Re: New Member Intro,

[Guest guest]

Hi Crystal and thanks for the words of encouragement. The big

difference I see between the cleanse and the BFL is that the success of

the cleanse was based on what you didn't do, ie didn't eat other thna

the lemonade drink, while with the BFL it is what you do do. To me the

cleanse seems easier as you just refrained from eating, while with the

BFL you have to get up and do some intense work!

>

> Interesting bio! Ive done that same cleanse a few times...my longest

was 21 days. Unfortunately, I was very disciplined during the cleanse,

but not afterwards..actually broke it once at Pizza Hut...and

eventually gained it all back. But, if you can do that cleanse for that

length of time, this program will be a piece of cake, and I really

think you will find the results exactly what you are looking for. The

fast was great for losing weight and cleansing the body, but this

program will give you some muscles! And it is something you can do the

rest of your life.

[Guest guest]

Thank you Machelle for the welcome. I don't mind what you have to say

as I am here looking for advise, knowledge, and experiences of others

so appreciate anything you have to say.

I guess my focus on the scale is based on having been overweight for

so long and not having anything else to go by. According to guides I

have read, the weight for my height should be between 125 and 165

lbs. I actually feel best at 125 lbs but it's hard to stay that low.

As I mentioned in my bio, I do have somewhat decent muscle definition

but just don't have the mass. Although I look very thin with clothes

on, I am not just skin and bones like someone who is really

underweight. In any event, your point is well taken and I greatly

appreciate your words of encouragement.

It would be great to look like the pictures in the BFL book. I have

to hand it to those who were overweight when they started. They made

such a big improvement by not only losing the weight but then gaining

the muscles. It was like double work for them. Very impressive.

> I hesitate to say, but you are here so I assume you won't mind. I

> think you are way to focused on the scale. Your weight is at an

> alarming low for your heighth. It sounds like you have zero muscle

> mass so you are probably at what most would concider as nearly fat

> free mass. That is great in terms of your BF% but now you will need

> to feed your muscles and gain that sleak, sexy muscle that you see

> in the BFL book. This will be an adjustment for you for sure but I

> think with some committment on your part you will be thrilled with

> the results you can achieve.

>

> Again welcome.

>

> Machelle

>

> >

> > Hello to all. I would like to thank the moderator for approving

my

> > request.

> >

> > Kind of a long intro but wanted to share my experinces with the

> > members to let them know were I came from and where I hope to go.

> >

> > I am 5'8.5 " and a 45 years old male. Twenty one months ago I

> weighed

> > 203 pounds. I suffered from heartburn 5 to 7 days a week, had a

> sore

> > knee, and had borderline high blood pressure.

> >

> > I had been wanting to go on a diet to lose weight but never got

> > around to it. A co-worker had told me about the Master Cleanse

> diet

> > (some call it a fast) he had done for 9 days. The diet consists

of

> 6-

> > 12 glasses a day of a lemonade drink (lemon juice, maple syrup,

> > cayenne pepper, and water) and nothing else except water and a

> > saltwater flush (32 oz of water and 2 teaspoons of salt) or

> laxative

> > tea, in the morning.

> >

> > At first I blew it off and figured it was something I could never

> > do. I did some reading about it and it's benefits (ie increased

> > energy, clear mind, loss of body pains, weight loss) and the more

> I

> > thought about it, the more I wanted to try it. I set my goal for

> and

> > planned on doing the standard 10 day cleanse.

> >

> > Well to make a long story short, (you can read it on the

> > mastercleanse Yahoo group) I stayed on it for 50 days and lost 43

> > pounds. I did nothing but the cleanse, no food, free days, or

> > cheating of any type. I had a clear mind, energy, and sometimes

> > slept only 2 hours a night because that is all I needed.

> >

> > On day 50 I couldn't keep the drink or saltwater down so broke

the

> > fast by drinking orange juice. I decided to continue with orange

> > juice and V8 juice, gradually increasing the amount weekly in

> order

> > to build my metabolism back up. I continued with just orange

juice

> > and V8 juice for an additional 78 days.

> >

> > At the end, after 128 days I lost 75 pounds and weighed 128 lbs.

> > This was done with no exercise other than the walking I do at

work

> > and walking the dogs on the weekend. I haven't had ANY heatburn

> > since, my knee has not hurt since, and my blood pressure has gone

> > down to 112/72.

> >

> > It has been 17 months since and I have kept the weight off.

> >

> > My weight currently stays between 130 and 135 lbs and my Body Fat

> is

> > 10%. After the diet, I did some experimenting with eating

> different

> > foods and fasting for a day or two during the week to see what

> > effect it would have on my weight. I weigh myself daily and track

> a

> > 10 day moving average trend. At no time did I allow myself to go

> > above 139 pounds in one day or go above a 10 day moving average

of

> > 136.8 lbs. I even went down to 118 pounds but quickly gained the

> > weight back on the order of 10 pounds in a couple days when

eating

> > normally. I realize that is mostly water but when I go very low

> like

> > that, the water tends to be retained more after I eat a big meal

> > than when my weight is higher. I have been able to maintain 125

> lbs

> > for a couple months at a time but it requires really watching

what

> I

> > eat or the weight gradually starts creeping up.

> >

> > What I eventually found is that if I eat light to moderately and

> > include 1 to 3 days of fasting in a week, I stay between 130-135

> > lbs. However, if I eat light to moderately all week and even

> indulge

> > a little bit on weekends, I still stay between 130-135 lbs. It

> > probably has to do with metabolism staying high when I eat

> everyday

> > and my body going into starvation mode when I really reduce my

> > calorie intake or fast. I am no expert in weight loss or

nutrition

> > so don't know for sure but it appears that my body perhaps has

> > adjusted to a new set point of 130-135 lbs.

> >

> > The biggest change I have made in my eating habits since losing

> the

> > weight is to eat a lot more fruits and vegtables (but mostly

> fruit).

> > I rarely eat fast food and haven't had a french fry since. I eat

> > whole grain pastas and salads and try to stay away from sweets

but

> > do ocassionally have some on the weekends.

> >

> > At my current weight people say I am as skinny as a rail and one

> > person even described me as a walking skeleton. I have good

muscle

> > definition but the muscles are small. The veins are showing

(which

> I

> > don't care about, but from what I read, some people try to

achieve

> > this). I don't really care what people think as I feel a lot

> better

> > now and have achieved all the benefits of losing the weight,

> > including self confidence.

> >

> > Sure I could use some muscle mass, I thought, but I am not the

> type

> > who likes to exercise. I figured with my weight loss, I had

> > accomplished all I had wanted to. Besides, who wants to spend 3-4

> > hours a day, 6 days a week in a gym exercising?. Not me! I

figured

> > that's what it took.

> >

> > Fast forward to the present.

> >

> > Recently I came across the book Eating for Life while surfing the

> > internet and got it from the library. The book referred to the

> Body

> > for Life book so, out of curiousity, I picked that up too. When I

> > saw the results people were achieving in twelve weeks (results I

> > thought took years) I was amazed. I have no desire to become a

> World

> > Champion body builder but I sure could use some muscle mass and

> > being able to accomplish that in twelve weeks seemed very

> appealing

> > to me.

> >

> > I am not going to kid myself. The program seems very intense and

I

> > am not sure this is something I would be able to follow through

> > with.

> >

> > Some of you may be thinking " well you don't sound very motivated,

> > perhaps the program is not for you " .

> >

> > The truth is I have been thinking about BFL almost non-stop for

> over

> > two weeks. When I make a commitment I do tend to stay focused.

> > However, before making that commitment, I try to learn all I can,

> > try to come up with solutions to potential problems, and then

> decide

> > if I really want it. Otherwise, I end up quitting and become

> > disgusted with myself.

> >

> > Weren't the benefits of just losing weight enough? Would I be

able

> > to follow through for 12 weeks? Would I be able to follow through

> > for the long term or for life? Is increased muscle mass and other

> > benefits worth the effort? Would it be too much work? These are

> all

> > questions I have to look deep inside myself to answer.

> >

> > To that end, I have joined this group in hopes of getting answers

> to

> > my questions and look forward to learning about the experiences

of

> > others who have done it.

> >

> > We now return you to your regularily scheduled programming. :-)

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info Machelle. I had seen 160 to 210 lb BB sets and

thought that would be plenty but also wondered about being able to

transistion seamlessly to the secondary exercise so I am glad you

mentioned that. Looks like the 310 lb BB sets might be a better way to

go.

I have read the BFL book, twice in a row. That's what got me

interested in the BFL program.

Thank you for the BFL tracker website info. I didn't know it existed.

I will certainly check it out.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the info Machelle. I had seen 160 to 210 lb BB sets and

thought that would be plenty but also wondered about being able to

transistion seamlessly to the secondary exercise so I am glad you

mentioned that. Looks like the 310 lb BB sets might be a better way to

go.

I have read the BFL book, twice in a row. That's what got me

interested in the BFL program.

Thank you for the BFL tracker website info. I didn't know it existed.

I will certainly check it out.