I was planning on changing my diet around at the end of February, but I have started now instead. I understand that bulking is an essential part to building muscle and gaining strength, yet I feel the need to start cutting now. Or at least sort my diet out.

Why now?

I have a great philosophy that involves the mind. I strongly believe that if I want to change my body and I have enough passion to do so, I’m confident enough to say that I will succeed without having to stress myself out too much.

Over Christmas I was enjoying little treats like pop tarts, bowls of cereal and little things like that. I wanted them and had them. Now I want to drop the body fat and so my diet has to change along with a little bit of light cardio added into my daily routine.

Through the winter I never did cardio as I didn’t want to and I know mentally that I didn’t need to, as I was doing enough general exercise throughout the day. If I did try and do cardio over the bulking months, I would have done half a job and really have to force myself to do it, therefore hating it!

Now I have a mind set of cutting the body fat, I don’t even have to think about doing the cardio or eating healthy. My body is almost like it is on auto pilot. When Its time to eat (every 2-3 hours) my mind takes me to the right foods that I require to reach my goal. It’s almost like I can’t see junk food and the only food I can see is what I need. (at the moment)

I know that sounds a bit crazy, but I’m a very strong believer in the fact that I can do what I need to do as long as I plan ahead. I don’t think I could bring myself to eating junk at the moment no matter how hard I try, I just really couldn’t do it.

It’s too early

I’ve been thinking about this and I keep saying that it’s too early to cut.

How can it be to early to cut? What am I cutting for? Myself!

I can understand that if I was competing on a set date that I would be bulking till the exact day I had planned and then cut for the exact time I need to cut. As I am doing it for myself as personal challenges though, I really don’t need exact dates, I just need my head to be focused and in the game.

I don’t need to do anything other than do what I need to do. What I need to do is drop my body fat as much as I possibly can in a way that I find fun and enjoyable. If that’s a brisk walk on the treadmill once a day with my headphones on whilst playing on Twitter or Facebook then so be it. As long as it’s helping me reach my goal then I’ll do what it takes.

I’m going to look too thin

This is always a worry for me as I don’t want to be skinny. The thing is though, I can put on fat extremely easy. My life long challenge has been battling with my body fat. I ain’t going to make excuses up though, I was lazy and ate a lot of junk food.

Once I drop my body fat to where I want it to be, I will then examine where I am with strength and looks.

If I do cut to where I want to be, then I will step my game up and aim to compete in the distance future. (over 40s for example) I know that I have a very long way to go and I also know that my genetics are poor, but so what, I’ll just have to work as hard as I possibly can to get to where I want to be. Genetics don’t mean anything if your competition is more focused and trying much harder with everything.

How much fat do I need to lose?

Possibly around 10lb of fat at a complete guess. I have no idea how to measure what I need to lose other than a number in a percentage of where I want to be which is around the 10% mark. I did get down to 14% which was the lowest I have ever been. Now I have conquered the 15% body fat goal, I am going to get to 10% body fat as my next goal. (currently around 19%)

Is it possible for me?

As I feel at the moment it will be quite easy to get to where I want to be. I have my mind 100% focused on my goals and what I need to do to achieve my goal. I have no negative thought about what I want to achieve and that’s that. (unforeseen circumstances are not taken into account)

It’s all about the supplements!

Supplements mean absolutely nothing if they aren’t used right or if the effort is not put into training/nutrtion. I love Black Bombs when cutting as they make me feel hyperactive, therefore wanting to do something which involves moving. I have had Black Bombs in the past and sat down to watch TV. The logic in this is ridiculous as I ain’t going to accomplish anything like that.

I have Black Bombs knowing full well that I am going to do some kind of exercise and use it to help me along mentally and physically. Alternatively, It’s no good having Black Bombs and doing half hour cardio just so you can have a chips and a battered sausage. You have to do everything right to actually see any benefits.

Abs

Going from a 40 inch waist, I used to believe it would be impossible to get visible abs due to the excess fat hanging around me belly. I changed this opinion thought when I did my first cut in August. I know that If I work had enough, I can tighten up my stomach fat and have a more firm stomach.

I hated ab exercises as I really didn’t see the point in them as I have a load of fat around my waist. That was a very silly thing to have in my head though, as I know that when I eventually lose the fat, I will then have to wait another year until I have abs due to the lack of muscle there.

I started doing a very basic abdominal workout around 4 months ago ready for when I cut. I have a simple theory that if I work my abs a little more when I’m fat, I will be able to see them better when I cut. I don’t want to lose the fat and then decide I want to train abs as it would take another year or so to see the benefits. Training my abs will also strengthen my core making it a win-win situation that way.

LOL Do you even lift

I am always aware that what I say on here can be read by anyone and I never ever want to come across as If I look anywhere near good enough to take my top of in public, let alone compete. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having goals in life though and working towards them. I do my best with the knowledge I have and I am always hungry to learn more and push myself harder.

I’m sure some of my friends will agree with me that I have never ever doubted or even thought of giving up what I’m doing since the day I started. I have a passion for what I do and I simply love it. It is a lifestyle that I enjoy following and I never have to force myself to go to the gym etc.

I am completely aware of how slow my progress has been and I am also completely aware that I have done it all by myself. It’s been a long journey just to get to here. I do have high hopes for where I want to eventually be and I will work as hard as I can to get there.

New opportunities

Joining the new gym has opened up some doors for me. Being around people that compete and who body build is a great advantage to me. Being in a more competitive environment will help me push harder and learn more. I’m excited to see how it unfolds over the coming years at the new gym.

Changes

I will personally monitor my progress in private with pictures for the time being. I took a video of me prancing around new years morning taking all my measurements down in front of the video camera. The video is uploaded and kept private until I feel comfortable to share it later in the year. All the measurements can be found on my blog though.

Why so confident?

It’s not so much confidence, it’s more of being positive and focused!