Sparrows Experiment

Took the day off. I felt rather sick last night and hit the sack early. Decided to sleep and relax for a change, instead of swim. Its rainy outside and cozy inside.
Parents came to watch my son's last game of soccer and then took us out to lunch.
Just bummin it and trying to not feel uptight about relaxing! weird.
 
I wanted to add took measurements today because I haven't since I started the weights and I want a written record. The first mesurment is year ago when I was almost 137lb, 15.7% bf, the second ones are the start of the weights 6 weeks ago 132lb 18% bf, the ones in parenthesis are the current at 130lb ?bf

chest: 35, 35, (34)
waist (at belly button) 28.5, 29.5 (29) (too much ab work actually makes this higher I think)
hips 34, 33 (32)
legs: 21.5, 21.5 (almost 22)
calves: 13.5, 13.5 (13.5)
arms: forgot to measure before but currently they are just under 11"
 
p.s. for you rrecord- the FF'er sent you a PM after long swim day about stressing parts,, and the following day you had irritated ankle. AND you and I BOTH know you felt it, and my guess is you thru in that last 800 thinking you would overcome it... hhahahahahaha \


TOLD YOU SO!

nannner nannner nanner

off to soak my sore knee, because I am developing a bad habit on my right side pull up strokes. maybe next time i will tell me so!
 
Well I did go workout last night. I can't be still, I'm a lost cause where thats concerned. If I'm forced to retreat from workouts, I do without complaint, but when not forced I find a way.

I ended up just playing at the gym-15 min eliptical, 15 min stairs, 15 min running and then some bi curls, dips and abs. I actually would have done some more but it was movie night at our house :). it was nice not to have an agenda and I really didn't care about intensity, just wanted to get the blood going. I'm laying off the running probably the first half of the week at least. I need to mend the ankle and work on stretching it to get more flexibility. My favorite spin instructor is out for two weeks. shes having a "procedure" done. NOOOO! so I think I'm going to switch up my week and work more swimming in. When she comes back she wants me to sit on the instructor spin bike and lead the class and she'll be there for moral support for the remaining 2 weeks of her time off. I have her music so I can get used to the ipod programing (I havce an mp3 player). I'm dreading it. She wanted me to actually sub these 2 weeks and I had to decline. I just don't feel like I'm ready for that. Shes super smooth. So thats it. I might swim today, I might not ;)
 
Swam, but not that long. Some guy stopped me and started talking. Then he was curious about flip turns and I taught him some stuff. I'm not sure I'd ever be brave enough to STOP someone during their obvious workout, but oh well. After he finally let me go, I turned it into a HIIT thing and did some sprints. My lowest 50free time was 30 sec and lowest 100 was 1:06, not too shabby for now.
Tomorrow starts 100% clean eating the next 9 days before Thanksgiving. My husband and I have a challenge going on. Maybe if I can get that far I can keep it going and see more results with what I have going on.
 
sparrow said:
Swam, but not that long. Some guy stopped me and started talking. Then he was curious about flip turns and I taught him some stuff. I'm not sure I'd ever be brave enough to STOP someone during their obvious workout, but oh well. After he finally let me go, I turned it into a HIIT thing and did some sprints. My lowest 50free time was 30 sec and lowest 100 was 1:06, not too shabby for now.
Tomorrow starts 100% clean eating the next 9 days before Thanksgiving. My husband and I have a challenge going on. Maybe if I can get that far I can keep it going and see more results with what I have going on.
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9 days! I want in for that. Today ws day one for me, and then I had an itty bitty piece of fudge in a meeting.

Maybe joining up with you "will allow me to do things I have not yet been able to do." ;)
 
Sounds like someone needs to initiate a challenge in the members lounge. I'll be watching for it. FF, Sparrow, someone, get it going! I'm sure you will get a better response than me. CYA, Greg
 
okay, that sounds like a good idea. I think we should make the challenge until Christmas Eve...and rep points should be part of it. FF you do it. They like you better :D

Today I had the most killer spin workout-and here I was all worried about our spin sub :) It turned out to be one of the other instructors who also comes to swim in my class and I love her. Where the other instructor is big on intervals, the one today is big on HILLS and lots of them. She likes to get us breathless quite often with short downhill runs before the next big hill. She likes us to max out for whatever we can do for that day. I rose to that challenge and got to a place on the bike where I could almost not add anymore resistance without actually stopping the wheel! My legs feel crazy strong.

My menu...for accountability:
Break: whey/water/flax protein shake (2 osteo biflex for my joints, 2 fish oil)

lunch: 8 egg whites, sprouted tortilla, 1T PB

snack: 1/4 of a "zone" bar (I was out shopping and desperate), handful of baby carrots, bite of my daughters "dora" yogurt (lol) at least I'm honest :rolleyes:

dinner: minestrone soup, huge salad: dark greens, feta cheese (I've considered this OK in moderation), walnuts, red bell peppers, chopped tomato, balsamic/olive oil dressing, side of spaghetti squash w/pepper

snack: this will be tea w/splenda and milk

I'll update at the end of the day. This is good for me too because it will show me where I'm at with my calories too and keep me eating when and what I should. I think I've been skimping on the cals lately.
 
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no sugar until Christmas eve! talk abotu settin everybody up to lie!! hahahaha

OK,,, i thought about you when i was swimming Sparrow, and the guy stopping you to ask flip turn questions. I was swimming along back and forth, back and forth, and i wondered--- huh! How good of a workout would it be to run from one end of the polol to the other so I could watch you flip on both ends!! LOL!! :O)

Hey, whatever it takes to motivate right? ;)
 
Tough one today:

NROL A: we're in week 5 so 3x10 on everything with less rest. As I've said before, the "A" workouts always seem easier than the "B" workouts.
Here is some progress

Squats: 130 up from 125
wide grip rows: 90 from 86
overhead barbell press ups: 65-we did 60 last week-I think i can still do more
dynamic lunges: 95 from 90-I feel I could have done more

We're on a time schedule so often I keep the weight at my friends weight so we don't have to switch around every set. We're super similar in strength but I have a little more upper body where she has a little more lower body. We keep the weights the same pretty much though, to simplify

Then I swam an hour:

300 warm up

speed set:
4x25 build up speed @35
4x25 sprint @35

9x200: main set
200 free
150free/50 backstroke
100 free/100 back
50 free/150 back
200 back
150 back/50 free
100 back/100 free
50 back/150 free
200 free

kick and cooldown:
200 free kick
4x50 breaststroke
200 back kick
3x50 choice cool down

3000

B-whey/flax shake in water-yum, I really like this
L-huge salad of mixed greens/4oz can tuna/red bell pepper/tomato/1T olive oil/2T balsamic vingegar
1 sprouted tortilla
S-whole wheat low carb tortilla, 1T natty butter, 1 packet splenda, few slices of apples rolled up in that-OMG so good
D-1/2 of a spaghetti squash, 1 large chicken breast
 
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Well I finished the day well but found something disappointing. Calculating today I came to about 1100 calories. no joke, and this was actually more than I normally eat :confused: I felt very full all day after lunch, had to force the snack and force dinner even more. Not very fun. This after 40 min of lifting and an hour of pretty hard swimming. What gives? I also found the water intake is pretty meager. I was only able to polish 55 oz of water off. How am I making gains in lifting if I've been this low on food? help people!

The most frustrating part of this realization is that only a short year ago I went through an extensive overhaul of my metabolism for this very reason. Went through the weight gain, the overfull days and days. got to a point where I was eating 1500-1700 cals and maintaining. I never did lose on this even though I was training for a half marathon. Eventually I got lazy and stopped counting thinking I was "okay now". Is this square 1? :( I'm very sad now.
 
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Derwyddon said:
Your low calories and high energy expenditure is why you aren't losing. The same thing that makes you a good endurance athlete is killing your physique process.
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But, with "high" calories we feel a slugishness that makes the 1st half of endurance too much of a chore. Also with the lifestyle fo an endurance athlete it is a pain in the butt to try and keep track. WE GET HUNGRY, BUT we are affraid to eat too much. It seems to be some sort o absession devloping. Is there an answere to this one, after we go into our 30's?
 
Derwyddon said:
I always track my calories. No matter how long I've been at it, I can't do the guesswork. I always end up with way too much or way too little, nowhere close.
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Word! If I stop tracking, within a week or two, I am beyond off. I'll hit 4 PM and realize how much I haven't eaten all day and still need to eat. By then, I'm typically feeling sick from it too.

Don't worry, Sparrow. I'm sure we can figure out how to time the calories so you can actually get them down without feeling too full. It's hard to figure it out when you count how much you don't want to eat immediately before, during or after activity.

The good news is that you're still progressing. Remember - you can make your CNS more efficient even when you are not building muscle, so that's probably a major reason for it.

I know this is a terrible thing to suggest for the long term, but one thing I've done sometimes - especially when I'm not cutting - is cut BACK on some of my low calorie/high water volume veggies. Besides taking time to prepare and eat, they then fill me up without making much of a dent in my caloric or protein needs for the day!
 
sparrow said:
Well I finished the day well but found something disappointing. Calculating today I came to about 1100 calories. no joke, and this was actually more than I normally eat :confused: I felt very full all day after lunch, had to force the snack and force dinner even more. Not very fun. This after 40 min of lifting and an hour of pretty hard swimming. What gives? I also found the water intake is pretty meager. I was only able to polish 55 oz of water off. How am I making gains in lifting if I've been this low on food? help people!

The most frustrating part of this realization is that only a short year ago I went through an extensive overhaul of my metabolism for this very reason. Went through the weight gain, the overfull days and days. got to a point where I was eating 1500-1700 cals and maintaining. I never did lose on this even though I was training for a half marathon. Eventually I got lazy and stopped counting thinking I was "okay now". Is this square 1? :( I'm very sad now.
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What exactly did you have food-wise that day?
 
stingo said:
What exactly did you have food-wise that day?
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I already posted it a few posts up. it was yesterday. Yesterday was a pretty typical day, only I ate MORE than normal realizing I was already low cal by snack. My total was at best 1100.

I appreciate everyones words and the help. Believe me, this is the most discouraging thing ever because I've already been through it and it sucked. It will mean weight gain. Today the scale was already up a pound.

What FF said is 100% spot on. Those are my feelings exactly. Being in a somewhat empty state when I train, or actually, any time of the day is what keeps me peppy and what helps me workout HARD. When I'm full it distracts me and I have GI issues. I was DRAGGING yesterday. When I eat too much I just get lazy and tired. I went back to read parts of my diary having to do with increasing cals the first time around and the fatigue was the number one thing besides weight gain that I struggled the entire time with. I had to take naps all the time.

I'm pretty bummed right now
 
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