nicoleromine Member

Hot sauce. Always hot sauce.

I'm 34 years old and 5'9". The picture of me in the purple shirt is from a couple of years ago when I was 200 pounds. The picture of me in the red dress is from 2 weeks ago at 148 pounds. I started my weight loss journey in March 2014 after I got up to 210 pounds. I never ate below 1800 calories a day to lose weight, and…

I also take creatine monohydrate. I take 4 g every day and didn't load. I noticed a bit of water weight gain when I started taking it (about 3 lbs on the scale, visually there was no difference). My muscles look fuller and generally I can get a few more reps out when I'm taking it. If you don't notice slight weight gain or…

Doesn't work for me either. Gave me 28.7%, and I just had a DEXA scan of 23%.

For me, the perfect "cutting meal plan" was eating food I liked under my calorie goal (which after exercise was somewhere between 1800 and 2000 calories a day). I lost 65 pounds that way, and I've kept it off. Good luck, though.

I would also caution following a set meal plan like that. It looks like that plan would end up with you eating 1100-1200 calories a day. I would feel like crap eating like that (due to food quantity and quality), especially following that exercise plan.

I signed up for and there was a ton of great information. Most of the nutrition stuff was wasted on me, however, as Paleo just doesn't work for me. Nonetheless, it was still worth it for all of the workouts and gaining a foundation of nutrition and fitness knowledge. The academy has a bunch of different workout options…

I lost over 60 pounds (and continue to maintain that) all while enjoying my wine. The key is to accurately track it.

I usually hit 120 g daily, which is not hard for me as I sometimes hit 150 g without even trying. The only time I have problems hitting my protein goal is when I travel and carbs are just easier to consume on the road. Even then, I'm hitting 100 g daily.

Everyone responds differently to different macros, so feel free to experiment. I would start with hitting between .6 and .8 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight, .45 grams of fat per pound of bodyweight, and fill the rest in with carbs. I personally treat protein and fat as minimums, and play around with going over…

I'm 5'9" and currently 148 pounds at a size 4 or 6 depending on the brand. Before my last bulk and cut, I was the same weight at a solid size 8. It truly is all about body composition. I thought I wanted to get down to 135, but I'm just going to keep lifting heavy and try another bulk/cut.

For all meat, I weigh it raw and cooked. I divide the raw weight by the cooked weight. I take that number and multiply it by the weight of the cooked serving I intend to eat. I swear it's super simple. As an example, I have 32 ounces of raw chicken thighs. When cooked, I have 24 ounces. That gives me a quotient of 1.33. I…

That was my experience. I was on a conservative cut, but I was losing a steady .5 lb/week. About 2 weeks about supplementing with creatine monohydrate (because its the cheapest and most researched) I noticed a 4 pound jump. The only changed variable was the creatine and my measurements did not change, so I'm assuming its…

I've lost 60 pounds and kept it off since September. Both through my weight loss and maintenance I enjoyed at least one sweet treat a day and 3 glasses of wine a week. Let's be honest, we don't get extra points or a hotter bod because we eat more clean! Ultimately, I wanted to be a healthier and happier version than the…

I'm 5'9". Initially, my goal weight was 165, but I then changed it to 150, which is where I'm currently sitting. I just went through a bulk and cut. At the beginning of the bulk I was 150 and a size 8, at the end of the cut I'm back to 150 pounds but I'm shockingly a size 4. Body composition is so much more important than…

I lost weight without a consistent workout plan. Now I have a plan that I find enjoyable and challenging. It's not necessarily helping with weight loss, but it does wonders for both my mental and physical health. Everyday: 15-30 minutes of yoga/stretching/foam rolling 2x/week: 20-25 of HIIT 1x/week: 30-45 minutes of brisk…

I literally just had the same experience. I didn't freak out since I knew I use doing everything right. At 3.5 weeks, I finally saw some weight loss. Just my own personal experience here - but as I near my goal, the weight seems to come off in whooshes (long periods of no loss followed by a sudden, major loss) rather than…

I'm sure 1200 calories a day works for some people, but I strongly encourage my friends to experiment to figure out what works for them. The goal should be to eat as much as possible while still losing weight. Last March, I started dieting by eating 1200 calories a day (because that's what I thought I had to do). I quickly…

Based on my research, there isn't a difference between female and male use of creatine. Keep in mind that creatine isn't automatically going to make you have more muscle. It may make your muscle appear fuller or larger, which was my experience. Creatine has mostly helped me with performance - i.e. faster recovery and being…

I'm 5'9" and started at 210 lbs fitting into a tight size 14. After 20 lbs I finally fit into a size 12 and after another 20 lbs I fit into a size 10. I then started lifting heavy and things dramatically changed. I lost another 5 pounds, and comfortably fit into a size 8. I went on a bit of bulk this winter, and now (at…

Generally, I drink my coffee black, but if I'm craving an iced, sweet Starbucks sort of drink, here's what I do - I always have cold brewed coffee around (basically let coffee, 2 oz for every cup of water, sit at room temp for 24 hours and then drain). I fill a cup with ice, fill half way with the coffee, add a serving of…

Female 5'9" 150 lbs TDEE 2200 (I maintain on 2500, and am working on slower loss after my bulk to get by BF% down) BF approx 24% 15-30 minutes of yoga every morning, lift 4 times a week. LISS once a week, HIIT once a week.

1. Between 2200 - 2400 calories a day. 2. Sort of. I use the TDEE method. 3. 65 pounds in 7 months. I then bulked for 14 weeks, and I just started my cut.

I was completely inactive when I started my journey, but knew I wanted to lift weights. In preparation of that, I did bodyweight exercises until I felt comfortable with the form of the movements. I've been lifting heavy since October, and I love it! Still, I attribute my success to taking it slow and doing it right. If…

To address the issue about being on a long term deficit can be detrimental - http://strengthunbound.com/bulking-complete-guide-for-beginners/ This article is about bulking but it includes some good info on why being in a long term has negative effects on metabolism. I don't think being in a deficit for 6 weeks is all that…

I lift three times a week, alternating between 2 different routines. A Routine - Squat, bench, pushups, planks B Routine - Pullups, deadlift, push press, leg lunges, leg raises. I'm sort of unhappy with my programming right now, so I'm researching and reading up on different ones (I'm strongly leaning towards Wendler 531).…

I'm 5'9" as well. I think both the blessing and curse of being tall is that there's a lot of area to spread the weight over. I started at 210 pounds, and I lost 40 lbs before I had to buy new clothes or anyone noticed the weight loss.

I'd check out some of the body-weight workouts over at nerdfitness: http://www.nerdfitness.com/bodyweight-training-resources/ I did the body-weight routines from April 2014 to September 2014, while doing three 60 minute cardio sessions a week. Between my fitness plan and tracking my calories, I lost 50 pounds over that…

I followed Springfield's advice in another thread about weighing myself everyday and looking at the average. This is the way to go! It gives such a better data point and makes it more difficult to stress out about those outlier days where your weight is obnoxiously high or low.

To keep track of body fat %, I use measurements and an excel spreadsheet. This article includes some excel formulas to calculate BF%: http://strengthunbound.com/measure-body-fat-easily-accurately-home/ I use the DOD, modified YMCA for females, and the Covert Bailey formulas, and then average them out for my BF%. On top of…