Relatively light people trying to get leaner

Ok thanks I might have a go at a few things. I already do pull ups so I might try push ups. Also I think my dad has some dumbbells so I might have a go with those. Thing is how can I work my legs? My arms really are no problem to me as they're the smallest thing on my body. My legs/thighs/bum is where the weight goes and takes some shifting!

First, keep in mind that muscle doesn't turn into fat and fat doesn't turn into muscle. We're not able to spot reduce fat. So while strength training your legs is important... it's not going to preferentially burn the fat in your problem areas.

Secondly, are you looking for specific exercises you can do for your legs. If so, youtube any of these:

body weight squats
goblet squats
dumbbell squats
reverse lunge
walking lunge
alternating lunge
glute bridge
hip thrusts
suitcase deadlifts
conventional deadlifts
romanian deadlifts
step ups
single leg squats
box squats

I could go on and on.

Also I'm confused by this 1200cal thing. It doesn't seem too difficult for me. I never ate more than 1500cals before anyway so it really isnt a big cut down. Could this means that it suits me? I eat most of my exercise cals back too. But the slow progress....does this indicate I should eat a little more even if it's an extra apple etc a day? Thanks

I'm confused. If you're eating your exercise calories, you're actually eating more than 1200 calories. No?

And yes, fruit does good things for women and fat loss.

I have a ? that may sound completely absurd....my girlfriend and I hike(intermediate terrain) everyday at least 5 miles and then run hills afterwards (maybe a total of 15 mins of hill running all total - but running up them as fast as we can, walking down, counting to 20 then doing it again). I eat 2 packets of oatmeal with milk before heading out and my gf usually eats half of a bagel or a granola bar. My/our question is.............with doing this type of activity, am I/her eating enough and what is the breakdown as far as glycogen, fat, lean muscle mass? Meaning, I think we burn through our glycogen stores first, but after that, what happens? Could we be doing more harm than good if we are not fueled enough. I usually feel a bit hungry on the 5th mile stretch but still have plenty of energy to do the hills. I also eat within an hour of getting home. I feel a great burn in my high abdomen which my gf does not. Not a cramp type of burn, but, well, I am unsure how to best describe it. It feels good and everyone that I have ever mentioned it to...said that it was good. My core is tight usually through the whole workout. So, anyway...if we continue with this type of exercise (if not running hills we are jumping on picnic tables, or some other type of more explosive activity) are we handling our food intake properly and are we hurting ourselves as far as dipping into burning lean muscle mass? Wow....I hope you can decipher through all that...lol Any insight or suggestions would be appreciated.

Not sure if it matters....I am 5' 108 lbs (more muscular build) she is 5'2" about 115 more of a slender build

A couple of questions and thoughts come to mind:

1. How often are you doing the hike/hill combo?

2. Why are you doing it?

3. Why are you doing jumps and the like (otherwise known as plyometrics).

4. What's the rest of your nutrition look like. It's not the food eaten just before training that matters... it's the total diet.

5. A burning sensation isn't an indicator of workout efficacy.

6. What are your goals?

And really... I can't say you're doing too much or too little. I only brought it up because more often than not, especially with women who are lean trying to get leaner, they tend to take the "beat my body into submission" route. They feel that depriving it of adequate nutrition and jacking up energy output, they're going to mold the body they're after.

Evolutionarily speaking, unfortunately, our bodies don't want to be lean. Especially female bodies. It opposes survival from long ago.

These same people come to me claiming they've been in a plateau for nearly a year, feel like crap, have nagging injuries, zero motivation, etc. Turns out that if they'd just sit down, stay out of the damn gym, and eat some food... things would be much better.

It turns out that we have a finite capacity to deal with stress. Stress comes in many forms - calorie deficits, exercise, work, family, etc. When we're dieting, this capacity is actually reduced, meaning our ability to handle stress diminishes. And this why the jackhammer approach mentioned above doesn't typically work.

This is why I always tell people that getting a "hot body" isn't the same as just going out and running yourself into the ground. You have to consider both diet *and* training needs, and adjust accordingly.

The kind of activity you do will depend on your goals, where you are at the moment, and your diet.

Heavy lifting's always going to be the core in my opinion. That's assuming you're interested in being lean.