mandypumpkin

Okay....I've been away for too long and I've gotten too fat. It's time to shred!
Here's my plan:
Morning cardio: 45 minutes (5x's week)
Afternoon cardio: 20 minutes followed by weights. (I haven't figured that part out yet....I've been lifting 5 days a week, each body part once a week) and I'd like to continue lifting about 5 x's a week.

Question: I've been reading about the Max OT program and I'm curious as to whether or not this would be better for me. I hate to buy yet another book if it's not going to be of use.

Goal: Reduce bodyfat ( I have no idea what mine is right now because my gym doesn't take BF%). If I had to guess, I would say around 20%-23%. I would like to make my first goal 15% by July. I also want to reduce bodyweight from 155 to 135. I carry a lot of lean muscle.

Diet: Ahhhh....the problem!
I have copied the carb cycling by twin peak and I am trying to implement it currently. Here's what I've done today:
B: half a grapefruit, 1 ff cup cottage cheese, coffee, water, artificial sweetner.
Snack: half a protein bar (145 cal), water (19 carbs, 2.5 fat, 14 proteitn)
lunch: salad with ham, eggs, little bit o'cheese, and ranch with 8 crackers. (bad crackers!) Do I have to give up real ranch?
Dinner: TBA

Question: Is it better to do the carb cyling? Or is it best to do it this way?
1500 calories: 40/40/20, 5 meals
30 carbs, 30 prot, 6.5 fat/ meal.



Any advice would be much appreciated!!!

ncgirl21

If you've ever had a problem with binging I wouldn't reccomend carb cycling, but if you haven't you can have very good results with it.

As far as your workouts go- that's too much cardio IMO. If you want to do it every morning that's great but you really don't need to do it twice a unless your training for a competition.

I myself like a balanced diet better because it doesn't leave me craving any certain foods on certain days!!

Good Luck Girl- you'll get a ton of great advice on here!

Only time will tell if it was time well spent!

atherjen

Hi Mandy!! Glad to see that you started a journal! great way to stay on track of things and get advice/motivation from everyone!
I agree with Andrea- way too much cardio going on girl! no need for such lengthy sessions and especially 2X day! concentrate hard on your lifting and add cardio in as needed. have you ever done HIIT style cardio? (intervals) those kick major butt and super for fatloss and boosting metabolism!

as for diet it depends what will work for you, many here have successfully followed carb cycling, its a great diet, but as Andrea already mentioned if you have a history of binging its not the best route.
are you currently eating every 2.5-3hrs?
I could definitly see some things that need to go in the diet- the protein bar for one. and the Ranch dressing is a huge no no! those crackers arent the best either. why not add in some sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal or fiberous fruit/berries instead.
how about healthy fats? Im not seeing any.. or much for fiberous veggies either..

hope that helped a bit and not too confusing! were here to help!
Best of luck girl!

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

ltennis299

HI Mandy! We are very alike. I have the same goal as you. I have gained about 10 lbs in the last 9 months I'm 150 right now and my ultimate goal is 135lb. I also carry alot of lean muscle..fat too now. At 140 lbs.. i was a loose size 6. Anyways.. good luck.. I've decided to do carb cycling. Going to research a little more then start Monday. I'm here with you girl! byee

Monolith

Holy cardio! You'll be able to win a few triathalons with that kind of training.

The girls gave ya some good advice. Good luck.

http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/~ek867/dexamyl.jpg

mandypumpkin

Thanks!
atherjen: Yes, I have tried the HIIT and it seemed to work well. Would you recommend that over 45 min in the morning? I would be doing that in the moring and weights around 3:30 in the afternoon. Diet.....I know I know...but that's exactly why I'm posting. I need someone to slap my hand and tell me no! Thanks! I'll drop the bar, quit the ranch (I've bought Newman's Oil and vinegar dressing that a lot of people talk about on here...is that ok?) I'll also add in more veggies and a 5th and maybe 6th meal at night. No carbs after 7? How about fish oil and natural pb for healthy fats? Oh, the Newman's dressing has some healthy fat, too, right?

ncgirl21: Yes! I do have a problem with binging and I would love to know more about your balanced diet. I'll try to find your journal on here to read more about what your goals are and what you eat.

ltennis299: it's good to know someone else who has similar goals! Good luck and keep in touch! I'd really like to know how the carb cycling works for you.

Monolith: I know! It feels like I live on machines! You'd think I'd be ready to run a marathon by now! AUGH! Okay...I've got a lot of great support here. Here I go! Thanks for the encouragement.

atherjen

-HIIT is far superior to moderate lengthy cardio in my opinon. how about trying that for 3days/week for approx 30mins(including warmup), and then concentrate on lifting 3-4 days. heavy and intense.
-what is the nutritional info and ingredients on the Newmans Oil and Vinegar dressing?
-good good, more veggies is great!
-dont go by the rule no carbs after 7pm. it you trained just prior to that, late evening, then by all means have carbs and protein post workout. otherwise I prefer to stagger my carb intake to just fiberous veggies late in the evening!
-fish oil is PERFECT for healthy fats, and the nat.pb is fine in moderation as well, but I wouldnt rely on it as my primary fat source.

Keep your head up girl, work hard and stay motivated, were all here to help, we'll "slap your hand" when needed!

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

mandypumpkin

I'll have to check on the nutritional value of Newman's dressing and post it later.
How many fish oil should I take a day? I bought the enteric coated so that I won't burp up fish oil all day. That's okay isn't it?

mandypumpkin

Newman's Olive oil and vinegar dressing: Dang! That's a lot of calories and fat! I'd rather eat ranch for that amount!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Serving Size: 2 tbsp (27g)
Calories: 150
Total Fat: 16g
Cholest.: 0mg
Total Carb.: 1g
Sugars: 1g
Fat Cal.: 150
Sat. Fat: 2.5g
Sodium: 150mg
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0g

ncgirl21

To start, I'd take one with every meal. Hope you can swallow pills- it was like pulling teeth to get me to take them- but I do now- thanks to Jen

As far as my diet goes- I don't really follow one. I eat five to six times a day usually, 3 hours apart. EVERY single one of my meals has a serving of protein in it, whether it's meat, cottage cheese, egg whites, etc. I love veggies, so eating them has never been a problem for me. For carbs I eat fiber one, oatmeal, fruits (usually just with my first meal if I want some), brown rice, WW low carb tortillas, etc. Make sure you keep your water intake up too.

Good Luck hun!! Feel free to check out my journal- the past few weeks are NOT a good example of healthy eating (personal problems and shit), but before that I was doing good.

Only time will tell if it was time well spent!

atherjen

hmmmm thats not too bad then! what KIND of oil is in it?? olive oil??? if it is then 1Tbsp of that is fine!

for the fish oil caps- Id suggest approx 10/day. If you want EXACT amount PM Jodi and tell her the exact EPA/DPA ratios on your bottle, your stats, and wether you are ecto, meso or endo bodytype.. she knows the in's and out's of the fishy caps!

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

mandypumpkin

Awesome! Thanks for the info. I think I have figured out a better workout plan: See what you guys think:
day 1: chest and triceps
day 2: HIIT for 30 min (including warmup) in the morning if I can get my butt up!
day 3: HITT for 30 min in am and back and bi's in pm
day 4: Quads, hams, and calves
day 5: HITT for 30 min
day 6: HITT for 30 min in am, shoulders and abs in pm
day 7: rest

For my weight workouts, I am doing 9 sets per bodypart (usually 3 sets on 3 dif. exercises) and I am experimenting with the 4-6 rep max. Opinions on that?

atherjen

sounds Great!! no need to do the HIIT on empty stomach first thing in the morning either. If you want as well you can take out one of those HIIT sessions, either day 3 or 6 is good!
that rep range is perfect too! Good luck girlie!

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

mandypumpkin

Thank you guys soooo much! I'll post my meals later. Doing good so far today.

ncgirl21

Looks Great Hun!!

Only time will tell if it was time well spent!

mandypumpkin

Monday, 4/26/04
I did my first HIIT session today. I rate my intensity from a 1-10 and followed the following schedule:
Minute 1-2: level 5 (warmup walk)
M 3: level 6 (faster walk)
M 4: level 7: really fast walk
M 5: level 8: moderate jog
M 6: level 9: run
M 7-10: levels 6-9 again
M 11-14: repeat levels 6-9
M 15-18: repeat levels 6-9
M 19: level 10: running as fast as I can
M 20-30: cool down

Meals for Monday 4/26/04 (I was baaaadddd today!)
B: 1/2 grapefruit with splenda, 1 cup ff cot. ch. and water
S: same as above
L: steak, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, and rolls (AUGH!)
S: No snack today...I had a dr's. appt and didn't have time to grab anything. I was still reallllly full from lunch anyway!
D: Lean ground turkey, small sweet potatoe, lettuce and broccoli, water, small portion of A-1 (it's really hard to choke the turkey down without something!) Only 15 cals per teaspoon.

mandypumpkin

I went to the Dr. today for a checkup. He's an endocrinologist that I have been seeing for about 13 years. When I was 15, I was diagnosed with Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrom (PCOS). It actually has another name, but I can't remember what it is. Anyway, when I was 15, he put me on birth control to regulate my cycles, to help with acne, and to prevent excess hair from growing. AUGH! It worked wonders. Because I have this syndrome, I produce a little more testosterone naturally than other females, so that helps with putting muscle on. Yesterday, I weighed in at a whopping 156 and we talked about how that was 20 lbs. higher than my visit 2 years ago. This may also have something to do with the fact that I started taking Paxil, an antidepresant drug that works miracles! I told him that I am excercising and eating much better, but it doesn't seem to work for loosing weight. I was told that since I have this syndrome, my body is basically in a pre-diabetic stage that could either develop in to diabetes or not. If my weight doesn't go back down, then my chances of becoming diabetic rise. This syndrome makes my body either insulin sensitive or resistant...I'll have to research it to figure that part out. (By the way, this is something that I inherited. Many women have it and don't even know it. )
Even when my body is thin, my insulin sensitivity is worse than an obese person without PCOS. This makes it very hard for my body to lose weight. So, what I am wondering is what you guys think about that info. I will research PCOS some more and fill you in on the insulin part. If anyone else has had experience with this, please help me out!
I may post this on another board to see if anyone else has heard about PCOS and insulin sensitivity.
One solution may be to get off the paxil and see what my weight does. I just don't know if I'm ready to try that. I don't get suicidal or anything like that, I just get really emotional about my weight. If I'm losing, then I'm usually fine. If I'm not, then I am a basketcase. Anyway, I've written too much.
Thanks in advance....

mandypumpkin

bandaidwoman wrote this:

With your PCOS you are in a contstant state of hyperinsulinemia.....insulin, being anabolic, you will always have difficulty losing weight. You are actually in a state of insulin resistance most of the time. I have women who, though they do not have diabetes, their problems get alot better with glucophage or metformin, now approved for treatment of this disorder. (Women with PCOS usually have difficulty conceiving and glucophage does also help regain their fertility by reversing this relative insulin resistance and they become pregnant.)

You are smart to be eating right and excercising. You may want to ask you doc about a similar substitute to paxil which does not have the weight gaining effects such as lexapro, effexor or celexa


I looked this up:
The term hyperinsulinemia means abnormally high levels of insulin in your blood. It's not a disease. Instead, it may indicate an underlying problem that's causing your pancreas to make and release too much insulin. Insulin helps regulate blood sugar.

Causes of hyperinsulinemia include:

Insulin resistance. This occurs when your body doesn't use insulin properly. Risk factors include a family history of insulin resistance, lack of activity, obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome.
A tumor of the pancreas (insulinoma), which secretes excess insulin.
Hyperinsulinemia doesn't cause signs or symptoms. But if it leads to abnormally low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), signs and symptoms may include sweating, weakness, slurred speech, confusion and seizures. Hyperinsulinemia is often associated with type 2 diabetes.

mandypumpkin

Here's a link to some more info I found:

http://www.lafayettesbest.com/articl...nsulinemia.htm

ncgirl21

Paxil may have something to do with your weight loss. A lot of anti-depressants can cause weight gain and hinder weight loss.

Only time will tell if it was time well spent!

atherjen

I agree with Andrea- that anit-d's can be a prob when trying to loose weight from what I know!

meal 1 and dinner looked good yestarday! Keep trying the best that you can! its all about preperation in advace!
cardio session looked FUN!!

" To dream anything you want to dream: That is the beauty of the human mind. To do anything you want to do: That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits: that is the courage to succeed."

NPC Southern Classic, June 3rd
NPC Cajun Classic, June 10th
NPC Mississippi State July 22nd

mandypumpkin

Hmmmmm....I think I may try to wean myself off the anti-d's. I'm not for sure how I'll react, but it is worth a try. It's funny...my mood all depends on my weight or how my body feels. If I feel like a fat turd, then my mood sucks! If I feel like I am making progress, then I feel great!

mandypumpkin

Tuesday, 4/27/04:

Meal 1: 1/2 grapefruit with sweet n low, 2 egg whites, 1/2 yolk, 1 fish oil, multivit, zinc, and vit c. Water and coffee with sweet-n-low
Meal 2: 1/2 grapefruit with s-n-l, 2 egg whites, 1/4 yolk
Meal 3: salad with 1 egg white, 1/4 yolk, 8 almonds, broccoli, trukey, 1 tsp. of light sour cream with ranch seasoning mixed in. Water, unsweet tea with s-n-l, 1 fish oil and 1/2 cup ff yogurt with 2 strawberries.
Meal 4: 1 can tuna with 1 tsp light mir. whip, 1/4 cup bran flakes, water
Workout: Back and biceps (9 sets for each body part, 4-6 rep max range)
Meal 5: 1 tbsp nat. pb with a whole celery stalk
Workout: 30 Min of HIIT (same as yesterday)
Meal 6: chicken, 1/4 sweet potato, 1/4 cup brown rice, and asparagus. This meal disgusted me and I choked down as much as I could....especially the chicken. So....about and hour later, I was hungry....
Meal 7: 1 tbsp nat. pb (Hey...it was better than the chocolate covered marshallow easter eggs hiding in my cabinet!)

Jill

Meals 1, 2, 5, and 7 seem really small. JMHO.

mandypumpkin

More info bandaidwoman provided me with:

Your endocrinologist is rightfully worried as 40% of those with PCOS will have type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance by the time they reach 40 years of age.

To clarify your question regarding insulin resistance....when I mean resistance, your pancreas secretes more insulin than a non diabetic or non PCO but the body's peripheral tissues (mostly muscle) does not use it efficiently.

Thus, you are secreting more insulin at any one time but the body may not be using it efficiently and thus you are prone to low blood sugar and increased hunger and all sorts of nasty side effects associated with high levels of insulin:

Some of this includes high cholesterol (usually high triglycerides and low good cholesterol, HDL) , high insulin levels cause the body to store fat and increases male hormone production from the ovaries by stimulating an ovarian enzyme complex cytochrome P450c17, either directly and/or by stimulating pituitary luteinising hormone secretion.

Insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome occurs mainly in muscles, but also in the liver in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Insulin resistance is made worse by physical inactivity, upper abdominal obesity, pregnancy, the ageing process and by medications such as thiazide diuretics, corticosteroids and certain hormonal steroid preparations.

However, insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome is not due primarily to obesity (as lean women with polycystic ovary syndrome are insulin resistant).


That's why PCOS responds to medicines that work on insulin resistance such as metformin ( and they are now studying the triglitazones such as avandia and actos) since they bring down the overall insulin levels and reverses the bad effects on the abnormal hair development, high cholesterol, weight gain, irregular periods etc.

ncgirl21

Your meals look good Mandy! Do you not like chicken? I love it- I could eat it at every meal!! How do you cook yours?

I would definatly try to stop with the anti depressant, not just because of the weight loss issue, but just because, from my personal experience, every doctor I know prescribes that to you with any problems you have. I went to the doctor last month and just happened to mention that I had bad cramps and they gave me some samples of an anti depressant (don't remember the name), but I threw them out!!

Only time will tell if it was time well spent!

mandypumpkin

I like chicken...but not the way I fixed it last night! I poured a little bit of bbq sauce over some tenderloins and baked them. They just tasted really bad to me. Plus, the asparagus was not good at all. I am trying to find new veggies I like, and apparently canned asparagus isn't one of them. It was mushy! YUK!

Jill

My fav veggies: romaine, collored peppers, brocolli and mushrooms! Just a suggestion! Have a wonderful day girlie!

mandypumpkin

Thanks! I think I'll check out the recipe section for chicken recipes. What should I add to my smaller meals? More protein? veggies?

PS...I decreased my anti-d to half the dose today. My doc said that it is really hard to get off of the med I'm on because of withdrawal symptoms. Too bad....I'll wean my self off and deal with it!

Jill

Maybe 1/3-1/2 cup of oats or some carbs in the early meals. 3-4 more egg whites, and more veggies anytime!

Oh ya, turkey and mustard go well together too!