First time BULKERS apply here ;)

[tahinilove]

Thanks kate! If the gi Tract is so dependent on relaxation then I'm screwed ha!

I'm completely the same with protein. Have to change my mindset to higher carbs.

Having a coffee a day now. Forgot how much I love them!

[kitkatkate]

Thanks kate! If the gi Tract is so dependent on relaxation then I'm screwed ha!

I'm completely the same with protein. Have to change my mindset to higher carbs.

Having a coffee a day now. Forgot how much I love them!

Nah, you aren't screwed. Just take some time to relax when you can. For me, that's in the mornings. If I sit down, eat a good breakfast, slowly drink my coffee and blog/watch tv, then about half an hour later I will go to the bathroom. If I am rushed and having to be somewhere, then I won't go. Simple as that. Your body is in flight/fight mode when you are rushed (sympathetic system = no pooing). Lol

Love coffee. Think I might have to switcht to decaf, though. Getting kinda jittery some days.

[happyplace]

By the way, excess protein totally ruins my digestive system...!

[tahinilove]

Even more reason for me to cut down the protein! Ha.

What are you guys having as your pre bed meal?

[kitkatkate]

By the way, excess protein totally ruins my digestive system...!

I am finding the same! I am going #2 every day since cutting down my protein and increasing my carbs. Loving it!

Even more reason for me to cut down the protein! Ha.

What are you guys having as your pre bed meal?

Well, last night I had a ton more kcals to eat after a long day at work, so I had 1/2 c. light vanilla bean ice cream, 1 cinnamon roll pop tart, 1 homemade butterscotch oatmeal bar, and 2 T. peanut butter. Over 600 calories! But, tonight I am going to be having some yogurt, casein, pb, and a pop tart. lol

It just depends how many more calories I need to consume. Some nights it's just casein mixed with water + pb. Or just carbs if I have hit my protein for the day. Since lowering protein, I've been having carb heavy pre-bed meals. Doesn't bother me and I am not gaining fat from eating at night. that's a HUGE myth. It's all calories in vs. calories out. Plus, the carbs probably help me sleep.

[happyplace]

Even more reason for me to cut down the protein! Ha.

What are you guys having as your pre bed meal?

Can't beat cereal, fruit and yoghurt! I'm hooked on this amazing mix called granuseli which has brown rice flakes, puffed millet, a huge variety of seeds, dried dates and other funky stuff. That, sprinkled on natural yoghurt, and a banana = heaven. If there's froyo in the house, I dice an apple, cover in cinnamon, microwave for 2 mins and then chuck froyo on top.

[tahinilove]

Both of your combos sound delicious! I need to hook myself up with some pre bed carbs. Used to always have oat bran before bed. Might have to start that again!

Kate- i definitely hit my protein in the day so it will be carb carb carb! Ha

Happy place- anything involving a banana sounds good to me. I love them.

[kitkatkate]

Both of your combos sound delicious! I need to hook myself up with some pre bed carbs. Used to always have oat bran before bed. Might have to start that again!

Kate- i definitely hit my protein in the day so it will be carb carb carb! Ha

Happy place- anything involving a banana sounds good to me. I love them.

I'm going to have to have oatmeal before bed sometime soon. sounds good, but I usually crave something cold before bed. Weird, huh? Maybe overnight cold oats, or yogurt with granola + pb.

[locolala]

home made nutella

RECIPE PLS?!?!?!?!?! x

[tahinilove]

Overnight oats sounds delicious! I'm quite into muffins. Or baked oatmeal. So maybe that!

[happyplace]

RECIPE PLS?!?!?!?!?! x

Just cocoa powder, milk of your choice (hazelnut is best for that nutella taste) and sweetener of choice (I just do soft brown sugar, agave is fine but not to my taste in this), just mix em up til the consistency is good. My quantities, bearing in mind I have a not so sweet tooth, are approximately:
2 tbsp cocoa = 25 cals
1 tsp sugar = 15 cals
50ml hazelnut milk = 15 cals
plus dash salt (you need it for sure) and dash vanilla extract

It's seriously freaking healthy, I reckon you could put protein powder in there too, and if you're willing to play about til you get the consistency and sweetness right it's a damn good alternative. High iron content too. I think mine works out as like 15 cals per tbsp so even if it's not quite like the real thing, I don't give a **** bc I get to eat 10 times the amount. And with chocolate, quantity always wins.

[AnnaMaria2004]

Just cocoa powder, milk of your choice (hazelnut is best for that nutella taste) and sweetener of choice (I just do soft brown sugar, agave is fine but not to my taste in this), just mix em up til the consistency is good. My quantities, bearing in mind I have a not so sweet tooth, are approximately:
2 tbsp cocoa = 25 cals
1 tsp sugar = 15 cals
50ml hazelnut milk = 15 cals
plus dash salt (you need it for sure) and dash vanilla extract

It's seriously freaking healthy, I reckon you could put protein powder in there too, and if you're willing to play about til you get the consistency and sweetness right it's a damn good alternative. High iron content too. I think mine works out as like 15 cals per tbsp so even if it's not quite like the real thing, I don't give a **** bc I get to eat 10 times the amount. And with chocolate, quantity always wins.

I <3 YOU!!! doing this tomorrow!!!

Recipe i discovered tonight!!!

1.5 scoops whey (chocolate or vanilla)
2 tsp honey
15g melted coconut butter
1 tsp cocoa

freeze for about 2-3 hours (in ice cube trays)

[locolala]

Just cocoa powder, milk of your choice (hazelnut is best for that nutella taste) and sweetener of choice (I just do soft brown sugar, agave is fine but not to my taste in this), just mix em up til the consistency is good. My quantities, bearing in mind I have a not so sweet tooth, are approximately:
2 tbsp cocoa = 25 cals
1 tsp sugar = 15 cals
50ml hazelnut milk = 15 cals
plus dash salt (you need it for sure) and dash vanilla extract

It's seriously freaking healthy, I reckon you could put protein powder in there too, and if you're willing to play about til you get the consistency and sweetness right it's a damn good alternative. High iron content too. I think mine works out as like 15 cals per tbsp so even if it's not quite like the real thing, I don't give a **** bc I get to eat 10 times the amount. And with chocolate, quantity always wins.

Thanks!!! Since I don't have hazelnut milk,I think I'm gonna add pb instead... dunno how it'll turn out but we'll see!!!!!!! hope it's just as good

[tahinilove]

Yum at all these recipes! Seriously delicious!

What do you do after you've frozen yours annamaria?

[AnnaMaria2004]

Yum at all these recipes! Seriously delicious!

What do you do after you've frozen yours annamaria?

You just pop the out of the ice trays and they are ready

[tahinilove]

You just pop the out of the ice trays and they are ready

Delicious! I really need to start getting more inventive with my recipes. At least I've got 2 more to try now!

[AnnaMaria2004]

Scale continues to go up!! I am really tempted to drop my kcals but I wont. I want to teach my body to gain slowly and eventually maintain at these kcals (if that makes any sense) so that when it is time to cut I wont have to starve myself!

[tahinilove]

Scale continues to go up!! I am really tempted to drop my kcals but I wont. I want to teach my body to gain slowly and eventually maintain at these kcals (if that makes any sense) so that when it is time to cut I wont have to starve myself!

That completely makes sense! I think it's just a case of 'teaching' your metabolism after the extensive cardio. Make sense? I'd stay away from the scale for a while. From my own experience water weight can be a very misleading thing!

[kitkatkate]

Scale continues to go up!! I am really tempted to drop my kcals but I wont. I want to teach my body to gain slowly and eventually maintain at these kcals (if that makes any sense) so that when it is time to cut I wont have to starve myself!

Exactly! So many women cut their calories so low in prep/cutting that they screw their metabolisms over. If you keep a higher calorie count, closer to maintenance or above (if bulking), then your metabolism is revved. Plus, as you acquire more muscle, you burn even more. I am hoping that once I hit the stage a year or so from now that I won't have to go below 1600.

[happyplace]

You might not believe this, but at one point I maintained my weight at 104 lbs eating 800 calories per day. Now I maintain at 108 lbs eating 2300. My exercise is the same, maybe less, these days. It's just that my body adapted to cope with what it was given. I can lose weight on 2000 cals now, whereas before I had to drop to below 500 to see the scale move. Ok I had anorexia, but the basic biological principal is the same.

When I started to recover and refeed, I gained 13 lbs in 3 weeks. 2-3 lbs was fat, the rest was water, muscle and glycogen stores. Bodies are funny as **** aren't they? I actually dropped a dress size while gaining those 13 lbs. But I am sooooo glad I gained that weight, because going through that process of metabolic repair meant that since then I can literally eat whatever I want and I can't gain (ok, I probably can on 2700 cals, but whenever I up my intake my body adapts, so it's damn difficult).

Hope that is a bit reassuring.


Edited to add: once I hit 115, I plan to cut on 2200 cals/day. And that is awesome.

[AnnaMaria2004]

You might not believe this, but at one point I maintained my weight at 104 lbs eating 800 calories per day. Now I maintain at 108 lbs eating 2300. My exercise is the same, maybe less, these days. It's just that my body adapted to cope with what it was given. I can lose weight on 2000 cals now, whereas before I had to drop to below 500 to see the scale move. Ok I had anorexia, but the basic biological principal is the same.

When I started to recover and refeed, I gained 13 lbs in 3 weeks. 2-3 lbs was fat, the rest was water, muscle and glycogen stores. Bodies are funny as **** aren't they? I actually dropped a dress size while gaining those 13 lbs. But I am sooooo glad I gained that weight, because going through that process of metabolic repair meant that since then I can literally eat whatever I want and I can't gain (ok, I probably can on 2700 cals, but whenever I up my intake my body adapts, so it's damn difficult).

Hope that is a bit reassuring.


Edited to add: once I hit 115, I plan to cut on 2200 cals/day. And that is awesome.

I know! our bodies are craazy! 3 years ago I was also maintaining my weight on 700-800 kcals! I only started eating more than 1000 kcals 2 years ago, I slowly increase kcal by myself from 800-1300 which took about 8 months. I then started working with EL and was doing a slow bulk at 1600-1700 kcals. After I stopped working with EL i was maintaining at 1600. And then I joined the lovely team Bombshell just to screw my metabolism all over again. I was eating more, 1800 and even 2000 at a point but was doing a LOT of cardio.

[kitkatkate]

You might not believe this, but at one point I maintained my weight at 104 lbs eating 800 calories per day. Now I maintain at 108 lbs eating 2300. My exercise is the same, maybe less, these days. It's just that my body adapted to cope with what it was given. I can lose weight on 2000 cals now, whereas before I had to drop to below 500 to see the scale move. Ok I had anorexia, but the basic biological principal is the same.

When I started to recover and refeed, I gained 13 lbs in 3 weeks. 2-3 lbs was fat, the rest was water, muscle and glycogen stores. Bodies are funny as **** aren't they? I actually dropped a dress size while gaining those 13 lbs. But I am sooooo glad I gained that weight, because going through that process of metabolic repair meant that since then I can literally eat whatever I want and I can't gain (ok, I probably can on 2700 cals, but whenever I up my intake my body adapts, so it's damn difficult).

Hope that is a bit reassuring.


Edited to add: once I hit 115, I plan to cut on 2200 cals/day. And that is awesome.

Damn! I hope I can cut at 2200 one day! Currently, I am bulking at 2300...but I am burning way more than that about half of the week and the other half I am burning right around 2300. So, hopefully increasing cals soon!

[AnnaMaria2004]

Damn! I hope I can cut at 2200 one day! Currently, I am bulking at 2300...but I am burning way more than that about half of the week and the other half I am burning right around 2300. So, hopefully increasing cals soon!

wow imagine cutting at 2200!!

is that according to your bodymedia? Are you gaining right now?

On a different note, i think that i have a food intolerance, just not sure to what (I already know I am lactose intolerant). In the past few weeks I have added greek yogurt back to my diet and increased my whey pp from 1 to 2 scoops a day and I have also increased my bread intake. I had issues before, when i joined Bombshell their diet had no dairy, or bread and one scoop whey/day max and I was feeling better.

I will eliminate gluten this week to see if that is what is causing me trouble. If that doesnt work I will then eliminate greek yogurt. I really hope it is gluten i looveee greek yogurt.

[freebirdmac]

wow imagine cutting at 2200!!

is that according to your bodymedia? Are you gaining right now?

On a different note, i think that i have a food intolerance, just not sure to what (I already know I am lactose intolerant). In the past few weeks I have added greek yogurt back to my diet and increased my whey pp from 1 to 2 scoops a day and I have also increased my bread intake. I had issues before, when i joined Bombshell their diet had no dairy, or bread and one scoop whey/day max and I was feeling better.

I will eliminate gluten this week to see if that is what is causing me trouble. If that doesnt work I will then eliminate greek yogurt. I really hope it is gluten i looveee greek yogurt.

If you're lactose intolerant the yogurt and whey can cause issues. A lot of people who think they're lactose intolerant are really intolerant to all forms of milk protein.

[tahinilove]

Annamaria I also have dairy issues and love Greek yogurt! Managed to kick my milk protein and cottage cheese obsession but still need to get rid of the Greek yogurt. I find I'm okay with goat dairy though? Apparently it's something to do with the fat molecules being larger hence digesting differently? As soon as I have Greek yogurt I bloat like crazy and my stomach is never pleased! So not fair!

Hope for your sake it's gluten not dairy!

[AnnaMaria2004]

Annamaria I also have dairy issues and love Greek yogurt! Managed to kick my milk protein and cottage cheese obsession but still need to get rid of the Greek yogurt. I find I'm okay with goat dairy though? Apparently it's something to do with the fat molecules being larger hence digesting differently? As soon as I have Greek yogurt I bloat like crazy and my stomach is never pleased! So not fair!

Hope for your sake it's gluten not dairy!

I think it is more likely to be dairy because I have been eating bread my entire life. I ll try keeping whey to 1 scoop/ day, avoid yogurt for a few days and keep a food diary to see what is causing the bloat.

[happyplace]

I was getting severe reactions to cows milk, and later all dairy products, which started at age 16. After researching, I discovered that dairy allergies which come on later in life are often caused by undiagnosed gluten allergy. Since I gave up gluten, my intestine has healed to the extent that I can have dairy again! it used to make my throat close up, I would have veeeeery severe digestive problems, blocked sinuses, it was gross. I think the undiagnosed gluten issue was a big cause of my ED because food made me so sick and bloated that I felt like it hated me.

[AnnaMaria2004]

I was getting severe reactions to cows milk, and later all dairy products, which started at age 16. After researching, I discovered that dairy allergies which come on later in life are often caused by undiagnosed gluten allergy. Since I gave up gluten, my intestine has healed to the extent that I can have dairy again! it used to make my throat close up, I would have veeeeery severe digestive problems, blocked sinuses, it was gross. I think the undiagnosed gluten issue was a big cause of my ED because food made me so sick and bloated that I felt like it hated me.

Oh wow!! that is very interesting!!!

Do you know if there are test for gluten intolerance or milk intolerance? Or do I have to do an elimination diet to find out?

[happyplace]

Oh wow!! that is very interesting!!!

Do you know if there are test for gluten intolerance or milk intolerance? Or do I have to do an elimination diet to find out?

You can't test for an intolerance, only an allergy. It's not worth the expense - just do elimination.

[tahinilove]

Happyplace! That's so interesting! Our bodies can also stop producing certain digestive enzymes after a while if they aren't found necessary. I think this is where my dairy intolerance comes from as I was vegan for 4 years.