DAY 25

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
May 8, 2009
Fri 12:43 AM

today i had my last classes ever as an undergrad... i feel like i should care more. i feel like i should be more excited. not sad, i can't say i'll really miss college much. all those people who say its the best time of your life... go suck a lemon. if this is the best time of my life then my life is really gonna suck from here on out. being in massive debt, eating cheap crappy food, being stressed all the time... hurray, best time of my life! i'll admit i like having relaxed summers and more free time, but i'd rather have a full-time job and earn some money instead of just spending it. so many people tell me that in a few years i'll wish i was back in college. they're so wrong, i'm not that person who's overly attached to college, i don't party, i don't do all that crazy college stuff... i lead a pretty tame life and i want to move on. i hate living in transition, i could never get fully comfortable in milwaukee because i knew i wasn't gonna stay here. that's how i felt all throughout college, this is just a temporary phase until i get to live my life, whatever that means.

my freshman year, now that was probably the best year of my life so far... living in dc, having lots of friends (screw you high school), doing fun stuff all the time... it was great. but even as much fun as that was, i gotta think i have better stuff to look forward to in the future. especially because i'm single, i can do whatever i want. hell yeah to not being tied down to one person, place, anything. and i'm glad i have cool parent's who don't guilt me into staying in wisconsin or doing what they want, when they say they want me to do what i want and to be happy, i know they mean it. i mean, i know they'll miss me when i'm a billionaire traveling the globe, but when i'm a billionaire traveling the globe they can come with me!

i have been thinking though, my high school self would hate me right now. graduating from the university of wisconsin milwaukee... my high school self would've seen that as failure. well, screw my high school self, my high school self was too idealistic and naive. i mean, i'm glad my high school self decided to go to gw (props on that looking outside the box of madison), the more i think about it the more i don't regret it, but i've learned that uwm is just as good a school as gwu. even better, considering the ratio of learning to money spent to learn. complete improvement in that sense. i wonder if my high school self would be more disappointed to learn i'm graduating from uwm or the fact that i've gained so much weight and am now out of shape. looking at me now it's hard to believe in high school i qualified for the state (and national, actually) powerlifting tournament, was all-conference in golf, and lettered twice in track and field. not to mention i earned the presidential fitness challenge award. you know how hard that is to get? that put me in the top 15 percent of all americans my age and gender as far as fitness goes. and that's by 1985 standards, by 2001 (the year i earned it) standards that's probably the top 5 percent! man, i was good. and man i wanted that blue patch- and i still have it. for me, it was all about the hardware... or, i guess software in this case. that's gonna be my main goal now that i'm done with school, get in shape! I've already begun with my eating habits, lots of protein, clean carbs, low cal. i'm already seeing improvements. my staples are eggs, cottage cheese, tuna, and cornish game hens. i'd hoped to be further along with my goals before my trip to california, but that's ok, this summer i'll have lots of time to workout and get my act together. my goal is to get back down to what i weighed when i was a freshman in high school (the year i won the presidential fitness award). and the only reason i know what that is is because of powerlifting, i remember what weight class i was in. but unlike most people i don't just want to lose weight and get skinny, i want to build muscle and get in shape. that's the secret to losing weight and keeping it off. people think just running on the treadmill everyday will do it, they're so wrong. a good weight program is key, at rest muscle burns a lot more calories than fat, so build muscle and keep the weight off. just doing cardio burns calories, but it won't shape your body. i don't care as much about being thin, i mean, i definitly want to shed some pounds, but i was never a stick, i want to be a healthy weight. and as far as diet goes, if i just wanted to get thin the easiest way would be to starve myself, but that's not healthy. and, for me, that wouldn't be the easiest. i like food way too much, so i'll stick to eating healthy food that i like, and try to limit the portions. no crazy fad diets, its all about eating clean foods... like the protein i mentioned earlier. and as far as carbs- oatmeal, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, and fruits. stay away from processed sugars and over refined carbs like white breat and white rice. it's about balance, carbs are not bad. in fact, your body needs a certain amount of carbs to function, and carbs work with protein to build muscle and lose weight. cut out all carbs and your body goes into ketosis, which is an undesirably state where your body thinks its starving and will lead to stagnant results in the weight room. and your body also needs fats. low fat diets are popular because fat is higher in calories than protein and carbs. one gram of carbs or one gram of protein is four calories, one gram of fat is nine. but, like carbs, fats are not all bad and are also necessary in certain amounts. good fats are found in such foods as peanut butter, avocados, and olive oil. i try to get 40% of my caloric intake from protein, 40% from carbs, and 20% from fat. but again, these aren't riged requirements, more guidelines. if one day i eat 37% protein, 41% carbs and 22% fat its ok, i can't let it derail all my other efforts. how do i know all this... the encyclopedia of modern bodybuilding by mr. arnold schwarzenegger. that, and a few issues of muscle and fitness. there's tons of good tips out there. i'm not shooting for bodybuilding results or anything, but they knew how to get in shape before it was popular. inside those magazines are time-tested strategies, and people with all different kinds of goals can gain insight in their pages. one of my favorite articles was about the 25 top muscle building foods. my last trip to the grocery store included a lot from that list. the most important thing i've learned is that a good complimentary diet and workout plan doesn't have to be overly limiting... if you put too many restrictions on yourself you're doomed to fail. it's also important what you eat at what times of the day. more carbs in the morning and afternoon (so they can be burned throughout the day) and more protein in the evening (to stimulate muscle growth after workouts). before workouts a protein shake and a piece of fruit (apple, orange, nothing too heavy). after workout another protein shake and some gatorade. for breakfast i usually eat eggs and oatmeal, along with vitamins. for lunch, maybe some tuna and some sliced sweet potatoes. and dinner, a game hen with maybe a small side of beans. beans are good because they're high in fiber, and fiber is good because one gram of fiber is four calories (it's a carb) but, those four calories dont really count because your body can't digest it. so foods high in fiber are actually lower in calories than what is on the label. if i find myself hungry at night (happens a lot) i reach for cottage cheese. it's the perfect late night snack. i know people always say don't eat a lot at night, and that's a valid statement, but while you shouldn't eat a huge meal right before bed cottage cheese is actually really good to eat because it contains cassein protein, which slowly digests and fuels your body at night during rest. carbs are bad to eat before bed, they'll just get stored as fat. but cassein protein goes to work restoring and building muscle, especially on workout days. and lots of rest is required too, which is usually not hard for me to do.

ok, wow, didn't expect my blog to go into my fitness regimine. but, whatever. originally i was gonna write about my foreign film collection, but i didn't want to really do that. and then i thought i'd just write a short blog tonight and put songs on my walkman... well, i just can't seem to stick to anything. eventually i'll get to those other things. i'm out

salbrent