Day 9 - Work Hard and...

Breakfast went down a lot easier today and I didn't have a weird feeling like I ate too much. Two eggs, 40 baby carrots, oatmeal, and a tall glass of milk. By the time I sat down at work I already felt hungry. My mid morning snack was an avocado with a liberal dose of pepper. Lunch was one and a half chicken breasts, two slices of whole grain bread, one whole wheat English muffin and those 40 or so baby carrots again. I ate my after lunch snack of blueberries around 4pm and by 6, I was starving. I couldn't wait to get into the gym at 7 to get my mind off the rumbles in my belly.

My goal today in the gym was to do the maximum reps for each exercise and really concentrate on form. Being mindful of form is very important to attain the most out of any given exercise. I worked hard and concentrated and completed the maximum reps allowed. I felt really great and I'm already noticing tone in my arms that had not been there just three weeks ago.

Dinner was brown rice, leeks, and catfish. Succulent. I'd like to give a shout out to my new friend, the leek. You are wonderful and so green.

Not one speck of salt today and I don't miss it one bit. I have a cornucopia of spices in my cabinet and we will grow close and cherish each moment together over the next three months.

Now for some relaxation. Arsenal vs. Porto in the UEFA Champions league round of 16. 90 minutes of pure football joy.

I hope all my fellow PCP'rs are well.

Day 8 - The faces of the PCP

Day 8 is when "PCP proper" kicks in. PCP'rs open their "Day 8" e-mail from Patrick, glance at their daily allotted portion size, and then make a series of faces displaying surprise, outrage, disgust and just general WTF?!?

The portions are large. More then we have been eating before starting the PCP and certainly a lot more then the first week in which we eat half of what we normally do. WHY? Why is this? Because the PCP is not only about losing fat but gaining muscle and that muscle needs energy to grow and that form of energy is food. Glorious food.

What did I eat today? More carrots than any man on Earth. I can guarantee you that. I felt odd after eating such a large breakfast. I couldn't imagine eating for the rest of the day, but then lunch came and I ate and ate. And let me tell you folks something out there in TV Land, after the workout, I was starving. Argghhh! Give me that protein and those carbs and those veggies. Let me feed these dogs!!!

Overall, a pretty good first day of PCP proper with a few minor exceptions which will be corrected tomorrow after I stopped off at the market tonight. My one exercise hiccup had to do with the incline pull ups. My plan to pull these off was thwarted when the two benches I was using were not high enough off the ground. I had to basically skip these and will have to borrow a few chair from the cafeteria to complete them properly.

Patrick closed his e-mail today with something I need to keep in mind everyday in the gym and while doing the exercises. "Work hard", he said. Work hard. I must keep this in mind. I cannot cheat in the gym and I must give 100% in order to get 110% out of this project.

It reminded me of something J.D. said to me once. He's good and incredibly in shape friend of mine. "Brian," he said placing his hand on my shoulder, "when you cheat in the gym. The only person you cheat is yourself". Work hard. WORK HARD.