My success story.

This is actually more a post to say thank you to scooby and to motivate others.
Scooby’s videos are one important factor that I finally succeeded in what I wished to attain for years. I also was reading in the forum once in a while the last month and that helped me to stay motivated.
Here is my story:

I’m nearly 32 years old, female. I did various sports my whole life. I was and I am always active, but do to certain circumstances I gained too much weight/fat about 7 years ago. I joined a gym to do something about it.
My weight was between 74 and 71 kg the last years, with slowly gaining muscle and loosing fat. I could see a change in my body, but the weight was still that high. This spring, after recovering from a somewhat serious health problem I somehow realized something about my nutrion. It was nothing I didn’t know before, but suddenly I REALIZED. I think scooby’s videos helped me to do so. I realized that I really need to change my diet, especially eating less sugars and starchy carbs and of course eating less calories. I started to keep track of my nutrition with a freeware tool. I calculated with the calorie calculator from scooby’s homepage how much energy and makro nutritions I need. It was somehow less, than other calculators on the internet told me. 

First I thought, shit, that’s really so few food….
After a while something happened, that did not happen before. I got used to the smaller amounts and still had no feeling of depriving myself.
So basically I did the following:
- exercise a very little bit more (I did already a lot as you might see)
- portion control
- less sugar and starchy carbs
- more lean protein
- not too much fat (had few fat before)

In a typical week I trained like that:
- ride my bike to work and university, which was about 6 hours a week
- switched from relatively heavy lifting to muscular endurance (2 sets of 15-20 reps, full body, plus 20 min thread mill), this 2 times a week and 1 time still heavy OR jogging only.
In most weeks I trained 4 times.


Since a couple of weeks I have changed that. I do:
- 1-2 times Kung Fu (did another martial art long time ago, started again)
- 1-2 times lifting relatively heavy (3 times 8-12 reps), 2-split
- 1 time jogging or swimming
I work out 3-4 times a week, plus 3-4 times stretching (20-30minutes)
- bike riding only short distances, not to work or university any more

I will change that again soon back to muscular endurance.

Today my weight is 65 kg, means I lost 7 kg in 9 month. Judging from the weight I lift, I lost no muscle mass, but gained a little.

After many years I feel like, wow I really like what I see in the mirror. I feel more athletic. I got the courage to start martial art again. I go to a Kung Fu group once a week. Depending on my work, I might manage to go twice a week there from March on. Everyone who knows martial art, knows it is heavy on endurance and muscular endurance. I could keep up with all the strength training and technique easily, I could jump fairly, cause I feel athletic.

Since I did strength training the last 7 years or so, loosing fat really pays off, I do not just look more slim, but start looking really athletic.
I feel very positive about that process, because I know; I have found a new eating habit that I have continued now for some month. No crash diet, but a change in eating habits. I feel confident to continue hat for all of my life, so that I will not gain that fat again.

I eat pretty clean on weekdays (but have a small protein bar as little sweet treat). Weekends are my cheat days. I eat what I want, but have an eye on it. If it was really too much (sometimes, not often), I really cut down on Monday and Tuesday.

I want to encourage other women and men to become fit and trim. I really liked to watch scooby’s videos, cause he is really not young either. Many videos and articled on fitness target very young people. That is okay, but I really think it makes a difference, if you are very young or already mid 20s or mid 30s or even older. The body functions a different way, one has to take greater care. The days are organized denser; there is less spare time, so you have to be more determined and resourceful in your nutrition and training.

Thank you for you kind words. Great, i also did free climbing for some years, but had to stop 4-5 years ago. My husband and me still do serious mountaineering in our holydays, every one or two years, depending on time and money.
Since I stopped climbing, I did more fitness, biking, running.
 
Now I'm really at a point that I'm motivated to improve all aspects of my fitness further, but training alone for more than 4 years becomes boring and hard. That's why I joined a Kung Fu Club. Half of the 90-120 min training session is fitness. Running, pushups, plyos, sqats. I do easily 50-100 or more pushups in one session. If I would have to do it on my one, it would be harder to motivate myself to do that. Technique training challenges muscular endurance and speed as well.

I am 168 cm. I don't know how at which weight I will end up. I would be even satisfied to keep the 65. Think I will end up at 62 or so.

I do not wish to enter scooby's contest. Due to my profession it would not be wise to have anything on the internet that would identify me, not to think of pics of myself showing my body with face. The only thing I might do is, take pics in the mirror of my arms or so and post it here. Think no one will identify my by my biceps (since I do my job with shirt on).  
I have no pics to compare either.

Now that I look better, I really like it, but that's not the most important thing for me. I like more, since my weight is going down, I have less pain in my feet (have an orthopedic problem there), so I can run more easily, jump higher and further, be more agile.

BTW: I read your story and that was one thing that impressed me here. Cause you're no teen either and nonetheless in great shape. That's what I look for... people over 30, 40, 50, who are in shape and fit and healthy. It motivated me to see others who reach that goal.

Developing my technique in Kung Fu, move more elegant, have a better posture is my goal now. Therefor I net more fitness, sure. Target zone is my mid-section. I really neglected it the first years of fitness, so that’s a part, where I have something to gain, which is good for my back also.

Congratulation Friends,:)

I am also Trying but i can't get my Desired Result.Please suggest me......

Sadly, Perry seems to be an adbot.

take care
Oliver

At present I have reached a bodyweight of 61 at a hight of 1,68m. I’m really satisfied. I have lost more that 10 kg in the last 10 month or so. Slowly but steadily without any relapse and without having the impression I have to deprive myself. When I want chocolate or beer I go for it. I eat clean, but not superclean, just normal, well-balanced.

I bench little more than half my own bodyweight for 12-20 times. Same for bend over row and straight leg deadlift. Regarding my joint problems, especially knee, I think that’s okay. I just wish to keep that. I do not want to increase weight, just keeping it would be fine.

At the moment I do 30 min of moderate cycling a day, at weekends I do one day for 2-4 hours walking or canoeing, depending on weather and other circumstances. I’m happy to be able to do that. All of February and March I even had trouble walking around and doing my every day schedule. Still I’m not pain and symptom free, but it’s improving.

Also I do remedial gymnastics and stretching every day, plus 2 times a week functional leg training with elastic band and balance board. I do strength training also 2 times a week, full body. Once 2 sets of 8-12 reps per exercise and once 2 sets of 20 reps. The latter I sometimes do in the gym and sometimes at home, doing body weight exercise like push ups and TRX-row, abs lower back (have self-made TRX-style set at home).

I would like to return to Kung Fu. I definitely cannot jump any more, deep stances re also a problem. Have to speak to the master, see if it is possible for me at all. Or I switch to Tai Chi Quan, if Kung Fu is not possible any more.

I’m curious, if I can keep my good results even I have to cut down overall workout volume now. I mean I would have to cut down anyway, since family and job are demanding more. Still I wish to stay fit.

Thanks... from the viewpoint of looks I'm really satisfied. I have no real six pack but body fat is low enough to distinguish my abs from obliques. From the viewpoint of my bad knee and potentially bad hips it might be beneficial to loose more fat.
I will see how I do the next month. I would like to try to loose more, but are not really willing to live on a strict diet for the rest of my life. Afterall I see no use in loosing fat that comes back after quiting the diet. Everything I change in eating habbits is a change for the rest of my life otherwise it makes no sense for me.

I still can squeeze in 30 min of jogging, but in the evening I have to pay for it with a hot painful knee. It might still get better. Yesterday I did 1 km on the threadmill plus functional leg training, including 20 one leg squats on the balance board, down to nearly 90 degree and my knee behaved. No redness, not more pain. So that was good.

Anyway it id not realistic to keep up with high volume cardio, like I did all the summers before, riding 100km a day on weekends, stuff like that. Also running those 30 min twice a week will not come back I guess. Mountainering will not be possible any more, well.

It's true cardio fitness is decreasing faster than strength, which is a pitty when i think about it. but honestly, do I fel in everyday life if I can ride 100 km without a break or just 40? No. Changes in strength I would feel more, but strength is now decreasing that fast as long as one is doing something, even if it would be much less.

Yeah, I'm in the process of experiementing. Also I hope my knee is improving further. I had to get rid of that inflamation. The first weeks the knee was getting red, just from the light gymnastics I got from my PT. I barely could walk. I lost visible muslce mass on both legs, but more on the bad one. Now I'm at a point to be able to walk briskily for about 2 hours in flat terrain. Still loughable for me as a person who visited Everest Base camp and finished Annapurna Circuit 4 times the last years. Not to speak of cycling hollydays in which we did well above 1000km in 3 weeks. Well, times change, we're all not getting younger. Especially if orthopaedics are really suboptimal.


Impact is not my major concern, since my joint space is unaffected, according to MRI, although I also feel discomfort there. I have cartilage defect on my knee cap and trochlea. So bending my knees is the problem. That's why every kind of cardio is problematic at some point.

Up to now I have figured out, that jogging and cycling aggrevates my knee according to calories burnt. I burn the same amount of calories with 10-15 min jogging like I burn with 30 min cycling, I guess and both affects my knee nearly the same. Jogging is more pressure on the kneecap than moderate cycling, but less bending.


To be honest I really dislike indoor cardio. Even when my knee was still better I barely could bring myself to do that, aside from Kung Fu. When I was on the threadmill for 15 min to warm up it was a good thing.
I tried eliptical, but am not convinced. I needed to do it lightly some weeks ago and it was even less intense than brisk walking. I'll give it a seconde try later.
I have figured out that it is better to do little everyday, instead of doing doupble he amount in one day and rest the next day.


I was doing cardio, like 30 min cycling or 1-2 hours walking, every day the last 17 days, plus gymnastics for my legs, without getting swelling or redness. Strength training I did anyway. I'm glad I made it up to here, after heaving problems to walk on my work.

What I try to learn is, that I don't ned to train 100%, that I don't need to run faster, jump higher, lift more in order to stay fit. Those times are definately over for me. These where the times of my 20s, which are surely gone. I try to find a balance to be able to stay fit the next 10, 20, 30 years.