So who else is bettering themselves physically?

[vodka]

Toning up? Losing weight? Whatever it is, How's your progress?

 

I'd say I'm doing quite well actually. It's been nearly a year since I started my diet and I've lost a total of 58 pounds. I'm 5'8 and my start weight was 225. I still would like to lose another 30 before I begin to tone up. Good thing I'm a woman with height. I fancy my long legs now! I've went from a size 16 jeans to a size 10/11. I find myself actually wanting to spend hours in stores trying on all sorts of outfits and accessories that I would have never considered wearing before. It's like I'm turning into a different person. The only down side is never having anything to wear for long. So I'm constantly spending money on clothing.

[LDRohnos]

Yes clothing is the primary reason I stay in shape. I'm not even joking...if I gain 5 pounds that means I my jeans/pants fit tighter (uncomfortably so) plus I'd have to buy all new clothing. Screw that I'll goto the gym =P

 

Have you thought about working on your toning while losing weight? You have the benefit of doing both unless you're a bodybuilder and have gains/losses at the same time. Simply having a low calorie diet and cardio is fine but if this is the first time you're losing weight I would seriously consider doing some anabolic training as well. You know...hit the weights. When you finally get to your target weight and have to switch back over to eating more food so you don't become TOO skinny, having some additional muscle tone on your body will actually help. Believe it or not if you aren't lifting weights your body is going to attack your lean muscle as well at fat as a compensation...that isn't good.

 

Usually when people lose lots of weight they end up "ping-ponging" back up again because they cannot stay on the low calorie diet they were on and do not do resistance training so they have less lean muscle mass. Muscles naturally burn more calories on a daily basis. Just food for thought!

 

Keep it up!

[vodka]

I'm going back to stay on campus in January. They have a gym there I was definitely planning on joining. I'm a student on a budget in a rural area. Can't even find a YMCA, so I've been doing a lot of cardio for the past year. I simply cannot wait. I already have the eating habits established so eating in the cafe won't even be an issue.

[iBroken]

I need to get my arse to the gym - I have gained weight since I started seeing my now girlfriend. I just cant get out of this rut that im in

[ButterflyWrists]

I second toning up while losing weight..

I've recently just started a "proper" exersize program - climbing xD. I walk to uni one day a week (sometimes more but at a minimum of once a week) and climbing is twice a week when I pass my induction..

What kind of exersize are you doing btw?

[vodka]

Nothing in particular really. My job keeps me pretty active and on my feet. I usually always walk to work as well. I feel like I'm ready to start working out seriously. Once I get into something I run off with it. So I want to apply that to the gym.

[redrose85]

After school started up again, I’ve gotten into a major rut. Heading back to the gym means that my days consist of class, work, homework, gym, and that’s it, but I feel nasty, so I started up again today. I wish there was a trick to just lose face fat so I at least look good in photos LOL

[WhenWillILove]

Weight training for 5 months now. Lost body fat, definitely! And abs showing! You want to burn fat? Cardio is NOT the answer! Do weight lifting!

[Lamour detruit]

First off, toning is a non existent thing. It doesn't exist. Second off..

 

Weight training for 5 months now. Lost body fat, definitely! And abs showing! You want to burn fat? Cardio is NOT the answer! Do weight lifting!

 

This. Too many females are afraid they'll get bulky if they lift weights, but that is close to impossible. Do cardio, lift some weights..and you'll get results fast.

[LDRohnos]

First off, toning is a non existent thing. It doesn't exist. Second off..

 

Women use the word "toning" because saying they're going to "Weight Lift" isn't very feminine.

[friendsoulmate]

I have been on my special diet for slow metabolism for 10 months now. My starting weight was 225 and I am now 180. I must have hit some kind of balance point in my body, whereas I am not loosing more than 180. While I was loosing the weight, I often felt weak, tired and had slow thoughts, but once I stopped losing the weight, my energy came back. I have stayed with my diet plan(except for chocolate after a meal) and I have not gained any of the weight back. Since I was overweight most of my life, I still have this embarrassing loose skin around my waist. Do they make girdles for men? I don't want any plastic surgery on my waist. I can do exercises, with exception to exercises which could aggravate an old lower-back injury I have, such as high-impact aeorobic dancing. I have never been good at running(probably because of my flat feet), so I don't run.

[Ariel85]

It's been nearly a year since I started my diet and I've lost a total of 58 pounds.

 

That's awesome! You have every reason to be proud. Keep working towards your goal.

[tinybob]

i need to start! my weight is fine, but i am so out of shape! maybe this thread will be my inspiration

good luck to everyone with their goals!

[sidehop]

Weight training for 5 months now. Lost body fat, definitely! And abs showing! You want to burn fat? Cardio is NOT the answer! Do weight lifting!

 

Either works; just that weight lifting does burn more fat compared to cardio. It's about the body trying to balance. Some fat is always a good thing. Just because you look like a swimsuit model doesn't always mean the person is healthy. Take bodybuilders for example, they may look very cut but their body fat is so low for most people your body is on the verge of dying. And they themselves do cardio when it comes to burning excess fat during the cutting cycle.

 

Shredding, cutting, toning, all the same thing. At the end of the day your body is trying to adjust by either storing food for later use (fat), burn to maintain the active body and adjust accordingly. You really have to look at the healthy lifestyle in that sense. Not because you have to look like someone else with toned body or muscule/cut look but rather how you feel. Otherwise it really does become a vicious cycle of achieving goals and not really sticking to it long-term.

[LDRohnos]

Truthfully you really need to do 0 cardio to get a ripped/lean body. If you weight train 3 times a week and have a steady calorie deficit (not too much maybe 200-500 (MAX) calories a day) less than your maintainence that's all you need.

 

 

Of course cardio is really healthy for your heart. I'm talking getting those BPM's up to 75%+ or doing interval training. Sprint for 1 minute walk for 4....repeat. Diet is 75%-80% of what you look like. You are...as they say...what you eat!

[Snny]

Truthfully you really need to do 0 cardio to get a ripped/lean body.

Then can you explain how dancers (especially the Irish stepdancers),and marathon/track runners have strong, muscular legs, toned butts, and are thin?

 

If you weight train 3 times a week and have a steady calorie deficit (not too much maybe 200-500 (MAX) calories a day) less than your maintainence that's all you need.

Eating under 1,000 calories per day is not healthy for adults and will result having a malnourished body. Hell, that amount isn't even healthy for a 12 year old child. If you workout, your muscles require you to eat a lot of protein, carbs, calcium, and potassium. Also, your calorie intake entirely depends on your workout level, daily activities, heart rate, etc. so everyone does not have the same calorie intake results.

 

Weight training for 5 months now. Lost body fat, definitely! And abs showing! You want to burn fat? Cardio is NOT the answer! Do weight lifting!

I partially agree with this. You need both cardio AND CORE weight training to lose weight (free weights and weight machines only target one muscle category when core focuses on two or more). The American Heart Association recommends people do cardio 2 hours a week along with weight training. Weight training improves bone density and zaps fat while cardio burns more calories.

 

The problem with weight training is that many people, particularly women, don't know how to lift weights properly to get better results and avoid the risk of injury, so it can be intimidating. It's why I recommend people sign up for a personal trainer to show them how to properly workout AND pushes them- plus you get faster results.

 

 

Since I have combine both workouts, I have developed 6 pack abs within 3 months with a personal trainer (meet twice a week and work out on my own 1-2 days the same week). It is not a cheap option, but I find it incredibly worth it when I was not feeling confident and needed someone to chart and monitor my workouts. I have been working out on my own since Last year and tried to improve my workouts. I have lost 2 pant sizes so far and my fiance loves my new body.

[LDRohnos]

Then can you explain how dancers (especially the Irish stepdancers),and marathon/track runners have strong, muscular legs, toned butts, and are thin?

 

Track runners do tons of weight training. So do marathon runners. It requires a strong upper body to run fast as well as your lower body. All athletes do weight training. All-of-them.

 

 

Eating under 1,000 calories per day is not healthy for adults and will result having a malnourished body. Hell, that amount isn't even healthy for a 12 year old child. If you workout, your muscles require you to eat a lot of protein, carbs, calcium, and potassium. Also, your calorie intake entirely depends on your workout level, daily activities, heart rate, etc. so everyone does not have the same calorie intake results.

 

I'm not disagreeing with you there, but 200 less than maintainence even for a 100 pound girl is still more than 1000 calories. I do agree though that anything beyond 2 pounds per week deficit is too much.

[sidehop]

Really depends on the body type and what your goal is also; some can get ripped with caloric deficit while others need cardio; and you're right, it's beneficial for your health to begin with but when you're talking very lean or defined shape cardio is almost always essential.

 

Eating under 1,000 calories per day is not healthy for adults and will result having a malnourished body. Hell, that amount isn't even healthy for a 12 year old child. If you workout, your muscles require you to eat a lot of protein, carbs, calcium, and potassium. Also, your calorie intake entirely depends on your workout level, daily activities, heart rate, etc. so everyone does not have the same calorie intake results.

 

Too many factors to really say what will work for one's body. For male you can lose up to four pounds a week while for women no more than two. But we're talking 'healthy fat loss'. Not how much comes off the scale.

 

There's a theory on how much fat can be burned in a day without the body leeching off nutrients from muscles. Beyond that you either burn little bit more muscles and on top of fat to lose extra weight; where most people who go in a starvation mode will think they lost 10 lbs in a week when in reality there's only so much that the body has burned off the fat while making the muscles weaker and have more negative consequence on the body from such crash diet.

 

So if you weigh 180 lbs with 20% body fat, it basically states you can lose up to 31.4 calories per pound of fat per day; roughly 1,130 calories per day or 7,910 calories per week; which is 2.26 lbs of fat loss for the example body stats above; common for many males. That's probably where the up to 2 lbs of healthy fat a week comes from with the daily 500-1000 caloric deficit. And if you take a lean but heavyweight bodybuilder, 300 lb guy during bulking cycle at 17% body fat can burn up to 1,601 calories per day or 11,209. With such stats he can lose over three pounds of fat loss without affecting muscle mass each week.

 

And for women, if you weigh say 100 lbs with 23% body fat then 722 calories of fat can be burned a day and 5,055 calories per week; which is 1.44 lbs of healthy fat loss a week. All that of course will depend on one's activity level and how much the body is burning both during exercising and resting/recovering. Two women or men with the same exact body stats obviously won't have the same results aside from 20 billion other factors to consider.

 

It's a never ending number crunching and adjusting on a daily basis aside from doing things the healthier way.

 

...and I hate cardio. I'll say that right now.

[Seymore]

I'm definitely bettering myself. A couple of months ago I decided to not just stop smoking (just quitting never worked for me before), but to quit and replace it with another habit. So I took the cigarette money and spent it on Taekwondo and Hapkido lessons, which a friend invited me to take with her (she's been doing it for 2 years now). And since I'm a graphic designer and my school needs a new website and other design stuff, my Master made me a deal: I handle his design stuff, and I train for free! This was one of the best decisions I've made in a long time.

[notafraid]

I like being active and have worked out regularly for the past twenty years. For the first ten years, I was doing it all wrong. I spent a lot of time in the gym, but I found out about seven years ago that my body has a hard time breaking down pastas, breads, basically anything with flour. I did a cleanse and I started to do a lot of yoga. Since I started to do yoga, my body has changed dramatically. I actually have a waist now! I still stay away from carbs, I eat mostly grains, rice is okay from time to time, but I love fruits and veggies. I do believe that diet is what makes or breaks you but that's just my experience. I do a lot of cardio in summer by riding my bike and I also do weights a few times a week, nothing heavy duty. My highest weight in my late teens was 185 lbs, I am now a very healthy and lean 140 lbs. I feel and look better now than I did 20 years ago and I try to work out everyday, even if it's only twenty minutes of core and some weights.

[Voguester]

I'm starting a healthy diet and exercise today, I plan to lose 4 kgs before christmas. I'm going to do weight training and cardio which I know has helped me lose weight in the past. I'm also going to start taking protein powder as recommended to me by a fitness expert, apparently im not getting enough protein in my vegetarian diet.

[Thorshammer]

I gained 15lbs of muscle since my ex broke up with me 5 months ago. I went from strength training 3x a week for martial arts, to bodybuilding for looks 6x a week. I eat about 3000 calories a day, protein grams = lb of weight.