Fiddleman

Congratulations to your success. The transformation really shows.

Oh my! This is so much more fringe than the tube connected out of the stomach approach you showed us last year, essentially emptying sludge yet of the body after it is digested. Remember that? This must be a fun hobby of yours: to find weird and interesting weight loss techniques! Thanks for the entertainment.

Thanks Laura.

Raising your caloric load by 700 in the short term may actually work as a shock to your body, in a good way, but if you raise the daily caloric load too fast your body might store in the longer term instead of converting the calories to energy because your caloric payload will be far higher than your current BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). You want to increase the daily caloric load *slowly* over 1-2 months. You may see your weight fluctuate up a bit while the body is adjusting. once your BMR stabilizes at a higher number, your weight will begin to drop again. 1700 calories is usually 100-300 below an average equilibrium point for calories consumed versus calories burned (TDEE). Most find their TDEE between 1900 and 2100 but the best way to know precisely what your TDEE is to enter information about your weight, height and activity levels into an online calculator. Eating at TDEE is a really good place for your daily caloric load to be and the net effect will a decrease in hunger and an increase of your BMR out of the pits of starvation mode, if done slowly. Good luck on this process. Regardless, congratulations on your success over the last two weeks and may you be blessed with more weeks and months like those.

That is awesome! Good to hear...

Now you have piqued my Interest Nicole. why do you think it is all a scam? What drives your passion to hate GNC so venomously?

Thanks BTB. So far progress is going well and I have worked hard for it. I get jealous sometimes of those guys that naturally have a ripped body. I will get there. How long does it usually take a person of average size ( myself, 7 months ago) build into a ripped guy ( e.g one of the Spartans from 300)? I am always working on strength during the week and have a very clean approach to eating in order to optimize results. Oh, and I have 2 SIL. I suppose that should have been made more clear!

The vitamin shoppe I go to has some very knowledgable employees and it is refreshing / rewarding to have conversations about supplementation. The problem is they are a good 30 minute drive where GNC is a 5 minute drive. If I know what I want to get based on personal research, then Amazon has anything and everything with free 2 day shipping. It does not get much better than that.

Rant on The manager weighs 300 lb and the sales employees are both plump (30-50 lb overweight). This is not a statement about individuals, but more about the type of people GNC hires to represent their stores to the healthy fit minded customer. Rant off Rant on again I find it hard to buy product for getting ripped and muscular from someone who does not walk the talk. It is too bad. I feel they are more about pushing product, getting you to buy "one get one 50% off" and know just enough to make one very high level statement about it. No real passion about how the product works and how i could benefit. it is like they learn one line to memorize and that is it. So i need to say no when they try and push something on me that i am not even interested in. Almost feels Like telling one of those timeshare guys who do the 90 minute sales presentation "no." they make you feel guilty for saying "no." It is impossible to have any meaningful anatomical science based conversation with these GNC guys because they do not seem to embrace the product that they are selling. Sigh. Rant off. I think I will take my business to Vitamin Shoppe where the level of knowledge is so much higher or perhaps i will just stick to Amazon. However, I do like being able to walk into a health store and have meaningful conversations about health, fitness and supplementation...

German heritage here too! Along with Scottish and English heritage. It is a good idea I do not have any great great grandparents from Ireland or I would have to be constantly feuding with myself. I do love the Irish culture though ( tis where my fiddleman name comes from - love of both Irish and Scottish fiddling). Now that I have hijacked the thread, back to scheduled programming...

Any time!

Yes, it must be the cool weather outside today. It was high of 81 and now it is high of 55. I did not know weather had such an impact on food cravings.

I do not know about you, but does rain and gloomy weather make you hungry? It is almost bringing out the SAD in the middle of summer. Up here in Seattle, WA we have had awesome weather (best in the country) from mid June to yesterday. Sunny every day, temperatures in the mid 70s, afternoon breezes. It was perfect. Now it is all rainy outside and for the first time in I don't know how long, it is making me think about eating. Must be a trigger for me. Do other vets ever deal with gloomy weather and wanting to snack? Need to turn the happy lamp ( tricks your body into thinking it is sunny) on or something.

Excellent read! I am going to launch some research starting with the information in this article.

Gman - yes, I have heard stories of permanently getting a bulge on the forehead. That would be very strange. Big- I would like to be able to deadlift 500 and bench 350. I am going to compete next summer so need to get my max up and up.

I had a short, but very interesting conversation with my SIL's husband and boyfriend last night with regards to lifting and strength building. Our discussion went into the use of hgh in addition to their side effects. One of them used to be a trainer, but has since let himself go. The other is like myself: small waist, broad shoulders and strong. He has also been lifting for a long time and he has the muscle to show for it. He also explained that each one of us are born with a certain set of muscle cells that can not be changed, except with supplements like hgh. Lifting essentially only affects the muscle cells we are born with. It does not create new muscle. things like creatine and bcaa help build those existing cells that are broken down from lifting. I have a decent amount of muscle, but nothing huge and there are natural limits to which I am not able to break through. With all the perfect dieting, sleep and workouts I do with my trainer and at home, I am still limited compared to other guys who are born with a natural inclination for more muscle and strength. Busting my ass month after month is only going to grow my existing muscle cells so much. I have never missed a workout for 5-6 days a week in the last 7 months. Do not get me wrong, i am proud of the body i have been sculpting and the weight i can lift with regards to lifting my own weight in pull-ups, push ups, rope climbs, etc and more tradition lifts like 350 lb dead lifts, 150 lb overhead lifts and 250 lb bench presses. There is a huge difference of where i was 7 months ago and today. The amount of lifting I do has shaped my muscles and has given them real definition, but they are still only a certain size and there is only a certain amount of strength i can build. Hgh fascinated me as a way to build more muscle that I am not born with. However, both guys went on and on with some really interesting stories of the side effects of hgh on guys they have lifted with in the gym. Essentially, hgh can cause weird undesirable growth (moobs, abnormal chins and foreheads, etc) and ligament issues in addition to the desired muscle pump and strength building. hgh is something I want to research more. Should it even be considered as a way to break through natural barriers at we are born with? Can you give me some more information on hgh in a manner that cuts through all the noise found on the Internet? Having this conversation with both last night was very enlightening to say the least. At this time, I have always been a non drug lifter. 100% Natural in terms of supplementation (creatine and BCAA). Would you consider hgh an unnatural drug with regards to lifting and getting strong? Appreciate any knowledge sharing from research or personal anecdotes of using or being around it.

Thanks. I will PM for the email address.

Thanks for the suggestions. While I do kettle bell cardio at cross fit, it is not very consistent. I just got 2 home kettle bells of 20 and 30 lb. how are these weights for achieving good results? And I am interested in hearing about the videos you use for getting ripped with kettlebells.

No criticism intended Jane. It is just another viewpoint that should be considered. You know I respect all you guys tremendously.

Sknyinside - wow, it sounds like you were quite a warrior in your days of yonder. Very nice! Pull ups with weights attached? That sounds really hard, but uber impressive. I just got to the point of doing unassisted pull ups a few weeks ago (between 10-20). I hope to someday do pull ups with weight. Pull ups are still "hard" for me and I look forward to the day they are easy and fun.

How exciting for you!! Great job!

Yup - they are tough.

Thanks for the additional explanation, Amy.