katz

How long have you been doing this program & what results are you seeing?

Hmmm... She is ripped to the max, for sure. I'm not sure if I care for her look all that much in those pics... My preference is more towards "softer" women, lol. But that is just one guys opinion. As far as her deflated breasts...she is almost 40 yrs. old, and has three children. I think that may be a *normal* occurrence...

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard! Don't have a lot of advise to add, all the prev. posters beat me to it! I enjoy cross country hiking for an invigorating workout. Don't get to do it much now though... Good luck with your fitness goals!

How cool! That is where I am as well. Next week I start my recovery week. I am doing the insanity in addition to my regular weight training. It's awesome. Be prepared to be challenged and look like you took a dive in a swimming pool afterwards, but you do get results and damn, I feel great. Also don't be convinced by those who claim no strength training goes on; due to it I upped my dumbbells from 10 to 15 and can now do regular pushups. LOL - yeah, I do look like I dove into a swimming pool during the workouts - and I am in an air conditioned room to boot! I am getting great results from it. When I started out, I couldn't even complete the first fit test. On the second fit test, I kicked butt, however! I would highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in achieving very noticeable results in a relativity short period of time.

Welcome aboard! Go chun li!!!

How cool! That is where I am as well. Next week I start my recovery week. I am doing the insanity in addition to my regular weight training.

Welcome aboard, charles! Good luck in your bodybuilding endeavors!

mizzo - I really believe all the health symptoms that you list are directly related to your eating disorder. If you get that part under control, workout at a decent pace but not insane, and eat nutrient dense unprocessed foods, your body will recover. Mineral deficiencies for example, can cause the blood pressure and heart rate to get really erratic as you stated. I'm not saying to take a mineral supplement, but rather get it from the foods you consume. Juices (that you make with your own juicer) would be a good choice for you, as you can derive the maximum amount of nutrition from the food in a way that a weakened body can easy assimilate. They require much less digestion. Smoothies are a good choice too. Beating yourself up with that intense cardio & weight training is only making it harder for your system to recover; The situation becomes even more exacerbated in a nutrient deficient state. I don't know how long you have been dealing with the eating issue, but it will most likely take some time to recover once you start giving your body what it needs, in the way of nutrients. You will go through the "healing crisis" in which you will experience highs & lows, detox and healing symptoms. If you stay on course, slow & steady, you can rebuild. I think it would do you good if you could find a "support buddy" that could hold your hand through the tough times, so you won't be tempted to slip back into old unhealthy habits. Hang in there...

Welcome aboard! I am so envious that you are a lifelong herbivore! I see you are working out on a Powertec; Next to free weights, I love those machines.

I have always compared grams per serving/servings per container with the price. Taste comes in second for me. A lot of the time I will just go for non-flavored or vanilla so it will take on the taste of whatever fruit I combine with it.

Well said! Sometimes we need to take a very close look what we are really doing, almost getting outside of ourselves to see if we are being intense enough. I had a wresting coach in high school that really drilled the concept of "intensity" into us... We knew we were going to be "dead" when we entered the locker room on any given day (usually about 2 per week) and he had a red flag hanging from the top of the door. That meant "red flag day", which basically translated into - no one would be left standing at the end of the practice. That coach had the right idea. It is easy to forget over the years... Recently, I started the "Insanity" program, and it kicks butt similar to what I was used to in those wrestling workouts. I am seeing great gains once again. Maximum intensity training cannot be stressed enough. I know what you mean by the "casual fitness" buffs in the gym; They are lucky if they add 10 - 20 lb. to their lifts in a year. >>> I have made it a habit to get back into the mindset that every workout is war. All-out, 100% do-it-or-die-trying war. If you want to get bigger and/or stronger, lifting won't be fun most days. <<< That is a great line - I will start using it as my sig., if you don't mind! Thanks very for this post. It is very inspiring and definitely a timely one. Rock on, katz

Wow, those are some awesome pics! You look like a pro wrestler! I bet you could kick John Cena's butt in a heartbeat, lol! I wish I could gain mass like that...

Welcome aboard! The Stronglifts 5x5 program is an excellent program to start to build a good bodybuilding base with. Keep us apprised of your progress. Power rack are a great tool, I use one all the time. Watch some youtube vids for some great squat examples & other lifts as well. Cheers, katz

Understandable - your digestion is suffering from the eating disorder. As you would gradually work back into eating whole foods & keeping them down, your body will start to function normally. A mono fruit diet, at least in part may be something for you to consider, as fruits are just about the easiest foods to digest and they move through the digestive tract faster than other foods. Mixing several different foods together at the same time cause a clash of digestive enzymes, since different foods digest at different rates. Raw foods are live foods from an enzyme standpoint. As Jay Kordich says - "Live foods, live bodies - Dead foods, dead bodies" ...sorry for all the Jay Kordich quotes...lol It also seems to me that your workouts are a bit excessive - your leg workout is killer for someone as thin as you are. 18 total workout sets, wow! BTW, don't you have a problem with the seeds? They sometimes give people stomach troubles when they have a sluggish digestive system.

No, I don't log my diet on here - just really haven't gotten around to doing much other than lurking and posting a bit. I thought about doing a training journal, but I'm not really good on updating stuff like that! But my diet is very simple; I am a raw foodist, so I eat everything raw! We have a local farmers market/heath food store in our area, so I simply buy every variety of veg/fruit that they have (that I don't grow myself) and that's about it. I am also a forager, & there are a ton of wild edibles growing all over the place - what could be better than free food in its most natural form? A wide variety each day, my smoothies/juices are always different. I also have a weakness for young coconuts, they are the best! Some days I will follow a mono diet, maybe consisting of all fruit. I like to keep my body alkaline, if possible - much easier on the digestive system. Personally, I feel that if you give the body what it needs, it will take care of the rest, that is how we're designed. Barring any pre-existing conditions, of course. There are always exceptions. Over the many years that I have been vegan/raw, I have come to the conclusion that the human body is created to function best on a simple plant based diet. It is most nutrient dense when it is not cooked. As Jay Kordich once said; "Take carrots for example. Think about it; They've already been cooked at roughly 90-95 degrees for approx. 100 days by the sun. And you think they need more cooking?" I've always loved that quote. Jay's a funny guy (& a raw foodist) Anyway, that's just my personal opinions on the matter. Not trying to convince anybody here, but you asked, so I answered!

Just looking at the pics on that website makes my teeth hurt! I could never eat anything as sweet as those!

Have you looked into Wobenzym instead of taking NSAIDS? When I took supplements, I used Wobenzym on a regular basis. It is considered to be the best Inflammation and Joint Support supplement of its type.

Good list of foods & info. there. I eat pretty much everything on that list, and more. I don't use fish oil though. Being a raw vegan, I just shop the "outsides of the isles" as they always say, that being all the fresh raw Vegetables & fruits. Since I also maintain a garden, I get plenty from that, minimizing my trips to the store as much as possible. It tastes much better if you can grow it yourself! I never venture into the center isles/processed foods. Don't take any supplements or med either. Don't supplement with D or B12. I get plenty of sun (D), and a little goes a long way, since D is stored in the body. B12 - I have been vegan for over 10 yrs., raw for almost 2. The last blood test I had showed an excellent makeup, no deficiencies. On the nuts & seeds; I try to only purchase raw seeds, as almost everything in this country is cooked/steamed/pasteurized until the enzymes are dead. It is getting difficult to find live sources of food, but they are out there if you look for them. I also makes a lot of smoothies & juices, which gives a much more concentrated source of nutrition than eating does. I don't make my eating regimen that complicated. As Hippocrates stated: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"

I have used one in the past but I haven't lately. I enjoyed using it for body weight exercises. I would go to the local park & use the "jungle gym" & climbing equipment for a workout. As you mentioned, pull ups, dips, reverse dips. i also did some stair running, really worked the legs & calves good. I had to be careful though, with push ups; I have a nagging lower back injury that will manifest real quickly if I don't bend properly at the knees, & the extra weight from that vest just adds to that problem for me. So you're working out with 100 extra pounds strapped on? That must be pretty brutal!

I do, but I am also a person that requires little sleep. I found this especially after transitioning into raw foods. I operate well on around 5 - 6 hrs. of sleep a night. Any more than that & I start getting restless & have to get up. With immune system issues that you mentioned, you may want to do a lighter workout on the sleep deprived days.

Welcome aboard! Congrats on your transition! After 100% vegan comes Raw!

It's great that your mom put you on the prayer list, that's very powerful. And I see you have job satisfaction, which is good. Oh yeah, and a weakness for chocolate & peanut butter! lol, I know it well! Don't know what else to say that won't sound judgmental. We all know you are trying & support you in your fitness goals. Sending healing vibes your way...

Welcome aboard! Twiglets? I had to look them up on wiki, I never heard of them!

You can really see the effects of the work you have done on your upper body. The Bi - delt - pec tie in is very nice! Keep up the great work!