When I look at myself in the mirror, I don't look fat. I can see the muscles in my arms and back. I can see my ribs and all my abdominal muscles. I am still carrying eough fat in my lower body that it's hard to see any muscles there, but they're starting to show in my calves and quads. And my butt is definitely taking shape. The point is, if I went by the scale or clothes I would feel fat and think I need to go back to dieting. But I am willing to keep at this experiment and see how long it takes, if it ever does, for my body to begin to release fat and become smaller.
Sometimes I start to worry because everything I read and see and hear is all about counting calories and losing fat through diet restriction. In that regard I feel like I'm swimming upstream and I'm sure some people think I am only fooling myself and that I'll wake up fat again one day. But then I remind myself that I'm not overeating. I'm only eating as much as body tells me it needs. That can't be wrong.
I love to hear you say this. What a healthy outlook.
Michelle I am so thrilled for you! I have also become an intuitive eater. Have not tracked in 4 months. Scale weight is the same and I am down a full size in jeans. I really relate to a lot of what you write. Sometimes when people discover intuitive eating, they interpret it as an all you can eat buffet of nonnutritious food. I have done that before. This time, it is really working for me, and next year, I hope to experiment with intuitive deficit! Love this term! Congrats on your awesome progress. Will be following along.
I read the book too and hope to one day be there with you. I'm not ready yet. But I just wanted to remind you that they warn you not to get caught up in the excitement of the new-fangled diets in magazines and that your friends are doing. It can be tempting but stay the course. Best of luck with it and thanks so much for continuing to post about it. It makes me hopeful that one day I will get there too.
But I just wanted to remind you that they warn you not to get caught up in the excitement of the new-fangled diets in magazines and that your friends are doing. It can be tempting but stay the course.
Thanks! That's part of why I post these blogs, just to talk out loud to myself and remind myself of what I'm doing. I also have to catch the occasional feelings of guilt when I'm eating something and talk myself out of that too. I am really trying to work the program just like the book says.
Michelle, I also hung up the scale for a while. I NEVER used to be a scale watcher. I weighed myself once a month tops. I'm going back to that. I hate weighing daily. I'm just going to go by how I look and feel and made the needed adjustments and start weighing monthly. My first weigh-in is going to be July 15 and then the 15th of every month thereafter for a while. Glad it's working for you! And, your workouts look REALLY strong, too.
Michelle, I also hung up the scale for a while. I NEVER used to be a scale watcher. I weighed myself once a month tops. I'm going back to that. I hate weighing daily. I'm just going to go by how I look and feel and made the needed adjustments and start weighing monthly. My first weigh-in is going to be July 15 and then the 15th of every month thereafter for a while. Glad it's working for you! And, your workouts look REALLY strong, too.
That's good Jane, we definitely need to take back when the number on the scale becomes for important than how we look and feel.
I do love having energy for the workouts. I feel much stronger and more in control.
Ok, I didn't want to post this, but I will. I did something really stupid this morning. I attempted a lift I was pretty sure I couldn't complete without a spot. I knew it was stupid as I was doing it, and for some reason I did it anyway. I tried for 105 on the barbell bench press even though I barely made 100 the time before. I could not get the bar back up, so I had to put it down on my abdomen and roll it off me. A nice guy saw me struggling and offered to spot me, without making me feel stupid which was nice. So I made 105 with a little help.
Last B workout of Strength I: heaviest bench press went from 90 to 105 (100 to be more accurate), bent-over row from 90 to 110, close-grip lat pulldown from 90 to 110, dummbell shoulder press from 22 to 27.
Ok, I didn't want to post this, but I will. I did something really stupid this morning. I attempted a lift I was pretty sure I couldn't complete without a spot. I knew it was stupid as I was doing it, and for some reason I did it anyway. I tried for 105 on the barbell bench press even though I barely made 100 the time before. I could not get the bar back up, so I had to put it down on my abdomen and roll it off me. A nice guy saw me struggling and offered to spot me, without making me feel stupid which was nice. So I made 105 with a little help.
Teehee, I look forward to my first time stuck under a barbell
I hate this, but I think the very heavy lifting is causing my IT Band to flare up again. I only have two more workouts to finish Strength I, so I think I will do that, and then find something else to do while I'm rehabilitating this injury.
Chin-up (done on Gravitron with neutral grip, weight is amount of assistance) 6 @30, 1 lat pulldown @140, 6 @30, 1 lat pulldown @150, 8 @40
Barbell shoulder press 6 @60, 1 @80, 6 @65, 1 @80, 10 @55
Dumbbell bench press 1x8 @25, 2x6 @30
Wide-grip cable seated row 2x6 @120
Lower-body Russian twist 2x10 @BW
I reached my maximum lifts on several of the exercises. I will take some pictures this weekend.
I had an MRI on my knee and it showed nothing, so the doc sent me to physical therapy. I've had three sessions so far and have seen great progress. Yesterday I was able to run almost a mile with no pain. The PT has cleared me to start a run/walk program, so with that and all the exercises and stretches I need to do for physical therapy, I will not have time to continue with NROL. I feel like I really put the last year to good use with these lifting programs, getting strong while I couldn't run, but now I want to focus on getting back into running. In order to do that, I need to focus on specific muscles and joints that need work. My PT really liked all the stretching and strength exercises in the book Running for Mortals, so I'm going to start doing those.
As far as what's wrong with my leg? When I first went in my pelvic bone was out of alignment causing my right leg to seem shorter and reducing range of motion. Now that is back to where it should be, and my joints are gliding properly in my right ankle and at the fibula head (that's where I was feeling the most pain). She has loosened up my right calf muscle too.
As far as what's wrong with my leg? When I first went in my pelvic bone was out of alignment causing my right leg to seem shorter and reducing range of motion. Now that is back to where it should be, and my joints are gliding properly in my right ankle and at the fibula head (that's where I was feeling the most pain). She has loosened up my right calf muscle too.
I meant on Strength I But it's good that your leg is doing better again, too!
Oh, well, I'm glad you said this because it reminds me I need to take my pics now! I definitely got a lot stronger. I reached maximums on most lifts. I haven't been weighing or measuring, so I will have to rely solely on pics and how I feel to measure progress.
Not a whole lot of difference at first glace, but it does look like my legs, especially my hamstrings, have better shape. And I can see a bit more definition in my shoulders. A little bit fatter, but not too bad for not dieting at all.
The photos on the left were taken last year after I finished Stage 1 of The New Rules of Lifting for Women. That was the first serious weight lifting program I ever did. The photos on the right were taken yesterday after a year of lifting. Honestly, I don't see a difference. In the past year the only time I saw results was from restricting calories, and that was not a sustainable lifestyle for me.
So after the year of experimenting with heavy lifting and higher protein intake, I look the same. Now that I am able to get back into running, and I've taken up cycling and swimming, I am going to go back to higher carb intake and a running-specific strength training program. I enjoy my activities and my eating, and I will be content to be a slow fat triathlete.
So I will not be on this forum much anymore. If anyone wants to check in with me, I have the same user name on Sparkpeople.
Thanks to everyone who helped me along the way. I enjoyed seeing your progress! Keep up the great work!
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