by EM2WL | Feb 5, 2014 | Testimonials, The Journey
My name is Leigh, I’m 29 years old and my journey is not over. I don’t want it to EVER be over.
I was raised in the country by a single mom and two incredible grandparents. They often showed love through food. Biscuits, gravy, mashed potatoes, dumplings, cake. Country foods that men who worked on the farm all day would have no problem consuming and not gaining weight.
Unfortunately, to a sedentary child who preferred watching cartoons all day Saturday instead of going outside, this lifestyle was all wrong.
I’ve been overweight for longer than I can remember.
I remember being on diets. Always. My mom was healthy and active; she would encourage me to be the same way. I remember her trying to get me to go running with her.
I hated running.
We’d go for weeks eating nothing but a salad for dinner.
I hated lettuce. Especially iceberg (still do!).
Then, we tried the cabbage soup diet. Don’t EVER try the cabbage soup diet.
I joined a gym on my own when I started college. Whenever I was actively trying to lose weight on my own and my family members discovered it, it was a constant focus of conversation. “She’s on a diet again.” Eye roll.
When I joined the gym, I remember only telling my grandpa. He was good at keeping secrets and encouraging me in a way that didn’t make me feel like I was a fatty fat fatterson that just needed to eat bird food and run.
I went through cycles of gym time combined with a low-calorie diet – for years. When I turned 21 and discovered alcohol, I drank most of my calories and the weight piled on. Being the fat chick at a party was okay as long as I was drunk. My weight would go up, then down, then up and up some more.
I graduated college in 2006 and made a career choice in 2008 when I began working for a local county government in Public Information. I had to park my car on a hill and I worked on the first floor of the building. That meant four flights of stairs each evening to get to my car. Four flights of stairs to my obese body was … torture. It hurt. I couldn’t breathe. I was embarrassed.
I knew I had to do something. I’d been through the gym/diet continuum and didn’t want to enter a vicious cycle of ups and downs again.
The government office had a small gym equipped with a few free weights, a cable weight machine, an exercise bike, an elliptical and a couple treadmills.
I spent time researching weight loss. One site that popped up was MyFitnessPal.com – a weight loss support community where I could track my intake and my exercise and it was FREE!
MyFitnessPal calculated the calories I’d need to lose two pounds per week. It was the “magical” 1200! I reduced my calories to meet that low. Instead of eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast, I had cereal. Instead of chili and a baked potato for lunch, I had a scant sandwich. Instead of a big meal from a nice restaurant for dinner, I had a 6-inch sub from Subway.
I was still eating “junk” – just not nearly as much of it.
I started to lose weight. I began walking on the treadmill for a few minutes each day, finally working my way up to half an hour. Then, I tested the elliptical. Two minutes and … DONE! I dabbled with some weights (I’ve always favored lifting heavier), but never really picked up a routine.
The first time I stepped on the scale, it stared at me with a hard 280 pounds. I’m unsure of what I weighed before starting to lose; I was too afraid to step on the scale in the beginning.
My weight went down quite a bit. But … I began to binge. A night alone at home would wreak havoc on my entire week. I craved … pancakes. Crackers. Cookies. Cheese. Chips. Research told me I had an “underlying emotional void that I was trying to fill with food.” Bull; I was just HANGRY.
After a few years, my weight stabilized. I tried eating less, working out more, new workouts, gym classes, fasting and other extreme measures. Nothing.happened. Then – I tried eating more. I eventually took my 1200-calories per day up to 1800 and … I lost weight! A few pounds, but still weight! The next week, nothing. That scared me enough to take my calories back down to around 1200.
Finally, after searching and reading, I discovered a group on MyFitnessPal called Eat More 2 Weigh Less (EM2WL). What is this? Eat more and weigh less?! Pfft. Yeah – right!
I checked out some threads in the group. These people were living it; they were lifting heavy weights, eating 2000+ calories per day and … losing fat. A new mindset for me; your scale may not move, but your pants WILL get looser!
After some reading, I decided that since I’d been on a low-calorie diet for SO.FREAKIN’.LONG, I needed to do what the EM2WL group called a “reset.” Calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and eat there for six weeks to allow your body to adjust and realize – “Hey! You’re not starving me anymore! I don’t have to hold on to every single calorie as fat for later use because I will be fed well regularly!”
The reset brought about an over 25 pound gain. Yes; my body GAINED weight eating what it should’ve required to MAINTAIN.
From there, I went into what is called a “cut.” I began to consume my TDEE minus 15 percent, creating a calorie deficit.
Because of my low-calorie life, it took me quite a while to begin losing weight again. It has not been an easy journey, but with EM2WL, it has become a more enjoyable one. I have delved into education; I read everything I can get my hands on and I have become more in tune with my body. Over the past few years I have discovered I have hypothyroidism (working on dosing with Armour) and am being tested for low cortisol and hormone imbalance with the help of an amazing physician.
Currently, I am the smallest I’ve been (size 14 pants (down from a size 24!!) and size L/XL shirts (down from a 3X!!)). I’m eating around 2000 calories per day of whole, good-for-me foods … with the occasional cupcake for sanity’s sake! ;) I recently began a Facebook page called Living with LA (https://www.facebook.com/living.with.la) to share what I’ve learned over the past five years with anyone who is willing to listen (message me if you have any questions!). I am a heavy lifter, I enjoy being active and no longer binge! I got married on Dec. 14, 2013 and am looking forward to continuing my healthy journey and starting a family.
If you’re battling the 1200-calories-per-day monster and wondering what it would feel like to EAT and continue your journey to health, do your research on EM2WL. The support here is like nothing else.
God bless!
Have you defeated the 1200 calorie diet monster? Have an EM2WL transformation to share? Willing to let us tag along on your journey? Let us know! Be featured on our Transformation/Journey page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com
Ready to begin your own Journey? Start here.
by EM2WL | Jan 15, 2014 | Fat Loss / Cutting, Testimonials, The Journey
I am so much stronger, mentally and physically than I ever realised I could be, and so much of that I credit to trusting the process of Eat More To Weigh Less and challenging and trusting myself. I’m the lowest weight I’ve been since my mid 20s (I’m now 31) and my heart is lighter too.
I’ve lost over 29kgs / 64.3lbs in the last year. I now buy clothes in “straight sizes” instead of “plus sizes.” I lost most of that weight in the six months since I’ve been following Eat More To Weigh Less. I’m not at my “goal weight” yet but that has become less important over time, especially as I reflect on how I’ve changed my relationship with my body and food over the last year to a healthy one. For me the main reason to care about the number on the scale now is because one of my goals for 2014 is to be able to deadlift my own body weight. I focus on small weight loss goals at a time with no “ultimate” number in mind. I now celebrate muscle and strength gains more than I celebrate a loss on the scale. Eat More To Weigh Less has taught me how much the diet industry and women’s media has failed us, and lied to us. When I reflect on the knowledge I have now and share it with others who ask how they can be successful with weight loss like I am, this process feels like a radical truth.
Ten years ago I was thrown against a wall by an ex and suffered from what was probably undiagnosed whiplash. I spent the next decade in chronic and debilitating pain and experienced frequent migraines. The pain was so bad a neurologist said the reason I spent a year throwing up multiple times a day was “stomach migraine.” I was really fit and slim before the injury but now in pain, I became afraid of movement, my body got fat and tired and my anxiety and depression got worse. I had a couple of years of intensive physiotherapy for my neck, which didn’t help. I lived like a victim. This man wasn’t the last abuser in my life, but he was the one who did the most mental and physical damage.
I worked so hard over the years to heal from this trauma and made some progress, but never got there while overwhelmed with other chronic health issues and battling with my weight. Over the last couple of years I have followed my intuition to release that trauma, making unconventional choices in the right “therapies” or “treatments.” I focused on relationships of love and trust in my life, and learned to love myself past the body positivity I tried to practice. I finally decided that body positivity could also mean it was okay to want to change my body. When I joined MyFitnessPal earlier in 2013, I wanted to lose weight but realised I needed to stop crash dieting, because I would lose only to regain. I’d been doing a lot of cardio and resistance training, but I didn’t feel balanced, and I was still binge eating. Overcoming disordered eating is possible, but it took me months of mindfulness and vigilance, and realising that instant gratification wasn’t helping or satisfying me.
I was lucky that some of the women on my friends list were following Eat More To Weigh Less, and I was encouraged to check out the forum and website. I had been eating my BMR (and not eating back any exercise calories) and losing weight, but with all the exercise I was doing I was hungry all the time. In June I took a leap of faith and upped my calories slowly. Since then I have a better grasp of my TDEE and eat a 10-20% cut which is around 2000 calories a day to lose weight. When I started eating more was when really started to make strength gains and lose more weight, consistently. There were times when I doubted the process, but Eat More To Weigh Less has allowed me more freedom with food and my lifestyle.
I eat sweet treats in moderation (almost daily)
I love food and I’m a great cook, and much of my social life revolves around sharing food with friends. I don’t eat diet foods. I don’t believe food has a moral value and while I enjoy it in moderation, I don’t feel guilty about the choices I make. I don’t punish myself by exercising more just because I ate more on a given day. I’ve always known how to eat healthily (I was brought up vegetarian though I’m no longer one) with a focus on fruit, vegetables and whole grains. My problem was eating too much (sugar especially) with emotional and hormonal binge eating, taking different medications for my health that made me gain even more weight, and not exercising enough. I haven’t cut anything out while counting calories, in fact I’ve probably added more, but with a greater balance. I’ve never liked soft drink and I don’t drink a lot of alcohol either, but still enjoy it on occasion. I could never eat low carb because I love carbs. My main focus is my protein macro and eating over 100g of protein a day, to help in building muscle. I find if I focus on protein all my other macros fall in line. I break so many of those stupid “dieting rules” and eat late dinners, snack late at night (I hate going to bed hungry) and I eat dessert nearly every day. Something so important I learnt when overcoming disordered eating was learning to listen to my body and hunger again, and trust it. I now know when I need to eat more and I’m not afraid to.
This process needs patience and the results will come. Be kind to yourself and nourish your body and mind with good food and new challenges. Celebrate the changes in your body and improvements in fitness and strength. Honour your body for how hard it works for you even with all your perceived imperfections, how you can love and move with it. Reach out to the compassionate, sensible and wise EM2WL team and forum members when you’re struggling or unsure.
I made 2013 my year of focusing on getting other chronic health conditions I had under control. Eating more and being fitter and stronger helped me find the courage and energy to pursue treatments I needed, because I didn’t want anything holding me back with my fitness goals! I grew bored with the cardio and resistance training I was doing. A girlfriend of mine loved lifting and talked about it all the time and I was in awe of her, but still afraid of further injuring my neck and being in more pain. I saw all the inspiring women from Eat More To Weigh Less on my friends list lifting and I wanted to start. Your encouragement made me feel braver. I paid a trainer for a few sessions to teach me how to correctly and safely do compound lifts, and then started StrongLifts on my own.
I include Pilates just for “kicks”
I’m always looking for ways to challenge my fitness rather than staying still physically (and mentally). Kiki recently helped me reflect on how my relationship with cardio has changed. I used to do more cardio so I could burn more and lose more, and that worked because I was eating well. That approach is boring and exhausting though. I even used to do cardio and lift weights on the same days, I’d hate to contemplate doing that often now! My cardio goal for next year is to find more opportunities and time to go on hikes with local groups, because it’s nice to get out of the city and the hikes are challenging. I get a lot of NEAT because I don’t have a car and I walk a lot. I’ve never been a runner but I’ve started doing C25K. I really look forward to it and love that it’s only a half hour commitment three times a week. I LOVE how efficient my workout is when I concentrate on compound lifts three times a week. Something Kiki wrote that resonated with me about designing her workout schedule: “some things are included out of necessity, and other just for kicks.” For me, lifting and doing some cardio is necessary, and Pilates is my kicks when I find time for it, or yoga. I change my workout routine as I accomplish goals or get bored and need variety. I’m never doing hours of cardio again though, unless it’s outdoors. I even want to do Park Runs next year – the old me would have shied from running outdoors with people I don’t know.
When I started lifting heavy weights and got strong it all came together. Today I have a strong back and shoulders and can hold my neck up without exhaustion or pain. My posture has improved. My chronic pain is gone and I rarely get migraines. I’ve never felt as feminine as I do now with curves and muscle (I joke that my body type is now “muscular hourglass”). I thought there’d be a point before now where I’d look at my body and think, “That’s enough muscle.” I now know I’ve got a long way to go until that point, because I love celebrating more muscle! I’ve become a more confident woman in the last year. I wear sleeveless clothes outside the house now, and even wear a bikini to the beach.
I’m centred and I feel so powerful, and that feeling comes from challenging my strength and building muscle. I never thought I’d want my body to lift weights, and I didn’t know how much I’d enjoy it. Mentally I am calm and I feel like no one could (or should) mess with me. Family, friends and strangers remark on how happy, healthy and strong I am and look. I am less defensive and I don’t live in fear every day. If I ever have a daughter I will encourage her to do a martial art or lift weights, because I believe these are powerful practices to create a mental and physical posture to shield from potential abusers, and live with confidence and strength. To live with power. The real “secret” to my success so far has been getting strong!
I make sure to get in enough protein, & the rest falls into place!
Have an EM2WL transformation to share? Willing to let us tag along on your journey? We’d love to see it! Be featured on our Transformation/Journey page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | Jan 8, 2014 | Building Muscle, Self Acceptance, Testimonials, The Journey, Transformations
All my life I was overweight which turned into obesity in my adulthood. To make matters worse, I had a very sedentary lifestyle. I never exercised, never even played sports. It was a bad combination which seemed to culminate in depression and a terrible body image. In June 2011, I decided to take control.
Over the past 2.5 years, I have tried many different paths to weight loss and fitness. It was fun at times, and other times it was miserable. What it came down to is everything I did, everything I ate seemed to have to point to weight loss or a better body which left me in a constant state of stress and being unsatisfied with myself. With time, patience and a big case of the need-to-know’s, I feel like I have finally arrived at a comfortable, happy, strong place in my life.
I’ve spent the past year focusing on lifting after an injury sidelined me from marathon training. 
I was devastated, but I did like lifting, so I thought it would be a good transitional fitness plan. Little did I know that while I was healing, I was catching a fever for strength! I thought I loved running… but the way I felt about running can’t even compare to the way I feel about lifting. I gave up endurance running and my dabblings in strength training, and decided to make lifting “my thing.” I had to get over my fears of giving up the cardio, I also had to get over my fears of TRULY eating to maintenance, and in the process, I quit taking “progress pics” every few weeks. I started looking WITHIN and making changes to match my inner desires and quit looking at it as a means to an end goal of aesthetics.
Suffice it to say, this brings us to today. Well, maybe not literally today, but you know what I mean ;) On Saturday November 30th, I competed in my very first powerlifting meet. It was one of the most rewarding and amazing experiences in my fitness journey to date! I went home with the first place gold medal for my weight class and the biggest grin you can imagine. I am so excited for my future in this sport.
One thing that I never imagined would happen is that my husband is supremely proud of me and takes every chance he can to brag on me. This is a man who does NOT lift, but is very fit and obviously secure in himself! He loves that I am strong, capable and most of all doing what I love to do. He is constantly telling me how sexy I am, and how lucky he is to have me… and after 11 years of marriage, this is pretty precious. I believe it’s the confidence I now have. Doing what I love doing and being confident must make me more beautiful to him.
In total, I have lost 75 pounds since June 2011. I have gained about 5-10 back over the past year in lean mass and muscle. My body fat has dropped about 5% since summer of 2012 and most importantly, I have been able to go from eating 1400-1700 cals and “maintaining” the summer of 2012, to eating 2600-3000 and maintaining today.
Success looks different for different people. This is my success. I will not be “more successful” once I lose more fat, or have more developed muscles, I am not just a work in progress. My biggest success lies within and cannot be seen with your eyes, but can be found in my passion, confidence and dedication.
Down 70lbs and maintaining on 2600-3000 cals!
First Powerlifting meet
First place gold medal!
Have an EM2WL transformation to share? Willing to let us tag along on your journey? We’d love to see it! Be featured on our Transformation/Journey page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | Dec 10, 2013 | Testimonials, The Journey
Success found – losing weight and finding self-acceptance while increasing calorie intake!
March 1st 2012 I decided was going to make some changes in my life by losing weight and exercising. I weighed 255 lbs, my highest weight ever. I began logging on MFP and followed their recommendations of 1610 + exercise cals to lose 2 lbs a week. I wanted the weight off fast and at first it was. Even faster than 2 lbs a week. Which I now know means I had estimated my daily activity too low at sedentary. Every 10 lbs I lost MFP would prompt me to lower my cals. By June I was down over 30 lbs and eating 1420 + exercise cals. Then my weight-loss stalled. I was doing all the same things, exercising and eating, and yet I wasn’t losing weight. My energy seemed to be gone as well and worst of all my hair began to fall out. A lot. I basically lost about 1 1/2 inches from my hairline and the rest of my hair became frighteningly thin. I was scared. I had blood work done and everything came back normal. In my brain I couldn’t comprehend that I could be eating what I thought was so healthy and yet feeling bad and losing my hair. Something wasn’t right and everything was pointing to my diet.
By August I decided to up my cals to 1610 + exercise cals again. I also started taking a multivitamin with iron. I increased my protein to a minimum of 100 g a day. My energy came back and I began to lose weight again.
Something also changed in my thinking about this time. I realized that my focus should not be on what I can’t eat, what is not healthy, or what is bad…it should be about ADDING healthy nutritious food. My focus began to slowly shift from losing weight to being healthy. I liked feeling fit. I liked challenging my body to do things it couldn’t do before.
In October I began a new 90 day workout program called Supreme 90. This was the toughest workout I had ever done, but I loved it. I loved the sense of accomplishment in completing each month. I also started to notice my appetite really starting to rev up, so I upped my cals again to 1700. I felt better and my workouts got better and better.
In the midst of this the holidays showed up. I ate what I wanted, enjoyed my family and felt no guilt. Always in the past when I had “dieted” I would not allow myself to go off diet even for special occasions because I couldn’t trust myself to go back on my “diet.” How sad is that?
By the end of the program I had lost about 12 lbs and several inches from all over my body. Bringing my total weight loss to about 60 lbs. I had also upped my cals to 1800 + exercise cals when I began to feel hungry all the time. I was beginning to learn to listen to what my body was telling me!
Afterwards, I began to transition into heavy lifting. I had joined Eat More 2 Weigh Less and I was totally inspired by all the beautiful women there. My husband and I had found a great deal on Craigslist for an Olympic weight set and bench. My focus turned even more to what my body could do. I loved being able to lift more weight every week. I also started trying to learn more about how to eat to meet my strength goals. I’ve been challenged by Becca, Lucia, Kiki, Jennifer, Cheri and so many other wonderful women by their amazing examples of hard work and dedication. Thank you all.
Since May I have basically maintained my size and stayed within 5lbs of my low weight. I’m not really sure because I have stopped weighing myself. I’ve learned that the scale is a poor judge of my health, size, weight or even character. It’s a number that can’t measure my attitude or love for myself. And that has grown so much since I started this journey. I’ve learned perseverance, patience, dedication and I’ve also learned that I am much stronger than I ever thought. Not only physically but mentally. This past July I injured my back and was flat on my back for several days followed by about 6 weeks of slow recovery. It was hard, but I did what was best for my body and rested. I couldn’t lift and was able to only do light stretching and some low impact cardio, but I did what I could. I was tempted to drop my calories because I didn’t want to gain weight, but I also knew that I didn’t want to lose muscle or hamper my recovery, so I continued to eat about 2000 calories a day. I didn’t gain weight, I didn’t grow out of my clothes and when I could finally lift again I could even still bench press what I had been previously.
I have gone from a very tight size 22 jeans to a size 12-14 — losing weight by doing the opposite of what all the popular diets tell you to do. I’ve upped my calories. Seems counter intuitive but I’ve learned to listen to my body and trust what it is telling me. Am I recovering well from workouts? Am I feeling rested? What is my body craving and why? Are my lifts feeling strong and consistently getting stronger?
For me, those are all indicators that tell me if I am fueling my correctly. Food and my body are no longer the enemy to be subdued. Cravings are not a sign of weakness, they are my body talking to me. I move in a way that makes me feel happy. I lift because I love feeling strong. I eat food I love and that help fuel the wonderful machine that is my body. I’m proud of my thick thighs and booty that have more fat and excess skin than is “socially” acceptable. People may look at me and still see a fat woman, but that is ok, because I look in the mirror and love the woman looking back at me, for the first time ever. I don’t weigh myself because there is no scale that can measure that. I am free. Free from the voices in my head, on the magazines and TV that tell me I need to be less. I am enough…actually I am more than enough, I am perfectly and wonderfully made. Right now, not someday. I eat and exercise because I love myself. I love myself because I was first loved by Him who created me. Whatever size I am or become is just a result of the love I have for me and the love I have from Him. What an amazing place to be.
by EM2WL | Dec 3, 2013 | Building Muscle, Interviews/Guest Posts, The Journey
•How long have you been on this journey?
I’ve been EM2WL for about a year. I recently started my official “bulk” – eating at a surplus, with limited cardio, and weight training as my primary focus – in August 2013.
•When did you first learn that you needed to eat more to reach your goals? What was your original response?
I learned this last year after reading some of my MFP friends posts about TDEE. I was actually eating below my TDEE for a few months but didn’t know it. (I was eating approximately 1400-1600 calories daily, depending on my workout, but I should have been somewhere around 1950 calories.) I was nervous to increase my calories, especially since I still had about 10-15 more lbs to lose. But the risk of compromising my metabolism, plus I found myself getting hungrier, made me increase my calories. I did it slowly though, as I was very cautious. Each month, I increased my calories by 100 until I hit 2000. I continued to lose weight until I hit 2000, which was perfect for me because by that point, I had reached my weight loss goal and I was at maintenance.
• How did others around you act about your decision to discard the usual low cal methods for weight loss?
As I increased my calories from about 1600 to 2000 many of my close friends and MFP friends followed suit, especially when they saw that I was still losing weight. They experienced similar results. Now with my decision to bulk, I received mixed responses. Even split with health conscious folks – some gave me the “more power to you, but no way I’m trying that because I refuse to see the scale go up,” while others, primarily those that are about this weight lifting life, agreed “it’s the way to go if you want to put on muscle and transform your body.” Everyone was shocked to see me indulging in bread regularly!
•How did your body react to the initial increase in cals?
Gains! In the gym and on the scale. My energy during my workouts skyrocketed. My bootcamp instructor noticed it immediately; I was able to keep up with the “stars” in the class. I was able to lift heavier and my endurance increased. I gained 1.25 lbs steadily for the first 2 months and went up a size in pants. Going into month three; the weight gain has stalled a bit.
•What results have you seen from sticking to it and “trusting the process?”
The biggest change has honestly been my overall mood. Along with the increase in calories, I changed my macros. I used to carb cycle so my macros were 20c/40p/40f with 1-2 days a week where I would double my carb intake to about 200g (instead of the usual 70-100g). With the increase in carbs, came an increase in serotonin. And while I’m not doing a “dirty” bulk; I’m not as strict with my eating as I have been in the past (I was following paleo/primal), which has taken a lot of the stress out of eating, especially when I’m at a restaurant with my family and/or friends. So, overall, I’m a much happier person; my family and co-workers have even noticed it. People actually like to go out to eat with me now. We can all indulge in bread together!
The second biggest change I have seen is my body. When I lose weight I tend to look “straight” and immediately lose what little curves I have. Now my curves are accentuated and my muscles, particularly my biceps, are bigger. My shoulders are also more pronounced. I can’t fit any of my cap sleeve shirts now. And I love it. My quads are bigger than ever. And I finally have a tush!
•Can you describe your typical weekly workout schedule and a sample day of meals (or macros)?
I weight train 4-5 days a week with about 2 hours of cardio per week and eat about 2300-2500 calories on average, loosely following Tosca Reno’s eat clean plan. Macros 40c/30p/30f
Typical workout schedule
Monday – Back and Cardio (Kickboxing)
Tuesday – Chest and Shoulders
Wednesday – Legs
Thursday – Biceps and Triceps and Core (Jillian Michael’s 30 minute ab workout)
Friday – Rest Day
Saturday – Boot Camp (45-50 minute full body circuit workouts with weights, 5-10 minutes warm-up/cool down/stretching)
Sunday – Rest Day
Sample day of eating
Breakfast
1 C Oats with blueberries and walnuts
4 egg whites
1 slice nitrate free bacon
Snack
1 oz planters mixed nuts
Lunch
6-8 oz grilled chicken breast seasoned with Mrs. Dash fiesta lime seasoning
1 C sautéed kale with sliced garlic and ½ TBSP olive oil
1 medium baked yam with cinnamon
Snack
1 medium granny smith apple with 1 TBSP all natural peanut butter or almond butter
1 hardboiled egg
Snack (pre-workout meal)
Ezekiel English muffin with 1.5 TBSP cream cheese and ½ TBSP low sugar smuckers strawberry preserves
Snack (post-workout meal)
2 scoops protein powder mixed with 3 C baby spinach, ½ C vanilla unsweetened almond milk
Dinner
6 oz ground turkey mixed with celery, peppers, taco seasoning, kidney beans, shrimp
½ C marinara sauce
1 medium baked yam with cinnamon
Snack
Chocolate chip cookie dough Quest Bar
In the spirit of transparency, on the weekends and during my TOM, my nutrition isn’t as clean as I’d like:
Breakfast is usually gluten free protein pancakes with dark chocolate chips, butter, and 100% maple syrup or IHOP pancakes or a Dunkin Donuts croissant with egg and cheese with a glazed sour cream donut
- Lunch may be a bacon cheeseburger with ketchup and pickles and sweet potato fries with bbq sauce (Red Robin, Chili’s, or TGI Friday’s)
- Dinner is usually pizza (local pizzeria or Pizza Hut) or shrimp fried rice with a shrimp roll (Chinese local takeout) with a cup of Breyer’s butter pecan ice cream and two (warm) Mrs. Field’s semi-sweet chocolate cookies for dessert
I have no issues going to the gym and getting my workouts in; in fact, I have to make sure I keep track of my workouts to make sure I take 2 rest days. I would have no problem working out 7 days a week (but we all know muscles grow during rest periods so I make sure I rest 1-2 days a week, sometimes three if I’m suffering from DOMS). Nutrition is where I struggle and work to improve on a daily basis.
•So…what led to the bulking decision?
After the birth of my third child who is currently 21 months (my twins are 8 years old), I gained 70 lbs. I lost all the baby weight and dropped down from a size 16 to a size 4. I was content with my size but not my body composition. Even though I was size four, I was still 26% body fat and really didn’t have much muscle definition. So, I decided to bulk in an effort to gain muscle and muscle definition and increase my strength. I also decided to bulk because the carb cycling was making me crazy. I was excited to switch my macros, making complex carbs my highest macro percentage.
•What changes are you hoping to see from bulking?
muscle, muscle, muscle!
•What are your biggest bulking fears?
gaining too much fat in my midsection and not enough muscle everywhere else
•Do you have a specific look you would like to attain, or are inspired by?
My Fitspo?
Alicia Harris
Katie Chung Hua
Lindsay Kaye Miller
Britney Spears (MTV Awards 2000)
Ruthie Bowles
Kiki <what’s your last name?
Ultimate personal goal would be 18% body fat
•Any parting words of encouragement to those who are new to eating more, or struggling with the decision of whether or not to fuel properly?
I’m one of those people that love to try different eating plans, fitness workouts, etc. to see what works for my body and how my body will respond. Everyone is different; therefore, our bodies will respond differently to eating plans, macros, and workouts. If you were willing to try low-carb, low-cal, primal, paleo, etc. and were unsuccessful, you might as well as try the EM2WL method and see how your body responds. Do research, connect with other EM2WL folks, and ask questions! And once you start, before you decide to abort the process, give yourself 2-3 months to adjust/respond and take notice to the changes. Take pictures, take pictures, take pictures – before and after! You will be surprised and pleased with the way your body transforms and the gains that you will make in the gym. And if you’re not happy with it, try something else and keep trying/tweaking until you find the plan that works for YOU.
•Thanks SO much for your time! How can our readers hear from/see more of you?
IG – http://instagram.com/erikasagekelley
Have an EM2WL transformation to share? Willing to let us tag along on your journey? We’d love to see it! Be featured on our Transformation/Journey page by submitting your story to Success@EM2WL.com
by EM2WL | Nov 26, 2013 | Testimonials, Transformations
Angela’s 1.5 year progress update!!
I can’t thank you enough. I have followed you guys all the way back from MyFitnessPal for a year and a half. You have changed my life.
A little about me:
I have struggled with my weight for most of my life, from middle school until recently. I was a dancer through all these years, so I kept it in check for the most part, but I was still one of the “bigger” girls in dance class. Once dance stopped, so did the whole “keeping it in check.” Luckily it was more of a slow, steady creep up for me. The eating was bad. The movement was minimal.
Following the college weight gain, I got married. I tried different gimmicks to drop the pounds, including the low cal thing, very low cal. I was just spinning my wheels, with no progress and a lot of hard work. A year after I said “I do”, I was pregnant. At that point, I was already 30 pounds heavier than high school. I only gained 18 pounds throughout pregnancy. Not too shabby, right??? Well those pounds fell right off, and then some, after I had my son. Another “woohoo” moment…THEN…the slow, steady creep was back. I gained all the pregnancy weight back. I like to blame it on stress of being a new mother…whatever the excuse…I was UNHAPPY. I was unhappy with every aspect of myself. I was barely in any pictures with my new baby, and the pictures that exist…well, they were screened to assure they looked how I wanted them to. I loved being a mother, but I was exhausted and cranky most of the time (my husband would agree to that). I decided to make a change!!!! A permanent change. A lifestyle change. I needed to do something for the sake of my family, my marriage, and my own happiness.
THE PLAN:
Eat as clean as tolerable (I am a known anti-veggie person)
Eat MORE
MOVE more
Whine less
No more excuses
Be happy
Don’t be discouraged (progress is progress, no matter how small)
Track everything (ACCOUNTABILITY)
Bring others along (the journey is much easier when you have people to encourage you, even if it is just moral support)
Support others (I found that motivating others, in turn, motivates me!)
This was the beginning. Notice I did not say “this IS the beginning.” I wish I would have started a blog from day one. I would have loved to be able to look back and see the emotional changes I have made. I know how I felt, but reading it would have been more powerful.
Fast forward to current…I am 50 pounds lighter. My energy level has grown significantly, and my moods have been on the upswing (my husband BETTER agree this time!). My blood pressure is normal, my knees don’t hurt, and my cholesterol is on its way down. The best thing is, on occasion, I am happy with myself and my progress! (It is still tough to break old mindsets) On that note….Let the journey continue!
Permission to post: Absolutely! Thank you so much. I owe these muscles to you! Now my goal is to motivate and inspire others to get out of their dark places that I know all too much about. You guys started my journey, and I am eternally grateful!
Bicep growth progress! :)
I was raised in the country by a single mom and two incredible grandparents. They often showed love through food. Biscuits, gravy, mashed potatoes, dumplings, cake. Country foods that men who worked on the farm all day would have no problem consuming and not gaining weight.
I hated lettuce. Especially iceberg (still do!).
I graduated college in 2006 and made a career choice in 2008 when I began working for a local county government in Public Information. I had to park my car on a hill and I worked on the first floor of the building. That meant four flights of stairs each evening to get to my car. Four flights of stairs to my obese body was … torture. It hurt. I couldn’t breathe. I was embarrassed.
I was still eating “junk” – just not nearly as much of it.
After a few years, my weight stabilized. I tried eating less, working out more, new workouts, gym classes, fasting and other extreme measures. Nothing.happened. Then – I tried eating more. I eventually took my 1200-calories per day up to 1800 and … I lost weight! A few pounds, but still weight! The next week, nothing. That scared me enough to take my calories back down to around 1200.
The reset brought about an over 25 pound gain. Yes; my body GAINED weight eating what it should’ve required to MAINTAIN.
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