jennetsullivan Member

Are you sure that you're putting on muscle? I ask because I was doing almost EXACTLY what you were doing, eating at 1800 calories and working out - I have a desk job, but I'm also 30 pounds heavier than you. Anyways. I had my body fat measured via the water method ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_weighing ) when…

Love the update - you are a game changer! Thank you!! :bigsmile:

I'm on nightshift now (ugh) but when I worked dayshift I got up at 4am to get my workout/shower done to be at work by 7. It was difficult - some days downright ridiculous - but I ALWAYS felt better on the days I worked out. And I always regretted it if I missed a day. This was the basic schedule: 4am - Alarm goes off, hit…

OOH, more calories, that sounds awesome!! :happy: I'm definitely going to buy a BCAA supplement, I had no idea they made supplements to help keep muscle..that's pretty awesome. 6-8oz servings of lean meat sounds incredibly daunting though. My protein shakes I drink have 30g. I might have to work up to 45%!!

:grumble: Rest... I'm just so afraid I'm going to quit if I rest... sigh...

I've heard the water bottle trick - definitely trying that as soon as I get home. I told my instructor and he sent me some stretches... not really looking forward to the gym today but it will be interesting to see what they come up with since we do so much work with squats, running and heavy lifting.

Thanks. I'm bummed about the squats, my butt was finally starting to look perky!!! Hahahaha! I used to bike a lot. Guess I'm going to have to get back into it!!

Ahh, this makes sense! Losing 1-2 lbs a week. Which my doctor said is fine considering how overweight I am. I guess my real question was more about adjusting the macros in the goals...but I probably can find it on the forums somewhere.

Well, that was why I was posting. I'm sure I adjusted it to 1800 when I received that advice about a month ago, so I just didn't know what would happen if I suddenly started eating 1500 calories. I'm losing good weight now - so wouldn't restricting 300 more calories a day put me into starvation? My BMR is still coming in…

This, exactly, minus the greek yogurt thing - I buy regular greek yogurt because I prefer the flavor of the full fat. But yeah, everything else, ditto :wink:

I second this link... it helped me understand what I was doing wrong!! If you're wanting to bulk up it's more important to get lots of healthy calories than it is to minimize them. Think of it like your body having the adequate fuel to build more sexy muscles!

Yeah eat a minimum of 1200. For most people 1200 isn't enough but for you it sounds right on par. The problem I found was that eating too few calories meant my body didn't burn fat...so oddly enough, the more calories I ate the quicker I lost fat. Small meals, clean eating, you got the idea, just bump up the calories. Weak…

SO awesome, congrats!!! :bigsmile:

I eat half a protein bar (Pure Protein - Chocolate Peanut Butter - Protein Bar) before my workout, and the other half after the workout. It's been working AWESOME for me, and it's easy and quick so I actually do it :tongue:

I'm commenting so I can see what other people say. I will say that I was working out regularly and watching what I ate (but not tracking) and I could NOT get the scale to budge. It was only once I started tracking EVERYTHING I put in my mouth (and not eating back my exercise calories) that I finally started to see the…

I second (or third or fourth) the protein shake thing. I use those as my "snacks" and then I don't feel as hungry when eating a "healthy" meal. Love that it helps me get some potassium and calcium (which are two things I notoriously struggle with when counting calories). Also, I had to move my cheat day from weekly to…

I take a 5 hour energy before my workout. I got switched to night shift, but my bootcamp is at 5:15am. I'm BEAT by then, but if I drink a 5 hour energy about 3am it gives me enough of a boost to feel human at 5:15...then after workout I take a shower and it's mostly out of my system. Without it I'm just too sluggish. I am…

Oh my gosh, I am the same way!!!

Awesome suggestions!! Thanks guys!!! I have flax at home, just need to incorporate it into some cooking. In the meantime I bought some chewable tablets, sugar free fiber choice, to supplement until I get the hang of incorporating it into my dietl. And I bet I could mix the fiber one cereal with my usual trail mix…

Sounds like a lot of us weigh every morning. That's what I do. I enjoy seeing the tiny ounce by ounce progress, I use it as a tool and not a sole reflection of my progress. I also upload it to mfp every day because I enjoy looking at the graph. The important thing is to consider it a part of getting healthier - not the be…

When I was trying to be a runner (before I fell in love with cycling) I did a lot of research on it because I had a similar problem, mainly due to my weight, and had CONSANT shin issues. Nothing helped. As I was researching it someone recommended doing some toe strike research. Once I started running "toe-strike" or…

I've never eaten at Fudruckers, sorry! :) Good luck!

Everything in moderation, including moderation. My problem is that I have to have strict rules or I go crazy and eat a bag of chips and 2 milky way bars a day (you think I'm joking...). So I am trying the following approach - I can either splurge for 1 meal and not count anything (calories, fat, etc) or I can splurge for a…

When I can wear a skirt without worrying about thigh fire, when I fit lossely into size 12s (I realize that's probably big for some people, but for me and my build that would be perfect!), when my BMI is 24. When clothing doesn't cause me pain because it's too tight and I'm to cheap to buy fat pants again.

Nicely done sir! Congrats!

These look great - definitely need to whip the whites though, that's what makes them have substance. :)

Interesting thoughts, wordy, but well said :) I really, really, really like the link you provided for the calorie counter... I like the idea of alternating the caloric intake. I'm not currently eating back my calories, but I'm not exercising enough to have a major deficiency. It's slow, but steady progress!

I bike to work. I live in Texas, so for me it really helps that I have to be at work at 6am...plus we have showers there. If you're going to be bicycling at all in the dark/dusk/sunrise then my advice is to invest LED for the front and the back lights. Anything else will cost too much in batteries (trust me!) I also found…

I'm the same way, where I can't do a pushup on my own. I also can't use modified ones on the ground because of knee problems. What I do is I practice putting myself in the pushup position - it's a modified "plank" because I'm not on my forearms I'm on my hands. Then I do "pushups" at about a 45 degree elevation (what I do…

I probably lost 45 pounds before someone said something to me about it, and even then it was very casual. Keep it up - remember you're doing this for YOU! As long as you see the changes and feel good then that's the most important part.