Great JOb on the 5lbs chicky!! WAY TO GO! And keep up the honesty!

But in fashion jail the inmates would be so tacky!

Ok anyway, today my clarinet lesson got canceled so I hit the gym. yay! I thought I'd post my workout on here like I've seen some other people do.

A trainer on here last time I was here told me that to build muscle I should be lifting as much weight as I can and it should be a struggle to get those last few up. So I've been doing that.

15 min on Elliptical, cross training, the kind the varies resistance.
Bicep curls 2 x 12 @ 20 (actually on the last set I could only get to 9 reps, I thought it would be better to do 20 and have it be too hard for the last three than do 15 and have it be too easy, but if I'm wrong, feel free to let me know)
Triceps extentions 2 x 12 @ 20
Leg extentions 2 x 12 @ 30
Leg curls 2 x 12 @ 30
Chest press 2 x 12 @ 20 (too easy, I will try more weight next time)
15 min on elliptical, intervals, the kind that varies incline

You may have noticed there are no abs, it's because the weight room has no ab machines that I can identify, and I'm not sure what kind to do, because I heard you're supposed to several different kinds to target all your abs. I have a stability ball in my apartment, so if anyone has ideas, feel free to share.

Anyway, comments are always welcome, and thanks again for the encouragement folks!

Kitty is very PRETTY and does not self PITTY and is very WITTY as she dances toward her goal CITY

When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.

(Helen Keller)
========================================================
We have eyes, but sometimes we cannot see. We have ears but sometimes cant hear. And, we have a mind we sometimes fail to use correctly. As you progress on your path toward your goal, keep your eyes, ears, and mind open. Be keenly aware of where you are and where you came from and use this to see open doors that would otherwise appear closed to you. Helen Keller was blind and could not hear; however, she could see and speak very plainly. Your internal spirit is strong and bright and will bring much fright to your fat fight and this surely will bring your skin very tight.

YOU ROCK with seeing, hearing, and using your mind to catapault you to new heights of success!


ROCK ON!


Best wishes to you my friend,


Chillen

Whoah, that was like a SUPER one! Thanks Chillen!

Sara, they're all on machines, I don't know how to do compound exercises, in fact, I've never used free weights before and I'm afraid I'll hurt/embarrass myself. The freeweight room is a very scary place.

Well I had a workout buddy today. My roommate came with me. It was fun to have someone to walk there with but I felt pressure to cut my workout short because she was done (the machine she wanted was open way earlier than mine). So later I told her I usually do more than that and she said, ok, next time we'll stay longer.

Kind of a pointless story.

I finally killed off the last of that stupid turkey chili. I also managed to spill it all over myself and the couch, and then all over the room as I realized it was scalding me and began frantically flinging it off of my leg.

I almost ate a snack cake today but then I didn't. Nice!

I need to stop feeling guilty when I'm full. Just because I'm not hungry doesn't mean I'm not healthy. Full does not equal fat! Yeah I was thinking of these during orchestra today.

Feelin' good, feelin' good.

Someone noticed I'd lost weight yesterday!

AAAAAHHHHH IT IS FRIGID IN HERE!!

The heat is broken in our apartment! The thermostat is on 40. I've been wearing a coat and hunting cap all day. I need to go work out but I just want to shut down and huddle somewhere. I'm going to put my sweat pants on with the motivation that it will be warm in the gym.

Even my tampons are freezing cold!

I could probably tell a million jokes here...but I won't.

Seriously...I've been reading your thread...congratulations on your progress. I fight many of the same demons (except, obviously, the cold feminine hygeine products).

You know, the more I read, the more everything seems impossible. I'm glad that there are people out there trying to set people straight, but it's like you can't ease into anything. I feel like I'm working hard but when I read these articles I feel like I'm doing everything wrong. It's like taking small steps will get you nowhere, it's either all or nothing. I certainly don't intend on taking small steps forever, in fact I really feel like I'm making progress all the time, but to measure out everything and only eat certain foods at certain times and take a million supplements and weight train feverishly with a million different exercises just isn't practical for me. Don't get me wrong, I admire and respect people who can devote themselves to fitness, but trying to implement all of that is just a recipe for disaster for me. I'm sure you don't need to do a million exercises, actually I know you don't, but boy is it hard to sort them out if you don't know any better. But am I dumb for thinking I can have a nice, healthy body without going balls to the wall?

Nope.

As Berardi says, merely following the 7 habits is enough for many people. Assuming you have some sort of healthy activity into your lifestyle and get out of the habit of eating more than you need. But, this isn't as easy as two sentences.

Would you be dumb to think you can have a nice, healthy body without correcting bad habits (making "sacrifices")? Yep. That's not how life works, anywhere. Work and value go hand in hand.

The most valuable diamonds are generally the ones deepest in the earth, but even the cheap stuff takes some real effort.

Yes, I think you can. As with most things in life, there are "easy" gains (or losses) with moderate effort but the biggest gains take a lot of effort, which I think you are unwilling to exert, which is okay.

For example, for a woman to get down to 18% body fat is very good and doable with moderate effort. To get down to 14% bf, requires considerably more effort.

I think it is in your best interests to back off a little and do moderate effort at this time and make good gains than get overwhelmed, quit and make negative gains.

Watch your diet, which is something everyone should do anyways, but don't weigh portions. Have cheat meals 10% of the time, which have been shown to have no significant detrimental effects. And, use the compound machines because you don't know how to use free or body weights. The compound machines will provide you with good gains, just not the great gains that free or body weights would have.

Personally, I don't all that I should. I use the Smith Machine regularly and some machines and don't watch my diet as closely as I should. I have more than 10% cheat meals. But, for a 48yo, who is on calcium channel blocker which suppresses my max heart rate, and was not active 18 months ago, I am well on my way to being competitive in a series of triathlons this year starting in March.

Moderate effort > zero effort

Thanks guys, I haven't fallen off the wagon or anything, but I sure didn't want to. I use the machines and I feel like I'm working hard, and I feel good afterwards so I can only imagine that I'm making some sort of progress.

What does a cheat meal entail? I read a lot about them, do you just, eat whatever? It sounds counterproductive.

A cheat meal for me would be an Arby's Super Roast Beef sandwich, apple turnover, and a medium Jamocha shake - 1300 calories. Yes, they are counterproductive but they are so yummy...

It depends on who's qualifying it, really. It can mean anything from a stricter definition such as Berardi's "any meal which fails to adhere to even 1 of the 7 habits" to a one-person eating contest. Some plans even go so far as to allow an all-day buffet-style marathon and call it a "cheat day".

Ok ok ok ok ok ok ok....ok.

PICTURE!

Look at it quick before I decide to take it down.

This is somewhere between 172 and 167.

[IMG][/IMG]

Ignore that goofy look on my face.

This one's better:

[IMG][/IMG]



I read some stuff on posture, so today while working out I made an effort to keep my back straight. I had no idea I was slouching so much!

My roommate's been going with me, and she's of the mind that she wants to 'tone' not 'bulk' among other things. I want to help her but I'm no professional, and I don't want her to think I'm being a know it all. Of course she'll end up with the super model body (she's pretty close now) doing 5 tricep extensions and 100 crunches every day and then eating a box of donuts. I'm not exaggerating.

Oh well. I'll keep plugging away.

I've got a roomie just like yours!

I come home and mother****er is eating fistfuls of lemon cakes. 20 minutes later I come back out of the other room and she's surrounded by wrappers and has moved on to eating coconut balls and oatmeal raisin cookies. (Which just happen to be my #1 and #2 dietary kryptonite). She even has the gall to tell me she made a giant one, just for me. And the thing is twice the size of my closed fist.

She has the body of an elite dancer. (Well, technically, she is one). But she always has. What she eats in a day, divided equally among a dozen diabetics, would kill them all. I hate her so much.

Also, you don't have as far to go as I had imagined. Grrr, baby.