Advice - Toning

cmoncmonshake

Hello all!

I'm 5"3' at 130 lbs which is rather average for a girl my age. I used MyFitnessPal for a lengthy period of time as I was initially losing weight. I lost around 30 lbs, going from 155 - 123, and then back up to 130 when I disregarded maintenance mode for several months. I am currently back on track. The issue I had at 123 lbs was that I still had a decent amount of tummy fat, as that is where I hold most of my weight - and I eventually gave up as I plateaued and was not seeing any further results.

Does anyone have any particular tips on how they've toned their stomach or what types of food that may be helpful or I should avoid to do so? I think if I actively take steps to tone rather than lose, I will have a better chance of seeing results. Any help is much appreciated!

Thank you in advance!


-Megan

middlehaitch

Find a form of exercise that you enjoy and will keep doing.

Some kind if resistance/lifting/strength programme using weights and progressing with the load, or bodyweight exercises would give you the best results.

But if you don't want to go that path,
there are lots of programmes on YouTube that have a cardio/strength mix.

Your local gym or rec/leisure centre probably offers a number if classes that would benefit you.

I do Zumba, amongst other things, it is much more a cardio class, but if one concentrates on form and posture, consciously engaging muscles as one moves, it can improve, to a certain extent, the core muscles.

Ridding oneself of the fat ( count those calories) over the muscle is optimum, but even with a little fat, if the core muscles are strengthened, ones abdomen will look better.

There are a number of good stickies at the top of each forum. Read through them, they are gold.

Cheers, h.

barryplumber

Keep doing your calorie deflict plus excersise is really good with lots of benefits. Just remember you CANNOT control where the fat comes off it falls where it fall
good luck

strong_curves

Whenever I see the word "toning" I always wonder what does the OP mean. From what I understand "toning" means muscle. I noticed that when women lift weights (heavy weights, progressive load) they look "toned".

47Jacqueline

There actually is no such thing a toning (a verb). There ia being toned (a noun). What you want to do is to build up your muscles.

Also, you cannot spot reduce. But you can develop myour musculature. And strong muscles are both attractive and healthy.

Then there is the idiotic observation that muscle weighs more than fat. I don't know where this came from. A pound is a pound regardless of the material. However, a poound of muscle is much denser (read smaller) than a pound of fat. i.e., it takes up less room (isn't that amazing). You will never reduce the number of fat cells you have, but you can keep them dormant by maintaining your weight reduction (hence the term skinny-fat).

Here's the "skinny" on muscle building: If you want to build muscle without bulking, you have to get to a point of being able to use weights that are heavier than 5lb. Bodybuilders, when they want to bulk, use lighter weights and increase their repetitions.

So lifting heavier weights, coupled with the fact that women's hormone make up by and large doesn't result in us getting "big", will go a long way to you having a "toned" body. Also, for abdominal muscles; doing planks is a better idea than crunches until you learn good crunch form.

dhimaan

Flat stomach: constant calorie deficit, high protein intake, heavy lifting + strategic cardio 4-5 days a week. Additionally patience.

Lleldiranne

I would suggest a small calorie deficit (~250 a week) and strength training, specifically heavy lifting. There aren't any foods that are going to make or break your goals ... just be sure you're getting enough protein and staying under maintenance.