How to gain muscle tone ? ( for women)

Yes. agree with above. If you have a gym membership, go and start using the weights. You would be best following a programme as you sound like it's not something you have tried before. I follow New Rules of Lifting For Women. I heard about it on here and bought the book from Amazon. It's a great start, and the first stage which lasts about 6 weeks is perfect for beguinners. It's also has sections about nutrition and protein intake.

I would maybe take someone to the gym with you who's familiar with lifting so they can guide you as to good form etc.

If you don't want to go to the gym a lot of the exercises can be done at home as well. Obviously you would have to invest in some weights though for that.

I have also read that Stronglifts is good, there are plenty of lifting programmes avaliable on the net. Just make sure you start slowly and take care not to overdo it in the early days.

I definately agree with using the weights at the gym as well. You can also use your body weight to help gain muscle. You do need to have enough protein in your diet to help with the muscle gain with the weight training. Best thing I can suggest is pay a personal trainer for a session, and he/she can work with you as far as weight training goes (free weights and weight machines) as well as establishing a routine for you to do. This way if you want to work out at home and have the dumbbells you can do the weight training at home as well. I did this a few years ago and need to get back to doing my weight training on a set schedule.

lift weights.. heavy weights.

look up strong lifts. you dont even have to "diet" that much go for like a pound loss at most (500 calories below maintenance) and you'll shed a lot of fat but still keep or even build lean body mass

as for staying solid and curvy, weighted squats and deadlifts build a nice high and firm booty :laugh:

this is spot on. would of said the exact same thing.

just keep in mind, the weight on the scale might throw you off if you do this, because you'll gain a little bit of muscle mass regardless of your caloric deficit or not (noob gains). your weight loss will slow, but you'll lean out nicely and your bodyfat % will get lower.

Thank you for all the info

lift weights.. heavy weights.

look up strong lifts. you dont even have to "diet" that much go for like a pound loss at most (500 calories below maintenance) and you'll shed a lot of fat but still keep or even build lean body mass

as for staying solid and curvy, weighted squats and deadlifts build a nice high and firm booty :laugh:

This! And also my reasons that my once flat & saggy booty is now well-rounded.

I COMPLETELY agree about lifting heavy!!! I've been doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women...the book was very informative about a lot of things...reducing cardio and lifting heavy in particular. There are six stages with two workouts each so it's never boring. The author helps you re: figuring out how much weight is enough (basically you want to be sure you're going light enough to have proper form but heavy enough that it's challenging...then every workout you try to increase the weight for at least a few of the exercises). I absolutely love it!!!

ps...your local library probably has it

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/686963-large-collection-of-info-for-beginners