This is a great thread!

1. Get rid of guilt. It will weigh you down far more than your body fat. NO MORE GUILT!

2. BEFORE PICTURES. I would be lost without mine. I couldnt see ANY changes, and then I took my 5 week pics.... :D :D :D

3. If you're hungry, EAT. Even if its only 1hr after your last meal. My body sometimes goes into overdrive and I need to eat 7 meals a day, usually after a really HARD workout.

4. Free day. Enjoy it, but eating 4000cal in one day WILL slow you down. Have some chips, but dont eat 2 bags just because they are there. :o Drink a LOT of water on freeday to flush out the chemicals etc. You will feel MUCH better the next day if you do.

5. Listen to what people have to say to get information, but listen to your BODY for making decisions. It knows what it wants.

6. Get lots of sleep.

7. Dont obsess over the scale. Its a damn liar! Think about the whole picture. How do you feel? Are you more energetic? Been sick less?

I dont know what else to say heh... I guess I should admit that I am NOT a planner. I have not planned a single day of meals! I like to be able to change my mind depending what I want that day. I do plan shopping tho :dizzy: I also just go with how I feel for my workouts as well, what stresses my joints, what doesnt. It can vary from day to day. I kept a food journal for about 6 weeks but now I dont bother because I am accountable to ME and not just a book :lol:

Just dont ever give up!

Tidey

What great advice ladies.

Today I had to call my personal trainer at the Y and complain that I didn't have enough arm exercises in my lifting schedule (only ONE in fact). I couldn't believe that I had to talk him into putting more machines on my Fitlinxx (it's a program that keeps track of how much your lifting, rep, etc... like the notbook that y'all talk about but automated). His excuse was that it wasn't good to load me down with machines, that I should wait to see if I'm serious. Of course, I gave him an earful.

My highest weight was 298 (it was 268 on Nov 02, when I decided I didn't want to be trapped in this body forever). The worst thing about losing 50 pounds is seeing how long it took because of ALL the MISINFORMATION out there!! No wonder the diet industry is such booming business! AGH!

Hey Jessica

I can't believe he wanted to wait to see if you were serious! What a shocker! I hope his ears are still ringing. :D

Keep up the great work.

Jayne

PS. My advice is to post and reply where ever you can. You just don't know who you might meet. I met my best bud through a US penpal and BFL. Also it helps if your best friend loves to read and passes on the info in an easy to understand way. :D (Hi JC ;) )

Lol Hi Jayne!

You are right Meg - it's a good problem to have.

JC

I agree with the pictures. I finally got around to taking some yesterday and boy was I shocked. I really didn't think I looked as out of shape as I am until I saw the pictures. It was a real eye opener.

What works for someone else may not work for you.

Always remember that weight gain doesn't happen over night and it ain't gonna come off over night, either.

Patience, patience, patience! (This is one that I have to keep remembering).

new to this
 

Hi all,

I am new to this convo and to weight lifting. i have been light lifting twice a week since February. I finally talked to a male friend of mine and he agreed to meet me at the gym and walk me through the free weights section. He taught me how to bench press and how to do a couple other exercises with the free weights. I felt so energized when I left the gym. I couldn't wait until my next gym workout (last Saturday). During that session I asked another person to help me with some exercises and BOY did I learn a lot. This guy showed me how to isolate my exercises, how to work the same muscles from different positions, it was so amazing. I STRUTTED out the gym that day like I had just benchpressed 450! I only hate the fact that I can't get in there more often. My mid-week weight training is done at home but now that my strength is increasing (and my desire to do more) i feel like the Wednesdays are a wasted effort. I am reading BodyRx and it is quite good. I can't envision NOT doing cardio (i love the workouts) but I like pretty much everything else the book is saying.

Wow you guys...great stuff...and I can't think of a thing to add.

Meg - I WISH I had kept that red polka dot dress!!! But I am so with you in the tip to GET RID OF THOSE FAT CLOTHES - to me, if you keep them (of course if you have a *really* wonderful outfit and have it altered...then that's a whole 'nother thing) it's like saying you are going to wear them again.

In fact we just had the "Dress for Success" clothes drive here at work. This worthy organization helps women go from welfare to work with a little style and they DESPARATELY need career clothing in large sizes!

oooooh! i have another one for body rxers. increase fiber GRADUALLY! nuff said!

Also for Brxers? Invest in Toliet Paper. *S*

yeah, that too. and buy the GOOD stuff. I am going out to stock up today!

Heh-I highly recommend Charmin Ultra!

Northern for me. LOL

Originally Posted by :
Originally posted by Mindi
Northern for me. LOL

Me too! Two-ply, double rolls! :D

And don't forget a good plunger! :fr:

I used to be a Charmin person, now I'm into Kleenex Cottonelle TP! :lol:

seriously though, i had to break down and call dear old mom for help. she suggested GasX to help with the bloating. i felt so bad i couldn't even work out. however after taking the meds, i woke up today at 4:45 and was able to go to the gym and get my 1st BodyRx workout in. It really worked great.