General Diet Plans and Questions - Body for Life #33

HI Everyone!!!!

Welcome to BFL #33!!! I went on a looooooooooooooong walk this a.m. at 6:30 just in time to come up over the hill as the sun was coming up. GORGEOUS. Because it was Sunday, no one else was around....I think even the Sunday morning regulars were experiencing football hangover. I was in the store yesterday morning and everyone had their beer and chips in the cart while I had chicken, apples and brown rice. Hello.

MrsJim: Thanks for letting me know the hussman site changed its address! I refer to it now and again and I would like to know where it is!

Congrats on starting C4!!! Can you post some menus or the way you will be following a plan for competition and typical workouts? Not that I could do this while in school but I am curious about it.
Are you following a food plan from the trainer (ala Pam B) or from Jeremy?

Hi EVERYONE!!!

Have a good week!!!
Susan

carrie.......nice to meet you.......sounds like you as well have been having great success with the BFL lifestyle.........that is why.....I am soooooo pumped about this......I have chatted on other threads......but after reading this book and reading the testimonials.....*I am some what of a skeptic*......I just have to give this a try......everyone is soooooo positive about it.......that is what drew me here.......VBS.....

meliris......yep know those areas as well.......I lived in St. Catharines for a while when I was younger I have many relatives there......which I try to visit.......since it is not soooooo far from me......only lived in DT Toronto when I was a little girl......before I moved away from the area I lived in the Mississauga area.....Hamilton is still relatively new to me.....I moved here for my job......here is hoping the body soak helped relax the muscles....


THIS PLACE IS GREAT!!!


good day all

Today I went through my closet and pulled out all my former clothes. Five years ago I was in VERY SMALL to TEENY clothes and today I went through my closet (well still going through it, I have a mound of clothes on the floor) and pulled out all my favorite clothes that don't yet fit. I'm going to hang an outfit in my office, in my bedroom and one downstairs in the bathroom for motivation. I might even put one in my car!!! :lol:

Well ladies I have yet another question.....these myoplex replacements...........can they be prepared ahead of time......as long as they are refrigerated after preparation??....

I have a very hectic work schedule during the day......so I thought if I prepared what I needed and put it in the fridge at work....this would make things easier....

thanks again for your help...

Kelster,

I believe that the protein starts to break down in a few hours, I don't remember how many. I've tried every which way to do "make ahead" MRPs and have never found anything that works well except a portable blender and plenty of ice. I hate Ready to Drink, Myoplex does NOT shake up well in a shaker (I know that other MRPs, notably Labrada does shake up better but nothing tastes "right" to me without ice), and I even tried freezing one and letting it thaw in my lunch bag (YUCK).

One thing that did work for me was to make MyoPudding. Blend up a myoplex with half the water, add sugar free/fat free instant pudding mix (just sprinkle about 1/4 of a packet, if it doesn't thicken in about 3 minutes, sprinkle in some more), put in a container and take with you. I used to do half chocolate and half vanilla. But it makes A LOT of pudding so to get your full serving of Myoplex you have to eat a lot of pudding. Not bad the first couple of times but after a while I was all pudding'd out. :lol:

Susan

Hi all! We are really rocking here with a new thread every three days or so, aren't we? :D

As far as the mixing Myoplex or any other MRP ahead of time, that question came up just this past week at L&S. If I recall correctly, you have like 9 hours before the protein starts breaking down or something...they do taste better when they're made fresh. Tho I do enjoy the Myo Lite Pudding (mixing cap ice with butterscotch FF/SF pudding is sooo goood). I tried using RTDs once but they are HORRID tasting (at least the Myoplex one is!). Besides, most RTDs are incredibly expensive, and loaded with sugar. I was at Safeway this morning stocking up for next week - they had the EAS AdvantEdge RTDs on sale. Picked one up and checked the nutritional info - 23g of sugar!!! Too high for me.

This is why I save my MRPs for meals #1 and #6. I especially love having a Myo Pudding at night just before bedtime - I do have a HUGE sweet tooth!

As far as my nutrition for this challenge - I'm splitting it up into three-week increments - I'm doing 'by the book' BFL eating for the next three weeks - and no flour products (bread is a killer for me so I just cut it out) except on Free Day. I think I can do most of my nutrition for myself - I've learned a lot this past year!

So today I had my first session with the PT. I worked with Theresa - Dan was working with one other client. I really enjoyed the one-on-one and the fact that we weren't doing this in a regular gym with all its distractions (one of the problems I had with the trainers at my gym was when they stop in the middle of a session to chat with someone else working nearby). They gave me a body composition test this morning and registered my bodyfat a LOT higher than I calculated - 28% to be exact. I was like, whoa, I CAN'T be 28% BF - but then I started thinking...just came off of free week this morning, haven't been working out or eating very clean at all...and I just know that the number is going to drop significantly over the next few weeks...I also remembered reading Pam B's story in Energy:
At the end of her first 12 weeks, Pam dropped from 49% body fat to 38%....her second Challenge brought her from 38% to 25% BF. By the end of her third Challenge, she gained 16 pounds of muscle, weighed 164 lbs and trimmed her bodyfat to 15%. "I felt like I'd arrived, so I gave myself a break for the holidays. By March, my body fat had drifted back to 25%."

Remember, four months later - in July - she entered and won her first BB contest...

Anyway, back to my session - it was really fabulous having someone there to critique my form and spot me...and to teach me to use the stability balls - I've been wanting to at the gym but didn't want to look like a klutz! After my session (which was nearly two hours long) I went to the gym and tried out some of the exercises again to kind of get the hang of them before I forget...

So starting this week, I am going to step up the cardio to 30 minutes 3x/week. Next week we're going to work on legs - I want to get in a session of each split - then my finances may force me to go to one session every two weeks :( but we'll see (it wouldn't be a problem if I cut out the riding lessons, but I really look forward to my riding every week - cantering is SO MUCH fun!!).

Let's all hear from you! It's POURING rain out right now...so I guess I'll try and get some housework done and then work on my workout schedule for tomorrow which is gonna be quads/hams.

Where I used to live there was a small private gym for a small number of members and their trainers. I tried to sign up (this was right after I quit smoking and noticed I was gaining weight by the hour) and the wait list was 8 months. They were open from 4:30 a.m. to midnight and was in an out of the way place but still they were always booked but the number of people in there was something like between 5-10 at a time. The people who worked out there said it was like paradise and they got a break doing personal training and using the equipment. My dream is to own a place like that someday. I did a few pt sessions at 24 hour fitness and it was so distracting. I would like a nice quiet place. My first house I buy after I pass the bar will be equipped with a place to set up a real home gym. I looked into opening a gym out here but because I don't know where I'll be living, I had to put it on hold.

Anyway, good for you MrsJim.!!!!! Thanks for sharing with us! Keep sharing with us!!! THANKS!

Susan

Adding a non-stressful walk (I try to walk vigorously without "power" walking for about 2.5 miles a day though I will walk 5-6 miles on Sat and Sun) and Callenetics (3x a week) to my routine has helped. Both are nonimpact but helping overall. I feel like they are both helping me to stretch and limber up and helping me with my weight training.

Susan

Hi everyone-

I have another session tomorrow with pt to work on putting toether UBWO. Lower body on Saturday was great, so I'm hoping this will be as well. This is in a fairly large gym, but the trainer I'm working with is the owner and kinda intimidating until you actually talk to him. So there weren't any distraction problems, his staff and other clients know to leave him alone when he is with a client. Gym was also fairly empty due to a major snowstorm occurring at the time :D . Unfortunately, I'll do upper body with him already sore from having shovelled my driveway twice. Hubby always seems to have a stomach virus whenever it snows....hmmm. Such an annoyance when life and mother nature get in the way of my workout schedule!

MrsJim- Glad your trainer experience turned out so well. Do you really think your BF could have risen that much from just 1 week? I'd prefer to think maybe they are not so good with whatever method or you use different methods? Or it must have been some week! I still get wildly divergent #'s using different methods. My personal favorite is the calipers, since it comes out so much lower than the tape method for me. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle for me.

Started c1W3 yesterday, so far so good. the tight pants I bought just before Xmas are now wearable, so something's happening!

mel

Well, I'm officially starting tommorow. I got the book and read it two days ago, stocked my house up full of healthy food yesterday, and today I printed out my progress/training sheets. I am so psyched! I'm keeping a scrapbook/training log with all my sheets set up for about a month. Anything to make it easier and having all my workouts organized helps. I'm not entered in the challenge but I do have my reward set up. If I go all twelve weeks I'm planning a trip to Las Vegas in October for my 21'st birthday.
For food I'm probably going to end up doing convienence real meals, I can't afford the Myoplex quite yet. Someone mentioned mixing cottage cheese with yogurt equals a carb/protien balance so that sounds like the easiest meal. Also, Stagg fat-free turkey chili looks to be a staple as well.

A quick question about the wieght training. My dumbbells don't go up very high in weight. They are 5 lbs-20 lbs. Can I overcome this by upping my reps to reach my high point? Or should I just invest in some new dumbbells?

Hope y'all have a great night.

Parakeet - sounds like you're all set to begin!! Great! The 5-20 lb dumbbells should be fine for now...you might want to think of investing in some PowerBlocks (If I had the room here, I would have some - they really don't take up much room but our place is so tiny). If you start to 'outgrow' your DB's, instead of adding more reps, try focusing on your form, getting it strict as possible, and work slowly, really concentrate on each movement you make. Again, INTENSITY is the name of the game here!

Cottage cheese with yogurt is really great - just try and get some variety in - for me, milk and yogurt aren't really ideal carbs, mostly because they don't satisfy me (no fiber) as long as, say, a piece of fruit or some barley or brown rice can, so I try to keep the yogurt down to like one meal a day at most. But that's just me :cool: Do check out some of the recipes at L&S's Cooking Library - I try and do one new recipe every two weeks or so. My first two Challenges I would tend to get into a 'rut' of eating the same thing every day...not really a good idea in the long run!

Mel - I was thinking about that myself. I know I was bloated - we ate a lot of salty stuff yesterday and that could have had an effect. I'm not gonna stress about it. She did two measurements - the Bodystat impedience test (with the electrodes) and calipers - using three sites (tricep, abdomen and thigh) where I just measure one site, the sac...abdomen I mean. I think hers MIGHT have been riding high - she didn't get a chance to add up all the numbers from the calipers to get the BF% from that method. BTW, when she used the calipers she took three readings from each site. She did tell me that I don't have that much 'pooch fat' - most of the 'pooch' now is skin. I'm hopeful that with enough training that skin will 'tighten up' without surgery the way Pam B's did! (I'm NOT going under the knife, no way...)

Susan - it's been so cold here this weekend! Haven't gotten much 'leisure' exercise in with the exception of my riding. I cannot WAIT until the warm weather comes in. I am SO ready for summer!!!

:D Hi there! I am new to this site and saw that there were other fellow bflers and just wanted to say HI!! I'm in my fourth week of BFL(first challenge)and I have finally found my way out of that yo-yo, guilt infested diet world I was trapped in for years!! This is the BEST program out there and it is a hard program but that makes it that much more satisfying when you do it and you do it well...well, just floating around checking out what everyone has to say...A

Well......I never imagined.........how hard it would be to eat 6 meals.........dang...........I felt like I ate the day away.......and not once have I felt hungry........this is great.........VBS.......

I do have another question.......now with this portion size stuff......I get the fist/palm stuff........is there a place I can go......that would tell me about oatmeal........rice........corn........servings... .....stuff like that.......that is what confuses me.........I have gone back in the past..........threads.......and they have been a great help......BS.....

I do know........that the first Challenge.........is a learning experience........I am keeping that in mind........

Well I hope everyone else has had a wonderful Monday.......my Mondays are brutal.......too many deadlines........but I survived......and this morning.......after my work out I felt soooooo pumped.........

I love coming here and just posting.......you ladies are soooooo helpful.......and I have a very very supportive b/f..........I CAN DO THIS!!!!

bflchubmom...........nice to meet you.....just started on this thread last week.......it is wonderful......the ladies here are of great help...........I am on my first week..........I have done sooooo much reading to prepare.........and alot of writing.......and what I hear and see.......sounds like the lifestyle for me.....and it is nice to see a fellow Canuck......

well I am off to bed......night all.....

So wonderful to see all the newbies...

Kelster - with some things palm/fist can be kind of difficult. What you can do to determine the size of your 'fist' is get a four cup measuring cup, fill it to the 2-cup level, and stick your clenched fist in. The amount it raises minus the 2-cups is your fist portion size. There are some foods that doesn't work with - so what I do is figure that each meal I will need to get in somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25 grams of protein and carbs each time. You can figure out how big your 'serving size' should be by looking at the nutritional info on the side of the box of oatmeal or rice or whatever - or by going to Fitday.com if it's something like a potato, squash, etc.

After I got back from PT and a little time at the gym, it's been mostly a lazy day with hubby and kitty, rained off and on here. Wish Jim's back wasn't bothering him - it has been all weekend - otherwise we could have gone out and had fun...oh well...

hi everyone
well i started my challenge today and everything went great. I had forgotten how good i feel after working out, lots more energy.

Sheila, Congrats on a great start!!!

BFLChubMOM: WELCOME! :wave:
I posted a hello last night but the system seemed to crash while I was working. Feel free to jump in and post...say hi, comment, question, about anything and everything....

some of us have been here since April of last year, some of us are brandy new and some of us are 'tweeners...it's a great group and our own MrsJim is prepping for a bb contest. (I remember MrsJim's first BFL post...she wrote "Okay, you've convinced me..." after she was reading the posts for a couple of weeks (didn't take her long) and she's a smart lady...has tried a lot of things and investigated/researched a lot of things and she is SOLD on BFL (and look at the progress!!)

So...WELCOME!!!

Kelster: why yes you can do this!!! :D
Even when there have been difficulties in my life, I believe in BFL. I can't say that I would have returned, kept trying to come back to peak performance levels with any other program after I had health issues late last summer and fall. I have struggled since July and I know that Pam B (of L&S fame) had a bit of a slide after her 2nd (I think) challenge and overcame it to go on to be a body building champ!!!I know other people who had injuries, illness or personal issues that challenged their challenges and they all keep trying to come back. That is what I've been doing. My own BFL challenge is inspiring to ME when I'm bemoaning the fact that I feel so awful and progress is so slow.

But because BFL truly works, it's something to come back to and stay committed to....and you do experience changes ALL OVER not just in one spot. I realize that now....I did not give myself enough credit last C1...I didn't see many results until week 7 and then it was great. Anyway....I am BACK to strict BFL and it feels very very good.

I not only fell last week but I fell again yesterday. :eek: My cat was in the tree and being a goober and I ran in to get my digital camera and ran back out and fell down the stairs (what is WITH Me lately? I'm klutzing all over!!! The camera flew across the pavement and didn't work for a while...I had to keep inserting the card back in)..and later my knee was sore (AGAIN) and the weather bothers my back (one reason I moved to CA) but I did some stretching last night (ala Callenetics) and I feel a little stiff today but not bad, not bad at all.

I also think that my recent knee fiascos are healing quickly due to the glutamine I take. It's been the best supplement I've ever taken!!!

Now, if I could find the stop falling supplement, I'd be fine.
:lol:

Wow - Susanje - I was just thinking of my first post on the BFL thread - wasn't it in the 'exercise' forum then?? so long ago...my goodness.

I heartily agree with you on BFL being a LIFESTYLE that anyone with the dedication to change can easily stick with. I don't always go 'by the book' - I've made my own changes as far as eating, workouts, etc. However, I would highly recommend sticking to the book for at least your first 12 weeks...from there you can continue on 'by the book' indefinitely, or use the knowledge that comes from doing what the book says along with information gleaned from other books such as Arnolds' Bodybuilding Encyclopedia (a favorite of mine) and sites such as L&S to build on the solid base of BFL.

Cats get us in the biggest trouble don't they? This weekend I bought a cat harness and leash so we could try to introduce Sparky to the outdoors (we want to get him used to hanging out in the backyard with us on occasion - during the summer when we barbecue with our good neighbors). We got the harness on him okay, the leash. Then we brought him outside and he could NOT WAIT to go back inside!!! Other than looking out at the squirrels and birds he really seems to want no part of the outdoors whatsoever. We're going to put this project on hold until the weather warms up (Jim thinks it might have been the chill in the air as well that made Sparky want to go inside). Oh well, at least we don't have to worry about him darting out the front door!

Had a great quads/hams workout today then did some ab crunches using the stability ball - love that thing! For the next few weeks, I'm doing Pam B's workout (laid out in the new issue of Energy) until Theresa and I work out a new routine - she has some great ideas for supersets and we laid out a new chest/tris workout yesterday that rocks. Check out my Fitday public journal for 21 January (yesterday) and you can see how it works.

Well, back to work! Let's hear from y'all!

Hi MrsJim:

I think your first post was on here the diet plans...in april of last year.

Is the stability ball the same as the swiss ball? I LOVE mine for crunches. There are also some cool LB exercises. I have a video but I hate the guy on it...so I don't watch it much. I just do the crunches and the lower body exercises on it.

:D

PS Where do you get Energy?

Had a great "arms" session with the expensive trainer today. There sure is a lot more in a gym than I can do at home! He wants me to split shoulders/triceps and back/biceps into 2 different days instead of by the book. Since this is my first challenge, I'm a little leary of messing with it, but his answer was that I've been lifting long enough with "the basics" that I need to go for more and different. What do you all think about tweaking in c1?

I never thought I'd stuff all these meals in, but now I'm starving every 2 1/2 hours! How in the world am I gonna lose body fat this way? I know, read the book, believe....

mel

Susanje - I found Energy at Draegers - they had the first issue too. Bought three copies - one for reading, one to send Pam B for an autograph (which she did and sent back promptly) and the other one is being 'borrowed' just like my copy of BFL!!

I've subscribed to Energy now so I don't have to go through this big egg hunt!

From the posts at L&S, sounds like Barnes & Noble is the place to go for Energy - you might wanna check them out. Gretchen (editor of Energy) mentioned that GNC and Safeway are getting them too, but it hasn't shown up at either one of the Safeways I go to...

Stability ball = Swiss ball if you're referring to the big blue or red ball filled with air that you sit on, right? My trainer calls it the stability ball...we also use those weighted medicine balls in the ab workouts, gives you a really good ow! :lol: On the stability ball we also did pushups, DB flyes and tri extensions.

I think some mental changes are starting to kick in. On free day I was satisfied with what I had and did NOT want to pig out. Yesterday, I was excited because my next workout would include bench presses, which I am steadily increasing. And I just realized that I truly believe that eating sufficient quantities of clean food is far better for me than undereating. Not bad for 20 weeks!

Susan -- they have Energy magazine at Borders, in addition to Barnes and Noble -- don't know which is closer to you.

Mrs. Jim -- Sparky will probably take better to the outdoors when it's warmer -- cats are solar powered!

Welcome to even more new people -- and have a great day everyone!

Carrie

Mrs.Jim, Susan.......thanks for all of the help.......with all the websites........I have been a reading fiend.........trying to take it all in..........wow......the things you learn......and thanks for the confidence Susan.......if anything I am determined........L.....

so far I have had no probs with the meals......and I feel even if I am not getting it totally right........right now..........it is doing me alot better then the way I was eating I know that for fact!

my exercise routines........are going wonderfully I must say.........I HURT!......L.........or should I say achy.........now I just have to start getting to bed a wee bit earlier.......waking up earlier to do the work outs............means I should go to bed earlier as well.......and I have found that I am sleeping better at night.......that is great...........I was having a hard time with that lately........

Question # gazillion and one............I know in the book it says it is not necessary....but does anyone in here take vitamin supplements???

I hope all are doing well....

and can you believe this weather.........sheesh.....

Kel - sounds like you're doing fine ;) and doing your research! That's great - the more you know, the better your choices become...

I do actually take a multivitamin myself (nothing special - just the cheapie woman's multi from Trader Joes'). In addition to that the other supps I use are glutamine (GREAT for soreness), creatine (to help with muscle building - just an amino acid) and Udo's Choice Perfected Oil Blend or other EFA...

I also use Myoplex Lite MRPs and just this challenge have started using a protein powder (EAS' Simply Protein Whey) but I like the Myo Lite better - I have a Cappuchino Ice Myo Lite in the am and a protein shake with a banana or other fruit blended in - the Myo Lite is much richer and thicker IMO!

Carrie - you're probably right about Sparky - he worships our heater at night! We are going to wait until around May to try again, unless we get a real heat wave. As cold as it's been around here, I don't expect that anytime soon!

Kelster, are you taking Glutamine? ABSOLUTELY essential!!! You will notice a BIG difference in relief of the soreness....it's the ONE supplement I cannot do without. I'm so sore without it!
I take Glutamine, multivitamin and UDOs or flaxseed oil.

Kelster -- I rely on my 2 servings of Myoplex lite to give me much of my daily vitamins and minerals. In addition, I take vitamin C, zinc, and extra calcium (years of not "wasting calories" on milk and not exercising has left me with low bone density which I'm trying to improve with plenty of calcium and weight lifting -- and prescription Fosamax). I take glucosamine and chondroitin for joint support.

Partway through my first challenge I started glutamine (5 grams, 3 times a day) and flax oil (1 to 3 TBSP a day). Started adding beta carotene and vitamin E this week.

I'd recommend the glutamine and flax oil for everyone, and 1000-1500 mg total calcium in some form (myoplex, yogurt, cottage cheese, supplements). The rest probably depends on your individual diet and circumstances.

Carrie

Hi BFLers!

Just wanted to say I hope you don't mind me asking Mrs. Jim about her cat Sparky -- I'm a cat lover living in a no-pets-allowed rented house, whose closest cat approximation has been "Manxie", a stuffed tiger with a missing tail. Manxie lost his tail and was confiscated from our son Tony's room last year during Tony's 9th birthday sleepover (never again!) when I heard the ominous words "My mom is going to be SO mad!" Tony decided to let me keep Manxie on our bed since I liked him so much. Now, though, it's fun to hear about a real live cat.

Anyhow, apologies to the non-cat-lovers among you!

Carrie

Well, I'm off to a good start. Did LBWO this morning and it was great! Still need to tweak some things in the workout(go slower, full-range of motion type stuff) but all in all it's been good.

The food program is going ok. I'm finding it hard to get all the meals in. I get hungry more than I thought I would, but I think that's because I am really going from an extremely unheathy diet to less fatty, healthier foods in the right portions. If I still have the hunger after a week I'm going to up my intake slightly(probably just add more vegetables). I'm so looking forward to my free day(Sad, after two days but that's what it's there for.)

I told some of my friends about my plan, so now I have to do it. :o Or risk being embarrased.

The workouts have been going well. I never knew my calves could burn like that. Whoo-boy.

Have a great day guys.

Been TOTALLY busy this morning - I have an early morning meeting I have to be here for - at 6 AM tomorrow!!! As you all probably know, I usually hit the gym around 4:45 - 5 am so obviously I'm going to have to do some advance planning here.

Today I had a really great workout - back and bis, then did 30 minutes cardio on the elliptical. Theresa (my PT) wants me to start keeping track of my heart rate while I'm doing cardio, so I dug out the ol' Polar HRM and wore it this morning. Since she's upping my cardio (again - to you newbies on your first Challenge - stick to the book and do the 20MAS - I'm targeting on a contest this summer!!!!) today I did a 30MAS rather than the 20 HIIT I've been focusing on.

Carrie - I know that you, Susanje and I are kitty lovers and/or owners - we can't be the only ones though...just don't get me started about horses or I'll bore you to death with Arabian pedigree stuff. :lol:

Parakeet - what you might want to do in addition to adding more veggies - the more the merrier! - is concentrate on the 'bulkier' carbs on the list - potatoes (baked/sweet) yams, squash/pumpkin (which you get A LOT of in a serving - more than fist size for sure), brown rice, etc. and put less emphasis on carbs like yogurt, whole-grain bread, and milk. Your tummy processes dairy and flour products VERY quickly - not a whole lotta fiber there...and drink all your water as well. A tablespoon of healthy oil such as Flaxseed, EFA or Udo's twice a day wouldn't hurt either!

Well...back to work!

Hi New BFLers!!!

Kelster - I too take glutamine like Carrie, don't know how I got through the next day workouts without it now! I also take daily vitamin C and GNC Mega Vitamin for Women. Other than that I take two tablespoons of Udo's Oil for healthy fats.



I'm not an old timer, but this is my 1st Official Challenge I'm on W3D3. So far so good. Today was the first day I had to pose the infamous question How Bad Do I Want This?. My schedule was full today and I knew I had to workout this morning or it wasn't getting done. As I lay in bed not wanting to get up this morning... I asked myself the question. I got my tired butt outta bed and did my cardio!!! So yes I've had a good day today :D

Hope everyone is doing great! and no, I don't mind hearing about Mrs Jim's kitty!

I had a "don't want to get out of bed" morning too, unusual for me. But I dragged myself out to do back and bi, then cardio later. Hubby had left his bar on the rack over then bench and I stupidly thought "how heavy can it be? he only lifts once a week and is skinny". My reward was having to yell to have him come rescue me, and a lovely burning sensation which I still feel in the front of my shoulder and neck! Luckily, tomorrow is LBWO!

I have a Burmese cat named "tribble" that thinks she's a dog, rolls over for belly rubs, insistently flings herself at everybody's feet and rolls over (never seen such a shameless cat!). Any OLD Star Trek fans out there can probably guess the derivation of her name: she came to us via the spca quite pregnant, but horrible malnourished. She rules the roost, and umercifully bullies my 65 pound st. poodle (and running partner). End of cat story.

Still having trouble stuffing in meal 6...too many years of trying NOT to eat after 8pm? Also not losing any weight, but I can see muscle changes and changes in the jeans-o-meter! Maybe its because I was eating pretty clean for the last 6 months already.

mel

I have two cats, collectively known as the fluffs. Walter and Charlotte are twelve years old, and were foundlings from the streets. I couldn't live without them. Cats are a wonderful bonding agent...librarians and IT types tend to be "cat people."

And Mrs.Jim has already heard that I'm a lifelong horsegirl. My father put me up on a Thoroughbred for the first time before I could walk.

Hi BFLers!

Nice to hear the cat stories -- your kitties sound terrific!

Feeling good and sore today after bench presses in UBWO yeaterday morning and pushups last night in Tae Kwon Do. Don't know if the almost nightly pushups in class will slow the muscle healing and building, but it's great to be using the new muscles!

Going out to my favorite Greek restaurant tonight with some friends on a non-free-day (I don't do that often), but I have a plan. Half the grilled lemon chicken breast, half the rice, plain steamed veggies, salad with dressing on the side. Plus lots of water -- I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a great evening!

Carrie

I love this thread......everyone is sooooooooo helpful...

and know there are people out there that want to help.......helps me in the motivation of it all......I don't feel lost......THANK YOU that means ALOT......

MRSJim.......I don't know how you get up sooooooo early.....you are sooooooo focused.......that is great!!!!


Susan.......now......glutamine huh.......do you get that at the health food store???......I will have to try that my body is talking to me.......L

Well cats cats........I have two pepper and tabitha.....both nine years old........you would swear one was a dog........plays fetch........LOL.....but I swear there is a third cat somewhere.......I sweep the whole place three times a week......I have hardwood floors.......and the cat fur........sheesh.......

Anyways just a quick one tonight.......it has been one heck of a day......

take care ladies....

Hi Kel - the best place I've found for glutamine is the Labrada brand at netrition (you can access the site through L&S and they get a little kickback to fund L&S). It's about $45.00 and will last for MONTHS...I'm on my fourth Challenge and I'm still on my second tub of it in fact (and that's taking 5g 2-3 times a day most days - I tend to 'forget' on Free Days/weeks).

I KNEW we had to be all cat lovers here!!! We need some kitty smilies (I'm just starting to learn some of the new emoticons at L&S). The weather has been ice cold here, especially in the early morning, this morning at 8:00 it was 36 degrees - when I was walking to the gym at around 4:40 this morning it was 33 degrees. BRRR! Can't wait for summer!!! Our apt is old and not so weatherproof, and since we're not millionaires we can't afford to leave the heater running for Sparky, so we just pile up blankies and afghans around for him to snuggle in. Needless to say he is quite happy when we come home and turn the heater on!
:lol:

So anyway, tomorrow I have to be at work before 6 am. AACK! I've been thinking about what to do about my workout...and have decided to try and wake up an hour earlier - yes at 3:00 or so - and get to the gym. I don't have cardio scheduled, just shoulders/abs/calves and I can blast through that and be home before 5:00 if I put my mind to it! I went to the gym at work and looked it over. Lots of machines - a fair selection of dumbbells - a cable station. The machines are fairly useless for me since I prefer free weights but if I was in a pinch or just doing cardio I would be okay. It's actually a quite nice facility ESPECIALLY considering that it's an employee perk - but I'm accustomed to the selection at my local gym!

And so...I bid you good night...on the bright side, I'll start posting fairly early tomorrow! 'Night!

Day 3.
I am so sore. :^:

That's what I get for being a couch potato the last few years.

A quick and somwhat embarrassing question. I did the lower body plan in the book: quads, hams, calves, abs. But the sorest part of me is my behind! :o Do glutes just come along for the ride on this or am I exercising wrong? The rest of the parts are sore too, but this was kinda strange.

I'm glad I'm doing upper body on Friday. Bill Phillips knew what he was talking about when he said you need the time to recooperate.

Good luck with the meeting today, MrsJim.

And anyone who wants to post a cute animal story is ok in my book.:D