Xenomorph

2/4/2015 With a little over two weeks left until my first challenge, my health seems to be on the upswing. Unfortunately, a knee injury from last summer is rearing it's ugly head. It pops and hurts slightly. I already went through rehab once, so my current plan is to continue to diet and kick the cold, while finally getting myself to do some mild elliptical trainer work combined with body weight exercises, particularly squats. I need to warm up my muscles too, so I will be stretching a lot as well. The facehugger is preparing to emerge.

I specifically suffered from a soda addiction. The sugar, the bubbles, the liquid, the everything... I was hooked. I found that by finding healthy substitutes that closely resemble the craved item, I was able to kick that habit. Canned, sparkling, naturally flavored water did the trick for me. Like, Rooks, I'll have an occasional soda, but I'm no longer a slave to it.

I went with something that closely resembled my craving. I'm a former soda fiend, but upon discovery of canned naturally flavored sparkling water, it's been easy to stay off of them. Only having one or two on the the week. That also helps because I don't totally deprive myself and I'm at a point where I can go back to sparkling water once I've hit my quota of soda.

2/2/2015 Well... I got sick again. This time I'm sure I caught it from someone at work. Lots of lovely green phlem and coughing. On the plus side, I was very active yesterday in spite of the fact, and got a lot of cleaning and organizing done around the house. I also restocked the fridge/freezer with healthy food for the week. I weighed in this morning and took some progress pics that I'll be uploading to instagram. I weighed in at 219lbs. This is how much I weighed during late last summer right before I injured myself and had to stop lower body lifts for several months. I'm of a slightly more squishy composition at the same weight, but I've been out of the gym for a while, so I am not surprised. My current goal is to kick this illness and be back in the gym in time for my first challenge.

1/27/2015 I'm feeling much better - almost 100%. I was about 100kcal over my goal yesterday because I got a little snacky in the evening. Cooked some steak, and all of my meals are pretty much ready to go today. I'll just have to be stronger in the evenings. Already resisted a quick comeon craving for 7-11 hotdogs, which used to be the bane of my existance. I have decided to upload a set of three progress pics at the start of each month to instagram (Front, Side, Face). I might skip February because I took pics yesterday. I have also decided that I will participate in the next challenge. I like the format and it could be a fun way to meet some of you.

1/26/2015 Finally succumbed to my my wife's illness. I weighed in at approximately 222lbs. I didn't log it because my weight was within the 5lb tolerance I allow for random fluctuations. I ate a lot of junk food over the weekend and decent amount of soda and beer. I obviously did not log. On the upside, I got my place cleaned and organized on Sunday, burning some calories there. On top of that, my Amazon Fresh order arrived, so I am stocked on healthy food and flavored water for the week. I weighed in at 221.6lbs this morning and I have plotted out today on myfitnesspal and I'm only 2 calories over my goal. I'll take it. Body aches and it's pissing me off because I want to start exercising. I'm going to give it a few more days or perhaps incorporate a brief walk after work if I'm feeling up to it. I started an instagram to chronicle my before and after progress was well as images of my meals. I'll be placing that in my signature shortly.

1/22/2015 Last night was a bit of a fail when it came to sticking to the diet laid out above. I snacked and drank soda and juice. I didn't get to my body weight routine either. I may be feeling moderately depressed due to things at work, and my wife has a terrible cold, which is an added stressor. All there really is to it try again. I'll be eating the same food as yesterday more or less without the junk food and I will get in the beginner body weight circuit. February is fast approaching and that is when I plan to return to hopefully a less packed gym. Additionally, I want to work on my flexibility, so I will be stretching along with my body weight routine. Tomorrow also marks my second weigh-in of the year. I'm very curious to see how I do.

1/21/2015 After falling for temptation yesterday in the donuts that my assistant brought to the office, as well as several cokes and glasses of orange juice in the evening, i got back on the horse today. I need to remain disiciplined right now as I am mostly relying on diet to lose weight. Once my gym becomes less crowded going into February, I will be able to lift. Due to issues at home with my wife being sick, I was unable to complete the beginner body weight routine, but I will do so tonight. That's all for now. I will leave you with my meal plan for today: Breakfast Hormel Microwave Bacon - 4 Slices Orowheat 100% Whole Wheat Bread - 1 Slice Alta Dena Fat Free Milk - 2 cups Lunch Nature Raised Chicken Breast Portions - 149.5g Kirkland Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Taste of Rice White Basmati - 250g California Ranch Fresh Large AA Eggs - 2 Eggs Tillen Farms Pickled Crispy Asparagus - 6 Spears Snack - 1 Polar Kipper Snacks - 92g Dinner Amazon Fresh Beef London Broil Top Round - 4oz Tillen Farms Pickled Crispy Asparagus - 6 Spears Snack - 2 Alta Dena Low Fat Milk 1% - 2 cups This put me at 1919/2000kcal for the day, with my protein 4% shy of my goal with that 4% going towards carbs. I drink a lot of naturally flavored sparkling water and regular water to keep hydrated.

Thanks for the welcome!

1/19/2015 I'll keep this first entry brief as a sort of intro. I am 5'10, approximately 218lbs. I have dieted/exercised my way down from 250lbs over the course of the past year, with a lot of yo-yoing in between. I have a gym membership that I have avoided using thus far this year due to how packed it has been. I have been using Amazon Fresh to make grocery shopping simple. Tonight I will begin the beginner body weight routine until the gym becomes less chaotic, and then I will up the ante to heavier weights. Once I am comfortable with them, I will increase the intensity by beginning Layne Norton's PHAT routine. It is designed to increase strength while also increasing size. In the mean time, I will be following these calorie/macro goals to get my weight as close to my current goal of 200lbs as possible: Calories: 2000kcal Protein: 175g Carbs: 150g Fat: 78g I am a soda fiend and have been using naturally flavored sparkling water to deal with cravings. I will try to keep my sugar intake under 75g daily. My long term goal at the moment is simply body recomposition. I have a decent amount of muscle from last year's training, but I want them to show through. Eventually, I want to study a martial art, as simply being strong is just one facet of becoming the perfect organism First things first, I want to have a basis of strength, endurance, flexibility, and aesthetic. This log will be a general summary of workouts, eating habits, general approach, and personal reflection as I will be using Fitocracy to log workouts in detail and myfitnesspal to log meals.