Daily Chat Thread
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Jessica, I'm glad you are just going to "keep on trucking". I think that is a good plan - and it should NEVER be underestimated how TOUGH it is to stay "motivated" when life is sooooooooo very busy (all around us!). So, YAY FOR YOU!!
dandelion - I *love* sore thighs....almost as much as I *love* a sore butt!!
Jen - if your inches "gained" are in your back (i.e. they show up on your bust), on your bi's or your thighs, I would NOT worry about this. And, I HIGHLY DOUBT your photos look the same. You are a VERY harsh critic (of yourself) - I know if you post pictures here, people will be able to identify EVERY single part of you that looks "improved".
Keep doing STRONG things, ladies...you are doing EVERYTHING RIGHT!!!!0 -
:laugh: Love this. I'm going to add swimming to my list of MORE activities.My goal:
Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.0 -
I hate rest weeks when I'm not really tired I was exhausted last week. Wish I'd taken it last week. Now I'm bored and I have too much other stuff going on to force myself to go to the gym for something else. Baby sitting for cousin tonight and we cleaned basement yesterday. Tomorrow, Zumba class and Friday back to lifting. I wanted t do fun stuff this week, but life got in the way.0
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Jen - if your inches "gained" are in your back (i.e. they show up on your bust), on your bi's or your thighs, I would NOT worry about this. And, I HIGHLY DOUBT your photos look the same. You are a VERY harsh critic (of yourself) - I know if you post pictures here, people will be able to identify EVERY single part of you that looks "improved".
Keep doing STRONG things, ladies...you are doing EVERYTHING RIGHT!!!!
Unfortunately Beeps, the gains are at my waist, belly button, and just below belly button. Boo. Also hips too, but i don't mind that, i have a small butt that only gains muscle and could do with some curves to balance out my belly! I won't post pics, cos they really are identical.
Don't think i'll measure again until the end, to avoid further disheartening! I'll keep the faith.
Thanks for the support!0 -
Jen, I just had the same thing happen, in fact I thought I looked worse in my progress pics than I did to start! I've gained about an inch on my hips and my waist seems to be up about a half inch. I don't know what it is, I'm not gaining weight so at least there's that. I've also stopped measuring. I'm not much help, but I guess I just wanted to let you know you're not the only one.0
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I feel your pain Jen (and Ellie too). I'm guessing though, that you are firmer than you were. There isn't a dramatic change in me either (apart from my new thunder thighs, lol), but when I am not in the critical zone, I can see subtle changes, and I am less 'mushy' than I was. If you are not gaining weight then something MUST be happening; you can't be doing all that lifting without gaining muscle and, therefore, losing fat. Take heart! You are doing The Right Thing.0
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I measured myself yesterday. Looks like I lost about a half inch on my hips and nothing on my waist. Half an inch on my bust also. Kind of a let down for one month of this, but I didn't have the best diet. Here's to hoping June is better
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Jen and Ellie--sorry about the measurement gains. Any chance you weren't measuring in exactly the right spot, or that you held the tape tighter last time? I feel like measuring's fairly imprecise, especially when the losses aren't that big.
I haven't weighed or measured for a while, but I'm expecting to find the same thing. I swear I look exactly the same in the mirror as I did last month (and the month before). I can see some definition in my upper abs, but my lower is still totally covered by fat. I feel blobbier overall, actually. I hope I'm wrong! I'll weigh/measure next week, after TOM and all her mean bloating is gone.
Did S3, WOB1 earlier this morning--not as bad (and by that I mean "not as good") as WOA...and long!0 -
Jen and Ellie - same here. I measured after Stage1 and gained or stayed the same at all points of measurement - but I lost 1.5 lbs.... so I'm comforting myself with the thought that I lost inches in areas I don't measure LOL... :laugh:0
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I think there is *some* logic, that if you keep measuring the BIGGEST part of your body, you wont' see the reductions (that are actually there). You have to measure the SAME part of your body, over time, to see the reductions. I find it VERY hard (particularly when measuring my upper thighs...) to get the SAME body part, over time, so I do see my measurements go up/down/up/down in that area - I'm sure it's because I am NOT measuring the EXACT SAME SPOT.
Hips are tricky (for me) too.
Keep on keeping on - surely returning to cardio CANNOT be the right answer?? (Unless you want a STRONG heart and a mushy figure....)0 -
I am not giving up :happy: I have been converted to heavy lifting.
A lady , who is doing Cross Fit at the gym, said to me Monday during my workout, "I watched you today. you are getting stronger." Made me feel awesome. She invited me to do Cross Fit with her. I told her thank you and if she is still doing the program when I finish with Nrol4W I would definitely join in.0 -
thanks ladies, glad i'm not the only one. Maggie i do feel firmer and tighter, but it's not visible.
Beeps you may be right about that, i measured my hips 3 times at what i thought was the same point, and got 3 different numbers!
Manic, that's a great NSV! Always nice when strangers notice because they are more objective.
Now on to my last night shift, then I shall lift tomorrow and finally get stage 4 DONE!0 -
Keep on keepin on, ladies! I am so inspired by all of you and your determination, especially when you're not rewarded with dramatic short term changes. It can be so disheartening to work hard and not see hard evidence of it. Keeping forward momentum in the face of that is such a challenge, but you girls are rocking it!
I am skeptical about measurements too. I am not confident that I am measuring the same areas exactly every time, or that I'm not pulling the tape tighter/not as tight, etc. I haven't taken my measurements for several months now for this reason. Unless I saw a dramatic loss all over, I'd assume it was just because I was doing something wrong. Come to think of it, if I did see a dramatic loss all over, I think for sure I was doing something wrong! I guess I'll rely on photos for now.
So DH asked me yesterday what routine I was doing for lifting (he hasn't done any kind of regular activity for several months now and wants to get into some kind of routine). I told him about the workouts, and he asked if I could show him. So I did, and he did the whole workout with me. I'm pretty sure he went in thinking it would be a cakewalk (if I could do it), but by the end he was sweating and breathing heavy. I savoured the moment.
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Love it MeeshKB! And great if your hubby sticks with it with you--I'd love to have a lifting partner, and it's great to workout with your spouse/so.0
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samntha - I'm not taking any break between Stage 5 and Stage 6. I finished Stage 5, today. I start Stage 6 (with my personal trainer) on Friday.
Oh, and to ALL OF YOU:
I am *officially* down 5 lbs!! That's right. That number FEELS *big*. (I know, I know...it isn't.)
This scale loss is from xmas-time until now, so it was NOT FAST. But, I *do* believe it is 100% FAT LOSS. Not a whit of muscle lost, since I'm actually building those up (and I have the strength gains to prove it)!
So, despite the fact that I was *up* through portions of this NROL4W program, I can now report that I am DOWN....and hopefully continuing to move in the DOWN direction.
I don't have TONS of weight to lose, but I *do* hope to lose another 8 - 10 lbs., hopefully before December 31, 2012. And, I ONLY want to lose that much more if it is PURE FAT LOSS.
I don't want ANY muscle lost. Just pure body fat loss.
TA-DA!!!!0 -
In other news, I finished Stage 5, today. Whew!
Stage 6 looks SO VERY DIFFERENT! Which is great....this is the stage to work on chin-ups, pull-ups and push-ups. Since ALL of these are on my *goals* for 2012, I am SUPER-EXCITED about this Stage.
Plus, I'm tired of back-squats - I just don't progress much with them and they are my least favourite exercise because dumping my *kitten*-in-the-hole is just SO difficult for my body (type??). I SHALL miss the deadlifts, though!
Alas, I will return to ALL THE BIG lifts in time.0 -
In other news, I finished Stage 5, today. Whew!
Stage 6 looks SO VERY DIFFERENT! Which is great....this is the stage to work on chin-ups, pull-ups and push-ups. Since ALL of these are on my *goals* for 2012, I am SUPER-EXCITED about this Stage.
Plus, I'm tired of back-squats - I just don't progress much with them and they are my least favourite exercise because dumping my *kitten*-in-the-hole is just SO difficult for my body (type??). I SHALL miss the deadlifts, though!
Alas, I will return to ALL THE BIG lifts in time.
Ooh. Let us know how you like it. 6 is the most exciting looking stage for me after 1. It just looks so powerdriven! Ahhh!
Wishing you big gains, Beeps!
Whoops, edited to say strength gains! Ahaha, I wish you fat losses, too! both at the same time!0 -
Stage 1 was awesome, for me....I learned SO much about my body! I think Stage 6 brings that same sort of "promise".0
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Beeps: So huge about those 5lbs!!! that is awesome. Can't wait to hear how you like Stage 6!0
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I walked for AN HOUR, at lunch, outside in the sunshine. No, it wasn't HIIT. No, I didn't get my ab-work in. No, I didn't get much time to stretch back at the office.
But, the sunshine felt GREAT and it was nice to bee-bop around, to my ipod music, for an hour.
Win. Win.0 -
Yay, Beeps, for the 5 lbs, the move to stage 6, and the great walk! Your great attitude is paying off!0
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Sounds like a fabulous afternoon!I walked for AN HOUR, at lunch, outside in the sunshine. No, it wasn't HIIT. No, I didn't get my ab-work in. No, I didn't get much time to stretch back at the office.
But, the sunshine felt GREAT and it was nice to bee-bop around, to my ipod music, for an hour.
Win. Win.0 -
I have decided to take 5 - 7 days off in the middle of Stage 3. I have been feeling so bloated and gross the past few days and it has nothing to do with TOM. I am hoping some rest and super clean eating this weekend will allow my muscles to release some of this water. I can not imagine taking pictures and measurements in my current condition. :sad: :grumble:0
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I have decided to take 5 - 7 days off in the middle of Stage 3. I have been feeling so bloated and gross the past few days and it has nothing to do with TOM. I am hoping some rest and super clean eating this weekend will allow my muscles to release some of this water. I can not imagine taking pictures and measurements in my current condition. :sad: :grumble:
That sounds like a good plan, every time i take a week off lifting I feel much slimmer at the end of it and my muscles are happier for the chance to recover. Drink lots of water too, it helps release the retention. Good luck!0 -
I'm Debaing whether to restart the program or just finish stage 2. I haven lifted in about here weeks (injury then fun run then sports tournament that was all weekend. I only stopped being sore on Thur) even before his break I had a two week lifting then two week break.
I am notify ably smaller tho. People who hadn't seen me since the end of March kept talking about how much smaller I am. I actually weigh 1kg more (part of that is due to Tom though) So yay!0 -
Well I did stage 1 5A yesterday - but had a 5 days break before that. As I am unable to work out for the next week due to work schedule I was thinking about doing 5B today - so only a 24h rest. However, some of the exercises target slightly different muscle groups, so I should be ok doing that - seeing that I will have another 4-5 days to recover. Any ideas on that?0
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Lysandra - I'd give 5 "B" a try, today.....as you have suggested, for the most part the "A" work-out is working different muscles from the "B" work-out. Just be careful to get the form right - and you can lower the weights, a bit, if you are worried about "overtraining".
Lozze - SOAK IN THOSE COMPLIMENTS!! You are doing GREAT!
realrayne - if you feel like a "rest" is what you need - then TAKE IT. Listen to your own body - that is the #1 rule!!0 -
I'm reading A LOT of talk about people feeling "fat" or "bloated" or whatever by the time they finish stage 1. I'm assuming its from your muscle retaining water from the lifting... How long of a break do you have to take for that to go away so you can get accurate measurements after you finish each stage?0
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Great question! I just finished Stage 1 on wednesday. I was going to take measurements and weight on saturday (tomorrow). Should I wait longer?I'm reading A LOT of talk about people feeling "fat" or "bloated" or whatever by the time they finish stage 1. I'm assuming its from your muscle retaining water from the lifting... How long of a break do you have to take for that to go away so you can get accurate measurements after you finish each stage?0 -
I measured at the end of each calendar month....regardless of which "stage" I was at in NROL4W.
Water retention, or not, I measured. I took photos. Just do it - and trust in the process.
(You can drink MORE water, to ease the "water retention" issue, you know...)0
