I'm happy to be back on track. Definitely had some "learning experiences" (aka mistakes) during free week -- feeling like I undermined some of my progress, but now it's time to move on.
Marci -- It's great that you keep going even when things are rough. It sounds like you will continue to reap the benefits!
Mrs. Jim -- Congratulations on your new cat Sparky! I'm so jealous -- the house we rent doesn't allow pets, and Brian, although perfect in other ways doesn't especially want a cat. My cat Tommy was my best buddy growing up (male cats can be great!)
ThinBytes -- Welcome! This is a great place for BFLers.
Doggz23 and lhendricks -- Great challenge starts -- sounds like everything is going great!
susanje -- Hope your video review went terrific!
ShelleyM and 2BFIT1 -- Good to hear from both of you!
It's wonderful to see all the messages on this board!
Hey all thanks for the welcome. And a welcome to you Sean!
I feel bad because I missed my workout yesterday, that's the 2nd time in 7 weeks. I had heard that the middle weeks get harder and I'm supposing that just may be true. I'm quite busy today as well but I WILL find the time to workout today! I've worked too hard so far to let it fall apart now.
I had a problem with the lying tricep extension when I first started. I just started out with extremely light weights to get going, something like 2, 3, 3, 5, 3 I swear I was trembling LOL Now I start out with 5lbs its not great but I'm getting there! I love the cable pulldown myself, I use it whenever I'm at the HC.
Anyway thanks for letting me be honest, I hate admitting something like missing a workout or eating a pizza (which I hadn't done except on a free day).
I did my first UBW and discovered that I'm not having some of the problems I anticipated with my "form"...it came back really quickly. I'm starting slowly on this part of the challenge because I have a history of neck problems and tendonitis in my right forearm. I'll up the weights slightly on Friday.
Today and Thursday I'll be doing my cardio outside but Saturday I hope to be indoors, on the treadmill.
I cut my portions back just a bit (per Jeremy's suggestions at L&S) because I'm always full and I want to get in my six meals. Last night I made the Myoplex pudding and it was so thick I had to scrape it out of the container! I've adopted Mrs. Jim's idea of following a hot bath with Myoplex as an end to my day, one purring cat on my lap, the other nearby.
Whoa! Two days before TURKEY DAY! I assume we're all taking Thanksgiving as a Free Day/Free Meal?
I was going to hit the gym at work on Thursday, but there were several posts at L&S that caused me to rethink. If you're going to take a "Free Day" in nutrition, you should take a "free day" in workouts as well. So Jim and I will probably go on a bike ride or something on Thursday before dinner (weather permitting of course!) but I am not going to go to the gym - Sunday I'll do my usual workout. Wow, a week and a half between Free Days/Meals - that's a stretch but I think I'll manage.
Yesterday we took Sparky to the vet. He does NOT like leaving the house at all. Totally an inside cat. Unfortunately right now he's on a nocturnal playtime schedule - hopefully that will change! He's a total lovebug though. Just a sweetie when the vet clipped his claws which were like daggers!
Sean, good post on the Anorex thread. I rather thought that referring to the "ephedra facts" site for unbiased info would be like going to the Phillip-Morris site for the truth about cigarettes! but I thought I'd let the sleeping dog lie at that point if you know what I mean. Even though the old fallacy about BFL being expensive to do was mentioned (I hear that SO often and it's completely untrue - my grocery and eating-out bills have actually DECREASED since starting BFL). I'd like to post something that I posted on a previous thread but bears repeating - originally posted by George at L&S:
Quote:
Nobody was a bigger skeptic than I. The first time I logged onto the BFL site and saw the transformations, I said out loud, "There's no way those people did that in 12 weeks!"
What you come to realize is that those are the champions out of thousands of entries. After 8 months, I still don't look like a transformation champion, but I have transformed myself for the better, and I continue to push forward, and that's what the program's really about.
There's no denying that the book serves as an incredible marketing vehicle for EAS. But there's also no denying that it's still a very good book. Don't make the mistake of confusing all the sales bull with the validity of the program.
By the way, I don't use any EAS products as a rule, but the ones I've tried (primarily the Myoplex shakes and various bars) I thought were pretty good. In fact, I think there are a lot of good products on the market by various companies.
Is this the right program for you? I'm convinced anyone--anyone--could get great results with it.
I think that says it all!
ThinBytes - Welcome and feel free to hang with us! I have the same deal with lying DB Tri extensions - funny that I can do overhead tricep rope extensions at up to 65# for 15 reps but for lying DB extensions I'm still stuck at 10-12# tops. I usually superset 'em with bench dips - whatta workout!
I'm hanging in there and hoping to feel better soon. I started doing some of my old physical therapy exercises and stretches at the end of my workouts (I went for a month of physical therapy a few years ago, when my arthritis was first diagnosed) and it seems to be helping a little.
Mrs. Jim how's that new baby of yours doing? I had cats for many, many years. My extra-special baby, Willie, who I raised from a 4-week-old kitten, passed away in my lap when he was 19. I never got another cat after him. It's been dogs since then! My last 2 dogs have had a really high "prey drive", and a cat wouldn't stand a chance in this house.
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm taking a free meal on Thursday and a free meal on Saturday and hopefully I'll be able to handle the food extravaganza that's part of the holiday. Best wishes to all ---
a few (minor) speedbumps on the road to progress....
Lesson 1: NEVER put cottage cheese in the microwave (even mixed with oatmeal!)
Lesson 2: Racewalking may cause shinsplints when jogging doesn't
Lesson 3: Too much pudding mix in one's MyoLite is a bad thing.
I'm sure others will appear...each day a new adventure! Can anyone explain WHY f/f cheese is not considered a useful protein source? I'm not talking about so-called American cheese in slices that has tons of chemicals but farmer's cheese or mozz. Because I'm not an enthusiastic consumer of meat or fish, this would be an easy selection for me.
lhendricks - I think because FFCC contains lots of sodium and sugar stuff. Check the label against the LF which is what I use. I guess they had to compensenate somewhere for the taste.
I used to use the FF because I thought it was a good thing. If I can find the link where I saw this information I'll post it for you.
I never considered cheese (and I know when 'cheese' is referred to you don't mean 'cottage cheese') as a healthy food, and the fat free stuff just tastes awful to me!
I don't see why TVP shouldn't be an okay protein, most of the ones I've seen are just soy. Have you tried tempeh? Boca Burgers? Veat? I'm pretty sure that Garden Burgers would NOT be considered a protein, as they're mostly carbs.
Anyway, I saw the answer on L&S from Shannon (or was it Julie?), but I think you are looking for a more complete answer than that so I posted a message to Jeremy on the Quad Squad board. As soon as an answer comes up I'll copy it over here. I'm pretty sure it has to do with cheese being so highly processed (even the natural stuff) and the effects dairy products have on losing body fat (I believe that dairy impedes fat loss, but I'm not 100% sure of that).
Actually I use 2% Cottage Cheese, there isn't a big calorie difference and to me it tastes one heckuva lot better! As far as regular cheese goes I save it for my Free Day (my favorites being Sonoma Jack, Brie, and good old Wispride Cheese Spread on wheat thins!).
I can imagine the explosion from putting CC in the microwave, kind of akin to John Belushi imitating a zit in the movie Animal House!
As far as Myo Lite Pudding goes I usually use about 1/4 of a small box of Jello FFSF pudding mix to 1 envelope of Myo Lite, but that's just me. Mmm.
I posted the following to Jeremy at the Quad Squad board:
Quote:
A poster on the Main Board, who also posts at the BFL board at www.3fatchicks.com, asked about why cheese (even fat free cheese, yuk!) is not considered an authorized protein. I also note that on the nutrition program you made for me, it's not listed.
I have never considered cheese a really healthy food myself, but could you go into the whys and wherefores in a bit more detail than the answer on the Main Board? Thanks!
Jeremy's answer:
Quote:
The fat content of most cheese is prohibitive. The cheeses with reduced fats are highly processed and contain other, less desireable ingredients. I do, however, enjoy occassional dabs of organic cheese here and there .... I don't see it as a problem as a protein source, but most people lack the discipline to eat the right portion sizes ... if you can eat a block of cheese, great! Just keep in mind the fatty cheeses can pack 500+ calories in an inch square!
In health,
Jeremy
And just wanted to add this related Q&A from the Hussman site:
Quote:
Q.Hi John! I'm doing the program as a vegetarian. Is there anything you would advise for keeping my protein up?
A. It helps if you aren't totally vegan, and can include foods derived from milk and eggs. If that's not the case, then by necessity, the staple is probably soy protein, which you can have in tofu, Boca Burgers, and other texturized forms. So far as soy-protein isolates are concerned, my understanding is that they vary significantly in terms of amino-acid profile. In the March 2000 Muscle Media, Brett Hall R.D. notes that the best of these is Supro brand, from Protein Technologies (a division of Ralston). The Supro is very complete in that regard.
As far as beans, rice and lentils go, be sure to remember that they are higher in carbohydrate than in protein. For example, most beans have about 2-3g of carbohydrate per gram of protein, and rice is closer to 10g of carbohydrate per gram of protein. So in order to get 1 gram of protein per lean pound (which I would suggest on the BFL program), it's almost essential to supplement with a soy protein isolate or other high protein source. If you're targeting your protein intake to about 1 gram per lean pound (at least 30-40% of your calories), and your overall caloric intake is consistent with your fat-loss goals, the carbs will work themselves out, so you don't have to be analyzing the whole diet gram for gram.
If milk and eggs are included in your diet, you've got a much wider range. On the whole-food side, there's egg protein, which gives you a lot of variety itself, and casein protein (cottage cheese). Cottage cheese is digested slowly, and it has properties that help to reduce muscle breakdown (for example, high glutamine content). It's a great choice for your last meal of the day. I'd definitely include it in your dietary mix, even though Zig Ziglar says "I have found it to be universally true that 'aint nothin' but fat folks eat the stuff".
Whey protein is also derived from milk, and is the key protein source in Myoplex. It has an excellent amino-acid profile, with a high concentration of branched-chain amino acids that are integral to muscle growth. It also has immune-enhancing properties, so is good to include if you can. EAS derives the whey protein from micro-filtration and ion-exchange, which keeps it intact. Brett Hall, a vegetarian, suggests that you try to get a balanced variety in your protein supplements, and he shoots for an equal ratio of soy, whey and casein proteins, with egg whites (or egg-beaters) as an additional whole food source. Hope that helps! John
If you check the book, even tho' cheese isn't listed as an authorized carb, you'll note that Bill P does use it kind of like a condiment or flavoring in one of his sample menus. Probably the best way to use lowfat/fat free cheese if you're gonna IMO.
Challenge 1.5 Week 1 Day 1
doesn't especially want a cat. My cat Tommy was my best buddy growing up (male cats can be great!)
but I thought I'd let the sleeping dog lie at that point if you know what I mean. Even though the old fallacy about BFL being expensive to do was mentioned (I hear that SO often and it's completely untrue - my grocery and eating-out bills have actually DECREASED since starting BFL). I'd like to post something that I posted on a previous thread but bears repeating - originally posted by George at L&S:
I have the same deal with lying DB Tri extensions - funny that I can do overhead tricep rope extensions at up to 65# for 15 reps but for lying DB extensions I'm still stuck at 10-12# tops. I usually superset 'em with bench dips - whatta workout!
