Alychef

I only do cardio warm up on the bike before doing weights....just 5 mins so my body knows it's ready to exercise.

I did some exercise bike at home yesterday...half hour, no weights. I'd been doing weights for days so decided a break would be good.

I'm now making sure I don't go high on calories or fat or carbs...see if I can shift a bit of body fat!

I was tempted to go on the body fat scales tonight at the gym, but I only used them on Saturday so I decided to wait, hopefully the wait will be worth it!

Sounds amazing, but assoon as I mix the hemp powder with juice, as is recommended on the tub..it turns very very quickly to this thick mousse like stuff-all frothy and very acidic almost rancid tasting. I did try addig berries, and a little honey. I usually have barley grass in my shakes too.

So you know which product I'm on about, it's hemp isolate from Yaoh. I tried the nutrivita one too, that's very grainy and not as much protein as the isolate.

How do you rate soya protein powder? I find it much more palatable.

I mix hemp in a green smoothie with fruits. I add kale, frozen berries, avocado, fresh juice and blend. It's very yummy and you can't notice the kale or hemp protein.

Hmmmmm, well I took advice from various people who seem to be looking in from time to time on some of my other posts...I have made a conscious effort to increase protein, lower carbs and fat.

I have also done half an hour on my exercise bike..which I loathe, but I did get into eventually and managed to really inrease the effort levels to a 7. This is a real achievement for me!!

I'm still not sure if I have the food thing right...I don't have time to weigh anything out and I do so much cooking from scratch it would be difficult to work out the calories.

Anyway, here goes for my food diary for today:

Bowl of melon and mango

soya protein shake - the hemp is just too hard to choke down!

Snack-couple of brazil nuts

Lunch - mixed sprouts with various salad things plus sunflower seeds and lowfat french dressing

snack - couple of brazil nuts

Dinner, a homemade red lentil dhal/curry with tomatoes, watercress, spinah, rocket and engevita flakes - yum!

Had lots of rooibos tea with soya milk.

The problem today is; I'm really full and feeling like I've eaten twice the amount I have. Reading back on what I ate, I'm pretty sure it's not overeating by a long shot. It's high in protein and fruit and veg....but nothing bad.

Very tired now, got to be up at 0630 for the monster child and work!

Back in the gym after work tomorrow too...

I have indeed taken on all of your advice....I have had a day off from weights today- I've been concentrating on weights for days and days, so did a half of cardio tonight, on the exercise bike.

I haven't had my ritual square of very decent chocolate this evening either very very sad about that!

So, if I'm losing weight on the scales how will I know if it's fat or muscle??? I can do the body fat scales at the gym...but I don't really want to spend too much time on the scales. Not sure if it's that healthy for me.

I have been doing squats and lunges..but with 2 x 5kg DBs. Is that good? or not so good?

I am soooooo not a runner! I kinda believe either you're a born runner or you're not. Do you think that's true? I do lots of lunges of squats but I'm terrified of my legs getting big before they get slim, if you get my drift!!??

They don't look too bad at the moment, I've been working a lot lately - even started my own little blog - but it's not half as busy and heavy as others but I know that will come and I need to be really patient.

Food is another tricky one for me...I got no problem eating the right things, but quanity is my concern. I often can't manage carbs barely at al and just rely on the carb content of the veg etc. Otherwise I get far too full.

Thanks for your replies guys.

Alychef UK

I'm royally knackered tonight. I managed to get to the gym today, my friend offered to look after my son so I could spend an hour there. I was still sore from the stuff I'd done at home yesterday...anyway,

I did:

Brief cardio warm up - hate cardio!

3 x 12 db screw biceps

3 x 12 db shoulder press lifts

2 x 30 plus 1 x 40 ab roller crunches

few minutes doing core abs on the fit ball

3 x 12 back lifts on the fit ball

3 x 12 split lunges each leg

3 x 12 squats with cable to chest

3 x 12 dips

3 x 12 tricep back kicks

3 x 12 inner thigh (machine)

3 x 12 outer thigh (machine)

I found I was more hungry today...didn't have time for the quinoa this morning so had a hemp prtein shake - it was absolutely rank and thickened up and went all moussey before I drank it. Yuckkk!!

Had raw food energy bar before gym, then a soya yoghurt, some brazil nuts and dried figs after gym.

Got home and had a bowl of mixed sprouted beans and quinoa, tomatoes and mushrooms.

This evening I had the same as last night, soya beans, mixed sprouts and other salad bits and bobs.

Just had my ritual square of decent vegan choc witha cup of tea. Yum...evenings wouldn't be the same without!

Decided I wouldn't weigh myself or do body fat% for another 2 weeks. Had a chat with the fitness pro at the gym who said we could up my workout to burn some fat!! Sounds good...but I don't know if I'll be able to give the time committment.

I have a simple goal for now; get some decent biceps!lose about 3 % body fat..I'm not too sure how long that will take.

This blog must seem really boring compared to some of the others lifting huge weights and eating masses more than me to bulk up...ah well, I'll get my little body on it's way to 'muscle-dom'!!!

So, here goes...I'm joining the masses in blogging my progress! I've been doing this weight lifting thang for about 3 weeks and already have (for me) amazing results! I've doing a combination of gym and home..I've been a bit unwell and going through a whole load of asthma tests and suffering with nasty chest infections. Royal pain in the behind to be honest as I feel it's held me back from making the amount of progress I could have done by now.

So, went to the gym yesterday and got my current stats, they're not toooo bad:

weight: 44.6kg

height: 5' 2.1" (the 0.1 matters!!) or 1.58m

BMI: 17.9

Body fat % 26.3 (this is disappointing, especially as I'm considered underweight!!)

Body fat mass 11.7kg

I turned vegan at the end of April this year, so it's been a whole new learning curve. I do some raw/plant based stuff and some high protein/low carb cooked stuff, which is really only steamed veggies, roasted tofu and quinoa porridge. I love fruit and ALL veg. I have sprouting jars on the go all the time and do hemp protein supplement shakes when I'm on a gym day. I have calcium/mag/Vit D supps and a good multi vit. Vit B6 and a ginkobiloba, flaxseed and guarana for that extra boost.

Today I ate:

Well, it's Sunday...so I have a brunch:

A big bowl of quinoa porridge made with flaked quinoa

a peach and half a mango

handful of raisins

a sprinkle of coconut

about half a soya yoghurt

Some sunflower seeds

then a Gillian McKeith energy bar made from loads of sprouted things

I nicked a couple of my son's chips (naughty naughty!) at the cafe this afternoon

Then I had a good meal of steam soya beans, mixed sprouts (mung, alfalfa, aduki, chickpea), spinach, peppers (sweet chili ones), and a few other bits and bobs.

I'm just sitting down to a cup of tea with soya milk and 1 square of very good locally made dark vegan chocolate (for my sins!)

About an hour after dinner I did a few reps- yesterday was my gym day so it wasn't too much tonight:

2 x 30 plus 1 x 40 ab crunches on the roller

3 x 12 3kg fly

2 x 12 3kg plus 1 x 5kg shoulder press lifts

3 x 12 3kg plus 2 x 12 5kg screw biceps

2 x 12 3kg triceps (lifting arm backwards from elbow-what are they called?)

Was a bit breathless so had a go on the inhaler..seemed to do the trick

I've asked hubby to take some pix of my pex! So I'll post those asap.

So, I'll leave it there for tonight...I may not post every day. But I love this journey....I finally found something I can do, and I can do reasonably well )

Alychef

I don't really bother much with pasta or bread. I'm quite low carbs really.

I started on my steroid inhaler last night...and woke up this morning feeling so much better. I've been working out home til today, this afternoon I went into the gym and did a 45 min strength only workout. I managed great! Coughed a we bit, but nothing too bad or embarrassing! That was my worst fear, lying on the floor rolling about coughing looking like I couldn't manage my workout!

My peak flow chart is improving too

Happy Alychef

Ah...I have just done some googling! I've discovered that I actually need to lose 3kg of fat in order to reach a body fat percentage of 20%. So I guess that means pretty much what I suspected; cardio - bike, running, swimming to lose the fat. Then weights and protein to put on the muscle, thus increasing lean body mass without getting skinny??

I wonder if I got it right?

Alychef

Hi,

I just went to the gym and did about a 45 minute workout all on weights, only a cardio warmup. At the end of it I got on the bodyfat/weight scales....my bmi is 18.5 and my body fat percentage is 26.4%, body fat mass 11.7kg.

My question: how can I reduce my body fat without reducing my BMI?

My struggle: capacity for standard amounts of food-rubbish!! I can't eat very much at all and find myself eating small amounts of high cal foods. I protein supplement and eat little fat. I make sure I get my essential fats through seeds and flaxseed caps.

I think, the solution is; more cardio to lose fat nd more weights to increase lean mass. But it's the nutrition/diet stuff I'm not sure about!!

I'm quite new to all of this, so please be patient!!

Alychef

Ok, I need some advice here....I have a nice lean reasonably toned upper body. Good abs, arms and shoulders, female pecs are coming on!

My legs, in my opinion are a mess and Im wondering how I can get them lean, without losing weight elsewhere. I'm guess I'm around 20% bmi altho I can check that later at the gym. My husband says just do lunges and squats, but that will build muscle and not get rid of the flabby bits, right?

I weigh 100lbs and am 5'3"....so not a great deal to work with here. I'd like to lose the rest of the fat on my thighs and gain muscle elsewhere. The must be other feloow females in a similar position??

I have a very low fat high protein diet. Not too high in protein, probably around 40-50g a day.

Any advice would be great thanks

Alychef

Hi all,

I'm in the middle of asthma monitoring. I've been told by my doctor to do a peak flow test in the morning and the evening to ascertain if I'm asthmatic or not-Doc suspects I am due to family history and being typcially Atopic. I've had a pretty hard time lately with chest infections and 'shortness of breath' attacks on several occassions. I'm worried about it slowing my progress as I get really puffed after exercise.

Anyone else in this situation?

Aly

Wow no way! Do you mean pounds as in excess fat or muscle! I didn't realise that excess protein could be stored...or did I get that wrong???

I don't want to be huge, of course...but I do want some serious deifinition.

yeah too much protein will put pounds on you like a big mac. I dont worry much about that though. Like the others say vary the sources. try trueprotein.com they've got good deals on gemma which is a pea protein. The flavors are real iffy though in terms of deliciousness.

I'm new to all of this...I've previously been using a soya protein powder to supplement my diet until I was told that too much processed soya isn't that good for you. Then I started looking at hemp products and then came across brown rice and pea proteins!!!

I've looked at vega, and whilst it sounds really good, I wouldn't be able to afford it. I've just ordered some hemp protein isolate powder which is 95% protein, but little else. I do have a good diet full of differetn coloured fruit and veg and lots of seeds and nuts etc. I take supplements too.

Any advice on the protein thing would be much appreciated.

Aly

Ah I see...it's just the notification email I get that has Robert in it.

Norfolk eh? Are you under pressure to eat turkey lurkey!!!???

How come your a moderator on the site? Do you know Robert from America? How long you beeninto all this? Do you knpw many women trying to get into vegan fitness?

Aly

So, Richard..where are you from??

Ooops sorry! It's just that your email address has Robert in it, not Richard! A tad confusing

Ah yes, it is my intention to become more toned...and not the hulk! Of course! But I think I would like a little more than just toned. Maybe the fitness wizards in the UK describe 'being toned' slightly different to the way you guys do.

I'd really like to see some difference in my arms and abs. I guess that's a long way off!!

Hey, are you Richard or Robert?

Aly

I'm feeling so unwell from this chest infection type thing...just forced down a protein and fruit smoothie with barley grass. Had some quinoa porridge this morning with fruit and soya yoghurt. I really need to get my strength up again so I can return to getting fit. Hate being unwell.

Re crunches, yeah...mostly do groups of 25. But I reckognise I could do them harder per set.

Perhaps I won't get hung up on the protein thing...I do pretty good in general and try to avoid processed stuff. That just turns me upside down.

Is that you in the picture next to your posts?

Aly

Yeah I dunno. People on this forum tend to dismiss stuff about tofu / soy being a risk generally - I don't know all the facts, but sometimes I read that diets with soy in them have low rates of cancer, others I read say they promote the development of cancer, it depends on the source and I guess who finances the so-called studies. I think a lot of processed soy products are also generally high in salt and often fat - that's my main concern, not the other stuff, but I eat them in moderation.

 

200 crunches sounds good to me, so long as you're doing them in sets which are making you feel the pressure. Doing 200 sets of 1 rep wouldn't do anything, heh. But so long as each set is a strain, I think that's a great number definitely.

 

I'm not an expert on the protein, and people will give you different guidelines. I've done alright on 60g myself when I weighed 150lbs. These days I aim for about 100g. You can read around the forum to get an idea of what others are doing for protein, and see what makes sense for you. I'd say 70g sounds good to me - but I shouldn't necessarily be listened to

Thanks Richard!

That all sounds really...I'm glad I'm barking up the right tree, so to speak.

Well, with a 2 yr old it's tricky, but 3-4 times a week including what I can do from home.

Yes, I see with the reps and weights. That's why I went from 3 to 4 for the biceps and shoulder press, cos I found I could manage it. Plus with the dips I think it's for the triceps too...I'm not sure if I explained it too well. It's where I put my hands on a bench behind me and dip my behind to the floor using my legs out straight as a support.

Yeah you're right, there isn't anything that concentrates on the chest. There are plenty of machines at the gym for that so maybe I'll ask next time I go.

I do about 200 total ab crunches on the roller each day. 100 on the front and 50 each on the lats. Sound any good?

I don't have a problem taking pics...it would help build my confidence. The feedback would build confidence too....I don't think I lok toooo bad!

My behind and legs are my real problem areas. I used to weigh a lot more and lost it all quickly..I think my skin has suffered as a result.

I just ordered some hemp protein isolate powder. The vega looks fab but there's no way I can afford it I just need to build in some protein for now.

I reckon around 70g is what I should be on....does that sound ok? Double the RDA in standard nutrition.

I noticed lots of people eat tofu around here too..I heard it's not that good for you. Men especially because of the amounts of female hormones it contains. Plus whilst it can discourage type of cancer, it can encourage another.....?

Oh I don't know! Eat this, drink that, don't do the other...too many instructions!!

Aly

Hi Richard,

My gym program is as follows (if I can remember it al):

lunges with 10kg bar on shoulders - I don't like that one, I prefer just single free weights in each hand.

3 or 4kg screw bicep lifts

3 or 4 kg shoulder lifts/press(free weights)

Squats with cable machine at 30kg, pulling cable/weight to chest

Bench dips

core abs on fit ball

Back lifts on fit ball

All of the above are 3 x 12 reps.

I haven't been to well lately, chest condition and possible asthma. Pants or what!! I've been doing some bits and bobs at home so as not to fall out of routine. My arms and across the fronts of my shoulders look ok

Aly

What's your program at the gym? I think my main advice would be to get into a routine, something you can do consistently and feel good about / motivated to do - and that you enjoy. The consistency is one of the most important aspects at all times I think, but something that you need to get into when you're beginning / getting back to exercise. If you share your training program, I'm sure lots of people will have advice on how to tweak it if necessary

 

Daywalker wrote a great article about training for muscle development, contains lots of very incisive information, might have some general pointers for you?

 

viewtopic.php?f=46&t=1773

Yes..I hear ya re the less fat and calories thing. I have no problem cutting out the bad fat, well being vegan there's very little bad fat anyway. As for calories, I have a job to physically enough to make up the amount of calories I need. If I'm lucky I make it to 1500. Usually it's made up with the odd sweet/high cal thing.

Anyway, where to from here??? I've got a simple program at my gym...and know lots about nutrition. But I need to confer with other vegans really who can advise me as someone who is right at the very starting post!

Got any clues....signposts? There's so many fora here I could get lost!

Aly

Hey welcome to the forum At 100lbs, your thighs can't be that big surely? Congratulations on becoming vegan, that's great

Hi Richard...no of course my thighs aren't that big, it just seems to be where my only fat accunulates! The rest of me is really trim....usually flat tum too even after child!! I really want to get the definition everywhere!

Aly

Hi, I'm Aly from the UK. North Wales to be precise. This is al new to me! I'm right at the starting point of my body building career...been vegetarian for years and years, been vegan for about 5 months and loving it! I much prefer being vegan and I think the benefits are really starting to show both physically and mentally.

I don't have much of a clue where to start....I'm a member of my local gym and started upping my protein intake. I'm aboutto order some hemp protein isolate powder.

I'm 5' 3" and weigh about 100lbs or about 45kg. Little I know! I already have some minor defintion on my arms and shoulders...but that's it for now. My BM is around 19...it all seems to be concentrated around my thighs though!! What d I do about that???

Anyway, any advice would be much appreciated.

Ta very much Aly