BluesGuitar

Your money and your body... do what makes you comfortable. "Hey 'Joe' just wanted to let you know that in order to keep me motivated I'd like to insert a bit of variety into my workouts over the next few months, so I'm going to try out one or two of the other trainers in house before I commit to anyone long term."... or…

No, Waldo, I didn't accuse you of using. I see your picture. You're not using. That would be kind of a silly accusation. I guess the only thing I can rightly accuse you of is of having piss poor reading comprehension skills, which makes your user name a bit ironic. What I did say was that your rate gains, if real, are an…

+Waldo56 - I do understand that you should expect fat gain along with lean mass gain during a bulk. However, your original statement was that "males can gain 3-4 lbs a month without excessive fat gain". I disagreed with that statement (as the average lifter that has exhausted newbee gains will typically see a 1:1 muscle to…

You likely don't know how to train for your given goals. Get instruction. Invest in yourself.

Really? Interesting. So what exactly is your suggestion for her? 3 - 4 a month as well, since you don't like the 1-2? So in theory you can put 48 lbs of lean body mass on her during the year? Let me tell you something, if you can put 48 lbs of muscle on MALES during a calendar year without any sort of steroids, you would…

I personally do not log my exercises. If you are consistent with your training all you really need to do is track your calories. If I don't see progress after a few weeks, I know to either increase my activity level or decrease my calories. If I feel sluggish, I increase calories but try to also increase activity level a…

Why don't you just track your current diet (don't change anything) for a week or two. If you don't lose weight during that time, you are effectively at your Maintenance Calories for your given activity level. If you plan to stay at that activity level and just tackle the weight loss with diet, reduce your calories by 15%…

Add greek yogurt to your protein shake. Gives it a thicker texture and a boost of protein, and 0 fat (if you get the 0% fat one). I eat Fage Greek yogurt. Other protein ideas: lentils, beans, oatmeal.

Yes, it should have improved more than that in 7 months. Working off of a set program is a good idea, yes, but engaging in a program without properly knowing how to do the lifts is not. Work out with someone that can help guide you, as well as give you some motivation. Sounds like you need some very basic guidance to get…

Increasing your calorie count by 30% isn't "slowish" by any standard I've ever heard. A slow, clean bulk is intended to make sure your gains are "quality" gains - i.e. as much lean body mass as possible and as little body fat as possible. Unless you are on steroids, don't expect gains to be "quality" at that high of a…

Firstly, comparing getting a tattoo to having a child is moronic. Second, why does he have to be supportive? He loves your body the way it looks and is telling you so. If my girlfriend decided to "self-express" a bunch of ink down the side of her as*, I don't need to be supportive of the decision if I'm not attracted to…

1. Peter Green 2. Clapton 3. BB King / Hendrix

Are those net of exercise, or the total amount of calories you are taking in before considering exercise? If before exercise, it sounds really low. Your body is unique. An internet calculator is just a guideline and can be way off. It is just a reference point. My recommended process for those starting out is as follows:…

I would think that option A, on the margin, would be slightly better from a calorie burning perspective, no? That is, if your heart rate is already elevated and your muscles are somewhat taxed by the time you start the second half of your walk, I would assume that your body would have to work a bit harder to keep up the…

Your process of targeting minimum protein levels and minimum fat is good. Keep it up. Hope you meet your goals. Post up in this thread in a few weeks to let us know how things progressed. Best.

Well, if you are going by 1g of protein per pound of lean body mass, then you would need to estimate your BF%. So, say if you are 130 lbs and 19% body fat, your lean body mass is 130*(100%-19%) or roughly 105, which are your target grams of protein. But, like I said, these sort of specifics are not things to get all…

Yeah, girl, stop stressing. Don't look at the scale for a week or two. Give yourself a break from looking at it, but keep your course. You said it yourself - you are eating healthy and hitting the gym hard. Results will come. What's the worse thing that can happen... in two weeks you notice that the scale hasn't moved?…

IIFYM takes into account your activity level. So if 1,600 is your calorie requirements to maintain your current weight, for example, that number represents your Maintenance Calorie Level, and IIFYM just states what your macronutrients should be within the calorie requirements for your existing activity level. If all of a…

I agree with contingency.... sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.... live to fight another day. Also, never try out new gear during a race, especially shoes. You need to break things in, especially if you are talking half marathon in trails.

You first do cardio and then you do some "dancing around or jogging in place" between sets as you weight train? If you are concerned about your body fat %, then you should be concerned about retaining your lean body mass during your cut, correct? Well, in order to do that you need to make sure you are concentrating on…

You are on your way to a better you! This website is a terrific resource. It is really liberating to see how much junk you one puts in one's body and what a drastic change just a little effort on the nutrition front can make! Fainting because of your diet... that sounds very serious. I wish you the best of luck.

I'm surprised you can get the calories you need with the schedule you describe. If you can go till lunch before taking in any calories, you likely wake up with plenty of energy. I would take advantage of that if I were you by going out for a run or doing some sort of cardio on a fasted state. If you are pushing yourself…

It has only been three weeks - your body is still very much trying to acclimate to your new diet. Personally, I don't think you should expect linear weight loss. Many times the loss goes in cycles, as you are experiencing. For example, the body is typically pushing toward homeostasis, so you may be losing body fat, but…

In the context that it appears to help me clear out waste and toxins from my intestinal tract.... stay more than "regular" if you will.... what property allows for this effect on myself, I don't know, but it facilitates it, so I use it two or three times a week. I wasn't trying to imply any sort of extraordinary effect -…

The dietary reference intake recommendation by the Institute of Medicine is roughly 0.66 g of protein per kilogram of body fat for adult males. Most "fitness" sites swear by a number much higher than that but without any sort of scientific basis for the recommendation. You are likely within the IM recommendation and you…

I use it not so much for any supposed weight loss benefits, but because I feel it is a great benefit for the cleansing of the digestive and intestinal tract. When I first used it I combined it with a bit of maple syrup or honey just to help with the taste, but after a while you become accustomed to it. It's not a pleasant…

That's may useful, but note that it's not needed to find out what your maintenance level is. Once you figure that out you can then tackle the deficit you want to operate on by increasing your activity level or cutting some food. I don't know of anyone that tracks every single calorie burned during the day, but I'm sure…

Although MFP's number can be a good reference point, it is only a reference point. It may be accurate for your particular system, or it may be way off. Personally, I would have taken one or two weeks tracking the calories in your pre-existing diet as well as your weight. After two weeks if you had maintained your weight…

I have the Forerunner 210 with the HR monitor and have only great things to say about it. I think the Garmin Connect site you upload your info is lacking a bit on the esthetics department, though technically it incorporates all of the relevant data an athlete would want to look at.

I think it is a wonderful goal to have. Look for a local triathlon club in your area. Joining a club will allow you to not only tap the knowledge of experienced triathletes in order to help you get ready, but to also meet people at your experience level that you can train with. Best advice I can give you is to be mentally…