Strategies for Reducing Body Fat

Muscle burns fat---hit the weights girl.

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I'm definately interested in this too........my situation exactly.

That's exactly what I've been doing for the last four weeks and I've been fairly successful at it. I've lost not a single pound, but dropped a full pant size.

I've been eating from the Women's Health Abs Diet. I recently bought the recipie book, but you can get tons of info on it for free from the web. It's basically a well balanced diet with higher protein. If you mix the foods from the ABS DIET POWER list you can come up with some pretty tasty meals that travel easily (I've become one of those people that brings a bag pretty much everywhere. Last week at McDonalds with my kid I had my low sodium turkey, sliced oranges, and a banana.) I eat roughly 1800 - 2200 calories a day and get three full days of strength training, three cardio, and two 3 - 6 miles runs. I would think less activity would mean a few less calories, but same result.

Here's a link to get you started if your interested:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/abs-diet-quickstart-plan

Muscle burns fat---hit the weights girl.

I do that 4 times a week. But I'm wondering if I should kick up the intensity. I"m not looking to be bulky, but I am looking for tips for women for a lean toned body.

You won't get bulky. Body builders work so hard for every tiny gain, you won't have to worry about it happening accidentally. It's nearly impossible for women to bulk even when they want to. Your best bet is to lift heavy; there's a book called The New Rules of Lifting for Women, I *highly* recommend it!

Muscle burns fat---hit the weights girl.

I do that 4 times a week. But I'm wondering if I should kick up the intensity. I"m not looking to be bulky, but I am looking for tips for women for a lean toned body.

You are female so unless you take steroids youo would be bulky. Heavy weights is where it is at, my motto lift heavy lift good.

And I know this but its so hard to get myself to do this. My frame support muscle gain. I already have broad shoulders and thick muscular legs.

What does everyone think about yoga? I want to gain some flexibility also

I hear you. There is some genetics at play too. Some women (myself) WILL bulk up a touch. You should see my quads - these suckers stick out a solid three inches from my knee and it's all muscle. My calves and biceps are the same way. The thing is, it looks fine. I'm not going to be a crazy triangle shaped body builder regardless of how much I lift because A. I'm not taking all the suppliments and B. I eat more than lettuce and rice. I like that when I bend my legs you can see bands of muscles and my triceps show shape in the back of my arm (helps hiding with the flabby skin! ) Just try it. If you don't like it, you can back off.


Also - meant to add - I do yoga stretc once a week. I like it alot.

Muscle burns fat---hit the weights girl.

I do that 4 times a week. But I'm wondering if I should kick up the intensity. I"m not looking to be bulky, but I am looking for tips for women for a lean toned body.

You are female so unless you take steroids youo would be bulky. Heavy weights is where it is at, my motto lift heavy lift good.

And I know this but its so hard to get myself to do this. My frame support muscle gain. I already have broad shoulders and thick muscular legs.

What does everyone think about yoga? I want to gain some flexibility also

you're not going to get "bulky". And I don't know a single guy who doesn't find slightly muscular girls to be sexy as hell.

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If you do start lifting heavy, a couple of things to keep in mind:

Watch out for injuries. Depending on what you're doing, make sure you have a spotter. Make sure you are doing the exercise properly. Also, try to flex your abs as your doing the exercise. It'll help keep your back from getting injured and will actually help you lift more weight.

Do multi-muscle workouts first. You want to try to do as much weight with each exercise as possible. So, for example, never do triceps before doing bench press. If you do bench press first, it will allow you to actually build up chest strength.

Opposites attract: Make sure that when you are doing your workout you know what part of your body is being worked. Then, figure out the opposing muscle and make sure you work that out too. For example, if you do biceps, make sure you also do triceps. If you do chest, make sure you also do upper back. If you do abs, make sure you also do lower back.

Free weights are better than machines. They allow you to use the rest of your body and your core to make sure the weights are moving in the correct position.

Also, pay attention to the order in which you do things and switch it up if it makes sense. For example, if I'm using a machine for bicep curls (dumbbells or an ez-curl bar are always better, but sometimes they aren't available) I will make sure to do biceps before triceps because with the bicep machine, your triceps are resting on the padding. It can start to hurt if you've already done your tricep exercise. Same is true for quad and hami exercises. Do hami first because the quad receives pressure in that exercise.

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Weighted hula hoop. I work with a gal who added that to her regimen and lost serious inches off her waist!

Make sure every weight training exercise you do, you are tucking your pelvis under and squeezing your abs, even if you are working your arms or legs.

Also, bellies store carbs, so you could look at your diary and see where you could cut a few out. Even one serving a day will make a difference!

Good luck! And congrats on your progress thusfar!

Ever look at an olympic sprinter? Add HIIT sprints to your workout, cut out all refined carbs, and you will do just fine.

Thank you so much everyone for your suggestions! I think I have a game plan. I'm picking up the "New rules of lifting for women" at B&N today after the gym. I will also start some HIIT training! I'm excited :happy:

Do I really have to sacrifice some of my carbs? Nothing refined or processed and everything comes from whole wheat or fruits and veggies? I really don't want to cut them.

I should have read this before I posted my first post. Try cutting out all grains for two weeks just to see how it works for you. If you want to keep your carbs at the same level try adding sweet potatoes to make up for the carbs you lose from your whole wheat. Wheat is processed carbs, no matter if it's WW of white.