cmeiron Member

While it's always preferable to eat whole, nutritious foods, there is nothing "bad" about "processed" (whatever that means) or packaged food and eating it won't impede your weight loss. Fat loss is a matter of eating fewer calories than you burn in a day. Personally, I think your goal of 1200 is likely low for you, given…

Huh, never heard of it, it's not sold here in Canada...sounds like something I'd probably like a lot though :)

What is a "quark"????

Lifting is da bomb. Starting Strength is a great book if you want really good information on how to perform the big barbell lifts correctly, with good form. It also has training programs which are great for newbies. I've been following a different beginner program called the All Pro Beginner Routine (there's a link to it…

I go with specific values based on body weight rather than %s, and I consider them minimums rather than maxes. I aim for 150g of protein a day (a little more than 1g/lb bw) and a minimum of .35g fat/lb bw per day (that's only about 50 g, and I find that I need more for satiety, so I've set my actual goal to 70g/day). FWIW…

Not having a dishwasher. The amount of dishes/tupperware I dirty in a single day, and have to wash by hand, is ridiculous. #bulkingproblems. Also: boobs. :grumble:

Wow, that's a high goal! Yay for eating all the food! :D I had to cut out cardio completely or I'd have to eat like 3000/day to make this bulk worthwhile! As for the drop in weight, I had that happen to me in November and it made no sense...but my weight jumped back up a few weeks later to higher than it had been before it…

Nice work on the bp! :drinker: I totally hear you on the "fat" thing. I know I've been on here a few times freaking out about it. These gals always talk me down though, lol :laugh: It's hard, but you can do it! The body size/weight comparison thing is really interesting, isn't it? I've seen women who are my height but 30…

Way to kick *kitten*, pandora :) Love your attitude! Looking forward to the progress pics!

Awesome! Love dem gainzzzz :drinker:

Protein and fat and a moderate deficit will help curb hunger. Also, make sure you're getting enough fiber and veggies (also filling). That said, even if you do eat well, sometimes you just get extra hungry some days. If I get that way, I'll wait a half hour or so, and have some water or tea first to make sure it's actual…

Very often when I show up at work there's a pile of cookies or pastries in the lunch room. I have a wicked sweet tooth and it's hard to resist. The cafeteria is handy too, but in my case I can't afford to eat there so it's not a huge temptation. Some things I do are: 1) ALWAYS pack a big lunch with food that I've already…

A lot of times when people start counting calories or dieting, they also change the WAY they eat - the type of food they're choosing. Often they start eating more low fat food and more veggies and fruit, which can be filling without adding a lot of calories. So it can feel like you're eating a lot of food, or more food,…

I can relate. When I reached my "goal" weight, which was well within a healthy weight for a person my age and height (138lbs, 5'9"), I still carried a lot of body fat (especially around my midsection) and was not happy with how things looked. I started weight training and within 5 or 6 months I saw huge changes in my body…

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I tried the dip station yesterday and can't even manage one with bw right now :blushing: Maybe after I drop a few lbs when I start cutting again :tongue:

Liiiiiiift. Lift lift lift.

Married too? Boy, you're ambitious!! :laugh: Here are my 2014 goals: - stick out the rest of my current bulk (to early Feb/end of my lifting cycle) - cut back down to 18% bf by June 1 - 10 chin ups - 10 pull ups - bw squat (~135 lbs) - 1.5x bw deadlift (~200 lbs) - 100 lb bench press - < 25:00 5km run (current PB = 26:08)…

Got under a bar today!!! :bigsmile: LOVED IT. I was the only woman in the free weight section, but I was not self-conscious so that was nice :) Squat - ohmygod. In some ways easier than with dbs, but man did I ever feel that in my quads!!! So awesome. OHP is a whole new (very hard) experience (I don't think I've been doing…

:smile: I second the suggestion that you consider doing a lifting routine emphasizing compund lifts. There are lots of barbell based programs that can easily be adapted to your dumbbells. I have been working out at home doing a dumbbell version of the All Pro Beginners routine (check out my profile for the link to the…

Yep, you eat the same every day. If your workouts are really inconsistent week to week then maybe TDEE isn't the best approach for you. But if you're pretty consistent it can work well. Like others, I like having the exact same intake goal no matter what, even on rest days. It's easier. If you log your exercise on MFP and…

Any calculator or estimator is only ever going to give you just that - an estimate. The only way to know for sure what intake is appropriate is to try on different intake levels and monitor your performance/gain, and adjust up or down as needed. Most intake estimators underestimate my intake needs by about 200-400…

Ditto! Waist and abs are looking great :)

It's a good starting point. As you get closer to your goal bf% you'll gradually start decreasing the deficit. Cut down while lifting - you'll like the visible results even if you don't build muscle (check my before/afters - that's just fat loss not muscle building, but it LOOKS like I have more muscle). Start a bulk cycle…

I wake up at 4:30 :sick: Prepping meals in advance helps save a lot of time in the day too - pack lunches the night before, and fill your freezer with dinners you can just thaw and reheat on busy nights. You just have to make it a priority.

I suggested the gradual intake because a) he says it's hard to eat more than that and b) he says he's been in super-diet mode and bulking is kinda scary, so why on earth would you make it more difficult by making the experience more stressful and adherence less likely? What's the rush? People think bulking is easy/fun - it…

What are you struggling with? Or, what information, specifically, do you need to make this easier for you?

Also this. Very much. Lift heavy, find a good progressive program.

Actually, I agree with the first poster. I would suggest that you gradually increase your calories by about 100 per week and monitor your weight; keep creeping up the cals until you find you've hit maintenance - you may gain a couple pounds and then stabilize when you reach that point. Hang out in maintenance for a couple…

Yay, budgie! :bigsmile:

Those are awesome goals and you can get really nice visible results doing just this...I developed a much more toned/muscular appearance when I started lifting while eating at a deficit: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1081300-i-ate-i-trained-i-progressed-w-pics I might have put on a couple of pounds of "newbie"…