Some Clarification

Uh Oh.  So apparently, some of you think I took the trainer's words to mean, "Eat 2900 calories and call it a day."  Or something to that effect.  I guess I owe you all an explanation?  Even though I thought I was pretty clear about my intentions in my last blog, here I go again....

I am not focusing on losing weight.  I still plan on weighing myself, but weight loss is no longer my primary goal.  Heck, it isn't even a secondary goal.  Sure, I'd be tickled pink if I lost some weight during this process, but if I don't, I'm going to have to be okay with it.

Instead, I am focusing on building muscle.  "But what about bulking up?" some of you ask.  Screw that.  Girls usually have a hard time "bulking up" because they don't have the necessary hormones to allow for it.  That being said, my body type lends itself to bulky-ish muscles.  I certainly don't get those long lean muscles lots of girls get....I mean, hello...did you look at my thighs in my progress pictures?  Big.  Muscles.  I'm embracing the fact my body isn't meant for little bitty muscles.  Maybe it is meant to be strong and muscular?  Maybe I've been fighting what my body wants by focusing on losing weight and long-distance running for these past two years?  Who knows.

The 2900 calories.  I highly doubt I'll get up to 2900 calories.  If you remember what I said in my previous blog, I need to increase my calories a bit over time.  This past week, I was around 2000 for three days and around 2400 for three days.  On the lower calorie days, I woke up at night with my stomach growling.  I have honestly never had that happen before.  So from my experience, I'm thinking hitting the 2400 is a step in the right direction.  (Notice what I said there?  "my experience")  I'm going to be adding in one more heavy lifting day a week, so I may have to tweak things.

The 2900 calories.  (Yes, again.)  I'm not using this as an excuse to go out and eat crap.  I could easily get in higher calories if I went and ate a Whopper.  (Which I would probably instantly vomit, so I guess that would actually be counter-productive.)  Instead, I'm using this as an excuse to feed my body the best possible things I can.  Granted, I still eat some prepacked foods, just because convenience wins out in some instances, but I'm making a strong effort to not feed myself junk.  I keep telling myself that I owe it to me to see what my body is capable of through lifting.  Trust me.  Between now and June, I'm certain I'll have slip-ups.  I'm not perfect.  But I really want to give this my best possible shot.

The 2900 calories.  (Yep.  More.  I've gotten some flak about this, so I really need to explain all my reasoning.)  I've had to change my way of thinking.  Before, if I was hungry in the morning, I'd try and push off eating again until lunch.  Or I'd maybe have a small piece of fruit.  Mainly because I was working with a limited number of calories.  Now, if I'm a little hungry (yes, even a little) I eat.  Not only does this help with getting in the calories, but it also helps me not feel so hungry at night.  This also helps keep me from overeating.  I'm not starving at lunch/dinner time (because I've eating a substantial snack before), so I don't overeat at my main meals.

This is just a little experiment I'm doing.  I've told people that I'm either going to put on muscle or gain a bunch of weight.  But  I want to try it.  To see what happens.  I kinda thought sharing about it would be interesting, especially since most of the people I hang out with are runners.  Sure, runners want to be overall-strong, but when it comes down to it, they would rather run.  Few would cut back on their running to seriously focus on muscle building.

I doubt I've addressed every issue/topic/question that was presented to me in the past week.  So if you have questions, ask.  I've said it before....I'm an open book.  I'd much rather you come right out and ask me about what I'm doing then surmise shit and talk about me behind my back.  Leave me a comment or two, and I'll tell you what I'm doing/why I'm doing it.