Lose weight or Tone up?

laurajanepattinson

hey guys, I'm unsure whether i need to lose weight or whether i just need to tone up :indifferent: I'm 5"2/5"3 and i weigh 12 stone 2 lbs (170lbs) which i know is quite a fair bit overweight according to my BMI but hey ho! needed some opinions

Really been trying hard to stick to a healthy diet, and been successful so far (i think)
ive also been doing a lot of cardio and strengthening exercises including yoga, walking and aerobic steps.

Also if someone could tell me how much weight i should be able to lose in 9 weeks based on a healthy weight loss per week?

Much appreciated :happy:

mymodernbabylon

If you want to eat the way you will for life (thus not a crash diet) than 1 lb a week would be the most you'd want to lose. I've been trying to lose 20 lbs and I'm on at 1/2 lb a week...some weeks I lose, some weeks I gain, some weeks I'm steady. I've been doing this since November and I've lost about 16 lb so far. But I also know that I'll be able to keep this weight off as I'm not doing anything remarkable...slightly smaller portions, a few better choices and lifting heavy weights.

laurajanepattinson

okay thank you

JesterMFP

Well, try and pin down exactly what you mean by "tone up". The phrase doesn't really mean that much in itself. Usually when people talk about toning up, or being toned, they are referring to losing enough fat to reveal a bit of muscle definition underneath. So, that means losing weight (and making sure that most of what you lose is fat, not lean mass.)

That doesn't mean don't do strengthening exercises though - resistance work is extremely good for you and will help you to hang onto that lean mass as you are losing weight. Body weight exercises such as yoga are fine, but try to make sure you're progressing somewhat in difficulty. If you look up "body weight resistance exercises" online, you should get some good routines. Check out Nerdfitness blog, they've got some great stuff there. You'll get people recommending weight lifting too (which I personally would also recommend) but if you're not into it (yet) body weight exercises will help a lot.

At the same time, make sure you're eating enough and not trying to lose too quickly. Your body is only going to be able to let go of so much fat at once - if you go too quickly and cut calories too drastically, you increase your risk of losing more lean mass (eg. muscle mass and bone density). Really not good for your health and leads to a less "toned", more flabby look in the end. So, eat enough, and make sure you're getting plenty of protein too (generally more than MFP recommends).

You should be looking to lose no more than 1.5-2 lbs a week max, and lowering that the more you lose. Once you are close to your goal weight, it should be more like 0.5 lbs a week. The good news is that there is no deadline. This is a lifelong endeavour, so take it slow and steady, and make sure that you hold onto all the muscle you have now, and you'll end up looking more "toned" than if you drop weight as fast as possible.

kgeyser

At your height and weight, a goal of 1 lb per week is reasonable, healthy weight loss. You'll probably lose more weight the first few weeks from water weight. FWIW I was set at 1 lb per week when I started with 45 lbs to lose, but after shedding water weight I was still losing closer to 1.5 lbs per week even with a 1 lb goal until I got into the healthy BMI for my height, and eating probably around 1800 calories a day on average.

My personal recommendations are to stay within your calorie goal, eats lots of protein (helps retain muscle mass), drink water, get lots of sleep, eat a portion of your exercise calories back, and continue exercising, incorporating resistance training into your routine. Lifting heavy weights helps to retain muscle mass and give your body a tighter appearance once you have lost fat. Plus the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even at rest, so preserving as much muscle as you can during weight loss is a good thing.

If you don't have access to a gym or heavy weights, there are plenty of bodyweight workouts or workouts that use items you have around the house as weights. I've been doing bodyweight and using dumbbells (only up to 25 lbs because that's all I've got) and have some decent definition even with about 15 lbs to go.

These links are insanely helpful in setting your goals and figuring out how many calories to eat:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

laurajanepattinson

thanks, thats helped a lot