Postpartum Journal: Back at it

[okayest]

Well I'm 7 weeks out from delivering a precious little baby and have been all cleared to return to an active life. Before pregnancy I had gone from 176 to 128 and now am at a very weak 135 pounds. I was able to continue working out until 7.5 months but the intensity of my workouts slowly went down and then ceased completely for 3 months now. Time to get back in shape and keep pushing forward to my goals.

Goals are

1) To get down to 110 pounds
2) Increase strength
3) Increase muscular endurance


Plan is

1) 2 days of circuit training, 30 minutes (3 x 2 circuits of 4 exercises) until my stamina comes back and then 1 hour (3 x 4 circuits of 4 exercises)
2) 2 days of slightly modified Dan John's Minimalist Training (because I'm not a powerlifter and want to improve different lifts)
3) A diet of foods that are extremely nutritious, extremely fast and kind of cheap, some stuff thrown in for fun
4) Calorie cycling with a moving weekly average as a target, not for any purpose other than I find it really easy to stick to and it fits my lifestyle really well (allows me to eat out with friends whenever).


Monday this week was my first workout. It was a 30 minute, high rep circuit workout that I could do in my living room with dumbbells I moved in from the gym. It was a good first workout because it made me just slightly sore for the next two days. I made it up on the spot and it was fine.

Circuit 1- 3x
Skier swings (20)
DB RDL/Squat combo (15 each)
Hammer curl/Upright row combo (20 each)
Engaged OHP (20 each)

Circuit 2- 3x
Mini band wide squat (20)
DB row (20)
Mini band donkey kicks (20 each)
DB floor presses (20)


Today, Wednesday, was my second workout. It was a very modified light version of Dan John's Minimalist Training. I did it in my living room again. Soon I'll be back in the gym.

3x10 light to heavy
>Hip Thrusts
>OHP

2x10+1xAMRAP
>Upright rows
>DB row
>DB floor press


Today's meals, it was a very low calorie and very low fat day.

Breakfast
>10 oz frozen riced cauliflower
>2 part-skim string cheese sticks

Snack
>scoop chocolate whey in coffee

Lunch
>half a pound frozen broc****
>half a pound egg whites

Dinner
>half a pound frozen green beans
>full recipe of ff sf instant pudding


Right now my weekly calorie average is 1368.
103g protein, 48g fat, 121g net carbs

When I mentioned wanting extremely fast and nutritious food, nuking frozen vegetables fits the requirements. Fun fact: microwave steaming retains more nutrients than any other cooking method.

A strange thing that happened early in pregnancy and again postpartum is that I've found myself to be not a fan of meat. I used to be able to eat a pound of beef or chicken in one sitting happily but these days that sounds so unappetizing. I've been eating canned salmon a few days a week but protein has mostly been dairy and eggs. Even when I went out to my favorite fried chicken restaurant the thing that sounded best was trout salad! Weird because I've tried almost everything on the menu and never gave that salad a second glance. Actually before I would turn my nose up at it even being on the menu.

[GirthRogers]

Congrats on the kid, good luck on your progress. I'll be reading along!

[okayest]

Thank you!

Today was uneventful. No activity other than my daily stretching. Diet was another day of very low calorie and very low fat. Tomorrow is my birthday so I’m going a bit hard so I can enjoy my cake and my weight loss. And I plan on having a lot of cake. I made a strawberry cake this evening and I truly might have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner tomorrow. We’ll see!

Breakfast
>10 oz shredded cabbage fried and steamed
>8g olive oil
>half a pound egg whites

Snack
>scoop of whey on coffee

Lunch
>half a pound frozen green beans
>two part-skim string cheese sticks

Dinner
>5 oz edamame in shell with sriracha
>banana

Weekly average is 1330 calories.

[Imp81318]

Congrats on welcoming a new life into this world! When my wife was pregnant with our son the mere thought of any kind of red sauce, especially lasagna, turned her stomach and made her nauseous. It took a while, but eventually she regained her taste for it and is now back to loving it again. Good luck on finding new and appetizing ways to meet your macro goals!

[okayest]

It definitely will come back. Hopefully around bbq season!


Today was my birthday and it was a great one. The highlight was a 90 minute deep tissue massage. Oh it felt so good and was so wanted.

I did Dan John's Minimalist Training again but this time I was able to get back into the garage. Did day 1 (kind of) again. Weights were not on target at all because it's been so long since I've lifted heavy, especially for deadlifts because they were one of the first things I couldn't stand to do during pregnancy. Set and rep schemes also weren't totally right because I was trying to keep it simple. And I was groggy around workout time so thinking too much wasn't happening.

These two lifts were suppose to be 50%10RM...70-75%10RM...100%10RMxAMRAP but I winged it and the first deadlift try felt too heavy to be 50%
DL- 65#x10 / 65#x5 / 85#x15
BtN OHP- 25#x10 / 30#x5 / 35#x13

Today these lifts followed the same scheme as above but normally the first two lifts will be a different scheme.
Negative pullups- quick "5 sec" / quick "7 sec" / quick "6 sec" (lol I was dropping fast)
BP- 35#x10 / 45#x5 / 50#x10 (this was AMRAP)
Upright row- 10#DBsx10 / 20#DBsx5 (maxed) / 25#platex20 (the DBs I needed are in my living room currently)


It was a mess and I've lost quite a bit of strength but in a few months it will be looking good. I'm about to crack open the book Overcoming Gravity and look at their recommended negative pullup scheme. [...] Okay, it recommends starting with 2-3 sets of 2-3 reps of 3 seconds with 3 minutes rest. Then moving up 1 second at a time. Good to know. I'll try that next time. I really want to do pullups. Losing another 25 pounds will help big time but I gotta start building up the strength now.
The book also says to start shaving 20 seconds off rest time once you hit 8 second negatives. And that by the time you can do 2-3 sets or 2-3 reps of 8 seconds with no rest between reps you should be able to do one full pullup.


As mentioned I planned lots of cake all day today. I did not disappoint. For the first time in my life the slices of cake were the actual recommended portion size

Breakfast
>10 oz frozen riced cauliflower
>2 part-skim string cheese sticks
>1 slice of strawberry cake

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Snack (because I didn't have time for lunch)
>third a pound of carrots

Dinner
>half a pound of broc****
>half a pound of egg whites
>2 slices of strawberry cake

Quite the increase to my weekly average! 1550 calories. Going to have a few more povo days till I get the average back to the low 1300s.

[GirthRogers]

Happy birthday.

Do you put a full scoop of whey protein directly into your coffee? Do you blend it, how does that work? Details please so I can try it. :P

[okayest]

Thank you!

I drink my coffee lukewarm so putting whey directly into it works. I think you have to mix whey with just enough water to get it fully wet before adding it to hot coffee so it doesn’t clump.

Oh yeah, I also drink 2 cups at a time (1 keurig cup ran twice actually) so 1 scoop is a good amount for that. I’m not sure how much would taste good in a single cup.

You can also blend it with ice for a frappe.

[GirthRogers]

Thank you!

I drink my coffee lukewarm so putting whey directly into it works. I think you have to mix whey with just enough water to get it fully wet before adding it to hot coffee so it doesn’t clump.

Oh yeah, I also drink 2 cups at a time (1 keurig cup ran twice actually) so 1 scoop is a good amount for that. I’m not sure how much would taste good in a single cup.

You can also blend it with ice for a frappe.

I'll start experimenting today! I'll let you know what I come up with, lol.

Thanks for giving me a new way to play with whey! :-P

[okayest]

No problem. Good luck.


I was going to do a 30 minute circuit workout today but a few things made me switch to 30 minutes of biking. I'm sore, partly because of yesterday's lifting, but also partly because of the deep tissue massage. Then by the time I got time to workout I was too tired to put thought into it and be coordinated. I did 7.5 miles in half an hour. Good job me.

I didn't go totally poverty intake today. So my running average is only down to 1530.

Breakfast
>half a pound green beans
>can pink salmon with
>10g mayo
>mustard and dill relish

Snack
>scoop of whey in coffee

Lunch
>half a pound of broc****
>2 part-skim string cheese sticks
>2 bananas with
>24g almond butter

Dinner
>half a pound of carrots
>pint of caramel Halo top

If I didn't eat the bananas and almond butter I would have been on target but the bananas were turning and I've been wanting nut butter for days. Tomorrow a day of maintenance from 7 days ago disappears which should help my average go down a little.

[okayest]

Didn't get around to updating yesterday.

Did circuit training again. The second circuit was actually a cardio killer. I absolutely hate losing my cardio endurance more than strength. At least when I'm building back strength it's just an ego hit getting DOMS while struggling with light weight. But with cardio it's legitimately feeling like I'm so out of shape I'm going to drop to the floor unconscious and die while doing simple aerobics. Good thing is that I find CV endurance the quickest fitness to build up, so it won't be too many more sessions until I feel fantastic again.

Circuit 1- 3x
>Squat & Press (10#DBs x 12)
>RDL & Row (12#DBs x 15)
>Lateral Raise (5#DBs x 20)
>Bent over Raise (3#DBs x 15)

Circuit 2- 3x
>Alternating lunge jump (15 each side)
>DL & upright row (10#dbs x 20)
>Hip trust (15#dbs x 20)
>Incline close grip pushups (10)


Speaking of DOMS I have it. Mostly from the heavy session on Friday but some of those circuits exacerbated it.

Diet yesterday was great but my app has moved on from the weekly average for yesterday so I don't know it anymore.

Breakfast
>10 oz cabbage fried and steamed in
>10g olive oil
>half a pound egg whites

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>12 oz frozen asparagus
>half a pound 0% vanilla greek yogurt
>20g chocolate chips

Dinner
>1 pound frozen edamame in shell with sriracha
>package sugar free jell-o


I was able to remember to weigh myself this morning (I used to do it every morning but the baby has changed my habits a ton). It's looking static. It's okay for now because of several things.
>The biggest is that I have no idea what my hormone profile is right now. Postpartum and while trying to breastfeed I had very little estrogen and since I stopped trying to breastfeed I've seen and experienced my estrogen levels rising again but I'm still not at the point where I'm having my cycle. It's extremely likely that I'm holding onto up to pounds of water. So until I get back to normal functioning I'm going to have to accept that strange things are happening in my body.
>Second is with start weights again I could be retaining a bit of water. Especially with DOMS.
>The last thing which shouldn't matter so much but will a little eventually is that I have no idea what my TDEE is. My daily activity (NEAT) has completely changed. I don't get up and walk around or go run errands or go do social visits. I mostly sit on the couch either tending to the baby or resting from not enough sleep. When the weather rarely is nice we've been taking the baby on strolls. I'm probably not in the deficit that I think I am. That wouldn't lead to no weight loss but it will mean that I'm not going to see what I would normally see with my intake. So I'm going to keep this in mind instead of getting frustrated. But life has slowly been getting more predictable and sleep is getting much better so I'll be able to find the time and energy to live normally soon.

[okayest]

Great day today.

Biked for half an hour again and got 8 miles in this time. So it was faster but it felt easier. Getting back in shape.

I went bananas today. My husband bought me a huge bunch and I'm trying to eat them up before they go bad. Still have 3 left.

Breakfast
>1 scoop of whey in morning coffee
>10 oz frozen riced cauliflower
>1 banana

Snack
>1 scoop of whey in coffee

Lunch
>1 pound frozen broc****
>half a pound egg whites
>banana

Dinner
>half a pound frozen green beans
>half a pound 0% vanilla greek yogurt
>20g chocolate chips
>2 bananas with
>25g almond butter

Weekly average is down to 1460.

[StayOffMuhSht]

Thank you!

I drink my coffee lukewarm so putting whey directly into it works. I think you have to mix whey with just enough water to get it fully wet before adding it to hot coffee so it doesn’t clump.

Oh yeah, I also drink 2 cups at a time (1 keurig cup ran twice actually) so 1 scoop is a good amount for that. I’m not sure how much would taste good in a single cup.

You can also blend it with ice for a frappe.

I always had trouble with the clumping. Def will try adding some water to the Whey first. Awesome idea!

[StayOffMuhSht]

>25g almond butter

Weekly average is down to 1460.

Do you think health benefits in almond butter as opposed to the good ol fashioned PB? I like to include 1 Tablespoon a couple times daily and may venture into different types of nuts. no pun intended haha!

[okayest]

I have peanut butter, almond butter and sunflower seed butter on hand because I like them all and use them for different things. Peanut butter I like for pb&js and peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls, sometimes in oat bran. As far as health benefits, almond and sunflower seed have good amounts of vitamin E and I’m usually low in that, so it’s a good boost there to choose those two over peanut.

[okayest]

Early morning, early workout, early end of the day. It's 5:30 and I'm ready for pajamas, stretching, reading and sleep.

Did Day 2 of Minimalist Training. My squat form is A-W-F-U-L! Pregnancy really did a number on my low back alignment. I was going to work up from easy to harder in 5 sets but I got there in 3

Back squat 25#x10 / 30#x10 / 35#x10
Bench 35#x10 / 45#x10 / 55#x6
Single leg curl 7.5#x10 / 10#x5 / 15#x10
RDL 45#x10 x 3 (slow and controlled because, again, low back form)
Hip Thrust 65#x20 (much too light)


Breakfast
>10 oz cabbage fried and steamed in
>7g olive oil
>half a pound egg whites

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>10 oz frozen riced cauliflower
>2 part-skim string cheese sticks
>3 bananas with
>36g sunflower seed butter

Hallelujah the bananas have all been eaten! I tried today to bake an eggplant my husband bought for himself and then let sit there but I didn't get it in time. It kills me a little to have good food go bad. Weekly average is down to 1410. In a couple of days the bday of cake will disappear and bring my average down big time.

[okayest]

Nothing today. Even my walk was really short. I'm tired from not enough sleep. Even though I went to bed early, I couldn't fall asleep for over an hour because of tension and restlessness in my body.

I was also so hungry while trying to fall asleep. Not like "mmm something sweet and fatty sounds good" but like "mmm if I weren't so tired I'd go downstairs and make a pound of green beans" kind of hunger. I'm due for a high calorie day soon if that's the kind of hunger I have. But I don't want to take it until a week or more after my birthday because I don't want to see a couple of days of zero deficit.

Breakfast
>the pound of frozen green beans I was craving the night before
>2 part-skim string cheese sticks

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>100g oat bran
>127g leftover strawberries from birthday cake recipe

Dinner
>half a pound frozen chopped broc****
>can pink salmon with
>11g mayo
>mustard, dill relish and fresh dill from my new plants!
>1 package sf jell-o

Snack 2
>10 oz frozen riced cauliflower with more fresh dill

I'm only eating the cauliflower because I feel to the point that I was at yesterday evening and rather would not be thinking about eating like last night again.

I started my aerogarden again because I enjoyed it so much last year before replanting what I could outside. I used the seed kit that came with it last time. Dill, cilantro, parsley, thai basil, basil and mint. My favorites were the dill (lots of slavic food) and mint (lots of vietnamese food) so I'm growing three of each from my own seeds this time. I did love the Thai basil but only for Thai basil chicken stir fry and I don't eat it enough to grow it. It grew big and fast too. Maybe I'll put some outside in the garden along with another sweet basil.

Weekly average is 1430 calories. 101g protein, 152g net carbs, 42g fat.

[okayest]

I had a fantastic day today! Was really pleased with my workout, my meals, my energy level and my mood.

I did decide to go high calorie today. It brought my average up to 1550 calories but tomorrow it will drop back to around 1400.

Breakfast
>full bag (1.5 pounds) Ore-Ida steam and mash with (it's basically just potatoes that microwave in 10 minutes in the bag)
>2/3 cup water and 1 tsp chicken boullion
>70g ketchup

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>half a pound whole wheat pasta

Dinner
>quarter pound Met-rx buttermilk pancake mix (with 170g water)
>2 cups skim milk with
>1 box fat free sugar free instant pudding

Potatoes, pasta, pancakes, pudding. I had also wanted pesto and peas but couldn't bother. Very strange craving nothing but p's.

All of the carbs left me feeling super energized. I had an optimistic workout and then felt like getting on the bike and going for 45 minutes and doing 11 miles.

Minimalist Training Day 1.2

>DL 65#x10 / 85#x7(forgot it was suppose to be 5) / 95#x10 / 105#x8 (AMRAP)
>Behind Neck Press 25#x10 / 35#x5 / 40#x10 / 45#x8 or 9 (AMRAP)
>Negative Pullups 4 seconds / [3.5, 3, 1.5 seconds] / [1, 2 seconds] (these were real, honest, full seconds)
>Bench Press 30#x10 / 40#x5 / 45#x13 (AMRAP)
>BB Upright Row 20#x10 / 30#x5 / 40#x10 (AMRAP)

I was really happy to see what my numbers are. It isn't too shabby for 3 workouts back. I told my husband that I don't even feel like someone who had abdominal surgery 2 months ago and felt like a 90 year old. Going by the strength standards on exrx and their one rep max calculator I'm at novice level. Except my squat. My squat isn't even at the untrained level. :'( My form is just so terrible. I am going to try a lot of low weight squatting as often as possible to try to improve form.



Oh god, now for some ranting. I came across this former competitor on instagram last night and she left me appalled. The woman must have Munchausen or something. Insisting her GI tract, her hormones, her lymphatic system, her thyroid, everything is abnormal despite getting tests done, the results coming back in the normal range and not actually being diagnosed with anything. She also is into snake oil and it's infuriating that kind of mental sickness has a platform to spread.

I started and quickly stopped following another former competitor who also made it obvious to anyone with experience and who can add up that she's bulimic. She constantly tells her followers that she gave up strict dieting and eats these massive fatty meals regularly and just magically stays a bit less lean than competition lean. That doesn't happen for nearly anyone no matter how genetically blessed, let alone former fatties like she is, unless they're disposing of the extra thousands of calories through restriction, compulsive exercise or purging.

It's sad that people don't get help and instead simply present themselves as something that they are not. A healthy person telling everyone they're ill and proving they can self-treat. A sick person telling everyone they are totally okay and everyone should be as happy and healthy as they are. It's horrible. Not to mention all the brazilian butt lift, lipo, photoshop people too. I feel bad for all the people getting conned by these phonies.

[okayest]

Today was a pretty good day. I was low energy and didn't want to do my workout but I did anyway. Another circuit day.

Circuit 1- 3x
>DB squat 12#DBsx5
>One arm snatch 15#x12each
>One leg RDL 15#x15each
>Bent over row 15#DBsx20

Circuit 2- 3x
>Skier swings 15#DBsx25
>Reverse lunges bwx15each (I did bw to focus on keeping my abs and hips in proper form)
>Curl and Arnold Press combo 10#DBsx15
>Bent over Fly 5#DBsx15

It was not a cardio pumping circuit. Honestly all I wanted to do was complete a workout so I pushed but not 100%.

The squat is part of this high frequency (daily) low intensity squatting program https://www.t-nation.com/training/hi...ency-squatting. I know to get a technical skill better it takes doing it a lot so hopefully this helps. It sure can't hurt.


Diet returned to normal

Breakfast
>10oz bag shredded cabbage fried and steamed in
>7g olive oil
>half a pound egg whites

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>10oz bag frozen riced cauliflower with fresh dill
>2 part-skim cheese sticks
>16g almond butter on a spoon

Dinner
>pound of frozen broc****
>half a pound 0% vanilla greek yogurt with
>20g chocolate chips

Weekly average has dropped back to the target area at 1360. I know it doesn't look like it but I am trying to up my fats. Hence the random spoonful of almond butter. I'm at the lowest Lyle recommends. Next high day will be more fats too. Eggs, red salmon, avocado, pesto, more mayo, more nut butters. And now I'm thinking I need to remember to add whole eggs into normal days too.

[okayest]

No exercise today. It would have been biking if I had decided to do something but I started a major household project I've been trying to get to for months instead.

Was hungry last evening. Am hungry again this evening. Last night I ended up eating half a pound of carrots as a snack, doing the same tonight.

Breakfast
>half a pound of broc****
>can pink salmon with
>10g mayo
>mustard and fresh dill
>1/2 pack jell-o

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>10oz cabbage fried and steamed in
>7g olive oil
>half a pound egg whites
>1/2 pack jell-o

Dinner
>80g oat bran with 450g water
>cinnamon and truvia
>20g almond butter on a spoon

Snack
>half a pound of carrots
>2 part-skim cheese sticks

I could have eaten 3x as much of dinner. Which sounds about right because that would have taken me up to maintenance.

Weekly average is 1340 calories. Fats today were better. At least above absolute minimum but still really low.

Edited to add string cheese to late night snack. Only brought average up to 1360. I’m getting so hungry that I’m super moody and have to tell my husband to ignore me at night and let me be hungry and tired and that I’ll be better in the morning. It’s true too, I woke up in a great mood. Hunger, stress of major life change with the baby, still not quite enough sleep, shifting hormones. It’s a lot to have going on.

[GirthRogers]

I started a major household project I've been trying to get to for months

I'll happily buy you some protein bars if you come start some of my major household projects for me too!

Seriously though, your diet is staying on point. That's what's important!

[Fiction2Fitness]

ooo found the fat loss journals. Count me in as need food ideas on these measly 1500 calorie daily goals. I've also been wanting carrots lately and now, definitely will have to buy some at the store today.

Do you find having a journal over here helps with the focus on your fat loss goals? Just curious as I stick mostly to the female forum but maybe could branch out more.

[okayest]

I'll happily buy you some protein bars if you come start some of my major household projects for me too!

Seriously though, your diet is staying on point. That's what's important!

But my diet will not stay on point with yummy protein bars in my cupboard.

ooo found the fat loss journals. Count me in as need food ideas on these measly 1500 calorie daily goals. I've also been wanting carrots lately and now, definitely will have to buy some at the store today.

Do you find having a journal over here helps with the focus on your fat loss goals? Just curious as I stick mostly to the female forum but maybe could branch out more.

I guess I use the forums literally. Pregnant -> women specific -> journal in women's forum. Fat loss time -> journal in fat loss section.

I don't think you'll find too many good ideas for meals. Lazy and nutritious but not tasty.


Minimalist Training Day 2.2
>Back squat (first set counts towards HFS) 25#x10 / 30#x10 / 35#x10 / 37.5#x10 / 45#x12(AMRAP)
>Bench 35#x10 / 45#x10 / 50#x10 / 52.5#x7(AMRAP)
>Hip Thrust 65#x10 / 115#x5 / 145#x10 (very hard to get 10, meant to do 135# but miscounted)
>Single leg curl 7.5#x20 / 8.75#x20
>RDL 45#x10 / 55#x10 / 55#x10

Squat, bench and RDL don't feel heavy at all. Form just feels so weak. I did video my third set of squats which was last week's high set and I actually look excellent even though I feel not good enough. That gave me confidence for my last two sets today. I went up 10# and 2 reps so hopefully more practice and more confidence will get it back to where it can be.
Next time I'm going to film the RDL and maybe see that my form is also better than it feels.

I bought two 1.25# plates last week so now I can go up in smaller increments which is already helping since my numbers are so small and increments need to be too.


I haven't finished eating but I am full. I'm definitely eating my last meal though because, chocolate! I added more fats, a little more calories and more vegetables. I had been eating very little before adding back in exercise last week and raising calories a smidge seems to be what I need. I might also have 2 lower high calorie days this week instead of one very high calorie day.

Breakfast
>pound frozen green beans
>3 slices extra-lean turkey bacon
>30g almond butter (huge spoonful)

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>10 oz bag frozen riced cauliflower
>10 bag cabbage fried and steamed in
>5g olive oil
>quarter pound egg whites
>jumbo egg

Dinner
>half pound frozen chopped broc****
>half pound 0% vanilla greek yogurt
>20g chocolate chips

Weekly average is now 1384. 111g protein, 149g net carbs and only 34g of fat. See that scary low fat intake is what is motivating me to raise it ASAP. It can't be good for my already off hormones or for my hunger.

I've been listening to a lot of podcasts recently. Mostly 3D Muscle Journey, but today I listened to Lyle Mcdonald on N1 Fitness doing his Women's Book promotion. I love what he has to say and how he says it. I would recommend a listen for any woman. Or part 2 for anyone, man or woman, who thinks the have metabolic issues standing in their way. I recommend the book for every woman too. It's incredible.

Anyway one of the highlights of part 2 was a study where they took a group of women who reported that they couldn't lose weight while dieting. The study ended up keeping the participants in hotel rooms with no access to food other than what they were given. Every single person lost weight once they were in a true deficit. It reminded me too much of the Losing Fat section's normal daily posts.

[okayest]

Good day. Long day. I woke up too early with the baby but I powered through and got everything done.

I did circuits for cardio and HFS today.

Circuit 1- 3x
>Squat 15#DBsx10
>RDL &Row 15#DBsx20
>Lateral Raise 8#DBsx15
>Bent over raise 3#DBsx20

Circuit 2-3x
>lunge jump 15 each side
>DL and upright row 12#DBsx12
>mini band seated abductions black band x20
>Engaged OHP 10#DBsx15


Breakfast
>1 pound frozen edamame in shell with sriracha

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>1 pound frozen chopped broc****
>quarter pound sea bass

Dinner
>10 oz frozen riced cauliflower
>6 slices genesis bread
>42g sunflower seed butter
>46g jelly

Today was a little below maintenance. In 3-4 days I'll aim for another day around the same amount. Weekly average is up to 1430 because last week's 1 high day is still in the mix.


I listened to another N1 Fitness podcast with Stephen Guyenet. He's a neurologist who wrote a book on what goes on in the brain to cause overeating. A lot of the stuff I knew a tiny bit about but the detail he went into was intriguing so I ended up buying the book. I feel totally supported in my boring approach towards food after listening to it all. It's worth a listen.

[Fiction2Fitness]

I guess I use the forums literally. Pregnant -> women specific -> journal in women's forum. Fat loss time -> journal in fat loss section.

I don't think you'll find too many good ideas for meals. Lazy and nutritious but not tasty.

Makes sense. Sometimes even the simple and lazy can be reminders. Just seeing all of the posts that mention carrots has made me want to get a bag to cook next time I go to the store. Never though of having a bag of veggies with sriracha either so now I know we need to get sriracha for the apartment as we are lacking.

[okayest]

Sriracha makes everything great. I also salt all the veggies to the heavens and that makes them so much better. I just noticed your numbers, amazing! Great job.

I had a really great workout today. My math wasn't great and I ended up doing too many sets of deadlifts. I also think I've found my mental cue I was lacking for squats. I had been keeping my shins too vertical and need to imagine driving my knees forward. Huge difference. My stance narrowed went from being semi-sumo to what it used to be, my hips felt more powerful and well positioned, and my lower and upper back didn't feel like they were taking the load. Good. Getting form back is the hard part, getting strength back will be easy once form is 100%.

HFS squatting 35#x5x4
DL 65x2 / 80x2 / 90x2 / 115x2 / 125x2 / 135x2 (I meant to do 5 sets of 2)
Behind neck press 30x10 / 40x5 / 45x10 (goal and AMRAP)
Negative Pullups 3.5,3,3 seconds / 3,3,2.5 seconds / 3,2,2.5 seconds ("big" improvement!)
BP 35x10 / 45x5 / 50x10 (goal and AMRAP)
Upright row 20x10 / 30x5 / 40x14 (AMRAP)

My bench form still sucked but was a teeny tiny bit better I guess.

Food was food.

Breakfast
>pound of frozen french cut green beans
>3 slices extra lean turkey bacon
>20g spoonful almond butter

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>pound frozen chopped broc****
>quarter pound sea bass

Dinner
>150g oat bran in 720g water
>cinnamon and 20g truvia

1425 weekly average.

Leaving a reminder here that I have trout that needs to be cooked tomorrow! Speaking of which. When I was at the fish counter yesterday and the guy was weighing out the half pound portions I was shocked. I always though white fish was one of those things that had big portions but I was wrong. Sad, little normal portions.

[okayest]

Very tired. Did lots today but still got in my planned workout this evening. 30 minutes on the bike. 7.5 miles. And 35#x5x4 HFS. Form wasn't great except for the last set.

Breakfast
>10oz bag frozen riced cauliflower
>2 part-skim string cheese

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch (Over 5 cups of food!!! And I still could have eaten more. I think fat in this meal would have made me feel satiated.)
>pound frozen chopped broc****
>pound skim milk with
>package of sugar-free instant pudding

Dinner
>pound frozen french cut green beans
>quarter pound rainbow trout
>20g sunflower seed butter

Snack
>package sugar-free jello

Average is 1450.

Fat today was way too low. Cals were high for a low day so I didn't want to add extra. The calories came from extra protein and carbs. Probably the pudding.

[okayest]

I forgot to mention last night that I have suddenly been having cravings, mostly chocolate. I really hope that’s a sign that my period is about to start and my hormones will be back to a normal cycle.

[okayest]

Today was rough. My husband left at 3am for a 6 day business trip. It was me and the little guy all day and it was one of the most consuming days yet. Every time I put him down when he was sleeping he woke up. So imagine a 2 month old with very little sleep. Fussy and demanding nearly nonstop. I didn’t get my workout in and that was disappointing. I’ve been looking forward to working on my squat since the last day I did. Hopefully tomorrow goes smoother and I can find the time for myself.

I have been having cravings all day today. Specifically for some sort of chocolate thumbprint ganache cookie that I guess I’ve had but can’t place. The book I’m reading talks about how the brain stores away everything tasty you’ve ever eaten for future reference indefinitely. That’s nuts! It’s a very interesting book and I would love to be in a book club to talk about this one. Any takers who want to read it too? The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting the Instincta that make us Overeat

Anyway. Even though I’m having cravings galore I ignored it all.

Breakfast
>14oz cabbage fried and steamed in
>7g olive oil
>half pound egg whites

Snack
>1 scoop whey in coffee

Lunch
>pound frozen french cut green beans
>3 slices extra lean turkey bacon
>20g sliced almonds

Dinner
>10oz baby carrots
>2 part-skim cheese sticks
>20g sunflower seed butter

I was wiped by dinnertime and couldn’t bother to even microwave a bag of veggies.

Weekly average dropped to 1300 with the very high day from last week gone. Tomorrow is a relatively high day. I’m not going to use it to indulge in anything I’ve been craving. I don’t see that ending well if it is PMS that I’m experiencing. I might do another very high carb day or I might do a normal day with an extra thrown in like last time. I didn’t plan well while shopping in order to have a satisfying fatty day.

[okayest]

I'm prepared that I won't be able to get into the garage for a heavy workout until Wednesday when my husband gets back. I did HFS sets today with 30# using dumbbells in the living room. I couldn't do 4 sets without getting interrupted twice. So I wasn't even going to attempt circuit training or biking. I did get in a long walk with the baby. At least it was some activity.

I did decide on the high carb, high calorie day and didn't like my food choices as much as last time.

Breakfast
>tub of 0% vanilla Greek yogurt (907g)

Lunch
>2 large baked sweet potatoes (856g)

Dinner
>half a pound whole wheat pasta

Weekly average is 1440.

I like the pasta, I had that last time. But I found the steamed white potatoes from last time so much more filling than the sweet potatoes. I don't know if I preferred the pancakes and pudding to the yogurt but I sure wasn't into the yogurt. I guess I learned that yogurt is 100% a high protein vessel for chocolate chips in my book.

More reading today. I know everyone's psychology is different and that influences our choices and abilities differently, but I kind of assumed that neurology was pretty standard in regards to the urge to eat and the pleasure derived from it. No it is incredibly NOT. I feel so ignorant for recommending "moderation" and "variety" because depending on certain factors, and a person's goal, those things will not work for a lot of people.

[Fiction2Fitness]

What are you reading? Sounds interesting with the details on how we respond to the urge to eat and whether pleasure is derived from such. I need to do more reading in the area of psychology as I prepare to apply for grad school.

Never thought of adding chocolate chips to yogurt. I've been enjoying mixing a packet of plain oatmeal in with half a container of noosa yogurt and letting it sit in the fridge overnight. So, an overnight oats type. Found it enjoyable and am trying to find new flavors to try out when it comes to the yogurt portion.