liftnlove_ Member

Awesome on your success!! My advice is to eat at maintenance, and find a NEW, non-scale-related fitness goal and focus on that!

My pet Chimera mangled her unicorn. It happens...

You can NOT grow muscle mass on a calorie deficit. It's damn hard enough to do on a calorie surplus!! Plus, carbs are yummy. Oh and everything that MityMax said...

Words have power. If you call yourself lazy, you will be. If you call yourself an unstoppable badass, you'll be that instead. It's a choice.

Yep, I gave up on reaching a certain scale weight, and refocused on gaining muscle, looking the way I want to, and being strong. I don't feel like I "gave up" at all...just switched my goals. The last bit of weight is hard, so it just depends on if it's worth it to you to look very lean. If it's not, as long as you're…

Yes...carry on. It may fluctuate back up a lb or two before it stabilizes. Keep your eyes on the larger picture and you'll be fine.

They will gain it all back, and then some. Can't see the forest for the trees!! This is just sad to me. :(

I'm sorry to be blunt, but using diet pills to lose 10 lbs is ridiculous. You should be able to make small changes to your diet and lose that in fairly short order. The goal here is health, keep that in mind hon :)

I do. I find it hilarious how people get all bent out of shape because you call it a "cheat day"... Ooohhh like it matters?!?! Call it a "refeed" day if it makes you feel better. Bunch of semantic tightwads... Lots of people do well with an occasional cheat day, lots of people do well with working small treats into their…

Thanks everyone. Just got back from my second show this weekend, the Texas State Championships. Another great experience :) My next show will probably be a national level show, and it'll be in 2015 for sure, I need a break!!!!

What is your goal? Strength only, or hypertrophy and aesthetics? If it's the former, you are correct. If it's the latter, the trainer is correct and this isn't the most efficient and safe program for you.

You don't need to hopping around or flinging stuff at the gym anyway. :) That's not how you'll reach your goals. I prefer old-school split training if you're training for hypertrophy and aesthetics, but you may need a good trainer to help you get started, and good trainers are hard to find. Just start somewhere...do your…

37 yrs old 5' 7" 148 lbs, 11.7% bf 1800-2200 cals/day I lift heavy 6x a week and am dieting for a physique competition. Tips: Respect your body and fuel it accordingly. Don't rush...it'll take however long it takes. This needs to be for the rest of your life, so just relax and enjoy watching the changes as they come :) ...…

My favorite food right now is old-fashioned oats with a lot of cinnamon and some diced apples. Warm, sweet, smooth, with a little crunch. So, so yum :)

awwww... back atcha Slinks :love:

1. Strengthen your muscles by some form of weight lifting/resistance training, the heavier the better. 2. Reduce body fat all over through a calorie deficit. --You cannot turn fat into muscle, you cannot spot reduce. Do it the right way and you CAN have a firm, fit body though :)

You can work the ab muscles easily...any basic crunch and countless floor exercises for abs will work those muscles. Lifting heavy weights also engages your core. BUT...you cannot spot reduce belly fat. You have to reduce body fat all over through a calorie deficit, or you'll never see your abs no matter what exercises you…

I want 2 in a row...Cookies 'N Cream...lightly melted...:heart: :heart: :heart: bliss...

Please explain why you think eating 2 Quest bars in one day is a "binge"? I'm so confused...

Beautiful post OP, and wonderful responses as well. Thanks :) "A strong enough why can bear almost any how." ~ Nietzsche My why is simple, but also profound in my mind. Why?... because I CAN. For so long I didn't think I could do this. Once I really accepted that I was capable, everything changed for me.

OH PA-LEASE with all the "eat more fat" crapola. She needs to SEE HER DOCTOR. We shouldn't be handing out medical advice. OP, see your doctor, because this could be caused by a myriad of things, and no one here can speculate with any kind of accuracy.

Hey girl!! :) The timing of your cardio and lifting sessions doesn't matter enough to be consequential. Just do whatever it takes to get it done. And congrats for all the great changes you've already made!!! **On a personal note, I've done both...weights in the morning/cardio in the afternoon, and recently I've been doing…

yeah you need to log that ish. Just give it a good ol' guesstimate. Estimating it is better than just ignoring it :)

If you're eating at a calorie deficit, you should lift as heavy as you can within your desired rep range. Lifting heavy weights (heavy means heavy for YOU) will help you preserve lean body mass as you lose weight. There's no reason in the world to wait until you lose weight to start lifting heavy. Start now...start…

Yeah, of course you can lose weight eating 800 calories a day. So what? You can also lose weight by just not eating any calories at all. Why would anyone want to do that when it is clearly not necessary, and not sustainable as a lifestyle? Are we really using Ghandi as an example of successful nutritional planning? Really?…

I'd just like to point out that carbs don't make you fat. I eat 250-300+ gms of carbs every day. If you WANT to eat low-carb, if you like the way it makes you feel, if you can live your whole life like that...then you should do it. You should do what you feel comfortable with as a lifestyle. But carbs are not the enemy of…

Thanks Slinky!!!! I'm printing this out on cardstock now to make myself a lapel pin. When I'm scooping cat litter later today, I shall look at this and remember my awesomeness!! :drinker:

SS= Starting Strength SL= Stronglifts NROLW= New Rules of lifting for women. These are all lifting programs that are popular here. If you like your program, and are seeing results you like, keep doing it. Eating low-carb/low-calorie is counter-productive to building muscle and muscular strength. If weight loss at any cost…

Amazon.com or bodybuilding.com

I started with a body-part split similar to what you describe...lots of people have success with training splits instead of SL, SS, NROL styles, in spite of these programs' cult-like following on MFP. Definitely eat your calories back if you're starting at 1400 as a base. Have fun!! :)