Best Way to Shed Pounds & Inches?

macgurlnet wrote: »

melodygrooms wrote: »

janejellyroll wrote: »

melodygrooms wrote: »

cnbbnc wrote: »

melodygrooms wrote: »

I am eating a calorie deficit, so that's taken care of. I'm not concerned so much about the number on the scale as the health of my body, and my understanding is that muscle mass and cardio are the way to achieve that.

If your diet is already in order, then I would do a mix of both cardio and weights (heavy weights...no little girlie ones!), leaning more towards the lifting. My weight loss has been consistent doing that, and I've lost a lot inches and firmed up quite a bit. I lift 3xs/wk and do cardio once (cardio isn't my thing or I would probably do more). I would also make sure you're eating adequate protein to minimize muscle loss while you're losing weight.

Define girlie? I'm finding that 15 pound dumbbells are the most I can handle without significant strain, and I can't do much with those before my arms shake like noodles!

Thanks all for the advice! Taking it all in!

But as you continue to lift those 15 pound weights, you'll become stronger. At which point you'll move up to heavier weight. And repeat. The point is to continue to push yourself, not to limit yourself to traditional "girlie" light weights.

That makes sense. I don't want to become bulky or solid though, because I admittedly like being a little bit soft (just not as squishy as I am now!). How can I tone up without bulking up?

Women don't bulk without really, really trying. You have to eat at a surplus and lift heavy to even begin to bulk up. Men have it slightly easier, but it's still not "wow I lifted these 10lb weights and suddenly my biceps are ****ing huge."

From what I've read here, you're much better off following a progressive lifting program - ideally something with free weights, like Strong Lifts 5x5. Machines are OK if that's what you have available.

I'm a bit of a weakling myself right now - my 8lb dumbbells are challenging - but I'm working on it!

Just don't think you need to use light/easy weights and massive numbers of reps in order to "tone" vs "bulk." Toning isn't a thing - it's losing the fat to reveal the muscle underneath. Bulking is hard to do.

How soft you can look while having the muscle you want is going to be partially up to genetics. Some people can't get their abs to show without being really, really low body fat for example. They may not like that look, and may choose to weigh a bit more/not lose as much fat to keep the look they want.

When you exercise, your body will likely retain water, which in turn means the number on the scale won't go down.

Keep your diet in check, give it 6 weeks, and re-evaluate how much food you're eating then if the scale hasn't budged a bit.

~Lyssa