Here I go again & I Need Your Support: My Progress

Hey Ann! Great to hear you are dedicated to making positive changes in your life. It's not just about losing weight, it's about being happy and being able to enjoy and use our bodies to get around and experience this amazing world we live in.

Might I make a suggestion?

I think it's great that you are doing strength training. Girls avoid lifting weights thinking they will end up "bulky", but it's just not in your genetics. And a 30 minutes free-weight session will do more for you in the long run than 20-30 minutes of steady state jogging. Personally I jog/sprint (moving up to high intensity interval training once I get more fit) for 20-30 minutes every other day mostly just because the exercise makes me feel good mentally.

In case you don't know, or just to remind you, while you *MAY* burn less calories in the 30 minutes of lifting weights than when you are jogging, you continue to burn calories at an elevated rate (that doesn't affect hunger) for 36-40 hours AFTER working out as your body repairs itself. Not to mention that every bit of extra muscle you have burns more calories while just sitting around. I think you might also find you aren't as cold... muscles burn calories which generate heat! But that's just my guess... :)

One suggestion. How about alternating your cardio and strength training days? For example 20-30 minutes jogging Mon-Wed-Fri and strength training Tues-Thursday-Saturday? There's really no benefit to getting exercise for longer than 20-30 minutes (it doesn't compound) and from what I've read (I can try to find some good sources) any cardio longer than 20 minutes might actually be bad (dipping into breaking down muscles for energy too). Also, this way when you go to do your strength training, you can really give it your all!

This way you are active every day, but your body has time to heal as well without overdoing it. Of course, I'd recommend some sort of dynamic warmup before working out.

Keep up the good work! Glad to see you aren't entirely fat-phobic like most of the nation. Remember, fat and protein keep us feeling satiated!

I would try to find something less processed than a high fibre wrap. I have found that the fibre is added artificially by adding inulin, and if you read the ingredients, are full of things you can't pronounce. The most unprocessed wraps I have found are the Ezekiel wraps, which are sold frozen.

Great job with the food journal! I struggle gaining lbs in times of stress, and it is amazing that it seems to happen when I leave off the logging what I eat. It also allows you to have your treat foods occasionally, and you will know what allowances you have to make.

Some additional suggestions: make sure you get your (at least) 5 fruits and vegetables. It is amazing how much more food you can eat, because the calorie count is lower. Sometimes the extra bulk (fiber) helps to make you feel more full. And of course it is healthy. Keep your menu varied to prevent boredom. Cook with lots of herbs for flavor. And of course, drink lots of fluids. I like tea flavored with mint and lemon, and sparking water with a wedge of lemon or lime. Helps when plain water is boring. My best binge protection when I need to eat a crunchy snack and celery sticks won't do is to make a quick batch of air-popped popcorn. 1/4 cup kernels in a brown paper lunch sack, folded over and taped shut, microwaved on popcorn setting, with the bag on its side. Costs pennies on the dollar compared to commercial popcorn bags, and no additives!

I would advise against doing cardio for 30 minutes before strength training.

That's setting you up for catabolism, not to mention the fact that you won't be able to lift with the same intensity.

im on a similar range of calories and have taken my body fat percentage from 24 to 18% in the last year using simple diet modification combined with strength training and intervals. in my experience, you'll get better results by following your strength training with 15 minutes of intervals as opposed to a solid 30 min of cardio. also, are you planning for post-workout eating? i like to do a protein shake and some fruit or a tbsp of natural peanut butter, a slice of turkey, and a banana.

you can do the moderate intensity cardio on recovery days though (once or twice a week on non-strength training/interval days)...and for that 30 minutes of light work is ideal.

It's excellent that you sound so positive about this. Perhaps just add in a few more vegetables? Some onions or chives in your scrambled eggs or a non-starchy vegetable with dinner. Just a suggestion, but whether or not you take it, it sounds like you're making good changes.

I was also going to say ditch the granola bar and substitute fruit or veggies. The granola bar is 180 wasted calories - lots of processed sugars and fillers. For 180 calories you could eat 2 large apples, or 2 bananas, or a handful of almonds (almost 30 almonds, which is quite a bit), celery and carrots with babybel cheese, 1 T of peanut butter on celery or jicama, 3 cups of applesauce (more if you buy the unsweetened variety), etc. etc. etc.

If you're wanting to eliminate processed foods, the snack bars should really be on the top of your list to get rid of.

Whoops. Should read the whole thing before commenting. I also agree to do your strength training FIRST. Then you can follow up with cardio if you feel the need. The concept here is that you want to have the maximum amount of strength/power available to build muscle with. If you tire yourself out with cardio first, then you're setting yourself up for a slower progress. Lift first, then cardio. HIIT on between days.

I would agree with everyone else who says to ditch the granola bars and eat a piece of fruit instead. Granola bars often have transfats in them and I personally don't find them very filling. Also, it seems like your diet's a little on the skimpy side when it comes to the veggies. I've never limited myself on how many veggies I eat in a day...most days, I get 9-12 servings of veggies and I can tell you that you probably won't gain weight by eating broccoli and asparagus. Just be careful to eat them without a lot of added butter/cheese/etc. They really fill you up so you won't be hungry to eat junk later on.

Also, may I suggest a tip that really helped me with my ice cream addiction? I used to eat a big bowlful of ice cream every night and I justified it by buying the fat free stuff, but I had issues with portion control. What really helped me was to buy individual ice cream bars (the full-fat kind) so I could allow myself to eat one at a time. That way, I knew how many calories I was getting and I didn't feel deprived because the flavor was a lot better.

Interesting study result...I can't imagine being able to do weights after cardio, but...

Study Shows Cardio before Weights is Beneficial

A recent study from the Human Performance Research Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah examined what happened to ten men who did resistance only, run only, resistance-run, and run-resistance sessions. (‘Resistance-run’ means weights before cardio and vice versa.)

Here’s what they reported:

EPOC, the measure of the afterburn or energy output after you stop exercising was greatest when cardio was done before weight training.
Running after a weights session was physiologically more difficult than doing it before lifting weights. (This has implications for efficiency and possibly safety.)
The researchers recommend “performing aerobic exercise before resistance exercise when combining them into one exercise session”.
This was not a large study, so the results should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, this is in line with my own experience with this training sequence, and also that of some clients.

Other research found that 'running economy' is also impaired after a weights session, another reason why the weights-->cardio sequence is less efficient.

I was not going to weigh in on this but I always do cardio first except on my all weight/no cardio day. It works for me & I still have plenty of muscle. I am not a cardio fan even though I do a lot & need to to keep myself in this shape so I like to get the cardio done first & then off to weights. I really love them so nothing feels bad when doing them. I have plenty of energy left plus since I have been at this a long time so I know how to make sure I don't lose my form & my core is engaged & strong. When I do cardio last, I don't get a good cardio workout.

I have also heard & read that if you want to lose weight, do cardio first & if you want to make more muscle gains, do weights first. And, I have read the opposite as well.

I think it comes down to what works for you & what your goals are..... like always.

I agree with these others, less processed/sugary stuff, more veggies, fruits. Also, unless you're really into body building or are trying to lose that last 5 pounds, do whatever exercise you like in whatever order you like. People just want to really complicate stuff. And lose the ice cream habit, if you're serious. If it's hot and you really want some, go get a cone.

Hi Ann!

I'm in agreement with the others on lowering the high carb content of your menu. Best results are achieved by eating just enough protein to maintain your LBM at your level of physical activity and complementing it with generous amounts of veggies, some fruit and some monounsaturated fat (the fats in foods like olive oil, almonds and avocados). That's basically the Zone diet. It's the way I lost 100 pounds 14 years ago and have kept it off ever since.

My best to you, and good luck!