Welcome, Genesis & OptimistK! Great to have more folks on the challenge board.
Genesis, I loved your blog story. Barf out fer shur. I don't think I could handle the lake swimming. I have a hard enough time in the ocean!
Your blog looks like you are very active already. If you want to read more about lifting, I've been reading a book recently that is hard to put down. Arnold Schwarzenegger's The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. This book answered SOOOOO many questions I had about lifting! Personally, I find it incredibly reassuring to know that people with amazing bodies really have to work and work hard to get those bodies. There are lots of "struggle" and "work to failure" photos.
November, where are you? I hope you are at the gym?
OptimistK, it took me a year to lose 60 pounds on BFL a few years ago. I had a back injury and I'm cleared to work out hard at the gym again. I think that it's common for people to lose around 20 pounds per 12 week challenge. This is a good, steady weight loss pace. I'd love to lose more faster, but I know that just moving in the right direction is where I want to be. My body doesn't lose weight too quickly.
So how am I doing so far? Well, the scale is crawling downward, the tape measure is doing the same, but my clothes are fitting better and everything seems just a lot easier. It's week 4 for me, and I can feel a difference already. Every day is a hard workout, but every day is that much closer to living a more energetic and healthy life. (OK who am I kidding - every workout brings me closer to another free day!!!!)
I'm using FitDay for EVERY day, though, so it doesn't get too out of hand.
Had a stress-filled day today, so I came home and went for a bike ride to get the stress out of my head. And I got a wolf-whistle! There are some hills on my favorite bike path that used to be a bear to get over. Today they seemed a lot easier. I know I'm doing well - keep on keepin' on!