ShapeFit.com

[MsMiranda]

Hi all,

I'm new around here but my 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 my weight fluctuates between 145-150 lbs. At my 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 my 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, my 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 my 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.

My 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 my stomach, flatten my arms and basically keep the fat off? I'm going to try my best to avoid carbs in my 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

[littleshelly]

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.

[Boopster]

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 my 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

[MsMiranda]

Boopster - thank you SO much for the tips and advice.

I know I have to up my 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 my 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 my 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 my wedding dress I want to look good always and feel comfortable in my clothing and my 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 my progress on here ...

Thanks again.
Miranda

[colins]

Hi!
What kind of weight training would be beneficial for MsMiranda?

[Mbauer21]

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!

[Boopster]

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 my years of dedicating myself to working out and watching my diet, I too have had my fair share of, "I cannot take this one more minute", but it is at that very moment that I realize I am worth it, my kids are worth it, my 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 my 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!

[Boopster]

[MsMiranda]

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 my form is right before I pack on any more weight.

I'll try my 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 my fiance's help and encouragement I think I can do much better than I ever did on my 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!

[swanso5]

- 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...

[Christopheel]

[MsMiranda]