@kayp23: I followed a strict eating plans AND did the precursor to P()X – Power 90 for almost 3 straight months (vefore I fell off the wagon). It took my scale till day 60 to budge… BUT I was losing inches off my waist, hips and thighs.
Don’t just look at the scale. Muscle is more compact than fat. Exercise builds muscle. You might ‘weigh’ more but I bet you’re losing inches and not realizing it. I still weigh myself, but I also use a measuring tape and notice my clothes fitting loser. I couldn’t get into a size 12 last year before May without it being too tight. Now, even though the scale hasn’t moved a lot, my size 12s fit fine and are getting lose, because I’ve been building muscle, watching what I eat for the most part using WW points and a food diary (it’s a little hard to get into, but once you’ve written is all donw for at least a week it gets to be a habit) and now my smart phone has several free apps to help me keep up with my food log, AND can help me look at the nutrition data for most restaurants (you’d be surpirsed how bad a chicken burger can be compared to a hamburger – it’s nuts).
#1 – keep up with the cardio – it’s great for your heart, and exercise is about having a strong body, not just being ‘thin’.
#2 – I’ve realized my ‘thin’ will never be the like the williwy Cameron Diaz – I will also be at best a Kim Kardashin, and I’m okay with that. My Boyfriend or Best Friend likes my body shape, I just want to feel better in my work clothes and feel less of a jiggle in swimwear. I’ve lost weight from illnesses and extreme dieting before, and was horrified by how sick I looked at my lowest weight, which would still be high by most ladies’ standards on here (I’ll give – my lowest weight since college is 155 – I’m aiming for 165 becaue I’ll look okay and not sick, I am 5’6″ and carry the weight all over, and am hourglassy, so it’s not just in one spot). I am a compactly built brick house, and I have to accept that when my hip bones and ribs are the markers of the width of my hips and torso, I’m not getting any smaller. Look at your body – are you ‘big boned’? Believe me, it DOES exist. Find what is good for you personal build. just because a lot of women can look great and get down to an impossible for me 130 doesn’t mean I need to care about that. I want to shrink my waist a bit, tone up the bat-wing (arms) and thighs. So look at your goals and make sure they are ones that fit you, not your best friend, not some model or actress, just you.
#3. Don’t let you feeling of accomplishment be measured only by the number on the scale. It can only tell what you weigh, and that can vary from morning to night by 5 lbs for some people based on food and water intake and …. outtake. Use a measuring tape, and measure once a week, every two weeks. You’ll probably be happy with what it shows you.
#4 – Log your food AND your exercise – it’s amazing what we eat AND drink and don’t realize. Many people are suprised by how bad a simple cup of coffee or a milkshake can be. in WW points, a milkshake equals some people’s daily allowence of food! PM me if you’d like some links to WW info from the older system I’m still on. I’ve never been able to pay for the program, but have found ways to do it myself, and lost 30 lbs in 4 months once by doing that and dance-exercise 2 times a week. Look into things that might work on your phone or through the interenet that can help you calculate the propoer amount of food in addition to showing you approxiamtely how many calories you are burning with your exercise regimen.
#5 – Don’t starve yourself – your body will kick into ‘starvation mode’ if you drop your calrie intake too drastically too quickly. It’ll sense famine or danger thanks to evolutionary traits, and to keep you alive, it will stop burning calroies and wll even attack the muscle in itself to provide you with energy, since muscle takes a higher metabolism to run than fat. This is why WW and other programs gradually lower your food intake, so you can avoid plateaus and so you won’t negate all your hard work.
I have loads of info, and have had success with exercise and dieting (when I’m not hit by the flu and respiratory infections, taking me out of exercise for all of winter). PM me if you’d like any info 🙂
#6 – Give yourself a break. You’re going for a strong, healthy body for the long haul, not just to fit in a swimsuit or go to a party (although they are both good short term motivators). Making your body change takes time, so give yourself plenty.
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