Dedene's Journal: Achieving the impossible!

[Dedene]

Hello,
Well here I go on my first journal.

My stats are as follows:
52 years old, live in France (women don't lift weights in France) but am American by birth.
5'7" for 126 lbs. Body fat% 19.2. Lifting seriously for about 1-1/2 years. Before that, active but not serious. Finally being accepted by the GUYS at the gym.

Measurements:
Chest: 36"
Chest Underarm: 36.5"
Waist: 28" (don't like this)
Hips: 35"
Flexed Bicep: 12"
Thigh: 21"
Calf: 14"

Heaviest weight lifted = squat with 175# 3 sets of 6.

Current nutritional program:
Maintenance calories/day = 2039
Weight loss : 1631 calories/day split by zig-zag method:
M: 1632
T: 1306
W: 1958
T: 1632
F: 1469
S: 1795
S: 1632

Macro-nutrients : 35% protein/45% carbs/20% fats.

Eat religiously according to GI list and try to stay organic. No fast carbs after 12:00, no slow carbs after 4:00 pm and no protein after dinner. Tons of veggies!!!

Eat 4 times a day with a post-workout snack of Whey and some fast carb.

Current exercise schedule is 4x week, muscle group split of :
#1 - #3: Pecs, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs
#2 - #4: Legs and lowerbody, Back, Biceps + forearms, Abs

Warm up with cardio; treadmill running hills.

Most exercises I do 3 sets of between 10-15 reps. Some descending, some ascending.

Hope to be able to post some improvement soon! Already over the past 2 years I've lost 2 sizes and am healthier than I've ever been.

Until next time, Dedene

[flywheel99]

Welcome to the journaling section!

[Hibiscus09]

Hi Dedene! :) I checked out your transformation and Wow! You're really doing fantastic!

Welcome to the Over 35 journaling section. You look awesome!

I'm heading to France this summer (Paris) and am really looking forward to it. :)

[Dedene]

Hello,
Thank you both!

Hibiscus, You'll love Paris! Have you been there before? When you get closer to your trip, let me know and maybe I can turn you on to some fun things to do.

Take care, Dedene

[HoosierHardGain]

Welcome aboard!

[Hibiscus09]

Hello,
Thank you both!

Hibiscus, You'll love Paris! Have you been there before? When you get closer to your trip, let me know and maybe I can turn you on to some fun things to do.


Thanks, Dedene! I been there once before with my hubby. We saw the Louvre (well, some of it), the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, went on a river cruise, etc. We stayed at the Hotel Du Louvre that time and had a ton of fun.

This time, we're also taking my daughter, her b-friend and my son. We'll be there in mid-July. I know we're planning on seeing Versailles this time, plus the Louvre and Eiffel Tower again. I don't know what else. Hopefully, I'll have the full itinerary soon. :)

[ChocoChick]

You look great! Welcome to the site.

[Athena]

Hey, Dedene!

Welcome to the journaling section! Don't worry about the boys at the gym. First they won't take you seriously, then they'll try to hit on you, then they'll respect you. It won't take long, based on your numbers, for them to respect your efforts.

What are your ultimate goals?

[joed]

Welcome D, I saw your post in the "Are you new here?" thread, and I'm glad you decided to join us.

[GSCampbell]

Welcome D, I saw your post in the "Are you new here?" thread, and I'm glad you decided to join us.

Welcome! It's a little crazy here but it's home! :D

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/newsletter/images2003/2003-08-01_Munnik_WelcomeSign.jpg

[StlBarbie]

Welcome .. and YOU LOOK SPECTACULAR!!! :)

[Hibiscus09]

Welcome! It's a little crazy here but it's home! :D

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/newsletter/images2003/2003-08-01_Munnik_WelcomeSign.jpg

Watch out for that one ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

He sings too:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4qoymGCDYzU

[Dedene]

Thank you all for giving me motivation! I've forgotten to post recently -- shame, but have been working out!

Just to you CSCAMPBELL! My little "town" has 900 people in it. I love it. Bet your's is great.

But I do not want to hear you sing!

My goals are to get progressively stronger so that I can at least do an 80lbs. bench press! HA!

Actually, I want to lower my body fat from 20% to 17%, just to be healthy and have some definition. Not looking to lose weight just redefine.

Still following my 4-day a week workout split. It's good and I can see a bit more definition. But the day after, OMG, I am sore!! A good sore, but ouch!
Also the calorie cycling is super! Really glad I found the method. Helps the cravings and keeps me disciplined about what I eat.

My problem is not the fat, it's the loose skin!!! Does anyone have any miracles for loose skin around the belly. My stomach is flat, my ab muscles are hard -- but the skin sags!!!! YUK! Maybe I'm the only one that sees it?

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to post pictures on the Women's picture thread. Can anyone help?

Thanks to you all for the support!
Have a nice week! Work hard.
Dedene

[Hibiscus09]

Hi Dedene! :)

I actually answered the question you asked about photos recently via PM, so here's a cut and paste of my response:

When you hit "post reply," there's a button if you scroll down that says "manage attachments." Click on it. You can then browse and upload the photo from your computer and it will show up as a link in the post.

The photo has to be within a certain size (1,000 X 1,000 pixels. I generally make mine about 500 to 600 in width for posting purposes). You can do this in a photo editing software program such as Microsoft Photo Editor or Irfanview (Irfanview is free and can be downloaded from the Internet. Just google it and you'll be able to find it.)

If you want to post a photo that shows up automatically without the link, you can save it into a free photosharing program such as photobucket and it will provide an address of the photo once you do so. You then use the opening image tag [img] before the web address and the closing image tag (just add a / before img in the opening tag) at the end of the web address.

If that makes absolutely no sense -- go here for a more coherent explanation. :)

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/misc.php?do=bbcode

Hope I've helped and not confused you!

[HoosierHardGain]

Nice to see you back around, Dedene. Come back often!

[GSCampbell]

Just to you CSCAMPBELL! My little "town" has 900 people in it. I love it. Bet your's is great.

But I do not want to hear you sing!

Don't listen to a thing Hibby says about me! :D And I don't wanna hear me sing either.

[Dedene]

Well Ladies and Gents,
I've started a new program that is much more ambitious than my re-entry program in April.

This one is from Dave Draper and concentrates on the LowerBody. I have also added in High Intensity Intervals, as the cardio portion was getting a little weak.

Trying to do the Draper program 3x week, plus once a week on the Upper body, plus 3x HIITs.

The temperature here has dropped and consequently, I am starving! I am always hungry when I'm cold!!
How do you all put up with temperature changes and amount of food you eat?
I can't seem to disconnect my calorie consumption with my body temperature! HA!!

Starting to see muscle definition in my legs - hooray! But I don't think that I've lost any body fat! Can't seem to stick to a strict diet program. I don't want to dry out (not competing), but would like the BF% to go down some more.
Eat 5 mini-meals a day, but just can't stop nibbling during the evening. What's wrong with me?

Well, off to the gym now. Take care everyone.
Best to you all, Dedene

[Hibiscus09]

Hi Dedene! :)

I hope your new plan goes well. I really enjoying reading Dave Draper's site.

Happy Wednesday!

[HoosierHardGain]

Hey Dedene, congrats on the progress. Have a great weekend!