ShapeFit.com

[Cassandrabell]

Hi Ladies,

Need some help here with with a few concerns/questions of mine if you don't mind....

1st of all I just joined a gym near my house 3 weeks ago which includes squash within my membership and my hubby and I have used the courts 3 times but as for the actual gym I don't have any motivation and I really want to be one of THOSE GIRLS who go to the gym everyday and have enough self control to eat healthy all the time. I feel that now I'm married I don't need to care as much about my body and how I look but its depressing me knowing that I'm not looking the same as I use to and my husband isn't enough motivation for me to workout (wanting to impress him that is) as bad as that sounds but hey its true. Which brings me to my 2nd concern its about food I'm a HUGE and I mean HUGE chocolate fan I'm talking about 1 chocolate bar and a Milo a day I love it and cant get enough but I know that it doesn't help my diet, (or there lack of) is there a way that I can diet and eat my chocolate as well????

Summary

Question 1 - What are some motivation tips?
Question 2 - How can I diet and eat chocolate at the same time?

Below is a plan of what I usually eat on a normal day to help me with my questions.

X) 1 serving, 3/4 cup (30g) of Kellogg's: Breakfast Cereals: All-Bran, Wheat Flakes, Honey Almond 110
You have not added any foods to breakfast.
(x) 1 cup (250mL) of Dairy Farmers: Milk: Lite White 128
(x) 1 level teaspoon (6g) of Honey: Honey 19
(x) 1 cup (250mL) of Teas: Herbal, all types, no sugar 3
Meal Total 258
Lunch Cals
(x) 1 sub, 6" (242g) of Subway: Burgers / Sandwiches: 6" Sandwich, Tuna, no dressing 395
You have not added any foods to lunch.
(x) 1 level teaspoon (6g) of Honey: Honey 19
(x) 1 cup (250mL) of Teas: Herbal, all types, no sugar 3
Meal Total 416
Dinner Cals
(x) 1 serving (116g) of Couscous: Cooked 130
You have not added any foods to dinner.
(x) 1 serving, 1/4 jar (41g) of Dolmio: Sauces: Pesto, Sundried Tomato 84
Meal Total 214
Snacks Cals
(x) 1 bar (38g) of Coles / Farmland: Bars: Oven Baked Fruit, Blueberry 116
You have not added any foods to snacks.
(x) 1 bar (60g) of Cadbury: Chocolates: Bars, Boost 310
(x) 4 heaped teaspoon (5g) of Milo: Chocolate Powder: Original, dry 87
Meal Total 513
Food Total Cals
Day Total 1401


I'm 59kg's and I'm aiming for around 53 - 55kgs but toned.. I'm also 170cm tall...

Sorry for the huge posting but I need some advise....

Thanks for reading and thanks for your help....

Cass

[swanso5]

- get yourself a goal to train for them get a plan to get there...hopefully that will get you you motivated
- it's good to look good for your husband....this doesn't neccesarily go vice versa though with us aussie blokes..hmmmm beer
- a sml amount of choc everyday is better than a lot of choc in one day so just limit where you can....don't store in the house...don't go shopping when your hungry either...if you can have it after training so at least some of it will go to replenishment
- diets don't work, plans do...go to diet section and read "...before posting..." for food details
- add fruit to breaky
- fruit/solid protein for mid morning meal
- solid protein, veg, salad for lunch and then for all other meals...nuts, almonds etc can be aded in too
- you'regood with the counting so you know what's bad ans what isn't but you simply need a little better meal timing...carbs (bread, cereal, pasta, rice) are best to have at breakfast ansd after you train otheerwise have fruit for 1st 2 meals then veg/salad for all others as suggested
- don't go buy a scale wt number, go by how you look, feel, fit into clothes etc

[DianaB]

First congrats on getting married.
Second, I laughed a lot when I read your post.

If you want to be one of "those girls", then be one. It's simple, you just need to understand why you want that. I take it that you had more motivation as a single girl, in order to look good and impress the boys. That's not motivation, that's vanity. Don't get me wrong, a little vanity is useful, but it's not going to take you far. You need to figure out why you want to train, for your health, to set an example for your future children, to stay young and vibrant, to look hot naked (OK that's vanity)...

Work on setting some short term goals. The first one should be getting to your gym 3-4 days a week, with no excuses, if you want it, just do it. The question you have to answer yourself is HOW MUCH do you want it?
As for sweets, you don't have to live without chocolate. Just limit it. Or take 2 days without, and then give yourself a small treat on the third day.

If marriage makes you think that you don't need to care as much about your body as you once did, consider this: If you don't care about your appearance and don't respect yourself enough to stay healthy, no one else will either. In time, that may include your new husband, when he starts to see you as a wife and mother and not a sexy woman anymore. The transformation doesn't take that long, a few years of bad eating, a pregnancy or 2 and suddenly you may become that older, out of shape lady that is not really who you are on the inside. I've got friends my age (41) who feel really bad about how they look. It ends up affecting many areas of their lives, from the clothes they wear, guilt over food, and most of all, loss of desire and sex drive.

I'm assuming your young, take the time now to ensure a future of looking good and feeling good about yourself. A few hours a week of sweat in the gym is a small price to pay.

[Cassandrabell]

Dianab, well you hit the nail right on the head and most of what you said rang alarm bells as it is and was so true. I just want to say THANK YOU I needed it straight and you gave it to me.... Wow its amazing how clear things become when others from outside the square look in and give their opinion.

Yes I am young 25 and only very newly married 1 year so I really shouldn't be feeling like this but he keeps saying he loves me for me but I'm just not happy with how I look. So thanks again you made my eyes open very wide and helped my thoughts turn onto a new path.

Also thanks to swanso5 as the food tips will help a bunch. As I said its VERY hard to take chocolate out of my diet completely and knowing that I don't have to entirely that's great. I actually gave up smoking 2 1/2 years ago so I replaced it with chocolate and that's why its hard to give up.

Thanks again to both of you and I hope your paths are going as planned!

[cassiegose]

Hi Cass!

I gotta confess that I'm "one of those girls" lol!

As for your chocolate addiction... I can totally relate! I have the same problem with ice cream. I've found that when I eat ice cream regularly I crave it more... but when I don't eat it regularly its easier to resist. Perhaps if you started cutting back on the amount of chocolate you're consuming your cravings will subside a little? It worked for me... it may work for you too. :)

As for your lack of motivation... I've found that I'm more movitated to do stuff that I enjoy. Does your gym offer any classes that you are interested in or that look like fun? Also... Do you have any girlfriends that you could go in with to have a workout buddy? What about your husband? Does he like to workout? Often if a person has somebody else relying on them to show up for their workout they are more likely to go. Also, once you start going and get into the routine I guarantee it will get easier with time! You're body will actually probably start to crave exercise after a while! Plus, once you start to make progress and see results you'll definitely be more motivated to keep up the good work in order to continue seeing more results. Sometimes just getting started is the hardest part.

I think its pretty sweet that your husband loves you for you. Question... Do you like the way he looks also? Would you be sad if he let himself go and didn't take care of himself? I think if I were married I would want to look good for my husband and I would want him make an effort to look good for me. I think physical attraction goes a long ways in keep the "spark" and passion in a marriage. Also... Remember that exercise and nutrition go far beyond providing cosmetic benefits. Sure, a healthy diet and exercise improves the way you look but it also helps to boost mood, increase confidence, relieve stress, and it helpts to prevent numerous diseases (cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes). By excersing regularly you are improving numerous aspects of your life.

Sorry for the long post. I hope this helps. Good luck! :)

[Boss Man]

Cassie hit an important nail on the head. Physical deterioration prevention.

Do you know how many people I've seen here and other places, beefing about their supposedly poor weight loss. Okay, maybe losing 4lbs in 6 weeks for example, isn't optimal, and could be 2-3 times that, but they forget what they can't see.

You will NEVER look in the mirror, and admire your Blood pressure, admire your Bone density, and say hay reduced Cancer and type two Diabates risk, looking good there, nice work if I say so myself.

You can't see those things but they do happen.

You need two things ALWAYS when you start, these are a MUST.

1. Short-term wants.

2. Long-term wants.

However good a better lifestyle makes you look and feel when you're young, you're not young forever, and you might one day end up 65, and possibly blagging it as 52 easy, (who'd tell looking that good at 65), but would you feel 52, or 72?

You can't just think about oh, I find my appearance a bit average at the minute, and hubby isn't fagged one way or the other, because you need to think about how you want to FEEL when you're 60+, moreso than how you might look.

Being 65, and having middle aged divorcees winking at you, might feel good, but thinking one day you might be drinking at the last chance sex life saloon, is no good, when you're worrying about if you'll have an iffy hip, that will crimp your style, or, (not to sound crude), it's a situation where the beast with two backs, has a good and a not so good one.

The main goal for EVERYONE, should be to feel as good as you want to, when you're old, and it's not about stressing over perhaps missing a few workouts, or have you not been having enough Vit C, enough Vit D, supplementing enough in general, or getting enough water, or drinking too much Coffee for the last 20+ years, it's about getting to old age, how YOU want to, how you feel best, achieving what you want from good living, and eating and supplementing how you want, and knowing when you need to be hard on yourself, and when you let something go and move on.

You let your Head, Heart and conscience, be significant teachers and guides, and touch wood, barring any unforseen issues, you make it to 65+, feeling pretty good, and happy about that at least.