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2003/11/06, 05:59 PM
Ok I am 28, a female. I am 5’2 and weight 130-135 (I flex back and forth BADLY). I had two babies in two years (and yes I blame them and no I don’t recommend it), with the youngest being 19 months old now. I have lost a lot of weight, going from 148-150 to my current 133. And have gone from a tight 10 to a solid 6. I am actually smaller now than I was when I got pregnant with my first. But I am still not at all satisfied with how I look.
We have a bowflex that I use pretty regularly (kind of slacked off in the summer). At first I was very happy with my results, now not so much so. We got it last January BTW. I use it 3 times a week for about 20 min a day like they say and follow their little program of exercises. I have gotten a lot of muscle in my arms (I have biceps, I could beat up someone I think ;)) and in my legs. But my problem areas are the extra fat I still have on my tummy, hips, and thighs. I guess I don’t lift to failure on the bowflex. But I do push myself. Right now I am doing 1-2 sets of 12 but I make sure to do them very slow. Like 4 seconds per lift. I am sore more often than not after I am done and sometimes the next day.
I eat pretty good, not much junk. My one vice is pop though and I LOVE my vanilla coke. I have kind of gotten in the habit of skipping lunch though. I think mostly thinking that if I don’t eat maybe I will loose some weight (bad I know). But I drink like zero water. I can go all day with 2 12 oz. cans of pop and nothing else. I am just not a drinker and the water at my work sucks. It’s VERY gross. I did make myself drink 6-8 glasses a day and honestly it made absolutely no difference other than me needing to pee a lot.
I don’t want to get huge. I just want to loose the fat and be totally toned. Please tell me what I need to do.
TIA!
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2003/11/06, 06:04 PM
You almost answered your own question. First diet,diet,diet is key to losing body fat. Second don't skip meals try to eat 5-6 smaller meals per day. Water needs to be consumed on a reqular basis trust me the constant peeing will subside I know i drink 1-2 gallons per day. Maybe throw in some cardio 1-3 days per week in addition with weight training. Good Luck
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2003/11/06, 06:46 PM
Any diet tips? We really do eat pretty healthy and I try not to snack on junk in-between meals. It’s just that the kids wont eat a lot of different things (heck they would live on mac & cheese if we let them). So we are in a rut. We don’t have the time or the energy to prepare two separate meals. Breakfast and lunch are really the only two meals I have total control over what I choose to eat.
My mom is on a very messed up diet. It’s the Susan Summers one and it just is WAY too much work. I have friends who are on weight watchers, and they have success with it. But again a lot of work and hard to do with picky eaters at home.
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2003/11/06, 08:13 PM
I just wrote you a huge post and when I went to post it I got kicked off the system......here it is in a nut shell (I hate to type because I suck at it)
1) drink more water, if the water at work taste bad take your own. I carry a 1 quart water bottle w/ me everywhere and diink it empty 4 times a day.
2) Bowers is right on with 5-6 small meals a day This will speed up your metabolism over time and you will burn more calories
3) Don't eat what your kids want to eat, eat what you need to eat in order to loose the weight you want to loose
4) 2 cokes a day equals 60 cokes a month equals 720 a year or 30 cases a year BY YOURSELF!! Nuf said
5) muscle burns calories. If your arms are the only part of your body that has a lot of muscle mass it is probably because that is all that you are working out. Change it up. Do cardio one day, legs another. ect
Fill out a profile and see what FT nutrition plan and exercise plan have for you. Also cruise these post and the "Related Articles" under FT community at the top of this page. Tons of info there. Good Luck!!
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Anything is better than nothing so get off your ass and do something!!!
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2003/11/06, 08:17 PM
You need to have a plan! You need to find your maintenance calories, then do adjustments. This is imparitive. Guessing will never do it. And then you have to eat "clean", and you will start to progress again. You cannot get on the same diet and never change it. As you lose, your calorie needs change to keep progression going. Otherwise this becomes your maintenance calories and you go nowhere.
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Quoting from iowa-girl:
Ok I am 28, a female. I am 5’2 and weight 130-135 (I flex back and forth BADLY). I had two babies in two years (and yes I blame them and no I don’t recommend it), with the youngest being 19 months old now. I have lost a lot of weight, going from 148-150 to my current 133. And have gone from a tight 10 to a solid 6. I am actually smaller now than I was when I got pregnant with my first. But I am still not at all satisfied with how I look.
We have a bowflex that I use pretty regularly (kind of slacked off in the summer). At first I was very happy with my results, now not so much so. We got it last January BTW. I use it 3 times a week for about 20 min a day like they say and follow their little program of exercises. I have gotten a lot of muscle in my arms (I have biceps, I could beat up someone I think ;)) and in my legs. But my problem areas are the extra fat I still have on my tummy, hips, and thighs. I guess I don’t lift to failure on the bowflex. But I do push myself. Right now I am doing 1-2 sets of 12 but I make sure to do them very slow. Like 4 seconds per lift. I am sore more often than not after I am done and sometimes the next day.
I eat pretty good, not much junk. My one vice is pop though and I LOVE my vanilla coke. I have kind of gotten in the habit of skipping lunch though. I think mostly thinking that if I don’t eat maybe I will loose some weight (bad I know). But I drink like zero water. I can go all day with 2 12 oz. cans of pop and nothing else. I am just not a drinker and the water at my work sucks. It’s VERY gross. I did make myself drink 6-8 glasses a day and honestly it made absolutely no difference other than me needing to pee a lot.
I don’t want to get huge. I just want to loose the fat and be totally toned. Please tell me what I need to do.
TIA!
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Great people never want it easier, they just want to be better!
Ron
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2003/11/06, 11:06 PM
Your diet questions have been answered with solid principles to follow. Start slowly changing your diet, and as bb1 said develop a plan and stick to it. I too started on a bowflex and made good gains at first. Try switching to one of the split routines that came with your machine or get on a routine from ft. I ended up purchasing a set of dumbells and use them alot. As I progress I just go buy more plates. Best money I ever spent. Between a diet plan, the BF, a set of inexpensive dumbells, and the tons of information here you should be in good shape. Good luck
By the way a friend of mine lost 15 pounds in 6 months just by giving up sodas. Amazing!
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2003/11/07, 12:01 PM
Ok so is there foods you absolutely stay away from. The example of your meals shows a lot of proteins but not a lot of carbs. Do you avoid breads and grains as much as possible? Or only eat whole grains?
Cutting out junk food is easy. The soda, well that is honestly going to be very hard for me. It’s like my one and only vice. But I do know that it has to be done if I want to loose weight.
Thanks so much for your suggestions so far. I will have to think on what kind of cardio I can mix into my strength training. We used to belong to the YMCA and when I was on maternity leave I went every day and ran. That is why I dropped the first chunk of weight so fast (I gained like 60-70 lbs. when I was pregnant). But we just didn’t have time (their daycare is only open until 7:00 and I am not home until 6:00) and it’s a small Y that does not have enough equipment for all the people who are members so you had to stand around and wait forever to get onto stuff. That is why we got the bowflex.
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2003/11/07, 04:16 PM
Does your BF have the rowing feature? I find that brisk walking and bike riding works good for me. I also have a manual treadmill. It's pretty cheap, not alot of features but it inclines and will do in a pinch. I can't run it hurts my back. As for foods try to avoid foods with high fat and high sugar contents, look for foods with complex as opposed to simple carbs, The more natural it is the better. Remember small steps. Start reading the food labels on everything. Get a pocket reference that lists proteins, carbs, fats, etc. You'll be surprised at how quickly you will pick up on the food contents. I read a post the other day which rings quite true. "There is no bad food just bad eating habits"
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2003/11/07, 04:47 PM
u realy have to get rid of the cokes each one has about100 to 200 callories per coke( depending on the type) But u need to do more cardio try tunning in the moring b4 break fast then eat a healthy break fast. When i go off the cokes and started drinky water i droped about 3 lbs instansly almost not to mention i fell better too.
U might wanan try doing a lil more then 20 mins a day 3 times a week now that ur body has gotten stornger and has more indurance, try going 35 maybe 40 mins a day 3 times a week, and do circuit training
Example: do some leg excersices ( leg extensions) do 10 or 12 then do a back excercise 10 or 12 reps the do the leg excerices again i do workouts like this over the summer and i really toned up alot and it go my endurance up or u can try ur intensity level do the same super set like decribed about but do it faster and faster to get ur heart rate up this way u get cardio and weight traing all in the same time. basicly u have to try different things and see what works best for u cause what works for me might not work for u or anyone else
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