Better Body Goals-Accountability Thread

[Mermaid Varshana]

OMG Mary, you're so cute I wanna fold you up and put you in my pocket :3

[Mary Marine]

Thanks SeaGlass! And Varshana, I am short so I'm pocket sized.

[Marlin]

I am short so I'm pocket sized.

I prefer to think of it as "Travel Size" for your convenience.

Ok! so I'm going to join in! I've let myself go since I got out of the military and would very much like to get back into shape.

My short term goal (next 3 months) is to loose 30 pounds and get myself back down to 165 lbs again.

In the next year I want to steady out at around 155/160.

My plan is to visit the Gym for 1 hour twice a week and head down to the pool at least 3 times a week.

I am currently 190ish.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Oh! Kakarotte changed her name... 0.o I was enjoying the DragonBall reference, but Varshana is beautiful. (the name and the mermaid)

Mary!!!! You totally look like I did on the swim team in High School but with more hips. ^_^ I love it!! I want to get back to that.

UPDATE:
31 minutes of crazy cardio. between the video and chasing my tot back to his room, I got quite the workout. 30 push-ups but I didn't count the sit-ups because I was making faces at the baby.
My abs are soooore. It's so nice.

So, when I flex my abs and poke my belly through my fat, I can feel that my muscles are actually pretty buff right there. So it's really just that I have a thick layer of fat the my body for some reason thinks I need to store. *rolls eyes* yeesh. Anyway, I think I've made progress this week, because look:


I think some of the fat has dropped off. Not really enough to be too noticeable with my clothes on, but a little bit of progress is still progress!

Edit: By the way, do you like my tiger stripes? ^_^

[Mary Marine]

Dottie, thanks and keep up the work, I can definitely see a change in your photos!

Also, Tiger strips sounds WAY cooler than stretch marks! I am officially calling them that now. In fact, if I ever get a striped tail I am totally air brushing them to match for a photo shoot.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Whoa I deft can see the different. The crease is smaller in the second day

[Lyretail]

Post where you are now, where you want to be, and how you are going to do it. This is not a thread for discussing why it's okay to be the way you are, I get it. I really do, but I think I can be better and I'm not going to strive for what I WANT to be.

My goal is to lose another 10-15 pounds/tone up. I want a better chest, I've been doing push-ups daily. Each day I add another 20 to my total for the day. I'm at 180, I need to lose some weight to have a better stomach and really have my abs show, so I'm running 4 times a week.

What are your goals?

I'm at any where from 97-102 LBS presently.
I would like to be around 120-130 LBS.
Weight gain has always been a bit of a struggle for me and the most I've ever been was around 110-115 LBS.
Cashews are a typical daily snack for me. I eat a lot of pastas, and pretty much anything I want beyond that.

[Mermaidmechanic]

My diet plan combined with an active job and hobbies works for me. Diet is super important and I firmly believe that counting calories really does make a difference. I plan on working on legs this summer though. More hiking and more swimming for me! Swimming will also help me add a little more definition to my abs. This is where I'm at now:

[SeaGlass Siren]

Hooooly smokes mechanic! :hides behind a rock:

[Mizuko]

excuse my expression, Mechanic, but dayymnnnnn <3 You've got a wonderful figure!! Thats exactly what I would love to look like!

[deepblue]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...-manufacturers
http://www.crossfitmtl.com/blog/2013...s-is-bullshit/
http://www.livescience.com/26799-cal...ml?cid=dlvr.it
Here you go. It's still morning I can't properly think of a response without aggravating my neck and gettin a headache so I'm leaving a few things I've read.

Neck is feeling a lot better but doc says I'm on bed rest for a week until its fully healed.

First, I'm glad your neck feels better. Neck pain is awful, and effects the whole body.

Second to address the links- they're referring to calorie counting from processed foods. Personally, I don't eat any processed foods.I don't get caloric info from a label, I look it up by what I'm eating in amounts, which I make a good guess at without having absolute measurements because I know amounts by size at this point. I don't eat anything that comes out of a box, unless you count a tofu package. I eat some prepared foods like hummus and corn tortillas, but I make almost everything I eat from whole food sources, so I know exactly what I'm putting into my body.

That said, what you link to is more a warning about what labels can mislead you about, not a case against calorie counting to aid fitness eating, except for the blog entry on crossfitmtl. She goes into details most people don't need to think about but ends with basically the same idea I want to get across- don't count them obsessively, though I would include to use them as a guideline, eat well and have enough activity to support what you're trying to do.

I could find you a hundred more refuting what the crossfit blog says, but the SA one is only an explanation, not a case against calorie counting, and the other is about deceptive labeling and inaccurate labels, and even they have the following quote:

Some researchers say that, on the whole, the inaccuracies in calorie estimates don't make a big difference. "For most uses, I think they're good enough," said Malden Nesheim, professor of nutrition emeritus at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y., and co-author of the book "Why Calories Count" (University of California Press, 2012).

And when most people who use caloric intake as part of a successful approach to fitness eating can attest to the fact that utilizing them correctly works, I think I'll take the success rate. If not thinking about calories is working for you, by all means stick with that!

You don't have to use calories as part of your eating plan. I usually don't because I know already I don't eat too much. When I was a raw foodist I didn't, because the nutritient intake is so high, the paradigm changes. If not counting calories works for you, go for it. But that doesn't mean it doesn't work for millions of people who use it as part of their fitness plan, and all the fitness labs at Universities who have people on treadmills right now and take all of it into account- the calories, nutrients, and where the calories come from.

Anyway, not trying to argue, I just think the links aren't addressing the same thing I am. Done, here.

Today all bets are off. My daughter turned four, and I've eaten that many cupcakes. Made from scratch, of course.

Tomorrow, back to eating right. This is why it's nice to eat well most of the time. One day like this is no big deal. Except for the sugary yuck I'm feeling now. bleh. ha.

[SeaGlass Siren]

A funny thing happened today. I lost too much weight because of my neck for the past few days doin couldn't really swallow anything and my meds make me go on the toilet too often. :| stretch marks are near invisible..

[SeaGlass Siren]

And yes blue, let's agree to disagree. All body types are different and require different things.

Lucky you eating cupcakes. I can't do it :| sugars taste funny to me.

[Mary Marine]

Until I can get back to the pool I'm going to try and walk while on my lunchbreak. I work at a VERY large mall that is shaped in an oval so I can literally walk in circles.

[deepblue]

This is so funny, and a really good example of why common sense approaches are best and why there are no quick fixes.

http://jezebel.com/how-to-lose-all-t...mple-s-5993183

An excerpt of the first 15 of 89. The state of weight loss info on the web today!

Summer's here and the time is right for getting super duper skinny! Where to begin? Since there are always approximately one point seven two zillion stories about how to lose weight, you might be confuzzled. Don't be! We collected the most important weight loss stories we've seen over the last couple of months and compiled them into one handy guide. If you do everything on this list, you will absolutely, positively lose weight — and maybe your mind.
1. First of all, don't work out.
2. Or, wait: Exercise. But not too much. If you're doing intense exercise, then it's time to exercise less.
3. But this thing called cardio is good.
4. And you should definitely do Zumba!
5. No, actually, you should do interval training.
6. Really, what you should do is exercise for 250-300 minutes a week. That's four or five hours. And don't you dare reward yourself with a yummy snack afterward.
7. Get inspired by Chris Pratt, who says: "You can do it. You could. You really could. You could do it in six months."
8. Instead of a regular vacation, go to a weight-loss spa. Doesn't sound expensive at all.
9. Oh, hell, go ahead, take a vacation! As long as it's at the $2,995-a-week Biggest Loser resort.
10. It's important to eat your largest meal earlier in the day, say, before 3pm.
11. Actually, no. Eat whenever.
12. But definitely graze — eat little meals all day.
13. NO. WAIT. Only eat two meals a day. Do not graze.
14. Skip breakfast.
15. Nevermind. Don't skip meals.

[Mermaid Varshana]

Don't ever eat dairy! Also, remember you should eat probiotic yogurt. Vegetarians are the most healthy because meat causes heart disease and actually, if you don't eat meat, you'll get diabetes so Paleo is the way to go. Grains cause inflammation and autism and you should eat between 6-11 servings of whole wheat a day. Juicing will make you super healthy, so you should stick to solid foods or you'll gain all the weight back plus interest.

[Mermaid Dottie]

So Much LOLz!!!
Update in a little bit...

Edit: Okay! Here's the update I promised.
I went on a little, mini-vacation last wed/Thurs and didn't take any pictures of my belly, (and I also forgot on friday and saturday, but that's because neither I or the baby were feeling too great)
BUT, I did exercise! I swam in tail for 2 hours(probably more) wednesday night, and the next morning actually put on a mini-mermaid performance. See, the pool has these windows that look down over from the second floor of the hotel. One lady saw me, and grabbed her kids. From there, a small crowd gathered. So, flips and tricks, pull-ups, and the like for 45 min after my regular swimming.
Today, 22 min of Tracey Mallett dancefuse.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Picture update
Attachment 12978

[Merrow Erie]

I guess it's time for me to suck it up and post here. I don't really want to delve into 'why', because it's a long story that still hasn't ended. But due to some serious shit, I gained almost 30 lbs in two months. I'm not pregnant, but I've got stretch marks you wouldn't believe.

I used to be between 140-145. I've got some serious curves and that weight worked for me. Thanks to all this, I'm now 185, and I only stand about 5'3. It's not pretty.

As much as I want to be a mer, I can't stand the sight of my own body. The weight gain was bad enough, but it's a glaring reminder as to WHY I gained it all in the first place. It's maddening and frustrating and I hate it. I've always loved the water, and the idea of a monofin gave me some hope. We have a decent pool at the recreation center at school, and the fin by itself wouldn't look terribly out of place. Just to have the guts to actually be seen in the water, the bathing suit I bought is a pair of boyshorts and a short-sleeve rash guard.

I want to swim my way back to 140. I already eat healthy enough, I just don't have the time (or patience) for a treadmill. Hopefully the physical boost along with my healthier diet will help shit along. We'll see.

[SeaGlass Siren]

Neck fully healed and will restart the squat challenge!! Also I've cheated and ate McDonald's and a crapload of fake Chinese food because for me to take my medications I need to full my stomach past 80% otherwise im keeling over.