Community » Get Advice » Diet and Nutrition » I need HELP...

SO, you want to lose 10-20 lbs by February and tone up?

First, being 40 and only 10-20 lbs overweight is, IMO, really pretty good. So, maybe you don't really need to switch to a bunch of "diet" foods. Maybe all you need to do is practice a little more control of your portions (i.e., eat less of the things you are normally eating - measuring/weighing your foods for a while often helps) for the next few months and do some exercising? Diets that require "special" foods aren't normally successful over the long-term.

More or less, 10 lbs is 35,000 calories. Which seems like a lot. But when you divide it out over the next few months, it isn't too bad. Let's say, you have 90 days. So, you need to create a deficit of about 400 calories a day above what you burn.

You can create this deficit by either eating 400 calories less, burning 400 more or a combination of both. The tools here will help you determine how much you burn now.

I would:
1. Use the Calorie Calculator to calculate your daily calorie needs: http://www.fitclick.com/calorie_calculator
2. Start tracking the calories in what you eat now (track absolutely everything) with the Diet Tracker: http://www.fitclick.com/calorie_counter

Then I would look at everything you have tracked and see where you can cut some calories (skip a couple sodas, only eat 1 slice of pizza instead of 2, etc.). Cutting a couple hundred calories a day isn't usually too hard. You can look up the calories for various foods using the "How many calories" tool: http://www.fitclick.com/how_many_calories This can help you size your portions and maybe make some trade-offs where appropriate.

Finally, for exercise, I would recommend that you consider some weight training along with some cardio. Numerous studies have shown with some clarity that weight training is especially helpful for women. Don't worry - you won't "bulk up" and look like a body builder. :) You can do this at home or join a gym.

Home weight equipment can range from affordable rubber resistance bands to complex home gyms. If you decide to buy anything - shop around - there is always lots of used workout equipment on the market (i.e., craigslist, garage sales, etc.).

I'd recommend finding an affordable local gym and get a short-term membership - bring someone with you - sometimes they are high-pressure and it is nice to have a friend to help if that turns out to be the case. Gyms generally will offer a training appointment/orientation for new members.

Then try to get between 30 and 60 minutes of exercise (cardio + your weights) each day that you can (shoot for at least 3 days a week).

You can track your calories burned versus calories eaten on your "My Progress" page: http://www.fitclick.com/weight_loss_progress

Try to keep this at around -400 calories and you should start losing a pound every week or so - if you want to speed this up - increase the deficit a bit (don't go overboard - less is not always more) by either reducing your portions a bit more or increasing your exercise.

Finally, drink lots of water and make sure that you are getting enough calcium and vitamin D along with a normal daily multi-vitamin to support your health and bones.

Welcome to the site and Good Luck!

That sounds like a "Hip Adduction Machine": http://www.fitclick.com/exercises_Hip_Adduction_Machine?eqID=223

One thing to keep in mind as you work on your "flappers" - your arm is 3 dimensional - so, while it might be intuitive to concentrate on your triceps - work on your biceps will also help tighten them - and you may get twice the progress by working them both.

The same thing works to tighten thighs and you might get better results by working your quads and hamstrings (the biggest muscles in your legs) with a squat (http://www.fitclick.com/exercises_Squats_Body_Weight?eqID=525) or lunges (http://www.fitclick.com/exercises_Forward_Lunges?eqID=417). These can be done with weight once you get used to them. The adductors are smaller muscles (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Adductor_muscles_of_the_hip). Concentrating on the bigger muscles will probably get your results faster.

Let us know how it goes!