Body Composition Challenge (Page 5)

Thanks - slept last night and went out for the makeup run this morning. It felt a bit rough this morning so I think if I did it last night on less sleep it wouldn't have been pretty.

Stacie

Mentally run over takes a lot out of a person. I think that is a reason to miss a bike.

Keep working at it - you will get there!

That looks like my belt!  (except old and current keep changing places....)

Greetings - sorry I'm a bit sparse with the postings.  I haven't taken all of my measurements.  I weighed in on Monday with surprising results.  Heaviest I've been in a year.  Now - I attribute this to poor nutrition the prior two weeks on top of a trip to BWW on Sunday to watch the Cardinals and the cubs. 

Monday morning's weight was 218.8.  Thursday morning's weight was 211.4.  So....I think I'll have a starting date status of 8/8 so it's a little more 'normal'.  I haven't trained much this week due to a time crunch and other reasons I'll post in my blog. 

If I just add everyone as a friend, will that be all it takes to see everyone's blog?  Sorry - I don't do much of that on this site.

Thank you and carry on.

I've been thinking on my goals for a few days now, and still not completely nailed down yet, here's what I've got:

1 - Weight down in the 130's -- we'll call it 135# for simplicity sake.  More importantly, drop some inches.  With my current body fat, these should go hand in hand.

2 - Revamp diet starting this weekend.  Cut out candy/snacks/sugar/egregiously bad stuff.  Consider going Primal.  Consider giving up alcohol entirely.

3 - Keep on track with my marathon training.

4 - Get enough sleep to support this lifestyle!

As far as #1 goes, #2 should take care of it.  I've been shoveling a lot of crap into my system for awhile now... and right now I'm in the middle of some serious hormonal eating (which, while I've found I can resist, I also find that I'm mentally happier when I kind of just go with it), but that should subside in a few days.

So, this weekend will start meal planning in earnest.  I know for a fact that when I plan things out and prep food on the weekends, I have no problems being good during the week.

The marathon training will take precedence over everything else -- I'm shooting for sub-4 at Chicago in October.  I will continue strength training 3x/week, but it will be done in such a fashion as to support the running and not compromise it (to the best of my ability... but lord help me, I do *love* to work legs hard....)

I know that for me, this is probably 80-90% nutrition based.  While I'm not doing the heavy duty 15 hrs/week triathlon training, you can't tell me that 6-8 hours of running/strength isn't enough to drop weight and build muscle if I'm eating correctly.

ETA goal #4 ... probably the most important goal of all.  Without #4, the rest won't happen, I promise you that.  I've learned the hard way that my entire well-being depends on consistently getting 7-8 hours a sleep a night.

Great visual Cam!

The following has a Workout of the Day, I think most can be done at home, not sure though.

Hey guys! I've been doing decently with my diet so far (Ie. haven't indulged in too much junk). I had a popsicle for dessert instead of ice cream and have a few pieces of dark chocolate if I am feeling the chocolate monster call. I think I can get by on those for awhile!

I'm trying to eat like my Mom. Whatever I know her portion sizes would be is what I will eat instead of thinking I can eat more because I do triathlon. She goes to the gym pretty much everyday so I don't know why I ever got it into my head that I could eat more and get away with it! Haha.

Good job to everyone so far! Hope you all are feeling successful! I'm off for a walk (because the IM police have banned running from my schedule for at least another week! )

A quick question for this well informed group regarding cramping in the calves.  (not the mooing kind) 

Rarely, I get cramps while exercising.  Used to happen infrequently playing basketball.  I haven't played that in a while.  On Tuesday night while at the county fair, my calves took turns cramping up just a bit.  I'm concerned due to the long run plans for the weekend.  I get plenty of water - between 1 and 2 gallons a day.  I biked only for 35 minutes the night before and an 8 minute run the morning of.  The only thing I can think of was I started eating bananas again - but I can't believe that would CAUSE cramping - especially 8 hours after a workout.  Any thoughts on what is causing or what to do to prevent?  It has been 95 with 90% humidity here this week - but I work indoors.  thanks guys

Interesting thing about sugar:

All humans are predisposed to want sugar. Back when humans were hunting and gathering, sweet was a way to know things were safe to eat. Bitter told us to stay away. Even people who say they have a "salt tooth"- it really is a sweet tooth in disguise. They crave things like potato chips, pretzels and crackers. These foods cause the same reaction as sugar in the body because they are refine carbohydrates.

If you want to read a bit more:

Woot!!  I am down 2.4 lbs, amazing what NOT eating PB and Nutella by the LARGE tablespoon several times a day will do for me.

Woohoo!  You ROCK!!!!!!

LOL, sorry.....when I really focus on nutrition I tend to get a bit OCD about it.  Keep in mind when you eat sugar you will CRAVE sugar.....never-ending cycle

Is it too late for me to join in? 

I'm currently training for my first HIM which is on Sept. 11th and I'm back down to a 'normal' weight (ate too much schnitzel while in Germany earlier this year) but I'd like to start to focus on getting more toned and this seems like a perfect challenge. 

Let me know if there's still room!

Always room for more!

I don' have an office job, basically work from my car which has been my down-fall/excuse for failing miserably with nutrition.  Below is my food for the road!!!  Just sharing since I am so proud of myself!  In case you want know what is on the exciting menu (I eat something every 2-3 hours) 2 double protein shakes 1 chocolate and 1 vanilla in the shakers, 1 bonus protein shake in the ziplock, mixed greens with 4 oz grilled chicken and balsamic, 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 10 raspberries (yes I really did count them)

I    your OCD Abbie.  Don't stop!

I just read a great article in August Oxygen magazine by Jamie Eason about "marketing" your lifestyle to others.  I'll see if I can find a link.....

LOL!!!  Oh yes, I read the same article!

Ladies, if you want a women's fitness magazine with "fit" women, vs. skinny, and one that actually talks about fitness rather than tons of fluff about make-up, hair and fashion Oxygen mag rocks!  It also promotes Clean Eating.

Congrats Abbie and Judi on the weight loss! Woohoo!

Congratulations on the new baby, bigdh!

I'm getting a bit of a slow start, but I'm heading in the right direction nutrition wise. I completely agree, that for me anyway, diet is at least 90 percent of it. Honestly, if I eat small amounts of healthy food I can be thin without any exercise. I'm healthier and feel better when I exercise, but it really doesn't effect my weight much on its own. I do notice a change in body composition from strength training though.

Thanks to everyone who has shared their at home methods of strength training, as getting to a gym is difficult for me sometimes. We've been moving our RV to a new location every month lately (for my husbands job, not because we're running from the law lol ), which has made it difficult to get into any kind of routine. My plan is to come up with something I can do no matter where we are, so all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thank you! 

Remember don't confuse "thin" with "healthy".  There are plenty of thin people who are actually skinny-fat....thin without muscle-tone/shape.

I just bought Jackie Warner's "Power Circuit Training".  It's a 40-minute long DVD, that focuses on each body-part for 4 minutes and boy does it hurt, but in a good way   I've done the workout 2x this week, stay tuned for results!