Woo hoo!!!  Last work day in week 1!  Nolimits- I'm with you, I'm starting to feel smaller!  Could just be the placebo effect.  Whatever it is I'll take it!  You scale junkies are brave.  I'm refusing to weigh myself b/c I know how discouraging it is when the weight loss stalls.  I had myself weighed and my body fat tested (he said I was about 99% body fat...haha jk) last week and I plan to have it done again on 5/17.  I was 27.3% then so I look forward to seeing how much progress I can make.  I'm gonna try not to weigh myself before that.

I am sore, sore, sore today but getting ready to head off to a 1.5 hour bootcamp to finish out the week.  Really looking forward to resting tomorrow!  So excited that we've all almost made it through week 1- it really does make a difference to have this support group!!

PS.  New favorite meal #6- blueberry greek yogurt w/ slivered almonds stirred in (and a couple slices of turkey on the side to get the rest of the protein).  Those fruit greek yogurts have a lot of sugar in them so I'll try getting plain greek yogurt, real bluberries and mix a little Truvia in next week.  I've got my meals and workouts all planned for next week already and I'll go shopping tomorrow!

Hi all!

Today (Saturday) is my day 7 as I started on Sunday.

I'm pleased with my workouts - kicked up my treadmill HIIT a notch and wow, I feel it!  I try to get on the treadmill every day because my primary goal right now is fat loss, and if I skill one day I'll skip the next, etc.  Got in 1 UBWO and 1 LBWO, both the first I've done in a loooong time and wow was I sore.

Thighs still sore from Thursday's LBWO so I couldn't run yesterday and probably can't today either.  But will hit it hard tomorrow!

I'm going to have to do some serious meal planning tomorrow for the week, because my nutrition has been hit-or-miss.  I prefer to eat lightly throughout the day and def follow the program (although I'm not getting enough meals in yet and won't for another week or two, until the workouts really begin to crank up my metabolism), but the evenings are not always good.  Had some pizza one night, a grilled cheese the next...

My problem is that my husband was away on business all week, I was very busy at work, and by the time evening rolls around I'm exhausted and it's just too easy to fall into an easy craving or pick up something.  Probably my head wasn't quite in the game yet.

I've found some new recipe sites for cooking and eating lightly, so I'm going to see what I can throw together for the week tomorrow.  It has to be yummy right now - I just can't throw some broccoli and brown rice on top of a piece of fish and call it dinner.  And it has to be something I want and can fix/reheat easily as this coming week is looking to be exactly the same as last.

What an awesome first week.!!  I just finished my daughter's Girls On the Run 5k with my family, It has been a honor to coach these amazing group of young ladies.  

The B4L program is WORKING!!  The jeans I wore ONE WEEK  ago  were SNUG are now needing a belt to keep form mooning the crowd! :)   I will be the first to admit I did not reach perfection, which I never expected in the first place, but I hit some killer PROGRESS!  A huge thank you goes to each one you.  Every day I read this forum.  The information shares is real and motivational.  This team will go the distance!  

Way to finish the first week STRONG ladies!!  

Anna

There are no limits...only obstacles to blast through!

Hi,

I began B4L on 1 May and would like to join the thread.

I did B4L about 9 years ago, lost 30lbs, and was in the best shape of my life. An overseas move, persistant lack of focus, and complacency got me to last week, when I saw photos of myself. They made it impossible to lie to myself about wearing a clothing size I swore I'd never wear again. And the back folds in the "Before" photos was the final straw. So, here I am, ready to remove those 30lbs for good. I turn 44 in a couple of weeks, and my theme for the coming year is "Fit and Fab at 45."

Going forward, I'd like to be to be source of encouragement, empathy and honesty here, while hoping for the same from all of you on this journey to our new selves.

Shimmychick.

Rock on All!!!  What an awesome week we all just finished!  This is the first day of your life!  Great weekend, regardless of the fact that I worked all weekend!  I was a little nervous about the intense catering weekend (but tried to plan healthy meals,  ect.) and worried about the lack of sleep with the 6:00 wake up call Sunday morning for the 7 mile leg of Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon relay I would run.  Probably best run of my life.  Felt strong!  Loved Emily's HIIT and think that even that one training helped.  I can't wait to keep doing it and pushing harder and hopefully will make me stronger.  I did go to my boss' for brunch after the run and the Bloody Marys and fatty foods he served DID not agree with me and I remember why I don't choose to eat that way.  Glad it's Monday and back to where I need to be.  I always feel so much better eating right and have resorted to exercise to alieve the stress in my life (used to be martinis-lol)  Welcome to the new faces and congrats to those of you on to week 2.  Vkschoch - great info on the yogurt!  Love Greek Yogurt and do usually do the fruit ones.  I'll try your idea!  Shimmychick - We must be sisters!   Same story here - about 8 years ago lost 45 pounds on BFL - teenagers later....looking for Fit and Fab!  

Great shake for breakfast.  Cottage cheese and berries for break.  Made great grilled chicken and veggies wrapped in race paper with a szechuan dipping sauce for lunch.

Gotta go to work, but hopefully will get in earlier tomorrow to check in on all.  Have an awesome day.  I'll be thinking of you all.

1 week down and still loving it!  Aphrodite- congrats on your run!  That's awesome!  I cheated some yesterday and by the end of the day my belly was sticking out, I was too full and sleepy.  I was also reminded why eating like that isn't good for me and was glad to wake up to clean eating again today.

I made lots of food last night in preparation for this week.  Got in my LB workout today and really felt like I got a 10 for my quads!  I was so proud :)  Had a protein shake and an apple for M1, yummy overnight oats for M2 and getting ready to have some marinated tilapia, brown rice and asparagus for M3.  If no one has tried overnight oats before, they're awesome!  If using normal old fashioned oats you just put the dry oats, whatever liquids you want and any spices/sweetener you want in a bowl and throw it in the fridge.  In the am your oats have absorbed all of the liquid and you can have them as a refreshing cool oatmeal or warm them up.  I use steel cut oats for nutritional reasons and also b/c they stay a little crunchy, not as mushy.  I boiled them for 1 minute w/ water then threw them in the fridge.  This morning I scooped out some, threw in a scoop of strawberry protein powder, a few blueberries, and a few slivered almonds and ate it cold.  Yum :)

Happy day 8 to all those who started on 4/30 and welcome to those who have joined since!

Wonderful work so far everyone!  That was such a fast week.  Like so many of you the foods on my free day just didn't agree with me which is great and will hopefully keep me avoiding them.  My first meal of the day was OK as I had my usual cottage cheese and fruit for meal one on my free day forgetting that I didn't have to eat that for the day!  Later I ate some Mexican food and had a few drinks at our school auction which didn't end up tasting as good as I thought it would.  

So glad you are joining us shimmychick!  

I will be a little sporadic checking in this week as my work week is especially busy.  I generally work from home but this week I will be out of my usual routines and much busier.  

I still am not feeling any real changes yet in my body but I am dedicated and feeling strong in my resolve to take this all 12 weeks!

One of my favorite meals is egg whites or scrambled egg with a few tablespoons of fresh salsa.  I usually throw on a little spinach and wrap it up in a whole grain tortilla.  I need food with some spice and flavor to feel satisfied.  Thanks everyone for your food ideas.  I will be trying some of them this week.

Welcome to Tuesday!!  Had a great workout with my trainer last night and did 30 minutes of legs (didn't follow the BFL routine, but I only meet him once a week and he pushes me really hard).  Finished up with 30 minutes of abs!  My old routine would have been to do the minimum and then leave...  I had my Body Fat tested and i have dropped 4% body fat since the end of January when I started training.  I went from 32% to 28%!  That is very exciting and I can't wait to see how BFL will amp up what I've already accomplished.  I'm going to a metabolic Doctor tonight to check out my "female issues."  I am hoping that with some testing they can straighten out my hormones, which I am sure has an effect on my weight.  My metabolic rate is down too, I am sure, so once I get straight, I am sure the weight will drop rapidly!  I keep telling myself!

Vkschoch, great info on the oats.  I only eat the steel cut, but never did the overnight and even presoaking night before, they take 20 min.  

RE for life, good info on the eggs too!   I love to eat, but hard to find breakfasts that I feel like fixing (or eating!)

Hoping some of you that joined in the beginining are still there and watching from afar!  Keep up the good work!  

One of my daily goals the other day was to order Women's Fitness.  This is a great magazine with lots of Fitness information and will give you lots of good tips!  It was $10 for 2 years I think!  Can't beat it!  Remember, you are what you think about!

Have a great Tuesday!  I"ll see you tomorrow friends!

Hello everyone!

Still going strong.  I had to put the scale away because I was weighing myself too much and it flunctuated too much. It has however gone down 2 lbs! I took my measurements at the beginning of the challenge and will focus on that.  Also, I have some pants that I need to fit into and I find fitting into smaller clothes helps with my motivation.  I need to tighten up a little of the diet and watch my carb intake, specifically grains.  Right now I am gearing up for a run on May 19.  I am running the fourth leg of a relay marathon. It's about 4.65 miles.  I haven't increased my speed as much as I had hoped but it will still be a good challenge for me. I hope that once I take off some of this extra weight, I will be faster and less prone to injury :)    

Vkschoch, thanks for the oats info! I am always a rush in the morning and usually make bfast at work.  This will help.

Aphrodite1, Congrats on the lower body fat! I need to get my body fat done, I am looking for a place to do that.  I don't belong to a gym.

This is probably the most dedicated I have been on a challenge.  It helps to have y'all as support!!

Keep up the good work everyone!!

Good morning everyone....here I go again!  Do we ALL have the same story or what?  HA!  I did my first challenge back in 2000 and kept the weight off for 8-9 years and then starting yo-yo'ing.  Well, a move, some messed up hormones and just plain old laziness later, I ballooned up to the highest I've ever been....167 last year in late June.  Started a challenge in July and lost 20 pounds but also quickly lost interest.  Do you know that not ONE person noticed I had lost weight?  It was very discouraging and before you knew it, I was sleeping in again instead of going to the gym and not eating right.  FINALLY feel like I've got my head back in the game after going through menopause and being put on hormones.  Starting to feel more like my old self.  I also started on 4/30 and I ate and worked out d@mn near perfect.  Didn't even take a free day, thanks to a nasty stomach bug on Saturday.  My goal is to lose 20 lbs and at LEAST 8% bodyfat.  I'm not sure if I'm being realistic about the BF or not...I've never been up this high before.  I also want to complete a 1/2 marathon in November.  I am a very competitive person and have a love/hate relationship with running.  When I'm in shape and can actually be competitive, I love it; when I'm not...I hate it.  I hope I can be an active participant on this board and, after following BFL for many, many years, hope to help anyone where I can.  Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Hey 4/30 peeps!  Just a quick check in, I am off to the zoo today with the fam.  Clean eats are packed and I'm ready to walk all day long. :)

Eat clean, train mean!!

Lins

I would like to join your group!

It's Day 10 already and I'm still on the wagon, woo hoo!  Don't know what it is today but I'm exhausted!  I did my HIIT and upped my speed so maybe that's why I'm so tired?  Also, I've been starting to feel hungry the last 2 days.  I'm eating right but I'm hungry (as in stomach hurting, physically hungry) about 1.5-2 hrs after I eat.  Not sure if I'm just adjusting to smaller portions or what?  Those of you who have done this before- any thoughts?

All in all enjoying BFL.  I like the structure of the workouts.  I like trying to push myself to hit a 10.  I like the food.  I like being able to eat every 2-3 hours :)  I like that I'm not craving junk food & sugar as much!  I just like it!  Hope all of you are finding it as enjoyable as I am (except for the nodding off today...)!

Welcome Erica1234!   Vkschoch!  You rock!!!  Try drinking water or getting busy when you get hungry.  I really honestly would try to eat only every 3 hours.  Maybe try eating a little more or make sure your protein and carb ratio are in check.

It's really nice to see some vetran BFLs here to show the new BFLs that this program truely works!  I have used the program twice to drop weight and really find that staying THIS focused works for me.  You really have to believe in the program, use the support of the group and look at the long term goal!  I have to work, but thinking of you all...

Whew, I just took my before pictures. Let is just say I am motivated beyond all belief!!