[Ashley155]

Hi everyone. I am a 20 year old full time college student with a full time job. Needless to say I don't have a lot of time on my hands to watch what I eat nor a lot of time for exercise. Well the semester has just ended and I want to make a change in my lifestyle and loose the weight before I go back to classes in the fall.

I am 5'5" and currently weigh in at 155.4 lbs this morning. My goal is to be around 120-130 lbs.

My freshman year of high school (2000) I weighed about 140 lbs but my sophomore year I joined the dance team and within a few months dropped 20-25 lbs. I thought I looked great and I maintained that weight for the entire 2 years that I danced. I loved the high energy practices 4 times a week and I never had to workout or watch what I ate. However, I did not dance my senior year of high school because I had to get a job and save up money before going to college. I did not change the way I was eating nor did I start exercising. The weight came back quicker than I had taken if off. Around the end of my senior year I was about 145 lbs. Right after graduation (June 2004) I moved into an apartment with my boyfriend of 3 years and started college. The freshman 15 came on strong and I soon reached 165 lbs around January 2005. I became disgusted with myself. I hated the way I looked in all of my clothes. It was bad enough looking in the mirror but even worse to look at pictures of myself or me with friends. I knew I needed to change. I ordered Michael Thurmond's 6 Week Body Makeover guide. The diet was very strict and hard to follow but I was going to make myself do it. I also joined a gym and went about 3 times a week. The workouts still were not as intense as dancing. I lost 20lbs in about 4 weeks and held constant for a while. At one point I got down to 138 lbs. In October 2005, my boyfriend and I decided to move back in with our parents and save money to buy a house ($585/month rent saved makes for a nice down payment!). I started to enjoy home cooked meals and the luxury of going out to eat a lot. Again, the weight came back on very fast. I was soon back up to 160 lbs and again disgusted with myself. I tried going back on the Michael Thurmond diet but can't seem to stick with it. For the past 3 months I have watched what I ate during the week and worked out when I can. I have weighed 155 lbs for the past 2 months and can't seem to break out. Now that this semester is over I am trying to get on a workout schedule of Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat (same as dance practice was in high school).

I need something that will jump start my weight loss. My 3 closest female friends are not much help. They each look great and weigh under 120 lbs. You would think that would be motivation for me but it just seems to make me even more depressed. I hate going shopping with them when they buy all smalls and I'm stuck in the extra large. I hate going to the pool with them. My entire social life is suffering from my weight.

There are also quite a few upcoming events that I want to look good for:
May 19th-Graduation of a Relative. I will be seeing a lot of old friends.
June 12th- Trip to Cedar Point with 10 friends.
June 24th-Trip to Myrtle Beach with the family and boyfriend.
July 9th- My boyfriend and I will be moving into our house!

[LuckySmile]

The fastest way to change the look (not weight) of your body is weight training. You wont see the scale go down as fast at first, but you will see your pant size change faster than if you just do cardio.

One of the things I use for motivation is the long last lipsticks, grease removes them (unevenly) so it keeps greasy food out of my mouth when I am out of the house (normally when I would grab fast food)

Spend some time planning your meals and exercise ahead of time. If you know what you are going to eat throughout the day you are much less likely to just grab a bag of chips because your hungry.

When you get your own place keep healthy food in the house, prepack it so you can grab what you need quickly.

Do you have breaks at work that you can get in some exercise? I've lost 15# in the past 2 months by doing strength training in my cubicle at coffee and going for 15-30min walks at lunch.

Drink 1oz of water for every 2# of bodyweight, it helps keep you full and increases your metabolism.

As a former dancer this one might not apply to you but just in case... Work on proper posture, it instantly makes you look 5-10# thinner and it takes alot more muscle than most people think.

[Ashley155]

Thanks for all the advice!

My posture is horrible. Even though I danced a lot I slouch now. That is something I need to work on.

I drink plenty of water already. I about 6-8 16.9 oz. bottles of water every day. I do not drink soda unless I go out to eat (which currently is not very often). I don't really have much room to improve there.

As far as breaks at work go, on Monday and Tuesday I sit in front of my computer ALL day long. I could definetly do something during those 2 days. (I work for an eye surgeon by the way as the surgical coordinator.) On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I go non stop from 9am-11:30am and 1pm-4:30pm with patients. Between 11:30 and 1 I usually have about 30 minutes to eat. I have my own office with a door so I could do some exercises in here. I would love to go for walks on my lunch break so I might try doing that and maybe ask a co-worker to join me. However, I work on one of the busiest roads in the entire town so there isn't very far to go with waiting to cross an intersection. But walking during lunch is definetly something I am going to try! Thanks so much for that idea!!

Most of the time I do plan my meals ahead of time. I usually eat cereal with non fat milk, oatmeal and wheat toast, eggs and wheat toast, or fruit and yogurt for breakfast. Lunch is usually healthy most days of the week. I either pack a sandwich, Lean Cuisine, or something of that sort with me or I can drive back home in about 5-10 minutes to grab something. I try to not eat fast food unless there is absolutely no time, our office is surrounded by tons of fast food places.

Dinner is a completely different story. I usually eat dinner whenever I can and it ranges from a sandwich to home cooked chicken. There really is no structure to dinner just yet... But I will be working on that as well.

What kind of weight trainning do you suggest? My workout plan looks like this:

Monday - A 40 minute workout video from The Firm using 3,5, & 8 lb weights and the transfirmer step.
Tuesday - Gym (1-1.5 hours) and The Firm Video
Wednesday - Abs Video (10 minutes of crunches), Pilates Bun and Thigh (18 minutes)
Thursday - Gym (1-1.5 hours) and The Firm Video
Friday - Abs Video (10 minutes of crunches), Pilates Bun and Thigh (18 minutes)
Saturday - Gym, Abs Video, Pilates
Sunday - Rest

When I go to the gym I begin with 20 minutes on the elliptical and then do about 30 minutes of various machines for arms and legs. Also, I sometimes go for 30 minute walks in the evening if I have time.

[LuckySmile]

Any type of weight training you want to do is good.

1-5 reps = Strength
6-12 reps = Muscle size
13+ reps = Endurance

From what I have read endurance training creates the type of muscles that burn the most fat, but I can't find very much to support that so I'm not sure.

For maximum results try to keep your workout as challenging as possible and keep it changing every couple of weeks so your body doesn't get used to it (and you don't get bored of it)

I have also read that for cardio if you use less resistance (bike) and go faster at a constant rate it will help build more fat burning muscle (same source as before)

[Ashley155]

Thanks for the info I currently do 12 reps and 3 sets on each machine. I will try changing things up a bit or trying new machines to see if that helps at all.

[LuckySmile]

Make sure that you push yourself to failure when you do weights, if you can still do another 5 reps you need to increase your weight or number of reps.

[Ashley155]

Here are some previous photos. I will take some current photos later today to post up!

[LuckySmile]

Thanks for the photos, be sure to post them in the before and after pictures as well

[Light]

Sweet,
I can post them in the before and after if you want.

Thanx.

[Ashley155]

No need to put them in before and after just yet. I think of before and after pics as the before being when a person weighs more and after being when they weigh less. For me, these pics are the opposite. I put them up on here to kind of illustrate the story in the original post and sort of give me a goal to look forward too.

[Ashley155]

Hi everyone. I'm just checking in. I ordered and have been taking Lipodrene. I started taking it Saturday May 13th. I have currently lost 3lbs but I have not been watching what I eat and I have only exercised maybe twice within that time period. I plan on increasing my exercise... I'm still waiting on my Turbo Jam videos but hope to be working out every day as soon as those come in. I am also going to watch what I eat more carefully.

[Light]

Great Ashley,
I've heard that Turbo Jam is a good. Try to eat what you know its good for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Ashley155]

Hi guys! I've been gone for a while and not really doing much dieting or exercising... Just living life I guess. My boyfriend and I have been in the process of building our first house and we will be moving in next week. I have been way too stressed out between that and work to even think about sticking to a plan. I have however been able to maintain my weight at 151-152 the entire time so I am very happy that I have not gained anything.

I have set a goal of losing 20-30 lbs by Oct. 27th which will be our 5 year anniversary. My plan is actually going to be an experiment as well. I have ordered my programs over the years, including Slim in 6, The Firm, and Turbo Jam. I have never used just one program for an extended amount of time as directed so I have decided to put each program to the test. I am going to begin Slim in 6 on August 1st for one month, then start Turbo Jam on Sept. 1st for 1 month, and then finish up with The Firm beginning on Oct. 1st until our anniversary on the 27th.

Wish me luck! and I will keep you all posted on the results... I will also post up my starting weight and measurements (maybe some pics) on August 1st.

PS: Light could you move my thread to the "My Weight Loss Journal" Section?

[Ashley155]

Slim In 6 Journal

Week 1

Monday July 31st:
Starting Weight: 153.4 lbs @ 6:30 am
7am Start it Up Video
8:10am Breakfast: Plain bagel with cream cheese
1pm Lunch: Easy Mac & Cheese
6pm Dinner: Frosted Mini Wheats Cereal (Dry)
10:15pm Abs Video, Pilates Bun & Thigh
Drank 85 oz of water

Tuesday August 1st:
7:15am Start it Up Video
7:45am Breakfast: Special K Cereal, Skim milk
12:30pm Lunch: Lunchable
5:45pm Dinner: Fazolis Baked Spaghetti, 1 breadstick, 16 oz Coke
Drank 70 oz of water

Wednesday August 2nd:
7:30am Start it Up Video
8:15am Breakfast: Total Raisin Bran Cereal, Skim milk
2pm Lunch: Wendy's jr bacon cheeseburger, baked potato with butter & sour cream, Lemonade
6:45pm Dinner: Hamburger Helper Lasagna, 2 slices garlic toast, angel food cake
9pm McDonald's Medium Coke
10:30pm Abs Video, Pilates Bun & Thigh
Drank 70 oz of water

Thursday August 3rd:
6:45am Start it Up Video
8am Breakfast: Special K Cereal, Skim Milk
12:10pm Lunch: Lunchable, 1 homemade brownie
9:30pm Dinner: Plain bagel with cream cheese, 10 grapes
Drank 70 oz of water

Friday August 4th:
7am Start it Up Video
8:15am Breakfast: Corn Chex Cereal, Skim Milk
12pm Lunch: Jimmy John's Country Club Sandwich
5pm Snack: Frosted Mini Wheats (Dry Cereal)
7:30pm Dinner: 1 slice cheese bread, 1 slice pepperoni pizza, Coke
9:30pm Baskin Robbins 2 scoop cookie dough ice cream
Drank 85 oz of water

Saturday August 5th:
11:45am Breakfast: Plain bagel with cream cheese
1:15pm Start it Up Video, Abs Video, Pilates Bun & Thigh
3:15pm Lunch: Cheese & Crackers, 1 ice cream sandwich
7:30pm Dinner: 2 hot dogs with mustard, chocolate chip cookie
Drank 100 oz of water

Sunday August 6th:
10:30am Breakfast: Corn Chex Cereal, Skim Milk
1pm Snack: cheese cubes
3pm Snack: angel food cake, applesauce
7:30pm Dinner: Outback chicken tenders, baked potato with butter & sour cream
Drank 85 oz of water

Week 2

Monday August 7th:
Starting Weight: 151.8 @ 6:45am