burtnyks Member

I followed IIFYM for about 2 years and this summer decided to try a Whole30 (basically super strict paleo for 30 days) and while I see the benefits of Paleo it just wasn't for me. I binged hard after since I cut so many foods I enjoy out of my diet. I went back to IIFYM because its more relaxed and I can still achieve my…

You can make freezer burritos or breakfast sandwiches. Take an hour on the weekend to assemble them and just reheat in the morning. I like doing ham, cheese and egg on English muffins or something Mexican with egg, black beans, etc and serve with salsa.

I third the cold turkey. And eating a protein + fat will help also. Sometimes if I have a bad sugar craving I eat a hard boiled egg and it surprisingly helps. I always keep them on hand now. :-)

In general I practice IIFYM but recently completed a Whole30 just to see what all the hype was over it. Its not meant to be a "diet" or a short term fix. Its meant to be a reset and allow you to learn about how different foods affect you. Some people lose weight, some gain, and some stay the same. They ask you to cut out…

I love IIFYM and have followed it for almost 2 years. Recently started Whole30 (very "clean" eating for 30 days but still tracking calories) and noticed that by eating whole foods I can survive on fewer calories and am not as hungry as with IIFYM. I'm guessing because all the vegetables help fill you up. So while I love…

I just started as well on Sunday. So far it isn't that bad. Big change from IIFYM which I usually follow. I really have no intention of completely giving up any of the restricted foods, but am excited to see how my body responds to eliminating these things for 30 days. I'm really not a fan of the Paleo diet or eliminating…

Its definitely seems reasonable. I do a spin class while wearing a heart rate monitor and will typically burn 550 calories in an hour long class that is pretty fast paced.

Could you add me please!

I feel like it comes in waves. I'll be fine or maybe a little hungry and then all of a sudden one week I'm ravenous out of nowhere. I tend to drink coffee and chew gum, its my crutch. But I feel like I sometimes chew a pack of gum a day. I have heard lemon water with cayenne pepper is supposed to help curb hunger so I'm…

I recently switched over from working on gaining (for muscle building) to cutting/dieting and am surprised that I'm not hungry when I'm eating about 600 cals less per day than I was. I just cut out all the processed foods and added a crapload of veggies. I figured since I am on restricted calories those would fill me up…

I second Cellucor, love all of their flavors. I do like Optimum Nutrition as well and have several of their flavors.

I am going to say you are eating too little in order to gain muscle. If you want to gain muscle you have to eat a calorie surplus. Your body needs the raw materials to build muscle, which comes in the form of extra calories. You can't build muscle without materials. Maybe if you are very genetically gifted it's possible,…

I am feeling the same way lately. I've been bulking for almost a year now and have put on 20 lbs. I will say its gotten scary and nerve wracking to see the weight go up. I just have to keep telling myself that it takes a long time to add a lb of muscle, but you can lose 1 lb of fat in a week (or less) which is what is…

I can't stand the consistency but I know its good for you so I use it in pureed form. I usually use it to make protein pancakes or protein pudding. For the pancakes you just blend equal amounts of oatmeal, cottage cheese and egg (or egg whites); like 1/2 cup of each for example. You can add in fruits, cocoa powder, etc for…

MusclePharm Amino 1 in Cherry Limeade is amazing! There is a brand Bodystrong I think that is relatively cheap and its not too bad but I prefer MusclePharm.

I've been bulking since January and in my opinion, if you are going to do it you might as well do it for the long haul. Gaining muscle is a slow process. It could take a year or more to gain 10 lbs of muscle, but you can lose 10 lbs of fat in 10 weeks. So I decided to suck it up and take the fat along with the muscle. It…

I am a fan of new rules of lifting. I wasted many many years doing split training with lots of isolation exercises. I've made more progress in 1 year than I have in the past probably 10 by doing heavy compound lifts (and eating for my goals). But in the end you need to find what works for you. If you are new, a full body…

I don't see your stats, but it could be a bodyfat issue that make you think you have "big" legs. I too thought my legs were big and bulky until I lost about 20 lbs. Much smaller than I thought. Now I'm trying to build them up to have a nice shape. You may in fact have muscular legs, but if they are holding excess fat they…

I myself had yo-yo'd +/- 25 lbs for several years (not as extreme as the person you reference) and I would say the story is similar to many of the earlier postings. I would lose the weight fast and/or eat bland foods that you eventually tire of and then you binge which doesn't stop. Add to that "thinking" you have to do a…

You definitely should weigh your food to be consistent. I always thought it was "soooo hard" to lose weight until I started weighing my food and knowing exactly how many calories I was eating. Since I started weighing food I have found it to be much easier to gain/lose weight depending on my goals at that time. Also, I…

You have to find what works for you, but in the end for weight loss it all comes down to calories in vs calories out. Now some could argue that wheat bread is "healthier" however you choose to define healthy.....but if white and wheat bread both have 100 calories in a slice it doesn't matter which you pick. Maybe wheat…

Forget the pills. Lift weights and add some muscle mass. Never in a million years did I think I could eat 2600 calories a day and have that be my maintenance. Adding muscle will boost your metabolism better than any diet pill will.

You could try making a yogurt parfait. Yogurt, fruits, and oatmeal, cereal or granola.

I've been bulking since January and am up about 6 lbs. I'm continuing for probably another 9 months and thinking about increasing the cals a tad as I've managed to stay fairly lean and don't want to sell myself short since I'm making a big time commitment to this.

I did the same thing.....but for a weekend trip. Although in my case I left room for dinner with my friends, but ate my packed food the rest of the trip. I too was worried about being made fun of, but luckily my friends were supportive and had no issue with it. Maybe bring your food and a veggie tray to share. Even people…

Do you weigh all your foods so you know exactly what you are consuming? No eye-balling or guesses or using measuring cups.... Its a pain, but you should know exactly what you are consuming. And I wouldn't be worried about one week. My weight fluctuates from week to week. I may be up or down 3 lbs from week to week. You…

Like others have said just try to move on and get back to your regular eating plan. Easier said than done sometimes..... I tend to feel better if I cut the calories a little bit for the next few days to compensate, and maybe add in an extra cardio session the following week. I can say I really haven't had a unplanned cheat…

For the longest time I never did any ab work, but one of my goals this year is to do windshield wipers. I started adding in some ab work like hanging leg raises, lying leg raises, and wipers on the ground just to gain strength....not so much for looks.

I've gone up as much as 3 lbs in a week depending on the time of the month and then I'll be back down 2 weeks later. What I started doing is keeping a spreadsheet of my weight in Excel. So I will weigh in every Monday morning as soon as I wake up. In addition to just looking at that number, I also average the previous 4…

Good to know JoRocka, thanks! I'm definitely trying to do a clean bulk and want to keep the surplus to ~200-300 cals over. My last attempted bulk I think I went way too high and gained a lot of fat so it scared me off for awhile. I feel like my bodyfat is in a better place now where I won't completely freak out if I end up…