Hi all!
Had a great week nutrition wise, but was lacking in the exercise department. I'm not going to make my original goals, but will do the best I can. I plan to be in on the 2nd challenge as well. I did, however, get into a pair of previously too small jeans yesterday so that's a big victory!
Roosed, those headaches are no fun. Kudos to you for getting the workout in anyway! Here's hoping for another good night's sleep.
I'll be saving my "free meals" for Thursday and Saturday when we have the 2nd Thanksgiving at our house. I'm not too worried about gaining as long as I get all my workouts in.
Make it a great weekend everyone!
Kim
As much as I struggle with the pounds not moving on this type of program I read this article (recommended by a trainer). I thought you guys might like to read it. It really explains a BFL type of program very well.
www.t-nation.com/.../the_best_damn_cardio_article_period
Phew! I made it through week 7! I am hoping to start seeing a little more results in the next week or two :) I am skipping my free day tomorrow (gasp) to save it for Thanksgiving!! 100% for workouts and diet so far (but really enjoying my free day too) and I am happy with the results thus far. It's so great how well everyone is doing. I love the support that I can find here on these message boards and this thread in particular!
Happy Sunday Q4 Crew!!!
Lorig2727, thanks for the encouraging words! Congrats on wrapping up too!!! Several of us are planning to tear into our next challenge on January 2nd so if you want to ride a little active rest then jump on the next fat fighting freight train over here….ALL ABOARD!
1HD, look at you girl! In those jeans…WooHoo!!! Thanks for the link BTW. I need to print that off and give it to our gym manager who is the absolute mirror of the coin saying cardio is the ONLY way to shed fat. It’d be fun to put the two of them in a room and see who was triumphant!
JMS, congrats on the 100% / 100% that is OUTSTANDING! Good luck holding off until Thursday. Personally I decided more on the alternate approach since Thursday is much closer to next Saturday than it was to yesterday LOL, at least that’s what I’m going to keep telling myself!
Time for a week 7 wrap up! As I feared, the low nutrition intake & sleep deprivation of last week seem to have had the same one week “impact delay” as everything else seems to have on this train wreck. I busted it in the gym this week and even had one or two half decent night’s worth of ZZZs this week but basically only managed to MAINTAIN with a 0.2 LB loss this week, although admittedly this isn’t measurement week so there may be a happier reason behind it all but I’m just not in the mood to jack with it so…screw it…head down, full steam ahead!
This past week I know I ate a bit better than the week prior but the sleep wasn’t much better. This past week totaled up some decent numbers though, grinding out 471,900 LBs of iron, including 3K from a rare Saturday bicep dumbbell mini-fest here at the house. Cardio this week was decent as well burning off 2590 calories, again including 600 from “homework” on Saturday. Normally Saturday is my “day off” but the cardio was some awesome stress relieving recreation and after Friday’s realization of how out of balance my BI / TRI work was, that little dose of chromed iron felt necessary.
The workplace gym doesn’t open for about 2 more hours today as they do a real scrub down every Sunday morning so I’m just kind of killing time this morning as the eyelids went on strike at “0” Dark-Thirty like they’re used to doing and there weren’t any negotiations to be had with’em so…Rock on pals!
The Mrs had to work today & JR is heading over the river & through the woods to GF's G'ma's house for an early family T'day feast so I'll be a lone Grizzly at the gym today as there just isn't ever anybody there on Sunday but us, once the cleaners head out, so at least I can growl at the iron all I want LOL!
Let’s all get a jump on Thanksgiving and workout a spot or two for the evil goodies which are bound to ensue…I’m thinking I might chuck the Mrs’ pumpkin pie out & sub in a nice big peanut butter one instead LOL!
Y'all have an OUTSTANDING day leading into a great week 8!!!
I noticed your name roosed - Im so proud of you for continuing with your challenge. It sounds like you are making great progress.
Hit that gym hard and holler like a lunitic! The power within is screaming to have that voice!
I had, what I consider, a successful free day. Roosed I decided to take a more moderate approach as well. I could see myself totally caving before Thanksgiving if I didn't have a little wiggle room. Today has not even been close to what my previous free days have been. I basically have eaten like a non free day all day long. I made a rump roast with carrots and potatoes in the crock pot and it looked to good to pass up. So I just had a palm sized piece of the roast with a fist size serving of potatoes/carrots. I also had a DELICIOUS brownie from costco that was only 100 calories but one of the richest brownies I have ever tasted so totally satisfying. So as far as calories I'm maybe a few hundred above what I normally would be during the week but doesn't make much of a difference if averaged over the week. I will eat Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy every bite and this year I WON'T beat myself up for it which feels like the most liberating thing! (someone told me calories don't count on holidays anyways ;)
Turns out I was right, I had the entire gym all to my lonesome this afternoon! Stuck a kickin’ high school era classic metal CD in the gym boom box and ran the routine sans earbuds. OMG! No Wonder gym manager chick gave me grief for grunting or growling at the iron LOL! Wow! Those earbuds sure do knock out the noise I guess!!!
Based on Legs’ suggestion that I should take advantage of the lone day and grab a little extra motivation through the expression of voice and drive, I laid into it. I’ve got to admit that it worked but Tuesday when I hit LBWO again it’s sure going to be tough to increase beyond today’s grind while being polite to the crowd LOL! Today’s LBWO Today’s grind fest netted 67,840 LBs @ .85 Tons / Minute with 500 cardio calories burnt away & 334 Vertical Feet clambered up.
JMS, congrats on your Holiday approach! That roast sounds spectacular!
Hang in there crew!!!
HD, thanks for the link on Cardio. This is a good article on what's going on "inside my house" right now. It also is in line with Mr Phillip's philosophy with cardio being only one of the three parts of getting fit.
As for my diet, I also noticed a huge difference in the amount of Ben and Jerry's I have consumed since I STOPPED BUYING IT! LOL! I ate ice cream 11 times in the last challenge, but only once this round ( a delicious malt on Friday, my day off).
Happy Monday. Christmas is closer than it has been....
Cheers,
Frick
Yikes, so much for my commitment to keep it easy on a free day! Still going strong 6 days a week, but my free day this week included quite a lot of rather 'off programme' food!
I've seen pretty good results so far, even with crazy free-days, but as we get towards the back-end of the challenge I'm definitely going to have to calm things down, just because I want to get the best end-result in the end.
1hdhawk, thanks very much for that cardio article, really interesting stuff there. I'm in a place now where I'm looking to burn off the last layer of fat, and I always feel tempted to ramp up the cardio just for that reason.
roosed, I'm prety sure I've scared a few people in the gym over the last few months with strange faces and loud grunts - that's why I like going late in the evening and at weekends, when the gym is quietest!
Jms, what a great free day. Moderate is the way to go!
Roosed, that's why I love to workout at home. I can crank up the tunes and make as much noise as I want to.
Frick, way to go on NOT buying the ice cream! Look at all the $$$ you're saving too!
I reread Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle this weekend. Tom Venuto says more days of cardio is ok if you have lots of fat to lose. It can be more days of HIIT or steady state cardio sessions. He says you're not to go over 60 min. or you'll start to lose LBM. His opinion is that 3 days of 20 min. HIIT isn't enough, especially if you're an endormorph. I know for me that's true. That being said, I started my day with a nice 30 min. HIIT session on the treadmill. Short on food today, just got too busy, but it was the right nutrition at least. Hang tough for Turkey day!
Hi all -- everyone sounds like they are doing great.
I think I am catching that bug everyone had over the last few weeks...UGH. However, I did get my UPWO in last night. Didn't get up for cardio this morning, but I have made good practice (so far) of getting it done first thing in the morning.
I posted some pictures on my profile. Week 2 and then the end of week 6. I think I actually look FATTER. I am still pushing through and finishing, but seeing those photos really depressed me as I don't see any changes.
Getting nervous about Thanksgiving. Still planning on getting all my workouts in and enjoying THursday as my free day.
Hoping to hit that Week 8 miracle. Which at this point, I need a miracle!!!
Kelly, I am in my last week of BFL and my overall results has been fantastic. (I will post my pictures soon) I read your post today and looked back at my week 2 and week 6 pictures and virtually saw zero results. Please be patient and keep your head up high. The changes do come. Make sure you are reaching a "10" in the gym.
The weeks 8-12 are so transformational that you will be happy that you never gave up!
THANKS, LORIG!!!
Kelly, I feel exactly the same way you do. I think, however, that in previous weight loss endeavors, I would have given up if I didn't notice major changes after 6 weeks. The beauty in the situation is that we didn't just throw in the towel because the results were not what we anticipated or hoped for. You have kept going despite your discouragement. I believe that's where the "for life" part of the program comes into play. Great job pushing through!
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We were at my brother's place and I did indulge in some of whatever I wanted. I did keep portions small, had one piece of pie, and got right back on plan this morning. I just finished up my cardio for the day. My in-laws will be here this afternoon so we'll do it all again tomorrow. I'll keep things moderate and keep the workouts going. That's the plan anyway!