The Silver Jeans Predicament (Training Journal)

[Tuf]

Okay, here you go. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
[ QUOTE ]
Diet - March 22nd, 2004

Meal 1:
1 tbsp PB
3 oz turkey
3 eggwhites, 1 med egg
1/2 grapefruit
<font color="red"> Chromium
5g glutamine
1000mg vit C
multi-vit </font>
<font color="blue">I would drop the pb. You have been in a fasting state all night and you want to supply your body with a low release of insulin to suppress cortisol. A starchy carb + protein is ideal. I prefer oats and whey. Egg whites are a good choice for protein too. Because you are cutting, I would drop the fruit. Having a complex carb will optimize your muscular energy stores and help to maintain your strength and endurance in the gym. You will also maintain a better pump. See the 13 Weeks to Fat Burning diet for more. </font>

Meal 2:
1.5 scoops protein
1 tbsp walnut oil
<font color="red"> pre-workout supplements</font>
<font color="blue">I would drop the walnut oil in this meal and replace it with a complex starchy carbohydrate source. Again, this will help your energy levels in the gym.</font>

Meal 3:
2 scoops protein
1.25 scoops gatorade powder
<font color="red"> 5g creatine </font>
<font color="green"> 5g glutamine
post-workout supplements </font>
<font color="blue">Can you get dextrose and maltodextrin?</font>

Meal 4:
200g quark
2 tbsp PB
<font color="blue">Sorry, but is quark cheese? [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] What is the P/C/F breakdown for quark? I would add some green veggies to this meal.</font>

Meal 5:
6oz salmon steak
1c spinach
1 small tomato
1 tbsp walnut oil + splash of rice wine vinegar
1/2 c broccoli
<font color="red"> 1000mg vit C</font>
<font color="blue">This is quite good, but I would replace the rice wine vinegar with red wine or apple cider vinegar. Rice wine usually has around 5 g of sugar per serving.</font>

Meal 6:
2 hardboiled eggs
<font color="blue">This is really not an optimal pre-sleep meal. Have a protein source that digests slowly (cottage cheese, meat, blended protein shake), leafy greens, and EFAs.</font>

Fitday Total: 1736 calories
Fat: 78g (40%)
Carbs: 69g (15%)
Protein: 193g (45%)

<font color="blue">Do you cycle your carbs or are they always that low? If so, why?</font>

Hmmmm ... should have stopped at one tbsp PB ... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]
<font color="blue">Speaking of which [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img], you should try to get a higher ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fats. Including flax oil in place of some of your PB would be helpful for fat burning.</font>

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[BarBelle]

[ QUOTE ]
Okay, here you go. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Thank-you Tuf! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] </font>


[ QUOTE ]
Diet - March 22nd, 2004

Meal 1:
1 tbsp PB
3 oz turkey
3 eggwhites, 1 med egg
1/2 grapefruit
<font color="red"> Chromium
5g glutamine
1000mg vit C
multi-vit </font>
<font color="blue">I would drop the pb. You have been in a fasting state all night and you want to supply your body with a low release of insulin to suppress cortisol. A starchy carb + protein is ideal. I prefer oats and whey. Egg whites are a good choice for protein too. Because you are cutting, I would drop the fruit. Having a complex carb will optimize your muscular energy stores and help to maintain your strength and endurance in the gym. You will also maintain a better pump. See the 13 Weeks to Fat Burning diet for more. </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

<font color="purple"> Okay ... dropping the fruit. I'm a bit surprised at the starchy (more on that later) but I'm not complaining! Oatmeal ... yum! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] </font>


[ QUOTE ]
Meal 2:
1.5 scoops protein
1 tbsp walnut oil
<font color="red"> pre-workout supplements</font>
<font color="blue">I would drop the walnut oil in this meal and replace it with a complex starchy carbohydrate source. Again, this will help your energy levels in the gym.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Hmmmm ... okay. I'm hesitant to add more starchies (see explanation below). I have noticed less "oomph" in the gym, especially at the end of my workout. If I add the extra starchy carbs, do I have to adjust my workouts accordingly? [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]</font>


[ QUOTE ]
Meal 3:
2 scoops protein
1.25 scoops gatorade powder
<font color="red"> 5g creatine </font>
<font color="green"> 5g glutamine
post-workout supplements </font>
<font color="blue">Can you get dextrose and maltodextrin?</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">I'm working on that ... next paycheque!</font>

[ QUOTE ]
Meal 4:
200g quark
2 tbsp PB
<font color="blue">Sorry, but is quark cheese? [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] What is the P/C/F breakdown for quark? I would add some green veggies to this meal.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Quark ... that's hard to describe. It's a european soft fresh cheese, sort of a yogurt/cottage cheese hybrid. The macros are:

100g plain lowfat quark (about 1/2c):
56 calories
Protein: 9.8g
Carbohydrates: 3.3g
Fat: 0.4

I hope quark's okay ... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]. Cottage cheese is hard to find and rather expensive here (E2.89 for 500g compared to E0.59 for quark), and I've only seen 4% cottage cheese.</font>


[ QUOTE ]
Meal 5:
6oz salmon steak
1c spinach
1 small tomato
1 tbsp walnut oil + splash of rice wine vinegar
1/2 c broccoli
<font color="red"> 1000mg vit C</font>
<font color="blue">This is quite good, but I would replace the rice wine vinegar with red wine or apple cider vinegar. Rice wine usually has around 5 g of sugar per serving.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]

<font color="purple">Gotcha ... rice wine vinegar, out. </font>


[ QUOTE ]
Meal 6:
2 hardboiled eggs
<font color="blue">This is really not an optimal pre-sleep meal. Have a protein source that digests slowly (cottage cheese, meat, blended protein shake), leafy greens, and EFAs.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple"> [img]/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] [img]/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] That was a last minute attempt to get in more fat and protein. Would quark + flax oil (or nuts) be good at this meal? </font>


[ QUOTE ]
Fitday Total: 1736 calories
Fat: 78g (40%)
Carbs: 69g (15%)
Protein: 193g (45%)

<font color="blue">Do you cycle your carbs or are they always that low? If so, why?</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">I hope this explanation doesn't sound dumb: [img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Yes, I am cycling carbs, though not exactly as outlined in the 13weeks article. I've been keeping my carbs low during the week and "carb loading" ([img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]) on the weekends. The rationale being that we usually visit the "in-laws" on the weekend and it's difficult to control my diet when I'm not the one cooking. Because my bf's Dad is really impressed with my lifting I can fit in protein shakes ... but for sit down meals it's whatever's served (rice, bread, pasta, etc). Period. I'm concerned about offending the in-laws ... sounds stupid, I know, but they're Dutch. The saying "Wooden shoes, wooden head, wouldn't listen" isn't without merit! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

I figure this is the path of least resistance for now ... if I incorporate the extra complex carb meals as you suggested, will I have to adjust my cardio levels to continue to see progress on this cut?
</font>

[ QUOTE ]
Hmmmm ... should have stopped at one tbsp PB ... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]
<font color="blue">Speaking of which [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img], you should try to get a higher ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fats. Including flax oil in place of some of your PB would be helpful for fat burning.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">I'll add flax oil to my shopping list. Thanks again for the critique, Tuf! I really appreciate it! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] </font>

[Tuf]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Thank-you Tuf! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] </font>

[/ QUOTE ]
No problem! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]


[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple"> Okay ... dropping the fruit. I'm a bit surprised at the starchy (more on that later) but I'm not complaining! Oatmeal ... yum! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] </font>

[/ QUOTE ]
Good. You can look at it as replacing your fruit carbs with oatmeal carbs. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Also, did you understand what I was saying about excluding the peanut butter from this meal? I would not recommend adding extra fats (those that do not occur naturally in foods like oats) to breakfast.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Hmmmm ... okay. I'm hesitant to add more starchies (see explanation below). I have noticed less "oomph" in the gym, especially at the end of my workout. If I add the extra starchy carbs, do I have to adjust my workouts accordingly? [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
The starchy carbs should really help you to maintain your energy levels. If you still want to cycle your carbs, you can even add as little as 1/4 c of oats to meal #1 and meal #2. If you can't have oats in both meals and still meet your macronutrient ratio goals, I would keep them in your 1st meal.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">I'm working on that ... next paycheque!</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
That's great! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Quark ... that's hard to describe. It's a european soft fresh cheese, sort of a yogurt/cottage cheese hybrid. The macros are:

100g plain lowfat quark (about 1/2c):
56 calories
Protein: 9.8g
Carbohydrates: 3.3g
Fat: 0.4

I hope quark's okay ... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]. Cottage cheese is hard to find and rather expensive here (E2.89 for 500g compared to E0.59 for quark), and I've only seen 4% cottage cheese.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm. Well, 1/2 c of lowfat cottage cheese has about 16 g protein, 3 g carbs, and 1 g fat. I can understand the financial advantage of quark, but I think it would be better to have something with more protein here if you can. A lean meat such as chicken, turkey or fish would be better and have a more favorable p/c/f ratio, especially when you are cutting and want to ensure that you are consuming carbs from the most efficient sources.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">Gotcha ... rice wine vinegar, out. </font>

[/ QUOTE ]
[img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Good.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple"> [img]/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] [img]/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] That was a last minute attempt to get in more fat and protein. Would quark + flax oil (or nuts) be good at this meal? </font>

[/ QUOTE ]
Flax oil or nuts would be great. I guess the quark might be okay here, especially if it has casein protein, but you still may need to consider my previous comments about it. Also be sure to add a leafy green veggie.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">I hope this explanation doesn't sound dumb: [img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

Yes, I am cycling carbs, though not exactly as outlined in the 13weeks article. I've been keeping my carbs low during the week and "carb loading" ([img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]) on the weekends. The rationale being that we usually visit the "in-laws" on the weekend and it's difficult to control my diet when I'm not the one cooking. Because my bf's Dad is really impressed with my lifting I can fit in protein shakes ... but for sit down meals it's whatever's served (rice, bread, pasta, etc). Period. I'm concerned about offending the in-laws ... sounds stupid, I know, but they're Dutch. The saying "Wooden shoes, wooden head, wouldn't listen" isn't without merit! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

I figure this is the path of least resistance for now ... if I incorporate the extra complex carb meals as you suggested, will I have to adjust my cardio levels to continue to see progress on this cut? </font>

[/ QUOTE ]
I understand. That's a difficult situation. I would say to just do the best you can do on the weekends. If you can say no thank you to the bread, rice, etc. and just have meat and veggies, that would be ideal. I wouldn't go crazy with your cardio in an attempt to compensate. Like I said, just do the best you can and monitor your progress. If things are not moving the way you want them to, then we can talk about other strategies.

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple">I'll add flax oil to my shopping list.</font>

[/ QUOTE ]
That's excellent. It won't taste good, but it's good for you! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[ QUOTE ]
<font color="purple"> Thanks again for the critique, Tuf! I really appreciate it! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] </font>

[/ QUOTE ]
You are very welcome! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Syddles]

Hiya Chita, you have a very nice journal. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] I look forward to following your progress. &lt;3

[BarBelle]

Diet - March 25th, 2004

Meal 1:
2/3c oatmeal
1 scoop whey
1 tbsp pb
<font color="purple">[img]/forum/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img] Oops ... I *did* read your advice about the peanut butter, Tuf. Somewhere between my laptop and the kitchen it dribbled out my ear </font>

Meal 2:
5 eggwhites + 1 med egg
2c broccoli

Meal 3:
2c spinach
1/2c cucumber
2/3 can water packed tuna
1 tbsp walnut oil + splash garlic white wine vinegar

Meal 4:
250g lowfat quark
1/3c oats
5 walnut halves
1tbsp blanched almonds
3/4 cup sugar snap peas
<font color="purple">This should have been Meal 2, but I ran out of oatmeal and needed to do a grocery run. Just wasn't my day! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] </font>


Meal 5:
1 chicken breast
1.5c asparagus
1c lettuce
1tbsp olive oil + splash balsamic vinegar

Meal 6:
1 can water-packed tuna
1c lettuce
1tsp walnut oil

Fitday Total: 1934 calories
Fat: 72g (35%)
Carbs: 109g (18%)
Protein: 218 (47%)

I remember taking supplements today, but now I've forgotten where ... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] I'm getting old. I also bought a calcium, magnesium, zinc supplement today. I *know* I took that one before bed! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[BarBelle]

[ QUOTE ]
Hiya Chita, you have a very nice journal. I look forward to following your progress. &lt;3

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] Thanks Syddles! Your journal's not too shabby either (btw: nice weights! I'm in awe).

Today was a rest day, though I did 30min of moderate cardio.

My bf gave me a lovely compliment before he left for work today: "You've really made improvements on your arms. But do you really want more size? You're already big for a girl. Your arms are almost as big as mine."

My thoughts: Hooray!! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] ... Huh? [img]/forum/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] ... Groovy, baby, yeeeaaaaahh! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[BarBelle]

My internet connection is back ... whew! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Time to update ...

Workout - March 26th, 2004

Chest

Inc BB:
Warmup: 15xbar; 12x30kg
8x37.5
3x6x40
6x42.5 + 6x30

Inc DB Flyes:
4x12x10kg

DB Presses:
3x7(8)(8)x16kg

Cable X:
3x12x10
6x15

Machine Dips:
3x10x40kg


Dragged my bf to the gym today ... it was great having a spotter for a change! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[BarBelle]

Workout - March 28th, 2004

Back

Close-grip Pulldowns (to chest):
2x10x35kg
8x42.5
3x6x45

Close-grip Cable Rows:
10x35
10x37.5
4x8(10)(10)(10)x40kg
<font color="purple">I was really happy with this ... my form was bang-on! </font> [img]/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Wide-grip Lats:
10x30
10x32.5
10x35
Cadence: 2:1:3

Wide-grip seated cable rows (to chest):
3x10x25kg

Parallel grip rows (machine):
2x8x32.5
3x8x35

+ single arm rows (no rest between sets)
5x4x15kg


An odd workout ... much different from my normal back routine. Felt good!

[BarBelle]

Workout - March 30th, 2004

Legs

Rom DL:
12x40kg
10x50
10x60
3x6x72.5kg
<font color="purple">Was stuck using the "big" plates 'cause people can't figure out how to put away they're plates after they're finished. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] ****, that makes me cranky ... I like the smaller plates because I get a deeper stretch. This just wasn't the same ... [img]/forum/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]</font>

Leg Curls SS 30sec Hamstring stretches:
15x27x5 + 8x32.5 + 8x30
12x30 + 6/6x32.5
10x30 + 5x32.5 + 3x35
8x20kg slooooow reps

Horizonal Leg Press "50's":
50x50kg
50x60kg

Inc Leg Press:
10x150kg
10x160
10x170
10x180
<font color="purple"> 10 reps of *anything* sure felt great after 50's! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]</font>

Leg Ext:
15x20
15x22.5
15x25
12x27.5
12x30
12x32.5
6x35
6x37.5
5x40
5x40 +5x30 + 5x20 + 8x10kg
<font color="purple">I read a leg extension workout similar to this in Yu Yevon's journal ... I don't think I'll read that journal anymore. [img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img] [img]/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] Ouch!!!! </font>

Rotary calf:
3x20x30kg

Surprisingly, I didn't feel *that* bad after this leg workout. Or during the 20min cycle home (with a headwind ... lucky me [img]/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]). Let's see how I feel in the morning, shall we?

[BarBelle]

Workout - April 1st, 2004

Shoulders

Cable Laterals:
4x10x3.75

DB Presses:
2x10x10
2x10x12
3x10x14 &lt;--- [img]/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Military Presses:
3x10(10)(9)x35
10x35 + 7x25 + 10x15

Front Raises:
10x5
3x10x6

Rear Delts:
4x8x5

Cable Up. Row:
10x15
2x10x17.5

Machine Shrugs
3x10x50

I've decided to switch things up. Even though I really like the splits my brother gave me, I'm finding that (at least for me) some body parts aren't being worked hard enough. I think splitting my delts and arms workout into two separate days will help.

There haven't been huge changes on the scale, but the mirror tells me I'm losing weight. I guess I should be happy that I'm gaining muscle and losing fat ... ooohhhh, I hope I can get back into my favorite jeans soon! [img]/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]