New here - Q's about cardio and gaining muscle

[greentree]

(1) Continuous aerobic work plateaus after 8 weeks of training so anything more is counterproductive.

I'm not sure I understand this - what defines "continuous aerobic work?" Do they mean same pace, sitting on a machine for 30-60 min, without increasing speed or incline? Does that mean that intervals do not fall into the "continuous" category?

I love to run and really look forward to it. I limit myself to 3-4x per week, and I rarely do more than 30 min, but I constantly increase my speed and push myself. I almost always do intervals of sprints, and occasionally do tempo runs. When I do run at a constant pace, it's mostly for fun and stress release, but I still push myself and always aim to increase the distance I run in 30 min. I will also use the elliptical to mix it up, but I hate it very much.

I am 5'5", 119 lbs, and I do not know my bodyfat right now. I am not as concerned about losing fat as I am about gaining muscle, I'm reasonably lean. Weights are pretty new to me, I just went from running outside, to working out in a gym 5 months ago. Any and all suggestions are much appreciated. I lift after I run 3-4x every week. I have been mixing it up every month, adding new exercises and I am seeing results. I just don't want to be wasting my time doing cardio that won't help.



I need to work on my diet big time, but with very little variation it looks like this:

Breakfast, 3 egg whites and coffee - I try to eat a half cup of old fashioned plain oatmeal too, but I get lazy sometimes and leave that out

I run and lift, then 1 scoop of GNC wheybolic extreme - 20g protein. I feel dorky taking this because I'm not a "body-builder" but after I shower and run errands and get home, sometimes 2-3 hours have gone by and I am starving and haven't eaten anything

I will have some sort of carb usually again, eith a half cup brown rice or oatmeal, and I like to have a quarter cup of cottage cheese too.

For a snack, I will drink V8 juice or munch on broccoli/carrots/cauliflower. I sometimes have chicken noodle soup or beef and veggie soup too

Dinner is late, I can't really eat at work in the evening, but I will have 2 chicken breasts or soup when I get home, sometimes a lean cuisine thing with meat and veggies.

Any other time I need snacks, I will grab a cheese stick or veggie, but I often cheat and eat chocolate or licorice. I can't seem to stop that! Also, cappucinos are my weakness, and they are terrible... I've never recorded my diet before, and writing it down here makes me realize how much I need to work on it! Wow.

How do women gain muscle? I know I have a lot to work on here, but what is the most important thing to start with? I read in the stickys where I can keep track of my diet, and I will do that right away. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[greentree]

Hello again everyone - was this the right place to post these questions? If I was being too specific or too general, let me know. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[trex74]

The weekend can be slow, I am sure some of the more experienced girls will post up soon-hang in there!
Some of the good advice I've received is that you have to eat to build muscle, especially lean protein which you should eat with every meal.
maybe you're not eating enough? I punched in what you ate, not including chocolate or licorice, and it came up to about 1300 Calories. That would keep you lean for sure!

 

[RottenWillow]

(1) Continuous aerobic work plateaus after 8 weeks of training so anything more is counterproductive.

I'm not sure I understand this - what defines "continuous aerobic work?" Do they mean same pace, sitting on a machine for 30-60 min, without increasing speed or incline? Does that mean that intervals do not fall into the "continuous" category?

I love to run and really look forward to it. I limit myself to 3-4x per week, and I rarely do more than 30 min, but I constantly increase my speed and push myself. I almost always do intervals of sprints, and occasionally do tempo runs. When I do run at a constant pace, it's mostly for fun and stress release, but I still push myself and always aim to increase the distance I run in 30 min. I will also use the elliptical to mix it up, but I hate it very much.

I am 5'5", 119 lbs, and I do not know my bodyfat right now. I am not as concerned about losing fat as I am about gaining muscle, I'm reasonably lean. Weights are pretty new to me, I just went from running outside, to working out in a gym 5 months ago. Any and all suggestions are much appreciated. I lift after I run 3-4x every week. I have been mixing it up every month, adding new exercises and I am seeing results. I just don't want to be wasting my time doing cardio that won't help.



I need to work on my diet big time, but with very little variation it looks like this:

Breakfast, 3 egg whites and coffee - I try to eat a half cup of old fashioned plain oatmeal too, but I get lazy sometimes and leave that out

I run and lift, then 1 scoop of GNC wheybolic extreme - 20g protein. I feel dorky taking this because I'm not a "body-builder" but after I shower and run errands and get home, sometimes 2-3 hours have gone by and I am starving and haven't eaten anything

I will have some sort of carb usually again, eith a half cup brown rice or oatmeal, and I like to have a quarter cup of cottage cheese too.

For a snack, I will drink V8 juice or munch on broccoli/carrots/cauliflower. I sometimes have chicken noodle soup or beef and veggie soup too

Dinner is late, I can't really eat at work in the evening, but I will have 2 chicken breasts or soup when I get home, sometimes a lean cuisine thing with meat and veggies.

Any other time I need snacks, I will grab a cheese stick or veggie, but I often cheat and eat chocolate or licorice. I can't seem to stop that! Also, cappucinos are my weakness, and they are terrible... I've never recorded my diet before, and writing it down here makes me realize how much I need to work on it! Wow.

How do women gain muscle? I know I have a lot to work on here, but what is the most important thing to start with? I read in the stickys where I can keep track of my diet, and I will do that right away. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Very sorry, Greentree. It seems your original post got overlooked.

No idea in what context the bolded statement was made. Without the context, it's quite ambiguous. Continuous physical activity can become aerobic after about 30 minutes or so, and a trainee can certainly continue to make gains in CV efficiency for much more than 8 consecutive weeks of regular training.

However, a plan to seriously improve CV efficiency over time is rather antithetical to a plan to increase skeletal muscle. You need a caloric surplus to build skeletal muscle and you are unlikely to have that surplus if you are doing enough aerobic work to really dramatically improve your CV efficiency.

You can make some initial gains in both CV fitness and skeletal muscle, but soon you'll need to make a choice as to which is your primary goal and tailor your overall fitness plan accordingly.

A woman gains muscle in exactly the same manner as a man-- stimulate muscle growth by creating damage via appropriately intense weight training sessions, then providing sufficient nutrition and recovery time to allow your body to build back the damaged tissue slightly larger.

To build muscle, you need a slight caloric surplus, maybe 300 calories daily, and good quality protein on regular intervals throughout the day. The frequency and quality of your protein intake is more important than the amount you get at each sitting, but aiming for 30g each time is a reasonable goal.

Please keep reviewing those stickies. There's a wealth of knowledge there to get you started.

 

[greentree]

The weekend can be slow, I am sure some of the more experienced girls will post up soon-hang in there!
Some of the good advice I've received is that you have to eat to build muscle, especially lean protein which you should eat with every meal.
maybe you're not eating enough? I punched in what you ate, not including chocolate or licorice, and it came up to about 1300 Calories. That would keep you lean for sure!

I know! I was suprised to learn this as well because I've never calculated it until now. I'm really just not a big eater. I think I should start eating more, but I'm never hungry and it feels weird to eat when I'm not hungry. I'm not as lean as you'd think with 1300 cals a day, I can see abs somewhat but I'm certainly not cut. I'm pretty sure I'm in that "starvation mode" that everyone talks about. How embarassing... oh well, I'll fix that! Any thoughts on this?

 

[greentree]

Very sorry, Greentree. It seems your original post got overlooked.

No idea in what context the bolded statement was made. Without the context, it's quite ambiguous. Continuous physical activity can become aerobic after about 30 minutes or so, and a trainee can certainly continue to make gains in CV efficiency for much more than 8 consecutive weeks of regular training.

However, a plan to seriously improve CV efficiency over time is rather antithetical to a plan to increase skeletal muscle. You need a caloric surplus to build skeletal muscle and you are unlikely to have that surplus if you are doing enough aerobic work to really dramatically improve your CV efficiency.

You can make some initial gains in both CV fitness and skeletal muscle, but soon you'll need to make a choice as to which is your primary goal and tailor your overall fitness plan accordingly.

A woman gains muscle in exactly the same manner as a man-- stimulate muscle growth by creating damage via appropriately intense weight training sessions, then providing sufficient nutrition and recovery time to allow your body to build back the damaged tissue slightly larger.

To build muscle, you need a slight caloric surplus, maybe 300 calories daily, and good quality protein on regular intervals throughout the day. The frequency and quality of your protein intake is more important than the amount you get at each sitting, but aiming for 30g each time is a reasonable goal.

Please keep reviewing those stickies. There's a wealth of knowledge there to get you started.

Thank you! The first quote was from the sticky "reasons why being a cardio queen can be counter-productive." I should be getting 30g of protein at each sitting? Wow! How many sittings each day?

It seems like I am gaining muscle well at the moment, and it's fun right now because I'll sometimes rub a sore spot and be suprised at how different the muscle feels from the week before. My goal right now is definitely to gain muscle. How do you do so without gaining fat - is that possible? Is it careful eating? How much cardio is appropriate for this?

 

[trex74]

RW's post makes a lot of sense to me, I am deciding to focus on building muscle, and it is quite an attitude change for me to eat so often.
However, I am finding that my portion sizes aren't huge or anything, 75 grams (2 1/2 oz) of chicken is NOT a lot to eat, but it gives me 23 grams of protein.
I plan out what I bring to work with me, I had fun going and buying a nice insulated lunch bag, and bring three small meals with me.
If I cook chicken breasts or another meat the night before, I use the leftovers, weigh it out on my scale, and add in sweet potato or brown rice and some greens/salad.
I don't know if your in starvation mode, but there is a sticky somewhere to calculate basal metabolic rate, you can do the formula and figure it out...
I eat five meals/day

 

[RottenWillow]

Thank you! The first quote was from the sticky "reasons why being a cardio queen can be counter-productive." I should be getting 30g of protein at each sitting? Wow! How many sittings each day?

It seems like I am gaining muscle well at the moment, and it's fun right now because I'll sometimes rub a sore spot and be suprised at how different the muscle feels from the week before. My goal right now is definitely to gain muscle. How do you do so without gaining fat - is that possible? Is it careful eating? How much cardio is appropriate for this?

Ok that's probably high unless you are not on an AAS cycle and aren't carrying a lot of muscle currently. Aim for 20-25g of complete proteins like meat, whey protein isolate or eggs at each meal, every 3 to 3.5 hours.

You can't gain significant amounts of muscle w/o also gaining a bit of fat. A very good (and realistic)ratio would be 1:1, meaning gaining only a pound of fat for every one pound of muscle.

 

[musclemom]

Thank you! The first quote was from the sticky "reasons why being a cardio queen can be counter-productive." I should be getting 30g of protein at each sitting? Wow! How many sittings each day?

It seems like I am gaining muscle well at the moment, and it's fun right now because I'll sometimes rub a sore spot and be suprised at how different the muscle feels from the week before. My goal right now is definitely to gain muscle. How do you do so without gaining fat - is that possible? Is it careful eating? How much cardio is appropriate for this?

The problem is that your body will not build without excess calories, so technically, you can't build muscle without gaining a little extra fat. Our bodies are very, very smart. Muscle is calorically wasteful, so if the perception is that you are not living in a time of excess it will not create muscles that burn extra calories. Likewise, when you have have a caloric deficit the first thing to go is muscle, not fat, because muscle uses more calories to maintain.

However, there is one time that axiom doesn't hold true, which is when you're really new to weights. You get about a six month honeymoon, if you lift seriously, where you can gain muscle, if you eat enough extra calories, and gain virtually no extra fat.

But to gain that muscle you need to provide your body with sufficient building blocks, which means WAY more food than you're eating, and way more protein. To cut we tell people 10 to 12 times their body weight in calories broken out into macros of 40% protein/30% carbs/30% fat. If you're only eating 1300 calories a day you're already eating a cutting diet and you don't know the macros.

You can get a free account at FitDay.com where you can log your food intake and get a realistic picture of what you're eating and what ratios.

The stickies at the top of the forum have a LOT of really solid information, too.

I'm glad you bumped your post The weekends, particularly around the holidays, can get a little goofed up for anyone

Welcome to the board, Greentree.

 

[greentree]

Wow, that is a lot of info to process! Thank you all for your responses. I can't believe how much I didn't know, I'm really glad I found this forum. I took some before pics a month ago, and I look forward to posting some after pics with them. I appreciate the tip about picking up a new lunchbag too, because I hate packing lunches but I might be happier to if I had a cute bag!

RW, if I understand you correctly, I can take whey protein with meals too instead of just after lifting? I get really lazy about cooking and that would be wonderful. Also, I do not take it on days that I don't lift, should I be?

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate the help so much!

Edit: Also, fitday.com is fun! I have a "mood pie chart." Who knew?

 

[RottenWillow]

RW, if I understand you correctly, I can take whey protein with meals too instead of just after lifting? I get really lazy about cooking and that would be wonderful. Also, I do not take it on days that I don't lift, should I be?

I happen to be a big fan of drinking a liquid only breakfast since it gets the protein to the muscle far quicker than waiting for solid food to liquefy and slowly pass into the large intestine. If you got a good night's sleep it will have been 9+ hours since you last fed your body, so you're very likely to be in a negative nitrogen balance state--not good if you want to build muscle. The quicker you get that protein into your bloodstream the better. My breakfast is 1/2 cup of rolled oats, 2/3 cup of whey protein isolate, and 1 tsp of stevia blended well into 24 ounces of filtered water.

And yes you should keep your protein intake up even on days you don't train, but its up to you if you want that to be in the form of protein drinks or whole food protein.

 

[greentree]

I happen to be a big fan of drinking a liquid only breakfast since it gets the protein to the muscle far quicker than waiting for solid food to liquefy and slowly pass into the large intestine. If you got a good night's sleep it will have been 9+ hours since you last fed your body, so you're very likely to be in a negative nitrogen balance state--not good if you want to build muscle. The quicker you get that protein into your bloodstream the better. My breakfast is 1/2 cup of rolled oats, 2/3 cup of whey protein isolate, and 1 tsp of stevia blended well into 24 ounces of filtered water.

And yes you should keep your protein intake up even on days you don't train, but its up to you if you want that to be in the form of protein drinks or whole food protein.

Perfect, thanks RW! The only thing that seems difficult about the liquid meals is that I already sometimes don't get enough calories. Are there any good high calorie/high protein shakes out there, with good fats and stuff in them?

It still mystifies me that you guys eat as much as you do, It's hard to remember to eat that often! I wish I could buy pre-cooked chicken or something. I have a friend who eats cans of tuna. That's nice and easy, but it seems so gross. Any good tips for easy no-cook foods (or microwaveable)? I read the stickies on recipes, but I don't really cook except for steaming veggies and grilling chicken or salmon.

 

[trex74]

Perfect, thanks RW! The only thing that seems difficult about the liquid meals is that I already sometimes don't get enough calories. Are there any good high calorie/high protein shakes out there, with good fats and stuff in them?

It still mystifies me that you guys eat as much as you do, It's hard to remember to eat that often! I wish I could buy pre-cooked chicken or something. I have a friend who eats cans of tuna. That's nice and easy, but it seems so gross. Any good tips for easy no-cook foods (or microwaveable)? I read the stickies on recipes, but I don't really cook except for steaming veggies and grilling chicken or salmon.

You can get those pre-cooked BBQ chickens in the grocery store, they are usually pretty greasy though...
I like tuna myself, but I don't like to bring it to work because it gets too fishy when it's out of the can for a while...But fresh out of the can with lemon juice/olive oil in a salad is pretty nice, I just taste the lemon really...
Hard boiling a bunch of eggs is easy too, it takes 13 minutes to boil an egg, then you can eat however many eggwhites/whole eggs you want.
If you bake/grill a bunch of chicken/turkey in advance it's easy too.
Low-fat cottage cheese is high protein as well, but there is a lot of sodium if you have concerns about that.
In the grocery store you can find various canned beans/pulses that are full of protein too. I like a mixed bean medley, there's usually one like that available. Just drain, rinse, and add to a salad.
My advice is to try cooking a bit more, maybe on a day where you have time, like a Sunday. Just try a couple things for the next day, like the chicken, or cooking some brown rice (tip:a rice cooker makes perfect rice every time), or making a big salad that you can just add stuff do when you are hungry (Like chicken, cottage cheese, beans, eggs etc.)
This website covers the basics of cooking, it's pretty simple stuff, once you get the hang of it you'll be whipping up stuff in no time. try looking at other websites for inspiration too.
Stick to the basics for now, and try harder stuff when you're ready.
Cooking Techniques for Beginner and Intermediate Cooks

 

[musclemom]

How can you NOT remember to eat, I've never understood that

I promise you, though, you start seriously lifting weights, when you wake up in the morning, the first thing your body says is FOOD!

Eating is not the problem, cooking, planning, prepping, packing and toting that's a drag ...

 

[musclemom]

Bump.

 

[greentree]

Sorry about the slow response, I was out of town.

Yeah, I can't sleep in because I'm too hungry in the morning, lol... I hear ya there. It's just when I'm busy doing homework for hours or working that it doesn't hit me until I'm bored. Also, I love the idea of a bean salad! I can do that. I have a crockpot, can I cook chicken in there somehow? I'll have to look through the recipes more, and try to find some that I can do. ,

On a different subject, when I do calves (just toe-raises right now) they seem to be crazy sore for like 5 days. My chicken legs are a problem area for me. I used to try different exercises with low reps and high weight and never saw any improvement in this area. I read an article that suggested doing toe raises on a step and concentrating on pushing all the way to the tip of your toes. I'm giving it a shot - I do a set of 70, then 50, then 40 with 30 sec between. It burns, and I see the results, so that's not the problem. Why does it take so long to recover? Is that normal? Will using the muscles during regular cardio cause a slower recovery time? Is it bad to use the muscles in cardio before they are recovered?

Thanks again guys, Merry Christmas!

 

[RottenWillow]

Perfect, thanks RW! The only thing that seems difficult about the liquid meals is that I already sometimes don't get enough calories. Are there any good high calorie/high protein shakes out there, with good fats and stuff in them?

It still mystifies me that you guys eat as much as you do, It's hard to remember to eat that often! I wish I could buy pre-cooked chicken or something. I have a friend who eats cans of tuna. That's nice and easy, but it seems so gross. Any good tips for easy no-cook foods (or microwaveable)? I read the stickies on recipes, but I don't really cook except for steaming veggies and grilling chicken or salmon.

Sure, but you really don't want to add fats to your first meal of the day if you want to speed protein to your muscles. I'd wait at least a few hours, preferably three, after meal #1 to eat your healthy calories.

For fats in Meal #2 you might try "light tasting" olive oil. It's has 120 calories per tablespoon and doesn't taste as heavy and greasy as regular olive oil. It's also pretty cheap, so you won't break the bank trying to add healthy fats for calories.

 

[greentree]

Sure, but you really don't want to add fats to your first meal of the day if you want to speed protein to your muscles. I'd wait at least a few hours, preferably three, after meal #1 to eat your healthy calories.

For fats in Meal #2 you might try "light tasting" olive oil. It's has 120 calories per tablespoon and doesn't taste as heavy and greasy as regular olive oil. It's also pretty cheap, so you won't break the bank trying to add healthy fats for calories.

Good tip! I had no idea. I am learning so many good things from you guys - thanks!

 

[musclemom]

Sorry about the slow response, I was out of town.

Yeah, I can't sleep in because I'm too hungry in the morning, lol... I hear ya there. It's just when I'm busy doing homework for hours or working that it doesn't hit me until I'm bored. Also, I love the idea of a bean salad! I can do that. I have a crockpot, can I cook chicken in there somehow? I'll have to look through the recipes more, and try to find some that I can do. ,

On a different subject, when I do calves (just toe-raises right now) they seem to be crazy sore for like 5 days. My chicken legs are a problem area for me. I used to try different exercises with low reps and high weight and never saw any improvement in this area. I read an article that suggested doing toe raises on a step and concentrating on pushing all the way to the tip of your toes. I'm giving it a shot - I do a set of 70, then 50, then 40 with 30 sec between. It burns, and I see the results, so that's not the problem. Why does it take so long to recover? Is that normal? Will using the muscles during regular cardio cause a slower recovery time? Is it bad to use the muscles in cardio before they are recovered?

Thanks again guys, Merry Christmas!

160 toe raises!

I dunno, legs seem to be one thing that it's hard to fight genetics on. You've either got slow twitch/endurance or fast twitch/sprinting. But you're going to get bulk from high weight/low reps not high reps/bodyweight. The more compound movements you do (i.e., squats, deadlifts) the more growth you'll see throughout your body.

However, have to be realistic, too, meaning, genetics are genetics. Got to play the hand you're dealt. Take me, I've got a 32" inseam and 15" calves I've been lifting weights for nearly 15 years but nothing has ever changed the fact I've got long lean, legs.

 

[greentree]

160 toe raises!

I dunno, legs seem to be one thing that it's hard to fight genetics on. You've either got slow twitch/endurance or fast twitch/sprinting. But you're going to get bulk from high weight/low reps not high reps/bodyweight. The more compound movements you do (i.e., squats, deadlifts) the more growth you'll see throughout your body.

However, have to be realistic, too, meaning, genetics are genetics. Got to play the hand you're dealt. Take me, I've got a 32" inseam and 15" calves I've been lifting weights for nearly 15 years but nothing has ever changed the fact I've got long lean, legs.

Grrrr! I've been told this before, but I don't like it, lol. I have a 32" inseam as well. I'll have to see if I make any progress. I had a great workout today, and I'm exhausted. It feels good!

 

[trex74]

Sorry about the slow response, I was out of town.

Yeah, I can't sleep in because I'm too hungry in the morning, lol... I hear ya there. It's just when I'm busy doing homework for hours or working that it doesn't hit me until I'm bored. Also, I love the idea of a bean salad! I can do that. I have a crockpot, can I cook chicken in there somehow? I'll have to look through the recipes more, and try to find some that I can do. ,

On a different subject, when I do calves (just toe-raises right now) they seem to be crazy sore for like 5 days. My chicken legs are a problem area for me. I used to try different exercises with low reps and high weight and never saw any improvement in this area. I read an article that suggested doing toe raises on a step and concentrating on pushing all the way to the tip of your toes. I'm giving it a shot - I do a set of 70, then 50, then 40 with 30 sec between. It burns, and I see the results, so that's not the problem. Why does it take so long to recover? Is that normal? Will using the muscles during regular cardio cause a slower recovery time? Is it bad to use the muscles in cardio before they are recovered?

Thanks again guys, Merry Christmas!

You can definitely do chicken in the crock-pot, either cut-up or not, I like to add various flavours like diced tomatoes/veggies, curry paste, chili powder/beans, whatever you like...
If you cook it whole, you will have to pick out all those little bones, so I like to cut it up before hand. I don't really add liquid.
I've been told that calves respond to high reps...I've been doing 3 sets of twenty weighted reps of calf raises on a machine...and it's all I can do to finish them, but I'm not crazy sore afterwards.

 

[greentree]

You can definitely do chicken in the crock-pot, either cut-up or not, I like to add various flavours like diced tomatoes/veggies, curry paste, chili powder/beans, whatever you like...
If you cook it whole, you will have to pick out all those little bones, so I like to cut it up before hand. I don't really add liquid.
I've been told that calves respond to high reps...I've been doing 3 sets of twenty weighted reps of calf raises on a machine...and it's all I can do to finish them, but I'm not crazy sore afterwards.

Great! I found a recipe that has good veggies in it, as well as chicken breasts, for the crockpot.

Also, I'm up to 123 lbs! I gained 3 lbs last month, and 4 so far this month. Is that ok? I can really tell a difference in my glutes, hammies, and arms. It really seems like I've put on more than 7 lbs with how much different my muscles are. I can tell that a bit of it is fat though, because my stomach is not as flat (which you guys said would have to happen). When do I stop gaining and lose the fluff?

Forgive me if there is a thread explaining this as well, but I couldn't find one that answered this specific question for beginners. I understand that you have to put on fat when you gain muscle, then you lose the fat and try to keep the muscle - how do you do this?

How do you maintain the muscle without getting "pudgy" again?

 

[greentree]

I haven't done well since the 30th. I didn't have time to head to the gym with all the fun things going on, so I took a couple of days off. I mostly just dressed fabulous and went out with friends - but at least it was a blast! I didn't eat well, and lost 5 lbs. Crap. Oh well - I'm back on course, had a great breakfast and snack today and I'm heading to the gym in a bit.

 

[greentree]

Ok, it's two months later and I've improved. It's nothing to brag about, but I've gained a total of 12 lbs since I started and I can see improvement (except for my soft belly - gross!). Now I'd like to lose the fat and keep what muscle I can, what is the best way to do this? How fast can I lose it? Is it better to lose fat fast or slow, as far as keeping muscle is concerned?

I'm posting a pic - my biggest improvement was my arms, because I had scrawny distance-runner toothpick arms before. I know it's not much, but it's a start! Tell me if this pic works...

Shoot! It says I cant post it because I only have 17 posts total

 

[greentree]

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt341/ambertatreau/am/DSC039131.jpg

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Ok, it's two months later and I've improved. It's nothing to brag about, but I've gained a total of 12 lbs since I started and I can see improvement (except for my soft belly - gross!). Now I'd like to lose the fat and keep what muscle I can, what is the best way to do this? How fast can I lose it? Is it better to lose fat fast or slow, as far as keeping muscle is concerned?

I'm posting a pic - my biggest improvement was my arms, because I had scrawny distance-runner toothpick arms before. I know it's not much, but it's a start! Tell me if this pic works...

Shoot! It says I cant post it because I only have 17 posts total

Dam girl that is good and you are looking really good. If you lose at a rate of 1-2 lbs per week then the chances that you will burn muscle is much lower so it is better to be losing at slow steady rate then fasr. Great work so far keep it up!

 

[greentree]

Thank you! Lol, I'm glad I asked because I would have done the opposite. My instincts about this stuff are not so good it appears...

 

[nefertiti]

Greentree....Thanks for the update! I think you look great.

 

[greentree]

Thanks Nefertiti!

 

[trex74]

Yup you look fantastic! Nice arms. I can't see any belly, btw.

 

[greentree]

Yup you look fantastic! Nice arms. I can't see any belly, btw.

Lol, here's proof... but I already look a little better, promise!

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt341/ambertatreau/am/DSC039171.jpg

My friend and I are having a "best abs" contest, and we have until the 21st of this month. I had a few glasses of wine before I agreed to this, or I never would have, because he's easily going to win. I'm giving it my best though! It's good motivation if nothing else.