Chels

My legs are a quite a bit sore from my work out yesterday but I really need to get some cardio in this week since I was snowed in and lazy the beginning of this week.

I've been doing a little research on creatine and I'm considering adding it to my routine, Im wondering if any women can share experiences with me. I'm looking for something extra to help me decrease my body fat % Seems like I've hit a plateau and I'm not quite where I want to be. I'm not looking to buff up just continue strength training and toning. I've read about it making you bloated, that's a big thing I'm worried about. Being bloated is the worst!

I'm making great progress with my strength training but it seems like my body fat % is at a stand still :(!! I've gone down tiny bits according to skin folds (but the hand held measurer is the same) each month but I feel like my progress is stagnant compared to how hard I'm working. I was eating a vegan diet in the beginning but recently started to eat eggs and fish again for some lean protein. I eat all whole grains, lean proteins, lots of vegetables, some fruits and dairy alternatives. (I am lactose intolerant) I feel like there's not much room for changes in my diet and if I restrict myself too much more now it just won't pay off in long run because I wont be able to keep up with it forever. Should I try the no eating after 7pm rule? or start cutting carbs? counting calories?? (I really don't beleive in the burning more than you eat rule, I know I need to nourish my body )

My workouts are 25-30 minutes of cardio 4-5 days per week, usually high intensity/intervel work outs biking or on the elliptical along with 3-4 days of strength training. I had been doing ~50 minutes of cardio 4 days a week but I was told not to do that much I'd see better results with shorter intense cardio

Last night was the first night we stayed over night at my new place and my black lab who's almost a year old did not handle it very well. We had visited the condo twice before and I've walked him outside around the building a few times. I know time will be the major factor in him feeling comfortable but he will not go to the bathroom. I took him outside about 10 times through out the night because he was whining at the door but he gets really anxious and just will not go anywhere inside or outside. At my old place he would never go to the bathroom in the grass it was always in the pinestraw so I'm wondering if putting a little bit of pinestraw in the bushes would help him.

I was working out with my trainer, I had done 3 sets of plie squats/squat jumps and then tricep dips w/25 lb dumbbell I didn't have any problems with that. We moved one to the next sequence which was side/back kicks/leg lifts and side crunches, when I would raise my knee up I felt a sliding sensation in my hip and I could not even make it through 2 reps on either side even after I had stopped to do some extra stretching. When I moved on to the leg lifts and crunches my leg that was below compeltely fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

This isn't the first time I've felt these things but this is the first time it has happened while working out, other times when I stand up from a chair or stool or when I was stretching. I had xrays taken and they didn't see anything abnormal with my joints. I'm just wondering if anyone has had similar problem and what they did about it.

I'm moving to a new place soon. My black lab is almost a year old. For some reason in my place now whenever he's in my bedroom he misbehaves (he likes to take stuff under the bed then it's really hard for me to get him out!). I want to change this in my new place, I'm looking for some tips of how I should introduce the new place and set boundaries right off the bat... I haven't decided yet but I may not allow him in my bedroom it's just hard in my old place because of the set up.

I don't plan on eating raw long term but for the next 7-10 (depending on how I'm feeling) I am going 80% raw. I'm cutting back my training a bit but not too much. I'm aware of what amounts of protein, calories etc that I need to stay healthy. I'm just looking for some information/personal experience from someone who has a raw and physically active lifestyle. Some favorite recipes/products/tips/ average meals through the day would be greatly appreciated.

If you are going to post here about this being stupid/unhealthy/blah blah blah, don't even waste your time here go do some research.

I've finally made the decision to give a 90% raw diet a chance. I don't necessarily plan on doing it long term, my plan is to do it for 2 weeks. I have a potential meal plan set up from recipes I got from "Raw Food Detox Diet" and I'll be going to the farmer's market this weekend to stock up. :)

My biggest concern is that I'm in a pretty serious strength training program so I'm looking for anyone who has made a transition with regular strength training/exercises. The book has lots of good info but it's not geared towards athletes. I will probably eat fish once or twice a week, other than that i will be flesh and lactose free. I do have a trainer and I'm going to consult with her but she isn't that familiar with raw diets.

I'm 21 y/o female. I'm about 4 months into a strength training program. I don't eat meat or lactose, I I keep up with a healthy balanced protein rich diet. I've been using BCAA pre/during workout and pea protein in blueberry/spinach/hemp milk smoothies post work out. I also take D, B12, vitamin B complex, flax seed oil and ginko biloba (I have idiopathic peripheral neuropathy) Just looking for any tips/adivce or products that you've tried and liked :)

The normal range is 10-120 and my results came back as 10, I know this is still normal and I haven't been back to talk to my doctor about it. I'm just curious what causes low levels of ferritan. I also had low Vitamin D, low MMA, high folate and slightly high results on liver function.

I'm working on lowering my body fat %, I'm not estatic about the results I'm getting. I've been working out since March and I've finally lost my first .5% of body fat for the mont of June. I feel like I should be seeing better results with the amount of effort I'm putting into this. I do 4-5 cardio sessions per week and 3-4 strength training sessions. For cardio I've been biking 45-55 minutes a session and about 50 miles per week. My strength training sessions are usually composed of 2 sequences of 3-4 workouts work outs. I do 3 sets of each one.

For my diet I do not consume dairy or meat. I do eat fish but rarely though. A usual day for me will be something like this:

bfast:

steel cut oats, ground flax seed and maple syrup

banana

coffee

lunch: bunch of veggies with edamame or tofu and soy sauce

1/2 or a whole avocado

snack: hummus and brown rice toast or sprouted toast

dinner:

black bean burrito

or

israeli couscous

red quinoa

nutritional yeast flakes

bunch of veggies

post workout I make a spinach, blueberry, hemp/almond milk, pea protein smoothie and I also use BCAA.

I have a 8 month old black lab named Mulder and whenever my boyfriend comes over he never settles down. Barks and whines for attention and always looking to play. It's been 2 months and there hasn't been much progress made, I hate having to constantly give Mulder special treats or keeping him on the porch to keep him busy. When I'm home alone and he misbehaves I usually put him in his kennel and he'll snap out of it and take a nap after a couple minutes but when my bf is here he never stops barking.

I'm hoping someone has gone through a similar situation I need some advice asap!!

I'm finding it to be quite a challenge to cut back carbs because I don't eat meat or dairy. I'm entering the next phase of my strength training program and decided I should start getting a little more serious about carbs because I know that is holding me back a little bit. I'm looking for any lower carb meal and snack ideas. Please dont suggest salads. I already know some info on the subject but any additional information about simple/complex carbs would be great too. I bike about 25 miles, walk/jog 9+ and strength train 3-4 times per week. THANKS

I just started running daily about a week ago and I keep getting a cramp/tension on the right side of my neck after about a minute and I have to stop and walk because of my shoulder is so bothersome. I've tried to focus on relaxing my shoulders, focus on breathing and drink extra water before. It doesn't seem to help. There have been a few times that my arms actually became tingly too. I don't know if that's related or not but if anyone can give me advice on how to overcome this problem that would be great. Thanks!

I have a 8 month old black lab puppy. He's very Intelligent, he walks well on a leash and knows a number of tricks. A big problem I have is trying to get him back inside after taking him out to do his duty. He will just lay there and if I try to force him up he kicks and does little punches at my arms. Thankfully he has never gotten vicious or really tried to bite me but I'm afraid if I don't get control not that could happen.I'm a single puppy mom and he's the most skirmish 55 lb dog I've ever met so it can be a challenge I also have this problem sometimes when I'm trying to get him in his kennel, I have to slide him across the carpet on his back but the second he gets within a foot of the kennel he gets up and walks right in no problem at all. He also is an attention hog and barks a lot when I'm getting ready for work, I really hate having to put him in his kennel but that seems to be the only way to get him to stop sometimes.

I'm trying not to bribe him with treats because I don't want him to think it's a reward for acting up.I take him out for a run nearly everyday and we go on really long hikes on the weekends. I'm looking for a command I can teach him or exercises I can do with him so that he'll know I'm the boss! I've tried the whole holding him down like his mother would since I brought him home in January and it has never worked.

I meet with a personal trainer once per week and the rest of the days I work out on my own and alternate different workouts routines she has put together for me. Each routine incorporates both legs and arms, for example monday I did regular squats and 2 minute wall sits and Tuesday I did bavarian split squats and a workout that involves me holding myself in a bridge position resting my shoulders on a bench the doing both dips and a chest press.

I know many people usually alternate working upper and lower body different days, is there a benefit to completely resting a day? Obviously if my legs are still pretty sore the next day I'll take a rest day for that muscle but if they aren't that sore I feel like I should keep up with my strength training. I am seeing great results so I'm assuming I'm doing O.K. but I'm just looking for some other opinions.

Thanks :D

A little over a month ago I started strength training and I'm sorta in a rut for great meal ideas. I've been eating a lot of israeli couscous, quinoa, split peas, chick peas and nutritional yeast flakes. I'll take any snack or meal ideas, or advice.

I do not eat tofu or any other fake processed meats and I don't really care for nut butters so please don't suggest things that incorporate either of those. Post workout I always have BCAA and usually have a smoothie with pea protein.

I bought some pea protein powder (they only had french vanilla flavor) to add to my fruit smoothies after a workout. I'm vegan and I try not to eat soy so my trainer suggested that I try pea protein. But anyways I tried a strawberry banana smoothie w/almond milk with the powder and it tasted horrible. The powder also didn't really dissolve it was clumpy

What else can I add to it to make it taste better? Should I add ingredients in a certain order? What ratio of milk/fruit should I use for one scoop of powder? I really want to make this work! Thanks :)

I'm looking for recipes YOU have personally made and enjoyed that use buckwheat groats.

Please do not tell me to check out some recipes website because I already have I'm looking for personal experience making the recipes.