Anybody wants to lose/gain weight and trying to get fitter? Encouragement thread!

[Amulya]

After having had a problem with a broken foot for 4 months I am totally unfit and gained weight. So I started walking a lot every day and doing stomach exercises mainly because I seem to have gained weight only on my stomach which looks pretty weird on me because the rest stayed slim, kind of a pregnant look (no, not pregnant LOL)

Anybody else busy with diet or exercise? Any things that work for you?

I changed the title because also people who want to gain weight and be fitter should be welcome

 

[Greek Bonfire]

For me it's a work in progress, a way of life. But the way I've always been able to maintain is to work out five times a week for about 30 minutes and eat small meals each day, even if it's four or five. And watch the fat and carb intake.

 

[~Diana~]

I am not on a diet but I am eating as healthy as I can.

As for excersise, mondays I have troupe practice for 3 hours, tuesday I go hooping for an hour then hit the gym, wednesay/thursday I go to the gym, friday I have archery, and the weekends I hit the gym if I can. I also practice dance and my hooping when I am watching tv. I also walk a lot of places to, well mostly in the summer.

 

[Belly Love]

Me! I'm trying to lose around 25lbs before summer. I started a week ago and lost 6lbs so far.

What I found works for me:
- Not eating several hours before bedtime, no matter how hungry I am.
- Filling up on veggies and making them the base of most meals instead of a side and just making healthier choices overall.
- Staying away from white sugar (the kind that's in cakes, cookies, not the kind in fruit).
- Exercising daily and making it a priority.
- Weighing weekly instead of daily. Our bodies can be fickle day to day, so it's best not to give yourself an opportunity to see a "bad" number that could possibly be discouraging.
- Not giving in to uncomfortable feelings. When your used to eating bad foods or not exercising, it's going to feel really uncomfortable to change those habits at first. Not giving into those feelings by doing something that will make you feel better in the moment (ie: eating chips) but just sitting with the uncomfortable feelings until they pass... and they will pass. They will come and go but eventually they will fade over time.

Hope some of these tips help you

 

[Shanazel]

I am down 50+ pounds since this day last year and have been hovering around the same weight since the first of the year, getting ready for the next stage. Small meals work for me, combined with limiting the junk food, which I love. I can't eat a lot of the junk any more, but sweets are remarkably easy for me to overdo- sort of strange since I was always a saltie instead of a sweetie.

 

[Amulya]

You guys are so active! *major bout of jealousy coming up*! Since I have bad chronic fatigue I already crashed, badly, grrr . But today I looked in the mirror and man do I look different! There is definitely something happening with my stomach, it looks slimmer now. I have been doing major painful exercises, so they must be paying off haha, and walking a couple of hours every day, that's how I crashed, stupid me, it takes ages to recover

 

[Greek Bonfire]

Stress has been shown to actually hold on to belly fat, why I'm not sure but even with myself, once I relax from a very stressful time, my abs relax too, looking less bloated.

 

[Shakti]

So happy you are up and around Amulya!! The extra around the middle is just from the stress of being injured. It will melt off once you are able to getback to your normal routine. Fill your life with happiness and your body will get out of survival mode..ie the bellyfat it saved up for a rainy day..
Hugs!!

 

[Amulya]

Or from bloating! I bloat from nearly any food, so I am on a strict diet as well now: on corn crisp bread, no gluten, tiny bits of gluten free pasta, very little rice ad major amounts of veggies, mainly raw. It seems to help so far.

Bloating is very bad for me as a dancer: I have to stay away from food all day before a gig, can only eat after dancing, otherwise I look awful. That is quite a hunger torture

My aim is to get to be like this first: http://www.bellydanceforums.net/picture.php?albumid=456&pictureid=3033
and then to get more toned

 

[Greek Bonfire]

I know how you feel - after I had the lumpectomy, I couldn't wait after I started feeling better to get back into shape, although I had to wait at least six weeks to do many exercises. It felt like everything was going to the bottom, probably because it was!

 

[Belly Love]

Oh yeah, small meals- that really helps fight bloating too. I bloat easily but find that foods high in protein keep that at bay all day. If you have handfuls of nuts (salt-free) and small amounts of fish throughout the day instead of crackers, sandwiches, etc. this will help too so you don't have to starve yourself all day before a performance.

 

[imran]

After having had a problem with a broken foot for 4 months I am totally unfit and gained weight. So I started walking a lot every day and doing stomach exercises mainly because I seem to have gained weight only on my stomach which looks pretty weird on me because the rest stayed slim, kind of a pregnant look (no, not pregnant LOL)

Anybody else busy with diet or exercise? Any things that work for you?

Yea I guess after staying in bed for a long time you really gain weight.:think:
continue tummy exercises.they really help out lot.

 

[Amulya]

I wasn't in bed, but couldn't do much for ages. No dancing for months :shok:

 

[goddessyasaman]

After having had a problem with a broken foot for 4 months I am totally unfit and gained weight. So I started walking a lot every day and doing stomach exercises mainly because I seem to have gained weight only on my stomach which looks pretty weird on me because the rest stayed slim, kind of a pregnant look (no, not pregnant LOL)

Anybody else busy with diet or exercise? Any things that work for you?

Yea well I would not call what I'm doing a diet as I'm going to stick with for longer then most diets, I think of it as life changing, I started on FEB 1st this year, I have lost 18 pounds and 2 pants sizes, so I think it's going well , I make sure I have a good health breakfast every morning, I have a Yogurt with a fruit, then in 3 hrs I have some fruit, Then for lunch I eat vegs or half sweet potato or a small bowl of cereal (Honey bunches of oats), then for dinner I have a veg, macral fish, and a half sweet potato(I will eat a whole one if I did have half for lunch).

For a workout I do 100 situps, 50 lunges, 50 squats, and some double punches (like in boxing), then I do my belly dance workout which can be a 1 to 2 hr workout, because I will do shimmy work for about 30mins, then belly rolls for 15mins and so on, sometime I take out my old dvds and just run through the drills.

I only do my workout day 3 times a week, (But I practice Belly dance everyday for an hour. I was 350 a few years ago I have lost over a 100 pounds before I started this one, before it was just thanks to Belly dance, so now I make sure I eat a sweet potato a day and groung cinnamon everyday, I don't eat much meat anymore, so I eat peanut butter for protein.

The Cinnamon is very helpful check out what I read about it...

According to the World's Healthiest Foods website, cinnamon has several medicinal purposes, including anti-fungal, anti-microbial and lowering of blood sugar. Because cinnamon can lower blood sugar, it can aid weight loss by signaling your body not to store sugar, which probably will turn to fat. You are also less likely to go through a cycle of sugar highs and lows that make you crave more sugar if you have more-balanced blood sugar levels. According to the Calories Per Hour website, regulating blood sugar levels can give you more success with weight loss than skipping meals or going on extremely low-calorie diets.


Read more: Can Cinnamon Help You Lose Weight? | LIVESTRONG.COM

 

[Amulya]

Congrats on loosing so much weight, you are a true inspiration! I will never be able to exercise that much due to health issues, so it will take much longer for me to get fit.

I love cinnamon but I have heard too much of it causes cancer. I guess it's like with everything: good in moderation

I sinned today: all I had today was a piece of cake with ice cream and few rice crackers with avocado in the evening, not healthy, I should have eaten proper food!

 

[Shanazel]

How long does a full workout take, Yasaman?

 

[goddessyasaman]

How long does a full workout take, Yasaman?

Let's see, maybe almost three hrs, I start with Yoga for streaching, thats 10mins, then I put on my hard workout music:lol: (Shindown) then I go into my side crunches thats 100 on each side (Forgot those in the last post) then my Double punching for a whole 3:45 song, then the others, 50 lunges, 50 squats 100 situps. those all take about 1 hr to 1 1/2, then the belly dance but oh my god are my legs tired after those lunges to do shimmying for that long.

I'm doing my best was thinking of adding another day on, but spliting the workout up into 2 half in the morning before work then other half when I get off work, that way I don't over do it you know.

My goal is to get to 165 pounds by end of the year, I am at 235 right now so I will see what I can do that is 70 pounds but I think I can do it!!:lol:

 

[LadyLoba]

I am!

I've accepted it that I'm the smallest pants size I'm ever going to be.... My hips are bony, I have a big butt no matter what size I am, and my hip measurement is 38 inches.. a US size 6-8 is the smallest I can physically be...and all the pants in my closet are from the same store (Victoria's Secret) and are size 8. But I'm trying to work on areas I don't like and toning them. I have huge thighs..inner thigh cellulite, saddle bags...I hate my upper arms because they manage to be both skinny and flabby at the same time...and I hate my stomach...the area right below my belly button...and a little above. Both are jiggly and flabby.

I also have both a bloating problem and a tendency to put on extra weight right in the belly while the rest of me stays the same...so I know how that no eating before performance feels. I couldn't eat right before going on stage in theatre...and when I got my pictures done in Oct of 2009..well...only that one head and shoulders shot turned out...the rest of them...some of it was just the lighting...some of it was because I got nervous and "medicated" my nerves with a big brownie from the hotel coffee shop...and was so bloated I looked like I gained about 50 pounds in some of the shots.

I will have to try the high protein idea if I ever belly dance on stage or if I ever get pics done again.

 

[Belly Love]

I've accepted it that I'm the smallest pants size I'm ever going to be....

What?! If you're happy at this size, great. If not, you can get smaller, it just takes a lot of discipline. Sometimes we feel like were giving more effort than we actually are 'cause were always thinking about it (I have been guilty of this). It sounds like you mostly want to tone, I think focusing on this will actually make you smaller 'cause you will lose body fat. And you may not necessarily change your pant size, but the look & feel of your body can change drastically with tone. One person's size 8 is not the same as another person's size 8

Btw, hips & boody are a good thing!

 

[LadyLoba]

I am learning to like my hips and booty...slowly learning but learning. Yes...I'm sure that's what I need is toning, because I think I've just got weak, un toned muscles in some places.