Better Body Goals-Accountability Thread

[SeaGlass Siren]

Hi everyone. So I've been down with the cold and I've just finished but im still coughing up phlegm . In fact I'm coughing so often and so hard I've developed a two pack. Right. And my lower region of my tuna belly has been going down because of the soups I drank while I was sick. I think as soon as I get better I'm gonna do billy banks tae Bo.

[deepblue]

My workout regiment is really suffering. I simply don't have enough to eat right now. Money is beyond tight due to some unforeseen circumstances. So I'm not eating hardly anything, and feeling like crap. I think if I worked out, it would kick my ass.

On the other hand, I weighed myself on my bf's scale and I am back to my pre-baby weight, which I am sure was achieved before this recent hungry time. My next goal, when I have enough to eat again will be my pre-pre-baby weight, but with all the muscles I want. I don't care if someone wants to be skinny, I don't- I want to be fit.

[Mermaid Sparkle]

Hi everyone! First post on this thread! I am 21, 5'6" and 150 lbs. My goal is to get down to a toned 115-120 lbs. I'm not toned at all, I've stopped working out for a number of reasons, but now I'm ready to get back into it. Exercise wise, I like to dance and swim. I haven't been able to afford ballet classes since my parents stopped paying for them when I went to college, and my apartment complex just closed down the pool for the season (stupid Colorado and its cold winters). I have asthma, which only flares up when I run or work myself too hard, but I recently got an inhaler which should help me with doing cardio.

I'm naturally very skinny. I have a pretty high metabolism (from my ballet days) but I have grown very sedentary. 150 lbs doesn't seem like a lot, but on such a tiny frame like mine, it looks like a lot more than it is, which is why I'm so unhappy with how I look right now. My hips are tiny and I have a donut of fat around my waist and thunder thighs. So my silhouette goes out around my waist, comes back in by my hips and goes back out around my thighs. It looks so so so weird, and I can't stand to look at it anymore.

I understand that weight loss is a combination of changing your food habits and adding more exercise, so that is what I am doing. I work at a breakfast restaurant, so I am constantly exposed to gravy, hashbrowns, and delicious cinnamon bread. I am working really hard to cut out all of the delicious (but fatty) foods that I have been eating. I have a huge weakness for carbs, which is the biggest battle. I'm trying to avoid eating all of the "dead" food that happens when there are mistakes. I have completely cut out soda. I try to not drink anything except for water and the occasional glass of almond milk. I am replacing my breakfast with a piece of dry wheat toast, peanut butter and some fruit. For lunch, I try to get a salad with grilled chicken and almonds and top it with a small amount of sweet sesame dressing (I know it has sugar, but it's the only dressing I like!). Dinner is where it gets iffy. I tend to snack a lot once I get home. The hope is that I can get into a habit of cooking a healthy dinner every night (or eating the leftovers from the other healthy dinners). And I need to stop buying cookie dough. I've stopped buying ice cream (thank god) due to the fact that I've recently started to experience monstrous stomach-aches after eating dairy. And, if worse comes to worse, I'll just go back to being vegan. That really helped me monitor how much food I was taking in every day.

STEP TWO. exercise.... I live 30 feet from the workout gym at my apartment complex. I just have to walk across the grass to get there. Yet, I've been there once in my three months of living here (mind you, I have been swimming once a week). Now the pool is closed, and who am I kidding? Swimming once a week is not truly working out. I am implementing a new regimen of stretching, cardio and resistance training. I really need to focus on those planks for my abs and push-ups to make my boobs perky! I don't really have a set workout, I just do different things for an hour and then head home.

Feel free to pester me and ask me how it's going. I really need to be accountable to someone other than myself, because just relying on just me is not working.

THANKS GUYS! Good luck with your body sculpting (I don't like to call it weight loss). If anyone wants to be my accountability buddy, let me know! I'll check up on you, if you check up on me!


*deepblue! go eat something! I know how much it sucks to not be able to afford food (my first year of college was rough). There are many ways to get food at a bargain! Check your grocery store's coupon's online. Or, go dumpster diving. The stores in my town purposefully separate the trash from the food for people that are in a tight spot. Try bakeries (who often throw out bread simply because it was left over), whole foods (many things are still good after their expiration date), and grocery stores. Remember to check produce for mold, and do not take any meat you find. That is a huge health hazard.
Also, check into your local food bank. See if you qualify for assistance. Some food banks have really nice stuff.
Pro-tip: the combination of rice and beans has all of the same proteins as meat does. You can eliminate your budget for meat entirely, by substituting in a portion of rice and beans.

[Lotus]

@deepblue- PLEASE take sparkles advice and go to a food bank. I've been in a really desperate financial situation more than once, and had to rely on churches and food banks to feed my family. Rice and beans is a great option because it is filling, and it is a complete protein like sparkle said. Please don't let yourself go in this most essential way. Starvation will wreck you in every single way.
@Sparklesparkle- What part of Colorado are you in??? I live in Evergreen! Yeah, it's getting pretty damn cold out for sure. I hate working out too, or at least I did, until I committed to running. I swim too of course (at Wulf rec center) but that's just kinda mermaidy play time stuff, and I mountain bike, but thanks to all the floods a lot of the trails near our house are pretty destroyed. And I have come to love running. I never ever in a million years thought I would love to run. The only reason I started was because A.) I am sick of being fat and B.) I needed the endorphin release to ease my mental health issues naturally. I've also cut all nasty, greasy fried food from my diet (which was HARD at first because I work in a Chinese restaurant) which has helped my head and my waist line. It's tough to commit to making better choices, but the reward makes it all worth it. Yesterday I put on a pair of shorts I haven't been able to pull up all the way since 2007. Amazing!!!
One weird little trick I recently learned is self-talk, and saying no. Instead of saying "I can't have desert tonight," I say "I don't eat desert,"
"I don't" is a much more final way to say no to anything than "I can't". It works when I run too- "I will run another mile," rather than "I can,"
.......of course I CAN. But now I DO. Or I Do Not. Just like Yoda said.
I'll totally bug you if you need to be poked, I want to help in any way I can.

[SeaGlass Siren]

GAAAAAAAsp!!!! Guyguyguygysssss!!!! I LOST 10 POUNDS?!? D8

[deepblue]

^Congratulations!!

Also- thanks, all. Didn't mean to cause worry. I'm just SO stressed out. But- my boyfriend, who I've only been with not quite a month just rescued my butt. He brought me a bunch of food for me and my daughter. And, I'm putting some things I made on Etsy.

We will get through this tight time, and then I will be working out and catching up with all of you again.

[Mermaid Sparkle]

Colorado Mers represent! I live in Fort Collins! I drive through Evergreen all the time on my way to our cabin right outside of Pine. Do you know how baldy the Platte was hit? I haven't had a chance to drive up there and see if the roads were damaged, and I don't really want to drive 3 hours to find out the creeks washed away the roads. It's happened a few times before when there were flash floods (I was a baby though).

OOH! I've started a food journal for two reasons, so I can physically see how much I eat, and also so that I can see if there are any foods that are spiking my stomache-aches. I'm thinking it's probably lactose intolerance.

I used to run, back when I was super fit. I was on my high school's dance team and cross country at the same time. My asthma never really bothered me until recently which is why it's so hard to get back into working out. Blah.

Bug me all you want! I'll bug you back if you want me to! I'm going to go work out now I think! I'm going on a BIKE RIDE!

And CONGRATS SEAGLASS!

[Lotus]

The Platte really got nailed... but down closer to the city. I think Pine is ok- it seems that side of the hill didn't get hit as hard as us. Here in Evergreen, there's a parking lot in the river, the Evergreen spillway totally flooded and destroyed the paths near the water, the walkway under the 73/74 interchange is still partially flooded, and Cactus Jacks (a very popular bar in DT Evergreen) got totally flooded and sustained really serious damage. Down below Kittredge in Lair O the Bear park, there's a half mile stretch of trail that is just- gone. The entire bank gave way and is now in the river. It's freaking crazy. If there's any roads in particular you're concerned about let me know, I have friends in Pine and Bailey who could find out.
@Seaglass- You GO!!!! That's freaking awesome!!!!

[SeaGlass Siren]

Thanks everyone :') I'm trying to maintain it now. Stomach is incredibly flat. Now I'm gonna try and get the abs I've wanted!

BILLY BANKS HERE I COME

[SeaSister]

Congrats, SeaGlass! I'm super jealous. XD

[SeaGlass Siren]

Thanks sis!

[Coradion]

Ugh I'm not feeling pretty, but I finally got back in the pool after 4 years. My routine the past few days had been to do some short cardio swims before classes a few times a week. If my old coaches saw me now they'd probably make me cry. Gotta get in super shape for my newest tail!

[PearlieMae]

Four YEARS?

[Lotus]

GO CORADIAN!!! Kick some tail! you can do it!
CONGRATS ANDREA!!! You can keep what you have and get more, work hard and don't give up.

[Coradion]

Four YEARS?

Yeah, it's been awhile. I don't swim for a team anymore and I just can't push myself the way I can with a coach.

[Mermaid Dottie]

Hey Y'all! I know that it's been ages, but you wouldn't believe the explosion of busy, time-sucking, vortexes that suddenly appeared in my life. I did get on a couple weeks ago, but didn't have time to post much after reading everything I wanted to.
BUT Last time I was on here spotted this post:

Actually that may be my problem, no muscle at all. Ive always been athletic but hated sports. I know I'm an ectomorph (google y'all) and so it's extremely hard to put on any kind of weight, including muscle. When I was working out 5x a week for about 5 months, lifting weight for 3, I gained 11lbs. Ands I lost half of it after I didn't lift for three weeks. Also, it never made any visible difference. I'm comfortable with being small now, I'd just like to gain an inch or two in my arms and 3-5 in my hips/ thighs

Veruliya, THANK YOU!!
I was doing the complete wrong workout for my body type! After googling ectomorph, I discovered that I'm a pure endomorph, and that I have to have a circuit workout to see any results. I've yet to adjust my diet, mainly because I haven't figured out how to do it correctly. But still! Now that I have the right workout, I've been feeling better, and I can do more.
This is the new workout I've been doing, and today I kept up the whole way.

THANK YOU!

[Mermaid Dottie]

So, you remember when I posted a bunch of pictures of myself through the years? Remember the one I took while standing on the bathtub? Well, here's a side-by-side of me then and me today.


Less fat everywhere. That makes me feel better about myself, to be able to see progress.

[PearlieMae]

Wonderful! Good work!

[Mermaid Dottie]

Aww, thank you dear! I'm still not where I want to be, yet, but aren't progress pictures encouraging? You can get better, if you keep at it!

[Coradion]

Great job!