Thread: "Soon to Be" Fitgirl's BFL Journal

Good luck! I'll check in on you! Feel free to ask if you have any questions... I'll help in any way I can.

You're going to do a great job! Get ready! The next 12 weeks are going to be a major learning experience (beyond the realms of diet and exercise)!

Good luck!

I did 2 challenges--went great....I'll keep an eye on your journal, offer advice if I can. BFL is a great way to start, best of luck meeting your goals.

Kimber - I will totally need help with this, so please keep me honest. I still need to take pictures, but I've got my stats:

H - 5'6"
W - 131

Chest - 32.5
Waist - 27.75
Hips- 33
Upper Arm - 10.25 (R), 10.5 (L)
Thigh - 20.75 (both)
Calf - 13 (R), 13.5 (L)

I'm about a size 4/6, but would like to look as lean out of clothes as I do in !

I really started yesterday, so here is what I did:

Workout
60 mins boxing w/heavy bag

Food

1- Oatmeal & Cottage Cheese

2 - Veggie soup/chicken breast on salad w/small bit of Cesar dressing (fork dip)

3- Myoplex Shake and Banana (it was a low carb shake that I had around)

4 - Polenta/cx sausage/ sprinkle w/parm cheese

5-yogurt & beer (I know....bad)

6-string cheese

Workout

Lower body:
Leg Press 50x12, 60x10, 70x8, 90x6, 70x12 Superset w/squat 20x12 db
Lying Leg Curl 20x12, 30x10, 35x8, 40x6, 70x12 SS w/Lunges 12x12
Standing Calf 15,15,10

Abs
Bench full 12,12
Leg lifts on bench 12,10
Crunch 12,12

Food

1-Egg beaters, lt english muffin, sprinkle cheese

2-Salad w/chicken breast & small amount of no sugar dressing

3-Myo Shake

4-Polenta w/chicken sausage and sprinkle parm

5- yogurt and cc

6-string cheese & banana

Oh....I forgot I did 20 mins on the elliptical before I lifted!

Might explain why I'm still hungry May have an orange soon....

Hey girl...do you have the Eating for Life book? Also, you didn't mention if you know your BF%. Personally, that was a much better measure for me than the scale, but the tape measure is good too. You can estimate your BF from that at www.mybodycomp.com if you want to. Looks like you're off to a great start! Keep it up!

Originally Posted by Kimber

Hey girl...do you have the Eating for Life book? Also, you didn't mention if you know your BF%. Personally, that was a much better measure for me than the scale, but the tape measure is good too. You can estimate your BF from that at www.mybodycomp.com if you want to. Looks like you're off to a great start! Keep it up!

Kimber, I have a copy of that eating for life book, and while there are some awesome recipes in there, i'd like to point out that as with any food, really, there are some that are smarter choices than others while she is dieting during these 12 weeks. They are better suited for maintenance after she completes the challenge.

FG: I can't name any of the ones i'm referring to off the top of my head, but if you are following the BFL suggestions, you will be able to tell what you should and shouldnt really eat from taht book for now. Also, if you do get the book, you can go on the eatingforlife.com site and get all the calories and macro breakdowns for each meal in three different portion sizes: male, female and general.

FG--yea, ignore me...GG obviously knows what she's talking about--check out her gallery/journal--impressive!

Originally Posted by Kimber

FG--yea, ignore me...GG obviously knows what she's talking about--check out her gallery/journal--impressive!

Thank you! But no way, chickie! You did two challenges!!!! Give me a break! If there is anyone here with some BFL experience it's you!

I'm just saying the thing about the book and the recipes because there are some foods that are better for dieting than others, and now that I recall, I think the book might even touch upon that subject, saying how not all the recipes should be used during the challenge, but rather for maintaning your new lifestyle (as the book's name suggest, eating for life, blah blah blah)...

Regardless, i think we all have something of value to offer FG on her journey through this BFL challenge!

Originally Posted by GoalGetter

Thank you! But no way, chickie! You did two challenges!!!! Give me a break! If there is anyone here with some BFL experience it's you!

I didn't mean to sound like I was ragging on myself, I'm happy with how far I've come! It just makes me wonder how much quicker I would have seen results with advice from people on this website! There are so many inspiring and knowledgable people on here, and you are certainly one of them!

I'm just saying the thing about the book and the recipes because there are some foods that are better for dieting than others, and now that I recall, I think the book might even touch upon that subject, saying how not all the recipes should be used during the challenge, but rather for maintaning your new lifestyle (as the book's name suggest, eating for life, blah blah blah)...

And you're absolutely right--FG needs to be more strict with her diet to see great results because she's got to be reasonably close to her goals at 5'6 and 130.

Regardless, i think we all have something of value to offer FG on her journey through this BFL challenge!

Absolutely!

k

Wow guys! Thanks for checking in.

GG -when you say a strict diet are you saying mine is not right now? Please give improvements if you see any.

Kimber - I did the mybodycomp.com and my bf% is 24.24%..YIKES

Food

1-Egg beaters/spin/sprinkle parm

2-can cx w/apple and lite mayo in a 1/2 ww pita

3-yogurt and string chz

4-mayo shake w/banana

5-Boston Market Cx w/o skin, lf potatoes and small salad &..... a glass of wine (HUGE downfall)

6-??? don't know yet (maybe the wine will be my meal???)

Workout

30 min Workout Challenge ( a class that consists of sprints and obstacle courses).
30 min Balance (class for abs)

Good luck!

OMG.......I was so confused......a fitgirl and a fitgirl70......

WElcome aboard...I hope you reach your goals...there are a lot of great people on this site and a lot of great advice....

Good luck
Tammy

Originally Posted by fitgirl

Wow guys! Thanks for checking in.

GG -when you say a strict diet are you saying mine is not right now? Please give improvements if you see any.

Kimber - I did the mybodycomp.com and my bf% is 24.24%..YIKES

24% bf is not hard to bring down to mid-teens in 12 weeks.

And no I don't think your diet is too strict right now. It is sensible, as you are following what the book is telling you you should eat, more or less, right? How drastically different is it from what you were eating before the challenge? If it is a drastic change then yeah I'd say you are being strict and good for you. This is a great first step.

If you were already eating sensibly, then this would be the time to just pick a few basic foods from the three macros (proteins, carbs and fats) and keep your meals simple and nutritious, so you don't have to worry about them and just focus on feeding your body what it needs to reach your goals in the next 12 weeks. That's just my opinion... you can still achieve great results following the diet the way it is suggested in the book, but you can always fine-tune it for better results.

By fine-tuning, I mean for example, like after the first six weeks, I cut out dairy, and most bars and shakes, and stuck to real food. I also cut out a great deal of sodium by switching to salt-free seasonings, cut out more sugar by switching to salsa from stuff like ketchup... Eventually i was just eating a lean meat (chicken, tilapia or extra lean ground turkey), a small portion of carbs (usually brown rice or oatmeal), and a mountain of veggies at every meal (six meals), even my post-workout was a whole food meal toward the end.

Mind you... that was pretty drastic and I was still learning a lot (still am!) about diet and nutrition, so there are definitely a few things I would do differently this time around if I did it again, especially with regards to how few carbs, and calories in general, I was eating!

Thanks GG...I ate pretty well before I started. I guess too much sugar would be the only thing and too many processed carbs, so this to good to get me off of them. I am hungry a lot, but maybe this will change??? I also feel like I'm eating all the time, so it's more meals than I'm use to, but I've always been a grazer.

How are my cals?

FF SF pudding????

Hi

Good Luck.

Originally Posted by fitgirl

FF SF pudding????

Fat free/Sugar free.

Good luck. Oh, and what is BFL?

Originally Posted by PreMier

Fat free/Sugar free.

Good luck. Oh, and what is BFL?

Heh... fat free sugar free - i think she was asking if she could have ffsf pudding during her BFL challenge.

Fitgirl, I'd say yes. Even less calories, if you make it with water instead of milk, or at least with equal parts water and skim milk instead of just milk.

Jake: BFL is Body For Life.

God, I didnt read the top part of that post.

Originally Posted by fitgirl

Thanks GG...I ate pretty well before I started. I guess too much sugar would be the only thing and too many processed carbs, so this to good to get me off of them. I am hungry a lot, but maybe this will change??? I also feel like I'm eating all the time, so it's more meals than I'm use to, but I've always been a grazer.

Well you are off to a pretty good start then! As far as being hungry a lot... if you're cutting back on your portions from what you used to eat (which means you are reducing the amount of calories you are eating as well), then yeah... you're gonna be hungry for a bit, until your body adjusts. You mention it's more meals than you're used to... but the amounts? They are small or sensibly sized meals, I'm assuming... are you measuring/weighing your food or are you using the palm of your hand/fist and eyeballing the amounts?

How are my cals?

I don't know how your cals are, because I don't now the amounts that you're eating. You just list your foods for each meal but without a measurable quantity, there's not much I can say about your calories...

Have you considered using a site like fitday.com or maybe calorieking.com or something like that, to track your meals/calories?

here's what i mean abotu your meals:

1-Egg beaters/spin/sprinkle parm

How much egg beaters? 1/4 cup? 1/2 cup?

2-can cx w/apple and lite mayo in a 1/2 ww pita

Here at least, ok a can of chicken... how many ounces in that can? The apple - small, medium, large? The mayo - a tbsp? a tsp? The ww pita - you can actually look at the bag and see how many calories for a whole one and divide to get your cals for that item.

3-yogurt and string chz

How much yogurt? A single serving cup (usually 4-6 ounces)? How much string cheese?

4-mayo shake w/banana

A MAYO SHAKE? Like... a shake made with mayonaise?

And was this a post workout or pre workout meal?

The banana... what size? You'll find that a lot of people here advise folks who are dieting to stick to other fruits such as apples, grapefruits, peaches and berries because bananas are loaded with sugar... And some people are REALLY strict about not having ANY fruit, but I think that is just a little extreme. Do a quick search on IM for bananas in the diet and nutrition forum and come to your own conclusion, though.

5-Boston Market Cx w/o skin, lf potatoes and small salad &..... a glass of wine (HUGE downfall)

They sell wine in boston market? what is lf potatoes? low-fat? And again? How much chicken? A leg, a quarter, a breast? How much potatoes? Did you add anything to the salad? If so, what? Oil? Dressing? Bacon Bits?

6-??? don't know yet (maybe the wine will be my meal???)

AARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!! no!

Hey GG

I had an apple for my 6th meal. And I added up my cals and they are around 1300 or so. That is probably enough, I just need to get use to eating this way

BTW-mayo shake is Myoplex....dont know why I called it that!

Originally Posted by GoalGetter

Fitgirl, I'd say yes. Even less calories, if you make it with water instead of milk, or at least with equal parts water and skim milk instead of just milk.

It never occurred to me to make it with water! I'll have to try that. I mixed in some whey and used it for my mid-meals. When I said you need to be more strict, I meant than me (sorry, wasn't clear)--you're off to a great start!

try to make sure you're getting your protein with every meal, even the last one.

Originally Posted by Kimber

...try to make sure you're getting your protein with every meal, even the last one.

DEFINITELY!

FG: I saw that you said "meal 6 was an apple" and i nearly flipped out! That's not a meal. it's just a carb. You need to add some kind of protein to that. I'm sure even the BFL book doesn't condone a meal consisting of nothing but an apple. I realize this time around you were trying to just make up for the earlier faux pas, but in the future it might be a better idea to go back to balanced meals as quickly as possible.

And how did you add up your calories? Just curious.