Travisli

janie1234

Cathlete
Hello. I hope you see this. I want to say, . . I've said it before but I have to say it again. Your transformation pictures are so inspiring. Can you tell me what you did to lose the last 10? I have been struggling with this for a while and would really appreciate some tips from such a success story like yours. Thanks in advance.
 
Hello. I hope you see this. I want to say, . . I've said it before but I have to say it again. Your transformation pictures are so inspiring. Can you tell me what you did to lose the last 10? I have been struggling with this for a while and would really appreciate some tips from such a success story like yours. Thanks in advance.


Well, the last 10 were of course the very very hardest for me to lose. But really what did it was tightening up my diet. I was pretty consistent with my diet -- I would eat a certain amount of protein, carbs and fat each day - and I tried to keep track of everything I ate -- but I wasn't consistent with that, so I'd eat a few handful of nuts and a couple spoonfuls of almond butter and not keep track of that. Once I quit doing that and really paid attention to EVERYTHING I ate (including the sodium/salt in every bit of food) my workouts had greater effect, or so it seemed to me.

Consistency was key and lots of water. I drink at least a gallon of water a day -- when I don't do that I can put on weight with the drop of a hat -

I am so not perfect and I have put on that same ten pounds it was so hard for me to lose again and again -- and each time I get to the point of frustration I tighten up my diet (and possibly lift a little heavier but I like to think I do that anyways) and I lose the 10 quickly.

Don't give up -- you can win the battle!!

Thanks for the compliments!!

Travis
 
:eek::eek: OMG, I just looked at your before and afters and first of all you are gorgeous in both. But DAMN girl you are smoking in those afters!!
 
I know Catherine. I read her story and I was man look at your muscle definition AND she's a mom of 2 like me?!!!

I'm glad you saw my post Travis. When you say you paid attention to your diet did you limit calorie intake or just what you ate? I never count calories I just make sure that the minute I feel that "satisfied" feeling I stop. I also chew like a cow, . . really slow so it fills me up. I do the small meal clean eating thing, but the one thing that I have yet to give up and I say with total and utter shame and embarassment is diet coke. You mentioned you drink a lot of water, do you think this could be my downfall? I have such a hard time drinking water. It tastes like spit. Did you up your protien intake? Do you drink post workout drinks? I hope you don't mind me bombarding you with all these questions. I also don't believe in scales, so I just judge by how my clothes fit and I've finally gotten down to a size 4 so I know I've lost the weight I just want to lose that extra flab the jiggles when I run.
Thanks for your help.
 
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I know Catherine. I read her story and I was man look at your muscle definition AND she's a mom of 2 like me?!!!

I'm glad you saw my post Travis. When you say you paid attention to your diet did you limit calorie intake or just what you ate? I never count calories I just make sure that the minute I feel that "satisfied" feeling I stop. I also chew like a cow, . . really slow so it fills me up. I do the small meal clean eating thing, but the one thing that I have yet to give up and I say with total and utter shame and embarassment is diet coke. You mentioned you drink a lot of water, do you think this could be my downfall? I have such a hard time drinking water. It tastes like spit. Did you up your protien intake? Do you drink post workout drinks? I hope you don't mind me bombarding you with all these questions. Thanks for your advice.


First off -- I don't mind the questions - I'm happy to share whatever I know that has worked for me.

I think the diet coke might be hindering your progress. It could be the artificial sweetener in it. I used artificial sweetener a lot when I first started this journey - and then I read something about it having a bloating effect on some people so I cut it out completely and the effect was pretty drastic. Do you drink a lot of diet coke? I never say give something up completely -- life is too short (and I love Coldstone too much) but maybe wean yourself a little bit from the diet coke, cut back as much as you can to like one a day and then get to one every couple days, you know what I mean? Just see if you notice any difference with that.

I don't count calories either. I do pay close attention to how many grams of protein carbs and fat I eat -- I will alternate between high low days -- (the high days being the days I lift weight) and then I also do low, medium, high days and the weight workouts fall where they fall when I'm on that schedule.

As an example a low day for me would be 132g of protein, 157g of carbs (only 50 of which are starchy carbs) and 26g of fat (10 of which are good fat). A high day would be 151g of protein, 179g of carbs (only 70 of which are starchy) and 30g of fat (10 of which are good fat).

When I first started out I kept track like it meant my life to eat to these numbers. But as time has gone on I have learned that as long as I get in the general vicinity of my protein number (maybe a little higher, maybe a little lower) and pay closest attention to the number of starchy carbs I eat I'm good. If I'm eating clean and I'm eating a lot of lean protein and fruits and veggies it is nearly impossible for me to go over my fat number so I don't even think about it much at all (except I look forward to my 10 grams of good fat because it means a spoonful of almond butter :eek: which is my favorite).

There are a lot of theories behind water -- I don't know if its your downfall. If it tastes like spit to you, I understand why you don't drink it. I had to build up to drinking as much water as I do in a day. Some people say its crucial to losing weight, other people say it doesn't matter. For me, it matters. If I don't drink water I put ON weight. I feel like it flushes my system out. Maybe try to drink water with lemon in it? Might change it from tasting like spit. I don't know. My husband says drinking a lot of water gives him indigestion -- but try to find an alternative to diet coke.

I do drink post workout drinks. I drink a 2:1 starchy carb/protein drink which for me (most of the time) is 1% chocolate milk and protein powder.

I hope this is helpful -- please continue if you have more questions. I don't mind.

Travis :)
 
Okay Travis, you opened the door so I'm going to have to keep asking. I do really appreciate it by the way. So how did you calculate your protien intake and what were your workouts like? I know you have a family, do your kids and husband eat clean too? Do you supplement? I agree with diet coke thing. I don't eat or drink anything else with phenylalanine but for some reason I'm having a real hard time kicking the habbit. When I don't buy it, and yes, I've tried not having it in the house I literally go through withdrawal, headaches, mood swings. When all I have is water in the house then the bloat seems to go away. I will drink water when I HAVE to and it has to be filtered because I hate tap. Do you keep water with you always? Doesn't it make you always need to go to the bathroom? Could you possibly give me an example of a days worth of eating and a weeks worth of workouts? I don't think its my workouts that are preventing me from losing the weight. I mix up my workouts a lot and workout 1 1/2-2 hours 6 days a week, usually 30 mintues-45 minutes in the morning and 45-1 hour in the evening. Do you prefer more weights or cardio? Intervals, circut training? Runing? Thanks again.
 
Okay Travis, you opened the door so I'm going to have to keep asking. I do really appreciate it by the way. So how did you calculate your protien intake and what were your workouts like? I know you have a family, do your kids and husband eat clean too? Do you supplement? I agree with diet coke thing. I don't eat or drink anything else with phenylalanine but for some reason I'm having a real hard time kicking the habbit. When I don't buy it, and yes, I've tried not having it in the house I literally go through withdrawal, headaches, mood swings. When all I have is water in the house then the bloat seems to go away. I will drink water when I HAVE to and it has to be filtered because I hate tap. Do you keep water with you always? Doesn't it make you always need to go to the bathroom? Could you possibly give me an example of a days worth of eating and a weeks worth of workouts? I don't think its my workouts that are preventing me from losing the weight. I mix up my workouts a lot and workout 1 1/2-2 hours 6 days a week, usually 30 mintues-45 minutes in the morning and 45-1 hour in the evening. Do you prefer more weights or cardio? Intervals, circut training? Runing? Thanks again.

Unfortunately, I didn't calculate my protein intake. A nutritionist did for me -- I paid for an online service for a year with Cathy Savage. Her nutritionist, Jodi Jones, did my calculations - BUT I paid for that service before I knew anything -- since then I've seen information in a lot of places all over the internet about how to calculate.

I've seen formulas for weight loss: 12 calories per pound of body weight you currently are; 1 gram of protein per pound of current body weight (1 gram of protein equals 4 calories); 1 gram of good carb per pound of current body weight (1 gram of carb equals 4 calories) and the rest of your calories should be fat -- each gram of fat is 9 calories.

I'm not saying this is what you should use, this is just an example of what I've seen.

My husband and kids DO NOT eat clean. They probably eat cleaner than they use to because of how I eat, but the men in my life (I have two boys) do not like vegetables. So it's a bit of a hassle, but I will try and incorporate what I'm eating with what they eat. Like I'll make them mexican food with chicken, rice and refried beans and I'll eat chicken, brown rice and broccoli. It's not always easy to incorporate my food and their food, and it does add work for me, but it's important for me to eat this way (most of the time) so I'm willing to do the extra work. I've been known to eat pizza with them though on a Friday night. . . . I am not perfect.

A days worth of food for me:

M1: Egg whites and spinach on a whole grain wrap
M2: Egg white oatmeal pancake with bananas and berries
M3: Chicken, broccoli, asparagus, sweet potatos
M4: Tilapia, broccoli, apple
M5: Chicken or Turkey or Flank Steak, brown rice, carrots and asparagus

my food is pretty boring, but I like everything that I eat so it works for me.

As far as my workouts go, I try to get 3 cardio workouts in a week and 3 or 4 days of weight lifting. But sometimes it's as little as 2 days of cardio. I like cardio, but I find my body responds better to less cardio and more lifting. My workout week will look like:

Sunday: Kickboxing
Monday: Upper Body Weights
Tuesday: Step Cardio
Wednesday: Lower Body Weights
Thursday: Stadium workout (I'll run the stairs or I'll run sprints, etc. at the high school while my oldest son is at Football practice)
Friday: Total body weights
Saturday: OFF

My workouts don't usually last more than 60 minutes. You work out a great deal more than me. I hesitate to say it but you MIGHT be working out to much. I'm not saying for sure that's the case because everyone is different, but you might consider cutting back a little and seeing how your body reacts to the change.

I usually do have water with me. I have two half gallon containers that I fill with filtered water and take with me to work every day - I do pee alot -- but I try to get the whole gallon done by 2 in the afternoon so I have time to get rid of it before I go to bed -- If I'm still trying to finish a gallon of water by 6 p.m., I will not sleep because every half hour I'll have to pee.

I don't do supplements - although maybe I should. . . .

:cool:
 
Travis. I can't thank you enough. Your diet looks very similar to mine, but I don't like asparagus. I eat a lot of salmon and tuna too. I also drink protien shakes a lot.

I've thought about if I work out to much, but I do mix it up and I always have a recovery week on my 5th or 6th week when all I do is ballet and yoga. I have to split my workouts throughout the day and don't always get to workout for a full straight hour. Honestly I actually enjoy the excersize portion of my healthy lifesyle if only that was all it took. I've printed out your advice and will really take it into account. Thanks again you really are inspiring! I'll let you know how it goes. First step though, kill the soda addiction and start drinking more water. Thank you thank you thank you!! :)
 
I find your posts so inspiring and to be quite...quick question

Unfortunately, I didn't calculate my protein intake. A nutritionist did for me -- I paid for an online service for a year with Cathy Savage. Her nutritionist, Jodi Jones, did my calculations - BUT I paid for that service before I knew anything -- .

:cool:
Hi there :D
First I want to thank you Janie for starting this thread as I've been insipired by Travisili story as well!
Travisili
What was your experience like with Cathy Savage online? Althoug I have no desire to be a fitness model or physique athlete, her program seems to be sensible. Am I correct with this assumption? Thanks for taking the time to post...I always enjoy reading your posts :)
 
Travis. I can't thank you enough. Your diet looks very similar to mine, but I don't like asparagus. I eat a lot of salmon and tuna too. I also drink protien shakes a lot.

I've thought about if I work out to much, but I do mix it up and I always have a recovery week on my 5th or 6th week when all I do is ballet and yoga. I have to split my workouts throughout the day and don't always get to workout for a full straight hour. Honestly I actually enjoy the excersize portion of my healthy lifesyle if only that was all it took. I've printed out your advice and will really take it into account. Thanks again you really are inspiring! I'll let you know how it goes. First step though, kill the soda addiction and start drinking more water. Thank you thank you thank you!! :)

I like that you take a recovery week off -- I've considered that but usually don't take a break til we go on vacation or something like that. I might have to adopt that one from you :)

You are really really welcome -- do let me know how it goes, I am ALWAYS interested ;)

Good luck with the diet coke - I know you can do it!

Travis
 
Hi there :D
First I want to thank you Janie for starting this thread as I've been insipired by Travisili story as well!
Travisili
What was your experience like with Cathy Savage online? Althoug I have no desire to be a fitness model or physique athlete, her program seems to be sensible. Am I correct with this assumption? Thanks for taking the time to post...I always enjoy reading your posts :)

My experience with Cathy Savage was GREAT! I loved the service, it was invaluable -- I learned so much about how to eat and what to eat and what not to eat together and when to eat what -- it was a little overwhelming in the beginning -- honestly it was a little overwhelming the first 3 months.

They also encouraged me to lift heavy which I hadn't considered up to that point. When I started with Cathy Savage my dumbbells went as high as 10 pounds -- and I didn't own a barbell -- shortly after I started I got dumbbells that go up to 60 pounds and I have a barbell that can be as heavy as 100 lbs.

But I'm getting sidetracked. . . . I had no desire to compete in fitness shows either, but I did want to look like I could (and possibly do a little modeling ;) )-- and that's what Cathy Savage did for me. The service is reasonable and what you learn about nutrition is worth the cost (in my opinion).

My only complaint about the service was the response time when you have a question -- you have to check in with them weekly and every 4 weeks or so they want to see pictures of you -- but when you send them an email to ask a question it usually takes 3 or 4 days to get a response. That was my experience and it could have changed by now . . .

Let me know if you have any other questions :)
 

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