What is your formula for success?

[charlotteyochem]

By that I mean, what works for you re: combination of diet, workout variation, rest days, etc.? And what are your goals in this effort? And what is your evil de-railer?

For me, it looks like this:

A vegan diet: lots of veggies and soy protein with oatmeal in the mornings. I can absorb one glass of wine a day without derailing things. Wine is my achilles heel... I love wine and find it VERY lovely to have more than one glass...

Workouts: I recently discovered that high intensity intervals for about 30 minutes or so (no more than that) in combination with heavy weights for upper body two days a week and lower body two days a week makes me feel terrific and even made my muscles sore (finally!). A week looks like:
1. 30 mins of HIIT, heavy upper body weights, abs.
2. 30 mins of HIIT, heavy lower body weights, abs.
3. abs and about 20 minutes of steady state cardio.
4. 30 mins of HIIT, heavy upper body weights, abs.
5. 30 mins of HIIT, heavy lower body weights, abs.
6. abs and about 20 minutes of steady state cardio.
7. Total rest day

I make a huge effort to get my heart rate down to 120 before I blast off on the next interval. I learned this from the New Orleans trainer Mackie Shilstone, as I have posted before.

And you know what? The intensity is there with this regime, but it's not the hour or more of mop the floor with my butt that I have been doing for yeah these past 20 years. I feel more like a normal person and do not feel the dread of trying to pumped up to kick my A$$ through MIS... (Do not get me wrong, I LOVE MIS!!!) But, you get my drift.

I still struggle with my goal: hard-body goddess of the universe vs. well-rounded athletic hedonist... depends on the day.

Please tell me your stories!:7

 

[Baylianmom]

This is an interesting post. May I ask how long your workouts are? Do you do each body part 1x or 2x a week.

I hear ya on the wine!!

 

[charlotteyochem]

The workouts vary from just less than an hour to about 1 hr, 15 minutes. I don't always hit every body part (upper or lower) but am trying to get there! Right now I'm learning how to use the premixes for upper and lower body weights work.

 

[sahara]

I'm trying to keep my diet and exercise simple and doable.

My diet is basically high protein/fat and controlled healthy carbs. I try to model my meals after the Schwarzbein meal plans. So most of my meals include 15 to 30 carbs and I have two snacks a day that include about 7 carbs. Carbs are always paired with protein/fat of some kind. My evil de-railer is fruit and nuts. I've been known to eat whole pineapples and cantaloupes in one sitting.}(

My fitness goals are really just to tone up and lose some body fat. I would be happy with the way I looked if I didn't have these pockets of fat sprinkled around my body. That's why I started the interval/circuit rotation from the Fat Burning Bible book. I'm doing this rotation for 90 days so it ends in May. Then, I'll move on to one of Cathe's Strength rotations. I don't really schedule rest days. I let my body tell me when it needs a rest. I've taken one day off so far this month. I average about 4 or 5 rest days a month, they're just not at regular intervals.

Thanks for the info re: what to lower the heart rate to after the intervals. I've been wondering about that.

Tracey
"Do or do not. There is no try." -Yoda
"Where there's a will, there's a way."

 

[nancy324]

Teehee. I was going to say "what success"? But the truth is, I have to admit that I feel lucky to be 51 years old, 5'3" and 112 lbs. My body fat percentage is too high, but other than that I'm as healthy as can be. So, in a way, I am a success I guess! Especially considering that I was an obese adolescent, and spent a fair amount of time being chubby in my early adulthood.

So, the formula for my success is (I think different things work for different people): to never say "diet". It was dieting that made me obese as an adolescent, and calorie counting that kept me chubby as a young adult. I love vegetables and fruits and beans and whole grains and fish and turkey and I just eat as much of it as I want, whenever I want. I've learned to mostly avoid simple sugars because they cause me to have cravings and make me tired, but I like ice cream, so I indulge in that when I feel like it.

My parents were both normal weight, and I don't think I have a predisposition to be overweight like some people do. I think it is MUCH harder for people whose genes are working against them. But for me, at some point I just realized that calorie-counting and self-denial was backfiring on me. I was trying too hard. Now I just try to eat healthy, and that's my only guideline. It works for me.

Of course, I'm still struggling with trying to exercise more often so I can get that body fat percentage down and have more muscle definition. I'm not a success at that yet.

Thanks for starting this. It's nice to try to look at one's self as a "success". And when it comes down to it, everyone is a success at something.

 

[angie_nrs]

Well, for me, it was kinda the opposite as the previous poster. I was really in denial of how overweight I was. I was 30# overweight and thought I was normal - until I had the pre-P90X pictures taken. Seeing your rear end from the camera's point of view was a HUGE eye opener for me! So, I started to log in my foods and keep my calories within 1800-2000 calories per day (for the most part). I found that going too low on calories will not help with weight loss. I stopped the mindless eating and really started to look at food labels. I also spend most of my grocery shopping time in the produce section. I also don't DIET! As soon as I feel like I "can't have something" - well, you know...... So, I found smarter substitutions for the things that I was eating, which makes it a lifestyle change and not just a short time solution. I eat a lot of string cheese, fresh peanuts, fresh fruits and veges, whole wheat bread, and beans. I cut down on sugar (which triggers cravings for me) and substituted with sugar free puddings and other treats that I eat in moderation of coarse. I have found that I don't crave sweets like I used to now that I don't eat them all the time. I don't deny myself anything and it has helped me tremendously.

As far as exercise goes.......I did P90X and it helped to change my body. The weight loss that I accomplished thru the change in my eating habits combined with a muscle building program made a big difference for me. After the X rotation, I went back to Cathe step workouts integrated with the X workouts and have still been seeing good results. I want to lose 10 more pounds and then go into maintenance mode. I weigh myself once per week and that gives me enough information to judge whether or not I have to step it up or not. I'm hoping that I don't have to log my food forever, but I know it's important for me to accomplish my weight loss goals. Once I get to the maintenance stage, I'll see how it goes with not logging in my foods, and if I start gaining, I'll go back to logging. This has worked well for me - hope it helps you.

Angie

 

[Fitness-Mom]

For me, I am currently following the Body For Life program. This is my 1st week, 4th day of Challenge 1. I am really enjoying it and finding it very easy to follow as long as I plan my meals ahead.

My workouts look something like this;

Sun- HIIT
Mon- Pyramid UB
Tues- HIIT
Weds- Pyramid LB
Thurs - HIIT
Fri- Pyramid UB
Sat - Rest Day

It's pretty basic. I tried following the weights by the book for the first few days, but I was getting bored to tears, so I added in Cathe's Pyramid DVD, as this is basically what he calls for.

So far so good, I have lost 3.5 pds this week...
Take Care-

"Today is a Gift, Have Fun"

~Jennifer~

www.picturetrail.com/Fitness-momx2

 

[rgi]

This is a really interesting thread and I can't wait to see everyone's replies. I struggle with this constantly, as even though I really enjoy Cathe's workouts I don't think my body looks like someone that puts as much time and effort into exercise as I do.

Like Jennifer, I just started following the BFL plan and can't wait to see what this does for me. I love the HIIT cardio - 30 minutes, I'm drenched and I'm done. I've done the upper and lower body weights as outlined so far but really can't believe that it's enough. I'm so used to everything being a 60-minute DVD! I'm getting the book tomorrow because I know that diet for me is a real battle. I don't need to lose weight, but I eat horribly 75 percent of the time and I know that's keeping me from really reaching my goals!