Muscle Building Questions - Cardio Vs. Weight Training For Toned Body

Question:
I walk for an hour 5 days a week (fast pace) & do about 45 minutes of various exercises (sometimes Yoga) 5 days a week. I started cutting back calories from what ever I wanted to 1495 calories per day & gave up sodas (I also wrote down everything I ate to keep track). Why can't I lose any weight? I don't want to lift weights because I don't want to look like a man. Women in our family are medium build so any weight lifting beefs us up.

I'm a mother of 2 and don't have time to eat every 3 hours & most of the time I don't eat breakfast or lunch (no time plus it makes me feel sick) so, what would you suggest for someone in my situation? Oh, and can anything be done for cellulite? I've heard that it's hereditary & won't go away & then I've heard that with diet & exercise it will (the booty & back of legs are starting to dimple).

Answer:
I would highly recommend starting a strength training regimen but focusing on more toning movements and using higher reps (15-20 per set). Building lean muscle is the most important thing you can do to start burning additional calories everyday and really start toning up your problem areas. Although your genetics may lean toward a mesomorph body type, if you stick with lighter weights, you should see a vast improvement.

I would also highly recommend eating breakfast every day. This is the most important meal of the day and gets your body primed for the rest of your activities. Not eating breakfast is like not fueling up your car when it runs out of gas. You need to start off with solid nutrients to fuel yourself and get your metabolism going. Remember, your body has gone in a fasted state for about 7-9 hours (during sleep) and its ravenous for fuel when you awake. If you don't feed your body, it starts to go deeper and deeper into this state and will start breaking down lean muscle tissue without proper nutrition for fuel. Try different meals for breakfast. If you don't like solid food, try a meal replacement like Met-RX or myoPlex. They taste very good and its like having a refreshing smoothie in the morning.

In terms of cellulite, if you get your body fat levels down low enough you should be able to take care of the majority of it. Although, for complete removal you may need to get the advice from your local physician for treatments and solutions.

<< Back To Muscle Building Questions >>