BFFM week of Oct. 3

xschwarz

xschwarz

Cathlete
Hi Burners,

Seems like I always start the new thread...oh well, that's fine. Here we go:

First Month Summary: 3 lbs. lost. BF% remains the same. I learned so much about how to make this program and way of life work for me. I remain 100% commited and look forward to significant results this month.

Month of October Goals: I am following a rotation that A-Jock designed for me. It is very challenging and may require my getting up 20 minutes earlier to complete my 6am workout in order to be out the door by 7:30am.

I still haven't kept exact calorie counts mostly because I follow T.V.'s menu plan very closely. BUT the most exciting and beneficial thing that has happened is that I rewarded myself by buying a heart rate/exercise watch (with sensor). Now that is eye opening and I can now see how you can figure out to the number, calorie's in and calories expended.

For example, yesterday I did my 4 mile hill run. I thought perhaps I burned about 400 calories. But because my HR was in zone for so long, I burned 757 calories. Then did ME and burned an additional 485. I love it! It's so inspiring and a great tool for accuracy.

So onward I go. Great to hear from all of you. I must say that I still fit in my cocktail time with hubby but it's every few nights and when I can make a calorie adjustment.

Today is mish mosh of KPC,KM, and BC.

Best to Burn together than by yourself.

X
 
I kind of have a "how do I get started question." I bought BFFM and I am absolutely convinced T.V. has "it" right. I need to begin this program, but I am feeling overwhelmed and a bit frightened by the change. I have been on WW for about two years and have lost around 75 pounds. I have about 20 or so to go, and I know BFFM will get me there. For some reason I am having a hard time making myself take the plunge. I think my mental is only about 75% there.

Any advice on how to make this happen for me? I keep thinking "ok, just try one whole day." I can feel myself getting closer and closer to being ready to start, but I just want to know if you all have any advice for me.

TIA.
 
Hi Ivory,

I bet TK could give you great advice. I believe she had been on WW before and probably could understand the transition you are undergoing. For me, the BFFM plan was really not too different than what I usually ate anyway....um...less the sourdough pretzels and garlic pretzel nuggets I used to enjoy every day ;-).

Just don't be so hard on yourself and don't expect yourself to be perfect. None of us are. :) I'm sure you'll do fine!

Robin:9
 
Hi fellow burners,

Ivorygorgon - I recognize your screen name from the WW boards. I'm mostly a lurker there so you probably don't recognize mine! Anyway, I am a lifetime WW member going on 2 years now. With BFFM, this is the beginning of week three so it's still kind of new to me too. I guess the biggest change so far is switching from counting points to counting calories and also keeping track of protein/carbs/fat percentages. Hey but journaling is journaling so it isn't much of a stretch from what you are already doing with WW. The first week I was journaling both in WW etools and in fitday, but now I'm journaling exclusively in Fitday. Fitday is nice because it gives me the percentages of fat, carb and protein. It still feels odd to me to account for my 0 points foods like veggies, but just like anything else it has calories and is part of the percentage mix. You should really give BFFM a try, especially since you are more active than most WW'ers. So far I've lost 6 pounds using it. This week and next will be the real test for me as now I should be past the initial water weight loss phase. Now it's down to the real stuff - the 'hard lard' as I call it. We'll see how this program works on that.....

Hey x, you gotta love those HRMs. I am also in awe of your workout and your calorie burn. 4 mile hill run then ME? I couldn't get those kind of calorie burn numbers in a whole week let alone in a day!

This morning I did the blast only premix from IMAX3 followed by the blast mania premix from IMAX2. The original plan was all IMAX3 and IMAX2 blasts without recoveries followed by Step Blast Challenge but my hip is a still a little sore from running Sat morning and I didn't want to chance it. I did this mish mosh once before and it is a sweatfest! Too much fun! I will have to make a substitution to do the original plan later this week or next. I'm still loving my 5 disc changer. I've found more and more ways to torture myself each morning LOL.

Burn hard everyone!
 
Hi burners, sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Trouble with our modem.

I have had a humbling but very eye-opening experience this week. I weighed myself for the first time since starting this. I did it the morning after a party, so I had eaten dessert, salty stuff, had some wine. I've been getting complacent, believing that partial clean eating and working out would be fine. It wasn't. Weight was exactly what I predicted it would be prior to starting this.

So, I will weigh myself twice a week from now on until I get closer to my goal.

Second major change (I'M FRIGHTENED!!!) - I am going to cut sugar. I have never done this because I believed I could not (Gee, wonder what T.V. would say about that?). But I'm just realizing that as long as I hang onto sugar and make it a daily part of my life, I will not meet my goals. Anyone who has done this please share your success stories!

I REFUSE TO GIVE UP ON THIS!!!
 
Good Morning everyone!

I did have a few cheat meals this week due to Birthdays for people but all in all I stayed with it. I took a peek at the scale today just to see if it was bad and I had lost a few ounces, no gains! I still stay within 1800 cal. a day. I am concidering the zig zagging method I just haven't put the time into preparing for it. It is just easier to eat five 300-400 cal meals a day and stick to that. I did start trying to reserve 100 cal a day for a later snack. I seem to be hungry around 7pm but I think it is because my dinner is too early. I need to adjust it but would miss the family supper if I did. Not sure about changing it yet for this reason.

I have no problem exercising in the AM now and I really prefer it to the evenings, it's like finding an extra hour a day to do other things. I did IMAX3 yesterday and High Step Challange this morning.

Future -- I have given up sugar. It gets easier as time goes on. It is like an addiction of sorts and the longer you go without the less you crave it. It is hard at first but if you eat sugar later it will taste way too sweet. Instead of no sweet I sub things that are good for me that are sweet, ie. sweet potatoes, almonds, fat free yogurt etc. If I eat sugar now I get sick and I feel bad. If I eat these other things I can live with it. Good Luck!

Only 17 weeks to Hawaii! Any advice on a visit to the Big Island?

Have fun burning everyone.

Vicky
 
FFD: I am with you on the sugar. It is an extremely difficult thing for me to beat. I am kind of seeing it as the final frontier (the final bad eating habit to kick!) I went 14 days without eating any. It actually wasn't that bad. I just took it as a one day at a time kind of thing. Of course, I fell off the wagon, so here I am at day 3 no sugar. I agree, I will succeed!
 
Hi Burners,
X- Thanks for starting the topic every week. Congrats on your weight loss. I think the HR monitor was a great award. It is always so inspiring to see the burned calories isn’t?

This will be my 4th week with the program and I still love it.
Yesterday I had 1567 cal, today is my high cal day. I still need to eat more veggies and drink more water.

All of you doing great with workout, I cannot wait to start it over.

Talk to You Soon,

Krisztina

 
Hi everyone!

I had another good week. Lost 3 lbs. on the scale, according to the calipers, 2.79 of was fat. Yea! I'm actually at my prepregancy weight and my son just turned 7 months. After gaining 54lbs with this last pregnancy and having to have a c-section, I'm amazed I lost it this quickly. I honestly didn't realize how poorly I was eating until I started using fitday and reading the information from BFFM. There were days where I hardly ate anything accompanied by big binging days, not good. x(

Thanks to all the great advice I've picked up from the forums and Cathe's workouts I'm really moving toward my goals! :)

Keep up the good work everyone! :) :)
 
I'm new to this, too! Thanks, TK, for your post - I'm a WW lifetime member, too and have just plunged into tracking the calories, carbs, etc. I'm not really understanding how to get my ratios right. I'm more aware and focusing more on protein, which tends to get me close to them. But I don't see how to take first start at a set number of calories, take 3 foods, especially ones that have carbs+protein+fat and get it all to work out! I mean, if I'm eating chicken, that's mostly protein to calculate so it's simple. But so many foods have multiple counts and I'm not quite getting it.

Yesterday I ate lighter during the day in anticipation of my cheat meal at Macaroni Grille before seeing REO Speedwagon & Styx in concert (any fans?). Well, did the create-your-own pasta thing and ended up eating very well there (whole wheat pasta, red sauce, shrimp and veggies) EXCEPT for the multiple glasses of wine. We ended up getting a bit toasted and my cheat meal ended up being the THREE pieces of pizza I snarfed when we got home! I haven't had pizza in ages. Actually, I haven't had wine or gone to a concert in ages, come to think of it! It was a good time.

I'm very glad I did LoMax yesterday because today will be my rest (recover?) day. Having an HRM is a wonderful tool. I was very surprise at how many calories I burned after LoMax yesterday. Do you all keep your HRM going for a while after you work out (if you're counting calories), or do you shut it off immediately after you exercise?

I haven't measured yet - I keep getting different readings with the calipers so I think I need some practice with that. DH gets completely different ones than I do. How hard should you "pinch" before you measure?
 
Hey 'burn the fat people' LOL

Dayna - I turn my HRM off after I exercise. Mine doesn't count any calories burned unless my heart rate is over 100. By the time I get thru cool down I'm below 100.

Regarding getting the right mix of carb/protein/fat - I've found what's worked for me is to concentrate on having the protein at every meal. Before BFFM my snacks were mostly carbs, so simply adding protein to all meals got my percentages to work out. Some days I'm more protein heavy than I want to be (like yesterday) but over time it's been averaging 40/40/20.

Marsha - Way to go on your loss. Whatever you're doing, stick with it!

FFD - What's that saying? It goes something like "it's not failure, it's feedback". You weighed yourself and now you've made a new plan. Pat yourself on the back for not giving up. You can do this!

Sugar to me is like crack. Once I start eating it I can't stop. I work with some folks from India and they have quite a different relationship with food. Just yesterday I saw - get this - one half of a mini peppermint patty sitting on this guys desk. I can't conceive of just taking one bite of a piece of candy and putting it down for later.

Yesterday 1449 calories 36/45/19. Today my hip is still a little tender so I took it easy again. Did a 60 minute cardio premix of SJP and Step Blast. This month I'm doing endurance weight training with the hope that will help along my fat loss.
 
Thanks TK - my snacks used to be carb-based, too. I have so much protein cooked up in the fridge now, at least I have a few choices.

Here's another question: when I multiply the grams by 4 or 9 to convert my ratios to calories, the calories don't equal the ones I counted for the day. For instance, today I was at 1311 calories (too low), but when I multiplied out the ratios, they totaled 1387.

My goal for ratios is 55/30/15, with 3 low days at 1900 calories and the high day at 2700. This is my 8th day, and I feel like nothing's budging! Maybe even gaining! I'm usually around 1600 calories for the day. Tomorrow I'll get on the scale (which I've been avoiding), and at least get a baseline. Maybe figure out those calipers, too!
 
Hi Burn Buddies,

Although I'm adverse to "OSing" (oversharing) on a public forum, I will say that I am at NTBTOM (not the best time of month). Good news is I note a remarkable decrease in bloat, less irritability but the sugar craving is strong. Another Burner had mentioned this topic, and I, too, amd on the cusp of who knows what at 43 y.o.

But some of my points are that I allow myself a small sugar snack but it's at this time, very early, pre-workout in the am. In addition I snack on Trader Joes butter thin cookies because it is minimally processef with 4 ingredients: sugar, flour, butter, and almonds.

Ahhhhh, there....just talking about it eased my cravings.

But I am no stranger to "crack" (sugar) w/drawl. 90% of the time I eat without sugars. The first 48 hours are the hardest and then it's fine. Future and Ivory...go for it!

By the way Future, time to go Broadband. Modem dial up is horse and buggy days! LOL

USA yay! Nice results. Very inspiring.

Hmmmmm, the calorie counting scene? That, as I've mention is my area for improvement. I tend to do what another BurnBaby mentioned abd that is to prepare or plan on 330-350 calories per meal. I tried Fitday one day and found that if I chose turkey, for example, it gave quatities like...whole turkey, or whatever. I couldn't seem to find a simple "3 oz.". Maybe I didn't spen enough time learning it.

TK...love how "taking it easy" is 60 minutes of SJP/B! But I think after A-jocks rotation this month I will soon be saying that taking it easy is Imax 3!

Speaking of....time for my workout. Imax 3 then ME core.

X
 
Hello There fellow Burners
Yesterday was a bda day for me...I had like 8 small cookies and now I am regreting it. Today I willbe back on track (however I do have a special occation to celerbrate tonight with a friend of mine but I will try hard to stay on goal. I have also decided to join a new health club that just opened in my area to help me reach my goals. They do a complete health assessment before you can even start. I want to try Spinning and yoga. I would also like to use the rowing machines and the pool to help supplement my Cathe workouts (which I still plan on doing at least 4 days a weeks). Anyway, have a great week


:+
 
Hi Burners,

I'm doing well with the increase in calories :) . Hooray! It is keeping my body weight above 110 lbs. I was getting worried there for a while. I really look terrible when I get down to 100-105 lbs (it's way too gaunt). I'm real careful about adding extra food. I've been using Diet Power software which is really good for watching my ratios too. If the food isn't in the data base I just add it using the nutrition guide off the labeling.

I’m still not good at zig–zagging yet. Maybe I will work on that these next few days as a goal. I’ve been really focusing on the ratios and calories first. Now that I think I have that down, I think I can start to fine tune and put better meal plans together.


X- How is your rotation going? Anything A-jock puts out has to be tough!

Jedi- Spinning and yoga at the club sounds like fun. I’ve always wanted to try spinning. I’ve just been too busy to get myself down to the gym. I would love to know how you like it.

Dayna- I turn my HRM off like Tk after I workout. I always want to record the exercise not the cooldown. My HRM comes with a program where I can print out the HR for the exercise and compare them. I just like to be consistent when I record the exercise for future reference even though I am sure I really burned more during that exercise.

FFD- Good luck with giving up sugar. Let us know how it goes. Sounds like a great goal;-) .

Well, off to my workout. Yesterday, I did StepBlast (I love that one). I also did Karen Voight's Pilates for Abs/Back. Today is PUB, PS Triceps and 10-10-10.

Happy burning,
Robin:9
 
I started the program Monday and even got up at 5am to do my workout. First time I've exercised in the AM. But man did I blow it when I got home from work. Ate everything until I finally decided that it was the Neopolitan Ice Cream that I really wanted. Yesterday I didn't even exercise or follow the plan (had McDonald, Homemade Apple Pie, a piece of angel food cake).

So I'm starting over today. But I'm a little confused on my calories needed to lose. I just got my caliper yesterday and according to it I have 33% body fat. I'm 5ft and tend to carry muscle in my calves and quads naturally. Can someone help me with my calculations? Here is what I came up with based on a weight of 141 and a body fat % of 33%.

Lean Body Mass = 94.47
Ideal Wt = 118 lbs
Calories = 2719.22 TDEE
2175 - 2311 to lose wt

The calories sound way too high. I was planning on doing the ratio of 50% carb, 30% protein, 20% fat.

Questions on taking caliper readings

How do you take the tricep reading yourself?
Where exactly on the midsection do you measure? The diagram I have kind of shows it around belly button level and below the boob. But I have more fat below that (the pooch).

Thanks,
Kimbra
 
Kimbra - My calories seemed way too high too - from 2100-2450. I'm still working on gradually getting the calories higher. So far I've been ranging between 1400 - 1700.

I've been doing pretty well over the past few days. I'm still working on getting enough calories and keeping the ratios where they should be. I have been keeping my fat right at 20%, carbs between 45-50% and protein 30-35%. I need to start trying to eat bigger meals earlier in the day.

I've been hitting the workouts pretty hard doing Cathe's June rotation. My entire body is so sore right now. I could stand a good massage.

Everyone seems to be doing great!!!
 
Hey 'Burn the Fat People'

I was busy late at work so I didn't get to post yesterday. Everything is status quo with me but I'm starting to get nervous about weigh in tomorrow. I think my clothes are getting a little looser. Maybe that's a good sign.

Kim - your TDEE seems a little high to me too. I had to calculate mine a couple times because I was getting messed up on the conversion of centimeters to inches and kilograms to pounds. Mine eventually came out to 2100, which seems reasonable.

Robin - I need to work on the zig zag method too. As you're working on it and have any tips, please share! I get in a food rut all the time and end up eating the same food/same calories over and over. I think I'm going to try to plan my meals several days in advance to see if that helps. When I was in losing mode with Weight Watchers I had the best results following the Wendie Plan, which is really the same as the zig zag method.

Jamarba - If you're sore, you should get a message. Indulge yourself. You deserve it.

This comes to mind....has anyone decided if they are going to give themselves a reward for achieving either weight loss or body fat goals? For me it's either new clothes or a day at the spa (or both!).

My hip is better now so this morning I was back to my old cardio shenanigans. I did a mish mosh that I call 'Three Amigos'. It's the cardio only from Boot Camp, followed by all the interval blasts from IMAX2 (without recoveries), followed by the Kick Max Blast Challenge. Calories yesterday was 1517 at 41/37/21.
 
"Three Amigos"?, more like Three Kamekazis!

I like this little blast killer. Approx. how much time does it take? I know I would need slight recoveries between the I3's. But clearly this must be a fat buster.

X
 
It came in at just about an hour. Funny story - I made a mistake when I programmed in the IMAX chapters and ended up doing two straddle tap intervals in a row. I paused for a brief recovery after that LOL.
 
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