possible to look leaner without losing too much weight?

username4321

Hi there, i was wondering if you guys could help me out. I'm slightly underweight at the moment but what you would call 'skinny fat' ie i have very little muscle tone. My middle is quite soft. I want to look more stream lined and taut especially on my arms and abdomen- more athletic.
But I cant lose too much weight obviously because it would be unhealthy.

At the moment I don't do any cardio at all! I do about half an hour of calistinethics every night/second night.
I drink probably too much, smoke only when Im drinking.Benders twice a week usually.
Since getting off college ive become more lazy and just have less energy and my skin has turned to s.hit.e Im finding it harder to do little things and i'm bloated a lot. Also Ive been diagnosed with depression and the doc says that exercise helps a lot.

I need an exercise programme to get fit and healthy and a more structured diet. But since I am new to this I don't have a clue where to start!

Any pointers? Btw, Im 5 ft 7.5 and weight between 7st 10 and 8 stone..depending on time of the month etc.

Im female and 19.

Any pointers? any help appreciated!

Colm_OReilly

Hi,

The best thing you could do is start a heavy weights program. This would firm you up in the areas you need to.

Also, you'll need to sort out the diet to tighten up the stomach. Reducing carbs, increasing protein/healthy fats is the way to go.

PM me if you'd like more information.
Colm

rubadub

username4321 wrote: »

I do about half an hour of calistinethics every night/second night.

What does this consist of? I would agree with Colm about the heavy weights, at the moment your body might give you enough resistance. For best muscle development most would advice exercise where you can do 8-12 reps maximum. e.g. if you can do only 3 pushups, you could do them on your knees which is easier. Say you can do 15pushups on your knees, you could do 3 proper ones and then drop to your knees to lower your reps.

I could do 50+ pushups so do different variations like pike pushups where I can only do about 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTnMUg-iqkE

Yapamillias

Your looking for two things, firsty to 'tone' up, thats gonna involve hitting the weights are performing body weight exercises (Squats, lunges, dips, press ups etc, and secondly to look 'leaner' you will have to lose body fat to reveal more muscle and give the appearance of longer more defined muscles. So stick with your aerobic exercies but throw in some muscle building ones as well and you will be sorted.

eclectichoney

Yapamillias wrote: »

Your looking for two things, firsty to 'tone' up, thats gonna involve hitting the weights are performing body weight exercises (Squats, lunges, dips, press ups etc, and secondly to look 'leaner' you will have to lose body fat to reveal more muscle and give the appearance of longer more defined muscles. So stick with your aerobic exercies but throw in some muscle building ones as well and you will be sorted.

I completely agree that resistence training is the way to go, but I really disagree that the OP needs to lose more bodyfat. 7 stone 10lbs at 5 ft 7.5" is a very low weight.

OP I used a total body training type programme for the first while with good results, basically it involved hitting both your upper and lower body parts (e.g. arms, back, glutes, quads) each session, and maybe doing a session three times a week. there are some great fitness logs by girls in the fitness logs forum which could give you some ideas (Green Athene springs to mind as one!) If you don't have access to a gym, as rubadub suggests, there is lots you can do using your own bodyweight (walking lunges with 2l bottles of ballygowan ftw!)

Yapamillias

eclectichoney wrote: »

I completely agree that resistence training is the way to go, but I really disagree that the OP needs to lose more bodyfat. 7 stone 10lbs at 5 ft 7.5" is a very low weight.

OP I used a total body training type programme for the first while with good results, basically it involved hitting both your upper and lower body parts (e.g. arms, back, glutes, quads) each session, and maybe doing a session three times a week. there are some great fitness logs by girls in the fitness logs forum which could give you some ideas (Green Athene springs to mind as one!) If you don't have access to a gym, as rubadub suggests, there is lots you can do using your own bodyweight (walking lunges with 2l bottles of ballygowan ftw!)

At 7 stone 10lbs and 5ft 7.5" the OP does NOT need to lose weight. If her weight is maintained while losing body fat OR increased while reducing body fat and increasing muscle mass then that would be much more healthy. Basically lose body fat but maintain her weight is what I was suggesting. :rolleyes:

The ballygowan squats and lunges make for a perfect home gym :pac: