Toning whilst losing

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I have lost 47lbs, and my skin is feeling too loose on me these days, I was wondering...what type of toning would everyone recommend ... bearing in mind I have 40-50lbs to go, and don't want to turn the excess fat into muscle instead of losing it first.

I was thinking of buying one of those mini fitness trampolines, but don't want my saggy/wobbly bits to jump about and make me feel sub-conscious of them.

Thanks in advance x

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  • Sarah4fitness
    Sarah4fitness Posts: 437 Member
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    I have lost 47lbs, and my skin is feeling too loose on me these days, I was wondering...what type of toning would everyone recommend ... bearing in mind I have 40-50lbs to go, and don't want to turn the excess fat into muscle instead of losing it first.

    I was thinking of buying one of those mini fitness trampolines, but don't want my saggy/wobbly bits to jump about and make me feel sub-conscious of them.

    Thanks in advance x

    Don't you worry. You cannot turn fat into muscle. Transforming one kind of cell to another isn't possible, so no worries there. Buying a trampoline 1.) I assume would be used in your home, so no need for self consciousness, problem solved BUT 2.) Won't help you build the kind of muscle you'd need to tighten up your loosening skin.

    Start lifting weights if you want to recomp your body.
  • DrMAvDPhD
    DrMAvDPhD Posts: 2,097 Member
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    1. Fat doesn't "turn into" muscle. They are different types of matter and have little (if not nothing) to do with each other. You. most definitely do not have to worry about your fat transforming itself into muscle (oh how I wish this were a problem)

    2. Neither losing fat nor building muscle is going to "tone" away loose skin. If you have loose skin now, you will have a lot more if you lose another 50#. The only solution to that is time, and more than likely surgical removal.

    3. I recommend, as I do for just about anyone, a routine that includes lifting heavy weights ~3 times per week, a 20% calorie deficit from your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE, can be calculated from many websites), and as much cardio as you want. This magical combination gets you closer to most people's "ideal body type" the fastest.
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
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    Not only can't you turn fat into muscle, you have more muscle than you probably realize. By working out now, you will keep more of it and like what you see better when the fat comes off. This, by the way, is much much easier than trying to rebuild muscle that you've lost, but it does require a little patience, because it may mean a slower weight loss.

    x2
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    toning is largely a matter of reducing body fat to reveal the muscle that is being hidden by it. it would behoove you to do resistance work to retain as much of that muscle as possible (you will not/cannot convert fat to muscle) so that when you shed all of the fat you will look toned.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    Loose skin will reshape over time. Since you are a little older (don't get offended, I am the same age!) it may take a little longer and it will never look like you are 20 again. (If you don't like math and science, skip to the starred sentence at the end).

    And, as everyone else pointed out, you cannot just turn fat into muscle. Look at it this way: even if you stayed exactly the same weight you are now, but you magically "turned all your fat into muscle", you would still be smaller because the muscle is more dense: it takes up less space per pound.

    In reality, if you are eating at a deficit, you will lose weight. How much fat you lose vs. how much muscle you lose will be determined by nutrition, exercise and even genetics.

    To visualize all this on your own body, do some research and a little math.

    Look at pictures of relative body fat percentages (http://blog.danhoganfitness.com/2012/07/track-body-fat-instead-of-weight.html)

    Calculate or measure your current body fat percentage. Use this to calculate your current lean body mass (LBM): Convert the percentage to a decimal and subtract from 1.0, then multiply by your current weight. (ie, if your current body fat % is 30, 30% --> .3; 1.0 - .3 = .7: you will multiply your current weight by .7)

    Now, use your LBM to figure out how much you would weigh at your favorite body fat percentage, if you were able to maintain this much LBM. For example, if you want to look like the model with 20% body fat, you multiply your LBM times 1.2

    That is your ideal weight, but only if you get proper exercise and nutrition to maintain all of your muscles and bones (other organs don't change much). **Also, proper nutrition and exercise might be a slower rate of weight loss, which will give your skin a better chance to catch up.**
  • JaxCreations
    JaxCreations Posts: 18 Member
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    Thanks for putting that into perspective for me guys x