I'm new to this great forum and starting NROL4W today. I need a log to keep me accountable and also to hear ideas and get inspiration from all you knowledgeable people. I've enjoyed reading people's logs and other threads and think this place will be a great motivator.
I am a Atkins-dieter in recovery. I've been doing it for the past 3 years on and off and really loved it most of the time. However, it became less and less effective for me and I wanted to have something with I was more sure of and also could fit in around my life more easily. During my time doing Atkins I exercised a lot (though not much lifting) and lost about 35lbs.
I have since re-gained some of that and am keen to stop the creeping weight gain and get fitter again.
I've lifted before - did BFL in 2003ish and also really enjoyed bodypump classes when I was still a member of the gym.
Now my main exercise is American Kickboxing - I have a purple belt and I train around 3 times a week. I'll be doing NROL4W twice per week at first.
I'm 27, recently married F, and I am currently at 192lbs. My highest ever was 210lbs and lowest (and goal) is 168lbs. i'M 5'7. I'm a PhD student (with all the stress eating that entails!) and a fundraiser/researcher for the charity sector. I have hypothyroidism, which makes weight a bit of a battle
So, here goes Oh and I need to say, I am flirting with the idea of being vegetarian again, but think this is too drastic a change for now, but I am eating less meat than the plan recommends. Getting the right food and protein is something I need to keep my eye on.
Day 1:
Food:
B: Bran flakes with 3/4 cup 3% milk, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 tbsp raisins.
S1: 1/2 c hummus, 1 red pepper
L: Chef's salad, but without chicken and with an extra egg.
S2: 1 apple, 2 tbsps peanut butter (yum!)
D: Chicken and veg and brown rice planned.
Dessert (am I meant to have this every day?!) 3 squares Green & Black's 85% choclate and white tea.
This seems a lot of food, but I'm glad about that. Atkins supresses your appetite and I am not used to being hungry and this can lead to binging.
I need to put this through fitday and check it's all good, but any comments welcome.
Exercise:
AM: 15 mins stretching - pre-stretch, rotation and dynamic legs swings
Before lunch: 10 mins gentle floor exercises - pushups, squats, back extensions, crunches. 15 mins stretching.
PM: Planned 1.5 hr kickboxing class.
Hello and welcome!
I used to be a vegetarian also, for a long time but had to learn how to do it right because I didn't start out that way and became anemic! I know you said you're thinking about doing it again...let me know how it goes
__________________ "Create like a God, Command like a King, and Work like a Slave"-Constantin Brancusi
I remember doing Tae-bo (sp) and really enjoying it. Although like all of those programs it is setting on my video shelf at the moment, not doing a darn thing to help me lose weight! LOL
Look forward to keeping up with your journey
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If you weren't born drop dead gorgeous, be thankful for the opportunity to develop character first.
Welcome! I've never done Atkins (other than years and years ago and only lasted 5 days) but I've been trying to eat as much protein as I can at a deficit and I'm rarely hungry too. Good luck with NROLFW too!
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lost Dog
Plus, my desire to remain stunningly attractive outweighs the call of the cheesecake. mostly...
Hello Poppiepixie, Hazel2009, Katiedid77 and Gen! Thanks for the kind welcomes :-)
Hazel2009 - I tried to go veggie last year and went totally anemic, so I need to keep my eye on that. I haven't been able to give blood since, and that's how i found out!
Katiedid77 - I LOVE Tae Bo! Billy Blanks is great for working up and sweat. The kickboxing I do is more a martial arts training thing, but cardio kb can be great for blah days. Thanks for the congrats too.
Today's log:
Food:
B: 2 fried eggs (tiny bit of butter), 2 slices bacon. (Book says 4 slices Canadian bacon, but have no idea what this means).
S1: 2 ricecakes with cheese and ham
L: Tuna and avocado salad
S2: Almonds and raisins
D: Quorn mince chilli
DS: Pear
Also will be having maximuscle shake after first lift. Will be doing the very first workout this pm with my husb. Will log weights.
Food:
B: 2 fried eggs (tiny bit of butter), 2 slices bacon. (Book says 4 slices Canadian bacon, but have no idea what this means).
Canadian bacon is much more like the meaty part of real (aka British or Danish) bacon.
American bacon is streaky bacon.
They're making the distinction because Canadian is much leaner than American (and I'm guessing book is published in the States), especially if you're doing it under the grill.
What most American's call Canadian bacon is called back bacon elsewhere.
American/streaky bacon is made from pork belly. here is what wisegeeks says:
Quote:
Canadian bacon is a pork product. The foods described by the term “Canadian bacon” are very different, depending on where in the world the consumer is. This can sometimes lead to confusion, especially for travelers. In the United States, “Canadian bacon” is a salted and cured meat much like conventional bacon. In much of Canada and Great Britain, however, “Canadian bacon” is an entirely different food, cured and treated in a different way before sale. Availability of the two different types of bacon varies, depending on one's location.
In flavor, appearance, and texture, Canadian bacon is closer to ham than it is to bacon. The meat is lean, slightly sweet, and juicy. Unlike regular bacon, Canadian bacon does not crisp up in its own fat while it is being cooked. The meat is meant to be served in a soft, juicy stage of cooking, and it will be dry and tasteless if it is allowed to crisp up. It is also usually served in thicker wedges than those used for conventional bacon
The cured pork product which Americans know as Canadian bacon is usually called back bacon in other parts of the world. It is made from the loin cut, which is in the center of the pig's back. As a result, the bacon is much leaner than conventional bacon. Back bacon is prepared in the same way as conventional bacon, with a salting and smoking process intended to cure the meat. Slightly more sugar is usually used, lending a sweet quality to Canadian bacon.
Canadian bacon is Ham (basically). I can guarantee you that a Southerner didn't name it. Here in the South we KNOW what real bacon is, and it has lots of white fat streaks in it
Heck, at my house we always bought the 5 lb boxes of 'ends and pieces' and just jumbled them up in the pan, and let em' fry . . .
(that could be why I'm on a diet now)
__________________
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If you weren't born drop dead gorgeous, be thankful for the opportunity to develop character first.
Well a ham is the thigh or leg of the pig, cured. Back bacon is from the loin but it is cured very much like a ham rather than being plain ole pork. Ham might be an acceptable substitute for back bacon but back bacon runs a little leaner I think because it is from a leaner part of the animal. They definitely taste different on pizza (Canadian bacon vs. ham).
Well a ham is the thigh or leg of the pig, cured. Back bacon is from the loin but it is cured very much like a ham rather than being plain ole pork. Ham might be an acceptable substitute for back bacon but back bacon runs a little leaner I think because it is from a leaner part of the animal. They definitely taste different on pizza (Canadian bacon vs. ham).
Mmmm, pizza. I almost forgot about pizza. Thanks!
__________________
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lost Dog
Plus, my desire to remain stunningly attractive outweighs the call of the cheesecake. mostly...
Hey everyone thanks for the clarification on the bacon. I will have a look for back bacon and check how it compares to the nutritional info of Canadian bacon. Thanks for the links and info!
I am used to frying bacon (Atkins) so this will be a tastebud change for me. But being allowed hummus and dark choc more than makes up for it!
Hi Snarlla! Thanks for the welcome - best of luck with the programme!
OK, so I did the 1st workout yesterday with my hub Kev. He did the same as me and is not a fan of the stability ball...
So I did:
Warmup: jump rope 5 mins
Squats:
35lbs x 15
37lbs x 15
Pushups (alternating with leant over rows)
Knees on floor x 15
Proper pushups x 10
Rows:
6lbs x 15 (each arm)
11lbs x 15 (each arm)
Stepups (alternating with jacknives):
35lbs x 15
37lbs x 15
Jacknives:
BW x 15
BW x 15
Quite happy with this but felt like I need more weights and a barbell bar. I work out at home and 37lbs is the most I have (in dumbells and plate forms). Also a bit unsure about how to make the BW exercises (like jacknives) harder - do more reps? I'm going to head to the stickies in NROL4W and see what I can see.
Anyways, hope this works! Am feeling quite sick of being larger again and none of my clothes fit. Scale hasn't moved et, but I know better than to expect that yet - hopefully is water retention in the muscles.
Loving the food on this plan! Soooo many treats compared to Atkins and I actually like the taste of Maximuscle whey protein. Today:
B: Hearty protein oatmeal
S1: Hummus and bell pepper
L: Leftover quorn mince
S2: Mozzerella and tomato w dressing
D: Green lentils over mixed greens
Ds: Dark choc and white tea
I am kickboxing tonight 8.30-10pm which means a later dinner, but I got up really late (d'oh) so hopefully will be ok.
Am I right in thinking you are vegetarian? If so, I'd love to see a sample menu for you - I am thinking of going veggie again, btu wound up anemic last time I tried it.
but I see now that Gen already posted in here.. so no need to tell you she's from the UK. Other than that.. probably a few but Gen & Poppy are the only ones I can point a finger at.
If you go veggie again, just don't do it for health reasons as it is IMHO less healthy than when you aren't a vegetarian.. especially the non-veggie non-egg/dairy eating ones.. I used to be one of these 'carbivores' .. wrecked my B12-levels!
Epsi - I'm considering veggie for moral reasons. Not to be in the least preachy, but I'm not feeling happy about it. However, I think I might cause health probs, as you say because I have a tendency to aneamia and thyroid issues that make carbs not my friend. It'll be a trial and error thing.
Btinternet - Ooh, I love London and currently live in Hampshire I want to move to the big smoke...
Snarlla - I posted in your log. Thanks for the tips on the jacknives. I think my butt is not up enough. I can't watch the clip at work, but will check it at home.
realcdn - hello! I will track down Dixie, thanks.
NYC Native - hello, thanks for the welcome
Gen - I posted in your journal just now.
Poppypixie, thanks for that, I'll go check it out.
So day 4 have dawned. Food is on track but I've got to run to a meeting so will log it properly later.
Mercedes, it's almost scary but a lot of my online friends that have thyroid problems also have problems with gluten & dairy. In my case it probably also extends to legumes. Turning to a vegetarian lifestyle and getting in enough protein would be next to impossible unless you'd want to subsist on nothing but eggs, nuts, rice & quinoa .. & actually the nuts need to be really fresh too (older nuts give rise to problems too).. the best foods for me are fish, eggs, chicken & meat. I'm eating very little meat.. not so much because of moral reasons but because lean meat is expensive & cheap meat is too calorific. Unless I get rid of my candy-love that is.. there's always space to be made for fattier cuts of meat
But if you can deal with dairy & legumes w/o any problems, I don't see why you can't go vegetarian as long as you make sure to supplement with B12 and perhaps also carnitine & creatine.
Mercedes, it's almost scary but a lot of my online friends that have thyroid problems also have problems with gluten & dairy. In my case it probably also extends to legumes. Turning to a vegetarian lifestyle and getting in enough protein would be next to impossible unless you'd want to subsist on nothing but eggs, nuts, rice & quinoa .. & actually the nuts need to be really fresh too (older nuts give rise to problems too).. the best foods for me are fish, eggs, chicken & meat. I'm eating very little meat.. not so much because of moral reasons but because lean meat is expensive & cheap meat is too calorific. Unless I get rid of my candy-love that is.. there's always space to be made for fattier cuts of meat
But if you can deal with dairy & legumes w/o any problems, I don't see why you can't go vegetarian as long as you make sure to supplement with B12 and perhaps also carnitine & creatine.
Hi Espi,
Thanks for that info. May I ask how the problems with gluten and dairy manifest themselves? Sorry if is TMI but I am starting to wonder if something is upsetting me (in an IBS way) and this is what led to the anemia. I know that the Aktins diet suited me so much, and that could be because it lacked gluten and legumes (on the whole). I seem fine with dairy, however, because I ate a LOT of cheese and still felt good.
I feel like it is a bit of a battle between my health and my conscience to be honest - and the health has won before (twice).
Says: "Coeliac disease is also called gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity. It's an
auto-immune disease, which means the body's immune system attacks itself."
Which might explain why it goes with thyroid problem - in my case it was my immune system attacking the thyroid.
I have had a test for coelic - and it showed nothing. However I guess a sensitivity could still be present.
I need to do more reading around this, but thanks for bringing it up - it is something I tend to ignore, just for lack of certainty.
You said what I was going to write up.. having thyroid problems = an auto-immune disease.
Diabetes yet another one.
Quite often there will be combinations like my MIL had both Hashimoto's & Sjögren (she died).
Celiac is another auto-immune disease. You can have gluten intolerance but not have celiac as this implies having antibodies against celiac.. but maybe those never showed up for me as they didn't tell me I had to expose myself for several weeks to gluten (and I was already avoiding gluten at the time)
Atkins was absolutely a GODSEND to anyone with auto-immune problems be it diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis (yep, another one) and a gazillion other related problems.. since going to a very low carb diet will suppress your immune system which is overactive for everyone who has an auto-immune disease. And then of course just the simple thing of avoiding grains & legumes which are a major cause of food intolerances.
The other side of the coin is that whenever you are hit by a disease.. you are f*ked up really hard as your immune system is not really up to snuff.. that's why everyone who trains balls to the walls like all true athletes or foolish wannabes who eat too little & train too hard are constantly sick or on the verge of being sick.
Can you imagine what happens when an ambitious person tries a VLC diet and wants to perform to the max at the same time?? A catastrophe will happen if you are not doing refeeds..
The catastrophe for me was that I got an infinitesimally rare disease spondylodiscitis.. the day after inserting an IUD (Mirena) I got so sick (from food poisoning) that I couldn't get out of bed on my own and had to be carried.. 10 days later I was hospitalized and operated upon.. 2 days further and I'd have been paralyzed and in a wheelchair for life.
That's one of the major risks of combining sports with going too low in calories & carbs.. it wrecks havoc on your immune system... don't EVER even think of doing it.
Anyways.. there was a really happy end to it as I'm stronger & leaner than ever before, except that I no longer cycle (too stiff). But I really made calorie tracking into an art because of it and will sooner err on the side of overeating than of overtraining again. You're better off taking the very slow & safe route of wt loss than going too hard.. you might end up hurting yourself.
Turning into a vegetarian is another way of 'hurting' yourself as nice as sympathetic the idea may be.
Glad you are better now Epsi, though sorry to hear about your MIL. I read your post yesterday and again today. The first time I took from it that low cal is bad (VLC = very low calorie, right?) but re-reading it I see you mean too low in cals or carbs is dangerous? Am I understanding you right? What is your opinion of going low carb and high calories? Just pondering this because I did it for 3 years and felt a lot better than I do now... BUT it is only day 5 here.
I talked this over with my Mum and husband yesterday and they both think the veggie idea is not good given the trouble I've had.
Anyhoo, food for yesterday:
B: Breakfast shake (from the book). Didn't love the peanut better in this.
S1: 2 rice cakes with cheese and ham.
S2: Fruit salad (unplanned)
L: Leftover green lentils and salad with feta. Really liked this, BUT made me bloated - I either have an issue with carrots or lentils (or both!). I've had suspicions about carrots before, so need to trial this.
S2: apple and peanut butter
D: 2 Quorn burgers with cheese, low fat mayo, courgette and kale
No dessert in order to balance the random fruit salad.
TOO much cheese!
Exercise: 1.5 hr kickboxing personal training. Ouchy.
Today, day 5.
Food:
B: Breakfast burritto - used corn tortilla instead of wholewheat - need to track some of these down. Didn't love this, will use musrooms instead of onion and tomato next time.
S1: Hummus and red pepper
L: Tuna sandwich and salad
S2: Nuts and raisins
D: Salmon, broccoli and brown rice.
DS: dark choc and tea.
Exercise: Planning to do my first workout B with husband later.
I'd probably say that too low in calories is much more dangerous than going very low in carbs, but I did mean VLCarb . It would probably depend on the 'net' carbs.
Not net carbs in the sense of subtracting fiber carbs but by looking at activity level .. someone can be very inactive & not even be in deep ketosis at say 40 gram of carbs while someone engaging in an 8-hr bike ride (not uncommon for me at the time) would be in deep ketosis at even over 150g of carbs for the day.
See the difference?
You asked before how problems manifest themselves re gluten & dairy.
For dairy it's more an allergy = immediate nasal drip, sometimes diarrhea (when OD-ing on lactose = also intolerance) & skin problems around mouth & on feet.
For gluten it's very weird..short-term memory can go down the drain within hours, but prolonged exposure does mean a painful gut when the villi are being abrased by the gluten.
Read up on 'leaky gut syndrome' & lectins etc.
I'd probably say that too low in calories is much more dangerous than going very low in carbs, but I did mean VLCarb . It would probably depend on the 'net' carbs.
Not net carbs in the sense of subtracting fiber carbs but by looking at activity level .. someone can be very inactive & not even be in deep ketosis at say 40 gram of carbs while someone engaging in an 8-hr bike ride (not uncommon for me at the time) would be in deep ketosis at even over 150g of carbs for the day.
See the difference?
You asked before how problems manifest themselves re gluten & dairy.
For dairy it's more an allergy = immediate nasal drip, sometimes diarrhea (when OD-ing on lactose = also intolerance) & skin problems around mouth & on feet.
For gluten it's very weird..short-term memory can go down the drain within hours, but prolonged exposure does mean a painful gut when the villi are being abrased by the gluten.
Read up on 'leaky gut syndrome' & lectins etc.
Thanks for that information Espi. I need to read around this and have a big ponder.
I see the difference with the carbs and exercise. When I did Atkins I found it hard to eat above 40g carbs per day and not gain weight, despite exercising 1 or 2 hours a day. It got very frustrating.
Having said that I feel pretty bad right now and need to elminate whatever it is that it upsetting me.
Anyhoo, Day 9 here and I'm 2lbs down to 190lbs.
Fod has been mostly good, but I still haven't done workout B for various reasons. Will be doing it tonight.
Am going away for 4 days to the inlaws where food is always a bit of a struggle - I'm going to take some snacks and protein powder and just try not to go crazy (they eat a lot, but infrequently).
I've got bad back and neck pain at the moment, so will have to take it easy with the upper body portion of workout B.
One meal, one workout, one decision at a time
Oh and I need to say, I am flirting with the idea of being vegetarian again, but think this is too drastic a change for now, but I am eating less meat than the plan recommends. Getting the right food and protein is something I need to keep my eye on.
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