I am planning on starting to do BFL. First I want to make sure I understand everything before I start. I want to do the exercise portion at home and my dh & son have lots of free weights. I am going to go get the book today. My first question for right now is in regards to the cardio. I don't have a treadmill or an elipitcal machine or exercise bike. Can I do this at home with a video tape and if I can....anyone you recommend I should get? I have been lcing for 3yrs now and I am at my goal weight but very flabby. I want to continue lowcarbing but know that I have to start doing some form of exercise. I have also read a little about Body RX....which one do you prefer out of both of them?
2nd question: I don't take any supplements right now. Which do you recommend I buy?
Thank you so much for you help and I hope you don't mind me coming here for assistance.
hugs~
Bec

Bec, hi there

I would suggest you go through the sticky at the top of this forum "LC and BFL, tips and hints" - It will help with many questions you'll have relating to BFL done a la Atkins.

Supplementwise I'd recommend:

• glutamine - powder not pills. You'll want 10g a day, roughly. If you search through the BFL forum you'll find a few threads on this wonder amino acid and all it will do for you - Look through it, and be sure to change the default 'show threads for ____" to "the beginning" - there are lots of great question back in the spring when this forum opened up, you'll find all kinds of resources there!
• A good multi vitamin
• Your anti oxidants, to be taken after working out (vit C&E are the main ones)
• potassium, in a salt substitute like NuSalt. LCing flushes out a lot of water and potassium, intense exercise adds to this.
• Calcium and Magnesium - both together would be excellent (they usually come in a ratio of 2:1 - 333mg cal/167mg magnesium) Be sure you get 'chelated' (citrate, malate, gluconate and notcarbonate from oyster shells)
• A source of EFA's if you do not eat fatty fish 3 times a week (for Omega 3s)

You can use a video tape if that is what you want to try - a few have done so. I think Pegm used a tae bo tape.

I think you might find BFL more suited to an introductory weight training plan than BodyRx - if you get a chance you can probably get both books from the Library and decide which you'd prefer then buy it?

Best of luck !
Nat

Thanks for responding so quickly. I am so excited about starting this....finally. I just got back from Hi Health and bought the book Body for Life. I also bought some MVI plus for women w/500mg of Calcium, Antioxidant Rich, Ester-C (240mg) and Lutein. The magnesium is 250mg. Should I take more Calcium and Magnesium separate? I also saw the glutamine there, it has an "L" in front of glutamine. Is that the same thing? I did see it was in powder and pill forms. I did read the sticky about BFL & LC....actually that was the first one I read and the one that convince me to give this a try...
I did think of another question regarding to how will I check my bodyfat w/o being a member of a gym or having those calipers? Any suggestions?
My husband has the tae bo tapes the originals but they are too hard for me. Remember I haven't exercise in ages...any easier tapes that you can think off?
Thanks....I am off to read the book
hugs~
Bec

I would take the number of pills necesary to reach the RDA for both supplements.


Yes, they are both the same amino acid.

There are several links in that sticky at the top of the forum to online BF calculators. Pick one you like and use it to guage progress. Also, have a read through the other sticky up there (Using BF% as Goal) for a little more info.

Sorry, I haven't used a video tape in about 14 years. You might try combing or searching through the General Exercise forum - there are always posts about the best video tapes. Posting your question there might get more answers as well - it seems not too many people answer things in this forum anymore

Nat

Nat, I appreciate you for responding
hugs~
Bec

Hi Bec

Just to say that some people just walk in the street for their 20 MAS. In the book, Bill Phillips gives you some ideas of how to interval train when walking, i.e. 2 mins of normal walking, then go up a level for 1 min, etc. If the weather is good where you live (unlike here!), you might find this much better than using a tape. Look at Marlaine's gym log - she walks/runs round where she lives, and loves it.

Good luck on this, I'm sure you will enjoy it.

Judy

Thanks Judy. I did a practice 20min walk yesterday and felt good all day. I am so motivated about starting BFL. I am hoping that I can start on thursday. Just want to make sure I understand what I need to be doing.
hugs~
Bec

Hi Bec

Does AZ mean Arizona? Is that mainly desert? Just imagining you doing your walk, and wondering if you have any hills for when you try to hit your 10s. Good to have a practice week, not only to break you in gently, but also to help in figuring it all out. If you have time, start a gym log. It's really useful for tracking progress. I can understand your excitement, I felt the same, but luckily there was no anti-climax once I started but a great feeling all the way.

Judy

Hi Judy AZ is Arizona and we do have lots of dessert areas but we also have a little of everything, ex: up north. I live in around the Phoenix area and it does get pretty hot....113F this week. Today I walked in my back yard....my yard is pretty big and I have a big pool...so I walked and sprinted at my 9th level up and down my yard. Boy I got winded and tired after does 20mins, I felt it...lol I am very out of shape and don't have much endurance. Now I started a journal, is that the same as a gym log? Have a great day

Bec if you have a big pool, why don't you use that for your cardio? In Arizona (especially near Phoenix) that would seem to be the ideal aerobic excercise, swimming.

There isn't much better excercising you can do than swimming, it works all your muscles, and your heart and lungs. How you vary the intensity, well I'm not sure about that, but I think you could figure it out.

Hi Sherry,
The reason I don't use my pool is for a few reasons:
1. I don't like swimming
2. I am not a very good swimmer
3...the most vain of all....it will ruin my hair. I get it colored every 4wks and pay too much for it....lol

We have lived in our house almost 7yrs and I have gotten in the pool the most 20 times in that time. Most of them were the first year we moved into our new house.
Now my kids, live in the pool...lol

Hi, bec!

About videos, if you try a search on amazon.com or even ebay you'll probably find a TON of them for little of nothing.

Some that I would suggest would be, believe it or not, Richard Simmons "Sweatin' to the Oldies." It's a fun tape if you're looking for something that's not the old "grind" of aerobics.

If the grind doesn't bother you, then I would suggest Susan Powter's stairstepper tape!!!! THAT one is GUARANTEED to raise your heart rate, honey!! WHoooohooo. I'd been using the stairmaster for a long time----years----so I thought using her tape would be a cinch. NOT! Talk about SWEATING my booty off! She has two different ones (maybe more), but you'll want the one where she DOES NOT use the weights. OR, you can do the arm movements if you want without them.

I'm telling you, if THAT tape doesn't make you sweat..NOTHING will.

Good luck.

OOOPS.. I forgot to add....

You'll have to buy one of those stairsteppers. NOT the ones that move, the stationary ones with no moving, mechanical parts. Or you can find someone to make you wooden (sturdy) boxes in 2-3 different heights (inches) so that you can vary your level (using the shorter one to step on for the first two minutes) and taller ones (for the more intense, level 6 and up portions).

I got my stacking stair stepper at Walmart, but I don't remember how much it cost. It had 3 levels and you just stack them up or unstack them to make them taller or shorter. And you can use just plain music or something with this, you don't have to have a tape (but the tapes do help motivate and get you through it).

Again, good luck!