General chat
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Hello! Welcome to the group :happy:
I'm now just in my 10th week of bulking, so I guess we started around the same time. I'll go take a look in your log thread for stats and such
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I reorganised my closet this morning. You know the drill: swapping summer stuff for winter stuff, filtering out the too big and too small things. I got rid of some jeans leggings that were tight even before bulking, but found that some other stuff I've grown into again. I'm very glad about that, because among those items are also some of my favourite stretch jeans! Tighter in the legs then before, but hey that's what I'm doing it for :laugh:
I got throgh my closet but haven't begun to tackle my drawers yet. Too mny clothes that I don't wear. Ugh.0 -
OMG--just bled through a super tampon, panty liner, undies, and work slacks after 4 hours on day 3 of my period!!! WTF?! Luckily my assistant was able to help me in the bathroom (she was getting me soap on paper towels, etc. while I was in a stall). FML0
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Oh that sucks.... :frown:
TOM is in town for me as well, but fortunately not that heavy anymore.0 -
boo- that SUCKS.
I keep spare EVERYTHING at my work desk- Underwear- tampons- dress- the only spare thing I dont' have currently is spare shoes- but I tend to walk in with flats and carry my heels so the flats are ALWAYS a back up.
Periods suck- as much as I dislike having to take pills constantly- I
Seasonque- one every 3 months. It's gloroius- I get hormonal still- and super moody- but no actual bleeding for me.
Hugs.0 -
boo- that SUCKS.
I keep spare EVERYTHING at my work desk- Underwear- tampons- dress- the only spare thing I dont' have currently is spare shoes- but I tend to walk in with flats and carry my heels so the flats are ALWAYS a back up.
Periods suck- as much as I dislike having to take pills constantly- I Seasonque- one every 3 months. It's gloroius- I get hormonal still- and super moody- but no actual bleeding for me.
Hugs.
I have spare undies, tampons, etc...but no spare pants. I will tomorrow, though! I'm serious, it was like a friggin murder scene!
I tried Seasonque twice, but I bled every day for six months both times I tried it.0 -
boo that blows. I had an incident last week- left my going back and forth to the sink. I won't explain but it wasn't pretty. something I ate didn't agree with me and it wasn't waiting (I was literally 5 steps from the stall)
thankfully it was recoverable- but I immediately went home and scrubbed everything.
work is rough- sometimes you just gotta throw in the towel. Tomorrow!!! MOAR BETTER it shall be.
sucks about seasonque- it's pretty awesome not being on the regular pill. I'm not sure how I feel about the moodiness (I take BC to level my hormones out because I turn into an insufferable *****- like- no really. insufferable- even I don't want to be around me- I'm really vindictive).. and while i absolutely DETEST my period- I dont' think the seasonique is helping with the moods.
so kind of a toss up- the actual BC part is almost irrelevant so it's mostly just figuring out what works best- but being mostly period free is pretty awesome.
HUGS.... tonight's a kick *kitten* gym night right?
or maybe *kitten* kicking gym night LOL0 -
Yup, that's one of the things I really loved about being pregnant.so kind of a toss up- the actual BC part is almost irrelevant so it's mostly just figuring out what works best- but being mostly period free is pretty awesome.0 -
Yup, that's one of the things I really loved about being pregnant.so kind of a toss up- the actual BC part is almost irrelevant so it's mostly just figuring out what works best- but being mostly period free is pretty awesome.
Amen to that! I should have another kid just for that peoiod-free time again (jk). Seriously, though, I have the 10-year, hormone-free IUD....so I can take additional pills or whatever to help with flo....but so far nothing I've gone on has worked well for me :sad:0 -
You have a copper IUD? Those are said to cause heavier flow...0
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Don't know if you can get the Mirena coil round your way, but it was a life saver for me. Almost no periods!
I am on week 7 of a bulk, and so far the scales have oscillated, but overall down! I was aiming for Net cals 1830 (5"5, about 115 pounds). That would have been 0.25kg per week. However, despite eating about 2,000-2300 total cals per day, my high exercise levels meant I was rarely reaching target (I can burn around 1,000 cals on a very intense day!).
My BF is a lot higher than it looks, as visually I am about 17% BF but when measured it is 23% (which is good as I need over 20% or my hormones shut down).
Am I hungry? Dear God yes! However like many women I have a fear of weight gain and so always end up short of the calorie goal for the day. To try and get around this I have increased my net calorie target from 1,830 to 1,950, as that should give me some weight gain despite me still subconciously wanting a 'safety margin' of a hundred or so short of target.
Thankfully I can't get nut butter apart from peanut butter around here!0 -
Are you sure you can bulk or even maintain with a net intake of 1830 kcal? It seems on the low side... With similar starting stats for height and weight I maintain at 2000 per day. If bulking is your goal I would up even more then you already have.0
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You have a copper IUD? Those are said to cause heavier flow...
It's about the same as when I wasn't on BC. If I could go back three years I'd do Mirana, but at this point I'm not removing it just to have another inserted.0 -
Are you sure you can bulk or even maintain with a net intake of 1830 kcal? It seems on the low side... With similar starting stats for height and weight I maintain at 2000 per day. If bulking is your goal I would up even more then you already have.
I agree.0 -
I'll third this opinion. Anything under 2000 seems super-low (says the person eating 2600/day and thinking about adding more).0
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I agree, I can't imagine even 1900 being enough for a bulk. If you are eating 2000-2300 and exercising so much that you can't reach your target, it sounds like you might need to back off some cardio or add more food. Or both!0
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1800 was my maintenance..> I'm trying to bulk at 2000 plus eat back calories (so I typically run between 2500-3000 and only eat back 50-75%) and I'm considering bumping up. putting on weight in a reasonable manageable way is way harder than people think. WAY HARDER.0
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I was going off the MFP guidance for weight gain of 0.25Kg per week. It calculates this as:
Maintenance (1540ish) plus about 250 for target weight gain = Net of 1830
Therefore I have been eating about 2250 daily in order to aim for Net 1830 with exercise. I assumed when people were talking about eating, say, 2300 a day for a bulk, it was working out as a net total calories equal to maintenance plus about 250 daily.
I am confused! Should I be aiming for over 2000 NET?
Believe it or not, I have cut back on my cardio. Problem is, the gym is a very social activity as well as a much needed stress relief by doing a good blast of cardio. Trying to take a full day off exercise each week leaves me pacing like a caged tiger at itching to get down the gym :-(
I guess I was hoping I can do a good cardio class each day as well as successfully get stronger. Darn!0 -
Besides the issue of cardio requiring extra food to offset the burn, in case of bulking, there is also the issue of rest. Exercise and more specific progressive lifting is required to stimulate the muscles to grow. But as far as I understand it, the actual growing occurs during recovery, aka "rest". If the amount of cardio you do is so much that recovery from lifting is impacted, you will probably not achieve optimal bulking results.I was going off the MFP guidance for weight gain of 0.25Kg per week. It calculates this as:
Maintenance (1540ish) plus about 250 for target weight gain = Net of 1830
Therefore I have been eating about 2250 daily in order to aim for Net 1830 with exercise. I assumed when people were talking about eating, say, 2300 a day for a bulk, it was working out as a net total calories equal to maintenance plus about 250 daily.
I am confused! Should I be aiming for over 2000 NET?
Believe it or not, I have cut back on my cardio. Problem is, the gym is a very social activity as well as a much needed stress relief by doing a good blast of cardio. Trying to take a full day off exercise each week leaves me pacing like a caged tiger at itching to get down the gym :-(
I guess I was hoping I can do a good cardio class each day as well as successfully get stronger. Darn!
As far as your intake is concerned, the numbers provided by MFP are nothing more then a starting point. Actual data you may have because of logging and related weight gain or loss, always trumps anything an online calculator says. If you lose weight on your current daily calorie budget: up the intake by 100 or 200 kcal. Then just record your intake and weight trends for a couple of weeks to see how you stand and take it further from there :flowerforyou:0 -
I would just like to say- I'm embodying dirty bulk. I give no fck either.
Cookies and coffee for breakfast folks.
and also
POCKET MUFFIN!!!!!0 -
I have no idea what a pocket muffin is, but it sounds yummy!
Good advice above, thanks. I find eating difficult as (like most women) I fear getting fat or losing control and not being able to cope with eating less again when the bulk target is reached.
Does not help that we cannot go to the supermarket without seeing copies of 'Weight Watchers', 'Slimming Magazine', 'Slimming World' and 'Slim with the Stars'. Why can't we have 'Weight-Lifting Watchers', 'Bulking on a Budget', 'Ladies who Lift' and 'Gain with Gabby' instead ;-)
Well I will try and cut back on cardio a bit more and eat more calories. With a heck of a lot of willpower I have not gone to do combat this evening, as I already did Pump & Spin earlier. Well, it's a start! ;-)0 -
I have no idea what a pocket muffin is, but it sounds yummy!
Good advice above, thanks. I find eating difficult as (like most women) I fear getting fat or losing control and not being able to cope with eating less again when the bulk target is reached.
Does not help that we cannot go to the supermarket without seeing copies of 'Weight Watchers', 'Slimming Magazine', 'Slimming World' and 'Slim with the Stars'. Why can't we have 'Weight-Lifting Watchers', 'Bulking on a Budget', 'Ladies who Lift' and 'Gain with Gabby' instead ;-)
Well I will try and cut back on cardio a bit more and eat more calories. With a heck of a lot of willpower I have not gone to do combat this evening, as I already did Pump & Spin earlier. Well, it's a start! ;-)
Not sure what a pocket muffin is either, but now I want one :grumble:
I'm with you 100%--it's hard to let go of "normal" and stepping out of our comfort zones. There's some line from the movie Hitch where Will smith says,"What if fine isn't good enough? What if I want extraordinary?” That's what I want out of bulking. I want extraordinary, and I'll do what it takes to get there.0 -
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OK gals I need some new food options. I am seriously starting to feel like I'm force-feeding to keep my cals on target. I eat fairly nutritiously, but am no clean eater and like my treats. BUT I don't think I want to eat, like, straight-up candy or anything (at least not all the time. Does anybody have suggestions for something that is a) not terribly filling b) pretty high calories c) not high fat (I never have trouble meeting that macro) and d) maybe has some protein and/or fiber? I'm thinking sweet breakfast cereals maybe? Ideas? I'm just stuffed. all. the. time. It's getting boring.0
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LMAOOOOOOOO0 -
LMAO!!! This made my night....
@cmeirun... My diary is open if you like to look. But I eat pretty boring and candy.....0 -
For myself I have noticed several distinct phases in this bulking thing. The first month or so, I was utterly ravenous, and had trouble sticking to my calorie goal because of it. After that I wasn't ravenous anymore, but just had trouble controlling myself with baked goods and sweets. And now that also has past and I'm just not feeling hungry :ohwell: This last week I really have trouble eating enough and the mere thought of shoving in a bit of cheese or chocolate to get enough Cals in, is making me nauseous.
Have you noticed patterns like this during your bulk? I'm all very new to this and the extremes are rather surprising to me.0 -
For myself I have noticed several distinct phases in this bulking thing. The first month or so, I was utterly ravenous, and had trouble sticking to my calorie goal because of it. After that I wasn't ravenous anymore, but just had trouble controlling myself with baked goods and sweets. And now that also has past and I'm just not feeling hungry :ohwell: This last week I really have trouble eating enough and the mere thought of shoving in a bit of cheese or chocolate to get enough Cals in, is making me nauseous.
Have you noticed patterns like this during your bulk? I'm all very new to this and the extremes are rather surprising to me.
This perfectly describes what I've experienced: from being starving to having crazy carb/sweet cravings to having little appetite. It IS weird. As much as this not-hungry-but-will-cram-food-in stage kind of blows, if it lasts until the cut it'll be a relief to reduce calories, not a chore as I feared early on in this process.0 -
I'm glad that I wasn't imagining things! It does make not logging during the holidays (which I intent to do) a tad more reliable in the not- overeating respect. :laugh:0
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Could you 'drink' your calories? Fruit juice, coconut milk, protein shakes etc?
Personally I prefer to eat my calories, much more fun.
I am still on the 'ravenously hungry but scared of eating too much and ballooning' phase. ;-)0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeOh18mWWzg&feature=c4-overview&list=UUduKuJToxWPizJ7I2E6n1kA
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