JC: Electrocution sounds really, really bad. Have you had someone take a look? Your dedication to working out in the face of being shocked is pretty awesome. I would love to hear what your husband has to say about traveling in SE Asia. And cute husband and puppies . . . MrsJim – cute hubbie as well!

Lana: One of my passions is travel, and I've been really fortunate to have had the opportunity to do it. (Hint: It helps to have friends who live abroad . . . ) I've visited parts of Canada – I think Montreal is a great city, with a fantastic art museum – and have always wanted to go to Prince Edward Island – I was a huge Anne of Green Gables fan growing up.

But, I'm not sure if I'll be capable of posting any pictures – I'm pretty computer illiterate, as my frequent problems posting illustrates. I also don't have a digital camera. But, if I ever figure this tech stuff out, I can post pictures of the only living thing (besides myself) that I've taken responsibility for – my bamboo plant. (It only needs to be watered about once a month, which is another reason why I can travel a lot.)

Regarding the definition of MAS and HIIT, I thought the BFL cardio routine was HIIT -- building to higher levels of intensity and repeating the cycles a 4 times. But, if it's MAS instead, what would constitute a HIIT routine?

Mox

Mox - well...actually the 20MAS IS a form of HIIT (Interval training). I just use the term MAS to mean the cardio as outlined in the BFL book.

Generally when I do 'HIIT' (I alternate between the two) I'll go for 30 minutes - moderate for 2 minutes, then all-out for 1 minute, so I do 10 high intervals.

Thanks for your comment on Jim. He really is a great guy - I consider myself blessed beyond what I deserve!

Hey just a quick one because I just got to work and have seen my new diet sitting here from Pam! I am DYING to take a look so I will post later...

Thanks for the remarks about hubby and yes he is a total stunner - he has been offered modelling jobs before but turned them down - he's very down to earth and doesn't like frivolous stuff like that! Although his ego shot up from it. The other thing you can't see is that he is 6'3, which makes him even better.

I will look for a couple shot soon, there aren't many around but we had some taken at a dinner recently that I am trying to hunt down from a friend. Will get back to you!

JC

AACK! 6 FOOT 3??? He's a giant! My Jim as you can probably tell from the photo is the short man of the family - he's 5'9". Scott is over 6 foot and I believe Todd is as well. Oh well, for a shortie like myself (5'4") Jim is a perfect fit for me. We both have some hunkalicous hubbies!

Got a little Sparky tale for ya - yesterday I was grocery shopping and impulsively bought him one of those "Giant Kitty Ticklers". When we first adopted Sparky, I used to bring home those ticklers and toys all the time but not for awhile now. Usually they have feathers at the end but this one had leather thongs in different colors (Jim calls it the "cat o'nine tails" ) WELL yesterday I walked through the door and kitty saw the stick protruding from the grocery bag and immediately went nuts! He has been Mr. Playtime ever since then. Amazing what a new toy can do for a kitty-cat!

My pics are always to big and when i shrink them, they are so tiny I can't even recognize anyone! How do you post such big pics? my digi cam has fairly high resolution, maybe that's the problem. Anyway, the pic I was gonna post is in the L & S playspace under "the kids, the mom, the dad and the dawg" or something like that- posted June 2002. I checked and it's still there.

Today is a much better day- even tho the carbs and calories are even lower I'd forgotten the brain fog and exhaustion from 1100 calories and a HARD leg day workout! I've really gotta switch either my split or my menus so I don't have legs and back on low days. Luckily tomorrow I'm back up to 1450- almost normal! I don't know if my bf% is dropping, but I sure am hungry!

JC- Try not to electrocute yourself again. That sounded terrible. I've gotten a few good zaps wallpapering around electric outlets and switches, but nothing that bad. Is your hair curly now? Enjoy your new menus- I'm sure all of ours are different, but I found week one was definitly the best. The food variety has gone steadily downhill, BUT I"M STICKING TO IT! I don't know whether Pam is super busy or becuase of my particular goals. I do a lot of cardio and eat a lot of chicken and squash and egg whites. And lettuce. BTW- your hubby is a real HUNK!!!!

MrsJim- I just ordered "Your Body Revival" from half.com too. Can't wait to get it. I love Brother Iron, Sister Steel and Draper's online weekly newsletter. I read it or BI,SS whenever I need a dose of revival! I'm still annoyed that I had to take dd to Columbus the day that he was near Philadelphia for a book signing! Also, just finished "The Bone-setter's Daughter" which I saw you recommended. I was in a teary mood for the few days I was reading it- book was very good, emotions were tough. I've read the rest of her books also. Great "brothers" pic, too!

Hi everyone else! How are you holding up Susan? My bloating is disappearing and I feel almost like a person again. Good luck on the interviews- heck, good luck getting thru the day! Your schedule sounds wild! I can't imagine going back to school again, tho til about 2 years ago, I still wanted to go to law school.

Gotta go- my quads are STILL burning 7 hours later!

mel

WOW! My menus are awesome! I get fajitas, chicken and broccoli soup, jello cheesecake, ff puddings, chicken with orange salad, round steak with hot pepper salad, mango protein shakes, banana muffins! Yummmm......

My workouts seem a bit easy though - but I have emailed Pam about it. Also, loads of cardio... By the way how do you DO moderate cardio??? It's been so long - do you go for a heart rate or something?

I am still absorbing it all ..... but it looks awesome.

Mel: LUCKILY I don't make a habit of eletricuting myself

MrsJim: Ya he is a giant - sometimes I get a sore neck!

JC

Hey Mel - your daughter is gorgeous - lucky thing!

JC

Hello ladies! Did ya miss me?

I have been so busy the past couple of weeks. But I've been sticking to the CPB plan but there's been a few rough spots. Those low carb days just don't get any easier, do they? Thank goodness today was a higher cal day with delicious chicken fajitas for dinner.

As of this week, I'm done with CPB menus and workouts. I loved it!! I have definitely seen results, my jeans are loose and I'm seeing nice definition all over. I think I'm going to take Saturday as a free day and then do two weeks of high volume training, cut back on the cardio and finish our challenge that way. I'm going to do a zig zag, but I'm going to do my own numbers and bump up the calories slightly to compensate for the higher reps. I'd still like to lean out a little more before bulking again. I'm all for going on with you ladies, I just have to adjust my goals slightly.

Mrs Jim--glad to hear that you had a wonderful trip! It's so nice to visit family and get away.

JC--hope you're feeling better! When my mom was pregnant with my sister, she got shocked on a weedeater. We always joke that it caused my sister's wildly curly hair. About moderate cardio--I found it to be a nice change of pace. I had forgotten what it's like to do 45 minutes on the elliptical, though!

The Dave Draper books sound awesome--I'm going to have to look for them myself.

Well, ladies--I'm off to bed. Take care, hang in there for the rest of the week!

Maggie

hey Maggie - nice to see you again! Yeah I am still trying to work out what to do for this moderate cardio thing - I mean I like to run but is a job too strenuous? Should I stick to a bike? and how do I know that I am doing it right? At least with HIIT I just go as fast as I possibly can?? Anyway I am sure that I will figure it out eventually.....

I am a little bit scared about dropping HIIT out completely and have begged Pam to let me do it at least ONCE a week. Sounds crazy to ASK for it to be harder....

I am having a great day but all of my food seems boring now after looking through these menus! Glad I am starting it this weekend.....

I hope everyone is still going strong - we are coming up on the end of 4 weeks soon!! Yippee doesn't time fly ??

JC

I meant a JOG not JOB!

JC

Hey I just got my first bottle of FF/SF maple syrup in the post from the US and it is INCREDIBLE - you guys are so lucky to have all these awesome things!! I used it on oatmeal and it was delicious - next thing will be Pamcakes! Woo hooo!

JC

Isn't FF/SF maple syrup a great thing? Even on my free days, I don't eat real maple syrup ever. It's actually too sweet that it makes my teeth hurt!

As far as moderate cardio, Pam had me doing four 40-60 minute sessions a week. Two of the sessions I used the elliptical trainer and planted myself in front of the TV, usually the Food network, I have to admit (don't know if you get that in Australia) and then the other two sessions I did a run/walk in the park (I love to run this time of year). I just did a nice moderate jog until I felt too tired then would walk for a while. I figure moderate cardio should be done on a level where you can still carry on a conversation. It's way different than HIIT, but a nice change of pace.

I have to admit that there were times when I felt like Pam's food was a tad boring (sorry Pam if you're reading this) but I tried to look at it as food as fuel, and I was willing to sacrifice my usual maintenance food to get really lean, and it is only four weeks. You can always use spices and such, no reason to cook your chicken the same way every day. This week's menus were definitely my favorite by far!

I actually have this entire day to myself, no preschool to work at and no clients to train today (they all cancelled for today, weirdly enough), so I'm taking it easy, going for a run in the park and then hitting the gym to do bis and tris. Catching up on laundry and going to try and finish a book that I'm loving.

I was bargain shopping at Barnes and Noble last weekend and picked up an old Cory Everson book called "LifeBalance." The food/training section is a little dated and a little light weight/high reps for my liking, but what's really great about is her chapters on self-empowerment and getting over negative thinking and developing a better self-image as a woman and bodybuilder. Lots of books like this, but when you hear it from someone who's been there and done that, it seems to ring true.

JC- I don't think a jog is too strenuous! I've been either jogging with few higher intervals thrown in, or doing recumbent bike at a level 1 or 2 down from what I do for HIIT or 20MAS, or doing the "fat burning" program on the elliptical instead of the intervals.

You guys are FOR SURE getting different menus thatn I am! But I asked for it- told Pam my first set of menus looked less clean that what I had been eating and the workouts were too easy. So she fixed that! What I can't understand is why the scale hasn't dropped thru the floor yet. So far in 2 weeks I've lost 2 pounds! I keep reading the testimonials on l&S of lossing 7 or 8 pounds in 2 weeks. and waiting. But I'm seeing more definition when I'm not all puffed up like a few days ago. Hopefully all that will be gone by tomorrow and I can really see how I'm doing. Did a leg session with Robert the Incredible yesterday (totally not Pam's workout) and he near killed me, but also commented how my legs are looking better. Gave me a bunch new exercises for hitting different parts of quads, hams and calves. OUCH! He's gonna do my BF probably on Friday, so we'll see. Partly I don't want to- if this isn't working I just don't want to know! But if it is, I DO want to know, and the teariness days are over, so I'll get thru it!

enough babble. Hope you all have a great day.

Thanks JC for the comment about my daughter! That was taken right after lacrosse season and she was in incredible shape. Refused to lift over the summer, and saw the results. Aside from getting a good dressing down from her coach when she went back to school! Hah! Mom knows best.

mel

Karen, I love San Diego, I lived in Vista for a short while back in the day when I was the bohemian and finding myself. San Diego is nothing short of heaven to me. I loved it.
I mulled over your workout schedule and think I like it, will incorporate it next round. This group is really laidback, I like it alot.
I have noticed a change in my body lately, but have been taking measurements and gauging with pictures, also, the ones on the fridge do so need to be replaced and they shall.
Make this day your own....................
Hugs,
marie

I LOVE LOVE LOVE reading these posts!!! I can't wait to be able to sign up for CPB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think my food (my own designed menu) is boring too. I think of food as fuel. It's only my fruit salad that I truly love. For me, a free meal could be fresh fruit salad with low fat granola and grapenuts sprinkled over it.
I'm becoming a boring person. I ask myself, do you want to be fat and exciting or lean and boring?

I also love to travel. I have spent so much money on travel in my life that I always think what I could have had if not for those trips, but was it worth it? u betcha.

Mel, thanks for asking about the bloating. It comes and goes which makes me think it is definitely hormonal. I'm having a rough week....eating clean and working out but life is ganging up on me. Last night I had a check rejected at a store. For no reason. There is a check system that certifies and for some reason, it rejected my check. HOW EMBARRASSING. Because we live close to the edge financially, I just assumed it was me. I went home and called and the man said he had NO IDEA why the store rejected my check. I'm traveling this weekend and had all my traveling "supplies" in that cart...lots of shampoo and that sort of thing, PLUS a new blender which I really need since my blender fell apart midcycle (WHAT A MESS!) last weekend. Okay, it's not electrocution but it was messy and getting near the blender while the blades are whrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrng was difficult.

And to top it all off, I'm getting sick (head cold) and I have interviews this weekend. I'm taking gallons of vitamin c and echinacea. Anyone have any other suggestions???? I'm flying tomorrow and the thought of flying with a head cold is making me want to crawl under the covers and never come out!!!