I will lift today. But, here is my confession: I will NOT hit any PR's. In fact, mentally, the ONLY way I've been able to get through my work-outs, lately, is by giving myself permission to "BACK OFF".

I think I was getting pretty tired of having to "up my weights" every single time. Of trying to "hit it out of the ball-park" every single time. Of feeling DOM's every single day and of feeling like I'm just NEVER going to meet my goals. (I still can't bang out push-ups off the floor, I still can't do a BW pull-up....blah, blah, blah.)

So, I have given myself permission to lift weights. That 20lb DB's will do, even if I *might* be able to squeak through 30's. That it's "okay" that my squats suck *kitten* and that I can't seem to get the HEAVY weights with squats.

Otherwise, I'd be too depressed. So, I have given myself permission to be a bit of a slacker. Getting to the gym, for me, is the easy part. What was messing with my head was my inability, despite my tall height and relative heavy weight, to move weights around that are as heavy as that.

Hi kdpk! A few things that may be useful to you...

- on when/how much to eat. There are a lot of approaches to this. *You should do whatever works for you*. You don't need to have many meals or few meals or calories at certain times (except potentially pre/post workout). I do a lighter breakfast with heavier lunch and dinner and light afternoon snack. It works for me. Other people eat 5-6 equal meals. Other people do a more sophisticated technique called intermittent fasting in which they abstain from food for 16-12 hours a day and eat a very big meal to break their 'fast'. This may be something you would like if you like big meals. I would experiment and see what works for you.

- that said, if you can't stop eating it may depend on what you're eating. Try eating 7 oz of chicken, a bunch of veggies and a complex carb and keep eating. Not easy. I base my meals as best I can around protein and veggies with fat and whole carbs to taste so to speak. The more whole food and protein you eating the harder it will be to drastically overeat.

- on the 3 day cycle, that's tough. When I am being very strict with my diet I should for 100% adherence to calorie level and nutrition goals with the exception of 1 meal a week. Plan your indulgences. You will feel better about them and they can motivate you to stay on track. When I am being less strict I just stick to 80-90% 'real' foods.

Beeps - hope the workout went well! It's smart to be so careful about injury. And you were completely right about me...My personal philosophy has always been "Anything worth doing is worth overdoing". So for better or worse I am full in, all the time

Ris - good luck on your race!!! I think running a marathon you're fine

Well, for some strange reason, I weighed myself, today! (Usually I only weigh on Thursdays...)

It has been 30 days since I began my "cut". 30 days since I have been working on eating ONLY during an "eating window" (usually 6 hours, but sometimes 8). 30 days of lifting 3 x per week, and diminishing my cardio to ONE day per week.

I have lost ~7 lbs!

For me, this is HUGE! I *know* it is FAT LOSS. I *know* it isn't "water weight" for 2 reasons: a) I lift all the time, and likely retain water all the time due to muscle recovery; or b) I drink water all the time, and likely don't retain water all the time due to how much water I ingest.

My 2012 weight-loss goals are on the horizon - I feel I can lose ALL the weight I want to lose by the end of December, 2012! (Or, at worst, in Jan/Feb, 2013.)

No, my clothes aren't 'falling off me'....I'm still wearing exactly the same size I was a month ago. No, I can't notice any difference in the mirror. (Then again, I don't do pics until end-of-october, who KNOWS how the pics *might* show change???)

But, for today, I do NOT care about any of that. I JUST CARE that I found a scale-weight-loss method that is working for me and that fits in nicely with my lifting schedule.

Have a good weekend, all!!

Hey ladies. Last week was iffy for me. Just haven't been really on track lately. The week was bad, the weekend was. Just trying to keep my head above water with all that we have going on at this point. I'm hoping to stick with LP's guidelines and finish out my last week of Supreme 90 and put that one in the books for now.

Sorry I've been MIA, been trying to peek in to see how you are all doing. It's just been a busy week. Hopefully I'll be around this week. Hope you are all doing well!

Beeps-Great loss!

Amy- Hope your Dad is doing ok.

kc- Glad things are working for you-keep at it!

Kate- Hope you are well and that things are settling down for you!

I will call last week some good and some bad. My workouts were almost non-existent untill the end of the week, but I ended up lifting 3x as planned, ran once, and went for a nice walk Sunday and then took the baby in the backpack on some trails later in the day, so really I think I call that success on the workout front. BUT....I drank too much and didn't eat a ton, just didn't eat smart. Yesterday I went to a sports bar for a bit, drank 2 pints of Blue Moon (at 250 calories a pop!) and actually attempted to eat smart. I really wanted the waffle fries with cheese, buffalo sauce and Ranch, but knew I would feel like total crap if I ate them, so compromised on the mini burgers and a side salad. I still felt like crap last night. Just really bloated, and I don't feel a ton better today. AND I have book club tonight, so there's some more wine. Stupid wine. Anyways, I'm going to really try to clean up my diet this week and up through Thanksgiving. I need to get back to higher protein and less carbs like I was doing about a month ago. So my goals for the next 2 weeks, and actually up until Thanksgiving are:

1. Lift 3x a week
2. Run 2x a week
3. Hit macros (40/30/30)
4. Try to limit drinking to 3 nights a week

My nursing is tapering off and I think I am not burning that awesome 500 calories a day anymore. I will see how a week or two of "good effort" reflect on the scale, but if I get stuck, I may lower my alloted calories. Right now I have them manually set to 1800. Those of you who have switched to no burns on workouts, how do you like it? I really enjoy to see my calorie burns so I don't know how that would work for me.

Hi all!

Beeps - congrats on the loss! That's amazing! Keep it up!

Amy - Glad you enjoyed the 5k and I will be thinking about your family tomorrow. oh and I HATE cold sores. I have gotten them all my life (much to the absolute horror of my junior high and high school self...actually, who am I kidding, much to the horror of my current self). Life was much improved when I asked my doctor to prescribe me a generic of Valtrex. It's generally meant to treat the other kind of herpes (ew, I know) but works wonders at preventing sores on your lips. You take it as soon as you feel the tingle and it makes them disappear or at least stay small and go away. I definitely recommend it.

Ashley - I hear you on last week. I had a spotty week once the the weekend hit. I really like the 'no burn' method for workouts. I am always concenred that I am not estimating correctly and I don't like the mentally of trying to exercise for calories which is what I end up doing when I count burns. I exercise for performance improvement and eat to fuel my body and exercise. From this point of view, the burn doesn't matter and eating steady amounts makes more sense.

As I said, spotty weekend food wise I didn't do super terribly but I could stand to clean it up and I didn't log. I am going into this week focusing on good food, getting my crossfit in and getting serious about recovery. This weekend will be nuts with a halloween party and wedding but I will be ready to make good decisions!

Happy Tuesday, ladies! I'm sneaking in this update from work. Unfortunately I don't have time to catch myself up on how everyone is doing right now, so I will definitely read up tonight. Quick word on me- this weekend was rough! hovered around 2250 :-/ cals and too many carbs. I did, however, log EVERYTHING- and I'm proud of that. I also successfully stuck to my M-W-F lift schedule, but did NOT fit in cardio on non-lift days. Due to crazy weekend, yesterday I was unmotivated to bounce back, and completely out of food with adequate protein. I decided to screw Macros. I still logged, tho. Today I'm back in full swing. STILL have not taken new measurements, grrr. SO busy! Amendment to goals for this week- try to aim for around 1500 cals/day to help even out last week, and get that cardio in there on Tuesday/ Thursday/ Sat.

Does anyone have a suitable substitute for the deadlift in stage one? It's not so painful for me that I need to stop immediately, but it is definitely keeping me from increasing weight, and it is uncomfortable. Thinking I should just breakdown and visit the Dr.?

One major SUCCESS I notices this past week- I can SEE the error in my behaviors. I'm imagining myself years ago when my daily diet was probably 5-10% protein and mostly carbs, and I had no idea that that was even as issue!

Amy- still thinking of you and sending good vibes your way. I hope you are hanging in there!

Sarah- It's all about taking steps forward and it sounds like 'seeing the errors' is a great step forward for you. Awesome!

Abigal- Great job with the P90x! Any outing can get dangerous for me. :laugh:

Kate- You must have to be the most organized person with all your plans and trips!! Busy, busy! Good luck with the CF workouts this week. They sound fun. Is it a dress up halloween party?

Yesterday was perfect. Even drank tons of water. Heading and hoping towards a similar day today. I have my youngest with me at work right now (horrible plan, but I had no choice) and all I want to do is eat his cookie. I won't. But I want to! :blushing:

Good morning ladies!

Abi--I know what you mean about dangerous outings. I co-hosted a baby shower this weekend and there was a mimosa bar and enough food to feed 50 people. Nuff said. It was a definite cheat day.

Amy--I'll be keeping you and your family in my prayers. I hope the surgery goes well and they have nothing but good news to report.

Sarah--way to go on learning from errors! I think that's truly the hardest part is knowing where to fix things and actually doing it, so good for you!

I (finally) finished NROLFW phase one yesterday and am excited to move to phase 2. I got into it slower than I would have liked to, but once I got going I am really enjoying lifting heavy. I will get a good workout in tonight doing yoga and zumba, but won't have a chance to work out again until Friday due to work meetings and a girls night. I am going to try really hard to get to the gym to lift Friday night, but it's always such a struggle for me to motivate myself to go to the gym on a Friday night (why, I have no idea. It's not like I go out and do anything else since I work Saturdays!)

Hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Amy - Prayers with you and your family. I'm so glad you fit in some runs last weekand and stayed avoided smoking!

Chloe- Glad you are finding moderation with eating/drinking. I think that is something we all struggle with.

Rogie - Congrats on finishing phase 1. I don't think I would go to the gym on a Fri night either!

Mama- YEAH for the perfect day. I hope that motivation follows you all week

I have been craving carbs for like 4 days! Friday was my school's fall carnival. and my day was 70% carbs -YIKES!!! Sat and Sun were not much better. I was at 50% for the week. On Sun, I made my first batch of egg muffins, but I'm eating the with a whole wheat English muffin. I may cut that out tmorrow. I have a spaghetti squash in the crockpot so I can make spaghetti and meatballs tonight. I've never tried it, but I have some friends on here that always eat it. I was so happy to find the 120s on Fri, I might cry if the scale goes back up!