Body for Life #43

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  • Hi Cassie,

    Welcome!!! Two things:

    1) I think that the body needs to adjust to the healthy style of BFL. I don't remember having cravings when I started but I had been on WW about six weeks before I started
    2) Are you taking your free day? I found that whatever I craved could be satisfied on free day.

    When I first started, I told myself that if I worked hard during the week and stayed absolutely on plan, I could eat anything and everything that wasn't nailed down on Free Day. And I did. I think that it is a beautiful part of this plan and your reward for eating clean and working out all week.

    Also, like Carly said, the MRPs can take the edge off. I am into just pure protein powder with fresh fruit but there are all kinds of MRPs you can use that will take the sweet cravings away.

    Try putting some sugarfree/fat free jello pudding in a mylolite to thicken it or make mylolite pudding (mix up a myoplex lite and then add sf/ff jello pudding until it's pudding. When I was doing BFL last year I used to make up one vanilla pudding and one chocolate pudding and put some in a rubbermaid container and take with me. A mylo pudding is a LOT of pudding. If that doesn't take the sweets away, I don't know what will!!!!!!!!!!

    And again, there is always free day. You MUST take free day (or at least a free meal)..........it helps you stay motivated.

    Ask any questions you want to! That is what we're here for.
    Susan
  • Thanks for the advice. I have been taking my free day but I've not been able to save myself, from myself. All this self sabatoge is not good. This week was going so well, but last night all I could think about is a york peppermint paty resulting in a "free day" in the middle of the week if you know what I mean. I'm realy blowing it. I guess what it comes down to is self control. I should lock myself up and throw away the key when the sugar cravings start. Also since you both asked, yes I am using a MRP shake, it's called ISO Rx, but it hasn't made any head way with the cravings. Oh well I will keep trying. I have always had issues with binge eating and unfortunetly still do at times. As you can see below I used to weight close to 300lbs and that's where my binging got me. So on that note I will just keep trying to fight the sugar/binging thing. I really love BFL and truly want to make it work for me. Thanks again.
  • Kassie,

    A few suggestions:

    1) I keep a notebook that I log my daily journal entries. Food and workouts. I have a star/smiley face system. I make one chart for the week and I have 5 narrow columns and 1 wide column. In the 5 column headings are Cardio, UBWO, LBWO, Abs, Stretching/Yoga. Before I start the week I put a check mark in what days I'm going to do what workouts. For each day I do what the checkmark says I do, I put a star of a different color...When I did the week perfectly, I give myself a gold star at the end of each column. For the wide column I use smiley faces. I bought these at a teacher supply store but you can use other things as well. For each "clean" meal, I put a smiley face. I should have six smileys at the end of the day. In addition, I write down my six meals in the notebook in the pages following the week so if I'm not doing so well I can go back and review or if I am doing well I can go back and see what has worked.

    It's a psychological thing but as my stars and smilies pile up, I am feeling very proud of myself. For each week I have perfect workouts/eating clean, I buy a little something for myself. Last week it was a blouse and sweater vest and this week it was extension bands and a yoga mat.

    2) Make self promises. I also use my journal for that.

    3) Make goals.

    4) Read Self Promises/Crossing the Abyss again

    5) As Bill says, FAIL FAST. Do it and get it over with.....dont' dwell on it. Start each day fresh. Forget about past failures.

    YOU CAN SUCCEED!!! NO beating yourself up...just do it!!!!!!!!!!
    Susan
  • TERRIFIC advice from Susan there...
    let me just add a few things.

    In addition to a food/workout journal (There's an "official" 12-week transformation journal that EAS sells - I just use a regular ol' notebook but sometimes it helps to have something special to write in) I have found it incredibly helpful for years to keep a 'thoughts' journal. I keep a spiral bound journalbook on my nightstand in case I feel the need to write a few sentences. Many times when I feel like eating something 'unauthorized' when it's not my Free Day, I can quell that urge by writing in my book...sometimes about my workout, how GREAT I feel getting leaner, watching my muscles appear and the bodyfat disappear...or about work, my future, etc...my horseback riding...you get the picture! You'd be amazed at how much it helps.

    SUPPORT is SO essential - I know I couldn't have gotten this far in my transformation (I'm still in awe!) without the folks at www.LeanandStrong.com and of course right here at 3FC (of course many times that's part and parcel anyway - I can't wait til Susanje finishes law school so she has time to hang out at L&S again! ) If you're having problems with your menu - post over at Tall Jen's weekday menu thread there for critiquing - or ask here! Get a big ol' glass of water and hang out here for awhile...it really helps.

    If you crave something before your Free Day (Saturday is always the worst for me -- esp when Jim has a gig and I'm home alone with Sparky - I still have to fight the urge to do some solo binging - ingrained since childhood I guess) a good idea is to WRITE IT DOWN. After all, the store will NOT run out of Peppermint Patties, Snickers bars, or Ben & Jerry's before your Free Day. Any time you crave something, write it down on a Post-It note, or a whiteboard, whereever - put it somewhere like your fridge door or bulletin board - and then you'll remember to buy it on Free Day when you can REALLY enjoy it. Something that also helps me is to remember that there is ALWAYS less than a week before the next Free Day. My past history on Free Days is that the day after I am suffering from a "Free Day hangover" so on Monday I can't WAIT to get back to clean eating! Usually I don't start thinking about Free Day again until Thursday or Friday...

    Just tell yourself...the candy will still be there on Free Day. If not, you can always buy what you want...and eat it without GUILT.

    Like Susan and Carly both said - the Myoplex Lite shakes help with those sugar/sweet cravings IMMENSELY. My fave of course is Cappuchino Ice Myo Lite with FF/SF butterscotch pudding mix added! It comes out nice and thick - the more you blend the Myo Lite, the thicker and creamier it becomes. I'd LOVE to get a Vitamix blender and make a 'ice-cream' consistency Myo Lite...it would almost be worth the $400!

    I also PLAN AHEAD. The key to success in BFL (or just about anything for that matter!) is PLANNING. Every evening, I write down what my workout is going to be and review my menu for the next day. Giving yourself (non-food) rewards is a great motivator too. I actually just bought myself two new outfits for my Miami trip and also as a reward! Workout clothes are also a great 'reward' type present for yourself and if you go somewhere such as Target or Sportmart you can often find them on sale!

    Whew!

    Just had to say I was doing chest and triceps today at the gym...during incline bench presses, I noticed that my arms were looking really BUFF. Like Pam's arms in the Energy article (pg 124). I am NOT kidding. Can't wait to see my quads start poppin' out!
  • I am soooooooo happy
    just finishing off week 7.........lordy where does the time go........just seems like last week I began this program.......

    Well I finally decided to measure myself.......can you believe I didn't do it up until now because I was afraid of the outcome......*meaning no change*.......even though I could see and feel the changes......so today after my shower I said.....you just have to do it


    I have lost a total of almost 8 inches from head to toe


    I did gain in one place however and that is both my calves.......I was looking at my calves the other day and I noticed muscle definition...... so the gain does not bother me there

    I will say that MrsJim I agree with your thought first on last off.....my worst area is my hips.....and that is the place I lost the least........ .5 " but this will not discourage me......it is funny actually my pants are loose in my legs and waist.......but still fit the same in the hips......

    I have a question my highest weights on my upper body is now 20lbs per side.....and well I told those two sales reps this and when he felt my muscle *as I stated in my previous post here* he said to be careful that I would get too big

    so tell me is it possible to get overly muscular in the upper body with 20lbs a side..........because I didn't think so.....to get the huge muscles I thought you had to lift alot more....

    and just to fill you in I am not small....and I am not talking weight here......... cause.....I wouldn't be here if I didn't have a weight issue.....*which I will nip in the bud*.......I am almost 6' tall and large boned.....have always had arm strength.....I know when I flex in the mirror I like the results I am getting........but I don't want to be a hulk.......


    Opinions on this please


    Susan this maybe a dumb question but what exactly is a walking lunge......time to change my routine some.......and that sounds interesting.......


    tonight I had to return some movies to the video store.......and we are having 85kmh winds........well it was easy getting there I got pushed the whole way........but coming back Whoa I was walking against the wind........it was hard..........I think I had a cardio workout whether I wanted to or not.........and it is my free day..........

    and with all the blowing my cats are going squirelly......poor babies.......one is snuggled up under my arm as I type this.....


    well I am going on and on here......

    time to get

    THANKS FOR LISTENING
  • From the Krista Smash website...
    Kel - this is from the "Crap List" at the Krista Smash! website...should answer your question pretty well re: "getting too big".
    Quote:
    You can get too big from weight training.

    Sorry, I thought we were all over that idiocy by now, but the Globe and Mail's style section for July 28, 2001 tells me that to wear the new fashions I have to have a nice back. Okay, I can see that. But then they give me my workout tips for it: doing some kind of row with a 2 to 5 pound weight, working my way up to 12-15 reps. Don't use any more weight, the article cautions, otherwise you'll add unwanted bulk. FOR THE LAST F***ING TIME, YOU CANNOT GET TOO BIG FROM LIFTING WEIGHTS! A NON-DRUG-USING MALE TRAINEE WOULD HAPPILY CRAWL ON HIS LIPS THROUGH A FIELD OF LEECHES TO ADD FIFTEEN CRUMMY LITTLE POUNDS OF MUSCLE A YEAR! DO YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE SOMEHOW SO SPECIAL THAT YOU WILL DEFY THE LAWS OF PHYSIOLOGY AND SUDDENLY BECOME HUGE ONE DAY? WAKE UP AND SMELL THE G**D***ED TESTOSTERONE, HONEY! WHAT'S THAT? YOU CAN'T? OH, PERHAPS THAT IS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU BULK UP???? RAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH KRISTA SMASH!!
    (BTW this is a great website at http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html - lots of fun info)

    Just lookit the L&S Transformation Gallery for more evidence...right now my high weight on DB Flat bench press is 32.5 DB's in each hand...so don't listen to those sales reps. You are NOT going to get too big!!!

    Night all!
  • Thanks MrsJim
    I needed that.....

    I had a feeling.......but I always like to check.......
  • Hi Kelster,

    Congratulations on inches lost!!!!!!!!!!! woo woo!!!

    Walking Lunge: Well it's a Lunge but instead of moving your leg back and then going forward with the other leg, you bring the other leg forward so that you're moving forward all the time (walking). I don't know if I'm explaining this correctly. Think of doing a lunge. You're standing with feet together and then you "lunge" forward with one leg. The front leg goes out and down and the back leg slides back. You hold that position for your count. Now instead of bringing the front leg back, you swing the back leg forward so that you are taking giant steps. Does that make sense? It's like taking GIANT STEPS (like when you were a kid) only you go down and hold the count to tax the muscles.

    And tax it does. I think it was doing it up the stairs because I have aches where I have never had aches before....like from my ankle bone to just below the side of my knees. My ankles are sore but it's the muscles around my ankles. It was very weird hobbling on and off the bus today. I thought they were going to put the handicapped platform down for me. How embarrassing...but I did my cardio this morning...and though I was sore, I got through it.

    Tonight I did my UBWO and I went up a holder in powerblocks. I have no idea what weight I'm at--I should check out the site and see......I did a full routine then I loaded up the weight and ran through like 5 exercises for each body part in quick succession...yow yow yow....I dont' normally do UBWO and cardio on the same day but I screwed up my schedule this week and that's how it turned out, so I did one early in the morrning (7 am cardio) and one in the evening (8 pm UBWO).

    Tomorrow is yoga/Pilates and tomorrow night I'm having Indian food and Girl Scout Cookies. Yum Yum Yum.



    Susan
  • Free day blues
    Ugh- 2 free meals have left me bloated and feeling like something that washed ashore yesterday. And I didn't even pig-out on junk food. Went to a Chinese New Years Banquet and ate what I thought were reasonable portions, but everything was so full of cornstarch, salt and other unknowns that I couldn't even get my normally falling-off rings onto my fingers. Then had a neighborhood progressive dinner, again "normal" portions, but a bit of everything, and I feel like I've been hit by a truck! Can't believe I used to eat this way and worse, regularly. Probably feel so aweful since its only the second time I've broken my sugar-free lifestyle since last July. And last time I swore I wouldn't do it again, too .

    Kelster- just repeating what MrsJim says- I use 30 lb dumbbells for my max set on curls and 35 on presses and my biceps are actually smaller than they were 10 weeks ago. But rock hard and defined. The only part of me thats gotten bigger is my back- the dress I bought 3 weeks ago is too tight up top even though my bra is too big now. I figure it's gotta be that the dreaded pull-ups and all those rows are finally doing something. Unless you are taking banned substances, you are NOT going to get huge! My quads also are smaller although I have increased my leg press max from 325 to 525! Again, hard, with some definition starting.

    The only parts that have gotten bigger are my calves (good!)which I've really been working for, and my waist is exactly the same as 10 weeks ago (BAD). There was a thread or two on this on L&S and I think I'm going to lighten up on obliques, because I've always had a lack of waist problem, and this is making it worse!

    Hi Cassie, welcome aboard.

    Today is my rest day and I need it from my carb and sugar overdose!

    Have a good day, mel
  • groan....
    ohhhhh.... free day yesterday..... need I say more. This is the first time that I've overdone it - but its also the first time I haven't been heavier the next morning!!???

    Didn't lose any weight this week - but my measurements are looking good - down everywhere except forearms I think.

    not a lot else to say today - heading off to the gym for my LBWO.

    byeee - Carly
  • THANKS
    Susan .......thanks I feel great......and yes your explanation made perfect sense......I could visualize it.......I know things are going well.......I have all these weird dents in my legs now..... .......I was told that is the fat freeing itself......well I tell ya it does look weird.......but I like trying new things.....and like I said at the end of this week it is time to change routines again......I am heading into the home stretch......G.....I am on my 8th week tomorrow.......WOO HOO..........whoed a thunk it

    mel thanks for that......I was pretty sure but like I said to MrsJim......I had to check......wow 30 and 35 lbs.......the 20lbs is just new to me.......and I can feel it when I am done......you know when I thought about this program I never thought I would be able to lift this much.......and I know in time......it will be more......I just love the way it makes me feel.......and well the way it makes me look...... now the trouble I am having is that I work out at home.....and do not feel I am doing too much with my legs.......I just don't have the right stuff.....and well currently I can't join a gym........what's a girl to do........


    Carp have a great LBWO!!!
  • Hi all!

    Wow! Everyone is doing so well! We've been covered up at work so I haven't had a chance to post.

    Found out Friday that I've been standing backwards in the Smith machine to do squats. I'd been getting mega definition right above my knees but not the rest of my thigh. The only other woman who works out when I do finally mentioned it to me. sheesh...

    Kelster, I figure that every little bit I gain in my upper arms keeps my "batwings" firmer. God forbid I should have a nice, tight body and "wingspan."

    Well, I'll keep this short. Got into the sugar yesterday and am bloated today. (Yesterday was free day, but I overdid it a bit). No one to blame but me, and at least I confined my mishap to Free Day.

    I am very relieved to see plain old chicken and veggies and carbs today!

    Take care, all! More later!