Hi! Just wanted to introduce myself....

[GinaBlue]

Hi,

I just wanted to introduce myself and say HI to everyone. I'm really new to fitness and I'm trying desperately to change my body (and my body image ). I spent the greater portion of the day browsing the forums, but it all sounds very confusing, especially the diet part. The main thing I want to do is tone up. I don't want to get really muscular, but I would like definition in my abs, butt, and thighs. A friend once told me that I would never have nice abs again after having 3 kids . I just feel like I'm so close. I do go to the gym 4 times a week. I do 20 minutes of cardio (bike, treadmill, or eliptical trainer) then I do some weight machines, but I don't have a specific routine. I also do Tae-Bo at home about 3 times a week. I have definitely gotten some more definition, but not as much as I would like.

Here are my stats: 5' 5.5", 122 lbs I'm not sure of my body fat percentage because I keep getting different results with the calculators I've used on the internet. The average seems to be about 23%! Yikes! People consider me thin, but I still see so much flab especially below my belly button. If I get the courage I'll post a pic.

Well, I just wanted to introduce myself and I look forward to chatting with all of you!

Thanks!

Gina

 

[Sassy69]

Hey Gina ! Welcome to the boards! LOL - we all spend most of the day browsing the forums - all day, every day!

I would say start out with the following:

1) Read the stickies at the top of the women's board.
2) Search LOTS on any and all questions you have.
3) Ask questions about stuff that doesn't seem to come together for ya - we're all here learning and to help too because we've all been there before..!

A couple basic things -- you need to reach the understanding that a LIFESTYLE change will produce the results you want, not a "diet" or a particular way of training. It takes diet, training and cardio -- mostly in that order. The whole goal is to optimize your body's ability to process fuel (food) and burn it efficiently (metabolism).

You dont' have to worry about "getting big" from lifting because you won't. You don't have enough testosterone in your body to look like a man. (I assume you arent' using steroids (aka "AS" = anabolic steroids or "AAS" - anabolic/androgenic steroids). Most of the girls here will recommend that you lift hard & heavy. Go as heavy as you are comfortable with, with good form. I DON"T mean lifting the cute little 2 lbs weights for 5000 reps. That is a waste of time. This will help with the bodyfat.

Cardio helps somewhat with bodyfat, its not the primary thing to do in the gym -- you can do hours and hours of cardio, but it won't improve your muscle. It may actually cost you some muscle.

Diet is by far the most important thing -- follow a clean diet (remove as much sugar & processed food as you can), eating 5-6 small meals per day, with protein, fibrous carbs (vegies) and good sources of complex carbs such as brown rice & yams, cutting these out after about 3 pm.

I'm sure you'll get some good info in this thread, but mostly you need to spend some time educating yourself and seeing where you can optimize your current diet & training!

Again welcome & look forward to seeing you onboard!
Sassy

 

[Rocket]

Welcome, you have come to the rite place, the women here are awsome, Fit, Hard and sexy. Sassy has you headed in the right direction, listen to here and you will make it.

Rocket

 

[new@gettinbig]

I would try to hook up w/ a trainer...Just to get you headed in the right direction so you are not wasting your time in the gym...If you are looking to cut..diet is KEY...also I would add some more cardio and really focus on your weight training...use free weights too....dont rely on just machines for your workouts. Read and search the boards W6 has posted several workouts that work great...Post a sample diet of what you are eating now...

 

[ann]

Welcome GinaBlue...... Dont listen to that friend, who told you that you wouldnt see your abbs after 3 kids. Just make it happen girl...... I got 3 kids also

Do lots of searches on the board here....lots of good topics relating to diets and workouts.

Look forward to reading your posts

 

[Kaizen]

Welcome Ginablue

I am in 100% agreement with all of the above why? because it's true it works and with commitment to yourself and your goals you can make anything happen!!!

It's not easy but if you want those abs you can get them...I've seen pics of 70 year old grandmothers with abs 19 year old virgins don't have!!! Shoot with abs I still want to have...!! This board has worked amazing changes for tons of women and some of the men come here looking for help too cause the women here are extraordinarily bright perceptive and supportive.... as well as our wonderful men who are extraordinarily bright perceptive supportive and truly get it that a woman wants to be her best in all that she does!

I'm just coming back after a hiatus and I'd forgotten how good it is to read and chat with all the folks here ... it feels good to be "home" again!

 

[GinaBlue]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the replies. I'm afraid that my diet is what I'm having the most trouble with. It's not that I eat alot, in fact, I probably don't eat enough from what I've read here, it's just that I'm so confused about the whole carb, protein, sugar thing. I'm really trying to do the whole lifestyle change. I do have alot of stress in my life and when I go to the gym (even before I was this serious) it REALLY helped alot. I wish I could get a trainer, but it just isn't possible with my schedule. I'm looking forward to the support that everyone here talks about and loves. Sometimes it's hard for other people to understand; especially if you're the thinnest person your office. I hate when people roll their eyes about me wanting to eat "correctly" and tone up and make jokes about how I probably just lay around in a bikini all summer. Whatever.....

Thanks again for all the replies!

Gina

 

[Sassy69]

Gina --

As far as getting a trainer, often your gym will have some sort of trainer(s) on staff. You should check them out -- if its a new gym membership they might give you a couple sessions for "orientation" with a trainer. Or you could contract w/ one of them for a couple sessions --- for ex if they charge per hour, see if you can get like 4 30 min sessions - get a good training schedule for diff body groups - e.g. legs, back & biceps, chest & triceps, shoulders -- there's your 4 30 min sessions. The thing I try to avoid with trainers is having them turn into expensive spotters. I dont' need someone to babysit me in the gym or count my reps for me. But if my routine needs a little spicing up or some change, I can check in w/ one of the trainers and get some diff things in my routine.

Same thing for diet -- see if one of them can get your bodyfat meaurements (e.g. using calipers) for a baseline measure -- dont' freak if you are like 25% -- that's an average for women. The only time you see a woman below 15% is when they are consciously working at it -- w/o a lifting schedule even the skinny chix are probably around 22%. Then after that, have someone lay out a good diet and explain why its recommended to eat the 5-6 small meals and try to straighten out all the wild things floating around about diet. Then try that diet for 6-8 weeks, see if it works and then go back & get it tweaked again for another 6-8 weeks.

Things to remember are:

- its a slow process - takes like 3 weeks to establish a habit and about that long for your body to respond to a diet
- if you change your diet & drop 5 lbs immediately -- its probably water weight and not true fat. I think you can only lose 1/2 lb of fat per week.
- the secret is to find a way to get the diet & training to fit into your lifestyle. It may takea few days to figure out how to pack food for a few meals at work. Find the right size soft-side cooler that works for you, plus a couple ice packs to keep in the freezer. Figure out what the hell flaxseed oil is and what's so great about it, etc.

Once you get that much figured out, then all you have to do is establish the habits!


-

 

[FitFossil]

Welcome GinaBlue!

You've come to the right place. I used to be skinny but soft. (On this board we refer to that condition as "skinny fat".) Did hours of cardio, high reps of light weight, and ate like a bird - nothing ever changed until I cut down on the cardio, started training heavy, and increased my protein and omega 3 fats.

I was already eating mostly carbs. so I had to cut down on those and make sure the carbs I did eat were the complex (like beans and brown rice) and fibrous (like carrots and spinach) rather than lots of simple carbs (like bread and pasta).

When you want to lose fat, it really is possible not to be eating enough calories. You must eat enough nutritious calories so you can train hard enough to build muscle. Muscle will raise your metabolism and make fat burning easier. That's what will give you tone and definition. Doing too much cardio can cause you to burn away muscle.

Remember, a pound of muscle is harder and denser than a pound of fat (and it burns calories even sitting still!). Your scale weight can stay the same, but your body will get tighter and smaller, if you replace some fat pounds with muscle pounds.

Don't get upset if your scale weight seems to be going up. Muscle growth and fat loss don't happen at the same rate. Better still, ditch your scale and measure your progress by body fat %, the way your clothes fit, or the mirror.

Finally, give it time and be patient. Visit the boards often for info and encouragement - it works for me!

 

[MustAdministerSeroidS]

Welcome you have made a wize chocie your road to the perfect you starts her. Don't lissen to anyone that tells you you can't do what you want and achieve any thing you put your mind to.

As for people in your office we all get that i'm sick and tired of explaining my eating habits and why i don't always go down the pub but i can'#t lose my temper about it or i get acused of being on steroids.

The girls on her have some great bodys lissen to them and they will point you in the right direction.


M.A.S.S