TillyD

Sorry, the question was sarcastic (can we get a sarcasm font please? ) But, I could not agree more. If I see one more meme about thigh gaps on Pinterest I may have to strangle someone. And people wonder why women have body image issues? It makes me sad...

Gina Torres (Zoe on Firefly) and Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck) have been my fitness role models from the beginning But, as someone else said, I keep in mind that they are paid to look that way, and have more time/money than I do to get there. However, when I see them do something (like the pushups, pullups) it motivates me. Not necessarily because I want to look exactly like them, but because they're showing that women can be strong, and sexy. Role models are fine, as long as there aren't unrealistic expectations. I'd rather have those women as role models than an anorexic model. I mean what the hell is a "thigh gap"?! Don't look at these women and aspire to look like them, rather aspire to be like them. There's a huge difference.

Protein = your best friend if you're trying to gain muscle. At this point I'm in maintenance mode so I'm no longer trying to lose fat, only gaining muscle. So, my rule of thumb is 1g of Protein per 1lb of bodyweight. I'm at 115lbs so I get at least that much protein each day. There are several things you wouldn't know have loads of protein in them. Things like cottage cheese, Greek yogurts, Broccoli, Quinoa, Avocado's, etc... The one thing that I enjoy about Protein powder is it gives a large shot of protein all at once without really having to "eat" something. I usually have 2 protein shakes a day on top of a lot of veggies/chicken/brown rice which makes up my Protein intake for the day.

I take a small Gatorade and with a scoop of protein powder in it with me to the gym. As soon as I get out to my car after my workout I chug it. I've been doing that since January and have lost 36lbs of fat and gained 5lbs of muscle, so it seems to have worked for me. It may not be the "best" thing out there, but I've had success with it. Very convenient and easy. You can do it with water as well, however I like the carb/protein load together that the Gatorade gives me. Yes, there's some sugar in it, so if you're concerned about that get the G2 series Gatorade which has minimal sugar. EDIT: The protein powder I use is Muscle Tech Whey Protein plus Elite French Vanilla. If you put it in with an orange Gatorade it tastes like an Orange Julius

Hey there! I actually just went through this same thing (started working out in January, getting married next month on Sept. 20th). I'll share what I learned during my process. Go ahead and buy your dress now. I know that feeling of finding "THE" dress, so if you've found it, buy it! I bought my dress about 5 months ago because it was THE dress and I fell in love with it. However, the biggest piece of advice I can give you is don't start your alterations until the last possible minute. If you get it altered now and your body composition changes, you'll go through several fittings before it fits correctly and that costs time and money. I found that out the hard way. I started my alterations 3 months ago, and had to go through probably 5 fittings before it fit because every time I went back for another fitting I had lost fat and/or gained muscle. Now that I've gotten to my goal and I'm in maintenance mode it's all good, but it was a rough time for my poor seamstress while getting there. You don't think your body is going to change that much, but believe me it does. Gaining muscle and losing fat can totally change your body proportions. For example, I lost quite a bit up top (thank the Gods I could afford to) and lost a bunch in my hips as well, but gained muscle in my glutes. So my ass was bigger, boobs were smaller, and that does a number on a form fitting wedding dress alteration The bottom line for me was - don't stress too much about it, just find a very patient seamstress if you start your alterations too early

Thanks a bunch!

Thank you Athena! I appreciate the support!

So, it's been a few months - I started this journey on January 28th 2013. Here we are just over 5 months later and things have gone very well. I wanted to share some photo's with you to give and update on my progress since my first post. (And if you're wondering, yes that's a Star Trek combadge tattoo ) The first photo was taken on 1/28/13 the second one was taken this morning. For those who are number driven, those details are below the pictures. On 2/12/13 and again on 6/24/13 I got on a body composition analyzer (the InBody 230) at my gym - the numbers below were gathered from the data given by the machine. For reference, my height is 5ft. 2in. and I'm 43 (almost 44) years old. 2.12.13 Weight: 140.9 Lean Body Mass: 83.8lbs Total Body Water: 61.2lbs Dry Lean Mass: 22.6lbs. Body Fat Mass: 57.1lbs Skeletal Muscle Mass: 45.2 Body Fat %: 40.6 6.24.13 Weight: 117.7 Lean Body Mass: 84.9lbs Total Body Water: 62.2 Dry Lean Mass: 22.7lbs Body Fat Mass: 32.8lbs Skeletal Muscle Mass: 45.9lbs Body Fat %: 27.9 As you an see there has been a slight muscle gain and very high fat loss in the last 5 months. In April I had major oral surgery and could not eat anything solid or work out for 2 weeks, so my muscle gains have been less significant than my fat loss. Unfortunately due to the liquid diet and the no weight training for those 2 weeks I lost a significant amount of fat, but actually lost muscle, so I had to regain what I had achieved before the surgery. However that's something I intend to change starting this week. I'll be focusing more on strength and muscle gain rather than fat loss going forward now that I have achieved my goal which is to like what I see when I look in the mirror. I just wanted to give an update and hopefully motivate someone else with the progress I've made. It's only been 5 months, and if I can do this anyone can!

Thanks Waldo - I think I'll just stick to weighing myself once a week instead But, I'm an efficiency junky too, so I completely understand having a spreadsheet like that!

Wow...just, wow. Thank you for sharing that with me. Your story is definitely inspiring and incredibly motivating! I'm a mom too, but my daughter will be 21 next week, so this definitely wasn't baby weight for me either! I took a "before" picture when I started, and I'll continue to do that monthly as well, as you've suggested. I have stopped looking at the scale (as much as I REALLY want to) but as I said above, the battery died and I haven't bothered to replace it. I am tracking my measurements, but I've been doing that weekly...I think I'll start doing it monthly instead, because a lack of measurement loss (or what I perceive as not ENOUGH measurement loss) can be just as demotivating as the scale when you're tracking that often. Again, thank you for sharing your story with me, and all of us here. It's incredible how much one can achieve when they're determined to make a change. P.S. The video of you doing that squat and your daughter running up to you afterward brought a tear to my eye...congratulations on all of your success!

Hey there, thanks for the feedback. I've ditched the scale (actually the batteries died, and I haven't bothered to replace them). As far as my routine, I've added and subtracted a few things. I haven't been doing the step ups (it ended up being redundant as you said) I started doing Leg presses instead, which seems to be working better for me. I've also been doing regular deadlifts, which has been great. I've started doing 2 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training to mix it up. The cardio consists of HIIT on a treadmill (have I mentioned I hate treadmills?) but it's working so love it or hate it, I'll keep it up. To address the fat vs. strength. At this point I'm trying to lose the fat so that I can efficiently gain muscle in the long run if that makes sense. I want to slim down, and tone up. I'm aware that as a woman I'm not going to bulk up, which is great since that's not the look I'm going for, I simply want to be healthy. I'm eating, right now, to lose fat but I am gaining muscle as well, albeit slowly. I know I'm not gaining muscle at the rate that someone would who's strictly going for that, but it's fine for me right now. Eventually I will start eating to gain more muscle, but first the goal is to lose the fat. The eating - it's a constant struggle to be frank. I'm making myself eat breakfast every day. I'm just having a hard boiled egg and some grapes or another piece of fruit, but at least I'm putting something in my face. Eventually I'm hoping to have more of an appetite, but at this point I'm literally forcing myself to eat when I should. With breakfast I'm sitting at around 1000-1200 calories a day on a good day. Which is better than what I was doing. I don't have a scale at home anymore, but I did get on the scale said at the gym last Saturday so I know my approximate weight. I also know what my measurements are telling me, I know that my clothes are fitting looser, and I know what my best friend's reaction was when she saw me for the first time in 4 weeks on Sunday. From those things I know that what I'm doing is working...and that's what matters. This is not a sprint, it's a marathon. I am not looking to lose 30lbs in a month only to gain it all back as soon as I look at a donut. I'm in this for the lifestyle change and the health benefits, not for the instant gratification of getting into a size 4 tomorrow. Because I know that if I change my lifestyle that size 4 will come. Having patience is the hardest thing for me, but I'm working at it every day. And from the measurements below, it seems to be working. Below are my measurements from week 1 to week 4. Week 1 Week 4 Weight: 146 Weight: 139 (the last weight I saw at the gym last week on Saturday) Chest: 40 Chest: 37.5 Waist: 34 Waist: 31.5 Hips: 40 Hips: 37.5 R. Thigh: 24 R.Thigh: 22 L. Thigh: 24 L. Thigh: 22 R. Calf: 14 R. Calf: 13 L. Calf: 14 L. Calf: 13 R. Bicep: 10 R. Bicep: 10.5 L. Bicep: 10 L. Bicep: 10.5

Hey! I took your advice and made a salad last night of Avocados, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. It was delicious! I appreciate the feedback, and totally understand that most people don't go gung ho like I do. Like I said, I'm a bit of an A-typical personality type so it's all in for me or not at all. I also went out last night and bought some Coconut oil and Almond Milk (for smoothies when I don't have "time" to make a real meal) so hopefully that will even out my caloric intake. I ate breakfast this morning, which has already helped! Thanks again for the feedback and the advice, it's much appreciated

Great advice, thanks! I've put my scale away, and that is going to be a big help I think. I started eating breakfast this morning, and *gasp* I feel better! Who knew? <note sarcasm> I had a hard boiled egg, some grapes, and 1 piece of Musli bread. That and my 1 cup of coffee. As far as the extra cardio, yeah I'm pretty sedentary between my workouts. I work from home and have a fairly stressful job, the unfortunate part is that it's all at a desk. I try to get up a few times a day and move, but due to the nature of what I do I'm pretty much tied to my desk for 8-9 hours a day. So, I think the extra cardio will help. But, if I don't see any extra progress after a few weeks I'll cut it down. I'm still getting my feet under me as far as what's going to work for me, and what's not. I'll work on the Zen part. I can be really hard on myself, but I've come to the realization with this journey in particular that I have to be patient, and I can't beat myself up if I see some sort of imaginary "gain". I have been told by people that I trust that I'm doing things right, and they see changes in me. So, I figure if I continue to do those things, and continue this journey in the right direction, results will come. They just may not come at the pace I want them to. Patience...for me that's the toughest part. But, I don't want to do this in an unhealthy way, and when the results come I want them to stay! Slow and steady win the race and all that. Thanks for the encouragement everyone, I truly appreciate it!

Thanks a bunch for the reply! My clothes are a little looser, and I physically feel better, yes. Which you're right, should be the point! My fiance tells me that he see's the changes in me, and that is enough to keep me going. We're getting married (after being together for 10 years) in September, so that's even more motivation to get me moving. I just need to stay the course, and give the finger to the scale when I feel like I need it for validation.

Hey there! Thanks for the replies. I went to the gym tonight and had a long talk with the person that I train with and I've decided that I need to stop looking at the scale but once a week or so, and get a bit more cardio into my routine to see the results I want, and I need to eat more to gain the muscle I want. Alienjen, I am using a digital scale and measuring cups, so I know exactly what I'm eating. I'm a very type A personality and I tend to go all in, or not at all. So, when I started this journey all the junk got thrown out, the scale got bought, and the measuring spoons hang on the wall right next to it. I'm a little crazy, I know. My workout does challenge me, but I am going to up my cardio a bit. Not a lot since I don't enjoy it as much as strength training, but I do need a bit more than I'm getting now. Thanks again for the replies, they're truly appreciated!