need to tone up and be lean. i need help

[aintnobody]

Thank you Boss Man:) It's just that I really don't wanna be overwhelming.

This learning curve process is quite a mental fight in me, because this is when I realize how impatient I am. Truth is that I start seeing the results of workouts and healthier eating habits, but it's quite strange for now. biceps are really starting to show; however, triceps are not and I don't really get why, because I train them just as much. Maybe it takes longer for triceps to show through? arms haven't slimmed down and I'm afraid they won't ever. The upper four of the six pack is also starting to show through, not the lower two, though:S I mean these are good signs altogether, right? I need fat to disappear:D Till then, I'm experimenting with the eating stuff.

[aintnobody]

Thank you Boss Man:) You're very kind:)

It's just that I really don't wanna be overwhelming.

This learning curve process is quite a mental fight in me, because this is when I realize how impatient I am. Truth is that I start seeing the results of workouts and healthier eating habits, but it's quite strange for now. biceps are really starting to show; however, triceps are not and I don't really get why, because I train them just as much. Maybe it takes longer for triceps to show through? arms haven't slimmed down and I'm afraid they won't ever. The upper four of the six pack on abs is (are?) also starting to show through, not the lower two, though:S I mean these are good signs altogether, right? I need fat to disappear:D Till then, I'm experimenting with the eating stuff.

[vamp]

IF we talk about the abs alone, the bottom two are always the last two to show and your body fat really needs to be low to get them popping. What triceps exercises do you do? Diamond pushups really hit them as well as shoulders, chest, back and abs. Properly done dips also reach these areas and of course there are weighted exercises as well. Which ones are you focusing on? Regardless of which, it is very important to go through the full range of motion and do enough weight to challenge yourself. Combine these with keeping the elbows tucked in closer to the body.

[aintnobody]

so, if I keep myself to the diet, then eventually body fat will go lower? not that I madly want the six-pack to show, just get rid of most of the fat.

I do tricep dips and tricep kick-backs with dumbells (although I don't own heavier dumbells, I just have 1.5 kilo ones). I haven't heard about the diamond pushups, although I'm guessing it's the one where you have your hands, elbows lower under your body (below your face kind of) than in case of a normal pushup (and maybe you're on your knees with the diamond one or that's just the easier version)? I can't always properly express myself in English, so this might sound a little awkward:D Anyway, I'll search for it now on google:D Thank you. So probably, I'll have to do more tricep exercises? When I do the dips and the kickbacks, I do focus on the range of motions, because I really do wanna feel it in muscles:)

[vamp]

When doing your dips keep your elbows tucked into your side (no chicken wings, that can damage shoulders). The kickbacks with 1.5 Kilos is probably getting light for you, there is bench dips you could look up as well...

This is a video for a diamond push up and he explains it very well. (He's not too hard on the eyes either ) You will probably have to paste it into your browser bar.

http://www.howcast.com/videos/503574-Ho ... rm-Workout" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He explains other exercises as well, don't be afraid to check them out. I think he is pretty thorough in his explanations and keeps it easy for new people to understand. I am not trying to promote him specifically in any way but thought that this could help you specifically to understand the technique.

Hope this helps!

[Boss Man]

Stick with the diet Ruth and if needs be alter one or two things with the workout. The problem could occur that you could misconstrue how your progress is going, then make wholesale changes particularly to your diet and the training as well and undo the hard work, or stunt progress.

Minor training changes might be okay for now if needs be as a learning process, but you needn't over-analyse too much right now and be concerned, it's perfectly okay .

Keep pushing and keep believing, because you ARE worth it .

[aintnobody]

Yeah, I guess the weights are light for me. At least when I do the kickbacks. Today I will start weight training with longer tricep exercises and then do a whole body training. Thanks for the link:)

Boss Man: I think I am getting obsessed with the numbers and that's not good because usually they don't fit. I mean, I try to plan meals to reach 1800-2000 Kcals, but no matter what I do, with that amount of calories, either carbs or fats are going to go high. So I figure it would be a better idea to not be really concerned with numbers and simply eat healthy food, preferably less sugar (although I eat healthy stuff, I still think sugar intake is high). Also, it still seems impossible for me to eat even 1800 Kcals. I reach 1600 at best:D I can't eat normal amounts, just very small proportions. And by the time I reach 5th or 6th meal, I realize that the day is gone and I'm still at around 1300, although I feel like I ate a lot during the day. Two days ago, though, I think I reached 1900, but that was because I went to a bar with colleagues and drank 3 cans of beer, which is not the best to get proper amount of calories:D

I'm just curious how much more time do I need to start seeing arms and and thighs toning? But I guess, as you said, this is the learning part, so it will obviously take longer. I just read a lot of comments saying how fast they lost fat (like two weeks or a month); and I'm like, "how the hell?" how come I can't do that?"

Thanks for encouraging me; I'm definitely not giving up (maybe just the "counting calories" part)

[aintnobody]

woah. I definitely can't do the diamond pushup:D I can't even hold myself up, hands are shaking so much; wrists hurt too. It kindda seems impossible, but I guess I'm just too weak to able to do it. I'm sticking with the dips for now.

[vamp]

no worries, just keep those elbows in so you don't hurt the shoulders

[Boss Man]

Try wall pushups if you're having problems with the diamond ones, as they use the same technique, but by using a wall you're vertical not horizontal.

Don't be too concerned about the carbs and fats differing. Counting calories works for some, but if you just took it to extremes then people could end up counting grains of rice and flakes of cereal and putting milk on cereal with a pipette drop by drop.

It almost sounds like a scenario from a Kubrick film.

Everybodies body is different. Some people claim to lose weight at a certain rate, but don't forget you may take a bit longer and also if you gain muscle, then weight loss could be improved by the added calorie burning, but also you'll be adding any muscle gain onto any weight loss, so the weight loss total might seem a bit lower.

One way to notice if anything is happening, is to measure and / or observe the waist. If the waist looks thinner, or is resading a smalelr measurement from time to time, then weight loss is happening.

I appreciate sometimes these things can be confusing, but don't necessarily read other peoples accounts then try to measure yourself against them, as some of what they do can be an example, but you're your own person not an imitation or replica of them, so why use their accounts as a yardstick against what you're doing, then make yourself confused and uncertain as to whether you're doing things right or not?

You do need more time to see results and patience is a virtue. I am sure you'll become more patient over time and you must remember that often females take a bit long then males to obtain results, so don't think about this too much yet, because if you do compare yourself to others and create doubt and uncertainty it might temp you to stray off the diet and exercise regimes you're going through right now and as I said undo or stunt progress.

Keep focusing on yourself Ruth and try not to let doubt or other peoples stories, or indeed anything, get in the way of what you want. Keep looking ahead, recognise that change is almost certainly coming and embrace the new you that wakes up every day, because little by little I'm sure it's working out for you.

I'm proud of you and I want you to relax a bit more, don't think too much about all this and just keep focusing straight ahead with confidence and with purpose.

You can be proud of yourself and i'm sure things will be okay in time yeah, but I do appreciate more of you ladies than men, can get a little more on edge or uncertain about things like this and it's perfectly okay .

[aintnobody]

Hey guys,

Stupid question probably, but: do you think it's possible that right arm is more slender (or let's just say thinner) than left, or am I just imagining things? Not that there's a remarkable difference, but I do see that it's thinner. And if so, why is that?

Oh, and on those days when I do not burn as many calories (like weight training days when I don't go bicycling, like today) should I eat less than 2000 Kcal?

[vamp]

All of us have symmetrical body parts that are larger/smaller slightly lower or higher or set slightly back or forward for example, eyes, breasts, arms, lungs, toes, legs, etc. It is normal and nothing to worry about.

always eat the 2000 calories, body is still repairing and building even when you are not working out.

As for burning less calories on weight days, don't be fooled. For a cardio workout, your metabolism speeds up and you burn (just for numbers sake) 400 calories. Very shortly after your metabolism drops back to normal. On a weight day, during your weight workout your metabolism ramps up and you burn about 200 calories. But, here's the kicker, after weight training your metabolism slowly drops back to normal taking 12-48 hours to go to normal. So the cumulative increase in metabolism over the time can often burn more calories than your single cardio workout. This is another reason why you should maintain your calorie consumption from day to day.

Hope this helps!!

[aintnobody]

Hi guys,

I decided to check in, because I've made some changes recently regarding diet. Ca. a week ago I decided to consume just a minimum amount of carbs, because I think, body reacts quite badly to carbs (especially sugars - all kinds). I think that's where most of the fat comes from. Of course, I'm not sure, but I haven't seen much result with a healthy but carbohydrate-wise full diet, so what I did was cut down carbs to the minimum, keep the protein amount high and keep the fat amount relatively normal. I do eat carbs, once per day, in the morning. It is either whole wheat bread with very low sugar (or even bread without sugar, I actually like the taste) or musli and I drink one cup of coffee latte with 2 teaspoons of sugar. And that's it for the carbs. I then eat chicken and fish salads, tuna salad and scrambled eggs (usually 2 or 3) , everything cooked in coconut oil . In Budapest, you can't get canned tuna in water, only oiled ones, which I actually like and I don't mind the oil, although,I do drain most of it and not spill it on the salad. I try drinking more water, too. Hitherto I have been drinking flavored water, but I just realized it's packed with sugar, so I stopped drinking it. Now I drink regular water (1-1,5 liters) and 3-4 cups of unsweetened tea (okay, there is usually one cup in the day when I use honey, but I don't dare to do that a lot, because I already drink one coffee latte with sugar in the morning and I fear it might be too much).

As to workouts, I switched to doing more HIIT cardio (3-4 times a week, 20-30 minutes) and little less weight training (2 or 3 times a week 40 min), sometimes I do both (plus biking) in one day. I keep cycling as much as I can, but the weather is getting quite rainy and windy, so opportunities for cycling were cut back a little.

I assume this is definitely not the best way of combining diet and workouts. I do feel less energetic, but I do believe that for me cutting back carbs drastically is the only way I can get rid of most of the fat covering muscles. I'm constantly dying to eat chocolate, but hey, sacrifices must be made, right?:D Having a sweet tooth becomes a curse at times like this:D

I know that after one week, there would not be many results; however, I definitely see that muscles started to show (I guess the previous two months of relatively healthy eating and a lot of workouts is responsible for that; maybe not eating many carbs in the last week can have an effect too).

So... I'm just interested in your opinions:)

I hope you're doing great.

[vamp]

perhaps cutting all the carbs is not great... fruit and veg is needed and they fall under carb.... wheat product carbs are probably the hardest for you so perhaps limiting those but then utilize rice, oatmeal, quinua, and other grains would be beneficial. Often chocolate can mean your body wants more protein, and often it wants read meat. I don't know your diet restrictions or if you have any do to money, religion, availability, etc.... but if read meat is not an option, make sure protein is part of every meal you eat.

Your water consumption for your activity level also seems low... you can feel weaker and less energetic from just 2-3% dehydration. Try to bump up the water intake by 1/2 - 1 liter a day and check that tea for caffeine... you may have too much caffeine in your system with a coffee and 3-4 cups of your tea.

Perhaps to allow us a better view of your diet, write down each meal you eat in a day, the time and how much of each item (estimate is fine). Also when you drink your beverages and how much. This might allow for an understanding of why your energy levels are where they are as well.

Have a great day

[Boss Man]

I'd have more sensible approach to carb cutting, so instead of one meal with carbs and the rest without, you could look at it in these simple terms.

Meal 1. grain and / or fruit

Meal 2. Fruit including cucumber, pumpkin and tomato as they don't need cooking, or raw veggies.

Meal 3. Same as meal 2 or cooked veggies.

Meal 4. Same as meal 2 with no fruit bar the listed ones.

Meal 5. Same as meal 4.

Meal 6. same as meal 4 or no carbs, unless you only have 5 meals in which case use this maxim for meal 5 instead of what was listed.

Limit to 20g per meal and if you think that's a bit much limit to 10g per meal.

You're active enough that you'll use it for energy, but still use some of your fat intake for energy as well, but because 40% of your protein intake can be used to created glycogen stores, particularly in the muscles, the carbs will help because the mechanism, which I admit I don't fully understand, works I believe by utilising insulin production, so stimulating the insulin with carbs would improve your usable energy stores if all that makes sense.