Weight Loss

I'm looking for a 130/120 club, but I don't see any topics started.

If anyone knows of the proper topic, would you mind letting me know?

Thank you :)

Mrseric17 - I know that for me personally my goal (when I started was 123) is to just stay below or at 125 because I know (now) that my weight will fluctuate.

Jen - I'll give you an average day (not counting the previous craziness in eating). 

Breakfast: (before or by 30 min after I wake up.. roughly 8:00) Either an omlette consisting of one egg, one eggwhite and a small handfull of mozzerlla cheese.  One coffee mug of black coffee, one glass of 8oz water.  OR oatmeal, (half a cup of oats) with 1/2 cup milk (red. fat) and 1/2 water, a sprinkle of white sugar ( I know... it's the bad kind).  Same beverages every morning.

Lunch: 10:30 - 11 Peanut butter sandwich (at or less than 2tbs of peanut butter) on whole wheat bread.  Some fruit (either banana, orange, or small apple)

2nd Lunch: 1:30-2 Veggies! Usually 1 1/2 cups of brocolli or beans, carrots, and sqwash and either a bit of chicken breast or another piece of fruit.

I usually pack something like cheerios for me to snack on in between.  I also drink water in between (I am good on getting tons of water during the day)

Dinner - This really varies but I try to eat less here, sometimes it will be a serving of veggies on egg noodles, tonight it was chicken at around 5, and then at around 8 I had an omlette (I didn't have one for breakfast) but that is also because I worked out and I wanted a good workout dinner for afterwards.

I try to stay away from artifical sugars and no longer drink soda of any sort (unless it's a cheat and even then it is less than once a month).  The cookies were because... man I had a blowout, but I ended up with tons of little cookies and although I told myself not to eat them after dark... I gave in.  I was wondering if one of the reasons I had such a hard time was because I have been overly strict and my diet just can't sustain it at this point.  Like... I was taking too large a leap.  I have such a sweet tooth, it's hard for me to not snack all the time.  I used to have candy in my purse at all times, like.... lemon heads, or sweetarts, starburst etc.  I wonder if that helped me through college by containing practically no fat, so I would end up eating only that and not other foods, pretty much undereating but I was still in the low 120's and eating circus peanuts for dinner.  I hope this makes some sense, and any advice you have for me would be appreciated so much. I know you are busy.

I posted some pictures, a little late, but still, it's my body as of today.  Please excuse the bikini (it was a last minute buy and there wasn't much to choose from where we were staying.. vacation time you don't really mind what you wear in the hot tub!)  I'm especially proud of the tummy definition that is coming around slowly but surely.  I know you guys prob. can't tell but I can see a difference in my legs as well.

Sorry for the length!

bri- good topic on the intake/burn cal range goals. i haven't been logging, and though i strive for about a 500cal net deficit, taking into account my approx. 300 cals burned through exercise, i really don't know how much i'm eating! i theoretically should be eating 1400-1500 cals a day, but i think sometimes i fall into the temptation of eating less than that, though i may make up for it in splurges. i think i might start logging again.

mrseric- this happens to me too- those times when i just eat everything in my path, and it almost always coincides w/ a day i skip the gym! so i can commiserate, and i try to frame it as a learning tool to condition me to not skip the gym!
as far as belly fat is concerned, i also store fat around my middle. that's just how my body works. this is by no means exhaustive, but here are some things to think about-

• 1. are you stressed? adding some daily breathing/meditation can be helpful. or take a yoga class. seriously.
• 2. how's the alcohol intake? tone it down, especially beer, to shrink the belly. (while we're at it, carbonated sodas can puff your tummy, though in a dif. way)
• 3. same with "carbs"- the white flour, white sugar, processed ones. that is going striaght to your belly! (for some people, too much fiber can bloat their belly, other people can have problems w/ dairy bloating, though i don't experience this)
• 4. eat small meals often, like 6 a day, instead of big main meals plus little snacks.
• 5. cardio is impt obviously, to shrink fat all over, but weights and ab work has really made a difference for me in the belly flattening dept. when i realized i was overweight (still hard to admit), 155lbs, i got a trainer who was heavy on the weights, and we did an abs routine everyday of 3 sets of about 3 exercises, 20 reps each. even when i was even 150, 145, my tummy was definitely pulled in more. i highly recommend the plank pose everyday, even if you can only hold it for 30 seconds or less at a time. the plank will definitely pull that tummy in. (get on your elbows in a pushup position and hold your tummy in, and your body up, in a straight line. (head down, neck aligned))
• 6. think of adding 3 servings of low-fat dairy everyday, it may target belly fat.

simignonne & wonderswhy- i'm 5'7" too! and i finally found my digital camera so i'll have to post pics so we can compare bods ;)

♥ heather

simi -- your diet actually is pretty good, nice n clean, assuming you do not use any sauces on your chicken/veggies that you did not include.  I am lazy but at a glance your macros look carb heavy.  I am counting 30-50g of protein on an omlete day with a chicken breast.  This is low.  Lots of fruits and veggies are good.  Is you milk red. fat as in 2% or nonfat.   b/c if not this is an easy place to cut calories.  (I use nonfat now and now 2% tastes gross).    I would recomemnd entering you foods for a week and averaging your macros.  Your fats may also be a little high, hard to know without knowing what kind of mozzerlla cheese and milk% etc and if you use any italian dressing on your veggies or cook with oil/butter etc...

You pic looks great,  I see a nice ab outline, now to just find the lines going across, right?  (I am searching for my lower ones still)  You thighs are looking lean too. 

Being too strict, too fast is a recipe for disaster (at least for me). You might want to consider I small cheat per day.  Like a piece of hard candy before you do cardio or a square of dark chocolate.  Some people do better with small regulated cheats to prevent a diet blowout.  Another thought is to schedule a refeed day.  Eat maintance one day or since you have been dieting a while do it for a week even.  You would be amazed how just a week of can refresh you mentally for your diet. 

Another thing you may want to consider is doing HIIT, high intensity interval training.  This keeps your metabolism up higher after the workout than ss (slow sustained) cardio.  (It is still debated what is best ss burnes more fat calories per total calories burned than HIIT  but HIIT burns more total calories during a given time period).

Also remember that weight training (heavy) elevates your metabolim for 36 hours afterwards, while cardio does not. 

Another thought is cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.  I do not do this due to the risk of muscle being burned too, so if you do do this keep it under 30m then go eat soem carbs.  Others swear by it though...

Also some people respond really well to 2X day cardio (two shorter sessions opposed to one longer one).

In summary it is going to involve some experiementing on your part to find what works best for your body.   Meanwhile I would calcualte your macros for a week, without that it is hard to make educated changes.

As for everyone talking about lossing ab fat or thigh fat.  Sadly there is no such thing as spot reducing.  Your body fat disapears the same way as draining a pool does, the shallow end goes first and is therfore the most noticable (like collar bones etc), while the areas you hold the most fat (the deep end) takes the longest to drain.  Therefore whatever you hate the most, abs, thighs, butt (that hold the most fat) will sadly be the last place for you to lose fat.  So all I can say is just keep plugging away, it will happen, it just takes awhile...

heh, so I got to the gym last night, and tried to do some HIIT. lol I only made it through 3 30 second intervals and man I was dying. I probably shouldn't have done it on a treadmill, because around the 8 setting, I was like "pfft I can do 9" so I did 9, and then it was basically over. I did 8 the next interval, then 7, then damn near fell off. I'm going to try doing it outside instead today.

I did some weights too, and then I realized that my arm flab isn't really the problem anymore... it's the flab on my back spilling over onto the sides! Ahh, I don't know what to do. I've never toned my back before.

Jen, you're totally right about not spot reducing. But I think it's possible to do something about flab while I'm flexing lol. How embarrassing is this: BF: "Flex your arm so I can feel"... Me: "Okay"... BF: "Okay - flex it"... Me: "I am!!!"

Original Post by sauciedj:

How embarrassing is this: BF: "Flex your arm so I can feel"... Me: "Okay"... BF: "Okay - flex it"... Me: "I am!!!"

 lol, I can totally relate.

To my 5'7 ladies: I now feel the urge to produce my own bikini pics for our little group... Expect them in the next few days...  

Keep up the great workouts, everyone! Tonight is dance class for me...and this time it's being taught by a substitute instructor who is absolutely murderous! I had her for one class last fall and almost died. hehehe. I'm dreading it.....and looking forward to the happy exhaustion with which I will fall into bed tonight.

bri - I keep forgetting to take place in your "survey" --- I aim for 1300-1600 cal a day, and burn anywhere between 200-600 cal with exercise, depending on the day. I don't usually try for a specific deficit, but I try to keep it over 400 cal.

sauc -- I like the sound of your HIIT, feeling like you are going to die sounds about right :)  But scary on a teadmill.

You can definitaely put on some muscle under flub that will give you a more toned look.  For back I like pullups, lat pull downs (wide and close grip), i arm bentover rows, pendlah roxs, deadlifts, facepulls, reverse flys, pullovers   just to name a few...  Do not do them all in one day, though :)

I think we have all been there with the flexing...  it made me laugh though.

ww -  have fun in your class tonight

Ooh thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely try them, no worries about me doing them all in one day... I'm going to have to research proper technique before I can do half of them (lol because I've only even heard of half of them).

BTW, do you think I should do HIIT every other day, or every day? To be honest, my chest still kind of hurts today (ahh what a wuss, after 3 minutes of running lol) But in terms of effectiveness?

i would not do HIIT everyday, too hard on your body.  i doubt you could give it 100% everyday.  2-3 week is common.  You could then do ss on otherdays if you wanted.

If I had to recomend a back workout, I would do 3-4 sets of pullups, followed by 3-4 sets of 1 arm bentover rows, followed by 3 sets pendlah rows ( OOoo or T-bar rows, i forgot about those), then last deadlifts (1 warmup set, a good stretch, followed by two heavy sets) because you will not be able to do anything else after deadlifts you will be too tired they should be last.  That is my typically back workout.

Jen - Thanks for the advice... SO MUCH!! I don't know what I would do with out your advice. It helped me so much to know that well.. not only that you read all of my rambling and made sense of it. It also helped to know that you thought I was being pretty healthy. That made me feel so much better about everything that I'm doing! It's good to know that I'm doing a relatively good job at this.. minus the crazy week I've had. Also having a mini cheat each day really helps me, that idea is great.

I don't use any sauces on my veggies (usually) The only thing I've ever used is a bit of yogurt butter or extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. I have also have been lifting smaller reps/sets with heavier weights. I try to run for a while first though, if I run afterwards I find that I'm too tired to lift. I have heard that running first thing in the morning is good, I will try that tomorrow morning. I'm a morning person anyways so it should be nice, I just have to remember to not hit snooze. Alright... I will log my calories like crazy starting tomorrow for one week, and I'll try to get up and run at least the days I don't work out in the evenings and see where I am in one week. I'll send you my stats then, hopefully I'll reduce the carbs, I love them so...

Yes! 5'7'' girls post your pics so we can compare. Jen yay for being 5'7'' too! I think it sould be neat to do comparisons!

Jen once again.. you are amazing!  Oh what are good reps/sets for HIIT?  I only do basic lifts rightnow, I'm moving myself up to free weights slowly.  Right now I have  7.5 weights in each  hand doing different stuff... I hope it's good, it's a little experimental right now ;)

Margo where the heck are you girl!?

 

Hey ladies!  just thought i'd let everyone know ive made some progress!  this morning i weighed myself

128.4

YAY!!!!!!!!!

Good for you mrseric17!

wanted to check in and wish you all a happy friday!

mrseric17- nice job on the drop!!

i know this is a little late, but could you believe how tiny the chick who won biggest loser got?! they should show them w/ their tummy exposed, like early in the season (which i personally find cruel and unnecessary for the women. until the end!).

126.4 today. i have 6 weeks until i go to NYC (!) my goal is to be firmly in the lower 120's by then, averaging 122.0, with no up-ticks beyond 124.8.

Hello ladies!  I hope its okay I am starting so late in the thread... I am around 135 and have been for the last 4-5 years. I am not overweight, but I definitely want to be down to around 125. And I want to tone up which is the most important thing for me.  Although I have maintained 135 for awhile now, this last year it seems my belly has got big and flabby...its strange though because I dont lose weight. My weight will flutuate by a few pounds but that is normal. I dont know what is going on? I guess maybe my sweet cravings and bad eating habits are finally catching up to me. I am trying to eat better and eat less sweets and I am doing good, but my body is having a hard time adjusting. I am going on a late honeymoon in July and would really like to be under 130! I hope this is just the place to help motivate me and stay on track! Any suggestions would be great! Thanks so much! Look forward to talking more with everyone!

simi- your welcome.  and you are doign very good, and we all have uncontroleld cheats sometimes (personally I am picturing me standing over a tub of PB with graham crackers a week ago, Mmmmm).  I love the carbs too. My favorite lunch before dieting a bagel with butter and OJ.  Sooo bad, yet so yummy.

HIIT usually refers to cardio, often running but can be done on a bike or whatever else.  there are a million variations but something like 30s at the highest intensity you can withstand, then a medium/slow recovery jog for 1 minute, then repeat... for 20 minutes or so. (Depends on your fitness level).  Personally I do not do HIIT b/c I hate it :)  *evil memories of high school cross country comes up*  And with all the biking I do for commuting I do not need anymore cardio.  So it is really up to you there and plus and minuses to both ss and HIIT.  It is best to choose what you are most likely to do and one can always do both.

For weights I always recomend. 3-4 sets of 6-14 reps at whatever weight results in total exhaustion at each set.  Now for beginning weighlifters many will recomend circuit training i.e. full body workouts 2-3 per week.  Then as one advances (after the beginner gaines end) most end up on some type of split, doing the above reps and sets for each muscle.  (I do the push/pull split, that works really well for me). 

If you are only going to do 4 lifts, however and do a full-body workout,  I would have you 2-3 times a week do deadlifts, squats, pullups and bench press all in the same day.  Exhausting but very nice compound lifts that will hit a lot of muscles and burn a lot of calories.

Glad to hear you are playing with the weights just do not be afraid to grab bigger ones.  You may be pleasantly surprised by how much you can lift.

Mrseric --yay! progress :)

broadbent -- you will totally make your goal, I know it.

Vaggie talk:  Can I recommend butter buds for veggies??  I just re-discovered the stuff (5 calories/tsp) and I think it is super yummy, so is balsamic vinager for cooked veggies, also a little sugar-free vanilla syrup is surprisingly good too.  I am going to experiemnt this weekend with mock-mashed potatoes, which is calliflower smushed up with garlic, milk and butter buds (maybe I will add soem olive oil too?).  I will report back how it was.

hbbroadbent - I agree with Jen on this, if you put your mind to it you will be able to.  I think it's a totally reachable goal, can't wait to see you get there!

arose - give us some more information on your stats and workouts and diet, then we could help more!  Glad to see you interested in getting healthy.

Jen - Right now I'm doing 3-4 days at the gym just like you said, focusing on each group which gives me a day inbetween to rest up.  Oh and I wanted to let you know, I'm so excited (this goes for everyone) I woke up early and went running with my dog this morning. :)  It was only for 15 minutes but it's a big start for me. I got to run a bit more this evening so it felt really good to get double cardio in today.

arose-- welcome!  best of luck.  and please tell us more.

Hey girls,

I'm late to the party too – well, late to this thread anyway – but I've been trying to get back down to 120 for the last 2 years! So I'd love to join in and talk with you guys about your experiences.

Right now, I'm a flabby 128lbs (I'm 5ft 7 and 29years old). I've got a small frame and up to about 3 years ago I was holding steady at around 119lb – married life intervened but I would absolutely love to get back there. That's my goal, or the equivalent toned weight that lets me fit into my killer Diesel jeans again!

I'm trying to eat 1300 cals a day, up to 1600 on the days I work out. I think that might be a bit low for me long-term, I'm going to try it for a week and see how I feel. I've just started getting back into the gym again, and I try to alternate long (40 mins and up) cardio days with all-round weights sessions. 

 

My tastes are for healthy foods, so in theory I should find it easy, but (of course there's a but!) I work from home, so when I get bored, or stressed, or need to think, I do it standing in front of the fridge, snacking! Plus I live with a guy who loves to eat out... so portion control is a big problem. And the number one issue? I live in Italy, so three words for you: pasta and pizza...

So that's me - looking to give and receive motivation before the dreaded bikini season!

hey girls,

So lets just talk about how i just bought 2 pints of ben and jerry's to share with my fiance!  I know, its terrible, but im going to really enjoy it and then jump back on the wagon hard core tomorrow.  LOL.  Honestly, i dont even calorie count on the weekends...i'd probably be making sooooooo much more progress if i did, but oh well...maybe i'll try that soon. 

anyway, hope everyone has a great week, oh and welcome to arose, and pantaloons!  you'll really enjoy the girls on this thread.  its a great place to get tips, vent, and chat. 

First of all, pantaloons,  You live in Italy!?  Holy Crap!  Second of all... you are a flabby 128lbs... Now.. I'm currently at 128 and also 5'7'' and I am not sure how you could be flabby, I mean, I'm sure it can be done, you did say you had a small frame.  I think I know what Jen would say because she's said it before.  Lift HEAVY weights.  That tones like a mother.

How again are you flabby...?  Did you have a baby?  Is there a past of ED?  I'm mistified.  Oh and since you are 5'7'' you should post some picks, we are doing bikini picks so all the other 57''s can compare. (something I think all the girls should do within their hight groups). Post some pics so we can compare!  Welcome to the group.

BLAH, so i'm having to post a failure. or i could be kind and say "set back," but we all know what i'm talking about- GAIN! 127.2 yesterday, 128.0 today, i can no longer fool myself into thinking i've got some water weight or bloat going on ;) i realize this is just a few pounds, and i'm not disproportionately freaking out or anything, but i know i have to nip it in the bud before it turns into 7lbs, then 10lbs, and  so on. but i still can make my goal of low 120's by June! i know it!

i'm really not into sports but i want to incorporate more of that into my routine this summer. there's a place i want to try downtown where you can rent canoes or kayaks in the evening, then the group pulls up to a restaurant on the river.

jen: i love mashed cauli! so does the husband. how did it turn out? isn't it surprising how v. little of anything is needed additionally to make it creamy and delish?

simignonne: i haven't forgotten about the bikini pics, i'm making a commitment to get mine up today after work!

mrseric: enjoy your romantic ice cream w/ the fiance! yeah, if you were strict on the weekends, you might hurry up and make your goal, but then what? will you never eat ice cream again? i think your way is more of a forever sustainable lifestyle change. go you!

pantaloons: haha, i would definitely site marriage as a leading cause of weight gain! welcome to our group.

arose: "I am trying to eat better and eat less sweets and I am doing good, but my body is having a hard time adjusting." i'd love detailed info so we can give you more helpful suggestions! what are some examples of a typical day eating for you? (including times). also, how is your body having a hard time adjusting? do you mean you're feeling hungry, or just still craving the bad stuff? or tired? doing any working out yet? i personally find that even just a little bit of exercise leaves me way more in control of my eating and hunger that day. another tip- drink tons of water! visualize/ think of it as flushing out fat to encourage yourself to drink more of it.