I'm gonna bite the bullet and try to be consistent logging here. I've been doing NROL4W since 3/4/08 and I've kept good written records, but since they don't show up online...
I'm 40, been lifting for about 10 years (and doing cardio of all types, lengths, intensities). Got into doing HIIT (very intense intervals) about 1 year ago, and was doing that 1 or 2 days/week instead of aerobic interval cardio. Rarely did steady-state this past year.
I lost 50# right after I turned 30, and have stayed within about a 10-15# range since then. Right now my bodyfat is 26%, measured with a 7-site caliper by a friend/colleague who is very skilled at this. Unfortunately, it was 26% a month ago too. But, at least I'm eating a lot more and not starving, so I'll take that! Never thought I could eat this much and not gain! Did circumference measurements for the first time today, so nothing to compare for changes yet.
Goals - to stop caring about the # on the scale. To get my bodyfat to a max of 22% (I'd love to eventually be under 20%). To be strong and confident and look awesome in my clothes. To NOT starve myself or torture myself with hours of cardio, to not fight a losing battle of lifting at the same time that I calorie-restrict and do lots of cardio.
Having said all that... here's the recap of the past month spent in the gym:
NROL4W Phase 1A:
Squat started at 95, went down to 75 (for form), then up as high as 105 before coming back to 95 on April 1 (but I plan to try 105 again next time). Focusing on getting low enough without tipping my upper body forward.
Pushups - I could do 50 full-body with mostly decent form before I started, but I'm working on better form and harder versions. I started with a 2-second pause at the bottom of each rep, then moved on to T-pushups, and now I'm doing step pushups, where I put one hand on a step (other on the ground), pushup, then walk across with my hands until the other hand is on the step, pushup, repeat...
Seated Row - started at 90 on the cable, now I'm up to 130 (for 3 sets x 8) but I do want to make sure I get a full ROM, so might do 1 set at 120 next time and then back to 130.
Step-up - did the first 2 times on an aerobic step that wasn't high enough, holding 10# in each hand. Moved up to stepping onto a weight bench (which puts me at hip and knee right-angles if I get the slightly lower bench at the gym) and just increased to 25# in each hand for 3x8.
Prone Jackknife - I've seen big improvements here - the first day I couldn't do all 15 with tucking my knees in (not raising my hips much). Now I do them into a full pike (or at least close), keeping my toes on the ball instead of my shins. Did 3x12 last workout.
For Workout B:
Deadlift - First set ever was 50#, moved up right away to 70#. Now I just did 3x8 at 115#!
DB shoulder press - started with 20# db's, moved up to 25, 30, and now I just made it through 3 sets of 10/8/8 with 35# db's. I'm pretty excited about that - couldn't believe I'm making it through, but I am!
Wide grip lat pulldown (on the cable machine) - started at 100#, last workout I did first set at 130 (10 reps), then had to come back to 120 for the next 2 sets. But I'll try 130 again next time and see what happens, since I can finish it out at 120.
Lunge - this one makes me sick (literally), so I have to be careful about the pacing on it and not go too quickly. I started with 10# db in each hand, have made it to 15# in each hand, will try the 17.5's next time.
Ball Crunch - I struggle with making this hard enough - really focus on going slow, squeezing... I hold a db over my head with my arms straight and that helps.
I'm also doing HIIT or plyo drills an average of 2/week. My HIIT is either the treadmill or stairmaster, and after warmup, I go for 30 seconds fast, 30 recovery (sometimes have to go 45 seconds recovery) for 8 cycles. My HR goes to at least 170, sometimes close to 180 (my theoretical max). Similar with plyos, although probably a bit longer rest periods. And I do karate at least 2/week (but I don't count it in my workouts).
Finally - the food. I'm eating between 1600-2000cals (trying for 1600-1800, but I get pretty hungry on lifting days). I'm getting close to 150g protein, including my whey protein shake daily. Eating about 90% clean - everyone needs a LITTLE chocolate in their life, right? I used to restrict to between 1200-1400/day and always wondered why I would lose it and pig out!
Ok - that's it, for now. I'm encouraged and LOVE this program, can't wait to keep going. I'm due for workout B7 (so then I'd have just 2 more and the AMRAP at the end) before a rest week and starting Phase 2. I've never been this soaking wet drenched with sweat from lifting before, but I've also never increased my weights this rapidly!
Hope I didn't go on too long, and I'm looking forward to the critiques / suggestions.
Workout phase 1, B7 today, and it went pretty well...
Deadlift 3x8 - 115 on first set, went so well I moved to 135 for the other 2 sets. Definitely felt it in my glutes and lower part of traps, so I think my form is ok.
Overhead DB press - 3x8 w/ 35# db's - I'm not ready to move up on this, even though I completed the reps.
Wide grip lat pulldown - 2x8 at 130, 1x6 at 130. Definitely got to failure on that 3rd set!
Lunges - 3x8 w/ 17.5# db's - will move up again next time, to 20# db's.
Ball crunches - still not feeling like these are hard enough, even holding a db w/ my arms straight over my head... Did sets of 10-12, trying to keep it slow and tight.
I've been looking over my macros, and while I'm getting about 30% protein on average, my fats are barely hitting 20%. I'll have to post my food for a critique... I do know a few things I could do, but it goes against everything I've struggled for - I could try switching from skim to 1 or 2% milk, going to full-fat cottage cheese instead of 2%, eating more nuts... It just seems that the majority of the foods I eat are l/f of f/f, and that's been an ingrained habit for 10 years (since I first started to lose all the weight).
I've been looking over my macros, and while I'm getting about 30% protein on average, my fats are barely hitting 20%. I'll have to post my food for a critique... I do know a few things I could do, but it goes against everything I've struggled for - I could try switching from skim to 1 or 2% milk, going to full-fat cottage cheese instead of 2%, eating more nuts... It just seems that the majority of the foods I eat are l/f of f/f, and that's been an ingrained habit for 10 years (since I first started to lose all the weight).
I started out that way, too. We've all been convinced that "if you don't eat fat, you won't get fat" or that eating fat will cause health/heart problems.
The trick with eating more fat is that it has more cals/g, so you don't have to eat as much to get the macro ratios to line up. And it helps you feel fuller faster. (And foods do taste better, too! )
Thanks Pauline!!! You'd never know it to look at me - just look at my avatar
I'm trying to get more fat in today - I did a new PWO (at least new to me) with my regular skim milk and protein powder, but instead of frozen berries I put in some PB. YUM!!!!! And a nice change - the berries are delish, but I was getting sick of the same thing every day.
Today wasn't a lifting day - did plyo's with my w/o bud. Included:
shuffles, karaokes, skipping, hopping (one and 2-foot), high-knee run, mountain climbers... and then we finished with burpees, suicides and my HORRIBLE "invention" - Burpee suicides. Do a burpee, sprint to the first line, do a burpee, come back, do a burpee, sprint to next line, burpee, etc etc - UGH!!!!! Those really kicked my a$$!!!! ...not that there's anything wrong with that
I did overeat a LITTLE last night - not too bad, but about 100 cals over my planned amount. I was H U N G R Y!!!! But, to paraphrase what Scarlet so eloquently said: today is another day.
Uh... my secret? Underestimating how much weight I should've started with??? And my amazing ability to push myself until I puke (although I think I've met a few fellow self-pushers here - I don't feel so alone now!)
HIIT again today... had to be at work (I HATE working Saturdays!!!! - at least it's not every week). I'll lift my last stage 1 workout A tomorrow (not counting the special AMRAP workout still to come). HIIT was on the stairmaster, 8 min warmup, 8 cycles of 30 seconds sprint, 30 seconds recovery (a few recoveries were slightly longer or I'd puke on the machine), then 8 min cooldown. That kicks my tush, but in a good way...
Macros yesterday were pretty good too - I finally hit 30% for fat, thanks to the PB in my PWO. Protein/carbs were both about 35%, but I'm ok with that - carbs can go to 40% to get it "perfect" but no biggie...
Squat started at 95, went down to 75 (for form), then up as high as 105 before coming back to 95 on April 1 (but I plan to try 105 again next time). Focusing on getting low enough without tipping my upper body forward.
I'd love to hear more details on how you improved your squat form. While I've improved significantly, I've still got a ways to go and love to read others' experiences with it!
I'd love to hear more details on how you improved your squat form. While I've improved significantly, I've still got a ways to go and love to read others' experiences with it!
Uh... let me rephrase that - I'm WORKING on improving my squat form!!! Mostly, I have just really focused on going slow and keeping my hips back and as deep as I can without losing my lordotic (lower back) curve. I try to use the mirrors at the gym (but have to be careful about twisting my head to see!) and I REALLY work on not tipping my chest forward. I also do a lot of "warm-up" squats with no weight, just to get my form better and to see how far I can go without weight.
I have a long way to go, not very flexible... and as I said, even a good trainer was "impressed" with my ability to fall over backwards when I tried to keep my back more upright during a bodyweight-only squat. Sigh... I figure, if my back isn't hurting and I'm as far upright as I can be without falling backwards, maybe it's just my body's particular build / dynamics. Not that I won't work on improving still! In fact, squats are on the schedule today, so we shall see...
In order to perform a full squat, flexibility and range of motion must be maintained in the lumbar spine and SI joint, as well as in muscles such as the iliopsoas, hip external rotators, piriformis, and gemelli.
If a client can't squat past 90 degrees of knee bend without their heels raising or their body bending excessively forward at the waist, but they can squat all the way to the floor while holding onto something, we know there are muscle imbalances and stability issues around the pelvic/lumbosacral region as opposed to a knee or ankle dysfunction.
Interesting...
Bytsi - how's your flexibility from karate? I still can't do a full split, and even my floor straddle stretch is minimal - I felt a renewed motivation last night to work on stretching my hips/groin.
how's your flexibility from karate? I still can't do a full split, and even my floor straddle stretch is minimal - I felt a renewed motivation last night to work on stretching my hips/groin.
Well, I've NEVER been flexible. It's a major weakness, especially in my kicks! I never did a full split, even as a kid... when I stretch regularly, I can get a little better, but even touching my elbows to the ground in a floor straddle stretch can be a challenge!
Ok... be kind PLEASE... I've never posted pics before, and I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE how I look. I'm a testament to aerobics and calorie-restriction and lifting (strong but fat). I can't believe I'm gonna do this, but... these are 1-month pics (don't have start pics, but I doubt you'd see a significant difference anyway). ICK Be nice... the bikini is so so so tight, it makes all my dang bulges look even worse!!!!! (bodyfat % is 26.4%)
While I'm here, today's workout (Stage 1 A8 - last one!!!): Squat: 3x8 @ 95, 105, 105. Felt a little twingy in my right upper thight halfway between groin and hip, so my range of motion wasn't as good as I'd want...
Pushups: 3x12 with the step (alternating sides)
Row: 3x8 @ 130 - felt like my form was better even at the end, this time through.
Step-ups: 1 set of 10 w/ 20# db's (I forgot I'd moved up to 25 last time), then 2 sets of 8 w/ 25# db's. Had a run-in with an idiotic guy over the bench - I'll probably post in NROL4W about it later...
Jackknifes: Tried a set of 12 with one-leg only on the ball (6 on each side). Made it, but I couldn't do it again, so next 2 sets were toes on ball (no shins), 2x12.
That is great Bytsi- nice going on trying the 1 legged JackKnife!! It's so much better to be careful and do ONE set (or less) carefully and slowly with good balance and form and making sure your back doesn't suffer.....than to push for more! And you being a fellow "pusher" we have to tell ourselves that sometimes
I have pushed many a sets with awful form, just to hit the magic NUMBER that I am supposed to hit for that set! haha D-OH!
And yeah for posting pics, nooooooone likes to do those I imagine??? It's so much better though to see progress....AND think of the tight bikini as a plus since it will keep getting more and more loose as your body shrinks away!!!! I am proud of ya!
And I am SOOOOOO with you on aerobics and weights and cal restriction not making me lost body fat% I am happy to be on this right now...or for life.
So, how's the painting going? haha
Today was a "bonus" HIIT day, since I didn't have to work (I worked this weekend). I did the stairmaster, 8 minutes of 30 on / 30 off, with 8 min w/u and 8 min cooldown. HR got up to mid 170's (not bad for a 40-year-old).
Tried to explain EPOC and HIIT to a steady-state aerobics gal, and she might just consider it - hmmmm - possible convert???
Been thinking about diet / macros more... I may look into TNT. I don't want to eliminate carbs, and the ones I eat are mostly healthy (except those darn weight-watchers eclairs in the evening - at least only 140 calories). I have to get better at my pre-planning - I just always seem to be so busy and rushed... Small steps, but those small steady changes add up...
Also thinking of adding more HIIT to my week by doing it after work once or twice a week. Right now my schedule is:
Mon/Weds - go to work early, karate in the evening (don't count this as a workout day since I never know if I'll be exhausted or not by the class - it varies).
Tues/thurs - weights (am) before work, work til 7 or 8pm
Fri - HIIT before work (my "short" day at work).
Sat/Sun - weights one of those days, HIIT or day off on the other (varies by kid's schedules, etc).
So, maybe I could do HIIT on M or W in the evening before karate starts (although I'm afraid of dying halfway through class)... Can't do it after, class ends way too late as it is)... But maybe that'll help increase my fatburn and thus decrease bf% a bit more...
I'd love suggestions (can't fit it in before work on M/W because of kids / family time crunch).
what is karate like? I have never done a martial arts class....
Funny you should ask... I just got back from a helluva class... owwwww... sore... lotsa slamming into the mats (I wish they were softer). As my friend said, it's not the falling - it's the landing
But seriously - and Ledove can jump in too with her experiences -- it REALLY depends on your style and your particular school and instructor(s). Some schools are belt-mills that hand out black-belts like candy on Halloween... other schools are real tough fighting schools that weed out all but the most masochistic macho types...
My school now is self-defense oriented. It has high standards, and I've never seen a belt test where everyone passes. Which is good - at my TKD school (and this isn't all TKD schools, just the one I was at) no one ever failed a belt test . My TKD focused more on kicking - all kinds of fancy kicks and stuff, and on Olympic-rules sparring (which I didn't find particularly applicable to real-life attack scenarios). We also did kata there, and board-breaking. I even broke a concrete brick with my fist!
Our style at the school I'm at now is kajukenpo - it combines aspects of karate, judo, ju jitsu and kenpo. We work on kata (forms), escapes (from various types of grabs - everything from wrist grabs to chokes to bear-hugs), self-defense sets where we defend from a punch in set response patterns (classroom model) and then we learn to adapt them to varying unpredictable circumstances. Our classroom "rule" is that if you get hit in the face, it's your own fault for not blocking the punch!
We spar (with protective gear, but with contact), we do grappling (like BJJ, on the ground). We learn to fall, then we throw and sweep each other (like tonight... ugh...). We do joint locks and arm bars...
We also do multi-man attacks where you are jumped by more than one person at a time, or sometimes the class makes a circle around one person in the middle and everyone attacks that person and they have to defend from whatever direction, whatever random attack is coming.
Some days I get the poop beaten out of me, but I love it... It's never boring! I'm weird, I guess. It's also a community, a kind of family... My DH and son also take classes (DD wouldn't be caught dead there )... I respect our sensei a lot, and I've learned a lot from him and the other senior belts.
Sorry that got so long, but it's hard to put it "simply." If there's a school near you, try observing a few classes and maybe you'd like it!
That sounds so cool! I'd love to try it one of these days when there's enough spare time and money (and energy LOL). I've heard other people talk about the politics of it all, with different schools/groups being at each others' throats. Is that a uncommon thing from what you've seen?
That sounds so cool! I'd love to try it one of these days when there's enough spare time and money (and energy LOL). I've heard other people talk about the politics of it all, with different schools/groups being at each others' throats. Is that a uncommon thing from what you've seen?
You should try it Diane - I bet you'd love it!
Politics... it's like any other group or sport - yes, there are politics. In my TKD school, there were huge flaps between groups of Koreans who ran their own schools and the Americans who dared to run their own schools... between the ITF (International TKD Federation) and the WTF (World TKD Federation)... In my school now, there's still sometimes politics. Who passes or fails tests, and who thinks they were held to higher or lower standards based upon who knows who, or who your Sensei is (at least I've heard people whine, but I don't see it myself). I think it's like that everywhere - and it's as "fair" as it can be, for a subjective sport...
So, I went to Borders yesterday and looked at TNT. I liked the workouts in the back, but I'm just not ready to go that lo-carb... I really have only been "clean" with my carbs for a month, and I am going to try dropping about 100 calories/day from what I'd been doing (which was a kinda generous maintenance for me of closer to 2000 cal - I need to stick to 1650 / 1850 and see how that works) and maybe going below 40% carbs instead of going as low as TNT. But never say never... I'll take "official" remeasurements in a month... Also adding extra HIIT sessions...
Today - the LAST Phase 1 workout B8 (except special workouts to be done Thurs / Sat).
Deadlift: 3x8 135 145 145 -- the last one on set 3 was definitely the LAST one I could've possibly done!
Shoulder Press: 3x8 with 35# db's. No increase in weight, but less shaky by the end of the 3rd set.
Lat Pulldown: 3x8 @ 130 - improved from only 6 reps on 3rd set last time.
Lunges: 3x8 w/ 20# db's - all I can say is OOOOWWWWWWW!!! But I did 'em.
Ball crunches - tried these with my feet on the wall instead of on the floor - helped with intensity, will stick to this, maybe even drop to 1 foot only on the wall to increase intensity further.
And then... I've never tried any HIIT directly after a workout, but I got up early to leave time for it... Did 4 sets of Burpees with 60 sec rest between each. Oh... My... Gawd!!!! Yeeeaaaaahhh... gonna need some time to get used to that, but it's good for me, right?
Food yesterday was: 1655 cals, with 36% protein (164g), 33% carbs (150g), 30% fat (59g)... Still need to tweak it, but it's more in line with what I need to do.
Funny you should ask... I just got back from a helluva class... owwwww... sore... lotsa slamming into the mats (I wish they were softer). As my friend said, it's not the falling - it's the landing
But seriously - and Ledove can jump in too with her experiences -- it REALLY depends on your style and your particular school and instructor(s). Some schools are belt-mills that hand out black-belts like candy on Halloween... other schools are real tough fighting schools that weed out all but the most masochistic macho types...
My school now is self-defense oriented. It has high standards, and I've never seen a belt test where everyone passes. Which is good - at my TKD school (and this isn't all TKD schools, just the one I was at) no one ever failed a belt test . My TKD focused more on kicking - all kinds of fancy kicks and stuff, and on Olympic-rules sparring (which I didn't find particularly applicable to real-life attack scenarios). We also did kata there, and board-breaking. I even broke a concrete brick with my fist!
I think the most important part of a school is the instructors. They can know their stuff inside & out, but if they can't teach, they're not much use. From black belt on, part of my school's exam is how much teaching we've done, so some people will never advance because they don't want to teach.
The best way to find a school is to go watch the classes that you'd be participating in and to also watch the black belt class that you'd be aiming for. (A sparring class would also be good to watch.) Different schools are run different ways. And watching the black belts would show you the "finished product", so to speak, of the school.
My school is Chung Do Kwan, which is different than Bytsi's Olympic-style background. TKD in general is a kicking-oriented style, but Chung Do Kwan puts a higher emphasis on punching than most Olympic schools. In Olympic scoring, a kick to the head is worth the most points, so they train to kick high and kick often. We do continuous round sparring (sparring for a certain amount of time; score as many points as you can), not point sparring (which pulls the competitors apart after a point is scored and stops the fight at a low number of points).
We've had conditional passes at our school--you get the belt but not the certificate signed by the master until you get whatever was lacking fixed. The belt might be cooler, but the certificate is actually more important. But we also have a "pre-test" the week before an exam, and if you're not going to pass in front of the master, you don't get to get up in front of the master (because then it comes back on us black belts, and we don't like getting yelled at for not preparing you--esp. if you were the one slacking). So we've had non-passers, but they never even actually get to test.
I almost broke my hand, not my cinder block.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
Our style at the school I'm at now is kajukenpo - it combines aspects of karate, judo, ju jitsu and kenpo. We work on kata (forms), escapes (from various types of grabs - everything from wrist grabs to chokes to bear-hugs), self-defense sets where we defend from a punch in set response patterns (classroom model) and then we learn to adapt them to varying unpredictable circumstances. Our classroom "rule" is that if you get hit in the face, it's your own fault for not blocking the punch!
We spar (with protective gear, but with contact), we do grappling (like BJJ, on the ground). We learn to fall, then we throw and sweep each other (like tonight... ugh...). We do joint locks and arm bars...
We also do multi-man attacks where you are jumped by more than one person at a time, or sometimes the class makes a circle around one person in the middle and everyone attacks that person and they have to defend from whatever direction, whatever random attack is coming.
Yep, pretty much the same rule, with a modification for the lower belts--if an upper belt hits a lower belt in the face, it's the upper belt's fault; if an upper belt gets hit in the face, it's the upper belt's fault. So it's always my fault.
Since my school is straight TKD, we only get a few nights of grappling, self-defense, and throws. But we know they're important and so try to get some practice in. (And then I went and started BJJ classes for extra ground work.) Multi-person sparring is an exam requirement for conditional black (first brown) and black belt, so we do that more frequently.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
Some days I get the poop beaten out of me, but I love it... It's never boring! I'm weird, I guess. It's also a community, a kind of family... My DH and son also take classes (DD wouldn't be caught dead there )... I respect our sensei a lot, and I've learned a lot from him and the other senior belts.
Sorry that got so long, but it's hard to put it "simply." If there's a school near you, try observing a few classes and maybe you'd like it!
Yay for the weirdness club! But it's so much fun!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
You should try it Diane - I bet you'd love it!
Politics... it's like any other group or sport - yes, there are politics. In my TKD school, there were huge flaps between groups of Koreans who ran their own schools and the Americans who dared to run their own schools... between the ITF (International TKD Federation) and the WTF (World TKD Federation)... In my school now, there's still sometimes politics. Who passes or fails tests, and who thinks they were held to higher or lower standards based upon who knows who, or who your Sensei is (at least I've heard people whine, but I don't see it myself). I think it's like that everywhere - and it's as "fair" as it can be, for a subjective sport...
And then everyone forgets about the Chung Do Kwan schools that don't belong to either ITF or WTF.
I think any time you get a bunch of people together and try to organize them, you're going to have politics. It's just something people like to do/create.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
And then... I've never tried any HIIT directly after a workout, but I got up early to leave time for it... Did 4 sets of Burpees with 60 sec rest between each. Oh... My... Gawd!!!! Yeeeaaaaahhh... gonna need some time to get used to that, but it's good for me, right?
Mwahaha, I tried a set of those for HIIT one night. Evilness! But yes, good for you.
Wow, Byts. You and I look a lot alike! From the head down anyway. I just took pix today and haven't gotten the kahunas to post them yet. Your bravery might rub off.
TKD sounds like something I'd enjoy, but there's no good schools close enough by. My kid's stuff takes up all my drive time. Unless I get into wrestling or beach volleyball,...
__________________
Laugh a lot, and when you're older, all your wrinkles will be in the right places.
You and I look a lot alike! From the head down anyway.
Ya know Sally, it's funny - I just saw your pics and was thinking the same thing! You look like you are in a similar place to me, body-wise! At least you picked a more flattering swimsuit than I did!!! I didn't post my ht/wt yet (I'm embarrassed - but I guess I will do it at some point) - but I'm proud of you for putting your pics up. It really makes me feel more accountable - don't wanna leave that as the last impression anyone has of me
I had a little chocolate slip today... SO hungry / tired. The burpees really did me in, following a HARD lift... But I'm gonna regroup (at least it was one piece dark chocolate and only one "regular" piece - did about 100 cals worth of damage)... Gonna go eat my Greek yogurt snack... I want to cut my cals to 1800 or so on w/o days, but I'm HUNGRY!!!!!!!!
I got hungry tonight, too. The DH is offshore, so I slack on the "mommy cooks" thing, and the kids and I eat ~whatever~ we can find in the house that requires no work. I ate a can of tuna, some olives and a cut up cucumber with Nature's Seasoning. (DD ate soup with 2 slices ww and some carrots; DS ate leftover pork chops). It was good, but left me wanting.. so during "Idol" I ate some some Wheatables Whole Grain with a 1-2 oz hunk of Lite Monterey Jack and 2 giant glasses of H2O. Now, I feel satisfied.
I think.
I was thinking I like your swimsuit a helluva lot better than mine!
Have you tried Cocoa Via yet?
__________________
Laugh a lot, and when you're older, all your wrinkles will be in the right places.
I was thinking I like your swimsuit a helluva lot better than mine!
Really!?!?!?? Cuz mine is a sports-bra type top and it smushes me in badly (maybe when my bf% drops, so will my boob size?)... yours seems much more flattering!
Quote:
Have you tried Cocoa Via yet?
What is that? So... nope, haven't tried it
Last night... SUCKED I made a piggy of myself, busted over calories for the day by about 400 (yes, that's 400, not a typo). I'm so mad at myself. I was really tired and hungry and cranky, and DD (who just got her license) brought tortilla chips into the house and left the bag in plain sight. Dang it!!! So I ate some... and the salt made me hungry for sweet, so I ate some dried apricots (not terrible, but not on plan) - all totalled up to 400 UNPLANNED and unnecessary calories, just before bedtime. Shoulda just gone to bed early instead of being a piggy. Ugh .
But, as Scarlett might say, today is another day. I am still not sure if I'm gonna do HIIT before karate tonight - it's sparring night and that usually leave me in a big puddle, but I never know for sure til it's over... I'll see how tired I am before class and play it by ear.
I am NOT NOT NOT gonna hit the chocolate or the chips or anything else off-plan today. I do think this is partly PMS cravings, so I have a few more days to battle through, unfortunately... but that's not an excuse - or at least not a valid one .
Hey Bytsi! I haven't stopped in here yet and and my jaw about dropped when I saw the weights you were lifting! You go girl!
I have always wanted to get into martial arts. I took a class when I was little (aka 4th grade) and got my yellow belt which was the first one after white in whatever it was I took. Then mom said I had to choose between that and dance and girly little me chose dance, lol. I'd love to start now, but I can't afford it. I'll be watching your log with interest though... very cool stuff goin on in here!
And your pics look great! I'm sure we'll see lots of muscle gains/fat loss from you!
Hi Mermaid and Kelly - I still think ya'll need glasses if you think the pics look ok, but I'm going on faith that I do what I need to do to get where I want to be. I'm strong, but I don't look it on the outside!!!
Maybe once I lose the fat, I will get a "cute" bikini like Sally's!!
Bytsi, thanks for the details about what martial arts classes are like. I have always wondered about that and this gives great details.
Hmmm.... I am wondering about the eating thing. You really should not have these unbearable needs to eat unless you are missing something/s. When you eat your regular cals and carbs are you eating High G carbs such as white breads or potatoes? I found when I switched to eating nothing but lower G carbs and getting my macros in the 40,40,20 range that I never had cravings. Two of my friends have adopted this and also found the same. Whenever I hear that people have cravings I am thinking that they are eating things such a pretzels, etc which causes cravings...
Bytsi's Body Reshaping Log
I used to restrict to between 1200-1400/day and always wondered why I would lose it and pig out!
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You ARE strong girl!!! Keep it up....and I would love to hear about the squats too.
Be nice... the bikini is so so so tight, it makes all my dang bulges look even worse!!!!! (bodyfat % is 26.4%)
. My TKD focused more on kicking - all kinds of fancy kicks and stuff, and on Olympic-rules sparring (which I didn't find particularly applicable to real-life attack scenarios). We also did kata there, and board-breaking. I even broke a concrete brick with my fist!
)... I respect our sensei a lot, and I've learned a lot from him and the other senior belts.
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