Help...want to lose body fat and tone but not add muscle
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tinah1126
Posts: 49 Member
Hello all!! I am trying to lose about 35 lbs and want to lose body fat and tone the muscle I have but not add any muscle as I am happy with the muscle I currently have. I am currently doing Slim in 6, Tae-bo and walking/jogging. Should I be doing something different to really target the body fat loss and tone too??
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Hi
It really depends on the intensity and length of your training. I'm training for a marathon and went to a fitness assessment last week. I had a lactate test done which measures the amount of lactate in your blood during exercise of increasing effort.
I don't know how much you know about metabolism. But a key for understanding is that sugar can be burned anaerobically, so if you do really hard training and you feel like you're breathing really heavily and can't get enough oxygen in, you burn mostly sugar. Fat on the other hand is burned aerobically, at a lower intensity.
Back to the lactate test: It shows you at which intensity you start use energy anaerobically, burning only sugar. The level is different for everybody. The more you train, the higher it gets.
So if you want to lose fat, endurance training is probably a good idea.
I hope that helped a bit. If you have more questions, feel free to ask 0 -
Hello all!! I am trying to lose about 35 lbs and want to lose body fat and tone the muscle I have but not add any muscle as I am happy with the muscle I currently have. I am currently doing Slim in 6, Tae-bo and walking/jogging. Should I be doing something different to really target the body fat loss and tone too??
as long as you arent eating at a surplus you will not gain muscle.
a small caloric deficit plus a decent full body strength training programme, with a little HIIT cardio will do what you want.0 -
Thank you so much!!! I really want to lose the body fat so I will give endurance training a try. Thanks again for the tips! The only thing I know about my metabolism is that its pretty slow so I have to work really hard to lose weight. I have to diet and exercise or I get no results.0
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Hello all!! I am trying to lose about 35 lbs and want to lose body fat and tone the muscle I have but not add any muscle as I am happy with the muscle I currently have. I am currently doing Slim in 6, Tae-bo and walking/jogging. Should I be doing something different to really target the body fat loss and tone too??
as long as you arent eating at a surplus you will not gain muscle.
a small caloric deficit plus a decent full body strength training programme, with a little HIIT cardio will do what you want.
I am doing 1200 calories and not eating my exercise calories back so I am at a deficit for sure. I am just hoping to lose body fat and not just weight. I am gonna try some new things and see what works best but I feel like Cardio and strength training is probably best.0 -
Strength training and enough protein will be the key to maintaining what muscle you do have and losing fat.0
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Strength training and enough protein will be the key to maintaining what muscle you do have and losing fat.
this
by sticking to 1200 cals and not eating back exercise calories you are actually encouraging your body to burn muscle over fat. the best way to burn fat is to have a moderate deficit which includes plenty of protein and good fats.0 -
U wot m8
What do you mean by "tone" your muscles? You can do three things to your muscles. You can lose muscle, you can maintain muscle, or you can gain muscle. Those are the only options. You can lose the fat covering your muscle which will make your muscles look more defined and visible, but I have no idea what you mean by tone your muscles. That's not a thing lol.0 -
I agree with everyone saying strength training! That really helped me. The main difference I noticed was in the inches I lost though rather than the pounds. 0
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Hello all!! I am trying to lose about 35 lbs and want to lose body fat and tone the muscle I have but not add any muscle as I am happy with the muscle I currently have. I am currently doing Slim in 6, Tae-bo and walking/jogging. Should I be doing something different to really target the body fat loss and tone too??
Sounds like what you actually want to do is lose fat to reveal the muscle you already have. Lift weights, do high intensity cardio and eat at a not too large deficit0 -
Thanks for the tips!!! I will add some weights to my regimen!!!Hello all!! I am trying to lose about 35 lbs and want to lose body fat and tone the muscle I have but not add any muscle as I am happy with the muscle I currently have. I am currently doing Slim in 6, Tae-bo and walking/jogging. Should I be doing something different to really target the body fat loss and tone too??
Sounds like what you actually want to do is lose fat to reveal the muscle you already have. Lift weights, do high intensity cardio and eat at a not too large deficit0 -
I agree with everyone saying strength training! That really helped me. The main difference I noticed was in the inches I lost though rather than the pounds.
Yes I am seeing the inches go too...quicker than the scale is moving which is great!!! I havent measured yet since I havent been doing it a full 30 days yet but can already tell in my clothes! Thanks for the advice!!0 -
Strength training and enough protein will be the key to maintaining what muscle you do have and losing fat.
this
by sticking to 1200 cals and not eating back exercise calories you are actually encouraging your body to burn muscle over fat. the best way to burn fat is to have a moderate deficit which includes plenty of protein and good fats.
Really...dang....my thinking was that if I was exercising and working the muscles as well as getting my 1200 calories that my body would go to its RESERVES (my extra body fat) to burn any additional calories needed. I am eating plenty of protein for my muscles but have not been eating my exercise calories back because it just seems like I am defeating the purpose.0 -
I found this while doing a quick search on how to tone muscle. Hope it helps...
How you lift weights depends on your goals and fitness level. But, for weight loss, it's great to use a variety rep and weight ranges. The general breakdown of reps and weight according to goals is:
For strength gains: 1-6 reps, heavy weight
For gaining muscle and size: 8-12 reps, medium-heavy weights
For endurance: 12-16 reps (or more), light-medium weights0 -
by sticking to 1200 cals and not eating back exercise calories you are actually encouraging your body to burn muscle over fat. the best way to burn fat is to have a moderate deficit which includes plenty of protein and good fats.
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Im confused on this as well tinah1126. So I shouldnt be sticking to a 1200 calorie diet if I burn 600+ calories which I generally do every day. I should be eating more? I havent been seeing the scale moving so maybe this is why.0 -
Hello all!! I am trying to lose about 35 lbs and want to lose body fat and tone the muscle I have but not add any muscle as I am happy with the muscle I currently have. I am currently doing Slim in 6, Tae-bo and walking/jogging. Should I be doing something different to really target the body fat loss and tone too??
as long as you arent eating at a surplus you will not gain muscle.
a small caloric deficit plus a decent full body strength training programme, with a little HIIT cardio will do what you want.
I am doing 1200 calories and not eating my exercise calories back so I am at a deficit for sure. I am just hoping to lose body fat and not just weight. I am gonna try some new things and see what works best but I feel like Cardio and strength training is probably best.
Hello there! Just be careful that you're not eating too few calories, that usually sends your body into starvation mode and it holds on to fat over muscle! MFP already puts you at a deficit so maybe try eating back 1/3 or 1/2 of calories burned at least! 0 -
Thank you everyone for all the tips!! I am adding weights to my workouts and also going to try to start eating some of my exercise calories back. Love MFP and all you great people!!! : )0
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by sticking to 1200 cals and not eating back exercise calories you are actually encouraging your body to burn muscle over fat. the best way to burn fat is to have a moderate deficit which includes plenty of protein and good fats.Im confused on this as well tinah1126. So I shouldnt be sticking to a 1200 calorie diet if I burn 600+ calories which I generally do every day. I should be eating more? I havent been seeing the scale moving so maybe this is why.
as i understand it, it is easier for the body to use muscle as energy than fat... so when the body isnt being well enough nourished (eating 1200 and burning off 600 cals is the same as just eating 600 cals, and 600 cals is NOT enough) it taps into the quick energy. plenty of protein and a good strenght training programme can help to minimise this. but the best way to lose fat while keeping muscle is to only have a moderate calorie deficit (200-500 cals per day)0 -
Strength training and enough protein will be the key to maintaining what muscle you do have and losing fat.
this
by sticking to 1200 cals and not eating back exercise calories you are actually encouraging your body to burn muscle over fat. the best way to burn fat is to have a moderate deficit which includes plenty of protein and good fats.
Yeah, that's not true. You have good advice but your body prefers to use fat as an energy source over muscle. If your deficit is too large (more than 31.4 x pounds of body fat) you will lose lean tissue as well (not always muscle, also includes connective tissues, organs, etc.) but in addition to fat.
You're correct in saying that she should stick to a moderate deficit including fats and protein, but I just hate when lies and myths circulate these forums.0
