12 week Transformation challenge for vets

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I would love to join but I need to gain weight. I see you gained 10 lbs' date=' how does one do that in a healthy way? At 6 mos I was on maintenance and I am struggling to get in 1000 calories a day. I've only been doing spot training, arms, stomach and thighs. I can eat 3 oz of fish or chicken and 1/2 cup quinoa. I am also lactose intolerant (after the surgery) so I have a hard time thinking of good high protien food that has lots of calories! Any suggestions? Also is it too late to join?[/quote']

It is not too late to join!! Your diet sounds really good.

To put on 10 lbs of lean muscle, it took about 2 months of consistent cross fit and lifting as well as eating as many grams of Protein as possible. The guideline is to eat 1 gram per lean muscle weight, but I ate even more then that. I ate almost 1 gram per body weight, about 170 g. I only eat clean diet of Proteins and veggies. No sugars or milk. It is very paleo like. I take 5 g creatine daily to assist growth of lean muscle. My body fat went from 19.5% during the last 2 months to 17%.

I have already dropped another percentage since starting the transformation and lost 2 inches around waist. My weight is still around 185, but at the came time my waist is shrinking and chest, arms and legs are showing more definition since starting transformation 2 weeks ago. My workout schedule is following the guidelines stated above in the original post.

Good luck!

[Globetrotter 1,340]

Hey! I'm a week late to the party, but after a lot of consideration I decided to do it! I was leery of starting any sort of challenge because it's the last two weeks of the school year. I wanted to make sure that I was ready to make a serious commitment. I'm trying to avoid falling off the wagon. Lol! I'm so busy avoiding falling off that I never really get on.

I'm happy with where my weight is, but I am a weakling! I'm also embarrassed about how bad my eating is. I justify a lot of the carbs with the runner excuse. It's easy to do. It MUST stop.

I thought a lot about creating goals. I don't know what it achievable in regards to inches or weight loss, so I decided that I would set a general goal to commit to the 12 weeks. I will be happy with whatever my results are. I took my pics and measurements. I'm hoping that I will see a change with my abdominal area- I'm so flabby with excess skin.

I am going to follow Fiddleman's example more or less with a couple tweaks:

35 years old

5'3"

129 lbs pre transformation (as of today)

Married with 2 children, 4 dogs, 2 horses, 1 sheep

Physical goals:

I plan on continuing with my "training" (preparation for trail halves and a tri). I am also going to start P90X (borrowing it from a friend). I need a video or something to provide guidance with strength/resistance training. I can't afford a PT, nor an additional membership. I'd rather spend my money on running events.

food goal:

I will cut Protein bars and other items that are high in sugar. No more sweets, crackers, chips, or other junk food. I will try to avoid processed foods and stick to lean Protein, veggies, and fruit.< /p>

Thanks for the challenge Fiddleman!

How did you get down to 128 pounds?

[danyelleb 386]

How did you get down to 128 pounds?

I followed the docs diet (kaiser) pretty closely until about 6 months. I kept my cals around 800. I've had my cal goal set at 1000 since Dec/Jan. I consistently run three times a week (my distance and workout was est in Aug. T/R my runs vary from 5-6.5 miles, Sats run is long- 13 miles and up. I took two weeks off twiceI think). Once due to injury, the other due to a nasty ovarian cyst and mirena insertion. .

Currently I'm down to 125. I adjusted my diet and lost four pounds this week alone. I also logged 29.8 miles on Nike +. I have been doing couch to 10k with my youngest, so I'm walk/running with him on m/w/f. I also did double workouts this week with P90x and bike riding. So not only did I adjust diet, but I increased my activity level.

As for the TDEE thing- I don't know how I feel about it. I'm concerned that ill be stuck eating 1100 cals for life. Maybe once I stop losing again I might consider upping the cals. The idea of gaining scares the crap out of me. I'm sorry that u have been stuck.

[danyelleb 386]

Hi guys! I'm down four pounds this week. New weight is 125. Focused this week on eating "clean". Geez, I struggled. Things are getting better. I did eat a whole wheat pb&j before my long run yesterday and had energy chews while running. The sugar gave me horrible gas! Lol. I was cracking ass the whole way, my dh said that I was gas powered. Gotta figure that out because I definitely don't want to be like that during a racing event. Lol!

I did p90x but not consistently. My focus this week is that! I NEED the strength/resistance training badly.

I know that my body is changing because I'm now wearing a baggy size two! This is crazy to me.

Good luck to everyone else! I look forward to hearing how things are progressing with u!

Happy transforming. (This made me giggle, yeah- I'm a goober).

[Nicolanz 1,484]

Bahaha Danyelle! Your post made me laugh and congratulations!

My hip has consistently gotten worse since my last post. Last night I did yoga specifically for hips. I don't feel pain now but we'll see. I haven't weighed or measured lately. I'm not giving up!

[danyelleb 386]

Bahaha Danyelle! Your post made me laugh and congratulations!

My hip has consistently gotten worse since my last post. Last night I did yoga specifically for hips. I don't feel pain now but we'll see. I haven't weighed or measured lately. I'm not giving up!

Yikes! Hip pain can be the worst. If pain persists, please consider checking in with a doc. Also, taking time off (although I absolutely loathe doing this myself) is a good idea as well. I hope it works itself out soon.

As for weighing I try to limit myself otherwise I can get a little OCD. This week was horrible. I hopped on the scale daily! Eek. I need to go back to twice a week. I'm a little envious if those who have the self control of not weighing all the time.

Ur determination and perseverance is admirable!! (What I really wanted to say was, "yay u!!") I'm working on expanding my vocab. Lol!

Have a great Sunday.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Good job girls! I cannot tell you how much your happy attitudes are wearing off on me (and others?). Reading your posts is always a joy.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Bahaha Danyelle! Your post made me laugh and congratulations!

My hip has consistently gotten worse since my last post. Last night I did yoga specifically for hips. I don't feel pain now but we'll see. I haven't weighed or measured lately. I'm not giving up!

Nicole-in addition to yoga and other techniques I listed above in this thread, have you tried a roller on your core area? You do not need a fancy expensive one, just a cheap foam roller from Sports Authority will do. I know that this REALLY helped me get over hip pain that I kept getting from running week after week. The roller really helps you massage the heck out of your hip flexors and buttocks. I think hip pain is sourced from lack of muscular support either from the buttocks or from the lower back. Hip pain is no fun. I hope you feel better soon.

[danelle235 79]

I can't wait to join you all in the exercise....! I'm up for a challenge. How long after surgery did you wait? (I'm only 11/12 days out but I felt well enough to mow the lawn today!! Yeah!!) I like to run and I just don't know how/when to start again. Also, I usually run with a Water belt and don't know how I'm not gonna drink too much while running....obviously I'm not taking in enough calories at this point to sustain any long runs... (2 oz cranberry juice, 4oz clear Soup 2 times daily, Jello, a Popsicle and water) but I want this weight GONE and patience is not my strong point.... whatd'ya think???

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I can't wait to join you all in the exercise....! I'm up for a challenge. How long after surgery did you wait? (I'm only 11/12 days out but I felt well enough to mow the lawn today!! Yeah!!) I like to run and I just don't know how/when to start again. Also' date=' I usually run with a Water belt and don't know how I'm not gonna drink too much while running....obviously I'm not taking in enough calories at this point to sustain any long runs... (2 oz cranberry juice, 4oz clear Soup 2 times daily, Jello, a Popsicle and water) but I want this weight GONE and patience is not my strong point.... whatd'ya think???[/quote']

At 12 days out, please consider focusing only on Water, Protein and light exercise like walking. This transformation challenge is really for those that have been cleared for any and all exercise. It is designed to be intense and very difficult if you follow the program correctly and it would be a shame if you got hurt trying to do this now. Most doctors do not want any lifting and regular intensity exercise until after 5 or 6 weeks post op. I am not trying to hold you back or discourage you; in fact, quite the opposite. I want your success as a VSG post op. From my experience, most post ops do not have the energy nor the discipline for such an intense program until month 5 or later. That is just a general observation and, of course, may not apply to you or others. My own ability to exercise regularly in a somewhat intense manner did not start until month 5. Good luck in the early stages of your post op recovery. May you be blessed with good health and speedy recovery!

[danelle235 79]

Thanks for your feedback. I really appreciate it, and I know I'm not ready for intense excercise yet, but I'll look forward to starting back on a more regular routine week 5/6 and joining your 12 week challenge in a few months!!

[Butterthebean 8,146]

I really like this challenge Fiddleman. I've got 2 more weeks till my next half so I've got to stick with my current training plan till then. But I do have a question or 2. Do I have to do the 12 day base camp? I feel like I'm way ahead of the exercise part of that. Also, 7-8 hours of sleep? Obviously whoever thought that up didn't work shift work. But I do need to work on getting in more sleep.

I do like the notion of doing more HIIT and less steady state cardio, and I'm already trying to incorporate that into my plan. My workouts have been great, but my eating is slipping badly...my sweet tooth has flared it's ugly head. I think this challenge is exactly what I need to set me back on the path.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I really like this challenge Fiddleman. I've got 2 more weeks till my next half so I've got to stick with my current training plan till then. But I do have a question or 2. Do I have to do the 12 day base camp? I feel like I'm way ahead of the exercise part of that. Also' date=' 7-8 hours of sleep? Obviously whoever thought that up didn't work shift work. But I do need to work on getting in more sleep.

I do like the notion of doing more HIIT and less steady state cardio, and I'm already trying to incorporate that into my plan. My workouts have been great, but my eating is slipping badly...my sweet tooth has flared it's ugly head. I think this challenge is exactly what I need to set me back on the path.[/quote']

Glad to hear you are interested in the transformation challenge! As for base camp, you can probably skip it, but do keep in mind the importance of starting the transformation with the least amount of baggage as possible. You do not want that baggage to block you from achieving transformation goals. sleeping 7-8 hours a night is important to reduce the amount of stress induced cortisol in the body. If you do not need 7-8 hours of sleep, but can still minimize cortisol levels, then by all means just treat it as a guideline. Otherwise, it is a good rule in order to wake up each day feeling rested while giving your body the time and environment it needs to repair.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Last week was a good week. I kept on the same type of eating and workout program as the prior week. This week, I am going to up the weights by 5 lbs. I bought a Bowflex adjustable dumbbell set on Sunday that ranges from 5-55. It will make it very easy to progress through the weight amounts without going out and buying individual dumbbells. I am super excited about using these now on my push, pull and legs day. In the future, I want to use them with pdx90.

Down 3 lbs this week at 185. Yay!! Muscle definition is improving and fat % is 16%.

Super psyched about our small group of transformers on this thread. Keep up the great work!

[HoosierGirl 780]

I'm still after it - and was successful at losing 3.9lbs last week and weighed 189.1 yesterday morning! Not sure if it is the clean eating or focused exercise, but my goodness it is sure working! Happy happy happy!