Ok, I posted in the weekly LWL thread but thought I'd do a proper introduction here.

I was a skinny kid until I graduated from college, got a job in an office and had enough money to eat crap with abandon-- I' mean, isn't that what life is about! :-) I started to pack on the pounds but didn't think much of it until I topped 210# on the day I gave birth to my son. I was in the same ballpark the day I gave birth to my daughter as well. I'd jokingly say, "when I'm done having kids I'll get in shape so I only have to do it once!" Well, I was done and I didn't move. Dh and I were somewhat active -- a few days a week during the summer and we'd join a health club and go in a few times a week to do a machine or weight or two. No real direction or plan, but we were club members. Woohoo.

Three years ago SIL was diagnosed with brain cancer. She died about 6 months later, just 2 weeks after I'd started a new job working in child care at a health club (with the free membership included.) Dh joined as well and I think we both kind of felt that we needed to do SOMETHING that we could control. I mean, cancer can strike anyone, but if you're not healthy to start with you're starting out behind the eight ball.

We met with a trainer for a few sessions and started "working out" with her little program. It was hard work and we were sore, but it didn't do much really. Dh decided to try Atkins because, well, he loves beef. I thought it sounded unhealthy and instead bought the Weight Watchers books on ebay and set up my own diet using those (points plan). He dropped about 50#; I dropped almost 20# and then invited 10# back when I got hungry and bored.

So, I took his advice and started Atkins. I went from 185# when I started to 135# in Oct 2004. That was my goal. So I started adding back in carbs (mainly fruit and whole grains) and then counting calories using fitday.com. I dropped down to about 125#. This entire time we continued to work out. Dh found a book online and went through the 12 week program, emerging with an amazing body. This spring I decided to use his book and now I can't believe I'm 38 with the best body of my life.

However, I need to eat more protein and I'm kind of lost when it comes to goal setting. I don't want to lose any more weight (gaining back up to 120# would be ok). I don't want to lose any more fat. I have a few floppy areas but some are just excess skin still shrinking, etc. I know there are plenty of people reading this and saying "oh, poor you..." I don't blame you for feeling that way; I did on the other side too. It wasn't easy and it took time and lots & lots of very hard work.

So that's me! Currently I work out almost every other day (free weights), following a variety of plans, but only if they stretch me. (no more pink weights for me! LOL) I was doing cardio at home (recumbent bike) every off day from FW. I found a few months ago and I can't do them together or I'm beat the next day. I can do 1 in the am and the other pm and usually ok, but not the weights followed by cardio at the gym any longer. I'm trying to take more rest days to let my body recover more as I find myself feeling weaker some days or losing strength faster on my reps.

I just want to eat right and exercise and be ok now.
Thanks!
Brenda

first let me say meg that is a great picture! are you in 1 leg of your old pants?

i'm new here also. i am 5'6" and 140lbs. i'am an 8-10 but feel best at a 6. i could easily lose 15 lbs all around my middle (belly fat). i worry about this because of all the health risks involved, or so they say. i have been working out almost all my life but started in really consistently with weights a year ago. i do pretty heavy weights 90lb squats, 25lb dumbell chest presses. i'm really strong and have good muscle definition but can't lose the overlying fat. i have started eating balanced meals and 2 snacks and eat every 3 hours. anyone have any advice for me????

also, let me get your feedback on this... i see this girl at the gym and she lifts similar weights to me and knows what she's doing. she is always by herself and i was thinking of asking her if she wanted a workout partner. when i worked out with a trainer a year ago it really help. i was able to push myself so much more than i do by myself. how would you all feel if someone asked you this????

Hey WELCOME GIRLS!!! We love newbies !!

mom2w -- I have 5-6 mealsl/day with a protein and a carb at each meal. For snack meals I have a scoop of whey protein powder in soy milk with about 10 frozen strawberries I also add Glutamine and Glucosamine, I usually have this after a workout. Maybe you are weaker on some days because you are not eating enough...

omyomy -- Go ahead and ask the girl she may say yes, especially if you see her on the same days and times as you go in. She can only say no, and you will have the satisfaction of at least having asked. I know I wouldn't mind if someone would approach me at the gym...

Come join us on the weekly LWL thread... Although I think you already did, I've been catching up on so much reading in the last hour that I can't remember if you guys posted there...

Finally I've found a women's weight-lifting forum that I like!

A little intro about me....

I'm Charlotte and 35 years old. I'm married, two children (15 and 11), and teach 8th grade history/geography and absolutely love my job.

I've always had issues with weight. Not major issues, but in my late 20s I kinda lost focus. I was in the military from 18-25, and had both children during that time. With both pregnancies, my weight spiraled out of control.... at 5'6", I topped out at 205 lbs. with our daughter and then 211 lbs. with our son. I lost 75 lbs after the first one, and then about 70 with the second. Then, after seperating from the military, I stayed home with the kids and went back to school.

Before long I had gained weight again.... and even though I tried, I didn't try very hard. The weight stayed on, and I convinced myself I looked okay, even though deep down it affected me in so many ways.

Then, the **** year hit. In 2002, my husband went overseas by himself for a one-year remote assignment. I was finishing up my senior year at the univ. in a teacher-education program. When I saw him about 3 months later, he had lost 20 lbs and I was still the same size. When he came home on his mid-tour, he'd kept the weight off and I still hadn't taken any off. <sigh> When he left to go back to Iceland, I decided enough was enough.

I bought a book by Joyce Vedral and began lifting weights in the evenings after getting home from school/univ. After a couple of months, I decided I wanted to see the muscles. I began eating much, much healthier foods. At about 3 months into it, I started running and found my leg strength had grown so much, and with less weight to carry, that running wasn't as hard as it had been before. All total, I lost about 30 lbs.

I was lifting and running about two miles six days a week while eating smaller portions of healthier foods and allowing myself only 1-2 desserts a week. I stopped losing weight around 142/144, but continued losing inches everywhere. This is the key to maintaining *my* body at the size I want. I dropped from a size 16 to a size 8 and was ecstastic.

Needless to say I blew my husband away when I visited him in Iceland after not seeing him for five months.

While that should be the end of the story, it isn't. I've found my metabolism would loooooooooove for me to quit working out, because when I do.... the weight comes flooding back. (That is the only thing about my 30s that I'd trade back to my 20s for!) I've taken this summer to get back into the habit of lifting and running again on a more consistent basis. As I'm gearing up for school, I'm trying really hard to maintain my daily workout routines.

I'm pretty happy with my current state, but I do have some maintenance to do.... I'm currently at 146 with body fat of 15.8% and in a size 10. I know that if I slip any, my metabolism will pack its bags and head for the mountains! *laugh*

My current workout consists of 4-5 lifting exercises per body group. I do full-body workouts three days a week, and 30 minutes of cardio (either power-walking or running) the other three days. I began with a Joyce Vedral book but have supplemented other lifting exercises that I like from Shape magazines, internet, etc. I am a free-weight fan all the way!

So, I'm here to lift away the cares of the day with you ladies! Oh, and here's me....

Charlotte
(I love gardening, and zinnias are a fav!)

Hey Welcome Zinnia we love newbies !!

I love your name and the flower too. Aren't you a cutie and your hubby is quite handsome too ... Please join us on the LWL weekly thread we also have a great maintainers forum, which is a great spot for helping to stay on track once maintenance arrives or even before... Because as many of us know maintaining isn't much different than losing the weight ...

Welcome Charlotte! I feel so connected to your story. We're the same height, in the same age range, ended up at the same point with our pg weights, etc. I LOVE free weights too. I never thought I would. In fact, I never thought I'd even like anything other than the treadmill and maybe the bike. What a difference results make! LOL

Welcome and definately join in!
Brenda

Hi,
Another newbie here. I came across this site while searching for the perfect protein muffin or pancake recipe for after my workouts..It seemed like a nice place so I thought I'd join!

I'm 28 and just got into fitness in May. I started taking cardio kickboxing and it really helped me shed some pounds and feel great. I had never enjoyed excercising before, and now I enjoy it more than anything. I just bought some weightlifting equipment last night and I'm looking forward to getting started with that.

I've lost about 10 pounds since May by doing the cardio and cutting sugar. I'm just focused on maintaining this weight now, and maybe alternating my shape a little through the lifting. I'm 5'6 and 123 lbs, bf unknown.

Take care all, it's nice to meet you! Looking forward to exchanges workouts, recipes and ideas!
Jen

Hey Jen Welcome and congrats on your weightloss... Join us in the weekly thread of LWL ... We also have a Maintainers forum that has some great advise, because we all know that the struggle doesn't end when we reach goal it just really STARTS ...

Intros? Cool. I did a brief bit in the buddy thread but def. feel more comfortable here, so...

I'm Shannon, nearly 30 years old, with a great husband and a beautiful 3-year-old daughter. My highest weight was in spring 2001, when I was at 197 - way too much for someone who's 5'5". Right before I got pregnant with my daughter, I dropped about 15 lbs a little at a time. After I had her, I lost the baby weight plus five more pounds, simply by virtue of the fact that I never had time to eat. In June of '03, I got serious about the whole thing and lost 45 lbs over the next year by doing a mix of cardio and weight training and following a common-sense approach to eating (cutting out the majority of the crap food but having occasional treats). After I'd been working out about six months, I got more serious about weight training, and found to my surprise that I lose fat and clothing sizes much more easily when I cut out the cardio and stick to the lifting. I reached my initial goal in June of '04, which was 132 lbs and a size 6. Earlier this year I got down to 125 and a size 4, but followed that with some very bad eating choices which caused me to gain back about fifteen pounds. And I really, really want that size 4 back, because I refuse to give all my skinny jeans to charity and buy new ones!

Hard lifting and proper eating (meaning relatively clean with one cheat day per week) have always done the trick for me - my biggest problem is cleaning up the diet. I have absolutely no interest in bodybuilding, but I have considered PL competing and toward that end, I would love to hit BW in the Big 3 (AND be able to do a pullup, but I'm light-years away from that). Currently I can bench with the 25-lb dumbbells and my best squat is 85 lbs. DL is only about half that amount because I haven't been doing it very long. I'm starting to prefer it more and more since I don't need a spotter for it.

One of the other posters asked a question above thread about whether anyone would think it weird to ask if someone wanted a workout partner. My answer to that is that if you are a woman and I see you squatting/benching as much as I am or more, I will be the one asking you if you want to partner up.

Hi Shannon! Glad you joined us

Mel

I am new here, so thought i should post an into, I am a 33 year old mother of 3 boys just getting back into the gym after a few years away due to injury and work.

I live in sub tropical queensland Australia and i lift 3 days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) and have rugby training 2 days a week. Game day saturday starting end of march but currently whole weekend is rest day.

Weight: 84 kg
Height:5'2"
BF%: 26

i need to loose the layer of fat that is currently resting over the top of my muscle, i don't mind the way i look because i have a heavy build but would like a lower bf% before i have a go at powerlifting.

my current lifting program consists of

Warmup: Rowing Machine 5 minutes, Bike 10 minutes

4X10@9kg (19 lb) Alternate Lunge with Bicep curl
4X10@55kg (121 lb) Squats (currently adding 5 kg each workout) previous program was hack squatting 80 kg
4X12@40kg (88 lb) Cable Straight Arm Pulldown
4X10@20kg (44 lb) ezy bar pullovers on swiss ball
4X10@9kg (19 lb)standing alternate DB presto curl
4X10@42kg (92 lb) cable upright row
4X10 reverse grip pull downs not sure of weight, setting 10 on cable machine (about 1/2 the stack)
4X10@20kg (44 lb) lying leg curls
bench dips
side hovers (planks)
leg lifts

Short Term Goals

Lower BF%
Squat 100 kg (220 lb)

Long Term Goals

12% BF
Squat: 200 kg
Bench: 90 kg
Deadlift: 217.5 kg



Cheers
Looking forward to meeting everybody

Hi, I'm new to this group. I am a used to be when it comes to being called a weight lifter. I want to get back into it with my new weight loss endevor. I need some help getting back into it. So, I'll be checking in regularly.

Welcome! Do come and join us on the weekly thread. Post as much as you like. We're here to help!

And good luck!

HI, a proper intro goes here I guess.
My name is Ronnie I am going to be 28 on Sat april 29 (yikes when did that all happen?) I started Weight watchers in November and then also started lifting weights with my DH 6 weeks ago We have quite a set up downstairs in our house so its nice to not go far. I have three wonderful active little boys, 8, 5, and nearly 2. But with each I gained and kept quite a bit of weight. Its time for it to come off and stay off since there will be no more little ones in my life.

I have lost 30 lbs and really since lifting can see a difference in tone, thats not to say I don't have a ways to go tho Its becoming harder for me to lift since my DH is working 17 hour days now and going to school so I am doing it alone but I am determined to not go to waste all that I have done. Anyway love your forums here and am sure I will have ?;s umm probably frequently

Ida!! We luvs newbies!!