I've never done a public Fitness Journal before (just used fitday.com and my home grown Excel chart), so I hope I can keep this up. I introduced myself over on the Female boards and got some good advice from folks:

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=40776

Uhm, what else to say? I'm shooting for at least 100 grams of protein a day, and I've lowered my cal intake to "around" 1450/day from 1650/day. I was maintaining at 145 pounds on 1650/day. I would estimate that I eat about 80% "clean".

I'm 5'4", 26 yo, 156 pounds, 32% bf.

I lost 80 pounds in 2006, have kept 69 pounds off permanently, have spent the last year watching my weight fluctuate between 145 and 156.

My goals are to cut my bf% down (once upon a time, I was 18% bf at 145) to a place where I could maybe start prepping for a bodybuilding competition, and to look *good* in my bikini.

I have chondromalacia patella in my left knee, and it is the bane of my existence right now, because for the past week it has hurt like hell.

Oh, and a new goal-- to make these work pants that fit me well over the summer fit well again. They're a little tight. :(

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

(http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121)













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So I followed Maya and Guava's advice and went off the machines this morning, to free weights.

Holy cow is that hard! I was doing 30 pound bicep/tricep machines and 60 pound back/arm machines, 45 pound pec machine.

Here's my routine from today, and my arms were WIPED after. It was all I could do to keep them in the correct position while I did my cardio after:

stretching/PT exercises, then,

2 sets; 12 reps each

2, 12lb dumbbells in each hand, bench press up
2, 12lb dumbbells in each hand, dumbbell curls
12lb dumbbell, overhead tricep extension

using the chin up machine at the gym (it's like you're doing chin ups or bar dips, but if you can't do it with your whole weight yet):

62 pounds,
24 bar dips
24 military chin ups
24 pull ups

24 push ups (totally felt that in my abs!)
and 24 squat walks (we used to do something similar in PT, so I figured it would be ok, and it didn't hurt as long as I kept my knee behind my toes).

then I jogged at 5.0mph for 30 min, and had a hard time keeping my arms from just falling at my sides. what a good workout!:bb:

Today:

Today at the gym:
15 minutes of PT exercises
200 situps
30 min cardio on the elliptical cross-trainer

my butt hurts like hell from yesterday! and my thighs and hips have mysteriously swollen. my jeans didn't fit this morning! they fit last weekend! i did measurements this morning because i thought something was off, and it is.

My hips are 2" bigger than they were on Tuesday
My thighs are 2" bigger than they were on Tuesday

I know it's not real weight or muscle gain, since I'm not eating enough for that, but what is up?

I had a hankering and made protein pancakes this morning. Oh so tasty. My boss has brought in homemade chili for lunch today (she uses lean beef or soy so that I can partake). It's sitting in the office right next to my cubicle, bubbling away, and it smells SO GOOD.:drool:

Mmm, I can't wait for 3rd meal. :eat:

Fitday!: http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

Today at the gym:
200 situps


:eek:

:bow: Good lord that's a lot of situps! There is no way in heck I could do that many! Sounds like you are really applying yourself. Remember to give your body a rest every now and then!

Good job, keep it up!

Have a great weekend!

:eek:

:bow: Good lord that's a lot of situps! There is no way in heck I could do that many! Sounds like you are really applying yourself. Remember to give your body a rest every now and then!

Good job, keep it up!

Have a great weekend!

I just checked out your journal-- awesome transformation. You look like you could kick my ass at situps any day of the week!

200 doesn't seem like a lot to me. I used to do that many every time I went to the gym as part of my warm up. I'm much more reasonable now. :lol:

Day off from gym today. May go tomorrow with bf (who's only been 2x this week). I was really sore yesterday. I took a long hot bath last night and it felt so good. I'm still a little sore all over, but nowhere near as bad. I could do another workout, but I know it's good to let my body repair itself.

The swelling is down in my right thigh and hips, but my left thigh was still swollen, so I still can't wear those jeans.

Food today:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121
I may up my cals today or tomorrow. Will have to see what I'm in the mood for. BF and I saw El Orfanato at the movies this afternoon. I wonder if you burn calories when your heart races from being scared? :scared:

Cod for dinner tonight with bean/tomato recipe I got from one of my vegetarian friends. And bf has decided he wants to make a turkey breast for tomorrow. A whole big one so we have meat for the week. :cool:

200 situps


:eek: Feeling woozy just thinking about it!

Take some of that extra energy and do some squats!! :D Way more bang for your buck. if that knee injury can take it that is...

Awesome job so far :tu: Don't forget to rest

Went to the gym today w. bf, who had not been his 3x/week. I normally only go 4x/week, but figured an extra session would not kill me. Taped up knee before I went, which got me through the exercises, but I'm achy now (weather is also changing). Just took some Aleve. It'll be back to the elliptical cross-trainer for me tomorrow morning. :(

Exercise today:
-PT exercises (lying on back, lift leg up and down 30x, lying on side, lift leg up and down 30x, lying on back, bend knee at right angle, lift leg up and down 30x)

-with 2, 12lb dumbbells:

2x12 tricep curls
2x12 bicep curls
2x15 walking lunges
2x12 chest presses
2x15 stiff-legged deadlifts (i dunno if i did these right, it wasn't nearly as hard as the walking lunges)
2x15 squats

then

-20 min HIIT, (5.0mph for 1 min, then 6.0mph for 30 sec.)

bf left for the store and said he was bringing back a "surprise". i was both happy and sad when he brought back cream of mushroom soup, green beans, and SF chocolate chip muffins.:heart::no:

he knows i'm trying to 'eat clean', but i don't think he really knows what i mean by that.

Food today: http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

Glad you started a journal...I look forward to reading it! I took 2 days off this weekend! I am so sore from last weeks workouts. Do you have a foam roller? You probably used it in PT. They sell them at Target (I think they are sold under the name Get Fit?). Anyways, it helps so much with the Doms. I love it. I roll my hamstrings, quads, back and down the sides of my legs for my knees (for the IT bands). Its made a huge difference. Take care and keep posting. I enjoy looking at your food journals. Kree-Kree

-with 2, 12lb dumbbells:

2x12 tricep curls
2x12 bicep curls
2x15 walking lunges
2x12 chest presses
2x15 stiff-legged deadlifts (i dunno if i did these right, it wasn't nearly as hard as the walking lunges)
2x15 squats



You did all of them with 2 x 12 lb dumbbells?
If so, then probably you didn't do your deadlifts with enough weight (thats why they might have been "easy").
Mark which exercises were "too easy" and next workout use more weight.
Deadlifts can be done with barbell. Add weight and try doing them with double the weight you are using. Don't be surprised if you can easily lift 60 lb + (so the large bar + 10 lb on each side). I got up to lifting about 100 lb quite quickly. Now I do deadlifts with 130 lb and more.

You did all of them with 2 x 12 lb dumbbells?
If so, then probably you didn't do your deadlifts with enough weight (thats why they might have been "easy").
Mark which exercises were "too easy" and next workout use more weight.
Deadlifts can be done with barbell. Add weight and try doing them with double the weight you are using. Don't be surprised if you can easily lift 60 lb + (so the large bar + 10 lb on each side). I got up to lifting about 100 lb quite quickly. Now I do deadlifts with 130 lb and more.

The chest presses and deadlifts seemed pretty easy, so I'll go up to 20 pound dumbbells for those and see what it does.

Honestly, the squats and walking lunges on their own are pretty hard for me. I guess I'm getting used to the movements. I do love lifting like this, though. No waiting at machines and I was dripping with sweat by the time I stepped on the treadmill yesterday.

I usually don't sweat when I lift, even though I am doing things that are challenging, so this was great. It sounds strange, but there are some things that I can do at the gym where I don't sweat and if I don't sweat, I don't feel like I actually worked out. This is part of the reason I'm so in love with running. I always sweat when I run and thus I always feel like I really worked out hard. But doing all these free weight exercises, I felt like I actually got a workout just from lifting! :bb:

Swelling is down. Pants fit again (hurray!), just in time for my period to start, and for them to not fit!

Scale said 155.6 this morning. I thought about taking a bikini picture yesterday, but felt it was too soon for me to see any progress.

I'm pretty sore from yesterday. Not nearly as bad as Friday night, but I felt like I should rest today, and had to be to work a little early anyway, so it all seemed to jive.

Downside:

Today is definitely not my cleanest day. Lunch provided by work: Indian food! and the bf and I usually go out Monday nights before we go grocery shopping (read: no food in my house!!! i ate the last two eggs for breakfast and finished off the milk by pouring it in my coffee). I'll be within my cals, but these are the days when its hard to get those 100 g's of protein. Sometimes, I think I could be a vegetarian.

Food today: http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

Bad Delia!:spank:

gym this morning:

200 situps
30 push ups
PT exercises
45 min on elliptical cross-trainer

doing good with balancing carbs out with proteins. dinner tonight is a cannellini bean/tomato dish. i'll probably have to have some whey or cottage cheese to get my 100g's of protein in, though. :(

someone needs to genetically alter fruit so that it contains more protein.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

Delia- do you belong or should I say pay Fitday so that you can copy your diet??? I'm not to computer bright but I can't figure out how put in my journal...I use fitday everyday (the free version) and would love how to just cut and paste it over instead of typing it out everyday like I do.

Your incredible with those sit-ups!
Kree-Kree

gym this morning:

200 situps
30 push ups
PT exercises
45 min on elliptical cross-trainer

doing good with balancing carbs out with proteins. dinner tonight is a cannellini bean/tomato dish. i'll probably have to have some whey or cottage cheese to get my 100g's of protein in, though. :(

someone needs to genetically alter fruit so that it contains more protein.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

Oh my god girl, check out my diet I post.
I actually just dropped my protein from like 230-250 g ram sometimes to 170 g. a day.... and I had a hard time. It feels like I'm not eating enough protein at each meal.
3 oz chicken? 4 oz cottage cheese? Thats nothing! Feels like I'm not eating enough, yet still it adds up to over 170 a day.

I just checked out your journal-- awesome transformation. You look like you could kick my ass at situps any day of the week!

200 doesn't seem like a lot to me. I used to do that many every time I went to the gym as part of my warm up. I'm much more reasonable now. :lol:

Tsk! I dont think I can even do 20! foreal!:o

Keep it up!!:tu:

Delia- do you belong or should I say pay Fitday so that you can copy your diet??? I'm not to computer bright but I can't figure out how put in my journal...I use fitday everyday (the free version) and would love how to just cut and paste it over instead of typing it out everyday like I do.

Your incredible with those sit-ups!
Kree-Kree

No, I don't pay. It took me a while to figure out how to do it. After you log into FitDay, click on the Home tab on the left-hand side. On the next screen, scroll down to the bottom, and you'll see the option to make your journal public. It then gives you a public URL that you can paste in. :cool:

Oh my god girl, check out my diet I post.
I actually just dropped my protein from like 230-250 g ram sometimes to 170 g. a day.... and I had a hard time. It feels like I'm not eating enough protein at each meal.
3 oz chicken? 4 oz cottage cheese? Thats nothing! Feels like I'm not eating enough, yet still it adds up to over 170 a day.

I think I find it hard b/c I'm restricting my calories so much, and I tend to gravitate towards non-meat items in what I like to eat naturally.

I made myself like eggs over the past month (couldn't stand the smell of them before), so I could eat something that wasn't meat in the morning. Finding whipped cottage cheese has made it a lot easier too. With a few artificial sweetener packets, I can eat that stuff like yogurt. I'm also trying to find veggies that are higher in protein.

7am workout

PT leg exercises
30 bar dips
30 pull ups (variety of positions)
30 chest presses with the bar instead of dumbbells, no weights (how much does that bar weigh? I felt like such a weakling!)
1x15 tricep curls and bicep curls with a 15lb dumbbell (i was really tired after the chest presses and all).
30 min biking, varied resistance, varied pace, heart rate between 120 and 150.

Food:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121 (http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121)
BF and I made critical mistake with canellini beans yesterday (we forgot to soak them! :doh:)

So turkey meat again last night and cannellini beans/tomato dish tonight. i'm only at 68g's of protein for the day (work lunch brought in again) i hope dinner and 5th meal will get me to 100.

i am totally cursed on this bean/tomato dish. got home last night and can't find the can of tomatoes. since we had to go to the store anyway, we decided to grab food out. i think i did fairly well, considering it was bertucci's. i ordered a chicken/broccoli/pasta dish that, surprising, was fairly normal-sized. i only had a little pasta, since i'm not big on pasta it anyway (10 noodles, i counted!).

anyway, TONIGHT, BEAN/TOMATO. i am *determined*!:drool: and hungry for it.

my right leg finally stopped being achy this morning, so i thought it was probably safe to do some more work on my legs.

today, workout, 7am:

PT exercises

2x10 walking lunges w/o weights
2x10 walking lunges w. 20lb dumbbells in each hand
2x15 stiff-legged deadlifts w. bar (no weights)
2x15 stiff-legged deadlifts w. bar, (20lbs)
2x15 free-weight squats w. bar (no weights)
2x15 squats w. 20lb dumbbells in each hand
2x15 calf raise (w. 40lb on machine)

15 min elliptical cross-trainer

i've never used the calf raise machine before, so thought i'd give it a try.

i worry that i'm not doing the deadlifts correctly. i feel them in my lower back.

as i was walking around with the weights, i kept thinking to myself, "gee, four years ago you would have been carrying around twice this much weight all the time". i guess this is the theory behind weighted arm bands and leg bands.

food today:
http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

i was walking around with the weights, i kept thinking to myself, "gee, four years ago you would have been carrying around twice this much weight all the time". i guess this is the theory behind weighted arm bands and leg bands.


I often wonder the same thing as I carry weights around and think "oh, my God thats 90 pounds of what use to be on me" Gives ya a whole new perspective. I can't imagine climbing stairs with an extra 90 pounds. No wonder I was miserable.

Keep up the good work. Kree

sore today (but not in my thighs/butt! which means i'm adapting to the squat/lunge routine), so decided to rest from yesterday. my calves hurt so bad i could barely stand up when i got out of bed! stretching helped a lot.

last night i cut myself twice while making dinner. i look like i've been feeding audrey ii.

bf decided to make cookies last night.:doh:

i only had one cookie. but then i ate some of the dough. :o i went a little over my 1650 maintenance, so i added the cookie i ate last night to today's food. since i didn't exercise today, eating a little less than my regular 1400/day cutting won't kill me. and i'll be skipping my 1650/day this weekend.

yesterday i was feeling really bad about my body, and i guess i still am today. the scale this morning didn't help (at 157 because the monthly is arriving next week). i'm going to take pics on sunday (2 weeks since i lowered cals and changed exercise routine), but i really don't feel like my diet is helping me out at this point. i don't feel like i'm noticing/seeing any changes (aside from being less sore after squats/lunges).

i weighed myself earlier in the week (155.4), and i've lost half a pound, but i don't feel like that's really any kind of bankable progress. (1/2 pound in 1.5 weeks) at that rate, it will take me over half a year just to lose 10 pounds! i think this is part of the reason that i felt less strict about my calorie intake last night. i'm working really hard and i see no results. it doesn't seem to matter if i eat 1600 or 1400. nothing comes of any of it.


i'm considering doing two things:

1. lowering my calorie intake to 1200/day. i know that's the bare minimum, but my body apparently needs a beating like that in order to lose faster. if i start seeing changes, i will be less likely to deviate. :spank:

2. dropping most of the fat from my diet. i know "fat does not make you fat", but i did break through a plateau when i originally lost weight by dropping my fat grams to under 30/day. maybe that's where i need to go again. no more peanut butter, almonds, egg yolks or olive oil.

i'm feeling pretty crappy right now.

Honestly. Just keep plugging away. Look at the big picture. 1-2 weeks are not gonna give you a clear picture what's happening with your body.
I went though simular thing when I was dieting for a show.
2 weeks - nothing. I started to panic. I asked my trainer if I should lower my calories. He told me not to. To wait little bit, and guess what... sometime later... boom! Few pounds melted off. "All over sudden"
I would not, seriously NOT drop my calories that low. Neither the fat to under 30 g. Thats crazy, girl!

Instead of cutting your calories add weight to your compound exercises.
You wanna get stronger, right? You wanna have a nice shape, right?
1200 might put you into a starvation mode and your body will actually start storing more fat.

Honestly. Just keep plugging away. Look at the big picture. 1-2 weeks are not gonna give you a clear picture what's happening with your body.
I went though simular thing when I was dieting for a show.
2 weeks - nothing. I started to panic. I asked my trainer if I should lower my calories. He told me not to. To wait little bit, and guess what... sometime later... boom! Few pounds melted off. "All over sudden"
I would not, seriously NOT drop my calories that low. Neither the fat to under 30 g. Thats crazy, girl!

Instead of cutting your calories add weight to your compound exercises.
You wanna get stronger, right? You wanna have a nice shape, right?
1200 might put you into a starvation mode and your body will actually start storing more fat.

these pictures make me feel like something is just not going right, though. (one on the left is 2 weeks ago, one on the right is this morning)

bf actually thought the one on the left was me now, after changing up my routine and lowering my cals for two weeks. :cry:

i've been sticking with the calorie limit and getting my 100 g's of protein in, even if i was a little less squeaky clean this past weekend while traveling.

food today (and the past few days):
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

i guess i will give it another two weeks and look again. i've been steadily adding weight to my exercises.

i just can't get any bigger or my clothes won't fit!:mad:

Maya has definetly given you sound advice :nod:

I know its a pain at the early stage when you have to deal with all the uncomfortableness of a new routine with none of the visible results but stick with it

Don't become one of the countless casualities that end up slashing and slashing their calories till they eventually burning out and quit ending up more miserably then when they started

Eat clean and keep hitting the compound exercises hard and you will DEFINETLY see the results you desire :tu:

Hang in there...I'm in the same boat too...I'm patiently waiting for something to happen as well. I'll post my pictures next week sometime and I'm thinking I'm going to be just as sad. I honestly can't see a difference on me yet either. At some point its gonna happen right? Kree-Kree

amen to not dropping the cals. or the fat.

you're working hard....results WILL come. the waiting is what sucks! its hard when ur trying to lose weight and its ALL you think about and two weeks SEEMS like forever....but its only 14 days. that's nothing. wait it out. keep chugging along.

cookie dough... yummmmm :dreamy:

Repeating what the others said before me, I would wait at least another two weeks before deciding to go decrease the calories. it didn't take you two weeks to gain weight so it also won't go away in two weeks. people who lose a few pounds right at the beginning of a diet don't lose fat but water!

and as the others said too, in my opinion it wouldn't be good to drop the fat....as long as it's contained in your calculations of overall calorie consumption there's no reason why it should hinder your progress. previously when you dropped the fat what probably made you lose weight was the fact that you lowered the calories (since 1g of fat has a lot of calories).

I almost forgot: when you take pictures, make sure that the camera stays at the exact same spot each time with the exact same settings. the best thing would also be to take them around the same time since the light can make a big difference. the pictures you posted are difficult to compare because the angle is slightly different..... just something I realised when I started taking progress pictures :nod:

just my 2 cents...:gl:

thanks, folks. i know it takes time. it took me a long time to get from 225 to where i am now, and i can tough it out! i've just been flipping out the past few days. but i can do it! :nod:

had a bummer workout today. i don't know what it was, but lifting was so hard this morning. i tried upping the weight on my bicep curls and chest presses and i think that took it out of me.

workout today, 7a:

PT exercises
2x15 push ups
1x3 bicep curls, 20lb freeweights (thought i'd give myself a challenge)
2x15 chest presses, 40lbs (had to use the freeweights again, all the bars were in use)
2x10 bicep curls, 15lb freeweights (turns out it was too much of a challenge:rolleyes:)
2x10 tricep curls, 15lb freeweights
2x15 lateral dumbbell raises 5lb freeweights in each hand (i haven't done these in a verrrry long time, and omfg, this was so hard, with only 5lb!!!!)
2x10 overhead presses, 15lb

15 min HIIT running (5.0/6.0 split)
15 min biking (hill setting, varying between 50watt and 150 watt)

i thought taking 3 days off in a row would let me heal and i'd be able to have a really good/hard workout.... guess not.:(

Food today:
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

man, i'm so tired:sleep: i slept so much this weekend (9-10 hours/night), how can i still be so tired?!

Too much sleep can actually have the same ill effects as not enough sleep. Try to find a comfort zone between 6-8 hrs per night

Don't sweat the bicep curls. They're an isolation exercise so they won't make or break your workout...

If you'd like to switch things up a bit then the dip assist machine will give you far more meaningful results than those curls :nod:

You need to incorporate some pulling exercises in your upper body work. You do pushups and presses, but no rows/pulldowns, etc. That's a recipe for imbalances, bad posture, and shoulder issues.

So try to balance your push/pull volumes.

I'll also advise not lowering calories and/or lowering fat like everybody else. You are already very low on calories to begin with, and dietary fats are not the enemy. In fact, I've found frequently while trying to burn fat that upping my portions of fat in my diet while lowering my carbs and moving them to only immediatly after workouts speeds things along (while keeping protein high).

i was doing a more balanced workout when i was on the machines, i think. part of the problem is that i don't quite know what to do. i have used free weights a little in the past, but just for bicep/tricep curls and lateral raises.

so i turned to the internet and looked for some comprehensive upper and lower body free weight workouts with instructions and pictures and found these:

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/upperbod.html
and
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/lowerbod.html

i also found an ab workout that i think i'd like to try instead of my 200 situps once a week, just to shake things up. i dunno about doing it 3x/week *after* cardio. i've always heard that doing any weight/resistance stuff after cardio is bad, because you're wiped (and i personally have found that to be the case). :nope:

http://www.musclemedia.com/training/BootCamp.asp

anyway, 7a today:

-pt exercises

-2x15 squats w. bar + 20 lbs (it was very hard to lift the bar over my head with 20 lbs on it... i hit my head twice:bang:)
-1x15 squats w. just bar
-2x15 lunges with 20 lb dumbbells in each hand
-1x15 lunges w. no weights
-2x15 deadlifts w. bar + 20 lbs
-1x15 deadlifts w. just bar
-2x15 calf raises w. 40 lbs.

i had a good sweat going by this point, which i just love:bb: i never used to sweat when i used the machines.

then:
20 min on the elliptical cross-trainer.

food today:

http://fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

i tried to stay up a little later than normal to see if that would help me shake the tired feeling. unfortunately, i got hungry, was at my cal limit for the day, and i was cranky and didn't make the best choices. thus, today i am working off a chocolate cookie and a fiberone bar calorie debt. :rolleyes:

but i felt like i slept a little better, and my workout today was better, and i'm not feeling as tired. i'm usually really good about my sleep (8 hrs like clockwork), but have just felt lazy and lethargic lately. i think it's the lack of sunlight.

in my online searching, i found a few articles on flax oil benefits, so i figured i'd give it a try, and i bought flax oil capsules to add to my morning regimin (multivitamin, glucosamine chondroitin, fish oil, flax oil).

i'm usually really good about my sleep (8 hrs like clockwork), but have just felt lazy and lethargic lately. i think it's the lack of sunlight.

in my online searching, i found a few articles on flax oil benefits, so i figured i'd give it a try, and i bought flax oil capsules to add to my morning regimin (multivitamin, glucosamine chondroitin, fish oil, flax oil).

I hear ya on the sunlight...sometimes I swear I have the mood/sunlight disorder. I need the sun and a little heat (we are in the negative cold numbers here). I'm looking forward to my Florida trip coming up.:D

I take the all the same vitamins as you do. I'm hooked on the glucosamine and chondroitin! That really helps my knees!

Have a good day. Kree-Kree

I don't really like those upper and lower plans too much (if they are plans...more like a list of exercises). Too redundant in exercise selection and too isolation based. Also if you do all of those exercise in a session, that's a lot of work.

None are necessarily bad exercises, but the lower body work especially is too small movement isolation machine based. IMO, 75-80% of the work should be compound, multi-joint movements. They make the biggest metabolic impact and therefore body compositional changes. So squats are more efficient ways to spend time vs doing calf raises or leg extensions (assuming you can get your knees to stay healthy).

EDIT: You might want to read New Rules of Lifting for Women (http://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Lifting-Women-Goddess/dp/1583332944/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1201123362&sr=8-1). I've read the men's version, and it's a good beginner/intermediate book from some good authors. There are also some good links to exercise instruction web references in the sticky here in the beginner's forum.

7am workout today... my lifting sucked, but my cardio was good.

the pull-up assistance machine i'm using at the gym is called the "Gravitron" by Stairmaster. it looks hella old, but it has easy instructions on how to use it.

today:
-pt exercises
-2x12 bar dips @ 67 lbs (level 7/17)
-1x12 parallel bar pull up @ 67 lbs
-1x6 parallel bar pull up @ 67 lbs (i was exhausted)
-2x12 military chin up @ 43 lbs (level 5/17)
-2x12 wide-grip pulls ups @ 43 lbs

i added these because i saw a trainer teaching someone else to do them yesterday while i was on the elliptical and they looked hard. that's probably not the best reason :lol:. i need to find a workout plan, i'm lost with these free weights. i think a trip to the library is in store.

-2x12 cable push-down @ 40 lbs
-1x12 cable front pull down @ 60 lbs
-1x12 cable rear pull down @ 60 lbs

then
20 min HIIT on the treadmill (4.0/5.0/6.0/7.0) x 5.
and 5 min straight running at 5.0mph

i know you're supposed to feel completely wiped after HIIT, but I probably could have gone on with my 5.0mph jog for a while. i quit becuase i started to get a headache. however, i can't sustain a minute at 8.0mph, let alone 5 of them.:confused: i think it comes from all that MISS i was doing.

i've been cruising around the website mannishboy rec'd to me and this looks like fun!:

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/WTSupineRow.html

that's probably not a good reason to do an exercise either, but i might try that next week. :p

tomorrow i try my new crazy abs workout.

food today:
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

this headache just won't go away!


oh, and does anyone know if natty pb is still good if it was opened and then accidentally put in a cupboard overnight? :o it's in the fridge now, of course, and it still smells good....

thanks everybody for reading and commenting! :gl:

Inverted rows are tougher than they appear, but an excellent exercise :tu:

As for peanut butter, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Peanuts do just fine left unrefrigerated, so I'd say PB will be OK for a bit. Yes, refrigeration will help any nut stay fresher longer, but one night shouldn't kill them. Part of the reason IMO they say to refrigerate natural PB is to keep it from separating after you stir it.

oh, and does anyone know if natty pb is still good if it was opened and then accidentally put in a cupboard overnight? :o it's in the fridge now, of course, and it still smells good....


I think it should still be good

There is a difference in your pictures.
The ones on the left have more shadows, so thats why someone just glancing at them might think that you looked slimmer.
I see a slight difference in your legs, they look little leaner (on the new pictures), also your chest shows little more definition.
Your side pose shows a little difference too. Your shoulders have little bit more shape.

There is a difference in your pictures.
The ones on the left have more shadows, so thats why someone just glancing at them might think that you looked slimmer.
I see a slight difference in your legs, they look little leaner (on the new pictures), also your chest shows little more definition.
Your side pose shows a little difference too. Your shoulders have little bit more shape.

:eek::confused:

you think so? somebody else did mention to me that i didn't take the pictures right. i did take them about the same type of day, but it was much brighter the day of the 2nd photos (lots of sun coming in the windows).

past couple days have been tough! traveling again to visit friends this weekend, and go to a housewarming party. :eek:

i got on the scale mid-week (as much as i promised myself i really wouldn't), and i'm down two pounds to 154. :claphigh:

so that made me feel a little better. i had trouble getting my 100g's of protein on thurs and fri (had a vegetable craving and ended up eating a lot of v. low protein meals). i got pretty close to 100, and stayed within my 1450ish calorie limit, so no huge diet disasters, but i didn't sleep well thurs. night, skipped my fri morning workout and worked out on sat. instead, and b/c i didn't get enough protein, i think i had a really shit workout.

i did the new abs routine and it really tired me out, which is a good thing, i guess, but i don't really have DOMS like the website suggested I should, so I'm thinking i maybe did them wrong. i was really really tired on saturday. no energy at the gym whatsoever. i only did 15 min of cardio after my ab workout.

but then i went to a party on sat. night where some friends and i decided to wrestle for entertainment (this really isn't as dirty as it sounds), so maybe i burned some cals that way. :whistle: saturday was my 1650 day, so i had the extra cals to burn, too.

today i got just under 100gs in, but it's 10:30pm, i'm 100 cals over budget and i'm still hungry :eat:!!! eating when you travel is so screwed up!

doing good w. the no fake sugars thing. i tried 'raw sugar' this morning with my coffee. it was just ok, but i think the experiment was a little flawed since bf and i were guests at someone's house for breakfast this morning and they don't make the coffee as strong as i do.:spaz:

anyway, food today:
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

i think i might need to go have some cottage cheese before bed. *sigh*.

i know this is working, but i hate feeling hungry!!! :eat:

gave in and had 1/4 cup of cottage cheese last night. well, at least the calories came from something constructive. today i'm working off a 150 cal deficit though:doh:

wasn't able to find the new rules of lifting book at the library, so i'm going to have to order it. in the meantime, i've been cruising around the exrx.net website and checking out the different exercises there, trying to do some different things to 'balance'.

7am workout:

-pt exercises
-2x15 cable seated row @ 50 lbs
-1x15 cable push-down @ 40 lbs
-1x8 cable push-down @ 50 lbs (figured i'd increase weight instead of reps-- the first set was pretty easy)
-2x15 cable front pull down @ 60 lbs
-2x15 cable rear pull down @ 60 lbs
-2x15 chest presses, 40lbs (had to use the freeweights again, all the bars were in use)
-2x15 lateral dumbbell raises 5lb freeweights in each hand
-1x15 bicep curls w. 15 lb dumbbells in each hand
-4 supine rows (i should have done these first instead of last. i was just exhausted by the time i tried them)

i was exhausted by the time i did the last two exercises. i was going to do tricep curls, but could barely lift those 15 lb dumbbells to put them back on the rack at the end.

then, cardio:

16 min HIIT:
4/5/6/7 x 1 min each
4 min 5.0 running
5 min 4.0 walking

food today:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

feeling tired:morning:... but it's time to walk to work.....

no workout yesterday, had to run errands. had tasty monkfish in tomato sauce last night, but went over my cal limit again :mad: so i'm again working off a deficit.

today, 7 am:

-pt exercises
-3x15 rear lunges w. 20 lb dumbbels in each hand (40 lb total) *note: my ass hurts a lot now*
-3x15 smith squats w. 20 lbs on bar. since i'm doing smith squats, i think i could do more weight next time, not having to lift the bar and the 20 lbs over my head.
-3x15 straight back, straight legged deadlifts w. 20 lbs on bar-- i think i finally started doing these right-- i started feeling them more in the backs of my legs than in my lower back. i think i needed to get the bar below my knees before coming back up.
-3x15 sled standing calf raise @ 40 lbs

then, 20 min. jogging/walking
14 min jogging @ 5mph
6 min walking @ 4mph

i love lifting with my legs because by the time i'm done i'm always sweaty and feel like i'm working hard. :bb:

my ass hurts like hell right now though. seriously. walking hurts.

food today and yesterday:

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

booty hurts!!!!:spank:

i was v. good yesterday on the caloric intake, so my deficit today was down to roughly 30 cals :claphigh:

workout today, 7am:

-PT exercises
-1x15 56# bar dips on the Gravitron
-1x15 56# military chin ups on the Gravitron
-1x15 56# chin ups on the Gravitron
-1x15 56# wide grip chin ups on the Gravitron
-2x15 60# seated rows
-2x15 60# front pull down
-2x15 60# rear pull down
-2x15 60# standing pull overs (??? i saw a trainer showing somebody how to do these yesterday so thought i would try it, but i can't find the exercise on exrx.net)
-2x15 push ups

then
30 min on the bike on "random" mode, 100-150W effort, heart rate at around 130-140 the whole time

food today:
http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

indian buffet for lunch. i'm sticking to the daal makhani (mmm beans!):drool:

my ass hurts like hell right now though. seriously. walking hurts.

I can relate. On second thought, I am sure we all can. When I started doing leg work (squats, deadlifts,leg presses) I was in major pain. A couple of weeks went by before the DOMS subsided. Even sitting down or getting up was a painful task. Keep working those legs and back and you will be good to go! :tu:

no workout today, knee is bugging me. it sounds silly, but the rain really does affect my knee. i think it's the change in barometric pressure.

i feel very swollen today, too. i measured my left leg this morning and it's 2 inches bigger than my right leg. my jeans feel very tight around my calf on that side, too.

i decided to go to work early (8a) to get a jump on some things. had protein pancakes today for breakfast today.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=ZoraJ1121

i'm a little scared to take pics on sunday-- this will be a month since i changed up my exercise routine and dropped my calories down to 1450 from 1650. i weighed myself this morning, and i was 156 again, 30% bf, 49% water. my clothes aren't fitting any better, either.

really, what am i gonna do if i haven't lost any weight/look any different? i know maya said she saw some changes in my pictures, but my clothes don't fit better, my measurements aren't any different, and i don't seem to have lost any weight permanently. all the signs point to me, not changing.

like i said, i'm not a newbie ready to throw it all away and go back to eating junk food and not exercising. i've been eating well and counting calories for three years, and exercising regularly for five years and that's not going to stop because it's not coming off, but i should notice some changes somewhere, and i don't. i think i need to do something else/something more. i'm just not sure what.

Read my journal....I just posted the same thing. I told you we were similar.:lol:

I can't remomber where but I was reading that people often underestimate how much they eat by sometimes 50%.

How do you measure your food? Do you eyeball the portions or do you actually use a scale to weigh your food.

You'll be suprised what I discovered recently. I thought I was good and I was using special 1 tbsp scoop to measure my almond butter/ peanut butter.
Ok, sometimes the scoop was really full.... but it couldn't be that much more?!
Well, I started using scale and discovered that what I though was 1 tbps = 15 g = 100 cals and 8 grams of fat.... ended up being 28 grams.
So instead of 2 tbps sometimes thinking that I was adding 200 cals I was actually eating extra 400 cals!! 2 little tablespoons :eek:

I can't remomber where but I was reading that people often underestimate how much they eat by sometimes 50%.

How do you measure your food? Do you eyeball the portions or do you actually use a scale to weight your food.

You'll be suprised what I discovered recently. I thought I was good and I was using special 1 tbsp scoop to measure my almond butter/ peanut butter.
Ok, sometimes the scoop was really full.... but it couldn't be that much more?!
Well, I started using scale and discovered that what I though was 1 tbps = 15 g = 100 cals and 8 grams of fat.... ended up being 28 grams.
So instead of 2 tbps sometimes thinking that I was adding 200 cals I was actually eating extra 400 cals!! 2 little tablespoons :eek:


JVjWPclrWVY

JVjWPclrWVY

Well well well...... :eek:

I can't remomber where but I was reading that people often underestimate how much they eat by sometimes 50%.

How do you measure your food? Do you eyeball the portions or do you actually use a scale to weigh your food.

You'll be suprised what I discovered recently. I thought I was good and I was using special 1 tbsp scoop to measure my almond butter/ peanut butter.
Ok, sometimes the scoop was really full.... but it couldn't be that much more?!
Well, I started using scale and discovered that what I though was 1 tbps = 15 g = 100 cals and 8 grams of fat.... ended up being 28 grams.
So instead of 2 tbps sometimes thinking that I was adding 200 cals I was actually eating extra 400 cals!! 2 little tablespoons :eek:

hum. i've got a food scale that i use for measuring my meats. it's not digital, but i do re-calibrate it when i put a plate on it and i measure two or three times to make sure i'm not reading the number wrong.

i'm pretty good on 'leveling' the measuring cups that i use, but there's never a deficit of food in them like the video below shows.:eek: maybe i should start weighing the food in the measuring cup.

two things i've been eating a lot of lately have been cottage cheese and pb, both of which i'm using tablespoons and measuring cups for. i cleaned out the pb jar tonight, and i don't plan on buying another for a while. (i decided earlier in the week that i want to add more fruits and veggies in my diet-- i've noticed i feel better when i do, and they're the foods i gravitate towards more naturally-- so i'm cutting down my fats to make room calorie-wise.. plus i've found a sucralose-based "calorie free" chocolate syrup for the cottage cheese that i don't feel too bad about using-- assuming they're just barely lying, and there are .99~ calories per serving, there should be about 12 calories in the whole bottle).

the peanut butter seems like a very obvious culprit here. i've been eating it pretty much every day, and you're right, sometimes it's over the tablespoon top, and i definitely lick the spoon, because gosh-darnit, i'm hungry and i want every morsel of food i can get. :eat: i'm hungry right now and i just had some cottage cheese!

pb seems to be a high-cal food that is very easy to overestimate. if my 1/2 cup of cottage cheese is actually more like 2/3 cup of cottage cheese, it's a 30 cal difference, and that's a lot more food. if my 1 TBS of pb is more like 1.5 or so, and i like the spoon to 1.75, that's 70 extra cals. the sugar could be the same deal. :rolleyes: and the cheese in my morning eggs seems like it could be doing me some damage too.

i sort of want to buy a digital scale now, but i'm also concerned that i might become more of a spaz than i already am. :spaz: i weigh my food on the regular scale 2 or 3 times before i decide it's 3.5 oz or 4. i can see myself getting the point where i'm obsessing about getting my 51 gram serving down to 50 grams. bf and bff already think that i'm insane about food.

god, the thought of eating even less is so depressing.:cry:i'm such a foodie.

JVjWPclrWVY

:cry:

The whole point of posting this it was NOT to tell you to eat less, but just to realize that people usually underestimate how much they eat.

Also it didn't sugget to quit eating fats because they are calorie dense.
Fats are important in your diet for many reasons. Hormone production, joint health. Many vitamins are also fat soluble, so they won't absorb properly if you cut the fat out of your diet.

How much PB are you actually eating? I'm sure its not because 1-2 tbsp of PB you gained weight.

I think you expect instant results. You started this journal Jan 10th... it hasn't been even a month so how can you know that whatever you are doing is not working?
Did you become overweight in 3 weeks?
Probably not. Then you can't expect to see visible difference in 3 weeks.

Also the foods we naturally gravitate are not always the best option.
Fruits are good, in moderation. Fats too though.

You are scared you'll became obsessed. I call it dedicated. If you want amazing results, you need to be amazingly dedicated.
Not too many people are genetically gifted...... most of us have to be dedicated (or obsessed) to get the results we want.

maya, this lecture made me feel like shit. i am not an unrealistic uncommitted quitter for changing my macro ratios. i am simply sick of eating peanut butter.

and i think i'm sick of having a public journal, too. every time i express any doubt or dismay about progress, i get lectured like i'm some dumbass with the candy bar in one hand and the remote in the other who walks a quarter of a mile and says, "wow, i worked hard" and then cries into a pint of ben and jerry's at the end of the week when i haven't lost weight.

i'm not stupid. i know thing take time and i'm not going to go plant myself in a bowl of ice cream when things get bad or go on some rice cake and water diet.

i lost the 80 pounds on my own without anyone's lectures. i can certainly lose the next twenty without them. i just thought it might be nice to meet other people who wanted to do the same things i did.

Maya was not lecturing you and you do her a dis-service by saying so

every time i express any doubt or dismay about progress, i get lectured like i'm some dumbass

I have seen nothing but concerned members trying to help you reach your goals in this thread and you see personal attacks and slander where there is none

If receiving constructive critisism is this distressing to you then yeah you probably should dis-continue this journal

I apologize if anything I've posted made you feel bad. We try to offer help here based on what we've seen with our own progress as well as what others have done around here.

I've learned a lot around here in the last couple of years when people pointed out things that just might get me better results. Some ideas i took, some I didn't, but I tried to at least keep an open mind, especially if I wasn't happy with my progress with what I was currently doing.