Well, y'all have been busy this weekend here at the boards!

Since I worked my butt off the past few weeks, I am taking a few well-deserved days off from work. And yet I STILL woke up early. What kind of nuttiness is that??

Ya know I've NEVER taken Glucosamine - never felt I needed it. Maybe now that I'm Over the Hill, I should!

No real news to report here...I finished the 6 week Draper split and thinking about doing my old four-day split...hope everyone has a great week! Gotta feed those kitties now!

i am one very happy camper today. lots of great little things happened today that just have had me up in the clouds.........

1. the results of my blood test came back and my cholestrol and triglycerides are all in the *normal* range! my HDL cholesterol (the good one) also went up and that's great too! yahooo ! i'm soooooooooooooooooooooooo happy

2. i did two push ups and 10 hanging leg lifts today. 5 months ago i couldn't even support myself with my upper body weakness and now........ well....... i feel strong today

3. i've lost another 1/2 kilo of fat, that makes it 13.5 kilos or 29.7 pounds of life-threatening fat GONE !!!

okay, enough of my insanity today.

i did an UBWO, followed by 20MAS on the stationary bike. that was some workout today !!!

food has been excellent for the past few weeks. i'm so stoked !!!

Karen - which Dave Draper split did you do? i love his workouts !!

take care everyone. let's have a great week

adriana

I had a great 20MAS today! Ate on plan, and am off to bed to get some beauty sleep. Tomorrow is UBWO and I am really looking forward to it

this is week 4 for me and I think the pants-o-meter is starting to move a bit! goodbye fat!

I actually am looking at bathing suits in the catologs!! I cant believe it Im hoping to get a two peice this year!

only 25% done the challenge and I am this excited? I cant WAIT for week 8! week 12! c2! WHOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!

Tidey

oh man
i've lost .5 inches on my waist and gained .5 on my thigh.
sup with that!
lol
my thighs are seriously big enough....anyone else go up first?
*panic*

sure they look better and are smoother and stronger and harder.....
*grumbles*
but stillllllllllllllll, my food hasn't been too perfect really, maybe thats it

It's a lovely day here but I am a bit lost at work. I did so much last week that I am all screwed up in my schedule and it seems to disorganised to fix. I think that I burnt out my mind as well. I did get heaps of sleep on the weekend which was great. I have belly dancing tonight which I am looking forward to!

Ebe: I would say that food is more important than exercise. You won't get the best results if you slip up all the time.

Adriana: I LOVE pushups. I have always been strong in that area so it's really satisfying to do in the gym. It's also a good way to burn out your chest after an upper body workout.

Anyways.... not much going on.....

JC

jec how long have you done belly dancing for?
i was thinking of signing up for a couple classes at a studio...seems like so much fun....

food is important i know, i haven't been slipping up much..just some though as time has gone on its been less and less.

i do get muscle pretty fast, but i'm not sure of the physiology of building muscles....like if theres just fat and muscle now and maybe the measurements will go back down....is that wishful thinking? probably....but i know i can't be the only person whose measurements have gone up slightly rather than down, i just thought i would inquire to see if that had happened to anyone else during the course of their time lifting weights.

ok i just measured myself again and its back to what it was...i think maybe it was just hella big from.....
working out i guess.
i think i was just looking for reassurance.
sigh
must be patient and forget numbers and just remember that i feel good.
its hard though, i've been busting my butt! and no beer! we're talking sacrifices
ok
*shuts up and goes back to lurkville*

ebe,

lots of patience. lots of determination. lots of stick-to-it-ivnes!!

can't get around those aspects of this whole thing.

you're doing great so just relax and enjoy!!

adriana

Hello girls!!

Adriana --I am so happy for you and that great progress... I know how hard you work, and to eat so squeaky clean all the time, I don't know how you do it...

Tidey -- You are doing so well too... So proud of you guys... I too have been looking at bathing suits... What type do you want to get Tidey? I usually get the one piece Speedo, but if all goes well I may get the tankini in a Speedo, I love Speedo brand... I guess it's because D does synchro swimming and they are sooooo much better quality than anything else she has ever worn in heavy duty chlorinated water....

ebe -- don't worry about the #'s I to just measured myself and lost .5 and .25 inches here and there... and I feel so totally pumped and I'm eating clean and my H2O intake in superb... I'm with JEC lets go with our interior motive...:smile:

MrsJ -- You often mention you drink 2-3 gallons of water... how many cups per gallon?

In my neck of the woods the temps have plumeted yet again....-9F or -24C (sounds so much worse in metric ) It was so cold this morning that my fingers stuck to the door knob when I tried to turn it...BRRRRRR... to say the least....

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it but I'm not working these days... and boy do I love it, in the morning after I give the kids a ride to school, I come home and make myself a huge 1 egg 5 whites omellette with onions and celery, and some oatmeal .... gawd it's sooooooo good and what's even better is that I relax and eat it... how awesome is that!!

I need your input girls... Has anyone ever worked legs 3/week? I want to have killer legs by this summer and biking season...I was thinking of splitting my routine this way:

Sunday -- legs heavy - I work with my partner... cardio
Monday -- back
Tuesday -- cardio, shoulders
Wednesday -- legs light
Thursday -- cardio, chest
Friday -- legs light
Saturday -- OFF thank gawd!! we have a day off...

On days where I', not running late I would do biceps and triceps, either on the same day or split....

What do you think??

Anyways later all...

Lana...

2-3 GALLONS of Water?!? Not I! I think I'd drown or just move my PC to the Ladies' room!!!

Here's my way of doing the water thang...

I have some of those Schwepps Seltzer Water bottles - I think they're over a liter each (I don't have one here actually - they're both at work). I drink one of those during my workout, then sip on water while I'm in the bathroom getting ready for work.

I fill up the bottle before I go to work and drink that, then fill it up two more times. So I figure that's just over a gallon, since I believe that 3-4 liters = 1 gal (don't ask me about the cups though).

I was actually doing legs 3 times a week - I used Draper's Lean Legs for Women. It was a good workout but I think I neglected the rest of my body, so what I'm going to do is work my legs HARD during my four day split:

Day 1 - legs
Day 2 - Chest/Tris
Day 3 - Back/Bis
Day 4 - Shoulders/abs/calves

I generally don't do cardio on leg day. Remember what Mel said on last week's thread - RESTING your muscles is so important, so you should really have at least 3 days between muscle groups (I didn't see much progress doing the Lean Legs thing but it FELT good!)

Ebe - I agree with JEC - the nutrition is IMO more important than the workouts. Of course the workouts are important too! So I'd suggest using the BFL Eating-For-Life Daily Progress report (you can find it on the BFL 'official' website and download it). Each evening, write down what you plan to eat the next day and then stick to it!!

Adriana - woo hoo! you're doin' great girlfriend!!!

Gotta run now...sisters are coming over!!

LMAO here at what I said about the water Karen... I guess I thought for sure you had said 2-3 gallons... one thing I do know for sure is that one liter = 4 cups... Thanks for the info, I was just trying to compare notes on water consumption, I guess I don't drink enough, 4 half liters = 8 glasses...

Gotta go son is home for lunch.... later............

Hey everyone -- I'm having one of those weeks (I think it's been carried over from last week . . . ) where things are so crazy that time goes by both too quickly (i.e., I'm not getting everything done that I need to) and not fast enough (i.e., I can't believe I have another useless meeting to sit through). But, I wanted to make time to stop in here and see how everyone is doing.

Lana: I'm so jealous that you're not working right now. My goal is to get to a 4-day a week work schedule someday soon (vs. a 6-day a week schedule). Maybe I should rethink investing in the lottery . . .

MrsJ: Somebody asked me if I wanted a MP3 player for Christmas, but I said no because, to tell the truth, I'm not so sure how they work. I've never down-loaded a song from the internet or even copied one of my own CDs onto my hard drive. Maybe I should reconsider, though, because a lot of people have told me how much they like have their players for work-outs.

Anyway, one thing I've been thinking a lot about during this challenge has been keeping promises I make to myself. Although I'm generally really responsible in many aspects of my life (i.e., keeping work commitments, trying not to disappoint friends and loved ones, etc.), I find it so hard sometimes to keep the promises I make to myself, like eating healthily every day or working out as scheduled. It just seems easier sometimes to make some excuse about eating this or that unhealthy food or not going to the gym. But, it seems that this is really a downward spiral -- the more I break promises, the easier it gets and the worse I feel about myself. Contrarily, the more promises I keep, the better I feel about myself. (This paragraph is just really a paraphrase from a chapter in BFL.) So, everytime I feel like skipping a workout or not eating right, I think about the promises I made to myself, and how I'll feel at the end of the day if I keep them or not. This has really helped me stay on the straight and narrow so far. It's hard work breaking bad habits, but worth it in the end (I hope and pray!).

Everyone hang in there, and have a great week. Mox

hi there everyone,

i dont know whats wrong with me, but i was so tired this morning, i could not get out of bed. i had a really great LBWO yesterday...anyways, i did not go to the gym as planned. i might go after this but.....already had my breakfast....excuses excuses, i know.

ebe, eating is hard for me too...i am not clean at all....but it has been getting better since the beginning...partly, thanks to the education i have been getting here, and partly due to the fact that i am seeing results and i dont want it to slip..and i want to make sure that when week8 comes around...i am going to get one of those "have you lost weight" questions.

i am taking the day off to get braces...i have been think about it for many years and finally decided to take the plunge...3 years...wow. so, i will be eating a lot of soft foods....CC all the way. well, for at least the first 2 weeks.

good day to you all...

jilly

oh, i weighed in and have lost a total of 9lbs in the last 4 weeks.
horray!

Morning ladies!

Well I have been tired lately myself. Belly dancing was great last night but now my shoulders ache from holding my arms up in the air for 1.5 hrs. I wonder how my calves will feel tomorrow… I have soccer tonight which should be good and hard as well. I have to go see my bank manager today about buying another house which Ray and I are excited about. (for the newbies I am a property investor on the side – this will be number 4!) It’s up n the Sunshine coast about 200 kms north of our first house. It’s where we want to live eventually as well. I like to organize my finance first so that when I fly up there to buy I can buy it on the spot if I want to! I love buying houses…..

Food is good – I am taking it easy on myself this week and next. We just had laws come in over here which requires all food to be labeled with it’s nutritional information on the packet. McDonald’s is kicking up a stink about it but they have the next 6 mths to comply. Some companies have started complying already and it’s weird to see muffins etc with labels on the side. They are so FULL of fat! I had no idea there was THAT much fat in them. Maybe it will help people to make better food choices. I know it’s scaring me and I eat healthy!

Ebe: I only started a few weeks ago but it is great fun and nice not to have to ‘think’ about it. I am a real intellectual person who stews over everything so I like the mental breaks. The only thing I have to remember is the dance steps at the end which isn’t very hard. I am buying a coin belt this week – I saw a lovely gold one last night at class but I forgot to bring the money with me – I hope that it’s still there next week!

I build muscle fairly quickly as well. Other things to consider when taking measurements are water retention and fluid levels. They can alter the measurement and then be back to normal the next day! It’s nothing to worry about but it’s hard on the emotions. No beer?? Geez you don’t know that MEANING of sacrifice!! If I could have just given up beer and the weight would have fallen off me…. If only….

One of the best words said to me at the start of my transformation was ENJOY the process. The goal was so lofty to me that I was getting bogged down in it most of the time so I tried to enjoy the process and the moment more. It sure help to relax my mind.

Lana: FINALLY my language – metric! That is freezing!!!! I haven’t worked legs 3 days a week but I have done it twice with heavy workouts and it was fine for me. My opinion is give it a go for 4-6 weeks and see how you go. I wouldn’t ignore bodyparts though (like bis) I would just cut back to once per week and I also wouldn’t do cardio after legs unless it was light. My 2 peenies.

Mrs Jim: 4 cups to a litre! Ooppss Lana already wrote it! A cup is 250ml and a litre is 1000 ml. A gallon is approx 4 litres, so one gallon = 16 cups

Mox: Hi!

Jilly: Actually I wouldn’t call that an excuse – I call it a compromise of priorities. If I was that tired then I would sleep in and get my rest which is just as important as getting my workout in. It’s not like you are skipping your workout you are just re organizing it to later on! No harm no foul….

Braces? Ouch…. You ARE brave!

Ledom, Mel: ummm hello???

JC

Lana,

Im not looking at brands, but just something I can order out of a catolog here needs to be a supportive top tho, which makes it more dificult :/ Even the thin women in my family have D cup breasts so I dont see ALL of this boobage leaving with the rest of my fat *sigh*

Im really down today as my SO is away skiing and I am feeling the "no friends" lonliness pretty bad. Tomorrow will be better tho!

Tidey