The First Day

Ok, so this is my first day on my journey. I am a fitness professional but like many others I also struggle with parts of a healthy lifestyle. I don't have a problem with exercise, because I love it. But I also love food. My challenge will be to continue to eat supportively thorughout this process but also maintain a healthy plan and incorporate cheat meals on occasion. I have played around a bit with specific menus in the past but haven't stuck with it after 8 weeks or so. This time I'm going to follow through to the end.

My goal is to be 190 pounds with 5% body fat by the summer. I have 12 weeks until Memorial Day. Here are my current stats as of Monday March 3rd 2008:

Weight: 217

Body fat: 21% (crazy, haven't been this bad since college)

Circumference measurements:
Hip 41.25
Waist- 34.5
Thigh- 25
Arm- 13.5






















I realize that I don't have as far to go as others and my before pictures may look like I'm in fine shape.

But I'm not satisfied.
During this journey, the only supplementation I will be taking is Protein, and a multivitamin, and I may take some Fish Oil. Thats it.

Here is what I did for exercising so far this week:

Monday Weight Training

Squats 3x15
T-Push ups 3x8 each side

Step ups 3x15 each side
Seated Row to neck 3x15

Ball Crunches 3x15
Supine Hip Extension Leg Curl on ball 3x15

The exercises above were paired together. I used a slow and controlled tempo, and rested for 60 seconds after each set. After completing the set and rest, I moved to the second exercise in the superset. This workout took me about 40 minutes

Tuesday: Interval Training

Warm up 3 minutes
High Intensity 1 minute, low intensity for 2 minutes. I repeated this cycle four times for a total workout time of 12 minutes.
My mode of training today was snowshoeing

Wednesday Workout: Weight Training

Deadlift 3x20
Military Press 3x20

Bulgarian Split Squats 3x20 each leg
Dumbbell Pullover 3x20

Hip Thigh Extension 3x20 each
Physioball Jacknife 3x10

Prone Cobra 1x60second hold

Followed same format at Mondays workout

Thursdays workout: Same as Tuesdays workout

Fridays workout: same as Mondays workout

Nutrition: I will consume between 2000 and 2300 calories daily. This is a 20% reduction from my maintenance calories. I will also consume 49% carbs, 31% protein, and 20% fat during the first four weeks (or get as close as I can).

Mondays Menu:
VGF25+ for Men multivitamin
Breakfast: 1.5 cups Kashi Go Lean
1 cup skim milk
1 slice sprouted grain toast
2 tablespoons natural peanut butter

AM Snack: 4 egg whites, 1 orange

Lunch: 2 slices sprouted grain bread, 4 ounces chicken breast in sandwich, Prograde Craver

PM Snack: Prograde Lean Meal Replacement Shake

Dinner: 6 ounces chicken breast, 1.5 cups broccoli, 1 cup milk

PM Snack: Prograde Craver

Tuesday
Breakfast: same as Monday
AM Snack: Prograde Lean Meal Replacement Shake
Lunch: Same as Monday
PM Snack: 4 egg whites, 2 kiwis
Dinner: 2 Egg white omelets, .5 cup black beans, .5 cup fat free cheese, 1 cup milk, 1 cup salsa

Wednesday
Same as Monday except dinner was 5 ounces fish, 1 cup milk, 1.25 cups whole wheat pasta and no 2nd PM Snack

Thursday
Same as Tuesday except PM snack was 4 egg whites, 1 kiwi, 1 orange and dinner was 5 cups spinach, .5 cups black beans, 2 tablespoons low fat parmesean cheese, 3 tablespoons light italian dressing, 2 carrots, 4 ounces chicken breast, and 1 cup milk.

I'm averaging about 2100 calories for the week and my percentages are averaging around 42% carbs, 38% protein, and 20% fat. Not a bad start.