[alanasomething]

Hi guys, I'm new here, I'm hoping this is posted in the right section etc!!!

I'm 19, and I'm slightly overweight, or near enough. I'm 5ft 2 at the most, and I'm 10st 6lbs. Although it might not be very obese, I'm not happy. I don't want to be a size 14 any more.

I just want some advice to see if I will lose weight doing what I have been doing.
I joined a gym last week, (DW Fitness) but I have a chronic pain condition that means I can't use bikes, rowing machines, treadmills or anything I sit or run on. So what I've done is take part in the classes.

This week I'm hoping will be like every week onwards, on Tuesday I did 45 minutes of Legs Bums and Tums (then I went back later in the evening to go to boxfit but it was cancelled so I went a walk to Asda which is about 30 minute walk away uphill, then back home). Wednesday - Body Combat 1hour and Legs Bums and Tums for an hour. Thursday Legs Bums and Tums 45 minutes and Body Combat again for an hour then today the only class available was Body Jam for 1 hour.

If I do this every week, including a Monday next time, and have Saturday and Sunday off. My diet isn't bad as such, but it's not "good" either. I don't eat fruit because it's bad for my condition, and I don't like fruit too much anyway. I adore veg and always have veg with my dinner. I don't eat red meat or fish, only chicken. So for an average dinner I'll have chicken stir fried (little olive oil) with peppers, onions, and mushrooms, and maybe put it in a tortilla wrap. Or I'll have roasted veg with some olive oil and sea salt, with grilled chicken. I'm also at uni so sometimes I'll make a korma from the jar and make some white rice (whole grain gives me stomach ache). I try not to eat a lot of bread or pasta because I'm wheat intolerant, but I'm part Italian, so it's hard to resist my Nonna's pasta sometimes!!!

Anyway, sorry for the long post, I really hope someone can help. I used to figure skate and do ballet almost every day for hours before I got sick, and I did PE at school 4 times a week. Now I'm just short and tubby. All the flab is round my stomach. My legs are tubby and my arms too, but it's mostly my belly that depresses me. I'm a 34DD chest also, but I dont really want to get too small in that department!

[steveybee]

hey dude hope this post finds you still attending those fitness classes.

theyre a fab way to get mean n lean alana, ill be honest, im 28, 6ft, 14st but when i started DW 18 months ago i was a 16st sorry state of affairs with little confidence. i found general cardio soooooo boring especially if i workout alone so i also started attending those classes. the weight was dropping off at first but after 8 weeks or so i seemed to hit the weight loss wall and i couldnt figure out why at first, then a little birdy told me that my body had got too used too the exercise pattern and that i needed to shock it back to life by changing my workout. IT WORKED.

my exercises outside of classes include

V sit ups with a 5kg med ball
swimming as often as poss
power walking with a friend
light weighlifting to tighten muscles

one tip i can also give is speak to one of the personal trainers and ask them about kettlebell training, its very good.

your unfortunatly restricted food wise but key thing in the correct diet is whats called reverse pyramid eating which is, largish brekky, mid morning snack, medium size lunch, light evening meal.

try to drink 1.5 litres of water a day, it sounds a lot but its just 3 small bottles, try not drink any after 8pm though or youll be waking up in the night haha. a massive factor to the weight loss and diet is a full nights sleep.

im not an expert but ive a lot of knowledge so feel free to ask me anything and ill try my best to guide you the right way.

[Mayuri]

Hi Alana.

Wow, really love your style working out so much and giving your body the exercise and energy it needs. I admire your flexible approach trying new things to get around the things you can't do. Do you realise what a brilliant attitude that is to have?!

Steve's right. Water is amazing for weight loss. It's actually an appetite-surpressant, plus because the human body's made up of around 70% water, every single organ needs it to function properly. When you drink enough water, your kidneys work great, which means your liver can focus their all important energy to metabolizing fat! (Plus drinking more water you'll have radiant skin, better concentration and loads more energy that will make workouts much more fun!)

An important thing also to pay attention to is your emotional well-being. We've been brought up over the years to turn to food for so many reasons other than authentic physical hunger. It's quite common for people to stuff down the emotions they don't like, with food.

So a great question to ask yourself is "what am I really hungry for?" Do I really want food, or do I just want to change the way I feel?

The more you focus on being slim and happy and confident and able (Visualise this in your head!), the more you'll find yourself easily drawn to this new created self-image. You get more of whatever you focus on, so instead of thinking that you're sick of being overweight, start to think about how great life will be when you're down to your ideal slimmest sexiest weight. Keep reminding yourself exactly how much will you weigh or what size will you be. Ask yourself, how great will it feel to be this light, have this much energy, and feel this healthy? What will be possible for me at my ideal weight that was never possible before? Let yourself dream.... What will you see, what will you hear, what will you feel?

The brain can't tell the difference between what's real and what's vividly imagined. (That's why top Olympic atheletes use Visualisation as an integral and fundamental part of their training regime.) Whatever you focus on, you get more of. So make sure your thoughts are always of being slim and happy and confident!

Hope this helps.

Mayuri.