How can already slim girl lose weight?

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  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Sounds to me like actually need to gain weight and put on some muscle, then cut back down. You'll end up at the same-ish weight you are now but with a better body composition.

    Based on what? In her post she says she is athletic and toned. What makes you believe she's not?
  • sak20011
    sak20011 Posts: 94 Member
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    at 5'5" and 122 lbs your BMI is 19.5, so on the low end of healthy--- and your body is probably fighting it because you'd have to really cut back on calories and you'd most likely lose muscle mass along with everything else. If you want to add muscle, then you should probably increase calories/protein and do more heavy lifting.

    while I generally don't think it is the place of the community at MFP to tell people whether they are too thin/fat/whatever, I personally would not want to encourage an already thin young woman to lose weight.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,952 Member
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    Sounds to me like actually need to gain weight and put on some muscle, then cut back down. You'll end up at the same-ish weight you are now but with a better body composition.

    I was wondering about the "bulk and cut" cycles...but I have a huge mental block on eating more....

    I think once you're lifting heavy weights and doing some cardio, you'll be hungry for more. The mental block will probably just go away while you're simultaneously eating more. Are you hoping to become more toned than you already are? If so, the above advise is good. Otherwise, I think you could just stick where you are :wink:
  • albayin
    albayin Posts: 2,524 Member
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    I'm going to give a potentially unpopular answer...

    First try to appreciate the body that you have and all of the wonderful things, like running/track, that it's capable of. Your body is friggin' amazing! How it works and what what it can do is SO COOL! Sometime it's hard to see the forest for the trees but you really are luck to have the body that you do.

    It's hard to enter into a bulk/cut cycle or to lose weight in a healthful way without loving and respecting you body. It also sounds like you're quite young. I would hate to see you develop a negative relationship with your body or exercise or food that may follow you for your entire life.

    In short my advice is this: focus on loving yourself and your body first.

    dont care if this is unpopular but I would love to think this way some day...Me is a bad case of bad relationship with my own body...my own worst enemy.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Sounds to me like actually need to gain weight and put on some muscle, then cut back down. You'll end up at the same-ish weight you are now but with a better body composition.

    I completely agree with this.

    I agree also. Even though you are athletic and toned, it sounds like you want even more of that. So, eat a very slight deficit or maintenance and strength train with weights.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Sounds to me like actually need to gain weight and put on some muscle, then cut back down. You'll end up at the same-ish weight you are now but with a better body composition.

    Based on what? In her post she says she is athletic and toned. What makes you believe she's not?

    Based on the fact that she's 5'6", 122 lbs, says she wants to lose weight meaning she's not happy with her body, that's the definition of skinny-fat. She needs to increase muscle and decrease body fat. Easiest and fastest way to do that is a bulk and cut
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Sounds to me like actually need to gain weight and put on some muscle, then cut back down. You'll end up at the same-ish weight you are now but with a better body composition.

    Based on what? In her post she says she is athletic and toned. What makes you believe she's not?

    Based on the fact that she's 5'6", 122 lbs, says she wants to lose weight meaning she's not happy with her body, that's the definition of skinny-fat. She needs to increase muscle and decrease body fat. Easiest and fastest way to do that is a bulk and cut

    Um, no. The definition of skinny fat is having a healthy range BMI and an unhealthy range BF%. It's highly unlikely that an 18 yo athlete is skinny fat at 122 lbs. At that age most girls are naturally pretty firm, unless they have recently lost a lot of weight. She's a young girl. Most young girls are unsatisfied with their body.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
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    For the U.S. audience, translating from metric, the OP is 5'6" and weight 121 lbs. Her BMI is 19.5. She doesn't need to lose weight.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Sounds to me like actually need to gain weight and put on some muscle, then cut back down. You'll end up at the same-ish weight you are now but with a better body composition.

    Based on what? In her post she says she is athletic and toned. What makes you believe she's not?

    Based on the fact that she's 5'6", 122 lbs, says she wants to lose weight meaning she's not happy with her body, that's the definition of skinny-fat. She needs to increase muscle and decrease body fat. Easiest and fastest way to do that is a bulk and cut

    Um, no. The definition of skinny fat is having a healthy range BMI and an unhealthy range BF%. It's highly unlikely that an 18 yo athlete is skinny fat at 122 lbs. At that age most girls are naturally pretty firm, unless they have recently lost a lot of weight. She's a young girl. Most young girls are unsatisfied with their body.

    She asked for advice, my advice to her is not to lose anymore weight from where she is right now. If she would like to change her body, do a bulk and cut cycle, if she doesn't, then maintain at her current weight, but she shouldn't lose anymore weight.
  • JohannaMar
    JohannaMar Posts: 5
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    Thanks for all the answers!

    But skinny-fat is definately not me. My body is toned, I would just like to look, well, it's hard to explain, but maybe the right word is smaller?

    My body ideal is something like that, only a bit more muscular.

    http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/22/article-2610235-1D41A07E00000578-391_634x978.jpg
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Thanks for all the answers!

    But skinny-fat is definately not me. My body is toned, I would just like to look, well, it's hard to explain, but maybe the right word is smaller?

    My body ideal is something like that, only a bit more muscular.

    http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/22/article-2610235-1D41A07E00000578-391_634x978.jpg

    So your body ideal is super skinny with zero muscle definition? Easy, just lose weight, don't lift weights, or eat a lot of protein and you're good to go...
  • liekewheeless
    liekewheeless Posts: 416 Member
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    From your description you seem to have the best of both worlds, you are at a healthy weight (at the low end of it) and you are athletic.

    Any issues you have with the way you look will not be solved by diet. I have not seen a picture of you so I can't tell for sure, but this may have more to do with your frame than with any actual fat.

    If you have a wider frame and have curves, that's just how you are built, it's not going to change and lowering your weight to an unhealthy range will only interfere with your athletics and cause you to become sick.

    Sorry to be so blunt.
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
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    As others have said, if you're already slim, but unhappy, you need muscle.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Thanks for all the answers!

    But skinny-fat is definately not me. My body is toned, I would just like to look, well, it's hard to explain, but maybe the right word is smaller?

    My body ideal is something like that, only a bit more muscular.

    http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/22/article-2610235-1D41A07E00000578-391_634x978.jpg

    It actually sounds to me like you just need to accept that your frame and body structure is what it is. You can't make it smaller. You don't need to be smaller. Focus on the positives. Don't have unrealistic expectations for your body. I do think this is a body image issue. You gotta love your body, and be happy and enjoy life. So, keep eating well, working on fitness, and enjoy your life and what you can do with your body.

    So many of us, in different ways, have unrealistic standards for our bodies when we are young and it holds us back. We've been there, done that. We know. Work on moving past that. Love and enjoy the body that you have and the life that you live.
  • JohannaMar
    JohannaMar Posts: 5
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    You may be right, I might have unrealistic standards for my body. So I'm going to focus on just eating healthy (more protein) and go ing to gym for weight training more often.

    Thank you for your answers!
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    You may be right, I might have unrealistic standards for my body. So I'm going to focus on just eating healthy (more protein) and go ing to gym for weight training more often.

    Thank you for your answers!

    Great!! :drinker: :flowerforyou: :heart:
  • addicted2cola
    addicted2cola Posts: 43 Member
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    Thanks for all the answers!

    But skinny-fat is definately not me. My body is toned, I would just like to look, well, it's hard to explain, but maybe the right word is smaller?

    My body ideal is something like that, only a bit more muscular.

    http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/04/22/article-2610235-1D41A07E00000578-391_634x978.jpg

    Um... I don't think you're supposed to be able to see a persons ribs from the outside like you canon the girl in this photo. 0_0

    You're at a healthy weight now, and you're kicking butt in the athletic department already by the sound of it, being toned and athletic. You say it's because you don't like the way your body looks, but I think maybe you need to stop focusing on what you don't like about your body and focus on what you do like. Also, don't just focus on the way it looks! Think about how your body feels! Focus on how great your body feels when you complete an amazing workout, and how strong your body is. Learn to love the healthy body that you see in the mirror!
  • scottscorch
    scottscorch Posts: 1
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    you can but its a lot harder but there are tips out there...from the time I began employing the Venus Factor, I've been reaching my weight loss dreams! I have to work on it, of course, however the Venus Factor system makes a lot of sense to me. Visit here to check out the video for additional information. online-prophet.com/lose_weight
  • LAT1963
    LAT1963 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    If you are looking for body-image inspiration, try looking at an Athleta catalog. The models they use look fit, have a variety of body-frame types and boobages, and are not dangerously thin (though perhaps slightly low on body fat to make their muscles more visible in photos).

    Measure the circumference of your wrists. This is an area that has neither fat nor muscle, but gives you an idea of your frame size. A 7 inch circumference (~18 cm) is typical. Mine is 8 inches (20 cm). No matter how much weight I lose I'm never going to look like someone with a 6 inch (15 cm) wrist circumference.

    You have to deal with the realities of your body as it is, and choose goal body-types that are achievable. i can probably achieve the body type Starbucks had on the recent Battlestar Galactica. I probably can not achieve the body type 7 of 9 had on Star Trek TNG--at least not without major body surgery.

    Be the best *you* that you can be. Find a body-model whose frame is most like your own and use that as your goal.
  • Scarecrowsama
    Scarecrowsama Posts: 85 Member
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    Hello!

    I'm not happy the way I look, so I decided to lose some weight. I've tried giving up sweets and white bread but that hasn't worked on me. So I'm not overweight or anything, I'm 168cm tall and weigh 55kg, I'm athletic and toned. At schooltime my exercise is track and field trainings 4 times a week (very intensive), at summertime I go running myself, I usually run 3-4 times a week 6-15km, plus gym.

    The question is how can I lose weight when already being slim? Should I count calories or have some kind of special diet? I would like to get from 55kg to 50-51kg.

    Thank you for your help! :)

    You are quite slim, is not going to be easy for you to go to a 5-6% body fat, you need really strict dieting and intense exercise (not killing yourself, workout 3-4 times a week, as a woman you have better recovery), you can checkout Jen Ferruggia's program, I think that it does include exercise and diet.

    http://bikinibodyworkouts.com/workouts/

    Jen Ferruggia is Jason Ferruggia's wife, he is a very well known strength coach.

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