stim, I actually agree with you on that, my body does better to bulk too. I have always suspected a high amount of testosterone on board, I know that is one side effect of PCOS which I have never been diagnosed with, because I actually ovulate, but I have all of the other symptoms.

I put on muscle fast, and I bulk up and tone very nicely. Slimming down only comes with an excessive calorie deficit or severe carb restriction.

I think it is great you are doing c25k. I am doing something like that, I jog on my rebounder. I have gotten bold and have added resistance tubing to this regimen and I did 3 miles of light jogging, and faster jogging, and jogging with the tubing on my rebounder today. I was dripping sweat, but was proud because I was tired after one mile.

I use my pedometer which is pretty accurate on milage. I jogged through 1 1/2 episodes of biggest loser. So the timing is accurate too.

Now, all i have to do is finish my zumba workouts for the week, and I will have completed my exercise goals.

I had a point of wanting to binge right after my workout. I was hot, dripping in sweat, and suprisingly starving. I had some greek yogurt with pureed bananas and carnation powder, instead of hitting the fridge. it did the job. I wasn't hungry for dinner, but became ravenous later.

SO and I have been talking more about my going to work, and the intimacy is back, and he even helped me in the kitchen tonight.

I hope I maintain the new low tomorrow, but I usually bounce.

Why is that unfortunate? Building muscle is good! I don't know what your ideal body shape is, but mine is more of a muscular build, with lean muscle and still retaining some feminine curves. I have pretty much the ideal body for me, and I got it through lifting weights mainly. Sure, diet is the biggest part of it, but building more muscle has allowed me a lot more freedom in my diet. Now, when I have a huge day of eating (planned or not) most of that excess seems to go toward refilling my muscle glycogen, pumping me up, and giving me more energy. If I keep it to one day, I generally end up MUCH leaner that before the overeating/binge.

"Clean" foods or not, excess calories are excess calories, as you well know. Even eating "dirty" foods will still react mostly the same way as the "clean" foods will.

Honestly if you want to lean out more, lift hard and heavy, and keep your calories at a *slight* deficit.

(the attached picture is me the day after a huge day of eating last month - super lean... thanks muscles! If I continue that into multiple days, that's when I get bloating and fat gain. Regardless, that leanness never happened until I had built some real muscle)

joss first, and foremost, your body, is absolutely fantastic, and the little green monster on my shoulder is currently lifting very heavy trying to emulate ha ha ha. question -- with weight loss, did you ever have access skin at the bottom of your tummy? if so, has it tightened to that?

also, maybe you're the perfect person to ask for suggestions. as you know, im very much, yoga yoga yoga. which i would like to maintain. i am also running (a bit, here and there). food intake, is a huge disaster but it seems as though it is getting better and it's a learning curve.

i know lifting heavy is suggested, many people have suggested, but i am kind of scared to take the plunge. to be honest, i don't even currently have a gym membership aside from the studio (which is crazy stupid expensive, i pay for unlimited usage, and therefore go as much as i humanly can), but i have a little current injury- something something inflamed disk in the lower vertabrae from too many backbends. i need to maintain affiliation with a registered bikram studio here, because i am hoping to go to Teacher Training in the near future, and you need a recommendation from a studio director, with a minimum affiliation time.

i am also currently toying with the idea of joining a gym, what do you think? would i just go in, and fiddle? would i get a trainer to teach me how to lift heavy? sorry, these are very basic questions, but i've always played sports, ridden horses, done cardio, never weights ha ha.

jendiet - what kind of pedometer do you use? another thing running through the mind. also, going back to work is going to be hard, and leaving the little one at home will definitely be hard, but i think that you might enjoy time spent together more? also, could it be that your SO is resentful for having to work, and you being upset about being back to work? (apologies if this is out of bounds, i am very single, no children lol) it is very good that it seems like you guys have talked it out though and that there is contribution form the SO! baby steps are progress too!

wow joss, those muscles look hungry! You definitely have the ultimate definition. I love the way muscle tone makes your body look. I want just a little bit more of a feminine edge to my definition.

I love the way female wrestlers look-aside from the fake boobs.

I would like to look like her. to me she is iconic feminine beauty and health.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...stlerideal.jpg

stim, it is a frontline sports watch pedometer. It is not the most expensive thing, but it is pretty accurate. It could be he is resentful because I will make double what he does and will work less hours. Guys like to be the breadwinner, I don't care what they say.. .it is intimidating to have the woman make more than the guy.

Well thank you... I've certainly worked hard to get it the way I want it!

My weight loss was very gradual - I lost about 64-ish pounds over the course of 3 years. I think if I had gone on some crazy crash diet things might have turned out differently, but I've never had any excess skin as a result of my loss. I would lose a little and then level off for a while, and I just gradually ended up where I am now.

I don't blame you... the idea of taking it on can be intimidating at first. I would recommend you just work into it slowly. You already do yoga, so perhaps you can start doing more bodyweight exercises/calisthenics/plyometrics in addition to that. That sort of thing doesn't require you to have an extensive knowledge of weightlifting, and you take your body with you everywhere, so it's convenient! You can absolutely get a very effective resistance workout with your own body weight, as you know from yoga. Just try switching up what you are doing with your body; do squats, pushups, walking lunges, dips on a chair, pullups, etc. Get comfortable with some of the basics first.

You can get a membership at Gold's for like $20 per month (if you have one in your area) and even get some free training sessions to start off with. Look around at the gyms in your area and see what they are offering... Most are pretty competitively priced.
I would recommend a trainer if you can afford one, but if not, you'll be just fine. I DEFINITELY recommend doing a bit of Googling and researching to find some basics on weightlifting; look at the exercise demos on youtube and bodybuilding.com, read everything you can (Books by Jackie Warner and Jillian Michaels, as well as The New Rules of Lifting For Women, Oxygen Magazine, Fitness RX Magazine, Muscle and Fitness Hers Magazine, etc. all have great routines and show you exactly how to perform the exercises.

Like yoga or anything else, just take it slowly. If you find that you aren't really into it thats understandable... it's not for everyone. For those who want a slightly more defined/muscular look or just want to feel stronger there really is nothing that quite compares though!

They are hungry, and thats why I feed them lots of good food, and why they actually love when I cheat/treat/carb-up/overeat for a day. Does a body good!
The picture you posted is great... she has a fantastic body. Muscular yet still soft and feminine at the same time.

that makes sense, i have also had a long road. i actually lost about 60 in 8-9 months. hovered there for about 4-5 months, gained 20ish (16-20) - and then lost back down to the original+another 10 or so lbs, bringing me to about 200 lbs. that was where i started yoga last may. the original impact of bikram has been great on the toning, and about 20-30 lbs (as in it's about 20 now, because im hovering at around 175-179, mind you i wear a size 8, so there's quite a bit of muscle mass, but i carry lots of visceral fat on my tummy. + some loose skin (the bottom of my stomach looks like a chow-chow lol, especially when i am having a really properly nutritioned- hydrated skinny day). aside from that, there is no lose skin.

i started calorie counting at about 190 and it was okay for a while, but it seems as though it isn't quite doing the trick right now. basically, the issue is very clearly the food intake. i do realize that it is trial and error, and i am very thankful that i am maintaining more or less, but it is still frustrating.

- i do "dabble" in some pretty basic calisthenics and plyometics stuff, mostly 20 or minute workout videos on youtube/spark people (i actually did a 20 or so minute one with 5 lbs weighs which involved lunges/side lunges and has sore glutes for days. i am presuming that this is sufficient as a basic start? to me, this is not a calorie burner, but more of a strengthener. would it be better to do lets say, the same "routine" several times a week, or switch it up every time?


[QUOTE=JossFit;4356865]
Like yoga or anything else, just take it slowly. If you find that you aren't really into it thats understandable... it's not for everyone. For those who want a slightly more defined/muscular look or just want to feel stronger there really is nothing that quite compares though![/QUOTE

thanks for all of your advice! guess it's something to dip the toes into. i've actually read the links in your signature, when you began your journey, did you just jump right in? or dip your toes in gently to begin? lol

as of right now, while i would love to have a more muscular physique, i think that my goal is to be comfortable in my skin, and to get rid of that ever so dreaded bottom of the stomach pooch.

stim, after 2 c-sections, I want to get rid of my tummy too. That is why I call it a butt with wings. It looks that way to me, especially in tight clothes.

joss, thanks. yeah, when I saw how very lean and powerful you look--all I could think of was "hungry muscles". Very beautiful. Very defined. I am sure you have won competitions.

My mom was really into bodybuilding but she could only bulk, never really get very lean. so, I grew up around lots of weights and barbells and gyms.

I was actually so inspired by that female wrestler, I used it as an avatar.

well, eating has been kind of wierd because I slept today, no doubt I will be up much later tonight. I have lots to think about.

Okay. this is going to be ranty, whiny, and witchy. please tell me if i am completely insane if you have the chance to get through this.

I'm going to tittle this "MY MOTHER".

Okay, so last night I go out to a baseball game, have a couple of beers, and have dinner at chipotle with a friend. (fine, perfectly planned, totally on track).

i come home, to find. a loaf of french bread, two pastries (specifically left out for me). steak meat, mashed potatoes and soup on the stove/all over the kitchen.

ofcourse there are also fruits/berries out.

first, i flip a sh!t. i completely, wholeheartedly understand that this is done out of "care". but i have TOLD her that i have eating issues. I have told her that foods that contain wheat, are like giving a litre of tequila to an alchoholic, and yet she still does this. (basically these things were left out and they went out, so i was the only person in the house. which clearly ended in a huge binge). literally, i sees food i eats it. there is no control. i know that is my own fault, but why on earth, would you taunt a person, that has told you of these issues?

this morning, i wake up, i am sitting in the kitchen, browsing facebook having a coffee. mother wakes up. goes in the kitchen, has a coffee, starts putting fruits in the fridge.

WHY IS THE BREAD STILL OUT? WHY IS THE MEAT STILL OUT? WHY ARE THE MASHED POTATOES STILL OUT? Seriously?

Honestly?


Am I having a normal human reaction? or am i just so frustrated, and simply need to bite the bullet and get an apartment, even though i am still in the process of looking for a new job?

Well, I didn't make it. I drank beer friday night and today and yesterday have been eating whatever and feeling terrible. I binges on bread last night too. Couldn't even make it a week.

Stim, you do not seem crazy too me. That seems like that kindhearted sabotage? I can see how it would be frustrating...even infuriating. It's so hard to stay on track and that messes with your system.

Joss and jen, I love both body types and would love either on me. I probably have a better chance if I go for the more curvy and a little less defined (although I love definition). You look incredible joss. I read your story too and it's very inspirational! Id love to see results like that in me.

Jen, I had c sections too and have that same tummy issue! Lol
I hope there is a way to reduce the extra skin...losing slowly, but not too slowly? Maybe just surgery after weight loss, but I hope not.
I guess I need to worry about losing period more than anything. you look like you could definitely have a body like in that pic.

lefty, --love the lol cats terminology. I has binges. I noticed stims using it too. It is simplistic and humorous. I agree losing slowly just like joss suggested is the best way to keep the asthetic look about your body.

thanks for the encouragement. I think maybe 12 inches off my waist, 3 of my arms, and 10 off my hips-and I will have that going on.

well, I didn't track or plan very well today, I'm sipping on coffee so I'm done eating for the night, I was busy doing alot of stuff that didn't really amount to anything. it was busy work, and now I am sitting here thinking about what to write for my paper.

jendiet isn't coffee sometimes (often) such a fantastic little trick? It is a appetite suppressant and delicious. Although, at my ripe age of nearly 24, I find that I can no longer enjoy the sweet sweet nectar after like, 7 pm hahaha.

So, yesterday, I had dinner twice. I was actually SUPER hungry, right after lunch (late lunch around 3 pm) up to that time i had only had grapes, oatmeal, strawberries and coffee. so under 400 cals. Then I had lunch, an hour later, I was RAVENOUS. Just, starving. Went into the kitchen, it could've turned into a binge, but I decided to cut my losses and just have my dinner around 4 30 pm. I did, and I was still STARVING after that. Had a snack, then decided to have dinner again at around 7 30. Half of a basa fillet, and about 5 stalks of asparagus. very little dinner, but I was full, satiated and saw movement on the scale (even though I am still hovering in the same 5 lb range-- guess I'll go finally adjust my ticker now).

3 more days until bonnaroo. I would like to hover a little lower, because it's going to be bathing suit season.

stim, what is bonnaroo? Well, I didn't actually go to bed without eating. I almost binged--if there was food to binge on probably would have. I got into candy. I never eat candy. I was sitting there staring at a paper at 1 am, and I was trying to figure out how to finish it, the coffee was helping, but I needed more glucose to my brain--hence the candy.

woke up 3 lbs heavier. I only had about 40 pieces of runts/mini bottlecaps. Not even a whole box of candy. whatever.

I'm hungry today. I didn't eat because I was stressed and had errands to run, I also worked on cleaning out my closet. Should have eaten a meal, because by 6 pm, I was starving. I am trying not to binge on sun chips.

I actually have a burning desire to binge. I want candy, and going to the store for junk food always ends in a binge.

I don't know if it's because I cooked fish that I do not like for dinner, and didn't eat much ...or because I'm stressed because the house is a mess and I have been working on it all day or I'm just bored.

I know I don't want to be fat forever, so that is a great reason to not binge. I think I will eat some frozen peaches and see if that helps, I am not going to be able to NOT eat, so something sweet juicy and satisfying might help.