Sorry about my rant the other day. A bad weekend and gaining a pound got the best of me. Bob and Rachel thank you for the support.
Did my UBW today. I did not get through it though. I got dizzy and saw some stars so I quit. This has happened to me before usually when I push to hard, I actually passed out once at the gym and scared the hell out of a trainer there. I ended up at the doctor going through a hundred tests.
Thanks to everyone for sticking with us. I plan on being here long after the 12 weeks is up I hope everyone else will be here to.
I found a great quote,
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
Muhammad Ali
Have a great day team!
Joe
I really like that quote from Muhammad Ali!
Sorry I was out of touch for a while. I just returned from a trip overseas and am happy to report that I was able to eat right and get my workouts in even while traveling in a foreign country!!!! It wasn't the easiest thing to do but I did come home with a little less baggage (1.5 pounds) so I am very excited and proud of myself.
Joe - no apologies! You are entitled to a rant. That is what we are here for. Here is what my response to you would have been (still is I guess : ) - plateaus are normal. Ride it out and trust in yourself. Concurrently, really evaluate your program. Are you getting enough sleep? Are you stressed out? Are you using the BFL success journal? If not - you can download the pages online or order one from Amazon pretty cheap. The power mindset activities help me stay focused. Great way to keep track of your goals and reasons for doing this program in the first place. Do you have a dream list or goals that you set and wrote down when we began this journey? As for the workouts, mix it up! Your body might be too used to what you are doing. Go online and check out some different exercises. Change up your cardio routine. Workout with a trainer to retool what you are doing. Socially - stay strong. Share your challenge with your and stick to it. Take your own snacks to social gatherings. Your friends will support you. Have you watched The Secret? I don't buy into all of it but I do believe in the power of positive thinking. I often sit in front of my new vision board with a glass of water and an apple. That is my go to place when I am lacking motivation or faced with temptation. It works for me...
I "acquired" this letter from one of the other threads and thought it might help us all:
Letter to myself:
So, you feel like giving up? Bored already? Not seeing instant changes in the mirror? Craving something sweet? Please don't give up! Body for Life really works, its not just a 12 week quick-fix but a change for the rest of your life!
What's the alternative? You could quit the diet and stop exercising, but then you would just end up in the same place you have been in for years - constantly struggling with your weight and feeling like a failure in this area of your life.
I know its hard to resist a food if you're craving it like crazy, but just remember that its not like you'll NEVER have it again, you're just not going to have it right now - and you can always have it as part of your free meal, it will taste so much better without the guilt!
This is easy! Just eat the foods you have pre-prepared already, drink water and keep exercising - this is making your body feel fantastic!
Think how great you are going to feel when you have acheived your goal of completing the 12 week challenge, on the inside and out. If you give up, that is your choice, So take back control, re-focus and re-set!
Louisa xo
Have a great BFL day!
~Sharon
That is a great letter, Sharon. It's actually exactly what I needed to read. You see, life has been on a hiatus for me since the New Year's weekend. While everyone was making their resolutions, I was slowly drifting away from keeping the BFL lifestyle a priority and letting other things enter the top of my focus list. Organizing, throwing away loads of useless crap, dealing with house heating issues, blah blah blah. I know deep down what I want. I was to get in the best shape of my life this year and every year thereafter. I know how to get there. I have the tools to do it. But, for some reason, I just got comfortable and let a few days pass between workouts. Then, I slowly starting forgetting to eat every few hours. Well, that has to stop right now! I want to finish strong and I will do it! The advice everyone gave to Joe really helped me too. I need to revisit the reasons for my commitment to this challenge. I am ordering the BFL success journal as another motivational too. It's obvious that I have not reached the "lifestyle" part to this program. It is still a challenge that needs to be on the top of my priority list in order for me to be successful. I do plan on doing back to back challenges and perhaps at the end of this year, this will finally become my effortless, fun, active, healthy lifestyle.
Joe- I feel for you. And I'm so proud that you are not letting a plateau get the best of you. Push through it! If you can do it, then I can do it! I am dedicating the following quote to you!
"If you want to take your mission to the Next Level, look inside. Abolish your fears and raise your commitment level to the point of no return, and I guarantee you that the champion within will propel you toward victory."- Olympian Bruce Jenner
Hi Folks-
Just wanted to share this recipe with you. I found it in an old edition of Parents magazine and just finished eating it. It tastes great and fits into our BFL plan!
Hierloom Tomato Pizza:
Ingredients (Makes 4 mini pies):
1.5 cups low-fat cottage cheese (I used fat-free)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 garlic clove
1/4 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
Salt/ Black pepper to taste
Spash of low-fat milk
4 whole wheat sandwich flatbreads or mini whole wheat pizza crusts
Heirloom tomato slices
Mix cottage cheese, grated Parm cheese, garlic clove, italian seasoning, and black pepper in a blender or food processor. Add a splash of milk if mixture is too thick. Spread the mixture on the crusts; top with tomatoes and (optional, I omitted) shredded Parm cheese. Bake for 8 mins at 425.
Nutrition per pie- 215 calories, 21g protien, 25g carbs, 6g fiber, 5 g fat, 214 mg calcium, 1 mg Iron.
~Monica
Sharon, Monica thanks for the help. I really took your advice to heart. I pushed really hard this week and just completed a 3 mile run doing intervals today. My eating this week was almost perfect one small slip up. I am very nervous about my Monday weigh in which will give me incentive to take it easy on free day tomorrow.
Monica - Thanks for the great recipe, my wife will be trying to make it tonight.
I injured my left shoulder doing chest on Wednesday. It has been sore since, I was hoping it was just some pain that I could work through but I am pretty sure I hurt it. I will wait till monday to for my UBW to see how it is, but i dont want to screw it up even more so if i feel any pain at all I will be changing my workout.
If you want some inspiration watch the story on Tim Tebow on SportsCenter today. I am not a Broncos fan but I like an underdog. Everyone and I mean everyone has told him since he was drafted that he can not do it. He is an example of someone that ignores the nay-sayers and just gets it done.
Have a great weekend team,
Happy Monday to everyone. I have the day off for MLK day. Did my UBW this morning. My shoulder is still bothering me so I took it easy on chest and shoulders. I hope it improves by friday.
Weigh in today, 266, down 23 pounds from 289 in week 1, more importantly down 4 pounds since last week. I really focused this week on nutrition and hitting high points in my cardio.
I think this is the end of week 10 which means 2 weeks to go. My goal for the challenge was thirty pounds. Seven to go in two weeks.
Good luck everyone! make it a great week!
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." – John Quincy Adams
@ Monica - thanks for the heirloom pizza recipe! That is what I made yesterday for Sunday football. I jazzed it up a bit for guests but kept mine as you recommended. I also had homemade pita chips with the salsa dip for the eating for life book as well as the turkey pinwheels. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the day was success.
@ Joe - 4 pounds last week is awesome not to mention an amazing 23 total. Terrific work! You should really be proud of yourself. I haven't checked out the Tebow interview yet. I pains me to admit that he really is a great athlete and all around good guy. I am a Florida State Alumni and avid Seminole. However, I will give it a go this week!
I need to do another round of measurements and body fat. That is usually a good indicator of progress for me. The scales only moved about a pound this week but....I am in jeans that I haven't worn in a few years. Two pair fit great and another pair is just a bit snug. Hoping to have that snuggness gone by the end of this week or next. The jeans I wore at the beginning of our challenge can now be taken off WITHOUT unbuttoning or unzipping them. YAY!!!! I am not ready for shorts and tank tops and definitely not for swim wear yet but moving that way.
"The Secret" question - are any of you keeping a gratitude journal? Just curious...
Have a terrific BFL day all!
Thanks for the recipes everyone. I've added them to my BFL recipe file (on my evernote app, great app by the way).
I did UBW today and was doing bench presses. I was on my 6 rep set and go to the 4th rep. I started pushing the weight up and hoping to get it done at minimum, hoping to get it high enough to set it on the stand at minimum. Well I couldn't do either, i think you know where this is going. So I'm laying there with 160 pounds on my chest thinking, what am I going to do now. I contemplated calling my wife but I think that was going to be a waste of time and I didn't have a whole lot left. I let the right hand side hit the floor and pushed the left hand side up high enough to set it on the right hand bar rest and then I slipped out from underneath. I've done that before many years ago so I knew if I get in trouble while benching that it was an option. I guess I can't say I didn't have enough weight set for my bench presses today.
Now for some good news. I got on the scale last week and was 218. I started the challenge at 249 so that makes 31 pounds. I'm very happy with my progress and I hope to finish strong. I was stuck at 222 for sooooo long and then took my CLA pills and the next day I was 218. I've never been a big believer in supplements, thinking they might help a little but I'm going to be taking my CLA everyday now. Heck, I bought the darn things I might was well use them.
That's all for now fellow BFL'ers. Let's finish this challenge strong so that we'll have plenty of momentum going into our 2nd challenge.
Feel the burn, enjoy the rewards!
Bob
Wow! It sounds like everyone is doing a fantastic job!! Way to go!!!
For me, I hit 135 lbs. this week. Crazy! I guess my new end goal is 133. Who knows, right? This makes a total weight loss of 12 lbs.
I need to keep my head in the game this next week. My allergies have been out of control and a nasty cold is going around. I had both problems last week. I am on drugs and should be able to give it my all again. Another setback is that my sister is visiting. I feel as though my routine is a bit out of whack. (Could it be the allergy drugs I am on are making me feel tired?)
I will finish. I will finish strong!!!!! Let's get to it!!! It is not worth doing if it is not done intensely.
Sharon: I don't have a "secret" journal but I do my best to mentally note my blessings. It makes a big difference.
To week 11 !
Rachel
Don't you just love it when your clothes are hanging off you. Nice work Sharon.
Bob - I have done that before, I usually just spill the weights, not great for my basement floor or the weights but it's better than being trapped or injured. When I am at the gym I usually chicken out and not try and push out another rep in fear of having to call for the help of stangers. Great job on the weight loss. I am convinced that the CLA helps me.
Rachel - You are doing great, stick to your plan when your sister is visiting, make sure she knows your goals and she will help you. I understand completely how a change in routine can effect your efforts. I have fallen a few times due to a crazy schedule, the key is to keep getting back up.
I changed up my entire UBW and LBW routines. I am now sore in places that I didn't know can get sore, but thats good. I hope the change keeps my motivation up entering the next challenge.
Keep up the great work everyone, the finish line of the first challenge is in site, push hard till the end!
Uh Oh I lost everyone, Last week I think.
Question, I read that ,when doing back to back challenges, you should take a week off and let your body recover than hit the new challenge hard the next week. Any thoughts? I feel if I take a week off that I will set myself back some. Like Patton said " i don't want to pay for the same real estate twice".
I hope everyone is doing well,
I am off to weigh in.
Joe,
I'm a firm believer in the power of momentum. I plan on keeping the routine going. I was sick last week and had to take a 4 day break. It really pissed me off! I'm going into this next challenge with both guns blazing. Those guns being my arms.... LOL. There is some logic to giving yourself a break to recover. I felt as though my 4 days off last week was my recovery time and since then I've been kicking butt. If you're sure you won't have a hard time starting up again then give yourself some time to recover. It doesn't have to be a whole week either, let your body tell you what to do. You can stop the workouts but keep the eating plan intact. Whatever you do, don't let your hesitation turn into something that makes it difficult to get going again. You can do it Joe..... For your family... For your health... For you self esteem... For _____ you fill in the blank. Kick ass, take names, dig deep and BRING IT!
My last weigh in result. Down 34 pounds.
Bob, I'm sorry to hear that you had a similar setback that I had: sickness. I did all of the workouts (weakly) but I didn't eat enough for about 4 days. Then, my body wanted to EAT! I didn't hold back, sniff, and gained a few pounds back in a matter of a few days. I am still nursing an 8 month-old so I listened to my body. Congrats on 34 lbs!
So! Like Bob, I am back in the game working as hard as ever! I am at 10 lbs. lost but I can't be more pleased with the change in my body size/look. I've moved from a size 10 to a size 6.
Joe, I will be taking one week off because I'll be rewarding myself with travel :) I will, however, be cautious of portions and will do the workouts as much as possible. I'm going to do another "challenge" for maintenance.
Does anyone know what the maintenance plan is in Body-For-Life? Same?
How is everyone doing? I can't wait to hear how well we all did at the end of this thing. We are all winners! We are one week off of accomplishing our challenge goals. Go us! WE ARE FINISHING :)
Come on team, let's keep each other strong this last week!
I am so proud of all of you! Way to stick it our for the entire challenge. I am still here but have been insanely busy so internet time has not been a luxury for me. I am down 17 pounds and 2 sizes. Almost half way to reaching my goal. I signed up, with friends, for the Warrior Dash in Arizona to help provide additional motivation to stay strong. The race is a the end of April so the timing is perfect with another challenge round.
Here's the website if you want to check it out...might be one in your area!
warriordash.com/register2012_arizona.php
So let's here some challenge results...