My sentiments EXACTLY on the thigh/hip/pooch fat - that seems to be the most stubborn for me too. I'm still waiting for the day that I see real quad and ab definition. That will be a really great day! I feel the same way you do - it's been there for 30+ years and it's gonna take more than 12 weeks to power it off.
My feeling is my fat is SCARED and hanging on for dear life! Every time I drink another glass of water, I imagine some more fat being washed away...
I have got to be the most boring New Year's person on earth. I was asleep by 10:00 pm last night with Sparky snoozing on his afghan next to me. Jim had a gig last night and I was tempted to go as well, but it was all the way in Concord and if I go, I'm stuck there until they finish their sets, load up their equipment and go (that's why he doesn't get home until 3:00 am). The night before last he played with his Beatles band The Sun Kings in San Francisco - last night's gig was with a bunch of guys we've both known for years - they usually do danceable rock such as ZZ Top, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. The guy in charge changes his band's name whenever he feels like it - I forgot what it is now, but a year or two ago it was **** Nino (get it?).
I woke up this morning at 5:45 am which is darn late for me but the gym doesn't open till 8:00 this morning. Oops! That's 20 minutes...gotta run! I'll finish this later.
Hey there - I know that this board is being read pretty heavily even if very few people are posting right now (kinda difficult getting back in the swing of things sometimes).
The past couple of mornings (today and yesterday) my gym has been a lot quieter than I thought it would be. Of course the rainstorms we're having - along with the fact that a lot of people still have the week off - is probably a factor in keeping the crowds down. I 'spect by Monday it'll be a zoo by 5 am.
Anyway!!! Pam B has been posting the most motivating stuff lately. Just in case you didn't catch this one from today's L&S postings, I thought I'd quote it here:
Quote:
A lot of times we get so focused on how we look and how many sizes we have reduced or how many pounds are gone.
There are some other things that we have to consider while doing this plan. Have your energy levels increased since
being on the program? Have you honored your self promises and begun trusting yourself again? Do you feel physically
better? Hopefully all of your answers to those questions are YES, because they sure were for me.
You have two choices here... you can either 1) give up and be fat, unhealthy, and miserable for the rest of your life 24
hours per day, 7 days per week, or 2) you can continue to plan your food and exercise for a few hours per week. I
understand how hard it is. I was on a plateau for 7 weeks where I did not see any progress whatsoever. It's like my body
was saying, "Pam, you have tried this before and you have always given up, so I am going to test you to try to get you to
stop changing so fast." But, I was DETERMINED to stick with it and recognize that I was doing everything right, everyday
so something was bound to give. And when it did, I lost 15 pounds in 3 weeks. It's like the dam finally broke and the fat that
my body was holding onto just poured off.
Have you ever thought about recognizing and rewarding yourself for keeping your promises to yourself daily? It seems like
we typically will only reward ourselves for results. Like we will celebrate when we lose 10 pounds. I started rewarding
myself daily by giving myself a star sticker for each promise I kept to myself. Here's what mine typically looked like:
green star = followed the nutrition plan (didn't cheat)
red star = did my planned exercises
silver star = drank all of my water
gold star = thought positive thoughts about myself
I would stick these on my daily progress sheets. Then if I was getting discouraged, I could look back and see where I may
have been falling short or better yet, see that I had been doing everything right so the results should come eventually.
I hope that this helps. I know how discouraging this journey can get. You CAN do this for you, you deserve it!
DON'T GIVE UP!! WE CAN ALL REACH OUR GOALS. It's just a matter of eating clean, working out with intensity, and keeping up your motivation. Work on it until it becomes second nature!
Hi- I'm one of your lurkers, usually post on the sugarbusters board, but have been skittering around various BFL sites and thinking about it. I'm a pretty manic exerciser, but have a lot of questions about the eating part. If anybody has the time to answer, I'd appreciate it. I haven't bought the book yet and it seems to be permanently out of our library!
Does anybody following bfl feed a family? I'm not sure how to fit in my needs and their needs.
How do you reliably measure body fat? I've been told the caliper method is pretty unreliable and ditto on the new scales (Tanita I think?) but that's hearsay from an aerobics instructor friend.
I don't see why you couldn't do BFL with the family eating the same thing you're eating. My hubby usually eats what I do with no complaints (except he hates mushrooms and I love them - I usually have to hide the mushrooms in his dinner!).
First thing to do is READ THE BOOK. I can't stress that enough. Especially the chapter on Crossing the Abyss. I have bought the Body for Life book for $15 at Barnes & Noble, and since it's still on the bestseller list you should have no problem finding it.
Along with reading the book, you can browse our previous threads here for a ton of info. Also if you've been lurking here, you've heard of www.leanandstrong.com - I strongly recommend checking that site out - especially the Transformation Gallery and the profiles. L&S is not only a fun community but there is a WEALTH of support and information to be had there for free!
Now, as far as bodyfat measuring, don't waste your $$ on the Tanita scale as it is worthless. Calipers are actually considered the 'gold standard' (next to hydrostatic [underwater] weighing) - the accuracy of calipers really depends on the person doing the measurements! Personally I prefer the good ol' trusty "Pants-O-Meter" myself. Currently my Pants O Meter is telling me I'm getting darn close to a true SIZE FOUR (which is a real thrill for me, as I was once a size 26 - and a size 10 prior to starting BFL).
Another good website is at www.hussman.com/eas. He has some great info on bodyfat measuring there as well.
Get the book, read it and keep coming back! Between this thread and L&S there's a WEALTH of support and info for us BFLers!
MRSJIM: Thank you for your quick answers! I will head out and get the book, hopefully before the weekend. I've managed to convert my family to sugarbusters without them really noticing- tho I notice the goodies they eat that I don't!
Congrats on your PANTS-O-METER reading. I have seen your site and your progress, and the others' on the L&S site. Very impressive. I just wanted to try to get an accurate BF measurement for starters. I've lost 35 pounds and gone from a size 16 to an 8 on SB and lots of weight lifting since end of last July, but especially after the long holiday season, I need a change or maybe just a little more structure. I need to lose about 15 more pounds of fat and see the abs I KNOW are there!
If you notice the goodies your family eats that you don't get to on Sugarbusters...then you'll LOVE Free Day on BFL... what a GREAT concept to have one day a week where you can eat whatever you are craving!!!!
I think I'm going to buy those star things. I need something new to keep me going.
I'm going to NYC on Friday and will be back in a week. I'm bringing the 2002 muscle media with me (the one with the military training articles) and one that came yesterday (I'm not sure which one it is) and will buy a new journal.
I came down with a sinus infection on December 16 and have been ill ever since. Bronchitis, headaches, insomnia, endless hacking cough, nausea...
Today is my first day of "clean eating" since 12/15. On Monday I'll be starting week 5 of Challenge 1 if I'm physically able - if not, I'm going to start over from week 1 when I can.
It was good to read all the messages I missed. I hope to regain my health soon and begin again with all the parts of my program.
Does anyone know what the average weight loss one can expect from BFL? I know there are other factors involved like bodyfat, gaining muscle etc. But as far as the evil scale, I was just wondering. I don't want to aim to high to be disappointed, I have 40 scale lbs to lose. Although I know not to focus on the scale, admittedly we all, or at least I, tend to peek from time to time . What can I say some old habits die hard.
I agree with Karen that the Pants-O-Meter is the better judge. At one time I dropped a full clothes size and gained a weight pound. I just can't see myself in a size 8 weighing 160 lbs Actually when I think it about, I'd be one heck of a muscle woman LMAO!!!
Anyway I know some of you have been around L&S longer than me and was curious if you knew.
If you've been hanging around here and/or L&S long enough, you've read that if you're gonna do BFL, the less time you spend on the nasty ol' scale, the better off you'll be.
I am a perfect example...for 31 years, ever since I was 7 years old, I have been weighing myself AT LEAST once a week, sometimes twice (actually the record for me is six times a week - back in the 70's when I was going to Diet Center and had to go in every day except Sunday to be weighed).
So what did my 'scale slavery' do for me as a result???
Not much, except to make me depressed in the long run. Those numbers don't mean diddly-squat when you're doing BFL.
In fact when I first started BFL in April, I was still weighing myself once a week - the first four weeks that is. Thank God I was spending time here, at L&S, and reading the Hussman site - otherwise I would have just said 'screw it!' and blown the program. Because the scale didn't move much. A couple of times my weight actually went up.
But...in the meantime...I felt my clothes beginning to loosen...I felt stronger, more fit than ever before in my life (including summer of 2000 when I did two metric century rides). After week 4, I made a decision to stop getting on the scale every week - instead, I would weigh myself every four weeks. Now I just weigh myself at the end of each Challenge, just to use as a guideline. The last time I weighed myself (at the end of C2 in October) I weighed 151 1/2 pounds (I'm 5'4" tall, BTW). When I started BFL, I was around 160. I can hear you now "TEN LOUSY POUNDS???"
But wait!!! At the end of C2, I was down to a SIZE SIX. I'm nearly at a size four right now...that's enough to tell me that if you're bodybuilding, lifting weights, getting strong, eating clean, hitting your 10's, that the scale doesn't mean diddly-squat. As Hussman says "You really do change from the inside out". So true.
Funny...previously when I got myself down to a paltry 143, I was a size 12...I weigh more than that now (I think!) and I'm a size 4/6. Is that cool or what?
I know I keep using Pam B as an example but she is SUCH a perfect one...she started BFL at 244 pounds in January 2000...in August 2001, she was down to 144 pounds....and a SIZE FOUR. According to fashion magazines, since I'm a size 4/6 I'm 'supposed' to weigh around 120. Riiiiight....
I realize that it's tough to get over the 'scale addiction' but believe me, you'll be much happier without stressing over those stupid numbers!!!
Just want to close with a quote from Pam B's document in the Training Library (I've quoted this before but it is well worth repeating!):
Quote:
I NEVER LET THE SCALE SET MY MOOD FOR THE DAY OR WEEK!! In fact, I try to weigh myself as little as possible. Remember, you are building muscle! Not only do you build muscle but you increase the density of your bones, increase the fluid in your blood, and muscle weighs a lot more than fat! Try not to let it affect how you feel about yourself.
Every day when I wake up I ask myself, “Who do you want to be today, Pam?” I make a conscious decision to be a healthy, fit individual rather than a lazy, fat person. Whenever I have a tough decision to make throughout the day I ask myself, “Pam, will this take you closer to or further away from your goals?” Then I have my answer on whether I should do it or not.
Hey gal!!!! Hope you're feeling better so you can hit the gym full steam ahead! It really stinks to be feeling yukky during the holidays!
and to Susanje - Thanks but I can't take the credit for the star idea - that's Pam B's. I hope she doesn't mind me liberally quoting her here - the board at L&S moves so fast that I don't want people here to miss her valuable words of inspriation and advice...she is having shoulder surgery today and I know she'll be fine...
After work today I'm going to search for the new Energy magazine with Pam B's story in it. Not that we haven't already heard it...but it's exciting to see it in a national publication! Woo hoo! I will actually probably end up subscribing to Energy. Even though a lot of people at L&S panned it, I thought it was pretty well done, and remember that the editor of Energy went to the L&S boards and asked our opinion - as a result, voila! an article on Pam B! Plus her B&As are in the BFL calendar that's included in the new issue of Muscle Media (I hung the calendar up in my office).
I hear ya, Carriej!
New Year - New Attitude!!!
Hi there Mel!
. What can I say some old habits die hard.
Actually when I think it about, I'd be one heck of a muscle woman LMAO!!!
Fear Not the Scale!!!
