Going for the gold. Going for... MY BODY!

[JDkeystone]

Hello, and welcome to my log (my first one ever).

I guess I should start off by introducing myself. My name's Julie. I'm 27 years old, reside in Toronto, ON, and work out of the head office for a major Canadian cellphone company. Some of you may recognize me from several of the boards (Nutrition, Losing Fat, Post Your Pictures, etc) as those are definitely the sections I frequent the most.

Like many of you here, I've been battling my weight for pretty much as far back as I can remember. Basically, ever since I was old enough to appreciate what being "skinny" meant, that's when my never-ending "diet" began. As a child, I was of normal weight, but definitely had a thicker build than a lot of the girls in my class, and I vividly remember just how much this upset me. So much so, that, at the ripe old age of 11, I actually tried to buy my first box of diet pills at the drugstore (which the pharmacist refused to sell me, thank god lol).

While I stayed in a healthy range throughout my childhood, my weight problem didn't truly begin until about 7th or 8th grade. Simply due to lack of physical activity (compounded by an intense hatred for my then-mandatory gym class) and just plain over-eating, I gained quite a bit (well over 20lbs), which was embarrassingly evident in my grade 8 grad photos. I gained further until I did an about-face and managed to lose 40lbs when I was 16 (dropping down to 115lbs) by eating next to nothing, and speed walking for 45 minutes a day on a cheap little treadmill I had proudly bought with my own money.

It was at this point that the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting commenced. I regained the 40lbs I had lost, and continued to gain beyond that, til I was tipping the scales at 190lbs for my first year of college. My weight continued to hover between 180-190 til I once again took control and lost weight, this time getting down to about 145lbs in time for my college graduation. And as always, losing this weight was wonderful, thrilling, euphoric, and all that other great stuff... and was also very temporary. Within less than a year, I was back up to about 175lbs, and at the rate I was going, I was terrified that if I didn't do something asap, I would be back up to my highest weight or even exceeding it.

I then started "investing" my modest salary in as many different diet products as I could find. Everything, from "miracle" weight-loss drugs advertised in tabloids, to "fat-fighting" topical creams and gels, to funky exercise equipment found only on infomercials, to books that promised to give the "secret" to permanent weight loss, to hypnotherapy (which was almost $2,000 alone)... I tried them ALL. Even though the only numbers that were actually going down were those on my weekly bank statements, I just didn't care. As long as I was in possession of the latest weight-loss "thing", that was all that mattered.

This continued until about a year ago, when I finally got a clue and put an end to my retarded spending. Before I could totally bankrupt myself, I realized there was no special gimmick or "quick fix" that could truly get me the results I was looking for, and that if I wanted to lose weight - really lose weight and keep it off - it was going to have to be through the tried-and-true method of diet and exercise. It always came back to that (it was just too bad I had to spend thousands of dollars on useless products and programs to finally accept that).

This time, though, I wanted to finally break free from the yo-yo dieting death-grip that had been controlling me for years and do things RIGHT. I didn't want to lose weight (again) only to gain it all back - and then some - AGAIN. I also had a huge motivator for this time around: my best friend was getting married in a year, and I was going to be her maid-of-honour. And I knew that there was absolutely, positively NO WAY that I would allow myself to walk down the aisle for her in a dress looking the way I did right then. So with all of this in mind (coupled with my ridiculous dieting history), I decided to try something new and enlisted the help of a personal trainer.

I started training with my trainer, Adam, around mid-July of last year. There was definitely still some fear in the back of my mind that history was going to repeat itself again and I was going to fail (just like all my other unsuccessful dieting attempts), but knowing what I was working towards (and what I would potentially face if I didn't get there) gave me the final push I needed to actually follow through with this. I started going to the gym 5-6 days a week and focused entirely on burning as many calories as possible in that 2 hour daily time slot. I followed the weight-lifting program Adam had designed for me religiously, and also did a complete overhaul of my diet. Gone were the days of living off of nothing but "diet" foods (only to be followed by late-night binging several days a week); in was a now strict and carefully structured meal plan comprised of small, frequent, healthy meals and snacks, combined with lots of water.

It didn't take me long to adapt to this new routine, and I very quickly began to see results. I had only weighed myself once, and that was at the start of our training program (weighing in at 168lbs), but due to my incessant fear of the scale, I chose to instead track my progress by how my clothes were fitting and what the mirror showed rather than where the needle on the scale landed each week. I had also taken some embarrassing "before" pictures at the start of our program, and promised myself I would continue to take more pictures as time went on. After about 3 months of intense training and strict eating, I had shrunk from a size 16 to a size 8, and a rare trip to the scale revealed I was now at 138lbs. I couldn't believe it. I was ecstatic; I was virtually BESIDE myself with joy. I had not been a single-digit size OR weighed in the 130's in over 10 years! From that moment on, any doubt or worry I had been harbouring completely vanished; I now KNEW I was going to reach my goal.

I continued with my heavy workouts and extremely rigid meal plan, and the weight continued to fall off. I was down another 10lbs within a month, and then 5 more after that, bringing my weightloss to 45lbs in less than 5 months. At this point, my trainer started advising I "slow down" on what I was doing because I was losing weight too fast, which he said would be very hard - if not impossible - for me to maintain once I was finished. But being the stubborn person that I am, I brushed aside his warnings, and kept pounding the routine which, by then, had become 2nd nature for me.

Sometime after Christmas, though, my results began to slow down. Once I hit 123lbs, I plateaued hard, and was devestated to see the needle refuse to budge for weeks to come after that. I also noticed I wasn't feeling well a lot of the time, which was making working out more and more difficult. I just felt completely void of energy 90% of the time, and was experiencing some nasty headaches. I was also getting concerned because I had not had a period since the summer, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew this was a result of my current lifestyle.

The biggest hurdle by far, though, was the hunger. I was hungry (and I mean famished) ALL the time. It wasn't so bad the first couple of months (I think mainly because I was too enthralled by the results I was getting to notice), and I was still eating the same 5 small meals a day, but after living off of the same meager diet for months, I just couldn't avoid it anymore. In addition to the hunger was the torturous cravings I was becoming plagued with daily for foods that I had more or less banned from both my kitchen and my vocabulary. I was still allowing myself a cheat meal every two weeks (as I had been all along), but as time went on, the time between these precious meals was becoming longer and longer and almost unbearable to live through. It was bad; food dominated my every thought, and I soon found myself looking for more and more ways to fill my stomach without actually adding more calories to my diet.

Common sense told me I was simply not eating enough (I was averaging about 1,300 calories a day, while burning anywhere from 600-1000 at the gym), but with the wedding now only a few months away, I was scared of the prospect of increasing my calories for fear of either not reaching my goal (to be a size 2-6 for my bridesmaid dress) or even back-tracking altogether and falling back into my old yo-yo dieting pattern. I soon began to unconsciously tell myself "Just stick it out. You're almost done. Just a few more months, and then it's over."

I didn't realize just how dangerous this new thought process was, and because of my constant hunger, I didn't care. All I could focus on was holding out long enough until the wedding had come and gone. But as hard as I tried, I soon found my body rebelling against my mind. My bi-weekly cheat meal eventually changed to a weekly meal, and then that weekly meal slowly got bigger and bigger until it had morphed into a full cheat DAY. Even though my workouts remained solid throughout the week, I knew this increase in "cheating" was going to hurt my progress. Despite my horrendous plateau, I had managed to shave off another 5lbs (which was like pulling teeth, compared to how easily the weight had come off in the beginning), but I still wanted to lose more. I knew I was going to have to get my diet under control if I wanted to make it to the end.

Unfortunately, things didn't turn out this way. My new, destructive eating habits continued, and my progress pretty much came to a grinding halt. My weight was now fluctuating by 3-5lbs weekly (water weight, I'm sure), and as the wedding got closer and closer, I knew I wasn't going to reach my final goal in time if something didn't change.

Well, the wedding was last weekend, and I walked down the aisle in a size 4 dress (taken in from the original size 6 I got back in November). I received tons of compliments about how "great" I looked, how I was "such an inspiration" for my success, and how I should be "SO PROUD" of what I accomplished. And I won't deny it; hearing these words felt wonderful. But the truth of the matter is, I felt anything but "accomplished" last weekend. After what I had put myself through for the past year, squeezing into a size 4 dress ultimately wasn't the "reward" I had envisioned it to be. Because once the dress was off, I found myself with a body that just looked like a smaller version of the old me. As much as I hate the term "skinny-fat", that's what I was; that's what I AM now. I was so obsessed with fitting into a specific size and getting down to a specific weight (that same weight which I've still yet to reach), that I gave almost no consideration to the overall physique and body composition I might end up with, going the route that I did.

Which brings us to the present. Like I mentioned before, once I allowed the tainted idea of "IT'S ALMOST OVER" to enter my mind, that almost pushed me back into my old mindset of viewing my latest "diet" as being only a temporary thing, rather than something permanent. It literally took me a decade to realize this, but it was this negative idealogy that caused me to fail at losing weight and keeping if off as many times as I did.

[JDkeystone]

And so, I've now decided to start a log. I honestly never had any intention of starting one (or even considered it, even after joining bb.com), but now that my best friend's wedding is over, I have a crystal clear view of what I want to achieve with my body, as well as a full understanding of what I was doing wrong this whole time (thanks in part to several bb.com members, with whom I've shared details of my situation over the past few months), I've decided that a log is probably one of the best ways I can go about obtaining that which I fell short of this past year.

What I will be doing:
-eating MUCH more than I was before
-making better food choices and not just relying on what's most "convenient"
-actually LISTENING to my body instead of just following a generic "guideline" (regardless of whether or not that "guideline" is actually right for MY body)
-keeping more realistic and reasonable goals for myself (ie. no more constantly trying to maintain a 1000+ daily deficit, trying to lose too much too fast, or attempting to force my body down to a size that simply isn't realistic for the frame and body type I have)
-cutting down on the insane amount of cardio I was doing and giving more focus to actual weight lifting
-creating a calorie deficit of no more than 500-700 calories a day
-keeping protein high, (healthy) fats moderate, and carbs moderate to low
-getting more sleep (a VERY tough one for me; this'll require some major discipline, and will probably take me longer to orchestrate, but that's definitely a new target)
-allowing myself more, quote unquote, "dirty" foods (in small, controlled portions, of course) on a more regular basis so that I don't feel the need to binge
-abolishing the horrible "all or nothing" mentality once and for all

And above all else, creating a lifestyle that I can actually live with (and see myself living with) indefinitely, to ensure I never fall into my old yo-yo dieting habits again.

What I plan to achieve (no, what I WILL achieve):
-losing bodyfat (getting down to somewhere between 15-17%)
-building and sculpting muscles
-changing overall body composition from soft, skinny-fat to toned, tight, and muscular (though not bulky)

As of right now I don't have an actual scale-weight number in mind (it used to be 105-110lbs), and for now, I've decided I'm not going to worry about what the "final" number should be, either. As long as I reach the above goals, I'll allow my body to decide what that final number should be. If it is 110lbs, great; if it's something higher, then that's fine, too. Another thing I'm trying to change is my fixation with the dreaded number on the scale. It took me a LONG time to accept this, but I now know the scale is definitely NOT the be all and end all of what makes a "good" body.

And that about wraps up my first official log entry. I'll start recording my workouts and nutrition tomorrow (I would post today's but I'm way too tired; already breaking my "more sleep" rule as it is lol). If you read this entire thing, thank you (I know it was long), and if you decide to follow along with me, I'd be honoured to have your support.

Thanks and good night!



-Julie

[JDkeystone]

And here we go.

Currently I'm doing a 2-day split between upper and lower body lifting, combined with 5 days of cardio. Today was lower body and abs + cardio.

Cardio:
-Arc Trainer, 20 min (HIIT)

Weights:
Hip Abduction (inner):
-205lbs x 20
-210lbs x 18
-215lbs x 16

50 Swiss Ball crunches

Prone Leg Curl:
-60lbs x 20
-65lbs x 18
-70lbs x 16

50 Swiss Ball crunches

Hip Abduction (outer):
-185lbs x 20
-190lbs x 18
-195lbs x 16

50 Ab-roller crunches

Seated Leg Press:
-160lbs x 20
-170lbs x 18
-175lbs x 16

50 Ab-roller crunches

Leg Extension:
-80lbs x 20
-85lbs x 18
-90lbs x 16

Deadlift:
-70lbs x 20
-70lbs x 20
-70lbs x 20

Cardio:
-Stepmill, 30 min

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 1/4 cup Special K Satisfaction
-1/4 All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

Morning Snack/PWO:
-1 cup fatfree cottage cheese
-1 scoop Cup Cake Batter whey
-1 jar babyfood (banana)

Lunch:
-1 chicken breast
-1 bag Green Giant vegetable medley

Afternoon Snack:
-2 slices low-fat swiss cheese
-30 almonds
-1 can diet redbull

Dinner:
-1 chicken breast
-2 cups brussel sprouts and green beans (mixed together)
-1 tbsp evoo

I haven't weighed myself in several weeks, but similar to how I did before, I don't plan to use the scale as my sole medium for tracking my progress (going instead by how my clothes fit, bf% - still need to get that tested again soon for an update - and most of all, what the mirror shows me). However, I do still plan to weigh myself semi-regularly (probably once every 4-6 weeks), so that's definitely on my to-do list for the near future.

And that's it for today! If anyone has any feedback (either regarding my workouts or my diet) please feel free to comment!

[JDkeystone]

Had to miss the gym today on account of worK. I haven't worked a Saturday in well over a year; MAN did that ever piss me off!!!!

I truly HATE missing workouts (on days I hadn't already set aside as an official "rest" day, I mean). It just gives me such a feeling of lack of accomplishment; my day just doesn't feel complete without it

I may go for a light jog later (gonna wait to see if the weather lightens up a bit first). Regardless, tomorrow's workout will be fierce (upper body, obliques, and more cardio).

Diet was passable, I suppose.

Breakfast:
-whole egg
-protein shake w/ 1 cup skim milk
-1 slice ww toast w/ 2 tbsp light cream cheese

Mid-morning:
-large coffee from Tim Horton's w/ 3 milk and 3 splenda

Lunch:
-1/2 cup chicken salad w/ 1 tbsp light mayo
-4 slices melba toast
-20 almonds

Mid-afternoon:
-1 large apple cinnamon tea w/ 3 milk, 3 splenda
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cinnamon Bun whey

Dinner:
-still in the works, but most likely tilapia and left over brussel sprouts.

Didn't bother counting calories today, but I'm pretty sure they're more or less within my target (for cutting, natch). That's all for now.

[JDkeystone]

Today's workout- Upper body, obliques, and cardio.

Cardio:
-running sprints (HIIT), 15 minutes

Weights:
Lateral raise:
-5lbs x 20
-8lbs x 18
-8lbs x 16

25 oblique leg raises (per leg)

Seated Row:
-45lbs x 20
-50lbs x 20
-55lbs x 18

25 oblique leg raises

Chest Press machine:
-25lbs x 20
-30lbs x 20
-35lbs x 18

25 swiss ball oblique crunches (per side)

Reverse Pectoral Fly:
-30lbs x 20
-35lbs x 20
-40lbs x 18

25 swiss ball oblique crunches

Tricep Press Down:
-40lbs x 20
-45lbs x 18
-50lbs x 18

Barbell Curl:
-30lbs x 20
-30lbs x 20
-30lbs x 20

Barbell Skull Crusher:
-30lbs x 20
-30lbs x 20
-30lbs x 20

Cardio:
-Arc Trainer, 35 min (HIIT)

Today's workout felt awesome. Upper body lifting is always very iffy for me, due to the constant problems I have with my shoulders (severe multi-directional instability of the rotator cuffs; to date, I've dislocated my right shoulder 16 times, and my left shoulder once). Thus, it's very hard for me to progress in upper body strength training (too much weight/resistance will cause my shoulders to pop out in the blink of an eye), but I've still been able to increase weights overall in the last few months by close to 50%, which for me is huge, given my condition. The definition I'm seeing in my arms and shoulders is also really encouraging. So I'm happy about that

Also working on keeping the cardio to a minimum. 50 minutes was prolly more than I needed (although that's quite a bit less than what I used to do), but that's something I'm still experimenting with.

Nutrition:
Breakfast
-1 cup Corn Flakes
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

Pre-WO
-Tri-o-plex Crunch Protein Bar
-2 slices light swiss cheese

PWO
-1 cup ff cottage cheese
-1 jar banana, applesauce w/ oatmeal baby food
-100 cal pack natural almonds

Dinner
-8oz grilled tilapia
-1.5 cups brussel sprouts and green beans (mixed)

Don't really have an official "lunch" on the weekends on account of me sleeping in (catching up on all my missed sleep for the week lol). "Breakfast" is usually between 11:00-12:00, Pre-WO between 2:00-3:00, PWO 4:30-5:30 (whenever I finish working out, obviously), and dinner between 7:00-8:00. I definitely keep a more balanced schedule during the week (when I'm up by 6:30).

[JDkeystone]

Another amazing workout today! Lower body + abs and cardio.

Cardio:
-Stairmaster, 15 min

Weights:
D.B. Stationary Lunges
-12lb x 20 (per leg)
-12lb x 20
-15lb x 18

50 Swiss Ball crunches

Seated Leg Curl:
-70lbs x 20
-80lbs x 18
-85lbs x 16

50 Swiss Ball crunches

Hip Abduction (outter):
-190lbs x 20
-195lbs x 18
-200lbs x 18

50 Bosu Ball crunches

Single-legged Leg Press:
-75lbs x 20 (per leg)
-80lbs x 18
-85lbs x 16

50 Bosu Ball crunches

Hip Abduction (inner):
-210lbs x 20
-220lbs x 18
-225lbs x 16

Deadlift:
-80lbs x 20
-80lbs x 20
-80lbs x 20

Leg Extension:
-85lbs x 20
-90lbs x 18
-100lbs x 15

Cardio:
-Eliptical, 30 min (HIIT)

Funny thing about my deadlift... I didn't even realize I was doing 80lbs until after I had finished and actually saw the number (I thought I had picked up the 70lb barbell, but had grabbed the 80lb one by mistake). But the fact that I "accidentally" went up another 10lbs on it (and was able to complete all 3 sets) was pretty cool lol.

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 1/4 cup Corn Flakes
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

Morning Snack/PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese
-1 scoop Cinnamon Bun whey
-1 jar banana & apple sauce babyfood

Lunch:
-1 chicken breast
-1 bag Green Giant vegetable medley

Afternoon Snack:
-1 can lemon pepper tuna (85g)
-12 almond halves

Dinner:
-1 chicken breast
-1 bag Green Giant broccoli and carrots
-100 cal pack natural almonds

[JDkeystone]

Back to upper body, obliques, and cardio today. Proud to say weights went up quite a bit on a number of lifts, too

Cardio:
-eliptical, 20 min

Weights:
Bicep Curl:
-15lbs x 20 (per arm)
-17.5lbs x 18
-20lbs x 15

25 oblique hyperextensions (per side)

Incline Chest Press:
-30lbs x 20
-35lbs x 20
-45lbs x 14

25 oblique hyperextensions

Lateral Raise:
-8lbs x 20
-10lbs x 16
-12lbs x 12

25 oblique leg raises (per side)

D.B. Skull Crusher:
-15lbs x 20
-20lbs x 18
-20lbs x 16

25 oblique leg raises

Seated Row:
-50lbs x 20
-55lbs x 18
-60lbs x 14

25 swiss ball oblique crunches (per side)

Reverse Pectoral Fly:
-35lbs x 20
-40lbs x 18
-40lbs x 16

25 swiss ball oblique crunches

Tricep Press Down
-45lbs x 20
-50lbs x 18
-55lbs x 14

Cable Row:
-50lbs x 20
-55lbs x 18
-60lbs x 16

Cardio:
-Arc Trainer, 20 min (HIIT)
-Stationary Bike, 10 min (15mph)

I dunno if it's just water weight or wishful thinking (or both), but I feel quite a bit leaner than I did a few weeks ago. My "trouble spots" still need a lot of work (a lot), but all of my pants are feeling noticeably looser as well, which is always a bonus. Official weigh-in and/or bodyfat measure still to come, but I'm relatively satisfied so far. I no longer feel like I'm in a race to drop as much weight in as little time as possible (regardless of whether it's fat or muscle) cuz my sole focus now is to drop ONLY fat and get my body as lean and defined as possible, however long that takes.

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 1/4 cup Special K Satisfaction
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

Pre-WO:
-Tri-o-plex Crunch Protein Bar
-2 cheese strings (light)

PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cinnamon Bun whey
-1 jar blueberry baby food
-100 cal pack natural almonds

Dinner:
-8oz grilled tilapia
-1 cup leaf spinach and 1/2 cup green beans

Debating if I'll make tomorrow or Friday a rest day (I usually like to workout 4-5 days consecutively before having an off day, but don't want to fall back into the habit of overtraining to the point of burnout). Guess I'll sleep on it and just see how I feel in the morning.

[pablocai]

hi, well I read your whole story and its really similar to my life story...loosing weight, gaining weight, eating less than 1000 calories to loose it, etc. So, first of all congrats because I saw your before/after photos and the change is amazing and all I can say is keep on going....good luck

[JDkeystone]

hi, well I read your whole story and its really similar to my life story...loosing weight, gaining weight, eating less than 1000 calories to loose it, etc. So, first of all congrats because I saw your before/after photos and the change is amazing and all I can say is keep on going....good luck

Thank you, same to you

Though my current "after" pictures are definitely not the final product lol (I plan to eventually take more pictures that will put those pics to shame). It's just having the patience to get there (and doing so the proper way) that's the challenge heh.

But I'm more than up for it, so I say bring it!

[JDkeystone]

Well, I made today an "off" day, so no workout to share. Actually, a big part of that can be attributed to me stupidly drinking an entire 473ml can of diet Rockstar yesterday evening; usually caffeine (reasonably) late at night doesn't affect me much, but merciful mother of christ, this one sure did. Lesson learned lol...

Was also feeling some beautiful upper body DOMS all throughout the day, so that was pretty satisfying, too

Anyways, today's nutrition.
Breakfast:
-1 1/4 cup corn flakes
-1/4 cup all bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

Lunch/Late Morning Snack
-large Tim Horton's apple cinnamon tea w/ 3 milk and 3 splenda
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cinnamon Bun whey
-1 peanut butter crunch fullbar

Midafternoon
-1/2 cup salmon salad
-12 walnut halves
-2 slices light swiss cheese

Dinner
-1 chicken breast
-1 1/2 cups spinach and green beans (mixed)

Cut back on calories a little bit today on account of no workout.

I'm supposed to resume training with my trainer, Adam, sometime soon but I've asked him to put our remaining sessions on hiatus for now (told him I just needed to get some things "in order" before I can resume our workouts). At our last session (about 3-4 weeks ago) I finally confessed to him I hadn't had a period in almost a year, and he got pretty upset with me (mainly because I had waited as long as I did to tell him at all). He said he wanted to sit down with my asap and go over exactly what I was doing in terms of diet and exercise (outside of our 1-hour sessions, obviously), but I asked him to just give me a few weeks to myself so I could deal with what I needed to do on my own first. I think I'll prolly be ready to start up our sessions again sometime later this month; we'll just play it by ear for now.

[VulcanFlame]

Very nice to see you changed your mind about nutrition and training!
I saw you alking about doing 3h of cardio a day and eating like around 2kcals a day... you were just killing your body =/.
The fact that you were under such a huge decifit makes it very easy to explain why you had those CRAZY cravings for food. (been there done that)
I hope things get better and better for you.

Wish you the best luck on your new journey!

[dragonaut]

props in trying to structure your diet and training, and setting specific goals.

Diet is 80% of the battle, as long as you stay consistent with it, you will see progress, now regarding your training I got to be honest and say that INMHO needs some improvements

leg abductor machine, bosu ball... 0.o

you should structure your training around compounds lifts

squats, deadlifts, bench press in all its variations... also military press, dips, pull ups, power cleans, snatchs etc

free weights> machines
compounds> isolation

also do your cardio AFTER lifting , and keep the weight heavy( 3-8 rep range)

check out this book "Starting Strength" to learn the big lifts

good luck

[JDkeystone]

Very nice to see you changed your mind about nutrition and training!
I saw you alking about doing 3h of cardio a day and eating like around 2kcals a day... you were just killing your body =/.
The fact that you were under such a huge decifit makes it very easy to explain why you had those CRAZY cravings for food. (been there done that)
I hope things get better and better for you.

Wish you the best luck on your new journey!

Thank you

And yeah, you're right; what I was doing to myself was beyond abusive. Deep down, I think I knew this all along, but refused to admit it cuz I was convinced it was the only way to reach my goals in time (which was why I almost never posted my diet or asked for feedback on my workout schedule; I just didn't wanna hear anything negative about anything I was doing).

props in trying to structure your diet and training, and setting specific goals.

Diet is 80% of the battle, as long as you stay consistent with it, you will see progress, now regarding your training I got to be honest and say that INMHO needs some improvements

leg abductor machine, bosu ball... 0.o

you should structure your training around compounds lifts

squats, deadlifts, bench press in all its variations... also military press, dips, pull ups, power cleans, snatchs etc

free weights> machines
compounds> isolation

also do your cardio AFTER lifting , and keep the weight heavy( 3-8 rep range)

check out this book "Starting Strength" to learn the big lifts

good luck

Thanks (for both the props and workout tips)!

Only problem with a few of the lifts you suggested (for upper body) is I can't physically do them cuz of my weak shoulders (I have a whole list of specific upper body exercises I have to avoid, as per the orders of my physiotherapist). So far I've actually dislocated my shoulder 3 times alone while working out (the other 14 times just from simple, everyday activities), so I have to limit my upper body training to certain exercises that don't put my shoulders at dangerous angles (anything too high up or too far back will cause them to pop out; it's absolutely nuts just how lax they are)

But I'll definitely check out that book tomorrow (I was planning on getting "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" tomorrow anyway, so I can just grab both at the same time)

Anyways, on to today. No lifting today, just pure cardio.

Running sprints, 30 min (HIIT)
Arc Trainer, 30 min
Stationary Bike, 15 min

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 1/4 cup Special K Satisfaction
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cup Cake Batter whey
-1 jar apple, strawberry & banana babyfood

Lunch:
-1 chicken breast
-1 bag Green Giant vegetable medley

Afternoon Snack:
-12 walnut halves
-can of tuna (85g)

Dinner:
-1 chicken breast
-1 bag Green Giant broccoli and carrots
-1 slice light swiss cheese

Thought I had more to write, but now I'm way too tired, so I'm just gonna crash now... night!

[JDkeystone]

Back to lower body and abs (and cardio, of course).

Cardio:
-Arc Trainer, 10 min (just to warm-up; gradually trying to reduce the amount I do pre-lifting)

Weights:
Prone Leg Curl:
-65lbs x 18
-75lbs x 14
-80lbs x 12

Plank
-1 min

Leg Extensions:
-85lbs x 18
-95lbs x 14
-100lbs x 12

Plank
-1 min, 20 sec

Seated Leg Press:
-170lbs x 18
-180lbs x 16
-190lbs x 14

50 Swiss Ball Crunches

D.B. Step Ups:
-30 w/ 15lb d.b. (per leg)
-30 w/ 15lb d.b.
-30 w/ 15lb d.b.

50 Swiss Ball Crunches

Hip Abduction (inner):
-220lbs x 18
-230lbs x 16
-240lbs x 12

Deadlift:
-80lbs x 20
-80lbs x 20
-80lbs x 20

Cardio:
-Eliptical, 20 min
-Arc Trainer, 20 min

I was actually struggling with today's workout quite a bit. I don't know what happened, but last night I woke up to the most painful charley horse (in my inner right thigh) I have EVER had. Like, it was so excruciating, I was actually contemplating calling 911 for a few seconds (when I couldn't get it to go away; it literally felt like I had a torn ligament or something). It lasted for a good 5-10 minutes before I finally managed to massage it out somewhat, but my leg was pretty sore from this almost all day. I don't know if this means I'm slightly dehydrated or lacking something in nutrients (potassium, maybe?), but good god, I never wanna experience something like that again.

And for today's eats.

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 1/4 cup Special K Satisfaction
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

Pre-WO:
-Tri-o-plex Crunch Bar
-1oz cinnamon-cranberry goat cheese (yum!)

PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cup Cake Batter whey
-1 jar apple, strawberry & banana babyfood
-1 100 cal pack natural almonds

Dinner:
-1 baked chicken breast
-1 1/4 cup mixed vegetables and mushrooms

I'm also starting to wonder if I should lower my protein intake a bit. According to thedailyplate, my protein averages around 165-180g/day. I'm not doing keto or anything, but I stay relatively low-carb for the most part. I guess I'll play around with some different menu options (maybe trade in some protein for some more fats). And the experimenting continues...

[JDkeystone]

Upper body, obliques, and cardio.

Warm-up Cardio:
-Eliptical, 10 min

Weights:
Seated Row:
-55lbs x 16
-60lbs x 14
-65lbs x 12

20 oblique hyperextensions w/ 15lb D.B. (per side)

Chest Press:
-35lbs x 16
-40lbs x 14
-45lbs x 12

20 oblique hyperextensions w/ 15lb D.B.

Barbell Skull Crusher:
-40lbs x 20
-40lbs x 20
-45lbs x 15

25 medicine ball twists (per side)

Barbell Curl:
-30lbs x 20
-30lbs x 18
-40lbs x 12

25 medicine ball twists

Reverse Pectoral Fly:
-35lbs x 18
-40lbs x 16
-45lbs x 14

25 oblique leg raises (per side)

Tricep Press Down:
-45lbs x 18
-50lbs x 16
-55lbs x 12

25 oblique leg raises

Lateral Raise:
-10lbs x 16
-10lbs x 14
-10lbs x 12

Cardio:
-Stairmaster, 30 min
-Stepmill, 15 min
-Stationary Bike, 15 min

Yeah... I think I overdid it on the cardio today. Not sure why; just got caught up in my music, and before I knew it, I had done a full hour after finishing weights (in addition to my 10 min warm up at the start). Definitely still gotta work on that...

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 pouch Nature's Path Flax-Plus oatmeal
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1/2 scoop Cinnamon Bun whey
-1 jumbo egg

Pre-WO:
-1 Tri-o-plex Crunch Bar
-1 probiotic Peach yogurt

PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cup Cake Batter whey
-1 jar strawberry puree baby food
-1/8 cup soy nuts

Dinner:
-1 baked chicken breast
-1 cup mixed teryaki veggies and mushrooms

On account of all the extra cardio I did today, thedailyplate has informed me I should be eating something like an extra 850 cals. I don't think I can manage quite that much, but I'll see what I can rustle up before bed.

[JDkeystone]

No weights today, just cardio.

-running sprints, 20 min (HIIT)
-stepmill, 20 min
-arc trainer, 20 min
-recumbent bike, 5 min (cool down)

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 cup Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cup Cake Batter whey
-1 jar blueberry babyfood

Lunch:
-1 chicken breast (mediterranean style)
-1 bag Green Giant vegetable medley
-1 100 cal pack natural almonds

Afternoon Snack:
-1oz cinnamon-cranberry goat cheese
-14 walnut halves

Dinner:
-1 baked chicken breast
-1 1/4 cup mixed veggies and mushrooms

I'm shopping around for some fat calipers (I'll prolly just order them off here, though) so I can take an official bf% reading. But I definitely feel leaner than I did a few weeks ago; my waist feels smaller and all my pants and jeans (ranging from size 2-6, depending on the brand) are all fitting much looser on me as well. Still need to do an official weigh-in as well, but my main concern is just getting an accurate bodyfat reading so I know where I'm at (and to make sure that's the only thing going down, even if actual scale weight doesn't change right away). Doubtful I can actually add any lean mass since I'm still eating at a deficit (as I'm pretty sure I'm past the "noob-gain" stage), but still gonna keep lifting with as much intensity as possible to maximize definition (which I'm seeing a lot of on top; just not as much on my lower half, which is frustrating argh). Won't stop til I get there, though (not an option).

That's all for now

[dragonaut]

Only problem with a few of the lifts you suggested (for upper body) is I can't physically do them cuz of my weak shoulders (I have a whole list of specific upper body exercises I have to avoid, as per the orders of my physiotherapist). So far I've actually dislocated my shoulder 3 times alone while working out (the other 14 times just from simple, everyday activities), so I have to limit my upper body training to certain exercises that don't put my shoulders at dangerous angles (anything too high up or too far back will cause them to pop out; it's absolutely nuts just how lax they are)

WOW, you've dislocated your shoulder 17 times?! How could that happen? got to be very careful with ANY pressing movements, and follow your physio's advice to the T

now that should not stop you from developing a strong core, back and legs, girls can pull heavy from the floor too ya know

[JDkeystone]

Lol honestly, after 17 dislocations in 6 years, I still have no clue how it started. My first dislocation was actually done in my sleep (yes, serious), so I'm assuming that stretched my already loose ligaments even more to the point where stability in my rotator cuffs is almost nil. It's popped out from sneezing too hard, from stretching my arms over my head upon waking up, from leaning on my arm too hard when propping myself up in bed, from pulling the stop cord on the bus... the list goes on ad infinitum lol.

But I do my best to work with what I've got (which definitely include lots of core and leg exercises, like you said). Doing lower body tomorrow, and I'm hoping to get my deadlift up to 90lbs (doubtful, since I'm still struggling after 10 reps at 80lbs, but I'ma still give 'er a go)

[JDkeystone]

Ok change of plans. I was going to do lower body and cardio today and make tomorrow a rest day, but I woke up this morning and felt totally wiped, so I decided to swap and make today a rest day instead. I suspect that may be the best schedule to keep for my body; 4 days on, 1 day off, and so on. I can often do 5 days consecutively, but by the end of day 5 I'm so drained, my final workout usually suffers quite a bit (and then it takes me a good 2 days before I feel ready to return to the gym at full speed). So yeah, as per my resolution to listen to my body and do what feels best (rather than just sticking to my pre-determined "schedule", no matter what), today will be for pure recovery.

I'll post today's nutrition later (or not; depends how busy work is today). Already slacked a bit by trading in my large apple cinnamon tea for a double-double instead (along with a chocolate chip muffin) but whatever; diet's actually been very good for the past few weeks, so I'm not overly concerned.

[JDkeystone]

Follow up.

So I ended up relaxing on my diet today a little more than intended. Had my usual breakfast (cup of cereal w/ all bran, skim milk, egg), then a large double-double and chocolate chip muffin at work, chicken panini and side ceasar for lunch, smoked salmon, cream cheese and melba toast mid-afternoon, and then lasagna for dinner. Enjoyed all of it, but kinda wish I had cut back...

I haven't had a "cheat" meal/day since Father's day (took my dad out for dinner), though, so I'm really hoping this doesn't do much to hinder progress. At the very least, I know I'll have an extra good workout tomorrow thanks to today's unplanned energy load lol.

Thought I'd also do something a little different and show some new comparison pics. I only recently finally put up a pic showing my face (I had planned to remain "anonymous" on here indefinitely, but finally realized I didn't care and said "**** it"), so I thought I'd show some pics about a year apart.

April 2008 (about 170lbs):


April 2009 (about 120lbs):


"Before" pictures are always so painful to look at lol...

But looking at where I once was and where I am now always gives me some extra pump, especially on days when I just don't feel like working out or sticking to my diet. Cuz as happy as I am with the results I've gotten so far, I'm nowhere near being "done", and looking at pics like these gives me that extra bit of motivation I need to go out and do as much as I did the day before (if not more). As hard as it might be, it'll never be enough to stop me from going all the way to reach my final goal.

Also, reading the journals and transformation stories of other bb.com'ers on here helps a lot, too (so a big thanks to the rest of you all, too)!

[dragonaut]

what happened to the diet?chocolate chip muffins... nom nom haha ... don't feel bad. last time I had a cheat meal, the thing extended for 2 days and a few thousand calories more, its called "refeed"

[JDkeystone]

what happened to the diet?chocolate chip muffins... nom nom haha ... don't feel bad. last time I had a cheat meal, the thing extended for 2 days and a few thousand calories more, its called "refeed"

Haha yeah, I know, that's what everyone says. But I've still got that "all or nothing" mindset going on (bad, I know), where if my diet or routine isn't "perfect" (or as close to "perfect" as possible) then I just immediately think I've screwed everything up and have to start all over. And then at the same time, if I have a day that's "off" from my regular diet and routine, but in actuality wasn't that bad (how I would consider yesterday) then I almost feel like I wasted my "off" day, as well (by not eating other far unhealthier stuff I may have been craving instead). It's a real mind****, tbh.

Anyways, on to today- lower body, abs, cardio.

Warmup Cardio:
-Stationary bike, 10 min

Weights:
Walking Lunges:
-15lb D.B's x 20 steps
-15lb D.B's x 20 steps
-15lb D.B's x 20 steps

Plank:
-2 minutes

Single-legged Leg Press:
-85lbs x 16
-90lbs x 14
-100lbs x10

Plank:
-3 minutes

Single-legged Leg Extensions:
-40lbs x 18
-50lbs x 14
-55lbs x 10

50 Swiss Ball Crunches

25 Swiss Ball Sumo Squats w/ 20lb D.B.

50 Swiss Ball Crunches

Seated Leg Curl:
-85lbs x 16
-95lbs x 12
-100lbs x 10

Deadlift:
-90lbs x 14
-90lbs x 12
-90lbs x 10

Cardio:
-Arc Trainer, 20 min
-Stairmaster, 20 min

Nutrition:
-1 pouch Nature's Path original oatmeal
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 scoop Cinnamon Bun whey
-1 jumbo egg

PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cup Cake Batter whey
-1 jar fruit medley baby food

Lunch:
-1 chicken breast
-1 bag Green Giant vegetable medley
-1 100 cal pack almonds

Afternoon snack:
-1 can salmon salad (85g)
-1/8 cup soy nuts

Dinner:
-1 chicken breast
-1 bag Green Giant broccoli and carrots
-1 oz cinnamon-cranberry goat cheese

I thought I had more to write, but I'm not feeling too well right now, so I'll sign off here. Also printed off Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle today at work (and am surprised I didn't get in **** for occupying the printer for as long as I did lol), so I'll start reading that when I get home. 'Tis all for now.

[JDkeystone]

I've been off work yesterday and today (flu has been going around at my work, and I was the next recipient). My shoulder has also been acting up (not sure why), so I've been busy icing that as well.

So don't really have much to update right now. Tbh, I've been feeling kinda deflated for the past 2 days (I always feel this way when anything throws me off my regular routine); just starts to put thoughts of self-doubt in my mind (that I can actually reach the goals I've set for myself) and almost makes me wanna call it quits and just "settle" for what I have.

But I also just started reading Tom Venuto's book, "Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle", and it's already been a good source of motivation and inspiration, so I'm definitely not throwing in the towel yet (yeah right; I just started!). So I hope to be back in the gym tomorrow, with some much more positive updates to come. Don't count me out yet

[JDkeystone]

I'm back. Haven't blogged in awhile; not intentionally or anything, but was just really bogged down with work and family drama for the past few weeks, so the journal kinda got pushed to the back burner. Gonna try to keep this thing updated more often, though.

So I was off from the gym for about a week. Had the flu for a few days, and then chose to stay off the rest of the week to keep from falling back into my old habit of freaking out if I missed more than a day of working out (at which point I would try to "compensate" for it by doing double the amount of cardio and lifting I normally do). I also felt like I needed the break; really trying to "listen" to my body this time around, and I did feel like it was telling me I needed some time off, so I took it. Was back in the gym as of last weekend, and also resumed training with my trainer as of today.

At our session today, we talked about my new goals (basically the ones I've specified here), and also the changes that need to be made with how I'm going to reach them. While Adam (my trainer) is all for helping me reach my goal of getting down to 15% bf (or less if I can manage to), he also laid out some new ground "rules":

1) No more than 4 lifting sessions per week (60 min, max)
2) No more than 260 minutes of cardio per week (35 on lifting days, 60 at most on non-lifting days)
3) Keep a maximum calorie deficit of no more than 500 (what I'm already doing now)

He also told me - under no uncertain terms - if I didn't stick to this, he would have to drop me as a client. It wasn't meant as a "threat" (his words); but after learning how drastic things had gotten for me (not having a period in an entire year, losing as much lean mass as I had, etc), he said he just couldn't continue to train me if I was doing anything that was compromising my health or physical safety. I understood, and told him I was fully ok with these conditions (they were actually a bit of a relief for me, even).

He's also writing out a new program for me (did upper body today, and will start a new lower body program at our next session on Thursday). I would go through the actual lifts we did, but (embarassingly enough) he introduced me to a lot of new stuff that I actually don't even remember the names for lol. Still did some old stuff, though (bench press, barbell curls, rowing, etc), but I'll have to get a copy of the program sheet once he's completed it to list the other stuff here. All I know is I was WIPED by the end of our session (and I can feel the delightful DOMS setting in already haha).

Oh, and I also ordered this (from the bb.com store):
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/acc/fattrack.html

AccuFitness Fat Track II. Once it arrives, I'll officially start charting my bf% (and measurements as well). I'm really looking forward to using it!

Anyways, I would post today's diet, but really, it's more or less the same as what I've already posted on here many times before (that, and I'm also about to pass out on my keyboard). Really just wanted to give an update and show my log is still alive and kicking. Will be back with tomorrow's workout (lower body); had some MAJOR lower DOMS the past few days, so I'm taking that as a good sign my workouts are continuing to improve. But that's all for now!

[JDkeystone]

Back to lower body, abs, and cardio today. And I'm happy to say my several of my lifts went up significantly!

Warm up Cardio:
-Arc Trainer, 10 min

Weights:
Leg Extensions:
-95lbs x 18
-105lbs x 16
-115lbs x 12

50 Swiss Ball Crunches

Seated Leg Press:
-175lbs x 18
-185lbs x 16
-195lbs x 14

50 Swiss Ball Crunches

Hip Abduction (inner):
-230lbs x 18
-245lbs x 16
-255lbs x 14

Plank 2 min

Deadlift:
-90lbs x 18
-90lbs x 18
-100lbs x 12

Plank 2 min, 30 sec

Sumo Squats:
-25lb D.B. x 20
-25lb D.B. x 20
-30lb D.B. x 16

Prone Leg Curl:
-50lbs x 16
-55lbs x 13
-60lbs x 10

I think I made a mistake in leaving the prone leg curl til last (by then, my muscles were shot - my legs were almost shaking at that point - and I couldn't handle anything stronger for this machine). But other than that, I'm very happy I was able to increase the weight on as many of the others as I did. Hopefully this momentum will keep up.

Cardio:
-Step Mill, 30 min

Nutrition:
Breakfast:
-1 cup Special K Vanilla Almond
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 jumbo egg

Pre-WO:
-Muscletech chocolate chip oat bar
-strawberry fat-free yogurt

PWO:
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 scoop Cup Cake Batter whey
-1 jar strawberry babyfood

Dinner:
-chicken breast
-1.5 cups spinach and broccoli

Also, current supplements:
-GNC Multi
-L-Glutamine tabs (1000mg)
-fish oil gel tabs

[JDkeystone]

Well, I thought I was gonna have a solid upper body workout to log today, but as luck would have it, I dislocated my right shoulder AGAIN last night (making it the 17th time; my left shoulder, as I mentioned previously, I've only dislocated once so far). No idea how it came out this time; it happened in my sleep (again). I'm a pretty restless sleeper, so all I can conclude is I may have been tossing and turning too much or sleeping at a dangerous angle, which could cause it to pop out. Either way, this led to the usual routine of having to go to the hospital be put out under a mild anesthetic, and have it popped back into place (all of which can take anywhere from 3-6 hours). I'm now off from work today, and possibly tomorrow depending on how bad the pain is.

I'm not gonna let this get me down, but sometimes it's really hard to stay optimistic about reaching my goals when my body keeps giving out on me like this. I do physio every week (in addition to my regular training), I only do the upper body workouts I'm "allowed" or "supposed" to do (given my bad shoulders), I'm BEYOND overly cautious in my day to day activities in making sure I don't do anything to put my shoulders in any precarious positions or angles, and yet they're STILL as lax and unstable as always. Surgery isn't an option, either; I had an MRI done in March of 2008, and when the results came back, the specialist I was seeing at the time basically said there was "nothing" they could operate on (since there was no tears or actual injuries that could be fixed), and therefore, nothing further he could do for me. He then told me to just continue with physio and "learn to live with it", and released me from his care altogether (which is what I've been doing ever since).

It doesn't bother me most days, but on days like today, I'm almost on the brink of tears, it's so frustrating. My trainer is great, since he specializes in sports injuries and rehab exercises, so he's able to tailor my program specifically for my needs, but even that's not enough to keep this from happening as often as it does (which lately has been averaging about once every 4-6 weeks). And the best part is, I can't even go to another doctor for a "second opinion" since the last doctor I was seeing WAS my second opinion (the first one gave me the same prognosis as he did, too).

So yeah, life feels pretty ****ty at the moment. I may go down to gym in the basement of my apartment later to do some light cardio, but looks like I won't be able to resume upper body lifting til the weekend at the earliest. Awesome.

[tfpriest]

Good luck!

[JDkeystone]

Thanks

[JDkeystone]

No workout entries to add (off from training til the weekend so my shoulder can heal). But for a diet/nutrition update- I'm starting intermittent fasting as of today, but in reverse. Gonna do a 8/16 (or 7/17) hour feeding/fasting schedule during the week (going approximately from 7am-3pm), and then the regular 16/8 schedule on the weekends (when my training and eating routine are much more flexible than during the week). So my fast today started as of 3:30 this afternoon after I finished my main meal. Menu looked like this:

8:00am
Breakfast:
-1 cup Corn Bran Squares
-1/4 cup All Bran
-1 cup skim milk
-1 scoop whey
-1 jumbo egg
=450 cals

12:00pm
-XL Apple Cinnamon Tea w/ 3 milk and 3 splenda
=120 cals

3:15pm
Main Meal:
-2 chicken burger patties
-2 cups broccoli and green beans
-15 melba toast crackers (12 grain)
-1 cup ff cottage cheese w/ 1 cup mixed berries
=780 cals

Was not able to finish my main meal (10 crackers and a few mouthfuls of veggies remained), but have felt very satisfied overall today. Had some mild hunger around 6:30 this evening, so I had a Reduced Carb Monster, which took care of it. I'm sure I'll get a better idea of how affective this eating schedule is once I resume training, but I'm enjoying it so far.

More updates to come; outtie for now

[JDkeystone]

Finally got back to upper body lifting today (along with obliques and cardio, as usual). Due to my most recent dislocation last week, I had to decrease some of the weights since my shoulder's still in some pain (not a lot, but enough to have to lower training intensity).

Warm-up Cardio:
-Step Mill, 10 min

Weights:
D.B. Chest Press
-15lbs x 20 (per side)
-20lbs x 16
-20lbs x 14

20 Oblique Hyperextensions w/ 17.5lb D.B. (per side)

Seated Row:
-45lbs x 20
-50lbs x 18
-55lbs x 16

20 Oblique Hyperextensions w/ 17.5lb D.B.

D.B. Skull Crusher
-15lbs x 20 (per side)
-15lbs x 18
-17.5lbs x 14

20 Oblique Leg Raises (per side)

Barbell Curl:
-30lbs x 20
-30lbs x 18
-40lbs x 12

20 Oblique Leg Raises

Reverse Pectoral Fly:
-30lbs x 20
-35lbs x 16
-40lbs x 12

20 Medicine Ball Twists (per side)

Lateral Raise:
-8lbs x 20
-8lbs x 18
-8lbs x 16

20 Medicine Ball Twists

Tricep Pressdown:
-40lbs x 20
-45lbs x 16
-50lbs x 12

Cardio:
-Running Sprints, 20 min
-Stationary Bike, 15 min

Yup, nothing terribly impressive today. In all honesty, I prolly should have given my shoulder another day or two before resuming upper body training (since the pain isn't completely gone yet), but I literally feel like I'm gonna snap if I don't lift for more than a week. I really can't even begin to articulate just how upsetting this problem is. I refuse to let it stop me from achieving my goals, but it's certainly doing a good job slowing me down.

As for nutrition, still doing the IF approach (though it's definitely not quite as structured on the weekends as it is during the week). I will say that I do prefer early day fasting/late night feeding rather than the other way around, but looks like that's the schedule I'll have to follow for the time being. Granted, I really haven't been doing IF long enough to give an informed enough review yet, but so far, it's been pretty good. I'd been doing the 5-meals-every-3-hours a day thing for so long that I think it may take my body a good week or so to adapt to this new routine; we'll see how it goes!