Fitness 2016

Hey friends! Although we're nearly halfway through the year I thought I'd make this anyway

Like The Real Mitt Romney said in last year's post, this doesn't necessarily have to be about losing weight, although it can be. It's just about getting fitter overall and being happier with yourself!

So feel free to discuss your goals, your diet plan, your workout plan, ask for advice or share advice!

Diet Tips

• CALCULATE YOUR TDEE: There are heaps of online calculators that calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Once you figure that out, to lose weight, subtract maybe 10 - 15% of the calories, and eat at that. To gain weight, increase it by 10 - 15% and eat at that. Make sure if you do this you're tracking so you don't gain / lose TOO quickly for reasons listed below. If you don't want to count calories, keep reading!
• WEIGHT LOSS: although it's better for your body overall to eat less junk food, losing weight is more about how much you eat than what you eat. Spend maybe a week tracking how much you're eating (doesn't have to be exact calories, but a guesstimate). Then reduce the amount by a little bit and eat as normal!
• WEIGHT GAIN: Eat more and exercise! It sounds really simple, but when a lot of people say they're eating more they aren't actually eating more, they just think they are. So again spend about a week tracking how much you're eating and increase it a wee bit while also exercising. It's difficult (I wanna say impossible) to gain only muscle without gaining a little bit of fat, too, so make sure you exercise as well to reduce the amount of fat gain!
• PLATEAU: If you've hit a plateau with your weight, now might be a good time to change up your diet. You could try carb cycling or change up your workout. If you are absolutely not losing the last 5 - 10 lbs or 2 - 5 kg, it might be worth seeing a doctor about a hormone imbalance. OR, destress. Cortisol (the stress hormone) causes people to maintain fat in their lower belly region (aka your muffin top).
• Low calorie diets (sub 1,200 calories, especially for women) can actually be detrimental to your health and increase weight gain, but with fat instead of muscle. Eating too little can also cause you to lose muscle rather than fat, and lose energy fast. Although it'll probably cause rapid weight loss, there's a healthier, slower way to do it.
• It doesn't really matter when you eat what in terms of "eat a big breakfast, a medium sized lunch, and a small dinner" — a calorie is still a calorie no matter what time of day you consume it.
• On detox teas: some of my friends / people I knew did this juice diet where they only had juice for a week, or drank detox teas to help them lose weight. And the reason detox teas (not sure about juices, but many juices have extra added sugar that you wouldn't get if you had the fruit itself) help lose weight is because they make you shit. Most of them contain laxative type ingredients, and having huge poos very often will of course help you lose weight, but only for a little bit.

Workout Tips

• If you don't like something, don't do it. If you don't like lifting, or if you hate running, just don't do it! There are other ways to get a workout in, like joining a sports team, or taking classes, or running if you hate lifting and vice versa.
• Cardio combined with lifting can help weight loss, however only cardio will likely keep you at a maintenance weight but improve your stamina. If you hate running as a form of cardio, try a bike, the elliptical, or swimming.
• As I think most of us on Mibba are women, exercising on your period — it's very case by case. Some people find it helps them feel better and have less cramps while others don't want to move at all. It's good to know when to skip a workout because you can't do it, so you don't skip a workout because you're being whingey and don't want to go. Same applies when you're sick, although it may be best not to get anyone else sick.
• Not really a workout tip but getting quality sleep — not just enough sleep but a really good sleep — can help you have more energy to work out!
• You don't have to join a gym or go to the gym to get in a good workout, especially if that's not financially feasible (#unistudents). There are some great apps / online videos that show you workouts you can do at home!

Free Beginner's Workout Plans + Resources

• 30 Day Fitness Challenges
• Blogilates
• Bodybuilding.com's Find a Plan
• Bodybuilding.com's Workout Database
• Bodyweight Fitness subreddit - recommended routine
• Christine Salus - tabata / HIIT
• Fitness Blender
• Freeletics - app
• Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shread (Level 1)
• XHIT or XFit

Don't forget it's all about the little wins that add up to a big one!!
P.S. Drink lots of water

Last year's thread: Fitness 2015
Also, I have used more exclamation marks in this post than I ever remember using

Hi all! I'm Alex and my goal is to reach 65kg OR to be at a place where I feel like my body is toned in all areas and I could wear a bikini and feel totally comfortable. I'm at 72kg right now, which I'm pretty happy with since I've been working out regularly for the past six months or so and I was heavier then. I go to a trainer who has a gym at the back of his house, so it's group stuff ft cardio, strength, weights - pretty much a mixture of everything in a 30-45 minute sesh. Every session is different and interesting so it's always fun to turn up and see what he has in store for us - this also helps me heaps as well since I tend to get super bored with exercising if I'm being repetitive.

Not only do I want to lose weight but I want to cut unhealthy sugars out of my diet ideally completely, but I love my sugar so I'd only allow one 'cheat' day and the rest of the time finding alternative healthy foods that satisfy the sweet craving but it doesn't feel like I'm adding the calories. I'm definitely going to implement TDee since I feel like I have the exercise part down, it's the diet that I really need to focus on.

My aim is to be bikini ready by summer (aka December since I live in Aus) so we shall see how this goes!

@ swell
Hey girl Your workouts sound so fun and I'm jealous I get really bored with exercising if something is repetitive as well so I do like 10 different videos, if I do videos. I wanna do the same thing in terms of diet, esp cut out sugars enough that I don't get cravings. I think I want to cut out alcohol too but I like going out and being drunk bc going out sober is not the one

---

At the moment I'm doing this programme from bodybuilding, however unfortunately my gym doesn't have a barbell so I've been doing everything with dumbbells. I'm also using light weights as I'm just getting back into working out. My goal right now is to get back down to 55kg (I'm at 60kg at the moment but bc of my height it's p obvious) and then see how it changes after that, but I reckon afterwards I'll want to gain muscle.

@ oh bear
Going out sober is fkn hard man, like I probably could do it but do I want to do it, hell no I'd cut out sugar but I couldn't cut out alco, I barely drink anyways and when I do I'm not a huge drinker because it doesn't take me much to get drunk. SO. I'm okay with having alcohol as part of my diet I cut out sugar for a week to see if I could and on the last day, the Sunday I had a wedding reception to go to so I had cake then and honestly while the cake was delicious, I wasn't feeling the sugar. It was really strange actually but I kinda wanna go back to that, to being turned off by sugar in a sense?

I think these holidays I'm going to find alternate snacks to eat so I'm not tempted to buy the ever so tasty but fatty foods that tempt me at every corner. I'm always partial to a good mixed juice or biscuits and dip but I really gotta expand my horizons

Ahh, good luck! I like bodybuilding.com, I find that their articles are super informative and easy to follow through on. Whenever I get to my goal weight, ideally I'd like to be fit with muscle but I'm not sure if that's achievable at 65kg but we'll see how it goes. I have to say though, while I've been losing weight it's nice to be able to pick up heavier things or be able to up my weights in gym I like being strong. Defs recommend.

@ swell
I've done it once or twice when I first started going out but then I was like you know what fuck it WHO DRINKS FOR THE TASTE ANYWAY I've been eating less sugar but I'm still eating some chocolate (but just plain dark chocolate so it's not terrible) I'm not so much into super sugary things anymore but I'm not at the point you're at which is GREAT YOU GO GIRLFRIEND

Yes dooo. And then pls let me know what they are I've been trying to do smoothies lately but I'm not a huge fan of the consistency of the ones I've made so far. :/

THANKS FRIEND!! That's like 99% of why I go on because it's super easy to understand too Plus they advertise their programmes as they are, like customisable, or something else, and I've found them to be p true. YEAH LET'S GET STRONK #gains

@ oh bear
Yasssss you made this thread! you're the best El. I will totally be stalking this thread

Losing weight for me is horrible.

In 2009 I was about 128 pounds, in 2011 after I had my son in 2010 and went on birth control I went up to 135, then up to 145 and stayed about that weight for a little while since I got off birth control. Then I got back on and went up about 154, got off for a little bit. had an emotional experience and lost weight and went to 145 again, but also got back on b.c due to emotional experience. Now two years later, I'm back up about 155-158 pounds.

I wanted to go to the gym up here but ts about 285$ to join and 36$ a month plus day care for 3-5$ a day. I have no motivation and I'm always tired because I work 3-11am shifts four days straight of work now. Top it all off I have a herniated lower disk in my back. Which I acting up again to to my weight. :(

Eating habits- at work I drink either one hot cup of coffee with now skim milk and one or two shots of sugared flavor, at about 3 am. I just started this, I used to have iced coffee. But I still have iced forwards about 8am. Hot is medium sized and iced is small. I don't eat anything half the time because well money. If I do eat it's a sausage egg and cheese wrap or croissant, or a sesame bagel with regular and strawberry cream cheese.

At home, I really don't eat at all, my son does. I don't. So at work I will either eat at 4 am or 8ish, then I don't eat again until I snack on something or make dinner around 5-8pm. My eating habits are horrible.

So yeah I need to lose weight. Lol

@ cassiopeia;
You know it bby

@ Albluerose
Heya! That sounds like quite a tiff :( If you don't mind my asking (or advice lol), what sort of job do you have? If it's labour intensive, it may be that you're not eating enough, which would also help get your energy levels up, although I see you've mentioned money makes it a bit difficult. Other than switching the coffee out, what else have you been doing? Could you try taking a walk on the daily to get some gym-free exercise in? Also perhaps getting some foods that are slow to break down like oatmeal, which would keep you fuller for longer and give you some more energy. Definitely keep eating snacks!!
Hope this helped a wee bit (sorry if it was unsolicited) and good luck!! You can do it!

@ oh bear
I work in dunkin donuts, sonim surrounded by coffee and donuts all day lol. I only snack on the munchkins. But I'm constantly moving, there's days where I'm moving 7-8 hours straight with no break. It's fast paced since I work in the drive through section. I've even made myself light headed a few times from going in circles etc. It's hard to make walks up here, theres no side walks. I do have a large yard but my son hates going outside because of bugs, he's five. And there are just so many ticks. I would usually go out and have my dog on the runner.

@ Albluerose
That sounds like a pretty active job! I can see how the situations make everything pretty difficult I'm sure you'll find a way! Also if you want to take a look at some of the workout plans I linked above, most of them can be done at home with no equipment (or maybe a yoga mat bc idk about you but my tailbone is really weird and it's hard to do stuff w/o one).

@ oh bear
I'll deff check it out :) yeah I have a bad back so hopefully getting on of those can help.

I started at the gym!!! It's called golds gym, hard core work outs. Lost 0.6 pounds in one week. :)

Hey everyone! I'm Sam and I love this idea

The only exercise I do is running and it usually lasts for fifteen to twenty minutes. Today, I thought I'd add yoga to this mix! I started this afternoon and it lasted for 20 minutes.

My main goal is to maintain my weight and size. I love eating so I sometimes get carried away with the snacks and such I don't drink soda or other caffeinated drinks, but munch of chips and other savory foods. I hope to cut down on the munchies and start being healthier

@ Albluerose
I've seen that gym chain ? in lots of different fitness youtuber's channels! I'm so happy for you!! Congrats on the weight loss~~*~**~~

@ dawn of light
HI SAM. I'm the same, need to cut down on snacking unhealthily when I'm bored. I have no self control over snacking but I'm really good with like dinner and proper meals

@ oh bear
I hate to admit it but I snack when I'm bored too

I was creeping on Alex's post and I wanted to see if I can cut out sugar in my system for a week MAN, THAT IS HARD

Ahhhhh, I miss being fit!

When I was at uni, I tried the Insanity workout with a friend and literally after a week of doing it we could see the difference; legs and arms were toned, I could feel (but not quite yet see) my abs...it was great!!

And then the Christmas holidays came. And that was the end of that.

I joined a gym afterwards, but then exam season hit along with awful sleeping patterns, going out more than I did during the rest of the year and food cravings. Living in East London where there's a chicken shop at every turn (I was even living above one for a bit) and having found a store selling Chocolate Hobnobs for 50p a packet, I was doomed.

I'd love to start training again, but I am way too poor to go to the gym and I have no room in my house atm to do any sort of exercise. My local park do a free timed 5k every Saturday morning which is cool so I might start going to that. It will definitely be a couple weeks before I can complete it though.

I don't have any scales at home so I guess I'm just aiming to not be so exhausted after climbing a flight of stairs. Getting my abs back would be a serious plus though

@ pearlhunter
I've tried the Insanity workout during high school gym class. I was exhausted though we'd only do it 3 times a week, I did see a small difference

I live in a neighborhood were malasadas are sold 5 minutes from my house and it is very tempting to eat so I feel your pain when there's great food everywhere!

@ dawn of light
Whoaaa!!! I couldn't imagine doing Insanity in school. Sure about a 1/4 of the class would love it but I know a bunch of them would skip or throw a fit and walk out! But it would be really cool to do it regularly, it was really hard to keep motivated and do it every day (hence we only lasted for a week lol)

Thankfully i don't live near the 'chicken shop mile' anymore, but I'm not sure if its better or worse that I work next to a McDonalds and across from KFC which is also two mins from my house...

@ pearlhunter
That gym class lasted for half a semester so I both missed it and glad it was done

those two are also near me along with this really good Korean BBQ place, sushi place and Baskin Robbins

Have you done a 5k before?

@ dawn of light
Awwww man, I miss Baskin Robbins so much!!

And nope, apart from doing a run around a park when I was like 10, I've never done more than 800m. I used to train for sprints, mainly 200m, but cause I have long legs I always got picked to do 800m for sports day.

But I'm so competitive, I know that when I go, I'll probably dash off and then after about 1k I'll probs get a stitch and start getting lapped by everybody

I will definitely be paying for it on the Sunday morning though but hey, you've gotta start somewhere right?

How's your running going? I've always been curious about yoga, but I've never tried it before.