Blubberbegone's "Who you calling a GIRL?" 2009 NROL4W Fall Challenge Log
Hi all,
Let me introduce myself. I'm Angie and hail from the frozen wastelands of northwest England. Blubberbegone is the name of my weight loss blog. For the first two years of its existence it was a weight loss blog in name only, but since January this year I have been making some serious lifestyle changes and am reaping the benefits.
I bought NROL4W a while back, checked in here, but was scared off after reading a few posts about how you bulked more than you lost fat. While a few worthy souls said they intended to put on muscle first and lose fat later, at 16 stone I just wanted to get rid of some of the lard.
For the first few months of the year I followed Tom Venuto's Body Fat Solution. For the last three I have been doing TT and just completed my first challenge. I have never been able to complete a single 4-week programme in the past, so to complete a 12-week challenge was a real accomplishment for me. But I've been itching for a change. So here I am. I'm back. And starting this challenge with the following stats:
Age 41
Height 1.64m (5'4)
Weight 14 stone 2.6 (198.6 pounds, 90.3 kg)
Body fat 43.8%
Waist 108.5
Hips 127
Left thigh 63.5
Left knee 43
Left calf 40
Left bicep 38.5
Goal: Around 140 pounds, 20% BF and then we'll see. Hubby took 'before' photos today and I will get those up here when I get a chance. I gather there is some problem with uploading photos?
Anyhow, towards the end of the TT contest I had my first minor motivational crisis, so today was my first weights workout in a couple of weeks, my first intervals workout in nearly as long, and the first time I have counted calories in a very long time. All three were challenging, but the workouts only kicked my butt while I was doing them. The calorie counting and nutrient balancing drove me mad all day long.
First the workouts: Workout A of Phase 1 in New Rules of Lifting for Women. Least favourite exercise: a toss up between the step up and the prone jackknife, linked together in the same superset by some dastardly evil genius. At least they're at the end. I think the step up wins it by a nose though.
To prevent non-working leg assistance I had to switch to a step down style (thanks for that tip girls, I got it off one of the posts on the forum here), and still only barely managed to get horizontal on my working thigh.
Most favourite exercise: barbell rows. Nice to be actually using my bar and heavy weights for something other than as an anchor for inverted body weight rows - TT tends to focus on DBs and BW exercises. And now I have that nice pump in my biceps that looks so good! Upped the speed of my hard intervals but only did four of them at a minute each (RPE 9-10). All in all, pretty happy with that.
Nutrition, as I expected, was quite challenging. My maintenance calorie goal is 1861 on non-lifting days and 2171 on NROL days. Even at the lower end, this is much more than I am used to - I have been averaging around 1600-1700 per day (I used fit day to keep track of my nutrients but didn't actually aim for a particular calorie total - that's just how it worked out).
Despite eating over 700 calories for lunch (largely due to the presence of whole-fat mayo in the leftovers from Sunday's pre-new challenge pig-fest BBQ), I was still nearly 500 calories short of my goal after dinner. Had a late evening snack comprising a scoop of chocolate protein powder in a cup of skimmed milk plus a peach, which still left me short. So I added in some toasted almonds. This took me to 1965 calories but a really impressive 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat exactly. Figured it wasn't going to get any better than that, and it was only around a 200 calorie deficit so called it a night. This is going to be tough.
Hi Angie,
welcome to the forum I'm from Devon, so its nice to see someone else in the UK. You've done really well this year, especially the TT, I've read that is quite tough.
Hi my fellow English roses, thanks for the welcome.
TT is no tougher than NROL. Similar format - three (usually) supersets of two (usually) exercises. Programmes usually four weeks long. But there is no order as in NROL4W. Actually, that's not true - there is an order for beginners, but once you are in the full swing of things, there is a new workout published every month or so and you can pick and choose the ones you want to try. However, forums are not free, you can pay monthly but then don't have access to the archived downloads, only the current ones. Then its $200 a year. On the plus side, Craig Ballantyne is a legend. He responds to questions. He posts regularly on readers logs. He even checks out off-site blogs and comments and stuff. Where he finds the time I don't know. I reckon he's a actually cylon and there are 8 different CBs running around the place!
If you would like to try the programme, you do get three months three forum time when you download the original TT manual, and he has just come up with (too late for me) a new offer that anyone who takes part in the next transformation contest (sign up starts Aug 31st - so you could use it for this challenge if you wanted to give it a go) and finishes and submits their before and afters, stats, and essay, gets 6 months free membership. Great idea. Wish it had applied to TC5.
Got home from work today at 3.30 (training day). Was supposed to be playing badminton with hubby at 5. Had a headache so decided to get an hour's sleep. Hah. Six (yes, six) hours later....
Oh dear. Due to lifting and other commitments, looks like I won't be playing badminton this week then. Goal for this week: do all three NROL workouts and don't worry too much about anything else.
Goal no. 2: stick to my calorie limits and aim for macronutrient ratios as close as possible to 40/30/30 for carbs/protein/fat.
Had one of the snacks recommended in the book today. Low-fat cottage cheese with a tablespoon of raisins. Sounds dull but it was actually quite nice. Also for the first time tried cereal with skim milk mixed with vanilla protein powder. Tasted sweet but not awful.
Eating today:
B'fast: 1 oz bran flakes, 3/4 skim milk, scoop vanilla whey protein, 50g blueberries.
Morning snack: hot chocolate (a bit sinusy), 150g LF cottage cheese, 1 tbsp raisins.
Lunch: 1C left over couscous salad (apples, celery, walnuts, blue cheese, chickpeas), 100g king prawns, dressing made with 1T fish oil, 1T balsamic vinegar, 1/2T honey. Pear.
Afternoon snack: Fell asleep and missed it.
Dinner: Chicken breast with satay sauce, 3/4C brown rice, sugar snap peas.
Evening snack: 1/2 oz almonds.
Had forgotten to add the satay sauce to my food diary and was coming up a bit short on calories, so had the almonds to make it up and got within one calorie of my goal. Then I remembered the sauce, putting me over by about 120 calories. My macronutrient ratio was 44/32/24 - not as good as yesterday but managing to keep up with my protein requirement, which is one area I think I slacked on while doing TT.
I won't make a habit of cataloging what I eat as I think it gets a bit boring, but some of this stuff is quite new to me so thought I'd mention it.
By the way, for the last day or two, my posts here have been more or less plagiarised for my BBG blog, so apologies if you go and check out the blog. Obviously before I started here two days ago, it'd all be different. At some point, when I have more to talk about, I will try and provide mostly different content as I did when on TT and only post significant milestones from this log onto my other blog. But for now, it's protein, calories and sore muscles and not much else.
Good job, Angie! During stage 1 and 2 of NROLFW, I had some wicked fatigue, too. As in, I couldn't even make it to the bed before I passed out!
I think eating a little more and general adaptation helped me overcome the majority of the fatigue. If you are sleepy, definitely sleep, but consider eating a little more, too. Oh, and it doesn't have to be peanut butter cookies .
I'll be curious to see how you like NROL4W, since it's the plan I hope to get back to eventually. I always hated step-ups, too.
And thanks for posting your food, if only because it gave me the idea to have some hot cocoa later today. My allergies are acting up and we're having a really cool day today after having finally had some sunny, summery weather, so hot chocolate sounds completely perfect and I probably wouldn't have thought of it myself!
I'll be curious to see how you like NROL4W, since it's the plan I hope to get back to eventually. I always hated step-ups, too.
And thanks for posting your food, if only because it gave me the idea to have some hot cocoa later today. My allergies are acting up and we're having a really cool day today after having finally had some sunny, summery weather, so hot chocolate sounds completely perfect and I probably wouldn't have thought of it myself!
Glad to oblige, I guess. I don't know...leading my fellow challengers down the path of temptation. Hey, maybe that's one way I could win! Is that what Sally is attempting? Hey cookie girl, it ain't gonna work, we got your game!
Good luck and welcome to my neighbour from down the east lancs.
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Walk on
With hope in your heart
And You'll Never Walk Alone
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There's no free lunch, especially when it's served with special sauce (lostdog)
***************************** My Log - PC Plod
Overshot my calories by 320-ish yesterday. And on a non-lifting day to boot. I had so many spare after b'fast, lunch, and two snacks that I used up some stuff I'd bought for a recipe before I started this programme - a bit carb heavy but thought it'd make up the calories. Hadn't checked the box. Half a box of Tesco Finest Porcini ravioli (around six large stuffed pieces) came in at 460 cals! Plus the butternut squash and a little parmesan (and sage), dinner came in at over 700!!!
Despite this, weighed in at a new low this morning. 14 stone 1.2 and 43.2% body fat. 13 stone something here I come. Loving this.
Anglophile Donna here...My hubby is from Manchester and we visit every two years or so since his mum and other relatives still live there. Good luck with NROL4W. I have exercise A.D.D. so I'm pretty sure I cannot commit to a 6 month program.
LOL Donna. Like I said, I had never managed to finish a FOUR WEEK programme before this year. Ever. What changed it for me was a different outlook, and changing the way I set my goals. I can't believe I finished a 12-week challenge (three 4-week programme), although I lost it at the end so it was more like 2 and a 1/2. Six months should be interesting. If I go all the way through, it will probably be one of the hardest things I have ever done - mentally, I mean. Although I gather it'll be pretty tough physically also. I can't believe I'm even signing on for it, but I'm not the same person I was a year ago. I'm curious to see how far I get.
Hi Angie! Thanks for stopping by my log. Looks like we have alot of the same stats and goals. Good luck to you. I'm glad you are joining the challenge, we can work on those goals together.
OK, got this sussed now. Here they are. They're not pretty, but I am past the stage where I feel the need to decapitate myself. I am not my fat. It's still me in there for better or worse. I'm not sure what size that bikini is, or how many years old (a lot), but by the end of 6 months NROL4W, I would like to be able to wear it in public. (As opposed to sticking it on the internet for several billion people to look at! LOL)
Anyhow, off to a good start. These were taken on 24th August. Today was my one week weigh-in and I have lost 2.8 pounds and 1% body fat. But I slept quite a bit yesterday and only managed two meals and one snack. Not sure about the calorie count (check my blog for full woeful story) but it was bound to be on the low side. May rebound a bit after a normal day's eating, but I'm pretty sure most of that loss is for real as I was getting close to that before yesterday.
As of this morning, 13 stone 13.8 (195.8 lbs/89 kg) and 42.8% BF. I cracked 14 stone!!!
LOL. I was talking about this at work the other day. Three years ago I did my PT training, weighing in at 17 stone on the first day. Me and all these athletes/ex-military/gym bunnies etc. When I found out seven weeks later that for the sports massage part of the course I'd be expected to stand around in my underwear to have my posture assessed, I apparently gave the instructor a look that would curdle milk at 600 paces, and quit the next day.
A few months later, I started my blog and posted my first pics, in the same bikini, with a black circle over my face. The following year I went back and finished my massage qualification. It helped that I didn't know any of the people on the course and didn't care what they thought.
Three years on, I have just finished a 12-week TT contest. I was so proud of my 'after' photos (OK, I was breathing in - they look a lot better than the 'befores' above, taken a mere one week later) but I'd lost a couple of chins, gained a neck, and gotten rid of all my cellulite - that I was happy to post my photos. It's like someone said - it's just fat. It's not evil. Do I like the way I look? Hell, no. But you know what, I have come to realise that I am not my body. And I'm proud to be doing something constructive about it.
To be honest, I was more upset by the way my face and hair looked! LOL. I'll make a bit more effort for the 'afters'.
Did my second workout B from Stage 1. The one with the lunges and deadlifts. My legs were like jelly at the end. I couldn't do my intervals! Did steady state at moderate intensity instead and will try and make up my intervals tomorrow. Anybody else have this problem?
Did my second workout B from Stage 1. The one with the lunges and deadlifts. My legs were like jelly at the end. I couldn't do my intervals! Did steady state at moderate intensity instead and will try and make up my intervals tomorrow. Anybody else have this problem?
I have done almost zero cardio since starting. As in, I have 4 workouts left in Stage 1 (including the AMRAP workouts) and I think I've done intervals two or three times and that's IT! I keep thinking, this week I will do intervals on alternating days from lifting and then I don't.... either because I'm sore, tired or just plain don't wanna.
Seems to me there was some mention of Stepping off the treadmill in the book though, too.
I've never been a treadmill/cardio junky - most of my adult life I've been too unfit and had a serious knee problem and I loathed any form of cardio. Turbulence Training taught me about intervals, and I started off walking at around 2mph and doing my 'hard' intervals around 2.5mph. I'll never forget the first time I 'ran' for 30 seconds at 7kph (around 4.3mph!) but it was the most amazing feeling.
I now warm up at 3-3.5mph and do my 30 second intervals (RPE 9/10) at around 7.5mph and my 1 minute intervals (RPE 8/9) at around 6.3mph. I still walk my recovery, but it is the biggest kick I have ever gotten from exercise - even better than the first time I saw a bicep muscle.
Usually I try to do three 20 min HIIT workouts per week and usually I don't do steady-state at all. Outside my weights and HIIT, I like to try and do 'fun' things, like play badminton, or try belly dancing etc. I just did it last night so as to do something while I was already on the treadmill but with my jelly legs. Ultimately, I'd like to get so I could jog/run a full 30 minutes or 5K. My max at the moment is around 2 to 2.5 mins so I have some ways to go there!
During the last three months, when I was doing a TT 12-week challenge, I lost 6cm off my thigh, 5 off my knee, and 2 off my calf - which now fits into ordinary boots for the first time in years. (I only measured one leg!) Despite still carrying around 4 stone excess weight, I have practically no cellulite. So you'd be hard pressed to get me to step away from the treadmill. But having said that, it's not like I need to break a long-standing nasty cardio habit.
I just had to stop by today and tell you that you are my latest ass-kicking role model. I was very impressed by your blog. That on top of the photos? You rock!!!
To be honest, I was more upset by the way my face and hair looked! LOL. I'll make a bit more effort for the 'afters'.
That's what a lot of the professional before/after shots do. I always think of making more of an effort when I used to take the pictures, but never get around to it.
Blubberbegone's "Who you calling a GIRL?" 2009 NROL4W Fall Challenge Log
I'm from Devon, so its nice to see someone else in the UK. You've done really well this year, especially the TT, I've read that is quite tough.
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