Leer512’s BodyBlog

A guy at my job yesterday asked me if "steroids taste better with orange juice."  I’ve heard that corny joke so many times.  I’ve probably even used it once or twice.  I took it as a compliment, but the tone of his voice was really disconcerting.  As if it’s impossible to look half-way decent without taking roids.  Besides the fact that the most hard-core supplement I take is probably a fat-burner (Redline), I know people who look way better than myself who are ‘all natural’.  I’m all of 6′2" 230, and like 12% body fat.  I think that’s hardly a typical steroid profile.  Anyway,  I responded to his silly comment in jest… "There’s a new steroid out on the market called ‘Hard work’.  You should try it sometime."  I guess some people wanna see results without doing anything… The only thing that ever got me (in the past) was fat.

But it certainly got me thinking about pro-athletes and how it’s assumed by many (including myself on occasion) that they use performance enhancing drugs, and how they always have to answer questions and defend themselves and blah blah blah… Not that I should even be mentioned in the same breath as athletes who compete at the highest level, but I kinda wondered how they felt when the guy was joking with me.  As far as athletes are concerned, I guess it’s really not fair to them.  On the other hand, if we had 100% accurate testing for everything, then it really wouldn’t even be an issue.

Not much to update on here right now. I just put up my most recent progress picture. I’m happy that I made a little progress. It’s been getting tougher and tougher, which means that I’ve been working harder and harder. My eating is pretty much consistent with the most recent blog that I posted about my current diet…. With the exception that I started doing some workouts on the track as well as stadiums. On those days, I carb up a little more in the morning with fruits and wheat bagels during breakfast. Otherwise, I’m still working hard. Who knows, if I get back into running shape, maybe I’ll pursue my long lost dream of going to the Olympics. I always wanted to do that, but I’m not willing to take the P.E.D’s (performance enhancing drugs), so I kind of gave up on that. But you never know. With more people getting caught and banned, it might open up the door for us naturals. We’ll see.

Breakfast (9 am)
2 Whole Eggs   (156,2,12,10) -> (Calories, Carbs, Protein, Fat)
1 Slice of wheat toast with Peanut Butter (258,17,12,17)
One piece of fruit (apple or pear) (97,25,1,0)
Cup of skim milk (86,13,8,0)
Bottle of Water

Snack (10:30/11 am)
1 Scoop of Whey protein in water (125,1,26,2)
1 Tablespoon of Flaxseed Oil (120,0,0,13)
1 Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt (60,11,5,0)
Bottle of Water

Lunch (12:30/1pm)
One 6 oz. piece of lean chicken (492,30,26,30)
1 Sweet Potato w/ Cinnamon (103,24,2,0)
Small mixed salad with fresh squeezed lemon dressing (10,0,1,0)
Bottle of Water

Snack (3/3:30pm)
1 Scoop of Whey protein in water (125,1,26,2)
1 Fiber Bar on workout days (140,32,3,3)
Bottle of Water

-Workout day meals
Pre-workout oatmeal (at least 1 hr. before, around 6pm or so) (159,29,6,3)
Sprinkle scoop of whey in oatmeal (125,1,26,2)
Post workout carb drink (300,75,0,0)
Post-workout Myoplex Protein RTD (around 8:30 or 9pm) (300,20,42,7)

-Non-workout day meals (Around 6:30 or 7pm)
1 Cup of lowfat (1%) Cottage Cheese (163,6,28,2)
1 Orange (100,25,2,1)

Dinner (10/10:30 pm) 
One 6 oz. piece of lean chicken (492,30,26,30)
1 Sweet Potato w/ Cinnamon (103,24,2,0)
2/3 Cup of mixed veggies (60,12,3,0)
Bottle of Water

Approx. daily totals on workout days (3313,349,227,119) – (Calories,Carbs, Protein,Fat)
Approx. daily totals on non-workout days (2552,223,180,107)

Twice a week, I’ll substitute my 6 oz. of chicken at dinner for 6 oz. of fish.  I may also start substituting the chicken for 6 oz. of steak on Fridays.  Because of these liberties, the above totals are approximates.  All of the nutritional data for the food content has been taken from www.nutritiondata.com.

I think the one thing that I have said that I want to do the most is get rid of the flab over my abs.  And that end has not changed nor will it.  I do not know if it will happen as fast as I would like though because I also wanna get bigger a.k.a. more muscular, and from pretty much everything that I have read (including bb.com forums and articles) in order to do one thing, another must be temporarily forfeited.  Meaning that in order to gain more muscle, I’ll have to maintain a positive caloric balance and because of that, I will not be able to lose fat.  On the other hand, when I wanna lose fat, I’ll also lose muscle mass because the metabolic processes that allow us to lose fat also feed upon our precious muscles.  Dang…  That sucks.  Well, I’m going to opt for muscle mass, and bulk for the next 6 weeks (or at least try to).  I’ll probably do weighted sit-ups for my stomach (and a slew of other things) so that when I do try to cut the fat after the bulking period, maybe it will reveal something nice under it.  But after the next 6 weeks, I’m probably going to take a week off, rest, then start cutting (weight) into the summer.  We’ll see how that goes.  My diet is going to be crucial over the next two to three months.

2 Months in.  Not bad for a semi-endomorph (I absolutely wish I was a mesomorph though).  You probably wouldn’t believe it but yeah, that’s what I am.  If I wasn’t working out and eating right, I would easily be about 250 or a 260 lb. tub of lard. I mean, I’m as lean as I’ve been since college, and I’m still about 234… I managed to pull off 192 when I was peaking in College Track and Field… that feels like eons ago.  I had strong legs and no upper body.  And unfortunately for me, that fat always goes directly to my stomach before it goes anywhere else.  And since belly fat can lead to diabetes (which by the way runs in my family BIG TIME), I have to keep plugging along and remain disciplined. My father is only 51 and I hope my stomach never EVER looks like his does the last time I saw him about two and a half years ago (considering he had an eight-pack once upon a time.)  I know a lot of that has to do with the slowing of the metabolism as we get older, but still…

On another note, I am happy with my most recent progress picture (but not content).  I still have a little fat under the belly button, but I’m continually (and gradually) leaning out.  I haven’t lost a pound since I started, and that’s ok, because based on how my body is looking (compared to when I began taking my body seriously two months ago), maybe weight loss (in my case) isn’t the most important thing.  I’m eating approx. 5 to 6 times a day, eating a very clean diet full of wholesome nutritious foods (and of course one or two cheat meals a week LOL), I weight train 4 to 5 days a week, and do cardio 3 to 4 days a week.  I’m never hungry, I have much more energy, and sleep (when I get 8 to 9 hours of it) is better than it’s been in a while.

I was reading this article by Ronnie Coleman (actually, it was someone interviewing him) about all of his Mr. Olympia titles and so on and so forth.  Mr. Coleman said one thing in this article that stuck out to me the most… and I misquote, ‘don’t use the mirror as your guide or you will get discouraged’.  Ever since I started training, I’ve been a mirror freak.  But I get the gist of what he is saying though.  I guess that all progress can’t be measured by how you look, and, being that he also talks about consistency, I think it’s good to keep on doing what I’m doing.  I haven’t seen the type of gains that I would like, but hey, it’s only been about 4 weeks and I am in no rush.  I am in this marathon for the long haul.

Speaking of the long haul, I posted a progress pic today.  I know I said I’d put one up around the 22nd or so, but then I realized that the first one was taken on January 16th while I was in the Dominican Republic.  (I’m half Costa Rican by the way).  Imagine being self-conscious on a beach in the Dominican Republic, wanting to keep your shirt on in the 90 degree hot sun.  That alone is enough motivation for me.  I think I’ve made some strides body-wise.  I have to shore up some weaknesses such as my ability to only do about 5 chin-ups (weakling, I know).  You never really know what you’re weak at until you try it.  I also wanna get my overhead dumbbell press up about 50 pounds from where it is now.  I’ve got a lot of work to do…