Posts by ash3141

Please keep in mind that on days you exercise, your deficit is going to be even bigger.  If you MUST eat 1200 calories on most days, promise you will eat more on the days you work out.

In general, I do not think a 1200 calorie diet is your healthiest, safest, and best option.  I wish the best for you.

"I alternate a 60-120 seconds of sprinting with 60 seconds of jogging for 20 minutes."

To the OP, it sounds like HIIT.  But to the post above, I do not believe this is considered HIIT because you never let you heart rate come all the way back down.  There are 2 part to High Intensity INTERVAL Training.  The first part is the sprinting intervals and the second is the recovery intervals.  If you don't fully recover, I don't think you get the same results...

I only burned about 200 calories during each workout.  Since I would have burned ~25 in those 20minutes just sitting on the counch, my net burn was only 175 calories.  Just be sure to count it right.  The weights part of each routine are very high rep and very low weight which I don't agree with.  You would be better off lifting heavier weights and then doing 15 minutes of interval training (in my opinion).

fatanr11~ I am a 25 yo female, I weigh 167 at 5'6".  This is the most I have weighed in a really long time but like I said I am not operating at an extreme deficit any more.  I would love to lose about 12 pounds (of fat).  I LOVE the New Rules book and am so happy I found something that makes sense.  Although I haven't lost any weight, I have definately managed to get some definition in my stomach area, arms, shoulders, and thighs.  Something is working ;)

awestendorf~ did you find yourself tired at a 500 - 700 calorie deficit while lifting?  How heavy were you lifting?  My main goal is to steadily increase my weights and each time I do, I am dead tired when I get home.  Also, did you find that running on non-lifting days made your workouts harder to get through?

Original Post by fatanr11:

I am only in stage 1 (please don't judge me!)... I have no excuses for not starting NROLFW sooner, other than sheer laziness.

I have been cutting my calories. I'm hoping that by doing HIIT, reducing my caloric intake, AND doing HIIT, that I will be set to getting healthy and in shape. I don't need to be 97 lbs, but I can't stay at 180 with only being 5'0". Even my PCP advised me to see a nutritionist. That's pretty sad. Pretty much saying that I am a fat ass and need help!

So I joined a gym, and really want to lose "weight" as in, yes pounds, but also FAT. I don't want to lose muscle. I'd rather be 140 and muscular, than 120 and "thin"... know what I mean?

 I just finished stage 1 of NROLFW (starting stage 2 in an hour).  I am absolutely loving the workouts but I haven't lost any weight.  Lou Schuler gives an easy formula for calculating how many calories we should be eating on lifting and non-lifting days.  He then says if you are trying to lose weight, you should decrease your calories by NO MORE than 300.  If you have too much of a deficit, you will have a rough time getting through the workouts. 

I have lost weight at a 1,000 calorie deficit from excessive cardio, but I couldn't keep it up and I gained the weight back.  This time around, my focus is completely dedicated to the free weights and NROLFW.  I am eating at the level Lou suggested for maintainence and I haven't gained any weight, which is very reassuring.  I am just about ready to decrease my calories by 200 to see if that helps jump start my weight loss. 

Good luck to you!

Forget crunches if you only have cement to workout on.  You could do push-ups, squats, lunges, ect.  I'm sure there are plenty of other exercises that can be done without a gym as well.  I find that running in place can get rather boring, try mixing it up with jumping jacks.  If you have access to the internet, try searching YouTube for some fun exercise routines...

Aventura Spa Palace in Playa Del Carmen

The food and drinks are delicious and the ocean and pool are wonderful.  The staff is friendly and the rooms have a balcony and a private hot tub.  Perfect for couples because you must be at least 18 to be a guest which means NO annoying kids screaming in the pool.  No offense, I know not all kids are annoying...

Read the New Rules of Lifting for Women.  There is tons of information regaurding your questions.  There are also weight lifting plans that are designed to progressively make you stronger.  I am on week 4 and I already see a huge difference!

Thanks for the replies! I think a half marathon is a great idea.  I am already running at least 3 times a week and my milage ranges from 3 - 5 miles.  13 miles sounds like a great goal.  I just started back at the gym as well so I can lift on my non-running days. 

If you haven't tried to do jumping jacks for a solid 30 minutes, I think you might not know what you are getting into.   I do a combination of jumping jacks, jump rope (without the rope), butt kicks, and punches while I'm watching tv in 1 minutes intervals - try not to take a break in between sets until you hit the 30 minute mark. 

My body bugg says I burn about 10 calories a minute which means I burn about 300 calories.  I would highly recommend doing Jillian Michaels' 30 day shread part 1.  It will give you some ideas of what you can do with very limited space.

I love when people comment about how often I eat.  I have a whole shelf full of healthy snack food at my cube and people actually know me for it.  Whenever I get a comment (usually from someone who is overweight) about how I am always eating, I like to say "Oh yeah, it's the only way I can lose weight."  When people comment on my healthy eating habbits, it only makes me want to keep it up.

A Widow for One Year  by John Irving

Totally weird book but I couldn't put it down.  I would recommend it :)

Go to your local coffe shop and order a iced coffee.  Sit and people watch... then get back to work.  Are you lonely or just bored?

Wow you must be diong some crazy lifting to burn twice as many calories as power walking for an hour... My Bodybugg says I burn about 4.2 calories a minute lifting (and I mean lifting as heavy as I can, none of the pink weights ) and 8.5 calories a minute power-walking.  It's totally the other way around for me I guess.  How are you measuring your calories burned?

Usually I feel horrible when I cheat... then I remember that it is ok to indulge sometimes and if I stop looking at it as cheating then I don't feel so bad about myself.  I went into Easter knowing that I'd eat a ton of chocolate, I allowed my self to indulge and now I'm right back on track.  Who cares if I gain .4 pounds at least I'm still counting and on the right path.  It's your Birthday, eat cake, eat as much cake as you want... and tomorrow get right back on track.  No regrets and a very happy birthday :)