Posts by xxnicky

I'm actually currently reading the book and I plan on reading it page per page before I get to the workouts. I've learned SO MUCH about reading this book (i'm seriously addicted to it) and i've also put some myths I've heard to rest.

the book says "lift like a man, look like a goddess" and as cheesy as that sounds, I believe it will really work. The author backs up all of his statements by research and he has a really good sense of humor.

I definitley recommend this book to anyone who's interested in putting down the "pink barbie weights" (as he calls them), and focusing on lifting (not endurance) exercises.

i've belonged to two different gyms in the past 3 years. My first gym also was a specific crowd of people (mostly 60-70 year olds) and i was 14 at the time. I loved it but i had to switch because it got too expensive.

My new gym is a MUCH younger crowd and i was sooo nervous about going (i'm 17 now). When i went there, i was really self-consious for the first ten minutes and afterwards i realized that no one is looking at me (just like i wouldnt look at anyone else). Also, there were all types of people there... some were really athletic, some were a little overweight and some in between. I like it so much better and it didnt take long at all to get used to it.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that you'll be fine. The first time you go you will be nervous (its okay, that's normal), but after that you'll realize that its really not that big of a deal. I know its something you've heard before, but its one of those things that you have to see for yourself. Good luck and have fun!!!

I just finished mid-terms last week!

I'm a senior so i didn't care as much and i ended up getting 3 b's (never gotten a b in my life)! to be honest, i dont really care anymore. I'm already into college. whatever you do, don't stress out about them. you'll end up doing fine. also, study backwards so that way you study the first thing you learned in the semester last so its fresh in your mind.

good luck!

thanks for the feed back! You all have excellent points! I feel like i'm understanding it more... i need to remember that muscle takes up less space than fat for the same poundage and that the 'britney spears syndrome' that the second article talked about was discussing a woman who was maturing and not going to stay a 16 year old forever. thanks for the website too! :)

strength training is anything that helps you build muscle. Examples would be anything from weight lifting, yoga/pilates, etc...

Strength training usually doesn't increase your heart rate (that's what cardio exercise does) but it instead focuses more on your muscles. Based on what you've posted, it seems like you get a lot of cardio which is great, but i would try to add more strength training exercises. Try 30 minutes a day, 5-6 times a week, but only focus on ONE muscle group each time (ex: monday is arms, tuesday legs, wednesday back, etc...)

I've recently gone to whole foods and got the whole food's brand "soy protein powder." Its 90 calories for a scoop and each scoop has 24 grams of protein. It sounded great but the only thing is when I tried to make a shake, the shake tasted way too powdery. I only used a half a scope and I kept adding more ingredients to get rid of the powdery taste but no matter what i did, it was still there.

I'm hoping that i'll find a protein powder that won't taste like actual powder. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know!

jprt325- I dont have an answer as to why that happens, but it has happened to me before. When i went on a hiking trip in Yellostone national park, i took a nalgene bottle (100mL plastic bottle) and filled it with water. I then added lemonade-tasting powder. To this day (three years later), after several washes, my bottle still smells and whenever i try to drink water out of it, i can taste the lemonade. I feel like plastic somehow absorbs flavors into it that can't be washed out.

Wow, here I thought I was alone...Recently, I too was diagnosed with depression and anxiety (about a month ago). Before that, I refused to see a shrink because I've never had success with one in the past. I’ve always viewed shrinks as people who pretend to care about your problems, but in reality, they don't (I don't want to offend anyone on this site who might be a psychologist; it's just what I once thought).

Finally, after my grades began slipping, I lost my desire to socialize and I began to sleeping for 22 hours a day (and also my parents nagging me), I finally decided to see a shrink. There, my psychologist sent me to a psychiatrist where I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and acute obsessive compulsive disorder. I can't say that I was ever suicidal, but I would have thoughts about someone I loved dying (or even myself dying) and I couldn’t do anything to save anyone. These thoughts would really upset me to the point where I could burst into tears. I also had issues dwelling on the past. For instance, if I had a fight with a friend 2 years ago, it could still make me cry and I would constantly think about how I could have handled it differently (like what I should have done). When my psychiatrist recommended Prozac I, too, was against the medicine because I've always been someone who liked to know that I was in control of my emotions. The thought that a stupid miracle pill could help didn't seem realistic. I finally decided to take the medicine because I was tired of being miserable.

I'm not going to lie to you; Prozac was a horrible experience for me. It made me feel very anxious and over stimulated. HOWEVER, I was then started on Zoloft which I am currently still taking. As bizarre as it may sound, I actually am feeling better. I'm still not 100% like I used to be but the medication gave me 2 days where I was back to my normal self. That may not seem like a lot, but it gave me hope that I can get back to that permanently. I've only been on the medication for 3 weeks and they said it will take 4 before I feel 100% better. I still can't comprehend how one day, I'm going to wake up and be my old self, but that's what they told me it would be like. A part of me still doesn't believe that these drugs work... that part of me thinks that I want them to work so badly that I convince myself that I am getting better. Even if that is the case, I'm just fine with that.

As for seeing a shrink, I still don't like it but I know that it does help. I'm hoping that once the medication kicks into full effect, my views on a shrink will change. It is good to just let everything out once in a while to someone who isn't biased.

Based on my experience, I would recommend trying a medication. If it doesn’t work, you can always stop taking it, but it’s worth a shot if it means getting better. Keep in mind that the first medication might not be the right one for you. You might need to try a couple… but trust me, when you get those 2 days when you’re back to your old self- you’ll feel incredible.

I doubt anyone is going to read my entire post (its sooo long), but I found that typing this out was very therapeutic to me. Thanks for posting this thread! I wish you all the luck in the world! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. You and I are in the same process, I'm just a few weeks ahead. So, if you need someone to relate to, ask advice, or even complain to... I'm you’re girl.