7 weeks: will I see results??

[Fbd2015]

Hello


I am going on a trip and need to get bikini ready by that time! I wish I could have started earlier...

So right now I am 130 and 5'6". I'm a girl.
For the last month I had concentrated on strength training with light cardio only three days a week. I saw little budge on the scale. When I started I hadn't worked out in 2 years. I also had been eating big portions. I have a body like an old woman even though I'm within 'healthy weight' limit. But measurements are 36 29 1/2 36. Can you see the problem here? I tend to gain weight in mid section and back...I know gross. haha.

natural weight actually rests around 120. I have a very petite frame and right now I look over weight at this weight and always have done. Every who sees also agrees that natural weight, for frame, looks better the low end of 120. I have very small bones and so for me this is carrying ten extra pounds.


goal in the next 7 weeks: to lose 7-10 pounds
Here is what I am now doing:
The last week and a half I have kicked cardio into high gear. 7 days a week I do 30-45 minutes. I am also hitting all muscles. In the last week it seems I have already dropped a pound or two on new plan.
I am hitting all of muscles: abs, upper back, lower back, legs, arms. I am also now going to do daily 50 crunches + daily 50 glute bridges. For arms and back I am using weights, but for most everything else i am just using own body weight like for squats etc as I was so weak before starting a month ago. So own body weight for much of these was perfect.
I am also going to cut down portions by by 1/4 or 1/2 of what they were.

Do you think seeing any difference in body and losing 10 pounds is realistic in 7 weeks? Will strength training make any impact of the tone-ness of body if I add some extra sets? I was doing 2 sets. Now I am going to do 3-4 the next 7 weeks.

Thanks so much

[Fitafter50]

Losing 7-10 pounds in 7 weeks is not unrealistic. Even if you end up losing less than that, you can definitely make a noticeable difference in your muscle tone in that time, especially given that you are not really overweight to begin with. I find intervals great for burning fat--you might want to make 2 of your cardio sessions shorter, but do intervals instead of a steady pace.

[Boss Man]

Hi Fdb, good to speak to you.

Intervals are a good way to go as Fit says, as there is the possibility that unlike steady state cardio they don't become adaptive, so your body shouldn't get used to the intervals causing them to lose efficacy.

Don't be radical on the portions, because if the body thinks it's not getting enough calories, it could go into something called a starvation mode and hang onto calories, then you would fail to lose any or much fat and many people who struggle to lose weight eat 1,200 calories or less of healthy food but the weight loss stalls pretty quickly within weeks.

I also wouldn't be doing cardio every day it's a bit overkill

You could do weights on a high weight low rep principle, as gaining 1lb of muscle burns an extra 45-50 calories so as long as you're doing it right, you'll be fine and you'll change your body composition to a slightly healthier one even if your net loss was 5lbs in weight.

So this is what might work for you.

Day 1. Weights

Day 2. Cardio

Day 3. Weights

Day 4. Day off

Day 5. Cardio

Day 6. Weights

Day 7. Day off

What times do you eat at and what foods do you eat at those times?

[Fbd2015]

Thanks so much guys for your reply!

I just eat three meals a day. 100% natural/ organic. I only drink water with lemon and occasionally pomegranate juice or coconut water.

If I get hungry in between I eat carrot sticks or fruit. I actually naturally am not a person who has ever liked snacks. I don't really get hungry in between meals. Never have. Naturally as a person I don't eat big portions. But the last 6 months I was keeping pace with husband more and eating more. So I'm trying to be more mindful for portion size now.

When I calcuated calories yesterday I was at 1350. And I ate a good amount yesterday. I was more concious about how much olive oil i put on stuff. Normally I drench it on salad lol.

So normally I think I would have eaten another 200 calories a day. Will 13-1400 be ok you think?

Thanks!

[Boss Man]

I would go higher than that in truth. 1,400 calories a day would not be sufficient in view for what you're doing, as it's still 400 short of the sedentary female average.

You can use loads of things that are snacks or combine to make snacks, like microwave baked beans, rice and soup dishes, vegetables like pineapple, celery and sticks and raw carrot, fruits including tomatoes and cucumber, sandwiches, bread, beef, turkey, ham, pork and chicken from a packet, boiled eggs, nuts, peanuts, low sugar yoghurt, flax seeds, oat granolas, canned tuna, but limit tuna to 3 portions a week as per recommendations relating to heavy metal content and crisps a.k.a. potato chips, because these days they can have less saturates in them and healthy fats like sun seed and often can sometimes be under 200 calories.

You could also have protein bars if you get a good one like quest bars, but any sort of bars that avoid cheap and nasty ingredients like HCFS and hydrogenated vegetable oil, but offer at least 25g protein and preferably the same amount of carbs, but then that's 200 calories so you could have something else with that, but if it's one with about 30g protein and a similar carb profile, then you're looking at around 220-250 calories, so you could have that on its own on a non-workout day, or decide whether the calories a little two low and combine it with something like two celery sticks or a raw carrot or a small tomato as examples.

Avoid the 99 calorie snacks though as they won't help you reach your goals too well. Around 200-250 calories per snack would be better and 150 at least.

You'll find that you should be okay using this strategy and hopefully if your calorie intake is around 2,000 on workouts days would work and around 200 less on the following day, so then you could have 6 meals like you would on workout days, but reduce by around 50 calories on the last 4 meals.

[Fbd2015]

Thanks so much guys for all your tips!!