andicat628

So I havent had my surgery yet but I will in about a month. I've been really concerned about losing my muscle while I lose weight. Obviously we all want to lose just fat and not any muscle but almost always we lose both when we drop weight. So I've been reading ALOT for many, many months on this very subject. I have found some very interesting articles about the benefit of starting out as a heavy girl in relation to awesome muscle tone later. As woman its VERY difficult for us to build muscle. We simply dont have the testosterone to bulk up. So those super toned actresses you see on TV had to do some MAJOR lifting for hours and hours with expensive trainers and eat some serious bulking foods and suppliments to get that way. But we have an advantage as heavy girls; our bodies had to build a ton of muscle just to haul us around everyay. Everytime we lifted any part of our fat covered bodies we had to build muscle to do it. And guess what, we had to increase our bone density to do it too. Just standing up made our legs press our weight. So if you weigh 250, your just did a 250lb leg press everytime you get up. So what am I getting at? Well this is the thing, if we were to keep all of that muscle while we lost the fat we would have that gorgeous muscle toned body that the beautiful actresses worked their butt off to get! We already have the muscle! The trick is to keep it. So how to do it... Well most women focus almost soley on cardio. It's been beat into our heads that in order to be skinny we must use the treadmill for hours and hours. Well, while cardio is good for us, especially our hearts it doesnt do much for our muscles. In fact, alot of cardio has the ability to break down our muscles. Sure we need to do some, but Im suggesting as have many others have, do less cardio and do MORE weight lifting. Now I know that freaks alot of you out but working on your muscles has the abilty to not only give you that toned body but also increase your fat loss. Consider this; a pound of fat burns 5 calories a day but a pound of muscle can burn up to 50. So imagine how that metabolism could run if we had a lot more muscle then fat in bodies. But here's the bad part; the more weight we lose, the less muscle our bodies need to carry us around. So after a couple months or bodies shed the muscle. Our bodies dont really want to use excess energy so if we dont use the muscle, we lose it. But if you use that muscle your body thinks "well I guess I need to keep that muscle". It doesnt know why you need it but if you are still using if for whatever reason, your body will keep it. So all you have to do is trick your body into keeping it. You dont really need to spend a lot of time weight lifting really to achieve this but you do have to use a lot of weight. I know it might feel as though by using a lot of weight you are going to bulk up but that simply is not the case. As mentioned earlier, women do not have the testosterone to bulk up by nature. What happens is quite the opposite actually. Here is an example; you know how when you cut through a piece of steak it is marbled with fat? Well the same is true for our bodies. Our muscle is marbled with fat, so if we lose the fat then the muscle becomes leaner, more dense since fat takes up more space then muscle does. So instead of bulking up as you think you will, you WILL get smaller. There is also a type of lifiting that I have never personally tried but plan to start. I will post a link at the end of this post if you would like to read up on it. Its called Static Contraction Training. It is the theory that if you just barely move a whole lot of weight you signal your muscle to stay and even get bigger. But you can read about it yourself. Im just trying to get the word out that lifting weights is vital for women and losing weight and not something you should be afraid of. So ladies, have no fear, LIFT THOSE WEIGHTS! And add as much Protein as you can safely add to you diet to feed that muscle too. Weight Training Vs. Cardio Wrokout - Cardio or Strength Training For Fat Loss Why weight loss requires strength training, even in women and seniors by Mike Adams the Health Ranger

Wow this post is freaking me out. Im a singer and Im planning to futher myself there when I lose this weight. If I cant hold my notes out im gonna lose my mind. Please tell me, has it gotten better with time???

This subject is part of my main concern right now too. I'm about a month out for surgery and I've been reading a lot about maintaining my muscle. I've found some really interesting things written about starting out really heavy and how that is not necessarily a bad thing for us as far as muscle is concerned. I've also been reading up on static contraction. I know Im a girl but I'm not afraid one bit of lifting weights. Here is a link. I think you will find this article very interesting. I know I did. It set me on a whole new path of searching and researching. Why weight loss requires strength training, even in women and seniors by Mike Adams the Health Ranger

Congratulations. So how long after your 6 Month diet did the surgery actually get scheduled?

ok you are cracking me up! That is good stuff. lol. I loved all of your writing but the part about the excess time is the part that worries me. Do you honestly not feel like eating all the time. Im so scared that I will crave just the act of eating so much that I will go insane. I also have been thinking of what I will do to pass the time. I also write music and sing. Maybe I will be more inspired when I feel better about myself, I don't know.

I havent lost my weight yet and I wasnt all that fat in HS. But I had another stigma, I was poor in a rich school. What I can tell you is that at 33 years old I have learned a lot about myself and about people. Like you I was angry for so long bc when I started to live a more normal life in a comfy "middle class" people treated me differently too. Like now that I wasnt poor I was ok to befriend. But the thing is, you need to love yourself and not define yourself on what others think of you. Life takes so many turns and changes in so many ways. You have so much to look forward to. You're going to be thin and healthy and you are going to college. You are setting yourself up for so many rewards in life. These people from High School will be so far away from your mind. You are going to meet so many new friends who dont remember the "you" from HS, they will know you from now and see you as who you are now. SO dont let those old ugly classmates ruin your future by robbing you of your humor and inner peace that will allow you to be someone people want to know. They arent worth it. High School is over. Enjoy the new you, dont be jaded. Be proud of your accomplishments and let your new life fulfill you and make you whole. You are going to love life, I promise!

I absolutely LOVE this poem. OMG you said everything I always want to say. Good stuff chic, good stuff!

Hi, I just turned in my paperwork through Cox too. I also have UHC. Im so excited to see you here. Maybe we will go through it all at the same time and be able to talk to each other through it. I haven't had my consultation either yet.

Hey Amber, You said that you thought it was a mistake choosing St Johns over Cox. I thought St Johns was the only hospital around here that did it. Did that change? My husbands insurance changes in January and that's when I was going to go back to Dr Edwards. I had talked to him 3 years ago and he sd I was a good candidate but our insurance did not cover it then, but if Cox does it now, I better go there because that is my network. I just started this site yesterday, and Im pleased to see others in Springfield, Lord knows Im gonna need you guys. Andi

I hear you on the jealous husband thing too. Most men beg to see you do these things, but not all, and not mine unfortuantely.

OK, new to this posting thing. Just wanted to say, I havent had the surgery yet, but my biggest fear is when I do I will have these same issues again. I think that I may have gained the weight in the first place to try and stay true to my husband of 12 years. I have always been a bit oversexual. It's possible that right now my inner sex pervert is just hibernating but will awaken as soon as some of the weight is gone. I don't have the answers for you but I do understand your problem. Andi

Man I gotta tell ya that I am afraid that will happen to me. In fact it may be my biggest fear, aside from wanting to eat and cant. I think part of the reason I got fat in the first place was to help me stay true to my husband of 12 years. I think my sex pervert is hibernating but will emerge again as soon as I lose this weight again. I had always had problems being overly sexual before I got pretty heavy. Don't have the answers sweets, but I understand your issues. :biggrin: