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Getting a little stronger every day

Had a good, quick workout yesterday. Benched my PR w/o a spotter - 90 lbs x5, followed by two more descending sets. Oh, did I mention I did 10 pushups between each set and had only enough rest to remove plates.

Followed chest with standing military press. Went easy because my back is still not 100%. Started with 40lb barbell x 5, then 30lb x 5, then 20 lb x5 with no rest. Walked, stretched and hit the road.

I'm adding compound exercises to my bench and deadlift days, but I want to do it slowly. Since I'm using heavier weights I don't want to hurt myself by getting too eager!

My weight has fallen to a solid and steady 119 lbs. Won't measure BF again until Sunday - still my BF scale is probably nowhere near accurate. I just hope to see the numbers continue to inch downward!

Clothes feel looser. Pants fall off without a belt and more room in all areas of my shirts that used to be tight except for the button downs I can't wear now because my lats are getting bigger. Oh, well. I'll take that trade any day.

Anyone out there try IF yet? If you have or are trying it, let me know how it's working out for you.


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Comments

Liz said…
Hey Jenn! I just found your blog via Martin Berkhan - cool! You asked if anyone had tried IF yet. Well, I have been giving it a shot for the last 2 weeks solid but I'm STILL super hungry for breakfast and until I eat at about 11am. In addition, I haven't noticed any positive impact on my leanness or scale weight. What has been your experience so far? Or is there somewhere on your site I can check it out? Thanks! Nice blog. :)
February 11, 2011 at 5:20 PM
Jenn said…
Hey Liz. Thanks for the kudos. I'm not sure what "super" hungry means to you. I'm usually a little hungry - the only exception is immediately after eating, but my appetite comes back pretty quickly. I'm usually in a calorie deficit every day and I get pretty damn hungry at about hour 15 of my fast, but I try to drink green tea or black coffee and stay busy until mealtime. I haven't been hungry the past two days thanks to my pizza re-feed in Chicago on Thursday. Are you eating enough protein? 1- 1.2g protein per lb of bodyweight.
February 12, 2011 at 2:51 PM
Liz said…
Thanks Jenn! As for being hungry, well, I guess I thought my body would be getting used to not eating at some point and I wouldn't be getting ravenous hunger pains after at least a week or so but that's not the case. Instead of getting easier, it seems harder to stick to the fasting. I do notice that coffee helps a little but I have been trying to cut back so I'm not dependent upon it. I do eat lots of protein and follow a paleo diet. Anyway, I don't have lots to lose, I just wanted to try the IM thing to see how I felt, etc. and also see if it would get me a little leaner. I just haven't seen much benefit from it so far. Thanks for your thoughts though! I'll keep reading your blog to learn about your experience with it.
February 14, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Jenn said…
how many calories are you eating? what are your macros on rest vs. workout days? what is your target calorie goal - do you know? If not, there are many calorie calculators out there that will help you figure it out. I use livestrong.com (free basic membership) and you can calculate your calorie goals and track calories. My husband was going way too low on calories and he felt like garbage until he found a balance.

I haven't had a single "ravenous hunger pain" since I began IF. Tell me more about what you're eating and doing activity-wise and maybe we can find the problem.
February 14, 2011 at 2:44 PM
Liz said…
I use the Livestrong MyPlate program too, but not religiously so I know that could be an issue. I was not eating enough in the beginning so I had to start inputting more food. My workouts felt pretty solid, even with reduced calories though. I eat a few more carbs (1.5 c. yams basically) on workout days vs. rest days but I feel more bloated after that and I don't like it. I know I need to play around with tracking things better myself... I don't expect you to do that work for me. :) But thank you! I'm getting a good idea just from reading your blog.
February 14, 2011 at 5:45 PM
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