I've been lurking around these parts, posting here & there and decided it might be time to make a little place for myself here.
I'm a 40 yr old mom of two great kids. I used to weigh almost 200# but with the help of my great husband and Dr. Atkins, I got down to 135#. Then I kind of fell off the deep end and starting cutting fat, carbs, calories, protein (not much was left!) until I was down to a skinny-fat 111#.
Last year about this time I started down some Waterbury programs and finally packed on some serious size doing high frequency training. Unfortunately, with the muscle gain came some fat too --and it all seems to be right around my middle. Lucky me.
Since last summer I've been working on this and every time I move a few lbs off, they seem to come back a week later. So I think I've lost about 40# but never more than 5 in a row!
I just finished CW's BBB & TTT. I was thinking of trying Sexy Female Training, but have switched focus to NROL and will be starting the break in program on Monday.
I'm still dialing in on the diet and fluctuating all over the place. I really did like Atkins but induction hasn't worked for me again. I'm seriously considering Adam's Diet because it is so similar yet allows me the flexibility to have some fruit & a carby meal/day == or not! I'm also intrigued by the popularity of the split macro plans, which would probably come out similar to Adam's if I did keep up the fruits/carb options.
So, there's the gist of it. Like I said NROL starts this week. I finished TTT today and am still sore from the reverse lunges on Thurs (2x24 day) but it's not getting above zero this weekend and I'm going stir crazy so I think I'll be trying out some Metabolic Overdrive on my trusty recumbant bike tomorrow.
Hey, mom2w,
Welcome to the training forum. Very interesting story about your weight loss. I wish you luck on this next phase of your training. Nice to have you posting.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
Hi, Mom2w--and welcome to the forum! That's a very inspiring story you have--and a wonderfully supportive husband, too. Finding balance in all things is harder than anything--a daily struggle, when you'd think it shouldn't be. I read what you wrote in Julie's log about the period in your life when you were so restricting that family gatherings for you meant standing off to the side, refusing practically everything on the table. I've been that way.
So I hope you find Adam's diet--or something like that--to be the program that works for you and allows you at the same time to enjoy some of life's fun times where food is involved.
I got up and did Metabolic Overdrive on the bike at home. Nothing like sweating INDOORS when it's -37F windchill (a balmy -9F air temp).
Keeping to the Adam's guidelines so far. It's just easy to have a system for me. We're having pizza for the super bowl, but I did get a Papa Murphy's delite crusted one for MIL and I.
Great story ... I think Adam's will be great for you ... knowing that you obsess over the numbers like me, I think it will be a good balance. We need balance with kids in our lives!!
You will LOVE NROL ... that is one of my favorite programs in recent history ... I did Break-In, Fat Loss I and Fat Loss II.
M1: eggs/beaters w/cheese, ham & peppers
M2: skinless chicken, salad, few nuts
M3: apple & cheese
M4: Delite low carb pizza, salad, cheese & crackers, nuts & wine
Had a little more carby-ness at M4 during the game, but kept it in a shortish period of time (ie not wholesale snackfest) and wasn't hungry later on so I figured I'd had enough.
It was -16F this morning so I'm not sure when I'll be heading out to workout. Just doing another metabolic overdrive may be where it's at today. We'll see!
m1: eggs/beaters, peppers, spinach & cheese; peanuts
m2: chicken, salad, apple & cheese wedge
m3: frozen protein powder, water & blueberries
m4: taco salad (no shell), black beans, lots of veggies
m5: hot cocoa (low carb/sugar free), cheese stick
"It's frickin' freezing out there Mr. Bigglesworth!" -16F was just too dang brisk for me but I got a few chances to spend some time out there. MIL was visiting and we'd put her car in the garage. Of course, AFTER dh went to work, we tried to open the garage door (double wide, old & heavy) and it kept stopping. So, I had to push it up (couldn't do that last summer when dh was doing repairs!) Also, dh's wrangler wouldn't start so he took my car to work. It warmed up to about-3F in the afternoon so I tried & it started but killed just as I got it into the garage (not quite far enough to close the aforementioned garage door). So I got out and pushed it about 5ft. As I was pushing it I realized "hey! I'm pushing a car!!!" There are people who set this as a goal and I just went outside and did it! I also did AC's metabolic intervals on the bike and 30 min of power yoga.
Woke up to snow this morning and it hasn't stopped. I was going to go to the gym to workout, but the plows haven't been by yet and I know I have some serious shovelling to get to later on. So, I think I'll do some db circuit thingies inside, maybe ride the bike and get that 'fun' shovelling taken care of later on.
Hi, Mom2w--just saw your query to me in the Nutrition subforum:
Quote:
Sona: Have you tried this with a regular protein powder? It just seems like it might work but if you have already saved me a bad experience, that would be great to know too.
And the answer is that I have used whey protein powder in addition to egg white powder to make those muffins--but I have not used protein powder exclusively.
It wouldn't be that much of a disaster to give it a try--and if you do, let me know how it comes out, okay?
Well, to borrow a term I see around here "I'm a program ho!" too. I didn't even start NROL before I decided to go another direction for a month. I've done well on CW's programs for gaining strength and muscle. I was looking at 10x3 for fat loss and decided to give it the 4 weeks required and see what happens. You only lift twice a week, but there's a lot of interval type cardio and/or jumping rope. I think I'll give it a try and then move into NROL with a cleaner slate and try for more maintenance/strength gains than fat loss (I hate to be in fat loss stage!)
As for diet, I'm really working on dialing that in. When I look at other diet programs, I start tweaking them in my head until they end up looking pretty much like Adam's-- so that's probably why I keep coming back to that one. However, I think I may to try to get a little more drastic in my carb cutting for at least a week. I ate Atkins induction style for almost a year and lost 75# that way so it's not bad. I messed up by not going through the levels all that great like I should have (but I was focussed on short term goals - weight loss -- not long term). So I'm hoping I can do induction for 1-2 weeks and then start adding in like I should have. I know that Cassandra Forsythe says you can do PWO nutrition without carbs so we'll see how that goes. If I'm only lifting heavy 2x/week, I should be good on this.
So the great experiment begins! I've gone slower with lifting for almost a week but have been doing metabolic overdrive every day so I haven't been sluffing. My body feels better and ready/anxious to get back and kick some weights around. I'll post results later on.
Front squats: 45#x5; 65#x5; 75#x3x10sets
Chin ups: bwx3x10sets (partials by the end)
Deadlifts: 45#x5; 105#x3x10
Dips: 7 plate (34# assist)x3x10 sets
Cycle sprints: 10min w/60slow-30fast intervals (roughly 60rpm to 120rpm)
Had a pumpkin pie pwo shake. 1/4c pumpkin with 1 scoop PP in water. Came out to 4 net carbs and 22g protein. I can live with that. Pumpkin pie spice & a shot of davinci sf vanilla flavored it up nicely.
When you are eating very low carb (induction-level), do you have the energy to lift? I found that once I started lifting, I had to eat more carbs. Otherwise I simply didn't have the energy to do it. Now I do a post workout drink (Surge) and eat the rest of my meals low carb w/lots of veggies and some fruit but still little or no grains (sometimes I have oatmeal). I feel much better with more energy, but I've stalled on fat loss.
Jill: I haven't stuck with a true induction level of carbs while I've been lifting real weights (I did machines & lots of cardio during my weight loss period) so I don't know for sure yet. With only 2 wt w/os each week on this program, I'm hoping that will help. It's basically d1-wt; d2-jump rope (JR); d3-off; d4-wt; d5-off; d6-jr; d7-off. My goal is to keep carbs as low as possible. If I need to up it a little, I will. Maybe it would be easier to look at it as a protein+veggies diet that isn't afraid of fat?
Thanks Sona!
I feel like I'm so cooped up inside this week (hence the time online). We're up to a rockin' 4F right now -- higher than it's been in days! The kids need lessons each morning on why they need to bundle up for school -- I just keep reminding them of the frostbite pictures from that Mt Everest show on Discovery last fall. Gross!
Busy weekend but it got warmer! We actually went to the gym without heavy jackets since it was 12F! silly northerners.
Anyway, I came to the conclusion that keto was great when I was "just losing weight" but there's no way to lift heavy enough that way. I spent part of the weekend re-reading the nutrition parts of Muscle Revolution and NROL and coming to some conclusions on my own.
1) I'm not fat (but then I knew that), I just have a little extra fat on me right now that I'm trying to budge. That makes me goals a little different than most people trying to lose weight.
2) I have a family; I need to make them #1 and not worry so much about myself. I don't mean sacrificing myself or being a martyr. But, dh & the kids wanted to try a new pizza place on Sat. Old Brenda would say "ok, but I'm getting a salad instead". This used to get dh upset because he hates paying for overpriced lettuce the rare night (usually only 1x/week) we go to a restaurant. He's right; if it's not all the time, it should be worth the money. New Brenda said "ok, pizza. I don't have to stuff myself AND I don't have to rush home and eat something to make up for the lack of veggies." I mean, seriously, throwing extra calories on the fire just because they're better for me?
3) I know what "clean" eating is for all phases of the workout year -- cutting, bulking, maintaining, etc. I know what foods are really healthy for me and which aren't and which are somewhere in the middle. If I eat reasonable portions of good for me foods, it's better mentally for me than being so specific about macros, etc.
4) Unless I go nuts on protein snacky meats & cheese, etc. low carb diets (like Adam's) end up with the same macro breakdowns as the 40-30-30 or 33-33-33 diets favored by Lou or Chad more or less (in my experience). That's where I know it's not totally about macros; it's about food choices. That carb chunk is better from fruits & veggies than from bread & crackers.
5) I need to track what I eat, but not super anally so. I have a little notebook. I write down what I've eaten throughout the day. I'm not tracking portion sizes (I know what's good or bad) or times.
6) I know that I tend to use the 5-6 meals/day thing as an excuse to eat when by body doesn't need food. I've been trying to eat more intuitively and I'm seeing results and not feeling hungry in between. I re-read Dave Barr's 21st Century Eating the other day and really saw that in his articly.
So basically, I'm eating good foods, in reasonable portions, when my body asks for them. How cool is that? :-)
Workouts are going pretty good though too. 10x3 FFL calls for 10 min of jumping rope (last fri). It was way too cold to even go jump in the garage so I decided to do jumping jacks instead. Of the 10 min, at least 5 were jacks and the rest were jumping, twisting, high knee jogging around the house -- never stopping. The next morning I could barely get out of bed. The jumping jacks were rough on my ankles and knees during the exercise, but my calves are STILL screaming! They felt better when I did some bike intervals on Sat & lifted on Sun (must stretch them the right way) so I think I'm going to sub AC's metabolic overdrive for the jumping.
Sunday's workout:
Squat: 10x3x75#
BB Bentover row: 1x3x45#; 1x3x55#; 8x3x65# (I used the oly bar for the first time and was surprised at that number)
Rom BB Deadlift: 5x3x115#; 5x3x125#
OH DB presses: 2x3x20#; 8x3x25#
Treadmill intervals: 10 min; 60sec slow/30sec fast; 4mph/8mph
I felt like I could have gone a little faster, but was worried about my calves so figured that was a good number -- I don't think I've ever gone faster than 8.3 anyway.
Today: metabolic overdrive on the bike plus TONS of housecleaning. Why do I bother to clean up on Fridays when the family is home all weekend and I just have to do it more on Mondays? Oh well...
Busy weekend but it got warmer! We actually went to the gym without heavy jackets since it was 12F! silly northerners.
Anyway, I came to the conclusion that keto was great when I was "just losing weight" but there's no way to lift heavy enough that way. I spent part of the weekend re-reading the nutrition parts of Muscle Revolution and NROL and coming to some conclusions on my own.
1) I'm not fat (but then I knew that), I just have a little extra fat on me right now that I'm trying to budge. That makes me goals a little different than most people trying to lose weight.
2) I have a family; I need to make them #1 and not worry so much about myself. I don't mean sacrificing myself or being a martyr. But, dh & the kids wanted to try a new pizza place on Sat. Old Brenda would say "ok, but I'm getting a salad instead". This used to get dh upset because he hates paying for overpriced lettuce the rare night (usually only 1x/week) we go to a restaurant. He's right; if it's not all the time, it should be worth the money. New Brenda said "ok, pizza. I don't have to stuff myself AND I don't have to rush home and eat something to make up for the lack of veggies." I mean, seriously, throwing extra calories on the fire just because they're better for me?
3) I know what "clean" eating is for all phases of the workout year -- cutting, bulking, maintaining, etc. I know what foods are really healthy for me and which aren't and which are somewhere in the middle. If I eat reasonable portions of good for me foods, it's better mentally for me than being so specific about macros, etc.
4) Unless I go nuts on protein snacky meats & cheese, etc. low carb diets (like Adam's) end up with the same macro breakdowns as the 40-30-30 or 33-33-33 diets favored by Lou or Chad more or less (in my experience). That's where I know it's not totally about macros; it's about food choices. That carb chunk is better from fruits & veggies than from bread & crackers.
5) I need to track what I eat, but not super anally so. I have a little notebook. I write down what I've eaten throughout the day. I'm not tracking portion sizes (I know what's good or bad) or times.
6) I know that I tend to use the 5-6 meals/day thing as an excuse to eat when by body doesn't need food. I've been trying to eat more intuitively and I'm seeing results and not feeling hungry in between. I re-read Dave Barr's 21st Century Eating the other day and really saw that in his articly.
So basically, I'm eating good foods, in reasonable portions, when my body asks for them. How cool is that? :-)
We ARE soul sisters!! This is basically where I am at too ... although I'm sure I carry a bit more fat than you ... I have about 20# (+/-) to get rid of ...
I got on the scale this morning (1 week into 10x3FFL) and it hadn't changed at all. :-( Officially, my weigh in day is Wed but I was curious. I think AF may be coming soon (weird cycles) so that could play into it. Also, I decided to take a few measurements just to see and my waist is down almost 1" since late January!!! I thought things were fitting a little better, but I'd still like to see a lb or two off the scale weight!!! I bought cottage cheese and yogurt the other day. I only had 1 serving of each on any day, but I think they kind of bloat me. I noticed a difference when they were back in my diet. moreso the CC than the yogurt. Guess it's something to keep an eye on.
No way I was doing jumping jacks today -- I can finally almost walk normal in the am. I did cycle sprints for 11 min. 1min slow; 30sec fast. I compared this to my normal 19min metabolic overdrive and I covered the same distance in 10min on both programs so I guess I have two good options now, depending on time available.
I got on the scale this morning (1 week into 10x3FFL) and it hadn't changed at all. :-( Officially, my weigh in day is Wed but I was curious. I think AF may be coming soon (weird cycles) so that could play into it. Also, I decided to take a few measurements just to see and my waist is down almost 1" since late January!!! I thought things were fitting a little better, but I'd still like to see a lb or two off the scale weight!!! I bought cottage cheese and yogurt the other day. I only had 1 serving of each on any day, but I think they kind of bloat me. I noticed a difference when they were back in my diet. moreso the CC than the yogurt. Guess it's something to keep an eye on.
No way I was doing jumping jacks today -- I can finally almost walk normal in the am. I did cycle sprints for 11 min. 1min slow; 30sec fast. I compared this to my normal 19min metabolic overdrive and I covered the same distance in 10min on both programs so I guess I have two good options now, depending on time available.
Have a great one!
Brenda
Hi Brenda--
Just to let you know, I'll be following your log as well... I have had similar problems with no scale loss and very weird menstrual cycles so I can relate. I'm doing the get shredded diet now with low carb/high fat x 13 days then refeed on day 14; this has resulted in some scale and body fat loss for me.
Unfortunately, I am also someone who performs better with carbs on board, so running and such is challenging. I don't think I lost anything on FL... I really think men have an easier time in that regard. Oh well.
Now, you seem to be getting some hella snow... where do you live?
We're having a strange winter too ... I miss my snow!!! What we just had doesn't count because most of it is sleet and today it is just a hard crust ... BAH!!!
Started week 2 of 10x3FFL today. There's something about leaving the gym and thinking "I only need to do that 2 more times before I'm done" that lets you know you did well. I did noticed that my chin ups are getting more difficult for some reason. I can get through all 30, but the last few sets are kind of sissy chins. Rocked on the front squats though -- below parallel for all! Only 75#, but I felt them. Up to 125# on the regular deads too. It seemed kind of pitiful when the woman next to me loaded up the BIG plates on her bar for deads and then added a few more plates! Nice to see that!
Somehow I've ended up reading some of the Anabolic Diet thread at t-nation. Anyone familiar with it? Seems like it might be do-able moreso than GSD even though it's similar. It's 5 days low carb followed by 2 days carb up. Dh told me this morning that he's starting to cut next thurs and wants lower carb lunches & dinners. hmmm... I love bacon & eggs! :-)
Started week 2 of 10x3FFL today. There's something about leaving the gym and thinking "I only need to do that 2 more times before I'm done" that lets you know you did well. I did noticed that my chin ups are getting more difficult for some reason. I can get through all 30, but the last few sets are kind of sissy chins. Rocked on the front squats though -- below parallel for all! Only 75#, but I felt them. Up to 125# on the regular deads too. It seemed kind of pitiful when the woman next to me loaded up the BIG plates on her bar for deads and then added a few more plates! Nice to see that!
Somehow I've ended up reading some of the Anabolic Diet thread at t-nation. Anyone familiar with it? Seems like it might be do-able moreso than GSD even though it's similar. It's 5 days low carb followed by 2 days carb up. Dh told me this morning that he's starting to cut next thurs and wants lower carb lunches & dinners. hmmm... I love bacon & eggs! :-)
Caution, Brenda:
Anabolic diet, ultimate diet, and others with prolonged carb ups are big old bingefests for many--including myself... Proceed with caution if you do it.
Additionally, I believe I have read in several places that women just don't NEED that much of a refeed... I don't have the links, but that factoid is stuck in my brain. So, I might be casting a black pearl here, but I don't think so.
Your workouts look great. Compete with yourself and not the person next to you in the gym (easy to say, hard sometimes to do, I know...) and you will always have a true measure of how you're doing.
That sounded vaguely karate kid-esque, didn't it? LOL!
Tina: I appreciate your input. In reading through that massive AD thread at T, I'd find women coming & going but then falling off faster than the men. The big refeed did bother me so I was toying with the idea of having a 1 day refeed rather than the big one. I just constantly find myself going back & forth between eating low carb --which I love--and eating balanced (ala zone-ish) which gives me some freedom. Lately I've read a lot about successes with carb cycling in various forms so that's what sent me on this tangent. Best of both worlds? I dunno. Currently I'm only lifting 2 days a week so I'm a bit more flexible. Or maybe I should just trust my instincts! LOL
I lifted yesterday and it felt really good. I got an mp3 player for Christmas and it's amazing what a difference it makes in my workouts. I can really zone in when I need to and feel like a casual observer to life in the gym when I'm resting. Weights didn't move up at all this workout, but there's this intangible feeling of lifting better at the same weight that I really felt.
A few more women were really lifting yesterday too. (really= compound lifts with effort applied type of stuff). I remember being so intimidated to be amongst those big men in the free weights when I started. I love that more women are invading that zone. When there's a big influx of new members, you always get these guys who seem stunned that a 'girl' would be over there and they get a little cocky (even when most of the 'girls' are lifting heavier than they are!) but the regulars are used to it and don't stare or intimidate any more. Yeah!
Kids are off school today so I need to get moving here. I promised them the zoo if we get the rest of our homework/housework done before lunch.
Brenda, yes, that would be cool to see other women doing the "big" lifts too ... when I belonged to a gym, the only time I went over to the side with the machines was when I needed the cable-crossover unit ... I have always loved free weights, but am just now really getting into the big lifts like squats (w/ BB), deadlifts, and the olympic lifts (love the clean!) ...
Julie: Yeah on the big lifts for you! They are sooo empowering; it's hard to describe how cool is it. When I started at this gym, I was around 200# so just walking to the FW area was kind of cardio for me! LOL For the most part I love my gym -- and I work there too so I'd better! We do have a few women who are powerlifters and they are AMAZING to watch! One day one of them & her husband helped me with my squat form and it's been so much better for me. I use less weight than I thought I could before, but I can get really deep and don't feel it in my knees at all.
Lifting twice a week is starting to get old! I miss getting in there and working hard. The program is 4 weeks long and today is day 7 of week 2 so I'm halfway in. Scale still won't move, but my body is definately shifting shape so maybe I'm on the verge of scale weight movement down?
Dh starts cutting tomorrow so that's really going to force the diet to clean up more. He's going lower carb so that helps so much not to have his "things" in the house. It's easier to stay away from the kid stuff. I had 1 Girl Scout Samoa cookie last night so now I'm done with those -- DD is a Brownie this year. I feel strong and in control and that's awesome!
How much HIIT do you think is good per week? On my current program, I do cycle sprints or treadmill intervals for about 10-13 min (varies by day) after lifting (2x/week). I've been doing 14-19min of bike intervals at home on at least 3, usually 4 other days. Could this hurt my progress? When I don't do something, I feel like I should be doing anything. I could swap out 1 day for Yoga every week. It's been warm this week so DS & I took the dog for a walk yesterday too. I don't feel burnt out, but sometimes that feeling sneaks up on you too.
Great Mardi Gras food last night! Shrimp, andouille sausage, tomatoes, garlic, onion, peppers, zucchini, celery in the slow cooker. Really filling but healthy too. Yummm....
How much HIIT do you think is good per week? On my current program, I do cycle sprints or treadmill intervals for about 10-13 min (varies by day) after lifting (2x/week). I've been doing 14-19min of bike intervals at home on at least 3, usually 4 other days. Could this hurt my progress? When I don't do something, I feel like I should be doing anything.
Hi Brenda, I just noticed your question and was wondering the very same thing myself last night. I'm interested to hear what the others think about it. So, if you don't mind, I'll be checking back.
Honestly I wouldn't do any long low intensity cardio unless you enjoy it or are training for some type of endurance event ... stick with intervals ... I believe current research supports 20-25 minutes as the ideal duration (including warm up and cool down) where you get good oxygen debt, but more doesn't give you exponentially more. I like to switch up the durations and modalities ... so some days I'll do 1 minutes work:2 minutes recover, other days 30:90 or 2:2 or 1:1 ... whatever my mood that day!! I will also do them like this ... (I have an elliptical and a bike at home)
Warm Up x 5 minutes on elliptical
30 seconds burpees:90 seconds elliptical x 8 (12 minutes)
Cool Down x 5 minutes on elliptical
22 minute workout
You can sub any compound bodyweight movement for the burpees, I just like those because they really get my heartrate up there ...
As for frequency ... I do 3-4 times per week max ... remember that MORE is not always better ... we improve during the rest periods, so those are important to take ... if you have a killer weight workout, you don't need to do the intervals after. If you feel the need to do something, go for a walk with the dog or play in the yard with the kids ...
Just my log
Finding balance in all things is harder than anything--a daily struggle, when you'd think it shouldn't be. I read what you wrote in Julie's log about the period in your life when you were so restricting that family gatherings for you meant standing off to the side, refusing practically everything on the table. I've been that way.
Linear Mode
