End of Week 8. Tomorrow begins a rest/recovery week where we will spend our workout time doing intentional stretching and foam rolling. There’s a little learning curve to using the foam roller… and they are not without some pain! We get a few laughs doing it, though.
Because we will NOT be working out, our calories will be very low for us. We’ll be at a 35% deficit of our TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure), which is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) plus your activity level. It’s the same thing as “Maintenance Calories”. Simply put, if you ate your TDEE daily, you would maintain your weight at your current activity level. Eat above your TDEE, and you pack on the pounds. To lose weight, one must be at a deficit. Calories in, calories out.
We’ll be shooting for 30% protein, 50% carbs (YES!!), and 20% fat. Very doable.
So, 35% deficit of my TDEE is equal to 1058 calories. This is for ONE WEEK only at a very low activity (rest) level. I would not recommend this for an extended period of time. In Weeks 10-12, we’ll be at a 40% deficit, but our activity level will be higher, so we’ll be allowed a few more calories… but this will be the final attempt to shed some FAT during our 12 week challenge.
Speaking of shedding fat… I read the Hormonal Timing book and beginning with my next 12-week challenge, I AM so going to start tracking my cycle and symptoms and adjusting my eating/workouts around my cycle days!!! The thought is that two weeks out of the month women are in a fat loss mode and the other two weeks they’re in a muscle building/strength mode. Diet is adjusted with the two cycles and so are the workout principals. This should be INTERESTING.
On another note, look what I got this weekend…
I LOVE ab work!!! Can’t wait!!
