I plan on starting BFL again on Monday, but was looking for a bit more information. In March, when I initially tried the program, I followed the book almost perfectly. The one thing I did a bit differently was to allow myself to eat whatever I chose for dinner and snacks on Sat. night although my "free day" was not until Sunday. On Sunday, I would only allow myself a small treat and did not use it as a complete "free day".
My BFL experience only lasted ~ 5 weeks as I got very frustrated seeing absolutely no results. No inches down, no weight lost. I think part of the reason I did not see any results is because I was force feeding myself almost every day in order to get 5-6 meals in. I found that with eating protein at every meal I was not hungry.
When I start BFL again, I want to focus on the # of calories I am consuming, as well as the # of protein grams. I am 5'4", ~165 lbs. and wear a size 12-14. Although I have always stated my goal in weight (weigh 124 lbs.), my major goal is to fit comfortably in a size 6-8. As well, my body fat % is quite high (probably 35-40%); therefore, I need to get this down into the healthy range.
Can someone please give me some guidelines as to how many calories I should be eating each day, as well as the # of protein grams. I know I read about the protein grams here somewhere, but can't remember which thread it was in. Also, any other advice or tips you can provide me with would be greatly appreciated.
Suzanne,
I think everyone goes through that "force feeding" stage during their first BFL challenge. In the first 4 weeks of my first challenge, I lost 9 pounds, but 5 of it was muscle, because I was not eating enough (for the very reason you mention).
So, the trainer at my gym suggested I increase my calories by 300 a day, and in the next 4 weeks I lost 5% bodyfat and gained muscle!
I think you just have to work through that stage. Space your meals out the best you can - at least 2.5 hours apart. Part of the beauty of BFL is that you aren't ever hungry - but believe me, your body will eventually be like a timer for when it's time for your next meal. And, in my second Challenge, I actually had to add more protein!
Try using cottage cheese and protein powders, which are proteins that are easier to digest, for at least 3-4 of your meals. This can help with that overly stuffed feeling.
What is your portion sizes? I'm thinking that 4 oz. meat or 1 cup cottage cheese would probably be a good starting point for you. Or maybe a little smaller, if you think that's too much. A good rule of thumb is about 1 gram of protein per gram of body weight, so if I were you, I'd target in the 130 - 160 gram/day range. If you then balance this with carbs, your daily intake will be somewhere around 1700 -1900 calories. With all that lifting, you shouldn't go much less than that on BFL.
These are just some starting guidelines. Pick a plan and try it for 4 weeks. If it doesn't seem to be working, make some adjustments and try that for the next 4 weeks.
Most women won't see much change in the first Challenge until weeks 7-8, and often then it seems that every day there is some new change to discover. You just need to be patient and have faith - the results will come...
Cindy
Suzanne: Cindy has cgiven you great advice. Looking at your size compared to weight it looks like you need to put some muscle on. I am 5'4" myself but weigh around 175 and I am a size 8-10.
As for BFL it's a program that you don't 'tweak' otherwise if you do you will get no results at all as you did. Now I normally don't advice calorie counting for most people because they get sick of it easily and also because everyone is different. Because I carry so much muscle my maintenance calories are around 1900 which is high for a short person. There are all sorts of formulas out there to work out different calorie levels but the best method is to trial it yourself. Pick a level say starting at 2000 calories and work your way down every 2 weeks until you find a place for you that starts dropping fat sufficiently. But don't go too low (below 1200 usually) because you will slow down your metabolism which is what you DON'T want.
As for protein normally 1 grams per pound of bodyweight so for you around 160 per day or 640 calories of your total intake.
Thanks for the replies! Hopefully I will find the time to post here regularly as I go through this challenge. I think that hearing what others are going through (and went through during C1) will help me.
As was probably apparent in my initial post I get frustrated really quickly. That said, I am committed to doing this for 12 full weeks. After I quit last go-round I tried a number of other things, but didn't see results with any of them. From looking through many before and afters, I know that BFL can work for me if I put in the work.
Thanks again. Hopefully I will get to know you guys (gals) better.
I'm almost done with C1; I'm in my final week and will post Friday with more info on that.
Things I'm glad I did:
#1 TRUST THE BFL PROGRAM. Don't tweak it. Just do it by the book and you'll see results.
#2 MEASURE YOU. I took lots of measurements and photographs at the start, and I'm glad I did because my weight didn't really start to go down until week 9. But my clothes were getting looser the whole time and I was losing inches. I also wrote down my max weights and now I find I can leg press 60 pounds more than when I started. Find your starting markers and WRITE THEM DOWN!!! This will help you stick with the program. You won't know it's working unless you have some comparisons.
I do count calories but I think this is not the best thing for me because it is sending me on guilt trip when I am really eating clean - I'm just hungry from working out all the time! I'm only doing it because I am on "thyroid watch" and my doctor wants me to keep a journal with calorie and workout info in it.
The Krista Smash website (see getting started sticky) has some good info on calories.
Thanks for the info. I can't wait to see your results! I think that it is good for me to count calories (through FitDay) as I need to convince myself that although I am not losing weight, I am doing what is required. I think it will convince me that I am not choosing the wrong combinations from the listing of allowed foods.
I just wanted to give your a pep & share my experience on BFL. I don't think that 5 weeks is enough time to see the difference that you wanted. I lost about 20 lbs on BFL but I did not start to see the results until weeks 8-12.
I also felt full & had a hard time eating 6 meals a day but if you follow through it works. It just takes several weeks for your body & your metabolism to start taking off the pounds.
I don't think your sneak treat will make much of a difference. But don't undereat on your free day to make up for it otherwise you won't get the full effect of BFL & you will set yourself up to quit midcycle again.
Good Luck. Feel free to ask me any questions. I & 2 other co-workers did BFL. They did not make it whole 12 weeks due to things you are talking about.
? re. calories and protein
WELCOME WE LUVS NEWBIES AT LWL!! 
