hi
my name is Yanicka (duh)
I am 37 mother of 2. A 12 years old and a 5 years old. I am also the surrogate mother of a 8yo girl, 7 yo boy, 3 yo girl and a 1 yo girl. I say that because it might explain why I am obsessed with my stomach LOL
I work in a big telecom company here in montreal. My native language is french so if I do not make sens, it<s not because I am illiterate
I started this program August 28th and I love it.
I am still eating at a deficit and really getting tired of seeing the same number since april. I pretty much tried everything to get the number to go down.

I am on stage 3 of the program. I am 4'10" and not in need of weight loss per se, just some fat loss and muscle gain. I love this program so far. It's the most challenging thing I've done since ever picking up a dumbbell years ago. I love that everything is laid out for you so you don't have to think about what exercises to do. I am already thinking about what I'm going to do after I complete stage 7. I am watching my calories and trying to stay under maintenance but also eating lower carb/higher protein/moderate fat. My husband says he's noticing my body changing but I wish I could say the same. I guess my perception of myself is distorted(at least that's why he says).

I hate cardio and love lifting. I can't ever see giving this up!

Hi! I'm Denitza. I'm 36, mom to 2 boys-9 and 7, married -9y. now and live in WI. I was born in Bulgaria.. I started NROLFW on 9/19/2011 and right now I'm in the middle of stage 2. I lift M,W,F and try to do something fun on the other days-walks, KBs, cardio machines, boxing on the Wii, or the monkey bars at the park when I take my boys there. I started the program because I love lifting heavy things, love to be stronger than I'm now and love to be able to do a pull up. Since I started NROLFW I have been at the same lbs. but my body has changed and I need a smaller belt for my jeans-and smaller jeans

Hi Im Shanna, a 31 y/o mother to 2 gorgeous girls 12 and 9. I have been active most of my life. I quit my routine over the summer and gained about 10 pounds that I need to lose. Its not so much about the wt as the size i am not 'comfortable'. I have just started investigating this program as I would love to be more muscular and lean!! I have always thought that was more beautiful than the victoria secret skinny! I am 5' 7" and weigh 150 right now. I would really like to start this program to build muscle but am scared of the current fat I need to lose sticking around if I eat at a surplus!

I'm kinda hesitant to introduce myself, 'cause I don't feel like I'm REALLY part of this group. I just started. I'm an out-of-shape-wimp. And I'm more a lurker and moocher of advice than anything else. But anyway...

I'm Rebekah. I'm 34, single, and a full-fledged obnoxious know-it-all science geek >.> I don't actually know it all, of course. And I try hard not to be too obnoxious. I have my PhD in pharmacology, which doesn't mean what you think it means. I don't have a drug catalog in my head and I can't make recommendations based on that drug catalog. But I do know a lot about cell-biology and how general classes of drugs work in the brain. I specialize in neuron cell death in stroke, traumatic brain injury, and now Alzheimer's disease. Ladies get a bum deal on so many diseases! We're probably more susceptible to Alzheimer's disease than men thanks to the precipitous loss of estrogen we experience in menopause. How's that for fair?? But the good news is... exercise helps lower your risks even to a disease in the brain! Which I think is awesome.

I'm Rachel6503's sister, by the way. I'm not sure if she wants me to announce that on the boards But she inspires me and is the reason I'm on MFP. She looks fantastic and while I don't think I'll ever look like that, I have found myself in awe of her. Grad-student, mom of three, and she still has time to look that good? I keep asking myself: What's my excuse?

Anyhow, I've been that obese, awkward kid/young-woman/less-young-woman all my life, and I'd REALLY like to fix it this time. I've making slow progress: 40lbs since March 7th. But I am at least making progress.

Looking forward to getting to know y'all.

Hi, I'm Adele. I bought and read this book several months ago but have not started the plan. I really want to. I'm 47 years old(yikes!) and have lost a lot of weight, but I'm all mushy and want to regain the muscle that I've lost. I had a knee injury and surgery at the beginning of this year, and it's held me back from getting into weightlifting. I hate to lift! So I'm here for support and encouragement and all the advice that you can spare!

Finally got the book last night and am starting today! Thanks for the links to the spreadsheets.

I've done Body for Life and truly love the weights better than the cardio. So I'm thrilled about this

However, I've recently gotten to like running, and I had been formulating goals to be able to run increasingly long distances at respectable times. Then I tried to fix my own treadmill, didn't readjust the belt to tight and got ejected from it, twisting my ankle and not allowed to run for 6 weeks.

SOOO glad to have strength workouts to do instead. When my ankle is cleared for duty I may do longer slower runs on my off days from lifting.

Thanks for starting the group. Looking forward to interacting with other strong women!

My name's Natalie, full time student (studying to become a midwife). I'm 5'4 and 135-138 lbs. I have been on MFP for quite a while but have not lost much weight! I'm within my healthy bmi range so I decided maybe I should focus on strength training and muscle building rather than weight loss - really I don't care what I weigh as long as it's within a healthy range, and when I have dieted down to 128-130lbs in the past I was still really mushy - definitely still had a high body fat percentage!

In the summertime I love cycling and hiking, and I'm always trying to become a "runner" - right now I'm also training for a 10k race at the end of December. I started NROLFW sometime in October and I'm just over halfway done Stage 1. I'm trying to make it to the gym 3x a week but sometimes life gets in the way and I only make it 2x. I'm having a great time so far, and I can already tell that I'm getting stronger! I can't tell much of a difference visually, but I'm lifting much heavier for sure. It's been really good having a plan - I have been going to the gym regularly for a month now, and I had a lot of trouble with consistency before. I'm worried about what will happen when I'm done all Stages but I have a LONG way to go, so I'll worry about that when I get there. I haven't been very conscientious of my diet so far - mostly making sure I get my protein shakes in so I think now I'm going to try and kick it up a notch and track every day on here.

So nice to meet all of you ladies - this discussion group is really useful in keeping me motivated. If any of you want to add me as a friend feel free!

Hi my name is Cindy. I just bought the book a week ago and obviously have not finished reading it yet or started the program. I got to the part where he was saying that the 1200-1400 calorie range was starvation, it took me back a bit and I put the book down for awhile. Honestly, it scared me. I've been on MFP since the end of May and have cut my calories down to the 1200-1400 range but I eat my exercise calories back. So when I do exercise, I obviously eat more. I've lost 30 pounds and to reach my goal weight I want to lose another 14. So at this point I'm very confused and scared. The whole point that I started MFP was to lose weight, get healthy and exercise more. All seemed to be successful to me until I started reading this book. So I'm at this standstill, do I do what I know worked while risking that I'm only losing muscle and not being healthy or drastically change to his way of thinking of eating way more calories.

So....yes, I need to finish the book before making the decision. However, your thoughts would be appreciated. I do, no matter what, realize I have to start building muscle. So either way, I plan to do so.

In addition, I work in the IT industry, full-time, married for 20 years and have 3 children. I'm so thankful how God has blessed me and my family and look forward to being healthy!

Hi my name is Cindy. I just bought the book a week ago and obviously have not finished reading it yet or started the program. I got to the part where he was saying that the 1200-1400 calorie range was starvation, it took me back a bit and I put the book down for awhile. Honestly, it scared me. I've been on MFP since the end of May and have cut my calories down to the 1200-1400 range but I eat my exercise calories back. So when I do exercise, I obviously eat more. I've lost 30 pounds and to reach my goal weight I want to lose another 14. So at this point I'm very confused and scared. The whole point that I started MFP was to lose weight, get healthy and exercise more. All seemed to be successful to me until I started reading this book. So I'm at this standstill, do I do what I know worked while risking that I'm only losing muscle and not being healthy or drastically change to his way of thinking of eating way more calories.

So....yes, I need to finish the book before making the decision. However, your thoughts would be appreciated. I do, no matter what, realize I have to start building muscle. So either way, I plan to do so.

In addition, I work in the IT industry, full-time, married for 20 years and have 3 children. I'm so thankful how God has blessed me and my family and look forward to being healthy!

I'd definitely give the eating more thing a try. Maybe increase your calories by 200 each week until you hit the number the book recommends. Stay there for a good 3-4 weeks and see what happens. Even if you don't continue to lose at the same rate you have been, winter is a great time to focus on muscle building. Put the fat loss on hold until Spring. Then you can cut more fat and reveal the sexy muscles you've been building all summer.

Hey, I'm nearly 30 (birthday is this coming Saturday!), 5'4", and live in Brooklyn. I work as a nanny and absolutely love my job! I reached my highest weight at some point last year, 170 was the highest I ever saw on the scale but as I didn't own one I suspect there was a point when I was closer to 180. When I turned 29, it was sort of wake up call to get the things I didn't like about my life changed before I hit the big 3-0. Not just my weight, lots of things. Now that I'm a week away, I feel I've done a pretty bang-up job of sorting it all out!

Before joining MFP I got my weight down to 150 by cutting out a lot of the junk I was eating and being slightly less lazy on my non-work days. I stopped drinking 5 sodas a day, eating sandwiches with more mayo than meat, and reigned in my rather extreme candy addiction. I have a wonderfully supportive boyfriend of going on 4 years who does nothing but encourage and aid me in reaching my goals. When I joined MFP, I started talking to him a LOT about the things I was going to do and he was so very helpful in helping me do them, and expressed much joy at my decision to do it in a healthy way. He quit buying me soda and candy on a daily basis, and started trying to enjoy healthier meals.

He also paid for me to join a gym (at my request), and I did a *kitten*-ton of cardio 3 or 4 times a week, with plans to incorporate strength training that never happened. I went along with the pre-formulated MFP suggestions and had my calories set to lose 1 pound a week, with plans to change to .5 pounds per week once I was within 10 of my goal. I did that for nearly 50 days before I realized I was eating way too little, MFP had me at 1360, which was below my BMR, and I was finding it exceptionally hard to meet my macros even when eating my exercise calories - and starting to get a little obsessive about it. So this weekend I decided to do some more research and serious reading and decided my whole plan was rubbish and I needed to change it ASAP. Sure I was losing weight (currently down to 146), but I felt like crap and had headaches all the time.

And that's where NROL comes in. I have yet to buy the book, but plan to dl it later today, as soon as I find the power cord for my nook. I have a meeting with a personal trainer at my gym today (made the appointment several weeks ago, just coincidental it coincides with the decision to change things up) and plan on having him show me the free weights room I've been scared to even walk past since joining the gym. I'm hoping he's familiar with NROL and can help me get started with that, it's a free personal training program the Y has where you get 4 meetings spaced 3 weeks apart to help get your started on your fitness goals. I've raised my calories to just below maintenance for now, it was a big jump from 1350 to 1800 (I think my maintenance is around 2000) but so far I'm finding it to be MUCH easier to meet my macros and I haven't had a headache since I started eating more. I'm seriously considering throwing my bathroom scale away, or at least putting it in the top of a closet.

I have a lot of these old band shirts from my younger, hipper days that are my real goal - I used to be in excellent shape and looked way hot in them, now I look like a sausage (but less like a sausage than this time last year!). I want to be able to finish a basic yoga class without modifying any poses because I can barely support my body weight with my arms. I want to be able to hoist myself onto our counter without having a muscle cramp for 2 days. I want to feel sexy in a bathing suit by the end of Feb. when I go on a cruise with that wonderful boyfriend of mine and my parents (who haven't seen me since I was my heaviest). THESE are my goals, not some # on a scale.

Sorry this wound up being so long!

Well, here goes. My name is Devi. And like most of you on here, I am a mother. My two little ones are what motivate me to be a better person. Diet and excercise have always been a huge part of my life. But not in the way that they probably should be. What i mean is that i am simply not setting a good example for my children. My "normal" program is to eliminate calories and burn even more through aggressive cardio. Well, how many calories do you cut before you just can anymore? Thats how I feel. What I am doing is not working. That point really hit home when my lovley very healthy 9 year old daughter mentioned she needed to lose weight. That was my wake up call. I am not setting the right example. I dont want to pass my insecurities on to her.

At 6 feet tall and 157 pounds I understand that I am not overweight. Do i have the body I desire? No. This is not to say that I am not happy with how i look, I just know that I can look better. I will admit that i have become a slave to the number on the scale. There are two parts of me that are always at odds. My logical and my emotional side. They can be bitter enemies. Logically I know that I am fit and healthy. Emotionally I see the pics of these beautiful hollywood bodies and desire that for myself. Despite the fact that i know the photos have been altered. I am embarking on this journey to become strong and healthy. i've been following a strict diet of only 1450 calories. (so stupid i know) and i must admit that to see that my body needs closer to 2000 is mind boggling. It seems to go against everything that i know. My life will change from this day forward. My bathroom scale is no more. My loving boyfriend has since confiscated it. No longer will i be a slave to the scale. Weight training and EATING will be my new friends. My daughter will have an example. And a damn good one!!

Well, here goes. My name is Devi.

Awesome! Welcome to the group! I hope that you enjoy following the NROL. I certainly have! It is a big change going from a low calorie diet to 2000+, but you will get used to it and you will notice that your body is HUNGRY for that food!

In the beginning of the program, I was also shocked by how much food you must eat and for the first week or so, I felt like I was stuffing myself because I didn't feel hungry every time that I ate. Now, about three weeks in, I get hungry for my next meal or snack every time. I feel like this is a sign that my body is changing and using all those nutrients I'm putting in.

Good for you! Your post is inspiring to me, and I think it's great that you have such support from your family as well! Good luck!

Hello

thought i would add my name to the rosta.

I'm Kat, i'm 28 and have been slacking somewhat in my efforts to drop 50lbs.
I've been counting my cals which works for the most part but the exercise thing never quiet got itself together for me.
I hate cardio, mostly as i find it hard and then give up or do not give 100%. I tried running and jillian. Most of the time i avoided the gym making up excuses or letting my OH distract me.

But something has changed now. I have set my own blog and set mini weekly food related challenges and have been reading about strong women . I booked a session with a trainer who is very pro women lifting weights as she does the same. I found that i like the challenge of lifting and now i am always eager to get to the gym at lunch.

I started New Rules today following the exercise plan with the aim of doing HIIT on my off days to get the cardio in that i hate.
My cals are set to drop 1lb a week still until i am on track with cleaner eating, then i think i will make the switch.

Fingers crossed!