Fit123 Journal

[fit123]

Hi everybody.

I'm going to start journaling as best as I can (I'm new to this site). I just would like everybody to take a look at my stuff and let me know what you think. I've been tracking my food on a different website but I'm going to start on fitday...I just have to go through the painstaking process of re-entering all my "custom" foods (yuck).

Anyway, here is my current status. The ultimate goal is to compete in a figure competition next year maybe in May. I welcome any comments....I know I am not eating enough right now (average 1000 cal a day) but getting better at it (I averaged 1200 lately not counting two binge eating days...yuck, I have some issues around junk food and sweet that I need to resolve)

Anyway, please let me know what you think!

All right ladies...here are my measurements (I finally got it taken)

Height: 5'
Weight: 106.6 I definitely lost some weight lately
BF %: 19.2 (auch, is this bad?) I know it's in the healthy range but...
Taken with a digital caliper - the girl said she might have gotten a little tissue on the second measurement...who knows.

Arm: 8-3/4"
Chest: 30" (boo lost here)
Waist: 25-1/2"
Hip: 34" (can you tell it's my "problem area?")
Thigh: 18-3/4"
Calf: 12-1/2"

OK, now you have it. Please critique away!

Speaking of calipers, as anyone bought the FatTrack II Digital Body Fat Caliper for about $30.00 coming with a Myotape? http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/acc/fattrack.html
Is it a good product for self-testing? Any recommendations?


Thanks
Fit

[Briar]

Hey there

First of all you are already pretty lean by the looks of your stats.

We will need to know a few things before we can offer you some suggestions,
Whats you diet like, post a typical day
What are your workouts like
What are you goals, do you want to loose or gain or???????

19.5% is a good starting point too

[Boots]

Hello & welcome :)

I agree with Briar 19% is great to start with. I would definately suggest upping the cals 1000-1200 is way too low. You will not gain muscle (if that is your goal) with that in fact I think you will keep dropping weight especialy if you are active.

I have purchased the calipers you are talking about. I like them, easy to use. A few of the ladies here have them also and seem to like them.

I look foward to reading your journal :)

[fit123]

Thank you ladies! It's good to know somebody is watching.

Typical diet day:
Meal 1:
1/3 cup oatmeal with 1/3 cup rice milk
coffee
protein shake

Meal 2:
2 oz chicken or tuna
1 cup veggies or fruit

Meal 3
Huge salad (lettuce, tomatoes with 1/3 tsp olive oil and 1/3 tsp balsamic vinegar)
4 oz. chicken or fish
1 cup fruit (if I didn't eat it in meal 2)

Meal 4
2 egg whites
2 oz chicken or tuna

protein shake PWO (sometimes pre-WO)

Meal 5
4 oz. fish or chicken
either salad again or 1 or 2 cups mixed veggies

Meal 6
I don't always have it. Mostly some baby carrots or 1/2 frozen banana if I crave sweets.

Just started using fitday (very different from what I use before...it doesn't break it down each meal which is kinda easier so I can put all the meat servings together). Speaking of meat servings, do you put them in raw or cooked? For example for chicken I only eat breast withouth skin and baked and I chose "Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted"
I'm just not sure

Anyway here's my first breakdown

Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 1217
Fat: 23 210 18%
Sat: 6 58 5%
Poly: 4 38 3%
Mono: 7 66 6%
Carbs: 84 274 24%
Fiber: 16 0 0%
Protein: 170 680 58%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

I'll post my workout tomorrow, I'm sure you're already tired of my rambling for now...

Thanks for reading

[Briar]

Ok this is so not enough food, if you are working out. If you are sitting on the couch all day then maybe but your body needs fuel to function and i promise you if you eat more you will burn body fat!!! Im going to make a few meal suggestions in CAPITALS

Typical diet day:


Meal 1:
1/3 cup oatmeal with 1/3 cup rice milk TRY 1/2 OF OATS
coffee
protein shake
WHAT ABOUT ADDING SOME GOOD FATS LIKE ALMONDS OR ANY OTHER KIND OF NATURAL NUT. YOU COULD EVEN ADD SOME BANANA OR RASIANS. HAVE YOU EVER TRIED ADDING EGG WHITES AND PROTEIN POWDER TO YOUR OATMEAL. (DO YOU EAT YOUR OATS UNCOOKED OR COOKED)

Meal 2:
2 oz chicken or tuna
1 cup veggies or fruit
MAYBE INCREASE YOUR PROTEIN AND VEGES AMOUNTS

Meal 3
Huge salad (lettuce, tomatoes with 1/3 tsp olive oil and 1/3 tsp balsamic vinegar) OLIVE OIL IS GOOD ADD 1 TEASPOON, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU GET ENOUGH ESSENTIAL FATS IN YOUR DIET
4 oz. chicken or fish
1 cup fruit (if I didn't eat it in meal 2) YOU CAN HAVE MAYBE VEGES IN MEAL 2 AND FRUIT IN MEAL 3

Meal 4 SO I TAKE IT THIS WOULD BE YOU PRE WORKOUT MEAL IF IT IS YOU NEED PROTEIN AND COMPLEX CARBS
2 egg whites I WOULD LEAVE THESE OUT AND HAVE CHICKEN AND RICE OR SOME GRAINY BREAD OR IF YOU LOVE OATS LIKE ME SOME OATMEAL WITH EGG WHITES AND LEAVE THE CHICKEN OR TUNA
2 oz chicken or tuna

protein shake PWO (sometimes pre-WO) I WOULD SAVE THIS AND HAVE IT POST WORKOUT IF YOU ARE HAVING A DECENT PRE WORKOUT MEAL ABOUT 1 HOUR BEFORE YOU WORK OUT YOU DONT NEED IT HERE.

Meal 5 THIS BEING POST WORKOUT ABOUT 1 HOUR AFTER YOUR SHAKE AND WORKOUT YOU NEED TO REPLACE LOST NUTRIENTS AND HELP YOUR MUSCLES TO REPAIR SO AGAIN YOU NEED CARBS AND PROTEIN
4 oz. fish or chicken
either salad again or 1 or 2 cups mixed veggies ADD SOME SWEET POTATO OR RICE TO THIS OR SOME GRAINY BREAD.

Meal 6
I don't always have it. Mostly some baby carrots or 1/2 frozen banana if I crave sweets. I WOULS ADVISE ON HAVING A MEAL ABOUT 1 HOUR BEFORE BED BUT CARROTS AND BANANA (LOTS OF CARBIES IN BOTH) PROB ARENT THE RIGHT THING TO KEEP YOU METABOLISM UP AND BURNING THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT AND NOT MAKING YOU HUNGRY CAUSE WHEN YOU START TO EAT MORE YOU METABOLISM WILL BE FIRED UP AND YOU WILL BE BURNING THROUGH YOU FOOD IN NO TIME. COTTAGE CHEESE AND ALMONDS ARE A PERFECT PRE BED MEAL. COTTAGE CHEESE IS SLOW RELEASING PROTEIN AND NUTS SLOW DOWN THE METABOLISM OF PROTEIN SO THEY ARE A GREAT COMBO TO KEEP YOU SATISFIED AND FULL ALL THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT.

HOPE THIS ISNT TO MUCH
LET ME KNOW HOW YOU GO :)

[Boots]

Hi Fit :)
Yep,we are watching! Brair gave great suggestions. I think the chicken choice you use may be what I use also. I do most things custom on fitday but the chicken is one that I dont have. I measure oats raw then cook. So when I put 1/4c in my journal its raw. Chicken I measure cooked. I have a food scale that I use and measure by the ounce.

:)

[leen]

I have only been a member of this forum but in the short time I have been here I have learned one thing, this girls know what they are talking about!!! They have helped me immeasurably with my diet, cals and macros so take there advice, you wont be disappointed.
What are your goals? Are you tryin to build more muscle? It is too soon to cut so enjoy a cheat day once a week but try to cut out all other sweets and treats during the week, you gotta keep your body guessing. If your really craving a treat this is my trick, chew a piece of gum or if you need mroe cals in your diet, try a fatfree yogurt with 15 almonds in it, this is my fav "dessert" how sick do I sound, lol!! Oh well I am 7 weeks out til my first comp so I know that my head is messed up when it comes to thinking treats, lol
Good luck in your journey, enjoy the trip and remember this is a learning experience. Take care of you!
Leen

[fit123]

Thank you thank you! Great suggestions

I work out 3 days on 1 off (sometimes 4 on 1 off).
Day 1: Chest and biceps
Day 2: Back and Tri
Day 3: Legs and shoulders
Day 4: Cardio or rest depending if I got enough cardios on the other days.
Day 5: rest if I worked out on day 4

I don't eat dairy that's why you don't see them in my diet. My training partner (granted he is a guy) did really well staying away from dairy and I have to say I saw major improvements myself. I also cut the brown rice out but I think I'm going to re-introduce it, especially on meal 4 since it's my pre-workout meal (I work out late afternoon - evenings)

I'm trying to stay away from nuts just because they are extremely addictive for me (can't stop just at 15). I'll increase my olive oil intake. I forgot to say that I take a TBS of flaxseed meal every morning so I get a couple of grams of essential fats there too.

I know the carbs at night are not that great - last night I didn't eat them...I was a good girl :)

My goals are to build muscle and get ready for a figure competition next May (06).

Lee, I know it's too early to cut but I just wanted to see some of the fat off my legs (that's the place where I accumulate most of it darn it!) and it's soo tempting to cut calories since I get immediate results...I know it's really not that good (and it causes me to binge more). When I ate dairy yogurt and almonds was my favorite dessert too! Now I sometimes eat fat free and sugar free chocolate pudding...yum
I definitely want more muscle so I'll try to increase my food and protein.

Booty and Briar: I eat my oats raw (can't stand them cooked and mushy) so yes, I measure them raw.

Take care everybody. I'll post my workout tonight when I come back from the gym

[fit123]

Here is my workout last night (it was leg and shoulder day)

Lounges: 20lbsx12 (each leg), 30x10, 40x10
Squats (Smith machine): 35x12; 65x14, 95x10; 115x8; 135x6
Hams curls: 30x16; 40x12; 50x8; 60x6
Leg extensions: 30x10; 40x10; 50x 2

Superset seated calf with standing
45x12 (seated) with 60x12 (standing)
45x12 (seated) with 60x12 (standing)
70x10 (seated) with 80x10 (standing)

Shoulder press (Smith machine): 25x8; 35x10; 55x8; 55x6
Lateral raises with dumbells: 12x10; 15x8; 15x8

Then I was dead tired and went home.

Food stats
Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 1323
Fat: 21 190 15%
Sat: 4 39 3%
Poly: 3 24 2%
Mono: 5 46 4%
Carbs: 126 398 31%
Fiber: 27 0 0%
Protein: 175 699 54%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Not too bad but I need to cut down on chewing gum (I must have had half a pack...almost like a chain smoker)

Take care everybody. Today is my day off from training...I really need it.

[fit123]

Hi there!

Wed. was my day off from working out so no log. Here are my food stats for the day

Calories Eaten Today
source grams cals %total
Total: 1348
Fat: 28 255 21%
Sat: 10 87 7%
Poly: 2 18 1%
Mono: 5 46 4%
Carbs: 86 237 19%
Fiber: 27 0 0%
Protein: 186 745 60%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

[leen]

Someone told me to stop dairy too but if it werent for the fatfree cottage cheese I would have a hard time finding enough protein in my diet. I seem to do ok with bodyfat loss whiel still keeping dairy in.
Great WO's, will enjoy reading along with your journey.
Take care of you!

[fit123]

Hi everybody!

Last night was chest, biceps, a little abs and little HIIT.

DB flyes (flat bench): 12lbsx12; 15x12; 20x10; 25x8; 30x4
Incline press: 45x10; 55x8; 65x4 (little weaker here)
Low cables: 20x10; 30x8; 30x8
Cable crossover: 30x12; 40x10; 50x8
30 push-ups

Biceps:
Hammer curls coupled with regular curls (DB)
10x10 (in reality you're doing 20 reps since each rep is 2 curls)
12x8(16); 15x6(12); 15x6(12)

EZ bar preacher curls: 20lbsx10; 10; 10
Abs on the ball with 12lbs medicine ball

20 min HIIT on spin bike (including 5 min warm-up)


Food stats
Total: 1248
Fat: 21 188 16%
Sat: 5 43 4%
Poly: 2 17 1%
Mono: 5 45 4%
Carbs: 99 294 25%
Fiber: 26 0 0%
Protein: 172 688 59%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

[fit123]

Boo...tonight I really felt lousy....very tired for some reason (probably because last night I spent 2+ hours in the gym..

Anyway, back and triceps tonight (no cardio...too tired)

Assisted pull-ups (I sucked at this and put me in a bad mood right at the start)
-50lbsx12; -40x10; -20x 3.5; -50x8
Seated rows (cables): 60x12; 70x10; 80x8; 90x6
Peck fly backwards: 50x10; 60x8; 79x8; 80x6
Rowing machine: 60x12; 70x10; 80x8

Triceps: dips between benches: 0lbsx20; 45lbsx14; 90x10
Kikcbaks (DB): 8x10; 10x10; 12x10

Pulldown (cable): 20x10; 30x10; 30x8

Food stats
Total: 1322
Fat: 28 253 20%
Sat: 7 66 5%
Poly: 2 16 1%
Mono: 4 36 3%
Carbs: 92 262 21%
Fiber: 27 0 0%
Protein: 180 721 58%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

today struggling to stay within limit for some reason..evening cravings are creeping....I want chocolate really bad :(

Take care everybody!

[Briar]

Hey Hunny

Your cals are looking way way to low!!! If you sat on the couch all day then maybe those cals would be ok but you are working out on top of that!!! You will find eating low cals actually slows down your metabolism and will prevent you loosing body fat!! You need to fuel your body!!! :D

[fit123]

Hi Briar..

I'm trying to shed fat off y stubborn legs...I'm only 5' short :) and 107 lbs (BF 19%). I was eating less than 1000 cal a day before (how dumb is that!) so I'm doing a little better. I'm still so scared of increasing calories...I'm doing it a little bit at the time.

At the same time I want to increase my upper body muscle mass (I know, I need to eat more for that) but I was waiting to do that once my legs looks less "fatty"

My BMR comes out to 1247 *1.55 (moderately active although I probably could use 1.75 since I do train 6 days a week) and TDEE comes to 1900 - 500 to lose weight...voila'

I am trying this for a couple weeks and then bump up the calories a little more. I'm looking at competing next May (06) so I have a bit of time to exepriment.

It's just so easy to cut calories and see immediate results....my tummy goes flat immediately...although I have to say I skipped my period last month and I am not sure if it's because of overtraining or low food intake.

I know a lot of women body builders that train hard don't have their period ... I don't take this lightly, but it does happen occasionally to me (even before I started training hard) so I'm not overly concerned right now...we'll see this month how it goes.

Thanks for watching...reading. I love this forum...

[fit123]

Wow, tough weekend...

Sat night we had friends over and I kinda fell off the wagon: ate peanuts, cashews and oooppsss way too many crackers (some whole wheat but still..)which ended up giving me an upset stomach Sund. most of the day.

Now that I eat so clean I'm really sensitive to certain foods....well, at least that will teach me. So Sunday didn't eat much until the night when we went out to dinner since we had already made plans and it was my cheat day. I even shared some dessert...

Needless to say I really didn't log in food or workouts.

Mon. was my day off and here are my food stats:
Total: 1385
Fat: 29 260 20%
Sat: 7 60 5%
Poly: 3 26 2%
Mono: 8 73 6%
Carbs: 135 420 32%
Fiber: 30 0 0%
Protein: 157 629 48%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

This week and the next one are going to be really tought. Dinner plans twice (dont' know how I'm gonna deal with that since one is at my in-laws and I can't really be too picky on how they prepare the food) and Sunday night I leave for a businees trip to Vegas aaarghhhh where I'm gonna have several dinners planned (some of which with pre-determined menus, making it that much more difficult for me). I guess I'll be the "When Harri met Sally" of the crowd whenever I can and deal with everybody making fun of me.

Take care everybody

[ncgirl21]

Hey girl!! Briar gave you some great advice :)!

Yesterday's diet looked better than the previous days but I still think you need more calories. Also- you need other food besides just protein. You can't go both low carb and low fat. If your carbs are going to be that low you need MORE fat (but the good kind). If your comfortable with your fat level than up your carbs. The easiest thing to do is just to have a protein, carb and fat at each meal and maybe drop the carbs out of your last two meals (if your having six) unless your weight training before them.


Good Luck!

[fit123]

Thanks ncgirl!

I'm still trying things out here... I'm always afraid I'm eating too many carbs... and then I'll crave at night. I would love if fit day could spit out a menu for me so I can divide equal amounts of protein/carbs/fats between the 5-6 meals...

I do workout in the evenings (anywhere between 5 and 8 pm) so I am trying now to eat some carbs in the afternoon before I go to the gym or at dinner (right after).

what % would you recommend? I thought doing approx 50P/30C/20F was pretty good to build muscle and still shed fat...I'm trying to bulk up and lose fat kind of at the same time...

[ncgirl21]

Since you workout at night you'll need carbs at night as well. I would try something like 40/40/20 to start with (P/C/F) and you can adjust from there.

On fitday, you can divide up your meals, it just takes longer. Like for instance- say you have 1/2 cup oats three times that day, instead of putting in 1.5 cups just one time, add 1/2 cup three times with the other food you eat. If you want something in between your meals go to Add Custom Food and hit in 0 cals, fat, carb protein and name that food "Meal Divider."

[fit123]

alert....burn out...

I couldn't get myself to work out last night. I took a body shaping class because I will start teaching it (wee eee, it will be my very first class as an instructor!) and then I went to lift and was totally unmotivated.

Tired and crabby for the most part so I did very little, got frustrated and went home. What a night! Tonight I work late and I doubt I will feel like working out since tomorrow am I have a kickboxing session at 6:30 am (augh)

Anyway, here are the food stats for Tuesday.
Total: 1364
Fat: 24 216 17%
Sat: 7 61 5%
Poly: 2 19 1%
Mono: 4 39 3%
Carbs: 131 440 34%
Fiber: 21 0 0%
Protein: 162 649 50%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

I guess I really wish I didn't have to work full time on top of all the other stuff I'm doing (fitness classes, training, etc) ... wishful thinking LOL

Take care and sorry for the whining..

[fit123]

Well, yesterday went better. I didn't have a lot of energy and decided to not work out at 8:00 pm after work...but then I hate a protein bar at 6:30, drank a Diet Mountain Dew and got a little more energy to spare.

Besides the caffeine burst my hubby showed up at the gym and I would have felt really guitly not working out :) so he got me going

It was back day (my favorite) and I was able to do 4 set of pull-ups (10; 10; 8; 6) withouth using much help (he still holds my feet for stability but I did them pretty much by myself. One of these days I will be able to do them all on my own...

The rest was cable rowing, lat pulldowns and some triceps.

Food stats:

Total: 1207
Fat: 26 237 22%
Sat: 6 56 5%
Poly: 3 29 3%
Mono: 7 65 6%
Carbs: 86 242 22%
Fiber: 25 0 0%
Protein: 150 602 56%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

Tonight dinner out at the in-laws...augh, I'll see how I can manage..
Take care whomever is out there!

[fit123]

Last night was a really crappy evening. Dinner skrewed up my diet and the evening took a bad turn for other reasons...totally not worth it. I should have stayed home.

Anyway, I had a good kickboxing session in the am even if I suck at cardio that early in the morning. Tonight is leg night which is my favorite...hopefully that will make my day go well.

Food stats for yesterday (auch)

Total: 1845
Fat: 57 511 29%
Sat: 12 111 6%
Poly: 10 90 5%
Mono: 21 185 10%
Carbs: 176 616 35%
Fiber: 22 0 0%
Protein: 161 646 36%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

[Briar]

well first of all 1200 is WAY TO LOW and 1800 after your dinner is perfect!!

You should really be eating between 1600-1800 anyway, dont stress over eating 1800 cals thats just silly its not like you had 3000 cals!! honestly you have nothing to worry about! :D

[fit123]

Briar,
thanks ...1800 was a guesstimate since I had a ton of crackers...that's why I was mostly upset...I hate some junk food..probably way more than I logget in fitday.

Oh well. Today I'm low on calories again (although the day is not over)...I'm just still upset about a few things and didn't have much of an appetite. I might just eat som PB to cheer up and up my cal for today.

Thanks for reading...it makes it feel worth journaling knowing there's somebody out there :)

[Briar]

Hey hunny of course we read your journal!!!

Yea i think higher cals every now and then is actually going to do more good than bad. You cant beat yourself up about it and you def cant try and make up for it the next day. Just put it in the past and get back on track with your normal eating which by the look of it needs to be increased a little!!

Def go for the PB get those cals up there and those yummy good fats!!! :D

[Briar]

Well i have been doing a few calculations and with working out you should be consuming at least 1450-1550 cals so working on a 40/40/20 ratioo you should be eating between

145g - 155g Carbs (580 - 620 cals)
145g - 155g Protein (580 - 620 cals )
32g - 34g Fats (290 - 310 clas)

[Briar]

so per meal if you want protein and carbs (add fats where you should, not 2 hours pre and post workout)

6 meals
96-103cals of carbs and protein
(24g - 26g)

5 meals
116 - 124 cals of carbs and protein
(29g - 31g)

but then in saying that you should have a little more pre and post workout!!!

[fit123]

hey girl!

as I suspected I was way low yesterday:
source grams cals %total
Total: 1134
Fat: 22 201 19%
Sat: 4 39 4%
Poly: 3 31 3%
Mono: 6 57 5%
Carbs: 102 326 30%
Fiber: 21 0 0%
Protein: 137 548 51%
Alcohol: 0 0 0%

I'll try to do better today. I had a great workout though..legs.

Squatted 145 lbs! Awesome considering I'm 107...he he, I sound like a man don't I? :)
Squats (smith machine): 65x14; 85x12; 105x8; 145x6
Step ups with DB: 20x10; 40x10; 60x6
Leg extensions: 30x10; 40x8; 50x8; 70x6
Seated leg curls: 50x10; 70x6; 70x6; 80x4
Calfs on leg press; 90X15; 130X14; 170X12; 210X10

I'm trying to get in at least 1300/1400 per day and do 50/30/20 ratio. I might switch to 40/40/20 too see how it goes. I'll be out of town starting sunday night for business so it will be difficult to log in meals and workouts because I'll be eating out most of my meals (although I pack protein bars/shakes and breakfast bars with me all the time)...I feel like a freak bringin my own food around :) but I don't care! At least I know I get enough proteins....

[fit123]

Allright, I haven't been posting much but I figured I'd post my updated measurements since I just went back again.

this is where I was in the beginning of September:

Height: 5'
Weight: 106.6
BF %: 19.2

Arm: 8-3/4"
Chest: 30"
Waist: 25-1/2"
Hip: 34"
Thigh: 18-3/4"
Calf: 12-1/2"

And this is where I am now

Height: 5'
Weight: 117.6
BF %: 22 (caliper ... the girl really couldn't get a good reading...she said she kept pinchin muscles too - got a few bruises out of it) and she thinks I am probably lower...although if I really didn't have that much fat she could just pull mu skin away, shouldn't she? Who knows. So I really don't know how much mass vs. fat I really gained

Arm: 9-6/16"
Chest: 31"
Waist: 27-1/16"
Hip: 34-7.8"
Thigh: 19-7/8"
Calf: 12-1/2"

Now I have been eating around 1400 clean with a couple cheats a week (lately my diet slacked off a little but not too bad). I stopped cardio almost completely and workout once a day instead of 2. I did this on purpose to add some mass (when I reached that weight in September I was almost on a cutting diet, working out twice a day etc.).

Now I wonder...theoretically 1400 should be the amount of cals I need to lose weight but yet I gained 11 lbs. Again, I'm OK with that for the moment (although it's a bit difficult to accept it) but I'm questioning once January comes how much to cut my cals since I would like to compete in either May or the summer. Even when I was at my lowest weight I still didn't manage to shed all the fat from my lower body (inlcuding the cell on my butt). I know I shouldn't go too low on cals but obviously at 1400 I gain...

Any feedback is welcome...

[mcj]

Hi! I don't know if I've written in here yet so hello! I will put in a suggestion or two but some of these girls will give you much better advice than me!! :)

I would say you should def. up the cardio when you try to lose weight.

As for eating...I don't think cutting calories is the way to go. I just recently uped my calories and now I'm losing weight. I was eating really low before 1200-1400 and wasn't seeing much. Now I'm at 1600-1700/day, with lifting heavy 5 days, HIIT Cardio 1 day and I am losing a pound or two and leaning out. So I don't know if you should really cut cals.

You've got to remember, whatever your calories should be a day to lose weight (lets say 1400) is AFTER you've worked out. If you get 1400 calories before you've worked out, you'll be down to 1200 calories a day total at least and then your body won't be losing or burning anything b/c it's too low. That is what I have gotten from some of these girls and I that is exactly what has happened to me in the past.

I would eat around 1600 cals a day (40/30/30 ratio?), lift heavy (like you're doing) and add some cardio. And then give it time..your body will take awhile to adjust.

Just some thoughts..hope you don't mind! :P Good luck! Your WO's look great and congrats with your muscle gains!! :D

[Boots]

Merry Christmas!