[MrsJim]

Check out those Braun Hand Blenders for traveling. Right now you can get 'em for about $20-$25. Not too terrific for ice, but REALLY great for whipping up an MRP in your hotel room. Actually if you use the small icecubes (like the ones in hotel icemakers) you can get a relatively decent consistency.

Once I even had the hotel kitchen blend my shake for me (with explicit instructions as to amount of water and ice). But these days I just use the Braun. Better than MRPs anyday!

Also there was an article in the (I think) October issue of Muscle Media about working out in your hotel room by the Mad Russian, Pavel T. I don't recall the article in detail but there was something about doing pull-ups using the bathroom door and some other stuff. Bill P also mentions workouts while traveling if there are no exercise facilities (usually not a problem for me as most of the hotels where meetings are held do have exercise facilities - some better than others). He suggests doing push-ups and situps/crunches. Then I guess you could go for a run!

Have you seen that new Star-Kist Tuna? It comes in foil pouches. Now that I have my appetite whetted for TUNA AND COTTAGE CHEESE (ya GOTTA try it...Yummmmmmmmy!) I can definitely go for that new tuna pouch. According to the package, draining is not necessary (yay! no more smelly fingers!). I just have to wait until I use up the kajillion cans of tuna I bought on sale...shouldn't take too long though.

[susanje]

Lisa,

I traveled during C1 and did really well. I did not want to lose momentum. Like Mrs Jim says, PLANNING is everything. I think I had one or two not so clean meals but did pretty good overall. Definitely check out GNC for a portable blender though they don't do ice so well either. They sell out of them very quickly so I had to order mine like 2 weeks in advance. If I had to do it over again, I would take a small real blender with me. During C1 I could not live without MRPs. A good choice for me was tuna and fruit. I packed a few cans of fruit and tuna. If the packets are available like Mrs Jim says, you could even do tuna and fruit on the plane (I HATE PLANE FOOD!!!) I also stayed at a hotel that had a small gym but I did exercises in my room as well. tough but when you come off the trip, you feel so GOOD that you did it. For me, it was not a perfect BFL week but it was close enough for someone who was on the road.

Mrs Jim: can you ask Jeremy about Flax-O-Meal? I think it is a good Udos substitute (not everyday but on occasion) but I was wondering what he thought. If you don't know the ingredients I can get it to you or they sell it on netrition which always lists the ingredients. I got past the pencil taste and now I really like it.

thanks
Susan

[MrsJim]

Check this out - betcha thought I was just making this up!

http://www.starkist.com/pouch/index.html

Susan - I think Jeremy's on vacation this week. He hasn't been posting on L&S this week, in addition no newsletter either (he puts out a really GREAT FREE e-newsletter from his website www.peakphysiques.com). With a wife, a child and a fulltime job in addition to his personal training, the guy definitely NEEDS a vacation!!

Here is the list he gave me of the fats on the program I'm on:

Almond butter
Almond oil
Almonds
Butter
Canola oil
Cheese
Healthy fats
Macadamia nuts
Olive oil
peanut butter
peanut oil
peanuts
pecans
pistachio nuts
pumpkin/squash seeds
safflower kernels
sunflower butter
sunflower seed
walnuts

Most portion sizes: oils = 1 tbsp; nuts = 1/4 cup (except for macadamias, which are 1/8 cup); butters = 2 Tbsp. On high-calorie days I get 3 portions/day; low-calorie days 2 portions.

Just FYI!

[susanje]

Does Flaxseed (ground) = healthy fats? I would think so.
hmmmmmmmmmm.

[MrsJim]

I don't see why not, as long as it meets the same nutritional levels as the oil:

Here's the nutrition facts from my bottle of flaxoil:
1 Tablespoon:

110 Calories
11 g fat
1 g saturated fat
8 g polyunsaturated fat
2 g monounsaturated fat
Omega-3 alpha linolenic 6200 mg
Omega-6 linoleic 1810 mg
Omega-9 doeic 2040 mg

[carriej]

My flax seed meal has 4.5 grams of fat in 2 tbsp, along with 4 grams of carbs (all fiber). It looks like it is basically fiber plus the flax oil, so 5 or 6 tbsp ground flax seeds should be equivalent to 1 tbsp oil. I wouldn't worry about counting the fiber -- I try to get as much as possible. I threw some into my last batch of pumpkin muffins.

We get our UDOs at Netrition, but it is also available (for more money) at our Co-op market -- they have a refrigerated cabinet for their healthy oils. We did just buy some flax oil at Trader Joes, too, because of the price -- haven't tried it yet.

Hand blenders have been working well for my Myoplex Lite -- yes, that is hand blenders, plural! I burned out the motor on my bottom of the line version, and just got a Braun. Hope it holds out better.

Carrie

[MrsJim]

I've been so busy answering other threads, that I've been neglecting our BFL thread a bit, sorry!

Just got back from a KILLER Quads/Hams workout. My legs are shaking! Usually I kind of jog home from the gym (I love living withing walking distance!) but today I just couldn't. I'm going to take a hot shower and get ready for my riding lesson this morning. It is really gorgeous here but COLD. Hopefully my legs will have recovered enough for me to be able to 2-point (for those of you who don't know what a "two point" is, it's when you lift your butt about an inch out of the saddle - KILLS your quads!)

Right now Kitty is running around the house like a dynamo! You know how cats can get crazy all of a sudden. He wants to play I guess! I can't believe the change in Jim since we got Sparky. Jim is WONDERFUL but sometimes he overstresses a bit about work, the band, etc. Now when we come home Kitty is there waiting to play and be cuddled, especially by his "daddy".

22 days til the new year...5 weeks til the end of my third Challenge...I need to get my tree today! Let me know how you all are doing!

[lhendricks]

I'm bringing the Braun! (wand blender) but I may not always be able to use it. For instance, if we're stuck in a back bedroom somewhere. I ordered a collection of heavy-duty tubing that allows work-outs anywhere. We'll be staying in the cheapest possible motels when not with family...almost certainly no gyms. Believe me, I've been planning this for weeks! But there are too many factors beyond my control to cover every situation so while I'll do my best (I can always decide whether or not to eat something!) I don't want these days to be part of my challenge. Cardio is always possible, I'm used to being outside in ANY weather.

I've been using the tuna packets even though I HATE tuna with nothing in/on it.

[lhendricks]

Mrs.Jim can you give me the amount for the cheese? as a possible source of fat?

Looking forward to Free Day tomorrow. I have a house tour with my mother during the day, and a dinner engagement.

I cooked four pounds of boneless chicken breasts as described in L+S last week, simmered gently in seasoned stock until tender. The meat is delicious! I'm measuring out portions tomorrow for the freezer, and I've got the stock for soup. I also baked an apple and made steel-cut oats today since I was home doing chores and finishing a writing assignment in Spanish. This is going to be a great week for eating clean.

Yesterday I managed my breakfast and three meals at an all day conference. The lunch included salad and a platter of roasted vegetables...I did eat those! They also had fresh fruit so I had that with my cc rather than yogurt.

C1,D20

[MrsJim]

It was pouring rain last night and this morning but right now it's gorgeous outside (but FREEZING). My butt is killing me right now - yesterday during my riding lesson, I was riding Tucker the ex-racehorse. He was filled with energy and one of the other horses cantered past him, he took off suddenly and down I went into about 5 inches of mud. Nothing broken but I was so sore...still am! Live and learn...

Linda, I am not exactly doing BFL right now. Since it's your first challenge, I'd advise to stay pretty clear from cheese except on your Free Day (i.e. go by the book). Actually in the book, Bill uses cheese as a flavoring or condiment in one of the menus (he uses like 2 tablespoons shredded low-fat cheese).

In fact, even though it's on my list of "healthy fats" I haven't eaten cheese at all. 1/4 cup of shredded cheese is not a very sizeable portion. But for reference sake, though, I'll list what Jeremy put on my program:

Cheese - 1/4 cup: 13 g protein, 1 g carb, 18 g fat, 218 calories.

Most of the time I stick to the lower-calorie healthy oils such as flax, Udos, EFAs. I will probably stop using peanut butter for awhile after this jar is gone. It's just too much of a temptation to have around the house!!!

I don't know if you guys have been following L&S lately but Pam B had a WONDERFUL post this morning - I'd like to copy it here as I think the first-timers and some old-timers would appreciate it!

I was talking to some relatives about Body for Life. They have started doing the program... well... sort of. You see, they said that they were going to do BFL only they weren't going to eat as much protein (they had some method for calculating # grams/day), and they were going to eat more carbs, do more weight lifting, more cardio, etc... Then, is this REALLY BFL? I think not.

The thing I had to ask myself when I started this thing was, "Pam, if everything you have tried so far hasn't worked, then why don't you just buck up and do this thing EXACTLY as it is laid out in the book?" So I did. I didn't weigh or measure anything, I didn't increase the number of weightlifting exercises, I didn't do loads of cardio, I didn't skip free days, etc... I did exactly what Bill Phillips said to do. Do you think I had my doubts? Sure I did. But I decided, I mean REALLY decided, to give it 100% effort for at least 12 weeks before tweaking anything. Just a reminder: I lost 14% bodyfat, lost 45 pounds of fat and gained 9 pounds of muscle by just doing it by the book.

Bill Phillips made the BFL plan simple enough for anyone to follow. He made it so people could actually DO it. When you start cutting carbs and tweaking all sorts of things, you get out of whack. You start to expect grander results, start getting discouraged and then bag the whole program.

Did I tweak the program? Sure! Only after I had lost 90 pounds and had some different goals. These were temporary tweaks though. Now I am back on the BFL way of eating and working out (although I am not doing alot of upper body exercises due to a shoulder injury... surgery in January ).

You can do this... it's simple... GO FOR IT!!

Well, gotta take off...we're going out for Free Meal in a little bit. La Pinata and Mexican food, here I come!!! YEE HAW!!

[2BFIT1]

I've finally come to the conclusion that BFL by-the-book is the way to go. After doing the zig-zagging, watching calories and carbs it has become very apparent that BFL includs automatic zig-zaging if you do not eat the same thing everyday. Once you have determined that you need a few high days, a few mod days and at least one low day, the rest is automatic.

On the high days you would would make choices like salmon and lean beef, potato, pasta. On the other days you would make choices like chicken, egg whites, tuna, barley,apples, etc. The low days could be a matter of choices or just take alittle smaller portions of the carbs.

You're still doing the zig-zagging that keeps the body guessing, but it keeps "guess work" out of it.

PamB is right. BFL makes all of these adjustments automatically as long as your food choices vary from day to day.
IT'S EASY AND IT WORKS!

I'm back to BFL and very happy
~~~Sil

[lhendricks]

I don't think I ever announced that. Online I'm usually "tortoise123" and seldom use my real name. I've also used "horsegirl" because a boyfriend once referred to me as "his bookish horse girl."

No cheese in my program now. I'm already jotting down notes for C2 and C3.

I had a great UBW workout at home on Saturday using my broken weight bench. I need another set of dumbbells though.

A busy Free Day, out for breakfast and dinner.I'm becoming more selective in my indulgences!

[MrsJim]

I am so lousy at names...duh. I should have remembered that you post as Lisa on L&S!!!

Sil, I'm right there with you. After this Challenge I go back to BFL "by the book" as far as nutrition is concerned. The reason I went to Jeremy's program is I felt like trying something new and I wanted to lose a great deal of bodyfat (which I believe I have done!). Actually his program is pretty darn close to BFL with the difference of measuring stuff in ounces, etc rather than 'palm/fist'. One thing I have REALLY learned in this third challenge is that I was making my portions WAY too big. I was having an entire chicken breast when I should have had half that size (remember, a "palm-sized" portion of protein = your hand MINUS the fingers!!! )

My protein portions on Jeremy's program have been pretty small but I've gotten used to them. For example - 1 protein portion can be 1 3/4 oz of poultry or fish; OR 3/8 cup of cottage cheese; OR 2 1/4 oz lean beef. Pretty tiny huh??

In addition, especially at the beginning of this challenge it was kind of a pain to have to weigh and measure all my portions - something I haven't done since my Weight Watcher days. MUCH easier to use Palm/Fist and that's what I'm going to go back to beginning in January!

Yesterday I was scheduled to have one Free Meal but I kind of blew it, because I had ice cream about an hour or so after our late lunch (we went to La Pinata for Mexican food). I was comfortably full after my free meal and didn't feel like ordering dessert at that point, then we went to the mall to do a bit of shopping and got ice-cream. Jim kind of enabled me in having the ice cream saying "well, in a free meal you're entitled to dessert, right??" Well... looking at it that way, I guess he's right! Anyway, I stayed clean for the rest of the day. So next Sunday I get a Free Day, then the remaining 3 weeks I get two free meals a week, which will probably work out great for the holidays, but I think overall I prefer Free Day over the Free Meals!

[lhendricks]

I'm always interested in what others are trying...didn't Bill Phillips suggest "standing on the shoulders of giants?" You were one of the reasons I began this program (when I read the hundreds of archived messages I was amazed at how many coincidental similarities there were in our histories) and I really said "gee, if this lady can do this, so can I!"

I don't expect the same results as you or anyone else but I'm more inspired by folks I "know" than by stories in the book.

[MrsJim]

I feel the same way you do, Lisa.

Actually I hardly read the stories at the beginning of the book, I just flipped through them. I realize that Bill had to begin the book with transformation winners but like you, I'm much more motivated by seeing the everyday transformations on the L&S website - esp Pam B's, LC's, Robb's, Steve L's, and on and on.

First-time BFL readers need to realize that the "Champions" of the BFL/EAS official challenge contest are the very best among THOUSANDS of entries. We can't all expect those kind of results - you definitely get back what you put into it!

Steve L. had an interesting way of putting it, I'll try to paraphrase it here: You put out 100%, you'll get 100% results. If you give it 90%, you'll get maybe 70% results. Give it 80% - you might get 50% results - or NO results.

Oh I also wanted to say one thing more about Jeremy's program - not that it isn't good - but after four weeks on it, I noticed (duh!) that he put carrots in as a CARB rather than a veggie! I had spent four weeks nibbling on carrots as they are one of my favorite veggies (and my 'favorite veggie' list is VERY short - I'm not a big veggie lover at all, unless they're stir-fried or mixed with brown rice or something like that). I didn't even look closely at Jeremy's veggie list, assuming that most of the veggies would match up to Bill's list in BFL (except for peas, which Bill lists as a veggie but I personally consider a starchy veggie). I am not saying this as a way of putting down Jeremy because I think he knows his stuff. But as far as I'm concerned, after this 12 weeks is over, carrots are back on my VEGGIE list and off my CARB list!