Whats best toning for apple shaped girl?

confusedgirl

I'm 5'1 and tend to comfort eat so my weight yo-yos. Because I'm so small, my goal weight would be BMI 19 (7st3)-I want to be size 6 in every shop. I know normal weight range under the BMI index is between 20-25 so is it ok to be 19?

Why is bodyfat % important? I'm in my early 20s with a small-medium build, tipping onto medium because of my stomach grr! What exercise(s) would get lose body fat (not water weight) and give me more muscle? What would my ideal bodyfat range be?

I gain weight on abdomen first-its my main problem!! Afterwards I would gain weight on my back, then ass, then legs then everywhere else. Generally, my legs and arms are slim and relatively shapely naturally with small bust so I do look out of proportion shape wise because of my stomach. From what I hear, yoga/pilates with cardio is good so I'm going to try that but does anyone have better suggestions? Or any training plans? Weekly training plans really motivate me!

TommyKnocker

Hi Confusedgirl

Losing body fat wil be mostly achieved by eating a clean diet 95%-98% of the time and the battle is won 80% in the kitchen and 20% with exercise.

Your body fat % is a better indicator of your body composition then BMI. BMI does not take into account your lean to fat ratio. The higher ratio of muscle you have, the faster your matabolism will be, which helps you burn fat and stay lean.

I am a male, 5' 6" and weigh just under 12st. My BMI is 26.8 which is considered over weight. However I have a 30" waist and a body fat level of 11%-12%.

Post up an outline of a typical days food intake and any exercise you currently do. This will help folk here to point to problem areas with diet and how to tweak you workout routine to best suit your goals.

Yoga and Pilates are both very good and cardio will help you get fit.

Yoga AFAIK will mostly benifit your flexability and will help twoards toning your muscles. Pilates AFAIK is more geared towards strengthening and elongating the muscle. Although both of these forms of exercise are really good, they would not be my first choice if my goal was to lose bodyfat.

You should also consider some form of resistance training (weight training), and don't worry, you will not end up like Arnie lifting weights . If your not a member of a gym, you could pick up a cheap set of weights, dumbells or a set of kettle bells and a swiss ball and put together a good routine you could do at home.

There is a guy on these forums (Transform) who is a Personal Trainer, who I am sure would give you some pointers on structuring a routine geared towards your goals.

Well that's probably enough waffle for now


Best of luck

M

confusedgirl

I was size 6-8, more an 8 and about 8st6lbs. [I think Irish sizing is bit big tbh]. My menstrual cycle stopped for 6months when I did this diet. I didnt exercise:

Breakfast: 30g porridge/ 2 weetabix/ 30g non-sugary cereal with skim milk. Sometimes apple/banana or both.
Lunch:Salad (lettuce, tomato, peppers, spring onion etc) with 1 or 2 slices of ham/chicken/turkey. Apple/Banana/kiwi. If I had fruit, one or two pieces.
Dinner: Usually the same as lunch or else tomato soup. Sometimes I would have tomato tuna with veg or chicken/fish with veg/stirfry.

When I diet, I drink diet coke and eat chewing gum incessantly. I also have problems managing to drink 2litres of water- I usually manage 1-1.5litres. I'm good with managing portion sizes. I weigh out all my carbohydrates and follow weight watchers diet plan (the core plan which is a natural diet that gives you additional "points" should you need a treat-i generally wouldn't use the extra points). I don't drink or smoke.

When I binge eat, I go mad. Carbs, sugar, mayo and spreads, junk food and fast food are the main things. In particular bread, jam, sugary cereal etc. I become addicted to these foods so once I start eating them again, its like I'm back to square one so the whole "have a treat occasionally" advice doesnt work. I've really tried it but it always ended up with me overeating again so now I just think its best to cut them out altogether. I cut out alcohol already completely and I dont miss it anymore.well ok a bit on nights out! but its not worth the hassle because it really made my weight fluctuate too much. I've never smoked and dont do weed or any drugs. Not my cup of tea at all! I find making all my food from scratch works better for me because there is less sugar in everything. A lot of the processed stuff has hidden sugars which I believe trigger my overeating along with the main thing-> my comfort eating.:(

Exercise is the main issue. I start but dont stick to it. I like running so will take that up again and find the gym bit boring-ipod is only way i manage at all! So thats why I was thinking of doing yoga/pilates. Sometimes I did the Davina McCall dvd workouts too which are pretty good actually-cardio interval training with her 2personal trainers. I have a few exercise dvds that I think I'll use to get me started before I head back to gym-is that a good idea??? Anybody got other exercise tips??

Thanks to previous poster-really helpful post!:) Sorry for rambling on a bit, plz bear with me!

confusedgirl

if im being honest actually, for dinner it usually was just salad or soup. I didnt bother cooking much really. maybe once or twice a week max, not usually.

TommyKnocker

Hi Again

Apologies in advance if this turns into a book

Please also understand that I am no expert and have no qualifications in exercise, nutrition etc. This is just my 2 cent's worth for what it's worth.

Firstly, I would say that you have to ditch the idea that you are "on a diet".

You are making changes to your life style to include exercise and are changing your eating habits

The foods listed in your diet seem pretty ok, though I would ditch the slices of meat and cook and slice your own meat. However this is a very small amount of food for an entire day and the diet is seriously lacking in protein and healthy fats. I would be surprised if this diet provided you with your daily calorie requirements. This could explain why you find yourself craving sweet things (carbs).

The first thing you should do is work out your daily calorie requirements. To do this you can use the Harris Benedict Formula (see below)

Harris Benedict Formula

English BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Now you should never eat less calories then your BMR!!! This can cause your matabolism to decrease, which will cause your body to decrease muscle mass and store more fat. This is the opposite of waht you want.

If your goal is to lose body fat from your tummy area, then you should reduce your daily calories by between 300-500 calories, no more. One point to remember however is that as you loose weight, then your daily calorie requirements will also drop, so you will need to use the formula above to recalculate your figures from time to time.

This, coupled with some physical exercise should give you a weight loss of around 1-2lb per week, and most of this should be from body fat. Don't get hung up on the number on the weighing scales either, and don't weigh yourself every day, as your weight can fluctuate by a couple of pounds from day to day, depending on hydration levels etc. Weighing once a week is more then sufficeint, and if possible weigh yourself on the same day at the same time and preferably naked (as differnt clothes at each weighing can give misleading results). If you don't hve access to getting your body fat mesured regulary, then use how your clothes fit and how you feel as a guide to your progress.

I am in the 6 small meals a day camp and find that this works for me. I would reccommend that you give it a try and see how you get on. I work off a 45% protein, 25% carbs and 30% healthy fat breakdown in my diet. I limit my starchy carb intake to oats in the morning and a wholemeal pitta for lunch and a couple of oatcakes. The rest of my carbs are mainly from fruit and veg. I try and get some form of protein with every meal also. Also healthy fats are essential.

A typical days food intake for me is as follows (though keep in mind I am male and actually trying to gain lean weight, plus I workout 6 days a week, so I don't reccommend that you follow this )

05:50 Breakfast. 30-40grm Oats, 1 tblspn mixed seeds, mixed nuts (5 almonds, 5 hazelnuts, 4 walnut halves, 3 brazil nuts), mixed berries )strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) with 200ml no fat milk. Mug of green tea

07:30 At desk. Mug of green tea

08:30 At desk in work. 1 scoop of protein powder with creatine and glutamine mixed with 225ml low fat milk, 2 oat cakes with peanut butter.

10:30 break. 1 apple, 1 kiwi and 2 tblspns peanut butter or 5 almonds and 5 cashew nuts. Mug of green tea.

13:00 lunch. 1 wholemeal pitta with either chicken, turkey, beef, tuna, mixed salad leaves and veg (peppers, spring onions, red onions, cherry tomatoes etc), 1 banana, 1 appleand 1 natural yogurt. Mug of green tea.

16:00. 1 scoop of protein powder with 250ml low fat milk. Home made cotage chees and fruit mousse, 2 oat cakes with peanut butter.

18:00-20:00 GYM

20:10, Post workout shake. 2 scoops of protein, 2 scoops of glucose, 5g creatine, 5g glutamine Mixed with 450ml water.

21:30 dinner. Usually 2 pieces of meat and green veg. (last night was a 5oz fillet steak, a 5oz chicken breast, sprouts, brocolli and green beans. Mug of Camomile tea.

I would usually get through around 3lt of fluids a day. I keep a bottle of water on my desk at all times to sip from. I will get through up to 1.5lt in the gym. I also drink mugs of water at various times throughout the day. I count the green tea as part of my fluid intake also. A indicator of whether you are sufficiently hydrated is the color of your urine. It should be a pale yellow color. Clear and you have probably gone a little OTT on the water. Darker yellow and you have not taken in enough.

I find that eating this way, I never feel bloated after any meal and never feel starving before a meal either. It's just a matter of working out the number of calories required for your goals, dividing this number by 6 (for the number of meals) and then applying the 40, 25, 35 formula to come up with what to eat. It takes a bit of work at the start, but after a while it just becomes second nature really.

For physical exercise, you need to find something that you enjoy, as this will mean that you are more likely to keep it up. So if running is your thing, then start running. But once you build up your fitness to where you can run for 30-40 minutes at a time, start to mix things up a bit. Start to introduce interval training into your routine 1 or two days. i.e. sprint as fast as you can for say 30 seconds, recover and go again. Build up to doing this for 10 sprints. When you find this easy, then increase the duration of the sprint and/or try to decrease the recovery period.

Also try and include bodyweight exercises such as push ups, bodyweight/air squats, burpees, pullups,chinups etc. You could also look at picking up a kettlebell and doing some work with that. Youtube will give you short videos of these exercise plus a lot more besides.

Finally make the changes little by little and remember that this will be your lifestyle from now on. This is not something that you do to reach a goal and then stop. So when you make a change, make it with this in mind. But don't forget that life is for living and enjoying. So your healthy life choices should be something that adds to your life, it should not feel like drudgery.


Best Regards & Good Luck,

M