# Body issues/feeling uncomfortable with body



## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

A lot of my anxiety has to do with my body. I don't like the way it looks, I have a big belly and thin arms/legs, which looks completely awful. I always think people will think I'm a slob or make fun of me because of it. 

I honestly don't know the best way to lose the weight off my belly and make everything look right again. I'm clueless on exercise - all I can try is the treadmill, but I don't know what other machines to use.


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## Thomas Paine (Mar 29, 2008)

That's awesome that you made the choice to get fit. It's not just going to make you feel better, but make you healthier too.

I think you probably genetically gain weight in your midsection rather then across your whole body, so if you lose weight in general it would leave from you belly first. IMHO, weight training is the best way to lose weight. You don't have to be trying to look like a body builder, it's just that when you start gaining muscle, the muscle starts burning energy itself, plus your body starts releasing more testosterone which gives you that drive to keep it up.

I think if you combined weight training for weight loss with a healthy, natural diet, you would get some pretty fast results. It's usually when people don't combine the two that they get frustrated by slow results.

http://clutchfitness.com/ is a great forum with many smart people and articles on weight lifting, and how to tweak your diet and lifting routines for weight loss rather then bulk. Lots of really nice people there too, not rude and macho like you would expect. At least that was my experience last time I visited. Always somebody willing to take you under their wing and "mold" you. I think they actually enjoy it a little too much, lol. And just remember that all of them were out of shape at one point too. Nobody is going to make fun of you or think you're a slob. They're just going to congratulate you for making the choice to become physically fit.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

do aerobic exercises to shake off body fat
and anaerobic exercises to gain muscles


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## gaz (Jun 27, 2008)

Try some weight training to bulk up your arms and legs, and eat lot's of protein.


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## mre314 (May 3, 2009)

WintersTale said:


> A lot of my anxiety has to do with my body. I don't like the way it looks, I have a big belly and thin arms/legs, which looks completely awful. I always think people will think I'm a slob or make fun of me because of it.
> 
> I honestly don't know the best way to lose the weight off my belly and make everything look right again. I'm clueless on exercise - all I can try is the treadmill, but I don't know what other machines to use.


I lost a lot of weight a couple of years ago and it really helped me feel better about myself.

First of all, you have to exercise in a manageable way. You don't need anything fancy. I exclusively used the treadmill for my weight loss. At the beginning, I ran in 5 minute increments. So, I'd run 5 minutes, take a break, run five minutes, take a break, and then run 5 more minutes. 15 minutes total, and it allowed for a lot of rest time. I didn't run on a very high speed, and I didn't dread the excersise because it wasn't all that hard. If you have to start out by running just five minutes a day, do that! Have no shame in yourself or your abilities. You have to start somewhere.

Continue to build endurance. Just keep plugging away, and maybe start running 20 minutes once it starts getting easy. Try to eliminate breaks once you're ready. And start running faster once you're ready.

All of this exercise will help you feel healthy, and it won't be so physically draining that you'll lose all motivation after a week.

Of course, nothing matters unless you make changes to your eating habits. Try thinking of food like this: once it's over, it's over. See a cookie you want? Sure, it tastes good for 10 seconds, but once it's over, you can't taste it anymore. So, in 10 seconds, it's like you never ate it-- it doesn't matter anymore. Seriously, when you get an urge to eat something quick (handful of chips, etc.), count to 10 seconds, and then say to yourself "it'd be over by now anyway." Do this at dinner. Instead of eating huge portions, take a reasonable amount of food and five minutes after you eat, say to yourself, "that extra portion of food would be gone by now. It doesn't matter anymore." This will help you.

Just keep going. Once you start to see results, losing weight is addictive! Set goals for yourself and don't get discouraged. If you have a bad eating night and pig out, don't beat yourself up! Just stick to the plan and I guarantee you, you WILL lose weight and you'll feel much better about yourself.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

I need to shake off belly fat too
can it be done by just cycling on a stationary bicycle ?


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## Alone42Long (Apr 23, 2009)

Yeah you can do it for sure. If your eating 3 big meals try eating 5 smaller ones during the day/ Say every 2-3 hours. Natural foods. straight from the ground, tree/vine or animal(lean meats like chicken or tuna). Like was said start slow with Cardio & slowly increase over time. same with lifting weights.
A little weight lifting to increase your leg & arm size. Basic compound stuff like squats, deadlifts & benchpress. start out super light & just try to increase the weight a couple pounds a week. Doing 3 sets of 20 reps of situps 2-3 times a week will help tighten your midsection as well. Have a day like saturday were you eat whatever you want, but if you slip here or there other times don't worry about it just go back on plan as best you can. It wont happen overnight but you will begin to feel & look better all the time. Never give up. If you slip just get back going as soon as you can. No matter your age or shape you can make very noticable improvements. Best to you.
And as guys that's where it always collects on us. The midsection/spare tire.
Like was said adding alittle muscle to your arms & legs will help burn calories on topof the ones your burning doing the treadmill. Ought to slim your midsection. Maybe take a waistmeasurement just once a week though. If your dropping a little just cont. what doing. If not increase your tread time a few minutes or the distance covered slightly in the same time or reduce how much your eating just a little & check again next weekend till seeing results.
There'sa guy named Lee Hayward has a free hour online call/chat every thurs on ustream.tv . you can anonymously type questions on the chat window or even get personal coaching if wanted. He has a website too just add .com to name. There's archived old shows to: 
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lee-hayward-total-fitness-bodybuilding-show


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## Alone42Long (Apr 23, 2009)

On the eating clean most folks really into it try for 90% of time clean.
So if you eat 7 meals a day. Really 3-4 meals & 3-4 snacks thats 49 or basically 50 meals a week. 
So one crap meal a day is 14%. Giving you 86% clean. very doable.
You can eat a crap meal daily & still be on track. Not so crazy/boring.
& a meal/snack can be a piece of fruit. It doesn't have to be a 5 course platter. 
Not as crazy as one might think at first. (omg 7 meals!)

and working out doesn't have to be more than 3-4 times a week.
say 30 min cardio before work/school in the morning & 45 min.weights
in the afternoon sometime before bed. or cardio today weights tomorrow.

You don't have to live in the gym even to have a sixpack & single digit bf%.
I've lost 53#'s before & gotten to 8% bf doing just the above.

In no time you can be like this guy: <warning> he does use explicit language about his love for himself.




remix songs about him:


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

Can I develop more muscular legs by just cycling ?
I really don't want to power squat.. coz I'm lazy


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## Thomas Paine (Mar 29, 2008)

Some Russian Guy said:


> Can I develop more muscular legs by just cycling ?
> I really don't want to power squat.. coz I'm lazy


Nah, you can't really build muscle with aerobic exercise. It will make them harder, but not bigger.

Doing a couple sets of squats every couple of days would add up pretty quickly though, if you're eating enough healthy food and resting in between.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

Thomas Paine said:


> Nah, you can't really build muscle with aerobic exercise. It will make them harder, but not bigger.
> 
> Doing a couple sets of squats every couple of days would add up pretty quickly though, if you're eating enough healthy food and resting in between.


and how many reps should I make when doing squats ?
i'm weighing 243 pounds


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## tigerlilly (Mar 30, 2009)

i would recommend ab workouts as well as everything already said. idk if anyone has mentioned that specifically yet. lol too much reading. i'm lazy.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

tigerlilly said:


> i would recommend ab workouts as well as everything already said. idk if anyone has mentioned that specifically yet. lol too much reading. i'm lazy.


I'm not an expert... but every book and site about fitness writes that, in order to loose fat, people should jog or cycle, or swim.

It's because leg muscles use much more energy than abdominal muscles.
And when they are working hard for long periods of time, energy comes from burning fat everywhere in the body.
I also have manboobs, that I want to get rid of... I don't think that working my abs will help me to accomplish that.


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## refined_rascal (Dec 20, 2005)

WintersTale said:


> I honestly don't know the best way to lose the weight off my belly and make everything look right again. I'm clueless on exercise - all I can try is the treadmill, but I don't know what other machines to use.


Unfortunately, there's no way of losing fat from specific areas of the body by simply working that part of the body. But you can improve the look of a specific area, such as the abdomen, by doing sit-ups etc.

As long as you're using up more calories than you take in, the weight should come off.

Good luck anyway.


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## summerfun09 (May 19, 2009)

I understand how you feel winter. I used to get comments on how I was to skinny and what not but I've learned that it doesn't matter what they think. If people are going to judge you then there not worth your time. No matter what you choose to do make sure you do it for you and not bcuz of what others might be thinking of you. 

If you want to go the weight training route then I would do a Monday Wednesday Friday split. So you'd be working out on those days and take the days inbetween off plus the weekend. I'm going to give you 2 different workouts that your going to alternate on. 

Workout 1- Flat Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Shoulder Press, Preacher Curl, Squat OR Leg Press, Calf Raise, Leg Curl

Workout 2- Lat Pull Down, Seated Row, Shrugs, Deadlift, Tricep Pushdown, Ab Crunches

On monday your going to do workout 1, wednesday workout 2, then workout 1 again on friday. your going to keep alternating on those 2 workouts so starting the next week monday you'll start with workout 2. you'll have tuesday, thursday, saturday and sunday to recover. if you join a fitness center im sure someone there would be happy to assist you in performing these excercises with proper form. 

Nutrition is probably the most important thing when it comes to getting the results you want. if your excercising but not eating good your results will be a lot slower. dont feel like you have to be a health/nutrition freak though because its good to have a day or 2 a week to eat some of the foods you enjoy. 

Heres a sample diet I think would work good for you.

Pre-workout meal (before you go and workout) Also your post workout meal (after your done working out)
6 ounces of any meat
2 cups skim milk
1 apple
1 banana
1 cup grapes

Non-Workout meal one
2 cups egg substitute
1/2 cup rice
3 slices bread (prefferably whole wheat)

Non-Workout Meal Two
1 1/2 cup cereal
2 cups skim milk
1 cup cottage cheese

Bedtime meal
6 ounces any meat
1 1/4 ounce pretzels

I think this plan would be best for the goals you want. throw in some cardio when your feeling motivated to do so. if you have any questions just let me know. good luck with whatever you choose to do


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## ThisGuyRightHere (Apr 28, 2008)

i've got some body issues as well. you never really hear of guys with these issues but there are some out there. i don't know why or where it came from but i've always been hesitant to take off my shirt around even my friends. i've also got pretty skinny arms and legs and all my body fat seems to be right around the midsection/waist. the times i've been intimate the girl always seems surprised that i'm a softie. lol i'm one of those skinny fat guys.


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## DeeperUnderstanding (May 19, 2007)

inthecave said:


> i've got some body issues as well. you never really hear of guys with these issues but there are some out there. i don't know why or where it came from but i've always been hesitant to take off my shirt around even my friends. i've also got pretty skinny arms and legs and all my body fat seems to be right around the midsection/waist. the times i've been intimate the girl always seems surprised that i'm a softie. lol i'm one of those skinny fat guys.


Same here. I don't like taking off my shirt, and I'm a skinny fat guy. :no


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## VIncymon (Apr 16, 2009)

My prob.. is building muscle. But then again, I have slim friends who get girls just fine. IDK.

But still, i would like to be more muscular, and fitter. For its own sake.


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## Sois Jeune (May 12, 2009)

WintersTale said:


> A lot of my anxiety has to do with my body. I don't like the way it looks, I have a big belly and thin arms/legs, which looks completely awful. I always think people will think I'm a slob or make fun of me because of it.
> 
> I honestly don't know the best way to lose the weight off my belly and make everything look right again. I'm clueless on exercise - all I can try is the treadmill, but I don't know what other machines to use.


:| I feel for you, although I have no fitness advice. I know how horrible feeling bad about your body can be. I have not worn short sleeves in over 3 years due to being self conscious about a few somewhat noticeable scars on one of my arms. (I live in Florida, so it's considered _very _strange behavior, but I'm sure it would be anywhere) Until you get the body you desire, simply wear clothes that fit you the right way & your problem areas won't even be noticeable to others.


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