NEW YEARS RESOLUTION WEIGHT LOSS THREAD 2012

[Bonnie]

Originally Posted by PQ

Run faster?

I was gonna say that...... you Thief!

[Speedy1975]

Very cool avatar pic SSMOKINHOT. I dig it!

BB, he can do sprints. The short bursts up to max effort over and over will increase his cardio conditioning in short order. He may have a case of the pukies though, so be warned but that's what it takes sometimes.

I've added coconut oil to my diet this week. The crossfit coach swears by it saying it enters the body very quickly causing a massive release of fat burning enzymes or whatever in to the blood stream. I've been putting it in my pre workout protein shake and it kind of gives me a buzz LOL.

I've eaten very clean this week, even with the holiday. Grilled chicken, and asparagus, brocolli, spinach salads have been the norm. I've cut back the diet drinks to only a couple on the weekends as well as artificial sweetener. Almond milk in my coffee during the week instead of splenda and creamer.

Oddly my body weight is going up but body fat is going down. Maybe the extra lifts in Crossfit??? Or the extra protein?? That didn't happen last year when I was cutting, but the six pack is rockin so I'm good with the extra mass.

Now the bad news....did an exercise called a "push jerk" in Crossfit on Tues night....first time I've ever done them. It's basically a barbell with weights, standing with it on the top of your chest and you shoot it up as fast as you can above your head. On one of the reps, it started to go backwards and I had to arch my back to catch it....115 lbs over your head and an arched back = owwww. Did back the next morning at the normal gym and on my next to last set of bent over t-bar rows it felt like someone stabbed me in the lower back with an ice pick.

Long story short, I ended up at the doc, he says I've damaged the SI joint in my lower back. Hurt like hell and I could barely get in and out of the car. Steroids and pain killers prescribed. I skipped the pain killers, but MY GOD steroids are God's gift to modern medicine. Back is 95% better and I even hit the gym yesterday for legs and triceps and was able to do every exercise with the same intensity, except for the incline leg press. That one put too much pressure on my back so I skipped it.

I skipped Crossfit Thurs to give it a rest, but plan to be back on Tues. I was PISSED when it first happened as I was afraid it was gonna be a huge set back, but so far not a huge deal.

Moral of the story, try adding some coconut oil to your diet....1tbsp a day should do it first thing in the morning LOL

[kalimus]

You might want to consider a week or two off Speedy I pinched something in my neck last summer doing shoulder press with dumbells. I went for one last rep that I knew I might not be able to do, and got a sharp pain and dropped the dumbell. My neck felt similar to when you sleep a little goofy. I could turn it to one side and not the other. Since it didn't really bother my other lifts, I finished out the week.

I went to the doctor on the following monday to see if I did any real damage to it. He said it was most likely a muscle spasm, and prescribed me muscle relaxers. I took a week off and then went back to the gym. I did something to it again, different exercise but same point in my neck. This time I had a hard time even holding my head up straight. Doctor still never figured out what it was exactly, but I ended up having to take 6 weeks off to let it heal at his suggestion (he was a sports medicine type doctor). It wasn't hurting when I injured it the second time, but apparently it was still pretty messed up. He said had I taken maybe two or three weeks, that I wouldn't be out for six. Just a thought. I'd hate to see the same thing happen to a fellow lifter.

As for the coconut oil... never tried it. My friend's wife loves her coconut water though. I DID try that, and really couldn't tell any difference. The thing I AM trying this year that I didn't last year is CLA. It's a fat that's loaded with fat burning enzymes (I'm sure you've heard of it). I noticed this year that my bodyfat is coming off with a lot less effort than it did last year, and a lot of bodybuilders swear by this stuff when it comes to cutting season. If you haven't tried it, it's pretty cheap and you should give it a shot.

Also, you are a freak of nature if your bodyfat is going down but your weight is up. I WISH my body would do that. I've read a couple of bodybuilders that are able to do that, but the majority of people can't. Is it muscle mass or water retention? I see you cut back the diet drinks, and was wondering if maybe that cut out some caffeine that you were used to that was acting as a diuretic?

As a side note to all... how close is everyone to their summer goals? My estimated bodyfat is about 11% now, which tells me I have about another 5 pounds left to get into single digits. I'm hoping I hit that by July 1st! I'd be curious to see what everyone else is looking like. I will probably post a pic or something like that at the beginning of July. It's crunch time, and I think it would be cool for us all to share all of our hard work.

Except Bonnie. You make me look and feel like a slack-ass.

[11BEE]

Hi all. Sorry to change the subject, but I just had to get this out there for my self accountability. I weighed in today and have now lost 63 pounds. I have added resistance training every other day to the mix, and things are moving along well.

Thanks for letting me put this out there.

[bossbunny]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

Very cool avatar pic SSMOKINHOT. I dig it!

BB, he can do sprints. The short bursts up to max effort over and over will increase his cardio conditioning in short order. He may have a case of the pukies though, so be warned but that's what it takes sometimes.

Yeah my sister and I suggested that to him and thats what he did yesterday to get his time down. So that seems to be working for him and he has one miore week to prepare.

[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by kalimus

You might want to consider a week or two off Speedy I pinched something in my neck last summer doing shoulder press with dumbells. I went for one last rep that I knew I might not be able to do, and got a sharp pain and dropped the dumbell. My neck felt similar to when you sleep a little goofy. I could turn it to one side and not the other. Since it didn't really bother my other lifts, I finished out the week.

I went to the doctor on the following monday to see if I did any real damage to it. He said it was most likely a muscle spasm, and prescribed me muscle relaxers. I took a week off and then went back to the gym. I did something to it again, different exercise but same point in my neck. This time I had a hard time even holding my head up straight. Doctor still never figured out what it was exactly, but I ended up having to take 6 weeks off to let it heal at his suggestion (he was a sports medicine type doctor). It wasn't hurting when I injured it the second time, but apparently it was still pretty messed up. He said had I taken maybe two or three weeks, that I wouldn't be out for six. Just a thought. I'd hate to see the same thing happen to a fellow lifter.

As for the coconut oil... never tried it. My friend's wife loves her coconut water though. I DID try that, and really couldn't tell any difference. The thing I AM trying this year that I didn't last year is CLA. It's a fat that's loaded with fat burning enzymes (I'm sure you've heard of it). I noticed this year that my bodyfat is coming off with a lot less effort than it did last year, and a lot of bodybuilders swear by this stuff when it comes to cutting season. If you haven't tried it, it's pretty cheap and you should give it a shot.

Also, you are a freak of nature if your bodyfat is going down but your weight is up. I WISH my body would do that. I've read a couple of bodybuilders that are able to do that, but the majority of people can't. Is it muscle mass or water retention? I see you cut back the diet drinks, and was wondering if maybe that cut out some caffeine that you were used to that was acting as a diuretic?

As a side note to all... how close is everyone to their summer goals? My estimated bodyfat is about 11% now, which tells me I have about another 5 pounds left to get into single digits. I'm hoping I hit that by July 1st! I'd be curious to see what everyone else is looking like. I will probably post a pic or something like that at the beginning of July. It's crunch time, and I think it would be cool for us all to share all of our hard work.

Except Bonnie. You make me look and feel like a slack-ass.

I'll try some of that CLA as well. Every little bit helps. I've been pretty much supplement free this go around, but have started looking at some things to give me a bit of a kick.

Putting on a few pounds has been a surprise to me as well, so who knows. I'm looking much leaner so I don't think it'd be water or I'd look more soft. I've added in quite a bit of asparagus of late as well which squeezes water out of ya like a vice.

I'm not one to take much time off the gym.....I have one of those metabolisms where if I lay off for any amount of time I lose weight very quickly. Took two weeks off last summer to move and lost 10lbs Took me 6 weeks to gain it back.

I'll just take it easy on the back and try to stick with it.

[CFD]

There have been many studies on CLA, in general it has proved somewhat effective in fat loss, but not all CLA supplements work. First, it seems to be more effective with those that exercise and diet,almost everyone here falls into that category. CLA creates an insulin resistance but some man made CLA is not effective, there are two different types of CLA, so depending what ingredient is in it will determine it's effectiveness. In case no one is aware of it the most effective and insulin resistant CLA's are found naturally in red meat and milk.

I have somewhere the technical data on which CLA has been proven effective, I'll see if I can locate it.

[CFD]

When I posted a short while ago I was at 175, that is where I normally bulk to 185 but mentioned I was going to cut a little more and maybe shoot for single digit body fat so I added a couple of days of cardio and changed my workout to a 4 day split from my 3-day. Well I've got a full week into it and have dropped to 171 as of this mornning, I haven't changed my diet, which is usually pretty clean anyways and suspect that the weight loss will slow a little as my body gets used to the change. I may continue for 3 more weeks and see where I'm at then, if I loose this rapidly for another week I may up the cals a bit although dropping the cardio is more tempting, did I mention I hate cardio LOL.

[CFD]

Cla
On the CLA front, are two recent studies that come to almost opposite conclusions regarding CLA. One finds CLA actually increases indicators of oxidative stress and insulin resistance, while the second study found CLA reduced abdominal fat in men with metabolic syndrome. More interesting, they were done by the same group! The take home appears to be, that CLA has isomer specific effects. That is, for example, the t10c12 CLA-isomer may increase oxidative stress while the CLA of mixed isomers didn't appear to have this negative effects. The reality is, CLA needs further research to really hash out which isomers do which, in what amounts, etc, etc. Some isomers have been found to have anti cancer and immune modulating properties, at least in animals. Stay tuned....

[Speedy1975]

Originally Posted by CFD

Cla
On the CLA front, are two recent studies that come to almost opposite conclusions regarding CLA. One finds CLA actually increases indicators of oxidative stress and insulin resistance, while the second study found CLA reduced abdominal fat in men with metabolic syndrome. More interesting, they were done by the same group! The take home appears to be, that CLA has isomer specific effects. That is, for example, the t10c12 CLA-isomer may increase oxidative stress while the CLA of mixed isomers didn't appear to have this negative effects. The reality is, CLA needs further research to really hash out which isomers do which, in what amounts, etc, etc. Some isomers have been found to have anti cancer and immune modulating properties, at least in animals. Stay tuned....

Ok so gimme the cliff notes. Which one do I go buy? LOL

[CFD]

Originally Posted by Speedy1975

Ok so gimme the cliff notes. Which one do I go buy? LOL

From the studies I've glanced at it seems as noted below CLA that contains the 10t,12c isomers are the ones that are beneficial, I'd assume that it would be somewhere on the label. It also appears that some recomend doeses in the 3-4 gram/day but the most effective dose is 5-7 grams split into 3 doses daily.

As with many suppliments some have "extra"ingredients not worth squat but it appears that those that say TONALIN CLA are a good choice.

CLA, and especially the 10t,12c acid, shows beneficial immune-modulating activity.
CLA influences bone cells and bone metabolism and may assist in the treatment of
osteoporosis.
There is some evidence that CLA may influence diabetes.
Much interest results from the evidence that CLA can influence body composition,
increasing the level of protein (muscle) and decreasing the level of fat. There is

evidence that the 10,12 isomer is particularly effective in this respect

[kalimus]

Tonalin is the brand for the CLA that they have done the most research on. It is derived from Safflower oil. I buy the GNC "total lean" brand. It's made from the same thing. Other ingredients are Gelatin and Glycerin (for the capsule). And... that's it! Getting them during the first week of the month, usually buy one/get one half off. They are the same ingredients, so I would just get whichever one is cheaper.

[camaroitalia]

Ran my first 5k today! Felt great!

[RubyCamaro]

Someone was asking for progress pics? Well My pics were not requested but I'll post up a couple just the same. I am still frustrated by the remaining fat around my middle. I don't want to start an arguements (so disagree nicely, there has been too much nasty stuff getting threads shut down on C5 lately) but welcome comments of pros & cons or any further guidance. I am considering doing a couple of weeks of Keto to see if that would help me get rid of that stubborn fat. But I have made good progress on my arms & legs. Even my sister said my legs were looking good. I was thrilled to get such a compliment from her. If the Keto works I'll post pics showing the difference.