My 12 Week Transformation with Body For Life

[banslug]

It's taken me about a week to decide if I should post on this forum or not, but with the encouragement of so many fellow Cathe-ites, I''m sharing my story and transformation.

Thanks to all that encouraged me to do this and to those that supported me along the way. This 12 week Challenge was my first of many, and I'm starting my next 12 weeks this coming Monday, New Year's Eve day!

I'll TRY to keep it short, but I'll apologize right now, because it's not all that short, really! lol

I followed the Body For Life Program. The workouts, the nutrition, the WHOLE plan. Pretty much to a T, with some deviation with workouts. I won't go into details about the BFL program, but if you want more info, you can either get the book (which I HIGHLY recommend) or visit the website at www.bodyforlife.com.

My before and after pictures are below. But what I want to say is that YES...I'm happy with my change in scale weight and my size. But what I LOVE about my pictures is the change in the look in my eyes. I feel like ME again. I feel like I conquered something INSIDE of me that's been hidden for a while. THAT'S my transformation. My signature line has a link to my BFL tracker pages with my progress numbers and pictures.

My before and after pictures:
Day 0----BEFORE
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL838.../295452562.jpg

Day 84---AFTER
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL838.../295452567.jpg

On the workouts:
My workout schedule followed the BFL program, as stated in the plan.
M: upper body
T: HIIT and abs
W: lower body
TH: HIIT and abs
F: upper body
S: HIIT and abs
Sunday: Rest Day
Then the next week kept the same schedule, bust flip-flopped upper and lower body.

For the first 6 weeks, I followed the BFL Pyramid and MAX OUT principle EXACTLY. At the halfway point (week 6), for my legs I started using PLB (also used Leaner Legs and GS Legs, alternately)...for variety. It worked and I started losing small amounts in my legs. Now, I'm still using pretty heavy weights for PLB (this morning was 40/50/60), but definitely NOT to the point of all-out exhaustion as BFL tells it mostly because anything heavier than 60# and my form would start to slip on the leg presses, etc. My legs were the last part of my body to respond and show progress. I have to say that the BFL approach to upper body..maxing out...has done WONDERS for my UB. Go figure. One Body. Two separate approaches for two separate areas. LOL

Yes, I worried about bulking by using such heavy weights. But I decided to 'test' the program, just to see what happened. IT WORKED, to say the least. The first half of the challenge, when I was doing strictly BFL weight workouts, I was squatting over 120#, deadlifting over 95#. And I didn't bulk, I leaned out and toned up.

For cardio, I'm a cardio JUNKIE and never felt a cardio workout was complete if I hadn't gone for over 50 minutes and was dripping BUCKETS of sweat! lol So it took some discipline for me to do just the 20 minutes of HIIT 3x per week, but I did, and the results came. At the halfway point, I started using iTread sprint and interval workouts to add variety, and occasionally an iCycle interval/sprint.

On the nutrition:
I followed the nutrition plan to a T. VERY LITTLE deviation. I'm VERY VERY conscientious (how do you spell that word? lol) about portion sizes, and I don't even LICK my fingers or the spoon when making something for the kids. I know ME well ENOUGH to know that one lick turns to sticking my head in the bowl and licking it clean! LOL I'm VERY strict during the week. It REALLY REALLY helps to know that Sunday is Free Day and I can eat whatever the HECK I WANT! LOL AND I DO.....I haven't restricted myself AT ALL on Free Day. And I've still gotten the results I've been getting.

Here's an example of my daily food:
Meal 1 (breakfast)....ALWAYS AT LEAST ONE FULL HOUR after my workout, usually around 7:20am:
3 Mini Egg Quiche with a slice or 2 of Weight Watchers wheat bread
4 Protein pancakes (average size)
Myoplex Lite Shake
Meal 2...usually around 9:30am
Chicken Salsa Wrap (in a lo carb whole wheat wrap) with steamed veggies
Tuna in a lo carb wrap with steamed veggies or carrot stix
Myoplex Lite Shake (if I didn't have one for breakfast)
Meal 3...at work, usually around 12:30pm
Bar (in the first half of my challenge)
4 Protein Pancakes (in the second half of my challenge)
Meal 4...usually around 3pm
Soup, chili, stew (that I prep on Sunday for the week)
Chicken Salsa Wrap
3 Mini Egg White Quiches with slice or 2 of Weight Watchers toast
Meal 5 (dinner)...usually around 5-6pm
Lean protein, anything including salmon, mahi mahi, tilapia, haddock, chicken; PLUS veggies and a side carb of brown rice, baked sweet potato or on occasion pasta (pasta is usually my last choice)
Meal 6...usually around 8pm
Small Gala apple with 2 or 3 lo fat string cheese

This is pretty much exactly what I eat every single day. I make a different soup, stew or chili each week, and have it on hand for the entire week. THIS IS MY FAVORITE thing to eat (besides the string cheese) and the soups just fill you right up!

On the diet/eating topic. I am a creature of habit and actually thrive on routine. So it’s not a huge factor for me to eat the same things each day. I do, however, try to vary things from week to week. I ALWAYS have a homemade soup pre-made and in single serve containers in the fridge. They last all week, most of the time. If you’d all like, maybe we should start posting some of our favorite recipes for the food that keeps up on track for our BFL/EFL challenge??? What do you all think?

On supplements, shakes and nutrition bars:
The shakes. I bought 2 boxes of Myoplex Light at the beginning of this challenge. I haven't even gotten thru ONE box yet. I began by drinking one per day, at Meal #2 for Monday thru Friday. And I also ate a Myoplex Lite (or an EAS AdvanteEdge Low Carb bar) each day, Monday thru Friday, for Meal #3 while at work. They were both working for me, and they were so very convenient for my schedule. But as I did more reading, I was reading more and more BFLers saying that 'whole foods' are the NUMBER 1 best thing to eat, shakes take second place, and the bars take a DISTANT third. I was reading how the bars fulfill the carb/protein requirement, but that the sugar alcohols and other things in there play with your system sometimes (NOT ALWAYS). Again, the bars were working and they filled me up for that meal, so I have not sworn them off, I just wanted to make one adjustment to see if I could work around eating them. The shakes....I just recently started doing the same thing...eating a whole food meal in its place, but I still drink a shake perhaps 3 times per week. I do NOT take any supplements of any kind...for a few reasons. Mainly, I'm on a tight budget and just didn't find that the cost of them could justify buying them.

FREE DAY
I've implemented a few Free Day RULES over the last few weeks! LOL First, I must drink 64oz of water before I even take a SINGLE BITE of ANYTHING to eat! Second, Drink AT LEAST my usual daily gallon of water. Actually, I've been drinking twice that on Sundays! LOL Third, put a pair of snugger-fitting jeans on by mid-day. LOL This way, if I start to get that 'button-popping' feeling in my tummy, I know it's time to settle down on the food intake! LOL And enjoy whatever food I want. I don't really limit myself too much on Free Day. It's built into the program, so I'm entitled!!!!

MY BOTTOM LINE
Somebody asked me what I thought the 'secret' for me was....the eating or the workouts. My answer was (and still is) the COMBINATION OF CLEAN NUTRITION, TOUGH WORKOUTS, and most importantly, the CONSISTANCY of them combined. Day after day, week after week. It's basically what Cathe says in her posts quite often...clean eating, hydration, challenging workouts, on a consistant basis.

Recipes to share:
NOW.....I have compiled a Word document with a few recipes. I can email it to you, if you'd like. It has recipes for the Egg Quiches, the Salsa Chicken, 3 (I think) soups that I've been making these last few weeks, and the Protein Pancakes. If you email me at gtrenberth@yahoo.com, I'll send that off to you.

THANKS for listening (and reading). Thanks for your support.

Gayle

[mich23]

Way to go Gayle!!! You ROCK!!!

We are all so proud of you -- and want to be "Just Like Gayle!!"

Thanks for all your support -- and with all your guidance -- there are going to be many more success stories to come!

We love ya!

Michelle

[jgarr44460]

Gayle,
Thank you so much for putting this together. I appreciate the time it took and that you shared your pictures, diet and workout info. You have inspired many already and with your help and guidance more of us might actually finish a challenge ourselves.
Congratulations -

[CollinsMom]

Wow, your transformation is amazing! You were super-hot before, but WOW! Look at those ABS! And arms, and legs.

I would be scared about the HIIT, and leaving my beloved step cardio. I also don't believe that I could eat that consistently for 12 weeks.

You are awesome!

[Govtgirl]

Wow, Gayle! Thanks SO much for posting this! Your tranformation is amazing, and really inspiring.

So much so, that I've decided to go for HEAVY training, upper and lower body. I've order PUB/PLB, and will use MM until they show up. I've always steered away from heavy weights, and stuck to circuit only, but I can see that that only takes me so far. Today is upper body, wish me luck! :)

Thanks again for posting!! You look AWESOME!!

[LeanneM]

Gayle, you truly do look amazing!!!! You looked fabulous beforehand, but incredible afterwards!! Thanks for giving us all such detailed info about how you accomplished this, and for including us in the challenge that will start on Monday!

[angie_nrs]

Gayle you look awesome! Thanks for the inspiration to kick off 2008.

I'm wondering...do you have a sweet tooth? If so, how the heck do you get sweets out of your eating plan. I struggle with this....especailly after dinner. Any suggestions?

Also, what HIIT workouts did you do? Do you do them on an elliptical, bike, step, or TM? Do you do the same type of cardio every time or switch them up?

I'm off to go look at the BFL book....thanks for the tips!

Angie

[Kathy G]

Gayle,
Your transformation is absolutely inspiring! Thanks for posting it, you look fabulous! :)

Kathy G

[banslug]

Angie-I think I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth in the history of this world! lol Seriously, though, I do! BUT....my secret is to not even start. I can say NO till the cows come home, and avoid that first bite, lick or nibble. BUT....once I take that first little nibble, I'm DONE! I can't stop once I start, so I just don't start. Sometimes, YES, it is plain ol' willpower, but the BIGGEST motivation is knowing how I want to look and feel in my new swimsuit! Also, I found that once I got past the first solid week, the cravings subsided and Free Day didn't include too many sweets simply because the sweet tooth calmed down a bit.

As for HIIT, in the beginning, I used the BFL HIIT worksheet on my treadmill (can be found on the BFL website), that incorporated 4 intervals with the last one being an all-out, can't-take-another-single-step interval. Once I hit the halfway mark, I did start using other workouts....iTreain 13 and/or 19 are both 30 minute sprint workouts; IMax's; Low Max on occasion; and an iCycle also on occasion. In other words, I switched it up to keep myself interested and motivated, and to confuse the bod! lol

Hope that helps!

Gayle

[exer_cited]

Wow, Gayle, you are quite an inspiration to me. You look fantastic! And the look on your face of pure joy just says it all!!

I am interested in buying the book you mentioned above, is it called Body For Life? I've seen one at the bookstore but not sure if it is the right one.

I am going to join the 12-week challenge check-in (along with quite a few others from the looks of it) and I just can't wait to get started!

Thanks for sharing your story. I know it probably wasn't easy to put yourself "out there" like that, but I'm sure glad you did!!! And I can tell that you are just about as proud of yourself as you can be and YOU DESERVE IT!! YOU ARE ROCKIN' THAT BIKINI GIRL!!!!:7