belly fat - my struggle - long winded

FYI, forgot to mention I'm 30 years old.

@flying: Thanks! Kudos to you and congrats on your kids, I bet they are a wonderful part of your life. I can only imagine how hard it is to fit in the time and have the willpower to stay healthy with a couple of little ones running around I hope to have kids some day. Not at that level with my boyfriend yet, so I want to use my kid-free time getting my habits sorted out.

@rchi: I hear ya! People look at me and think I look great, but I'm comparing myself to me and my history. That looking great isn't that great for me, its just average. If I was stronger, more tone and eating better I'd probably get to a size 6 pants and look great for my frame and body structure. When I've been a steady 8 my parents get all concerned. Its annoying. I'm doing it slow and steady with deit and exersice, not doing a hard core restricitive diet and too much exercise. This week I decided to start focusing on eating more protein and increasing my calories to 1500. I think I need it to help recover from exercising and the new muscles I'm getting.



My parents and brother are all obese - like 60-100 lbs obese. They all have the same struggle with yo-yo'ing, just on a larger fluxuation. My parents have been obese since I was very young, but pictures from their college days show them in really good shape. I think growing up in my family is why I've always tried to stay active and eat well. I don't want to get big like them.

I'm in a good spot compared to many people, I heard the average size for a women in the US is 14. If I can be inactive with an okay diet and be a size 12 then I am lucky (and grateful) that I am already under average. The thing is, I don't want to be just under the status quo average in a nation that is known for its high obesity rates. Conceited much? Yeah, for sure. But I beleive it is reasonable for me to aim at getting rid of some of that belly.

I'm 30 years old now and noticed over the last 5 years that my body isn't what it was, that I have to try harder, and at the same time be more gentle with myself. I can't train up to my previous levels of activity as fast, I get sore and stiff and need a solid 36hours to three days to recover after most of my cardio and strength sesions. I do 20mins to 50mins in those sessions on the days I exercise. Though I have done some long bike rides and rollerblading ~2hours, but that's rare - like a couple times a year. Listening to my body means that I only workout 2x or 3x a week so I have enough recovery time inbetween. So much info out there says 4-5x a week for weight loss. I figure it'll just be a slower process for me. I'm moving more than before and that's what really matters. I actually like exercising. I feel good while I'm doing it and afterwards too, not sure that its the runners high effect, but whatever it is I like it. Its frustrating that I need so much recovery time. I want to workout more, but I don't want to get injured and I don't want to feel sore and stiff all the time.

Any suggestions on improving willpower? I'm pretty good at being aware before I eat something. I know I didn't need to eat all those fun size candy bars at work yesterday around 4pm, or the 1.5 Lindt milk chocolate truffles last night at 9:30pm. I stopped myself as I reached for them, thought to myself - No - And then chose to eat them anyway. That's the scenerio that wears on me. I know what to do, I even catch the opportunity to make the choice, but I consistently choose to fulfill that whiney voice inside that crys out "i don't wanna" - picture a little kid having a tantrum. When will I grow up and do what needs to be done?

@sharesb Good luck! that's the same tactic I'm going to try.


MFP auto-calculates me to 1200 calories but I know its too low for me. Some of the tracking on here isn't helpful for those of us who are focusing on getting lean. Leanness is better achieved with muscle and muslce weighs more. I'm pretty sure keeping that muslce requires more protein then I've been getting and probably requires more calories overall. I looked really good at 150 when I was in college, but that's because I had a lot more muscle. At 150 now I'm not looking as hot.

Any bodybuilder types out want to weigh in on that?