02.28.08
And rest, 2, 3, 4…
You workout, you eat right–and you’re still not losing weight (fat or otherwise). What gives?
Check your recovery and rest.
How often do you exercise? Every day? Too much, most likely. Your body needs time to rebuild what you tore down the last time you worked out. It’ll usually take your body 36-48 hrs to strengthen a muscle and have it ready for tearing down again. Take a day off between lifting or intense cardio sessions (HIIT, kickboxing or spinning classes, etc.). Some people say you can do LSD (long slow distance) in between, but I think that may still be too much, especially if you’re already burned out.
What about sleep? For me, even 8 hours isn’t always enough. While you’re asleep, your body can get even more work done because you’re not interrupting it. Get to bed an hour earlier to recover, or sleep in instead of throwing in another LSD session. Grab a nap, if you can.
Resting is one of the things I have a hard time with. I want to lift every day just because it’s fun, and, while I do like to sleep, I also have so many things I want or have to do. I use my lifting hour on non-lifting days to get things done. And I’m trying to get that extra hour of sleep each night, even though it’s hard to quit the video game, put down the book, get off the internet, or stop studying. I even started setting one of my alarm clocks to go off at night, to tell me to shut everything down and go to bed.
While it may seem that “not lifting” or “not exercising” is counter-productive and not logical, in reality, it’s an essential part of getting stronger. Purposely add rest & sleep to your schedule.
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02.27.08
NROLFW, 1B8: Deads
The last regular workout of Stage 1. Wow.
- Deadlifts: (1×10x20) 3×8x50lbs
- DB Shoulder Press: 3×8x17.5lbs each
- Wide Grip Pull Down: 3×8x40lbs
- Lunges: 3×8x17.5lbs each
- Crunches: 3×8x10lbs (Swiss ball*)
*Arms too tired to hold the dumbbell out, long-arm style.
Last week all I could do was whine about my deadlifts; I couldn’t seem to get them, I looked goofy when I taped myself, nothing was working, yadda yadda yadda. Last night, easy peasy. Up, down, up, down. No extraneous pain, no issues. ??
I’ve been watching deadlift videos and reading deadlift articles since last week. Maybe one of them finally reset my brain correctly? I don’t know. All I know is, I finally got the deadlifts to work beautifully.
In another *headdesk* moment, I finally calculated the exact grams of proteins, carbs, and fat I need to aim for every day. Yes, this is a very basic and very “Well, duh” thing, but I just didn’t do it. Anyway, I want 40/30/30, protein/carbs/fat, so:
- Workout days: 2200 calories:
- protein: 220 g
- carbs: 165 g
- fat: 73 g
- Non-workout days: 1900 calories:
- protein: 190 g
- carbs: 143 g
- fat: 63 g
Knowing those numbers doesn’t change the fact that I’m reactive rather than proactive about tracking my food. But at least I’m not stuck depending on percentages, and I can see where I need to adjust a little easier. Besides, as I eat the same things again and again, I’ll be able to fit things in on the fly a little better.
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02.26.08
Replacement Therapy
A lady I work with used to smoke. She tried to quit, but couldn’t. Finally, she went to a hypnotist.
The hypnotist explained that he can’t just “erase” a bad behavior. He has to replace it with something else. So he reprogrammed her mind. Now, whenever her brain starts down the “I want a cigarette” slide, it get diverted to “snap the fingers.”
Think about that. Even with hypnosis, a bad habit can’t just be erased; it has to be replaced.
If you try to start by creating a list of don’ts–don’t eat ice cream, don’t watch tv for 10 hours/day, don’t this, and don’t that–you’ll set yourself up to fail. Your brain needs an alternative to an unwanted behavior, something to fill the void of the past behavior. And the new habit doesn’t have to be anything extreme.
- When I want ice cream, first I’ll drink a glass of water. Then I’ll put some ice cream in a bowl and put the carton back up (!).
- I can watch tv while lifting weights.
- I will take healthful snacks to work so that I can eat them instead when there are temptations in the break room. (And maybe have a small nibble of the temptations.)
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02.23.08
NROLFW, 1A8
I watched the video from Tuesday and Thursday. I can tell that my back is rounding a bit right before coming up in the squat or going down in the deadlift. And I look goofy trying to get down from the deadlift. Other than that, though, I think I’m just overthinking this. Meh.
- Squats: 1×8x60lbs, 2×8x50
- T-Pushups: 3×8x10 lbs (on knuckles, then grab 10-lb db)
- Seated Rows: 2×8x55lbs, 1×8x50
- Step Ups: 3×8x35lbs
- Prone Jackknife: 2×15 / Reverse Crunch: 1×15*
*Had to bail on the last set of prone jackknives because I was sliding off the ball!
So that’s the last official workout A from Stage 1; I just have the AMRAP (as many reps as possible) workout later this week. Wow. Hard to believe I’ve been on NROLFW for so long now…
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Diet
I notice that I throw out the word “diet” every once in a while. I don’t want anyone to be confused. When I say “diet,” I mean “how & what you eat.” Not how you eat for four weeks while trying to lose weight. Not how you eat when you’re on a “plan.”
How and what you eat. Now and forever.
Seriously, I sometimes forget that “diet” means different things to people. To most people, it means a temporary fix. They’re always looking ahead to the day when they aren’t on the diet and can eat whatever they want. Newsflash: eating whatever you wanted got you to where you are in the first place. Going back to that will give you the same results as before.
And to most people, “diet” means restriction, denial, and being hungry. It’s all about what you can’t eat.
I don’t think of what I eat as a temporary thing or an off-limits thing. I can’t. I’m one of those people who wants it to be over now, get here now: are we there yet?. When I can’t have something, I want it even more. I start to dream about it–and that’s when I know I’m gonna get in trouble.
23“Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive.
31So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
I Corinthians 10:23, 31
Paul was speaking about food that had been offered to idols (and so was considered by many to be “unclean”) and how eating that food might make some people think you weren’t a real Christian. (Oh, so many tangents. But that’s a whole ‘nother blog.) But the applicable point is that while, yes, we can eat whatever we want, it may not benefit us. Cakes and cookies and Doritos and their friends aren’t “off limits,” but they won’t help us lose that body fat.
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02.22.08
NROLFW, 1B7: *headdesk*
Deadlifts are making me cry. I love them. I want them.
I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong.
- Deadlift: (1×10x20, 1×8x50) 1×8x70lbs, 2×8x50lbs
- DB Shoulder Press: 3×8x35lbs
- Wide Grip Pulldowns: 3×8x40lbs
- Lunges: 3×8x35lbs
- Crunches: 3×15x10lbs (long arm, Swiss ball)
After last week’s DLs, I went hunting for any information I could find about doing deadlifts, and I really thought I’d found the problem/solution. I tried it last night on the first set, and the only thing I could feel was my lower back (very low, in the middle) screaming. Okay, that was bad.
Dropped the weight and tried again. Lower back. Argh!! Tried again, trying to do more of what I’d done before, and then couldn’t get the weights down again. *headdesk*
The first solution should probably be to drop the weight even more and get the movement down. But that’s just it–I have the form at lower weights, or I can’t tell that I don’t because the weight’s too light and I feel nothing.
But, like the squats on Tuesday, these DLs were taped, so I’ll spend tonight and tomorrow trying to get the video off the tape and on to my computer.
Two more regular workouts and then the two special AMRAP workouts, and I’ll be done with Stage 1. 
02.21.08
Eat more food
Someone on the NROLFW forums put me on to Skwigg. (Warning: her blog is probably not appropriate for reading at work because giggling, snorting, and other laughing noises are generally signs that you aren’t working on a company project.)
Skwigg talks a lot about women and eating, especially about women eating more calories to lose weight. Here are just a few of those posts:
- My Sad Story of Starvation and Flab – her story of slashing calories to lose weight
- Don’t Blow Up – getting on the right nutritional track
- Eat More/Eat Less Question – boost your metabolism
- Weight Loss from Exercise Only? – you can’t out-train a bad diet
- Three Pound Question – weight fluctuation in strength training
- All Those Calories
In addition, her blog is great for a no-stress approach to meals. And she has some awesome pictures of her bruises from martial arts classes. (I only have a little purple one on my foot–and I think it’s from a coffee table…)
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02.20.08
NROLFW, 1A7
The camcorder battery has been found! So I taped my squats last night. Now I just have to figure out how to get the video on to my computer…
- Squat: (1×10x20) 3×8x55lbs
- Pushups: 3×8 (T-pushups, on knuckles)
- Seated Rows: 3×8x50 lbs
- Step ups: 3×8x17.5lbs each
- Prone Jackknife: 3×15
After that last prone jackknife, I fell sideways off the ball and just hung out in the fetal position for a while. Whew.
The “workout + TKD” is rough, and I only taught at TKD. The workout took a few minutes longer than it had been, so I had to grab my PWO shake and run out the door. At least we first warm-up and then stretch at TKD–felt so good! The real test of the new workout time will be Thursday, when I have my class. Oi!
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02.19.08
Cooking Ahead
There never seems to be enough time to do all the things that we need to or ought to. And cooking seems to be one of the things, at least in my house, that gets overlooked. By Tuesday night, when we’re out of leftovers, we’re scrambling to defrost something, microwave something, or order out something, or we end up with another protein shake.
I’ve started trying to cook double or even triple portions when I cook and immediately dividing up the leftovers. 4 oz of chicken. 1 cup of chili. Whatever it is, throw it in the fridge, and it’s ready for when I need it. Then all I have to do it grab a carb (usually either vegetables or couscous), and I can have an entire whole-food meal quickly.
This strategy does mean that I end up eating the same thing over and over. I notice, though, that I usually don’t have as much time to enjoy my food as I think I do. So my desire to “eat different” doesn’t really mean anything in the end. That is, it’s more the thought of eating differently that I like more than the actual variety of food. And, too, by eating the same foods, I can more easily guesstimate the nutritional value of the foods because I’ve logged that combination before.
Every few days, though, I’ll have something different–a new texture, a new spice, a new condiment–something to keep my taste buds talking for a few more days. Then they’re content to sit back and let me eat my chicken and tuna for a while longer.
02.16.08
NROLFW, 1B6: I want DL!
First, came home from work early, sick, slept. Waited too long to start, but it still wasn’t pretty…
- Deadlift: (1×5x20, 1×5x50, 1×9x70) 1×9x70lbs, 2×9x50lbs
- DB Shoulder Press: 3×10x30 lbs
- Wide Grip Pull Down: 3×10x45 lbs
- Step Ups (substituted for Lunges):
- left: 1×10x30lbs; 1×5x30, 1×5x20; 1×10x20
- right: 1×5x30, 1×5x20; 1×10x20; 1×30x30
- Crunches: 3×12x10lbs (long arm, Swiss ball)
I kept at the deadlifts, trying to get the form right. *headdesk* I finally figured out the up part, but I can’t seem to get the weight down. So last night I spent watching videos and reading articles and tutorials. I’m doing a mix between a squat and an upper back collapse. Not good, of course.
