Losing last 10 lbs + toning up!

RattieLove

Hey all!
This may seem like a pretty general question but I'm looking to lose my last 10-ish lbs, and tighten and tone up my midsection and thighs! I never do the same workouts every day, mix things up, work hard. I'm on a daily calorie goal of 1500 and usually burn anywhere from 250 - 650 per workout. (I aim for 6 workouts per week.)
I love cardio, and usually over half my week consists of that, but I manage to squeeze in 2-3 strength workouts.
I have been making healthy choices (whole wheat bread, apple instead of cake, cheat meals less than once a week, pass the popcorn for a banana, etc.) and eating several small meals through the day, including breakfast and little healthy snacks.

However, it's been like this for several weeks and I really want to break through and get that tight toned body I know I'm so close to!
Any advice/tips/help in general?

Thanks guys
~Mae

RattieLove

..please? :<

reneelee

I have a question for you. Are the last 10 pounds relative? By this I mean pertaining to your final goal.
How do you define what the last 10 pounds are? For example,I weigh 136 pounds at 5ft 3. I think I would be happy to lose another 7 to 10 pounds as I’ve been at this weight previously and was happy with it and I like to keep my curves. On the other hand there are women of the same height who may wish to lose a further 10 pounds than me but still be in the correct weight category for their height.
So when is the last 10 pounds really the last 10 pounds?
I would love to know your thoughts on this because presently I’m really confused about what my goals should be. Should I shoot for 1 pound a week loss as I’m still at the heavier end of my healthy weight range or drop to half a pound so as not to compromise my body composition I’m not aiming for skinny fat!
Hope you don’t mind me picking your brains and I thought this subject may be interesting to others to.
First, I don’t believe there’s such a thing as the “last 10 lbs.” At least not in my world. Reason being – having a “last 10 lbs” implies that a certain weight, based on BMI, is ideal regardless of body composition. Suppose we compiled a group of women with your exact same stats in terms of height and weight. Do you think they’d all look the same in terms of physique? Now suppose we had them all lose 10 lbs. Some of them would look excellent. Some of them would look terrible. Which is why goal weights are pretty ridiculous if you ask me.
When you have 50 or 100 + lbs to lose, goal weights are fine. They keep you focused on the right direction. But as you get closer, it takes a more refined, precise and deliberate approach. The goal of hitting a specific weight goes out the window and optimizing the amount of muscle mass you have relative to fat mass becomes the name of the game.
Which is why various people can “wear” the same weight so differently. Height and bone structure plays a role. Fat distribution plays a role. These variables are out of your control. But how much muscle and fat you have plays a huge role. And this is what people need to be focusing on as these variables, for the most part, are in our control.
I can tell you that I’ve worked with women who came to me saying, “I want to lose 5-10 lbs.” They don’t know why. It’s generally some silly idea they have in their head of what they weighed in high school or whatever. They’re hoping that 5-10 lbs lost will ultimately and magically give them the body they imagine themselves having. And that’s the mindset our society has created – weight loss is the answer to all of your problems regardless of how thin you are.
Of these clients, many of them left my gym heavier than when they came. And they were happy too. It was the optimization of their body composition rather than losing more weight that ultimately made them feel (and look) good.
I’m not sure if I answered your questions, but this should be a good start.
Thoughts?
Thanks so much for the reply.
From what I’ve been reading on this site I’m definitely changing my views on how it’s not just about a number on the scale I should ultimately be aiming for. Like a lot of other women though I find it a daunting prospect to eat more calories and add strength training instead of low cal dieting and cardio. I find it downright scary to be honest!
I’m really unsure of how to change my approach and what I should/shouldn’t be doing.
It has to start with applying logic to the situation. You agree that at any given weight, some women will look good while others will look not so good, right? Knowing this, we can deduce that weight really doesn’t matter – it’s quite arbitrary. Unless you’re trying to compete in some sport that has weight classes and you’re not telling me.
We know what goes into building an ideal physique – losing fat while maintaining (or even building) muscle. So that’s what we need to focus on. When these variables are optimized, where your weight sits is where your weight sits. Who cares? If you looked exactly as you dream about looking, would your weight really matter to you?
Suppose we found out that oxygen was going to run out on Earth and they (whoever “they” are) devised a master plan to start a fresh society in outer space. Would all of these women who are so hung up on the number on the scale suddenly be happy, even though their bodies didn’t change a lick, simply because gravity no longer “did it’s thing”?
Don’t let culture and media dictate what you do. They’re out for your money and nothing more and unfortunately, they’ve brainwashed a lot of people, especially women, into believing weight is the ultimate arbiter over appearance. It’s just not logical. Reminds me how cigarette companies used to frame their advertisements in a way that made people feel as if you weren’t cool unless you were puffing on their poison sticks.
Totally agree with what you say about the media. There are magazine articles with a line up of celebrities and what they weigh from light to heavy ! There is also a website that allows you to put in your stats or your desired stats and see what other women look like at that weight/height !
Its supposed to be empowering to women but it ends up with women looking at it and almost “shopping” for what their ideal weight should be. And I guess thats where the obsession for seeing the scale hit a specific number comes from. Its like “oh look! Jennifer Aniston is my height,if only I could get to her weight I would look like her!’.
I’m taking onboard what you are saying and am going to have to work on changing mentally and physically. The mental side will be hard after years (I’m 31 and first went on a diet at 16!) of thinking it was all down to that magic number and being ignorant about body composition and the major importance of that in getting the result I desire. Thanks so much for your insights and I will continue to be educated by your posts and blog

Very well put.
I think if you dive in and structure your exercise around building a better body opposed to reaching a certain weight, in short time you’ll forget about your obsession as you’ll be looking and feeling much better. And if you’re not happy, what’s the big deal? It’s not like you’re signing a contract where you can never go back to your “old ways” of doing things. Don’t apply unnecessary rigidity to this where you’re feeling overly anxious about nothing

I liked this article so much that I saved it in a file. The man who wrote it goes by stroughtman81 on mfp. he has another good article about pushing thru a plateau when at your last ten pounds. If in a plateau no lossing inches or weight , raise your calories to maintanance level. You do this , because our bodies get used to calorie restiction just like it adapts to the same exercise. So up your calories untill you gain three pounds then go back to calorie restiction and you will push thru the plateau.

Tamstar1985

i am also in the same place you are, darlin, although i am juggling with "should i lose more weight or just focus on diet/toning?"

just to clarify, are you eating about 1500 NET per day? or just 1500 cals per day? make sure your food is relatively clean, and if you haven't cut it out already, try to not drink alcohol. i saw a huge, huge difference and my cellulite literally disappeared since i've cut my alcohol consumption down to one evening a month. re-evaluate your food logging to make sure you're not missing anything and avoid drinking your calories, if you can. calorie intake is soooo different for everyone and you may have to do a lot of experimenting in that area. some people can be very active and at the same time eat TONS and lose weight really fast, others (especially if you are vertically challenged) find that upping calories results in weight gain. just remember, when you are playing around with this, be patient! don't expect everything to change after one day of eating differently.

step up the strength training - go harder and heavier. you may not see any loss on the scale, but after a month of consistent strength training, you will be able to see and feel a difference in your body. don't be afraid to grunt and sweat it out over an awesome strength training session.

yoga and pilates are fantastic for toning and the added benefit of relaxation swimming is lovely too, if you have access to a pool!

you may want to shake up your cardio, do something you've never done before! i adore plyometrics. i freaking loooove insanity and p90x and p90+ workouts! they are SO hard and SO amazing. since having started my little combo of p90x and insanity nearly three months ago, my resting heart rate has gone from 72bpm to 51bpm. just remember to work out hard! like jillian michaels says during one of the 30DS workouts "i want you to feel like you're going to die"... well, don't kill yourself, but you get my point! intensity will bring you results.

anyway, i hope i helped you a bit, love

RattieLove

@ reneelee

WOW. Great post!! You kinda lost me at first when you started copy pasting another conversation into your post as I lost track of where I was.. took me a second to realize that part was from other people..
But anyway,
Yeah, I totally understand what you're saying, and maybe I worded my post wrong, but just last year when I was 115 lbs, I was in the best shape of my life (I was on track and field). I never did strength training but I have a naturally big-boned/athletic build, and somehow muscle tone just comes with whatever I do as a workout. So when I say "last 10 lbs" I mean for ME. Also, I did say 10-ish lbs. Meaning if I get to where the muscle starts weighing more because I do more strength workouts, but my excess fat is burned, I'm happy lol! And really that's all I mean.. burning off last 10 lbs of FAT. I don't know if this is making any sense...but I totally get where you are coming from too. I'm not building an unrealistic body image for myself as I've been that weight before and remember how I looked - exactly how I'd like to look now.
Did that make any sense? ^^;
Thanks so much,
Mae

@ Tamstar1985

Wow again!! Another super awesome helpful post!!
I'm eating roughly 1500 cal per day. I never go over more than a hundred, and when I go over a bit, I work out hard that day.
Yeah, I'm eating pretty clean... I still eat mum's meals lol, so most of the time it is a good healthy meal, but it's hard to pick out the breads and cut my portions down at dinner, so I eat light all day so I can enjoy her meal. I don't have a problem with alcohol, so that one's easy. Also, I've found that I have a pretty decent metabolism, although not super fast, through my experimenting. I mean just last year when track season ended, I got so used to eating so much for my running energy that I kept eating like that all summer and beyond to the next semester. I never weighed more than 140 lbs, and I'm 5'6", so I consider myself lucky. I'm rambling.

Awesome workout advice.. I do need to push myself harder I think. Lol when I'm working out though I can only push myself so hard.. I guess I have to build up to really GO AT IT on the top level haha, right now I do maybe level one and two on most workout programs. When I workout infront of my tv, I use Mitch Gaylord's "Gold Medal Fitness"... XD It works for me as far as toning. I do also have P90X but I don't want to become discouraged if it's THAT hard. Have you ever heard of what I use? Any opinions?

You have helped a lot! thankyou!
Mae