2026 Strength Training Accountability Thread

[The Expert]

Just got back from Pilates! I had my longest run of the Princess training block yesterday (2.5 hours) and was really feeling it in my legs this morning.

 

[nancipants]

Today is kickoff day for the 2026 New Year Challenge with Stoked Metabolic Coaching. I completed the Total Body A strength workout.

I've been logging my meals for a few days, and damn, is it hard to increase protein! My macros are supposed to be equal for protein and carbs, and I'm consistently over carbs and low on protein. (I know exactly how to cut carbs, but I'm not willing to cut out my one coke per day! )

 

[The Expert]

I'm not willing to cut out my one coke per day!

When I cut down on soda a few years ago, I started by buying the mini cans instead of the full size ones, and I poured it into a glass with ice and really savored it. Or if I treated myself to a McD Coke, I got a small instead of a medium and waited until I got home to drink it, rather than mindlessly slurping it down on the drive home. I never felt like I was missing out, yet it probably cut my intake by half.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Today is kickoff day for the 2026 New Year Challenge with Stoked Metabolic Coaching. I completed the Total Body A strength workout.

I've been logging my meals for a few days, and damn, is it hard to increase protein! My macros are supposed to be equal for protein and carbs, and I'm consistently over carbs and low on protein. (I know exactly how to cut carbs, but I'm not willing to cut out my one coke per day! )

I feel like protein has become a hobby and obsession. It's followed pretty closely by fiber!

 

[nancipants]

When I cut down on soda a few years ago, I started by buying the mini cans instead of the full size ones, and I poured it into a glass with ice and really savored it. Or if I treated myself to a McD Coke, I got a small instead of a medium and waited until I got home to drink it, rather than mindlessly slurping it down on the drive home. I never felt like I was missing out, yet it probably cut my intake by half.

Getting the mini cans is a good idea.

My husband drinks coke zero, and I've tried it, but it just isn't the same.

I do like Sprite Zero though, and have that with dinner.

 

[The Expert]

My husband drinks coke zero, and I've tried it, but it just isn't the same.

I do NOT like Coke Zero at all. I'd rather just go without than resort to it.

 

[Naomeri]

When I cut down on soda a few years ago, I started by buying the mini cans instead of the full size ones, and I poured it into a glass with ice and really savored it. Or if I treated myself to a McD Coke, I got a small instead of a medium and waited until I got home to drink it, rather than mindlessly slurping it down on the drive home. I never felt like I was missing out, yet it probably cut my intake by half.

Those mini cans are great. I mostly only drink soda with food, and I usually don't need more than a little can for a meal.

That goes out the window at restaurants or movies though

 

[avondale]

Getting the mini cans is a good idea.

My husband drinks coke zero, and I've tried it, but it just isn't the same.

I do like Sprite Zero though, and have that with dinner.

If you can stay away from the artificial sweeteners with the diet soda (and anywhere else), I highly recommend it. I drank diet soda from when I was a teenager and in the past couple years it most likely caused a health problem I could have avoided. (I now also avoid artificial sweeteners in everything....the only exception is when I rarely go out to eat, I still have a diet soda.)

I tried to switch to sparkling water first, but they are really sharp! (That is, lots more carbonation than soda.) They are also pretty tart/sour, and I say that after having been off the diet sodas for long enough that my taste adjusted. Lately, I have found Spindrift "soda" (they also have sparkilng water). The soda has some sugar but not much (32 cal in the 12-oz can I'm drinking right now) and the carbonation is more similar to the levels in soda. It's pretty expensive, though.

For the protein, if you like cheese, then low-fat cottage cheese and string cheese is a way to get a lot more protein in your diet. Also, packets of tuna and/or salmon. Again, if they are foods you like. I also make a LOT of egg whites.

 

[nancipants]

If you can stay away from the artificial sweeteners with the diet soda (and anywhere else), I highly recommend it. I drank diet soda from when I was a teenager and in the past couple years it most likely caused a health problem I could have avoided. (I now also avoid artificial sweeteners in everything....the only exception is when I rarely go out to eat, I still have a diet soda.)

I tried to switch to sparkling water first, but they are really sharp! (That is, lots more carbonation than soda.) They are also pretty tart/sour, and I say that after having been off the diet sodas for long enough that my taste adjusted. Lately, I have found Spindrift "soda" (they also have sparkilng water). The soda has some sugar but not much (32 cal in the 12-oz can I'm drinking right now) and the carbonation is more similar to the levels in soda. It's pretty expensive, though.

For the protein, if you like cheese, then low-fat cottage cheese and string cheese is a way to get a lot more protein in your diet. Also, packets of tuna and/or salmon. Again, if they are foods you like. I also make a LOT of egg whites.

Thankfully, I have no problem drinking plain water - I just really like having a coke in the middle of the day, both for the taste and caffeine. If I don't have coke, I'll just have water. But I want the coke.

I'm not a huge fan of cheese, but I've been adding it to my eggs lately and have found it very tasty. Also just eating more eggs in general (mostly egg whites, with one full egg for taste). But I'm not a fan of yogurt or oats or lots of the other protein heavy "snacks" people recommend. I like chips and fruit. AKA carbs.

 

[The Expert]

Now that the temp is up from -12F to +16F and sunny, I was willing to go out and spend 30 minutes clearing snow before our next storm hits tomorrow. Is it spring yet??

 

[MissLiss279]

Yeah, when I was trying to eat higher protein, I pretty much had to drink a protein shake. I’m now not supposed to eat more than 100g, which I can usually do okay without a protein shake - but I like Greek yogurt and cheese.

 

[SheHulk]

Yeah, when I was trying to eat higher protein, I pretty much had to drink a protein shake. I’m now not supposed to eat more than 100g, which I can usually do okay without a protein shake - but I like Greek yogurt and cheese.

Protein drinks are a cheat code for me too.

 

[The Expert]

Protein drinks are a cheat code for me too.

Yes! I bought a Nutribullet on a Black Friday sale and keep frozen fruit, almond milk and protein powder on hand. I'll toss in a spoonful of peanut butter, some greek yoghurt or whatever else I feel at the time for some quick post-workout protein. Takes five minutes.

 

[nancipants]

Protein drinks are a cheat code for me too.

I need to get back to using those clear protein powders. I can put in a scoop in my big Corkcicle and get 20 extra grams with my regular water.

 

[BradleyCB]

And I'm back. On Sunday I finished off the last 1 hour class of the Total Strength block of work I had been doing. Now that that is done, I plan on switching back to strength MWF as I transition back to race training for a half we have in April. I am promising myself to keep strength classes to no more than 30 minutes during training. I hope this will help me stick to them as mileage picks up.

 

[SheHulk]

30 min Runner's World lower body this morning! I really would have fallen off completely by now if not for this group.

 

[The Expert]

Cross-training done for the day! We got slammed with a New England clipper system last night that dumped 8+ inches of heavily drifting snow in a couple of hours. I spent about half an hour after my dog's sunrise walk this morning clearing enough for DH to get out of the garage to go to work. (I was already bundled up and I actually kinda like removing snow.) I'll go out a little later with the snowblower as this stuff is much heavier than the last few storms.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Last night was a pretty solid high intensity session on the elliptical followed by my normal upper body routine...minus delts. People were camped at the two machines all night, so I'm hoping to toss them in tonight as part of "unconventional day." I kept my weights up at my new weekend high, but I think I may have accidentally added an extra 2.5 lbs to the chest press. That's always a tough one for me and I felt like it was trying to kill me last night. I also lost count of sets on the good crunch machine and I think I went 30 reps/2 sets over my norm. I got distracted by themed legging shopping in between sets.

 

[nancipants]

Did another total body strength workout today!

Also been playing with nutrition. I ordered some more clear protein to add to my water and (sob) cut my one coke per day. I didn't miss it yesterday, so crossing fingers. I'm still going to buy the mini cokes on our next grocery trip. Also going to pickup some chickpea pasta and cauliflower rice to try to help keep carbs low. I don't have to cut them out completely - my macros are even between carbs and protein - but a few days of food tracking made me realize my carbs are inherently way higher than protein and I need to even them out. So far, so good!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Did another total body strength workout today!

Also been playing with nutrition. I ordered some more clear protein to add to my water and (sob) cut my one coke per day. I didn't miss it yesterday, so crossing fingers. I'm still going to buy the mini cokes on our next grocery trip. Also going to pickup some chickpea pasta and cauliflower rice to try to help keep carbs low. I don't have to cut them out completely - my macros are even between carbs and protein - but a few days of food tracking made me realize my carbs are inherently way higher than protein and I need to even them out. So far, so good!

I haven't compared them nutritionally in a while, but I'm a big fan of both edamame pasta and red lentil pasta. As much as I like chickpeas on their own (often combine with avocado and raw or roasted sunflower seeds) I seem to favor the flavors of the other two pasta options. The edamame fettuccine I've been able to get here is really flavorful, has 24 grams of protein per serving and 12 grams of fiber. The red lentil penne I get has 15 grams of protein and 7 grams of fiber. While I'm not trying to cut back on carbs, I also like the keto marketed tortillas and burger buns as they are lower calories with extra fiber and protein.