[Mindi]

Hi Nola..welcome to the board.

Mrs J, thanks for the info on seasilver. I can't find any actual info about its benefits other than sites selling it so I'm going to pass on it..it'd be a 40 dollar a month habit and gawd knows I don't need another costly habit! Being a planw*ore and all. *S*

I'm looking into a 13week Hardcore Fatburning plan from Abcbodybuilding. Looks doable....

[tikanique]

hey nola,

glad to have you here. okay, i decided yesterday that i didn't FEEL like being good so i went and had a total bad day. a lot of peanut butter, a lot of chocolate, real kool-aid and one of those new tropical sprites, pizza and a cupcake to top it off. however, i DID get to the store to re-stock on the stuff that i SHOULD eat.

today i am back on the path. have had my protein shake, my egg-white omelette (i bought lean turkey to go in it - but NOT FAT FREE) and i packed my healthy lunch and snacks. i have also arranged for childcare at my gym tonight. back on task again!

[Ilene]

Tika-- Yes, nice to see you are on track again...

Welcome Nola .... we luvs newbies here....

Things have been quiet on the front here... The weekend was good we went shopping out of town on Sunday, in Ottawa, which is an hour away from here and we had a great time... I bought a new Braun hand mixer... yippee... 400 watt one !! it really creams the cottage cheese....yummy....We also bought some new lamps for our bedroom... Swinging lamp sconces on the wall, no more lamps on the table beside the bed... AND my dad just finished installing (Saturday that is) our new headboard that he made for us from an old door we found in an old appartment building we own... he stripped it, stained it, and put crown moulding... it is totally cool... I love stuff like that...

Food wise things are good... yesterday I had P49%, C15%, and F36%, fat was a little hi but it was all good fat... What I've done it cut my carb intake at everymeal to half a portion, like 1/4c rice... and lots of veggies and of course a good protein....

Meg I have your Fitday.com journal on my Fav list, so I'm watchin' you girl!!

I've been having some great EDT workouts... I really like them.... In the magazine the first segment is 15 minutes where lets say for squats, you take a weight that you can do once but not twice, then do one rep every minute for 15 minutes... WELL, i gotta tell you girls, this is a great way, I must say, to gain strenghth and to warm up your whole workout.... last week I squated 135, this week 145, and next week I'm going to aim for 155, almost by body weight... woohoo!!... This morning I did some military shoulder presses with 55lbs... one rep/minute for 15 minutes...

Anywhoo gotta go... take care all...

Oh MrsJim , I've been meaning to comment on your new nearby theater, a new theater was built last year within walking distance from here, 10 mins, and I have NEVER gone to the show so often...I really like it....

Later all....

[DiamondDeb]

Welcome Nola!!!

Beth, good luck with C2!

Ilene I've been looking for the magazine but haven't seen it. You're doing great! I want to lean more about it!

Mindi, I'll e-mail you about ABC's 13 week plan, etc!

cranberry juice: I posted about this on the end of last wek's thread but I don't think anyone saw it. It’s got to be 8 oz. of pure unsweetened 100% cranberry juice, right? I'll look for R. W. Knudsen at my health food store. They said they have regular and also concentrate-does it matter which we use? I don't know the brand. Then just add water to get 64 oz. and sip on it all day? We don't have to change our regular nutrition at all other than this? How often do you do this? Just one day, a week? It sounds like it's working for you and I agree, it would be great to lose a pound a day that way, even if it is only water.

Yet another obstacle: I'm getting sooo tired of these! The driving school didn't file the correct papers with the Dept. of Ed when they should have, which means it will take a month before I can get the $300 for the class. We're trying to find another way to pay so I can get my license in May.

I'm working 3 nights this week, 3 nights next week. I'm going to complain today.

I orded SP and should get it in about a week.

Gotta run!

Deb

[Ilene]

Deb -- You'd love the EDT plan....

[Ilene]

Mindi what is the link to the 13week Hardcore Fatburning plan ? Thanks..

[DiamondDeb]

Ilene, here's the diet:
http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magaz...urningdiet.htm

and here's the workout: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/magaz...ingworkout.htm

We start Monday!

Gotta go to work!

[Tideypoo]

Hi all,

we're a busy bunch today arent we!

C2 for me is going well, Id say. Ive made gains in most of my exercises, but I cant see any fat moving out so I am going to take photos and see if Im just being hard of myself.

I managed to squat 55kg today and will definately try for 60kg on saturday. I started doing all deadlifts for my hammies, and by 35kg my grip starts to give out > but I think I got a good workout anyways.

Sometimes I just dispair at getting rid of any more fat as it seems to be taking forever. I havent been thinner than I am now in a couple years so I wonder if my body just LIKES this weight (Even tho I know I can do it, it just seems so far off, u kno?) I set myself a new goal of being able to compete by next year in a contest of SOME kind so hopefully that will help me push through these days. Im definately getting over the food guilt, but I tend to overeat my carbs at dinner out of habit and I WILL stop that. I try to compensate by lowering my carbs after that (still eat a carb with each meal but say 3/4 serving) and strangely enough I find that I dont get as bloated the next morning as I did eating a full carb right before bed.... so confusing to figure out what the body wants sometimes eh? Like when I try the low-carb thing it only takes a matter of HOURS before my body is screaming in anger (shakes, serious SERIOUS nausea and being really cold) so I can rule THAT out as a modification I guess.

Ah well

Tidey

[Meg]

Good day, gang! I spent the weekend hanging out with my sister in Chicago — very relaxed, lots of time to talk. It’s great to have a sister who is also a fabulous friend. We made it to the Y both days and did pretty well food-wise. We went down to Michigan Avenue to the really high-end designer stores to look for suits for her (she’s a big-time litigator in a large law firm) and we had so much fun trying on the outrageously expensive clothes. It’s ego-shattering, though, to try on this teensie-tiny Italian stuff — clearly Italian women do NOT have bicep muscles (or any others for that matter). So you’re a size 4 in our stuff? Honey, you’re at least a 6 or 8 in the European couture clothes. I found a little suede jacket — the softest, lightest suede you’ve ever seen — like air— that was handpainted with little flowers. Only $3600 (and no, I didn’t buy it).

Deb — sorry I missed your question about the cran-water. It’s from The Fat Flush Plan (Ann Louise Gittleman) and it is 8 oz of pure unsweetened cranberry juice added to water to make 64 oz. (I just put it in my 1/2 gallon plastic pitcher and add water to the top.) It’s part of an overall low-cal, low-carb diet plan that I am not very familiar with, but I swiped this aspect of it to try to deal with my water retention issues. I think it’s helping according to my bloat-o-meter (wedding ring). I bought the Knudsen but I know there is also a super-concentrate that I think is cheaper. I guess you’d make 8 oz. according to it’s direction and then dilute to make 64 oz. Oh, I’ve been doing it every day but I missed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday when I was off in Chicago. Back to it yesterday and today. I count it as part of my overall water for the day.

Ilene — yikes and double yikes on the Fitday! You are powerful motivation for me to behave because I do write down everything that I eat: good, bad, and ugly. Tell me more about what you are doing — how many calories per day? How many meals? I feel bombarded with different opinions and info about what to eat — eat more calories, eat fewer carbs, eat more fat, etc. So I guess I’m just going to experiment for a while and see how my body reacts. This week I’m going to try to keep carbs to 100g and overall calories to 1200-1300 or so and see what happens. If that doesn’t do much, I may try the “eat more” route (like 1600 calories). If THAT bombs, well, damn, I guess the chocolate diet is the only one left

Question: I notice that some people don’t count fats (like Udo’s oil or flax or coconut) as part of overall calories or fat grams because they are healthy fats. But I thought that everything we eat is supposed to be healthy — but it all still is calories, right? I don’t think our body magically ignores calories because they are healthy. Or am I missing something here?

I so agree with Karen about eating off-plan when you are tired. I’ve learned that the two most dangerous times for me are when I am over-tired or if I am over-hungry. If it’s both, disaster. Sometimes in the evening, I just have to walk out of the kitchen and leave the dirty dishes and go brush my teeth. Or just go to bed.

Sel — ummm … your husband is deluded but, hey, that’s OK! As for wanting my 20-year old body back, no thanks! I'm 35# below that now. I think I weigh about what I did in junior high school. That’s what makes this journey so fun for me — I don’t know where I’m going to end up -- having NEVER been there before -- and I’m having a blast getting there!

Tonight is leg night. What a cool thing to do with squats, Ilene! I'll have to try that sometime. I love new workouts.

Time to do something useful!

Meg

[Ilene]

If THAT bombs, well, damn, I guess the chocolate diet is the only one left

THAT is my ALL TIME FAVOURITE diet...

Meg I’m not following any type of plan at the moment I’m just tweaking BFL a bit I guess to have less carbs, because I find that is what MAY be holding me back... I can’t completely take them out because last week I had the worst workouts ever all week because I felt weak in the morning... so this week I have cut my portion/meal to a half serving/meal, with lots of good clean protein...and two mornings in a row I feel great....Yesterday I had less than 1600 cals/day and that’s good for me because I usually have 1800 or more, because of the carbs maybe? Yesterday I only had 62g of carbs...Who knows? But I really don’t know how you manage on only 1200 or 1300 /day... I’d die!!!

Sounds like you had a great time with your sister in Chicago!! I have no sister but a great s-i-l!!

‘Poo way to go on the squats... you’ll get there... I can’t believe how far you have come since the start of your first challenge... I must say that your outlook is sooooo much more positive than when we first met you here on the board.... Way to go girl!!

Deb – Thanks for the links.... I’ll read them later... Interesting stuff....

Karen – I too get ravenously hungry and CRANKY when I am TIRED!!! OMG I’m a bear!! When I am sleep deprived I also get the shakes...

OMG I just had my first bike ride of the year!!! WOOHOO!! Did only 10k... but it was so nice and refresing... a little on the coolish and windy side but very nice nonetheless, and I may bike to the gym at 5am tomorrow, because by the time I get out it’s light out ...

[jacklyn]

Hello everyone! Day 2 of week 2 and still holding strong! I really enjoy this program and feel that this is something that I can do for life....not just for the quick fix.

Okay...to review, I am new to the BFL program, and I know that I shouldn't get caught up in just the scale because I will be gaining muscle weight while hopefully losing fat. Having said that...how much can I (or should I) expect to lose this first challenge? I love looking at the before and after pictures in the BFL book and journal for motivation, but am I setting myself up for a fall or disappointment if I want to look like that?? I guess I'm kinda down because I was at work showing some of the girls the website and I pointed out some of the before and after photos. Their reaction was...no way...not possible. Then one of them stated, while looking me over "I guess we'll see in 3 months". How's that for friendly support???

If I don't get to my goal (about 120-130lbs...I'm 5'3) in the first challenge that's fine, but I do want to know what would be a realistic first challenge goal. That way I wont be setting myself up for a big fall. Currently I'm at about 150lbs. What's a reasonable amount of weight loss that I should expect this 1st three months?

I will have to add that I forgot how good it feels to be this sore! I feel like I am accomplishing something!

[Trinidad]

Hey Everyone,

It's a good Tuesday. I had breakfast at IHOP with my husband- scrambled eggs, 2 slices of bacon, 2 sausages, French toast covered in warm syrup,strawberries and whipped cream. It was good, but hubby and I only ate about half of it. For a Foodie like me that is a major, major change. Starting to feel like my taste buds no longer rule my emotions or is it the other way around? Life is good.

Anyhoo....Here's my primary goal for the next six months: lose 50 lbs of fat-gain 3 lbs of muscle-fit into a size 14.

It's so much easier for me to relate my fitness goals to dress/pants sizes, increasing my weekly walking mileage or the amount of weight poundage lifted. I find it forces me to focus on the daily “process” and keeps my mind off the numbers on the scale.

I am posting it here to keep me honest and on track. Also will begin posting my nutrition on either Fitday or Calorie King. BTW, which one is better?

The remainder of my “rest” week will be spent breaking down my primary goal into monthly, weekly and daily goals.

Thank you in advance for all your support.

Sel

[Meg]

Sel -- you can do it -- I think your goal is reasonable -- and we will be with you every step of the way! Make a commitment to post here every day, especially if you are struggling (yup, it happens).

I use Fitday and am used to it, though it's got its drawbacks. I've never tried any others.

Ernestine Shepherd -- did you see the latest Parrillo magazine with her in it? OMG!!! And did you read how much she eats??!! Would that we could look like that when we are 66! Maybe this link will work: http://www.parrillo.com/publications/41.pdf She is on page 15 and following.

Meg

[BethO]

Jacklyn -

I think it's reasonably possible to have a 20-25 pound transformation in your first challenge - that's 'transformation', not straight scale weight. I think you're likely to see a combination of fat loss and muscle gain.

I remember seeing a thread on another web site which talked about how you can gain the most muscle when you first start lifting weights, then it starts to slow down and more muscle comes on very slowly. I believe it was agreed muscle can come on as quickly as 1-2 pounds per week in the beginning few weeks, then slow down until two pounds per month is making good progress. Apparently after lifting weights for a while you're happy to be putting on five pounds of muscle in a hard working year!

In my first challenge I lost about 18 pounds of fat, gained about 6 pounds of muscle and ended up 12 pounds lighter on the scale.

You're not too far off your goal - you said you wanted to lose 20,30 pounds - it will be harder for you to lose 30 pounds than someone who is 80 pounds from their goal, of course.

I think you can probably come very close to your goal after one challenge - although you may find your ideal body physique goal changing as you get more into lifting - I know mine has.

Best of luck with C1.

BethO

[Mel]

Hi everybody, I've been AWOL for a while- or really just in "reading mode". I went to a tiny BB contest last Saturday night which I should have entered, cause there was only 1 woman in the heavy weight class (a buddy from L&S) so I could have crowed about my 2nd place finish and only one other person on this board would have known the truth! And Laura wouldn't rat on me . For those of you not into competition lingo, light weight is anything up to 114 pounds, middle weight is (I think) 125 lbs, and heavy is everything above.

Sel- I never congratulated you on finishing! Way to go Enjoy your rest week, you've earned it.

Jacklyn- Welcome to our corner of the world. I'll try to answer some of your questions, but in reality, the answer to all of them is...it depends on you. How much weight will you lose? Kinda depends on how much weight you have to lose, how you have been eating, what your "exercise history" is. IS it possible to look like the after pictures in the book? Well, on that I'd give a very qualified maybe. Remember, the pictures were all taken BEFORE the book was written, so those people did not necessarily do BFL by the book, and it was not necessarily their first challenge or introduction to weights. I've heard of a few people losing 20-30 lbs on their first challenge- on the other side of the coin, I GAINED 3 pounds, but lost 8% body fat. I had been eating farily cleanly and working out quite a bit before I ever heard of BFL. So even tho I gained scale weight, I dropped 1 clothing size. Please don't compare yourself to pictures or anyone else's results; I was miserable after my first challenge and felt I had failed terribly because of the scale and because I didn't look like a fitness model. A lot of the after pictures you'll see posted on different web-sites are people NOT doing BFL, or who have used radical methods at the end of their challenge to improve their pictures. Remember, there are changes happening inside you, as well as the outside changes.

Sel- I've been using fitday almost everyday for the last month, and I think it's really helped me keep on track. If nothing else, it lets you know the macronutrient balance so you know if you are achieving what you are aiming for.

Meg- Your BMR is higher than mine, and I'm aiming for an average of 1450 cals a day. What are the ratios you are using? Right now I'm trying for 50%P. 20%C, and 30%F. Since upping the fat ratio, I feel sooo much better and haven't had too many potential or actual binge attacks. Theoretically, we both ought to be able to eat around 1700 and still lose, but that doesn't seem to work for me. And I'm not willing to do cardio twice a day or 6 times a week. Have you read the Schwarzbein Principle books? I'm about 1/3 of the way through her first, and although faily simplified science, it makes so much sense for those of us who have spent our lives dieting. Your brave to have tried that jacket on- I'd be afraid to get stuck in it, snag it on my ring, or do some other klutzy melism that would make it mine.

Ilene- I don't understand what you mean about the way you are lifting. Are you really taking 1 minute to do 1 rep???? God, that would be excruciating! In terms of physics, the longer you take to do a single rep, the less "work" you are doing. But the "time under tension" for your muscles would be about the same as doing 10 or 15 reps more quickly. Let me know what it is you are really doing, OK?

BethO- Glad you enjoyed your week off. BTW, I don't think there is any such thing as maintenance. Once you get to goal, I think you have to work HARDER to stay there.

Hi Nola- Welcome!

Did a great back and bi workout today. Tried something new for bi's that kind of fits in with one of last week's discussions. I took one of those 15 pound bars that are about 3-4 feet long and did single arm curls with it. The difference between that and the same dumbell weight is AMAZING! So many more muscles involved in balancing the bar while you curl it. I even felt some abs in there.

There's mel's tip of the week

mel