WELCOME SEAN ! ! ! !

I'm sure that you will find lots of info and support here. Susan is right, use this week to get the feel of the program, check out the different links such as hussman, and start a wonderful way of life the next week. Good luck!

I was doing good with Weight Watchers at home but I just wasn't getting the exercise (no discipline). When I finally made up my mind that something had to be done, BFL and I just clicked! I have been on it for almost 7 weeks and I LOVE it. It has given me so much energy and enthusiasm, that now I can't wait to get to the gym. In fact, I had to stop doing extra stuff and just stick to the original program for this first challenge.

I have been doing great with the food also, except for the past 2 days where I had some Chex Mix that my husband brought into the house (i couldn't resist for very long). I did try to make up for it by mowing both mine and my neighbors lawns.You can check out my food selections at http://www.fitday.com/webfit/publicj...l?owner=silbar as it might give you some suggestions. If you review my account, go back several weeks because I lost 1 week while my computer was in the shop (you will notice the gap).

Susan~~~Did you read my reply to you on L&S? I mean it!!!!! You need to put your glasses on because you obviously can't see the wonderful difference in your before and after pics that we can see. Thanks for the periodization info you sent me. Looks very interesting. How long did it take for you to play around with the weights to find out what your 1MR is for each exercise? I don't know that I will have anything to contribute, but the idea of an info page sounds great!

MrsJim~~~I had a GREAT cardio wo yesterday. I kept the incline at 11 but increased the resistance. I plan to crank it up each week.

Cris & Shelly~~~Sounds like you gals are doing great . I have the same recumbant exercise bike as you do (have had it for about 12 years) and I use that on Saturday mornings before work~3:30am

Well,need to get to the gym~have a great day!
~~~Sil

Sil-Are you able to hit your 10 on the PTS? If so, can you give me some pointers on what you do? I did mine this morning, and my heart rate still doesn't go up as much as jogging. I am probably going to have to use it for my HIIT when I get back to work, though, so I really need to tweak it up somehow.

Sean- I use water and ice in my Myoplex, too. I am lactose intolerant, so I can't use milk. I do the root beer thing, too.

Aunt Betty-Thanks for the link. I'll try it out. I still have been trying the calipers, and they say I'm about 22%, which I think is way too low.

Took some pictures yesterday so that I'll be able to compare. I can't believe how bad my side picture is (stomach sticking way out!) I won't take them again until at least the 8th week.

Talk to you later!

Since you gals were brave enough to post your measurements, here are mine. As you can see, my problem areas are my hips and thighs.
Ht~~~5'3"
Wt~~~123
Bust~~~36
Waist~~~27 1/2
Hips~~~36 1/2
Thigh~~~22 3/8
Calf~~~13 1/4
Body fat percent~~17.7% (was 19.8 at week 2 of BFL)

I hope to put more distance between my waist and thigh measurements, as they are only 5" different
~~~Sil

According to the link that Betty sent, I am 31% bodyfat!!

Sil- Your hips, thighs and weight are where I'd love to be!! I am your same height (I know I shouldn't be comparing!)

Shelly~~~ I think in the begining I was hitting 10 on the PTS because I was so out of shape. But after using the elliptical, I can see that I wasn't even close. Although I would work up a good sweat in only 20 min. What I do (when I have to use the PTS) is:
warm up=2nd gear at moderate rate
6=2nd gear at fast rate
7=3rd gear at slow rate
8=3rd gear at moderate rate
9=3rd gear at fast rate
10=3rd gear at "as fast as I can"

I also use the sound of the bike to help me know where the mod-fast-intense rate is because the battery wore out of the numbers display~I need to get a new battery so I can see the rate,distance, time, etc.
~~~Sil

because I just did the calculations on that same site and it said that I had 26.6% body fat, which is cr*p. I used the calipers and the calculations at the www.hussman.com site and I feel that is more accurate. I used both , the suprailiac and the 3 sites methods. Go there and try it! Let me know what you get. I think that calipers are a better way to determine BF than measuring with a tape measure (because wouldn't you also measure muscle that way?)

The issue I have with the tape measure/weight way of measuring body fat is - how does THAT tell how much is muscle and how much is fat?

Let's take, for example, Pam B. (on L&S) Check out her thighs and calves - they are very muscular - along with the rest of her body now! I'm sure that using calipers, her body fat is extremely low (you can tell just by looking at her pix). However, if you used the tape measure/scale weight method of measuring body fat on her, I'd be willing to bet it would come out pretty high!

Pretty much every article I've read hails body fat measurement with calipers the 'gold standard'. I don't know about YOU, but I'm going to stick with it. Besides, it's a lot easier than having to take all those measurements!

Sil- My thingie doesn't work either on the PTS. I tried a new battery and it still doesn't work. My husband says I probably need to get a new one. It is the same thing as on a regular bike. Thanks for the tips. I am going to use them.

So - who's taking their FREE DAY tomorrow for the holiday??

I thought about doing that myself but decided to stay with my good ol' Sunday routine!

I am so excited - in 9 days, my first Challenge will be over! Then it's off to Free Week and NOT HITTING THE GYM for a solid seven days.

I've been working on updating my website in preparation for my 12 week pix and conclusions from my first Challenge...I am really happy with my progress - even though I feel that I haven't lost a lot of SCALE WEIGHT I still look great! Jim is so impressed!

So what am I going to do in my next Challenge?? First thing is - take ALL my measurements right off the bat. Not just hips and waist, but upper arm, thigh, calf, chest as well as BF %. I'm going to weigh myself TWICE - at baseline and at the 12th week. The rest of the time, the scale will remain in the closet away from my view.

I'm also going to really up the weights and REALLY go for those 10's. I'm going to set goals for myself as far as lifting weight. And I WILL be able to do chin-ups by the time I complete C2 (I don't know how many though...can't even do one right now).

I do know that my ABS are getting stronger. Today when I was doing Ab BootCamp, I decided to challenge myself during the second set - and brought the decline board up from the second bar to the third (out of four). I couldn't even straighten my legs but I did manage to complete the two last sets of Boot Camp at that level! Yay!

As for the Fourth, after my LBWO I'll be heading to the ranch to feed and work with the horses - maybe get a lesson in. Then it's off to my sister's house for a BBQ . She knows I'm doing BFL so I'll call her to find out what she's making. She always makes a big salad, corn on the cob and I don't know what kind of meat - so I'll just bring one of my handy Safeway Boneless Skinless chicken breasts and I'll be fine!

MrsJim,

Isn't it exciting to be finishing a challenge???? I was very excited to complete C1. If you're like me, you will feel INCREDIBLE the first few days afterwards...feeling like a real champion!!! Finishing is a very big deal!!!!

Like you I am doing BFL eating for the 4th. My "dinner" for the family BBQ is turkey burger and watermelon.

Sil, I would love to have your numbers!!! You are probably really toning up and getting lean. Good for you!!!

Shelley and Sil: I am in the 5'3 club also!!! Bunch o'shorties.

As for me, I worked in my garden all day in spite of the 105 degree heat. It's not like eastern humid heat so even though it was hot, hot, hot, I was able to work. I had a killer LBWO at the gym before setting out to work in the garden. A good day overall. DH burned his legs fishing on Sunday (He's 100% Italian and not used to burning but his legs never see the light of day) he wore shorts on Sunday on the boat thinking he should dress like a Californian...and paid dearly...he can't walk and says the burn is right to the muscle. I told him to go to the hospital but the Sicilian in him says no. Having him here was no picnic but I survived!!!

I'm having company beginning the 6th of July and ending the 11th of August. Although it's mostly people I love, I enjoy my space and I enjoy eating clean. Having constant company and my trip back east is going to be a challenge (and not the good kind!)

I'm already dreading it..................ack.
So if I'm AWOL you'll know where I am.

Susan

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY, EVERYBODY ! ! ! ! !

I'm also keeping my free day on schedule (Thursday) so I will be having chicken and watermelon. We are helping our neighbor move today and will probably relax by the pool later in the day. That is if it doesn't rain!

MrsJim and Susan~~~I am so proud of you both. You are great inspirations to me. And, OMG~~~I just saw PamB's before pics!!!! I had assumed that she was always fit and slim but she has accomplished it in only 1 1/2 yrs. It's truly amazing.

Shelly~~~I have failed! I can not go for more than a day without getting on the scale. Even though I know that the scale weight will not be an accurate indicator of my progress, I still need to see the numbers. Is this sick, or what?

Ya'll have a fun-filled 4th !
~~~Sil

Sil- I also weighed today. Bad mistake! Back up the 2 lbs. I was down on Sunday. I am getting discouraged, because my clothes aren't fitting any different.

I am keeping my free day the same, so we are having Barbecue chicken (no skin, of course) and corn on the cob.

Shelley,

What week are you on? I don't know if you remember me posting this but I've said it here and on L&S: I actually got bigger in week 5 (I wasn't weighing) and didn't see any movement until the end of week 6 and even then I didn't see it. I had to post my pix on L&S and ASK people if anything had happened. I was technically into week 7 and to me it was still very much NOT happening. I was one of those people who did not have any kind of movement that was satisfying TO ME until about week 10. If you notice, that's when I took new pix.
In weeks 7,8 and 9 I was still convinced that NOTHING was happening. I did a collage on my pix page on my web page and to me, there was NOTHING til week 7. and then it was just a teensy bit.

I did not weigh from week 2 til about week 11. I REALLY suggest you guys stay off the scale. You will see movement at the end but for now your body is changing so much, it will be a roller coaster ride. Now that I'm in C2, I weighed myself once at the beginning and had put on 5 lbs during Free Week (probably water but still) and almost had a heart attack. So I am staying off it now. I can't afford to keep hitting myself in the head with that hammer.

I posted the b4 and now pix of Pam on L&S because so many newbies had asked about her and I started to realize that a lot of people didn't really know where she started. If you ever doubt that BFL works if you work it the way it is written, look at Pam.

Well, I have more housecleaning and gardening to do today. I hope the gym is empty!! I gotta do some work.

Have a good 4th!!!!!!!!!!
Susan

Susanje-I am in the middle of my 3rd week. I know it sounds stupid, I just expected at least a few results this soon. I still am trying not to weigh. I just expected at least my shorts to be a tiny bit looser!

I've been cleaning up my bird room. I have 3 birds (a cockatoo, and 2 parrots.) The cockatoo has a dander that makes everything in the room have a white dust on it. I have been vacuuming walls and the closet in the room. What a mess! I got so busy that I'm just having my Myoplex drink.

Have a great 4th!!

I know, I know. As I said, I really was disappointed when I bulked out in Week 5 and hadn't gotten any smaller. In Week 5 my fat pants got TIGHTER. It was from putting on muscle but not losing much fat yet. I know it was a good thing but it was very discouraging. Talk about wanting to walk away from it all! Even in week 7 I felt my losses were miniscule (if you look at my pix, it might seem like there was a significant change, but to me, I was still in the same size and very unhappy until week 10). I was lucky to have listened to people who had no loss until week 11 and I hung in there with some hope.

If you're doing it by the book, you simply have to lose inches and body fat. There's no way not to unless you're not hitting your 10s or doing extra cardio or tweaking (or cheating) on the food plan. Shelley if you are doing all the right things you will lose. It might not be for a few more weeks but it will come. JUST HANG IN THERE!!! Have you read the Hussman site? He explains this well.

Susan