I’ve decided to start a training log, since we’ve been encouraged to in the women’s August challenge. Constructive criticism & support is very much appreciated!! The brief story of Poodle:
I’ve been overweight all my life, but was pretty active all through junior & high school. I started lifting in Jr. High with the girls’ weight lifting club, and I loved it. I started getting healthier and working out my freshman year in college. When I turned 20, I was extremely happy with my body. I’d lost around 45 pounds, was very strong, and at my smallest clothing size ever in adulthood. Shit happened, I let myself go, whatever. It sucks but that’s where I’m at now. Since I turned 21 (I’m almost 24 now,) I have gained 5 pounds… which doesn’t sound like much. BUT, I’ve also gone from a size 18 to a 26 (at the most. Currently down to a 24.)
One day, I told my dad how confused I was by this. And he said, “Well, you used to be a lot stronger and have a lot more muscle mass. Its just changed to fat now.” Seems so obvious a conclusion now So I started being more active and whatnot, but not really working out hard. Sometime around this time I realized that the back wasn’t liking supporting the ho ha’s, and lifting hard again came across my mind. After arguing about it with friends for 3 months, and finally listening to The Boy, I bought New Rules of Lifting for Women. I started doing the program, but screwed up my knees doing squats immediately, and then kind of left NROL for a while. Thanks to Squat Rx I realized that I was basically doing everything about squatting wrong, so no more knee pain!
(Side note on The Boy, because I’m sure he will come up in my log… close friend, ex boyfriend, very smart, well informed body builder who is my personal cheerleader especially with regards to my fitness goals. Great for me in that respect because he knows what my mental hang-ups about fitness are, knows what really bothers me about myself, isn’t afraid to tell me the truth, etc.)
I’m kind of a pansy though, and am very intimidated by the act of physically going into the weight room. Once I’m there I’m good. But I’m overcoming that. I’m looking forward to this challenge because I’m one of those people who need to be held accountable, and I feel so much better when I’m lifting with any kind of regularity.
In the last 6 months I’ve made a lot of pretty major positive life changes. I’ve finally come to the realization that things don’t happen overnight, and that life’s a journey and not a destination. My life can be summed up by a couple of song lyrics.
“Lookin’ back at my background tryin' to
figure out how I ever got here.
Some things are still a mystery to me
While others are much to clear.
I'm just livin' in the sunshine,
Stay contented most of the time..” –Migration by Jimmy Buffett
And “I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on” – Running on Empty by Jackson Browne
(And sorry, that wasn’t as concise and brief as I was shooting for!)
Goals for the challenge:
Be consistent- With working out and with eating healthfully
Eat enough protein and veggies.
To not be disappointed when I look at my formerly killer legs in the mirror anymore
Do a real live push up from the floor
Be stronger & lose some fat!
Foreseeable Challenges of the Challenge:
I’m a chronic under-eater. I usually eat once a day. And its not that I even eat THAT terribly for that one meal… the rest of my caloric intake is made up of pop
Overcoming the mental hurdles to actually go into the weight room
I’m a broke ass college student. I think it’s going to take a lot of careful planning to eat enough and healthfully.
Being too sensitive to friends who think women who lift are crazy and want to be androgynous amazons.
Beginning stats and pics to be added soon.
Thanks for stopping by!
Well, I had just answered your post in my log and then thought maybe I should check to see if you had one already. And you do, so welcome. Oh, and yes, you're going to have to get rid of the pop. My truly bad habit was diet pop actually. I cut it out back in December, and have it maybe once or twice a month now. Mainly because I have cases and cases of the stuff left.
Thanks for the welcome girls! (And yes its old school Buffett! I didn't think anyone else would catch that or enjoy it )
Well in good news... I haven't had pop with sugar for 4 days. I think that sugar free pop is better than regular pop. At least its a start.
So I got a myotape. I took measurements with a regular tape measure 4 days in a row, and they were all way different. And the myotape was like 4 bucks, and I'm a sucker for a sale. However, the measuring was incredibly depressing. Then to add insult to injury I took some progress pictures. Does the fact that I insulted and injured myself make me a masochist? Anyways... I think I hadn't really taken a good look at myself in a while. Before I took measurements and pix, I think I thought a lot better of myself physically lol. Oh well, at least now I guess I have a more realistic view.
I'm posting the measurements. No pix as of yet. I still don't have the hang of the picture posting thing. Maybe soon.
Feeling like poo emotionally. Think I'm going to the gym before class. I need to do something. I'm going to try to not let my pathetic lifts get me down. you have to start somewhere... I think I'll try to look at it this way, since I'm starting at such a sucky place, maybe when I get where I wanna be I can look back and say to myself, "hey, you started squatting just body weight and have lost a hundred pounds..." hahaha we'll see.
side note: there’s a better name for the bra strap measurement isn’t there? Oh, and I'm terrible at making Word tables...
I decided to start logging what I'm eating using calorie count plus, just to kind of see where I was standing in the beginning. I after looking at it, I think getting anywhere near the 265 grams of protein I'm supposed to get is going to be VERY difficult. I think its going to be really hard to eat as many calories as I should be. I don't have the calculations with me, but I'm supposed to be eating somewhere around 2300 Calories a day. Today I even ate a lot for me. And had more protien than I do on a typical day. I'm pretty sure I'll only get the kinds of results I want with lifting if I'm eating the way I'm supposed to be.
On the plus side, I've successfully quit the pop! :-) yay! i've had one sugary pop in the last week. I've also found that sugar free chocolate pudding is a pretty good substitute for chocolate ice cream cravings. lol. I tried it with some chocolate whey in it, but the texture kinda grossed me out. I don't think I'll be doing that anymore.
I need to eat more veggies. Any good/easy ways to cook broccoli or brussel sprouts? I saw one article that suggested steamed broccoli with some EVOO and chili flakes. I'm not a fan of broccoli, but it seems so healthy that feel I should try to incorporate it into my diet. I don't think I can get all my veggie goodness just from spinach and romaine in salads :-)
Brussels sprouts are really good roasted. I use a non-stick spray when doing mine (but if you're having problems keeping the cals up EVOO would be best). It's a bit of a ramble, but I did a little blurb on how I roast veggies:
As for the protein, I can't eat 1g per pound of bodyweight. What I do is try and make sure I hit 30%+ each day. Although I do eat a fair amount of chicken/beef/pork/eggs etc. I still supplement with whey protein powder. I don't eat yogurt/cottage cheese so I find the whey a good source of protein for me.
Changing the eating habits is the hardest thing in the beginning, although it does (somewhere along the way) become easier.
Broccoli:
1) roasted with EVOO & garlic
2) blanched and then dumped in stir-fry with other veggies
3) blanched, then saute some shallot or garlic in EVOO or butter, add chile flakes if you like, and then saute the broccoli until a crisp (good method with green beans too)
3) I like to blanch it and then have it with dip (I like this better than raw). Dip could be ranch dressing, or hummus, or guacamole or almost anything.
are you still hanging in there? ditching the soda and switching to diet pudding are small victories - good for you! and i think it's great that you have "the boy" supporting your efforts. everyone needs a cheerleader. best of luck with the challenge!
I am still hanging in there! Thank you so much for checking in on me! I'm terrible about updating this thing.
So far I've lost 9 pounds, and six and a half inches (all around) so its going well.
I've had to adjust my goals a bit, I won't have a gym until September. So I'm walking, and doing the NROLW stuff that I can using body weight. I'm amazed at how much pop I was drinking. Its a small behavioral change, but a big (~1500 calories a day) dietary change.
Well the numbers for this month are all really good. I'm almost down to a 22, from a 26 size jean. I've lost like 20 inches overall. I've lost somewhere around 10 pounds.
But, after taking these pictures I feel down about it. I can't see any difference. The only difference I can see is that I'm a little smaller around the middle level with my elbow. I know I shouldn't care, but its bumming me out. I think I'm going to start taking 4 or 5 measurements before the next month's check in, and averaging them out. There's too much possible statistical error without doing that. 20 inches seems like a lot to lose without being able to see it in pictures.
I'm hoping to start working out at this new "personal training studio" here in town. The guy that runs it is a body builder, and had pix of women lifting on the website, so hopefully he'll be supportive. And hey, if not, I'll find somewhere else.
Its getting to be fall, which is my favorite time to run. And recently I've been having a burning desire to run. Probably because when I started running freshman year it was fall, and IU is the most gorgeous campus in the fall. But anyways, why don't I on those occasions you ask? Because I can't breath and then I get all kind of discouraged. I think I'm just going to have to get over that. And ya know, quitting smoking might help. lol. Thats my goal for the week. To go for at least one run.
I'm stealing my bro's bike, so I'm excited about being able to bike the three miles to campus while the weather is still ok. I'm sure I won't be able to do that once the snow comes, but for now it will be nice.
Ok, thats about it. Hope everyone is happy with their progress in the challenge!! I'm just going to try to stay positive and take it one day at a time. :-D
Lets kick it into second wind- Poodle984's log
So I started being more active and whatnot, but not really working out hard. Sometime around this time I realized that the back wasn’t liking supporting the ho ha’s, and lifting hard again came across my mind. After arguing about it with friends for 3 months, and finally listening to The Boy, I bought New Rules of Lifting for Women. I started doing the program, but screwed up my knees doing squats immediately, and then kind of left NROL for a while. Thanks to Squat Rx I realized that I was basically doing everything about squatting wrong, so no more knee pain! 
)
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