Woo! Sorry I was so late in starting a new thread!
Been a busy weekend for me - at the stables...then buckled down and CLEANED THE HOUSE big time...babysitting...plus Jim and I bought our Christmas present early this year - we don't give each other presents - what we do is buy something for the house. Last year it was a new TV and a DVD player - this year it's a surround-sound system (of course, with Jim being a musician and all, he likes the big theatre sound!). Took him all afternoon to get it working, and he'll be adjusting the speakers for the next month or so until it sounds perfect. I'm so glad HE enjoys doing that stuff, because I truly don't! I DID splurge on myself though - bought a Rio Sport MP3 player (my old Discman bit the dust around April of this year and I've been working out without music since then). I gotta tell you gals - it is AWESOME - so easy to download songs into that little gizmo - and NO SKIPPING! I didn't realize how much I missed having my tunes when working out!!! Too kewl!
Let me try and work my way backwards here...
CAC - WELCOME! Doing BFL as a vegetarian - depends on what SORT of vegetarian you are (speaking from someone who was a vegetarian - mostly lacto-ovo but with occasional forays into vegan - from 1991-2000). It CAN be done, but I can't see a vegan (no animal products at all) doing it successfully. Protein is so important in this - and soy protein isn't the greatest thing for building muscle unfortunately as it's not a 'complete' protein. If you can allow dairy and eggs into your diet - then you have a much better chance of success. And if you're a fish eating vegetarian - so much the better. I must say that once I gave up my vegetarian diet I felt MUCH better and healthier - I was borderline anemic for awhile due to lack of iron. But different strokes for different folks...you can also check at www.leanandstrong.com - I believe there are several vegetarians there...
Ledom - when traveling the first thing I do is check for a gym - and there should be one available in the area unless you're going to REALLY be in the sticks...check on the websites for 24 Hour Fitness, Gold's, World, Bally's or at www.heathclubs.com to see if there's one in the area. Other options are local community colleges, Park & Rec Center...YMCA...and also check the Yellow Pages as well for 'independent' gyms. Most gyms will allow you to buy a one-week membership if you're just traveling. I've never used resistance bands as generally speaking the places I travel to, I can find facilities without much trouble.
Sweet Chick - Your freeday hangover sounds like the ones I used to have...don't stress too much about it! IMO the first 12 weeks are the 'learning curve' of BFL. Especially if you've been dieting for your whole life, having the freedom of a day where you can eat what you want without guilt tends to make you (at first) want to eat everything you've ever wanted. Trust me - if you're eating clean the other six days of the week...you will eventually get over that Free Day bacchanalia. In my first challenge, my breakfasts were OBSCENE to say the least! Now I just have a Pamcake and I'm happy with that...yesterday I had a regular burrito and a frozen yogurt, and a few pieces of kappa maki (cucumber roll sushi). One valuable piece of advice that Susanje (where ARE you girl?!?) gave me a long time ago for Free Day is: KEEP DRINKING YOUR WATER on Free Day - shoot for a gallon if possible. Believe me, it really helps!
Gotta get back to work - I have to leave early today as our heater is being repaired this afternoon - so I'll likely be checking in again!