@mstickles...john gave me a good laugh with that one too :)  and thankfully we all have it each other..it helps sooo much!!!

@jonhj7777  My 5 meals/snacks (I hope) are very well proportioned..a cup/a fist.  I do eat a lot of veggies, when i have a salad i HAVE a salad LOL and I love mini peppers (BJ's gotta love it)  My energy levels are perfect (well, as well as can be for what we all have to do in a day) my workouts (even with weight training & cardio afterwards) are great!!!  and believe it or not, I am VERY rarely hungry.  Like you said, sometimes your forcing a last meal in just because you know you need it.  Cravings, rare but ice cream & chocolate would be nice hahaha

Any opinions on creatine use?  My son uses it (he is a vegetarian & it was suggested not only for muscle building purposes but because he gets less naturally from not eating meats/alot of dairy)

thanks gang!!

JODI   :)

Hey All....congrats on all the great accomplishments! Can't wait for cardio tonight..... what do you use for measuring fat percentage? I do mine online....it takes into account your weight, measurements for neck, waist, and hips.... just wondering what the rest of you are using and if there is something better

@Diane33 - I found a body fat table a number of years ago, and programmed a spreadsheet to calculate best-fit lines so I could get more accurate readings than their rounded values. It uses weight and the difference between belly and wrist circumferences to look up body fat percentage. I've compared it to skinfold calipers several times over the years, and it's almost always within a half percent (worst gap ever was 0.8%) - better than the electrostatic scale we had. Unfortunately it's only calibrated for adult men; the table for women used a different set of measurements, and (not being a woman) I didn't copy that one. It was probably similar to what you're using now though.

@jodi- If your energy is good and you don’t get hungry then its all good. Like any program its designed for everyone.  I think after the first challenge (and I think everyone should do at least one challenge by the book), you can branch out and customize based  on your own particulars.  I use creatine and I have found it to be very effective in adding muscle strength. One side effect to note is that you will get bloated and you will gain scale weight.  That’s because it works by pushing water into your muscle cells. Some find it disconcerting.

@Diane- I use a caliper. On amazon you can get a great caliper and body tape measure for less than 10 bucks (ttp://www.amazon.com/AccuMeasure-MyoTape-AM-3000-Fitness-Personal/dp/B002VAPHXW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1336090315&sr=8-2).  It works pretty well but there are many ways to get at it.  The key is to consistently use the same method every time so even if the method isn’t accurately you can at least see changes over time.  

@Mike! You want to share that spreadsheet? lol I’m glad you are getting the hang of it!

@Donnie- Yes you need the carbs so you have plenty of energy to pump that iron. Remember that this is a marathon and not a race so slow and steady wins the race.  Sometimes people start to exercise more and then they get tired, or burned out, or get injured.  You can definitely increase the activity in your life but don’t over do it. Remember the diet in the book is designed for the specific workout. If you add more exercise you may get hungry. After you complete the first challenge and prove to yourself that you can do all 12 weeks then maybe start to add more exercises. Just a thought.  I love the excitement that I can feel in you. You are changing for the better so keep at it!

It is so nice that everyone is so responsive and supportive here!

When I do weight training I can, and regularly do, use the free weights. At my all women's gym most ladies stay away from that area so I don't have to share much of the space which is also nice, the whole place to myself! But I have noticed when I do use the machines I think I push myself harder and can reach my 10's a lot more often. I don't know why, I do feel comfortable with free weights. My theory is that with free weights I typically do not have a spotter and when I am pushing myself to lift to the point of crashing I'm on my own. With the machine, squats for example, I think I am not as scared to try and add 5 more pounds, then 5 more and 5 more because if I break I am not going to fall, drop weights on myself, or anyone else :) and if it's too much it's just moving a pin instead of going back to the weight rack.

I am not sure if my theory make sense to anyone else but it makes sense in my head.

So does it matter? Are free weights better or are machines okay for some training? Any advice or opinions are appreciated.

Thanks!

Aerobic workout this morning went OK - I made it to "9". Got a new pair of athletic shoes, so instead of my feet hurting right away, my shins and calves hurt after a few minutes :-P.  Oh well, you keep pushing - eventually all the parts will get in good enough shape for me to push for an aerobics "10" :-).

@johnj7777 - Sure can - I just put it out on one of my websites. The URL is: www.grtbooks.com/.../MensBodyFatCalculator.xls

@ItDoesntHurt - According to the book, free weights are better because they work out more muscles (the ones you use for balance, etc), but machines are good too. Your theory does make sense - I know I don't push for a "10" doing a barbell bench press without a spotter, but I will with dumbbells because if I lose it completely I can at least get them to fall to either side of me instead of in my face. The 10s I've hit so far, though, I've had the strength to lower the weight with enough control to avoid a crash, just not enough to push it back up.

GREAT Lower Body Workout this morning! Got to sleep in and start at 7, which boosted my energy enough to hit three "10"s, four "9"s and a high "8"! (and that's not counting the three "9"s I had in Hamstrings before the high point sets - I kept misjudging how much weight to use). I'm gonna feel this one tomrrow, but it'll be sooooo worth it! Better keep stretching off and on all day.... :-)

Geez- I feel it today!!! Yesterday was my UBW. Did some dumb bell rows and went up to 30lbs- I could barely carry it from the rack to the bench but I could sure do 6 rows one handed! A guy even commented that I made him look bad lol anyway I did chest exercises for the first time this whole challenge....and that's probably why I'm sore. I haven't been doing them because last challenge my bra barely fit when I was done my chest got so small! lol but I realized that by not doing them I am probably neglecting parts of my back and arms....and by the way I feel today- I am right. I am sore in places that I haven't been sore in this whole challenge. So we will see how it goes. Tomorrow morning will mark 3 weeks for me that I've been doing this so I will report my progress I'm excited because I feel the difference already

valliegirl and johnj7777-

Thanks for the encouragement on quitting smoking.  I tried the e-cig and it made me want to smoke more not less.  I'm going to try the patch next.  I tried the cream of tartar and oj mix and was unusually sore after my workouts (1 tsp of cream of tartar is 5g of potassium-should have looked that up sooner).  I'm hoping that by week 4 I'll have that goal accomplished.  I'm also getting my teeth fixed and don't want to waste the money on dental work by smoking.

Had a strange bit of encouragement with the challenge as well.  The lady that took by before photo is giving me a discount on my before and after photos because when we talked she said it was nice to see someone so excited about getting in shape.  

Still working on the diet.  It does help to plan ahead.  Hope everyone had a great free day and a great workout tomorow.

Hi everyone,

Just checking in. Had to swap my free day for tomorrow, going on a fishing trip but still planning to eat good, and hopefully catch some fish to add to my diet. I weighed in after the first two weeks and I'm down 6 pounds already. I still feel like I'm just getting started. I'm almost running 2 miles in the 20 minute cardio workout and speeding up to get the 9 and 10 every time I run. I already feel like a new person. I've even had people say my face looks thinner and I'm going to have to wear a belt with my jeans soon. Thanks again to all the support in this group, it's good to be able to talk to people going through the same things. Keep up the good work everyone!

Donnie

Well, today was the "bummer day" - was too free with my free day yesterday (lots of emotional stress, fell back into comfort eating), ate too late in the evening, got nauseous about halfway through my aerobic workout, which was just about the time the pain hit my shins (there's "feeling the burn" pain, "Im hurt bad" pain, and the intermediate "you're on the verge of injury" pain - this was that last one). I had to walk through the rest of the workout to work out my shins, so my peak was an "8" in minute 6, my abortive attempt at stair-stepping at the end just made a "7". Can't retry later 'cause I'm working almost a double shift today, won't get home until bedtime. Guess you've got to expect a day or two like this.

Anyone tried those exercise "mini-cycles" that are just pedals mounted on a floor stand with adjustable resistance? Are they any good? I'm getting desperate for a decent aerobics workout my legs will survive.

WEEK TWO PROGRESS REPORT:

Weight: Down one pound this week to 229-1/2 (total loss one pound)

Fat weight: Down two pounds this week (total loss eight pounds)

Lean mass: Up one pound this week (one pound total gain compared to pre-Lenten state)

Belly: Lost 3/8 inch this week (lost 1-5/8 inches total)

Body Fat %: Down about a half-percent this week (about 3% total loss, from 34% to 31%)

Since I'm not much of a cook, I like simple recipes when I need to prepare my own food - and since we had no leftovers for me to bring down this week, I needed to do that. Here's one I found online (www.ehow.com/how_2088912_chicken-wild-rice-crockpot.html) that I made in the crockpot last night, and it tastes pretty good IMO:

INGREDIENTS:

- 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used 1.38 lbs chicken tenderloins instead)

- 1 box wild rice mix (I used Zatarain's New Orleans Style Wild Brown Rice Mix)

- 2 cans 98% Fat Free Cream of Celery soup, condensed.

- 1 can water

- Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

- Thaw the chicken before putting in the crockpot

- Put all ingredients in the crockpot and stir well (make sure chicken is covered in liquid and spices from rice mix are thoroughly mixed)

- Cook on low for 4-6 hours

- Stir before serving. Cut up chicken if desired. Add salt and pepper to taste.

That's it! I cooked mine for five hours, and I didn't need to cut up the chicken because it fell apart into chunks during stirring, but while it still tasted good the rice was overdone and mushy. Probably overcooked it (next time I'll try four hours), and I might have put in a bit too much water since that rice mix is a touch smaller in weight than most. The spices in the Zatarain's rice mix were so good I didn't bother with salt and pepper, but for some it might be a bit bland. YMMV.

For me this recipe made five servings with calories and carb/protein/fat proportions in the same range as regular fist-and-palm-portioned meals I've checked (actually a little smaller, but servings would have been too big if I'd divided it into four).

Decent UBWO this morning, six "9"s and four "8"s. Still having trouble gauging what weight to use, especially for second exercises - what I used last time helps, but isn't always a good guide (especially since I was still nursing the sore triceps last time; they're back to normal now).

Trying to pre-plan my next three days, I'll be spending over 17 hours on the road. Workouts are already planned and won't be a problem but I'll need to watch meals and water intake. Protein bars will be my good friends :-).

Visible progress seems to have tapered off for the moment, but I'm noticing that the fast walking I do while shopping on a tight schedule is a lot less strenuous already - I can't seem to get out of breath like I used to by just walking fast. Lots of ways to see/feel progress...

Hey Friends

Quiet few days from the group but we are in WEEK 3 people  BE EXCITED ..I cant believe it, before we know it we will be saying "wow, 1 more week to go!!"  YAY!!

Well looks like Mike is busting some butt and really keeping on top of things..good for you..you work so hard and plan plan plan...i love it (and everyone else who posts..awesome job!!  keep pushin hard)

I missed my first workout since January 1st & it really upset me.  I suffer from migraines & I have been very lucky to only get 2 in the past few months (porbably due to working out & NOT eating sugar) but this one hit me hard in the middle of the night Friday well into Sat :(  it was a lower body day for me too which is my fav to do but because my energy gets totally zapped & i basically feel like a Mac truck ran me over, i had to give in to it & tell myself it was ok...and it was.  I tried to eat well Sat but with migraine, comes no appetite so I got 3 good meals in but that was it for me.  Off day was Sunday but I tried to keep my meals well rounded and only 2 snacks I wouldnt normally have (smartfood popcorn of course).

Back on track Monday morning tho awesome workout & great cardio.. today was weird for me..I always do legs & cardio but cardio was a HUGE struggle.  I fought it tooth & nail.  I counted the seconds not even minutes BUT i hit 10's every cycle & I did finish it. PHEWWWW!!! done til tomorrow :)

Hope everyone is well and had a great weekend

JODI  :)

This morning's cardio wasn't bad - tried doing modified burpees (after a walk-in-place warm-up) to see if they'd be easier on my legs; they were, but my chest only lasted a bit over 2 minutes before it was done, and I had to quickly throw my shoes on to finish up by stair-stepping on the back porch step. But cutting the stepping from 20 to 15 minutes was enough to let me finish without killing my lower legs; my shins were burning, but it was a "great workout" burn and not shin splints. Hit "8"s with all my peaks and I think I just made it to a "9" at the high point ("8+" at least). Could probably throw in a "9" for chest and a "10" for shins! I'll try that routine again Friday.

Only problem I'm having now is energy - haven't had much all week, and it's been getting worse. I'm just dragging and listless this morning. I'm getting a little less sleep than I should (5 to 6 hours), but that was true last week and I didn't have this problem (plus I got plenty over the weekend). I don't feel sick at all, no fever, no aching (other than from the workouts). Not sure what the deal is. Good thing I work out first thing in the morning - that's been my energy "high point", it just goes downhill from there.

Jodi - I'm impressed you could get three meals down with a migraine! I've had only one migraine in my life (your description sounds like my experience), and I couldn't force myself to eat. Lying in bed and taking an occasional sip of water was all I could handle. And sounds like you came roaring back from it - good job!

Looking good so far crew, let's keep pushing on! I love reading everyone's posts, they give me extra "oomph" to keep pushing myself - and in a week like this when my energy's down, that's soooo appreciated!

- Mike