Thread: More insecure after weight loss...

Hi there. First, congrats in losing the weight. If you are 5'4'' and weigh 120 you are at a good weight for your high. Right in the middle of what's considered healthy. What this means is that you don't need to lose any more weight, but perhaps need to work on turning what you do have into muscle.

Your complaint with your chest is quite common. I mean really, are we ever REALLY happy with the way we look? No matter what, us gals always seem to find something wrong. And it's VERY common for you to decrease breast size when you decrease weight. The breasts are made almost entirely of fat. The hiney is different though, because it's made up of mostly muscle.

What size pants do you wear?

So you've lost weight and just need to tone up. You've already accomplished the hard part girl....now it's the easy stuff. What is your exercise/diet regimen like?

Thanks for the reply.

How would I turn more of the fat into muscle? Could I do that by hiking more or would I need to go to the gym and lift weights? I'm really not a gym type of person, I prefer to rough it up in nature when I can. My diet could be better, mainly in that I eat way too many carbs and not enough fruit/veggies. I eat some kind of pasta at least once, often twice per day, because I'm an extremely picky eater and a lot of the time it's the only thing available I like (especially in restaurants). I don't drink sodas, alcohol, or eat too much junk food.

I remember my mom saying one time that after you lose weight, the fat remaining takes time to "redistribute" itself, so is it possible that my breasts will look better with time? The part about the butt is interesting... When I first started losing weight, I was thinking my butt was getting bigger! My jeans stopped fitting all a sudden, which was disheartening because it seemed counterintuitive if I was losing weight. If it's mostly muscle, that seems like it would make sense because I was putting on a lot muscle in my legs (and butt) when I started the more intense hiking. It seems to have gone back down to its original size recently - maybe the fat is starting to come off?

I wear 27" waist/size 4 jean. I know this is smaller than most women, but this is because I have a very petite frame and not because I'm skinny... In fact, most pairs of jeans I try on I can't get past mid-thigh because they just aren't made for women with curves. There are only a few brands of jeans that fit me well at all. My exercise regime right now basically consists of a lot of hiking/walking. I live on a steep hill, and I try to walk down the street and back up every day... This is a 1.75 mile walk (round trip) with a 300 foot elevation change, and I try to walk back up as fast as I walk down to really get my heartrate and respiration up (maybe 3 mph?). Once a week I try to go on a more strenuous hike near my house, 4 miles round trip and a 1000 foot climb. I also intentionally park far away from my classes at school and walk briskly to them to not be late, so I'm getting a little bit of exercise throughout the day.

I've read online that running burns significantly more calories than walking, though. I don't really like running, however, since I've heard it's hard on the knees and I also have a bad ankle that I don't want to injure again. Does running on a flat surface burn more calories than walking quickly up a steep hill?

First, you're definitely going to have to give up that pasta. I'm a picky eater too, but over the years I've found things that are good for me that I actually enjoy (i.e. Quinoa). You've got to cut down the carbs if you don't want your body storing fat up. You need to be eating a low fat, low carb, high protein diet incorporating lots of veggies (go easy on too much fruit, high calories).

I have the same problem you do with jeans. I'm very petite, but have a curvy booty. I don't consider it BIG, but it's there, cellulite and all. I wear a size 5-7 in order to fit comfortably. I noticed some of the stores like Charlotte Russe are carrying a new Curvy Boot Cut style for women like us.

Try things like push ups, and using hand weights to not only tone your arms but your chest as well. As you exercise and get fit, your chest will tone up too. Is it going to make you have bigger breasts? No. That's genetics. But it will make what you have look more toned.

Hiking is not enough to get you in good physical shape, or keep you in good physical shape. It's a great thing to do, but you need a regimented workout routine. High cardio 2-3 days a week, weight training 2-3 days a week, 1 day off. If you're worried about cardio because your joints, try an elliptical machine. Obviously your best opportunity is a gym. No one really LIKES working out, until they get into it and see how much better they feel and look. But if you want it bad enough, you'll be willing to work for it.

Thanks again for the info! This is a really great website.

I don't think I'll be able to completely give up pasta for good! I would probably starve to death if I did since it's already pretty much the only "meal" type food I eat (besides less healthy alternatives like burgers or pizza). I'll try to cut down significantly though while I look for different options. Is whole-wheat pasta a better option or is it just some kind of gimmick? Today I ate a whole wheat PB&J sandwich for lunch with some veggies on the side instead of a big bowl of pasta, so that's a start I guess?

What is considered high cardio? I've been to the gym once (hated every minute of it ) and I used the elliptical for about half an hour? I don't recall it being that intense of a workout, but maybe I just wasn't doing it fast enough. I feel like I get more exercise from walking up the hill than I did on the elliptical that day (going by heartrate, respiration, perspiration, etc). How do push-ups and pull-ups compare to weight training at the gym? I think I might want to try to master those before I go to the gym, because last time I was really embarrassed when I tried to use the machines and had to use barely any resistance.

Hiking is great exercise and you can definitely get your heart rate up higher than using a machine at the gym. Add in little spurts of running up the hills then a power hike for rest. You can stop along the trail and do pushups or a park bench if there is one.
I don't think people need to go to a gym to be fit. Especially if there are trails nearby.

I don't think people need to go to a gym to be fit. Especially if there are trails nearby.

I totally agree with this............when you're a well trained person who knows what your body needs in order to be and stay fit. But alot of people think that leisurely hiking a trail is enough to get them in shape, and for the most part, it's just not. I have a hard time believing someone with knee and ankle problems could hike vigorously enough to reach much of a muscle building toning level. The gym provides a regimen and well rounded routine that someone new to exercise needs (IMO) in order to get to that level of fitness where you can make things like hiking, rock climbing, etc work for you. I just didn't want to give the impression that hiking once or twice a week on a nature trail was going to give her the results she seems to be seeking.

Er... There seems to be some assumptions going on here...

1. I don't have bad knees by any means. I merely heard that running puts a lot of strain on anyone's knees (I don't know if that's true or not, just what I've heard). I have to go easy on my right ankle because I've sprained it a couple times climbing down rocky cliffs; it's still quite usable.

2. When I hike, it's not exactly leisurely... I'm usually carrying a pack with 30 lbs of photography gear and other supplies up very steep slopes/cliffs, often far from trails, and I keep a brisk, consistent pace with only periodic rests. I'm also constantly lifting up logs and boulders along the way... It's not really hiking as most people think of it because I'm doing so much more than that, I just use the term "hiking" for the sake of simplicity.

3. I'm not really trying to build muscle. I just wanted to know if there was a way to make the fat in my butt and love handles disappear without losing any more of my boobs, but if that's all genetically determined than I guess I'm out of luck. My main goal with all of this is to simply build stamina so I can keep up with my guy friends when we're hiking (again, by hiking I mean the activities described in #2).

4. I'm not new to exercise at all... I've always been an outdoorsy person and have been hiking my entire life. I've only been to the gym once, but exercise is certainly possible outside of the gym. Also, it's the strict regimen/routine of the gym I am trying to avoid if possible. I like to enjoy getting my exercise, which is what I'm currently doing... I feel like going to the gym would just make exercise another chore that needs to be done.

5. I'm definitely getting exercise more than once or twice a week... I walk up and down a steep 300-foot hill every day, and hike the 1000-foot hill once or twice a week, plus other random hiking at least a few times a week in addition to that. This is a lot more exercise than probably 90% of the populations gets, and I make sure to get my heartrate/respiration up every time I go out (is that what's meant by high cardio?).

I hope that clears some stuff up? Thanks for the help guys.

Thanks for clarifying. What you are doing is good and it will probably keep your weight in check if you are careful with your diet. But I think if you want to burn fat, you'll have to have at least one or two workouts that are all out cardio. Make sure to get a couple of hikes in that are without your pack so you can run good parts of it. If you're out there for an hour and you spend 40-60% of the hike at a jog/run pace, you'll lose fat.
Unfortunately, there's no way to lose fat off your waist and butt without losing it off your chest as well. But don't let that discourage you, you'll still have a good proportion and you'll be much healthier and fit.
A lot of women are terrified of building muscle. But it's really important. Not only does it protect you from bone loss by doing exercise that is weight bearing but muscle will burn fat while you are resting. So the more strength you have the better. You won't get bulky. Women just don't have the make up to bulk up without some serious body building and supplements/drugs, so you don't need to worry about that.