Body for Life Forums Posts for Nov 25, 2005: 201 Messages

Body for Life Forum Message by Darrell (98 posts) at 03:13 PM:
for anyone interested, here's the entire story from that web site. I was shocked to learn the real secrets of BFL and the "champions" Between these real stories, and Bill selling the whole thing, my dreams sure popped out the window! here it is:
Why The Body For Life Program Works By John Hussman, Ph.D, MSEd Welcome to my Body-for-LIFE support page! If you study the academic research on exercise and supplementation, you'll be amazed at how deeply Bill Phillips' program is rooted in effective, tested principles. I really believe that Bill did the right thing in keeping the Body-for-LIFE book simple and easy to understand. But you'll have a great deal more confidence following the program if you understand the science too.There are two keys to the Body-for-LIFE program:1) Daily, brief, progressive workouts: Alternating 20 minute aerobic workouts using intervals, and 46 minute weight training workouts using the "high-point" technique.2) Frequent, limited, high-quality meals: Six meals a day, consisting of a portion of protein, and a portion of carbohydrates, and since you'll be building muscle and burning fat, about a gallon of water daily to support these metabolic processes.Let me add something else right up front that should be clear from Bill's "authorized list" but is too often overlooked: add a vegetable occasionally. Water containing vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, celery, green beans and cucumbers, among others, are excellent, and have very low caloric content.The key to the Body For Life workouts is that they are brief, daily, and progressive. They are patterned in a way that periodically drives you to reach higher highs. While there are several aspects that you can add to Body For Life to accelerate your progress (including low-glycemic nutrition, cross-training, proper supplementation, and a focus on the short-term goal for each day and each workout), it's very clear that Body For Life works because it is consistent with cutting-edge fitness research. Everything that Bill includes in the program is there for a reason. An effective workout program should train every one of your energy systems. And that's the key to the remarkable transformations in as little as 12 weeks - you want to maintain a persistently high level of metabolic activity every day.Notice the phrase as little as 12 weeks. The original EAS Physique Transformation Challenge required a minimum of 12 weeks. For example, Everett Herbert's transformation took just over 14 weeks. Brad Wadlow's took 16. Those pictures are real, but you also have to understand that many of them are the champions out of thousands of entrants. Depending on your initial physique, it's very possible to make that kind of transformation in 12 weeks. But if it takes you longer, THAT'S OK!! Don't go beating yourself up, getting frustrated, and going on the verge of quitting every time your progress doesn't seem to match those champions. Just get tough and stick to it! The typical EAS "after" pictures are generally less than 10% bodyfat for men and less than 20% bodyfat for women. That means that if you start at over 20% bodyfat for men, or over 30% bodyfat for women, you probably will need more than 12 weeks. Even Porter Freeman worked out for weeks to lose 20 pounds in preparation for his before picture.The Body-for-LIFE workoutsBill's "20-minute aerobics solution" is a type of "High Intensity Interval Training" (HIIT). Bill's solution is very effective. You start with two minutes of warmup at a level 5, then move to level 6 for a minute, then 7. This portion of your workout is aerobic. You should be able to carry on a broken conversation, breathing deeply but not out of breath. Your level 8 should have more bounce and push to it, taking you slightly out of your comfort range. Your level 9 effort is a "high point" and should be somewhat anaerobic. The goal is not extreme exertion. If you aren't getting somewhat winded and you don't feel a modest burn in your muscles near the end, it's probably too easy, but no gasping as if you've been held underwater. After your level 9, you drop back down to a level 6 (that's a level 6, not a 2 or 3). You're shooting for "active recovery", or what physiologists sometimes call "recovery under stress."The fourth time through this cycle, you add a "high point" - a level 10, after your 9. No gasping allowed, but you should be getting winded. Though you are taking in a lot of oxygen at this point, the energy demands are still greater than can be produced aerobically, so you are challenging your lactate system. After your 10, you'll get the most benefit from your 10 if you get your breath back to a fully conversational level before stopping. That may take an extra few minutes, but "Twenty-three-and-a-half minute aerobics solution" just doesn't have the same ring to it.How do you gauge a high point? Kelly Adair says "My high point is when I’m going 'Boy, I don’t know if I can last one more minute of this'" On the strength training, "if you’re not making that ugly face at the end of those last few reps then you’re probably not pushing yourself as hard as you could.” That said, always check with your physician first to be sure what level of intensity is appropriate for you - particularly if you have any family history of high blood pressure, heart attack, or stroke. ALWAYS EXHALE during the concentric motion. Never hold your breath. Your weight training workouts are also geared to achieve the same kind of high point. On the Body For Life program, you alternate weight training with the 20-minute aerobic solution. So at the end of every two-day period, you've trained every energy system in your body intensely, but with workouts that are brief enough that you can do it again and again. Bill's 46-minute weight-training workouts really are enough, as long as you focus on hitting intense high points.Bill didn't choose the rep pattern by accident. He knows what he's doing. The pattern would be recognized by muscleheads as a "half pyramid, with a compound pump set". It's an intense pattern, but it also substantially reduces the risk of injury. The first set of 12 reps is an essential stretch and warm-up. You then move to a higher weight for 10 repetitions, higher again for 8 reps, maximal weight for 6 reps, then dropping to lower weight for a "compound set" - 12 reps followed immediately by another 12 reps using a different exercise for the same part. The last couple of reps in your final 12 should require everything you've got. Bill describes it as switching from his muscles to his mind. But do concentrate on good form. Pushing a lot of weight in bad form just gets you injured. Most important is that you exhaust the muscle to failure. You do that not only by hitting a high point on the way up, but also by going slow on the eccentric (lowering) motion.NutritionThe core of the nutritional aspect of this program is to eat 6 limited, high quality meals a day. As Bill says, "A meal doesn't mean you have Mom lay out a napkin, and put a fancy plate of food out there. A meal simply means a portion of protein and a portion of carbohydrate. So a meal for me may mean a protein drink and a piece of fruit." If your goal is fat loss, remember: frequent, but limited (particularly in terms of refined carbohydrates).Bill's advice seems to target about 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat (which is largely contained in the whole foods you eat, even "lean" meats). Since you'll be doing weight training, shoot for at least a gram of protein per pound of lean weight daily, regardless of your specific goal.A few words about your free day. You should think of the free day as an opportunity to choose "unauthorized" foods. It's not about losing control. It's about making choices and enjoying those choices. The danger of going overboard is that a wild pig-out style free day can blow several days of "caloric deficits" that are essential for fat loss, and can also be detrimental for people who tend to be binge eaters. If you're not a little careful, the idea of "free days" can create an "all or nothing" mindset and sets up binge eating patterns that are hard to eliminate later. That said, kept in perspective, the free day may help counter the risk that your body senses a fasting state. Metabolically, you're trying to convince your body that it doesn't have to lower its metabolism, shed muscle, or defend its fat stores in response to the change in its "environment". You don't need a huge number of extra calories to do that. It's good if your free meals make you feel warm, and it's great if you actually break a light sweat. The free day gives you something to look forward to, keeps your body "confused", and gives you a chance to have that pizza and ice cream you've been eyeing all week, but don't go way overboard. There's some evidence that cycling high and low caloric periods with weight training can help muscle gains, but the effective cycle is evidently about two weeks, not one day. And if your primary concern is fat loss, I wouldn't try to get that fancy.If you prefer, my impression is that you can substitute the free day with 2 "free meals" between any Sunday-Saturday period (following the program for other meals on those days). Don't try to "spread" your free day across the whole week and then kid yourself that you're following the program. That said, if you do have something that's "unauthorized," don't fall into all-or-nothing thinking and say "I blew it! I'm a loser! The day is ruined! Now it's a free day!" followed by a self-destructive binge. Just have a little bit less to eat later that day, or the next day, to make up for that small amount of lost ground. The main thing is that you don't turn small indiscretions into self-destructive binges. We're all human. If you ate the cookie, you ate the cookie. Now get on with your program. As for how much to eat, Bill's "portion rule" is simple, and gets the job done. To keep it as simple as possible, Bill advises scaling your portions by the size of your open palm or closed fist. You'll also see fairly quickly why Bill didn't include that discussion in his book. That said, try to keep it simple. The Body-for-LIFE program will work just fine using the "portion rule", as long as you're not holding your hand under a magnifying glass.Tweaking the programIt is nothing short of amazing how many ways people can come up with to tweak this program. I've received hundreds and hundreds of questions with all sorts of minor adjustments. Most of them can be answered by simply applying the basic principles we've already covered. Here's a sample ... · Should I mix upper and lower body in the same weight workout? Generally not, since neither will be fully recovered when you hit them again 2 days later. · What if I want less muscle growth? Emphasize lower weight/higher rep sets in the 12-20 rep range. · What if I want more muscle growth? Emphasize higher weight/lower rep sets (mostly in the 6-10 range, occasionally in the 2-4 range, but never without a warmup set of about 12 reps first). Be sure to include multi-joint foundation exercises such as barbell bench press, squats/leg press, and cable pulldowns. Be sure to go relatively slow on the eccentric movement, and to vary your tempo and recovery periods from time to time. Have a supplement shake adding high-glycemic carbs (e.g. Phosphagen HP) about an hour after your weight session. · What if I want more fat loss? Tweak the aerobics as noted below, as long as it doesn't "bonk" your energy. Don't restrict caloric intake excessively. Lean slightly toward more protein and less carbohydrate. Be sure to eat frequent, limited meals. Add lots of vegetables. And try to keep your carbohydrates low-glycemic. · Can I double-up my workouts to twice a day? Not unless both happen to be moderate intensity aerobic sessions. If you double-up the high intensity workouts, you'll compromise recovery - your muscles will be chronically depleted of glycogen, they'll look flat and uncut, and you may actually experience a reduction in strength. · Can I drink coffee? Caffeine is a good fat mobilizer, just don't use it as a substitute for water, and use an artificial sweetener because sugar inhibits fat mobilization. · Can I crush almonds into my yogurt? Sigh. They've got some useful fatty acids, but significant calories, so be sparing. · Can I use Slim-Fast instead of Myoplex? No. Read the label, Slim-Fast is sugar water. If you use something other than Myoplex, check for adequate protein (15-30 g, 4 cal per gram), carbohydrate content that's not excessive (not over 35 g, 4 cal per gram preferably not all as sugars), and relatively low fat (0-6 g, 9 cal per gram). Also, there are some ingredients such as glycerine (the carbon-oxygen backbone of triglycerides) that have calories but are classified as "none of the above". Again, read the label. · Can I eliminate carbohydrates from some of my meals? Too much carb restriction will disrupt your blood sugar levels and increase protein breakdown. You can lean slightly toward more protein and less carbs, but don't strongly restrict either. My understanding is that Porter Freeman had very few carbs in meals 2 and 4. But never eliminate carbs from the meal following an intense workout. · Can I spread my free day a little over the entire week? If you're asking whether you can succeed on this program without discipline. The answer is no. But as noted above, never use a small indiscretion as an excuse to turn the whole day into a free day. That kind of all-or-nothing thinking is very dangerous to your success. If you ate the cookie, you ate the cookie. Strictly speaking, the BFL plan does not allow treats except for the free day. But I'm a realist, and this issue has been at the heart of many failures I've seen. My best advice is this. If you find that you frequently "ruin" your whole day by indulging in a treat, followed by a guilty self-destructive binge, then by all means, include a little bit "fun food" as part of your written daily meal plan (no more than 5-10% of your total daily calories). That way, you make this a program you can live with, and that little bit of fun food becomes part of the plan, rather than the self-destruct button. · How often should I use Betagen? Oh, man. Read the label. I've put many of the most common or important questions on my Q&A page, but there is such an endless array of minor tweaks people come up with, there's no way I can answer them in the sliver of free time I can devote to this project. So I thought it would be best simply to emphasize what I see as the key aspects of this program, and frankly, to let you fend for yourself on the minor issues.Things you can't compromise on: · Frequent meals. At least 5 a day if you can't get that 6th in, but do your best · Balanced, limited portions containing both protein and carbohydrate. If you're interested in fat loss, lean toward modest carb restriction in a couple of your meals (never the one after a workout), and choose low-glycemic carbs for all but the post-workout meal. · High quality nutrition. Bacon-lettuce-and-tomato on white bread doesn't cut it · About a gallon of water a day · Daily workouts, with the possible exception of your free day · Progressive weight training, striving for a high point in each exercise. · 20 minutes of aerobics using high intensity intervals, at least once a week if you're after muscle gain, and three times a week for fat loss Now what follows here is my opinion. Educated opinion, but opinion nonetheless. On the aerobic training, those of you who are strictly after muscle gain can safely limit your aerobics to just once or twice a week. But using the intensity intervals is extremely important, because it will increase your lactate tolerance. And when you're lifting weights, that burn you feel is nothing but lactate. So the cardio will improve your lifting, and you don't want to give that up. That said, Abb Ansley, Anthony Ellis and Jeff Seidman did very little aerobics, since they started out thin and had muscle gain as the primary goal. .Remember that since weight training is really about peak-intensity (with proper nutrition, recovery and supplementation), there are a lot of training variations which can be successful. Bill's recommended pattern is excellent. In the final sets, do make sure the last rep is all you can possibly do. Some people, like Brad Wadlow, have achieved great results from doing a few warmup sets followed by just one or two sets of 6-8 reps to total failure. Anthony Ellis and Abb Ansley finished their routines with heavy, short sets of just 1 to 2 reps. Jeff Seidman generally did a couple of warmup sets, then 4 heavy sets (6-12 reps each) of 3 exercises per body part. All of them included multi-joint exercises such as the barbell bench press, cable pulldowns, and squats or leg presses. They also alternated body parts on different days. Most trained with weights every other day, though Jeff Seidman usually did 3 days on (chest & back, legs, shoulders & arms) and one day off. So again, lots of room for variation. Do what will give you the absolute maximum intensity of contraction. But however you "tweak" the weight training, emphasize proper form, at least one heavy set to failure, multi-joint exercises (sometimes called "foundation" or "compound" exercises), and sufficient recovery before you work a particular body part again. If muscle growth is your main goal, you have to stress those "fast twitch" fibers. And do exhale on the concentric movement. Or your head will pop off (it ain't pretty).In studying the programs of previous Champions, I'm increasingly convinced that extra aerobic activity has been helpful to many of them. The weight training is also a must. You have to understand that a great deal of aerobics may reduce your muscle gains somewhat, but as long as you're doing the weight training, and following the nutritional aspect of the program, you won't lose muscle mass. So in the short term, more aerobics will lead to greater fat loss, since the extra calories you burn will probably exceed what the new muscle would have burned anyway. In the long term, muscle gains are essential, because that will keep you burning calories even when you're not working out. As Bill Phillips writes, "building muscle is a long-term solution to being overly fat." I completely agree.If you do add more aerobics, my own recommendation is to use the high intensity 20 minute pattern no more than three times a week. You can do more aerobics at lower intensity, but too much of the high intensity cardio will bonk your energy and compromise your recovery. A mild tweak would be to do the 20-minutes at high intensity, and to add up to 10 minutes of moderate level 6-7 activity to the end of each. A more significant tweak would add yet a fourth 30-40 minute moderate session (no high points) on your free day. And the maximum tweak would be to do three 20-minute sessions at high intensity, adding up to 20 moderate minutes to the end (40 minutes total), and then add an additional 30-40 minute session on the free day at moderate intensity throughout. And get plenty of rest. That maximum tweak will trade off muscle gains for fat loss, so it's not something you want to do over the long-term. Understand that it's extremely easy to undo any benefit from extra aerobics if you let your caloric intake creep up. So be disciplined in the nutrition part of your program as well. Clearly, if the "tweaking" is leaving you constantly wiped out, and you stop looking forward to your workouts, you need more recovery. You can tweak, but don't overtrain. You know you're overtraining if your performance (lifting ability, endurance) declines noticeably for several days in a row. If that happens, get more rest. It's that simple.Here's what some of the previous Champions have shared:Kelly Adair : "This is it; this is what really counts! I know it's ONLY 20 minutes - I feel like I can see light at the end of the tunnelbefore I even take my first stride - and I love that! I did do 20 minutes of HARD cardio using High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and then sometimes I cooled down by walking on my treadmill for an additional 5-10 minutes while I meditated! I always did three days a week using High Intensity Interval Training - however, some weeks I did four days of cardio, and some weeks I did five days. I was working for major fat-loss, so I wanted to do more - but never more than 20 minutes of HIIT. I can confidently say if it weren't for learning about INTENSITY, I would have not had the success I did. It's paramount you zone in on your intensity levels." Kelly's nutrition plan averaged about 1500 calories a day. She also regularly went rollerblading with her family in the evenings. Her husband Rockett told me it was like a scene from the movie "Shane", where he would be left behind calling "Shane! Come baaaack!"Porter Freeman: "I did two exercises. One exercise was shutting my mouth and keeping it closed, and the second exercise was the stationary bicycle." Several weeks before the Challenge began, Porter did aerobics as much as twice a day to get himself down to a good starting weight. His nutrition leaned toward low fat, low carbs and high protein. During his transformation, Porter worked out with free weights four times per week, for up to one hour per session. He attempted to hit every body part twice each week. Porter did aerobic exercise four times a week, starting at 25 minutes early in his program, and working up to 40-45 minutes in the later weeks. Porter also moved more during the day, used the stairs instead of the elevator, and made a conscious effort "to use the muscles that I had." [Note: since Porter did 4 days of lifting and 4 days of aerobics a week, he typically had one day where he did a shorter weight workout and then aerobics. If you try this, limit it to moderate-intensity aerobics after the weight session, or you'll deplete your muscle glycogen and reduce your lifting ability.]Tom Archipley: "I did 20 minutes of aerobics every morning for the first 5 weeks of the challenge." Tom was doing weight training three times a week, so for three of those days, he was doubling up on high-intensity workouts. That's overtraining. He told me "At 5 weeks I realized that in order to lose fat I had to gain muscle, so I cut back my aerobics to 3 per week for 20 minutes. I think it's a temptation to do too much cardio and have that undermine the benefits of weight training. If you keep your intensity high enough, you shouldn't have enough left after your cardio to hit weights in the same day."Mary Queen: "I spent 1 hour and 15 minutes each time I went. I tried to go at least 4times a week. In that time frame, I did my cardio as well as my weight training. So on the days I would go, the first 20 minutes would be devoted to cardio, and the remaining time to resistance training. I was really a 20-minute cardio person. I didn’t really enjoy it as much as a lot of people do. However, in the beginning of my 12-week program, I knew I had a lot of fat to burn. So, I was very religious about doing cardio. I would do cardio 4 times a week minimum, for 20 minutes each time. The favorite was the treadmill - simple running. Then went on to the weight training. Occasionally I would ride the stationary bike to get a break from the regular routine. I did not take a lot of “cheat”meals during the contest, because to me it was difficult to eat things that were very bad for me, and then have to turn around and take them away." Mary's comments are a bit different from the profile in Muscle Media, where her workouts are described exactly as in Body-for-LIFE. But it's fairly clear that she did both aerobics and weight training at least 4 times each per week. Given that, I'm still not certain how intense those aerobics were (I'll edit this if I find out more). Regularly doubling up on the high-intensity workouts can lead to muscle loss, and I don't advise it. Most people would be too wiped out to do it consistently. Also, as I noted in Porter's section above, if you're doing extra, moderate cardio within a few hours of a weight session, it is generally better to do the weight training first. Cardio depletes muscle glycogen and results in earlier muscle fatigue, which makes the weight training less effective. In any event, it's clear that Mary got great results from "tweaking" her activity higher, particularly in terms of fat loss.Allen Beiber: "My resistance training was 45 minutes to an hour, 3 to 4 days a week. My cardio - the first four weeks was 20 minutes, 5 days a week. The second four weeks I increased it to 40 minutes. And the last 4 weeks I stayed at 40 minutes 3 days a week." Allen spent 13 years being over 100 pounds overweight, so he needed a significant amount of fat loss, which required more than one 12-week Challenge. Regarding fat loss, he advises "I would suggest that you watch your nutrition program very closely, increase the duration of the cardio solution, and maybe add another day of cardio. I would also suggest flexing each muscle group after the final exercise, as a way to get even harder, or more toned. I ate 3 Myoplex shakes and 3 meals. Don't be obsessed with the scale. Measure yourself, or use bodyfat - it's a much more accurate gauge of fitness."Drew Avery: Trained with free weights 3-4 days a week for about one hour per workout. Drew separated his program into two parts, emphasizing muscle gain in the first half and a fat cutting in the second half. He increased his aerobics from 20 minutes four days a week at the beginning to 50 minutes, five days per week in the final week before his photo shoot.Everett Herbert: Trained with free weights four days a week for about an hour. Everett used machines and free weights, typically doing 3-4 sets of 2-3 exercises per body part, and working each body part approximately once every 5 days. He did aerobics first thing in the morning for about 40 minutes, 4 days per week.In the Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, Arnold Schwarzenegger notes that he does about 30 minutes of aerobic activity about 4-5 days a week, and advises about 45 minutes 4-5 days a week for individuals targeting fat loss. Shawn Phillips (Bill's brother) notes "During some phases, I may spend as much as 10 hours a week doing cardio while most often I invest about three to five hours a week." Much of Shawn's cardio is a recreational, low-to-moderate intensity, rather than a high-intensity, all-out effort.Notice the distinction we're making here: any tweaking should be done by adding moderate activity (certainly no higher than level 8, if you want to get that specific). Here's what Bill Phillips says: "There are a lot people following the Body-for-LIFE program that are involved in vigorous recreational activities like skiing, tennis, inline skating, etc... What I would suggest is that you enjoy those activities AND still do the exact amount of exercise outlined in the Body-for-LIFE program. I think most of the recreational activities that people participate in are not as intense as the exercise outlined in the Body-for-LIFE system and therefore will not interfere with recovery. Typically, 'active rest' enhances recovery and stimulates the mind."So again, don't add more high intensity training than the program advises, but additional aerobic tweaking can be helpful if you want to accelerate your fat loss results. Just be sure that you don't compensate for the extra aerobics by significantly increasing your calories. And also make sure that your sleep is sufficient.Crossing the AbyssWant to know the single best tweak you can do? Here it is: write down three things: your goals, your reasons for wanting them, and a statement about moving forward: "Tomorrow, and every day, I will wake up leaner, stronger, and more muscular. I will have a more chiseled jaw, more well defined abs, (whatever motivates you). Today, I will do everything it takes to achieve that goal." Sign your name to it, MAKE yourself BELIEVE it, read it every day, and follow through relentlessly. It may sound goofy at first, but DO IT. If you're going to change on the outside, you've got to first change your mental image of who you are. You'll be amazed. As Bill suggests, make up a game you can win. Plan your workouts, plan your meals, and then follow through. Striving to hit a great high point in today's workout is a game you can win. Following your nutrition program today is a game you can win. Focus on progress. The perfection will come on its own. If you make the mistake of constantly comparing yourself to the "after" pictures of Champions, you run the risk of giving up too easily. Just focus on "doing it" and don't give up. The results will follow.Remember also that the difference between being thrilled with the way you look and being totally dejected can often be just a few percent in body fat. Don't give up easily!! Bill Phillips has studied the transformations of tens of thousands of people, and it's clear that he knows what works. There's no need to overtrain, or to try to reinvent the wheel. Nothing in Bill's program is there by accident. So stick to it. To use Bill's words, it's one of my ways of "creating value for others." I know that you'll find ways to do the same thing for people in your own life. Body For Life Diet

Body for Life Forum Message by ShineyHiney (288 posts) at 03:23 PM:
Okay Darrell, 20 minutes later may have been exagerating. I have been following BFL for a long time, and I am just saying how much the audiotimekeeper helped with my workout today. It is based on BFL, it follows the same principle that you listed above. There is a website, it is audiotimekeeper.com if you want to check it out. You can also get to it from the Body for Life website. Donna

Body for Life Forum Message by ashtrash (293 posts) at 03:26 PM:
wow. that could be the longest post in the history of mankind. well done, you.

Body for Life Forum Message by cookie1135 (1046 posts) at 05:16 PM:
Mike, Thanks!! This is a wonderful idea!! Darrell, Great post!!! Very interesting!!! Thanks!!! I had a super cardio this morning!!! I have been staying away from all the thankgiving goodies!! I hope everyone is having a great day!!! I love you all!!! Hugs, Sylvia aka Cookie1135

Body for Life Forum Message by RD (34 posts) at 07:39 PM:
I missed the guestbook but I did get other things done since I normally spend about and hour reading blogs and guestbook each day. I now understand what my friend Patty told me years ago. Sugar is poison to your body. According to Dr. Weil it is inflammatory. It causes inflammation. After yesterday eating pecan rolls, cinnamon rolls and cheese cake as well as sugary cranberry sauce, my joints are throbbing and my eyes are puffy. I am going to try limiting how much sugar I eat on free day to maybe only one or two servings. Its not worth the price I pay otherwise.

Body for Life Forum Message by Darrell (98 posts) at 07:42 PM:
ANyway, I couldn't believe all the "PRE"paring some of the champions went through!! Porter lifting 4 weeks in advance of starting (If I remembered that right) and Brad Wadlow lifting for 16 weeks for his transformation... Yikes... was anyone else alarmed by these things?

Thread: on the verge of an affair (479 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by pseudo (1 posts) at 12:04 PM: on the verge of an affair
So I am actually a pretty regular poster, but I have logged on as a fictional person so as to hide my shame... and also to ask an HONEST question... Ever since I started losing weight and getting in shape, I feel frustrated that my husband just sits on the couch, watching TV with a bag of chips in his hands! He's gained at least 20 pounds since we got married a few years ago, and I find I'm becoming less and less physically attracted to him as he gets more out of shape, and I get more in shape. Now I'm getting lots of attention from other men - one in particular that makes me want to scream - and I just don't know what to do about it. I'm on the verge of crossing that line... I've tried to get my husband in to BFL, but I find that I get so consumed by what he's not doing, that I get distracted from my own program. Is my marriage doomed??? He really is a wonderful man, but what if I'm not attracted to him anymore???? Help!

Body for Life Forum Message by Young Guns (1509 posts) at 12:13 PM:
people in marriages change, thier outlooks, their styles, thier likes and dislikes. People change all the time whether it be because of BFL or something else doesn't matter. People just change, that's one of the reasons why the divorce rate is so high. I know this probably doesn't help you much but it's something to keep in mind.

Body for Life Forum Message by gymbeamin' (1085 posts) at 12:28 PM:
I've had similar situations in my marriage. Most people "evolve", good lord, I wouldn't want to be the same person I was at 18 now that I'm 43....BTW, I'm better now than ever before. Took my husband a while (like 10 years, u-hem) to come to grips with the fact that he may think the same and look the same, etc. but I do not. I look much different, my opinions (still strong) have changed somewhat, my basic personality is the only thing that is similar to what it was upon my marriage. Keep in mind, the grass may appear greener on the other side of that fence....only upon crossing the fence do you find that there are just as many weeds and just as much crab grass as the pasture your currently in.

Body for Life Forum Message by GetNFit (702 posts) at 12:32 PM:

This happened to my mom when I was younger. She had always been thin, but after being married and having 3 kids she packed on a few pounds and probably went up to a size 14. Then she dropped to a size 5-7. Talk about a bombshell. Men started noticing her all the time. (It was kind of creepy back then knowing guys were checking out my mom! LOL)

Anyway, my dad remained the bump on a log he had always been, not much changed on his part, so my mom got the attention elsewhere.

The plan was, her new boyfriend would leave his wife, she would leave my dad. Welp, she left dear old dad, and guess what...the good o' guy is still with his wife 24 years later!!!

My mom's life suffered drastically because of this, not his!!! She lost her job, she lost respect from family and friends, we had to go before a judge because of the crap his wife pulled, it was horrible. The list of bullsh** goes on and on! Unfortunately my mom's life has not been the same since. Partly because I think she feels so much guilt for ruining our lives. And trust me........the drama that came from this affair I would not wish on my worse enemy.

Sit down and talk to your husband. Be honest about the physical aspect. I dont think I would tell him you are thinking about cheating but I would most certainly tell him how you feel.

You married him for a reason. For better or worse.

Sit down together and find a solution but please, what ever you do, think twice about this. If you decide on a divorce do it because you are unhappy and things are irreconcilable, NOT BECAUSE SOME GUY WITH A HARD ON IS CHECKING YOU OUT!!!! Hard-ons are a dime a dozen.

If you are a hottie now you have to be responsible with your new body. Let's say you leave your husband for the new dude who's checking you out. Then, someone else new comes along. Are you going to leave him too? With hottieness comes a responsibility and an accountability. (Trust me, I know, Im struggling with this myself.)

Guys will do anything to get in a hot girl's pants. Heck, they'll do anything to get laid period...hot girl or not!!!!!!

You owe more to yourself, your husband, and your marriage than to settle for some guy who is only after you because you have abs and a fine @$$!

Look back and remember why you married your husband. But most importantly sit down with him and be honest.

Body for Life Forum Message by Keg4aStomach (3 posts) at 12:41 PM:
God meets where we are. Not where he wants us to be. So must we meet our loved ones where they are at, no matter what we want. Pray for your husband. Encourage him. We get off course small shifts at a time. God puts us back on course. You have to fight for your marriage. Fight for what you want. Don't give up.

Body for Life Forum Message by Kerry (853 posts) at 01:01 PM:
I think other folks have already given great advice! Not much to add to that. Just Best wishes in resolving your situation. In relationships ( including marriage ) honesty is best always. Do you best to communicate your feelings to him, and give it enough time to sink in. Should the relationship continue to drift apart, at least it won't be without warning, and maybe, just maybe, it will become deeper and more meaningful in ways you had not imagined:) Yours in Health, Kerry

Body for Life Forum Message by LOVE4KIDS (20 posts) at 01:15 PM:
Just something to think about............ I have been married for almost 14 years now and my marriage has had many highs and lows. It is important to remember that people change over the years and you have to keep rediscovering eachother. Don't give up because things are alittle hard right now or your feeling disconnected from your husband. This is the perfect time to sit down, talk things out and grow from the experience. Don't give up on your husband yet. You may be giving up the love of your life. Please take Getnfit's advice to heart. She is dead on right.

Body for Life Forum Message by GetNFit (702 posts) at 01:48 PM:
Pseudo, Im sending you a PM.

Body for Life Forum Message by Liz (11 posts) at 01:48 PM:
Don't do it. It isn't worth it. Communicate with him. Tell him that you would love for him to come to the gym with you. Keep asking. Keep trying. Eventually he will want to come, and let him know..."you know, I need someone there to protect me, because I have guys wanting to chat me up, then they might leave me along if you are there working out with me!" Try something like that...see if it works. Then when you are there, flirt with your husband, make it fun for both you and then go to the hotub afterwards if you have one there! You might find that he likes going to the gym if you are having fun! Get him to go on bike rides with you. Walks? Anything to get him off the couch. Good luck! Let me know how it pans out!

Body for Life Forum Message by iceskater (194 posts) at 02:08 PM:
gymbeamin is right. The grass IS always greener on the other side. You'll only be changing one set of problems for another set.....except you'll have to learn to deal with a new person's ways, etc...... You can end up creating a big mess even though it "seems" right or feels good at the moment. It is actually the kiss of death. Like Getnfit mentioned, why not tell him how you feel? I know it may not be easy, but it will be well worth it. This is only my opinion. And everyone's got one but whatever you decide, good luck to you! I hope you and your hubby can get the spark in your relationship going again.

Body for Life Forum Message by Flower (1916 posts) at 02:18 PM:
Really excellent advice here; wouldn't want to be in your situation. Very tough decisions for you - I hope you do exactly whats right for you!!!!! Janel is that you? Karla? Karenna? Who, who, who is it?????? Gotta know; c'mon tell us, tell us. This kind of stuff makes me so very nosey LOL. NO - its not me!

Body for Life Forum Message by GetNFit (702 posts) at 02:19 PM:
I love Liz's advice!!! Flirt with your hubby at the gym! You never know, maybe since you have this awesome bod he's feeling left out. Yes, I know what you are possibly thinking, "Screw that...give me the attention! Im the one who worked so hard to look this damn good!!!!"

However, sometimes we have to put our pride aside to get what we really want. And...in the end, dont you really want to get your hubby in the gym and looking good? If so...then you win!!! You got what you want! Your hubby's off the couch, in the gym, and lookin' hotter than ever!!!!!

Body for Life Forum Message by Rkreider (72 posts) at 02:29 PM:
GetNfit, great post you said it like I would.

Body for Life Forum Message by GetNFit (702 posts) at 02:43 PM:
One other thing...remember when you talk to your hubby you have to give him specifics. He cant, doesnt, and wont read your mind. This is one of the hardest things for women to understand.

A life coach once said to me, "What is your request? Bottom line it for me." Now, I try to talk like that in all my conversations. Folks dont know what you want until you tell um!

Body for Life Forum Message by Can'tStopMe (371 posts) at 02:54 PM:
Ok..my turn to chime in! First off...I should say I've been with the same guy for (yeah...you're gonna make me say it)..18 years. In those 18 years, there were maybe 102 guys I would have left my husband for. Currently it's Matthew McConaughey. Next week it will be Patrick Dempsey. However...I'm pretty damn certain that after the hot sex we'd have...they won't find my snoring sexy. They will absolutely not find my saddle bags cute and most likely...they won't like that snorting noise I make when my allergies kick in. Oh and when I pack on the pounds like I've done a dozen times before, I'm 100% absolutely certain they will not want to still cuddle up to my mushy belly and tell me how much they love me no matter what. This is the part of marriage that no one tells you about. It's normal. You will feel this again someplace down the road...the difference is in how you choose to handle it. And just so you know...I'm pretty sure there is someone out there that has or will tempt your husband the same way you are being tempted. Good luck and think really hard before you make a decision that may be the biggest regret of your life.

Body for Life Forum Message by DDRTeddy (756 posts) at 03:00 PM:
okay........... just think about the vows you made to this man... are you a lier or a vow keeper. I mean I would hate to know you were a a girl who can't even keep a vow. I mean think. God heard you tell him, "to death do we part" think about it. God well judge you in the end... so keep to your hubby, NO MATTER WHAT!

Body for Life Forum Message by michiganmike (99 posts) at 03:02 PM:
Why are you seeking lovelorn advice here, when the world is full of counselors, pastors, family members, and even doctors, who are glad to try to give you the advice you say you need? My guess is that you know they wouldn't approve of what you're thinking about doing--if you're not already overtly planning your tryst. It sounds like it from the title of your post. It may be too late, because you may have already made up your mind to cut and run, but let me just say that if you do, someday you will deeply regret it, and someday you'll live long enough to see someone do the very same thing to you. We get what we give, and if you choose to give dishonesty and infidelity, you'll get it someday too. Marriage isn't supposed to be all fun and games--that's why they call it an institution! Saddle up, apologize to yourself for entertaining these foolish thoughts, and start doing a few things to and for your husband that you really don't want to do. Be exceptionally attentive to him, and see what happens.

Body for Life Forum Message by PaulupNorth (1 posts) at 03:26 PM:
I'm guessing this group has a higher sex drive than normal. You will find that with a combination of feeling and looking good, you are sending off a lot of attraction signals to others without knowing it. My female co-workers are becoming more flirtatious and try to find excuses to touch me. I just blow this off and do not put much value on it, especially at work, within your circle of family and friends Hopefully your feelings are only a need to satisfy a physical and discrete curiosity. But not worth ending a marriage over, get your physical need over with and get back to your beautiful life.

Body for Life Forum Message by Coloradokid1984 (155 posts) at 03:30 PM:
I beleive you only live once and you should be as happy as possible. Evaluate the pros and cons of each path that presents its self..... If your husband is not willing to do what it takes to make you both happy - Jump ship NOW! I have to refer to the song by Tim Mcgraw - Live like you are dieing.... Don't settle!!!! Casey

Body for Life Forum Message by Michelle (94 posts) at 03:44 PM:
As Porter would say..."a taste of the bait ain't worth the pain of the hook!" That other "guy" who makes you want to scream...may in all likelihood be very much like the guy you married. Over the years...I've seen it many time. Men and women divorcing only to remarry the same type of person they were trying to escape from. Consider what is really pushing to toward the idea of an affair. Analize it and then resolve the problem. Don't create new ones. Goodluck! Michelle Ps. I've been married 25 years. The only guy in this world who whould make me consider straying in Tom Selleck. My husband knows this...there fore we never go to California.

Body for Life Forum Message by ashtrash (293 posts) at 03:45 PM:
I think you need to be totally honest with your husband, including telling him about this other guy. Don't you think he deserves a fighting chance? He is probably totally clueless to the whole thing and thinks he's a sexy hot dude, sitting in blissful ignorance. How is he supposed to know you are unhappy if you don't tell him?? At least give him a chance. I'd hate to be the one in this situation where I was blindsided and had no idea the other person wasn't attracted to me ubtil it was too late. Give the poor guy a fighting chance. At least give him the option to change. Sure it may be painful to hear that you are no longer attracted to him - but i guarantee it will be a lot more painful for him when he learns that you were unfaithful.

Body for Life Forum Message by Flower (1916 posts) at 03:47 PM:
Can'tStopMe I think said it best - excellent words. MichiganMike had other good stuff. Just interesting to note - for the most part every religion no matter what it is, people find "those" vows most easy to break, especially in this day & age? Can'tStopMe - its you isn't it? I knew it!!!!!!!!

Body for Life Forum Message by SweetEmotion (975 posts) at 05:10 PM:
I am always told I am too honest. But here is what I would do. BEFORE you do anything, talk to him and tell him exactly what you said in your post. Let him know how serious you are. I kept telling people stuff about my husband that annoyed me and I told him too but never took me serious at all until it was too late and he got divorce papers. Some people don't understand how serious you are when you talk to htem about a problem. My advice, tell him what you are so close to doing. You are right when you start losing weight you get LOTS more attention and like it, but if he doesn't want to try to make you happy at least let him know what he's in for if he doesn't. Lori

Body for Life Forum Message by GET*HER*DONE (2604 posts) at 05:27 PM:
Oh My, This is terrible, Stop and think about what you are saying and remember the good times , the faithfullness, the love that got you two where you are right now. I can say this. I was a hot little number when I married my husband who I thought was, fat, yes, I'll say it again, I didn't look at him blindly, I knew he was over weight and If he wanted to change he could, if he didn't want to he didn't have to. I was marrying him because I LOVED HIM JUST THE WAY HE WAS AND STILL IS We used to laugh that he was always exactly 100 lbs more then me, then, I caught up with him. I wasn't happy with myself so I made the step to change me, not him. I did it! I lost 48 lbs so far and still going, Can I ever get BILL to do BFL? NO! Do I want to , YES! of course I do, why? cause it would be nice to work out together , but Bill doesn't like exercise, I knew that when I married him, and he knew I was an exercise nut. I go to gym and I talk to guys, yooung guys, older guys, I even got whistled at from a car the other day. I just smiled to myself and said to myself, you still got it girl!!! But that doesn't make me want to leave my hubby, he's my world, my everything, my life, I don't see a problem if he wants to sit in his easy chair and watch westerns and eat a big old catfish sandwich on poboy bread, that's what he likes, I just kiss him and say, I'm going to the GYM , I'll be back in 3 hrs, love you, enjoy your sandwich it looks good, and I go do my think. You have to remember what love is all about, it's not about getting that little attention that going to wear off soon anyway from someone new. It's about the love and devotion you have for each other. and I hope you lost the weight to please yourself and not to get attention Attention lasts a few minutes, Love lasts a life time!! Good Luck and I hope everything works out for you and you make the right dissicission. Linda

Body for Life Forum Message by Go4steffie (694 posts) at 05:32 PM:
OMG~ I have soooo been where you are. When I was married to my first husband. I didn't have an affair, but was close...and no it was not with Russ.....he came along much later. I ended up leaving my first husband. It was an extremely difficult decision, but in the long run I feel it was the right one. Looking at him now and me now....we are soooo different. I wish you luck with your decision! I am here is you want to PM...even under your Pseudo name... Stef :-)

Body for Life Forum Message by Kerry (853 posts) at 05:45 PM:
People, I have read all kind of interesting responses, some of which I agree with more than others. However, I think people come here looking for support, rather than judgement, so that's what I'm gonna offer :) Yours in Health, Kerry

Body for Life Forum Message by michiganmike (99 posts) at 05:50 PM:
Don't you just love the advice from the YOUNG guys? Whatever you want to do that will make you happy, just do it! Yeah, that's the ticket. If it would make you happy to wreck someone else's life, what does it matter? Come on guys, this is serious stuff, and walking out on committment is just one more example of breaking a promise to yourself--and to another. If nothing matters but happiness, then nothing matters, because getting your way never made anybody happy. It's doing the right thing, and helping others, that brings true happiness, not sleazy sex or other risky endeavors. It's been a great discussion, though. I'm beginning to see some things about life that I had never really looked at for a long time. In post modern America, where God is dead and Self is on the throne, pretty much anything goes. Ugh! Whatever else comes of this, Pseudo, at least you started a great discussion that has helped us all think out some rather gritty things. I guess, all in all, though, I'm beginning to miss the posts about PMS!!!!!!

Body for Life Forum Message by Cauda Equina (67 posts) at 07:09 PM:
Like many prior posts, I would recommend communicating your feelings with your husband before doing anything. It takes two to communicate, and hopefully he will listen and understand how you feel right now. You should also listen and understand things from his perspective as well. If you feel you are not getting through or feel you both need help working things through, consider marital/family counseling with your husband. Most insurance benefit packages include counseling in their coverage. In a situation like this, it is far better to explore all options and potentially reach a resolution -- than to act suddenly without doing so and later regretting not trying to work things out first.

Body for Life Forum Message by RD (34 posts) at 08:06 PM:
I have a friend whose husband told her she was overweight. He also voiced that he was concerned for her health and had a harder time finding her attractive. She was very angry at first but I noticed almost a year later that she had lost some weight and had some dental work done. She is still married. I too have had temptation to cheat. I did get a divorce but not because of adultery. I had lost some weight 9 yrs ago and a young man at work was paying extra attention to me. I thought about it and prayed about it and decided that I would do nothing to act on it. A couple months later he got married to another girl from work and then a few months afte marriage he just took off and no one knew where he went. I am so glad I prayed and waited before doing anything like that. Sexual attraction is not worth giving in to. It is a strong urge but you should resist. Try to look at it logicly and give your husband a chance. I have another friend who was meeting women online and finally confessed to his wife. They sought councelling and are still together. His wife would have never know she needed to make extra effort had she not had that wake-up call. When you do tell your husband, don't be accusing or negative. If anything, you should ask his forgiveness for even thinking about it. Let him know how much you care about his health, not just his appearance. Seek councel from a pastor or councelor. If you don't know one send me a PM,I know of a couple that may even councel by phone here in IA.

Body for Life Forum Message by ashtrash (293 posts) at 08:07 PM:
Mike - c'mon, there are still a few of us YOUNG ones that don't feel that way!! (i just turned 26... ;) I've been taught strong values by my parents and I have learned that the easy way, the most exciting way, is rarely the right choice. Temporary fun or pleasure can never bring a person true peace and happiness. I also believe in the sanctity of marriage and that it is not a decision to be taken lightly. Neither is sex, something that I believe should be saved for marriage. Personally I think affairs are about the most selfish thing a person can do. When people learn to serve and honor their spouse even in little everyday things they can work through almost anything. So my advice is for Pseudo to forget herself and start serving her husband and show charity toward him. You want to love someone again? Serve them. Good luck with this, this obviously isn't easy for you...

Body for Life Forum Message by ashtrash (293 posts) at 08:10 PM:
but i do agree with you Mike that people don't honor their commitments anymore. This society really is all about Self first, isn't it....

Body for Life Forum Message by Lala (594 posts) at 08:23 PM:
Pseudo, I can imagine that where you are is a really tough place to be .. & that you've come to us looking for some help & ideas.. well there sure is lots!! :P Is there more going on than just the lack of attraction?? Are there other issues that are driving you apart?? Having divorced & remarried my self - there's nothing that shocks me & nothing that I wouldn't mind being a sounding board about .. PM me -- we'll talk if you want :) Take care~* Pamela

Body for Life Forum Message by justdoit (179 posts) at 08:38 PM:
Affairs destroy lives. I will not judge you or your decisions but if I may give you my opinion (Which is why I think you started this post) this is it. If you want to be with another man (or men) leave your husband first. I hope that you talk to him first - there is nothing like good honest communication even when it is not particularly pleasant. He may not be perfect, he may be far from it... But I know without even meeting him that he is not a mind reader. Food for thought. Sometimes we are not at our best when there is something missing from our lives. Sometimes we need the person we love the most to be there and help us through it. Maybe you could be there for him until he can be at his best. One more thought. If he had a great body but became badly disfigured in a fire - would you want to have an affair because you weren't attracted to him? I know you must be in a scary place right now. I hope that you find what you need and if you need to talk, PM me.

Thread: Thanksgiving......how did you do? (48 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Liz (11 posts) at 01:55 PM: Thanksgiving......how did you do?
Well, Thanksgiving is over.  How did all of your eating plans go?  I had BFL breakfast and snack and did a free meal for the dinner...boy was it good, too!  

Did you all stay on track? 

Body for Life Forum Message by kmachate (543 posts) at 08:56 PM:
Not going there ;)

Body for Life Forum Message by justdoit (179 posts) at 09:05 PM:
I was so busy making sure that the kids didn't destroy the homes we were visiting I really didn't eat much. I normally would have made it my free day, but I'm not going to. I didn't work out like I normally do - but I was on the go from 8 am to 11 pm. That has to count for something!!!

Body for Life Forum Message by Can'tStopMe (371 posts) at 09:11 PM:
Thanksgiving is over?????!!!???

Body for Life Forum Message by ashtrash (293 posts) at 10:16 PM:
Not to brag but... I did freaking awesome!!! I just got back from the gym and haven't missed a day this week. I felt terrible yesterday morning but ended up having one of my best HIIT runs ever. Eating wise I was right on for Thanksgiving. We were with my mom's side of the family and it really didn't look that great. I mean, really-how many green bean casseroles does a family need?? I was so pleased with myself! I have been perfect today, even though we went to Red Lobster (i did save a biscuit for my freeday, though!) This hasn't been easy though...Christmas break will be hard to, but i'm gonna do it!! peasce out yall..have a fun rest of the weekend!

Body for Life Forum Message by TaraC29 (22 posts) at 10:26 PM:
I had a Myoplex shake for b'fast after my HIT cardio, then ate one plate of food. I managed to stay away from the rolls but the peanut butter pie...thats another story!

I picked right back up today but it has been more of a challenge. Earlier I was craving the carmel apple pecan pie on my counter something awful! I took a nap and when I woke up I forgot all about it. GOOD THING!

Thread: My Beloved INXS (26 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Flower (1916 posts) at 07:37 PM: My Beloved INXS
So INXS is on MM tonight with their new Michael Hutchence stand in/wannabe - J.D. Fortune (is that his name? who cares what his name is). Actually he doesn't sound quite that bad. I watched that show sporadically Rock Star: INXS. He was definately not my choice - Mig was. So now that he's won I see he's a good fit (Michael you can stop rolling in your grave). They sang "Don't Change a Thing"; maybe I'm wrong but I'd rather they made him sound like Michael than changed things. Any feedback? There's no Freddy Mercury for Queen stand in so don't even think of it but maybe I'd be okay with the Michael Hutchence stand in just "Don't Change a Thing".................other than you're look - I don't like it!!!! Grow some rock star hair or something!

Thread: AussieWen's new ABS in the profiles! (52 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Darrell (98 posts) at 08:00 PM: AussieWen's new ABS in the profiles!
WOW ! ! !

What Great Looking ABS!!!!!

Super JOB!!!

Hard work pays off!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS

Body for Life Forum Message by kana (319 posts) at 09:58 PM:
YES.. I second that. You need to check her out!1 AMAZING JOB GIRL!! Very inspirational!! :)

Body for Life Forum Message by iceskater (194 posts) at 10:13 PM:
I'm jealous! :)

Thread: Julie Whitt t-shirts on sale (20 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by BFL4Stephanie (70 posts) at 08:25 PM: Julie Whitt t-shirts on sale
ON SALE...At the Julie Whitt store...$5 off on the white/pink/yellow t-shirts as marked and $5 off the wonder woman tank top. In the spirit of the holidays you know.... Stephanie p.s. Thanks to all BFL Tracker folks for their support of the Julie Store!!

Body for LIFE: Eating for LIFE

Thread: DAMN....I CAN EAT MORE??????? (215 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Ursula (567 posts) at 07:07 AM:
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm# It was one that I found under a search. I agree with the idea that everyone is differant and no one program will work for everyone exactly the same. You have to find what works for you ;) Urs

Body for Life Forum Message by blemt (63 posts) at 07:51 AM:
You are only down 3-4 pounds of scale weight. Your bodyfat percentage is moving down very well though. I'm going to encourage you to finish out the 12 weeks. Keep in mind that every missed meal you have combined with every bad workout, missed workout, and cheat is slowing your progress. Adding food in is a temporary solution. If you aren't, I would suggest getting your doctor to give you a referal to a dietician. I think having that additional support could really help you. The hardest thing for anyone with a lot of weight to lose is shaking the "I must lose X number of pounds or this doesn't work" theory. Bottom line is that you have to get at the root of what the issues are that drive you to eat. Until you can lock those reasons down no weight loss plan in the universe is going to work for you. I tried ignoring those issues with my first challenge. I ignored the fact that I use food to make me feel better when I'm lonely or stressed. Had awesome success on my first challenge, lost 40 pounds in 16 weeks. Looked great. Didn't deal with the issue. Moved away from home, was lonely and stressed and BAM. Back it all came. And that was after 2 years of clean eating. Moral of the story- food (in this case adding calories) is a temporary fix. Find the root cause. Good luck! And keep hanging in there. You are worthy of a transformation.

Body for Life Forum Message by michiganmike (99 posts) at 08:08 AM:
I hope this goes well, but I just have a feeling that it is doomed because the whole idea is somewhat contrary to common nutritional sense. Yes, eat more to lose can be reasonable advice, IF AND ONLY IF a person's body is shut down metabolically speaking. When that happens, though, it generally is from a chronic time of underfeeding, weeks or even months, and such chronic underfeeding that health problems usually result. Picture the image of the typical anorexic, sitting on her heating pad, wrapped in warm clothes, eyes sunken and listless looking, cheeks sunken, skin colorless, hair brittle and broken, emaciated looking. That's the person whose body is in the shutdown mode. That's why they need the heating pad. They aren't generating anything. But, if you're eating enough now that allows you to exercise normally, sleep normally, rest normally, and function all right, it is quite unlikely that your body needs to be "tricked" and more likely that you need to not overdo on free days or that you are taking in more than you realize in food. The hand and fist method does work for everyone who wants to lose weight and fat, if they follow it long term (12 weeks.) That means eating the RIGHT foods, and not nibbling or cheating, except on free day. I see people say every day, "I guess this doesn't work for everyone" like somehow they were absolutely unique and have a metabolism that is different than everybody else, but that just isn't so. Yes, we have all "messed up" or metabolism somewhere along the way, but it doesn't stay messed up once you start eating right, unless your digestive tract is done in--from anorexia. If it shuts down, then you don't have a weight loss problem, you have a life loss problem! But that is rare. Well, enough of this rant. Work to do around the house!

Body for Life Forum Message by Ursula (567 posts) at 12:23 PM:
Lol that was a rant? Sheesh good thing you didn't grow up in my house. Urs

Thread: I just read.... (99 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by blemt (63 posts) at 05:38 AM:
It does have benifit. However, this starts falling into the world of advanced supplimenting techniques. If you have not done 12 weeks to get the basics down first, I don't reccomend monkeying around with suppliment strategies.

Body for Life Forum Message by smp (5 posts) at 06:21 AM:
I take a little whey after upper and lower body workouts. I do think it makes a difference. I recently started adding betagen to the whey. Oh yummm, chocolate whey and raspberry betagen. It's a tasty treat after a grueling workout.

Body for Life Forum Message by michiganmike (99 posts) at 08:21 AM:
If your goal is muscle building, by all means try it. Just take a bottle and put some whey protein powder in it, about 1 1/2 scoops of it, in the bottle, and about a half hour before workout time drink half of it. Drink the rest right after the workout. This "bracketing" of the workout with whey, which is quickly digested, keeps your system flowing with protein that can begin repairing and rebuilding muscle quickly. I have been doing that for the last year, and have also been consuming creatine and glutamine with it, and I've put on about ten pounds of muscle all together in the last year. In a pinch, chocolate low fat milk will get you roughly the same results, just drinking half of the carton or ottle on the way to work out and half when you're done.

Thread: Diet Pop. (64 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Wrecky (38 posts) at 06:38 PM: Diet Pop.
Do you guys indulge in this..or do you leave it alone during your challenge. I have a glass or two a day to calm the sweet tooth urges.

Body for Life Forum Message by Darrell (98 posts) at 07:36 PM:
When I started the challenge I induldged. But haven't touched the stuff in weeks. It's like I crave water now. Before I used to drink 6 to 18 cokes a day. (maybe why I fat!)

Body for Life Forum Message by Wrecky (38 posts) at 07:37 PM:
Yeah its funny you say that...I drink a minimun of 3 L a day now (of water). By the way...your pics are awesome...you're progress is really great! Congrats!

Body for Life Forum Message by Rushja (497 posts) at 08:41 PM:
I drink 1 can of diet soda a day and a gallon of water.

Body for Life Forum Message by kmachate (543 posts) at 08:52 PM:
Can't live without it.

Body for Life Forum Message by TaraC29 (22 posts) at 10:20 PM:
I use to drink them like crazy but since starting this, all I want is water. I drink a glass or two of Crystal Light a day with meals but thats it. I still have my cup of coffee most mornings thru the week, its too cold to give that up!

Body for LIFE: Body for LIFE Exercise

Thread: How Often... (86 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Wrecky (38 posts) at 06:58 PM: How Often...
Do you train your abs? Do you do more than 2 excercises?

Body for Life Forum Message by ashtrash (293 posts) at 07:49 PM:
After my HIIT cardio. Usually i'll do three or 4. I am gonna finally try ab boot camp, after having the papers filed in my BFL stuff for about three years. i've just never gotten around to remembering it...

Body for Life Forum Message by RD (34 posts) at 08:38 PM:
I only do 2 exercises as the program prescribes. I also try to tighten my abs for all other exercises because it helps to avoid low back injuries and stabilizes the body. Tammilee Webb suggests that in Abs of Steel. Sometimes, I do throw in an Abs of Steel workout for 10 min in stead of my 2 ab exercises. It takes about the same amount of time. I do that a few times per challenge to break up monotony.

Body for Life Forum Message by iceskater (194 posts) at 09:31 PM:
When I do abs, it's Pilates and it's once per week. It's fun, challenging, and helps my back in the process.

Body for Life Forum Message by TaraC29 (22 posts) at 09:54 PM:
I'v been training them 4 days a week instead of the 1 or two suggested. I also add exercises, so that I spend about 10-15 mins on abs. I want my flat stomach back!

Body for LIFE: Body for LIFE Support

Thread: essays (225 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Bon (77 posts) at 08:00 PM:
thank you for sharing your essays! I'm so inspired! you all made awesome transformations! I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner! I'm off line at the present time & am at my mother-in-laws using her computer! I hope to be up & running soon! hugs & kisses! Bon

Body for Life Forum Message by Darrell (98 posts) at 08:07 PM: Essays

 Bravo, Bravo!!

I enjoyed the essay's!  Everyone of you is a winner!

Body for Life Forum Message by GET*HER*DONE (2604 posts) at 08:47 PM:
CLAPPING!! I enjoyed it!! thanks for sharing GET*HER*DONE LINDA

Thread: averismommy!!!!!!!! (228 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Bon (77 posts) at 08:02 PM:
I'm so glad you spoke his name! how sweet & precious his memory must be to you! I know you're busy now! I just know you're going to be the grand champion! you so deserve it! Love & Prayers! Bon

Thread: The 2006 Tracker Calendar -- Want to Vote? (833 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by MonkeyPox (5 posts) at 12:16 AM:
Yes, I'm in...I have hi res pics if you need them.

Body for Life Forum Message by BFL4Stephanie (70 posts) at 01:41 PM:
Yes, we need high resolution pictures if you have them...but we'll try to work with all the ones we receive. Stephanie

Body for Life Forum Message by GET*HER*DONE (2604 posts) at 07:27 PM:
I just sent some idea pictures and my before and after, hope you can use them and hope I get in the calendar, I cropped them so they can be their best GET*HER*DONE LINDA

Thread: Team 2HOTT4U (153 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by LeoGirl (138 posts) at 01:34 PM:
How was your holiday teammates? I hope you all had a wonderful time! Lets kick some butt this weekend and get all our stats in early! GO TEAM 2HOTT4U!
*~Jen~*

Thread: LIFE Support (154 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Rod has changed his Bod (417 posts) at 10:41 AM:
Isnt it funny how when you surround yourself by positive people you become more positive yourself. Unfortunately the opposite also holds true, surround your self by negative people and you start having negative thoughts. I choose to be positive!!!!!!!!

Body for Life Forum Message by GetNFit (702 posts) at 11:36 AM:
Denise you've done great on your challenge!!! Congrats on your success! And...we are so glad to have you here!

Keep Pump'n

Rob'n

Body for Life Forum Message by Young Guns (1509 posts) at 12:16 PM:
such nice words denise. ROD!!!! good to see you back around again.

Body for Life Forum Message by Ngo Excuses (42 posts) at 02:13 PM:
Positively positive... I'm enjoying every minute... Rod, I'm glad to see your still here..it's been awhile... You all are doing scuh an amazing job! Great inspiration! Denise

Body for Life Forum Message by rbsamy (291 posts) at 02:52 PM:
thanks for the great words and great post!!!

Body for Life Forum Message by cookie1135 (1046 posts) at 05:59 PM:
Denise, Great post!!! Excellent words!!! Thanks for sharing!!! Hugs, Sylvia aka Cookie1135

Thread: Whole Foods (121 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by fitchic25802 (301 posts) at 02:26 PM:
Yeah, you can go through a lot of eggs. I have started buying my eggs at Sam's Club and buy 7 1/2 dozen eggs at one time (a huge carton of eggs I should add). That lasts me about a month, then I'm ready for more. I just got tired of going out and having to buy eggs every other day since I use about 6 eggs (whites only) every morning for breakfast. Good luck.

Thread: Guestbook Maintenance ! (192 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Flower (1916 posts) at 03:27 AM:
I don't visit there but I assure you there was great panic when tracker went down at the beginning of summer. I think it was down 4 - 6 weeks wasn't it? Anyone remember how long exactly? Alot of people migrated to Bodyforlifers, some just stayed only to return here every now & then.

Body for Life Forum Message by GetNFit (702 posts) at 08:15 AM:
Last year I was very active on the Guestbook, this year I seem to be glued to Tracker. Geesh....If I were to go back to GB I'd be fired for sure!! LOL

Thread: Six Packs and Body Fat Percentage (166 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by GET*HER*DONE (2604 posts) at 09:03 PM:
yep and I am gonna get me some abs for Christmas!! lol! well, not this Christmas, but by next Christmas,LOL, Abs are made in the kitchen , not in the GYM!!!! GET*HER*DONE linda

Body for Life Forum Message by iceskater (194 posts) at 09:13 PM:
Or made by "withdrawing" from the kitchen! lol :)

Body for Life Forum Message by biojen (77 posts) at 10:41 PM:
I agree with michiganmike on the 2-3% body fat impossibility. Men have at least 3% body fat just surrounding their internal organs as cushioning (heart, intestines, etc...). For someone to be 3% bodyfat, they would have to have ZERO % under their skin and that that is impossible. For someone to have less than 3% essential fat, they'd most likely be living on another continent somewhere starving to death.

I believe that skinfold calculations take essential body fat into consideration but there is still such a large margin for error. Some trainers at gyms get taught once and then measure clients with no real experience. Certainly having a spouse do it at home isn't very accurate. The only way to really know is to do underwater weighing (considered the gold standard) and even that can only be pretty accurate if you exhale ALL of the air out of your lungs. And I mean ALL of it. I've done it before and it's a pretty claustrophobic experience! :0

Thread: Thanksgiving accountability (196 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Rkreider (72 posts) at 01:10 AM:
Stayed on track did cardio twice and had my turkey and salad for dinner.

Body for Life Forum Message by Jen in Maine (11 posts) at 08:39 AM: Re: Thanksgiving accountability
blemt said: For those of us eating authorized or modified authorized, I thought we could all post here what we were doing eating wise. Am meal was Myoplex lite, meal 2 was tuna with a whole wheat tortilla. Meal 3 just done, turkey, 1 tsp gravy, 2 tbs cranberry sauce made with splenda (which is an experiment not to be repeated. ;) green bean casserole made with lowfat milk, and reduced fat mushroom soup, and 2 tbs of Frenches Onions (45 calories on the onions), and a widdle, bitty baby punkin pie, top crust removed (don't start, it was pumpkin pie and didn't result in my single self having a whole pie for leftovers) 150 calories. Now for a nap, and a second light intensity cardio to help things along. :) Meals 4-5 to come.

Body for Life Forum Message by Jen in Maine (11 posts) at 08:43 AM:
whoops - I don't know what I did wrong there! So annoying! Okay well what I had typed was that I did my cardio in the am, had planned breakfast, snack, lunch, snack. Was cooking all day and my husband asked me not to be on my diet at the table. So Thanksgiving dinner was a free MEAL. It was still pretty healthy - no butter or anything and just had a piece of my daughter's chocolate pie and a piece of my pumpkin pie afterwards. SOOOO still had the cardio - but was a free meal and Sunday (which was my orig. free day) will have NO exercise but will plan my meals that day. Make sense? I'm happy about the way it worked out!

Body for Life Forum Message by Nee Nee (240 posts) at 09:55 AM:
Well yesterday was my free day, but more from not eating enough rather than eating too much. I had a banana on a piece of WW bread w/ peanut butter, and a 1/2c. cottage cheese for breakfast. Went and did a 45 minute cardio session of Jazzercise. Came home and cooked - I made a healthy version of Cheesy squash casserole, and Garlic Spinach Balls out of Light and Tasty magazine. I had made Pumpkin Crisp out of Southern Living the night before, but I modified it with Splenda for baking, Smart Balance margarine and FF Evaporated Milk. And I also made this Herb Butter mix, and there's nothing remotely healthy about that so I'll move on... At Thanksgiving dinner I ate 2 slices of turkey, one spoonful of stuffing, one spoonful of green bean casserole, 2 spoonfuls of squash casserole and 3 garlic spinach balls. Oh and one roll. For dessert I had a decent-sized portion of the Pumpkin Crisp. Then I went home and went to bed at 7pm. Intended for it to be a nap, but it didn't quite workout that way. I slept until this morning. Guess I needed to catch up on sleep. I'm at work today, and will workout when I get off before going out tonight. Weeee!!

Body for Life Forum Message by Mickymacb (321 posts) at 09:58 AM:
For all of you who stayed on plan - WAY TO GO! I admire that! I personally took my free day and didn't look back, lol!!! Now I just have to make up for the workout I missed due to the carb-induced coma I was in after dinner! ;) Micky

Body for Life Forum Message by michiganmike (99 posts) at 10:07 AM:
I plan on eating whatever and whenever I want all weekend. I won't start a new challenge until Monday. Last night I had nearly a pint of butter pecan ice cream. My wife said, "why didn't you get a single serving size?" I said, "I did."
This is called "rolling around in the gutter" which I always do for a few days between challenges. It serves three purposes.
1. It takes care of any cravings that I had going on during the challenge.3. It helps me to build muscle bulk while I'm resting between challenges. (I still do exercise, but generally just sets of very heavy compound exercises every other day. )

Body for Life Forum Message by michiganmike (99 posts) at 10:08 AM:
I typed in a 2. but for some reason, probably faulting html coding, it didn't come up. reason 2 why I pig out was, "It gives me a great deal of pleasure to eat how I please."

Body for Life Forum Message by georgiawendy (144 posts) at 10:14 AM:
And next will be a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, right Mike?

Body for Life Forum Message by DDRTeddy (756 posts) at 10:56 AM:
who said that? I love ice cream! I had a pint of it on wednesday!

Body for Life Forum Message by GET*HER*DONE (2604 posts) at 11:04 AM:
I was using turkey day as my free day, but did 30 min HIIT cardio 1st before the cheating began, I cheated on 2 meals, I main cheat was pie and wine I did very bad on the pie and wine but the rest of my dinners were all ok, today is upperbody day but I did an hr of aerobics and jogging as extra on an enpty stomach will go to the gym and do upper body workout in a little while, Hey I know I was bad , but I haven't don't this since january, I felt I deserved a nice splurge, maybe I'm wrong, but I did it it's over , I enjoyed it and I'm back on track today with a bang!!! Linda

Thread: I am over....Gosh Hypoglycemia (144 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by RëësëmÖrtënsën (425 posts) at 08:51 AM:
Hii! Oh my god! thank you all for the support!! I send sooo many kisses to all of you. I thing is taht i've studied to be a dietician. I do work as it (actually just in my family and friends, as i dont have more time). I wont go to any here in spain. Because here they have no clue about nutrtion. They just want you to eat carbs. I got a diet from the endocrynologist (and he is even higher than a dietician). He wrote: for breakfast: Soy milk (with fructose) and add 1 tbsp sugar. He is just mad, almost no protein. He doesnt even know what is protein powder!!!! I am glad i studied at a American college, cause frankly....all related to nutrition here in spain does to hell. Anyway...i will have to find by trying different diets. I already have an idea of what works, but....i need more time. I went to do the oral glucose test. They almost called emergency. They did had to stop the laboratory to take me another blood test to see if i was fine. They told me to sleep, they brought a small bed!!!! I was sooo tired, my face was like a tomato, my mom started panick. And the worst was that the glucose level was 100. Which means that its not really that the problem, but maybe the insulin and adrenalin. I will see next week. But probably i will need more tests. Carbs and protein is very good. Its important. I start to test food that i can eat tomorrow. :-) The only thing is that i dont know what i have as problem. anyway....thaaaaaanks reese

Body for Life Forum Message by goingforbuff (1409 posts) at 08:58 AM:
I think I am right in saying that the BFL way of eating is an optimum meal plan for people with hypoglycemia! Keeping that blood sugar stable throughout the day should help you! Further incentive to not cheat, too. Good luck to you!!! Nancy

Body for Life Forum Message by GetNFit (702 posts) at 10:22 AM:
Oh Reese, gosh I wish I knew what would help you. I work in a hospital so I'll try to go to the library if I have time today and see if they have any pamphlets on this. Send me a PM to remind me! Im trying to catch up on 300+ emails right now.

Thread: No turning back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (67 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Rod has changed his Bod (417 posts) at 10:32 AM: No turning back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Instead of stuffing myself full of food all day Yesterday, I decided to sign up for the Indianapolis 500 Mini Marathon.  It is May 6th 2006, so I have 5 months of training to do to get ready.

I registered online and paid my entry fee so there is no turning back now.  

I ran in this thing 23 years ago with about 5000 people, it is now capped at 35000 and there are only 4500 spots left. 

One of the questions I had to answer was, what did I think my time would be?  I submitted I felt I could do it in 1 hour and 55 mins so I was put in category 3 start time and now I have to submit proof that I can run that fast.  Whats up with that?  Oh well, I am always up for a good challenge.  I just need to enter in a 5k or 10k before Mar 10th and run 21:40/48:00 mins or better respectivly. 

My plan is to do weight training on Tue, Thurs, Sun,  SHIIT Cardio training on Mon and Wed, and do distance training on Friday. 

The Mini is 13.1 miles  So this am I ran 3.1 miles on the tread mill at a 1 incline and at 7.5 miles per hour, which was about an 8 minute mile.  I need to run the 10k at a 7.74 minute mile pace to be eligible for level 3.  which meands I need to run 6.2 miles at 7.8 mph.  I can do that.
If I increase my distance each week by 1/2 mile I will be up to the 13.1 miles by the end of April.

With that said, does anyone have any good advice or critiques to my plan.  Or if anyone wants to join me that would be awesome.  The field is filling up fast so now is the time.

Your BFL Buddy,

Rod

Body for Life Forum Message by Lala (594 posts) at 11:26 AM:
Way to go Rod! Way to give yourself a New challenge goal! Sounds like you've got a pretty good idea of what you're planning already.. hopefully some of the more experienced marathoners will step upwith any other ideas... The only other thing I can think of is are there any training clubs or groups near you?? Here in Vancouver whenever there is a major run coming up there are lots of local running clinics & groups that will start you months in advance to train for them... All the Best of Luck!!! Pamela*

Body for Life Forum Message by Kerry (853 posts) at 01:08 PM:
Rod, I admire your courage and determination and your ability to challenge your self. My advice? RUN LIKE HELL! :) Yours in Health, Kerry

Thread: Left arm stronger than the right arm... (47 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by havlow (94 posts) at 11:38 AM: Left arm stronger than the right arm...
Okay so I've been noticing subtle differences early on and now they are pretty major. My left arm is stronger than my right arm. Noticing this more now that I'm upping the weights...especially when I'm doing preacher curls or flies. Does anyone have this problem and furthermore no how to correct it? I'm really worried about this because once I get into the higher weights the left arm has NO problems but the right arm is getting mighty shaky!! Jeremy

Body for Life Forum Message by Young Guns (1509 posts) at 12:15 PM:
this is normal. Just like one hand is bigger than the other and one ear is bigger. Usually one arm is stronger than the other. You could try going a little bit lighter with the strong arm and hope that the weaker one catches up.

Body for Life Forum Message by Flower (1916 posts) at 02:24 PM:
Mine is too. I always said it was from carrying a kid around in your left leaving your right hand free to do things. My right leg is far far stronger too. But I figure skated for many years & that was my "landing leg" which needed to be strong (um, not that the other one didn't). Now I think that its just as Young Guns said - no need to attach a reason to it.

Thread: What to do when you have snow in the UK!! (49 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by SkaterSharon (12 posts) at 05:01 PM: What to do when you have snow in the UK!!
Today we have had the rare occurance of a blizzard in the UK.When it snows here it's like the whole country is thrown into a complete panic. Due to the fact that our road was impassable I was unable to go to work at the local gym.Oh-no and it's LBWO day for me-my favourite.(I train before I start work). So being stuck at home with various BFL foods and a roaring log fire I became inspired.Logs became my dumbells-various sizes/various weights.So I managed squats,deadlifts,straight leg deadlifts,leg curls,calf raises and weighted crunches.I normally lift 175kgs on squats so as I couldn't get logs that heavy I did very very slow reps and boy did I hit my 10's on them and a lot of the other exercises. So for all you guys in the UK stuck in the snow at home with no gym equipment-logs are the answer. Today is also the 2nd day of my partner Anthony's 1st challenge so could you guys wish him all the best.I haven't quite persuaded him to set up a profile yet but I am working on it. I have also put up my xmas decorations tonight!!! Sharon

Body for Life Forum Message by Rock-Chick (174 posts) at 05:16 PM:
Oh god, where you caught in the traffic jam in Cornwall Sharon? It's not been snowing up in Liverpool. I think because it's a city we don't seem to struggle with the snow when it arrives, because it's so built up and the traffic never stops flowing. Unlike the countryside. It has been freezing and I've got an UBWO tomorrow, which I'm not looking forward to because I haven't known a winter this cold since I was a kid! Don't want to leave the house! LOL Well done though, you did a great alternative! I just hope your council pulls their finger out and gets the gritt wagons working through the night. We've been warned of this mini ice age for a good few weeks but everything is left to the last minute. And you've put your xmas decorations up already? It's still November! LOL I've got to go up into the loft to get ours, but I'm NOT looking forward to it. My boyfriends scared of heights "apparently"....Putting it off for a couple of weeks though. Haven't started xmas shopping yet! Jules x

Body for Life Forum Message by SkaterSharon (12 posts) at 05:52 PM:
Hi Jules We live about 20 miles away from where the traffic jams were,but we should have gone to Launceston today which is only a couple of miles away from them and where they had a rescue centre.We gave up when I nearly skidded into 2 oncoming cars and had to convieniently abandon my car in a pub carpark 3 miles from home.Spent the afternoon sat in the pub next to a roaring fire eating a BFL approved ham/salad sandwich. My first thought was my protein powder,creatine,fat burners and journal are at home and I have no weights!!We eventually got home but it took us 3 hours to complete the 6 mile round trip. I met my training partner and another of my gym clients outside the pub-they both live near the pub.I did get given the use of a woolly hat by one of the guys but not an offer of a cup of tea etc.. I will get my own back next week in the gym by making them work hard!! Back to Christmas!! As well as working as a gym instructor I am a self-employed cake decorator(By day I get people to eat cake,by night I tell them not to eat cake!!)so I am currently surrounded by Christmas cakes.I also sell handmade cards and have been making Christmas cards and cakes since August.By Christmas I will be sick of Christmas. Anyway Happy Easter!!! Sharon I hope the council grits the roads sufficiently tonight-one of my relations drives a gritting lorry so I will have words with him otherwise.

Body for Life Forum Message by georgiawendy (144 posts) at 06:25 PM:
We have the same problem over here in GA when it snows! Way to make it work with the logs. That was a very creative idea. You could have easily just skipped your workout and gone drinking at the pub instead. Now that's an interesting career....gym instructor/cake decorator:)

Body for Life Forum Message by SportyGirl (15 posts) at 11:40 PM:
Wow Sharon, now that's dedication. I'm sorry to say I might have been tempted to curl up in front of the log fire with a good book... but you've inspired me, so when snow hits I'll workout instead! We didn't get snow in Hertfordshire. I've been waiting for it. I'm a kiwi turned aussie who's moved to the UK and is about to experience her first british winter. Brrrrrr. But I'm so keen to see that first snowfall. Since it didn't snow I took my dog for a walk yesterday morning. It was freezing cold but he was desperate to get out for a walk. But it didn't last long - he jumped in the river that runs through my park!!! Crazy dog! I had to take him straight home for a warm bath. Good luck with your challenge Anthony!!!!!

Thread: Localized fat.... (84 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Rock-Chick (174 posts) at 05:09 PM: Localized fat....
Hi gang, hope you're all having a great day! Okay, been checking my progress in front of the mirror in the ladies changing room at the gym today. First time I've actually used the steam room, and I felt really good about myself, even though I was just wearing a towel and everyone who was using the steam room had a great bod! But hey I was thinking to myself, "I could give these skinny bitches a run for their money nowadays! I workout!" LOL Then this lady, who was sat on the level above me, tapped me on the shoulder and said that she loved the deffinition in my back. (Don't worry I pointed her in the direction of BFL) She said that she works out 5 times a week, has a trainer, eats sensibly and was a really healthy 115lbs, but no matter how hard she works she can't get rid of her "fat back". When I asked her to show me she turned round and I could see that she did have some fleshy areas of her back and shoulders. Then this other girl joined in the converstation, and said that she has the same problem with her belly. To look at her you'd say she was underweight. You could see every bone in her body, literally, but when she showed off her belly it was surprisingly round and pot-like. She said she watched what she ate, made regular trips to the gym and did yoga and crunches, but never lost the fat on her belly! Everywhere but the problem areas. Now, I've always had issues with my backside. It used to be the one part I could NEVER shrink. I was always two sizes bigger on the bottom than on the top, and was always the "butt", pardon the pun, of people's jokes. Now I'm the same size all over thanks to torturous hard work, but even though my bum LOOKS small and neat in my clothes, I still have a stubborn fatty area just below my bottom, and I think I'll be stuck with it for the rest of my life. Every other part of my legs, thighs, hips and bum have shrunk, apart from this little "shelf". Do any other BFL members have parts of their body that they just can't seem to improve? Or have any BFL members had problems with localized fatty area which they have managed to get rid of? Thanks for your support as always, Love Jules x

Body for Life Forum Message by LeoGirl (138 posts) at 07:38 PM:
I'm not an expert but I would think the more muscle you put on the better your body can burn the fatty areas. That’s my theory anyways. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.*~Jen~*

Body for Life Forum Message by RD (34 posts) at 08:56 PM:
female hormones tell fat to deposit around the low abdomen, hips and butt. I once worked with a guy going through hormone therapy to become a woman and noticed the fat on his body re-deposited itself around his low abs, hips and butt instead of the higher up little pot belly he started with. I was amazed, it was hard not to notice. Women need a certain amount of bodyfat to be healthy and keep our hormones at certain levels or so I am told. It has to go somewhere. Genetics and hormones help determine where. I have the same areas my mom did, inner thighs, lower abs and butt. I also noticed after my skin on my lower abdomen was stretched from childbirth that the fat went there more readily than it had before. There is no such thing as spot reducing unless its liposuction. You can build muscle in an area but to get rid of fat you have to lose fat from your whole body in general.

Body for Life Forum Message by iceskater (194 posts) at 09:19 PM:
Too bad we can't just take some "horomone therapy" and just have the fat redistributed throughout our bodies instead of one particular spot.

Thread: Wonder woman t-shirts (21 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by BFL4Stephanie (70 posts) at 08:23 PM: Wonder woman t-shirts
ON SALE...At the Julie Whitt store...$5 off on the white/pink/yellow t-shirts as marked and $5 off the wonder woman tank top. In the spirit of the holidays you know.... Stephanie p.s. Thanks to all BFL Tracker folks for their support of the Julie Store!!

Thread: 3 Week Pictures (20 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by biojen (77 posts) at 10:16 PM: 3 Week Pictures
Well, I was determined to do 3 Week photos today but I have to say I'm not ready to do my bathing suit shots with all the family around yet. I got the guts to have one taken in my workout clothes so that will have to do I guess. I haven't had a weight change this week- I think I actually gained a pound but I definitely feel my quads, biceps, and shoulders getting firmer. When does that stubborn fat start to melt away???? I'm ready! :)

Body for LIFE: Body for LIFE Beginner

Thread: 5th try at 1st Challenge (170 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Greg_H (7 posts) at 08:55 AM:
Again, I have to thank you all for the support and comments. It is all very much appreciated. I know with my newly found drive and actually getting to real reasons to change, on top of the motivation from all of you, I will finish this challenge. Again, thank you all.

Thread: Weird Feeling. (51 Views)

Body for Life Forum Message by Wrecky (38 posts) at 09:21 AM: Weird Feeling.
Im really having a tough time with upper body. I cant believe how weak I am...biceps and triceps arent bad..back isnt bad but Im going to have to play around with form cuz I just dont feel it in my back when Im lifting. I feel like Im not doing good enough and yet with shoulders I know I cant increase the weight the strength just isnt there yet. Guess Im feeling a little discouraged in this area...otherwise, Im loving the challenge! Must stay focused.

Body for Life Forum Message by cookie1135 (1046 posts) at 09:34 AM:
Wrecky, I didn't feel like I had the strength to lift what was needed to produce results, but I ended up having great results! So keep on pushing forward! You can only do your best, not someone elses best!! If you keep working at it, and add weights when you are able to, you will get results! And you will get stronger with time!! Just hang in there and stick with the program!! And Hit Your Tens!! I wish you all the best!!! Hugs, Sylvia aka Cookie1135

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