Lose Weight (and get fit) Before Roo Thread

I hear ya. I haven't been on the wagon since Roo and I am up 5-6 pounds or so :/ I need to somehow find my way back... but I'm not doing so hot.

They say as the years pass, you need to do more to accomplish the same. Perhaps upping the length/intensity of the workouts? If your goal tonight is 20 minutes at resistance 9, perhaps try 30 at 10? And/or try intervals. That is supposed to be the best. Do 10 minutes on your elliptical, jump off and do a set of jumping jacks, then hop back on (or whatever tickles your fancy).

As far as the booze goes.. I always say you have to decide what's more important. My best friend stopped drinking and lost at least ten pounds almost immediately. For me, I'd rather keep the 10 lbs and have my drinks!

Me either. Instead of being down 8, I think I am up 1 since that convo!

Dreamingtree, you look wonderful as you are!

You know what doesn't help with weight loss goals? Having a bad back, having to take steroids for it for 2 weeks & not being able to exercise like I want to. Finally made myself get back on the elliptical 3 days ago. Started out at 20 minutes after always going 45 minutes (Daily Show & Colbert Report show watching time!) & now at 30 minutes. The only time I have ever been successful at losing weight was when I started running, but I can't do that anymore with my back. It gets quite depressing.

I think people are angry and spiteful out there this week. You and Custeph make absolutely no sense to smite. I lost two today as well. I haven't lost one in monthssss and I've lost two in the past few hours.

I did promise to smite people until I got Custeph's smiter.

And y'all are going to do great on the workout/weight loss. I mean it's a cycle, you cant be on at 100% all the time. Just keep at it little by little and it'll come! Just keep checking in with your buddies. We'll have your back!

And Custeph, dealing with injuries sucks and is so discouraging, but when it heals up a little and you're able to do more than you can today it'll be awesome! Dont lose faith the work your putting in to get back where you were will pay off.

Ok, I finally made it to the 20lb mark. The wine and Ben & Jerry's night didn't help. I need to tighten up my diet and get back to working out 4 days a week. Twice is not cutting it.

Dreamingtree, and any other ladies listening out there. You MUST add weight lifting to your regiment. MUST MUST MUST. Muscle and fat weigh virtually the same, but muscle takes up 1/3 the space of fat. You would really see a big difference if you tightened up that muscle. Imagine what a thigh at 1/3 the size, nice and firm, looks like. Also, weight lifting fights Osteoporosis!! And you won't bulk up, I promise. (Unless you start shooting roids).

Also, cut those carbs and yeah, the booze is killing me too.

Well, I decided last week I want to not be out of shape anymore and started doing my college diet/workout regiment.

Feel free to copy/take what you want.

Breakfast (7:30am) - cup of cereal (I drink fat free milk because my mom corrupted my mind into thinking that it's not simply watered-down milk, so use what you want); banana/apple

Mid-morning (10:00-10:30am) - small snack - grapes, small granola bar, half a protein bar, soemthing along those lines. Light, but will keep you energized.

Lunch (12:00-1:00p) - cheat meal

Mid-afternoon (2:30 - 3:00) - small snack again

Dinner (NO LATER than 8:00) - grilled chicken, veggies, salad.



Never drink soda. Never eat after 8:00 unless you can't avoid it. Run/walk/do something active for 30+ minutes a day (or as long as you can until you're int he shape to work out that long).

Don't worry about what other people think, half of them are lazier than you are, and the other half have no reason to judge.

And a "pro tip," so to speak...I know women in general focus on burning fat, it has to do with their body type compared to men and it's not unreasonable to want to maintain/control the fat levels on their body. If you're one of these people, don't do "slow cardio." It is true "slow cardio" burns more fat calories than typical cardio, but what most people don't know or care to tell you is that the amount of total calories burned is sooo far below that of a hard fast cardio workout. You will burn more fat doing interval workouts, pylometrics and weight training.

Trust me on this, I used to be a meathead and could lift 2x my weight over my head. I know things.

The two biggest things for a lot of people are high-sugar foods (soda being the most widely abused) and eating before bed.

Aaron Gray (a mediocre-at-best white center in the NBA) lost 40 pounds in one offseason by just cutting out his late-night eating. Now, this is obviously different than you or I doing this, since he's 7' tall and does workouts with a professional basketball team, but the point is the same. The quickest way to shed easy weight is to stop the soda and late night eating.

Once that weight is gone, though, is when it gets hard. But even from a "feel better, lighter, not as lethargic" standpoint just those two easy steps will make you feel more energized, which will eventually help get you motivated to work out.

Hey doll!
So Im not a bread eater, but I am a sweets eater for SURE. So here is my best advice for dropping the sugar addiction - Cold Turkey 6 days a week + sugar-free candies to get you by the cravings + once a week splurge. We all know that completely denying yourself doesn't work bc then you totally binge and feel like a guilty criminal afterwards. So you HAVE to give yourself some room to bend, like get dessert on the weekend. Or if you had a rough day, have a sweet that night but then ditch it on the weekend. When you start going hardcore working out too - you start to think about what you put in your body vs. the workout. for example, I like to kick my ass in the mornings - so when i reach for like a cinnabon i automatically think, "wait, if i eat this i've WASTED all that work this morning" or if i work out at night, and i go for cheese fries at lunch, i think "if i eat this, Im just working it off at workout tonight and not the flab i've already got."

As far as bread goes.... I have no idea how to help with that other than to say do the same type of thing as with the sweets. Im not a big pasta or bread eater, so dropping carbs is more like less fruit etc for me.

I agree with LLLingweenie too on the weights! Lifting weights is fun. When you see your muscles working it's like encouragement and you feel like a badass. And Flanz too - long distance running is great for your heart and lungs, but the short interval BURSTS of training is documented as better for fat burning.

Kat, I am like you and love sweets! but I went cold turkey. In the past two months I eat half a PnJ every other day or so and that is about it. I had a bite of a pumpkin doughnut this week, and a blueberry muffin last month. I stopped soda, very little rice and even less pasta. No breads, except for the one slice of wheat I use for my PnJ.
I eat more fruits and veggies and smaller portions. In the past two months I have drooped 18lbs! I feel better and get compliments often, which only motivate me to be stronger. ;D At this rate, by Thursday night at Roo, I will have a 6-pack in my belly and on my belly! ;D
Now to start the working out phase!

I just want to lose my gut and man boobs. That's my main goal. That and to eat healthier/in a more structured way (no skipping breakfasts....no 11 p.m. sandwiches).

Water...... Water.... Water.... Almound Milk

Flanz is giving some good advice, especially with respect to cardio. I don't know if what I'm about to say has come up elsewhere in the thread, but this is stuff that I know from first-hand experience so I'll throw it out there.

1) Your body preferentially metabolizes alcohol over glucose, meaning that when you throw down a few beers and a big plate of cheese fries, your body's much more likely to store the excess blood sugar derived from the beer-carbs and the fries as fat. So if you're going to drink, then drink...but to minimize the harm, don't pig out on junk food when you do it.

2) Be aware of the glycemic index -- ideally you want your digestive system to trickle sugar into your blood as you need it, rather than flooding your system with it all at once (because that's going to trigger a big insulin response, beginning the fat-storage cycle.) So switch to complex carbs, or at the very least, consume simple carbs in combination with other foods.

3) Your body burns stored energy (liver glycogen and fat) SLIGHTLY more efficiently first thing in the morning, so you can maximize the efficiency of your daily cardio by running/walking/cycling/etc. on an empty stomach right after you wake up.

4) Most people underestimate the amount of food they eat. FitDay/Livestrong/etc. have good calorie trackers.

5) Deprivation diets suck and cheat meals are good. Personally I'd limit them to one per week, but I'd pretty well pig out. Your body won't absorb all the food and your thyroid will thank you. If you're on a low-carb diet, consider adding 100 to 200 grams of carbs to your diet one day per week...that'll have more or less the same effect.

We have it at the office, so I took a peek - the regular stuff has 32g of sugar in a bottle. That's the equivalent of 8 (?) teaspoons of granulated sugar. You're probably better off eating a Snickers bar.

The "0 calorie" looks to make up for the lack of sugar with a lot of chemical crap. The sweetener is stevia based, which is better I suppose, but just how much? Artificial sweetners are still screwing with your system. Hunger, insulin, yadda, yadda.

Are you a fan of seltzer/carbonated water? If so, that might be a nice alternative. Their flavorings tend to be "natural" essential oils. No artificial sh*t.

Edit: I can't type anymore. Maybe I need to post more often? ;D