Food/Training Log: May 2/3, 2012

[Rachelle Lowder]

7:20AM

- Cup of coffee with 2tsp hot cocoa mix & unsweetened vanilla almond milk

8:30AM

- A bowl of oatmeal with chopped apples, chopped walnuts, stevia, butter & vanilla (Made too much for the boys and wasn't about to let it go to waste)

- 3 eggs scrambled in olive oil & seasoned with ground pepper and smoked paprika

1:05PM

- Handful of walnuts

2:50PM

- Big salad consisting of fresh spinach, mixed spring greens with a little cabbage, carrots & radish, baby carrots and 4 boiled eggs. Sprinkled with parmesan/romano cheese & drizzled with ranch

3:30PM

- Handful of pretzel sticks

- A bag of spicy pork rinds (I know...I have a problem)

- One square of 99% cacao chocolate

9:00PM

- A can of chili w/cheese with a little extra cheddar grated over top

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May, 3rd

** I have realized I never shared my outcome of the "No Weigh In April" challenge I participated in. Essentially, I didn't step on the scale the whole month (technically I did once for measurements, but I'll get to that). The point of the challenge was to take the scale out of the equation of being healthy and happy about your body. The number on the scale shouldn't dictate how you feel about yourself. For me, I found it very beneficial as before, I found myself striving for a certain number and it affected how I ate certain days. I was sitting at about 146-147 and was trying to get back down to 141-142 which is what I weighed for most of last late Summer/Fall. If the scale wasn't moving or even went up some, I would try to restrict how much I ate. It was always on my mind. A little TOO much. Not stepping on the scale relieved me of that stress and I just ate normally and in a pattern that was natural and comfortable. 

3 weeks into the challenge, I was due for measurements at my gym. The plan was to not look at the scale and let Jim record my weight without my knowledge of what it was. I almost lasted the whole measurement process without peeking. But while comparing notes from the last time we measured, I ended up peeking. I was 1.3lbs heavier than the last time. But I also learned that I swapped 1lb of fat for 1lb of muscle. And because my body fat had actually gone down, I could attribute that 1.3lb gain to the tons of water I drank the day before.

This spurred me to compare new progress photos with the last ones I took back in the beginning of August. It also turned out that my body fat was almost identical at that time to what I just measured. But, I looked different now. I learned that I had put on 5lbs of muscle since then. I look thicker, but healthier in my front shot. I have more booty and my back has more muscle as well. Since last August I've gained 1 " more in the chest, 1.5" in the waist (due to more muscle, because my body fat is very close), 1.5" on the hips, 1.25" on the thighs, .5" on the calves and almost 1" on the arms. A 5lb muscle gain over 8.5 months probably doesn't sound like much, but for one month I wasn't working out due to surgery, another 1.5-2 months was spent working back up to my current training ability. Plus, I only average a 1lb muscle gain per month anyway. Gaining strength isn't much of an issue, but gaining size is. 

Anyway, in the end, what I took from the challenge is what the scale says doesn't mean squat if my measurements show I'm gaining muscle and losing or not gaining fat. Also, what the mirror shows is what's important, too. The whole "focus on what the measurements say & what the mirror shows" thing has been thrown around so much and I hear/read about it all the time. But before now, it didn't really have much of an impact on me. I was still stuck on what the scale was telling me. I have stepped in the scale a couple times since the challenge ended. My weight is still the same as almost 2 weeks ago. I no longer care about trying to get back down to 142 because I know the weight difference now is due to muscle gained. The only real use I have for the number on the scale now is for figuring my lean mass.

Ditching the scale is freeing, really. More people should do it. =)

7:20AM

- Cup of coffee with 2tsp hot cocoa mix, a little stevia and unsweetened vanilla almond milk

9:45AM

- 4 eggs cooked in a little olive oil with a small sliced chorizo. Seasoned with ground pepper

12:45PM

- A handful of walnut halves

2:40PM

- A big salad consisting of fresh spinach, mixed spring greens with radish, carrot & red cabbage, sliced black olives, sliced beets, two boiled eggs, a can of tuna, a quick sprinkle of parmesan/romano cheese & ranch

4:50PM

- A sample packet of ON Amino Chewables

- A sample packet of VPX Anarchy Covalex (pre-workout drink mix)

6:55PM (Post-Workout)

- 21g chocolate whey + 1tsp psyllium fiber + 30g simple sugars

8:30PM

- A mixture of ground beef, spinach, onion & cheese

TRAINING:

5:25PM

- Warmup of 40 swings with the 53

- Deadlifts at 210lbs for 5x5 with 2min rest between rounds

- Double KB Front Squats with the 53s for 5x5 with a 2-3min rest between rounds

- Double KB Presses with the 35s supersetted with pullups for 5x5 each with a 1-1.5min rest between rounds

** The amount of weight on the deadlifts is making the squats rough and is forcing me to take a little more time between sets. This will only continue as my deadlift weight increases. Need to figure out a way to get everything without sacrificing weight on either the deadlifts or the squats. And for how long...

[Rachelle Lowder]

Thank you Brent! I didn't plan on it becoming a progress report of sorts, but that's the way it went. =)

[Brent Brown]

Congratulations!  You are an inspiration!

[Rachelle Lowder]

Thanks Jim! The rate at which I build muscle doesn't bother me as much anymore. It will happen at the rate my body sees fit. No point in stressing what I don't have much control over. And no, I won't be over-eating and get fat only to attempt to diet down. That would be quite mentally rough. I think I'll just stick with how I've been doing things. ;)

[Jim B]

Great blog post!

Everyone gains muscle at different rates. I have no idea what an average rate would be, but you are making outstanding progress. Like we have talked about lots of times, the only sure way would be to just eat a ton, get fat while building and then diet down to get lean. Of course, we know how healthy that is for people who choose to go that route. 

I realize that is easy for me to say, since gaining muscle is so easy for me. Sorry to rub it in.