I am going to come clean here:  This has not been a walk in the park.  I have 3 more weeks to get to my goal condition and around 200 pounds and the process just hasn't been as productive as I would like.  Yes, I still have 3 weeks and there is a lot more progress that I can make in those 3 weeks - and I will.  However, even if I get to 200 my condition is going to be very good but it won't be where I wanted it.  Now, this isn't a contest prep so I can come back from vacation and keep going (and I will) to get to where I want to be.  It is just disappointing that every year dieting and being in incredible condition gets harder and harder.

I am not saying that it is harder from a psychological standpoint - I can diet easier now than 20 years ago.  It is harder because the body just doesn't respond like it used to.  I am essentially on a prep diet right now and on this caloric intake and only a few pounds lighter have competed successfully with one of my favorite "looks" on stage, ever.   Part of the reason is because I didn't step down with my diet.  By that I mean I started the diet at 240 with what is almost the exact same diet that I am doing now.  I started very low calorie and simply maintained that diet for the entire time to strip fat as quickly as possible.  Yes, it worked but it hasn't worked as well as if I had stepped down in calories.  I am always flat and "soft" looking now with the lower calories and I still have more body fat to lose.  Will it work in the end?  Yes, but ... this is what I have to do ......

Because I am so depleted from the low calorie dieting for so long, I will need to get to my low body fat level and then slowly ramp up calories to feed the muscle, fill em out and get some strength/muscle back.  This is completely doable and will change my look dramatically but ... in the meantime, I feel I look terrible because no one wants to be flat and soft all of the time.  I am down from 240 to 209 (baseline from last week right now) and will likely drop another pound or possibly two into the weekend.  The vacation will allow my metabolism to rest and get more calories that week and this should help progress when I come back and buckle down and lock back into the plan again.

Right now everything hurts and I am dealing with old-man "itis" issues.  My elbows ache, my bicep tendons ache, my left rotator cuff aches and even my lower back is tight and yet I have not injured it or tweaked it as far as I know.  The cruise week this week was a necessity so I hope to find the weights not so heavy this next week and myself not so sore and achy.

I could push harder with cardio but I said I would not treat this as a prep but put in place a plan that was manageable and not something that destroyed me in the process.  I still have not increased cardio over 4 days and I have no plan to unless I just cannot get leaner and I doubt that is the case.  I am taking more time instead of upping the workload and destroying myself (any further).

Make no mistake, I am progressing and progressing relatively well.  It is just that the results aren't as satisfying as in the past because I am responding slower than usual and still have a lot more work to do.  I will get there; it just takes more effort than in the past.  Getting older sucks but the alternative is to sit back and accept where I am.  That simply will not happen.