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Originally Posted by Cynthia
I just finished your entire blog (yeah I am avoiding work  )! |
Oh my gosh, seriously! That's some dedication. You must be my new best friend.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cynthia
Are you starting Stage 3 tomorrow? I can relate to a lot of your posts. I am halfway through Stage 3 right now (I started on Jan 7) and I've also been struggling to find the right calorie intake (I am 5'7", 174, 30% BF according to Omron); I started at 2400 and 2000 but now am back to 2000 and 1800 and the scale is moving a little. I also did BfL last year (3x!) and really enjoyed it, so I stick to the protein+carb rules at every meal.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to hearing how you like Stage 3 Workout A. I think you are going to LOVE it! The bodyweight matrix at the end is a real killer but after 2 sessions now I look forward to it. Btw plan on about an hour for the Stage 3 workouts (minus HIIT), they are not near as fast as the previous two stages.
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Yeah, I'll start either tomorrow, Saturday or maybe Monday (depending on how much rest I feel like taking). I can't decide!
That bodyweight matrix is intimidating but I want to TACKLE it, you know? It's like gearing up for a fight or something. My workouts in Stage 2 were stretching to between 50-55 minutes, but I'll admit, I was taking slightly longer rests when I needed them. The low rep/heavy lift/long rest combo probably won't take me any longer. I don't think I'll need any extra rests...it's mostly the endurance stuff that gets me - like step ups, squats, etc.
The calorie thing can be sort of nuts. What bugs me is that according to my calipers, I've lost fat pretty steadily, from 32% to around 27% right now, but my waist has only gone down 1" (and the scale hasn't really budged, naturally). So I've lost 10lbs of fat, but I can hardly tell. It's either a miscalculation or mismeasurement, or this program is affecting my body differently than BFL. Because when I did that, I lost 11lbs of fat in a month, gained maybe 2-4lbs of lean mass, and saw my waist drop every week. This time I've lost 10lbs of fat, gained around 7lbs of lean mass, and the measurements are coming off very slowly.
I was also doing some reading this morning about PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) which several women on the boards here have. I've always had these niggling doubts that I have PCOS - I've always been chubbier, I started getting hair on my upper lip, chin, and neck in puberty, I had crazy painful periods before I went on the Pill. I was reading this morning that girls with PCOS have higher amounts of lean mass because of the higher proportion of male hormones in their bodies. And here I am pushing 140lbs of lean mass. It's nuts! Really crazy. But it could explain why the scale has hardly changed in 10 weeks of hardcore workouts.
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Originally Posted by Cynthia
Great progress so far! And thanks for the recommendation on Tosca's cookbook. I've been kicking around that or GN v2.0 but I think I will go with Tosca because she is probably cheaper (hubby and I are on a budget right now  ). |
Yes, I would LOVE to get the Gourmet Nutrition cookbook...it looks so pretty! But $40 is a lot to spend on any one thing...definitely go for Tosca's books. Her recipes will blow you away.