Dieting, Exercise and Weight Loss Rant

[raggedyanne]

Whenever I gain weight, people say I've lost weight, very bizarre. I've been at camps for a couple weeks and they don't understand vegetarianism, so I've starved off a couple inches. So not healthy. My mom is getting me a personal trainer, but she's including herself in the class too. It's not like I'm going to seduce him or something!

[Aaroneet]

You might look like you gain when you lose because of your build, but that's just my opinion. I know that, with me, it's somewhat difficult to tell when I've really put on weight, because, even at my heaviest, my clothes (mostly pants) are still a size 6/8. It really all does depend on how you feel, I suppose, and less how you look. Enjoy exercising because it makes you feel good. As for the part about your mother, some mothers join gyms whenever their children do. The people who work in the gym I go to encourage it, although my mother wants me to be independent.

[Circle V]

I'm about 5'6 and 108 pounds, putting my BMI just under 18-- which means that I'm significantly underweight. I've begun to ease into an exercise routine, and just got over the initial soreness. I've been doing three sets of pushups, two sets of crunches, as well as lifting barbells or using my weight machine every day. 108 is the most I've ever weighed.

I think I just need to eat more-- I love food, but I don't love eating a lot of it. I've been spreading my exercise throughout the day-- usually a set of pushups as soon as I get up, and everything else squeezed in before 9 pm.

Anyway, what can I do to add bulk and increase strength without going to the gym? I have easy access to:

5 lb dumbbells
A cable weight machine in my garage
An exercise ball
Mountain bikes and a nearby trail

My goal is to reach a healthy weight and to build visible muscle.

[MollyMac]

try isometrics and polymetrics- both require nothing but you rbody and they can build and tone fast

[Rae Ven Rae]

What helps me to stay on track is to give myself an allowance (one time a week mind you) where I can eat one thing I really love for doing such a great job -- by giving yourself an occasional no no -- you don't feel deprived. After a while, you won't even desire it...also don't feel the need to eat everything on your plate -- don't eat to feel full -- your body will tell you when to stop, because you won't feel like eating -- we tend to push pass that impulse feeling guilty if we don't finish all our food. Listen to your body -- Break that habit and a miraculous thing happens-- weight comes off -- I lost mad weight doing that -- portion control and a healthy reward system as well as exercise helps you feel goal oriented -- and if you stray don't beat yourself up -- get out a the to-do list and get back on track...

That said -- I have an issue with plateauing -- anyone know how to bust through that... I only got ten more pounds to go (lost thirty after baby)?

[Circle V]

Mind elaborating a bit, or giving links? I understand what isometric exercise entails in general, but the specific exercises are hard to track down. I don't want to just start pushing on walls. Polymetrics aren't showing up much on searches.

[honeythorn]

I really wish I could move out. I know for a fact that would help me lose weight. If I don't buy it then I cannot eat it. End of. I don't blame my mother as such, but she is absent minded and really not helpful at all. I ask her to get various healthy foods, give her a list ect. She gets the things, and I am ok for a little while. But what then? she will make a shit load of cookies or a big cake and LEAVE THEM ON THE COUNTER. Thanks a lot mom cheers. I have told her time and again to at least not leave things in plain view where I might be tempted by them, but she just does not pay attention.

I'm ok at work, we have no canteen/cafeteria, so everyone has to take a packed lunch. If I only pack healthy foods then that is all I can have. But when I get home it is a different story. There sit the cookies and the nibbles, the little sausage rolls and cheesy bacon puffs

[raggedyanne]

I totally understand. When I;m at home there's all this junk sitting around and I have no will power whatsoever. I've actually taken to buying those lean cuisine meals so I'm less tempted by bad stuff.

[honeythorn]

I just hate it so much. Because of the hours I work ( which are fixed btw ) I am not able to get to a gym ( I can't drive ) and am so tired by the weekend . I do try to go for long brisk walks though, I enjoy those.

I can't remember a time when I wasn't overweight. Even as a child I was overweight. I do have a large build anyway, it runs in the family on the maternal side ( you should see my nan! ), but on top of that I have always, always been fat. When I was 18 I managed to lose some weight, but only because I was ill with glandular fever , had had braces and could only eat liquidised food ( ugh ) I got down to 11 stone. I went on holiday to Lanzarote shortly after I got better and the photos my friend has of that holiday....well even I can barely recognise myself. No one else recognises me on that picture either, not even friends from school who we are now in touch with.

It really galled me to watch them look at the picture, then look at me, and back again in disbelief. You could see the thoughts. I could see them thinking " what the fuck happened? ".

[MollyMac]

I'll post links when I get home, but polymeterics are essentially adding jumps/impacts to your workouts. Say, if you are holding a lunge. Instead of moving slowly into the alternating leg to lunge, you jump and land. The jumping increases your heart rate in a similar manner to interval training. the impact forces your body off-balance and makes your muscles in the off balance areas (always the core, but your legs in lunges) reacy quickly and almost imperceptible at first.

But your stabilising muscles are underutilised in most work outs (as we tend to focus on exterior muscles, "showy" muscles) and will tire easily. This is good as you know you will be building them up. The stabilising are also th e"root" to the exterior muscles and will provide a great counter to working them.

Think of the same manner as doing a bicep curl. You curl up on one slow count, hold, and lower it on two slow counts to work under the bicep and also the tricep. Three slow reps, three fast.

Polymetrics are basically adding interval for cardio and impact for muscle.

[MollyMac]

Polymetrics is the massed term for isometrics and pylometerics, which I briefly decribed. Here's the wiki to pylo:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plyometrics

[honeythorn]

I have made the grave mistake of buying a set of weighing scales. I really wish I hadn't as it has actually made me feel worse. I am in fact almost 17 stone ( 238 lbs )

[raggedyanne]

How tall are you? I would suggest speaking with a nutritionist. He or she will evaluate your diet to make sure you're getting the proper nutrients and then assist you in mapping out a diet plan. I'd also suggest things like taking stairs instead of elevator and walking instead of driving whenever possible. Find an activity that you like and sign up for a class. If you're uncomfortable around other people (like I am) then they usually offer a privet lesson.

I weigh about 130 pounds and I'm only 5'4". The ideal weight for my height, age, and body type is around or under 120. I've talked to a nutritionist and signed up with a trainer. I've taken to walking to and from school, and dancing 2 or more times a week. Yoga and pilates are both fun and beneficial to health.

[honeythorn]

I am also 5'4 . I do walk everywhere and take buses, I cannot drive. I can't remember the last time I used an elevator! At my job I am on my feet all day, but because of what I do ( make boxes ) I am usually standing in the same place in front of the machine. I always take the opportunity to move about though, lifting big wooden pallettes and moving big stacks of boxes ect.. I'm not a couch potato by any means. You have to pay for nutritionists here. They aint cheap

[Aaroneet]

I've said this before; I think that the standards for ideal weights should not be uniform. Rather, we have to keep in mind the standard to be a round number, depending on our builds. If I go strictly by the appropriate weight for my height, (Probably around 115), I would look sickly. Rather, as has been said before in this thread, I am learning more and more to go by how I feel, how my clothes fit, and less what the scale says.

[Lapin]

My rant on this is that I've been losing weight, rather scarily.

I tend not have time to eat in the day and just grab small snacks, so my diet of the past two months has consisted of coffee, croissants, bananas, Vanilla Coke, apples, and French bread. This is not healthy. I also walk everywhere.

I've dropped ten pounds, noticiably, and people have commented. Its extremely aggravating because my clothes arn't fitting right now and I'm worried I'm going to make myself very sick.

Any suggestions on quick meals you can eat in a hurry that are healthy?

[Aaroneet]

Breakfast: A piece of toast, a glass of milk, and a piece of fruit. You can have yogurt as an alternative to the toast, if you want, or have all four.

Lunch: Soup (Either canned or the drinkable kind.), with, if you want, bread again with a piece of cheese. Sandwiches, salads, and eggs are also quick.

Dinner: If you are in an incredible rush, macaroni and cheese (Though not in the packaged form. It's surprisingly quick.) What is given as lunch options can also be applied to dinner. Cold cuts and/or soup and a salad works wonders as a meal.

[Lapin]

Ew. Eggs. But I'll take the rest of them Thank you Aaroneet!

[Crying_Crimson_Tears]

I just lost weight.

Although not eating all the foods I love is hard.

[Solumina]

grrr stupid body why can't you just pick a weigh and stick with it?

In the past month I have bobbled between 137lbs and 113lbs (at the moment I am somewhere in the mid 120's) and I'm getting sick of none of my clothing fitting

[nigga fooku]

reaffirmation that if you post on a forum called gothic.net, chances are you're obese

[MollyMac]

Ha! Well, the goths, maybe. Not me!

[the-broken-harlequin]

Originally Posted by Lapin

My rant on this is that I've been losing weight, rather scarily.

I tend not have time to eat in the day and just grab small snacks, so my diet of the past two months has consisted of coffee, croissants, bananas, Vanilla Coke, apples, and French bread. This is not healthy. I also walk everywhere.

I've dropped ten pounds, noticiably, and people have commented. Its extremely aggravating because my clothes arn't fitting right now and I'm worried I'm going to make myself very sick.

Any suggestions on quick meals you can eat in a hurry that are healthy?

Pot Noodles!
If not that get an English breakfast sandwich.
Its like this big sandwich with meat, egg, tomatoes and such.
You can ea it in a hurry and it will fill you up.

The last time I saw one was in a groceries shop.
Although they seem popular in cafeterias.

[killer_asian_Dax]

My weight loss rant is more about myself and my sudden laziness.

I can and usually go off about 4-5 hours of sleep each night. I can do this for about 8 or so months. Then for 2 weeks, I'll suddenly need all the sleep in the world. As a result, I haven't been going to the gym so much if at all. My diet is right and I'm starting to eat consistently again now, but I'm just worried that if this "needing a lot of sleep" thing keeps up much longer, I'll start to see anti-results.

[Solumina]

I think I'm having problems retaining water as I have been going through a lot more fluids and I think that may have a lot to do with my weight fluctuation