2 week challenge
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Ok, so this is my week off. I got the e-book "starting strength" by Mark Rippetoe. I started reading and it's pretty interesting. The workout is pretty simple, three days per week, an "A" workout and a "B" workout and you alternate.
the book seems to be written for men who want to grow, it actually recommends drinking a gallon of milk per day!
But for the strength training women, what should I aim for, calorie-wise, and should I only eat more on strength days?
So this week I am just reading my book. I'll be dog-sitting for my friend, and it will be nice to walk him but that's the only real exercise I have planned.
Sorry, I will definitely have a better challenge next week.0 -
Thanks everybody!
Chuisle- I am 5'6"
Beeps- welcome back!!!
I leave tomorrow, so you won't be hearing much from me! But, when I get back next week it is ON!!! Have a great week everyone!0 -
Hi all! So jealous of all you coming and going from vacations
No fun travel for me until April!
Amy - I have struggled a lot with calorie level. I definitely eat more on strength days but I have been playing with different levels. NROL has a formula which I am happy to send to you if you want (I don't have it here with me). But that had me at 2000 on non lifting days and 2235 on lifting days! Yikes. So I did about 1700 and 1935 but gained a little on that so I am currently doing 1400 plus exercise (so more less my maintenance minus a little less than 25%). This seems to be going well so far. I am on third week of it and will 4 full weeks and evaluate. Hope that's a little helpful!
Chloe - I am 5'6" as well! (actually 5'5.5" but who's counting?). I didn't realize we were so similar Always good to have people around going to the place!
Beeps - welcome back! don't worry too much, you'll get back into the swing of things!
I am doing well so far! Decided I did meet my goals last week and looking forward to another week of (hopeflly) progress! I start stage 2 on Wednesday and am looking forward to stepping up my game! St. Patrick's day is this Saturday so that will be my nonadherent day Hello Irish breakfast and guinness! It's one of my favorite days of the year so I am going to make sure to enjoy the calorie laden goodness (my username is actually an Irish term of endearment meaning "my pulse" similar to darling). I am two weeks into my 4 week challenge and doing well so far. I am thinking I will be able to get that bod pod testing done 0 -
Yeah, Kate, I would like to see the formula if you think of it when you have it. I can't imagine eating at 2000 cals but then, if I can't gain muscle this way, it might be interesting to see what would happen...0
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oh, and have fun, Chloe! I don't have any vacations planned and no federal holidays until Memorial Day!0
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My goodness, chuisle, I do NOT think you are eating enough calories!! I really don't....throw away the scale during the duration of NROL4W. And, follow the calorie-plan in that book. It's GOOD.
(Amy, I left my text in my car, otherwise, I'd type in the formula, here....)
I'm supposed to eat about 2,000 calories on non-weight-lifting days and about 2,300 on days I lift. I did close to that for the first month. Then, I decided to eat at a small deficit, so am eating 1,800 calories, pretty much everyday. (I'm not convinced I'm burning 300 calories during a weight-workout, anyway....I usually log it at about 200 calories.)0 -
I went back to the gym, today. THANK GOODNESS!!
I feel *so* much better! My stress levels were creeping up there, pretty high, actually - not helped by the fact my martyr-ish boss ended up working most nights and weekends while I was away (on the very projects he DECLINED my help with in the 2 MONTHS previous to my scheduled vacation!!).
Anyway, enough about that - I started Stage 3 of NROL4W. I've probably back-slid a TON, but I don't actually care (right now)!
Without a vacation on the horizon to PUSH toward, I'm kind of "myeh" about the whole thing.....I will do my work-outs, faithfully and with all the energy I can muster.....but, the results will be what they will be. I'm not going to worry about them, just now.
(Mind you, I'm still involved in challenges - so about 15 days from now, I expect I'll be singing a very different tune!)
What's your 2-week challenge, ladies?? Mine is to track all calories, no alcohol, and complete all work-outs, as planned.0 -
Beeps - I know! I have debated this back and forth myself. The issue was that on 1700 + more on lifting days I gained, NOT just on the scale but in inches. My pants were tighter etc. I did that for about 5 weeks so I am now cutting conservatively for 4 weeks to see how it goes. I don't care about the scale but I do care when my waist gets bigger!0
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Fair enough....I just know that, while it isn't "leaps-and-bounds", my measurements ARE reducing.
I know you are working really hard....and, I know that there is no "magic" formula that works for every single person in exactly the same way.
I just think, overall, weight-lifters require MORE energy to fuel their bodies and their work-outs....and I want to make sure your body isn't getting all these "confusing" signals about whether (or not) it is being sufficiently fuelled.
enuff said....I support you because I know you really aren't trying to starve yourself!0 -
ambitious goals beeps! tracking, working out and no alcohol!
I am going to start to move toward eating cleaner, so I need a challenge related to that. I am not feeling like giving up alcohol right now! but maybe trying to have vegetables or fruit with every meal and snack? I got organics delivery tomorrow.
I still haven't tried spinach in a smoothie, I am so afraid it's going to be gross and I don't want to waste the other stuff!0 -
Especially for you, chuisle:
Martin Berkhan - "
If you're adding 2-3 sessions of HIIT to your 3 sessions of weights, it is almost comparable to adding 2-3 days of weights. Keyword is "almost", I'm obviously not drawing direct comparisons. That's all fine and dandy if you think working out 5-6 days/week is a good idea on a diet. But I don't think anyone - no matter what level of experience - needs more than 3 days a week in the gym when cutting. (Yes, this goes for competitors and beginners alike.)
In conclusion, if conditioning is not terribly important for you, if your goal is really about getting shredded while keeping your muscle, I highly suggest limiting moderate to high intensity cardio on a diet - or ditch it completely. Save it for some other time when your recovery is good and not limited by your diet. A calorie deficit is a recovery deficit. Avoid deficit spending."0 -
Beeps - I think that's true. Part of my rationale when cutting down again was that perhaps I was consistently undercounting, which would make a real gain make more sense. I go back and forth on whether I should be upping my cals a bit...I imagine you would be in favor of this. Hmm. So confusing! Like I said, I felt real gain at 1700 but freely admit that first it could have had to do with noncompliance and second that 1400 might be a bit low (picked it because its a conservative deficit). Last week my deficit was around 2500 calories or so. Hmmm Hmmm HMMMM.
Over today anyways 0 -
Chloe - have a fantastic time! Congrats on meeting your goals, that is so wonderful!!
Beeps - welcome back! your goals look great! I know what you mean about being like "meh" without a vacation planned. I can't commit to a competition, so I'm in the "slow and steady wins the race" mode, so I'm with ya lady!
Kate - it is so hard to figure out what the right amount of calories is. It seems like it's a constant guessing game!! I hope you can find your magic number I'm still wondering what mine is!
Amy - your new book sounds interesting, I've heard his name before. I think it's great you're taking a break and that your honest in your challenge that you're not ready to give up alcohol just yet
I think maybe after St Patty's day, I'll give it up...at least during the week Not that I drink much now, but ya know!
I can't see any other posts, so I can't remember what else I've read. I think I remember something about Mama still eating clean and not logging. I understand about the logging sometimes being a chore!
As for me, I took a mini break this weekend but back to it today. I wanted to cleanse/detox today but not the way my body is doing it. Unfortunately my tummy/bowels are having issues and I've been in the bathroom all day :frown: eesh!
So, my goals: 1. weights 3 times (I only got them in twice last week) 2. eat as clean as possible 3. stay under cals
Doesn't seem like it's anything new, but that's all I got right now. Oh, but I did hit 365 days yesterday!!! Woohoo!!0 -
I am still new to this group and don't know many people here yet. I hope to learn more about everyone.
My goals this week:
Lift weights two times
Spinning four times
Extra one hour class on Saturday.
Becky0 -
If I could give up alcohol I have a feeling those last few pounds would come right off, between the empty calories and the fact that I eat way worse when I'm drinking... it's not in the cards for me either, but I think I am going to make my next 2-week challenge to give up drinking during the week and to stick to (relatively) low-cal drinks on the weekend. At the end of the day I like to have a beer or two with dinner, and it's not doing my waistline any favors.0
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Chloe- Enjoy! I envy you! We are still trying to convince ourselves to just go with it and plan a vacation. It's been years and seeing all you lovely ladies enjoying a good get away makes me want to make it a priority!!
Amy- I think the fruits/veggies is a good start. Sometimes we just have to focus on making a couple changes at a time. I know I am not a spinach solo fan but I've really come to enjoy them in my smoothies. They don't look pretty but they taste essentially the same. I don't even notice it now unless of course the blender doesn't get it chopped up enough!! :laugh:
Kate- Jen's right, it's a guessing game. Beeps gave some excellent resources from Martin. It's still hard to know where to set it for yourself since we are all so unique! I find it shocking when I lose and when I gain. Like the opposite always seems to happen! This weekend was a CRAP filled eating weekend and yet my pants fit better this week than last. WTH!?
Keep plugging away. Your on the right track with your exercise and the diet will come along with experimenting!
Jen- I hope your tummy is feeling better! I can relate, after the crap filled weekend, my tummy has been all over the place yesterday and apparently still today!! Happy one year on MFP though! That's awesome!!
Swiss- We love having a good group of ladies so I'm glad you are here! Your goals look great- a nice mix of weights and cardio.
Ris- I think that one of the things I love most about this board is our honesty. There are some of us who are 100% clean and find this to be a comfortable way of life while there are others of us who have our 'vices' (for lack of a better term) that we are comfortable with keeping because this is our way at a well rounded life for ourselves!! I'm not an alcohol fan but I have my own vices that I'm still not sure whether giving up for good is feasible. But it's great to be able to come on here, and say those honest things knowing that we all can relate!!
For me my main challenge is to keep upping my miles. I did the two again this morning, still a bit of a struggle but between an sensitive chest (thank you TOM!!) and banged up knees (thank you no knee pad volleyball tournament!) I did as well as I expected. I'm sure once these battle wounds heal I'll feel a little better about pushing up that distance. My goal is to stick with the 2 for the rest of this week (another hopefully 2 runs) and then work next week to slowly take it up. I remember now why I wasn't a fan of track season but even back in high school I knew it was an excellent way to push myself so I just keep that in the back of my mind!! :grumble:
Eating wise- I just need to get on track. I went off course this weekend, semi-planned. I wanted to let loose a little since I've been at a deficit for a while just to shake things up a bit. It was nice but I definitely am glad to be back on course. I made some stir fry for lunch (a new recipe that I'm hoping turns out!) and have a steak salad planned for dinner. Getting back on course is much easier when off course = tummy trouble!! :sick:0 -
Hi everyone! You guys sound like you're doing well, so happy for you
Ris - I agree, if I could give up my glass of wine each night I think the weight would fall off! And if I could give up my weekend drinking I think it'd fall off even faster :P Good luck with your not drinking during the week! I'm excited to hear how it works for you and maybe I'll join you next challenge
Swiss - Those sound like great goals! You'll do great
Jen - Congrats on hitting 365!! That's an awesome achievement I hope you're feeling better today. Those goals seem great and I'm sure you'll do it!
Beeps - I'm glad you had a great vacation!! That stinks that your boss made you work though, I'm sure you weren't happy about that, I know I wouldn't be!! Did you end up finding that formula by any chance??
Kate - Good job on meeting your goals last week! I will be with you celebrating for St. Patrick's Day! No Guinness for me though... I'm not a beer girl (goes against my heritage.. i know... *sigh*) I'm sure you'll find the calorie level that works for you though, it's so hard trying to find the happy medium though!
Reese - Glad to hear you pushed through your pain and ran your 2 miles! That's probably more than I could run... I never quite learned how to breathe while running! haha, I hope you feel better as well and you'll get back on track with eating in no time!!
I got to work out yesterday for the first time in almost 2 weeks so I was very happy! I probably should have taken another day off because I was a klutz this weekend and smashed my brow bone on the top of a metal chair trying to pick up my cat and have had a headache since then, but I still worked out I'm going to work out 2 more times this week (hopefully) and then I can only work out 2 times next week since it's my friend's wedding! Life has been crazy because of the wedding and preparing for it, so I haven't been as good as I should be... I'm excited for it to be over because then I can get focused again and get back on track!
I made my own almond butter this weekend and it is so yummy! It is made only with almonds and a food processor, its nice knowing that there aren't any preservatives in it! I'm trying to watch what I'm eating still and getting control over my serving sizes. I'm trying to leave something on the plate and know that I don't have to be a member of the "clean plate club" so I think that's helping a bit! After next week I might follow Ris's challenge and not have wine during the week and see if that helps any.
So for this challenge I am going to 1. Continue my "Mad Abs March" challenge (found on pinterest) 2. stay under cals 3. Control portion sizes and don't overeat during a meal
Sorry if I'm still MIA, after the wedding I'm sure I'll have more time to check in Have a good Tuesday everyone! 0 -
Hello everyone!! Things here are still crazy with work, so I have been checking in on everyone but just haven't been posting!
Glad to see everyone is challenging themselves with their 2 week challenges!
As for me I am just trying to stay a float! Work is stupid right now, and the time change has totally kicked my butt and I am exhausted!! My goal really needs to be to focus on getting in all my workouts this week and next, not miss one!
If I can do that I will have hit the halfway mark! I will also take pictures again at this point and share them with you, although I don't know if the changes will be a big this time around.
To think of being halway is exciting/scary because its coming up fast! Went and met wtih the swimsuit designer Sunday so that was fun!! Starting to look a little more forward to the actual competition part, and am enjoying the changes I am seeing in the mirror, my hamstrings are starting to look pretty killer if I do say so myself 0 -
Wow - hard to keep up there is so much activity on the board! Wish I had time to respond to everyone individually.
Becky - welcome! This is a great and inspiring group of women.
I had very little success with my efforts this weekend. My relationship is going through a very difficult time, so I stuffed my emotions with ice cream (and lots of it). I did make decent choices on 3 out of 4 meals out, although drank a lot of diet soda so lots of sodium. However, we did get out and get in a good work-out walk both Saturday and Sunday, so that is something. Back on track now that I am back to work and feeling okay about it. All the salt this weekend resulted in a 1/2 pound gain, but that isn't too bad considering how off program I went.0 -
shander, I'll get you the NROL4W formula....the book is in my car and I can run out and get it at lunch.
arwen - I'm sending you a "friend" request. Feel better - being back-on-track is exactly all you need for today!0
