My "Handy Little Plan!" It WORKED!!!

[Tagging Along]

Glad all worked out for you on the cruise. Now that you are at your goal how will you change your eating habits so you do not continue to loose weight?

 

I am at the same point that you are and still trying to figure it all out.

This is a good question. Since I reached my goal weight before I cruised I was still maintaining it by eating the small meals more often. I was not as rigidly strict about keeping every meal TINY, but still ate much less than I used to. I was pretty much maintaining my weight not continuing to lose.

 

I also now eat everything I want, just smaller portions. I eat desserts, I eat Mac & Cheese. I also eat a lot of veggies. I tend to never eat more than just a small portion of meat at one time. That's just my preference. (When I hear of people eating a 20+ oz steak at one sitting.... :eek: !!!

I can't even finish a 6 oz filet! Yep, it's 2 meals for me...w/ sides)

 

What I truly want to do more is work out with weights. Strength Training. That's where I could use some help from others. In the past, I have paid for gym memberships and the YMCA for YEARS and rarely gone. This is so embarrassing to write. I kept paying either because I had to or because I thought paying each month would force me to finally go. The few times I did go were fine, but I just never had the motivation to keep going and it certainly never became a habit. That's my new goal... Even though I'm at the lower goal weight, I'm not as firm and toned as I should be. I know muscles weigh more than fat and help to keep the metabolism burning. Currently the thing I do most consistently is walk.

 

Any suggestions? I'm a little intimidated by the whole gym experience.

[happysinglemom]

What I truly want to do more is work out with weights. Strength Training. That's where I could use some help from others. In the past, I have paid for gym memberships and the YMCA for YEARS and rarely gone. This is so embarrassing to write. I kept paying either because I had to or because I thought paying each month would force me to finally go. The few times I did go were fine, but I just never had the motivation to keep going and it certainly never became a habit. That's my new goal... Even though I'm at the lower goal weight, I'm not as firm and toned as I should be. I know muscles weigh more than fat and help to keep the metabolism burning. Currently the thing I do most consistently is walk.

 

Any suggestions? I'm a little intimidated by the whole gym experience.

 

First things first, before someone JUMPS all over the "muscles weigh more than fat" thing. Yes, they do. For the same mass, muscles weigh more, as muscle tissue is denser. So everyone PLEASE don't do the whole "pound is a pound" nonsense!!! Okay...got that off my chest! :o

 

Strength training...well, I have belonged at least one gym (I am a member of 2 different gyms for the last few years for convenience's sake) for about 25 years. So I feel completely at home in them. When I first started going, I went with a girlfriend - we had joined together. But I guess it just appealed to me as I very quickly became a regular. The key, I think, is being regular and consistent. If you set up a regular schedule, and stick to it (this is VERY important - it must become a normal routine) you will beome very comfortable there.

 

Set a goal of say, 6 months. And make a comittment for that 6 months, that you are going to adhere to a workout schedule, other than emergencies of course, and not let anyone or anything upset that routine.

The US go'vt acutally has published fitness guides on this, and they suggest a minimum of this: complete 10 different exercises (machines or weights) twice a week. This is a very light routine, and you could easily do this in 30 - 45 min session.

 

Here is a good site. It has good tips on stretching and preparing yourself for your workouts. Also it has actual pics of how each exercise should be done.

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/strength.html

Once you become comfortable at a gym, and get into a good disciplined routine, I guarantee you it will change your body and your life, for the better. It certainly has mine. :)

[smoothdancer]

Ask I expected Happy has given great advise.

 

My contribution.... at first you may not like it! I did not, I hated it and it was a real chore to go and I had to force myself to go. I would go right from work because once I got home there was no way I could talk myself into it. Once I was there I was fine, it was the getting there that was an issue. So if you have to force yourself until you get to that point that you want to go and enjoy it, that is what you need to do.

 

Years back my husband worked for a company that would pay for a gym membership for worker and spouse so we bought a lifetime membership at Ballys. (I dont think they offer these anymore) That sometimes made it harder to push myself as I never paid for it. Now I think of it as one of the best benefits my husband ever got.

 

Good luck on this and thanks for your thoughts on how to maintain weight loss.

[Tagging Along]

Thanks to both HappySM & Smoothdancer for their advice. Don't get me wrong. I didn't even dislike going so much as there always seemed to be so much else to do. I would go for about a week and then stop, yet again, my payments would continue for months or years.:o I was last a member of a YMCA that I had to pass all the time on my way home from work!!! The memory still haunts me how long I paid and still did not go.

 

The main factors hurting me now are 1) financial. These places cost $$ I simply do not have. (Especially after the one week cruise and the hit to my credit cards) And I'm not prepared to pay again for years and not go.

Which brings me to 2) can't seem to make the darn thing a habit as easily as it is for me to just Walk 3-6 times a week. I even have some weights at home, but don't do them often enough to call them a habit. I keep thinking, "Oh well I walked my 2 miles, that's good enough for today."

 

Is this just a mental barrier?

What is the most "economical" way to strength train?

 

Thanks for your help.... I know it's what I WANT to do, and yet..

I still do not do it... why???!!!???? Ouch, it hurts to be this honest :cool: .

 

Taggie

[sandy beach girl]

Hi all!

 

I've never posted on this thread before but I do eat small portions and workout about 6 times a week. I've been enjoying reading this thread and really feel motivated to lose my remaining 15-20 pounds.

 

I'm confused by a comment made here though:

First things first, before someone JUMPS all over the "muscles weigh more than fat" thing. Yes, they do. For the same mass, muscles weigh more, as muscle tissue is denser. So everyone PLEASE don't do the whole "pound is a pound" nonsense!!! Okay...got that off my chest! :o

 

I'm sorry, it's been awhile since I've studied mass/density/weight so this is confusing me. :) My impression was that a pound is a pound but since muscle is denser than fat you end up replacing more muscle than the fat your losing. So you may lose a pound of fat but you're replacing it with more than a pound of muscle. I've never been a science person (I'm a former music teacher) so I probably have it all mixed up.;)

 

Anyway, I've lost about 40 pounds by cutting my portions and working out. I'm working on 15-20 more but more than anything I started this so I would be healthy. The number on the scale is less of a concern for me. If I end up being 5 pounds above my goal weight but look toned then I'm not going to sweat the last 5 pounds. But hearing your experiences has given me encouragement. Thanks!

[Tagging Along]

Hi all!

 

The number on the scale is less of a concern for me. If I end up being 5 pounds above my goal weight but look toned then I'm not going to sweat the last 5 pounds. But hearing your experiences has given me encouragement. Thanks!

 

Hi and welcome, Sandy Beach Girl (great name!!)

Thanks for letting us know that we have encouraged you. That's why we're here!!!

 

I'm with you, the number on the scale is less of a concern for me too. I think I must have written it wrong in the above post when I first stated the dreaded muscle weighs more. The point that I was making is that I don't want to lose more weight, but if I could start strength training and gaining more muscles it would still be good that I am eating the smaller meals more often. I seem to be staying at the 115 mark, but I am still not doing anything regular except walking.

 

What do you do on all those days you work out? Do you belong to a gym?

Keep posting here if you want so we can talk about your progress & support each other. Maybe one day I'll pick up my weights again...:o

I'm still getting back into the swing of things since my cruise is over.

I think I have cruise withdrawal now....

 

 

Taggie

[sandy beach girl]

I don't belong to a gym. I don't have the time to drive there and back while taking care of two children. So I workout at home. I do exercise videos mostly. I do Turbo Jam and The Firm. I also jog on the treadmill. I try to do a variety of things to keep my body guessing (helps with weight loss plateaus.

 

I'm really trying to crack down on my eating since we're going on our cruise in a couple of months. So I taped my workout schedule to my fridge with a picture of the beach to remind myself that I will be wearing a swimsuit on the cruise. Seems to be helping so far.:D

[Tagging Along]

I don't belong to a gym. I don't have the time to drive there and back while taking care of two children. So I workout at home. I do exercise videos mostly. I do Turbo Jam and The Firm.

I'm going to look into the Turbo Jam videos. I think I saw them on an infomercial on TV. They looked like fun and HARD!! I think they will really help me tone up my loose ab area. This is my toughest spot & even working out at the gyms didn't seem to help this. Where do you get your videos? I guess I could google them..

 

Good luck with these next 2 months. Nothing like a future cruise as motivation for a weight loss program! I feel like I'm cheating more now that I'm back. Last night was a birthday party for my niece and 10 other 13 year old girls.... whew! I ate way more than I should have & later than I should have... yuk! So naturally today I'm much HUNGRIER.... rats!:(

[onnestabe]

Great thread. I have struggled with weight all my life, and I think reading this (even though I've heard most of it before) just hit home this time. My fiance and I are getting married in October, and cruising for the honeymoon, and we both want to drop some lbs before the wedding and cruise.

 

Even though I haven't gotten much in the way of results, I have certainly read enough on the subject and worked out enough that I feel comfortable giving advice to people who want to know about gyms and strength training.

 

There's absolutely no need to join a gym to get into strength training. All you need are some dumbells, maybe a bench, and decent amount of room to move around in (I share a one bedroom apartment with my fiance, so the space is what drove me to a gym membership). You can probably go to a sporting goods store like sports authority or academy and get enough to get started for $100or so. That's way less than a gym membership.

 

For the bench, get one that inclines and folds up. It will cost more initially, but the incline lets you do a lot more exercises and you can fold it up to get it out of the way when you aren't using it. For the dumbbells, do a few squats holding them while you are in the store to see figure out what the maximum weight is that you will need (if it's hard to do 10 squats in a row holding them, don't buy anything heavier - the reason you are doing squats is because they use the strongest muscles in the body, so if it challenges those muscles, it will challenge all the others). If you have hardwood floors, either get rubber coated dumbbells or get some of those rubber mats to put under your equipment so you don't damage the floors.

 

There's no need to see a personal trainer to get into strength training. All you need is an internet connection, which you must have or else you wouldn't be reading this. Just check out some fitness websites for a workout that uses mostly dumbbell and bodyweight exercises (I like menshealth, but there are probably some equivalent websites out there for women as well). There are lots of different philosophies and programs that are supposed to get the most out of your time, but as a beginner to strength training, you will see benefit as long as you are challenging yourself every time you workout. Read through the website and find a workout program that sounds like it is in line with your fitness goals.

 

One main thing to remember is your form for each exercise. There are a lot of websites with videos to show you the correct form, and you should check those out to make sure you are doing each exercise correctly. When you are working out, if you feel your form start to deteriorate, stop doing that exercise and either rest for 60 seconds or so or just move on to an exercise that works a different muscle group. Once your form starts to get bad, you get less out of the exercise. Furthermore, you increase your chance of injury, and if you are too injured to do the workout, you are getting no benefit. There's no shame in using a smaller weight (or no weight at all) to do the motion. Like I said before, the important part is that you are challenging yourself, and you will quickly learn what it takes to challenge yourself.

 

Don't be intimidated by all of the options that are out there for your workout program. Getting the motivation to do it 2-3 times a week and stick with it is the hard part. The rest is just picking stuff up and putting it down.