BlueRose

Diet alone will never make you lose weight. Only way to drop weight is to increase metabolism through exercise and eat enough to sustain you during your workouts. I speak from personal experience. I used to eat under 1k calories per day and wonder why I had problems with weight gain let alone maintaining my weight. Body goes into starvation mode and will store all food as fat. Consequently a lot of people's problems isn't just what they're eating but not eating enough. I now eat 1500-1600 calories per day and am thinner and healthier than I have been in ages, and if you don't believe me go look at my pics in my log.

I had one gym teacher who was so desperate to get rid of me and fill her quota she tried to have me placed in special gym. Yes, special gym. It's exactly the way it sounds now and that's what it meant then too.

Nightmares? I still have *scars*. Literally.

+1 Went to my high school reunion for precisely that purpose. I owed it to my 16 year old self to do so. It was faaaabulous.

Thanks!! I'm keeping up with it and having fun, and I think that's the important thing.

Thanks! I owe it all to the awesome workout programs I've been doing. The trainers really put together a good piece of work!

I know very little about it save what few moves are done in my Brazil Butt Lift workout. I am STILL on girly push-ups even though I'm using 8 and 10 lb weights for my workouts. Do not get! My upper arms, glutes, and thighs have always been my trouble spots. I gain weight mostly on upper and lower body, not much in the midsection unless I really begin to pile it on. I actually am in the process of trying to make them smaller AND add definition. I've seen ones who look gorgeous and I've seen the ones who just...not my style! I want curves in addition to the definition.

That only means that the calories from your fruit smootie, in addition to other things you have eaten have not added up to more than the calories you use. If someone is eating as much ( or more ) calories as they are using and they add more calories they will not lose weight. Someone who was a full days worth of calories and then adds a fruit smoothie will take in several hundred __extra_ calories. It only takes 200 extra calories a day to put on 20 lbs over the course of a year. Right, the mistake there is thinking they're calorie-free. I count them with my day's worth and track everything over at sparkpeople.com.

Um...I have fruit smoothies fairly regularly and have succeeded in losing weight--and my metabolism is crap. I don't get the fruit-phobia, guys.

Heh, that was me too! And WTG on becoming a trainer! That's my goal as well. No worries on competing; I take in 90-120g of protein daily without even trying, and I'm not even in the heavy training category. Welcome!

Finally started Brazil Butt Lift's deluxe program. Rio Extreme is just that, extreme. By the time I'm able to get through it and do the advanced stuff I know I'll be okay for Insanity!

I'm interested in the answer to this question myself. I'm currently doing intense aerobic and strength training plus running, looking to shed 5-10 lbs plus gain lean muscle. Abs are finally starting to show definition but arms, particularly upper, could use work. Ditto with upper thighs. I'm doing special programs to focus on those areas and get some sculpting done and my caloric intake averages about 1400-1600 per day. But...I'm also a decided newbie to all of this bodybuilding stuff and am still in the "shed layers of fat" stage. Once I'm at ideal weight, I'll be doing cardio about 3 times a week and strength training the rest. However, I'm looking into doing the Insanity program so if I get to my goal before I do, I'm switching onto that as my main workout.

Thanks! I owe it all right now to Brazil Butt Lift, Hip Hop Abs, and running. I just gotta work on my arms some more. I did have this hideous nightmare that I did and I looked like one of those freaky mutant people with bulges where they shouldn't be. I clearly have issues.

And now one month later... progress pics! http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy74/TeaAddictedGeek/Post-onemonthBBLandoneweekrunning_4.jpg http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy74/TeaAddictedGeek/Post-onemonthBBLandoneweekrunning_3.jpg http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy74/TeaAddictedGeek/Post-onemonthBBLandoneweekrunning_1.jpg

And now one month later... progress pics! http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy74/TeaAddictedGeek/Post-onemonthBBLandoneweekrunning_4.jpg http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy74/TeaAddictedGeek/Post-onemonthBBLandoneweekrunning_3.jpg http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy74/TeaAddictedGeek/Post-onemonthBBLandoneweekrunning_1.jpg

Now running in the mornings, been increasing distance gradually. Now at 1.43 miles, hoping to get up to 2 and eventually go for that 5K!

Ran a mile straight both Sat and Sun, then did brisk walk/run from that point onwards. Tummy Tuck Sat night, Sun night crashed early. Am down five pounds. YES!! Five more to go at min, ten more at max...then continue gaining muscle tone and def. I start 2nd round of BBL this week.

Thanks to my workouts I have a growing supplement stash. Right now I have Vegan Proteins+, Jarrow's Brown Rice protein, and Vega Whole Meal Optimizer. That's not including the sports optimizer from Vega and various other pill supplements I take. Wow.

Last night was High and Tight and Tummy Tuck. This Sat marks the last day of my first round of BBL. After that doing a month of the classic program then moving onto...INSANITY! I must be insane, lol

+1, helped TREMENDOUSLY. I did not have IBS though. Me neither, but what I had was similar enough to get only one test on me and get written off by a doctor so he could prescribe me meds that went off the market six months later--and who later left that particular office not long afterward. Me cynical? Moi?

Not all of it is IBS either. Unfortunately those three letters have come to mean "We have no idea what's wrong and we don't feel like running the tests on you. Here's a disease of elimination, now go run and play or something."

Depends on where you live, climate, cost of living, etc. I can't imagine living on groceries for only $150 per month. I spend about that on Vega alone, lol

I personally take it in the morning so it gets me through the day. It works out for me and I've definitely noticed a difference! I am NOT a morning person and let me tell you...no more coffee required. I don't feel "buzzed", just at energy levels I should be at. And that's good!

Interestingly, I went vegan *because* of my digestive probs. Eating healthy, clean, drinking plenty of water and being active on top of it has made me almost symptom-free.

Last night: 30 min Cardio Axe, 40 min Bum Bum, 15 min Tummy Tuck from Brazil Butt Lift.