[Hollie]

Hi All--
Im Hollie and new to this site. I came here because I need some tips/ motivation to reach my goal. Im 5*8 and about 130 lbs. I have low body fat, but Im not quite toned and where I want to be. Im at the point where losing weight is very hard and I just dont know a good diet or exercise plan to tone up and firm my body. Would love some advice - hol

[onehawaiian]

what is ur current diet like?
a lot of times that can be the biggest culprit.

[Hollie]

I really dont have much of a diet...i eat pretty much what I want, just I keep it mostly healthy.... I dont have many "meals" I snack all day...apples...granola bars...etc. Ice cream is my downfall! lol

[Neko]

You should have .5-1 gm per 1 lb of body weight per day. Fat should not go lower than 15% of total diet. Not all calories are same. "Tone" means more muscle less fat. So if most of your calories come from carb, I don't think it helps. Also if you do too much cardio, that doesn't help lose the fat either. I'm finding these out from my experience. I'm not where I want to be yet, but I came to conclusion that most important thing is what I eat how I eat when I eat how mucn I eat. Exercise alone with just plain eating healthy will not give me the result.

[Hollie]

I really dont understand that... about the fat stuff. What foods are lower in carbs but still healthy? Im not a big meat eater at all.

[Neko]

Not all fat is bad. There are fats that are essential for our body. Some vitamin doesn't get absorb without fat. Very low fat diet will give you skin and hair problem, can cause heart problem, because your body cannot absorb enoug vitamin D, you may have bone problem. What you want to stay away is saturated fat from animal origin. Fish oil, flaxseed oil provide omega 3 fatty acid. Walnut is high in omega 3 too. Coconut oil has saturated fat, but it is from vegetable origin. There is lots of studies on health benefit of coconut oil if you do a search on the net.

Vegetable and fruits are, in my opinion, good choice. I just discover that fructose in fruits actually takes longer to convert to glucose than whole grain or sweet potatoes, and has lower glucemic index. If you are not very sensitive to carbs like me, I would suggest just stay away from refined grain and sugar.

If you divide your daily calorie need by 5 or 6, you don't really get tooo many calories to make a good size meal. It's almost like a snack, but when you plan good, you get good nutrients. I don't eat red meat either. I do chicken, fish, egg, nuts, tofu. I may drop chicken in the near future. I took time to sit down and looking up nutrient values from different food I eat, and made my meal plan. I'm sure it will change as I go.

[Hollie]

Now I know a diet that will work, but... I still need some motivation NOT to grab the junk food or overeat when it feels like Im STARVING!

[Sunrise]

Hi Hollie, I have a problem with getting a good diet and knowing which one is best for me. I seem to eat nothing and then end up starving so eat junk food. I know this is very bad but I don't know of a good diet. I had a baby girl nine weeks ago and before then I didn't have to worry about my diet infact I was very happy with my level of fitness and my body. I am now 5,2 and around 120 pounds which is 20 pound heavier than my normal weight no idea of my body fat now but before pregnancy it was 16%. I so want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I would love any good diets so if you find any thing out I would love to hear. I am new to the formu I did visit when I was pregnant and left for a while. I was breast feeding for two months and just stoped last week so can now diet safely.

[Sunrise]

Hollie sorry I didn't mean to sick my tounge out. I don't know how I put that in. It was meant to be a happy face only.

[Neko]

Hollie and Sunrise, eating 5 to 6 meals per day, maybe every 3 hours. That will be before you are starving and you are more likely stick with what's good for you.

Sunrise, your weight is not too bad considering you just had baby. There are some exercises that help your pelvic bone to go back to pre-child birth position. I see in Japanese books/magazine/TV about this. When you have baby, your pelvic "opens" and if you don't "close" it, you tend to accumulate fat around the area. I can look it up and posted, if I can describe without picture....