cmeiron Member

It's a good group. At least once every few days one of us shows up crying, "I'm faaaaaaaaatttt" :sad: and talking about bailing on their bulk. And then everybody else talks her down and reminds her that muscles are awesome and we all laugh at ourselves (because we all do it) and carry on :tongue:

Quoted for foodbaby truth :laugh:

Some fat gain is pretty much inevitable, and you can't control where it's going to show up first. 2 lbs in the first 3 weeks seems pretty reasonable (about .66 lbs/week). Generally for women you want to aim for an average of 0.25-.5 lbs per week. This is lower than the 1 lb/week recommendation for guys: we're more limited…

Yep, looks very good! Looks a lot like where I started out last February, actually :smile:

Thanks very much! I'll try working on the shelf and play around with wider stances for the DLs next time I train :)

Hi guys! After about 10 months of working exclusively with dumbbells I'm finally under a bar :bigsmile: Thought I'd try to nip any bad habits in the bud asap! Squat, 65 lbs (second warmup set) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiK6IYVdj3U One thing maybe not apparent is that I'm having trouble keeping my wrists in line with…

Wow, congrats!!! Nice definition of the arms going on there, and nice flat tum with a great taper. Fantastic progress!

It doesn't matter if you go over your calories with fruit, chocolate or a Big Mac...it all equates to being over your calorie goal. Calories in fruit don't have any magical caloric-surplus-negating properties :)

Speaking as someone who eats around 350g of carbs a day...I'd say you're doing ok with the "low carb" thing.

FIFY :) You have to retype the uppercase IMG tags to lowercase (img) ETA: oh noooo, you moved them! :(

Don't forget that weight can fluctuate quite a lot day-to-day, depending on things like water retention (sodium, tom, muscle repair, extra carbs), how much food bulk is still hanging around in your digestive system from the day before, fat fairies...you know. My weight is up 1.5 lbs from yesterday. I did not gain 1.5 lbs…

Omg, I swear we are appetite twins. The past week or so I've been practically force-feeding during the day:sick:

Well, yes, but in order to FIT your macros, you need to know...your macros. It's a reasonable thing to figure out (how much to eat) before figuring out what/how to eat.

Westcost did you take time to find and sit at maintenance for a couple of weeks before trying to bulk? If not this might help. You can figure out what you need to simply maintain and give your body time to stabilize a bit.

I suggest you make your diary public so people can offer more informed suggestions :)

Of protein? 1 large egg has 7 g protein, a 30g serving of cheese has around 9, sooo at least 30 g there. :)

Is the 2230 calorie estimate your TDEE (i.e. does it include your weekly exercise burns)? If so, then the 1730 would allow you to lose 1 lb/week (yes, 500x7=3500=about 1lb of fat), which would be more than enough for someone with so little to lose. As you get closer to goal, you should start to reduce the deficit. If the…

Yeah, the ratio (%) approach can lead to some pretty darn high protein/fat numbers, especially if you have a high intake. The information that stumblin posted is bang on. Figure out your calorie needs using the calculator, and then figure out the macros using the formulas he gave you, then manually adjust your mfp goals to…

This. Yeesh. IIFYM is NOT an excuse to eat "crap" all the time (whyyyyyyyy do people always insist that this must be the case?). Although, depending on your definition of "crap", it could be perfectly possible to hit your macro targets anyways.

Definitely NOT a fad. Just a sensible approach to eating while dieting. In a nutshell, with IIFYM, your goals are to: 1. meet your calorie target, and 2. meet your macro (protein, fat, carbs) targets, while 3. enjoying a variety of foods, including nutrient-rich whole foods (about 80% of your diet) and pretty much anything…

There's no right or wrong way to go about this, it totally boils down to your personal preference and how you feel during your workouts. Personally, I need a bit of food in my system or else I feel gross and weak and shaky, so if it's early morning I scarf a carb-rich snack down pretty much as soon as I get up so I've got…

Actually, there was nothing said there that's not true, and nothing contradicts any of the success stories posted here :)

Personally, I think it's better to help newbies/lurkers develop realistic goals and expectations, rather than try to sugar-coat reality. The reality for most is that lifting at a deficit will not add appreciable muscle mass. Strength, yes. Muscle retention, yes. Muscle definition, yes, as long as there's fat loss as well.…

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

Thank you :smile: Yes, my BMR is definitely higher now than it used to be. At the time of the first picture I was doing cardio 5x/week and eating about 1600-1800 calories every day and losing about 0.5-1 lb/week. I actually noticed a huge change in the amount I needed to eat within a month of starting to lift, even though…

Maintaining weight and reducing body fat is definitely possible. If you eat near (at/slightly below) your maintenance intake (i.e. at your TDEE) and LIFT (progressive resistance training/weight lifting program), you can do what's called a recomposition (reduce fat, gain muscle). It can be very slow to put muscle on this…

The jumps in weight seem to be pretty common - that's happened to me too (one week I dropped like 3 lbs for no reason, then two weeks later I was up 5, and stabilized there for a bit before starting to creep up again). I have no explanation for it, but it seems "normal", fwiw. I honestly can't tell what's bloat vs. fat vs.…

Not gonna lie. A little sad that you don't think my arms are bulky. :brokenheart:

I love your enthusiasm! Lifting is a lot of fun, and it will help you hang on to your muscle as you drop body fat. I agree that working with a trainer to start off with might be a good idea - you might be able to come up with alternatives that accommodate your current shape without putting your body at risk from bad form.…