Not convinced (Give me proof)-Women & Weights

http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/07/21/meet-staci-your-new-powerlifting-super-hero/

I actually want to be a Staci at 170lbs- that is more of my preference and body type. My goal weight is 168lbs.

Then lift

No, it looks to me like she prefers the look of a "softer" woman at a healthy body weight with NO muscle tone. Right?

Yes, I most defiently want a soft, curvy physic. I'm satisfied with my shape and curves, I just want to be a smaller more toned-me. (not sure if tone is the correct terminology or not). My start weight was 247.6 and I probably looked about 215-220. I would say I carry my weight well and I'm solid. Since dieting I have noticed a difference already. My target areas are my arms, stomach/back and face (which I know will shrink in time). The smallest I have been as a adult is 176 and I was a 9/10 then.

I so appreciate the advice/tips, feel free to add me it you can offer anymore support.

Most recent stats below just to give you more detail:

formula= start/current/goal

1 Month
11/22/2012
235.8lbs
**************************11.8lbs lost
Neck: 16/15/13
Body Fat: 94.43/93.08/N/A
Shoulder to Shoulder: 18/18/N/A
Bust: 44/44/42
Rib: 37/37/26
Waist: 41/40/28
Waist line: 49/45/30
Hips/Butt: 51/51/42-45
Arms:18/15/8-10
Cabs: 18/17.5/10-12

If you keep your body fat a little higher you can keep more 'curves' but still lift. Its basically about how low your BF% is as to how much muscle you will show.

I lift really heavy weights - still got my badonkadonk and it has actually made me look curvier as I am not at a very low BF% (its about 20% in my avi).

Slightly higher BF% than I am now (sorry for the graininess of the pics):



whoa - taken the second one out - image is too big

Sorry for the massive quoting but ... What Sara said. If you want to stay 'soft' looking, you want to build muscle but keep your bodyfat higher.

I'm 5'6" 165 so pretty close to your "goal" and I suppose I fit your definition of curvy, where curvy means soft (but not MY definition of curvy which to me means having a build with wider hips and a smaller waist) I've just got a layer of fat over everything. Really, it makes me look MORE curvy than I actually am. Take 10 pounds of fat, spread it all over Sara and give her my smaller butt and extra belly and that's what I'm talking about. (*sigh* Sara, you look so hawtsome.)

But the thing is, if you don't lift, at 168 and 5'5.5" you will probably just still just look overweight, not curvy. Maintaining strong muscle on UNDER the fat makes everything look smoother. Losing weight without keeping up your muscle will just make everything sag and flab proportionately. So you NEED to do resistance training and eat enough protein if you want to get the body you like at 168. And in terms of bulking, you won't. At most in a deficit, as a beginner training consistently and who has a lot of fat to lose and assuming you're genetically advantaged towards muscle gain, you're looking at maybe adding a few pounds of muscle over 4-6 months of consistent training, and you won't add any more after that.

There's kind of 2 aspects to getting bulky. Or well. 3 where one is drugs. Stay away from performance enhancing drugs and that's like 90% of of the battle right there. The second one is how much you eat. Eat maintenance or a deficit and your body isn't going to want to build metabolically EXPENSIVE (in terms of calories needed to create and maintain it) muscle. The third one is programming. Do a full body program 3x a week with compound movements (no isolation/single joint movements) and you are leaning more towards strengthening the existing muscle than building new muscle fiber.

Ask any genuinely bulky body builder, male or female, what they do to build those physiques. I assure you the answer is not "45 minutes to an hour of compound lifts 3x a week at the gym" and that is the answer that most of us would give you if you asked us what you should do right now.

ETA: Lifting HEAVY

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/812464-show-me-ur-heavy-lifting-results-please

Sooo, I've heard weight lifting/training DOES NOT bulk women up (cause we don't have testosterone, etc.,) and I can believe this- to an extent, but I'm still not totally convinced. I see alot of women on here lifting, but it always seems that their already at the goal weight or within 10-15lbs. I never see any transformations from someone who HAS lost +65lbs or needs to lose +65lbs.

I'm very scared to utilize weights at such a large size, how would it NOT bulk me up? I just need some solid information on how to go about this, and some pics would really help!

I have no desire to be bulky, or even muscular, at all- I just want to be lean and defined at my goal weight.

Thanks in advance (no negativity, please)

That can't happen without lifting some serious weights (and I mean real weights, not those tiny girly dumbbells). You really think those women you mentioned didn't lift while they were still heavy? How would you know? Please never ever judge people just because of what you see. FYI, I was obese just 3 years ago and I lift heavy while dieting & cardio. If all I did was cardio & diet then I would end up thin but with a saggy skin no matter if I'm at a goal weight or not.

Before this thread goes toward a negative direction, I'm not judging or accussing anyone of anything- all I said was: I never see any transformations from someone who HAS lost +65lbs or needs to lose +65lbs.


With that being said, thank everyone for their input thus far, I appreciate it.

I've lost 65lbs & now I'm lifting heavy. Hopefully I will turn out as great as some that i've saw, but I know it will take lots of time.

I have been lifting heavy since Aug this year and even though I have not lost weight (I actually GAINED a couple pounds), I am in a smaller size pants now (16 to 14) and feel great. I have so much strength that I do not have to ask my husband to help me with things anymore because I can do them on my own. The confidence I have gotten from weight lifting is amazing! Try and and you will feel amazing when you can move 100 pounds with somewhat ease. I love lifting!

I'm 42, 5'4"

SW 186
CW 153
Starting size - 14
current size - 8

I don't have "before" pictures posted, because I'm totally mortified by them, but I have lost so many inches, my legs look amazing, and my butt is perky and heart-shaped

OH, and I'm eating nearly 2,000 calories a day ... which is the BEST part of weight training :bigsmile:

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I was 180 pounds in 2009. I lift and do the stair climber 4x per week. My profile picture will show you I am not bulky, but lean and defined.

Here is the advice a long time friend and personal trainer gave me the other day:

"You aint gonna bulk, you need testosterone and hours of dedication to lifting to bulk. High reps low weight is better to start with for stabilizing the muscles and is also good for toning. After 4-6 weeks change it up to avoid a plateau."

What I have done in the past is lift enough weight so that at around 12-15 reps I can barely lift the weight. Then take a break before another set (3 sets in all). Like she said though, it takes a lot of time, dedication, testosterone and 3500 calorie days to bulk up.

**And she wasn't talking about low weight in terms of tiny 5 lb dumbells, just light enough to be able to get a good amount of reps in!

your friend doesnt no what he is talking about there is no such thing as toning... before you argue just look it up on your own.

What do you mean, there's no such thing as toning?

Some people equate "toning" with spot-reducing fat. You can not spot-reduce. In the common vernacular, toned means definition of muscles without being "ripped." But then, "ripped" seems to vary in definition as well. Don't worry too much about people who get offended by that word. Most people know what you mean and don't assume you mean spot-reducing. But it seems a lot of people on MFP hate the word. Toned muscles are basically muscles that show definition when you aren't flexing.