Daily Check-In

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  • shiftynj
    shiftynj Posts: 103 Member
    Lottiotta wrote: »
    @shiftynj Ahhh, so it's not a very easy question to answer for an individual then. I'm not a woman but I've got a lot of oestrogen, so I'm guessing there would be a lot of similarities for me with women when it came to measuring whether it's fat loss or muscle loss or both.

    For me, I have noticed that my arms and legs are both slimmer, and I did have fat to lose there. I noticed my arms being slimmer this morning because I have a little more muscle definition, and it gave me a bit of a confidence boost in making me feel like lifting weights might help me look better. So that's a mark on the "fat loss" column, I guess. The slimmer legs part is a mystery. I've been walking more, so I'm hoping that's kept my muscle tone at least the same as it was before.

    I'm gonna be a bit more diligent with taking progress photos. A big part of my problem is I can't remember what my body looked like last month!

    Thanks for the info, @shiftynj. :)

    Yes photos and how your clothes are fitting are two ways to compare. Don't be upset if your weight goes up until you know what's causing it... by volume muscle weighs more than fat so you could be slimming down and still gaining pounds.
  • TonyTrink
    TonyTrink Posts: 38 Member
    Holy crap! Not only did NOT turn out to be 900 million thousand degrees out today, it's actually only around the mid 80's, which means I actually got to enjoy my walk today, but also, I managed to break through my 3.5 mph barrier and hit 4 mph! Now I'm completely drenched and can't wait to jump in the shower, but I'm pretty damn proud of myself! :)
  • acstl
    acstl Posts: 32 Member
    Way to go, Tony!
  • aleph_0
    aleph_0 Posts: 30 Member
    I'm back from vacation! Not doing so well with food, but I've gotten right back to exercising as much as I did before. Progress is glacial as usual, but then again I started out with basically no upper body strength at all, and any progress is better than no progress. Plus I really need to get more protein in general...

    Yesterday I went for another pathetic attempt at running, and I got lots of encouraging smiles from random passersby, which was nice. (I tell myself that no they were not feeling sorry for me...)
  • CompM
    CompM Posts: 47 Member
    Howdy. Took an unplanned rest day, probably because I overreached in training on a really hot day. Lethargic and cranky, but crappy pizza helped a bit. Was within my calories, too!
  • schneizilla
    schneizilla Posts: 66 Member
    I was taken into an office to be told that I have been promoted which is fantastic news.

    What?? Congratulations man! That's awesome :-D
  • robbie_1982
    robbie_1982 Posts: 21 Member

    What?? Congratulations man! That's awesome :-D

    Thanks mate - it was a nice surprise, just seem to have put in an extra hour a day since!
  • shiftynj
    shiftynj Posts: 103 Member

    What?? Congratulations man! That's awesome :-D

    Thanks mate - it was a nice surprise, just seem to have put in an extra hour a day since!

    Congratulations I'm sure it was well-deserved.

  • ryanp_942
    ryanp_942 Posts: 44 Member
    shiftynj wrote: »
    ryanp_942 wrote: »
    My gym buddy's arms have been getting noticeably bigger than mine in the last couple of weeks & i've been struggling to keep up so I invested in some matrix whey protein that I saw cheap on groupon. Eaten well within my goal today and don't feel too hungry, if only every day was like today! :)

    How do you guys compare size-wise, and how many calories are you eating on average?

    I'm eating ~1800 cals & we're both fairly medium build - he's slightly taller and eating a lot more calories since he's not trying to lose weight at the same time as build muscle, which is a little tricky :/
  • Lottiotta
    Lottiotta Posts: 162 Member
    For the past week I have been feeling really down, and using sweet treats as a lure to get me out of the house. Good for the whole fresh air and exercise, not so good for the calorie goals. ;) I'm also investigating my inability to ignore sweet stuff in my cupboard, since I have excellent discipline in every other aspect of my life. It will not surprise anyone to know that it looks like it has roots in my upbringing!

    Today is looking to be the second day in a very long time when I've not gone wayyyyy over my goals, so that's good. Plus I had a nap when I got tired, which is also good.

    I'm recovering from a shoulder injury so no shoulder-based workouts right now but I'm thinking about getting some of those resistance band thingies. I do have some weights but my main problem is my short attention span. I get so bored that I stop after a couple of sets at best! I'm wondering if I can do my workouts while watching TV, since that's how I knit and make zines and do my nails too and it works really well. It seems TV is the key to getting me to sit still and really *do* something. My cardio involves making a 30 minute playlist of awesome songs and dancing to them really hard, so something equivalent for strength training would be great, but I don't think just music on its own would work.

    So if anyone with an equally short attention span has any tips on how to not get bored while strength training, do alert me! :)
  • TonyTrink
    TonyTrink Posts: 38 Member
    A bit bummed out, haven't been able to walk the last two days due to torrential down pours here in Coastal NC. :( Ate well today! I grilled up a chicken breast after rolling it in yummy spices and herbs, cut it up in four strips, skewered them before grilling, and had yummmy meat on a stick with ramen noodles! Even made my own seasoned soup for the noodles instead of using the sodium drenched hypertension filled packets that come with those damn noodles. Really itching to go walking tomorrow, y'all wish me NO RAIN!!
  • wikkidwanda
    wikkidwanda Posts: 163 Member
    Lottiotta wrote: »
    .

    So if anyone with an equally short attention span has any tips on how to not get bored while strength training, do alert me! :)

    Actually, I have ADHD and as such, I find that I want to throw in the towel fairly quickly, so what I do is tell myself "one more song" or "5 more minutes"... by the time that 5 minutes is done, I tell myself to repeat it.... works for me. Hope that helps

  • annemmr
    annemmr Posts: 27 Member
    Sorry y'all, I took a 4 day anniversary weekend! Ate all the food, had all the fun, felt all the feels, I'm not even mad about the few pounds I tacked on, am sure I will take them back off.

    @Lottiotta my trainer measures the fat vs muscle on me when he does monthly body fat percentage measurements. It may not be exact but he uses the same method every time so I feel confident in the differences he sees in his measurements whether they would match another method, who knows, lol.

    So, I am back on track, I gained like 4 pounds over the weekend while my partner managed to lose a teeny bit. The injustice of it all!!! I have already dropped a bit and the rest will roll off with my regular training this week and hopefully next week I will start to make more progress.
  • ryanp_942
    ryanp_942 Posts: 44 Member
    edited August 2015
    Had a really good 2 days of eating within my goals & exercise, I notice that when I eat a big protein heavy breakfast I tend to have a good day without feeling too hungry and binging.

    @annemmr Right? How some people manage to eat twice the amount I do and not inflate is beyond me.

  • shiftynj
    shiftynj Posts: 103 Member
    annemmr wrote: »
    Sorry y'all, I took a 4 day anniversary weekend! Ate all the food, had all the fun, felt all the feels, I'm not even mad about the few pounds I tacked on, am sure I will take them back off.

    @Lottiotta my trainer measures the fat vs muscle on me when he does monthly body fat percentage measurements. It may not be exact but he uses the same method every time so I feel confident in the differences he sees in his measurements whether they would match another method, who knows, lol.

    So, I am back on track, I gained like 4 pounds over the weekend while my partner managed to lose a teeny bit. The injustice of it all!!! I have already dropped a bit and the rest will roll off with my regular training this week and hopefully next week I will start to make more progress.

    If you did a lot of restaurant eating, much of those 4 pounds could be salt-induced retention which will go away quickly.

    If the same trainer is doing your measurements (calipers?) and using the same instrument that is about as apples-to-apples as you can expect. There is something called displacement that is supposedly even more accurate, but it's complicated and likely expensive.
  • shiftynj
    shiftynj Posts: 103 Member
    annemmr wrote: »
    Sorry y'all, I took a 4 day anniversary weekend! Ate all the food, had all the fun, felt all the feels, I'm not even mad about the few pounds I tacked on, am sure I will take them back off.

    Oh, and happy anniversary!

  • aleph_0
    aleph_0 Posts: 30 Member
    Eating is going so-so, but I did get some lifting in this week. I switched from the programme that they gave me at my gym that just isn't doing anything for me to Stronglifts 5x5, and it's going okay so far :) I also started Couch to 5k because this is the week of "this way of doing things isn't working, start ALL THE STRUCTURED PROGRAMMES". I was afraid that I couldn't manage even that programme, since I'm very unfit (no really I can run for about 200m at a time), but it went just fine.

    I'm not losing weight, but I do keep reminding myself that this is not the goal here, the goal is to be able to run a 5k in the spring and lift more than my bodyweight, whatever my bodyweight should be, and to be able to go kayaking next year without ending up dead in the water due to no upper body strength.
  • Cbaker5156
    Cbaker5156 Posts: 76 Member
    I'm on my second week of diabetes. I've given up my sweet tea and am still mourning the loss. But I've been learning to eat low sugar and low fat. Lost 5 lbs so far. Blood sugar is going down. Not at goal yet but getting there. I'm determined to manage with diet. Fingers crossed.
  • Lottiotta
    Lottiotta Posts: 162 Member
    Thank you, @annemmr and @wikkidwanda. :)

    My daily check-in is... I just woke up! For the first time in a few weeks, I have been eating at a calorie deficit for three days running. I'm pleased with that but half-expecting to go over again today. The weird part is, for the entire time I was consistently eating over my calories burned, I was losing weight. -.- Hardly motivating!

    I'm considering getting some bottles of water that match my weight loss so that I can hold them all and see how much weight I've lost in "real" felt amounts. I am definitely finding it easier to move around, so that's cool. :)

    My main struggle is eating enough protein as a vegetarian. All the meat substitutes available to me are horrible or contain a lot of fat, and there's only so many eggs I can eat. Sometimes the most protein I eat in a meal is in the bread, but maybe that's okay?
  • wikkidwanda
    wikkidwanda Posts: 163 Member
    well, i just came back from a mini vacation... and I didn't eat well. i exercised in one form or another the entire time, however, I need to work on food again. sigh.
  • wikkidwanda
    wikkidwanda Posts: 163 Member
    Lottiotta wrote: »
    )

    My main struggle is eating enough protein as a vegetarian. All the meat substitutes available to me are horrible or contain a lot of fat, and there's only so many eggs I can eat. Sometimes the most protein I eat in a meal is in the bread, but maybe that's okay?

    what about beans or legumes? nuts? all of those are protien? avocados too i think.
  • zeroh13
    zeroh13 Posts: 19 Member
    Lottiotta wrote: »
    )

    My main struggle is eating enough protein as a vegetarian. All the meat substitutes available to me are horrible or contain a lot of fat, and there's only so many eggs I can eat. Sometimes the most protein I eat in a meal is in the bread, but maybe that's okay?

    what about beans or legumes? nuts? all of those are protien? avocados too i think.

    The good news is, you don't need meat substitutes or eggs to get enough protein as a vegetarian! Beans and legumes are indeed great ways to get it (and iron!), and they are low fat. Nuts are good too, they do have a lot of fat, but it's the good fat. Avocados actually don't have protein (though they are a good source of nutrients and healthy fat, and tasty too). I get most of my protein from things like soy milk, greek yogurt, spinach, peas, beans, and then protein powder on days I need a little boost to meet my goal. There are quite a few resources online if you want to get more ideas.
  • annemmr
    annemmr Posts: 27 Member
    Had a great weekend but I find it so hard to log in and do my regular routine on the weekends. All I want to do is play, lol! My joints ache from muy thai and soccer yesterday but gotta push through. MMA class tonight will help....I hope. My partner is doing amazing, just about at the 10 lb loss mark which is amazing. Me, I am kinda stuck bouncing up and down the same 5 lbs. Keepin on keepin on for now.
  • Lottiotta
    Lottiotta Posts: 162 Member
    @wikkidwanda @zeroh13 I've been vegetarian for quite a long time, so I am... *reasonably* aware of what's proteiny, though I am not amazing at it. Inspired by your comments I just looked up grams of protein per 100g for some things to put into my magical spreadsheet:

    Chick peas: 364 kcal, 19g protein
    Kidney beans: 333 kcal, 24g protein
    Baked beans: 155 kcal, 6g protein
    Avocados: 160 kcal, 2g protein

    And for comparison...

    Chicken breast: 46 kcal, 9g protein
    My favourite vegan schnitzels: 290 kcal, 15g protein
    Eggs: 143 kcal, 13g protein
    Cheddar cheese: 410 kcal, 25g protein
    Mozzarella cheese: 247 kcal, 18g protein

    To get 20g protein from chick peas I'd have to eat over 100g, and I just... couldn't face that!

    A big issue is I can't really eat a lot of beans before I start to lose the will to live. They're just so boring, even if you put loads of exciting sauce all over them! I do love soya beans though, for some reason. And petits pois. But I couldn't eat them every day.

    Cheese and eggs and more cheese, though, that I can stand. ;)
  • annemmr
    annemmr Posts: 27 Member
    Good news - hit the 10lb loss mark, yay!! Bad news - we are hosting pool parties the next two weekends. Only bad because that means food and booze and the internal battle that ensues. The struggle is real!!!
  • wikkidwanda
    wikkidwanda Posts: 163 Member
    edited August 2015
    HAPPY DANCE!!!! I lost 5lbs! Total is over 20 now... for real! I'm not even lying! (yea... I've lied before, for YEARS about how much I do or don't weigh)... but this is FOR REAL! LIKE REALLY REAL!!!! It is coming off slowly, but it IS coming off!!! HAPPY ME!!! *ahem*
  • annemmr
    annemmr Posts: 27 Member
    *high five* wikkid!!
  • wikkidwanda
    wikkidwanda Posts: 163 Member
    annemmr wrote: »
    *high five* wikkid!!

    Thanks muchly! I'm still going strong and THAT is impressive for me! I'm now down 24 lbs and 28 inches... happy me!
  • parkerpowerlift
    parkerpowerlift Posts: 196 Member
    Front Squats: 5x5x125
    Push Press: 5x5x75
    Deadlift: 1x5x145
    Lat Pulldowns: 5x5x100

    I'm doing some small variations to my Strong Lifts 5x5 workouts lately to switch things up!
  • kaylarenee8910
    kaylarenee8910 Posts: 11 Member
    Hello all, I am new to mfp and looking for some friends to help keep me accountable. I have read some of this discussion board and you all seem so nice and supportive! I am very excited to join in on all the open-minded, supportive, generally-nice-people fun.
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