I started Curves last summer and when I found out I had gained 7 pounds the first month (probably muscle-building) I stopped going in on my measurement day. Then life (wedding, Finer Womanhood meetings) took over and next thing I know, I hadn't been in in over two months! But this Sunday I did make it back and get measured. My net weight gain from then to now was ... drum roll please ... 3 pounds! I was so relieved. So now, whenever I do not have a commitment in the evening, I'm up in there! It's great that Mr. BB91 is helping me remain accountable.

I am also planning my evening meals in advance. (Lunch is still a challenge.)

Best to all!

I'm enrolled in a bootcamp right now and I love it. We have 6am workouts 3 mornings a week that mainly consist of running and we also have a kickboxing or cardio/fat-burn class 2-3 times a week depending on the week. The few days we have off we are given homework assignments. ITS REALLY WORKING. I started June 5 and my 8's (some of which were getting tight) are falling off of me and my 6's are fitting NICE!

But anyway- the lady over the program gives us great tips about lunch, so I thought I'd share one with you.

When I go to a restaurant I order something healthy (clearly) but then I also have them box up half of it before I even get it. This makes sure I am paying attention to portion control. Also, then I have a meal for later.

Also, here is a portion tidbit (I think its borrowed form Weight Watchers, but its a good guid for me). Look at your hand, your hand balled in a fist is equivalent to the size of carbohydrate FOR YOU and your hand laid flat, palm up with fingers touching is the equivalent of one portion of protein for you. If you do that and have 2.5 veggie servings (use your judgment), 4.5 carb servings and 3.5 protein servings you'll see results...I have!

Also, in bootcamp we eat 6 small meals a day and I have found that REALLY helps my metabolism. I do this and cook out of The Eating for Life cookbook- ITS AWESOME. The food is great and very healthy. If you just follow his recipes for each of the six meals (there are about 20-25 recipes for each meal), he takes all the guess work out of it and I'm eating WAY better than I ever did.

My eating day goes something like this:

Meal 1: 8:00 am approx 1 hour after completion of 6 am workout (that one hour maximizes fat burn): 1/2 whole wheat bagel and 2 strips 95% fat free baked turkey bacon

Meal 2: 10:00 am watermelon or 1/2 w.w. bagel and 98% fat free turkey breast lunch meat

Meal 3: 12:00 baked chicken breast, rice, brocoli

Meal 4: 3:00 Dannon Light & Fit yogurt or apple

Meal 5: 6:00 ground turkey meat, lettuce, tomato, black beans, salsa, and baked whole wheat pita bread for Eating For Life Cristp Taco Salad

Meal 6: 8:00 apple or watermelon or 1/4 cup of egg beater (equals one egg) scrambled in whole wheat tortiall with salsa

We're not supposed to eat after 9:00 but sometimes to get all six meals in I have to. Also, they recommend no carbs after 6, but clearly I don't do that and I've still had AMAZING results.

Also, if you like to count calories here is something to try:

Finding the right number of calories to consume

Basic Calculation

Multiply your body weight by one of the following factors

* 8 to 10 if you want to lose bodyfat

* 12 if you want to gain muscle while losing bodyfat

* 15 if your goal is to gain muscle

For example, if you weigh 130 lbs. and want to gain muscle and lose bodyfat, multiply your bodyweight by 12. Therefore you should consume 1560 calories per day. You may have to adjust that number up or down based on your metabolism and activity level. The key is to make progress, not starve yourself.

You want to get 40% of your calories from Carbohydrates, 40% from protein, and 20% from unsaturated fats. In the above example that works out like this

Protein = .4 * 1560 =624 calories

Carbs = .4 *1560=624 calories

Fat = .2 *1560 = 312 calories

Since food labels have nutritional information in grams you may want to convert: to convert to grams, divide protein and carbs by 4, and divide fat by 9.

Protein = .4 * 1560 =624 calories /4 = 156 grams

Carbs = .4 *1560=624 calories / 4= 156 grams

Fat = .2 *1560 = 312 calories / 9 = 35 grams

**I've not tried this as the 6 small meal a day with careful portion control works for me. However, this came straight from an email from the facility leader and EVERYONE there is super fit.

Good luck to all and hopefully this time next month there will be less of you! I am definitely going for less of me!

Well I did the free Bally's thing until it expired. I switched jobs along the way, and that has made it harder for me to get in organized "workouts". I've been maintaining, but I'm in between sizes, so I see all these cute summer clothes, and everything is either too big or too small. :( I need to avoid desserts for a few weeks and see if I can get into the smaller sizes more comfortably. I've also started doing step practice, which burns cals, and keeps me from eating for a few hours before hand, b/c I can't step on a full tummy.

pulled out the short shorts yesterday...
 

I am not where I want to be (but then again, I never am!) but I am well on my way. I pulled on a pair of short shorts this weekend and was gratified to see that my work has definitely paid off!

I still don't have much of a formal regimen though- I just try to stay active (walking instead of taking the train or elevator) and watch what I eat (no fried foods during the week, limited sweets, no soda, very little juice). I eat really well though- mostly organic, and almost vegetarian (with a little fish or chicken now and then).

I might not have the six-pack I had on the high protein diet, but my skin damn near glows and I have so much energy!

Good luck to all the exercisers!

I was sitting around chatting with some ladies the other day and they were raving about colon cleansers. Has anyone here tried them? Did they make a difference in kick-starting a program/regimen? I have tried to research it, but all the sites on the Internet are just advertisement.

Also, for those that use protein supplements, do you rather soy or whey? I think I may buy small pouches af each and mix a small scoop of each into the shakes. Any suggestions?

Whey protein is absorbed into your system quicker than soy protein- makes it great for supplementing post-workouts! Soy protein and other casein proteins are slow absorbing- they help you feel less hungry throughout the day. They're great for meal supplements, or occasionally, breakfast.

It's all about your goals!

Thanks for the help. I think that I will use the soy protein for my breakfast meal replacement. I hardly have time for breakfast, so that will work out well for me. I can use the whey for when I come from the gym. I want to lose weight (burn fat) and build muscle through weight training.

I ran across BeanRuby last night while going through the Nappturality weight loss thread. That girl did the damn thang!!! She is my inspiration. I saved her as a friend and bookmarked her. I might make her my home page so that every time I log on, I will know that I need to get my butt to working out!

Just goes to show that the scale means NOTHING. She looks FAAAABULOUS!

Yep...she looks awesome.

Explain to me how I have gained back the weight I lost (:() but I can still fit all the clothes I bought for my new size? And I don't mean squeeze into them, I mean, they fit. And my old clothes are still too big. The pounds are back but the inches are not. Why? :confused: (I am not complaining, but I am confused.)

And I can tell by the pictures that CT4 posted in the LAM thread that I've gained the weight back. :( My face looks so much thinner in that picture than it looks now. :( I wanna look like that again.

I'm mentally preparing to get back on the bandwagon. AGAIN. Each week will have a new goal. Let me document them so that I don't forget. I'll put them in my weight loss journal when I get home.

Week 1: Water (nothing else until you've had your req'd amount of H2O for the day) and pack your lunch EVERY day
Week 2: Water and Start counting those points (keep packing your lunch)
Week 3: Water, keep counting those points (pack lunch and snacks), and Exercise

My new roommate is going to be my personal trainer. :D I've been walking every day the last couple weeks, but I've done no weights or resistance stuff. So she is going to teach us (me and my other roomie) some exercises to help us tone. We have to work out a schedule. I'm voting for 5am cuz who wants to exercise after they've been at work all day? By the end of week three, I hope to have formed some habits.

TTT
 

Getting ready for the new year!!

Anyway, as I posted in the ?emoc woh thread, I recently joined Curves. I also created a weight loss photo album (a la BeanRuby) to keep track of my progress. If anyone is interested in the link or have their own weight loss albums ro share, PM me.

Let's make some real progress and keep one another encouraged this year! If anyone has made some notable progress this past year, post it. I love to hear weight loss success stories!

Re: TTT
 

I had to go back and look at BeanRuby for encouragement.