TrueBLOOD’s BodyBlog

Heading to Vegas today. Not looking forward to the flight. I have to connect in Atlanta (yuck). We should arrive in Vegas around 10 - 11 pm which is 1-2 am my time!! Needless to say, It’s going to be a long day. It will be hard to stick to a normal diet on vacation, so I plan on slipping up a few times - its unavoidable. If I can be some what healthy I’ll be satisfied with that. With all the walking around we’ll be doing I’m sure I’ll be fine. It will be a nice break from training… of course, I may need a vacation from my vacation! LOL

I finally reached my target weight three days ahead of schedule after 5 months of bulking. I actually came in at 221! The next phase will be to cut the body fat while still adding muscle mass. I will accomplish this by tightening up the diet and focus on higher rep training with some cardio twice a week. Thanks everyone for your advice and support!

Just getting in the last week of training before I head off to Las Vegas. I’m training hard, but not too hard that I risk injury so I look and feel my best in Sin City. I had a really good leg workout tonight - I could barely walk when I was done!

I had some routine lab work several weeks ago and the results for my liver enzymes came back abnormal. I was told to follow up with my primary doctor, which I did yesterday. Of course when I got there, they didn’t have the lab results to show my doctor and they weren’t able to obtain them while I was in the office. Anyway, I did the routine physical - I gave a list of all the supplements that I’m currently taking and their ingredients for the Doc to look at. He didn’t seem to think any of them would cause any problems with my liver functions. He thought there might be several reasons why the results could have come back abnormal: I gained 15 lbs since the last time I was in - I could have Fatty Liver indicating my cholesterol is too high - My blood sugar levels are too high - or the supplements. I’m thinking it’s either the cholesterol or the supplements. Anyway, I have another round of labs next week to check my Cholesterol and liver functions again so hopefully we can figure out what to do next. Has anyone else had any issues with this?

Happy to report that I’m finally back on track with my diet. It’s easy to fall off the band wagon, but I feel re-energized and motivated again thanks to everyone on BS!

Every once in awhile I get in a food funk where I eat whatever the heck I feel like. It started last week when I turned 30. With all of the celebrations, and the birthday cake, and the eating out - it’s hard to stay on track. Today I think I’ve reached a new personal low - I ate pizza, ice cream, and I drank half a 2-liter bottle of Coke! LOL. I know - I’m terrible. I guess if I’m going to blow it I might as well blow it HUGE and get it out of my system. Hey - at least I’m not in denial. Hence, I have some lean chicken unthawing on the counter for dinner tonight. I’m stopping all of this nonsense and I’m getting back on track - and looking forward to it.

Today, I officially turn 30! I thought that I would feel a little sad to be leaving my 20’s. The truth is: I’m happy to leave my 20’s behind and looking forward to the future. I’m in the best shape of my life, I have a successful career, and a loving partner of 8 years - not too much to be unhappy about. As far as I’m concerned… it’s just another number.

I’ve decided to post a sample diet that I’ve been using for the last 2 months with good results. I’ve gained about 8 pounds without adding too much fat. I try to consume around 20 calories per pound of bodyweight, and my protein intake is between 300-350 grams. Please keep in mind that this diet was designed for my starting weight of 200 lbs, and I would consider myself to have an "average" metabolism. My average caloric intake is between 3,900 - 4200 and I hit the gym hard 5 days a week.

Breakfast #1 (upon waking):

• 2 scoops of Whey
• 1 cup of Raisins

Breakfast #2 (Mid-Morning):

• 2 MorningStar Sausage Patties 
• 2 Servings of Sugar Free Oatmeal

Lunch:

• Kashi Chicken Florentine
• 1 Avocado

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

• 2 MorningStar Chicken Patties
• 1/2 cup of Cashews

Pre-Workout Meal (1 hour prior to training):

• Seasoned Tuna
• 1 Apple
• 1 scoop of Whey (15 minutes prior to training)

Post-Workout Meal

• 2 scoops of Whey with 2 tsp of sugar (within 1 hour of training)
• 2 Tilapia filets
• 1 1/2 cups of Whole wheat pasta
• Salad

Snack:

• Banana
• 4 tbs natural peanut butter (no sugar added)

Bedtime Snack:

• 1 scoop of Whey
• 1 cup of cottage cheese
• 1 Whole Wheat Bagel