azalais7 Member

Edit: What GeekyJock said.

Fundamentally, you've got to get it through your head that eating enough calories to net a bit over your BMR is NOT carrying calories over to the next day--it's fueling THIS day. Striving for consistent calories (1950/day for me) is good, but you're always supposed to allow your total to go over if that's what you need to…

Looking at your goals (get 6-pack abs), I'm not sure you actually need to lose much scale weight, but to build muscle and lose a bit of fat. And yes, what audmom1218 said--you need to eat a bit more. What you're doing right now is training your body to be more efficient with fewer calories, which sounds nice--efficiency's…

Apparently I can't edit my initial post any more, but one other thing I would add is that the other night I was in an increasingly horrible mood, and rather than trying to numb it with wine or indulge in b!tchy behavior, I went to the gym and ran two miles on the treadmill. I won't say that I was exactly chipper when I got…

That, in and of itself, is cause for celebration, and will help the inches start coming off more noticeably. I'm surprised at how small shifts impact BF--wish I had written down that minimum waist girth measurement a few weeks ago to compare. And yes to the flattering! "Fit" is not an adjective I think I've ever heard…

Was just wondering the same thing.

Congrats, and great work!

Your whole torso looks smaller and more compact, and your chin and neck as well. Kudos!

Just to add on, no, body pump isn't really much of a strength workout--lifting heavy is the way to go. Check out New Rules of Lifting For Women, or this free online program: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html.

^^This. And everything JennWeighingLess said. Don't fret about a 1-pound weight gain after beginning weight training. As you'll see in many threads, when we stress our muscles through strength training they produce/hold more glycogen, which leads to more water retention. That's likely what your weight gain consists of.

Who eats 14 "meals" a day? The study might be more useful if it had looked at eating 5-6 a day, as that's a range I see recommended often when more frequent but smaller meals are advised.

Congratulations! It's so hard when you're out and enjoying yourself not to keep munching away. And bonus--now you have leftovers!

Be aware that things like 30D Shred and calisthenics with light hand weights will be more aerobic than strength training.

I'm doing NROL4W myself and love it, but if you don't have access to a gym it won't do you much good. A great place to start is with body weight workouts. This one is awesome: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/ And just to inspire you to get lifting:…

^^This.

Here's a great beginning bodyweight workout: http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

Apologies for the hijack, but Shadowsan, I've been doing intervals of more or less 3 min @ 3.5 mph/1.5 min @ 6 mph. Would this give me significantly less benefit than all-out sprinting for 30 seconds/ 3 minutes recovery?

I'm guessing the reason you're reluctant to start eating more until after your vacation is that you're afraid you're going to gain noticeable weight if you do. What you might try is just upping your calories a bit, and gradually--100-200 a week, say. That really shouldn't affect your overall weight. Also, try to eat more…

^^This.

You may actually be overtraining. What kind of weight training are you doing? If it's anything worthwhile, you might want to cut back on your cardio a bit. Also, you say you're watching your calories, but how much are you eating, exactly? You'd need quite a lot to fuel the kind of workouts you describe. Slower weight loss…

Eating fat in and of itself does not make you fat--eating too many calories of whatever sort that take you above what's needed to maintain your current weight makes you fat. I looked at your diary, and I think you're fine on fat. I'd up my protein a bit, though, if I were you, especially if you're doing any strength…

Dawn, I'd love to hear more about your split routine. I'm doing NROL4W right now, but have been wondering what I'll do after to keep switching things up and challenging myself. One wrinkle is that I have a lower-body disability that prevents me from doing any type of squat or other exercise that requires more than a…

I only worry about my macros to the extent that I try to get at least 100g protein every day (approximately 1g per pound of my lean body mass), and try to keep my carbs under 100g. I'm almost always technically under what the macro says I should have for both (mine are 25% carbs, 35% protein, 45% fat).

Eat your cut (2082) regardless of exercise. Don't eat back calories UNLESS not doing so would take you under net BMR.

I'm guessing you need to adjust your TDEE based on the numbers you're getting from the fitbit and HRM (take the average for a week) and cut off of that.

Bear in mind that the sprinters weight train, because they need more powerful muscles all over their bodies to burst into sprints. And I'm totally with you there, was thinking the same thing while I watched this year! Sprinting is said to have a higher/longer post-workout burn, and to reduce risk of repetitive stress…

It's expected that there's a difference--the "accurate" calculator includes more specific information, including body fat percentage, which will give a more accurate indication of your TDEE. Mine only differs by about 60 calories. If you're getting 200+ difference, you may have made a data-entry error. And if you want to…

Some of it is surely water retention, but you can indeed gain muscle eating at or a bit below TDEE--not as much as you would if you were eating over, but some gain for sure if you're fueling your body with enough protein and lifting heavy enough.

Right there with ya, girl! Had a very similar vent a few weeks ago. But I'm getting better at letting go of the scale, and focus on other victories. It takes practice!

heybales created this spreadsheet that collates and compares a whole bunch of info, which I've found helpful: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/heybales?month=201207 Scroll to the bottom to find the link to the spreadsheet.