Dear Studio Veena ~

Kietsie kat started this discussion · 1/4/2015

I absolutely love this website. I love watching the lessons and everyone's videos that get posted on here but even more so I love reading the comments. Everyone seems so supportive of each other and just welcoming... you guys are really awesome, inspirational & beautiful people ~ I'm writing this because I need a little help.. ~ I was 160p my junior year, but after like 8 months of not being very active ... I am now 200p icky grossness right? All my hard work to getting it off just came back even worse, within what seemed like only a few days. ~ I'm confident in myself but my stupid body doesn't really show for it, its extremely frustrating. I want what I feel on the inside to show outside ~ I think if I had a good bundle of support and some good advice to sticking it to the man I could kill this icky jiggle monster that's attached to me. So If you guys can, please, give me all the advice you have for weight loss and staying motivated. I would really appreciate it ~ xoxo Kitty, /\ /\ =(^.^)= (\ /)____'

6 replies

Veena · 1/5/2015
I'm so happy you feel comfortable here! 💜 As far as weight loss, there are so many different thoughts on this so you have to find what fits with your lifestyle. My advice, stay away from fad diets!! See a nutritionist if possible. Choose whole food whenever possible, avoid packaged products even if they say diet, whole foods are a better value and making your own meals and snacks can help you save money! Eat regularly! Keep up with the pole dancing and have fun with it! 😊
battlestarlet · 1/5/2015
Hey, I wanted to chime in because: 1) I agree with you SO much about this site. I'm new and it's so great to finally find a forum with discussions that don't inevitably end in flame wars and rudeness. Love it here. 2) Regarding weight loss and body issues, I agree with what Veena said. But I'll also add my own story that may help you. Sorry it's a little long. I manage to stick with exercising and a healthier diet by thinking less about my appearance and more about my long term health. Historically, I've always failed at exercise programs because I centered them around this idea of losing weight and having a better looking body. But that's the kind of goal that inevitably makes me resentful and angry and I end up quitting or falling off the wagon. Because, really, deep down I will probably never feel pretty enough or fit enough. Such is the way of our culture I guess. So, I have begun to look at exercising very differently now. Whenever that little voice comes into my head saying "Keep this up and you'll be so hot and thin!" I shut her up and say "No, this is for fun and for my long term health." My mom has begun to lose her mobility in her early 60s (too young!) and I don't want that to happen to me. I want to be able to hike and travel and enjoy life fully as I get older. So I look at exercise in those terms rather than making it about my appearance. I also use my pole time to mentally concentrate on saying good things to my body. (I know that sounds so new age and weird, just bear with me.) For instance when I'm stretching on the floor in shorts, my eyes usually fall on my thighs and the cellulite and the jiggly parts. And my instinct is to get upset and turn away. But I try to use that time to massage them and tell myself that I am beautiful as I am. I try to be thankful that I have this amazing body that I can use to do pole at all! I never say anything about my body that I wouldn't say to my daughter or my mom or my best girlfriend. That doesn't mean that those thoughts don't enter my mind, but I try to never verbalize them. I hope that doesn't sound preachy, it's just really worked for me and has helped me stick to it. And, you know, yeah, my body is changing for the better and I like the change no doubt! But I try to dwell on the health aspects more than the appearance aspects. You are not gross or icky or a jiggle monster. Haha! Love your body. :-) P.S. If you ever go to a strip club, you will see women of all different shapes and sizes and the audience enjoys them all. It's so much about the confidence. Good luck!
Lucca Valentine · 1/5/2015
Congrats on your decision to move towards a happy healthier you :) another tip is to not pay attention to the scale! I gained 15 lbs when I started but it was all muscle! Maybe take some progress pics or just notice how your clothes will fit different, but don't let the numbers on the scale mess with your head if you know you've been eating well and exercising 💪💪💪💪💪 also, start small! Veenas 30 days to flight is probably a good intro to getting into being active. It's very well structured and it will get your heart pumping as well as build strength for pole! Separately from pole, couch to 5 k programs are fantastic. I went from struggling to run for 30 seconds to being able to run (a very slow) 5k! For me it was helpful to set a future date to run an actual 5k with friends so that there was some accountability there, as well as a celebration when we finished!
Tamarinda · 1/5/2015
Battlestarlet that is beautiful advice. So hard to incorporate though. Training our mind to love ourselves just as it is, is as difficult as training our body :). Just wanted to chime in and say those are beautiful words and it is definitely a mentality to strive for and I loved everything you said :D
iani · 1/5/2015
Totally agree with what has been said, and my addition to the "look at your clothes and how they fit and not at the scales" (which is golden): Nobody seems to ever remember this on nutrition programs, training schedules, and the like, but... the female body lives on a 28-day cycle (more or less). You cannot expect it to forget this just because you are training. Try to compare yourself once a month or so. The week-by-week approach a lot of guys take when training to lose weight or get buff does not really work for girls, and can be very frustrating. And frustration leads to 1kg ice cream buckets, and 1kg ice cream buckets lead to... well, happy places, but also to the jiggly side =D (Real life example: I always get 3 to 5kg on "those days", and feel and look bigger. I normally lose it right away in less than a week, but if I were to take pics of myself expecting to look cut it would be a severe disappointment =)
Veena · 1/5/2015
You ladies are amazing!!! 👍