not-that-heavy girls trying to lose weight

I am definitely in this category...I'm 5'4" and currently weigh 138-140lbs (depending on the day) and I've just now thrown myself back into the workout/calorie counting routine. I got a little too cocky once I hit maintenance mode and just slacked on the exercise and ate whatever I wanted, and I gained back almost 10 pounds! Eeek!

I definitely know how you all feel, everyone is always telling me I look great and yada yada, but I WAS comfortably wearing size small tops, and now I'm comfortable mostly in mediums, so I'm ready to jump back on the wagon. I've started playing "Just Dance 2" for the Wii and find it burns a LOT of calories, so that has replaced a good portion of my cardio work at the gym, and I also attend aerobics and Zumba classes at my local gym to get myself out of the house. I'm about to start on the strength training, can anyone recommend some really excellent moves to tone the upper body? My arms are getting better, but I've got that back bulge and UGH!

Tonight at Midnight starts a month of one of the best workouts I do every spring. Winter Carnival! My school builds snow statues for a month, and I'm talking like 2 story high! Shoveling snow, hauling buckets, stomping slush to create blocks. Such a good workout!

I also fit in this category. 5'4 currently 133. Would like to get to the 120-125 range. I'm just recently really getting started, hope I can stay motivated! My family (on mothers side) are all very large - I am no where near skin and bones, but my family seems to always think I need fattening up... very frustrating.

HI ALL! also glad to see this thread. 5'5 150, wanna be about 140-145 and just a little more cut and toned!!

Hey everyone! I've had the MFP app for my iPhone since mid-December but this is my first time on the message boards. I'm 5'2" and when I step on the scale it reads anywhere from 104 to 112 (today arount 7pm est it was 109), depending on the time of day or month. I know that some are going to say that it's on the low end of my BMI range but I've been in this weight range since late-2008 and a few months ago, I went into this thing called a bod pod, that gives you an analysis of your body composition and my body fat percentage wasn't even remotely close to what you'd expect it to be for someone at my weight. I've always been very busty for my size, so I did take that into consideration but I also know that I need to reduce my body fat; the number on the scale may be "low" but it's fluff, not muscle.

Way past girlhood, but want to get to 140!


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Evening Ladies.

Hope everyone is meeting their weight loss and exercise goals so far.
I decided I probably should set some goals so -

1) Lose 10lbs by 31st January.
2) 24 hours of Exercise by then end of January.

Lost 4lbs today and have done 7 hours of exercise so far this month.

Good luck this week everyone.

Tonight at Midnight starts a month of one of the best workouts I do every spring. Winter Carnival! My school builds snow statues for a month, and I'm talking like 2 story high! Shoveling snow, hauling buckets, stomping slush to create blocks. Such a good workout!

That sounds fun!! I love building things in the snow!!

It depends on the day. Midnight last night was fun. It'll get worse as the month goes on and it's effin' cold and there's not much movement stuff left, more like sitting on your butt putting slush into a shape.

Hi Everyone, I am a newbie! I like this post so I am just going to jump in. I am 5'1" (with my shoes on lol) and I want to lose 10 lbs to get to 135 lbs. I want to keep my curves but tone them up a bit. I have a tummy that doesn't look good at all. (3 children) I would appreciate the support.

hello ladies!
I just tried hummus for the first time. I didnt think I'd like but I found this roasted red pepper one from safeway (30 cals for 2 tbsp) and YUM!!! pretty tasty. I put it on 2 pieces of wasa light rye crackers.
just wondering what everyone else eats their hummus with??

I'd been on a break after losing a little over 20 pounds. I've got about 10 to 15 pounds left to lose and am getting back into the swing of things.

Wow, welcome to all the newcomers!

moriyaj, you're scaring me. I have been thinking the difference in maintenance calories between my current and goal weights were so small it wouldn't be hard to maintain. What is your plan for not boinging again, ie lifestyle changes?

rachmaree, you bring up a great point. Most of us on this thread should NOT be focusing on the scale, but rather body recomposition. We have to learn to let the scale go (myself included!)

lexisteps, how long did it take you to regain 10 pounds? For upper body and back, I would recommend 30 day shred highly. It toned my back and arms up a ton. Circuit training and training upper and lower body at the same time will give you the most bang for your buck. If not the shred then remember those principles and do full body training at least 3X a week. Try squats with shoulder raises, static lunges with tricep kickbacks, forward lunges with bicep curls, and supermans and back rows. Jillian's DVD offers this am more for like $10 and some 3-5lb weights

livingthegoodlife and others who have been told you need fattening up, the FUNNIEST thing happened in Jamaica. My husband (who is Jamaican) took me to some old wise man that gives you health advice. People travel for miles to see him. As soon as I sat down amongst the group, he was like, "hey, where did you come from? Let me see your hands - You are too meager (Jamaican for skinny). Take these vitamins and eat some food! Then he kept pausing and saying, "I hope the next time I see you you have some weight!" :laugh: Jamaicans usually like thicker women....

texaslonghorn, I wish you a speady recovery. Having to lose 15lbs is a small price for your life being spared. Now you can be one of those super-fit cancer survivors! Cheers to you and yours.

anjacope, I understand where you are coming from on the body recomp - you need to add muscle more than eliminate fat

maryrountree, since our stats are almost the same can you take me with you down to 112, where I've never been in my adult life??? :flowerforyou:

congrats on the weight loss eclairuk!!!

asjerven, at the tremendous risk of sounding like one of my family members, I can't play the violin for you. 1 pound from goal is like a bowel movement or a glass of water. You are at goal, girl! What's more important at this stage is how you look at feel!. Congrats, I'm very jealous.

jenjabbour, we are twins as usual. I am fighting my holiday pounds as well but still want 110-115. Some are going away, but not all - can you really regain fat THAT fast - dang!!! :grumble: I am also retreating from fast carbs (especially sugar) and trying to do mostly fruit, vegetables, and meat. This makes meeting my calorie goals a little hard. This week I am just going low carb, next week I will likely re-introduce ESE. The biggest change will be my training, it think - i will transition to mostly interval training and really pump up the intensity of my strength routines (I am sore all over from starting this already!). Did you read the slow carb book?

mccrawley22, one of my favorite things to do with hummus is use it as a dip for raw veggies. I will also use it on sandwiches instead of mayo. Try it, you'll love it!

Congrats, kimb529, you are so close!

ok, that was a long post, but I think a recurring themes for all of us are:

CLEAN UP THE DIET - severely limit refined foods like sugar, measure everything
FOCUS ON RECOMPOSITION - not the scale, let's all check our measurements and at least get a body fat estimate online if not invest in calipers. Add or increase the intensity of strength training
MAKE LONG TERM PLANS - how will we maintain the low body fat we're after? I learned that sugar is my pandora's box and am reading "sugar shock" to help me say goodbye. Maybe I'll only allow it once a week....

Other comments, suggestions for getting there? Should we do a challenge? I have Jillian Michael's Making the Cut, anyone interested in doing a 30 day challenge based off of that?

Thats awesome! I am in the same boat. How'd you go about it!? Keep up the good work!

cutmd, yes, we are twins! i didn't read the book, but i just did a bunch of internet research. today is day 1. i might have to hold off on ESE as well, i am finding that i'm hungry tonight. i have no idea what to eat right now because what i really want is something sweet and filling - some bread, some chocolate...LOL not Spinach or Eggs.... so my sweet tooth is going to be my enemy.

i plan on taking my measurements again after my TOM comes to an end. I don't want my results to be skewed from that. Do you know of any decent sites w/ body fat calculators? next month or so, the health fair will be coming to my work and i'll do my annual body fat using the hand-held one. i have been quite unhappy with the results in the past couple years, so I really hope to get satisfying results this time around.