Sil-Good for you!! Glad you are doing well on this program!

Mrs.Jim-Good luck on your 2nd challenge!

Morrigan-Welcome to this board. I've seen your name on some of the other forums. Were you on the Slimdown at one time?

Debbie-Sounds like you're ready to get started! Good luck, and ask away! I don't take any supps-I can't afford them. It hasn't hurt me!

Nasus-Sorry! Laundry doesn't count!! I wish!!:lol:

Michelle-Good luck on your 3rd week!

Just back from the gym...
 

Woo! It felt so great to be back...I felt so bloated yesterday and this morning.

Yesterday was combo of Free Day and last day of Free Week...I ended up not eating anything until 11:30 a.m. since I was working at the ranch (things changing in that part of my life too - more later). Our favorite Sunday breakfast place, Stacks', was totally crowded so we went to First Watch. They have much smaller portions (thank goodness). No pancakes this time - two scrambled Egg Beaters, a modest slice of ham, an English muffin and a very modest portion of potatoes.

For dinner last night, I made a couple of steaks on the BBQ with potatoes, spinach and garlic bread - then we split a pint of Ben & Jerrys...

I popped out of bed at 4:00 a.m. ready to go! I really missed the gym. Actually my UBWO took about an hour since I was trying out new (to me) routines and tweaking them a bit. After my UBWO I did a couple of sets of chin-ups on the assisted machine - one set at 120, one at 110 (this is the kind of machine where you LOWER the weight to get a more strenous workout). I'm aiming for being able to do at least one chinup with NO weight assist by end of C2.

Back to the ranch - I've pretty much decided to stop going. I am really going to miss the horses, but the agreement was that for every 4-5 hours of work, I would get a one-hour lesson. I have not gotten a lesson since the end of June - and yet I've been there every weekend from 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. doing the feeding, mucking out, etc. (except for last weekend when we were in Yosemite - but I made up for that by working Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday during my vacation). In fact, my last lesson was only 20 minutes long - the wind was really blowing, and when the wind blows there, there are duststorms you would not believe! Not good for either the horse's eyes or mine...I was supposed to have a makeup lesson but it never happened, even though I asked about it. I did get a chance to practice ride a few times - but you can only practice what you already know. I spoke to the woman who is acting as his secretary about possibly scheduling a regular time every week for me and she said that since I was working for my lessons, that I would have to be 'fit in' after the paying customers were scheduled. I was supposed to have a lesson at 3:00 this past Saturday but a trail ride was booked and superceded my lesson.

I also got a sneak peek of how the ranch is going to be during the wet season when we emptied a few of the water tanks for cleaning and refilling. The mud was really deep and sticky. Since I'm planning on leasing a horse next year, I want to have a place nearby where I can keep it - but I can't keep my horse there as to me it doesn't suit.

Happily, I found another place just about 20 minutes farther down the road - visited it yesterday and it is really NICE. Redwood trees, green pastures, happy horses and a COVERED, LIGHTED arena! Since lessons aren't taught on Sundays Jim and I are going to pop over this Saturday to watch a lesson or two. There are three certified instructors on staff there who give lessons and actually the price is less than the ranch!

Whew! Well, gotta go dry my hair. More later!

Mrs.J-Sounds like it's a good idea for you to go somewhere else!! I forgot to tell you (since you love horses), my best friend's whole family is in the race horse business. Her sister is a jockey, her dad, brother, and other sister train horses in different parts of the country (Kentucky and California). Tami doesn't have anything to do with them, though. One of her sisters was killed about 20 years ago by a horse, so she cut herself off from being involved.

Yesterday, being my free day was home made french onion soup and quiche. Not to mention about 3 bowls of Honey Bunches of Oats!! I did have a mocha Myoplex in the morning, though. I'm feeling the bloat today!

It's back to the grind of work tomorrow. As you can tell, I'm posting as much as I can until then! I don't think I'll have much time after this.

Hi everyone! Well, day one is underway. Did my UBWO this morning. Don't think I lifted heavy enough weights, except for my triceps. Was DEFINITELY at a 10 for them. I need to get some heavier weights for my chest, 15 pounds is the heaviest I had and I know I could have done more reps.

So far so good on the eating too. Had a chocolate Myoplex Lite this morning. Seemed kinda thick to me. The taste wasn't bad, but I really didn't like the texture much. Will try it with ice cubes next time to see if it being colder helps. Right now am eating my lunch....chicken breast done on my Geo. Foreman grill with a little Essence of Emeril (BAM!....I love that guy!:lol: ), some wild rice, and some raw carrots.

MrsJim Thanks for the help with the veggies. I guess if he says veggies with "at least" 2 meals, I could theoretically eat veggies at every meal, just as long as I didn't snack on them in between?

Thanks to everyone else for their warm welcome. You seem like a great bunch!

Debbie

I always use lime juice on my chicken breasts - probably going through a bottle every three weeks! Love the stuff!

The next book I'm going to buy (regarding fitness/bodybuilding) is Arnold Schwartzenegger's Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. If you haven't seen it, it's a HUGE book filled with exercises and tips. I've just checked it out of the library and barely had time to skim it, but he does recommend posing and flexing your muscles between sets. Kind of like stretching. So I started doing that today during my UBWO (even though I kind of felt like I was being self-centered, what the heck). Even with over a week of feasting and not working out, I'm happy to see that my arms and back still look pretty good!

Speaking of books - I have been so excited for the past month about this - if you are a Jean Auel fan (Clan of the Cave Bear) did you know that Book Five in the series is FINALLY scheduled to be released next May?? :D I've been waiting since 1990 for it!!! Started reading the series back in the early 80's when I was 21, didn't think I'd be almost 40 when Book 5 came out!!! The title of the new book will be "The Shelters of Stone". I know this is totally unrelated to BFL but I'm so excited by the news!!

Starting Week 3!
 

Hey! :wave:

Wow, everyone is doing so well!!!

Gee, I was going to ask if laundry counted too... guess not.:^:
Mrs. Jim, you are wise to check out another place for your horse. The latest place sounds much better. Good luck to you!

Starting week 3 and still a little wobbly in spots but as determined as ever.

Off to the gym to stink and build muscle :lol:

Have a great afternoon!

Serrano

Check out the Hussman site!!! Updated!
 

I was just on there and he's updated it to include:

New tips for losing fat

"Supplements" updated with budget suggestions (for those out there who can't afford the EAS supps)

"Metabolism" section updated with new research...

Check it out!

Serrano - thanks for your concern. Luckily, I don't own a horse yet - but plan to lease/buy one next year (if my riding skills and finances permit). Jim is still pi**ed off about the whole thing but I say live and learn - and at least I didn't waste my money (only my precious time!). This new place I checked out (well, it's new to ME) looks really promising - can't wait to go on Saturday to look some more!

I got great news today. I am so excited. I workout at the YMCA, and whe I started BFL I met a young man who was a personal trainer there (ran in to his several times since but he was busy) I was going to have himm do my BF% as he had a really neet machine but I got called out on an emergency and did not get back to him. I had figured my BF by measurements and was up to 50% is and my scale was at 42% I had him do it, I was at 32.4% and have a LBM of 129. I was setting mygoal weight at 130-135! I have 50 lbs of fat and have 22 to lose to get to 22% (goal is 15%)

I am going to hire him as my personal trainer It is not to expensive and I need the instructions on the machine correctly. I know that the form I am using is not all the ways correct.

As for supps. I take betagen, but only 1-2 times daily
betalean only 1 time daily, my assundry of multivits, including B, cromium and a few others like Potassium (from my low carb) only if I have a heavy limb day.

I had an interupted LBWO toay. I warmed up on the rowing machine, did half of my exercises reached 9 only as I had to get to work. then went back and did the rest hitting 10. in calves, quads, and hams, abs to (I guess i did the whole thing again) :D then did stairmaster for warm down (although I heated right up!!!) for 10 min I got so excited I decided to hit a 10 there too! (I am not to good on that yet. I can easily hit 10's on most any cardio exercise, I am so out of shape, and that is why I think that hiring this guy will help me. Hope everybody had a great day.

Mrs. Jim what a great thing start C2 WOW! I just had seen a bunch of web sites that are geared for BB I will post them when I find them again.

C2, D1 and keepin' CLEAN!!!
 

What a great feeling after this past week of a lot of unclean eating...

I made sure that Meal #4 was at 4:00 today - had lunch at around 1:30, since today was the first day of my little 5 year old nephew's swimming lessons. For the next two weeks, he has a half-hour lesson at 6:00 pm Monday thru Thursday. My sister loves that since it gives her a little time to get dinner ready and clean the house a bit; and I love it because it gives me fun time with my nephew. I have such a good time watching him learn new stuff!

Afterwards I dropped him off at my sister's house and we chatted for a bit. (Have you guys ever seen the film "Best of Show"?? It is HILARIOUS! I heartily recommend it!) She was making dinner with sourdough bread and cheese...I told her that I'd have to wait until Sunday before I could have any of that. She is just so impressed - maybe SHE'LL do Body for Life (none of my sisters has a weight problem but she could do with some muscle definition!). My BOSS came up to me today and asked me questions about lifting (I advised glutamine for soreness and to increase the weight with fewer reps - she's already doing the moves slowly). Maybe one day I'll have the guts to tell her about BFL and loan her the book!

Mmmm...I can smell the aroma of my George Foreman grilled boneless skinless chicken breast...with my brown rice and carrots!!! Gotta run!

Sue-Be careful about not over doing it. Go over to www.leanandstrong.com, and they can let you know why you shouldn't. You can start burning muscle instead of fat.

Mrs.J- My 11 year old daughter wanted to rent that movie, but my 13 year old didn't think it would be any good. I'll have to go ahead and rent it on your recommendation! Also, I'm going over to the Hussman site! I have printed up everything over there to read over and over again, and I want to get my printouts updated!

Today is back to work. I woke up at 4:00 and did the recumbent and Airdyne together. I don't know if it is right to alternate or not, but I did. I'll probably have to start doing cardio in the afternoons after work anyway. Too much sweat after showering for make-up to stay on my face!!

BTW, if anyone is going to try Chocolate Lovers Myoplex, my fav is Choc mint. The others (IMHO) don't have as much taste. I might have added too much water and not enough ice, though. I have practically broken my VitaMix machine with all the ice I use in the drinks. It keeps resetting itself!

Off to work!

I actually did a diferent machines when I went back I hit diferent target muscles so I did not work the exact same muscles, except that I did do too much cardio.

I was suposed to run this morning but it is already 81 degrees here and only 5:30 so I will try to do it at the gym. or I will do stair master. I have never ran on a treadmill. I hope I do not tend up in a pile on the floor. :lol: :lol: My DD did that one time. I was doing the SM and she the treadmill I heard a thump and yelp, and there she was a small pile on the floor at the end of the treadmill. :lol: poor kid she is only 12 but as soon as i foound out that she was not hurt i laughed so hard!!!!

Hey Sue, I'm an RN also.What's your specialty?
~~~Sil

First cardio day of C2!!
 

Wow! What a terrific cardio workout I had today!

First off, I 'overslept' - for me, that means I woke up at 5:00 a.m. rather than 4:00. Jim said my bod probably needed the extra rest. I sprang out of bed, got dressed, had my glutamine and BetaGen (I use a Diet Snapple bottle to shake it up - holds 16 oz so I know I'm starting the day with two cups of water right from the get-go) grabbed my CD player and high-tailed it to the gym (a five minute walk from our pad). Luckily, there was a Precor machine unoccupied (miracle of miracles). Started my 20 MAS - my legs felt like they had springs in them! Just tons of energy. I felt like Secretariat must have when he won the Belmont Stakes in 1973 (don't know if you've ever seen that clip, but it's probably the most incredible horse race ever caught on camera - he just kept going FASTER as the race went on!!!). For my '10' I had the incline all the way up to 20 and was feeling so good, I cranked the resistance all the way up to 18 (out of 20)...did a very moderate 10 minute cool down, hopped off and left the gym!

Some of the old-timers at the gym who have been accustomed to seeing me cranking on the Precor for over an hour must be wondering why I am now spending so little time on the machine now...

The 'bloated' feeling I had Sunday night and yesterday morning is about gone after less than two days' worth of clean eating...I'm feelin' fine!! C2 is going to ROCK!!

OH Mrs.Jim that sounds so good! I am trul;y excited. I hired my personal trainer today. NOT A BFLer butt one that will get my tail moving and show me the right way to use the machines and do the esercises, and kick me in the but to move!!!! I am so excited about it I can not wait till thursday. I may have to tweak my cardio and strenght days to fit in the new schedule but it will be worth it. not to bad for expence either only 35 a week for 2 1hour sessions.


I did my stairmaster as the temp was to hot to run and I did not want to try the running on the treadmill then. so I did 20 on the SM and did 68 flights of stairs. I did hit 10. I usually do like 2 min faster and then 1 min slower I did 4 min faster and 1 slower. till the end I could not talk and was so short of breat i slowed down. I am stiil trying to get my endurance up, I did not dare to take my heart rate!!!!

UPPER body tomorow!!

Sil I used to be a cardiac nurse and that is still my way to lean but that was bback in 94 too much has gone under the bridge now, I do home care. I an the supervisor of a very small office, We have so few clients and employees that the thought is to close the office if it does not pick up soon!!!! the problem is that the nurses and aids do not want to come in we do not pay enough to be competative in this area!

MrsJim~~~How do you do an incline of 20 with resistance of 18? I keep my incline at 11 and increase the resistance up to 14 for my "10" and I'm whipped!!!!! I applaud your strength and stamina! I am finding that I really lost more muscle strength before my surgery that I originally thought. I can not squat more than 100# without causing a muscle spasm in my shoulder and my left arm still shakes on the last 2 reps of each set on the dumbbell press using only 10# each arm. This is very dissapointing to me. I may have to increase the reps in each set since I can't increase the weight. What do you think?

Sue~~Sounds like you had a great WO today. Let us know how it goes with your new trainer. Oh, and what a small world~~~I am a charge nurse on a 42 bed cardiac unit.

I had a great LBWO today. I know I hit my 10 because I could not have done 1 min of cardio afterwards. Tomorrow is cardio and I think I'll try to increase the incline alittle. Of course, I'll never be able to do what MrsJim does;)
Have a good night~~~Sil