Ok Shane, the non-butt protein powder is by PVL (http://www.pvldirect.com/products_whey_gourmet.html). I got mine at Walmart but I've also seen it at GNC. The last time I had the Vanilla Ice Cream Royalle...it did NOT taste like Vanilla ice cream at all...lol, but it also didn't taste like butt. It was tolerable. Today I got the chocolate flavoured one and it's not as good as the vanilla I don't think, nor is it really very chocolatey but it also does not taste like butt. ;) It's tolerable. It doesn't seem to mix up quite as nicely as the vanilla one did but no biggy.

I also got some muscle milk today, I'll let you know how butt-like that tastes tomorrow when I try it. :D

That's YOUR back!?! Holy wow!

I just snuck in to see how you ladies are doing. Keep up the great work!

Originally Posted by SusanB:
That's YOUR back!?! Holy wow!

ROFL Susan...that's the same thing I said when I saw the picture for the first time. I've never seen my back until these pics, I couldn't believe it either. What I don't understand is why in the heck my abs can't look like that.:( LOL...I just have to walk into rooms backwards from now on. *lmbo*

Hi everyone! I know I'm a bit late but would LOVE to join. I'm super close to my goal weight which is to maintain between 160 and 165, the past week or so I've been bouncing around between 168 and 170. This I believe will give me the kick in the butt I need to finish what I've started. I'll take some current pictures tomorrow and post them with my measurements.

Hi Melissa! There is no late. I, for one, will probably be at this for a while :o

Last evening I took DS#2 up to his (moved back home and into) room. I had him clear off my weightbench and I actually used it.

I'd had a terrible day at work, complete with the nagging headache and second guessing and re-mulling. By 7 pm I had to do something!

I have dumbells downstairs but they just didn't seem like enough, ya know?

I sweated, grunted and put 'my mind in my muscle' and it felt awesome! I slept amazingly well and this is the first morning in 8 days that I haven't been wakened by that annoying kink in my neck.

... I forgot to weigh myself. Better go back in this thread and see what a weekly recheck would be.

NSV!! Ok... so... I have this pair of pants... Silver jeans size 27 "rock star fit" = very tight. I bought them back when I weighed around 125, but they were always uncomfortably tight until I stretched them out a bit. Today, I put on these pants, stretch free and no wear for two years :lol: ...and they fit beautifully. "Wow," I thought to myself, "I don't know if I've EVER been THIS slim without eating disorders!" :eek:
Now, that motivates me to eat clean for another day!

:welcome: Melissa! Nope , never too late to join! Judging from your sig pic, you're pretty, btw

:rofl: goinforthegold, I wrote down the name of the non butt substance so I can try it! And I'll let you know if I think it tastes like butt! Oh, how cute, they have flavors like "creamy caramel pie" and "creamy dreamy milk chocolate"

The second pic is me at 135, so thank you! The difference between 135 and 145 was more noticeable in my clothes than it was visibly, if that makes any sense... like... by the time I hit 145, everyone acknowledged that I lost a whole slew of weight, and now people are not acknowledging it as much except to say things like, "Are you still losing weight?"
"You've gotten so thin."
and...
"ARE YOU EATING?!"
and yes, I agree that your back is amazing. your abs are not bad either... you are criticising yourself WAYYY too much, when you have better abs than most American women. :)
BTW... PVL... I read it wrong at first and thought it said VPL :p and I started giggling like a middle school girl.

Yay, Susan, for using your weight bench :D it must be nice to have that in your home... I only grunt while weightlifting at the fitness center if no one else is around :lol: I get embarrassed! :o

What exercises are you doing? I've been working my way into the double digits with crunches (go ahead, laugh!) and I have an appointment at Curves next Monday night to get my post-surgery buns off the coach.

Shane- I think having a larger chest (34D-36DD depending on my weight) is the main factor in concealing the extra pounds, not bone structure. I'm 5'4" so, yes, I look top-heavy ;) Way to go on the pants!

What exercises is... who? Me? Everyone?
I do these:
http://exercise.about.com/od/abs/ss/abexercises.htm

I ride my bike to and from work every day which equates to 18 miles, run during each of my 15-minute work breaks, weight train (basic hand weight stuff every day and the gym twice a week to do heavy weights... I know I should do it more - maybe every other day - but I really do not have time), and run up and down stairs for 30 minutes a few times a week. I run extra when I feel like it and often go for distance runs on the weekend.

Oh... I have a lot of weekend exercise time since my weekend lasts 3 days.

I have a large chest, too, but you have me beat, miss DD. Mine are 36D's, albeit small D's... not exactly tiny ;) nothing wrong with a huge set of knockers!

WOOHOO!! Nice job on the jeans! :carrot::carrot: And it's funny that you posted about that today b/c I got into a pair of jeans today for the first time too. This summer I couldn't get them past my hips and today they were actually comfy!

The creamy dreamy chocolate isn't exactly creamy and dreamy...*LOL* but it's not really that bad. I've only ever tried the vanilla and chocolate.

VPL Protein Shake? *rofl* And I know, I'm too hard on myself...I'm working on it. :( I guess from being fat for so long, I still see fat.

Originally Posted by NightengaleShane:
NSV!! Ok... so... I have this pair of pants... Silver jeans size 27 "rock star fit" = very tight. I bought them back when I weighed around 125, but they were always uncomfortably tight until I stretched them out a bit. Today, I put on these pants, stretch free and no wear for two years :lol: ...and they fit beautifully. "Wow," I thought to myself, "I don't know if I've EVER been THIS slim without eating disorders!" :eek:
Now, that motivates me to eat clean for another day!

:welcome: Melissa! Nope , never too late to join! Judging from your sig pic, you're pretty, btw

:rofl: goinforthegold, I wrote down the name of the non butt substance so I can try it! And I'll let you know if I think it tastes like butt! Oh, how cute, they have flavors like "creamy caramel pie" and "creamy dreamy milk chocolate"

The second pic is me at 135, so thank you! The difference between 135 and 145 was more noticeable in my clothes than it was visibly, if that makes any sense... like... by the time I hit 145, everyone acknowledged that I lost a whole slew of weight, and now people are not acknowledging it as much except to say things like, "Are you still losing weight?"
"You've gotten so thin."
and...
"ARE YOU EATING?!"
and yes, I agree that your back is amazing. your abs are not bad either... you are criticising yourself WAYYY too much, when you have better abs than most American women. :)
BTW... PVL... I read it wrong at first and thought it said VPL :p and I started giggling like a middle school girl.

Yay, Susan, for using your weight bench :D it must be nice to have that in your home... I only grunt while weightlifting at the fitness center if no one else is around :lol: I get embarrassed! :o

Thanks for the warm welcome! Today I was a little pressed on time so only did a few mat ab exercises. When I ran I also tried to contract my abs so that added a little more work for my tummy today. I attached pictures of me at 178 (white shorts), I took the other one like 5 mintues ago and this morning I was 170. Tomorrow I plan on doing abs for a while cause my friend and I meet at the gym and we do lots of core stuff.

Ok here goes nuthin' ....
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a34...f/33460071.jpg


And my back from I don't remember when ... probably right around 130 lbs thinking about Body for Life.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a34...f/33460027.jpg



I sincerely wish those weren't quite so large ... the pics, I mean.

goinforthegold - it is natural to be hard on yourself... I am hard on myself as well. I think parts of me (especially my stomach) look absolutely HIDEOUS and I still actually think I look like someone who has a lot of weight to lose even though I KNOW innately that it can't be true. haha.

Ok, Bikini Ready, I really REALLY envy the fact that you do not have cellulite AT ALL on your stomach :D (I have all this yucky loose skin + cellulite combo that makes me absolutely nausious :barf:) - lookin' good, girl! :)

Susan, your stomach looks great for being 47 and having C-sections. Definitely flat. Your arms have decent definition, too!

When I get a chance, I'll have to post a picture of my back. I wonder how it looks, anyway! :lol:

OMG SUSAN! Your stomach looks AMAZING!! Can we trade??!?!?!? Seriously, it's much flatter than mine is!

Melissa, yours look awesome too! You look like you haven't suffered the ravages of what children can do to the belly yet...*lol* NO FAIR! *ROFL* Although Susan, you look that way too. *sigh* Am I the only one with gross loose skin and no curves? Say it isn't so. Meanwhile, there I am being negative again. *slaps self on hand with yard stick while repeating must not be self critical, must not be self critical* *lol*

It took Mel's suggestions, a totally empty house, three wardrobe changes, two glasses of wine and nine tries to get that picture taken. Can somebody photoshop out the stretch marks and wrinkles?

Wait, wait, wait .... breathe ... it beats the heck outta what I did look like.

My digital camera is broken (haha)! I have a lateral incision from major abdominal surgery in mid-August so let's just agree that it's not appetizing and work from there, shall we? To top it off, I was allergic to the surgi-strips used to hold the incision together so I have a long line with huge polka dots on each side of it that are healed but still discolored. There, you've got more of a picture than you ever wanted!

I'm excited to get back on a machine they have at Curves. I have no idea what it's called but it forces you to twist at the waist with some resistance. They tell me this will give me an honest-to-god waist, which I have never had. I'll try anything!

Um ... let's not have an assessment of progress day today ... K?

I now have my HMR on. I'm ashamed to say it was dusty ... when I finally found it.

I fit into a pair of jeans I was about to write off to the charity pile... and they're comfortable enough to wear all day. Crunch!

I messed up yesterday but still got my 100g protein. See, the girlfriend brought home some baked goods - one brownie (very small, though!), one slice of carrot cake (also small/sliver-like) and one medium-sized slice of coconut cake. Umm... I ate it all :o

Today is a new day and I am going to go off to the gym in a little bit to do some weight lifting. So far, I've eaten clean, and I'm not going to let anything else mess me up!

goinforthegold, I haven't had children but I have loose skin anyway :barf: SO NO, you are NOT alone! :) Most of the weight I gained and lost was on my stomach, and since it came off somewhat quickly, it left some nasty hollow skin. Oh well. I keep hoping it will snap back - I have a couple photographers wanting to do photo shoots with me and I keep putting them off because I hate my stomach :mad:

Honestly I think we are all looking pretty good and it will only get better! Like Susan said we are all doing great compared to where we have been in the past.

I am lucky that I don't have loose skin or cellulite on my belly (it's all on my butt and thighs...ugh) most likely due to no childbirths as goinforthegold mentioned and good elasticity.

Nightengaleshane... I feel for you about the little baked goods whoops... my sister took me to ice cream her treat and I didn't hold back... I'm made up for it during my workout this morning, did my ab work in and lots of cardio, maybe later I will do some more crunches or ball stuff.

Oh and I was reading past posts about the protein powders and what not being good or disgusting... I get this wildberry passion protein tea powder in little packets that is delicious... tastes like fruit punch and only has 70 calories (the carbs and sugars are very minimal as well) for 15 grams of protein. All you do is mix it with water, shake it up and you're good to go.

What brand is that Melissa? That's sound simple and sooo easy for most of us to slip in a little extra protein!

I work at a Fast Pace Fitness Gym/ Thin and Healthy Total Solution center and we sell it there. It's called Proti 15, "naturally flavored wildberry passion drink mix." You might be able to order it online, if I find out where I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks honey!

A coupla pages ago, someone asked what exercises we're doing. I'm having a hoot right now. I'm fiddling with internet radio. I have a set of 10 lb dumbells handy for slow songs and my dancin' feet for the rest. Fun! and probably about 300 cals per hour.

Melissa, thanks for the protein tea recommendation! I will have to try it... sounds good and un-butt-like :D

My girlfriend keeps telling me how nice my abs are, but I think she is seeing it through lover's eyes. How she completely ignores the cottage cheese around my belly button is beyond me. :eek: I have a photo shoot scheduled for January, so some irrationally optimistic part of me is hoping that the nasty loose skin will tighten up by then, but I doubt it. Oh well, there is always airbrushing. ;)

So goinforthegold, your icon pic inspired me to take a picture of my own back. Your back puts my back to shaaaame, girl! :lol:

Ok, I know I look like I'm groping myself.
...and is it just me, or am I really, truly, genuinely big boned?

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Originally Posted by NightengaleShane:
My girlfriend keeps telling me how nice my abs are, but I think she is seeing it through lover's eyes. How she completely ignores the cottage cheese around my belly button is beyond me. :eek: I have a photo shoot scheduled for January, so some irrationally optimistic part of me is hoping that the nasty loose skin will tighten up by then, but I doubt it. Oh well, there is always airbrushing. ;)

So goinforthegold, your icon pic inspired me to take a picture of my own back. Your back puts my back to shaaaame, girl! :lol:

Ok, I know I look like I'm groping myself.
...and is it just me, or am I really, truly, genuinely big boned?

Attachment 27641
Attachment 27639
Attachment 27640

I know what you mean, my dh will (rarely mind you) say something nice and I don't believe him b/c I figure he has to say that or he knows he's not going to be getting any. :D

I think your back looks great!! At least you have curves, like a woman should!! *sigh* Why are we always so hard on ourselves? :?:

Oh, oh, on the photo shoot...I have the PERFECT pose for faking an amazing mid section!! Lay upside down on stairs or something else on a decline. Gravity takes everything...but in a good way. When I did the pics for dh last month the guy had me do this and it turned out amazing!! I'll pm you the pic if you aren't sure what I mean. I'll cover the "bits" and "pieces" *rofl* but I still wouldn't feel comfortable posting it publically.:o

HEEE, I like that pose idea! I'd love to see the pic - you should definitely PM it to me. I bet it looks AWESOME :D and you have curves, too... seriously... we are always our own worst critics though. Despite hating parts of me, I actually have my moments where I admire my body, but also ANYTHING is better than the BLOB I was pre-weight-loss ;)

The photographer I'm going to be working with has taken pics of my girlfriend and they've turned out amazing. HOWEVER, my girlfriend is 5'10" and 125 pounds and already has modeling gigs. I used to do my fair share of modeling back when I was thin, but it's been awhile now. I'm sort of nervous, really.

Ok, pic coming now...wait until you see my abs in it...you'll want to live your life upside down. *rofl*

Hi Ladies, do you mind if I butt in??

You all seem to have the same goals as I do. I am starting my gung-hoe 6 week work out/nutrition plan and wanted to start a challenge thread but would rather do it with some company.

NightengaleShane: I just wanted to say that you have definately made progress since your first ab shot at the start of the thread! I don't want to lose my post by clicking the back button, but it hasn't even been that long has it?? Kudos to you for sticking with this as long as you have.

About loose skin, have you considered body brushing? You know those natural looking long handled brushes that you see in the health food store or in the bath and body section? If you brush your whole body with one of those every morning it will tighten you right up! Not to mention that your skin will get really really soft ( I have people at work come up and rub my arms because they are soo soft) and you wont even need to use soap on it any more. I know it sounds funky but is true....

goinforthegold: what in the heck do you eat, mama? Are you low carb for the most part? I want to ride what ever train you are on! ;)

LOL, thank you. That's sweet! Actually, I'm about the worst role model for eating that you could find. I did really well the first few months, I wasn't really doing low carb, but I increased my protein from lean sources and only ate good quality complex carbs...but not really a lot of them. Then I spent the past few months binging/starving/binging/starving...etc. *sigh* Now, I'm trying to get my act together again and eat clean without binging and without starving. Lots of protein, lots of veggies, some good fats, and good carbs...I'm not very good at it, but I'm trying. I either too much junk, or not enough of the good stuff. Most of the way I look is due to the consistency of my exercise. As horrid as my nutrition has been I've been working my buns off with running and now weight lifting.

And you're only 121...you must already look great already! I was thrilled when I got down that low and we're the same height. Gonna post some before pics? Don't worry, you don't have to. Feel free to join in, we just got started anyway.

Originally Posted by kriyakiza:
Hi Ladies, do you mind if I butt in??

You all seem to have the same goals as I do. I am starting my gung-hoe 6 week work out/nutrition plan and wanted to start a challenge thread but would rather do it with some company.

NightengaleShane: I just wanted to say that you have definately made progress since your first ab shot at the start of the thread! I don't want to lose my post by clicking the back button, but it hasn't even been that long has it?? Kudos to you for sticking with this as long as you have.

About loose skin, have you considered body brushing? You know those natural looking long handled brushes that you see in the health food store or in the bath and body section? If you brush your whole body with one of those every morning it will tighten you right up! Not to mention that your skin will get really really soft ( I have people at work come up and rub my arms because they are soo soft) and you wont even need to use soap on it any more. I know it sounds funky but is true....

goinforthegold: what in the heck do you eat, mama? Are you low carb for the most part? I want to ride what ever train you are on! ;)

So I had an awesome workout this morning and then my friend brought me the hugest slice of cake you can imagine... I was starving at the time so I ate it all of course... well tomorrow is another day. Oh and welcome Kriyakiza!

I didn't get my 100g protein in today. Oops :o - I still ate healthy things, with the exception of a couple crunch rolls (sushi - fried on the outside).

I've been doing pretty well lately, though yesterday I had some ice cream - just a few bites of Cold Stone... about 1/3 or 1/4 of a "like it" container. The FAT me would have tried to eat a whole PINT! And I went to On the Border yesterday... and got grilled chicken fresca (basically grilled chicken with a salsa type thing over it, grilled veggies, and Mexican rice). It was great with only 510 calories. :D

kriyakiza, welcome!! Butt in any time! :)
:eek: you can really see a difference in my abs? I thought I could, too, but I brushed it off as wishful thinking. I posted my first abs pic back on November 9th. It was taken around the 5th. So... a couple weeks ago? I'm surprised you noticed. Surprised in a good way, of course :o

I never even heard of body brushing, but thanks for the tip! I'm going to have to hit up a health food store and find me some of that!

As goinforthegold mentioned, you can post some "before" pictures if you're daring enough :devil:

goinforthegold - you know, I really DO want to live my whole life upside down after seeing that photo! I've heard it's also more difficult to overeat that way *contemplates* :p

oooo Melissa, what kind of cake was it? :lol: :hungry: I was subject to that last week... carrot cake AND coconut cake... two of my faaaavorites!

It was a spice cake with lemon cream cheese frosting... yummy! The kicker is like an hour ago she stopped by to give me more because I enjoyed it so much... I thanked her like crazy and tossed it the second she left. No way am I doing that much damage in one day (as I and many of us would have had no problem doing in the past).

My biggest issue right now is losing like 5 pounds and gaining it and losing it and regaining and relosing it untill I finally buckle down and lose it plus 5 more and then repeat the process with the newly lost 5 pounds. I would really like to break this cycle because all I have to do to be at my goal it to lose 8 more pounds and then never go above 165 again.

Tomorrow I'll have a somewhat of a cleansing day to get the cake I had today and ice cream I had yesterday out. Foodwise I've been totally ok with, it's those darn desserts that get me. Right now I'm shooting to hit 160 by Christmas, that would be an awesome gift to myself.

Remind me that it's about the food and the cardio ... it's about the food and the cardio ... the food and the cardio ... the food and the cardio ...

In my avatar that head doesn't look so freakin' thick, does it?

Google Nicole Weeks ... yup, that's motivation!

EEEEE I'd LOVE some spice cake with lemon cream cheese icing!! :hungry: I mean... oops... that sounds totally disgusting because it'll all turn into the cottage cheese on my stomach...

Nope, Susan, your head looks lean and slender like the rest of you ;)
But since you asked... it IS all about the food and cardio, ESPECIALLY the FOOD! I'd already been doing cardio for months but it wasn't until I cleaned up my diet that I started to see any kind of real abdominal progress.

I sat up until after one this morning surfing female fitness model sites. Oh the endless possibilities of the human body! Fabulous!

And they come from sooo many backgrounds. I used to think they'd all been gymnasts since the age of three ... but it ain't necessarily so. I wish I could remember which one started out at 210 lbs.

Some are short, some are tall, some are smooth, some are rippled ... I'm going to do that again as soon as I get some housework done today. Right before I do cardio and weights ;)

Ugh, I do the same thing Susan...I spend a lot of time on those sites. I'm obsessed with looking like that. If I spent half as much time working out as I do wishing I looked like that, I might actually look like that. *rofl* Ok, well, maybe not...I'd need a lot of silicone to look like most of them. ;)

Ok, I know we said update pics every two weeks and it hasn't been two weeks yet but I'm having a good ab day and wanted to see if there was any difference yet b/c I kinda feel like I see a difference. Maybe wishful thinking? *lol*

Anyway, here's when we started and today. Geez, I'm short.

Lookin' good, goinforthegold!! :D you have a great stomach, did you know that?

Today, I ate a Resees cup. I only had one, though! I realllyyyyyy wanted another one, but I told myself that it was a very bad idea. Score for willpower.

I want to get as much out of my photo shoot as possible, so I want to get the general fashion shots, bikini shots, artistic shots, ANDDD fitness ones, since I'm getting my license to be a personal trainer and nutritional consultant. If I am going to capatalize on helping other women get better bodies, then I need to have a really nice one myself!

Susan I'm with you on the thickness of the head... I need to pound in the same idea! Over time it has gotten much easier because it really does become a lifestyle when I naturally know I need to eat well and exercise to feel and look better. Doesn't mean I ALWAYS do it though...

As goinforthegold said (you are definitely firming up by the way!) I too would be much more productive if I sepnt the time working towards the body I wanted rather then imagining it. I'm on the way though... slowly but still going in the right direction.

Nightengaleshane, way to eat just one! That is very difficult to do at times. By the way your photo shoot sounds like a lot of fun, I did one once and actually got asked to work but they said I would need to travel and I couldn't do it at the time cause of school and work. Good luck with it. I'm somewhat of a nutrition consultant/trainer now, it's a lot of fun and rewarding to help people succeed, I'm sure you will love it.

I remember now why I'm a bit superstitious about working out well before I work 3-11. Hokey Mickey my butt was draggin by midnight!
And hungry! 2200 cals and I woke up this morning because my stomach was growling. Mine ... my stomach growling! That doesn't happen very often.