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I was just wondering if anyone else in here is in the weight loss battle with me... either for preconception health or to loose those excess baby pounds. I thought it might be a nice idea to have a thread dedicated to sharing tips and encouragement for others who're trying to loose a few pounds too!

thanks for all the good tips and links! My hubby and i joined LA|Fitness yesterday and they say that if you're wanting to burn fat, the best thing to do is to build lean muscle because every lb of lean muscle on your body burns 50 calories of fat/day at rest. So if you build up 6 lb. of muscle (which is how much the trainer guy suggested for me) you'd be burning 300 calories of fat per day without doing anything!

They also emphasize that your actual scale weight doesn't mean anything really. If you take the same volume of fat and muscle, the muscle is going to weigh more... it's just going to look better on you than the fat does. That's why I measure myself in inches and try not to worry about the scale too much. As long as I'm loosing waist size, i'm happy! smile

well actually i have two things that are about equally weighted for me.

1.) Pictures
Well, I've always hated seeing myself in pictures because i look like a whale and I just try to stay out of them as much as possible, but we're going on our first international trip to several European countries on a two week trip in June and I just really want to have pictures of myself at all the places we visit. So I gotta get in shape for that.

2.) Babies
After we get back from the aforementioned trip, we're planning on trying for our first baby. I know that in the condition I am now (35% body fat) it would #1 be harder to conceive and #2 harder to loose the baby weight afterwards. So I'm really trying to get into shape so my body can be a super mommy! xd

Some other little side things that get me motivated... 2 pc swim suits, sexy lingere, my husband being able to pick me up, relief from back and knee pains, not worrying about becoming a diabetic, and just feeling less frumpy overall!

Maybe you'll find some motivation in there from all that. It took me getting into the position i am now where i realize that I have no excuse not to and if i pass this chance up, i may be like this forever! stressed I'm a house wife, no kids, a gym 2 miles away so i don't have a single excuse to fall back on! I hope you'll find something to get you motivated!

Oh I will. I plan on updating my signature once i've lost a considerable amount. It'll be a somewhere in between picture cause the one on the left was a size 18 and the one on the right is a size 10... so maybe at 14 I'll get another picture done cause i'm already down to 16! xd

Okay, I'm not trying to lose weight, but I *am* trying to get back into shape, so...yeah. I was a size 4 before I got pregnant, and I don't seem to be going anywhere below a size 8 now, if only because my hips are wider (duh), but I've had guy friends tell me I look better now than I did because I have some actual meat on me, so on most days I'm not fussed. What I *do* miss is being able to fit into my underwear. When my butt's out of shape, it sags, and my underwear keeps riding up. Yes, I've gotten larger size underwear to accommodate the mommy-butt, but it isn't helping the issue. Yeah, TMI, but it's one HELL of a motivator, let me tell you. Also, I missed being proud of my toned tummy. I absolutely *loved* all the attention I got in crop tops. sweatdrop

So (sad, I know) I'm working out in the shower. This is the only place in the house where small boy and/or Daddy are not likely to walk up to me, assume I'm not busy even though I'm doing crunches, and ask me to do/get something for them. I used to corner my husband and demand his help working out a schedule so I could go back to martial arts, but all that proved was that my husband's schedule couldn't accommodate me except on rare occasions. scream I have a strong aversion to leaving my son in the care of someone I don't know well, so the gym is out of the question so far. And I got tired of waiting. Soooo...an extra fifteen minutes in the shower is what I get. I do crunches, punching drills, standing side leg lifts (hate saddlebags!), modified pushups, and squats. I also practice holding martial arts stances while I'm shampooing. Very much thanks to muscle memory, my tummy is already back to looking pretty good (I'd like to get more definition, but bicycle crunches don't fit in the shower), and my husband swears my butt is more toned. I don't see it myself, but...I don't get that great a view of my own butt, y'know? It helps that he's a lousy liar, so I'd know if he was just saying it to make me feel better.

Yeah, yeah, I know I don't have much to complain about, but I'm doing this to feel better as well. My attitude gets *so* much better when I'm getting regular exercise, I don't get depressed, and things don't get under my skin as much either. These are all very helpful things when potty training a two-year-old. blaugh

I weight currently 165.( with baby) and i am diabetic. I need to see how much i weight after baby. I have to get down to 125 in order to not become full non pregnant diabetic. Which it runs in my family, but I was told to watch myself afterwards so I don't have to take insulin and or pills.

After the baby and I am fullly able too. I am going to start yoga again. And cut my diet that I have to eat now in half like my dietain said. I need to lay off the simple sugars ( candies ,cakes , etc etc) and exercise.


If I can do it I will report weekly if things are going well if it. 4laugh

i'm glad to see i'm not the only one and that we can all be supportive of each other. I myself can't recall ever being smaller than a size 10, so I'd be extactic to get to an 8, but I really don't want to push myself or beat myself up if I can't make it there cause I know I looked good as a 10. its my "Perfect 10" as I like to call it. but for me... if i can get down to a 12 before getting preggers, that'd be awesome. ( eek that like 6 months away!)

If you're a housewife like me, and have plenty of time to work on your goals, here's a pretty good plan that seems to be working for me.

1.) Eat 1300-1500 calories a day.
Less than 1300 a day can negate your efforts because your body's metabolism will slow down cause it thinks you're starving!
2.) Snack between meals on healthy foods!
Spreading your calories more evenly throughout the day will help keep your metabolism going making you burn your fuel more effeciently. My rough plan is about 100 calories per snack and 300 per meal... so I eat a snack before and after each meal for a total of 7 mini-meals a day!
3.) Drink at least 64 oz. of water a day!
It helps flush out a lot of nasty toxins and it will give you more energy throughout the day.
4.) Focus on "building muscle" instead of "burning fat"
Beacuse it will make your tone look great and because every lb. of lean muscle on your body burns 50 calories a day at rest (aka for doing nothing!) I do strength training 3 times a week and cardio at least once or twice a week.
5.) Strength train before cardio, not after!
If you do lifting and cardio in the same day, make sure you do them in that order so your body will burn calories to its maximum effeciency.
6.) Give yourself a break!
Both from the exercises and the diet! I don't count calories on the weekend... I just try to not over indulge myself. And make sure you take a break for your muscles to heal... they need about 3-4 days to fully recover before you try to work them again... otherwise you will be LOOSING muscle mass! talk2hand Rotate your body parts in your lifting schedule. Do arms one day, legs the next, break, back and chest one day, abs and core one day, and then two days break. wash. rinse. repeat!

wow that was a super long post, but I hope it helps someone!

It helps if you've got a dairy allergy to keep you honest. sweatdrop I can't eat most desserts, so when I find cookies I can have, it's a cause for celebration! And yeah that also cuts out a large amount of fat/number of calories from my diet. And I *have* to eat plenty of leafy greens because that's the other good source of calcium.

My big diet tip: most of the women I've talked to about dieting agree that "sugar-free" stuff does absolutely nothing to satisfy their craving for something sweet. Give yourself a smidgen of the real thing, and enjoy the crap out of it, instead of consuming a bunch of pseudo-sweets that just leave you wanting more.

As for getting the water in - they sell 1.5-litre bottles in most convenience stores. One of those is roughly 64oz. Voila. One bottle per day = sufficient water.

If you're looking for a great book about losing weight through changes in habit and diet (NOT a book about a diet), find a copy of Fit From Within. Best damn book on the subject I've ever read. It starts with respecting your body and yourself, and works up from there.