Newbie wanting some advice on how to tone up

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LittleRedBoots
LittleRedBoots Posts: 20 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Heya MFPers!

Im a 19 year old female, in my second year of university.
I am 5'9" and I started my weight loss journey mid January, starting at a mildly-chubby 152lb, I am now down to 137lb. My goal is around 127lb but I realize as I get closer to my goal I should be worrying less about the scale and more about the mirror especially as I want to start building some muscle.
My weight loss has slowed down a lot in the last month and I have joined MFP to try and kick start it! I am also starting running and swimming regularly.
I would love to tone up my arms, does anyone have any good at-home weight exercises you can do? There is a small gym in my apartment complex but the weight machine confuses me a bit, but if anyone can shed some light on this I'd be very grateful!

Another thing is that after completing today's food diary its telling me to eat 800 more calories! I think this is kinda ridiculous, I'm full after dinner and have eaten 3 meals and snacks. I think possibly some of my measurements for things like margarine and jam were a tad off (I really had no idea how much I would have used) but still, this wouldn't account for such a huge difference. Do many people find that the calorie prediction on here is a bit lenient?

Also I would love a weight-loss buddy so contact me if you fancy sharing advice/recipes/work out tips! :D

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  • tamsinwhitfield
    tamsinwhitfield Posts: 135 Member
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    Hi!

    I started seeing a personal trainer on a regular basis a while ago, and asked to focus on working on toning up - so pretty much exactly the same as you. You could probably do with buying a couple of dumbells (I use 2kg / occasionally 3kg, but I'm quite small - so probably suggest starting with a 4kg set?), and maybe a kettle bell - these seem to cover essentially every toning exercise going.

    It sounds like you could look at:

    - Chest fly (lie on flat surface, hold one dumbell in each hand and bring straight up above head in controlled movement, release also in controlled movement);
    - Bicep curl into shoulder press (Sit with back at 90 degree angle to legs, hold dumbells together in centre of chest - bring slowly outwards in one movement, then use a second movement to arc above head, release);
    - Tricep extension (arm flat against side bring up then reverse movement, stretch arm back keeping elbow tucked in);
    - Single arm row (bend one knee and stretch opposite leg back, use arm opposite bent knee to take dumbell straight down in rowing motion).

    My descriptions probably aren't the best, so probably worth checking Youtube for some of these for a better idea of form! Honestly though, if it's feasible I can't recommend booking a personal trainer strongly enough. I didn't really know what I was doing until I started a tailored plan - currently I do one session a week in training with 3-4 home or gym sessions by myself, and it's making a big difference.
  • LittleRedBoots
    LittleRedBoots Posts: 20 Member
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    Thank you :)
    I really want to get some dumbbells and start working my arms, do you have any suggestions on what sort of weights I should get?
    Thanks :D

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