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Positive- dress for HI obtained; Negative- my butt is huge
Let's start with the good news- I think the dress I went back for tonight is perfect- well except for needing a hem. I got it and the accessories for around half off. I don't have ot ear a bra with it. I have a big brimmed white hat and will procure a white shawl and I'll feel fashionable. These pictures aren't great (flash and a weird angle- it's ok), but I hope you'll agree my search is over- including the necklace I picked up to go with it!
Bad news- when did my thighs and gut get so big and flabby?! We have a full length mirror, but it's in the hall linen closet and we never look in it generally. All the other mirrors in our house generally are from the hips up and even the one at the foot of the stairs never really captures the full picture. I thought I looked pretty darn good for carrying around an extra 10-15 lbs I could probably stand to lose all over. I guess I just wasn't seeing it. 
While trying on the dress in the store tonight, with no eager toddler outside to hurry me along, I got a good look at my figure. Now I know I'm not going to be taken out of my house with a crane when I die, but it still ain't pretty. I have to do something about it. I'm in my early 30's, am not done having kids, and have no likely magic thinassfairy coming to do the work for me.
I'm not really sure what to do about this. I mean, a slight diet/ self-control and adding some real exercise would probably help. But with what time? And what desire? I HATE exercising... that's why I dance. But the dance isn't enough to burn the calories.
Any suggestions on how to get myself bathing suit ready/ acceptable in 2 months?
Rock and Roll |
Re: Positive- dress for HI obtained; Negative- my butt is huge
Ok, so I hate it when I try to get advice from people on how to get in shape and get responses like "why would you want to lose weight, you look amazing!" but I am going to tell you that if you feel like you need some work, I feel like a cow. When you posted those pictures of you in your other dress possibilities I was so jealous of your amazing figure. Your stomach looked perfectly flat, your hips and thighs were pretty well covered by the dresses, but they looked perfectly proportioned, and your arms are incredible lady. And your new dress looks amazing on you. Love it.
That being said, I'd never try to discourage someone from trying to get in shape, so I'll recommend sparkpeople.com and P90x. I haven't started the P90x program yet, but I have several friends who swear by it. A coworker just recommended Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred to me today and I may try that out first and work my way up to P90x since I've seen enough of that program to know it's pretty intense. I love sparkpeople for counting calories and making nutrition goals as well as tracking what you do for exercise.
Good luck, but just know you look amazing just the way you are.
Thanks Liza- you're too kind! The nice thing about those dresses (and me sucking in the pot belly) is that they compliment what I know is good- my upper half is perfectly acceptible as is. And the cottage cheese thunder thighs and chunkbutt are well disguised in a flowy sheath dress that distracts with my nice ribcage! I'm all about knowing one's limitations.
I hate the idea of a diet and hardcore exercise, but maybe I'll have to look into some sort of intense thing to jump start the process.
That dress is definitely the perfect option...the back is really amazing.
That being said, I have to suggest the 30 Day Shred...I feel like a broken record, but I am on Day 22 and I definitely notice a difference...it's not easy, but it's about 25 minutes...if you can commit to doing it every day, I think you'll definitely find that it's a great jump-start to getting into shape...I am noticeably stronger and have more stamina (both while doing the workout and in my daily life) AND I think I'm looking a little better, too. I know it's not a miracle-worker, but it's gotten me back in the habit of working out and enjoying the feeling of a good muscle burn. I'm now at the point where I need to put together a plan for post-Shred, since I can imagine it takes about 3 days to undo 30 days worth of work
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dress on you (and in general)!
And, as someone whose butt influences the tide, I would say that instead of beating yourself up about it, your energy would be better spent enjoying HI and/or deciding how much it's worth it to you to minimize/tone the areas you don't like and then getting a plan for it.
I think you look awesome-- but I admit, I don't see you in a bikini-- but I hope you know that you look awesome and can enjoy the dress!
So I'll be honest - I've always thought that patterned flowy dresses do nothing to disguise a larger bottom half (being a woman who has one). They don't draw attention to them but they don't slim them either. Is it possible that is part of what you're reacting to?
Regardless, I think you look GREAT in that dress and it will be perfect for HI! As for exercise, the only thing that has worked for me is frequent, shorter workouts. I hate taking the time to exercise but know I need to. So my goal is 30 minutes 5-6 times a week plus all the walking around I can fit into my commute. I could probably do better but this gets the job done.
I think that dress is gorgeous and you look fantastic in it!!!
As for the other stuff. You don't look like you need to lose weight but I understand the feeling because people always tell me I don't need to lose, and yet I have a lingering 15 lbs or so that I really want to GO.
On the H&F board I have often read about it being 70-80% diet when it comes to weight loss. Some of them use online calorie tracking programs like SparkPeople and that seems to work well. Exercise is great but I have found that if I don't watch out, I easily eat back all the extra calories I burn anyway.
Have you tried Zumba? It is dance based but can be very high intensity depending on the instructor and how hard you push yourself during class.
Uhm, I am mildly obsessed with you in that dress- it is amazing, and perfect for the event! Stunning!
While I agree w/ PPs that IMO you look in fabulous shape, I know we all have areas on our body that we'd love to improve and tone up, so I won't sit her and coo since I'm sure that's not what you really want to hear.
Similar to you, I really am not a fan of hardcore working out, even though I'm aware that it produces results- I'm just too much of a bum! When I want to tone up, I usually find myself going back to the same tried and true methods that have worked in the past, one of which being The Firm' Cardio Weights programs and cutting the crap out of my diet- much easier to do in spring & summer when produce is fresh!. I like it because there are 4 different workouts, each with options for an express (under 30 mins) workout, so it's pretty easy to cram in. They also give you a planned out calendar so you it's easy to follow, and allows for downtime. Although I haven't been strict about it in quite some time, it always seems to treat me right. I've also heard great things about 30 day shred, and I'm a huge fan of yoga/pilates, and go to a studio here in town on occasion.
Good luck, and you'll be a stunner in Hawaii!!!
The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware; joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. -Henry Miller
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Love the dress on you! It's gorgeous! I have an exercise learning disability... it's something I cannot grasp for the life of me. I can take classes and follow people, do what they say but CANNOT translate any of that into actual meaning for myself. You look great though!
i know this sounds like girl-powery bullsh!t, but i truly think this dress looks better on you than it did on the model.awesome choice.
you also make me happy that i don't have a full-length mirror in my house. i've been worried about all the extra loose pregnancy skin in my midsection; i haven't even thought to check out my butt and thighs. yikes...not looking forward to trying on swimsuits this year.
I can't see the pics (darn firewall), but I definitely know what you mean by being out of shape. I don't even have a kid to blame! But my motivation has been to get in shape to be able to have one in the first place.
I have been tracking my food, but have fallen off that wagon lately thanks to running around everywhere and not having my phone with me at work any more. I know that it helps, so I'm just trying to be more conscious of what I'm shoving in my mouth and making better portion choices. I've been getting my DH on board with it too, which is helping to make things more realistic when I serve myself dinner.
For me the biggest part that I needed was exercise. We joined a gym in January and I've been going several times a week. I bought a heart rate monitor so I have a better grasp of what I am burning every time I go and I've been doing well at tracking it. Knowing that I burned 500+ calories in an hour has made it feel more worth it to me. But sometimes that means being at the gym at 9PM since I teach until 8:30PM. It's a late night and I know I miss out on sleep because of it, but it is the only time that fits in my schedule. So I go. I never in a million years thought that I would be a gym rat. But now I'm check-in battling with a girl at my gym on FourSquare. I'm the mayor right now, but she's likely going to take over in the next week when I'm on vacation. It's so stupid, but it keeps me going back every day so I can beat her. Competition gets me going. :-)