Tenacious DM and the Log of Destiny

[DirtyMartini]

OK that was a lot of smilie faces in that post.

The tornado sirens were going off this evening; I guess a tornado touched ground in the area around 8pm. It was gorgeous today - about 80 degrees and sunny... and then around 8 or so, as the sun was going down, the sky turned all brownish-yellow and strange, and you could smell the ozone in the air. Shortly thereafter, the thunder & lightening began and rain started to hit the ground...

I am probably one of the few people to say this but - I love the weather in the midwest. Snow, ice, thunder, humidity, hot sun, wind gusts, tornadoes, crisp fall days, rainy spring days, we get it all.... pretty cool.

[smellyarmpitsarehot]

I am new to the NROLW(stage 1: 6) and to TNT (day 2). I have really enjoyed reading your log. Just wanted to stop by and say hey because I will probably need your seasoned advise as I encounter issues along the way with TNT. I think it's great that you have the support of your bf. Mine is anti-low carb in a pretty passionate way which makes it harder. How did you remedy the constipation issue?

[DirtyMartini]

FAT. I increased the fat in my diet and I eat flax seed on a daily basis. That pretty much solved it.

missjane is a great wealth of TNT knowledge as well, so be sure to pop in to her log & post in the TNT recipes forum.

[DirtyMartini]

I bench pressed 100 pounds today.

So excited. I did my bench presses before my workout instead of after (per the bf's suggestion), and I think that made a big difference.

Bench Press: 5x45, 5x65, 1x95, 1x100

Stage 4, Workout B3
I still really like the B workout.

Wide-grip deadlift
1x8x115
1x8x120
1x6x120

Bulgarian split squat
3x8x25

Underhand grip lat pulldown
3x8x90

Reverse lunge
3x8x17.5e

Prone cuban snatch
3x8x10e

swiss ball crunch
3x8x17.5 overhead

reverse crunch
3x8 w/swiss ball between knees

lateral flexion
3x8, #3

prone cobra
3x120s

cool down: static stretching

[Bytsi]

I bench pressed 100 pounds today.

I knew you could do it

[beach_plums]

Excellent on the 100lb bench press!

[DirtyMartini]

Thank you!! I'm pretty damn proud of myself. Sometimes I felt like just giving up & letting the other woman do the competition. But that would be going back to my old ways of not pushing myself to do something that I will later enjoy. I am so competitive with myself; I know this will be enjoyable for me. I just want to place!

In other news, I was talking to my mom last night, telling her that my stomach is nearly flat now (aside from some loose skin that should tighten up in a while)... and that I noticed yesterday when I was washing my hands in the bathroom at work, you could see my muscles moving around in my upper & lower arms, and that was so cool. Know what my mom said? "Be careful! You don't want to fall in love with yourself!"



I told her that I thought it was really cool that I could control my body and see how it reacts to the different things I eat & workouts I do. And that seeing my muscles in the mirror was a novelty. She didn't really respond to my comments but I could tell that she disapproves.

It's no wonder I've spent my entire life feeling bad about myself. I've been taught my whole life that feeling good about myself (either via personal accomplishments or physical appearance) is a negative, self-absorbed emotion that is wrong.

I was mad after I got off the phone, but also cognizant of where I learned a lot of my self-doubt and negativity. It felt good to be able to separate myself from her comments and recognize that what she said has nothing to do with me. Grr.

[DirtyMartini]

Picture time!

April 6th vs. May 4th.



I'm so excited my tummy is finally flattening. I'm starting to get the line going down the middle of my torso. YES!



It's hard to get the angle consistent between months, but the difference I see here is flatter tummy, more apparent upper abs.



My waist keeps getting narrower & narrower. Funny that i used to always think I just had "no waist" ... turns out it was because I had a bunch of fat there.

And there's that curve in the triceps. I love it! I love that my arms are getting shapely.

[DirtyMartini]

Oh, and I've gained a pound since the last weigh-in - from 145 to 146. I'm pretty sure it's not fat, though.

[Libellula]

you look great!!

[LWilson212]

Your pictures look great!

I hear you about learning a lot of negativity about myself from my mom and her remarks. She is always so hung up on her flaws and how she has to hide them with the right clothes or whatever.
We went to Shawn's dad's house yesterday and his stepmom told me "just don't get any bigger or you'll look like a man" blah blah blah. I think what people do not realize is working out hard with the goal of learning to feel good about yourself is so freeing and empowering.

[DirtyMartini]

Sheesh! Isn't it funny, though, that even as we pretty clearly get smaller, we get told not to get any bigger.

Besides... do I look like a man to you?!! You certainly don't look like one to me!

I'll post measurements later. John's using the computer that has our spreadsheet

[DirtyMartini]

Measurements. % change is between 3/9 and 5/4. I didn't do measurements when I first started tracking 2/4, so my changes are more than likely greater than this. (I know at the very least i was around 152 pounds)

Not sure why the big jump in chest measurement, but I have seen a lot of change in that area (both front AND back) so... who knows.

[beach_plums]

You look great!
I can relate to the negativity from my mom too. She really falls into the group of people who think Hollywood skinny is the most attractive look (insert my sister here). When I gained a lot of weight, she told me I was fat. Now that I've lost weight and put on muscle, she constantly warns me not to start looking like a man. I've gotten to the point where I can just laugh it off. I really like having muscles and love the way I look now, especially compared to when I was super skinny and when I was overweight.
Don't you love being able to see your muscles moving when you do everyday tasks like washing your hands!

[kfisherx]

Congrats on the pound of weight gain!! It definatley is not fat. You are making really fast changes if those pics are only 30 days apart. Wow.

My girl friend told me a few months back that I was getting too muscley for her tastes but yesterday she saw me again (after a few weeks) in my gym clothes and she could not stop ranting about how good my body looked. A fit body is an awesome body.

[DirtyMartini]

Thank you thank you!! I can't wait to be lean. someday!

Today was day #1 on precision nutrition. 1850 calories and I wasn't hungry all day long. Here's what I ate:

B: 6 eggwhite omelet + 1 egg with spinach, mushrooms, & tillamook cheese, ham & onions
S: cucumber/tomato salad & protein bar (homemade)
L: spinach salad with roasted chicken on top
S: romaine lettuce with tuna salad mix on top (tuna, mayo, green olives, pickles, onions, bell pepper, mustard)
Workout drink: 40g protein shake
D: 1/3lb elk patty with spinach salad & roasted tomato dressing
S: 1/2 protein shake ("turtle" shake)

macros broke down into 49/40/11, protein/fat/carbs whee!

[DirtyMartini]

Last A workout of stage 4! Moving right along
Bench Press
5x45
5x65
3x75
1x95
0x105 - I tried! I got it about 4" above my chest and then it just stopped... next time!

Stage 4, A4
Front squat/push press
1x6x57
1x8x57
1x7x57 (couldn't quite eek that last one out!)

Step-up
3x8 @17.5e

Dumbbell one-point row
3x8 @30e

Static lunge, rear foot elevated
3x8 @20e

Push-up
3x8 (floor) no T-pushups today. The bench presses wore me out!

Plank
I have noticed that I've had a hard time with these lately. I think it's from the bench presses wearing me out as well as doing T-pushups last time. My triceps just give out about 90 seconds in. The lactic acid buildup is more pain than I can handle.
90 sec
105 sec
90 sec

skipped the woodchops. le sigh.

I am really amazed at how much more flexible I am, just from these routines. I can bend so much farther than I used to in my stretching. Love it.