Heya! sounds like you are still serious and kickin ass. I'm just rolling my lazy butt out of summer gear. How goes the struggle?

Hey girl ur doin good! 10 kg ! Good luck with the rest of it :)

best wishes

Azi xoxo

7/4, 5k in 32:06 (PR)

Today, 4 x 400m @ 2:00 w/ 2:00 RI

Yesterday, 5k in 37:15 (PR)

5 k in 38:38 (PR)

Sorry to hear about the bike accident, but real glad your OK.

Hope you can figure out a way to lift some in the mean time.

5k @ 4.7 mph

39:30 (PR)

Progress is looking good! When does the cast come off?

I was horrible when I broke my wrist. The itching drove me nuts, so I sawed the cast off with a kitchen knife and then never went back to the doctor. I was an underinsured student back then.

Don't forget, this is a great opportunity to ask friends to wash your back for you! I only wish I had said yes when I got offers. Some of my friends are pretty hot. ;-)

Holy New Hair, Batman!

Love the new pic :)

Woo-hoo! welcome back and good luck with the lifting :)

I'm back!

Phew!

Work has been SOOOOOO busy, plus the slow recovery of my hand that was injured when I was hit, have kept me mostly out of the lifting game for quite some time now. My eating got pretty out of control there for a while too.

Today, I'm making a new lifting and workout plan, and a new committment to whipping my body into even better shape. I'll think of it as starting over, but, starting from a way better position! I'm guessing I'm up to around 140 pounds, and about 23% body fat. The new goal is 130 pounds, and 19% body fat. My lifting goals stand, though, I'm still not sure my hand can handle bench press, which will be a challenge. We'll see how it goes tonight.

Think I can do it? Where's my cheering section???

Hey hows life? Break any personal records lately?
Keep your chin up and power through. Happy lifting!

Behold! For I am the one true Joe, and thou shalt have no other Joe's before me!

Ahem.

Back in the weight room, lifting way way lighter than before but just so very glad to be sore again.

Just checking in on the patient, in hopes that you're well on your way back to normal-feeling--and of course that if you did go to the doc again, that all is well fracture-wise.

Have a good weekend,

Minu

33 lbs lost! woot great job!

Some healing vibes coming your way from France, Josephine. Hope you're feeling somewhat better already.

Minu

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Still typing one handed, which is truly lame. I'll update properly once it's less annoying and cumbersome to do so...

Sorry to hear about the minivan incident, you should sue and open your own gym, (just kidding)! I am all done thinking weight loss and all about fitness and strength now, too. I'm spying on your page here a bit for a plan and some inspiration. I think I've done all a person can do with 10 lb weights, time to get serious. I'd appreciate any tips along the way....

Sorry to hear about your bike accident :( . I just had a bad one myself this last Wednesday. Hands got messed up the worst, so no weight lifting for a while. Hopefully I can get back on the bike sooner than later.

Hope everything is ok and still attached.

Got hit hard by a mini van while riding my bike home Wednesday night. Out of commission for a while.

Congrats!

Way to go!!!!

time to dig up the before/after thread.

GOAL MET!!!!!!!!!

1lb to go? Thats rockstar. I'm back from a long vacation, hope to be in the swing of things by the end of the week. Keep kickin ass.

hey gawjus hows the traning going if u need a motivator im your man x

no logs for training or diet? (as if i'm one to talk)

i don't log the days that i don't do anything, otherwise my chart would look funny, hehe.

Keep it up

you can do it. i know it can be hard to eat healthy when you're living with someone who doesn't. really hard. you've accomplished some amazing things. i think in 4 weeks, these eating habits are going to be just another part of your routine.

(ps-way to go on the control after the almost break-up)

Day Four

Today, has been a rough one for eating clean. But, I have thusfar perservered, except for about of handful of stale, crumbled, tortilla chips. Yes, sad, I know, but it just could not be helped. I really need to just throw them away.

My Lovely Food and Activity Log

Yes my friends, today I actually bothered to type out the code for you. Click away, and be amazed at how I managed to once again, under-eat. It's the whole being busy at work thing thats throwing me off. Tomorrow I'll have it down.

The cravings have been horible today. Nothing makes you want to drink and eat yourself silly quite like almost breaking up with your boyfriend. But, I made myself protein shake instead. If that's not amazing dedication, replacing whiskey with peanut buttery goo, I don't know what is.

Good work on the deadlift milestone.

Day Two:

Well, day two and I've already used my cheat meal. But, it was a small celebration, and that's what the cheat meal is there for. It's a safety net, and it has functioned effectively. Though, I managed to really under-eat during the day, so my dinner indiscretion at Red Robin really hasn't done that much damage. I've come in right around 1400 calories (despite my best efforts at accurracy, I'm sure I'm underestimating here and there.

Here's what I ate and did today. Mondays are always light days. It's like my week needs a warm up...

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=missjoe

So, having been previously inspired by friends making commitments to various things for various periods of time, I've decided to make a four-week committment to eating clean. By this, I mean no processed junk, no empty foods, essentially making the best dietary decisions I can for my health, weight loss, and lifting. This will mean a lot of oatmeal, a lot of protein powder, a lot of fish, and a lot of plain fruits and veggies. There will be no deep fried foods, no more nachos, no unnecessary snacking, etc. No booze. The only exception, is one cheat-meal a week.

Today, so far so good. I've eaten:

- whole oatmeal w/ a scoop of protein, cinnamin, and a couple raisins
- scoop of protein w/ water
- tilapia and brocoli in curry simmer sauce
- fresh strawberries
- one organic fig newton
- one tortilla chip
- grilled tilapia
- Emergen-C

Most excellent, except for the fig newton and the chip. Oops. Tomorrow I'll start calorie counting too. I won't be very restrictive, just conscious of where my calories are coming from.

This has already been tough. There are open bags of tortilla chips and Pirate Booty on the kitchen table, pie and lemonaide in the fridge, and I want all of it. It's taking a lot of restraint. This would be so much easier if there wasn't a boy who doesn't give a damn what or how much he eats sharing this space with me. *sigh*

Who deadlifted their bodyweight yesterday?

This pretty lady, that's who.

Thanks for the info!

Richie

Hey! Do you get your Nectar protein online? If so, where? I just want to get a price on it, I've seen you sing its praises several times. Gotta be better than the nasty chocolate crap that I choke down.

Thanks!

I actually wrote this on wednesday, but, you know, my traineo homepage HATES me and won't let me post 9 times out of 10.

Ah, nothing like a 90 degree day in Seattle to make you amazingly glad that you are less fat-bound than you were last summer. I’m amazingly more comfortable now than I was last summer. I was hoping the weight loss would work that way.

So, I’m continuing to yo-yo between 140-142 pounds, which is fine. I’m really not stressing that at the moment. If I never loose another pound, I’m still doing better than I ever have in my adult life, so, all is well. Really, when it comes down to it, maintaining weight loss is the truly hard part. So, I’m taking the time to remember to really enjoy what I’ve already accomplished, and to focus on making sure I maintain this thinner, healthier lifestyle, in the long term

As per usual, I’ve been tweaking my workouts. I’ve finally gotten friendly with the Concept II at my gym, so I have even more variety in my cardio, which just rocks. It’s an excellent machine, and I highly recommend it. The good people that make them even sent me a free guide and rowing log. Pretty neat, I think.

As for lifting, I’ve really switched things up. I’ve downshifted from a five day split, to a three day split, and have cut out nearly all isolation exercises. Here’s the dilly-o:

Monday:


- Bench Press
- Pull-ups (still just making attempts, not quite to a full one yet)
- Pec Flys
- Lat Pull

Thursday:

- Stiff-legged Dead Lift
- Full Squats
- Lunges
- Hamstring Curls

Saturday:

- Military Press
- Weighted Bench Dips
- Rear Delts

It may be shocking, but I’ve all but cut out ab work. I’m pushing really, REALLY hard on my compound lifts, focusing my all on lifting heavy and with great form. I’m finding that this often involves my core a great deal, and ab work has become kinda superfluous. I’m doing hanging leg raises and incline crunches whenever I feel the need, but that’s pretty rare. Today I did ab work for the first time in almost two weeks. Lo and behold, my abs are actually stronger than they were before.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

So yeah, making good strength gains right now, and my biceps have each grown a half inch, so I’m up to 12�. I think that’s pretty rad. Here’s some more numbers that I’m proud of:

Bench: 95 lbs. x 5 reps (up from 65 lbs. x 10 reps in March)
Millitary Press: 50 x 6 (up from 25 x 10)
Squats: 105 x 6 (up from 70 x 10)
SL Deadlift: 130 x 6 (up from 65 x 10)

I’m not too far away from benching/squatting/deadlifting my body weight. Which I think is pretty f’in rad. I did a little happy dance this week when I benched 95 for the first time. Heh. Some new things I’d like to pursue later on? Mastering the Olympic lifts, and getting back into some form of consistent martial arts training. But first, I’m getting ready to commit to a full month of eating clean. I’ll probobly lean pretty heavily on my blog to hold myself accountable. I think I’ll start this Saturday, allowing me to celebrate my boy’s birthday before buckling down.

Wow! You've done really well for yourself. Thank you for your kind words that I should look at how my clothes fit. Actually, you might have a point: I think my pants are fitting better. I'll keep working at it and again, thanks for your kind words.

well done!

Hey! You're almost there!!!
:)

Well your progress and personal training insights have continued to inspire me..:) All the best for achieving all your personal goals asap. You mentioned that you have around 5 pounds to go, well same here. I have plateau’d somewhat myself, so any advice would be much appreciated. ? (please check my graphs and pic for further info).

My goal is to get as ripped as reasonably possible, then slowly add calories (protein primarily) whilst reintroducing my weight/strength training program. Therefore, my weight, per say, really isn’t the main motivator but of course, it’s directly related.

My current calculated BMI (according to Traineo) shows that I should have a BMI around 23.5, my actual \'tested\' BMI is 18.5., I believe that I should get my BMI around 10-15 to achieve my aims, what do you think?

Obviously I\'m trying to lose bodyfat whilst reducing the amount of muscle mass lost, however, I\'m not sure by how much I can reduce my calorie intake before I defeat my own goals. I average around 1300 calories per day with an average calorie burn of 800 per day. Of course I can exercise more, but I believe being ripped and very low in bodyfat is more a result of clever eating rather than exercise? What do you think?

I have been at 73.3 kilos for 8 days, this is the longest I have remained at any weight since beginning my journey at the beginning of May. My calculated calorie intake shows I should be around 2500 calories a day (to maintain body weight), can I really afford to go below the 1300 I’m already at before I start to lose muscle mass?

Sorry for the long winded update and questions, but I very much respect your opinions.

Brett. ?

Good going! I'm going into the third full week of a linear 5x5 program, so I can't really say much until I start beating my personal bests again. It's nice and compact though, which I like.

I miss running though. Just three weeks off, and I've already bounced back to 14% body fat!

Only five pounds left to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Psst. Want to see some more inspiring makeovers?

Take a look at the "Amazing Profiles" section on SickOfBeingFat.net! Some really good ones on there.

Hell you look in great condition! I can see the bodybuilding shape forming now, plus your waist is so small it seems which accentuates your shape further. I have the same goal, more or less, but Im getting my BMI as low as possible, then inching my calories backup as I get back into serious weight-training. Congrats again, inspirational stuff :)

from the pics on your progress, you look like you're well on your way to having that bodybuilder look.

you look great!!

Hola!

No, I have not deserted Traineo. I’ve simply become very enamored with Bodybuilding.com’s BodySpace site. Oops. Sorry! I hope you my page hasn’t felt too neglected.

Things are going very well. I FINALLY got my diet back under control and out of vacation mode last week (a good three weeks after I returned from my vacation), and the results have been almost instant. Avoiding processed foods, lots of tuna and other fish, lots of plain vegetables and fruit, etc. LOTS more water, which is awesome. I feel better, my lifts improved dramatically after only three days of increased protein and clean eating, and the weight is coming off again. Granted, it’s coming off at only about .4 of a pound per week, but that suits me just fine. When I’m loosing that little, I can rest assured that I’m loosing fat or water weight, and not muscle.

Speaking of muscle, I’m starting to look ever so slightly cut, which is a dream come true. The more muscle I see, the more encouraged I am and the more I want. I’m starting to really fantasize about becoming an amateur figure or bodybuilding competitor, which serves as further inspiration. No skipped workouts here kids.

Alright. There’s the abridged version for you. I promise to stay active here, I really do.

Are you doing JUDDDD? How is it working out for you with lifting?

Monday: Chest
•Incline dumbbell press- 3 x10
•Flat bench press- 3 x10
•Dumbbell flyes- 3 x10
Tuesday: Back
•Pull ups- 3 x10
•Seated rows- 3 x 10
•Bent over rows- 3 x 10
•Lat pull down- 3 x 10
Wednesday: Quads
•Leg extension- 2 x 10
•Front squats- 3 x 10
•Leg press- 3 x 10
Thursday: Hamstrings Shoulders
•Leg curl- 3 x 10
•Straight leg deadlifts- 3 x 10
•Lunges- 3 sets of 3 x 10
•Dumbell Shoulder Press: 3 x 10
•Rear deltoids- 3 3 x 10
Friday: Biceps Triceps
•Barbell bicep curl- 3 x 10
•Skull crushers- 3 x 10
•Dips- 3 x 10 1
Saturday or Sunday: Abs
•Roman Chair Lifts- 3 x 10
•Swiss Ball Crunches- 3 x 10
•Incline Sit-Ups- 3 x 10
•Oblique Planks- each side to failure, twicereps, 1 set till failure


Something new. Here goes!

Oooooh, thanks for the advice! (and yes, I do the fraggle dance often - if I recall correctly, Red was the one who was the weightlifter of the group so she's my little avatar for all intents and purposes) I'm going to get on the whey bandwagon - any special brand or style of preparation you prefer? Also, how often do you take the shakes? I'm definitely going to check out those websites/articles you've suggested! Many thanks again and be well :)

Hi Josephine -

I was reading your post on the protein board and I was wondering if you prefer whey or soy protein isolate? I'm lifting 5 days a week and doing cardio 3 days per week. I experimented with a soy protein shake at home and the results were....well, kind of a disaster. Have you noticed that a protein supplement shake boosts the muscle results? Anyhow, any suggestions you have are most appreciated. Thank you and be well :)

Thanks Itadaki!

The tip on the skull crushers is much appreciated. I haven't done them since highschool, so my form is definitely a little rusty. I just took them really, really slow, and tried to focus on what felt right. I'll be keeping my upper arms still next time.

I'm glad that I'm not the only lifter curious about JUDDD. I'm eating about 900 calories on a down day, and about 1600 on an up. But, then there is Friday and Saturday, which I'm doing as back to back up days, where I'm going a bit overboard, probobly closer to 1800 calories. We'll see how it goes. Way I figure, it won't hurt to try for two or three weeks, and varrying my calorie intake has helped me break plateaus in the past.

JUDDD has me curious too, and some authors I respect are advocates of controlled fasting as well. I just worry about the extreme -- I've seen videos of people on lifelong calorie-restriction diets and sure they may live long, but they look like crap and are not as active and fun-loving as I would expect them to be. I'll take a little excitement at the risk of dying a few years early. But I may try JUDDD at some point -- we'll see.

A trainer pointed out to me that your upper arms (shoulder to elbow) are supposed to stay motionless during a skullcrusher. This was by biggest form flaw, since I would snap my arms straight and bring them forward to support the weight, instead of keeping the tension on by *not* bringing them forward. I also bring the bar down just past my head, and not to my forehead. This makes skullcrushers a lot more difficult, but seems to isolate the triceps a lot better.

Good luck!

I suppose I might as well try the lift the haze left over me by yesterday’s events at Virginia Tech by focusing on fitness for a few minutes.

Lifting continues to go very well. I’ve switched out dips in favor of chest flys, as I believe I’m working my triceps enough already, and I’m curious to see how my chest responds to a little more stimuli. I’ve also switched out kickbacks for skullcrushers, as my good friend told me that the trainer I adore at the gym told her they were more effective than kickbacks. After trying this for the first time yesterday, my triceps are definitely feeling it, and I’m sold.

Over the weekend I bought a pair of lifting gloves, and thusly I’m SO FREAKIN’ EXCITED to deadlift today. I think I’m finally going to be able to really challenge myself.

SPOON!

Oh, and the weight seems to be coming off again. I’m taking a cue from the Johnson Up Day Down Day Diet, and varying my calories from day to day. Though, I’m not cutting nearly as much as the diet advises for a down day, and I’m not allowing myself free-for-alls on an up day.

I tracked a day of meals in Fitday and found out the same thing you did -- even on a day where I ate a good amount of meat in one meal and took four scoops of soy protein isolate, I still only came up with 130g of protein (and I weigh 178lbs!).

On the other hand, I'm waiting for labwork to come back. If my creatinine levels are still too high, I may need to lay off the protein. Then again, I see some vegan body builders who claim to get by with 0.5g of protein per lb of body weight, and they look incredible.

Maybe the whole "eat a lot of protein" shtick is another marketing-fueled urban myth... Hmm...

Hi Josephine!

Sure - just go to www.mvm.com and you can make a virtual "you", too! :O)

Your attitude makes me jealous! I've posted my pics up half a dozen times, only to retract them a few hours later because I felt too embarassed to leave them up. My current avatar was a pic taken a month ago.

Actually, I wish my waist came in that much too.

You hips make me jealous! Im 140 lb and my hips aint no way near yours!!! That means you got buncha muscle too, good for ya :D

You really are working hard!! Go you! And I go for magazines when I'm melancholy too...and when I'm happy...and when I'm frustrated...Aw heck. I just love magazines. I get jewelry making magazines, though. Can't eat and make jewelry at the same time! ;-)

Keep on working! Your goal is SO close!

I finally got a good picture of myself, and posted and "before and after" thingy. Yay! I've wanted to be able to do that since I signed up here.

So far, the split seems to be going well. Two days off for each set of muscles worked seems about right, as while yesterday my biceps and lats were still a bit sore, today they are comfy and ready to work again. Rad. Though, my day two routine is a lot more heavy on my back than I realized. The whole thing, middle, lower, and my traps, were all SUPER tired once I was done, and the next day too. Today they are getting back to normal, though my traps are still sore. I think this is excellent, as a woman with my build has to have a strong back if I'm going to remain upright into my twilight years.

I managed to gain a few pounds in Utah, and was briefly back up to 149. Today I'm already back to 146, and not daunted in the slightest. I'm getting much more focused on how I look, not what the scale says, anyways. Thus, the lovely progress pictures I took for myself last night. And, let's face it, I'm vain and wanted other people to see my hotness just as much as I wanted an objective look at it for myself.

Whateva'. Sooooo bloody stoked to get into the gym tonight and lift heavy things.

Very exciting - congrats! I bet if you eat well clean while you're traveling, you'll come back even lighter. I always hate the idea of taking time off too, but it always seems to work out for the best. My brain is saying "Aaaah - I'll lose everything I've worked for!", but the rest of my body is happy for the time to recover and rebuild itself.

145.8

It may only be two tenths of a pound away from 146, but it feels enough like 145 that I'm having myself a little celebration. I'm so going through the don't-fit-no-mo'-drawer when I get home tonight and seeing if there is anything I can now reclaim. I bet my old favorite pair of corderoy pants are gonna fit. HUZZAH!!!

I'm hitting the weights with a vengence, and loving it. I feel fantastic. I can truly feel and see my muscles getting stronger, which is so encouraging. After more thought and reading J Bro's comments, I've decided against the personal trainer. Especially since I'm now considering going back to school.

Say what? Crazyness. I'm all about that.

Friday I'm off to Utah, and terrified I'm going to get next to no activity in. I'm already sad that I'm going to miss a session of weight lifting. Sadness.

One of the things I'm trying to convince myself of is that a slight feeling of hunger means I'm doing something right - on a scale where 1 is starving and 10 is stuffed, I try to hold onto a steady 5. Counting calories is awesome, because I've realized that if I get the right amount of protein and eat around 2100 calories (500 below my BMR), that's exactly what keeps me at a 5. I don't even really need to track on fitday anymore, because I've learned what eating properly feels like.

On the personal trainer front, I think I'd save your money unless your gym has far, far better trainers than any of the ones I've ever seen doing sessions. Trainers can get "certified" for as little at $100 and an hour online, and I think you could get much, much better information from the somethingawful.com Watch Weight forum or the forum here. I haven't met with a trainer, but I've overheard lots and lots of sessions and so much information about "toning" and "low-weight, high-rep machine circuits" that I'm jaded about their ability to do much other than tell out-of-shape people what they want to hear. I'd say put the $50/week into some sort of fund to reward yourself for hitting 140 and work your ass off to get there.

So far, so good. I'm so close to my second goal of 145, I can smell it. I initially set three goals when I first starting working out:

1 - Get below 160
2 - Get back to 145, where I would normally hover
3 - Get to 135, where I haven't been since freshman year of highschool, and then only briefly

The instant I get to 144, I will feel like a total success, and the rest will just be gravy. I can't even imagine what 135 will feel like. My god, will I fit into size 10 pants?! How surreal.

I'm finding that being hungry has become more of an issue. I attribute this to the fact that I'm pushing myself fairly hard when I lift. It can be tough to deal with, but fortunately spinach is my friend, and I eat as much of it as I please.

Other than that, the only problem I can think of is that I'm impatient to get stronger. I keep thinking how cool it would be to be able to squat and bench press my body weight. You know there are women out there who can clean and jerk TWICE their weight? Surely I can do just my weight on the two core lifts I do.

Oh, and to that affect, I'm considering hiring a personal trainer for once a week sessions for a while. I think if you buy enough at once at my gym, they get down to only $50 an hour. I think it'd be a good investment.

I went to Buca Di Beppo for dinner last night, on the company dime, and still managed to end my day with only 1620 calories by my best count.

Obviously, I am a badass.

Also, back down to 147 today, and my waist went down an inch from last week.

Yup. Badass.

I'm in the middle of eating the biggest spinach salad ever right now. I'm thinking there's about 4 cups of raw, organic spinach here, plus some raisins, a dash of sunflower seeds, and a splash of raspberry vinegret.

Yum.

An amazing thing happened yesterday. I did my squats in a cage, instead of on the Smith machine. It made a big difference, and I found that with the free range of motion I was actually able to go lower more comfortably. Who knew? Also, watching other people on the Smith machine I had a little more perspective, and will no longer use it. I read several articles where they found the Smith maching to be dangerous for squatting, so I decided to try without it. Now I'm hooked.

Gave blood today, so no evening work out. :( Oh well. I'll cheat a little and do some ab work anyways.

Where can I find this pornographic martial art everyone's referring to?

Thanks for the martial arts post! No ****-o Ryu dojos in South Jersey unfortunately, but I'll keep looking.

In a weird turn of events, I am now back to doing full body workouts just as you are. It's a system called Hypertrophy Specific Training (HST) and it's very similar to what you're doing right now, with a little bit of Max OT (my previous program) in it. I started a post with links if you're interested.

HST Traineo post

Karate worked like a charm, and I came home with a clear, though still troubled mind. I'll take what I can get. I have also decided to start training for the next ****o ryu championships in Japan in 2009. I want to medal this time, which means lots of deep stances. Good thing I'm doing squats. :)

I've experienced a bit of weight gain, which I'm starting to anticipate. I seem to have a two steps forward, one step back routine going on. I'm okay with this at the moment, because I still haven't bounced above the 149 mark. I also ate pretty poorly this weekend, which I'm not terribly upset about. Though I have learned a lesson; it may be okay to let go and indulge from time to time, but I will feel better if I indulge only in reasonably healthy foods.

EDIT: I find it mildly amusing that Traineo felt the need to censor my martial art. Silly Traineo.

Feeling SO down, and SO frustrated today, I could burst.

Normally, this would result in greasy thai noodles, booze, and magazines.

Instead, I'm taking the second half of the day off from work to go up North and do karate till I fall over. Nothing sounds better right now, and I can't wait to put on that gi and black belt and make it all go away. *sigh* Stress is the devil.

It addition, I've recently realized just how much of my day I spend sitting still in front of a computer, and I'm disgusted. I've started a new habit of walking all the way up and down the stairwell in my workplace once or twice an hour. It only takes about 2 and a half minutes, and I'm certain no one notices or cares that I dissapear occaisionally. It's stairs, so it gets my heart rate up. I think this will make me feel much better and more energized throughout my day.

Well, 2300 calories and $128 later, I've survived Valentine's Day with only a fairly reasonable amount of damage.

Still very sore from the lifting rampage the other day, so I'm taking break from the gym.

*gasp!*

I'll take the oportunity to focus like a madwoman on some ab work at home today, then see if I can't be ready for some more lifting tomorrow. Hopefully I haven't caused myself so much trouble that the weight I just lost will come back. I'm not going to weigh myself for a couple days to help make sure I don't get discouraged.

Deadlifts are another great compound lift - do them with very light weight (even just the bar) until you get the form down though, because you can wrench your back doing them incorrectly. They're worth learning though - big compound lifts like squats and deads should be the core of any weight training program.

When you squat are you using a free bar, a bar in a cage, or dumbbells? DBs held with your arms extended to the floor are a good way to build squatting strength without the fear of getting caught under the bar.

The soreness! It burns us precious!!!

hehe

So, I posted on the forums about my lifting routine, and Itadaki Mouse was kind enough to offer up an abundance of good suggestions. Thusly, I started off with squats and bench press last night, which I haven't done since my last college weight training class. They felt great immediately afterwards, but today it's hard to move! That's okay though. When I first started my lifting about a month ago, those lifts did the same thing to me. Now, I don't get very sore at all from them, and recover very quickly.

So, I hope these new lifts will help me get stronger more evenly/quickly. And I liked doing them. Squats aren't quite as evil as they've been for me in the past.

Another tidbit from Itadaki Mouse was www.bodybuilding.com, which I've been exploring today. Lots of interesting things there, including amazing pictures of rediculously fit women. How amazing must that feel? I hope I can get strong like them.

Did some moderate/light cardio on the eliptical this morning, mainly just to get a few calories burned and in hopes of working some of the lactic acid out of my muscles.

A small crash, but a crash nonetheless today. I've just had a cookie, a hershey kiss, a mini kit kat, and am in the middle of a lo carb monster energy drink. It's amazing how easily a little stress/melancholy can derail you. But, I did drag myself out of bed and to the gym this morning. And, I am truly stoked to go back after work and do my lifting. I always feel most excellent after picking up heavy things for a while, so I know that will help.

But in the mean time, a little sugar and caffeine as a quick fix one day won't ruin everything. In fact, I really doubt it will do much damage at all. I just have to make sure I don't do it every day.

Oh, and down to 147 this morning. Yahoo! Also, my latest discovery is dried fruit on salad. Last night I had a whole, huge plate full of fresh spinach, with dried cherries and golden raisins on top. I'm not big on dressing to begin with, but this salad doesn't need any. So good! And you can eat as much of it as you want.

Booya.

Comments from strangers on your traineo page are good and all, but there's no motivator like seeing progress - great job!

So, a few amazing things have transpired -

Amazing Thing 1: I busted the bank and bought a new, superior sports bra, which seems to be adequate at eliminating most of the boucy-bouncy. If you are not at least a DD cup or above, you likely cannot appreciate the epic majesty of this.

Amazing Thing 2: I have begun jogging/running (where exactly does that line exist, anyway?), begining with Greenlake yesterday, and the treadmill today. This Amazing Thing brought to you by Amazing Thing 1.

Amazing Thing 3: I now weight 147.5 lbs.

RAWR

I can't even tell you what a boost these three things are. I feel like I could burst with pride and accomplishment.