It didn't occur to me til today to start a log here. I started my first challenge yesterday and did pretty good with my workout. I was up at 4:30 am bright and early! More on that later.

I've had a couple half-hearted attempts at BFL but never committed enough to even get through a solid week. I now believe I am ready. I've been doing Atkins since Sept 29th and so far have lost 29 lbs. Though I have a long way to go, I'm not satisfied with the amount of inches I have lost. I know I'd be looking a lot better if I had added exercise to my plan from day 1.

I've gone over the nutrition part of BFL versus Atkins again and again. I'd love to be able to have some fruit, oatmeal or a slice of whole wheat bread every now and then, but I'm really scared to add those kinds of carbs back into my WOE. Especially after yesterday. I ate a tangerine yesterday and felt so physically ill afterwards that I KNOW I'd better stick with Atkins at least for a little while longer. So my first challenge will be with low carbs.

Since Sept, I've been at induction levels, but I've been reading a lot of the BFL forum here and found that I should probably up my carbs a bit, so I'm slowly working to raise them to 30-40 a day. So far so good .. no ill feelings.

Atkins Start 9-29-02.....BFL Start 12/21/02
Weight: 251.5...............222.5 (-29 lbs)
Neck: 19.5.....................18.75 (-.75)
Arms: 15.5.....................14.25 (-1.25)
Wrists: 7........................6.5 (-.50)
Upper Rib Cage: 45.......43.5 (-1.50)
Waist: 50.......................46.75 (-3.25)
Abs: 49.5.......................45.5 (-4)
Hips: 47.75....................45 (-2.75)
Thighs: 25.25.................24 (-1.25)
Calves: 16.75.................16.5 (-.25)
Ankles: 9.25...................9 (-.25)
Shirt Size: 28...................24 (-2 sizes)
Pant Size: 26...................tight 22 (-almost 2 sizes)

Wow, that's a total of 15.75 inches lost! I never compared my progress before. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself at having lost what I have .. 3 months ago I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it this far. Instead of thinking I could have done better, I'm ready to celebrate my success!

12/21/02:

This challenge will be done strictly with dumbbells. Some of the BFL exercises don't have very many that can be done with dumbbells, so for those, I'll be doing exercises from one of my Joyce Vedral workouts (either the Fat-Burning or Weight Training Made Easy workouts). I'm starting out at the low end with weights.. All I have are 1, 3, 5, 8 and 10. Gonna get some heavier ones in a couple weeks. Here goes:

4:30 am..
UPPER BODY-

Chest:
Dumbbell Bench Press - 12 reps 3 lbs
Dumbbell Bench Press - 10 reps 5 lbs
Dumbbell Bench Press - 8 reps 8 lbs
Dumbbell Bench Press - 6 reps 10 lbs
Dumbbell Bench Press - 12 reps 10 lbs
Dumbbell Flyes 12 reps 8 lbs - I think I hit about a 9 at this point. I'm sure I could have done more, so next time I'll try using 10 lbs

Shoulders:
Seated Dumbbell Press - 12 reps 3 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Press - 10 reps 5 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Press - 8 reps 8 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Press - 6 reps 10 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Press - 12 reps 10 lbs
Side Raises - 12 reps 8 lbs (HIT 10)

Back:
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows - 12 reps 3 lbs
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows - 10 reps 5 lbs
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows - 8 reps 8 lbs
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows - 6 reps 10 lbs
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows - 12 reps 10 lbs
JV's Reverse Bent Dumbbell Rows - 12 reps 8 lbs (HIT 10)

Triceps:
Dumbbell Extensions - 12 reps 3 lbs
Dumbbell Extensions - 10 reps 5 lbs
Dumbbell Extensions - 8 reps 8 lbs
Dumbbell Extensions - 6 reps 10 lbs
Dumbbell Extensions - 12 reps 10 lbs
Lying Dumbbell Extensions - 12 reps 8 lbs (HIT 10)

Biceps:
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 12 reps 3 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 10 reps 5 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 8 reps 8 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 6 reps 10 lbs
Seated Dumbbell Curls - 12 reps 10 lbs
Hammer Curls - 12 reps 8 lbs (HIT 10)

That was the hardest workout I've ever had to do. It wasn't a bad one - quite the opposite - as I felt very refreshed and energized afterwards. It was just .. verreee intense! It took longer than 45 minutes .. almost an hour. I wonder if it would hurt to shorten the rest periods in between. Hmmm..

I could have eaten much better my first day. I was out doing some last minute Christmas shopping and it wasn't til very late in the day that I even thought about eating. Not good I know. Water intake wasn't good either. Here's what I ate:

5:15 am - vanilla protein shake with a little cream and cinnamon added.
Left for shopping at 7:30am
Got home at 3:30 pm.
4 pm - 2 oz macadamia nuts - by this time I realized I was starving, but dinner wasn't ready til...
5:10 pm - chicken wings and a huge salad with a can of Diet Rite
7:30 pm - 1 tangerine ( I won't be doing this again anytime soon. Made me feel very bad)
Water intake: 60 ozs total

Sunday, Dec 22, 2002:

Nutrition:

Today, eating was much better. Not as good as it could be, but there's always tomorrow. Here's what I had:

8:30 am - Scrambled eggs topped with onions, green peppers, bacon bits, tomato and cheese

11:00 am - 2 oz peanuts

2 pm - chicken strips with small salad

5 pm - chicken wings with cucumber and tomato slices

7:30 pm - vanilla protein shake

Water intake: 80 ozs total

Workout:

Today was my first cardio workout on my treadmill. I really liked this workout. (And that's saying something for me because I HATE aerobics.) I broke a sweat very early and it was over before I knew it. Yeah!!

Went to bed late. I was so tired when the alarm rang I just went back to sleep. So I still have to do my lower body workout later on after work. Will post more on my workout and nutrition later.

Hi NiNiDo

Just dropping by to wish you a Happy Birthday. I hope that you have a wonderful day.