Hello all!

I am new to the forums and thought I would post an introductory message. First, let me say thanks to John and to everyone on the boards for being one of the best Forums I have seen in a long time. Congrats to everyone who is changing their lives for the better and doing it the right way. There is a ton of great information and amazing transformations here that educate and inspire. Thanks!

About me:

I am a 29 year old woman who is 5'4" 120lbs with 24%bf according to the scale at the gym. I joined the gym about a year ago, but didn't keep up with it for assorted reasons, but have gotten back on and am loving it. I had forgotten just how good it feels to be active and eating well. I have a very sedentary job and my schedule is nights, so it makes it even harder to be active. When I was working normal hours I was at the gym a few times a week and playing soccer twice a week.

Goals:

To lower my body fat %, to eat better, to tone, firm and be stronger since I am a small girl. I would also like to be able to play soccer again when my schedule allows (I might be getting moved to days soon) and not be winded.

Example of typical diet (workout day):

Cuppa Tea w/1 spoon of honey and soymilk
Banana with a tbs of peanut butter
Skinless chicken breast
Apple
Peach
1/8 cup of soynuts
small piece salmon
cup of brown bismati rice
Spinach salad
Whey with Soymilk (PWO)

Work out:

M - HIIT mornings - Back and Abs evening
T - HIIT
W - Legs
Th - Rest!
Fri - HIIT
Sat - Arms
Sun - Rest!

I do 2 warm up sets per muscle group then 2/3 heavy sets per exercise.

I just started HIIT so I am in the ramp up stage. It is hard, but is the cardio most like soccer and if I can get up to 20 - 30 mins and feel good about it, I should have no problems going back to soccer again.

So I guess that is about it. Feel free to post comments or suggestions. You guys are great! :claplow:

Welcome to the boards! Always nice to meet new people.
I think your plan looks great, keep us informed of how everything is going. You might want to post sample diet w/ times and etc. so we can see when you're eating what you're eating. Also, I wouldn't recommend lifting right after cardio.

I play soccer too!! Its fun, no? Where do you play? Sometimes I wish I knew other languages so I could figure out what everyone is trying to communicate on the field :) I'm very bad, but I love to play.

Anyway, congrats on your new plan and I look forward to reading your posts!

-Andrew

Thanks Andrew!

I was playing with some local womens leagues. one day indoor one day outdoor, but now my work schedule conflicts :( I am in Texas so the heat is a factor - argh!

I usually get up about 1pm and have my tea and fruit/peanut butter - then I do cardio.

About 4 I have my 'lunch' then a snack about 8pm. (lunch is usually a lean protien and carbs or veg - snack is uaually soynuts/fruit)

I have dinner (lean protien and veg or carbs) about 11pm or midnight, then weight lift at 2:30 am.

I will then go home and have a whey/soy about 3:30 - 4am Then bed before the sun comes up.

I only have one day with both cardio and lifting - I make sure they are 8 hours apart.

The hardest thing is staying with it on weekends when I get to interact with the rest of the world. No one eats dinner at midnight. Laugh.

BTW Andrew - your new clothes and 'do are great ;)

No one eats dinner at midnight. Laugh.

BTW Andrew - your new clothes and 'do are great ;)

Thanks for the review, always good to have a female perspective...

FYI: I eat my last meal of the day ("dinner" if you will) at 11:30pm every night of the week!!

Just an update. I have been back working out for two weeks now and have dropped from 24% BF to 21.4% BF. Muscles I didn't know I had are starting to show up and I feel great.

:db: :flex:

Yay! Thanks for all the motivation.

Just an update. I have been back working out for two weeks now and have dropped from 24% BF to 21.4% BF. Muscles I didn't know I had are starting to show up and I feel great.

:db: :flex:

Yay! Thanks for all the motivation.

Glad to hear it!!

Generally body fat tests (esp. self-tests) are unreliable, but they will certainly show a trend, and your trend is in the right direction! Good job!!

Keep working hard and you'll be breaking ankles all over the pitch ;)!
:flex:

Update!

So I have been at it steady for about two months and wow - results!

I am down to 117lbs and 17% body fat. I am begining to see hints of abs and just finished a week off weights for rest.

My program morphed over the last two months to be 4-5x a week cardio and 3 days of weights.

I am feeling like my legs are looking good enough to maintain them with just squats and calves and all that cardio on the treadmill and pre-core.

I went from not being able to really run for any length of time (over about 2 mins) to being able to run two miles.

I am going to be doing upper body twice a week and abs twice a week as well to get a little more definition.

I have been checking this site and forums at least three times a week and I have to say thanks again to John and everyone on the boards. When I just don't want to go to the gym I just come here and look at peoples pics and read stories and BOOM - I am ready to go!

Thanks so much! :claphigh: