Better Body Goals-Accountability Thread

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Just started working out with the hubby (who is a total body builder) and have begun doing yoga daily/every other day. It's surprising just how much of my flexibility I retained from when I was younger!

[Coradion]

I've been on a cutting diet, cut out the majority of the carbs but have been eating all day. I get so hangry every 2-3 hours but it's been working. I stalk a ton of male models and acrobats on IG so whenever I feel unmotivated I end up creeping them and being like "...yeah... I guess I'll go to the gym and do those extra sets"

[swimmingsammi95]

May I hop back on this thread?

UlaBeAmazed!!

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Losing weight slowly. Agonizingly slowly. But it's very healthy and the slower you lose, the better chance you have at keeping it off. I'm loving yoga, and my climbing is finally getting better. I'm seeing definition in my back again, and my legs and belly are slimming down. Loving the new recipes I've been making with LOTS of fresh veggies and rice or potatoes and some kind of vegetarian protein. They're so filing and so low calorie and very nutritious. So, I'm feeling great, if a little impatient.

[swimmingsammi95]

I'm working on losing a bit before my Faire starts. I've lost about 2 pounds so far as of last Tuesday, I haven't checked yet this week. I didn't work out as much but I've been trying to just make healthier food choices. I lost 1.5 inches around my tummy in that week so let's see what I can do before the first of May!

UlaBeAmazed!!

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Ok, I'm pretty convinced I have metabolic damage. My calories were really low, but I'm really short, so I thought I was ok. I was losing weight slowly, and then it stopped, and then I started gaining weight when I wasn't doing anything differently. That, and a whole bunch of other things are telling me that I have metabolic damage. So, I'm increasing my calories and my strength training, and cutting back on the cardio. I'm just focusing on getting strong and giving my body what it needs to build muscle and get healthy, not on losing weight. That will happen.

[MermaidSasha]

I'm working on losing a bit before my Faire starts. I've lost about 2 pounds so far as of last Tuesday, I haven't checked yet this week. I didn't work out as much but I've been trying to just make healthier food choices. I lost 1.5 inches around my tummy in that week so let's see what I can do before the first of May!

UlaBeAmazed!!

Woot! any amount lost is always a cause for celebration! Keep it up. Also, I noticed you are in Oklahoma too? Are you talking about the Muskogee Renaissance Faire? I'd love to meet more mers in my area!

[swimmingsammi95]

Woot! any amount lost is always a cause for celebration! Keep it up. Also, I noticed you are in Oklahoma too? Are you talking about the Muskogee Renaissance Faire? I'd love to meet more mers in my area!

I am! I'm there this weekend both days!

UlaBeAmazed!!

[MermaidSasha]

Yay! So glad to see another mer in my state! There are more of us than I thought lol I recently got my best friend into mermaiding lol. We just missed you apparently. We were only able to go one weekend and it was this last weekend. We both really want to work as mermaids at the Renaissance Faire Maybe we will see you next year!

Someone needs to plan a meet up for all of us here in Oklahoma lol.

[Mary Marine]

I'm actually writing this while at the gym on the recumbent bike.

So about mid May I joined a gym for the first time! After coming home from a wedding and seeing the weight I gained I finally decided enough was enough. Normally weight gain depresses me but this time it was like a switch was flipped. So here I am six weeks later and 4 lbs lighter. It's slow weight loss but it's staying off. My endurance is definitely increasing and I'm able to work out at a faster pace with a lower heart rate. Once my cardio is better I'm going to add in some strength training and flexibility too. My official goal is to lower my awful cholesterol and go from a size 14 to a 10 or 8, but unofficially I want to cosplay as Catwoman. I'm not confident enough to be a fluffy kitty in a skin tight catsuit you know?

[Vrindavana Starfish]

I'm actually writing this while at the gym on the recumbent bike.

So about mid May I joined a gym for the first time! After coming home from a wedding and seeing the weight I gained I finally decided enough was enough. Normally weight gain depresses me but this time it was like a switch was flipped. So here I am six weeks later and 4 lbs lighter. It's slow weight loss but it's staying off. My endurance is definitely increasing and I'm able to work out at a faster pace with a lower heart rate. Once my cardio is better I'm going to add in some strength training and flexibility too. My official goal is to lower my awful cholesterol and go from a size 14 to a 10 or 8, but unofficially I want to cosplay as Catwoman. I'm not confident enough to be a fluffy kitty in a skin tight catsuit you know?

When I was 8 I had to "go on a major diet" - aka completely change my horrible, standard American diet - because my cholesterol was so high. If I have any tips to share with you, it's legumes. Chickpeas rule! They help reduce the bad cholesterol, and the more fresh fruit and veggies you put into your diet, the less room for the junk foods. Also, don't know if you're a meat-eater, but if you are, switching out some of your meals for vegetarian options will go a long way too. Good luck! I was able to get my cholesterol way down and haven't had a problem since.

[Sheira Seastar]

I'd like to lose 15-20lbs. I am 124lbs right now, but I am 4'11" and it's all fat that I carry in my stomach and thighs.

[Vrindavana Starfish]

Has anyone here used intermittent fasting as part of their plan? I'm currently fasting for 16 hours a day with an 8 hour eating window. Basically, skipping breakfast and having lunch after my workout. Some things I've noticed - the hunger I feel now is actual hunger, not psychological hunger. Also, I don't freak out from it now. And when I eat, I feel satisfied and full, whereas when I was just cutting calories but eating every few hours, I was hungry ALL THE TIME without any relief. And my energy is through the roof now too. It's helping me to actually eat intuitively, which was impossible for me before (because I was never not hungry.) This is my first week with this schedule, and i'm not having a difficult time with it at all.

* Side note for those not familiar with intermittent fasting - I'm not starving myself. I eat an appropriate amount of calories per day, I just do it over a much shorter time period.

[Mermaid Salty]

Hey Vrindavana Starfish, I've not tried it myself but my work colleague is on the 5:2 fasting diet and has kept it up for 2+ years. He said the weight came off slowly but surely (he was fit already - a cyclist) but is easily maintainable, has improved his health in many other ways and fits into a modern lifestyle. That's the key really though isn't it? Dieting really isn't ever a solution, just a temporary fix. I feel like lifestyle changes are the 'secret'.

I've always struggled with body image, even though I look back on photos of myself as a teen and wonder why the hell I hated my body so badly.

Now though, I am 17kg heavier but love myself 100x times more. In 2012 I started going regularly to a gym. Sometimes 3+ hours a day BUT the gym I went to had this amazing range of classes - all kinds of yoga, pilates, cardio, trampoline classes! it was the bomb and I mixed it up regularly and never had an injury despite never having exercised that vigorously and consistently before.

I 'lost' 20kg on the scale (when I started I was at my heaviest) in three months without altering my eating at all. Actually, if anything I was eating WAY more than I used to - sometimes I'd have to wake up in the middle of the night to eat a banana. Consistent exercise dramatically changed my metabolism, but when I stopped, almost everything went back to the way it was.

I've started exercising regularly again for a minimum of an hour a day and I've noticed some major things:
The first time I started a regime, it HURT. Exercise is painful. I feel like people either forget or don't want to remind you because motivation is a hard thing WITHOUT the added bonus of pain.. My muscles hurt during and after a workout. My face burned and my lungs burned and I could barely get through 45 minutes of cardio. It took about a month for exercise to stop being painful

(*When I say pain, I mean muscle soreness, exertion pain etc - NOT injury. I was at a gym that focussed very much on proper form and injury prevention)

Fast forward to day, my first week back was painful. Three days in I could barely turn over in bed because my abs were on fire. Three weeks in - the pain is gone. I can exert myself to my fullest in classes, finish them without a having to leave the room and compose myself, and am only experiencing the muscle satisfaction/tiredness/soreness you get after a great workout.

I suppose my point is, for anyone starting something new, it is hard and it can mean pain, but I am still seeing benefits from exercise I did in 2012!! Going back this time, I've accelerated through those hard stages so much more quickly and it is very exciting and motivating.

I'm thinking of getting some ankle and wrist weights to strap on during workouts - I've only ever used a monofin that encompasses the ankle but my Finfolk will have a monofin in it that does not support the ankle. Has anyone got tips for strengthening feet and ankles?

[Mermaid Lanier]

My body fits society's standards perfectly, save perhaps being a little too boney and skinny. But in spite of having a great look, I'm not very healthy.

I eat well; my family eats herbivore, and we just sneak in a little cheese here and there. But I do almost no workout. I've decided that I would stop trying (and failing) at push-ups and focus on what I can do to bolster confidence. Squats, sit-ups, core, stretching, and lots of swimming and archery. I would love to be more muscular, so I'm building towards that. I want to do things that I can do at home, though, because there isn't always an affordable gym where we move. Nerd Fitness has been a lifesaver with Steve's "hotel workout."

As for feet and ankle strengthening, I googled it. (Such research skill.) I walk on my toes and heels when possible, stretch out my toes, try to lift each toe individually... any other tips?

[Mermaid Jaffa]

I did a course last summer... Whatever I had build up within my core is gone and I have to start again from scratch. And I had to get new prescription goggles because the old ones gave me headaches (my eyesight changed, bifocals now). Its like starting all over again and rediscovering things, even I haven't been doing my weekly swims. Curse those school swimming carnivals taking up the whole pool!

A bit sad I had to put aside the new monofin I got from ebay, for now. But also very happy because I'm thinking up all kinds of tail designs for it!

Back to my Finis Foil again... On the brighter side, I did make a new fish suit to swim in cos my current one is getting faded and saggy.

I've also cut out cholesterol foods and started eating healthy. Whenever I have the craving for pork crackling, I have an apple or orange or whatever fruit is in the fridge!

Slowly taking small steps to get back into it again.

[MermaidJeanette]

Does anyone know I good one for abs? I don't mind my arm, leg, butt or other thing only my stomach. I've had since I was born these 2 love handles that I want gone. Any good exercises that can be done in like 10-15 min

[MermaidSasha]

Honestly, I've been doing pilates and its help shrink my "mom pooch" You could find all sorts of pilates videos on youtube. I've been doing the Windsor pilates- like the one you used to be able to buy the DVD of lol xD seriously though it has worked ^.^

[Mermaid Jaffa]

Butt squats.

[Mermaid Kalahari]

Hey everyone

I am a Certified Strenth and Conditioning Specialist. I am more than happy to try and answer anyone's questions if you have any/want tips/exercises/etc. feel free to shoot me a message

Never give up!!