Beeps asked me to show you a diagram I made a few weeks ago to explain why sometime the measuring tape does not show any progress that nothing is happening.

I am pear shape and it took me a few months to notice what was really happening.

His molars are SHOT! both kids now. The big one had three pulled. This dentist wants to fill and cap since he is so much younger. This dentist is my second opinion. Yes his course of treatment is far more aggressive, but being passive ruined my big guy's teeth. My OOP would be $1500 after insurance. Hubby and I are having a serious talk tonight and a family meeting tomorrow. My forte at work is routines and schedules. Time to bring that experience home!

bump glad I found you. Now to read back!!

Man, this thread has expanded!

I think I'm suffering that same measuring issue. I'm not changing sizes, but I look SO GOOD in the mirror that it's kind of weird. Also, I keep on trying to convince myself that the inch that disappeared from my "butt" measurement just came off the front. Right? It totally should have. IT BETTER.

Every time I take a rest week, some weight comes off. Maybe it's just .6 of a lb, but I'm not complaining. I'm eating like a hog, so why should I complain? And the results ARE better when you eat like a hog. You also aren't as sore. Anyone who isn't getting the full 1g of protein per gram of LBM is probably sore as bejesus. I know I am SO SORE when I'm at 100g and will be sore for longer... but when I buck up and get that sweet 150+grams, I am PUMPED when it's time to lift instead of thinking about how getting moving will alleviate my soreness.

Damn, Sam. That dentistry issue sounds terrible. Once you get it sorted, however you decide, you should feed them all proden products so they don't have any plaque issues no matter how bad they are with care. I've been really lucky in dentist selection. Mine current is cheap and delightful - and all have had that perfect balance of dental restraint.

I hope everyone feels better sooooon! Flus and family issues and bah. Lets just get better and lift.

NO one is ever counted out or forgotten, imho :flowerforyou:

I took some pics and my ab area looks totally different but my backside :noway: still UGLY and dimply as before.

Oh, yall know me. I get this way every so often. I complain about the scales and doubt what I am doing but I still truck along. :glasses:

Thank you for all the support ladies!

Funbun, what kind of products?

http://www.plaqueoff.com/

I feed the human form to my husband for his perpetually bad breath and yellowing, which it is excellent at, but he doesn't get cavities anyways, despite the fact that I don't think he's ever picked up a strand of floss. ...but a few years ago they made a powdered form for pets (it's just some seaweed blend, so it doesn't matter who you give it to) and my 2 older dogs went from needing a dental due to plaque calcification to being asked who we went to for a dental.

I am feeling so discouraged today. I just finished Stage 3 and the only thing I have to show for it are strength gains. That's all well & good, but it's not like I can just walk around with a barbell to show my hard work. I want a change-on the scale, in my clothes, inchwise, something! It's been 3 months and I've gained 10 lbs. Since April, my BF percent has went up almost 2%. My hips have went up 2 inches, The size of my thighs have went up about an inch. My waist and biceps have stayed the same. I will admit that I fall off the wagon eating wise now & again (there was almost a whole week in there where I didn't work out and ate whatever I felt like), but a week out of 12 weeks or a spike day shouldn't be an issue. Before I started this program, I was netting 1800-2000 cals a day with a spike day each week. When I started it, I went down to 1910 on the days I lifted and 1716 on the days I didn't (per the book). I ate back all cardio calories. Then the calorie counts started messing with my head so I stopped counting them all together and just set my cals at 1800 and go over whenever I feel hungry. My macros have stayed the same. 40 carbs, 30 protein, 30 fat. I rarely hit the fat and often go over on the protein. I enjoy lifting and I feel like my butt is improving. but I feel like my abs look worse. I don't know what to do. I don't want to go back to mostly cardio with a little bit of weights, but I also don't want to commit to the rest of this program and end up putting on another 10 lbs. Ugh. Thanks for reading my vent. Everyone has their down days and I know this will pass, but I just had to vent before I exploded.

Aaaah! But you look so amazing. And your progress photos look amazing. I guess the measurements lie as well. I hope you feel better. Are you taking an off week to let the water weight drain?

mstawnya, I find "diversion" is a good tactic to use when someone's venting....so, how'd you like "THE BODY MATRIX"????

Love ya, Beeps.

Sue's right-the correct word is defeated. Like being in the Olympics-you put in all that effort for what? A pat on the back? I want the gold medal, baby!

FunBun-I don't know what to do next week. I was going to jump right into Stage 4, but I don't know. I took a week off after Stage 2 and totally fell off the wagon food & exercise wise. I don't want to do that again. I wish I knew what to adjust food wise. I'm sort of leaning towards the 6 meals a day thing just to try something different, but that's kind of an inconvenience for me with the kids and all. I feel like I'm already in the kitchen way too much making meals and snacks for everyone. Then again, the kids are going to stay at Grandma's next week so I'll have some extra time to try it out. Hmmmm.

Totally off topic, but has anyone ever done Body for Life? It's lifting 3 days and 20 min. cardio on the alternating days. Food wise-it's eating 6 meals. One protein and one carb at each meal with a veggie thrown into 2 of the meals. I was thinking of giving it a try using NROLFW the 3 days and easing off the cardio a bit on the alternating days. Maybe doing my runs on those days and letting go of classes for a couple of weeks to see if that helps. Sorry, just thinking out loud here....

mstawnya, I have gained 9 pounds as of today. I almost passed out when the scale said 159.0. I am sure the chinese buffet I had yesterday isn't helping nor PRE-TOM. OH, I have been reading the book Body For Life. It is underneath my NROL4W on the end table. I thought I might try it after New Rules.

Are we all in sync with out TOM? :laugh: It seems most of us are up and down at the same time.

I finished stage 4. I didn't deadlift 125 like I hoped but I did lift 120 :bigsmile:

Yea Mary!! 120 is awesome!!! And I bet it's Chinese bufftet for sure, all that sodium and MSG and more sodium. A few days of healthy eating will clean it out and you'll be back down, I'm sure!

I just have to say that I appreciate how open everyone is. I struggle and have struggled with so much of what each of you talks about. I really believe much of my stuff comes from wanting the whole shooting match, and wanting it now -- no, not now, RIGHT NOW!!!! Can I get an amen?! I'm so impatient to be fit and thin, and successful and a bunch of other things... Well here's the reality and when I put it all down here, I realize what I've done in the past year or so is no small potatoes! I'm 60, and I've lost 25 or so pounds, and I've been eating better and now, I'm working on getting fit again - all this after slacking off for 25-ish years, doing not much to take care of my bod,. and consequently my whole self (psyche). It didn't happen overnight for me, it was a slow creep, so I have to get it through my head that it's going to be a slow process to recover from too. That's one reason why I stopped worrying about how much I weigh and really changed my focus to getting strong, eating healthy and eating more clean too. Still, I get bummed when I do step on the scale and there's that nasty 160 just sitting there. GRRR :explode: But here's what's different now. Truly because of MFP and the support here (and especially the strength of you women in this group) I just keep on putting one foot in front of the other, I keep logging to stay honest with me, and I keep working towards my goals! I can't tell you how many times I've started this same process and half-assed it until I gave up. I really like the me I'm striving to be and the me I am right now.

Sue-you're right. We can focus on the negatives or the positives. It's just hard to get out of that funk sometimes. Today, someone asked me how long it took to get my arms and followed up with "Are you a competitor?" A what? Yeah, I'm competing in life. She made me feel pretty good though. Just goes to show I shouldn't have weighed in today. Ruined my whole day.

Mary-120 rocks! So, I'll stick with this New Rules stuff for at least a couple more stages, but I'm going to attempt the 6 meal thing and only 20 min. of cardio on T/TH/S from Body for Life next week and see how it goes. I feel like I need a plan and that's the only one I see lurking around the corner right now.

Thank you for all the support ladies!

Funbun, what kind of products?

http://www.plaqueoff.com/

I feed the human form to my husband for his perpetually bad breath and yellowing, which it is excellent at, but he doesn't get cavities anyways, despite the fact that I don't think he's ever picked up a strand of floss. ...but a few years ago they made a powdered form for pets (it's just some seaweed blend, so it doesn't matter who you give it to) and my 2 older dogs went from needing a dental due to plaque calcification to being asked who we went to for a dental.

THanks! Turns out there's no fluoride in my water, so I will be taking care of that too.

I too eat 6 times a day, 3 meals and 3 good size snacks. I get faint and cranky if I don't get something within 3 hours. I don't like huge meals, prefer to space things out, so this works for me.

We all find what works for us in the end!

I started Body for Life last fall....it was my first foray into weight-training following a gazillion years of tons-o-cardio.

I don't think it is the right program - for me.

1. It uses machines. Big fail, for me. (I'm not discounting the purpose of machines for persons with injuries, etc.)

2. I cannot do my work-outs first thing in the morn. And, believe me, I think that makes ALL the difference for a program like "Body for LIfe".

3. The meal information wasn't any more (or less) helpful than a "do-it-yourself" with pre-set calories/macros.

4. I work outside the home. For a living. I actually CAN'T eat every 2 hours, given my job constraints.

That's all I'm saying about that.

Thanks for the info., Beeps. I was thinking about doing the New Rules weights instead of the machines and all and cutting down on the cardio and just do the BFL intervals for 20 min. on the off lifting days. I'm not sure I can skip breakfast before working out or I won't have anything in my body until at least 10:30 am. Not cool. I don't know. This calorie counting is kind of getting to me. Then again, I like knowing my macros.

Jnh, I want your body! I can't believe you are measuring that much. You sure?