[jesseinaustin]

Hey everybody,

I'm 30, married, with a beautiful daughter (almost 3).

I am a former college athlete and have been lifting on and off since high school.

I don't know if I would consider myself a bodybuilder but I am definitely a weightlifter. I work very hard when I am in the gym and consider myself fairly knowledgeable - but always willing to learn more.

It seems like I've always had trouble "sticking with it." I'll workout hard for 3-4 months and then something will happen (injury, family, work, blah, blah,) and I won't get back to the gym for a month or two.

Right now I've been hitting it hard since Dec 06 and things are going very well.

I've managed to stay healthy and I am seeing serious results.

I take NoXplode, Syntha-6 protein, and vitamins - but that's it. No juice for me.

I use this site and others like it to get motivation and get ideas about how to keep my workouts fresh.

My main problem is my diet. Knowing what to do and doing it are two different things. I have a hard time sticking with the good eating habits
for prolonged periods of time.

I am pretty strong so right now my fitness goals would be to lower my body fat, get lean, and get vascular. Right now I am 5-10, 225lbs.

I welcome any advice, thoughts, or suggestions any of you may have.

Thanks,

jesseinaustin

[chrispghmuscle]

Welcome to the dungeon jesse. I'm 39 yo,, in the same boat. This forum has alot of the same exact people like you in it.. I have 2 kids and I workout at night,, im 5 7,,,175,, currently cutting down. Enjoy the dungeon! welcome aboard.. Post some pics if you have them..

[AmericanPowerHouse]

welcome to the dungeon...AKA house of insane muscleheads. JK

[Freak]

Welcome to the dungeon. There are plenty of people who can help you with diet. What did you play in college?

[jesseinaustin]

Played football and baseball in highschool. Earned Baseball scholarship. I was the strongest Shortstop/third baseman you ever seen. Ha. I was 195lb in college. I've since gained about 20-25 pounds. Not all muscle.

[xMastersUkx]

Hi and Welcome to the dungeon!!

[Sparky_dustin]

Welcome buddy, I must say you seem to have a decent set of shoulders.

[YM123]

welcome!!

[compulut]

Welcome Jesse!

Great intro BTW.

As the guys have said, you're in a community where a lot of help can be found, and you seem to be open to accepting it, which is a great benefit.

Do you log what you eat, how you train and your weight BF% ETC.?

I ask because I've been in the yo-yo boat before myself, and have found that consistent logging (dilligently consistant, every detail, every morsel, every set, every lb, etc.) is really helpful. Sometimes, the mirror doesn't tell the full story, nor do pictures and movies (although I recommend them highly too).

I've found, especially when I tire of eating the way that I have to, that I get a lot of motivation by reviewing my logs and charting my progress. I may be sick of eating egg whites & oats for breakfast, my look in the mirror and not see huge differences (partly because I look every day), but then I look at my logs, and find that I've dropped a good percentage of BF. All of a suddent, those oats taste great again!

[jesseinaustin]

I ask because I've been in the yo-yo boat before myself, and have found that consistent logging (dilligently consistant, every detail, every morsel, every set, every lb, etc.) is really helpful. Sometimes, the mirror doesn't tell the full story, nor do pictures and movies (although I recommend them highly too).

Great advice. I do this with my training. I write every pound, every rep, etc. I write how I felt, what time I lifted, etc. I struggle with writing down what I eat. I will try to do a better job of this.

I don't know my BF%, and if I did, I'm sure it would be too high to list. I'm signing up for a fitness assessment at my gym so hopefully they'll give that to me, and I'll be able to see where I'm at - and monitor it from here on out.

I agree though, nothing motivates me more than seeing the changes or adding another plate to the bar.

Thanks,

[wrestlingstalion]

hey man,

welcome, and all that stuff. its definetley cool to see you working at your weight. even with a kid and in the 30's now. there isnt enough of that in america these days.

but yah know keep it up, run as far as yourlegs willcarry you.and when they wont carry you. hope on the bikes and ride more haha. have fun man and good luck.

[compulut]

Originally Posted by jesseinaustin

Great advice. I do this with my training. I write every pound, every rep, etc. I write how I felt, what time I lifted, etc. I struggle with writing down what I eat. I will try to do a better job of this.

I don't know my BF%, and if I did, I'm sure it would be too high to list. I'm signing up for a fitness assessment at my gym so hopefully they'll give that to me, and I'll be able to see where I'm at - and monitor it from here on out.

I agree though, nothing motivates me more than seeing the changes or adding another plate to the bar.

Thanks,

Try FITDAY.COM - It's a pain in the beginning, as you have to add a lot of foods that you eat if you don't find them in their database, but each day it gets easier. It also shows, for each day, how many total calories you've eaten and the macronutrient breakdown.

Another option is NutritionData.com - same thing in that it's harder at the beginning, but this site has more appropriate foods for our sport. I'm not very confident with it's ability to show daily totals in comparison to FTIDAY, though, especailly once you've entered a lot of custom foods and recipes!

I'd be willing to bet that a LOT of guys that think they 'eat good' would be shocked if they used one of these tools.