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snowmuttgetsweird · 5 months ago

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8/9/24, morning

Roommate comes home today I'm so relieeeeeved

It's boring and lonely without him. Just feels like a massive bleak void in my life when he's not here. I'm bored he's not here, I'm lonely, I'm anxious I can't see him, and I get stir-crazy and lost and don't really know how to conduct myself. I would just be standing around thinking about what I should do and then end up doing push-ups or something just to work out some nervous energy.

In the meantime I picked up a handful of groceries yesterday to make sure I can make a nice brunch for him when he arrives, including a couple 5lb bags of rice. I washed out an empty 30lb bucket of cat litter cause it already has a lid and a handle and it seems to work just fine as a rice bucket- not for food storage but as a workout device.

Gave it a shot- get very much covered in rice starch, and the workout is definitely exhausting. Theoretically, it helps strengthen all the micro muscles in your forearms to help protect you from carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, etc; really good for keyboard warriors, artists, heavy lifters- pretty much anyone that uses their hands and fingers for a lot of strenuous or continuous activity. If nothing else, it sure does a hell of a job exfoliating my hands lol. Maybe this will finally fix my fucked up cuticles. Prolly gonna start wearing a mask while using the bucket though- I dunno how much dust it kicks up but I'd hate to develop a rice allergy this way.

Pretty disappointed I couldn't pick up that Gallantmon stuff the other day, but really I should have tempered my expectations more. I'm not as hung up on it now- I'll get it eventually, I just hate waiting for it to happen.

Dunno if I mentioned already, but I started taking metamucil too. I'm not a big milk drinker, but overnight oats and protein shakes and cottage cheese have me consuming a lot more dairy than I usually do, and diets with a lot of meat and dairy tend to cause GI issues, so I figured the extra fiber would probably be a good idea while on a high protein diet. The first few days suck- not particularly painful or uncomfortable, but really gassy, which is just kinda embarrassing and annoying to deal with. It passes after the first three or four days though, and I DO notice that I seem to have more consistent BMs, feel less bloated, less gassy, and a bit lighter. My appetite means I'm trying to pack as much protein into as little actual food as possible too given how hard it is to eat as much as I'm expected to, so I'm actually overeating a lot less, which also probably helps.

That said, I haven't been particularly strict on myself about food- more for philosophical reasons than anything. The goal is just to get the protein I need, and nothing else really matters atm. There's no point in eating anything I don't enjoy, and any goal that's completely miserable to achieve is phyrric. As long as I'm getting my protein and I'm lifting to the end of my sets every time while steadily increasing the weight I lift, I WILL build muscle, and those muscles will burn more calories, which will result in weight loss. As long as I stay on top of it at least 3 times a week (ideally more, but 3 is my bare minimum atm) and don't eat a GROSS excess of calories, all I need otherwise is trust, time, discipline, and patience- all things my ADHD-addled brain struggles with, lol.

I haven't been to the gym the last three days. Skipped one day cause I got home especially late and I was wiped, skipped the next cause I was depressed, skipped last night cause a bit of time-blindness had me going out to the grocery store pretty late at night, etc, so this week has been pretty bad for gym-going, but I'm gonna get back on it. Maybe not tonight cause I close at work and my roommate is finally back home- which does mean I'll be cooking dinner for both of us when I get back- but tomorrow I'm getting back into it with a vengeance.

Wish me luck.

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pbandjesse · 7 years ago

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Happy thanksgiving. Im really tired and would like to get to bed right now but I will write this first because thats just what I do. Today was a lot of fun. Dad came down to the city last night and got me from the bus station. Me and him and mom hung out with a while. I gave him a very late birthday present which I think he enjoyed. I was up for a while playing on my phone and unpacking. I got to bed around 1. I got up at 9ish and was still very tired but I got a shower and dressed and felt good. I was starbing though and so me and mom quickly went out to grad McDonald’s breakfast before we started cooking. But that put us a bit behind our planned schedule. It all worked out in the end but still. Added a little stress to the morning. I started with the custard apple pies. Except I didn’t read the recipe and so I just cored and peeled both bags of apples. So we had 5lbs instead of 2lbs. Oops. Mom got a laugh out of it at least. And then we could have 2 pies so that was neat. We listened to the Hamilton soundtrack with all the cut songs and I got to hear a song I hadn’t heard before! That was really neat. Me and mom worked well together. I would do stuff and delegate tasks. I would read out ingredients and mom Would pull them out. I would measure stuff while mom cut or peeled. It was a good system. After the pies went in the oven (using a Pinterest trick of putting a bowel under o,e pie so they fit side by side) I worked on the soup. Vegetarian sausage, spinach, onions, garlic, potatoes, spices, in a cream and soy milk broth. It came out probably the best of everything today. After I boiled it down we moved it to the crock pot and let it simmer all day and man it just came out so good. Im really happy about that even if I burnt my tongue a little. The rest of the mid day was prepping stuff. Mom got the turkey in. Dad came back from visiting his aunt and brought more spinach. I had a snack. Mom made us sandwiches. Around 230 I went to take a break and nap for an hour. I didn’t get to sleep for a while though and then ended up sleeping until 4. So mom came and got me and we finished the last couple things. Steve came over and tried to help but sort of made stuff harder and we had a small blow up. But his girlfriend and her kids came and things calmed down but got crazy in a different way. The kids were hella cute. 2 little boys a a baby girl. There was a lot of rushing and yelling and screaming and trying to find the last dish to cook something in but me and mom pulled it off. And we were sat for dinner by 530. And the food was great. I didn’t eat a ton. Mashed potatoes and stuffing, spoon corn bread, cranberry sauce. My soup! I didnt like the Mac and cheese or the puff pastry spinach things we made. And the green beans just didn’t do it for me. But everything else was great. Steve tied the baby to the chair in a sort of highchair. The kids liked the Mac and cheese a lot. It was fun. After dinner the kids played games and I hung out with the baby. She liked my phone case. After the table was mostly cleaned off we had a little birthday deal for mom. Cake and pies and singing. She liked the painting I made her. It was nice. And then there was chaos because the baby threw up. But it all calmed down. Felicia, Steve’s girlfriend, was mortified and kept saying she ruined the holiday but honestly she’s a pleasure to have around and I liked the kids even if there were gross things. Doesn’t bother me none. Once everything was calm we played some games. The older little boy was being rowdy and I grabbed him and yelled “punishment hug” and after he calmed down a few minutes went by and he whispered “can i have another punishment hug” and it was just to sweet. Soon enough it was time for them to go. I piggy backed the one and tried to carry the other bus ended up giving him to his mom. It was silly and fun. But it was nice to have quiet again. Me and mom and dad talked for a while. Me and mom watched stupid videos on my phone. Chilled. And now I’m really just super tired and looking forward to sleep. I feel bad that moms cleaning alone but she told me it’s fine. Stilll feel guilty. I’m getting my hair cut tomorrow! I’m very much looking forward to it. I hope it turns out as cut as it looks in my head. I hope you all feel good tonight. Kind and warm and safe. Sleep well.

#ootd #thanksgiving #family #food #baby #cooking #mom #nice day #tired #thursday

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neilmillerne · 6 years ago

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How to Start Powerlifting as a Female: Staci’s Story

Ladies, meet your new hero.

Men, prepare to be humbled.

My friend Staci, or Spezzy as she’s known around the Nerd Fitness community, has one of the best transformations I’ve ever seen:

Working a sedentary desk job, Staci slowly packed on weight and ate like a typical unhealthy American. She also smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

She tried to get in shape doing what many people start with: she ran a lot and essentially starved herself. She dropped to an incredibly low and unhealthy weight and developed an eating disorder.

She fell in love with barbell strength training and started lifting HEAVY weights.

She’s now in the best shape of her life, healthier and happier than ever before, regularly competing in powerlifting meets and deadlifting 430+ pounds!

Now in 2019, her journey continues to inspire MILLIONS around the world.

For the women out there who are scared about “getting too bulky when lifting weights,” this article is for you.

If you are intrigued about powerlifting and don’t know where to begin, this article is for you.

If you’re curious what happens to a gal who packs on 40+ lbs of muscle and starts lifting heavy weights, this article is for you.

Staci has transformed inside and out over the past 8+ years, and I want this story to inspire you to go pick up a barbell the next time you’re in a gym. It’s been a privilege to watch her journey day in and day out for those 8 years: Staci actually joined Team Nerd Fitness in a full-time capacity in 2012!

In fact, she’s now our lead female trainer in our 1-on-1 online NF Coaching Program!

Without further ado, here’s an interview/8-year-retrospective/how-to juggernaut of an article on my hero and yours, Staci Ardison!

Staci’s Origin Story: 170 Pounds and Unhappy

This is a picture of Staci back in 2009 before she decided to make some changes in her life.

Starting around age 16, she put on weight relatively steadily through high school, college, and beyond, when she reached her peak at 170 pounds in 2009 at the age of 25.

I asked her what a normal day was like before she tried to fix her health:

I’d get up at 7, go to work, have a Slim Fast shake because I never had time for breakfast. I wasn’t a big snacker but I ate a lot for my meals; I’d typically go out to eat for lunch every day and get a sub or something from D’Angelo’s or Subway, and it was never the 6″ one, it was the big one. And chips. Lots of chips. Or french fries. Getting home I’d either go out to eat with friends or plop in front of the TV playing video games for hours.

My favorite meal was tacos and nachos. I just asked my old roommate what I used to eat because I didn’t remember, and she said “You used to sit in front of the TV with a big plate of meat and cheese and go ‘Hm, I guess I should have some chips with this.'” On many occasions, we’d order pizza or takeout around 11PM too. On top of all of that, I used to smoke a pack of cigarettes a day!

And that’s when her doctor told her that she had high cholesterol and needed to lose some weight if she wanted to live a long healthy life.

Except that she wasn’t really sure how to lose weight, so she did what most people do when they want to lose weight:

Eat way less and run way more.

She joined a gym and started doing the elliptical as much as possible (“because that’s what you do when you want to get skinny, right?”).

STACI: At first I was only able to make it 10 minutes, but eventually got up to about an hour at a time on the elliptical.

I always thought that being super skinny would make me happy, like it was the one missing piece of my life. Everything would just magically be solved if I could just be skinny.

I bought countless exercise machines for my apartment, which all ended up sitting in the corner gathering dust. I bought DDR thinking that if I could exercise in a video game, that would do it. It didn’t.

I even tried “Sweatin to the Oldies” (which, for the record, everyone should do, because it at least gets you laughing and moving). Nothing stuck.

Until I was finally ready. I can’t say what it was, but I just got up one day and said: “OK, I’m going to do this now.” I didn’t set a date ahead of time, I just woke up knowing it was time.

Along with the elliptical workouts, I joined Weight Watchers. But as I started to feel the effects of the weight loss, I got obsessed. I’d weigh myself every day; I got a scale that measured every ounce so I’d know exactly what I lost. How my day went was always based on the number that was on the scale. If I had lost weight, it was a good day. If I had gained, I was worthless and didn’t deserve to have a good day, and had to do a second elliptical session to punish myself.

Following this unhealthy plan, Staci went from 170 pounds all the way down to 110 pounds over the course of a year. And then she started to open her eyes…

STACI: I did lose the weight that I needed to lose, but instead of “finding myself” and becoming comfortable in my own skin, I ended up being LESS comfortable. Everything I did was based on appearance. I couldn’t do certain things because either my body wasn’t “ready” or I was afraid I’d gain an OUNCE back.

I started looking in the mirror and seeing 30 things that needed to change; I developed severe body dysmorphic disorder. When the elliptical and calorie restriction stopped working, I became bulimic; I was just so desperate to be thin. I was tired all the time, I had no energy to do anything even when I was sleeping 10 hours a night. The bags under my eyes were insane. I simply wasn’t getting the nutrients I needed.

It was at this point that I was dating a bodybuilder who informed me I was doing it all wrong. This got the idea in my head that there was a better way, and I started to research nutrition and strength workouts. I got a set of 5lb dumbbells and a Jillian Michaels DVD and tried doing pushups.

I remember struggling to do chest presses with the 5lb dumbbells. And I wouldn’t use weights at the gym because I was so scared of looking like a fool in front of all of the guys on the weight floor. Seriously terrified.

As I found more info on nutrition, I started questioning Weight Watchers, and finally stopped going after I asked a question on how something was healthy and he pulled the line, “we’re not trying to get healthy here, we’re just trying to lose a little weight”[1]. I started doing more research and began my transition to eating more Paleo in April or May 2010. I upped my calorie intake to around 1,500 a day and immediately started to feel better.

Staci starts weight training, goes full Paleo, finds Nerd Fitness

On June 1st, 2010, Staci’s work office opened up a gym with free weights, and she started training.

Because she was working out with coworkers and friends rather than random strangers, she felt comfortable giving strength training a try; she felt okay asking coworkers questions on different exercises and less self-conscious that she was doing everything wrong.

Over the next few months, from June until late August, she continued to educate herself on eating better and getting stronger:

STACI: I finished the Paleo transition in August or September, and stopped counting calories, which was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life; it’s a freedom I can’t even describe. I just ate when I was hungry. I gained weight, but I stayed the same size clothes, so what the scale said started to matter less and less. I went from 110 pounds at my lowest to around 130 pounds (both pictured above) and felt GREAT about it. My scale broke in May of that year, so I threw it away and only weigh myself probably once a month these days out of pure curiosity.

It was right around this time on her search for Paleo diet information that she stumbled across Nerd Fitness and saw an article about the Legend of Zelda (her favorite video game series too). She joined our community and continued to put her focus on strength training, and made sure she ate enough to fuel her workouts. She also sought out professional help for her eating disorder and body dysmorphic disorder.

After tons of encouragement from members of the Nerd Fitness community (including from Jon aka “KnightWatch,” now another NF coach) Staci began barbell training:

Deadlift

Squat

Overhead press

Bench press

And just focused on getting really strong with those movements!

For Staci, that first barbell encounter was electric: “When I say that the second I touched a barbell I fell in love, I’m not joking. People say to me, “Oh, it’s not healthy to lift that much….” Lifting to me is like going and playing basketball to someone else. It’s a hobby and a passion. I’m not doing it because I have to, I’m doing it because I want to. I’m simply happier on days that I deadlift.”

And that’s how Staci jumped headfirst into the world of powerlifting.

Over the following six months, she strength trained like her life depended on it, keeping track of her gains and making sure she ate enough to continue getting stronger. She learned the movements, took tips from others, and constantly checked in with the Nerd Fitness Community.

Here are her weight training stats for those first six months:

She raised her deadlift from 135 pounds to 315 pounds, added 50 pounds to her overhead press and 50 pounds to her bench press.

You’re probably wondering what happens to a woman’s figure when she goes through this transformation and puts on even more weight. Allow me to show you!

Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

Everything you need to know about getting strong.

Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.

How to find the right gym and train properly in one.

I identify as a:

Woman

Man

Staci Builds Muscle and Loses Fat

Believe it or not, Staci is 11 pounds heavier (142 pounds) in the picture on the right (May 2011) compared to the picture on the left (131 pounds, October 2010).

So what the hell happened?

How the heck does she look like she weighs less even though she weighs more?

She packed on muscle while getting rid of fat.

Another 2 years go by and Staci gained yet ANOTHER 8 pounds.

(AUDIBLE GASP)

Clearly now she must have gotten too “bulky,” right?

You’re probably wondering, “Why is she getting leaner but somehow also gaining weight?”

The answer is simple:

Magic.

Okay, maybe not magic. It’s time to bust the worst and most pervasive of the myths relating to women and lifting.

YOU DON’T GET BULKY LIFTING WEIGHTS:

When you strength train with very heavy weights for low numbers of repetitions, you build incredibly DENSE, tight muscle. If you are eating at a caloric deficit, you are keeping the muscle you have and burning the fat on top of the muscle.

So how did Staci gain weight, then? BECAUSE SHE WAS TRYING TO. On top of super heavy strength training, Staci was eating 3,000-4,000+ calories per day (all healthy calories, mind you) to put on the extra weight.

YES, when you lift weights, your body shape WILL change. When you work out and lift, you’ll develop a body that looks more like an athlete – which may not be the super skinny Kate Moss look, but it’s a naturally healthy look.

Which brings me back to Staci.

Although she was training in CrossFit for 2+ years (you can read about our thoughts on CrossFit here), after hitting a goal of competing at Regionals in 2012, she decided that she just LOVED lifting heavy, and switched to training on her own, focusing mainly on strength, with some fun conditioning like swimming mixed in here and there.

For the next four years, Staci continued to pick up very heavy weights, eat more calories than most men, and really focus on getting stronger.

In those four years, Staci put on about another 10 pounds.

Surely by NOW she would get too “bulky,” right?

Surely this is when the whole “women who lift weights get bulky” myth gets proven correct…right?

Hmmmm……nope!

Staci’s Training in 2019

Okay so here we are another 5 years later! What is Staci doing these days?

Did she:

A) Did she become a yoga fanatic?

B) Did she keep powerlifting?

C) Did she fall in love with gymnastics?

D) All of the above?

Spoiler alert: all of the above. Duh.

Building a solid foundation of functional strength allowed Staci to work on other skills and pick them up quickly.

I asked Staci what her overall goals are these days:

My overall goal, sport-specific aside, is to be able to do whatever I want to do whenever I want to, without warning, without my body holding me back. And by that I mean if a friend calls me tomorrow and says, “I found a secret treehouse in the middle of the woods, but we need to hike a gigantic mountain and bike 50 miles to get there,” I want to be able to say “I’m in” without hesitation. So I always want to push my body’s limits. Plus, it’s fun!

I really enjoy competing sometimes, but my main goal isn’t to be the best at one sport – I have too many goals I’m working towards!

And rather than tell you about Staci, I’d rather share some recent training videos from her exploding Instagram page:

5 strict muscle ups in a row? No problem:

A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Dec 29, 2017 at 10:21am PST

Deadlifting 325lbs for 8 reps? No big deal:

A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Dec 28, 2017 at 5:44pm PST

Pull ups on a rope? Sure, why not:

A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Dec 27, 2017 at 10:41am PST

Crazy yoga poses with her adorable dog Madi? But of course:

A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Oct 25, 2017 at 6:34pm PDT

Handstand practice for funsies? Hell yeah:

A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Oct 5, 2017 at 5:40pm PDT

Making a 405lb deadlift look super easy? Yup:

A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Sep 21, 2017 at 8:42am PDT

3 sets of 12 reps at 200lbs, no problem:

A post shared by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) on Dec 5, 2017 at 5:42pm PST

HOW STACI IS ABLE TO DO ALL OF THESE THINGS:

Staci can do all of the above because she built a foundation of functional strength.

She got really strong at big movements like the squat and deadlift, and bodyweight movements like push-ups and pull-ups. She cut her body fat percentage so she wasn’t carrying around excess weight. She taught her body that being strong feels good, and learned that being strong makes her happy.

She also did a few other key things for each of these activities:

She slowwwwwly progressed with each exercise, and had a strong foundation to start with!

She followed very specific progressions when it comes to gymnastic rings.

She followed a progression when it comes to handstands.

She had a yoga routine to follow (we have a whole course starring Staci with fun yoga routines).

She also had help! Although she learned a lot on her own, Staci over the past 7 years has worked with different coaches and trainers to learn specific skills or improve her ability in certain movements or lifts, as well as help her with proper programming and periodization. After all, a coach can be a game changer and having somebody who can check your form and offer guidance is like turning on cheat codes for strength gains.

So that’s where she’s at now, but there’s a big question I haven’t answered yet: Just WHAT was she eating to fuel these workouts? After all, we know from Nerd Fitness that nutrition is 90% of the battle when it comes to strength gain and/or weight loss!

So here is her exact nutritional strategy!

Staci’s Exact Nutritional Strategy

Oh what’s that? You want to know EXACTLY how Staci eats too? Of course you do, you’re reading Nerd Fitness and you want all the nerdy specifics you can get your hands on.

Let’s start by taking a look at what Staci eat through the first few years of her transformation.

Here’s an exact week for her back in mid-2012:

Every Sunday (or whatever works, but usually it’s Sunday) I cook a few pounds of chicken. I then portion it out and keep them in Ziploc bags. If I don’t have time for that, you can get all-natural precooked sausage (both chicken and pork) that works just as well as a “bring to work” meat.

5AM pre-workout: (first thing in the morning): protein shake. (nothing special). It’s not Paleo, and I love every sip of it. Then I go and work out. If I go to the gym with a full stomach, I will not leave with a full stomach. 🙂

7:30AM on my way to work: apple or pear.

9:30AM sweet potato with cinnamon. I keep them at work, and cut them up, throw it in the microwave for 5 minutes with cinnamon. Comes out amazing.

Another protein shake somewhere in here between breakfast and lunch.

12PM lunch: two of the bags of chicken I precooked and a bag of the Steamfresh vegetables. The entire bag is about 3.5 servings of vegetables. My favorite is broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots.

Lunch 2: spinach salad with shrimp, red peppers, green..

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#How to Start Powerlifting as a Female: Staci’s Story

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albertcaldwellne · 6 years ago