When I grow up, I want to be an Alicorn

Training Training Logs
1304

Easy enough, I will use any excuse to flavor water!

I get this logically. Emotionally it feels like a nice, clean, metric to use as a measuring stick. Was I successful this week?
Scale went down = Yes
Scale went up = No
There is so much more to it though.

Like this. All my clothes are baggy. I don’t have a pair of pants I don’t have to wear a belt with now. I am making fantastic progress. I DO have the fat loss skills. This just takes more time to see than the scale.

I care about weight with flying. Otherwise, I have zero reason to track weight. For every 6lbs I lose that is another gallon of fuel I don’t have to leave on the ground. So much of flying little planes is based on weight and balance. Going forward, in very simple terms, the lighter I am, the more airplanes I can fly, the employable I am. At least until I get into the heavy metal.

I absolutely do. More now than ever. Where I view the hazard is rebounding and constantly being in a chubby, kind of okay, pretty good, chubby, cycle. Which is what I have been in for a decade.
What I am seeking is a nice level of lean, that gets slightly blurry or more defined, but may not be the same weight. I’ll use you as an example, with your three most recent transformation photos side by side, but a significant weight difference between the two. You look amazing in all the photos, but there is a 30lb difference.
I don’t care if I weigh 160 or 130 if I have a six pack at either weight. However, all I have seen at 160 is a fat mess and at close to 140 I am starting to get ab lines. My mental leap is then, 130 will look good and is the goal.

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1305

OMG, same! SAME. All of it.

Really struggling with the conflict between my goals - gain strength, which I need for wellbeing, or lose weight, which I want - and my frustration over what feels like a giant stall. I’m HUNGRY. And I want to be where I want to be NOW.

I’m handling this by allowing myself more protein and trying to keep the carbs the same.

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1306

Yes! I can’t reiterate any more than I already did in the discussion above. I want to be lean and love the progress I have made! But some days, like today, all I want to do for lunch is throw out the plain, shredded pork and veggies I packed, go to the nearest Greek restaurant and get eight kebobs and a pound of lemon rice.

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1307

There IS something to be said about the metabolic benefit of breaking a long period of reduced caloric intake with a large bump…

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1308

I will be using this justification to eat all the things for the four days I’ll be on a birthday trip later this month. It’s for science…

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1309

Marty Gallagher actually has a piece EXACTLY on this topic in “Purposeful Primitive”. I’ll have to look it up when I can get to my kindle, but the idea was setting up an anabolic refeed by engaging in a period of intentional scarcity and hard training first and then unloading over the course of a weekend. Definitely a precedent there: just want to avoid “binge and purge” behaviors.

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1310

I am curious to read about that and would love to set up the weekend to be the more anabolic, instead of eating like a child.

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1311

@EmilyQ and @unicornsandrainbows if either of you want to jump on a call at some point, I’m here and maybe we can strategize the best way to help reach your goals and not hate your life or feel like eating your arm at the same time. There can be a balance!

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1312

Can we have a three person call? That would be so fun!

1313

I’m pretty sure we can! I’ve had both my sis and mom on the phone at the same time. I might hang up on someone 3-4 times before I figure it out - but it’s doable. lol

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1314

Speaking only for myself at the moment, it’s the “keep the goal the goal” thing that’s causing me issues. It’s like…I’m trying to find the loophole. How can I go hard and not need calories? OR how can I restrict calories (by whatever means) without being hungry? OR (mostly) how can I only do it for one more really hard week (I’m willing to do my part, lol) and have all the outcomes I want long term?

It’s a “choose your hard” problem.

I feel like I’m rejecting your offers and you’re going to give up on me, but I feel this warm sense of safety knowing that you might be an ace in the hole when I hit the wall knowledge-wise. Right now it’s not not-knowing, it’s not…something else. Committing. But not because I don’t care enough. Rather, because the other goal (strength) is there, too, calling for my commitment.

But I’m also eating better than I ever have since January. And my deviations are less awful.

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1315

Ohhhh…!

1316

Don’t feel that way at all! Just know that I’m here and the offer is always on the table! I will NEVER give up on you!!!

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1317

Augh! Fine, you broke me! I’m eating more grapes than ever! I ADMIT IT! Like three bags a week. In addition to the blueberries. And also the Ghirardelli 72% baking chocolate chips. :rofl:

I sort of know why I’m not dropping more. lol

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1318

Your patience is amazing! I’m down to hop on a call and I would love if @EmilyQ could join. We might get some nutrition chat in there, or we will just be talking girl stuff, either way is perfect!

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1319

All right you two, if either or both of you want to chat, just shoot me an email at amyk.rd at Gmail dot com. Give me your numbers. When/if I get emails from both of you, I’ll get a group email going and we can set up a time that works for all of us! This is going to be fun, even if it just turns into one big girl talk session! lol

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1320

The title of the article was “Holiday Hedonism: Setting Up The Anabolic Burst”. It doesn’t look like it’s currently online, so I got some screengrabs for you.

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1321

Done!

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1322

Fantastic read, thank you for sharing! Sounds like the perfect way to setup a birthday binge. It’s on a Saturday so the weekend splurge window is spot on. Looks like I’ll be adding a ton of conditioning and cardio for the next couple of weeks! That will be a solid 3 weeks of Ketovore leading up to it as well. May not be as much time as prescribed, but I have also been in a pretty steady calorie deficit since the beginning of May in addition to that.

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1323

Saturday 7/13
JN Essentials W9D2

Pendulum Squat
(Plate weight only, machine didn’t list empty weight)
6, 6 x 45, 10 x 20

Standing Arnold Press
10 x 25, 10 x 30

Seated Ham Curl
10 x 120, 10 x 126

Meadows Row
12, 12 x 20
Plate weight only - slow and light, getting used to the movement

Zottman Curl
Dropset - 12, 12, 12, 12 x 15-10

Pec Deck
Dropset - 12, 10 x 50-30

Later in the day- 2 mile walk outside

I like this new exercise rotation. It flows well and it feels difficult, even with weight experiments.
Pendulum squats are hard to get into position, but once I get it, that is a serious quad burn.
Meadows row is new for me. Kept the weight light and slow figuring out the movement. I like them.
Zottman curls lit up my biceps. Getting some awesome vascularity and striations showing on my shoulders when I do those.

Sunday 7/15
Conditioning

15 rounds, EMOM
Humane Burpee
15 kbs x 35
5 goblet squats x 35
5 pushups

Then, rounds of 10:
50 BW Squats
50 Pushups

Did this in-between meal prep. I had to keep the Humane Burpee going almost the entire time, maybe 5-10 sec rest between. That is to say, I was moving slow.
Smoked a pork shoulder, made instant pot shredded beef, and “jambalaya” with cauliflower rice to keep it Ketovore. Solid meals for the week.

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