SparklySarah412 Member

OK thanks. What I might do in that case is eat at maintenance calories for my current weight and create a bit of a deficit through my lifting.

Thanks for the advice, I will do that. When I look at my arms and shoulders in the mirror I can see the muscle is still there just that it's just kind of lacking in definition. So I'm really hoping it will come back fairly quickly once I start lifting a bit heavier. I could cry when I think about the set back I've had this…

5'6, 34 year old, 146 lbs. Cutting on about 1400-1500 calories a day. Currently losing about 0.5lbs a week.

Add me if you like, I've been lifting for 2 years. Frustrated with trying in vain to recomp so I'm currently on my first bulk and cut journey and at last seeing some decent results! I'm lifting in the gym 4 times a week with cardio 3 times a week.

My goal changes all the time, but my mission for this year is to drop my BF% to about 18% so I can finally see the abs I've been working on so hard for the past 2 years. I'm not sure what my weight will be at that point but I'd guess around 130-135. I don't really weigh myself anymore but I think I'm probably around 150 at…

I've sent you a request :) I'm on mfp for maintaining my weight loss but also use it as a tool depending on what my goals are at the time eg when I'm carb loading for races. I love having friends on here with lots of different goals too :)

No idea if it works but it sounds bloody awful! There's no way I could stick to a diet that bland. I'd say putting someone on such a strict diet as that is just setting them up to fail.

I know how you feel. When I started lifting I was really self-conscious and thought everyone was looking at me too. I know people probably weren't looking at all but I felt like they were. I found it really nerve wracking not knowing how to use the equipment properly, especially the simple things like simply adjusting the…

All mine are performance related. My goals at the moment are: Getting a better time at my next 10k race - so I'm doing lots of speed training at the moment; Increasing the distance on my long runs ready for my first 10 mile; Training to do pull-ups; And just for fun: training to do press-ups with my 4 year old daughter…

This would be my advice too. When I first started lifting last year I spent 6 agonising months trying to recomp with very little to show for it in the end. Although I did get stronger and certainly gained some definition in my arms and shoulders, I felt like I was just treading water in terms of losing that last bit of…

What works for me when I go away is this: First and foremost, I continue to log everything. I don't snack, just stick to 3 meals a day, I tend to have a light breakfast and lunch so that I can spend most of my daily calories having something really nice and/or an alcoholic drink for dinner, but that's just me! ;-) You…

+1 I get so fed up of being told how I'm so "lucky to be naturally thin" when actually I work damn hard at it and always have. I work out at least 4 or 5 times a week and regularly don't let myself have treats if I've already eaten enough that day. The only times I've been overweight was during both my pregnancies. I was…

Add me if you like, I'm here every day and always looking for new friends :)

Exactly the same here. I've never had so many injuries since beginning running last Year. It definitely makes it worse when you have a high level of fitness to start with because your body wants to push harder but you haven't built up enough strength in the necessary muscles to let you do it without hurting yourself.…

I'm so sick of being harassed by acquaintances on Facebook and instagram about "magic" weightloss products too. I don't want to cause a fuss by un-friending people so I usually just un-follow but they keep sending me invites and messages etc. It's so annoying. I definitely agree that they only send friend requests so they…

I also have a 2 and a 4 year old and I know exactly what you mean. I just try and fit small workouts in wherever I can really. I tend to get up early in the morning and do a workout DVD, usually they are just waking up as I'm finishing my post-workout shower. I go to the gym two nights a week to lift weights, there's no…

This is so true! I've just started week 5 of alpha and I have to do 3 rounds of TBC this week. Imo it's by far the hardest workout of the whole program. I love T25, this is actually the second time I'm doing it, I completed last summer and loved it. So a few weeks ago when my office gym flooded and I had to start working…

Tablespoon of honey, finely chopped spring onions, toasted pine nuts and crumbled up feta cheese

My fitness timetable changes every few months because I get bored quickly if I don't have a new challenge. At the moment a good week looks like this: Monday am: T25 pm: weight training Tuesday am: T25 pm: speed run (2-3 miles) Wednesday am: T25 Thursday am: T25 pm: easy run (3-4 miles) Friday am: T25 pm: weight training…

I get most of my meat from tescos as I live in a small town and it's the only supermarket we have. Tesco tend to do a value range, a finest range and a middle of the road range of all the most popular cuts of meat and I find the middle range perfectly fine and nowhere near the cost of the "finest" stuff. They also do big…

It's been an absolute nightmare at my gym these last couple of weeks. Last night I was lucky enough to be the last person allowed in before they started doing "one out, one in". It's driving me insane. The place has been full of people who don't have a clue what they're doing but are trying to look like they do. One guy…

I can't say I ever feel deprived at all. I have odd days where I go over on my calories and it's no big deal, the main thing is that it doesn't happen every day. Other days I might fancy a little treat, (like today I had a piece of Christmas cake) so I'll just fit it into my calorie goal or I'll go for a half hour run to…

It took me a whole year to lose the jelly belly after my second baby. It was the very last thing to go unfortunately, my body just wanted to cling on to it until the bitter end lol. It really just takes time and persistence, sticking to your calorie goal and exercise. I don't know if it was just coincidence, but I noticed…

Add me if you like, I'm in maintenance now but I'm always here, logging my food and I'm good at motivating people

Went shopping today for some smaller clothes because my size 12s are falling off me. The size 10s were all too big and I needed to get size 8s instead! I haven't worn a size 8 since I was a teenager. Lifting weights has completely changed my life, I've always been pear shaped but since starting lifting my body has shrunk…

I started running in September and so far the fastest mile I've done was in 8:03 minutes, but I was only running the 1.25 miles to my local gym at the time. Normally I'm a lot slower than that. My average distance is about 3.5 miles and my average pace for that distance is about 9:30 minutes a mile :) I think it's nice to…

I'm going to visit my mum at Christmas time and I'm planning on taking my running gear with me. It's free and you can do it just about anywhere. I've already started planning where I'm going to go for my runs while I'm there, she lives by the sea so there will be some great routes along the beach front. Definitely watch…

For me it's the desire to continually better myself I must: Lift a heavier weight than last time Do more push-ups before I collapse in a heap Run further than last time Run faster than last time Finish the workout I couldn't finish last time At the end of each workout I write down exactly what I did so I can make sure the…

Definitely go for it!

I started running a couple of months ago and I just bought my first pair of proper running shoes. I was wearing my old neutral shoes and was getting painful shin splints, I was starting to think I night have to quit running! I couldn't afford to go to a specialist running shop and I didn't want to use their services and…