b_ray_73 Member

Congrats, you did great!!

As the sign in my cube says, "I drink coffee for your protection." There's no way I could deal with getting up for work at 3:30 every day and *not* have my coffee. It hasn't slowed down my loss but I do measure what I put in it.

Definitely not a stupid question, but it is completely relative. I define heavy for me as the heaviest I can lift with good form for 1-5 reps. Some days this is higher than others depending on how I am feeling mentally and physically. Today that is much lighter than a few months ago due to an injury, a few months ago it…

I have many and love them, my newest is a blacklight dragon on my right forearm to mirror the one in black on my left. I'm working on a sleeve that's mostly done, but have stopped work on it while I heal my pec and shoulder. Then there'll be 2 covers, my left thigh, finishing my back... I think I'll be getting inked…

Congrats, those are great victories!

I'm late, but in. Will do a catch up this afternoon.

Exactly what's been said, and definitely seconding the protein. I loosely aim for about 100-160g/protein a day depending on what my workout is or if it's a rest day. I don't always see the scale go down so I gauge my progress by how my pants fit and whether my lifts are going up at my goal rate. Starting Strength is…

I don't tell my story often because it brings up too many memories, mine has been a long confusing story so here's the super abbreviated version. The first time I came out was in the late 80's to a very very few select friends. My family had me hauled in for drug testing because I met all the "symptoms" of them not knowing…

Hi Jack, welcome :) Feel free to add me also if you'd like. More support is always a good thing!

Congrats on your engagement!

You can definitely do it! I haven't been as consistent on here as I used to be, but am usually around almost every day for support (even if I don't show up in the boards). Feel free to add me if you want.

The cup size goes up and down proportionate to the band size so a DDD will be larger or smaller depending on the rib circumference. Whether you go up or down in cup size will depend entirely on where you lose the fat though.

In addition to chalk, try doing loaded carries as well as holding your reps 3-5 seconds, this will help build your grip strength. When my grip starts giving out I'll also use straps but only on my heaviest set.

Not entirely true. I've worked many places where it was included in the company dress code that ink was not to be visible to the client. Having tattoos is not a protected status AFAIK. I chose to be a consultant where I wore long sleeve professional clothes for years because it was in the dress code that tattoos could not…

How many times a week do you workout? • 4-7 What is your preferred workout style? • The Gym Do you listen to music while working out? • Yes What is your preferred workout genre? • Electronic Do you use a pedometer device? • Yes Why do you workout? • Started for weight loss, now is to get stronger and because I like to lift

^^Best piece of equipment I ever bought. Starting Strength is a great read to go along with it.

I'm completely out of keto thanks to many potatoes, some champagne and some Christmas lava cake. I'm not stressing on it too much since I also managed to (hopefully for the last time) quit smoking. I've gained a few pounds but didn't hurt anyone through the withdrawls and hoping to be back in keto as soon as I can.

Absolutely track the fruit, it adds up fast.

Well, Christmas is on a Wed. so I'll be squatting Christmas Eve and resting Christmas day. If I get too restless and don't feel like I have enough to do I might go for a run. I love lifting, why would I quit just because it's a holiday? My workouts help put me in a great mood and holidays are even better with a new PR. I…

In addition to what everyone else said, measure yourself once a week or once every other week. The scale doesn't differentiate between total weight loss and fat loss.

Phone for music and the day's training plan, water bottle, after-workout protein shake and chalk.

I'm not always on the message boards but I log in every day, more friends are always good. :)

Increase my bench by 15 lbs Increase my deadlift to 1.5xBW Finish my Thanksgiving 5k faster than my 5k from October

^This. You'll do fine. I just had my 3rd 5k yesterday and although I still didn't run the whole thing my time improved a ton over my last one. Try to pace yourself though. In the crowds I get all excited and tend to go way too fast the first mile and wear myself out WAY too early.

I do both, standard deadslifts for my working sets, sumos for accessory work.

I love almond flour for the breading on pork chops. I try not to do too many sweet treats/breads very often because I don't want to slip back into eating them as a habit but I think they can be pretty good.

Fat bombs are the best! I make mine with coconut oil, kerrygold, unsweetened cocoa, a tiny bit of local honey and some almond butter. Definitely try them! If you search the recipes for "Almond butter fat bomb" I have mine entered in on here so you can see the macro breakdown. The recipe can be modified as needed...

It's pretty much just carb cycling. One day I'll keep my protein the same, lower my fat a ton and increase my carbs by adding a ton of extra vegetables, some rice and sweet potato. I've added in rice because I can't do most grains or sugars without triggering my fibro and can only eat so much veggies or sweet potato before…

I lift weights 3x a week and try to go heavy least one of those days. These are the days I'm at the high end of my fish oil dosage. It seems to help a lot with my muscle recovery time and helps me avoid getting DOMS as badly as I do without it. I also take a bit more because sometimes I eat a lot of almonds which are…

I also use protein powder right after my lifting days, not because it's a magical shake, but because I try to always have protein within 1/2 hour of lifting and that's the way I can do it. Driving home and cooking just takes too long. That said, there are a ton of variables that can affect how quickly and much women gain…