Losing weight, gaining a new figure.

Losing the fat in general will help - crunches alone will not sculpt your tummy! I love Jillian Michael's 30Day Shred dvd for all-over toning and shaping.

My butt is super cute and i am fairly certain it is from her mix of lunges and squats and cardio. I also do a fairly long bike ride every Sunday during the warm months and this Sunday was the first time in a long time - I felt it all through my butt and backs of my thighs.

The weirdest thing about my dieting is that I first see fat loss in my wrists and inner elbows! My body sure is strange!

Welcome to the journey!

You're welcome! And if you get the 30 day shred, don't feel as though you have to do workout 1 day after day! I find that it leaves me pretty sore for 1-2 days and then I pick it up again.

Have you just started the weigh loss process? How much do you have to lose or is it less about pounds and more about inches?

Ahhh mirrors! and Cameras! I can smile at myself if I hold my reflection just so . . . but a surprise angle or a picture still has me wincing.

Do you have a tape measure? Getting a baseline of where your waist, hips, and thighs start can be very fun to measure your progress.

I'm still on the pounds wagon - I have no idea what my ideal weight is (it certainly isn't the 109 that BMI calculators suggest) but I know that I'll be better able to see what is reasonable for my frame after 20 more lbs lost. I also measure arm, waist, hips, and thigh because there are weeks that I feel slimmer but see nothing moving on the scale.

Also, I read an article about crunches and it said that bicycle crunches are the most effective use of time for increasing ab strength and shape!

Weight lifting!

This, the heavier the better and focus on compound lifts, avoid the machines.

Weight lifting!

This, the heavier the better and focus on compound lifts, avoid the machines.

+1

Squats

You can't spot reduce fat. You just have to lower your body fat % with a mix of cardio and strength training. You can't really choose what type of figure you have under the fat.... You can do squats and leg lifts and such to strength your butt muscles to give it more shape but you cannot create hips/waist if you aren't born with it... I was "curvy" when I was heavier but now I have pretty slim hips. I still have a waist, but it's not as dramatic as it used to be. I'm cool with it. It's cool to see what my body is suppose to look like, and I am happy being the fit version of me

I love my Zumba. It has carved my waistline without taking away my bootie and toned my thighs and calves in a way I haven't seen since high school. You burn 600-800 calories each time. Go several times to the zumba class. It takes a bit to catch on to the choreography but as you get better at the dances you burn more.

Weights are great for toning. Weights dont burn as many calories but lean muscles is burns calories better which heavy lifting will help with. The book New Rules of Lifting for Women is excellent. there are several groups on here that support it.

Thank you OP for starting this thread. I carry most of my weight in the abdomen and I do embrace my curves as well and don't want to lose what I like most but would love to lose the fat I am carrying around my belly. I have a long ways to go to reach my weight loss goals and right now I am walking leisurely because that is all I am able to do right now. Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions that you posted as well. :happy: