Building a Better Jay

After a somewhat naughty weekend (love the word "naughty", HA!), I have eaten clean the last 2 days and feel pretty good.  Sure, I could use a bit more sleep, but who couldn’t?!

I’ve been looking at my abs in the mirror lately and I feel pretty good about how I look.  I am the first to admit that I could get leaner - but I’m not exactly trying to get ready for a competition (yet?).  I have a long road before something like that is even remotely feasible.  Anyway, I’ll try to post some progress pics tomorrow morning.

So, what does that mean for my plans for the year?  I’m thinking it means I move on to goal #2: strength building.  That means a few changes are in order.  First, I don’t mind if I gain a bit of mass while getting stronger, but that isn’t the goal.  The goal is FUNCTIONAL muscle growth only.  If I’m not noteably stronger, the bigger muscle doesn’t mean anything to me right now.  I’ll finish the rest of the week off with a body-fat reducing diet and my standard workouts.  Next week, I’ll spend some time trying to get an idea of my maxes for the major exercises.  Over the next several days, I’ll be evaluating different strength training plans.  Suggestions are, of course, welcome.  YAY!!

I ate pancakes today - real pancakes.  I had a waffle, too.  …and some french toast, one spoonful of grits, a biscuit, and whole-wheat toast.  Oh, and some eggs - lots and lots of eggs.  (At least I got in some protein!)  Besides that one meal, I ate pretty clean today. 

Honestly, my entire body feels pretty much terrible.  Let’s just say that excluding processed carbs for several months and then having an overload will produce a remarkably unpleasant response to your gastro-intestinal system.  I know - too much information.  Sorry ’bout that.  Just had to warn you if you haven’t tried this before.  Ick.

I’m trying to figure out if it is better to do many shorter bulk / cut phases or one long bulk followed by one long cut.  It seems a lot of people prefer to do the latter, but I don’t really know why just yet.  More research - YAY!