Never 2 Late 2 Chase the Dream (it's better than liposuction)

[Bytsi]

Looks great Karla - good job!!!!!!!

[Silly Sally]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

I made it to 136.6 at my highest and 126.6 was my start point. So in the past 3.6 months I gained 10 pounds. About 3.2 of that was fat from my best guess. I think I averaged around .5 lbs a week of lean muscle gain. This isn't amazing but it is a pretty cool thing considering where I started.

(truth): I've been in this game as a neophyte for a goodly while, and this is the cleanest female gain I've ever seen. When I did BFL, there was something called "8 week magic". That means when everything you've worked for starts coming together.

You seem to have that kind of magic every day.

If you can cut to within a few % of goal, well ... suffice it to say, you need to glean as much as you can, and teach, K. Like you started to do with your dad. Hell, I'd like to be a client!?!

Your dedication is not only admirable, it's now close to emulatable: your log is so precise and complete. It's not only a log, ... think of it as the notes for your up-and-coming first book.

ps. If susan powter can do it ...

[kfisherx]

I want to thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement. This logging buisness is a really good tool for achieving goals. Wow Sally, I am blushing.... Really? I think I did pretty average and intend to do much better in the fall.

Today I did a 40-mile bike ride with my friend BrentV (also on this forum) It took us FOREVER but it was a good workout nonthelss. Out in the coastal range here in the Portland area there exists this trail (mostly asphalt) that is 20 miles long and runs through the middle of the woods. There are only a few rough and steep spots. It is an ideal thing to do for ss cardio. Last year we made this trip more than a few times and every time we completed it I was dead tired and my muscles were sore forever. Tonight I still have energy to spare and there is nothing sore on me at all except for a spot on my ankle where my shoe rubbed and of course "the little man in the canoe" from sitting on the hard seat for so long.

We stopped frequently and took pictures. At the halfway point we sat down and drank our gainers. At the end of the ride Brent just passed out on the grass. Perhaps we should not have made his first ride of the season be the 40-mile one. :My calorie intake today was about 2800 kcals which is a bit high for a girl who is cutting but I'll average this out over the course of a few days.

[kfisherx]

Originally Posted by Silly Sally

If you can cut to within a few % of goal, well ... suffice it to say, you need to glean as much as you can, and teach, K. Like you started to do with your dad. ...

My trainer keeps saying he wants to make me a trainer. I don't know. I sort of like my day job right now. I might consider doing it at some point but after I have spent a good number of more hours studying this.

[fengshway]

karla, I can't help but think that the reason you were so successful with bulking is the quality of the foods you eat. you have been very precise in your fueling. bulking to you doesn't mean totally unrestricted eating of non-nutritious foods. it meant small, consistent calorie excesses daily from whole foods.

I see this with my long distance endurance athlete friends--the successful ones refuel with whole, nutritious foods (for the most part).

I think so many times, athletes who struggle with extra body fat use sports as an excuse to overeat junk foods. ie "I am running 12 miles tomorrow, let me carb load".

you don't do that. you look wonderful, and count me among those who can't wait to see the cut phase!!! you go!

[GinnyLou]

Karla,
I love the pics from your ride!
You look great and have done a really nice job with this bulking thing. You can really see the muscle you added. Nice job.

[kfisherx]

Originally Posted by fengshway

karla, I can't help but think that the reason you were so successful with bulking is the quality of the foods you eat. you have been very precise in your fueling. bulking to you doesn't mean totally unrestricted eating of non-nutritious foods. it meant small, consistent calorie excesses daily from whole foods.

This is preceisely what I try to tell people who ask about bulking. Whenever there is a discussion about bulking versus cutting there are always a handful of people who advise against bulking because of fat gain. It simply doesn't have to be that you gain a bunch of fat when doing a bulk even as a female. It does require a LOT of effort though to bulk cleanly so perhaps it is better just not to do it for many people. Personally I am looking forward to a few more of these cycles just to see where my body goes. Yesterday my friend who commented before that I was getting too "muscley" saw me in my riding outfit and was blown away by how awesome the body was looking. She kept telling me that it is better than I look when I was 20. She's right. I was scrawny at 20.

I am again grateful and indebted to my trainer for this knowledge. Even during our bulk he checked up on my eating and did not allow me to become lazy with my eating.

[Bytsi]

You are walking (biking?) proof of the importance of doing a clean gain, not a "dirty" gain (like many body-builders do)... Well done!!!

[missjane]

Karla, nice job on the update pics/stats. Looking forward to seeing the next two sets of pics. It will be interesting to see them all in a row, from beginning to end, won't it?

[kfisherx]

Originally Posted by Bytsi

You are walking (biking?) proof of the importance of doing a clean gain, not a "dirty" gain (like many body-builders do)... Well done!!!

I did WAY too much walking and biking during my bulk. I am certain that for my next bulk, I will not do this much. Everytime I did a nice long run or bike ride, the scale started dropping. I simply could not keep the weight moving upwards when doing that. So I think I did not do the right thing here.

Originally Posted by missjane

Karla, nice job on the update pics/stats. Looking forward to seeing the next two sets of pics. It will be interesting to see them all in a row, from beginning to end, won't it?

They are cool to look at side by side all in a row. Sure, we can do that for the last month so everyone can see. Since I am doing very drastic down, up and then down cycles since the challege started this might be fun.

[Brentv]

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Perhaps we should not have made his first ride of the season be the 40-mile one. :

Oh, I think I was up to the ride. The spreading out on the grass was more to soothe the sitter after too-many hours in a not-so-soft saddle.

What a glorious day! When do we go again?

Brent

[nutbar]

Holy smokes, I was so behind on your log! Update pics are looking great! And gorgeous bike pics!!

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Diane and Roland are a fast oxidizers by my guess.

According to the test on that site, I'm a slow oxidizers. I only had 9 A's.

But, look at question #28: "Are your pupils? a. Smaller than the iris; b. Larger than the iris; or c. Average. The same size."

Um, if your pupils are larger than your irises, you might have another set of problems. Am I supposed to trust a site that asks that question? Or am I missing something here? Someone explain that one to me, please.

Originally Posted by Silly Sally

There's so many factors: different personas, metabolisms, hang-ups and monkeys on people's backs. There's no one-size, blood type macro-magic panacea to what ails our waistlines.

Methinks individualism reigns in the fitness world.

That's the only thing I'm absolutely sure of.

Zactly!

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Oh yeah speaking of that. I am very, very happy to report that the past month there is NO sign at all of that injury. When I work my hams, both sides hurt the same and I don't feel even a little twinge of pain. Total rehab time for that 8 month chronic injury as just about 8 months.

Very cool! Congrats!

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Today I had Pizza for breakfast

Hey, you can't copy my Redneck Pizza Diet until my book is published!

Originally Posted by kfisherx

Spring is here and this girl starts her cut tommorrow. No more fat, slow and sluggish with cardio restrictions..... GO KARLA GO!!!

Yay! I know you've been looking forward to the cut for a long time now.

Originally Posted by sveta

I know! First "a nice little 25 mile run with a coworker", now "slow and steady 10.3 mph"
I don't think I'm ever going to mention my 12 min/mile pace on this board

LMAO! No kidding!

[kfisherx]

Today I did 25 min of HIIT (Hill sprints baby). Energy levels are still high enough that I wanted to run at 5:00PM but they are dropping. I felt pretty crappy on the sprints actually. I have calories pretty low today to make up for yesterday's higher cals. I will make sure to get in a goodly amount before seeing the trainer tomorrow.

Oh and I got me a little sun tan today. It was a perfect day to run meetings on the deck overlooking the 40-acres.

[SpacecityPaula]

I'm thinking about telecommuting from my back porch on Wednesday.