Change in priorities…Skip the cutting…continue bulking…
and I figure "Why not?" It’s not like I’m getting fatter and I need to slim down. O contraire, my stomach has gotten smaller since I’ve started bulking. With that in mind, why shouldn’t I continue doing what I’m doing? As long as it’s working, right? My initial reason for wanting to cut this coming month is because toward the end of October, I will be going home for two weeks. I figured if I cut, I could show my family and freinds how much progress I’ve made. However after thinking about it, aside from the point I made above, If I slim down this early, without adding a lot of mass, everyone will think I’m just getting skinny and not eating enough. All they’ll notice would be how thin I am without paying any attention to the real improvements.
Maybe I shouldn’t worry too much about what they will think. My real thinking now is precicely what I stated above. I’m not gaining any fat, so why cut? I’m not prepping for a contest. I’m not getting ready to hit the beach. I think I should continue to keep my main priority as "gain lean mass."
I must confess, though. Over the last week, I have really been slacking off. Not in my workouts, but rather in my eating. I haven’t been eating breakfast. A few days this week, I forgot to take my mid-day shake. Even yesterday, which was my shoulder workout day, I forgot to take my after workout protein. I know, I know. Stop screaming at me. Probably one of the great muscle building sins. When I finished my workout, I started right in with a gatorade to replenish some carbs and electrolytes. That lasted through my shower and my return to work. While I was finishing up my gatorade, someone had made coffee and I told him sure, I’ll drink some. That did it. As soon as I got that coffee, I had completely forgotten about my protein. I didn’t realize it until I left work at 7:30 that night. This behavior isn’t going to cut it, so now, after doing some internal searching and coming to a consensus that I’ve been messing up, I have decided to fix this beginning now. I will have oatmeal with my protein this evening. I will go to sleep early. I will wake up a little earlier so that after my workout (and my shake) I will have time left to eat breakfast. I will start keeping my nutrition log again. I will try harder to stick to the plan…
In my previous weeks, I had been keeping a nutrition log which kept me active in looking for ways to get the proper nutrition. After a few weeks of doing that, I figured "I’ve got it figured out now. I no longer need to track my intake." Oh how wrong I was. It starts off with a little extra dessert here, a bit fewer veggies there, and before you know it, you’re subbing coffe for meals and shakes. Here’s a sample of what my average diet used to look like a couple weeks ago when I was keeping track of it:
Time       Meal/activity               Quantity       Protein   Carbs    Fat
6:30      Rip it energy drink        1can              0         33          0
7:15      pre workout shake       1/2 packet      22       10          2
7:45      workout    Â
9:20      post workout shake      1/2 packet      22       10          2
12:00    Lunch:Chicken Salad Wrap  1             16       5            2
                yakasobi                 Â
 1 serving        5        16           0
                banana w/ PB           1                   4         15          8
                fruit juice                 1                   0        30          0
14:41    snack Mini Mr. Goodbar 1  Â
15:30    Shake                   Â
    1/2 packet       22      10          2
                      w/ milk              1                   8        12          0
17:20    Dinner: steak              5 oz.              45       0          25
                   fish                   Â
 2 oz               16       0           4          Â
                   mixed veggies      1 serving         0        12         0Â
                   honeydoo melon   1 serving         0       30          0Â
19:00    Snacks plum               Â
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 15Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0Â
              turkey slice sandwich  1                    8       30          1
21:25    evening protein           1 full packet    45       20         4
                     Â
      w/ milk        1                    8        12         0
Totals                  Â
                                        221      260       50
All the items I eat would change every day, but I was getting a decent mix of what was available. I was getting sufficient amounts of nutrients, especially considering where I am and what is available. But I have slacked off. Time to get back on track. If I don’t eat, I won’t grow!
