Beefcake Challenge: End of the Year

Day 365:
Weight = 197.6 lbs (+1.0 lbs)
Body fat = 28.1 % (+0.1 %)
Visceral fat = 10 (no change)
Resting metabolism = 1882 kCal (+5 kCal)

Well, this six month challenge is in the books. I wish I was more successful, but holiday snacking set me back a little. However, I think I've laid the ground work to get ripped. I've got a trampoline for morning bouncing, I'm hittin' the track every Sunday and I'm going to start hiking a lot more. I'll play frisbee on Sunday afternoons once football season is over. I got a yoga DVD for Christmas that should help out my back and core muscles. A good friend of mine is moving up here and her boyfriend is a martial arts expert. I'm hoping he can point out some gyms that offer classes that'll help.

I think I've got the will to get into shape so that's definitely a great start.

I'll only post beefcake pictures the last Sunday of every month since I'm on to a different challenge.

Vacation Beard

I haven't shaved since the middle of December so I've got a good vacation/Jesus beard going. I'm not sure what to do with it though. It is still in the itchy phase, but I don't really feel like shaving it off. I think I'll let it grow out some more to at least get to mountain man status. I've got a mullet going on too because my hair is all one length since I haven't cut it since I last shaved it.

When it comes time to clean up, I'll shave the beard off/down, but I'm not sure if I'll shave my head or not. I suppose I should leave it on since I've still got it. I'm not really down with paying for haircuts though. Hmmm...

Christmas vacation in Portland, OR

I've spent every Christmas in Portland since I've been born and this year was no exception. The big change is that the Portland was in the midst of a big ass snowstorm when I was supposed to fly up from San Jose. My first flight was canceled and then my second so I decided to drive up. It took me two days since it's more than 700 miles. I spent the night on the way up in Gold Beach, OR and saw some elk in the parking lot the next morning. Yeah, I know the pictures suck, but I was in a hurry to take them before they bugged out.



Portland almost never gets snow that sticks around, but they were "lucky" to have snow for nearly two weeks. Below are some pictures of my parent's place. You can see there is a serious amount of snow.



Toby is always a funny dog and likes to look out the front window.



My brother and I built a snow fort on Christmas Day since we could. Portland's recycling bins make great molds for snow bricks. It started to warm up before we finished, but I think it looks pretty good.



On the way from Portland to Eureka on Tuesday, I saw a mountain lion run across the road about a quarter mile in front of my car near Klamath. The sucker was moving fast and looked to be pretty beefcake.

Here are a couple of pictures of the ocean near Klamath. It was pretty sunny out when I drove back.

Six Month Challenge

For those in the know, I participate in six month challenges. Every six months I pick an area of my life that I'd like to improve and go at it. All of 2008 was spent trying to get into shape. While I didn't exactly succeed, I think I've laid the foundation and the good habits are there. That means I'll end the beefcake challenge. I'll still try to get beefcake, but won't document it as much. I know some of you love the shirtless photos. Heh. Never fear because I'll take them once a month just to help me keep track, but I've got a new challenge. It doesn't have a catchy name yet, but I think it'll be the whole food challenge. I got The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan for Christmas this year and I've plowed through a few chapters. I was already concerned about from where my food comes and this book reinforces those concerns. I try to buy organically as much as possible and natural otherwise. I would go vegetarian, but I like meat too much.

In the next six months, I will try to avoid high fructose corn syrup, enriched wheat flour and every other processed food. That means I won't eat anything unless the ingredients are simple or the food is homemade. This challenge is going to be tough and I might have to make exceptions when I go out to eat, but I think I can do it. It'll be good for my health as well since Americans ingest too many chemicals. I'm a decent chef so I can make a lot of my own food. I'll have Fridays off and I'll use that day to hit up the natural meat market in Mountain View. It'll cost more, but I'll probably scale back on meat and eat more salads since I can get fresh lettuce every week at the farmer's market. Six months is a long time for me to photodocument my food, but I'll keep track of what I eat and take pictures of the tasty stuff. I think my few readers appreciate food pictures more than the beefcake ones.

If anyone has some good recipes for simple foods, pass them along. I've got plenty of kitchen gadgets so I'll make a lot of my own. I can make my own pasta so that should help. I've got a bread machine too. It seems like Friday will be my cooking day. Sweet. I'm looking forward to this six month challenge. I'll work hard to make sure I have a good variety of food that is tasty.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas. Hopefully everyone is safe and sound and enjoying time with family and friends.

Holiday travel fun

After standing in line at the San Jose airport for more than an hour yesterday morning and not seeing the front of the line, I said fuck the heck and took a cab home. I canceled my reservation (it turns out they canceled my flight anyhow) and drove up to Portland. I spent last night at a Motel 6 in Gold Beach, OR. I took 101 up and drove through a lot of Redwoods National Park. Pretty good scenery. I had lunch in the pot capital of Humboldt County - Garberville. I don't know anything about anything, but there were a lot of hydroponics shops, hemp stores and crunchy looking folk. Last night I grubbed down on fried scallops by the ocean at a local diner. Not too shabby. I like the cheap motels because you know what to expect - a clean room, a big bed, lots of cable channels and free internet. I stayed at the Hilton for IEDM in 2007 in DC and paid six times as much for one-sixth the enjoyment. Plus there aren't fools at Motel 6 with their hands out because they opened the door for you. Damn I hate the concept of tipping.

The drive up this morning went alright until I hit Salem. It was like someone threw the switch since there was snow and ice all over the road. People were chaining up, but I didn't because the pavement was mostly dry. It took more than two hours to go the remaining 50 miles, but I finally made it.

Happy holidays.

Crappity crap

There is a good chance that my flight to Portland will get canceled tomorrow morning. I know of two other people now that were supposed to fly to Portland this weekend and won't get in until the 24th. Boo to that. I could try to extend my stay past next Sunday, but I've got stuff to do here.

Weak.