posted
I there a Weight-Gain Encouragement thread? I figure that when I start exercising regularly and losing fat, I'll be gaining muscle and will weigh more. Can I still come to this thread?
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Never tried it. My parents are on it though, I think. My father has lost all kinds of weight, but my mother hasn't lost anything at all.
My whole "eat half" plan is continuing to work well. I've lost 14.5 of the 20 lbs I'm aiming to loose.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Part of the reason it's a hard sell is because many women are larger in the bottom than in the top. In general, the best fat burning exercises are the ones that use your butt and thigh mucsles. The problem with this is that it may make a man look thinner as he gains muscle, but it can often do the opposite for a woman, because it builds up the butt and thigh muscles, making them look even bulkier than before.
Women who gain weight in their butt and thighs would benefit more from cycling, which tones the muscles overall, instead of bulking them up.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I'm aware of the benefits offered by weight training, and I do it myself. But for a woman who's afraid of looking "bulky" I feel like it's better to focus your weight training on the upper part of the body (back, shoulders, abs, etc) and skip it all together on the lower body. Cycling at 90-120 reps with little to no resistance for an hour will do plenty to give you strength in your legs without making your thighs look bigger.
Trust me, dude. As a woman who only gains weight in the thighs, squats make you look worse, not better.
posted
South Beach is like the new Atkins (or vice versa). That is, it includes many non-starchy vegetables.
The thing about diets is almost all of them incorporate some kind of a cheat/payoff. So a diet that says "Be really strict for a short time and things will get better" is offering a payoff. Body for life and Carb Addicts were probably the worst in saying "be good all week (or all day) and then you can have one binge.
My plan is more avoiding the sugars and fried foods, and trying to up the veggies. Though I'm struggling with the veggies. I haven't weighed myself in a while, though I did lose 4 inches off my waist. Little increments elsewhere, but I was really impressed with the waist.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Cardio is the best way to go to get rid fat in combination with weight training. It's possible to do high rep/low weight for tone...but doesn't tend to work as well. *shrug*
Every pound of muscle is another 50 calories burned every day just resting. Weight training creates a metabolic "after-burn" that continues for a few hours post-workout.
I can't bear to look at scales. I weigh more than I look and whenever I look at a scale, I get horribly embarassed and discouraged. I also hate pictures and mirrors.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Aw, come on mack, I would sell my soul for a body like yours. Of course, I know there are plenty of folks fatter than me who would make the same deal to be where I am. I don't remember ever feeling like I was thin enough, even when I was 14. Okay, that's not quite true. I got so sick in 7th grade I could even swallow my own saliva, and I accidentally put on my sister's jeans. I should have been frightened, but I was psyched. I guess that is my weight demon, that my older sister was always smaller than me.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
lol, my little sister has always been smaller than me, but we have entirely different body types. However, as I continue to be active and she gets more sedentary, we're reversing.
Which reminds me, I need a haircut. I should call her.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
No, I completely understand where you're coming from. It's just a visceral reaction for me when I get the number read to me and the Look that follows.
Posts: 14745 | Registered: Dec 1999
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And, more impressively, I'm going. I'm actually suprising myself. It's quite good - I can sit on the bike with my 'fatburner' program and watch daytime tv with no guilt.
And I do weights - but I do squats, as I'm one of those people with slim hips and all my fat on my stomach. I figure bigger thighs might even it up some.
Trevor, I do know what you mean about women who are paranoid about bulking up - when I went for my fitness assessment, the trainers kept 'assuring' me I wouldn't bulk up,just gain some muscle and tone up. I told them given my current body fat percentage (way too high to be healthy) I would be amazed if I bulked up. I think you need muscle to start with to do that. Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Is there any good place that will tell you if you're overwieght? By good I mean reliable and takes into account at least weight, height and frame size.
posted
I've told this story before but it's a good one for this thread since I'm still so angry about it.
I worked my butt off for three or four weeks doing strength training and a bit of cardio. (I did squats and lunges at first but that's how I found out I have arthritis in my knees, so I can't do them anymore which is fine, after finding out about the body shape thing. I started doing tons of cycling to strengthen the muscles around my knees...doctor approved.) My weight never changed the whole time, but that didn't really worry me, since I know that you gain weight first. I was a little disappointed that I wasn't GAINING weight and wondered if the program was working. I hadn't noticed any difference in how my clothes fit, either, but then I was starting from a relatively tall and thin (I started to say lean but that suggests that I actually had muscle, which I didn't) frame in the first place.
At any rate, I was called in for Jury Duty and sat there for a full week. No exercising happened that whole time because I was gone like ten hours a day and totally beat when I got home. At the end of the week I happened to weigh myself...I had lost 8 or more pounds just sitting on that jury! That's when I realized that I had been getting rid of fat and gaining muscle at such a rate that my weight stayed the same, and I totally didn't even notice it. I must have lost all that muscle tone sitting like a log that week. I was heartbroken and I'm still trying to convince myself to start exercising again.
And since you alluded to it, Trevor ( ), I will say, I'm not obsessed about how I look and don't want to be perfect. I get compliments about my body and I believe that it's true...I think I have a pretty healthy body image. (Of course it wasn't always like that...) But what's important is that, while I may look svelte on the outside, I realize that I have no muscle tone at all, and I'm still recovering from having my kids. And YAY my legs look great when I'm wearing pants, big deal. But I'm the only one that knows (aside from my husband) about the stupid cellulite that they can't see.
So my major goal is to get into shape, not lose weight. I want to be strong enough to lift my kids without my knees popping. And I want to look strong all over instead of loose and squishy. I want to look good in the mirror, and who cares what other people think? They all think I look fine, because I do, with my clothes on.
posted
That's the most discouraging part of it for me - you can spend a month working out intensely, and if you stop at all, you lose it all. Not only that, but the muscle turns to fat half the time and you start even farther back. It feels so pointless - nothing you work on or create stays, it's boring at the time, and during the summer and winter it's really expensive because it's too hot to run outside in the summer and the it's dark at 6:00 in the winter and isn't safe. All for what? Well, it turns out the consequences are even worse if you don't do it. What kind of sick situation is this?
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I don't think that the muscle technically turns to fat. I think what happens is that the person was going about it the wrong way in the first place. There are alot of people that try to lose weight by essentially starving themselves, and maybe doing an exercise video once a week or something. If you aren't ingesting all the protein and complex carbs that you need at regular intervals, then it's likely you're burning your muscle, and not your fat. Bodies were designed to burn muscle first when it thinks it's starving, specifically because of what Trevor and Mack mentioned...that more muscle equals faster metabolism. Sometimes a person will eat less thinking they will lose weight, and they do, the first time they do it. But once that muscle is gone and you are feeling like you look thinner, if you stop exercising you will pack on every single bite you eat in the form of fat, because your matebolism has dropped so low. And then it's very difficult to lose weight again, because you don't have those muscle reserves to burn up like you did the first time, so eating a lot less doesn't "work" like it did the time before. I maintain that the best way to lose weight or get in shape is really simple. Small portions of protein and complex carbs 5-6 times a day, overall strength training three times a week (or more if you want to get bulky) and some cardio and stretching, for good measure.
Actually, maybe you know all this already. I just don't think that it's entirely accurate to say that muscle can turn into fat.
Posts: 6367 | Registered: Aug 2003
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quote:At any rate, I was called in for Jury Duty and sat there for a full week. No exercising happened that whole time because I was gone like ten hours a day and totally beat when I got home. At the end of the week I happened to weigh myself...I had lost 8 or more pounds just sitting on that jury!
Well, sitting in a confined jury box is a good way to stay away from the refrigerator and/or snacks. So did you actually EAT LESS during that week?
posted
It's no more pointless than eating, or doing laundry. Personal/spiritual development is the same.
I've been trying to get going with this exercise regimen called "The Core" for about five weeks now. It sounds like a great idea. It's main purpose is to tone the torso, to prevent back strain and stuff. I've read the book and it sounds great, but I just haven't figured out when to do it.
PSI: I'd never reasoned that out about muscle getting burned first to conserve energy. Interesting.
I also have a theory that the fall is a bad time to lose weight, since we're supposed to be getting ready to hibernate. I'm going to keep training (I do cardio with a friend)and avoiding junk food, but I'm not going to get disappointed if the scale is unimpressed.
posted
Trevor, I think you know what I'm saying but I want to go ahead and make my position really clear about the strength training.
I'm a huge advocate of the strength training. It made up the biggest part of my routine. But, in general, for women (or men) who are obsessing about how they look at first, I feel like it's best to skip strength training in the area that your fat builds up, until you've lost some fat in that area. Mainly because those people are so motivated by how they look that they need that constant physical reminder that they are doing well, and building muscle under large thighs doesn't do anything to make them look better. (Have you ever read "Escape Your Shape"? It wasn't perfectly accurate, but it kinda matched how I feel about the "body shape" as it were.
I, personally, am not so worried about my thighs looking a little bigger. I don't do squats because I can't, but it worked out for the best anyway.
I'll put a link here to something I found on the web when I was searching for "Escape Your Shape". You can look at it if you want, although you may not agree. It just matched my own experience.
posted
Ah, I don't need to take a test. I'm a big butt and thighs shape. I would have done great in the age of hoops skirts.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
Oh, FarmGirl, I don't know. I may have, but if that caused me to lose weight it still ties into my post above my last one. I built up some muscle then lost it because I wasn't exercising, and possibly starving my muscle a bit. In truth I don't generally snack at the fridge anyway, so it may not be a huge difference.
Me too, pooka. Bigger bum and no chest. But hey! *sings* I like me for me!
posted
My personal experience with the Atkins diet is interesting. My blood pressure shot so high that, after I'd get up quickly to go to the bathroom or something, the lenses in my eyes would shake with every heartbeat. I think any other person probably would have passed out long before they ever saw something like that, but I don't pass out easily.
One too many hits with a snake, I guess. Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
This thread makes me really want to eat some pistachios. Mmm, little drops of fat/protein/salt.
My diet varies so much from week to week, it's hard to describe. I definitely did the -fat, +muscle thing in the last year. I got a few, "Did you lose weight? You look great" from some classmates and I was actually kind of annoyed with them. I guess I was annoyed because they were adding to society's "you don't look good now, you'll look good after you lose weight." I was/am reasonably happy with how I look. Maybe I had some baby fat or something, but certainly in the normal range. But somehow, I still came across as "needing improvement." Does that make sense?
Posts: 1261 | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:It's no more pointless than eating, or doing laundry. Personal/spiritual development is the same.
Yes, but those are fun. Excercise is expensive, requires huge amounts of time, and is deeply entangled with the way we deal with one another, and on top of everything, the usual day's allotment is incredibly boring. The only thing that makes it remotely worth it is that I'm happier when I feel physically better, and even that irritates me. It shouldn't be this awkward and inconvenient.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
I think one thing that helps is having a goal in mind--other that weight loss/gain.
As in, I do other, way fun sports. I snowboard. I fence. Every minute I spend in the gym makes me better at each sport. It increases strength and flexibility, betters my aerobic capability, increases my endurance. It makes fencing and snowboarding much more pleasureable--because I can keep going when others tire, because I can see my speed and agility increase, I can get through a two hour class and still be ready to keep going. I can snowboard an entire day and only be tired because my knees hurt.
Apparently my body is a mesomorph. This means I get to be naturally athletic and build muscle tone easily and see results quickly. It also means I get to lose tone more quickly as well.
I have acid reflux--which means I can't do any exercise that specifically targets the abdominal region. My abs can take it fine, but the insides get pissy for a couple days afterward and it's quite uncomfortable.
Because of my chronic shoulder tendonitis, I can't do pushups or dips.
This also makes me have to be VERY aware of shoulder positioning and posture while fencing and in daily life. If I let my shoulders roll forward (going back to bad posture), it impinges my shoulder and causes pain. My right shoulder has improved loads--I can fence for hours and not be in pain during or after. My left shoulder STILL has problems, even with a good amount of PT. It doesn't hurt when I'm not using it, but while doing footwork drills, the left shoulder hurts while my right shoulder is fine. It's odd, because I'm right handed. *shrug*
So I'm frustrated easily. My appetite is screwed up because of my moods--I just don't want to eat. Nothing seems appetizing. But I HAVE to eat. And I put off eating till I've nearly got the shakes, which means I eat things that are quick and not so healthy. I keep a stable weight, but I still want to lose--get that extra fat off my stomach/hips that DRIVES ME UP A WALL.
posted
The thing is, life is a choice. For every day, since I work half an hour away, if I do something that requires any driving or set up time or basically anything, that's pretty much my day. For the weekends, there's lots of time, but it means I don't have time to do other things.
I enjoy having physical activities, but I enjoy other things more. I'd rather spend Thursday evening drawing at the art museum. I'd rather read a book. I'd rather hang out with friends, and on the weekends, I'd rather see a play, clean my house, and visit friends. It's not that the athletic things are undesirable - I'd just rather do other things. Also, it's over a hundred degrees here in the summer - nothing except swimming is fun at that heat.
Same with money - I'd rather spend $60 a month on new shoes and my half.com habit. The thing is, that's what many things are judged on. That's what is used in the shallow feminine bragging sessions, that's what governs some of my health, it's essential to my happiness and I know it, and it actually irritates me that something that bores me so greatly is so necessary. It feels so self-centered.
Basically, in order to live in this world, I am forced to comply with expectations I had no hand in shaping and must spend my resources on it when I'd rather do other things. And on top of everything, it doesn't even last.
posted
Oh, yeah. I know - I'm just whining. I realize the expectation exists, I realize all the reasons for it, and I realize that there are options. All of them are done under duress, though.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
PSI asked me to come over here and reiterate her contention that when weight loss occurs, proportions tend to stay the same. I know that mine do, no matter what combination of diet and exercise I have ever tried. When I lose weight, I get generally smaller, but my hips (and thighs, sigh) are still proportionately larger than other portions of my anatomy.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Amen to what LMA said. Same goes for me. No matter what weight I am, my proportions stay exactly the same! It is pre-programmed and "target toning" does not magically remove fat from certain locations. It does, however, make that muscle stronger and more defined.
Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
Thanks T, yah I remember doing those caliper things in health class way back when (not as far back as I would like though! ). I know that I fall down on the heavy side of normal on a scale based entirley on weight and height, and I figured something like frame-size would give clearer idea of at least where I stand.
And just as an update, I've been biking 18 miles a day around 4 days a week (this is to work, and for some reason I average about 1 car trip a week due to flats, bringing in something heavy, rain, whatever). But I'ms till eating just terribly, so I'm not really progressing like I hoped. When I have to start cooking for myself this year I'm hoping on eating healthier.
posted
kat, if you think doing laundry is fun, you need to come move in with me. I'll spot you a gym membership . . . Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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