Thursday, February 10, 2011

Confessions?

Nah, this post has nothing to do with Usher songs..

So, I haven't posted in over a week...I've been at a loss and I've been debating if I wanted to post what I'm about to, but then I figured, why not? Shit happens and it did, so why not share? That's what blogs are for!

Well, long story short...yours truly unintentionally "bulked" herself. I was apparantly way underestimating my calories for months and as my pants started getting tighter and tighter I wrote it off to bloat or my body just getting used to all the lifting/food. When the scale kept creeping up I didn't care because we all know scales aren't accurate measurements..so I just stopped using it and convinced myself it was all in my head...but six months later and I'm beyond uncomfortable in my skin and don't even feel like myself. Something had to change!

I asked my boss for some advice and she tested my bodyfat...24.5%! Ouch, there was my proof..it wasn't just in my head. For someone who hits the gym on a regular basis lifting hard and eats as healthy as possible my bodyfat % should be in the teens.  Little bit embarassing! So, she looked over my food log, adjusted some things, changed my snacks and told me to add 20 minutes of (light!) cardio after every lifting session.  Yikes.

So I am eating at a bit of a deficit now (very big change from constantly stuffing my face), I've been sticking with my plan (it's only been five days..) and I'm super motivated to get this going and to start over.  The way everything is laid out, I shouldn't lose any muscle..I'm eating just as much protein, not overdoing the cardio and sticking to the same lifting plan, but I know it's probably going to happen..so thank god for muscle memory if I do.

Ya live, ya learn, right? I started lifting to be healthy, confident and because it made me happy.  When those three things go away, we have a problem. So I'm fixing the problem and I hate that doing it goes against everything I preach about on here, which is why it took me so long to post this. But I think it's really important to be honest. I'm still 110% for lifting heavy, keeping cardio to a bare minimum to put on muscle and eating plenty of food to feed, repair and build those muscles. I just went overboard or maybe I was overtraining? Who knows.  We can't all look like Ava overnight...


It takes many years of finding a balance that works for you...and having incredible discipline.
On a lighter note, I totally love to make fun of myself about this, especially while I'm bouncing around on the treadmill like a moron...my horoscope today even told me to put a padlock on my fridge...really, word for word. I even made a funny playlist to entertain myself with:

DJ Khaled- All I Do Is Win
Drake- Money to Blow
Drake- Up All Night
Lil Wayne- Got Money
Maino- All the Above
Destiny's Child- Survivor
Mohombi- Bumpy Ride
Sean Kingston- Fire Burning
Sean Kingston- Take You There
Sean Kingston- Letting Go
Shakira- Loca

I also have to thank April for giving me advice :) <3
Foodwise, my meals have been very, very boring (more boring than they were before, if you can believe that!) but Pixie sent me this: (Thanks girl!) <3

Macadamia Butter! I didn't even know this stuff existed! It's wonderful, if anyone has any suggestions of what to eat it with shout at me!  I also ordered a 4-pack of TJ's peanut flour that just arrived on my front step as I was typing! Ballin'.

I really need to catch up on blog reading, my work hours have been all over the place and I have class in between, so it's been days and my reader is on overload!
I hope everyone has an awesome weekend :)

Dirt Talk;
  • Have you ever had a similar experience to mine? Words of advice?
  • Whatchya doing/baking for Valentine's Day?  Steve and I are going to the Rainforest Cafe :)
Good Read;

(Ohh I don't want to hit publish! haha)

8 comments:

  1. Noooo!!! Don't do it! LOL. Did you end up talking to that lady I told you about??

    When I first started lifting I gained 10 pounds, and it never left. Yet I was only eating about 1800 cals- when you come from having a messed up metabolism sometimes you gain! But yet I looked 100% better than I did 10 pounds less. In fact, most people thought I lost weight!

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  2. Girl, don't you worry. You will bounce right back in a few weeks - I have total confidence. And just so you know, I'm not against cardio in moderate amounts. I don't think one should be a cardio queen by any means but I do not think it hurts.

    And this is coming from a bodybuilder (not figure, not bikini, not fitness - bodybuilding). I really don't think you have anything to feel bad about. The beauty of the human body is that you can manipulate it anyway you want with the right attitude (if bodybuilding has taught me anything!)

    Plus you're only 23, your body is young and springy-like HAHA. (Which is why i appreciate my 23 yr old body while I have it)

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  3. April- I didn't end up talking to her, I feel totally awkward e-mailing a stranger about my bodyfat! haha :( even though based on her posts she seems very ncie! but trust me, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't need to..when I upped my cals I put on 8lbs..good pounds that made me look better, and I maintained at that for a while and was happy but then the rest creeped up on me!

    Joob- Thanks for your faith! I agree with ya about the cardio. Some people need it, some are okay without it.
    And you're right, attitude is everything with this :)

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  4. Awwwwww girl! Thanks for sharing this and dont worry, it will all work out, you just have to find what works for you! A little cardio is good : )

    Love ya! xo

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  5. Hi ! Really like your blog!(I'm a bit of a car nerd too , do you know Top Gear ?)

    I thinnk I may be having the same problem as you! But was wondering do you think it was really that you where underestimating your intake or do you think that the bodymedia was overestimating your burning ? That's what I think is happening to me, 'cause I 've theoretically had a 700 calorie deficit per day for the past 3 weeks even though I am currently eating more than I used to, but so far no change in body weight...

    Good Luck

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  6. Hey TMperMental- the bodymedia can have up to a 10% error rate. But the crazy thing is I had a 500 calorie deficit too, then I started eating more and I maintained my weight at both- your body adapts to what you give it!

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  7. I'm a little late for this post, but I gotta say SAME HERE. Except I don't know what my problem is, I have lots of ideas, but don't know for sure.I'm jealous that your boss gave you help, for free right? I'm saving so I can pay Emma Leigh $400 for the same advice. I'm sure it will be worth it though. I saw on your other post that your bodyfat has dropped! Yay! How many calories are you eating a day? I look/feel pretty pudgy right now, I hate it, my clothes don't fit at all, I've never been this heavy. I hope you continue to see progress!

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