Primal Challenege- AppalachianMatt page 3

[AppalachianMatt]

Got a great night's sleep last night and feel like a million bucks. I think the only reason I drink coffee now is out of habit and not need. That is obviously a good thing but agai I love my morning coffee and have no plans on giving that up at all.

Woke up this morning and I am unbelievibly sore. My legs feel like they have 100 lbs weights attached but it's a good kind of pain. I have been stretching and drinking lots of water and in time they'll feel better. Most people would say tone down your strength sessions and while that may be an optimal choice I can not. I haven't necessarily done a lot of legs over the past few months due to back pain but again everything in time will subside. The back pain is definitely starting to go away which I thought I may never reach that day (still a long way to go but on the way). I used to have oak trees as a base and I will return to those days. Of course everything is symmetry and harmony. I am about the weight I want to be at. A little heavier than some would probably think would be optimal. 6 ft, 184 lbs. My goal is to be between 185-187 with 8% body fat. I plan on going to the gym to get measured next month to see how realistic it is for me to reach this. This should give me a better understanding of if my goal is in fact realistic or not. If it isn't then I'll change it.

3 whole eggs with 2 thick cut pieces of bacon.
Protein shake with blueberries, 1/2 banana and 3 baby carrots for that mid morning snack.
Lunch is another large salad with Chard, Romaine, bacon, carrots, button top mushrooms, turkey (letfover) and some Balsamic Vinagrette.
Afternoon snack- Almonds and Celery. I'll dip the celery in Peanut butter. I know its bad but i need the extra fat.
Dinner. 2 pieces of Tilapia with Asparagas and Sweet potato mash.

Now thats a good damn day of eating right there. Also pre-ordered my Primal Cookbook. Excited about this one.

[AppalachianMatt]

Celebrated yesterday and feel great today. A little stressful at work but when is it not? Going to do a mini workout with wall sits, push ups some shoulders and possibly go for a decent walk today to get out in the sun.

Had 2 flounder with Asapragas last night which was great.
Breakfast had 3 eggs with turkey bacon, mushrooms and red bell peppers. I cooked the bacon firsta nd then sauteed the shrooms and peppers in the bacon fat, added a little more butter then cooked the eggs with the shrooms, etc. Was outstanding. Still trying to get past the mental hump of eating bacon fat. Having a large salad again with tuna today, protein shake later with an orange later.

[AppalachianMatt]

Rough weekend in the Forrester household. Little man was sick and the wife picked up whatever he had. Hopefully my immune system is laughing wildly at this bug and kicking its ass. I have a little tingle in the throat but nothing more. Not coughing, sinus issues, don't feel drowsy so hopefully the throat thing is it.

Ate good and bad over the last few days. I have to get back on track. Despite everyone's sickness we drove a few hours to NC to see the neices in their dance recitals. Got a good swim in and played around with the baby so I did get my lifting in. My back is killing me from the driving but in a day or so it'll be fine.

I am refocusing on my workouts but most importantly my nutrition. I got kinda lax due to everything going on but I've done pretty well today. Protein shake with blue berries, strawberries this morning, a big ass salad with red bell peppers, romaine lettuce, blue cheese, balsamic vinagrette. Going to have cottage cheese and yogurt for an afternoon snack. Munch on some carrots, celery and grapes as well. I will do a small workout by playing with little man when I get home and then kill it on the Bowflex and body weight exercises in the morning.

I've got 11.5 weeks ot go before my beach trip. I sound like such a girl but thats the date I want to be at my peak. Good nutrition along with a very active lifestyle should push me forward. I have seen great results especially for not being able to work out as consistently as I would like to but I'll get back to it starting today.

Goals- around 185-190ish.
Body fat % 8-10
Six pack would be nice
20 pull-ups

[AppalachianMatt]

Going to cook up some Mahi Mahi tonight with streamed sweet potatoes and a small salad.

[As1459]

I too have a hard time letting go of cw and trying to get more fat into my diet. What kind of macro breakdown are you aiming for? Are you going for a specific number of kcals? Or are you just listening to your body, eat if hungry and don't if not?

[AppalachianMatt]

Well to be honest with you I don't look at it that way at all. For me it's all about eating healthier and just being active. I don't want to sit there and have to calculate every portion of every thing I eat to determine calories, fat, carbs, etc. I cut out most grains (I'll have some every now and again) and eat a ton of dark greens and good protein sources. I try to eat as many good fats as I can without over doing it and the results I have seen have been very good so far. My main thing is to enjoy this and not get overworked on every little detail. I use fitday.com as a way to somewhat track what I eat so i can an overall breakdown of what my daily intake is. I shoot for 160 g of protein, between 75-125 carbs per day.

[AppalachianMatt]

Dinner last night was exceptional. I baked Mahi Mahi with a little lemon juice, citrus seasoning and steamed sweet potatoes. I didn't do a salad with the baby being sick and the wife studying all night but not a big deal. Today is another big ass salad with a decent cup of cottage cheese and yogurt. I'll also mange on some veggies and no clue about dinner tonight.

[Cynarin]

I hope your lil' booger gets well soon, Matt!

[AppalachianMatt]

Thanks. He's getting better but now Mommas sick so it seems like a never ending cycle. Luckily I am still healthy as an ox.

[AppalachianMatt]

Traveled to Alabama today to meet with a prospective client about bringing them on board so the meals today weren't exactly the best but damn they were good.

Breakfast - IF
Lunch- Pulled Pork BBQ with okra and a side of catfish. Simply amazing.

Tomorrow I am hitting up the lifetime fitness gym and getting a killer workout in before work. Should be fun.