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Nutrition How was 2019?

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Steve Freides

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Personally, I have a pretty simple diet goal - eat in a way that supports my other goals. I achieved that in 2019 and have been achieving it for a few decades now.

I was prompted to write this post because of something I read on a friend's Facebook page:

"My goal for 2019 was to lose 10 pounds. Only have 14 to go."

-S-
 
2019 was quite a bad year for me in general. Food-wise, I re-discovered my sweet tooth and this has led to me eating a whole bunch of stuff that does me no good whatsoever. Skittles™ are the worst and I seem to crave them when I'm depressed.

I gained some weight towards the end of the year (only a few kilograms) but have managed to get my weight back down to around 67kg, where it will need to stay if I'm to compete as a 67kg lifter at the English Masters weightlifting competition at the end of the year.

eat in a way that supports my other goals
This is very much my aim from now onwards. Having a specific goal beyond 'get stronger/fitter/whatever' really makes a difference.

@Anna C Did you find that having the TSC to look forward to gave your training an extra 'boost'?
 
I had a bitter feeling about 2019 due to some injuries. But this thread got me thinking about it and it wasn't a bad year at all, it certainly had good things.

The bad:
  • I injured my shoulder.
  • I pulled my hamstring.
  • I gained some weight when doing the SFG prep
  • I couldnt do the SFG
The good:
  • I reached Simple after 2 years.
  • I started snatching
  • I completed the 5 minute snatch test for the first time.
  • I achieved the SFG test standards.
  • I remained consistent
  • I managed to work around the shoulder injury.
  • I got better of the hamstring.
  • The reason I couldnt do the SFG is that my daughter was born :)
  • I started a diet to lose the weight I gained (by 13 Jan 2020 I lost most of it).
  • I started a shoulder rehab and is feeling a lot better.
So all in all, it wasnt an easy year training wise, but the balance is positive :)
 
Hello,

2019 was a quite bad year for me as my dad is extremely sick. Then, I understood that long-term and health-supporting activities are crucial. I mostly gave up any "pure performance" activities and do not chase numbers. I keep practicing to live a long and healthy life, nothing more.

My girlfriend and I nearly died in a trail, when we were climbing.

Basically, I cherish life more than ever, mainly my loved-ones'

2019 is the year I learnt
- being mindful and happy of what I have, always putting things into perspective
- being "zen"
- slow and steady wins the race

Then I set a few fun goals, such as OCR in 2020

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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2019 was a good year right up to mid- September.

I reached what I had thought was an unobtainable 205lbs bodyweight without increasing my waist size, regained a level of strength I hadn't seen in 25 years.

Health problems with one of my kids at the end of the year has made me realize just how much I hate hospitals for anything but trauma care and surgery.
 
@Anna C Did you find that having the TSC to look forward to gave your training an extra 'boost'?

Yes, absolutely. Having a goal is very motivating, and the TSC is always a great one for so many reasons -- the three events balance each other out, it's always a fun time and you learn so much from seeing how other competitors do things, you can compete against yourself year to year, and you can see where you stack up against others in the worldwide standings.

That said, I didn't put pressure on myself to get back to anything specific until I had a chance to get over the initial recovery (6 weeks no lifting was the doctor's orders, and I followed it!) and then start back slowly and see how it felt. After a few weeks of that, I could tell that I was going to be able to progress back up steadily, and the timing would be right to be back to previous strength levels, at least in the deadlift, by the fall TSC, so I registered for it and then worked towards that goal.
 
For me, 2019 was an A.

-I competed in several DL events without having to drop lbs. I maintained my weight class (123-132 lbs) all year. Even during the holidays.
-I've been following a consistent IF schedule for most of the year. Now it's a natural part of my day.

My new hobby is competitive stair climbing. I'll be participating in multiple climbs in 2020. In an effort to improve my performance, I plan on losing a few lbs. My goal is to get to 125 lbs, while maintaining my DLs @ 225-230 lbs.
 
I had intended this as a diet-related thread since I posted it in this section, but it's fine that it's become a more general one - good if I move it to Not Training => Everything Else?

-S-
 
Interesting.
2019 covered and exceeded my expectations. Went from 114 to 88 kg bodyweight in 7 months, without loosing strength (relatively to the bodyweight, i.e. x2 bw DLs, etc.) Goal was 99kg.
I tried most of the existing diets, with ongoing feedback from my friend nutritionist. To name a few - keto, intermittent fasting, paleo, mediterranean.
I arrived to a personal conclusion, which claims that Diets (as they're suggested nowadays by the modern media) are for the sick people. Healthy people build habits, not following any hardcoded recipe blindly, adapt everything to themselves rather than following carved-in-stone suggestions, like 16 hours fast or whatever. Everything, when checking back my yearly food and training log, came down to physical activity, calorie deficit and quality food. I eat carbs, I don't eat when I don't want to, and otherwise. I can keep 14-16 hours fasting period, or I can eat each 4 hours - everything depends on my physical state - rest, load, sleep, energy levels, etc.
I surprisingly found that the 11 Habits list from the book of the Josh Hillis / Dan John "Fat loss happens on Monday" are actually the same conclusions I arrived to during my 2019 crusade.
I'm now happy whatever eater without fear becoming fat again.
I hope I didn't insult anyone by my statement about diets (surely I didn't mean to).
 
Healthy people build habits, not following any hardcoded recipe blindly

Congratulations on your success! That's awesome.

I totally agree, although, following an established diet/plan is always educational and can be a good formula for someone who just doesn't have the good habits yet. Then the long-term effectiveness comes in paying attention along the way to what works for the individual, and keeping those things for the long term, as you have.

Everything, when checking back my yearly food and training log, came down to physical activity, calorie deficit and quality food.

So true. Simple, but not easy.
 
I surprisingly found that the 11 Habits list from the book of the Josh Hillis / Dan John "Fat loss happens on Monday" are actually the same conclusions I arrived to during my 2019 crusade.

Congrats on your success! Great conclusion you’ve reached as well. I have this book on my “still-to-read-list”, but reading this it will be ‘bumped up’ quite a bit :cool:

Especially in nutrition, not all approaches work the same for everybody. Lots has to do with availability, genetic background and preferences. The habit-focus seems a very healthy approach :)
 
2019
Good:
Completed SFG 1
Competed in TSC comp category
Used PTTP for a prolonged block
Used Q and D for a prolonged block
Found a good work life balance.
Read at least one book a month

Area for development
Couldn’t commit to BJJ ( an itch that keeps flaring but this will impact upon work life family balance.
Cardio sessions dropped for the most part apart from 10,000 steps per day
Couldn’t be consistent with OS or any mobility programme
Scale weight increased across the year. Using MFP to track calories and have been consistent with this for the past 4 weeks.
 
Congratulations on your success! That's awesome.

I totally agree, although, following an established diet/plan is always educational and can be a good formula for someone who just doesn't have the good habits yet. Then the long-term effectiveness comes in paying attention along the way to what works for the individual, and keeping those things for the long term, as you have.

Thanks a lot, Anna. I do agree with you, it is just the word "plan" that associates in my mind with something firmly prescribed, and for me, I would use the term "knowledge", "guideline", or else. But yes, we certainly need a way. Some more precise, some (like me, who question everything) more experimental and open.

Congrats on your success! Great conclusion you’ve reached as well. I have this book on my “still-to-read-list”, but reading this it will be ‘bumped up’ quite a bit :cool:

Especially in nutrition, not all approaches work the same for everybody. Lots has to do with availability, genetic background and preferences. The habit-focus seems a very healthy approach :)

Thank you, Niek. It is indeed a very good reading.
 
Food and exercise-wise:
Early year: I was doing a calisthenics program (no need to name names; it just wasn't effective.) I discovered ETK, decided weights were good and then took a break for a while and eventually got onto S&S. After a few weeks, I caught glandular fever so couldn't train for a fair while again.

Mid year: Began S&S again, made good progress and stayed around 73kg. Started eating a bit more (but not bad food).

Late year: After dramas trying to get a 32KG bell, my mind wandered to a barbell strength program. I did this program. But put 5 centimetres back on my waistline.... which is not flash. I never had any sort of "abs" or such, but I have a very gracile frame so look really really stupid with a >= 90cm waistline and associated flab

2020: Back on S&S, I have a 32kg KB now and will progress to that, while watching what I eat. I want to bring my waistline back down 5 or more centimetres. I know it'll happen with S&S
 
This year I pursued a balance.
I want to train in a way that doesn't require a special diet.
I want to eat in a way that doesn't require a special training protocol.
All while working towards my performance goals (SFG 1 last august, PRs in the spring and fall TSC). It was a good challenge and I feel pretty successful!
Blake
 
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