You go, gymgirl! I'd much rather weigh more and have more muscle.

Question for you -- I have been running 35-45 minutes, 6 days a week, but I know I need to incorporate weights into my workouts. Any suggestions? Most of my "problem" areas are in the lower half of my body. On top, I'm tiny, but very big in the butt and thighs. Should I concentrate all over or some arms/abs, but focus on the legs? I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to make my butt smaller!

Decrease yyour cardio and use free weights....walking lunges or alternating lunges are great for the legs and bum...we tend to do way to much cardio when the muscle is what we really need to burn fat better.....if you up your exercise make sure you tell the center so they can adjust your plan....Kickboxing is the BEST lower blody shaper out there I think!

Gymgurl,
Great exercise information. I am totally NOT a gym girl, but a friend of mine gave me his remaining 12 sessions with a personal trainer. This is clearly the ONLY way that I can workout at the gym. I am only 5 feet tall and could never figure out all the machines, how to adjust them to my height, how many reps, how much weight. It is just so foreign to me. PLUS, without the trainer I would have NO self motivation to work hard at the gym. I really need someone pushing me so that I work my absolute hardest. The only exercise that I have ever loved is Taekwondo. Just so wonderful and lots of fun. But, I don't want to go back till I've lost a bit more weight, so this is my interim activity.

I have horrible metabolism and have been told EXACTLY what you just wrote - that muscle burns fat - and that weight training is very important, and better than just doing cardio. Also, my trainer has been having me do lunges. I hate them, but they really must be good since they hurt so much! :-)

Now I do need to motivate myself to do cardio on days that I don't go to the gym.

Good luck Stiesta. I'd be so happy to say that any portion of my body was "tiny". Used to be the case, but that was years ago. Have 3 kids and need to be thin and in shape for them.

My most current goal is to reduce my mid section so that I can do the flips and hanging moves at Trapeze School in NYC this summer with my kids. Did Trapeze school two years ago for My birthday and Mother's Day but wasn't able to get my legs up between my arms so that I could hang upside down on the bar. That is my goal...

What a COOL goal...that sounds awsome....my kids would love that lol! Just make sure you are eating your food....my metabolim sucks after 3 kids and being 40 but you can get it going by eating 5 small meals aday

Another planet of people? Mary you crack me up.

I agree! Gymgirl you look awesome!! If thats what the gym does im on my way there now!!!! lol

I think being healthy does slow dwon the ageing process lol...Thanks guys..yep I have 3 daughters age 4, 6 and 8 and a hubby of 14 years....

Agree that Gymgurl is an inspiration. I'm almost 46, have 3 children (13, 9 & 8). My sister (who is 6 years younger than I am) says that the only reason I look younger than her is that the fat is puffing out my skin and preventing wrinkles from showing. Am hoping to find out the answer to that question sometime soon. Would be great to discover after my weight loss that I still have no wrinkles! Guess I now have added motivation to keep up the exercise program! Thanks for the encouragement.

Pseudomagot, oh my gosh my skinny sister has told me the same thing in the past. Could that be true I sure hope not. She is much thinner and always as been, but has more wrinkles. She used to get a lot of sunshine being an outdoors kind of person. I sure would hate to get thinner and healthier and then look like a wrinkled old lady

Gymgirl,

To look at your pic I was guessing your age at 25....blow me out of the water! You look Fabulous! People tell me all the time I don't look my age, but no one in my family really ever has...my grandfather was 92 when he passed and people always guessed his age at 65-70...so I guess it's good genes for me...but GymGirl....you've got it going on!

Mary, yes, that is sometimes what sisters do best. She has almost always been thin and an exerciser - at the gym daily. Gained weight with her pregnancies, but then set her mind to getting it off and of course is thin again.

Well, now I've put my mind to this and I have to make it work!!

I guess it is good genes and being somewhat healthy.......but thanks you guys make me feel good. it has been a rough week for me...so thanks

Are all of you in the states or canada cause I just joined lawl 3 weeks ago and I never heard nuttin about colors

I was doing LAWL for almost a year, and the first 20 pounds slid off, then it started going much more slowly, thats okay, but at 30 lbs (not even half way to my goal) I stopped losing, I stick with it, tried doing take off several time, found that chicken makes me gain weight, I exercise 4x per week for an hour and still I wasn't losing, the only solution they had was to put me on a program with less food, (my Mom started getting worried because she felt they were cutting me back too much) and guess what I still didn't lose, don't get me wrong I am totally happy to have lost 30 lbs, but very disappointed that the solutions they had were really limited and I started to feel really frustrated to try so hard and accomplish nothing, I know there are no easy answwers but geeezzzz!!! anyone else gotten really stuck? find anything got you unstuck? (and yes I coun everything I eat)

Thanks, Gymgirl, I am going to do it. It's so painful, but I think the only way to make a difference at this point.

Also, I'll add to what the others have said -- no way would I have guessed that you have three kids. You look great!