Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels
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Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels
Has anyone been through the program in this book? I am on Day 10 of 30 and need to have some questions answered.
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Well I'm not sure how much sense these will make to those not familiar with the book, but here goes:
1) I'm not sure how many calories per day I should be eating. If activity level is moderate (I do some form of moderate/intense activity 5-6 days per week, plus walks with dog), by BMR calculates to about 2,000 cal/day. But on this program I'm supposed to be losing 15-20 pounds in a 30-day period, which translates to 0.5-0.66 lbs/day or a caloric deficit of 1,750-2310 cal/day. I've been eating about 1 serving worth of each meal recipe, plus her recommended snack and some nuts or fruit here and there. This equals roughly 1,000-1,200 calories per day - which may seem like a starvation diet, but I don't feel any hungrier than before I began the program. I've only lost one net pound since the program began (although first weigh-in was on Day 3 so I don't know exactly where I started) but I think that may be due to eating supper at 7-8:00 in the evening, which is usually a no-no for me. I don't want to eat back everything I burn on the workout program, but don't want to counteract own efforts by not eating enough, either.
2) According to the questionnaire I am a "balanced oxidizer" and so should be eating meals with 40% of the calories from carbs, 30% from protein and 30% from fat. But many of the recipes seem high-protein, low-carb, and most include no form of healthy fat but seem to rely on the fat included in other ingredients (meat, cottage cheese, etc.). What's up with that??
3) I'm wondering if the exercise program in the book alone is supposed to be sufficient. It's definitely kicking butt (900 calories burned on average) and takes only an hour a day, but she seems to leave the door open to do more (she recommends 2 hours a day maximum) without specifying if this is necessary. I've been throwing in yoga classes (mainly to keep me stretched out, as this doesn't burn many calories of course), yard work, and dog walks (usually an hour) but I'm starting to think that this won't be enough. Again I don't want to undo efforts by overworking the different muscle groups (the program is more or less a front-back split) by following with usual running/biking/inline skating.
4) The instructions for each workout say to perform each circuit twice before moving on to the cardio. Does "cardio" refer to the extra 15 minutes at the very end, or the cardio exercise at the end of each individual circuit? The workouts are supposed to keep the heart range in the 85-100% MHR zone, but heart rate drops quite a bit during the weight exercises. This might be intentional as a form of interval training, or it might be just an oversight.
5) I need alternatives for some of the exercises that call for a weight machine, as I do the workouts at home. For the lat exercises I simply lay on the floor with dumbells in hand overhead, or use a power tube fixed to a door. But what about hamstrings? I have a pair of 20-lb. leg weights but this isn't enough weight for a good workout. Woodchoppers? I can't seem to simulate this with free weights. I have noticed other posts on this topic, however, and will look those over.
I really don't mean to bash the program; it's gotten rave reviews and seems to be just what I need to get me out of rut and let me shed the 15-20 pounds I've been wanting to lose for years. And I can tell that clothes are fitting looser. But follow-up or access to experts to have questions answered has been poor and I wondered if anyone else has been through this and can offer some pointers as to how I can get the most out of it. Thanks!
1) I'm not sure how many calories per day I should be eating. If activity level is moderate (I do some form of moderate/intense activity 5-6 days per week, plus walks with dog), by BMR calculates to about 2,000 cal/day. But on this program I'm supposed to be losing 15-20 pounds in a 30-day period, which translates to 0.5-0.66 lbs/day or a caloric deficit of 1,750-2310 cal/day. I've been eating about 1 serving worth of each meal recipe, plus her recommended snack and some nuts or fruit here and there. This equals roughly 1,000-1,200 calories per day - which may seem like a starvation diet, but I don't feel any hungrier than before I began the program. I've only lost one net pound since the program began (although first weigh-in was on Day 3 so I don't know exactly where I started) but I think that may be due to eating supper at 7-8:00 in the evening, which is usually a no-no for me. I don't want to eat back everything I burn on the workout program, but don't want to counteract own efforts by not eating enough, either.
2) According to the questionnaire I am a "balanced oxidizer" and so should be eating meals with 40% of the calories from carbs, 30% from protein and 30% from fat. But many of the recipes seem high-protein, low-carb, and most include no form of healthy fat but seem to rely on the fat included in other ingredients (meat, cottage cheese, etc.). What's up with that??
3) I'm wondering if the exercise program in the book alone is supposed to be sufficient. It's definitely kicking butt (900 calories burned on average) and takes only an hour a day, but she seems to leave the door open to do more (she recommends 2 hours a day maximum) without specifying if this is necessary. I've been throwing in yoga classes (mainly to keep me stretched out, as this doesn't burn many calories of course), yard work, and dog walks (usually an hour) but I'm starting to think that this won't be enough. Again I don't want to undo efforts by overworking the different muscle groups (the program is more or less a front-back split) by following with usual running/biking/inline skating.
4) The instructions for each workout say to perform each circuit twice before moving on to the cardio. Does "cardio" refer to the extra 15 minutes at the very end, or the cardio exercise at the end of each individual circuit? The workouts are supposed to keep the heart range in the 85-100% MHR zone, but heart rate drops quite a bit during the weight exercises. This might be intentional as a form of interval training, or it might be just an oversight.
5) I need alternatives for some of the exercises that call for a weight machine, as I do the workouts at home. For the lat exercises I simply lay on the floor with dumbells in hand overhead, or use a power tube fixed to a door. But what about hamstrings? I have a pair of 20-lb. leg weights but this isn't enough weight for a good workout. Woodchoppers? I can't seem to simulate this with free weights. I have noticed other posts on this topic, however, and will look those over.
I really don't mean to bash the program; it's gotten rave reviews and seems to be just what I need to get me out of rut and let me shed the 15-20 pounds I've been wanting to lose for years. And I can tell that clothes are fitting looser. But follow-up or access to experts to have questions answered has been poor and I wondered if anyone else has been through this and can offer some pointers as to how I can get the most out of it. Thanks!
- that's the problem with these shit diet books, they're not sustainable..20pds in 30 days is almost impossible although i had a chick lose 5kgs in 2 weeks with sub standard eating but she trains the house down...cal's do look low and if your not hungry then long term you will rebound back from this ending up worse then when you started...if your not improving metabolism then your not losing fat
- fat in other foods are still counted as fat cal's...if you eat the right foods you don';t nmeed to add in a lot of fats but most don't...some fuish oil capsules will do the trick if you want more
- you can never know how many cal's a single workout burns
- the least you can do and still get the results you are after is the perfect amount...i wouldn;t go longer than 45mins though in a cal resticted program such as this...do your program "harder" with heavier wts, shorter rest etc, not longer
- hard to say with the cardio without knowing how it's layed out
- as stated above do wts heavier, faster, harder etc to keep HR up
- lat exercise seems alright...if you need it harder use the wts and the band...for hams do single leg stiff legged deadlifts (search youtube)...woodchoppers can also be done with your band tied to something...with a db you'd simply replicate the same motion but the "fell" of the exercise is different then with cables because of the strength curve
- if you've held onto this wt for years then don't expect to lose it in 30 days
- fat in other foods are still counted as fat cal's...if you eat the right foods you don';t nmeed to add in a lot of fats but most don't...some fuish oil capsules will do the trick if you want more
- you can never know how many cal's a single workout burns
- the least you can do and still get the results you are after is the perfect amount...i wouldn;t go longer than 45mins though in a cal resticted program such as this...do your program "harder" with heavier wts, shorter rest etc, not longer
- hard to say with the cardio without knowing how it's layed out
- as stated above do wts heavier, faster, harder etc to keep HR up
- lat exercise seems alright...if you need it harder use the wts and the band...for hams do single leg stiff legged deadlifts (search youtube)...woodchoppers can also be done with your band tied to something...with a db you'd simply replicate the same motion but the "fell" of the exercise is different then with cables because of the strength curve
- if you've held onto this wt for years then don't expect to lose it in 30 days
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detailaddict
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Re: Making the Cut by Jillian Michaels
These are the EXACT issues with this program I myself have struggled with, from the calorie count to the at-home substitutes. Anybody's advise would be welcome!