Diana 1234's Journal, 18 August 2023

Hi Diana how do you know you have lost muscle? 

Each photo is a different position so it's hard to compare. How long has class been hard for you a day, two days, months? As new Wayne asked, how do you know? 

Diana there is also a difference between losing muscle and being flat. flat is often when we are a little carb depleted often makes us look less ripped than we are and does not allow the fluid in the muscle to push hard against the skin, however as we in bodybuilding say, sometimes you need to get flat to get to the fat. Have you taken measurements, has your strength gone down, how long has it gone down for, it takes a while to lose muscle often what people say they are losing muscle means they are just losing some glycogen. 

New Wayne, I can tell by pictures. I posted a pic about a month ago, same pose as top picture and it's vastly different! I can also see in mirror, I have less definition. I have a pacemaker and without going into to much detail yet, it's been giving me problems which makes it impossible for me to get my heart rate up. It's just frustrating to me.. ☹️Fairy girls journey, I began to notice it after I returned from vacation. I was only gone 6 days so I shouldn't have lost that much muscle definition. I did hike everyday so I was active. (I have posted pics before) I literally cannot go past 5 min on any indoor cardio machine without becoming very winded. I do have a pacemaker and I had a device check on Weds. The cardio situation is due to a glitch in pacemaker but the loss of muscle is not.💜 

Sounds like it would be wisest to consult with your doctor.  

Diana thanks for posting I still think you look great, but love your high standards. Are you a bit dehydrated, you taking enought salt, it might be that you are flat, ie muscle is not fully loaded. If you have not adjusted your diet then maybe go to the doc, hows the stress been, any other issues all these have an affect on our physiques. 

Have you been lifting lighter??? 

Diana what are they doing about the glitch? Need to be replaced? That sounds scary to me honey. I know how hard you work to stay strong and get stronger and remember the other day you upped your leg press so this is most likely a momentary dip. Don’t fixate on it *that is what i do and very unhealthy for peace*. Do the best you can without causing yourself damage and hopefully repair or new pacemaker coming? 

agree with YOH 

NewWayne, you have given me lots to ponder. Thank you! The thing about carbs could be true. I am so programmed to keep my carbs at 80-100 grams daily even though my nutritionist just suggested I up it to 120 for better results. I have not lightened weights, in fact on lower body I have increased them.👍 Jams, I go to cardiologist next week. 🩷 YOH, they are going to readjust the pacemaker maker next week. That should help cardio but doesn't really have much to do with weightlifting. They are aware of how much and how hard I work out. I do have a broken lead( wire) that runs under my heart. They have left it alone because it is supposedly not affecting performance of pacemaker. They want to wait to fix it when they change my battery. It is apparently a risk to go in because of chance of infection so they wait to do it all at once. 

👍 

I also wear a PM, and had your same problem, as I teach Nutrition and Wellness, in college,sometimes you need to adjust and tweak your WOE, as in every once in awhile with weight training have a carb rebuild day, or even a mini one before you extended weight work out, trial error to you hit the sweet spot.! 

Do N Ok, thanks! I think you guys are right! They are going to have me run so that they can get my PM to go to 120-130 bpm without crashing back down to 60bpm. Right now it thinks I'm in destress so it won't allow my heart rate up. My lower lead, which is general antenna is the broken lead.  

You have been brainwashed about carbs just like so many people. We are about the same age, height, weight and my daily carbs are roughly 150, about 30 of that is fiber. I stay away from or try my best to reduce refined carbs and refined sugars. Last week I had an unusually high carb day due to lots of pasta !!. The next morning I was so fueled up I couldn't wait for sunrise to get out in the yard and catch up on yard work. I went non stop for hours and hours and that convinced me that carbs are fuel and energy. I hope your medical situation becomes better so you can get back to your routine. 

Honeybuns, I check your profile and we are very similar in weight loss and age. ( I had already lost some weight before I joined FS) I lost about 60 lbs total. I stand by my WOE while I was dieting. I had a nutritionist and l totally believe in the path I took. That being said, I am trying to do more of a combination of counting macros and CICO. My nutritionist has suggested I up my carbs and protein to maximize my workouts and I'm working on that. I personally find it difficult to eat more than 100 complex carbs. I try to eat fairly clean and stay away from refined sugar. My carbs mainly come from grains and fruit. I'm ok with having a treat now and then but sometimes find it hard to recover. I work out 6 days a week and I guess my frustrations come from why I'm losing muscle definition when I'm lifting same amount of weight. I think maybe you and New Wayne are right, it's got to be in the foods I eat. 

Are you watching your blood oxygenation? You get really frustrated with yourself, I think posting pics and checking again after doc appts may put you back where you want to be. It’s good to have that instinct, but hard sometimes. 😉 

And if you’re lifting six days a week, when is your recovery? 

Diana your calorie intake is much lower than mine. I am at about 1600. Many people don't like beans but I make them a focus of one of my meals every day. White, black,chick and others a cup is 210 calories, 38 carbs and 15 protein. Chop them up and season like taco meat and put in your salad, make your own hummus where you can control the amount of oil, mixed bean chili, as a side to your scrambled eggs, make your own bean burger patties and bean balls. I also do 2 or 3 fruits a day and 4 or 5 veg. If it weren't for beans I would have a hard time getting over 100 carbs since bread, rice, sweets and candy are infrequent in my diet. Pasta makes it in a few times a month and those days my calories and carbs skyrocket 😁. I know you work closely with your dietician. Hopefully you can figure out soon what is happening with your workouts. In the meantime don't push yourself too hard.  

Katsolo, I am my worst critic! I rest on Sundays. M, W, S are my heavy days, Tues is training and Friday is a fairly light day. 🩷🩷 

Andrew, Thank you! You are so sweet!🩷💪