Newbie and seeking motivation

[blondambition]

I am a 41 yo female getting back into training. I trained hard for for about 10 years but never quite got the results I was looking for. For the last 6 years, since I got married, haven't trained regularly. Looking to get back into it and make up for lost time. I work long hours and am always tired. Any motivation and suggestions is greatly appreciated. I am also interested in learning more about "Var". I don't know my BF percentage but I am 5-05, 125 lbs.

Thanks!

 

[needtogetaas]

well you cam to the right forum..the girls here love to help..if you are really into doing it right they can help a lot.

 

[Sassy69]

What is your current diet & training like, particularly the diet - can you give a typical day's meal plan & portions, e.g.

Meal 1: 8 am
1/2 c oatmeal
2 whole eggs
1 cup coffee

Meal 2: 11 am
4 oz chicken
2 c spinach salad
2 tbsp vinaigrette

etc.

Since you don't know your bodyfat how would you describe yourself? Low on muscle? Skinny fat? Fat? Squishy? Where do you hold your fat? Or what size pants do you currently wear? 5'5" and 125 lb ? The weight is not off - if that's correct I woudln't think you were "fat" - maybe just not much muscle?

If you are interested in anavar, its the best of all the anabolic androgenic steroids to start with if you so choose to - much more predictable results & sides but that said, it is still a male hormone and will have certain impact including the usual - acne, increase in bulk, increase genital sensitivity, your period will stop (the flow will, symptoms will still be around , e.g. bloat, mood swing, and you are still ovulating so you can get preg) and then it starts back up normally the month after you come off the cycle.

The biggest issue about even Anavar - oxandrolone - is that lots of women tend to think of steroids as "fat burners" (some guy - their boyfriend /hubby/ some guy at the gym - will say how this or that cut them up good) but that tends to be extremely dependent on your diet, the bodyfat you are starting at and the consistency of your training.

I don't know how much you know about anavar or steroid use yet - check the steroid profiles on isteroid.com and read up on some of the threads on the women's board here. Generally I don't encourage women to just start throwing in steroids unless they fully understand what they are and both the potential results and sides and most importantly is their current diet & training already consistent and producing results since any steroid is really only a supplement to an already established and functioning fitness program - its not a quicky fix and its not magic pill or short cut.

So given that, can your provide a little more info, particularly about diet?

As far as motivation - if you are already working long hours, I think just cleaning up your diet & getting even a short but regular training session in will go a long way to helping you sleep better and be more energetic even with the long hours. It takes a little more effort & planning to get your meals packed and then consistently find time to get into the gym, but its worth it - its a lifestyle not DIE w/ a T or a quicky thing you do for a few weeks & expect it to fix everything yo udont' like about your body.

If you are looking for a good program (diet & training) that is time efficient & flexible I like to suggest the BODY FOR LIFE book by Bill Philips (skip the version for women - just the same program w/ some female directed marketing - go to the original book).

If you are looking for something that is a little more rigid but laid out - check out The Shadow Project - check the list of stickies at the top of the board, click on the TOP THREADS - MUST READ sticky and there is a link to the Shadow Project. I think there's also a link to it on the ARE YOU NEW TO EF WOMEN'S BOARD - START HERE sticky.

Welcome to EF!

 

[Tatyana]

Hello and welcome!

I am with Sassy on this one, I would sort our a diet(meaning healthy eating) that you can maintain at least 80% of the time, and get back into regular training before you considered any anabolic steroids.

Steroids are not the answer, either is clenbuterol, T3 etc. All of these have potential side effects, and when you come off of them, there is also a chance of 'rebound' which could be rapid weight gain, especially if you don't have the basic diet and training down.

Despite being a nattie, I have been reading Anabolics guides, and one of the thing that stood out in my head about Anavar for women was this statement by William Llewellyn "women can expect to keep the gains from anavar for six months", hell hun, I think if it might only last 6 months, I would rather do Botox for the money

There are a couple of bits of brain candy in starting training in your 40s

1. You have muscle memory, so you will get your shape back faster if you have trained

2. Women not only hoard fat, we hoard muscle, so once you have it, as long as you eat enough protein and train, you will keep your gains (naturally that is)

3. Even though you have not trained for awhile, it is possible to completely transform your body with weight training, just don't expect it to take two weeks, or even two months after 10 years of nothing. You will see results (women often change quite quickly IMHO), but this is not a short term thing.

As for motivation, I do train for myself, but I often have something I am training FOR, for example, for my family and friends, cause I know when I am in great shape, people follow my example around me, they get motivated to be in shape.

You will find it is a great stress buster, and I like to think of training as my 'active meditation'.

Look forward to hearing more from you

x
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T

 

[Sassy69]

Ditto T!

 

[blondambition]

Thank you all for your encouragement and suggestions. I really do appreciate it.

Here is a bit more info....

As I said I am 5-05, 125 lbs. I tend to hold most of my weight in my lower body. Having said that I am fairly proportionate. My measurements are 36, 26, 35-1/2. I know this doesn't have much to do about body fat and muscle but just to give you an idea about my body shape.

My diet used to be pretty clean but not so much anymore. My typical day's diet is as follows:

On work days breakfast is usually a whole grain cereal, whole grain waffles or a protein bar. I have a snack mid morning. The snack could be lowfat cottage cheese, or a protein bar. For lunch I have something like a chicken sandwich on whole grain bread or a salad that has vegetables and meat in it with an italian or ranch dressing. I usually get hungry before I get off work at 7:00 p.m. so I will eat something like beef jerky, half of a protein bar, something of that nature. For dinner it could be a protein such as chicken, pork or turkey, a salad, and sometimes whole grain rice or a potato. This all sounds not so bad but sometimes when we go out to eat I will or fries and I always have to have a couple of cocktails. Where did my discipline and training go?

OK...let me have it ladies! Help give me the motivation I need to get healthy and strong again.

Thanks!

 

[Sassy69]

It doesn't sound like your diet is so bad - I'd suggest laying it out once and calculating what is you REALLY are consuming - use www.fitday.com and run it on a typical meal plan to get your total cals, macro breakdown - % protein / fats /carbs - is it at or near 40% protein / 30% carbs / 30% fats? - That's a good baseline ratio to start with. What are your total cals? Are they 10-12 x your bodywt? If not consider some better food choices and break your meals into more than just your std 3 big ones.

A diet is best if it is consistent - instead of random junk food, consider scheduling a 1/ week cheat meal where you can have the fries, drinks, whatever and not worry about it. But try to keep it to 1/week.

 

[blondambition]

Thank you Sassy I love the black kitty on your post >^ .. ^<

Any advice on fat burners or good muscle building supps?

 

[Tatyana]

I would ditch the protein bars, most of them (there are about two exceptions), are nothing more than glorified candy bars, and full of trans and saturated fats.

Replace that with a protein shake if you really need something easy, but you do need to realise that there is a natural thermogenic property to real food, which helps with fat burning.

Eating loads of bad fats...........this is a few of the things I have read, but yet to find the papers on them....................

1. Bad fats will 'clog' up your cell surface receptor, in particular insulin/glucose receptors decreasing your insulin sensitivity on muscle and liver, therefore more nutrients will be directed to fat

2. A difference between the upper and lower body fat ratio is due to a deficiency in essential fatty acids, the bad fats will also interfer with the metabolism of healthy fats

I would start eating fish or take a essential fatty acid supplement

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T

 

[Sassy69]

Generally eat as much real food as possible & keep the protein bars for emergencies instead of as a regular part of your diet. Shakes are great for getting your protein ratio up and also a great place to mix in fruits to make it more tasty and I've also thrown in flax seed oil as a great way to get in more good fats.