How many make the effort?

Women have to work at being women... In many ways.

My SO and I are fortunate in attending a lot of workout classes together. Lately, we started at a new place and as I enter each class (we're trying them all) I keep hearing, "Oh, look! We're going to have a guy in our class!"

Now, that's about as rude as, "Oh, look, we're going to have a chick in our class!" But, I can see where they forget the proprieties when these classes seem to spend almost every minute with the instructors saying, "OK, work for that tight butt. Now, work for those flatter abs!" and, "OK, this one is good for shaping those loose upper arms.. Now, this one for that tighter waist! Come on, girls, it's just about swimsuit season!" This goes on hour after hour, all day long - just read the schedules...

Now, the classes are not difficult, at least not for me, but a lot of the women, even the younger ones, break into a sweat and usually start making jokes about half way through to signal that they're really getting winded, hot, or, tired. Still, the class presses on - making "new" women by the hour.

So, my question to the CD/TS/TGs reading here is, are you making a like effort to "shape up" as these (some) women are doing? Or, are you just padding up, covering up, and, making up to cover up the marshmallow underneath?

Ice hockey!! 70 games a year in an over 25 league.. Ohh look we have a guy playing hockey who has no body hair!! Lol. Plus almost daily exersize at home and walking at lunch...

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Originally Posted by maryklinden

So, my question to the CD/TS/TGs reading here is, are you making a like effort to "shape up" as these (some) women are doing? Or, are you just padding up, covering up, and, making up to cover up the marshmallow underneath?

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A bit of both at this point, but putting some effort into the one helps make the other one less necessary (and I mean shaping up more to cover up less, but my statement works wonderfully both ways).

The best way to shape up is to quit using the jaw muscles so much


JoAnne Wheeler

Exercise at least 3 times a week. Do do exercises to reduce waist size as well as to reduce my weight so I look better in the clothes I have.

It's almost another full time job with me. Running 5 miles a day, the gym twice a week,kickboxing two or three nights a week. Don't eat this, don't eat that,read the label.

My GF and I are looking into Yoga classes soon, I already have the paperwork, just need the time and scheduling.

You better believe I "make the effort" . I got rid of all my "fat" clothes and I'm too cheap to buy bigger AGAIN

How else am I gonna keep fitting into these size 8 pants?

GET OUT THERE AND SWEAT.

Bicycling and yoga. Whatever exercise I can do that doesn't cause me to build muscle mass.

It's a whole lot easier to look femme when you don't have a male pot belly. :)

Hmmm...let me see... Nordic walking, cycling, aerobics, stress are amoung the few activities that help me stay in shape. My doctor recommends only eating things without labels (fresh fruits and veggies) and my aerobics instructor says she avoids anything with more than 3 ingredients.

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Originally Posted by maryklinden

So, my question to the CD/TS/TGs reading here is, are you making a like effort to "shape up" as these (some) women are doing? Or, are you just padding up, covering up, and, making up to cover up the marshmallow underneath?

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Making the effort.

I was 5"9" and weighed 155 when I married, and 3 years later was up to 186, even with all the military workouts.

Last August I was up to about 284, standing a little under 5'9".

By December I was down to 258. Lots of swimming

However, since then I haven't managed to lose anything. Well, actually I've lost and regained the same 2-3 lbs over and over again.

I changed my workout some, but continued the swimming. No help.

But I look about 234. The difference between actual weight and the look is probably due to muscle and the flat Dunlap tire hanging over the belt that is easier to hide than a pot belly.

I doubt I'll ever get back to 155, or even 175, due to the muscle mass, because I really don't want to lose that part of the weight. I need all the strength I can get as I get older. Those 30 foot ladders ain't getting any lighter when I need them to work on the house.

So, hopefully I'll start losing again, but having no thyroid makes it a little harder to do, and get close to 175.

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Originally Posted by maryklinden

So, my question to the CD/TS/TGs reading here is, are you making a like effort to "shape up" as these (some) women are doing?

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I try.Did real good with diet and being physical at work last year.If I had to do something,I did it the hard way.It'll be the same this year.

I usually only buy healthy food.Cleared room and set up the total gym for when I feel I didnt do enough at work...theres always more to do though,lol.I want my stomach really nice.Stopped smoking last week which is awesome.Summer will be here soon enough.A girls gotta look good :battingeyelashes: hehe

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Originally Posted by kellycan27

Don't eat this, don't eat that,read the label.

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I hear ya'.I try to always make sure I read that label.Thats where trans is a evil,evil word.

On the bicycle every day, 1 hour inside on the trainer in bad weather, 25 to 30 miles on the roads in good weather, road miles add up to 3,000 per year. Sit ups everyday usually 75-100, lights weights to cut down on flab every day. All of that helped shed 55 pounds in one year, hope to get into a size 10dress someday (soon).:)

Renyta

I'm fifty nine. I stopped working at it ten years ago. Up about another thirty pounds. Lost an inch in height due to degenerative dist disease. I now have a prosthetic hip, and the other is making noise. I'm still in good heath considering.

:oI haven't gained or lost a pound since High School - 34 years now...

BP 120/80
Cholesterol perfect.
Golf - 5 handicap.

I was an alternate on the Olympic Wrestlling Team and have kept my physique all these years.:tongueout

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Originally Posted by Natalia

:oI haven't gained or lost a pound since High School - 34 years now...

BP 120/80
Cholesterol perfect.
Golf - 5 handicap.

I was an alternate on the Olympic Wrestlling Team and have kept my physique all these years.:tongueout

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Oh yeah...I forgot...I neither exercise nor diet in any way. Perhaps a beer and a good brisk 'sit'.:drink:

For eight years I did 60 minutes of cardio a day, three days a week. I was in great shape. But then I burned out on doing the same thing (climbing stairs) so I switched to bicycling last summer. That worked pretty good until this winter. Then I just quit. So now I have gained weight and a pot belly.
I got a new bike today and the weather is much better so now I have no excuse not to exercise. I wish I could play on some sort of team but my crazy work schedule won't allow it.
My wife wants me to join a gym but she would want me to be hairy to avoid suspicion. I can't do that. Leanne
P.S. Natalia; yes we all hate you. (just kidding hee hee)

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Originally Posted by Phyliss

How else am I gonna keep fitting into these size 8 pants?

GET OUT THERE AND SWEAT.

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Size 8? Bitch.

Me, I like to go for walks with my MP3 player.

I'm not much into workouts. I stay active, watch what I eat (sort of....) and always walk the golf course rather than ride a cart. I'm lucky I don't really suffer from a huge weight problem, because I have enough trouble just maintaining the weight I have now without ballooning up a weight class.

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Originally Posted by maryklinden

Women have to work at being women... In many ways.

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First of all, women don't have to work at being women. That's because they ARE women, there's no work involved. But it seems everyone kind of knew what you meant.

We have to work on our figures simply because we care about our bodies, perhaps no matter how we present to the world.

As for me, I refuse to become an all too common image of an aging male who hasn't a care that his body turns into a marshmellow due to inattentiveness as he ages. I am not so inclined to let that happen to me and as a result, I get to keep a pretty sweet feminine figure as well. I pretty much weigh the same now as I did 15 years ago in my mid-to-late 20's.

I get a decent amount of exercise but I'm certainly no gym rat, and I enjoy food and drink but don't typically binge. Everything in moderation has worked pretty well for me.

And that size 8, yeah, that's me as well :battingeyelashes: .

[SIZE=4]One hour of exercise daily, 7 days a week. Eat a vegan diet, lost 105 pounds from 5 years ago, think good thoughts and chase little voices in my head...[/SIZE]

Actually, I'm currently in a exercise program at work...goal is 10,000 steps a day and/or 1 hour of exercise. I do have a membership at Bally's but I no longer work nearby so I go to the high school instead. In nice weather, I bike to/from work. I like using the WII Fit...yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance. (Gee...never realized I was so unbalanced.)

I plan on restarting ab workouts again soon for both sides of my spectrum.
With the warmer weather getting here I plan on walking alot more to and some mild weight lifting just to stay in shape.

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Originally Posted by maryklinden

"Come on, girls, it's just about swimsuit season!"

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I belong to an all-women workout center and, along with my spouse, go for a 30-minute exercise circuit about 3 times a week.

I also usually do a fast walk/run for about 30 minutes every morning, although I've been on-again/off-again over the past few weeks.

My spouse and I and our son joined Weight Watchers about 2 years ago and that is one of the best things I've ever done. If you really follow their program you don't "diet," you're not hungry, you learn new ways to eat, and you loose weight!

I've lost around 50 pounds and *L*O*V*E* being a U.S. size 6-8 (slightly higher on top, your individual weight loss and body style may vary).

My spouse lost around 90 pounds and my son lost a bit over 50 pounds.

And we've all managed to keep it off for over a year!

I feel a lot healthier and a lot more confident about my appearance, both en femme and en drab.

Enjoying life like never before!

I started yoga a couple of years ago and it is the best thing I have ever done regarding exercise. I wish I had started when I was younger. Its a great workout and the classes are almost all women and most are very friendly. Watching how they conduct themselves in this setting is a great learning experience.

Lisa

Eating often.
Cycling around 5,000 miles pa with a few miles with a camera in my bag as extra weight and to prove in here that I really do cycle.
Hill walking - not as much as before and one of them is now done pushing a bike, which I never did before -
Swimming - for those pics.
Age 80. Bp around 126/? .
~Samm

I just started working out again about a week and a half ago. Every other day is about 15 minutes of cardio to get warmed up, then I found this UFC workout to tone up and burn some fat, so I've started doing that and using the Ab Glide (or something like that). The other days is about 20 minutes of cardio and then my ab thingy. I've also tried to be a little more conscious of what I eat- mainly I've cut back on sodas or I'll drink the ones like Coke Zero or Pepsi Max, which have 0 calories. In about a week and a half, I've already lost about 5 lbs. and starting to see A LITTLE of the tone-ness coming into my stomach.

GOOD GENES!:D

Stopped all weight involved workouts years ago. Trying to reduce muscles in biceps and legs. With MODERATE success.:straightface:

700 crunches first thing when I get up every morning. And a few other core strengthening excercises for my bad back. ( Doesn't hurt my abs either:heehee:).

Careful about everything I eat and drink!:drink:

Weigh 10 pounds MORE than I did in highschool, about 42 years ago. But, I hope to get back to that highschool weight of 145 this summer!:)

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Originally Posted by docrobbysherry

GOOD GENES!:D

700 crunches first thing.

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How are your teeth after that lot ?
~Samm

I love my gym sessions nearly as much as Cding :eek:

Every week -

4 sessions on the weights
2 sessions on the treadmill
2 sessions of kickboxing

Cheers

Tash :)

Nope! I'm 5.9" 157lbs. and eat what I want. Did I mention I workout almost everyday?

i have always wanted the trim body, but i do not have the fortitude to work at it. my fault.

I've been fortunate to keep my 125 lb (5'6" and 23 yrs old) weight until now. In the past 5 months, I've gained almost 40 lbs.. Looks like I do need to start working out before it gets worse... My GF and I have made a pact to lose weight over the summer. I'll feel a little embarrassed to do it, but I'm feeling like I have no choice

I push myself away from the table before I'm full three times a day. So far, it seems to be working. :laughing:

It's been a slow process, but I'm down about 30 pounds, currently boucing around the 175-180 range. In this range I can wear size 8 jeans if they are low rise, but I'm still only 3 inches small in my waist than my hips. I'm trying to get within corset distance for my waist, so my 37 hips neet a 31 waist so the corset can bring me down to 27. The problem is my 41 band size on tip. Adding the girls and I'm at least an 18 on top and that will never get smaller.

I changed to the eating lifestyle of eating a wide variety of things, but less of each. I have a strick pattern if I go above 180 to hurry myself back down, and I'm happy with 1 pound per month. It takes time, but it's less frantic.

That's not counting all the outdoor activity and such. We really are committed to this thing. Why else would we spend all this time and effort????

tina

Good question.I started out wanting to simply drop as much weight as possible to achieve the good figure,but then something happened along the way,I began to feel better about myself physically and emotionally,I then realized it was better for me personally to opt for an overall lean and toned body.You start off with what you were given and then strive for proportion and lean muscle all over.

I like the balanced and disciplined approach of Pilates,so I like to use that philosophy in all my workouts,strength training,biking,running,floor exercises for core.Watching the scale daily generally keeps me in tune to what I should and shouldn't be doing.I like to cycle high cardio one day then strength training and core the next,then rest Sundays.