[MANGO☆MELON]

So I have a quick question.
For the past two months, I've had a relatively regular fitness routine that involves mainly cardio and muscle training for my lower body (elliptical, running). I haven't really been trying to "lose weight" since I'm honestly just trying to stay healthy. I've noticed however that my thighs seem to be getting bigger and my overall weight is increasing. My mid section is toning up but I think I've put on about 3-4 pounds since working out. My eating has been stable (I eat when hungry and usually only foods prepared at home). My calves on the other hand haven't been getting much bigger even though I do calve extensions. Is it possible that all this added weight is strictly in my thighs? And how would I be able to keep my legs a little more balanced?

[kcy]

At least your active, but first let's look at to what you are eating and how much. On a given day, what are you eating and when? Do you snack between meals? Do you eat after your workouts? Do you drink water and how much per glasses a day?

As for workouts, it sounds like all you do is cardio. Do you do any kind of weight training or body weight training? Can you do pullups, pushups, and squats? Have you access to weights or a gym?

Sorry for all the questions, this is what i ask all my clients as a personal trainer.

here's what my meals usually look like:

breakfast: 500ml milk, a fruit, a hardboiled egg.
lunch: a homemade wrap or something along the lines of, 500ml water/green tea.
snack: a fruit, 500ml milk.
dinner: 500ml water, rice + vegetables, a little meat, like chicken.
water: 2L +

i hardly eat out.. and all my meals are homemade with little oil/fat.

umm... i can't do pushups. i can do 200 situps or so and i can do squats. i have an elliptical machine, biking machine, and weights set. my goal isn't really to gain muscle.. more to lose fat and look skinnier.

[tiffnle]

Can anyone help me too
I have been trying to loose couple lbs recently since my wedding is on its way , so I started running on the treadmill for an hour everyday of the weeks and do situps and other weightrainnings. But the thing is although my body does look toned up a little bit, my weight is still the same as before I worked out . I asked one of my friend who has more experience and he said that may be all my work out just helped me to gain muscle but not losing fat. Therefore, instead of running at 6 on the treadmill for an hour, he recommended me to walk at slower speed ( 3.5) but longer time so that I can loose body fat without gaining muscle, which will later help to make me look skinnier?
Is it true though?

[laughable]

I need help-

So everyday (at night), I've been working out by running on the treadmill, dancing, and doing curlups, pushups, etc. When I run on the treamill, I don't go by how long I run, but by how much; I run a little over a mile a day and I go on incline at about 11 and walk for my inner thighs (for 1/4 of a mile more). This takes about 20 minutes not including my other exercises. The rest of what I do takes about 15-20 minutes. Is this okay? Are there any suggestions to help with my workouts and losing weight?

[enzef]

I've researched here in soompi so the theory that you need to gain FAT first then convert it to muscle is not true right?
You can gain body mass when doing workout/exercise even though you're really skinny?

So I really want to gain weight fast, and look like a healthy man, help me. What should I do? BTW I can't go to gym because of my schedule.

For now, I'll go backreading this thread for more insights and if anyone can help me thank you!

[Proxidus]

I've researched here in soompi so the theory that you need to gain FAT first then convert it to muscle is not true right?
You can gain body mass when doing workout/exercise even though you're really skinny?

So I really want to gain weight fast, and look like a healthy man, help me. What should I do? BTW I can't go to gym because of my schedule.

For now, I'll go backreading this thread for more insights and if anyone can help me thank you!

To answer your questions:
- Fat does not turn into muscle, and muscle does not turn into fat. They are two completely different things.
- Of course you can gain body mass when working out even if you're really skinny.

To gain weight in a healthy manner:

1. Consume more calories then your body burns a day. [ This is different for everyone and is dependent on 3 factors: height, weight and activity. ]

2. Simply eat more, larger meals, and snack more often. Obviously no junk food, aim for food high in protein such as meat. Snacks like dairy products; milk, a lot of fruits/dry fruits, yogurts or protein bars/protein shake.

3. Weight train. Build muscle. Muscle will increase your mass and weight. Low reps + heavy lifting. No cardio training for you since your goal is weight increase.

There you go, a summary of what i can think of on top of my head

[hanh1109]

To answer your questions:
- Fat does not turn into muscle, and muscle does not turn into fat. They are two completely different things.
- Of course you can gain body mass when working out even if you're really skinny.

so...... what happens to the muscles you have when you stop
working out?

sorry for cutting your post.....

[Proxidus]

^ If you stopped working out those muscles, they will go bye bye. You will lose muscle mass, not all at once, but they will slowly deteriorate over the past months if no activity is present on the muscle group.

[mintpanda]

hi there ^^;
I'm really trying to loose 10-15 pounds
I usually do the eliptical machine for about 2 - 1&1/2hours about 3 or 4 days a week.
But it doesn't really seem to be helping too much. Is there another machine at the gym that could help other than the treadmill?
& dietary wise, i know you need to lose more calories than you consume but usually from my workouts i burn around 700-850 calories from the 2 hour workout; but when i eat i still feel somwhat bloated although i don't eat much. I eat like a small bowl of rice and fish, maybe some other meats someday (basically whatever my mom cooks).
Is there anything that can up my metabolism or help the process go faster? Maybe some foods that help with weight loss? I heard spicy foods help and green tea?
My routine just doesn't really seem to be working for me, i feel like i'm the same weight. & whenever i get hom from the gym i loose like 2 pounds but when i go to the gym the next day i'm at my orginal weight from the previous day before the workout.

I hope this all made sense

If it helps here's a picture of me about 3 weeks ago? I think i look the same, at least i feel the same. It's kind of a bad angle and my face looks weird. but it's the only picture i could find of my whole body xD

[twinkle_l0ve]

question: what time of the day is it best to exercise? morning afternoon or night?

[Rozzy]

i have been exercising for a while now, but everytime i do, my arms just get bigger, and my legs get bigger. is there any way to lose this extra weight? am i gaining muscle? or maybe fat? i don't really know..but i wanted to be a little toner because i'm looking really bulky. my parents always say i'm looking chubby and to go exercise..which i do..but it's a neverending cycle. =.=. then..when i stop exercising, i start looking normal again? i don't know. hahha. but still a little chubby? it's really hard to explain. what should i do?

[hanh1109]

i have been exercising for a while now, but everytime i do, my arms just get bigger, and my legs get bigger. is there any way to lose this extra weight? am i gaining muscle? or maybe fat? i don't really know..but i wanted to be a little toner because i'm looking really bulky. my parents always say i'm looking chubby and to go exercise..which i do..but it's a neverending cycle. =.=. then..when i stop exercising, i start looking normal again? i don't know. hahha. but still a little chubby? it's really hard to explain. what should i do?

FYI. I'm not an expert but i'll try to help :]
First.. what kind of exercises have you been doing? How long have you been doin them?
If you have been lifting weights then you definitely might have built some muscle..
But it takes quite some time to build muscles....
You can tone it up by doing pilates or yoga. Honestly, I think girls look hotter when they have muscles
so i wouldn't stop working out just coz you think your arms are getting bulkier...

If you have just been doing cardio and not any intense strenght workout.
Then you might wanna "up" the intesity of your cardio to loose those extra weight.
Make sure you put in all your effort and push yourself when your exercising..
You can also add in some exercises that build some muscle, if you hadn't already.....
If you think you've been really pushing it with your exercises and still not see anything.
Then your diet might be the problem.

[albasian]

I read some of the posts up there ^ and I'm also trying to gain some weight.

I'm pretty skinny right now. I have what people would call "lean muscle" but It's not very evident. I really need to gain weight, but no matter how much I eat, nothing happens. I have a fast metabolism and a small stomach, so that doesn't really help.

I just want to gain more weight/build some more muscle so I don't get picked on as much -.-
And so clothes will actually fit me. Especially pants.

Any advice will be appreciated.

[Javus]

Does anyone know like a list or maybe a website which has like a list of exercises that you could do at home without any equipment. I used to work out at the gym, but unfortunately I'm not able anymore and I just want to stay in shape.

[kinein]

I read some of the posts up there ^ and I'm also trying to gain some weight.

I'm pretty skinny right now. I have what people would call "lean muscle" but It's not very evident. I really need to gain

You mean you don't have much muscle and you are skinny. Everyone has some amount of muscle. But you can't take the term "lean muscle" and describe your body. Needed to clarify that before this spawned some outrageous "i heard, I think statements" on soompi.

[lhsbndfrk89]

I need help too! I have an apple shape body. I go to the gym EVERYDAY. I always do 30 minutes of cardio and all that kind of stuff it tells me to do, but i can't seem to lose my stomach fat. Plus i'm trying to make my butt a lot bigger, but nothing seems to be working. I maintain a healthy diet and i follow all the rules, i don't know what i'm doing wrong, or what i should start doing. As in my stomach, i have abs underneath, but it doesnt pop out!

[laris]

we all have abs underneath ...

see this.. the path to nice glutes!

[lhsbndfrk89]

Thanks for the booty workouts! lol


it's just that my skin is SOOO stretchy (i gained 70 pounds in 2 months due to pregnancy and lost all elasticity) and if i pull down the skin, i literally have a 6 pack. I dunno. what are good lower ab workouts?

[zoopia]

Hmm guess I'll try asking for some tips here =)

So what I mostly need is a basic diet plan.. I'm pretty satisfied with my size and weight, just need to tone up my muscles and stuff.. so yeah any help?

[Proxidus]

question: what time of the day is it best to exercise? morning afternoon or night?

Morning is the most effective, since your glycogen stores are usually depleted from your fasting during the night. Therefore when you do Cardio in the morning, your body will target and mobilize fat because of the depleted glycogen. It also helps boost your metabolism throughout the day.

But seriously... As long as you exercise it doesn't really matter when or what time. Exercise whenever is fine.