HELP: I dont want muscles, Just want to get rid of flab!

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Replies

  • kinsa2
    kinsa2 Posts: 58 Member
    OP, assuming that the body shape you want is in your genetic potential, I'd propose starting with body weight exercises, and then working on upping the weight. (Enough until it is challenging at less than15 reps).

    There is no magic way to figure out how heavy that might be for you. For example, I can barely manage a pushup, but I can leg press my body weight..... I am very week in the upper body. You might be the reverse of me.

    I would say, look around at your female relatives. What do their arms look like? My personal goals are shaped by my own shape, and what I see in my family. For example, I know there is no way my arms would ever look like the people you have pictured, I tend towards more definition than that. Don't want you to set yourself up for something that is improbable for your own body type.

    let me stress once again that I am not basing my goals around something I Dnt have, I am an hourglass figure with a small top half body with very wide hips. The reason I chose those ladies was because I have a body shape very similar to them.
  • kinsa2
    kinsa2 Posts: 58 Member
    Forgive me, I didn't read through all replies.

    I actually think I understood what OP was trying to say from the beginning. I think people somewhat unfairly jumped on her accusing her of not understanding that you don't instantly become a very defined muscular woman. I think OP's original question could be rewritten as: "I have a specific type of feminine curvy figure I would like to maintain as i lose weight. The look I hope to achieve is that of someone with a softer but healthy body fat percentage. Currently I have flab and skin on my arms that I want to tone up and decrease, so I'm looking for suggestions on a good weight routine because I am a novice. I am not aiming to be very ripped or get a body fat percentage under 20, I'm shooting for a curvy look but need to decrease some flab. What is a good weight lifting routine for a beginner?"

    She never once said a woman couldn't be more muscular and attractive she just said it wasn't her preference. I think some folks were rushing to judgement and being unfairly negative. Not everyone has the same level of information about fitness.

    To the OP: lifting heavy weights, particularly for your upper body, will help. Simply stop or modify the routine when you've achieved close to the look you desire. As others have said you won't accidentally get ripped, and a heavy weight routine doesn't mean you'll get too muscular because you control when you stop lifting. If your body type is naturally a higher BF and curvy to begin with it won't suddenly reform, and a good lifting routine will help the toning issues. Continue to eat at a deficit and body fat will decrease accordingly. Google heavy lifting for women and see what types of programs you find suitable. Also consider workout DVDs, hand weights for home, and yoga and Pilates. Heavy lifting is a wonderful thing but many MFPers act as though its the ONLY option when it's not. Find what works for you.

    Bottom line- weight and strength training will help get rid of the flab on your arms. You will not get muscular like a fitness model all of a sudden. Just stop when you have the desired results and switch to maintenance,

    Good luck!

    Oh thank goodness, someone actually gets me here! That's exactly what I meant and u are spot on! Thanks for ur advice and thanks even more for not being so harsh on me :) Truly appreciated :)
  • kinsa2
    kinsa2 Posts: 58 Member
    Just do cardio, don't do any strength training.

    It's not up to us to tell her that she needs to have muscles, and that they are beautiful etc. She can do as she pleases with her body.

    Well, technically everyone needs to have muscles. And technically, they are beautiful.

    i'm not disagreeing, but your view of 'beautiful' does not influence what I want my body to look like just like my view wont affect yours :)
  • kinsa2
    kinsa2 Posts: 58 Member
    I give up.

    Well, I for one appreciated your info, bumblebums.

    OP, I want my body to look like Heidi Klum's. but you know what? I'm 5'6" tall and most of my body is torso, meaning I have the leg length of a shorter person. I will never look like Heidi. I look more like a reasonably fit mother of two. my belly area juts out from two pregnancies and my waist isn't narrow. That having been said, I hate to burst your bubble, but you will never look like those women UNLESS you have similar body shape, height, and genetic muscle shape as they do.

    I understand ur point but the reason I chose those two ladies was because they are both of my height of 5ft 5 and have the same hourglass body shape. I am not wanting something I don't have, I just want the end results to look like that

    Side note #1 is not hour glass, she is pear shaped. I cant tell with #2 and am guessing 3 isnt either. It's a pet peeve of mine. Only about 8% of women are hourglass figure but post a topic on it and you get 400 replies of people who claim to be hour glass. There nothing wrong with pear shape (of any other shape)

    ok, apologies then. But the main purpose of using her was because she is structured smaller on the top than on the bottom which is my body shape
  • kinsa2
    kinsa2 Posts: 58 Member
    I know the exact kind of body type you mean. You want to appear soft and feminine, like Marilyn Monroe. I don't know why people have to be so snarky about it, you have the right to look any way you want as long as you go about it in a healthy way.

    I think you should focus on cardio. Since you've already been walking, maybe you try upping the intensity with something else that's still fun, like dancing. You don't have to join a class or anything. I lost weight in the past by just dancing in my room in front of a mirror, lol. I did it for about an hour a day (I need to start doing it again! :O). You can also invest in rhythm/dance games to make it more engaging as well. If you're swinging your arms a lot while dancing, you'll likely notice them getting more firm without the muscled look.

    Also, Marilyn Monroe has said she liked to use five pound weights to exercise her arms, and she'd do repetitions util she got tired. She also noted she didn't like to count rhythmically because she couldn't stand exercise if she had to feel regimented about it. So I think you'll get the look you want with cardio and just a bit of arm training. I hope I've been of some help, lol.

    exactly this... thank you. I thought this was supposed to be a community of people who support u on ur journey to what u want to be, but I realized its more of a forum where ppl mock you and try and get you to be what they want u to be or what they think u should be.... but there are some nice folks like you who do understand so thanks once again :)
  • ArchangelMJ
    ArchangelMJ Posts: 308 Member
    I know the exact kind of body type you mean. You want to appear soft and feminine, like Marilyn Monroe. I don't know why people have to be so snarky about it, you have the right to look any way you want as long as you go about it in a healthy way.

    I think you should focus on cardio. Since you've already been walking, maybe you try upping the intensity with something else that's still fun, like dancing. You don't have to join a class or anything. I lost weight in the past by just dancing in my room in front of a mirror, lol. I did it for about an hour a day (I need to start doing it again! :O). You can also invest in rhythm/dance games to make it more engaging as well. If you're swinging your arms a lot while dancing, you'll likely notice them getting more firm without the muscled look.

    Also, Marilyn Monroe has said she liked to use five pound weights to exercise her arms, and she'd do repetitions util she got tired. She also noted she didn't like to count rhythmically because she couldn't stand exercise if she had to feel regimented about it. So I think you'll get the look you want with cardio and just a bit of arm training. I hope I've been of some help, lol.

    exactly this... thank you. I thought this was supposed to be a community of people who support u on ur journey to what u want to be, but I realized its more of a forum where ppl mock you and try and get you to be what they want u to be or what they think u should be.... but there are some nice folks like you who do understand so thanks once again :)

    I know exactly how you feel about others trying to project their vision onto you. I can't stand when people think there's only one right way. Someone posted this Tracey Anderson video, and it was met with a lot of mocking (and it does admittedly look funny, lol). However, I tried it and I thought it was a great arm workout.

    I think it's exactly what you've been looking for! There are no weights involved but your arms are kept engaged and you can really feel those puppies toning up. I highly recommend it. I'm going to start doing it every day as well! ^_^ As it gets easier, I bet some light hand weight or even soup cans would increase the intensity of the workout in a pinch.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=4dQOBbLnk7o
  • squirrelzzrule22
    squirrelzzrule22 Posts: 640 Member
    Forgive me, I didn't read through all replies.

    I actually think I understood what OP was trying to say from the beginning. I think people somewhat unfairly jumped on her accusing her of not understanding that you don't instantly become a very defined muscular woman. I think OP's original question could be rewritten as: "I have a specific type of feminine curvy figure I would like to maintain as i lose weight. The look I hope to achieve is that of someone with a softer but healthy body fat percentage. Currently I have flab and skin on my arms that I want to tone up and decrease, so I'm looking for suggestions on a good weight routine because I am a novice. I am not aiming to be very ripped or get a body fat percentage under 20, I'm shooting for a curvy look but need to decrease some flab. What is a good weight lifting routine for a beginner?"

    She never once said a woman couldn't be more muscular and attractive she just said it wasn't her preference. I think some folks were rushing to judgement and being unfairly negative. Not everyone has the same level of information about fitness.

    To the OP: lifting heavy weights, particularly for your upper body, will help. Simply stop or modify the routine when you've achieved close to the look you desire. As others have said you won't accidentally get ripped, and a heavy weight routine doesn't mean you'll get too muscular because you control when you stop lifting. If your body type is naturally a higher BF and curvy to begin with it won't suddenly reform, and a good lifting routine will help the toning issues. Continue to eat at a deficit and body fat will decrease accordingly. Google heavy lifting for women and see what types of programs you find suitable. Also consider workout DVDs, hand weights for home, and yoga and Pilates. Heavy lifting is a wonderful thing but many MFPers act as though its the ONLY option when it's not. Find what works for you.

    Bottom line- weight and strength training will help get rid of the flab on your arms. You will not get muscular like a fitness model all of a sudden. Just stop when you have the desired results and switch to maintenance,

    Good luck!

    Oh thank goodness, someone actually gets me here! That's exactly what I meant and u are spot on! Thanks for ur advice and thanks even more for not being so harsh on me :) Truly appreciated :)

    No problem! There is like a mean clique on here that is offended if you have less athletic goals than them. Just do you! Good luck!
  • rockstar2b66
    rockstar2b66 Posts: 54
    lol, of course they are. Maybe i'm using the wrong word. But let me try and explain it. You know how your arms look before you've done anything to them, with a mild shape to them but with some flab in my case. I just want that bit of flab to go away but my arm to stay in that shape and not get the slightest change to it because I don't find it appealing. Is that possible?

    I know exactly how this girl feels and feel the same way. I don't want to be anorexic boney arms, but the muscle that's already in my arms is enough. Need to get rid of the excess flab without creating any more muscle. Even a little more muscle would be too much for me, as I do have a bit on my own.
  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
    I think you mean.. Lean muscle.. Much like Nina Dobrev's arms?

    http://cdn1.gossipcenter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/fullsize_image/images/n/nina-dobrev-esquire-0812-1.jpg ??

    Because, she works out to get her amazing figure :)
    ETA: She shares it on a few sites, but I don't remember which. Might have to look it up to find her full routine :)
  • ThePlight
    ThePlight Posts: 3,593 Member
    Edit: Can this post be deleted? Accidental double. Thank you!
  • rockstar2b66
    rockstar2b66 Posts: 54
    I think you mean.. Lean muscle.. Much like Nina Dobrev's arms?

    http://cdn1.gossipcenter.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/fullsize_image/images/n/nina-dobrev-esquire-0812-1.jpg ??

    Because, she works out to get her amazing figure :)
    ETA: She shares it on a few sites, but I don't remember which. Might have to look it up to find her full routine :)

    Exactly!
  • LJSmith1989
    LJSmith1989 Posts: 650
    I don't want to go down that path :) But thanks for the idea anyway :P
    I am prepared to lift weights, but I just would like some suggestions at how how much of them to do and roughly how heavy the weights should be so I could get the desired result.


    I'm confused your contradicting yourself somewhat.

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