January Check in and Chat - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
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Sare, I lift in my Converse One Stars that I got from Tarjay...a bit cheaper than actual Chucks.
Oh yeah, I'm not going to get a pair of John Varvatos or anything. (We have enough of those in our house. :grumble: ) AHEM. Anyway, I was going to pick up a pair of Converse at Tarjay. Is there an echo in here? :drinker:
Great job getting there! I left my socks at home once and ran three miles. Grossness.0 -
I'm saving that quote. Great! Very inspirational. :-)Conquer the mind and you will conquer the body! YOU CAN DO THIS!
Thank you
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Sare, I lift in my Converse One Stars that I got from Tarjay...a bit cheaper than actual Chucks.
Oh yeah, I'm not going to get a pair of John Varvatos or anything. (We have enough of those in our house. :grumble: ) AHEM. Anyway, I was going to pick up a pair of Converse at Tarjay. Is there an echo in here? :drinker:
Great job getting there! I left my socks at home once and ran three miles. Grossness.
*whispers* mine are from tarjay too.0 -
Yay for Tarjay! Helping the women of MFP get strong and bad-as$ one pair of shoes at a time.
Yeah, my plan to do a double progressive workout, keeping at it until I could do 3 reps of 16 ain't gonna happen. One of the things I love about SL is the simplicity and I realized that I was mucking it up.
Today
Squats: 3x8 85
Bench: 5x5 70
Rows: 5x5 65
Gah, I see so much stupid asshattery at the gym sometimes, I just want to yell and the stupid HS boys and their stupid dads and tell them, "You're doing it wrong!" so many times. *smh*0 -
Good evening Ladies!
Question for everyone tonight and I'm not sure if anyone will know the answer, but I figured I would try here before I go to the main boards
Awhile back a male friend of mine that trains pretty hard told me that his "trainer" said that deadlifting more than once per month is far too hard on your body. I just kind of ignored it and replied with something about form and weight and that it's a solid exercise that is one of the big 6. Then tonight I read a comment from Martin Berkhan (LeanGains) that essentially said the same thing....that he deadlifts very sparingly as well. Now I'm not disputing SL or Starting Strength as I do believe that Rippetoe has put DL similarly in his program, but what do you make of this thought process?
Don't get me wrong....I love to DL and have seen nothing but great things from it, so I intend to keep it up....but in my little sponge brain, I can't help but want more information!
Hope you are all having a great night!0 -
In my totally uninformed opinion :laugh: ... I deadlift around 105ish now and it feels like one of the easiest things I do. This HAS to be dependent on how much you are lifting, clearly. Maybe it gets far more intense as the weight increases?
PS - What is the "lift" where you put the bar across your shoulders and then bend and stick your *kitten* out with straight legs? Because the little ladies in my gym were doing that this morning and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.0 -
Ugh, this morning I realized it takes me longer to track down all the weights I stack up to do rows and deadlifts than to actually do the exercises. If only people could learn to rack weights (and put them in the correct spot).0
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In my totally uninformed opinion :laugh: ... I deadlift around 105ish now and it feels like one of the easiest things I do. This HAS to be dependent on how much you are lifting, clearly. Maybe it gets far more intense as the weight increases?
PS - What is the "lift" where you put the bar across your shoulders and then bend and stick your *kitten* out with straight legs? Because the little ladies in my gym were doing that this morning and I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
I know...I feel the same way....like the DL is challenging now at 135# for me, but nothing ridiculous! I think that exercise is called a Good Morning, but I might be wrong!0 -
Well Ladies, I have to say that I am horribly frustrated this morning and I just don't know what to do. I seriously cried during my workout which is clearly not a great idea
It has been 4 weeks since I last stepped on the scale, took measurements, all that good stuff.
Not only did I gain 4lbs in scale weight, which I could deal with easily enough, but my measurements went UP. All except my chest.
I am busting my *kitten* 6 days/week. I track every calorie except for a free meal I usually have once/week. Even over the holidays I worked out every day and I probably did overeat, but not enough for this. I stay usually within 1700-1800 calories/day and I do eat clean for the most part....protein is the focus of everything I eat for the most part.
I have been stalled like this for months now....I'm not talking just these last 4 weeks.....I really can't remember the last time I saw any sort of significant movement anywhere, scale or measuring tape.
I swear my body is changing and that good things are happening but let's face it, I still have weight to lose and hitting this wall is really starting to do a number on the mental component.
I don't know what to do!!!!0 -
Well Ladies, I have to say that I am horribly frustrated this morning and I just don't know what to do. I seriously cried during my workout which is clearly not a great idea
It has been 4 weeks since I last stepped on the scale, took measurements, all that good stuff.
Not only did I gain 4lbs in scale weight, which I could deal with easily enough, but my measurements went UP. All except my chest.
I am busting my *kitten* 6 days/week. I track every calorie except for a free meal I usually have once/week. Even over the holidays I worked out every day and I probably did overeat, but not enough for this. I stay usually within 1700-1800 calories/day and I do eat clean for the most part....protein is the focus of everything I eat for the most part.
I have been stalled like this for months now....I'm not talking just these last 4 weeks.....I really can't remember the last time I saw any sort of significant movement anywhere, scale or measuring tape.
I swear my body is changing and that good things are happening but let's face it, I still have weight to lose and hitting this wall is really starting to do a number on the mental component.
I don't know what to do!!!!
If you figure it out - I'd love to know - cause I"m in the same boat with my weight. Sure I've lost inches in my waist - but that's it. I haven't lost anything in my thighs, and trust me, my thighs could use it.....actually all of me could. I haven't gone down in weight at all either and tend to eat 1800 a day as well. I also do cardio 3x a week in addition to lifting - I'm eating right around where TDEE says I should. So not sure why I'm not losing.....I seriously have like 50 lbs to lose, too. Ridiculous.....
So my response wasn't so much to say i have answers or ideas - but that I get it, and I can commiserate with you.0 -
Well Ladies, I have to say that I am horribly frustrated this morning and I just don't know what to do. I seriously cried during my workout which is clearly not a great idea
It has been 4 weeks since I last stepped on the scale, took measurements, all that good stuff.
Not only did I gain 4lbs in scale weight, which I could deal with easily enough, but my measurements went UP. All except my chest.
I am busting my *kitten* 6 days/week. I track every calorie except for a free meal I usually have once/week. Even over the holidays I worked out every day and I probably did overeat, but not enough for this. I stay usually within 1700-1800 calories/day and I do eat clean for the most part....protein is the focus of everything I eat for the most part.
I have been stalled like this for months now....I'm not talking just these last 4 weeks.....I really can't remember the last time I saw any sort of significant movement anywhere, scale or measuring tape.
I swear my body is changing and that good things are happening but let's face it, I still have weight to lose and hitting this wall is really starting to do a number on the mental component.
I don't know what to do!!!!
If you figure it out - I'd love to know - cause I"m in the same boat with my weight. Sure I've lost inches in my waist - but that's it. I haven't lost anything in my thighs, and trust me, my thighs could use it.....actually all of me could. I haven't gone down in weight at all either and tend to eat 1800 a day as well. I also do cardio 3x a week in addition to lifting - I'm eating right around where TDEE says I should. So not sure why I'm not losing.....I seriously have like 50 lbs to lose, too. Ridiculous.....
So my response wasn't so much to say i have answers or ideas - but that I get it, and I can commiserate with you.
Just knowing that someone else is experiencing the same thing makes me feel better to be honest I have posted in the group Eat. Train. Progress. SideSteel and Sara are really great so perhaps I'll have some ideas for us soon 0 -
Oh no. That sounds so frustrating. Believe me I've been there. I was doing bodyrock instead of lifting when it happened, but it was still sad times. Hugs for both of you unless you're not hug people in which case I offer friendly hand shakes. And shots.
Do you net 1800 or is that gross? If it's gross I would definitely up it quite a bit. Keep in mind that TDEE online calculators are an estimate. Your needs could be up or down from there. I would try upping calories for 3-4 weeks and seeing where you go from there. Since you're lifting the worst that can happen is you get 3 weeks of better gains
I've read a lot of EMTWL, and it seems a lot of women underestimate their activity level. This is why I'd suggest upping calories first. 0 -
Oh no. That sounds so frustrating. Believe me I've been there. I was doing bodyrock instead of lifting when it happened, but it was still sad times. Hugs for both of you unless you're not hug people in which case I offer friendly hand shakes. And shots.
Do you net 1800 or is that gross? If it's gross I would definitely up it quite a bit. Keep in mind that TDEE online calculators are an estimate. Your needs could be up or down from there. I would try upping calories for 3-4 weeks and seeing where you go from there. Since you're lifting the worst that can happen is you get 3 weeks of better gains I've read a lot of EMTWL, and it seems a lot of women underestimate their activity level. This is why I'd suggest upping calories first.
Thank you
One thing I know for sure is that I can't decrease my calories as I'm eating 1800 gross...not eating back any exercise calories. I'm hesitant to increase though because I did try at 2000/day back in September/October and I didn't see any results then either...but that was also before I was doing SL too. UGH!!!!0 -
Oh no. That sounds so frustrating. Believe me I've been there. I was doing bodyrock instead of lifting when it happened, but it was still sad times. Hugs for both of you unless you're not hug people in which case I offer friendly hand shakes. And shots.
Do you net 1800 or is that gross? If it's gross I would definitely up it quite a bit. Keep in mind that TDEE online calculators are an estimate. Your needs could be up or down from there. I would try upping calories for 3-4 weeks and seeing where you go from there. Since you're lifting the worst that can happen is you get 3 weeks of better gains I've read a lot of EMTWL, and it seems a lot of women underestimate their activity level. This is why I'd suggest upping calories first.
I agree. I'm eating 1800 and I weigh a lot more than you do. Maybe try upping your calories by 100 for a few weeks. If that doesn't work, I'd try upping another 100 or so. I agree that you shouldn't be decreasing.0 -
You know it's funny...Tameko will probably roll her eyes when she reads this because she told me last month to increase my calories lol
So here is my plan....
I have to go to Montreal for work on Tuesday where I will have very little control over my diet and no chance to do SL and really let's face it, cardio. It's a sales convention lol
So I will do my cardio workout tomorrow as planned (today wrapped up week 7 of SL for me).
Next week, from Monday-Monday of the following week will be a complete break.....diet and training. At this point I need it more from a mental perspective than anything else.
When I begin again, I will set my calories at 2000/day to start and see what happens there.
I know for sure that I can't continue to train as I do (SL 3 x per week and cardio, hiit, tabata, or JM DVD's the other 3 days, 1 rest day) on less than 1700-1800 calories/day.
What do you guys think?
Edit to add: SideSteel is recommending a full diet break for 2 weeks, not just 1. So I'm thinking Montreal next week, week 2 at maintenance...roughly 2400 and then go down to 2000. Only 1 week break on training though. Thoughts?0 -
Do it! You'll feel so much better.0
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Yeah, Vegas, I was going to suggest eating at maintenance for a few weeks. By what I've read repeatedly on mfp, it really does help get past the stall or whatever you want to call it. Slow & steady wins the race.0
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You know it's funny...Tameko will probably roll her eyes when she reads this because she told me last month to increase my calories lol
So here is my plan....
I have to go to Montreal for work on Tuesday where I will have very little control over my diet and no chance to do SL and really let's face it, cardio. It's a sales convention lol
So I will do my cardio workout tomorrow as planned (today wrapped up week 7 of SL for me).
Next week, from Monday-Monday of the following week will be a complete break.....diet and training. At this point I need it more from a mental perspective than anything else.
When I begin again, I will set my calories at 2000/day to start and see what happens there.
I know for sure that I can't continue to train as I do (SL 3 x per week and cardio, hiit, tabata, or JM DVD's the other 3 days, 1 rest day) on less than 1700-1800 calories/day.
What do you guys think?
Edit to add: SideSteel is recommending a full diet break for 2 weeks, not just 1. So I'm thinking Montreal next week, week 2 at maintenance...roughly 2400 and then go down to 2000. Only 1 week break on training though. Thoughts?
I just saw his recommendation in the other group. I can't think of a better person to give a suggestion, so I'd follow. Also he suggested returning to 1800 after the two weeks. If you feel that you are eating too few calories (seriously, I do 60 minutes of cardio a week and eat 1800) maybe after eating at maintenance go back down, but to a higher calorie intake.
I also personally use this spreadsheet to calculate calories because I can breakdown my workouts into minutes and levels of intensity. However, if you use an HRM and actually know your calorie expenditure, that would be most accurate for your TDEE calculations.
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/717858-spreadsheet-bmr-tdee-and-deficit-calcs-macros-hrm
Although, I feel almost like it's a little low now that I've added in weight lifting (it actually drops calorie intake because you can "handle" a larger deficit since you are working to preserve muscle mass. For now I'm going to stick with it, but after a few weeks, I may up my calories. Especially if I'm losing more than it says I should be losing (I was losing 2lbs a week when it said I should be losing 1lb a week before I added in strength).0 -
I'm sorry you ladies are frustrated.
I've been there. I'm still there, really, I haven't lost weight in a year, more or less. Also Vegas - I stopped measuring. Not only am I apparently bad at it, but I found out that once you get down to my size (Aren't we about hte same?) that my body at least likes to cause pretty big measurement fluctuations. My waist can fluctuate by an inch, my belly by even more, my hips I find really REALLY hard to measure consistently plus I think the shape of my butt has changed so now the 'widest' part of my hips is actually in a different place?
Some of the lack of weight loss is because I had a few periods of overeating or inconsistency with logging so that's on me, but I've also had periods where I stuck really really hard to my cals for a month and didn't get a lot out of it besides crankiness.
So - given that you've both tried these amounts for 4-6 weeks and aren't seeing any progress, I'd say its time to make a change.
If sticking hard to 1800 isn't working, go to 2k. Neither of you is tiny enough that I'd imagine 1600 being the right direction to go (its not IMPOSSIBLE that its the right direction but its less likely) and I recommend 200 > 100 just because that leaves you a little room for accounting errors so you know you've made an actual change.
Anyway do that for 4-6 weeks. See what happens. And also try to take note of how you feel in general eating that way - moods, levels of energy, etc.
Darwin - I've had a couple of friends on here who, despite being fairly overweight, just don't lose on big deficits. No one knows why - I have seen plenty of people drop 1.5-2/week like clockwork and never have a problem doing it, but some people can't for whatever reason. Your bodies are more sensitive to deficits and your energy levels drop a lot or SOMETHING - I don't know. But it does happen. It sucks and its frustrating because its really not fair but its a real thing.
Vegas - do you not see changes, despite the measurements and stuff? I basically dropped a clothing size despite not seeing any measurement changes on my hips and belly where my pants sit (SOMETIMES my waist measurement is smaller but like I said its ultra ULTRA prone to fluctuation) and my belly looks sort of flatter some days - when I'm not bloated. Plus I have a tiny bit of abs definition starting at the top under my rib cage (Despite still having lots of fluff on my ribs).
Anyway I stuck really hard to 1750-1800 for 5 weeks last year and it got me absolutely NO where - and I don't do ANY cardio, honestly - I will OCCASIONALLY run half a mile, maybe even a full mile. Maybe. And I walk *slightly* more than some people because I usually walk out to get my lunch (and all the food places are half a mile away) and walk to the coffee shop (which is much closer) and we will occasionally walk to get dinner on a weeknight (because we have a lot of places to eat about 1.25 miles away). But I also don't really cook or clean much (we eat take out a LOT and also my house is kind of a mess, period. Plus, no kids to clean up after) so that probably balances it out a little. But otherwise I have a desk job in a cubicle and my hobbies are reading and video games.
So then I tried a month at 2000 but at that point I was burned out on dieting (1800 is HARD ok) and wasn't doing a great job of sticking it and I stopped logging a lot of days, then came the holidays - I logged 5 days over the holidays out of curiosity and I was eating 2600-2800 during that time. Gained 4 lbs over that entire time - and I did lift consistently but I also spent a LOT of days lying on the couch watching seasons 1-3 of Glee.
So that means I was only overeating roughly 200 cals during that 6 weeks time Less if I include the weeks before that where I was messing around but NOT pigging out. I should have been losing 1lb/week at 1750 but I was losing jack and I was slightly miserable.
So now I am testing out 2100 (but with no messing around, I'm sticking to it hard) and seeing how that goes for me. I wish I could tell you if it worked or not but I *can* tell you I'm a lot less miserable.0 -
I'm sorry you ladies are frustrated.
I've been there. I'm still there, really, I haven't lost weight in a year, more or less. Also Vegas - I stopped measuring. Not only am I apparently bad at it, but I found out that once you get down to my size (Aren't we about hte same?) that my body at least likes to cause pretty big measurement fluctuations. My waist can fluctuate by an inch, my belly by even more, my hips I find really REALLY hard to measure consistently plus I think the shape of my butt has changed so now the 'widest' part of my hips is actually in a different place?
Some of the lack of weight loss is because I had a few periods of overeating or inconsistency with logging so that's on me, but I've also had periods where I stuck really really hard to my cals for a month and didn't get a lot out of it besides crankiness.
So - given that you've both tried these amounts for 4-6 weeks and aren't seeing any progress, I'd say its time to make a change.
If sticking hard to 1800 isn't working, go to 2k. Neither of you is tiny enough that I'd imagine 1600 being the right direction to go (its not IMPOSSIBLE that its the right direction but its less likely) and I recommend 200 > 100 just because that leaves you a little room for accounting errors so you know you've made an actual change.
Anyway do that for 4-6 weeks. See what happens. And also try to take note of how you feel in general eating that way - moods, levels of energy, etc.
Darwin - I've had a couple of friends on here who, despite being fairly overweight, just don't lose on big deficits. No one knows why - I have seen plenty of people drop 1.5-2/week like clockwork and never have a problem doing it, but some people can't for whatever reason. Your bodies are more sensitive to deficits and your energy levels drop a lot or SOMETHING - I don't know. But it does happen. It sucks and its frustrating because its really not fair but its a real thing.
Vegas - do you not see changes, despite the measurements and stuff? I basically dropped a clothing size despite not seeing any measurement changes on my hips and belly where my pants sit (SOMETIMES my waist measurement is smaller but like I said its ultra ULTRA prone to fluctuation) and my belly looks sort of flatter some days - when I'm not bloated. Plus I have a tiny bit of abs definition starting at the top under my rib cage (Despite still having lots of fluff on my ribs).
Anyway I stuck really hard to 1750-1800 for 5 weeks last year and it got me absolutely NO where - and I don't do ANY cardio, honestly - I will OCCASIONALLY run half a mile, maybe even a full mile. Maybe. And I walk *slightly* more than some people because I usually walk out to get my lunch (and all the food places are half a mile away) and walk to the coffee shop (which is much closer) and we will occasionally walk to get dinner on a weeknight (because we have a lot of places to eat about 1.25 miles away). But I also don't really cook or clean much (we eat take out a LOT and also my house is kind of a mess, period. Plus, no kids to clean up after) so that probably balances it out a little. But otherwise I have a desk job in a cubicle and my hobbies are reading and video games.
So then I tried a month at 2000 but at that point I was burned out on dieting (1800 is HARD ok) and wasn't doing a great job of sticking it and I stopped logging a lot of days, then came the holidays - I logged 5 days over the holidays out of curiosity and I was eating 2600-2800 during that time. Gained 4 lbs over that entire time - and I did lift consistently but I also spent a LOT of days lying on the couch watching seasons 1-3 of Glee.
So that means I was only overeating roughly 200 cals during that 6 weeks time Less if I include the weeks before that where I was messing around but NOT pigging out. I should have been losing 1lb/week at 1750 but I was losing jack and I was slightly miserable.
So now I am testing out 2100 (but with no messing around, I'm sticking to it hard) and seeing how that goes for me. I wish I could tell you if it worked or not but I *can* tell you I'm a lot less miserable.
Here's my weekly life in a nutshell:
Sunday: Go to Zumba for an hour - come home and pretty relax and do stuff around the house for the rest of the day. Read, watch tv, clean, cook dinner.....nothing major though.
Monday: Weights - 40 minutes
Tuesday: Yoga
Wednesday: Zumba and Weights (unfortunately Zumba is something social with some ladies I know, and this is one of the few times we can get together, just happens to coincide with weights).
Thursday: Zumba
Friday: Weights, sometimes zumba.
Saturday: Rest Day
My job is generally work from home sedentary - I literally sit on the couch and work on a computer. I do make all my meals though - I rarely eat out. I try to do a little cleaning every day. I also have a dog who requires being taken out a few times a day as well - not lengthy walks cause he's a chihuahua who weighs nothing and would literally become a dogsicle if we stayed outside too long.
With exercise I've been eating around 1800 average. The only time I have successfully lost weight in large increments was when I was on weight watchers a number of years ago and literally ate nothing, I did some strength training back then, but nothing compared to what I do now. I did do a lot more cardio back then though and ran regularly. I was very hungry.
This week was the first full week I've had a heart rate monitor on as well - I've been wearing it all the time and when I did zumba and weights on Wednesday of this week it said I burned nearly 1300 calories. I know that zumba can really torch the calories, but that's kind of insane, but yet, I was literally dripping in sweat, dripping. You wouldn't have wanted to touch me, it was disgusting. I also sweat while doing my weights, too - I try not to take too big of rests between my sets.
My stats: I am 198 as of tody. I was 212 this time last year - and I have gone from a size 18-20 to a 12-14. I haven't seen any significant movement on my weight in a number of months though - well, pretty much since I started lifting weights.
I obviously have weight I need to lose though - but not sure what to do. I hit my protein every day, and make a point of doing that. I try to get it through food naturally first, and if that doesn't work, I'll have a shake. I've cut out pasta out of my life - but I don't avoid rice though it's not an every day thing. I try to eat true whole grain breads - and fibrous carbs like squash and such. Even potatoes have gone the way of the prom dress for me.
I don't shy away from fruit and veggies either -
Me in a nutshell.0 -
Thank you all so much for the support....this is one of many reasons that I love this group and this thread so much
Yes, SideSteel and Sara always have great words of wisdom I find. I am feeling very confident with my plan, which is what I was thinking before I asked the other group, but to have SideSteel, Sara, and you ladies agree and encourage makes me feel so much better.
Tameko...I'm not sure how similar we are in size. I'm 5'6" and as of this morning 177# Was down to 171 back in October. I'm a pear....my chest is at about 32", waist is at about 30", and hips at 42". These were all lower, except chest, last month.....like I'm talking hips were at 40" and waist at 28.75". Hence the freaking out. But your point about not being accurate in measurements is valid...and I thought I had rectified that last month.....but I mean that's still a huge difference! Have I seen a difference? yes....that's another reason I was so devastated to be honest. When I look in the mirror I can see the lines on each side of my abs and I can tell that my *kitten* is perkier and that i'm looking leaner overall...at least to me. My size hasn't changed though....not in a long time.
After the 2 week diet break, 1 week training break, I will go down to 2000 again and try that for 4 weeks and see what happens. At this point I have nothing to lose....the numbers are going up anyway....might as well try to enjoy it lol0 -
Vegas, I am wondering if you just picked a bad day in your cycle to weigh and measure. I know it's not for everyone, but this is why I weigh myself every morning and measure sporadically - every now and then I hit a day where my weight goes up easily 3 lbs, or all my measurements are an inch up or whatever. This way, I know that it's just a fluke and in a few days I will be back on track. I would suggest giving it a week and trying again.
Also, though, I will say that while I have lost pounds since I started lifting, my measurements have not changed dramatically. Or at all. It's funny, because it's the opposite of what people are usually consoled with, and it's the opposite of what you would expect while lifting. But I've read some comments suggesting that there will be water retention, and of course your muscles will be... not finding the right word, but pumped up for lack of the correct word... so I am just going to keep doing what I am doing and know it will all start showing in a few months.
I'm eating at 1800 gross and it feels right to me. I let myself go over here and there without stressing. I really don't think my TDEE is any higher than 2200, and that's with two kids, a sedentary job, two days of lifting, 10 miles of running and one hour of other cardio a week. I'm basing that on observations of how much I am losing as well as calculators. But I agree that a maintenance break is in order. That's pretty much what I did over the holidays, I "gained" four or five pounds, and now I'm already down 1.5 from where I was before I got casual about my intake.0 -
I'm 5'6" and currently ....eh. I didn't weigh this morning, but I seem to be hovering around 168 after the initial bloat from my massive holiday food fest dropped off. I was calling myself 165 for most of last year but towards the end (when I'd started really slacking on my food) I started seeing more like 164-168 in my fluctuations (instead of 163-167). And like I said. No zumba. Noooone. Not any. Walking and that's about it. Dropped pretty firmly into a size 8 last year but only lost about 5 lbs - in January I was around 171, at one point I saw 162.6 but then we went on our honeymoon and I started ****ing around with my food so I never saw that again. Maintained very easily probably averaging 2300 though (And lost that pant size)
Darwin - So on average, 3.5 ish hours of zumba a week, 2 hours of weights, and an hour of yoga? That's a LOT of exercise. If you were just starting out with dieting I'd probably tell you to do 2300 (TDEE - 20%) but that would be a pretty big jump up for you so I'd say start with 2000-2100 for now.
I mean think of it this way. You weigh more than me. You do a LOT more than me. But you eat less. There's no reason for that - and yeah sometimes people with 50ish lbs to lose can lose a lot faster but ....you just may not be one of those people. Plus, how sure are you about that goal weight? Maybe you only have 30 to lose. I'm wearing the same size now that I did when I was 145 (but not exercising) so I figured I could be a size 6 if I could get down to about 155. Maybe 150. But still. Much heavier than before.0 -
I think pumped is the right word Sarah - glycogen and water pump is a real thing (bodybuilders use it before shows - they deliberately do a special regimen that makes your muscles pump up as big as possible).
Oh aaaand - I've read that lowering carbs can actually slow your metabolism down, or maybe its more accurate to say that higher carb diets increase your metabolism so its entirely possible to maintain on 2200 eating low carb and then on 2400 eating higher carb. But god help me if I can find that article again. Sigh.
Or I mean at all actually - since dieting tends to cause metabolisms to reduce themselves, just because you lose 1lb/week eating 2k doesn't mean your maintenance is 2500. It could be that your maintenance is 2700 but you have reduced activity by 200 calories of burn and used existing stores for the rest.0 -
It is so CRAZY to me how much women's bodies vary, probably based on body fat percentage and distribution. I'm 5'7" and weigh 159, but I am firmly in 10/12. It's my waist I guess - it's still so huge from having kids. I'm 38.5 chest, 32.5 natural waist, 37 abdomen, and 39 hips. Both Vegas and Tameko weigh more than me, are shorter than me, but wear smaller sizes and have smaller measurements.
So I am looking on the bright side - that's just that much better I will get as I blast that huge amount of fat I'm carrying around and get stronger.0 -
Yeah I did think about just catching myself on a bad day....it really is entirely possible....but it's been 4 weeks since the last time I measured, so I figured from a hormonal standpoint my body should be about the same. Ugh....never know though!
Actually another thing I just thought of and I don't know if it would make a difference....but I did get an IUD since the last time I weighed and measured. Is it possible that the change in hormones would make a difference? Didn't even think of it before!
As for my clothing sizes, jeez that can go anywhere.....in some brands I'm still a 14, some a 12 and I can even do a 10 in a very few. So weird!
In any event, I am feeling better because of all of you fantastic ladies and the plan I have come up with. Plus the new boy I have gone out with a few times made a big point of telling me how great he thinks I look....that's always a nice pick me up
Edit to add: I actually got my IUD 2 weeks before the last time I weighed and measured....not since the last time. Is it possible that could have something to do with it?0 -
Yeah clothing can vary a bit but some of it is also cuts/styles. If its not cut in a way that accomodates the places you carry weight, you have to size up. And high end designer stuff tends to run smallish but in the mid range I seem to wear an 8 or an M pretty consistently. I'm built weird though I actually don't really HAVE much of a waist per se - there's a narrow point on my torso at the bottom of my rib cage but its not all that visibly curvy - not like vegas's picture. And then I carry a lot of muscle on my legs and more than average in my chest/upper back - I actually went up a bra band size (and down a cup size) and my calves are huge (as in cannot buy certain brands of jeans, even boot cut styles, because my calves are too big. Like levis.)
I'm actually wearing a size 6 in today's Lucky brand jeans. but only because they're the 'easy rider' cut and they're not actually riding all that easy on me. Plus I suspect they were just cut wrong or something which is why I got them for 12 dollars on super ultra clearance (Score).
Vegas - no idea about the IUD actually - I haven't used hormonal birth control in ages because I don't do well on the pill but in GENERAL doesn't it make people bloat?0 -
My best friend who is an instructor for Medical Diagnostics at a post secondary institution says a resounding YES that the change in hormones could be the reason for the EVIL results lol
Hmmm.....explains away a bit but the fact still remains that there has been little progress since September lol
I will still proceed with the plan as originally intended. Plus I'm getting hungry all the time and craving sugar.....there is definitely something more going on.
Because of my pear shape, I still can't wear the designer jeans which is a real b!tch!!! At least I save some money in that area though....God knows this weight loss journey has cost me a fortune in clothing lol0 -
My best friend who is an instructor for Medical Diagnostics at a post secondary institution says a resounding YES that the change in hormones could be the reason for the EVIL results lol
Hmmm.....explains away a bit but the fact still remains that there has been little progress since September lol
I will still proceed with the plan as originally intended. Plus I'm getting hungry all the time and craving sugar.....there is definitely something more going on.
Because of my pear shape, I still can't wear the designer jeans which is a real b!tch!!! At least I save some money in that area though....God knows this weight loss journey has cost me a fortune in clothing lol
^^ its the goddamn bras that piss me off. Those things are EXPENSIVE. I'm currently making do with 2 that I got on ultra clearance for like 12 dollars each, because I learned my lesson after having to replace 2 relatively new and really nice bras (when I first lost weigh) and then replce 2 more nice ones PLUS an expensive running bra when I lost weight and didn't think my bra size would change again (Because I was back into a 34dd and I'd ALWAYS been a 34dd before so I figured I was all set. But nope. I'm a 36 C now. On the flip side I can wear regular sports bras to run now so that's a plus).
I haven't bought any designer jeans yet. They opened a Joe's in the mall about 4 months ago and when the signs went up that it was coming I thought "ok by the time that opens I can definitely buy a pair"
Yeah. You see how well that went. But I really did spend a lot of last year being REALLY inconsistent with my food - I'm on track now. I think.
And also sometime in the middle of last year I decided that I didn't need a perfect body, or designer jeans. I look ok in this body - sure I've got some visible pudge around the middle (visible in clothes unless I carefully buy styles that hide it) that I want to get rid of, but in general people tell me I look good as I am, and I am VERY satisfied with the amounts I can eat (especially compared to the 1500 I did at the beginning of my weight loss), and weight lifting is the only exercise I actually like doing enough to do consistently, so all I can do is commit to being very consistent with my weight progressions, not eat too much, and the body I get is the body I earned and I should be happy with it.
I do really want to reduce the pudge a little though which is why I'm going hard with the experimentation this January. 2100 this month. if I don't get results by mid feb, I'll experiment with something else. Although now I'm adding a confound because Nick wants to start running 5ks again. *grumble* I'm not built to run. I'm build to bulldoze my way through walls. He's built to run pretty well though so I want to encourage him (the big jerk).0 -
See and bras for me are the fun part! I used to be a B38 which is a nearly impossible size....now I'm a B36/34 and I can wear all the cute stuff.....for the first time ever there is a type of clothing where ALL the cute stuff fits AND my size is common lol I went crazy at VS Pink as soon as I made this revelation!
I think the thing that has shocked me the most is that I still LOVE my leggings! I thought once I lost weight that I would never want to wear them....but I want to wear them all the time.....because now I can wear CUTE leggings outfits instead of just oversized and stretchy stuff because it doesn't cut into my rolls haha
I hear you about being happy with your body the way it is. I have contemplated this many times over the last couple of months....basically how much am I willing to go through? ya know? I mean, not throw in the towel completely, but to eat at maintenance or closer to, continue to workout because I love it and I like getting stronger, and then just let the chips fall where they may. No more scale or measurements or stress. Just basically come to terms with it! I will see what happens after this next experiment and make a decision from there!0
