January Start
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Ok, need some advice. I'm stressing over the calorie intake. So I decided I wanted to keep a deficit because since June I have been keeping my calories down at 1200/1300 and have lost 34lbs. I had 10lbs to get to my goal weight. Started NROL4W last week. Set calories to 1500 and eating back any exercise calories. I have gained 3lbs. It's freaking me out. So then I feared, well maybe I'm not eating enough and my body is storing fat instead of burning it. So, last night I ate as my free night and lifted last night. Ate around 2200 calories. Gained again, but only a few oz. I met my protein intake for the first time. Added more weight on my workout and soreness is so much less today. So I see the protein benefit. I have not incorporated cardio yet until soreness is more reasonable. Today I feel like I can do some.
So, should I keep my calories at 1500 or up them as the book tells us to do.0 -
Good question....I have NO idea. I just upped my calories to 1500 and if I don't see some progress after 4 weeks (either in weight or inches...but preferably inches) I will reevaluate and change it up.0
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If you ask a number of the heavy-lifting women on mfp, who have figures TO DIE FOR, you would find out they are eating 2,200-2,500 calories a day. Seriously, you HAVE to fuel your body in order to get the (muscle tone) results that you want. You also HAVE to believe the 10 lbs will come off, if it is supposed to, once you've revved up your metabolism.
(I say this as I'm trying to scarf down 1,850 calories a day.)
It is TOUGH to eat clean and eat 2,000 calories a day, I find. Really tough. But, start adding whey protein powder into all sorts of things you are eating, and it should help get your numbers up.
Truly - search around and you'll see the really CUT women on this site, are eating HUGE calories in order to lift properly.0 -
Thanks for the help. For now I am doing 1500/1800. The book said that you can do a 300 deficit. So, I'm giving it a try.0
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If you ask a number of the heavy-lifting women on mfp, who have figures TO DIE FOR, you would find out they are eating 2,200-2,500 calories a day. Seriously, you HAVE to fuel your body in order to get the (muscle tone) results that you want. You also HAVE to believe the 10 lbs will come off, if it is supposed to, once you've revved up your metabolism.
(I say this as I'm trying to scarf down 1,850 calories a day.)
It is TOUGH to eat clean and eat 2,000 calories a day, I find. Really tough. But, start adding whey protein powder into all sorts of things you are eating, and it should help get your numbers up.
Truly - search around and you'll see the really CUT women on this site, are eating HUGE calories in order to lift properly.
^this
I have included Natural Designer Whey in my diet. It's quite good and has 20mg protein per 100 calorie scoop, plus the added benefit of potassium. I increased my calories from 1500 daily to 1750 (non-lift days) and 2050 (lift days), this should be my maintenance calories, doubled my protein and scrapped my cardio routine altogether. I had put on 13 pounds since May so I know that was I was doing before was a waste of time. I completely started over.
I was 207 pounds when I started on Jan 2nd and thought FOR SURE that I would gain weight. I lost 4.4 pounds. I am quite certain that my body was starving. Everyday it is getting easier to eat more. I am hoping that my metabolism will be back on track by the end of the month and am keeping an open mind. If I gain a couple of pounds, so be it. I also took measurements since muscle mass is different that fat. I might weigh more, but hope to be physically smaller.
I was going to start HIIT yesterday, but my knee had other ideas. It is much better today so I will start HIIT tommorow.0 -
I met with PT today. And, we did an hour of (mostly) BW exercises. Full-body work-out. Good. Here are the *interesting* things that came out of this session:
1. He wants to strengthen my ankles - he thinks once they are strengthened, my squat form will improve dramatically! My ankles are quite flexible - good. But they aren't strong - bad. Every exercise we did, in some way, incorporated fast movements, of agility, which will help strengthen ankles (apparently).
2. My front side IS much stronger than the back side of my body. Just. Like. NROL4W. Said. In fact, when I do step-ups, I've only ever felt muscle soreness in my quads - my PT said, "weird, since that's a (mainly) glute exercise..." and in my lunges, too, I've only ever felt muscle soreness in my quads. Guess what?? In all these various "glute" exercises, squats, lunges, step-ups, my front body just takes over and uses only quads! So, he's working me on "engaging the glutes".
3. My seated row, with less weight, DRAMATICALLY improves how tight I can press my shoulder blades together. If you're shoulder blades aren't only pencil-width apart (with shoulders down!), when you are the pull-back part of the row, you are NOT working the middle back the way you should. So, there I was, moving up- and up- in weight, when in fact, I wasn't working the part of the body I should have been. So, I'm back down to 40 lbs. (I'll move up next time!) - and doing the seated row exactly correctly!
I'm confessing all of these *pointers* only to aid someone else - if you seem to be having some similar problems.
LADIES - ENGAGE THOSE GLUTES!! The *reason* boys LOVE to do squats and lunges is because they have 100% figured out how to use those glutes and the exercises actually feel GOOD on this muscle-work!0 -
Great info Beeps, ty.
I will look into the better form with the rows and step-ups and make sure that i am doing them correctly. I did noticed that my glutes were sore after the second deadlift workout. So much to learn! Excited
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Reading everyone's posts is so encouraging! I just started yesterday and have a pleasant feeling of soreness today. I had been doing some strength training but I do not think I was eating enough or training efficiently. I am seeing more people doing south beach and losing scale weight fast but they only look skinny. In fact a few are looking sick. I don't want skinny arms I want arms with muscle!
What are any of you using to find out your body fat %? My scale does it but I've heard it's not accurate. Of course the Bod Pod is great but there is not one anywhere close to where I live.0 -
My research has suggested that a body caliper test (done by a professional) is the only TRUE way to calculate your body fat %.
But, there are LOTS of online calculators that you can type your stats into and, at least, get an IDEA of about where yours is (+/- 5%).
Here's one:
http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html0 -
I have an Omron handheld monitor. It was about $20 from amazon. I know it's probably not the "true" number either, but I've used it the entire time and I've definitely seen a downward trend line in my %BF.What are any of you using to find out your body fat %? My scale does it but I've heard it's not accurate. Of course the Bod Pod is great but there is not one anywhere close to where I live.0 -
I have an Omron handheld monitor. It was about $20 from amazon. I know it's probably not the "true" number either, but I've used it the entire time and I've definitely seen a downward trend line in my %BF.What are any of you using to find out your body fat %? My scale does it but I've heard it's not accurate. Of course the Bod Pod is great but there is not one anywhere close to where I live.
I have Omron handheld too. I don't think it's the most accurate, but if the numbers are going down that's good for me.0 -
I have an Omron handheld monitor. It was about $20 from amazon. I know it's probably not the "true" number either, but I've used it the entire time and I've definitely seen a downward trend line in my %BF.What are any of you using to find out your body fat %? My scale does it but I've heard it's not accurate. Of course the Bod Pod is great but there is not one anywhere close to where I live.
I have Omron handheld too. I don't think it's the most accurate, but if the numbers are going down that's good for me.
And here's why you can't trust the scales. I started NROLW on September 14th.
9/21 - 129.4lbs, 21.6% body fat, 101.4lbs LBM.
1/13 - 130.6lbs, 20.6% body fat, 103.7lbs LBM
So a gain of about half a pound of muscle per month, and a total loss of about 1 pound of fat. (This is all eating at maintenance cals).0 -
I started New Rules on the 11th, and my body is still sore. My bum hurts so bad I have to hoist myself out of my desk chair. Tonight is part B. I have also upped my calories on MFP. I was eating 1560 calories, and bumped them up to 1860. I'm suppose to be eating 2183 resting and 2474.45 when exercising. My body was starving, no wonder I haven't lost squat! I'm having a hard time eating all my calories though, I can't believe I get to eat all this yummy stuff, and I fully agree with the "hunger prevention". I eat so I don't feel hungry, because when I get hungry, I binge. I noticed I'm having a hard time eating all my protein, even with the protein shakes, so I'm going to buy almonds and stuff just to boost it. I do tai chi on Tuesdays and sometimes Saturdays, just because I'm so damn sore I don't think I could do much else. I still keep up with my cardio during weight training days, not so much interval training, but Heart Rate monitoring. I do 10 minutes on the elliptical, weight train, 20 minutes elliptical. I'm thinking about getting a mini elliptical to do for 45 minutes during my lunch break. It's to damn cold to walk at lunch like I normally do. My training days are w/f/sun...so I'm hoping to see some serious results by Easter. I'm not following the diet in the book because my body hates dairy and high protein meats like steak, so I still monitor everything I eat just to make sure I'm safe.
On Wednesday I did
Squats with 8lbs Kettle Ball (seemed a bit easy)
Push-ups at 45 Degree angle (harder than I thought)
Lat Pull Down instead of seated Row (by accident) 55lbs
Step ups - 2 foot stair 5lbs (to easy)
Failed miserably at the Jackknives, but I'm still going to try them again.
30 minutes elliptical with heart rate above 153 consistently.0 -
Hi lilRicki! congrats on the January start!! To get more protein, you can always add one extra scoop of protein powder to your protein shake! (I'm curious, if you don't do 'dairy', how are you doing protein shakes - aren't yours made from whey, which is dairy...) I actually don't tolerate dairy that well, so going onto protein powder hasn't been my favourite experience - if someone knows of a protein powder that isn't dairy-related, maybe I should try it??0
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Soooooooooo, PT let me LIFT HEAVY today!
I am MORE in love with this than I would have anticipated....I haven't lifted heavy-for-me since last Friday. So, I was excited. I was nervous. But, I came away being SO-ACHY-SORE, in a VERY GOOD WAY, that I am 100% convinced lifting heavy is the right choice for me!
I feel like I used to in that last savasana at Bikram hot yoga - or that runner's high I used to get in university.
I tell you, I K-N-O-W what those weightlifters are saying about how you grow to CRAVE that "lifting sensation" - I totally felt that today!
YAY!!!!
So, not sure if I've progressed very far, as compared to most, but here's what I can say about today:
1. I did 25 lb. dumb-bells when I squated. This MATTERS - because I had dropped down to zero (and then 10 lb DB) to work on my form. So, that was 50-lbs baby! I think I'm ready for the Olympic bar on my shoulder-blades next time!
2. I did push-ups with the Smith machine! Who knew???? (Okay, I still can't do a full floor push-up, so sue me!) So, instead of having to move from 45 degrees to 30 degrees (bench) to floor, I can just move the bar down one-rung at a time. Like.
3. I did an assisted lat thing-y, where, instead of pulling the lat bar down, you are standing and pulling your body up to the lat bar. I did 60 lbs (last time on lat bar, I was at 70...), but then he made me do 3 reps at 90 lbs, I think. And, I DID THEM.
4. I did dragon lunges (BW only) and lawn-mowers (with some weight on the pulley's....maybe 15 lb??)
5. Core work and stretching.0 -
Hi lilRicki! congrats on the January start!! To get more protein, you can always add one extra scoop of protein powder to your protein shake! (I'm curious, if you don't do 'dairy', how are you doing protein shakes - aren't yours made from whey, which is dairy...) I actually don't tolerate dairy that well, so going onto protein powder hasn't been my favourite experience - if someone knows of a protein powder that isn't dairy-related, maybe I should try it??
I'm allergic to the casein, not the lactose...I can still eat chocolate too...but one tiny lick of ice-cream and I'm dying lol. Sometimes the protein shake gives me the farts, but I don't think it's the diary in it, I think it's just the fruit i mix it with lol, or the almond milk. I made my son and my nephews blueberrie pancakes from scratch the other day, and forgot that I put milk in them...I ate them too, and paid for it dearly and I was watching my son's football game, so it was the most inconvenient lol.0 -
I have an Omron handheld monitor. It was about $20 from amazon. I know it's probably not the "true" number either, but I've used it the entire time and I've definitely seen a downward trend line in my %BF.What are any of you using to find out your body fat %? My scale does it but I've heard it's not accurate. Of course the Bod Pod is great but there is not one anywhere close to where I live.
I have Omron handheld too. I don't think it's the most accurate, but if the numbers are going down that's good for me.
And here's why you can't trust the scales. I started NROLW on September 14th.
9/21 - 129.4lbs, 21.6% body fat, 101.4lbs LBM.
1/13 - 130.6lbs, 20.6% body fat, 103.7lbs LBM
So a gain of about half a pound of muscle per month, and a total loss of about 1 pound of fat. (This is all eating at maintenance cals).
Are the maintenance cals the lower of the two amounts? I wish I had your body fat, I checked mine this morning and it was 26.9%. I have some serious work to do. My family all carries fat in their bellies and with that some have had heart disease. This is part of my motivation, to try to avoid that. And who doesn't want to look good!0 -
I used MFP's maintenance number, but I ended up having to bump up my activity settings beyond sedentary even though I have a desk job. (According to other sites my BMR is nearly 100 calories higher than what MFP tells me, so that probably has something to do with it too). My net is somewhere between 1800-1900 with an average of 300-400 exercise cals per day - so about 2100-2300 a day. The book gives me 1950 for a 'no workout' day and 2200 for a 'workout' day so it's pretty close.Are the maintenance cals the lower of the two amounts?
Edit to add: Hang in there. I was 28% in March of 2010 when I first joined my gym (they offered a free intro session with a trainer when you joined and tested my body fat with the same handheld monitor), 26.2% when I first bought my own monitor in January 2011, and 25.5% when I started MFP in May of 2011.0 -
I had to bump up my inakes too, 40/30/30 is what's recommended for protein and stuff, so I manually changed it on MFP...0
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Yeah, I manually changed my macros as well. I was at 50/25/25 (I like carbs) and I'm set to 42/25/30 right now for C/P/F.I had to bump up my inakes too, 40/30/30 is what's recommended for protein and stuff, so I manually changed it on MFP...0 -
I used MFP's maintenance number, but I ended up having to bump up my activity settings beyond sedentary even though I have a desk job. (According to other sites my BMR is nearly 100 calories higher than what MFP tells me, so that probably has something to do with it too). My net is somewhere between 1800-1900 with an average of 300-400 exercise cals per day - so about 2100-2300 a day. The book gives me 1950 for a 'no workout' day and 2200 for a 'workout' day so it's pretty close.Are the maintenance cals the lower of the two amounts?
Edit to add: Hang in there. I was 28% in March of 2010 when I first joined my gym (they offered a free intro session with a trainer when you joined and tested my body fat with the same handheld monitor), 26.2% when I first bought my own monitor in January 2011, and 25.5% when I started MFP in May of 2011.
Thanks for the info and the encouragement! I will be starting a new job on Monday and the only part I am probably not going to like is that it is a desk job. I will bring my cals up higher, I didn't want to jump to high to quick so I upped them 100 the other day. Do you (or anyone else) have any advice about adding to calories? Should I do it slow or jump right in to the larger amount? I am close to the non workout day but 300 away on a work out day. Which that brings me to another question, do you eat the same cals everyday or do you eat the different amounts. I think I read that someone picked a number in between the two and that was working.
Thanks again!0 -
I only record my weight every 4 weeks (I'll hop on the scale whenever I feel like it, but I know that I have big monthly fluctuations so the official number is only every 4 weeks). So what I did was set my cals to maintenance at sedentary, and waited 4 weeks. No weight gain, so I upped the activity level to lightly active for another 4 weeks (I think it might have been longer, because I think we went on vacation here and I didn't log for those 10 days). Still no gain. Upped my activity level to active and waited again. During this time period I got a higher-end HRM, and my calorie burns turned out to be higher than what I had been recording for a lot of exercises, so I started using those numbers too. Then I finally showed a gain on the scale. Each of those activity level bumps worked out to about 140-150 calories. I may back it down to lightly active at some point (which is actually pretty close to sedentary calculated with my higher BMR).Thanks for the info and the encouragement! I will be starting a new job on Monday and the only part I am probably not going to like is that it is a desk job. I will bring my cals up higher, I didn't want to jump to high to quick so I upped them 100 the other day. Do you (or anyone else) have any advice about adding to calories? Should I do it slow or jump right in to the larger amount? I am close to the non workout day but 300 away on a work out day. Which that brings me to another question, do you eat the same cals everyday or do you eat the different amounts. I think I read that someone picked a number in between the two and that was working.
Thanks again!
I do more of a weekly view of my calories than a strict daily view, but it generally ends up being different cals for different days since my exercise routine varies from day to day and I eat back my exercise calories (at least by the end of the week, if not that same day).0 -
Soooooooooo, PT let me LIFT HEAVY today!
I am MORE in love with this than I would have anticipated....I haven't lifted heavy-for-me since last Friday. So, I was excited. I was nervous. But, I came away being SO-ACHY-SORE, in a VERY GOOD WAY, that I am 100% convinced lifting heavy is the right choice for me!
I feel like I used to in that last savasana at Bikram hot yoga - or that runner's high I used to get in university.
I tell you, I K-N-O-W what those weightlifters are saying about how you grow to CRAVE that "lifting sensation" - I totally felt that today!
YAY!!!!
So, not sure if I've progressed very far, as compared to most, but here's what I can say about today:
1. I did 25 lb. dumb-bells when I squated. This MATTERS - because I had dropped down to zero (and then 10 lb DB) to work on my form. So, that was 50-lbs baby! I think I'm ready for the Olympic bar on my shoulder-blades next time!
2. I did push-ups with the Smith machine! Who knew???? (Okay, I still can't do a full floor push-up, so sue me!) So, instead of having to move from 45 degrees to 30 degrees (bench) to floor, I can just move the bar down one-rung at a time. Like.
3. I did an assisted lat thing-y, where, instead of pulling the lat bar down, you are standing and pulling your body up to the lat bar. I did 60 lbs (last time on lat bar, I was at 70...), but then he made me do 3 reps at 90 lbs, I think. And, I DID THEM.
4. I did dragon lunges (BW only) and lawn-mowers (with some weight on the pulley's....maybe 15 lb??)
5. Core work and stretching.
Sounds like you had such a great time! I'm happy for you!
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Stage 1 part B sucked tonight...I had bad form, bad energy...I got bullied in the gym by some *kitten* who thought I was a newbie...it was just all around awful. I can't believe how out of shape I am! I'm disappointed, but not down and out. Sunday is part A, that I know I can do.0
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Stage 1 part B sucked tonight...I had bad form, bad energy...I got bullied in the gym by some *kitten* who thought I was a newbie...it was just all around awful. I can't believe how out of shape I am! I'm disappointed, but not down and out. Sunday is part A, that I know I can do.
I'm sorry you had a bad night,don't let that jerk get to you girl!
You can do this,you'll get better on your form....just keep at it!0 -
Keeping at it is key!! Practice. Practice. Practice. Ignore bullies - they suck. (I can't wait for the day when you can stand beside bully guy and pull MORE weight than him!!)0
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shyloh, yesterday was an awesome day.
Surprised that I'm not very stiff today....'cause I felt "worked over" yesterday.
I did a bunch of steady-state cardio, today....just to pump the blood. My plantar fasciaitis is bugging me something fierce, today! Tomorrow I think I'm just going to do a 100% stretch session - let my body rest.0 -
I only record my weight every 4 weeks (I'll hop on the scale whenever I feel like it, but I know that I have big monthly fluctuations so the official number is only every 4 weeks). So what I did was set my cals to maintenance at sedentary, and waited 4 weeks. No weight gain, so I upped the activity level to lightly active for another 4 weeks (I think it might have been longer, because I think we went on vacation here and I didn't log for those 10 days). Still no gain. Upped my activity level to active and waited again. During this time period I got a higher-end HRM, and my calorie burns turned out to be higher than what I had been recording for a lot of exercises, so I started using those numbers too. Then I finally showed a gain on the scale. Each of those activity level bumps worked out to about 140-150 calories. I may back it down to lightly active at some point (which is actually pretty close to sedentary calculated with my higher BMR).Thanks for the info and the encouragement! I will be starting a new job on Monday and the only part I am probably not going to like is that it is a desk job. I will bring my cals up higher, I didn't want to jump to high to quick so I upped them 100 the other day. Do you (or anyone else) have any advice about adding to calories? Should I do it slow or jump right in to the larger amount? I am close to the non workout day but 300 away on a work out day. Which that brings me to another question, do you eat the same cals everyday or do you eat the different amounts. I think I read that someone picked a number in between the two and that was working.
Thanks again!
I do more of a weekly view of my calories than a strict daily view, but it generally ends up being different cals for different days since my exercise routine varies from day to day and I eat back my exercise calories (at least by the end of the week, if not that same day).
Thanks! it's almost funny to read "still no gain" and "finally a gain" when most of the people on the boards are trying not to gain. I think waiting for the four weeks was a good idea. I am going to do that and see what happens. That should give my body enough time to adapt. I will be going on vacation for a week in February and I'm not going to count or do any formal exercise. Walking and swimming will be it and I'm going to enjoy the break!0 -
Did Stage 1 Workout 4A today.
I upped my squat weight to 60 lbs with my barbell.
I did 20 and 22.5 dumb bells,
For the seated I did a barbell bent over row with 52 lbs
Push ups are improving a bit...but still have to do girly ones.0 -
I'm so pumped!
I upped my dead lift weight to 80 pounds and I was able to do it! It was a little tough at the end, but I think I could probably do even more. I also upped my lunge weights to 17.5 lb. in each hand, but I think that might even still be too light. I squatted with 55 lb. on Sunday and it was TOUGH to finish my two sets of 12, but I really wasn't sore on Monday. I'm worried that if I up my weights any more, I won't be able to get my quads parallel to the ground. What do all of you think I should do? Maybe I should just increase the weights and see what happens? I don't know....
On a positive note, it really is a rush to lift "heavy." :happy:0
This discussion has been closed.