Posts by lmcclngh

You know guys, I started at 175 in July of last year.  The pounds came off so quickly I lowered my goal weight and I NEVER reached it and it was discouraging and I started not counting and eating like I used to.  I gained back 10 pounds by this past May and that's when I re-dedicated myself to CC.  I think I just needed a break because again, even though I have less to loose the pounds have been shedding like they did at first before.  So I think you can loose weight for a while, then your body has to adjust and then you can loose again.  I believe I will be able to get to my "new" gaol weight that I had set the second time before, did you guys follow that?  Anyway, I think there are plateus we reach and for a time we just won't loose weight.  We have to maintain until our boduies are at a point where it wants to loose again.

Good luck to everyone, thanks for all of the responses and I look forward to hearing from all of you through the days, weeks and months that come!

PILATES!  That was what I did to loose the middle after I had my son - in 3 months my waist was as small as before!  It really targets your core and gives you a great workout!

You say you don't change anything through this time - but you may change your workouts - the winter months could be different from the summer.  Do you tend to get outside more inthe Spring/Summer and stay inside for workouts in the Fall/Winter?  I have a friend here at work and he goes through the same thing thing every year - about 20 pound gain in the Winter and 20 pound loss in the summer.  He doean't try to do it - it just happens - but he is a weight lifter and I can't see 20 pounds on a guy that's 6'+ and 190 pounds anyway.  It could be seasonal depression - maybe you aren't noticing it - but eating a bit more in the winter.

I don't think I helped but it's interesting what our bodies do without us consciously doing anything - you know?

Good luck and Happy New Year!

I have been doing pilates for 5 years now and it really didn't do ANYTHING for my cellulite.  The running will help - that will build tghe muscles in your legs that will diminish the appearance.  The best thing you can do is build the muscle so that those fat cells don't have any space to show through.  Aerobics - I know pilates has a couple of aerobic videos out there - will help.  Anything that will strengthen your muscles - and I wouldn't just focus on your legs, because if you have it there you could develop it in your arms too - and again I will recommend yoga for both arms and legs!!  Since May - when I started yoga I have lost an inch in each arm (2.54cm) and about 1.75 inches around each upper leg (4.45cm).  So if you have limb probelm areas yoga, I have found, works the best for me.

Good luck - you have a great dad to run with you!!  Enjoy the journey!!

I have not lost weight since the middle of October.  What I have found in my searches for answers is that your body has a "standard" weight, if you will, and if you can maintain that weight for 4-6 weeks - I know IT'S A LOOOONG TIME!! - and then go back to what you were doing before it should work.  I am in the midst of trying to lower my calories again - i will let you know if it works - but it may be some time before you start to see the weight drop off again!  Sorry for the somber news - but really I have seen it all over this sight and I have asked around and really that's the only thing I have heard that makes any sense to me.  i want to loose another 10 pounds but I have not been able to get there yet.

I know exactly what you mean - I even do that onw.  I am married with an 8 year old son - and I am always thinking - because my husband knows I am counting calories and he burns me if I go over for the day - so he works at night sometimes and I always want him to leave before I go to bed so I can have "the thing I want" that I know if I have while he's there he will ask me why I am eating it!  I have always been that way - I have snuck food since I was a little girl.  I don't know what to say about how to stop - because I am still doing it - now I won't go crazy but if I feel like I want something certain to eat I sometimes wait until no one is around so it's like it doesn't count - but I know it does - I guess I would say that I have been able to resist temptation by realizing it only hurts ME to do it - no one else - so I try and treat myself better and not sneak - I just tell myself that I know and that's the person who should care - no one else!  You know?  hope it helps - I don't know if it will but I am hanging around if you wanna talk about it!

I am the same.  I totally crave sweets like all the time!  I did really well for about a month - not eating anything that was too totally bad - i would have 2 mini snickers a couple times a week and that seemed to tide me over.

THEN came HALLOWEEN!!  i have been desperately trying to get back on track since Halloween and then came Thanksgiving and now it's my bithday and then it's Christmas - so I have vowed to stay within my calories on every other day besides the days I have "special events"  Although that's how all of this got started.  I lost about 22 pounds and I haven't lost a pound since Halloween!

So all I can say is that for me to cut it all out works best because it is so hard for me to stop!!  I understand the whole - give yourself a treat thing but I have a bad habit of sweets and i know if I start it will be ten times harder to quit when I want to get it back together again, you know?

I guess what I am saying is whatever works best for you to stay on track - not really just for the day but for the week!  If yo ugo too over on that cheat day you could spoil all the work you did during the week!

Good Luck!!

Lemon filled - OMG they are THE BEST!!

After I had my son I had this problem as well.  I got rid of that pooch by doing the series of five - pilates. 

1.  Double straight leg - lay on your back on the floor, bring your legs in to your chest, and hug them with your arms, neck and upper back off the floor.  Push legs straight out and arms over head like you are stretching first thing in the morning, bring back to starting position - repeat 10 times.

2. Single straight leg - from the ending position of the previous exrecise, both legs in, move left leg straight out at a 45 degree angle to the floor.  Raise your head and shoulders off the ground.  Place the right hand on the outside of the bent knee, place the left hand on the ankle (or close to it) of the bent knee.  Switch legs moving your hands to each bent knee - repeat 10 times. (Do this slow and easy, go with your breath, breath out while bringing each leg in, pull your belly button to your spine)

rest your head for a moment

3. Scissors - bring both legs to a 90 degree angle from the floor (straight up), lift your head and shoulders off the floor, bring right leg towards your head and lower the other leg to a 45 degree angle to the floor.  Hold the leg closest to you with both hands at the ankle, thigh or claf - wherever you can reach - switch back and forth 10 times. (Do this slow and easy, go with your breath, breath out while bringing each leg in, pull your belly button to your spine)

lower head for a rest

4. 6" - bring both legs to a 90 degree angle to the floor (straight up) place your hands behind your head, lift head and shoulders off the floor, do not interlace your fingers - place them on top of one another - you just want support - not holding you up - take both legs down to at least a 45 degree angle to the floor and bring up - BREATH - breathe in on the "up" motion - breathe out on the down motion. (repeat 6 times)  The breath and the movement on these last two are very important - remember to pull your belly button to your spine!

head down for a break

5. Criss cross - position your legs the same as in single straight leg, hands behind your head, lift head and shoulders off the floor.  Twist your left elbow to your right bent knee, then change, bend your left knee and bring your right elbow to your bent knee - do this slowly - two breaths per change - don't just move from your elbows - twist your waist!! Repeat 10 times (5 per side)

At the end of this your lower abs will burn a lot!!  Make sure and bring your belly button to your spine as you do all of these excersizes - it will help protect your lower back. 

The last thing you should do is:

Sit up with legs out in front of you hip width apart.  Raise your arms like your sleep walking.  Curve your spine like you have a ball in your stomach - pull your belly button to your spine, hold for about 5 seconds - this helps release any tension you are holding in your spine from all that ab work - repeat 3 times.

WOW - that's a pretty tall order.  I would say that because you are an athlete it would be pretty accurate that your bf% is around 13-16%.  I understrand wanting the scale to read a certain number but if you a lot of muscle there's really nthing you cn do but try and loose the muscle as well as fat in order to keep healthy - if that even makes sense.  Girls/Women should have a bf% around 14% and it sounds like you are there.

Maybe look at your BMI - what % is that?  I am 5'8" and currently at 143 - my BMI is 22% - I am trying for 135 with a BMI of 20% - that would make me very happy!  however - I do things like yoga and pilates that doesn't really build a lot of muscle.  I need to find an at home exercise that will get rid of the fat on my lats - my waist is really samll and that leaves a line between my ribs and my waist and I hate that.

So, I hope someone else reponds because I don't think I have helped at all!

Good luck!

I started out loosing pretty consistently but then - road block - after about 5-8 pounds I would stay there for about 2-3 weeks - and NOT LOOSE A POUND.  But then I would stick to it and I would start loosing again. 

I have been stuck at 143 for almost 4 weeks now and it's killing me.  My GW is 135 and I wanted to reach that by the end of the year - I don't think I will make the date but I know if I stick to it, it will eventually come.

So my advise is do what you do and don't let the scale get you down.  It sounds like you are doing the right thing - keep it up!

The purse thing was too funny!  I actually have a good friend here at work that told me some good exercises to do for the back in general.  I am goign to try those - I DO NOT do pull ups - sorry but thanks for the advise.

Also I think he is going to get me some heavier weights - I am still smiling at that comment - too funy!!

I have been on so many different pills in my life it's not even funny.  I am currently using Yaz.  I noticed when i first got on it I lost some of my appetite.  THE First pill to EVER do that for me.  I know you said you have an IUD.  Sorry, I don't know much about them - always been too scared to use them.  If your husband is off fighting the war and you guys want to conceive when he gets back I would go to the doctor and have it removed - or is that something you can do yourself?  I don't know. 

I think that having a kid is so much more important than thinking about whether or not you will lose or gain weight by using birth control.  I have an 8 year old son and if I weighed 200 pounds I wouldn't trade it for anything.  I will tell you that after having my son it has been really hard to KEEP off the weight.  I have to workout and watch what I eat ALL the TIME!  That could be part of my age but I really think he did a number on my body.

I am currently working on getting back to my pre-birth weight.  It hasn't been too bad.  i noticed you said you don't like to work out.  I hate it!  BUT I would love to recommend yoga.  It has done wonders for my body and my mind.  It really helps you to get centered - even if you don't fully buy into the whole thing! 

Hope my advise helps.  God send to your husband - and thanks to him for being there for the USA!

During the week I usually eat about every 3-4 hours. I eat 6 times a day.

7 am  150-170 cal for breakfast

10 am 50-100 cals for a mid-morning snack

12 pm 350-450 cals for lunch

3:30 pm 50-100 cals for a snack

6:30 pm 500-600 cals for dinner

8 pm 50-100 cals for an after dinner snack

It depends on what I eat as to how many calories I have at which meal - I try to stay within 1500 calories a day. That will allow me to loose 1 pound a week. With 500 calories burned in a day times 7 days, which is 3500 calories = 1 pound!

Good luck!

I had to go all the way to your Facebook page to see that you are in college.  It was the easiest for me when i was incollege because I didn't have endless classes all day.  I have a son who is school age and I would schedule my first class for 9:10 and I would workout after dropping him at school.  I don't know how college works out there if you have an option of deciding when your classes are.  I know as I got to upper level classes they only offered them at certain times and you had to take them or not graduate.  Also, I would break up my day.  I might take an early class and leave about an hour and a half and work out during the mid-day break. 

There is one thing you have going for you and that is you don't have to really worry about anyone other than yourself and YOUR schedule.  Is there a gym on campus?  Can you walk to school?  I used to do that all the time and that was awesome because I would walk to school and workout - double benefit! 

Anyway, good luck with figuring out your schedule.  i am struggling with the same thing right now with my kid in school.  I had early hours over the summer and I was able to go to the gym in the evening and take yoga but now, first of all I can't get to the gym by the time the classes are being given - but even if I could I can't be home as late as 7:00 pm on a school night because of dinner and bath and stuff.  I have tried getting up early but that has been futile because my husband is in the den playing video games and I can't workout in any other room.

I feel you pain! :)  Hang in there you will figure it out!