Iron's Muscle Journey

[IronMaiden1522]

Ok here it goes.........

i have decided to start a journal to make myself accountable. I don't know if any of you are like me, but I will do sooo awesome for like a month and then something comes up and I haven't been to the gym in 2 or 3 weeks and lost all of my progress. Well now its time to get serious and I am going to stick with it. I am new to this. I have always worked out but never really tried to gain alot of muscle. Well I have been lurking around this site for awhile and definatley want to get into body building. i dont plan on competing or I anything, i just want to have the best body I can and be STRONG!!! I started Body for life before I went travelling and i found that it was really working for me. so i am going to do that again. Actually I have been doing it for a week now. however I am very open to modifying my workout with tips and advice from everyone. I am new to this so bear with me!!


Age:24
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 135
chest: 34
waist: 29
hips: 32
thighs: 23

My Body Comp says my body fat is 21.4%. however I feel it is more than that. I really want to lower my body fat and firm up. I am posting pictures (How embarassing!!) So if anyone has suggestions for my body type. I know I need work everywhere, but I really hate my thighs!

Well we will see how this goes.

[mizone]

Well I think you look pretty damn good already!!!! Start with posting diet and workout and the advice will flood in and congrats on starting a journal!

[WannaBeModel]

Welcome, Jenny!

You should post your typical diet and your workouts. That will help us to see where you are and help you a bit more.

[mizone]

Great minds WBM hehehe

[IronMaiden1522]

Ok today I got up at 5am and did HIIT for 20 minutes on the treadmill. I was dyin' at the end!

I will start using fit day tomorrow, I just dont have time today.

meal 1;

2 soy meat patty's with mustard
1 slice of thin whole wheat bread
1 tsp. of light margarine
coffee

meal 2:

cottage cheese and light yogurt (i like silhouette by danon)

meal 3:

6" whole wheat Subway turkey sub with veggies and mustard

meal 4:

cheese string
wheat crunch
7 olives

meal 5:

4 sushi
1/2 cup of cous cous
10 shrimp
salad w/ rice vinegar
yogurt

meal 6;

popcorn??

I know thats not a good one. not sure yet.

Ok I am ready for the critique!!

oh yeah and I do drink tonnes of water all day.

[Briar]

you look really good already!!!!!

try putting your food into www.fitday.com and that way you can work out you nutrients protein/carb/fat.

Try aim for 40/40/30

[IronMaiden1522]

thanks for the nice comments everyone, but I definately don't feel confident wearing a bikini in public. But anyways. yesterday was a bad time to start my journal because today is my day off. i work out 6 days a week with Sat. off. I usually save this as my "free eating" day as well. But i am going to save that for tomorrow because i am making my mom supper and its not going to be a healthy one! Beef and cheese manicotti, she wants it for mothers day. anyways its early still so i will still post what I eat today at the end of the day. Later!

[Hollyday]

someone who eats soy meat patties like me! wooohoo lol

You look really good. I love your bathing suit. You have such an amazing foundation. I think you will be very pleased with your results from weight lifting. Body for life is what got me started on all this and then I found this board at the same time i was reading body for life. I think this is really the true way to lose weight and get healthy. And I'm like you I didn't want to be just thin, I wanted to be thin and muscular and healthy.

good luck, it looks like you are off to a good start. And yes I'm like you I had been on and off diets for so long. Now I treat the this "diet" as a hobby and I love every minute of it. On the days I can't go to the gym because I don't have a babysitter it about kills me. Also I got a subscription to Oxygen magazine and that helps keep me motivated too.

[abbs]

Yes you have a great figure already! lucky girl! You will be able to make fabulous progress with a good clean diet. Try to get rid of all the processed stuff (bread/cereals/string cheese?/wheat crunch?) Not sure what some of the foods in your diet are, but generally if they come in a box and have lots of ingredients then dont eat them! well occassionally is OK

Stick to food that is close to nature as possible, i.e. vegetables, fruit, lean meats, nuts, beans, rice, oatmeal, sweet potato, some fat free dairy is fine too. Focus on balancing your meals, quality carbs + protein + healthy fats. Except for post workout where a protein shake with just carbs is sufficient. Meal 6 definitely ditch that popcorn and go for a protein and healthy fat combo that will give you slow release energy to sustain you through the night (egg whites or cottage cheese + natural peanut butter/almonds/walnuts)

Do you eat meat as well as seafood?
My fav sources of protein are chicken, tuna, salmon, other fish, tofu, and about once a week or so I have some lean beef.

[IronMaiden1522]

Hey Hollyday, yeah i love those soy meats for breakfast. I dont like to eat eggs everyday so i find they are a good alternative and there is still lots of protein and they are low in fat. So no string cheese eh? how come? Its part skim mozz. and only 60 cal. Well yesterday ended up being my free day.

2300 cal (too much I know )
30/50/20

yes I am eating too many carbs and not enough protein. well i am not off to a good start am I? I don't know if anyone else has this problem. But I will eat so great during the week, and then on the weekend it falls apart. I find it really hard to eat 6 meals a day on the weekend. I will try today. I am on the way to the gym to do legs. so far today I ate:

yogurt
pinch of raisins
pinch of cranberries
small handful of granola


so is the yogurt enough for protein?

Happy mothers day to all the mothers!!!

[ajrobin]

Originally Posted by jennyg

well i am not off to a good start am I? I don't know if anyone else has this problem. But I will eat so great during the week, and then on the weekend it falls apart.

I definitely have that same problem, especially when I was first starting out. For me the problem was having no routine on the weekends. For example, during the week I wake up sometime between 5am-7am depending on what I have to do that day. On the weekends I sometimes wouldn't wake up til 10am. If I had woke up at 5am, by 10:00 I would already be on my 3rd meal of the day! Plus, I have a boyfriend who doesn't worry about food at all so we go out to eat a lot on the weekend, and I still haven't got into the habit of ordering to my new lifestyle and still eat cheeseburgers and icecream. I think it definitely takes a while to adapt new goals into an old lifestyle. I also think it helps to try to keep roughly the same routine on the weekends. I don't really stay up late, ever. So, I try to wake up at the same time even on the weekend and it helps me stay on track. :-) Good LUck!

[IronMaiden1522]

Ajrobin, I sooo have the same problem. my boyfriend is one of those annoying guys who eats whatever he wants and still has a perfect six pack without even doing a sit up. so my weakness is pizza and he always wants it everytime. i always try to have only one slice, but it never happens. does anyone have any advice for this? Anyways did legs today. was a good workout.

leg extension 12,10,8,6,12
squats (right after) 12

deadlifts 12,10,8,6,12
lunges 12

one leg calf lift 12,10,8,6,12
angled calf raise 12

ABS
Did 50 decline situps
12 hanging leg raises
30 side crunches
20 lower leg lifts.


So do you guys think that this is enough for legs. Like I said I am doing B-F-L. So the idea is that when I do the 12 of the next move I am exhaustd and can hardly finish. i would say about 70% of the time I hit that. sometimes its hard. I will post my days meals at the end.

[Megin]

Originally Posted by jennyg

Ajrobin, I sooo have the same problem. my boyfriend is one of those annoying guys who eats whatever he wants and still has a perfect six pack without even doing a sit up. so my weakness is pizza and he always wants it everytime. i always try to have only one slice, but it never happens. does anyone have any advice for this? Anyways did legs today. was a good workout.

leg extension 12,10,8,6,12
squats (right after) 12

deadlifts 12,10,8,6,12
lunges 12

one leg calf lift 12,10,8,6,12
angled calf raise 12

ABS
Did 50 decline situps
12 hanging leg raises
30 side crunches
20 lower leg lifts.


So do you guys think that this is enough for legs. Like I said I am doing B-F-L. So the idea is that when I do the 12 of the next move I am exhaustd and can hardly finish. i would say about 70% of the time I hit that. sometimes its hard. I will post my days meals at the end.

-Blah to those people who don't have to do anything for the 6 pack- but in the end, you will be a healthier person, so it evens out!

Good leg w/o!
As long as your are feeling fatigued at the end of the w/o then it should be sufficient. You can add more when you feel up to it
Nice work!!!

[abbs]

Originally Posted by jennyg

So no string cheese eh? how come? Its part skim mozz. and only 60 cal.

I've never eaten or seen string cheese before so I'm not really sure if its good or not (I just saw 'cheese' and thought mmm sounds unhealthy). It may be a good source of protein, but check the fat grams and if the fat is saturated or not. If its only 60 cals then its probably mostly protein? Also check the sodium content too. Do you like cottage cheese? Fat free cottage cheese is a great alternative, perhaps you could have the string cheese somedays and cottage cheese other days (or everyday its fine).

2300 cal (too much I know )
30/50/20

yes I am eating too many carbs and not enough protein. well i am not off to a good start am I?

Don't worry! You cant expect to be absolutely perfect from the start. 30% protein is enough and as long as that 50% carbs is good quality unprocessed stuff dont worry about it. Somedays you could try for 35/40/25 or 40/30/30 or 40/35/25 to mix it up a little. The higher protein and fat percentages will help you feel more satisfied. Put those higher carb days (50%) on your workout days.

I don't know if anyone else has this problem. But I will eat so great during the week, and then on the weekend it falls apart. I find it really hard to eat 6 meals a day on the weekend. I will try today.

If you diet is super good during the week then on the weekend you can allow yourself to have a free day or a free meal (just a free meal is best if you want to reach your goals quicker). The weekends are the hardest for many of us but as time goes on you'll get better at it. You have to be strong and resist that pizza!! By the way I would suggest if you can't stop at one slice perhaps you should make it a banned food?

so far today I ate:

yogurt
pinch of raisins
pinch of cranberries
small handful of granola

so is the yogurt enough for protein?

No, yogurt is more a carb source than a protein source. I would add some protein powder to the yoghurt, or scramble up some egg whites. I know you dont like to eat eggs everyday, so somedays have the egg whites and other days protein powder.

[IronMaiden1522]

thanks Abbs, your great and you give some really good advice. I do eat lots of cottage cheese. i like to mix it with yogurt. I really should have started posting on a weekday. so it will reflect what i am really trying to do. i have to get this weekend thing under control. I will try adding whey protein to things. I just don't really like the taste of it. I couldnt imagine having pizza as a banned food. what i do now is try to make "healthy" pizza's. with a whole wheat pita tomato sauce a little low fat cheese and veggies with some lean ham. that can be allowed once every two weeks right? Well today wasn't too great either. Actually it was good until i made my moms special request meal beef and cheese manicotti. well today it was

1800 cal
22/40/38

YIKES, thats bad. I know. But I think this journal will really help me. Because I feel really guilty now and embarassed because I am almost accountable to everyone reading. Tomorrow will be great, I am being positive.

[abbs]

You`re welcome Jenny! Thanks for posting in my journal too. By the way I didnt know where Thunder Bay was so I checked it out on the internet, it looks so beautiful! My neighbour is from Canada, he comes from BC. I get on really well with him and he makes great apple pie and pumpkin pie!

Your diet will improve gradually and we won`t be too hard on you in the first few days. 1800 cals isnt bad at all, no step backwards there! Its always best to take things one day at a time and make little improvements here and there. Eventually that will all add up to a super healthy diet and you will be well on your way. As it is you are already doing great things, the healthy pizza sounds yummy and I would say that is fine once every two weeks. You are already pretty lean so treating yourself every week or so won`t hinder your progress.

Keep up the positivity, its very infectious

[IronMaiden1522]

Thanks Abbs,

yeah Thunder Bay is nice, however the weather sucks. i know what you mean by saying the season changes in Japan. It is really extreme here too. I will definaltey do better this week.

[jeni5.0]

hi jenny-
i think you look great already! very tan...lucky. dont worry about being off on the diet, it happens to everyone. you just shake it off and get back on track the next day. did you get your leg program from body for life? one of my friends is doing that and her workouts are structured the same as yours.

[IronMaiden1522]

hey Jeni.5

Yeah I did get it from B-F-L. It seems like not enough when I do it sometimes, but my legs are killing me today!! especially my hamstrings and calves. i feel that leg extensions are really hard when i am doing them, but I dont usually feel it after. Just a little bit. Is your freind having good progress on it? Well off to do my cardio!

[IronMaiden1522]

Well today I have the day off work because I have pink eye! Gross, anyways. it was nice not to have to get up at 5am. well i got up and went to the gym and did HIIT for 20minutes on the treadmill. It was a good one. I still had a little energy left so I did 10 minutes of abs, just crunches and stuff.

I do HIIT in the mornings before I eat. Only water. Does anyone else do this? Anyways eating is good so far, I will post that at the end of the day though. I have been doing tonnes of house work so far, so I am still getting excercise. its much more fun when you look at it that way!

[IronMaiden1522]

My day isn't over but I know what i am eating for the rest. I ate ok today. Still working on upping my protein. I don't feel like I am eating too much carbs, but once i total everything in Fitday I am.

meal 1

2 eggwhites and 1 whole egg omlette with a tbsp of cheese mix, tomatoes and jalepinos

meal 2

wrap
shredded zuchini
3 oz. lean shaved chicken breast
1 oz. low fat swiss cheese
2 tbsp. of no fat sour cream
2 tbsp of green chilies

meal 3

one pumpkin muffin
(144 cal, 4.7 fat,23.9 carb, 3.2 protein) is this bad?
3 sushi with crab meat

meal 4

whole boneless chicken breast
salad mix
light oriental vingrette

meal 4

3oz of tuna with 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
5 almonds

Total:

1272 cal
P33/C42/F25

I guess the cals are a little low. I didnt mean to. I ate too much yesterday anyways.

Well I have to get ready for French class.

[IronMaiden1522]

Well i just got back from my 4 hour long evening french class and I am still a little hungry so I had

3 sushi with veg and crab
1/4 cup cottage cheese


brings my cals to

1445
P34/C44/F23

I missed the bachelor but i taped it so now I get to go and watch it!! Yes i am a self professed reality tv junkie!

[IronMaiden1522]

Holy my calves and hammi's are sooo sore from yesterday! good sign!

[mizone]

Originally Posted by jennyg

I missed the bachelor but i taped it so now I get to go and watch it!! Yes i am a self professed reality tv junkie!

There is another bachelor? We must be ages behind here or just not getting it anymore, I LOVE reality TV

[abbs]

Originally Posted by jennyg

I do HIIT in the mornings before I eat. Only water. Does anyone else do this?

You shouldn`t really be doing HIT on an empty stomach, at least have some whey powder mixed in with the water before you leave home for the gym. Some form of quickly digested carbs would be good too, like fruit - banana, grapes, pineapple. How often do you do HIT?

meal 1

2 eggwhites and 1 whole egg omlette with a tbsp of cheese mix, tomatoes and jalepinos

You should always have carbs for breakfast, so instead of having carbs in meal 3 I would stick them here. Oats are great of course

meal 2

wrap
shredded zuchini
3 oz. lean shaved chicken breast
1 oz. low fat swiss cheese
2 tbsp. of no fat sour cream
2 tbsp of green chilies

This looks OK, I dont know much about wraps, but I see other people have them in their diets, is it whole wheat?

meal 3

one pumpkin muffin
(144 cal, 4.7 fat,23.9 carb, 3.2 protein) is this bad?
3 sushi with crab meat

Muffins are basically cakes, unless its homemade and has natural ingredients and is low in sugar. This would be a cheat meal. The sushi is OK, but the rice isnt as good as brown rice and you don`t really get a whole lot of protein (unless you made this yourself and had lots of crab meat)

meal 4

whole boneless chicken breast
salad mix
light oriental vingrette

Great!

meal 4

3oz of tuna with 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
5 almonds

Great!

Total:

1272 cal
P33/C42/F25

[abbs]

Carbs are essential at breakfast, pre workout and post workout. If you are not working out in the evenings, try to make your last few meals just protein, healthy fats and veges.

I think you need to try to encorporate more quality carbs into your diet,
These should make up the bulk of your carb intake
-oats (the old-fashioned kind are best)
-brown rice
-sweet potato
-beans (very high in protein too)

Fruits are good too (especially earlier on in the day), fruit like apples, pears and berries are low GI and are a good source of energy. Bananas are good in the morning or with your post workout shake.

[mizone]

I meant to ask the other day - what about Survivor? Do you watch that to?

[IronMaiden1522]

Thanks for the advice Abbs. I workin' on it! the muffins were homeade and there was no white sugar in them, however there was honey, so I am not sure how that is. I really dont think I can not eat sushi. I think I will just have to limit it and consider it as a carb because I do make it myself but I dont think that there is enough crab in it. i have read that doing HIIT before you eat in the morning is a good way for fat loss. I do it 3 times a week. Today I did upper body after work.

chest
incline press 12,10,8,6,12 then superset with incline flies 12

shoulder
front shoulder raises 12,10,8,6,12 then superset with seated side lateral raise 12

back
seated row 12,10,8,6,12 then s.s with back pull ups 12

triceps
tricep pushdowns 12,10,8,6,12 s.s with overhead cable ext. 12

biceps
concentrated curls 12,10,8,6,12 s.s with barbell curls 12


After the superset on each body part I am toast and cannot do one more move. I feel like I had a great workout today!


However food is another story. i definately ate healthy but my cals are so low and its already 20:30, so if I get hungry later I will have some egg whites.

This is what I ate

meal 1

1.5 cup of oatmeal with some splenda and cin., 1/4 scoop of whey and dried cranberries
coffee
(the quarter scoop of whey was a test for me. I will add more next time because I didn't even notice it)


meal 2

.5 cup low fat cottage cheese and a danon yogurt


meal 3

1/2 cup of tuna
lettuce
veggies
1 tbsp crushed almonds
balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil

meal 3

3 sushi
cheese string
soya sauce

meal 4

fake crab meat 1/5 cup
10 almonds

meal 5

whole wheat pita
4 oz grilled chicken breast
lots of veggies
salsa
1 tbsp of feta
hot sauce

total 1172

P32/C45/f23


So i know I have to eat more. I am not sure where to put in more. this is harder than I thought. I think I am doing so good and then i put it into fitday. oh well work in progress!

[IronMaiden1522]

Mizone,

Yeah totally obsessed with Survivor, apprentice and bachelor. its sad but true!! you too?!

[abbs]

Hi Jenny, diet is looking good. You could try adding some more protein to get your cals up. Also I need to know where your workout was. Are you taking a shake after your weights? Pre and post workout nutrition is essential so if you note in your diet plan when you are working out that will help us.

Muffins - homemade is good as you can use healthy ingredients. A bit of honey won`t hurt, it is better than having normal white sugar. Do you have a good recipe for the muffins? This recipe is for muffins that have a higher protein content and you could substitute the wheat flour for oats:

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/hi...c/30734-1.html

Meal 2 looks a bit small, perhaps increase the cottage cheese maybe 3/4 cup and add some healthy fats like almonds or walnuts.

If the sushi is homemade and you are using brown rice then it is perfectly fine. As long as you arenot adding sugar to the rice? Whatever meat you are using try to have a bigger portion, for example if you are using 1 cup of rice in the sushi, you need at least 100gms of fish or meat to balance it out.

Make sure your last meal before bed has protein and healthy fats. So if you have some egg whites, have some nuts with it too. Or add olive oil as you cook the egg whites. This will also help get those cals up.