This is my secret to tasty, tasty foods! The silk road spice merchant spice blends.
So far, all of them have been delicious. SLap it on some meat with some extra virgin olive oil, cook it up with some veggies, add some cooked rice with the same seasoning, and ta-da! I am eating all over the world every night of the week :D.
Was 253lbs in my entry photo. Stayed on track in January.
plan for 2/2023
It didn’t win me any points with the trainer who introduced her to the machine in the first place. But he was also the type of guy who used terms like “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” and “sagittal plane” when talking to clients, and mocked people for “exercising” instead of “training”. So… not a huge loss. lol
How do you like the program?
Followed your idea and made this bastardization of soup/chili. Probably offended some cultures but it tastes great!
In this cut I’ve ended up relying on 2 shakes a day (with 2 scoops in each). So out of my daily protein I’m getting 80g from powder.
I know it’s just the ease of chugging a shake while at work in an office but I hate it when I end like that. Need to get back to healthy protein sources that can be easily consumed in a work meeting in an office!!!
Super important question here - so does anyone else picture and feel like you just replenished your health in a video game after you eat a meal?
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, in my mind my hearts are refilling with accompanying sound effects.
Increased to 2000 calories last week, scale is a little back and forth to determine if it’s an appropriate maintenance level yet (need more data points O think) but otherwise feeling good about how things are going.
100%. Food for me is rarely about palatability, I eat for how it makes my body as a whole feel as opposed to instant gratification. Of course I do sometimes eat hyper-palatable food, but how I feel in the hour after in terms of digestion and energy is more important to me. I may not do the sound effects or think of any Zelda-like hearts replenishing, but I do envision myself as a battery that needs to be recharged with food.
I will now!
Ive been so sore after almost every workout. Thats due to the calorie deficit, right? Or does that specifically point to my protein intake or something?
Are the workouts themselves also new?
+1 to @TrainForPain’s question. Novel training stimuli will cause extra DOMS for sure.
If you’re doing everything the same except you’re now in a deficit, that could be a good indicator of lessened recovery. What do your macros look like? Bodyweight?
Kinda yes, kinda no.
My 4 lifting days are based on: Bench press and row; Squat; Overhead press and pullups; Deadlift or sandbag work. Variation comes in the form of different assistance movements for these.
But for example, I usually do a set or two of calves as an afterthought every 2 or 3 weeks. It doesn’t usually effect me significantly; but after yesterday’s 2 sets - which I put a lot of suffering into, granted - my calves are more sore than I remember them being for a long time!
A new stimulus? Kinda new-ish, I guess.
Similarly, I added 3x8 BSS (RFESS if you prefer) yesterday, second week in a row doing them, and used very minimal weight. But today I’m lit up like a christmas tree in those areas.
A new stimulus? Yeah, I guess, kinda… I just feel the soreness is outsized in proportion to the input.
BW is down to around 185 from 1/1 at 193.
I don’t count anything, but my food looks like this:
Breakfast: 3 eggs, sometimes a little bacon as well.
Full-fat cream in my coffee.
Shake on lifting days, protein, egg whites, and a shot of full-fat cream.
Lunch and dinner are each about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of rice, with about half-pound or a bit more of beef or chicken (raw weight).
In the evening I’ll indulge in a little snack of candied nuts, just a small handful, the only direct sugars I take in.
My eyeball macros are telling me you’re not at 1g/lb BW protein intake, and may do well to ease off the cream a tad as to incorporate more carbs (for the anabolic factor). But I don’t know if these minor changes would really affect the level of soreness you have.
Going on walks (heart rate zone 2 or less) is often underappreciated in regards to recovery and easy calorie burning. You might find this helpful.
Sorry, a bit of a non-answer, I know. Soreness is just a byproduct of this life for me so I’ve gotten pretty used to it. Occasionally I’ll do something cool (for once) and be hurting for days though. Still catches me by surprise.
Super agree with @Andrewgen_Receptors on the walks and carbs. Fat does nothing to attenuate soreness, for me, and it’s much harder for me to manage my calories. That does seem to be really individual, though, and a lot of successful folks on here find the exact opposite.
I’d also say adding BSS and crushing calves is plenty to make me ludicrously sore, especially in a sedentary job (hence loving the walk idea).
What does your intake around your workouts look like? Super bro-y, but I think this matters. Carbs, water, and electrolytes pre/ during the session have made a huge DOMS difference for me.
Thanks @TrainForPain and @Andrewgen_Receptors
Good points all around.
Will look for a way to up the protein!
I don’t do much bro stuff around workouts.
I eat my 3 eggs, drink some C4 with creatine, hit the gym, chug my shake, that’s it.
I can live with constant soreness, I guess we all do to some degree. It just seems worse while restricting calories. But not a big deal!
I have some jokes to make at this point but will keep them to myself, better for all of us haha
How has your hydration been?
Interesting consideration: food has water in it. When we eat less food, we also consume less water. It’s part of the reason that, sometimes, “hunger” can actually be thirst in disguise.
If you’re eating less food, are you drinking more water to compensate? I find I tend to experience increased soreness when my hydration is poor.
100%. I think much of what Surge does for me comes down to the electrolytes and the extra liter of water.
Definitely not hydrated enough. Thanks!
