Steve,
I am 5'7" and my starting weight was around 182. Sounds like you're right on par with where I was. Of course you've dropped a lot more poundage so far. I am hanging around 174/175 right now....but I am feeling good, because I know the muscle is there, Though scale is not shooting down very quickly, I am still losing fat--my caliper measurements have gone from 14mm to 10mm in these last 4 weeks. I feel great and my life has taken a precision-focus, and again much of which has little to do with fitness. It's great!
For everyone: I recently read an article on implementing habits; the concept goes something like this:
If you are trying to implement a new habit, then you have to start with a deep sense of focus and commitment. You have to wake up every day and concsiously make the decsion to implement the behavior. You must do this day after day. Everyday. In fact, if you miss a day, you have to start over with the same sense of focus and commitment you started with---then---after enough time goes by, you will suddenly wake up a new person--and you won't have to make that decsion anymore because the habit is there and now it's part of you.
This concept goes right along with the quote I mentioned earlier in this thread: "Good habits are hard to establish, but easy to live with. Bad habits are easy to establish, but hard to live with."
Thankful for you guys and am ready to finish Week 4 strong!
@ LAHerrera, It's a freeing feeling. Breaking free from binge eating. When you're stuck in the cycle, you feel like you're in a hopeless, powerless place. It's an addiction. Glad to hear you beat it! It doesn't take long. Just commit to abstaining for 2-4 weeks, and you'll regain control. I'm feeling a little bit better today. The severity of my chills & aches have subsided, but I still have a sore throat and am running a low-grade temp. Food has no taste, but I'm still eating high protein! Like Fit4Life always says, getting in shape is 90% diet, so I'm not gonna get upset over missing a few workouts.
@ Tyler, Keep up the good work. I can see by your posts that you're changing just as much mentally as you are physically. I'm much happier now. But I also want to be able to redirect the power of this transformation to other areas of my life. I'm getting there... We just need to copy and paste the same focus and commit to all endeavors we pursue.
Hi everyone,
sorry I haven't posted before now but I generally read all your messages on my iphone via email so do not often actually log on to here.
Last time I wrote, I was feeling quite demotivated with my progress. I did read all your responses and I am very grateful. Just to let you know where I am at now....
Over halfway through week 4 and only missed one weights workout yesterday. I was feeling a bit under the weather but I will squeeze it in at the end hopefully, that is if I don't miss any more!
Food is 100% clean apart from free day but I do tend to struggle with the protein/carbs split. Sometimes I just have a banana or a protein shake as a meal instead of doing the carbs/protein split. I know this is bad but not as bad as cheating full stop.
I really really need to plan and prepare in advance! This is my downfall!
Overall I am feeling a lot better now as measurements are dropping, I won't lie and tell you I am finding it easy though. it is a struggle sometimes and I am trying to take each day one at a time-I think it is the best way!
Good luck to everyone, we are almost one third of the way through!
Lou xxx
Hey All- Feeling the post-cardio glow... I love what you wrote, Lou..." overall I am feeling better and the meas are dropping...but it isn't easy." So very true- if it was easy, we would have done this long ago. I guess we just needed to be in the right space and have the right motivation to tackle a project like this!
But back to your statement- feeling better and meas are dropping...my hunch is that you would have given anything to be able to say that a measly 26 days ago!!! I am so glad you stuck around to be able to post that message!
What say we shift into second gear and get a bit further down the BFL trail in a faster and more powerful way!
Let's go!
Thanks BobbyA! I have had a sudden burst of motivation and positivity thanks to messages like yours!
I am one day from the end of week 4 and am going to take progress pics and measurements on Tuesday. I really feel like I am going to start week 5 strong.
Hope everyone else who started this journey with us is still out there somewhere keeping focused!
Hi Thanks for all your posts, they really help me get through each day of the challenge.
You all sound like you are doing so well! I have to confess that im not always 100% with the diet, I have been going for little mouthfuls of this and that throughout the day when i have a craving, and i know it all adds up! I REALLY want to control my diet for the rest of these weeks because this is a BAD habit. So thats my focus for week 5 and i will let you know how im getting on (to keep accountable).
Although i have been struggling, im really glad that i haven't just given up and im still planning to complete.
Did some measuring and found I have lost 1" in chest, waist and butt. Not earth- shaking, but I'll take it. The scale said I was down 2 lbs. BUT what I find heartening is the way my body is feeling--a bit more tone, a few musskells popping out, a subtle indication to me that I am going in the right direction. I went thru my closet and tried on things...I have 14 pairs of pants and 14 shirts (don't know why the numbers are the same) that do not fit me, that I am too fat for. This is the driver for me right now--I want to have the ability to fit into EVERYTHING in my closet. These are not clothes from high school that I am reminiscing about wearing again--these are things that I wore two years ago! So that's my quest now--get into those clothes! It'll be like getting a whole new wardrobe, for free!
Going to go thru my workout book and change up exercises for these next 4 weeks. Gotta keep the muscles guessing!
Hit a 10 lately??!!
BobbyA,
How are you changing things up? I've been thinking I want to change my workout but not sure how. Are going to stay with the 12, 10, 8, 6, 12, superset or do something completely different? The workout now is good and i love how i feel, but I'm afraid of getting in a rut.
I have lost 2" from my chest and waist and 1" from my hips, still to afraid to get on the scale. I think I'll take pictures tonight to see what 2" looks like.
Just booked out vacation for June, so I have even more incentive to get healthy. Bathing suit ready by June looks like I'll be doing back to back challenges.
@ Heather- I'm a believer in the system as it is layed out in the book(s), so that is what I follow. What I will change is the type of exercises, and/or the position of the exercise. Going from a flat bench press to an incline bench will focus on a different part of the target muscle ( in this case, the pecs). I have done this before and am amazed at how the workout felt so different- just by changing the position. I have access to a different gym and using their machines will target the muscles differently, too. I have been using dumbells exclusively so far...i think I will start using barbells to see what the difference is.
Best of luck in your updating of your program, and congrats on the inches lost!
Hello experienced BFL folks....When you guys first started BFL were you hungry all the time? You would think eating 6 meals a day I wouldn't have a chance to get hungry, but I actually feel like I'm starving. What gives?
Hello nursegirlmandy, I was hungry a bit at times but I drank more water to help, are you drinking enough water, sometimes it could be that your mind thinks your hungry but it could just be your thirsty. Are you portions large enough in you meals? My wife went and got us a kitchen scale just so we can make sure, turns out were were under portioning our turkey like in a sliced turkey sandwich but over portioning our chicken breast. Are you doing the Myoplex shakes and are you doing the Original that are 17 oz 42 grams of protein? I do the Original but my wife does the liter ones and its fine for her but not nearly enough for me, besides they are only half the grams of protein, not having enough protein in your diet could affect you hunger.
Hey Mandy, I'm a nurse too! When I started, I was often hungry the first 1-10 days. But in retrospect, I think maybe I wasn't as hungry as much as I was just going thru food withdrawl. I agree with LAHerrera, drinking lots of water helps control some of that. I would snack on an apple with alot of water to get me to my next meal. The hunger- in my experience- was a temporary issue. After a couple weeks, the inbetween meal hunger just kind of disappeared.
Okay everyone. I FINALLY WEIGHED MYSELF! I said I wasn't going to, but I went to see my doctor yesterday and they weighed me, and I was MORTIFIED! The scale said I weighed 189 (I started on 12/2 at 205 lbs), and I was expecting a much larger weight loss! So I came home, and reweighed myself naked, and as it turns out, I was wearing 15 pounds worth of clothes! So I started at 205, lost 30, and am now down to 175. I'm 23 days away from completing my 12-weeks, and I'm sure I'll reach my goal of 168! So I'm really happy about this! Everything is right on track with my projections.
But, like I said, I jumped in this thread to complete it with the rest of ya'll! I'm doing a 16-week challenge. I think the extra four weeks will really get me ripped, and that's what I'm going for. So my "official" end date is March 22 (...Not that I'm going to stop living healthy!). But yea, I've been out of commission from training for 7-days now. Diet is going awesome, still no cheat days. But I came down with a NASTY head-cold. Nasal congestion. Painful swallowing. Totally lost my voice for two days. Got pink eye. LOL. Not fun, but my blood sugar is totally under control now (no more pre-diabetes!), which is great, but my blood pressure...
My blood pressure is still way higher than it should be. Very frustrating. So unfortunately, my BP is looking more and more like a genetic thing that can't be control thru lifestyle modification, which stinks big time. So I'm going to see a cardiologist to get it taken care of. I'm not thrilled with the idea of having to take a med, but at this point, I don't know what else to do. Bobby, Louisa, Heather, angelcake, Tyler, and everyone else, HOPE YOU'RE ALL STILL KICKING BUTT WITH THIS THING! :-) Keep posting!!! I love reading about everyone's progress!
Hi Steve, well done! That weight loss is incredible, looking forward to seeing the transformation pictures!
Just a quick 4 week update from me. I have lost a total of 6lbs, 1.5" off my waist, 2" off hips, 2" off my belly and 2" off each thigh. Not posting photos yet as they don't show enough progress to be worthwhile.
I am pleased with the results but I know I can push it to the next level. I think it has finally clicked that I am going over the top on free day. I saw it as an excuse to just keep eating and actually found myself thinking of things to eat just because I could.
I have decided that for the next 8 weeks I am going to limit calories on free day-I will still eat free foods but will not go over the top and blow all the hard work from throughout the week.
This challenge is going a lot quicker than the last one, can't believe we are on week 5 already!
Lou x
Wow Lou! Your inches are flying off! I am happy to read that you are fully engaged in this transformation now. I,too, feel a need to tighten up the nutrition portion of this challenge. It does feel good to see some inches begone, but I want to lose MORE! I want to fit into those pants that sit in the closet, mocking me with their slimness, whispering to each other," He'll never be able to wear us again...we can live a long life and never have to worry about ever being worn out..hahaha!"
Do you guys ever hear those voices??!!
Hi angelcake- I think you have the right idea about cheat days. Losing weight is all about burning more calories than you consume. I haven't seen it discussed much on these boards, but I think you can really derail yourself BIG TIME if you go nuts on your cheat day. Back in the day, it seemed like Bill Phillips encouraged eating "whatever you want" on cheat days. I don't know about everyone else, but I have a bottomless pit of a stomach, and could easily down 5500 calories a day. Well, if my body only requires 2000 calories a day, than I just created a 3500 calorie excess, which translates into a pound of fat. This is something none of us want. I would encourage everyone here, if you haven't done so already, find an online basal metabolic rate calculator to figure out how many calories your body needs daily to A) maintain your weight, and B) lose fat. Then, remember those numbers if/when you have your cheat day.
Go ahead and eat whatever you want, but keep your calories where they need to be so you're not shooting yourself in the foot. Losing weight is a numbers game. You could eat 4 McDonalds Double Cheeseburgers daily and still get in shape. I'm not endorsing it, because of all the fat and obviously, if that's all you eat a day, than it's not a very balanced or nutritious diet. But- 4 McDoubles= 1600 calories, and actual, a decent amount of protein! If your body needs 2800 calories a day to maintain your current weight, and you're only eating 4 McDoubles, than you've just created a 1200 calorie deficit. That would translate to a 1 pound weight loss every 3 days! Again, I'm not promoting a fast food diet! I'm sort of digressing... The point I'm really trying to make is that you 100% CANNOT go wild on cheat days. Unlimited calorie consumption- even if just one day a week- can screw with your results. Sorry for the long post! I just think angelcake brought up a VERY good topic that isn't discussed much and has some "grey area" attached to it.