Happy New Year! Wah Happen in December

So the first two weeks of December saw everything go according to plan, more or less.  Then the holiday season hit.  The Christmas and New Years holidays, including a 10 day trip to visit my family in Saskatchewan, were extremely enjoyable.  However, the season of overindulgence and carbohydrate overload, and almost zero training, has left me with an extra 10 pounds that I didn't own a month ago.  So it's time to get back to the discipline of the training schedule and nutrition plan.

Regarding nutrition, based on my weight, body composition, and activity level I generally need about 4,000 calories per day to maintain my body mass; so the plan is to take in 3,000 calories per day until I hit my goal weight.  I will stick with the 5 meals each day, and eliminate any high glycemic carbs except for my post workout meals (all other meals will be lean protein, select fat, and high fibre vegetables).  Post workout meal is generally 40 - 60 (depending on the type of activity) grams of whey protein, 40 -60 grams (depending on the intensity of the activity) of a dextrose based sports/recovery drink mix, and a Branched Chain Amino Acid based recovery mix.

Regarding training, I schedule 3 weight workouts per week, and am either on the bike or trainer as often as possible (every day if I can).  I also play hockey once each week.  For now the training schedule and activity will be focused on cutting weight; as I get closer to my goal weight, the focus will trend towards increasing endurance, increasing core strength, and maintaining leg strength. All training will also include elements to increase technical skills.

Other December Stuff

English Jim signed up for the Crank the Shield!!  So he will join NewfieSteve and me in 'friendly' rivalry for this one!  Their pics are below...can you pic out the Englishman from the Newfie??

Also, yours truly (that's me eh!) is featured on my nutritionist's (Theo Phillips at http://www.foodtofit.ca/) website, this month, at http://foodtofit.ca/#pageID=-30&viewBlogID=23  Thanks Theo!

OK, so other than some personal shite you really don't want to hear about (trust me), nothing else exciting really happened in December regarding me mountain biking.  So here is looking forward to January!!