lifting, eating 1500 cals can i look "toned" ?

Put away the pink dumbbells. Lift heavy and take advantage of the newbie gains. Losing weight will make your muscles look more defined and give you that "cut" look (please never use the word "toned" ever again, it's like nails on a chalkboard).

@Justsomerand Your brilliant

@Justsomerand Your brilliant

:flowerforyou: Thank you

Toned=unjiggley: idk WHY no one approves of that word, "ripped" is not a word in this body's dictionary. Lol. But cardio is going to take the fat off, leaving whatever muscle has been " created" underneath ? Bc I keep hearing " don't do so much cardio " from fellow fitness pals on here. So will lifting the weights (10,15,20,25) I'm using melt fat? Thanks for the help.

Im lifting three days a week doing 3x5 and cardio twice a week sometimes the same day as lifting. Im dropping inches and starting to see definition. Its all trial and error. Everyone is different. Maybe lift three times a week and do only 30 minutes of cardio the other three

No, you can't build muscle on a deficit. Yes, you can look more muscular and get stronger. Lift as heavy as you can without hurting yourself.

oh, btw, I don't hate the word "toned" either...it evokes a mental image of a certain type of body, and if that's what you want, more power to you. Personally, I prefer words like "freak", "beast", and "warrior goddess", but to each their own... =D

Make sure you are using enough weight that it feels challenging. If you easiliy busting out 15 reps its probably not heavy enough. If your not consuming enough protein you are going to have a hard time gaining any muscle tone. I lift weights heavy at least 4 days a week. I really got noticable results by doing HIIT cardio with it and increased protein intake.

No, you can't build muscle on a deficit. Yes, you can look more muscular and get stronger. Lift as heavy as you can without hurting yourself.

oh, btw, I don't hate the word "toned" either...it evokes a mental image of a certain type of body, and if that's what you want, more power to you. Personally, I prefer words like "freak", "beast", and "warrior goddess", but to each their own... =D

THIS is helpful!

No, you can't build muscle on a deficit. Yes, you can look more muscular and get stronger. Lift as heavy as you can without hurting yourself.

oh, btw, I don't hate the word "toned" either...it evokes a mental image of a certain type of body, and if that's what you want, more power to you. Personally, I prefer words like "freak", "beast", and "warrior goddess", but to each their own... =D

Exceptions: newbie gains and intermittent fasting (lean gains, warrior diet, cheat mode, etc)

If OP is new to lifting she can still gain some muscle while losing fat.

I'm eating 1500 - 1700 calls. I work out 6 days/week for an hour. I lift heavy for me, ( bad neck) 15lb dumbbells for bicep curls, kickbacks, overhead press, use 25lb dumbbells for bent over rows, deadlifts. Squats. In between sets & on alternate days I jump on my mini tramp & dance ( hi knees,punches,etc) I need to lose 30 lbs. Will I melt fat leaving me looking a little more toned up ? I want to add muscle but need to get weight off ( Dr said it would help my neck) he says to use light weights,as in Barbie weights. I'm seeing no results with a tape or scales. Any thoughts ? I'm concerned about, you can't build muscle while eating at a deficit ....please help. How long does it take ? Did 3 solid weeks then 2 wks off for sprained ankle, back now to lifting , dancing & sweating for last 2 wks.

Have you had any progression in the weights you are using?

It's fine to start off light, but you need to add weight as you progress. You can't keep lifting the same amount, you need to make it a challenge.

When I did body bugg after I had my son (my hubby did it too) we only lost if we had 1000 to 1500 cal deceits each day to what Body Bugg said we burned. Sounds like healthy progression to me. I needed a month before my body agreed to let anything go. Give it more time.

Good work so far. I am going to disagree with several things in various posts up above:

1. The irrational hatred of 'toning' - it's a word, like being 'ripped'. It's figurative, as taken literally it has no meaning applicable to muscles. We all know what posters mean when they invoke the term, for heaven's sake. No need to attack them for not following the dogma of MFP.

2. "Can't build muscle on a deficit". This is usually invoked when people are eating relatively few calories (although this poster may well be eating at maintenance/surplus, I don't know), but it assumes that ingested energy is all the body has available. Except that this lady states she has 30 pounds to lose, which if we adhere to the accepted '3500 kcal/lb' doctrine, gives her an energetic surplus of around 100,000 calories. Now, there is a limit to how many can expended from fat per unit of time, but in general, 'caloric deficit' is not the state of her body. To the OP - I am saying that to be mean, far from it, so please don't think I am. I'm just a little tired of this advice given out without any critical thought. For people at optimal weight it may well be true, but I think you can build a small amount of muscle and lose fat simultaneously. Most of your visible results will still come from fat loss, however.

3. I think the various comments subtly denigrating the weight she currently lifting are a little unfair. Assuming she is starting from scratch, doing curls with 15lbs in each hand and using 25lb for other lifts is not trivial. If she is working out from home and is not practiced, progressing with correct form is far more important than hiking her weights too rapidly, particularly if she has a pre-existing injury! I think she's doing great for being new to lifting.

4. 'Protein intake' For someone who is currently overweight and presumably eats an acceptable western diet, lack of protein is not an issue. High-protein is of use when bodyfat is low already, perhaps, but not really otherwise. She would be fine eating whatever protein levels she likes - nearly all western diets comprise a large excess of protein compared to what is necessary.

To the original poster - it sounds like you are doing quite well so far, and your approach seems to be reasonable and likely to be successful, to me. Take your time and you will get your results, I am sure. There are many 'commandments' stated on the forums, some of which are not necessarily true, some are not even slightly true, some apply to subset of people, and some are worth attending to. Figure out what's right for you and leave the rest.

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that you need to follow your doctor's advice for now. You may not get your dream body right away, for that you will need to lift heavier. But right now, you are rehabbing an injury and need to take care with how rough you are on it. If you don't, it could sideline you for a lot longer than it otherwise would.

Ask me how I know?! I have a bad habit of pushing too much too quickly with an injury and it ends up biting me in the rear, it's something I'm working on. Take your time, this is all about the long haul.