Weight and Resistance Training - BFL/BB #71 - C3FC Week 6

I think we're all having a busy fun weekend!

I spent this morning going thru my first week of menus on CPB. Lemme tell ya - this ROCKS! Pam has totally outdone herself compared to earlier this year - the recipes look totally tasty - actually they are - I'm having my first CPB meal right now and already getting STUFFED (only 1/2 way through it).

It's supposed to be 90 degrees out - Jim just left for Marin to do some recording with Shree and he won't be home til this evening...in about 2 hours I'm going to head back to the gym to do my back/hams workout. I was there earlier for cardio and it was PACKED at 8:50 am. I'm guessing that once the 49ers game starts, along with the Giants and A's (if they're playing today) the gym will empty out right quick.

The rest of the day is going to be spent cooking for next week, making some iced tea and sitting down with a good book - I'm going to start "The Kitchen God's Wife" by Amy Tan. I LOVED "The Bonesetter's Daughter" and "The Joy Luck Club".

Just wish I had a way of getting over to Woodside/Portola Valley - then I'd be spending the day with the HORSES for sure!

After Jim comes home we're planning on cruising down to Yumi for our weekly frozen yogurt fix :)

How's everyone else doing?

Ok, hearing all of the raving about CPB meus has me considering a run of CPB myself!

Still chugging along with C3FC. Have had a trying time for the last two weeks. Work stress has been at an all time high. The first week, it was my nutrition that suffered. The second week, it was my workouts. I got back on track 100% with both elements yesterday, and feel 300% better today. I think the mental break that the weekend brings has helped. I'm surprised that I was able to get back on track this weekend considering the stress I was feeling on Friday, after hearing about a sniper in our area. Not sure if you guys have heard about the 6 random sniper shootings in MD over the past week, but on Friday afternoon, a woman was shot in my town of Fredericksburg, VA, (loading shopping bags into her van), and it has been confirmed that it was linked to the Maryland shootings. Very scary. Especially considering that I don't live in a very big town at all.

Off to the gym for a back/tri's/ab workout. We're in the homestretch, ladies!

I began week 2 today of BFL. All systems are go - I like this program, I feel good and I feel excited at the prospects of doing this challenge. I had a nice treat this morning, my friend is an urban farmer of sorts and gave me 9 fresh eggs. I had 5 scrambled egg whites/one yolk this morning and they were so good. I cooked quite a bit today. I had company for lunch and made only food I could eat. No one noticed they were on a diet. No dessert, but we were full of pork loin, baked potato, curried cabbage, and green beans. No room for anything else.

wcolleen - hope this week goes better for you.

karen - how exciting to be starting a new challenge, good luck!

Hi Ladies!!
I can't believe that it's Sunday night already! I just finished watching that new show on NBC, American Dreams. Love it. Had a lovely free meal tonight of homemade chicken enchiladas and guacamole and right now I'm enjoying a slice of homemade apple pie that a friend made. Love free meals. LVOE them.

I've had an incredibly crazy weekend and I'm sort of sad that tomorrow is Monday. Most of you know that I'm a personal trainer but I also work part-time at a preschool as a one-on-one aide for a 3yr old autistic boy.

Well, I got the notion in my head over the last month or so that our classroom needed a new pet of sorts, something cute, furry and good with kids. So what do I decide on? A pair of rats. Yes, rats. They are great with kids and they love attention and being handled a lot. Now, I've known people who have had them and loved them like dogs and cats, but I haven't actually raised any myself. So I got two little baby sister ratties this weekend. I've decided to keep them at my house until they are older and more used to people.

I had one out yesterday and somehow she escaped into the cold air ventilation of the furnace. Long story short, I freaked out, and was trying to coax her out of the tubing in the garage. That didn't work, I was just about to give up, and went back into the room where the cage was and there she was just sitting there, looking at me! I guess she didn't like the dark cold ventilation tubing. I guess some rat-proofing of our house is in order.

So that's how I spent my afternoon yesterday. They're cute and sweet so far, I really can't wait to introduce them to the kids.

Anyway, it looks like another crazy week to come. My great-aunt died on Thursday, and her calling hours are tomorrow evening and the funeral is on Tuesday. I'll be hitting the gym early both days to get my workout I guess.

Ledom--I've just finished reading Laurie R. King's A Monstrous Regiment of Women. I've lately been into fantasy and mystery. I read a lot, and moderate a book club at http://chicklit.com.

Karen--Great going on CPB. I know you'll rock!!

Alright everyone, have a great night!

On to another week!

Celebrated end of c3 with a meal that made me so sick I couldn't wait to start eating clean again- and it wasn't really anything that was weird! No week off for me, I can actually see some abs, so I really don't want to undo that! Anybody else notice that the longer you do this, the more hypercritical you get and want MORE? I reached what I thought was my goal weight 10 months ago, but with each step forward, I realize how much more there is to do.

Moxiegirl- Your rat stories sound a lot like my hamster experiences. All I can say is no more rodents purposefully brought into this house!

Karen- We have similar taste in books. I've read all of Amy Tan's, and The Kitchen God's Wife was my favorite!

Ledom- Good for you! You sound like you are settling into this well. Remember, it's a lifestyle change! That's never easy. Stick with it, you'll see results.

gotta go- looks like acrazy day ahead!

mel

thanks for those words. I needed to hear that this a.m. Sometimes you just can't help those niggling doubts. You're right about staying away from the scales you guys. Up 2 lbs. from free day 2 days after it is over, but still down from when I started. I thought I handled free day pretty reasonably actually. But pizza w/ black olives caused water retention - doesn't it always? I am putting my faith in this and trying my best not to second guess. Free day? - a whole lotta of food? - how can this work? Those are the niggling little doubts. Today I am going to look at workout equipment. Especially w/ the lowerbody workout I think there is a lot more I could do w/ more weight and a better bench.

Happy Monday - once again thanks for your advice and support. I don't have to look far for motivation.:)

It's 10:20 a.m., and I still feel like I'm asleep. . . It's a beautiful fall day here -- sunny with crisp air. I don't know why, though, but all I want to do is curl back up in my bed.

Ledom: I wouldn't worry too much about free day. Although I've put my scale away, I've been enjoying free days for 9 weeks now (or maybe 10 -- I always lose track of time), and I can tell by how my clothes are fitting that I'm losing weight/toning up. More importantly, knowing that I have a free day helps me get through any cravings I may be having during the week. I just tell myself that I can wait until Saturday to have whatever it is that I want. So far, it's worked. For example, last Friday I went out to dinner with some friends at an Italian restaurant. Instead of having pasta, I ordered a large veggie salad with grilled shrimp -- I just kept telling myself (1) to enjoy the company and stop obsessing about the food; and (2) if I still wanting pasta, I could eat as much as I wanted in 12 or so hours. I did the same with dessert, and it really helped deal with the food. (As it turned out, I was so busy on Saturday, I didn't even have time to eat badly . . .) I know, though, that if I didn't have free days to look forward to, I would easily cave to all of the temptations we all have around us everyday.

wcolleen: Be safe! It's a very scary situation right now, where you live. I was following the story over the weekend, but haven't heard whether they caught the person or not. I'm sure they will soon, if they haven't already!

Moxiegirl: I've read about pet rats, but can't help shuddering at the thought of those long, hair-less tails. I think we're very anti-rat, here in Chicago.

Re: Amy Tan -- I also enjoy her books, but The Joy Luck Club prompted me to do something that I think I'm still recovering from, mentally -- going on a 1-week trip with just my mom! I had just finished reading The Joy Luck Club, and thought, hey!, wouldn't it be great if my mom and I could bond like in the book. Well, as they say, life isn't like Hollywood makes it out to be. Although we had a fine time, it was a long 7 days for both of us. I call that trip my "Joy Luck folly".

I'll try to check back in later. Hope everyone is doing well. Ciao, Mox

HEY EVERYONE!!!

I have so much to catch up with at work here as yesterday was a public holiday for us, but I just wanted to pop in and say hi and see how you are all going?

I picked up not one but TWO places on the weekend - well a duplex actually. So now I own 3 places. The good thing is that they are already rented out so their is a guaranteed income in place already! Anyway.....

My food went fairly well over the weekend except that my last meal for Friday night went yucky in the hot car on the drive up - yes even in the cooler bag! I think that I need a new cooler bag. The family were in shock when they saw me because they haven't seen me in 2 years. Then they were even in more shock when hubby and I polished off a dozen eggs for breakfast on Saturday morning!

We came back on Saturday night even though it was a 6 hour drive because we wanted to still have sone of the weekend to do our stuff. I also had to cook yesterday and all the baking took me 5 hrs! LUCKILY I love this menu Pam has given me!

Anyway I will post again later I just wanted to say hi!

JC :D

AACK!! (insert Pauly Shore-type whine here :lol: )

I was going to post last night at home - but the internet was running sllllooowwww. Jim was like, why are we paying for DSL if it's so slow...he has a tendancy to forget how annoying dialup service was! :)

I am REALLY LOVING this new CPB. Yesterday she sent me my new training split - like JC and Mel had observed (if memory serves that is!) the weight training is not as hard and heavy as I've been doing lately - nevertheless I'm feeling the effects big time!

JC - the landlord!! Sheesh, I couldn't do that...I'm way too irresponsible. We actually have a really great landlord at our little place, he really takes care of things. Do they have open houses on Sundays in Oz like they do here - my sister isn't shopping for a house but she enjoys going to open houses and being a 'lookie-loo'. Actually I enjoy that myself :) but it's not really Jim's cuppa tea. He can't window-shop at stores either - if he goes to the mall it's to BUY something, not just browse!

Mox - do rats that run around the backyard count as pets? It's not like we're in the slums or anything but we do have the occasional roof-rat. At night they're at the bird feeder and Sparky just goes absolutely WILD watching them. It's like premium Kitty Kable TV! Actually I haven't seen them around lately because they seem to attract hungry kitties. Jim and I saw Squeaky (the black-and-white girl kitty who lives in our neighborhood) chase one down a couple of months ago...pretty interesting! Our upstairs neighbor has two snakes - pythons - and feeds them a big white rat once every couple of weeks. I watched once...all I can say is it's over pretty quickly!

Ledom - Let me put in my two cents with Mox about free day. Most of that weight gained on FD is usually water weight - which goes away after a day or so of clean eating. I encourage you to take advantage of your free day - it really works in keeping your nutrition clean the other six days of the week. A really great tip that Susanje gave me in the beginning - make sure you STILL drink all your water on Free Day - that really helps alleviate any free day 'hangover' you might experience. Also, try not to eat 'just because you can'. I've done that quite a few times and always regretted it - by that I mean shoveling in the food even though my tummy was full, just because it was there and it was Free Day. I tell myself now - Safeway isn't going to run out of oatmeal cookies by next Sunday...Round Table Pizza isn't going out of business anytime soon...the food will ALWAYS be there. And if you insist on weighing yourself, for goodness' sake DON'T do it the day after Free Day, else you're just setting yourself up for disaster BIG TIME.

I'm still trying to read "The Kitchen God's Wife" but it's just tough to get a few peaceful reading moments - besides my CPB, I've been doing some pedigree research and that takes a lot of time...

Oh well, back to work! Let's hear from y'all! Susan???

This is from Tom "The Dipping/Running Man" at L&S...he posted this today and I thought it was worth posting here for y'all!
Just giving my opinion, feel free to disagree. My spin may be different from yours.

Don't start over. Never. Never ever. I don't care what happened. Don't do it. I don't care who had a surprise party, what food was thrown at you, asbestos forced your gym closed for a week.

These are obstacles. Get over them, get past them. You may bleed and/or get bruised by them, but find a way around them. If it's a day, fine, a week, fine, just go.

What does that say about you if you finish despite some obstacle? It says that you can handle what is thrown at you. What does it say if an obstacle comes up and you decide to restart? You're quietly telling yourself that you can't handle anything other than ideal circumstances. Life ain't ideal.

If you had a challenge where nothing came up and nothing got in your way, go buy a lottery ticket you lucky b@$tard. The rest of us have to deal with things ranging from forgetting our meals at work one day, to a car accident that sidelines us for a week. Move on and forget about the food faux pas. Move on and heal after the accident and ease back into YOUR program. Just imagine the pride, looking back and saying "I finished, despite totalling my car." Or "I finished despite a hurricaine shutting down my gym for a week." Take that mentality and nobody will stop you.

I once bombed the first math test of my junior year of college (37 with the curve). I wasn't allowed to start the course over again. It became a matter of survival and I was d@mn proud of the grade I earned despite my first fall.

Be d@mn proud of where you go despite your falls, despite being blind-sided by adversity.

Yes, there will be exceptions for extreme situations, but not everyone has an extreme situation. Losing focus is not extreme. Just not doing it for 2 weeks is not extreme. Finding out that something you have eaten for the first 4 weeks is really not authorized is also not extreme enough to warrant a do-over.

We have people on this board who overcame tons and still more facing an uphill battle. Lady Q had to end her challenge early for major surgery and rehab, but she's back on the wagon, full of (you know what) and vinegar. Steve L is facing surgery and he's already planning the butt-whoopin' for next year's powerlifting schedule.

With those attitudes, how can we start over from simply eating a pizza outside of free day? How can we start over just because we feel our first 3 weeks were lame? How can we say we can handle difficult situations when we always hit the reset button?

Just 2 weeks ago I was sick and missed 7 consecutive days from the gym. Nutrition was about 70%. And that was the beginning of my gym's challenge (I had 3 workouts under my belt at the time). and where am I now? I'm continuing as if nothing ever happened. I could bag it and wait until the next challenge starts so that I can do it perfectly. But next time I may get food poisoning, or the flu, or twist an ankle on the basketball court, or a sick fam that needs me at home and not at the gym. Stuff is going to happen. Don't let it force you back to the start. It's a race against your demons. Don't give back any ground.


Good stuff, huh?

What a great post, MrsJim. And very timely! I actually had a small obstacle moment yesterday, that -- thankfully -- I was able to overcome. For some reason, I was very sleepy and clumsy yesterday. Anyway, I was getting ready to eat my lunch when I dropped my plate! which fell upside down, of course! :mad: Since I'm not sure if the lunchroom floor ever gets cleaned, there was no way I was going to eat the chicken breast, yam, and cabbage I had prepared. Well, my co-workers (all very sympathtic) were chowing down on Mexican, Chinese noodles, etc. Stuff that's bad even on Free Days. :s: I couldn't decide what to eat, and was tempted to go get something bery bery bad. Instead, I found my feet walking to a salad place where I got fresh fruit (carbs), boiled shrimp (protein), and lettuce/snap peas (veggies). With only 2 1/2 weeks to go for my first challenge, I want to be a good as I can be!

Also, I just received the book, Body Revival, from half.com yesterday, and am anxious to start reading it to stay motivated.

Re: rats -- I don't think I've ever seen a cute rat. We have huge ones that run around in the alleys. Yuck! But, we have lots of squirrels here, which some people call rats with tails (and pidgeons are rats with wings . . ), but I like them -- the squirrels, that is. They're the ones that try to eat all of the bird seed and drive the kitties crazy.

JEC: Congrats on the property! I don't think I would be a good landlord/lady -- I can barely take care of my 2 bedroom condo. :dizzy: All I can think of are movies like "Pacific Heights", where unsuspecting landlords get tenants from ****. (Although a lot of my friends have been in the opposite situation, in reality.)

Hope everyone is having a great day. Talk to you tomorrow. Mox

Just a quick intro.

I'm day 16 of BFL and am taking a "gentler approach" this time. I tried it a number of years ago and nearly passed out during cardio and would feel really sick after a work-out. I guess I got a wee bit confused with my "9's" and my "11's". ;)

Eating clean, working out within my limits, using a heart-monitor to keep me up-right during cardio but struggle with the water intake. I know what I need to do but I figure coming clean on this board will motivate me to start drinking some serious water!!!

I tend to be brief in my emails and replies as it takes me a long time to write/type and I do goof my words up. Except my apology in advance.

I look forward to reading about everyones experience.

Jan
***********************

Hello Girls!!

How is everyone.... From all the encouraging posts very good ....

Good stuff for sure Mrs. J. , you are a fountain of information.... and that post hit home with me too... I was feeling set back because I have a sore back which lasted only ONE DAY, imagine, I feel pretty silly when I see the obstacles that some people have gone through....

JEC owning property is a great thing... We only have one with only 2 apartments and they are 2 of the best couples a landlord could ask for.... We have alot of friends that have the tenants from ****... wrecking their places and such... I would hate to see that happen to this building because it used to belong to my mother-in-law and it's a beautiful old building, right downtown withing walking distance to "the" only good Mall in this town...:lol:

You know where I feel my weight loss girls? In my hands they feel skinny... I can see the bones and veins and my rings are loose....yippee... I love loose rings....There is nothing that annoys me more than a tight wedding band....

Rats!!!!!!!! no thank you ....... we had squirrels stuck between the rafters in our house one year... they remind me of rats... then a few years later lucky us we had bats.!!!!.... We weren't allowed to kill them by law because they are an endagered species... Well they were extremely endangered when they were in our attic, needless to say..... We no longer have bats.... I hope I have not offended anyone because bats, rats, squirrels are all rodents and they bug me...... Almost every year we have a bees nest that starts by summer's end between the walls, this year was no different, hubby sprayed the opening.... then, I guess they were trying to escape, they were coming into the house... on some days we found over 20 bees .... thank goodness no one has bee allergies.... WE don't even live in the country...LOL.... I'm not a country girl at all give me all the amenities of the city and clean living.... I would not survive on Survivor....LOL

Anyways I'm rambling.... AGAIN..

Later girls....

Hello Jan.... I guess we were posting at the same time.... Welcome...

Nice to meet you Jan!

Lana: yeah it's a good gig to get into. I just got rid of some average tenants and am trying to get their bond at the moment because they left the place in a mess but it doesn't really worry me that much. I feel my weight loss in my hands as well - I have been meaning to get my rings adjusted for ages but keep putting it off in case I lose more weight off my hands. I have actually just stopped biting my nails so now my hands are looking quite petite and pretty, which I am really happy with.

MrsJim: that was a magnificent post wasn't it? I got a lot out of it.

I hope that everyone is cruising along ok - I am doing great and verging on buying the next size down in pants - I might update my photos this week.

JC

Welcome Jan, I am 1/2 way through my second week of my first challenge so we are in about the same place.

Whew, this morning at 5 a.m. reality set it - this is WORK!!! I got through the first 2 hrs. of my day (UB and breakfast, my favorite meal) though so I'm cruising now!

I teach at a university about 40 miles from where I live. All my classes fall on Mon, Tues, Wed. I teach a Tues. night class and by Wed. morning I feel like I am hitting 10's as far as work week goes, just gotta get through 2 more classes and I can slow down. Rest of the week is office hours where I can go at a slower pace.

Also, I can see I have to keep more food cooked up in advance. When I run out of stuff I like it gets so much harder. I really need ideas for quick, quick, quick. I know cottage cheese and fruit is and I take advantage of that 1 to 2 times a day. Another really quick that is ok is turkey breast and mustard rolled up in a WW tortilla. Any other ideas out there for when you have eaten everything you had prepared in advance and you still have one meal left to go, and you are TIRED?

Hi Jan, welcome aboard

Ledom- When I was doing straight BFL, I cooked everything in HUGE batches (chicken breasts, turkey breast,shrimp, sweet potatoes, brown rice, fresh cut up vegies) then packaged it in serving size portions that I either froze (labelled!) or just lobbed back into the fridge. That way for most of the week I'd already have food cooked, and just had to mix and match what I wanted. Also, travel everywhere with a cooler!

Hi everyone else- I'm too exhausted for a long post. Hope you are all doing well.

mel

AACK! Thought I responded to the food planning post already. Man I still have a month before I'm over the hill...guess my brain is short-circuiting early :)

Check out Susanje's post in the Recipes thread to see how she preps her work-week food...

Here's what I do: On Sundays I cook up a mess of chicken breasts using Rich's Mom's Perfect Chicken Breast recipe. If beans are on the menu for the week, I'll cook up a pot of pintos. Yams are good to cook in advance - just mash a bunch up with some Splenda, cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice and vanilla and you've got a tasty carb choice.

Each evening I review the next day's menu and get my meals ready...salad greens washed...rice cooked (I use instant brown rice so I don't have to cook up a potfull on Sunday) etc. I've become a pro at separating eggs quickly so if eggwhites are on the menu I usually do those right before I eat 'em.


Mel - you're not doing low carb today are ya? :lol: I'm having one of those down days myself, energy wise, although my workout today kicked butt!

Jan - welcome to our little group! here's what I do for water...I drink a big ol' glass right when I wake up, usually two. Then when I get back from the gym, I'll have another glass before hitting the shower...then one with my first meal. At work, I have four 1/2 liter water bottles that I fill as soon as I get to my desk after I power up my PC. My goal is to empty all the bottles twice :) so I get over a gallon in a day if I achieve that goal of 8 1/2 liters during the workday. I enjoy SLEEPING at night so I don't drink much water after 5 pm.

Whew! Have another project so will post more later!

Mel: I am pretty tired myself - just coming off 2 low calorie days. It was very hard to get out of bed this morning and boy was I burning up in bed last night! I haven't used a doona in 3 nights, just the sheet.

Ledom: I plan all of my meals a week in advance. I usually cook on a Saturday and I cook up enough meals packed in the fridge to last me until Friday night. I just grab whatever I feel like (or at the moment whatever Pam had me cooking) and go. I never actually prepare or cook anything during the week - I just reheat. It's easy to do - work out how many meals you need - think of a few different combinations and make 4 or so of each and then work out what you need to shop for. I never buy more than I exactly need for the week which makes it easy to clean out the fridge on Saturday morning since it is normally empty! That way I always have my meals ready to go in case of an emergency.

After a year on BFL/CPB I have learnt that food is fuel - I get my pleasures from elsewhere. Most days I just treat my body like a machine, I give it fuel every couple of hours and then go to the gym for some maintenance in the afternoon, then I shut that baby down around 9:30pm at night.

MrsJim: berry berry tired sweetie.... what about you? How's the sparkmiester?

Well today is actually my 27th birthday so instead of having a cake I let myself have a cafe latte with skim milk. It was really really yummy! I have grad school tonight so I can't do anything anyways! It's also my one year anniversary of BFL.

You know if I wasn't so tired I would probably be more excited about the above! :D :D

JC

Right now the Sparkmeister (or as Jim now calls him "MISTER SPARKLEEEE!!!" from the Simpsons - do you get that in Oz?) is seriously WIGGING OUT. He has been running marathons down our little foyer. "Daddy Play With Me!!!"

Well so much for our 90 degree weather, it has really cooled down since yesterday!

I have a low-calorie day today as well...the only problem is the 1/2 banana today...because there ARE no bananas thanks to the Dockworker's Strike. Thank goodness the Prez called a stop to THAT so the bananas can be shipped once again!

Hey HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YA! Actually tomorrow is your birthday round these parts!!! Mine is on a Sunday - next month on the 10th actually...

JEEZ! Just looked at the clock and it's mealtime!! gotta run!

Hello girls,

:gift: to you JEC and :hb: to you !!!!! And the big 27 at that....:lol: just a young pup aren't you! Hope you have a great day....

At this end things are quite hectic at work and I really cannot keep up any longer, as I said before they cut one secretary in the office and we were super busy before when we were fully staffed... now it's almost impossible to keep things in perspective... Hubby says I take my job too seriously... and I should let the work pile up... well I can't and it's really stressing me out.... I haven't eaten well in the last 2 days.... Today for lunch I had 1/2 cup of brown rice, a granlo bar, and a slice of ww bread with PB on it...(no not Pam Brown..:lol:) and I know that's not a clean balanced meal... I will try to do better tonight for supper but because I get home around 4:30PM and it's been almost 4 hours since my last meal, I grab something that is not the cleanest, not junk, but only an apple no protein, because I am ravenous... We're so busy that I don't have time to take my break in the afternoon... and that really annoys me, I also end up leaving about a half hour later than my quitting time. :stress: Well anyways I'm really fed up.... I took tomorrow off to go bowling with my daughters class, and Monday is a holiday here and I also took Tuesday off.... So lets hope I'll be happier by then...

As you can see I am venting... and thank you for listening...sorry about that.

Later all.......

Happy belated birthday, JC! Hope it was a good one? Did Pam give you cake??:lol: :lol:

I've just been out here in kinda lurking mode for the past few days. Workout out hard, eating clean, and feeling like I'm seeing zippo results. I will do calipers and tape and pictures tomorrow ( I hope) so maybe I'll see something that I don't feel. Looking in the mirror 20 times a day is just as bad as getting on the scale! As another l &s'er emailed me, "At this point I feel like progress is kinda like trying to squeezing toothpaste from an empty tube".

It's finally been raining here for 3 days- certainly not helping my bleak outlook, but we sure need it. Now maybe all the grass seed I raked into the lawn will germinate.

So how the last week of our 6 week challenge going for the rest of you? Are we continueing?

Have we lost Susan? Thunder?

mel

Sorry for not posting more this week -- I've been very busy at work and fighting off a cold. So, although my eating has been clean, I've slacked a bit on the exercise. I'm planning on going to the gym both days this weekend, though, to make up for a day I missed during the week. Not perfect, but the best I can do right now.

Happy birthday, JEC! I hope you had a great day!
Welcome to this board, Jan. I'm doing my first challenge and have learned a lot from the people here.

Ledom, about food, one thing I do is boil up a whole bunch of eggs at one time (like 18) and keep them in the egg carton. When I need protein, I just peel and eat 6 egg whites. I usually eat this with a piece of fruit (I like apples b/c they also add fiber to my diet.)

Lana - I'm sympathetic with your job woes. I sometimes feel like a firefighter with my job -- whichever task is burning the hottest gets my attention; the rest just have to smolder. Not the best way of working, but sometimes unavoidable.

Finally, not to linger on the rat/squirrel thing, but I saw an article yesterday about a town that has albino squirrels -- all white with pinkish eyes. Weird.

Gotta run. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Peace. Mox

Hi ladies!

TGIF! This week has been crazy for me. I have had a GREAT week lifting-wise, so I'm sorry to not have been around more (or updating my 3FC journal). My great-aunt died and the funeral lasted all day, much longer than I expected, and I ended up taking a free meal at her funeral dinner. I hated to enjoy all the food while I was supposed to be mourning. Poor planning will always get you!

On Sunday, I raised my PR for BB squats to 105 pounds. I've been trying for a few weeks to get up and over 100. YAY! And then...on Tuesday, I set a PR for deadlifts--95lbs. YAY! I've been stuck on 65lbs forever...so that feels really good to get over that barrier. My grip strength seems to have really improved (maybe since incorporating BB squats? or pull-up negatives? or taking 4 weeks off from deadlifts? hmmm.)

My rattie babies are doing well, I'm glad to see that you all haven't kicked me off the board in disgust yet. Really, they're cuties! We haven't had any escapes lately, but the dog is taking to them very very slowly.

The food is going well, have upped my calories, I think I'm gaining more mass in my upper body, my arms seems really big to me lately, just a lot of muscle. The scale is still hovering about 119-120, so I'm hoping I'm gaining muscle and burning fat. I'll do the BF and pics in a couple of weekends.

My mom and I are taking my grandma shopping tomorrow and then out to lunch. Hooray for free meals on Saturday!

Have a great weekend!
Maggie

Are we at the end of C3FC? I need to take my measurements this weekend. I know I'd made progress - clothes are feeling oh-so-much looser. Yippee! I have to say that my commitment was greater at the beginning of the challenge, though. Making it a habit to post every day was a key factor in that. I don't think it's a coincidence that when I stopped posting as often, I started straying a bit. But overall, I think I did pretty well, and hope that that is reflected in my measurements.

Today has been tough. I was pumping gas at a station about 4 blocks up from today's sniper shooting (Fredericksburg, VA) about 5 minutes before it took place. Needless to say, I'm quite shaken up about it. We all thought they were done with Fredericksburg ... Apparently not. The streets here are empty for the most part, considering it's a Friday evening. No one wants to leave their houses! This morning, I was relieved to hear the Interstate around here had been blocked off (thinking it would help them catch the individual(s) responsible, but now the reality is setting in that if there was no way for them to leave without being stopped by the police, there's a good chance they're still in the area... not a good feeling at all... BUt, you can't live your life in fear, I suppose. If you do, then you aren't really living your life, right??

I am so sorry you are having to live under this fear. I can only imagine how horrible it must be - even though I'm 100's of miles away I think of that sniper when I gas up my car. Hopefully they'll catch him soon. What a sad, sad thing. Please be careful.

Today is the last day of week 2 of Challenge 1. I am so pleased with how it is going. I can tell a difference with each workout. At first I just wanted to be through with them, now I am moving more methodically through the routines and am stretching what I do with each workout. I am slowly adding to my equipment. I have located a bench, I had hoped to get it today but the shipment didn't come in. Within the next two weeks I should have it though. A friend is giving me his 20 and 25 lb. dumbells. I have a bar and I will add some weights to my set this coming week.

Food has been good too. I haven't cheated at all, last night I fell asleep before I got my 6th meal in and felt bad about that. Now there is a first! This coming week I will work on getting in more vegetables as that is where I am most lacking.

The scale is registering some loss, but I am trying to focus on the other things. Pants that I dreaded putting on because they were getting tight are feeling good again. I can feel, if not see, my collarbones. My hands are smaller. I go through the day thinking about my muscles, it seems like I can feel them working even after my workout is over.

AND, tomorrow is free day. Last week it felt like christmas was coming, I am excited about it this week too. I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Ok Ladies, our 6 weeks is up! Actually, I have one more cardio to do today, but it's gotta wait til the afternoon.

I took measurements and weighed and here are the results of my 13 week challenge, the last 6 of which was Camp PamB and "our" challenge:

weight: 137 133 -4
bf%: 18% 16% -2 (my measurements- trainer will do them next week. His are usually 2-4% higher :(
lean body mass 108 111 +3
waist 31 31 ????
hips 37.5 36 -1.5"
pouch 37.5 37 -.5"
calf 12.5 13 +.5"

all other measurements remained the same, but there's less fat and more muscle.

While I'm certainly not comp ready and never will be, I'm really pleased that I've had some progress! It just goes sooo slow at this point. I'm going to just keep going til at least Thanskgiving before I take a week off- I've got 2 more weeks of C PB, then I'll start to recycle.

Ledom- You sound like you are doing really well and have got your mind wrapped around this the right way! Isn't it wonderful to actually feel different? How's the food prep doing? I don't know where you are, but I've a spare bench and lots of extra weights that we don't know what to do with if you live anywhere near Philadelphia.

Colleen- I didn't realize you lived in that area, your signature says North Carolina! How scary! We are supposed to go to a lacrosse tournament next week-end at George Mason University in Fairfax where my daughter will be playing (for Ohio State). I sure hope they capture the wacko or call off the tournament, even tho I really want to see my daughter! I don't know what I'd do- you're right you have to go on living, but it's so arbitrary there dowsn't seem to be much you CAN do, other than hide in your house! Just remember to take care of yourself, don't let fear throw you back.

Gee- it's been quiet here- Guess there are just too many places to post now.

Happy belated birthday JC, and welcome, Jan!

mel

I really feel like I'm just starting since this is the end of my first week on the new CPB program. Gals, I gotta tell you, Pam has REALLY IMPROVED the menus. Most of the recipes have been quite tasty!

Today is Saturday - RIDING DAY. My favorite day of the week! :jig: The weather around these parts is still dry but the temps went down quite a bit, which is okay since the horses have begun to grow their winter coats. Last week it was almost 90 degrees and Freight was dripping wet. Today, it's probably going to be more around 70 degrees.

I hate to say this but I didn't take measurements :( Kept saying I was going to...but ya know...I can feel my tummy getting flatter and I've lost in my butt area - my jeans are baggy there! I have 3 weeks of CPB, then on to London, after my birthday I might sign up for another 6 weeks of new menus which will bring me right up to Christmas. I really am enjoying these menus.

Mel - I think you did awesome! WTG!!! :dancer: You and I are alike I think - our bodies are VERY stubborn about releasing fat. I really have to work at it - it's not easy for me at all. But I just keep on keepin' on - it's persistence that pays off in the end!

Pam sent me my Week 2 menu yesterday - early so I can shop and plan better than I did last week. Today Jim has to go up to Marin to do some recording after we go to the farm, but after he gets back he's taking me to Safeway (and Albertsons - they have boneless skinless chicken breasts on sale for $1.88 a pound!!!!). Tomorrow I am going to get out every piece of GladWare and Servin' Savers I own and get most of my meals ready (except for the ones that need to be prepared right before you eat them) for the week. It sounds like I'll be wasting my entire Sunday but in actuality, it should only take me a couple hours or so - I'm just going to do it while Jim practices (he practices his bass every day for at least an hour or more - not that he needs to - he just loves it).

Susan, Thunder, JC - hope you're doing well!

Ledom - Sounds like you're kickin' some butt! You go girl! :strong:
YOU GOT THE FIIIIIIRE!!! As far as eggwhites, I used to boil up a bunch at the beginning of the week but I soon got burnt out on hard-boiled eggwhites...I prefer to make them into omelets or Pamcakes which are sooooo yummy! I'm addicted to them (fortunately they're on my menu today :) ).

Colleen - PLEASE be careful. I'm sure they'll catch this lunatic. This all reminds me of that Clint Eastwood movie - don't remember the title but John Malkovitch was in it too. It didn't start making big news here on the West Coast until a week ago (I think). Around these parts we have the Yosemite murder trial and the San Francisco Giants on the front page - the east coast news tends to get short shrift!

Maggie - WTG on the squats...have you checked out Mistress Krista's website - she has some great tips on squatting there.

Everyone else - have a great weekend! I'll try and post later today but right now I gotta chow and hit the shower. I am SOAKING WET still from my HIIT session today!

Hello everyone,

I left California last Saturday after a phonecall that my 21 year old son was in a Boston hospital ICU in critical condition. He was assaulted and was in a coma with cerebral bleeding. When I received the phone call, I did not even know if he would live long enough for me to make the x country trip. Now he is home with me in California (we came home today). Miraculously, he was walking and talking by the time I got to Boston. He had a seizure due to the head trauma and is on medication and in a lot of pain (still) but we have hopes for a full recovery. It's just tough for me to see him in so much pain. The people who did it to him are in jail on 150k bail.

Needless to say my last week has been very stressful. I think I lost all the progress I made in this challenge and I wonder where we are (what week is this??????) but I am starting anew on Monday.

I thought I would check in. I cannot wait to get back to normal.
Susan

Susan--
Wow. I'm so glad that your son is okay and that your family is doing well after such a scary thing. My prayers are with you and your family tonight. Thank goodness they caught the people who did it.

Hang in there and don't worry about your progress. Life happens and the weights and food will be there for you on Monday. Nobody can keep you down!

Take care and it's good to see you again!!
Maggie

Susan... I too, am glad to hear that your son is recovering at home with you. What a fright that must have been for you!

Mrs. Jim... starting to drink more water (and less coffee) and am actually enjoying it. I think my body knows that it's good for it.

ledom... sounds like I'm in good company:) I'm actually amazed that I'm at the end of my third week! Though my weight isn't dropping as fast as I thought my clothes are fitting much looser.

Have a great weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians. Got a love those free days:D

Jan
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Susan- OMG! How terrifying! My thoughts are with you and your son for a speedy full recovery. Thanks for letting us know- I thought maybe you were just swamped with schoolwork or off celebrating the job offer.

mel

mel, thanks for your thoughtful offer of weight equipment - I'd love to take advantage of that but I am in Arkansas. I did pick up those 20 lb. wts. last night and am thinking about where I am going to try them in my UB workout tomorrow.

Jan, yeah I'm right behind you - it is kind of amazing finding myself at the beginning of week 3 and still fired up about things. I'll be interested to hear your progress as you forge the path on this first challenge.

Susan, I am so sorry about your son. I wish him a speedy recovery, and you a return to routine ASAP. In a few days when things settle down I'd love to hear about your home gym as I understand you work out at home.

Mrs. Jim, you are just so encouraging and I do appreciate it so much! Yep, I'm proud of myself for taking this up. I even have a pin-up pic for my workout room now. I printed the pic on the Madonna link that was on L&S last week. Now that girl has some arms to admire.

Just finished my shopping and am planning to start cooking. I think I have some good plans for food next week. I made the pamcakes with left over yam this a.m. and they were so good!

Hey guys

I am alive - barely. I had a rough weekend and am finding everything very dificult at the moment.

Susan: I am so sorry to hear about that - how horrible for you. Glad that things are getting better though.

I am in the process of doing some life re-assessment at the moment so sorry that I haven't been around much. I hope that everyone is doing ok with their challenges etc. Still trying to eat clean and get to the gym - at least I can control that.

Take care
JC