Newbie, looking for advice

[cutiepie04]

Hello to everyone,

I am new to this board, and need some advice. I am 28 years old, 5'2", and weigh 114pds. I need some advice on toning my abs. I have had two children and would like to get rid of the pouch that my children gave me as a "souvenier". I do not lift weights, nor have I ever, I do not have access to a gym, but do have weights at home compliments of my fiance. The only real time I have to work out is first thing in the morning before I get the kids up for school. I am not looking for a bodybuilding routine, just something to tone up my abs, and my legs, and butt. I will have my fiance post some pics of me so that you can see where the problem areas are. Any advice or routines would be greatly appreciated. I have been told I will never get rid of the "baby pouch", is that true?

Thanks

 

[Sassy69]

First, welcome aboard! You've definitely founnd the right place to ask your questions & get the best answers available!

To a certain degree, the changes in your body due to childbirth may be limited. However as far as "toning up' your abs, thighs & legs, women tend to deposit bodyfat in those areas, thus they are always the most apparently "flabby" or "fat" or "not lean". Since you can't "spot reduce" to "tone up" a specific area, doing a million sit-ups won't get you a 6-pack set of abs. A tight diet, some resistance training & some cardio will help you. 114 lbs at 5'2" doesn't sound like you have a lot of excess "flab", so it probably appears that you have more flab because you have less muscle. You can definitely tighten up by doing some resistance training. Cardio will help drop some of the bodyfat, but it will also continue to deplete the muscle that you do have - so I wouldn't focus on just doing cardio. You can start using the weights you have and I might also suggest getting a set of resistance bands & a fit ball. These items are fairly inexpensive, don't take up any room & accommodate a great range of basic resistance exercises. Things like lunges and exercises that work the ol' glute muscles, quads & hams will give you a place to start. This equipment also doesn't require that you work with heavy weights, but rather with gravity & the resistance from the bands and also focus on your balance.

What does your diet look like? I bet you can get a good start on tighten up just with diet. Do you eat small meals? 4-6 times /day? Cut out the processed foods - sugars, white breads, pastas, cereal? Drink lots of water - like 1-2 gallons/day?

Can you post your diet as an easy place to start?

 

[cutiepie04]

I work two jobs so my diet is terrible and I know that. I dont eat breakfast, lunch is usually some sort of sandwich or sugar product like pudding, yogurt etc...., dinner? what is dinner? If I am lucky I eat at work, which is usually a fried food, and then some ice cream. God now that I see this I eat terrible. Okay definetely need help with the diet. LOL.

Thanks for the advice Daisy, keep it coming. This is going to be long hard process, but I am determined to make it happen. I want to look good for my man. He is into the fitness thing, lifting weights, drinks those powders, etc. He is on this board and that is how I found it.

Thanks again Daisy,
Barbara

 

[rpol]

Just read all you can on this board and the diet board, daisy,sassy and velvett will get you on track. Remember lifes is simple decide what you want out of it, find out how to go about getting it and then do it.Post up a days worth of diet if you can.

 

[Sassy69]

I think you should have a very easy time dropping some extra bodyfat just by cleaning up your diet. And you'll probably experience a lot more energy, etc as well. Not eating breakfast is evil. (I know, I used to do it!) The bigger challenge is usually getting into the habit of planning & packing your meals ahead of time.

 

[cutiepie04]

Well lets see diet for today: Breakfast I had coffee, Lunch I ate some chicken and mashed potatoes, I will most likely snack my way through dinner considering I have to work tonight. That is pretty much it for today. What a way to eat, huh?

 

[FitFossil]

All the training in the world will NOT make up for a lousy diet. Believe me - I tried!

Here's a great link on diet: http://www.stumptuous.com/weights.html Look under Eating, Dieting 101, and part 4: ok, so what the hell am i supposed to eat? This is pretty much how I eat. In all my meals I try to get a balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats.

As for the "baby pouch" I don't know because I haven't had any babies. What I DO know is there are lots of Mothers out there who look better than I ever will. Here's one who is 75 years old (and she didn't start training until her 50's):

 

[cutiepie04]

Thanks Fit, I will definetly check it out.

 

[Buddy_Christ]

diet = horrible. ladies, you'd be jealous if you saw how she eats and doesn't gain any weight. burns it right off.

so maybe a 40/40/20 carb/protein/fat? couldn't put her on a cutting diet...she'd wither away. i'll get some pics if she wants me to, you'll see what i mean.

i can't have her eat like me. i'm stuck in a lifelong bulking state (and it's not a clean bulking as my metabolism is pretty fast as well). i have told her before what to/not to eat. so i'd have to do the "do what i say not what i do" when it comes to food.

have a bench and weights. not much, but we have them. not enough for me to use, but plenty for her. i'd have to take a trip to the lumber yard to build a sturdy rack for squats as well as a setup to use during bench press in the case of failure....that way the bar has something to sit on instead of laying on her chest all day (i use the squat rack in the gym for this purpose, eliminates the need for a spotter).

any routine suggestions? i'm thinking maybe a 4x a week routine, work the whole body in 2 days. 2 days on, one day off, 2 days on, 2 days off. nothing overly extensive, mainly compound movements. i know she's pressed for time in the morning. after a few months of that, she can always gauge progress/how she feels and see what needs to be changed.

 

[cutiepie04]

ah honey your sweet, thank you. At least you think that I am sexy. You have all given me great advice. Michael and I have been sitting here coming up with the perfect calorie intake for me. Michael says about 1700 a day is good for me. This is going to be very hard for me as I am a junk food addict. Keep the advice coming. He will be posting pics of me soon for you to see me now, and then my progress as it comes.