Full time student with limited time for exercise: Ideas?

I'm 5' 7 and started at 150 but now down to 146. I want to get down to 130 ideally

omg you're me XD I'm 5'7, started at 150 and am 130 :flowerforyou:

I suggest you answer sidesteel. He's gotten into phenomenal shape, is incredibly strong, and I imagine he's pretty firm and...what was I saying? Oh yes, he gives out great advice and has all kinds of brains.

haha side tracked there. So is that what you did? Weight lifted to get down to 130?

F no. Unfortunately I dove in blindly and learned a lot along the way. I actually dieted my muscle mass away to get to 120lbs doing mostly nothing and cardio. My butt wasn't what it use to be and I wasn't as firm either. After having a few weight lifters on my friends list and seeing the changes they went through I decided to gain weight and start lifting. I'm kind of going backwards but still fit into the same pants. You'd have much better results if you start lifting from the beginning. I've had several regrets and that's probably my biggest one. I was a dancer most of my life and never lifted before, wasn't a fan of it at all. Once I started and my chronic back pain diminished and I started feeling firmer and stronger well...I'm getting addicted...to the point now that I have a weight room instead of a yoga room. Free weights everywhere.

Stronglifts 5x5. Google it. Sign up. Read it. Do it.

Okay so this may sound stereotypical but I am just starting out so bare with me. I guess I am hesitant with lifting weights because I want a slim body but not a super muscular body. I want to be toned but still have a little curve to me. So how can I lift weights, not get bulky, and drop to my ideal goal?

Easy, you can't gain mass on a calorie deficit. If you're losing weight, you're not bulking. This pic is fairly recent, do I look bulky (left)?

Ok, well I didn't read everyone reply but here is what I do - I am taking classes full time, and I work full time 3-12hour days - also have three children and husband. I commute about an hour (give or take traffic) to work and school. I work out at night around 8pm after the kids are in bed- I have a treadmill (which I despise) but its better then nothing for cardio - unless its nice out then we take the kids hiking (there 13,10 and 6) I also am doing Les Mills Pump - at home and I add in some extra cardio workouts (or in place of the treadmill) such as Zumba on Xbox, or just dance on the Wii or Xbox etc or DVD's such as TeoBo etc...
I am very busy, I am lucky to get 4-5 hrs sleep a night and trust me I am a sleep 8+ type person when I can (usually every other weekend when I am off) Do what you can when you can - walk on campus - park farther from your classrooms - take the stairs in the buildings instead of the elevator. Take the long way to class (if you have time sometimes that 15mins btwn is not long enough even if you know a shortcut) If you really want it you can fit it in - do what you can at the gym then do some more when you get home that evening after class.

Interval training is ideal if you're lacking on time. The 30DS is about 27 minutes long-3 circuits involving 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. There's also a great Youtube channel and website, http://www.BodyRock.Tv/
http://www.thedailyhiit.com/ It's designed for at home workouts and high intensity interval training(HIIT). I haven't done it, but it looks intense and again, it doesn't take up a lot time. Apologize in advance if none of this makes sense. My insomnia meds just took effect and it's taken me rdiculously long to type these few sentences. Good luck and goodnight!

I'm 5' 7 and started at 150 but now down to 146. I want to get down to 130 ideally

omg you're me XD I'm 5'7, started at 150 and am 130 :flowerforyou:

I suggest you answer sidesteel. He's gotten into phenomenal shape, is incredibly strong, and I imagine he's pretty firm and...what was I saying? Oh yes, he gives out great advice and has all kinds of brains.

haha side tracked there. So is that what you did? Weight lifted to get down to 130?

F no. Unfortunately I dove in blindly and learned a lot along the way. I actually dieted my muscle mass away to get to 120lbs doing mostly nothing and cardio. My butt wasn't what it use to be and I wasn't as firm either. After having a few weight lifters on my friends list and seeing the changes they went through I decided to gain weight and start lifting. I'm kind of going backwards but still fit into the same pants. You'd have much better results if you start lifting from the beginning. I've had several regrets and that's probably my biggest one. I was a dancer most of my life and never lifted before, wasn't a fan of it at all. Once I started and my chronic back pain diminished and I started feeling firmer and stronger well...I'm getting addicted...to the point now that I have a weight room instead of a yoga room. Free weights everywhere.

Stronglifts 5x5. Google it. Sign up. Read it. Do it.

Okay so this may sound stereotypical but I am just starting out so bare with me. I guess I am hesitant with lifting weights because I want a slim body but not a super muscular body. I want to be toned but still have a little curve to me. So how can I lift weights, not get bulky, and drop to my ideal goal?

In order to end up looking toned you will want to lift weights. You are not going to get bulky no matter how hard you try. Trust me.

The fear that you will somehow over-do it and end up with huge muscles is just silly. And I'm not calling YOU silly, I'm calling the fear silly. It will not happen.

So as long as I am reducing my calories while lifting instead of chugging protein shakes for every meal I should be good? Thanks, so helpful everyone!

Even if you chug protein shakes (MFP protein recommendation is very low). As long as you are in a calorie deficit, you'll only lose muscle and fat...and with weight training, you'll lose mostly fat.

After reading a fair bit I'm a fan of .8g of protein per lb of body mass (yes, that's for a calorie deficit).

In order to end up looking toned you will want to lift weights. You are not going to get bulky no matter how hard you try. Trust me.

The fear that you will somehow over-do it and end up with huge muscles is just silly. And I'm not calling YOU silly, I'm calling the fear silly. It will not happen.

^This. You have no idea how hard a women has to work their butt off and how much food they need to eat to get bulky. I'm trying to 'bulk' and I do not think I am succeeding lol.

Also, regret number 2 is going in blindly to setting calorie deficits. If you have your calories set to 1200 I swear to God I'll come over there and beat you with my big bulky muscles. And if you do I suggest you read my post:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/637094-cinderella-s-weight-loss-knowledge

I think MFP has me around 1350, somedays 1600 so no need to slap me around.haha I don't starve that is for sure and while I am eating better I am not going to be sacrificing every food I love.

Did you to get in 97-98% of the recommended nutrition for an adult female you need about 2000 calories? Did you know you burn significantly more then that every day and could be losing on significantly more and that your basil metabolic rate is higher then the amount you are eating? Read the cinderella thread when you get a chance. The choice is yours but if you find yourself cold or tired etc I'd reevaluate. I did the 1200 cal thing, it was a terrible idea. I lost hair and nails. 1600 is more reasonable but you could do with more. As a couch potato I was still losing at 1700 at your goal weight. As a person who was exercising I was losing at over 2000.

The math for MFP is based on the fact that 3500 calories are in a lb of fat. Which is true. So they assume that if you burn off 500 calories a day you'll lose a lb a week...which you've probably noticed is completely wrong if you've been paying attention to the 'you'll lose this much at this rate' blurbs you get when you complete a diary entry.

Run outside. Do body weight exercises.

In order to end up looking toned you will want to lift weights. You are not going to get bulky no matter how hard you try. Trust me.

The fear that you will somehow over-do it and end up with huge muscles is just silly. And I'm not calling YOU silly, I'm calling the fear silly. It will not happen.

^This. You have no idea how hard a women has to work their butt off and how much food they need to eat to get bulky. I'm trying to 'bulk' and I do not think I am succeeding lol.

Also, regret number 2 is going in blindly to setting calorie deficits. If you have your calories set to 1200 I swear to God I'll come over there and beat you with my big bulky muscles. And if you do I suggest you read my post:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/637094-cinderella-s-weight-loss-knowledge

I think MFP has me around 1350, somedays 1600 so no need to slap me around.haha I don't starve that is for sure and while I am eating better I am not going to be sacrificing every food I love.

Did you to get in 97-98% of the recommended nutrition for an adult female you need about 2000 calories? Did you know you burn significantly more then that every day and could be losing on significantly more and that your basil metabolic rate is higher then the amount you are eating? Read the cinderella thread when you get a chance.

The math for MFP is based on the fact that 3500 calories are in a lb of fat. Which is true. So they assume that if you burn off 500 calories a day you'll lose a lb a week...which you've probably noticed is completely wrong if you've been paying attention to the 'you'll lose this much at this rate' blurbs you get when you complete a diary entry.

I eat what I want with modifications. Instead of chips I have fruit or a salad or a small portion of goldfish/pretzels etc. I still eat sandwiches but on whole wheat bread, I feel like I am doing okay but I'll try to check out that thread

Doh I just modified that post. Yeah, I did that, and then I started losing my hair. Took a while though. I had this idea in my head that because I laid off the snack foods and ate lots of vegetables and the meat I was eating was fresh I was being healthy. I was wrong. Most of the nutrients in vegetables are fat soluble. Can't absorb the nutrients without enough fat. Since you're young and tall...1350 will eventually suppress your metabolism and likely run you into nutritional/health related problems. It's great that your at the beginning of your weight loss because your metabolism is probably still firing pretty good. The larger you are, the faster you burn calories. The more you suppress your fuel, the more you suppress your metabolism. You'll mostly be losing water weight at the beginning of the VLCDs (very low calorie diets). Many people come to stalls.

So right now I am okay but as I loose, I should intake more calories?

In my opinion you should up your calories as soon as possible to prevent...well...allot of things. This is an opinionated topic though, some people prefer to suppress their metabolism for some reason? I've never seen it argued in a way that seemed appealing or wasn't full of holes. What you're losing initially is water and likely lean body mass. You could keep the deficit and lose a bunch of water weight. But expect it to come back when you start eating normally again plus extra weight since the metabolism is so suppressed. Also, some of that water is good stuff. Like Glycogen, it fuels your organs and muscles. That's what repairs you after a workout to make you not sore anymore. That repairing also helps prevent you from injuries.

I like what someone wrote the other day...I can't remember it now...something about flowers. It boiled down to you can kill a weed by restricting it's water but the flowers die too.

Anyway I'm glad to hear you're upping your calories and it's late here so I'm not sure how much sense I'm making. Hopefully some. I wish you all the best!