[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
[quote]chobbs wrote:
Great advice and motivation for me going on here. My girlfriend and I just broke up, and she said it was very annoying that I thought I had to eat every 2-3 hours, that made me realize it was the right time to get out![/quote]
If she is annoyed by you eating, then she sounds like a bitch haha. Use that pain to motivate yourself even more :D[/quote]
That’s kinda what I concluded about the whole situation…
We all need to strive for a life of balance… (Please read Dan John’s tough vs reasonable)
BUT…
It’s funny how the guys that have already built physiques to be proud of, stage worthy or not, are the ones saying don’t go so hard. Sometimes you have to put your head down and bully your way to the goal line. Sometimes that means taking names and being a dick. Worthy things in life are freaking hard. Great physiques are not just for competitive bodybuilding and fitness models. I want to teach people health and fitness. They will only listen if it looks like my shit is together.
One of the take home messages of Dr. Atkins book was that you got fat eating unbalanced. So you cant effectively correct this with a balanced approach. You go extreme, hit a goal, then you cruise (with balance). Unless your genes are badass, its the same for non-competitive BBing.
Also I’m so jealous of the folks that can have a cheat meal or 2 a week and not set off an addiction time bomb in your head. I’m a foodie, always have always will be. Bread might as well be heroin TBH. So I see the value of elimination diets for reaching a goal.
if you’re in college; you better enjoy yourself. Im not saying go out every night, but understand it doesnt last forever and you have the rest of your life to be “mature” and boring.
[quote]Aggv wrote:
if you’re in college; you better enjoy yourself. Im not saying go out every night, but understand it doesnt last forever and you have the rest of your life to be “mature” and boring. [/quote]
I am in college but I’m 23 and the way I feel like I’ve already lost too much of my life to partying
[quote]Aggv wrote:
if you’re in college; you better enjoy yourself. Im not saying go out every night, but understand it doesnt last forever and you have the rest of your life to be “mature” and boring. [/quote]
Don’t have to tell me twice
Great discussion.
I’ve struggled with this in the past, but it seems like those days are behind me.
In the background, I’m training, eating, tracking, posing, measuring, analyzing, researching, reading, progressing, and obsessing like a bodybuilder.
But I’m also traveling (work) frequently, eating at restaurants, having a few beers almost every night, enjoying the occasional bender, and first and most importantly, spending quality time with my wife and my daughter.
Sometimes I keep things totally separate and nobody would know. Sometimes, it’s okay to integrate. It takes a little effort, creativity, and discipline to pull it all off.
Also, when you find yourself in a groove or on a roll where things are clicking and becoming effortless, try to step back from yourself at that moment, observe, and learn from your success. If you can access that higher level of internal drive and passion, everything else will fall into place and eventually become effortless.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I have to agree that anyone who obsesses about their bodybuilding lifestyle to the point that it prevents them from enjoying life seriously needs to re-evaluate their approach.
Unless you are actively preparing for a contest, there is never any need to stick 100% to a diet. I’ve always done my best to ensure that I eat every few hours, and always look out to get at least some quality nutrition in whatever I’m getting (protein wise), but damned if I go crazy trying to watch every little thing I eat. Life’s too short, and there’s too much tasty stuff out there -lol.
I think it was in an old Berardi article where I first hear of the “90% rule”. Basically as long as you’re doing well 90% of the time, the other 10% isn’t enough to derail you and inhibit progress. Again, I’d apply this to non-contest prep periods, because anyone who has ever competed knows that less than 100% is the same as 0%.
Even contest time, I want to stress that I’ve never been one to make a big deal out of what I’m doing. I have a real job, friends that don’t work out, and responsibilities that have no reliance on my competition success. Also, as I know I’ve said countless times over the years:
Being on a contest diet is never an excuse to be rude, irresponsible, or an ass to people. YOU are choosing to do this, and the bottom line is that no one else really cares, nor do they want to hear you talk about it incessantly.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to sneak off during some public event and eat something outside, or in a bathroom just to not invite questions, stares, or even rude comments. Yes, I’m very lucky that my wife understood this side of me when we first started dating, but man did I do my best to hide it. I would cook for her all the time because unbeknownst to her, I had already calculated the #s of everything I was planning on eating! (I didn’t let her know this of course)
For the really hardcore trainers out there, yes, it does take a bit of commitment and preparation to reach the upper levels of your potential, but it’s not nearly as horrible and isolating as some people make it out to be. If you find that you can’t live a mostly normal life because you’re trying to get huge and ripped, chances are you’re not doing it right 
S[/quote]
I agree with Stu. As a competitor in the past, only when I was in competition mode did I stick 90% to the diet. I say 90% since I dieted so hard that I actually could have cheat meals. The key for me, when not competing, is just being balanced. Indulge a little but for the most part - eat clean. Don’t let it dominate. I actually try not to talk about it, I switch the topic if someone brings up my diet or training. Its just easier this way.
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
[quote]Aggv wrote:
if you’re in college; you better enjoy yourself. Im not saying go out every night, but understand it doesnt last forever and you have the rest of your life to be “mature” and boring. [/quote]
I am in college but I’m 23 and the way I feel like I’ve already lost too much of my life to partying[/quote]
Enjoy the last little bit, because you will miss it. I am also 23 and graduated in June. It’s been good and bad since being out of college. Making lots of money and able to focus heavily on bodybuilding has definitely been a plus.
[quote]Ripsaw3689 wrote:
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
[quote]Aggv wrote:
if you’re in college; you better enjoy yourself. Im not saying go out every night, but understand it doesnt last forever and you have the rest of your life to be “mature” and boring. [/quote]
I am in college but I’m 23 and the way I feel like I’ve already lost too much of my life to partying[/quote]
Enjoy the last little bit, because you will miss it. I am also 23 and graduated in June. It’s been good and bad since being out of college. Making lots of money and able to focus heavily on bodybuilding has definitely been a plus. [/quote]
I still have a while I just got out of the army, So I’m starting college at 23.
but I hear you guys. I am going to make it a point to go out every now and again, which I do, normally during the semester becasue I feel Like i need to take a load off.
But after this cut it will be time to relax some for sure and not worry about going over a little bit when I go out to eat and it’s not a cheat day
[quote]ESX wrote:
I like to fit my body building around my life, not my life around my bodybuilding.
I’ll take the Mrs out on weekends when im cutting. I’ll just choose food i can eat. If i’m going out for a long period of time i’ll either take something in a shaker, or just grab a wrap or something. I go out with my friends to bars and have a few drinks plus some water or diet Coke (save the heavy nights for an occasion ;-).
The only real pain is the gym as i tend to go on the weekend which cuts into me doing other things. The Mrs does get the hump sometimes but its not like she would stop me as she knows what i’m about. So she just rolls her eyes and i’m off!
If i had the choice of gaining 5lbs of muscle a year and spending time with the Mrs and friends having a few drinks, or gaining 15lbs and sitting in every night eating chicken and broccoli? I’d choose having a life![/quote]
First sentence of his response sums it up man. Make the game work for you, not the other way around.
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
There is a reason this isn’t in the GAL
I live my life as if I’m getting ready for something important.
When I’m not at all…
Early nights
Cook in bulk
Cooler with food if I’m going to be gone more than just a few hours
Very few visits out or to the bar
Some days I go to the gym twice a day
The result is me living like a hermit.
How do you guys make time for other people, girls, friends?
How do you explain to a girl that half way through your date you need to slam a chicken breast with some rice and raw broccoli or that you can’t go out to eat because your cutting and you like to weigh and calculate every single calorie?
Sober things you guys like to do for fun that don’t impede your bb goals?[/quote]
All social time for me revolves around the cheat day… This hasn’t always been the case and I don’t do it every weekend.
To be honest I don’t mind chilling out alone since I get to work on building websites or playing games.
We’re all different I guess.
I just train to look better and to help with general condition, I used to stress a lot about diet, but when I found Intermittent Fasting and started to take a much more relaxed stance (but within IF parameters), I found that I started improving more with less effort.
Different strokes for different folks…