Ok, so I know I am easily discouraged. But it seems like losing this flabby baby belly is never going to happen. We got a treadmill, I started running about 6 weeks or ago. I'm running at least 5 times a week. I had to slow down because I started getting all kinds of aches and pains. So I started throwing back in my Jillian Michaels dvd too. ANd I am getting really bummed, because I see no results. NONE. I'm not dieting, but I don't eat bad. I don't drink pop, maybe one diet pop a day if that. I cook w/ EVOO......I only wiegh 130 and Im 5'3. And aside from my belly I am content w/ the rest of my body. I know you can't "spot" reduce fat, but the DVD I have hits everywhere and so does running, right?
Is there anything else I should know/try? Im not looking for a six pack here, just to get a few inches off my belly and tone it up. Before my last two babies I could eat, drink, do whatever and never had to worry. But I also worked a full time physical job which Im sure helped....Anyways, I really need some advice and encouragement. I feel ok until I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror taking off jeans then I see that extra "flub" and I want to cry...
I want to recommend Dr. Mercola's Sprint or Peak 8 exercise program http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/11/...
Scroll down to "How to Perform Peak 8 Exercises" but remember to only do it 2 or 3 times a week. Good luck!
You are a normal body weight according to your BMI. How much weight did you lose post babies? What you call flub is likely excess skin. I have gained and lost the same 30 lbs about 5 times now in my lifetime. as a result, i have a bit of flub that may never go away.
on the plus side, i have gained a bit of toning with running. if there is any excess fat, then heavy cardio is melting mine away. and i know that you said that you don't eat bad, but journal your food for a week, including serving size. it may open your eyes to some things.
Running and cardio aren't going to target and tone the belly area unless you are also doing toning exercises and weights.
Women's Health mag has tons of easy do it at home things for you to try that target the belly area:
http://search.womenshealthmag.com/vignette/wh/search.jsp?...
Also, try reducing the soda you drink to once a week... drink ice water, natural fruit drink, milk or something along those lines instead. Pay really close attention to what you are eating, it may be unhealthier than you think. I am a carb-aholic and carbs tend to make one swell.
I had my baby at age 41. A year later I started a Pilates class that met for 45 mins twice a week. The teacher was drill-sargeant tough. My legs would be wobbly at the end of class. A YEAR later, after progressing from her beginning class, through the medium class, to the advanced class, I had a visible 4-pack (if I looked hard and tensed up I could see the 6).
The good news - Pilates is magnificent. The bad news - sorry, but it takes longer than six weeks to make a noticeable change in your body.
The quickest I've ever made a noticeable change was in my early 20s when I was carrying extra "college weight" and had never worked out. After several months of daily walking/running/biking to lose the weight and then three or four months of 3x/week weight lifting, people were pointing out my muscle definition.
Walking and running are great exercise for all-around health and weight control. I don't think running alone will tone up a belly. I have the P90x Ab Ripper DVD and that is a fantastic example of a tough Pilates-like ab workout that only takes 15 mins a session. I'm sure there are others, but that is a good one.
Exercising is great but did you know to lose weight it is only 30% exercise and 70% what you eat? I know you said you don't eat bad but even if you are eating too much of healthy food that is extra calories and therefore causing you to not shed any lbs. I am 5'3 like you and weigh 110 pounds. I try to stay right around 1300 calories a day and at my max only eat about 1500 a day. So you need to start writing down what you eat and counting your calories. If stayed right around 1200 and at your max ate 1500 calories a day you would lose weight. So keep that in mind.
A friend told me to stop eating complex carbs (bread pasta potatoes etc) after 5 pm....And not to mix complex carbs with meat...
I did this the past 6 months -- plus pilates twice a week -- and my tummy has gone down a lot. It is not perfect, but I don't look 4 months pregnant.
GL.
Jilly
Good for you and your commitment to getting in shape!! :-) I too have been trying to lose a few pounds and found that a few changes to my diet helped:
Green Tea and/or Oolong Tea speed up your metabolism
Sriracha Sauce (spicy sauce) kick starts your metabolism
Drink lots of water (diet pop actually makes your body crave more food!!)
Yoga, Pilates and Jillian Michaels will do wonders for your posture and muscle tone.
Good Luck!!
The supplement CLA is good.
I believe slow and steady wins the race. I have been working hard for almost a year now.
I started with P90X...I did a round and started to shape up but I had not changed my eating. Then I joined a challange group and added Shakeology into the next round of P90X and started eating better and I started doing better.
Now I'm a beachbody coach and I just started TurboFire and the results are amazing...again I've even started to eat cleaner than I was before. I also use myfitnesspal to log ALL my calories a day.
If you are interested in trying a beachbody program let me know. Below is a link to my beachbody site and my shakeology site. I will answer any questions you have.
Thanks and good luck,
Jen
http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/phelpjl1
http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/phelpjl1
I feel for you. I've been working out continuously for the last year on average of 6 days a week for minimum of 30 minutes. I started out with jump roping, stair climbing (actual stairs not gym equipment) and now back into jogging and swimming. I'm 5'2 and cannot budge from being 130 lbs (for the last 8 months!) Doctor told me that it might be because I'm still breastfeeding but I'm not sure if that is the case for you. And I do have the belly thing going. My legs and arms are in great shape but my tummy is still flab =(
That is why I started adding jogging to my routine. When I used to jog (before pregnancies) I got the best workout - all over workout and I lost about 15 lbs within a few months. My size went from size 6 to size 2 during that time. Also, I kept my calorie intake to about 1500 a day. Once I'm done with the breastfeeding I will probably do the same with my calories so hopefully that will help. However, I have to be honest, even though I was size 2 I still had a little pooch. I think it's just genetic for me. Granted I don't have a pooch right now.. more like a flop =(
On a positive note, at least I'm noticing more room in my pants since I've started jogging again =)
Oh - and I didn't start really seeing a difference with the jogging until about 6 weeks into it. At the time I was jogging minimum of 30 minutes 3-4 times a week for my short workout and 50 minutes for my long. I would also speed walk for about 30 in addition to the jogging. Do give your body a break once in a while and definitely build up to it. The first time I went jogging I could only go for 15 minutes but I made sure to speed walk for a total of an hour to hour and a half workout. Good luck and feel free to message me. I would love a "virtual" workout partner =)
Spanex!!!!! lol im in the same boat with you i hate my baby belly but i just wear spanex under just about everthing until i come up with the perfect plan to lose the belly
