just your typical college vegan chick...

[littlelight]

hey all, name's julie. i reside most of the time in ann arbor michigan where i attend college. i've been wanting to get back in shape for most of the summer, but i've struggled with it a lot and these boards have always helped me retain a focus on my goal as well as ask questions and find support so i don't feel like i'm the only vegan whose unhappy with their body!

right now, just one comment/whine: i've been lifting weights for the past 2 months, 2-3 times a week, as well as doing ab work at home, and i try to get my cardio in too. my diet has been sketchy, not great, but not horrible, however, i haven't lost a single pound. i need a way to jumpstart my weight loss, even if it's temporary because just seeing a little bit of a difference would be enough to motivate me to keep going and not give up! suggestions??? i'm considering fasting but it's unhealthy so i'd like a better answer than that :\

[Frostfire]

Hi Julie,
Ah, a fellow college student . Could you give more detail of what sort of routine you do for lifting? Also, more detail of what you eat would be helpful.

I would certainly NEVER recommend fasting for weight loss. That is mostly water weight and it will come right back and this is besides other health problems that could arise .

As for weight loss, how much are you trying to loose? I've always lived by that if you consume less calories you will loose weight, if you consume more you will gain. Now, if you are working out, are you sure that you just aren't gaining muscle weight? It is more accurate (I understand) to keep track of your body fat percentage than what a scale says.

Also, if your body shape has changed, but if the scale says the same, will you still be happy with yourself? 'Cause I noticed you mentioned that you were not happy with your body.

Anyway, long story short, more details!

[littlelight]

For lifting I alternate arms and legs every other day... I do 3 sets of 10-12 reps of about 6 different leg machines [inner hip, outer hip, quads, hams, etc] and 7 different arm/back ones [fly, rowing, tricep dips, etc]...

As for eating, my attempts to eat 1200 calories normally fail. I like to have a protein shake and veggie links for breakfast, a turkey/cheese [soy of course] sandwich or soup for lunch with fruit, some tofu or tempeh & veggie stir fry or a smartdog/burger & veggies for dinner, and another protein shake before i go to bed. that's on a good day, which i haven't had much of lately :\

i'm trying to lose 15-20 pounds. the lowest i've ever been at this height [a measly 5'2"!] was 113, and it's ideal but not likely. i gained 15 pounds at college [from 117 to 132] and now i'm stuck at 132, which is very heavy for my height. i'm pretty sure i'm not gaining muscle weight!

i would be delighted if my body shape changed while my weight remained the same, but neither has changed :\ i want my body that i had in highschool, but i achieved it through severe calorie restriction [like 6-800]and 2 hours a day of varsity sports, neither of which i have the time or desire to do now.

[Frostfire]

Geeze, 1200 calories is pretty light! Sounds like your diet is fine, I wouldn't go any lower with calories.

Okay, now for my next bit: you use machines? I'd recommend getting off them and using free weights. Ya, sort of drastic (for some), but more than worth it. If you do more compound lifts like squat, deadlift, bench etc. you will use more and bigger muscles and as well as your stabalizers which will burn more calories and build muscles that will then require MORE calories . If you have questions about routines or what you should do, leave a post in the body building or strength forum. You can get tons more feedback.

Okay, I don't know you so I could be way off here (sorry), but we are women now! Don't try to get back to where you were before you were an adult (when you were in highschool). It's totally good to have solid goals though . Okay, I'll leave it at that so others can get a chance to reply .

[ctchrinthry]

For years and years i couldn't lose a single pound, and i let it get me really down.

What helped was simply focusing on my eating and exercise habits by themesleves while not worrying about losing weight. Eg, losing the sugar addiction was big.

You may very well be building a base that will let you get in shape without having lost any weight yet.

But maybe not--i find it hard to believe you functioned doing 2 hours of sports per day and eating 800 calories. That hardly seems physically possible. You need calories for breathing, digestion, bloodflow and body temperature!

Everyone's different but you may very well be overtraining. I know that was a big part of my problem. I only really began to improve when i cut my workouts back to the point where my muscles could recuperate completely between workouts. There's a lot of info on this attitude at www.cbass.com.

I also ate whenever i was hungry but chose clean food sources. I think that if you're really hungry, your body is telling you that you need something. This might not be more calories, though. It might be nutrients, essential fats, etc.

In any case, don't let collidge get you down.

dave

[Malcolms Billy]

Hiya,

just to agree with what has been said before: getting your body fat percentage measured will be a way more accurate way of measuring your body weight than the scales. Just remember that big massive body builders might weigh the same as your average blubbing beer gut that's walking down the street, but boy the difference both in health and appearance!
Also, like Crystal's said before, try and swap your machine weights for free weights - but if you're new to these, do get someone who knows about proper lifting (a properly qualified instructor would be nice, although they are becoming a rare breed fast as it seems ) to demonstrate and check you for good form. Compound lifts (those that work the bigger muscles, such as deadlifts, squats, bench) will be more effective than, say, doing calves and triceps exercises. But yeah, post a message in the weightlifting section if you want lots of feedback, as more peeps who are into serious lifting are likely to read it there.
Providing that you follow a proper, healthy diet, gaining and losing weight should be as simple as calorie intake vs. use. So if you want to gain weight you put in more calories than you use, if you want to lose weight you use more calories than you put in. Now it's quite hard to determine from '3 sets of 10-12 reps' how many calories you're burning off. If they're quite light weights, which you haven't upped since the day you've started, you won't be spending many calories.
Doing cardio is very helpful when it comes to losing weight, but can be in the way of building up muscle. So it depends what you want most: getting bigger, with muscle replacing bodyfat (long, hard haul, unless you're committed and/or naturally predisposed to gain muscle easily) or losing weight and looking leaner. I know I was well into working out 6 days a week and training to run a 10k, when someone who does know his stuff, cruelly informed me that, as long as I ran 3 times a week, I shouldn't expect to gain much muscle. Despite desperate attempts to prove him wrong, he was right in the end

That's my 2p's worth anyway. Other than that, welcome to the board!

See ya,
Malcolms Billy (who is never short of words, you're warned! )

[littlelight]

ctchrinthry - yeah i have a hard time not worrying about losing weight while i am eating/working out. i guess i need to focus more on being healthy than on just how i look :\

and strangely enough, i was functioning on that 800 cal diet during volleyball season for about 3 months. but i was also taking diet pills and smoking so it wasn't really a healthy time for me! unfortunately that was my most successful in terms of how i looked/how much i weighed

crystal/Malcolms Billy - i'm not looking to bodybuild or gain a lot of muscle, really my only interest is shedding all this flab and perhaps defining my barely existent muscles a bit more. i've upped the reps and weights of the lifting i am doing, though, so i'm still feeling it a lot. in short i want to lose weight and look leaner, not get bigger. so i guess i need to up my cardio eh?

[Renecarol25]

How tall are you? I was about 115-118 in high school. I weighed 108 when I came home on fall break freshman year of college. This was the least amount I have ever weighed. My lean body weight is 110. That is the figure for 0% bodyfat. By graduation I was at 130. I found that 130 is my ideal weight. It is what I would weigh eating and exercising properly. I could only weigh 115-120 by starving and exercising myself into oblivion. Maybe you should check your lean body weight here http://members.aol.com/webhealth/bodyfat.htm this should give you a fairly accurate reading. Then aim for about 15-25% bodyfat.
Renee

[Mary]

If you were functioning on such a limited diet it is highly likely that you slowed your metabolism right down, which means that you will have to work to get your metabolism up to speed again. This may explain why you are having trouble losing weight now. Eating regular mini meals, and upping the cardio should help with this, as it will allow your metabolism to speed up again. Diet pills will have messed with your metabolism as well.

Because you are female you don't have to worry too much about bulking up, getting huge muscles. You would have to work like a right ninny to get big as I know to my cost! Women only have a tenth the amount of testosterone that men do, and it is testosterone that regulates muscle growth. So I would keep with the weights, and not be afraid of upping them too. Muscle burns calories faster than flab, so even if you weighed more you would look better and leaner. Lots of cardio would probably help you build nice lean muscle too. It sounds like your body is used to cardio, so that would be a good way to go. Great to hear you gave up smoking! That took a lot of will power. As you were taking diet pills (especially on such an extreme diet) I find myself wondering, were you anorexic at all? If so you might still think you look overweight, but not be as bad as you think.

The main thing is though that regular excercise and eating well will do you a world of good. You are on the right track. Stick with it. Somebody who can force their body to play team sports on a diet of 800 calories a day has the mental energy to look after themselves properly. Turn that fabulous will power to work for you, not against you! Because then you won't just look great, you will feel great too.

Anyway

[Renecarol25]

Oh since I've put on some muscle since college my ideal weight is probably around 140. So I'm about 10 pounds overweight. If I got down to 130 with my current muscle mass I would probably be underweight.

[littlelight]

Renecarol25 - i am 5' 2" (and a half! haha). I weighed 115-118 most of senior year of highschool (two years ago). I maintained around 120 for most of freshman year of college (last year), but in the last couple months of spring I shot up to 132. now I'm at 130 and I want to get down to at most 120. my body fat percentage that i got checked when i re-joined my gym, was like 28% or something. it's pretty bad.

Mary - i guess i won't worry about bulking up then! Actually I haven't given up smoking, or rather I started again, which I know is a) not vegan and b) really bad for me, but when it starts to impair my cardio, then I'm going to quit again. But it also helps curb my cravings.

- I was never anorexic, not by any diagnosis. I had all of the mental symptoms and habits but I never lost my period nor was underweight - in fact at my lowest I was exactly at the 49th percentile, which is where I've been most of my life, and where I want to get back to - just in a healthy way. it's not just that i think i look overweight, it's that a lot of my clothes don't fit anymore, my legs aren't as toned, etc etc.

[Mary]

Okay, as your cardio health improves your metabolism should speed up. You aren't very overweight, which is good. Post something in the training log section, and people should start to advise you on ways to boost your routine.

Good luck!

[SexySoyBoy]

I dislike weights. Weights dislike me. The hatred runs deep.

[Mary]

What a bizzare choice of picture to illustrate your point...

[funfetus]

I dislike weights. Weights dislike me. The hatred runs deep.

Was there some...unpleasantness?