wendy
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Also, things like Fitbit get affected by sweat, so will be inaccurate if you’re sweating a lot on your arms, which I know I do partway through cardio. I am dripping everywhere esp if on my elliptical in my California garage lol.
Gym machines won’t give you an accurate heart rate. They are standardized for someone who is not you, and they have no idea what your resting heart rate is. And even the best fitness trackers are not 100% accurate esp in terms of calories burned. Lots of research shows that. Polar watches consistently get excellent reviews in terms of accuracy in part because you wear a chest strap with it. The other thing with Polar is you can use their software and plug in YOUR numbers to help with accuracy….by this I mean you can spend a few days to take your resting heart rate before you get out of bed each day, then average it out to get a resting heart rate, then from there you can figure out what your max heart rate is by using the “age and fitness level based formula”. (The standard “age based formula”, 220 – your age, gives a ball park but isn’t tailored to you or your fitness level). So you can see how gym cardio machines will be way off and basically useless at calories burned or heart rate. There are even more complex formulas to REALLY get target heart rates accurately, but this is close enough for our purposes. This article from Polar explains it better than I did (still drinking my morning coffee hahaha). http://support.polar.com/us-en/support/How_to_calculate_target_heart_rate_zone_
I am no expert on supplements so take this with a huge grain of salt, but I’d say two things: 1. There are tons of different opinions on just about any question you could ever have with regards to fitness and nutrition. You could spin your wheels forever trying to decide which you agree with, then change your mind again when you see/hear/read some other perspective. We all paid for this program, and presumably we trust NW’s knowledge, experience and both her own and her clients’ past results, so maybe just follow her program as outlined. And 2. I personally really think this is such a subtle, small thing that no matter when you take it, or if you even choose to take it at all, it’s not going to be a big difference-maker. Maybe a tiny one. Working hard, following the cardio/weights program and esp the nutrition part is what is going to make a difference. It always comes back to that. ?
I am no expert on supplements so take this with a huge grain of salt, but I’d say two things: 1. There are tons of different opinions on just about any question you could ever have with regards to fitness and nutrition. You could spin your wheels forever trying to decide which you agree with, then change your mind again when you see/hear/read some other perspective. We all paid for this program, and presumably we trust NW’s knowledge, experience and both her own and her clients’ past results, so maybe just follow her program as outlined. And 2. I personally really think this is such a subtle, small thing that no matter when you take it, or if you even choose to take it at all, it’s not going to be a big difference-maker. Maybe a tiny one. Working hard, following the cardio/weights program and esp the nutrition part is what is going to make a difference. It always comes back to that. ?
I’m doing the same thing today just cuz my gym is closed all day. I’m going to substitute Arnold Press for the machine press. I don’t know if that’s the way to go but I’m good with it, given the circumstances of July 4th today! Right or wrong it’s not going to be the thing that makes or breaks my whole 12 week challenge lol.
Daily totals were what that exact meal plan example shown is. If you make any little change/substitution using the allowable foods from the substitution list or whatever, you should enter the calories and nutritional info into my fitness pal or whatever tracking app you are using to track meals. If you substitute something the calories and macros will be slightly different from the total calories you are referring to. That’s why we are also given the goals. We need to plan meals so we hit those GOALS (or within 5 gms of each macro they said somewhere else) every day. The goals are what you want to hit every day. The meal plans are examples with specific calories. Hope that makes helps! On another thread Nicole or someone confirmed that if you search around these posts somewhere.
Got it! I can try that. I wasn’t planning on starting with 1,200 in phase one as I realize that is way too low as a starting point. I was figuring 1,500 with all things considered, but I hear you! 🙂 I WAS aware that I wasn’t building any muscle on 1,200 of course but I am carrying probably at least 125 pounds of extra fat so before this challenge, fat loss has been my primary goal since February. But yes, I want to be able to do all my activities AND work out at the proper intensity for this challenge so I DO want to make sure I’m eating enough and to trust the process. I’m not afraid of calories or live my life by the scale as a measure of progress, but I just feel that I also do not have the same metabolism as someone who is 5′ 4″ and younger. But I do hear you and will try program as written and trust the process! 🙂
Hi mgarciamur (sorry, don’t know your first name! ?), I saw on a different thread that you said you weigh 106 pounds, so we are not EXACTLY in the same boat as I have more fat on me currently that needs to go. But yeah, we are pretty close otherwise! And yes I decided to with 1500 too, once I calculated everything. That way I can still adjust downwards by same percentage as everyone else in each phase. As was pointed out on another thread, calories will be too low for proper nutrients and energy otherwise. I agree there is a point where it’s unhealthy to lower too much, and already starting out with 1,500 ends up with phase 3 bumping up against that bare healthy minimum. But I figure for four weeks it’s okay and that everyone else at any height is going to be in the same boat for that last phase. I will see how it goes and adjust upwards if I need to. I know for me when I need to lose weight/fat, that 1,200 calories is my sweet spot for doing that in a healthy way that works. So I’ll be taking in an extra 300 each day when I know I have an extra 15 or so pounds of unwanted body fat I’m carrying now lol. But I’m trusting the process so am not nervous about taking in more calories than I have been. Also, I’m not looking to compete, but rather to see what I can do and I am very curious and excited to see how these 12 weeks go. So it’s all good. Also, I play ice hockey, tennis, golf, do aerial fitness classes, hike and horseback ride so I figure I’ll need those extra calories with increased workouts and cardio. In fact, if I need to jack up my calories in first phase I will. I’m experimenting to see how it all goes for me and how it will all come out in the end! Happy to “meet” you and share your experiences with this too! ?
Thanks, Tanya! Yes, I am planning to trust the process! However I am prettty sure as shouldn’t be eating the same amount of calories as someone who is, for example, 5’4″ and 26 yrs old. I’ve adjusted down a bit, but I’m going to see how it goes! Thanks! ?
I’m vegan and spent a good chunk of my day today working through a meal plan for myself. And I don’t eat tofu or seitan or any meat “substitute” products. I do eat tempeh and I managed to fit in lentils into my plan. It’s definitely challenging because a lot of vegan sources of protein are also high in fat and/or carbs, but IS do-able. It will for sure take some work on your part for sure and I totally agree with you, Marci, that the paid version of MFP is key in helping. Being vegetarian rather than vegan will make it a bit easier for you because you also have the dairy options that are listed in the food substitutions page in this challenge (plain Greek yogurt and cottage cheese for example). Good luck and if I can be of any help let me know! ?
Hope it helps! I’m vegan and only 5 feet tall so I have spent the whole afternoon so far working out what I think my total calories/macros should be (taking the 5′ 4″ challenge guidelines, taking some calories off but keeping the same % of macros within what I think will be better/lower calories for me). At least for now. I may end up adjusting macros too. Now I am playing with entering proper foods to get there. Not an easy thing but I enjoy doing that (to a certain extent lol). My goal is to figure all this out on myself, then be able to guide other vegans in future. There are definitely a lot of vegan athletes and even bodybuilders/figure competitors, but it’s hard to find a good one who will coach/train. There’s a total market there which I intend to tap into! But first, experimenting on myself with this challenge! 🙂
I often use lentils as a source of proteins but it will definitely affect your carb macros so you have to factor that in. For example, if I used lentils, I will most often take out or severely reduce sweet potato, or rice, or oatmeal. It all just depends on where I’m at for that whole day with carb/protein/fat macros. But that’s just me. Wait for “official word” on the answer to your questions! ?
Yes, thanks. I get that. I will just need to figure out for myself how many calories I need to do that as I don’t want to gain any fat. Don’t care if I gain muscle weight. But no more fat needed hahaha.
So I read posts and comments elsewhere and I think I got my answer (should have done this first, lesson learned lol). So you can ignore my question! Must be hard answering the same questions from people over and over lol. I’m going to look through other posts in future before I ask a question! ?
Well okay, thanks. I definitely won’t get good results following the same calorie level as a 5′ 4″ person but I also totally understand that you can’t give us each individual calorie levels in this challenge. But I can figure it out! ? But one question I think you can answer which will really help…..are we supposed to be in a surplus situation with regards to calories for this first month? I notice we go down in calories each month and that makes sense, but is the first month a surplus situation for muscle growth, then deficit for last two months for cutting? That will help me figure out where I should start out from calorie level (the macros percentages I can do no matter what, obviously…..just want to get the starting calories right for me. Thanks much! Won’t bother you again about this if you can just answer that surplus or deficit question for me! ?
