Whoops--- I'm an idiot!! Thanks for clarifying it!

Did good mornings today. I could really feel it in the back of my thighs. Same with the plie squats. I still can't do very much weight, because I can't lift the barbell up over my head with more that 47 lbs. on it.

Good Morning!
 

Shelley - don't worry about the amount of weight - worry about the FORM...I have to keep telling myself that too! I know how tempting it is to lift as much as you can but it's really important to work on the form, better a neat lift at a lighter weight than a sloppy lift at a higher weight.

Jenn - we're staying at the Queen's Landing Inn - it LOOKS close to the Falls but you know how those maps are!!! Even though these meetings are exhausting I really enjoy organizing them and watching everything come together. I also get to plan the meals (heh heh, I can make sure that there's clean food for me too!).

Time to hit the shower - got a late start with my UBWO cos I spent 20 minutes re-racking other people's weights. The nighttime gym rats are such slobs at my gym...just can't stand to see dumbbells and plates all over the place...

MrsJim- the employees at your gym must be pretty lazy too. I agree people should pick up after themselves, but why aren't the people who work there taking care of it so gym members don't have to?

I am still doing well here in my 3rd week. My mantra continues to be "Don't break promises to yourself". At the end of next week I am taking my measurements again to check my progress. There must be a little progress at least because I wore a pair of jeans fresh from the dryer that are usually pretty tight in the waist and they didn't seem so bad. Am getting anxious to find out the results of my first 4 weeks!! :cool:

My challenge for the day is lunch out with a friend. He gets to pick the place, so I am not sure at this point what my choices are going to be. I am feeling strong though. Am doing my free day tomorrow instead of Sunday as I have a couple social events tomorrow and it will just be easier that way.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Debbie

I don't think the employees are lazy...
 

...'cos I get there before 5 am most days and there's usually about two or three custodial types, all busy working away, cleaning windows, equipment, etc.

There are also a bunch of signs around telling members in BIG letters to "PLEASE RERACK YOUR WEIGHTS" or face suspension.

Of course, in the wee hours of the night (at 24 Hr Fitness) I guess the night owls could care less.

Even with the dot-com recession around these parts, it still must be tough to find people willing to work from 10 pm - 6 am every day. I couldn't do it!

I assume that the musclehedz that are leaving their weights around for others to pick up are mature adults who know what responsibility is. Either that or their homes are totally messy (or Mommy is still picking up their dirty undies off the floor!).

:dizzy:

One of these days I HAVE to go there at 3 a.m. and see who these guys are...

!@#$^& I put on a pair of pants today that were loose at the end of school in May. Now they are tighter. My frustration level is getting very high. I am at C1W8D6. I think it's time to change something. Maybe I'll start doing cardio after work instead of before. Possibly I'll be able to put more effort into it. As it stands now, I am getting so frustrated, that I am getting more lax at the cardio.

Susanje-Where are you??? I need some words of wisdom from you. I know you went through this.

Don't give up, Shelley!!!
 

Remember what Hussman's site says (you may want to read it again - he updated it a few weeks ago) "You change from the inside out..."

My legs and lower bod are the MOST frustrating part for me as well! I still have a major stomach pooch and let's not even talk about my thighs. HOWEVER...then...I look at my progress pix from C1 and can see the difference...plus Jim says that my butt is getting rounder and feels firmer to him!! :)

This is why it is SO important to take those progress photos...at minimum, take a before photo and 12 week photo - I'm taking them every four weeks so I'll be taking my C1W4 pix a week from today.

I still have awful cellulite on my thighs (now, I KNOW there's really no such thing as cellulite - it's just regular ol' fat pushing against the collagen fibers or some such). I'm still wearing the same pants - even though my upper bod is definitely becoming firmer and smaller...I figure when I gained all the fat, it started at my knees, up my thighs, onto my stomach (aack!) and upper arms finally to my chin...when it comes off, it's "Last On, First Off". I figure a lot of my thigh fat has been hanging on there for at least 20 years - it's not going to just slide off...

Could it be your TOM right now? Since my doctor switched BCPs on me, my periods have been really short and very light. Plus no headaches, which is terrific!

Remember that Susanje (you may want to email her at her homepage link...) didn't start to see results until Week 11!

I've got to get ready for my riding lesson (putting on those tight breeches is a struggle!) but I'll be back...take care...

One more thing...
 

Forgot to say what I'm going to start doing for Week 4 and beyond!!!

I'm taking a tip from Tall Jen on L&S and going to make part of my meals (the carb part) on Sunday (when I'm not tempted). Most of my Meal 5 carbs come from brown rice mixes (Farmhouse Brown & Wild and Near East Creative Grains are my faves). My problem is that I KNOW I tend to make my portions a 'skoch' bigger than fist size...so on Sunday I'm going to cook up a week's worth of brown rice mixes (Tip - use a little more water so they don't get all dry!), then divy it up into 3/4 cup servings (I tried the 'displacement' fist test and that's pretty close to what I came up with as far as fist size) in baggies. Most of the time I use those boneless skinless chicken breasts in the big frozen bags and cook it on my little George Foreman grill, but last night I bought some of those little precooked baby shrimp and squeezed some lime juice over them.

My favorite veggie is sliced mushrooms, I cook 'em in my non-stick skillet with a little Pam and lemon juice or chicken broth. Portion size on that - I just buy the ones that are presliced and dump the entire container of them in the skillet, with a few frozen diced onions and a little crushed garlic. MMMM! If I forget to buy mushrooms, I'm happy with a raw carrot. For lunch I've been ordering an extra portion of cucumber salad (sliced cukes in rice vinegar) with my brown rice bowl and eat those first. Seems to really fill me up!

Mrs. J-Actually, it is about a week before my period. I realized it yesterday when I yelled at my daughter's friend and made her cry! I get real nasty PMS, especially since I am trying to wean myself off of Prozac!

I read the hussman site regularly. Also, I just read something on L&S that really hit home. Someone wrote that they went off BFL after 4 weeks a year ago, and she is very sorry that she did when she sees all the amazing transformations. I am going to borrow the digital camera from school and take another picture. I took one at 2 weeks into the program.

Today was weigh and measure day--still no changes, though! Week 9 starts Monday. It's hard to believe I have been working out daily, including my free day for 8 weeks straight!

Good Morning!
 

Happy free day to me, happy Free Day to me...

Shelley, I saw that same post! Don't ya just love L&S? Anytime I'm feeling discouraged (for me, it's "won't that tummy pooch EVER get any smaller??") I read the posts there. If they're really motivating, I print them out and save them in my binder (like the tips that Chris K wrote that I posted earlier on this thread with his permission).

Yesterday I went to the county fair with my parents, my sister and my PRECIOUS niece and nephew. About an hour into our visit, I started bonking BIG TIME and realized I hadn't eaten anything in like three hours. Of course, trying to find clean food at the fair, well you might as well give up. So I had to wait until afterwards (luckily we were only there for less than two hours).

I did have fun taking my niece and nephew on the rides though. Actually, I didn't GO on the rides because they tend to make me dizzy and nauseous. One of these days Jim and I have to take them to Raging Waters - that's more my speed...

Anyway, it was easy not to be tempted by all the fair food because there were literally TONS of obese people there eating away! The closest thing I could find to clean eating was a grilled chicken sandwich but since it was slathered in BBQ sauce I decided to pass. The same place was selling Corn on the Cob as well but it was all basted in butter...actually the corn cobs were sitting in a butter-filled container. It's like a class in "How to make a good food into junk 101".

Before that I had a SUPER second English riding lesson. Dee Dee, the trainer who runs the place I'm going to now, is terrific. She and one other instructor taught my lesson, then we chatted for awhile. Now I have another goal - to become a proficient enough rider to participate in a schooling show by next summer! I'm already posting at the trot (though only for a short distance). She thinks I'll be ready to canter pretty soon! Plus I LOVE the riding clothes...

So today is our Free Day and we are going to break tradition and go to Buck's Restaurant in Woodside. Maybe we'll see some celebrities (a lot of them live up there). If you guys ever get a chance to visit these parts, ya gotta eat at Buck's. But save it for Free Day - the portions are HUGE http://www.buckswoodside.com/restaurant.shtml

Anyway, I've gotta hit the shower. See ya!

I'm on free day carb overload! I fell asleep with shredded wheat by my side. I had to put the leftovers back in the box (I eat it dry.) I worked out at 3:30 this morning, and now have to go to work for the 1st day of school. I ate a whole box of FF/SF Fudgescicles yesterday. I'm so glad we have that free day! It helps when you are PMSing!!!

Gotta go, see ya!

Shelly~Hang in there, gal ! I know you can do it if I can.
The most frustrating thing for me was that I finally started to see results at the very end of the 12 weeks and then you have to take a FREE WEEK! I was so afraid to lose everything that I had worked so hard for. But so far so good :) So, don't give up (get even:D)

Well, My final stats are done. Here are my results from challenge 1. Not all measurements are complete because I failed to take them prior to the challenge. (BIG mistake).

Overall results:
lost 5.6# of body fat
gained 1.6# muscle
lost 4% body fat

START 5/19 ........ Finish 8/10
Ht.= 5'3" ....... same
Wt= 125 ....... 121
Body fat %= 19%...... 15%
Body fat weight= 23.8#....... 18.2#
Lean body wt= 101.3# ........ 102.9#

6/25....... 8/10
Chest= 36"........ 35"
Waist= 27 3/4" ...... 27 1/2"
Hips= 37 3/4" ...... 36 1/8"
Thigh=(L) 22" (R) ?...... (L) 21 1/2 (R) 21 1/2"
Calf= (L) ? (R) ?....... (L) 13" (R) 13"

NOW, on to challenge2 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Way to go, Sil!!!
 

I can't wait to see your photos!! (Perhaps they'll be on the L&S Transformation Gallery soon?!? Hmmm???)

Shelley - I too am suffering from the dreaded post-Free Day hangover. Even though I drank a ton of H20 yesterday, I'm still totally dehydrated! For some reason, I was just running on empty yesterday...did some housecleaning, visited my sister and her kids, then did some grocery shopping. I spent a bit of time in the backyard enjoying the sun with a good book and a bottle of water. Jim had to do a bunch of stuff with his band - they're making a CD (not to release, but to send out to clubs, agents, etc.) and had their band photos taken. Sounds like they might actually turn a profit - if he breaks even (on all his equipment) I'll be happy. Their website is at www.the-sun-kings.com (from the name, you can tell they specialize in Beatles tunes).

Had the TV on when I was cleaning yesterday to keep me company...some infomercials were on...all of which were weight-loss related. It still amazes me how so many of us are suckered in to these false promises by these infomercials! The recurring theme is 'lose weight QUICKLY while eating your favorite foods, without hours of exercise' for only $XX.

Got a ton of papers to rewrite, so back to work! See ya!

Could I really have seen what I thought I saw this morning? An actual CURVE of a shoulder muscle? I have always wanted to have that sexy curve of a toned shoulder muscle. I thought I detected a hint of one this morning while I was getting dressed. Of course, it is still buried under some pudge, but it was definitely there. It was encouraging, especially after only 3 weeks. This weekend is my weekend to remeasure and see how many inches I lost (hopefully I lost some). I can't wait to find out.

I am still finding myself amazed with the weight training that I am alot stronger than I ever gave myself credit for. The eating part is getting easier too. The weird thing is that all week I spend looking forward to my free day and when it got here this weekend, nothing really sounded that good to me. Still, I ate more than I normally do during the week, mainly cold cereal and some quesadillas. Had a little ice cream too. I guess ice cream would be the one food that continues to be my weakness. But I have made progress in that area in that I can actually keep a half eaten container of ice cream in the freezer without it tormenting me until I scarf it all down. It is no problem for me now to stay out of it until my free day. If you knew what kind of ice cream binges I have had in the past, you would truly appreciate what kind of progress this is for me. I am VERY excited!!!!!!!!

Deb - me too!
 

On Free Day, I KNOW that Jim and I are going out for a big breakfast...usually I don't start really craving Free Day goodies until Friday afternoon (if then).

Yesterday, I was doing my grocery shopping and was going to buy a pint of Ben & Jerrys - then I started thinking, I wasn't really craving ice cream in particular...what I wanted was cheesecake. However, I didn't want to buy a whole cheesecake just for me. (Don't say to just keep it in the fridge until next Sunday - doesn't work for me).

Luckily I saw those Sara Lee Cheesecake Bites - they are expensive ($3.99 for a box of 10) but since they are individually wrapped you can't just blast thru 'em like Bon Bons. I could only eat THREE before I got all bloated. Saving the rest for Jim (he'll probably polish them off tonight after dinner). I had also bought a box of two Stouffer's Cheese french bread pizzas, baked them both but just barely finished one. Since Jim didn't get home until after 10 last night, before bedtime the remaining one went down the garbage disposal!

Still feel bloated today though...drinking lots of water...

Hi there,

Week 2 for me. Feeling pretty good. I didn't go all crazy on free day which I was surprised. I had some ice cream and some cereal for breakfast but that was about it.
UBWO is still a bit tough for me. Hopefully is will get easier soon.

Jenn