Greenhorn Gal gets Gorgeous!!

G

Greenhorn Gal

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Hi, everybody!

I decicded to conquer my resistance to starting a journal and just do it!

I began a major weight loss journey last year in october when my doctor told me I was fat. Not that I didn't already know this, but it just felt different to be sitting there and talking to a doctor about high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, and know that these are very real outcomes to ME not taking care of myself. I did a little research (most of it on this site--thank you everyone!), got really committed to change, and got started.

In October of 2007, at that doctor's appointment, I was 270. Holy schnikey!

My scale broke the other day, the battery pooped out on me, but I was right around 210. I have made lots and lots of progress by changing eating habits and working out regularly, and am very happy about the results so far! My goal weight will be somewhere around 150--I have decided not to set the final goal until I actually get closer to it--maybe I'll figure out what I look like around 170, and take it 10 lbs at a time after that.

My current goal is to get down to 197. That goal represents two things: FINALLY being under 200 for the first time in over 10 years, and will also be the THIRD 10% of my body weight that I've lost since I started. I plateaued pretty stubbornly around 210, as I had been at that weight for about a month, give or take a couple, and am currently working to break through the plateau. I fixed the sloppiness in my diet for the most part, and really ramped up my workouts. Last week my workout routine was this:

3 sets, 15 reps each--
Leg Press, Leg Curl, Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Delt/Fly thingy, and weighted ball crunches.
20 minutes on stationary bike--1 minute max effort, 1 minute moderate effort, 1 minute low effort, repeat till 20 mins up
10 minutes on treadmill, 1 min warmup, 1 minute run 6.5, 2 min walk 3mph, repeat till 10 mins are up

I did that 4 days last week, and plan to do pretty much the same general thing, but am planning some weight lifting changes--not really sure what to do. I have had the same routine for several months and it is time for a change. Actually, for months I have done a Seated Row instead of the Delt/Fly thing, but worked out at a different gym than my usual one and am too dumb to figure out their row machine--it looks like a space coaster.

Anyway, I think the combo above will give me some scale movement and eliminate the plateau--it may have done so already--darn that scale!

I use Fitday to track my diet most days, not all. Most of my resistance to a journal on this board was that I'd have to post my food twice, but I am just going to link my fitday here instead. I will focus on my workouts and overall progress and questions here, unless I decide differently some other day!



Would love suggestions for weight training changes from everyone here.
 
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you are about the funnest read of all!! next to me of course ehheheehe

so-- great that you turned over a new leaf and all,,, but are you coming back? to post some more?

the doc told you that you were fat!!! LOL! that bastahd needs a but wupen!

and "fly thingys!!!" who talks that way :p omg!

please grace us with more Greenhorn Gal! :azzangel:

oh, and sweat daily!
FF
 
Congrats on your losses so far. And good on you for weighing/tracking your food.

As for the workout routine, I'd suggest trying to move to free weight exercises as opposed to the machines - you get more bang for your buck that way.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks, FF and Stingo!

Here's my new workout:

Sets: 1 @ 1/2 working weight, 3 @ working weight

Reps: 12 each
Rest: 75sec

A1)Incline Bench
A2)Lateral Raise
B1)Reverse Fly
B2)Lat Pull-down
C1)Static Lunges
C2)Deadlifts
D)Standing Cable Crunch

Thanks, Derwyddon...

Unfortunately, for most of these, the weights I'm lifting are totally WUSSY! I did this routine twice, have been sore for 4 days, so I know it's working... It's embarrassing to be standing next to Fitness Dude who can Reverse Fly with 75 lb barbells, and here I am with my little 5 and 8 lb-ers! Plus, I can only put 20-lbs of plates on my deadlift--talk about starting from scratch!!

The good news is, today I am a bit less sore so plan to keep the expectation high and up the weights right away--I think my legs will feel normal by workout time tonight and ready for more torture and progress.

And Stingo, you're right--switching up to more free weights is TOTALLY different--my abdominals can feel it from the chest all the way down to my pelvis...it's awesome!

I'm on a 2-week no cardio, which ends on Thursday...can't wait for Thursday!

I busted out my old spinny-scale, and this morning it said 203 or 202, hard to tell. Happy with the progress!
 
Thanks, Sara :D You have been a huge help, so has this forum! I often wonder if I would have had the tools to do it had I not found this place. I may only have 115 posts, but I sure read a lot!

It kinda started to hit me at Mother's Day when I had lost 49 lbs, and my little niece is about 48 lbs, so I could "see" that I had lost an entire little human! Now I'm closing in on 70 lbs, and my daughter is 80 lbs and headed to 6th grade. I am truly amazed at the very idea of how much that is, especially when I look at her! I can look at myself in the mirror and see a difference, but I do not see another whole person--it's weird!!

67 lbs x 3500 calories per lb=234,500 calorie deficit! :beerchug:

Only 185,500 to go!
 
You go girl!! I came on today because I needs some motivation. I've put on some pounds this winter/summer - going away with "the girls in about 1 hour" and really have been feeling like crap...thanks for the motivation..I will plug on as you are!!
 
Also, remember that your lifting will suffer because you're eating at a deficit. Totally normal, and not wussy at all. As an experiment, pick the day before a lift, and eat at maintenance or a little over, and see how the next day's workout goes.
 
stingo said:
Also, remember that your lifting will suffer because you're eating at a deficit. Totally normal, and not wussy at all. As an experiment, pick the day before a lift, and eat at maintenance or a little over, and see how the next day's workout goes.
Click to expand...

This is a very good point.

You might want to look into carb cycling, even. It's a bit more work, but sort of an extension of what Tom's talking about. :) And some people find it much easier to stick with, because of the whole "eating as you need" thing.
 
As far as diet goes, I eat 1700 calories on weight training days--40/40/20, and 1300 calories on off days--50% protein/40% fat/10% carbs. I don't really know what carb cycling is, but I'll check into it and talk to Der. With the routine modifications, I am working out every other day.

Yesterday I had a weight training day, and it sucked. My legs were stioll sore from 2 days before, and when I went in for the first lunge, the muscle at the top of my thigh felt like it tore, and white-hot pain followed. Tried the other side, and the same thing happened, except in the same muscle on top and in the glute. It was so severe and so unlike the "good" pain that comes from lifting that I stopped and didn't work my legs at all, other than to try a deadlift, which aggravated the same muscles, and made the sciatic nerve hurt--I could actually hear my sacro-iliac joint clicking on the right side when I walked. Scared the schmit out of me!

So, today I'm feeling like a screw-up because I didn't do the full workout--did everything else though and had great gains in control and actual weight...fighting with myself about whether I should do just legs today to make up for it or if those muscles should have another day of rest. The muscles actually feel better today, and the sciatic nerve is fine, too. I think I might try a plan of attack of "greasing the groove" like Der told FF and just try a few of those lunges at a time today without any weight at all, other than body weight--maybe that's the problem. Yesterday those top thigh muscles felt like tough steak--I couldn'ty stretch them or work them right, and they feel much more normal and flexible today. Maybe wimping out yesterday was the right thing to do and enough to fix the problem--I really didn't have a choice--there was no way those muscles were going to cooperate...

I'll also double check the Internet and make sure I am attempting the correct form--that could also be contributing.

I think I'll eat for an off day today, do what I can with the legs, and plan for a weight day tomorrow.
 
Your body isn't built in the gym, it builds itself when you REST. It allows you to recover from the tearing down you do at the gym, and as such it's a vital component of your progress. Keep up the good work.
 
I actually "felt" pretty good when I got to the gym yesterday. Mentally, I was ready to conquer and had a great "feel" for how I'd do. The legs were sore but not super-sore, or "danger-sore". I have often worked out when still a little sore from the previous workout, especially when I go daily. Respect for the heal/rest time has had me going every other day this week.

I approached the legs from the same platform I had been on--didn't increase weight or anything, but was mentally committed to being able to increase, especially on the deadlift. I knew when those jolts went through me that I had to stop.

I think I am fixated on the progress/calorie burn, and am breaking through my plateau which makes me more motivated. I DO however, have a healthy respect for my future ability to continue training, so will "park" for now until I get more info/input.

Thanks everyone for the input and validation and encouragement! It means a lot to me!
 
If weight loss is your primary goal, I understand you can get a lot more bang for your buck by bringing your nutrition in line, getting enough sleep, being generally active, and working out - in that order from most to least important.
 
Weight loss is my first goal. Through this process I have developed a love for exercise and challenging myself that will stick around forever. I am learning as I go--HOW to do it. Right now, my goal is weight loss and someday it will be something different. :)

My nutrition is in line 90% of the time, I generally get enough sleep (except from January-April 15), I have a desk job so "generally being active" is difficult, and working out is in line, too!
 
Greenhorn Gal said:
Weight loss is my first goal. Through this process I have developed a love for exercise and challenging myself that will stick around forever. I am learning as I go--HOW to do it. Right now, my goal is weight loss and someday it will be something different. :)

My nutrition is in line 90% of the time, I generally get enough sleep (except from January-April 15), I have a desk job so "generally being active" is difficult, and working out is in line, too!
Click to expand...

I have a desk job too - and NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis - a fancy way of saying getting off your butt and moving around) is sometimes hard to come by. But, there's generally far more time for NEAT than there is for working out. Working out takes an hour? So there's another 15 or so in which to do something like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking further away from stores etc. It all adds up. Not to mention, I'm guessing the acronym for working out would be EAT (exercise activity thermogenesis) which would be appropriate because that's what bodies want to do when repairing/recovering from a workout session. Often, the refeed will be at or exceed the calories spent from the workout.
 
Thanks, opencuzn--I'm just gonna keep truckin' away!

Stingo, I have found that I am MUCH more energetic after shedding some weight, and that definitely helps with the NEAT activity. I request far fewer favors from my kids, park farther away at work, attack chores like grocery shopping with a vengeance and SPEED, and run with my dogs and kids far more than I used to ever want to, or be able to.

Weight day today--did GREAT on upper body stuff and skipped lunges entirely. Those muscles are still sore and stiff and I think I have a form problem so I'm sitting them out just now. I DID do deadlifts--Derwyddon told me to do the movement without the weight, and I did a set before I left for the gym, and all was well. When I got there, I did a few with the empty bar and it still was OK, so I did the official workout with 20 lbs for the first set, and went to 30 for the final 3 sets. During the first weighted set, I noticed that there was a particular way I hold my body that aggravated the sore muscles (not to the point of white-hot pain:)), and by adjusting my stance, the pain did NOT occur at all. The lift was smoother and I really felt it in my lower thigh and glutes (and back and abs and stuff, too!). Overall, I feel that I learned and corrected the form problem on the DL that may have contributed to the issue.

Lunges are a whole different story. I made a video of myself doing a lunge so I could send it to Sara, with the support of some deck furniture, and the pain in those muscles was really intense (did this yesterday--hence the continued soreness and decision not to mess with it at all today). It feels like it is partially a stretching (lack thereof) problem to some degree. Tomorrow will be an off day, and I'll reevaluate everything on Tuesday. Might rehearse the non-weighted DL movement tomorrow away from the gym, see if I can reinforce the corrected movement and get one step closer to feeling ready to try lunges again.

I got my digital scale working today--finally hunted down a new battery. Tomorrow's weigh day! I'm hoping for progress!
 
NEAT is ridiculous. NEPA (non-exercise physical activity) makes way more sense.

Canada disapproves.

P.S. Good luck.
 
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