Ready for Fat Burners?

[GatsbyGirl]

OK, ladies the moment of truth is here. So far I'm 8.5 months into a body transformation that started at 230 lbs and 41% BF. Today I am 168 lbs and 21.7 % BF. My ultimate goal is 15% BF (by 3/2007) to see my abs and I am ready to begin supplementing to help me get there. My short term goal is to really pour it on and shed 4% BF by 12/31.

I am 41 y/o, 5'5" and I am dieting and work out with weights and cardio 4 x a week.

Typical Daily Menu
Total Calories: 1400
Total Fat: 28%
Total Carb: 32%
Total Protein: 44%

Typical Weights Workout (ham/glute/calf day)
Wall squats w/ball 15
Leg press - high! 3 x 15 @ 90/180/360
DB step ups on bench 2 x 15 w/15's
Romanian Deadlifts 2 x 15 @ 85/105
Hamstring curl 2 x 15 @ 37.5/50
Alternating rear lunges 2 x 15 w/15's
Pelvic tilts 20
Ball sit ups 30
Knee tucks on ball 20
Calf raise machine - 15 x 2 x 45
Ascending stair calf raises - 45

Typical Cardio
30 mins elliptical or running

Typical Pre-Workout Fuel
2 scoops NOXplode and 1/2 ISS Advantage Matrix shake

I am considering:
A) Clen plus Yohimburn ES for fat pockets on rear thighs and stomach
B) Thermorexin plus YES

No ECA - I'm allergic to aspirin other than that I'm open to suggestions. What would you do? I'm leery of the Clen but I want FAST results.

Thanks!

 

[florencia]

Welcome to EF! I am in a bit of a hurry and can't help mch for the moment. Best thing I can say is diet is key!!! 90% importance. Please read stickies & Shadow program

 

[*Bunny*]

Congrats on your progress so far! That is really great! With the proper diet & training 1 % bf drop is possible so I don't feel that goal isn't realistic, I am wondering if your caloric intake is too low for you & your activity level.

I would start with your diet and try to ween out any processing & clean it up.
Also, try to add some more explosive type HIIT cardio in lieu of your typical 30 min. Can you sprint? Do some plyometrics? Intervals on the step mill? Intervals on heck ANY piece of cardio equip?

Those minor changes may be more helpful than you realize.

Maybe even consider bumping UP the weights & lowering the rep ranges to 8-12. You aren't eating to get big so I wouldn't worry about that. IMO your cal range is safe up to 1900 if you are in the 160 range. I would NOT dip below 1600 cals though... your muscle is helping burn the fat, no reason to eat it up by not feeding it properly.

Based on what I get from the very informative peeps here on EF, clen is a waste of your time, esp. now & if you cannot see your abs (or are low bodyfat). YES & TREX would be a good choice for sure.

Congrats again & good luck.

My thoughts in sum
* Tighten Up diet (Clean out processed foods)
* HIIT Cardio mixed with your current (maybe 3 days HIIT 1 day steady state or 2 days of each to give you 4 days total)
* Up the weights (rep ranges 8-12)
* Trex & YES great supps to 'supplement' the things stated about

Good Luck

OK, ladies the moment of truth is here. So far I'm 8.5 months into a body transformation that started at 230 lbs and 41% BF. Today I am 168 lbs and 21.7 % BF. My ultimate goal is 15% BF (by 3/2007) to see my abs and I am ready to begin supplementing to help me get there. My short term goal is to really pour it on and shed 4% BF by 12/31.

I am 41 y/o, 5'5" and I am dieting and work out with weights and cardio 4 x a week.

Typical Daily Menu
Total Calories: 1400
Total Fat: 28%
Total Carb: 32%
Total Protein: 44%

Typical Weights Workout (ham/glute/calf day)
Wall squats w/ball 15
Leg press - high! 3 x 15 @ 90/180/360
DB step ups on bench 2 x 15 w/15's
Romanian Deadlifts 2 x 15 @ 85/105
Hamstring curl 2 x 15 @ 37.5/50
Alternating rear lunges 2 x 15 w/15's
Pelvic tilts 20
Ball sit ups 30
Knee tucks on ball 20
Calf raise machine - 15 x 2 x 45
Ascending stair calf raises - 45

Typical Cardio
30 mins elliptical or running

Typical Pre-Workout Fuel
2 scoops NOXplode and 1/2 ISS Advantage Matrix shake

I am considering:
A) Clen plus Yohimburn ES for fat pockets on rear thighs and stomach
B) Thermorexin plus YES

No ECA - I'm allergic to aspirin other than that I'm open to suggestions. What would you do? I'm leery of the Clen but I want FAST results.

Thanks!

 

[Daisy_Girl]

Congrats on your progress- that is absolutely FABULOUS.

I think a "stack" of Thermorexin and Glucorell-R is fantastic. I would start there and get the YES a little later. In my experience, YES is MUSH more effective (noticeable) when you are sub-20%. I would add YES around 17%.

While I think your goal is great, keep in mind that 15% is pretty low to maintain. It will likely take constant work to be that % - meaning, not a lot of room to cheat and go off the diet. For MOST - some can maintain that pretty easily though. For me, 15% was not a place I wanted to stay - too much deprivation to maintian it. I enjoy living life, lol. I think 17% is a great spot - lean, but easily maintained and room to live. But NOTHING wrong with your goal - just make sure the numbers are "fluid".

 

[Sassy69]

Congrats on your progress- that is absolutely FABULOUS.

I think a "stack" of Thermorexin and Glucorell-R is fantastic. I would start there and get the YES a little later. In my experience, YES is MUSH more effective (noticeable) when you are sub-20%. I would add YES around 17%.

While I think your goal is great, keep in mind that 15% is pretty low to maintain. It will likely take constant work to be that % - meaning, not a lot of room to cheat and go off the diet. For MOST - some can maintain that pretty easily though. For me, 15% was not a place I wanted to stay - too much deprivation to maintian it. I enjoy living life, lol. I think 17% is a great spot - lean, but easily maintained and room to live. But NOTHING wrong with your goal - just make sure the numbers are "fluid".

Enjoying some cocktails tonite DG?

I agree -- its ok to have a goal, but for maintenance it becomes a matter either of training your body to stay there or to find the point where your body is comfortable as a reflection of your diet. Speaking as a competitor, sure it would be great to maintain 9% bf, but reality is 15-16% is probably more doable if I watch myself constantly. HOwever also as a competitor my weight & bodyfat swings up & down 20-30 lb w/ training & just the challenges of life. My goal right now is to get my body's happy set point down about 10-15 lb. That is just all about training my body & slowly adjusting the comfort point down. Since I am interested in changing my body's composition as part of this, I will be dropping some muscle mass as well.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

lmao. MUSH

 

[GatsbyGirl]

Bunny - I am working with a nutritionist and I think my diet is pretty clean. Here is a typical day. I eat every 2.5 - 3 hrs. The only difference is that on work out days I add in 1/2 c brown rice or 1/2 sweet potato at lunch. I don't do a cheat day but I will have 1-2 glases of wine a week.

Pre-work out
2 scoops NOXplode
1/2 ISS Advantage matrix shake

Post Work Out
1/2 bottle Nature's Best Isopure protein drink

Meal 1
1/3 c oatmeal with splenda and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray
1/2 c egg beaters w/tbls fat free shredded cheese
Coffee with Davinci sugar free syrup

Meal 2
Protein muffins (oatmeal, egg whites, sf syrup, pumpkin pie spice, protein powder) or 2 rice cakes with 2 tbls natural peanut butter

Meal 3
Chicken breast
green salad w/lite balsamic dressing

Meal 4
1/2 c 1% cottage cheese and a carb control yogurt OR a protein bar

Meal 5
White fish (cod/halibut/talapia) 5 x Salmon 1 x steak 1x
Green salad w/lite balsamic OR a cucumber with splenda and balsamic

Where can I get cleaner?

 

[GatsbyGirl]

I am so excited to see how mush BF I can lose! lol

Also, I have a question about the HIIT from the shadow project. It says 8 cycles of 30 sec all out, 60 secs active rest (30-40% effort) after a 20 min warm up. What is the warm up? If I am on an elliptical, for example....

Also what does r-ala mean?

 

[*Bunny*]

That's great that you are eating pretty dang clean. See now we know specifics, easier to help that way for sure.

I am surprised she has your cals so low but LOVE that she is making Protein a priority ... does anyone else think I am wrong about the cals? Please do feel free to comment about my suggestion of possibly increasing them, esp. if a change in routine is made.

I'm going to assume a change is possible since you want to continue with fat loss.. maybe that time to shake things up a bit to kick start things once again to get you closer to your goal.

just my $.02 , feel free to take it or leave it

Best wishes Gatsby

 

[GatsbyGirl]

Thanks so much for your input Bunny. I really appreciate it. I'm willing to do anything to get this going so I am open to any/all suggestions.

So far I plan to incorporate HIIT and I will order the Thermorexin and Glucorell-R and I guess I will wait on the YES until I hit 17%. Although I have a big pocket under my thigh - it really wouldn't help to get started sooner??

 

[Sassy69]

Thanks so much for your input Bunny. I really appreciate it. I'm willing to do anything to get this going so I am open to any/all suggestions.

So far I plan to incorporate HIIT and I will order the Thermorexin and Glucorell-R and I guess I will wait on the YES until I hit 17%. Although I have a big pocket under my thigh - it really wouldn't help to get started sooner??

The thing w/ YES is that the effects aren't very apparent until you are a lower bodyfat.

 

[*Bunny*]

Thanks so much for your input Bunny. I really appreciate it. I'm willing to do anything to get this going so I am open to any/all suggestions.

So far I plan to incorporate HIIT and I will order the Thermorexin and Glucorell-R and I guess I will wait on the YES until I hit 17%. Although I have a big pocket under my thigh - it really wouldn't help to get started sooner??

I think you can use YES at any bodyfat, it's about how much $$ you are willing to spend on supps, that can get pretty pricey. I have seen both Mac & Ulter say it's better at lower BF and ALSO would say you would be ok to use it now. It's up to you. I love it & wish it came in bathtub size, I just get lazy when it comes to actually putting it on.

I agree with DG on the Glucorell 110%. THat is a GREAT supp. period.

It's great to have that ultimate goal of 15% esp coming as far as you have. You should be so proud already. You get to a point where you've seen how awesome you've done, and naturallly you want more, quicker sooner faster, etc.

When you reach your goal pay attention to what Sass & DG say about maintaining low bodyfat and keep it in mind. I think only when you get there you will see how maintainable it is for yourself, and then be able to see what the ladies mean when they post about it on here, the ups & downs.

Either way you've done awesome ... way to change your lifestyle GG.

 

[GatsbyGirl]

Ok - point taken about the YES. I'll have to decide...

I appreciate the comments about maintaining the 15%. There is a body transformation challenge that I want to WIN in 3/2007 so that is the big reason for the seemingly arbitrary, aggressive goal.

I think that if I can hit the 15% then I will just see what happens with my maintenance diet and work outs. I agree that if I keep it within a range it will probably be healthier in a lot of ways. I know there is at least one day a month where I sure would love some lasagna and key lime pie.

You're really sweet, Bunny. Thanks so much.

 

[Daisy_Girl]

I think that if I can hit the 15% then I will just see what happens with my maintenance diet and work outs. I agree that if I keep it within a range it will probably be healthier in a lot of ways. I know there is at least one day a month where I sure would love some lasagna and key lime pie.

Sounds great - you are totally right about "seeing what happens when you get there". Some people can maintain low BF quite easily even with some cheats, and others (me) cannot. Ya never know.

 

[Sassy69]

The point is to get to the goal and then look at what you want next. One thing about your body is that if you choose to achieve things with it you are always in a constant state of change. You never really "achieve your goal" and then just stay static...

 

[GatsbyGirl]

Good point. I guess I never thought of it that way. My first goal was 22% BF and when I hit that I was like - no WAY is this acceptable. But it happened to me in business, too. I set a monthly revenue goal for my business and when I hit it I felt kind of sad. It was weird but I was like - now what? Now my body is my business! lol

 

[jenscats5]

My personal opinion is that your cals are a bit low.....if you up them by maybe 200 cals a day, it's possible to see your body drop a bunch more fat.....You could try that for 6 weeks & see what happens.....

But CONGRATS on your accomplishment so far!! That's awesome!!

 

[Sassy69]

I think if your goal is to drop the bodyfat and not worry too much about muscle mass, you can take a small deficit approach to dieting and make lots of gains (losses). However if you are seeing a stall out or a drop in energy and you've been running at the cal deficit for a while (e.g. several weeks... months) then I'd suggest exploring some possible carb ups or upping the total cals a bit or something to recharge your body. It is now burning at a great rate but its probably gotten used to running on the lower cals. We talk about a rule of thumb of 10-12x your bodyweight to "maintain" - more like 12-15x for specifically building muscle. You may want to look at your muscle mass now or soon and consider if you are losing muscle mass as well. You can change the ratio of bodyfat to lean muscle mass by increasing your muscle mass as well as by dropping fat.

If its all still working for you, you may want to just keep running w/ it as you are, but there's a stall out point where what has apparently been working great may not be optimal anymore.

... this leads into the ongoing state of change that occurs when you realize the freekin' amazing things your body can accomplish once you get past a lot of self-sabotaging myths and fad diet approaches and accompanying feeling of helplessness or failure related to dieting. As you are seeing, its literally life-giving. There's no end to the things you can see yourself accomplishing now. But a tough part of it is when you hit those goals, do you chose to stay or to go further? Change your goals? Or what? As Daisy noted, going below 15% can be a hard thing to maintain unless you are very specifically teaching your body to operate at a lower bodyfat. You may find it lifestyle restricting after a while. Another note - you've seen what you can do, and you are probably thinking I'm going to live this lifestyle (e.g. the tight diet, training, etc.) every day of my life. I'll never stop it. That's fine, but you will also pass thru some phases of accommodation where you will want to take a break from it or just plain old get sick of the gym or the diet & need a break. It happens to EVERYONE. Sometimes life gets in the way - case in point - me. I was going to do 2 major competitions this year but first I started having lots of joint problems, then I was going thru a whole pile of stress waiting for a job offer to come thru, then I started working at the new job, got roped into working literally 80 hrs in my 3rd week (including late nite and all weekend), then I got sick and now I'm traveling. Suffice it to say I haven't been in the gym in 3 weeks at all, and sporadically since this summer. I needed the break to heal and just to deal w/ other crap that I had to deal with. So now I've got a different goal of getting in the gym, also focusing specifically on fat loss & also mass loss since I probably won't be competiting in BB anymore.

Anyway -- just trying to point out the "long view" - once you get addicted to the lifestyle it is so liberating but it can also take its toll on your regular life (which you may not think is a bad thing now) but it will become critical that you find a balance that you can live with. This comes w/ time, but just think big & long. Go for different goals. Learn how your body responds to different stimuli - e.g. changes in your diet - more protein, carb rotation, cal cycling, different sorts of training, etc. Its a whole new adventure, but you'll see your body constantly going thru small swings in response to the different things you experiment w/. Just "getting leaner" and perpetually fighting to get your bodyfat down to some number that is really only in the realm of competitors just isn't a good goal so think outside of that to how you look and how you feel, vs. a number that is sort of irrelevant in the big picture. You can start to self-fuck when you find that you've passed your goals of bodyfat and your body starts to slow down and the "getting to a lower bodyfat" really isnt' the right goal and you start to see possibly even gaining some bodyfat back, etc. (Sorry I'm getting long winded...) -- just take it as you go and live in the moment.

 

[GatsbyGirl]

Sassy - that is great stuff! Right now I haven't really given much thought to what my goals will be once I hit 15% and win the transformation challenge. I enjoy working out and lately I've taken up some things that I never would have even considered in the past because I was too out of shape like snowshoeing and mini tri's.

I think, for me, the trick is to have the goal be some kind of challenge - whether it's a body transformation competition or a mini triathlon or a 5K - so that I always have some sort of a goal to focus on. After March 2007, I doubt that my BF% will be my main focus but rather it will be sport specific paying close attention to my BF and lean mass %'s.

Also, I ordered the whole enchilada - Trex, Glucorell-R, YES and Sesapure. I can't wait to try it all out! Thanks everyone for the feedback. I truly appreciate all of you!

 

[GatsbyGirl]

Hi everybody. I just got my order and I'm really excited!

Question - for those of you that are doing Glucorell-R and Sesapure do you usually take them together before a meal? What works best?

 

[*Bunny*]

Glucorell take 15-30 minutes prior to a meal (1 cap per 30 grams of carbs i believe , check the bottle)

Sesa start with 1 cap 2 x a day

then gradually 1 cap 3 x a day is optimal, even if you are NOT overeating. Be careful if you up it to two caps 3 x a day b/c it may causes headaches if too many cals are 'wasted' ... not necessarily a good thing.

You can take them together sure, up to you.