Better Body Goals-Accountability Thread

Codadion you have inspired me, I've been swimming slot more and for alot longer, I've been doing leg squats and sit ups daily, cutting down on the junk food and eating more healthily. I bought a badminton set for the garden and roped my boyfriend into playing with me, I aquired a weighted hula hoop and and a skipping rope! I don't weigh myself as I have had instances of being obsessed with my weight in the past and want to get fit sensibly. But I've measured and in three weeks my waist has gone from 31" to 28"! Really pleased!

Coradion you are looking really great!!

I love this thread, I've been doing Zumba twice a week, and have recently started doing weight lifting classes and I've been adding weight each time and feel myself getting stronger. I'm loving it. :-) Although I'm sure I'd notice more of a difference in my waist if I didn't like ice cream so much. :-) I feel good just knowing that what is on me is not as much slim fat as it is slim tone now. Still a bit to go, but Storm and Coradion inspire me.

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Originally Posted by Kamanaka

Codadion you have inspired me, I've been swimming slot more and for alot longer, I've been doing leg squats and sit ups daily, cutting down on the junk food and eating more healthily. I bought a badminton set for the garden and roped my boyfriend into playing with me, I aquired a weighted hula hoop and and a skipping rope! I don't weigh myself as I have had instances of being obsessed with my weight in the past and want to get fit sensibly. But I've measured and in three weeks my waist has gone from 31" to 28"! Really pleased!

Coradion you are looking really great!!

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Thanks! Great job on toning up! I know how the weight thing goes, sometimes I gain like five pounds but I look better and more toned. Weight is a nice indicator but it's hard to tell what is muscle gain and what's fat, etc. I'm glad this thread is helping you! Keep it up everyone!

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Originally Posted by Mermaid Harmony

I love this thread, I've been doing Zumba twice a week, and have recently started doing weight lifting classes and I've been adding weight each time and feel myself getting stronger. I'm loving it. :-) Although I'm sure I'd notice more of a difference in my waist if I didn't like ice cream so much. :-) I feel good just knowing that what is on me is not as much slim fat as it is slim tone now. Still a bit to go, but Storm and Coradion inspire me.

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Dude, Storm like... I want her to kick my ass in the gym one day. I want to be as fit as that mer.

Well, I finally have almost visible abs. Still a long ways to go until I reach my goals, but there's visible progress at least!

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When I was in my early twenties the doctor told me, "You will always be tall and thin". I was 5'7 and weighed 135. At my lowest I was 115. Then I got pregnant with my eldest daughter and things went downhill from then. I was 27 when I delivered her, and 205 pounds. I had Pre-E and had to be induced. After she was born I dropped down to 178 and stuck there for the next 5 years. I had never had to lose weight before, and I could always eat whatever I wanted. Now I needed to lose weight and even if I starved myself I still couldn't do it. The doc put me on Medifast (the same doc who said I would always be thin). Within a week I was suicidal. Literately curled up in the bathtub crying hysterically. I have struggled with PTSD for a long time and luckily I recognized that there was something more going on then just being depressed for no reason. I went to the nearest restaurant, bought a huge meal and ate LOL. I was back to normal a few hours later. When I told my doctor what happened he had my glucose tested and found out I am hypoglycemic and by throwing off my sugar so bad with the medi fast diet, it screwed up the chemicals in my brain and made me momentarily insane LOL.

I got pregnant with my second baby and had a perfectly normal pregnancy and delivery. Within a month I dropped down to 145 pounds and looked better then I had in years. Unfortunately we lived in a not so nice community that (because my husband is Asian and I am white) they avoided us. They didn't like mixed race marriages. They wouldn't even let their kids play with ours. I gained back all the weight.

Then we moved! I have been more active the last two months then I have been in years. I started out at 200 pounds since the mermaid obsession began and I am now 189 pounds! I know it is going to be a slow go. I had to have a full hysterectomy because of endomitriosis and that screws up the metabolism, but I am determined to look good in a tail darnit! I will get my body back, if I have to fight tooth and nail to do it!

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Originally Posted by Fablecat

When I was in my early twenties the doctor told me, "You will always be tall and thin". I was 5'7 and weighed 135. At my lowest I was 115. Then I got pregnant with my eldest daughter and things went downhill from then. I was 27 when I delivered her, and 205 pounds. I had Pre-E and had to be induced. After she was born I dropped down to 178 and stuck there for the next 5 years. I had never had to lose weight before, and I could always eat whatever I wanted. Now I needed to lose weight and even if I starved myself I still couldn't do it. The doc put me on Medifast (the same doc who said I would always be thin). Within a week I was suicidal. Literately curled up in the bathtub crying hysterically. I have struggled with PTSD for a long time and luckily I recognized that there was something more going on then just being depressed for no reason. I went to the nearest restaurant, bought a huge meal and ate LOL. I was back to normal a few hours later. When I told my doctor what happened he had my glucose tested and found out I am hypoglycemic and by throwing off my sugar so bad with the medi fast diet, it screwed up the chemicals in my brain and made me momentarily insane LOL.

I got pregnant with my second baby and had a perfectly normal pregnancy and delivery. Within a month I dropped down to 145 pounds and looked better then I had in years. Unfortunately we lived in a not so nice community that (because my husband is Asian and I am white) they avoided us. They didn't like mixed race marriages. They wouldn't even let their kids play with ours. I gained back all the weight.

Then we moved! I have been more active the last two months then I have been in years. I started out at 200 pounds since the mermaid obsession began and I am now 189 pounds! I know it is going to be a slow go. I had to have a full hysterectomy because of endomitriosis and that screws up the metabolism, but I am determined to look good in a tail darnit! I will get my body back, if I have to fight tooth and nail to do it!

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You can do it! I know how the weight roller coaster game goes and it can be miserable although I've never added the complications of pregnancy to it (screw people who had mixed marriages, I'm a mutt asian/Hawai'ian/White and proud of it). What kinds of workouts are you gonna try? Dieting only does so much for me, right now I train and teach acrobatic pole dance and I love it. If you want a fun way to workout I'd definitely give it a try. No pressure, but if you take your before pics now, seeing the visible changes later on can be really empowering. If you're not opposed to it, sharing them and your progress is really inspiring to those of us on this thread! I believe in you!

Awe thanks! I honestly went from a very "shut in" life doing petty much nothing, to swimming nearly every single day. I also ride my bike, and when it rains my exercise bike. I am trying to work on flexibility and plan to start doing some yoga at home. I think if I just stay active and adjust my diet I will start to shed some pounds. Especially when I finally get a fin and am able to practice. I heard it is quite a work out!

By the way, you look great! Congrats!

Make sure to do resistance training of some kind. Especially for women if you just do cardio you'll plateau as fas as weight loss goes and sometimes even start gaining a bit of weight again even if you're super active and fit

Can you post some ideas of what kind of resistance training works best?

It all depends on you and what you like. You can do weight training, but personally I hate that. If you want to swim, you can have "drag" days. When I did that for swim team we would wear sneakers, board shorts, and XXL t-shirts. You go slow as can be but it works you hard, it was that or we had a vasa trainer which was essentially a weight system on the pool deck that you strapped around your waist or yourankles. You swim really hard until the weight pulley on deck rings a bell then you relax, let it pull you to the wall and do it again. We also swam with 5 gallon buckets on our feet. If you don't want to torture yourself you can try just using resistance bands, but I personally think it's boring. I like acrobatic pole dance a lotfor resistance training. You fight gravity the whole time, get strong fast, and you don't get bored cause you're learning tricks and not doing reps.

The pole dancing sounds like a blast, but I don't think they have any classes where I live. 5 gallon buckets? Geez...and I thought my swim coach was hard! There is a little gym in the clubhouse of our complex. Maybe I will check out the weight machines. I have trouble with my shoulder and knee. Torn trap muscle and torn miniscus, (I used to be an ice skater and competitive roller skater). Will have to try and find things that don't strain the injuries.

Where in FL are you? I have some friends who compete in acrobatic pole that are all from FL. You might just wanna try drag swim days in a shirt and shorts. Same motion, just a lotta extra work. Or if you surf or can do open water swims in a current that'll do it too. The main thing with cardio swims is that you set a tempo and only do that tempo for x amount of time. You want to be switching up your pace and muscle strain. Even biking up hills and uneven terrain will really help!

Seeing as I'm a long way from getting my tail (I'm only 19, working part time, still saving just to get my own car :P) I have plenty of time to get my body all nice and merman-ish... But the thing is, I'm so lazy :'( I was always rather skinny and yesterday I realized I was actually 20 pounds heavier than I thought (scale at Publix said I was 145....which is even funnier when you bear in mind I was at Publix just to get cake and pastries xD) So anyway, I really wanna start working out but I nver have the time. I work all day, when I get home, I sleep, and then when I have free time, I just chill and dont even go anywhere. So yeah, just adding this in here. wish me luck guys. Today starts my first day, if I do nothing more than a few push UPS in the morning then its an improvement and hopefully a start :)

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Originally Posted by SeaMage108

Seeing as I'm a long way from getting my tail (I'm only 19, working part time, still saving just to get my own car :P) I have plenty of time to get my body all nice and merman-ish... But the thing is, I'm so lazy :'( I was always rather skinny and yesterday I realized I was actually 20 pounds heavier than I thought (scale at Publix said I was 145....which is even funnier when you bear in mind I was at Publix just to get cake and pastries xD) So anyway, I really wanna start working out but I nver have the time. I work all day, when I get home, I sleep, and then when I have free time, I just chill and dont even go anywhere. So yeah, just adding this in here. wish me luck guys. Today starts my first day, if I do nothing more than a few push UPS in the morning then its an improvement and hopefully a start :)

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Start with whatever fits your schedule. You'll find after awhile that you start to prioritize working out and have the energy for it!

Worked out today, I just got hired to be a teacher at a new acrobatics/pole studio! Apparently we're hosting a national competition in November and all instructors are expected to compete. Gotta start working a routine now, it's nice to have a goal. Here's a bad pic from today's workout, it's a hands free hold. I'm holding my hands behind my back and the pole is under my bicep. It hurts.

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Impressive, Coradion! In that pic you almost look like a merman underwater; just missing the tail, lol!

Wow! I would sooo injure myself with a pole. LOL I tried it once since I gained weight and nearly broke my shoulder. I am incredibly UNflexable. I can't even touch my toes. LOL Which is sad because I used to be a pro Ice Skating instructor. You would think I would be graceful *laughs* I am near Tampa.

There are a bunch or studios in the Tampa area. I am not flexy at all. I just like learning tricks more than I like lifting weights, so I do acrobatics :P

ok, so you all inspired me to start the glute challenge again...On Day 2 ;)

Most miraculous thing happened today.

I FIT INTO MY HIGH SCHOOL SHORT SHORTS!!! Eeeek!!!!

Yay ! Is that from tail swimming?

No it was from speed walking to places instead of using a car.

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Originally Posted by shimmygoddess

ok, so you all inspired me to start the glute challenge again...On Day 2 ;)

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I need to get back on the train too; I started doing daily squats again last week but think I'm going to try this (after looking up the challenge after SG's post!)
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Originally Posted by SeaGlass Siren

Most miraculous thing happened today.

I FIT INTO MY HIGH SCHOOL SHORT SHORTS!!! Eeeek!!!!

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NICE! Great job, little changes can make huge differences!

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Originally Posted by Blaze

I need to get back on the train too; I started doing daily squats again last week but think I'm going to try this (after looking up the challenge after SG's post!)
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Challenges are great for toning and muscle building but cardio is where you can really get your fat burn and weight loss. Just ten minutes of cardio of any kind at an elevated heart rate is enough to prevent new fat storage. All it takes is ten minutes to prevent weight gain, just double that to twenty to start weight loss!

I've been going slowly in terms of exercise... I get off the bus two stops before my work one, and walking the rest of the way there.

It doesn't sound like much but at least now, I can walk up a small hill without feeling like my legs are gonna give out!

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Originally Posted by Coradion

Challenges are great for toning and muscle building but cardio is where you can really get your fat burn and weight loss. Just ten minutes of cardio of any kind at an elevated heart rate is enough to prevent new fat storage. All it takes is ten minutes to prevent weight gain, just double that to twenty to start weight loss!

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Cardio is where I am already good; I dance/rehearse almost daily and when I don't I'm doing interval training on the treadmill. :) I was going to zumba classes but I'm back to a full time job and the schedule doesn't mesh with it so looking to switch to a new gym soon.

I'm not looking for much weight loss rather toning and firming. Looking forward to getting back in the pool too.

Thanks coradion :) next goal is to get rid of the stretch marks

Okay, sucking it up..(well not really, LOL I let it all hang lose). This is me, June 24th at 190 pounds. You have all seen it, and now you may feel free to yell at me to get my butt in gear. LOL
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I want to be 145 pounds at least. I would like to get down to 135, but I gotta think realistically here LOL. My goal is to be able to fit into a cloth tail and actually look nice and sleek and mermaidy in it. My ultimate goal is to one day fit into a silicon tail!

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Originally Posted by Fablecat

Okay, sucking it up..(well not really, LOL I let it all hang lose). This is me, June 24th at 190 pounds. You have all seen it, and now you may feel free to yell at me to get my butt in gear. LOL
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I want to be 145 pounds at least. I would like to get down to 135, but I gotta think realistically here LOL. My goal is to be able to fit into a cloth tail and actually look nice and sleek and mermaidy in it. My ultimate goal is to one day fit into a silicon tail!

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We all start at different places, there's no shame in it. No reason to have an ultimate goal that's a bit farther off. Just set smaller goals in between as your benchmarks. What matters is you're doing it!

fablecat.

wtf.

....your bathroom counter is GORGEOUS WHYYYYY!

Thank you Coradino. Nice to have a cheerleader on my side!
Thanks Seaglass! My family had to move to Florida from NJ due to my husbands work relocating him. We are renting a house (which is like 3 times the size of our house in NJ and ironically costs less in rent then our mortgage LOL). That particular bathroom is going to be my parents. Since we have so much room we are going to help my mom retire so she can take care of my father (who is a severe diabetic) and we can help her out. She would never be able to retire in NJ, it's so darn expensive. They have the Master suite, that is their Master bathroom..it is HUGE! Right now we are storing some boxes in it (hence the box in the picture), it has the biggest mirrors though so I used to it take the pics, hehehe.

Currently trying to gain weight for my surgery. I'm up to 135 from 120 in two months.

i know some of it is definitely new muscle because I've been doing body pump at my gym and have definitely seen changes in my strength. I started out at 5 lbs for everything, squats, lunges, arms, chest, and now am doing minimum 15lbs and 35 lb squats. My goal this morning is getting my squats to 40lbs.

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Originally Posted by Raayvhen

Currently trying to gain weight for my surgery. I'm up to 135 from 120 in two months.

i know some of it is definitely new muscle because I've been doing body pump at my gym and have definitely seen changes in my strength. I started out at 5 lbs for everything, squats, lunges, arms, chest, and now am doing minimum 15lbs and 35 lb squats. My goal this morning is getting my squats to 40lbs.

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Nice! You should put up before and after pics if you're comfortable with them!

Not intending to lose weight, but I realized recently that my muscles are all out of whack, and that I can no longer touch my elbows to the floor when I sit with my feet straight ahead of me (something I used to do very easily). I had a performance a while ago, and at the end, after I put away my lute, my drummer was goofing around and I was dancing and I realized that holy crap, my thighs were actually getting sore.
So I guess I'm back to finding a guru for kathak and bharatnatyam so I don't feel like a winded idiot when I dance, and kuchipudi if they're ok with a non-hindu doing it, but I'm not going to press that one. I'm not going to be that person.

Going for a run.
Happy Tuesday everyone :)

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Set backs, depression snagged me and I am having a hard time shaking it. My husband works from home, and I currently can't get a job until my parents move and are able to watch the kids. I am around all of them 24/7 and I think it is beginning to wear on me. I love my family don't get me wrong...but as an introvert I need that alone time to recenter myself and decompress...if that makes sense? I am also having side affects from my hysterectomy surgery and they have me very very down. According to the scale I have not gained any weight...which I am shocked about, but I have not lost any either. This is the second day in a row I have pretty much sat on the comp all day without the will to do anything...it's So frustrating. My lower back is killing me and the doctors don't know why so that doesn't help. I have had a terrible time trying to sleep. I actually ended up taking a nap on a recliner today which I rarely ever do during the day and it took me a long time to actually wake up enough to get back up which was weird. Blah...

Agreed nice ass Merman Arion hmmm I may start this squat challenge today lol I'm pretty happy with the way my body looks and my wright but I rarely work out and would like to be fitter and maybe have some more definition in my calves :)

Agreed nice ass Merman Arion hmmm I may start this squat challenge today lol I'm pretty happy with the way my body looks and my wright but I rarely work out and would like to be fitter and maybe have some more definition in my calves :)