Need some help on how to tone up

mimil55

Hi,

I'd like some advice if possible - I've been getting pretty good weight loss results from counting my calories, and increasing the amount of exercise I do.

However I feel like I'm not toning up as much as I would like with the different exercises I'm doing, and I'd love some tips on how I could get a more toned body!

My background:

• I have a 1250 daily calorie limit, which I meet most days. I don't usually eat back my exercise calories unless I'm trying to compensate for a restaurant dinner for example.
  
• I drink plenty of water, around 2 litres a day.
  
• I try to have 3 to 4 cardio workouts a week - either cycling, running / walking, hiking or swimming, as well as a stretching / light weights/ bodyweight exercises routine a few times a week.
  
• I currently fluctuate between 52kg and 54 kg, and my goal now is not really to lose any more weight because I'm in a healthy range, but to be fitter and look more toned.
  
• My key problem zones are my thighs which just don't seem to tone up despite a strong muscle underneath the flab, and my flabby triceps, but it's really overall toning that I'm looking for. Open to any suggestions!
  

Thanks in advance!

jemhh

Toning is kind of a vague term that can mean different things to different people. However, I'm going to assume that you want to show a bit more muscle. That comes down to losing fat and having muscle to show. Losing fat is pretty straight forward--eat at a caloric deficit, as you already know and have been doing. The latter part, having muscle to show, is more involved. Bodyweight exercises are good for strength training but, at a certain point, you either need to move to more advanced progressions or add weights (or some combo of that--you don't have to strictly stick with one or another.) By doing that, you can progress in weight/difficulty, which is the way to add strength and (when you are no longer eating in a deficit) muscle. Right now at 1250 calories per day and 52 kg (115 pounds) you are not going to add muscle because you are eating in a deficit and don't fall into the "add muscle in a deficit" categories of overfat beginner and returning lifter. My suggestion would be to eat at maintenance (your MFP goal plus your exercise calories) and work on a recomp by lifting weights (or getting serious about bodyweight progressions.) If you want to go the bulk route, eat a bit more than maintenance.

RoxieDawn

I used to drink a gallon or more of water a day and thought I was floating a way. I actually did a test on just how much water I actually needed and it was only about 64 ounces in which food containing water was included so I needed 20% less than that.. I now balance water I am not holding or carrying those extra 2 to 3 pounds that was actually making me puffy.. (this probably will not be what your problem is.. it was part of mine)..

I no longer need to loose weight (I just have some fat) to loose.. I eat at maintenance and sometimes under but I am building muscle and loosing ever soooooo slightly. This takes time and a lot of patience. I lift heavier now than when I started and actually cut back cardio to HIIT twice a week for 45 minutes..

But I changed my work out to circuits with warm up and cool down cardio and well just changing things up every other week helps me as well..

My nutrition is different and better where I focus on protein (especially lifting days) first in my diet, then fat and the rest carbs..

It is working.. as a matter of fact, I had NOT looked at my "back" in over a month, and yesterday I got a hair cut and was wearing a sun dress. When I looked in the mirror "backwards" omg, I was floored..

Just some random thoughts...

mizzlarabee

So, just to clarify, you are at your ideal weight but want to lose more body fat? You can't be more "toned" without losing body fat. What is underneath that body fat is a different story, and if you want more definition you will just have to work the areas that you want to get more muscle mass in. I think what you are looking for is a body recomposition. @gia07 has some good input - I can take a look at your current macro breakdown if you want.

In terms of your training, cut down on the intensity and lift more weight. Do some actual resistance training to create more definition. Work in a 3-4 set, 15-20 rep range. Work your legs 3-4 times a week. Go over your physique and see what areas you want more definition in, and work those areas.

mimil55

Thanks everyone for your feedback, that's helpful.

Yes, when I say "toning" I meant that I'd like to lose the body fat that I'm still carrying despite having reached what was my original goal weight, and show more muscle definition.

Exactly as you all said, a recomposition is what I'm after.

I'll give your tips a try, thanks again

governatorkp

Not sure about 2 litres of water.

We need about 2 litres of FLUID, that means it includes all the 'water' that's coming from your food.

Judging by your weight you're most likely not that tall.
Eating around 1200 is the lowest limit a person could go to still be able to have a sufficient intake of all needed vitamins, minerals and thesuch.
You're also doing a lot of cardio, meaning you're most probably sweating alot.

You are at the low end of mineral/vitamin intake, you are in danger of flushing out minerals and salts by drinking too much AND you lose even more of them by sweating.

If you want to tone up, you need to cut back on the cardio and focus more on strength/weight-training.
To build and strengthen muscle you'll need to feed those muscles with a slight caloric increase.
Stronger and bigger muscle will make you look more toned.

mimil55

Thanks for your feedback.

When I mentioned 2 litres of water, I meant 2 litres of either water, tea, coffee etc. I generally drink just under a litre during a cardio workout, and about a litre for the rest of the day. My doctor confirmed this was ok when I saw her recently about my eating / exercise plan, so I think I'm fine on this point.

But thank you for the warning about the vitamins and minerals, I'll make sure to pay attention to that point.

You're right I'm not very tall, I'm 162 cm. My MFP goal up until now while I was losing weight was for 1250 calories a day, at a rate of 0.25kg weight loss per week (given that I'm an office worker with a very sedentary day job).

I've looked up lots more resources on strength and weight training on MFP and Greatist, so I'll start to put even more focus into that now. Hopefully I'll get some good results over the coming months

Thanks again!

Unknown

This content has been removed.