How do I lose weight, without gaining anymore muscle?

[Anonymous]

I'm a swimmer, and usually in pretty good shape, but I've been taking time off to coach rather than practice for the last three months.

Originally, I was going to the gym and running a lot- but I would barely be able to finish a mile. so instead, I started doing strengthening exercises and I got a lot of muscle, but its under the fat that I gained.

I know that the more muscle you have, the fast you burn calories, but I'm not interested in getting even more muscle.

I've also been trying to diet, but it really isn't working for me. I've been interested in meal replacement diets, so if anyone knows about those, please share :]

Updates

+1 y

Thanks everyone! I just went to the gym and ran/walked about two miles and went on the cycle for about thirty minutes. I'm already feeling better! :]

[skittledittle]

cardio is really important. I don't mean run a marathon, but you have to walk, jog, run, elliptical, ride a bike, dance...anything to get your heart going.

i honestly HATE running. what I do is walk a block, jog two, walk a block, jog two. or do laps walk, jog, walk jog jog, walk, etc. intervals are great for burning calories. strength train three days a week, taking a day to rest in-between.

don't diet. make better choices. the word diet throws people off and turns you off. how tall are you? I suggest small meals... I love to snack and small meals feel like mini snacks. I hate to eat meals because I'm always moving and if I eat, I slow down. being able to eat light, but constantly and still shed the weight felt amazing.

[Asker]

I'm 5'8" and weigh about 150 lbs currently

[skittledittle]

darlin', honestly, you're talking about losing weight like you weigh a million pounds! make your goal 'getting in shape'. get a healthy workout and eat well, keep it up. what (little) extra weight you have will go away and your body will adjust accordingly. don't force yourself to lose weight with crazy ideas or gimmicks. take care of yourself and your body will respond positively! TRUST ME! you'll see and more importantly FEEL the difference. that mile run will be nothing before you know it ;)

[skittledittle]

thank you! you'll do well!

[sporty2014]

for you abbs, I would say sit-ups/crunches...when I was younger I started gaining weight, I all I did was sit ups every night, like 100 up and down and another 100 to the left and then to the right and it flattened my stomach. And planks, they just make you abbs hard.

for you legs, squats firm your butt and thighs. And maybe do cycling for your legs every now and then. And lunges with a 10 lb. weight in each hand.

for your arms, bench press 10/15 lb. dumb bells. (dumb-bells are better, if you use a bar you end up using one arm more then the other) This will just tone your arms, you shouldn't bulk up.

I hope this helps:)

All these exercises tone, so you shouldn't bulk up:)

[glamphotog]

Losing weight just comes down to having a caloric deficit every day. So simply put, your body has to burn more calories than you eat.

Hate to sound like Yoda here but if you really want to lose weight, you can't say things like "trying to diet". You must do. You either do it or you don't. On top of watching what you eat, you can also exercise your body (everything you do burns calories, even driving) but make sure you don't fall into the trap of eating more just because you exercise.

So the question really comes down to... how badly do you want to lose weight? :)

Good luck. You can do it, just need to put your mind into achieving your goal.

[kurozogo]

If you do cardio you can lose , I think it would be better if you do more than just running , I get really bored of running , you should be able to see a lot of cardio programs on the Internet , but I think that it would be good to exercise your muscles a little with weight lifts to , just to make sure that you don't lose muscle mass to .

[serenityatmidnight]

lots of cardio, try an elipitical or a spinning class. you should try to do some strength training, if your gaining muscle, try lifting less amount of weight but increasing reps. as for diets, its all about moderation. I know everyone says this but its true. don't cut anything out of your diet or you'll be likely to binge. if you want a cookie have a cookie :) meal repleacements are not a good idea as they leave you feeling deprived. just stick with a good diet, do some cardio, and just stick with it and you'll see results.

[serenityatmidnight]

also, id suggest you try pilates, I just started doing it myself and I've really enjoyed it. its good cardio as well as toning and strengthing without buliding lots of muscle. you can find some pilates videos on youtube or take a class at your local gym good luck!

[kmhco]

I'm confused, are you saying you stopped running and did strengthening exercises instead?

If you did stop, you should probably start up again if you want to slim down. Yes running is hard. It is really hard. But the more you do it the easier it gets.

I think, if you already are muscular, you should focus on aerobic exercises. That will help you burn calories while not bulking up. Keep up strength training so you don't lose all of your muscle, but just use light weights.

Don't try and diet. Seriously, don't do diets. They don't work in the long term. Focus on eating healthier instead. Incorporate lots of fruits and veggies and cut down on unhealthy foods.

[jimmy217]

when you workout use low weight and high reps. And if you keep running you will eventually be able to run farther.