April 3DP: dayTWENTYFOUR | A New Approach

I've been busy since I began Carb Back-Loading again on Sunday. Busy enjoying food, making it, taking photos of it.. it didn't take much for me to realize just how much I love food. Healthy, trashy, whatever. If it's made wonderfully, I like it.

If you all have Pinterest, you should follow me! I post a lot.. trust me (lol). I just created a new board called Jenina's Culinary Creations, a special place just for, well - the title explains it all. I've loved taking pictures of all my dishes for God knows how long. I was definitely already in the "food photography" bandwagon before everybody else made it an epidemic on Instagram. :)

Check out these spicy California rolls I made for a back-load!

More Tracking

With change comes adjustment. Since I've increased not only my caloric intake, but also my carbohydrate intake, from <1200 to 2000+, I definitely have to be careful not to overdo it. If I was a man, I wouldn't need to do this at all, as their bodies aren't holding on to fat for dear life in the chance event that a new life needs to be supported. For women, unfortunately, our bodies are stubborn and hold on to glycogen reserves too well. I don't want mine overfilling and spilling into fat storage (damn estrogen!).

I've been doing the following to keep myself and goals in check, just until I get the hang of everything and become habituated to the whole thing:

 - Calculating my average caloric needs for the WEEK. Right now, my average is 13,000. If I want to lean, I go down to ~12,500. If I want to grow, I can go all the way up to 14,700. The average daily caloric intake is 1,857. Again, everything adjusts accordingly - I'm not gonna be hitting that number every day. Some will be more, some will be less. ULC days will hover around 1200-1500, while CBL days will be 1800-2200.

(SN: This is due to all the strength training AND HIIT sessions I do - if I was sedentary 24/7, NO WAY IN HELL would I be able to get away with all this food).

 - Writing in my daily log - how I woke up looking and feeling that day, what I did in the gym, what I'm eating.

 - Logging food on MyFitnessPal. I tend to undereat - this is why I'm tracking my intake so much: not to restrict myself, but to actually hit all my macros.

 - Designated 4 CBL days and 3 ULC days.

 - Writing out checklists for each week to make sure I do all necessary workouts, and eat to accomodate each training session.

 - Haven't got around to it yet, but I will be measuring chest, waist, hips, quads, calves, biceps, and shoulders - as well as recording my weight every week or two - to assure growth in desired areas, and fat loss in others.

Seems excessive, and I know no one would really go to this kind of length to get fitness results, but I'm not normal. I could cook all day, eat all day, work out until I'm sore, and STILL want to record everything. I almost like it. It won't be for long, though. I know I will get to a point where I will no longer do it, for I won't have the need to. I'll just know what my body needs. And that'll really be the day!

But, for now, I'm being a complete nitpick about it.

I'm definitely enjoying my meals and my days. Both the carby and the ultra-low carb kinds. I really do not feel like I'm dieting - maybe because I'm not. I get to eat with the family, and I feel great that everything I'm eating is going towards my goals - even the Ben & Jerry's Cheesecake Brownie Ice Cream before bed.

Tonight, I'm working on my chest & deadlifts, then going ULC - and I plan on making a cheeseburger cauliflower casserole for dinner (which I saw on Pinterest) with a chocolate mug casein cake for pre-bed dessert. All stress-free, but still delicious. I'm excited!