i give myself 1-2 days off each week at least.

complete days off.

one of those days has been pushed to today


and have you ever heard someone say they don't have time to go to the gym and you think that's a load of shit?
this weekend i now understand what they mean

no gym time until sunday night (and even then when i get back theyre gonna be closed )

5/28/2010 9:33:10 AM

^ No, I don't, because I was at that point for over a year at one time in college... I would be in class at 9 am then go straight to work and get home at 11 on a good night.. I was so exhausted that there was no way I could go to the gym and get a good workout. Not to mention, on weekends I volunteered, worked, and did homework... it sucked. The only good thing was that my volunteer position required a lot of manual labor (I was an animal care volunteer at CPT) so I was constantly moving and picking up buckets full of water, throwing chickens, etc etc etc.

Sometimes I find it really hard still to make it to the gym, especially on weeks where I'm volunteering a total of 11 hours. :\

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 9:54 AM. Reason : .]

5/28/2010 9:53:52 AM

^yeah i hear you.
i had the same problem last winter...my solution-i went to the gym at 5 am. school at 8. got home at 9 ish. study. sleep.
lather rinse repeat.

it was a long fall >.<

5/28/2010 9:55:36 AM

I think my worst few months EVER was when I was taking 21 hours, tried working at the same time, also tried volunteering, and had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

I literally felt like death every day for two months. Every. Day.

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 9:57 AM. Reason : and I don't think I went to the gym once during those two months]

5/28/2010 9:57:05 AM

geesh 21 hours is a lot.
was this undergrad?!!
i never went over 15 in undergrad

but unfortunately i will taking 20-24 hours every semester at pharm school
22 hours this past semester.




but look at the bright side-you can go now and it's showing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 10:01 AM. Reason : yhtrf]

5/28/2010 10:00:34 AM

not being able to exercise is no excuse not to eat well...that's my problem...when i don't exercise i don't counter it well w/ my eating.

5/28/2010 10:04:43 AM

yeah, for undergrad... technically 3 hours was for that "external learning experience" but it was still 18 hours of all important classes and I still had to write a big paper for that damn 3 hours

and thanks! I'm sad though because I'm somehow 3 pounds heavier than last week... even though this past weekend on the drive I wasn't THAT bad with eating habits I absolutely hate how much my weight fluctuates. Oh well, at least my waist measurement is still the same

5/28/2010 10:14:09 AM

yea, i can sometimes fluctuate 3 or 4 pounds from when i weigh myself in the morning to at night... i wouldn't read that much into it.

5/28/2010 10:19:23 AM

Well the reason why it bothers me is because it's in the morning before I shower, everything like that. Just makes me because if it was simple water retention you'd think it would be gone by now. Not to mention, my tummy is harder feeling... so idk what's going on.


I'm just frustrated and mad at myself, really. I was down to 158 (first time I've been below 160 in like 2 years) and then I didn't continue being as serious as I was and now I'm back to 163. >_> Bad Sam

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 10:25 AM. Reason : .]

5/28/2010 10:23:17 AM

Quote :

"i was bad last night what was supposed to be 2 beers turned into 4 beers and a shot."

Glad to see I'm not the only person this happens to

5/28/2010 10:25:10 AM

weight watchers really works well for me...i lost 12 lbs in 6 weeks

5/28/2010 10:47:03 AM

Quote :

"THROWING CHICKENS ETC"

5/28/2010 10:48:42 AM

Quote :

"Well the reason why it bothers me is because it's in the morning before I shower, everything like that. Just makes me because if it was simple water retention you'd think it would be gone by now. Not to mention, my tummy is harder feeling... so idk what's going on."

It's probably just muscle developing and weighing you down I know weight seems like a decent enough metric for evaluating progress, but don't forget that you're also putting on muscle which is going to weigh more than fat. It's more about how you feel than what the number is on the scale.

(I'm being nice, though I'm VERY MAD about you leaving the gym )

As far as weight fluctuation is concerned, I can go up and down 5 pounds in a day just due to the amount of water/diet soda I drink and the amount I eat.

5/28/2010 10:58:23 AM

The best thing you can ever do is take your scale and throw it in the garbage.

5/28/2010 11:01:17 AM

I swing about 3 lbs throughout the day. very lean now.

5/28/2010 11:01:39 AM

That's true... the part that was bothering me the most was how hard my tummy feels. My waist measurement stayed the same but I was 0.5" bigger in the tummy - what the F

Although now that I look at my "weight loss chart".... When I was at 158, my waist was 30 3/4" and tummy was 36 1/2" ............ but at 163, waist is 31" and tummy is still 36 1/2"

Maybe I'm just freaking out.

5/28/2010 11:04:03 AM

deep breaths sam, deep breaths

5/28/2010 11:05:07 AM

Sorry yall, guess I can chalk this up to my daily spaz attack

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 11:06 AM. Reason : ]

5/28/2010 11:05:41 AM

hey, kudos if you only have one a day

5/28/2010 11:07:20 AM

I only admit to having one a day

I don't want to know how many I actually have per day

5/28/2010 11:11:15 AM

the fact that you've been losing weight means you know exactly what you need to do...somehow along the way "not THAT bad" was probably that bad.

Just take a deep breath. Stick to your nutrition. Stick to your exercise.


Then reap the benefits

5/28/2010 11:22:25 AM

im home in nc for the holiday weekend so im going to have my mom take my actual measurements and record them. i am already tracking body fat % & poundage, i feel its a disservice to not also record my measurements.

ive been in some serious muscle pain/tightness in my calves since i did the insanity fit test. im going to attempt the first workout today but im a little scared since im going to a wedding sunday night & have to wear heels (didn't bring anything else to wear shoe-wise) and i don't want to be limping around the wedding

AND i'd like to state that my focus has rubbed off.. my boyfriend is in what i consider great shape but for him, he's out of shape. so he's been running in the morning, swimming at lunch and cycling at night/after work because he doesn't want me to work out more than him so the thread is spreading into the lives of others!!! actually i think its great that we can motivate each other

my next goal is to start recording my meals. packman or begonias, how do i know how much protein carbs & fat i need in my diet? is there a general number i can start with? my fitness level is pretty good, i have decent endurance, as i've participated in several endurance related activities in the past 6 months (half marathons & 150 cycle in 2 days) but i want to increase my muscle & strength right now. also i have a triathlon at the end of june & need to be ready for that. a little unsure how to train so i'm kind of figuring it out as i go... any help is much appreciated!

5/28/2010 1:01:01 PM

Without seeing your diet, if you want to increase your strength just remember that muscles need protein, large amounts of it, in order to develop.

5/28/2010 1:04:03 PM

I'm going to do this entire workout this weekend and get back to you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_B1QIQXqaKw

5/28/2010 1:11:27 PM

awesome more youtube videos

5/28/2010 2:39:06 PM

I'm going to call an audible for no more rolly eyes in a minute

DONT FORCE MY HAND

5/28/2010 3:14:35 PM

dumbest. shit. ever.

5/28/2010 3:50:10 PM

Hey Packman you're really killing my fitness high here, man.

5/28/2010 3:52:20 PM

I want to get down to about 180. I'm at 193 now. Also, more toned abs.

5/28/2010 3:55:15 PM

YOU CAN DO IT MAN

5/28/2010 4:00:55 PM

As much as I like to hate on some peoplez, this thread is not the place for hate. Only encouragement ITT

5/28/2010 5:23:24 PM

did pure cardio today...that sucked but it was good for me.

gym early inthe morning then a nice break for the week to recover and start all over again.


no booze or fried things this weekend is the goal, i can do it pretty easily.

grilled/blackened fish is my food of choice.

5/28/2010 5:25:18 PM

going for a 5mi ish walk with mom in my new vibrams

hoping to try out a short run in them later too

5/28/2010 5:58:57 PM

^I'm willing to bet that your shoe soles were made in my town.

5/28/2010 6:03:42 PM

^^ Yay, a new Vibram owner! I <3 mine.


So, this thread gets a lot more traffic, but I'm nervous about posting my own stuff here instead of my own thread. I don't want to be that guy coming in here to gripe about eating 3000 calories and losing weight (@Quinn: hay b00 ). So maybe I'll tentatively cross-post to test the waters, and if anyone complains, I'll just leave my personal progress to my thread about endurance sports.

Here goes....




This week, I've averaged about 2750 calories a day and I've lost a pound (probably just fluctuation, weighed at different time of day). Carb/fat/protein balance is roughly 50/30/20%, and I've been eating about 130g of protein a day (compared to 158 lbs body weight). I'm not a big meat-eater by nature, so that includes a protein shake or bar after workouts, which this week have mostly been runs.

I feel like this has been a pretty average week for me overall; I was a little more careful about my diet than usual, but that was mostly for the ease of calculating on Fitday (i.e., not having to guess how much butter and salt some restaurant put in my dinner). I suspect that my calorie intake was about average, though it was probably a little more protein than usual and a little less carbs.

Is it beneficial to have a dose of protein after long cardio workouts, or is it mostly just for when you've done some resistance training?

I'm joining a gym next week, so I'll be starting the weight training twice a week and doing my best not to sacrifice any other training. I assume I'll be burning more net calories as a result, and I already feel like I'm eating constantly, so would you recommend investing in some protein powder or something to go in my smoothies, a weight gainer of some kind, or anything like that? I don't know a lot about supplements, but even though gaining weight is my goal, the idea of a "weight gainer" product makes me cringe; I just picture Cartman shouting "BEEEEFCAAAKE" in my head. What ensures that I'd be gaining healthy, functional weight?

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 6:36 PM. Reason : ]

5/28/2010 6:36:11 PM

IANAPT, but I would wager that carbs are considered "fuel" and protein is considered "muscle builders." So, after a cardio routine you wouldn't need large amounts of protein.

I eat a banana after I run.

5/28/2010 6:38:52 PM

I know there have been studies showing performance advantages in endurance cycling from drinking sports drinks with carbs and protein over drinks with only carbs, and that some brands of cycling drinks like Accelerade market their product on this advantage.

Two papers quickly found on Google Scholar that have gotten a lot of citations:

Effects of a Carbohydrate-Protein Beverage on Cycling Endurance and Muscle Damage

Carbohydrate-protein complex increases the rate of muscle glycogen storage after exercise

However, I'm not knowledgeable enough on nutrition and physiology to be able to translate studies like those into practical advice about how much is beneficial and how much is useless (or what this means for long-term performance and training).

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 6:53 PM. Reason : ]

5/28/2010 6:51:00 PM

there have been dozens of studies that came out recently showing that carbohydrate-plus-protein PWO meals were superior to both protein-only and carbohydrate-only PWO meals, regardless of whether you were weight training or doing aerobic cardio. strawberry flavored whey protein mixed with grape juice is my drink of choice, since grape juice is rich in dextrose.

5/28/2010 7:34:42 PM

i have a 30 mile group bike ride planned for 730 tomorrow morning. i need to stop eating out at lunch and i would be dropping weight a lot faster.

5/28/2010 7:54:53 PM

dextrose is just glucose

5/28/2010 9:39:17 PM

here is where i ended up today





i think the japanese sticky rice did me in carb wise. i couldn't find it in fitday so i think it just added regular white rice. oh well.

i usually eat a lot more veggies but today i just had a salad at lunch

also i woke up at 11am so i got a late start on eating, oops

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 9:54 PM. Reason : dskfjklsdjf]

5/28/2010 9:47:07 PM

^i think i had that for lunch alone today

and sunday is gonna be a bad day too. DOH.

its all good

5/28/2010 9:53:29 PM

Quote :

"Quote : "so packman is the resident pt?" Packman92 and begonias are both personal trainers. I'd listen to both of them before listening to anyone else in this thread."

as am I...

5/28/2010 9:59:09 PM

Quote :

"there have been dozens of studies that came out recently showing that carbohydrate-plus-protein PWO meals were superior to both protein-only and carbohydrate-only PWO meals, regardless of whether you were weight training or doing aerobic cardio. strawberry flavored whey protein mixed with grape juice is my drink of choice, since grape juice is rich in dextrose."

I like to mix my orange powdered gatorade with vanilla ice cream whey

... orange cream pop/sherbet.... NOM

5/28/2010 10:02:37 PM

dude.

2 scoops protein powder
1 cup soy milk

put into an ice cream maker-holy shit.

im so freaking stoked




[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 10:09 PM. Reason : tytrytr]

5/28/2010 10:08:46 PM

just saw this

Quote :

"twoozles, its not for everyone and some people can't have a smoothie as a meal but i make a spinach & fruit smoothie that is really yummy! for me, its a great way to get in a ton of veggies & fruit at the same time. "

that smoothie actually sounds great, NCSUWolfy! i'm going to have to try it sometime. i was given a magic bullet for christmas several years back, i'll have to pull it out and put it to use again. i couldn't do a smoothie for dinner every night but a lot of nights i just want something quick and good between the gym and bed.

[Edited on May 28, 2010 at 11:20 PM. Reason : ]

5/28/2010 11:20:00 PM

Quote :

"My girlfriend is out of town for the weekend, so I'm going to destroy my body working out."

5/28/2010 11:39:22 PM

yes!! let me know how you like it, i just did fruit and a friend on facebook posted something ab adding spinach & i've never looked back!

5/29/2010 12:15:21 AM

i just got done riding. i did 27 miles in 84 minutes. it is a lil over 18mph. i am beat but it felt good to ride hard. i am enjoying a protein shake with bananas, strawberries, kiwi, and peanut butter. yumm.

5/29/2010 9:46:50 AM

you really have to be careful with smoothies, they can have a ton of sugar in them

5/29/2010 9:58:16 AM