Learning the Way

[Belle_Curvy]

I tried the circuit that dianab suggested.

It was hard because I was getting some grief for moving the step up bench over to the leg press. The trainer there (not mine, just someone who works there) kept telling me to keep it out of the way.

I finally said to him, “You are the only other person over here. Why is this bothering you. I will be done in a minute and I will put it back.” I was a bit irked. It is not crowded on a Saturday night.

The circuit thing kicked my butt.

I did
A1 - leg press 15 @ 90lbs
A2 - step ups 15 each leg (alternating)

B1 - chest press 12 @ 55lbs
B2 - cable rows 12 @ 50lbs

I did 3 sets of that circuit.

I learned a new machine. It was a hammer strength machine and I forgot the name but it is like a row. That was hard but I may try it next time. I think there was a chest press hammer machine there also so I will learn that next time.

I felt like I still had some spark in my legs so I did the hack squat. I am short so I had to ask a guy to lower it so I could use it. That was fun but killed me! I thought it would be like the leg press but it is harder.

I was trying to get looooooooowwwwwwww and not lurch forward when I started the upward push. I did 2 sets of 15 but only did 70lbs

I did my crunches, no ball.

I was done then. NO cardio that night. My legs were gone.

Tomorrow I am going to go to the gym before work just to see what it is like and do some cardio.

I have been doing really well with the eating except for today. I went to a football party and I ate some chips and salsa. They were so good. so so good. They had grilled chicken so that was easy and grilled asparagus and pineapple. The chips were very good.

I also found out that the creamers that I use in my coffee have 75 calories EACH and I use 3per cup of coffee and I drink at least 6 cups a day. That was a bit awful to find out. I had been adding an extra 450 calories at least, each day, to what I had been eating without even knowing it.

This keeping track of things has really shown me just how easy it is to over eat. I have no portioned out my almonds into those little snack bags because I can find myself just eating a few at a time, but maybe many times a day! But then tell myself (almonds are good for you). Rationalization is an evil thing in the psyche of a dieter.

I will get the tape measure tomorrow after work. I am so dreading the results I keep putting it off. Seems like just the thing for a Monday.

[Belle_Curvy]

[quote]MarvelGirl wrote:
It can absolutely be done. My husband’s best friend from high school jokes that she lost “a backstreet boy” after graduation.

She was nearly 300 pounds throughout highschool and she now maintains around 140.

It gets easier the longer you do it, it really does! Hang in there. The concept of not eating candy, for instance, was incomprehensible to me a year ago. Now I can’t even imagine eating a snickers bar, or a bag of twizzlers (which I used to do often). It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen.

Don’t pay any mind to stupid kids either, they’re just that, stupid kids. I love seeing heavy people come into the gym, it gives me a warmy, fuzzy feeling to see someone try to improve. I just wish more of them stuck with it. You could be a real inspiration to a lot of people Belle, just don’t give up.[/quote]

You don’t eat candy at all? No snack or fun foods? I cant even get my head around that! But then I don’t have sex so food is all the fun I have right now. I do hope to change that.

[Belle_Curvy]

[quote]mom-in-MD wrote:

The most important thing I’ve learned(and I’m still working on this) is that you stick to what you are told and work really hard at it. I spent too much time second guessing every program and comparing myself to others that were getting results. You are just starting, so do yourself a favor…try to find something that you are comfortable with and STICK TO IT!!

If you are getting results, don’t change it…if you stop getting results, it’s time to tweak something…

There is no magic to losing weight…you gotta eat right and train hard…I’ve been at this fat loss thing for too long, but I’m finally mad enough about it to put the work in…I thought I could get by just lifting heavy stuff and denied that I needed cardio…unfortunately for me, I DO need cardio(ick)

So now it’s time for me to take my own advice I hope you stick around!! Don’t give up. Anything is possible if you want it bad enough
[/quote]

Thanks Mom in MD

that is a good point about not comparing myself to other people and you are right that for the longest time I have had the “magic bullet” mentality. I still hope for it, but I am working hard until it comes along.

[ouroboro_s]

[quote]Belle Curvy wrote:
MarvelGirl wrote:
It can absolutely be done. My husband’s best friend from high school jokes that she lost “a backstreet boy” after graduation.

She was nearly 300 pounds throughout highschool and she now maintains around 140.

It gets easier the longer you do it, it really does! Hang in there. The concept of not eating candy, for instance, was incomprehensible to me a year ago. Now I can’t even imagine eating a snickers bar, or a bag of twizzlers (which I used to do often). It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen.

Don’t pay any mind to stupid kids either, they’re just that, stupid kids. I love seeing heavy people come into the gym, it gives me a warmy, fuzzy feeling to see someone try to improve. I just wish more of them stuck with it. You could be a real inspiration to a lot of people Belle, just don’t give up.

You don’t eat candy at all? No snack or fun foods? I cant even get my head around that! But then I don’t have sex so food is all the fun I have right now. I do hope to change that.
[/quote]

Hey, I don’t have sex either. I’m all about abstinence and deprivation.

Just kidding but I really don’t have sex either. A couple of years ago I smoked and ate like crap. I wasn’t overweight. In fact I was smaller than I am now. i spent a winter feeling depressed and like I was losing my mind. I was tired and freezing cold all the time. It was a huge effort just to get out of bed. When the winter was over I felt better but the following autumn I just couldn’t face the idea of another winter like that.

I quit smoking and joined a gym. Mostly at first I did a lot of cardio and was very intimidated. I made gradual changes in my diet and made my way over to the boys side of the gym.

If I look at how I live my life now and all the changes I made, I would never have started if I were to look at the mountain of changes I’ve made. Each change was one change and it was all incremental. One small change at a time that have added up to a shit load of difference.

Now, I compete in power lifting and that drives quite a bit of my diet and lifestyle. The road from the skinny, smoking, poor eating woman to the smoke free, non-drinking, clean eating lifter is one of many small changes that were made one at a time.

I’m still not getting laid though. Man. That better be next on my list of things to work on.

[sbmart2]

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
Belle Curvy wrote:
MarvelGirl wrote:
It can absolutely be done. My husband’s best friend from high school jokes that she lost “a backstreet boy” after graduation.

She was nearly 300 pounds throughout highschool and she now maintains around 140.

It gets easier the longer you do it, it really does! Hang in there. The concept of not eating candy, for instance, was incomprehensible to me a year ago. Now I can’t even imagine eating a snickers bar, or a bag of twizzlers (which I used to do often). It doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen.

Don’t pay any mind to stupid kids either, they’re just that, stupid kids. I love seeing heavy people come into the gym, it gives me a warmy, fuzzy feeling to see someone try to improve. I just wish more of them stuck with it. You could be a real inspiration to a lot of people Belle, just don’t give up.

You don’t eat candy at all? No snack or fun foods? I cant even get my head around that! But then I don’t have sex so food is all the fun I have right now. I do hope to change that.

Hey, I don’t have sex either. I’m all about abstinence and deprivation.

Just kidding but I really don’t have sex either. A couple of years ago I smoked and ate like crap. I wasn’t overweight. In fact I was smaller than I am now. i spent a winter feeling depressed and like I was losing my mind. I was tired and freezing cold all the time. It was a huge effort just to get out of bed. When the winter was over I felt better but the following autumn I just couldn’t face the idea of another winter like that.

I quit smoking and joined a gym. Mostly at first I did a lot of cardio and was very intimidated. I made gradual changes in my diet and made my way over to the boys side of the gym.

If I look at how I live my life now and all the changes I made, I would never have started if I were to look at the mountain of changes I’ve made. Each change was one change and it was all incremental. One small change at a time that have added up to a shit load of difference.

Now, I compete in power lifting and that drives quite a bit of my diet and lifestyle. The road from the skinny, smoking, poor eating woman to the smoke free, non-drinking, clean eating lifter is one of many small changes that were made one at a time.

I’m still not getting laid though. Man. That better be next on my list of things to work on.
[/quote]

I was in great shape until I started getting laid on a regular basis. Then I finally got so chubby and out of shape that I stopped having the energy for it. Now I’m on a road to get back in shape. If you start getting laid don’t make the same mistake I did!!!

In all seriousness, it is definitely a slow and steady process. I agree with Ouroboro, all of the little things that you do over time adds up. If you celebrate the little successes you will keep a positive outlook and before you know it, you will be able to look back and feel like a completely different person.

Belle, you have already had several amazing successes.

1. You are out of shape and uncomfortable in the gym but you started anyway. THIS IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT
2. You have put up with adversity in the gym but did not let it beat you. Even people who may have entered the gym would have ran away at the first sign of shitty people.
3. You are seeking and following good advice from knowledgeable people.

So what is your next small goal that you want to accomplish? When I say small, I mean something that you can do differently starting this week.

Mine is to reign in my diet a little more since the holidays kind of through me off. So I will make sure to follow the 6 meals a day rule very closely.

[Belle_Curvy]

So here is a pic of the body, and here are the measurements.

Shoulders - 46"

Bust - 43"

Waist - 42"

Hips - 56"

Thigh - 27"

Calf - 17"

So this time next year I am 36, 24, 36 right?

[mom_in_MD]

Hey, just bumping you back up…how’s it going?

[Belle_Curvy]

I have a cold!!! I kept telling myself it was allergies but it isn’t, it is a cold. I haven’t been to the gym since Wednesday. My diet has drifted a bit. Not really junk food, but a lot of bread because it was easy and I don’t have an appetite for things. Of course I say that and it sounds like I haven’t been eating, but I have been eating. But mostly bread.

On Wednesday I tried really doing a lot of the legs.

leg press

180 BABY!!! that’s right, I did 10reps of 180!!
90lbs x 15, 140lbs x 12, 180lbs x 10

So I was feeling good. I walked some lunges back and forth 2 times, I was trying to really get down low which is what is hardest for me and keep my balance.

My legs needed a break so I did
cable rows
50lbs x 12, 50lbs x 12, 55lbs x 10 (this is still hard for me, I get the pinch burn between my shoulder blades and I feel my shoulders creeping up)

BACK to LEGS

Hack squat
bodyweight x 15, 50lbs x 15, 70lbs x 10
(this one is harder than the leg press for me)

chest press
forgot my weights but I finished with
70lbs x 10 BABY!!!

step ups 25 on each leg (legs were pretty bad by this time)

I got to do the Good morning machine? stand? you rest on your tummy but it is only hip high and you bend forward and come back. It felt really good to let my weight fall forward from my hips. I felt my back relax. Coming up was good, I felt my back muscles and I felt the stretch of my stomach muscles.

Standing Calf raises.
Trainer told me to just do bodyweight until they burn and then do the machine… so I did
60lbs x 15, 50lbs x 12, 50lbs x 9

finished with crunches on the exercise ball

but now… NOW I just feel terrible. I am eating soup and drinking my water and trying to rest.

I haven’t weighed myself this week.

[Belle_Curvy]

I did a spin class tonight. That was awful!!! But I sure did sweat a lot and I went with a friend from work so I was glad to go. I drank all my water before the class ended and I was tempted to lick the sweat off my arm for moisture.

I am happy to say the front desk people smile and nod at me now. It is a little thing but it is a good start to my workout. I don’t feel like so much of an outsider.

I have to admit to making biceps in the mirror. I don’t have a bicep but I am patiently looking for one every day.

HEY! what could I work on first to show off? Would it be a bicep? I want a muscle to show off at work. I am heavy so I know they are covered in fat but is there any suggestions of something I can do every time so I can show it off? I feel like a teenage boy wanting to show off my new arm muscle.

My diet is back on track

Breakfast
2 scrambled eggs
1/2 sweet potato

snack
banana

lunch
can of tuna
bunch of salad
sugar free pudding

Dinner
usually chicken
salad (I love green peas)
3 rings of pineapple

pre bed snack
1/2cup cottage cheese

I was thinking of buying some protein powder to get in extra protein or maybe I should just eat more tuna or an egg?

[mom_in_MD]

Whole foods are always best…I keep some MD(Metabolic Drive) on hand for variety though…

Like that snack I see up above of just a banana, would have been better paired with some protein.

Baby steps! You are doing great!

[ouroboro_s]

[quote]Belle Curvy wrote:
I did a spin class tonight. That was awful!!! But I sure did sweat a lot and I went with a friend from work so I was glad to go. I drank all my water before the class ended and I was tempted to lick the sweat off my arm for moisture.

I am happy to say the front desk people smile and nod at me now. It is a little thing but it is a good start to my workout. I don’t feel like so much of an outsider.

[/quote]

I think its great that the desk staff are nodding. Okay, maybe I don’t get out much but just the recognition makes it feel more welcoming. Stuff like that makes me happy too.

It will make it easier to go and feel like you belong.

Next time, try licking the moisture off the closest hot guy. Wait, don’t. I don’t think the staff would smile anymore Maybe if you ask first.

[Belle_Curvy]

I learned something new tonight. A trainer at the gym showed me how to do a deadlift using the cables for weight. He was very patient and he watched me through all three sets. That was great and something I can do on my own. I asked about how you would do a bench press on my own and he suggested I use dumbbells in each hand rather than a barbell. He also showed me how to do that. What surprised me was I really thought I would have been able to push up more weight than I could. The first set was 15lbs x 8, then 17.5 x 8, then he had me do 25lbs x 4!!!

so the workout was

deadlift cables
12 reps, 40lbs, 60lbs, 50lbs

bench press dumbbells
8 x 15
8 x 17.5
4 x 25

leg press
12 x 90
12 x 140
6 x 180

cable rows
8 x 40
8 x 50
12 x 55

step ups till I couldn’t do anymore

crunches until I couldn’t do anymore
repeated twice

Diet is pretty good, I only lost 2lbs in 10days. I had a few slip ups not where I even thought I was, I just wasn’t thinking and there were donuts at work and not even thinking I ate a donut. I went to dinner with friends and there were chips and I ate chips. I am not even thinking when I eat, I just do it by habit. At work I bring my lunch so my lunch is always good. Dinner is usually pretty good unless I pick up something on the way home.

So I am down a total of 7lbs.

[Belle_Curvy]

[quote]ouroboro_s wrote:
Belle Curvy wrote:
I did a spin class tonight. That was awful!!! But I sure did sweat a lot and I went with a friend from work so I was glad to go. I drank all my water before the class ended and I was tempted to lick the sweat off my arm for moisture.

I am happy to say the front desk people smile and nod at me now. It is a little thing but it is a good start to my workout. I don’t feel like so much of an outsider.

I think its great that the desk staff are nodding. Okay, maybe I don’t get out much but just the recognition makes it feel more welcoming. Stuff like that makes me happy too.

It will make it easier to go and feel like you belong.

Next time, try licking the moisture off the closest hot guy. Wait, don’t. I don’t think the staff would smile anymore Maybe if you ask first.[/quote]

Thank you Ouroboro! That is exactly how I feel and I think I had forgotten how to meet people!

[Court1]

You haven’t posted/logged on* in 10 days. We haven’t lost you have we?

*Yes I’m a creepy stalker and also checked what your last login date was on your profile.

[Belle_Curvy]

[quote]Court wrote:
You haven’t posted/logged on* in 10 days. We haven’t lost you have we?

*Yes I’m a creepy stalker and also checked what your last login date was on your profile. [/quote]

Thank you!

I have been going to the gym but mostly to try all the classes. I just wanted to give them a try. I found out I am pretty good at hip-hop and that was fun. I had a hard time with the step class. I just kept running out of breath.

I am very happy that I have lost 2 more lbs with is a total of 11-lbs!!!

I do have a question though. I have been reading about how cardio really won’t make that much of a change with my body. Do any of you do cardio? They don’t really have a weight lifting group class at my gym.

I am still doing mostly machines, I just find it easier. I do use the dumb-bells when I do my overhead presses, my bicep curls and lunges.

I am still just doing bodyweight squats but I have been trying to get really low. A lady at the gym was telling me to try from a sitting on my heels position and pushing up. I just have bad balance. I can’t even really stand on one foot with no wobble!

But I have to say. I feel better today than I have in months. I have met people, I have worked my body, I have made some good choices, and some bad choices, but now I am making conscious choices. My life is not going by in a blur. I do not wake up and wonder why I can’t remember anything I did yesterday. I am not just letting each day pass.

Wow that sounds like a Hallmark card!

I will take some measurements on Sunday.

[dianab]

Good to hear from you, I was wondering.
Having a strong and efficient heart is the best protection against cardiovascular disease. You get that from training it. Cardio is far from useless.

Now if that’s all you were doing, well personally I’d be against that. I have 2 clients who lost masses of weight from just doing cardio. They are both way to young to have the saggy skin and poor muscle tone of an out of shape 60 year old.

Everyone needs a mixture of food, rest, resistance training and cardiovascular activity. Keep it up, you’ll find the right recipe. Remember, your body is changing at a cellular level right now. You maybe can’t see much, but it sounds like you are feeling it.

I’m starting with a new client on Monday who is about 250lbs and one step away from a scooter right now. Your words at 6 weeks in are an inspiration that I will share with her.
Keep it up, you are on track to getting your power back!

[Belle_Curvy]

I think I am becoming a little addicted to the classes they have at the gym. I haven’t really been lifting any weights just doing the classes. They are just so fun and I know the instructors now and I like them. I had a spinout in the Spin Class. I don’t know if you can tell in the picture. It is so swollen you can’t really see the ankle bone and it is swollen towards the front of my foot. I don’t even know exactly what happened but my foot slid and got stuck in the pedal and wrenched. Hurts so crazy.

dianab you said something about cardio leaving you with saggy skin? Is it all the bouncing around that the skin does during cardio? I do moisturize but I just don’t see how I can get around the stretch marks. I also worry that at my age it won’t shrink back up.

I am down for the count while my ankle heals.

So I want to keep my classes (no more spin classes) and do weights.

I mostly eat good. I still go out to dinner with friends. I haven’t weighed myself because I had Mexican food on Sunday! It was good.

How do people stay so consistent every day? Food is everywhere and it all looks so good. It is just crazy because I really want it, but then I give in to bad food.

I want to regain feeling pretty and not wishing I were invisible. Right now I don’t want anyone to notice me because I am fat. I want to lose the weight so I can smile at people again and meet some new people.

I also hate that each time I post on here I sound like I am whining. I don’t really whine all the time and I don’t really share with friends and especially not at work. I just get on here and it all oozes out of me.

So has anyone on here ever been this fat and how do you stop your bad habits and be consistent?

[dianab]

Belle, classes are great if you love them, but you’ve gotta hit those weights at least 3 days a week! Don’t cheat yourself from the results you want by missing out on resistance training.
Cardio in in itself is not the devil, but ONLY doing cardio is a no-no. You may lose some fat, but there will be no muscle built up underneath it. Aside from other metabolic issues this will cause, there will be some saggy skin in most cases. Rapid weight loss will also do that.

Consistency with food is a big one. I tend to eat the same things over and over again. The Precision Nutrition program can really help you with this one, and it’s not as boring as having the same foods all the time. It is really worth the money, and I’d urge you to invest in it.

Of course you want to feel pretty, don’t be too hard on yourself. This is your time to get back your power as a woman, in how you feel, look and act. Take the small victories and add them up, then wear them proudly. Learn from the setbacks. Be kind and patient with yourself and keep grinding away.
And keep posting, I want to see some resistance training on this log.

[Belle_Curvy]

[quote]dianab wrote:
Belle, classes are great if you love them, but you’ve gotta hit those weights at least 3 days a week! Don’t cheat yourself from the results you want by missing out on resistance training.
Cardio in in itself is not the devil, but ONLY doing cardio is a no-no. You may lose some fat, but there will be no muscle built up underneath it. Aside from other metabolic issues this will cause, there will be some saggy skin in most cases. Rapid weight loss will also do that.

Consistency with food is a big one. I tend to eat the same things over and over again. The Precision Nutrition program can really help you with this one, and it’s not as boring as having the same foods all the time. It is really worth the money, and I’d urge you to invest in it.

Of course you want to feel pretty, don’t be too hard on yourself. This is your time to get back your power as a woman, in how you feel, look and act. Take the small victories and add them up, then wear them proudly. Learn from the setbacks. Be kind and patient with yourself and keep grinding away.
And keep posting, I want to see some resistance training on this log.[/quote]

Thanks diana

I can do three times a week. I can make the weekends two of my days and my gym is not crowded on the weekends. I have been reading about doing upper body on one day and lower body on another day. Should I do that or should I do my whole body each of the three days?

I am off my foot for a few days, but I have been doing crunches and girl push ups.

This is the longest that I have actually kept going to the gym and although I have cheated, I still have mostly eaten good foods. This is the longest I have kept trying. Thanks for reminding me to pat myself on the back diana.

[A7979]

[quote]Belle Curvy wrote:
I think I am becoming a little addicted to the classes they have at the gym. I haven’t really been lifting any weights just doing the classes. They are just so fun and I know the instructors now and I like them. I had a spinout in the Spin Class. I don’t know if you can tell in the picture. It is so swollen you can’t really see the ankle bone and it is swollen towards the front of my foot. I don’t even know exactly what happened but my foot slid and got stuck in the pedal and wrenched. Hurts so crazy.

dianab you said something about cardio leaving you with saggy skin? Is it all the bouncing around that the skin does during cardio? I do moisturize but I just don’t see how I can get around the stretch marks. I also worry that at my age it won’t shrink back up.

I am down for the count while my ankle heals.

So I want to keep my classes (no more spin classes) and do weights.

I mostly eat good. I still go out to dinner with friends. I haven’t weighed myself because I had Mexican food on Sunday! It was good.

How do people stay so consistent every day? Food is everywhere and it all looks so good. It is just crazy because I really want it, but then I give in to bad food.

I want to regain feeling pretty and not wishing I were invisible. Right now I don’t want anyone to notice me because I am fat. I want to lose the weight so I can smile at people again and meet some new people.

I also hate that each time I post on here I sound like I am whining. I don’t really whine all the time and I don’t really share with friends and especially not at work. I just get on here and it all oozes out of me.

So has anyone on here ever been this fat and how do you stop your bad habits and be consistent? [/quote]

It is real simple, YOU stop the bad habits and YOU choose to be consistent with your diet and training. If you continue to make excuses for eating this and that, then you will never meet your goals in becoming fit. As people have said, prior to me, there is no magic behind getting fit beyond working HARD consistently and having the DISCIPLINE to eat right (most of the time). No one is perfect but you have to WANT this so bad (to be fit; everyone has a different opinion because they have different goals) that you are willing to SACRIFICE certain pleasures in life to meet your objectives of being healthier.

I wish you the best of luck in meeting your goals to be a healthier person. Great job so far! Remember injuries are part the game and that you are in this for the long haul, as this is a lifestyle change. So plow forward and build your own path to success!