Hey!

I am a college student living in the dorms and since I eat a lot of my meals in the cafeteria, and have occasional snacks in my room, I have a hard time finding nutritious food. I am 5'5'', 127 lbs. with no access to a BF device. I am relatively muscular, since I have been involved in sports for years, but I would say that I am soft- especially around the midsection, butt, and legs. My goal is to completely tone my body and have a "little" look. I have always had a very muscular, athletic physique (which is not bad at all) but nowadays I am looking for a more feminine look and I would like to harden the muscles I do have to look lean.

Like I said, I eat in the cafeteria most of the time, which gives me very little nutritional value. Here is a sample of today's meals:

Breakfast-- Special K bar

Lunch-- Ham/turkey sandwich on white, with tomatoes, cheese, mustard, and pickles; small bowl of peaches; grape juice

Snack-- 100 calorie Nutter Butter granola bar

Dinner-- 1 taco- fajita meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese, very little sour cream; an apple; milk

Snack-- Jello cup



Also, I have spent much of my high school years in weight training classes and lifting after school for sports. I know how to use the weight room, but I'm not sure what I should be doing for the results I am looking for. I have read a lot of material about how women aren't looking for bulky muscle but don't realize that they aren't designed to get bulky without steroids- therefore, it is more beneficial to lift heavy weight and do the same exercises that a male weightlifter would do. But, other articles I've read say that lesser weight and more reps are the way to go. I sort of created a workout plan that is in between that, which looks like this:

Monday:
- 20 minute run (treadmill)
- squat (3x10)
- leg curls (3x10)
- leg raises (3x15)
- calf raises (3x15)
- wall sits (3x30 sec)
- multiple ab exercises

Tuesday:
- 30 minute run (treadmill)
- ab exercises
- stretching

Wednesday:
- arm curls (3x15)
- tricep push-ups (3x15)
- arm circuit-- lateral raises, frontal raises, butterfly, overhead press (3x15)
- lat pulldown (3x15)
- multiple ab exercises

Thursday: same as Tuesday

Friday: same as Monday

-- each week rotates, so week 2 would have 2 days of legs (like Wednesday's workout) and 1 day of arms

I have been working out and constantly watching what I eat for the past 6 months, but I am still nowhere near my goal and I can't figure out why. If anyone has suggestions for a workout and/or meal options for a college student (especially what to look for in the cafeteria), I would greatly appreciate it!!

Thanks!

So, have you added up the nutrition info in your diet, because I just did. It's - and this is just going off generalizations - about 1500 calories with half of it coming from carbs. That's not gonna cut it. More protein, less carbs, less sugar. I don't know how much control you have over this, but I'd start with ditching the white bread and the nutterbutter bar and kill the grape juice and those peaches may be syrup-laden, as well. I'd also swap the Special K bar with oatmeal. Try Fitday to check out nutrional content.

I'd probably start over on the work out and focus on some compound and full body movements over the isolation stuff. There's (almost) a full day dedicated to arms, which won't get you too far in the end. Same thing with all of the lower body isolation exercises.

I hope some of that helps.

That helps a lot, but do you think you can be more specific? Like what kinds of full body exercises would be best?

Thanks!!!

Where's the veggies in your diet?

Also you're eating a bit of processed foods - granola, white bread, special K bar are all processed and packaged. There are much better and more efficient alternatives out there. If you have access to cooking gear, I'd suggest cooking for yourself. For breakfast, instead of the bar, have oatmeal (NOT the instant) - the old fashioned rolled oats, or the steel cut oats. Instead of the jello, I'd suggest a slice of whole wheat bread and peanut butter - which will fill you up and have more protein to rebuild your muscles.

Ditch the white bread and go with whole grain or wheat bread - make sure it's 100% whole grain or whole wheat - these are better for you.

You've got squats, which are a keeper. I would also consider deadlifts and variations, lunges and variations, dips, chins, presses (bench, shoulder). Google full body workout and you can find some sample routines.

Hello again!

I've changed my workout and altered my meals (thanks to FitDay-- thanks DEF!) but since I live in the dorms and eat in the caf, I am still having trouble finding good food to eat. I have been eating the same foods over and over-- steamed vegetable stir-fry with very little rice, cereal, bananas and other fruit, 1/2 turkey sandwiches (to limit the carbs from the bread), trail mix nuts (without M&Ms), raisins, pretzels, egg whites, and countless whey protein drinks-- so now what? I can't eat very many meals in the cafeteria because they use so much oil to make everything and I feel like I've eaten just about all the healthy food there. Does anyone have other options or food ideas that I can try? Remember I don't have a kitchen because I live in the dorms so I'm limited on what I can make.

Thanks!!!

Hmm would you be able to purchase a crockpot or an electric skillet/wok? That would enhance your options and not require a full kitchen to make some recipes.

I don't know if those are allowed in the dorms... there is a wok in the caf that I use to make stir-fry... next year I plan on having a crock pot when I have a full kitchen. What kinds of meals did you have in mind with those?

Assuming you eat meat
Easy Turkey Chili - Crock Pot Recipe | Recipezaar
Chicken Paella Recipe | Recipezaar
Crock Pot Chicken W/ Black Beans and Cream Cheese...yum! Recipe | Recipezaar - use nonfat cream cheese

Assuming you don't
Diana's Egyptian Lentils & Rice Recipe | Recipezaar
Spicy Crock Pot Chickpeas Recipe | Recipezaar
Bean and Rice Stuffed Red Peppers - Crock Pot Recipe | Recipezaar

Okay, well this is the first thread I have read on here, and I'm 21 and lived in the dorms for a year. I would use low carb protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, snacks would be some tomato and string cheese, celery and natural peanut butter, some almonds, etc...usually some sort of protein with a veggie.

Dinner...was whatever the cafeteria was serving but without the carbs. Grilled or roasted chicken, tacos (just the insides w/ sourcream), salad bars are great, or I'd go to the sandwich area and just eat the chicken salad and lettuce or egg salad. I'd go easy on the deli meats because they can be loaded with sodium.

Hmm..what else. Well, if you have a mini fridge in your dorm then your problems are solved..just stock it with celery, laughing cow cheese, apples, string cheese...you get the idea right?

Oh, and most times I ate eggs for breakfast...some times when I was in a rush I'd drink the shake. You can also use the shakes for snacks since they're about 160 cals. I like the Atkins Chocolate ones. EAS makes one too, it's only 100 cals.

Hope this helps!

How did you plan your meals? Did you eat five times in the day or just whenever you were hungry? You said you had the shakes for breakfast and lunch, then snacks and dinner-- so you only had one real sit down meal each day (except for when you had eggs for breakfast)? -- Did that give you the fill of food you wanted for the day or did you find yourself hungry at night.

I think that's part of my problem sometimes is that I don't eat much during the day, then I'm hungry at night. What could I do about that?

I'm having a little trouble getting the results I'm looking for.. it seems as though my bust and my legs have gotten much smaller lately but I still have the butt and gutt I started with (which isn't very big, I might add.. just not as toned as I want...) and I'm wondering how to tone my butt and abs so I can get the look I'm working for. I've changed my workout so I'm doing full body stuff and I'm running three times a week and doing ab workouts afterward. I'm watching what I eat and keeping track on Fit Day. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I could possibly be doing wrong or what they have done to get toned from the waist down instead of just upper body?

Part of the problem may be due to semantics - specifically this word " tone " that gets used so often. I discussed this in another forum, but I'l recap my thoughts on " tone " here again.

There is a ' distinction ' that needs to be made between some of the terminology used to describe " getting bigger ", " getting more defined " , " getting leaner " or " getting toned " muscles.The term " tone " is thrown around a lot and seems to mean different things to different people....but here is what it should mean IMO. So, the question is, what the heck does it mean to " tone " your muscles exactly ?

Exercising with weights can build muscle mass ( i.e bigger muscles ) and it wil likely " tone " your muscles as well. Now here's what is meant by " tone " IMO. Muscle " tone " has to do with how contracted your muscle stays when you relax. When you're out of shape, you have poor tone and your level of contraction when at rest is low. In other words, your abs and arms and legs look "mushy" even if they're thin. When you're in shape, you have good tone and your level of contraction when at rest ( even when you're sleeping ) is high. So, you can be " toned " without having to add a lot of muscle mass.

And don't confuse looking " toned " with looking " lean " or " defined " either ( i.e lean as in where you muscles are very obvious and not hidden under fat ). Being lean or defined is primarily a matter of losing body fat. For example, having a well defined 6-pack of abs, or well defined arms, or lean looking legs is all about losing fat. Being " toned " is about contraction - not whether you have little body fat or whether you have excess body fat.


Part of the problem is the different way ( i.e areas ) men and women accumulate fat on their bodies ...or should I say the order in which they accumulate fat. Although genetics determines how each person stores fat, generally it goes like this in terms of where fat gets stored first and where it gets stored last between men and women...

Men : Loves handles ( first ) - stomach - hips - chest - upper arms - thighs - calves - hands - feet - face ( last ).

Women : Back of thigh ( first ) - side of thigh - hips - stomach - upper chest - upper arms ( last ).

You can see thighs are hit first in women - with men it's love handles.
The problem itself is that - men and women both - lose fat in reverse order to how they put it on. So, for men, they'll lose fat on their face first and lose their love handles last. In women, bust and upper arm fat goes first - just as you described.....and leg fat will be last to go. However, you seem to think your legs have improved, so genetics may be different for you. But from a general point of view, I'd expect the back of your thighs ( ie butt ? ) and stomach to be the last place you're going to lose the fat...that may be one reason why you aren't seeing faster results " from the waist down instead of just upper body " .

Keep up the cardio and weight training and a good diet as the mainstay of your fat loss program - ab exercises will only likely " tone " your muscles and won't have any impact on the fat accumulated on your stomach at all.

Spend one day doing "The Bear". You can google it or find it over at Testosterone Nation

Since you're at a university, you might spend some time doing HIIT (high intensity interval training) out on the football field. 50 yard sprint, jog 50, sprint 50, jog 50...etc My favorite was to hit 60 yard sprint, jog 80 yards, and sprint back the last 60 yards...repeat this X5 with a 1 minute break between intervals.

Foods if you have a fridge-
cottage cheese, lean meats, avacado, almonds, any fruits and vegetables, eggs

So, Wrangell-- in order to get smaller abs and butt I have to lose my entire chest first?