Phase 2

I did 2 weeks of phase 1 and phase 2 starts today. In this phase each workout consists of two major lifts done in 5x5 fashion and a couple of supporting/postural lifts done at the end 2x8.

This means I need to make it to the grown up gym 3 times each week. Gotta keep up the motivation since it really is easy to slack and go to the gym in my building.

Egg whites

Once the initial excited of following a new plan wore off I realized that microwaved egg whites in the morning get old really quick. I've since switched to frying up the egg whites. This is much tastier since whatever veggies I throw in get more of a cooked taste. Also, since egg whites just won't cook evenly in the microwave I would get parts of my egg white chunk that got a really nasty over-nuked texture.

This Morning I'm having corn and edamame with my 1 cup egg whites and 2 omega 3 eggs. Some taco seasoning thrown in really picks it up.

Spoon!

Things I must remember...
Eating the egg white, whole egg, bean, nuts concoction requires too much dexterity to eat with a fork. Spoons are way better at 6:30 in the morning.

A trip to Costco when you're trying to build muscle makes up about 100 bucks of eggs, egg whites, yogurt, cottage cheese, and meat.

New Favourite Exercise Combo

The 1 leg romainian deadlift followed by split squats.

Day 7

Today marks the first time I'm doing a morning workout. Something doesn't feel quite right about downing a sugar laden "recovery drink" in the first few minutes out of bed.
I have to wonder what this will do to my energy levels later in the day.

Day 5

Hmmm. That's another day with no detectable mass gain. Its certainly not panic time by any stretch... but I have to wonder where my 3000 calories are going.

On another note my digestion has been really good. No gas! Could it just be the lack of spices in my new diet? Maybe it's the reduction of milk? It could be almost anything.

Day 4

So yesterday I ate the whole diet plan as prescribed. The hardest part was getting down the second whole chicken breast just a couple of hours after the first. Today I'm making a tiny modification that will swap out the chicken and salad for cottage cheese and fruit with nuts. That should go down a little easier.

Somehow my weight this morning was actually a tiny bit lower than the first couple of days. It's pretty much negligible but after my eating marathon yesterday I thought for sure I'd be on the upswing.

Hungry?

After just one day of trying  to reach the caloric goals I find my system suddenly very confused. I'm eating every 3 hours and every meal is significant... Ie no small snacks here. At the time between the meals I feel a bizarre mix of super full and hungry. I am not really sure how that is possible.

Another thing of note is that switching to the scrawny to brawny diet seems to have at least temporarily improved my digestion. It may just be the switch to hydrolyzed whey as the author stated that many people suffer gas and bloating fron usual whey shakes but that hydrolyzed is super pure and really easy to digest. This is very promising for my wife who shares our 750 sq ft condo.

thats a breakfast

Whew. I just got through my first breakfast:
Carrot and red pepper omelet with
1 cup egg whites
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup kidney beans
1/4 cup of mixed nuts

It took about 15 minutes to make, but 25 minutes to eat. I'll need to make that more efficient if I'm gonna keep it up.

Egg whites oats and fruit

Put 1 cup of egg whites in a bowl with a third of a cup of rolled oats. Nuke for 3ish minutes and stir at each minute. Pretty efficient meal.

Drink lots of water

Goal of the day... Drink this much water at work

The Goal

Here it is:
I'm 34 years old and I've always felt a little puny. I could be one of those people that is never happy with their body, but for now lets assume that my current evaluation of my physique is semi-objective.

The prototypical desk jockey.

That is to say I'm 5 foot ten inches tall, 152 pounds with about 14 percent body fat.
I'm a skinny looking guy and if I reach down to my sides there is a little something to hold on to, but thats not my focus.

Workout plan:
Scrawny to Brawny
The book focuses on the anatomy of the long and lanky suggesting specific exercise adjustments to suit the shape of the "ectomorph".
Part of what I like from just reading the book is that it has corrective exercises built in. For example, the first phase of the program is all about observing your natural shoulder and knee positions and prescribing a set of exercises to get you tuned up for the more heavy lifting. I'm perpetually tweaked in one way or another so it is refreshing to approach a program that has at least some focus on keeping the body in order.

If you want to follow my progress in terms of weight and hydration/bodyfat as they are measured on my scale you can watch this document:
link to my google doc