March 9th, 2013

Please excuse the bagel in my mouth.

I'm finally at 170 lbs.  I feel good!  My energy levels are up, strength has never been greater, and I have never been more excited about nutrition and training.  The new training routine with Pull-Push-Legs-Pull-Push-Legs-Rest is physically demanding, energy draining, but enjoyable.  I am happy for this change as I have been guilty to get comfortable with one routine and riding it until the wheels fall off.  I feel like I am challenged daily.  I have experienced a level of soreness and fatigue that I have not felt in a very long time.  With newly experienced stress, comes great gains!  

I increased my calories last week to support the work.  I'm currently at about 3500 calories daily with the following macros:

230g Protein

500g Carbohydrates

60-70g Fat

My typical protein sources the past week or so have come from organic chicken breast, lean ground turkey, lean ground beef, fat-free cottage cheese, fat-free cheese, cage-free egg whites, and whey protein.  Carbohydrate sources include Ezekiel bread and bagels, white jasmine rice, tortilla, rice cakes, bananas, berries, and cereal.  Fats come from egg yolk, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and the occasional trace fats from my meat sources.  Lately I have been tracking my caloric and macronutrient intake with MyFitnessPal, instead of using the diabetic exchange system to allow myself more freedom and flexibility with my food sources while bulking.

I believe food sources are not as important during bulking as long as you stay within your macronutrient and micronutrient goals.  I don't eat junk food or drink much alcohol anymore, but I do enjoy the weekly indulgence at Chipotle or pho noodles.  I like that Chipotle has a nutrition menu that calculates the macros of your order to give you an estimate of what you can punch in to your MyFitnessPal.  It isn't exact and the lady that makes my burrito at Chipotle doesn't give a rat's ass about my macros, but it's the best I can to balance normality and diet integrity.  And you know I hope those dollops of a serving of sour cream and guac are maximized to the serving spoon's potential.  

I have cut all cardio from my regimen and replaced it with stretch and mobility exercises.  I must say, I've never been able to squat deeper.  I've checked my ego, decreased the weight, and squatted as lower as I can go, which is slightly lower than parallel right now.  I feel like it is way more effective, leaving me more sore than I have ever felt.  I am happy with my nutrition and training.  I am gaining weight at about 1 lb../ week.  I may be consuming 4000 calories in a week or two.  It's a good thing I'm hungry for more food and more gains.