Weight Loss the Old Style Way! Part 8. Please read posts 1 and 2 before posting.

Need2bthrifty

Morning everyone, declaring another STS week, thankfully my “convenience food and wine” blip this week hasn’t resulted in a gain in fact much to my surprise I lost ½lb :j, must have been due to all the missed meals (eating fruit on the move) and dashing around I have been doing this week. So I will work doubly hard to make sure I lose another half for next week.
Todays plan =
B – Porridge, drizzle of honey, ss milk
L – Fruit Platter = plums, apple, pear, kiwi
D – Chicken Curry, brown rice, chutney, cucumber salad

Good luck everyone, have a good day.

tink1981_2

Morning everyone wanted to say big thank you for support this week, I really think I would have given up and dived into the chocolate and icecream if it hadn't been for the advice and positive stories on here :T

Ragz - could you put me down for 4lbs off please :j not sure if you saw my post earlier in the week, please could you change my target loss to 7lbs and could I start again with my smilys. Thought it might be best to start a fresh after my couple of week blip!

Good luck and hugs to all who need

tink x

ragz_2

Tink1981 - well done on the loss, looks like that gain you had sunday was just a blip! I already changed your target, will add the loss later when I post the list.

Lauzt - You can't really target fat loss to certain areas (if only, I could have big boobs and no belly!), however you can work on those areas to tone the muscles beneath the fat which gives a better appearance. So twists, side stretches, sit ups, the plank, swimming, most yoga and pilates will help to tone the tummy area. But they won't reduce the fat unless you are burning fat and even then it may decide to come off your boobs or bum instead.

This article called The Truth about getting flat abs explains it much better than I could.

My favourite quote from that is
"Accepting that your body works as a whole and not in pieces and parts is the first step towards releasing that ideal body that lurks in your mind and embracing the one you have now. Maybe it's time to finally let that goal go and realize you aren't a failure for not reaching it."

Top 10 most effective ab exercises

I have accepted that after having 3 kids (and no inclination towards surgery) I will not ever have a flat belly. My mum is skinny as a rake and still doesn't have, there's still a wobble there. That tummy had three babies live in it and that's a marvellous thing, it is never going to be taught (and to honest, it never was before anyway!). My goal is to get rid of the 'back and sides' fat, the 'love handles' - so that I can get a decent silhouette. I would also like my thighs to be less wide than my hips, but that may well be genetic...

FairyPrincessk

Thanks Ragz!

I'm apparently the queen of long posts these days so a mini table of contents:rotfl:

1) I give suggestions for ab work/tummy toning
2) I ask for suggestions for lean protein
3) I tell you how much I admire you all

1)I actually do have some suggestions for those wanting to tone their belly, it was when these things didn't work as fast as my impetuous mind thought they should that I started looking at my diet:rotfl:. I took several fitness classes at Uni that had an academic component, so I'm not an expert but I'm not just giving you info I read on about.com--so take what you like and leave the rest.

It is true that you can't really spot reduce--doing a bunch of sit ups or other ab work isn't going to make your body burn fat in that area. However, strengthening the muscles in that area can have two important impacts--first, when you do lose some fat around that area the muscle underneath with give you a smoother and more tone appearance and 2) building more muscle helps you burn calories more quickly.

If you want to loose belly fat, I'm afraid its good old fashioned cardio--which most of you probably already know.

As far as exercises to strengthen your core (and thus abs, thighs, pelvic floor etc.) planks (push up position) are excellent. You can also try plans where you bring one knee up towards your head and your head to meet your knee--these are very difficult so don't be surprised if you can't do as many as you think you should. Pelvic rolls (yoga bridge pose) are fantastic, but make sure you don't let your legs roll in or out, and hug your knees into your chest for a few minutes when you finish to help counter stretch. Lying on your back, you can also try placing one leg down with the knee up, and then slowly lowering the other to almost touch the floor then bringing the knee back up to the chest. As you get stronger, try it with both legs.

Sorry, it is hard to describe exercises:) If you have the spare time or money a yoga or pilates class might give you a lot of ideas you can do at home. It also isn't uncommon to find "community yoga" classes in larger cities where you only pay what you can afford. If any of you are around manchester I might have a couple of suggestions for those.

I can also second the suggestion for belly breathing--not only can it help tone your tummy muscles but it can help you reduce your body's production of cortisol (stress hormone) my dad's doctor told him that while the jury wasn't entirely unified on cortisol it might be playing a serious role in his inability to lose weight--can't hurt to breath, right?

2)Now, I have a couple of questions for you on nutrition.

As I was keeping track of calories on the website I noticed that I didn't get enough protein on any of the 4 days I was tracking, nor did I get enough calcium. As you can probably guess I'm on a very limited budget. I've decided to have eggs a few mornings a week as they help and keep me full longer, and I've been eating nuts periodically as my snacks (measuring carefully). OH and I eat a lot of beans and lentils, but we still clearly aren't getting enough. Any suggestions for how I can get cheap, lean protein into my diet without seriously upping my grocery budget? When it was colder I was eating porridge with a spoon of peanut butter stirred in, but I don't fancy it as much in the summer. Extra points if it includes calcuim! I know dairy is the obvious one for these two things, but I've actually worked pretty hard in the past year to cut back on dairy as I think I probably rely on it a little too much--especially cheese, butter etc. I'm worried about the long term effects of too much saturated fat and cholesterol. I suspect that I might be snacking more than I really need to because I'm relying too heavily on carbohydrates and thus feel hungry.

Ideas?

3) Also, I should probably tell you how much I admire all of you. Part of my motivation for taking my health seriously at 28 is seeing my father's health really suffering. I really wish he had done it sooner. I know it wasn't easy and he and my mother certainly had enough on their plates--so I really admire all of you for putting the work in, and in a healthy way, even when it is a struggle.

ragz_2

FairyprincessUk - Apparently Quinoa contains quite a bit of decent protein, so you could eat that with your meals, maybe veg and a tin of tuna (more protein) mixed in. Yogurt contains protein, tofu or things like quorn can be quite cheap.

Ahh, hear we go, an article!
Build Muscle On a Budget though their amounts are extreme because they are bodybuilders!

FairyPrincessk

Ah...good suggestions Ragz. I've been planning to try quinoa--I'll bump it onto the make it happen list from the when I get around to it list.

ragz_2

Oh, as I am having a 'good' day so far, I will post my food diary/plan.

Breakfast - 2 weetabix, SS milk and a sliced banana.
4 cups of tea with SS milk.
Lunch - Pea and Ham soup
Dinner - Jacket potato with chili con carne, soured cream and salad.
Snacks - 2 kiwi fruit, 3 dried apricots.

Accodring to MFP I am spot on for protein (60g according to them) and slightly over on carbs. A lot less over than usual though, so I am happy with that.

My legs are very sore after yesterday's 2 mile jog, 3 mile walk, 1 mile school run and 60 lengths of the pool. If only I could be that fit every day!

Oh and I have lost the 1lb I gained last week.

sparrer

Morning all

This weight thing is funny (strange). I sts for 3 weeks then this morning I have a 2lb loss .

Congrats everyone for a loss, sts, or the effort of trying.

Next week I'll have to work twice as hard, out for an all-you-can-eat Chinese this evening (will drink lots of water beforehand then prob just have spare ribs, makes an expensive evening but it's the company I'm going for, celebrating two friend's birthdays). Sunday is Mothing Sunday so taking the mother out, and Monday is Mothering Monday with my daughter so out to eat again! I have just Tues, Weds and Thurs to make up for all the eating :eek:

B - F&F ss milk
L - crackerbread 1xff yogurt & prawns, 1x vegemite, apple
D - spare ribs and whatever else I won't be able to resist
Snacks - melon, pear, grapes
Exercise - 30 mins exercise this morning then 5/10 mins throughout the day

Have a great day everyone

Need2bthrifty

FairyPrincessk, because I'm menopausal and not a great lover of milk, I was concerned that my diet didn't have enough calcium in it (I do eat yoghurt and small quantities of cheese) but I read somewhere (think it was NHS website) that spinach and tofu are excellent sources.

Very good sources include molasses, Swiss chard, yogurt, kale, mozzarella cheese, and some herbs (basil, thyme, oregano).

Good sources include romaine lettuce, celery, broccoli, sesame seeds, fennel, cabbage, green beans, garlic, brussel sprouts, oranges, asparagus and leeks. Rosemary, cumin seeds, cloves, coriander seeds, scallops, and kelp (seaweed).

Because Vitamin D assists the absorption of calcium in the body I have upped the amount of oily fish and eggs that I eat.

I use the BBC Good Food website for ideas I usually search by an ingredient and you get a breakdown of the calories, protein, fat per serving.

A few I have yet to try out are:-
Spiced Salmon with spinach, tomato & mint salad
Spinach, mushroom & lemon pilaf
Spicy Cajan Chicken Quinoa
Mushroom & Spinach Risotto
Zesty Spring Fish (fish with a spicy coating served with spring greens)

I prefer eating spinach raw but am acquiring a taste for it cooked, also I often put some orange and grapefruit segments in with my mixed salad leaves.

FairyPrincessk

Thanks Need2bethrifty.

I have to admit I was a little surprised about both the calcium and the protein. This week's menus have included salads made with a spinach base, cabbage, some milk and cheese, basil and fortified cereal....So I sort of thought I was doing ok. That said, your list is very extensive and I like the sound of some of those menus! I'll come back to this when I do the menu plan next week.
I do take a vitamin D supplement Oct.-March because I'm not British and the whole darkness thing here really gets to me and I find that helps. I also try to work eggs in a couple of times a week because they have so many nutrients in. I didn't like eggs until I moved to the UK and suddenly started craving them. I took it as a sign and started cleaning up my diet, even then six years ago!

I used to eat loads of tofu but OH is averse..however I've cooked it for him twice and i don't think he even noticed so I might bring that in more often now. As my mum once told my Uncle when he was a guest in her house and complained about the breakfast she made: "McDonalds is down the street, I hear you can pay them for food and you don't have to do the washing up."

This has also reminded me that I used to enjoy greek yoghurt with granola for breakfast--still high in fat I guess but good protein and calcium. I might rotate that back in again over the summer.