Kelly's Before & Goal Pic

Message1

Message1

New member
I'm posting a before pic to motivate myself and to perhaps get suggestions from all of you. I am serious about reaching my goal the right way and I will do whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes and then to maintain it!

Height: 5'1"
Starting Weight: 118
Goal: I don't have a goal weight per say... more of a goal 'image'

As someone pear-shaped, all my weight goes to my thighs and hips... I have at least 4 inches of fat on my inner thighs. Pants that fit my waist never fit around my thighs... I don't even want to know what my body fat percentage is!I just want to get rid of it and to have a slim, and toned athletic body.

My before:

(apologies for the giant frown)

My goal thighs:

Since I have short legs they won't look like that, but I would like to slim my thighs as close to that as my body shape allows, so it's going to take a LOT of cadio... Please send workout suggestions my way.
 
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Hey, you are beautiful! But almost everyone has some issues with their body and though most of us on here would probably kill (literally) for your body, you deserve to get the results you want as long as you are willing to put in the work :)

Since you don't have much to lose, you are going to have to lose really slowly so that your body doesn't start eating at your muscle (and if your muscle is gone, you wont have those toned legs you want). One pound a week max is probably your safest bet. I went to this site and figured out that your basal metabolic rate is about 1350 calories per day- but this does not include your daily activity level or your exercise. If you are exercising, you could probably eat around 2200 calories without gaining weight. Therefore, you probably want to start eating 1500-1700 calories a day to create a deficit of 500-700 calories a day. This is all an estimate, but it can give you an idea that eating too few calories is NOT GOOD, especially at your weight. So, eat sensibly, those 1500 calories a day, do cardio (you might want to read the thread in here about HIIT) and probably most important is to start doing some weight training. The weight training will keep your body from eating the muscle that is underneath the layer of fat. Really, your only problem is your body fat percentage- if you get that down a little, you will be able to see the muscle underneath (i.e. the toned legs you want).

You might want to go to Steve's diary to ask him about some specific leg exercises.

Hope I helped some, or at least was on the right track with the kind of responses you want lol.
 
Im just going to go ahead and skip the whole "OMG youre friggin beautiful just the way you are" routine, since im sure you get enough of that, and get right to the point. judging from your pics, you are most likely at that point where further bodyfat reduction is going to be quite a bit more difficult than say if you were about 40 pounds heavier than you are now. Unfortunately, this means just what you said, lots of hard work, however, not just in cardio but in your diet as well. to really go below where you are at now, you will need to eat even more strict. not sure what your current diet looks like, you might be fine, but make sure you are eating as clean as possible.

Concerning cardio, i would recommend kicking it up in intensity a bit. this is assuming that you are already quite physically fit however, as i am going off your pictures. if youve already been maintaining a good exercise routine, consider trying intervals or HIIT. These are generally relatively shorter bouts of faster paced running and/or sprinting. I cant personally go into much more detail about HIIT, as i have never gotten to that level of cardio myself, but i can tell you from personal experience that interval training works quite well.

well, anyone can give you times and intensity levels to shoot for on a treadmill for these more advanced levels of training, but as a track and field coach I will suggest something that we have our athletes do occasionally on their daily runs, just in case youre like me and hate treadmills. We call them Telephone Poles, and as the name implies, you change up your running intensity at each telephone pole as you run down the road. Start off with at least 5 minutes of a nice warm-up pace, and then when you are ready, pick up your run pace until you hit the next telephone pole, then slow back down to a jog till the next telephone pole. then at the next speed back up, and follow that pattern. Depending on your fitness level, you can jog more than 1 pole if needed, but the idea is to work up to being able to alternate every other pole. and when you are truly advanced at it, you start doing sprints at about 85-90% of top speed (we call them striders). It is quite the workout.

good luck going after your goal!

EDIT: Sorry to repeat the poster above me a little bit, i was already typing my response when she posted, lol...
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you and so on for the suggestions!!

Right now I am eating healthy, but not enough! I'm only getting about 800 calories a day, and the only way I'm going to get up to 1500 a day is if I get up early so I have more time to fit in those extra meals!

As for exercise, the past two days I've ran two miles every night at about 5.2 mi/h on a treadmill/outside (I plan to do this daily), and then doing 20-30 minutes of pilates, squats, jogging in place with 8lb weights etc. I do have a peice of gym equipment similar to Bowflex, but much smaller that I think I will get out and use 3-4 times a week.

It really means a lot to me that you both have taken the time to reply and help me with this. I want to finally accomplish something, and be proud about doing it myself. I've had too many failures in my life and it's time for me to take control and turn things around! Thank you. :D
 
Great pics! You look very pretty! (Avatar pic reminds me of Ang. Jolie)

Good luck on your goals! I would suggest keeping a food diary on fitday or another website. 800 calories is really low, I would try to bump it up. If that means you have to get up early, then go for it! I'd much rather have to get up early to eat than to work out :)

I am hourglass-shaped but i have the most trouble with my hips and thighs. I also have to buy jeans that are huge in the waist so that they will fit my legs. It's a pain!
 
CoachCrimson said:
We call them Telephone Poles, and as the name implies, you change up your running intensity at each telephone pole as you run down the road. Start off with at least 5 minutes of a nice warm-up pace, and then when you are ready, pick up your run pace until you hit the next telephone pole, then slow back down to a jog till the next telephone pole. then at the next speed back up, and follow that pattern.
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Hey Coach, I do something similar when I'm out walking! I power it while under the hot Australian sun and when I hit a bit of shade, I slow down, then speed back up at the next bright patch. :p
 
1. You are stunning.

2. You are gorgeous.

3. You are hot.

4. You have been given a lot of advice on exercise, but that is NOT where most of your results are going to be generated from at this stage in the game. Sure, exercise is a critical part of the equation, but it is the *easy* part of it.

You see, you are not fat. Obviously. And that kind of changes the playing field when compared to much of the recommendations you will find around this forum. Your body, being close to where it wants to be naturally (read not to thin, not too fat) will resist getting more lean with a vengeance. All of the physiological adaptations and survival mechanisms are triggered quickly once you start *alerting* your body that you might be restricting it's energy consumption. Once these things are triggered, you stop making progress.

Now personally for you, before you get to the point you need to be at to make this work, you need to fix some things. You aren't eating enough. You see, to do it optimally, you need to have some *breathing room* calorically speaking. You need to be able to jump around a bit. Go below maintenance, at maintenance, above maintenance. You bounce your energy intake. I call it a cyclical diet. This kind of *fakes out* your body so that these survival mechanisms are not triggered and you can keep shedding the fat.

Follow me? I am trying to keep this in layman's terms... but feel free to ask questions.

With this said, you need to work on getting your cal intake up! I think it would be a wise idea to get your intake up to your *suggested* maintenance level, that being between 1600-1800 most likely. That is a HUGE difference compared to where you currently are!!!

Won't you gain weight when you do this?

Possibly.

Is it necessary in order to get to where you want to be, image-wise? I believe so based on my past interactions with people in your shoes... plus my own progress. I have been in the position where I am already lean, relatively speaking, and want to get leaner. Actually, I will be there again on Monday. :)

To get your cal intake up with the less negative side effects, I suggest bumping up the intake by 10% every 2 weeks or so.

Obviously, food selection plays a big role too. Plus exercise. We should talk in more detail about what you are currently doing in these 2 realms.

If you are interested in talking about this in further detail with me, please feel free to ask some questions and discuss things in more detail in terms what you eat and how you exercise.
 
First of all, you do look great Kelly and I have just started my weight war so I have no advice, but wanted to wish you good luck.

:D Steve,:D I read what you posted and had a few questions for you. My sister and I have been doing this "cyclical diet" that you spoke about- only it was just something that we decided to do to keep our bodies from thinking we were starving and storing fat.
I did want to know more about what you did or are doing because we understand the idea of it and have been doing it for some time, with success, but I was wondering if you think there is a better advantage to doing it in that particular order (below-at-above)? We just mix it up. 3 days below, then slowly creep up to above then drop back to below. Sometimes I even go from below to above (only slightly above). You sound like you have it all figured out! I guess what I am asking is, did you always do it this way (below at then above) or are you just saying that you have to keep it at a different number everyday so your body doesn't get used to it?
Sorry to go on and on, but I am giving this one last shot- then I'm just going to say screw it and have another baby. I have lost 24lbs since May 2006 doing this diet only 2 or 3 times (gained a little, lost a little over and over because I never kept up my effort) This time I realize that my health is at stake so I am motivated and very serious about it. Help!!! :)
Alicia

5'4" SW 245/CW221/GW145
 
First off you should be happy that you dont have cellulite, now thats an enemy we could all do without. Secondly, the model whose legs you want have been air brushed, so her legs dont even really look like that. Try and set a more realistic goal. Good luck.
 
gogetter22 said:
First off you should be happy that you dont have cellulite, now thats an enemy we could all do without. Secondly, the model whose legs you want have been air brushed, so her legs dont even really look like that. Try and set a more realistic goal. Good luck.
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Actually, I do have cellulite. A lot of it. On the back of my thighs and right below the tuckus.... which is why I didn't post a picture from behind. It's really obvious in florescent light (in dressing rooms), and it really is a downer everytime I see it. I'm not wanting to be exact replica of that photo, I just want my legs to be slim like hers. And I'm aware that she has high heels (make legs look slimmer), and her skin is airbrushed of skin imperfections. I know what they do to models in photos because I was a digital photography major (hah), and actually did some of my friends senior pictures. But anyway, if I can't slim my legs like that, then I will find out at when I've lost all that extra body fat. But whatever result I get when I've reach my goal will be a good one. I like to stay positive and I'm determined to keep on trucking until I'm fit and healthy. THEN we will see how they compare!
 
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Hey Message, your Avatar totally inspired me! That's like my exact body shape, only with acres and acres of fat deposit on top. I'm going to look at it and try to imagine myself becoming her - I mean, me, without the acres.:D

To Steve, I've never heard of the cyclical diet method, but I was actually thinking the other day that I seem to lose more weight when I alternate high and low calorie intake days, instead of going all-out low carbs.

HATE low carbs! I love my dough!!:p
 
Kelly, I totally sympathise and understand about the leg thing. Your legs are exactly the same shape as mine when I'm slimmer. When I reach my target weight, I expect to be pretty much the same shape as you are now. I get so envious of women who seem to have naturally slim legs, but since I get my leg shape from both sides of my family, I figure I didn't have much of a chance. Please keep us updated on how you get on with losing that last bit of fat on your legs. You might even motivate me to try and do the same myself :)
 
Shinsplint - Thanks! That's why I picked that avatar over a picture of myself. I figure I'll see this picture of this beautiful woman every time I post something and remind myself to keep sticking to my plan! I'm hoping th thighs will have slimmed down like that by the time I'm done (whenever that will be)!

Alibran - I'm glad someone understands! However I know there is a way to get slimmer legs, because I've seen others do it... I'm just not sure HOW they did it! So I'm just doing the most obvious way for me: buring all of my excess body fat while preserving my lean muscle.

I'm so excited for results and I just started! Ahhh! I can't wait to see a difference!
 
Fit and healthy??

Message said:
I like to stay positive and I'm determined to keep on trucking until I'm fit and healthy. THEN we will see how they compare!
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You already look very fit and healthy actually. I suspect your BMI and all those other abritrary numbers add up too. I think at this point you are probably looking more for toning and sculpting than health and fitness.

I am sure most of us here, myself included, wish we were half as healthy and fit as you are already.

I wonder though, since targetted weight loss is a myth, will you lose any of that rather attractive shape by getting even skinnier? Wouldnt want to get too skinny and lose the curves....

Either way good luck with it.

For the record, I thought the Avatar was you....

sirant
 
sirant said:
You already look very fit and healthy actually. I suspect your BMI and all those other abritrary numbers add up too. I think at this point you are probably looking more for toning and sculpting than health and fitness.

I am sure most of us here, myself included, wish we were half as healthy and fit as you are already.

I wonder though, since targetted weight loss is a myth, will you lose any of that rather attractive shape by getting even skinnier? Wouldnt want to get too skinny and lose the curves....

Either way good luck with it.

For the record, I thought the Avatar was you....

sirant
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I'm have a curvacious figure, esp. from the hips down. It runs in the family. I'm certain that no matter how skinny I became I would never be able to defeat genetics! ;) I do like my curves, and my waist won't get too much smaller and my backside will probably never get smaller... it's always been 'big', when compared to my size, haha! Besides, you're right, I'm not looking to be skinny more than I am just trying to shape up my body... get rid of the flab, and so on lol.
 
I know what you mean Message, because when I was a size 10-12, I still felt I needed to slim down my thighs, even though people said I was not fat. I think Steve and CoachCrimson are right though; you are beautiful and you have a very womanly and desirable figure. I have spoken to and heard SO many women who say they'd kill for that kind of body. They have either no waist, no hips (straight up and down), chicken legs that look worse as they get older, square bums and I don't know what else, and they want to look rounder in the butt region and have fuller thighs and wider hips. So I think you already possess a bit of a gold mine when it comes to looks. You should think of it as having gotten all the lucky genes, because you have!

I think you're perfect as you are, but one thing you could try that would maybe bring about the results you want is swimming. I think it's just the perfect sport for women, totally in line with the kind of look most women want to achieve.

Now, about cellulite... Don't you hate those fluorescent lights?? Yech! And they have them in the gyms now too, so everyone who's doing aerobics can check each other's out. But remember, there's no fluorescent lights at the beach. :jump: I also heard that getting a tan reduces the appearance of cellulite. Do you like the beach? If so, it could hold the key to your solution!

Keep up your fantastic work; you're probably inspiring more people than you know.:)

Ciao.
 
You really look great, but as steve often says, you can't really target places to lose weight. Though I can make a suggestion to help the pants issue: Get pants that fit in the thigh and take them to a tailor to bring them in at the waist so that they fit you throughout. :D
 
Shinsplint said:
I know what you mean Message, because when I was a size 10-12, I still felt I needed to slim down my thighs, even though people said I was not fat. I think Steve and CoachCrimson are right though; you are beautiful and you have a very womanly and desirable figure. I have spoken to and heard SO many women who say they'd kill for that kind of body. They have either no waist, no hips (straight up and down), chicken legs that look worse as they get older, square bums and I don't know what else, and they want to look rounder in the butt region and have fuller thighs and wider hips. So I think you already possess a bit of a gold mine when it comes to looks. You should think of it as having gotten all the lucky genes, because you have!

I think you're perfect as you are, but one thing you could try that would maybe bring about the results you want is swimming. I think it's just the perfect sport for women, totally in line with the kind of look most women want to achieve.

Now, about cellulite... Don't you hate those fluorescent lights?? Yech! And they have them in the gyms now too, so everyone who's doing aerobics can check each other's out. But remember, there's no fluorescent lights at the beach. :jump: I also heard that getting a tan reduces the appearance of cellulite. Do you like the beach? If so, it could hold the key to your solution!

Keep up your fantastic work; you're probably inspiring more people than you know.:)

Ciao.
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Thank you for that lovely reply! It made me smile. :D Sadly my treadmill's belt broke and for the past two weeks my routine has been spoiled, so I've had no progress on weight loss, but my legs are a lot more defined because I've been weight training. I'm getting a new belt in the mail soon and I can't wait to get back to running!

About cellulite I actually did use some moisturizer that tans you over time. I like it - it looks natural and it definitely helps with the overal appearance of anyone's legs!

And my icon - I WISH that was me! But no, it is Britt Koth, a model from a TV show I once saw. I thought she was gorgeous so I just made an icon haha.
 
You know, I look really similar to you right now, and I'm trying to achieve about the same thing. I'm a little taller -- 5'4", and a little heavier -- 122 lbs, but still my body shape is really similar. I hate my thighs and that's the main reason I want to lose weight. Have you made any progress so far?
 
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