Originally Posted by 333

You don't need a gym to exercise - especially since it's summer time there. You can run outside before it gets too hot, or even speed walking. Try searching youtube for good Pilates videos. When I started going to the gym, I used to do my regular cardio routine and lift some light weights. Then I started going to a Pilates class and got toned in places I never thought I'd see. I will do some research and send you some of my favorite positions.

I think your body (and weight) could benefit from more fresh vegetables and fruit. I try to have a salad at least for one meal a day. I always eat breakfast to get my metabolism kickin', too. Breakfast is crucial. Being asleep is the longest time you go without having any food, so within an hour and half of being awake, you should definitely eat something to get your body back into digestion mode. Though I love bread and pasta, these are things I tend to stay away from. I do eat bread almost every day, though! Pasta on the other hand, I limit myself to once every few weeks. I'm not saying carbs are bad for you. You definitely need them, but fresh unprocessed foods are much better for you! I find that I feel the healthiest and look the best when I'm eating 5-6 servings of veggies/fruit a day, exercising and rewarding myself with some whiskey at the end of the week.

Edit: I saw the pictures after I finished writing. You are stunning and definitely not in need of losing any weight. Still, I stand by my advice!

Originally Posted by Dr. Rez

Vanilla you probably do NOT want to lose weight. From a health standpoint or me being a guy visually looking at you standpoint. Your weight in that last picture is what I think you should stay at. The thing you should do (same thing I am trying to do) is simply stay at your weight but turn fat into lean muscle. Sounds easy but it is definitely a lot of work and doesn't happen overnight.

The mistake people make is they think they just go into the gym and run or do intense cardio forever and they will lose all the fat. That is actually most of the time burning muscle (especially if they are not eating enough). You want to lift weights with relatively light weight and very high reps while not taking many breaks. You can use dumbbells, just do body weight stuff like pushups dips and such, or a plethora of other things like resistance training.

It will not make you look bulky or big like many women are afraid of but actually do the opposite. Lean muscle while weighing more looks much more ascetically pleasing, especially on people with thin frames like yours, or mine. Another huge mistake people do is practically starve themselves. You want to eat the same amount in calories you have been and just clean up your diet. More lean meats (if you are a vegetarian, I cant remember if you were or not) then make sure to get protein through other sources, enough clean carbs, and also importantly some fat (but not alot!)

I guarantee by excersizing like that and eating cleaner, without changing weight you will feel much better.

Lastly don't get me wrong, I think you look great as you are but everyone can look/feel better no matter who you are. If you have any questions feel free to ask. If you dont agree with what I said ignore it!

Originally Posted by Engine

It's pretty simple:
calories in < calories out = weight loss
So you can either consume less calories or burn more calories with exercise, or both. The type of exercise doesn't matter much if you just want to lose weight.
And if you go the calorie reduction route (without exercise) then just take vitamins and drink a lot of water. Stay away from amphetamines and forget about the hunger that results from calorie deprivation and you can lose weight just by eating less.

Originally Posted by Vanilla

Basically, I used to do weights at the gym with a small amount of cardio thanks to a wonderful trainer. During that time I got back down to 54kg and was looking healthy. I have lost all my muscle now and that is something I would really like to change. I do have a lot of excess fat on my stomach, do you think weights/crunches will help that? I'm sure I can benefit from a little bit of weight loss just to give me my stomach less to turn into muscle. I am however no expert so I really appreciate your advice.

Thanks for the lovely comments. I am wanting to lose weight for health reasons and because I have a petite frame, a reasonable weight gain is very noticeable on me. I have two medical conditions that require a healthy diet with not too much dairy, wheat or fats. At this point I can't afford to go gluten free, but it hasn't been proven yet that wheat causes my health problems. Stress seems to be the main factor.

Originally Posted by Dr. Rez

Well this is how it works generally. If you want to gain muscle you need to up your protein/carbs and lift heavier with lower reps. If you want to tone up then simply eat healthier (one can ALWAYS eat healthier) and do less weight with higher reps.

Regarding abs..Everyone has them, EVERYONE. Just some peoples are hidden by fat. Thats why you see super skinny guys who weight what most females do with a defined 6 pack. The key to getting them to show is by not only doing ab excersizes ( I would be happy to send you links to some) but primarily diet. If one is doing even minimal ab work but eats very healthy abs will show. I have never really seen mine because I do not eat healthy enough. They have gotten much stronger and I work them out nearly every day but because I eat to much fat in my diet they enjoy staying hidden. Also having less carbs will help wiith definition, hence why bodybuilders go super low carbs before shows.

Originally Posted by Vanilla

Wow thanks! I can see the top half of my abs, I'm lucky to have curves in the right places. But the second part of my stomach/abdominals needs the most work. I will definitely up the anty with eating more vegetables and fruit. I think I need to eat more fish as it contains an excellent source of protein and good fats. A link to some exercises that you recommend would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by Vanilla

That's great that you work out your abs everyday, are you particularly interested in them showing?

Originally Posted by Dr. Rez

A well rounded diet is good but mainly its just cutting out fat. Thats really what hides them.



It would be awesome yes but I don't care enough to stop eating the foods I really enjoy. I eat much healthier than I used to, but I have noticed since weighing around 200 at 6 foot its like a nazi regime diet if I actually wanted to see them. When I was like 150 to 160 they were there with minimal work. What people dont realize is abs showing is purely asthetic, and those big huge jacked mother lickers have them, (probably stronger too) just you cant see them!

Originally Posted by Vanilla

The problem with this is you need to ensure you are replacing the energy burned by exercise with protein, it's not healthy to just eat hardly anything and exercise, like Rez said it's actually burning muscle not fat.

Originally Posted by Engine

Yes, diet does matter. But you don't need to eat gluten or gluten-free bread at all. In fact, if you have IBS you should consider those foods forbidden if you want it to stop. Forget about spelt and oat. Just stop eating bread.
You can find ways to get the nutrients you need. Juice, vitamins, fruits, nuts, protein shakes, etc.

Originally Posted by Vanilla

IBS is one of my conditions. Spot on! I'm too poor to stop eating bread. Can I eat multigrain bread or is that also forbidden? I will certainly go for your other recommendations, I used to drink protein shakes when I went to the gym.

Originally Posted by Engine

I drink whey protein shakes for most of my protein, but it's expensive.