IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN - My 35lb Cutting Journal

[Tennisgal33]

DAY 18

10:00
coffee
3 tbsp cream
2 cups Kale
whey
1/2 apple
1/2 cup cucumber (all juiced)

GYM
WALK/RUN 30 min. 2 miles (serious toe/foot issues!!!!!)

2:15
3 eggs, 1 tbsp mayo
3 small dill pickles

6:30
2-3 oz lean pork meat
1/2 tsp butter
cauliflower mash - 6oz
bok choy 1-2 cups
2 tsp olive oil

10:30
whey
1.5 cups almond milk
2 tbsp jello chocolate light

9:00 PM GYM

15 minute leg circuit
single quad raises
single hams
explosive leg press - no weight
calf raises

3 sets, 12, then 10 reps increased weight.

45 minutes LISS Biking 8.75 miles

 

[Tennisgal33]

If anyone had suggestions speeding up my loss and help this metabolism (still no hypo meds)

Would getting rid of half and half in my coffee make a big difference (even eating so low?)

AM LISS and PM Training vs Breakfast + Lifting followed by cardio

Macros?

I know I'm not eating strict clean - it's clean, but not perfectly clean as it shows. Thanks!

 

[caligirl85]

What is your timeline? I know you have something coming up....how many weeks?

 

[Tennisgal33]

July 1st. So we're at 6 weeks.

Here's the deal. I felt pumped and I am gaining strength in the gym. I wanted to lift heavier today, so I upped my weights a little, still doing a circuit. Felt on fire, positive, etc.

Came home, took my photos. Hadn't done it yet. I feel sick to my stomach. I can barely see a difference from late January BEFORE shots. puffiness in face is down somewhat, some of the stomach bloat-look but from what I see in transformations from others - the info I THOUGHT I had down, I honestly want to cry. This does not look like 4 months of hard turn around. From the photos - unless I am just taking horribly unflattering shots - you would not know I hit the gym and put in the hours I do. This is not a chick feeling a little bloated, I still am holding fat like crazy. This is why I lowered the cals so much the past month. This is really hard on the self-esteem. I'm embarrassed and feel defeated.

 

[psizzle_8]

I would say fasted cardio in the morning and training at night...that's how I do it anyway. I respond well to fasted cardio. My weekly check-ins with my coach are always better when I did fasted cardio that week

 

[Tennisgal33]

Yes. AM fasted cardio starts tomorrow.

Took 2 days off from counting cals and training. (and Friday dinner). I'm not going nuts or binging...just eating when I want and what I want. Kinda nice! Listening to body and mind needing to rest. I think I would like some 'help' in the form of fat loss pill but if it's just going to stimulate and make me feel jittery I'm not into that. Do they actually burn fat/speed up metabolism? Or just give you energy? Cause if it's just an energy thing, I'm good with coffee and my BCAA's. I took another analytical look at my photos. I look thick/solid. Not what I want. I know I've built muscle. The fat doesn't want to release. Spoke briefly with a trainer who thinks I've built and am building muscle. In the past I do put on muscle quickly. I'm wondering if I've been putting on muscle but somehow not losing the fat and working against myself with too much training? Although I upped my cardio and lowered my cals. So maybe this is simply an over training thing going on. Bluntly, feel I'm doing it the hard way, not the smart way. I can't afford to hire anyone (trainer,etc) to help out right now. Although there is a trainer who has just offered some help who is the one who said 'on paper it looks good. Get some blood work done around hypo." I'm hoping come late summer/early fall that will change and I can afford a coach/trainer.

So was wondering about a juice cleanse this week, with poached fish as protein source and some whey. Easy digesting foods. Psyllium husk and WATER. Just cardio and yoga...also wanted to consider playing with IF again and go back to a CKD or TKD after the cleanse. Then weight train 2-3 days only a week, and circuits, not lift heavy. (I love lifting heavier and pushing myself though) Maybe do more body resistant training. I'd really like to see at least 10lbs come off in 6 weeks. This should not be a tall order under normal circumstances.

 

[caligirl85]

We are often our own worst critics, for sure and it sounds like you've made some progress but I do understand slow results are super frustrating. I would agree with you....you are working against yourself and your body. After this post, I'll shut up about it but honestly, barring some thyroid issue, which I would be surprised at, you are stuck in that cycle of being inconsistent in your diet, over training, and under eating. It's not a short term fix and jumping around from one thing to the next isn't going to help. And like you're doing, you are going to fight for every last lb you lose. Trainers are a dime a dozen. Most are not worth the money you spend. You've heard the saying "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink"...bodies are like that too. You have to reprogram your body and work with it, not against it.

For the most part, your answer is in your diet. If I was you, I'd look at doing a contest prep diet for the next 6 weeks. Take a look at Psizzle's log or I can recommend something else. I'd go back to the basics. I'd eat 1400-1500 CLEAN calories a day with only complex carbs in the morning, such as oatmeal, and the rest of the carbs from fibrous type veggies. I'd cut out olives, pate, etc etc....I'd do NO MORE then 45 mins of cardio a day and I disagree with not lifting heavy. I'd still do that. What I'm saying though is to eat basically the same thing every day with slight variations...5-6 meals a day for 6 weeks. It's extreme.

If not that....I still think you need to pick something and keep it consistent for at least 4-6 weeks. It's going to take you at least 6 weeks to even things out and get your body responding.

All that being said, we're here to support you regardless. Sometimes a cleanse is good to refresh the body and start over. When you're ready, we will be here to help you.

 

[Tennisgal33]

Thanks girl! I know, I'm all over the place right now! I was consistent on CKD back in February and March - it felt the easiest to stick to cause food choices were limited in a way. I think Psizzle is doing a Keto style right now. But that AM Oatmeal is tempting. Are fruits like berries OK in a pre-contest diet? (in a shake/with oatmeal) or post workout? I have the drive to do this, I've just confused myself on how to eat I think with the slow results and I know I've become impatient. How nuts is that? Almost information overload and with this damn pressure 6 week thing I'm freaking. Stupid! (Don't want it to be a problem, but I don't totally know the hypo isn't an issue based on other symptoms, but would much rather not deal with those meds)

So...Only 45 min. of Cardio?!?!? OMG! lol I've been doing 40-60min (sometimes 2 - 60's) Could I slowly add an extra LISS session closer to the goal date? Or do empty cardio in the AM 3x/week?


Couple questions: I'm doing 60-75 minutes weight training. That's too long/high volume for cutting, isn't it? This is 3-4x a week. I've been doing Upper/Lower splits. Maybe I should do body part/day/5 day split.

Ideally, this should cut 10lbs of fat in 6 weeks, right? CKD or CLEAN with some complex carbs in AM.

Whey - can too much be stalling weight loss? I can't see how. I don't think the sodium is that high. I take in 2 average a day. Sometimes 3 if one at night.

Did you have a sample idea of what a day in the life would look like? I can play around with ideas too and post a sample I come up with. Eating the same thing is going to be a challenge, but I can see why this works in your favour. I will go back and look at Psizzle's food journals from earlier on too.

What do you mean no pate? LOL I know...that was a stupid justification on the extra 60 min. LISS that night and not eating more earlier.
Feeling the support! Thanks so much.

 

[Tennisgal33]

Quick update to anyone following. So I did get a crap load of tests done again, over the past 4 weeks. At least I have some answers now. Nothing positive. So I will be taking time to deal with this before I can obviously get serious about training and seeing any gains. I guess it's peace of mind to some extent. I will continue to follow others but there isn't a lot of point posting right now until I get this sorted. Thanks for all support. I will be back in stronger, better health. Try and stop me!!

 

[caligirl85]

Hope you're ok!!