Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Trying to find my way again...

2007 - I was 34 and sick of how fat I had become. I had 3 kids and didn't want to be the fat old dad you see sitting on the park bench while his kids played at the playground. I wanted to run with them and not get winded. I took matters into my own hands, learned a bunch of information about weight lifting, nutrition and fat-loss. Two years later I was 40 lbs. lighter, much stronger and had a nice lean body fat percentage of about 12%. My wife was happy with my new physique and I was finally confident. I knew I looked better and I felt better. I stopped snoring and was performing better in every aspect of my life. Then I was forced to stay home with my kids and I lost it. Almost 3 years later I have gained it all back - I am unhealthy and sad. I cannot fit into any of the clothes I used to and I am miserable. So I am going to get it back. When I first did this I posted all of my progress and kept a very precise journal. I managed to inspire many people who followed my progress and I was happy to give them advice and motivation. Sadly, those people are all gone from the sites I once frequented. The sites themselves have all changed to become pay-sites and are no longer free. I will post my progress the same way I did before and will take you day by day through my struggle to regain my health and well-being. I am documenting this more for my own purposes, but you are welcomed to follow, comment, motivate and possibly be motivated. Tomorrow - I will be up at 3:50am. I will have a whey-skim shake and 2 glasses of water. I will give my spine 30 minutes to dehydrate (it hydrates while you sleep, so unless you give it time to dehydrate, you risk injury if you lift too soon after waking). I will stretch. I will lift my modified 5x5 Stronglifts routine starting at the bar. It will be light, but I am going to do this right. After I lift, I will run for 30 minutes. After the run I will be ready for some more protein and fruit. My carbs will be only from complex sources like rice, pasta or sprouted grains. My intake will be limited because I believe I am carb-sensitive. My macro ratio will be 40/40/20 (Protein/Carb/Fat). Considering my carb consumption may be less than 40% I will have to see how it goes. Adding some fruits may keep the numbers up. I will eat approximately 2300 kCal per day for one month and then adjust. I will limit my alcohol consumption to only on Fridays or Saturdays, no more than 2 mixed drinks total. I am going to attempt to cease all alcohol intake, but I am irish, so we shall see. I will post my progress in journal form. I will take pictures, however I will not post them initially. Let's do this! SF