Help me PLEASE

[getserious]

Hi all. I have been reading posts on cathe's website for almost a year now, but have never posted. I have several of her dvd's. As of late I've really become addicted to them. My problem is that I can't figure out what I really need to do to get in the best shape possible. I always seem to hit a plateau and then get discouraged. I want to lose weight and really get my lower body rock hard. I've read so much information on working out, that I'm confused at this point. Any advice would be much appreciated. I also have a gym membership and can devote and hour to an hour and a half a day to working out. What should I do???

It is what it is.

 

[gidget1978]

Hi There!

It seems as if you have alot of goals in mind. If thats the case, and I were you, I would start out small. Which I did actually.
I remember when I first started working out again I stopped eating junk,drank more water...etc...but I didn't make all the changes in one day. After I had one thing conquered I would move on to the next.
What workouts do you currently have? How is your eating? And do you "need" to lose weight? Sometimes we think we do, when in reality we don't. Then we tend to be to hard on ourselves b/c we are reaching for something that isn't realistic.
The lower body for most women is a tough area to get rock hard. And you probably won't see those kinds of results, unless you are super strict with your eating and working out.Even then, these results won't come over night.
I think in order for anyone to give you some advice, we may need to know your weight, height, eating,drinking and workouts.Alot of the time it isn't about the length of workouts but its more about the eating and intensity of your workout. I know I see better results when my eating is in check.

Lori

 

[getserious]

That's very reasonable advice. The workouts I own of Cathe are Butts/Guts, Legs and Glutes, all the gym style series, drill max, core max, bootcamp/me, kick max, kpc. I'm 5'11" about 150. I workout six days a week, sometimes seven. I'm not the best about eating to be honest. I struggles with an eating disorder years ago, and eat sparingly. Then of course after you do that, you get so hungry from starving yourself you eat a bunch of junk you shouldn't. I drink lots of water, but have a problem with drinking diet coke. I think I use it to stave off hunger. As of late, I've been alternating between cardio for 45 minutes one day, then the next I'll do a circuit routine at the gym. I have muscle, it's just hidden by a layer of fat.



It is what it is.

 

[catwoman88]

Weight loss and getting "rock hard" is 80% nutrition, 10% exercise, and 10% genetics.

If you want to get in the best shape possible and be fit, then you need to look HARD at your nutritional intake. Only when you get that under control will the exercise and genetics be able to do their part.

Tosca Reno's "Eat Clean Diet" is a great place to start to get a jump-start on the nutrition.

Magazines I would HIGHLY recommend are:
1) OnFitness (perhaps you saw the other thread I just posted about this magazine)
2) Hers Muscle and Fitness
3) Oxygen (including all their supplemental magazines, such as "Clean Eating" and "Glutes" and "Abs", etc. You can order these as back issues.

The Abs Diet books are also very good nutritional resources.

Avoid sweeteners (whether sugar or artificial. Agave and stevia are the only two sweeteners recommended by many sources - see OnFitness's current issue for an article about sweeteners. Agave is as sweet as sugar, and stevia is something like 30 times sweeter, and if you use too much it, you'll know because the taste will no longer be sweet, but instead VERY bitter).

Avoid salt.

Avoid foods labeled "fat-free". They are loaded with chemicals. Your safest bets are lots of fresh fruits and veggies and lean meats. It sounds boring, but you can really dress these items up with a little practice to make them scrumptuous.

Lastly, I know you've heard it before, but eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. An article in last month's OnFitness explained how and why this is so effective at stabilizing insulin and the body's tendency to store fat from the foods we eat when we eat only 3 large meals per day and/or skip breakfast.

I would suggest you change only 1 thing every week or two. Trying to change it all at once is overwhelming. Start by getting the mags and books. After two weeks of reading and jotting down ideas, move on to substitute veggies for some of your "filler foods". Then a week or two later, start adding more fruits. Then, phase out sweeteners, replacing them with agave and stevia. Before long, you'll have changed your whole eating lifestyle!

I hope this helps.

 

[getserious]

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate your comments. That's what has been so discouraging to me is that for all the time I've spent working out, I feel my results have been limited. I know it's because of my eating. Thanks once again.




It is what it is.

 

[gidget1978]

You got some great advice from the above poster! I would do everything she recommands.
Also, try to get a little protein in with every meal. This will really help fill you up. For the most part, I eat the same thing everyday b/c I know it keeps me full without all the cals, hopefully you will find the same.
If you haven't been working out faithfully over the past few monthes, I would start out by working the LB once a week and then later moving it up to 2 x's a week. Also, do you run? Running is great for the LB and is something else you could add in there.
Have you checked out any of cathes rotations? There may be something there that will interst you and get you motivated to stick with your workouts and clean eating.

Lori

 

[luckyruns]

Great advice

Lori: You should get yourself into training How's the little guy doing?

 

[gidget1978]

Kath** Training for what? To train people or train myself for a marathon?? LOL How is your running going? Still eating good and getting skinnier everyday??? LOL Im just joking, you know that.
I would love to be a trainer! I would love nothing more then to go to a gym all day long...DH wanted me to start teaching aerobics, but that won't happen. I don't like standing in front of a group but one on one, I would be fine.
As for DS...oh, he is into tantrums now! Ugh! And he is really to young to displine. Right now, all I can do it leave the store that he starts throwing a fit in, or just leave him crying on the floor when we are home. Im really, really debating having anymore...not looking good

Lori

 

[luckyruns]

Lori: Silly you--the miles you put in now my dear are marathon level Yes to train someone. That would be the ideal job huh? To be surrounded by the thing you like to do so much and get paid for it. Your little guy sounds like a typical lil boy Just wait it gets better

:7

I'm still running hard. Not losing and that's good --I so hate the skinny mini look. I'm seeing muscles so thats all good I read about your girl's night out Saturday --you enjoy yourself and let DH handle the kids

 

[NathL]

Hi,

Just a few thoughts to add what the other posters said.

Up until last year, I had trouble losing weight even though I worked out 3 days/week and ate "correctly". But last year, I lost a lot of weight, and I have to say that I had not in mind to lose that much weight (I went from a size 13 to a size 9) considering that I don't workout often and that my diet though acceptable is not perfect, considering that I have a family of very "picky-eaters".

This is what worked for me:
- I started doing more instense workouts, some with intervals (like BM2, cardio fusion, Terminator, Hardcore extreme #2, etc.). My cardio capacity improved a lot and I think it helped increase my metabolism. I maintained working out 3 days/week
- I added weight workouts just after my cardio. (Now I do about 35-40 min. of cardio followed by about 1 hour of weights)
- I changed the way I eat. Now, I do not let myself be hungry: I eat when I'm hungry but I try (and I'm still working on that!!!) to eat slowly and stop when I'm full. I'm am more conscious of what I eat and why. Two books helped me. One of them is in English: Body intelligence by Edward Abramson. I recommend it.

Hope this helps!
Nathalie