Hey, Tornado - I just found this reply to my posting from a while back and appreciate your input. FYI, I finished my BFL challenge and was somewhat disappointed with my results, and I think it had a lot to do with my diet. I lost 13 pounds in the 12 weeks but only less than 4% bf, and though I lost inches I think I was losing muscle as quickly as I was building it - I really expected better results considering how darn hard I was working.

I am now working out by doing chest and biceps on Mondays followed by 20MAS so my workout is finished in an hour, then Tuesday is back and triceps plus 20MAS, Wednesday is 45 minutes random on the bike for a cardio only day, Thursday is lower body only - no cardio but it takes me about an hour to work my lower body fully, then Friday is shoulders and abs plus 20MAS - Saturday is another cardio only day - I do a treadmill power walk program for 45 minutes. My lifting is still pyramid BFL style but I only do 4 sets - a warmup light weight 22 rep set, then heavier x 12, heavier again x 10, and heaviest x 8. I superset so I do, for example, chest set 1 - bicep set 1; chest set 2 - bicep set 2 - with no rest between but maybe a good stretch. I have adapted my diet to more of a BFL style - more carbs but less fat.

I always have my first meal of the day about 1 hour after my morning workout on an empty stomach (except for my cuppa java!). My typical daily diet is as follows:

post-workout - protein bar
mid-morning break - 2 stalks celery with natural peanut butter
lunch - apple with 2 oz cheddar cheese, plus fibre/protein bar
afternoon snack - 2 cups salad (mix of romaine & spinach) with 1 whole tomato, 1 tsp real bacon bits, cucumber and light mayo for dressing, plus low-fat fruit yogurt
dinner - chicken breast, 2-3 cups salad as above, 1-2 cups frozen veggie mix (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots)
evening snack - 1/2 cup 1%fat cottage cheese with 6 large strawberries and Splenda

Sometimes lunch includes some meat if I have it on hand, such as a can of tuna or turkey meat, or leftover dinner meat like pork chop or chicken. Often I will have another celery stalk with peanut butter in the evening.

Please, does this sound right? I want to make sure I'm providing the right fuel for my workouts. On weekends, I don't take a free day but I do allow alcohol - such as vodka with soda water and a squirt of lime, or dry red wine - I just am not ready yet to give up my booze! I probably eat less though on weekends, since I sleep in and don't have the office "breaks" to remind me to stop and eat something.

Sorry this turned into a novel, but I could really use an evaluation of my program by others...

Thanks in advance for your time!

Have a great day,
Laura