Back to the Work Out Grind

So I am back on a new “health” kick. Hopefully it will last. I have really done a poor job with my workout in the last year. It had actually gone downhill ever since I started school but I at least worked out somewhat regularly the first two years but basically gave up the last year. I thought that I would get back into it once I finished in May but injuries, sicknesses, and lack of will have prevented me. To put it in perspective (since I log all my workouts), I have been to the gym to lift weights twice in the past two months. I’ve been twice this week so I already eclipsed my total for a while.

I don’t think I’m on a specific diet so you can call it the Eric diet. It’s a mix of low carb with a lot of fruit.

Breakfast

I normally eat a banana or yogurt first thing in the morning then follow it up with a scoop of protein in a shake around 9AM. I do eat some hard boiled eggs during the week. On weekend, I always make up some omelets.

Lunch

My goal is to bring my lunch 3 times a week which should be easy. I have more of a problem eating at the office on Mondays and Fridays so I am going to allow them. When I go out, I hope to eat a high protein mixed salad. When I stay in, I normally eat “meat rollups” with sharp cheddar and chicken/roast beef combination. The funny thing is that I bought bread for the first time in forever last week for lunch and ended up taking it off. I like the rollups. I also mixed in some hard boiled eggs.

Pre Workout

I having been eating a granola bar but I would like to mix in a protein shake. I realized that this pre-workout meal was one of the main things prohibiting me from working out in the past. There is a dilemma in that I am hungry when I get home so if I eat dinner after getting home then  too full to make the gym before it closes. If I wait, I feel too hungry to workout. So I need something that holds me over.

Post Workout

A protein shake.

Dinner

I am going for a high protein meal at dinner. I have been eating a lot of sirloin kabobs lately. I like the mix of other items with the steak compared to a normal plain steak. As a side, I have been eating either plain broccoli or broccoli with rice and cheddar cheese. I have also been eating a lot of pulled pork salads. I have a ton of vacuum packed bags of pulled pork that I buy from a guy at work. I have been following up these meals with mixed fruit. The good thing about Culinaria is that they sell all these different kinds of mixed fruit containers from $2.50 to $4. They are expensive but I love fruit. They are a variety of Berry or Melon assortments. I am chickened out so will take a break from baked chicken. I keep buying it but never use it.

Goals

I have a couple mains goals in which I do not want to do. They are (1) do not eat out of the refrigerated vending machine at work. I have been eating turkey sandwiches for breakfast the past month which isn’t bad but I want to stay away from that thing since there are so many other good items in there (2) no fast food (3) no eating after 8PM. This rule worked good for me in college but really failed at it since.

Workout

I am trying to keep my workout simple (at least at first) so I stay motivated. My goal is to do three sets of two muscle groups each day then follow that up with a 15 to 20 min run on the elliptical. I am basically cutting out 4 or 5 exercises a day so knocking out another 20 or 30 mins from my previous workouts. I am going to try to go every day that I can. For now, I do not want to lift weights 3 days in a row so I will do abs and run on the third day. My Day 1 workout is chest/shoulder, Day 2 is triceps/legs, Day 3 is biceps/back.