Body Image

[Digital Twilight]

Ah that makes perfect sense. My brother is diabetic so I know a little about it. Cutting out all carbs and protein that isn't liquid form sounds really wrong anyway. I've never heard that one before.

[The_Prowler]

Some of these people I was talking to were a little... extreme. They were all hardcore vegetarians and vegans and they about shat bricks when I told them the kinds of foods I have to eat to live, and they didn't take me very seriously after that. Some gymaholics I've met can't even take me seriously when I say I want to get in shape because I'm not in shape. I'm not fat, but still, why would someone like that make me feel like shit for not looking like a Greek god? I'm pretty sure they weren't born with 12 pack abs and thighs that could crush bowling balls. I've got potential, I just need help getting started and keeping up with a routine.

[allegro]

A lot of these gym people are stupid, and they're not qualified to be giving dietary or nutritional advice. My hairstylist was taking some HIIT classes and the trainer told her to put grass-fed butter in her coffee to increase her metabolism (kinda junk science at this point) and then insisted that if she REALLY wanted to lose weight (she really doesn't need to, she's fine), she must stop eating all fruit. She loved eating an apple a day, so she was bummed. I told her any so-called diet that made you eliminate fruit was CRAP. Fruit has been a staple in our diets since the beginning of time; fruit is rich in fiber and nutrients and the "sugar" in most fruits (except maybe pineapple which we should eat in moderation) is not bad for us. Tomatoes are a fruit!! Idiot.

My dad is a Type 1 diabetic, he has been my whole life, so, yeah, I know exactly what you mean, and those guys are full of shit.

[Nyx]

That's weird, almost all vegan athletes I know of make fun of low-carb high-protein diets. Vegan diets are usually particularly high in carbs.

[Digital Twilight]

There's so much crap these days and pseudo science when it comes to diet these days. Stop eating fruit? What BS!

[Sarah K]

A lot of these gym people are stupid, and they're not qualified to be giving dietary or nutritional advice. My hairstylist was taking some HIIT classes and the trainer told her to put grass-fed butter in her coffee to increase her metabolism (kinda junk science at this point) and then insisted that if she REALLY wanted to lose weight (she really doesn't need to, she's fine), she must stop eating all fruit. She loved eating an apple a day, so she was bummed. I told her any so-called diet that made you eliminate fruit was CRAP. Fruit has been a staple in our diets since the beginning of time; fruit is rich in fiber and nutrients and the "sugar" in most fruits (except maybe pineapple which we should eat in moderation) is not bad for us. Tomatoes are a fruit!! Idiot.

My dad is a Type 1 diabetic, he has been my whole life, so, yeah, I know exactly what you mean, and those guys are full of shit.

Sounds like he was trying to get her to do Keto or high fat/low carb. It works BETTER THAN ANYTHING I'VE TRIED for losing weight. By far. But it's kinda extreme, and takes a shitload of planning. If someone just needs to lose a few pounds, I would never recommend it to them. But if someone has a lot of weight to lose, I can't say enough good things about it.

[JessicaSarahS]

I feel bad because of a lot of posts being about being overweight, but I've always struggled with my weight since the time I turned 8, and in the past several months, between the summer and fall I was able to lose 35 pounds just through eating less and cutting down on my general intake of food, stopped drinking milk and limit my dairy, eat less red meat, etc. Probably the most significant change was simply quitting eating any McDonald's specifically.

That is awesome! Congrats! I've done the same and I've been working towards an entire vegetarian diet (finally been entirely vegetarian for a full month now), and I'm finally seeing some significant weight loss, woo hoo!

when I told them what I was trying to accomplish, they started going off about changing my entire diet (which not only isn't dangerously unhealthy, but dramatically changing it would be far more dangerous) and setting me up with a full fledged, seven day a week hardcore regime like I told them I wanted to be the next American Gladiator.

Diet is just as important as exercise if you want to get fit. I was able to lose quite a bit of weight with exercise alone when I was younger, but it's much more difficult to do so now that I'm older. I'm very active and love to work out, but I'm still fat. It really took a diet overhaul to see the results that I want. It took me a long time to get into the diet that I need as I did small adjustments and replacements so it wasn't too crazy of a change, but it makes it so much easier to sustain. Instead of doing crazy, immediate overhauls, just start slowly. Go to the gym at least twice a week and drink lots of water one month, then add some more vegetables to one meal a day, etc.

[allegro]

Sounds like he was trying to get her to do Keto or high fat/low carb. It works BETTER THAN ANYTHING I'VE TRIED for losing weight. By far. But it's kinda extreme, and takes a shitload of planning. If someone just needs to lose a few pounds, I would never recommend it to them. But if someone has a lot of weight to lose, I can't say enough good things about it.

That's the thing, she was just trying to lose 5 pounds and fruits are complex carbs. And the problem with Atkins or Paleo or any of those high protein low carb diets (where you aim for ketosis) is your brain needs carbs to function.

And this guy told her that it was the fruit, itself, that was "preventing" her from losing weight; remove that apple and poof, success. First, the success would be totally unrelated to that fucking apple and second, how does she maintain that, for life? It's silly science.

[Sarah K]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/p...ency/22419231/

This is the best. I've followed Tess on social media for quite some time. Awesome to see her achieving goals and breaking new ground!

[eversonpoe]

really great article about eating disorders that supports what i've been saying since high school about my own experiences with them.
(obviously triggering including brief mentions of rape/abuse)

[Halo Infinity]

This is exactly what I'm going through, and his advice and reminders in this video has helped me so far. I thought it might belong in this thread too.

[Sarah K]

I'm at a 5 day BDSM/kinky camping thing. In the first 24 hours here, I have worn a swimsuit for the first time since like middle school. Worn shorts for the first time since high school soccer, and just walked around naked. There are like 700 people here, and it's amazing and freeing and an experience of a lifetime. Like two years ago, I wouldn't even wear sleeveless shirts, because I was so self conscious. It is apparently never too late to start loving yourself.

[halloween]

That's fantastic! I'm continually surprised by how little time I spend being self conscious anymore since a couple years ago when it finally sinked it that it's just not worth my energy. That's not to say that I won't think "I'm getting a bit out of shape and I don't like it" and try to make concrete steps towards changing that. I am self-aware though in the sense that I'll find myself doing things around strangers that will make it less likely to see my scars (years of habit) or prevent them from seeing my armpits, when I catch myself doing that though I instantly change it and say "Fuck it, I'm committed to myself and if they're uncomfortable, not my problem."

[Swykk]

I don't think the person I see in the mirror is the same one everyone else sees. I'm lost 42lbs now, which is great, but it's not really helping me physically like myself. I'm still so very self aware. Fuck.

[Rubeninphoenix]

Despite the fact that I've gone from 240 pounds in early March down to 175 now, I am still horrendously conscious about my body image. I know I lack muscle and I still have a small amount of fat around my midsection (but that's going away pretty quickly).

[tony.parente]

I don't think the person I see in the mirror is the same one everyone else sees. I'm lost 42lbs now, which is great, but it's not really helping me physically like myself. I'm still so very self aware. Fuck.

Have you made the transition to weightlifting at all? It has helped my self confidence completely skyrocket since I started, I'd really give it a try if I were you.

[Swykk]

I am unable to do impact workouts because I have peripheral neuropathy (it's especially bad on my left shoulder and arm). So that's unfortunately not an option for me.

[halloween]

I'm sad. I'm going to shave my arm pits =[ In this constant heat, I don't necessarily stink because I use deodorant but I do sweat because I don't wear antiperspirant and it's becoming increasingly annoying when my hairs get tugged by my shirts (if they are sleeveless) because my shirts are made for females who shave, so they rest right in my armpits instead of underneath more. So when I'm damp and my shirt is damp, the movement of my pits becomes abrasive. I really wanted to avoid getting to this point but today my dress tugged and I noticed how sore my arm pit was getting from the repetitive, minute tugging of hairs every so often.

FUCK YOU FASHION INDUSTRY!!!!