Just realised I haven't told you how the new programme has been going!
The first week on BFL I lost 900 grams, one of the biggest losses I've had for a while. That put me smack on 76kg - which according to WW is the top of my weight range.
This week hasn't been as successful - mainly due to the fact I've had to stop ignoring the swelling in my left knee and actually not exercise for most of the week. This has also brought about a couple of 'my life is shit, may as well eat chocolate' moments. But I have managed to maintain this week so the number still sits at 76kg.
Long explanation following, not intending to be an ad for BFL!
How do I feel about the programme? Most days I really can't fit in 6 meals, so I'm sticking to 5. Struggled a bit with eating protein at every meal and (TMI) so has my digestive tract, so I've had to make a conscious effort to up my fibre intake and use some of my carb allowance on fruit. I do really like the basic concept of making sure you leave two and a half to three hours between meals. That's a habit I'll certainly continue after the 12 weeks.
Exercise is another matter. I like the idea behind the training - short, intensive sessions - but I just don't feel like I'm doing enough exercise. In fact I feel quite sluggish. Three 20 minute cardio session a week doesn't work for me. So this week I'm going to increase the amount of cardio to 5 days and split up the weight training to spread that out a bit more. Basically, it will go like this:
Saturday, full resistance workout (all the muscle groups listed below)
Sunday, 20 mins cardio, leg workout (calves, quads, hamstrings, butt)
Monday, 30 mins cardio
Tuesday, 20 mins cardio, arm workout (triceps, biceps, shoulders)
Wednesday, 30 minutes cardio
Thursday, 20 mins cardio, centre body workout (abs, back, chest)
Friday, rest
The resistance training will still follow the BFL method of doing four sets of reps with increasing weights but decreasing reps and then a fifth set with high reps again, followed by another set of reps using a different exercise for the same muscle group. That doesn't make much sense! Here's an example for chest muscles:
12 dumbbell flyes with 3kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 5)
10 dumbbell flyes with 4kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 6)
8 dumbbell flyes with 5kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 7)
6 dumbbell flyes with 6kg, 1 minute rest (intensity level 8)
12 dumbbell flyes with 5kg, no rest (intensity level 9)
12 barbell bench press with 30kg (intensity level 10)
2 minute rest before going on to the next muscle group.
This way you can work out your own weights to get the intensity level right - those last two sets can be pretty darn hard!
On the days when I'm doing 20 minutes cardio I'll use the BFL intensity level system as well. That works by changing your intensity level every minute, with four peaks, the last one being the highest. Like this:
Intensity level 5/5/6/7/8/9/6/7/8/9/6/7/8/9/6/7/8/9/10/5
Again, it means you can tailor it to your own fitness level. On the treadmill I start at 6.5 and my highest peak is 11. I try to vary my cardio sessions between the treadmill, the bike and the cross trainer.
That leaves me two other days to do something different for my 30 minutes of cardio, like aqua jogging.
Of course, I also need to walk the dog, and then there are the times when the Auckland boys drag me off to boxing...
Off to the ball in Auckland on Saturday night, then on Tuesday is the highlight of my October social calendar - the Auckland bloggers' dinner! Yeehaa!
8 comments:
Well done on your great loss of 900g the last two weeks! That is fantastic when you are SO close to your goal. Sounds like the change to BFL is working for you and once you modify the exercise to your liking, sounds like you will feel better about the exercise side of things.
Blogger Dinner sounds great.
Sounds like you have a very "healthy" mix of work, fitness, and PLAY! Good for you!!! (that workout sounds pretty intense -- although I would never lose weight with only 30 minutes of cardio a day)
Excellent news on the 76kgs...YAY!
Exercise and BFL sounds really good, especially the 5 - 6 meals a day. I can see why your struggling with fitting them in, I understand the concept but when your busy its hard to stop and eat sometimes.
Can't wait to hear about the bloggers dinner in Auckland.
Well done on your biggest loss, lol!!!
Glad to hear you're enjoying the program - your exercise plan makes me exhausted just looking at it.
Have fun at the ball tomorrow - looking forward to seeing you again on Tuesday night.
(LOL, that sounds REALLY stalker-ish)
Great to hear about the 900g loss, Sue! I tried BFL but couldn't keep up with the intensity of the toning sessions - I learnt some good habits though, and its great to see you prospering by following it. Good on you!
Have fun at the ball!
Hang in there. Knee pain really stinks. Especially if your trying to walk or run longer distances.
I had a bout with it last month. I came home everynight putting frozen vegetable bags on each knee. I really thought I would need a walker going to work the next day.
Several of those moments I ate whatever was around. Pizza, ice cream, and of course cookies. Bad, bad, bad. As you called it, "My life is shit" moments. LOL. :)
Be careful of causing more injury. Sometimes we have to step back a little to go forward.
Loved your blog.
Well done on the loss Sue, awesome and how exciting is it to be at the top of your healthy weight range, not long now! Have an great time at the Auckland Blogger's dinner, I bet you will and yep, photos please :-)
Have fun at the bloggers dinner. It sounds like it will be amazing. Like all the dinners are. What lucky people we are to have fallen into such a great group.
And well done on the loss. I think the BFL styled programes are so good to get some extra definition in your body and are a great way to put the focus back on again for a period of time. You are doing so well Sue.
Thank you for the spreadsheets. They are exactly what I needed to plan out what I have to do..
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