A Day In The Life

Just a quick update on my training and the cut I’m doing over January for @abchallenge
I’m right in the thick of this mini-cut now. I was 11st 9lb on the New Years Day, and this morning I was 11st 1lb - not bad eh? Well, it sounds pretty spectacular (8lb in 19days!), but the truth is a lot of it is water weight. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good loss; I have gone from being unable to see my abs to developing a reasonable six pack. I have been loyal to my usual way of weight training by only partaking in big compound lifts, as I still feel that this is all that is necessary to maintain/grow lean muscle. I’m confident that I will not lift a single dumbbell in 2012! The only alteration I have made is swapping back squats to front squats. This is due to injury, and I feel front squats are taking a lot of pressure off my back.

A few people have asked what I’m eating and such like, so I thought I’d jot down an average day.

My daily routine:

0630 Out of bed for breakfast, which is either three rashers of bacon and two eggs or natural yoghurt and blueberries and two boiled eggs. I always have at least a pint of water.

0745 In work

0930-1000 Second meal - either chicken and bacon seeded bagel, or chicken and tuna on linseed bread. I love the Chicken and Tuna combo! I add chilli flakes, and I tend to have the bagels on training days as they are higher in carbohydrates.

1230-1300 Third meal - most probably the same as meal two, but with two boiled eggs. I will have had at least 2 litres of water by now (and been to the toilet countless times!!)

1530-1600 Fourth meal - on training days I have a mass gainer or meal replacement shake before the gym around now, but on non-training days I have oats and berries when I get home (which will be slightly later than this, but you get the idea).

1700 -1800 Fifth meal - on training days another mass-gainer or meal replacement shake, or oats on non-training days.

1900 - on a non training day I go for a walk or run with the dogs. I have been running this week, doing about 2.7 miles in 22 mins - which isn’t too shabby considering I have to take the dogs off and on the leads etc.

2000-2030 Sixth meal/Evening meal - this is where I may break some Bro Science rules; I eat carbs late in the day, no biggy. I also have whatever healthy meal I like here. This is an evening/family meal to enjoy with my wife, and I look at it as just that - something to relax and unwind over, not something to stress over by worrying about how much protein/carb/fat it contains. It's important to point out that I'm not talking about going to the chippy or eating something unhealthy that will take you soaring over your calorific goals; I'm talking about a good home-cooked meal which has a healthy amount of all the food groups. This week, I have had corned beef hash (white potato), beef casserole (home-made by my good lady), and steak, mash and peas, once again with white potato.

I knew I would find something to preach about… Any diet is only worth doing if it has longevity; you need to be able to put your hand on your heart and say that you could eat this way for the rest of your life. Once you know that you are eating clean, healthy and wholesome food, you have achieved something great! I would never recommend giving up anything that you truly love (unless it’s illegal or smoking) - why do that to yourself? Moderate yourself, and treat yourself, but do it sensibly. I wouldn’t get held up on the little things that people say, like “don’t eat carbs after 1800" - why the hell not?! In the grand scheme of things, its not going to make much difference. If your carbohydrate limit for the day is 300g and you have had 250g before 1800 and 50g after, you have kept to your limit and should give yourself a pat on the back! We all have busy lives to live, and that evening meal is special in my mind, and if I want 25g of oven chips, damn it I’m having some. The key to this is knowing your micro-nutrient limits - everyone should have a myfitnesspal account.

Right, where was I?…

2130 Seventh meal - one of the highlights of the day for me, I have half a tin of fruit cocktail!

There you have it, a day in the life!

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