The getting back in shape thread

[iradney]

And Iradney, I expect more of you. Those are pansy weights, and I know you are not a pansy girl. C'mon, woman, PUSH IT!

Hehe, fear not, I'm aiming for 66 pounds on bench by the end of march

[SorryIsGoodEnough]

So I'm on workout like...6 now. Tomorrow (Wednesday) was supposed to be my week one weigh in, but I did it today. I lost a pound.

One pound a week is not cutting it. But then again, I didn't change my diet. I have no dishes. How do I cook with no dishes!?

Also, working out makes songs I hate sound good. Like Gives You Hell by All-American Rejects. I really like that song when I'm on the elliptical. It helps the 30 minutes go by so much faster.

[gunsage]

I've been sick for a few days...yet somehow, I lost 10 pounds. Either I just hadn't been keeping up on weighing myself or I've been rapidly losing calories because of the cold. Not sure. Either way, YAY!

[BookstoreEscapee]

BE, picky picky. Okay, FINE, Romana Black it is. I think it's somewhere here in the back of the cooler.

You DO like it chilled, right? Otherwise, you are pretty much shit out of luck......

Eh, either or. I keep a bottle here but not in the fridge.

[Reyneth]

I went tonight for the first time with my new friend at work. I didn't do quite as much cardio as I did on Monday by myself, but we did do a little on the machines (arms/shoulders). I've been on 3 scales in the past three days and while they're different, all within about 2 pounds.

I like the one at my doctor's this morning though - 2 pounds lost since the last time I was there just under a month ago. And that was before I really started working out on a regular basis. (A medication was giving me crummy side effects, that's why I was back there today - they weren't conducive to working out, to say the least!)

I'm going Friday after work, can't go tomorrow because of a mini get-together for a coworker's husband who is retiring. I will be very careful about what I drink/eat (especially given it's a work night!). I'm tired all the time since I'm working an earlier schedule by an hour so my friend and I can work out, and hungry because I'm really being more careful about portion sizes. It will be worth it though!

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

Went to the gym again. First did a round on the air pressure machines I tried the other day. Two weren't working and a few were constantly occupied, but I made do. Then went on the Pull Up assistant. After that, I went 20 minutes on a treadmill. Got my heart rate up to about 160.

Then went for another short round on the air pressure things, and kinda overdid it on the pull up assistant. I moved it up to take only 115 of my weight, so I was hefting 35lbs. Could only do 10, and the last two were a HUGE effort.

Methinks I won't be able to lift my juice in the morning.

But I feel good. Tired, so I'll sleep well tonight. I don't think I care so much about losing weight. I just want to get in better shape. And do a pull up. I've never been able to do a pull up in my life. My arms have always been my weakest area, especially my wrists.

Gonna shower now, pour myself a little Highland Park, and read a chapter of my book before snoozing. Good night, all!

[Jester]

...hungry because I'm really being more careful about portion sizes.

One thing everyone needs to remember is that the body needs fuel to work out. The worst thing you can do is starve your body or not feed it what it needs to get through the workout and the day.

Now, obviously I don't mean that if suddenly you want to down a half gallon of Rocky Road ice cream, it's okay. I'm just saying that, while it's important to eat intelligently, part of that intelligence is knowing that you DO need a certain amount of good calories in your diet to power the engine that is your body through its day and its workout. This may actually result, in some cases, in you eating MORE (calorie wise) or the same amount (calorie wise) as you were eating before. This is not a bad thing.

If you don't believe me, consult any personal trainer you happen to know for specifics.

Thank you.

[iradney]

What I found works nicely is to have 5 or 6 small meals a day when you start getting those hunger pangs. You get the advantage of keeping your metabolism up, and you help head off those nasty hunger pangs as well.
I can totally relate! Nothing worse than your stomach going "FEEEEED MEEEEE" and you think "But I just ate like...an HOUR ago!!!!"

[Kiwi]

Im eating 5-6 times a day, trying to keep my calories between 1200-1500
all of my main meals are 300-400 and then I have two snacks and/or dessert with what ever calories are left.
I also have most of my carbs at breakfast and lunch. with my two snacks I try to have protein rich snacks, yogurt, cottage cheese, a small handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts etc)

I will have fruit for dessert but I try to limit bread, potato, flour, rice etc at dinner. I will have sweet potato instead if I want something filling (I prefer them anyway)
Ive already made it clear many times that I'm a hedonistic creature, Ive never "dieted" in my life, if I had to loose weight while I was dancing I simply stopped eating until I reached that weight. I would rather starve than eat bad food. Now not all low fat food is bland, in fact some of my favorite food is very low fat, but I find if you buy low fat ingredients you buy, are packed with sugar.
I couldn't bare to limit my food in anyway but portion size, I don't use low fat products, I don't skimp on butter or oil (having said that, I dont slather it on either. I would rather eat slightly less delicious food than more watery bland yuck tasting food), what I have been doing though, is keeping track of my calories. I can have whatever I want, but when I hit 1500 then that's it for the day.

I knew I was going out to a steak house last night and so I kept my lunch, snacks and breakfast to 600 calories to give myself a realistic dinner. I then chopped everything on my plate in half - potato- slice of prime rib and prawns and only ate half. That meant that I could have a glass of wine and not freak out. But I still got to have delicious prawns, steak and potato YUM

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

I'm mostly cutting down on my snacking. I've found having 2 eggs and juice for breakfast keeps me peppy and not hungry far longer than whatever else I'd been having.

I scramble 2 eggs with a dash of milk in vegetable oil. Spread a thinish layer of oil on the pan, let it heat, beat the eggs and milk together, then toss in the pan and SCRAMBLE!

I bring my lunch to work, which has given me a rep as being healthy. A little cup of ready-to-eat salmon in water, an apple, slightly less than 1oz cube of mild cheddar, and 4 to 6 Club crackers (OMG I love those crackers so much!).

Then for dinner, I have whatever the family is having, though I'm trying to cut down on that portion. Mainly so I can have popcorn afterwards. It's my weakness. ^^;; I'd also have a soda with it, but I'm cutting back on that by buying the 2 liter instead of a 12-pack so I'm only drinking 8ox instead of 12.

Though I do have a can of soda in the morning, since I don't like coffee. >> ^^;;

The real trick is the candy dish, which is always RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! And it's mostly candy I like, since I'm the one who buys it. *whimper* I'm keeping the good stuff in a drawer until people take the Tootsie rolls. After that, I'm gonna try to keep it to the peanut-filled candies. Those, at least, have SOME nutritional value.

I try not to eat out more than 2 times a week, which is a huge improvement over my college days. And when I do, I get the Small, even when the taste buds beg me to upgrade the delicious salty fries.

I've been the same weight, despite my eating habits, for almost a year. I think with the increase in Gym activity, I'll start to drop a few lbs. Though I'm more interested in being able to jog without dying.

[Rapscallion]

According to the Wii Fit, I'm four pounds lighter than before I went on holiday, which is good. However, I suspect a large chunk of that is dehydration.

Have started a program of eating reasonable quantities (blame Gatekeeper for that) despite certain atrocities I attempted on holiday (report to come). Have a heart rate monitor and am going to be doing more exercise outside of work - genuine heavy breathing gear, rather than the general slog of picking orders.

When I'm confident I have a decent idea of my stable weight, I'll be able to keep track.

Rapscallion

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

I don't trust Wii fit's weight thing. When I tried it, it said I was 130lbs, when I know DAMN well I'm 150.

[Rapscallion]

It's not too far off the other scales I have, actually, but it's worth noting that the Wii version is on thin carpet whereas the normal ones are on a hard floor. Hard floor always gives a more accurate reading, whereas a softer one makes you seem lighter than you actually are.

Rapscallion

[marty]

Started last week putting an hour into a bike and lifting on one of the ab machines. I'm proud--my stomach can apparently pull half my weight! I've dropped five pounds and expect to gain it back--in muscle, since I really don't need to lose weight at all but I want to be healthy (if I lost much more weight I'd look sickly.)

Stuffing my face:
Two boiled eggs and yogurt for breakfast.
Ham, cheese, tomato sandwich or about 2 cups of low sodium soup for lunch.
Whatever I can whip up with a little meat and fresh veggies for dinner.

I haven't had any junk food for about a month now, no chips, no ice cream, no other bad crap like soda (I HATE soda), drinking only water or fruit juice (and beer, but I refuse to give up my beer, that can be my one bad thing). I'd say I'm getting there pretty well, just have to get my endurance up.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Self Challenge Signups have begun!

If anyone is interested.

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