Exercise routines, tips and chatter?

[C~Q]

Aww crap Hoobs Can you arrange for DP to stay over the night before the classes?? I swear the person who starts to do outside exercise classes with some kind of childcare involved is going to make a lot of money! My trainer is doing a Boot Camp - full on army-style training with nets and carrying people on stretchers and stuff and it's early in the morning and no cc so I can't do it. You're right, being a single parent really does suck...sometimes

Glad you liked the new Pump, i've still only done one Pump in 6 weeks because of the challenge (and secretly i'm not missing it ). Those fleecy things for DD's toes sound reeeally cosy, I know how cold it gets up there in Scotland!

Ruth - I am so going to get you to join my gym I don't know much (ok, anything) about IVF so are you not allowed to lie on your front before you get pregnant? Or could you be already???

I'm now half way through the Challenge and getting really into it! I'm starting to worry a bit about what happens when it's all over...how will I find the motivation and self control to maintain??? I don't know if I said before but the QLD winner gets as one of the prizes a full scholorship to Fitlink which is a college that teaches my Fitness course. I have nearly finished the first one but to become a PT I have to do the second one as well and I really can't afford it, so to win the comp would be incredible for me. Theres lots of people doing it though so i'm not holding my breath. But I know I can say with my hand on my herat I have not cheated once. I have had 1.5 vodkas with soda and thats it. No choccie, nothing i'm not allowed so I can still be proud of myself

[paradise lost]

DP already stays over midweek but he has to leave for work before i'd be able to get back. It'd be with DD or not at all... We're meant to be buying a house this winter (assuming all OUR banks don't go bankrupt and stop lending...) but he'll still have to go to work so it won't make that much difference. TBH i NEVER see anyone else running with a jogger so probably i'm just now worth them adjusting the course for, IYKWIM. It's a bummer though. I see all the out-of-shape, smoking mums at toddler group and i think "no wonder" it is so much harder to do ANYTHING when you're a mum, especially when you're on your own a lot.

I would imagine Ruth can't lie on her front because during IVF they stimulate your ovaries to produce lots of eggs in one cycle so they can take them out, fertilise them to make embies, and then put them back one or two (depends on Ob) at a time to hopefully get a pregnancy going. Right before egg pick up the ovaries can be swollen two or three times their normal size with all the ready-to-pop eggs and very tender, and some unlucky ladies get OHSS (ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome) which is where the ovaries get too large and over-active and produce a lot of fluid which makes the abdomen very swollen and sore. I get mittelschmerz (middle pain - ovulation pain basically) most months and based on DD i only ovulate one egg at a time, i can't imagine how uncomfy having 10-20 each side would be!

I hope you win the challenge CQ - how do they decide the winner? If i were you i WOULDN'T TRY to maintain afterwards! I'd take the opportunity to switch it all up, change what i was doing with the gym and all, and do the challenge next year too. I run road races a couple of times a year, but i don't stay race-fit year round. If i could head out and do a race any day it'd get very boring! LOL

Bx

[C~Q]

They break up how it is decided. 40 points for an essay you have to write, 25 points for before and after pictures, 15 points for you measurements and 20 points for attending all the seminars.

Sooo, it's really all down to the essay I think. It's supposed to be about what you have gained from the challenge and how your life has changed, things you have overcome etc...I think i've got a lot to put down what with the struggle at the beginning to overcome past demons and with DH and I seperating. I've also attended all the seminars so there's no reason why I shouldn't be a contender!!!

I don't want to keep going as hard as I am now (can't wait to drop at least one Cardio session!) but I don't want to go backwards. There is still so much I want to do esp in my upper body. When I do Bicep curls i'm starting to see the little veins which is awesome! I really want to get more defined in my upper body.

It is quite addictive though so I am mindful of the fact that I tend to take things to the extreme sometimes lol!

[C~Q]

Well I got my wish I went to my PT session on Thursday and the first thing he said to me was "I want you to drop your Cardio sessions to one a week" when I asked him why he said i'd lost too much weight. Then he started going on about how I was doing too much Cardio and obviously not eating enough and I thought hang on a minute i'm doing EXACTLY what he has told me to do. I have two timetables/plans on my fridge - one for exercise and one for food. I don't think, I just do whatever they/he says so it's not my fault! But just because a few people have been in his ear that i've lost too much weight he starts freaking out. I'm happy to drop a Cardio session but sheesh, he was going on at me like i'd done something wrong Ok, rant over!

He said now I have to have another day of complete rest (although I did do Attack )so instead of using the energy I consume to replace Glucose stores my body will be using it to repair my muscle harder and faster so I will be more ripped Woohoo I can't wait and i'm already seeing it in my stomach, I WILL have a six pack before summer lol!

Hoobs - it's exciting about you buying a house with DP - wow!

Ruth - I never knew how much having IVF affected you even before you get pregnant, good luck with everything

How is everyone else??? Is there even anyone else out there still! C'mon come back and say Hi

[paradise lost]

Well, at least you get your wish CQ! As i'm sure you know, one of the after-effects of anorexia is that those around you are always going to be worried about your weight and such. Believe it or not my instructor, an incredibly fit and healthy woman, and an elite runner, has monthly blind weigh-ins year round and can be dropped from training without warning. She nearly died of heart failure during her anorexic illness, and her coach's view is that he cannot trust her judgement on health without supervision, so he supervises. Your trainer is just worried about you. You wrote your goals at the start, one of them being to get to 18% bodyfat, and you hit that target less than halfway through - that's dramatic. From his POV he has to be concerned about your health FIRST. It's possible your plan has room for cheating because almost everyone does, and thus if you don't you will lose faster, kwim? DP's got his personal training cert and he says you always over-prescribe to allow room for lack of dedication. LOL.

I got my run in today (by running to the supermarket and then home again with my shopping in a gym bag - my toothpaste box got bashed, but why is toothpaste in a box anyway!?) which means this week is officially my first back on the wagon! I'm not promising a full-on mojo return, but it's a start. I'm planning a step session tomorrow as i'm feeling podgy (been eating too much, plain and simple!).

Help me out CQ - how can i lose about 6kg without having to weigh myself...? Could i use a tape measure? Would i be able to see a difference on the tape week to week say?

Bx

[C~Q]

Yes! Don't weigh yourself, esp if you are changing your body shape. Say if you are adding resistance training then your weight may well go up so it's really not a good indicator. Measurements are great although i've only been going from measurements during the challenge so I don't have any experience of using them long term. I think as long as you do it in the right place, I can tell you where but your DP will prob know, and it's done by the same person everytime then you should see changes Does your DP have calipers? If he does you can do your body fat % although it's pretty horrible having someone pinch, poke and grap you (unless you're into that kind of thing ) and then write down how much fat you have!
Do you want me to do you a plan? If you do PM me your details age, weight, height etc and when you can train and the sort of weights you're already doing. It's not going to be really accurate as I can't see you lol but I can give you a basic idea

Thanks for the above, I know he's just doing it for me but I also feel he wouldn't be too bothered about it if he didn't have all these negative women (and dare I say jealous?) who aren't doing the challenge and want to ruin it for those who are, who are in his ear telling him and everyone else how much weight some of us are losing. But I guessthere are always people like that around, esp in a gym environment, most people are pretty self-absorbed!

He did say that everyones bodies are different and the results you see from 2 people doing the same workout can be different depending on the person. I obviously have a body that adapts well to change and quite quickly too.

Well done for getting your mojo back (shame about the toothpaste!)! Is the Step class freestyle or Les Mills? I love Body Step but I did some freestyle Step classes while I was in England and omg they were so hard lol!

HAve fun, let us know how you go! Had my first night without the kids last night (they all went to their Dads) so i'm feeling well rested and off to do Combat and weights, see ya!

[paradise lost]

HEY!

I didn't PM, i'll post my stats out here, i don't care. LOL.

Here's my story so you have background - get a cuppa it's probably gonna be giant.

My main problem is that i overate to get overweight at about 18-19, then stayed overweight no matter WHAT i did for about 6 years, then got PG, gained 3-4kg all up during the pregnancy (6kg gained between 11 and 41+4, but was 95kg at 11weeks and more like 98kg before i got PG), lost all the gain on the day of her birth, and another 18kg in the following 5 months. I didn't diet. I exercised but not for weightloss, for stress relief. The weight just came off. The only 2 times in my life i've "tried" and successfully lost weight were a) when i was 15 i only ate fruit for lunch (normal breakfast and dinner) for 2 weeks, lost about 4kg, & b) when i was 20 i spent 3 weeks eating 600 calories a day and swimming a mile a day and lost about 12kg, all of which AND MORE went back on when i began eating normally again. I wouldn't call it an eating disorder because it was very conscious, and when i decided to stop i just stopped, there was no internal effort or struggle. I did it very consciously to lose weight no matter the cost. Though the loss was extreme i got down to about 87kg, so not tiny by any means (i'm 181cm).

I grew up in a house with 2 women, my mum and my sister. My mum had been very lean in her youth but was a little overweight (about the same size as me) after her kids. She was VERY anti-fat (only for girls, for men she would buy them the special food they liked and talk about "the lions share" at mealtimes etc.). By the time i was 10 i knew how many calories were in SO many things. I remember being 11 and growing over 3 inches in 9 months. I got stretchmarks on my inner thighs (running around, from lengthening, not up and down from weightgain) and my mum told me to "eat less" and "think about what goes in your mouth". She approved when i went on my fruit-only diet at 15 and went on and on about my weight. My sister has been obese all my life, morbidly so for the last 15 or so years. My mum had her on every diet you can think of. She's 16 years older than me, so i never saw any of it, but i know when she was 8 my sister was only allowed mixed veg for every meal for 3 months. She lost nothing. By the time she was in her mid 20's she was dx with PCOS and Hashimoto's hypothyroidism. By then it was too late - she's been on so many diets, her metabolism is completely wrecked. She was once in hospital on an NGT and GAINED weight on 1000 calories a day. They have refused her gastric banding because her weight makes it too dangerous. So there was always this weird inner-and-outer extremism around food when i was growing up, tensions about it all, you know? I don't want that for DD.

After i weaned DD i was about 77kg i would say, between 76kg and 78kg depending on the time of day/month. As i said, i'm 181cm. I've got a really curvy frame, and i was pretty happy - i'd like to be about 74-75kg i guess. That's still in this size clothing but with room to move in it and not too skinny. I am tall and i don't WANT to lose my curves. The lightest i've been at this height was 64kg when i was 16 and my period stopped!

But slowly slowly the weigh is creeping back. I would guess i'm about 82kg (ish) now. I'm not willing to weigh myself because i know i CAN get worried about the number, and i know that i gained about 1.5-2kg within 3months of starting bodypump. DP felt my tensed quad last night and said "wow!" (and you should SEE his thighs!) so i definitely don't want to lose muscle just to lose weight.

Anyway, i basically lost the routine with exercise, until some weeks i was doing maybe 1 short run and one pump class, and i've been eating WAY too much, like chocolate/cakes/biscuits/something like that EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. I do think that the "weight" i've put on (i can objectively see my tummy and hips and upper thighs are bigger, though i'm still able to wear my normal clothes - i have ONE pair of jeans and ONE pair of trousers which were the smaller end of the size which i now never wear - i can get into them but they're not comfy) has come on over the last year, not suddenly, i'm just seeing it suddenly because i've been out of the exercise routine on and off. Every now and then i try on those clothes and feel demoralised that they still feel uncomfy.

Do you know what though? I don't BELIEVE i can lose weight. I don't BELIEVE i can lose through effort. I know in my head this is a fairly silly belief, that all my struggles with weight in the past were due to my thyroid issue (back then it was undiagnosed) but somehow i find it really hard to convince myself that i could actually take charge of this. I've watched my sister struggle for her WHOLE lofe with her weight only to regain more and more...

I have a plan though. My plan is to focus on health and not size or weight. The joke is that when i weighed 98kg i would have done almost ANYTHING to be 82kg...now i want to be 75kg or at least the size i was at 75kg...

So, my mojo isn't back but my determination is. Today i ran 7.7km with the jogger. It took FOREVER (54minutes) partly because i'm not that fit just now, and partly because the jogger is big and i was running into a 30mph headwind most of the way. I have also drawn myself up a fruit and veg challenge - 9 portions/day. I've done this before and i find it a great focus because instead of restricting myself i'm adding food - i naturally eat less junk because i'm so full the whole time. Today i managed 11 portions. 5 veg, 6 fruit. Let's hope i can keep it up!

So, some resistance workouts would be very welcome. But, there are serious restrictions! LOL. All i have by way of equipment at home is a step (cheapo but fine for my own homemade step routines - i can't get to any more classes or the gym, there's no creche and XP and DP work when i could be going - step is a bit too small to double as a bench though), 2 dumbell-length bars and eight 2kg plates. It's possible to load up to 4 plates on each bar, quick changes are impossible because they're really old-fashioned (left here by previous tenant) and you have to loosen the clamps with pliers.... I'd really like some sort of whole-body strength routine for the house. I can only get to pump once a week and though i do squats and lunges during my step routines (i went to an online place that had an alphabet of step moves and built myself a few routines from them) and chuck some crunches, leg raises and press-ups in afterwards, i never feel like i'm doing much in that direction in between. I never really know what to "do" you know? I don't have a routine and i don't know how to make one up really.

There, this has been mammoth!

Bx