After a week of not working too hard, I'm stoked by your enthusiam for the GTC. Onward, downward, and muscles outward! My UBWO yesterday proved worthwhile, and I hurt this morning, Woo-hoo!
Meg- thanks for the tip about Fitday and fiber carbs. That leaves no room for temptation.
Cindy - Your line is now my mantra - "I guess I showed me!" I also started out in March with very little faith in myself but decided to give it a 6 month try and challenge myself. Hot damn, it can be done! And no turning back, like Meg says, for the rest of our lives.
Hi to everyone and hope you all have a safe and healthy day!
I have been up for over an hour, just couldn't sleep, perusing these threads, reading articles, and I am stoked about a Thanksgiving Challenge. I'm feeling very good about my WO routines, but definitely need to clean up my diet. So, my focus between now and Thanksgiving is to really focus on charting and tracking my food intake, being more aware of carb/protein intake, and not having so much variance.
My actual weight loss has been slow, and while I'm far from dissatisfied...ok, I'm thrilled with my progress....I think, no, I know it could be better if I clean up my food intake!
Dip~ Are you a reading teacher? I have to giggle every time I read your handle...we use a reading program at school that is awesome, but when they put out some new posters, they spelled diphthong wrong. BTW, your progress is outstanding, and you look wonderful!
Audrey~ Your pictures definitely show progress, despite what you see. I can see big differences overall, but huge progress in your rear pictures...your hips and butt are much smaller! Take heart, girl!
Meg~ Your pictures were great as well. Did you do BFL or something else as far as managing food intake?
Anyways...my alarm just went off, so it's time for me to start the day!
Hello everyone! I finally decided to just jump in and get acquainted! It is time for me to challenge myself and my perception about what I am capable of, and this seemed like a great place to start.
I have lost quite a lot of weight since February, but I want to get strong! Not "gee you're strong for a girl" strong, but "kick butt, take names" strong in mind and body!
I love the idea of a GTC....the past couple weeks have been tough because of a new orthodontic appliance and bottom braces. It has been tough eating well when I can't chew a blessed thing! But I am more than ready to get it in gear and make this work for me.
You are all such an inspiration to me! I have checked out all the pics and it is truly amazing what differences you have wrought in your lifes!
I have a question about goal setting that you may be able to answer. I want to eventually decrease my BF% to around 20%, but I realize that is not going to happen overnight. As a shorter term goal I have set my sights on 25%. I am at about 33% now, so that doesn't seem impossible. But I would like to make my goal time limited, and really have no idea how long I should give myself? I have some experience lifting, but am just now getting serious about it.
I just thought of another question-I have heard that is impossible (or nearly) to increase muscle mass while losing weight...that you have to do one or the other, but not both at the same time? So if that is true the goal while losing weight is to lose ONLY fat?
I hope to check in here often and soak up all the good info and inspiration! Thanks!
About goal setting -- we can't control how fast our bodies decide to lose weight and fat. All we can control is our actions, not how our bodies react to those actions. So my opinion is that it's better to set a behavoir goal than a time-limited goal for something like BF %. What happens if you are perfect (not that any of us are! ) but you don't reach that BF goal as fast as you wanted to? You'd feel like a failure instead of the success that you would be!
How about setting a goal of not missing a workout for X weeks or sticking to your eating plan etc, or whatever behavior goals you think will get you to where you want to be instead?
About muscle mass and fat loss -- here I think we want to maximize our muscle mass while losing fat -- and I did manage to do both, so it is possible. If you eat clean and control portions, do cardio, and lift heavy, I think you can at least preserve the muscle (if not increase it) while simultaneously losing fat.
Tell us some more about your journey -- where you started, how you've gotten to where you are, and where you'd like to end up.
Good morning Girls and a special hello to Lois and Frannymae (cute-cute name, love it!) !! WELCOME!! And , WE certainly do LUVS NEWBIES AT LWL!!
~Frannymae~ I know the answer to your questions but I am honestly NOT good with technical explanations, so I will let the techies answer....
~ Lois~ JC has a great signature "Abs are made in the kitchen" which in other words means that an adequate and clean nutrition is most of the battle...
~Karen~ A favorite exercise thread would be great! In addition, you should write a book of your experiences....IMO
~Carrie~ Sounds like your "in control free day" was perfect, and that"s what we should strive for is "control" in our eating lifestyle and not perfection 100% of the time...
~Nola~ Welcome back to a new Challenge!!
~Cindy~ You sound so much more positive than when you started and that certainly is a good feeling for yourself and us, because your positive vibes are infectious... ~ Congrats !! ~
~JEC~ Yes, the challenge is on as of today, Monday!! I had a great leg workout this morning... I was a bit worried about it because my partner has come back from her maternity leave and we did it together... She followed at her pace and she WILL be sore tomorrow. I was worried that my intensity would not be there, but it was. She was amazed, she found that I had lost a lot of weight...Nope I told her I still weigh 162#, she was stunned because she too weighed herself this morning and was at that #... but she definitely has rolls and chubby legs.... I'm really not bragging here, but it's just to show you how muscles can make you look leaner at the same weight and height, she is also 5'3.... One thing that I let slide a bit was when she mentioned my favorite pet-peeve "I don't want to get big muscles tho..,," I didn't want to ask if she found that I had what she considered "big" muscles, I was worried about the answer ... ... But I did say that when she lost the fat, even if she had "big" muscles she would look leaner...That made her ponder a bit and she did answer "Yes that's true" .... Gosh I hate that "myth" .... Have fun on the sunshine coast JC, and we's promise to be good...maybe...well food and exercise wise that is...
~Meg~ I wanna see that book draft in my e-mail by....... (pick a date here).....! Great post as usual....OMG Meg!! MOI!! Leg Goddess??? I don't think so... My leg workout was good tho... I can feel the hammies.... The leg workout wasn't much different than last week except that I did Leg Presses and went up to 400#... AND the famous ~Wall sits~ I did 3 sets at 60 seconds, 4th set at 1.5 minutes... I felt good!! Half the battle girls is in the mind....When I was doing them I could feel the sweat popping on my forehead!! WOOHOO!!
~Challenge??~ We're on girls..... ... I'm stoked....
Thanks for the warm welcome! Meg, you are right about setting behavior goals, and I have gotten pretty good at that when it comes to what I put in my mouth and getting exercise. I guess that as I get closer to being really fit I am getting anxious! Thanks for the reminder to let the actions take precedence!
I started my journey at the end of January. I just decided it was time. I weighed 215 pounds w/45% BF. For a few months I just basically counted calories and did cardio. My diet really wasn't what it should be though, and my weight loss stalled. I started the South Beach Diet in June, and have lost 20 pounds since then. I am now eating a much healthier diet...low fat proteins, tons of veggies, whole grains, limited sugar...and have continued the cardio on a pretty regular basis. At the beginning of August I knew I needed to add strength training to truly get healthy. So I started with a very basic whole body program 2-3 times a week. I love what it has done for me, but am ready to take it to the next level and challenge myself! I'm down to 170 pounds w/33% BF, but know I can be much leaner and stronger. And that's where lifting heavy comes in! I've been doing my homework and checking out info about lifting, and feel like I am ready. As of today I started a new, more challenging routine. My goal is to work out 3x a week and to either increase weight or reps each week. Pretty basic stuff, heh?
I love reading about your journeys and how far you all have come. I hope to be able to sing the praises of "lifting heavy" before long! I joined the MSN group and might even post pics! I have a full set of them....I like to call them "Then" and "Now" instead of before and after as a reminder that getting, and staying, fit and healthy is a process that will hopefully never end!
I simply can't let all this talk of a challenge go by without jumping in, which means I need to introduce myself. I just attached a note to the "About Me" sticky, so I'll just say HI for now, and that I'm in on the challenge. I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do, but I've had a clean day, so I can say I'm with you as of this very minute. I'm looking forward to getting to know you.
hmm... I seem to have fallen back in lurk mode. I keep trying to get caught up.. and then I fall further behind.
From last week's thread, Tidey and JC, congrats on the smaller sizes.
Meg, I can't remember now, what it was that I read last week, but it was on the mark. Ilene is right, you need to start collecting these pearls of wisdom for a book. Very good advice today about looking at behavoir goals rather than results as a goal. I need to paste that on my fridge an on the scale. I need the daily weigh in right now to make sure I'm on track with water and sodium (amazing the changes these items can cause), but it's discouraging to follow my food plan and exercise plan exactly right every day and not see that # go down. I can control what I eat, and how I workout, I don't have any influence with the scale.. unless you count pulling the battery out.
Lois, welcome over here! Very nice to see you popping in. Everyone, I know Lois, from elsewhere, and this lady has been working VERY hard at getting healthier and stronger. I think you'll like hanging around here, chickie.
franniemae, welcome too.
question on the challenges... how do you guys work these? I'd like to play too, but I'm on a wedding challenge right now.
JC, have fun on your trip. Can't promise to behave, except when it comes to food and exercise.
wall sitting.. I'll let you after Thursday. I think my hands start at my sides holding on to nothing but end up on my legs. I thought it made it easier. darn.
Some interesting observations.. Brad and I both started the PFA wanting to lose between 45-50#'s. I was a bit better at compliance to the plan so I went into fat burning a few weeks before he did. He's down 20#'s right now (don't you just hate guy metabolism????), and I'm down 12.5#"s. But here's the kicker. It seems to be more noticable on me. And that's not cause he has more to lose etc. It's because I make the time for weight lifting, and his schedule with commuting is too difficult right now. We've learned on PFA that 80% of what we look like is the food we eat, and 20% is exercise. So, given the choice of what he can and can't do in a day, he (with the guidance of our consultant) has opted to stay on the program and do whatever cardio she assigns. She and I would both like to see him back in the gym lifting, but if he has to skip anything, that's what goes. I have the same marching orders, cardio comes first for this stage of the plan, but I make sure to get it done. End result is that I'm down lots of inches everywhere, and am getting compliments from folks that haven't seen us in a bit. He's looking thinner, but I don't think its as apparent just yet. I make sure to tell everyone that I'm lifting, and looking to keep going heavier. btw, can you tell which one of us is the cardio king, and which one would opt to skip the cardio.
That said, today is a double cardio day. I went for a 40 min run this morning, and will do intervals on the treadmill tonight. I am going to change my lifting routine around a bit, because Mondays seem to always have cardio and I'm finding that 2 cardios and leg workouts are NOT the ideal combo. I think I will opt for the following, which will give me more days with weights but shorter workouts.
M- back
Tu glutes, hamstrings/outer thighs
We - back/abs
TH - calves,quads/inner thighs
Fri - arms/shoulders
I'm sure I'll still end up with double cardios on Tuesdays and Thursdays but since Mondays are more likely to be that way, why start the week of by totally exhausting every muscle fiber.
Am having a strange problem, and will post that separate to ask for input
ok, here's my problem... I don't wear a lot of makeup. Someone messed up and I learned about my surprise shower ahead of time for yesterday so I took extra pains to make sure I looked nice. Including makeup.. including my eyes. Owie! I have very sensitive skin. I guess the makeup line I have was not ok for me. These were new packages, so I know that there is no problem of old makeup having bacteria, but rather a sensitivity to something in it. I won't be using Origins eye makeup anymore. My question is does anyone know what i can put on my eyes now to help alliviate the irritated feeling. This was yesterday, and I washed it all off last night, but today I feel like I've been crying my eyes out all day (and nope, that hasn't happened). That's the feeling I'm left with. I'm sure it will go away soon, but meanwhile, it's not lots of fun.
Sorry I've been so scarce, my life has been nuts for a while and looks to continue that way!
I'm definitely in for the GTC Challenge: just changed my split again this week to accomodate a hurting shoulder and the fact I hated the one I did for the last 2 weeks. Food goal: to actually keep doing what I say I'm doing. It really does work when I'm consistent and keep my face out of the carby treats.
Hello to Robin, FrannieMae and Lois!
EEK- MEG! I didn't know fitday was subtracting fiber out of the carbs! That blows my ratios that I think I've been eating way off.
Karen- As usual, I agree with you 100% on the difference between big and baby steps- Gotta take that BIG STEP first, make the decision and take that actions to change.
Hey wall sitters: I've been finishing off my leg workout that way, too. ouch is all I have to say on that.
I can't remember who asked the fat loss/ muscle gain question, but on my first BFL challenge, I gained 6 lbs of muscle, my body fat dropped from 27% to 20% and I gained 1 pound. So on the scale I was up a tad, but I actually lost fat while gaining muscle. Since I was already at what I considered my goal weight (but looked too squishy), I didn't really expect to drop much scale weight. So yes, it's very possible. Especially if you haven't been lifting to failure previously.
Good morning girls!! It is a sunny Melbourne day over here.
I rode the motorbike into work for the first time today, rush hour traffic on the freeway has scared me for a year, but I have overcome my fears and loved it! The bike is getting a service today in preparation for Superbike school in 2 weeks.... very excited.
I have a pair of leathers that I could not wear at the start of my first BFL challenge, and my scale weight has not changed more than +/- 2 lbs since then, BUT I can comfortably wear the leathers so toss those scales out and kick them to the curb. They lie. Muscle is much sexier than jiggly fat!!
Also made it to the gym in the morning and had a great cardio workout, I had to switch up my workouts to accomodate hubby and the ride into work today. Most important that it got done!
I have to hit the workload on my desk.... so have a great day girls, and I will post again soon!! (and read through the posts instead of scanning quickly)
Oh Audrey! I don't know what will help your eyes other than time, but I had to laugh because it happened to me too!
A few years ago, while I was in one of the local department stores, the Estee Lauder girl offered to do a makeover on me. Great, wonderful, looked good. The next morning, though, my face was twice its size and beet red. It stayed that way for three days. I obviously was allergic to something in the makeup -- scent, color, preservative?
Now I only wear Clinique or Aveda and am very skittish about trying anything else.
DH thought it was hysterical and still likes to tell the story.
Oh dear, Audrey, I wouldn't have thought that Origins would cause such a reaction. Maybe you could apply a cold compressor mask thingum to your eyes? That should help alleviate the swelling, if there's any.
Just got back from the gym after weights. I'm starting to sweat whilst doing weights again, and I like it! Don't know if that's because I'm a pig(apologies to porcine lovers; just a figure of speech) or because I think I'm working harder.
) but you don't reach that BF goal as fast as you wanted to? You'd feel like a failure instead of the success that you would be!
WELCOME!! And , WE certainly do LUVS NEWBIES AT LWL!! 
~ 
maybe...
except when it comes to food and exercise.
I think I will opt for the following, which will give me more days with weights but shorter workouts.
