I just want to say that we are all human and we all slip up now and then - it's just how you handle the slip up that determines whether it is a test or a mistake.

I have had a bad morning as well. I stayed up to watch the special on 9/11 until 11pm which is waaaaaayyyy past my bedtime. As such I didn't get up to go to the gym this morning. I will still go for a run tonight and just do my weights tomorrow morning with my friday batch as well. Problem solved! I still am disappointed in myself but I will get over it - like my husband says all the time;

"Build a bridge" (meaning get over it - don't waste time sulking)

Mox: I really appreciate and admire your honesty. You are a special person indeed because most people would rather go into denial than face up to their mistakes and misjudgements. Don't beat yourself up so much! We all still love you!

MrsJim: Yeah the food is so crucial on this plan. I know how you feel about temptation. I actually don't watch TV on a regular basis but last night I watched the special they had on over here. It always shocks me with all the advertising and how I only start to crave foods when I see them advertised on TV! I so could have cheated last night but I didn't! Submissive advertising is huge - I am glad that I stay away from it.
I am noticing a difference in the pantsometer and scale as well. Very happy about that!

To anyone on Pam's diet: Do you notice bodyheat changes at all at different times? I seem to be cold all the time unless it's the day after a high carb day when I am burning up! I have a theory about it but I wanted to check if anyone else had the problem first! Last night at the gym I had to take off my singlet because I was so hot and sweaty - it was disturbing my concentration on my sprints. I had a sports top on underneath though! and may I say that I was given quite a few sideways glances! Woo Hooo
(oh for those of you who haven't seen a picture of me I am like MrsJim - I don't carry much weight on my upper body or stomach - just my hips and thighs pretty much.)

Thunder: Nice to see you!

Susan: Did you sort out your glutamine issue?

Well I have a clean day of eating ahead and a run tonight! I am still motivated to get these last bits of fat OFF my body forever! I want to see my THIGH muscles! I am four weeks away from my one year anniversary of my new life and I want to look great for it! (It's also my birthday that day and my wedding anniversary the week after)

Stay strong everyone! I need you!

JC

Hey Mox - I feel your pain - believe me. I just had a whole week like that - so don't feel like you are the lone wolf. I am absolutely sure that it all comes down to planning. I spent the day focusing on planning/preparing my meals and it was actually easy. I just have my last meal to eat and I'm done - a squeaky clean day with workouts. Haven't had one of those in a while. I think listening/watching the 9/11 programs were a real motivator for me. The more I heard/saw the more focused I kept myself offering it up for all of those people who lost their lives and the families they leave behind.

Sorry wasn't finished - but somehow I posted it! Was just going to tell Mox that I started making those homemade meal replacement bars that were posted on L&S. I know how some people feel about them but I keep a batch in the freezer and I'll pop one in my purse - just in case. They've saved me on numerous occasions! It's not the "out and caught off guard" moments that get me - it's the evenings!

Progress not Perfection!!! - although my progress has not been all that measurable lately.

Hey MrsJim: Was just over at L&S and saw your post about BFL being high school - I would say CPB is more like Oxford than Stanford!

JC

Well, I was successful at staying away from the free baked goods - and there were TONS of them for most of the day. Whew!

I agree with JC here - none of us are perfect. What I've found though, is it is absolutely essential to put that four-letter word into play - that's right PLAN. PLAN PLAN PLAN. The days I do the best is when I take 10-15 minutes the night before and PLAN out my meals - (actually Pam includes a grocery list with her weekly menus - makes it TONS easier) - and my workouts - how much I'm going to lift, whether I'm doing MAS or HIIT cardio, etc. The first thing I say to myself upon waking up in the morning is that I AM GOING TO STICK TO MY PLAN. (Having a whole lotta fitness mags in the bathroom reading basket doesn't hurt either! )

Ya know, I see a lot of people at work who are trying to lose weight. Some of them come up to me and ask me how I am doing it...I have the BFL book right here at work and have loaned it to some people...but for the most part, when they find out that I actually have to exercise and eat right - well...I guess that losing the weight just isn't all that important to them. Or they feel they don't need a plan, they'll just have a SlimFast for lunch and not eat breakfast...just like they've been doing for years...and then pig out big time in the evening (I know this because I've been there). Of course, that doesn't work. I am a firm believer that if you want to achieve anything worthwhile, you must have a map - a plan - to achieve those goals. Whether it's BFL, Camp Pam B, GetLean, whatever...you need to find something that works for you and STICK TO IT. If you don't have a definite, clear PLAN OF ACTION, inverably you will end up drifting around like a boat without a rudder.

Well, that's today's lecture, class!

Mox - FAIL FAST, learn from your mistakes and move on! If you dwell on your errors, rather than learning from them, you will get yourself in a rut...and be miserable. I HIGHLY recommend journaling (i.e. keeping a diary). You have NO IDEA unless you've done it how incredibly helpful it is to put your thoughts in writing! Journaling is definitely cathartic!

Oops, just checked the clock...gotta run! Bye!

Ya I have to agree - planning can make the difference between success and failure. If you need any ideas on planning then give me a yell because I am the planning Queen! All my friends think that I am sick with the extent to which I plan my life.......

JC

Karen: There is a post on L&S about CPB in Australia by Jaylizbet. She is a close friend of mine! She has been struggling with BFL for a while now and personally I don't think that she is quite ready for CPB yet. I knew that she was upset because she hadn't lost any weight yet and she knows about me doing CPB, but I had no idea she wanted to order Pam's diet! Wow!

Since I don't post at L&S anymore - could you sneek in a good luck wish for me! Thanks mate.

JC

I second what MrsJim said about none of us being perfect but I also do believe that planning IS the difference between success and failure.

I second what JEC said about planning. I think that everyone on here knows I cook up my food in one day for the week and store it in the ziplock food storage thingys (The cheap ones). I cook up six days of breakfast (that I just leave in one big pyrex baking dish, six days of lunch and six days of dinner. I have 2 MRPS in addition to those 3 "regular" meals. I keep a few things around the house like yams and what have you in case I get ambitious during the week. I also swap some chicken and fruit for one of my meals now and again.

I can ONLY stay on plan doing things this way. Maybe other people can do it without it, but I can't. I don't have to think about it.

I cook all my meals at the same time (I block out about a 3 hour time period every Sunday to COOK MY FOOD!!!). Hubby says that if I give him one of my containers of chicken and rice, he will help me clean up so I usually throw him some meals.

I can't emphasize ENOUGH how much this helps me stay on course. I eat the same thing every day and it's just so comforting rather than boring. I like it.

I have yelled at everyone I've seen today, including some real spicy language directed at the traffic jam on my way to the gym! I know this is working, and I'm not really hungry, just po'ed at the world on these low carb days. And yup, JC, I'm cold too!
Also, can't lift the same weight I was 2 weeks ago. Got "stuck" in the leg press- absolutely couldn't budge it and there I was like a pinned fly with my knees up near my ears Had to yell for one of the trainers to rescue me.

Mox- Live and learn, we've all been there; just pick yourself up, keep some emergency rations around, and tomorrow's another day. Ran out of cliches here.

I actually had 2 success stories w/ pointing people to BFL. 1 was my brother, who wasn't overweight, but was getting upset at what had happened to his body between finishing school, starting a dot.com, getting married, just generally growing up. I knew he'd cleaned up his eating a lot after he saw me after 3 months of sugarbusters, so when I went to visit him last April, I brought and left my BFL book. He sent me pics yesterday- he's finished 2 challenges and didn't even tell me! My mom sent me a note thanking me for what I'd done for him. Now I just have to work on my fat, scotch-guzzling brother. The other one, in the Air Force, looks like a pilot recruiting poster!

My other success is the massage therapist who works at my gym. She's an ex-marathoner who couldn't figure out how to get rid of the weight she gained when she stopped running 100 miles/week! She is in week 9 and looks so good and happy!

It made me really happy today to here these stories since generally it was such a sad day, and I had so many temper-tantrums that I shouldn't have.

OK- that was long winded. Sorry. Anybody else finding they are not as strong on Pam's diet? I never wanted to be a power lifter, but getting stuck is a tad embarrassing!

mel

JEC: I am using up my regular glutamine but will be getting some in powder form to take 5k. I didn't know I should be using that much.

Today I was sad and homesick (of course) but stayed on course and did my power cardio workout. (power cardio is 2 sessions about an hour apart--one HIIT for 10 minutes and then a MAS for 20) Several times I wanted to QUIT (especially HIIT) but I stayed the course!!! I hate cardio and am still plagued by shin splints but I kept at it and hit 10s both times.

Eating all good things!!!

Tomorrow I hit the weights HARD. I am feeling STRONG!!!!

I know I am losing inches but it's not that obvious yet to anyone else, but I feel MUCH MUCH BETTER.

CAMP 3FC RULZ!!!

Mel: we must have been posting at the same time! I love your stories!!!

I am not lowcarbing at all (I'm on a modified BFL) and when I was zigzagging I found my moods all over the place as well. I do find a nice feeling of wellbeing the way I am eating now. However, I do understand what you are saying! I was okay when I was lowcarbing all the time so I don't know if it's the drastic switch or what. I also don't know if it gets better but I am assuming that it must!

In any case, thanks for the success stories. Good luck with your brother!

Mel: I have a theory on the coldness. It goes a little something like this. Your body gives off energy - heat to warm you but it's a secondary process. ie not necessary. When you low-carb your body says to itself 'oh not enough carbs I have to conserve energy therefore I won't waste it on heating the body' and thus you get cold on a low carb day. Then on the high carb day it says ' hey I have heaps of fuel coming in I can get rid of some of this energy by letting some heat off.' So on high carb days you get hot when your metabolism fires up via exercise etc. What do you think?

As far as lifting the same weights - give up on the idea. CPB is for losing fat not building strength. I always take a dive in weight when I do this program but I can lift hard and heavy again once I go back onto normal BFL eating. It's just too low in carbs on some days to let you use your full strength. You may want to ease back on the weight a little bit - can't have you getting stuck again!

Susan: shin splints - I get them as well but not nearly as bad as I used to. Believe it or not I deliberatly run to get over it which most people think is nuts but now that my body is used to running I don't get as much pain - barely any actually. I also found that when I had lost about the first 25-30 lbs they eased up a lot. It's hard on your legs to carry so much bodyweight around all day.

JC

OK, I know a lot of you are doing cardio 6 days a week. Between that and your lifting, do you have one day where you do nothing (in terms of exercise)? Or are you getting in some form of workout every day of the week? I'm finding that I'm reluctant to go an entire day without working out in some way, shape or form. I get in a lot of cardio (moderate), simply because I love the way I feel on days when I do it. During the week, AM cardio makes the difference between a sluggish, tiresome day and an energized, productive day. On the weekends, due to being single (boyfriend in another state), having no children, and living in a small apartment which does not require much upkeep, I have oodles of time on my hands. Thus, not exercising in some fashion doesn't even cross my mind as being an option. I don't want to overdo it, but don't want to give up the additional benefits of working out. THoughts?

Anywho, still going strong with C3FC. After not following a structured "challenge" in so long, I'm now realizing why it's so important! It certainly makes it much easier to define my goals, and chart my progress.

I'm feeling much more positive today than I did yesterday. The media coverage on 9-11 was a bit much for me to handle. Have a terrific day, ladies!

When I am hitting things hard, like I am now, I find that one day with no exercise is helpful. This week it was almost mandatory because I was a hurting unit. I HAD to take Monday off, though I made an attempt to do cardio. (not successful) so I guess the body said "WHOA!" and I stopped.

Normally I try to walk every day...even on my "off" days, a half hour/45 minute walk in the morning (at moderate speeds up and down hills) helps me focus for that day. It's good for me because I'm either "in the habit" of exercise or completely out of the habit. One off day can throw me into non-activity for weeks. So I try to do something every day but if I'm really working hard, I go very very light at least one day a week to give my body the chance to recuperate.

I walk everyday too, in addition to whatever else be it cardio or lifting. My dog needs it, and she likes to walk fast or jog. So it's a rare week that I don't do anything. Since I'm so used to it, I don't even break a sweat and don't consider it a workout. Kind of like going for a bike ride on a Sunday afternoon.

Trying to post a pic that was on another board I read:

Drink your water!!!