I'm down 35 lbs and I still look gross!

[camracrazy]

Ok, at my highest weight (during my last pregnancy) I was 168 lbs. I am down to about 133 lbs and I still look flabby! I have lunch lady arms, a poochy belly, and flabby thighs. I'm soooo discouraged!

I have been doing cardio and weights at the gym 4-5 times a week for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. Even though I have lost weight but I can't "tell" I've lost it from just looking at my body (I'd say from 150lbs to 133lbs I don't seem to have changed much except my already bony butt has gotten bonier!) I put on a sleeveless Halloween costume I bought today and I am so ashamed of how my arms look that I don't even want to wear it.

My goal when I started my weight loss was 135, but I can see that I need to be lower than that. I think I may have to go down to atleast 125. The lowest suggested weight for my height is 118. I have been doing low-carb but have slipped a little. I need to get back to it 100%.

Does anyone have some good exercises that have helped tone up the areas I'm having problems with? I know I can't spot reduce, but anything to help these areas look more toned would be a blessing.

[CookAMH]

Great job on the weight loss! What a fantastic achievement. Now is the easy part, I think. I recommend lifting heavier weights and less reps, around 8. Rep 7 & 8 should be very hard to do so adjust the weight that way. Doing lots of reps with a lower weight isn't as productive, and you will not get bulky. Give it a try and you will start to gain more muscle and that muscle will be productive all day long to burn the flab

[pacificbliss]

Wow! great weight loss. I agree with CookAMH, sounds like you need to switch to toning.

[pacificbliss]

Also, it will take a while for flabby skin to tighten up.

[camracrazy]

Originally Posted by CookAMH

Great job on the weight loss! What a fantastic achievement. Now is the easy part, I think. I recommend lifting heavier weights and less reps, around 8. Rep 7 & 8 should be very hard to do so adjust the weight that way. Doing lots of reps with a lower weight isn't as productive, and you will not get bulky. Give it a try and you will start to gain more muscle and that muscle will be productive all day long to burn the flab

Thanks. I have been trying that and my arms can't take much weight. You would think 9 years of carrying kids around would have given me great arm strength! My arms have been on fire all week from the weights I have been lifting but the jiggle doesn't seem to budge. *sigh* Maybe I'll have fabulous arms by Christmas!

P.S. I wish I could find my measuring tape to see if my arms have went down any at all, but my 2 yo seems to have gotten ahold of it again!

[bandgeek]

I'm kind of in the same situation. My highest weight was 176. I'm down to 134. Which is *great*! I'm much healthier now. But I'm kind of flabby. I don't work out much. I started working a fairly active job in July and my fibromyalgia has been kicking my butt since then. So going to the gym just hasn't been happening. I'm going to try to start working out again. I don't think the tummy flab will ever go away. That's what I get for going and having gigantic babies I think!

[camracrazy]

Well I did wear my costume twice. Once to a party and once trick or treating with my kids and some friends. We went to a park where they were having a costume contest and a lady told me that I should enter because I had one of the best costumes she'd seen! We didn't have enough time to stay for the contest, though. Several people said they liked my costume so I'm glad I wore it even if I didn't feel that great about my arms.

[ambereva]

Be patient, and don't underestimate yourself. You are probably capable of lifting more than you think. My arms get tired lifting 10 pound dumbells too, but I'm capable of lifting 45 pound dumbells, and the 45's get me to my goals a lot quicker.

And...it takes TIME to build muscle. You're not going to see a huge difference in a few weeks, but take pics now, and again in a year and you'll see a HUGE difference (assuming you keep at it). Be patient. Keep at it.

The cornerstones of my workout are deadlifts, pullups and squats. They work all the muscle groups. I do a lot of other things, but I do those three every workout.

[CookAMH]

Lift slowly, each way. Give yourself a few weeks (how long have you been lifting like you have been?) to see results. And literally, the 7th and 8th you should BARELY be able to do. If you can do them but feel tired, increase the weight. Measureing is a good idea because 1/4 inch may not be visible to the eye but shows up on the tape! I have found that motivating in the past.

And each week, you could probably add 5lbs, depending on the muscle group (ie 5 for legs and shoulders but maybe only 2 for arms or pecs).

[camracrazy]

Thanks for the encouragement.

I have been going to the gym lifting weights for about a month or so now. I was doing it before but got a bad fungal infection in my lungs and wasn't able to exercise for about 3 months. One nice thing is I have a friend that works at the gym so we've been meeting 3 nights a week after she gets off work to workout. No excuses when you have someone there waiting on you! I try to go atleast 5 times a week.

bandgeek - I so know how you feel! I was down for 3 months with this infection (still have it, but it's a lot better). At one point I couldn't walk from one room in my house to an ajoining room without having a major asthma attack. I am really hoping that my exercise will help improve my lung function. I was doing okay tummy wise until my last little stubborn baby had to be delivered by c-section! Oh well, she's healthy and sweet so I guess if I "ruined" my tummy with her it's not such a bad trade off!

[camracrazy]

Well I'm down to about 131. I haven't followed my diet and exercise as closely as I should have because a lot of things have happened. My Grandpa was put into hospice a couple of weeks ago and died last Friday. His funeral was Tuesday. My MIL is in the hospital and they aren't quite sure what is wrong with her. I took my youngest to the Dr today because she was wheezing and she has bronchitis.

It would be so easy to slip back into old habits but then I would just feel worse about everything. Plus exercise helps me deal with stress so I need to keep at it. I do feel that my stomach is looking better even though my weight isn't down a lot. My thighs and arms are still looking yucky. That bad part is I seem to be losing all around my hips and butt, so my hips and butt feel bonier than I would like but the places I want to lose are still fatty. Arghhh.

[Imogen]

I have found yoga to be very beneficial with those upper arm areas ~ 

[camracrazy]

I was 130.7 today. My youngest dd found my measuring tape so I measured again. Since March I have lost 15 inches all over my body. My upper arms only went down an inch (on each arm). My thighs only went down an inch (on each thigh).  I need to get rid of these stinking thighs!!!

[camracrazy]

Well I was 123.2 today. Still flabby in the thighs, arms, and tummy. My waist is down half an inch, my thighs down an inch each, and my arms down half an inch each. I'm looking better but still not quite where I want to be. My lung function has improved though!! That's a big step in the right direction for me.

[TrishWSU]

Originally Posted by camracrazy 

Well I'm down to about 131. I haven't followed my diet and exercise as closely as I should have because a lot of things have happened. My Grandpa was put into hospice a couple of weeks ago and died last Friday. His funeral was Tuesday. My MIL is in the hospital and they aren't quite sure what is wrong with her. I took my youngest to the Dr today because she was wheezing and she has bronchitis.

It would be so easy to slip back into old habits but then I would just feel worse about everything. Plus exercise helps me deal with stress so I need to keep at it. I do feel that my stomach is looking better even though my weight isn't down a lot. My thighs and arms are still looking yucky. That bad part is I seem to be losing all around my hips and butt, so my hips and butt feel bonier than I would like but the places I want to lose are still fatty. Arghhh.

Sorry about your Grandpa and other family health issues.  I'm in kind of the same boat weight/body-wise...I've lost 25+ lbs but it seems to keep coming from my butt and boobs because my stomach, arms and thighs still look flabby. I found doing yoga in addition to weight lifting has really helped give me a more lean toned look, especially in my arms which is probably the area that bothers me most.

I second the suggestion to take pictures! I really don't notice a change that much from day to day just looking in the mirror, but I'm always amazed at the changes that are evident in pictures. It gives me a better idea of how other see me as well. When I lost the 20 lbs everyone kept telling me how skinny I was and I thought they were nuts because I still saw the same body shape in the mirror everyday. It wasn't until I compared "before and after" pictures that I realized that while my shape was still the same, I really was much smaller over all (you'd think going from a size 14 to an 8 would have been a clue, but nope, it took pictures to convince me.) Also, I still weigh myself but more to figure out my body fat % instead of knowing my weight. I really don't care what my overall weight is, but I do l know what I'd like my body fat % to be which is more important in my opinion that total body weight.

 

[kittywitty]

I third taking pictures! I'm sorry about your Grandpa. But yay for progress losing weight! What sort of leg exercises are you doing currently? Are you remembering to mix it up? Maybe add yoga/pilates/hooping/biking/dance?

[camracrazy]

Thanks for the kind comments about my grandpa. I miss him so much.

I am doing week 2 of Couch to 5K and New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. I do those every other day on the same day. On the other 2-3 days I work out I do a water bootcamp one day and then maybe the elliptical plus weights one day or circuit training. My friend I work out with likes to ride the recumbent bikes but they make my butt sore!

Trish, I have to laugh because everyone kept coming up to me and telling me how I looked like I had lost so much weight. I finally asked my husband, "Wow, was I really that fat looking before???" LOL I guess I don't notice weight as much as some people do. A friend of mine once lost about 15 lbs and I honestly never noticed enough to comment on it. I thought she looked fine before!