The getting back in shape thread

[Crazyredhead]

I was running about a month before my gallbladder sugery and getting pretty good. I was able to run around the trailer park here without stopping as much, I lost about 3 lbs.

Then my gallbladder went defective (actually I was getting warning pains for about 1 1/2 months before).

I haven't been running for about a month now and I am going to start again tomorrow morning. I am at 171 lbs right now, but I will actually gain a few more until my body starts burning fat. You know, muscles weights more than fat.

I just got back from a 4 mile walk, and in this heat. I had an appointment at the VA clinic on post for another hernia prob. My husband didn't renew the car insurance so I had to walk. I was more hot than tired, but I felt energized once I downed a gallon of water.

I can't seem to get the time or the energy to run in the evenings, so I get up at 5:30am and run. I guess it's from all the running in the am from the military. I love seeing the world waking up in the morning, and it is alot cooler then.

I took pictures of myself in nothing but my underwear and bra, all four views (the poor photo developer


I actually feel kinda bad for the shock he got when that picture came out.

[Kiwi]

believe me hes seen much worse, you probably made his day hehehe

keep up the good work but dont push yourself too hard after surgery, take a softly softly approach!

muscle doesnt weigh more than fat but it does take up ALOT more room, most people will start to gain muscle before they start to lose fat, the body doesnt like to give it up... blame cavemen for that, just remember energy in must be less than energy out and the fat will come off.

I think we have to remember, fat is a living organism it likes to live, it doesnt like to be burnt up.

good luck for your next surgery and remember, softly softly.

congrats on the collarbone puckishone!!!!

[NightWolf]

Ditto guys!! Way to go!

I find I can't workout in the morning. I think it's a bit different if you are lifting and not a morning person. I tend to have more accidents when I work out in the morning, so I stopped that. I'm with Puckish, I think the afternoon workouts are my best and I'm going to agree with what was said about having some pent up work releated stress. I think working out has helped a ton in relieveing the work stress.

I took pictures of myself a while back. Mainly the key areas. Torso shot, Quads, Calves, Back, and arms. I'm probably due for some more to compare and see if anything's been changing. All I can say is, thank god for digital cameras or else I never would have seen my first pictures. No way in HELL I'm having someone develop pictures of me posing. no way!

oh and before I forget again, Kudos to Sphix for making her 10 mile running goal!!! 10 Miles!!! I probably couldn't run 2 without falling over dead! WTG Girl!!

Keep up the good work everyone!!!!

[Sphinx]

Ditto guys!! Way to go!

oh and before I forget again, Kudos to Sphix for making her 10 mile running goal!!! 10 Miles!!! I probably couldn't run 2 without falling over dead! WTG Girl!!

Keep up the good work everyone!!!!

Thanks, NightWolf! I thought I was gonna die at first as well. But I made it!! Now gotta step it up lol thinking about going to 15 lol

[PuckishOne]

10 miles, Sphinx?? Were you being chased?? I'm sooo not a runner. Well done - I am always in awe of folks who can run any kind of distance. That rocks.

NightWolf, the accident thing was a factor for me, too. Tripping on the treadmill and/or elliptical trainer one too many times convinced me that my eyes should be fully open when exercising.

Kiwi, you may be the first person ever to congratulate me for my collarbone!! And thanks, too!! It wasn't too far gone, but I'm glad to have it back.

For those who are tracking progress with photos, any suggestions on the best way to do that? As in, what angles, what clothes, how often, that sort of thing?

[Sphinx]

10 miles, Sphinx?? Were you being chased?? I'm sooo not a runner. Well done - I am always in awe of folks who can run any kind of distance. That rocks.

No I wasnt being chased
I just really like to run. It helps a lot too when I'm frustrated/stressed out/angry/depressed/sad

[cougar_guy04]

I started trying to lose some weight this summer because I was just tired of being out of shape and overweight. I ended up dropping about 15 pounds in a few weeks mainly because I:

• Stopped eating junk food/drinking soda (That was a hard one because I am a Dr. Pepper fiend)

• Cut my portion sizes down

• Started drinking a lot of water (anywhere from 1/2-1 gallon a day).

• Biked to classes instead of driving (anywhere from 5-10 miles about 4 times a week). Running still is out of the category for now though . . . I hate to run unless it is needed for my survival.

My goal is to be under 200 pounds when I graduate (hopefully May, 2008) and I started at 260-ish. Keep up the good work everyone!

(A fringe benefit is that my expenses have gone down considerably too )

[PuckishOne]

CougarGuy, if you don't mind me asking... I want to get some advice from a guy on this one...

My fiance is in a similar situation to you - he's at, oh, 230 or so right now and wants to get to 200, but the whole portion-control logic eludes him for some reason. Any tips on how he can maybe cut back without the pain, so to speak? I really don't want to nag him, and I don't, but if there's a "guy angle" to it maybe I could mention it to him and see how that goes.

[NightWolf]

For those who are tracking progress with photos, any suggestions on the best way to do that? As in, what angles, what clothes, how often, that sort of thing?

Well, for me personally, I'm doing the pictures around every 2-3 months. Keeping in mind that i'm alternating my workouts to 1 month lifting lots of heavy weight, and then 1 month of a lot of reps. (Bulking/Cutting) I then just continue to alternate so my body doesn't get used to one workout for too long. I figure realisticly I probably won't see much change in a few months, but then again, depending on your body, you'd be surprised what you'll see in a few months.

As far as the angle, I pretty much do a straight on shot for the torso. Nothing fancy.
Same thing goes for the back. Straight on. Of course you may need someone to take it for you or else try and do some mirror magic.
The calves, I just look at it and try to get what I think is the best angle for it.
The same thing goes for the arms.

For cloths, It's pretty much an optional thing. Whatever you feel comfortable in/out of when taking the pictures. Certainly the more muscle you can show without anything obstructing the picture, the better. I'd suggest maybe a sports bra and shorts? Or if your comfortable with it, take it in your undies.

Hope that answers your questions.

[cougar_guy04]

CougarGuy, if you don't mind me asking... I want to get some advice from a guy on this one...

It may sound hokey, but I have a freezer full of those Lean Cuisine microwave dinners (they really aren't too bad and they are filling). I don't skip breakfast, even though it's usually something simple like a bowl of cereal or brekfast bar. To start off with, it was kinda rough, but I got used to it. Another thing, whenever I got hungry in between meals, I'll grab a glass of water instead of snacking. That's about the extent of my diet plan. I may not have lost a ton of weight, but I have lost some and I am feeling a lot better now too. I don't know how much help this was, but the whole healthy eating thing is kinda new to me (I'm surprised Taco Bell hasn't called to see if I'm still alive ).

Also, my dad is doing the Nutri-system thing. It's kind of expensive, but he's had good results with it (he's dropped a lot of weight as well).

[Luna]

I've started waking up earlier and exersizing for 30 minutes a day. I realized that after bringing stuff up one flight of stairs a couple of times and I was out of breath and my heart beating so hard it hurt - that I needed to fix things.

I'm definately an emotional eater. And hubby is basically skin and bones who eats anything he wats and has gained 5 pounds in 11 1/2 years. I've gained 30.
I'm not cutting back on carbs as drastically as I once tried to do - b/c too much meat gives me heartburn. But I had a heart to heart with hubby and told him by gobbling all this junk food - there's no room in the fridge (or our wallets!) for healthy food for me. He wants me to lose weight too, but he wasn't helping me do it.

Now he is, and his fav snack right now are seedless red grapes. Great when frozen too!! Eating healthy is expensive, but what I do is really take the time to shop and buy what is on sale. Don't just buy what you feel like eating.

I've only lost 5 pounds - but I just started. I want to drop a little bit more before going back to the gym b/c I'd be embarrassed if I pass out on a machine after 10 minutes...I used to go all the time until I just got lazy and stopped.

I was reading one of my Wicca books the other day. (The Circle Within: Creating A Wiccan Spiritual Tradition - if anyone wants to know)
No, I'm not going to preach - but I am going to quote some lines that truly inspired me to start caring for myself:

1. Even one candle sheds light
2. The longer we hold past actions against someone, the longer we are the victims of their actions.
3. You life is holy. Your heart and mind and body are expressions of Divine love, and if you don't treat them as such, who will?

Good luck to everyone, and with that - I'm off to bed so I can rise early and keep on excersizing.

[Kiwi]

my waxer asked me if I had lost weight lately

im not doing my fun run to lose weight, but it was nice to hear all the same !!

[COMINATCHA]

I was keeping a food diary, where I wrote down EVERYTHING I ate each day, so I could see what I was really putting into my body. I also wrote down all the excersise I was doing each day. It worked really well - a little too well actually. I was getting a bit too obsessive, so I scrapped the diary idea.
Just a heads up if anyone decides to do something similar, but then again, it might work for someone who is less obsessive than me

[NightWolf]

Actually, COMI, this is a really good idea and it's normally a common thing most personal trainers will tell you to do. Keep a log of everything you eat that way you can see exactly where in your diet changes need to be made. I did this and it worked great. I was eating nowhere near enough calories during my bulking phase and was taking in too little protein. With the help of that tactic, I was able to get my intake to the correct amounts easily.

I don't think being too obsessive about this is a bad thing. It's your body, it's your health. Take whatever measures you see necessary to stay fit. If nobody gets it or understands it, screw em. I got friends that sit and argue with me every day about what i take in and what supplements I'm taking. But of course, these are the people that always have something to say, even when nobody asked them for their opinions.

[LadyMage]

I've done that too Cougar. Water rather than snacks, but I couldn't keep to it.

But, I did notice that I've lost about an inch off my lower stomach. (My belly is partitioned: spare tire 1 and spare tire 2, so to say). The upper is giving me issues but I've also taken to running and walking a lot. It's getting there, but I noticed DEFINITE loss in the lower as of late.