Lupercalia Member

Whatever I've got on my iphone that week. I have pretty wide ranging taste in music, so it really could be anything. This week I've been listening to Sex Pistols and The Fall. It could just as easily have been old school hip hop or 1960s pop, or even some groovy Miles Davis. I don't listen to heavy metal, Christian rock,…

How heavy is your kettlebell? Your double workout thing seems like overkill, providing you are working with a bell of the correct weight and your form is excellent.

I've never used gloves for KBs or barbells. I have never had blisters from either, but I have had and do have calluses. Like Casey said, if you take care of your hands properly and train intelligently, you'll be fine. I'm all about bare hands, and rarely find the need to use chalk with kettlebells. I do like a bit of chalk…

Use your diet to lose fat. It doesn't really matter what sort of a diet you do (assuming you're metabolically healthy), so long as you're in a caloric deficit. Incorporate resistance training (weights, kettlebells, bodyweight training, etc) to retain your lean body mass while you're eating at a caloric deficit. All this…

You look fab! Major difference between the before and after--I know it's hard to see when you're looking at your own photos, but seriously....you done good! Body composition improved greatly! Your arms and torso changed rather dramatically. Well done! :flowerforyou:

Your body isn't going to switch from using carbs as fuel if you're eating a higher carb diet and fuelling with carbs before you go out and run each day. It's not wrong or bad to fuel that way, and it doesn't mean you can't get lean...but if you're trying to switch over to being a fat burner rather than a sugar burner, you…

Not a runner, so I can't be of much help with that....I pretty much always train fasted. Green tea and water, and that's me out the door to the gym. I lift heavy 4x per week and train with kettlebells 5x per week. I walk everywhere, and occasionally do some sort of sprint interval work. I train for an hour to an hour and a…

Of course you can exercise. Shred on!

I started with just walking 30 minutes daily. I did great, and felt so much better after just one month that I wanted to do MORE, so I started training with kettlebells in addition to my walks. A few months later, I wanted to start lifting weights again, so I joined a gym and got back to lifting. I kept all my walking and…

I plan out the dinners, as I'm the one doing the cooking and shopping. I keep a file of recipes on my computer that I add to regularly--I read lots of food blogs. Each week, I sit down and decide what we're going to have for dinner for the week. I typically make at least two, sometimes three things that may be involved to…

I give them away to charity when they don't fit anymore. I've kept one pair of my old huge jeans for comparison.

I'm an American in the UK--yes, there is indeed tinned pumpkin in supermarkets here. I've hoarded about six cans in my pantry! I use it for cooking and baking. Not sure about the availability of sugar pumpkin here, though.

This thread is brilliant! Love it! :drinker:

Um....I'm 42 and don't consider myself an "older lady". :laugh: But yes, weight loss without surgery or diet pills is within your grasp. I did it, and am still doing it, so are many others on this site. I won't get into my whole dramatic story here, instead I'll just say that I began by changing what I was eating as well…

Great--problem solved, apart from that absolutely ghastly neighbour you've got....you have my every sympathy. :flowerforyou:

Come to Glasgow--you'll see guys in kilts on a daily basis! I've been living here about 3 years, but it's still sort of a nice surprise to see. I think the guys look great when they're all properly dressed up. I think they typically wear kilts for a wedding, or perhaps a more formal céilidh. Other situations are possibly…

I listen to tons of podcasts, too. I love Robb Wolf--I've gone back through the old episodes and listened to nearly all of them. Vinnie Tortorich is good--he's a no sugar no grains guy who is also a personal trainer in Hollywood. He and his co-host are hilarious, but lots of good info is also shared there. Their banter is…

Are you starting with a 6 or an 8kg bell? It's recommended that women begin with either an 8kg bell or a 12kg bell, but you'll want to be looking for a heavier bell pretty soon, especially for lower body work (swings and such). I think the 8kg bell would serve you well for overhead work for a bit....but you'll definitely…

I'd look for videos by Pavel Tsatsouline, Andrea Du Cane, Tracy Reifkind, Lauren Brooks...I highly recommend seeking out DVDs/videos made by instructors who are RKC or StrongFirst certified, as these people have been properly trained in the effective and safe use of kettlebells. Your average personal trainer has not. To be…

Brisk walking and kettlebell work.

I don't wear any, either. Just make sure your pants/tights/shorts aren't revealing.

I already answered your post in the main forum about this--but as everyone else is saying, the easiest and most efficient way to deal with your sweet tooth is to cut it off. I was a sugar monster too, so I know that sound scary and impossible. It's not. Once you get away from all the sugar and are about a week or two into…

I enjoy a bit of wine too, but I found it more beneficial to stop drinking wine with dinner each night.

Your thinking about what will lead to carb cravings is incorrect. Eating far less carbs, or eliminating starchy/sweet carbs does not lead to more carb cravings and the resultant bingeing. Keeping things in your diet like the low carb baked goods, the nakd bars and the protein bars will indeed lead to more carb…

All of this. You really need to eat more. Up the calories slowly, but up them. Your diet doesn't sound "extremely healthy" to me...just extreme. Best wishes. :flowerforyou:

I agree that you're still showing her a very good example! Here's another great behaviour you showed your daughter: You didn't push the issue of exercise/weight loss with her when she told you she was more concerned with school at this point. So many mothers get way too caught up in their daughter's bodies, and it's really…

Consistently eating so restrictively will ultimately lead to you bingeing, which I don't think you want....but is what I see when I look at your diary. There is no reason you need to eat so little, and I'm also referring to your 1200/day idea. It's not necessary and not really the best way to go about losing weight at your…

I understand your nervousness and that you're uncomfortable with the idea of working out in front of people. I was really fat and just worked out at home for the first couple months. I walked and trained with kettlebells. After a couple of months, I'd lost about 25 lbs, I felt pretty good health-wise and was itching to get…

Why You Should Say NO To The Skinny Rules And YES To Being Awesome: http://www.niashanks.com/2013/04/the-skinny-rules/ I've lost a fair bit of fat, and don't follow most of Bob's "rules". Those things are absolutely not necessary, and a number of them are downright foolish.

I think you're correct in thinking that focusing on strength training and building the body you want is really the key....and fat loss will come along with that if you're staying consistent and focused. I agree with that bit, but I don't think calorie counting is necessarily obsessive. It certainly can be for some, but I…