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FigureSkater
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It's been 8 weeks since I got my butt back in the gym and eating clean. I feel awesome (and have morphed back into my former fitness nazi self) and I've dropped about 10-12 pounds, so basically the weight I gained during my first miserable Upstate NY winter (I'm 5'5, went from about 171 to 160, size 12 to a 10 at the store I shop at. Not sure of body fat beause my home scale gives a very inaccurate reading, although it is consistently inaccurate and has gone down 4-6%)...but for the past two weeks, I feel like I haven't seen any results. I'm well aware that things start to slow down, but I need help getting out of the rut!
Before, I was lifting 3 days/week just alternating upper/lower to allow myself to get back into it, taking a Pilates class one night a week, and doing about 25 minutes of cardio per day, sometimes a little more on non-lifting days. (I know some of you may say to drop the amount of cardio, but I know from years of trial and error that I can do cardio every day and not worry about msucle loss!) Cardio is normally an interval workout I do on the treadmill (4 minute cycles, each minute I increase the speed by .5 mph, then after the 4th minute drop back down to the speed I started). My cardio endurance has gotten back to where it was before, which is good. I also like the exercise bike. HATE ellipticals because I don't feel like I get anything out of them. Sundays are my off day.
Diet has been clean 90% of the time. 5-6 meals a day:
Meal 1: 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg--in an omelet with spinach, celery, green pepper. 1/4 c. dry of oatmeal OR 2 tbsp cream of wheat
Meal 2: 4 oz grilled chix, 1/2 yam OR 1/2 c brown rice
Meal 3: 4 oz grilled chix, green veggies, 1/2 c brown rice or wheat pasta
Meal 4: Nitro Tech shake
Meal 5: 4 oz grilled chix, green veggies (unltd)
Meal 6 (optional): 1/2 c cottage cheese, 1 tbsp natty pb spread on 2 celery stalks OR nitro tech shake
I also vary that a little but that's the basic layout...I usually end up eating cottage cheese once a day, I snack on about an ounce of almonds usually mid-morning, I like to make Jell-O squares with sugar free Jello and Knox (3 envelopes knox, 3 boxes jello, let it gel and cut into 2" squares--whole tray has 220 cal, 36 g protein, 0 fat and carbs) and eat a little of that as a treat. Once or twice a week I have steak or some lean ground beef cooked up and eaten as lettuce wrap tacos. Usually have one cheat meal (Sat nights) and sometimes a cheat snack, like a scoop of ice cream, at another point during the week.
And now I'm stuck....not sure what to do, because it seems that I'm doing everything right! Previously in training, when I hit a rut, I started training for a marathon, but that caused a bad knee injury (which is what lead me to get out of shape as I was 2 mos ago). Now that fall semester is starting and gym hours are better, I hope to add some swimming. I'm also on my university's synchronized (figure) skating team, and we'll be starting practices in a few weeks. Changed the lifting to a chest/shoulders/tri's, back/bi's, legs split, but I am just lifting for maintenance right now (no need/desire to get any bigger). Also planning on trying Yoga to gain back some flexibility I lost, and maybe a Cardio Kickboxing class. Maybe I need to eat more different foods? Help
Before, I was lifting 3 days/week just alternating upper/lower to allow myself to get back into it, taking a Pilates class one night a week, and doing about 25 minutes of cardio per day, sometimes a little more on non-lifting days. (I know some of you may say to drop the amount of cardio, but I know from years of trial and error that I can do cardio every day and not worry about msucle loss!) Cardio is normally an interval workout I do on the treadmill (4 minute cycles, each minute I increase the speed by .5 mph, then after the 4th minute drop back down to the speed I started). My cardio endurance has gotten back to where it was before, which is good. I also like the exercise bike. HATE ellipticals because I don't feel like I get anything out of them. Sundays are my off day.
Diet has been clean 90% of the time. 5-6 meals a day:
Meal 1: 4 egg whites, 1 whole egg--in an omelet with spinach, celery, green pepper. 1/4 c. dry of oatmeal OR 2 tbsp cream of wheat
Meal 2: 4 oz grilled chix, 1/2 yam OR 1/2 c brown rice
Meal 3: 4 oz grilled chix, green veggies, 1/2 c brown rice or wheat pasta
Meal 4: Nitro Tech shake
Meal 5: 4 oz grilled chix, green veggies (unltd)
Meal 6 (optional): 1/2 c cottage cheese, 1 tbsp natty pb spread on 2 celery stalks OR nitro tech shake
I also vary that a little but that's the basic layout...I usually end up eating cottage cheese once a day, I snack on about an ounce of almonds usually mid-morning, I like to make Jell-O squares with sugar free Jello and Knox (3 envelopes knox, 3 boxes jello, let it gel and cut into 2" squares--whole tray has 220 cal, 36 g protein, 0 fat and carbs) and eat a little of that as a treat. Once or twice a week I have steak or some lean ground beef cooked up and eaten as lettuce wrap tacos. Usually have one cheat meal (Sat nights) and sometimes a cheat snack, like a scoop of ice cream, at another point during the week.
And now I'm stuck....not sure what to do, because it seems that I'm doing everything right! Previously in training, when I hit a rut, I started training for a marathon, but that caused a bad knee injury (which is what lead me to get out of shape as I was 2 mos ago). Now that fall semester is starting and gym hours are better, I hope to add some swimming. I'm also on my university's synchronized (figure) skating team, and we'll be starting practices in a few weeks. Changed the lifting to a chest/shoulders/tri's, back/bi's, legs split, but I am just lifting for maintenance right now (no need/desire to get any bigger). Also planning on trying Yoga to gain back some flexibility I lost, and maybe a Cardio Kickboxing class. Maybe I need to eat more different foods? Help
