From fat -> skinny fat -> toned!!

I DID IT!!!! WOOOOO!

I'm normally not a proud person...actually I'm quite the opposite.  I am usually full of self-hate and fail to see anything good about my body.  Today something was different..

I woke up with more energy and more awake than usual.  I got up and put on my loose-fitting shorts and tanktop to work out.  A couple minutes into my workout I thought, "Hmm this is a lot easier than it used to be!  I've actually made progress!"

To allow myself to see the progress I made, I ran and put on...SPANDEX *gasp*.  Someone gave me some last night from the 90s!  It's rather funny but I wanted to try them on anyways =P  Now, I'm home alone and will not go outside in the spandex, but I used to be so disgusted with myself I couldn't even bare to look at myself in anything somewhat form fitting!  I did my workout and after, I looked in the mirror.

I went back through my dieting/exercise history and realized just how far I have come!  I went from being an overweight teen to a very unhealthy and restrictive cardio bunny that was skinny fat.  I finally started learning and ACCEPTING that what I was doing wasn't good..so I increased my calories and started doing weighted circuits and a lot less cardio.

I WENT FROM BEING SKINNY FAT TO TONED!  I can see it in my arms (they actually got a little too muscular haha), but even in my abs and thighs!  My thighs are still big and my hips are wide...and my stomach is kinda wide too...but that's just how my body is I guess, and I'm learning to accept it! It was amazing to me that I did it...I never thought I could.  I remember before I started losing weight I wanted to go on that show on MTV called 'Made' so they could help me lose weight!  But I didn't need them!  I did it with myself and CC!

I guess I just wanted to post while I was on this high so I could look back later if my happy feelings leave me.  I want to stay positive and continue seeing progress because attitude plays a major role in success. 

Woo I'm done =P

"I'm growing spiritually, expanding mentally, living physically, building intellectually and balancing emotionally."

good for you, hip hip hooray.

now get rid of that self-hate for good, see it being burned away with the fat you got rid of. not that it should've been there in the first place. be proud, even a little vain of yourself, sounds like you deserve it.

just like you, i've spent too much time & energy on depleting thoughts about myself that i decided that its time for me to start only thinking good things about myself.  screw the self-hate, when those thoughts come up again, say "F*** YOU!!" to them. i find the anger towards those thoughts helps to put them in place in my head as i've wasted enough of my life with them.

thanks for reminding me too

and yes you're right, the right attitude is a lot.

CONGRATULATIONS!!  I looked at your gallery and you've made a lot of progress!  You look great!  :D  I was wondering what kind of exercises you do and what your exercise routine is?  I'm trying to work on toning up more.

congratulations.. you're great :)

that's awesome. im pretty toned but im always looking for new routines and i still have a severe fear of doing less cardio, but at least i'm still doing weights.

just out of curiousity... what are you stats, calorie intake and rountines as these are things im always changing.

Congratulations, that really brilliant well done.

I have just looked through your pics and you look great. Funny, in one of them you put (but still thunder thighs). Babe, you dont have thunder thighs, you really really dont. Get rid of that self hate and feel as good as you look.

Thank you all so much for your kind words!  I don't know what got into me this morning but I guess I was feeling pretty good =P haha  I'm thinking about deleting my post, though, because I'm really not that full of myself and I don't think that post was necessary haha

But to answer your questions first:

My stats: 17, 5'4", 118 lbs (I had been 113 for a while but I increased my cals and have been at least 118 for the past couple days..I don't know if it'll change again or not!)
 
For the past week or 2 I've been eating anywhere from 1900-2300 cals a day...again, I gained 5 lbs so that may be over my maintenance.  I'm toying with numbers to see what happens! 

As far as routines..I'm probably going to get some threats or get shot for saying this haha..but I do weighted circuits with low weight/high reps (I do Slim Series quite a bit).  I use 5 lb weights and wear weighted gloves, just because I don't have heavier weights.  I've heard so many people so that's a no no but it works for me.  Maybe it's because it's not JUST lifting the weights but it's a full-body cardio workout WITH the weights.

Usually I do about an hour of circuit training every other day, and my days in between are either completely sedentary or sometimes I'll do a 30-45 minute Turbo Jam workout with weighted gloves.  But like I said, I've cut out a lot of my straight cardio (like without weights) so I really only do it 1-2 times a week.  Oh yeah, if I have extra time after my circuit training I'll do a 45 minute lower body workout with ankle weights.  And, if I finished on an odd number of calories burned on my HRM, I'll jump rope a little after (usually only 5 minutes or so haha)

It's obviously not a really structured and planned routine..I just work out when I can and do the workout I feel like doing.

Sorry if that's not very helpful, but there's so many factors that influence my workouts that I can't get a real structure going!  Hopefully I'll be able to once other things start becoming regular (just got a new job and the hours are weird as of now, I'm preparing for college, still living with my parents, etc.)

Original Post by deflepfan16:

Thank you all so much for your kind words!  I don't know what got into me this morning but I guess I was feeling pretty good =P haha  I'm thinking about deleting my post, though, because I'm really not that full of myself and I don't think that post was necessary haha

 i know you are joking right, haha? *slaps some sense into*

YAY FOR YOU!  It's really great to see when someone has that moment of pride, because this is difficult(getting healthy) and every once and awhile we deserve a big pat on the back for taking care of ourselves in a culture that seems geared towards making us unhealthy.

 

Especially congrats for getting over the cardiobunny bump.. I finally got over that too, and am actually trying to gain weight in muscle so that I can lose fat and be toned.

 

Perhaps now you should wear your spandex every time!

 Hey, you rock!

 Weighted circuit training is goal-appropriate for a lot of sports including several martial arts. So your athletic conditioning should allow you to put on a Gi and go kick some butt, if you're so inclined.

 It's not the most efficient workout for fat loss or strength, but that's only two goals on a whole spectrum of possible physique goals, and it's obviously working for yours ;)

 And I think your moment of "Oh yeah, I rule!" was completely necessary ;) 

Great job! You look great!

I recently just realized the whole Fat-skinny fat-toned progression and I am working on getting my body to look good - not to just reach a specific number.

You should be proud of yourself - keep up the good work!

Melkor - My goal right now is actually more fat loss..it's not gonna happen with these workouts??  What would you suggest?  I don't have a gym membership or anything so I feel like heavy weights aren't an option really (if that's what you were going to suggest!)

Do you have any tips?  I feel like I don't have too much to lose, and I've heard it gets tougher to lose the less you have.  At  my stage, what do I need to know??

And thanks again everyone =D

Well, my personal favorite is Real Fast Fat Loss - worked pretty well for the recommended 6-8 weeks, and is an interesting change of pace from any of the other programs.  it's fairly brutal and unnecessarily harsh for a beginner to strength training, but you're not a beginner and should be able to handle it ;)

 Or you might look into something like this calisthenics-based workout, should work for a month or so before you need to go do something else for a while.

 (And looking at your pictures, I have to say: what fat? Far as I can tell, you don't have any!)

Thank you much for the links (and, what I'll take as a compliment =D)  You're always so helpful!  Probably how I got as far as I did ;)

I don't really know what goals to make besides fat loss really haha.. The amount I have to lose is not much but I still want to see some sort of improvement, you know??

Yayayay!! :) Good for you!  It sounds like it was a very nice day for you.  It's the same for me, it seems like suddenly, something just clicks, and I realize that I actually HAVE improved.  It's such a great feeling, and I'm so glad you're feeling it. =D

 

You're awesome and I think you look fabulous.  And about the arms being even too muscular, that's ridiculously easy to fix. haha, you know how.

You have come so far its so inspirational to see!
Youre around my age and height [Im also 5'4'' but 18 years old] and you are at my old low weight haha.

 

How many calories were you eating a day before you increased? If you dont mind me asking.
Im only eating about 1000 right now [up from 600]. Im looking to bring the amount up.

I really want to do strength training but Im afraid Ill get bulky underneath the fat I have to lose and Ill end up looking bigger. I did decrease my straight cardio from 45 minutes to 20 and instead of walking fast the whole time Im doing interval training jogging/running. Then 15 minutes of weights.

You look so fantastic compared to both when you were heavier and also when you were "skinny-fat" and you dont have thunder thighs!

I'm glad I can be an inspiration to someone =)

I have quite a history with increasing calories...for the longest time I was only eating 800 which you SHOULD NOT do!  That's what I did to get to skinny fat.  Then I increased to 1500 for a couple days, then to AT LEAST 1800 a day...but some days up to 2300. 

I would definitely say you should increase your cals and take up the strength training!!!!!!!  You won't end up looking bigger because if you do gain muscle, it is very lean and if anything will make you look smaller!  That's the way I understand it anyways =) Plus, it takes A TON of work and dedication (and drugs, for some =P) to bulk up.  Women generally don't have the testosterone to bulk up anyways. Don't worry!

bulk alert...anyone esle wanna take that, i have to get to work.

AWESOME!  GOOD FOR YOU!  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Original Post by deflepfan16:

I'm glad I can be an inspiration to someone =)

I have quite a history with increasing calories...for the longest time I was only eating 800 which you SHOULD NOT do!  That's what I did to get to skinny fat.  Then I increased to 1500 for a couple days, then to AT LEAST 1800 a day...but some days up to 2300. 

I would definitely say you should increase your cals and take up the strength training!!!!!!!  You won't end up looking bigger because if you do gain muscle, it is very lean and if anything will make you look smaller!  That's the way I understand it anyways =) Plus, it takes A TON of work and dedication (and drugs, for some =P) to bulk up.  Women generally don't have the testosterone to bulk up anyways. Don't worry!

Ya know I just started with this mentality. Lose the elliptical, eat 3000 a day, and LIFT HEAVY 45 min a day X 4. Sure, I gained weight on the scale, but I dropped below 38 on my hips(where I wear my pants) and had to add a notch to the old belt. I see a masseuse every two weeks because my doctor says I should and she immediately piqued without me mentioning it. Only one week... cant wait for the next 11.

 

That being out of the way, AWESOME JOB. 

Did you increase overnight to 1500 from 800?
The only thing is with me I am still losing weight. I want to get down to your weight actually! And right now Im in the 160s.
And Im guessing you gained at first when increasing, how much was it? Id freak out if I gained 5lbs in one week D;
Plus I dont know how long it would be before I started losing again.

I really want to up my calories Im just really hesitant because Im still losing and I dont want the loss to stop.

Im thinking of doing weights every other day and cardio every day. But should I just drop the cardio? Or keep it because Im still losing.