waywardsister

Warriors! Already made a few friends. I'll set up my next challenge there as well (see you there, Sam!)

Thanks @albeus51! I did decide to go with Stronglifts, based on what I saw written about it here and elsewhere. I like the simplicity and focus on getting progressively stronger each week with basic, effective lifts.

Week 6 (note: Green means YES, I did it! Red means NOPE, did not.) Monday Strength training Eat slowly Bed by 11pm I managed 10 strict pushups today!!! The last 2 weren't pretty, but they count! Started Stronglifts5x5 today. This, I will stick with bc it's basic lifts that I want to get better at. GGS is fine, but I can't be bothered right now with anything too interesting I want basic, simple and effective. Also, I am down to 120 from 126 (some of that was water weight, for sure), so I know my eating has been ok. I stopped food tracking last week but am focusing on eating slowly, and minding portions. Tuesday Eat slowly Bed by 11pm Wednesday Strength training Eat slowly Bed by 11pm Thursday Eat slowly Bed by 11pm Friday Strength training Eat slowly Saturday Eat slowly Sunday Eat slowly Bed by 11pm

I'm looking at SL5x5 as well - I like the simplicity, and focus on just building strength. I know that right now, I can't bench or press the Oly bar. So ok to start with dumbells, work my way up? Also, my gym doesn't have bumper plates so will dead with smaller plates than the 45#. Should I rest the bar on the safety's in the power rack and dead from there, if they go low enough? Is it a bad thing if I need to dead with a lower bar? It'll have plates on it, just not the 45's. Also, warmups - if I am squatting 60# now, what should my warmup weights be? Is there a rule of thumb for this, like warmup with x percentage of your working weight?

You have unlocked the Chip Master achievement! Potato chips, specifically plain Ruffles, have long been my Boss. They've always been a binge food for me, so I wouldn't keep them in the house. This weekend, I decided I was giving them way too much power - after all, I am not helpless. I can eat chips, or not eat chips. I felt like I'd imbued them with a power they did not actually have, only in my mind - "If they're in the house, I'll eat the whole bag" was a story I'd been telling myself for far too long. So, Busband and I did a Marco Polo marathon this weekend, and bought chips. And I put some chips in a small bowl, ate them slowly, and was perfectly satisfied. The bag is sitting on top of the fridge, and is not a problem. This is a big achievement for me, just realizing that chips are not some big nemesis of mine - I can have some if I want some, and they don't control me or my behaviour. HUGE win. Workouts So my Girls Gone Strong program is fine, but I am not enjoying it. I want to get stronger (and I am), but I also want to lift heavy and focus on the big lifts - squat, dead, etc. I am bored. So looked at Stronglifts5x5 and I like the simplicity and the focus on constant progression/strength building, so think I'll switch to that. GGS is good programming and has a metabolic component I like, but I can't be arsed at the moment to be going all over the gym dragging a mat so I can superset with planks, etc. I can't be arsed to plank right now, it's not a challenge. I want a challenge, not a grind. Squats, deads, bench press, oh press, rows - sounds good to me.

Week 5 (note: Green means YES, I did it! Red means NOPE, did not.) Monday Strength training Eat slowly Bed by 11pm I am at 8 strict pushups - it's a challenge, but I've hit it twice so updated my sig. I am bored with my strength training workout already! Not bored... it's more that I want to lift heavy, and this program isn't focused on that. Looking at something like Stronglifts5x5 that focuses on major compound lifts, and increasing strength. Tuesday Eat slowly Bed by 11pm Wednesday Strength training Eat slowly Bed by 11pm Thursday Eat slowly Bed by 11pm Friday Strength training Eat slowly Saturday Eat slowly Giving myself a miss here - I took a day to just not care, and though I ate pretty well overall I did have a junk food 'binge' (Smartfood) and enjoyed the hell out of it. Sunday Eat slowly Bed by 11pm

Just wanted to wish you good luck, and to say 'woo hoo!' for being so proactive about all this. I struggled for several years with gut issues (turned out I was celiac, who knew?) and for a long time, most foods caused issues for me. At one point, I ate mainly meat (and eventually really, relly cooked veg, and only some veg) and for me, it was the best I'd felt in ages. Now I can eat pretty much whatever I want, with some exceptions like gluten grains (of course). I can eat dairy again, have to limit nuts and legumes. It's a tricksy thing, and very individual - so don't be afraid to chuck out any info that ppl swear worked for them if it doesn't work for you. I tried a ton of protocols til I found what helped me personally (which for me was elimination of pretty much all non-animal foods, then gradually adding in well-cooked veg, then testing and adding in more, removing again, adding again... and so on) I will give props to the l-glutamine - for me, it was helpful. Not as helpful as cutting out foods that weren't working for me at the time, but helpful as a support. I found homemade yogurt really helped me too, once I could 'do' dairy (24-hour ferment).

A good way to get more veg and also have food on-hand in the fridge: a frittata. Basically, it's eggs, a bunch of veg and whatever else you want chucked in a pan and baked in the oven. Keeps well in the fridge for several days, so you get a few quick meals out of one. Also soups are really easy, and nice to have on hand. How to make soup from any vegetable. Also for frozen veg, you can just grab a handful from the bag, chuck them in a microwave-safe dish, add a bit of water (depends on how much veg in the dish, but usually like a tablespoon), cover with plastic wrap, and microwave for 2-4 minutes to steam. Drain, add some lemon juice or vinegar (if you like some tartness), salt/pepper, butter, soy sauce, hot sauce, whatever you like - quick, easy side dish.

Not a binder per se, but can be an electronic binder: I use Evernote for recipes. I like the tagging feature, so you can tag recipes however you want and then they're easy to find again. The web clipper makes it really easy to save recipes you find online too. If you want general nutrition stuff there too, it would work really well. You just set up various notebooks (ie: recipes, workouts, nutrition info, etc), and fill them with notes. Like a binder with dividers, but all searchable. You can upload PDFs and any other files as well. LOVE Evernote.

That's a great attitude. I love that you're focused more on the process (the journey, if I may) than on chasing a number.

Hello! I am following your challenge now because I think you're awesome. With the determination you have, you're going to go a long way. You already have! You're doing amazing. Also - don't be hard on yourself for using some pre-prepared ingredients in your homecooked meals. Maybe right now, home-prepared makes more sense than 'I create every element of my dish with my bare hands'. And really, some ingredients (like salsa, for example) are totally fine to buy. I don't know where you live, but if you can find Herdez salsa (the red, and the green) OMG buy them, best salsa ever. Minimal ingredients, nothing 'bad' in there. Also, jar of salsa + hunk of meat + crockpot = good damn meal. If you ever want recipe advice, feel free to ask - I am a very passionate and prolific home cook I have an Evernote filled with more recipes than I'll ever make in my lifetime. Also, I work from home so often make stuff in bulk so it's ready to grab and reheat from the fridge. I'm soooo happy to share if you like!

You have unlocked the My Fridge Runneth Over achievement! Wow, I've cooked a lot. I work from home, so always have stuff ready to eat for lunch in the fridge. I also cook dinner every night, either one-offs or something that will last several days. Right now, I actually have too much food in there! Tuna Pesto Salad - this is quite good. Will make again. Portabella Pizzas - ok, so I did more of a stuffed mushroom thing with this. I made a meat and veg sauce, basically, with stuff I like on pizza: italian sausage, olives, onion etc. Stuff in mushroom cap, top with a bit of goat cheese, bake. REALLY good. A bit high in calories though, at least for right now, but super noms. The meat sauce keeps in a container, and I just have to prep the shrooms and bake. Kale Potato Soup - I love soup. This soup? I LOVE. Super simple, nice side dish for some protein. Seasoned it with smoked paprika. Chicken Parmesan - finally found a way to make chicken breasts taste good to me. Half a chicken breast, homemade tomato sauce and parm on top of brown rice spaghetti noodles. Pretty good. (Also, the Tuna Pesto salad is nice mixed with the noodles and some sauce and heated) Got a breast, sauce and some noodles still left over. Also have half a pork chop left over from last night's dinner (pan-seared pork chops with dijon and sauerkraut, lemon roasted potatoes and red peppers) and tonight I've got small steaks to cook, which I'll probably serve with a potato/onion/pepper mix and some green beans. Might saute up one of the portabellas too. Stating the obvious: I love to cook.

Hello! I'm not a Supernatural fan, but follow along anyway! I like friends! I pretty much only have Netflix and... I think SN is on there? It's on my list of shows to check out. My lonnngggg list. S3 of House Of Cards has started and I am holding off, bc otherwise I will do nothing else. S2 of Bates Motel is up too. I am a Walking Dead fan, although I also hate the show at the same time. I've been a zombie fan since I was about... 8? Really enjoyed the comic, what I read of it (up to... #101ish?) My super-guilty Netflix pleasure though? American Horror Story. OMG weird plot-holey trashy soap that I love, never change. And Jessica Lange is a goddess.

HI Squidwina! I'm following a program from Girls Gone Strong for 6 weeks to see a) if it works well and if I like it. It's from Molly Galbraith, who I really like. Some of it is a bit beginner, but as I'm getting back into regular strength training I am sucking it up and following it pretty much as written. So far I do like it, and I subbed in some movements I know I can do (ie: barbell back squats) for their true beginner versions. My shoulders and arms are coming back nicely, so I'm happy so far! My gym does have a Smith Machine - never thought about using it for inverted rows, but you're right! I'm using a box for incline pushups but the Smith could come in handy there too... hmm. I go to a community center gym, so one squat rack and one Smith Machine. I rarely see anyone using either, at least when I go in the mornings. I really like it there - not crowded, pretty utilitarian. No bumper plates though.

A nice little moment at the gym: I was finishing up, and the guy next to me had his notebook open on the floor. It had fallen open to a page of sketches he'd done, little life studies. They were really good! I told him so and I think he was embarrassed, he muttered a 'thanks' - I was just so pleased to see art at the gym