[Naomi]

Kimberly wrote:

I am not a fan of fat free cottage cheese. Am I able to swap out for low fat? If so, how much would be the proper serving?

Low fat and fat-free cottage cheese are not equal exchanges because the calories and macros are different so any portion size would not be equal to the same calories/macros. Please choose a different meal, or use the food exchange list for an even swap for the foods/portions listed in that meal.

[Naomi]

D_eva_777 wrote:

5’6″ and I follow vegan 2b

That explains why you are hingry 😉 You should be following Women’s Meal Plan 3 and on weight training days, follow Plan A, on non weight-training days, follow Plan B as explained on the schedule calendar and in the nutrition section of the ebook 😊

[Naomi]

luvlee717 wrote:

I have been following the plan to a tee, and am glad to say that I am seeing results already! I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks. I hadn’t been to the gym since the pandemic started, and it feels good to be back at it, this program was the motivation I needed to get back at it. In the past, I have learned to follow the plan and trust the process and great results will follow, thank you!

That is so awesome to hear, keep up the great work! 😀

[Naomi]

D_eva_777 wrote:

I am so embarrassed to ask… I am a day or two away from my menstrual cycle and I could literally bite my fingers off. I feel so hungry. And I also noticed a hungry feeling on my rest days.
Should I just “ deal with it”?

Thank you.

How tall are you and what meal plan are you following?

[Naomi]

Naomi wrote:

Jennifer Fabbri wrote:

What should the intervals be? Thanks in advance!

I will reach out to Nicole and find out! 🙂

Here is the correct workout for the Spin Bike cardio:

3 minute warm up with light to moderate tension at 80 RPM

*every minute increase tension until you get to a pace that is challenging but you are able to hold a 80 RPM pace
Repeat 2x

1 minute seated moderate tension at 90 RPM
1 minute standing moderate tension at 75 RPM
Repeat 5x

50 seconds seated flat with light tension at 100 RPM
50 seconds standing with heavy tension at 60-70 RPM RPM
Repeat 5x

40 seconds standing with heavy tension at 60-70 RPM
40 seconds seated sprint with heavy tension- 80+ RPM
Repeat 2x

30 seconds seated moderate tension at 70-80 RPM
30 seconds seated sprint with moderate tension 90+ RPM
Repeat 4x

20 seconds seated sprint with moderate tension 90+ RPM

10 seconds seated recovery at 50+ RPM

2 min Cooldown- Moderate Tension- 80 RPM

[Naomi]

Miranda Nichol wrote:

I was nervous about the amount of food required to eat at the beginning of the program, and now just over a week in I see I am gaining weight. I retool my measurements and my waist has gotten bigger🤦‍♀️ Am I at risk for putting on weight in a bad way than a good way?? I know we shouldn’t adjust the diet too much but k am a 44 year old peri menopausal woman and think I shouldn’t eat so many carbs…

I would recommend not weighing yourself until the end of the challenge, it will mess with your mind, emotions and progress. Your body will fluctuate during the process of physique and body composition changes (gaining muscle and losing body fat). Trust the process and stay off the scale 😉

P.S. I’ll be 45 years old in January, am peri-menopausal as well, usually eat a keto diet of less than 30g of carbs per day but am participating in this challenge, eating Meal Plan 2 which is 260g of carbs. Trust the process 🙂 You’ve got this!!

[Naomi]

Denise Daniels wrote:

Trying to figure out how to increase weight on these? Can I use DB instead of BB?
20# BB is easy but 30# BB is to hard. Thought I’d add band but couldn’t attach to outside of BB only inside the weight (if that makes sense) and it became uneven. Or should I just add more reps using the 20# BB? Don’t add more reps, they won’t be 21’s anymore lol! You can use dumbbells, yes.

Could DB be used instead of Cable for Hero Curls – feel form is questionable with lowest weight on cable (I did 3 sets of 10 w/10 # but very hard), not sure if # is to heavy or just my inexperience with cable machine. Yes, you can try using dumbbells instead of cables.

Thanks Denise

[Naomi]

Nicole McClue wrote:

I’m confused. Is there cardio on every Tuesday or only for week 3 and 6?

Cardio is going to fluctuation depending what week you are on. Just refer to the cardio calendar in the EBOOK on pages 8-9

Additionally, if you go to the Cardio Section on Page 47 of the ebook, there is a detailed description of the cardio schedule for each week of the challenge.

[Naomi]

kristinbrantley18 wrote:

Hi!
I’m trying to participate in the Build Challenge. I’ve been sick since Sunday and haven’t been able to workout. Since this challenge cycles calories intake, should I eat the lower calorie days while I’m inactive? Or should I keep with the same food cycle as the calendar?
Thanks!
Kristin

Hi Kristin- I am so sorry you are sick 🙁 If you aren’t working out right now, I would eat from the Plan B meal plan (non-lifting days). Fell better soon!

[Naomi]

Jennifer Fabbri wrote:

What should the intervals be? Thanks in advance!

I will reach out to Nicole and find out! 🙂

[Naomi]

Robin Cabral wrote:

Hi there,

I notice that my weight trends up after days of heavy lifting and then settles back down. Is this normal to have such fluctuations in scale weight as we lift heavy?

It is normal to weigh more after lifting, yes. Water retention, inflammation, etc. Challenge participants shouldn’t really be weighing more than 1x per week at most. I recommended staying off the scale until you’re ready to submit your after pics, weight and measurements and focus on how your clothes are fitting, how you’re feeling overall, and any strength, energy and sleep improvements. Best of luck with the challenge 😊

[Naomi]

D_eva_777 wrote:

Hi!
Under Vegan protein the note indicates the serving of any of them is about 20g.
The nutritional yeast serving is 15g but that about 8g of protein, not 20g.
I checked most brands but everything I saw is about 8g only which would mean the serving size is 30g.

I don’t want to count all the macros to see if I fall short on protein by following the plan, so my question is, is is a typo?
Should it be 15g serving size?

I use nutritional yeast a lot that is why I’m asking.

Thank you for your time.
Eva

Hi Eva-

I will send a message out to the team about this and will get back to you with an answer asap 🙂

~ Naomi

[Naomi]

cowen06 wrote:

Option 2 says 1/2 LP but then says 1.5 scoops pp. Is it a half or 1.5?

Sorry, that is a type-O. It should be 1.5

[Naomi]

dlcornelison wrote:

Yesterday I planned to do my lift in the evening so I ate plan A in preparation. Something came up at the end of the day that prevented me from being able to workout. I am doing my workout this morning instead. Do I eat plan a again today or plan b?

Regardless of changes in workouts, stick with the same eating schedule 🙂

[Naomi]

Nadiya wrote:

The beat the heat stairmaster cardio says approximately 30 min but it is actually 22 min. Should we be doing 3 rounds instead of 2? Just wondering if it’s a typo, thank you!

Yes, you should be doing as many rounds as will equal 30 minutes 🙂

[Naomi]

Denise Daniels wrote:

So each meal plan has Daily macro goals, how close should we be within those numbers? I can get my protein within 2-4g, but carbs/fats seem to be harder to dial in. Example: Plan A my Carbs=258 and Fats= 40, Plan B my Carbs=154 and Fats=73

Nicole covers this in the Nutrition Tab of the Challenge (make sure you watch all the videos) but you want to try to stay with about 5-8g of macro goal. It is very rare that you will be perfectly dead on target for each macro and your calories eery day.

[Naomi]

Courtney Sweeden wrote:

I have been unable to lift heavier weights since I started the Build challenge. Should I just complete workouts and the meal plan from the Buns n Guns challenge until I am able to lift heavier weights then start the Build challenge?

Hi Courtney- I would stick with the Build Challenge so that you CAN lift heavier by building strength and muscle. I am a little confused though, we’ve only just started the Build Challenge, so you’re only a week in. What exactly do you mean you’re unable to lift heavier? Heavier than what?

[Naomi]

Janine Shoda wrote:

Hi there,
I have some injuries and cannot perform some of the shoulder exercises. I have a tear in my rotator cuff and labrum along with an abnormality in my clavicle. The multi directional dumbell raise I could not do along with the upright row. How should I change that? Also I have 4 herinated disc’s in my lower back and was told to not do squats, hyperextensions or good mornings. The last 2 really bother my back and I am just coming off of PT. How can I modify those exercises?

I would skip the shoulder exercises you aren’t able to do and not try to replace them with a modification. The injuries you mentioned are pretty serious and the clients I’ve trained in the past with a torn rotator cuff did not do any shoulder or chest exercises for risk of further tearing until they were fully recovered post physical therapy.

Regarding the squats, hyperextensions and good mornings, again I would skip all of those exercises (no modifications, they will all engage your back in some way) and do more sets of the other leg exercises you can do. Herniated disks are definitely something to be taken seriously and be very cautious and careful of regarding movement so you don’t further exacerbate and strain your lower back.

I hope you are pursuing and prioritizing recovery for your injuries! 🙂

[Naomi]

LaKell Archer wrote:

Hey! I always make pumpkin bread this time of year. Do you have a good recipe with healthier ingredients?

There are a ton of pumpkin recipes – including pumpkin bread – in the member section of Nicole’s web site. Just type “pumpkin” in the search bar at the top right hand corner of the web site 🙂

[Naomi]

Stephanie wrote:

I have the opposite problem of many challengers and find myself always hungry 😂 I remember watching a video where Nicole talked about taking a fat burner during a build phase as basically counteractive, but I was wondering what the thoughts were on taking it mostly as an appetite suppressant? At least just on non-lifting days when the volume of food is lower. Or will this inhibit the muscle building process?

The fat burner isn’t an appetite suppressant. I would suggest following Nicole’s recommendation and not take a fat burner for this challenge.

[Naomi]

D_eva_777 wrote:

Hi Ladies!
Almond cheese I use (Kite Hill) has like 70 cals per serving (28g) but yogurt Silk is about 180.
What almond cheese are you referring to on that list? Can be clarify, please.
110 cals is a huge difference.

Thank you!
Eva

I will reach out to the team and ask for clarification about this. I will respond as soon as I get an answer back 🙂

[Naomi]

Lisa Hughes wrote:

I am 5’7” female weighing 128lbs should I follow meal plan 2 or 3? I was thinking about plan 2.

Follow the meal plan that correlates with your height when there is a difference like this in height and weight.

[Naomi]

cathy ponsford wrote:

I have whey complex 27gr protein. Can I incorporate this or should I strictly add whey isolate?

Thank you ✌ Cathy

That should be fine, but you’ll want to look at the carbs and fat as well, not just the protein. Isolate is pretty much just protein with little to no carbs and fat. A complex typically has added carbs and/or fat.

[Naomi]

Miranda Nichol wrote:

I am gluten free, or gluten light. Is it OK to substitute the breads with gluten free? Are they about equivalent?

Yep, gluten (or taking gluten out) does not affect the calories and macros 🙂

[Naomi]

Marlene Johanson wrote:

Question about the meal plans..I have been working out/lifting for the last 18 months. Finally got my calorie intake up to 1700 and 170 grams of protein, 149 carbs and 47 fat…I’m 5’4″ weight fluctuates between 129-133. I choose meal plan 1 to start the program.however went to bed super hungry last night then woke this morning with very low blood sugar…I’m hypoglycemic and thinking the increase carbs caused a spike in blood sugar yesterday and the the drop over night….has anyone else experienced this? What would you recommend with the meal plan? Thank you !!!😊

Hey there- I would recommend bumping up to Meal Plan 2, and if you can, consult your doctor about the nutrition portion of the challenge in relation to your hypoglycemia as this is a medical issue. Best of luck!

[Author]

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