a_stronger_steph Member

I love making protein pancakes also. :) My recipe is pretty simple: 1/2 mashed banana + 1 whole egg (hate leaving out the yolk, it's so full of nutrients!) + 1 scoop protein powder + soy or almond milk until right "pancake batter" consistency (usually 1-2 tbsp). Sometimes I will add ground oats or some sort of flour and…

I was pretty conservative with the first workout of Stage 2 as well, to be honest. It's a matter of getting used to the new moves. When I'm unfamiliar with a new exercise and am not sure I'll get the form right, I tend to err on the side of going too light rather than too heavy and risking an injury. Now that you're more…

I was around 85 lbs with my deadlift at the end of stage 1 (I take it real slow because I have a little history with lower back injuries!), and I just decided to keep the same weight for the wide-grip box deadlifts for the first Workout B in Stage 2. That seemed to work pretty well for me, so I'll try increasing the…

So I did Stage 2, Workout A again today. I used the EZ-curl bar for the front squat push press. Started with 30 lbs to see if it was doable, and it was, so then I moved up to 40 lbs, which was also fine. I might try the Olympic bar again next time... we'll see. I did find that the EZ-curl was much easier on my wrists, but…

Saving calories during the week and going over on the weekends has generally worked pretty well for me. I figure it's sort of like a crude form of calorie cycling/zigzagging. As long as your deficit for the week is about where you want it (ie. you intake 3500 fewer calories than you expend), then you should still be on…

I assume you mean a nutritionist, right? As far as I know, the title "nutritionist" generally isn't regulated. Contrast this with dieticians, who must be licensed. This nutritionist sounds like a rather uneducated one. 500 calories a day is unhealthy. Why not just cut 500 calories per day from your current diet and be on…

:) Looks like I am in good company with Stage 2 here, hahah. I did my first Stage 2, Workout B yesterday! I didn't do the HIIT, but I run and do intervals during the week anyways, so I'm not too concerned. I liked the deadlifts quite a bit with the slight extra range of motion. I am feeling them today, but in a good way.…

I'm genuinely curious - do you bring the food scale out to restaurants? I have a food scale and I love it to death, but I don't know if I'd have the guts to bust it out in public at a restaurant. If you do, do you just act like it's no big deal, or do you try to do it furtively, behind your coat or something? ETA: I just…

Heck yeah, hot stuff! :D

Sorry to hear about the Crohn's, but really glad to hear that you've been successful at controlling it with diet! That's great!! :) I will probably have a range of weights that I will be happy with. I picked my goal weight to be the one that the weight will fluctuate about. Realistically I'm more concerned with body fat…

If you're bloating so much that you look like you're five months pregnant, you should actually probably go see your physician. Such extreme bloating could be symptomatic of irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, Crohn's disease, or an obstructed bowel, to name just a few.

Thanks all for your thoughts and advice! I did some reading on the NROLFW forums last night, and apparently it's pretty common to have trouble with the front squat/push press. Some said to try the EZ Curl bars, which I will try next time, I think - and I'll go down to about 35 lbs, at least for the first set, to see if…

I attempted Stage 2, Workout A today and got my *kitten* thoroughly kicked. I think I'm lacking some normal-person tendons or something because I can't seem to get my body to cooperate with the front squat/push press. It was a disaster. No matter how I adjusted the width of my grip on the bar, I couldn't seem to get it in…

Dang - lucky you! All I get are ads for Slimband and various foodstuffs (the irony is not lost on me).

Oh, and gym etiquette! Right! Once you are done with a machine, wipe it down. Most gyms will provide a spray bottle and some cloths or paper towels to wipe things down with. If you can't find them, ask a staff member or even just someone else using the machines - they can probably direct you. If you are using a weight…

I can really relate to this. Before I started going to the gym, the thought of it terrified me! I, like you, started at my campus gym, which had recently been renovated and so attracted a healthy number of the varsity athlete types... SCARY, right??? Except, once you get used to it, I promise it stops being scary. My…

Woohooo!!!! Totally not a fluke, lady! You are lookin' gooooood! :) Enjoy those jeans!!

You don't even need to take your own dressing or eat one of their salads without any dressing at all (ew). Just get one of the lower calorie dressings (say, the Renee's Asian Sesame dressing) and use half the packet. The packets are huge anyways. The Asian Sesame one is 130 calories for the whole packet, and 65 calories…

I was on the treadmill till week 6 or so - partly because I wanted to be able to be forced to keep my pace, and partly because I just wasn't comfortable with the idea of running outside until then. Then it got cooler out and I decided to start taking my runs outside. I use the RunKeeper app on my phone (needs GPS) to tell…

Did you see if she entered her weight into the treadmill at the start of her workout? (Do your treadmills let you enter your weight at all?) If there's no option to enter your weight, I think most treadmills use an average weight of 150-160 lbs to estimate calories burned. If there is an option, it's possible that she just…

Ooh looks good!

I definitely agree with the others here - c25k will get you on your way. You might not be at the point where you can run the entire 5k, but seriously, there is NO shame in walking and running it. And once you finish c25k, you can tackle another 5k and feel really great about your improvement in time! :D Congrats on signing…

Yeah, a quick googling has revealed that chocolate wine does indeed exist. I'll definitely have to hunt some down! :laugh:

Ooohhh I never said I didn't pair chocolate with wine. :wink: That can indeed yield some delightful combinations. I've just never come across chocolate-flavoured wine, hehe.

I'm edging up on 30 pounds lost, and I drink beer and/or wine fairly frequently. Also, chocolate. ...Sometimes chocolate beer. Never chocolate wine. Pretty sure it hasn't screwed up my weight loss... it's possible that I would have lost a lot faster without the alcohol, but that would make me a sad panda indeed. Go ahead…

I am just finishing c25k (on Week 9, Day 2, technically)... I jog at ~10 mins per mile now, but was just a bit over that when I was on the treadmill during the earlier weeks of c25k, at 10:20 or so per mile. So I wouldn't have been jogging the mile straight until Week 5, Day 3, I suppose - the 20 minute run. I think one of…

Oh, goodness. If you're going to do that, just add the Benefibre to a glass of water and drink that before the beer. You'll get the fibre and you'll welcome the deliciousness of that beer all the more. But the idea of adding something like that to beer itself? That's just sacrilege! :drinker: Well, unless it's something…

Great job! I am starting the last part of Stage 1. Wheee!!! Excited to up my weights again, but it really is conflicting with my running schedule (I'm doing c25k as well, and I end up walking funny after I do my squats these days). Lunges are among my least favourite as well. The first time I started this program, a couple…

Good sweet FSM, this is my favourite thread in a good long time. Can we keep it? Can we can we can we???

Ahhh this sounds AMAZING. Will pick up a can of pumpkin to try it. Never would have thought of this, ever! Edit: Is it sort of a brownie-like texture, or more cake-like? Either way it sounds delicious, but I have a soft spot for brownieness. :D