Fiddleman

Ok - thanks for the warning and i will stick to tryptophan / melatonin until sleep decides to return to normal. Two nights of better sleep so far. I do not want to get on anything that is a killer to kick. I understand tryptophan has some w/d symptoms related to the interaction with the GABA receptors. Will cross that bridge when I get to it.

I have never tried ambien before, but have heard stories about strange things people do on it. Sleep eating, sleep driving, sleep sexing, etc. are these stories really true? Would you recommend talking to the PCP about ambien?

I do not have any issues with recovery as in muscle soreness, but want to stay anabolic instead of going catabolic. It is a constant tug of war between making gains and losing gains. Hopefully I make gains faster in the near future.

Looked up xtend BCAA just now. This stuff looks great. How did you hear about it? Way more BCAA then I take, but maybe I should increase to that level. Tell me more!

I think it is better in the sense it is much stronger. I used it when recovering from a flu back then where I was really dehydrated. The taste may not be better. I bought the grape variety and it really helped when I was really dehydrated from throwing up.

Looking snazzy in that suit with the family.

Electrolytes are always good after a workout because you lose salt, etc from the sweating . That is if you are pushing yourself which I know you do Amy. You will know when you get low on the electrolytes because of dizziness like Laura wrote about. Just standing up from the couch will give you a high you do not even have to pay for, so to speak. The good part is that electrolytes can easily be replenished with Gatorade. Back when I was closer to 6 months, I found pedialyte a good product to get a good dose of electrolytes. You can pick that up from most drug stores like Walgreens, bar tell drugs, etc. I currently get electrolytes from coconut water. My coconut water of choice is vita coco which is highly rated and costs about 14 dollars for 12 from Costco. Otherwise, you can buy them individually from grocery stores, drug stores, natural stores, etc.

Hey, I still vomit if I inhale my food too quickly. However I have a related question. In the last 2 weeks I have had green poop all the time and it is not from anything in the diet. I have read online that this can be caused if the food passes through your intestines before the bile has a chance of breaking down the waste and mixing with other enzymes that turn it brown. Would this lead to malnutrition? I feel fine. I just feel like ET seeing green all the time. Lol. Actually today it has returned to brown after a couple weeks of weird green.. The other thing is that I get regular BM within 5 minutes of eating which is several times a day. This is new for me. Does this mean I have a super fast metabolism now? I like that. Weight has dropped 10 lbs in about a month andi see this as a good thing being 1 year out. Just curious and looking for an explanation behind the green and the sudden change to frequent BM. Apologies in advance if this is TMI and/or hijacking the thread.

You need to eat more. If you are running on a 5:2 fasting day, watch out. also check that you are drinking enough water and that you are sucking down electrolytes in the form of Gatorade, coconut juice or something else. Are you eating a recovery shake after the run?

Yeah, holy crap squared. I cannot pronounce 1/2 of those ingredients. The old saying is that if you cannot pronounce something in the ingredient list you should not be eating it. In my opinion only...just kidding. I can pronounce most of that stuff.

It gets easier. Just keep showing up.

Another plank variation I have found for all of you fitness folks. Start in position of a push up, put one elbow down, put the other elbow down, reverse back to start position of a push up. That is one rep. Do 6 sets of 2 minute AMRAP ( as many reps as you can). This one is fun and reminds me of crawling through the jungle in Vietnam ( not like I have ever done this, but I imagine it).

Try these warmup plank exercises out at different times and see how well you can do: 1. 5 minute plank hold. 2. Hold 5 seconds at top, lower and hold 5 seconds with nose touching ground. Repeat 10 x. Do not jerk when starting upward flow to top position. Increase reps as you get stronger. 3. Start in top position, lower down over 5 seconds, change direction, raise for 5 seconds until back in top position. Repeat 10 x. Do not jerk up from the bottom, but allow the direction change to be smooth. Push through the struggle on last 1 or 2. I believe the start of the slow upward movement from bottom, when your arms are completely bent, is much like a bench press. For this reason, you can improve your bench press without weights by practicing this with more and more reps, pushing slowly through the burn and lighting up your biceps, triceps, delts, lats, traps and general chest region. Increase reps as you get stronger. For each variation, your body should be straight from head to toe. Remember, slow and controlled movements as Fluid as possible. Feel the burn on those last reps. It will feel good. You will burn serious calories doing these and build excellent upper body and core strength. The best part is you can do these anywhere at anytime. Have fun!

Another exercise I have found recently that helps with being limber for squats is called the dynamic squat. While holding two hand weights (say 10-20 lb), start with feet hip width apart. Staying light on your feet, jump legs apart into slightly less than a sumo squat width and squat with hands between feet to touch the ground. As you touch the ground, jump up back into starting position. That is one rep. Do 6 sets of 20 second AMRAP ( as many reps as possible). Remember to stay light on your feet and really put your butt back on the squat with back straight and chest out. This one is fun!!

Here are some snaps from this morning. As an aside, my MIL was commenting I look pretty good in a medium shirt. Said I had inverted t body shape ( hard to tell from these snaps) and I did not mention that body type to her ahead of time. As my muscles build, I anticipate I will be back in a large shirt. [ATTACH]15544[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]15545[/ATTACH]

Anyone else? Mark? Around? I am looking for some strategies that will help with leaning out and putting on muscle while eating like a Sleever. That is 7 x a day of 200-400 calories. As mentioned before, I eat high quality shakes and super paleo diet (simple lean Protein and green veggie). My TDEE is 2054. My weight likes to hang out at 180 for my 5'11" frame. I have +- 2 lb variation and I have definitely noticed the process working in the last 3 months. I just want it to work a little faster. I have even done a T program for 2 months which really helped with leaning out. I lift pretty heavy on the deadlift, squat and clean. Not very heavy, but trying to make progressive improvements every week. I am really getting good at lifting my own weight in body weight exercises.i am new at this working out to gain muscle thing, so any advice would help. I think I am doing well on my supplementation with regards to stacks.

Good point Joe. I do try and weigh at the same time under the same conditions to prevent inaccuracies from slipping in though. Again, good point about water affecting the scale fat % readings.

Amy - you might also switch up your exercises a bit. Try and mix up your courses and vary the intensity. If running 3 x a week, try: 1. Day 1: regular distance and pace 2. Day 2: HIIT - alternate between 1 min sprint and 1 minute jog. If sprint is too much, try just a faster pace to where it feels challenging in a cardiovascular way. Your breathing should be such you cannot talk to someone else in this interval and you are really pushing yourself, 3. Day 3. Timed- try and set a new personal best in time for a course that you are used to running. Alternatively, perhaps throw in some weight days or do some Jillian ripped days, etc. Muscle adaptation is one thing you have to be aware of: your body will get conditioned to an exercise if repeated over and over again. Muscle imbalance or confusion is always good whether that is through cardio or strength training. Good luck and keep up the good fight! The prize is worth it.

Okie dokie - not supported on my android. I am glad iPad access to social groups is now working. I rarely use VST from my laptop, maybe 3 x because I could not do what I needed to do on the iPad. I also do not like using the web app on my iPad because the experience is just not as good. Not a fault of the app designer because there are different user experiences between web app and mobile app.