If one wanted to look like a fitness professional.....

When I think of a genetically giften person, Heather Locklear comes to mind. Her body hasn't changed much at all since she first started acting, even after a pregnancy. Sarah Jessica Parker too. I am sure they had trainers post-partum, but the genetics were already there to bounce back quickly and it would have happened without the trainers. They will always be small.

Then there is the other camp (myself included) who are small and fit, but have to work very hard to maintan it. Obesity runs in my family and I have been overweight more years of my life than I have been thin.

I have never really understood why exercise video leaders work so hard to look so fit before a shoot, aside from the fact that the camera adds some weight. I would rather they show us how they look on an everyday basis, not after they have spent a month or two eating clean in an effort to look perfect for the camera.

In both corporate places I have worked, I had a really hard time reaching out to the women. They seemed a little bit distant at first, a little bit frustrated. It wasn't until I shared my age (40's) and the fact that I was once 60 lbs overweight, that they embraced me. The comments were all the same: "We thought you were in your 20's and assumed you always looked like this." They didn't see me as a role model at all until they realized I was just like them. Now our rapport is completely different and many are embracing fitness with a real passion.

When I look at myself in the mirror, I see a person who still needs to lose another 5-8 lbs. But I would never tell my clients that. It's a sickness I need to get over. :7

-Roe
 
Hi all - here's my two cents worth.

As a young 51 year old mother and grandmother of 5 I USED to wish that I could look like all the fitness models. At one point I was even thinking of having cosmetic surgery to totally flatten my tummy area. When you think about this topic, do you think that these models are happy? These women need to have their body and looks in order to get endorsements, contracts for workout gear, and who knows what else. For years doctors kept telling me that my weight should be 130 something. Are they kidding? I'm almost 5' 7", big boned and bottom heavey and when I'm at my peak my weight never goes beyond 160-165. It's the way I am and will always be. Besides, I did in fact one time go down to that weight - I was sick all the time, irritable, no energy and this was when I was in teens. All I'm saying is that these magazines do bring us information, but we need to be reaistic and read between the lines. I don't know about you but I can't survive on oatmeal and egg whites - my body doesn't function well with this type of food and the spanish genes in me won't let me - LOL. Seriously though, I try not to let the media get the best of me. Cathe is a real woman - she's not a cardboard cut up that someone made up in the dark room and air brushed on a magazine cover.

Take care - really!

Iris
:D
 
Don't forget that for these fitness models/professional bodybuilders, their lifestyle choices are based on their single-minded goals of truly excelling in their extremely competitive fields. That lifestyle is definitely not for me and I don't know how happy it makes them. It reminds me of Olympic athletes. The sister of my son's best friend has been taking gymnastics forever and is really gifted. (She's 16.) She is so determined to make the Olympics that the entire family's life basically revolves around getting her to the gym which used to be 1 1/2 hrs away from her home but is now 3 hrs away. She and her mother live near the gym during the week and the rest of the family lives at home. She is homeschooled and her life basically consists of going to the gym, eating and sleeping. I think the US Gymnastics Team has about 8 members so I really wonder about her chances of making it. This single-mindedness can really get you places if you're willing to make the sacrifices, though. I never would be!
 
I am enjoying reading this post. Everyone has made excellent pts.

I am glad to see the description of Aquajock, I have read a lot of her posts over the past few months, she seems like a neat person.

I am on WW right now to get the last of the babyfat off. I have to say it is one of the best/simplest eating plans I have seen. It is clean eating! If you don't eat clean you are hungry...so you eat clean. I am just a month into it so I DO feel as though I am thinking about food a LOT, it is taking up more time out of my life to plan what I eat, but at the same time...I am not mindlessly stuffing my face anymore, or using food to deal with stress/boredom. I think the early time payout will payoff later and I won't be thinking about it so much.

But guess what? Food is important, food is crucial to fitness goals. FOOD IS FUEL!! You are a car and you need GOOD QUALITY FUEL! Isn't it worth some attention? Have you SEEN how great Arnold Schwartzenegger looks at his age? That is a lifetime of good quality eating!

Maybe people who don't think about food too much but have a great physique have formed good eating habits early and aren't really thinking about it anymore, it is second nature...they can have occasional or more often than occasional junk/treats but eat healthy overall so they can afford to indulge.

...I have dropped 10 lbs (I am a relatively thin person but have 20 lbs of baby fat to get rid of) in a month on WW alone and I did NOT starve myself...and it was with very little cardio workouts (my baby is still young and I don't have all the time to workout, I have 3 very young kids). That blows my mind...I used to workout all the time but ate too much and not the right things...the result was some increased muscle mass but that is about it. My bodyfat wasn't all that low. My body rarely changed.

I think if people are trying to attain a bodyfat goal and ignore diet completely or even largely they are really missing it...even if they workout a ton.

If nothing ever changes...nothing ever changes. If you always do what you've always done...you'll always have what you already got!



Jen
:)
 
>If you always do what you've always done...you'll always have what >you already got!

Jen, this is a wonderful statement! May I quote you and use it with my members at the fitness center I manage? Too bad the weekly newsletter already went out - this would have fit perfectly with the theme!

-Roe
 
Roe: I love it too! Of course you may use it...I wish I could remember where I heard it first. That reminds me of a joke someone told me once.."The first time you use it (the quote), you quote the person who said it, chapter and verse. The second time, you say 'Someone famous once said'etc. The third time, you say, 'It's just like I always say!' " ;-)

Jen
 
When I did local fitness modeling (I looked nowhere as good as some of the true fitness models but was in good shape), I followed several different plans: Atkins, Carb addicts, protein power and the zone. I did double workouts about 5 times a week and worked my butt off.

Almost 10 years later, I found BFL. Within 12 weeks and at 37, I had almost the same body back. You can see pics at the cathe addicts group under Colleenm. Not quite as much muscle as before and the lower abs aren't quite as flat either as 10 years ago. But not too shabby for just 12 weeks back into working out after taking quite a few months off. I don't dedicate my entire life to fitness. I workout 6 times a week no more than 45 minutes, cardio is only 25-30 minutes. I do watch everything I put into my mouth 6 days a week but on free day I eat what I want.

It is doable for "real people" but it just depends on what your goals are. WW is too general as a rule but you could probably do WW and combine protein, carbs and fat with every meal and still get the same results.

Colleen
 
Colleen,

I would love to see your pictures.Where are they located? Are they on the VF forum or on the Fitness Video Fanatics forum?

Alexandra
 
OMG Colleen, you look fantastic! Are they your abs now? A couple questions about BFL...Don't you find the eating plan restrictive, especially if you work or go out to dinner? I have the book but the approved eating list scared me, there's hardly anything on it. Are there any other foods that are acceptable besides the foods listed in the book?

Thanks,
Lisa
 
The first few weeks I did BFL, I went out for dinner on free day only. It was just too tempting to stray otherwise. But now that I'm more comfortable with the plan, I've found there are a lot of restaurants that have authorized food. Most steakhouses have chicken or lean steak and plain baked potato. Salad with dressing on the side. Sometimes I'll bring a piece of fruit and get a cobb salad with chicken I give the avocado and bacon to hubby.

Most of my meals are:
egg/egg whites (with beans, tomatoes, artichoke hearts!!)
protein pancakes
chicken
lean beef
extra lean ground turkey
cottage cheese
beans
potatoes
oatmeal
lentils
WW pitas stuffed or made into mini pizzas topped with grilled chicken
WW bread
fruit
veggies veggies veggies

I have found a lot of links for BFL recipes which helps keep me feel like I'm having more of a variety of foods. Plus my husband doesn't follow BFL so I like to have a dinner that doesn't seem like "diet food" so to speak. We often have chicken with brown rice and a salad.

Even if you go to fast food you can often find a decent alternative. I usually get a grilled chicken sandwich (eat half the bun) or grilled chicken with baked potato. Even at Taco Bell you can get 2 chicken soft tacos and toss one tortilla. Mind you this isn't "strict" BFL but it is close to plan and sometimes with life being so hectic, you just do the best you can. There are many different muffin variations mostly with cottage cheese, egg whites, ground oatmeal, and fruit or yogurt or cocoa powder. During TOM I make a peanut butter chocolate pudding protein with sf choclate pudding mix, milk, protein powder and some pb.

Colleen
 
Colleen,

Thank you for your reply. I am going to give BFL a try. I always thought of myself as a fit person, not super thin but not heavy either, WELL, I got on the scale the other day (I haven't been on a scale in months) and saw a 16 pound gain :eek: ;( I was so devastated, I cried. I knew that my clothes were getting tight, but I had absolutely no idea. I had the BFL book in one of my drawers, dug it out and decided that I would give it a try. I know that I am going to have many questions along the way, but I'll just start asking them. I'll check the net for any BFL forums out there. Also, there is one more question that I need to ask...With "every" meal you eat, do you need to have a protein AND a carb? I do know that with at least two meals I need to have a vegetable, but I just want to make sure that I'm right about the protein with a carb for every meal. So, if I were to eat oatmeal (which is a carb) for breakfast, do I need to add a protein with it?

Thanks,
Lisa
 
I have found some great resources:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bodyforlifewomensclub2/?yguid=88210309
www.leanandstrong.com (this is kind of a hard core board, but has good information).

Yes, you need protein and carb with each meal and at least two servings of veggies (you can have more veggies - nonstarchy ones).

With Oatmeal you would need a protein source. At lean and strong they have a daily menu thread that is great to take a look at for ideas.

Also, as far as the scale, remember the more you work out, the more muscle you will build so it isn't necessarly the most accurate way to measure progress. I take measurements and go by how my clothes feel as well as the scale.

Same thing happened to me...last winter when it was tiem to pull the jeans out I had no idea that I'd put enough weight on to barely fit into them :( But have no fear :) BFL does work.

Colleen
 
Hi Colleen,

I will check out the site tonight. As for answering my questions regarding protein and carbs together, Thank You! As for my weight gain, I pulled out some of my winter clothes and DO NOT fit into them at all - oh God, I cried again! I guess the clothes I have been wearing have been "expanding" with me. I do so much cardio that the scale is always right on with me, but looking back, I have been doing so much more eating then I normally ever would have dreamt possible. Actually, yesterday and today I ate horribly. And, I just saw a picture of myself taken at a party I was at on Sunday and couldn't believe that that was me in the picutre. My "fat" clothes were tight!

Thanks for all your help and if I have any questions, I hope you don't mind if I ask.

Lisa
 
I'd be happy to help in any way. I'd never have continued as long as I have without someone to help guide me. The ladies on the yahoogroups forum are a great support also.

Colleen
 
Clare,
You couldn't have said it better. I love fitness and health, but the obsession is not for me. There's a world out there that isn't concerned the least about 8% vs. 18% bodyfat.

The key is to get moving, get excited about life, and you won't obsess so much!

And, I don't think you're preaching. You're speaking your mind, and we women need more of that. Thank you!
 
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