Question Time Again: How much weight did you start with when you started working out?
I know I will need to add weight as I get stronger, but I guess I think I need to be working with heavier weights for this to do any good although I probably couldn't lift anything heavier than what I am doing. I am hitting my 9's and my 10's. I am going to remember Susanje's saying body for life, I am building a body for life.
When BFL-ers refer to Udos, that's an oil blend (actually a few different oil blends) called "Udo's Choice". There's a Perfected Oil Blend, Fast Food Blend, etc. Haven't used them yet but I'm ordering some today. Just had to get over that "dietary-fat-is-bad-for-me" mindset I've had for eons.
There's a website somewhere that explains how those good oils help you - also Muscle Media mag has had some articles.
Speaking of the Bill Phillips 'mantra' - I still use that - but I don't say it out loud anymore, just in my head. It really helps with the timing - so many people just go too darn fast in the gym and use momentum rather than muscle power. "Body-for-LIFE" when you lift the weight up, hold for a second, then slowly down "I-Am-Building-My-Body-For-LIFE". Sounds kinda weird but hey, it works. It's in the book where Bill talks about his typical UBWO.
Sloooowwwing down those reps is crucial! And blastit don't worry about how much weight you're using! I started out with 3 pound dumbbells on many of my upper body exercises! I'm now working on hitting my July 4 goal of bench pressing 120# (barbells, not dumbbells)! I'm at 100# and counting...and I was such a weenie when I started!
Just a warning...it's the second half of the rep (the lowering part) that produces the soreness afterward! I remember one time falling for somebody's challenge to do squats on the Smith machine using something like a 20-second count on the second half of the rep...I could barely walk the next day!!!!
susanje - I'm with you - eeewwww!!! I though the EAS bars, especially the low carb ones, were GROSS!!!!
Mrs. Jim LOOKING GOOD! Congrats on your great work!
Okay, maybe I'm just a sugar freak, but I like the Myoplex Lite Raspberry and Apple Spice bars - and actually I find the Chocolate shakes a bit too thick and ?Chalky? not sure what that taste is - but if I put instant coffee in it the mocha flavor is just right.
Thank god for the bars or I'd never get my meals in....actually, I still haven't gotten all 6 in. It's my goal every day and yet I haven't made it. (Lecture me, please!)
I haven't tried any of the fruity shakes yet, tho I've heard others say they like them - I may try those so I can put in some real fruit like you're suggesting.
I feel badly for my friends who are struggling with all their different weight loss efforts - they all feel that BFL is too "regimented." I don't get it - most of them are trying to exercise every day - so why not exercise effectively? And the food is so easy (except for eating 6 meals ) You can certainly get enough sweet if that's your weakness...Oh, well, we all know we have to find the program that works for us or we're wasting our time. Not sure why I don't find it "regimented" of course, there are mornings that it's tough to get up early enough for the weight work out (with having to work out my labmonsters first) and work is so very busy that at times it's tempting to just go into the office early - but I'll go in and work on a weekend rather than skip a workout! I'm such a believer that this is it!!
Well, friends, I have to crash (so I can get up extra early and workout so I can get into the office early)
Cris
Most 'diet' programs out there are WAY more 'regimented' than BFL!!!
So, you have to eat six small meals a day?? I remember the days when I was eating ONE BIG MEAL - ALL DAY!!
Most commercial weight loss programs (the ones that cost big buck$) usually have an EXTREMELY regimented eating plan all written out for you every day. Especially the ones where you buy your food/supplements from them.
No, I think the problem a lot of people have with BFL is: THE WORKOUT IS STRENUOUS. IT'S HARD WORK. Sure, it's done quickly - in less than one hour - but Bill Phillips pulls no punches when he says you should be hitting '10's' in each set to see real results.
If you look at most 'diets' out there, the exercise programs are as follows:
Walk for thirty minutes a day.
Gentle, moderate exercise (thanks to Covert Bailey for publicizing that little myth) is better for weight-loss than strenuous exercise. (Remember the Health Rider?? How many people do you think actually lost weight using that gadget?? Or even broke a sweat?)
Susanje always posts this site http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp at the beginning of the threads. This article pulls no punches - if you want REAL RESULTS, you have to work HARD and make a maximum effort. If you want to look like a '10' you have to hit 10's in your workout! That's the real secret of BFL (one of them anyway!)
I have to take a bath now before I go to bed - had a riding lesson this evening and I don't want to smell like a horse!! Take care!
Blastit-For my UBWO, my first day I started with 8,10,12,15 lb, then dropped back down to 12 and 8 for my last reps. I felt it yesterday, even though the weights were not that heavy. On my next UBWO, I am starting with 10 and going up from there.On my first LBWO, which I completed this morning--I used the same amount of weights as upper body. I plan on increasing them also, since I couldn't hit a 10. I think I did pretty good though, for the first time.
Yesterday I did my cardio-a 20 min jog/walk. I am not used to doing bursts of speed, so I know I hit a 10. After, I just did a fast walk for another 15 minutes.
Mrs. Jim- I can't seem to count and chant at the same time!! I forget which rep I'm on when I do that. I am trying to go slower without chanting!
Did great yesterday on water and eating, although I had the FF/SF Healthy Choice Ice Cream again. I paid for a couple of hrs. later! At 1:AM I had horrible stomach pains. Guess that will teach me to have a Myoplex instead!
I do keep track of my food (except on Free Day). Actually I find I'm slipping a bit - because I pretty much eat the same thing every day - at least during the work-week.
I'm still using www.fitday.com to keep track. When I first started BFL I used the "Eating-for-Life" Progress Reports to PLAN my meals (that's really important especially in the beginning - planning ahead - I did that the night before). Then recorded on Fitday.
Bill Phillips had another great idea - do your food shopping for the week on Free Day - when you're satisfied - you're less likely to make bad food choices.
I do like to have ice cream on Free Day but I will only buy what I know I'll eat that day - a cone, a pint, whatever. Then it's gone by day's end and not sitting in the freezer teasing me all week!
I want to thank everyone for the input/advice. I am really working hard to make this work for me. I don't think it is that strict. I am not going hungry and basically during the week I eat the same things anyway regardless of what plan I am trying. So this is working out fine. I do journal my food everyday and my exercise because that helps me stay focused and lets me see some visual progress (not sure if that makes sense).
I will be traveling out town this weekend, so I am going to sit down tonight to come up with a plan for Saturday. Sunday is no big deal cause I will just eat whatever.
Labmom ~ I always love it when someone who's having NO success looks at someone who IS having success and has the nerve to tell the successful person's program is "too ANYTHING"!!!! YIKES!!! Urge to slap! Sorta like a convicted felon giving legal advice to a law-abiding citizen! What's wrong with this picture??? Just laugh and keep on working out...then compare pictures in 6 months and see who wins!!!
Oh, and... eat ALL those meals, girl!!! Otherwise you'll find yourself going backwards 'cause your poor bod can't keep up with the demands of the workouts!
Shelly ~ I was a fanatic about journaling. Note "was" being the operative word! The more consistent I am with journaling, the more consistent I am with results.
MrsJim ~ You must be thrilled with your results so far!!! You've definitely got this down!
=== Have all of you seen Pam Brown's results? She's a wonderful gal and a real inspiration. If you haven't seen her pix and read her story, you MUST go to LeanAndStrong.com. She started out quite obese and a year later looks incredible! Her pix are on the "libraries" link on the Transformations Page - Pam Brown's Challenge. The most recent set is under the Events Page. Quite remarkable!
Since I eat basically the same thing every day and 3 of my meals are shakes, I really haven't journalled in weeks but that is because I've gotten very used to it and it just flows now. I did journal in the beginning for both workouts and food but now I have such a rhythm that I don't. BUT I will begin again when I start Challenge Two because I'm going to change some of my workouts and see how it goes. After the first four weeks, when I had not lost any inches and was actually packing some on, I tried to figure out my exact input in both calories and WW points, I journalled that way for a week or so. Hussman says that if you haven't lost on 12 weeks of a challenge you are not creating a caloric deficit. Well, I was and I figured the lbs/inches would come off sooner or later and they did. However, once I started taking the inches off and could really eyeball a fist/palm portion, I stopped journalling but will begin again in C2.
For chanting, how bout body for life 1, I am building my body for life 1?
I was on L&S already when I started the BFL thread over here.
I had been a member over here for a year and a half. If you went through old threads you would find me on EVERYTHING, WW, Jenny Craig, Phentermine, Meridia, the Zone, Xenical, Larry North Slimdown. Every single thing. I came over here and started the BFL thread because I think that a lot of women with a lot of weight to lose would not find themselves on a site like L&S.
Even though most of us are over there on L&S, I think it is important to keep this alive over here so that more women who are frustrated and despairing, as I was, can know about BFL.
The testimonials are there. There is Pam and Mina and a host of others who are doing BFL with a lot of weight to lose and being successful. There is a BFL plus club for large women on Yahoo clubs as well.
I keep it alive over here because I know how depressed and hopeless I was and how I had tried EVERYTHING (and my activitiy on other threads for the 1.5 years before I found BFL is testament to that). I just hope that we women of 3FC can keep showing other women who have given up hope that there is something that works if you work at it.
BFL has relieved my obsession with food. I'm never hungry and I use food only as fuel. If I crave something, I have it on Free DAy and BE DONE WITH IT. I have energy and my mood has improved drastically.
Here's the difference between BFL and everything else: on everything else I was always fighting the urge to "cheat" to go off my plan. I was always being tempted and tortured.
I'm on my off week and yesterday I followed the BFL food plan and snuck off to the gym. How wacky is that???????????? I did a modified UBWO and then realized I was CHEATING on my FREE WEEK. How bizarre. I left the gym because I do believe that my body needs the rest. But I was there and working out before I even thought that I didn't HAVE TO BE!!!!
That's the way you cheat on BFL: you sneak off to the gym on your Free Week or workout on your free day (I've done that too).
Once again, you have managed to put into words so eloquently the 'real deal' on BFL.
Many of us have tried dozens of different diet plans - if I had invested the $$ I spent through the years on plans such as Diet Center, Jenny Craig, Hypnosis, Weight Watchers, fat camp, etc. etc. not to mention a library full of 'quick-weight-loss' books, I would probably have enough saved to put a down payment on a house - even here in the Bay Area!
And YES! I have indeed seen Pam B's photos and read her profile, as well as many others. The testimonials on the www.bodyforlife.com site may seem a bit unrealistic (since they are the EAS/Body for Life Challenge contest winners) but the ones on L&S I personally find MUCH more motivating for some reason! I was proud and happy to post my progress photos there and looking forward to posting my 12 week pix in July!
Like Susanje, I'm hoping that the gals on the other threads here at 3FC will be motivated enough by our words and the transformations on L&S to at least take a closer look at BFL - a lifestyle change which has made such a difference in not only my life, but MANY others' lives as well! Take care...
Totally right about L&S site! I was a regular there for a long time. Not only is it a bit intimidating, but that board moves so dang fast it's more like a chat room! It's very hard to get to know people there. I got lonely, which is one reason I took over hosting the BFL board at iVillage.
I've found in general that women typically have to tweak things a bit to find the "right fit" for the unique needs of their own bodies. And most of us here are refugees of too many failed diets to even count them all. I've never been much of a "dieter" over a lifetime - just always unhealthy about what I ate. Then I found myself a midlife couch potato whose bodyfat had skyrocketed out of control!
I did lots of research before picking BFL - it made more sense to me than anything I'd ever read! I still feel that way! Although I've started more diets in the last couple years than I want to admit to- and I'm still trying to get it right - BFL has definitely moved me from the couch to the gym!
The comments about BFL being "too restrictive" are hilarious - actually, the most common complaint I hear from newbies is that the "diet" isn't specific enough!!!
And when I get to feeling unmotivated, my favorite thing to do is visit Bodychangers.com - they're all real people who've had more normal results than the spectacular BFLer we so often see.
Hey, team! I ate all six meals yesterday (granted one was a half of a myoplex lite bar, but hey....it's progress!) I agree with all of you about the weirdness of people thinking BFL is strict. And I too, am continually amazed by not having cravings.
I'm going to follow your lead, Mrs. Jim, and not weigh in this week. Can't quite use the pants-o-meter yet, but I can feel the difference in other ways.
Going to order some supplements tonight - see how that BetaGen helps!
Udo's Choice
Congrats on your great work!
) You can certainly get enough sweet if that's your weakness...Oh, well, we all know we have to find the program that works for us or we're wasting our time. Not sure why I don't find it "regimented" of course, there are mornings that it's tough to get up early enough for the weight work out (with having to work out my labmonsters first) and work is so very busy that at times it's tempting to just go into the office early - but I'll go in and work on a weekend rather than skip a workout! I'm such a believer that this is it!!
BFL "too regimented"?? gads...
eat ALL those meals, girl!!! Otherwise you'll find yourself going backwards 'cause your poor bod can't keep up with the demands of the workouts!
