Who has had great results?

[kimlav]

I agree with Lenore about everybody being different. At 5'61/2", if I weighed 108, my friends and family would be checking me into a hosptial for anorexia. (think Ally McBeal) At 135, they leave me alone but at 130, I am too thin they all say (I don't think so) and I definitely would not want to go lower than that.

That said, I have lots of muscle and am a mesomorph and so perhaps someone who is that tall and an ectomorph would be fine with a lower weight.

Kim

[kem60]

I didn't mean to imply that someone at 5'6" and 188 is a blimp, just that I was. Sorry. I had most of it sitting around my waist and stomach. That's where the blimp analogy came to mind.

At this weight, I do get a lot of "you're too skinny" comments and a counselor I was seeing for an unrelated issue got a little testy with me about the weight issue when I wouldn't agree to actively try to gain 15 pounds (she used to run an eating disorder program). I don't starve or do anything weird. I'm happy at this weight.

The main reason I even said anything was to give my testimony about Cathe's PS series. I think it's so outstanding, I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in. I just did the SLA again this morning - going to do the upper body tapes in the afternoon.

[dnk]

A month after my second daughter was born, I was 161 pounds (I'm 5'5''). That may work for other people, but that looks all wrong for me. Because the doctor determined that the baby had a dairy intolerance- and she was nursing- no dairy for me for a year. I don't mention this to advocate that diet, but to mention that I lost 21 pounds over that year.

When I started eating dairy again, five pounds creeped back up in about a month. I knew I had to start exercising at this point. I convinced my sister to come to an Ashtanga class with me for about 10 weeks (had I understood the rigors, I don't know what would have happened!) I saw significant gains in strength, stamina and flexibility, but I wasn't losing weight and my core was still, well, not so tight.

Enter the videos. I really wanted to try Pilates, especially after taking a live class. I bought the Ana Caban Beginner's Workout, and I loved it. I took up the 30-workout challenge and did this workout consistently for two months. And yes, I did get a brand new body. I had always heard about obliques before, but I had never seen then on my own body. Wow! And my other abs were tighter too- although, sadly, still covered with some fat. Since then, I've moved onto the Intermediate Workout as well as Jennifer Kries' series. Of course, the changes aren't as dramatic, but it's enough to maintain what I've worked for.

I was very interested in the WAP series, but leery about buying something from an infomercial (and boy, am I glad now!). I ordered Leslie Sansone's Two Mile Walk because it had the best reviews on Amazon. Loved it. I felt silly that at the age of then 28 I was using this tape, but it got my heart rate up! I gave it to my mom, who's trying to lose a lot of weight right now, but I'm trying to get newer Leslie's anyway.

My best weight loss results have come when I include two or three cardio choices per week. Sometimes I do, but most weeks I really want to do yoga and Pilates. I regret moving away from those more than cardio because then I see a big drop in my core strength and definition. My net over the last year has been negative, and it's been due to doing a little bit every day as opposed to killing myself once every couple of days.

Deb

[Lenore Levine]

Originally posted by kem60
I didn't mean to imply that someone at 5'6" and 188 is a blimp, just that I was. Sorry. I had most of it sitting around my waist and stomach. That's where the blimp analogy came to mind.

I didn't think you were. I just wanted to point out the wide range of variation in human physical structure.

[brooklyngrrl]

Originally posted by kem60
I didn't mean to imply that someone at 5'6" and 188 is a blimp, just that I was. Sorry. I had most of it sitting around my waist and stomach. That's where the blimp analogy came to mind.

At this weight, I do get a lot of "you're too skinny" comments and a counselor I was seeing for an unrelated issue got a little testy with me about the weight issue when I wouldn't agree to actively try to gain 15 pounds (she used to run an eating disorder program). I don't starve or do anything weird. I'm happy at this weight.

The main reason I even said anything was to give my testimony about Cathe's PS series. I think it's so outstanding, I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in. I just did the SLA again this morning - going to do the upper body tapes in the afternoon.

Honestly, 5'6" and 108 pounds sounds *really* skinny to me, especially when you're carrying a lot of muscle (which you would be from all the Cathe work). The last person I saw that weighed around your weight was a good six inches shorter, and looked positively *fragile.* I'm not trying to be all judge-y -- but I'm thinking about that weight at 5'6" even with a small frame, and it doesn't surprise me that you say you get comments. It may be that your body shape (apple), allows a smaller weight range; I'm an hourglass shape between 5'7"-5'8", and with muscle tone, I couldn't possibly get within 10 pounds of your weight without tending towards skeletal. And I'm not saying I'd just lose my hips or whatever and I would *perceive* myself as skeletal because I'm used to having curves -- I'd literally see bones I shouldn't see, and likely lose my period. I really don't mean to be rude -- it just seems like a very low weight for your height, even without a lot of muscle, and I wonder why there's such a difference in your perception of your weight and the perception of your counselor and others. Do you really carry your weight that differently?

Again, my apologies if I've stepped over the line or offended you. I presume you're probably used to getting questions about your weight by now, but I don't want to force the issue.

[kem60]

I wasn't trying to lose the last ten pounds. They just fell off.

I have a very small frame. I was carrying most of the weight around the middle and in the boobs, believe it or not. I've gone from a D cup to an A.

I probably do have a distorted body image to some extent because I don't think I look skinny. My upper body is pretty defined from all the weight work. My counselor was the type of person who sees anorexia behind every tree, to be honest. I have never had an eating disorder in my life and don't now. I eat 1,600 - 2,000 calories every day, but am careful about sugar and refined carbs.

It is a control thing for sure. It took me a long time to get real and knock the weight off. I want to be sure it never comes back.

[fryeday]

ATTN: KEM60!

If you don't mind, I have a question for you! I just got the PS series & after doing the legs for the first time I feel muscles in my butt I've never felt before with the firms so I'm fastly becoming a believer. However, I have a question about how you rotated....

For example, I'll do @ least 30 minutes of cardio/warm-up then do one section of PS. It kind of bothers me because there's 2 upper body sections. It seems that doing both makes my workout too long, but not doing both makes me have to do 2 upper body days! What kind of rotation do you do? I'm thinking of just adding one of the upper body sections at the end of a total body day.

Also, your story really inspired me. I'm about your height & I started @ 176 lbs. & also looked like a blimp (all in boobs, belly, hips & thighs). Today starts week 9 & I've already lost 14 pounds & 4" in my waist alone! I've never been skinny. In fact, in my adult life, the lowest I've ever weighed was 133 (which is my goal weight now), but I can't wait to see how LOW I can go! Congratulations on your weight loss!

[brooklyngrrl]

Originally posted by kem60
I wasn't trying to lose the last ten pounds. They just fell off.

I have a very small frame. I was carrying most of the weight around the middle and in the boobs, believe it or not. I've gone from a D cup to an A.

I probably do have a distorted body image to some extent because I don't think I look skinny. My upper body is pretty defined from all the weight work. My counselor was the type of person who sees anorexia behind every tree, to be honest. I have never had an eating disorder in my life and don't now. I eat 1,600 - 2,000 calories every day, but am careful about sugar and refined carbs.

It is a control thing for sure. It took me a long time to get real and knock the weight off. I want to be sure it never comes back.

Thanks for your thoughtful response kem60. From what you've told me, it definitely sounds as if your shape is a big factor in your ability to carry a lower weight. I hear tell from friends with larger chests that the "twins" can be surprisingly heavy, and comprise more of one's overall weight than you might think. In my case, I really don't have an area that I could shed a lot of weight from "first" -- I'd lose weight all over, and if I dropped a lot of weight, the overall effect would be unhealthy looking.

I can relate to the control issue, certainly. It's worth thinking about that you don't consider yourself skinny though -- I was just talking with a friend of mine about this very issue. Often, when we lose weight, we still perceive ourselves as overweight even when others tell us that we clearly are not. I feel like sometimes an odd perfectionism sets in -- whereas once I would be happy losing 20 lbs or whatever, once I achieve that goal, I find further "improvements" to be made. My standards of attractiveness/fitness shift to meet my new body, and I find that I continue to judge myself even after reaching the goal I have set. I just set new goals to keep ahead of myself. As I asked my friend -- "when will we finally be satisfied with our bodies?" That quest is a strange beast -- it both keeps us motivated towards healthy goals, and also pushes us towards new ideas of perfection that we may never reach -- and forces us to continue to find ourselves "imperfect" in the process. I don't know, it's something I think about a lot in my weight-loss attempts and in general. How my body image shifts as I change, and how my perception of myself is both changed and unchanged by my weight.

[yafael]

Just wanted to throw my experience in here since it seems we have 5'6"ers comfortable at various weights but all at extremes -- I am also 5'6". 118 is the lowest I can comfortably go. And over 130 is way too much for me (I'm at 155 now and working my way down again). I do not get comments at that weight that I am too thin, probably because I am pretty small-boned. And most seemingly sensible people who are involved in my life enough to care do agree that I look healthiest in the very low 20s. Even at that weight, though, I do hold more weight around my abs.

[kem60]

I'm not a good example because I work at home and have no kids so I have more time than most people to work out.

I do the PS legs around 10 a.m. That takes an hour or so. Then I eat lunch around 11:30 and then do the upper body tapes back to back around 1 p.m. Then when the market closes at 3, I go do my cardio (which is still fast walking, Cardio Kicks or Interval Max on days when I don't do weights). I do this workout 3x per week. On "off" days (no weights), I do the NYC Ballet for stretch and some cardio. Sundays, I do only the cardio. Then, I eat dinner around 5:30 or 6 and try to be finished all eating no later than 6:30.

Those weight workouts make me unbelieveably hungry. I don't know if that happens to you or not.

I realize that not everyone has the time like this to work out. If I had a job where I was not able to be home, I'd probably be working out from 7-9 every night. Not good.

I'm getting ready to try Slow and Heavy now for a few weeks just to shake things up. I watched those tapes and they look TOUGH.

Oh, a funny thing happened the other night. While I was doing the punching drills on Cardio Kicks, my wedding ring flew off my finger across the room! Now that was bizarre. I've been married 14 years and was pretty light when I got married.