Not gaining weight, but gaining FAT

SparkPoints: (112,882)
Fitness Minutes: (179,360)
Posts: 17,410
12/2/12 6:29 A

REYNINGSUNSHINE,

Now, stop that ! You are NOT disgusting !! Don't beat yourself up because you haven't been exercising or eating right as diligently as you were in past. Every single member of Spark People is an expert at gaining, losing and regaining the weight. You can't change the past. but, you CAN influence and change the future.

I'm going to give you a piece of advice I give to all new members and it's this,"don't look at good health or weight loss with an all or nothing mentality". If the only healthy thing you were to do for yourself today was drink 8 glasses of water, that's still a step in the right direction. Every little bit does make a difference. So, if you have been improving your eating habits, that's a positive.

How to get back to exercise ? Do you still have your Insanity DVDs ? If so, start the program again. Don't start where you were because you have lost some lean muscle. However, you CAN get that muscle back ! Start the program at the beginning. With time and regular practice, your lean muscle will increase.

But, you have to be patient !! Figure at least 4-6 weeks to see some subtle improvement and at least 2-3 months to get that lean muscle back. Start slowly. Don't try to do everything at once or you will end up frustrated. Do you have a set of resistance bands ? If not, you can find a set at any Target, Walmart, Sears, TJ Maxx, etc for cheap. Resistance bands and body weight exercises can be done at home.

As the old song goes,"accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative". Give yourself credit for the positive things you do and don't beat yourself up because you're not perfect. you do NOT have to be perfect to be healthy.

So, no more beatings. the beatings aren't productive. If you really want to change your body, you're going to have to do something about it. That means sitting down and setting some goals. Once you've decided what those goals will be, you determine what you need to do to achieve those goals.

SparkPoints: (86,243)
Fitness Minutes: (28,796)
Posts: 17,359
12/2/12 4:44 A

Have you thought about doing Mat Pilates in your bedroom? Some can even be done on your bed. That will help to keep your muscles toned, and can slim down the abdominal area. You don't need any special equipment for that. You might like to invest in an exercise band. They don't take up room, and are fantastic for little portable muscle builder/toners. You could keep it in your bag, too and do a few minutes here and there during the day. IF you have cans of food at home, there is no reason why you can't get 2 even-weight ones and use them for weights. You don't have to have HEAVY and you don't have to have BIG, OR spend big to utilize what you have around you.

During lunch breaks you could get in 10-15 minute brisk walks. Snatches during the day are just as good as setting a full hour aside to do this.

Why were you too scared to go to your School Gym????

I wonder if the "I feel disgusting" is more because of the emotional impact of not working out rather than the physical effect on you?

Edit: I have just read a blog on your SparkPage, and with this "...I feel disgusting. I do not want to accept that this is just how I'm genetically (or possible epigentically) programmed right now. I want there to be something else that I can just cure." on your post, I am wondering if you are bordering revisiting an Eating Disorder???

I strongly urge you to use caution - you are aware that the 800 calories days weren't healthy, but when a person starts to get emotionally affected again, it is very easy to slip back. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt for you to touch base with a Counselor at your school???

Kris

Edited by: SLIMMERKIWI at: 12/2/2012 (05:10)

current weight: 151.0

211 196 181 166

151

SparkPoints: (13,350)
Fitness Minutes: (15,178)
Posts: 496
12/1/12 10:29 P

The past semester, I haven't had much time for exercise. I was really active over the summer (I swam a lot, weight lifted, and did INSANITY), but when I went back to school, I didn't have the space at my apartment to do anything (for a while, 3 people were living in a 1br/1ba apartment...) and was honestly too scared to go to my school's gym.

So I did expect to lose some of my muscle.

I haven't been overeating a lot. I've had a couple bad weeks, and typically one higher-calorie day, but mostly I eat really well. In fact, I haven't gained any weight. But I am gaining fat. My midsection has grown 2" all around in the past two months- yikes. My arms haven't gotten bigger at all, my hips have only grown 1/2", and my thighs have only added on 1/4" each. The past few days I have been eating low-calorie, and my waist seems to be only getting bigger.

I feel disgusting. I do not want to accept that this is just how I'm genetically (or possible epigentically) programmed right now. I want there to be something else that I can just cure.

Body Fat %: 21.0

22 20.75 19.5 18.25

17