Hey you guys! Was this a busy weekend here or what?!?

Just got back from a killer chest/tri workout and I KNOW it's going to be an awesome week!!!

Just wanted to add a quick note to JC's comments regarding family support...

Jim is pretty supportive in that he doesn't press for me to buy "snacks" (i.e. chips, cookies, bread, etc) to keep around the house (my first husband was REALLY bad about that...I would come back from Safeway, he'd look through the bags and complain about how I never bought anything 'good' one of the many, many reasons I'm not married to him anymore!!! ). The only things Jim wants around the house are: Gatorade (no problem, I hate the stuff - tastes like sweetened sweat to me!), milk, and cereal (that's a problem for me...because I really like cereal...so easy and tempting to grab a fistful and munch away). My family is very supportive, but unfortunately my sister (who I babysit for most weekends) keeps CRAP at her house...stuff like peanut butter, Wonder bread, Wheat Thins, 7 different kinds of cheese, ice cream, etc. etc. etc. The funny thing is, I rarely see the kids eat this stuff anymore - although the little guy still likes his Kraft Mac & Cheese - my niece who is 12 going on 18 is heavily into the baby carrots and radishes as snacks! She is really becoming a gorgeous girl - looks a lot like Kirsten Dunst (the actress in Spider-Man) at least to me! My BIL and I got into a friendly debate this weekend - he hits the gym and lifts weights every evening (we both go to the same gym) and he started on about how much BETTER it is to go at night - some theory about the best time to work out being when your energy is low (!!) or something like that. I told him - I ENJOY working out in the morning, that's what works for me, I can't stand the crowds after work and bottom line...the important thing is that I'm DOING IT - whatever time of day or night, I'm DOING it at the time that works for me! Jeez...

Anyway, time to hit the shower...gonna be a gorgeous day today...after work I'm going down to Palo Alto to check out a cute little Arabian mare that I'm considering leasing so I'm quite excited!

Happy Monday all!

Mrs. Jim, you are lucky to be able to keep your house healthy. My house is verrrry healthy, but my big problem is that my office is 45 minutes away from my home and doesn't have a refrigerator. That's right - either restaurants or dr y foods for lunch. Obviously this poses a problem. I wish I had the $800 I spent at WW so I could buy a refrigerator!!! I have been using nuts and EAS bars and fruit as my way around this, but every day is really difficult to say no to fast food. Hav e you all been to Tokyo Joe's? You can get a bowl of brown rice with grilled chicken and vegetables on it with no sauce!! Is that awesome or what?

Robin, I read the posts from last week's thread and I want to "weigh in" on it. I am just getting starte d too, and I feel your pain. I'm on the ER4YT plan and have to fit it in to the BFL guidelines. This makes the free day not as free, but I still let myself have a Coke and a little chocolate on my free day. But no wheat or corn.

Here's a couple of motiva ting questions for you:

Are you ready to do this?
Can you do this for 12 weeks?
Why do you want to do this lifestyle?
What will it take to do it? (please see Meg's and Mel's anniversary diaries for the answers! :wink
and the big question.....
Can you live with this WOE? What will it take for you to be able to do that?

Answering these questions is never a one time thing. I struggle with them every day, but I am motivated to be strong and healthy for a lot of reasons, some of which even neg ate the answer to the question "why am I fat?" Every day I have to ans wer these questions deep deep down. But I still want to do it and I'm plugging away - I have even scheduled my second challenge!

Keep in mind that this isn't a one-time answer thing. It's a daily thing. Like M&M said, saying "no" a thousand times to t hat "just this once" is one of the keys to their success.

Hang in there, Robin, you can do this - we all believe in you!!! Just imagine us watching you eat and work out and you'll be just fine!

Sorry to blather on - I hope this helps someone, it's helped me to write it...

Everybody get HUGE this week!!!!

Good morning LWL

Karen, I'm with you. Whatever time works at getting me to the gym (and somedays I'm an am person someday's I'm there lunchtime and others it's the dinner hour), is the right time of day to train. I like to work it so it's first or second thing in the morning cause it's so much easier to workout when the gym is empty. I find I rely on my headphones as a crutch to get thru cardio and when the gym is crowded, the stereo is often blaring so loud, I can't even hear my music.

Jennifa, how about an insulated bag with ice packs for work? I'm a consultant. I work from my house, but often I spend the day at my clients' offices. It's rare that I rely on using their fridges, and since I need to be eating every 2-3 hours, that means I'm taking all my food on the road with me. I've got a bag that looks like a pocketbook and I stuff it with icepacks if necessary. This works when I have to be in the car for a good part of the day too. I *do* find it rough to get all my water in when most of the day is in the car though. NY doesn't have too many washroom facilities on the roads. <sigh>. I should amend that to the drinking isn't too tough... but the consequences aren't much fun.

Time for me to get busy here.

Have a great day everyone.

Jennifa - about the fridge, I know for a while when I was in outside sales, I took a cooler with some blue ice....kept the stuff cold all day. Do you have a microwave at work? If so you could take your food in the cooler and nuke. If not, then at least you can keep what you eat cold.

As for me, I actually was on another similar program for BFL for about 12 weeks. The exercise part worked great, the nutrition was not right for me. So that is why I am switching. I was just in a bit of a quandry about tweaking it, etc. So, I am ready to go.....I have been going, it was a matter of needing to clean up my act and get re-started again!

I also have to chime in about the gym thing. Whenever you can go is a good time!! I know it is best to do cardio in the AM, but more than likely I will be an evening girl with that also. Whatever works!!

Happy Monday to everyone!!

Robin

Just finished my first BFL workout and I'm not sure that I hit many 10's today. When I was done, my arms were shaking some, and I was really surprised that I worked up such a sweat, but I'm not sure if I really reached any 10's. I'm not sore yet, but figuring it will probably hit tomorrow or later.

I'm having a hard time with realizing that this is it for the day. I'm used to doing my cardio for 1 1/2 - 2 hours every day, and I was done in less than an hour today.

I'm excited about this though and looking forward to seeing some real changes.

Hi Mothergoose -- (shall we call you "Goose" -- do you go by something shorter? ) -- so glad you joined us over here! Congrats on your first workout and remember that muscle growth and repair happen when you are resting, so good things are going on in your body even when you aren't in the gym.

I had one thought for you as you start your Challenge -- be sure to take pictures and measurements every four weeks. I did measurements and BF % every four weeks and charted them, but never did photos and I really wish that I had. I think I was so embarrassed about my size that I didn't want to see it at the time, but I would so love to go back now and watch how my body changed. Since you've already lost so much weight, I think you'll quickly start to see a lot of body changes and having pictures to compare makes it so much easier to see.

See, Ilene wasn't so scary, was she? We just have to keep her out of the popcorn ....

Meg

Wow everybody,

Thanks for the cooler tips. I will give that a try!

Robin, good luck on your WOE. I totally understand your choice, and wish you luck. Bottom line is we have to live with the plan we pick. (___|___) or (__|__) is what we "end" up with!

As for me, I'm going for (_|_).

Meg, that is so weird, I was writing an email to my photographer friend when you were posting that! Saturday is the end of 4 weeks for me. I will have to hit the gym and get my fat analyzed (they always say I have GREAT fat! ) and then get into that bikini and get those photos done! Gah! Don't let me fall into despair, ladies, I'm gonna need your help this weekend!

xoxox

Ledom — if you’re worried that you somehow offended me, please don't give it another thought. There is no way that anything you said could be misinterpreted — it’s perfectly natural to be frustrated at times (and scared and mad and every other emotion) as we lose weight. Losing weight isn't easy, you know? I’m sure that every one of us has reached that point that you talk about in your post of just wanting to give up, figuring it will never work, and feeling disappointed and frustrated.

And like JC said in the previous thread, everyone’s body reacts differently to different plans. Because I didn’t do any kind of formal plan, my trainer and I just kept tweaking nutrition as I went along and we really learned how my body responds to certain calorie levels and ratios. My nutrition probably changed on a weekly basis as we tried different things. You are different, of course, and that’s why I’m such a big advocate of learning what works for YOU as a unique individual.

But don’t say that something is impossible. Why couldn’t you lose 100 pounds in a year if you wanted to? It’s about 2 pounds a week, which is pretty standard for any diet. I realize that your body may not want to give up the fat that fast and there’s nothing to do about that — but if you were 100% clean with your nutrition for a year, who knows where you could be at the end? I’m thinking that it could be very close to 100 pounds …

Meg

PS -- OK, have I lost my mind? I think I'm responding to a non-existent post?

sorry. That post just seemed so raw I went back and deleted it. Maybe it is better to let all that out in a private journal! I do so appreciate the spirit in which you took it and that you took the time to respond.

You know, there was a time in my life when 2 lbs. a week was standard for me. Somehow being on the verge of 50 and everything, those days seem long gone. I sure am not a perfect dieter, BUT, I have given up SO MUCH in terms of food and drink and it doesn't seem to matter much. OK, here I go again! It has mattered - your advice to MGoose, is good. I am sure pics would tell a dif. tale. I do look better, I have improved. But I've gone from a size 22 to a size 20 in 9 months. My results are SO frustrating.

Hey folks.. I made it back! Daughter and I had a wonderful trip, the food was off the scale, I didn't drink NEAR enough water, and exercise was limited to tourist walking. I just spent three days living like I used to constantly. *cringe* I'm SO ready to be back OP and working out. And of course my car developed real trouble not during the trip, but on the way to work this morning. So, it's in the shop, I caught a ride to work, and my boss will let me use the company truck till my car is roadworthy again. Now I just have to figure out how the heck I'm going to pay the million or so dollars it will inevitably cost to get the car fixed. *blah*

Jennifa - yep, coolers are wonderful things. I've used them MANY times to keep myself in relatively healthy food.

Ms.Goose - I know when I work to shaking/failure, my muscles will start to feel a little achy about 12 hours after the workout, more soreness will be evident the next day, and then the following day is peak ouchies. That's when, if I've done a really killer leg workout, I can barely walk up the stairs, or get out of a chair. My boyfriend points and laughs. I have to remind myself I love him. Or if it was arms, I can't pull off a shirt without dancing around like an idiot. Making sure you drink your water really does help, and glutamine has helped me, too. Cardio for 2 hours?? Holy cow, if I do 45 minutes it's a LONG cardio session. Of course with BFL, you're doing interval for 20, and that can just completely whip you. Interval is great! Glad to see you here!

Mrs Jim - Woo! Excitement on the horsie front! Let us know what you decide. Is it a full lease or half lease? We're heading over to the stable after being gone all weekend to see our baby.

Hope everyone is having a good Monday!

Meg / Ledom -- Yep I was a bit confused!! But ya know it doesn't take much to confuse me!!

Ledom -- Don't despair girl... If you're doing it right it's gotta change, altho the change is always too slow...

Food wise the weekend wasn't 100%, but maybe 80% so today is a new day, a new week, yay, a new start....

The funniest thing happened to me this morning, I went to the corner store and the lady behind the counter was looking at me funny, so I smiled, she said: "I was looking at your muscles! You MUST do weights or swim. " " I do weights and bike" I said ... Then she replied, "You have ALOT of muscle..." I'm not sure if this was a good thing for her or not... I did take it as a compliment... was it??

Jennifa -- A cooler was my first thought too and or thermos for warm stuff...

My husband has always been supportive of what I do at all times... whether it be food or exercise or anything... He'll eat anything I make, will never bring in stuff I can't handle, if he does buy something he doesn't tell me and hides it in the basement.... He's an awesome guy, ALL my friends are envious.... He's so good he bugs me at times!!! HE the slim guy will refuse deserts or junk before me when we go out!! Makes me look bad ...

I had a good leg workout this morning... I biked to the gym, that's no big deal, it's only 2.5k away... I weeded the garden too this morning...

Anyways D wants to get on the puter, so gotta run...

Later!!

Karen -- I love cereal too, right outta the box, the other day I caught myself eating Corn Pops!

Ilene I would take it as a compliment. I would love for someone to tell me I have great muscles. Maybe someday.

I am lucky with my hubby too. He wants me to succeed so he is doing whatever he can. Last night I told him I was PMSing and I wanted sweets (I didn't though) so instead of him making the cookies that he really wanted he ate ceral so I wouldn't have to smell them. What a great guy!

I am starting week 4 of BRx and I am doing great. (if I can say so myself) I have already gone down 3/4 on an inch in my waist. I didn't think I would see a change in the first cycle but it is really helping. I am sooooo happy. I tell everyone. I am like that commercial where the guy tells everyone he lowered his cholesteral. Well, I tell everyone I am losing inches. They can't shut me up.

Karen what is the name of the book that you are reading right now from the library? I went Firday to find it and drew a total blank. I need to bring something on vacation and I was hoping you could make some suggestions of what to read. I like reading non-fiction so the health books are right up my alley.

DANG!!!


I was just reading the online BFL website and I see why its so popular!!!

Authorized foods include Pasta, Popcorn and RICE CAKES!!!

Yet only 'egg whites' are authorized, rather than a whole egg??!!!



Can one of you BFL experts explain the logic here to me???
(had to edit, I'm not hip to using the HTML stuff. )

Meg, Goose? I like that. Wait a minute, wasn't that the guy in Top Gun that died? Maybe that means these work outs are going to kill me!!

Thanks for the advice. I did actually have my daughter take my pictures last night (the poor girl is wishing she was blind now!!) and it was with the digital camera, so nobody but me will ever see them, but I will have them to use to compare.

RavenToy-Thanks for letting me know about the pain factor. I will enjoy the next few hours and hope to be hurting by tonight. Then I'll know that I did it right!! I'm already worried about tomorrow, hoping that I'll push myself hard enough during the 20 minutes of cardio.

Ilene, I would definitely take that as a compliment!! I can't wait for the day I have muscles showing instead of flab!!