Toning while losing weight? Better now or after weight is gone?

[lokiju]

I've been really focused on dropping the pounds and in just over 2 months have lost 31lbs to date.

I have maybe 10 or so more pounds I'd like to drop until I feel I've reached a level that I won't feel like I'm fat when looking at myself in the mirror.

One thing I've come across on weight loss success stories is how people found losing the weight initially challenging but it was nothing in the long run that putting on muscle and toning their bodies was.

Its been suggested that it would of been easier to bulk and tone a bit while they still had some weight on them before going full on stick thin.

I don't know how valid this is but it's made me wonder if I should give it some consideration or just stick with losing the weight until I get to where I want and then work on toning and muscle building?

I'm finding my gut isn't slimming to the point I'd of thought/hoped it'd be at this weight already. Any good tips on how to focus on my gut to tone/slim it down with more precision?

 

[Sid59]

I've been really focused on dropping the pounds and in just over 2 months have lost 31lbs to date.

I have maybe 10 or so more pounds I'd like to drop until I feel I've reached a level that I won't feel like I'm fat when looking at myself in the mirror.

One thing I've come across on weight loss success stories is how people found losing the weight initially challenging but it was nothing in the long run that putting on muscle and toning their bodies was.

Its been suggested that it would of been easier to bulk and tone a bit while they still had some weight on them before going full on stick thin.

I don't know how valid this is but it's made me wonder if I should give it some consideration or just stick with losing the weight until I get to where I want and then work on toning and muscle building?

I'm finding my gut isn't slimming to the point I'd of thought/hoped it'd be at this weight already. Any good tips on how to focus on my gut to tone/slim it down with more precision?

I did the whole cardio to get down to weight and then lift to tone and i wish i did the lifting, cardio, and losing weight at the same time.

Good luck on the gut, nothing you can do about that except for hard work in the gym and in the kitchen!

 

[Saint Nick]

Body fat needs to be lost on the entire body. You can't lose fat in specific areas first. You'll be disappointed to hear that the last place fat is stored is your abdomen.

You could maybe eat in a surplus and focus on doing weighted ab work, but that isn't really productive toward your goal of losing body fat because eating in a surplus will help build muscle, but also stores fat.

A great way you could tackle this is to keep staying on your track and losing body fat. Then, when you get to a point that you are satisfied, you could focus on building muscle using an intermittent fasting diet (some people call this the "Lean Gains" method, Google it). This is where you fast for about 16 hours of the day, then eat most of your calories during your "feeding window". The goal here is to encourage your body to use body fat for energy during the fast. I think Pantlegs was or is doing this, so maybe he will chime in or you could PM him.

Hope that info helps.

 

[rga]

The body is a funny thing. I have a six pack now after losing about 80 pounds, but I still have love handles. You can't really target fat loss anywhere in particular. The body loses it how the body wants to lose it. Typically, the stomach and love handle area is the last place men lose their fat from.

And as for toning while losing fat, I would recommend you to start now if you can. Do some real resistance training. When I started losing weight I did a lot of body weight excercises like pushups, pull ups, and dips using the kitchen chairs. I was able to maintain a lot of the little lean muscle mass I had. People stopped asking if I was losing weight and started asking if I'd been working out. They didn't believe me when I answered, "Not really." Five weeks ago I started doing StrongLifts 5x5, and the only regret I have about losing weight is that I didn't start SL5x5 the same time I started eating better. The ultimate combination for for fat loss is diet and resistance training.

All that said, the best thing I got from losing weight is the feeling of control. I'm in control of my weight now. I know how much I can eat to put weight on, and I know what I can eat to take weight off. You should have that feeling now, too, being down 31 lbs. I mention this because in order to put on muscle to improve your body composition, you're going to have to start eating more, and as you do you will inevitably gain some fat back. So since you've come this far, lose that last 10 pounds if you want, and then start eating more and working out to put some muscle on, and then go back to whatever you're doing now to lose the fat again. Repeat this cycle of bulking and cutting until you have the body composition you want. Eat more and train hard to build muscle. Eat less and train hard to burn fat. You'll find, however, that adding muscle is tougher than losing fat.

And if you haven't already, ready SC's sticky at the top of this forum. It's wonderful.