2 weeks left!

Wow - only 2 weeks to go. Still going by pretty fast. Over all I am feeling so much better about my self, and did measurements this morning, and am down again on the weight - 186.8! Waist is budging a little - 39.75, and hips are down - 43, chest - 38, thigh still the same :P This week I'm going to focus on the more fruits and veggies, and less grain carbs. We'll see if it makes a difference.

After this challenge is over, I am taking the recommended 1-2 weeks off, and starting again on April 5th. The reason they recommend a break is because this is intense stuff, and your body needs a break. Also, there is what is called the "set point theory" Its your body's 'comfort zone' with its weight. Everyone has a weight range that your body wants to stay at. So you may do really well dieting and exercising, then stop, and your body goes right back to that point. And you may do nothing, and your body may stay at that point. It's like a thermostat. By taking time off, we are hoping to 'reset' that point. But 2 weeks off doesn't mean don't do anything - it means active rest - still do something - keep working out, but not as intensely - change it up - do something different. And keep eating clean - not 2 weeks worth of free days! I will probably shoot for 4 meals a day.

Start planning now, and evaluating what you are currently doing, and what does and doesn't work. Start setting new goals, and getting over those demons, and leave them behind. Keep up the good job everyone!

A little late, but better late than never!

Week 9 has come and gone, and I am now in the middle of week 10! It has been crazy busy with track starting this week, and ambulance has been short staffed, so I've been on call a lot! But it's all fun, and I'd rather be busy than bored :) BFL is still going great! I was thinking back, and I have not missed a single work out - that's pretty cool for me! Diet I've been pretty good too - a little slip here or there, but nothing out of control. I took a couple weeks off calorieking.com to see if it'd make a difference, but nothing too dramatic. It was nice having the break, but I am back on again, so you can look and see what I am eating. Still trying to focus on eating more protein than carbs, and I am holding steady at 188. Whats cool though, is I got an OMRON body fat analyzer, and my BF was 34% at the beginning, and I was in 'normal' mode. I am now in the 'athlete' mode and am at 28%! - 6% body fat! That puts me at 12lbs of fat loss, and 3-4lbs muscle increase! With track season starting, I was even playing around with the kids yesterday and throwing for them, and surprisingly I was throwing about 42'... not great, but considering 5 years off, 2 kids, and no power lifting! I'm actually considering throwing disc again, so we will see in the next week or 2!
Measurements are about the same - just below 40' on the stomach, and 44' on the hips, thigh still the same and chest the same. But I'm really going to focus in on the next couple weeks on core, and cardio... I've been bumping up the cardio for a longer 10-20 minute cool down, but not consistently. I've got 2 1/2 weeks left! But I am planning on taking 2 weeks off and starting a second challenge on April 5th with my little bro, so again, feel free to join us!


Oh and if you look to the right, I put a new, current pic up of me at week 10!

Week 6 over - 1/2 way done!!!!

I've made it 1/2 way now.... can't believe it! I haven't seen the numbers I was hoping to see by this point, but I've been reading a lot, that for women, things don't really start kicking into over drive until about week 8-9. They refer to it as "the miracle week," so here's to hoping! My measurements are as follows...
Dec 28... Feb 7...
Waist 41.5 -- 40.5
Hips 46 -- 44.25
Chest 40.5 -- 38.5
Thigh 26.6 -- 26.25
Weight 198 -- 191.9

So the numbers are all going down, so I can't complain. And I'm losing a lot through my top 1/2, but it's the bottom 1/2 that is slower, but at the same time, I can feel muscle where before, it was just fat. I'd much rather have the muscle :)

The workouts are still going good! I haven't missed any, and have been changing it up and am sore again. The biggest prob as of late is that I have stopped nursing, and that takes time for your body to adjust. I'm still feeling the effects of that. But now that I am done nursing, I am starting to use supplements. Green tea, which is a great anti-oxidant, and energy booster, and am going to start CLA - conjugated Linoleic acid, which is an ammino acid, that supposedly helps increase lean muscle mass, which in turns, helps burn more fat, more specifically - stomach fat. I'll let ya know how that goes! Well today is my free day, so I'm going to go enjoy! I hope you all are doing well, and please don't hesitate to ask any questions!

Week 3 over!

I survived my 3rd week - awesome! I'm still loving the lifting - no complaints there, although I'm still trying to adjust my weights, and finding that I can keep going up. Some awesome clients of mine got me the BFL success journal, and I have been keeping track with that, and plan on pushing everything up this week. Cardio has been a little weak. I know I can push myself harder... I'm finding that I'm pushing myself on my 10, but not so much through the 8 and 9 - I need to quite wussing out. If I'm going to do this, I may as well do it right.

Nutrition is still going well for the most part. I find myself battling with the calorie counter in me, and have not exactly gotten in the 6th meal. Thursday was bad due to bad planning, but that's no excuse to make the next day bad. Every day is a new day, so just start over.

I plan on doing measurements tomorrow morning, but just remember those that are doing this as well... The scale is a horrible indicator when you are changing something with your body. There are so many fluctuations going on, and changes. If you lose 3 lbs fat, and gain 5 lbs muscle, you've gained weight... but good weight - and increase of 5lbs of lean muscle mass can burn up to an additional 200 calories a day! Muscle is awesome! And women - HANG IN THERE! From talking to other people, and reading posts on face book, its seems that men are losing weight much faster, and women are struggling. In my 'opinion' women have less muscle mass to begin with, so we are burning less calories, and we are initially going to gain more muscle, which may be why the scale isn't budging. As time goes on, and your body has adjusted, you will start seeing the scale go down. I read someone say that for most women, week 8 seems to be the magic number where you can really start seeing results. I know me personally, I have only lost 3-4 lbs, but I can totally feel my biceps, calves and quads making a comeback - I love it! Just imagine what it is going to look like once all the fats gone :) That's what keeps me going :) Next week I plan on doing my 4 week photos - I will post them to show you there is a difference. I do have my before photos posted on FB - but you have to be my friend to see those :) Good job everyone, Keep it up!!!

Just did my measurements:

Weight - 194 - down 4lbs!
chest - 39.25 (up-muscle)
waist - 40.5 (same)
hips - 45 (same)
thigh - 26.25(down)

So nothing too drastic, but there are still a lot of changes going on, and people are starting to notice. I'm definitely curious to see my pics next week!

I can't fail...

So, I think I've done everything I possibly can to keep my self from failing! I have my weight room set up with everything I need. I moved all of my workout clothes down stairs so I can shower and get ready right after I am done. I have workout partners. I've told every body I know, and built up my support group. I've invited people to do it with me. I bought all my foods ahead of time and individually packaged items to make it easy to cook. I've got protein shakes for times I can't cook. I've worked out a schedule with my hubby and the kids. I feed Zoee before I start, so she will sleep till 9, and my hubby doesn't have to worry about her. I set up a TV and DVD for Quin in my weight room so he can watch that. Got my hospital mug that I leave out on my counter, so I can drink my water. Hmmm... I think there are some others, but I believe that I have done everything I can possibly do to make sure I don't have any excuses!
You should do the same! You know yourself better than anyone else. You know your weaknesses. You know the excuses that you will make to wiggle your way out of it and make the justifications to make your self feel better if you quit. If you see through these, and do everything you can to avoid them, you should not fail! I heard a saying the other day... A sailor isn't a good sailor because he can sail through the storm, he's a good sailor because he can get himself out of the storm. Recognize your storm and go the other way! Keep up the good work!!!

Staying strong!

Things are still going well! But I had someone suggest I share what I eat! I found out on the food log site that I use, www.calorieking.com, that you can make your food log public - http://www.calorieking.com/community/user_home.php?id=161784 - You can see exactly what I eat! It'a an awesome site I highly recommend! I've been a member for 3 years now! Their membership is only $9 a month - cheaper than weight watchers! I'll try and get some recipe ideas up in the next day or two, but for now, you can keep tabs on me! Just click 'Candice's Food Log' in the upper right hand corner. Stay Strong!

Week 1 - Done!

I made it! And I am even down 2.5 lbs! I like to think of my free day as a celebration of a successful week. I did it! I survived the first week. My muscles were really sore, and I've had to be a little creative in the kitchen, but all in all it wasn't too bad. Like I said before, I really like the lifting, but the cardio still sucks - but I did it! And having the free day was a huge mental perk for me. Now I am recharged and ready for another week. But I do have to say, I ate some 'not so great for me' stuff - like my homemade cookies, some chocolate covered cinnamon bears, and 1/2 a gallon of skim milk. While they were good, I feel kinda crappy, and my body is just craving good foods. I think I'll have to tone my free day down. I know I definitely over did it, but it was worth it mentally. On to the next one! Tomorrow morning is legs!

And I figured it would be best to do measurements the morning of my free day.

Weight 195.5 (back to my pre Zoee weight!)
chest - 39.75 (down!)
waist - 40.5 (same)
hips - 45 (down!)
thigh - 26.5 (same)

Day 1 of 84

So far so good - I know I didn't push as hard as I could have on the lifting this morning... I need to invest in a few more dumbbells, so I'm not jumping aroud too much. It was good though - felt a good burn, and upper body is defiinitely shaky - tomorrow is probably going to suck, but that is inevitable. The nutrition has been a little tricky... not that I want to eat bad or anything, it's just a little time consuming to plan out and cook meals vs. just going to the fridge/pantry to grab something. I definitely recommend cooking in bulk, and freezing your meals.

I had my hubby take my before photos... OMgosh - clothes are so deciving!!! I was feelin pretty good about myself after the sugar detox, but I have some WORK to do - just more motivation to push harder. I'm thinking of printing them out and hanging them up in my weight room for a little extra motivation. I'm kissing this body good bye! I'm not going to immediatley post my before photos (that bad!) But they recommend taking photos every 4 weeks, so I will post them in 4 weeks for comparison. I weighed in at 198 (1.5 lbs up since detox) and measured chest - 40.5, waist - 41.5, hips - 46, thigh - 26.5. I'm going to try and have my little bro do my body fat in the next couple of days, we'll see ;) Tomorrow AM is the cardio work out.... Good luck all, and let the games begin!

And so it begins....

Tomorrow morning! Ah! I can't believe I am going to be doing this. The first workout is upper body - chest, back, shoulders, bi's, tri's. that simple, right? Except its pyramiding - reps start at 12 (12,10,8,6,12,12) and go down, weight goes up, and then you do a secondary lift right after you finish the main lift. Supposed to be hard, but efficient/effective! And I am happy to report that my little bro is doing it with me, and will be entering the group/couples with me :) And I have talked to a handful of people that may be doing this as well. If I am going to be putting money up, I'd like to see at least 5 people doing this, so we'll see on that part. Just let me know if you want to join!
Nutrition is six small meals a day consisting of a high quality protein and whole grain carb or fruit. Shakes are ok as well(protein, not milk ;) I cleaned out my fridge and freezer, and stocked it with lots of good stuff. I even individually froze my meats to make it easier to cook with. If you are going to do this, you have to plan ahead, and be prepared! Set yourself up to succeed, not to fail!

Well, I better go finish planning this weeks meals, and get a good nights rest! Good luck all (and me!!!) and I'll give my first report tomorrow!