When I grow up, I want to be an Alicorn

Training Training Logs
1124

Thursday 2/22
Pull with a sprinkle of not skipping Leg Day

Pull-Ups
4, 4 3

Cable Row
8 x 120, 8, 8 x 110

Single Arm DB Row
2 x 12 x 45

Neutral grip, single Arm Lat Pulldown
2 x 12 x 45

Chest supported Tbar Row
8, 8 x 50, 8 x 45

Seated Machine Reverse Fly
2 x 12 x 15, 12 x 10

Cable High Elbow Pull
2 x 12 x 10

BB Curls
12, 12 x 40, 12 x 30

Varied Incline DB Curls
3 x 12 x 10

Shrugs
3 x 8 x 255

Leverage Squat
12, 15, 20 x 90

Single Leg Hip Press
12 x 90, 12, 12 x 115

Headed out for a trip tonight, so we know we are going to miss leg day. Therefore, we stuck our two favorite things in at the end.
My head wanted to do more, but my body was way past the point of diminishing returns. Feeling tired the moment I started pullups. Weights held up better than I thought they would by initial feel, happy with that.

Friday 2/23
Extra work

75 KBS
25 Goblet Squats
25 KBS
1 mile walk

It is a beautiful, but cold, morning. Got two birds with one stone, jacked the heart rate and body temp up with the KBS then headed out for the walk.

No lifting this weekend, but will be doing lots of walking. Forecast for where I am going calls for 67F. I packed T-shirts. So excited to get some vitamin D and thaw out a bit.

11 Likes
1125

Monday 2/26
Push

Machine Press
6, 7, 6 x 135

Machine Incline Press
6, 6, 7 x 120

Dips
6, 6, 7 x BW

Front Raises
2 x 12 x 20

Machine Pec Flye
3 x 10 x 60

Seated DB OHP
3 x 10 x 30

Single Arm Cable Tri Pushdown
2 x 8 x 15
SS
Single Arm Cable Tri Ext
2 x 12 x 10

Cable Lat Raise
3 x 15 x 10

10 minute treadmill walk

Felt nauseous and dizzy most of the day, except right after lunch. Kept getting worse as gym time approached, so I had one of those 100 calorie Skinny Pop bags. It was the only half-decent thing I could find leaving work.
Helped quite a bit, made it through 80% of the workout before I started getting dizzy again. Not sure what that was about.
Workout went well. Got a couple more ideas to use from big guys. This gym continues to pay dividends.

Tuesday weigh-in
152.2, -0.2lbs

Macro Averages:
C:95
F:66
P:170
Total weekly steps: 69k

Hm. Adding some steps did not seem to make the scale budge. Itā€™s funny, yesterday I hopped on the scale and I was 151.4. Now on official weigh in day, it bounces back up.
With two weeks at only a .2 drop, I am now at less than 1lb per week. Looking like itā€™s time to drop some more calories.

8 Likes
1126

As youā€™re continuing to drop calories, I imagine your carbs are also dropping. Are you upping your intake of salt/electrolytes? Carbs hold those things in: when there arenā€™t many of them, we can deplete, especially with hard training. This can give us the head spins. The skinny pop helping can be a sign there, since I imagine itā€™s got some salt in it.

1 Like
1127

I do Salt my food like crazy, using Pink Himalayan. I also add Mio electrolyte to my water, but it doesnā€™t have a lot of salt and electrolytes added. Might need to find something packing a heavier electrolyte punch.

1 Like
1128

how coarsely ground is the salt? Are you marinading?

If youā€™re just sprinkling, a good portion of the salt could end up at the bottom of the pan or on the plate. Even for stir fried veggie dishes, most of the salt ends up in the liquid, not in your mouth

1 Like
1129

My first thought is hypoglycemia, since both lunch and the popcorn helped for a bit. That would explain the nausea and dizziness too.

What did your food look like the day before this happened and what did you have for breakfast?

1130

@anna_5588 itā€™s a pretty fine grind. I salt the meat directly before cooking most of the time. So it gets mixed in with the ground beef, or put onto roasts/steaks directly.

@QuadQueen
Food the day before (Sunday) was:
Breakie- homemade chocolate protein pancakes (oats, protein powder, yogurt, egg)
Lunch- Carne Asada from a taco truck
Dinner- Brinner, Kodiak Cakes, eggs/egg white mix, chicken sausage

Breakie yesterday- 1 slice wheat bread w/ avocado, 1 whole egg, 1/2c egg whites, 4oz turkey sausage

1131

Looking at your Sunday it appears to be maybe a bit higher in carbs and lower in fat/protein, and then your breakfast on Monday was lower in carbs and higher in fat/protein. That might explain some of the potential blood sugar issues - your body was expecting another dose of carbs, and/or crashing from Sunday. It also might just have been a hypoglycemic episode. Have you ever had times that youā€™ve felt like this before?

1 Like
1132

I wouldnā€™t say frequently, but often enough it was a not new feeling, and I know it is solved with food.

1 Like
1133

Tuesday 2/27
Pull

Pull-Ups
5, 4, 4

Cable Row
8, 8 x 120, 8 x 110

Single Arm DB Row
2 x 12 x 45

Neutral grip, single Arm Lat Pulldown
2 x 12 x 45

Chest supported Tbar Row
3 x 8 x 45

Seated Rear Delt Fly
3 x 12 x 30

Cable High to Low Pull
2 x 12 x 10

BB Curls
12, 12 x 40, 12 x 30

Varied Incline DB Curls
3 x 12 x 10

10 minute treadmill walk, hill program

Good back day. Pullup reps continue to go up. T Bar went down a bit, everything else is staying put.
Keeping a close eye on these strength markers.
My arm muscles are starting to pop nicely. Need to snap a progress photo soon.

Ran dropping my calories by my hubby. He said that I probably donā€™t need to and is concerned with me going much lower, both for muscle loss and stress with work. He said I am still tracking in the right direction and continuing to look really good. Staying at 1650 cals for at least another week. Going to try and fit in more carbs as well. Been showing some negative lady side effects (cycle has been all over the place) and I think it might be stress related.

Edit: I forgot to add meathead awesomeness note. I ordered 160lbs of beef and pork from my butcher to refill my freezer. Picking it up today.
Also, I bought a Ninja Smoker. Itā€™s getting used this weekend for a pork butt.
Protein!!

8 Likes
1134

I totally agree here, do not take it lower just change up the macro ratios and food choices. With the probable hypoglycemia, eating less will do you no favors. Let us know if that keeps happening and if it does, we can talk about ways to prevent it. I have issues with that too, so I feel your pain. I have a glucose monitor now, so I know when itā€™s happening and can catch it. Things I notice that bring it on - waiting too long between meals, eating carbs without fat and/or protein, stress, lack of sleep, and if I have a day or two when I end up eating less than normal - Iā€™ll be fine on those days, but the following day, itā€™ll hit me.

Adding more carbs may help here and with cycle regulation for sure. Womenā€™s bodies are different - we tend to need carbs to function optimally. Between the stress, caloric/carb restriction - itā€™s not surprising that things are a little off.

Again, keep us posted and Iā€™m here if you ever want to talk!

3 Likes
1135

There were a few things playing into the timing, as you said. I donā€™t plan high or low carb days, it just happens. Sunday also ended up being a low calorie day. I was traveling, and didnā€™t move much, so I ended up compensating with calories because I wasnā€™t hungry. Boy did that bite on Monday!

Sounds like there will just have to be days I eat a little more carbs to manage. Life wise, I definitely didnā€™t pick a good time to diet down. But when is timing ever perfect?

Really appreciate all the amazing advice you give. I always enjoy talking with you! I will be moving some calories around and see if I can get things a bit more stable.

4 Likes
1136

Thursday
Extra movement

75 KBS
1 mile walk

Soon Iā€™ll add some weight to these walks. I think even 10lbs would add some dimension to it.

Have a movie event tonight, put on by one of my employerā€™s vendors. Going with a few coworkers and my hubby. We get $20 in concession gift cards as well. Planning for some popcorn nonsense (no extra butter though, not my thing), having a protein shake for lunch and a light dinner to make room. I love popcorn, itā€™s worth it the deviation. Howā€™s that for getting the salt and carbs up?

9 Likes
1137

Friday 3/1
Legs

Hip Press
12 x 270, 10 x 295

Leverage Squat
12, 15, 20 x 90

Slide Lunge
2 x 12 x 35

Leg Extension
2 x 12 x 60

Hamstring Curl - 3 x 12 x 35
SS
Abductors - 3 x 12 x 60

Awesome leg day, feeling like I need to up the weight or reps on a few things. I still donā€™t dare add weight to the Leverage Squat, so I just go to rep city with it.
The movie popcorn and some homemade protein pancakes had me feeling like a million bucks most of the day. Started to get a little nauseous/dizzy toward the end of the workout, but nothing too intense.

Started looking at full body programs again. Liking PPL, but I miss full body. It is difficult to find a program without deadlifts or heavy squats. Though, I could substitute and deal with the program violation. If anyone has a suggestion, I am always open. I have two more weeks on PPL, then a possible deload, but Iā€™ll see how I feel.

10 Likes
1138

Is there a reason for this ? You ability to hit high reps would suggest you are plenty strong enough to progress.

1 Like
1139

My bulging disc still feels like it will come shooting out of my spine on squats. Even on the leverage squat where I can take weight onto my arms and it compresses my spine less, it feels questionable. I donā€™t want it to completely herniate.

2 Likes
1140

Well that seems like a very sensible reason.

1 Like
1141

I thought so! My head definitely wants to see a few plates back on that squatā€¦ but, itā€™s not worth a possible lifetime of back issues.

3 Likes
1142

Tuesday 3/5
Weigh in

152.6, +0.4lbs

Macro Averages:
P: 140
C:120
F: 72
Total Steps: 69k

Weight took a little bump. I ate slightly more this last week, bumped up carbs and I started the water retention week today. This is me not surprised. I should probably not even track weight on this week, but I like the consistency.
Also, trying a new food and weight tracking app. It is supposed to do some built in coaching and macro adjustments for you. Got a two week trial, and itā€™s pretty cheap after anyway, so I figured itā€™s worth a shot.

9 Likes
1143

Tuesday 3/5
Push

Machine Press
6, 7, 7 x 135

Incline Press
3x6x120

Dips
7, 6, 7

Front Raises
2 x 12 x 20

Machine Pec Flye
3 x 10 x 50 (moved the pin back for a larger ROM)

Seated DB OHP
3 x 10 x 30

Single Arm Cable Tri Pushdown
SS
Single Arm Cable Tri Ext
3 x 12,8 x 10
Cable Lat Raise
3 x 10 x 10

10 minutes stationary bike

Both flat and incline machine press need to increase weight. Dips continue to get easier. Really just felt great all around.

Wednesday 3/6
Extra Movement

125 KBS
1.5 mile walk w/ 10lb pack

Getting a hint of spring today, I was so happy to be out side. Iā€™m ready for outdoors season to be here.

10 Likes