DebbieMO - Thanks for your response!
I will definitely try the pancakes. I'll have to look up the recipe. I will try the yogurt too. I am a little confused though - if you add protein powder, then doesn't it make the yogurt chocolate (or vanilla, or whatever) flavored? Just one spoon is all we need to hit the 20 g protein mark?
I do drink one RTD (thanks for clarifying) per day. I really like the lite ones. Sometimes I pair it with a small salad so it feels like a meal.
I will not add cardio - yet. I was doing a ton of cardio before B4L, so I will see this through before I start changing the plan. I just started week 9 yesterday.
I probably should take a free meal instead of a free day...we'll see about that!
Hulk - I promise not to give up. I'll see this through - but I AM feeling a bit defeated anyway.
Sian - Thank you for pointing out the BMI thing. I find it really hard to not compare myself. My sister is one of those damned tall, naturally thin people. I will never have the same chicken legs she has and I need to not worry about weighing more than I "should."
I promise - the second I look fabulous - I won't care how much I weigh!
AK grown - Thank you!!
Sarabean,
The CHOBANI single serving greek yogurts only have about 14gms of protein and the flavored ones have 20gms carbs. The plain flavor obviously has less carbs. Most of us women are shooting for about 20gms of carbs and 20gms protein per meal. So if you use the flavored ones, add 1TBPS of LOW CARB PROTEIN POWDER. It has to be low carb - I use vanilla - and it just makes the yogurt taste even better...IMHO. My low carb protein - 1 TBSP of it - adds 5gms protein, and just a half a gm carb. So my total would be 19gms protein and 20.5gms carbs which gets me much closer to my 20/20 goal. Use your labels for this and you will need to experiment a little to see how many gms of carbs/protein are in your low carb protein powder. I took my scoop and figured out how many TBSP were in a scoop, and just did a little math from the info on the label.
Here is the pancake recipe. Blend in a blender: 1C LF cottage cheese and 6 egg whites. Add cinnamon, vanilla and stevia to taste. Then add 1C whole oats and blend...but don't overdo the blending when you add the oats, or it can get a little runny. It is just trial and error. Obviously we need to be careful when we add SF syrup, because there are carbs in SF syrup, so go very sparingly. Some just spread a very thin layer of SF jam (yes, I know the syrup and jam are not on the BFL approved food list). This is just a personal decision to use them. Go sparingly if you use them. But, the pancakes are awesome, they heat up well out of the fridge, and the kids love them. I am doing this long term, and don't intend to win any contests, so I choose to add a few items such as the SF syrup. You will need to decide what is best for you, based on your goals.
Good luck!
Julie
C2W9D58
Don't give up! You mentioned that you lost inches - that is progress. Keep going. The scale won't change much if you are gaining muscle while losing fat. The scale is not your friend and should not be your measure of success. Try to measure your success with how well you stick to the plan, how good you feel, how much better you look, how your clothes fit, the energy you have, etc. Then measure your body fat and the inches lost for true motivation. I am a vegetarian also. I use the Chobani yogurt and add a tbs of vanilla protein powder. Just make sure you get a high quality product. It is pricey, but well worth it. I eat cottage cheese at least once a day. Have a protein shake after my workouts. I use the AdvantEdge Carb control shakes and I rely heavily on soy based veggie burgers. However, when choosing a veggie burger product, be sure to look at the amount of carbs. If the carbs are high, don't pair that item with another carb like WW bread or a sweet potato. That will sabatoge your results. I have met several other vegetarians on this site and we exchange recipes. I will be adding some to my profile this week if you want to check back. Also, how have you been doing with your HIIT? Best of luck to you and I will see you at the finish line!
Nancy Jo
C1W4D1
I am so sorry to hear you are struggling so much. I know how you feel. I have been there and still am. My husband and I went on a vacation about a year ago. We were on a very deserted beach and we walked for miles everyday. We had to walk about 1 and 1/2 miles to get to town to eat out or go to the store. We really didn't eat very much and like I said did a lot of walking, and in thick sand at that! When I got home the scales said I had gained about 8 pounds! I almost cried. Looking back I realized that even though the scales said I had gained weight, my body had changed shape somewhat. Muscle weighs more than fat!! My legs were a little slimmer and I'm guessing that was the reason for the weight gain. I replaced the fat with muscle! Also, water weight can have a lot to do with things. If you are eating out a lot, you probably have been taking in a lot more salt than you normally would. That's just how restaurants prepare their food! Water weight, for me anyway, can make you fluctuate from between 3 and 5 pounds on any given day......that's not to mention if you are going through PMS!!! Ouch!
Have you been to a doctor to rule out any physical problems like maybe a slow thyroid or anything else? Some medications or even vitamins you may be taking may be causing the slow progress. I would suggest getting a physical and talking to your doctor to rule out any underlying causes first.
Don't give up! I am just starting this challenge myself....for the second time....and it is very hard to do with my fibromyalgia. Everyday is a struggle, but we have to keep looking at the big picture, if not for yourself then for your family and loved ones. I look at my beginning picture every morning and everytime I want to quit or get off track. It helps remind me why I started and why I have to be strong and finish. You can do it!!! Please join our forum called "Dream Team" started by reneid (sp). There are a lot of great people on there that will help you get and stay motivated!! Hope this helps.
How are your cheat days? That could really be setting you back depending on how you are using it. I would give up the jam, cheese & brown sugar. Try cinnimon!
I am only on week 3 of my first challenge...loving it, but like you I was needing to spice things up. I made protein muffins today. All you do is mix 1/2c (40g) oats, 80g blueberries, 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg, splenda packet, dash cinnimon & bake at 350 for 30-35min. They are delicious! I make into 4 muffins & eat two at a time as a meal. The ENTIRE batch counts up at 337cal, 8g fat, 37g carb, 31g protein. Make in bulk and put them in baggies so I can grab on the go. Vegetarian friendly! Also made chicken "fried" brown rice. You could make without the chicken. To do it, I put 1 cup of dry brown rice in the rice cooker and let it cook. On the stove I sauteed 1/3 onion, & 2 garlic cloves until soft; while cooking, in a bowl whisk (adding more than I did since you wont have chicken, but you can play around with however many u want) 8 egg whites & 1 whole egg + 1 TBSP of lite soy sauce. After whisked, pour into onion & garlic in pan. Scramble it all up. In the meantime I have cooked a package of the frozen veggie steamer bags in the microwave for 4:00 (carrot, pea & grn beans). Once eggs are almost done, add the veggies in and sautee some more. Once eggs done, Add in the cooked rice. Add another TBSP of soy sauce, stir and enjoy! Should be some nice additions to your daily meals...good luck, and don't give up yet! One of my good friends did BFL & didn't lose one pound but lost several dress sizes and her body completely transformed. She was the reason why I started!
Julie - I'll definitely search for the correct protein powder. I'll do the math! The protein powder I have now is the EAS soy protein powder, but it's chocolate and I somehow think that wouldn't be very good in yogurt.
The greek yogurt I bought is not Chobani - where do you buy that one? The one I bought is by FAGE and it's 15g protein and only 7 carbs, so I guess I'd need a handful of berries or something in addition to some protein powder.
Thank you for the recipe for the pancakes. I obviously have some grocery shopping to do for next week! I agree with you - I am doing this long term, so there have to be small concessions made. :)
Nancy Jo - so good to hear from a fellow vegetarian! I do use the shakes and eat a lot of tofu/veggie burgers as well. I'll keep away from too many sweets - that's a good point.
What do you mean by HIIT? That's high-intensity interval training, right? I'm doing a pretty good job. I mean, like you said, I'm looking tone. The thing that I'd really like is to see more tone in my lower half. My arms and shoulders look fabulous but my thighs could use some reduction yet.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Wysiwyg1 - Thanks for your reply. I don't think it's a medical problem - especially because there is absolutely no history of thyroid issues in my very large extended family. To boot, my sister and mom have both been tested. I'd go to the doc, but without health insurance right now, so I wait until I'm dying sick before I go pay for the doctor's visit. :)
I honestly don't think the issue is medical, though. I mean, I initially lost 35 pounds, so I don't think I'm incapable. I just haven't weighed this little since I was 19. I am not sure my body knows what to do with me at this point!
Akmama - THANK YOU. It's nice to see some recipes and some hope, too! i suppose I could be happy at 151 pounds if I'm a size 5. :) :) I'll definitely add your recipes to my growing grocery list for next week.
Thank you all!
Sarabean -
I live in Northern Virginia. Giant food, Safeway and COSTCO all sell CHOBANI. Maybe the Fage will taste just fine. I just know they don't all taste great, but a TBSP vanilla low carb protein powder helps add some flavor anyway!
Yes, add some berries to your fage yogurt to up the carbs, or use a protein powder that adds some...maybe you can use a TBSP of regular protein powder instead of the low carb. Like I said, I have to use the low carb protein in mine because my serving of Chobani already has 20gms carbs.
Good luck, sounds like you are figuring everything out. In my first challenge, it took me almost 4 weeks to really feel like I had it down. You are doing great!
I'm chiming in to say FAGE is delicious. Of course I haven't tried the CHOBANI yet...
Sarbean - glad you're hanging in there! Love the attitude. I'm so confident you'll get great results by the end of your challenge. Keep it up.
I thought I'd tell you guys I tried the protein pancakes today. I used the recipe from the site - with the oats - because it's what I had in the cabinet. 2 words: Holy cow. They're really tasty and SOOOO filling. It's time for my next meal and I have NO desire to eat, whatsoever. On top of that, the recipe says it serves one, but I literally could not eat the whole thing, so I saved half for Monday.
Thanks guys!!
Yay, Sarabean...yes the protein pancakes rule...When I make them with 1c cottage cheese, 6 egg whites, 1c. oats and cinnamon, stevia, and vanilla. I can usually make 6-8, and I eat 2 pancakes per serving. That works out to close to 20gms carbs and 20gms protein for 2 pancakes, but I don't remember the exact numbers. I think they are a little higher on carbs, but not much. It makes a great meal.
Can anyone suggest how to measure BMI or BFI (mass vs fat indexes)? Are there any gadgets available that we could use at home?
In general, I am also getting discouraged....I was a certifiable white rice addict which was my staple food and now I practically gave that up over a month ago. While I have seen some improvements in my weight, the progress hasn't been as rapid as I would have liked. Of course, I am following the principles of BFL (not necessarily following it to a tee)...Nevertheless getting frustrated and discouraged.