Posts by scarr1128

Original Post by floggingsully:

That's pretty much false on all accounts. Cardio burns fat AND muscle, muscle tone is improved by weight training. From this article:

"Simply put, there are two types of muscle tone: myogenic and neurogenic. The former refers to your muscle tone at rest; the latter refers to muscle tone that's expressed when muscular contractions occur.

Low(er) rep training increases the sensitivity of various motor units resulting in increased neurogenic tone. On the other hand, myogenic tone is correlated with the overall density of your muscles (specifically the contractile proteins myosin and actin) and is vastly improved by lifting heavier weights.

This is going to come as a shock to most women, but utilizing light weights (anything above twelve reps in my book) while dieting will likely result in loss of muscle, which is the exact opposite of what you want to happen."

Word.  If you're on a calorie deficit you're not going to gain much muscle.  Gaining muscle is very intentional, much like losing weight.

Well I think "eating more" isn't necessarily accurate.  Many people start dieting and think the less I eat the better, which often puts them below 1000 calories.  Then they see posts saying "starvation mode" and women need 1200 calories so they aim for that number.  Next the find out about BMR and RMR and start eating to their BMR while exercising.  Finally they find out that they need to eat their BMR + half the calories they burn working out and find a comfortable weight loss niche.  Technically you're eating less than you were before you started your weight loss, but not at the extreme many crash dieters aim for.

Limit your sodium and drink A LOT of water.  I think adding a little bit of lemon to your water helps limit water retention as well.

I used to be a dancer and an important trick in posture we always used was to watch the curve of your spine.  A lot of people tend to push their chest forward and their butts back which makes an 'S' with your spine.  This also pushes your belly out so that it looks like you have a big butt and a big belly.  If you push your hips forward slightly it helps to align your spine properly, gives you better posture and makes you look more proportioned.

The ring my boyfriend bought me was too big and I was going to get it sized but he was so afraid that the jeweler would steal the diamond (there are stories) that he went out and got a ring guard instead.  It's just a little strand of metal that you can bend and take off and readjust the size.  The only problem with it is that the edges where the guard wraps around the ring sometimes pinch my finger.  It would probably work for your hubby, but I consider it a temporary solution.

And your marriage is far more important then some rings.  My parents have been married nearly 25 years and haven't worn their rings for about 10 years now.  I personally don't think ring placement matters, if you want to flaunt it, put it on whatever finger you want. (I would avoid toes though)

Perhaps try eating at your maintainence level for you current weight for a few days and slowly reduce about 100 - 200 calories a week until you're used to 1750.  That way you won't be gaining anymore weight, but you won't be suffering either.

I work in the freshmen dining hall at my school... the all you can eat kind... where everything is deep fried... or sugar.  It's SO hard to find a balanced meal there.  Luckily they started making grilled chicken breast available daily as a burger substitute so I usually grab one of those, some brown rice, and a heaping portion of steamed veggies.  They also have a pretty nice salad/fruit bar that I munch on through the shift.  Now if they could only move the cereal dispensers away from the "break" area, I'd stop downing Apple Jacks for three hours.

Although I doubt a week of detoxing will do any permanent damage, at 17 your body can definitely take care of cleansing itself.  Eliminating highly processed foods and other junk from your diet, I think is the best cleanse.  Fruit juice for a week?  I eat about 4 pieces of fruit a day and already my sugar intake is too high.  Definitely make sure you squeeze in some protein, even if it's in the form of a veggie and bean cocktail or protein powder.  Getting at least 1500 calories is key though.

Original Post by petite_powerhouse:

 

You can also lose fat and maintain your muscle and more by engaging in the types of cardio that build endurance and muscle both.

This may be veering a little off topic for this forum, but what kind of cardio do you suggest?  Would it be using the stationary bike/elliptical with high resistance?  Using the stair master?  Treadmill with an incline?

I'm more interested in losing the jiggle than the numbers on the scale so I'm interested in the optimal approach.