Questions (Long Post) (sorry)

[Guest guest]

So, I really really want to do well on this challenge and get in

shape for my vacation on April 30th and since this is my second

challenge AND I want better results than my first, I kind of went

into this one thinking that I would `tweak' it to work better… but I

am afraid that I have tweaked it a little too much and possibly

might not get good results. I have a lot of questions here…. I am

sorry. Some of them I know the answer I think, I just need it

reinforced by someone. I will list them all below.

- I have one cup of coffee each morning at the office with 1

tsp cream and 1tsp sugar – I have tried sugar substitute including

Splenda and although I am cool with most sugarfree stuff, I think

the sugar substitute tastes like crap in my coffee. I read

somewhere that coffee can decrease metabolism though, so should I

ditch it altogether or is it a small indulgence I can afford?

- I have been working out in the evenings with my husband

instead of the mornings. I like that we are trying to get in shape

together and that we are going to the gym together and I don't want

to give that up, but I know BFL says to work out in the mornings.

Since I am working out in the evenings, I am also unable to put more

than a 1-1.5 hours of space b/tw dinner and the work out. I think

next week I might add a 20 min run outside in the morning when I get

up so I can get that metabolism boost from the morning work out.

Also, I found that I felt really weak doing morning weight work outs

on an empty stomach.

- I have only been eating 5 meals a day. I have been tracking

my food on FitDay and I am averaging just under 1600 per day. A

typical menu is below:

Meal 1 @ 8:00a : Myplex shake with 1 cup skim milk

Meal 2 @ 11:00a: 2 light string cheese and ½ large banana

Meal 3 @ 1:00p: Ham and Turkey with ¼ cp 2% cheddar wrapped in a low

carb tortilla (still has 15g carb tho) with raw carrots

Meal 4 @ 3:30p: ½ cp lf cottage cheese with ½ apple

Meal 5@ 6:30p/7:00p (basically as soon as I can get dinner on the

table.) : entrée from EFL or some other cal/fat conscious recipe –

last night I made the Mom's Chicken Enchilada recipe from EFL – one

serving was 480 cals, 15 g fat, 47 g carb, 41 g protein

Do I need to add in that sixth meal? It is hard to do with the

evening workouts, not wanting to eat right before bed, plus I feel

pretty satisfied all day, its not like I am hungry in the evenings.

Plus, I don't know if I want to go over 1600 cals a day.

- My weight lifting – I suspect I have put too much focus on

lifting the maximum amount of weight I can in the prescribed number

of reps and I think I might be sacrificing the proper technique? I

have always been a pretty slow lifter, but I don't think I am doing

the 2 count up/4 count down (that is how it goes, correct?) Is it

okay if I do a 2 count up, 2 count down? I am not in there yanking

and jerking – that kind of thing you see on people with no clue on

technique. Please keep in mind I want maximum muscle growth for

maximum metabolism which equals maximum fat loss.

As for other changes, I have added in 25 minutes of moderate cardio

after my 20 minute interval cardio workout and as mentioned on

previous posts, cut down the free day to 1 to 2 free meals a week

and reduced alcohol intake severely.

Anyway, I feel kind of off track – I mean, I am eating healthy and

my average weekly intake breaks down to fat around 26%, Carbs around

34%, and Protein around 38% but I guess I am concerned I am not

following BFL as closely as I should and I won't get as good

results. But on the other hand, I know it can be useful to tweak it

too so maybe my tweaks will still get me good results.

On a side note, I might be insecure because my weight loss buddy is

doing something called " Dieting for Idiots " (I thought that was a

joke, but that really is the name of the program) and she has lost

10 pounds in less than 2 weeks. She has a little bit more weight to

lose than I do, but still.

I appreciate anyone who took the bazillion hours to read this long

post and for your feedback to keep me on track with my diet. What I

don't want to do is spend the next 10.5 weeks worrying and switching

around my routine.

Thanks,

Heidi