reducing body fat and toning up?

Question

I'm 16. a female. i weigh 118 and i'm 5'4 and a half. i just started going to the gym last month. 5 to 6 days a week. 2 1/2 hours per day. an hour of cardio the rest is weight training. 5 reps of 15, light weights. my body fat is 30% how long will that take to decrease and what percentage goal should i aim for?. i already have a sensible diet but occasionally i'll have something sweet...just so i don't go crazy. what should i do, any changes? what results should i be looking for?

Answer 1

Well to be honest...how did you get your percentage of body fat?? Depending on your frame...118 lbs is a healthy weight....But there is nothing wrong with being healthy! Excercise is good...but dont over do it. You should really do maybe 3-5 days a week on cardio and then 3-5 times a week on strength training and dont work the same muscles 2 days in a row. Did you work up to your one hour of cardio?? Also...do different types of cardio...like one day run for 30 minutes...next day ride the bike for 45 minutes...next day swim laps for 30-45 minutes...next day do the eliptical....join an aerobics class etc. Because if you do the same things everyday...your body will get used to it...it wont be challengening anymore...and you might get bored and not be motivated. And also...you want to give your muscles a rest. As far as diet....DONT starve...make sure you are getting maybe 1500-1800 calories a day...and drink lots of water. Honestly...dont diet...just eat healthy....if you slip up one day and have a candy bar or ice cream....soo what....just try better the next day...when people forbid themselves from having food...they only want it more...and when they break...they usually binge on junk food...so everything in moderation! Dont pay attention to the scale or body fat...just pay attention to how you feel about yourself...how your clothes are fitting...that is what really matters. Good luck with everything!!! Any questions...let me know!!!

Answer 2

Sounds like your doing a good job already. 1.5 hours of weights is kind of a lot. You can cut back on that . Keep your weight training to no more than 1 hour workouts.Its tough to say how long it will take everyone is different. Fat body percentages for women are
Essential fat 10-12 %
Athletes 14-20%
Normal 25-31%
Keep changing your workouts around. Some days make your workouts short and intense,.Some days add more reps and less weight. Fewer reps with heavy weight..Instead of weights try bodyweight exercises for example 50 pushups 100 situps
150 bodyweight squats.

Answer 3

Are you eating plenty of lean protein? It's really important that you get lots of protein to build up your muscle mass.

Also make sure you are not working the same muscle group two days in a row....each muscle group needs a rest period.

As for what percentage you should aim for, this is personal preference. Between 20%-30% body fat is considered healthy for a typical (not athletic) female, but probably 25% or below would be optimal in terms of fitness.

Extremely athletic females have less than 20% body fat, but that would mean a lot of intensive workouts, a very high protein diet as well, as various supplements and lot of motivation. I personally think 20%-25% is a really good place to be in terms of your body fat percentage.

Answer 4

am not being nasty here but the more you weigh the quicker you notice results , say for cardio if u do an hour if you weigh 200 pounds you lose more calories then 150 pound person , if u do an hours cardio a day ul notice ur thighs and stomach get smaller quite quick rli , the weights al tone ur whole body up depending what exercises u do with them am not sure what bodyfat percentage u want to be up but hey any fat loss is gd ryt?

best of luck x

Answer 5

find daily calorie intake calculator on the net, enter all your stats and it will tell you how many calories you need a day to maintain, take off 300-400cal off that number and thats how much you need to lose.
eat 5-6 small meals a day (eat every 2-3 hours - it optimizes your metabolism)
5-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day
8 glasses of water
have complex carbs for breakfast - they give you energy
have protein (lean meat, legumes etc) for dinner - repairs muscle
cardio exercise 4-6 times a week for 30-50min, light weight training (weight training first and then cardio)
dont consume foods that are made of white flour (white bread, cakes, past etc.), sugar loaded foods (cookies, icecream, candy etc) and nothing fried, oily.
ofcourse you can spoil yourself once in a while with a little treat:)