Hey Ladies,

I'm starving so I'm here til the timer goes off, my new breakfast treat is in the oven. I've been eating so well this week, its awesome. I've lost so much water weight since Sunday, like 3 pounds. Yikes! Its raining here in NH (again), but I have high hopes for this weekend, its supposed to be v. nice. And only 8 days til Florida!!!! I'm so psyched, we're going to Marco Island and then to Tampa to Busch Gardens, my son is going to have a blast (& so am I). My Mom & of course, hubby, are coming too.

Mel - Just do it! The first day of getting back on track is the hardest, so just get through it and then brag about it to us tomorrow.

Hey Meg - Sounds like its a good thing the cat is moving to NM. I'm so allergic to animal hair that I cannot even be around people who have it stuck to their clothes & my ds is the same way. So, no cats here. How's the healing going?

Hi Nola - get to work! Just kidding.

Ilene - I LOVED that book. It was great. I've been reading a lot of Barbara Kingsolver's books, although I really only loved The Poisonwood Bible. Also, Sue Miller's books were interesting and fun to read. I'm always on the hunt for good authors, I read like crazy. Now get your butt to the gym & burn up your abs and shoulders.

Jess - you're doing awesome, keep it up!

Tiki - Yeah, I'm sure you're gains were mainly water. Don't you feel better being back on track? I know I'm so relieved. I scared myself on Easter.


Hi JC, GG, Jack, Silverbirch & everyone else! Hey Dip!!

Anne

OMIGOSH - I just LOVED the Poisonwood Bible. Laughed, cried, got angry went through every single emotion imaginable while reading it.

Ilene - I skipped two gym days this week too. The crew came home last night and we sat up playing cards til after midnight. However my eating is very much on track.

Last night I got mad at my son's dad. He told me he HAD to get DS back to me yesterday afternoon so I told him to drop him off at cheer practice between 5:30 and 7PM. At 8:45, when DD called to be picked up, DS was still MIA (missing in action, Silver). Turns out they were out playing video games, eating, etc. If I had known that I could have hit the gym last night. I was so mad, I tried to justify eating a bad food, but instead, gave him the earful he deserved. The argument in my head was funny. Glad good sense won the fight.

Yeah Goddess, it is to CoSi that we are traveling. Crew has been there, I have not. I can't wait.

Hiya to everybody that is too busy, on the water, inaugurating people, training people, recovering, changing diapers, working, chilling or whatever else and hasn't had time to post yet.

Peace. Tiki.

Thanks, Tiki! I only know AWOL (absent without official leave).

I'm glad good sense won too! You sensible person, you!

silverbirch

Hello LWL!

My life is crazy since coming back from Easter - nothing like coming back on Wednesday to a full week's worth of work! And, I realized last night that I'd not finished my taxes! Eeek! But, I got them done and sent off, so all is well....

Just wanted to pop in and say all was well - my eating has been on track since Easter - even took cottage cheese/yogurt blends in the car to eat on my trip back! And, right back into my workouts - did some wonderful treadmill lunges yesterday, and did a spinning cardio workout today. I'm gradually increasing my stamina on the spinning bike, as well as getting used to sitting on that bike seat!

I'm toying with the idea of training for a 280 mile, 4-day bike trip over Labor Day weekend - not sure I'm ready to commit just yet, but I'd have 4 months to train. Do you think it's do-able? 70 miles/day, at your own pace...

Well, need to get back to work - hope everyone is doing well. I'll drop in again later when I get a chance to catch my breath!

Oh, I listened to the Dr.Phil audio book CD in the car on my trip, and I'm ready to jump into reading the book in-depth when I get a chance.
Cindy

La la la la la la...la la la...
 

(I was just thinking of the part of "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" when P.W. is walking down the street going "la la la..la la la..." :lol: and I have no idea why!)

So how's everyone this fine Thursday?? I must say yesterday that I think either I was just totally exhausted or the dacqueri I had on Sunday came back to haunt me...headache time...after I went riding I got home and went to bed at 6:00 pm :tired: Didn't get up until 3:45 am to feed the kitties...went back to bed and woke up again at 4:30, got dressed and went to the gym for cardio! I'm feeling MUCHO better today but am going to make a point to go to bed early tonight (8:30 or so).

I haven't yet read the Poisonwood Bible - sounds really good. In fact, I can't remember the last book I've read - mostly been reading horse magazines lately...I've got to get to the library and get some good reads.

Tiki - good on ya for not eating a bad food - yelling at DS's dad was probably much more satisfying in the long run anyways! (and you probably burned some calories while doing it as well... :lol: )

Jack - for some reason, your picture reminds me of Dave Draper... :cool: (that's meant to be a compliment BTW...he's hunkalicious!)

Anne - we haven't been to that part of FLA yet. Last time Jim and I were there, we stayed in Miami Beach and drove down the Keys to Key West. Next time, we definitely want to stay a night or two in the Keys. :)

SB - Don't think London is going to happen this year :( but maybe next year...Jim already has a list of places he wants to go and Abbey Road Studios, among other musical places, is on it of course :) If we have the time and the $$ to travel, I want to venture over to Liverpool and also to Halsdon Arabians (Charlie and Shirley Watts' stud farm - but it's quite aways from London so we would need to take a train to both places!).

Jess - sounds like you're doing awesome! In fact, it sounds like everyone's been bouncing back nicely from the Easter holiday. Thank goodness we don't have any more 'eating holidays' for awhile (oh unless you count Mother's Day...).

Kanola - ditto on the cat love...in fact Chalupa Boy snuggled next to me pretty much all night - he knows when I'm not feeling 100% - did the same thing when I was recovering from my surgeries. Chubby Girl, however, is very much a daddy's girl and devotes her life following Jim around the house trying to get his attention!

Gotta get some work done...and check the rest of the boards...later y'all!

Hello all,

Mrs. Jim - maybe it's because I'm in love with my beach cruiser, but when Pee Wee is singing "lala lala" he's RIDING HIS BIKE! The coolest bike in the world!

Except mine, of course.

Running? I never could get into running because it makes my shoulders hurt, but I did my best to consciously relax from the waist up and I think that helped. I don't know that I'll ever be addicted to running - cycling is my bag, baby! But running does wonders, I must agree with Jack and the other runners on this board.

Checked out elliptical trainers today. They are having a sale - buy a trainer, get a free gym ($1100 value). Not bad. I am going to measure my home gym. If I can do it without sacrificing my boogie space, I might just do it... lots of cash, though! Eeek!

Gotta dash but Meg I hope you are healing well, have a super week...

Hi girls,

Tiki, did you know there is actually a race of bald, hairless cats around?! Can't remember what they're called but they look weeeeeiiiiiiiiiird! And aristocratic. And foldy... SH used to let his cat sleep in the bed which I don't want because of the hairs, but she still tries now and then and then she goes flying... but not hard of course. Left my cat in Greece, but I have to pick her up when I pick up my stuff. i miss her but I fear for the rugs when these two get together.

Anne, I love reading up on your trips, especially since have not been anywhere near the States, ever!

Tiika, llene, end of Easter break, back to the gym!

I was dreaming a little about fun goals, there is this awesome event in the Netherlands in my hometown, its called the Vierdaagse which means as much as 4-day walk, 10000s of people walk it every year in July. t's walking 20-30-40-or 50k for 4 days, just for fun! it's A REALLY big event and wouldn't it be fun to do it all together....someday....sigh....

Called my landlord in Canada yesterday and though he is a decent man, I got really pissed at him, 'cause when I explained had to leave Greece and why he started whining at me about breaking my lease early and what to do and that I might have to pay 6 months lease extra (fat chance)etc., so I suggested we leave it to his lawyer because he doesn't know (*) about Greek law. I guess I have been a really decent tenant, so I feel really bad about being treated like a deserter.Anyway....

I started a slightly different leg program today. Its different and hard if you keep to form and time. Note that I leave the really heavy stuff alone for the moment, have upped the sets and reps and diminshed the times between to (between exercizes) to 45"-1min max, and between sets to 15"-30", because I have blown up like a bricklayer the last year.
So:
1. Leg extensions 5x15
2. Leg press 4x15
3. Squat 3x15
4. Standing Hamstrings 5x15
5. Calf raises standing 3xmax no weight (when you see them you know why).
Got away happy but on wobbly legs

Like it?

More tomorrow, hang in there everybody

GG

Hairless cat!
 

Aha! Like Mr. Bigglesworth in Austin Powers...yes?

http://www.ripleesranch.com/image/Ted.jpg

http://www.ankhamun.com/Copy_of_Mike_Myers_and_Mr_B.jpg

Jennifa - you're right - in the movie he is riding his bike when he's la la la-ing...I might be thinking of one of the TV shows...or just getting old. :lol:

Body For Life
 

Hi all,

Now that I get Digital Cable we have a Channel Called Discovery Health. They have a daily show called
"I LOST IT !". Each show features 2 people who lost a great deal of weight. Most of the stories revolve around dieting and exercise. Sometimes it revolves around WLS.

Today's show caught my attention because at the beginning they said the woman used BODY FOR LIFE to lose over 100 lbs. So I jumped on my GAZELLE and began to watch. This woman's husband had to be operated on for a brain tumor and while she was nursing him she gained a ton of weight. When he started to recover she came across the book BODY FOR LIFE in a shop. Using the book as inspiration she changed her eating habits and also started to lift weights. Not only did she lose over 100 lbs but she also WON Body Building Contests!!! WOW. She even got her husband involved and he went on to get some body building awards also! It was a very inspiring story and a great advertisement for the
BFL "weigh" of life. I also got a good workout on my GAZELLE!

Meg, I hope you are feeling better.

Pookie,

Ok I feel obliged to speak up here - the woman in the show is named Pam Brown and quite a few of us are very familiar with her and her program. Please don't think that she used BFL to lose all of the weight because she didn't - that is a misrepresentation of the facts I believe. She did stricter body building diets to lose a lot of the weight and has suffered from rebound a few times as well.

I am not having a go at her or her accomplishments but I don't like it when misinformation is perpetuated by the media. I just think that the context of her particular situation is not explained very well at all.

Thanks,
JC

rebound?
 

Dear JEC, Thanks for replying all the way from Down Under.

I am just a Gym Hamster and not a Gym Rat so when I hear REBOUND I think of Falling in Love too soon after a long relationship has ended.

I have a feeling it means something else in the LWL universe. I'm here to learn so what does REBOUND mean in LWL land?

Thanks, Pookie (Gym Hamster on LWL)

BTW:>> Here is the little blurb from the Discovery Health Website:
I LOST IT: After Pam Brown's husband had a deadly brain tumor she turned to a Body For Life book and lost 100 pounds.

P. S. Pookie just lost 31 lbs! I stopped exercising for a few days because of a horrible cold. But now I am back exercising again and watching those calories of course also ( and EATING CLEAN ! )

Hey there Pookster! Congratulations on the 31 pounds!

I like your definition of “rebound” best. But what it means in the bodybuilding world is a lot different. See, bodybuilders want to be as lean as possible in their competitions to show off their muscles. So they diet their body fat WAY WAY down — women usually compete at less than 10% body fat, which is unhealthy to maintain for very long. In order to get their body fat that low, they go on extremely rigid diets (called pre-comp diets), much stricter than anything most of us have ever done. Like eating nothing but chicken and broccoli, all day, every day. Or nothing but egg whites all day. And they do hours and hours of cardio. And use diuretics to lose water.

The rebound part comes in after the competition is over. It refers to gaining back the weight that was lost through this extreme pre-comp dieting. It’s partly physical and partly psychological. The physical part is the body simply recovering from extreme dietary restrictions and manipulations and getting back to a healthy body fat %. The psychological part is the desire to eat everything in sight after being so deprived for so long. It’s not unusual for a female bodybuilder to gain 20 pounds or more in a few weeks after a competition.

So when JC talked about Pam Brown, she was saying that Pam didn’t get to be a bodybuilder by using the BFL program, though it’s a wonderful program. It just isn’t going to get anyone in shape for a bodybuilding competition (nor is it meant to). As to the rebound, Pam, like some other bodybuilders, puts on a lot of weight when she’s not dieting down for a competition. I understand that her off-season weight is in the 170-190 range.

The scary part of pre-comp diets is when they trigger eating disorders and yo-yo dieting, with extreme weight fluctuations. Fortunately, most of us aren’t interested in competing in bodybuilding shows!

Thanks Meg,

I am glad you are well enough to post !! Thanks for the explanation of REBOUND. How long do you have to wait before you can get back to your beloved GYM? Meg, your GYMmates must really be missing you at this point!

Once again I am surprised to hear that most ladies on the LWL don't do body building shows. I always picture you all throwing out your egg yolks and then going over to your mirrors and posing in your bikini's looking all Statuesque.

--Pookie (Gym Hamster)

Interesting that this should come up - I posted an article in the "Articles Worth Reading" sticky thread about the "Rebound Effect" a couple weeks ago (It's the very last article on the thread actually, so it shouldn't be too hard to find). If any of you ever gets the thought of doing a pre-competition or competition-type diet as a way to lose a lot of weight...read that article VERY CAREFULLY and think again. Let me reiterate what Meg and JC said: Competition-type diets are not healthy, nor are they a way to permanently lose fat. Trust me on this...I know from personal experience. Not to mention all the other bad side effects, weight rebound is only one of them. The drastic dieting, the hours upon hours on end of cardio (are you really willing to do 2 hours of cardio per day 5-6 days a week?), the supplements which, although natural, can really screw up your body (strong diuretics, fat burners, massive doses of creatine, etc. etc.).

JC's VERY correct in saying that Pam did NOT lose all her weight on BFL. Pam herself has said that many times in articles, etc. In fact, many of the BFL Champions didn't follow the book strictly in order to win the EAS/BFL Championship - if you read the Hussman site (www.hussman.org/fitness) in the section called "Tweaking the Program" there are a few quotes from past BFL Champs who said they did extra cardio, cut out carbs after noon, didn't take free days, etc. I haven't checked the contest rules for awhile, but last time I did, there was no rule stating that contestants were required to follow the guidelines in the BFL book...all they had to do was use EAS products in their challenge, and a 12-week timeline in which to meet their goal.

I've said it before (and I'll probably say it again :) ) the bottom line IMO is that we are in this for our HEALTH first and foremost. And to maintain the weight lost for a lifetime!

Pookie -- I feel terrific! I still have to take it easy because the incisions are still healing. It'll be two weeks tomorrow and it takes three weeks for the collagen to close an incision. So I'm probably about a week or two away from going back to lifting :barbell: . I'm allowed to drive starting tomorrow and I'm hoping for the OK to start walking around the track. Nothing extreme; I just need to get moving! I've been very careful about what I'm eating since I've had to be totally inactive and I'm only up a few pounds, which is probably due to swelling anyway. :crossed: