fed up!

vicky the vikin · 07-18-2007, 12:07 PM

hey you guys,
i've been sticking to my muscle building/fat-losing diet rigidly for 2 weeks, upped the cardio, and am AMAZED how much change I am seeing, so why do I feel like... "what the hell am I doing this for??" I feel as though i'm constantly checking protein/carbs/fats all day long!!!!!
am I going mad? is this 'normal'???

empresscat · 07-18-2007, 10:30 PM

Completely normal, and it does get a little easier as you become more familiar with the foods and their nutritional content. At first, though (and any time you change your approach to diet), you are thinking about food all the time, and it does get a little tiresome.

This is one of the main reasons many people allow themselves a cheat day. Not so much a day to indulge, as a day to not think about it.

BuffedWildCat · 07-18-2007, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by empresscat

...
This is one of the main reasons many people allow themselves a cheat day. Not so much a day to indulge, as a day to not think about it.

WORD!! It sure is nice to have a break from the meticulous counting, measuring, and logging everything you put into your mouth! Cheat days are good for physiological AND PSYCHOLOGICAL reasons!

And yep, to the OP, as she said, it's completely normal and it does get easier. But yeah, you'll always be thinking that way as long as you choose to live the bodybuilding lifestyle.

vicky the vikin · 07-19-2007, 03:00 AM

phew! well i'm kinda glad that it's not just me!! I feel pretty strong in the mornings, and at the gym, but when it's 6pm/7pm/8pm i'm stood there weighing food (wanting to eat a whole cow, lol!!!) it just gets to me a little.
Then when I see how ripped some of you guys are, im thinkin.... "god, i'm feeling hard-done-to already"
I hope it does'nt get harder and harder and harder

I have a little PMT too, lol, maybe i'll feel better in a day or two?

perkins2099 · 07-19-2007, 09:13 AM

Once you get on a routine(few weeks or months) you'll notice that you don't need to count or measure as much as you once did.. You'll gain an understanding of how many calories.. fats..protein..carbs.. are in each item you eat even while doing cheat meals.
And unless you are competing if you hit your diet 90% you'll still easily accomplish your goals and maintain your sanity/life just as well as before you started stepping it up a notch.
It's all about little steps.

Good luck.

BuffedWildCat · 07-19-2007, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicky the vikin

phew! well i'm kinda glad that it's not just me!! I feel pretty strong in the mornings, and at the gym, but when it's 6pm/7pm/8pm i'm stood there weighing food (wanting to eat a whole cow, lol!!!) it just gets to me a little.
Then when I see how ripped some of you guys are, im thinkin.... "god, i'm feeling hard-done-to already"
I hope it does'nt get harder and harder and harder

I have a little PMT too, lol, maybe i'll feel better in a day or two?

Keep in mind that a lot of the women on here who you see ripped photos of, do NOT look like that year round, especially those who are competing and have competition photos posted up. That "rippedness" (that's my new word, hehe) is only held for a very SHORT period of time, long enough for a competition or a photo shoot, so you're talking 1-3 days on average. Please keep that in mind. Women can't walk around with really low body fat levels for very long because it's simply unhealthy both physically and psychologically to do so. Read this: http://www.newellness.com/physfitn/fitness.htm

Trust me, come fall/winter time, I won't have abs like I do in my avatar, I only maintain a body fat low enough for these abs during the summer. And believe me, I'm SUFFERING for these abs. I'm hungry 90% of the time and REALLY hungry 50% of the time. And I'm on a VERY STRICTLY CLEAN diet.

And not to burst your bubble or anything, but it DOES get harder the LEANER you get, because the female body is just not genetically programmed to be ripped (yeah it sucks, but it's true). It depends on your individual genetics, but you're only gonna be able to get so lean before you are REALLY HAVING TO FIGHT WITH YOUR BODY and it WILL DRAIN YOU MENTALLY. For example, with my genetics, I can't seem to get under 18% body fat. I've been stuck at 18% all summer so far. Others may be able to get leaner without as much of a fight. But anyway, I've personally pretty much given up on trying to get any LEANER than I am now cause I'm not doing this for any other reason other than to look good for the summer, just because sort of thing. So it's important that I find a BALANCE between looking the way I want to look and being able to stay SANE as far as my day to day living goes with my diet and exercise. And as strict as I'm being right now with my diet, especially with the hunger all the time, I've realized this is as good as it's gonna get unless I want to drive myself into an eating disorder.

Lastly, but most importantly, you already look good!! Seriously and honestly!

vicky the vikin · 07-19-2007, 05:36 PM

wow, thank you so much for all the above! bit of an eye opener, but, I truly appreciate your honesty! thanks for the link! and for your kindness

I feel quite alot better knowing the truth!

BicepGurl · 07-20-2007, 08:18 AM

BuffedWildCat... you are the best!

ChplHillGymGirl · 07-20-2007, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuffedWildCat

Keep in mind that a lot of the women on here who you see ripped photos of, do NOT look like that year round

double ditto to that!

to the OP, you'll have days where you're like, "what the ****?" and other days where you're like, "**** yeah!!" - it's a cycle, but at the end of the day be thankful that you have the ability to do all that you're doing and that you look great!

ballin06 · 07-20-2007, 10:56 AM

this is exactly what im going through! i have been weight training and eating fairly clean for a month now, 6 meals a day, etc ...

before this i was "trying" to diet, and by diet i mean i wouldnt eat much during the day and i would get so unbelievably hungry at night that i would munch on everything, so basically i had messed up my metab really bad.
im slowly getting my metabolism to run smoothly again and i feel 100% better during the day (much more energy!). the scale hasnt moved at ALL but i look in the mirror and see my progress...so ive been trying to stay away from the scale, even though it is so ingrained in my mind that it will move when i "lose weight"...

im glad to hear that all of you who look amazing have these days of doubt as well as days of hell yea im doing great! im fairly new to the boards (still learning a lot, so im reading and soaking in information rather than posting too much), but i want to start posting my progress soon!!

BuffedWildCat · 07-20-2007, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ballin06

...

before this i was "trying" to diet, and by diet i mean i wouldnt eat much during the day and i would get so unbelievably hungry at night that i would munch on everything, so basically i had messed up my metab really bad.
im slowly getting my metabolism to run smoothly again and i feel 100% better during the day (much more energy!). the scale hasnt moved at ALL but i look in the mirror and see my progress...so ive been trying to stay away from the scale, even though it is so ingrained in my mind that it will move when i "lose weight"...

Go to my Body Space and look at my progress pics. Look at my post-pregnancy pic as compared to the pics afterwards. I weighed 143 lbs in my post-pregnancy pic and these days, with my current pics, I fluctuate from 136-140 lbs, with a six pack! So my point is, definitely don't rely on that silly scale. My body seems to like to stay around a certain weight yet I can look VERY DIFFERENT at the SAME WEIGHT. It is VERY POSSIBLE for you to change your BODY COMPOSITION but still maintain the SAME WEIGHT. And when you have more muscle/less fat, you will LOOK like you weigh a lot less even at the SAME WEIGHT when your body composition was that of less muscle/more fat.

Another case in point, other than the one I just mentioned, a friend of mine from the skating rink mentioned to me earlier this week that I looked like I had lost a lot of weight compared to when I first started skating there. Guess what?? I HADN'T! As a matter-of-fact, when I went home I checked my fitday log where I keep track of my weight, looked back a year, which is when I first started skating at that rink, and my weight was THE SAME as it is now!! But yet my friend told me I looked like I had lost a bunch of weight! That's just the coolest! I explained to him that I didn't, that I changed my BODY COMPOSITION to more muscle, less fat.

So anyway, yeah, don't rely on that silly scale!

BuffedWildCat · 07-20-2007, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BicepGurl

BuffedWildCat... you are the best!

THANK YOU!!! You just made my day!

Honestly I do this simply because I have a passion for fitness and a passion for helping people.

vicky the vikin · 07-21-2007, 06:22 PM

thanks alot,

bluffcolts · 07-21-2007, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicky the vikin

thanks alot,

Keep smiling.

amberlynn72 · 07-21-2007, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ballin06

this is exactly what im going through! i have been weight training and eating fairly clean for a month now, 6 meals a day, etc ...

before this i was "trying" to diet, and by diet i mean i wouldnt eat much during the day and i would get so unbelievably hungry at night that i would munch on everything, so basically i had messed up my metab really bad.
im slowly getting my metabolism to run smoothly again and i feel 100% better during the day (much more energy!). the scale hasnt moved at ALL but i look in the mirror and see my progress...so ive been trying to stay away from the scale, even though it is so ingrained in my mind that it will move when i "lose weight"...

im glad to hear that all of you who look amazing have these days of doubt as well as days of hell yea im doing great! im fairly new to the boards (still learning a lot, so im reading and soaking in information rather than posting too much), but i want to start posting my progress soon!!

Yea I am about the in the same boat as you.. I have maybe gained a few pounds ..measurements havent changed... but i notice my arms are looking slightly better... I dont expect much from my thighs and butt at this point..LOL

KittyLuck · 07-24-2007, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuffedWildCat

GMy body seems to like to stay around a certain weight yet I can look VERY DIFFERENT at the SAME WEIGHT. It is VERY POSSIBLE for you to change your BODY COMPOSITION but still maintain the SAME WEIGHT.

I think that has more to do with genetics. I heard awhile ago that some people just have a "comfortable body weight" that is hard to deviate from one way or another (fatter or thinner) but it can and has been done by many people before. It just takes a little more effort. By the looks of it you really don't need to worry about that though, you already look great at your comfortable body weight! ^___^

BuffedWildCat · 07-24-2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KittyLuck

I think that has more to do with genetics. I heard awhile ago that some people just have a "comfortable body weight" that is hard to deviate from one way or another (fatter or thinner) but it can and has been done by many people before. It just takes a little more effort. By the looks of it you really don't need to worry about that though, you already look great at your comfortable body weight! ^___^

The bottom line, the important issue, is that the weight someone is at, needs to be a HEALTHY weight for that person. But I do personally believe that most people probably have a set point as far as weight and body composition go and I think that when one tries to deviate too far from that, that one inevitably just ends up constantly fighting his/her body/genetics.

Thanks for the compliment.

vicky the vikin · 07-26-2007, 04:05 PM

true.

BuildKing · 07-26-2007, 04:28 PM

Ripped like hell woman don't look so good in no case anyway , with low bf like that it shows the abs nicely its very good , but ripped like 3-5% bf , it doesnt look very good imho

BuffedWildCat · 07-26-2007, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuildKing

Ripped like hell woman don't look so good in no case anyway , with low bf like that it shows the abs nicely its very good , but ripped like 3-5% bf , it doesnt look very good imho

I actually agree with you. People are different in what they consider aesthetically pleasing. I feel that there's a point at which a female can be too ripped. Like they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Karsk · 07-27-2007, 12:08 AM

You can get your abs to pop at 18%? Damn!

BuffedWildCat · 07-27-2007, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karsk

You can get your abs to pop at 18%? Damn!

I'm assuming you're talking to me?

Those are my abs and yes I was calipered at 17.6% the same day that pic was taken. Keep in mind that pic was cropped from the mandatory ab/thigh pose I was practicing so I was squeezing and crunching my abs as hard as I could. There are several other pics of my abs in my gallery, at least one where I was not flexing my abs at all and in my most recent ab pic I was just standing in front of my car flexing my abs, not crunching them down hard like I was in my avatar pic. So yes, 18% body fat, six pack abs. I really can't explain it, I guess I'm just a freak, lol.

Karsk · 07-27-2007, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BuffedWildCat

I'm assuming you're talking to me?

Those are my abs and yes I was calipered at 17.6% the same day that pic was taken. Keep in mind that pic was cropped from the mandatory ab/thigh pose I was practicing so I was squeezing and crunching my abs as hard as I could. There are several other pics of my abs in my gallery, at least one where I was not flexing my abs at all and in my most recent ab pic I was just standing in front of my car flexing my abs, not crunching them down hard like I was in my avatar pic. So yes, 18% body fat, six pack abs. I really can't explain it, I guess I'm just a freak, lol.

Apologies, I deleted the quote by accident.

I guess some people just can't get their abs to 'pop'. That's really impressive though.

BuffedWildCat · 07-27-2007, 03:58 PM

Thank you. That made my day!

roxy42277 · 07-27-2007, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicky the vikin

hey you guys,
i've been sticking to my muscle building/fat-losing diet rigidly for 2 weeks, upped the cardio, and am AMAZED how much change I am seeing, so why do I feel like... "what the hell am I doing this for??" I feel as though i'm constantly checking protein/carbs/fats all day long!!!!!
am I going mad? is this 'normal'???

thats really all in the learning process.
i went from counting every single thing to finally just knowing what i need how much of it i need and when i need it. you gotta go through that to get your goals it sucks i know thats why i dont count anymore. You get a little ocd about numbers lolol