I love that last line. So true. I've purposely decided to just eat right for now. If I make it to the gym great, but I don't want to start something crazy and then loose all hope and motivation when I miss the gym one day.

I eat about 1700 or less calories a day. I've been able to eat anything too, just watching my calories. Had pizza yesterday, pizza today (for lunch) and chipotle for dinner.

 

I'm doing my 2nd round of Body Beast now. I do all my workouts at home. I finished up Insanity:Asylum Vol.1 on x-mas day and gave myself a couple days rest before jumping back into this. I'm eating between 3700-4000 calories a day. 2.5 weeks in and so far so good.

 

Ian King has the best programs, IMO.

 

MFP is the best..I use it to make sure I'm hitting my macros and getting near my calorie goal for the day.

If anyone cares to see what my daily intake looks like..here ya go: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/diary/coachnatep

It's probably too boring for most, but hey, it gets me the results I'm looking for...

 

heh..I guess I'm "lucky". I have a hell of a time gaining weight. My last round of Body Beast I was at 3500 cals/day and only gained like 3 lbs on the scale (9 lbs of muscle though). That turned into more of a re-composition than bulk. Now I'm upping it to see if it helps.

I do measure myself weekly though to make sure I'm not packing on too much.

 

Agree about the benefits of MFP. I'm trying to stay under 1900 calories. I gradually lose weight at those numbers and generally can fit in most things I love to eat (except chicken wings).

The reason it works so well is when you make yourself accountable for every calorie you eat, you stop eating those extra calories that you don't even realize you were eating. The extra handful of chips, the basket of bread at dinner, the baked goods your coworker brings in, etc. etc.

Once piece of advice I'd mention to anyone who wants to use it, and I think I mentioned this in last year's thread is don't eat your exercise calories. Too hard to accurately measure calories burned and you'll end up busting your diet. Rather than eating your exercise calories, just give yourself a few extra calories to eat if you exercise regularly. I did this by adjusting my settings to "lightly active" even though most of my days are "sedentary".

 

Yesterday was my last Build:Shoulders routine for about 6 weeks. Bulk:Shoulders has more "heavy" shoulder movements, so it will be a nice change.

Check out youtube for the "Sagi Six Way" shoulder move. It doesn't look like much, but holy hell it's murder. If you can do that with more than 10 or 12 pounds, then good for you.

 

More power to you if that works for you. For most, it doesn't.

 

I don't doubt you at all Padre. There are absolutely people who can lose weight without counting calories, and even rarer people like yourself that can go on a binge and atone the next day. I'm just saying for the average American, myself included, that doesn't work. If I go on a binge one day, it usually ends in a one week eat bender that leaves me fatter than ever.

Myself, I'm a purposeful roller coaster dieter. I enjoy food, and I enjoy periods of time where I don't worry about what I eat. When I get to a certain point, I count calories to get down to my comfortable weight. Repeat. I know it's not healthy and as I get older I'm going to have to develop more consistently healthy eating habits.

 

I am still doing crossfit. I have been doing it since the end of march. I did take two months off when my uncle died. I am in much better shape and I am still having fun with it.

This month I decided to do the whole9 whole30 challenge. That means no sugar, grains, legumes, dairy and vegetable oils. I did slip up one day and had a piece of cake. I have been on it for 17 days. I am finding that I am not a sore since I started.

 

Crossfit looks like a blast, but it's so hard for me to break away from home to go do it...I guess that's why I've spent the last 2 years working out in the basement.

The 9-30 has a lot of foods that are high in omega 3's and other anti-inflammatories. It's a great way to detox yourself.

Yesterday was a rest day for me. It's hard for me to have a rest day, because I always feel like I should be doing something, but, muscles grow and rebuild at rest. I did get on my foam roller and massage out some knots in my hammies and triceps..felt like a million bucks after that.

 

Leaving my apartment helps me work out.

 

Body Beast - Build: Chest & Triceps done yesterday afternoon. Last go around for that routine in this block. I think this one is probably my favorite of the Build routines. I'll see it again in about 5 weeks. Today is leg day...legs always kills me.

 

I had finished crossfit/ bootcamp some time ago. Now i am going to semiprivate workouts with a trainer. 90 day program 4/5 times a week. Body Toning, Food Journaling,
Certainly it is challenging. Starting week 3 this week.

 

Do Jefferson squats if you want to lose the ability to walk for the next 3 days. They don't look like much but beware.

 

I, as usual, am doing a variation of Dorian Yates' HIT(high intensity training) loosely based off Mentzer. I use a bit more volume and rest time tho.

Eating 6-8 times a day tho, organic chicken, wild caught salmon, brown rice and greens. Supping in post workout, and b4 bed shakes too. Vitamins. THAT is what is making all the difference. Big time influx of strength and energy.

 

Some eat that way to keep their metabolism running hot. I eat that way to pump in nutrients as often as possible without wasting/over doing. 6oz chick breast and a cup or less of rice is not a lot of grub. But packs a lot of nutrition. The hard part is simply the prep.

 

Def. I take green goodness supplement. And eat broccoli and spinach. Make an effort to try to get those all in. Fiber is not to be under valued!!!

 

Kale is good, Quinoa is another good food.

 

Back on the wagon after a week off due to the flu. That thing really knocked me on my ***.

So it was Day 29, Bulk: Chest, again. It felt good to push weights around again. I got through the workout just fine, but I could definitely tell there was some weakness due to being sick.

 

Day 30: Bulk Legs done yesterday. I was struggling with this one today. Definitely felt the "flu hangover". I lowered the weights on several of the exercises and had to pause frequently. I'm sure I'll get back to normal soon, but it's frustrating knowing what I'm capable of compared to what I had to end up doing.

 

Bulk: Shoulders done yesterday and I did my measurements this morning. I think I hit the sweet spot with my muscle gain calorie intake. 2800 a day this week put me up 0.5 lbs, which is just about as much muscle as you can gain per week while not gaining any fat.

Went lighter on the weights again to focus on form (chest up, shoulders back on lots of these moves) and I could barely lift my arms to hang up my weightlifting gloves when done. Good times.

How is everyone else doing?

 

Bulk: Chest done today. Once again the name of the game was lower the weights a bit, focus on form, tempo, and pace. My chest was so worn out I thought I was going to faceplant while doing the decline pushups. I fatigued the muscles so much more this time, it felt great.

I heard this from a weight lifting buddy of mine, and over the last week I've found it to be 100% true; it's now my new mantra -
"Train your muscles, not your ego."

 

Eating, supplementing, and training is going well.