katscratch

Neighborhood gym 930pm Saturday night, empty within 10 minutes of getting there. Huzzah! 3 minute elliptical warmup Squat 20# x 5 30 x 5 x 2 45 x 5 (see that? that's the bar right there, oh yes) 50 x 5 55 x 3 60 x 2 65 x 2 70 x 1 and 1 fail (about time i learned how to fail a squat!) 75 x 1 80 x 1 85 fail - i think i could've gotten this up if i didn't go so deep Yeah. I like having the gym to myself Bench Press still getting form down so didn't go too crazy but enough that I felt it 30 x 5 x 2 45 x 5 45 x 5 - sloppy toward the end 40 x 5 40 x 5 - last 2 were difficult Dumbbell Rows 30 x 5 x 2 25 x 5 ....Meant to work out yesterday but was so tired after being out late Thursday night and working. Think the extra rest day helped. Not having an audience while I figured out the rack definitely helped! Foods: have been pretty on track at 3000/day, today I was lazy and am sure I haven't hit it so will have to make up tomorrow! Also, I ate Oreos for breakfast. Was yum. But boo.

That is so awesome!! And really, working with your current "meh" trainer is good because it's teaching you what you do and don't want in a trainer and identifying what in particular you value in their service. This sounds perfect Also, I love pet stores like that!! I used to live by one and they were instrumental in helping my rescue dog overcome some aggressive behaviours by letting me work on his skills in their store and explaining to other patrons that we were training.

Hi, Becky! It's totally not cheating in my book! I actually am moving forward in the tiniest steps EVER because I started as such a wimp and really really need to make sure my form is good to avoid injury. I feel good about it, though, because even though I'm not going to be lifting my bodyweight any time soon, I *feel* stronger and am still committed to working out (that bit, not losing interest, is HUGE for me!). Have a good weekend!!

I hear you on diet, I am definitely not at the point where it's all habit but it's a lot easier with just "my" food around. Sucks right now when I don't feel like cooking and want chips though, ha! It's good your mental referee is still mostly paying attention, it'll come back around until it gets easier and easier! If you're anything like me, Monday you'll feel meh about it all until after you've done it, and then you'll feel awesome and remember why you went this direction in the first place. This happens to me literally every weekend. Even though I'm not making huge gains or showing any difference physically yet, it really does feel good to prove i can stick to my plan The longer you are working toward your goals, the easier it will get, not just because of making progress, but because the novelty to those around you will wear off and what you do just becomes what you do. Cheers, have a relaxing rest of your weekend!

Congratulations!!! That's pretty exciting How're things going today? When you're changing up your diet, do you feel better after a few days? Or do you not notice much difference? I got to where fast food smelled nasty within a few weeks, but chips.....I could easily eat a whole bag of chips right now, and the last time I ate a bunch I felt fine, so that unfortunately has prompted my little brain to want more chips It's sometimes hard enough for me to stay on track with just ME arguing in my head, I give you mad mad props for the progress you've made being surrounded by people who aren't really on board. Jumping rope sounds badass and ridiculously harder than when we were kids!! Awesome idea!!!

That campground sounds sweet, I don't know of any like that around my area so getting past "suburb" style camping here is difficult without experience. I love primitive camping but haven't gone for a few years, my kiddo does not find solitude as inspiring as I do My absolute cannot-do-without is a good sleeping bag. I can deal with being too hot or a bit too cold, and laying on stones or tree roots, but once I get cold and damp it's over, I am miserable 24/7. Do you know anyone you can borrow a tent from? If you have friends that have backpacked, that style of tent is typically really easy to put up and depending on the weather, don't seem to get as hot when I've camped alongside friends in family-style tents. I have gone on spur-of-the-moment trips with just water, almonds and beef jerky for food. My minimum first aid kit is lavender oil, gauze, and superglue. In my part of the world tick repellent is not optional. Obviously my experiences are more primitive/minimal camping/backpacking rather than survivalist. Water and fire would be my biggest concerns, knowing first aid and having an emergency plan if you'll be in any wilderness-type areas my second. Read lots, have fun planning, and then have FUN Some of my best bonding moments and memories have been with friends in situations with no money, food, transpo but lots of laughter at our mistakes!

Nice numbers!!! I wager you can pull 2x BW on your dead for the actual comp You've been working around 75kg for bench, right? 90's a pretty sweet jump, solid work!!

gymell I'd never heard of Skyzone, that place looks amazing!

I love John Cleese Thanks for posting this!

I kinda cannot wait to be the only girl in my gym lifting heavy. I've gotten used to the weird looks from people that have no clue what a squat looks like and the weird looks from people that do know but are probably wondering what my deal is at 30#

Yay, thanks!

I strained my neck slightly yesterday morning (turning to shut off my alarm!) and today it still gives me twinges when I turn my head quickly- acute pain but mild at the base of my c-spine. I've had mild neck issues before that have resolved on their own (but faster when I was seeing a chiro regularly). Doing a few chinups last night didn't hurt. I *feel* like I could work slowly and just on form rather than strength, but wanted to see if you all had info that particular moves might be harmful. Google searches so far are only pulling up neck pain AFTER lifting or exercises FOR my neck. My google-fu is teh fail today!

Agreed.

Yes yes yes, this is so much more eloquent than my sleep-deprived rambling! I completely feel that a lot of our food-related ailments aren't necessarily due to the food being *processed*, but rather that we are consuming so much of a single source (like corn, or gluten) in the majority of our meals. But then I go back to the GMO question when talking corn, soy, beets etc, heh.

I think, too, it's good to remind yourself that there's no such thing as "bad" food-- it's not like eating a pint of ice cream will completely undo all the positive changes in your underlying health, because you're building a healthy, strong body and immune system. Have you read the boards at MarksDailyApple? I actually started eating more "clean" as an allergy elimination diet, so even though I was on a slightly different path than a lot of folks there I found a lot of relevant info regarding how I'd looked at food. Also, keep talking through it

The BIGGEST thing I learned switching to mostly-Primal eating is that it's all about finding what works for YOUR body. For ME, I've learned in the past four months that I need a LOT of fat, and fat every time I eat protein (so every time I eat unless it's just berries for a snack) or I'm hungry all the time, sleep like crap, and have anxiety. But it took me until just last week (from January) to really see this pattern. I think it's awesome that you haven't cheated, because if you do "test" foods you'll get a better sense of how they physically make you feel, and that too is trial and error and being obsessive about noticing the details. I still track calories daily, but now I'm at the point that I've figured out how to not be hungry all the time so I naturally am drawn toward eating LESS than I should be right now. I also HAVE to journal what I'm eating and how I feel so that I DO notice patterns over time. For me, however, this still FEELS like a healthy thing to do- the tracking, i mean. I know that I tend to lose interest and not pay attention, so if I wasn't being super obsessive about it now I'd be more like to "fail" before I'd developed truly good habits that work for my body. If you are feeling like emotionally this isn't working for you, you might need to try tweaking your approach to monitoring your intake without giving up monitoring entirely -- like just writing down the foods you eat for 3-4 weeks and how you FEEL rather than what you weigh, and see how it goes. Remember that stress itself is more detrimental than a few extra calories

I just have to add that this is a great topic, I love thinking about this and learning more about the food industry as a whole (the whole fact that food IS an industry gets me thinking!), and no matter what my friends' personal food ethics are, I always have a lot to chew on mentally when these discussions occur. I'm also so grateful that I have a life in which I can derive intellectual pleasure from talking about food rather than when will I get to eat next-- and it's obviously a topic that I spin around my brain often, so thanks for starting this

i personally think so (whole>processed), for me i feel physically better eating food not products. Side story: One of my coworkers recently asked me why i always am eating ingredients instead of food, while they were microwaving their lean cuisine....first time I've heard that, ha. It's interesting to ponder, though, as you say the details-- how much of our health is intertwined and how much truly is a direct result of what we put into our body? One of my friends always points out that her grandmother ate bacon, 6 eggs, full fat cream, meat at every meal with a side of veggies daily, birthed 12 babies at home and was strong and healthy through her 80s. The rest of her story is that she worked her farm (so lifted heavy several times a day), raised her food or purchased it from other farms close by, didn't have a telephone or tv for years and years so stayed mentally stimulated through social interactions or reading, had a closeknit local community for support and camaraderie.....not to mention wasn't exposed to possible environmental factors that now might influence our physical health such as increased air pollution, electromagnetic fields due to technology, daily exposure to chemicals and fluorescent lights in public spaces etc etc.... I am not convinced that additives in foods at all are truly beneficial for *health* -- I think they are beneficial for *sales* by keeping food appearing fresh or actually delaying degradation of quality, but I don't believe it means better food. i am also majorly skeptical of genetically engineered "food" -- i really truly believe these are not food, will lead to the extinction of tonnes of real food crop species, and will ultimately be proven to be detrimental to long term human health.

Hi, Waterlogged! Just wondering how things are going, I know for me it takes a while to feel like I'm making any progress even when I logically know that just establishing a routine is huge progress! Beastie Boys are so perfect for motivating a workout

I feel more stable overall always going deep, so thank you!

Heehee, Avalon is a nickel arcade in SE. Totally cheesy but for some reason I've gone there pretty much every time I've visited friends in PDX, even completely different groups of friends. http://www.wunderlandgames.com/

I like "massaged" Kale, I think my friend got it from Martha Stewart originally, heh. Basically coat your palms with oil of your choice and a good amount of coarse sea salt, rub the heck outta the kale, then add whatever salad fixins you like (slivered almonds, dried tart fruit are mine) and eat a whole lot

That's awesome, Mandy! It gets easier and easier each time And I can't imagine feeling satisfied on only the rice and lettuce, what's even the point? Bring-Chipotle-to-Australia

AmEx is also more beneficial to your credit score! At least it was the last time I read a zillion hours on the subject!

...dear lord, i just realized that if you looked at post topics as a percentage of my total posts, i look like the biggest sex fiend on the planet. i'm not THAT libido crazed, really! Yet.... once I start lifting big girl weights, though, watch out....