I 'm putting this here because I am going to be a success story and there doesn't appear to be anywhere to keep journals yet.

I just got the new program Bodyweight Blueprint For Fat Loss (aka BBFFL) and I am gearing up to start it on Sun 8/16. I already follow the Primal Blueprint eating formula and love it, I am never hungry or feel deprived. Loved that Mark was part of the audio package! In the last 2 months of following PB alone I have dropped 2% of my bodyfat which is great except there is so much more to go. I am Diabetic so it is imperative that I conserve as much muscle and lose as much fat as possible. I am also stuck taking alot of insulin (currently 46 units of long acting and 1unit for every 4 grams of carbs short acting) which I am hoping that at the end of the 3 month cycle I will have been able to reduce both.

I have already answered the questions in the Phase 1 pre-start and they are:

Answers to the Phase 1 pre-start questions

What do I want to achieve?

I would like to lose 3% of my body fat based on the estimator I am currently using. I would like to reduce the amount of insulin I am using from 1unit/4 grams of carb to 1unit/5 grams of carbs. Visually, I would like to see less flab hanging over my waist and less of an abdominal pouch. I want more definition in my arms and I’d like to start seeing some in my thighs.

What does it FEEL like to be how you described?

It feels strong and stable. I can do more of the things I want and feel confident to try new things. I feel satisfied in making my body stronger. This is a kind of satisfaction that can not be bought, only earned. I feel calm, confident and move like someone confident in their abilities and the resources at their disposal.

What are YOUR reasons why you want to do this?

I want that feeling of satisfaction! I want to be an example to my daughter of a strong confident woman. I have a job, not a career, turning my body into something I can be proud of will feel really good. I consider myself an artist, in that I am attuned to the aesthetics of something, yet I hate the way my body looks like this and more importantly do not feel like I can trust it to do what I need it to.

What holds you back?

Allowing other things to take priority over what is truly important. There is enough time but I tend to fritter it away doing things that are not important. I also self-sabotage when I get frustrated, I grab the worst thing I can eat and chow down. I need to channel that self destructive energy into something productive. I need to focus my frustration on a clear achievable goal.

When I finish this Phase 1, 28 day cycle, I will buy the air tires for my Trikke.

I am going to use this space for more of a wrap up than diary so hopefully it won't get too boring!

Well, minicyle one is in the bag. I even went trikking after doing the high intensity workout -I had promised the kid we'd go and didn't want to disappoint her. I think I can actually do this, though I need a junior version of the pillow press thingy. I just could not do it, not a question of too hard I just couldn't do it. So what did I learn there past 4 days? For me the hardest part is just starting. Maybe its because I really would prefer to exercise in the AM and I have to do it at night to get the time I need to do this but I spend all day dreading it and then I force myself, butterflies in the belly and all, to do it and then… its fine. Actually better than fine, really good, mellow, anxiety-free! So why do I spend so much time avoiding it?

I keep freaking out that I am going to have to do this for 90 straight days so I am trying not to think about that and just concentrate on the 28 or when even that is too much just finish the next cycle. I already feel better, mentally and physically so here's to tomorrow, the start of another cycle (and a no intensity day!)

As far as eating goes, I have to stay away from Indian food! I love it and can't start 'cause then I can't stop!

The surgery went great and as far as the part they were supposed to work on I feel great (girl stuff -you don't want to know!) However, they butchered the IV so my arm is really bruised and sore. I am going to give myself a little more time. We are also going away for the weekend and… doing the full on routine in a hotel room with my husband and kid making comments, Priceless! I think I'll start back up after the holiday. I have been doing the stretches and I think they actually helped me get out of the hospital faster, even the nurses were surprised by how quickly I was able to shake off the anesthesia and get up and moving.

So, Hudson Bay was a long COLD trip from upper NY state in the days of the trappers and you only made that trip once in a while. If you forgot something important you were SCREWED because there really wasn't any going back till the Spring. So they made a "Hudson Bay" start, they would travel @10 miles into the trip and then set up camp. If they had forgotten anything it would be obvious and they still had a short enough journey to go back and get it without having to endure a miserable winter trek. I think that is what I am going to consider the last couple of weeks. I have worked out how and when to do the different routines and when I get back from Labor Day vacation we should be in a routine for school and stuff so I am going to start up again from scratch. I am not going to retake my measurements or redo the questions -the motivation hasn't changed, just the time frame. I always knew I was going to be doing this 90 day cycle a couple of times so it really isn't any big deal.

Alright, School has started and the DD is adjusting -why is 4th grade so different? I might make it through.

I did restart my workout program and despite having to cut it short today (I'm going to have to finish tonight!) It is going well. For what ever reason I seem to find the exercises on the moderate day harder than the exercises on the High intensity day. Maybe the rest in between just lets me think too much, I do that a lot! I feel really good though!

Two minicycles down 5 to go! I'm tired today after finishing up my high intensity day yesterday but a good tired. I've only been back at this a week and my arms already look different. Momma's gonna have some guns when this is over!  Not that my arms were ever all that flabby, never had the bat wing thing going! My hips feel smaller and definitely less square, being 1/2 French-Canadian we get square hips not round hips, no idea why. I don't have any hard numbers yet because I am not going to get on the scale or remeasure till the 28 days are up. But, it is all starting to feel different!

Bunches! My mom's maiden name was Bisaillion, which in some parts of Quebec is like Smith. My cousins, all live in the Montreal suburbs. I'm hoping to get up there to see them next summer. Need to expose my DD to the Crazy Canadian side of the family, she's only known the Insane Italian side till now. The joke is that I am half French-Canadian and half Italian so I am Thick and Stubborn!

Okay, I had to stop again! This is frustrating! This time it was my wrists and shoulder breaking down from the work and then not being able to recover in time to  start up again. I am going to do a slight modification to the BBFFL by combining it with my TRX. I think I've figured out how to do all the required work on the TRX. Using the TRX will allow me to use a percentage of my body weight without compormising my form or breaking my arms down. Obviously this is just for the Mod and High days. The other change I am going to make is that I am going to add a day of walking between the Mod and High days. I realize that that was not how the program was intended and if it will irrevocably alter the dynamic, let me know, but I think my body needs that to recover to do the work. I'll call it BSBBFFL with the BS standing for Baby Steps or Bull S… Which ever you prefer. I like what the exercises are doing to my shape but not the near constant pain I'm in. Unfortunately, the work I do requires limber wrists so I can't work in braces and that is the only other alternative.

Go for it Streak! I am still doing the program though with modifications and I am seeing changes still! I took another 1/2″ off my waist which is next to impossible for me. My weight has NOT changed much, I think I lost 1 pound? but my husband put his arms around my waist the other day and they just kept going so there is the same amount of me just in a smaller package (trust me, it wasn't him getting smaller!). I am becoming Uranium! I think if you are heavy, and coaches please weight in here (no pun intended!), trying to support all of your bodyweight on your wrists, especially for a woman, is tough. I found using a percentage of my bodyweight (by getting my hands up off the floor) made a huge difference. Women's center of gravity being in their hips vs. their shoulders also changes side planks (guys are balancing on their center of gravity, we are lifting ours!) I ended up doing "sawed off"  side planks from my knees instead of my ankles.

Lately my biggest problem has been time- school started, work blew up and I am hard pressed to get even a modified work out in.