Down 30LBS but flabby. Need advice PLEASE!

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Ayla121
Ayla121 Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So Ive finally come close to my goal weight of 125LBS. Im at 128 and as far as Im concerned thats awesome! I did it thru counting calories, clean eating, high protein, cardio and weight lifting. However, Im still pretty "flabby", or skinny-fat.

I recently started a new job as a paramedic and barely have time to brush my teeth nevermind make it to the gym. I know that heavy lifting would ideally be the way to go,but I was wondering if anyone has had any success with body weight only exercises?

At the moment Im just looking to tighten up a bit, stop looking so flabby. I understand that Im not gonna build much muscle, if any. I plan on keeping a -500 deficit, high protein, clean diet. My schedule doesnt look like its gonna calm down until the fall time so I'd really like to know if at home workouts each morning would be beneficial?

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • DaniCanadian
    DaniCanadian Posts: 261 Member
    edited April 2015
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    For me, doing body weight/calisthenics has helped with toning and definition as well as strength (I haaaate weight lifting with a passion). I used to only be able to do on the knee push ups, now I can do 10 full on push ups!
    Pinterest has some pretty good full body workout routines that take around 20-30 mins.
  • futuremanda
    futuremanda Posts: 816 Member
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    Yes! Especially if it is bodyweight or nothing. I am doing Blogilates, and steadily gaining strength and the way my body feels (to touch and to wield) is changing dramatically. (I am overweight, so I doubt I'm changing dramatically in looks, but I think I'd be seeing changes if I were slimmer, and I have seen changes from bodyweight exercises before when I WAS slimmer.) Plenty of bodyweight, at-home routines are great alternatives to (not substitutes for) weight lifting.

    You can pry my at-home workouts from my cold, dead, strong hands.

    However. With so few pounds left to lose, a 500 cal deficit is pretty aggressive. Especially because I imagine that paramedic is a fairly active job, and you also plan to work out... at least make sure your activity level is set to reflect the new job, and that you eat back a conservative estimate of your workout cals. But a 250 cal deficit might be in order if you're feeling any fatigue or issues performing.
  • unlikelyathlete
    unlikelyathlete Posts: 62 Member
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    The best advice I have gotten in a long while was to do weight lifting. If you want to change the way things look, that is the best way to do it now that you are close to your goal weight. However, do know that it may stall the weight loss or make it a little slower. I made my peace with it, have fluctuated between the same 2 pounds over the past few months, but I look different in clothes-they fit me better, and I'm not afraid to show off my arms!
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    Lift heavy!
  • grandma107
    grandma107 Posts: 70 Member
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    Pilates
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Lift heavy
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
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    continue with the strength training. You also may need some time for your weight loss to really register with you, you might not be as "flabby" as you feel.
  • dballen07
    dballen07 Posts: 8 Member
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    lift weights, eat more protein
  • Ayla121
    Ayla121 Posts: 21 Member
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    Thanks for the quick replies!
    Unfortunately I cant keep lifting heavy, that was the point of my post. With my schedule theres literally no possible way to make it to the gym. So Im gonna give body weight exercises and pilates a try. Thanks!
  • run_cmc
    run_cmc Posts: 26 Member
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    Ayla121 wrote: »
    Thanks for the quick replies!
    Unfortunately I cant keep lifting heavy, that was the point of my post. With my schedule theres literally no possible way to make it to the gym. So Im gonna give body weight exercises and pilates a try. Thanks!

    Maybe you could buy some dumbbells and keep them at home? Sure it isn't 'LIFT HEAVY!' but it's a step above body weight exercises :smile:
  • ruggedshutter
    ruggedshutter Posts: 389 Member
    edited April 2015
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    You might want to look into suspension trainers like TRX or WOSS. Amazon has several cheaper versions than the TRX that do the same thing for about $30-$40. There are a ton of videos online for different exercises to do with it. I use the WOSS brand and haven't had any problems with it, just make sure that you get one that has a door mount if you don't have any where to hang it.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
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    Ayla121 wrote: »
    Thanks for the quick replies!
    Unfortunately I cant keep lifting heavy, that was the point of my post. With my schedule theres literally no possible way to make it to the gym. So Im gonna give body weight exercises and pilates a try. Thanks!
    This may sound weird, but it's really helped me.

    The first time I lost weight, I was left with a lot of loose skin. I even gained some weight back so that my skin wasn't so loose. The second time I lost weight, I shook different parts of my body for about 30 seconds at a time multiple times a day and that kept my skin shrinking as my body shrunk. My skin never got really tight but it certainly tightened up quite a bit more than doing nothing.

    Have you ever seen those old machines that use a belt around the waist to rapidly shake people? It's basically that except without the machine.

    I started by shaking my legs, arms, and torso at different times at first. Once I got the hang of it, I started just shaking everything at the same time.
  • DaniCanadian
    DaniCanadian Posts: 261 Member
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    seska422 wrote: »
    Ayla121 wrote: »
    Thanks for the quick replies!
    Unfortunately I cant keep lifting heavy, that was the point of my post. With my schedule theres literally no possible way to make it to the gym. So Im gonna give body weight exercises and pilates a try. Thanks!
    This may sound weird, but it's really helped me.

    The first time I lost weight, I was left with a lot of loose skin. I even gained some weight back so that my skin wasn't so loose. The second time I lost weight, I shook different parts of my body for about 30 seconds at a time multiple times a day and that kept my skin shrinking as my body shrunk. My skin never got really tight but it certainly tightened up quite a bit more than doing nothing.

    Have you ever seen those old machines that use a belt around the waist to rapidly shake people? It's basically that except without the machine.

    I started by shaking my legs, arms, and torso at different times at first. Once I got the hang of it, I started just shaking everything at the same time.

    This is just a guess but maybe it's because shaking increased the blood flow to the skin? Same way as if you're cold or your limbs go numb, shake them to get blood flowing back into them.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    edited April 2015
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    DaniCanadian wrote: »
    This is just a guess but maybe it's because shaking increased the blood flow to the skin? Same way as if you're cold or your limbs go numb, shake them to get blood flowing back into them.
    That's probably a lot of it. I know that some areas of skin are even cold to the touch before I do the shaking and they warm up once I shake. I'll usually even massage the problem areas a bit to get even more blood flowing to them.

    I just started this round of weight loss about a month ago and I started with the shaking right away. It's made a big difference in my saggy skin already. I'll certainly keep it up as I keep working at losing weight.

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