Ok, I still don’t have the courage to post my before photo from the early aughts but I did take a photo of my stomach this morning. Also, this was after last night’s carb up day which included, coconut macaroons, red wine and sweet potato fries 
I eat right most days of the week so I really don’t believe that a couple free days is any kind of big deal! Enjoy your life!
I don’t lift weights at all, I believe bodyweight exercises are the best for toning what you’ve got and lean gains. I know others will disagree with this but it’s what works for me! Also, I want to let you know that I haven’t done a crunch or sit up in ages. Planks, yoga, and core stabilizing moves or burpees/dips will give you overall definition with less pain! This weekend, I decided to enlist my crafty husband to build me a dip station out of PVC pipe. You can buy dip stations from anywhere from $100-160+ which quite frankly does not fit my budget. For about $25 I give you endless core abusing opportunities! The pipe size is 1.25inch and the dip bars were adjusted to measure my hip height and grip width. There are 8 elbows and 6 T joints in the structure. I used this website to give me a sort of ‘blueprint.’
Oh hai flash. It was rainy and dark here today and I’m trying to smile (this is harder than it looks).
Another way to use the dip bar, pull up style!
Save your money and stay out of the gym! You do not need instructors, aerobics classes or huge jass weights to be fit! Do yourself a favor and treat yourself right for free! Another tip: eliminate grains from your diet and you will have better digestion and see results. I had to do this because of a gluten allergy and malabsorption issues with grains but I feel better than ever now! I swear if I see one more piece of tempeh, seitan or other gluten containing frankenfood!? Eat real food! Stay away from grains, sugar (yep it’s toxic) and dairy. The end!
1. What has made a real difference in your lean gains?
2. Do you lift weights or do chronic cardio?
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May 1, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Wow, great job! And nice faucet, too. I mean, thats not an innuendo. Maybe its weird… but I have faucet woes myself. And other woes. Many of my woes would be solved by having A) your faucet and B) YOUR ABS!
Great job
May 1, 2011 at 6:48 pm
haha wow thank you so much!
May 1, 2011 at 6:00 pm
I don’t do weights either, the little yoga and pilates give me good definition on te core as well. I do spinning, cardio dance and some running. They are fun and give me a good dose of happiness eveyday.
I don’t eat any added sugar, i believe it’s toxic. Grain? I’ve been eating less wheat from bread, but continue with oats and brown rice. You don’t eat any kind of grains? No carbs at all? What about sweet potato or squash? Do they upset your stomach too?
May 1, 2011 at 6:48 pm
sometimes people overlook that fruits and veggies are full of carbs! cashews are pretty carby too! i love sweet potatoes and i feature squashes on this blog all the time! i could never do without those
i love leafy greens almost as much as i do meat! i prob eat around 100g daily of carbohydrates just not in the form of grains.
May 1, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Oo great idea! When we get a place big enough I will have to do this
I don’t go to a gym but I like to think I’m in very good shape. Never lift weights, just yoga and walking. Did our ancestors lift weights? Nope. They probably walked a lot, and climbed, and maybe dragged heavy things sometimes. And they most certainly did not eat grains. I eat rice, but don’t really do the bread thing. And I mostly avoid sugar. Totally agree with your points!
May 2, 2011 at 6:37 am
you are totally in amazing shape! i’m trying to be ‘functionally fit’ you know?
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May 2, 2011 at 1:44 am
You look great! I can’t see myself going to a gym, but I like I working out at home.
May 2, 2011 at 6:37 am
thank you! i enjoy working out in the comfort of home as well!
May 2, 2011 at 1:54 am
Yeh, I should cut back on grains. I tend to eat a lot of them (especially pancakes) and they make my stomach protrude out. So cheap and caloric though, hmm. I love tempeh! It’s gluten-free and high in protein. The kind I use is only fermented soybeans, apple cider vinegar, and culture.
Anyway… do you reckon those PVC pipes would have enough support for a guy?
May 2, 2011 at 6:38 am
i think the pvc would support a guy if they were 2″, these ones in the photo are only 1.25″
May 2, 2011 at 4:43 am
Hey Melissa, can’t remember if I’ve commented before but I’ve been following your blog a while now- at the beginning with as a curious vegan plagued by IBS and fascinated by this ‘paleo’ thing. At first I thought it sounded great but impossibly hard, but I finally ditched the grains and sugar (for the most part) 2 months ago and haven’t looked back! Thanks so much for showing me it was possible. I haven’t enjoyed my food this much before (I now enjoy a raw venison steak far more than ice-cream), my IBS is cured and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been (a little way to go yet but really happy nonetheless). I love Bodyrock.tv and do mostly bodyweight stuff too. It’s encouraging to see how well a paleo diet and bodyweight workouts is working out for you:)
May 2, 2011 at 6:39 am
i am so so happy to hear that elmear! it’s amazing what a little real food can do for healing the gut and making your skin, hair & overall body look amazing! keep doing what you’re doing! best of luck!
May 2, 2011 at 10:48 am
Oooo I love your dip station! I want to make one!
1. Clean eating and regular weight training.. it’s a simple equation.
2. I do both, alternating! I like weights better, though. Right now I am doing Insanity which is a mix.
May 2, 2011 at 8:28 pm
OMG I need that PVC dip station! Thats body rock style for sure!
I do a combo of cardio, body weight and weights. Before preggo most of my workouts were body weight stuff, planks, Bosu, and a little weights. You have to find what works for you…just body weight doens’t work for everyone…some people thrive on heavy weight training. I am more like you…when I hot the weights real heavy I didn’t get the tone I was looking for. Not bulk, but just not as toned.
May 2, 2011 at 8:28 pm
PS–you look FAB!
May 3, 2011 at 8:14 am
Thank you!!!!
May 3, 2011 at 6:26 am
Nice dip station – I love the DIY equipment! Keep training hard!
May 3, 2011 at 5:55 pm
thanks! i’m a big fan of your site al!
May 3, 2011 at 1:46 pm
I’m about to quit the gym. I do yoga at home and some and some walking and running outside, and I feel good with that.
Last years, I’ve eliminated all grains frommy diet and started paleo eating. It made me feel much better, but I noticed I need some more carbs to feel well, so I re-introduced some brown rice and legumes. I stay away from all the gluten stuff, though.
May 3, 2011 at 5:56 pm
honestly, quitting the gym will help you so much! you’ll stop comparing and you look to beat your own personal bests! it’s great!!
May 21, 2011 at 6:22 am
I’ve quit meanwhile, but my contract is still running for some time. At least it won’t be extended!
May 4, 2011 at 5:59 pm
you look AWESOME!!!!!!!!!
May 6, 2011 at 6:35 pm
thank you so much beautiful!
May 6, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Heh heh..nice dip bars and form! Dips are one of the most overlooked, yet effective excercises ever.
I’m doing nothing but bodyweight excercises now. I used weights for years, but just got tired of the gym. In fact, I now despise the gym atmosphere with a passion.
Plus, BW is natural, can be done anywhere and lessens the chance of injuries. I also love the fact that I can train outside now. Try doing that with a heavy barbell or machine.
May 6, 2011 at 6:36 pm
i love the portability of exercise! you’re right, you can do it whenever! no excuses not to workout
May 7, 2011 at 9:17 am
That’s so awesome that you’ve got this crafty dip-station
looks like something I’d see in the sculpture dept hehe. Being a sculpture major I’ve learned to become crafty, and not give in to just buying something out of convenience. Anywho, I don’t really lift weights either actually. I did over the summer and I have higher testosterone levels and I saw that I was building muscle in a way that I didn’t really like.
XO!!!
p.s. you are so cute
http://www.ohonemorething.wordpress.com
May 8, 2011 at 11:17 am
thank you so much! i’m happy to not have to invest in weights other than my own body, def does the trick!
June 4, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Hello
I stumbled on your blog from Zuzana’s Bodyrock.tv and great job on your DIY dip station
Btw love it that you’re also on board on Primal/Paleo.
I totally agree that gym is overrated and a rip off. I am never a big fan of gym and never subscribed to one. Prior bodyrock, I did 2 rounds of P90X and that got me started to exercise regularly. I did some yoga, running/jogging, but now I prefer short intense exercises from Bodyrock.tv
June 5, 2011 at 7:42 am
Hey Melissa
This dip station is amazing and I will be having my hubby build one when we get back to America and we’re all nice and settled. I’ve been bodyrocking for a while now and then I had a surprise pregnancy so now I’m about 18 weeks prego and still bodyrocking. I feel like I’m addicted. Thanks for posting pics of the dip station! It’s great and you look amazing! 
June 5, 2011 at 9:41 am
meg! ahhhh i cannot imagine 3 little ones in such a short period of time! bless your heart! hopefully coming back to the states you can get some help from fam/friends with the kiddos. i need to post the reinforced dip station (nate added a couple T bars to make it really sturdy for me). i should also post another progress pic since it’s been a month, the abs are really starting to show now (i’ve never had them in my entire life so i’m pretty stoked about it haha!) oh i love bodyrock so much! it’s so much nicer for me to just get a short workout out of the way first thing instead of having to commit 30+ mins of cardio (i hate it by the way) and not get nearly the same result. why don’t more people know about this?!
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