Hey Fluffy - glad you made it over here - this is a great group of people!

re: gaining weight - this is normal the first 1-2 weeks if you have not been exercising regularly, but don't let anyone try to tell you you've gained muscle already.  What you've done is filled the muscle you have with glycogen (muscle sugar) which is very hydorphillic, so it pulls water in with it.  If you are still gaining weigh after the first couple of weeks, then you are eating too much.  Even if you don't have a lot of weight to lose and just want to trade some fat for muscle, your weight should stay about the same, not go up.  Hope that makes sense.

So I took my cheat day yesterday, and I got a wee bit carried away.  Just logged it all in my food log and it came to 3700 cals!  The scary thing is that I was eating that way almost everyday for the month of September -- no wonder I gained so much weight!

So, while I ate a lot of crap yesterday, I feel good about logging it, and really good about the fact that I woke up this morning relieved to be back on program today.  

Day 13 for me - BFL-style lower body, and then cardio tomorrow to finish off the week.  It's supposed to be gorgeous here, so I'm planning a long bike ride rather than intervals - I'll take a really hilly route though, so it will have built in intervals anyway.

My shoulders were still a little tweaky yesterday, so I think I'll do a bit of rotator cuff work with my lbwo today.  I do it whenever it occurs to me, but I should just formally add it in to all of my workouts.

@vinny - your lunch sounds delicious - thanks for sharing! H

Hellooooo....anyone out there? anyone? Bueller?

Guess everyone else has better things to do this weekend :-)

Checking in - day 14 - 1/6 of the way through.  Still chilly this morning in Boston, but the sun is out and it promises to be a beautiful day.  Going for a ride later - one of my last rides on my current bike - I've had it for almost 20 years, and it's seen me through a lot of miles, but the time to upgrade has come.  Need to make one more payment, and this beauty (minus the zipps - will have to save for those) is mine:Tri-geometry, full carbon cockpit, ultegra/dura-ace components..you can lift it up with one finger! Way more bike than I really need or can really afford, but what the hell  -  we'll just call it my "mid-life crisis" splurge. 

Hope everyone else is doing well and just hasn't had a chance to check in.

@Mel - how did the med school interview go??

Helen

Well got on the scales this morning and I gained 3 pounds!  This is the third week I haven't dropped any weiight.  I'm trying not to be disappointed because my clothes are fitting better than ever but I do have a weight loss goal in my goals for BFL so I feel somewhat down.  I have doubled my cardio this week trying to get ready for the 10K I am running on Thanksgiving so I have no idea if this has something to do with it or not.  I'm going to do a better job this week of logging what I eat.  Hope everyone else is having great success.

Well gang, this is cheatday checking in.

Love the way you are dealing with the mid life crisis helcat, maybe I'll move on from my Rocky Mountain Straos too.

Hang in there ksmith, your body weight is being changed into muscle, your clothes are your best indicator for now.

So here's my BFL success so far.

I started my new life style of eating properly, or should I be more specific, I started eating food the BFL way with the crew that all went through the August 1st 12 week challenge. At the end of that 12 week program I lost a whopping 40lbs!

Now I'm at the end of my second week of the second 12 week program, as you all know, and I took out the tape to re-do all my body measurements. Get ready for it folks, the total of all the measurements (chest, belly, waist, butt, upper thigh, and lower thigh) is 25" less than when I started in August 1st.

Chest down 2", belly down 10", waist down 7", upper thigh down 4", lower thigh down 2"!!!!!! 25" gone!

I've lost over 2 feet of fat, now if that isn't proof that this stuff really works than I don't know what is.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you all, and I hope it helps you to go into week three with more strength to stick with the program, I'm totally blown away by how fast this transformation has happened.

25" gone in 14 weeks!

Cheatday

Hi everyone...checking in.  Still trying to stick with the program, but just not feeling it.  Plus I'm struggling with some life issues so not very chatty.   I'm still here and reading all your posts.

cheatday--congrats on your results so far!  That's very impressive.

helcat - 3700 calories is alot for the day.  What kinds of foods were you eating?   Was it clean food or a combination of both.  I think it can add up pretty quick if we aren't too careful.

ksmith - It could be water retention too so don't let the scale upset you too much.  I'm just as bad about it but I'll have to figure out a way to not let it get to me so much.  

I've been doing alright with the weights and am struggling on my last 2 sets every time.   I find myself having to take a couple seconds right after set 5, and then at about the 8 count on the last rep in order to finish the last set.  So if that means I'm hitting my 9/10's then I guess I am.  

Week 2 was LB/UP/LB and for LB I've been doing step ups with the weights following the BFL plan and my knee joints are hurting, but I'm not sure if it's from the step exercises or the lunges.  On Friday, I was not able to complete the lunge exercise because it hurt so bad I did not want to force it and then injure myself.   Wanted to ask if this was normal and if there are any other exercises as alternate to lunges that I can work around with while the ache goes away.

You are all doing great--keep up the good work.  Enjoy your Sunday everyone.

HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EVERYONE!!!!

Ok... it's my cheat day.  Not too bad... so far.  Will try not to overdo it...!!!   ;)

Had a pretty good week.  Workouts went well.  Worked hard but think I can work harder.  

That's where I need your help...  I'm a big girl.  I'm a viking, no, really... so I have lots of muscle (I have lots of fat too, but... I have lots of muscle :)   What do I do?  I lift pretty heavy to hit my 10's.  Yes, I want to tone muscle, but I don't wanna be a bodybuilder.  My main goal is fat burning.  Should I:  a) keep increasing my weights to hit 10's; b) try some different exercises -- and if that's the case, which ones; c) do longer reps with lower weights -- which is not the BFL way; or d) all (or none) of the above...???

So... my Aug 1 challenge was kinda scrapped, but was still down 9lbs when I started this challenge.  Slow start with some stuff happening here, but I've done really well staying off of my Diet Cokes and am down 3 more lbs.  Not much, but a start!

Sounds like there are some good things happening out there.  I know it's hard to get started and/or stay motivated sometimes, but even the little positive steps are still positive steps -- so, well done all!  Proud of all of you -- keep up the good work into our next week!

Chrissy :)

Happy Monday all!

I did my UBWO this morning and it felt great!  I did my bicep curls with the pully machine and it helped a lot!  I have been doing dumbell curls, but my left arm is signifigantly weaker than my right, so I figure this is a good way to build some strength.  I know I am gonna feel it tomorrow.

I am going to go to the grocery store after work to get some better food for this week.  This week I am going to really focus on my eating and write down every single thing that I eat.  If this is why I am gaining weight, I want to stop it early in this journey.

I hope everyone has a fantastic week!

Hey everyone,

I am glad everybody is doing pretty well. Congratulations.

My BFL challenge is going well. Doing my best with training, eating and trying to keep focused to stick with the program. Sometimes is very hard. We all know it, but as helcat reminds us discipline is remembering what we want. And she is dead right.

My only change for this week is going to be having 5 meals instead 6. Why?

My previous schedulle:

Getting up 6.00 - 6.30

Morning jogging/ run/ walk 7.00 - 7.45

Meal 1 - 8.00

Meal 2 - 10.00

Meal 3 - 12.00

Meal 4 - 14.00 - 15.00

Meal 5 -  17.00

Workout 18.00 - 20.00

Meal 6 - 20.30 - 21.00

Bed time 23.00 +

So between my morning meals are only 2 hrs. I kept meals light anough, but always felt like I was forcing myself eating each time, I was not hungry and 2 wks are done, but I also did not loose any weight, so, now I will be ating at 8am,11am, 2pm, 5pm, 8.30pm.

Probably I could get up earlier and to get my first meal at 6am, but again, cardio workouts on empty stomach are more efficient I guess. anybody else srugulling with it?

In a previous post I asked some advice regarding real food and shakes for evening meal after workouts, unfortunately none replied...

good morning everyone!

sorry i have been mia ive been on med school interviews for the past few days so its been really hectic but im still here doing BFL! Im glad to see everyone is doing so well!

I will write more later

Have a great monday everyone!

Here it was my question for all last week and NO any discussion :(  or reply towards it. So I just keep reading posts, but not encouraged to post myself. Sorry guys, my english is not perfect, I am from Greece, but I guess is understandable.

What time is your last meal before you go to bed? What usually you have?

Most of the times my last meal is around 9pm. Going to bed  around11.30pm. Normally my workouts are between 6-8pm. The most hungry I am for my last meal, as it makes sence, because after workout and a longer break between meals, plus evening you eat with family together, more relaxed, tempted to eat more. After workouts I guess the best thing would be to have a supplement drink like protein shake and plus some carbs. But evening meals for me becomes from real food as I am cooking myself, of course making sure there are proteins, carbs, veg/salad .

Do you think would be better results gained by consuming supplement drink instead real food, in my opinion body abserves  immediatly and feeds muscles. Does real food does the same. It probably works slower, but would muscles feel a difference. Personaly I prefer natural food as only a shake after workout would not fill me up, I would be very hungry very soon. Or would be an option to have a shake straight after workout and then in about half an hour later some real food, maybe smaller portion???? Any advice on that from your expierences???

Thank you in advance.

@asta - I think you have to experiment and see how it works for you.  The thing I've learned with BFL is that it's not a one size fit all in that every body is different in the way they respond to diet and exercise.   Not everyone loses weight, because I  haven't lost any weight during C1 and I still haven't lost any weight since the start of C2.  I do think I have to be patient and just keep working at it and the weight will come off, just very very slowly...and honestly at this point it really feels like my body is never going to change and I'm never going to lose anything.   But  I'm also about 20lbs to my goal weight so I know that the closer you get to the goal, the harder it and longer it takes.  I would be glad to convert those 20lbs to muscle too.   When I was about 60lbs heavier in 2008, I lost 20lbs within 6 months just by running only and watching what I ate.  I didn't follow BFL and didn't do any weight training either but I was alot heavier so it was easier to shed I think.  It's just more difficult this time around and I am very frustrated but not doing something isn't going to get me where I want to be either.  

Not sure if I was able to answer any of your questions.  You know your own schedule best, and your body more than any of us would.  But I would suggest if you try one thing at a time, and do that for about a month, see if there are any changes.   If not, then try the next thing and just keep at it until you find what your body responds really well to.  The one thing I would not recommend is trying too many things at once, since it will be harder for you to pinpoint what works and what doesn't.

Helcat put it very well in an earlier post when she said, "this isn't exact science--it's a process so you have to find what works for you."  

Asta7-

"What time is your last meal before you go to bed? What usually you have?"

This is a big question, and Traci answered it perfectly, you've got to do a few different experiments and see how it works for you.

For me I try to stop drinking any more water or eating food 3 hours before bed. If I drink water right up to bed time, I won't get a deep sleep... up too many times in the night to pee. As for the food, I am a major believer in loading the blood stream with all the nutrients to aid in the muscle recovery process. I used to down a protein supplement drink right before bed, and that kept me up for hours. I found the digestive process raised my heart rate too high to get a good sleep, so I keep the food intake to 3 hours before bed.

On the other side of the issue, the morning workouts.

When I wake up, the first thing I do is down a large glass of water to get things going. I've found that it is impossible for me to do any weight training on an empty stomach, so if it's a weight training day I zap me a syntha6 vanilla shake and add 2 shots of espressos to it YUM! After the workout I will eat my breakfast, something like a breakfast wrap of hot cereal with protein powder on top.

If it's my cardio day, I'll try to do it without anything but water... but usually I'll down a myoplex lite shake so I can really hit those intervals, I've tried to do cardio on an empty stomach but it just is too weak.

The overall benefit of the BFL program is the higher intervals of food intake, this is what fills the blood stream with all the nutrients necessary to function at its maximum... maximum fat loss, maximum muscle growth... as long as you're pushing for the 10's in the weight program, doing the cardio and eating the BFL way your body is going to transform, and you're gonna like what you see ;-)

Let us know if you have any more questions, your questions are helping many other out here.

Cheatday

Hi all -

Not much of an upper body workout for me today.  I did something to my thumb yesterday, and have it taped so I can't really move it.  Did what I could, but it was pretty hard.  We have an ortho that works out of the Physical Therapy office at my gym - gonna' have him take a look at it later and recommend a hand person.  I have arthritis in both of my thumbs which sometimes kicks up after a long bike ride, but this is a whole new type/level of pain - probably just an inflamed tendon, but I don't want to take any chances.  

@Cheatday - congrats!!  Those are some big changes!

@Traci - hang in there! Life is a roller coaster; it will go down, but it will come back up -- AS LONG AS YOU STAY IN THE CAR!  It's when you get out and lie down on the track that it takes you out…

As for your knees - what kind of shoes are you wearing?  Running shoes tend to push your weight toward the toe, which puts more torque on the knees during step ups and lunges.  You might want to try barefoot or very flat shoes for lifting (Champion makes good, cheap ones)

@Chrissy - don't be afraid of the big weights! It's overall volume that makes you big - if you keep to 3 days a week, you will be fine.

@Asta - thought I had commented on the eating at night thing, but maybe it was on another thread.  I work until 9 or 10 most nights, so I always end up eating before bed.  I try to make it high protein/low carbs because carbs right before bed are supposed to suppress growth hormones.  

If you are eating 2 or more hours before bed, then I see no problem with real food, but like Cheatday said, a little experimentation may be in order.

If it is less than an hour before, then I would go with a smoothie/shake.  When I workout late, I use Syntha6 (cookies and cream – yummy!) because it has both whey and casein protein.  Whey is quick absorbing so good after a workout and casein is good before bed because it is digested slowly through the night.  If you don’t want to use a protein powder, try a smoothie with 1 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup frozen fruit, a little milk to help it blend, and a bit of the sweetener of your choice.

Hope everybody has a great Monday! h

Hi everyone

Been a while since i've been here so it's been good to catch up on everyone's progress this morning. Had a great UB workout last night with nearly all my weights increasing so that was really pleasing, I think the thing i'm realising already is that you do have to be patient with this programme. In two weeks I lost 2% body fat but only lost 0.5kg so you have to look at it realistically, i know i'd rather lose 2% of my body fat because it shows me that the work i'm doing to turn the fat to muscle is working. A lot of people have said about how your clothes fit being the best measure and it's totally true! Don't look in the mirror every day hoping to see a significant change just because you've had a great work out, that was my biggest downfall in the first week or so, now i don't even look in the mirror and have told myself i'm not going to until the end of week 4 when i'm going to take a new set of photos.

I'm still loving the challenge though and it's been great having my fiance do it with me, it certainly helps when there's two of you eating right and resisting the temptations! Hope everyone else has had a great start to week 3! Keep up the good work everyone!

Hi again everybody,

Helcat- thanks for the encouragement and advice on the shoes.  Is there a particular style that type of shoe is called?  I do have on running shoes.  Brand is Asics or something and they serve me well on the treadmill/stairs.  It has a good grip so when i'm taking the cardio class, it's a bit hard to quickly change my feet around.  A friend suggested I look into some cross training shoes to help out with the class movement.  So would those 'flat-type' shoes you were referencing cross trainer?  

Sorry to hear about your thumb--hope it doesn't affect your daily schedule too much.  It's funny how often we don't realize what body parts we use consistently, until there's a problem.  Is there anything you can take that will help with the pain?

And what do you mean when you say it's overall volume that makes you big?   I don't understand if overall volume represents weights, sets, reps, etc...

Asta- I second cheatday in that I'm glad you asked those questions as there are definitely others who are probably wondering the same thing.  Keep asking and asking because there really is alot to learn about your body on this program.  I'm still tweaking on my meals and carb/protein ratio amounts...but trying not to be too compulsive by at least keeping the basic principles of # of meals, portion size, and making I save the bad food for my free day.  

Grae--congrats on the bodyfat win...that's great!

mel - Glad you're still with us.

cheatday--how often do you plan on taking your measurements?  I have to admit, I'm still blown away by your last posting and success....really amazing!!!  =)

Fluffy - welcome to the group...we do have a great team here.   I made more effort to write down what I'm eating and my exercises this time around.  It will be good, because there are days when I would forget and it's important to be able to go back and see how you're trending.

Chrissy - 9lbs down is still quite an accomplishment.  Keep it up!

I'm going to be heading off to my workout again in a bit.  I have appt with PT today and he always makes me work plenty hard every time, because I definitely feel it  a couple days later.  Then will add a zumba class afterwards to get some cardio in.

Ending week 2 was a bit of a challenge, emotionally and eating...they go hand in hand don't they?   I got a bit laxed the last couple of days but I have to re-focus and get back into the groove of things.  So....today and rest of this week, I'm going to make sure I remember what my goals are....push very hard to get my 10's and remind myself that the results will come....eventually.  ;-D   I still owe everyone my measurements which I have not had much time to go and buy that tape measure and scale I have been meaning to get.  That will be my other goal this week as well.

Have a good night!