1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Trying to lose weight but I dont think its working

Discussion in 'Physical & Sexual Health' started by icantpickaname, Dec 11, 2016.

  1. icantpickaname

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2016
    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Adelaide
    Sexual Orientation:
    Questioning
    Hi everyone,

    I weigh 77kg and Im 172.5 cm and I have a lot of flab on arms and belly I have a permeant muffin top. For the past few months I have been trying to lose weight I am going to the gym 3 times a week (sometimes I only get 1-2 if im real busy im a student in year 12 or if I have doctors appointments I also cant get there myself its to far away I have to get dropped off) and I havn't noticed any difference I hate going its not enjoyable and there is nothing fun about not being able to breathe and feeling like your going to throw up after running for 30 seconds.Im not sure why its not working? this is what I do at the gym.

    1. I start with a 10 min warm up on the treadmill usually fast walking with and without incline

    2. Then I do either 2 sets of 15 or 3 sets of 10 on all the resistance training machines (eg. leg press, the shoulder ones?? the rowing machine, the one that does your back? the one that does pecs? etc. the first few times I did this the week after it killed it was so bad but now i feel no pain after, it burns when i do it i do as much as i can without my legs and arm giving out but then after it doesnt hurt I thought it was meant to and I dont think Iv gotten stronger, so I upped the weight and I lift as much as I can and still nothing hurts after.

    3. once I have done all this I will use the resistance bands on my arms and sometimes do real easy girl push ups (i still struggle with this) I dont do push ups sit ups planks etc because I cant do them no matter how hard i try it hurts and I workout alone so I have no one to hold my legs down for sit ups

    4. I will do the rest of my workout as cardio i try to do HIIT but I dont think I do it right I will warm up with medium walking then I will turn the speed up ti 11-12 then try and run (i usually only last 30 sec no longer than 40sec) then I go back to walking sometimes I need to stop all together for about 1 min sometimes 2 (im unfit and hate cardio) I cant do this long if I do it for 10-20 min continuous I feel faint and like im going to throw up for hours after and I feel weak so I have started doing this maybe 4 intervals then I switch to a speed of 5-6 on an incline and I increase the incline by 1 every min and usually do this for about 15-20 min the max incline on the treadmill is 15.

    Im also editing my eating I am trying to cut out the snacking (im a compulsive and emotional eater I just eat when im bored, sad, angry etc) I have cut out snacking and not eating after 8:30pm I did try counting calories but I was becoming obsessed and verging on eating disorder territory I ate 200 cal over and I wanted to throw it up so I was under the calories, It also was time consuming and after my research i found it is often hard to keep up I need something that I can keep up for life. I also considered Macronutrient counting but I had the same issue with the obsession and Im worried I wont keep it up I dont really want to be counting macros when Im old. Are calorie and Macro counting worth it?

    I really need to lose the weight I hate myself and my body and its only going to get worse and I need to get it under control. Im not sure what to do any advice/help? Im also considering doing a karate/self defence course 1-2 a week but it would get rid of one of my 3 workout at the gym so should I drop one session at the gym or only do one Karate lesson?
     
  2. Ram90

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Nov 18, 2015
    Messages:
    1,108
    Likes Received:
    394
    Location:
    Canada
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I'm no expert, but I have lost some weight and am working on keeping it that way (without putting it back on) right now.

    I stuck to what ever I eat regularly. My family are vegetarian rice-eaters. That's what we eat on a daily basis, so I ate through wheat, barley, rye, oats, quinoa basically everything and then came back to rice since I came down with Gluten Intolerance. Now I just portion. I used to eat a big bowl of rice with curry, stew, yogurt or stir fry. Now I eat basically the same portion of curry, stew or yogurt, but I reduced the amount of rice by almost 75%.

    It was hard at first, but I measured everything I ate for a week, now I have standard plates, cups and bowls. I don't need to measure anymore since I know the quantities now. The basic rule I follow is stick to a calorie deficient diet. I'm not suggesting this is something you do, my nutrionist/dietician suggested it to me since I almost morbidly obese. I'm not an expert so don't take my words for granted. I limit my daily intake to 1200 calories. I basically have 300 calories for breakfast, 500 for lunch, 200 150 calories in the evening and 250 at Dinner.

    I cut sugar completely. If I want to drink Coffee, I do so, but with no sugar. No soda/fizzy drinks. No store bought biscuits/cookies/chocolates anything at all. I indulge only in mint. Besides that I eat anything. I eat even the most calorie-heavy curry or rice item but in a tiny portion. I love going out to eat at Buffets, since I can choose what I want to eat. I take one tiny serving of everything and I'm content.

    As for exercise, I believe a lot in HIIT. I do it for around half an hour atleast 4 times a week. The rest of the times I take long walks (4-5 kilometers) atleast 2-3 times a week. 3 times a week I do 2-3 reps on all the machines in the gym (except the cardio ones) too. It took me a while to notice some changes. The most immediate ones were obviously stiff muscles and it was painful. You need to make sure you're not in too much pain though, since that's bad. The usual muscle soreness is what you normal get when your inactive muscles become extra active (lol).
     
  3. anthracite

    anthracite Guest

    Maybe have some weights at home so you can work out more often and don't get repelled by driving to the gym.

    Your weight as a number is great and I wish I had that. All you need is gain muscle and this will burn calories. In your case, numbers are a very bad consultant.
     
  4. Sawyer

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 11, 2016
    Messages:
    199
    Likes Received:
    41
    Location:
    Toronto
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    After being in a very complicated 3 year relationship with a woman whom I thought I would marry, ended in her cheating, I gained a lot of weight. For 2yrs I cut myself off from everybody. 2016 resolution was to better myself and get out of my rut and find someone. I started my journey at 5'7 and 275 pounds in January of 2016 and now I am down to 184. I still have a ways to go, but I found:

    1.) cutting calories. I never deprived myself of things, but I found my craving for sweets reduced significantly. I stayed around 1,000 calories a day (I wouldn't recommend that, I have problems with PCOS and my legs which make it harder for me to lose weight so I did drastic measures with guidance from a doctor)

    2.) in the beginning, I did 4 days of high intensity cardio. I breaked for 2 months because I was sick in the summer, and found I lost more weight when I started back up again.

    3.) taking stairs, walking -- just the extra things to add to my calories burned per day. A little bit helps.

    4.) this is important: I didn't start seeing results until May (started in January). If you keep it up, you will lose it. You may get discouraged because you don't see anything but it's happening.

    Keep up the work. Any little bit helps. I do have to start weights once I get to my goal weight.
     
  5. Anthemic

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,890
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Alabama
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I recently started taking nutrition classes and I've learned a lot in the past several months. You need to focus on protein. Protein does not turn into fat, it speeds up your metabolism, and it keeps you fuller longer. Try this routine for a bit and see what happens:

    Breakfast: Drink a protein shake with no more than 15g of carbs and no more than 5g of sugar. (I recommend Premier Protein. You can get a pack of four at Walmart, in the pharmacy section, for about $8. They have vanilla, chocolate, banana, strawberry, and sometimes caramel). Make sure you refrigerate them first. They aren't real dairy, but trust me, they taste so much better when cold. Also, eat either 2 eggs (no butter), or a protein bar (Special K has really good ones).

    Lunch: Cook yourself some grilled or boiled chicken. If you like ranch, get yourself some LIGHT ranch and pour about a tablespoon of it on a plate/bowl. You can even use other dipping sauces (but portion them and watch for carbs). You can also add a startch to your meal (like 1 piece of bread or a few crackers) and a side salad.

    Snack: Cup of yogurt or another protein shake/protein bar (trust me, Special K has yummy ones, especially the chocolate chip).

    Dinner: You can repeat lunch here if you want, or you can have another kind of meat (unless you're a vegetarian. If you are, let me know and I can redo this). There's a website I was told about with good recipes. I'll have to log into my computer to get it. I'll post it here once I can.

    Eating healthy and correctly accounts for over 70% of weight loss. Exercising is nice, but it's not going to give you fast results unless you have a trainer or work out every day.
     
  6. Anthemic

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,890
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Alabama
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I found the website. It's called dietdoctor.com :slight_smile:
     
  7. Really

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    2,579
    Likes Received:
    753
    Location:
    BC
    Exercise is great but unfortunately it comes down to what you're eating. The quickest way to improve things is to stop eating any junk/fast food if you are. After that, it's all about portion control. The best way to learn how much you should be/are eating is to journal everything. Don't worry if it seems like a lot at first because that's how you're going to learn.

    There are a number of apps for tracking your food which also have communities to help you as you're working on this. Some have challenges and such to keep you motivated.

    I would advise against using protein drinks. You want to get into the habit of eating properly so you can enjoy your food for the rest of your life. A cooking class might be a fun way to get into the swing of things because you want to eat real food with actual nutrional value. Meal substitutes are a bad idea unless you're medically compromised.

    You also need to remember that with all that exercising, you need to consume enough calories to fuel it. You need so many calories to sustain life and the exercise needs its own nutrients, too.
     
  8. Anthemic

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,890
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Alabama
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I agree with everything you've said except for the protein drinks. I take nutrition classes and they have been proven to be a good way of trying to lose weight. They actually help people get into the habit of eating better. They're just good fill-ins if you're in a hurry or need to get in enough protein, but aren't in the mood for meat. They're also great substitutes for having a sweet craving, since they taste sweet. No one can drink protein drinks every single day for the rest of their life, because eventually, protein drinks get boring. I was just giving the OP a starting point to lose a bit of weight. That's why I gave them the website I posted.
     
  9. Runner5

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2014
    Messages:
    144
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Virginia
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Keep doing what you are doing OP, but I'm not sure about your cardio. Quit the treadmill for awhile and start doing your runs outside. It takes a long time to build endurance but try jogging for as long as possible.
     
  10. Really

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    2,579
    Likes Received:
    753
    Location:
    BC
    How can this possibly be true? Having a drink is in no way comparable to eating as far as learning what's good for you and how much to consume. Plus, meat is not the only way to get protein in your diet. With actual food, you're also getting other nutrients which you can't possibly be getting from artificial substitutes like a protein drink.

    Can you quote scientific studies which show the proof you are purporting here? I suspect there aren't any but I'm willing to learn.
     
  11. Anthemic

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,890
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Alabama
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I'm not basing this off of scientific studies. I learned this in a nutrition class, which has a certified RN and a Nutritionist as the ones who are in charge of the class. Where did I say protein drinks are better than real food? Not once did I say that. I said, "They actually help people get into the habit of eating better. They're just good fill-ins if you're in a hurry or need to get in enough protein, but aren't in the mood for meat." Protein drinks are a good STARTING POINT. They're great for getting in a large amount of protein. Protein has been proven to boost metabolism. I know that protein drinks aren't necessarily good substitutes long-term, which is why I posted the website above (which has recipes of real food). For example, lets say you work full time, and you don't have enough time to cook a meal. Since some people don't have time, they will usually eat fast-food or junk. What's better than a junk and fast-food? A protein drink.

    When I first started losing weight a few months ago, I hit a stall in my weight loss (just like the OP), and I could not lose anymore weight no matter how much I dieted or exercised. So, I added more protein to my diet (drinking protein drinks), which also made me feel better. By doing that, I eliminated my weight loss stall. I was eating eggs, meats, and yogurt before, and I still stalled in my weight loss because I just couldn't eat the proper amount of protein. Women should be getting in about 45-50g of protein each day. Men should be getting in about 55-60g of protein each day. Eggs have 6g of protein each. 4 oz of meat has about 20g of protein. Who wants to eat meat during every meal? Not me. That's why I gave the OP an easy alternative to eliminate their weight loss stall. If you read my first post above, you'll see where I said, "Try this for a bit", not, "Drink protein drinks for the rest of your life." I know other foods provide many other good nutrients, but right now I'm focusing on protein.

    To the OP: I also forgot to add that you need to be drinking plenty of water. 64 oz each day should be enough. If that's too much for you right away, start off at the amount you usually drink, and add 8 oz of water to that intake every other day. You will have to pee a lot at first, but once your body gets used to it, the peeing should lessen. :slight_smile:
     
    #11 Anthemic, Dec 13, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 13, 2016
  12. Really

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2014
    Messages:
    2,579
    Likes Received:
    753
    Location:
    BC
    Ok.
     
  13. Stoccata

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2013
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    All but family
    This is kind of a non sequitur...

    1.) Not all protein shakes are the same.

    2.) A protein shake doesn't have to (and shouldn't) substitute a meal.

    There are numerous studies that show that for optimal muscle hypertrophy and recovery, that a person should take in roughly one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. The only feasible way to do this is to drink protein shakes.

    Now, I agree with you that it's far more important to eat properly than it is to take protein shakes, but there's certainly nothing wrong with drinking protein shakes, so long as you don't use them to substitute meals. (This is why they're called protein supplements.)
     
  14. Stoccata

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2013
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    All but family
    Alright, I'm going to address your time issues first...

    I've found that there are very few people who absolutely cannot get themselves to a gym for an hour at least three days a week.

    You might have to rearrange your schedule, you might have to watch your favorite TV show at a later time, you might have to cut back on how much time you spend on the computer, etc.

    But I would bet that if you really wanted to, you could squeeze in an hour at the gym at least three times a week.

    Now, should you count calories/macros?

    If you're serious about wanting to lose weight, yes, you should. I know, it sounds like a pain in the ass, but it really isn't as hard as you think.

    If you want to lose fat, you need to be in a coloric deficit. That means that you burn more calories through trainingand daily activity than you consume throughout the day.

    If you want to build muscle, you need to be in a coloric surplus. That means that you need to consume more calories than you burn throughout the day.

    Now, as for how many calories you should eat, that depends.

    Calorie requirement isn't static. There isn't a magic number, so don't look for one. Diet on as many calories possible while still seing results in the mirror and on the scale. I know people that could eat more than I do in a week in one day, and could still lose fat. I also know people that have a really hard time losing weight unless they put themselves into what most people would consider and extreme caloric deficit.

    Fortunately, most people fall roughly in the middle of those two extremes. So, keeping in mind that everyone's caloric requirements are different, and that caloric requirement is never static, I recommend setting your calories as follows:

    If your goal is to build muscle, set your caloric intake at 16-18 calories per pound of body weight. I'd recommend starting on the lower end of the range to ensure that you're not gaining too much fat right away.

    If your goal is to lose fat, set your caloric intake at 11-13 calories per pound of body weight. I recommend starting on the higher end of the range, to start you on as many calories as possible.

    For example, you weigh roughly 170 lbs, so I recommend that you start out by consuming 2,210 calories per day (170 x 13).

    Now to set your macros... Because your current goal it to lose fat, I'm going to focus on that for the rest of this.

    Protein (4 calories per gram):
    Try to consume one gram of protein per pound of body weight.

    For example: you weigh 170lbs, therefore you'll take in 170g of protein each day. Good sources of protein are lean meats, eggs, and dairy products (this includes whey protein for protein shakes). And before a vegan comes along and bites my head off, yes, there's also a ton of vegan protein sources.

    Fats (9 calories per gram):
    Set your daily fat intake at 15-30% of your total calories, depending on your preference for fat or carbs. If you prefer carbs, go towards 15%. If you prefer fats, go towards 30%. It really doesn't matter as long as you stay within the range.

    For example: you weigh 170lbs, and prefer carbs. You set your daily fat intake at 15% of your total calories (which was 2,210), so rounding up, that equals 332 calories of fat. If you prefer fats, and had set your fat intake at 30%, it would equal 663 calories of fat.

    Good sources of fat are nuts and nut butters, various oils (macadamia oil, avocado oil, etc.), avacodos, and dairy products. Fats from meat, fish, and eggs are also good, but try to keep them at roughly one third of your overall fat intake.

    Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram):
    Now that protein and fat intake is set, simply fill up the remaining calories with carbs.

    There are a wide variety of sources for carbs, and as long as they're not high in sugar, there really aren't any specific ones that are better than others.

    So that should come out to something like this:
    Protein: 170 grams / 680 calories (170 x 4 = 680).
    Fats: 15-30% of 2,210 calories (let's assume 20%). 442 calories / 49 grams (0.20 x 2,210 calories ÷ 9 calories per gram)
    Carbohydrates: 2,210 - 680 (protein) - 442 (fats) = 1,088 calories ÷ 4 calories per gram = 272 grams.
    Total calories: 680 + 442 + 1,088 = 2,210 calories.

    So you end up with 170 grams of protein, 49 grams of fat, and 272 grams of carbs for a total of 2,210 calories.

    Note that depending on what percentage of fat you use, you may end up with a slightly different caloric total due to rounding. If you chose 30% for example, if you do the math, you end up with 2,214 calories. This difference is laughable, and will not make any difference whatsoever.


    Now, as for adjusting your calories and macros...

    Once you've estimated your numbers (which I essentially just did above) stick with those with at least a week before changing anything. It doesn't matter if your weight goes up and down in the meantime. You can weigh yourself every couple of days just to see where you're headed, but never change your macros on a daily basis. It's pointless, and will cause you to get into a bad habit of constantly thinking about your numbers and worrying that they're wrong, even though there's nothing wrong because you've only been on the numbers for a few days. Remember, caloric requirement is never static. Daily activity varies (often unpredictably), and if you're in a caloric deficit your body will also adapt metabolically to the circumstances. Furthermore your weight can and will vary depending on how hydrated you are, so try to weigh yourself at the same time every day.

    After a week, check your bodyweight.

    For fat loss, look for a 0.5 - 1% decrease in your body weight per week. For a 170lb person, that's a decrease in 0.75 to 1.7 pounds per week.

    If you found that you lost within that range (or more), don't change anything.

    To adjust your intake, multiply your bodyweight by 12, which using your weight of 170lbs, will give you 2040 calories per day. That's a decrease in 170 calories from the previous week.

    So, where should you cut those calories from?

    Always cut from fat or carbs depending on your preference; never cut protein.

    Let's say you prefer carbs, so you'll cut calories from fat. If it’s the other way around and you prefer fats and therefore cut carbs, that’s obviously perfectly fine.

    2210 - 2040 = 170 calories.
    170 calories / 9 = 19 grams of fat (rounded)

    So you'd cut 19 grams of fat and see what happens over the next week, and adjust accordingly.

    The key here is patience. Fat loss is never linear. So only adjust your numbers when you need to. Nutrition is about consistency and patience. It's perfectly normal for progress to stall. It doesn't mean that you're doing anything wrong, it just means that you need to make a change.


    As for your workout routine...

    I've personally fallen in love with a variation of a 5x5 program that I've tweaked somewhat for my personal preferences. I'll post it below. You should give it a try. I guarantee you'll get stronger quickly. Now, I should say that these workouts will usually take at least and hour, so you will probably not have the time or energy to do cardio on those days. If there's time, you could do some cardio on the weekend or between your other workout days. My personal preference is to do a boxing workout especially on the heavy bag if there's one available) for cardio, but 20-30 minutes of steady state cardio is perfectly fine. HIIT is fantastic, and has many benefits, but is also very demanding and thus shouldn't be used as a staple.

    Also, regarding whether you should take a self-defense or karate class... That's up to you. I think you should. Keep in mind that karate takes a long time to get good at, and may not be the best thing for learning basic self defense skills quickly. It's great once you get to a certain level, but until you get there, you'd probably be better off from a self defense standpoint if you went down to a boxing gym for six months, and attended a few self defense workshops that covered basic techniques. Just my two cents.

    Anyway, take 1-2 minutes in between sets. If there's an exercise that you can't do for some reason (lack of equipment, physically unable, etc.) feel free to swap it out for something else. Don't mess with the routine too much though.

    Monday:
    Squat - 5 x 5
    Bench - 5 x 5
    T-Bar/Barbell/Seated Cable Row - 5 x 5
    Weighted Hyperextensions - 2 x 8-10
    Abs (do whatever you want)

    On Monday, the weight for each lift is increased on each set of 5, from a light warm-up to an all out set of 5. For example, something like 95×5, 115×5, 135×5, 155×5, 175×5. The weight should be increased evenly from your first to last set. Your fifth set equals the triple from the previous Friday’s workout. (This will make sense momentarily.)

    Wednesday:
    Squat - 4 x 5
    Incline Bench/Overhead Press - 4 x 5
    Deadlift - 4 x 5
    Lat Pulldown - 4 x 10, 8, 6, 4 (drop)
    Preacher Curls - 4 x 12, 10, 8, 6 (drop)

    Squat the first 3 sets of 5 just as you did on Monday, and then do a fourth set of 5 with the same weight you used on the third set. Inclines/pressing and deadlifts should be ramped up to a top set of 5. For the pulldowns and curls, increase the weight each set, then after you complete your heaviest set, immediately perform a drop set. (For your drop, try to pick a weight where you’ll get roughly 8 reps.)

    Friday:
    Squat - 4 x 5, 1 x 3 (drop)
    Bench - 4 x 5, 1 x 3 (drop)
    T-Bar/Barbell/Seated Cable Row - 4 x 5, 1 x 3 (drop)
    Weighted dips - 3 x 5-8
    Rope Tricep Pushdowns - 3 x 8-12

    On Friday the first 4 sets are the same as Monday. Your 5th set will be a set of 3, and should be a jump of 5-10 lbs from your 5th set on Monday. After you perform your 5th set, immediately perform a drop set. (For your drop, try to pick a weight where you’ll get roughly 8 reps.)
     
  15. Anthemic

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2012
    Messages:
    1,890
    Likes Received:
    7
    Location:
    Alabama
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Would this be a good workout for someone who is 122 pounds and just wants to tone? I'm 5'2'', so not sure if that matters. I've been trying to find a good workout to get toned.
     
    #15 Anthemic, Dec 19, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2016
  16. Stoccata

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2013
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    All but family
    Hi Anthemic.

    The short answer is yes...

    The longer answer is that "toning" your muscles doesn't really exist.

    Now, I understand what you mean of course. You want your muscles to look more defined, without bulking up.

    Trust me when I say that you're not going to ever have to worry about bulking up. It takes years of very specific training and dieting to pack on large amounts of muscle.

    To look more "toned" you can either lower your body fat percentage, increase your lean muscle mass, or both (though you usually can't do both at the same time).

    That particular program is primarily a strength program, and while you will see some muscle hypertrophy while doing it, you won't see as much as you would if you were doing a bodybuilding program.

    The reason for this is that strength is largely a function of the nervous system (your nervous system becomes more efficient at recruiting more muscle fibers to exert more force), and that there's a relatively low amount of time under tension (which is key for muscle hypertrophy).

    I should also add that while muscular strength and size are correlated, it's not in the way most people think...

    An increase in strength is associated with an increase in myofibrillar hypertrophy, which increases muscle size to a smaller extent than sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (which results from hypertrophy training). However, the correlation exists due to the fact that an increase in myofibrillar hypertrophy increases the potential for sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. This basically means that the stronger you are, the more POTENTIAL you have for hypertrophic muscle growth, but if you just do strength training, you won't gain nearly as much muscle as you would if you were training specifically for muscle hypertrophy. However it is also worth noting that you cannot completely separate myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, though you can train for one over the other. I usually alternate a strength program with a hypertrophy/bodybuilding program every 8-12 weeks for this reason.


    Anyway, all that jargon essentially means that yes, that particular program will get you stronger and help you put on a little muscle, which will make you look more "toned." Make sense? :slight_smile:
     
    #16 Stoccata, Dec 19, 2016
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2016
  17. pd04

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2015
    Messages:
    75
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Michigan
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Hey!! So losing weight is actually different for everyone. It depends on your body type and what your body can/can't handle. What you eat effects your insides mainly, how you feel physically and how healthy you are. Working out effects how physically fit your body is and what your body can do.
    I recommend working out 3-4x a week with some cardio and whatever weights you can handle while doing a set of 10, rest, bump it up to the next set of weights, do a rep of 10, bump it up, and do another set of 10 reps. so total of 30 reps, each time getting heavier. That will actually tone your body.
    When your body builds muscle it burns more calories.
    Also when you workout more you become more hungry. It's important that you don't starve yourself or deprive yourself of food. Just be more mindful of what you eat, don't eat until you're too full. Don't drink a lot of soda or sugary drinks, but whatever you have do it in moderation. Many small meals throughout the day will actually boost your metabolism because your body doesn't think it needs to hold on to the calories for energy.
    It does take about 3 months before seeing progress, but if you switch up your workout routine, like when your body adjusts to one thing, make it go faster and harder. DO NOT push yourself too much, you will injure your body. Also if you are more mindful of what is in your diet, by doing those 2 things you should start to see progress.