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 Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 10:54 am
Hey, I'm Matthew. I'm turning 14 on the 29th, I'm about 5 foot 5 and weighed 155 lb. when I last weighed myself. (Haven't done so in a week because I'm on my period... I get bloated and eat like a maniac.)
Anywho, I recently decided that I want to lose weight. I want to get down to 135, hopefully. But due to my female-ness, I was sort of hoping I could try to gain a little muscle, which would hopefully make me appear more masculine.
My problem with losing weight is... what do I do? I'm not very fond of physical activity, and I'm not very social. Currently I ride my stationary bike for 2-6 miles daily every evening (it's in my garage and I'm in Florida, so I sweat like a freaking pig, and the bike's handles move so I can work on my arms as well, but I read while I bike so it's mostly for my legs and to get my heart pumping) and perhaps 15-20 minutes of various stretchy-things... sideways lunges, wall push ups... little things which don't require anything except for two legs and two arms.
My diet, now that I'm done with my good for nothing period, is pretty good- I probably eat 1500 calories a day. And today I've decided to try drinking the amount of water that some internet calculator said I should- 2.3 liters, so 8 oz. of water and 5 pieces of ravioli was my lunch.... so my diet isn't going to be too much of a problem if I watch it.
But I'm far from an expert, so here's what I need to know:
Can I lose weight this way?
I've already seemed to experience a bit more physical fitness from this- on a two mile walk with my sister I breathed easily and wasn't at all sore... but considering my age and gender, is building muscle mass possible?
Should I try to lose weight, then try gaining muscle mass (not much, mind you, just enough to look a bit more guyish) or can I do both at the same time?
Sadly I can't do leg exercises and expect my legs to get smaller, so how do I make my thunder thighs go away, and make my waist look less small?
Will I need to buy some small weights eventually? I know I can't do the same ones over and over and expect to keep on losing weight, so will incorporating exercise with 5, 10, or 15 pound weights be advantageous?
Anything else you feel I should know. Or anything you want to post.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 10:08 am
Whew! Okay, that's a big post to read through so I'll try to touch on what I think I can help with.
From your stats, you're really not very over weight, so that's good. The problem is that when you don't have much weight to lose, it will take a while to come off, and it might seem frustrating. Like "Why can't I lose 10 pounds?! Other people can lose 50 pounds!!" When you don't have much fat to lose, your body kinda holds onto it.
Your routine is sounding pretty good to me. Physical exercise is ALWAYS going to yield positive results.
About losing weight and gaining muscle at the same time, that's a pretty tough question. In order to lose weight, you have to restrict caloric intake-- but in order to gain muscle, you have to INCREASE caloric intake. Muscles take a lot of calories to maintain, so they'll be difficult to maintain while you're on a diet-- your body won't have enough leftover calories to build muscle, or maintain bulky muscles. So, while you're trying to lose weight, you probably won't build a significant amount of muscle mass. -- You won't add much "bulk" at least, but you WILL strengthen and tone your muscles. They just won't change in size very much, just shape. The toning will help you burn more calories, which will help you lose weight. I would recommend trying to lose weight (while toning your muscles and doing aerobic exercise too), and then focus on building muscle after you lose enough weight.
To try to reduce thigh fat, I'm not sure on this, but maybe try doing lunges and squats? Though I'm sorry, I don't think there's a way to make your waist look LESS small. XD What you can do is focus on your abdominals maybe, and get some definition going on, which can distract from the waist somewhat. Though the more weight you lose, the more likely your waist will be noticable.
Weight-lifting and resistance training are the best way to build muscle, and also a big part of exercise for weightloss, so incorporating weights is important. I personally go to a gym, but that can be expensive, so hand weights may be a good investment.
Sorry if I'm wrong, but it seems as though you might be transgendered? It's going to be really hard at your age to build significant muscle mass, but when you get old enough you can get hormone therapy if you want.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 12:08 pm
Sweet, thanks for the advice! Sorry that my post was so large... I just figured too much information was better than too little.
And yes, I am trans. Sucks for me, because my age and gender aren't exactly ideal for building muscle mass. Oh, well. I wasn't aiming for alot, just enough to make me look more guyish, so I guess I can still try.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:33 pm
"I'm not very fond of physical activity, and I'm not very social."
Not fond of physical activity? I'm afraid that's something you'll just have to get over and deal with, if you're actually serious about losing weight//being healthier. Also, being antisocial really doesn't have anything to do with your weight, so don't worry about that. x3
If you feel that you get too hot when you exercise (the stationary), move it.
Also, if you drink things like soda and all that junk, I suggest (deeply) to kick it out the door. Not only does it make you, well.. not so healthy (fat mass vs. toned areas, etc etc), it is one of the leading products in the U.S. today that leads to diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
I also suggest, when it comes to your exercise routine, to switch it up. You will lose weight, innitially.. but your body will eventually get too used to the activities you're doing now and you will hit very nasty plateaus.
You will want to focus on losing a bit of weight before building muscle, mostly because muscle just sits underneath fat and will make you look bulkier rather than more toned. x3 Getting rid of the flabby stuff (or enough of it, anyway) will help you yeild results faster.
And yes you totally can do leg exercises to make your legs smaller, silly. If you don't exercise your legs, they'll just be mushy. You don't have to do mad exercises, but light exercise will help a lot.
As for weights, unless you want to bulk up a lot, I suggest sticking with weights under 5-8lbs.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:05 pm
If you're trying to look more masculine, I would recommend toning exercises (high rep, lower weight) for your legs/lower body, and muscle building exercises for your upper body (low rep, high weight. And I mean a weight at which you can only do 3 or less with proper form). It will be difficult, being that you are, biologically, still female. You may also want to consider taking some sort of protein supplement (worked into your diet, of course) to aid in muscle recovery and repair.
If you're going for the guy look, you'll want to build up your pectorals and shoulders, as well as biceps and triceps. Bench pressing is great for everything but biceps, as are pushups-but from the sound of things, your weight might not be enough resistance to build muscle from doing pushups, so if you can get access to a bench, you should try it. But always have a spotter. Also, bench pressing is a pretty good way to reduce your breast size (which I discovered as an unfortunate (for me) side effect).
Curls are good for biceps, but if you're trying to build muscle, use heavy weights. Like 15 or 20lbs (I don't know what you're starting at, so this is just a suggestion).
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:34 am
My boobs might actually decrease in size?! blaugh Hurray! The universe isn't such a dark and cold place, after all!
Thanks so much for the advice, it's brilliant. I love it. It makes me want to get started now. Seriously. I want to get on the stationary bike now. And I think I will. mrgreen
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:40 am
They might decrease in size, but there is no garantee. That and they won't shrink much.. maybe at most half a cup.
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:56 am
Sweet! I'm just so thrilled at the mere possibility.
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:59 pm
How big are they to begin with? (you don't have to answer that if it's too personal x3 I don't need to know, I'm just curious gonk ) :3 I had a friend who was a small b and shrank to a large a, but that's a lot different than being like... a small d and shrinking to a large c. O-o
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 11:37 am
I think 36 B or something like that. 36 B sounds about right, but I've never really understood or paid attention to the silly system for measuring chest size.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 5:06 pm
I'm the same size. x3 And I lost 30lbs without losing any size in them.. but everybody's body is different! :]
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 6:15 pm
eek What a coincidence. I'm sure lots of people are that size, and it seems to be pretty average, but still.
Congrats on losing 30 lbs.! And the not losing your chest lumps in the process. Unless for some reason you wanted them to- then it's tragic.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:12 am
Yeah, 34-38B are the average bust size for women in the U.S. x3 Which makes it no wonder why I can never find a new bra when I need it. neutral
Anyway, thanks! And I really couldn't care less about what size they are, it really doesn't matter to me. :3 I'm glad they didn't shrink, but I wouldn't have minded if they did.
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