It seems like when it rains - it pours.... Just before Thanksgiving - everything kind of went haywire between work and family. My brother ended up in the hospital, there was like an avalanche of projects that landed in my lap at work and my pc at home freaked out. But, other than that - everything seems to be going okay.

Tonight - I was on the phone with my Mum - I managed to use an aerobic step (at a reasonable pace) and talk to her for about 15 - 20 minutes - without collapsing.

So - I quit smoking - managing to refrain from eating everything within a five mile radius. I am exercising more than I have in the past. When I go someplace I am even parking at the far end of the parking lot. I cut out coffee and sodas. If I were to get cut, I would bleed water and not blood. Honestly - I am be pretty well behaved.

SO COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHY I HAVE GAINED TWO POUNDS????

I refuse to make my ticker move upwards at this point... I have not even got it to move in the right direction... cheating...well, maybe not the most honest thing - but I am trying to look at in a morale boosting move sort of way - you know like not completely destroy my confidence in the first 30 days kind of thing.

Someone - tell me where I am screwing up... cuz - I am just not understanding.

Oh side note - I am going back to the doctor on Tuesday - will appreciate any happy thoughts sent my way -

Have a great one everybody!

Here's some happy thoughts from someone who's up in the middle of the night with a sick husband!

Don't move your ticker. Just hang in there!
We're here for you and we'll help you keep your programme evolving until it works for you!

Penney,

Only worry about the things you can control. The eating, the exericise, etc. On those things, it sounds like you are doing great. Incredibly great considering the Thanksgiving holidays and the extra stresses it sounds like you've had.

The scale does not always tell the true story. First of all, it only measures body weight. It measures fat, muscle, water, skin, bone. It counts it all and does not distinguish between the good stuff (lean mass) and the bad (body fat). Believe me, you want as much of the good stuff as possible and as little of the bad stuff. This is why if you are going to use a scale, also use some sort of body fat % measurement as well. If you do not know how to use calipers or have access to a professional that does, you can still buy a body fat scale or a handheld device. While these are not as accurate as calipers (and certainly not as accurate as hydrostatic weighing), they will show an accurate trendline. If you cannot measure body fat, ignore the scale entirely and use a pantometer like SusanB has talked about.

You may have added two pounds for various reasons. You may have retained some water for various reasons (who cares!) or you may have gained muscle mass (woo hoo!) or it can be a combination of those two or even a host of other things that the scale won't accurately measure. It doesn't necessarily mean that you are gaining fat. In fact, based on what you tell us, I can almost guarantee you 100% that it is not fat. In fact, if you have followed your program as well as you described, I would bet that you lost body fat despite the added two pounds.

Question: Can you press assault charges against an exercise instructor?

Well, I am thinking about it! Because I am telling you, I completed an exercise dvd today - I swear - the guy was trying to kill me!

But, I did it - 36 minutes.... and I am still breathing!!!

Okay - I will admit it - part of the time - I was going at like half the pace - trying to catch my breath... but - hey - I hung in there..... I did not fall into heap on the floor, weeping and begging for mercy... but I thought about it...


Thanks everyone for the info and ideas concerning the weight... according to my "pant-o-meter" - I am doing okay - because some of my clothes - I am telling you - if I so much as gained a "real" pound - well let's put it this way - anyone remember the movie the Hulk? Remember what happened to his clothes when he went from average Joe -to great hulking green man. Anyway - I tried on a pair of my "don't breathe to deep, take it easy on the seams" pants and I can still get them on. Not saying I keep them on...

Went to the doctor - the news completely sucked, but hey - what can you do... going for more tests "just to make sure". Oh well, such is life.

Well, everyone have a great day!

Penney

I'm so jealous of you "lady weight lifters". I used to lift. Been doing it since I was in college & it has always been my chosen form of exercise. I love it! But I can't do it anymore (shoulder problem). Yea, I could still do the lower body workout, but who wants a totally toned lower body & a completely flabby upper body? I hate my "arm-dangle". Ick.

I can tell those of you who have trouble with cardio - if you're on the treadmill or stair climber or stationary bike, whatever - the best way to do it is to start slow. Go as long as you can until you just can't do it anymore. 12 minutes? 15 minutes? 3 minutes? Doesn't matter. Now the next cardio workout, add one or two little bitty minutes to that time. Come on! We can do ANYTHING for two minutes, right? Then each cardio workout, just keep adding a minute or two. Before you know it, you'll be adding 5 minutes, then 10. It took me about a month to go from 10 minutes to 45 minutes on the treadmill, total incline & about 3.7 - 4.0 mph.

Still... I miss my weight lifting!

I did this program about about 18 months ago.. I lost 30lbs in 10 weeks! I've been on WW and I don't have the same success as I do on BFL! All these weeks wasted on WW and not one pound lost - so sad! So BFL here I come.. I do plan to tweak it a lil bit this time around.

Good luck to all the newbies on BFL!