Plateau

[fitnesschic]

Spatt, I will write what I ate friday and saturday.

I trained friday morning (usually i train in the afternoon):
5 am 1/2 balance bar gold before going to the gym
7:30 am Breakfast following WO: 1/2 cup oats, 6 egg whites, 1 tbps flaxseed oil (same breakfast every morning).

10:30 am Metabolift bar 3 hours later: 12 P, 0 F, 0C

Lunch 1:30 Same as breakfast (since I ran out of chicken)

Dinner 6:00 7 egg whites (again out of chicken, don't usaully eat whites for breakfast, lunch and dinner), 2 cups baby green salad with asparagus, broccoli, tbps pumpkin seeds, tomatos, salad dressing with 100 cals & 4 grams F. Fiber muffin 80 cals, 5 P, 9 C, 0 F, and 13 fiber.

9:00 sprouted wheat bread (3 P, 8 C, 1 F) with tbps pb, scoop of protien 20 grams

Total: 1627 cals, 112 C, 145 P, 42 F

Saturday-trained in the morning
8am 1/2 c oats, 25 P powder

11 am same breakfast as above

2 pm MetRx Lite shake: 25 P, 19 C (no sugar), 1.5 F

5 pm 3 oz tuna, one slice sprouted wheat bread (above), 4 100% wheat crackers: 24 P, 20 C, 7 F (unsaturated)

8 pm dinner( do not usually eat so late) chicken salad, 4 oz chicken breast, 1/8 avacodo, 1 oz pumpkin seeds, other veggies, no dressing

10 pm fiber muffin (above) bed at midnight

Total: 1489 cal, 110 C, 126 P, 39 F

I hope that was not more detailed then what you were looking for.

 

[fitnesschic]

Bikinimom, what is your activity level like and what and what does your diet look like??

Spatt, you wrote:
"You would have to alter the times by when you train, and cycle the carbs 3 days low (.5g/kg body weight) and 2 days high (2.0g/kg body weight), or high on training days and low on non training days. The diet in the link represents the 100g CHO median. "

Would you mulitply your current weight or the weight you want to be? Someone suggested using weight you are striving for.

I'm not trying to sound like an idot but i want to see if I understand the numbers.....

My weight is kg is 52. So .5g/kg bw is 26 grams on low days and 104 on high days. It seems I would be catabolic at 26 CHO a day?

Also I didn't mention above that I usally get my grains from sprouted wheat bread, brown rice (1/4 c) 100 % wheat pasta (1/2 c) and beans (usally black).

 

[fitnesschic]

My engergy level is great!

Friday I trained back, bi's and abs

Saturday I took a 90 min course in agility, plyometics and iron pump. Today every is sore lol. I'm taking today off and back tomorrow although I'm not sure what to train since I'm sure I will still be pretty sore and I don't want to only do cardio.

I usually train and do cardio in the same day. Not always at the same time, i break it up if I can.

The reason i use the bars and shakes (and I really do try to limit them) is because my days are so busy I can't always get the food in me when i need to. So drinking or breaking off a piece of a bar will get me thru. Do you suggest mini versions of your meals as snacks between meals?

I really apppreciate the time you have taken to give me feedback

 

[Bikini Mod]

Right now everything sucks ass (recovering from surgery) BUT in the fall I had zero difficulty maintaining 13-15%bf with NO CARDIO because I had a decent amount of mass. I was about 124-127#. The only activity that I did that you could remotely equate to cardio was dancing (I currently go-go dance). Even though I do perspire during my set, it is no longer than 10 minutes so that doesn't really count.

I would lift as heavy as I could at least 4 days but no more than 5 days per week.

As for food I couldn't tell you the last time I measured anything. I am not now nor will I ever be Ms O. As long as I like what I see in the mirror it is all good.

I usually have 1 C oatmeal with 5/6 eggs at least two whole the rest white (although this varies depending on my needs) perhaps some equal or sugarfree syrup. Hell, I often times splurge and just use two packets of that sugary crap hehehehe but not very often. I will eat this for my first 2/3 meals.

I have several cups of coffee w/a mixture of skim milk and flavored creamer (If I want to lean out I ax the creamer or eliminate the coffee altogether as I can not bring myself to drink it black.)

I drink a MRP shake w/water after I train. The rest of my meals are usually protein and veggies. I can not remember the last time I ate pasta and bread is a treat. For a snack I just have a couple of TBS of peanutbutter.

I drink a gallon of water daily.

Now contest prep is different and if I have a shoot (God I haven't done that in like EONS!) I increase cardio and decrease comp carbs until the event, then go back to normal and cut that cardio shit the fuck out.

What you have to realize is that "lean, lean, lean" stuff is but for a moment in time. Then we go back to being normal. For me, I like to keep my bf at 15% or lower.

I HATE CARDIO and as for intensity, the most intense cardio I do is walking on the treadmill, uphill at like 3.5..... other than sex that is.... tee-hee

 

[rez]

i understand your position totally! i have cals back over the last few weeks, by quite alot..most days seem to be around 1300cals, whereas I used to have around 1800cals. The drop has been because I do not train as hard as I used to b/c of my back injury...I can still only manage low-mod cardio and light weights 2 x week...so the drop in cals IMO is justified.

If you are training at high intensity I believe you will greatly beneifit from increasing your cals, both mentally and physically.

 

[fitnesschic]

Spatt,

I am still following your advice and things are starting to happen!
i am averaging about 1400 cals a day, I hope that isn't too low but I can't seem to get more food in me.

I haven't been able to get my bf done yet and I hope what I have lost is fat. I am down to 113 and I am sure some of what I have lost is h20. I think it is fat and not muscle since I can see more definition.

Thanks for saying the same thing again and again until I finally got it!

 

[evilqueen]

Women DO get bulky...

...and I am frustrated when I meet this absolute WALL of resistance to that notion.

My experience is this: I lifted heavy for 6 weeks, gained 5 pounds of muscle, lost 2 pounds of fat. My bf went from 16.9 to 15.3--hardly what you'd call fat. And yet, my waist and hips expanded two inches from doing heavy squats, and my thighs look blocky. Not ONE PERSON told me this would happen, and I'm here to tell newbies that it CAN happen, especially if you have a mesomorphic body type that tends to build muscle quickly.

had my bf tested at a human performance center, so it's correct. It would not appear to be extra fat. I use fitday to track what I eat, and it's clean, good ratios of f, c, and p, with appropriate calories for my height, frame size, and activity level.

I do not like this bulkiness--gee, is that okay with everyone here?--and am trying to LOSE some of it. I don't care how much this gets all of your knickers in a twist.

I'm copping attitude because a few of you on this board (a very few) have a smug and superior attitude about your bodies, your performance, and your progress. (I've also gotten some wonderful, thoughtful, and caring replies, so I'm not making generalizations here.)

Not everyone on this board wants to be a powerlifter, and you've got to remember you're dealing with rank beginners, in many cases. I think that if you're going to attempt to help these people, you need to be aware that you're going up against years of cultural conditioning. Impatience and sarcasm don't help your cause.

Some of the women here are simply regular women, with DAY JOBS, who do the best they can with the genetics they have. We turn to you for advice and we're grateful to get it.

But I hate this smug, holier-than-thou attitude that if we're not reaching our goals, it's OUR OWN FAULT. I listened to the advice I got on this board and ended up with a 28-inch waist and 21.5-inch thighs, which--and I really don't give a damn what you think--is not acceptable to me. And it ain't fat, people.

I read this board often and find great advice. But I rarely post anymore--I am not willing to feel bad because my goals don't fit someone else's perception of what my goals should be.

My main point: WOMEN DO BULK UP, AND YOU SHOULD TELL THEM THAT THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF THIS HAPPENING, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE A MESOMORPHIC BODY TYPE.

Let the flames begin....whatever.

 

[Bikini Mod]

Nobody ever said that women can NOT bulk - but what a lot of you do not understand is that you do not know how your body will respond when you feed your muscles and train for what is the very first time EVER. And yes, I DO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!

BUT - the whole part of what makes this an ongoing and individual process is finding the solutions to YOUR SPECIFIC "problems". IE - how to bring up lagging bodyparts, how to rev up a slow metabolism, how to gain mass when you can not seem to shovel in enough food, how to compensate for genetics,

All of our bodies are different and while their are a few hard and fast basic "rules" (ie - more lean mass - the more efficiently your body burns calories) not EVERY solution works the same in every individual with THE SAME PARTICULAR problem.

This board has a variety of VERY IMPORTANT members - some are top level competitors, some have degrees and professional experience that are invaluable to us, and others still - THE NEWBIES - YES, I SAID THE NEWBIES - are also VERY IMPORTANT as they bring a new way to look at an old problem.... Did that make ANY SENSE?

The way that I look at it, if I someone that I am trying to convey my ideas to, just does not "get it", then it is not THIER FAULT... I need to try and keep conveying what is crystal clear in MY MIND until it finds a form where it becomes clear to the individual who asked the question in the first place. But it is a two way street... the other party also needs to try and approach the issue from as many angles as possible so that we can meet somewhere in the middle - THAT IS WHERE THE NEW IDEA IS FORMED!

How boring would it be here if there was nothing left to discuss? If WE WERE ALL ON THE SAME LEVEL and HAD THE SAME GOAL?!

Believe it or not - I am just an average woman w/some kids and a job too. I am a firm believer that for most you do not have to weigh and measure much (especially once you've put a little effort into learning about nutrition) and that most complicated training principles and EXACT training regimens are not necessary... BUT you should have an idea of where you want to go and what to do once you've gotten there as we are hopefully all growing as our goals keep changing as we attain them.

I am very sorry that you feel "attitude" from the more experienced and knowledgeable members. I don't see it, though I must confess I have been guilty of flying off of the handle a time or two myself.

I believe that it is more about perception than anything else. I do understand what you are saying about your body - I have the same problem... but what you don't realize that the answer is to now bring up lagging body parts to compensate, not try to lose the mass that you have grown. I have a very thick waist, yet when I say this people chuckle..... I have created the ILLUSION of a small waist by bringing up my glutes, legs, lats and upper body... My genetics will NEVER allow me a wasp-like waist nor will my appendages or waist suddenly get longer. So I look at what I have, improve on what needs improving.

Just keep reading and if you have a question, ask it. I once had a teacher who told me (I used to be painfully embarrassed to "ask a stupid question") that the only stupid question is the one you DID NOT ask.

.....works for me.

 

[makedah]

evil,

You're not going to get a fight out of me...

Most sources that I've seen do acknowledge that a few women have the potential to get quite muscular. I think that if there is a problem in the "women don't get big" discourse, it is the fact that what is considered "bulk" is VERY different from person to person. For me, there's a big difference between muscle growth and "bulk." I understand "bulkiness" to be extreme size that is only seen on very large powerlifters or bodybuilders. I can't see your body, but I don't consider what you've described here to be "bulk." Clearly, you do. So yes, in a conversation with someone like me, we'd be speaking at cross purposes about "bulk."

I don't know what your body goals are, but most of the women that I've dealt with who are afraid of weights or stop lifting heavy want a lithe, ballerina-type body. A woman can lift heavy weights and have a body like that if her genetics dictate it. Most folks, however, will experience muscle GROWTH when they lift weights -- I don't think that has been obscured or lied about. The fact is, that muscle growth is usually quite modest on women unless they make extra effort to change that. But here again, what I consider to be "modest," someone else might consider to be "big." The worst-case scenario is a woman who puts on muscle fairly easily (if not as easily as you do) but really wants to be lithe. A woman like that has to chose between getting stronger (muscles AND bones) or chasing some external ideal. I know that women have different ideas of what is beautiful, but it is my hope that more women can embrace their OWN best body (internally and externally), even if that means that the whole world can see her quadriceps!!!

Good luck in your efforts. I understand that serious long-distance endurance training strips muscle, you may consider that.

 

[Bikini Mod]

Re: WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH FITNESS CHICK?!?!??!?!

<crunch crunch> ...the only "powerlifter" on the board walking on egg shells.

How 'bout building some shoulders and an ass to taper your waist?

Exactly what this mere mortal said.

I feel better now that one of "the board heavies" (and I mean that in THE MOST FLATTERING WAY 'cause GURL YOU COULD KICK MY ASS WITHOUT EVEN TRYING IN ALL ASPECTS OF THIS GAME!) concurrs...

tee-hee