What's a nice diet to get toned?

sweetbreuv13

Hi, I'm 20 yrs old, 5'2 95-100lbs. I have a high metabolism so I'm slim, but I want to get tone since I have some belly fat that could go and be replaced with muscle. I have no muscle really since I take advantage of high metabolism and haven't been adamant about working out/eating right. I know what I want to do for my workouts (Jillian Michaels Body Revolution to start with, Chalean Extreme when I'm able to lift weights) , I just don't know about diet. You don't get results unless you have the right diet right?

Here is my diet right now: I love meat, so every dinner meal, and most lunches I have meat like chicken, hamburger meat, fish etc. I don't eat much vegetables, but I will eat potatoes ( I love potatoes! lol) corn, cooked carrots, any peas, beans like butter beans, and mushrooms. Me and my boyfriend try to have one good supper meal at least once a week where I eat more veggies than I do meat. I don't like "green" stuff, it tastes too strong to me, maybe I will grow out of that and like the taste later on lol.
Meals don't really change much around here so here is the usual to choose from:
supper:
Hamburger helper, chicken tenders, baked chicken, shake and bake pork chops, tacos, talapia (baked with kale, or fried), spaghetti, occasional manicotti, hamburgers etc. Fried stuff is always cooked with french fries, otherwise it is standalone, like hamburger helper, or cooked with one or more veggies that I will eat. (haven't ate much potatoes lately, usually I eat tons of mashed potatoes)
Lunch:
Leftovers from previous nights supper, or sandwich (lunchmeat sandwich or I like to make peanut butter and butter sandwiches (don't look at this funny, the butter makes the peanut butter not sticky and it tastes good lol))
Breakfast:
eggs (overeasy on the weekends and during the week if I cook them, then they are scrambled, eggs with sausage, blueberry muffins, or cereal, or skip it (occationally have donuts, pigs in a blanket, or cinnimon rolls. It's easy to skip breakfast since I don't wake up until 8am even though breakfast is suppose to be most important meal of the day
snacks:
don't eat many snacks, but chips and salsa, crackers, fruit gummy snacks, strawberries blended up in ice cream and yogurt is some of the snacks I like ( I rarely eat stuff that's really sweet like chocolate, cake, etc since it hurts my stomach and chocolate makes my teeth hurt after a couple bites).
Drinks:
I don't get thirsty often, I can go hrs without drinks so most the time I drink one to two sodas. I need to drink more water, and I've got bottled water, but I just don't get that thirsty and water fills me up real fast, but I do need to work on drinking lots of water. (my goal is two bottled waters a day). I guess since I'm somewhat lazy (or ok pretty lazy lol) I don't have the need to drink much, maybe if I start pushing myself everyday when I work out, my body will have the need to want more water?

So my diet right now is kinda bad right? what kind of changes need to be made to go along with working out? I would either like to replace my small extra fat percentage with muscle tone, or gain weight and have visible muscle. I just don't want to work my butt off working out and getting sore to no results since I'm missing the diet part, I thought since my metabolism is already high I didn't need a diet, but I guess I'm wrong lol. For me since I'm not looking into losing weight, would I just have to eat more and eat lots of protein (protein shakes, protein bars, peanuts etc) and drink lots of water to see results? How often should I eat, like 4 meals a day, or 6 meals a day (3 meals, 3 snacks( how big should a snack be also, like one protein shake, or one yogurt etc)? Is eating meat all the time a good thing or a bad thing?

sweetbreuv13

I posted here before about how long it takes to tone and about weight lifting, but never talked about my diet. This is somewhat like how I want my before and after to be like. https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/615437_588581541520_1617984322_o.jpg . And here is me, about a month ago: https://scontent-b-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1374203_476780059086952_313487309_n.jpg , and today : http://us-mg6.mail.yahoo.com/ya/download?mid=2_0_0_1_2650502_APr1i2IAAAd0Unvo0wAAAGvpsUk&pid=1&fid=Inbox&inline=1

guroprincess

Meal timing doesn't make any difference. Eat lots of protein, drink lots of water, and lift heavy.

Mokey41

Your meals have no bearing on getting toned or whatever you want to call it. You can't eat to get toned, you can't not eat to get toned. Strength training will get you "toned".

stt43

Eat in a small caloric deficit to reduce body fat. Lift heavy weights to increase muscle. These two things will make the muscle more visible, and you will look more toned.
You don't need protein shakes or protein bars if you are getting enough protein in your meals, and nuts are mainly fat. It doesn't matter how often you eat. 'Eating meat all the time' will get you plenty of protein, but it may give you too much fat depending on the type of meat.

sweetbreuv13

So I don't really have to change much of my eating habits besides try to drink lots of water and add lots of protein and do strength training? Working out I know is what makes muscle :P, but diet plays alot into it too. I just wasn't sure if I'm on the right track since I don't want to lose weight, so I don't necessarily have to count calories, I just wasn't sure if I should cut out some foods that I eat, or eat more overall, etc. when I say toned, I mean just to show a little muscle definition and have low fat percentage while maintaining a healthy diet and workout program.

sweetbreuv13

thanks! that sounds helpful.

SteveStedge1

" I would either like to replace my small extra fat percentage with muscle tone, or gain weight and have visible muscle" my brain now hurts from misinformation.

So much bad information and incorrect assumptions on the post...please someone with some patience respond.

QuietBloom

Eat in a small caloric deficit to reduce body fat. Lift heavy weights to increase muscle. These two things will make the muscle more visible, and you will look more toned.
You don't need protein shakes or protein bars if you are getting enough protein in your meals, and nuts are mainly fat. It doesn't matter how often you eat. 'Eating meat all the time' will get you plenty of protein, but it may give you too much fat depending on the type of meat.

Ignore this. You are already at a very light weight for your size. If anything, start lifting and slightly increase your calories, so you can build some muscle. You cannot build muscle on a calorie deficit anyway.

You likely have a 'normal' metabolism, but from it sounds like, you also eat normally, hence you don't have a weight problem. And that is a good thing.

ninerbuff

Eat at slight calorie deficit and lift heavy weights. No secret diet needed. "Toned" really has no definition because is described differently depending on who is giving the info.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

stt43

So I don't really have to change much of my eating habits besides try to drink lots of water and add lots of protein and do strength training? Working out I know is what makes muscle :P, but diet plays alot into it too. I just wasn't sure if I'm on the right track since I don't want to lose weight, so I don't necessarily have to count calories, I just wasn't sure if I should cut out some foods that I eat, or eat more overall, etc. when I say toned, I mean just to show a little muscle definition and have low fat percentage while maintaining a healthy diet and workout program.

You don't need to eat lots of protein. 0.8g of protein per pound of bodyweight is usually more than enough. It may be difficult for you to lower you bodyfat percentage and gain muscle at the same time, but as you are just getting started you should make some good progress.

geekyjock76

Although I don't like using BMI for heavy-weighted individuals, it does have merit for those such as yourself who are underweight. With that said, I wouldn't look at reducing weight any further at the present. Instead, increase calories to maintenance and begin a progressive weight training program. You may be able to gain about 3 lbs of lean mass being a complete beginner in 6 months - though you could gain more in a calorie surplus. In fact, since you are underweight, moving to a surplus after maintaining for a while would be a good idea.

You can read about eating at a surplus to increase lean mass here:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html

Here is a study on noobs gaining 1.3kg of lean mass after 6 months of progressive resistance training with adequate protein:

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/87/3/1004.full?sid=34657682-3bec-4aa1-9083-e9baf9ef35a2

The table listing physical characteristics before and after 6-month training intervention in 48 young, nonobese, sedentary women:

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/87/3/1004/T1.expansion.html

wilmnoca

" I would either like to replace my small extra fat percentage with muscle tone, or gain weight and have visible muscle" my brain now hurts from misinformation.

So much bad information and incorrect assumptions on the post...please someone with some patience respond.

????I had the same thought after reading it.

sweetbreuv13

Although I don't like using BMI for heavy-weighted individuals, it does have merit for those such as yourself who are underweight. With that said, I wouldn't look at reducing weight any further at the present. Instead, increase calories to maintenance and begin a progressive weight training program. You may be able to gain about 3 lbs of lean mass being a complete beginner in 6 months - though you could gain more in a calories. In fact, since you are underweight, moving to a surplus after maintaining for a while would be a good idea.

You can read about eating at a surplus to increase lean mass here:

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/general-philosophies-of-muscle-mass-gain.html

Here is a study on noobs gaining 1.3kg of lean mass after 6 months of progressive resistance training with adequate protein:

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/87/3/1004.full?sid=34657682-3bec-4aa1-9083-e9baf9ef35a2

The table listing physical characteristics before and after 6-month training intervention in 48 young, nonobese, sedentary women:

http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/87/3/1004/T1.expansion.html

thanks, article is helpful

arrseegee

It's called the exercise diet.

EricaFaythe

I eat badly too, but there are some easy things you can do to promote health. First, I'd ditch any boxed food. The hamburger helper? Get rid of it. Same with most of the packaged junk. You can make equivalents out of it from scratch, and won't be bloating due to all the excess sodium. Second, you need to drink at least 60 ounces of water a day. That's about FOUR bottles of water, not two. It has nothing to do with building tone, but it'll keep you healthier in the long run.

I DO believe that abs are made in the kitchen, and it's key to eat well, which includes vegetables in your diet. I'm not a huge proponent of eating clean as long as you're within your micros, BUT I'll definitely say that when I'm not being lazy and I do eat cleaner, I feel a lot better and I see a lot more muscle tone. Try to incorporate something new into your diet each week. It sounds like you eat a lot of processed foods, and you could be adding some green beans where there are fries, or some asparagus where there are potatoes. Introduce some sweet potatoes, and toss in some other things just to see what you like. Build slowly.

I agree with the others. If you've not lifted before, you should start. Jillian Michaels videos don't really lift heavy. Most recommend Strong Lifts if you're interested in moving some weight, although I don't follow the program. I lift heavy, though, and have had really good results. Cardio is only going to serve to make you skinny fat, as it will eat into your lean muscle mass. I recommend deadlifts, squats, lunges, bench press, and all those other goodies which are in the program. Don't be afraid to actually lift either. You're not going to bulk up.