Any tips for losing inches.....

[weese17]

Third post in a row.... ;)

Any suggestions for those of us who are vegetarians/vegans? It's so hard to cut carbs out when they are 70% of your diet! I am already a committed veggie/fruit eater, but I eat soup for lunch a lot - pea/lentil or the like. Are these bad or good carbs? I get so confused. :)

[kina]

Originally Posted by habibiyaeini

saw this on youtube. Seems pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1724n...e=user&search=

Also cut down on salt so you dont retain fluid round the guts.

I haven't found any on youtube, but lemme check something...

here is plank:

http://yogajournal.com/poses/470_1.cfm

here is side plank:

http://yogajournal.com/poses/783_1.cfm

in my version, however, i keep the side of the body parellel to the floor, not turned as if demonstrated in the pic

for me, its the bloat. my abs are super strong due to yoga and dance.
i'm now going to stop the salt.
I have no ideas for vegans. However, Jewl, (jawahir) on bhuz is a vegan. Maybe she could chime in.
I'll ask her today too, I'll see her this afternoon.

[Lauren_]

Lucy, you can do down dog, plank and cobra on the forearms. It's actually a great series for core & upper body strength, and a nice change from the regular versions.

Also any poses you usually do from tabletop position (hands and knees) can be altered with the elbows under the shoulders, forearms on the floor OR you can pull over a chair and rest your arms on the chair.

[jawahir]

Originally Posted by weese17

Third post in a row.... ;)

Any suggestions for those of us who are vegetarians/vegans? It's so hard to cut carbs out when they are 70% of your diet! I am already a committed veggie/fruit eater, but I eat soup for lunch a lot - pea/lentil or the like. Are these bad or good carbs? I get so confused. :)

peas/lentils are good carbs. you want to combine them with rice or grains to make a complete protein. the bad carbs mostly come from wheat, sugars, heavily starchy foods like pastas, etc... peas and lentils are really great because they have more protein than the other veggies. i try to do less soy, more nuts and legumes like lentils and beans.

i'm no expert by ANY means, but i've been eating vegan and healthy for a long time, and in the last year and a half am entirely gluten-free. i am only talking from my own experience here. imo, there's no reason to cut carbs out of your diet. carbs are our energy. as long as you balance with good fats (avacado is my fave fat source), proteins, and fiber, as well as exercise, i think carbs are fine. personally, i am vehemently against protein/low-carb diets and not because it's animal proteins, but because it is a VERY unhealthy way to lose inches. excess of anything is unhealthy, and that much protein without fiber and carbs will really put your system out of balance.

i have lost lots of weight in the last 6-7 years just by eating a more and more balanced diet. now, i'm about at my ideal weight, but it took years to get there. i really believe you have to be patient with yourself and take full responsibility for your health in order to lose inches and keep them off. no quick dieting will do that for you. i know, i have tried, succeeded, put the weight back on, and done it again and again, and in my experience this has been the only way to do it...i haven't gained any weight at all in two years (my little one is two mind you), but i have lost probably 5-10 pounds more than my pre-pregnant weight.

hope that helps a little. sorry for the rant! i meant to write a quick note...

[jawahir]

i should say eat BROWN rice with your legumes, as the white rice is more starchy. sweet potatoes have great vitamins, but in moderation as it's high sugar. stay away from high fructose corn syrup found in a LOT of packaged, non-organic and non-natural foods as well as drinks, sodas, even some of the natural drinks like hansens...that's about the worst stuff you can put in your body, esp if you are trying to lose inches.

when people ask me how i got to eating so healthy, i tell them to read the label on EVERYTHING they consume. it starts giving you an awareness of what is going in your body, then the body-mind connection takes over and you start really not wanting to eat all that crap, sugars, and preservatives. so just read the label first, before you make any changes in your diet. then you can make informed decisions on what you WANT to put in your body, and that's exactly how i did it.

[jawahir]

Originally Posted by *maria*

I know my body has built up a resistance. And I know I can "make" the time.
Excuses excuses.........

Tks for the compliment, but I would *really* like to lose 2 inches around my waist.
And, if it takes a girdle to do it, well them, dam**t I'll have to get one.

i really think you are exercising enough, and the resistance doesn't matter...i am not one of those exercise freaks, you are doing a healthy amount of exercise. i really believe a balanced healthy diet is key to losing inches in conjuction with all your exercise.

again, this is just from my own experience. my change in diet has made all the difference in my weight. first, i cut meat, then i cut fast food, then preservatives and hfcs, then i cut dairy, then gluten. i started eating more organic and natural foods, getting as balanced as possible. i didn't increase my exercise a bit...in fact i probably exercise less than when i was heavier.

not saying everyone has to be as strict as me, i have intolerances, but i think our society consumes WAYWAYWAY too much fat, protein, AND carbs, and not enough fibers, good carbs, and veggies/vitamin-rich foods. that's a bad combination.

not saying that's your diet, just that's the norm, and that's why we have so much obesity here. my advice would be as i said before, really pay attention to everything you consume. an exercise i did was every time i ate something (this may be too weird for people though), i imagined what it would do inside my body. all the bad stuff started making me feel really bad, depressed and sick, and when i ate something good, i got energy and happiness.

[jawahir]

one more thought and i swear i'll shut up. water, make sure you are hydrated enough...drink lots of water, or drink enough water i should say.

i read an article that say even coffee and dieuretic drinks are better than not drinking. even though it is dieuretic, if you prefer to drink that, you will drink more fluids and therefore will get more water than if you don't drink water. if you don't drink anything because that other stuff has a dieuretic effect, you get less h2o in your body...does that make sense? the article i read had ratios and number statistics which i don't know but it was interesting. i do like water so that's not an issue for me.

[Heidi.]

My best advice is power-walking! half an hour, an hour can give quite fast results. I do it and for me it has done good. Also I listen to music and go through
choreographies in my head And of course appropriate diet. And for that I say small portions, eat often and alot of nuts!

[shaynaz]

YOGA! i started yoga about twice a week. Although, i havent seen any results on the scale, I definately have seen results as far as inches decreasing!!!

Yes, i agree with you about yoga. It is fantastic.

[zumarrad]

read an article that say even coffee and dieuretic drinks are better than not drinking. even though it is dieuretic, if you prefer to drink that, you will drink more fluids and therefore will get more water than if you don't drink water.

If true, that's reassuring, because while I love me some real coffee, in a working situation I drink gallons of the crappy instant stuff as well. I try to make myself drink other things - water, teas, tisanes - but the dirty old instant coffee gets me every time.

[Eujenia]

This is very different than what everyone is suggesting - but I've gotten, and know others who have gotten, really good results from cosmetic acupuncture. I go to a lady on capital hill, and although I don't carry a lot of weight around my middle, when I started to carry more than I'm used to, it made a big difference.

[Lauren_]

Ohhh, interesting, Eujenia. Can you tell us more about that? Like how fast were the results, did it hurt, what was it like?

[sabrinabellydancer]

I have done the Master Cleanse lemonade diet. It is very drastic and a bit controversial, as some people have strong feelings about juice fasts.

I did it for 10 days. It was challenging, but I lost 6 lbs. in 10 days. It stayed off with sensible eating and exercise.

I was able to maintain energy so long as I drank the lemonade mixture regularly through the day. Do NOT try to do the salt water part of the diet. It causes horrendous "urgency" and in my opinion is unnecessary. The tea part works just fine and is not always needed.

I felt well enough on it to work full time, go to the gym, etc. but please take in to consideration you own physical condition before starting this [if you chose to do it]. It is no joke.

I have put the book in pdf format on my website for anyone who wants to learn more about it. you can ignore all the philosophy and just do the diet :)

http://www.sabrinabellydancer.com/pdf/mastercleanse.pdf

btw, this is an impossible diet if you are pms-ing. best to do it after the salt-chocolate-sugar-pasta monster passes.

[Gwoofer]

Originally Posted by weese17

Third post in a row.... ;)

Any suggestions for those of us who are vegetarians/vegans? It's so hard to cut carbs out when they are 70% of your diet! I am already a committed veggie/fruit eater, but I eat soup for lunch a lot - pea/lentil or the like. Are these bad or good carbs? I get so confused. :)

My very personal opinion - decreasing carbs definitely makes you loose weight (fat and more water) than eating carbs. Eating carbs does make you operate at a higher degree of water in your body. I happen to think that's a good thing and permanent weight loss (mostly fat) will happen just as well eating carbs as not. If you ever want a quickie leaner look just decrease the carbs (and the general caloric intake) for about three days and it will make a difference. It will also make most people feel quite weak.

It all comes down to a permanent life change you can live with.

[Eujenia]

Originally Posted by Lauren_

Ohhh, interesting, Eujenia. Can you tell us more about that? Like how fast were the results, did it hurt, what was it like?

Well, I did her abdominal series, which was 12 treatments total, going in 2x a week for 6 weeks. I'm a "pear," not an "apple," but after almost a year of working in an office all day and going to night school 5 nights a week, no dancing, some new bad habits, and being closer to 40 than 30, I was starting to feel heavier and thick around the middle. By txt 4 or 5 the "thickness" felt looser and softer, and by txt 8 I thought I was looking slimmer.

My s.o. also noticed, and he was skeptical of the whole thing, and told me, unprompted, that I was looking slimmer. I was really happy with it. It is a weight loss treatment; I didn't weigh myself or do measurements, but I did notice a difference in the way my clothes fit. I had noticable, but not really dramatic results. I basically got back to normal - I also wasn't doing much else. I was back in one dance class, no other exercise, and while I was correcting some bad diet habits I got that year, I was just eating normally.

I don't think it hurts, the cosmetic point needles are really small, smaller than regular acupuncture needles, so they don't hurt, just prickle a little. She puts in little clusters of these in points all over the abdomen. She also does a few points on the rest of the body with regular acupuncture needles. Most of those don't hurt, just feel a little sharp for a second, but one or two points will be more sensitive - it's only for a second though. She does a whole medical intake type form on clients when they first come in, a consultation, and does pulse diagnosis on every visit.

[Bellydancingcaroline]

Quinoia - I mix it in with my porridge in the morning, and find that I don\t get the "pure carb" hunger thing after that. My Keyboard has, for reasons best know to itself, switched the " key and the @ key around, oh it's sooooo annoying.

[weese17]

Lauren, that suggestion with plank and "pulsing" is AWESOME. I did it yesterday morning, and BOY do I feel the burn in my lower abs today! Thank you, thank you!

Mini-rant:
decided not to go to my yoga class this morning, instead do the Shiva Rea's core workout yoga vid, (thanks Lauren!)
However,,,,,,,,,,,,
NOT ONE REMOTE CONTROL FOR THE THREE DVD PLAYERS IN MY HOUSE CAN BE FOUND!

*sigh*

so now it's too late to do my yoga class, can't do tape, oh well.....
kids, husband, kids millions of friends in my house, etc. etc., that's what happens to remotes, they disappear. Plus, my dog and my kids friend's dogs!

Wish they'd make all the crap they leave around the house disappear too!

[Lauren_]

My poor yoga students. I've been all about your core the last week or so as a result of this thread...

That one came from Shiva Rhea's core abs workout. I highly recommend it for anyone with a little yoga experience who wants to work their abs.

The workout is about 37 minutes, but it's broken into three sections so you could easily choose a shorter segment. Shiva has a very new-agey way of speaking that could be irritating to non-yogis, and she has a very calisthenic approach that could be irritating to hard-core yogis.

IOW, she's really the worst of both worlds, and yet I LOVE her.

The workout is made up mostly of ab moves you will NOT already have done elsewhere.

(Maria, did yours come yet? I'm anxious to know if you liked it!)