Hi, I Would Like To Introduce Myself

[Zoongas]

Hi,

I am in Sydney, Australia and my partner has just shown me this fabulous site for women after I have just given him a hard time this weekend about my lack of progress and feeling down about it all.

I would greatly appreciate any feedback from you experienced fitness women.

I have been weight training for the last 18 months and doing cardio 3-4 times a week (25 mins).
My height is 5 6" and weight is 130 lbs. My problem areas are biceps, thighs and butt.

My ideal weight and body image is 120 lbs with lean muscle, a goal that seems to be hard to attain.

Have tried a number of different dieting programmes, and managed to lose a bit from when I initially started. However, the problem is I seem to crave carbs. my programme is 4-5 meals a day with approx. 27 gms Protein, 21 gms Carbs, 9 gms Fat per meal. My energy levels can become quite low and I crave chocolate for a quick fix. My job is stressful, and I have heard that can cause carb cravings ??

Every now and then I cycle with Clen (2 weeks on, 2 weeks off), which helps, but not enough.

I need a direction to ensure I will be able to gain by goals, any suggestions ??

 

[Zoongas]

oooops...


Just spotted temple's post above

Z

 

[Sassy69]

Hi Z - welcome aboard!

Just a quick thought - if you increase your muscle mass, muscle weighs more than fat, so you might find it harder to get to 120 lbs while increasing muscle. A more appropriate goal might be a body fat % instead of weight. For ex, I am 5'7", have a medium build, though I am able to build mass pretty easily (though with it I also put on fat easily). I did a bodybuilding competition last year where I dieted down to 133 lbs at 9% bodyfat. If I could do it all over, I would've dieted a couple more weeks and gone in at maybe 7 or 8% but stay around 130- 133 lbs. (was tight on top, but still not tight enough on the bottom - thighs and abs are usually the last to come out). The thing was, I couldn't maintain that weight for any extended period of time.

I don't know what your build is, but you might not be able to comfortably reach 120 lbs for that height. With more muscle, you will probably end up weighing in at more than that, but with a lower bodyfat. To compare I have a friend who is my height but has a cute shape and no muscle. She is 26% bf and probably weighs in at 125. She has a smaller build than I do tho.

Good luck!

 

[FitFossil]

Welcome Zoongas!

Stress can definitely cause you to crave carbs. So can allowing yourself to get hungry to the point your blood sugar gets too low.

I am a fellow chocoholic. I HAD to have my "hit" of chocolate every day at 10 AM and again at 3 PM. I'd try to give it up, only to have terrible rebound binges.

Then I decided to substitute my chocolate with a protein bar. I started doing this just once per week. Gradually I substituted in more protein bars for the chocolate.

Immediately I noticed how much fuller I felt after my protein bar, and I didn't get the big sugar crash and hunger pangs afterwards like I did with chocolate. Pretty soon I began to prefer the protein bars over chocolate. I liked not getting hungry, and figured if I was going to consume the calories anyway, then there might as well be something nutrious in there too.

I experimented with different bars. My favorite are the PR*Bars. http://www.prbar.com/ They have a 40/30/30 ratio of carbs/protein/fat and keep your blood sugar stable. They come in lots of different flavors. They're smaller than most other bars, so I can eat a whole one at a time. With the others, I eat half for my morning snack and save the other for the afternoon.

These are my new candy. That was the first of many small changes I've made in my diet. Each change made a big difference.

 

[Rocket]

Welcome, The lastest issue of Musclemag has a good article on glutes by Ron Harris, check it out it may beable to help. Good Luck
Rocket

 

[Magda]

Also, check out chromium picolinate. I worry about carb and chocolate cravings too. My mother has adult onset diabetes and I don't want to end up in that boat!

http://www.gnutrition.com/articles/supplement/chromium-picolinate.html

 

[AB]

Oh Hello,

I live in Australia also, and only just moved away from Sydney about twelve months ago. What gym do you train at??

 

[Zoongas]

Thanks for all your suggestions and support, great to know that I am on the right track. Will take on board feedback and will post my updates.

A.B. - I train at Golds Gym, not bad but would be nice to have more females down there....

Zoongas

 

[AB]

Gold's Gym hadn't opened yet when I left Sydney. I used to work at that Fernwood Gym in the city - what a joke. That place's heaviest weights were 20lb dumbells. Soon woke up to myself.