Good Morning Warriors!!!

Our puppy woke me up at 4:00 to go potty.  I was going to get up at 4:30 anyhow to do my Hiit, but just went ahead and got it done after I took him out.  I then took him to the vet for his vaccines, and now back home for a little while before I head to the gym to do UBWO.  I felt like I may have been a bit weaker on my run this morning, but that could be due to other issues as well.  I haven't run in a week, and I've been eating crappy...so it may not have been due to the lower carb day yesterday.  I will get a better feel for it on Thursday.  Today is high carb day, and I am happy.  I had 4 egg whites with two slices ezekial raisin bread for breakfast, and then just ate a protein pancake a little while ago.  My next meal will be my protein shake (with cytocarb & protein powder) after my workout, then a turkey sandwich with sugar snap peas, and for dinner....chicken with marinara sauce and brown rice pasta with a big salad....yum.  I will do a protein shake again before bed to keep my calories up there.  

I took my nutrition final last night.  I think I did well.  I know I got an A in that class.  Now, I just have to pass chemistry. That final is on Thursday morning.

runnermom:  It would be great to have someone carb cycling with me, so we can compare notes along the way.  He says to do it for three weeks and then take the slingshot week.  I am going to do it for 4 weeks, and then use our vacation as my slingshot week.  Great job getting that workout in, with the kiddos home.  I am already looking forward to summer and trying to figure out my workout routine....

Parson:  How cute and sweet that your kids notice and look to you for guidance.  My kids are at the age now that they just tease me all the time about "being a health junkie."  They are pretty good about making healthy choices for the most part.  Now, you are going to have to join the rest of us runners, for you daughter's sake.  Runner is right; you absolutely cannot taste the cottage cheese in the pancakes...the mixture is smooth and creamy and makes a fluffy pancake near the consistency of real pancakes.  You can probably mix eggs/egg whites, oatmeal and protein powder; you just have to play with the amounts.  I have had them with protein powder before, and don't care for the texture; they seem to be too spongey.  I think my carbs yesterday were below 60...I think, I'd have to check.  Today, they will be closer to 150.  On this program, you have a high carb breakfast everyday!  On low carb days, those are the only carbs you eat other than veggies.  On high carb days, you can have carbs with every meal.

Island:  Good luck to you with your new 8-week challenge.  It sounds as if you are off to an Awesome start!  Gheez, to think of all the people who miss out on that workout high!

runnergirl:  we would love to have you join us.  If you are in your third challenge, you are already a Warrior!  Welcome aboard.  We would all love to hear more about you and your experiences with BFL so far.  What goals have you already accomplished; what goals are you looking to accomplish this time?

Cuervo:  You are so right.  Check your pride at the door, and you can do amazing things by lifting lighter, if you really slow down and watch your form.  You aren't going to let this get you down.  You can accomplish anything you set your mind to.  So glad to see the Cuervo we know back in true form!!

I have to go order a gift for a friend who lost his dad a few days ago.

Have a wonderful day & remember to enjoy the ride!!

Good afternoon Warriors ! You guys sure know how to provide a warm welcome ! Thank you so very much :)

So here is my story:

I started Challenge 1 exactly a year ago. It was 8 months after I had given birth. I was still carrying 25 pounds of extra baby weight from the first 2 pregnancies. I was feeling extremely frustrated and depressed. I had tried personal trainers, training for races, starvation, every diet you can imagine. The weight was just stuck. I was browsing on youtube one afternoon searching for protein recipes when I came upon that BFL transformation video by Margi Faze. Have you guys seen that ? If you haven't, it's worth checking out. I sat and cried for about half an hour. It was this video that changed my life. It really spoke to me. On that very day, I wrote down in a journal that I was going to lose the fat and I've never looked back since. For the first time in my entire life, I lost weight every week. I completed 2 challenges and I was able to lose all the baby weight and reduced my body fat from 33%to 24.8%

I am currently on Challenge 3. I consider this one to be the most important, as I'm turning 40 this July ! I've been giving it my all this time..lifting heavier, eating cleaner and my goal is to get as lean as I can.  I have vowed to be excited on my bday and feel like I look better than I did at 30. I feel like I've been planning this day all year. Progress on the scale seems to be slower this time though. I'm actually gaining some weeks, maintaining other weeks...scale is not being kind to me, and I feel some time pressure !!  I am trying to remain patient. I wanted to drop another 10 before the end of July. I'm currently in my 2nd week of C3. This is my biggest challenge--myself ! I am extremely dedicated, and try to embody that "warrior" type mentality every day. I've given up alcohol this challenge, and giving it 100%. But I am a slave to the scale and tend to feel defeated when I don't see a loss. I need to get over that..I know I know ....use a tape measurer... :)

Islanddude--Aloha ! Hawaii happens to be one of the places I might be going for my 40th !! My husband wants to sleep in a tree :)  He has been there and thought it was the most beautiful place he has ever been. Do you think it would be a good place for a 40th bday?

Parsonbrown--I promise to give lots of blood, sweat, and tears :)  Hopefully more sweat and less blood and tears! I have a 4 year old and an 18th month old..I loved your story about your daughter. I do something similar with my son when I'm trying to get the workout in and don't have childcare...it makes it fun and motivates them as well. The cottage cheese protein pancakes are awesome ! I have a similar recipe and they are very filling and yummy:)

runnermom--I've also recently gotten into running after starting BFL.  I think you took my original name ! hehe...I'm thinking of training for my first half marathon in March. I'm running my first 10k in October. Just completed an 8k this past March. What about you? How do you do BFL and get in your runs ?

I look fwd to "meeting" the rest of you. Thanks !

Hey Gang & Runnergirl007,

Will update later on Linda's back as she is at the chiro's right now. This will take some time to heal. Had a good wo yesterday and had another person ask about the vibran's. Told her about my run as I ran on different sufaces. ei: pavement, gravel, dirt, tree roots and such. She said she has read alot on them so now she will give them a try. Linda has bussitus in her hip again so gentle stretching only.

PB, Great  feeling when the kids notice, warm and fuzzy feels so good. I'm liking the Collards just have to cooked the rawness out of them and season them well. Yummy.

Cuervo, keep it up your on a roll now. Way to go.

BD, I'm sure you will do just fine on the exams.

Runnermom, Buckwheat groats how do you prep them. What recipe do you use. I was going to run outside today but will run inside due too therainy day we are having.

Island_dude, Raw fish sounds good to me. We have a bunch of sushi joints opening up out this way. You are amazing. Love those KB Video's.

Gotta get back to work now have a great day all.

Claude

Good afternoon warriors!

Welcome to runnergirl

BD and runnermom- keep us informed on the carb cycling. Runner, I was not as interested in carbnite as I was carb backloading. I know that many times after a bad meal or something I have looked in the mirror and looked leaner and been stronger than ever. There has got to be something to it.

Parson-I made some pancakes with egg whites and oatmeal that were not bad. I then used a dab of Carys sugar free syrup and it was great. The worst food in life is cottage cheese to me. regarding deadlifts for all, you know my philosophy... I think everyone should strive for 1.5 to 2 times there bodyweight in all traditional  compound lifts. It seems counterproductive to DL 2 times my bodyweight if I can't even do 1x my bw on bench press. That is why I strive to bring everything up. Many people find a lift that they are good at and focus on that while neglecting other parts. I find my weakest points and work to bring them up to compare with my better points. just my 2cents worth, but you already knew my answer. I have always been close to even on both DL and bp without really working super hard at deadlift or legs in general. now I need to focus on my squat to get it up to respectable. If I can get to 400 lbs on all lifts I will be happy. I will never be a powerlifter or bodybuilder so just satisfying my personal goals is enough.

About to spread more pinestraw and the get my workout in. Later gang.

Hey warriors, quick check in before bed. Made it to the gym this morning ready to rock.. did a quick 20 KB circuit incorporating some ab work and finished with my favorite .. floor wipers. It's been a while since i did them and I can feel the pain setting in already hehe.. nutrition has been good for the last 3 days! Will check back tomorrow.. rock on warriors

AAAAAAALOOOOOOOOHAAAAAAAAA!!

Hi Warriors!

Wow, this week is really going by slowly for me! I wish it was Friday!!!

Island: I had forgotten about floor wipers for a while too but I added in a few sets last week! Thank you for introducing me to those....I love them! Great job on the nutrition!!!!

Cuervo: I am planning to start carb cycling on Sunday. I am very excited to see what changes it will bring. I agree that many times after a free day (or 2 days later) I have so much more energy and power and feel like I could work out forever. Even though I always complain about my lack of control on my free days, I never have any repercussion as far as weight or fat gain.

Claude: I use Bob's Red Mill Buckwheat oat groats. I just cooked them according to the directions on the package and added in spices (minced garlic, cumin, McCormick's Montreal Chicken, salt, pepper), onions, mushrooms, and a can of Rotel mild. It is sooo good! It made a lot, so I froze half the batch.

Runnergirl007: Feel free to read my profile and it will give you some info about fitting in running and BFL. I am a previous distance runner with 5 marathons under my belt and too many half marathons to count! I have actually cut back on my distance running quite a bit over the past year, and added in a lot more strength training and some cycling. Don't get me wrong...I still LOVE to run and run at least 3 days per week, but my runs have gotten shorter and quicker. I have seen such a difference in my body....it has totally helped with my transformation. Let me know if you need any help with your half-marathon training. I still plan to do one half marathon per year, but that will be it for distance running for me.

BDMom: I finished the Chris Powell book last night while sitting at my son's soccer practice. I am so EXCITED to start carb cycling!!!!! I am planning to start this Sunday. I am SO excited about new challenges!!!! I don't think it is that different from my typical daily nutrition, just a few tweaks. I will have to get used to the 5 meals vs. 6 meals a day. (What are your feelings on that???? I really like my small snack at night, even if it is just a casein shake or cottage cheese!) Also, I always take my free day on Saturday so I will have to switch it to Sunday to stick with the plan. I like the fact that we still get carbs with breakfast each day. I am going to try to do at least one 4 week cycle before going on vacation in June. I will probably email you with a few specific questions to see your take on a few things he mentions in the book.

I taught spinning this morning. I just love that class! I am getting another certification to teach Les Mills RPM which is another type of cycling class. Right now I teach freestyle spinning, which I LOVE, but the Gold's Gym that I teach at really wants all of their instructor to be Les Mills certified. So, I look at it as another opportunity to learn more about cycling and fitness in general. The training is 2 full days in June so I will need to start studying and preparing now!

Nutrition is packed and clean. I baked some sweet potatoes last night so I brought a half of one as part of my lunch today with my grilled chicken and veggies. Yum yum....

In the past 2 days, two people at work have approached me about my healthy lifestyle. They want me to start a program here at work to focus on nutrition and fitness. One in particular wants to train and run her first 5k. It amazes me how little people really know about fitness and nutrition! I don't want to get my hopes up, but I would LOVE to start something here at work to motivate others. I'll keep you posted!

Have a great day Warriors!!!!

Hey Warriors,

Had a good spin class last night, opted out of the trail run due to the rain didn't want to end up impailed on a stump after slipping and falling would have been too muddy.

Runnermom, Question when you do your spin class do you do alot of bouncing out of the saddle? I dodn't know anyone who rides this way. Also made some buckwheay groats last night not as much stuff in them. Just celery,onions, I toasted the buckwheat to enhance the flavour. Brought some for a college she's from Poland. I wanted to see if it was cooked ok. Apparently it was she didn't spit it out. LOL she also said that she would serve with a glass of buttermilk on the side. Groats were yummy. Thanks for mentioning it. Forgot I had some in the pantry.

Will hit the gym tonight.

HAVE A GREAT DAY ALL!

Claude

AAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!  Just lost a huge post and don't want to re-type it!!  

I am doing fine.  Feel a little puny today, but may be the heat; we are in the 90's.  This is day 3 of carb cycling and my second low carb day.  I had a great workout with my trainer, and know I will be sore tomorrow.

Gearing up for the chaos at the end of the year (EOY parties, 8th grade celebration/graduation, Lane is in spelling bee, summer birthday parties @ school, etc......)  I may be scarce over the next few weeks as I try to figure out how to spread myself thin enough to do it all.  I am so impressed with those of you who have more than 2 children.  I am not sure I'd know how to do it.

I did personals, but lost them all and you know how wordy I am.  Will have to check in again when I have more time.

Enjoy your evening.

I obliterated my shoulders last night in my workout. Today is my off day so I will take it easy. I had a bad lunch today but the owners of the company took me and a couple of others out for lunch at the country club!!! I didn't want to be rude and not eat (wink wink). Seriously, I had fish and veggies with water but did have a small dessert. So not too bad and I stayed in the good graces of the owners haha. I have started on creatine again so I think the weight loss will slow for a few days with water retention. I am doing 2 days on and one day off. That works best for me right now.

I hope to be up bright and early for cardio to start the rest of my week. Have a great evening gang.

BD: June 9 is our first official 5k. Both of my daughters will be running it. We will let Monica take the lead and we will all cross the finish line together. It will be so cool. After that first one....we will each go for our best in the ones to follow. Will keep you posted.

Hi Warriors!

My body always feels so tired on Thursdays! Not sure why....I guess b/c I push myself so hard starting on Monday morning and it finally catches up with me on Thursdays!

Fit: Wow, how fun that you will be running your first official 5k with both of your daughters. I know you will all have great memories of this run for a long time!

Cuervo: Don't sweat about the lunch....you need to do what you need to do to keep your boss happy! It sounds like you didn't do so bad anyway!

BDMom: Sorry for loss of the long post! I hate it when that happens! I agree with you...I don't know how people with more than 2 kids do it! Although I grew up with 4 sisters and 1 brother, I have no idea how my parents handled raising 6 kids! My 2 boys keep me VERY busy and it seems to never stop. But, I love it, as I'm sure you do! This is just a very busy time of the year between all the end of school activities and getting ready for summer activities!!!

Claude: In spinning, there should actually be no bouncing. In my class, we do come in and out of the saddle, but I always encourage my class to limit bouncing and to use strong leg movements and to keep their core stabilized. In my classes I try to simulate a real ride outdoors as much as possible.  I take them out of the saddle on standing hill climbs, which is definitely something I do when climbing hills outdoors to power up a hill. I also do jumps, which usually range from coming out of the saddle in intervals of 8 second jumps down to 2 second jumps. I know different instructors teach a little differently and always try to make the class fun and interesting....because face it, there's only so much you can do on a stationary bike for a 50-60 minute class! I do, however, stress safety and form and typically don't do anything on an indoor bike that I wouldn't do on an outdoor ride. Also, glad you liked the buckwheat! I love just about any whole grain!

This morning was UBWO for me and I focused on pull muscles. I also added in some ab/core exercises including planks, reverse woodchops, and leg/knee raises. It was a good workout, I just had to push myself through it b/c I am just feeling a little tired today. Tomorrow I plan to do my kettlebell and tabata circuit, and I am hoping to do a track workout on Saturday morning (not sure of my hubby's schedule so will have to see if I can get to the track!).

Nutrition is packed and clean. My new veggie of the week is green bean, mushroom and onion stir fry. It's actually not new to me, I just haven't made it in a long time! It is very yummy! I use just a little virgin organic coconut oil (a healthy fat!) to start my stir fry, and the rest is pure veggies!

Have a great day Warriors!

Good morning Warriors!!!!

The weekend is in sight!  Yay.  I am going to my dad's house tonite to spend some time with him.  He quit chewing tobacco over two weeks ago, and said it was for us kids.  He said that if/when something happens to him, he doesn't want it to be due to his lifestyle, and doesn't want us to be upset with him for it.  I love him!!!  I am going out to dinner with a few of my girlfriends on Saturday night.  We don't see eachother that often, but went to high school together many moons ago.  Looking forward to some girl time!!

O.K.....SO HERE IS MY TAKE ON CARB CYCLING!!!  It sucks!  Cover your ears, runnermom!  I don't want to discourage you in any way.  Here is my experience:  I feel like it is too much work to try to get macros and carbs where they should be.  Also, I am trying to get high enough on calories, so I end up throwing in even more carbs on high carb days.  He allows for a fat with your meals on low carb days since your calories are lower, but I feel like it is too much fat for me to incorporate into every meal, but if I don't, I feel famished.  My workouts are definately suffering; I feel I don't have the strength that I typically do.  On low carb days, I feel bloated due to all the protein and veggies.  I like eggs, but not 2-3 times a day.  There are only so many low carb choices out there.  I haven't lost a single pound since I have been back from vacation, and usually I shed a few within a day or two.  My sister has lost 3 #''s, but has a lot of weight to lose.  She is, however, miserable.  I know it works for many, and I am not knocking it at all.  I just don't think it is for me.  So, starting next week, I am going back to what I know works for me, and that is carb tapering.  I will eat a carb heavy breakfast and eat my carbs around my workouts, and then taper them as the day goes on.  I feel that no plan is worth my workouts suffering.  That's not worth the trade-off for me.  So, for inquiring minds, there you go.  I hope you do try it, Amy.  Maybe you will have a wonderful experience with it.  I want to use the excuse that we all work out too hard for it to be effective, but many elite/fit athletes do it, so I guess I can't use that lame excuse.

runnermom:  I am sure your body starts to feel run down by mid-end week.  You work it so hard during the week.  I am sure your body screams for Sundays!!  Stir-fry sounds yummy.  I grew up in a family of three girls.  I was the middle.  My husband comes from a family with five kids.  I think things were different back then though.  Most moms were home all day, and kids didn't have to be in every activitiy out there.

fit4life:  How exciting on the family 5K.  Where do you live that you are able to run a 5K in June?  I would die!!!  There is actually a 5K here this weekend, and I have contemplated, but I just keep remembering how hot the last one was.  Good luck to you all and keep us posted.

Cuervo:  If everyone had a bad lunch like yours everyday, the obesity rates would be dwindling!!  Be careful with that shoulder.  Good luck adding the creatine back into your diet.

runnergirl:  Loved reading your story.  I look forward to getting to "know" you better in the coming weeks/months.  Please keep us posted on your progress.  Impressive body fat drop in your first two challenges.  It does seem to get a bit more difficult when you get nearer to your goal.  If you are starting to plateau, you may want to pay closer attention to your macros.  Many of us are on myfitnesspal.com.  You can friend me at schmertnat, if you want, and then find everyone else there on my friends page.  Just a thought.  Not necessary to do BFL, but is helpful for many of us.  

Took my chem final this morning and not feeling real good about it.  I will just die if I have to take that class over!!

K..gotta run.  I have a ton to get done today.

Make it a great day!!

Don't have all the disney pics downloaded yet, but here are a few:

Will download the rest this weekend, and put a family shot up next week.

Greetings Warriors,  Hope everyone is having a great workout week.  I had fun at the gym yesterday, because as usual the gym ettitque is severly lacking with this crew again.  No weights replaced on the rack,  hogging the weights forever, no wiping of the benches after sweaty nasty use. and the list goes on. Yet still I manage to workout around all this.  As far as the weights not being  available,  I simply went up one level and bit it on that one, my CLA and creatine helped me to manage this one as well as that Myoplex bar 1/2 hour before working out. Magically, all the weights appeared back on the rack right after I did this and mentioned that I wasn't going to wait all day to get a 35lb dumbell to start off with. WOw, they must have heard that.   CUervo: don't feel to bad about that luncheon,  Like it has been said on this website...Sometimes you just have to eat the cake(or whatever it is) to fitin.   BDMOM" Thanks for your kind words and the photos of your trip. Looks like you had a great time at Disneyworld in Anaheim. (try ours next time for comparison, you will see a BIG difference in the two). Did you try a Dole whip while there (pineapple soft serve on top of pineapple juice).?    Runnermom: Thanks for all the updates and keep on running those great times are a comin!   Well got to go, missus wants to go somewhere for Mothers Day celebration.  I will try to keep the calories in mind too!!  Entering Week 5 now of my challenge and I don't want to fall off the wagon today at this late point.    Bes wishes and Keep Moving Forward and to anyone I forgot I'll get to you next time!

BD: Great pics from Disney. You are looking really really fit!! You are setting a great example. We live in Ontario Canada....right across the river from Detroit Mich. So we have all four seasons here and temps. right now are in mid 60's. It can...and does get very hot and humid during July and August.

Interesting observations on the carb cycling. Never really tried it but I do much the same as you in carb tapering. It works well for me.