HALP! Heavy Lifting Made Me SUPAH Bulky!!!

In for more photos of gorgeous ladies who lift heavy :flowerforyou:

Can't wait to post my pics someday

Now this should work!!!

PHOTO BOMB ALERT! Not wanting to be a total attention *kitten* so please excuse all the pics but I think they tell a story pretty well. I posted in the first part with a before/during picture...but I had a little more time on my hands this morning. Again, I want to reiterate - I didn't follow a huge caloric deficit during this period, I started too (eating around 1500-1600) but quickly fell off track (lifting makes me hangry!). Since December I've pretty much averaged maintenance calories or maybe even higher (~2000-2200+) as I've been battling depression and funky meds. So my progress is slower than others but I want my point to be that heavy lifting has allowed me to maintain my weight while still working on body recomposition (and eating junk food, nomz!). I would have lost more fat had I ate less.
Also note - I do not do cardio unless walking my dog for .5 - one mile at a leisurely pace counts, haha!

Before starting a heavy lifting program I weighed 175 and was pretty flabby. I'd also like to mention I was 220 lbs when I first started losing weight and I lost that weight through deficit and walking. Once I got to 180# I started more intense cardio.I had been doing Jillian Michaels 30 DS and Chalean Extreme during these photos (I started with New Rules of Lifting for Women in March 2013):

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/978665-yes-i-think-you-re-bulky-congrats-anyway

No, I haven't "missed the point." I have a different opinion. Rather than fill your thread with more drama, I started my own for people who aren't on the NROLFW bandwagon.

So congratulations to you for reaching your personal goals. I am happy for your success, and wish you the best of luck in maintaining your ideal body.

Now I'm off to do some fun cardio and work toward my own.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/978665-yes-i-think-you-re-bulky-congrats-anyway

No, I haven't "missed the point." I have a different opinion. Rather than fill your thread with more drama, I started my own for people who aren't on the NROLFW bandwagon.

So congratulations to you for reaching your personal goals. I am happy for your success, and wish you the best of luck in maintaining your ideal body.

Now I'm off to do some fun cardio and work toward my own.

DAT BACK!!! Inspirational!!!

*nods*

I didnt get back to this thread to thank you all for the nice comments. Glad that it rolled. All you ladies are so inspiring.

Here is me about mid-way into losing weight. I was still very fluffy but willing to put on a bikini. I think I was somewhere close to 160, size 12.



Then, same swimsuit and 125 pounds and a size 6-8, lost weight dieting and doing only cardio. My bf% was in the mid-30s.



March, 2013, 129 pounds (4 pounds heavier than the photo above) and a size 4. My bf dropped to the low 20s, right around 22% here.



Now, late April 2013, 126 pounds, size 2-4, and bf% right around 19%.



And these last 2 were taken within a day of each other. The first one is flexing and trying to look all bulky (HA!) and the second is what I look like when I'm not flexing.





I'm 40 years old and I've had kids. My body looks better now than it has looked since I was a teen. I wasn't at all kind to my body in my 20s and 30s, but it bounced back with heavy lifting.

I debated sharing these (I've posted before) because my after pics were at competition so I didn't want to get into the whole "bulky" thing. I've spent forever looking for another after picture to show that isn't how I look all the time. I wish I had taken pics to show at different body fat levels.



The best after pic I could find at a higher body fat.