[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
Slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
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Are you counting your calorie intake and do you strength train 3x/week? These are the two single most important aspects.
[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
[quote]dagill2 wrote:
[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
Well I turned 25 and can’t say I was in the best shape of my life. But I’m in better shape than I have been and just getting better. Keeping up with the routine eating healthy and working out when I can. Not perfect which to me just means I know where to improve. I think the way I am running things I will slowly get to where I want to be.
Trying to get back into running. Idk why I just sometimes enjoy the thoughts during running and kind of going into another world.[/quote]
Hows progress coming along?[/quote]
Slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
[/quote]
Progress is progress.
Are you still enjoying the process?
[quote]rubberducky7o3 wrote:
Hey guys! Took a mini vacation and learned that the phrase “Fail to plan and plan to fail” is so true it’s amazing. When I don’t have anything made, I immediately eat out. To be fair, my eating out now is a much prettier picture than it used to be. I order salads and pretty much anything with lean meat and veggies. Anyways, I’ve been back to it hard this week and here’s what I’m eating now, everyday.
Meal 1: Quest bar, apple
Meal 2: Jerky and pistachios
Meal 3: Ground chicken (or ground turkey), brown rice, broccoli (hot sauce!!)
Meal 4: Post workout protein drink
Meal 5: Chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus
Some days I’ll have a 6th meal which is usually an egg white omelette with peppers, or eggs and bacon, or a babybel cheese
On May 4th I was back up to 167lbs. Which is still less than the 180 I was last summer! May 24th is right around the corner and I’m being very strict with my diet and exercise and letting everyone I know that I’m not fucking around anymore. I get a lot of crap for how I eat. And I’m not drinking anymore and I get crap for that too. However, tonight is my last night at Big 5 and that’s where the bulk of the shit I’m getting is coming from. They do comment on how well I eat, but a lot of the time I’m getting “What is that?!” As if they have never seen a fucking sweet potato before. The eating habits of my coworkers almost disgusts me. I’ve managed to inspire ONE person to eat healthier just by denying all of the crap they eat 24/7. Sorry, had to vent. Glad I’m leaving this place. It’s just a black hole of negativity and they act like they can’t do anything better with their lives. It’s a choice.
Thanks for the vent session![/quote]
Just make sure your main motivation is to do this for YOURSELF, not for anyone else. “Getting crap about how you eat” seems like it could either be an internal or external motivation. I don’t know you so I can’t say which type it is, but if you are honest with yourself then you will know which it is.
All in all it seems like you are finally taking some control and you are indeed doing it for yourself (but again I don’t know you). I only bring this up because sometimes I have to get real with myself when I notice I am doing things to impress others rather than to better myself.
Stay psyched and keep grinding away at it! It takes a loooonnggg time to figure out what training/diet is ideal for you and your goals, so right now just keep working at it and you will see what works and what doesn’t. That said, you must stick to something long enough to actually see what results you will get!
Not sure if it’s been mentioned but you could consider using a peri-workout supplement to fuel your training sessions.
Hello Everyone!
I’m not sure why I took a break from T-Nation but I did NOT take a break from bettering my life through fitness/nutrition. Have I been slacking? Yes, definitely yes. I will not lie to myself. But have I given up? Absolutely NOT! I have been meal prepping at least once a week and hitting the gym 2-3 times a week on top of running once a week. I have actually gained a significant amount of muscle in my arms and shoulders! Very pleased with this.
I would like to think of my previous progress as a “bulk” type of phase and now I am entering the “cut” phase. Let me expand on that! While I remain relatively the same weight, I have gained muscle (visible and strength-wise) in my shoulders, arms, and back. My tummy hasn’t changed much but my core feels a bit stronger. (That’s a little more subjective…or maybe the changes have been so minuscule but they’re there!) My thighs, calves, and legs look about the same and might be slightly stronger. I was never intentionally bulking so I’m sure I could have cut out some of my cardio workouts and added more lifting with more food. But what’s in the past is in the past.
Going into a strict diet/heavy cardio phase. Now that I have got some new muscle, I want to lose some fat to show it off. Plus, I am going to Cancun on August 5th with my girlfriend and would like to get as “beach-body” ready as I can get in that time…realistically. I’m no good at losing a lot of weight in a quick amount of time. I’m taking things slow. So if a realistic “beach-body” is 5 pounds lighter…5 pounds of fat lighter…then that is what I will aim for.
I have gotten a myfitnesspal account and will start tracking my intake tomorrow. My calculations are a bit rocky since I am just starting out. I used several websites to help me calculate. IIFYM.com, calculator.com/body-fat, and myfitnesspal. Right now I am working with two sets of numbers and aiming for an average.
2,334 calories to maintain/ 2,000 calories to cut (BMR-approx 300 calories…each week I will subtract 100 more)
168g of P = 672 calories
58.8g of F = 529.2 calories
199.75g of C = 799 calories
I was going by the rule that for every protein gram = 1 pound (so 168lbs = 168 g of P) Multiplying weight by .35 for fat. Multiplying protein by 4 for calories and fat by 9) Subtracting total from total alotted calories = leftover for carbs.
If anyone thinks these numbers are way off to lose weight, please let me know! Again, just learning this stuff. I will see how difficult it is for me to maintain these numbers and if it is super easy I will but more to lose more weight faster…just because of the time crunch. Not something I would consider for everyday life though. Slow and steady.
My info: 168lbs, 68inches, 25, female, I work out already about 3 times a week, will be upping that to 4-5 hopefully. Had to split the post into 5 segments. Thanks everyone for your time and help!
Welcome back.
In terms of the numbers you just suggested, give them a try and evaluate weekly. If you don’t lose a pound each week, consider dropping another 200 cals from the menu. This will be a balancing act as starving yourself will set you up for binges. Be aware of your weaknesses which you’ll know better than us. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that this time it will all be different just because you’ll try harder. You actually need to stick to what you want to do.
Also, if you want to add tons of cardio, do it gradually and vary your forms of movement. Running, cycling, kettlebell circuits, rowing are all options and will prevent overuse injuries if you cycle through them.
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
Welcome back.
In terms of the numbers you just suggested, give them a try and evaluate weekly.
[/quote]
This is probably the best realistic way. The scale will give you better feedback than anyone online.
This might be hard to hear but if the reasons why you’re doing this haven’t changed, your focus probably won’t either.
Also, this is fun. Throw a wild card in there sometimes. Go climbing or kayaking or whatever.
[quote]dagill2 wrote:
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
Also, if you want to add tons of cardio, do it gradually and vary your forms of movement. Running, cycling, kettlebell circuits, rowing are all options and will prevent overuse injuries if you cycle through them.[/quote]
Also, this is fun. Throw a wild card in there sometimes. Go climbing or kayaking or whatever.[/quote]
I’m generally on board with this for non-specialists. Training to be an Elite athlete of some kind requires more sport-specific conditioning but for regular fit people who are not competing in anything, I’m a fan of the varied approach to conditioning, be it in a gym or outdoors. Some days it;s a good idea to just “move” for awhile.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
I’m generally on board with this for non-specialists. Training to be an Elite athlete of some kind requires more sport-specific conditioning but for regular fit people who are not competing in anything, I’m a fan of the varied approach to conditioning, be it in a gym or outdoors. Some days it;s a good idea to just “move” for awhile.[/quote]
I think it’s also safe to say that you need balance. If your cardio/conditioning has a negative impact on your strength training, recovery or quality of life, there’s something wrong. You can’t do everything all at once.
Ducky, get moving. You’ve been asking for advice for years now and haven’t made as much progress as you could have. You have a calorie target, you already go to the gym and you know enough about cardio to not fuck it up. I feel like you and everyone else on this thread may have spent too much time with pep talk. It’s time to go through with it.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
[quote]dagill2 wrote:
[quote]nighthawkz wrote:
Also, if you want to add tons of cardio, do it gradually and vary your forms of movement. Running, cycling, kettlebell circuits, rowing are all options and will prevent overuse injuries if you cycle through them.[/quote]
Also, this is fun. Throw a wild card in there sometimes. Go climbing or kayaking or whatever.[/quote]
I’m generally on board with this for non-specialists. Training to be an Elite athlete of some kind requires more sport-specific conditioning but for regular fit people who are not competing in anything, I’m a fan of the varied approach to conditioning, be it in a gym or outdoors. Some days it;s a good idea to just “move” for awhile.[/quote]
I often think of it as enjoying the benefits of your gym time. I get that there are other benefits to be had, but the fact that I can join in with pretty much any physical activity without feeling like my strength or conditioning are holding me back is a big one for me.