# "Soon to Be" Fitgirl's BFL Journal



## fitgirl (Feb 22, 2005)

Hey guys! Thanks to all that answered my BFL question in the Training section....I'm taking the plunge. Well, I should say, I have taken it. I started yesterday officially. I still need to take my pictures and measurements, so I will posting those shortly  !

I will take any suggestions to my program as I am tweaking it a bit with a bit more cardio than the program suggests (I have a couple of classes I'm taking instead of straight cardio because I love them). 

So, more later when I've measured!

GAME ON


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## GoalGetter (Feb 22, 2005)

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

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


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## Pylon (Feb 22, 2005)

Good luck!


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## Kimber (Feb 22, 2005)

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


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## fitgirl (Feb 22, 2005)

*Thanks everyone!*

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

H - 5'6"
W - 131

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

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


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## fitgirl (Feb 22, 2005)

*Monday 2/21*

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

Workout
60 mins boxing w/heavy bag

Food

1- Oatmeal & Cottage Cheese

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

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

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

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

6-string cheese


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## fitgirl (Feb 22, 2005)

*Tuesday 2/22*

Workout

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

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

Food

1-Egg beaters, lt english muffin, sprinkle cheese

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

3-Myo Shake

4-Polenta w/chicken sausage and sprinkle parm

5- yogurt and cc

6-string cheese & banana


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## fitgirl (Feb 22, 2005)

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

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


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## Kimber (Feb 23, 2005)

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


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## GoalGetter (Feb 23, 2005)

Kimber said:
			
		

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


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

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


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## Kimber (Feb 23, 2005)

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


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## GoalGetter (Feb 23, 2005)

Kimber said:
			
		

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


 Thank you! But _no way_, chickie! You did two challenges!!!!  Give me a break! If there is anyone here with some BFL experience it's _you_! 

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

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


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## Kimber (Feb 23, 2005)

GoalGetter said:
			
		

> Thank you! But _no way_, chickie! You did two challenges!!!!  Give me a break! If there is anyone here with some BFL experience it's _you_!
> 
> *I didn't mean to sound like I was ragging on myself, I'm happy with how far I've come!  It just makes me wonder how much quicker I would have seen results with advice from people on this website! There are so many inspiring and knowledgable people on here, and you are certainly one of them! *
> 
> ...


k


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## fitgirl (Feb 23, 2005)

Wow guys! Thanks for checking in. 

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

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


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## fitgirl (Feb 23, 2005)

*2/23*

Food

1-Egg beaters/spin/sprinkle parm

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

3-yogurt and string chz

4-mayo shake w/banana

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

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

Workout

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


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## BritChick (Feb 23, 2005)

Good luck!


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## Fitgirl70 (Feb 23, 2005)

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

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

Good luck
Tammy


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## GoalGetter (Feb 23, 2005)

fitgirl said:
			
		

> Wow guys! Thanks for checking in.
> 
> GG -when you say a strict diet are you saying mine is not right now? Please give improvements if you see any.
> 
> Kimber - I did the mybodycomp.com and my bf% is 24.24%..YIKES


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

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

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

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

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


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## fitgirl (Feb 23, 2005)

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

How are my cals?


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## fitgirl (Feb 23, 2005)

*Can I have.....*

FF SF pudding????


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## Yunier (Feb 23, 2005)

Hi  

Good Luck.


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## PreMier (Feb 23, 2005)

fitgirl said:
			
		

> FF SF pudding????



Fat free/Sugar free.

Good luck.  Oh, and what is BFL?


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## GoalGetter (Feb 23, 2005)

PreMier said:
			
		

> Fat free/Sugar free.
> 
> Good luck.  Oh, and what is BFL?


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

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

 Jake: BFL is Body For Life.


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## PreMier (Feb 23, 2005)

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


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## GoalGetter (Feb 23, 2005)

fitgirl said:
			
		

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


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



> How are my cals?


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

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


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## GoalGetter (Feb 23, 2005)

here's what i mean abotu your meals:



> 1-Egg beaters/spin/sprinkle parm


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



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


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



> 3-yogurt and string chz


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



> 4-mayo shake w/banana


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

  And was this a post workout or pre workout meal? 

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



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


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



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


 AARRRRGGGHHHHH!!!! no!


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## fitgirl (Feb 24, 2005)

Hey GG

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

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


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## Kimber (Feb 24, 2005)

GoalGetter said:
			
		

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


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

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


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## GoalGetter (Feb 24, 2005)

Kimber said:
			
		

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


 DEFINITELY! 

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

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


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## fitgirl (Feb 24, 2005)

Thanks ladies!!!

GG-I know what amounts of everything I use, just don't post them, so I can keep track of my cals. I know you are not suppose to, but I'm crazy about that! I will put measurements next time.


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## fitgirl (Feb 24, 2005)

*2/24*

Workout

None...too sore and too busy, feel crappy  

Food

1-protein pancakes (oatmeal, egg whites, cot chz)

2-plum & string chz

3-ww wrap w/turkey and lt laughing cow chz

4-salad w/ground turkey/avocado/corn/salsa

5-pudding and 1T natty pb (+++some)

6-lt english muffin w/1 T natty pb and sm banana   

PMS is rearing it's ugly and head and it's all I could do to not eat the jar of pb w/a spoon. So, the fact that I measured it is an accomplishment.

Ugg....must do better.

I just did the calculations and it's around 1600 so pretty high, but not horrible


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## Katia7 (Feb 25, 2005)

Hi!
Don't get upset, 1600 calories isn't bad at all.  You're still probably losing on that amount  And it's only 1 day.
I have PB "problems" too.. can't even keep it in the house LOL


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## fitgirl (Mar 9, 2005)

YIKES...I've been slacking on my journal, but not in real life. I need to make myself post everyday. It's hard because I'm not in front of my computer a lot....anyway


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## fitgirl (Mar 9, 2005)

*3/9*

I'm officially finishing up my 2nd week on BFL and it's gone well. I had to ditch the peanut butter because I learned I cannot handle it all of a sudden....who knows.

I've been following the workout program no problem, but the eating is still hard for me. I am in my car a lot and on the go, so I need fast, easy things. Also, how and how many fish caps should I take??? Anyone know?

Here is my day (not going to backtrack, just need to post from here forward)...

Workout
30 min workout challenge for cardio
30 min balance for abs

Food
1-banana  
2-1/2 turkey sand on ww bread w/veggies and mustard, baked chips
3-grapes
4-yogurt/chz/apple
5-Boston Market chicken/new pots/salad (my only good meal today!!!)
6-myoplex shake

Ugh.. not too great, tomorrow is a new week for me!!!


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