Newenham

Congratulations on everything Twilight!!!!

Yes, get lots of rest and let your body heal and be patient… And when you start lifting again, remember your form, stay in control and keep all muscles tight!

Thanks for the inspiration. Great to see you progress. Welcome home too! Tapatalked

Sometimes being bad about food doesn't hurt, at other times it shows straight away. Goes to show how important it is to create healthy habits. Envoyé de mon iPhone à l'aide de Tapatalk

You can decrease soreness by stretching a lot and eating lots of protein afterwards (the next day seems to work best for me, but usually they say straight after working out).

Week 4 recap… 1. 100% of goal. Getting stronger; weights are starting to get challenging. 2. Over 100%. I'm entering a 30-day yoga challenge (I was thinking April but it looks like I've started already). 3. Not sure if fat loss has slowed, stopped or continued; I measure my waist and it seems to be stagnating since last week. I think I've found a nutritional balance so I'm not going to change anything this week. Life: I've decided to train to become a yoga teacher. That's a long term goal, and training is in September. I think it would suit me because it can accommodate all sorts of other activities. I'm never happy working in an office (unless it's my own). Not sure what guild to join. I've been labeled a warrior because I started weightlifting with this challenge. But maybe I'm something else…?

I'm admiring your progress and discipline but also your commitment to recording everything here. You know you've reached level 1 at the middle of the challenge, right? That's the official rule anyway…

Great discipline! (sauf pour le français >..< )

Have you tried the StrongLifts smartphone app? Beats your handwriting. Keeps track of your progress. Goes ding-ding-ding when it's time for the next set.

I only just realised you lost all that weight, well done!!! Also, you just made me want a croissant.

Don't take my word for it, I'm probably quite ignorant compared to others. Also, it would be completely different if I lived in the country or even in a smaller city, where you can get real farm products anywhere. What about Kobe beef? Kylie — Interesting to read your experience with IF because your habits are completely different to mine, both nutrition- and activity-wise. Actually I'm surprised you fast at all because your have the kind of diet that usually requires many small top-ups. At least that's what I assumed. It goes to show it's a perfectly sensible and sustainable way for all humans to feed, not just meatheads!

Ouch… feet hurt… Yes you should definitely avoid running on it! It will heal faster if you stay motionless. Good luck!

When I have bodyguards I will name them Officer Robozebra and Officer Cybertiger.

Thanks everyone for your kind replies! I tend to be impatient and hard on myself – so it's nice to have other people's thoughts and advice. I guess I've changed, but I'm still below my goal. Two weeks left! Good idea, I'm almost out of coconut oil. Yes I try to get energy from fat more than from carbs, but I'm not being obsessive about it. I do between 16/8 and 18/6 when IFing. Very rarely longer. And when it's shorter, I don't really count it as IF. But I don't do it every day because I can't manage Bikram yoga totally fasted (it's tough and long!). I always do weightlifting fasted, and then eat soon afterwards. Maybe when I start lifting over 100 kg I'll need some kind of food, but so far I'm fine. Are you doing it every day? I believe you can do almost any exercise while fasted. Exceptions are when you're doing something athletic and kind of high-level, like professional ballet or running marathons, for instance. When performance matters more than anything. And usually your body fat is quite low when you've got that far. I'm gradually getting to that level at yoga, after two years of it, and plan to become a teacher. But the other exercise I do is more of a hobby. Never managed a full day fast, like the experts suggest. The experts also suggest those crazy binge fests (okay, "strategic overfeeding") but that's not for me. I guess it depends on your own behavioural patterns. To me it looks and feels like a disorder, even though the idea is attractive. I honestly don't believe people who follow John Romaniello or Martin Berkhan actually go to such extremes. At least not a significant portion of them. I could be wrong though. I'm still experimenting with all this. Wow, they must put tons of sugar in every dish… My advice would be to enjoy it regardless, because it's a treat and it's meant to make you happy! I found that when you skip desserts just for a few days, and then have something sweet, it tastes way too sweet. I make sweets with a lot less sugar than in most recipes. And my favourite new cheap source of protein? Cans of sardines and mackerel! I live in a big city where "farmers" markets are just resellers. I just buy whatever is cheap, in season, usually organic when it's leafy. Frozen wild salmon is okay. For meat it's tricky though. I think all meat is cereal-fed where I live, unfortunately. I've asked really expensive butchers if their beef was grass-fed and it's not. I've been eating rabbits, which are probably less industrially bred. If anyone has ideas about getting healthy meat in France, I'm interested.

That's pretty extreme! I hope your leg will heal quick. Maybe it's an opportunity to really rest your entire body, recover, and then start again in a day or two.

I really admire the fact you're learning a language. I'm lucky to be bilingual – I grew up in two different countries and when you're a kid it's really easy to learn a new language, much trickier later. I took classes as an adult when I worked in another country, but never managed to be fluent (also because everyone I knew spoke perfect English). Lessons demand a lot of discipline, especially when you're doing it alone. If I had the time and willpower to start learning one now, I'd look for a native speaker (maybe a student) and have as many conversations with him as possible.

May you find strength and peace to face these issues. Similar things happen to everyone, and we're all capable of dealing with it. Being as non-judgmental as possible helps, as well as focusing on what makes you happy and feel good. I know that sounds cliché and easy but it's true!

Yes exactly – and also, making very strict rules usually isn't a recipe for success. Personally, skipping breakfast suits me perfectly, since I don't really enjoy eating in the morning (although I love all sorts of breakfast food, go figure). And there's supposedly hormonal benefits from keeping your fasting period longer than just overnight.

Hi, well done with your bench progress! I'm still only at 50kg 5×5.

Congrats on your week. Takes a lot of discipline to write down all this. Now you're Level 1 can't you use the ten points? Maybe I misunderstood that.

haha, don't post those, just looking at them triggers an insulin response! Apparently the concept about breakfast being the most important meal of the day isn't based on any science. That's what contemporary nutrition gurus say, anyway (look up LeanGains if you're interested).

I've been doing the StrongLifts for 3 weeks now, starting from nothing (just the bar) so I could concentrate on my form. Yes, those squats get challenging pretty fast…! But it's great to see yourself progress every session, right? What kind of warm-up do you do? I start with the empty bar and then add weights to build up to my working weight. Warm-ups get longer and longer – now I add weight faster.

Great work! I'd say skip breakfast as often as possible!

Looks like a great week, bravo!

Weekly recap — Goal 1: Fine. Heavier and heavier weights! Goal 2: Fine too, although I missed out on one session last week. Catching up this week. Goal 3: not so good. I think I'm still losing fat but it's slowed down. I need more calories and "good" calories are hard to find. I usually eat primal (paleo with some cheese) but it's like an expensive hobby and I'm going through financial trouble. Can't be too picky when I'm not paying for lunch. My body composition stalled last week but it seems like it's changing again now. What I learned through recent experience: cooking exciting meals is the best way to eat healthy (duh) and I really can't be bothered counting calories – I can eyeball what's enough macros for me. I'm still IFing most days. Life goal: I've taken decisions and completely changed my life course. For now it's mainly in my head. Applying for some new jobs this week.