New to this community, make me beautiful plz :D

[Chaos999]

So, just passing by to say hello and introduce myself to this community in the hopes that I can improve my physical appearance, aptitude and maybe my health (talk about messed up priorities).

 

So, I'm a 30 years old highschool teacher in Mexico, I live together with my girlfriend, whom I have been with for almost 14 years now (living together for only 2 years though). have a taste for cooking, (and eating), videogames, literature, Very, very long TV series (and anime, and doramas) I can loose myself into (gotta do something while grading homeworks) and traveling by car.

 

well, as you know, as we get older and lifestyle changes, our bodies tend to deteriorate. seems like a life ago whenI could use all of the "lean people" clothes, now I got my closet divided into things I used to wear but I can´t anymore (not without compressing my internal organs) and a smaller number of Mid and Large size clothes that I refuse to increase because in my mind I say it's only temporary, until I get back into shape.

 

During my younger (early 20ths) years, I remained lean and reasonably fit without any effort at all, due to my increased metabolic rate and active lifestyle, related to my college studies (biology). not so much now. I'm still relatively thin in several parts of my body, however, I have an awful belly like those you see on people who drink too much (but I dont drink at all)

 

As both me and my GF noticed the alarming changes in our bodies we took the decision to change it and improve, so we took steps towards it, the first step being to improve our diet, from the hand of our trusty doctor, we have a more healthy diet, without being too restrictive (because, as our doctor says, improving your diet is about improving your life, not making it misserable), we eat 4-5 times a day try to preserve the appropiate balance in the meals and avoid the big baddies (ej, soft drinks) while still having our little guilty pleasures every now and then.

Then we started with the physical activity. My girl did her homework, got one of those weird hybrid exercise machines they sell on TV (one called body crunch) and is doing a awesome job, the improvements are very evident.

 

Me, on the other hand, I'm in a bit of a loss. first I tried the Gym solution, went, paid, got advice from the guys there and then got abandoned. whille I did see some results after 3 months, honestly is not what I expected, the attention I received was pretty generic and not focused on what I really wanted, and the only size loss I got was on my wallet. Then I decided to try a more strategical approach and went to an actual fitness clinic, there, the doctor did the whole doctor thing, reviewed extensively everything I do (I was glad to be told that my dietary habits were pertty much OK) then he prescribed a home routine, however I had to buy a bunch of gear and a dietary supplement. did that for another 3 months, and while I did perceived a increase in my muscular mass and strenght, the thing I wanted the most, the belly gone, actually got worse. so, went back, his answers were not very convincing so I kinda gave up for a while. then I suffered a shoulder injury and had to come to full stop for 2 months.

 

Now that I recovered I really want this to work, and while taking my problems to the internet, I came along this community and I'm going to give it a go. I will make an additional post in the general fitness forum with a bit of this information and aditional info to see if I can make this work, because seriously, my GF kicked ass on this and me? lame. not fair at all for her.

 

I really hope you guys can give a hand and I thank you all in advance for the time and effort.

[zeroh13]

Welcome!

 

You can make this work, there's a good deal of trial and error, but yeah, you can make it work if you put in the effort. But in all honesty, you'll probably not lose the belly fat in three months. 

 

It sounds like both the gym and fitness clinic gave you programs that may have been more geared towards building muscle than losing fat. And a gym where the trainers abandon you and just give you generic advice isn't a very good gym. And dietary supplements are pretty unnecessary.

 

I think the two key things are to stay active, and watch how much you eat. You can have the greatest diet in the world, but if you eat too much of it you'll still gain weight. And if you aren't tracking your food, it can be really easy to eat more without even realizing it. Especially after increasing your activity level, because your body wants the extra fuel.

[Jonesy]

Welcome!

 

Agree with what @zeroh13 said but also want to point you to this page - Free Resources. There is a lot of stuff you can do at home and without all the gear.