Welcome 2008!

Happy New Year!!! 2007 was a great year for me, I was able to shed 60 lbs of fat and say goodbye to that poisonous cigarette. With that achievement, year 2008 poses a more serious challenge in the sense that I have to make strides to somehow outdo or just even be at par with my accomplishments for the past year. This year of the Rat started quite good for me as I am back with my workouts using loads same as that of which I used to workout with prior to my hand injury last October, and I am slowly but surely pumping heavier loads as I try to bulk up.


I think I did fairly good in the last two weeks of December 2007. As expected, the last fortnight of the year came with food, booze and sleepless nights. It's a nightmare for someone treading on the threshold of loosing that poundage forever and gaining it back, and more. Countless studies show that 80 percent of people losing that excess baggage gain it back and then some, starting on the yuletide holidays. I am one of those who gain it back during these times for the last couple of years. Luckily, this season is completely a different story. In fact, I only drank 5 times for the last 14 days, and although my diet was really at its worst, eating everything in sight that doesn't move (lechon and humba THE BEST!), I lived a couple of days in my gym for a complete workout. I am not sure where I got my determination to stick to my exercises but I guess it was just showing people that the power of mind can be a very great ally.

Moving on to 2008, I am very excited to start the year with a bang! In fact, the 2nd day of the year saw me punishing my chest and triceps rather than be at a bar, a sign that I am more focused with my workouts this year. Having lost 60 lbs of fat made me look like a high school boy physically, skinny. So I decided to bulk up for the first three months. I will be going heavy on my workouts and eating a lot to gain some muscles and look like a grown up man with some strength underneath the shirt.

Ten days into my workouts for this year, I've gain a measly 2lbs of muscle or I would say more like fat! I'm not bulking clean so I can fully enjoy the bigger meals this three months. I am having a great time so far, eating more of the delicious food that we have grown to love while keeping the fat at a minimum. Example of my day goes like this: First meal is 8 in the morning, usually consists of 4 slices of wheat bread, 5 egg whites cooked in the oven so no oil is needed, 1 tablespoon of corned beef and a glass of milk plus a capsule of multivitamin and vitamin C; workout from 9am-1030am; 2nd meal is 1 and 1/4 scoop of whey protein immediately after workout and a medium-size banana; 3rd meal is 1 chicken breast cooked using a convection oven, so again no oil is needed and a cup or two of white rice usually around 12 noon; 4th meal at 4PM is either a quarter roasted chicken and rice or a big slice of roasted tuna and rice or a quarter pounder roasted burger; 5th meal would be just a cup of steamed peanuts or a tuna sandwich and half a glass of milk. 20 glasses of water is a fair estimate for my whole-day intake. With this kind of diet I expect to get relatively bigger in 3 months time and my tummy to show some fat too! But it's a sacrifice I am willing to make. I'll be shedding the fat starting on April, during my cutting phase.

In the meantime, I'm gonna have my 5th meal.