# Fitness Program and/or Diet



## dressagesweethart (May 19, 2011)

I use Advocare products and do some high intensity aerobics and strength exercises. With Advocare I was able to lose 50 pounds and drop from a size 10 to a 4 in less than 3 months and the weight has stayed off. I'm currently down to 136 from my original 190 and I've been able to keep the weight off. I feel great and have so much energy now lol. I only changed what I eat a little and just try to eat clean most of the time, but I'll still have pizza or whatever just not every day and not until I feel like I'm going to explode lol!
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## ArabLuver (Aug 27, 2014)

dressagesweethart said:


> I use Advocare products and do some high intensity aerobics and strength exercises. With Advocare I was able to lose 50 pounds and drop from a size 10 to a 4 in less than 3 months and the weight has stayed off. I'm currently down to 136 from my original 190 and I've been able to keep the weight off. I feel great and have so much energy now lol. I only changed what I eat a little and just try to eat clean most of the time, but I'll still have pizza or whatever just not every day and not until I feel like I'm going to explode lol!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_



Which Advocare products do you recommend? I've heard great things about them, and I think I'd like to try them. Just not sure what to try!
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## dressagesweethart (May 19, 2011)

ArabLuver said:


> Which Advocare products do you recommend? I've heard great things about them, and I think I'd like to try them. Just not sure what to try!
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I started on their 24 Day Challenge but I use the basics and love their products! I can help you figure out what would work best for you if you want. Do you have Facebook? My page is www.facebook.com/MOTeriTwyman I think you could find me directly that way 
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## ArabLuver (Aug 27, 2014)

dressagesweethart said:


> I started on their 24 Day Challenge but I use the basics and love their products! I can help you figure out what would work best for you if you want. Do you have Facebook? My page is www.facebook.com/MOTeriTwyman I think you could find me directly that way
> _Posted via Mobile Device_



Thank you! 
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## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Any exercise is better than no exercise. Just do what you can ! Swimming is an awesome, full body workout. Just as a place to start. <3


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## Mulefeather (Feb 22, 2014)

I have lost 75 lbs over the past 19 months (down from my highest weight ever of 390 to 315, with a loooong way to go yet). I follow a way of eating called Keto, which focuses on low carbohydrates, moderate protein and high fats. The point is to get your body into a state where it is burning fat for fuel rather than carbohydrates. I eat a lot of meat, a lot of veggies, and dairy like cream, butter, and cheese. It’s also had the nice side benefit of controlling my ADHD- it was originally developed to help children and adults with neurological problems and seizures. I also count calories and try to stay between 1500-1700 calories a day. 

I admit over the summer, I’ve had a major case of the F***its! I’m definitely an emotional/stress eater, and this summer has pretty much been 90% stress for me. I was a contractor hoping to get made permanent at my job, which then got eliminated due to budget concerns. I picked up another temp assignment that lasted approximately 6 weeks before they decided they didn’t really need someone to sit around doing nothing all day (literally, I would ask if they needed me to do anything, answer was always “No”), and now I am back temping again at my old company (hoping to make it stick this time!) Happily I haven’t gained any appreciable weight back (just about 5-6 lbs in water weight that I’m working on losing). I didn’t count anything and just ate whatever over the past 3 weeks because I was on vacation, then I got sick as soon as I came back and didn’t even have the energy to cook simple things. 

My goals in the next few months are going to be cooking big meals and then taking my lunch to work each day so I’m not spending so much money on food. I also would like to start lifting weights, but I want to see if I can buy a session with a personal trainer so I can learn how to do it safely.


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## Sadie Giddys Up (Aug 20, 2014)

Portion control is a big deal! 80% of losing weight is what you eat and 20% exercise  

One very important thing to remember is try not to worry about the pounds so much as the inches your losing! I have changed the way that I eat towards healtheir choices to make it a way of life and incorporate more exercise and actually gained weight but lost an inch! I was 217 when i started and last time i was weighed I was 222 but I lost an inch around my waist. I am 6 foot and will never be as skinny as the Drs say i should be so DONT GET DISCOURAGED!!!!


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## Golden Horse (Feb 20, 2010)

Mulefeather said:


> I have lost 75 lbs over the past 19 months (down from my highest weight ever of 390 to 315, with a loooong way to go yet). I follow a way of eating called Keto, which focuses on low carbohydrates, moderate protein and high fats


CONGRATS on the losses so far, off to check up on Keto.



Sadie Giddys Up said:


> One very important thing to remember is try not to worry about the pounds so much as the inches your losing!


Yes and no, both should be used, overall if the goal is to be lighter, you should be lighter, especially when starting, like me, from a scary high number. It is important to track inches as well, because when the scale sticks, as it will do at times, it is nice to see the inches falling, or at least moving around some.

For everyone the secret of success is finding what works for you, and what you can stick at. My son and me both lose weight better if we dump the 'bad' carbs, so we can eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, no bread or potato product with it, feel full, function until lunch time, and if we follow it, we both lose weight. DH though, will feel physically ill half way through the morning if he doesn't have some sort of carbs at breakfast time.


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## frlsgirl (Aug 6, 2013)

Yeah, the unfortunate truth is that weight loss is mostly the result of diet. 

I lost around 20 pounds last year. I tried lots of different things but none worked long-term. The key ingredient that I was missing is self-control. I basically just ate half of everything. Instead of a candy bar, I bought those dove chocolates and only eat 2 at a time. Instead of eating a whole sandwhich for lunch, I only eat half. I eat snacks in between meals because that keeps me from overdoing it at meal time. I replace bad foods with good foods here and there (baked lays instead of regular potatoe chips for example).

Writing down what you eat also helps. I would like to lose another 10 pounds but don't really need to as I'm already at a healthy BMI. I've been tracking all my food on fitbit and that is really eye-opening. 

Exercise is very important for health reasons but it won't cause you to lose weight unless you also eat right. I love the little exercise trackers on fitbit, it keeps me motivated to keep on moving.


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## dernhelm1984 (Dec 19, 2013)

dressagesweethart said:


> I started on their 24 Day Challenge but I use the basics and love their products! I can help you figure out what would work best for you if you want. Do you have Facebook? My page is www.facebook.com/MOTeriTwyman I think you could find me directly that way
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


You might be hearing from me as well. I am curious about these products!
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## ArabLuver (Aug 27, 2014)

Advocare is pricey... I'll have to really think about it.


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## CowboysDream (Nov 12, 2011)

I am going to start the Basic 10-week program from Mark Lauren's book "You Are Your Own Gym". All the exercises can be done without gym equipment and weights. The book has 111 bodyweight exercises and he describes how to make each one easier or harder. He also has 4 different programs of varying difficulty (Basic, 1st something, Master and Chief). He is military background and he trained Special Operations military forces, which is kind of his focus on fitness... Train to be functional. Each workout takes 15-30 minutes and you are meant to do it 4-5days a week. 

So the advantages of this workout program is.. it only takes 15-30mins and doesn't require gym equipment or weights. I really enjoy reading the book, he explains why it works and he talks about nutrition in it a little bit as well. 

I have had success with the book New Rules of Lifting for Women, during which I counted calories and weighed my food. I lost 40lbs but I found it was easy to start obsessing over food too easily. This program requires free weights which I dont have access to anymore. I ended up stopping and I gained it all back but around January or so I started to track calories again and do some exercise. I was previously doing the Couch to 5k program + riding 3 times a week and that really helped. I only ride 2 times a week now and I have been looking for a lifting program I can do which is under an hour and doesn't require much equipment and I found it (You are your own gym). I am starting it today. Today I will do Incline push-ups, lift me ups, let me ins and seated dip.

As for my food intake... I try to limit the amounts of breads and sweets I take in, eat more veggies, stick to leaner meats, go easy on the sauces and drink lots of water. I track calories off and on when I feel I need to. I have lost 25lbs thus far and gone down 1 pant size. I am going to start adding a protein shake with my workout though to follow his nutrition advice about macro nutrients.


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## kiwigirl (Sep 30, 2009)

I have to say that the biggest inspiration for me with weight loss and maintenance has been the decision to be really, really healthy. I have lost track of how much weight I have lost simply because I have gained a lot of muscle mass in the last year through my work out program. But I would say I've lost nearly 40kg of fat since 2012. My husband likes to say I have lost an Asian lol.

When I started it was all about being thin but as I have progressed and I have spent so much time researching food and how our bodies process it, it has become all about optimum health - not just for me but for my whole family. So now I eat wholesome natural foods, no processed stuff at all. My diet consists of meat, veges, fruit, seeds, nuts and eggs. No wheat products, no soy products, no processed sugar or artificial flavours, sweeteners or preservatives. I guess I am doing the paleo diet but without setting out to do it, if you know what I mean.

I don't count calories, I don't worry about fat, I just enjoy cooking tasty and delicious natural food. Every meal consists of veges, whether it be in a smoothie for breakfast, an omelet for lunch or stir fry for tea. My main concern with food these days is that it is healthy and promotes good liver function, kidney function, brain function, bowel health etc.

Over the last year I have become an exercise junkie - love it! Absolutely love it! I do a 3 to 5km warm up run before I do my circuit training regime, four to six days a week depending on life and what is happening around me. I call my exercise time my "boot camp". I push myself to run faster, be stronger, do more. I am thinking about seeing if anyone in my area would like to join me on my boot camp. Misery loves company haha.

On this weight loss journey I have learned things about the food we are eating and feeding our kids that absolutely terrify me. Why is obesity, heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, allergies, mental illnesses, ADD/ADHD attacking ourselves and our children? We are doing it to ourselves with the food we are eating! Did you know that 40% of girls in the United States are beginning to menstruate at the age of 8 because of the estrogen they are consuming in food and absorbing from the plastic that food is served in and on? And that that same estrogen is causing men and boys to lose fertility? And that is just one little side effect of today's modern diet, never mind the fact that children as young as 14 are being diagnosed with fatty liver disease - a disease that was once called alcohol fatty liver disease because it used to pretty much only affect raging alcoholics. How can a 14 year olds liver be in the same condition as that of an alcoholic? Wow, something has gone horribly wrong somewhere! Don't even get me started on allergies!!!

Anyway, I will step off my soap box! Just to let you all know that I have become very passionate about health and healthy eating. I turned 41 this year and I am literally in the best shape of my life and I love it! Our bodies deserve to be treated with respect that is for sure.


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## jcraig10 (Sep 14, 2012)

Unfortunately, weight loss does not come magically from a pill or a certain fad diet. You have to change your lifestyle. You have to change the way you eat...for life. A lot of the fads going on right now you lose your weight, and then once you start eating normal foods again, you gain it all right back.

Over the past 2 years I have lost 50 lbs and kept it off. Portion control, counting calories, lots and lots and lots of water. Increase activity level. It isn't easy, but it is so worth it.


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## ArabLuver (Aug 27, 2014)

I have yet to lose any weight yet, but my weight hasn't gone up, so that's better than nothing!

I have been counting calories, watching my portion sizes, I've cut out all of my snacking, and I've been drinking more water! Now I need to start exercising more!


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## Cinder (Feb 20, 2011)

I have two different main stages in weight loss, one from the past and one going on currently. 

First: 200 lb-162 lb, I am 5'4"

I cut sugar-sweetened beverages out of my diet and learned a lot about portion control. I started counting calories (usually about 1,500 a day) with a mild focus on macro and certain micro nutrients. I began exercising about four days a week. I usually did Zumba or DDR. At some point I stopped counting calories and maintained at about 162 for a long time. 

Second: 171-152 lbs and working on getting lower 

I am running about 6 days a week now for exercise. I am counting calories and eat around 1,300 to 1,400 a day. 

I am really putting some effort into revamping my diet. I am learning how to cook and I am trying to put more fruits and veggies into my diet.


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## OutOfThePastureDesigns (Jan 6, 2015)

I am new to the forum, but I have been on Plexus and lost over 20 lbs the first 4 weeks... I was a soda addict, but I do not even drink soda anymore on Plexus. Sugar cravings gone and energy gained


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