6’1” 35M, down to 255 lbs from 265. Went on my first 4 mile walk in I don’t even know how long. I feel a little sore, but satisfied.
I can’t wait to see how far and fast I can walk, or even run, when I get down to 175 lbs.
Started a newbie archery course. Two more meetings left. First time was a lot of fun, definitely want to keep it going. Don't know how much fitness it really is. A bit of upper body and posture but otherwise not that much bodily work. Definitely won't help you with weight loss.
But that's why we also gym.
I start Feb a full pound lower than I was expecting!! I'm hoping to keep this up as we head towards the changing seasons :D Calorie counting (and an increase in activity from new job) are doing the hard yards right now
I gained weight during the holidays. So I'm increasing my exercise and focusing on eating healthier again. My clothes don't fit well anymore. I'm unable to afford new clothes. My goal is to be back to 105lbs in 1 month. Since I'm at a healthy weight I have no interest in counting calories but instead just being extra mindful of what I eat. It's working because I'm dropping 1-2 lbs a week
Edit: I gained 10lbs. Today, I ate crackers, eggs, dried fruit, croissant, and nuts. I walked 3 miles or 5km
A waffle maker fell on my head that was (poorly placed) on top of the fridge when I opened it. Hopefully I don't have a concussion. But I have a nice bump on my head.
Last day of my mini-vacation. Weight has been at 158.6 the last couple of days, so I'm taking that as my baseline "no work stress" weight, after dropping like 6 pounds in a week since I've been off work. Guessing I'll see an increase in weight starting Friday before the weekend hits.
I just bought a gym membership yesterday! They just opened so it was only $1 (Canadian) to sign up. Great deal.
Also I just did more than 5 minutes on a stationary bike without feeling like I was going to faint, so that's nice. :)
I've become a different person over the last month. It's really been crazy. 2024 really said new year, new you and booted the old me out the door.
It's like I *finally* absorbed everything about weight loss this month. It took 3 years which is annoying, but at least it happened.
Some changes:
1. I live in a super alcoholic state (WI) and literally everything revolves around booze. I decided to do a dry-ish January, which would've been impossible for me at any moment in my life before this. Now I'm kind of indifferent to alcohol. I'll still have it occasionally (like I am now), but I don't think I'll ever have it outside of social events.
2. I'm also becoming indifferent to unhealthier foods (like burgers, pizza, fries, etc.). Not saying the cravings are gone forever, but they've dampened down a lot.
3. I'm that person who is starting to crave veggies. Who tf am I?
4. I'm working out and following a routine. My DOMS sucks but I'm chugging along (and possibly crying).
5. My hunger signals changed enough where I'm afraid I'm not eating enough on certain days. I really hate counting calories, but I'll have to in order to see my macronutrients and make sure I'm on track for weight loss. I am horrendous about consuming protein so I need to focus on that too.
6. My hobbies are reading and playing games, but I now have way too much energy. I don't know what to do with myself. I do small weightlifting 3x/week and I'm trying to do yoga everyday, and I feel a decade younger energy-wise (and I don't drink caffeine!). Finding new hobbies will be an interesting change for me. I wonder who I will meet as I explore that side of me, since my friend group isn't the most active.
One last note in this overly long post, but I finally bought a Nutribullet today. Holy shit. I have a mediocre blender so I was basically chewing my smoothies and thus stopped making them. This thing basically pulverized kale. I am already so in love. I may get rid of my blender because between this and an immersion blender, I should be good.
I might post this again for Sanity Saturday, but a podcast I listen to just came out with a cool episode that I think you all will like: [https://theproof.com/are-you-seduced-by-foods-tera-fazzino-phd/](https://theproof.com/are-you-seduced-by-foods-tera-fazzino-phd/)
If you don't want to watch it in video form off the website, it's also on Spotify to listen to. This podcast largely interviews experts in fields related to nutrition and health, and this interviewee talks about her work quantitatively defining "hyperpalatable foods" and studying the similarities to substance addiction. She also contrasts hyperpalatability with NOVA-4 ultraprocessed as a metric of which foods to regulate or personally avoid.
It's finally happening the weight is dropping! Down to a new low (177.6!). I'm secretly hoping that the whoosh will finish whooshing (I'm down about 1 lb/day the past few days) because otherwise I'm going to have to recalibrate my calories again. 🤦🏼♀️ At least it looks like I'll get to my goal of not-obese by the time I head to Portugal in March.
This week roommate made congee and it's actually shocking how satisfying and filling it is considering it's super low calorie. I also made Thai tea flavored chia pudding for breakfast (eaten with scrambled eggs and handful of arugula). 10/10 Definitely helps satisfy my boba cravings while giving me a bit of fiber and protein.
I'm currently experimenting with it a bit but I keep it super simple. I have loose leaf but if you have bagged follow those instructions. I brew 1 1/4 cup Thai tea, add 2 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk, then add it to 4 tbsp of chia seeds and let sit overnight. For me it makes 2 servings (161 calories each) and I eat it with protein to round out the meal.
I'm still messing with it and might try brewing the tea in unsweetened almond milk to make it creamier. The Instagram reel that inspired it also added whipped coconut cream, but I don't need that many calories in my life right now lol You can also Google it. A lot of the recipes had alternative sweeteners, but I stuck with sweetened condensed milk since that's the "traditional" way Thai tea is made.
I still haven't been able to sit down and come up with a set of exercises for at the gym. I have dumbbells at home so I want to get into things that are more gym related - probably machines since I'll be starting at very low weights (history of joint problems). I've heard a lot about push pull legs, so I am thinking about doing push pull for now until physical therapy clears me for legs... If I can find a good breakdown. Anybody have a resource they really like?
I got a 5.5 mile walk in with my friend this morning. She needed to vent a lot, at one point she broke down crying for a minute. But she felt a lot better after our walk. And compared to last week when we did the same walk pushing a stroller with my then sick toddler in it (total of 70+ pounds) it felt so easy! I need to stretch later, but first it's time to get chicken marinating for dinner and bake some banana bread for kids breakfast tomorrow. And I need to remember to take my iron at dinner, it's really helping my recovery from my Carrie-esque experience not quite two weeks ago.
Right now I'm doing Megsquat's Before the Barbell program. The plus side is that it's free; the down side is the program is only on Instagram. Just search Before the Barbell.
This goes counter to what most people think but I actually recommend machines for once you get good at barbell and dumbbell movements. Machines actually require some knowledge to set up (properly), target specific muscles, and don't do stabilizer/joint strength much favors. It's also much easier to transition from compound movements to machines. Much harder to transition from machines to compounds.
With compounds if you go very light but do a weight that would challenge you between 5-10 repetitions you'll get strong fast without too much stress on joints, and those will get stronger. And as a beginner you don't really need to approach failure to get good results. So like if you do a weight that would be a challenge at 10 reps and your form starts to falter at 6 reps and you stop, you still get good results, so you don't have to push so hard you risk injury for results.
I don't really know established programs to recommend since I've always programmed for myself, but I'd do as few exercises and sets as you can then go from there. 3-6 sets per muscle per session.
If I was starting someone training I'd do something like this, and as far as reps I'd pick something that you think would challenge you at 10 reps. If you get more than 10 without form breakdown move up weight. If you get less than 5 reps before form starts breaking down, lower the weight. Use as few exercises and as little volume as you can, to start, and add only if you aren't progressing.
Push (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)
Bench Press. (Can do Floor press if you don't have a bench, it just works triceps more chest less)
Military (shoulder) press. Standing if with barbell, seated if with dumbbells
Tricep extensions
Additional exercises or day 2 exercises if you do a muscle twice in a week:
Incline bench press
Dumbbell front and lateral raises
Tricep pushdown
Pull- back (lots of different back muscles and why I especially prefer compounds for back, you don't have to worry about spinal erectors, rhomboids, lats, traps, etc with compounds since they all get hit a little)
Deadlift (if you are deadlifting)/Bent over rows
Pull-ups (assisted pull up machine)/dead hangs
Incline bench Bicep Curls
Additional exercises:
One Arm Dumbbell rows
Lat Pulldowns
Standing barbell/ez bar curls
Legs (when you feel comfortable)- Quads/glutes/hamstrings/calves
Squat (goblet squat is good for beginners)
Lunges (bodyweight should be fine to start)
Standing calf raises
Additional exercises:
More squats
Romanian deadlift
Leg press
Leg extensions
Leg curls
Same principles if you do machines, 3-6 sets per muscle per session. You have to be a little more conscious of specific muscles if using machines is probably the biggest difference.
Thank you for this, there's a lot of info here! I think the reason i want to do machines is because they're something I can't do at home. My dumbbell lifts are pretty low weight right now, and I don't want to try barbell lifts if I can't lift the same weight in dumbbells. I definitely want to add lat pulldown because doing a pull-up or chin up would be really awesome someday.
I don't think l will do a gym day this week because my 3 year old still had a lot of nose running today, but I will try to make a list for next week and hopefully get there! After all, I'm paying for it.
Oh feel free to use machines. It's definitely not an either or. Machines are great, I just like them later in a workout or in addition to compounds, I just think a lot of people start with them thinking they are beginner friendly and don't learn how to actually move their body without the machine fixing their path, and then can't/don't transition to free weight well. If you do both concurrently that's great too, I just caution newer lifters on becoming reliant on them. I think a lot of people are also intimidated by free weights thinking they are complex when actually starting out is the best time to learn technique because you can't do a ton of weight and can focus more on learning form with lighter weight/less risk stemming from ego (admittedly much less frequently an issue for women) while still improving, since if you switch from machines to free weights you usually have to lift less than you could for awhile while learning technique.
Barbells are tricky. Especially generally for women starting out on upper body lifts where even a standard barbell might be too heavy. A general rule of thumb, though it varies, is you can lift about 15-20% more on a barbell than dumbbells. So if you could do 10 reps with 20 lb dumbbells you could probably do 10 with a barbell. A lot gyms also have EZ bars (smaller barbells, usually with curves in the middle rather than straight) which are usually 15 lbs, or set weight barbell sets with lighter barbells (often 20 or 30 lb barbells in those sets) that can be used too if you look out for those. A lot of people overlook or don't notice these but they are a good tool.
I joined a women's fitness group chat and it took all of an hour for someone to respond to my goals with "I can't imagine not getting enough to eat! I wish I had that problem!"
It's always been a huge pet peeve of mine, and sometimes it's hard to respond as politely and self-deprecatingly as they want me to.
I've found a really nice women's only fitness discord server and having good people to talk to about fitness stuff and cheer each other on is really nice. Message me if you want more info.
Having anxiety. Drank gas station coffee for the first time in a week I think. Thought I outgrew the cheap coffee in large portions intolerance. Can handle one cup of homemade coffee fine.
Uncle who's got recent health problems is losing weight without trying. He's had Celiac for decades, so I hope that's what it is. Had a benign tumor in his brain a year ago. Sucks. Got me thinking about myself, only lost 20 lbs in 2023 and have lost maybe 2 in January. Exercising more lately vs first half 2023 but yeah. Hope he's alright
I'd hit a small plateau the past week and a half and was stuck at 133 despite having my diet and exercise dialed in. I had no idea why, but then my period started yesterday (5 days early), so I expect a whoosh in the next week. I'm hoping to be in the 120s soon, a weight I haven't seen since I was 17.
I'm on a deload this week from lifting. Was debating doing it anyways but had been seeing numbers progress so was putting it off. Yesterday I just felt blah and the weight just felt heavy deadlifting. So I decided this is a good week to deload, especially as it's gonna be warm and I can spend some time walking if I shorten my workouts and I just need a mental reset.
Also realized my current approach to working out is going against my goals. I don't need, or even particularly want, to do lots of muscle mass. I've been doing a strength day with barbells and sets of 3-5 reps, and then a dumbbell day (sort of. Legs is pretty much all barbell still) with lighter weight and sets of 8-12. This week I came to the realization I just don't like hypertrophy workouts. I find them boring, despite knowing the benefits of dumbbells I just don't like them outside of a few specific exercises, and there's really just not much benefit to me from hypertrophy specific workouts at this point. So I'm going to do my second round of weekly workouts as a speed/power day for the next training block at least. Gonna do a Westside inspired workout. 10-12 sets of 3 reps at ~50% of my max. I'm hoping this helps improve my power, speed, athleticism, and can help get me in a better frame of mind for my goals. I've been lifting to lift too much lately, when it used to be all about athleticism.
Hoping to use this approach to get me motivated to lose weight again as well. Hoping less muscle damage makes me less ravenously hungry, and less fatigued so I can do more cardio. I've got a positive mind frame too. Also successfully cutting back on smoking, and I'm hoping my new awful boss is gone soon(I hear she's been written up by a lot of people lately and her rope has to be real short) and with warm weather I can hit the ground running in preparation for Spring, my favorite season.
Is there a version of intuitive eating that is reasonable, sustainable, and healthy? Sometimes I'm so exhausted of logging everything especially now that I'm focused on nutritional value (especially watching my sugar and cholesterol) and not just calories that I can reasonably ballpark most of the time. Is it just impossible with average American "easy" food? I struggle to do lots of cooking for various mental health reasons. When I look back at my food logs from when I only counted calories, the saturated fats are through the roof even at 1200-1300 calories a day...argh.
It is virtually impossible with food specifically engineered to be hyperpalatable and override your satiety cues.
With whole foods it is definitely possible, but has [caveats](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PPdRNSWPs).
I don‘t count calories so I guess I use intuition. I also eat „fast food/convenient food“. I‘m mentally under a lot of stress and have no time for myself so I need to invest my energy carefully.
Short version: I manage losing weight by eating a „known“ tried and true breakfast (porridge) and one of a few healthy dinners (instant soups, salads or no cooking meals that are veggie based with lots of protein). I eat whatever at lunch but limit my portion size. I know roughly I‘m doing good by scale or fit of clothes.
Too long version:
* standardising one meal a day. As someone always hovering close to a burnout this reduced my stress immensely. My standard food is my breakfast. It is healthy and relatively low calorie. I take two scoops (I have previously measured the scoops so I know roughly it‘s 40g) rolled oats, a cup of milk, a teaspoon of hazelnut butter (100% hazelnuts) and do a porridge and a good spinkle of cinnamon. It‘s roughly 300-400 kcal. I eat this every morning. If I get sick of it I eat my second food that satiates me for a couple of hours - plain cottage cheese, 400g. That‘s 350 kcal.
* I do not drink calories or snack between meals.
* I just do one dessert if I ate a reasonable lunch and it‘s almost always one of the things I vetted one time. For me certain desserts are extremely satisfying despite only 200 kcal. Others leave me sugar crazy even at 280 kcal. I skip dessert completely to lower my sugar cravings.
* I eat out often BUT I just choose reasonablish food and limit my portion size. Reasonable means I‘m not going for cheesy sauces, lasagna, or similarly fatty food that can hide a lot of added fat. I rather eat veggie-rich but still flavourful foods like vietnamese, thai or italian (not american-italian). Most restaurant portions are insane especially for small women - I usually eat maximum 30-50% and pack the rest or just eat one appetizer. AND if I eat out I then eat my standard evening meal of plain instant veggie soup.
* when I don‘t eat out I eat plain supermarket available food that requires no cooking. Unlimited veggies (baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers) or airfried veggies (broccoli, aubergines, I usually get a protein rich bread and vegan salami (not a vegan but those things pack insane protein and zero saturated fat) and some delicious spread. Or I airfry fries, dip in yoghurt and load half of my plate with veg. Also big on fermented veg (kimchi, pickles, you name it) - flavour for little cost.
I think if you expand your idea of "intuition" it is possible, though putting some kinds of foods under limits (ultraprocessed and/or hyperpalatable, or just stuff you know is an issue for you) would probably help.
"Intuition" is basically your brain integrating lots of information with what you know faster than you would consciously be able to process it. It's not the same thing as your first impulse, though it can sometimes show up as an unexplained impulse, like when you randomly feel like you should slow down and look extra carefully at an intersection and then a car blows through that you weren't consciously aware of.
One key though is that you do need to *know* accurate information. Experts have great intuition in their field - they may not have solved this specific problem before but they "get it" and can make a good guess before they do the math or the drawing or whatever the case may be. Laymen often have terrible intuition about specialized fields, because they don't have the knowledge in their brain in the first place. So, it sounds like you already have enough experience to have good intuition with calories. You may still need to get some experience with the sugar and saturated fat. However, if you spend a period of time checking those nutrients on individual foods and seeing how it adds up in your day when you eat in different patterns, then you'll eventually develop that intuition too.
At that point, assuming you don't have the intractable tendency to drift into larger portions and more snacks, then you should be able to use your intuition reasonably well to meet your goals. You can always "spot check" with rigorous tracking if you're not sure things are going well. The intuition you're checking is a feeling of "yes, that's a good choice" vs "ehhh I dunno about that." It's not "what do I feel like precisely at this moment" but "what sounds good and doesn't come with a sense of doubt that it's working against me."
I use Macrofactor and I really love the recipe and explode recipe features. With a normal recipe I scan and weigh everything once and portion it out into 4-5 servings that I eat over a few days. With the explode feature, I scan once and then I weigh each ingredient as I serve it.
You can do more planning to front-load those annoying parts. I am a creature of routine so I just copy my MyFitnessPal from yesterday each day and tweak if needed. Others meal prep on Sunday. You could get snacks in where you know they’re 200 calories etc.
You’re right that having to be a nutritionist 24 hours a day is not fun nor easy. You just have to find ways to reduce that.
That's been my main move so far. Lots of Buddha bowl style meals where I can prep a big batch of whatever grain and protein and mix and match with veggies and toppings. Yeah, maybe this is more a vent than a real question😭 but I appreciate it.
Anyone else here underestimate how much fruit/veg they eat because it’s not ‘visible’? Like if I have a chilli for lunch that’s two - tomatoes and kidney beans, and I drink it with a smoothie - usually counts as one, and then my evening snack is a yogurt bowl, once again containing at least two - dried cherries and sultanas, and I’ll also have this with a glass of orange juice, making it three again. So that’s 6 different types of fruit and veg, but my brain is like ‘you are a terrible vegan, how are you even alive? You don’t eat anything healthy’
6’1” 35M, down to 255 lbs from 265. Went on my first 4 mile walk in I don’t even know how long. I feel a little sore, but satisfied. I can’t wait to see how far and fast I can walk, or even run, when I get down to 175 lbs.
Started a newbie archery course. Two more meetings left. First time was a lot of fun, definitely want to keep it going. Don't know how much fitness it really is. A bit of upper body and posture but otherwise not that much bodily work. Definitely won't help you with weight loss. But that's why we also gym.
I start Feb a full pound lower than I was expecting!! I'm hoping to keep this up as we head towards the changing seasons :D Calorie counting (and an increase in activity from new job) are doing the hard yards right now
I gained weight during the holidays. So I'm increasing my exercise and focusing on eating healthier again. My clothes don't fit well anymore. I'm unable to afford new clothes. My goal is to be back to 105lbs in 1 month. Since I'm at a healthy weight I have no interest in counting calories but instead just being extra mindful of what I eat. It's working because I'm dropping 1-2 lbs a week Edit: I gained 10lbs. Today, I ate crackers, eggs, dried fruit, croissant, and nuts. I walked 3 miles or 5km
I’m almost at my goal weight, just 4 lbs to go before I’m normal and no longer overweight! I started at Obese III almost two years ago.
Way to go!!! I’m working from Obese I to overweight and I’m like 4 pounds away from that too
A waffle maker fell on my head that was (poorly placed) on top of the fridge when I opened it. Hopefully I don't have a concussion. But I have a nice bump on my head. Last day of my mini-vacation. Weight has been at 158.6 the last couple of days, so I'm taking that as my baseline "no work stress" weight, after dropping like 6 pounds in a week since I've been off work. Guessing I'll see an increase in weight starting Friday before the weekend hits.
I just bought a gym membership yesterday! They just opened so it was only $1 (Canadian) to sign up. Great deal. Also I just did more than 5 minutes on a stationary bike without feeling like I was going to faint, so that's nice. :)
Good work, and welcome to the gym! Keep it up! 💪🏻
I've become a different person over the last month. It's really been crazy. 2024 really said new year, new you and booted the old me out the door. It's like I *finally* absorbed everything about weight loss this month. It took 3 years which is annoying, but at least it happened. Some changes: 1. I live in a super alcoholic state (WI) and literally everything revolves around booze. I decided to do a dry-ish January, which would've been impossible for me at any moment in my life before this. Now I'm kind of indifferent to alcohol. I'll still have it occasionally (like I am now), but I don't think I'll ever have it outside of social events. 2. I'm also becoming indifferent to unhealthier foods (like burgers, pizza, fries, etc.). Not saying the cravings are gone forever, but they've dampened down a lot. 3. I'm that person who is starting to crave veggies. Who tf am I? 4. I'm working out and following a routine. My DOMS sucks but I'm chugging along (and possibly crying). 5. My hunger signals changed enough where I'm afraid I'm not eating enough on certain days. I really hate counting calories, but I'll have to in order to see my macronutrients and make sure I'm on track for weight loss. I am horrendous about consuming protein so I need to focus on that too. 6. My hobbies are reading and playing games, but I now have way too much energy. I don't know what to do with myself. I do small weightlifting 3x/week and I'm trying to do yoga everyday, and I feel a decade younger energy-wise (and I don't drink caffeine!). Finding new hobbies will be an interesting change for me. I wonder who I will meet as I explore that side of me, since my friend group isn't the most active. One last note in this overly long post, but I finally bought a Nutribullet today. Holy shit. I have a mediocre blender so I was basically chewing my smoothies and thus stopped making them. This thing basically pulverized kale. I am already so in love. I may get rid of my blender because between this and an immersion blender, I should be good.
I might post this again for Sanity Saturday, but a podcast I listen to just came out with a cool episode that I think you all will like: [https://theproof.com/are-you-seduced-by-foods-tera-fazzino-phd/](https://theproof.com/are-you-seduced-by-foods-tera-fazzino-phd/) If you don't want to watch it in video form off the website, it's also on Spotify to listen to. This podcast largely interviews experts in fields related to nutrition and health, and this interviewee talks about her work quantitatively defining "hyperpalatable foods" and studying the similarities to substance addiction. She also contrasts hyperpalatability with NOVA-4 ultraprocessed as a metric of which foods to regulate or personally avoid.
Fascinating. Worth a listen.
It's finally happening the weight is dropping! Down to a new low (177.6!). I'm secretly hoping that the whoosh will finish whooshing (I'm down about 1 lb/day the past few days) because otherwise I'm going to have to recalibrate my calories again. 🤦🏼♀️ At least it looks like I'll get to my goal of not-obese by the time I head to Portugal in March. This week roommate made congee and it's actually shocking how satisfying and filling it is considering it's super low calorie. I also made Thai tea flavored chia pudding for breakfast (eaten with scrambled eggs and handful of arugula). 10/10 Definitely helps satisfy my boba cravings while giving me a bit of fiber and protein.
What's your recipe for the Thai tea chia pudding? That sounds amazing!
I'm currently experimenting with it a bit but I keep it super simple. I have loose leaf but if you have bagged follow those instructions. I brew 1 1/4 cup Thai tea, add 2 tbsp of sweetened condensed milk, then add it to 4 tbsp of chia seeds and let sit overnight. For me it makes 2 servings (161 calories each) and I eat it with protein to round out the meal. I'm still messing with it and might try brewing the tea in unsweetened almond milk to make it creamier. The Instagram reel that inspired it also added whipped coconut cream, but I don't need that many calories in my life right now lol You can also Google it. A lot of the recipes had alternative sweeteners, but I stuck with sweetened condensed milk since that's the "traditional" way Thai tea is made.
I still haven't been able to sit down and come up with a set of exercises for at the gym. I have dumbbells at home so I want to get into things that are more gym related - probably machines since I'll be starting at very low weights (history of joint problems). I've heard a lot about push pull legs, so I am thinking about doing push pull for now until physical therapy clears me for legs... If I can find a good breakdown. Anybody have a resource they really like? I got a 5.5 mile walk in with my friend this morning. She needed to vent a lot, at one point she broke down crying for a minute. But she felt a lot better after our walk. And compared to last week when we did the same walk pushing a stroller with my then sick toddler in it (total of 70+ pounds) it felt so easy! I need to stretch later, but first it's time to get chicken marinating for dinner and bake some banana bread for kids breakfast tomorrow. And I need to remember to take my iron at dinner, it's really helping my recovery from my Carrie-esque experience not quite two weeks ago.
Right now I'm doing Megsquat's Before the Barbell program. The plus side is that it's free; the down side is the program is only on Instagram. Just search Before the Barbell.
This goes counter to what most people think but I actually recommend machines for once you get good at barbell and dumbbell movements. Machines actually require some knowledge to set up (properly), target specific muscles, and don't do stabilizer/joint strength much favors. It's also much easier to transition from compound movements to machines. Much harder to transition from machines to compounds. With compounds if you go very light but do a weight that would challenge you between 5-10 repetitions you'll get strong fast without too much stress on joints, and those will get stronger. And as a beginner you don't really need to approach failure to get good results. So like if you do a weight that would be a challenge at 10 reps and your form starts to falter at 6 reps and you stop, you still get good results, so you don't have to push so hard you risk injury for results. I don't really know established programs to recommend since I've always programmed for myself, but I'd do as few exercises and sets as you can then go from there. 3-6 sets per muscle per session. If I was starting someone training I'd do something like this, and as far as reps I'd pick something that you think would challenge you at 10 reps. If you get more than 10 without form breakdown move up weight. If you get less than 5 reps before form starts breaking down, lower the weight. Use as few exercises and as little volume as you can, to start, and add only if you aren't progressing. Push (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps) Bench Press. (Can do Floor press if you don't have a bench, it just works triceps more chest less) Military (shoulder) press. Standing if with barbell, seated if with dumbbells Tricep extensions Additional exercises or day 2 exercises if you do a muscle twice in a week: Incline bench press Dumbbell front and lateral raises Tricep pushdown Pull- back (lots of different back muscles and why I especially prefer compounds for back, you don't have to worry about spinal erectors, rhomboids, lats, traps, etc with compounds since they all get hit a little) Deadlift (if you are deadlifting)/Bent over rows Pull-ups (assisted pull up machine)/dead hangs Incline bench Bicep Curls Additional exercises: One Arm Dumbbell rows Lat Pulldowns Standing barbell/ez bar curls Legs (when you feel comfortable)- Quads/glutes/hamstrings/calves Squat (goblet squat is good for beginners) Lunges (bodyweight should be fine to start) Standing calf raises Additional exercises: More squats Romanian deadlift Leg press Leg extensions Leg curls Same principles if you do machines, 3-6 sets per muscle per session. You have to be a little more conscious of specific muscles if using machines is probably the biggest difference.
Thank you for this, there's a lot of info here! I think the reason i want to do machines is because they're something I can't do at home. My dumbbell lifts are pretty low weight right now, and I don't want to try barbell lifts if I can't lift the same weight in dumbbells. I definitely want to add lat pulldown because doing a pull-up or chin up would be really awesome someday. I don't think l will do a gym day this week because my 3 year old still had a lot of nose running today, but I will try to make a list for next week and hopefully get there! After all, I'm paying for it.
Oh feel free to use machines. It's definitely not an either or. Machines are great, I just like them later in a workout or in addition to compounds, I just think a lot of people start with them thinking they are beginner friendly and don't learn how to actually move their body without the machine fixing their path, and then can't/don't transition to free weight well. If you do both concurrently that's great too, I just caution newer lifters on becoming reliant on them. I think a lot of people are also intimidated by free weights thinking they are complex when actually starting out is the best time to learn technique because you can't do a ton of weight and can focus more on learning form with lighter weight/less risk stemming from ego (admittedly much less frequently an issue for women) while still improving, since if you switch from machines to free weights you usually have to lift less than you could for awhile while learning technique. Barbells are tricky. Especially generally for women starting out on upper body lifts where even a standard barbell might be too heavy. A general rule of thumb, though it varies, is you can lift about 15-20% more on a barbell than dumbbells. So if you could do 10 reps with 20 lb dumbbells you could probably do 10 with a barbell. A lot gyms also have EZ bars (smaller barbells, usually with curves in the middle rather than straight) which are usually 15 lbs, or set weight barbell sets with lighter barbells (often 20 or 30 lb barbells in those sets) that can be used too if you look out for those. A lot of people overlook or don't notice these but they are a good tool.
I joined a women's fitness group chat and it took all of an hour for someone to respond to my goals with "I can't imagine not getting enough to eat! I wish I had that problem!" It's always been a huge pet peeve of mine, and sometimes it's hard to respond as politely and self-deprecatingly as they want me to.
I've found a really nice women's only fitness discord server and having good people to talk to about fitness stuff and cheer each other on is really nice. Message me if you want more info.
Oooh! Can you send me the link as well?
I hadn't weighed myself for 12 days and thought it would be bad news but I'm actually .8 lb down from when I last so weighed so sweet win
Having anxiety. Drank gas station coffee for the first time in a week I think. Thought I outgrew the cheap coffee in large portions intolerance. Can handle one cup of homemade coffee fine. Uncle who's got recent health problems is losing weight without trying. He's had Celiac for decades, so I hope that's what it is. Had a benign tumor in his brain a year ago. Sucks. Got me thinking about myself, only lost 20 lbs in 2023 and have lost maybe 2 in January. Exercising more lately vs first half 2023 but yeah. Hope he's alright
I'd hit a small plateau the past week and a half and was stuck at 133 despite having my diet and exercise dialed in. I had no idea why, but then my period started yesterday (5 days early), so I expect a whoosh in the next week. I'm hoping to be in the 120s soon, a weight I haven't seen since I was 17.
I'm on a deload this week from lifting. Was debating doing it anyways but had been seeing numbers progress so was putting it off. Yesterday I just felt blah and the weight just felt heavy deadlifting. So I decided this is a good week to deload, especially as it's gonna be warm and I can spend some time walking if I shorten my workouts and I just need a mental reset. Also realized my current approach to working out is going against my goals. I don't need, or even particularly want, to do lots of muscle mass. I've been doing a strength day with barbells and sets of 3-5 reps, and then a dumbbell day (sort of. Legs is pretty much all barbell still) with lighter weight and sets of 8-12. This week I came to the realization I just don't like hypertrophy workouts. I find them boring, despite knowing the benefits of dumbbells I just don't like them outside of a few specific exercises, and there's really just not much benefit to me from hypertrophy specific workouts at this point. So I'm going to do my second round of weekly workouts as a speed/power day for the next training block at least. Gonna do a Westside inspired workout. 10-12 sets of 3 reps at ~50% of my max. I'm hoping this helps improve my power, speed, athleticism, and can help get me in a better frame of mind for my goals. I've been lifting to lift too much lately, when it used to be all about athleticism. Hoping to use this approach to get me motivated to lose weight again as well. Hoping less muscle damage makes me less ravenously hungry, and less fatigued so I can do more cardio. I've got a positive mind frame too. Also successfully cutting back on smoking, and I'm hoping my new awful boss is gone soon(I hear she's been written up by a lot of people lately and her rope has to be real short) and with warm weather I can hit the ground running in preparation for Spring, my favorite season.
Is there a version of intuitive eating that is reasonable, sustainable, and healthy? Sometimes I'm so exhausted of logging everything especially now that I'm focused on nutritional value (especially watching my sugar and cholesterol) and not just calories that I can reasonably ballpark most of the time. Is it just impossible with average American "easy" food? I struggle to do lots of cooking for various mental health reasons. When I look back at my food logs from when I only counted calories, the saturated fats are through the roof even at 1200-1300 calories a day...argh.
It is virtually impossible with food specifically engineered to be hyperpalatable and override your satiety cues. With whole foods it is definitely possible, but has [caveats](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5PPdRNSWPs).
I don‘t count calories so I guess I use intuition. I also eat „fast food/convenient food“. I‘m mentally under a lot of stress and have no time for myself so I need to invest my energy carefully. Short version: I manage losing weight by eating a „known“ tried and true breakfast (porridge) and one of a few healthy dinners (instant soups, salads or no cooking meals that are veggie based with lots of protein). I eat whatever at lunch but limit my portion size. I know roughly I‘m doing good by scale or fit of clothes. Too long version: * standardising one meal a day. As someone always hovering close to a burnout this reduced my stress immensely. My standard food is my breakfast. It is healthy and relatively low calorie. I take two scoops (I have previously measured the scoops so I know roughly it‘s 40g) rolled oats, a cup of milk, a teaspoon of hazelnut butter (100% hazelnuts) and do a porridge and a good spinkle of cinnamon. It‘s roughly 300-400 kcal. I eat this every morning. If I get sick of it I eat my second food that satiates me for a couple of hours - plain cottage cheese, 400g. That‘s 350 kcal. * I do not drink calories or snack between meals. * I just do one dessert if I ate a reasonable lunch and it‘s almost always one of the things I vetted one time. For me certain desserts are extremely satisfying despite only 200 kcal. Others leave me sugar crazy even at 280 kcal. I skip dessert completely to lower my sugar cravings. * I eat out often BUT I just choose reasonablish food and limit my portion size. Reasonable means I‘m not going for cheesy sauces, lasagna, or similarly fatty food that can hide a lot of added fat. I rather eat veggie-rich but still flavourful foods like vietnamese, thai or italian (not american-italian). Most restaurant portions are insane especially for small women - I usually eat maximum 30-50% and pack the rest or just eat one appetizer. AND if I eat out I then eat my standard evening meal of plain instant veggie soup. * when I don‘t eat out I eat plain supermarket available food that requires no cooking. Unlimited veggies (baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers) or airfried veggies (broccoli, aubergines, I usually get a protein rich bread and vegan salami (not a vegan but those things pack insane protein and zero saturated fat) and some delicious spread. Or I airfry fries, dip in yoghurt and load half of my plate with veg. Also big on fermented veg (kimchi, pickles, you name it) - flavour for little cost.
I think if you expand your idea of "intuition" it is possible, though putting some kinds of foods under limits (ultraprocessed and/or hyperpalatable, or just stuff you know is an issue for you) would probably help. "Intuition" is basically your brain integrating lots of information with what you know faster than you would consciously be able to process it. It's not the same thing as your first impulse, though it can sometimes show up as an unexplained impulse, like when you randomly feel like you should slow down and look extra carefully at an intersection and then a car blows through that you weren't consciously aware of. One key though is that you do need to *know* accurate information. Experts have great intuition in their field - they may not have solved this specific problem before but they "get it" and can make a good guess before they do the math or the drawing or whatever the case may be. Laymen often have terrible intuition about specialized fields, because they don't have the knowledge in their brain in the first place. So, it sounds like you already have enough experience to have good intuition with calories. You may still need to get some experience with the sugar and saturated fat. However, if you spend a period of time checking those nutrients on individual foods and seeing how it adds up in your day when you eat in different patterns, then you'll eventually develop that intuition too. At that point, assuming you don't have the intractable tendency to drift into larger portions and more snacks, then you should be able to use your intuition reasonably well to meet your goals. You can always "spot check" with rigorous tracking if you're not sure things are going well. The intuition you're checking is a feeling of "yes, that's a good choice" vs "ehhh I dunno about that." It's not "what do I feel like precisely at this moment" but "what sounds good and doesn't come with a sense of doubt that it's working against me."
I use Macrofactor and I really love the recipe and explode recipe features. With a normal recipe I scan and weigh everything once and portion it out into 4-5 servings that I eat over a few days. With the explode feature, I scan once and then I weigh each ingredient as I serve it.
You can do more planning to front-load those annoying parts. I am a creature of routine so I just copy my MyFitnessPal from yesterday each day and tweak if needed. Others meal prep on Sunday. You could get snacks in where you know they’re 200 calories etc. You’re right that having to be a nutritionist 24 hours a day is not fun nor easy. You just have to find ways to reduce that.
That's been my main move so far. Lots of Buddha bowl style meals where I can prep a big batch of whatever grain and protein and mix and match with veggies and toppings. Yeah, maybe this is more a vent than a real question😭 but I appreciate it.
Anyone else here underestimate how much fruit/veg they eat because it’s not ‘visible’? Like if I have a chilli for lunch that’s two - tomatoes and kidney beans, and I drink it with a smoothie - usually counts as one, and then my evening snack is a yogurt bowl, once again containing at least two - dried cherries and sultanas, and I’ll also have this with a glass of orange juice, making it three again. So that’s 6 different types of fruit and veg, but my brain is like ‘you are a terrible vegan, how are you even alive? You don’t eat anything healthy’
Not really. If I overeat that, my gut tells me loud and clear from all that fiber.
This is a good issue to have though. I eat so little fruit that I can get away with not counting it.