Cluck Cluck Cluck

Well, I got another email this morning.

Meredith's emails always get me really excited and pumped up about what I'm doing. They are like another opportunity to learn more and make small adjustments and small steps to reaching my goal. But today, (sigh) was not my favorite piece of information.

I have been eating ~1550 calories/day and it's been fluctuating. Why? Because I'm not on a strict regimen. I eat clean and only make healthy choices (maybe 1 cheat ITEM --not meal, not day, not snack. ONE ITEM in addition to my good choices. And this 1 item is only once every 2 or so weeks. Almost 100% clean), but when trying to get 170g of protein and keeping my fat below 50g, I'm just not hungry for any more calories. BUT I need more. Why? Because. You need to eat for your goals AND for your activity level. Well currently, my goal is to bulk up. I need to really increase the muscle mass on my shoulders and upper back, and I need more protein to do that. I also need to increase my calories, because when I get closer to competition time, I'll need to start cutting. I will cut calories and make adjustments to my macros every time I plateau - which happens to everyone, it's normal. Your body adjusts, its smart. So anyway, if I stay at this silly 1500 level, when I have to cut, I'll go crazy. And all of you who come in contact with me probably will too. So for your sake, I am increasing my calorie intake to 1860 or more. But what is critical, which Mere pointed out, is that I stay pretty consistent on hitting the numbers so my body can adjust to these levels, and when I even drop 100 calories, I'll lose fat. Yay. So to sum up her email - I have to increase my protein intake to 210g, cut my fat intake even more, and increase my calories. At this rate I will be eating a chicken and all of her babies a day. Perfect. That will all start tomorrow though. Yes, I know I preach not to put things off, BUT I need this day to prepare. I need to figure out how many ounces of chicken, how many eggs/egg whites, etc I need to hit these numbers. So tonight will be spent with an excel spreadsheet while I figure out how to hit these.

On to the workout of the day. Today I woke up and felt great. My alarm went off at 6:15am and I was tired but got right up. We didn't get home until after 1am last night, BUT because I didn't drink (1 week sober, go me!) I had no problem getting up, didn't feel the least bit like crap, and was completely happy about it. I do not regret making this decision to cut the booze. It's the best thing for my body and mind right now.. and my wallet. Anyway, I got up and volunteered, grocery store, pool - gotta get my bronze, duh - and the gym. Today was back and biceps.

Pull Ups
Hammer Strength Lat Pulls
Single Arm DB Rows
Seated Cable Rows
Barbell Bent Over Rows
Back Extensions
Alternating Hammer Curls
Alternating DB Curls
Cable EZ Bar Curls

Done and done. My workout took over an hour today, but I think it was good. I slowed down, concentrated on each contraction, and timed my rests. It's funny. I always thought people were ridiculous for resting 2-5 minutes between sets (which is a bit excessive, you don't need more than 2 minutes), and I was always going from set to set, supersetting, active rests, triple sets even, always keeping my HR up and lifting heavy. And that's good, but that's good to lean out not to bulk up. Giving yourself those 2 minutes really will let you lift more and utilize every muscle fiber you can for that exercise, so if you are trying to beef up, the extra rest is needed. And no, you can't build muscle and lean out at the same time. Those are two completely different things. Gaining muscle requires excess nutrients/calories, whereas burning fat and leaning out requires a deficit of nutrients/calories. So for those of you who say, you want to lose weight and but not get bulky - well there is no possible way for that to happen. And also, you will not get bulky (females). Do you think I'm bulky? I may be bigger than you prefer for your own body, but I'm not huge. And I spend hours in the gym and have been going to the gym like this for a good 6-7 years. Yes, I took time off and wasn't as consistent, but the real change was my diet. By lifting weights and eating 70% clean, you aren't going to bulk up. You aren't really going to do much leaning either. Think about it. In school, 70% is a C-. That's almost failing. If that's all you are giving it then you are going to get average to poor results. Working out 5 days a week for an hour is only 3% of your week, making that a very small portion and nutrition a very large portion of your success. If you want B results, which are basically just above average (probably much above average considering the obesity in this world), then you have to eat 85% clean. So the next time you get discouraged about your results, be honest with yourself. You know where to look and you know what to fix. You can do it :)

Enough preaching. Tonight, I am going to do nothing but go to sleep early, and I am so excited. Early as in by 8. I need to catch up. And tomorrow I am going to try to get a bunch of things crossed off my to-do list, workout shoulders and abs, and play soccer for the first time in 4 weeks - when I got hurt. I AM SO STOKED! Hopefully it all goes well.

Well, I'm off to look for competition suits! Whoo-hoo! haha. You might as well just go up there in your birthday suit with how little that string of fabric actually covers. Maybe I'll do that. Save money and might have a better shot. Who knows :) Hope you all enjoyed that visual. Night everyone!

Oh yes, and the most sincere thank you I can muster. To all of you who have commented on my progress and my blog. To all of you even taking time to read it and care about what I'm doing and give me encouragement. Thank you. You are all the greatest people. И мои читатели в России, я надеюсь, что вы наслаждаетесьэтим. (Yes, I used google translate for that. I don't know my Russian followers, but I appreciate them nevertheless!)