How to get a more toned body?!

nerdatworklike123
nerdatworklike123 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm at 134 pounds at a height of 5'6. Even though this appears "healthy", my stomach isn't flat. It plops out and when I sit down I can see rolls. How in the world do I lose this? It drives me crazy.

I've cut back on the calories for sure but how do I actually go about getting a flatter and more toned stomach? I really want a smaller waist, too. I can see my love-handles sticking out when I wear jeans. I hate how it looks.

How do I achieve all of this?

By the way, I don't have too much time at the moment for exercise because I go to school full time.

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I have had great success with fat loss by eating according to the info in this topic: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    And by adding weights to my workout routine. I don't even lift heavy (although I'd love to, just no space or funds for the big stuff or a gym right now), but use my heaviest dumbbells and my own body weight for workouts three days a week, and some cardio the other three. But a lot of my pals here don't even bother with the cardio, just weight training, and have fabulous results.

    My stomach, butt and thighs are where the fat is the most stubborn, and I've seen great losses there in the past year since I started eating along the guidelines in that topic. Check it out, might be just what you need.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    Jackie Warner has a good circuit dvd with 15 min upper body, 15 min lower body, 15 min abs. I have had two babies and my goal is 134... but I fear I won't love my tummy at goal either.
  • meeper123
    meeper123 Posts: 3,347 Member
    The new rules of lifting for women :)
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Lift
  • MichaelBrewer2634
    MichaelBrewer2634 Posts: 91 Member
    If you don't have much time I recommend interval training. It only takes 10-15 minutes a day. You don't need a gym or equipment, and it works great. Cut out sugar, grains, caffeine, eat tons of green vegetables, and fruit. I'd also stay away from beef, but that's just my opinion. Good luck
  • FCVFCVFCV
    FCVFCVFCV Posts: 12
    Agreed, add some resistance training, weight training to your routine. I know you said you dont have time but if you want to achieve results you will have to make time. Yes its not easy, yes it sucks sometimes, but it is well worth it.

    I can suggest that if you are strapped for time then you should try using speed work, i.e., sprints, high intensity interval training. It works wonders.

    If you see rolls though, weights wont make them go away, cardio will, especially the high intensity kind. At the same time to help it out and tone you up once you drop the weight/fat you should do the resistance training.
  • Storey621
    Storey621 Posts: 82 Member
    Weight lifting has done so much for my body! I used to be a cardio junky but I'm hooked to lifting. My sister in law has also stopped eating unhealthy sugars and that has done wonders for her.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    ...If you see rolls though, weights wont make them go away, cardio will, especially the high intensity kind. At the same time to help it out and tone you up once you drop the weight/fat you should do the resistance training.
    Strength training (along with adequate protein intake) helps preserve lean body mass (of which muscle is a component). Doing tons of cardio will create a larger deficit, which helps burn the fat, but it takes a lot of lean body mass along with it. You drop the weight, but one possible outcome is known as "skinnyfat" - slender, but still with a high bodyfat percentage, very little muscle mass and a droopy/saggy body.

    Starting strength training after losing the weight is counterproductive. To gain back the lean body mass you lost from doing cardio like a bunny, you have to eat at a caloric surplus. When you eat at a caloric surplus, you gain fat along with the muscle - then you have to "cut" again (go back into a caloric deficit) while strength training to retain the newly built lean body mass while you again lose the fat. Not to mention the fact that building LBM/muscle is a much slower and harder process than it would have been to strength train while in a deficit and keep it around in the first place.

    What will make the rolls go away is eating at a caloric deficit (with adequate protein intake) along with a well-rounded exercise program - including strength training.

    To the OP - while weight training is the most popular (and versatile) form of strength training, you can do bodyweight routines (push-ups, pull-ups, etc.) which take very little time and virtually no equipment. Google "Convict Conditioning" and/or "You Are Your Own Gym" for some ideas - or just Google "bodyweight training". When you can do one-handed handstand pushups and one-handed pull-ups, I'd say you've hit the limits of what bodyweight training can do for you and you'll have to look into some proper weights.
  • fancycupcake
    fancycupcake Posts: 78 Member
    Another one for weightlifting, for sure. I'm a full-time student working two jobs and always have time for the gym while weightlifting - you only need a maximum of three hours a week. Three times a week and an hour tops. You can even do a really intense workout in 20-30 minutes, right at home with a bodyweight workout. Here:

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2010/02/15/how-to-build-your-own-workout-routine/

    There are links within that article to bodyweight routines you can do right in your dorm or at home, wherever you're at :)
  • AsaraFuriosa
    AsaraFuriosa Posts: 293 Member
    Strength training (along with adequate protein intake) helps preserve lean body mass (of which muscle is a component). Doing tons of cardio will create a larger deficit, which helps burn the fat, but it takes a lot of lean body mass along with it. You drop the weight, but one possible outcome is known as "skinnyfat" - slender, but still with a high bodyfat percentage, very little muscle mass and a droopy/saggy body.

    Starting strength training after losing the weight is counterproductive. To gain back the lean body mass you lost from doing cardio like a bunny, you have to eat at a caloric surplus. When you eat at a caloric surplus, you gain fat along with the muscle - then you have to "cut" again (go back into a caloric deficit) while strength training to retain the newly built lean body mass while you again lose the fat. Not to mention the fact that building LBM/muscle is a much slower and harder process than it would have been to strength train while in a deficit and keep it around in the first place.

    What will make the rolls go away is eating at a caloric deficit (with adequate protein intake) along with a well-rounded exercise program - including strength training.

    That's what's up!

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