my shrinking waist and ironing board belly :)

[elastigirl]

well yesterday I went off track...oops!!!
so I am exited to be here with a new approach.

my fit for life menu is 40 days so,today I start day one.
my goal

* stay on 40 day plan for 40 days!
* food plan each day


my reward is a beautiful,amazing,healthy fit body,to know how that feels...to be able to wear all those size 8's I bought,I am very very exited!

theres my sons birthday on saturday,I see it as an oppurtunity to practise my strength when it comes to staying with my goal

so,here we are...fit for life

DAY ONE - 39 DAYS TO GO

I am getting stronger by the day
I lovingly welcome success into my life

ok,time for me to start ''feel the fear and do it anyway''

see ya later!!

[artic123]

I am a yoga fanatic, but I don't think the yoga for abs by Rodney Yee is that great. In fact you can end up getting a pooch belly from it. Reconsider doing a total pilates such as with Stott pilates or Karen Voight. Ana Caban also has a great intermediate tape that combines aerobics. It will take care of the whole body.

Stess is a killer for belly fat--so I would meditate also.


Good luck.

[elastigirl]

hi artic,what a great 2 cents thankyou.

day 2 38 days to go

all is going well with each area of my goals.

counting down the days realy helps alott.
I have meal planned for today,very happy with that,and i see how important that is too.

I rewarded myself last night with some delicious grapes...mmm.it would have been cookies before.
so rewarding myself with good food.

ok,time to do some sun salutations.artic I have seen Rodneys abs workout before,I will look deeper into that.thankyou so very much

[elastigirl]

day 3 - success

37 days to go

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Yay, keep up the great work!

[elastigirl]

day 4 - 36 days to go

here I am on day four,chugging along.already there has been such a change in my body.my friend commented yesterday that I look slimmer.
my waist has gone from a 34inch to 36 inch,and I am just in my first week!
and whats more,I am feeling so very much better,alott more energy and I am realy enjoying eating.

today I decided to turn my kitchen into our family cafeI spend so much time in there preparing meals and such

heres to today!!thankx again for your support,much much appreciated.

[Amandaaa]

I am feeling so very much better,alott more energy and I am realy enjoying eating.

that's good to hear

[Niki]

Hey !

I'm doing the same thing as you. It's great to feel better and loose weight at the same time!

You are doing FANTASTIC. Keep it up !!

[Uplift]

Yeh, awesome, and an awesome experience for your kids too. Good on ya!

[elastigirl]

wow Niki,you doing same...thats great!!!

amanda and uplift,thankyou for your encouragement.



my little ones party tomorrow.but I am prepared!

[elastigirl]

day 5 - 35 days to go

ok,well here I am on day 5.
today I will have an all salad day,bit of a detox day as thats what I feel like doing

then I will have a nice food combined dinner....mmmm

[elastigirl]

Day one - 39 days to go

I messed up at my sons party..oh dear..here I start again!!

[C33]

You already know what to do, and you know it works, so you are already back on tracks to positive change!

I have just started Callanetics again today. I have had eye surgery and had to stay in the hospital for 4 days, staring at the ceiling, in order to heal. It was not all bad since it gave me time to think and to refine my goals. One of them is to get the body of my dreams!

My body needs to muscle up and Callanetics is the best exercise I have ever found for that. I lost 24 pounds last year, I dieted, exercised almost daily, and have only gained back one pound. ( due to immobility at the hospital ).

Bellydancing is so wonderful. The video you put on UTube is very inspiring. I own a great video that is super challenging ( for me, anyway, because I don't take bellydancing classes) it's bellydance by Ariellah. I can also recommend the Bhangra Workout by Sarina Jain ( hip hop, DVD 2 in the series). It is great for someone who doesn't like regular aerobics and loves Indian music and dancing.

I wish you the best of luck on reaching your goal. Keep us informed on your progress! It's always so great to see others succeed.

Originally Posted by elastigirl

well yesterday I went off track...oops!!!
so I am exited to be here with a new approach.

my fit for life menu is 40 days so,today I start day one.
my goal

* stay on 40 day plan for 40 days!
* food plan each day


my reward is a beautiful,amazing,healthy fit body,to know how that feels...to be able to wear all those size 8's I bought,I am very very exited!

theres my sons birthday on saturday,I see it as an oppurtunity to practise my strength when it comes to staying with my goal

so,here we are...fit for life

DAY ONE - 39 DAYS TO GO

I am getting stronger by the day
I lovingly welcome success into my life

ok,time for me to start ''feel the fear and do it anyway''

see ya later!!

[elastigirl]

firstly,thankyou to eahc of you supporting me.
now I take a look at why I messed up...I started day one today.I have taken a new approach.you see where I went wrong,I stopped meal planning...BIG MISTAKE!!!so I got myself a note book,that I put my bed with my fit for life book.and before I start the day,or do anything I have to sit on my bed in the morning and make up my meal plan for the enitire beautiful day.
it feels good,it works,and its a way of doing it that I havnt tried before.

and I did the same with my mental preparation,I excercise physically and spiritually each morning,so surely I need to excercise my mind too!silly silly me.so I did my morning questions too this morning,and made a choice of what person I need to be in order to achieve and believe.

it has made a huge difference.
now I will keep it consistant.

[elastigirl]

day 2
39 days to go
............................



yesterday me and my friend started this together.thats even better for me,as i will not let my friend down.and she is the same with me.

yesterday was great,I was a bit tired in places and had to fend off cravings for silly foods.feeling much stronger today.

[elastigirl]

how to beat self sabotage

[MmeIntentional]

Hi Elastigirl,

Just wanted to say good luck with it all I'm, also working on my 6 pack. Getting it back in shape, that is.

I know things like soda drinks, beer, cold foods like carrots and IBS can make your belly look plump. The thing is that you need to burn it of by doing running or walking for at least 1 hour + do as many sit ups until you are in pain. I was told this by a friend who is a keepfit instructor.

I do about 200 situps each time and do side stretches to keep my love handles at bay and leg raises for lower abdominals. I will then to the same workout twice in the as from next week.

You may find this link helpfulhttp://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/M...#anchor7441959

I've got to do a workout today but I really need to go off and have my nap first.. as I feel dead.

[elastigirl]

thankx for that.
I am excercising alott,my cardio is dance.

I will keep all that info in mind,thankx so much
hope your nap weas energising.



I am success
I breath success
I am focused with strength
my dream is strong

[NotesMaeve]

You know, elasti, something I have found that really kills my craving for sweets, especially donuts, is a toasted whole wheat english muffin with flaxseed butter and apple butter. It's delicious and very filling.

The way I see it though, there's no need to "restart" or "punish" every time you have a piece of birthday cake. I think before you eat something, it's important to ask:

1) Do I really want this? - So often we're just eating to eat, because it's noon and the guys at work are making a McDonald's run. I've learned through time although it's incredibly sweet they think of me to offer, that it's worth 15 minutes out of my day to go to Quizno's or Subway and get a veggie sub without cheese.

2) Is this "the best?" - I never eat anything that isn't delicious. Doesn't mean I'm a food snob. Sometimes with office supplies we get free cookies (Mrs. Fields). It was a great pleasure to me to eat six of those little mini cookies, loaded with preservatives and other crap. I could have beaten myself up, but instead I enjoyed the cookies, skipped lunch, and had a nutritious dinner. It's easiest for me if I correct "unhealthy" behaviors right then, in the midst of the behavior. I could have gone on eating cookies, but I was full. I could have had lunch, but frankly, I'd had enough to eat and could just bank on a healthy dinner of whole wheat bread and eggplant parmesan. I don't regret eating cookies for lunch or view it as a setback, but just a necessary switchup in routine from a healthy lunch!

[rbhambha]

Elasti,

Congrats on taking control of this area of your life.

Losing fat in the abs area is the hardest thing to do, I think for both men and women. I've done a lot of research on the subject, and the only real way to get the flat stomach you desire is through consistent cardio, weight training, and eating properly.

I think it's essential to monitor your body composition, and make sure it's not lean mass (water weight, muscle, bone mass, etc.) you're burning off. To do this you should get a body fat caliper, or get tested at your gym regularly.

In order to eat properly, make sure you're getting enough calories to compensate for the calories burned with your new exercise program. If you aren't getting enough calories, your metabolism will slow down to compensate for this, and the LAST thing you will lose is fat. Your body will begin to eat muscle for energy because it is metabolic (burns fat), and that's the last thing it wants to do if you're not eating enough! So make sure you're monitoring your calorie intake and getting your daily needs.

I really do recommend doing cardio before you eat anything in the morning. The reason for this is because your body is in a fasted state, and you will burn up to 300% fat in a workout prior to eating breakfast, than after eating you're first meal. Try it out, it will kick start your metabolism, and it'll give you an "afterburn" effect that keeps burning calories throughout the day.

Weight training is essential so that you don't lose muscle when you're exercising. Make sure you're doing regular weight training (at least 3 days a week) to make sure muscle mass isn't loss. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism, and you don't want to slow down your metabolism because it's helping you burn fat!

Make sure you integrate all three, nutrition, cardio, and weights, and you'll be amazed at how fast you burn the fat. Also, make sure you're drinking at least 100 oz of water a day. The reason for this is that water helps your kidneys do their jobs (process urea, salt, and other waste products). If you aren't hydrated, your kidneys will need help from your liver. Your livers job is to process the fat you're burning throughout the day (amongst other things), so how can it do this if it's helping your kidneys out? It can't! Make sure you're drinking enough water.

I hope this helps. I've been on this plan for 12 weeks now and I've lost 6% body fat, lost 15 pounds, and actually gained some muscle mass (back from when I used to workout regularly.

Good luck to you!

[MmeIntentional]

Originally Posted by rbhambha

Elasti,
I really do recommend doing cardio before you eat anything in the morning. The reason for this is because your body is in a fasted state, and you will burn up to 300% fat in a workout prior to eating breakfast, than after eating you're first meal. Try it out, it will kick start your metabolism, and it'll give you an "afterburn" effect that keeps burning calories throughout the day.

So true! I used to be one of those early morning gym freaks at 6am a few years back. I never had anything apart from half a bar of choc before working out. I work out a little later these days but no longer go to the gym because of the later opening hours. For some reason I'm no good a working out after 9.30am.

This is given a kick start to get back into things so I will set my alarm for 6am for tomorrow

[elastigirl]

ok,i will set my alarm for 6am and have a good dance session..thankx for the tips and advice.

i must stress though i dont weight train.i have nothing against it,its just not the path i have chosen.

I am very happy with yoga,callanetics and dance for the time being,its what works for me

i rewarded myself today for getting to day 3,some funky yarn(i love to crochet!) and some nice bubble bath.

me and my friends are organising a pamper day on saturday..yey!!!

love to all

amanda
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[elastigirl]

well here we are,another day to get closer to my goal.
I am looking forward to having bubble and squeak this afternoon with a yummy salad!!mmm foooood.!!!!!!

must have a look and decide what to do for tea...

time to meal plan!

[elastigirl]

all went great yesterday .
today is a soup and water day...mmmm!

i didnt fit in callanetics yesterda ,I will have a big chunk of excercise and dance this evening.

the positive thinker sees the latent energy in the beginning something.and in therefore taking personal responsibility for changing our circumstances for the better
-douglas miller


I have one pair of trousers that fit!others are either too large as I just got slimmer,and the others are ready for me to fit into.

today I am going to focus on visualisation,I am going to do lots of drawing and take every oppurtunity to take positive steps towards my dream...

with each day I am:

* more and more commited to making my dreams come true
* commited to being a great mother and loving my children every way I can.
* i live with passion
* I am grateful

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Awesome. It's very inspiring to see your great attitude and your progress. Keep up the great work.

[cdn2wheeler]

Hi there elastigirl. To my shame, I haven't been following your progress for a while, but I did want to say that I trust you're having success, and I wish and hope for your continued progress!

[elastigirl]

thankyou so very much,every bit of your support makes a huge difference to me..it makes me believe and achieve

thankyou

[The Adventurer]

excellent work elastic! with this attitude you are bound to succeed! in many ways you already have

one suggestion - if you fell fit enough you can add to your program a very effective exercise method that takes just 4 minutes. it is called tabata, you can look up information about it on the internet. it is very demanding, but the results are also amazing - everyone i know who has tried it agrees.

in short tabata intervals consist of doing an exercise for 20 seconds with maximum speed or as many repetitions as you can, followed by 10 second rest - for about 8 invervals total. sounds simple but even the easiest exercises become very very hard.

[elastigirl]

ooh thaht tabata sounds very satiusfying..I will go and check that out right now,thanking you muchly

excercise your will power

[demk]

Don't do dieting the hard way. check out the shangri-la diet. It has worked wonders for me. I have used it recently and I lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks.

It was invented by this guy and you can get most of the info on this site without buying the book. I got enough to lose weight anyway... Seth Roberts and The Shangri-La Diet

Basically, you drink sugar water or tastless oil such as canolla oil and it tricks your mind into reducing your appetite. The inventor gives an evolutionary explanation for why it works. As we were evolving and food was scarce we needed to reduce our appetites to stop us from eating the food we had, and in times of abundance we needed to have a high appetite to build up food resources as fat. the way the brain knows what level to set your appetite at is through the amount of tastes you consistently take in. for example, if you eat something and then eat it again several times over the course of a few days it tells your mind there is an abundance of that particular food in your environment and increases your appetite to build up fat reserves. Taking in energy without triggering your taste has the effect of lowering your appetite by bypassing the trigger in your brain that controls your hunger and effectively making your brain think there is less food around(sugar water does this for some reason - my explanation is that pure sugar was rare as we were evolving and therefore it would be unhelpful to raises your hunger levels for something that wasnt on the menu more than was a few months or so).

It works really well for me...