The "Before" Me

Until Sept 8th comes, my goal is to have about 3 gym sessions a week and improve my diet so that Ill be prepared for when it comes. I guess I should tell you a bit about my current self so you get an idea of the "before". Im 5'11 and 161 lbs. Have been fit my whole life. Started going to university 2 years ago at which point I began hitting the gym. I started seeing muscles gains in my biceps the most. Triceps had the second most improvement. So over the past two years of casual gym seshing, Ive improved my biceps and triceps, but everything else remains largely unchanged. Two summers ago, I attempted P90X. Guess what, I got to day 66! The reason I stopped there was because I WAS NOT seeing results. My abs were a bit more defined but the amount of time I was putting into it was not worth it. THE REASON: my diet! My diet has been on the shittier side most my life. I can generally eat whatever I want without gaining weight or feeling bad. So although Ive been athletic all my life, Ive been able to enjoy my beer, hot dogs, and bags of chips. The diet for P90X was fucked! Aint no way Im eating roasted red pepper soup everyday. I sometimes think: I just want to go all out and get ripped! Then another side of me says, why give up something you enjoy? (eating food). So Im trying to find a happy medium where I eat tasty things but can achieve a Ryan Reynolds-esque body type. TIP: I have found however, that the more I try foods I hate (fish, avocado, oatmeal) the more I like them. Its encouraging knowing that I might actually like some foods that are extremely healthy for me!

I've made the realization that about 80% of people you see in the gym aren't eating right. They've got the exercise part down, but not the nutrition. If you and I can master both, we will shoot our way to the top a lot easier. So Im trying to become conscious of what I eat now and am trying to stay away from the things that give me 0 help. On another note, while tracking my finances (Mint.com), I found out that a gross portion of my money goes toward gas-station type snacks. Not only are they bad for me, but they're so easy to buy that I end up getting a whole lot very often! In my next post, Ill show you the sites Im using to develop a diet plan and to track my nutrition. As an Information Designer, I really like sites that are very user-friendly, so that definitely influences my choices.

I hope you have a picture of my now. Ill give you an actual picture soon enough. So Im really just your average Joe on his way to become A+ Joe using easy and (relatively) painless methods. Next post will give you the sites Im working with to help me on my way!