tontitadeamor Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Well. I think it does bc I had been running for like a month (I had trained several sports before like swimming, tennis and tae-bo, so I'm easy weight loser) and I lost two sizes in jeans. I haven't weight myself yet, I am 5' 6 and im reaching to weight at least 130lbs How can I improve losing more weight? I do eat healthy (not greasy junk food) and I had lost some good pounds by running and I know this is the secure way to do it, slow and consistence.. but still i want to tonify my body and get stronger. this is how i look now http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc02303nq6.jpg and this is how is used to look before (a month ago): http://img522.imageshack.us/my.php?image=n30702268311053837314cl2.jpg any recommendation? Link to post Share on other sites
sunshinegirl Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 If you are down two sizes with only a month of running under your belt, I would say you are losing weight pretty rapidly! I would be hesitant to radically alter what you're doing... as you probably know, the faster weight comes off, generally the harder it is to keep it off. That being said, I have found yoga to be a great way to tone and strengthen. For awhile I used to go to two 90-minute sessions a week - the hot, strenuous yoga classes where you SWEAT big time. You might consider adding some yoga to your repertoire. Link to post Share on other sites
alterego1234 Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Build muscle. Muscle is active tissue and burns calories 24 hours a day, even when you're not exercising. Body fat burns zero calories. You won't get bulky, you'll just get more toned and fit looking. A gym is the ideal place, but if you have some little dumbells around you can use those, or even just pushups, pullups, situps, etc. Link to post Share on other sites
Michael6084 Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 that first pic, all i had to say in my head was "dayum!" lol. but anyway, what i understand about running is that doing things slowly and consistently keeps pounds off much better than if you rapidly lost it. as far as toning goes, lifting weights is the key. someone already said this before, but there is almost no way a girl can get bulky unless if she takes some type of steroids or testosterone pills or something. and lifting weights may take a longer time than running. i dont know because im not a girl and my body doesnt work that way. but ive been going to the gym every other day consistently for about...6 months and its been great the whole time. you feel better, stronger, fit. its just great. Link to post Share on other sites
uniqueone Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Well. I think it does bc I had been running for like a month (I had trained several sports before like swimming, tennis and tae-bo, so I'm easy weight loser) and I lost two sizes in jeans. I haven't weight myself yet, I am 5' 6 and im reaching to weight at least 130lbs How can I improve losing more weight? I do eat healthy (not greasy junk food) and I had lost some good pounds by running and I know this is the secure way to do it, slow and consistence.. but still i want to tonify my body and get stronger. this is how i look now http://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc02303nq6.jpg and this is how is used to look before (a month ago): http://img522.imageshack.us/my.php?image=n30702268311053837314cl2.jpg any recommendation? Running is good for losing weight...but it's hard on the body so try not to overdo it. You should do weight training at the same time so that your muscles can take on the extra load you're putting on them when you run because each time you put your foot to the pavement, you're ligaments are depending upon supporting muscles to keep them from tearing. Alternate weights and cardio Weights build muscle and muscle burns calories even while resting. Cardio burns calories through respiration. If you get to a point where you reach a plateau in running and aren't seeing any changes happening, then that's a good time to start interval training. With interval training, you increase and decrease speed and/or level of intensity for periods of time and then go back to your previous level again....and then repeat... Here's a link on it: http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/tipsandtricks/a/Intervals.htm Another good thing is to eat plenty of healthy protein (tuna, eggs, chicken, etc....will do...You don't need to go so far as getting whey protein powder like the hardcore bodybuilders do.) Keep in mind that you cannot spot reduce. Keep in mind that your body shape is influenced by genetics and that cannot be changed, so you can only change the way your body looks to a degree. Just a few I thought of for now. Hope it helps. Link to post Share on other sites
wookinpanub Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 uniqueone is right. HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) has been shown to be the most effective in terms of weightloss. Another key to weightloss is to make SURE you are burning more calories than you consume in a day. Every person has a different level of maintenance calories. IUts best to aim for 500 below maintenance to lose weight but not too much that your body starts to cannabilise your muscle. You can find calculators for your maintenance calories by just searching on like google or something. Link to post Share on other sites
Darkzen Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 It's all about lifestyle. Find a good measure of caloric intake for each phase of life (active, not active, training, etc...). It should be pretty consistent as long as your body chemistry stays consistent. I.E. you add 5lbs of muscle, it'll change your target number. I used to run 3-5 miles every weekday in the Army, plus a full workday. I could eat whatever the hell I wanted and not really gain weight. When I got out, my activity level changed to pretty much just a half-assed workday. My diet didn't change and I gained a like a pound a month over the five years. I ended up putting on about 60-70lbs by the time I finally figured it out. The last two years, I spent a lot of time lifting weights and bulked with about 30-40lbs of muscle. I never cut the body fat though, I was like 305lbs (230lbs in the Army). I started to watch my diet and do more cardio intense activities and am about 280lbs atm. I should be about 250-255lbs for my mass though. Exercise is great, but you'll never get that toned/shredded look without proper diet as well. For example, I'm chubby, but extremely healthy and strong. The one time I had a six-pack was while deployed in Bosnia, I had a screwy guard shift and always missed meals... on a minimal diet and constant exercise I finally got the elusive shredded abs, but it went away (back to the 2 1/2-pack, some days I had a 4-pack, others a 2-pack) in like two weeks, once I went back to eating normally again. It's all about lifestyle, that's why weight loss via dieting comes back. Stay active and eat right, you'll be fine... athletes have the bodies they do because it's a lifestyle. Most of those people with awesome bodies eat literally nothing... it's the price they pay for looking hot. Link to post Share on other sites
uniqueone Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Exercise is great, but you'll never get that toned/shredded look without proper diet as well. For example, I'm chubby, but extremely healthy and strong. The one time I had a six-pack was while deployed in Bosnia, I had a screwy guard shift and always missed meals... on a minimal diet and constant exercise I finally got the elusive shredded abs, Just wanted to point out to the OP, that women can't get a six pack so don't try for one. The ones you see with six packs take drugs. Link to post Share on other sites
Darkzen Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 Just wanted to point out to the OP, that women can't get a six pack so don't try for one. The ones you see with six packs take drugs. I'll disagree with that a little. Get a low enough body fat percentage and large enough ab muscles and it's possible without drugs... very unhealthy, but possible. My body fat was pretty much average over a little above average. But I had a tremendous musculature and that's why I had a 2 1/2-pack. My abs were large and strong. When I lost a little body fat from not eating, it allowed my lower abs to show. I could work my abs for 45-60 mins straight, back in those days. Over 100 sit-ups in two mins was my average for the Army physical fitness test. It's unrealistic, but I would consider it possible without drugs. Link to post Share on other sites
uniqueone Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 I'll disagree with that a little. Get a low enough body fat percentage and large enough ab muscles and it's possible without drugs... very unhealthy, but possible. My body fat was pretty much average over a little above average. But I had a tremendous musculature and that's why I had a 2 1/2-pack. My abs were large and strong. When I lost a little body fat from not eating, it allowed my lower abs to show. I could work my abs for 45-60 mins straight, back in those days. Over 100 sit-ups in two mins was my average for the Army physical fitness test. It's unrealistic, but I would consider it possible without drugs. Errr...aren't you a guy though? As for women, our bodies hold fat in our abdomens so that we can support a child should we get pregnant. Even if you look at a one and a half year-old girl and boy you can see a difference in the abdomens (hips too, btw). That layer of fat is there from the beginning. Even very thin women will have it. Yes, women CAN reduce body fat enough to have a leaner stomach (which isn't healthy and usually indicates a cessation of menstruation---The body is smart. It ceases menstruation so that the woman can NOT have a child because her body fat is too low at that point to support a baby). It's the part about the muscles though. First of all, it's not normal for women to develop large muscles in that area. It's like the upper arms. If you see women with large upper arm muscles......that's steroids. No normal woman can develop large upper arm muscles. I'm pretty strong for a small person and I'm lean. My biceps show. But there is no way I would ever have large arm muscles no matter what I did (sans drugs). It's the same with the ab muscles. Women cannot develop large ab muscles naturally. \ So if you see the lean stomach and the large ab muscles, it's not natural. A VERY lean stomach is possible (usually not healthy though) A very lean stomach with large ab muscles is not naturally possible. Link to post Share on other sites
Darkzen Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 Errr...aren't you a guy though? As for women, our bodies hold fat in our abdomens so that we can support a child should we get pregnant. Even if you look at a one and a half year-old girl and boy you can see a difference in the abdomens (hips too, btw). That layer of fat is there from the beginning. Even very thin women will have it. Yes, women CAN reduce body fat enough to have a leaner stomach (which isn't healthy and usually indicates a cessation of menstruation---The body is smart. It ceases menstruation so that the woman can NOT have a child because her body fat is too low at that point to support a baby). It's the part about the muscles though. First of all, it's not normal for women to develop large muscles in that area. It's like the upper arms. If you see women with large upper arm muscles......that's steroids. No normal woman can develop large upper arm muscles. I'm pretty strong for a small person and I'm lean. My biceps show. But there is no way I would ever have large arm muscles no matter what I did (sans drugs). It's the same with the ab muscles. Women cannot develop large ab muscles naturally. \ So if you see the lean stomach and the large ab muscles, it's not natural. A VERY lean stomach is possible (usually not healthy though) A very lean stomach with large ab muscles is not naturally possible. I know what you're saying and yes I am a guy. I used myself as an example because I didn't have a sub 5% body fat and still attained a six-pack... I had around a 10-12%. That's attainable for women and I didn't have a massive abs, they were solid and stuck out a little. I'm sure a women that put the effort in could achieve a six-pack with enough dedication. Probably but highly unlikely. Drugs make it easier obviously, but I've seen girls with a six-pack before... it didn't look like they took drugs... i.e. the Ms. Fitness girls. They're not massive and train for years to get that body. Some may dope, but I'm sure there's a couple that don't (they just have great genetics). I'm not saying it's easy, but I do believe it's possible in rare cases. Link to post Share on other sites
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