on my fitness regime

[Leigh 87]

I am about 5 ' 5 and 119 - 121 lbs. My goal is to be about 116 lbs.

 

I have DD breasts and am hour glass with a bubble butt ( so not flat).

 

Obviously, some of my weight is in my chest and butt, so my over all weight can never be super low again, like 110, cos my breasts and butt account for some weight; when I was 110, my breasts accounted for wweight, and the rest of me probably about 105. It is unhealthy for a curvy women to be super low, to the same extent as a women with smaller breasts and a boyish figure.

 

Current routine: Tracey Anderson Mat workout 6 days a week. It keeps body in good enough condition to be above average.

 

However, average is fat these days, and I have room for improvement.

 

I'd like to hear from people with simialr goals, and see how they r managing it; do you count calories? any other more specific goals other than to lose weight?

 

I want to be 116 cos it is the ideal, slimmest weight that looks good for my body type. And most women tend to want to be close to the best condition possible ( short of resorting to excessive exercise and pain just to gettheir ideal figure).

 

I am not willing to go through too much pain to get my ideal figure, however, I am willing to make the commitment to diet and ex ercise and do it consistently.

 

I feel that I can find different kinds of exercises that i like and inject variety so my body dos not get too used to sanything. I will try and do ONE new sport or physically activity per week, in addition to my regular routine.

 

GOALS: Stick to Traceys matt workout and add:

 

Two akido, martial art sessions per week ( something I want to do for life)

 

running once per week ( will increase if I like it and improve)

 

the program a trainer at the gym gave me ( although we ended up being more interested in each others bodies and did not fully concentrate on the routine he set for me).

 

ONE new activity per week. It can be going rock climbing, or doing an interval training cardio session on the cross trainer. Whatever.

 

SO: I have Tracey, 2 martial art lessons, running once per week, gym program once per week, and NEW ACTIVITY once per week.

 

I do not like heavy weights, so do not recommend them please; I know they could benifit me, but I am not comfortable with being any more developed, in the way weights make me. I KNOW they do not add bulk, but I prefer to be softer.

 

I am hoping that Hokie, or another person who appears to know a lot about attaining good physical fitness, can be of some assistance.

[tman666]

Well, since you refuse to lift heavy weights, then I would recommend doing a couple of high intensity interval training sessions per week. If it were me, this would be in the form of hill sprints, sled sprints, car pushes, or bodyweight complexes.

 

Unless you want to spend hours and hours doing lower intensity cardio, explosive movements such as the ones listed above are your best bet.

[Leigh 87]

It annoys me how people think you need to lift heavy weights in order to attain your BEST figure; some body types look their BEST, WITHOUT heavy weights.

 

Some people simply do not look their best withheavy weights. SOme women have a tendency to look masculine, due to a masculine face and features; they look bad with muscle definition, and instead look better with a softer, dancers body.

 

A lot of women look their best withheavy weights, but I am not one of them.

 

I do not like long sessions of low intensity cardio - not unless it is a walk or hike with friends for a social activity; I DEFINITLY agree that shorter bursts of interval training is the way to go!

 

I will be adding one session of high intensity interval training.

 

I find that I am even looking good by simply doing Tracey Andersons matt dvd, and only eating as much as my body needs, and in clean foods with no sugar or artificial chemicals.

 

I could fine tune things, but I am in my comfrtable and ideal range - just not 100% there. Prob asbout 80% of the way. Which means I still feel good in short shorts and tight clothes. I have not let myself go or anything!

 

I find that although my fitness regime is nto optimal, I am still consistently doing pilates or/and Traceys matt dance style workout every day; and doing something every day, even if it is not an ideal routine, is sstill good enogh to garner reasonable results from my experience.

 

It is good knowing that since I already feel good about my body now, of the potential I ahve if I simply add other things outside of the Tracey Anderson DVD 6 days per week plus walking.

 

Things may not get hugely better, but small changes to mny health, in addition to physical appearance is a bonus. Small improvements would feel great.

[USMCHokie]

It annoys me how people think you need to lift heavy weights in order to attain your BEST figure; some body types look their BEST, WITHOUT heavy weights.

 

Some people simply do not look their best withheavy weights. SOme women have a tendency to look masculine, due to a masculine face and features; they look bad with muscle definition, and instead look better with a softer, dancers body.

 

False. Everyone can benefit from weight training. Lifting heavy weights will not instantly make you masculine. There are MANY other factors involved, including diet/nutrition, genetics, and your specific training routines. It will take years for an average woman to look remotely close to what you think of as the "masculine" weight training female.

 

 

A lot of women look their best withheavy weights, but I am not one of them.

 

Laziness in this one, I sense.

[Star Gazer]

Aren't you a trainer, OP? Why are you asking lay people for advice on this subject?

 

To go from 119 to 116, I imagine your focus should be on diet.

[tman666]

Aren't you a trainer, OP? Why are you asking lay people for advice on this subject?

 

Because having "credentials" in the fitness industry is not necessarily mutually exclusive with actually knowing anything. Some certifications are very simple to obtain. For example: Crossfit certs (kidding kidding ).

 

Seriously though, being a trainer doesn't mean jack. If this stuff were the kind of thing that could be condensed into one encyclopedia type reference that had universal application, everyone would buy the book, do the recipe, and be a bunch of ripped, strong, fast super humans. Unfortunately, it seems that the majority of so called trainers take this approach.

[melodymatters]

I hesitate to post this as I fear you are a woman who doesn't respond well to other woman OR criticism.

 

In EVERY single post you have described your measurements and your breasts and buttocks. Really, each thread is just slightly different, but they ALL seem to be seeking external validation from strangers who can't even see you !!!!

 

If you need this that badly, just dress scantily and head to your nearest beach and or bar.

 

Asking a bunch of strangers for help in a way that is basically screaming for compliments isn't helping you or anyone. For all WE know you're 600 lbs. If this is an eating disorder in recovery, I'd hate to see an active one. ( I once, years ago, was hospitalized at 71 lbs, so I know from whence I speak)

 

Lets talk about your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams.....or at least put your measurements into your stats or sig line, so you don't have to start every post describing how you fit some perfect physical ideal.

[Leigh 87]

I totally agree that I should be focusing on my aspirations in life, and my goal of this post is to get feedback that will make me a better trainer.

 

And yes - I am a personal trainer, but I quit working as one because i felt I needed to recover from my eating disorder before I was in a healthy enough place to want OTHERS to emulate me.

 

Sorry to mention my measuremets so much - I do respond well to critazism, and I agree that it is not constructive or helpful to any one for me to constantly post my measurements.

 

I obviously want people to say " yes you sound like you are a grat weight" When what I SHOULD be doing, is improving myself and working on my life, so that I do not HAVE to need strangers to validate my weight.

 

And it is true that having a personal trainer certificate does not make on a good trainer - I have not trained in years and need to brush up on my skills - I can be a good trainer if I put the work in, and I am in the process of doing it.

 

I know my market at least - women and teens. I am seeing a psychologist about my eating disorder, and I have already gained to a healthy weight on my own without any professional help.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I feel that I if I work at it, that I can use this advice for the best.

[2sunny]

I totally agree that I should be focusing on my aspirations in life, and my goal of this post is to get feedback that will make me a better trainer.

 

And yes - I am a personal trainer, but I quit working as one because i felt I needed to recover from my eating disorder before I was in a healthy enough place to want OTHERS to emulate me.

 

Sorry to mention my measuremets so much - I do respond well to critazism, and I agree that it is not constructive or helpful to any one for me to constantly post my measurements.

 

I obviously want people to say " yes you sound like you are a grat weight" When what I SHOULD be doing, is improving myself and working on my life, so that I do not HAVE to need strangers to validate my weight.

 

And it is true that having a personal trainer certificate does not make on a good trainer - I have not trained in years and need to brush up on my skills - I can be a good trainer if I put the work in, and I am in the process of doing it.

 

I know my market at least - women and teens. I am seeing a psychologist about my eating disorder, and I have already gained to a healthy weight on my own without any professional help.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I feel that I if I work at it, that I can use this advice for the best.

 

i'd stick to the weight you currently have. then get a job at a club as a personal trainer. in your other thread you stated you need work - this is a way to do both the workout and get paid at the same time.

 

do not lose more weight... i am similar to your body style (although 2" taller) and i look sick if i even lose 3 pounds. i work hard to keep my weight on and stay strong with good muscle tone.

 

looking healthy, feeling strong and eating right is where it's at.

[Mme. Chaucer]

I am seeing a psychologist about my eating disorder, and I have already gained to a healthy weight on my own without any professional help.

 

 

I question the healthiness of a person who is struggling with, or recently conquered an eating disorder to be wanting to lose weight. 119 at 5'5" is quite slender, especially if you have muscle.

 

Are you sure your eating disorder is behind you? How did you get past that on your own?

[Leigh 87]

STAR GAZER - I consider lay people to actually be quiet knowledgable in terms of what they can teach me - I like to know what gets good results in every day people, as this could help me too ( in both helping myself and others). It is good to hear what works and what doesn't. I have a fair idea of what I personally need to do, I just have nto really pushed myself laterly, although I naturally keep myself in an acceptable level for me.

 

And yes, physically my ED is behind me. I have nto restricted or under eaten in years. I am inj no danger of relapsing, after my ED I have actually become AVERSE to restriction; I literally cannot under eat, even for one day.

 

However, I am still dealing with the psychological remefications of my eating disorder. I never got help until very recently. I got anorexia when I was 18, briefly, although I only got down to about 90 lbs ( 42 kilo's) at 5 ' 5. Although I was anorexic.

 

I recovered physically, because I didn't want to die so I ate. I had no idea how much I needed, I just ate a lot until I looked normal again. I relapsed initially, about twice, but ended up develping binge eating disorder too.

 

I had maintained 110 - 114 lbs for the past 2 years, looked healthy, and maintained my weight by eating 1600, often more, calories ( and I binged often without compensating for it.

 

Although I was able to maintain 114 or less lbs through eating the recommendd amounts, and I looked reletivaly healthy, I recnetly decided to gain more weight.

 

About 3 months ago, I decided to gain to 120 lbs at 5 ' 6. I grew an inch since my first anorexia. I ate 2500 calories a day, and found out what the experts were saying, through talking to anorexics online.

 

I felt that 114 or less gave my no protection when I fell ill; times I got food poisoning and lost lots of fluid, I felt SO fragile, and dropped to 107 or thereabouts.

 

I could nto AFFORD to lose any weight at 110 - 114 lbs, which is why I gained to 120. It is no big deal- since people have cancer and real hardships. But to me, there was a time where I would have literally rather died that weigh over 114 lbs.

 

As you can see, Ihave dealt with bogy image related issues, and am now in a place where I am simply aiming for health. I have a strong desire to help other people over come their own eating disorders, and also help people WITHOUT eating disorders, who simply want to improve their self esteem.

 

Right now I feel great about my body and am very thankful to be healthy and not have anything wrong with me, physically. Like every one, I am always going to try to fine tune things, and try new things to see if they improve how I feel.

 

Althoguh I gained the weight on my own, I have recently started seeing a psychologist, and I am about to start seeing an ED specialist.

 

I am physically recovered - in that I am my old, PRE ED weight and look and feel healthy; I also have not had issues with under eating for some time now.

 

 

My current fitness regieme of using Tracey Andersons matt workout is working well for me 6 days a weel, but I DO need to start adding new things, such as high intensity interval once per week, and martial arts once or twice per week.

 

I am only looking to really add 3 additional days to my current routine; 2 martial art days, and one day of something new each week; be it running or intervals or rock climbing.

 

 

I do not NEED to lose any weight. it is a vanity thing. 53 kilo's is my " prime" and " hottest" weight - YOU know what I mean; the weight at which you are the slimmest you can be, whilst still having room to s[pare if you fall illa nd lose weight.

 

Loosing the weight is not a top priority right now - ramping up my fitness routine is, because if I want to be able to gudie others, I need to not only work on my own posychological issues, but I need to work on my own fitness, so rthat others will want to emulate me.

 

So far, there have been a few positive comments from people such as " you can tell you are a trainer" or " you just have a healthy look to you". I am slim, but by no means skinny.

 

I guess I know what I need to do, I just would enjoy hearing feedback about what works for other people.

 

SOme women like spin and do weights 2 - 2 days and the few who can afford it use a PT; where as other women do far less

 

I love just hearing about what different women do. Remember, I am going to train women, not men.

[Kamille]

Being healthy is not a look. Being healthy is a physical condition. Being healthy is also a mentality. Your focus on how your body looks and your obsession about losing 5 pounds when you are at a healthy weight already makes me doubt that you are fully recovered from your ED. You have a lot of the right pieces: you know you have to eat enough nutrients in order for your body to perform at its best. You know exercise will make you feel stronger. But you consistently present your exercise and diet goals as "I look better at 115 pounds". What I would like you to focus on is how your body feels. Do you feel energetic? Does your body feel strong? Do you have stores of energy that you can tap into? Can you trust your body to tell you what it needs? Do you listen to it? In other words, do you know when you feel satiated? Can you identify cravings and why you have them?

 

See, once you start respecting your body, being 115 or 120 pounds won't matter so much. I suspect you want to be 115 pounds because you know it's the lowest possible weight that's considered healthy according to BMI calculators, not because it's what feels good, energetic, strong and healthy for your body.

 

People are telling you you look healthy at your current weight. Why don't you listen to them and rejoice in being healthy? What if 120 pounds is the best weight for you?

 

Did you watch America's next top model last week? In it, a candidate was disqualified because she calorie-counted herself to maintain what she considered to be her "ideal weight". The judges said she was too skinny for modeling! She did, in all honesty, look painfully skinny. My point is, she didn't see it. I'm not sure you see your own body appropriately either.

 

I'm not sure you look better and hotter at your "vanity weight". I think this "vanity weight" ideal is a remnant of your ED. Calorie-counting, dieting and losing weight make you feel in control of an aspect of your life. You could rejoice in your current body, but you instead choose to think that your "perfect body" is at another weight because dieting makes you feel in control, not because your body is healthier at 115 pounds. You say yourself your immune system starts to struggle at 114 pounds. So... really, you want to give yourself a one pound buffer? I'm glad you will start seeing an ED specialist because, as someone who's also had a mild struggle with anorexia as a teenager, I can tell you: you're not over it yet.

[Leigh 87]

I never professed to be over my ED. In fact, I think it can be a mentality that many people live with. It may never go away. But I have learnt to live and manage my ED, at a level where I can look and feel great, and live a normal life/do normal things.

 

Of course my priorities are to look AND feel my best; I want to just do the right thing, have a healthy diet and exercise plan, and looking good is simply a result of doing what is best for me.

 

Weather I can be at my healthiest at 120 or 115 lbs is not in my control. for once, I am going to let my body dictate what is apprioriate for me.

 

In retrospect, I will NOT actively lose weight. I have no reason to. Curvy gals with large breasts do not need to lose weight at 119 ish pbs at 5 ' 6; what people like me need to do, is focus on finding forms of physical activities that keep my healthy, and shape my body in a way that I desire.

 

My mentioning of wanting to be 115 lbs stems from my perfectionist personality, and my personal taste; look I am harsh and have high sdtandards for looks; I like fashion, I like models, and those slim, 100 - 115 lbs model typs that Adrien Grenier f*cks on entourage are my fantisy of what a hot body is.

 

On the other hand, I feel at peace with my body and I am mearly happy that it is healthy. I really feel so happy about the fact I have working legs. I may have a visual preferencde when it comes to fashion and asthetics, but it is what it is; my artistic side that enjoys looking at cirtain images.

 

I totally agree that it is unhealthy for a 119 lbs, curvy gal to feel a strong need to lose ANY weight. Although many women of trhis weight are simply misinformed; they do no toning work like squats, lunges, and the like, and as a result some 120 or less lbs women or 5 '5 CAN have flabby parts.

 

I never felt a strong urge to lose weight from where I am; I have always been happy with my weight, wanting to lose is just fine tuning things, and really is not something I NEED to do lol.

 

For my own fulfillment though, I am going to try to increase my fitness and health. Working with a psychologist will also instill some good coping mechanisms I can use, so that my tendency to want to lose weight to compensate for my other shortcommings can be dealt with.

 

For me, the need to be skinny is simply a means of self harm;if iI screw up or feel worthless, I do not feel worthy of eating. Fortunately, this seldom occurs, where I am in such a predicament. For now, it is only a tendency that could be re activated if the situation presents itself.

 

I have no desire to LOOK thinner than what my body naturally is, though. I am blessed with a nice shaped body, and i am also at a point where I like myself enough to not NEED to be skinny to compensate for who I am; I already feel food enough.

 

I looked at some great at home execises on UTUBE. HONESTLY: these moves would definitly be enough to keep my body in great shape....

 

Does it surprise some people to knwo that some women do not need weights to reach their goals?

[Leigh 87]

I've decided that trying to lose weight is not something I should consider. I look and feel healthy now, and know I am a slim weight for MY body type.

 

If I cannot accept myself when I am toned and slim at 118 - 120 lbs, then I need to work with my therapist. Besides, I like the way my body looks at this weight, and there are far more important physical goals I should look at, as a trainer; improving my fitness and reaching new goals far surpass any benifits from loosing a bloody kilo. LOL.

 

The anorexic in me will always like to lose a little, as thinner will always correlate to " better" on some irrational level; but that is all it is, a mental problem that I have control over if I put my mind to it and commit to therapy.

[Kamille]

I've decided that trying to lose weight is not something I should consider. I look and feel healthy now, and know I am a slim weight for MY body type.

 

If I cannot accept myself when I am toned and slim at 118 - 120 lbs, then I need to work with my therapist. Besides, I like the way my body looks at this weight, and there are far more important physical goals I should look at, as a trainer; improving my fitness and reaching new goals far surpass any benifits from loosing a bloody kilo. LOL.

 

The anorexic in me will always like to lose a little, as thinner will always correlate to " better" on some irrational level; but that is all it is, a mental problem that I have control over if I put my mind to it and commit to therapy.

 

Wow! I'm very glad to see you set your priority on enjoying being healthy! It's also good that you can recognize the "anorexic voice" when it acts up.