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EternalJourno's Internal Journey


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Quote

This is a lifetime mission, vision a prison
Aight, listen
In this journey you're the journal, I'm the journalist
Am I eternal? Or an eternalist? 
— from "Follow The Leader" by Eric B. & Rakim


I've confined myself to a prison of mediocrity and laziness for most of my life. I've been afraid to take chances. I've been reluctant to go outside my comfort zone. As a result, I'm overweight, single and incredibly unhappy. I've convinced myself those things are somehow connected, that one thing has led to the other and to the other. I keep coming up with excuses for my lot in life. But I now know the only thing holding me back is myself. I'm my own nemesis. So I've decided to embark on a lifetime mission to change my life for the better. 

 

I'm a mild-mannered journalist who has joined the Rebellion to seek out a more adventurous, epic and healthy lifestyle. I'm not faster than a speeding bullet. I'm not more powerful than a locomotive. I'm not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. I'm no Superman. But I know that deep down I'm super, man. I've been ignoring my call to action for most of my life, but I'm ready to unlock and unleash my inner superhero. I want to be faster. I want to be more powerful. I want to be able to leap higher. I want to be super. 

My name is Richard and I'm the city editor for a small-town, daily newspaper. I love journalism and writing. I actually love what I do — partly because I have time to do other things that I love — but I'm not doing them yet. I always told myself that once I got this job, I'd have more free time to work out and eat right, but for months I stalled. Today wasn't quite the right time. Tomorrow was always a better start date. Early on I actually went to the doctor to talk about weight loss and she pointed me in the direction of Nerd Fitness. I investigated a bit, reading a few articles and signing up for the free emails, but still I stalled. I made a few changes here and there, but nothing stayed constant. I kept eating what I wanted and kept my body stagnant. 

 

But then one day things changed. I'm not sure how exactly. My origin story is not an epic one. I didn't get struck by any lightning — that I'm aware of. I just woke up one day ready to commit to my health and happiness. I had started three different forum challenges over the course of six months and met some great people, but I didn't stick with them. The fourth time was different though. Again, I'm not sure why, or how it happened, but I wrote down my goals and fought hard to stick to them. At the end of the four weeks, I lost 10 pounds. 

Weight loss was my initial goal when I came to these forums. And it still is a huge achievement I'm going to unlock. But something has changed, even the way I wrote that last sentence. Rather than saying I'm planning to unlock that achievement, or that I want to lose weight, I find myself saying things more affirmatively. "I'm going to lose weight." "I'm going to eat healthy." "I'm going to embark on more adventures." "I am somebody who achieves his goals." I've never been able to imagine what skinny Richard would look like, but these days I get flashes of my future and I see a fit person waving back, encouraging me to keep going, not just because he's in shape but because he's more confident and happier.

My main fitness goal at the moment is to lose 30 more pounds by my 30th birthday in October. Part of me still has doubts. Sometimes I think that goal is too lofty. But if I'm going to become a superhero, I have to learn to leap tall objectives without a single boundary. I will lose 30 pounds by my 30th birthday. To accomplish my mission, I've joined the Academy to turn up my efforts and ambitions. I will workout two or three times a week. I will continue walking every day. I will keep eating a healthy diet (mostly paleo-ish). 

 

In this journey, this forum is my journal. As a journalist, I will meet my daily deadline and keep my dedicated readers (ha!) up to date with the latest news. Like an unethical journalist (cough — Spider-Man and Superman — cough), I will report my own story, my Hero's Journey, Eternal Journo's Internal Journey.
 

 

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Wednesday, June 8, 2016


Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins with plenty of hot sauce. 1 cup of black coffee. 

Lunch: Chicken breast, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes.

Snack: Too many handfuls of nuts (pistachios, almonds and cashews).

Dinner: Two small filets of salmon with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

Water: At least 3 liters — I believe.

Workout: Walked 43 minutes (one episode of The Flash) on the treadmill at 2 incline and 3.2 speed. 

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Thursday, June 9, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins with plenty of hot sauce. 1 cup of black Piñon coffee.

Lunch: Chicken breast, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes.

Snack: A couple handfuls of nuts (pistachios, cashews and almonds) right before and after my workout. 

Dinner: Grilled lamb loin chops, asparagus, red bell pepper, yellow squash and zucchini. 

Water: More than 3 liters.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGc_NoOP8T595HW-aU-3jeZ50AOuHSyJ4suXoc0/?taken-by=eternaljourno_fitness

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Steve's Basic Warm Up

Rock That Body

Bodyweight Workout 2A

— 20 bodyweight squats (3 sets).

— 10 incline pushups (1st set), 15 incline pushups (2nd & 3rd sets).

— 15 dumbbell rows at 20 pounds (3 sets).

— Finished with 60 seconds of farmer's walk with 20-pound dumbbells (3 sets). 
The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down

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Friday, June 10, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins with plenty of hot sauce. 1 cup of black Piñon coffee.

Lunch: Chicken breast, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes.

Snack: A couple handfuls of nuts (pistachios, cashews and almonds) right after my workout. 

Dinner: Panda Express (kung pao chicken and black pepper chicken with mixed veggies).

Water: More than 3 liters.

Evening Game Night: Two Slice of Hefen beers, two small pieces of mushroom bread, a couple handfuls of dried mango. Someone ordered pizza, but I resisted the temptation and only snagged a pepperoni, lol.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

A few basic leg/back stretches

Rock That Body

Walked for 42 minutes on the treadmill at a 2 incline and 3.2 speed. Legs felt pretty sore, but I didn't slow down or stop.

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down

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Saturday, June 11, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: Omelet with tomato, spinach, mushroom and deli turkey with some hot sauce.

Lunch: Grilled steak with grilled zucchini, yellow squash and red bell pepper. 

Dinner: Ahi tuna salad with avocado, lots of greens and mushrooms from a local coffee shop that was celebrating its one-year anniversary. It was sooooooo gooooood! Also tried a new type of coffee as part of their Summer Tasting Tour. This week's roast was Ethiopia Yirgacheffe. They suggested a cold brew with cream and sugar, but I explained I'm trying to cut back on those things so they only put a lil' cream. It was OK, but maybe too dark for me. I'm still trying to figure out my taste palette for coffee. 

Water: More than 3 liters. 
ArtsCrawl: I resisted so many snacks! We went to the bar after and I limited myself to two drinks, 1800 reposada tequila on the rocks with lime. This might be my new drink of choice. It was obviously very strong, which slowed me down and helped me make the drinks last for the length of the night.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

A few basic leg/back stretches

Rock That Body

Hiked the hogback in Indian Hills for 4 miles! It was my first hike in a loooooong time. Took plenty of breaks and stretched.

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down

ArtsCrawl: Walked downtown a lot. I totaled about 16,000 steps today, which I'm estimating to be around 5.5, maybe 6, miles. I added 4,000 steps during ArtsCrawl on top of my hike, which had put me around 12,000 steps.

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4 hours ago, Mshrmit said:

Good job resisting all the goodies at the game night.  Snacks are an honored part of that tradition.  For the long run, you might want to start experimenting with healthy snacks to bring along.  That way you don't have to sit out on most of the munchies.


Thanks! Actually my plan was to bring some healthy snacks, but I got out of work late so I was running behind and didn't want to keep everybody waiting. I should have made the time to pick up something though. Next time for sure! 

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Sunday, June 12, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: Grass-fed ribeye steak with three eggs and leftover zucchini and yellow squash. 

Lunch: Skipped

Dinner: Lota Burger with green chile, fries and a large Sierra Mist. Drove by and the smell drew me in. I was too weak to resist.

Snack: Dark chocolate covered blueberries. I definitely had too many handfuls.

Water: Didn't really keep track today, but I think I came close to 3 liters.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Steve's Basic Warm Up.

Rock That Body

Bodyweight Workout 2B.

— 20 bodyweight lunges (x3).

— 5 inch worms (x3).

— 15 wall slides (x3).

— 20-second side planks on both sides (x3). I did the first set on my knees then the two last sets the real way. These are really tough for me right now and probably the only thing in my way to moving up to Level 3. But I'll keep working on them. I think I can level up in a week or two. 

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down (I've nearly got it committed to memory).

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Monday, June 13, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins with hot sauce. 1 cup of Piñon coffee black.

Lunch: Chicken breast, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

Dinner: Szechuan beef stir fry with broccoli, bell peppers (red, yellow and orange), zucchini and carrots.

Snack: Dark chocolate covered blueberries. Finished off the container. And some raspberries.

Water: I think I came a lil' short of 3 liters.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Steve's Basic Warm Up modified with a focus primarily on leg stretches.

Rock That Body

Walked somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes on the treadmill. Body was tired so I decreased the incline to 1 and reduced speed to 3.0, but still my body couldn't handle it, so I stopped early.

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down.

Yoga:

Yoga for about an hour at Foundations of Freedom.

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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins with hot sauce. 1 cup of Piñon coffee black.

Lunch: Chicken breast, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

Dinner: Leftover Szechuan beef stir fry with broccoli, bell peppers (red, yellow and orange), zucchini and carrots.

Snack: Some raspberries.

Water: I think I came a lil' short of 3 liters again.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Walked 5 minutes to get the mail.

Steve's Basic Warm Up.

Rock That Body

Bodyweight Workout 2A

— 20 bodyweight squats (3 sets).

— 15 incline pushups (3 sets).

— 20 dumbbell rows at 20 pounds (3 sets).

— Finished with 60 seconds of farmer's walk with 20-pound dumbbells (3 sets). 

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down.

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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins with hot sauce. 1 cup of office coffee black.

Lunch: Braised duck and quinoa from local coffee shop. Tried another new summer coffee brew.

Dinner: Leftover Szechuan beef stir fry with broccoli, bell peppers (red, yellow and orange), zucchini and carrots.

Water: More than 3 liters.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

A few basic leg stretches.

Rock That Body

Walked at the local track at 5 in the morning for the first time, with a lil' bit of jogging. Did about 2.15 miles in 56 minutes.  

The Cool

A few basic leg/back stretches, but not a full cool down. I paid for it the rest of the day. 

The Water Dance

Went to Zumba class for the first time and friggin' LOVED it! They even incorporate a cool down dance/stretch at the end. 

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It's not official yet, @Kiki Dee! But soon... soon...

 

Thursday, June 16, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: 3 omelet muffins with hot sauce. 1 cup of office coffee black.

Lunch: Something was off today and I was craving quesadillas like crazy today. I had two with flour tortillas. 

Snacks: I had a severe lack of energy at work and ended up snacking way too much (pistachios, dark chocolate covered cranberries, blueberries and raspberries).

Dinner: Chicken breast with broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. 

Water: About 3 liters.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Walked 5 minutes to get the mail. 

Steve's Basic Warm Up. I was so tired, even this was tough for me today.

Rock That Body

Bodyweight Workout 2B

— 20 bodyweight lunges (x3). After Zumba last night, these were especially tough.

— 5 inch worms (x3).

— 15 wall slides (x3).

— 20-second side planks on both sides (x3). I did the first set the real way, but I was too worn out from yesterday, so I did the last two sets on my knees. I WILL conquer these! 

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down.

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Friday, June 17, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: 2 breakfast burritos from McDonald's.

Lunch: Chicken breast with broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. 

Snacks: I had the rest of those dark chocolate covered cranberries.

Dinner: Panda Express Mixed veggies with Kung Pao chicken and Shanghai angus steak from Panda Express. 

Water: About 3 liters.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Steve's Basic Warm Up.

Rock That Body

Walked on the treadmill for about 30 minutes. Knee was giving me issues.

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down.

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Saturday, June 18, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: Half an omelet with tomatoes and broccoli. Was not a fan of the broccoli with my omelet. 

Lunch: Chicken breast with broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes.

Snacks: N/A

Dinner: Grilled lamb and asparagus.

Water: Didn't really keep track.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

N/A

Rock That Body

I decided to take a full-on rest day because of my knee hurting, but I still ended up walking a lot, according to the step counter on my phone (6,000+ steps).

The Cool

N/A

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Sunday, June 19, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: Omelet with tomato, mushroom, spinach, ham, cheese and salsa. 

Lunch: Grilled grass-fed ribeye steak and asparagus.

Snacks: A 3-pack of chocolate Turtles.

Dinner: I was craving Mexican food and got chicken enchiladas with two fried eggs and some beans. But it was not very satisfying. The place I went to is not known for its Mexican food, but it was one of the few places open on a Sunday.

Water: Didn't really keep track.

Beer: Had my first beer in more than a week. I can't remember the last time I went 7 days without drinking. I had 1 Porch Rocker while watching Game of Thrones. 

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Walked Booklet to get the mail down the block (about 5 minutes). I'm only supposed to take her on short walks until she fully heals from her surgery.

Steve's Basic Warm Up.

Rock That Body

Bodyweight Workout 2A

— 20 bodyweight squats (3 sets).

— 8 regular push-ups (1 set) and 10 knee push-ups (2 sets).

— 20 dumbbell rows at 20 pounds (3 sets).

— Farmer's Walk — For some reason I totally blanked on the last part of my workout and didn't do it.

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down.

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@Mshrmit, I don't do that, but that's a good idea. Usually I open the Academy page that has my workouts and I use that to refresh my memory. I have the warm-up and cool-down in my phone, so I check those before I workout too. But this time I just totally spaced out. I could blame it on me being distracted. I heard a noise in my living room and went to check on my pup. Then I did my stretching routine with the pup. So yeah, just totally spaced it. 

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Monday, June 20, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: Omelet muffins with hot picante sauce. 1 cup of Piñon coffee black.

Lunch: Chicken breast with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and sweet potatoes.

Snacks: A few handfuls of nuts and blueberries.

Dinner: N/A. I cooked some Szechuan beef stiry fry, but I didn't eat because I lost track of time and didn't want to be late for hot yoga. I packed it up for meals for the week though.

Water: Probably more than 3 liters (wanted to make sure to hydrate for hot yoga).

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Walked Booklet to get the mail down the block (about 5 minutes).

Let your body do that yoga:

Tried hot yoga for the first time and hated it. I did OK for the first 20-30 minutes, but then my body shut down and I had to exit the room early after about an hour.

The Cool

N/A

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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: Omelet muffins with hot picante sauce. 1 cup of Piñon coffee black.

Lunch: Szechuan beef stir fry with red bell peppers, broccoli, zucchini and carrots.

Snacks: A lot of nuts and blueberries before my workout. I was feeling burned out so I felt like I needed some extra energy

Dinner: Pork rinds with guacamole followed by 3 street tacos with steak at Smokey's restaurant (went with friends to watch the USA v Argentina game).

Beer: Had 2 big glasses of beer with dinner, so I'm guessing it actually amounted to 4 regular size beers.

Water: About 3 liters.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

Walked Booklet to get the mail (about 5 minutes).

Steve's Basic Warm Up.

Rock That Body

Bodyweight Workout 2B

— 20 bodyweight lunges (x3).

— 5 inch worms (x3).

— 10 wall slides (x2). 15 wall slides for the final set.

— 20-second side planks on both sides (x3). I was mostly able to do these the regular way all the way through. I had to adjust a couple times in between, but I'm definitely getting better at these.

The Cool

Staci's Basic Cool Down.

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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

 

Food & Liquor:

Breakfast: Omelet muffins with hot picante sauce. 1 cup of Piñon coffee black.

Lunch: Blue corn enchiladas with chicken and green chile, topped with two fried eggs plus beans, rice and posole on the side. Had chips and salsa before the meal and a sopapilla with honey after the meal. Yikes!

Snacks: Two cookies and some blackberries.

Dinner: N/A

Water: About 3 liters.

 

The New Workout Plan:
The Warm Up

N/A

Rock That Body

Walked Booklet down the block for 15 minutes. Did .73 of a mile.

The Cool

N/A

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