Hi all,
I'm new around here but fiance tuned me onto this site and all the useful information on here.
So, basically, I'm looking for any and all the advice I can get. I'm 5'2 and weight fluctuates between 145-150 lbs. At heaviest I was about 165 lbs, I tried Weight Watchers for a bit and got down to 135 lbs, then stopped and went right back up to the 140s. Then I started running about 4 times a week maybe 20 km total and I started seeing a nutritionist. I managed to lose another 10 lbs and the lowest I have ever managed to get down to is 132 lbs.
I stopped seeing the nutritionist and weight started going up again. So I started running more seriously putting in closer to 30 km/week and trying to watch what I ate as well. Well, weight went up with all the running, which I know is muscle but still a bit disheartening.
Now that winter has arrived and it's getting cold outside, I don't have the drive to run outside like I used to during the winter months, but I don't want to sit around and let winter fat take over. At the moment I do a 1-hour spinning class per week and I'll be starting a 1-hour power yoga class as well.
goal is to get down to 115-120 lbs, basically as soon as possible. I'm getting married in 5 months so I'd really like to kick things into gear. I'm not looking to get muscular or see definition. I just want to tone and flatten myself out ... get rid of the flab that's been plaguing me!
What are some basic exercise I can do to tighten stomach, flatten arms and basically keep the fat off? I'm going to try best to avoid carbs in diet and sugars wherever possible ... though I am an avid starch lover ... it will be hard!
Any and all suggestions would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Miranda
Tired of being flabby
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
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littleshelly
- ESTABLISHED MEMBER
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- Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:09 pm
A clean/balanced diet it key. Read up on clean eating. Keeping track of your daily calorie intake is important especially when starting out. Log the foods you eat. Make sure you log everything. If you walk by the candy dish and eat 2 pieces of candy log it. Figure out how many calories you should eat a day for your body type/size and try not to go over. You need a 500 calorie a day deficit to loose a LB a week.
Don't go on any fad diets. If you cannot stick with the eating plan forever why bother?
Workout 4-6 days a week. Strength train 3 (not consecutive) Mix up the cardio, walking, sprinting and so on. Don't let your body adapt.
Keep moving in general. Take the stairs, park far away from the store and walk. Just keep active.
Drink plenty of water. Don't waste calories on junk, sugary drinks, unhealthy snacks.
I take fish oil and eat hot peppers. Both good for over all health and metabolism.
Don't go on any fad diets. If you cannot stick with the eating plan forever why bother?
Workout 4-6 days a week. Strength train 3 (not consecutive) Mix up the cardio, walking, sprinting and so on. Don't let your body adapt.
Keep moving in general. Take the stairs, park far away from the store and walk. Just keep active.
Drink plenty of water. Don't waste calories on junk, sugary drinks, unhealthy snacks.
I take fish oil and eat hot peppers. Both good for over all health and metabolism.
I agree with Shelly on the clean diet. Look at the topic "Read before Posting" in the diet and nutrition section on this forum.
A few points I would like add:
1. You have a goal to be at a certain weight by the time you get married. It's awesome to have goals, but don't let numbers or an life changing event limit you to what you can achieve. A healthy lifestyle is one that should continue throughout your life, not just because your getting married.
2. I'm not a big fan of weight watchers, but that's just personal opinion.
3. DO NOT cut your carbs. completely out of your diet. You need them for energy. Balance sweet potatoes, baked potatoes brown rice with good lean proteins like chicken breast, tuna, fish like salmon and talapia, and turkey breast and adding salad and fresh green veggies are always good choices.
4. You need to add weights into your fitness routine. Doing cardio only is not going to cut it and doing 1 hour a week isn't enough. Please consider working out at least 3-5 days a week. You will never ever get huge muscles from lifting weights. Women are not designed to develop like men do.
5. Fueling your body immediately after you workout is VERY IMPORTANT. You need to feed your body and muscles for recovery after working it.
6. Tighten your stomach has a lot to do with diet.
7. Sounds like the nutritionist was helping you and you were headed in the right direction. Can you tell me why you stopped?
8. If you truly want results, you need to make a decision that this will be a lifetime commitment for you. Done properly, the results will amaze you and only encourage you to continue on that path.
Working out and a health clean diet can be difficult at first, but when you begin to see results, you will stick with it. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Good luck with all your endeavors and welcome to the board
A few points I would like add:
1. You have a goal to be at a certain weight by the time you get married. It's awesome to have goals, but don't let numbers or an life changing event limit you to what you can achieve. A healthy lifestyle is one that should continue throughout your life, not just because your getting married.
2. I'm not a big fan of weight watchers, but that's just personal opinion.
3. DO NOT cut your carbs. completely out of your diet. You need them for energy. Balance sweet potatoes, baked potatoes brown rice with good lean proteins like chicken breast, tuna, fish like salmon and talapia, and turkey breast and adding salad and fresh green veggies are always good choices.
4. You need to add weights into your fitness routine. Doing cardio only is not going to cut it and doing 1 hour a week isn't enough. Please consider working out at least 3-5 days a week. You will never ever get huge muscles from lifting weights. Women are not designed to develop like men do.
5. Fueling your body immediately after you workout is VERY IMPORTANT. You need to feed your body and muscles for recovery after working it.
6. Tighten your stomach has a lot to do with diet.
7. Sounds like the nutritionist was helping you and you were headed in the right direction. Can you tell me why you stopped?
8. If you truly want results, you need to make a decision that this will be a lifetime commitment for you. Done properly, the results will amaze you and only encourage you to continue on that path.
Working out and a health clean diet can be difficult at first, but when you begin to see results, you will stick with it. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Good luck with all your endeavors and welcome to the board
Boopster - thank you SO much for the tips and advice.
I know I have to up exercising throughout the week. We have weights etc. at home and I want to do more.
I AM ready for a complete life change - I'm not a very happy person in general when I'm not pleased with body (I'm not someone who can just ignore excess fat and grossness) so it's just a matter of finding the willpower and the drive to want to do something. And I only want to do something once I see results!
Weight Watchers wasn't very good - which is why I stopped it. I wasn't getting a balanced diet at all, which is why I went to the nutritionist instead.
I stopped seeing the nutritionist because in the last month I saw her I was gaining weight, not losing it and was almost back to where I'd started so I got frustrated.
I will be going back to her though as fiance has started to see her. So I'm going to start keeping a food journal (today will be the first day actually) and I'll be noting everything!!
I don't just want to look good in wedding dress I want to look good always and feel comfortable in clothing and body and I know I can do it, I just need the right motivation and the right combination of food/exercise. And I need the strength to stay away from snacking, deserts and BREAD. I'm a sucker for fresh bakery bread.
But, again, thank-you guys SO much for your tips and encouragement. I'll try and keep an up-to-date storyline of progress on here ...
Thanks again.
Miranda
I know I have to up exercising throughout the week. We have weights etc. at home and I want to do more.
I AM ready for a complete life change - I'm not a very happy person in general when I'm not pleased with body (I'm not someone who can just ignore excess fat and grossness) so it's just a matter of finding the willpower and the drive to want to do something. And I only want to do something once I see results!
Weight Watchers wasn't very good - which is why I stopped it. I wasn't getting a balanced diet at all, which is why I went to the nutritionist instead.
I stopped seeing the nutritionist because in the last month I saw her I was gaining weight, not losing it and was almost back to where I'd started so I got frustrated.
I will be going back to her though as fiance has started to see her. So I'm going to start keeping a food journal (today will be the first day actually) and I'll be noting everything!!
I don't just want to look good in wedding dress I want to look good always and feel comfortable in clothing and body and I know I can do it, I just need the right motivation and the right combination of food/exercise. And I need the strength to stay away from snacking, deserts and BREAD. I'm a sucker for fresh bakery bread.
But, again, thank-you guys SO much for your tips and encouragement. I'll try and keep an up-to-date storyline of progress on here ...
Thanks again.
Miranda
In order of importance: 1. Eat clean 2. weight train 3. cardio 3x a week.
I just want to tone and flatten myself out ... get rid of the flab that's been plaguing me! [quote][/quote]
You cannot get "toned" without muscle. Fat wont "toned" you. You need to weight train at least 3x a week. with a weight that challenges your muscles. and most importantly eat clean. Dont under eat either. Go to diet section and "read before" sticky its quite simple really...it might be hard if youve never tried it before, but id suggest going step by step and not just cutting everything out , thatll just lead to binging later.
good luck
I just want to tone and flatten myself out ... get rid of the flab that's been plaguing me! [quote][/quote]
You cannot get "toned" without muscle. Fat wont "toned" you. You need to weight train at least 3x a week. with a weight that challenges your muscles. and most importantly eat clean. Dont under eat either. Go to diet section and "read before" sticky its quite simple really...it might be hard if youve never tried it before, but id suggest going step by step and not just cutting everything out , thatll just lead to binging later.
good luck
Miranda,
You're certainly welcome! And most importantly, congratulations on making the step to a heallthy lifestyle. From what I read in your post, you seem to be well on your way to making the changes you need. It's really mind over matter. I also want you to be realistic. There will be days when you just don't think you can do it and yes there will be times when you stumble. Please don't get discouraged. Each day is a brand new one and pick yourself up and start again. During years of dedicating myself to working out and watching diet, I too have had fair share of, "I cannot take this one more minute", but it is at that very moment that I realize I am worth it, kids are worth it, husband is worth it. Does that mean I don't eat crazy once in a while? Heck no! I'm the first to admit I absolutely love chocolate, enjoy a glass of wine with a good cut of steak and indulge once in a while on junk food. The key is moderation. Don't be too hard in yourself. Because of healthy lifestyle, I am a much better mother, wife, and friend.
Keep in mind, you need not be a slave to the scale. Once you start losing fat, you will gain muscle and your body will begin to look quite different.
Please keep me posted, you can PM me if you want
P.S. I too am a sucker for fresh baked bread, especially garlic bread! YUMMY!
You're certainly welcome! And most importantly, congratulations on making the step to a heallthy lifestyle. From what I read in your post, you seem to be well on your way to making the changes you need. It's really mind over matter. I also want you to be realistic. There will be days when you just don't think you can do it and yes there will be times when you stumble. Please don't get discouraged. Each day is a brand new one and pick yourself up and start again. During years of dedicating myself to working out and watching diet, I too have had fair share of, "I cannot take this one more minute", but it is at that very moment that I realize I am worth it, kids are worth it, husband is worth it. Does that mean I don't eat crazy once in a while? Heck no! I'm the first to admit I absolutely love chocolate, enjoy a glass of wine with a good cut of steak and indulge once in a while on junk food. The key is moderation. Don't be too hard in yourself. Because of healthy lifestyle, I am a much better mother, wife, and friend.
Keep in mind, you need not be a slave to the scale. Once you start losing fat, you will gain muscle and your body will begin to look quite different.
Please keep me posted, you can PM me if you want
P.S. I too am a sucker for fresh baked bread, especially garlic bread! YUMMY!
Let me preface this by stating that I am not a certified trainer. But I hired a trainer and he put this togther for me. It worked, however it was with a combination of a specific diet. When I began, I started very slow as not to injure myself. Form is very important when you weight lift. The key is the quality of the exercise you are doing not necessarily quantity. I could lift a heavier weight during a certain exercise, but if the quality and form sucks, I am wasting time.colins wrote:Hi!
What kind of weight training would be beneficial for MsMiranda?
I began exercising a different body part each day in order to give body and muscles time to rest and recooperate. For instance:
Monday: Legs
Squats
Lunges
Deadlifts
Extensions
Hamstring Curls
Glute Flexions
Calf Raises
Abs
20 minutes HIIT cardio to follow
Tuesday: Arms and Shoulders
Shoulder Press (machine)
DB Lateral Raise
DB Front Raise
Ez bar curl
Ez bar tricep extension
DB hammer curl
20 minutes HIIT cardio to follow
Wednesday: Day Off
Thursday: Back/Rear delts
Machine rows
Lat Pull downs
Close grip pulldowns
Seated cable rows
Rear delt machine
Abs
20 Minutes HIIT cardio to follow
Friday : Chest and Arms
Close Grip chest press
DB Incline Flyes
Standing alternate DB curls
Rope curls
Rope Pressdowns
20 minutes HIIT cardio
Saturday or Sunday
45- 60 minutes running or elliptical
abs
I take 2 days off a week. I eat 6 times a day and re-fuel immediately after I workout. I keep a log with me and mark down the weight I used as well as the sets and repetitions so next week if I need to increase either, I am not guessing. workouts take about an hour give or take 15 minutes resting 1 minute between each set. Not in any way saying this will work for her, But it could be a start.
Wow Boopster that's amazing... thanks so much for posting your routine. I'm really unsure of where to start, but this will give me a great base. And I'll make sure form is right before I pack on any more weight.
I'll try best not to get discouraged, but I know myself and I have a hard time not giving in to food, especially when I don't think it's been "worth it" to deprive myself of unhealthy, crappy foods. (I know, I'm crazy.) But, I think this time around I'll do much better than in the past. With fiance's help and encouragement I think I can do much better than I ever did on own. Plus, with him eating healthy as well it makes it easier as there will only be clean food in the house for us to eat!
I'll try best not to get discouraged, but I know myself and I have a hard time not giving in to food, especially when I don't think it's been "worth it" to deprive myself of unhealthy, crappy foods. (I know, I'm crazy.) But, I think this time around I'll do much better than in the past. With fiance's help and encouragement I think I can do much better than I ever did on own. Plus, with him eating healthy as well it makes it easier as there will only be clean food in the house for us to eat!
- bare in mind Boopster had a trainer and all so this won't be for you although it does show the amount of work and discipline that is required
- you're better off with a full body prgram and i'm thinking with all the running (stop that too, it's catabolic meaning your preserving fat and burning muscle which is the opposite of what will make you lean) so you'll need a bodyweight program to start with...i suggest searching "your body is a barbell" by alwyn cosgrove and seeing how it looks then ask away...and read that diet sticky, some sexy memeber of this forum made it up..i'd marry him if i could, i really would...
- you're better off with a full body prgram and i'm thinking with all the running (stop that too, it's catabolic meaning your preserving fat and burning muscle which is the opposite of what will make you lean) so you'll need a bodyweight program to start with...i suggest searching "your body is a barbell" by alwyn cosgrove and seeing how it looks then ask away...and read that diet sticky, some sexy memeber of this forum made it up..i'd marry him if i could, i really would...
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Christopheel
- REGULAR
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- Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 9:23 pm
humble much ? lolswanso5 wrote:- bare in mind Boopster had a trainer and all so this won't be for you although it does show the amount of work and discipline that is required
- you're better off with a full body prgram and i'm thinking with all the running (stop that too, it's catabolic meaning your preserving fat and burning muscle which is the opposite of what will make you lean) so you'll need a bodyweight program to start with...i suggest searching "your body is a barbell" by alwyn cosgrove and seeing how it looks then ask away...and read that diet sticky, some sexy memeber of this forum made it up..i'd marry him if i could, i really would...
That's crazy! I looked up the exercises he suggests on YouTube to see how they're performed and they look great ... I'm always iffy about using weights and knowing what I should and shouldn't be using. But to start out with just body with these exercises seems like a really good idea.swanso5 wrote:- so you'll need a bodyweight program to start with...i suggest searching "your body is a barbell" by alwyn cosgrove and seeing how it looks then ask away...
Thanks so much for telling me about AC.
