Started today!! But have a few ??
 

Hello everyone! I just started BFL today.

I've been researching this for the past week. I piled together recipes and even went out and bought a workout bench and changeable weights (I know this will slow down my workout, but i dont' have the room or the money to buy more). Last night i went crazy cooking and right now my frig is full of my weeks 'meals'

Now, i know this is a low-carb forum, so are most of you trying this program low-carb? In the book he suggests almost a 50-50 split, right? But most of you bring that down?

Now on to the questions...

Are the foods he specifically listed in the book the only 'allowed' foods? He was pretty vague about that part. I have recipes that call for applesauce and banannas, which weren't really addressed in the book.

To fully take advantage of the program, should his workouts be all i do? I'm in athletics, and i dont' think my coaches would like it if i told them i couldn't work out with the team bacause i'm on BFL :) I don't want to overstress my muscles, but i don't want to not do enough either....

Lastly, What do you all think of the Myoplex supplements? I can't afford them! I went to GNC yesterday, and a pack of 20 shakes was $45! And to eat three a day? Crazy. But i did buy some EAS AdvantEdge bars at Hy-Vee. THey were only 1.40 each... alot better than the 2.50 for Myoplex bars. But is there a difference between the two?

If you all DO recommend Myoplex, which do you prefer? THe Lite, the Low Carb, or the regular? If i can scrape up the money for them, i want to make sure i get the right ones :) RIght now i make 'Carb Solutions' shakes instead :)

Thanks again for all your help!!!! Sorry this is so long.

Hi there Alex! Welcome to the forum :) Sounds like your psyched and ready to go :thup:

Yes, you're correct, this is a LC site and most of us doing BFL are doing a Lower carb version that Bill has designed with BFL as written. His program tends to work out to 40/40/20 (P/C/F). But of course everyone is welcome :)

I can't help you much with your food question - did you find the recipes on a BLF recipe page? If so, I'd say they were pretty OK then. There's a sticky thread in this SubForum I wrote last month with information on how to do BFL with a LC slant, at the end of the post you'll find some links to BFL sites - some of them might be of interest to you (specifically Lean & Strong). I suggest checking it out.

I'd suggest as far as other exercise goes to be careful with cardio - the recommended 20minutes of HIIT is all you need. The urge to do more will often result in the weight lifting suffering and consequently your muscle growth sufferring. Also, please keep in mind that you should never work your muscles when they are sore - this might give you some problems in the beginning - you're going to be sore the first week!

As for the Myoplex, never used it. I'm into my second challenge now and I've used 3 or 4 different kinds of shake mixes - whatever's on special ;) I think you'll do just fine with the carbs solutions.

Best of luck, and please keep us posted!
Nat

BFL
 

Hi Alex and Nat,
I read your posts on BFL and I was wondering if you could provide me with some info. on it. Does it follow the ratio of 40/40/20 (Protein/Carb/Fat)? Is this ratio similar to the Zone? Im a relatively recent beginner on LC WOE and still have lots of questions. Ive only read Atkins' book so far and while it seems to be very useful, something about eliminating almost all fruits and some veggies doesnt seem right to me.
I used to have an eating disorder and basically only ate fruits, veggies, and cereals (ie. NO FAT) when I DID eat...now I've turned the polar opposite to only meats and fats!! You can imagine my parents' shock.
But does BFL allow more carbs in meals? Can either of you explain the program to me in a nutshell?

Alex-your weight is similar to mine and I just thought we might be able to help each other out ;)

Nat-your knowledge and information is always so helpful...thanks! :p

-Carol

Carol, check out the thread that is posted at the top of this subforum as a sticky - about doing BFL w/ a LC slant. There are some resources at the end of the post that should take care of most of your questions - As should the post itself.

Keep in mind, Carol, that Induction is not typical LC. Induction is the most severe level of carb restriction. When you are through those 2 weeks you should be adding back in more veggies, some seeds & nuts and even high fiber fruits (berries, melons etc). LC is not just eating meat and eggs :)

Nat

Carol~

BFL allows you to have a serving of carbs at every meal. (there are six meals a day, each with one portion of protien and one portion of carbs). It sounds like most people on this board (including myself) try to limit that carb intake. But if you do go strictly by the book, then you are allowed 6 portions a day.

And you're right! We do have similar goals. And i was once like you too! I only ate carbs it seems... only fruit and veggies, and boy did i love my cereal! (I still do, it's so hard to give up :( )

Good luck, and please keep in touch! :) Let me know how your progress is doing.

I recently gained about 15 pounds... :( my coach wasn't happy about that. So i'm on the BFL to build muscle, lean up, and lose that extra weight. I tried the Atkins, but i couldn't do it... i couldn't get passed induction. I had NO energy and my performance was really suffering. So i switched to BFL, but low-carbing it. Like i said earlier, i just started. But it looks like something i can stick with.

Hi Alex, :wave:

Yeah, it seems you and I have a lot in common. It's tough getting thru Induction b/c I, too, have been suffering from fatigue and lack of energy. It's SO difficult for me to stay awake in my classes (I'm still in college at UCLA in California) because I guess I'm lackinig mental energy as well.

Atkins seemed to be very successful, but something about limiting your fruit/veggie intake SO much doesnt seem right to me. Do you think switching to BFL but w/a LC twist is more helpful? Does BFL concentrate on ketosis as Atkins does?

Since you're doing BFL LC, how many servings of carbs out of the 6 are you allowing yourself? I'm going to go buy the BFL book this afternoon. Also, what kind of aerobic training/ weight lifting are you doing? You're on a sports team, right? Which sport? Your coach sounds pretty rigid :mad: ...I hope its going well though and you like it!!

Sorry for all the questions, but this has been all the info. I've gotten on the program off the Internet. :p

Happy BFLing and hope to hear from you soon! :)

-Carol

Carol, there is tonnes of information on BFL on the net.

Www.bodyforlife.com
www.bodychangers.com
www.leanandstrong.com
http://members.tripod.com/bflbob/index.htm
http://www.taskoski.com/faq.htm
http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/bodyforlifewomensclub

And if you're into doing it with a LC twist:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=29683

Nat

P.S. no one concentrates on Ketosis except for Atkins.

Carol~

I totally know what you're going through!! I must admit, Induction was too much for me :) I was just so exhausted all the time. But when i asked about that, many people told me that i should just skip induction. You don't need to lose that much weight, so i would suggest that you just skip that phase. You probably could get good results with just going LC.

On BFL you're allowed one carbs and one protein per meal. Plus add veggies to at least two meals. I alter it a little bit and have veggies at every meal and add carbs to a couple of the 'meals'. I'm not sure what everyone else is doing... but i'm gonna try it :)
This diet doesn't involve ketosis at all, so if that's what you're looking for, then i wouldn't advice this one.

And this really isn't a 'diet' If that's what you're looking for, then you'll probably be disappointed by the book. I think the book is 50% inspirational :) it's got alot of stories. BFL is really about the workout plan and the eating plan combined. They really go hand-in-hand. So make sure you have time/energy to commit to both.


:)

Nat,

"but fat comes off only as a result of burning a greater number of calories than what you take in, and fat burning is only increased as a result of overall muscle development."

I read this in one of the BFL links you gave me... so if I am currently consuming about 1350 cals/day, does that mean that I have to burn more than 1350 when working out in order to lose fat?? That seems like an awful lot...unless I cut down the number of cals I eat even more...HELP!

I tried to buy the BFL book today, but they were out of stock. I am going to try again tomorrow... does it explain EVERYTHING in there? Even if I try to tweak it by making it lower carbed? Will it also tell me exactly what kind of aerobics I will need to do as well as what is entailed in the HIIT program?

Sorry for so many questions again... :daze:

Yes, Carol, the book will explain everything you need to know to follow the program as written. If you want to try it LC you should check out the Link I posted above for BFL with a LC slant - it is information based on the challenge I completed doing the exercises with even lower carb than the book version.

The notion that you have to create a calorie deficit is valid - up to a point. Everything changes when you take those processed, refined carbs out of the equation. Take a look at your copy of DANDR and read the chapter about the "Metabolic Advantage" Also have a look at this thread about LCing and calorie deficit, it should help explain why it is possible to lose fat while eating more calories than would seem possible.

Nat

Hi Nat,
I bought my BFL book today and am already halfway through! :) I was just wondering about the meals... if you are doing BFL LC, about how is your P/C/F ratio broken down? I know that Bill recommends the 40/40/20 ratio, but how would you adjust it to make it LC?
I also looked through his examples of 6 meals/day in the Eating-for-Life Method and they all sound really good!! But, how strictly do you follow his carb intakes? It seems really odd for me now if I have a side of rice or a baked potato on the side because I'm now trained by Atkins to be so cautious of carbs!! And Atkins always said to eat 'until you feel satisfied', but BFL is about PORTIONS, right? Bill mentioned eating protein the size of your palm and carbs the size of your fist, right?
Also, going along with that, I'm Chinese...so when I eat with my family, it's hard to control/measure how much protein I can take? A lot of the meat in Chinese dishes is shredded beef/pork/chicken. How can I proportion that to the size of my palm? Do you have any suggestions on Chinese food?
What are some examples of what you eat? I would love if you could provide me with some 'prescriptions' of menus that I could follow...I think I need lots of menu ideas until I get the hang of measuring my food and stuff...

Thanks! ;)

Hi Nat,
Another question/concern... I noticed that Bill emphasizes a lot of "fat free" items in his menu...(ie. 'fat free' mayonnaise, 'low fat' cottage cheese), how does this go along w/LC when LC advocates HIGH FAT??
ALso, Bill suggests egg white omelettes, and other egg WHITE dishes, is this ok? He also doesnt recommend using cheese very much, whereas Atkins and my current diet is focused primarily on meats, cheeses, and some veggies. I feel like Bill's way sounds healthier because I felt like I was consuming SO much fat! On fitday, my daily % of fat intake was some 65%!!! I want to follow Bill's suggestions, but I'm not sure if I will be consuming too much carbs then? His carb intake seems a bit high....

Please help! :confused:

Alex,
How's the progress? I just got a hold of the BFL book today and have just about finished reading it. What kinds of meals are you planning? What are some basic staple food items you bought at the market? It's always good to get an idea from what other people are doing... :p
I'm starting my first day of weight training tomorrow morning.. wish me luck! hehe
Oh yeah, did you ever decide on a protein drink to buy? I'm gonna look for Myoplex, but the only thing is..Im not always going to be able to 'blend' it as Bill suggests in the book.

Nat or Alex - Did you buy any of the 'ready-to-drink' blends? Any particular flavor you guys would suggest? I dont think you can really go wrong with chocolate, right?

Hope everyone's doing well! Keep up the good work ladies :thup:

Carol, all the information about how to do this program with a LC slant is in the post that is a sticky at the top of this forum - the fat percentages, what foods I added in - I think you need to read it or print it out for reference. If you check out my journal in the "bootcamp section" from November 11th until now you'll see my daily menus broken down with carbs/protein/ and fat percentages.

Eating more carbs than Atkins is something you cannot avoid - you just cant do this kind of intense program w/o them. Eating low fat is not something you need to do, however. The way you decide to follow the program is of course up to you. If you want to do this by the book then the book will be your best reference; I can only guess - I don't eat 'low fat' anymore (it just made me fat ;) ) If you want to do it 40/40/20 I suggest checking out the link posted above to Lean and Strong - the official BFL BBS.

Good luck,
Nat

Hey hey!

So you're going to try it out, huh? I wish you all the luck! So far, so good for me. I admit getting in six meals a day is a bother :) But i do enjoy it. :) Eating has always been a favorit activity for me.

As for my meals... they really depend. I LOVE chicken, so i cooked up a whole bunch of it this weekend and put portions in my fridge. I also found wonderful recipies for low-carb/high protien breads and muffins. I made these WONDERFUL chocolate-bananna bread loaves with protien powder... one loaf is a meal and it has like 20 protien and about 10-15 carbs. But i must admit my favorite meal of the day is breakfast. Eggs are so versitile :)

The hardest thing for me is the Cottage Cheese. I try to work it into my diet, but i admit i hate the stuff. I try to find ways of hiding it (like putting it in yogurt) but it still tastes terrible.

Well, good luck to you. I hope you enjoy your workout :) Tell me how it goes!!