Pre-exercise/Breakfast: 1/2 bialy with lite cream cheese, tomato, smoked salmon
Snack - Tall (12 oz.) pumpkin spice latte, nonfat (210 cal, 0 fat, 40 carbs, 12 g protein)
Lunch (2:00 PM) - vegetarian chili with chopped up ham slice, broccoli rabe, cold chicken leg no skin
Snack - left over cold sirloin tip - about 3 oz.
Dinner - At favorite Chinese restaurant: 4 chicken wings, seafood rice noodle soup, 1 nime chow, chicken and eggplant in spicy garlic sauce, whit rice, fortune cookie. (note: quantity of food at dinner was large. Planned to have only one. Some overeating no doubt.)
Water - At least 56 oz.

Exercise:
Wide grip lat pull downs 100# 12 reps (110# on 4th circuit)
Barbell curls 55# 12 reps
Cable pushdowns 70# 12 reps (80# on 4th circuit)
Upright rows 55# 12 reps (65# on 4th circuit)
V crunches (did slow ones) 35, 30, 30, 40

I did the above circuit 4 times and the below mini circuit (did 3 times):

Lying leg curls 80# 12
Pec Dec (chest flys) 50# 12
Machine lateral raises 50# 12

Ok, so dinner was a bit heavy. It's at this point the dangerous all or nothing attitude takes over and says, "Screw it, I blew the diet at dinner - the rest of the evening doesn't matter, I'll start fresh tomorrow." I have been here many times. This is where my kitchen becomes open season for the evening. Well, not tonight. Tonight's theme is our favorite saying: Progress not perfection!

Tonight I will break the chain of cataclysmic events and try not to consume anything else. That's the plan, plain and simple. I shouldn't be hungry from the large dinner. Yes, the night is young, but I will be victorious! (Update - 2/11/05 7.56 AM: no late night eating last night. Stomach was closed at 7:30 PM)

The only other thing worth noting (2nd time this has happened) - a very sore right calf muscle. Pulling the hour on the elliptical yesterday at a good pace was probably the cause. I didn't stretch the calf muscles yesterday if I remember correctly. I still went to the gym today and did strength training. I even warmed up on the treadmill for 10 minutes without any pain.

As I was ready to lift my first exercise (lat pull downs,) my new gym friend and comrade - a female, size 4, (yes, size 4) said to me, "How did you do last night?"
"Good, real good," I said. "I only had a yogurt."
"I did good too!" she snapped back. We traded smiles as I walked away and she said, "It's nice to know you're not alone." I nodded in agreement.

Hard to believe eleven months ago she weighed over 220 lbs. "Sue" is a very interesting person. A person at first I didn't like, but have grown to really respect and like her. We trade war stories (battles of the bulge) even though her battle is now maintenance. She has quite a fascinating story behind her weight loss. Once we found out we came from "big" backgrounds, we often would have short conversations about eating and weight loss, in between sets. She has really enlightened me to all the different issues women have to deal with while losing weight. Although there are many similarities both males and females encounter, it seems woman have a lot more to deal with. I was very surprised to find out how her so-called friends treated her when she was the heaviest and now how they treat her while she is the thinest in the group. Being a male I never encountered weight issues with my friends. I have the same friends I did when I was at every different stage of weight gain and loss.