn't an update.

so heres the score, weekly/monlthly challenge 1...daniel 0

so even after trying to work up my resolve to eat nothing but meat and veggies...in comes my new job and i don't think there is a day that there isn't fresh baked something.  so i eat a piece...then i forget coffee...so i grab a diet mt.dew to feed what i think is my caffeine addiction...

well this weekly challenge....is fast at least one day. and eat 0 carbs!  game on, i'm about to score in this game!

ps...i'll also hopefully be replacing the 97 grand cherokee headliner next weekend unless the weather is bad...and doing full tune ups on both the 85 325e and the jeep...

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

ok, kinda mid week update, will update pics later.

i've been good without any diet drinks...though my coffee drinking has picked up, but i've behaved with it, only a teaspoon of steevia in the raw and a good splash of no sugar creamer (the kind made with palm oil and water...)  so i would say its pretty harmless amount of liquad calories and no worries about insulin response.

i was off on my weight, i was a little over 230 on friday, probably 233'ish...today i was 230 even, hopefully a few more pounds by friday and a reduction in bloat, but we'll see.  this is a month long challenge to myself.

see you guys in a few days

Friday, February 10, 2012

well here are some before shots, i took them last night after finishing off what was left of my diet mt.dew...ohh sweet nectar, you will be missed.


so, there my new baseline for this year.  shoot two years ago when i was near 300 pounds, i wouldn't have taken a shirtless picture.

so we'll see in a week if there is any noticeable change, and i'll follow this trend for a month at least.  i will try to keep the rest of my diet consistent (that is to say mostly meat, then veggies, then a smidgen of whatever within reason, next month i'll cut the rest off to further the experiment)

i will be adding some work outs to my weekly routine though,  the new place i work has a weight room and i plan to lift heavy things in it  :)

Thursday, February 9, 2012

its been a while...

well its been a while hasn't it. i know hardly anyone looks at the blog, but at one time i had ideas of getting a little kick back from here. oh well, changed jobs and have a lot less stress now, plus i'm going to just try to do weekly updates on here from now on. i'm still trying to cheaply "restore" the 85 bmw 325e, its still running, will be getting the shifter fixed as well as the front end very soon. will start this year restoring the 97 grand cherokee as well, so there will probably be some post on fixing headliners and some electrical stuff, as well as changing all the fluids to get it to a baseline. i'm going to start a challenge for myself though. after watching this http://videosift.com/video/Shocking-Before-After-Transformation-in-5-Hours-EXPOSED i've decided to finally cut out diet drinks from my daily consumption. i'll post before pics because tonight i'll finish off what i have at the house, then in a weeks time with no diet drinks (i will try to not change anything else, still eating about 80% primal...more of that later) so watch for these things and more! woo, feels like an awesome year is coming up!