Weight loss and toning

wat24

Hi just looking for a bit of advice. I'm female, 5ft 2 and weight 9st 10lb. Given my height I would like to lose over a stone and my main goal is to tone up. In the past I have gotten down to around 8st 4lbs, while I was happy at this weight I didn't looked as toned as I'd have liked. So my question is what's the best way to go about reaching my goal, should I focus mainly on cardio to drop the weight at first then worry about toning and weights when I'm a lower weight or should I do less cardio from the start and focus more on weights?
As you can probably tell I'm clueless so any advice would be appreciated 😊

Adini

Start with the weights right away! The only way to get a "toned" look is by building muscle and to build muscle you'll need to lift weights. Make sure you get a proper program - you'll need to progressively increase the weight you are lifting to see results (don't get fooled by the theory that girls should lift light weights to avoid getting bulky, you'll honestly never see progress unless you are pushing yourself by lifting heavy - "heavy" being whatever weight is heavy for you at that point)

While cardio has its place and is something you should definitely do for your health, its pretty inefficient at burning calories, so to drop the extra pounds you are carrying you should focus on your diet. The best way is to calculate how many calories a day you need to maintain your current weight - I cant post links as a new user but google "scooby tdee calculator" and take a look at the first link that shows up. You input your stats and goals and it will tell you how much you should be consuming (I've found its pretty accurate if you stick to it)

One thing that will be really important for you in building muscle mass is getting enough protein - this is super important when you are lifting weights, and something you'll probably need to make a conscious effort to do in the beginning. There are varying opinions on how much is necessary, but I aim for 0.8 - 1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight a day

FYI, I'm close to your height (5ft 1) and have been lifting weights for the past 6 months (and really focusing on diet alongside this). This is the first time in my entire life that I am actually seeing a change to my shape - I'm pretty light but have always had a tummy, no matter what I do with diet/cardio and no matter what weight I sit at. I'm finally seeing a significant difference in my body composition (not there yet but am super happy with progress so far)

NiallBoo

^not really disagreeing with the a above but I'd put a few things differently.

Tone is the result of how little fat you have and how much muscle.

To get to the where you want you'll need to lose some fat and perhaps gain some muscle. (For most people asking this question, cutting fat is the more important one)

View these as separate processes which need to be done at different times, because to lose fat you need to eat fewer calories than you're using, but need to eat more than you're using to gain muscle. (Indeed, you'll lose a little muscle when you cut fat and gain a little fat when you put on muscle).

Keep track of what you eat. (Imo this whole thing is more like book-keeping than athletics)

Which to do first? Up to you, the outcome should be the same. Personally I'd cut the fat first - purely because you'll get the benefits of feeling lighter on your feet and will feel closer to your end goal, fit clothes better etc.

Exercise? for cutting fat just do something, do what you like, do enough, don't do too much or you'll break your will in a few weeks, change it up so you don't get bored. Go ahead and do weights, it's great at getting your whole body involved, even do the same routine when cutting fat as when putting on muscle, just maybe do fewer sets. But DO exercise, it'll make you feel better and will help minimise the amount of muscle you lose (so long as you don't do too much! )

Tailor things to your motivation and what you can realistically will yourself to do for several months. If it's an excruciating struggle, you need to look at what you're doing and make something a little easier. Don't break yourself.

If you don't know how to cook, learn. If you know already, learn to make compromises. You should be able to find food that ticks all the boxes on paper but you don't hate.

You won't get everything right, but you'll get something right and you'll learn.
Don't beat yourself up when things don't go your way, and allow yourself to smile when they do.


...jeez, that was only supposed to be two lines long. .. best of luck!

wat24

Thanks for the detailed replies, will take on board the advice!