can someone help aeonteal?

i'm probably the personal trainer's nightmare case in that i completely made up my own workout plan. so, i'm gonna lay it all out there. any insight will be greatly appreciated!!!

my workouts are limited to 3-4 consecutive days a week. it's a long story but, let's just assume that this is something that i have work around and it can't be changed. during those 3-4 days, i do the following (pretty much in this order):

1) cardio: 40 mins (usually running)
2) arms: pilates resistance band (3 reps, slow then a set of fast beats for my biceps, shoulders, triceps)
3) legs: (a) leg lifts with resistance band (front, side, back, side), (b) some ballet steps/sets (grand battement, plies, rond de jambe), (c) lunges
4) stomach: (a) a set of pilates moves to work abs/obliques (the hundred, rolling like a ball, crisscross, teaser, rollup). i usually only do one set of each but i try make sure to do them slowly, breathe correctly and hold in my core, (b) fitness ball exercises (plank and some others. can't remember the names???)
*i don't use any weights - only the ball, the resistance band and my own body.

usually, it takes me a little under two hours to get through the whole thing. but, i just made this workout up! i just took stuff i learned from dance classes and what i thought was right and designed this thing that i call my "workout plan"

anyway, i started it in May and so far, i've lost about 15 pounds and i can finally see my body again. :) (i do watch my diet and caloric/fat intake). however, my body has been stuck at 135 for about 3 weeks :mad: and i'd like to lose 15 more pounds. i've still got a lot of fat hangin' around.

so, with the underlying assumption that i can't workout more than 3-4 consecutive days a week, what do you all recommend that i do or change to get the 15 pounds off, ideally by the end of the year (but, i'm not so concerned with the pace as long as i'm losing)? there is definitely room for me to cut back on my diet and i'm going to do it. but my workout plan is totally and completely my own creation, mostly because it's things that i think are fun and i like the "dancer" look.

(also, i don't have and won't get a gym membership!)

THANKS!!!
 
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One thing that is noteably missing in your post is your diet.

1. Amount of calories you have configured approximately to be your MT line
2. Amount of calories you are estimating to create a deficit below the MT line in attempt to lose weight.
3. Your nutritional goals


Do you know how to go about figuring these?
 
i think i saw that you posted the MT info on another thread but...sorry, i didn't pay enough attention. would you mind sending a friendly reminder or pointing me the right direction?

and, what do you mean my nutritional goals? could you give me an example. i'm basically looking to lose weight but not sure how "nutritional goals" fit into the big picture.

thanks so much chillen!
 
ROCK ON my FRIEND

i think i saw that you posted the MT info on another thread but...sorry, i didn't pay enough attention. would you mind sending a friendly reminder or pointing me the right direction?

and, what do you mean my nutritional goals? could you give me an example. i'm basically looking to lose weight but not sure how "nutritional goals" fit into the big picture.

thanks so much chillen!

No problem I am here to help the sista's.


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I will post the information right here for you instead. In addition, If your weight loss plateaued (or stopped) we can do something about this.........




Deficit dieting is the MAIN thing that does the job.

Some Basic information that can lead you to fat tissue loss

Calorie calculation is an approximation science, remember this. Through your journey WATCH, LOOK, and LISTEN, to your body..........it will TELL YOU if your doing the correct things or combination of things!


○ Change your eating habits (below are some suggestion examples)

○ Substitute an artificial sweetener of your choice in the replace of refined white sugar (Refrain from Refined Sugar like you would a disease)

○ Try eating 5 to 6 smaller meals during the day

○ Balance your meals out during the day so in one day you have a mix of protein, carbohydrate and good fats

○ Drink lots of water during the day and before, during and after exercise

○ Simple Carb Examples: Grapefruit, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Oranges, Apples, Pineapple, etc

○ Complex Carb Examples: Whole Wheat Pita Bread, Oatmeal, Long Grain Brown Rice, Brown Pasta, Malto-Meal (Plain, whole wheat),etc

○ Good Protein Examples: White or Dark Tuna, Chicken Breast, Lean Turkey, Lean Ham, Very lean Beef, Quality Whey Protein Powder,, etc

○ Good Fats Examples: Natural Peanut Butter, Various Nuts, Flax Seed, Fish Oils.

This is what you need to do:

This an approximation science, but you can narrow it down very close, if your meticulous in your vision when looking at the data.

Tweak your desire and passion by educating yourself on the basic requirements of losing fat tissue. With your age, sex, height, and weight, in mind, find your approximated base calorie needs (this is organ function, breathing, or bodily function needs). One can use the Benedict Formula.

Calculate your BMR:

The Harris Benedict equation determines calorie needs for men or woman as follows:

• It calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calorie requirements, based on your height, weight, age and gender.

• It increases your BMR calorie needs by taking into account the number of calories you burn through activities such as exercise.

This gives you your total calorie requirement or approximated Maintenance Line (I call it the MT Line).

Step One : Calculate your BMR with the following formula:

•Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
•Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Step Two : In order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, do the following calculation:

•If you are sedentary : BMR x 1.2
•If you are lightly active: BMR x 1.375
•If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 1.55
•If you are very active (You exercise daily.): BMR x 1.725
•If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 1.9

Create a Calorie Deficit:

In order to lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit. It is easier and healthier to cut back your calorie intake a little bit at a time.

Every 3,500 calories is equivalent to approximated 1 pound.

If you cut back 500 calories a day, you will lose approximated 1 pound per week. (not necessarily all fat)

If you exercise to burn off 500 calories a day you will also lose approximately 1 pound per week.

The calorie deficit margin is just an example:

Apply this knowledge by backing off the approximated MT Line (approximated Maintenance line), say for example, a -500c per day, for about 1 week. Before the week begins, weigh yourself in the AM when you FIRST get up (do not eat yet) (remember your clothing, preferably with just underwear and t-shirt or like clothes). Note the time, and the approximated wgt.
Each day spread your caloric content out throughout the day (keep the body fed, with calories in the 300 to 500c approximated calories each meal), or a like division which mirrors your end caloric deficit limit (meaning MT-500c).

This way you have your entire day and body encircled with nutrition (I assume you already know to eat clean), which if your eating right, will give an approximated good energy (not optimal because your in deficit) to fuel your training and exercising schedule.

At the end of the week, on the same day, the same time, with the same like clothes, weigh yourself again. Note whether you lost or gained tissue (or weight I mean). To further assist you, I want to tell you that for every approximated caloric deficit of (-3500c), one could lose 1lb of fat tissue. (though some may not all be fat tissue, this information is for another question, and isn't presently suited here).

Now, in this example you were calculating a -500c per day deficit. There needs to be -3500c to lose approximated 1lbs of fat. Now lets do some basic math. -500cX7=-3500c. With all things considered equal, and you were meticulous and faithful on the diet, you should have been CLOSE to losing at least one pound of tissue in the week.

If this didn't happen, this means you need to make finer adjustments, and the MT line is not accurate, and you need to adjust this on your own.

Based upon the FEEDBACK your body is giving you, ask yourself how faithful you were on the diet, AND how faithful in training (whether you kept the training schedule (if you didn't, this would effect the caloric equation, no?!), AND how accurate you figured in your activities caloric wise.........but, you have the base information to begin making adjustments.

The calorie SURPLUS margin is just an example: (attempt to gain weight)

Apply this knowledge by going OVER the approximated MT Line (approximated Maintenance line), say for example, a +500c per day, for about 1 week. Before the week begins, weigh yourself in the AM when you FIRST get up (do not eat yet) (remember your clothing, preferably with just underwear and t-shirt or like clothes). Note the time, and the approximated wgt.
Each day spread your caloric content out throughout the day (keep the body fed, with calories in the 300 to 500c approximated calories each meal), or a like division which mirrors your end caloric deficit limit (meaning MT+500c).

This way you have your entire day and body encircled with nutrition (I assume you already know to eat clean), which if your eating right, will give an approximated good energy (not optimal because your in deficit) to fuel your training and exercising schedule.

At the end of the week, on the same day, the same time, with the same like clothes, weigh yourself again. Note whether you lost or gained tissue (or weight I mean).

If this didn't happen, this means you need to make finer adjustments, and the MT line is not accurate, and you need to adjust this on your own



=========================================================

The Nutrients are an essential factor in the diet; however, the law of energy balance within the DIET, is the ultimate KING while the Nutrients can play in some decisions made within the body.

Do yourself a favor, figure out your MT line, adjust off of this, eat well balanced spaced out meals (DONT EVER starve YOURSELF), AND listen to your body for the results.

While you are trying to figure out your body, IT WILL PAY YOU BACK, I promise. You have to learn to MASTER yourself to become the master of weight loss for YOURSELF.
========================================================
"Let your inner vision cultivate your ultimate exterior expression" —Chillen

"The strongest inner feeling that prevails will result in the exterior expression" –Chillen

"Your cultivation and manifestation of thought accumulated within your reasoning will determine your outcome"----Chillen
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Deficit dieting is the fat burner, and EVERYTHING follows after this. The deficit can be implemented through the diet or exercise can cause the deficit when you know your MT line reference. Without a adequate deficit, cardio WILL NOT burn fat off you. This is WHY I don't partake in the cardio debates of heart rate, etc........because the bottom line is the deficit diet....period, debate OVER. If you stick to the basic: The Law of energy balance, and tip this to the negative side of the equation, you will be on your way, with everything considered equal and your healthy.

Losing fat is sort of like draining a pool. It usually leaves the shallow end first before the larger end starts to diminish. But, fat and/or tissue is lost all over when deficit dieting.

If you want to lose overall body fat, get your diet in order, eat clean, learn what your approximate MT reference line is according to activities (and back off a HEALTHY margin), and perform overall weight training, and of course, include cardio (cardio DOES have its benefits other than burning calories, carbs, fat, ect).

The most effective beginning is to look at your diet, and make a diet journal in my opinion, THEN work in a training program around this diet.

==========================================================

Have controlled obsession (and obsession to a---Point, is necessary), but some lose this obsession once they learn the amount of work it requires. There eyes then widen and then the obsession then pops right out. Dont let this happen to you: Raise your Want-o-Meter to a new higher level.

Best Regards,


Chillen
 
here is my workout plan and question summarized from above -- my basic question is how to move past my weight loss plateau (135 lbs to 120 lbs) and if my workout is totally off the mark since it's my own creation. btw, i'm one of "those" women who strives for the dancer body...

my workouts are limited to 3-4 consecutive days a week. it's a long story but, let's just assume that this is something that i have work around and it can't be changed. during those 3-4 days, i do the following (pretty much in this order):

1) cardio: 40 mins (usually running)
2) arms: pilates resistance band (3 reps, slow then a set of fast beats for my biceps, shoulders, triceps)
3) legs: (a) leg lifts with resistance band (front, side, back, side), (b) some ballet steps/sets (grand battement, plies, rond de jambe), (c) lunges
4) stomach: (a) a set of pilates moves to work abs/obliques (the hundred, rolling like a ball, crisscross, teaser, rollup). i usually only do one set of each but i try make sure to do them slowly, breathe correctly and hold in my core, (b) fitness ball exercises (plank and some others. can't remember the names???)
*i don't use any weights - only the ball, the resistance band and my own body.


One thing that is noteably missing in your post is your diet.

1. Amount of calories you have configured approximately to be your MT line
2. Amount of calories you are estimating to create a deficit below the MT line in attempt to lose weight.
3. Your nutritional goals

1. MT line: 2195c
2. MT deficit: 1695c
3. Nutritional goals:

a. Stay within MT deficit caloric intake

b. Break my meals down into more smaller meals: honestly...i usually only eat two meals a day - usually a small lunch (300-500 calories, low fat, high protein and veggies) and then a...big dinner. I usually only see my bf at night and so dinner is the time we get to spend with each other. And, since he's not really watching his calories or breaking down his meals, I've been trying to eat less during the day and saving those excess calories for dinner. bad move it seems.

c. Cut down on the wine:...what can i say? i live i nyc. it's kind of the culture to go out and drink regularly (excuse alert!) but i do enjoy it. but i can and will definitely cut back on those useless calories which are absolutely pushing my calorie intake way over the top. and if it do have wine, i'll be responsible for those calories.

d. Continue to eat healthy food: i am in line with a lot of the healthy eating habits you mentioned and there are some others i'd could incorporate into my diet. my one weakness is corn/flour tortillas! i love them so...

e. Cut down on the red meat: some nights, i eat veggies and like 3 huge ribs! i kind of crave meat. maybe i have a vitamin or protein deficiency...or maybe, i just like to pig out. :eek:

Otherwise, i don't take any supplements but i do take vitamins: multivitamin, 800 mgs of calcium/magnesium, 1000 mg omega-3, 1000 mgs vitamin c.

phew...that's pretty much everything for now. geez, there's so much to learn and it feels really overwhelming. i can see that i have a lot of room to improve my eating habits and to cut my calories and i'm open to any ways to tweak my workout.

THANKS SO MUCH AGAIN! :)
 
how tall are you? how young are you? Why are you trying to lose this weight? have you posted pics anywhere yet?

you obviously know some things about being lean. And with the ballet experience, i'd ask you to tell us more.

my interest is due to knowing a 16 year old ballet chick, who is growing but is trying to maintain "weight" due to "scale" number. This arena of athletics is seething with disorders. no offense, but-- I'm sure you get my drift here. You may be as far from my concern as the north is from the south.

dimensions are very important-- ie: bone mass, body fat percentage and such.

it would be a shame to "gain in weakness" so you can "lose weight."

not always popular,
FF
 
that's a great point and i appreciate your concern. i'm 28 now but i definitely remember that die-hard dieting and skinny obsession from other dancers and from teachers. not all ballet schools emphasize this and i wasn't on the professional track so, i didn't feel that pressure myself. plus, i have a big butt and that ain't gonna work in that world! haha...but, that's ok. i kind of love my butt :D

so, i'm 28, 5'6" and i'd always been around 125-130. over the past few years, i started grad school and just stuffed my face - it was gross really but i had some good times. anyway, i got as high as 150-155 lbs by the end of school and looked like a totally different person. i had taken dance/cheerleading throughout my life but completely stopped 6 years ago. i'd been trying halfa$$ dieting and exercise for the past year until i finally buckled down this past may and lost 15 pounds. now i'm stuck at 135. i want to take ballet classes 3x's a week but it'll have to wait a bit until i get the money for it...

i decided to make 120 my goal because i remember wanting to lose a bit of weight, even when i was 125. my upper body frame is relatively small and i've always had thick thighs and that's where i wanted to slim and trim down. NOW, however, the fat is everywhere and i need to shave off a good layer before i think my muscles and body will be where i want it to be. but, when i reach 125, if i'm happy, then i'll stay there. it's not really about the weight for me as much as getting these clumps of fat off and gaining long, lean muscles.

but, thanks again. i don't know my body fat percentage so i'm going to try to figure that out. i gotta buy a calliper or something -- where do i get that anyway?

how the heck do you figure out bone mass??? :confused:

thanks for your help...i'm obviously so clueless!!!
 
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but, thanks again. i don't know my body fat percentage so i'm going to try to figure that out. i gotta buy a calliper or something -- where do i get that anyway?

I wouldn't buy a caliper.

Try this bf % calculator - it's just as accurate as calipers........
 
i haven't been!!! i just figured that out based on your post! :yelrotflmao: but, it's now part of my workout goals along with incorporating the whole MT system into my weightloss plan.

now that i think about it, i was probably taking in the exact amount of calories that i need to maintain my current weight - about 2000c, which will explain why i'm stuck at 135. i didn't count my caloric intake very closely. i just mostly looked at it meal by meal but wasn't really thinking about it in the big picture...again.

so, that's why i think there is a lot of room for me to improve in my diet and i will do it.

2 more questions:

1) is 3-4 days of working out enough? is it okay for me to do all those things in one day?
2) i've seen a lot of great information about how women should use weights but i don't. if that's true in my case, how can i incorporate them and still aim for the "dancer" look (for lack of better word). and, if i do use them, will that make my workout more efficient/effective?
 
1) is 3-4 days of working out enough? is it okay for me to do all those things in one day?

Most beginners are best suited to a full body weight workout, 3X a week.

And, depending on your time available ( i.e whether you weight train or not ) , and the type of cardio you do, most folks can get away with doing some form of cardio 2- 5 times a week.

2) i've seen a lot of great information about how women should use weights but i don't. if that's true in my case, how can i incorporate them and still aim for the "dancer" look (for lack of better word). and, if i do use them, will that make my workout more efficient/effective?

Not sure what you mean by a ' dancer's body ' but regardless, weight training WILL give women a more toned and well shaped body......and not ' bulging ' muscles. :)

Women can't produce anywhere near the amount of testosterone as men do. And, since testosterone is one of the main hormones responsible for building muscle mass, it's impossible for a woman to bulk up significantly ( as men can do ) just by doing some simple weight training.

Beyond obvious benefits of added strength and endurance, weight training makes sense because it'll strengthen your bones, ligaments, and tendons - translated - making you less prone to injury. And, if you ensure that you focus properly on your lower body ( i.e legs, butt etc, ) and core training, this can only have direct benefits in optimizing how you execute the various mechanics of dancing.
 
Most beginners are best suited to a full body weight workout, 3X a week.

And, depending on your time available ( i.e whether you weight train or not ) , and the type of cardio you do, most folks can get away with doing some form of cardio 2- 5 times a week.

great! thanks for your insight. i'm definitely a beginner...

Not sure what you mean by a ' dancer's body ' but regardless, weight training WILL give women a more toned and well shaped body......and not ' bulging ' muscles. :)

yeah, "dancers body" is kind of a silly way of putting it since i'm not dancing anymore but i just basically mean that i want to be toned with long and lean muscles. i'm not into the way that madonna looks for myself, esp her arms (...even though it's also beautiful) and i tend to like the bodies of women who do yoga, pilates and dance. some are quite muscular but i'm thinking more along these lines:

versus:


Beyond obvious benefits of added strength and endurance, weight training makes sense because it'll strengthen your bones, ligaments, and tendons - translated - making you less prone to injury. And, if you ensure that you focus properly on your lower body ( i.e legs, butt etc, ) and core training, this can only have direct benefits in optimizing how you execute the various mechanics of dancing.

can i get the same benefit from working with the resistance band and the weight of my own body in my workouts? for example...if i add push ups?

well, anyway, i'm stoked to do some research on weight training. thanks again. i don't have a gym membership so no access to weights but maybe once i find out more, i'll invest in some...

btw, my body fat is 26.6% - is that on the good or bad side? average maybe?:confused:
 
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holy cow!! Madaonna is looking fit- i had no idea.

and good on you for breaking out with all the details. The help you will get now will prove more helpful than generalizations.

you love your butt-- hhahahaa


i would guess nmost don't!! I'm rather fond of myself too. Most here are.

welcome to the club.

post pics-- get real and accountable for best results.
 
hey!!! thanks for your support and help. i'll try to take the next steps and really take advantage of this forum - pics, diary, continuing to read the resources and advice available.

anyway...it's true:

i LOVE my butt! :yelrotflmao: maybe that'll be my first pic! :eek:

thanks again.
 
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can i get the same benefit from working with the resistance band and the weight of my own body in my workouts? for example...if i add push ups?

Actually, it's simply resistance training that you want to introduce into your workout regimen, and that can take the form of body-weight exercises, resistance bands, free weights, machine / cables etc. etc - the principles used to train your muscles don't change.. Some of these types of resistance exercise are better than others depending on what your goals are - but as a beginner, I wouldn't worry much about that for now.

I used to a home push-up routine for years, and if structured properly - yes - push-ups are a great form of resistance exercise.

well, anyway, i'm stoked to do some research on weight training. thanks again. i don't have a gym membership so no access to weights but maybe once i find out more, i'll invest in some...

btw, my body fat is 26.6% - is that on the good or bad side? average maybe?:confused:

I'm going on memory here, but i think I read the average bf% for most American women is around 30% or so.

A ' healthy normal ' body fat for a caucasian women is considered to be about 22% ( btw - its about 15 % for men )....so 26.6% is pretty good if you ask me.
 
ok cool. i do have some simple resistance training in my routine and i won't worry about it too much for now. i've taken some pilates so i usually use the band for simple pilates arm and leg workouts. the fitness ball is also good for some resistance workouts.

so...thanks again for your help, particularly with the weight training and bf% website. you're the bomb! :cool:

let me know if you can think of anything else! otherwise, i'll definitely keep doing research and will stick to my goals.
 
ok cool. i do have some simple resistance training in my routine and i won't worry about it too much for now. i've taken some pilates so i usually use the band for simple pilates arm and leg workouts. the fitness ball is also good for some resistance workouts.

so...thanks again for your help, particularly with the weight training and bf% website. you're the bomb! :cool:

let me know if you can think of anything else! otherwise, i'll definitely keep doing research and will stick to my goals.

No problem. Glad I could help.

btw - even though resistance bands can easily get you started, it still isn't a bad a idea to keep the thought of one day using dumbbells / barbells ( at home ) in the back of your mind.

The fact is, when you want to work out at home, all kinds of options for resistance training are available. Lot of it depends on how much time and money you can put into both........as well as your goals / time frames etc. You could do only body weight exercises along with some resistance straps etc., you could training with dumbells ( with or without a fitness ball ) with or without a simple bench, or with barbells and a bench.

Now, if you want, you could even look to get a ' starter ' weight set. You can find some that give you adjustable dumbbells AND a barbell bar as well. It's usually called a ' 110 lb. ' starter set - and with that you typically get 2 dumbbell bars, a 5-ft bar , weight plates and collars. See this links for examples of what i mean.





I'd add, that you can usually find these weight sets readily available ' used ' somewhere in your community..........they're everywhere...and they're usually pretty cheap .:)

Now, while the fitness ball is good ( very good for ab work btw :) ) if it were me, I'd also try and keep an eye out for a very cheap or used weight bench. A bench is more of a ' nice to have ' than a ' have to have ' piece of equipment. So, you can do some weight training without a bench, but having a bench allows you to learn some basic lifts and gives you a wider range of exercise options IMO. A flat bench is OK, but if you can find a bench that will incline and has uprights, that is an ideal set-up for a beginner. See the link to get an idea of what I mean.



Again, this is something you can do later on down the road...these equipment additions needn't be an immediate concern IMO .:)
 
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