Problem Areas & Dieting/Laziness

[TheDizzyKitten]

Why hai thar! whee

My name's Cerian Jenkins, and although I'm not what would be considered 'fat', I have a lot of issues with certain parts of my body.

I used to be a comfortable UK size 8 (I'm only 5ft4, and have a small body frame, so this was a nice, snug size for me) but since moving out from my parents' house, I have gradually put on weight over the last year or so, and am now about a UK size 12.

My problems are:

Laziness - I'd much rather be sitting around going eff-all than gettin out and getting some exercise. I don't really know where to get the drive from. I'll go to bed thinking 'tomorrow I'll do this...this....etc' but the next day is just the same.

Food - I eat a crap load of bad stuff. Being a student, I'm not on a large budget and my main diet is pretty much always pasta and sauce. I also snack terribly, and need to find a way to stop myself from doing this. I need to find a healthy, low fat diet plan that I can follow as well.

The places where my weight gain is most noticible are:

Hips - Geebus, this is the worst. I now have bonafide love handles. It's made my torso look all out of shape, and is probably the area of my body that I'm least happy with right now.

Bum - Weight has also been gaines a fair bit on my bottom too. It's a lot larger and more prominant that it was, which once again looks and feels ridiculous on a body frame of my type.

Thighs - I've always had rather large thighs, having never been the sporty type. But with the added weight they've just become ridiculous

Tummy - Although most of the excess weight seems to have gone to the sides of the tummy (i.e. the lovehandles) I'm still putting on weight here as well. I need to find some exercises to tone my stomach up again.

Upper arms - I'm getting bingo wings. xd I need to lose some of the flab from up there as well.


Wow, sorry, I didn't expect to ramble so much.

If anyone can offer me advice and support, I'd be so grateful. heart  

[SquishyAngeh]

Ahh man, I know how you feel...though I probably weigh alot more than you, I have the same lazyness issue!

the one thing that helps alot is cutting out ALL soda and bad drinks...all you need is water, they recomend 8-8oz cups of water a day, but I have to admit that I dont drink nearly that much...LOL

and water is cheep too!


about food....I know how costly healthy food can be, it makes it hard when they want us to be healthy, but then they jack the prices up on those and lower the price on junk!

try cutting out most of your salt intake, thats what im TRYING to do, but with my mothers cooking thats almost impossible...

and also, buy fruit instead of fatty snacks.

and about exersize, just simple walking or jogging works wonders....maybe mixed with crunches or situps..

Good luck!! Im hoping that I myself can get UNlazy enough that I can follow my own advice, LOL!  

[Moonecho]

Moon Says:

» » » Dorm-life (student life, too, in general) can be a pain, but just remember that motivation can be your nearest and dearest of friends. (:

If you've got stairs at your home/campus, run up and down them. Cheaper than a stair stepper, and just as (if not more) efficient. ;]
I usually do ten flights (I only have a 2-storey house, and no stairs at school, so I run up&down my stairs ten times) one to two times a day, as well as other exercising. (:

As far as your food consumption, there are cheaper and healthier alternatives to junk food. (:
In the morning, try Bran Cereal. If you're not into bland food, sprinkle it on top of a serving of fruit yogurt. Bran is very good for you, it is not only very, very filling, but it boosts your metabolism, and with almost no calories! I eat All-Bran in the mornings, and 1/2 of a cup fills me up completely, and with only 50 calories.
Also, drinking plenty of water (8 servings) every day will also boost the metabolism and help you to shed those pesky pounds. 3nodding

 

[BobbySoxer01]

I have the same problems, one cheap investment is an exercise ball. If you're watchign tv just sit on it and bounce, that way you can watch tv but not just be sitting there, or hula hoop. I don't know how many calories this burns but not only is it fun, you canust stand there(so no running YAY) and then it's just as simple as tking stairs, not elevator, walking or bike riding to close places, swimming in the summer(or winter if you're crazy like me) and (of course) drinking water. Good luck heart  

[Frog Juice]

With the laziness, just keep a goal in your mind. Write it down and put it somewhere where you'll see it all the time to constantly remind you. Be positive about it.

Keep up your water intake. Sometimes when we're dehydrated we feel hungry. Aim for 1.5-2L of water a day. It also helps flush out toxins in your body, which will help you feel less sluggish (after the intial detox of course).

Walking is really great for the hips, bum and thighs I've found. Just try and get out and do a 20-30 min walk a day and try and build it up over time. Also lunges are good as well for toning.

Cut out foods that are high in refined sugar. It is one of the main causes of fat around the tummy. I found when I cut down my sugary food intake (and of all things potatos) I lost a fair bit of the tummy fat. Walking is also good for the abs, but make sure you keep your back straight.

Good luck!! ^_^  

[dangerousfish]

Things that helped me:

Start a food diary, either in a notebook or use one of the many tracking softwares. I own the PC version of fitday.com and used the website for over a year before switching. The website, when I ventured back for a friend, annoyed me with some functionality issues (for me) but you might like it. There are a TON more tracking sites free and pay. eatracker.com was just recommended to me, too. ^^ A calorie book I couldn't have lived without while in the cafe and helping me in general is The Calorie King's calorie counting book (2007 version is up on amazon.com; I never upgraded from the 2002 version^^ wink . (also, random omg biggrin for amazon uk telling me Harry Potter 7's release date of July 21st!). calorieking.com also has a pay tracking software that is supposed to be awesome on the food side of things (not sure if it has an activity tracker). Eat clean most of the time, treats are okay! The tracking program/book will also show you how many of your calories are bad fats, good fats, carbs, and protein. I eat 1300-1700 calories a day and since I lift lean protein intake is even more important than it might be otherwise.

Water, Water, Water, Water. My tap water tastes horrible (and sometimes smells like sulfur) so I get most of my water from my beloved beverage of choice - green tea. I brew a gallon of the stuff and put it in the fridge and drink it through out the day. Seeing the gallon reminds me to keep drinking. I also buy the smaller water bottles but then refill them with the cheaper store brand of gallon bottled water to cut down on costs. Drinking water will flush your body and you'll also loss bloat/water weight since your body will be pleased you aren't in the middle of a deadly drought and will no longer feel the need to horde moisture.

Fiber! My high fiber cereal of choice is Fiber One (14 grams fiber, 60 calories per half cup). I agree with Moonecho and her All-Bran that it's great in yogurt. I even learned to like it in low-fat cottage cheese (muscle building protein, low cal, complex carb, calicum - yum)

Start slow! Gradually start a workout routine. Start walking more places, every step counts.Here's my post on my favorite workout tapes for beginner's (including the free version). You don't have to drop dead from a good workout, to loss weight my doctor and my mom's doctor-boss says 45 minutes of moderately intense exercise most days of the week. Work up to that, too much too soon and you're more likely to get discouraged. sad Soon you'll want to work harder. : )

Lift weights. Seriously. We females don't have the higher levels of testosterone they have to get massive hulk muscles without some chemical help, so don't worry about that. We can get as ripped as we like, though. 3nodding Again, start slow! Eventually, with proper form you want to reach temporary muscle fatigue in the muscle you're working in 8-10 reps. Light weights at low reps for women and "toning" is a myth.

Exercise RX is a great site for information and exercises by muscle group. stumptuous is a great site aimed at women and weights but good for anyone wanting to learn.

Muscle likes to eat fat (as long as you eat less than your body needs) because powerhouse muscle needs more food to maintain itself than lazy-a** fat. My fit university football/soccer playing brother burns way more calories than me when we're sitting on the couch because his Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is higher than mine. Your RMR is the amount of calories you burn just sitting on your a**. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the rate you burn calories to maintain your existance and more muscle means that's higher too. The good news is that people with excess fat burn more calories exerting themselves than our fit and trim brethren, our out of shape bodies suck at knowing how many calories to burn so they sort of throw them out there. Sort of like our bodies want to shed extra fat while their (fit people) bodies don't want them to get too thin and starve during the hard winter. ^^

Remember "weight" isn't as important as fat. Here's a pic showingmuscle compared to fat, the muscle tight and compact (more dense than one pound of fat) and the fat blobby (less dense than one pound fat). Or 2.27 kilos aka the only metric conversion I know off the top of my head next to 2.54 centimeters. xd

Pardon my inability to write short posts. sweatdrop I just get reaaaally into anything I'm interested in and want to learn. Remember it's best to talk to your doctor about your program and goals.

Good luck! (Start Slow!, Go Hard!)  

[TheDizzyKitten]

Wow guys, thank you so much!

I'll go out and buy a food diary today, I think. And I'll invest in some of the books recommended.

And I'll definately start an exercise routine.

Oh God, so much to do!