Saludable84
Better Late Than Ugly
I remember your 3-yr old. He’s a couple months older than my DS. How is that little stinker?
I’m glad you are doing well. These first few months of the first year are definitely the hardest.
Hip Tbl & Beyond Challenge 2018
- Thread starter ElevatedEnergy
- Start date
I remember your 3-yr old. He’s a couple months older than my DS. How is that little stinker?
I’m glad you are doing well. These first few months of the first year are definitely the hardest.
Saludable84
Better Late Than Ugly
@Daina @lulu97 @YvetteWithJoy
Thank you dolls
I don't know who I was fooling thinking my 20 month old son would behave at the restaurantcan you say early terrible 2s?? We got our to-go boxes with the quickness
Been sipping on rum and coke ever since (and nodding off) will get to my wine tomorrow
I’m late. Happy Belated Birthday.
Omg. DS is three and DH be bolting out the door when he starts up so I feel you
Wine is never bad. I definitely had a glass last night and will be finding me some coke later on today
beauti
Well-Known Member
@Saludable84 right! DH runs after my son too! They strolled the entire restaurant while I tried to enjoy my dinner He used to be so well behaved out in public now he wanna show out everywhere we go! Can't take him no where 
He used to be so well behaved out in public now he wanna show out everywhere we go! Can't take him no where Saludable84
Better Late Than Ugly
@Saludable84 right! DH runs after my son too! They strolled the entire restaurant while I tried to enjoy my dinner
I enjoy my dinner too
it’s not often I’m not the one running after my son, so when I get the chance to have DH do it, I’m enjoying my meal. It’s all fun at home but they hate when their children start acting up in public.
beauti
Well-Known Member
Tell me about it! I'm usually unbothered by his antics, I think it's cute most of the timeI enjoy my dinner too
hubby on the other hand is like nahhh, not on my watch I can't even imagine what he's gonna be like once he's actually 2! He's already tearing my house up! Lil terror! 
ElevatedEnergy
Rooted Yet Flowing
@lulu97, hey sis love the avatar! Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Two snaps on getting that weight off and being snatched again, go momma!
Thanks Sis! One of my e-sisters pointed out that another poster had the same avatar as my last one...so I changed it. LOL
I hate having extra weight on me. It throws me off and makes me snappy...so I knew it just had to go. Now I'm back to feeling like myself again. I still have a small pooch but that's to be expected since I'm only 2 weeks postpartum. I'm going to keep eating as best as I can to help aid it in going back down to normal. I'm used to having a flat tummy but I'm trying to practice being kind to myself and allowing time to do its thing. @Daina
Alma Petra
Well-Known Member
What is your secret for a flat tummy despite having given birth before Lulu?
And how come somebody else has a similar avatar to yours? Wasn't that *your* photo in your avatar? Maybe it's the other person who should change their avatar lol.
ElevatedEnergy
Rooted Yet Flowing
@Saludable84 I remember us being pregnant together and posting in the pregnancy thread during my last pregnancy. He's doing well...going through that curious stage. Asking a million questions. Give him an answer and he asks another question as a follow up. LOL How is your little one?
Saludable84
Better Late Than Ugly
Everywhere. Talking a lot. And snitching on his dad.
ElevatedEnergy
Rooted Yet Flowing
@Alma Petra
1) Keeping an eye out on my carbs intake. I try to limit carbs to my first meal of the day so my body has time to work them off.
2) Intermediate fasting. I usually eat between 10 am and 6 pm.
Those 2 are my biggest tips for how I maintain a flat tummy.
The photo I used in my last avatar was an image I found on the internet, so it was fair game for anyone else to use it. LOL
Alma Petra
Well-Known Member
This motivates me to try for a flat tummy me too. Maybe I'll try to limit carbs or not eat after 6 pm. What is your BMI if I may ask? I have a decent BMI and I'm really sad that I still don't have anything close to a flat tummy.
ElevatedEnergy
Rooted Yet Flowing
I have no clue what my BMI is. Never been important to me. (probably should but it's not). The number on the scale is not super important to me either. (Until recently) I just purchased my first scale a few weeks ago simply to make sure I lost the amount I had gained during pregnancy. The scale has been moved to my husbands bathroom in the basement. LOL
I just want to make sure I can fit into my size 4-6 clothes and stay in a small. LOL
I can try to give you an idea of my body type: I'm slim but have hips/thighs/butt. I have a better pic but can't upload it....this was just something I had previously uploaded in the Health & Fitness thread.
Alma Petra
Well-Known Member
Oh is that you in the pics? You look amaaazing
If this is what you've always looked like then I totally understand why BMI never mattered to you lol
I used to be an obese child/teenager and then something happened somewhere sometime and I lost weight but I never really recognized it due to my brain being not very clever around weights, heights, skin color and things like that. So I continued to think that I am obese until what people were saying made me notice that I no longer am. Now scales help me and calculating my BMI helps me know if my weight is reasonable or not. I also started noticing and being concerned about excess fat and wanting to be slim and sexy (I am a very late bloomer; used to be oblivious to the world *sigh*) I actively lost more weight thereafter. Funnily I also never learnt my clothes size until less than a year ago because I come from a culture where people simply eyeball it. Now I live in country where clothes size are rather consistent and my fit always falls in the same range of sizes.
I still have some difficulty assessing myself. Around the same weight, sometimes I feel that I still have room to lose more weight specially that I most definitely have a tummy that I want to lose; and yet sometimes people say that I am skinny and I panic and feel that I have to put on weight to gain more curves.
I know that different people have different body shapes but I wish I could be at this same BMI which on paper sounds healthy and yet have less tummy and more hips, boobs and booty
Can people change their body shape by things like eating less carb, consuming less fizzy drinks, etc?Put on weight or lose weight? Or replace fat with muscle? Or what exactly should be done?
I'll attach a photo of myself. Maybe people can help me see with clarity.
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snoop
Well-Known Member
@lulu97 @Alma Petra you both look great!!!
@Alma Petra I think that you are your own worst critic. I can't see any of the issues you're talking about unless you mean that you need to tone? But who doesn't?
My problem is that the weight comes off easily but the shape isn't the same. I'm tiny with chicken legs -- both in height and weight -- so there will be no photos.
I'm too tall for children's clothes, too small for grown up clothes, and too old to wear a lot of those teen fashions without looking like I'm going through a midlife crisis.
Last year, one thing that I did do to change the shape of my stomach without exercise or changing the quantity of food was to switch to grass fed dairy. It eliminated so much bloating that I previously didn't realize that I was experiencing. I was also eating a lot of home made granola -- but then I learned about buying the seeds and nuts raw, soaking them, then roasting them before eating. It makes them more digestible. Within 3 days of eating the granola this way my stomach flattened. I couldn't believe it! I didn't reduce any portion sizes in my meals either. Sometimes, the way in which we eat certain healthy foods isn't necessarily the healthiest way to eat it.
You guys are making me mad at myself for not trying to get this baby flab off faster. I'll have to abandon using my primary plan of hope and prayer and do something a bit more concrete.
@Alma Petra I think that you are your own worst critic. I can't see any of the issues you're talking about unless you mean that you need to tone? But who doesn't?
My problem is that the weight comes off easily but the shape isn't the same. I'm tiny with chicken legs -- both in height and weight -- so there will be no photos.
I'm too tall for children's clothes, too small for grown up clothes, and too old to wear a lot of those teen fashions without looking like I'm going through a midlife crisis. Last year, one thing that I did do to change the shape of my stomach without exercise or changing the quantity of food was to switch to grass fed dairy. It eliminated so much bloating that I previously didn't realize that I was experiencing. I was also eating a lot of home made granola -- but then I learned about buying the seeds and nuts raw, soaking them, then roasting them before eating. It makes them more digestible. Within 3 days of eating the granola this way my stomach flattened. I couldn't believe it! I didn't reduce any portion sizes in my meals either. Sometimes, the way in which we eat certain healthy foods isn't necessarily the healthiest way to eat it.
You guys are making me mad at myself for not trying to get this baby flab off faster. I'll have to abandon using my primary plan of hope and prayer and do something a bit more concrete.
ElevatedEnergy
Rooted Yet Flowing
@Alma Petra Yes that's me in the pictures and thank you for the compliments. However, I agree with @snoop in that you look beautiful and we are sometimes our worst critics.
I haven't made any major changes in my lifestyle other than the two I mentioned above to keep my tummy flat. I love food and nothing is off limits, I just eat smaller portions of whatever I want and I always eat slowly and stop eating when I'm full. I also don't try and kill myself working out. I prefer low impact stuff. Walking because I love being outside in Nature. It relaxes and rejuvenates me. 5-10 minute Pilates routine once or twice a week to keep my core strong.
I also didn't mention earlier that most of the women in my family are shaped just like me. Hell even my grandma is small with a flat tummy, a beautiful set of hips and an even more beautiful smile to match it. She always tells me that being happy is what keeps her healthy. LOL
*I forgot to mention that I gave up drinking alcohol a while ago. No wine, no liquor, no beer...nada.
I haven't made any major changes in my lifestyle other than the two I mentioned above to keep my tummy flat. I love food and nothing is off limits, I just eat smaller portions of whatever I want and I always eat slowly and stop eating when I'm full. I also don't try and kill myself working out. I prefer low impact stuff. Walking because I love being outside in Nature. It relaxes and rejuvenates me. 5-10 minute Pilates routine once or twice a week to keep my core strong.
I also didn't mention earlier that most of the women in my family are shaped just like me. Hell even my grandma is small with a flat tummy, a beautiful set of hips and an even more beautiful smile to match it. She always tells me that being happy is what keeps her healthy. LOL
*I forgot to mention that I gave up drinking alcohol a while ago. No wine, no liquor, no beer...nada.
ElevatedEnergy
Rooted Yet Flowing
@lulu97 @Alma Petra you both look great!!!
@Alma Petra I think that you are your own worst critic. I can't see any of the issues you're talking about unless you mean that you need to tone? But who doesn't?
My problem is that the weight comes off easily but the shape isn't the same. I'm tiny with chicken legs -- both in height and weight -- so there will be no photos.
Last year, one thing that I did do to change the shape of my stomach without exercise or changing the quantity of food was to switch to grass fed dairy. It eliminated so much bloating that I previously didn't realize that I was experiencing. I was also eating a lot of home made granola -- but then I learned about buying the seeds and nuts raw, soaking them, then roasting them before eating. It makes them more digestible. Within 3 days of eating the granola this way my stomach flattened. I couldn't believe it! I didn't reduce any portion sizes in my meals either. Sometimes, the way in which we eat certain healthy foods isn't necessarily the healthiest way to eat it.
You guys are making me mad at myself for not trying to get this baby flab off faster. I'll have to abandon using my primary plan of hope and prayer and do something a bit more concrete.
@snoop Prayer and hope ain't never hurt nobody Sis!!! LOL
YvetteWithJoy
On break
OMG, @Alma Petra!
*inserts spanking emoticon*
If the body you posted needs major improvement, I'm NEEEEEEEEVER posting a full body image.
That to say, you look LOVELY! Wanna trade?because then you might have some concerns to address!!!
ETA: I appreciate my body, love it, don't worry about it, accept it, and everything. It's just that it's a 40 year old's body, and I know I can get it to "look" like a 20 year old's were I to be very disciplined.
*inserts spanking emoticon*
If the body you posted needs major improvement, I'm NEEEEEEEEVER posting a full body image.
That to say, you look LOVELY! Wanna trade?
because then you might have some concerns to address!!!ETA: I appreciate my body, love it, don't worry about it, accept it, and everything. It's just that it's a 40 year old's body, and I know I can get it to "look" like a 20 year old's were I to be very disciplined.
Alma Petra
Well-Known Member
Kind ladies @snoop, @lulu97, and @YvetteWithJoy thank you very much for your response. You made me feel good about myself 
I will look into ways to get rid of bloating. I consume a lot of dairy products. I'll try to reduce my intake.
Thankfully I don't drink alcohol me neither. But I do drink diet coke all the time. I don't know if it plays a role in this or not. I know that giving up on it is going to be as difficult as giving up on my beloved milk lol
I will look into ways to get rid of bloating. I consume a lot of dairy products. I'll try to reduce my intake.
Thankfully I don't drink alcohol me neither. But I do drink diet coke all the time. I don't know if it plays a role in this or not. I know that giving up on it is going to be as difficult as giving up on my beloved milk lol
Straightened and trimmed my hair this week. Cut about an inch of thin ends, then did an S&D to get rid of remaining splits and SSKs. Overall my hair looks nice and healthy. It's grown a little from the last time I straightened. I can see that my ends much fuller now. I'm definitely full HL and grazing TBL.
I don't think I want to longer than full TBL, but when I wear natural styles it looks much shorter. My braid out is SL/APL unless I do something to stretch it. The longest I can get is maybe BSL.
I don't think I want to longer than full TBL, but when I wear natural styles it looks much shorter. My braid out is SL/APL unless I do something to stretch it. The longest I can get is maybe BSL.
tapioca_pudding
Well-Known Member
Diet drinks usually use some type of artificial sweetener that bloats you.Kind ladies @snoop, @lulu97, and @YvetteWithJoy thank you very much for your response. You made me feel good about myself
I will look into ways to get rid of bloating. I consume a lot of dairy products. I'll try to reduce my intake.
Thankfully I don't drink alcohol me neither. But I do drink diet coke all the time. I don't know if it plays a role in this or not. I know that giving up on it is going to be as difficult as giving up on my beloved milk lol
From here: https://www.livestrong.com/article/289741-bloating-and-weight-gain-with-diet-coke/
Sweeteners and Bloating
Sucralose is a sweetener used in some diet colas. It’s labeled as calorie-free because your body passes it through undigested. Columbia University states that sucralose and other artificial sweeteners can cause gas, bloating and diarrhea. Sucralose may also reduce the amount of healthy bacteria in your gut, creating lots of gas as you digest your food. A study published in 2008 in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health showed that rats fed regular amounts of sucralose had lower levels of healthy microbes in their gut and greater amounts of bacteria in their stool. Changes in intestinal bacteria may raise blood glucose levels and increase how much fat you store. These changes put you at risk for type-2 diabetes and weight gain, but more research is needed on human subjects.
tapioca_pudding
Well-Known Member
Still chugging along.. alternating between air dried flat twists and stretched/straightened hair each week for the most part. Kinda bored with my hair.... 
Flat twist situation currently... (excuse my pregnancy glowing fo-head....)
Flat twist situation currently... (excuse my pregnancy glowing fo-head....)
beauti
Well-Known Member
on making it to tbl! did you happen to take any pics? 
Prettymetty
Natural/4b/medium-coarse
I skipped my quarterly trim last month, because my ends are in great condition. I think my scissor happiness was hurting my progress. I'll trim again in December. Now that my regimen is solid I can start trimming every 6 months instead of 3. I still plan to search and destroy as needed though.
tapioca_pudding
Well-Known Member
What kind of braids? I was thinking about doing medium twists and see how long they last...
beauti
Well-Known Member
Ceelie braids
Anywhere from 8-18 single braids. I'm home all day so I just wear a scarf. I put my wig on when I go out.tapioca_pudding
Well-Known Member
Gotcha!! I might try twists and see, and just pin them up in some fashion for work. Iono. My flat twists last for about 3 days before I redo them. I'd like a style that would last for over a week but still lets me moisturize etc.Ceelie braids
beauti
Well-Known Member
Yeah I used to restyle my hair every few days and that's tew much
Check out the twist,braid,bun for growth thread. The ladies there have pictures of various styles from twists to braids. I couldn't hang bc my braids aren't fit to be seen out in the daylight 
Nightingale
On the Grow and Keeping it Simple
My crown area is just brushing Hip Length. I'll likely need the rest of the year for the other hairs to catch up. I think my nape is the slowest growing part of my head. That or I'm just getting more breakage there. Its beyond waist length, but more fragile then the rest of my head.
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