Minor fat loss / toning?

Thereupon

Hi everyone! I started this program on Monday, coming from years of very little planned exercise. I'm a 21-year-old guy, around 60kg / 132lbs, 5'9". I'm definitely not fat, but I feel lethargic and 'yuck' all the time and it (stupidly) has taken me this long to work out why. I've previously attributed this odd 'craving' feeling to being either tired, or thirsty or hungry, but I've come to believe it's actually my body asking to be used properly as I've never been able to get rid of the feeling. After working out with some of Jillian's DVDs a friend lent me recently, the feeling has started to go away. I'm not sure if you know the strange 'feeling' I'm talking about, but it was something I noticed every day.

Anyway, to the point: I'm obviously not looking to lose a lot of weight, but I'm having a lot of fun with this program so far. I see that differen't people's results have varied, but mostly they are positive. I was wondering if anybody has used this program for fitness, strength and toning rather than looking to lose weight right off the bat? Did the program help you achieve what you wanted to?

So far I've been doing the "kickstart" workouts (i.e. adding the extra cardio 1 each day, which I surprisingly love!) and I'm feeling so good after each workout. (A little bit sore, but the good type of sore!) I'm not following the nutrition plan (I think 1200cal is way overkill for a guy my age who isn't looking to lose weight) but have been tracking my calories and have now started tracking macronutrients with MFP.

I chose this program because I am definitely *not* looking for any kind of body building routine; I just want to feel healthier and stronger, get rid of some flabby bits on my belly, arms etc (those "soft" bits!), tone up my core/arms/back a little better and have more energy.

I tried P90X last year and didn't enjoy it at all because of the 1hr+ workouts and I really wasn't a fan of Tony Horton's personality and sense of humour. I really love Jillian's style and personality - "you can do anything for 30 minutes!" - so I'm definitely going to keep this up! :happy:

marieann82

Glad you are here on MFP! Your going to love Jillian's workout. Feel free to add me as a friend if you need encouragement-I just started the program this last week. I don't have a lot to lose (hoping 10-15 pounds)-mostly want to get toned.

Great job in getting in shape!

Thereupon

Thanks for the support! I'm looking forward to continuing with this. I haven't felt so positive and motivated about exercise in a long time. I've felt overwhelmed by other programs, or like I didn't really know what I was doing when I've tried to go at it alone: two things which have both sapped away at my motivation. When I stumbled across MFP to help track my nutrition, and then Jillian's DVDs which I love, then her BR program all laid out nice and simply, I thought "this is it - this is something I can do".

I hope week 2 is treating you well!

karint74

Hi and welcome!

Like you, I don't need to lose any (more) weight. I'm sold on BR because the program alternates muscle groups (front of the body one day, back of the body the next), which gives them plenty of time to recover while still kicking you in the butt every day. I'm on Week 4 and loving the program so far!

My goals:
Continue to improve body composition (reduce body fat %)
Improve strength, stamina, and balance
Increase muscle definition
Avoid over-training!

So far I am making good progress on all four goals and am very happy with my progress. Since I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm not following her diet program. I've tried three of the recipes from the book though, and they were all excellent. I eat at least 2100-2300 calories a day and have still lost on my waist, belly, hips and thighs. I also walk to and from work every day and take a Zumba class once a week.

stephanj

This program is perfect for you then. It is not a heavy lifting program, it is for toning. And I wouldn't say it is significantly for weightloss either, because the cardio is quite tame. But when I do it my muscles shape and tighten up and I look much leaner. Hope that helps, I think this one is great for guys by the way, wish I could get hubby to do it.

P.S. I can't stand Tony either. I am sure he's a nice guy, just too cheesy for me, it is the one reason I haven't done P90X.

moniquedeanne

I love love love Jillian Michael's Body Revolution I'm currently on Week 4 (this is my 2nd time doing JMBR). I'm so surprised at how much stronger my body is especially my core strength. I would definitely recommend this to someone who is looking to tone up.

Thereupon

Thanks so much everyone! I don't know why I was concerned. I can obviously feel my body being worked when I do the workouts, I guess I became a little over concerned for no reason after seeing it marketed as a weightloss routine and seeing so many people so focused on pounds and inches. I really needed that reassurance because going into a regular fitness routine is a big change for me, as with most people! I have just done my day four strength workout despite being really tired, and I'm feeling SO good. Got to Jillian saying "the important thing is you showed up!" and felt so glad that I didn't just push it aside and let myself become even *more* tired.

@karint74 - Your goals are basically the same as mine! This is very encouraging for me. Thanks!

@stephanj - Thanks for the reassurance - I know the women doing this program seem to outnumber the men by quite a margin, but personally I really don't care which gender something is aimed at as long as it helps me get the job done. I totally agree about Tony. He came across as cheesy and he didn't seem totally genuine for me, so it rubbed me the wrong way. I love that there's such a realness about Jillian.

@moniquedeanne - Great to hear that you've stuck it out once before and are going at it again, that's a big motivation.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it! I'm loving this so far.

alynn2388

Hello!
I'm starting again tomorrow. I'm not looking to lose more than 10 pounds...5'4 and 125----id really like to stay under 120 but I wouldn't mind if I stayed at this weight but it was muscle and toned. Anyone feel Freetown add me and hopefully we can all stay on track

myfitnessval

kind of late response but if you feel you are basically throwing the weights around, feel free to use heavier ones. i'm going back for round 2 of JMBR and since i did the entire first time with 5lbs i'm probably going to up it to 8-10lb weights to increase my strength so my body doesnt get used to the workouts. you can do the same if you feel they arent a challenge enough.

Thereupon

Thanks for the replies! Yeah, I did the first week with pretty useless little dumbbells (because that's all I had) and a light-medium resistance band, but my adjustable dumbbells and new set of bands arrived in time for week 2! So I switched to alternating between 4kg and 5 1/2kg (around 9 - 12lbs, I think?) weights depending on the moves. I've just started week 3 now, and workout 3 is tough but moves pretty quickly when you just focus on what you're doing!

I'm actually surprised I've even managed to stick it out for two weeks without screwing up the program, to be honest. When I tried P90X my motivation just plummeted. It's funny, because I HATED the length of the P90X workouts - it really puts a dampener on the enthusiasm. But with JMBR I'm actually doing as much, if not more, exercise as on P90X! It's easier for me to look at the 30min workouts as the "minimum", and sometimes I'll repeat the same workout later in the day, or just add some extra cardio. (Some days I simply don't have time and leave it at one workout, but it's nice not to feel guilty!)

I'm still feeling very positive. I've also been within my MFP goals all days but one for the past 2 1/2 weeks. Jillian's style and motivation really seems to be working for me. I lost about 2kg or 4 1/2 pounds after the first two weeks which was surprising and exciting to see because it confirmed that this program *can* help me with my goals.

Edit: it's a shame so many guys seem to be 'scared off' by Jillian or think her stuff is only for women. I think a lot of guys have the same goals as me (i.e. to tone but not get bulky) but don't really know how to go about it. Ultimately, it's tough workout and can challenge people regardless of gender, which is clear just watching everyone in the background of the videos.

JillStone17

I just started my second week on JMBR and I love it! I don't have much to lose but definitely have some areas to tone! 123lbs 5'4" (Adombrowski we seem really similar)

I like how you can make it harder or easier depending on your ability. I've been running for a few years so after 1 round of Cardio 1 I bumped it up to Cardio 2 and burned a lot more. I've been tracking with a HRM so that I know how many calories I can consume.

I've been reading a lot about how when you are losing fat and gaining muscle you don't have to restrict your calories as drastically to see results. I feel better already and can't wait to do measurements again when Phase 1 is over.

So far I'm trying to continue to run while working in these programs at the same time.

Good Luck to everyone!