*waves*

[Asuria]

I'm a twenty-five year old graphic designer/webdesigner, which should qualify me as nerd , and I'm slightly overweight. Just. Slightly. According to the Wii balance board I stood on this weekend I have a BMI of 25,23. I weigh nine kilo's (about twenty pounds) more than my ideal weight. This Wii incident is actually what trigered me to join this board. I've been lurking around for a couple of months now.

Anyway, I've always been somewhat chubby. I was put on a diet for the first time at the age of eight and that's actually still the reason why I don't drink soda (thank god). I don't really think that food is my problem. My eating habbits changed a lot the last couple of years after starting to live on my own and cook for myself. They have changed in a good way: lots of veggies, lots of fruits, juices and smoothies,... I've been reading a lot of books on food and the bad things we do to our bodies by putting bad "fuel" in it so that changed my attitude towards food a lot.

But... I am not the most sportive person in the world. Plus I have a job for which I spend eight hours (or more) a day sitting. I do cycle to work which means that I do spend thirty minuted each day on my bike and I tend to ride it pretty fast. Oh and this area is pretty know for its killer hills. Yeah. I used to swim a lot, at least once a week, but after meeting my boyfriend that kind of changed to not going for a swim about... once a year. Yikkes.

In conclusion:

- I want to get rid of about nine kilo's which would bring me right below the 60kg (this would be a normal weight for someone my size. I'm short, yes, now shut up). This morning the scale said something about 67,4kgs, but I got off it pretty quickly because I didn't want to face the number.

- I want to tone up, especially the arm area is rather problematic.

- The belly has got to go. I don't want to look as if I'm three months pregnant. Nope.

- I want to have more stamina.

So. Plan of attack:

- Start swimming again once a week. Good for the arms, good for the stamina. I'll probably go on Tuesdays. Once things start going perhaps on Thursdays as well.

- Do some minor weight lifting. The boyfriend has some small weights laying around and I started using them already to train my arms. I hate my arms. They are... well... blubber.

- Every other day 15 minutes of Pilates. Sitting every for such a long time every day makes my back ache and I tried Pilates about a year ago and it did work wonders on my back.

I'll start with that and I'll see how it goes.

And uhm... What else is there to say about me? I'm currently obsessed with sewing. I'm trying to make my own clothes but that's not working out so well. I don't spend a lot of time in front of the television, but I do watch The Big Bang Theory, Project Runway (it's because of the sewing obsession) and the boyfriend and I started watching the X-files from season 1 a while back. I love X-files! I like playing Flower and Katamari Forever on PS3 and Monkey Island on the computer and Professor Layton on my DS.

Ahum. That's it for my lenghty introduction. Yes. I should mention that I have a degree in Journalism and that I tend to write a lot. Ignore the spelling and grammar mistakes though, because English is not my main language.

[67alecto]

Welcome to the Rebellion!

Looking at your intro, I think your biggest opportunity will be diet. With a daily bike ride over hills, you have a decent maintenance workout right there. Trimming 250-500 calories from your daily intake will get you well on your way.

Adding some strength training (especially one of the bodyweight workouts from the Nerd Fitness archives) will be the icing on the (metaphorical) cake.

[sandman]

Welcome to the rebellion, Asuria!

Sounds like you have a good plan figured out already.

I'm sure you're already aware, but despite what the magazines and the "pros" say there is no way to spot reduce body parts. Your body will decide where it will break down its fat stores and there's not really anything you can do to modify that, other than keep at it. Eventually when one spot runs out, your body will move on to another store.

Plus - don't be afraid to hit heavier weights. So many women are afraid that if they lift heavy weights they'll wind up looking like Chyna from the WWF(E). Unless you make body building your full time job AND hit the 'roids it won't happen. You can do nothing but good things from strengthening up your muscle system.

Also, I'd never have guessed that English is not your first language. It's better than many people where English is their ONLY language!!

[67alecto]

Plus - don't be afraid to hit heavier weights. So many women are afraid that if they lift heavy weights they'll wind up looking like Chyna from the WWF(E).

Speaking of which, have you seen her recently? Yikes. Replacing the juice with whatever she is on now has not been kind to her.

[sandman]

Plus - don't be afraid to hit heavier weights. So many women are afraid that if they lift heavy weights they'll wind up looking like Chyna from the WWF(E).

Speaking of which, have you seen her recently? Yikes. Replacing the juice with whatever she is on now has not been kind to her.

Lol no.. I stopped watching when they changed the brand.. It was getting a little too over the top for me.. Well more over the top than it already was hahaha. Plus.. Owen Hart and Chris Benoit, RIP.. Two solid (and local to me) wrestlers that went before their times. My dad went to jr and high school with Benoit. I really lost my taste for WWE for the way they handled the Owen situation.

[Alethea]

Hiya! Welcome to the boards! Ramble away - long posts not only help the rest of us figure out whats going through your head, it helps YOU figure out whats going through your head.

So, light weights I don't agree with. If you're tentative and half-assed, you won't accomplish anything but get frustrated with yourself. Go heavy, or do body weight exercises. Muscles don't really bulk up with things like squats and pushups unless you add weight to them, but you do gain a whole lot of strength and agility and nice firm, long muscles. : P There are many good body weight routines here, and you can take inspiration from anywhere. I've seen ballet routines online that pack one HECK of a muscular punch. Find something that appeals to you - make this as easy and satisfying as possible for you!

The closer you are to your goal weight, the slower it is to lose. Don't do anything ridiculously extreme to try and shed those pounds asap - aim for 1 lb a week, and enjoy yourself.

Good luck! Stay in touch!

[Alethea]

Also, kudos on the sewing! What a great hobby! I've recently learned enough to sew curtains or hem pants, but thats about as far as I've taken it so far. It's incredibly satisfying to take a piece of cloth and create something with it. Who cares if you're not as good as you want to be. Having ambition to be better is no bad thing, and the skill will come in time.

[spezzy]

So, light weights I don't agree with. If you're tentative and half-assed, you won't accomplish anything but get frustrated with yourself. Go heavy, or do body weight exercises. Muscles don't really bulk up with things like squats and pushups unless you add weight to them, but you do gain a whole lot of strength and agility and nice firm, long muscles. : P There are many good body weight routines here, and you can take inspiration from anywhere. I've seen ballet routines online that pack one HECK of a muscular punch. Find something that appeals to you - make this as easy and satisfying as possible for you!

+1

light weights = won't do much for you i had good luck with medium weights, and am now having even better luck with heavy weights.

one thing though: i've been doing weighted squats and pushups and have noticed toning effects, not bulking effects. my legs actually seem smaller!

welcome, Asuria! let us know how we can help

[Asuria]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I'm starting out with light weights, because I have no experience with weights whatsoever. I thought this was the safer thing to do. Give it a go, see if I like it, figure out how my body reacts to it and maybe if all goes well continue with heavier weights but under supervision. No way that I'm going to lift heavy weights without some bodybuilder guy next to me to catch the weights when I'm being my own clumbsy self.

I'm looking into finding those 250-500 calories, you mentioned 67alecto, which means I'll be tracking everything I eat the next week. Food diary, here I come!

Anyway, I'm looking into so many different things right now, trying to find something that really "speaks" to me. Of course I'll keep you guys posted.

[lwow]

For an intro to weightlifting, most gyms offer a free trainer session with your membership so make sure to make use of that. If not make sure to read up on proper form before you jump in, not only will it keep you from getting hurt, it helps build cred with the other lifters.

Also, if they offer classes like power-lift or whatever they call it, basically very high reps, lowish weight...that is a great way to get used to the idea of working with a bar.

[Alethea]

and for your free intro, flat out refuse to use the machines. Insist they show you real excercises.

[Dantes]

Welcome!