12-05-2017, 04:36 PM
Hi, LonelyBird,
Funny, my mother was a dancer in the NYC Ballet... :-)
I know WHAT to do, but making the time and energy is the hard part for me.
What might work, is to focus on what you CAN do right now. If you're teaching, there has to be some time between classes to do some squats (or pliés?)
You likely have a problem on the opposite end - maybe not enough food, or wrong foods (A calorie is NOT just a calorie!)
If you did, for example, 10 Hindu Squats, 10 Hindu Pushups, and a 30 second back bridge between classes? The might be a good start. (Or, you might need to target certain parts.)
But I'd ask you to take a good, hard look at your calories first, and see what the ratios are for protein/fat/carbs, and especially look at simple carbs and hidden calories bombs.
E.G.: NO FRUIT. NO FRUIT JUICE! NO SODA! Drop rice/potatoes/bread, depending on your ratios above. Make lean protein a staple, and lots of veggies.
Then, keep active. (I think you've got the covered...)
Then, add SHORT periods of exercise (which is my WEAKEST link, I LIKE to feel exhausted. Let's see, male, TG, and raised in a strict Roman Catholic household, and assaulted as a child; maybe some issues...? Exhaustion is a way to NOT deal with problems? Anyway....)
To make a better answer here, record your food choices for a day, or even better, a week.
Record your sleep time.
Record the time spent teaching class (demo) vs. teaching students. (Teaching individuals won't add much to caloric burn, but will add to keeping the body fit. Moves fluids: Blood, lymph, etc.)
Then we can look into how to improve, and scavenge some time for brief and intense workouts.
I'm way off the mark these days, but working to get back in line. It's amazing how fast things get out of hand, and how long it can take (with my sort of schedule) to try and get back on track - but I can prove from both me and my girlfriend that I can make things work. ;-)
I'm at 240#, 37.5% body fat. Eat high protein diet, TRY to avoid sweets and junk food. I have a high-stress IT Job (AVP at a TBTF), where the boss and the company fight me about even the simplest tasks (E.G., 6 months to purchase a machine for the software we need to test. Boss sitting on my shoulder all day long.) Then I go home to a woman who is needy and demanding (in the screeching, screaming way.) And her daughter, also needy, in the clingy, needy, using sort of way. Also, constant money issues, and she's rarely/barely working; plus, multiple stressors: Family deaths, family feuds, moving, deaths of pets, her daughter and she are both head cases, etc, etc, etc.
I entered this relationship 10 years ago @ 20% body fat, 190 # of muscle (with a belly roll, to be fair.) Been a contractor, so, I'd go up to ~210#, get back down to 200#, go to 215#, back down to 195 #, etc. I gain when I'm "at home," lose when "on contract."
So, the piece de resistance: (Big Evil Grin): Woman just had knee replacement surgery. I took one week off, and one week work from home. Had to handle ALL the meal planning, cooking, exercising her, and then also my work-work, as well.
She's gone from 260 before the surgery (as in, day of) to 245 in three weeks. And this past week, she's been managing the menu - and we're f*cked again, already. Mostly portion sizes, but also selection. She eats what is quick and easy... Chicken and Rice, for instance, in olive oil. Or Chicken Broccoli Pasta, in olive oil. But unless _I_ weigh the potions, it's just GRAB TWO SCOOPS, and sit and eat. And without me at home to keep her moving, it's vegetate in front of TV, and demand I do the same...
Two sets of habits; bad results from one, better (not fantastic) from the other.
Chicken and Rice isn't horrible, right? Even with some olive oil? But if you eat 1/4 of a chicken (3 pound bird, say), and have huge scoops of rice - the protein is excessive (try for 1/4 pound or so per meal, assuming 3 meals a day and no snacks), and then an insulin atom bomb of 2-3 servings of carbs? Your body could be ketogenic (burning fat for fuel) before this, and after, it'll be storing fat - all night long. That protein? Isn't going to feed the muscles, it's being refined into future energy --> fat. I've been telling her (and showing her - lost the weight three times!) how to correct it. It's like telling an alcoholic they need help: until they admit it, you can't get them turned around.
"The Power of Habit" (book title, and title is enough here) will determine the outcome.
You want bigger breasts? You can go NBE, or implants. She'd go implants, EVEN IF SHE KNEW THEY'D BURST. The alcoholic WILL DRINK, even knowing he's going to wreck driving home.
You chose NBE, and you don't get to be a professional dancer without SERIOUS dedication - so you have the basics well in hand.
It's just the details, and maybe some cheats here and there. (E.G., fasted walks in the morning as "cardio"; toss in some ab work as "road work", and you'll whittle the middle a percentage point or so more than the walking alone; but you're "cheating" the body by keeping the heart rate low, using glycogen-deprived muscles, and maybe bring some extra blood to the abs, to selectively increase fat lipolysis via increased circulation. Over time, 1% adds up, like compound interest. Another cheat, do burpees or the Royal Court (Hindu pushups, Hindu squats, and back bridge) between classes, sets of 10 & a 30-second hold for bridge - to get you gasping for air again. It'll TORCH body fat. No weights required. Google Matt Furey for more.)
I'm losing hope right now for me, as I'm specifically using a body building approach (Another Be a Man attempt, sort of), but it'll burn off the fat where I tend to carry it right now: Upper Body and Belly.
But I'm NOT doing the WORK, just the shortcuts & workouts when I can. (Note stress load.) If I were consistent, no problem. Go for a 10-mile walk every weekend! Fasted! :-) And daily exercise! (While cooking my own meals and entertaining myself and meeting work objectives.)
But babysitting?
DONE! :-(
So, long way of saying, check your habits and conditions, and adjust as you can. Shortcuts won't do much unless you have health issues (E.G., Apple Cider Vinegar helps regulate blood sugar, so can help alleviate intra-abdominal fat over time. Over. Time. Years, not even months.)
I envy you: You have the framework in place, and the complements to dance - Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, other types of dance - will all build good, lean tissue. It's mostly tweaks.
I sit 10 hours a day, commute 1.5-2 hours a day, and then get to sit most of the time I'm home. My @$$ can sit a marathon! ;-) Add in sleeping, the "non-exercise physical activity" in a day is limited to trips to the bathroom, a 1/4 mile walk at lunch (if that), and maybe 1/4 mile throughout the rest of the day... Making maintaining weight almost impossible, let alone losing it. Body prefers low metabolic activity fat to high energy demand muscle... Fat can keep you alive, "excess" muscle can kill you during a famine.
So, with all of that - document your starting point, feel free to PM me with those details if you want, or post here, and we can sort out how to change the habits, and even how to adjust course if it isn't getting to the right goal.
-Dianna
Funny, my mother was a dancer in the NYC Ballet... :-)
I know WHAT to do, but making the time and energy is the hard part for me.
What might work, is to focus on what you CAN do right now. If you're teaching, there has to be some time between classes to do some squats (or pliés?)
You likely have a problem on the opposite end - maybe not enough food, or wrong foods (A calorie is NOT just a calorie!)
If you did, for example, 10 Hindu Squats, 10 Hindu Pushups, and a 30 second back bridge between classes? The might be a good start. (Or, you might need to target certain parts.)
But I'd ask you to take a good, hard look at your calories first, and see what the ratios are for protein/fat/carbs, and especially look at simple carbs and hidden calories bombs.
E.G.: NO FRUIT. NO FRUIT JUICE! NO SODA! Drop rice/potatoes/bread, depending on your ratios above. Make lean protein a staple, and lots of veggies.
Then, keep active. (I think you've got the covered...)
Then, add SHORT periods of exercise (which is my WEAKEST link, I LIKE to feel exhausted. Let's see, male, TG, and raised in a strict Roman Catholic household, and assaulted as a child; maybe some issues...? Exhaustion is a way to NOT deal with problems? Anyway....)
To make a better answer here, record your food choices for a day, or even better, a week.
Record your sleep time.
Record the time spent teaching class (demo) vs. teaching students. (Teaching individuals won't add much to caloric burn, but will add to keeping the body fit. Moves fluids: Blood, lymph, etc.)
Then we can look into how to improve, and scavenge some time for brief and intense workouts.
I'm way off the mark these days, but working to get back in line. It's amazing how fast things get out of hand, and how long it can take (with my sort of schedule) to try and get back on track - but I can prove from both me and my girlfriend that I can make things work. ;-)
I'm at 240#, 37.5% body fat. Eat high protein diet, TRY to avoid sweets and junk food. I have a high-stress IT Job (AVP at a TBTF), where the boss and the company fight me about even the simplest tasks (E.G., 6 months to purchase a machine for the software we need to test. Boss sitting on my shoulder all day long.) Then I go home to a woman who is needy and demanding (in the screeching, screaming way.) And her daughter, also needy, in the clingy, needy, using sort of way. Also, constant money issues, and she's rarely/barely working; plus, multiple stressors: Family deaths, family feuds, moving, deaths of pets, her daughter and she are both head cases, etc, etc, etc.
I entered this relationship 10 years ago @ 20% body fat, 190 # of muscle (with a belly roll, to be fair.) Been a contractor, so, I'd go up to ~210#, get back down to 200#, go to 215#, back down to 195 #, etc. I gain when I'm "at home," lose when "on contract."
So, the piece de resistance: (Big Evil Grin): Woman just had knee replacement surgery. I took one week off, and one week work from home. Had to handle ALL the meal planning, cooking, exercising her, and then also my work-work, as well.
She's gone from 260 before the surgery (as in, day of) to 245 in three weeks. And this past week, she's been managing the menu - and we're f*cked again, already. Mostly portion sizes, but also selection. She eats what is quick and easy... Chicken and Rice, for instance, in olive oil. Or Chicken Broccoli Pasta, in olive oil. But unless _I_ weigh the potions, it's just GRAB TWO SCOOPS, and sit and eat. And without me at home to keep her moving, it's vegetate in front of TV, and demand I do the same...
Two sets of habits; bad results from one, better (not fantastic) from the other.
Chicken and Rice isn't horrible, right? Even with some olive oil? But if you eat 1/4 of a chicken (3 pound bird, say), and have huge scoops of rice - the protein is excessive (try for 1/4 pound or so per meal, assuming 3 meals a day and no snacks), and then an insulin atom bomb of 2-3 servings of carbs? Your body could be ketogenic (burning fat for fuel) before this, and after, it'll be storing fat - all night long. That protein? Isn't going to feed the muscles, it's being refined into future energy --> fat. I've been telling her (and showing her - lost the weight three times!) how to correct it. It's like telling an alcoholic they need help: until they admit it, you can't get them turned around.
"The Power of Habit" (book title, and title is enough here) will determine the outcome.
You want bigger breasts? You can go NBE, or implants. She'd go implants, EVEN IF SHE KNEW THEY'D BURST. The alcoholic WILL DRINK, even knowing he's going to wreck driving home.
You chose NBE, and you don't get to be a professional dancer without SERIOUS dedication - so you have the basics well in hand.
It's just the details, and maybe some cheats here and there. (E.G., fasted walks in the morning as "cardio"; toss in some ab work as "road work", and you'll whittle the middle a percentage point or so more than the walking alone; but you're "cheating" the body by keeping the heart rate low, using glycogen-deprived muscles, and maybe bring some extra blood to the abs, to selectively increase fat lipolysis via increased circulation. Over time, 1% adds up, like compound interest. Another cheat, do burpees or the Royal Court (Hindu pushups, Hindu squats, and back bridge) between classes, sets of 10 & a 30-second hold for bridge - to get you gasping for air again. It'll TORCH body fat. No weights required. Google Matt Furey for more.)
I'm losing hope right now for me, as I'm specifically using a body building approach (Another Be a Man attempt, sort of), but it'll burn off the fat where I tend to carry it right now: Upper Body and Belly.
But I'm NOT doing the WORK, just the shortcuts & workouts when I can. (Note stress load.) If I were consistent, no problem. Go for a 10-mile walk every weekend! Fasted! :-) And daily exercise! (While cooking my own meals and entertaining myself and meeting work objectives.)
But babysitting?
DONE! :-(
So, long way of saying, check your habits and conditions, and adjust as you can. Shortcuts won't do much unless you have health issues (E.G., Apple Cider Vinegar helps regulate blood sugar, so can help alleviate intra-abdominal fat over time. Over. Time. Years, not even months.)
I envy you: You have the framework in place, and the complements to dance - Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, other types of dance - will all build good, lean tissue. It's mostly tweaks.
I sit 10 hours a day, commute 1.5-2 hours a day, and then get to sit most of the time I'm home. My @$$ can sit a marathon! ;-) Add in sleeping, the "non-exercise physical activity" in a day is limited to trips to the bathroom, a 1/4 mile walk at lunch (if that), and maybe 1/4 mile throughout the rest of the day... Making maintaining weight almost impossible, let alone losing it. Body prefers low metabolic activity fat to high energy demand muscle... Fat can keep you alive, "excess" muscle can kill you during a famine.
So, with all of that - document your starting point, feel free to PM me with those details if you want, or post here, and we can sort out how to change the habits, and even how to adjust course if it isn't getting to the right goal.
-Dianna