Analisa Naldi
04-24-2006, 03:47 AM
Thom -
Thanks for sharing your story! Congrats on getting back into it and feeling so much better! Also..thanks for introducing me to the Life Extension Enhanced Fiber Food. Love it! :)
I know it has taken me awhile, but I have finally finished my story.....well...part of it.....it is a thank you.....
My story is a thank you note. It is a thank you to a person who made a random, fun comment to me about Muscle Milk supplementation after a workout and has devoted several hours of support and information to me during the past 5 months.
I had just completed a rigorous 90 minute workout which included some Olympic lifts and kettle bells. I walked into the back office, put two scoops of Recoverite (1 serving = 49g, 166cal, 32.5g-CHO, 0g-F, 10g-P) into my water bottle, and plopped down onto the couch to catch my breath. “That better be Muscle Milk in that bottle,” said Scott. That was it. We dove into a conversation about various types of supplementation after workouts, what my workout goals were, and why I was working as hard as I was without any real purpose. I needed goals. I needed to change. I needed to be rejuvenated. Here is my story……
I grew up one of four girls, in a traditional Italian household. This meant butter and cheese on EVERYTHING! We were all very active, but I was always the “bigger” sister and it never really phased me. The one time it upset me was when we had to weigh in for a health unit in 5th grade and I was the only girl who weighed triple digits (104lbs to be exact!). Rather than take a look at how we were eating, the basketball coach found me and that was that. I was a three-sport varsity athlete in high school, collegiate basketball player, and never really considered too much that what I was fueling with affected me as much as it does. I accepted the fact that I couldn’t do more than 10 push-ups at a time. I accepted the fact that I couldn’t complete 1 full pull-up without assistance. I’d completed a few sprint triathlons. I could run just under 4 miles in 30 minutes. I was happy. I loved working out. I loved helping other people achieve their goals. I’d never realized that I’d let go of my own and fallen into the “grey” area. That was the way it was.
Now…at 25….it is a different story. Back in early December when Scott made the Muscle Milk comment, I realized that I wasn’t working out with a purpose, a real goal. I could afford to lose some body fat, so I decided to see how much body fat I could lose safely and efficiently in 8 weeks. Scott promised to help me with the nutrition side and I was to handle my workouts. Two weeks before Christmas, Thom did my RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) and body fat analysis. I started this experiment weighing in at 192lbs, 25.2% body fat, and an RMR of 2900 (approximately).
First things first; we set the weight loss goal of 16 lbs by February 14, 2006. That gave me exactly 8 weeks to lose 2lbs per week (right smack dab through the holidays!). Secondly, I had to set a goal number of calories per week to average in order to keep me on track. Since my RMR (amount of calories my body utilizes per day in order to maintain my current body weight) was 2900, in order to lose 2 lbs per week (3500cal per lb of body fat, divided by 7 days = 500 cal/day) the daily deficit was 1000 cal per day. However, it wasn't that simple. To prevent the body from adapting the a certain number of calories, rather than take in 1900 calories per day (RMR 2900-1000cal deficit), my caloric intake was “zig-zagged” over 7 days per week so that the daily intake each week averaged 1900 cal. Thirdly, I had to change some of the types of foods that were going into my body.
The biggest change was a decrease in fruit. Fruit tends to be high in fructose. The more fructose ingested, the greater the chances of it converting into fat. Fructose is metabolized by our liver into glycogen stores. Any excess fructose will be stored as fat, thereby increasing the chances of weight gain. I was taking in somewhere between five and seven servings of fruit per day and didn’t realize that this was hurting my chances of losing weight rather than helping! Fruit was decreased to a maximum of one serving per day.
I weighed myself every morning immediately after I woke up. I wrote down everything that I ate for the entire 8 weeks. I bought a food scale (16 oz, Bed Bath and Beyond, $5.99) and weighed out everything that I ate. I never realized that I was eating twice as much meat per sitting as I should have been. Along with recording all of my meals and weighing out portions, I became very disciplined about planning for the next day. Every night while making my lunch for the next day I wrote everything down included in that lunch, all my snacks, making sure dinner was organized (portions at the very least), and breakfast was measured and sitting in tupperware waiting for the next morning.
My meals were averaging somewhere between 300-400 calories each, with snacks of 150-200 calories each. I ate every three hours and drank water all day long! My supplements included Evopro (1 serving = 1 scoop, 32g, 145 cal, <3g-F, 3g – CHO, 26g-P), Pure Protein Bars (Choc.Chip Cookie Dough, 1 Bar = 190 cal, 5g – F, 19g – CHO, 20g – P), and Aqua Berry Blast (0 calorie drink to take care of my sweet tooth on long days). As much as supplementation helped, Scott’s rule of thumb was “If God made it, you can eat it.” That was his fun way of telling me….eat raw, eat organic, eat fresh!
My workouts slowly changed from running a few miles per day and lifting to interval training mixed in with Crossfit (www.crossfit.com) workouts. I loved the challenges. I loved being exhausted after completing 20 minutes of high intensity training! I loved working out with a specific goal and purpose!
Eight weeks later, on Valentines Day, I weighed in at 174 lbs, 23% body fat, and able to complete 3 kipping pull-ups on my own. Since then, I have dropped another 5 lbs and can complete 9 kipping pull-ups in a row. I have also bought my first size 8 dress and 2 pairs of size 8 Lucky jeans EVER! I have stopped writing things down but have discovered that the habits (prepping, shopping for more raw and fresh, portion conscious) have stuck! I have a few of my favorite foods that I’ve stuck with that were staples during my “8-week experiment” process. They are my anchor foods (thanks Johnny!) and keep me balanced, on track, and are a constant reminder of my success and my goals.
Thank you Scott. Thank you for allowing one funny comment to start me on a life-changing path. Thank you for devoting a number of hours to helping me create grocery lists that included foods I need to eat and foods I like to eat! Thank you for checking in on me, keeping me on track, and making sure that I remembered success like this takes time. The most important thing to remember is that it is a life change…..make it last.
:D
Thanks for sharing your story! Congrats on getting back into it and feeling so much better! Also..thanks for introducing me to the Life Extension Enhanced Fiber Food. Love it! :)
I know it has taken me awhile, but I have finally finished my story.....well...part of it.....it is a thank you.....
My story is a thank you note. It is a thank you to a person who made a random, fun comment to me about Muscle Milk supplementation after a workout and has devoted several hours of support and information to me during the past 5 months.
I had just completed a rigorous 90 minute workout which included some Olympic lifts and kettle bells. I walked into the back office, put two scoops of Recoverite (1 serving = 49g, 166cal, 32.5g-CHO, 0g-F, 10g-P) into my water bottle, and plopped down onto the couch to catch my breath. “That better be Muscle Milk in that bottle,” said Scott. That was it. We dove into a conversation about various types of supplementation after workouts, what my workout goals were, and why I was working as hard as I was without any real purpose. I needed goals. I needed to change. I needed to be rejuvenated. Here is my story……
I grew up one of four girls, in a traditional Italian household. This meant butter and cheese on EVERYTHING! We were all very active, but I was always the “bigger” sister and it never really phased me. The one time it upset me was when we had to weigh in for a health unit in 5th grade and I was the only girl who weighed triple digits (104lbs to be exact!). Rather than take a look at how we were eating, the basketball coach found me and that was that. I was a three-sport varsity athlete in high school, collegiate basketball player, and never really considered too much that what I was fueling with affected me as much as it does. I accepted the fact that I couldn’t do more than 10 push-ups at a time. I accepted the fact that I couldn’t complete 1 full pull-up without assistance. I’d completed a few sprint triathlons. I could run just under 4 miles in 30 minutes. I was happy. I loved working out. I loved helping other people achieve their goals. I’d never realized that I’d let go of my own and fallen into the “grey” area. That was the way it was.
Now…at 25….it is a different story. Back in early December when Scott made the Muscle Milk comment, I realized that I wasn’t working out with a purpose, a real goal. I could afford to lose some body fat, so I decided to see how much body fat I could lose safely and efficiently in 8 weeks. Scott promised to help me with the nutrition side and I was to handle my workouts. Two weeks before Christmas, Thom did my RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) and body fat analysis. I started this experiment weighing in at 192lbs, 25.2% body fat, and an RMR of 2900 (approximately).
First things first; we set the weight loss goal of 16 lbs by February 14, 2006. That gave me exactly 8 weeks to lose 2lbs per week (right smack dab through the holidays!). Secondly, I had to set a goal number of calories per week to average in order to keep me on track. Since my RMR (amount of calories my body utilizes per day in order to maintain my current body weight) was 2900, in order to lose 2 lbs per week (3500cal per lb of body fat, divided by 7 days = 500 cal/day) the daily deficit was 1000 cal per day. However, it wasn't that simple. To prevent the body from adapting the a certain number of calories, rather than take in 1900 calories per day (RMR 2900-1000cal deficit), my caloric intake was “zig-zagged” over 7 days per week so that the daily intake each week averaged 1900 cal. Thirdly, I had to change some of the types of foods that were going into my body.
The biggest change was a decrease in fruit. Fruit tends to be high in fructose. The more fructose ingested, the greater the chances of it converting into fat. Fructose is metabolized by our liver into glycogen stores. Any excess fructose will be stored as fat, thereby increasing the chances of weight gain. I was taking in somewhere between five and seven servings of fruit per day and didn’t realize that this was hurting my chances of losing weight rather than helping! Fruit was decreased to a maximum of one serving per day.
I weighed myself every morning immediately after I woke up. I wrote down everything that I ate for the entire 8 weeks. I bought a food scale (16 oz, Bed Bath and Beyond, $5.99) and weighed out everything that I ate. I never realized that I was eating twice as much meat per sitting as I should have been. Along with recording all of my meals and weighing out portions, I became very disciplined about planning for the next day. Every night while making my lunch for the next day I wrote everything down included in that lunch, all my snacks, making sure dinner was organized (portions at the very least), and breakfast was measured and sitting in tupperware waiting for the next morning.
My meals were averaging somewhere between 300-400 calories each, with snacks of 150-200 calories each. I ate every three hours and drank water all day long! My supplements included Evopro (1 serving = 1 scoop, 32g, 145 cal, <3g-F, 3g – CHO, 26g-P), Pure Protein Bars (Choc.Chip Cookie Dough, 1 Bar = 190 cal, 5g – F, 19g – CHO, 20g – P), and Aqua Berry Blast (0 calorie drink to take care of my sweet tooth on long days). As much as supplementation helped, Scott’s rule of thumb was “If God made it, you can eat it.” That was his fun way of telling me….eat raw, eat organic, eat fresh!
My workouts slowly changed from running a few miles per day and lifting to interval training mixed in with Crossfit (www.crossfit.com) workouts. I loved the challenges. I loved being exhausted after completing 20 minutes of high intensity training! I loved working out with a specific goal and purpose!
Eight weeks later, on Valentines Day, I weighed in at 174 lbs, 23% body fat, and able to complete 3 kipping pull-ups on my own. Since then, I have dropped another 5 lbs and can complete 9 kipping pull-ups in a row. I have also bought my first size 8 dress and 2 pairs of size 8 Lucky jeans EVER! I have stopped writing things down but have discovered that the habits (prepping, shopping for more raw and fresh, portion conscious) have stuck! I have a few of my favorite foods that I’ve stuck with that were staples during my “8-week experiment” process. They are my anchor foods (thanks Johnny!) and keep me balanced, on track, and are a constant reminder of my success and my goals.
Thank you Scott. Thank you for allowing one funny comment to start me on a life-changing path. Thank you for devoting a number of hours to helping me create grocery lists that included foods I need to eat and foods I like to eat! Thank you for checking in on me, keeping me on track, and making sure that I remembered success like this takes time. The most important thing to remember is that it is a life change…..make it last.
:D