I beg to differ on the eating issue. I am 37 and weigh 260. I am doing Body Rx, and I have increased my eating due to this program (at least over WW!!) I have not gained, I lost weight over the last 6 weeks.

As for the water, yes you are right there are many articles out there that support the use of water. Personally, if I don't have a lot of it, I get very dehydrated very fast.

I find if I am not eating every 3 hours or so, and if that meal does not include protein, I am famished!! And , that carbs (the simple, starchy ones) go right through my if I eat a high-carb meal. I find it amazing how my body has changed over the course of the last few weeks :dance:

I will be following your posts closely Clover......good luck!!

Robin:cb:

Well I just must respond, but I will not argue or try to convince you in your beliefs, because you seem determined to believe what you believe.... BUT have you had results from what you are doing?

Totally off the clover yelling fire topic, but I'll get back to that later...

My funny for the day. Ha Ha it's hysterical when you start out 10 pounds heavier on your first set of reps doing BFL pyramids for your shoulders then by the third set you're wondering what the HECK is going on because on your little sheet of paper it was the same weight as your last workout. Har har. *drags self off to shower*

OK....
 

... it took me a bit to catch up again!!

I hope my post about the shocking sales pitch at the 'other' gym the other night did not start this heated discussion!!

I had a think about it... did some research, and came to the conclusion that it was not the idea of the personal trainers that ticked me off... it was the sales techniques. Guess I just don't like to see people sucked in is all. Kind of like taking money from senior citizens...

Anyway... Thanks JC for putting the price into the US dollar, I had to train myself out of that shortly after moving here, it was too hard to get sad when I was always converting/comparing to back home, especially when the Canadian dollar was so much higher than the Australian one 2 years ago... I think I got something crazy like 23% exchange.... not like that now! Yay!!

Expensive... i think the debate has happened here before? Triggered by the Camp PB debate a while back. 12 weeks, 6 days a week with nutrition/work out advice.... for $3K is not so bad when you break it down ..... (can I be bold and say VRS a 'virtual' trainer - - - I hope this comment does not get be banned for life). What else could I buy without hesitation for $3K??? Hmm... recently spent almost double that on an overseas vacation because I wanted to be 'home' for Christmas and was feeling homesick..... a new set of custom fit leathers for my motorbike adventures?? New furniture? Heck... the car we bought has cost us nearly $2K in the last 4 months in repairs!!!

So... once again, I let the shocking reality of high pressure sales totally turn me off of something that was probably a good thing. Don't get me wrong.... I can't afford to spend that on BFL right now, but if I had the money... SURE I would be the first to sign up and have a **** trainer whip me into shape.

Anyways..... tried the Myoplex Lite, really liked it so I researched the net and found a place that ships overseas and the final cost is more than half the lowest retail price found here. Still thinking about it.... and will for a few more days. Thinking of getting 3 flavours... vanilla/chocolate/cappucino... any comments? suggestions? recommendations?

Finishing up week 6 tomorrow. I have never made it this far before and I am pretty pumped for the next 6 weeks. I am going to have hubby take photos on Sat morning before I begin the free day feast. I need some reassurance this is working... other than the fantastic pants-o-meter and the not so good scale.

Second week of the new job is over too tomorrow. It was a good move and I am finally feeling settled about my career, have not felt that way since I left Canada. Saturday is my 2 year 'landing' anniversary. Time flies when you are having fun eh? It is hard to believe it has gone so fast.

Even tho we need the rain, I am hoping for some sunshine this long weekend. I am going through motorbike withdrawals and want to get out for a good ride this weekend. *crosses fingers*

Well girls, have a good 'rest of' the week.... and keep the discussions going... I always learn something when I visit this board!

Nola.

Morning, all! I’m off to the gym for cardio (if I ever can get DS off to school this AM — “But Mom, I thought you’d be proud of me for staying up until 3:00 AM to finish reading my history.” Well. yeah, but what did you think would happen this morning? Hint: it’s not pretty.).

My take on many of the previous posts: bottom line, as MrsJim and others have said — you gotta do what works for YOU. We each are our own “laboratory of one” with ourselves to experiment with. None of us are going to react the same way to the same diet and exercise. Some of us are carb-sensitive — others can eat oatmeal until it comes out their ears. Some of us can’t do a lot of cardio without burning muscle — others thrive on cardio. If Karen says: "I had great success with XYZ diet" and I say: "But I gained weight on it", it doesn't mean that one of us is "right" and the other is "wrong" and it certainly makes no sense to argue about it.

The secret to losing fat and maintaining strong and lean bodies lies within each of us and is different for each of us. You know that we can find studies to back up any contention. But, hey, my body just doesn’t listen to what it is “supposed” to do — it does it own thing and my job is to monitor its reactions and plan my program accordingly.

One of the things that I like best about LWL is that most of us are not on BFL or another “regimen” but are doing our own unique plans and sharing the results with the rest of us. I learn something new every day.

Love you all!

Meg

my personal trainer
 

Morning ladies! Just wanted to chime in here and say that if it were not for my trainer, like Meg, I would be rejoining Weight Watchers for the 100th time.

My trainer has the MOST amazing body on a woman I have ever seen. I met her when she was starting out her business and she gave me half price rate ($25 per hour) and I signed up for twice a week (sometimes 3). If not for her I would have stopped doing this long ago and would never have been brave enough to increase weights, try new things etc. We have evolved in the last 8 months and now we train together. She keeps track of how much I am lifting, what our routine is, what my form is like etc but it is pretty fun to watch her turning red in the face and pushing herself. The only issue I have is that she doesn't know too much about nutrition. She started telling me what she was eating I told her that she was starving herself. After some of the reading I did, I got her onto the BFL plan, she is amazed that she is not starving anymore, is eating tons, and not gaining. In fact her muscles are really 'popping' now and she's even leaning down some.

I don't see myself staying with her forever but even now I still think if I didn't see her I'd blow off my workouts more often than not, as long as I feel like this and going to her makes me accountable, I'll do it.

On another note, is there such a thing as too much Balsamic Vinegar? I bought a fairly expensive bottle of it and oh man it tastes amazing. My dinner every night for the last week has been, huge salad, chicken, brown rice doused in just vinegar. I have about 3 tablespoons over the whole thing. Are there hidden sugars in there?

Hope everyone is having a great day! As much as my trainer inspires me to work out, I get all the rest of my inspiration RIGHT HERE! You ladies ROCK!!!

adena

Agreed on the muscle; heavy people have a good chunk of muscle from carrying the fat weight around. But... losing *some* muscle if one is severely overweight is not a bad thing like it is for someone of a more moderate weight. It's expected and understandable.

No I don't agree. Let's do some math ;)

200 pound woman at 40% BF (this is not unusual at all, in fact many women that weight, if short, are higher BF).

She has 80 pounds of fat, 120 lean

Same woman at 140 but 15% BF.

She has 21 pounds of fat, 119 lean mass. So (virtually) the same amount of lean mass, which is what many calorie calculators base their numbers on. Bodyfat is inert and doesn't take any calories to maintain.

Well geez, the name of the forum is "Ladies Who Lift". It's widely accepted that weight training boosts metabolism, yes. Some of us have done BFL but certainly not everyone, and personally I didn't have such great results with the program. But none of us are evangelists for Bill Phillips.

Laura

Meg, you said pretty much exactly what I was going to say. I have learned so much from people doing what works for them - new ideas, recipes, ways to shake up a routine, you name it... some of that stuff has worked for me, some hasn't. I try it for a while, if I get results, that's cool. If I don't - I try something else. And also, what worked for me when I was 20something is NOT necessarily going to work for me now that I'm 40something.

Though .. Clover - one thing you said really made me want to ask you about it. You said ...
Why not? Mitigating factors (such as injuries) aside, why not free weights?

I'm curious about something, maybe some of you more experienced lifter types can help me out here. I've noticed that the couple days after I do LB, I am totally whipped. By the third day, I'm fine and ready to work another body part, but even doing cardio the next day after LB makes me feel like something out of Night of the Living Dead. What can I do to be more lively the next day? Has anyone else gone through that? UB doesn't have that effect on me at all. I'm confused. :dizzy:

Nola...banned from the board? I don't think so. :lol:

Hey, $3,000 AUS is STILL a lotta bucks to me...I guess it depends on how competent the trainer is. I enjoyed working out with Theresa (the trainer I used for a few sessions last year) but quite frankly, IMO most of the trainers at my gym are uneducated doofuses. The thing that gets ME is that my gym charges the same rate for trainers regardless of experience (at least as far as I know - I haven't inquired about training as I don't feel like getting the Big Sales Pitch). IMO they should charge on a sliding scale based on experience and education. My hairdresser's does this - apprentice hairstylists' services cost less, then as they become more experienced, they go up the ladder and can charge more for their services - until you get to the top rung of the ladder - who is the owner actually (she charges over $100 for a haircut...ouch...but peeps with the bucks are willing to pay her that much plus I'm sure a big chunky tip).

Not really trying to bad-mouth 24 Hour Fitness, because I have FAR more raves than complaints - it's conveniently close to my house (2 short blocks away); they constantly upgrade the equipment; and it seems like the staff is always cleaning something. Now if we can just get the 2:30 AM musclehedz to put the 115-pound dumbbells back to the PROPER place on the racks...instead of dropping them on the floor...that drives me absolutely INSANE! I must admit a lot of mornings, I spend my time between sets rearranging weight plates and dumbbells. Now if I could be that neat and tidy at home, I'd be all set :lol:

Just a recap regarding the history of the LWL forum for Clover and others: This started as a Body for Life thread on the Diet Plans forum...(begun by Susanje...where ARE you chickie?? ;) ) Then as it became more popular, Suzanne 3FC gave BFL its own forum...many of us started with BFL but then used that as a springboard to do our own thing or other plans such as BRX...thus this forum was renamed the Ladies Who Lift. As Meg said - there are a lot of great programs out there, but one program doesn't work for everyone - what we have in common here is that strength training/bodybuilding is the center of whatever we are doing...

If I could go back 12 years when I weighed 265 and did everything over again, I would most DEFINITELY have started weight training back then. Who knows where I'd be now? As it stands, I currently range between size 4/6 - at 5'4" and between 145-155 pounds (my best estimate). I don't do bodyfat measurements - I'm mathmatically challenged and to me it's such an inexact science, I'd just rather go by "look and feel". Of course to many peeps, I would be considered overweight...just goes to show you every BODY's different :)

Gotta hit the shower...

Meg I totally agree with you. I always say find something that works for you and stick with it!! I know people who have lost all their weight with WW, kept it off and are doing great. I have seen many on here, like yourself, do it with the various programs on here. I also like to read what people are doing and get different ideas, not to mention support.

Robin :cb:

Ahhh, Leg Day!
 

Raven — I think many of us have discovered the same things about Leg Day and its aftermath. I, for one, am starving as soon as I get home from the gym on leg day AND all the next day. And the recovery time is longer than any other body part. Perhaps it is because they are such large muscles? And we work them hard? In my experience, though cardio the next day can be tough, it is a benefit in the long run because it stretches out those sore muscles — the bike, especially. You may not be able to go as hard, however! I’ve been doing cardio and yoga class on the day after leg day (Saturdays) and it seems to be working for me.

On the balsamic vinegar — mine is dumped into a decanter right now, but I recall that there is a little sugar in it. It probably varies from brand to brand, so check your label. It’s funny that even sour things, like lemon juice, have natural sugar in them (fructose). Hmm, I just looked at Fitday to see how much sugar is in lemon juice — it’s 61 calories and 21g of carbs per cup, but Fitday doesn’t break it down into sugars. Anyone know? (I’m curious) And, along those lines, people find it hard to believe that there is so much sugar in milk and dairy products (lactose).

Karen — want to come clean my house? Someone once said that it is much more fun to clean someone else’s house rather than your own, so wanna swap? ‘Course you are in CA and me in PA ….

Meg

Meg - that's one of the things that niggles me about Fitday - that it doesn't break down the sugar grams! One of the reasons I don't use it often. Remember back in the naughty 90's...I had a video from PBS called "Eat Smart" from 1992...where fat was the bad guy and sugar was considered not all that bad! In fact Dr. John McDougall (whose "Maximum Weight-Loss Program" I was on for a couple of years) maintained that olive oil and ALL fats were BAD and to be completely avoided if possible, but using simple sugar as a condiment was quite alright, since it only has "16 Calories per teaspoon".

More later - my protein pancake is ready!

I am singing in the rain, just singing in the rain. What a glorious feeling. I'm happy again.

So sorry, hubby and I have been watching a lot of old MGM musicals. Though is there anything better than a brisk walk in the rain? I think not-especially if one has the right rain gear. :lol:

So the debate rages on-eh. My view is exactly like Meg's-"We are all performing an experiment of one". Actually I stole that one from the fabulous Clarence Bass. In my view one should find out what works for them and really work it. Learn from other's who have had success and then adapt it to fit your lifestyle and/or fitness goals. My goal is to let my body-once I have reached my fitness goals-be a statement of my beliefs.

Nola- I meant to tell you that you and your husband are two cuties. And, any kind of high pitch sales totally makes my blood boil. Just give me the facts, smile sweetly and let me make up my own mind. Any kind of overly agressive behavior earns the salesperson an immediate and emphatic NO.

Well ladies, I must go and earn a living. Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Sel

Ahhh, yes, dieting in the 80s and 90s (I've dieted in every decade starting with the 60s, actually!) Pasta and breads were the perfect foods, meat and protein were evil, and let's replace all the fat with sugar. Boy, did that work for me (not!)

Meg

Hi ladies,

I love that so often I get on here and someone else expresses exactly what I was thinking of saying. It IS so true that we are all experimenting. I know that I eat a lot more calories than others, but it is working for me. In fact...

ta daaaaa.....

as of today, June 5th, 3 months to the day after starting, I am down 30 lbs.!!!!! YEAH!!!!

All this because of eating clean and the ever important weight training combined with my love of the bicycle!!

In fact, as Dh and I are trying to further declutter our house (I am a sick organizing freak, but still feel the need to consolidate a few more things), I found 3 journals from my Oprah Get with the Program phase. I DID lose weight there, but I was not doing any kind of planned weight training -- mostly just fiddling at the gym. I noticed that I weighed less then than I do now BUT was in the same size I am in now -- so obviously the weight training is really working.

Raven -- have you tried taking a walk right after your leg work out? This saves me!

Peace,
Paula