So, I'm on my third week of the body for life. Everything's going just fine and I'm happy with it. I'm just wondering if any of you have tweaked the "rules" slightly. My problem is that financially, I don't feel comfortable spending as much money as I do while doing this challenge. I work at a restaurant so it's really hard for me to pass up the free food. Recently, I discovered the nutrition information on the soups we carry. Now, I know that the Body for Life food list is very specific, but I'm wondering if you'd consider this soup acceptable.
The sodium is probably my biggest concern. Honestly, this isn't life or death, I'm just wondering to which degree each of you follow the program. I don't believe it will have a HUGE impact on my weightloss, especially since I'm following the every 2-3 hours and it's only 215 calories.
Also, what results have you seen while on the BFL challenge? I haven't seen much of a difference on the scale, but I definitely feel like my body has changed for the better. Oh, and I LOVE the free day.
I guess I should also give you and idea of what my other 5 meals look like.
1) 1 cup egg beaters/ 1/2 cup oats / 1 cup veggies
2) whey protein shake with soy milk
3) 2 veggie burgers and 1 cup veggies, cooked in 1 tbsp olive oil
4) 1 cup non-fat yogurt / 1/2 cup LF cottage cheese
5) EAS or myoplex bar
This is just an example and not ALWAYS exact, but that's a general idea if it helps.
I also run 2-3 miles 3 days/week and lift weights 3 days a week.
Thanks in advance for your help and I hope everyone's doing well!
I don't follow the eating plan that they give, I just watch my caloric intake, try to balance the p/c/fats, and I do follow the workouts, but including upping the cardio to 6x/wk bc I have a ton of fat to burn.
I'm still reading BfL this week so I haven't started the challenge yet, but with sodium I try to keep my daily mgs at or below 2400 (I think - I don't have my journal on me) which is from a guideline I picked up from one of the govt websites. Sodium will retain water, so in a small way it does effect the scale. I usually drink 60-80oz water a day, but I def make sure the water intake is up on high sodium days to help flush it out.
I'm a calorie counter so I will probably use the Mouth piece that Dr Peeke has in her book as a guideline for smart choices until I feel comfortable with not journaling every morsel of food, then I might use her guideline a little more stricter. Small steps.....
For a strict BFL meal, the carbs are too high for the protein. You should probably add a strip or two of chicken breast or a half cup of cottage cheese to make it a complete meal.
I'd also be more concerned about the sodium. It doesn't look like you are eating too much during the rest of the day, but 640 mg in one serving of anything is a lot.
I no longer follow BFL. 5 BFL style meals are plenty for me now that I've hit maintenance. I actually gained scale weight although I lost 2 jeans sizes during my first challenge.
If this is your first challenge, I'd do it as close to "by the book" as you can. If you're seeing body changes at three weeks, I think you're doing great! You're in a "golden state" for muscle building right now.
Hi Tara - I'm a long-time BFL'er, and I can tell you that when I have to, I use nutrition info from a food/meal to judge it - it may or may not have the right foods, but I figure if I'm at the vary least balancing my carbs and proteins, and keeping calories below 400, that I'm ok to eat it.
I agree with Mel about your soup - definitely needs more protein to balance out those carbs. Chicken breast would be a great addition.
I don't think the sodium is that bad - again, agreeing with Mel that the rest of your foods don't look too sodim-laden. Just make sure you're getting a lot of water in if you're eating higher-sodium foods. I often cook with taco seasoning mix or ranch dressing mix, but I only do it once every other week or so, and do try to drink more water on those days.
During my first two challenges I didn't worry so much about eliminating processed foods - I figured if I was balancing everything and keeping my caloric intake where it needed to be, I was doing ok. And I did - lost weight and dress-sizes. During later challenges I then focused on eliminating all "white" foods and anything processed.
Bill Phillips says "progress, not perfection", so if working the free food into your plan can keep you on plan, then I think you're doing great!
Cindy
Thanks for your replies! This is actually "technically" my first time doing BFL, since I didn't finish the first time. That was three years ago, though. I just know I saw amazing results the first time just half way into it. I let depression get the best of me back then. Now I have control of it. I'm not going to be able to finish the full 12 weeks this time, because I leave Dec. 5th for basic training (USAF). This is just all part of getting as physically fit and healthy as I can before I have someone drilling me. Oh, and chicken would be an easy addition, because we have that at work. I am, however, vegetarian, so that doesn't work for me. I'll definitely take the cottage cheese recommendation into consideration for the protein. And you're right, I don't eat much sodium throughout the day other than that. I chose that specific soup over the vegetable and lentil soup, because the sodium of those soups are doubled. Thanks again for the advice!
Sodium and Body for Life
