How did you get so skinny?? (ladies only)

Doctorpurple

I would echo strength training with heavy weights. Of all the times I've been to the gym there were only a few times I saw women lift weights like they are supposed to to build muscle. Make at as heavy as you can where after 10 reps you can't do it anymore. Then do 3 sets of that. You muscle should be fatigued after the workout and sore after. Free weights yield better results than doing circuit machines because they are more challenging, they use more muscle groups because you stabilize the weights while you lift. Challenge yourself. Make it to habit to do things other girls would not attempt. Pull ups, push ups, bench presses, dead lifts, etc. and to melt the fat do cardio like running, cycling, etc. (outdoors are better in my opinion than the gym).

maryloo2011

I've been doing pretty well with my fitness lately. I've been eating 1200 calories a day as often as I can (with a couple cheat days on the weekends) and workout around 5 times a week. I do cardio, boxing, and weight lifting. I have more endurance, can run faster, have lost inches, gained muscle, and best of all, feel great! I still have a lot more work to do to get where I want, and sometimes I'm a little lost as to what I need to do to get there.

You need to eat more than 1200 calories, especially with all that cardio and lifting you are doing. Can't give you an exact number since your height/weight isn't given but look up IPOARM : http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

Every one and each body is different depending on build and past but since you ask, this is what I do:

• Priority is lifting heavy with compound movements 3 days a week - assists if I have time.
• Cardio (Spin class, run sprint intervals, run steady 3-4 miles, skiing, hiking, etc) 0-3 times a week. Depends on how my body/mind feels and don't feel guilty if I can't do anything on these days.
• Sleep - at least 7 hours a night. I stay on schedule even during the weekend (sometimes stinks when I want to sleep past 7 or 8 on a Sat/Sun and can't!) so that I'm not thrown off once Monday comes as I wake up at 5am to train.
• Eat whole, clean foods for most of my meals and snacks during the work week when I practice intermittent fasting (14-hr fast broken at lunch). I logged food for a couple of years and that kind of made me neurotic so I stopped. Practicing IF over the last 6 months has really taught me about what real hunger feels like and has given me an incredible insight into intuitive eating. When I did track cals and macros I think I kept at 1750, 20/20/60.
• Allow myself to eat processed foods every once in a while. The husband and I eat out once during the week and from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning, I allow myself anything that I want. This keeps me sane during the week. I drink a lot of high alcohol beer and wine and it's not uncommon for me to put down some deep dish pizza or a pint of B&js every week or so.

Congrats on the progress!! Up your cals and focus a little more on lifting, easing up on the cardio. Give it a couple months and see how your body responds. Track everything from weight, bf%, reps/weight, etc and then re-*kitten*. I'm a huge Excel chart nerd and it's super helpful and cool to see progress this way.

pcotter54

bump

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

1. Lift
2. Protein
3.?????
4. Profit!

But seriously, just lift and eat protein.

Raybug0903

I find that since I have cut out all starches (pasta, bread, white potatoes, rice, etc.) that I am seeing more muscle definition and less fat. But I'm no where near my goal yet.

Raybug0903

Same here with eating 1800 to 2300 calories, 100 grams of protein. Lifting weights. No running for me. I dance and do yoga.

How do you manage your protein vs. carbs? I have been playing around lately with monitoring how many grams of protein I am getting and am finding that the more I get complex carbs from non-starchy vegetables (cucumbers, celery, fresh green leaves, etc.) and focus on eating lean protein, I am losing weight more easily and not craving the carbs as much (unhealthy carbs, like bread, pasta, etc.).

for_the_prophet

DANCE! Dance dance dance dancity-dance-dance. That's pretty much my fitness plan. I'm a competitive ballroom dancer, I do Zumba, and I am always going clubbing on the weekends. (Party lots, it's good for you! But don't drink very much, 'cause it'll make your dancing worse.) Because of this, I have somewhat of a "dancer body." I'm taller and more muscular than most dancers, but I have a very low body fat percentage and a rock hard bod.