Trying To Get Muscle Definition

[XZIllR8]

Here is a quote from an earlier post I did:

" ...Here is a sample menu:

Breakfast (7 am): morning shake (including 1 T psyllium husks, 26 g protein powder, 1 tsp lime juice, 3/4 C strawberries, 1oz unsweetened cranberry juice, probiotic powder, 1 pkt of Stevia, 1/2 tsp cinnamon).

Morning snack (9:30 am): 1 boiled egg and half an apple with 1 T of all-natural peanut butter.

Lunch (12:30): 4 oz meat and 2 veggies (such as 1/2 C cooked rutabaga and 1/2 C green beans)

Afternoon snack (4:00): 1 boiled egg and half an apple with 1 T of all-natural peanut butter.

Dinner (6:30): 4 oz meat (such as grilled chicken basted with 1T of all-natural, low sodium, no fat BBQ sauce), 1/2 sweet potato (topped w/ flax seed oil & cinnamon)and a side of veggies (such as a small salad with 1T reduced calorie dressing)

...

The supplements I take are all natural. I take GLA, mulitvitamin, fiber supplement in the evening, magnesium, stress formula (which contains things like B vitamins), weight loss formula (which inlcudes things like chromium, biotin, and l-carnitine), digestive enzyme. I just recently added CLA. I also take L-Glutamine on the days I do weights. I drink appx. 64 oz of water a day.

I'm not going to lie, I go off my diet sometimes on the weekends. But when I do go off my diet, I don't go over board by eating donuts or a cheeseburger with fries or something... For instance, a "cheat" would be with some limits like eating a breakfast taco or eating stir-fry chinese food without the rice. Every once in a while I might have chicken strips with a salad or something..."

My current workout consists of: alternating days of weights and cardio. Weights are 5 sets for each muscle group with increasing weight for each set (ie, set 1= 12 reps, set 2= 10 reps (with increased weight), set 3= 8 reps (with increased weight), set 4= 6 reps (with increased weight), and 12 reps (back at original weight).

Monday: weights= chest and triceps
Tues: cardio= 30 minutes on elliptical or hike and bike trail (mostly elliptical though) and abs
Weds: weights= legs
Thurs: cardio= same as above
Fri: weights= shoulder, back, and biceps
Sat: cardio
Sun: cardio

This week it was suggested to me to do 20-30 minutes of cardio everyday instead of ever other day, so I started that this week.

 

[scorpiogirl]

My fiance is standing here reading this stuff with me - he just said EXACTLY why Daisy & I are telling you to POST your EXACT diet....you are probably eating more than you should - even if it IS the good food. You don't know portions because you're not logging it. Put it in fitday and check it out. You will probably be unpleasantly surprised of how fast the calories stack up.

If you're cheating a couple of times a week....what are your calories for those days? Do you have any clue....or are you just pretty sure you're ok?

Until you log it....you don't know and that's the bottom line. We can't pull answers out of the air and give you the "magic" answer. You have to put some effort into this (as I'm sure you have to this point)....but you can take it a step further.

If it were easy to have a beautiful body with minimal work - we would all be gods and goddesses. It takes work. Work it, girl!!!!

 

[musclemom]

I'm not the expert that the other ladies are but just some ideas ...

1. What about having real food for breakfast. Get some oatmeal, put the ground flaxseed in there (my breakfast sounds revolting but is 1 c. cooked oatmeal, 1/4 c. 1% cottage cheese, 2 oz cooked chicken, 2 T. ground flaxseed ... it's not so bad with salt).

2. Looks like you have a limited diet ... more green things would be nice ... my rule of thumb, when in doubt, add 1% cottage cheese.

3. Are you doing any big compound lifts like deads or squats? They're scary, but they make a difference.

4. Have you increased your weights?

I think your calories are low ... I'd say for a hoot, if you're really frustrated, bump it say 200 to 400 a day while maintaining ratios to see what happens ... if you're not focused on a competition, you have some leeway to play around, you might gain some mass that might tip the scale with fat burning.

Like I said, I'm in NO way an expert, but just some food for thought.

 

[XZIllR8]

I use Fitday everyday. I'm sorry, I misunderstood what you meant by an exact menu. I'm trying to transfer a week of my menu from Fitday.com, but I'm having a hard time. I transferred to a word doc but the word doc is too big to upload on here. If anyone has any suggestions on how to transfer that info on here, I'd appreciate it.

As far as specifics on my workout.... I alternate every 2 weeks to a different weight exercise so my body doesn't get used to it. I will choose one exercise for each muscle group below, do that exercise, and switch to a different one after 2 weeks. I have been increasing in weight.

Chest= Barbell or Dumbell bench press/ Barbell or Dumbell incline press/ Dumbell flyes/ Cable crossovers

Back= Lat Pulldown/ Seated cable rows/ Straight arm pulldowns/ Bent over lateral raise

Shoulders= Seated Dumbell press/ Front raises/ Lateral Raises/ Reverse Flyes/ Upright Barbell rows

Biceps= Dumbell or Barbell curls/ Preacher curls/ Concentration curls/ Hammer curls

Triceps= Overhead Dumbell extension/ Tricep kickbacks/ Cable extension/ Dips

Quads= Barbell or Dumbell squats/ Leg press/ Leg extension

Hamstrings= Dumbell lunges/ Straight leg deadlifts/ Lying leg curls

Calves= Seated calf raises/ Calf press/ Standing heel raises

Abs= Swiss ball crunches, hanging knee raises, bicycle crunch, oblique exercise with medicine ball, lying leg raises

Thank you all for your encouragement and suggestions. I don't expect my weight loss to come easy. It's just taking longer and harder than it used to be.

 

[scorpiogirl]

So you're stuck at 125? If you log in fitday, you know your calorie intake then, right? What is it? We had talked about how many calories you should be eating earlier on in this thread.

You're only doing 5 sets per muscle group...and your pyramiding(sp) those sets? Maybe try doing 3 different exercises, 4 sets per exercise and 10 reps per exercise. Switch it up a bit and see if that helps. Still doing cardio? 20-30 Minutes of HIIT 3x per week should really help if you're not already doing it.

 

[XZIllR8]

My calorie intake typically ranges from 1200-1450. During the week it is normally 1200-1350. On the weekends it is normally 1350-1500 (because I've cheated). On the days that I have cheated, it has never been more than 1600. No matter what, I always strive to eat at least 100 grams of protein, 20 grams of fiber, and less than 100 grams of carbs per day. I'll see if I can type out what I've eaten for 7 days off of fitday since I can't seem to upload it. If I've cheated on the weekend, I will usually eat 1200-1250 cals for the following 2 days to offset it. I don't know if that's the wrong thing to do or not.

I do 20-30 minutes of HIIT 2x per week and the other 5 days, I just do regular cardio.

I started doing the above mentioned weight routine about a month and a half ago. I changed it to that since the other routine didn't seem to be working for me. I don't know how long I should try this routine before determining if it's working for me or not.

I would like to lose my 15 lbs (and/or go from 20% bf to 15% bf) by the end of February.

I appreciate all your help!

 

[scorpiogirl]

Well, the first thing I would do is bring your calories down a little and try that. Stay between 1250 - 1300 and see if that helps. Don't go above 1300 Monday thru Saturday. Cheat meal or cheat day one day per week - no more. You need to bring your protein up to 125 grams per day.

If you want to lose 5% bf, you won't lose 15 lbs, but you will definitely reshape your body. To lose 15 lbs, you would have to lose some muscle too, and you don't want to do that.

What time of day are you doing cardio?

 

[Daisy_Girl]

No matter what, I always strive to eat at least 100 grams of protein, 20 grams of fiber, and less than 100 grams of carbs per day.

I do 20-30 minutes of HIIT 2x per week and the other 5 days, I just do regular cardio.

Couple things ...

How many grams of fat?
Because here is my math thus far ...
4cal per g of protein x 100g = 400 calories
4cal per g of carb x 100g = 400 calories
So without adding in fat yet, you are at 800 calories a day.


You are doing some form of cardio 7x a week? Stop it.
HIIT can be done 2-3 times a week, but I wouldn't do steady state cardio ALL the other days. You need a rest day. I would do HIIT 3x a week and steady state 2x a week and THAT IS IT for cardio. Increasing cardio shouldn't be the first thing you do - changing DIET is the first thing.


What are your "cheat meals" usually consisting of? Do you cheat all weekend at every meal? Are they planned out in advance, or is it a free for all? What is the structure of your cheats?


* Your protein is low - increase protein to 1g per lb BW.
* Don't limit green veggies - they are so low in calorie and high fiber, vitamins, minerals.
* Don't forget good carbs include things like yams, sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal - these things are GOOD for you.

 

[XZIllR8]

Well, the first thing I would do is bring your calories down a little and try that. Stay between 1250 - 1300 and see if that helps. Don't go above 1300 Monday thru Saturday. Cheat meal or cheat day one day per week - no more. You need to bring your protein up to 125 grams per day.

Sounds good. This may seem like a dumb question, but how do I add another 25 grams of protein a day? If I'm already eating a chicken breast, egg, or lean burger patty for each meal, what can I add to bump up my grams?

If you want to lose 5% bf, you won't lose 15 lbs, but you will definitely reshape your body. To lose 15 lbs, you would have to lose some muscle too, and you don't want to do that.

What time of day are you doing cardio?

During the week I do my cardio before lunch (since unfortunately I don't have time in the mornings). On the weekend though, I do my cardio before breakfast.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

More protein is easy to add.

Add more protein to the shake.
Add more protein to your snacks - they are so pitifully low in protein.
Add another protein only shake after your weight workout.
Add more meat to the meals, another 1-2oz will make a huge difference.