Bobbie, because you are so close to your goal weight and because you have a lower lean body mass than those of us who are heavier doing this program (on this board anyway
) it would be very likely that you'd be gaining some muscle. Newbies to lifting often make huge gains in losing fat and gaining muscle - most body builders will tell you that it's next to impossible to do both at once - unless you're new to lifting and have a considerable amount of body fat to lose. To put it bluntly, you do not have a lot of body fat to lose.
BFL is about body transformation (and inner transformation) You are feeling stronger and more importantly more confident - the inner transformation is working! Being so close to your current 'goal' it will probably take you until your last few weeks to notice the changes - but hang in there, they are happening. Growing muscle typically takes 6 weeks. I would think that by week 8 you'd see a difference - this is a comment directed at your case in particular.
The best advice I can give you right now is avoid the scales - let your body do what it has to do and check in with that evil thing every 4 weeks. Take measurements instead. Use what the BFLers call the "Pants-o-meter" How does your clothing fit?
Another interesting point - I have seen the results of 12 weeks from people around your size and while some of their measurements went up their clothing size went down (thighs got 1/2" bigger, arms etc - but clothing that used to be too tight fit them) It really is about changing your shape and replacing fat with muscle.
The dramatic inches and fat lost you've been reading about from Dani, Beth and Marlaine must be taken in context - they had more fat to lose and they have greater muscle to burn that fat. You'll grow some too. It wouldnt surprize me if you ended up weighing more after the challenge but losing a few dress sizes - it's very common.
Check out the lean and strong transformation gallery - the name that comes to mind is 3lambs - she's done remarkable things and she's about your size. (not sure if this will work but her "
before " pic and her "
after " pic - she's done another challenge since)
Hang in there, you're doing great.
Nat