lencann1’s BodyBlog

Haven’t been on here in a while due to family medical issues, etc.. But, after catching up and reading the Worm’s most recent (amazing) posts, I realized I’ve let excuse after excuse get in the way of what I should be doing. I should be so much further along. Thanks, Herm. You are an inspiration.

I have maintained and added to my gym sessions (3 per week) and weightlifting, but I really fell down on nutrition - lots of candy lately - kids’ halloween candy - stress and stupidity! Still down 45 lbs, but body fat stuck at 15.5%. Got to get to 10%. Herm, oh mighty one, need your expertise on daily diet, please.

Now that the medical conditions are resolved, (other than my right shoulder pain - for months!!! - any suggestions?) time to get back to work - big time - Every Other Day in the gym? Or, must it be EVERY day? Also, I think I am confusing my metabolism by trying to bulk and then cut at the same time. I guess I am going to have to do one or the other. I think I should continue to cut until I reach 10-12% and then bulk. But, everyone keeps telling me I am so skinny (at 162). Are they right? Or, are they all just used to the typical gutted 51 year old. Waddayou think?

Best regards to all.

I’ve noticed floaters in my eyes (mostly the right eye) in the last year. Saw the eye doctor and he said this is common. Had retina checked - OK. However, I’ve read some articles that say weightlifting may cause these to happen. Anyone have any thoughts on this? These things are starting to become annoying.

When I work out I always do 4 sets of 15 reps for whatever routine I am working on. I realize I am not lifting as much weight as I could because of the lengthy reps, which I always finish completely. So the question: Should I change my pattern so that I do 3 sets of 12 reps, instead - hopefully, lifting more weight as a result? Or, is it better to keep the 4 x 15 to ensure endurance? FYI, I am slowly able to increase the weight week by week. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

I need a primer on supplements. I already take whey protein and creatine. I not looking to compete. I am just looking to reduce fat and build muscle as fast AND healthy as possible. I take in 225 g protein each day (so - protein 45%, fat 20%, carbs 35%) with a 400 day calorie deficit. Any comments/advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Question for the group: should I be in pain the next few days after a workout with my trainer? Every time he takes me through my routines, I have pain in my legs, back, arms, chest - whatever I am working on. The pain is sometimes strong.

Whenever I workout on my own  (I track everything and and making small gains each week) I am in very little pain the next few days. So, am I working out on my own with too little intensity? Or, is my trainer pushing me too hard? FYI, when I mentioned this to my trainer, he asked me about my protein intake and said I needed to add whey protein to help recover. Please let me know what you think because this is all relatively new to me.

Thanks.

Well, just finished my green beer, corned beef and fries at my favorite place on St. Patrick’s Day - Kelly’s in Belmar, NJ. Can’t get any more Irish than that - bagpipers and all. Still within my calorie count for the day (barely) and going back to the gym tonight. HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY TO ALL! Now, back to work….

How many calories does my body need per day? I am currently 171 lbs. Thanks.

Question: I have a new trainer, who seems very good. He has me doing a lot of new routines. But, I am so sore I can hardly walk. Is this normal - building new/more muscle? Or, am I overdoing it. Please help! Thanks.

For those of you who are interested in monitoring your body fat on a daily basis, I recommend a Tanita body fat scale. It’s about 70 bucks. But, for maniacs like me who need to measure everything this is a good solution.

Just know that the readings vary somewhat due to the amount of water you take in, what you eat, when you train, etc. So, sometimes the readings are illogical - such as a higher reading after working out.

However, if you track your daily readings in a spreadsheet and then chart the results you’ll be very pleased as you see the fat % go down over time. So, you want to be concerned with the trend - not the day-to-day readings.

I’m so glad to have found this site. Some of the transformations have been amazing. I hope I’ll be one of them.

I started 15 months ago at the age of 49 when my stomach was hanging over my pants. I was under a lot of stress and just kept eating - bread, pasta, sweets, junk. I ballooned from 168 to 205. I felt like crap.

My neighbor told me about a new club he joined and told me to check it out. I did and the rest is history. I’ve NEVER worked out in my entire life. But, I started walking 45 minutes every day and started weightlifting. I also made up my mind to start ridding myself of those things that we were causing me to stress. And, one by one I am getting rid of those.

Anyway, I went from 203 to 166 back to 173. But, my body fat has steadily dropped from 30% to 19%. This while eating donuts, m&m’s, kisses, etc.. Still, I restricted my calories to 1,750 per day, which is 500 less than I need. The trick to doing this is to maintain a log of everything eaten with a breakdown of calories, protein, fat and carbs. i use a spreadsheet to manage this. However, if you do the math you’ll see I cheated quite a bit over the 15 months. Still, the 173 today is a lot firmer than the 173 of 2 years ago. My family is quite impressed (and, I am proud) with my progress, because I look and feel so much better. Imagine if I really tried…

So, now the hard (or better) part begins. I intend to cut out all the remaining junk food, stop the cheating and work hard (with a trainer) to transform myself over the next 10 weeks. I want to start the summer in the best shape of my life. My secret goal is to be one of the healthier and stronger 50 year olds out there. Check back to see how it’s going. Any comments on nutrition would be appreciated.