Finally on my way I hope!

V

Vicereine

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Ok I think this is the right place..
About me, I'm female, 22 years old, 5'9" and approx 160-170lbs (haven't weighed myself in a year but don't think I changed much since I did). I'm naturally muscular (I can easily feel them underneath, if only I could zip off the fat-suit!), also shoulders a bit wide and small hips, so somewhat boyish figure I suppose :eek: I guess my body type is mesomorph. My body fat generally is spread out so I don't have that pear shape problem like some women, however a lot of it still does collect around the midsection and thighs.

I just started doing some cardio stuff at home, aiming for at least 30minutes (I could go longer but I guess I get bored). I don't have any machines or equipment so I just do whatever I can to get the heart rate going, like skipping rope (minus rope lol), jumping jacks, running in place etc. The only problem with that is my achilles tendon area and calves get sore, I try to give them a break by doing things like mock boxing and that swimmer exercise (basically lay on your stomach and pretend you're swimming). I do this bare foot if that matters. For weight training I use a resistance band and moves that don't require equipment (things I remember from my pilates dvds). I'm thinking about going bike riding and *possibly jogging* (it tends to hurt my shins/knees...also worried about developing knee problems long term). I'd go swimming but I'm usually too self concious. I'm still working on the motivation of getting out and actually doing that stuff.

Oh I did want to join a gym but I'm going to Europe this summer for a couple months and the ones near me want 1 year contracts. I'm kicking myself for not getting on this sooner as I wanted to be in shape before I went.

Um for diet, I know I don't eat enough fruits and veggies but for the most part I think I eat ok. I do eat a lot of breads/cereals for the convenience though. I'm pretty good about junk food too, as long as I don't buy any I'm ok lol. Because of my body type I have a higher metabolism than average so I find myself hungry often, and I do eat when I'm hungry (not one of those people who eats once a day to lose weight).

So long term I'd like to get down to 140 maybe.. I think that's about right for my body frame/type?

Any suggestions on what I should add/change to what I'm doing? Because I am able to gain muscle easily (especially legs, calves included) I don't want to do things that will make them bigger.

Also is there any kind of temporary things for accelerated weight loss? Michael Thurmond has a 6 and 12 day program that you can do before getting onto a long term regimen. I'd really like to lose some of the belly and thigh fat in 1-2 months.

I included some pictures :eek: I cropped off the problem areas as a visual goal...though I didn't take any off the hips so assuming I lose some fat there too I won't have that much curve lol.
 

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Posting your diet and your exercise regimen in detail will help us forumites help you better. :)
 
Well the exercise I do is pretty straight forward I think..I do it in the afternoon, a couple hours after I wake up, yesterday I stuck it out for an hour.

Diet? I eat any regular food, usually a bowl of cereal for breakfast, I like Harvest Crunch, Mini-Wheats, Raisin Bran etc (sometimes cereal can be lunch, dinner or snack too lol). Today I had a craving for peanut butter and jam toast so I had that. I'm a night person so sometimes I wake up late and just go straight to lunch, the last few days I was eating homemade quiche (egg, ham and some cheese), one day I had homemade burgers. Eggs and toast for breakfast or lunch sometimes too. For dinner it's usually the basic meat (mostly chicken), potato and veggies. Sometimes it's pasta, once in awhile a fatty one like alfredo sauce. I guess other things that are common for me to eat are soup (tomato and Habitant pea soup), tuna sandwhich, egg salad sandwhich, deli sandwhiches, brown beans with toast, perogies and of course sometimes convenience food like pizza, hotdogs, mac and cheese etc. For snacks it can be toast, cereal, yogurt and fruit...and any of the above foods if it's already made. Like I said in the first post I know I don't eat enough fruits and veggies.:eek:
 
you could try posting your meals like this..

Meal 1 -
Meal 2 -
Meal 3 -
and so on.

just putting it in all one paragraph is difficult to read. just a suggestion. :cool:
 
Well it always great to see people here tying to improve their lifestyle.
Now, please don't be self conscious about training. Swimming is one thing in my opinion that will benefit you a great deal in your quest for a toned and healthy body. Everybody has to start out somewhere. I am in great shape, and I look it. Whenever I see someone who is overweight at the gym or pool I think to myself "Wow, it's great that this person is out here tying to improve him/herself." I'm happy to share a lane at the pool with such a person. I know it is hard to not be self-conscious, but you would really open up more options for yourself if you can overcome that.

Now for the advice.
I see that you are eating quite a bit of carbs compared to the rest of your diet. Try and monitor that. Carbs are good. Too many carbs=bad. You will need carbs for energy, but you shouldn't be eating the excess.
Do yourself a favor and write down everything you eat and when. You don't have to do it forever, try to be accurate for 1 week so you have a good feel for your own trends. Then make adjustments based on that. Do the same with your workouts. This is no small matter, it will really help.
Make sure you do some research on the glycemic index. I won't go into it here, but it basically has to do with carbs and what you get out of them. I recommend you switch to favor complex carbs rather that simple carbs. If you don't understand the difference then ask. This is going to be a very important aspect of your diet. You will also need to get a good amount of protein in during all meals. Last, you need to increase the frequency of your meals to enhance your metabolism.
Try and cut out that mac and cheese, chips, pizza etc... all simple (fatty) foods that don't belong in your diet while you are cutting. Find other 'convenient' alternatives. Now, DO pick a day of the week for your diet cheat day. This will help keep you from crashing your diet later.

On to the workout.

The best thing I can suggest here is a resistance training circuit. You said you don't want a gym membership b/c of the commitment. Almost all gyms will let you put your membership on hold for at least a month for travel etc..ask.
Also, the membership guys ALWAYS try to get you for the longest term contract they can. But, just between us there are other plans available. They don't like to do it because they don't get much commission for the work. Tell them you want a month to month or you won't even consider the place. They will definitely work with you if you tell them you are interested. Trust me, I have worked at gyms for a few years before I finished my degree. I suggest you go for the year though, it will save you $ in the long run.

If you don't want to do it still, you can work from home if you have the room. If that is the case you can do a circuit of calisthenics. It looks like you are doing that already to some extent, so you may prefer it. I also firmly believe that cardio is necessary for the health benefit, but it doesn't compare to resistance exercises for fat burning.

Let us know what you want to do and well help with some suggestions.
 
So if you know you don't eat enough fruits and/or veggies, why not try to fix that while detailing the rest of your food plan/workout regime? :) Also, less carbs and more protein will probably help, as would cutting out the fattening sauces (e.g., alfredo). You'll need to eat clean about 90% of the time if you want to get your best/most efficient results. Speaking for myself, I try to have maybe one, or two planned cheat meals in a week. The rest should all be healthy, low fat, nutrient dense food.
 
fouf.. you've got nice figure than me. lol.. my belly is far fatter and hips like a giant.
 
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