Okay, is this the start of week 6 or 7? I've lost track because I'm having way too much fun with my lifestyle change. How's everyone doing? How was free day today? I didn't do anything differently really, except had a very small scoop of chocolate chip ice cream. And that very small scoop was satisfying. Didn't want any more or less. 

So yesterday I wore a pair of denim capris, I just purchased a couple of months ago, that hugged me just right in all the right places. But yesterday I found myself having to pull them up all day, which was a bit annoying. When I went to take them off, I was able to do so without unbuttoning and unzipping them, which I think is just hilarious because I'm thinking, when did this happen?

Well, here's to a new week. Let's make it happen. We can do this! :-)

Hey BSmith! Welcome:) Definately throw the scale in a hidding place and reward yourself in the end by having pics taken!! Look back on our convo. to see what obstacles we've already encountered and overcame...this "micromanaging our results" are in there:)

Hey Jen, How about calling the 800 BFL line I bet they could give you the advice on exactly what you need!

Doing pretty good ALL! I feel good and havent taken measurments in awhile and I just keep rolling along. We did have pictures taken at a family event and I really noticed a difference in thems so, that feels good:))

I have been feeling really faint an hour or two after some of my best cardio workouts and both times I t drank some liquids with electrolytes and felt better...I have to prepare meals right away to eat and I also made a doctor appt to see whats up:) Hope all is well!!

Hi Everyone!  It's been a couple of weeks since I checked in, and things have been going kinda slow.  My eating has been good 95% of the time, and I've learned to not be so free on my free days, but my activity has been terrible!  I'd been working out in the evenings after work, after getting dinner together, after everything, and checking out some days without working out!  NOT GOOD!

So, starting tomorrow, I am going to start going to the gym at 6am BEFORE going to work and see how that goes.  NOT looking forward to it, but half way into this, I need to do something different!!  

Any suggestions on the best way to nourish that early??  I don't like to eat before 8:30am, but was thinking I could do a shake around 5:15a, then do a protein bar following the workout at around 8:00am.  What are your thoughts??  I REALLY need some advice....

~stuck

I'm doing ok!  I'm losing around my hips thighs, and that lower pooch finally.  Susan Berna the 2009 champ gave me good advice.  My problem areas are my thighs and buttocks.  You think Serena Williams has a stack of cakes, you should see these things.  I'm almost a size 10, and there's a 14 inch differential between my waist and hips.  It's like I'm walking with two hidden football helmets.  LOL

That's good, cuz my Michael loves it.  Anyway, I need to tone those areas, but Susan says your thighs and hips get better the closer you get to your goal, in essence, it's the last to go.

I'm smoothing out my legs, because I has bad cellulite on the side and front of my thighs, and My hips are shrinking.  I have to go down to 14% body fat to be at my goal, only 5% to go!!!

By the way, my free day.  I gorged myself, as always.  It's just that free.  I haven't seen a difference in my weight loss due to gorging on my free day, but I have cut down on calories just in case.  I was eating 1800, but now 1600.  I took a break from HIIT, because I went so hard it caused my menstrual cycle to come early. I mean like day 18!  No thank you...

I have about 15 pounds left to go, so after this week, I will be doing HIIT again.  I have lost 18 pounds of pure body fat, and about 12 pounds of scale weight in 16 weeks.  With 1600 calories, I think I can loose another 1/2 pound.

Hey Everyone!!

Ok so.. I have no idea what week we're even on. I haven't been on in weeks. My schedule has been so busy and I haven't even worked out. HOWEVER - I have maintained my eating habits for the most part and not gained back the 8 pounds I lost the first two weeks.

Tonight I start back on the work out regimen. I'm determined to continue!!

I realized how important this forum is for accountability.

I hope everyone is getting results and keeping up hope! Don't think of it as 12 weeks, think of it as a progression over the rest of your life. That's what I'm doing!! That's why I'm not down about missing a few weeks :)

Cheers all! (with water) haha

Hey Sillyghirl and Ali. Good to see you're still hanging in there. Don't stop. Don't give up!

So far, the week is going well. Eating right and getting my exercise in. I realize now that LBWO is my least favorite of all workouts. I dread and despise them, and it doesn't help that everyone says that I already have gorgeous legs, so I'm not very motivated to get it done, but I'm getting through it anyway.

Today I could hardly get through my LBWO for looking at my NEWLY DEVELOPED SHOULDER MUSCLES! That's right...I'm starting to see them muscles. LOL. I'm just too excited about this. I always wanted Angela Bassett arms.

Prettybrains so glad to hear that you can see those developed shoulder muscles it is always nice to be able to see what all that hard work is finally paying off...

I have been having allergy problems all week and for some reason i always what to eat all day so it has been a challege to keep from over eating, up i have been staying on trace with the exercise..

we are almost finished with week 7 so everyone hang in there, WE CAN DO IT!!!  

Yay Prettybrains!! Good for you and your showing-up muscles :) I'm proud of you. I got back on the work out regimen slightly... lol. Did my upper body 2 days ago and I'm sore. Whooo hooo. But, I haven't done much else. I've been busy taking students on field trips, so at least I'm getting some walking in I guess. I'm just really glad you're thinking of BFL like I do.. as a lifestyle change. I'm not sweating the small stuff. No deadlines and nothing to lose. I know I'll reach my goal of being toned. But I'm not stressing about it.

I am enjoying life soooo much and feeling better with even just the diet.

Thanks BSmith0211 and Ali. Seeing the itsy bitsy progress I've made is a huge motivation to keep going.

I was at the gym at 3:30 this morning. I know...that's an ungodly hour for anyone to be at the gym, but I had to do it. I'm leaving from work and hitting the road for the weekend, and didn't want to risk the chance of not making it to the gym at all. The original plan was to go to the gym immediately after leaving the office, and then hit the road, but things happen and before you know it, your plans have been derailed. 3:30 is actually a good time (well, a good time for somebody), as there was hardly anyone there, so I didn't have to wait on equipment or free weights. Though I did have to walk around to look for the 10 lb weights...that was kind of frustrating.

Today is UB day, so as I was doing my superset...yeah, sometimes I do supersets when I'm looking for variety, following the 12,10,8,6, 12, 12 rep cycle. Anywayzzzz, as I was doing them, I just happened to look at myself in the mirror and saw the muscles in my arms and shoulders and let me tell you, it was good. LOL. I can't wait until I lose all this darn fat around my arms and back, so they can be seen without having to lift and flex. I know though that the diet is 80% of this fight against fat, so as much as I'm enjoying the strength training, I've gotta maintain my focus on eating right.

Well we're almost at the end of week 7. Let's push it!

Prettybrains, Yes 3:30a.m. is why early to be hitting the gym, you need to be careful driving later today and keep those eyes open.. i hope you have a Awesome time this weekend..

It is so Awesome that you can see all your hard work paying off ( Why to go Girl) I have notice some of those upper boby muscles my self it is really nice to see them. it is so hard for me to focus on the right foods when my husband wants to go out and eat all the time. he doesn't think i need to lose any weight so it is really hard for me to lose it. but i haven't gained any either. but i do notice the muscles in my arms and legs so i do see some progress from all the weights and exercise.

Well hope everyone has a Awesome and Blessed weekend, week 7 almost over let's keep it going.. WE CAN DO THIS!!!

BSmith - It's only 9:30 and I am soooo sleepy. I will get a second wind, but just in case I don't, I will take a power nap, during lunch, which should give me the second wind I need. And if that doesn't work, I will make my bff drive.

I go out for lunch almost everyday, and I just make sure that me and my colleague go to places where I can find something clean to eat. It's actually kind of fun to see if I can make a clean plate out of their menu items. So if your husband likes to eat out, don't use it as an excuse to eat whatever you want. Find a way to make it clean, even if you have to make a special order.

Sounds like you're having some successes as well. So keep up the good work!

Robin

i've changed my workouts starting last week, and man i don't miss being this sore!! feels like week 1 all over again!! but i know pain is good!! i've just swapped my power set workouts over, i am doing these in the 12,10,8,6 reps and my other ones for the power set. i can feel a difference all ready. my arms are so much firmer and my legs are getting there. Just these dam thighs are so flabby!! but guess the look worse before they look better!!!! Also i was getting quite discouraged this week and i ended up looking for some motivation. I thought that the goals i had set were unrealistic (even though i am not stopping after 12 weeks....its a new way of life that i am going to live. I will probably tone it down a little and just go 5 days a week. but i thought to myself.. why try to cram this un-realistic goal for the end of 12 weeks? then i was thinking what am i going to do when 12 weeks is up??? answer is... continue what i have been doing.. this is my new lifestyle now, i enjoy what i am doing and i feel soo good doing it! i'm a happier person, my parter is happy because i'm so much more confident.. why stop at 12 weeks?

I know I've been absent, but I have had a breakthrough ladies!  Finally!  So last year I bought these jeans in an 8 and a 10.  The 10s were a little big but comfy.  Before too long the 10s weren't big anymore and I just wore them as my normal jeans since I could no longer fit in the 8s.  Well this weekend my 10s weren't fully dry and I needed to leave the house so I figured, what the heck?  I know they don't fit but I'll give it a try.  They fit!! WOOHOO!!

Hello everyone!

After a very relaxing, but exhausting, weekend I've finally recovered. Back on the BFL grind. Monday wasn't a good day, eating wise, but yesterday and today...I'm good...well, except for that apple pie with caramel I had at lunch today. Couldn't help it. Me and colleague went to Baker Square for lunch, and after I finally made a decision about which meal would provide the clean lunch that I needed, the waitress mentions that it is free slice of pie day. I just simply didn't feel like fighting it, so I had my slice (without ice cream) and now I'm back on the wagon. :-)

Got to the gym this evening after work only to realize that I did not have my gym shoes with me, which meant I had to come home. I'm now home and am waiting for dinner to be done. I made kidney and navy bean chili. Making this chili has been a multi-day project, as I started making the beans the other day. It's going to be sooooo good. :-)

I will eventually get up and go back to the gym. I'm already dressed and ready to go. Today is UB day and I love UB day. I was considering just working out from home and calling it a wrap, but I only have kettlebells in the heavier weights, which means when I increase the weight I'll have to do some exercises one arm at a time, which may not be a bad idea, it'll just take longer to do.  

Okay. Well, I hope to hear from you all sometime this week. It seems a bit quite. Post even if you've been doing poorly. It may be the motivation you need to get back on the wagon. Let's do this!

Hey all...

I am feeling a bit shocked at the moment... this has nothing to do with BFL but basically, I have tried  dating sites before and I have nothing against them, but I have had a negative experience when I met the guy and then this is the second time I tried it and during email convos, this other guy turns out to be a serious, verbally abusive, bi-polar!! Oh my goodness, I freaked out and just canceled...(exhale) I guess it's a sign from the Lord, really...I guess I just have to keep waiting for him...

it was kinda scary:(

But...on a lighter note, I have been doing very well on BFL, had my excellent cardio day on the treadmill and went up to my highest speed yet:) Needing to eat so I gotta run...

just wanted to say that I know I'm usually on the "GO TEAM!" postings but, you guys have really helped me pull through this umteenth time of really seeing me finish this challenge this time. I know there's only some of us replying right now spuratically but this really does help to keep going with our day in a more positive way! ...Prettybrains..just keep watching your biceps as you do those curls and you'll have the motivation you need, Miss Basset;)

Thank you all