Oh TH!

Ya know what - I hung out with the Rev Lovejoy (Andy) quite a bit during the Lift weekend. I would HIGHLY recommend shooting him an email...if you don't want to post on the main board (believe me, EVERYONE has been where you are with the mojo thing). Repeat after me...YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE!!! Talked a bit with Pam at the lift as well. Ya know she failed on BFL THE FIRST DAY, but she picked herself back up and kept at it.

YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

I don't read the ETL board but I really think you should post there...and DO email the Rev...you can both support each other. He wants this so badly, as do you...and I'm convinced the only reason I've succeeded in this is because of the support I get both here and at L&S...

Take care...I'll write more later but gotta fly and get some work done...

Hello girls,

It seems there are alot of new people on the BFL forum....Hi and welcome everyone....It feels like ages since I last posted, but I've been lurking in my free time but I just haven't had time to post.
TH ~~ don't despair, we're all here for you, and we all have the diet slumps, they ARE a pain in the you know what... but hang in there, and talk, talk, talk, to anyone who understands. Mainly us here and at L&S, I lurk there alot lately and have learned mega stuff....And to quote our Mrs.J: YOU CAN DO IT TOO!

Tracy ~~ I've read about the calcium in several magazines lately, I often take the extra supplements, but since being of BFL I don't feel I need any, my PMS is honestly almost gone. I rarely get sugar cravings anymore, I think it may be because I eat so regularly that I'm rarely ravenous and don't let my insulin go too low...

JC ~~ I certainly don't want to be a model either, but I just wanna look like one.... I too lately love my arms, tanned and smooth... gotta love that

Mrs.Jim ~~ Jello light is my new favorite condiment LOL... Just a ? about your breakfast of oatmeal and eggwhites, do you mix them up and zap them in the microwave or eat them separately? I've been zapping the oatmeal water and eggwhites in the microwave... AND sprinkling Jello with it and mixing it then zapping it again.... MAN it's delicious.... What I also like is mixing one cup of frozen fruits and one cup of cottage cheese adding Jello (of course) and some stevia sweetner and using my handy dandy Braun hand mixer and making a pudding... To die for... Really when you think about it who needs junk food when clean food is this delicious....225# squat Mrs.J... WOW!! I used to squat 15 years ago... don't know why I stopped, I will try to get back into it, you just gave me yet another good idea to work on... I can leg press 320#, do I don't think it would take me too long to work myself up there along with you... As you girls mentioned belts, I never wore a belt either when I squated heavy... Mrs.J, do you have a spotter tho? You know Mrs.J, you are a fountain of knowledge and a great inspiration. I always look forward to reading your posts...

Hubby has been on vacation and we've been cleaning/renovating around the house. I've still been good at getting up at 5AM for the gym or for my walks and biking... and food wise other than yesterday, when I had a bit of a downfall, I have been clean...

?? for everyone, I fell off program yesterday... I'll tell yas all what happened...I gave blood. Before leaving for the blood clinic I had a quick raisin bagel ( I know not a good BFL choice) but it was the quickest, but now that I think about it there were some baked potatoes in the fridge I could've had instead, anyways, I gave blood and at the end of my donation, I started feeling very nautious, not a good feeling at all... The nurse said I should have given my bagel an hour at least to digest, I don't know why I didn't realise that, duh!! Anywho, the nurse suggested that I eat some sweets to bring my sugar up a bit, this was also cause for my weak spell... So I did....DID I FEEL AWFUL OR WHAT!!!!! The sugar made me want to sleep, sleep, sleep.... I was in bed at 8:45PM.... My ?? is this: Is this considered my free day?? I sure hope not, I was so looking forward to a BBQ we're having on Sunday! But if it is, so be it... I'll have no problem on Sunday sticking to BFL...

My other ? is this: Is having a glass of wine or 2 with a meal considered a free day? Specially if the rest of the meal and day was clean....

Well I can't believe how longwinded I am tonite, I guess that's what happens when you don't post for a week...

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend... and take care all..

Lana....

Hi there Lana - wow, you are just bubbling over today! Whew!

Ya know what - must be the season to give blood - because I just gave last week (we have a blood drive a few times a year at work). And guess what? The nurse will NOT LET YOU LEAVE until you eat something from the table...which was laden with cookies, bagels, cut fruit, juices, cookies, you know all that sugary stuff. I was also feeling sorta weak (typical when I give blood) so I did have a bagel and some fruit. Dern it, I gave a pint of blood so I didn't feel guilty about it. And no, I didn't call it "free day". One thing to understand about Free Day is that it is PLANNED. That's the beauty of it all.

I lurk around other threads/forums here and I see quite a few folks adopt "free day" in their diets. The only thing is, they don't plan it at all...so what happens is they cheat, then proclaim it Free Day impulsively. Ya know what happens...they start having two Free Days a week...three Free Days...

I like what Hussman says about it:
About the wine...personally I'm not a wine drinker...or much of an drinker anyway (of alcoholic bevvies that is). But if I was, I'd either save it for Free Day or have maybe a small sip or two at most. The thing about alcohol is it tends to make you lose control and eat more...

I actually don't have a spotter when I lift - at 4:30 am it's tough to find someone else to work out with...I'm just super careful, that's all. I always squat in the rack with the bars at just above waist level.

When I make oatmeal and eggwhites, I just make oatmeal in the microwave, and use my eggwhites to make an omelette. One day though I have to try a pancake recipe. Pam just posted one in the Cooking Library - I think I'll try it this weekend:

Oatmeal/Egg White Pancake
¾ cup uncooked oatmeal
7-9 egg whites
3 Tablespoons Splenda (sweetener)
Cinnamon to taste (usually about ½ teaspoon)
Vanilla Extract to taste (usually about a capful)

Blend all ingredients in blender or with hand blender on a low speed just until everything is blended. Pour in med/large pan (heated to medium with Pam spray). Let cook until bubble form on top and start to pop to form open holes (usually 5 minutes). Flip and let cook another 3 minutes. Makes one large pancake.

Occasional adders:

1/3 c. nonfat cottage cheese (makes it more moist)
½ cup blueberries (I add them after I have poured the batter into the pan… can get messy)
1 Tablespoon peanut butter (be careful, you don’t want this to become habit)

Gotta run...have a great Friday!

I'm felling good after W2 of C3! Got my strength and motivation back and only 1 little slip food-wise in the 2 weeks: 11 yr old ds came home from a month away at camp in Italy amd I bought a choc. cake for his "coming home dinner". Thought I'd picked one that was unappealing enough that I wouldn't be tempted, but I did have a piece w/ some ice cream. Unplanned, unclean and certainly not sugar free! But, it's over, I felt like I'd had a couple of shots the next morning ( haven't had an alcohol hangover in years, but the sugar-carb ones seem just as bad!). A good hard back workout and buckets of water cleaned out the system and I'm back on the wagon. I'm especially happy that I'm really looking forward to each workout again (except shoulder and bicep day, I just hate that!) since last week I just went through the motions.

Lanaii- I had an occasional 1 glass of dry red wine on c1 and until halfway thru c2. Now I'll have 1 glass on free day. Somewhere in the book (I gave mine away so can't quote), Bill P. does say you can have an occasional glass. But as you get closer to goal, I think it does impede your progress. I've seen better results without it. But if it keeps you on the program and makes life livable- you gotta nake the choices for yourself.

Thunder: Hang in there, keep reading and posting. Good to know everything is OK. As MrsJ suggested, try posting on the ETL board. I lurk there alot, having fought a 20 year battle with the binge monster. I know It's always lurking around the corner for me, but for the last year I've been "in remission". Just going thru the motions and the fear of what could happen to me if I ever stop keeps me in line.

MrsJim: Saw that pancake recipe but can't figure out what in the world a serving is! For me, a meal is 5 eggwhites with 1/4c. dry oatmeal. So thats either a real high carb meal, or 2 real low protein meals. I'm planning on doing pancake experiments today. May Just stick to my vegie overload omelettes with oatmeal. Good way to get more vegies in.

Did the caliper thing this morning and was under 18% for the first time ever!

mel

Hi girls,

Thanks for all the great insight. I was looking forward to logging on today just to get some answers...

I remember reading that on the Hussman site, and it's such common sense... That's how most of us are part time dieters at one time or another... With BFL it's the first time I really commit...

Mel!! 18% BF. whoa!! good for you, you must be proud....

Tomorrow will be my free day, and the only thing I will take that is out of the ordinary is some wine, (I like my dry red wine) and a piece of cake. We are celebrating my sister-in-law's home coming after being away for a whole month at a Yoga camp in the mountains... She is now a qualified Yoga teacher... Her and I have always wanted to take this course, and she finally decided to do it... Now that she's taken it tho I don't want to go alone anymore...... It was really tough for her and very intense from what my brother has been telling me from their telephone conversations... Anyways I can't wait to see her, I admire her so much for getting out of her comfort zone and doing this... and now I'm looking forward to talking some Yoga classes with her in the fall....

Anyways gotta go groceries shopping for the BBQ tomorrow...

Take care all....

Lana...

Hey Mel - on that pancake recipe, you can adjust it to whatever your serving size is. This is where counting grams comes in handy. Eggwhites are 3 grams of protein each, and a 1/2 cup of dry old fashioned oatmeal has 27g of protein. So you could adjust the serving accordingly, I suppose.

Today was a busy, busy day...had another GREAT riding lesson. I have a new instructor (Dee Dee also teaches but she's usually busy training the show horses). Actually I've known her for over a year - she works for Dee Dee and is one of the top five Junior Amateur riders in the US right now. Her name is Sara and I really like her I forgot my carrots though! but had some Mother's Oatmeal Cookies saved from Free Day in a brown paper bag in the car - we were planning on driving to Livermore after the lesson and I brought them along for Jim. Well - since I forgot the carrots I fed them to Butch, Freight, and Kotari (the lesson horses) after the hour was over. They loved 'em! They had been such good boys that they deserved a little treat afterwards.

Afterwards we went to Livermore to pick up a bike that Jim traded for on the Net, then stopped at a dealer to test-drive a PT Cruiser. THOSE ARE SUCH NEAT CARS!!! I WANT ONE SO BADLY!!! But first I want to get my other stuff taken care of before I take on a car loan...I don't want to be 'car poor' even though I hate to rely on Jim to chauffer me everywhere. I've been in deep doo-doo financially before (during and after my first marriage) and I don't want that to happen again...

Whew! It was 90 degrees out today, I'm going to hop in the tub with some Calgon and soak my bones for awhile with a good book. BTW, here's some MrsJim recommended reading!!!

"The Nanny Diaries" just finished that - REALLY good book...but whether it's a 'repeat read' remains to be seen...

"Confessions of a Shopaholic" and the sequel "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan" by Sophie Kinsella. FUN VACATION READ. Make sure you read them in order, though!

A book I had been SO looking forward to (for 12 years) but turned out to be a disappointment was "The Shelters of Stone" by Jean M. Auel. It took forever to slog through it and I just can't seem to pick it up again. I DO recommend the entire "Earth's Children" series (starting with "The Clan of the Cave Bear"), but the only reason to read Shelters of Stone is in anticipation of Book 6 (the last book in the series). Hopefully we won't have to wait another 12 years to read it...Imagine - I was 19 when I read "Clan of the Cave Bear" and Book 5 didn't come out until I was almost 40! Jeez.

Hello everyone. I have done a BFL Challenge once before, and I started another one Sunday. The first time I did it, i was very successful, but I have since fallen thru on the nitrition part. I used to be a regular poster on L&S, but now I am one of the lurkers. I am going to do my Challenge with the help of Cathe Friedrich weight tapes. She has advanced aerobic and weight tapes that are awesome. I have trouble with the BFL weight workouts, I can't push myself as hard, or reach the intensity as I can with her tapes. I know it is not exactly the right way, but it says in the rules that you can do the Challenge how you want, but the BFL way is recommended. Maybe when I am done, I can post my pics and you can see. I have a treadmill, so on the cardio, I am all set. My biggest problem is the nutrition part. I get bored, and don't change my menu enough!!!! But, I am bound and determined to do it this time, maybe you guys can help me!!!! Thanks for listening......
Lori S.

Hi LuLu! Welcome aboard, or back as the case may be. If you post on the main thread, instead of starting a new one, we'll all see your posts and reply. Come join us, and good for you on starting another challenge!

mel

Lori,

I'm new here too. This is my first post and when I saw you use Cathe it caught my eye. I LOVE Cathe. Can't beat her in my opinion as far as strength training videos. Her S/H series might be a good series to use for this. I did a 4 week S/H series right before starting BFl and I got some great strength benefits. As far as cardio I use Interval Max, MIC and Gin Miller's Intense Moves. Right now I'm doing BFL weights but after my first challenge, I'll probably go back to Cathe's S/H series for a few weeks. I'm dying for her new pyramid series to come out!

Colleen

I have been on an unstructured (for the most part) diet since March 1 2002. I have done really well, but fell it is time to go to the next level. I ordered the Body for Life book from Barnes and Nobel yesterday and cannot wait until it gets here! I hope to get the book read and begin my 12 weeks by 8/5/02. All of you guys who have succeeded with BFL (or other plans for that matter) are a great inspiration to me. Thanks for all of your stories!

Kat

Nice to meet you LuLu, Colleen and Kat!

I hope that we can be an inspiration to you too! There is a lot of experience on this board so ask any questions you have and I am sure that someone will answer them!

Mrs Jim : I soooo hate you Karen I want a PT Cruiser as well!
But I want to buy a house first, so I guess that I will have to wait!

JC

Hey JC - Just 'cos I WANT one doesn't mean I GET one!! I wish that were true - then I'd have a horse as well

I didn't even know the PT Cruiser was available outside the US. They are WAY cool aren't they? Right now they have some great financing deals, but I'm probably going to wait until Bonus Time (end of November). That gives me some time to get some bills paid down...and I'm thinking of leasing rather than buying since selling a used car is SUCH a headache. One thing I know for sure - I don't want another beater car. If we want to buy a house in this area, we would have to win the Lotto first - a starter home in this area is around $500,000 - NO KIDDING - even with the job market and economy being crappy, home prices are still insane here!

I want a horse property anyway - in other parts of California you can find properties quite reasonably priced. Of course, salaries aren't as high Ya just can't win!!!

ANYway, back to the subject at hand!!!

Welcome to all the newbies...I know I saw MsTrish post at TJ's thread. Trish, if you're reading this, please feel free to post questions here as well ANYTIME!!

Lori S - I'm not really a video person - one thing I have learned about this bodybuilding business is that there are SO many theories and methods, it can get quite confusing...high reps/low weight...low reps/high weight...high-carb...low-carb...One thing I know for sure is that the nutrition is most of it (of course that's the toughest part for me). The closest you get to eating unprocessed clean foods, the greater your success at fat-loss. Supplements can help but can't replace clean eating and intense workouts!

Kat - hope you get the book soon. I suggest you read it carefully - a couple of times - and PLEASE don't skip over the chapter "Crossing the Abyss". It might be the most important chapter in the book IMO!

Whew! time to take a long hot bath, then meal #6 and off to bed. BTW JC - remember how I've said that Sparky throws up all the time? I was at the pet-food department of a local store - the guy who runs the department has a degree in animal nutrition from Colorado State University - and he said that Sparky's problem is most likely the food (Friskies and Whiskas store brands). Anyway, we switched him over to a new cat food called Pinnacle - and he hasn't chucked up since. This is like clean eating for cats (the guy said that we were feeding Sparky the equivilent of Happy Meals and candy bars before). It even has EFAs and Omega 3's in it!

Yes they are available over here and are totally gorgeous in my book but a little bit pricey! I just paid off my car anyway so it will be a while before I buy another one. We just bough hubby a motorbike as well - so we have enough vehicles between us at the moment!!

Home prices are crazy here as well. Sydney happens to be the most expensive city in the country and basic homes go for around $400 - $500,000 as well. Ray and I are looking at buying something that is about 50 years old and renovating into Federation style. That way we may only have to pay around $350,000 for a 2 bedder and then we will just extend. We have outrageous taxes here as well so the costs are astronomical when buying a house, and we don't get any tax breaks whatsoever.

I got your message btw and I emailed the girl at L&S. I had seen it earlier in the day when lurking. I tried to respond to your message but it told me that your inbox was too full and so I had to try later.

I DO remember Sparky being sick all the time and I can't agree MORE with the Pet store guy. I feed my boys fresh food every day with only small amounts of dry food. I buy ground up chicken carcuses and cook it up with frozen veggies and some rice, then I freeze it in big containers until I need it. I make about 2 weeks supply at a time and they absolutely love it! Every time I go to the vet they can't get over how healthy they are and how shiny their coats are! They very rarely throw up and usually it's when they have been eating the grass! Weird habits my youngest has? Then once a fortnight they get a brisket bone to chew on for their teeth.

Anyway I am glad that sparky isn't sick anymore the poor little thing! Are you still looking for a girlfriend for him? You are right though clean eating applies to everything living not just us humans! The less processed the better.

Even my hubby is cleaning up his eating! Heaven forbid!

JC

JC - I WISH I had time to make Sparky fresh food! He seems to like this stuff, maybe not as much as Dental Diet (which resembles Kellogg's Corn Pops) but he's eating it and that's what matters...One of these days I need to get a bone for Sparky to chew on to see if he likes it! I never thought of that!

Jim and I are kind of on the fence about getting another kitty. The big question is: what if they don't get along? Then we're in trouble - we'd have to take Miss Kitty back to the pound and we would HATE doing that. According to the documents we got with him, Sparky has been an 'only child' his whole life. However - the black and white cat has been coming by - on Sunday (when Jim and I were sleeping in) we were awakened by a ruckus - Sparky was knocking over the empty 5-gallon water bottles by the door because he was running back and forth by the picture window looking out into the backyard. I thought it was a squirrel or dove agitating him, so I took a look outside and it was MISS KITTY, just sitting there staring at him from about 7 feet away! After a minute or two, she just turned around and strolled away...Mr. Spark was a bit wound up after that!

I love the Bay Area and my job - but if I could find a job that pays as well in Sacramento or thereabouts, with the opportunity to buy something affordable with space for HORSES, you bet your sweet bippy I would be considering it! My oldest sister actually lives in a little town in the Gold Country with her hubby and 6 kids. My baby sister thinks I'd go nuts without MALLS but as long as I have an Internet connection I don't see a problem - Jim and I both love the outdoors.

Ms. Trish - I saw your post regarding MrsBishwit's recipes on L&S but I'm having trouble posting to L&S right now. I hope you are reading this...I have not been to the Bishwit site myself, although I know of it. My advice to you - since this is your first BFL Challenge - would be to read the book VERY CAREFULLY - make a copy of the Eating-for-LIFE list and bring that with you when you shop as a guide. I also saw your question to TJ regarding Egg Beaters. I used to use EggBeaters quite a lot but now just use 'real' eggs because EB's can be VERY pricey indeed - Safeway always has 2fers on cartons of eggs - usually 18 count cartons which go for around $2.19 - vs. Eggbeaters at, oh, about $3.00 or so for the equivilent of 8 whole eggs. So basically I get 3 dozen eggs for the same price as 8 EggBeaters eggs! For me it's all about saving money - especially these days...

I'm going to give L&S another go. My internet connection here is SO difficult today! More later folks!

This is my first post to this forum, so hello! I discovered the website a few weeks ago and have been visiting a variety of the threads to see what's what, etc. I hadn't heard of Body for Life until visiting (I know, I have to get out more -- when I went to a bookstore, there were copies of the book everywhere!) I'm very exciting about trying a 12 week challenge -- Although I've been somewhat athletic over the years (notwithstanding the 75 pounds of extra week I've been carrying with me), it's been a long time since I've done any weight lifting. Intuitively, it makes sense that I would have to increase my muscle mass to help increase my metabolic rate . . . And I really like the idea of having a free day. I believe I can be disciplined for 6 days (vs. 6 weeks or months, etc.), if I know I have one guilt-free day to look forward to. Anyway, I'm planning on officially starting the challenge on Monday, Aug. 5. I hope to visit the gym before then to re-acquint myself with the weights -- become a little familiar with the exercises so that when I go on Monday a.m., I can do the routine efficiently. I'm sure I'll be posting a lot of questions during the next few weeks -- be patient, and thanks for the support! Mox