General Diet Plans and Questions - Body for Life #24

We're starting number 24!!!

Welcome to LISA!! Glad you're here! :wave:

How is everyone doing???

As for me: I got my Powerblocks today!!! :cool:

They are so neat and they fit very nicely into a small space that I really don't have much I can do with it. You can't even tell they're dumbbells. I think I could camoflague them if I wanted to. Hubby found me a great folding bench that we pick up this week.


Going out tonight for my birthday celebration. free night!

Hi!

My husband Brian and I are gearing up to return to BFL after free week. This will be sort of a 6-week "mini-challenge", since we're starting our next official challenge on Jan. 7.

I did just "fun" exercise (moderate aerobics class and water aerobics) and walked with Brian. Had some Myoplex lites for breakfast, but ate a little too much junk food, and am looking forward to eating better.

lhendricks -- Brian and I have had a lot of fun with the food on BFL, and probably ate more interesting meals during challenge 1 than we did last week! Have a great time with your challenge -- I'm looking forward to discussing different food ideas with you!

Carrie

it's because we got a new kitty!

Jim and I have been playing with the idea of getting an indoor cat for awhile now, so yesterday we went to the Humane Society and found our new kitty.

He's a 5 year old pure white shorthair named Sparky. Right now he's exploring the house and he slept with us last night at the foot of our bed.

My sister was horrified that we got a MALE cat but so far he hasn't sprayed or pooped anywhere he shouldn't - so we're keeping our fingers crossed! Sparky is very mellow and I think he'll be happy here with us.

Anyway, glad that a new thread was started! Makes it easy to access the old threads when they aren't pages and pages long IMO.

If you get a chance, check out the little thread that Trishlyn started yesterday. I posted an answer but would like it if a couple of you would chime in. Basically, I feel it's important for everyone to read the book (even if you just check it out of the library instead of buying it!) before starting this program!

Off to shop (one of the best times to hit Safeway is early Sunday morning - the best produce is there then!). Later gals.

YUCK! But all systems are GO for tomorrow! I'm gradually redoing all my shelves and cabinets so that only BFL supplies are evident. I have ample MRPs and grains for Challenge 1 so I'll only need meat, fish, dairy, and produce...i.e. less time in the grocery store.

SUSANJE congratulations on your powerblocks. When I own a home again, my highest priority is a "home gym." Right now I have a broken weight bench from the dump that does double-duty as a coffee table. The incline is accomplished with a piece of 2X4...but it works!

MRS. JIM there is no life without cats! I had to give my Basset Hound away last year when my life fell apart but my eleven-year-old cats were not expendable. SPARKY will give you far more than you can ever give him, and what a lucky guy HE is to be your adoptee. My male cat is the cleanest animal I've ever known - the female is a slob!

CARRIE it was you with the fabulous sounding food! I don't have much time to cook but I'm good at it.

I'm waiting impatiently for tomorrow. My UBW will happen after work (but three hours after a meal) and my dinner will be ready when I get home ravenous.

SusanJ~~~Enjoy your Birthday dinner. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAL :)

Carrie - congratulations on the success of your 1st challenge! Your pictures show amazing results --- way to go!

Susanje - glad to hear you got your Powerblocks! I'm saving for my set. And please tell more about the folding bench. If I could find one that I could lean up against a wall when not in use that would be great!

Lhendricks - I know from reading your posts that you've done a great job of planning your first challenge and are ready to go. Best of luck as you begin the wonderful journey that is BFL.

I've had a rough time of it this past week. We're preparing for trial at work - lots of stress and late hours. I have to keep reminding myself that it's also lots of overtime, so it's not all bad! Plus my left hip and leg have been giving me fits. (I have arthritis in my spine that affects my sciatic nerve.) Exercise usually keeps it under control so I've been forcing myself to do my workouts despite the pain. It does feel better afterwards, it's getting started that really hurts!

There have been a few days when I've been tempted to give up on this challenge. Wow, that's a terrible thing to have to write. I'm not ready to give up yet, though. I've come too far and have much further to go!!!

Marci

Hi all, I'm new to this site. Tomorrow I start W7D1 was hoping okay to join your support group here.

I also post occasionally at L&S so my name may or may not look familiar. I like the thread format of this site. Anyway the pic of me was a joke of sorts, the dh thought I would do good at my new lifestyle "locked up" LOL.

So far BFL and I have been getting along. I tend to workout in the morning but two days a week when I can't then its late afternoon. So far so good. My last meal is 3 hours before the workout.

I'm taking Thursday as my free day, more for the vino than the food :)


p.s. Pam B is also one my inspirations!

WELCOME ThinBytes!!!

:wave:

Marci: Good to see you too!

:wave:

Mrs. Jim: Where is the thread by Tracilyn? I looked on L&S but didn't see one. :?:

Congrats on the puddy tat. I have 3 and I just love them. They are my boobas.

Thank you 2B for the bd wishes. :D

It's actually tomorrow but I will be in (YUK) school all day. :(

I did my oral arguments in appellate advocacy last week and tomorrow night I get to spend the evening with my advisor going over the video tapes. She will spend a long time critiquing my every move and my every word during my half hour argument. Not only what I said (how I answered the judge's grilling) but the way I stood the way I talked, what I said, eye contact, hand movements...EVERYTHING...Talk about being punished on your bd!!! :dizzy:

I am still actively searching for a position for next summer. Although finals are coming up, I need to have a job and don't want to take just any old thing. I spent most of the weekend writing cover letters. Major yucch.

Now off to study...........

Can't believe I have another one coming up on Thursday - actually it's going to be a Free Meal rather than a Free Day. I still want to work out - unfortunately the gym for the first time ever is closing all day Thanksgiving! AARGH! Usually they stay open until noon or 1 pm. I suppose I wouldn't want to work on Thanksgiving either. That's okay though - I'll just go to the gym at work - our buildings are open 24/7.

Susanje, the thread is on this forum (Diet Plans) called "Question about BFL...please!" I'd love it if you would add your two centavos.

Sparky is adjusting just fine - I was worried that he'd be pooping everywhere but he found his litterbox right away. He's being a bit subvertive about using it - we never see him using it but the evidence is inside (it's Jim's job to clean it twice a day). I love clumping litter - makes it WAY easier to clean than that icky Jonny Cat stuff. He has already taken over two chairs and loves to sleep and play with the cat toys we got him. This is one of the first cats I've ever encountered that actually likes catnip! The best thing is he is a 100% inside cat - enjoys looking out the window but has not the slightest inclination to go outside. We are already talking about getting another cat as a pal for him but feel we should wait a bit to see how we handle just one - besides our place is really small...

Oh well, time to get my exercises together and hit the hay! G'Night!

I have the litter maid cat box (the automatic scooper thingy). It can be a pain but I think much better than manual (lol) boxes. My cats are house cats but I let them out in the yard under my supervision once a day. I tried to get them to go in the dirt out there by mixing cat litter with it, but they will be outside and go inside to use the box and then come back out!!!! arrgghh :mad:

SJ-Just popped in to say "Happy Birthday". Hope you have a great one, and enjoy your powerblocks!

Mrs. J-Congrats on your new cat! I'm sure you will have many enjoyable years together!

I have been reading all your posts. I'm glad everyone is doing great! As for me, I haven't been using my smith, I'll get back to it when I can---I've been walking/joging (my toe has turned black again--it always does when I jog alot.) In fact, this weekend, I did a total of 11 miles, and I am feeling great!

Good luck to the newbies!

WELCOME THINBYTES ! ! ! ! !

Shelly~~Glad to see that you're still with us! :cool:

Susanj~~The money is on the way.Thanks :)

Marci~~~Don't give up. You've come so far and done so well. We are here for you :)

Lhendricks~~~With all the planning that you have done, you will do well. Planning and journaling are so very important to success. Keep us posted :)

Carrie~~~Hope you enjoyed your free week :D

Today is C3W2D3 and so far so good. Exercising and food are great (100% clean) but I still have trouble on the water intake some days. I'm using the sticker method on my calander so that I can easily see where I need to work harder.
Hope you all have a great day :D :D
~~~Sil

no time to post, except to say I'm off! UBW at 4pm. I did cardio yesterday because it was too nice outside not to.

I'm taking two Free Meals rather than one day this week. Other than that, it's the "bible by Bill!"

Have a great day all.

Well everyone I just got done with C1W1D1 :). Wow....I feel great. It's about 10:15 pm here now. I feel completey energized. I just have some comments along with a few questions.

- That workout totally kicked my ***. I have been lifting for 2 months before this...but nothing like that. I know I am going to feel it tomorrow.

- I had some problems doing tricep extensions with dumbells so I jogged over to my school's gym (across campus) and did cable tricep extensions. Will this be a problem? I might have to do this from now on since I can't seem to get the movement down right without knocking the back of my head with the dumbell.

- I have a pretty busy schedule on some days of the week due to classes/work. ie...TR I am going CONSTANTLY from 9 am to 4 pm with NO time to go home and fix anything. What MRP bars work well for BFL that I can throw in my bag to take with me? I do get 10 mins inbetween classes that I can chug some water and eat a bar.

- I am planning to do elliptical trainer/stairmaster/bike for my 20 MAS, but when I go home over Thanxgiving can I do a walk/jog?

- How much H20 should I be taking in daily? I usually drink about a gallon, but is that enough?

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can give me. I have been lurking here for awhile and I finally decided to take the plunge after some planning over the weekend. I figured...why wait?

Here's some stats- kind of embarassing to put up but oh well. I hope you gals don't mind a guy joining your message board.

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 291 (started at 340 in April 2001 - got to 292 by late august...but have been stuck there since....even with "moderate" weight training and diet)

BF Percentage: 38.7% (Tanita scale - need to get calipers still)

Have a great night ya'll.

Doggz (Sean)

OH YEAH....im putting a website up soon too so I can put some pics up! :)

Of course you can post with us gals here at 3FC...and I encourage you to lurk/post at Lean & Strong as well...there are a lot more guys there. I enjoy both places myself! :lol:

You may want to start taking glutamine for those sore muscles. It really helps tremendously - I order mine from Netrition off the L&S site (that way they get a kickback which keeps the site running). Costs about $50 for a tub that lasted me for MONTHS (using it 3x/day).

If you have problems using DBs for tri extensions, by all means use the cables - I really enjoy doing rope pulldowns myself. If you can get to your library - check out Arnold Schwartzenggers' Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. It's an INCREDIBLE resource.

I don't use meal replacement bars so much cos they are loaded with glycerine, sugar, carbs...I was using them at the beginning though. Ask over at L&S, but I was using the Worldwide Pure Protein bars (gotta have a carb with it though). Just chug down a lot of water otherwise they kind of stick in your craw, and try not to use them except in an emergency.

You can do whatever cardio exercise you want for your 20 MAS as long as you can hit 9's and 10's and keep it up for 20 minutes without stopping - obviously, cycling on a busy street with lots of lights isn't going to cut it. Do what you enjoy!

A gallon sounds fine - water happens to be my biggest problem - I shoot for a gallon a day myself!

Oh, one more thing, get rid of that Tanita scale...calipers are much more accurate. If you order from netrition (see above) they'll send you a free set of Accu-Measure calipers if you order, like $75 or more. Since they sell for $13-20, a pretty good deal I'd say!

Whew! Time for bed. See ya later y'all!

I'm happy to be back on track. Definitely had some "learning experiences" (aka mistakes) during free week -- feeling like I undermined some of my progress, but now it's time to move on.

Marci -- It's great that you keep going even when things are rough. It sounds like you will continue to reap the benefits!

Mrs. Jim -- Congratulations on your new cat Sparky! I'm so jealous -- the house we rent doesn't allow pets, and Brian, although perfect in other ways :D doesn't especially want a cat. My cat Tommy was my best buddy growing up (male cats can be great!)

ThinBytes -- Welcome! This is a great place for BFLers.

Doggz23 and lhendricks -- Great challenge starts -- sounds like everything is going great!

susanje -- Hope your video review went terrific!

ShelleyM and 2BFIT1 -- Good to hear from both of you!

It's wonderful to see all the messages on this board!

Carrie

Hey all thanks for the welcome. :D And a welcome to you Sean!


I feel bad because I missed my workout yesterday, that's the 2nd time in 7 weeks. I had heard that the middle weeks get harder and I'm supposing that just may be true. I'm quite busy today as well but I WILL find the time to workout today! I've worked too hard so far to let it fall apart now.


I had a problem with the lying tricep extension when I first started. I just started out with extremely light weights to get going, something like 2, 3, 3, 5, 3 I swear I was trembling LOL Now I start out with 5lbs its not great but I'm getting there! I love the cable pulldown myself, I use it whenever I'm at the HC.

Anyway thanks for letting me be honest, I hate admitting something like missing a workout or eating a pizza (which I hadn't done except on a free day).

Happy Belated Birthday Susan!


W7D2

It seems that SEAN and I started the same day.

I did my first UBW and discovered that I'm not having some of the problems I anticipated with my "form"...it came back really quickly. I'm starting slowly on this part of the challenge because I have a history of neck problems and tendonitis in my right forearm. I'll up the weights slightly on Friday.

Today and Thursday I'll be doing my cardio outside but Saturday I hope to be indoors, on the treadmill.

I cut my portions back just a bit (per Jeremy's suggestions at L&S) because I'm always full and I want to get in my six meals. Last night I made the Myoplex pudding and it was so thick I had to scrape it out of the container! I've adopted Mrs. Jim's idea of following a hot bath with Myoplex as an end to my day, one purring cat on my lap, the other nearby.

Have a great day, everyone.

Whoa! Two days before TURKEY DAY! I assume we're all taking Thanksgiving as a Free Day/Free Meal?

I was going to hit the gym at work on Thursday, but there were several posts at L&S that caused me to rethink. If you're going to take a "Free Day" in nutrition, you should take a "free day" in workouts as well. So Jim and I will probably go on a bike ride or something on Thursday before dinner (weather permitting of course!) but I am not going to go to the gym - Sunday I'll do my usual workout. Wow, a week and a half between Free Days/Meals - that's a stretch but I think I'll manage.

Yesterday we took Sparky to the vet. He does NOT like leaving the house at all. Totally an inside cat. Unfortunately right now he's on a nocturnal playtime schedule - hopefully that will change! He's a total lovebug though. Just a sweetie when the vet clipped his claws which were like daggers!

Sean, good post on the Anorex thread. I rather thought that referring to the "ephedra facts" site for unbiased info would be like going to the Phillip-Morris site for the truth about cigarettes! :lol: but I thought I'd let the sleeping dog lie at that point if you know what I mean. Even though the old fallacy about BFL being expensive to do was mentioned (I hear that SO often and it's completely untrue - my grocery and eating-out bills have actually DECREASED since starting BFL). I'd like to post something that I posted on a previous thread but bears repeating - originally posted by George at L&S:
Nobody was a bigger skeptic than I. The first time I logged onto the BFL site and saw the transformations, I said out loud, "There's no way those people did that in 12 weeks!"

What you come to realize is that those are the champions out of thousands of entries. After 8 months, I still don't look like a transformation champion, but I have transformed myself for the better, and I continue to push forward, and that's what the program's really about.

There's no denying that the book serves as an incredible marketing vehicle for EAS. But there's also no denying that it's still a very good book. Don't make the mistake of confusing all the sales bull with the validity of the program.

By the way, I don't use any EAS products as a rule, but the ones I've tried (primarily the Myoplex shakes and various bars) I thought were pretty good. In fact, I think there are a lot of good products on the market by various companies.

Is this the right program for you? I'm convinced anyone--anyone--could get great results with it.
I think that says it all!

ThinBytes - Welcome and feel free to hang with us! :cool: I have the same deal with lying DB Tri extensions - funny that I can do overhead tricep rope extensions at up to 65# for 15 reps but for lying DB extensions I'm still stuck at 10-12# tops. I usually superset 'em with bench dips - whatta workout!

Well, back to work! Later everyone!

and I'll do my cardio when I first get up, since I can avoid my usual clash of work schedule and so on. I'll do a second free meal on Sunday.

Have a wonderful holiday, while building your body for life...

Hope the meeting with your advisor went well.

I'm hanging in there and hoping to feel better soon. I started doing some of my old physical therapy exercises and stretches at the end of my workouts (I went for a month of physical therapy a few years ago, when my arthritis was first diagnosed) and it seems to be helping a little.

Mrs. Jim how's that new baby of yours doing? I had cats for many, many years. My extra-special baby, Willie, who I raised from a 4-week-old kitten, passed away in my lap when he was 19. I never got another cat after him. It's been dogs since then! My last 2 dogs have had a really high "prey drive", and a cat wouldn't stand a chance in this house.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm taking a free meal on Thursday and a free meal on Saturday and hopefully I'll be able to handle the food extravaganza that's part of the holiday. Best wishes to all ---

Marci

Lesson 1: NEVER put cottage cheese in the microwave (even mixed with oatmeal!)

Lesson 2: Racewalking may cause shinsplints when jogging doesn't

Lesson 3: Too much pudding mix in one's MyoLite is a bad thing.

I'm sure others will appear...each day a new adventure! Can anyone explain WHY f/f cheese is not considered a useful protein source? I'm not talking about so-called American cheese in slices that has tons of chemicals but farmer's cheese or mozz. Because I'm not an enthusiastic consumer of meat or fish, this would be an easy selection for me.

Thank you.

lhendricks - I think because FFCC contains lots of sodium and sugar stuff. Check the label against the LF which is what I use. I guess they had to compensenate somewhere for the taste.

I used to use the FF because I thought it was a good thing. If I can find the link where I saw this information I'll post it for you.

I always use low-fat cottage cheese. I keep buying bigger and bigger tubs of it.

I never considered cheese (and I know when 'cheese' is referred to you don't mean 'cottage cheese') as a healthy food, and the fat free stuff just tastes awful to me! :lol:

I don't see why TVP shouldn't be an okay protein, most of the ones I've seen are just soy. Have you tried tempeh? Boca Burgers? Veat? I'm pretty sure that Garden Burgers would NOT be considered a protein, as they're mostly carbs.

Anyway, I saw the answer on L&S from Shannon (or was it Julie?), but I think you are looking for a more complete answer than that so I posted a message to Jeremy on the Quad Squad board. As soon as an answer comes up I'll copy it over here. I'm pretty sure it has to do with cheese being so highly processed (even the natural stuff) and the effects dairy products have on losing body fat (I believe that dairy impedes fat loss, but I'm not 100% sure of that).

Actually I use 2% Cottage Cheese, there isn't a big calorie difference and to me it tastes one heckuva lot better! As far as regular cheese goes I save it for my Free Day (my favorites being Sonoma Jack, Brie, and good old Wispride Cheese Spread on wheat thins!).

I can imagine the explosion from putting CC in the microwave, kind of akin to John Belushi imitating a zit in the movie Animal House! :lol:

As far as Myo Lite Pudding goes I usually use about 1/4 of a small box of Jello FFSF pudding mix to 1 envelope of Myo Lite, but that's just me. Mmm.

yes, cottage cheese and oatmeal caked on the inside of the microwave is EVEN worse than trying to clean an entire Myoplex Lite shake off of the floor!

I've been comparing the food values for cheese and cottage cheese...so far, they look about the same. I'll appreciate any insight though.

I use a product called Nutlettes that has the consistency of Grapenuts but it's all soy. Very convenient, I can even eat it dry when desperate.

misunderstood.

I posted the following to Jeremy at the Quad Squad board:

A poster on the Main Board, who also posts at the BFL board at www.3fatchicks.com, asked about why cheese (even fat free cheese, yuk!) is not considered an authorized protein. I also note that on the nutrition program you made for me, it's not listed.

I have never considered cheese a really healthy food myself, but could you go into the whys and wherefores in a bit more detail than the answer on the Main Board? Thanks!

Jeremy's answer:
The fat content of most cheese is prohibitive. The cheeses with reduced fats are highly processed and contain other, less desireable ingredients. I do, however, enjoy occassional dabs of organic cheese here and there .... I don't see it as a problem as a protein source, but most people lack the discipline to eat the right portion sizes ... if you can eat a block of cheese, great! Just keep in mind the fatty cheeses can pack 500+ calories in an inch square!

In health,

Jeremy
And just wanted to add this related Q&A from the Hussman site:
Q.Hi John! I'm doing the program as a vegetarian. Is there anything you would advise for keeping my protein up?

A. It helps if you aren't totally vegan, and can include foods derived from milk and eggs. If that's not the case, then by necessity, the staple is probably soy protein, which you can have in tofu, Boca Burgers, and other texturized forms. So far as soy-protein isolates are concerned, my understanding is that they vary significantly in terms of amino-acid profile. In the March 2000 Muscle Media, Brett Hall R.D. notes that the best of these is Supro brand, from Protein Technologies (a division of Ralston). The Supro is very complete in that regard.

As far as beans, rice and lentils go, be sure to remember that they are higher in carbohydrate than in protein. For example, most beans have about 2-3g of carbohydrate per gram of protein, and rice is closer to 10g of carbohydrate per gram of protein. So in order to get 1 gram of protein per lean pound (which I would suggest on the BFL program), it's almost essential to supplement with a soy protein isolate or other high protein source. If you're targeting your protein intake to about 1 gram per lean pound (at least 30-40% of your calories), and your overall caloric intake is consistent with your fat-loss goals, the carbs will work themselves out, so you don't have to be analyzing the whole diet gram for gram.

If milk and eggs are included in your diet, you've got a much wider range. On the whole-food side, there's egg protein, which gives you a lot of variety itself, and casein protein (cottage cheese). Cottage cheese is digested slowly, and it has properties that help to reduce muscle breakdown (for example, high glutamine content). It's a great choice for your last meal of the day. I'd definitely include it in your dietary mix, even though Zig Ziglar says "I have found it to be universally true that 'aint nothin' but fat folks eat the stuff".

Whey protein is also derived from milk, and is the key protein source in Myoplex. It has an excellent amino-acid profile, with a high concentration of branched-chain amino acids that are integral to muscle growth. It also has immune-enhancing properties, so is good to include if you can. EAS derives the whey protein from micro-filtration and ion-exchange, which keeps it intact. Brett Hall, a vegetarian, suggests that you try to get a balanced variety in your protein supplements, and he shoots for an equal ratio of soy, whey and casein proteins, with egg whites (or egg-beaters) as an additional whole food source. Hope that helps! John

If you check the book, even tho' cheese isn't listed as an authorized carb, you'll note that Bill P does use it kind of like a condiment or flavoring in one of his sample menus. Probably the best way to use lowfat/fat free cheese if you're gonna IMO.