General Diet Plans and Questions - Body for Life # 42

A new thread already!!!!! WOW. Go BFLers :strong:

I am off to school and then to an UBWO.....looking forward to it. LIke MrsJim said, it's SPRING in the Bay Area and I want to go play. Unfortunately I have papers to write.

Piggybacking on number 41: Sorry if this is a rant about kids and food but MrsJim's post got my brain cells flowing. If you dont' want to hear my views on the unhealthy youth of the nation, go to the next reply. :lol:

First: AbEnergizer:
The first time I saw the commerical for the Ab Energizer, I'm thinking "HOW do they get away with this?" (as someone more than half way through law school, it still baffles me that this is even legal). There is NO way that works. I can't believe they haul Miss Cleo into court every 10 seconds but this stays on the air unimpeded (not that psychics aren't fraudulent, but this seems even more so). I don't get it!!!!

Kids and nutrition:
My boys are all grown and the oldest was in the care of Nana a lot who pushed the sweets and treats and fast foods. The youngest were not and were fully influenced by ME. They got McDonald's TWICE A MONTH (every other Friday) ONLY (and now I think that even that was too much), they NEVER had sugar cererals for breakfast, they had one small snack every night, they NEVER got snacks at the movies (to this day they never eat in the movies) and I insisted that they be active. They actually thank me now because they don't have weight problems. The oldest has to watch his weight when he's not active because of grandma's great influence. :( I also never rewarded or punished my kids with food. WHAT A MISTAKE!!!! That is what my mother did to keep my oldest "good" when they were out "We'll get icecream if you behave." WHAT A HORRIBLE LESSON FOR A CHILD TO LEARN. Be good=food. or "You're sad...have a cookie." Be sad=food. "If you're not good, I'll make you eat spinach." Be bad=food. EVERYTHING EQUALS FOOD!!!! WRONG! I NEVER EVER EVER equated behavior with food.

I took STEP training. Strategic Techniques for Effective Parenting and used the techniques all the time. They are very very powerful if you use them consistently and are willing to put the effort in up front. A very effective way of parenting children and there are no food rewards involved. I find that a lot of my friends who have out of control kids and use food to try to control them just don't know what else to do. I think it's a parenting problem more than a food problem. There are just so many parents who have no clue and the food thing goes along with that.

I hear parents ALL the time in the store, in the bank promising children all kinds of things if they just behave. What is up with that? My kids were told "I will leave this bank right now and bring you home and put you to bed." and if they didn't stop, I did exactly that. You can't threaten things you won't do so I did it. I didn't do it with anger, I didn't yell, scream or hit. It was very matter of fact because I was in charge. I'm the parent. HELLO. It was a pain to have to leave my stuff and do it but after a few times of that, no more problems because they knew I meant it. Not "NO McDonald's for you if you keep it up." and if they pipe down you reward them with food. uh uh. :nono: AND it stops working when they're teenagers. If they've only listened to you when you've rewarded them, what do you do when they're teenagers and insatiable and nothing will satisfy them? You have a big problem on your hands.

There is a BIG problem with fast food (McDonald's is garbage and I refuse to give that company one red cent. I NEVER take my daughter there and haven't eaten there myself in 20 years) and the continual marketing of garbage food to kids through toys and playlands etc. Also when I read "The McDonalization Theory" a few years ago I went "I KNEW IT." They import their garbage all over the world. McDonald's is not just food, it's a whole mindset. Representation of a whole way of life that is just fat, dumb and not so happy. Again, it's part of the reason why parents won't take the time to learn effective parenting skills and to take the time to carry out natural and logical consequences. They think it's a bother, they don't have time etc. For me, it was WONDERFUL to put the time up front and have 3 boys who listened to me when they were teenagers and bigger than me and "we won't go to McDonalds" no longer works.

Also, because they don't equate snacking/food with any emotional state, they can pretty much eat anything they want. They don't hoarde food/hide food/have some unhealthy relationship with food. I just sent them boxes of GS cookies and I sent it to one to distribute to his brothers. I know he'll do it (won't try to get extra), I know they'll each enjoy some GS cookies now and again. They'll share them with their friends (people with food addictions are not big on that) and might even put some away for the future. Because they don't have unhealthy relationships with food. So that is a BIG bonus, when treat foods are really that...a treat that you can enjoy without horrible side effects, physically and emotionally.

Okay, that's my fast food rant but part of the challenge of eating healthy is PREPARING food. Shopping, cooking, packing for the day. In our fast food society, that just gets harder and harder for people to do.

Whew. Didn't mean to piggyback off MrsJIm's rant, but there you have it. My story and I'm sticking to it.

:D

Sorry for that but we are talking about health, eh?

:D
Susan

I grew up in a home where there was NEVER any candy, soda, meals at fast food places and home-made desserts were strictly rationed only on special occaisions. I don't ever remember seeing a cheese curl or frito until I was 15 and moved out. I then went on the biggest junk food binge ever seen, along with other even less healthly additions to my life. I think if these things had not been FORBIDDEN, I would have had a much healthier relationship with food all my life. I agree totally, Susan, about not using food (healthy or not) as enticements or punishments, but I know what having it labelled as "forbidden" did to me. I sure don't know the answer tho- I have a daughter who is an athelete who eats very healthily, and makes very concious decisions about how and when she will splurge. I have a 12 year old son who is a couch potato who would happily eat at McD for everymeal, with candy and ice cream in between. Raised in the same house, by the same parents.:?:

good back and shoulder w/o today. and cardio....

mel

I certainly agree that food should not be used for disciplinary purposes, although I can admit to having used a bit of bribery and corruption on occasion:o
My kids however consider a treat to be yoghurt, watermelon, strawberries etc which is great.

As a 'foodie' and only now beginning to really deal with my food addiction I have been fascinated by the development of my daughters eating habits. My eldest (5) is naturally petite, never overeats, can't finish anything sweet and refuses food that makes her 'feel yuck'
my next one (4) is a foodie who wants to eat all the time and is forever asking for food and wants to eat when she is bored. It has been very hard to me to watch as I see her developing the same traits that made me an addict. (please don't think I am just sitting by watching it happen though!!)

I am yet to see what the third one is like, but it really made me realise how some people are born with a disposition that uses food for reasons other than hunger. I praise God every day for showing me BFL as I now have the tools to put food back in its proper place instead of it being completely out of control.

My girls know they need to eat their veges, and that Mcdonalds is only to be eaten occasionaly & we talk all the time about what is fattening & what is healthy. I'm doing my best to teach them about balance & moderation.

I think we have a responsibility to do our very best to educate them , and pray that they grow up emotionally whole.

anyway - its my free day today, so no workouts and I get to eat an icecream - yay!

have a great day - Carly

Yes, Mel, completely forbidden is not good either. We lived near an ice cream bar when I was raising the boys and I let them have it about once a week. I never made a big deal about forbidding things, just keeping things to "every once in a while' instead.

Carps, I agree completely about balance! I am the product of my mother who would bring food into the house, pose no limits on it for any of us so we would each eat as much as we could so the others wouldn't get. It was like FREE DAY. What a way to try to learn nutrition. Our neighbors would get a box of six ice cream sandwiches and the mother would say each of the 3 kids got 2. You could eat your 2 right now or one tomorrow and one Wednesday but there would be no more until grocery day. Two was all you go that week. My mom thought she "deprived" her kids and always criticized her about it but I learned to do that with my kids. You can eat your portion of weekly snacks all in one day if you feel like it but there will no more until grocery day.
My kids learned how to make stuff last. They also learned to negotiate with each other for stuff and that was a neat byproduct of it.

Anyway, I worked hard in school and will be doing my UBWO in a bit. Just resting a minute and then it's time for Powerblocks!

I am going to go to a Pilates class in the morning, go to school and then have my free meal. My gym doesn't offer Pilates any other time when I can make it so I'm going tomorrow. It's something I really want to do.

nite,
Susan

It is so gorgeous today here. Feels like Easter Sunday! :cool: (of course, there's a storm brewing that's going to hit on Tuesday according to the weather report - I'm just glad we're getting the GREAT weather on a weekend! Yesterday's riding weather was glorious - I wore a tank top so I could enjoy the warmth fully (believe me, you get hot during riding lessons anyway).

Today is actually 'officially' my day off, but I woke up at 5:30 am and thought well, I might as well do some extra cardio. On Pam's program, I have to do a lot (not recommended for first-time BFLers - as Steve L. says, your first 12 weeks are the best time for building muscle - then it becomes progressively more difficult to do. So just do the 20MAS in the book and hit your 9's and 10's - BTW I am intending to go back on BFL's 20 MAS for the most part after 12 weeks of this. But right now I'm NOT having problems with the eating. Amazing how you get used to having all that protein during the day! I think chicken is going to become one of my favorite breakfast proteins. OH! Yesterday I bought the Family Size George Foreman Grill (the $60 one) and it is SO awesome. I've had the little "champ" model for three years and it just doesn't fit much on it. The four burgers on the box photo must have been very small patties in reality! I decided to 'break it in' by making chicken breasts for the week (I need 20 for the week altogether). I put like 8-10 chicken breasts on the surface, sprayed them with a little Garlic Pam and cooked them for about 6 minutes - they came out great. I've put them in a gallon Ziploc bag marinated in lemon/lime juices and some Spike to keep them moist.

I love that Pam gives me a 'grocery list' of the things I need each week. I got this weeks' menu and grocery list yesterday afternoon. What I do is print both menu and list, go through the grocery list and cross out the stuff I already have on hand or change the amounts. Then I add other stuff to the list such as soap, food for Jim (he likes those Stouffer's dinners and pot pies), toothpaste, that sort of thing, and I've found it really speeds up my grocery shopping - I can get through Safeway in about 20-30 minutes now where it used to take me almost an hour without a list.

I've been trying to stick to her menu without substitutions but once in awhile I've substituted - mostly veggies in case there's one I don't care for - so far that hasn't really been a problem. I can't wait for tonight's Free Meal though!

We're going bike riding today, Jim's going to put some air in my tires (I haven't cycled since last summer!) and we'll be off! See ya gals!

Hi Everyone,

Well made it through this week! Feel much more like myself than I did mid-week. I think posting/lurking and visiting you gals really helped alot!

I'm working on changing my routines for tomorrow and I want to try lunges. The ones in the BFL book say they are for hamstrings, yet the ones on ExRx say they are for quads. Which are they? I'm going to try them either way, I just need to know which they are for - two for one maybe? Posted on L&S too but wanted you gals input too!! Plus I wanted to check in and wish everyone a good week on BFL. Have a good one!

MrsJim I am soooo envious of your weather right now - it went down to -25degrees celcius last night!!!

Thunderheart - congratulations on making it through week four - did you take progress photo's. We were going to and then just forgot about it - maybe we'll take some today. My official weigh in showed 11.6 pounds down. - I'm pretty happy.

In regards to lunges - I find them to be very effective on both muscles - the hams and the quads - I reckon they are really an excellent excercise as long as your form is right.

Free day yesterday (we just changed it to Sunday from Saturday and it worked much better) and I'm glad to be back into it today.

Hubby, who is on the programme too, just found out he has (another) serious hernia which will have to operated on probably sometime during this challenge - so he is a bit bummed out. He is still working out except cannot do the reverse crunches for the lower abs, or the quad press or stuff like that.

so I guess this isn't the money winning challenge after all.

got to run - keep at it.
Carly

Today was free day and rest day- I finally got them together! Ate some sweet potato chips, but other than that, stayed pretty much on plan. Went to a very large birthday party for my 1 year old nephew and had smoked salmon, lots of shrimp, some whole wheat pita and a handful of raw vegies and some nuts, but the rest of the food (pasta salads and desserts) just looked gross! I just know how aweful I feel when I eat that now, it's not worth it. Couldn't wait to get home for a bowl of cottage cheese a hot apples! Pretty bad when my free day treat is a double helping of oatmeal:D

Thunderheart- lunges are wonderful because they get almost every muscle in your body: quads, hammis, glutes, and all the core muscles if you do walking lunges, or with barbells. If you've never done them before, take it slow because you may have problems balancing, but that will improve too.

MrsJim- I'm so envious of your ongoing weather reports. It's cold, wet and gray here, and supposed to get colder. BUT I'm sure our real estate is cheaper! Do you use your grill indoors? I love to be able to grill inside instead of running out onto the deck at night in the cold or rain.

On to week nine! (no week 8 magic for me, woke up looking the same as yesterday:lol: )

mel

Remember me? Sorry I haven't really checked in with you guys lately. How has everybody been doing on the program?

I can't believe I'm almost on week 7 already! I've lost so far about 10 inches (off everywhere) and 13 lbs. I also ordered my Powerblock set today. I think my progress has been hindered by the fact that I've outgrown my piddly lil' dumbbells and have been having difficulty reaching my "10's" in the past two weeks. So needless to say I'm anxiously awaiting the day when I see the UPS guy struggling to haul my nearly 100lb. package up the driveway. :devil:

The great thing about this lifestyle is that my whole attitude is changing. I'm becoming a freak! :smug: I know I'm becoming a freak because of things that have been happening lately. Today was my freeday and a while after a big breakfast I asked myself what I wanted for lunch. My brains answer: "Hmm...salad." My next thought was then "Where the heck did that come from", followed by me grinning like a fool because a thought like that would never even have occurred to me 7 weeks ago.

I totatly agree with the things said about the fast food industry. I read "Fast Food Nation" a couple of months ago and loved it.
Never heard of "The McDonaldization Theory", I'll have to check it out. If anyone has any other good books along that line please recommend some. I love non-fiction books and expose-type stuff.

Hope you all had a great weekend.
(and to all my fellow Californians: Isn't it great to have nice weather again? :) )

ah yes, it is spring in the Bay Area. The weather is SO nice here even though I spent most of it indoors, it was nice when I took a break and went outside for a while and it's nice not to wear a coat anymore. Boy, will I miss this when I move back east. :(

Parakeet: you will love your powerblocks. powerblocks rule. Did I ever mention that? :devil:

I like walking lunges at home. They are great.

I also think the big GeorgeForeman grill rules. I usually marinade my chicken before I put it on and i can fit almost a whole package of boneless chicken breasts on it. I like it for all kinds of things. I'm in a thumbs up kinda mood today. :)

I didn't take a free day or meal today. Last night I made up a batch of steel cut oats and then added eggs, egg beaters, protein powder (soy), cinnamon and splenda and packed that for meal 2. Meal 1 was an MRP.

(MrsJim: do you know if you can heat Pure Protein by MetRx? I have some and it has a lot of protein per scoop and that would be great to cook with)

Anyway, I got up had my MRP and went to the gym for my Pilates/yoga class. I REALLY liked the yoga class. I really stretched and it felt SO good....really streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetched the muscles..........I definitely did not feel like eating "junk" after that.

So I had my oatmeal thingy on the way to school and then at lunch I had my chicken and brown rice and broccoli. About 3 hours later I had some tuna and veggies in a whole wheat pita.
Came home and finished the chicken/rice/broccoli that was the other half of my lunch.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....FORGOT to take a free meal. :dizzy:
I think I have to schedule it for some time this week. Those GS cookies are still in their little boxes. :lol:

My big dilemma this week: WHEN to eat a free meal? Also, why can't I subscribe to Energy on the internet? What is up with that?
You have to call or send the little postcard.

these are my big non-school problems.

gotta love it.

Wow, there's been a lot going on!

I was raised in the food=love mentality by two parents who suffered during the Depression. The "CleanPlate Club" was always in session at mealtimes, and then my folks scratched their heads when I kept getting chubbier! I figured "hey, this food=love thing is kinda cool! I can reward myself!"

Duh....:dizzy:

It is cold here (18 degrees) but supposed to go up to 50 today. Tennessee hasn't actually had winter, so I'm sure we'll be eaten up with fleas this year :mad:

I'm on week 6 and have lost 2 inches off my waist, 1 inch off my butt and gained 2 inches in each upper arm...go figure...!

It's kind of amusing to see everyone here and then go to L&S and see everyone there, too. These are two fabulous resources!!

Enjoy your beautiful weather, and eat clean!

Parakeet - your UPS guy is gonna LOVE you. NOT!

I had a butcher block kitchen island delivered at Christmas and had no idea it was going to weigh about 100 lbs. I had it sent to work - Jim just about died bringing it home and setting it up (we had to put the legs on it). We ended up borrowing a hand truck from work to get it home, out of the truck and into the kitchen after assembling it. It does look way cool though!

This morning I was doing my shoulder/ab/calves workout, and one of the 'regular' gals at the gym introduced me to another gal who was just starting BFL. It was during my workout, but I gave her the L&S address...talked for about 2 minutes. THEN she starts giving me a sales pitch...turned out she was a distributor for one of those MLM's and she wanted to sell me her products. I am adamantly against MLMs but listened politely for a minute then told her I had to get back to my workout... :mad: so I guess tomorrow I'll be dragging out my t-shirt that says "Shut up and Train!!" :s:

Susan - I don't know if you can heat up MetRx Pure Protein. It does have whey in it, so I think that might be a no way. You might want to ask at the L&S main board! BTW, great answer on that 'cereal' post here!

My opinion on the free meal vs. free day - if you plan on just having a 'free meal' I would advise to make it meal #5. For me, the problem with the free 'meal' is that it never seems to end! (this actually happened yesterday but now all the GS Cookies have left the building...)

Mel - don't get too envious. We have two big storms a-brewin' that are going to hit us by tomorrow afternoon!

Well, got about 10 papers to edit on my desk so I'd better hit it! More later...

Mrs Jim - excuse my ignorance but what are MLM's? and also do you know where I could find some plain talking info on how the body uses protein, carbs etc to print off for my husband?

Cardio and abs today. Finally got the workout I've been looking for - why has it taken four weeks???????

I was finding on the bike that I couldn't work hard enough in the cardio sense because that muscle just above my knee would burn so bad I would have to ease off, but today I used the precor and remembered again why I love it so much.

I was reminded also today of someone post earlier about people who workout while reading and stuff, and today I had to laugh cos a lady was riding one of those sitting back bikes (sorry I can't remember the techinogical name!):dizzy: and she was reading a magazine and just peddling casually, and not even breaking a sweat and I felt like saying (in between my puffs and pants that is) "Hey Lady - go home! If you weren't planning on working hard then why bother?!" But I felt such an outburst would have interrupted my sweat wiping routine. ;)

anyway - I'm supposed to be working and I'd hate to not get paid :eek:
- talk to you later
Carly

Hi there ladies:D
I have lurked here at 3FC's for a year or so. Mrs. Jim actually got me started on BFL(on day 4 of C1) I saw her photos and knowing she didn't get into any "magic" pills and only worked hard, that BFL would be just what I was looking for. I followed a link to L&S and post there under the same name as here.

Me in a nutshell...overweight as a child, average weight in high school but got there by not eating very much. Gained weight again after 1st baby and by the time he was 2, I was back down to a good weight. Moved to Hawaii and was miserable and gained 40 lbs. Got pregnant w/ baby #2(only gained 9lbs...which I lost a few months after he was born by sensible diet and exercise). Here I am a year later. Didn't gain any of the weight I had lost, but I still need to lose some and work these muscles.

Pre-baby, I worked my butt off in the gym..cardio for an hour and treadmill for 30 minutes then weight machines and I was still fat on top of my new muscles so I gave up after 6 months or so.

So, that is me...I am 28, married for 10years w/ 2 boys.

I look forward to posting here b/c as you can see,...I can't keep things short(l&s is more of a quick question answer board) :)

Hi Heather - Welcome you're gonna like the ladies here! I'm just starting W5 today!

Carps - I took measurements and photo when I started - will do the same again at W6 and W12. Congrats on your cardio today.

Susanje - I've always wanted to try pilates - I'll be interested in hearing further updates. Currently I take Tai Chi once a week and I love that - it destresses me big time.

I can't believe another person is getting powerblocks! Good for you Parakeet. As I've said before here - I dream of powerblocks - wow is that a switch - used to dream of cheesecake!

Well I posted this on L&S today but just got one response from Quadzilla himself!!!! But did not really answer my question - I don't think anyway. I was more concerned with the timing of my routines through the week. Anyway here it is:

We are going out of town for Easter to visit my inlaws. There is no gym (small town) and they are not into any kind of fitness. We are supposed to leave on a Thursday afternoon. My plan is to move my weight training to Thursday AM and do 2 cardios while I'm there (Friday and Saturday). It turns out my final weekend on BFL is going to be like this too - so I plan on doing the same thing again and taking my results on that Thursday as well - but finishing the 12 weeks with 2 cardios.

I would appreciate any feedback or suggestions from you ladies. Thanks.

PS. I learned today that weight does not necessarily transfer from one routine to the other even though you may have been doing them as your compound lift. I changed routines today and it was like starting all over again - fumbling and readjusting.

Thanks everyone!

PPS - It is -25degrees celcius here today -brrrr

Thunderheart ~ My opinion is that it would work out fine for you to do that. Listen to your body though and make sure you get plently of rest Wednesday night, not only for your early in the week weight workout, but travel always takes some oomph out of people. Have fun at Easter.
And -25 degrees? Brrr... I feel your pain(I used to live in Minnesota so I know cold temps. One of the reasons I moved.)

Heather~ Welcome and glad to meet you.

Carps~ I used to be that gal on the bike with the big ole' book. No wonder I never got anywhere. Read a lot of good books though...
:lol:

I'm really in the dark when it comes to the whole pilates thing. I've heard about it, but am confused as to how it differs from yoga or just plain controlled stretching.

One thing I've liked to do for a long time is something I saw on PBS(I love everything on PBS). It's a half hour show called "Classical Stretch". I try to do it when I have my days off work, because it comes on at around 7am and by then I am out of the house. The host is an ex-ballet dancer and she really has a great stretching program. Feels a little odd doing plies in the living room at first :^: , but it's a really fun show and I love gettin' stretched out.

Later y'all.

Energy magazine, the one featuring PamB, has an on the road workout with resistance bands. This month's Muscle and Fitness for Her (Weider publication which I like a lot) has an at home routine featuring resistance bands. Resistance bands must be all the rage right now. :lol: Of course you couldn't get the weight pyramid with just resistance bands but for going away for a while and not having any alternatives, that might work. On the other hand, I think the plan for 2 cardio days in a row is okay. I change my schedule according my schedule and sometimes I wind up with 2 cardios in a row.

Heather: WELCOME!!! :wave:

Welcome to the lean, mean, 3fc, BFL machine! :strong: :joker:

carps: can you take some of hussman's info for hubby? all of it might overwhelm him but some of it might work just fine.

Had good cardio this morning. Love :love: those Saucony Courageous. My shin splints seem to be a thing of the past. Okay, if I eat one more meal with chicken, (brown rice/yam/baked potato) and broccoli I'm going to turn into one. Cluck cluck.

Well I have to work at the courthouse tomorrow so I have to hit the books and then the bed.

nite all
Susan

Parakeet:

The class I took at my gym is billed Pilates/yoga. This past week she said she did more classical yoga than Pilates though I could not tell one from the other since I'm a novice. She does another class on Thursday nights that she says she does more Pilates than yoga and I might check that out. The class entailed a lot of breathing techniques and I noticed today I was more aware of my breathing. There are all these wacky poses but if you are working out they really give you a nice stretch. They are supposed to make your more flexible and stronger. I can see how. We do the plies in a glass room with all the people on cardio machines looking on. I had to decide not to care about that on Sunday.

I really liked the class and hope to go on Thursday as well but I will definitely be making the Sunday a routine thing. I know this doesn't help but as I learn the difference I'll let you know. :)

Susan

Hi, all!

I've been drooling over Powerblocks lately too, rather than drooling over chocolate or chips and salsa. Am I sick, or what? :lol:

Heather -- MrsJim's pictures and her web page are what sold me on BFL. Then lurking here and seeing Susanje's progress and Sil's great advice just convinced me that this was where I needed to be.

Thunderheart -- I totally know what you mean about changing routines! I had gotten very :smug: about my first set of exercises and boy, this second set has sure been a wake-up call! I'm back to the weenie weights on a couple of exercises, but that will change...

Susan -- I've worn Saucony for a long time and they are my favorite shoe! My first pair felt weird, but the salesperson said that Saucony made funny soles on their shoes to spread the weight evenly over your foot. My shin splints disappeared, too. Glad you like them!

Carly -- I also took measurements and photos. I also stepped on the scale for the last time. I don't care what I weigh, but I sure do care about my fat content!!!

Today was cardio day. Nothing special. We have a guy at my gym who RUNS on the step mill!!! I get winded just watching him! He's one of the two other people that work out when I do who actually don't rush their reps and split their routines.

I read something funny I want to share. Maybe you all have already seen this, if so, sorry for reposting. Another BFL'er talked about the different people she saw in the gym. We have the guys with 20 inch biceps and 12 inch calves, whom she calls the Bathroom Mirror Bodies. Then we have those who don't work their rear delts and have that folded-to-the-front look. And those who get on the treadmill or stepper for about 20 minutes, look at their front view in the mirror and when they walk away, either their glutes wave at you or it looks like they have a small animal rummaging under their clothes. I sincerely wish I could talk to each and every one about BFL.

Have a great day. It's cold here in Music City!!

Wow! I've got some catching up to do for sure!

MLM's = Multi-Level Marketing (or as my hubby calls them "pyramid schemes"). I tossed the business card she pressed upon me so I don't remember the name of the particular MLM she was selling, but examples are Herbalife, Amway, Melaleuca, etc. For the most part (if not all) the products that they sell, you can get the same or BETTER in the 'open market' for a much cheaper price (and she was giving me the spiel about 'I can tell you how to get your products for FREE..." been there, done that... basically 'getting your product for free' means you sign on as a 'distributor' under her...and then you sign more people...and supposedly you get part of their income, and the person over you gets some of all of the people under her...and so on...see what I mean by 'pyramid scheme'?) but I digress.

Claire - a guy RUNNING on the step mill? I still can't stay on the thing longer than 5 minutes. Owie! Thanks also for your comments on my website. I know I'm WAY past time to update it... :p one of these days when I'm not so busy!

Heather - let me extend my WELCOME to our BFL group. Feel free to post whenever you want...most of us also hang at L&S as well.

Susan - I need to get some new shoes too...I might walk over to Sportmart at lunch if it's not raining by then. Wish I had room in our little place for Powerblocks...definitely a 'nice to have' item even though I really enjoy going to the gym every morning!

They just started a Pilates class at my gym - but it's at noon on Thursdays. Who the heck do they think is going to show up on a weekday at that time? I would like to check it out though. Here at work there is a yoga class that meets twice a week, (also a kickbox class every weekday) but just have not had the time to get there as yet.

I have to start hunting for the **NEW** Energy magazine - apparently Pam has an article on nutrition in there that she wrote, from what I've been told. I haven't yet gotten around to calling the 800# and subscribing yet.

Carps - I agree with Susan - the Hussman site has a lot of info...but you have to take it with a grain of salt. There's been a lot of talk about the 'bad' stuff about that site if you're doing BFL "by the book" - specifically the talk about tweaking, and counting calories, which you should NOT be doing. Actually the BFL book has a lot of good info on protein, carbs, etc. Basically, carbs are for energy, protein is for muscle building, and healthy fats are what keep everything oiled up (like motor oil in a car). That's pretty overly simplistic but that's the way I like to think about it...

Well, meanwhile I had a great workout (Chest/Tris) this morning. Today is another low-carb day - but I still have lots of energy!

Back to the books y'all!

Just a quick post......I am still alive and kicking and keeping on track with the eating and workouts......and I have the arms ta prove it :D

Just work has taken all my time.....that and my daughter......haven't been on da computer for a while now.....I so miss you guys and the L&Ser's

I will post more tonight from home.....and try and catch up since I last posted.....


Have a great day!!!

Kelly

it was originally created in Europe as a means of rehabilitation for injured dancers many, many years ago. The word Pilates was licensed as a brand name until about four years ago when a court case made it possible for people to teach and offer classes without undergoing a rigorous training sequence. Now there are a million "Pilates" classes, devices, and videos.

Much of the work is based on yoga and ballet (yoga was popular in Europe long before it was here) and focuses on strengthening the core muscles of the trunk, as well as lengthening muscle fibers. So it may be an excellent counterbalance to weight training.

Have a great BFL day all.

thank you for the reminder of the Hussman site - I had forgoten all about it. I had a look and there is some great stuff there which will be perfect for what I want.

I am definately doing BFL by the book in terms of food etc, the only thing I have changed is that I do abs on my cardio days so I get it three times a week.

I also wanted to ask what you think about this...
Yesterday I did my cardio on the precor which I love and I structured it with a two minute warm up, then for the rest of the twenty minutes I did two minutes high intensity two minutes low etc, till the end. This meant that I peaked five times in the twenty minutes, and by having the two minutes instead of one minute cycle I was able to keep going.

What do you think - can you see any problems with this?
It was definately the best cardio workout I've had yet.

Anyway - I'm got a tonne of work to do so must run - experimenting with a chicken casserole thing in the crockpot today. hope it works!

See ya later
Carly

p.s I finally tried that apple & cottage cheese thing, and yes the flavour was yummy but I still don't like the texture of cottage cheese! :p

Hey everyone - can't keep up with you all - the threads seem to be moving alot quicker these days - that's great more BFLer's. Wowee am I sore today from my change in UBWO routine yesterday! Feels great!

Carps - I started out doing a 1.5 minute interval program on my treadmill and it worked fine for me but I quickly surpassed that. With HIIT you might want to try Level 5,6,7 at walking speed and then Level 8 & 9 at jogging/running speed. Since they are all at 1 minute each I'm sure you could do it and then you could really push yourself for the final minute. It's amazing since I've switched to this how quickly you can improve. I never ever thought I would see the day that I would be jogging!

Does anyone have the copy of the Energy Magazine with Pam Brown's Blueberry Dream pancakes? It was mentioned on a thread at L&S and they sound DeeLish. If you do - could you post that recipe? I haven't been able to find that magazine yet in Canada. May have to order on line - but I wanted to check out the format of it first.

Thanks!

thunderheart

I have seen the Energy magazine everywhere......from Wal Mart to the local convenience store to GNC in Canada......and I have a copy.....of the Jan/Feb edition.........didn't see a recipe in that one for the pancakes........is it in the new one I am wondering.....

I will have to look at the store tomorrow to see if the new one is out......if you can't find one.........I could always mail you a copy.......I know how it is up north........laffs.........living there once........you don't find the same things as you do in the Toronto area......



just another quickie.......I was taking a break..........

yep......I brought work home.......

How neat to see Pam doing articles now! Probably really exciting for her as well :D

Draeger's had a BIG ol' stack of the new mag. Last month they didn't order enough - and they were gone within 2-3 days (I nabbed two of them myself).

Plus there's a lot of stuff on yoga. Susan, you should find it very interesting!

I've just breezed through it but I'll go ahead and post the pancake recipe for y'all - keep looking for the magazine though - it's worth the search!
BLUEBERRY DREAM PANCAKES
Serves 1

6 egg whites
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 tablespoon wheat pancake mix
2 teaspoons Splenda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup blueberries

Spray skillet with cooking spray. Heat on medium. Blend all ingredients except the blueberries - fold in blueberries. Pour all batter into skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Makes one large pancake.

And I MIGHT just give the afternoon yoga class at work a try after reading the article in Energy!

MrsJim:

I will indeed check it out. I think that Lisa is correct in that it seems to be the perfect counterbalance to weight training. I know that when I was in the class on Sunday, she talked about lengthening the spine...breathing...being fluid...it felt like a massage to the body after hitting the weights all week.... I felt like while the weights targets a very small piece of the body, the yoga seems to stretch everything into some kind of whole. I don't even know if that makes sense...but I feel very "earthed" by weight training (in a good way--I LOVE weight training) whereas yoga is more of a soaring...I think I am going to love yoga/Pilates too. It does seem like a counterbalance. I need to find out WHERE in my neighborhood they are selling Energy. hrrump.

BTW, my gym used to only offer Pilates/yoga on Sunday but now they offer it 3 days a week...(M/W/Th)...so maybe yours will expand (you're at 24 hour fitness too...correct?)

if you count the yoga/pilates class (and I do), I've worked out every day for the past 12 days so I think I am going to rest tonight and hit the powerblocks in the morning. I usually do UBWO at home on Tuesday nights and cardio on Wednesday mornings. I think I'm going to skip tonight. I'm feeling GREAT but I think I'm pounding the **** out of my body because I want to go to bed at 7:30 most nights. I have a class til 10 pm tomorrow night so that won't be too good.

:lol:

toddling off to read my magazines (weight training) and fall asleep.

g'night
Susan

MrsJim Thank You so much for posting that recipe - I will be trying it out today and will let you's know how it is.

Kelster - If the magazine is really popular, maybe they have sold out where I'm looking. I got a tip yesterday to call the distributor who handles all the magazines in our area and they can tell me who is carrying it - so I will do that today.

I'm barely walking here this morning girls - nothing like changing your routine to squats and deadlifts to shake up your legs. :jig: WOW but it feels so good!

Talk to you later! Gotta go make those pancakes! :T

Hiya girls;)
Did my cardio this morning..whew, I kicked some treadmill butt. Probably not too impressive to some but that is the most I have run on that thing since I bought it 5 years ago:lol: I can tell my endurance is going up a bit each time I do it so that is great!

Gotta get some blueberries and try out that recipe! It looks yummy. I have to find something as I am not a big breakfast person and I cannot stand the texture of cooked oatmeal. What is the deal w/ steel cut oats? We have those in the commissary but I go Quaker kind a long time ago..is the texture different? I really would like to have something warm and filling in the morning but can't take the paste texture of Quaker.

On to my original question...I have seen some people use it but is olive oil o.k. to use instead of flax seed and udo's...I don't really have the $$ this month to buy udo's but I already have olive oil. If it is ok to use like 1 tbsp a day or so, how do I use it. Can I put it in a pan and brown some baked potato slices or does that change the dietary makeup if I cook it? Any help would be appreciated ladies, thank you.

Off to check L&S and go do errands..have a great day all!

MRS. JIM,

I read somewhere that Pam B tweaked some things on the program to get her best results. Do you recall what they were?

Thanks

Forgiven - are you on your first Challenge? If so - go by the book 'cos that's pretty much what Pam did.

The following is from her document on the L&S Training Library (BTW the whole document is worth a peek):
Cardio
For the first 3 challenges I followed the Body for Life program to the letter except I bumped up my cardio to 30 minutes per session after a few weeks. I still made sure I hit the 9's and 10's every workout (that is SO important). I used the recumbent bike for the first 6 months and then added the treadmill and elliptical trainer to my workouts. As I got in better shape and needed more challenging cardio, I started using the stepmill (where the stair rotate like an escalator). It wasn’t until my fourth challenge when I was preparing for a bodybuilding contest that I started doing cardio 6 days per week. I found that when I was doing cardio 6 days per week, it became MUCH harder to stick to the nutrition plan.

Weight Training
I work out at World Gym. They have a great selection of free weights and cables there. I try to stick to the basics. I push myself extremely hard. If my muscles aren't sore the next day, then I feel like I didn't work hard enough. I literally take my muscle to “muscle failure” where I physically cannot do another rep. I visualize Bill Phillips or one of my buddies from LEANandSTRONG standing there daring me to do another rep. I visualize them holding $1000. They tell me they will give it to me if I do another rep. If I still REALLY can’t do the rep, I know that I have hit a level 10. I change my routine every 4 weeks by changing the exercises per bodypart, # reps, poundage used, etc…
During my first 3 challenges I did the rep scheme and bodyparts as laid out in the BFL book.

Nutrition
In the first 3 challenges I followed the BFL nutrition plan to the letter except I ate an occasional egg yolk and if I wasn't hungry for my last meal of the day, sometimes I would skip it.

Basically, I'd say for at least your first 12 weeks, to go by the book. When you're just starting out, this is your prime time to build muscle. It gets progressively more difficult with time to build muscle - and you need it to burn fat, right?
;)

I'm saying that because most newbies want to add more cardio to the program - and that can SO easily backfire on you (it did for me - set me back a bit). Check out this webpage - new from the Krista Smash! website - called "Kardio Kween" for more info. http://www.stumptuous.com/cardio.html

Heather - olive oil IS a healthy fat - however, I believe to get the most benefit out of it, you should not heat it (same with flax and Udos). Instead of using it in cooking, try mixing it with balsamic vinegar and using it as a salad dressing!

Steel Cut Oats - I like Quaker myself. I think that 'steel cut' refers to oats like McCanns which take FOREVER to cook!!!

Hi everyone - that pancake recipe sounds delicous - I too find breakfast quite difficult as I sometimes get a stomach ache from omelets :( In fact I've got some raspberries in the freezers which me and the kids picked one afternoon - so I might give it a go. - I don't think we get that wheat pancake mix here (NZ is not into pancakes as much as you guys) - any ideas on how I could replace it?

Question...
Is anyone using/used betalean HP or Phen-free and able to give me an opinion? - how do they compare are they worth it - side effects? etc. I'm really keen to give this fat loss a boost, but with the price of things here, you have to really know what you want.

Slowly reducing the amount of milk I use in my protein shakes and adding water instead - I tried it with water but yuck! and the reason I use that instead of Myoplex is because a 20 packet box of Myoplex here retails for $129.95. Which makes them $6.00 yes $6.00 each, I think you can understand why my husband and I don't drink them 3 times a day. In fact why we don't drink them all.

If any one is interested I was recommended a place in Iowa on another message board which has EAS products really really cheap and they only charge $7.00 to ship in the USA . The site is:
http://www.jesupgym.com/ and the prices truly are amazing.

Anyway - got to run - I have a colour in my hair which needs to be washed out before it goes black!!!! :lol:

catch you later - Carly

Well here it is Wednesday and I'm totally burn't out. Did a great LBWO on Monday and added weight to everything, so I was really sore for the first time in a long time:D . Did my 20MAS yesterday on the recumbent bike, and doggie walking with friends. Today I did chest, tris and bis, and really pushed with added weight. On my way to the locker room, I stuck my head inside the "aerobics room" at the gym where there was a spinning class scheduled to start. I thought I'd just look and see what the heck spinning was- but a perky YOUNG instructor came trotting over to me. "hi, I'm Connie, are you new here? you're gonna love it! Great workout! Here let me help you set up your bike, here's how you adjust tension OK hop on up, yeah that looks great, seat's perfect" ba-boom the music starts! Connie's got a mike on- Hi mel, how you doing? Everyone say hi to mel, she's new and she's doing great! (OMG, my biceps hurt and they aren't even moving) OK everyone, we're gonna climb some hills- mel? how you doing? This is Maria (maria waves and smiles). OK crank up that resistance....and on and on. Why didn't I get off? I don't know. She's right, it was a great workout, I was drenched, my legs burned, but I wasn't planning on cardio today. And MY BUTT HURTS!
So- do I do cardio tomorrow and just pretend I dreamed I was racing Lance Armstrong thru the Alps? or should I skip cardio tomorrow? What do the experts say?

Heather- I love steel cut oats and detest the pastey Quaker oatmeal stuff. They cook up really quick in the microwave. Use a BIG bowl( otherwise it'll be all over the place) and boil 1 cup water. Add 1/4c. steel cut oats (I use Bob's Red Mill). Cook on high for 1.5 minutes. Stir. Cook on high for 2 minutes. Enjoy plain or with a few berries or a tiny drizzle of sf syrup. I eat it at least twice a day and can't swallow the other stuff.

mel

I can just imagine getting trapped in one on a non-cardio day!

I know Mrs. Jim used to do a spinning class before BFL, so I hope she will give you more expert advice, but it sounds like pretty intense cardio. Especially since you are feeling burned out, I would skip cardio tomorrow.

This is based on my experience from last week -- I use Tae Kwon Do classes for some of my cardio, and did extra classes to prepare for my first test to advance from white to orange belt. By Friday, my UBWO was a disaster -- not from upper body soreness, but just general weakness from overtraining. Workouts this week went much better after a rest.

Sounds like a friendly spinning class, though!

Carrie