Overview
Many women tend to first gain weight in the bun and thigh areas of the body, and then the fat seems to spread to other parts of the body soon after. The way to stop this weight gain is to focus on healthy eating and exercise. In order to lose weight and tone up your muscles, it will take a three-pronged approach: proper diet, cardio exercise and resistance training. Eating healthier foods will help to eliminate future weight gain, while cardio and resistance training will speed up the weight loss and muscle toning process. You must exercise at least five days per week in order to start seeing significant results in just four to six weeks.
Step 1
Eliminate sugary snacks (including sodas) from your diet, and instead, focus on eating vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean meats (chicken, turkey and seafood). Eat five small meals per day, and consume a total of about 1,500 calories per day. Also drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Step 2
Start a cardio regimen on day one. This can include walking on a treadmill, using an elliptical machine, a stair stepper machine, or other related gym equipment or simply walking or jogging outdoors. Get 30 to 60 minutes of aerobic activity at least five days per week; start out at 30 minutes per day and work your way up to 60 minutes over time. Train at a moderate intensity level. Cardio workouts will help speed up the fat loss process and will also help tone your leg muscles.
Step 3
Use an exercise ball and dumbbells to get a resistance training workout at least three times per week. A few of the most important exercises to concentrate on include exercise ball chest presses with dumbbells, wall squats using the exercise ball and optional weights, crunches and back extensions using just the exercise ball, and shoulder presses using the exercise ball and dumbbells. Train this way for 15 to 30 minutes per session, and do three sets of 15 to 20 repetitions of each exercise for maximum muscle toning.
Step 4
Get plenty of sleep each night. A lot goes on in your body while you sleep. This is the time when your body repairs muscle fibers (tones) and recovers from the day’s activities. Your body even burns calories very efficiently while you sleep once you are several weeks into a cardio/resistance training program. Aim for six to eight hours of sleep every night.
Tips and Warnings
- Find a diet/workout partner who shares your fitness goals; this can help keep you motivated and on the right track.
Pay attention to how slim your waist, buns and thighs are getting rather than “weighing” too heavily on what the bodyweight scale is saying. As you tone up your muscles, you may notice a bit of weight gain because muscle does weigh more than fat. This is normal and is the reason why bodyweight scales are highly inaccurate when it comes to fat loss. In other words, focus on the number of inches lost rather than the number of pounds.
- Always consult your doctor before starting a diet and exercise program.
Stop exercising if you feel dizzy, nauseous, faint or experience extreme weakness; consult a doctor.
Never lift more weight than you can comfortably handle. Heavy lifting is not required for muscle toning or weight loss purposes.
About this Author
Joseph Eitel is an established writer who graduated from Kellogg Community College with a degree in graphic design. He has worked for a variety of online publications since 2006, including the Developer Shed Network and Huddle.net. He has become an online authority when it comes to technology and health; his health blog has become one of the most popular websites in the healthy living niche.
