JennDiamond

I'm with Kristen. Don't focus on the scale weight as a judge of your progress. Focus on inches lost and gained. I actually gained size in my chest from heavy flat bench pressing and incline dumbell presses. I do Reverse Pyramid training for everything and gain in strength pretty much week over week as long as I'm eating enough protein and the right carbs at the right times. At your height, you probably should be heavier - especially when you start packing on muscle. Go by how your clothes are fitting. Like Kristin, I can't wear skinny jeans either! Thighs are thicker and harder, delts have appeared for first time in my life; biceps gained more than an inch without a single arm curl (close-grip weighted chin-ups have done the magic). Do the work, eat clean and lots of quality protein and the results will follow.

I've lost a ton of fat this year already following Leangains principles - went from about 130 lbs to a more solid 115 in a few months), but I got sidetracked by a short-term goal of completing a recent Warrior Challenge in Avon, NJ. The Challenge - Run a mile in deep sand (barefoot, 1/2 of it with a 20-lb sandbag); as many dead hang pullups as you can do (10); as many burpees as you can do in 2 minutes (38) and hold aforementioned sandbag over your head for as long as you can after soaking it in the ocean (3:40 - hit the wall b/c I competed fasted). The challenge kicked my ass, but I finished 14th overall in the women under 45 category, so I was happy. Time for a new challenge or, more accurately, a return to my previous goals: - Deadlift twice my weight - Do 5 chinups with 40 lbs extra hanging from my waist Before the challenge, I was up to 205 x 3 for my personal record in deads and 4 chinups with 30 xtra lbs. The chins didn't suffer much, as I can do 30 xtra lbs x 2; but I can barely pull 195 x 2 for deads. So it's back to the drawing board. Here are my sub-goals that will lead to me achieving my deadlift and chinup goal: - Eat 1.2 g protein/lb of bodyweight daily (138 g) - Strict 16-hour fasts / 8-hr eating window - Resume 3x week progressive RPT training program Comments, suggestions and constructive criticism welcome!