Finally dialing down on the food part

madpiratebippy

Hey there, I've been stalled in my weight loss for a long time (over a year, I think) and I'm finally dialing down my diet by tracking everything, which I've never done before. Top weight was in the 320+ range, currently at 240, goal about 180. I'm a 5'9 woman but have massive bone structure (I have to wear men's EE shoes and can't find women's bracelets to fit my dinosaur wrists- I'm big boned but I'm also fat!), and I like to have a bit more muscle on my frame because being able to lift heavy things is useful.

Currently for my workouts I swing kettlebells. Lots of swings. I'm hoping to get to 1,000 swings a day. I've seen huge changes in my booty and in the density of my muscles, but not a thing from the scale. I started tracking measurements yesterday, I'll take them again in two weeks and see if what's happening isn't adding muscle at the same rate I'm dropping fat. None of my pants really fit anymore- they're all getting loose, but it's always nice when the scale AND the pants both move in the same direction.

Nice to meet y'all!

vivmom2014

OK, I had to google a kettlebell swing. Wow - that's amazing that you're looking to get 1,000 swings a day. Congratulations!

I hear you on scale frustration; you know to stick with your calorie deficit and press on. The fact that your clothes are getting loose is great motivation.

I want a kettlebell now. I have recently added resistance bands to my cardio workouts, and I use (small) hand weights. Any kettlebell recommendations or buying guidelines?

madpiratebippy

vivmom2014 wrote: »

I want a kettlebell now. I have recently added resistance bands to my cardio workouts, and I use (small) hand weights. Any kettlebell recommendations or buying guidelines?

They are pretty amazing tools. I'd suggest that you check out Tracy Reifkind's stuff- it's really excellent for people who are just getting started with kettlebells. If you want some more advanced KB stuff, a guy by the name of Pavel Tsatsuline is a great place to go.

If you can, I'd say go to a gym that has a few and check them out. An 8 kilo is usually a good starting weight for a woman, or a 16 kilo, but without knowing your athletic history I couldn't tell you more than to try those and see how they work for you!

I got mine ages ago from Dragondoor, but I also picked up one from Walmart- the golds gym brand- and am going to buy one from Onnit as soon as possible.

I hope that's helpful! KB swings burn fat like crazy, make you strong but lean (you have to do wonky stuff to get muscle growth, so they're perfect if you want the sleek look), and are a ton of fun.